R2D2, Where Are You?

Shawn — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 19:14:45 +0000

A difficult challenge facing educators today is how to effectively utilize technology to improve student achievement. Although the interactive, user-centered, and social-oriented structure of Web 2.0 technology presents wonderful opportunities to improve the way educators teach and students learn, many teachers feel mired in technology overload. Presented with hundreds of different technologies and very few examples of best practices, educators are wondering how they can use Web 2.0 technology to improve student learning. Too often teachers feel frustrated as they attempt to construct unique teaching models that are relevant to their curricular goals, all the while effectively incorporating these technologies into their instruction. Educators know the importance of preparing students for the information age, but many classroom teachers are unfamiliar with how to effectively integrate this technology with their learning goals. Curtis Bonk’s recent article on the learning model or framework he developed– read, reflect, display and do (R2D2)– presents an interesting solution to this problem.

Bonk’s R2D2 learning model is intended to promote the sort of problem solving skills today’s students must have to learn effectively in the information age. The model or “wheel” involves four phases– read, reflect, display, and do.

Phase One involves exploring information on the Internet. During this phase, the teacher designs curriculum that organizes relevant digital information while still enabling students to explore the vast array of academic information located online. According to Bonk,

“The web contains countless resources for reading, researching, and listening. You can have your students discover and read online articles from open-access journals, expert web sites, or online portals of famous scientists like Albert Einstein, Jane Goodall, or Charles Darwin or writers like William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, or Edgar Allan Poe. There are tens of millions of online documents to read, discuss, debate, juxtapose, connect, compare and contrast, and perhaps turn into something totally different. Your students might also download and read scores of free eBooks made available by Google, the Internet Archive, ManyBooks.net, Bookyards, and others.”

The read phase is an important first step in what Bonk refers to as the “problem-solving wheel.” Even though his model is designed for college-age students, it is certainly applicable to K-12 students, too. In order for teachers to enjoy success with this particular phase, I would advise establishing a clear curricular approach for organizing the academic information students will research. This approach should involve an appropriate level of structure and direct teacher guidance based on the age of the student. Moreover, it is important for teachers to consider the extent to which their students understand the nature of academic research. Simply exploring the Internet is not sufficient for authentic learning. In order to promote critical thinking skills and prepare students for the information age, educators must teach students how to research properly, how to effectively navigate through the World Wide Web, and how to evaluate and process large amounts of information. Students do not develop these skills naturally. They have to be taught.

The second phase involves student reflection. During this phase, students

“… blog about the concepts or ideas that they learned from their reading or listening activities. Such blogging might be done individually or in teams. Critical friends within the class or experts outside it might provide feedback on their blog posts. [S]tudents might also read or track the blog posts of experts that relate to the topic of a class or program of studies. To push beyond the instructor as the sole source of knowledge, they might watch and reflect upon keynote speeches and the teachings of other participants from online conferences. [S]tudents might also reflect on cases or scenarios that are posted online.”

This particular phase involves utilizing Web 2.0 technology. The read-write technology associated with Web 2.0 gives students the ability to easily author ideas and their peers the ability to respond. This phase is highly reflective and requires the use of dynamic authoring tools (e.g., wikis, blogs, etc.).

The third phase involves displaying the information learned. During this phase, Bonk suggests students use pictures, time lines, flow charts, diagrams, and films to represent what they’ve learned. There are thousands of tools (many of which are free) students can use to visually demonstrate their understanding.

The fourth and final phase involves actually doing something with the information. Bonk believes

“[t]he internet provides many paths to try out course content in a safe harbor. Your students can perform plays in Second Life. They can practice their language skills in Mixxer, Babbel, KanTalk, or Livemocha. They can collect survey or polling data with dozens of different tools and collaboratively analyze and share their results using Google Docs. Similarly, real-world data from corporations or nonprofit organizations might be analyzed and reports generated. Beyond simple reports or term papers, they might also compose their own books in Wikibooks or create class projects such as a glossary in a wiki (e.g., PBworks or Wikispaces). Students might also produce their own podcasts or podcast series or YouTube-like videos related to course content. They can also solve problems or simulations online.”

Bonk’s model provides an interesting approach to teaching and learning in the information age. Perhaps the most difficult struggle K-12 teachers face is how to structure their curriculum and pedagogy to reflect 21st century learning standards. Simply integrating exciting Web 2.0 tools is not enough. Teachers need to rethink how they teach and how today’s students learn. This involves devising learning models that not only emphasizes 21st century thinking skills but also utilize technology to create relevant learning experiences for students.

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R2D2, Where Are You?

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