In a Classroom Far, Far Away…

I hope this works….I had a hard time finding some of my comments.  I didn’t know we had to keep track of them throughout the semester and a few of them I left a long time ago.  I probably left more than 10 because I did a few extra because I couldn’t find some of the earlier ones.

http://shembara.uniblogs.org/2007/12/03/preservation-of-culture/#comment-23

http://weathesh.uniblogs.org/2007/11/25/the-best/#comments

http://kimw.uniblogs.org/2007/11/19/let-us-now-praise-student-journalists/#comment-23

http://kayda.edublogs.org/2007/10/23/tests-just-one-part-of-the-problem/#comment-14

http://hpiette.uniblogs.org/2007/11/26/future-teachers-dealing-with-difficulties/#comment-21

http://ideamen.edublogs.org/2007/11/29/the-final-heistwas-it-a-success/#comment-15

http://steina.uniblogs.org/2007/12/01/14/#comment-16

http://christiedeanna.edublogs.org/2007/09/24/no-to-no-child/#comment-13

http://merp.uniblogs.org/2007/10/22/esl-suit/#comments

http://ebarsy.uniblogs.org/2007/11/13/thats-all-there-is-and-there-aint-no-more/#comment-32

In closing, I have obviously learned quite a bit from my topic of technology in education. The interesting part though, is that it isn’t quite what I thought I would learn.  I learned lots of new things about many things I was already partially aware of.  For instance, I was already well aware of blogs, wikipedia, multimedia, online classes and many other thing I blogged about.  However, I now have a better understanding of how these resources can be put to use in my future classroom. 

I do hope to further examine this topic, though.  I stated in my opening post that I wanted to learn about some of the downsides of technology in the classroom.  I feel that I overlooked this aspect of the topic a little and I hope to continue my research before I make the same mistakes with technology that some educators before me might have made.

 I also hope to learn more about those schools with insufficient funds that might not be able to afford the advantages that technology has to offer.  What alternatives do these schools have to offer, since the use of technology in the real world seems so unavoidable these days?  I think it will be both interesting and possibly sad to see how students from these types of schools fare in the future.

This topic wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be for someone as bad with technology as I thought I was.  I thought some of the topics would be a little difficult for me to understand, simply because I use the Internet mostly for e-mail purposes.  However, most of the information out there is pretty straightforward, even for someone like me.  I feel that I will now be better equipped to put some of these new technologies to use in a future writing or literature class.      

For my last article-based blog, I wanted to find one that examined the use of new technologies in education as a whole, particularly problems with it.  I think I found the perfect discussion in a recent article by Panamalai Guruprasad, posted on my old stand-by Technology in Education site.

Guruprasad begins by discussing the use of communication in the classroom and how it has changed through the years.  While many educators still rely on textbook based teaching, many (myself included) are interested in what new strategies and technologies the web has to offer.  Guruprasad offers educators with this similar interest a word of warning.  He points out that special training is necessary to recognize the quality multimedia lessons from the garbage.  While most educators aren’t trained (and never will be trained) to design their own web-based multimedia lesson packages, many companies offer ready-made lessons for them.  The challenge is recognizing what will work and how to fix what won’t work.  Guruprasad points out that… 

“ready-made K-12 multimedia lesson packages do not satisfy the cognitive requirements of children to the fullest extent. It is probably because much of the K-12 e-publishing industry is still new and doesn’t look into educational research evidences before getting into material production and development.” 

Guruprasad lets us in on a little seemingly obvious (but extremely important and useful) hint when he reminds us that we should borrow ideas from other school-based companies around the world instead of these corporations that don’t fully understand the minds of teenagers.  As a future educator, I find this bit of information very useful.  Many schools in the U.S. and Canada especially, have already developed many of these multimedia lesson packages and they are free for the taking.  All they require is a little tweaking by the teacher to make them relevant to what their particular class is studying.  I’m glad I understand this important aspect.  I will now have a better idea of where to get my teaching products from.     

The Web and the Classroom.  Guruprasad, Panamali.  Technology and Learning.  12/01/07.

http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604862

Have you ever taken an online class in college?  As someone who loves the idea of never having to leave my house and being able to work on my own time, I love online classes.  There have been debates as long as these types of classes have been around as to whether or not online classes are as effective as regular classes.  However, in a recent article I read by Larry Abramson, I found out that online classes are growing at a much greater rate than regular classes in higher education. 

Abramson examines the relatively small University of Illinois.  Although the school is small in size, it is actually “a titan in the online education world”.  The school is recognizing the growing need and wants of students that just want to get the necessary resources from college to go out and get a decent job in the world.  They have no interest in going to class to hear a professor lecture and tell funny stories.  Many already have families and don’t have the time and money to live on campus or attend school according to the University’s hours.  That’s why Illinois has decided to offer their school up to the global community.For those who are afraid that these online courses won’t measure up to the standards of typical classes, have no fear.  The University has teams of well-paid professionals dedicated to keeping the online community up to par with the rest of the school.  Also, student evaluations are the same as those for normal classrooms and carry the same amount of weight.

