EDUC 6710 Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society has helped me develop my own technology skills as a professional teacher in a number of ways. First, the things that I have learned about technology from this class have done wonders for my abilities and my knowledge of how to effectively integrate it into my classroom. I feel much more prepared and more efficient as a teacher now that I have a basic understanding of the tools in my teaching toolbox. Because of it, I am better able to use those existing tools like the computer and my Promethean Board. In addition, I have learned to create blogs, wikis, podcasts and to record video and audio files to be used in my classroom. Had I not taken this class, I truly doubt that I would have taken the time to learn these skills on my own. Current practice and standards for ELA do not require more than just the basic understanding of technology. Students are really only required to know where to find information, how to decide whether or not that information is valid, and how to use basic word processing and power point programs and even then, they are never really assessed on that knowledge, just on the end result—the product and therefore, I did not even think it was truly important for me to even learn them at all. What I did not realize was that society has become almost completely technology driven and that unless teachers begin the necessary overhaul of classroom practices, we will not be able to meet the needs of society because we will not be properly preparing our students for the 21st century and like any other service industry, we will become obsolete. Marc Prensky says it best when he states that “if we don’t stop and listen to the kids we serve, value their opinions, and make major changes on the basis of the valid suggestions they offer, we will be left in the 21st century with school buildings to administer—but with students who are physically and mentally somewhere else” (Prensky, 2005).
By learning how to use technology myself, I will be better able to enhance the learning process of my students because I am able to help them access information that is more conducive to their learning style. Gone are the days of lectures and the flat, one dimensional images of the overhead projector. Students no longer learn that way; in fact, they become very bored and either tune out or become behavior problems because they have limited ways of interacting with the content when it is presented in this manner. Students really only need me to point them in the right direction rather than drone on monotonously about something they have no interest in. By using technology, I can make my lessons more student centered and then act as a knowledge guide rather than a knowledge god. And it is extremely important for me to have this deepened knowledge of this “new” teaching and learning process because it is the best way for me to reach the young people that I am teaching. Technology is this thing that they eat, sleep, and breathe. They wear it like a second skin, but they are not using it to its full potential and I need to be the one who helps them do this by designing interactive and engaging lessons that incorporate as much technology as possible so that when they leave school and begin competing in the global job market, they will be successful instead of being discouraged. Otherwise, instead of helping to close the gap between education and business, I am only helping to increase it and the grasp my students have on their individual futures will become even more tenuous. Third world countries are spending as much of their resources as they can to train their workforce to be competitive and as educators, we need to do the same. I need to help make the world as flat as possible for those students that I teach because they no longer are just competing for jobs with their next door neighbor, but also with neighbors oceans away. It is an ever growing challenge considering the failing world economy and the only answer is to make sure that students are able to support themselves and their future families. Otherwise, we are contributing to an even worse economic failure because those few who are succeeding will be required to support those who cannot. “What the changes in the economy make increasingly important is that students learn to use their reading, math, and communication skills to develop and express a deep understanding of the subject matter they are studying” (Levy, 2006). Without the integration of technology into their classrooms, teachers are steadily losing the battle to keep students engaged in the learning process. Students become disconnected.
My students are not the only ones who need to continue on this path of technological enlightenment. I do as well or I lose my ability to “effectively respond to the literacy demands of the workplace and to successfully perform job duties, learn, and apply learning on the job” (Bates, 2002). In any other industry this would be standard practice and educators also spend a good deal of time in professional development workshops or seminars, but often they are simple sessions designed to merely meet state requirements and fail miserably at giving teachers any usable material for their classrooms; so I must continue to expand my own knowledge of learning and of teaching on my own. I will do this is by continuing to pursue my master’s degree in Adolescent Literacy and Technology through Walden University. I have committed myself to this process in both time and money so that I can become a better teacher and use what I am learning to increase student achievement. Not only am I a model to my students who see that I spend my free time in the continuance of my own education, but I am also learning new ways to teach them as well. I am evolving from being just a body that stands in the front of the room talking about knowledge that I have decided they should know to a mentor and facilitator who is sharing ideas and showing them how to obtain that knowledge for themselves. I will be helping my students “build strong literacy skills while using technology to push [them] into higher levels of learning” (Nussbaum-Beach, 2008). I am also sharing what I am learning with my colleagues and trying to get them excited about the changes that are happening in education. I pass on articles that I have read in the hopes that they will read them and understand more about what needs to be done. Alan November stated that “more motivating and rigorous learning environments” help increase student achievement; so by passing on as much information as I can to my fellow teachers, I am helping them build their own tools for their classrooms; moreover, I am helping them to open their minds and become less resistant to change (2007).
