Chapter 4: Digital Approaches and Tools for Communication
Communication is one of the core elements of learning for students in any classroom. Communication encompasses activities and purposes including presentations, asking questions, giving feedback, and demonstrating learning. Students’ ability to communicate their learning through traditional methods, such as writing or oral presentations, varies based on factors like age, language level, and confidence. However, we believe technology can be a valuable tool in supporting and enhancing student communication under the following categories:
• Student to Self: reflecting on own learning (e.g. learning journals, note-taking)
• Student to Other: communication with peers or teachers within their school (e.g. presenting, participating, discussing, questioning, giving feedback)
• Student to World: communication with others beyond the school, public sharing or publishing of work with the wider world (e.g. blogging, publishing ebooks, using social media, and developing digital citizenship skills)
You may recognize this structure as being adapted from Keene and Zimmerman’s fantastic “Mosaic of Thought: The Power of Comprehension Strategy Instruction” (1997)
A very big part of supporting and enhancing communication in the classroom with technology comes from identifying challenges your students are facing in communicating their ideas, abilities, or understanding, and identifying appropriate solutions for those challenges. To support you in this we have created three free resources to download which recommend digital tools and approaches that can support common communication challenges. Just click on the links to download the free PDFs.
Digital tools are changing all the time, so if you have a favorite tool or approach that isn’t listed in our resource, please get in touch and let us know in the comments.
