I think what I like most about the textbook is the reiteration of the idea that “Teachers should choose [software] for the qualities and benefits they bring to the classroom rather than simply because they are available” (p. 140). I think a lot of teachers feel the need to incorporate technology so they come up with a cool project or activity in order to check off the “uses technology in the classroom” box on their evaluation. It’s a lot harder to really utilize technology, to pick the right programs, methods and assignments, so that technology is supporting learning of content. I wish the text included more information on effectively incorporating cell phones into the classroom. As I hear teachers lamenting that students “can’t live without their phones” I wonder if there’s a way we can harness them for good? I’ve seen a few neat uses in classrooms, but not nearly enough, I think.
I feel like I’m pretty familiar with many of the technologies mentioned in chapters 5 and 6, but have realized that I see many of them as being applicable to math/science classrooms much more than to my English class. My district provides Examview and online test generators that come with our textbooks, but the teachers I know who use them are mostly math teachers, it seems. Maybe it’s because I don’t do a lot of multiple choice type tests. I do worry that I’m not using some of these technologies enough; test generators and online test practice might be an efficient and effective way to get my students practice for standardized tests.
I liked a lot of the activity suggestions and examples in these chapters. Chapter 6 seemed to offer ideas that were perhaps a bit more challenging for critical thinking. For example, I’ve used Google Earth to create Lit Tours for books, and as a basis for a project where students researched a contagious disease and mapped its spread across a region or country, annotating and illustrating the placemarks with their researched information. One of the challenges to using these technologies in the classroom is copyright. It’s hard to find public domain images and students view all easily accessible information as “public knowledge” which makes reminding them to cite a challenge.
Overall, the biggest challenges I keep returning to are 1) the huge amount of time it can take for students to complete hypermedia projects, especially since I can’t count on students having internet access at home and there fore have to do it all in class; and 2) the lack of accessible technology in my school. It’s hard to get access to labs in order for each of my students to have a computer with internet and up to date software. Our classrooms are just getting projectors and document cameras, and a few smartboards. I wish the technology was put into the hands of students, instead of the hands of teachers.
Saturday, May 28, 2011
Week 3
I just double checked and this wasn't there... so I'm reposting!
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The videos were interesting in focus. As a literature teacher, it was hard for me to make some direct connections to my content. The writing piece made sense though. Additionally, I think that students often resist technology that leads to higher order learning. I know that sounds negative, but it’s been my experience. I have to really work to get my students to be critical users of technology, not just passive consumers. It’s a challenge to set up assignments that force thinking, not just retrieval or copying of information. I agree that my students are “digital natives” and see technology as a necessary component of their daily lives. They are wired to receive information differently, to share information differently and to view what is “public” very differently than I have been. When Sam in the video lists World of Warcraft as one of her top technologies, I have to stop for a second because I have always seen WoW as simply a game and a time waster. Obviously, the digital generation views it differently. I get her mother’s comments about problem solving, etc. and also thought it was significant that she learns new technologies by simply jumping in and trying. I saw that with my own son, who could decipher games on the Wii and the DS even before he could read. I always want to read the directions and by the time I’m done, the kids have figured it out!
I do think technology is good for differentiating instruction and assessment. Scan and read machines such as a Kurweil reader allow students access to information aurally. The internet makes it relatively easy to find the same information at different reading levels and to different depths, using word processors and online test creators means that it’s less time consuming to create accommodated or modified assessments, and that students can use spellcheckers and typing as well. The comment during the video that we live in a “knowledge economy” where basic facts aren’t that important any more is true. It seems pointless – especially to students – to make them memorize dates or names of kings when they can find it online in seconds.
If I were teaching in an ideal world, I would have technology constantly available and working, so that I wasn’t an addition to my classroom, but one of the resources I had available to facilitate student learning. In fact, I would probably learn a lot from my students in such a world. Although watching the videos I wonder if there’s a place for classic literature in this new world. I have always seen, and taught, literature as a way to peer inside another world, other lives and challenges. Perhaps students no longer need to read in order to dissect common themes, they just need the right video game.
