Bright Spots: Successful Technology Use in Schools

I am enjoying reading "Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard" by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. Their theory of change is one I have heard before.  Check out this quick review/summary by Callibrain.  

I have only read the first 2 chapters, but I like what I am reading. I am already familiar with the Rider vs. Elephant explanation for fostering change.  The rider works on logic but the elephant is all emotion.  They have to work together in order to stay on the path of change.  What I like most about the Heath brothers' idea is that we need to focus more on what is working rather than trying to fix what isn't. "What's working and how can we do more of it?" (pg. 45) This is finding the "bright spot" and working on creating positive change.  

While this approach can be used in MANY areas of teacher, my focus here is with technology. I have seen some "bright spots" with the use of technology in classrooms.  Here's one that is specific. We ask our 6th-grade students to conduct independent research projects, we call them Passion Projects. (They are similar to the "Genius Hour" you may have heard of, but that's a blog for another time.) Through this project, students practice skills they have been learning by learning more about a topic of interest to them.  You might think this alone would ignite some excitement in students, and in some it does.  However, there are students who have difficulty finding a starting place with their research, inquiry questions, notetaking, etc. They procrastinate, disrupt classmates, and generally aren't focused on their work. I struggled with how to help these students. I would conference with them, give them ideas, allow them to change their topic to something more appealing...it didn't work.  

Then I noticed one of my students, let's call him "Steve." Steve has a hard time focusing in class on any given day, and I have had to send him out of the room for distributive behavior a few times a week. One day I noticed he was diligently working on his project. He was focused, not goofing off, and was getting A LOT of work done.  What was different?  He was working on his Google Slides presentation of this topic even though he wasn't done with all of his research. The backward design approach gave him more of a purpose to his work. He knew what he wanted to share but needed the concrete project to pull it all together.  While creating his presentation he was able to sort through his research (there wasn't a lot) and his background knowledge. He put the information he had on his slides and looked for images to add to the information. He was able to see the gaps in what he had and then went on to find more information to fill those gaps.  This student, who has a hard time focusing for more than a few minutes at a time, was on task for over 30 minutes!  This was a very bright spot.  He was using tech to help him share what he had learned in a meaningful way. While the work may not be the most innovative, it was still being used in a way that sparked interest and motivated learning.  THIS is a bright spot.  Now I have to use Heath & Heath's advice and think about what went well, why it went well, and how I can do more of it!