Spitballs, passing notes, whispering and day dreaming have been replaced by texting, surfing the internet, and listening to music whether it is on their MP3 players or ipod/ipads.
Heads are down on the desk sleeping or they are talking and daydreaming.
Teachers are faced with the daunting task of competing with these addictive
technologies and are often on the losing end. The Associated Press conducted a
study in October 2012 that found the average attention span of a teenager in
2000 was 12 seconds and in 2012 the attention span decreased to 8
seconds. Engagement is the key to the overcoming the 8 second chance that
teachers face. One of the key ways to meet the student engagement challenge is
to apply the principles of internet marketing, otherwise known as SEO (Search
Engine Optimization) to the classroom. In other words, we need a new SEO,
Student Engagement Optimization.
Websites with a high SEO rank employ keywords and accessibility, linking and freshness. Choosing appropriate keywords and using them in the body of a website frequently
increases the website rank as well as linking between websites. Once your
keywords matches, the user must be able to find exactly what they are looking
for on the website and website owners must make sure content is fresh to get
traffic leading to a high SEO rank. Teachers must employ and embrace technology in order to attain a high levels of student engagement.
When working with students we need to communicate in “their language” using “their tools” just as a fully optimized website. Give students access to teachers through chat,
screen casts or podcasts after hours and for more opportunities to engage
students outside of the classroom. Innovative teachers use chat rooms and
message boards to allow students to collaborate with each other and the
teacher. We are no longer confined to the four walls of our brick and mortar
classrooms for the sole means of communicating with students. Extra help
is no longer 20 minutes after school, but instead technology after hours can
answer a student’s question and lessen confusion for the next days lesson.
Technology is also a key element in maintaining the “freshness” of methods of instruction. Lecturing in front of a classroom will result in texting and other distracting behaviors.
Modeling new methods of instruction based on technology, is an effective path to encouraging teachers to use technology in the classroom. Recently, I took part in a differentiated
instruction workshop where teachers were encouraged to take a step toward
technology. Some teachers embraced the new methods and found that they easily
integrated into the classroom. Differentiated task lists are a part of my
weekly lesson plan complete with videos, applets and activities to address the
myriad of learning styles in my classroom.
Finally, linking classroom content with real world applications and other disciplines is imperative to student engagement. A website may be chock full of information, but if it
stands alone without a connection to other websites, users will not be able to
find it or use it to deepen their knowledge. If I teach the quadratic formula and
refuse to apply it to the real world the connection will be lost and with it,
the interest. There are so many times that I hear as a math teacher, “when are we ever going to use this.”Giving the canned answer, “if you become a math teacher or the next
course” is not going to cut it. Teachers are being challenged to defend
their curriculum and show its vitality in the real world. If the
possible connection can be made, the understanding will be deeper.
In sum, we as educators need to release our fear of technology in the classroom and the fear of change. We are failing our students and losing them in the process to boredom. In the 2009 annual High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), 2% of students said they have never been bored in school. This is outrageous in a time of so many opportunities and technological advances.
-Eric Sigman, CEO of E to B Concepts, Inc
Heads are down on the desk sleeping or they are talking and daydreaming.
Teachers are faced with the daunting task of competing with these addictive
technologies and are often on the losing end. The Associated Press conducted a
study in October 2012 that found the average attention span of a teenager in
2000 was 12 seconds and in 2012 the attention span decreased to 8
seconds. Engagement is the key to the overcoming the 8 second chance that
teachers face. One of the key ways to meet the student engagement challenge is
to apply the principles of internet marketing, otherwise known as SEO (Search
Engine Optimization) to the classroom. In other words, we need a new SEO,
Student Engagement Optimization.
Websites with a high SEO rank employ keywords and accessibility, linking and freshness. Choosing appropriate keywords and using them in the body of a website frequently
increases the website rank as well as linking between websites. Once your
keywords matches, the user must be able to find exactly what they are looking
for on the website and website owners must make sure content is fresh to get
traffic leading to a high SEO rank. Teachers must employ and embrace technology in order to attain a high levels of student engagement.
When working with students we need to communicate in “their language” using “their tools” just as a fully optimized website. Give students access to teachers through chat,
screen casts or podcasts after hours and for more opportunities to engage
students outside of the classroom. Innovative teachers use chat rooms and
message boards to allow students to collaborate with each other and the
teacher. We are no longer confined to the four walls of our brick and mortar
classrooms for the sole means of communicating with students. Extra help
is no longer 20 minutes after school, but instead technology after hours can
answer a student’s question and lessen confusion for the next days lesson.
Technology is also a key element in maintaining the “freshness” of methods of instruction. Lecturing in front of a classroom will result in texting and other distracting behaviors.
Modeling new methods of instruction based on technology, is an effective path to encouraging teachers to use technology in the classroom. Recently, I took part in a differentiated
instruction workshop where teachers were encouraged to take a step toward
technology. Some teachers embraced the new methods and found that they easily
integrated into the classroom. Differentiated task lists are a part of my
weekly lesson plan complete with videos, applets and activities to address the
myriad of learning styles in my classroom.
Finally, linking classroom content with real world applications and other disciplines is imperative to student engagement. A website may be chock full of information, but if it
stands alone without a connection to other websites, users will not be able to
find it or use it to deepen their knowledge. If I teach the quadratic formula and
refuse to apply it to the real world the connection will be lost and with it,
the interest. There are so many times that I hear as a math teacher, “when are we ever going to use this.”Giving the canned answer, “if you become a math teacher or the next
course” is not going to cut it. Teachers are being challenged to defend
their curriculum and show its vitality in the real world. If the
possible connection can be made, the understanding will be deeper.
In sum, we as educators need to release our fear of technology in the classroom and the fear of change. We are failing our students and losing them in the process to boredom. In the 2009 annual High School Survey of Student Engagement (HSSSE), 2% of students said they have never been bored in school. This is outrageous in a time of so many opportunities and technological advances.
-Eric Sigman, CEO of E to B Concepts, Inc
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