Ep 107 // Digital or Printable Student Resources? Striking a Balance in the Elementary Classroom
Inside This Week’s Episode: — Wondering if you’re over doing it when it comes to incorporating digital learning in the elementary classroom? Or whether or not using printable resources is too old-school for the 21st century classroom? How can teachers strike a healthy balance to provide a well-rounded learning experience that incorporates new technologies with tried-and-true teaching that still utilizes pen and paper? Tune in to find out!
How much digital learning is too much?
Does using pen and paper still have a place for the classroom?
The truth is - digital and printable, more traditional instruction can live harmoniously…together in the same classroom, even!
It’s all about striking a healthy balance between the two!
If you’ve been around for a while, you’ve likely picked up on my love for integrating technology into your daily instruction and I do think that using multimedia activities is essential for a 21st century classroom. However, I also think that balancing multimedia activities with tried-and-true teaching practices is powerful as well.
I want to share what I think a good technology balance looks like in the elementary classroom. I want you to walk away from this episode feeling empowered to continue using those best practices that do NOT involve technology right alongside 21st century activities that will expose students to new technology.
It doesn’t need to be an either/or situation. Technology and non-digital resources can coexist - and they should. We can use technology to complement other meaningful teaching practices. Providing this balance in your classroom will help students to see the importance of balancing technology use with offline interactions in their daily lives as well.
Links & Resources Mentioned in the Episode
EPISODE 57: Accountable Talk: A Teacher's Guide to Encouraging Deeper & More Meaningful Talk Among Students
EPISODE 99: Classroom Technology: A Simple Model for Using it Effectively
Join the LINKtivity Learning Membership and get access to my entire vault of LINKtivity Interactive Learning Guides - CLICK HERE to join.
Tap into our LINKtivity Library
Did you know that you can get an ALL-ACCESS pass to my entire vault of LINKtivity® Interactive Learning Guides?
You can! Inside the LINKtivity® Learning Membership!
Balancing Technology & Offline Activities in the Classroom
How many times have you heard, or maybe even thought to yourself, that the use of technology is diminishing or ruining students' ability to interact with others and communicate without the use of a screen. At times it can certainly feel this way.
But - I would argue that it’s not the device that’s doing this - it’s the imbalance of technology vs. offline activities that might be the culprit.
We would be letting our students down if we didn’t teach them critical technology skills that they will use throughout their lives. But we would also be letting them down if we replaced every activity with its digital alternative. It’s all about balance.
We want students to see how technology can improve our day to day lives, but still maintain other skills and activities that don’t require the use of technology.
Technology, on its own does not always result in student improvement. But - using technology in effective and meaningful ways CAN. We shouldn’t just be using tech for tech-sake.
Evaluating the Purpose of Technology
Back in Episode 99, I talked about a simple framework that technology use falls into. It’s called the SAMR model, and it was developed by educational researcher Ruben Puentadura. And in this model, we see that there are 4 tiers, or 4 levels that technology use falls into:
Technology use that serves as a substitute to another method
Technology use that serves as a way to augment a learning experience
Technology use that begins to modify how we learn
Technology use that begins to refine and transform the learning experience
Essentially, this model shows us that sometimes technology simply serves as a substitution for an activity, but it doesn’t really have an impact on student achievement. It’s often just the convenience of using digital over the non digital alternative.
Other times, the use of technology truly redefines or transforms student learning - making possible what was not possible without the use of technology. This use of technology is not just a substitution —it’s an all out transformation and redefinition of what learning looks like in the 21st century classroom
And then of course, there are levels in between substitution and redefinition which fall in the middle of how much technology use impacts student learning.
The point I want to make is, we must find a balance in the activities we use with our students. We want the types of activities we choose, whether they be digital or not to be meaningful and serve a purpose - and above all, be what’s best for students.
So, we should always be asking ourselves, ‘Why am I using technology in this activity?’ ‘Am I using it because I want a paperless option?’ (which is a totally valid reason)
You might ask yourself, ‘Am I using it because I think it will motivate my learners?’ ‘Will this tech activity give students an experience that is only possible through this technology activity?’
Or - ‘Am I just using tech to say that I used tech?’
It’s easy to feel the pressure to go overboard with technology, but if you’re just using tech for tech sake, and you had a perfectly wonderful activity that has the same outcome that you’ve used for years and students love - why reinvent the wheel?
Tips for striking a balance with Classroom Technology
I want to share a few tips for striking a good balance when it comes to teaching and technology:
Find ways that students can collaborate with digital activities.
