JIGSAW

Last week in class, we did an activity called jigsaw. We used this to discuss the various upcoming technologies discussed in the Horizon Report. Instead of reflecting about the technologies in this report, I want to talk about the activity that we did in class to discuss each technology. I REALLY liked this activity. Mostly because it turned learners into experts. Now, instead of listening to Sherry talk for 20 minutes and probably remember nothing about what she said, I was able to study up on a topic, and teach that topic to others. 

So some background, Jigsaw is where you split students into groups. Each group has a topic. My group's topic was MOOCs. Other groups had wearable technology, 3D printing or iPads. Each group answer some questions posed by Sherry and studied up on the topics. Then, we made new groups consisting of 1 person from each technology group. Now my new group had me (MOOCs), someone from 3D printing, someone from wearable technology, and someone from iPads. We then taught each other about our topics.

This method was extremely useful for helping me understand and remember things because I was responsible for the information to other students and I was able to solidify it into my memory by teaching it. I wanted to understand it in depth so I could answer other students questions and properly explain the technology to them. Now I felt connect to my topic and I wanted to listen to what my fellow students have to say because their viewpoints mattered to me. I think it was a great activity not only to learn, but teach, about whatever topic you desire. I actually learned a lot from this class period and it was fun!