Article Assessment 3 - Tools for the Mind

This article talked about different ways that technology is being used in classrooms around America. The article offered critiques about the way that technology is being used and also gave several remedies to the problem as the author sees it. The article points out a few problems such as the fact that many schools have a narrow view of technology, not a lot of training for teachers and accommodations are not made to ensure that classroom technology is being used. Many districts spend a lot of time on professional development that trains teachers in "skills" but they should be teaching them how computers can enhance student learning.

The article points out that programs such as power point and word have little educational value and that they only promote a "copy and paste culture". The author states that applications such as spread sheets and databases allow students to work on their critical thinking and analysis skills instead of just copying information and taking it at face value. The author urges teachers to look at technology used and decide if there is a better way and to make sure the technology they are using is actually improving students learning.

Interesting Tid-Bits

• In 2005 schools spent an average of $103 per pupil on technology
• Ask myself "does the current technology I use support the curriculum and deepen the content?"
• Only once teachers have a solid base in their core areas can they begin to incorporate technology.
• GIS can stimulate students' intellectual development and enable learners to create, revise and reconstruct what they know to create new frameworks of knowledge.
• Higher order tools are not as user friendly or visually appealing but benefit the students more.

As with most of the articles we are reading for this class; this one opened my eyes to some of the things that I may be doing wrong. I realize that my host teachers rely heavily on PowerPoint and pre-made lectures that came with the book. Though we do engage the students in activities we are constantly discussing the downfalls of the CD power point but neither of them want to make their own. I had not even thought about some of the applications the article brought out for GIS software like Google Earth.

Last quarter we did a stream project involving multiple measurement and calculations. The students could have taken the data into a lab and created spreadsheets and equations. Instead we gave them the equations to calculate stream flow. It may have benefited them more to come up with the equations themselves.

One of the many problems with computers in schools is that there aren't enough. Computers are not like textbooks. You cannot buy one for each student and then have them last 20 years. Computers are an ever changing technology and older versions become obsolete too quickly for school districts to keep up.

After reading this article I do think that I will try to incorporate some of the "higher order" software programs into my lessons though it will take some work in the beginning, I still think it will be beneficial.

Energy Conservation Video and Reflections

Here is the link to my video on Teacher Tube.

Reflections:
I watched this video a few times. Then I toyed with trying to edit it correctly so my host teacher cursing at the video camera would be removed.....yeah.

After I made the video I went straight home then reviewed it later. As I watched it I giggled at how nervous I was!! I stand in front of kids all day long and yet giving a presentation to a room full of no one I was nervous at the beginning I could hear it in my voice. Though I must admit that I did feel a little sheepish talking to myself while in a room all alone.


Ok on to my review of me.

I noticed in the beginning of the video I seem distracted; and that I jump right into my presentation assuming that the viewers know exactly what is going on. Those of you in the class do but if I was presenting this to newcomers I would need to make sure that I gave them background information; some sort of anticipatory set maybe.

I also was nervous as I stated before. Which was odd for me but I think it was because this isn't a subject I am comfortable speaking about. I am more comfortable talking about geology because it is "in me" and presenting something new was more uncomfortable.
I am also not sure if I always put my hands in my pockets. But I probably should find some sort of happy medium between hands in pocket and using my beloved hand gestures.

Another thing that I learned is that I need more experience with movie editing software. I had to have one of my students help me use the editing program on the schools Mac's. I don't own a Mac so I was unfamiliar with the way it worked; and I don't have experience with any other software.

After reviewing my video for the first time I thought to myself crap I better do that again tomorrow. I didn't obviously and I think that this will serve as a better lesson to me. I got to see what I do wrong when doing things in an impromptu sort of way. I now know what I need to work on.

Enegry Conservation Project

WHEW! That took a lot longer than I thought. This is why I am not an accountant!
That said this assignment was great. I learned that I do waste electricity during the day.
My PowerPoint goes through how I collected the data, my analysis of the data, and then I was able to interpret the information. This interpretation was the most important part. This is where my learning took place.
I learned that I do use energy that I don't need to. I also learned that this energy that is used adds up. Based on my data; after one year of conserving energy my students could pay my electric bill for the next 20 years. That is amazing! I originally thought this assignment was just an exercise in "learning excel and PowerPoint" but now I have realized that it is so much more.
To view all my information look at my PowerPoint and the excel spreadsheets.

