Please use the comments component of this blog to accomplish the assignment below:
Read the article, Five Riveting Ideas, at the following: http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2006/10/five-riveting-ideas
The Five Riveting Ideas article presents a variety of ideas, classroom applications and solutions relevant to the emerging technology needs of our culture and our students. Which of these do you find relevant to your needs as a teacher and how could these be utilized as practical solutions in your classrooms. (I realize that we all work in imperfect environments, so please do not use up energy explaining all the reasons why these ideas cannot be implemented. Try to be positive and see if you can cull from these ideas ways in which you can move forward in your own particular educational environment. Also, please acknowledge and validate ideas from your classmates which you have found useful. This way we can use this forum as a means to do some productive sharing.)
Use our blog to briefly discuss the role technology will play in expanding relationships between and among students, teachers and the larger community. To what extent will technology allow control of learning to shift from teacher to student? One or two paragraphs will suffice.
Thank you all!
First of all, I'd like to thank you for the way in which you fulfilled this assignment. I spent the past (5:30 am to 7:00 am) reading your analyses. They were all exceptionally thoughtful and well written.The assignment (not conceived by me) worked perfectly with a group of teachers I consider one of the most cohesive that I have worked with. The interwoven comments throughout were thoughtful and cogent as well.
I have to confess to you that my middle name is Thomas (true) and I say that as someone who's an eternal optimist (BTW There is a blog entitled, The Eternal Optimist). There is within me, however, a touch of skepticism, not cynicism, just mild skepticism.
As I read the articles, I tried to fit each theory into my concept of reality within the classroom-the one I was familiar with. And I asked myself, "How well would this work, really?"
Then I looked at the short bio of each author and asked myself, " How close to the classroom were they, and were they more theoretician than teacher?"
Johnny Mercer was the one who said, "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive" and you guys certainly did that well and that was, after all, explicit in the assignment directions. You managed to identify strategies that you could use or do use. In short, you all had very good ideas about how to meld technology reality with your classroom situations.
When I read your comments, I noticed that there was a shared gratitude of place. There was an appreciation of being part of a vocational school in general and being part of Monty Tech in particular. I saw the fortune of time and place very soon after coming on your campus. "We can't do that here," is a common refrain at most schools when speaking about the promise of technology. Not so at your school. And yes, as noted, Jon is part of the equation. Thank you , Jon. It wasn't just Jon, either. I came to Monty to visit the lab weeks before class began and called six weeks before that. I received the same nice treatment from everyone I encountered here. Staff people were ready to help me do my job (facilitating technology) better rather than delimiting it.
Today, we'll spend our class time working on and hopefully finishing our Movie Maker flicks. I'll be coming around to help you any way that I can. I'm going to bring in a few microphones, so if you need to add narration using your own voice, I'll have 'em. I know that at least one of you will be doing that and will be using the adjacent classroom as a recording studio.
But before we do any of that, I'd like to show you a half dozen or so tutorial videos on Movie Maker from a site my daughter and I belong to. It's called, lynda.com, it's a pay site and it's authored by the same company that has been selling computer how-to books and DVDs for a long time.
Each video runs from 3-5 minutes. I'll run one that demonstrates the interface and then I'll go through a half dozen or so dealing with utilizing the features of the program. They are designed to help you come up with a professional looking movie as quickly as possible.
After I'm done, I leave the site up and logged in so that should you wish to view any of the remainder of tutorials, you will be able.
If you choose to do that, please confine yourselves to those tutorials that deal with Windows Movie Maker.
Eric
The article mentioned student engagement as an important factor in incorporating technology. I see that as an important way of building the teacher/student relationship. It is so much easier to teach a lesson if kids are interested in it, and if your students want to come to class, then half the battle has been won. I also think technology is a big factor in putting the learning opportunities and experiences into the students' hands. The webquest we're making is a good example of how students can be engaged in the learning experience, while working independently and making choices about how to gather the information.
ReplyDeleteAnother aspect of how technology will build relationships between teachers and parents is the speed at which we can communicate. It is so easy to send a quick email rather than make a phone call, and often the information that is requested by the parent is brief. It is also nice when grades and assignments are online so that students and parents can go to a website and look at the work that is due or stay aware of student performance.
I agree that keeping the communication lines open and enlisting the help of parents through technology can only improve student learning. The education process is always easier when everyone is on the same page. However, in some situations the "tone" of an email might be misinterpreted and a phone call may be a better choice.
DeleteThe focus should be on the application of technology in the classroom, not just on the technology itself. The success of technology in the classroom depends on its application. Having a smart board or a computer for each student in your classroom doesn’t necessarily mean that you are using technology in your classroom to enhance learning.The design phase of how the technology will be used to enhance learning in the classroom is essential and should involve teacher input, collaboration, and professional development support.
