Posts made by AMALIA

Adult secondary education learners are often reluctant to use ICTs in class. They are not fascinated by cutting-edge technologies and prefer the traditional pen-and-paper exercises. However, digital skills are a sine qua non in the workplace and their development is prioritized in adult formal education. The “hidden vegetable” simile refers to ‘hiding’ ICTs within engaging activities, so that they do not demotivate students’ active participation in them. The creation of a lesson blog can trigger student participation in that it can function as a digital learning community and inspire a sense of a shared identity on behalf of the students. Students can have a common ground on which they create, share and get inspired by their peers’ works.

Something that worked really well in my class: After having presented William Wordsworth's "I wandered lonely as a cloud" poem, in the form of a subtitled video in class, I asked my students to bring to class a photo they had taken (i.e. of a beautiful landscape that had inspired them). Then they worked in groups of 5: each group co-created one or more short poems, based on the photos taken by its members. They then worked on cooperative slides and put the photos and their texts together. Their digital works were uploaded on the lesson's blog. This took place one year ago and they still talk about it with pride. My students are adult, but I think it would be appealing to younger ages as well

A truly memorable lesson is the unique result of the combination of many factors, such as its relation to the learners' personal needs and interests, its experiential hands-on methodology, its emotional appeal and so on. Also, when students co-create something, their learning experience has a 'tangible' outcome, which remains stable in space and time. Being able to 'revisit' their creations, whether physical or digital, makes learning literally unforgettable