One goal that I have for transforming my classroom is to purchase student response gadgets called Activ-Expressions. They are part of the Promethean line of technology tools that interact with their boards. They look a bit like a cell phone and are an amazing way to get students engaged in any lesson. I had budgeted for them this year, but they cost $3500 for 24 and I was told I could only spend $1200. The company does not split their packages because of their outstanding warranties and replacement programs. Besides, Promethean had already donated the board to us through a grant, but the administration seems totally clueless about what it takes to transform a classroom and is unwilling to spend the money. So to overcome this obstacle, I have requested a letter from the company that includes copies of the warranties and video files of the Expressions in use by students and then I will be writing a needs justification letter that includes how the use of such student response systems help engage students and how they can contribute to higher achievement on state tests. What should only take me a few minutes to do—place an order and filling out a purchase order request—will now take me days to accomplish. But I know it will be worth it in the end.
Resources
Bates, R., & Phelan, K. (2002). Characteristics of a globally competitive workforce. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 4(2), 121.
Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com
Levy, F., & Murnane, R. (2006). Why the changing American economy calls for twenty-first century learning: Answers to educators' questions. New Directions for Youth
Development, 2006(110), 53–62
November, A. (2007). Banning student containers. Technology & Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/7468
Nussbaum-Beach, S. (2008). No limits. Technology & Learning, 28(7), 14–18. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/8466
Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 8–13.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Podcasting Link
I chose PodcastMachine to host the cast I created with my students regarding our thoughts and experiences about digital technology.
http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/2253/episodes/9700
Happy listening!
http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/2253/episodes/9700
Happy listening!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Evaluating The Partnership for 21st Century Skills Website
The Partnership for 21st Century Skills’ website http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php provides an extraordinary amount of information regarding what, why, and how of bringing schools up to speed on what future high school graduates will need to be successful in today’s global economy. Their mission, to “Serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders,” is both noble and challenging, but without the support of every educational institution and the State and Federal policy makers in the United States, their work will not even begin to make a dent in the “profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces.”
I was equally surprised and perplexed that there were only eleven states officially partnered with The Partnership for 21st Century Skills who were actively working towards raising the level of education in order to help lessen the gaps between the world of school and the world of work. Does this mean that schools who are not partnered with The Partnership for 21st Century Skills are not doing their part to ready their graduates for the 21st century career world? I do not believe that it does and when reviewing the Framework for 21st Century Learning published by The Partnership, I was somewhat disturbed by their statement that “only when a school or district combines the Framework with 21st century professional development, assessments and standard, can the American public be sure that high school graduates are prepared to thrive in today’s global economy.” Although I am sure their intentions are not to offend, the implications that schools who do not follow the Framework are not preparing students properly is quite unfair, especially to those schools which suffer from a low tax base and lack of funding. Many of these schools are doing the best they can and do manage to produce many globally competitive graduates. Nevertheless, I do realize that we as a society could be doing more so that all of our graduates are globally competitive and that is the ultimate goal of The Partnership.
