Chapter 9

This chapter brings up several ideas relating to how we can improve our schools with “new schools.” I want to point out two things that made me nod my head to its truth.

Chapter 9 states that if companies like Amazon and eBay can come up with useful software that “anyone” can use, why can’t an “education company”? I think the reason why schools, and education in general, are having trouble catching up with the technological times is because we are so large. It takes time, as we know, for ideas to make their way around the country to each school district, then to the administration of each school, to the teachers, and then we must invoke inspiration so these teachers actually use them. This may also explain why, for some reason, education has not come very far for the time it has been around.

There are short stories in this chapter (highlighted in gray), called “web 2.0 wisdom” that are written by outside authors. The one I became interested in was “Learning from Games” by David Warlick because so many students LOVE video games. How are we supposed to compete with that? Well, we don’t have to! Warlick suggests evaluating the experience of gamin rather than the graphics and sound. What do video games offer students (and adults)? They offer rewards that are valuable to the player (levels rather than grades); players invest so much time and energy that they feel compelled to keep going (I know I can beat this game!); Individuality! Players can often times pick out their character and other things, and this is important to children; and the game is dependable in that it will always be there, and the answer or solution is somewhere in the game.

This is an awesome new perspective on integrating learning with gaming. I had never thought of it this way, and I am now inspired to think of some cool games to get my students as close to their fun video games as I can. There are so many options…

New VA law for internet safety

This is so cool! Finally we are being proactive about a preventable problem. It’s nice that schools have a filtering system to avoid obscene material from reaching our students, but what about at home? At the library? At a friend’s house? We need to teach our children what dangers are out there, what to do when they do come across inappropriate material, and how to handle all those situations we try to protect them from.

 I know that we have learned a lot about internet safety at UMW and how important it is important to share this with your students, but many teachers either do not know about the importance or assume that their students are already in the know. If interent safety is taught, it usually consists of scare tactics rather than responsible decision making.

 As this article points out, a legislation is not as effective as a program. Okay, so now we are required to teach internet safety (without using scare tactics)… Now what? An easy way to teach something is to do it. Give your students theoretical examples of possible situations they may find themselves in, and help them use responsible decision making to resolve it or remove themselves from it. Use real tools as examples. So, don’t ask them, “If you met a stranger online and they wanted your address, what would you do?” Help them relate to it by asking something more like, “If you’re on myspace, what would you do if Jon, a 14 year old boy, asked you for your age?” Help them realize how risky the simplest situations can be.

Chapter 6

This chapter mentions a few interesting facts and ideas. The chapter begins by explaining how teachers are changing; younger teachers with an abundant amount of knowledge about technology are replacing older teachers who have an abundant amount of experience, and both of these skills are needed. I found it interesting that the book mentions that younger teachers are entering the work force because of an experience I had during my last practicum. I was present during a conversation about how experienced teachers are leaving certain counties in exchange for others because some schools are hiring mainly younger teachers. I felt very awkward during this conversation because I am going to be a “younger teacher”, and when I read this chapter, I began to wonder if the threat stems partly from the demand required by technology. Can we make it easier to learn how to use technology?

According to this chapter, our administration is responsible for integrating technology into the school’s zeitgeist. Of course as teachers we can offer suggestions about how to make this change. If our leaders give us a clear purpose as to the direction we are headed, then experienced teachers may not feel as threatened by younger teachers or new technologies. This chapter is excellent for anyone looking to move the direction of education toward a more technological environment.

Chapter 5

This chapter discusses how to promote technology in professional development. During my practicums I did not see technology used as often as I had anticipated. I also learned that during professional development classes, technology was rarely the topic. Chapter 5 offers a few tools that can help ease teachers into using technology more comfortably and more often.

I had never thought about using the same tools that I plan on using to encourage my students, to encourage my colleagues. For example, I have discussed some uses of blogging, and the book talks about using it to “promote teachers’ comfort with and understanding of Web 2.0 tools”. This makes so much sense! Blogging allows teachers to ask questions, share ideas, and experience technology at its finest and arguably easiest. I think teachers who are not comfortable with technology would be able to become a whiz at blogging; that comfort will carry on to other sources, and encourage them to branch out and incorporate new ideas in their classroom.

 For EDCI 509, I wrote a paper about using technology to help young adult literacy. Of course I can’t find my paper now, but I remember a couple studies found that teachers were actually afraid of technology because they were unsure how to use it, and once they were taught, they integrated it into their curriculum as much as they could. If I can find the names of the studies, I’ll add it in here. But, professional development in technology is an important resource many schools are lacking.

Article Reflection

I really liked the article, The New Literacy Crisis: Immigrants Teaching Natives in the Digital Age by Teresa Coffman, Ph.D., Aileen Campbell, Emily Heller, Emily M. Horney, & Lynne P. Slater.

It was neat to read about a lot of things we have already discussed in class. There are so many good points in this article, and I’ll point out a couple that really stood out.

Coffman et al discuss how “digital natives” have different learning preferences, and it makes sense that “digital natives” may not have digital or information literacy because they are used to the fast results given by technology, and are thus achievement driven. In other words “digital natives” are more concerned with the result than the process. As teachers, we need to help them stop and smell the roses or in our case stop and evaluate the information. The article states that in order to help this growing population, we need to “gain a better understanding of the digital natives…define what it means to be digitally literate; and … learn how to most effectively teach the digital natives.”

