This semester in EME2040 we learned many things about how teachers can use technology to enhance classroom material. One of the biggest challenges of this class was successfully collaborating on a group assignment, online. This project really showed that technology allows for greater teamwork on group assignments. This class also connected me to many online sources for teaching material. My favorite of these sites was Edutopia. Edutopia was able to connect me to material that I can use in the classroom as well as in this class. As I am a visual learner and learn best by ready or watching videos, Edutopia was a great place to find articles on the subjects we learned about. I also found a great youtube channel I would like to share as I plan to use it for future classroom lessons. You can find one of their many video below.
After some reflection, the only part I believe I would alter about the class is the discussion post. While I understand the point of the discussion post I feel as though they were almost no different from the blog post, other then having other students comment on them. I greatly enjoyed the book. I believe it covered technology for education almost completely. However, I would have liked to see a larger section on how to not go overboard with technology. A section that would include how much after school communication you should and things like at what point should pull back on the technology and communication. I also feel as though all of the learning outcomes were met.
Thank you for a great semester!
References:
Edutopia. (n.d.). Retrieved May 03, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/
F. (2016). Fun Cartoon on Dr.Martin Luther King Jr for Kids! Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Bio: Black History Month. Retrieved May 03, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALQeX7IFBcg
The first thing I would like to reflect on is the use of the website EDUCAUSE as a technology trend tracker. First I noticed that the book describes EDUCAUSE as a website just for teachers to find usable technology for the classroom. EDUCAUSE is mostly a website designed to "advance higher education through the use of information technology. This means the website is designed for those interested in IT, and it just happens to have a sections for teachers. That being said, the teaching section of EDUCAUSE is invaluable. IT covers everything from technology ideas to scholarships for you and for students, to even helping you find a job. No matter what you are looking for EDUCAUSE has found a way to make that bot educational and technological. I would highly recommend the website.
The second thing I would like to reflect on is the idea that adding technology to schools does not automatically increase improve learning for students. This is an important topic to me as my high school was constantly adding new technology, but nearly all of it was useless. This was because none of the teachers had been taught how to use the technology. If teachers are going to be expected to use the technology they are given then there will need to be some form of professional development for that technology. Technology advances at an incredible rate and if difficult for any one to stay on top of. Now, I also have to say that teachers should at least attempt to learn how to use some of the technology on there own, perhaps over the summer months.
The last subject I would like to reflect on is using the technology you have. Many schools can not afford for every teacher to have the latest and greatest form of technology at all times. In fact many schools only update their technology every few years. One mark of a great 21st century teacher (in my opinion) is the ability to integrate technology, when you have very little of it. I found an article from Edutopia, that outlines a few different ways teachers can use limited technology and even ways you can get a little extra technology funds going. My favorite was the use of kid blogging websites. The websites require the teachers approval before anything is posted and all work can be saved so the students can work on them anywhere from once a week to every day. With only the internet, there are thousands of different ways a teacher can easily incorporate technology into the classroom. To view the article click here.
Resources:
EDUCAUSE Homepage | EDUCAUSE.edu. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.educause.edu/
Hertz, M. (2010, August 11). Integrating Technology with Limited Resources. Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/free-tech-integration-resources
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
WordClouds. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2016, from http://www.wordclouds.com/
The first topic I would like to reflect on is multimedia technology. While their is no replacement for a teacher or lectures, multimedia technology allows for a higher amount of learning. More and more teachers are understanding that each student has his/her own way of learning. With this comes the need to teach to those learning styles, yet not hinder one student or another. Multimedia technology is an excellent solution to that as it allows the use of all or most learning styles at one time. Furthermore, many people believe that students learn more when multiple learning styles are used. Multimedia is also beneficial in that area.
The second thing I would like to reflect on is pausing and rewinding videos. The book says that teachers should frequently pause and rewind parts of a video to promote a better understanding of the information. Personally, my knowlage of a subject has never been enhanced by a teacher pausing, reflecting on, or repeating part of a video while we are watching. In some cases it is beneficial for the teacher to replay certain parts of the movie after watching it all the way through once. While the book says pausing/rewinding the video increases the understanding of the subject, I, and nearly everyone I went to school with both in high school and college, find it much more disruptive if the teacher is interrupting the video. If the video is simply allowed to play students are watching the video, and, while they might not quite catch every piece of information, they are able to understand what is going on and are following the movie. If the video is being paused, students are no longer focused on the video and in many cases will forget what exactly was happening just before it was paused, resulting in confusion, causing them to miss more information. This is even more common in videos that the teacher is rewinding. Below you can see a video of what pausing a video is like for students.
The third and last thing I would like to reflect on is the idea of student made video. Student made videos are a great way to inspire creativity as well as learning. In order for the students to accurately present information in their film they must have a great understanding of the subject. The creative side of videos allows the students to see and show how many ways the information can either be presented or represented. Student films also cross over with other subjects such as technology and the arts in older grades were students can learn how to edit their videos through video editing software. You can view a list of video editing software here.
