eTools are merging with old tools in the in-person classroom to create a powerful one-two punch for engagement and student involvement in learning.
The common element in both is that they are ‘active tools,’ enhancing not only student interaction but often student involvement in the creation of information. Student participation in the creation of information is a new and key element in helping Gen Y and Gen Z learn, according to the research.
Faculty developers Dionne Felix and Odessa Jordan of Calhoun College in Huntsville, Alabama, premiered one low tech tool at the Third Annual LERN Faculty Development Conference this spring that excited and energized the participants.
Whiteboard paddles were given to the participants. At the instruction of the presenters, the participants held them up with their answer, feedback, vote or other input. The paddles contribute to student learning in several ways, including:
*Keeping students alert by having to raise the paddles at certain points in the class;
*The physical motion of holding up the paddles is an assist in learning;
*The act of writing increases thinking and solution solving;
*Students learn more when they are involved in the creation of information;
*Sharing and interaction with others in the class is increased.
For more new teaching ideas and faculty development news, check out “Faculty” under the “Who We Serve” tab on our website. The next Faculty Development Conference will be held in the spring of 2016. To get the time and place, email Tammy at info@lern.org.
