Triple E Level 3:  Extended Learning

Educators are always looking for ways to connect student learning to the authentic world.  If technology can somehow aid or enhance the ability to create these real-world connections, than learning is being extended outside of the classroom walls and into student's everyday lives.  In addition, another piece of extension are non-content related skills (often called "soft skills").  In the digital age, educators are often looking to help their students to start developing P21 skills, that many employers are asking for.  In order to measure if technology tools are extending learning goals, the following questions can be used for analysis.

1. Does the technology create opportunities for students to learn outside of their typical school day?
2. Does the technology create a bridge between school learning and everyday life experiences?
3. Does the technology allow students to build skills, that they can use in their everyday lives?

*Click here to see examples of instructional strategies that can be employed to help elicit extension when using the digital tool.

Research that Supports Extension

The research below highlights the research that informs the Triple E component for extension. 

Extension is rarely present when technology only provides individual isolated content knowledge

• Studies have found that reinforcing knowledge or giving isolated content knowledge did not lead to student achievement gains. For example secondary students using technology for content-specific tasks (such as reading or evaluating primary documents in history class) had no correlation on student achievement, but students using computers for more generic academic tasks in school had positive correlation to student achievement.  (Wenglinsky, 2006)
• Knowledge should be situated in authentic contexts and tasks (Brown, Collins, and Duguid, 1989; Lave & Wenger, 1990)

Connecting the student's everyday life experiences with school learning

• "Education is not a preparation for life; education is life itself."  (Dewey, 1897)
• Researchers believe that technology tools need to encourage meaningful learning, where the technology is extending the learning from student’s preexisting knowledge and helping them create new knowledge (Wartella, 2015). 

Classroom Project that Extend Learning

Extension Checklist

1. Does the technology create opportunities for students to learn outside of their typical school day?  Students are able to connect with other students to compare and contrast their own lives with those of students in Massachusetts.  They are collaborating in real time and choosing tools to help them better connect with their individual pen pals (such as Google Translator or Google Documents)
2. Does the technology create a bridge between school learning and everyday life experiences?  Students learn to use to technology to connect with other people that are different from them, learn from them and share what they know. 
3. Does the technology allow students to build skills, that they can use in their everyday lives?  Students are learning to use digital tools to build positive digital footprints and make new friends.