Since our class has worked so much with digital literacy, I was more curious as to whom these digital natives are. This is where it got interesting! Subgroups are now being identified within the digital native population. These subgroups consist of “power users” and “tweeners”. I think that by understanding who our students are, we can more effectively teach them. Then my thoughts began to wonder…

I am still unsure if I am a digital native or a digital immigrant. I remember in elementary and middle school having to do research in the library and hating it. But during my senior year of high school and beyond I have done sooo much research online. Is there a test you can take to see what you are?

Chapter 4

This chapter discusses not only ways in which technology can be used, but also how it is being used in today’s schools. Several examples of different classroom applications are given, and are very inspiring.

The authors mention using blogs as journals because of the array of opportunities available (e.g. peer editing, sharing of ideas). It never occurred to me to use blogs as a journal; I always thought to use it as an online discussion tool. This is so cool! You could assign your students to keep a reader’s journal where they write down their thoughts, questions, and reflections about each chapter in the novel. This allows them the chance to practice typing, to use correct grammar, spelling, and paragraph form, and it offers easy access for us (the teacher) to respond. If the student chooses, they can also make their journal available to students in other classes to read and reflect on.

This chapter also offers the idea to use blogs as an incentive to a lesson. I loved this idea, and actually use it in my unit lesson plan on poetry! The idea to use blogs as an incentive is a way to introduce an unwelcoming lesson (e.g. poetry) in an exciting light. By giving your students an opportunity to share their feelings about the poems read in class, and allowing them to post their own poems on the class blog lets every student share a part of themselves. I would use this blogging opportunity as a way to communicate with other classes studying poetry, and maybe even classes in other schools. This is where your connections come into play!

I have completed two practicums in two different schools, and see digital literacy handled in two very different ways. The first school I was in did not encourage the use of technology very much, so I would consider it to not be in the forefront of digital leadership. The second school I worked in was very involved in the latest technology, and in making sure that its teachers were trying to get grants that offered these tools to the school. Each school had its own personality, and that personality seemed to influence the faculty and staff in their feelings toward the use of technology, and the practicing of digital literacy.

Chapter 3 Reflection

I loved this chapter because it gave us lists of valuable online tools to integrate into the classroom. A funny thing about the list (to me at least) was that I learned about a lot of them last semester in the intro technology class with Teresa Coffman (at UMW). Though, I always question whether or not an online tool is appropriate to use with elementary aged students. This chapter offered so many different tools available, but I would not feel comfortable using them in class because I do not think my students have developed the maturity level required or they may not be legally allowed (e.g. GoogleDocs requires that students be at least 13 years old to use).

But there are still lots of fish in the sea as far as internet tools go. Here are some examples of new one that I learned about in this chapter. If you incorporate a class video, you can use www.jumpspot.com or www.eyespot.com (the chapter lists a few more) to easily edit the video, add music and visual effects. Videos can relay important information to an audience, and can really inspire students to become more empathetic to others.

Another really cool idea is that of mashups. This is when ideas from two or more sites are mashed together to make a new concept. For example, I love using primary sources in my lessons. By using www.pimpampum.net/bubblr/, you can add bubbles to real pictures. I would use this to help students interpret pictures or other primary sources.

These are just a few examples of the wonderful things you can easily use in your classroom.

Chapter 2

Chapter two explains how different today’s students are in comparison to when we were students. I agree that today’s youth consists of “digital natives” because technology is second nature to this generation, yet we are “digital immigrants” because we are trying to catch up with our students’ familiarity and use of technology.

Why are we so far behind? This chapter suggests that one reason because today’s schools are lagging behind. The Department of Education issued an educational technology plan in 1996 that said access to technology was defined as five students per computer.

 I looked online to see if there was a more recent educational technology plan. The U.S. Department of Education released a revised plan in 2004 which addresses a more drastic change in student/ teacher access to technology in the classroom. I could not find how many students per computer they suggest, but I was hoping to see the goal being one or two students per computer. I know… I’m an optimist! The new plan says, “All students and teachers will have access to information technology in their classrooms, schools, communities and homes.”* 

I think in order for our students to be prepared for today’s world where businesses take advantage of the digital applications offered, they need practice using them.

*http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/os/technology/reports/e-learning.html

Hmmm, Twitter

So I just finished looking at Twitter to figure out how to use it, what to say, what others are saying, etc. I also read several opinion articles and blogs about the uses of Twitter. So far, from a teacher’s perspective, I see the usefulness of this site to be limited. One person said that his school was on Twitter. So if he was having technical difficulties during a class presentation, all he had to do was get onto Twitter, explain his problem, and someone would respond with advice RIGHT AWAY. That’s really convenient!

The other use that I imagined was for group work. If you assign any sort of group project, have your students join Twitter so they can share their progress, questions, links, and ideas.

 I am open to trying new things, but so far I feel a little stalker-ish “following” people… As I continue to use this, I will keep you updated on different educational uses. Do you have any opinions?

Educational Bookmarks

I maintain a social bookmarking site with lots of cool websites for parents and teachers to explore. Take a look at:  http://www.iKeepBookmarks.com/Arianne_Mann.