(See my earlier blog post for the podcast reflection!)
It's interesting that the first question that I am to tackle in this reflection has to do with calculating and comparing unit costs. I seriously just taught this today! It wasn't so much comparing brand names and prices, but more about how to find the unit costs. In effect, I can go through these theories I went through to teach this to see how I utilized them in the classroom. The first one I'll discuss is the Cognitive Information Processing Theory. I try to use this theory in every one of my teaching practices. The one aspect of this theory I focus on is making the learning personally meaningful to the student. Since we were beginning to calculate unit costs, we went over some real life examples of where you would use this information. We talked about shopping for meat products (which are often sold by the pound), building materials, and fabric (which are sold by the foot/yard). If I were to extend this into comparing unit costs across brands, explaining how doing this can save you money would be a great connection for upper grades. I noticed that when I made this connection, the students were listening, as it applied to real life. As the theory states, now the students can apply this to an appropriate context, and the learning has true meaning to them. So in my case, when I would get to possibly comparing brand names and how the students could save money, the students could recall earlier cues to what they already learned to "add-on" this new information.
In a similar fashion, the Situated Learning Theory sort of expands on this notion of real-life application. The chapter gave a really interesting illustration regarding children in Brazil selling candy on the streets, using the mathematical knowledge for currency exchange rates, rather than the more "standard" math their peers were learning. The theory argues for learning from participation. With the classroom community I set up, I could give groups of students a scenario that would involve a real-life application to calculating and comparing rates. One example might be that they are responsible for a building project, and each student is in charge of certain items that are needed for the project. They would have to use their resources wisely, with shopping around for the best bargain to come in under budget. Many students will encounter, or be a part of, similar scenarios when they are older, so it would be a beneficial assignment for them.
The last one I'll mention is Gagne's Theory of Instruction, with a focus on the taxonomy part. I think a lesson like this could hit four out of the five learning categories (which are verbal information, intellectual skills, cognitive strategies, attitudes, and motor skills). I sort of covered the attitudes part earlier, so I'll focus on the others. The students would be given verbal information, so they know what they are learning and how to do it. They have a chance to intellectually apply this knowledge by working on the aforementioned project, while developing cognitive strategies (hopefully in part by the learning communities established, again mentioned earlier) to solve the problem. Motor skills aren't really addressed here, since accurate movement isn't really being assessed here. Hitting these four areas, however, is a good start.
One thing that struck me with Human Performance Improvement (HPI) and Human Performance Technology (HPT) was the analysis in how to close achievement gaps through what causes gaps in performance. The goal with HPI is increasing human capital, in my case, higher-order learners. Many times, gaps in performance in my classroom are caused by lack of incentive, environmental support (more often than not, at home), skills and knowledge, and individual capacity. I saw several ways I could use these causes in order to create better interventions. I have an incentive system in my classroom, but it's based on whole class behavior. Making it more individualized would help incite each student to perform. While not all my students have the best home life, I have put a great effort to provide a supportive environment in my classroom. I actually had some great success with this, as myself and fellow students have done a great job supporting each other in the class. I can use a lack of skill and knowledge on a certain topic (whether it be something I failed to teach effectively or that the student failed to learn) and create interventions that can approach the topic a different way. Of course, there are some great resources online that can enhance lessons that students might respond to better.
When first presented with social bookmarking, I didn't quite know what to make of it. I mean, as far as I was concerned, the "bookmark" tab in my browser sufficed. In setting up my own "delicious" bookmark site (which I am still in the process of bookmarking tabs for), it was the social aspect of the site that finally clicked with me why this is a useful tool. My colleagues and I are always sharing websites with each other, and we post several websites on our own sites to share with our students. Delicious puts all these sites in a convenient, user-friendly location, with the ability to categorize the websites. Not only are these sites easy to access for you, but you can "friend" your colleagues, and you can see each other's favorites. For instance, I could be looking for a good resource on reinforcing long division, and my colleagues might have a good website on their delicious site. If they are in my network, it can be a time-saver to just check out their bookmarks (all the while possibly discovering other great resources). A way students could use this to great benefit would be during a group project where students are in need of research materials. Having access to several resources your group members have found could be of great help. Just a few examples, but like with most resources, I'm sure I'm barely scratching the surface.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
Social Bookmarking Page: "Delicious"
https://delicious.com/s4christy
A work in progress, but I managed to get a few of my favorite education links up there, as well as some for a hobby of mine, studying traditional animation from the golden age of animation! My reflection on using this for the first time will be in my upcoming blog post.
