Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Response to Bauerlein
Bauerlein's final paragraph asserts that we may have sacrificed imagination and reflection on the altar of technology. He has presented solid data that highlights the inadequacy of the current education system. In fact, a Zogby Poll International conducted for Princeton National Association of Scholars conducted in 2002, presents some damaging evidence that students graduating college in 2002 were about as knowledgeable as students who graduated high school in the 1950s.
My disagreement with the author is that he seems to be blaming technology, when technology is simply a tool being used by us. I think the sacrificial alter is really constructed with our love of relevancy and immediacy. Depth is sacrificed for fun and ease because students will respond "better" to those. We need to understand that "no pain-no gain" applies to academics as well as athletics.
Tuesday, July 30, 2013
Technology in the classroom
I have looked at the question several times: how could we rethink our K-12 curriculum for the 21st century, symbiotically combining human strengths with the most powerful technology strengths? I decided to peruse some research. While most agree that technology can enhance the learning experience, research describes barriers to the use that have to be recognized. Some barriers we have discussed include limited resources, including limited IT support and limited teacher training.
While I think that Prensky is advocating a shift that would not be altogether beneficial (e.g. the devaluation of grammar, the censorship of history, and the seeming disregard for deep textual exploration), using technology as the tool it is does enhance learning. However, to drive his car analogy a step further, the car became ubiquitous when it became dependable and easy to use. Prior to that, many did keep a spare horse. The real question to me is where the technology is in the product life cycle. Even in our classroom, we have experienced problems. I love the blog we are doing and really enjoyed the video, but until I feel that I won't have one problem after another, I am cautious about depending upon the technology component.
Training and support are so critical in overcoming teacher resistance, especially experienced teachers. If training and IT support are provided, I think most would be delighted to engage students more effectively, respond more individually, and allow for more creativity. It just has to work.
Ertmer, P. A., Addison, P., Lane, M., Ross, E., & Woods, D. (1999). Examining teachers' beliefs about the role of technology in the elementary classroom. Journal Of Research On Computing In Education, 32(1), 54.
e, E. M., Trathen, W., & Koppenhaver, D. A. (2010). Internet Workshop and Blog Publishing: Meeting Student (and Teacher) Learning Needs to Achieve Best Practice in the Twenty-First-Century Social Studies Classroom. Social Studies, 101(2), 46-53. doi:10.1080/00377990903284070
Web Site List for Teachers
For teacher resources, student resources, and interactive learning
Elementary
Poetry
This website is run by Children’s Poet Laureate, Kenn Nesbit. In addition to linking to many funny poems, the site provides a rhyming dictionary, instructions for writing many different types of poems, games, and links to other sites, podcasts of the author reading poetry, and a discussion forum. A few of the links, such as the poetry forum, were inactive now, but that may be due to the time of year. Because it focuses on humor and a systematic approach to writing poetry, the site should prove invaluable in demystifying the writing experience.
FRCC
Teacher resources, student resources
K-5
All components of reading
Research and resources regarding reading instruction including student activities designed for grade K through 5 and covering everything from phonological awareness through comprehension. Objectives included with graphic organizers, correlated with the CCSS.
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html
Teacher and student resources
High School and beyond
ELA
The best visuals of diagramming; it leads students from simple to compound/complex sentences. Also literary terms, rhetoric, and composition.
fodey
http://www.fodey.com/generators/animated
Student and teacher resources
Elementary through middle school
Create animated text that ranges from a newspaper to ninja and talking flowers. Students get immediate feedback as the text is embedded in the graphics.
SpellingCity
http://www.spellingcity.com/
ELA
Teachers and students.
Elementary, Middle, and High School games, lists, and classroom management
tools. Post notices, work with parts of speech, root words, spelling and
vocabulary, and manage student progress.
Build Your Wild Self
http://www.buildyourwildself.
General
Elementary
Teacher and Student Resources
Allows user to build himself into an animal/human hybird. The pictures
are easy, humorous, and could work for ice breakers at the beginning of
the year or as story starters or ways to illustrate work. The site provides information about the individual animals.
Readwritethink
Teacher resources, lesson plans, student interactives
K-12
Reading, writing
Reading, writing
Resources for teaching all components of reading, genres, and metacognition to name a few elements. Themes range from community to sports in fiction and non-fiction. Student resources include graphic organizers, research tools, writing aids, and language games. Lessons are organized into units, minilessons, and recurring lessons. Mobile apps are available along with printouts.
ELA. History, Arts, Civics
EDSITEment
K-12
Lesson plans, student resources
ELA. History, Arts, Civics
For ELA, lesson plans for texts such as The Grapes of Wrath, A Wrinkle in Time, and poetry. The site also covers history, the arts, civics, and foreign languages. The plans are comprehensive and include assessments. Student resources will guide the student through complex texts.
Quizlet
Student resources, teacher resources
1-12
Multiple Disciplines
Multiple Disciplines
An easy way to create quizzes or to use pre-made quizzes to study almost anything. Flashcards, word matches, interactive games can be made to study any topic. Thousands of topics are available.
Dr. Wheeler's Website
The Teaching Channel
Teacher resources and lesson plans
K-12
Multiple Disciplines
Free registration, the site has videos, organizer helps, blogs, lesson plans for every grade in every major subject area.
