Technology availability has become a means of social segregation in the 21st century. Students without technology related knowledge and skills are at a life-time disadvantage. As educators, it should be one of our primary responsibilities to make sure that all students have access to technology and are taught how to appropriately and effectively use it.
I feel that in communities where technology access is a problem, the use of technology IN school is of the utmost importance. Computer skills are important and are essential to gaining higher wage jobs in today’s economy and in the future. Employers want employees that require the lowest level of training possible, and so for a student to graduate without proper computer skills is effectively barring that student from obtaining high wage employment. We need to give our students the tools to succeed and technology related skills are part of that toolbox. When a student lacks such resources at home, the student is ill prepared for life after graduation so it is the teacher’s job to help students find where to use the resources at school and how to operate them. We would be doing our students a major disservice if we didn’t help them gain skills for 21st century employment.
I think the biggest disservice we can do to our students is enable any disadvantages. The “real world” and employers don’t care if a student had access to important learning resources, they only care about results. Trying to help disadvantaged students gain accesses to technological resources may require some creativity at time, but it is well worth it for the students to have the skills. Whether it’s writing a grant to get technology for the classroom, taking them to the computer lab, or even helping them to arrange with their families to get them to the library to use computers, students need to know and use basic elements like word processing and internet researching techniques.
There is a wealth of resources available to increase access to technology for disadvantaged students. Grants are available for obtaining classrooms laptops to loan out or to keep labs open after school. Schools often are outfitted with computer labs and class time can be scheduled to work on assignments. Public libraries, community centers, and the Boys and Girls Club often have computer labs that students can use. Obtaining computer programs/applications/instructions that will also facilitate technology use for English Language Learners and disabled students.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Cell Phone Usage and Education
I would like to say that after reading, “Should cell phones be banned from classrooms” that I developed a hard and fast stance for the use of cell phones in the classroom. The reality is that when I began reading the article I was adamant about leaving cell phones out of the classroom, by the time I had reached its conclusion, I fell short of having a true opinion on the topic. I had transitioned into a gray area acknowledging their merits while at the same time seeing the ridiculousness of full integration in the classroom.
I agree with Josh Allen as he argues against the use of cell phones in the classroom saying, “Nothing that you can do on a cell phone will inspire students as they make their way into the world. I cannot think of a job where ‘cell phone operation’ was a skill” (2009, p. 9). No job application I have ever filled out nor job posting I have read has ever inquired into my proficiency with a cell phone. If we believe that our intent as educators is to give students the skills they need to succeed in the work force and in college, we would be mistaken to spend much time on cell phone usage. Further, ability to use a cell phone is a skill that most high school students will master on their own outside of school.
At the same time, if we look beyond the reach of cell operation and focus on cell phones as a tool for educational convenience, Liz Kolb makes an excellent argument for the limited and strictly defined use of cell phones in the classroom. I love the idea of using phones to take photos on classroom trips or during class activities for later submission to a flickr account. Students don’t often have cameras on hand to record memorable moments, but a cell phone is always handy. I also liked the idea of students being able to use cell phones to record lectures. Additionally, I like the thought of using cell phones as clickers during a class. It can be a great way to take attendance without having to stop and mark down each student present in class. In the end, I found the most compelling argument to surround the appropriate use of cell phones in the classroom, “Allowing cell phones to become learning tools will give teachers the opportunity to introduce appropriate cell phone etiquette to students as well as show them how their toy can become an essential professional tool” (p. 9).
The main question I had in the end was what about cell phone breaks in class? Is there less an incentive to sneak using a cell phone if you gave students the first 3 minutes of class to catch up on their texts and then agree no cell phone sneaking during class?
Allen, J, & Kolb, L (2007). Should Cell Phones be banned from Classrooms?. International Society for Technology Education, Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://webct.cu-portland.edu/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct?JSESSIONID=j7QBK8lhXrDMJRFDG5ZhfPwyq0JGD4HVJ5S9tN9YgGbCNbWvFmVS!-544224791!newwebct.cu-portland.edu!80!443
I agree with Josh Allen as he argues against the use of cell phones in the classroom saying, “Nothing that you can do on a cell phone will inspire students as they make their way into the world. I cannot think of a job where ‘cell phone operation’ was a skill” (2009, p. 9). No job application I have ever filled out nor job posting I have read has ever inquired into my proficiency with a cell phone. If we believe that our intent as educators is to give students the skills they need to succeed in the work force and in college, we would be mistaken to spend much time on cell phone usage. Further, ability to use a cell phone is a skill that most high school students will master on their own outside of school.