A work in progress, but I managed to get a few of my favorite education links up there, as well as some for a hobby of mine, studying traditional animation from the golden age of animation! My reflection on using this for the first time will be in my upcoming blog post.
Tuesday, May 27, 2014
Educational Podcast: Grammar Girl
http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/grammar-girl
I found (and subscribed to) this podcast that focuses on the proper uses of grammar. Mignon Fogarty, aka "Grammar Girl," posts articles and podcasts answering some of the toughest questions related to grammar. I listened to a few episodes that I found interesting and had some genuine interest in, such as the difference between lay and lie, whom and who, and her most recent episode, "How to Kick Your Annoying Preposition Habit." I admire how she makes learning grammar fun. I especially enjoy how she picks apart some of my favorite classic rock songs (she skewered Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and The Rolling Stones) for being grammatically incorrect. Her enthusiasm for grammar, a subject many could find mundane, is infectious.
Being a first year teacher, one of my weakest areas of teaching is writing. The area of grammar keeps coming back to haunt me, so I thought this podcast would help tremendously. After only listening to a few episodes, I can tell this will be a helpful tool. I would recommend this mostly to middle and high school ELA teachers, or for anyone that just wants improve their own grammar. If your students have technology, I would have them subscribe to this podcast in order to get a better handle on grammar. With today's "texting culture," many fear that proper grammar in students' writing will suffer. "Grammar Girl" makes grammar fun and interesting, something not easily done.
I found (and subscribed to) this podcast that focuses on the proper uses of grammar. Mignon Fogarty, aka "Grammar Girl," posts articles and podcasts answering some of the toughest questions related to grammar. I listened to a few episodes that I found interesting and had some genuine interest in, such as the difference between lay and lie, whom and who, and her most recent episode, "How to Kick Your Annoying Preposition Habit." I admire how she makes learning grammar fun. I especially enjoy how she picks apart some of my favorite classic rock songs (she skewered Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, and The Rolling Stones) for being grammatically incorrect. Her enthusiasm for grammar, a subject many could find mundane, is infectious.
Being a first year teacher, one of my weakest areas of teaching is writing. The area of grammar keeps coming back to haunt me, so I thought this podcast would help tremendously. After only listening to a few episodes, I can tell this will be a helpful tool. I would recommend this mostly to middle and high school ELA teachers, or for anyone that just wants improve their own grammar. If your students have technology, I would have them subscribe to this podcast in order to get a better handle on grammar. With today's "texting culture," many fear that proper grammar in students' writing will suffer. "Grammar Girl" makes grammar fun and interesting, something not easily done.
Wednesday, May 21, 2014
Week 3: Defining/Naming Our Field, A History of Instructional Design and Technology
In reading the various definitions of "Instructional Technology" in Chapter 1 of "Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology," I felt a little ahead of the game. The most recent definition produced by the AECT committee in 2008 states "Educational Technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using, and managing appropriate technological processes and resources." The reason I felt a little ahead of the game is that I am already using technology in both areas indicated by the goals of the most recent definition. In the early days of instructional technology, the goal was that technology was viewed as a process, in that the end goal was to make instruction more effective. This is still an important goal, one that I am trying to reach currently teaching fourth grade. I am blessed to have a lot of technology at my disposal (SMART Board, Netbooks, Computer Lab, etc.), and I find using technology does enhance and improve my teaching.
