Are you in the market for digital content to support your instructional
programs? Well, KISS (Keep It
Synthesized Stupid). By synthesized, I am referring to the dictionary
definition, “combining (a number of things) into a coherent whole.” Digital
content should not be an add-on or an afterthought to the teacher’s plans for
an individual student or group of students. The teacher’s goals must always be “driving the bus” when considering
the use of digital content. That
content needs to complement, extend, or enhance the teacher’s instruction. Otherwise,
why bother? You might as well be pushing worksheets (or as I prefer to call
them – shut-up sheets) at kids.
John Rice, Manager of Blended Learning for the DC Public School System,
gets it. His recent post in
EdSurge News outlines a thoughtful four-step process for selecting digital
content (Determine goals; Which features are important; See it in action; and
Make sure users approve). I might
add a fifth – Make sure it works!
At the risk of sounding a little pretentious, I think John’s second step
would be enhanced with the use of an objective, validated tool to evaluate the
quality of the digital content, like maybe the Evaluation Rubric for Mobile Applications?
(see earlier posts).
You can read John’s piece at this link:
https://www.edsurge.com/n/2014-03-05-tales-from-the-oregon-trail-traversing-the-digital-content-terrain
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