An article by
Zachary Walker
This is the last generation of students who will carry backpacks to school.
For teachers and parents, the realization that education will look
very different from our own experience is a major paradigm shift. Never
in the history of education has the delivery of instruction been so
drastically altered so incredibly quickly. As I work with teachers
across the country and read the literature surrounding the revolution
that we are undergoing in education, I am excited about the
possibilities of mobile learning but also concerned about the reluctance
I see from teachers. Although the potential for educational technology
is limitless, teachers must embrace the idea that mobile learning is not
only here to stay but that it is important and powerful
. Mobile
learning is not about tools; mobile learning is about teaching. Here are
three reminders that serve teachers well as they prepare today’s
students to achieve in tomorrow’s world.
1) There is freedom in being willing to fail in front of students.
When a student struggles with an algebra problem, throws up his hands
in disgust and walks away, we often ask him to come back, take a deep
breath, slow down and relax. However, I often see teachers in classrooms
or at workshops who throw their hands up in disgust and walk away when
technology does not work perfectly the first time. When we let go of
that fear of failure and are willing to say, “Well, that didn’t work,
let’s try another way,” we model persistence and resilience for our
students. And, really, what better lessons can we teach our students? In
addition, we realize that we teachers have the freedom to fail again
and again on our way to great success in the classroom. As Henry C. Link
said, “While one person hesitates because he feels inferior, the other
is busy making mistakes and becoming superior.”
2) Creativity is key — think beyond the bells, standards and academic calendar.
One of the biggest challenges for teachers is being creative. Often,
when working with teachers, I will show a digital tool and ask the
audience to come up with as many different ways as possible that they
could use the resource in class. Or I will show an application that was
designed for entertainment and ask them to come up with a way they could
use that app in their content area. Teachers tend to struggle with this
exercise because, somewhere along the way, we forgot how to be
creative. Our job as teachers and facilitators of learning is to engage
students by utilizing the digital resources they use already. For
example, it is easy to think of using a Fast Food Calorie app for
studying nutrition in health class. It takes creativity to see that
social studies teachers can use that same app with Google Earth to start
a conversation about obesity in inner cities and the effects the
obesity epidemic has on other areas of our culture such as learning,
work and health care.
3) Your class is your co-teacher.
Finally, and this was one of my biggest breakthroughs in the
classroom: We don’t have to work so hard. For example, before every new
unit begins, we can challenge students to find one app or Web resource
each about the topic we are about to study. The students can then make a
30-second video on their mobile device explaining how the app or
resource works and justifying how it helps them learn. Since they are
doing this before the unit begins, they come to class with background
knowledge and we have also compiled a list of apps and resources they
use to study. In addition, each teacher has created a library of
resources for use in the unit.
Again, it is never about the tools, it is always about the teaching.
Once we realize it is OK to fail, that creativity is valued and
encouraged, and that the Last Backpack Generation is full of
co-teachers, we can truly embrace the educational revolution of mobile
technology. Now go get crazy in the classroom!
Zachary Walker is a K-12
certified special educator and technology consultant. Zachary was a
recipient of the 2012 Think College Emerging Scholar Award for his
research on the impact of technology on both students and teachers. He
can be reached at www.lastbackpack.com or at @lastbackpack on Twitter.