So, what does all this mean for high school students?  I happen to think that it is the responsibility of high schools to educate and prepare students for higher education options such as these.  Students need to have the knowledge to use the technology effectively so that they will be able to succeed in these settings.  For this reason, I think schools need to put teaching technology on a higher priority than they seem to be doing currently. 

Illinois School Looks to Tech Tools to Teach.  Abramson, Larry.  NPR News.  11/29/07.

  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=16709807&ft=1&f=1013   

Here’s an article about something we’re all familiar with…. blogging.  The author was Maryan Collins, who was actually a presenter at the NCTE conference this year.  There, she discussed the use of blogs in educational settings as well as things she learned from other presenters concerning myspace and other online social tools.  In her blog, she described the use of blogs as a learning tool and some of the things she learned from other presenters on the topic.

Collins talked about using blogs in the classroom in a way that was pretty much identical to the way we’re using them in ours.  However, she brought up some new ideas that might be useful as future teachers as well as future learners.  Collins mentioned that blogs could also be a useful tool when it comes to classroom management.  This is an idea I had not thought of yet.  Through the use of blogs, teachers can provide students with feedback and examples more efficiently.  This is especially helpful with students who tend to lose handouts and assignments frequently. 

Collins also discussed the topic of myspace, something I have been particularly interested in because I know so many students use it.  Collins summarized a presentation given by Ali Mageehon, who used myspace to examine cultural differences.  Mageehon found that…

“The students did not enjoy critically analyzing their social spaces. They felt that school and their social spheres should stay separated.  Generally speaking, we want to tie school learning to students’ own societal practices: It makes the learning relevant, authentic, and potentially long lasting. But students may have other ideas.”

Mageehon argues that making the connection between school and social settings is the real challenge.  If educators can accomplish this feat, then students will take more of an interest in learning.  I couldn’t agree more.  Let’s make learning as fun and enjoyable to students as chatting with their friends and see where it takes them. 

NCTE: Teaching Writing and Literature With Blogs.  Collins, Maryan.  Explorations and Learning; a Blog on Writing and Learning.  12/02/07. 

http://secondlanguagewriting.com/explorations/Archives/2007/November/NCTETeachingwritingandli.html 

I read an NPR news article about an experimental school in Henderson, Minnesota that has broken away from the traditional style of learning.  While most schools revolve around information moving from teacher to student in a confined classroom, the New Country School in Henderson has an environment that sounds more like an office than a usual school.  Students sit at office-style desks in an open area and work on interdisciplinary projects all day long as opposed to moving from subject to subject, classroom to classroom.

This sounds like a refreshing change of pace for many students who may have problems with the usual status quo of education.  It seems that the biggest advantage to this style of education would be the preparation for a real world experience in today’s job market.  Even students who may not go to college will be working in office setting putting together projects, filing papers, and performing tasks that required administration and networking skills.  Students will feel more ownership in their work and will be able to think more about the end result of what they want to accomplish as opposed to completing individual homework assignments from math, social studies, etc.

I think there are some limitations to this kind of setting however.  I would be hesitant to use this type of approach on students who are more creative and think outside of the box.  These are the same students who would dread seeing themselves working in a cubicle after high school.  I would also be concerned about social interaction among students.  Is there only contact with one another through blogs and their immediate neighbors? Do they have an opportunity to work with diverse groups of people in their current setting?  I’m also concerned about funding this type of school.  New Country is a charter school with a small enrollment.  I wonder if this system would work with larger schools within the framework of public education. 

Experimental School gets Rid of Classes, Teachers.  Abramson, Larry.  NPR News.  10/19/07.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15322289&ft=1&f=1013

It is amazing how technology has changed the landscape for both teachers and students since I was in high school.  With the introduction of new research tools like wikis I think it is probably safe to assume that the age-old method of using books and journals to find information is on its way out, unless of course those things can be found online. Many school districts are currently reluctant to allow students to use sites like Wikipedia as sources of information because teachers may be afraid that students will simply cut and paste what they find.  This is certainly a valid concern.  Teachers do not want to feel as if they are enabling their students to be lazy or take the easy way out when doing research.

It is probably necessary then to retrain both students and teachers on how to better scrutinize these online resources.  When I was learning how to write research papers in high school, more time was spent on how to document sources than actually questioning the validity of the source itself.  Today, with the ease of which people can post information on the Internet, teachers should spend more time training students to be more critical of information, especially when that information comes from websites that allow the user to update or change the information (like wikis). 

I think one more way to help students understand the content of information found on the web is create assignments that allow students to use critical thinking.  For example, imagine a teacher assigning their students to analyze the character Atticus Finch from the book To Kill a Mocking Bird.  A student today could probably find that information in five minutes off of the web (today’s version of cliff notes).  But what if the assignment had been for Atticus to write a letter to Scout justifying his actions in the book.  The student can still look up information off of the web but has to think critically about Atticus’ actions.  If teachers give assignments assuming students will use the Internet and wikis in particular they will have an easier time getting the most from students.