At the same time, if we look beyond the reach of cell operation and focus on cell phones as a tool for educational convenience, Liz Kolb makes an excellent argument for the limited and strictly defined use of cell phones in the classroom. I love the idea of using phones to take photos on classroom trips or during class activities for later submission to a flickr account. Students don’t often have cameras on hand to record memorable moments, but a cell phone is always handy. I also liked the idea of students being able to use cell phones to record lectures. Additionally, I like the thought of using cell phones as clickers during a class. It can be a great way to take attendance without having to stop and mark down each student present in class. In the end, I found the most compelling argument to surround the appropriate use of cell phones in the classroom, “Allowing cell phones to become learning tools will give teachers the opportunity to introduce appropriate cell phone etiquette to students as well as show them how their toy can become an essential professional tool” (p. 9).
The main question I had in the end was what about cell phone breaks in class? Is there less an incentive to sneak using a cell phone if you gave students the first 3 minutes of class to catch up on their texts and then agree no cell phone sneaking during class?
Allen, J, & Kolb, L (2007). Should Cell Phones be banned from Classrooms?. International Society for Technology Education, Retrieved August 7, 2009, from http://webct.cu-portland.edu/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct?JSESSIONID=j7QBK8lhXrDMJRFDG5ZhfPwyq0JGD4HVJ5S9tN9YgGbCNbWvFmVS!-544224791!newwebct.cu-portland.edu!80!443
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
How r u writing?
I would argue that chatspeak does not hurt students academic writing or communicating abilities. I felt that the article that argued that chatspeak would was a poor sample of arguments against chatspeak particularly because of the poor sentence strucuture and grammatical errors. I did feel that the counter article made the most important point when the author stated, “English language must be used effectively to understand and to be understood”(2008, p. 9). I think an individuals command over the English language is of ultimate importance in communication. That said, I thnik the aduts main concern with chatspeak was related to their inability to understand chatspeak. We often fear and fight what we cannont understand, and adults are increasingly being cut out of teenage communication due to their inability to understand text speech.
To use the English language to be understood, teachers must learn chatspeak. Instuctors expect their students to know the vernacular of literature and so teachers should expect that to know chatspeak to communicate colloquially. Students understand what times are appropriate and inappropraite to use chatspeak. By simply stating that standard English grammar and language is to be used in writing and in spoken class diction, you are giving students the autonomy to use colloquial language and writing when they please. Students deserve the opportunity to make choices in life, in fact, “Yes, we’ve standardized grammar, spelling, and so on since Chaucer, but kids live to challenge standards”(p. 9). Students are certainly capable of knowing and understanding many different ways to communicate and chatspeak is merely one of them.
After reading the text, I was curious as to how students use chatspeak in their classes. Are they using in essays? Were they told not to use it in essays and use it anyway as a result of inability to use standard English? Should teachers care how student emails read?
Howard, L, & Monfils, G (2007). Is Chatspeak Destroying English?. International Society for Technology in Education, Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://webct.cuportland.edu/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct?JSESSIONID=tJ4yK5nKDJrWs5hbLy8R1T4G7Q02JjVByBLDzy5821v47kyCBRn2!-544224791!newwebct.cu-portland.edu!80!443.
To use the English language to be understood, teachers must learn chatspeak. Instuctors expect their students to know the vernacular of literature and so teachers should expect that to know chatspeak to communicate colloquially. Students understand what times are appropriate and inappropraite to use chatspeak. By simply stating that standard English grammar and language is to be used in writing and in spoken class diction, you are giving students the autonomy to use colloquial language and writing when they please. Students deserve the opportunity to make choices in life, in fact, “Yes, we’ve standardized grammar, spelling, and so on since Chaucer, but kids live to challenge standards”(p. 9). Students are certainly capable of knowing and understanding many different ways to communicate and chatspeak is merely one of them.
After reading the text, I was curious as to how students use chatspeak in their classes. Are they using in essays? Were they told not to use it in essays and use it anyway as a result of inability to use standard English? Should teachers care how student emails read?
Howard, L, & Monfils, G (2007). Is Chatspeak Destroying English?. International Society for Technology in Education, Retrieved August 5, 2009, from http://webct.cuportland.edu/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct?JSESSIONID=tJ4yK5nKDJrWs5hbLy8R1T4G7Q02JjVByBLDzy5821v47kyCBRn2!-544224791!newwebct.cu-portland.edu!80!443.