We don’t want it to be a case where collaboration and interaction with others goes out the window just because you’re using technology.
For example, can you have digital discussion boards for a novel that you’re reading in class, or topic your studying in a content area? Students can respond to a question or prompt individually on their device, say in Google Slides, and then have students meet in small groups to further the discussion offline based on the comments from others.
This is a great opportunity to incorporate things like accountable talk where students learn to add to conversations in meaningful ways.
You can also work through a digital activity together in small groups or even as a whole class. I think we often think digital instruction means students are on individual devices with headphones on. We sometimes fall into the trap of thinking that digital resources serve as a replacement for the teacher. That simply doesn’t have to be the case!
For example, I’ve had lots of teachers tell me that they use LINKtivities as a whole class and work through it together.
If you’re unfamiliar with what a LINKtivity® is, think of it like a multimedia edu-venture where students learn about a new topic, skill, or strategy. It’s essentially an interactive digital learning guide where students can self-navigate through the digital guide at their own pace as they watch videos on that topic or skill, look at graphics, images, and photographs, or listen to the text on the screen (which is great for struggling readers).
LINKtivities support the idea that our brains can absorb information better when it’s presented in a multimedia format.
And although these LINKtivities work great as individual activities, teachers often use them as a whole class so that they can watch and discuss the videos together, or work their way through a digital timeline about the Civil War or American Revolution, or whatever the topic may be.
Using a LINKtivity® as a whole class allows teachers to take advantage of the benefits that the technology has to offer, while still collaborating and engaging in face to face discussion.
This same setup can be done in small groups as well having 3-4 students work through a LINKtivity together.
Combine digital Learning with a Small-group Setting
Another way you can create collaborative digital learning experience is by having students learn or research part of a topic using technology (via video, website, podcast, LINKtivity®. etc..) Then, work in small groups to create a poster to present what they’ve learned to the rest of the class.
I did this with my students when they were learning about new modes of transportation and communication during the westward expansion era. I assigned each group a different mode of transportation and communication (ie. transcontinental railroad). The group scanned a QR code that linked them to a video or website. After learning through multimedia, they worked together on creating a poster to present to the rest of the class.
Establish media-free zones in your classroom
Another tip for balancing teaching and technology is to establish media-free zones in your classroom and times throughout your day that do not include digital devices. Articulate to your students why you are doing this. Help them to see that you, too, want to have a balance of technology use in the classroom. This models for them that they should have media free times and zones outside their school life as well.
Provide both digital AND non-digital learning options
My next tip to keeping a healthy balance with technology in the classroom is to provide students with options. Similar to a choice board, provide digital and non digital options for learning. Provide both online resources like websites and videos alongside books, magazines, and paper articles when students are researching a topic.
Not all students will choose the digital option. Some may prefer to open a book or magazine. One is not better than the other, and by providing both, we are showing students that both options are valuable.
You can also give students the option to type OR handwrite a reading response, a book summary, or whatever the assignment might be (when it makes sense).
I don’t say this to make more work for you by having to provide two versions of everything. Nor am I suggesting that you do every time. However, often times providing digital and non-digital options is simple and, as a result helps to keep a healthy balance without much effort.
You can even keep it as simple as printing off an article you found on websites like Time for Kids where students can highlight or underline important information rather than read it on a screen.
Compliment digital learning with offline activities
You can strike a healthy balance by providing opportunities for digital and non-digital activities to compliment each other.
I’ll use LINKtivities as an example again. With each LINKtivity®, students can complete a printable flipbook, lapbook, or some other activity sheet to show what they are learning. While students work their way through the digital LINKtivity® they write, draw, color, cut and paste, etc… to show their learning in their flipbook or activity sheet. These projects can then be shared with their classmates or put on display. They also serve as great reference resources throughout the year.
Take your students lead
Lastly, a way to strike a healthy balance is to take the lead of your students. Take note of the types of digital activities they love and seem to be ultra-motivated by as well as those that don’t light them up. If you try a digital activity and it doesn't quite land like you had hoped, do less of those types of activities. What non-digital alternative might have been better? Again - don’t use tech for tech sake.
Questions to ask yourself to help you develop a healthy Technology Balance:
Does this technology activity add value?
Does this technology activity increase student motivation?
How can I add a collaborative, non-digital element to this technology activity?
Will using this technology activity help transform learning?
Does the use of this technology teach students a critical 21st century skill?
Do I already have a great offline activity for this that I know is successful?
And remember this: Technology does not replace teaching. Teachers still play a critical role in student learning.