{"id":152,"date":"2014-05-11T00:29:55","date_gmt":"2014-05-11T00:29:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/?p=152"},"modified":"2014-05-11T00:29:55","modified_gmt":"2014-05-11T00:29:55","slug":"with-final-evaluation-tasks-why-ive-gone-low-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cohort21.com\/garthnichols\/classroom\/with-final-evaluation-tasks-why-ive-gone-low-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"With Final Evaluation Tasks, Why I’ve Gone Low Tech’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LucasWe at Cohort 21 have written before about the different places that technology can occupy in a classroom. \u00a0We’ve talked about leveraging it to check-in on student learning, Louis has reflected on how use tech <\/a>to engage students in the learning process, and even allow students to use technology as a demonstration of their knowledge. Tim Rollwagen’s recent post<\/a> is full of great examples, Carolyn<\/a> wrote about how to put it in the hands of the students too!<\/p>\n

In the last few weeks of school, as we teachers are designing our culminating learning tasks, it’s important to consider when and where and how to apply technology. Consider this quotation from Grant Wiggins blog “Beyond Teacher Egocentrism: Design Thinking<\/a>“:<\/p>\n

We think like a designer, not like a teacher, when we say: the teacher is just one element in the design. The choice of task, pedagogy, groupings, flow of work, resources, furniture, light, noise level, role of people and text \u2013 all of these design elements are arguably as important as the teacher.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I believe that we need to get DESIGN our tasks with the most essential content and skills at their heart. These culminating activities shouldn’t be testing things that students remember for only the 75-120mins, nor even the 2 months following the activity themselves. Check out Ruth’s post<\/a>, where she writes:<\/p>\n

I have found inspiration recently in a book written in 1847. A\u00a0<\/span>MATH textbook from 1847<\/a>, in fact. This gem, recently republished, is a color-illustrated version of Euclid\u2019s Elements, without the algebra notation. It\u2019s genius. Our school library purchased a copy, and I showed it to my students as an example of how geometry is connected to Truth, Beauty, and Usefulness simultaneously<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

 <\/p>\n

These tasks should resonate with the essential understandings of the course, and the lives of our students. They should be what you want students to remember 40 years from now (when they are telling their children that at one point in time there used to be buildings called schools where everyone had to sit in the same room and learn about one discipline \ud83d\ude42<\/em>)<\/p>\n

Consider this video explaining “Essential Understandings” that helps you balance the ministry expectations with enduring understandings:
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