The newer focus with the more recent definitions was the additional goal of facilitating improved learning methods. This is particularly exciting to me as my fourth grade class next year will be getting Google Chromebooks (1:1 ratio, I know I keep harping on this, but I'm thrilled to start implementing them). One of the things we are trying to tackle as a fourth grade team is how to make this new technology not only improve and enhance learning, but also to improve student performance. I attended a MACUL Conference last month at Kalamazoo RESA that gave me some really great programs to utilize technology in this way.
I didn't really think anything was missing (though as I'm taking an intro class, that might be due to naivety), but one thing that was new to me, and this might sound dumb, but the fact that the term "instructional design and technology" had an actual "official" definition that has changed slightly through the years. It was interesting to see as technology has rapidly changed since the 1950s when "instructional technology" became an entity, the definition has had to change rapidly as well.
Moving on to Chapter 3, and to answer question 1, part a, I find it can be very easy to misunderstand greater use of technology if you aren't aware of how beneficial it can be to improve learning. One factor of why the scenario presented in question 1 had little effect on student learning is that nothing changed in the instruction. The laptops essentially served as a convenient location for the textbooks, workbooks, study guides, and other materials. Other than the students carrying a lighter load home in their backpacks, the students were being taught the exact same way as before, just on a laptop instead of a textbook.
The second factor could be due to teacher resistance to the new changes. While not explicitly stated here, the teachers didn't use the laptops for anything other than what they normally do in the classroom. A reason for this might be because the teachers themselves were not enthusiastic to find new and innovative ways to allow the technology to foster new ways of teaching. By just having the materials the teachers were already using, it seems no effort was made to get the most out of the technology. If the teachers are resistant, no innovation will come.
The third factor is that the media being used with the laptops was of poor or mediocre quality. Whether this was the materials already being used (the textbooks, etc.) or an attempt to use other media on the laptops, it wasn't working. Good computer programs are like good textbooks, they will work if the quality is high. If you are using materials, whether they be technological or otherwise, it's important to make sure those materials are actually useful to promote higher learning.
To answer part b of the question, one strategy I would use to increase the effectiveness of the technology in the classroom would be to provide training for the staff using the technology. As I mentioned above, attending the MACUL conference (and by extension, this class) helped me better understand the Chromebooks we'll be getting. It would cut down on teacher resistance, since you will be getting them involved in learning ways they can better implement the technology, instead of having them throw caution to the wind.
Another strategy that could be used by the school district would be investing in research-based programs to be used on the laptops. If the programs being used are ineffective, it would make sense to seek out better tools to use with the technology. Just like teacher resistance, administration may be resistant to spending money on computer-based programs. It is my understanding that many of these programs are inexpensive, and you can usually get decent rates for an entire classroom. Some teacher may invest the money themselves, as I have on a couple of occasions.
The newer focus with the more recent definitions was the additional goal of facilitating improved learning methods. This is particularly exciting to me as my fourth grade class next year will be getting Google Chromebooks (1:1 ratio, I know I keep harping on this, but I'm thrilled to start implementing them). One of the things we are trying to tackle as a fourth grade team is how to make this new technology not only improve and enhance learning, but also to improve student performance. I attended a MACUL Conference last month at Kalamazoo RESA that gave me some really great programs to utilize technology in this way.
I didn't really think anything was missing (though as I'm taking an intro class, that might be due to naivety), but one thing that was new to me, and this might sound dumb, but the fact that the term "instructional design and technology" had an actual "official" definition that has changed slightly through the years. It was interesting to see as technology has rapidly changed since the 1950s when "instructional technology" became an entity, the definition has had to change rapidly as well.
Moving on to Chapter 3, and to answer question 1, part a, I find it can be very easy to misunderstand greater use of technology if you aren't aware of how beneficial it can be to improve learning. One factor of why the scenario presented in question 1 had little effect on student learning is that nothing changed in the instruction. The laptops essentially served as a convenient location for the textbooks, workbooks, study guides, and other materials. Other than the students carrying a lighter load home in their backpacks, the students were being taught the exact same way as before, just on a laptop instead of a textbook.