Monday, August 3, 2009
PowerPoint Pandemonium
During the PowerPoint presentations, I was particularly impressed with some of the presentation techniques people used. I really enjoyed Anna’s use of music and Jeff’s element of audience participation. Jeff had audience members read from the PowerPoint and gave us a chance to respond to material and interact with him. Also, I really liked how David integrated pictures of historical sites into his discussion of literature. The pictures made the subject matter seem much more relevant to students since it helped us to understand that these were real people and existed in real places.
The least engaging presentations I saw were the direct lecture formats, which I must admit I myself was guilty of myself. Using PowerPoint in class leads to a greater propensity to lecture more and fails to give way to many activities. At the same time, if PowerPoint is used dynamically to supplement lecture, it can add emotion and richness to the lecture and make it more interesting. Several individuals read off of their slides which I was not a fan of because it made it seem like they were unsure what they had written up there and also it made it difficult to hear since they were facing away from the audience.
After viewing other people’s presentations, I became much more aware of my shortcomings. I want to use PowerPoint not only in lecture formats but also to start discussions and activities. It can act as a great general outline for classroom time and serve to display directions or pictures having to do with the topic of the day. I think that PowerPoint’s are often misused and if we used them with greater efficacy, their usage could actually increase and add greatly to the content of a classroom. Over all, I did enjoy using PowerPoint. I really liked the advice the video we watched on PowerPoint gave us. It helped me to see how PowerPoint can be used to infuse a subject matter with emotion and to stimulate discussion. Slides should never be boring, overly wordy, or be read off of, but at the same time, using PowerPoint in the correct way can really add excitement to a classroom. In the end, the pros would include: excellent outline, great way to bring emotion in, fun use of colors/sounds/movies, appeal to visual learners. The cons would include: peoples propensity for misuse with inclusion of verbosity and poorly designed slides, less apt to integrate participation, becomes very direct instruction/lectury.
The least engaging presentations I saw were the direct lecture formats, which I must admit I myself was guilty of myself. Using PowerPoint in class leads to a greater propensity to lecture more and fails to give way to many activities. At the same time, if PowerPoint is used dynamically to supplement lecture, it can add emotion and richness to the lecture and make it more interesting. Several individuals read off of their slides which I was not a fan of because it made it seem like they were unsure what they had written up there and also it made it difficult to hear since they were facing away from the audience.
After viewing other people’s presentations, I became much more aware of my shortcomings. I want to use PowerPoint not only in lecture formats but also to start discussions and activities. It can act as a great general outline for classroom time and serve to display directions or pictures having to do with the topic of the day. I think that PowerPoint’s are often misused and if we used them with greater efficacy, their usage could actually increase and add greatly to the content of a classroom. Over all, I did enjoy using PowerPoint. I really liked the advice the video we watched on PowerPoint gave us. It helped me to see how PowerPoint can be used to infuse a subject matter with emotion and to stimulate discussion. Slides should never be boring, overly wordy, or be read off of, but at the same time, using PowerPoint in the correct way can really add excitement to a classroom. In the end, the pros would include: excellent outline, great way to bring emotion in, fun use of colors/sounds/movies, appeal to visual learners. The cons would include: peoples propensity for misuse with inclusion of verbosity and poorly designed slides, less apt to integrate participation, becomes very direct instruction/lectury.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Attention Span And You!
I think that student’s attention spans are a hybrid of the two extremes discussed. Students of today have an extraordinary ability to multitask but at the same time, with that multitasking comes “no time to focus too much attention on one thing” (2008, p. 8). Today’s student can do many marvelous things all at once, but I would argue that no one of the multi-tasked items is completed quite as well as one singularly focused on. Whether or not students attention spans have become slightly diminished, I think the more important point the article made was in regards to how entirely engaging the use of technology in the classroom was: “students were excited and engaged in the content being presented to them” (p. 9). As teachers, we will be instructing students that have had constant exposure to technology and so we should integrate it into our classes in order to engage our students.
The questions that arise in my mind revolve around to what extent shortened attention spans affect the world we live in. When we watch the news, information is delivered to us in sound bites- news stories packaged into 90 second summaries that will hold our attention but are far from thorough in the explanation of the material they provide. The media is then given extreme power to bias stories in whatever direction they please without the public knowing it. By allowing our information to be abbreviated when it gets to us, we give up the power to discern what fact is and what fiction is.
Marcovitz, D, & Son, J.D. (2008). Is Educational Technology Shortening Student Attention Spans?. International Society for Technology in Education, Retrieved July 31, 2009, from http://webct.cu-portland.edu/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct?JSESSIONID=kCrfKzTpvpDGjJ6v8JX9dxKMX1lGzdCyh3H1qJ118zj3nf5btxV6!-544224791!newwebct.cu-portland.edu!80!443.