The implications for me as an educator are huge. Not only do my students need to be prepared, but I also need to be able to teach them and all of us will have to be open-minded and willing to make the effort; however, our hands are tied until schools and classrooms are equipped with the necessary technology need to make all this a reality. Until then, I will do as much as I can by continuing to educate myself independently while I wait for school administration to play catch up. And as I become more knowledgeable, I will share that new information with my students so that they can use what I know to educate themselves. At least in that way, they are not falling completely behind and will be encouraged to take some responsibility for their own learning and begin to seek out more knowledge than I can offer them. Perhaps they can even become better advocates and find ways to push legislators, schools, and other teachers to give them what they need to be competitive in the global job market.
I was equally surprised and perplexed that there were only eleven states officially partnered with The Partnership for 21st Century Skills who were actively working towards raising the level of education in order to help lessen the gaps between the world of school and the world of work. Does this mean that schools who are not partnered with The Partnership for 21st Century Skills are not doing their part to ready their graduates for the 21st century career world? I do not believe that it does and when reviewing the Framework for 21st Century Learning published by The Partnership, I was somewhat disturbed by their statement that “only when a school or district combines the Framework with 21st century professional development, assessments and standard, can the American public be sure that high school graduates are prepared to thrive in today’s global economy.” Although I am sure their intentions are not to offend, the implications that schools who do not follow the Framework are not preparing students properly is quite unfair, especially to those schools which suffer from a low tax base and lack of funding. Many of these schools are doing the best they can and do manage to produce many globally competitive graduates. Nevertheless, I do realize that we as a society could be doing more so that all of our graduates are globally competitive and that is the ultimate goal of The Partnership.
The implications for me as an educator are huge. Not only do my students need to be prepared, but I also need to be able to teach them and all of us will have to be open-minded and willing to make the effort; however, our hands are tied until schools and classrooms are equipped with the necessary technology need to make all this a reality. Until then, I will do as much as I can by continuing to educate myself independently while I wait for school administration to play catch up. And as I become more knowledgeable, I will share that new information with my students so that they can use what I know to educate themselves. At least in that way, they are not falling completely behind and will be encouraged to take some responsibility for their own learning and begin to seek out more knowledge than I can offer them. Perhaps they can even become better advocates and find ways to push legislators, schools, and other teachers to give them what they need to be competitive in the global job market.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Blog Use in My Classroom
I would love to begin using blogs for online literature circles. The blog's purpose would be to foster discussion of various stories and novels. Students would interact with story content and use their blogs to analyze story elements such as plot and characterization. In addition, they would discuss the many literary elements that appear in their readings. I would be thrilled to see debates about the use of symbolism in Crane's The Red Badge of Courage, the use of irony and sarcasm in Twain's Puddin'head Wilson, even the elements of the Modern Gothic in today's vampire novels by Meyer, Pike, and Cast. Blogging would help students to overcome their lack of confidence and encourage them to participate. This would be a great enhancement to the lesson because it would allow them partial anonimity as well as give them more time to think about what they want to say and how they want to say it. Additionally, I have very small numbers in my classroom as well as mixed grade groups throughout the day. A blog would be a good tool for this instructional context because it would allow morning 9th graders to interact with the 9th graders in the afternoon etc...
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
A Little Honesty...
Ok, so I ranted a bit about how administration is not always supportive or thorough in providing for the technology needs of the classroom that they preside over. Well, in all honesty, I have to be fair and admit that in the school that I work for, they are at least trying.
I work for BOCES or the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services which do a lot of different things...including technology integration and support and special education services, for the school districts in the area. We also have numerous career and technical programs for the students of those schools. The program that I work for is an Alternative Education high school for grades 7-12 and we are just beginning our second year at this campus. I guess that I felt the need share that because my issues with technology are compounded by the fact that we are a new program and are still working through various problems and glitches, so I just need to remember that the process of fine tuning often takes years and that teachers, like musicians, need to practice in order become professionals. So, I will try not to complain and use my energy to take "technology" out of its case and practice instead.
One of the tools that they have given us to use is a web based program called Tool Box Pro. I have had it since the beginning of last year, but have not made time to practice with it.
http://www.toolboxpro.org/
Has anyone else had the opportunity to use this program and if so, what did you think about it?