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The videos were interesting in focus. As a literature teacher, it was hard for me to make some direct connections to my content. The writing piece made sense though. Additionally, I think that students often resist technology that leads to higher order learning. I know that sounds negative, but it’s been my experience. I have to really work to get my students to be critical users of technology, not just passive consumers. It’s a challenge to set up assignments that force thinking, not just retrieval or copying of information. I agree that my students are “digital natives” and see technology as a necessary component of their daily lives. They are wired to receive information differently, to share information differently and to view what is “public” very differently than I have been. When Sam in the video lists World of Warcraft as one of her top technologies, I have to stop for a second because I have always seen WoW as simply a game and a time waster. Obviously, the digital generation views it differently. I get her mother’s comments about problem solving, etc. and also thought it was significant that she learns new technologies by simply jumping in and trying. I saw that with my own son, who could decipher games on the Wii and the DS even before he could read. I always want to read the directions and by the time I’m done, the kids have figured it out!
I do think technology is good for differentiating instruction and assessment. Scan and read machines such as a Kurweil reader allow students access to information aurally. The internet makes it relatively easy to find the same information at different reading levels and to different depths, using word processors and online test creators means that it’s less time consuming to create accommodated or modified assessments, and that students can use spellcheckers and typing as well. The comment during the video that we live in a “knowledge economy” where basic facts aren’t that important any more is true. It seems pointless – especially to students – to make them memorize dates or names of kings when they can find it online in seconds.
If I were teaching in an ideal world, I would have technology constantly available and working, so that I wasn’t an addition to my classroom, but one of the resources I had available to facilitate student learning. In fact, I would probably learn a lot from my students in such a world. Although watching the videos I wonder if there’s a place for classic literature in this new world. I have always seen, and taught, literature as a way to peer inside another world, other lives and challenges. Perhaps students no longer need to read in order to dissect common themes, they just need the right video game.
Saturday, May 14, 2011
technology funnies
Here are two videos about technology... just for fun!
The first one is from The One Ronnie on BBC.
The second one is also from the BBC. Introducing Mactini, the world's smallest computer!
The first one is from The One Ronnie on BBC.
The second one is also from the BBC. Introducing Mactini, the world's smallest computer!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Webquest attempts
I really enjoyed the webquest assignment. In fact, I tried to create some of my own, just to see how it works. For me, the challenge of the webquests I looked at was twofold. One was to create a webquest that really needed the web to be effective. Simply putting poems on the internet instead of handing them out in class doesn't seem to really integrate technology into teaching. The second issue was evaluation. The rubrics need to reflect the learning objectives, and they need to be rigorous. I really struggle personally with creating great rubrics. There are lots of rubric examples out there, some good, some not so much. One good site for examples and for rubric "know how" and guidance is from Kathy Schrock at Discovery Education: http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html I feel like she's vetted some quality sites.
So the other part of this all is that I decided to experiment with creating my own webquests. Our district is big on Google Sites, so I used that. The first webquest is one I'm considering using for a course I'm teaching this summer. It's called "Expanding the Canon" and its an opportunity for teachers to read and evaluate contemporary literature for approval to be included in our district's canon.
It's available at: evaluating literature webquest I'm not very excited about it, but it's an okay start. I like the next one though!
The other is an activity I first created last year using Trackstar (available through http://4teachers.org/). I tried to move it to a webquest using Google Sites. One of my goals with this was for students to teach themselves by looking at different websites, and also to provide differentiation by providing resources at different levels. This information is usually something I deliver in a lecture style, and I was looking for more engaging options.
If you're interested, check out: Odyssey Webquest I'd love to have some feedback. I'm kind of excited about this one.
So the other part of this all is that I decided to experiment with creating my own webquests. Our district is big on Google Sites, so I used that. The first webquest is one I'm considering using for a course I'm teaching this summer. It's called "Expanding the Canon" and its an opportunity for teachers to read and evaluate contemporary literature for approval to be included in our district's canon.
It's available at: evaluating literature webquest I'm not very excited about it, but it's an okay start. I like the next one though!
The other is an activity I first created last year using Trackstar (available through http://4teachers.org/). I tried to move it to a webquest using Google Sites. One of my goals with this was for students to teach themselves by looking at different websites, and also to provide differentiation by providing resources at different levels. This information is usually something I deliver in a lecture style, and I was looking for more engaging options.