The second factor could be due to teacher resistance to the new changes. While not explicitly stated here, the teachers didn't use the laptops for anything other than what they normally do in the classroom. A reason for this might be because the teachers themselves were not enthusiastic to find new and innovative ways to allow the technology to foster new ways of teaching. By just having the materials the teachers were already using, it seems no effort was made to get the most out of the technology. If the teachers are resistant, no innovation will come.
The third factor is that the media being used with the laptops was of poor or mediocre quality. Whether this was the materials already being used (the textbooks, etc.) or an attempt to use other media on the laptops, it wasn't working. Good computer programs are like good textbooks, they will work if the quality is high. If you are using materials, whether they be technological or otherwise, it's important to make sure those materials are actually useful to promote higher learning.
To answer part b of the question, one strategy I would use to increase the effectiveness of the technology in the classroom would be to provide training for the staff using the technology. As I mentioned above, attending the MACUL conference (and by extension, this class) helped me better understand the Chromebooks we'll be getting. It would cut down on teacher resistance, since you will be getting them involved in learning ways they can better implement the technology, instead of having them throw caution to the wind.
Another strategy that could be used by the school district would be investing in research-based programs to be used on the laptops. If the programs being used are ineffective, it would make sense to seek out better tools to use with the technology. Just like teacher resistance, administration may be resistant to spending money on computer-based programs. It is my understanding that many of these programs are inexpensive, and you can usually get decent rates for an entire classroom. Some teacher may invest the money themselves, as I have on a couple of occasions.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Multimedia post (includes photo, video, and Google Maps)
For this assignment, I'm going to use all three blog requirements (posting a photo, video, and map) to tell a story about the time I met Michael Nesmith.
This is one of my heroes, Michael Nesmith. He started off as a member of The Monkees, where he played guitar and wrote several of their songs. Nesmith then went on to a prolific, if somewhat obscure, solo career that spanned from the 1970s to today. Fortunately, I was able to see Nesmith not only perform solo three times in 2013, but also in a reunion with The Monkees in 2012 and at an upcoming date, May 31 of this year.
After the last show I attended on November 23, 2013, I had the awesome opportunity to meet Mr. Nesmith. He sold 20 "Conversation Passes" for each venue he was appearing at through his website, www.videoranch.com before each show. I got to speak with him for about 5 to 10 minutes about his time in The Monkees and some of his solo projects. The embeded video is at the end of that conversation (where you can see us posing for the picture included at the top of the post).
All of this took place at the City Winery in Chicago, IL. I'm not a wine drinker, but it is a great place to hold a show. It's an intimate venue where you can enjoy dinner, drinks, and a show. I never found the people receiving service distracting from the show at all. Again, I'm not a wine drinker, but I really enjoyed it for the concert.
After the last show I attended on November 23, 2013, I had the awesome opportunity to meet Mr. Nesmith. He sold 20 "Conversation Passes" for each venue he was appearing at through his website, www.videoranch.com before each show. I got to speak with him for about 5 to 10 minutes about his time in The Monkees and some of his solo projects. The embeded video is at the end of that conversation (where you can see us posing for the picture included at the top of the post).
All of this took place at the City Winery in Chicago, IL. I'm not a wine drinker, but it is a great place to hold a show. It's an intimate venue where you can enjoy dinner, drinks, and a show. I never found the people receiving service distracting from the show at all. Again, I'm not a wine drinker, but I really enjoyed it for the concert.
Photo Sharing Site
http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/s4christy/library/Rubbing%20Elbows%20With%20Celebrities
I created this album on Photobucket mainly because I just got back from Motor City Comic Con, and because our assignment was to create a photo sharing page, I thought it would be fun to share some of the people I met. I also included my pictures with The Monkees, since I've mentioned meeting them in my introduction for this class.
