Do They Really Know How To Use It?

  I freely admit I am one of the people enrolled in the Ditch The Textbook Summit this year.  During the first presentation, the comment that students can use mobile devices to play games, use Social Media, etc but when you ask them to create a presentation using Google Slides, Power Point, or Keynote and they can't.

I mentioned this to another teacher because I've discovered that and she agreed with the statement. She said her last principal said they have to teach students how to use these tools.

We know they live on their devices but they do not focus on the tools they have access too. Its kind of funny because I get a new app on my tablet and I play with it until I know how to use it.  My students are unwilling to do that.  They want me to show them how to do everything. 

I checked the internet for articles on this topic but didn't find many.  Most articles are recommendations for which apps to use or why mobile devices are good for education but not on teaching students to use apps.

From personal experience, my students can get the app open but that is as far as it goes.  So I have to take them step by step through the app in order for them to use it.  I often prepare a slide show with pictures to learn the  basics but I let them create the specifics. 

After I wrote this paragraph, I remembered that you tube has videos on how to use most any app but you tube is not open during school hours so I have to download them after hours, then up load them to another site so my students can access them.  This is a school wide rule to cut down on streaming which slows our internet down to a crawl.

For instance, if I have them use a slide presentation app, I have them open the app.  Then with the slide show I've prepared, I take them step by step setting up titles, adding pictures, etc.  Rather than take a class to do this, I think I need to begin creating videos with pauses so students can create at the same time.

One reason my students have this problem is because of a cultural influence. In this culture, you don't do anything on your own.  You have to wait for someone to show you how to do it and you have to prove you are doing it "correctly".  This sometimes makes it harder for my students to step outside the cultural learning style.

Let me know what you think! I'd love to hear about this from others.  Have a good day.