Action & Expression:
Use Multiple Tools for Expression

Many schools/learning environments tend to focus on traditional tools to the exclusion of contemporary ones. Without being prompted to consider contemporary tools, educators and instructional designers often depend on the tools they’ve grown accustomed to. It is imperative to update tools to align with current contexts and innovations.

Learning how to learn

“When you grow up, you are not going to be carrying around a calculator in your pocket!”

You could replace “calculator” with any number of other tools: abacus, dictionary, thesaurus, typewriter, calendar.

As educators, it is our job to prepare students for the future. This is a difficult task without a crystal ball, but we can help students learn how to use new tools in impactful ways, even if those tools might be replaced in a few years. This process helps students learn how to learn.

Options, options, options

Current media tools provide a more flexible, creative, and accessible toolkit with which learners can more successfully take part in their learning and articulate what they know. Unless a goal is focused on learning to use a specific tool (e.g., learning to draw with a compass, learning a specific programming software), learning environments should embed a range of options for construction, composition, and creativity.