Blog 4: Access, Adequacy, and Equity in Educational Technology
Researching for our other assignments I became very jealous of what other school districts were doing at their schools. I’ve read technology plans from other districts, and thought about their technology benchmarks they intended to meet with their tech plan for the state. Then I looked at my district. I’ve taught 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th grades in our district. I’ve even taught K-3rd computers. I was one of the teacher representatives that worked on our district’s tech plan for the state. No way is our district near other similar districts in technology or achieving our benchmarks. We have the technology, but most teachers use it. It is sad the different levels of technology literacy I encounter the in 8th graders I teach. Is it our goal to teach content or technology or both?
Based on the findings on Technology Access which category does my classroom fall into? I have two computers in my room. Both of the computers are my computers; one the school gives each teacher and the other one is my own laptop from home. Our school has approximately 120 computers in our media center which are always in use. computers for 800 students. They are on rolling carts to be signed out as a needed basis. Unfortunately many of the computers are not in working order and since we have more than 30 students in a class we are always scrounging around or doubling up. Then you also have to deal with the computer hogs. We all know who they are. There are only 5 computers in our media center which are always in use. I feel our district gets a gold star for teacher use in school and from home. They make shareware available for us to access our homework site and email from home by giving us personal computers we transfer to and from school.
I agree with the article that for technology to become a reliable tool we all must have access in the classroom at that teachable moment. However, do you really need a computer for every student in your classroom? Schools that have one-to-one computers are getting away from them because of student misusing the technology for game playing, emailing, or internet searching during class. Students were forgetting them at home and the repair were insurmountable is the district. We researched interactive whiteboards. They motivate and engage students the same way computers do. Wouldn’t technology funds be better spent to reach a larger population?
Our software and internet access in our district is adequate. Our district is all wire-less and our tech repair team does a great job. I would rate our school very high on this issue. The software is adequate for the average student but below average for the special needs. This year I had a blind student in class and he had a software program that was suppose to read to him. Not once did it work correctly. As far as training, we would score low. We do have training for our new teachers before school starts for ½ day covering phones, email and our grading program. If you are a veteran teacher there isn’t any ongoing training. We could improve in this area. The area our district lacks is in curriculum integration with technology. If a student gets a teacher that is afraid of technology then that student will not have technology experiences that entire year. These inequities can be seen when they reach the 8th grade.
After reading the study I was surprised with the findings. I felt my school district was unique in lack of access, equity, and educational. We were above in some areas and behind in others especially in the staff development and integration. We are doing well with buying the technology we need and being able to access the technology. What we need to work on is integrating it into the curriculum in a way that engages and motivates students. I feel teachers could collaborate in developing integrated lessons. We need to change the way we teach. We could meet departmentally once a month to discuss what lessons we did, how we changed them to integrate technology. We could also meet with other departments to see if what they do we could incorporate into our curriculum. The last two years I worked on presentations and integrating United Streaming into all the chapters we teach in social studies. Next year as part of my teacher evaluation I plan to work with another social studies teacher to change the way we present our curriculum by putting even more technology into it. We are developing project based assignments along with scavenger hunts on the internet. We plan to give less teacher directed instruction from the text book and more student directed activities through situated learning activities. Hopefully I will become a change agent in my department.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Blog 3: Interactive Whiteboards & SRS
Blog 3: Interactive Whiteboards & SRS
Technology has undoubtedly made the world a more exciting place. It has also provided a challenge in the classroom. Surrounded by the interactive dazzle of technology in their daily lives, students are likely to be less engaged in a traditional one-to-many classroom format. Today's students require a different teaching approach.
What a powerful tool Student Response Systems (SRS) can be in the classrooms. SRS promote innovation and outstanding success. Case studies demonstrate the dramatic difference to your classroom by increasing learning, in attentiveness, and productivity. Teachers strive to provide their students with the latest educational technology offerings. They have begun using SRS to decrease grading time, increase student participation and even in preparation for the state's assessments. We are always looking for ways to replace the time-consuming tasks that involve grading the traditional pencil and paper tests with something easier and fun. We are always struggling with trying to engage 100 percent of our students 100 percent of the time. With SRS this engagement struggle can be made easier. SRS also allows teachers to isolate individual student comprehension and work with them on a one-on-one basis as needed.
One way to use SRS in your classroom would be to check students' understanding at the end of each unit. Because each student can be assigned a numbered response tool, you can check which students had trouble understanding the material and reteach that particular concept. The classroom teacher can also use the SRS to determine what students already know about an upcoming unit. This will help the educator determine where to start teaching a new concept. Instead of individual assessments, entire class assessments can be taken after watching a video on a particular topic. You can set up a simple true or false assessment where you are surveying an entire classroom rather than individual assessments. Diverse teaching methods are a must in today’s classroom. The SRS tailors the curriculum to each student individual needs by allowing the student remain anonymous in their responses to questions.
Another powerful technology tool in the classroom is interactive whiteboards. Interactive whiteboards can replace traditional whiteboards or flipcharts in the 21st Century classroom. With an interactive whiteboard you can show your students web sites, presentations from your computer, or anything you might see on your computers desktop. The electronic interactive whiteboard combines presentation tools with interactive learning experiences for large or small groups, as well as for distance learning. This presentation device interfaces with a computer. The computer images are shown on the board by a digital projector, where they can be seen and manipulated by using his finger as a mouse or a stylus. The teacher or student can run applications directly from the board. Another user at the computer can also have input. Any notes or drawings can then be saved or printed out and distributed to group members. You can use this technology tool to present a lesson, have students partake in the lesson as active participants, change the lesson, and save it all on the whiteboard. When students are absent they can see what they missed by viewing the material that was saved.
