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.
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