After reading the article,
I thought I had a good grasp on what affordance analysis was. I wrote mine
about Twitter (I think I meant Facebook or social media in general; I don’t
even know my Twitter account name anymore). About the possibilities for
communication and any pitfalls one might encounter.
An actual analysis requires two things:
1.
What is your learning
goal?
2.
What are the available
technologies that might help you reach that goal, and which one has the most
pros and the least cons?
So I did half of an
affordance analysis. I was thinking of how the high school band that I work
with uses Twitter and Facebook to communicate dates, encourage each other (both
student-to-student and director-to-student). During the big snowstorm last
year, kids were posting pictures of themselves practicing in the snow in their
pajamas – it sparked a huge competition of who could practice the most
ridiculously. Goofy, but it got them practicing and having fun. It helps the
kids relate to their director and their student leaders in a way other than “I
am in charge, you have to do what I say” while still keeping the teacher’s
personal life private.
The whole purpose of an
affordance analysis is to pick the RIGHT technology for the job you are trying
to accomplish. There’s an infinite number of possibilities out there. I wanted
a way to have my students write out the counts to various rhythms. I looked at
apps and games and worksheets, but in the end I decided just to give them
whiteboards. It’s easy, doesn’t take a lot of time, doesn’t waste paper, they
can work alone or with a buddy, doesn’t require all students to have internet
access or a device at home, and the kids enjoy it! Picking the right technology
doesn’t mean picking the most expensive or advanced piece of equipment – it means
picking what will work best in your particular situation.
Constraints of the high-tech may very well lead to low-tech solutions! Love it, and the use of the social media medium for posting the most ridiculous practicing is fantastic. I keep coming back to this word dynamic - what we should be designing as teachers are lessons that are dynamic and choosing the right technology using the affordance analysis is a great start down the right path.
ReplyDeleteI love this! I'll have to share with my band playing daughter about posting pictures of practicing in the snow. Her band uses facebook, as well. Thanks for another great post. I also love the white board concept- best tool for the job of writing out rhythms.
ReplyDeleteStacey, I like how you spoke of choosing the RIGHT tool for your lesson on writing out the counts of various rhythms. You clearly considered multiple options and weighed them by both the constraints and possibilities. Jim said it very well when he said "constraints of the high-tech may very well lead to low-tech solutions." Sometimes the high-tech option can be a distraction, requires more time to set up than you have time to allow, or requires a skill-set that the students do not have. All of these constraints can hinder a learning opportunity if used without mindful analysis first.
ReplyDeleteStacey, yes! I may have already mentioned this in class, but I had a hard time with this reading at first. I really wasn't sure what it was all about. The language was tough for me to get through. On a second or third reading it started to become clearer to me. It's just a way for us to match the right technologies to learning tasks. I agree with you - hey, if white boards and markers are the best medium for the task you have planned for the students, then don't bother getting out the iPads. I did a lesson with my AP Language students once where they learned to accurately integrate quotations into their writing, and all we used were pens (in three different colors) and 3x5 notecards. No "technology" really, and it went swimmingly!
ReplyDelete