The questions that arise in my mind revolve around to what extent shortened attention spans affect the world we live in. When we watch the news, information is delivered to us in sound bites- news stories packaged into 90 second summaries that will hold our attention but are far from thorough in the explanation of the material they provide. The media is then given extreme power to bias stories in whatever direction they please without the public knowing it. By allowing our information to be abbreviated when it gets to us, we give up the power to discern what fact is and what fiction is.
Marcovitz, D, & Son, J.D. (2008). Is Educational Technology Shortening Student Attention Spans?. International Society for Technology in Education, Retrieved July 31, 2009, from http://webct.cu-portland.edu/webct/urw/lc9140001.tp0/cobaltMainFrame.dowebct?JSESSIONID=kCrfKzTpvpDGjJ6v8JX9dxKMX1lGzdCyh3H1qJ118zj3nf5btxV6!-544224791!newwebct.cu-portland.edu!80!443.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Taking the Punch Out of Bullying
Cyberbullying is using technology to intimidate, make fun of, or otherwise socially terrorize (bully) another student. It differs from traditional bullying because it employs the use of technology to carry it out. It also diverges from what people think of as bullying because it is typically strictly emotional and not physical. Cyberbullying is not a fight in a school yard or giving someone a swirly to get his lunch money but is the act of demoralizing an individual through words on cell phones, in chat rooms, on social networking sites, through email, and other internet based communication forums. Though I did have some experience with traditional bullying in fifth grade, I have not had experience with cyberbullying. In fact, the term was new to me as of our class discussion. I didn’t realize that bullying has transcended its former vision of playground fights and now can follow students into their homes and onto their phones.
Schools face potential disruptions and issues when it comes to cyberbullying. Schools are to act as the parents in the parent’s absence. Schools are also to provide an atmosphere that promotes learning for students and is safe. The emotional effects of cyberbullying cause an educational disruption and disturbance and are visible as students become depressed, angry, anxious, and suffer from increased absenteeism as a direct result of bullying. Schools are legally responsible for protecting their students, and so free speech may be limited when it detracts from the learning environment. Even though this bullying occurs off of school grounds and after school time, the effects upon the individual are felt at school and so the school needs to intercede on the part of the victim. Teachers should absolutely step in to protect a victim from cyberbullying. The teacher should attempt to obtain as much information as possible from the student, reassuring the student that she is the victim in the situation and it is ok to talk about what is going on because it is not right. Teachers should also report the bullying to the child’s parents and to the school administration so that the bully can be confronted. The downside with cyberbullying is that if a student being bullied won’t talk about it, it is almost impossible to know that it is going on and to protect that child. To raise awareness and potential parental involvement surrounding this issue, it would be advantageous for schools to address cyberbullying (what it is, how to find out, how to stop it) and charge parents with watching for possible cyberbullying of their children at home.
I plan to hopefully preempt cyberbullying in my classroom with a discussion on it. I want students to know that it is not ok to engage in bullying and that if they are being bullied that it is not their fault and that they can talk about it. I also plan to make the clear connection that cyberbullying is congruent with real bullying and is equally offensive. I want to take power away from bullying by having an open discussion about it. I plan to discuss cyberbullying as a group but also address it one on one with students that are potentially being bullied. I will involve much more than my classroom by talking about the topic with parents and administrators. In fact, the more I think about it, the more appropriate a topic it seems to discuss with the PTA and with the school board. The entire community should be involved in eradicating this technological plague of meanness.
Schools face potential disruptions and issues when it comes to cyberbullying. Schools are to act as the parents in the parent’s absence. Schools are also to provide an atmosphere that promotes learning for students and is safe. The emotional effects of cyberbullying cause an educational disruption and disturbance and are visible as students become depressed, angry, anxious, and suffer from increased absenteeism as a direct result of bullying. Schools are legally responsible for protecting their students, and so free speech may be limited when it detracts from the learning environment. Even though this bullying occurs off of school grounds and after school time, the effects upon the individual are felt at school and so the school needs to intercede on the part of the victim. Teachers should absolutely step in to protect a victim from cyberbullying. The teacher should attempt to obtain as much information as possible from the student, reassuring the student that she is the victim in the situation and it is ok to talk about what is going on because it is not right. Teachers should also report the bullying to the child’s parents and to the school administration so that the bully can be confronted. The downside with cyberbullying is that if a student being bullied won’t talk about it, it is almost impossible to know that it is going on and to protect that child. To raise awareness and potential parental involvement surrounding this issue, it would be advantageous for schools to address cyberbullying (what it is, how to find out, how to stop it) and charge parents with watching for possible cyberbullying of their children at home.