I work for BOCES or the Boards of Cooperative Educational Services which do a lot of different things...including technology integration and support and special education services, for the school districts in the area. We also have numerous career and technical programs for the students of those schools. The program that I work for is an Alternative Education high school for grades 7-12 and we are just beginning our second year at this campus. I guess that I felt the need share that because my issues with technology are compounded by the fact that we are a new program and are still working through various problems and glitches, so I just need to remember that the process of fine tuning often takes years and that teachers, like musicians, need to practice in order become professionals. So, I will try not to complain and use my energy to take "technology" out of its case and practice instead.
One of the tools that they have given us to use is a web based program called Tool Box Pro. I have had it since the beginning of last year, but have not made time to practice with it.
http://www.toolboxpro.org/
Has anyone else had the opportunity to use this program and if so, what did you think about it?
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Social Bookmarking
I am in love with delicious.com and its social bookmarking site. A good friend introduced me to it and I have been a member (its free) for a while now. I find it is an easy way to share resources with other teachers, and people in general. You know how when you go to a colleague for help with something and 45 minutes later, you finally get back to your classroom only to realize that you never got around to asking for help...? Well, delicious.com is a great way to omit the lengthy conversations that seem to eat away at your planning time. I know, I know....we all need time for some adult conversation...but when you are in a pinch...this site is great! Let's network and share resources.... add me!
http://delicious.com/rewebster16933
http://delicious.com/rewebster16933
The Dreaded Classroom Technology...A Rant.
Mounting Frustration...
The Promethean Board, the computer, blogs, wikis, both my grade and plan books, and even the telephone in my classroom are technological innovations or at least linked in some way to a "TI" and I need to make friends with all of them so that I can be the best teacher possible. This means that I MUST LEARN how to use them proficiently enough so that I can TEACH my students at least the basic idea of how to use them and then hope that they will turn around and teach me a thing or two in the process.
I am in no way against technology; in fact, I adore it's intention to make my life easier. However, in the process of trying to save me bucket loads of time so that I can spend more time with my students, I am actually spending more time learning how to use these various gadgets and how to integrate them into my already existing lessons in addition to creating new lessons that are completely based on the new technology.
It's a process, I know. My principal, among others, has told me so again and again. "Things will be better next year" is a phrase that I don't care to hear again anytime soon. The reason? It is next year and it isn't any better. Why? Because teachers are not being given any time to learn, plan, or reflect on all of this new technology. Teachers often are not offered extra planning time or compensation for all the time spent learning outside of the regular school day. It is simply expected, and often, no support is given once the technology is received.
All of this is done in addition to an already overwhelming workload and then others wonder why teachers burn out so quickly.
Now that I have that off my chest, I must say that I really enjoy using all of this new technology even though "the process" is taking much longer than I think it should...
The Promethean Board, the computer, blogs, wikis, both my grade and plan books, and even the telephone in my classroom are technological innovations or at least linked in some way to a "TI" and I need to make friends with all of them so that I can be the best teacher possible. This means that I MUST LEARN how to use them proficiently enough so that I can TEACH my students at least the basic idea of how to use them and then hope that they will turn around and teach me a thing or two in the process.
I am in no way against technology; in fact, I adore it's intention to make my life easier. However, in the process of trying to save me bucket loads of time so that I can spend more time with my students, I am actually spending more time learning how to use these various gadgets and how to integrate them into my already existing lessons in addition to creating new lessons that are completely based on the new technology.
It's a process, I know. My principal, among others, has told me so again and again. "Things will be better next year" is a phrase that I don't care to hear again anytime soon. The reason? It is next year and it isn't any better. Why? Because teachers are not being given any time to learn, plan, or reflect on all of this new technology. Teachers often are not offered extra planning time or compensation for all the time spent learning outside of the regular school day. It is simply expected, and often, no support is given once the technology is received.
All of this is done in addition to an already overwhelming workload and then others wonder why teachers burn out so quickly.
Now that I have that off my chest, I must say that I really enjoy using all of this new technology even though "the process" is taking much longer than I think it should...
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