THE TOOL FOR THE JOB

Behavioral research generally agrees that best practice approaches for initiating new ways to use interactive media with students begins with allowing free time to "play" on a computer. Rarely is it difficult to engage children this way and so subsequently introducing specialized 2.0 supports for learning is not a problem. However, it is very important to establish clear guidelines for using the designated tools productively in the time provided.

Prioritizing energy and concentration according to what is suggested in the formula above has become THE major issue about using technology today. 

Let's look at the tool part of the equation. Computer programs should be better at this kind of fine-tuning. Instead students are:

interupted * fragmented * distracted 

Software tools are essentially designed to compete with one another for our attention, like needy toddlers! Information is no longer a scarce resource — attention is- and for those students with learning disabilities, this is disastrous.

David Rose, a Cambridge, Mass.-based expert on computer interfaces, likes to point out that 20 years ago, a student had only two types of communication technology: paper and a pencil. in 2011, the availability of interactive technology requires that we navigate with an informed mind.

As facilitator, the teacher should concentrate on determining which tools are most helpful for each student's needs and calming the anxiety or excitement that often comes with the experience. By all accounts, it is a collaboration.

We just want to connect, connect, connect. But what happens when you take that to the extreme? You get overconnected.” Sanity lies on the path down the center — if only there was some way to find it.

Just as individual learning needs must be considered, so must the level of taxonomy required to accomplish tasks.

The third part of the recipe is the environment. What skills does the learner or the teacher inherently posess that allow for appropriate use of the technology? One technology expert recently answered this question by sharing which web tool he used to manage his information:

"I bought a deck of 3-by-5-inch index cards, clipped them together with a binder clip and dubbed it “The Hipster P.D.A.” — an ultra-low-fi organizer."