ReplyDeleteCollaboration is a powerful resource when it comes to technology. I have been involved in a collaboration NSF and WPI grant funded program called ASSISTments for the past 4 years. ASSISTments is a free online program created by Neil Heffernan at WPI that allows teachers to monitor student progress in “real time”. When I first started this program four years ago I was concerned that many of my students would not have computer access at home. This was rarely a problem. Nearly every one of my students over the past four years (2 exceptions in a total of more than 400 students) has had computer access at home. Doing math assignments on the computer with instant feedback has become the norm for my students and part of my classroom and homework routine. The part of this program that I have most enjoyed is the collaboration with other math teachers and shared resources across the state and across the country.
If anyone would like more information about this program, check out the website www.assistments.org
Also if anyone would like suggestions of how they might make use of this free program in their classroom or shop, I’ll be happy to share.
Donna Lee, Thanks for sharing that resource. I am not sure how applicable it may be to my courses but I appreciate the information. The idea of monitor students in real time is fascinating. Leave it you to be on the cutting edge!!!!
DeleteShannon
This article speaks on utilizing technology to network, communicate, and expand education. We need to think out of the box, step away from the traditional ways of teaching. We need to engage students in learning. Reach out to others as a resource, pick their brains use their ideas and expand upon them, and they will do the same. When students are using technology as a tool or a support for communicating with others, they are in an active role rather than the passive role of receiving information from a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively making choices about how to generate, obtain, or display information. Technology use allows many more students to be actively thinking about information, making choices, and executing skills more so than with a typical teacher-led lessons. Also, when technology is used as a tool to support students in performing tasks, the students are in the position of defining their goals, making decisions, and evaluating their progress. Which strengthens the most important components of the 21st century learning, and how project and problem based learning is the way to go. It will reinforce critical thinking, team work, as well as many other important skills.
ReplyDeleteThis I believe will increase motivation and self-esteem amongst teachers and students alike.
When I need to "think outside the box" I visit the shops! The Vocational teachers definitely excel in that area:). When it comes to engaging students you guys are the pros! I feel fortunate to be an Academic teacher at a Vocational School!
DeleteTechnology will play an important part in relationships between students, teachers and community because it allows everyone to have access to more resources for learning and communicating. Using the example from Maine, students are not just working on projects with their classmates they are working with students from Ireland and Japan. Also, DonnaLee gave a great example of her students doing assignments on the computer with instant feedback.
ReplyDeleteTechnology is also playing a big role in school/parent communication. I personally check my childs homework assignments that are posted on the school website.
When technology is used it does give the student more control of their learning. Technology will allow a student to learn at their own pace. If a topic needs to be reviewed they can easily do that if the lesson is accessible from a computer. They can't revisit a teachers classroom lecture unless technology was used.
I agree Nancy that it always a win-win when students take on more responsibility and control of their learning. Technology provides many opportunities to differentiate instruction and help students to progress at different paces.
DeleteTechnology in the classroom will lead to change and I believe it will be for the better. As Donna Lee mentioned ASSISTments and the instant feedback to the student and parent made me think of Khan Academy. There was a segment on 60 minutes a few weeks ago about it. It started as a way for Khan to help his niece with math on You Tube. It evolved into a website with the help of Bill Gates and is viewed by millions everyday all over the world. The web site has the option for teachers to assign students lessons and videos to complete. It gives instant feedback to the teacher and students. The students they interviewed liked the fact that they could watch the video as many times as they needed to understand the topic. I’m sure there are many other great examples and a future with even more to come.
DeleteI like the idea of global learning. Many students never get the opportunity to travel and it would be a wonderful way for them to gain insight into other cultures. It could also teach us other ways to approach teaching. Asian schools have done more explorative learning for years. I would like to do more of this type of learning. I believe it will help students to develop critical thinking skills that will not only help with school but as adults in the workplace.
Although I agree that Khan academy can be a good tool sometimes, it also has its issues. It is *all* blackboard based learning; there is no expectation of activity from the student, and students need to accomplish some action in order to learn the topic. I find the lessons that I have viewed there helpful for reinforcement of past knowledge, but I would not want to learn chemistry from one of their videos.
DeleteSeveral points from different authors are sticking their hands up shouting, "Pick me! Pick me!" As I subscribe to Edutopia, I'm familiar with Milton Chen and his belief that all students are entitled to 24/7 technology. While I do support all students should have reasonable access and exposure to new technological opportunities, one needs to remember this article was written in 2006 before iPads and iPhones became status symbols and must-haves. Guaranty me that all those high-bandwidths are being used for Pythagorean theorem and Julius Caesar research and I'm with you.