Enjoy!
Shan

Educators Guide to the Read/Write Web

Overview

Have I “furl”ed anything today? I was so confused when I read that sentence; but we will get to that in a minute. This article discusses how the worldwide web is changing and how as educators we should take advantage of it and encourage our students to do the same. Many students have blogs, which they use as an online diary to share with their friends. Teachers and students though are now learning that they can use blogs and other online tools to elaborate on thinking, reading and writing skills. Teachers can use blogs to make resources available and to create interactive portfolios that they can share with other students in the class and around the world.

Wiki is another tool that students can use; we have one in our Curriculum Development class for UAS. A wiki is something that anyone can access, change or just peruse for their own enjoyment. The thing about wiki’s are that anyone can change them. Anyone can access the information, make changes and put bogus information on the website. Many wiki’s do have safeguards that give some protection but it does take a while for the information to get fixed.
Another great tool brought out was RSS which I learned meant really simple syndication. RSS allows people to have access to a variety of feeds of information that are constantly updated and tailored to what they wanted. Teachers and students can use this tool to collect information and to distribute information to others. RSS feeds allow students access to the latest research.

Furl.net is something that was new to me. Furl and del.icio.us are sites that can save addresses and then can save a copy of the website in a folder that can be searched through later. Podcasting is becoming so common these days. People can create home movies, radio programs or anything else they really want to and share it on the web giving thousands of people instant access. Students can use podcasts to look at audio tours of museums, weekly news, programs pertaining to lessons and interviews. Basically if it can be recorded it is probably available by podcast.

The article points out that as teachers we need to decide if we need to adjust our curriculum to fit in with the way that information is transferred now. Students are now not only readers but they are writers; and they don’t commonly do either correctly. We need to make sure that when our students are writing in a blog or in the classroom that they are using the same grammatically correct structures. Almost everything on the web can be accessed by someone else; so it should be a good representation of our students. As teachers we should encourage students to use these on line resources by using them ourselves and letting them know how it can benefit them.

Cool Tidbits!
1) Yea I learned what Furl is
2) Teachers can use blogs to communicate with their students.
3) There is such a thing as classroom wiki
4) Students are “writing” even when they think they are just “blogging”
5) The idea of podcasting makes me wonder if, with all the banning done on our computers here at West, I could actually use them in my classroom.

My Thoughts:
I liked this article. I think of myself as technologically savvy but I didn’t know about some of the tools discussed in the article. I didn’t know what Furl was. I personally have never used a podcast or RSS feeds though I knew what they were. That makes me realize that I too have a little catching up to do when it comes to technology. On that note it also means that veteran teachers have A LOT of catching up to do in order to be where the students are. I don’t want technology to ever replace me; so I have to learn how to work with it a little better so that doesn’t happen.

Research Plan - Energy Conservation

I looked around my house and tried to figure out what "items" in my house used energy. And then I thought about the ones that maybe I don't really need. I came up with a few things that maybe I could live without. My husband and I sleep with a fan on at night. I wonder if we could instead move our bed over a little and utilize the cold air coming from outside as a source for cooled air as we sleep. We would also have to get used to sleeping without "white noise". The other thing that I may be able to live without is my hair dryer. If I showered at night instead of in the morning I could stop using my hair dryer and let nature do the work.
When I am not home I leave the radio on for my dog.....lame I know. I found that radios were not on many of the appliance lists so I decided not to use that one. The website that I found with many appliance lists is http://www.psnh.com/Residential/ReduceBill/Applianceusage.asp it has a pretty comprehensive list of appliances.
To do this assignment I will have to track the amount of time I use my hair dryer (I don't always use it) and how many hours a day my fan is on in my room. Then I can tally up the data and do a what if analysis for my family, extended family, all the students at West High etc.

Anthro-Tech Assessment

Most of what I learned about the technology of my school was from my host teachers and our classroom experiences. Our technology seems to vary widely depending on what teacher is teaching. Some teachers still write on the white boards; while others such as my hosts use PowerPoint's daily and clickers for exams. Many teachers have not arrived in the digital age, or they are confused about the technology available so they just give up. There are two computer labs in West. Teachers are allowed to sign up 8 times a quarter. This rule is commonly not followed. We recently tried to get into a lab and couldn't the rest of the quarter. This was rather upsetting for my host teachers. It seems that people do not sign up for the labs that often so a few teachers have decided that they would just sign up for all the open slots.