I plan to hopefully preempt cyberbullying in my classroom with a discussion on it. I want students to know that it is not ok to engage in bullying and that if they are being bullied that it is not their fault and that they can talk about it. I also plan to make the clear connection that cyberbullying is congruent with real bullying and is equally offensive. I want to take power away from bullying by having an open discussion about it. I plan to discuss cyberbullying as a group but also address it one on one with students that are potentially being bullied. I will involve much more than my classroom by talking about the topic with parents and administrators. In fact, the more I think about it, the more appropriate a topic it seems to discuss with the PTA and with the school board. The entire community should be involved in eradicating this technological plague of meanness.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
CopyWriting Away Education
I think my feelings about copyright law could best be summarized through a haiku I just wrote about them:
Copyright Laws
Make me want to tear out my hair
Their oppression makes me want to scream
The laws make it hard to function
Silly, silly law
After writing such an eloquent poem I might be afraid that the content of my creative efforts would be stolen, but fear not, since I am writing on this blog, my haiku is now copy written. Today I learned how restrictive, and ridiculous, copyright laws are. I learned that if you are showing a movie to a class for educational purposes that it is copyright violation if you have not obtained permission to show it. Previously, I had assumed that as long as you were not profiting from a work or showing it in a large public forum where passerbies could view it, then showing a movie for educational purposes was permissible. I also learned that having students listen to a song in class could also violate copyright law. Basically, copyright law limits me showing anything to a class in its entirety unless I made it myself. I guess that means I need to be more creative.
I believe that certain aspects of copyright law, as they are written today, are fair. The requirement that an author be paid when someone is profiting from his work is very good and right. Unfairness results when items may not be easily used for educational purposes. Though there is greater protection for educators in their use of various materials, it still brings additional stress to teaching since I now must also be concerned with violating copyright law on top of all my teaching responsibilities. I think that the law should protect work when an individual is attempting to profit from it, but that the work should remain open in the public domain otherwise. Further, I think it is absolutely ridiculous how long copyrights last. The fact that a written work can be covered by copyright law for SEVENTY years after the author is deceased wrong. That would mean that the work could be out of the public domain for around 7 generations and that is just too long.
To make sure I am complying with the fair use act, I need to make sure that the school I work at has copyright permission for the resources I am using. Also, by sticking to mainly items produced by the government, I can rest assured that the items are in the public domain and that I am not required to obtain copyright permission in order to use them. Further, in my classroom I will probably spend a nominal amount of time discussing copyright law and the importance of it so that students are aware of how to use resources appropriately. I will give them general guidelines for using copy written material so that they are protected when they use others’ work later in life.
Copyright Laws
Make me want to tear out my hair
Their oppression makes me want to scream
The laws make it hard to function
Silly, silly law
After writing such an eloquent poem I might be afraid that the content of my creative efforts would be stolen, but fear not, since I am writing on this blog, my haiku is now copy written. Today I learned how restrictive, and ridiculous, copyright laws are. I learned that if you are showing a movie to a class for educational purposes that it is copyright violation if you have not obtained permission to show it. Previously, I had assumed that as long as you were not profiting from a work or showing it in a large public forum where passerbies could view it, then showing a movie for educational purposes was permissible. I also learned that having students listen to a song in class could also violate copyright law. Basically, copyright law limits me showing anything to a class in its entirety unless I made it myself. I guess that means I need to be more creative.
I believe that certain aspects of copyright law, as they are written today, are fair. The requirement that an author be paid when someone is profiting from his work is very good and right. Unfairness results when items may not be easily used for educational purposes. Though there is greater protection for educators in their use of various materials, it still brings additional stress to teaching since I now must also be concerned with violating copyright law on top of all my teaching responsibilities. I think that the law should protect work when an individual is attempting to profit from it, but that the work should remain open in the public domain otherwise. Further, I think it is absolutely ridiculous how long copyrights last. The fact that a written work can be covered by copyright law for SEVENTY years after the author is deceased wrong. That would mean that the work could be out of the public domain for around 7 generations and that is just too long.
To make sure I am complying with the fair use act, I need to make sure that the school I work at has copyright permission for the resources I am using. Also, by sticking to mainly items produced by the government, I can rest assured that the items are in the public domain and that I am not required to obtain copyright permission in order to use them. Further, in my classroom I will probably spend a nominal amount of time discussing copyright law and the importance of it so that students are aware of how to use resources appropriately. I will give them general guidelines for using copy written material so that they are protected when they use others’ work later in life.
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