ReplyDeleteBette Manchester's school-to-school learning reminds me of the Thinkquest competition projects which began back in the 1990s when I was a media specialist. Students would create a team which required members from at least two schools to research and publish a topic. It was the next step from pen-pals because the work was being e-mailed and prizes were awarded based on age groups. It required cooperation amongst all members, on and off campus and led to good team skills because of so much necessary accuracy.
Whether we as teachers are using SmartBoards, PowerPoint presentations, or chalkboards, a student needs his/her learning style addressed. So to be a lifelong learner as Beverly Royster suggests, a student needs to know the best way he or she will learn, retain, and want to know more about a topic. As Becky points out, if a student is engaged, the interest should be easier to hold, whatever form of technology is being used.
As I attempt to do this a third time I will try to push the right buttons! I felt that the first couple of pages were replacing teaching and teachers with computers and technology. However when I reached the article on “Let teachers carry the torch”, I felt better. I think that the students should be in the car but we should be driving it. Students all learn in different ways and with different styles, the computer should be looked at as a tool, not the main source of teaching and this article, to me says that. Using what they already know and developing skills-based activities is a great idea and keeps their attention which we all know sometimes can be short.
ReplyDeleteThe following article talks about challenging the U.S. as a whole beginning with our kids. To get the best jobs we need to be on top of things. It states that we need citizens that are smarter, more creative, and more capable of learning; they will be the ones networking with others to raise that productivity level, and getting the jobs. Face it, these kids are in a whole new place at their age then we were at the same age. How many times have you had a problem with your Smart Board, IPod, IPhone, etc. and asked a student to help you? That is unless you can be as lucky as I am by having Jon Hurd across the hall!
JONATHAN HURD
ReplyDeleteNot being a teacher, Yet, I really don't know what goes into a classroom. My best guess as to what would be needed is a blend of technology with core educational values. The thing is to blend it in a way that will allow for all learners to be engaged. Some students yearn for the technology integration and others can live without it. I don't know a single student that knows how to do a research paper without using a computer and the internet. This has become the staple of a good research paper. These tools are a part of what goes into managing a successful classroom. With the technology that is available to all students they are able to see things that were unfathomable 20 years ago. Students have such an abundance of resources available to them that they no longer need that 3 week period of time in a library to drum up information they can find more in an hour on the internet.
Its not just the computer resources that students need to keep in mind when competing in the modern work force. They need to have skills that allow them to work well in a group. These skills can not be found in just any old classroom. These skills are learned over time while working in teams. In the modern classroom you need to engage the students in a thoughtful discussion not just a discussion. This can be accomplished with or without technology. In my opinion not using technology would be better because students will get the one on one face time with other students. Technology should only be brought into the picture when you are talking about discussing the cultural differences between the US and Thailand. This could then be facilitated with technology and skyping with a class in Thailand. Even though I am a tech geek and my life revolves around technology, personally too many people have come to rely WAY to much on technology. We still need the basic communication skills we all learned in kindergarten.
Students today are being robbed of these skills and by the time they are in high school they have zero common sense. Not to mention once they graduate most of them work in dead end jobs or go off to college in a field most of them never actually work in. Granted some students actually know what they want in life and go and get it but it seems that we just keep pushing the kids forward without actually getting them to learn anything. Ask me what I learned my senior year of high school? I would tell you I have no clue. Better yet ask me what I learned last semester? I could probably spout of a bunch of small business crap but it probably wouldn't make much sense.
The thing is we are pushing kids through the system without actually teaching them. We need to engage students and grab their undivided attention. This is difficult especially with the internet. I am for technology for all but in education it can be hard. I myself can see the TRUE use of the technology in the building. I can't tell you how many kids make it their mission to get to sites they are not supposed to be on. Also the sites that they go to while on break drag down the rest of the network. Technology is great but it is a hard tool to use especially when you don't understand it yourself.
We need to expand on this more at coffee.
DeleteTechnology is an important aspect of education today. There are many ways students can be engaged in more positive educational experiences with the use of technology. Students really enjoy the use of current technology and can make learning a more positive experience.
ReplyDeleteWe take for granted that the studnets here at this school have access to more technology than many other schools in our area. I am sure that there are many schools that would like to offer new technology to their studnets, however we all know that many school do not have the funds available to provide all of their students with access to this technology.
Technology impacts every aspect of a students life. Monty Tech is lucky that we are able to provide our students with a technology driven education. Just last week I witnessed a student present a history teacher with a flash drive with an episode from his favorite show that related to the class. Our students are always plugged-in. Even in the Special Ed department we are presenting new and inventive technology to our students. We have toggles that have Kurzweil fully loaded on them that help read tests to students and help repeat whatever material they type. Our department also uses dragon speak for students who are out of school due to illnesses. Our school is lucky. I know that several area schools aren't as lucky. They have older computers and I know that the smart boards we have don't exist in a lot of area schools. Technology is an amazing part of our lives and I find myself going to students and asking them questions about the ever changing technology.