In my opinion we are off to a good start. I think that teachers need to get more educated and step out of their comfort zone and try something new. Of course money is always an issue. The classrooms in the science wing all have flat screen TVs mounted on the walls, or at least in the process of getting hung up. But this is not the case in all of the school. If every classroom could have a TV ready to project then I am sure teachers would be more excited about things.

Every teacher has a website; and they are encouraged to post grades and homework on line for parents and students. Not every teacher uses this though because of the time it takes. To post every grade and every assignment in a timely manner that would be helpful for students will of course take a lot of teacher time.

I also learned that our 2 technology staff members are overworked. They spend so much time troubleshooting and fixing problems they do not have enough time to work with teachers and students to create a better technological awareness at the school. So with more money and a bigger staff things would be great!! Yeah in a different world.
For a compete report click here.....you know you want to.

Article Assessment #1 - Listen to the Natives

Shannon Hendricks (marknshan@alaska.net) 9/6/08

Listen to the Natives - By Marc Prensky

Overview -
This article brings to teachers attention the difference between us and them. Teachers are digital immigrants, while students are digital natives. Being a digital native means to Marc that these students are native speakers of technology and are well versed in the language of computers and video games. He stresses that the traditional catch-up methods that teachers and administrators use such as in service days are not enough. He also points out that educators need to find a way to incorporate more technology into the classrooms and by that not just computers.

Technologies such as mp3 players, ipods, cell phones, blogs and much more need to be integrated. Students are familiar with these avenues of learning and will enjoy the work more and be more willing to do it. Marc also believes that students should be given the choice of the classes they take and what students they cooperate with in the class. He points out that we herd our students and instead we need to let them be involved in virtual groups so that no one gets left out of the learning process.

Another point that he brings out is that students should be learning 21st century subjects such as; nanotechnology, bioethics, genetic medicine and neuroscience. He states that if we don't stop and listen to our students we will be left with buildings to manage with students that are physically or mentally somewhere else.

Important Trinkets -
1) Teachers are digital immigrants trying to teach digital natives
2) We need to select our teachers for their empathy and not just for subject matter knowledge.
3) Today's educators have digital immigrant accents. They will always have one foot in the past.
4) Teachers should ask their students what equipment they would like to see in the classroom and then make every effort to get it.
5) We should teach students how to level up their education.
6) "This may sound like the inmates are running the asylum" I love how he parallels a school to an insane asylum.
7) "Herding" = involuntary assignment to specific classes or groups, not for their benefit but for ours.
8) Teachers can deliver lessons over cell phones and use text messaging to quiz or test students.
9) In other countries students are already using their cell phones as learning tools. The US needs to catch up.

My Reflections

This article had a lot of good points; and then some I wasn't so sure about. First of all I don't consider myself a digital immigrant, but I know that many teachers are. I think as the "old" generation of teachers start to retire. The new fresh teachers may be able to keep up with their students. I find that I play many of the video games my students do and visit many of the same websites daily as they do. One student even told me that my Ipod looked like I stole all the music from his girlfriend, to which I replied "whatev" (thanks Di).

I do agree that we should ask our students what they are using for fun at home and how we can use some of that stuff in the classroom. As I get older I am sure that I will get more out of touch with what kids are doing and this will become a valuable tool. I do like the idea that students should be able to level up while learning. But this idea leads me to a problem.

Is Marc Prensky trying to phase out teachers and turn us into programmers?

If the goal is to let our students learn all of their curriculum on a computer and through cell phones, what good are teachers?

I have mixed feelings about his ideas. I do agree that teachers need to integrate technology, it makes life easier. Students should be able to submit homework on the web, check grades on line, and email their teachers with questions. It seems though Marc wants EVERY aspect of education to revolve around a piece of technology and well I am not ready for that.

As a future educator I do believe that my job is needed. I would never want to plop my kids in front of a computer and say "learn" then walk away. I feel that would be the same as handing them a book and telling them to figure it out.

Technology definitely has awesome applications. But people lets use it the right way please.