Resources are Here to Stay

• Cell phones are inappropriate
• Spark Notes is cheating
• Google gives all the answers
• Social networking is bad
• Using books on tests is giving kids the answers
• Talking equals cheating

The above are basic observations made in a typical classroom when it comes to resources.  When students write a research paper in a "typical" classroom, they are allowed to use print sources and teachers would be very cautious about online sources.  When students take a test they have to rely on their memory alone.  When students work in class they are not allowed to expand and use multiple resources.  This bothers me...a lot.

Here is a breakdown of why we need to open up resources for students to use:

• I have a cell phone with 3g or wifi capabilities at all times.  I have the world at my fingertips, which means I always have a resource available if I need to look something up.  Your students are never going to be in a place or time where they don't have a resource available, whether it be an iPad, laptop, cell phone, or another person.  With networks expanding and businesses opening free wifi hotspots you cannot use the excuse "well what if they don't have access to the internet?"  That just doesn't fly.  We aren't fostering a generation of helpless individuals that rely on these resources, we just need to ask the right questions.
• Most employers want people who can work independently and collaboratively, meaning they want the whole package.  Offer situations where students can work with partners or in groups to complete assessments.  Students need to be able to think for themselves and come to conclusions by working with others.  Balance this out.  As teachers we spend most of our day working on things alone, but we also need to work as a unit in the building to provide the best experiences for our students.  Let the kids talk, discuss, and work together.  The added bonus, it gets kids off of their cell phone and they actually have to communicate face to face.  I will have kids work together on the same document, but I still have them sit together because there is still value in good old fashioned face-to-face communication.
• We have to embrace the technology of the here and now in order to adapt to the technology of the future.  Technology in education is not a fad, and it is only going to get tougher if you can't embrace it now.  I can stand in front of my classroom every year when we start reading Of Mice and Men and tell the kids Spark Notes is not an option, but I will never prevent students from using Spark Notes no matter how much I threaten them.  The solution, I embrace this form of technology and welcome it.  I tell the students if they need extra assistance and need a place to help them understand the reading that Spark Notes is an excellent resource.  What I have noticed is that students are less apt to use the resource if I present it to them, and as an added bonus the students actually understand the material better if they are using Spark Notes.  Welcome in the "cheating" resources in your classroom, because as I have argued already...you will never prevent students from using them anyway.  When you tell a student don't use this, and don't use that the first thing they want to use is that website you told them not to use.
• Get students to use the technology they are already using and adapt it to your class. Who says twitter cannot be an excellent resource.  I have had students interview people via twitter for research papers.  Snapchat can be a great way for students to submit vocab words or terminology.  Instagram can be a great resource for students to complete multimedia presentations.  Pinterest can be a great way for students to create visual resource boards.  The added bonus to this is high engagement.
• Google gives us so much information and creating material and questions that kids can't google the answers to is difficult, but it is possible.  We need to move past regurgitation and memorization and focus on critical thinking.  If your students can google the answers to your questions, you are asking the wrong questions.  We want students to be able to find the relevance, analyze material, connect material, and focus back to importance.  You can't do that with a multiple choice question.  Here's the catch, let your students use google and see what they find.  If you ask the right questions they shouldn't be able to simply find the answers, but they should be able to find resources that direct them to answers, while they use their mind as well.  That's the goal.  We want kids to actively answer questions while building conculions using resources and their own brain.  To me, that's more valuable than having my kids memorize who said what in "Romeo and Juliet".

I have been giving tests lately where students are allowed to use any resource they see fit, with the exception of me (because I won't always be there to hold their hand through tasks).  I am getting a better understanding of what my students have learned and the knowledge they have not only gained throughout the unit, but in the moment while they take the test.  Do not make the excuse that your content is exempt from this style for whatever reason.  Attempt and think about how you can embrace resources in your classroom instead of limiting or banning them.