ReplyDeleteAmanda
The world around us is becoming more and more technologically advanced day by day. With this happening I feel that the students are so lucky to be at MT where they have such great opportunities to embrace the technology in the classroom. I use the smartboard every day and it is amazing how much there is on it that makes teaching the topics much more interactive for the students. I also believe that seeing almost all the students are constantly using technology they will become more and more interested as technology becomes a larger part of the classrooms everyday activities. I feel very privileged to be at MT where there is so much available technology for us to use everyday.
ReplyDeleteCasey
As always, late to the party, but here are my two cents and then some.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I found these viewpoints all so interesting because I am in the position of having to get my Master's Degree and I am seriously considering technology as my focus. I believe that more and more education will be provided on-line so much so that even traditional "brick and mortar" schools will be offering on-line classes to students therefore I will need to be ready for when (not if) this happens.
That being said, I also believe that in addition to providing access to technology, collaborating with other schools, etc., there still needs to be an emphasis on the basic skills (strong reading and writing abilities, in addition to critical thinking!) that are REQUIRED in order for any one person to truly utilize technology the way it should be. I am constantly frustrated when having students work on research papers that reading from the monitor is a challenge right through the actual process of using a document program in order to produce the paper. Our children are great at clicking and tapping a screen, but beyond looking at pictures and playing games, so many of them really aren't as "computer literate" as everyone expects them to be.
How do we address this? I would love to see a collaboration from the very beginning - in elementary schools through middle, secondary and college - of traditionally taught skills via technology. If all students learned not just to click on answers, but to actually type them in, and to do the majority of their writing via a computer, I believe it would be a great start. Once they are in high school, we could concentrate more on content, critical thinking, analyzing, processing, publishing and truly appreciating the power that is available to all.
One can hope.
-Kelley
The articles and the previous comments have ceratinly given me so much to consider that I am on overload. I think that the technology wave is here and I certainly has left many in education to consider its best implementation.
ReplyDeleteIt has been noted by several previous posters that technology can certainly add to the education experience. I think its benefits are limitless. We are fortunate at Monty Tech to have ample resources to experiment with various technology. Like Kelley, I want to develop my technological skills to better complete in an educational setting that is rapidly evolving. However, I do have
concerns that many of the critical thinking skills that develop by "hands on" experiences can not be adequately duplicated by a techno surrogate.
Shannon
I’m not exactly sure as to what it is that you wanted us to comment on that was added to the Blog. However I watched the video and I think that the young lady who sang a beautiful rendition of the National Anthem was much better than the “techy” that was filming it, they were all over the place! However when I finished reading the comment I do feel that technology is NOT and end all to any curriculum problem. We are here to TEACH not put a student in front of a piece of equipment with a book and tell them to just DO the project. All though our school is technology based and project based our students need to learn how to interact with others, speak to others, articulate, etc. I love Monty and will retire from here but we need to sometimes “get back to basics” yet add the future to it.
ReplyDeleteP. S. I like bells and whistles!!!!!!!!
I had this discussion with a student last week about technology in the classroom. He was arguing that there is no need to ban all the gadgets from students. If they are not engaged, they are going to find another way of being distracted anyway. And he was right.
ReplyDeleteWithout giving the students the tasks and activities that will keep them engaged in the material, they will just go off into some land in their heads, or poke the student next to them, or just check out the woodchuck walking across the parking lot. All the ideas that were pointed out in the the article are just ideas on how to give the students a hook. No matter what content we prepare, if there is no juicy bait for their attention to grab a hold onto, they will just keep swimming away. So if you think that technology is the hook, it isn't. It is your ideas and how they are implemented.
P.S. My father will be proud when I tell him I used a fishing analogy..
Technology can be a very useful tool in the classrooom, but it can also be a terrible distraction for students who feel that they must update their status every 20 minutes and get off-track when there are so many distractions for them when using the computer and internet...there are games, chat rooms, facebook, and numerous other time-sucking things to do. I find that some students are not disciplined enough to stay on task when there are so many items tugging them in different directions.
ReplyDeleteTeachers must keep a close eye on progress and focus on students staying on task.
Technology certainly had made the world a lot smaller. As much as I love to enhance my students' learning opportunities with various forms of technology, these articles have merit as well as problems. John is right, we need to help our kids continue to learn to interact with each other. They need to problem solve, learn to work with others, review those skills they learned in preschool. Using technology in ways to communicate across the world like the Maine/Ireland project is an awesome use of technology, but providing technology to every studnet 24/7 is not eutopian it is rediculous. Please don't get me on that bandwagon. We as teachers should use it as a hook, a tool to enhance our classroom and studnet learning. Donna has made Math more interesting and fun.I wish I had a Math class like hers in high school. A wonderful use and balance of teaching and technology. Way to go Donna.
ReplyDelete