I created this album on Photobucket mainly because I just got back from Motor City Comic Con, and because our assignment was to create a photo sharing page, I thought it would be fun to share some of the people I met. I also included my pictures with The Monkees, since I've mentioned meeting them in my introduction for this class.
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Week 2: RSS, Wiki, and Dale's Cone
Despite being on the internet for many years, and taking part in various social media, I have never had a blog before. It's not that I don't like to write, I love it. As a matter of fact, I occasionally "blogged' on my Facebook page when I would have time under the "notes" section. I guess I never saw the use in setting up my own blog. I see it's potential while using it for this class in the classroom. In my particular situation, I have fourth graders that love to share their work, no matter what it is, I could see having my students next year start a blog, update it weekly or bi-weekly, and having them subscribe to Feedly to get updates from their fellow students so that they can read and comment on their blogs.
The nice thing about using Feedly is the convenient location not only for all the blogs, but for pretty much any site I want to get updates for. After adding the blogs from the members in our class, I added a blog I have been really bad about checking lately. It's a blog dedicated to Colgems Records (the subsidiary label that produced The Monkees, one of my all-time favorite bands), just to have something different other than technology related stuff to look through (not that those aren't interesting, mind you). After adding the Colgems blog, I noticed something really cool about Feedly. It posts the latest articles first, with a picture and text preview of the article that you can select and read more about. I see this on other news based sites, it's kind of cool to have one of your own! Once I subscribed to all my classmates blogs, I can see their posts as they come. As I mentioned above, I would like to get my fourth graders involved in blogging next year when they get Chromebooks. A Feedly account would be a great way to get them involved in reading each other's work, with having one handy location to access that information.
After doing the wiki project, I can see great benefit to doing a project with it. In fact, it's given me an idea for something I can use for the final project at the end of the year. My students do a lot of collaborative work in my classroom, particularly for Science and Social Studies. Our Social Studies curriculum has our students investigating many different concepts, often times using the internet as a resource. For example, I could take a concept we just covered, the Circular Flow of a Market Economy, and have a group of students expand on each section of the circular flow. Each section could be a page on a Wiki, with hyperlinks for each section interwoven through the page. Each student would be able to edit the pages if they see an inaccuracy or the need for expansion on the topic. They could also work with the other groups to make sure their links get included on the project. It would be a great way to get groups working together, and have the entire class contribute to one project.
Dale's Cone is a representation of the movement in learning from the concrete to the abstract, from, as Dale puts is, "direct purposeful experiences" to "verbal symbols." Recalling the first time I heard of Dale's Cone of Experience in my Human Development class years ago, learners "move" down through the cone as the develop cognitively, learning through various audio-visual experiences that grow more abstract. Inherently, I would believe blogging (combined with RSS and Wiki) would cater to the more abstract portion of the cone. Since most of it is text based, it would be hard for more concrete learners to pick up on some of the verbal symbols that are used. However, more an more is changing as technology develops. I heard of a program the other day from a colleague called "SnapChat," and while not technically a blog, it uses pictures to tell of experiences. This could be used to help the most concrete of learners pick up on some of the more abstract cues learned from visual mediums. Many people have a "vlog" (video log), or a podcast, which could cover the upper parts of the cone.
Siegel's article, "Falling Asleep at Your Keyboard, The Case for Computer Imagination" discusses the need to not just incorporate technology into the classroom, but to use it foster creativity with our students. I can definitely see how blogs could contribute to "computer imagination." Yes, you can write what could be a blog entry on a sheet of paper with a pencil, but that's where the interactivity stops. By using a blog (along with an RSS service like Feedly), the student can not only open up their own musings to a larger-scale audience (though, with fourth grade, I would limit it to those students in our classroom), but the student can also provide feedback for other students' work. One practical use I could see for a blog in the classroom would be a classroom newsletter, where there is one blog, yet multiple students could contribute content to it (i.e. articles about what we are learning in the different subject areas). One area my students could use more help with is peer editing. The use of blogs (with an RSS feed that the students could have a subscription to other people's work) would enable the students to provide some more in-depth dialogue via the comments section (which the instructor would check the comments for positive critique), rather than saying "it's good" and moving on.