Works Cited:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Paxton, S. (2016, April 03). Paused Videos. Retrieved April 03, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ckqSZczDvNM
Top 15 Best Video Editing Software in 2015 (Free and Paid). (2015). Retrieved April 03, 2016, from http://beebom.com/2015/02/best-video-editing-software
Through out Chapter 8 I found several examples of why both synchronous (instant) and asynchronous (with a time delay) are effective for teachers to use both in school and out of school. Mostly out of school. The beginning of the chapter talks heavily about the benefits of constant and instant communication between teachers and students. While I agree that it is important to provide a way for students to ask questions while working on homework or projects, I have yet to see anything about the negative side of constant contact. Even after an extensive internet search very few people are talking about the negative side of constant communication. Finally, I was able to find an article in which psychologist claim that constant communication with your workplace after hours can be toxic to your health. The psychologist also found that anxiety, both in and out of the workplace can be greatly reduced by only checking email/text communication at specific times outside of work. I believe this study could go both ways in education. While teachers become stressed over constant emails from both co-workers and students, students could get over whelmed by constant teacher contact. So, even though technology is a great teaching resource, I think we could all be more aware of the potential negatives of communication. If you would like to read the study it can be found here.
For my second reflection I would like to reflect on how technology can be used to assist language diverse students. I believe that one of the best uses of technology in the classroom is to help students that may have a language barrier. While the technology is not always flawless, there are now many apps and websites that can translate written or spoken words into any language. Before, many language diverse students struggled if placed directly into a classroom or suffered socially if taught individually with a translator. Now all students can participate in the classroom. But technology assistance for these students doesn't have to stop at a translator app. Nearly all computers and internet programs can be translated into another language so all students can participate in computer-based learning and research. Below I have posted a video about how to change the language settings on Windows 8.
I would also like to reflect on the section about differentiated instruction. Differentiated instruction is an instructional approach where teachers use different experiences to meet the needs of individual students. I love the examples the book gives about giving students different options to use when learning. I remember being in high school and my teachers not understanding that I had a different learning style then most of the other student and how frustrating it can be for the student. Sadly, many teachers still do not take learning styles into account. I feel like it is the teachers job to help the students succeed in every way possible. As a teacher I would love to be able to give my students different ways to learn the information and with the help of technology, there are now thousands of options available for the different learning styles.
References:
Clarke-Billings, L. (2016, January 2). Psychologists warn constant email notifications are 'toxic source of stress' The Telegraph. Retrieved March 3, 2016, from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/health/news/12078182/Psychologists-warn-constant-email-notifications-are-toxic-source-of-stress.html
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Paxton, S. (2016, March 3). Differentiated Learning. Retrieved March 03, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebG4rfptWL0
The first topic I would like to reflect on is Simulation Games. I personally believe that simulation games are one of the best uses of technology in the classroom. Simulation games can be used in a variety of different ways. One of my favorite uses for simulation games is in history. There are many games currently available that allow players to explore history either the way it happened or by changing elements to see different possible outcomes. These games make subjects that students often find boring and unrelatable fun and interesting. The down side to simulation games, mainly in history, is that they are not entirely accurate and students must be taught to see the difference between the game and what actually happened.
The second topic I would like to reflect on is the topic of conducting effective searching with students. More often then not high school and college students use google to look for educational information and will only use the top five websites they see. Students are very rarely taught how to evaluate the website for quality. After reflecting on this I determined that students are not taught how to evaluate websites because of a lack of communication among teachers. Elementary teachers say kids are too young while middle school teachers say it is the technology teachers job while the technology teacher says it is the english teachers job and by high school they're already expected to know how to do it. However, in all of this arguing, no one is actually teaching students how to evaluate websites. The truth is, all teachers should stress this subject in all grades, even in college.
The third topic I would like to reflect on is the use of Search Education. When I first read about the website in the book I believed it was a part of google used to assist teachers with find lesson plans and activities for all subjects. I checked out the website and found that instead of having all subjects, Search Education provided education on how to teach students to search the internet properly. Search Education has the possibility to be one of the best teaching resources I have come across. With Search Education you can select the specific area and level you are looking for and google will provide you with a great lesson plan for it. Search Education also offers daily challenges for students and even has lessons for teachers so that all teachers can master internet searches before teacher their students.
References:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Paxton, S. (2016, February 21). Simulation Games. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjKWRU7ww8A
Search Education – Google. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2016, from http://www.google.com/intl/enus/insidesearch/searcheducation/index.html
One of the concepts in the textbook that I found exciting was the Connecting Possibilities example of High Tech High. High Tech High is a group of charter schools originating in San Diego, California. High Tech High incorporates project-based learning with modern technology and real world experiences. High Tech High has three major categories of learning: Personalization, Adult World Connection, Common Intellectual Mission. Personalization gives every student an advisor who helps with long term goals and allows students to begin their digital portfolio. Adult World Connection places each student with an adult in the community to follow and requires each student to complete semester-long internships. Common Intellectual Mission means that they do not use tracking or higher placement, all children are on the same level.