Dr. Wheeler's Website
http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/index.html
Teacher and student resources
High School and beyond
ELA
The best visuals of diagramming; it leads students from simple to compound/complex sentences. Also literary terms, rhetoric, and composition.
fodey
http://www.fodey.com/generators/animated
Student and teacher resources
Elementary through middle school
Create animated text that ranges from a newspaper to ninja and talking flowers. Students get immediate feedback as the text is embedded in the graphics.
SpellingCity
http://www.spellingcity.com/
ELA
Teachers and students.
Elementary, Middle, and High School games, lists, and classroom management
tools. Post notices, work with parts of speech, root words, spelling and
vocabulary, and manage student progress.
Build Your Wild Self
http://www.buildyourwildself.
General
Elementary
Teacher and Student Resources
Allows user to build himself into an animal/human hybird. The pictures
are easy, humorous, and could work for ice breakers at the beginning of
the year or as story starters or ways to illustrate work. The site provides information about the individual animals.
Monday, July 29, 2013
Technology Autobiography
It's All about Perspective
When I tell people that I remember telephone party lines, most smile in a confused way. Was that some mass way of gathering friends, a game played at a celebration, or a communal line that allowed you to listen in on your neighbors and they you? Drum roll...the latter. At the same time, the telephone number prefixes were actually letters. I was just wondering how many I remember: Bigelow and Lasalle were two. Needless to say, there were no area codes, no zip codes either.
All this speaks to the fact that the changes I've seen in technology are vast and, at times, overwhelming. When the first Macintosh computer managed to squirrel its way into my home, I was beyond resistant. I could not see any reason for it. In marketing, I would have been known as a laggard, a late adopter to be sure.
Fast forward years, the children are grown; innovation has intruded into my life whether I embraced it or not. During the teenage years, it was so hard to stay one step ahead in the myspace world. Every time I turned around, the world seemed to be inventing a new way for my children to subvert my authority! (Rebellion was so much more open in the sixties and seventies!)
In business, the corporations provided all the program specific training necessary to accomplish whatever task was needed. The company would acquire some specialized software and provide all the training necessary for the worker bees to make it money. That was never much of a challenge.
Then I got the brilliant idea that the Lord was calling me to teach, to leave a rewarding job with a solid income and take a vow of poverty to teach in a Christian school. That was nine years ago.
I love teaching; I love the students, the work, the efforts, the time, the people, and in my new job as principal of Good Shepherd Christian Academy, I am the technology leader! WHAT?
That is what I mean by perspective. In my previous incarnations, I have been the laggard, the reluctant learner, the one who barely tolerates the tech. Then I joined an organization in which many were refusing to use e-mail. I was seen as the upstart trying to push these new-fangled ways on everyone! The irony!
I have found that the Lord has allowed me to learn that lesson many times in my life. The things I have fought against, criticized, at times demonized, He seems to put in my life in some other way and tells me to reconsider, review, and reflect.
Now, I am arranging training on google docs to improve our record keeping and lesson planning. I am teaching others how to use the projector and bring in PowerPoint and YouTube videos in the classroom. And, perhaps. you can guess how much resistance I have run into. It is the ultimate irony that I would be in the position of forcing people to try to keep up with the times. But I am deeply grateful to my Christian, brilliant, patient friends who are willing to train me and prepare me to teach others. Finally, just wait until I complete this course; there will be a mutiny in Duxbury!
When I tell people that I remember telephone party lines, most smile in a confused way. Was that some mass way of gathering friends, a game played at a celebration, or a communal line that allowed you to listen in on your neighbors and they you? Drum roll...the latter. At the same time, the telephone number prefixes were actually letters. I was just wondering how many I remember: Bigelow and Lasalle were two. Needless to say, there were no area codes, no zip codes either.All this speaks to the fact that the changes I've seen in technology are vast and, at times, overwhelming. When the first Macintosh computer managed to squirrel its way into my home, I was beyond resistant. I could not see any reason for it. In marketing, I would have been known as a laggard, a late adopter to be sure.
Fast forward years, the children are grown; innovation has intruded into my life whether I embraced it or not. During the teenage years, it was so hard to stay one step ahead in the myspace world. Every time I turned around, the world seemed to be inventing a new way for my children to subvert my authority! (Rebellion was so much more open in the sixties and seventies!)In business, the corporations provided all the program specific training necessary to accomplish whatever task was needed. The company would acquire some specialized software and provide all the training necessary for the worker bees to make it money. That was never much of a challenge.
Then I got the brilliant idea that the Lord was calling me to teach, to leave a rewarding job with a solid income and take a vow of poverty to teach in a Christian school. That was nine years ago.
I love teaching; I love the students, the work, the efforts, the time, the people, and in my new job as principal of Good Shepherd Christian Academy, I am the technology leader! WHAT?
That is what I mean by perspective. In my previous incarnations, I have been the laggard, the reluctant learner, the one who barely tolerates the tech. Then I joined an organization in which many were refusing to use e-mail. I was seen as the upstart trying to push these new-fangled ways on everyone! The irony!
I have found that the Lord has allowed me to learn that lesson many times in my life. The things I have fought against, criticized, at times demonized, He seems to put in my life in some other way and tells me to reconsider, review, and reflect.
Now, I am arranging training on google docs to improve our record keeping and lesson planning. I am teaching others how to use the projector and bring in PowerPoint and YouTube videos in the classroom. And, perhaps. you can guess how much resistance I have run into. It is the ultimate irony that I would be in the position of forcing people to try to keep up with the times. But I am deeply grateful to my Christian, brilliant, patient friends who are willing to train me and prepare me to teach others. Finally, just wait until I complete this course; there will be a mutiny in Duxbury!
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