The nice thing about using Feedly is the convenient location not only for all the blogs, but for pretty much any site I want to get updates for. After adding the blogs from the members in our class, I added a blog I have been really bad about checking lately. It's a blog dedicated to Colgems Records (the subsidiary label that produced The Monkees, one of my all-time favorite bands), just to have something different other than technology related stuff to look through (not that those aren't interesting, mind you). After adding the Colgems blog, I noticed something really cool about Feedly. It posts the latest articles first, with a picture and text preview of the article that you can select and read more about. I see this on other news based sites, it's kind of cool to have one of your own! Once I subscribed to all my classmates blogs, I can see their posts as they come. As I mentioned above, I would like to get my fourth graders involved in blogging next year when they get Chromebooks. A Feedly account would be a great way to get them involved in reading each other's work, with having one handy location to access that information.
After doing the wiki project, I can see great benefit to doing a project with it. In fact, it's given me an idea for something I can use for the final project at the end of the year. My students do a lot of collaborative work in my classroom, particularly for Science and Social Studies. Our Social Studies curriculum has our students investigating many different concepts, often times using the internet as a resource. For example, I could take a concept we just covered, the Circular Flow of a Market Economy, and have a group of students expand on each section of the circular flow. Each section could be a page on a Wiki, with hyperlinks for each section interwoven through the page. Each student would be able to edit the pages if they see an inaccuracy or the need for expansion on the topic. They could also work with the other groups to make sure their links get included on the project. It would be a great way to get groups working together, and have the entire class contribute to one project.
Dale's Cone is a representation of the movement in learning from the concrete to the abstract, from, as Dale puts is, "direct purposeful experiences" to "verbal symbols." Recalling the first time I heard of Dale's Cone of Experience in my Human Development class years ago, learners "move" down through the cone as the develop cognitively, learning through various audio-visual experiences that grow more abstract. Inherently, I would believe blogging (combined with RSS and Wiki) would cater to the more abstract portion of the cone. Since most of it is text based, it would be hard for more concrete learners to pick up on some of the verbal symbols that are used. However, more an more is changing as technology develops. I heard of a program the other day from a colleague called "SnapChat," and while not technically a blog, it uses pictures to tell of experiences. This could be used to help the most concrete of learners pick up on some of the more abstract cues learned from visual mediums. Many people have a "vlog" (video log), or a podcast, which could cover the upper parts of the cone.
Siegel's article, "Falling Asleep at Your Keyboard, The Case for Computer Imagination" discusses the need to not just incorporate technology into the classroom, but to use it foster creativity with our students. I can definitely see how blogs could contribute to "computer imagination." Yes, you can write what could be a blog entry on a sheet of paper with a pencil, but that's where the interactivity stops. By using a blog (along with an RSS service like Feedly), the student can not only open up their own musings to a larger-scale audience (though, with fourth grade, I would limit it to those students in our classroom), but the student can also provide feedback for other students' work. One practical use I could see for a blog in the classroom would be a classroom newsletter, where there is one blog, yet multiple students could contribute content to it (i.e. articles about what we are learning in the different subject areas). One area my students could use more help with is peer editing. The use of blogs (with an RSS feed that the students could have a subscription to other people's work) would enable the students to provide some more in-depth dialogue via the comments section (which the instructor would check the comments for positive critique), rather than saying "it's good" and moving on.
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Wednesday, May 7, 2014
Week 1: Reigeluth, Joseph, and Postman
Technology has always been a double-edged sword thing for me. It has both excited me and intimidated me at the same time. I always remember as a kid being overtaken with fascination when I first laid eyes on a Nintendo Entertainment System (and for that matter, the Apple IIe that our Kindergarten class had) for the first time. I also remember my first contact with the Internet, and how having virtually all the information in the world accessible at all times blew my mind. Or even now, looking at my cell phone that has seemingly unlimited capabilities, it's very thrilling to see how technology has developed in my 30 years here on Earth.