If you're interested, check out: Odyssey Webquest I'd love to have some feedback. I'm kind of excited about this one.
Monday, May 9, 2011
TPACK, TIPS, and NETS (oh my!)
I really like this textbook. Chapter 2 seemed to lay out a lot of the issues I've always had with integrating technology. The TIP model especially worked for me, largely because it was based upon two premises I find compelling. The first is the need for teachers to evaluate their TPACK base. It makes sense that in this day and age, we not only need to know content and pedagogy, but technology as well. The second aspect of the TIP model is that it's based on "relative advantage." This year I've been an instructional coach, and one of the "rules" I try to help teachers understand is that if you do the planning and legwork ahead of the teaching, it helps student learning and saves headaches in the end.
Our district just finalized its K-12 Technology plan, and will start assessing teachers' technical proficiency next year, using an online assessment based on NETS-T. There's a lot of angst among teachers in the district, who are struggling with the idea that familiarity with current technology - including blogs, wikis, advanced searches and website evaluation - is a job expectation. I think if our district used an approach such as TIPS, to show teachers that technology is a tool that teachers should be using to improve instruction and not just another expectation piled onto our already busy lives, teachers would be more understanding and less threatened.
Probably the "muddiest" point for me is how to proceed when (what Roblyer and Doering call) "essential conditions" aren't present. Our district really struggles with keeping technology current and providing timely technical assistance. We moved from a model of having Technology Liasons in each school (techie "jacks of all trades") to districtwide Instructional Technology Teachers who are only supposed to support and help with teacher training and student instruction. This means that if machines, labs or printers aren't working at a school, the work order is submitted and someone from the district office comes out to fix it. It frustrates teachers, which in turn makes them generally anti-tech and also anti-district-wide anything. I see our district really trying to refocus to provide on-going, need-based professional development, yet folks are resistant. I recently had to give a presentation to various schools on Atomic Learning, which is a service our district subscribes to that provides quick online tutorials as well as ideas for incorporating technology in content areas. It's east and helpful, but just getting folks to be willing to check it out was a challenge.
Our district just finalized its K-12 Technology plan, and will start assessing teachers' technical proficiency next year, using an online assessment based on NETS-T. There's a lot of angst among teachers in the district, who are struggling with the idea that familiarity with current technology - including blogs, wikis, advanced searches and website evaluation - is a job expectation. I think if our district used an approach such as TIPS, to show teachers that technology is a tool that teachers should be using to improve instruction and not just another expectation piled onto our already busy lives, teachers would be more understanding and less threatened.
Probably the "muddiest" point for me is how to proceed when (what Roblyer and Doering call) "essential conditions" aren't present. Our district really struggles with keeping technology current and providing timely technical assistance. We moved from a model of having Technology Liasons in each school (techie "jacks of all trades") to districtwide Instructional Technology Teachers who are only supposed to support and help with teacher training and student instruction. This means that if machines, labs or printers aren't working at a school, the work order is submitted and someone from the district office comes out to fix it. It frustrates teachers, which in turn makes them generally anti-tech and also anti-district-wide anything. I see our district really trying to refocus to provide on-going, need-based professional development, yet folks are resistant. I recently had to give a presentation to various schools on Atomic Learning, which is a service our district subscribes to that provides quick online tutorials as well as ideas for incorporating technology in content areas. It's east and helpful, but just getting folks to be willing to check it out was a challenge.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Monday, May 2, 2011
In the beginning...
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| image from pugo.org |
Fast forward 17 years and I'm teaching teachers how to integrate technology into their language arts classrooms. Before this year I'd done some webquests, created a few Trackstar activities, and made powerpoints. This year I started a new job as a content coach and the expectation is that I embed technology, so I've been trying. I created a website to share lessons between teachers, and even incorporated a Wiki! Last Saturday I taught a workshop on how to use Garageband to record students' poetry into a podcast, adding music and sound effects and in some cases pictures to illustrate themes. So I've been really seeking ways to use technology in the classroom to engage students and teach them to be critical users of technology vs. simple consumers.
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| drapestakes.blogspot.com |
I'm really looking forward to this course!
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