Building Better Learning: Metacognition and Free Technology
March 9, 2022
by Richard Palmer, Instructional Designer
Open Education offers educators opportunities to improve equity, teaching strategies, and our community. Metacognition provides a set of skills that can improve student outcomes and problem-solving. Free apps can support open education and metacognitive skills for all subject areas. Here is a list of free apps for faculty, students, and staff to build metacognitive skills and strategies.
| App | Metacognitive Skills | Students | Faculty | Staff |
| Miro | Modeling Questions
Reflection Muddiest points notes Post-test Analysis Peer Teaching |
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| Padlet | Modeling questions
Reflection Muddiest point notes Post-test Analysis |
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| Zoom | Muddiest points
Peer teaching |
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| Google Drive | Multimodal content delivery
Muddiest points Peer teaching |
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| Google Calendar | Distributed study
Interleaved subject study |
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| YouTube | Multimodal content delivery
Multimodal content exploration |
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| Notability | Writing notes out |
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| Blackboard | Multimodal content delivery
Multimodal content exploration |
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| Google Scholar and Search | Multimodal content delivery
Multimodal content exploration |
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FACULTY
Faculty can support metacognitive skills and modeling reflective techniques by integrating strategies and tools into their courses. Consult with an instructional Designer to dive deeper! Below are free applications that can support metacognitive strategies in your courses.
Modeling questions and reflection using tools like whiteboards, response walls, and polling apps allow students to reflect and make conceptual connections for a deeper understanding of a specific subject.
- Miro A flexible whiteboard allows students and teachers to present information and comment in a shared space.
- Padlet is a response wall that allows multiple questions and multimedia responses.
- Poll Everywhere Ask questions and display results to prompt discussions.
Muddiest point notes and Post-test Analysis strategies check student understanding of course concepts. Response wall apps gather concepts students struggle with and highlight challenging concepts for student reflection.
- Padlet is a response wall that allows multiple questions and multimedia responses.
- Miro is a whiteboard app that offers a way to explore subjects through drawing, text, mind maps, and various other techniques.
Multimodal content delivery creates repetition of study, concept depth, and equity of access.
- Blackboard and Google Classroom are Learning Management systems on which you may deliver course content in various modalities like videos with captions and transcripts, supplemental video content, or complimentary articles. Blackboard offers document conversion into five different formats.
- Google Drive offers storage and organization to support many modes of content. Students can also use Google Drive to work collaboratively on course materials and assignments.
- YouTube video archive has millions of videos for easy alternative modes for course content.
STUDENTS
Empower students to create their learning environment by using apps to support metacognitive strategies that will support lifelong learning.
What are metacognitive strategies? Metacognition is a way of reflecting on learning strategies. Read about some of these strategies and what apps can help you master the metacognitive approach.
Distributed and Interleaved subject study strategies create depth of subject knowledge and concept connection. Practice these strategies by spreading study blocks over time and shortening individual study periods to avoid cognitive overload and create depth of knowledge.
- Use Google Calendar to plan shorter study blocks each day and color code them to make sure you are switching topics often. Pro-tip: Start from the due dates and work your way backward!
Writing notes out has been shown to increase depth of understanding. Taking notes is a no-brainer, but physically writing notes creates a reflective period that improves learning.
- Use Notability with a stylus to write out notes by hand. Notes are converted into text format for review.
Multimodal subject exploration offers different approaches to understanding course subject matter. Use these tools to search for other ways to study course material.
- Use the YouTube video archive to search for additional lectures on the same topics you cover in class.
- Google Scholar offers ways to locate academic research, or Google Search to find websites and presentations on challenging topics.
- Use Blackboard’s five alternative formats (like audio, screen readers, braille) to create files for documents posted in a course. For example, create an audio file and use an mp3 player to listen to a text document to review the material.
Muddiest points and peer teaching are reflective and proactive strategies for students to focus on areas of struggle and collaborate on learning. When using The Muddiest points, you write down the most confusing part of a lecture or assignment and share it with your instructor or peers. Peer teaching is when you work through lessons or muddiest points with your classmates to improve learning for everyone involved.
- Miro and all whiteboard apps offer students a way to explore subjects using drawing, text, mind maps, and various other techniques. For example, you could create a board and share it with your classmates to capture your muddiest points.
- Zoom and other video conferencing apps are great ways for groups to interact and learn synchronously using features such as audio/video, chat, breakout rooms, and screen sharing.
- Google Workspace is a cloud-based suite of apps that offer asynchronous collaboration on assignments in different formats like documents, slides, and spreadsheets. This tool is another excellent option for capturing the muddiest points and sharing insight with your peers.
SUPPORT STAFF
Each time they work with students, support staff can teach students study approaches and tools. Consider how you might recommend these free apps.
Distributed and Interleaved subject study strategies create depth of subject knowledge and concept connection. By spreading study out over time and shortening individual subject study periods, students can avoid cognitive overload and create depth of concepts.
- Google Calendar allows students to plan shorter study blocks each day and color code them to make sure they switch topics often. Pro-tip: Start from the due dates and work your way backward!
The Muddiest points are opportunities for support staff to help students review and focus on aspects of the subject they are struggling to learn.
- Miro and all whiteboard apps offer students ways to explore subjects through drawing, text, mind maps, and various other techniques. Create a board and share it with your students to capture the muddiest points and provide additional resources or comments directly in the app.
- Google Workspace apps offer asynchronous collaboration on assignments based on different formats like documents, slides, and spreadsheets. Reviewing and annotating these documents can help students connect concepts.
Multimodal subject exploration helps students understand concepts from a different perspective and allows them to repeat the subject matter. Each time the student reviews the material in a new modality, it will enable the student to increase understanding.
- YouTube video archive has millions of videos that may offer an accessible alternative mode for course content.
- Google search provides ways to locate academic research, websites, subject modules, and more subject-specific information.
- Blackboard offers five different formats (like audio, screen reader, braille) for documents shared in courses.
These apps are free and accessible through the Apple App Store (for Apple devices) and the Google Play Store (for Android devices). Additionally, The Office of Academic Technology has iPads available for semester checkout by anyone attending ACC.
Combining metacognitive skills and technology allows students to reflect on their learning strategies and take control of their creations and content. By using these apps and online file organization tools like Google Drive, students can build a personal learning environment (PLE) that they can take anywhere and use throughout their whole life.