As I grow older, and now being in a classroom for my first year, I have to admit I have a little uneasiness. Things change at a pace that appears to be approaching light speed. Once you get used to one way of doing things, it's going to be totally different in a few years. It might be a better, more efficient way in accomplishing the same goal, but it's another learning curve. I think, on the whole, increased technology can only help my state of affairs in the classroom.
I found both articles interesting, since they both highlight my enthusiasm and reservations on utilizing technology in my own classroom. The Reigeluth/Joseph article was particularly interesting when it mentioned the need to shift for a more standards-based assessment method for schools to adopt. I know most schools are moving this direction with the implementation of Common Core. Our district has been working the entire year creating Common Core-aligned standards-based report cards and rubrics to roll out for the 2014-2015 school year. The example given in the article of a student getting a B- in history not being an illustration of what the student knows is dialogue that we as a district have been having all year. Another interesting point the article makes on page 3 is that electronic performance support systems will be easier to enhance learning once the hardware becomes less expensive. This sort of dates the article a bit, since many of these powerful devices have become less expensive and feasible to have 1:1 ratio of students to technology in the classroom.
The Postman article illustrates a view I have held regarding technology, though I have an addendum to what he says. He seems worried that technology will replace one of the primary jobs of the school, assisting parents in building good citizens. I will say that this, as well as using technology as a crutch for bad teaching, could lead to this. The thing is, good teachers will always be good teachers whether technology is in the classroom or not. I've always said that if you can't do it with a piece of chalk in your hand and a chalkboard, you have no business being a teacher. If a teacher uses technology to enhance learning and build skills more efficiently, only good can come from it.
Our district is getting Google Chromebooks next year for the fourth grade. It is my hope that I can see some of the benefits imagined by people like Reigeluth and Joseph that technology can bring to a standards-based curriculum.
-Scott
As I grow older, and now being in a classroom for my first year, I have to admit I have a little uneasiness. Things change at a pace that appears to be approaching light speed. Once you get used to one way of doing things, it's going to be totally different in a few years. It might be a better, more efficient way in accomplishing the same goal, but it's another learning curve. I think, on the whole, increased technology can only help my state of affairs in the classroom.
I found both articles interesting, since they both highlight my enthusiasm and reservations on utilizing technology in my own classroom. The Reigeluth/Joseph article was particularly interesting when it mentioned the need to shift for a more standards-based assessment method for schools to adopt. I know most schools are moving this direction with the implementation of Common Core. Our district has been working the entire year creating Common Core-aligned standards-based report cards and rubrics to roll out for the 2014-2015 school year. The example given in the article of a student getting a B- in history not being an illustration of what the student knows is dialogue that we as a district have been having all year. Another interesting point the article makes on page 3 is that electronic performance support systems will be easier to enhance learning once the hardware becomes less expensive. This sort of dates the article a bit, since many of these powerful devices have become less expensive and feasible to have 1:1 ratio of students to technology in the classroom.
The Postman article illustrates a view I have held regarding technology, though I have an addendum to what he says. He seems worried that technology will replace one of the primary jobs of the school, assisting parents in building good citizens. I will say that this, as well as using technology as a crutch for bad teaching, could lead to this. The thing is, good teachers will always be good teachers whether technology is in the classroom or not. I've always said that if you can't do it with a piece of chalk in your hand and a chalkboard, you have no business being a teacher. If a teacher uses technology to enhance learning and build skills more efficiently, only good can come from it.
Our district is getting Google Chromebooks next year for the fourth grade. It is my hope that I can see some of the benefits imagined by people like Reigeluth and Joseph that technology can bring to a standards-based curriculum.
-Scott
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