Critical Evaluation in the Collaborative Era.  Schrock, Kathy.  Technology and Learning.  10/15/07.

http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604742

I wish I had written this blog when the Shakespeare festival was still fresh in my head, but I guess procrastination is one of my biggest flaws.  Anyway, I thought it was pretty cool.  I was especially impressed with how interesting I found Shapiro to be.  I thought that the lecture would actually be a little boring, but I thought it was very interesting.  I was happy to hear him relate his discussion to things like the movie Shakespeare in Love just because I’m more familiar with that than his work.  I was also excited to hear that he’s going to have his own HBO miniseries.  How cool is that?!  I can’t wait to watch it when it comes out.  I wonder if they will HBO it up, and add lots of drama to it.         

I thoroughly enjoyed the stage talk before the performance of Cymbeline.  I was even more shocked that my boyfriend (who I dragged along with me) found it interesting as well.  In fact, I think he liked the discussion more than the performance itself.  I really liked the way Shapiro was so casual with all of us.  He just sat back and let us set the tone of the discussion.  I was personally too shy to ask any questions, but my fellow classmates took care of me by asking some good ones relating to teaching Shakespeare.

I enjoyed the performance of Cymbeline as well, but I didn’t love it.  I’ve never heard the story before and I think I would have liked to original setting better than the Civil War one they used.  I also thought it was a little too slow, up until all the excitement at the end of course.  I did love the villain Iachimo, I think his name was.  I’m not sure if it was the character or the actor, but he was so great at being creepy.  Seeing him sneak around in Imogen’s bedroom sent chills up my spine.  I had a great time watching the show and look forward to my next Shakespeare performance, please let me know if anyone hears of any coming up soon.      

I recent blog I read by Alvin Toffler connected the idea of 2.0 with education and the rest of the world.  This was one blog out of a series he’s written on the subject, as you can see in his headline…

“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and  write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”  (Toffler, 2007).

He begins his argument by pointing out the fact that the recent move to mobile phones and mobile web in some rural parts of
Africa is making a huge difference in business.  Once poverty stricken small business owners and farmers are now noticing a huge profit in sales since they’ve become connected to the rest of the world, even their neighborhood. 

So, what does this have to do with education?  Toffler believes that the same principles can be true in American education as well.

“Applications on this platform are the next big thing - education at all levels, specialized information on agriculture, health, hygiene, first aid and water management, literacy programs, access to “how to’s” and wikipedias and  all the other things we take for granted today when we simply “google” something can now be accessible across the former barriers  of infrastructural constraints and cost of technology.”  (Toffler, 2007) 

It’s easy to see that those schools and students that have more access to internet and technology have an easier time learning.  So, it seems the real problem is getting it to the “haves and have nots” (Toffler, 2007) of American education.  Toffler answers this problem by pointing out that there is already an “intraweb”, or open connection out there that we use everyday to transfer funds and do other financially based things everyday.  He seems to think that this same system could be reconfigured to work as a type of mobile platform for all.

            It’s hard to say, without further research if he’s right or not.  However, it’s a noble idea and would probably make a lot of lives better if it turns out to be true.

Toffler, Alvin.  Perspective 2.0, Next: Bridging the Digital divide.  http://www.nitibhan.com/perspective_20/2007/09/next-bridging-t.html.  Accessed 9/25/07.       

            I mentioned in my opening blog that I was interested in hearing both some horror and inspirational stories of technology being used in the classroom, well here’s a happy one.  Techlearning.com is turning out to be a goldmine of tech-in-the-classroom information, especially the Educators’ ezine.  Here, teachers can share tips and stories from their own real world classrooms.  I found this one from Michael Canino, who talks about using Adobe Fireworks CS3 in the classroom and what a success it has been in getting students excited to learn.  In fact, he hooked me with the first few lines…

“The best education is self-motivated self-education. That occurs when a student is motivated to the point that she works to learn all she can on a particular subject. Technology can be the catalyst in motivating just that type of student learning.” (Canino, 2007).

This was honestly the first thing that came to my mind when we started this blog project in our own class.  I’d hoped that with the popularity of tools like myspace and facebook, students might get more comfortable and motivated to work with similar technology. 

            Canino goes on to describe how a particular student used the software to generate a HTML code to illustrate the life cycle of a frog, of which she also researched on the internet.  After doing some exploring of my own, I noticed that the program reminded me of decorating my own myspace page.  I’m sure that many high school students are very familiar with doing the very same thing.  I think it’s this level of ease that makes students more willing to participate in an activity like this and along the way, they probably even start to enjoy themselves.  It can be almost like designing a little world all their own.  An assignment like this one can even be easily modified for those who are not so excited to use technology.  However, for someone very inartistic like me, it would be a dream come true.

            The only problem I noticed with Adobe Fireworks CS3, is that it’s not free.  Unless it’s provided through your school of employment, it will cost future teachers around $300.  I’m sure most teachers aren’t willing to pay this amount out of their own pockets.  I know that I would have loved it as a student, though.  And, my teachers would have loved a break from my stick-figure illustrations.

Canino, Michael J.  Fireworks in Student Learning.  Educators’ ezine.  Techlearning.com.  Retreived September 23, 2007.  http://www.techlearning.com/showArticle.php?articleID=196604657.