Group roles enabled by devices in the classroom-

Here are some ways to incorporate technology into cooperative learning groups, adding a new twist on the already familiar. With just one device per group, new group roles make it possible to take your classroom groups to the next level. Feel free to add to this list, or share any questions or experiences.

“Post”erchild- student’s job is to take information from the group (input, conversation, a picture, etc.) and post it to Edmodo, or Moodle, or Todaysmeet or Twitter (or whatever the class is using).
“Source”erer- This person’s job is to verify the validity of the information being used by the group by searching to see if there are multiple/reliable sources that corroborate the group’s findings.
Googler- The job of this student is to seek answers to questions that come up in a group.
Data-miner- The job of this student is to find statistics/number support/confirmation as it is needed in a group. This person may also be good for finding or creating graphs.
Mathemagician- For classes that don’t normally have calculators, this person can use his or her device to do mathematical things. Even in a math class, this person could use an app or website to enhance the math already being done in the group, or to take that math and find an application for it.
Presenter- This person’s job is to make a quick online presentation (slide presentation, animation, flip book, digital story, Animoto, picture narrative, etc.) on behalf of the group, rather than just having the group stand at the front of the room and talk about what they did to wrap up an activity.
Timer- most devices have some sort of timer on them- be it a stopwatch, or a countdown timer- take advantage of it by having students time and streamline their conversations in think-pair-share activities. Even if you are the only teacher in the room with a device, the timer on that device can be very handy for timing transitions between activities, timing the length of activities, etc.
Blogger/wiki-er- This person updates the group/class blog or wiki. Similar to the posterchild.
Newshound- similar to the Googler, except this person is responsible for finding news articles related to the topic being studied or discussed. Or to find articles on topics of interest in the target language.
Pictofinder- This person is responsible for finding images online that may be of use to a group, either for vocabulary imagery, or having a model to draw from. This person could also find relevant video.
Photo/ Video journalist- This student is responsible for making images and posting them to an online forum. Photos can be used to record notes that can be shared, document a process, or demonstrate learning.
Note-taker (transformed!)- person taking notes posts them to a cloud account (like Evernote or Google Docs) then shares them out with the group members so all members have copies of the notes.
Audio recorder- Creates a brief audio podcast, either using the voice memo feature on the device or an app like iPadio.
Navigator- This person uses the map program on their device (or finds a mapping program on the web) to look up locations on maps, plan routes, etc.  
GPS- Many devices have GPS in them, and have apps that track location and movement information (speed, mileage, distance, etc.). Some fitness apps also enable calorie intake tracking as well. Might be useful in a health or PE class.
QR code reader- The job of this person with the device is to read the QR codes. With QR codes, you can set up QR activated stations around the room, or campus, and have groups go and follow the path, solving problems along the way, or doing an exercise, or completing an activity.

Remember, there is no need to do this all at once. Try one and see how it goes. Do what you’re comfortable doing.

Any other suggestions?

#ICE13 Wednesday

Today I did the BYOC (Build Your Own Conference) option at the ICE conference. I saw the morning session by Tony Vincent and Angela Maier's second and third sessions. This was my first experience with ICE, and I was very pleased with what I experienced. Both presenters embodied the dual, often-conflicting nature of being involved in educational technology- working with people vs. working with machines. My impression was that they were both approaching the same message from two different angles: while machines (hardware and software, specifically mobile devices) used to be things that people worked with during the day and separated themselves from at night, we now live in a world where people and machines have a symbiotic relationship. In other words, the separation between people and machines is gone, and people view their technology as extensions of themselves Consequently, it is time for the world to embrace this point.

Tony Vincent's session on Project Based learning was more machine oriented (and by "machine," I mean hardware and software) a very practical, easy to understand (to the extent that is possible with PBL) guide for teachers to do PBL in classrooms, discussing and demonstrating many of the apps and technologies that engage students and ultimately making the point that the learning landscape has changed, that our students speak a new (different?) language in school (that language being digital) than what they once did, and that the way we teach needs to change to embrace that. He offered a very practical, 3-step process to help focus students' energies (through guiding question) so that they can create products that are meaningful to them.

Angela Maiers' two presentations (one on social media, the other on school leadership in a digital world), looked more at the world in which our students live and the things that humans are capable of now that we are all so connected. She argued, and I think Mr. Vincent would agree, that humans have an unprecedented ability to maximize our potential due to digital tools. Her sessions focused more on the human aspects of social media being able to connect people and (to borrow her phrase) "amplify our genius."

(Note: I'm sure my phrasing does not do either of them justice. Please do not think of the previous two paragraphs as trite reviews. They were both awesome, and I'm still processing both of them. ICE is one of those "you had to be there" sort of things.)

Both sessions were as inspirational as they were puzzling. I always come away from great sessions like these (or great Twitter chats, or great blog posts, articles, etc.) with a rush of energy, but always with nagging voice of conflict: "Where do I begin? Is it more valuable to get teachers able to use the machines with the hope they'll be able to use them properly someday, or do I try to lay the groundwork with people first, to make them ravenous for the machines?" Or, are these even separate questions?

As the tech guy, it's hard to strike a balance between always wanting to help teachers learn how to use technology (in and out of the classroom), while knowing full well that it's even more important that we move beyond "integration" and work toward shifting perceptions of what goes on in schools now that real-time access to information has changed so much of what we can do.

The sign of a good learning experience is the ability of that experience to inject a healthy dose of inspiration and confusion in the learner. By that measure, today was an excellent day of learning for me. I look forward to what sparks tomorrow will produce as I bash these approaches together in my mind.