Using Technology to Support Offline Learning

Spreadsheet applications like Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets are great choices in supporting these efforts. Spreadsheets are often the forgotten tool in a production suite, but they are powerful and are used in many professions. Even if you don’t have much background or familiarity with using spreadsheets, you can still have your students use them. It’s okay to start small and begin with simple features, like sums and averages. As you and your students become more comfortable with spreadsheets, you can branch out into formulas and formatting options. Using formulas really brings a spreadsheet to life and reinforces mathematical concepts and computational thinking skills.

Consider using a spreadsheet anytime data is involved. For example, if you teach science and students are designing catapults to see how far they can launch marshmallows, bring spreadsheets into the experience. As students test different settings on their catapults, they can record both the setting and distance into a spreadsheet. Once their testing has been completed, they can go back and analyze that data, compare it with data collected by other groups, and use the information to prompt revisions to their catapult design. The activity, while largely completed offline, includes an extremely rich and authentic digital learning experience as students record and analyze their data using a spreadsheet.

Granted, not everyone will be building catapults. Still, it’s important to consider what data might be collected from the activities you’re facilitating in your classroom. Once these experiences are identified, have your students collect, record, and analyze that data in their spreadsheets. For example, a social studies student might collect data to track and analyze trends in population growth, election results, or even economic data over time. A physical education teacher might have students record and track their progress on fitness activities, such as weight lifting, running times, or the number of push-ups completed.

The simplest option for this is a document in Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Both are collaborative and provide students the opportunity to record their ideas in a space where they all have access to view and edit the information. If your students need more visual design options, you might consider having them use a digital slideshow platform like Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides. Slideshows are a great option for visual design work, as they allow for more nimble placement of images and objects than word processing tools.

Another flexible planning tool is a virtual whiteboard. There are a number of good options out there, such as Lucidspark, Canva, Miro, and FigJam. Using one of these is like collaboratively working on a big piece of poster paper, but in the digital version, all of the ideas are automatically saved in a common spot. Of course, if you have access to more specialized software, you can use that as well. For example, you might have access to a computer-aided design (CAD) program to design something that can later be 3D-printed.

Students can use these suggested tools to brainstorm ideas and draft prototypes. They might collaboratively write a script for a play that they will then present as a live performance to the class. While some of the planning can take place in a virtual space, making costumes, props, and presenting the play will all be completed offline. Even when the brainstorming and development of the script are done offline, those activities can be supported online by using a digital tool to record ideas and polish up a final plan.

In a writing class, students might be tasked with inventing a game and then writing up clear directions for how to play the game. This is an authentic application of technical writing. In this example, students would collaboratively plan and record their ideas on shared documents. Some might choose to use digital tools to design and print out game pieces or develop the actual game board.

Even though students may use technology in the process, the main work was done offline. Students, as they plan together, will be communicating, bouncing ideas around, collaborating, and then going back to their virtual document to review or add new ideas. Once a prototype has been created, students can have another group test the game and play it using only the written directions that were included. As they observe and record their observations, students will be gathering valuable and authentic data that can be used to revise their games.

In terms of tools, your choices will depend on how complicated the project is as well as how old your students are. For younger students, you might use a simple word processing document with a list of tasks that they check off as they go. This could even be printed out. If your digital tool allows for checkboxes that can be clicked to mark complete, that also works well. Google Sheets can do this. You could also build something in Seesaw or use a tool like Google Keep. If you want to get more detailed, you might use an online tool like monday.com, which gives you multiple fields to keep track of who is assigned a task, the status of the task, due dates, priority, budget, and more.

A simple spreadsheet can be very versatile and effective as well. Students can create columns identifying tasks to track. They can then add checkboxes or drop-down menus. They can even color-code things on the sheet. Essentially, they can create a customized Gantt chart or project task tracker.

Students will use their management tool of choice to plan out what needs to be done, who will be doing it, and when it needs to be completed. In some ways, this becomes an accountability document. It’s also a great tool for engaging students in collaborative planning—a fundamental life skill.

For example, a group might be tasked with designing an interactive presentation to engage the other students in the class in hands-on activities that demonstrate the concepts and ideas being presented. On the planning document, students could start out by listing all the tasks that need to get done for them to meet the requirements of the project. Then, they might work on putting those tasks in the order they need to be completed. Once they’ve done that, they can assign due dates for each task and tag group members responsible for completing each task. As students complete their work, they can make note of their progress on the collaborative planning document. If their work is digital, they could also include hyperlinks to the items they’ve created.

To develop a portfolio, you’ll want a digital platform that can be used to capture and store a wide range of media types. You’ll also want something that can be shared, with two potential options being Seesaw and Google Sites. Although the product continues to evolve, Seesaw has been marketed as a learning portfolio tool. It’s easy for even the youngest learners to add images, links, audio, and video to their personal portfolio. Then, if the teacher has coordinated the setup, the portfolios can be shared with families through the app, giving students an authentic audience for their work.

If students create websites as their portfolio, they can manage the visibility settings in the application. They can often choose to share it specifically with a closed circle of people, or they can publish it to the world as a live website. Before having students share their work beyond your classroom, be sure to check with your school’s requirements and guidance for what, and with whom, student work can be shared.

Seesaw is appropriate for students as young as preschool. With a little modeling, they can take their own pictures of the “wow” work they’ve created. That might be a drawing, an art project, or even a stack of blocks. It could be something they’ve written on paper, and sometimes, it’s even a digital artifact they’ve made with an app. They can save them into their learning journal, and if their teacher approves them, these posts can be shared with their families. Students often get really motivated when they get positive feedback from an authentic audience like a parent or guardian. If you have students who don’t receive regular or positive feedback from their parents, you might want to review the posts yourself and make sure that everyone gets at least occasional feedback, so no one feels left out.

The portfolio could also be combined with data collection. For instance, if students are growing bean plants in class, they could photograph the plants at different stages as they grow. Not only does this celebrate the progress, but the images can be used to study the plant growth.

For older students, websites are a common choice as they can accommodate nearly any type of digital artifact. Artifacts can again be photos of objects or activities done offline. They could choose to add videos of a performance. They might attach documents they’ve written or data they’ve collected. The website becomes a blank canvas for them to fill.

Creative writing students might take the portfolio idea and turn it into a publication of work completed during a course. They could create an individual book of their best work, or they might decide to create a class anthology with each student submitting several of their best works.

These publications can then be shared with other audiences. That’s motivating, even if they are just shared with peers and family. When students have an opportunity to share with an authentic audience, they are motivated by much more than a grade in the gradebook. A portfolio really becomes a way to evaluate the quality of one’s work and share that work with others, while also being able to reflect on personal growth.