While I loved the idea of the school, I disagreed with some of the policies. Of the three policies I most agree with the Adult World Connection. I believe it is crucial that students learn how to interact with the world around them as adults before they graduate. As students enter college they are repeatedly told by just about everyone that "You are an adult now, act like it". But no one ever teaches us how to be an adult. We are expected to find a job, but are not given information on how to find one or any experience to help us get hired. I love that the Adult World Connection satisfies many of those issues. Through internships students are given experiences that will allow them to find jobs, as well as improve their chances of college acceptance and teaches them how to behave professionally. By following an adult member of the community students can learn how to behave as an adult, which may be one of the best things a student can learn.
The second concept I reflected on was the learning groups from the instructional methods section. The book briefly explains that learning groups work together to work out and solve problems. I wanted to learn more about group learning so I found an article from Edutopia.org about Teaching Kids the Benefits of Working Together. From the article I learned that being able to work in a team was once an undervalued skill that is now considered an essential in almost all workplaces. While it is great to teach students a skill they will need in the workplace I also found out that there are many benefits to teaching students in small (or large) groups. These benefits include: Responsibility, Social Awareness, Self Management, and Self Awareness. While group learning can be difficult to facilitate, students see an increase in academic ability. This video about The College Preparatory School can help you determine if group learning is best for your class.
The last concept I would like to reflect on is Digital Citizenship. The textbook talks about the importance in developing a students sense of safety and responsibility online. The book also defines Digital Citizenship as what everyone part of the digital community must know to use technology effectively and appropriately. While I believe that is a wonderful practice I also believe now is the time to reform the way digital citizenship is taught. After reading countless articles about how to teach digital citizenship I found that the most common method is to have children play silly games that explain the importance of safety and dull posters telling students not to be mean online. However, all that teachers appear to be doing is telling students what not to do, not actually teaching them. One can tell a child the right and wrong way to do something all day long, but until the student has practiced the lesson, they will not fully understand. Through projects such as online discussions or even blog and social media post based assignments students can fully practice the elements of true Digital Citizenship.
Resources:
Collaborative Learning Builds Deeper Understanding. (2012, December 5). Retrieved February 05, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWEwv_qobpU
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. Munro, S., & O'Brien, M. (2006, October 19). Common Ground: Teaching Kids the Benefits Of Working Together. Retrieved February 03, 2016, from http://www.edutopia.org/common-ground Paxton, S (2016, February 2) High Tech High. Created with Toondoo http://www.toondoo.com/View.toon?param=9691452
The first concept I would like to discuss from the textbook, Transforming Learning With New Technologies, is the claim that technology simplifies the teachers job of creating learning materials. In the book it says "No longer are teachers obligated to spend hours searching for teaching materials." Upon first reading this statement I agreed that technology makes finding teaching materials much easier, however, as I continued to reflect on the subject I found that I was dissatisfied with the statement. The Internet allows for teachers to quickly search for lesson plans and can indeed be a quick and easy process. While it is acceptable to use these lesson plan ideas, teachers have a duty to ensure that each lesson plan is the best possible for their particular group of students. While a teacher may get lucky and find the perfect lesson plan on the first try, planning out and preparing to teach a lesson to a class still takes a significant amount of time. Therefore, I would not say that preparing lessons for a class takes less time, but instead say, the Internet opens up teachers to many ideas and suggestions they may not have come up with on their own.
A major topic discussed in the first chapter of the textbook is how technology affects students in and out of school. After reading about all of the way students can learn from technology in textbook I felt like one important thing was missing from the list. Increase in visual skills. This includes hand-eye coordination, awareness of surrounding, and reaction time. Previously these skills were only enhanced through gym classes or after school sports. According a study, children who regularly use technology to play games are able to process visual information quicker and are able to track thirty percent more objects at one time. This means that students who play compute games are more likely to see things such as a child running toward the street or a someone about to fall from a latter before they hit the ground. The video below is an experiment done by a fourth grade as a science project. It shows that children who play video games have better hand-eye coordination then adults who have not played video games.
The final topic that I wish to reflect on is the part of the 21st century literacies definition that discusses the need for students to be able to solve problems collaboratively. I strongly believe that the ability to work as a group is one of the most important things that can be taught to a child and is going to be increasingly important in the coming years. I personally have always chosen to work alone over working in a group, however, I that is because I believe that most people have not been taught to work in a group, and do not know how to do so properly. Recently, colleges have begun to shift from individualized learning to group learning. This means that students are broken into small groups in order to complete most assignments. These colleges have found that students who work in groups are more engaged and more likely to learn and retain information. You can learn more about group learning as well as find way to apply it to your own classes here.
Sources:
Callejon, Shubham [niloymalini]. (2016, January 16) Ninjump - Playing video games increases hand and eye coordination - Experiment by a 4th grader [Video File] Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UJa46HGlFQ
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc
Roach, J. (n.d.). Video Games Boost Visual Skills, Study Finds. Retrieved May 28, 2003, from http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/05/0528_030528_videogames.html