Why should you use an interactive whiteboard in your classroom? The board accommodates different learning styles. Students of different ages and levels can use it. One-computer classrooms can maximize the use of limited computer access by using the whiteboard. Students can work together with individuals contributing at the board, other participants at the computer, and the group as a whole discussing the activity. It can interface well with other peripherals such as a video camera. Finally, it is a kid magnet! Using the interactive whiteboard, the key word being interactive, kids of all ages are drawn to the board. Children just want to use the board at every opportunity.
Using interactive whiteboard or SRS in your classroom increase the effectiveness of learning because it engages students in creative ways. They have an ownership in the lesson because they actively participate and enjoy participating in their learning environment. Think about it, is there anyone you know that doesn’t like going to the board?
Technology has undoubtedly made the world a more exciting place. It has also provided a challenge in the classroom. Surrounded by the interactive dazzle of technology in their daily lives, students are likely to be less engaged in a traditional one-to-many classroom format. Today's students require a different teaching approach.
What a powerful tool Student Response Systems (SRS) can be in the classrooms. SRS promote innovation and outstanding success. Case studies demonstrate the dramatic difference to your classroom by increasing learning, in attentiveness, and productivity. Teachers strive to provide their students with the latest educational technology offerings. They have begun using SRS to decrease grading time, increase student participation and even in preparation for the state's assessments. We are always looking for ways to replace the time-consuming tasks that involve grading the traditional pencil and paper tests with something easier and fun. We are always struggling with trying to engage 100 percent of our students 100 percent of the time. With SRS this engagement struggle can be made easier. SRS also allows teachers to isolate individual student comprehension and work with them on a one-on-one basis as needed.
One way to use SRS in your classroom would be to check students' understanding at the end of each unit. Because each student can be assigned a numbered response tool, you can check which students had trouble understanding the material and reteach that particular concept. The classroom teacher can also use the SRS to determine what students already know about an upcoming unit. This will help the educator determine where to start teaching a new concept. Instead of individual assessments, entire class assessments can be taken after watching a video on a particular topic. You can set up a simple true or false assessment where you are surveying an entire classroom rather than individual assessments. Diverse teaching methods are a must in today’s classroom. The SRS tailors the curriculum to each student individual needs by allowing the student remain anonymous in their responses to questions.
Another powerful technology tool in the classroom is interactive whiteboards. Interactive whiteboards can replace traditional whiteboards or flipcharts in the 21st Century classroom. With an interactive whiteboard you can show your students web sites, presentations from your computer, or anything you might see on your computers desktop. The electronic interactive whiteboard combines presentation tools with interactive learning experiences for large or small groups, as well as for distance learning. This presentation device interfaces with a computer. The computer images are shown on the board by a digital projector, where they can be seen and manipulated by using his finger as a mouse or a stylus. The teacher or student can run applications directly from the board. Another user at the computer can also have input. Any notes or drawings can then be saved or printed out and distributed to group members. You can use this technology tool to present a lesson, have students partake in the lesson as active participants, change the lesson, and save it all on the whiteboard. When students are absent they can see what they missed by viewing the material that was saved.
Why should you use an interactive whiteboard in your classroom? The board accommodates different learning styles. Students of different ages and levels can use it. One-computer classrooms can maximize the use of limited computer access by using the whiteboard. Students can work together with individuals contributing at the board, other participants at the computer, and the group as a whole discussing the activity. It can interface well with other peripherals such as a video camera. Finally, it is a kid magnet! Using the interactive whiteboard, the key word being interactive, kids of all ages are drawn to the board. Children just want to use the board at every opportunity.
Using interactive whiteboard or SRS in your classroom increase the effectiveness of learning because it engages students in creative ways. They have an ownership in the lesson because they actively participate and enjoy participating in their learning environment. Think about it, is there anyone you know that doesn’t like going to the board?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Active Learning and Technology Blog Deux
Active Learning and Technology: Blog 2
The article “Active Learning and Technology: Designing Change for Faculty, Students, and Institutions” hit home in a lot of ways. It discusses single- and double-loop learning which was something I was doing, but didn’t know a label had been placed on it. The National Research Council broke change down into three categories: learning contemporary skills (single-looping), advancing foundational concepts (single-looping), and finally the skill area of adapting intellectual capabilities (double-looping). The majority of teachers I work with are at the single-loop stage which is day to day tech usage such as emailing, common knowledge of programs that they use all the time and seeing the advantages and disadvantages of using electronic media in their classrooms. The article goes on to say how change can take place in the 21st century classroom, teacher and student.
In order to have change in our schools we have to have change agents, people who are not afraid of change. I’ve taken team building workshops and there are always two main categories of teachers in schools, those who want to change and are not afraid of change and the others are called “boulders”, those who won’t change no matter what. The question is how we get the “boulders” to accept change and bring technology into the 21st century classroom. I asked myself what motivated me to want to change and use technology for problem solving and critical thinking in my lessons at school. I like change and enjoy learning new strategies. Intrinsic gratification comes to mind. Some teachers don’t want to change because they don’t want to do one more thing because of the demands of the day to day classroom. The first step is you have to want to change.
How can I get others to change? They didn’t Rome in a day! Baby steps, that’s the key. Small steps of introducing technology into your lessons are a large part of getting teachers to buy into change. Some teachers that don’t want to change by using technology is because the fear factor, their just not risk takers. Incorporating small workshops for teachers before or after school really does benefit not only the teachers but also their facilitator. I like conducting workshops with just two people in a group. That way they are gearing their learning to what they want to know at the level they are working at. They need a solid foundation in the technology if they want to try using in the classroom. A small setting always works better. Also, who is in the training with them makes a difference. After they are comfortable and working at a designated skill level, the next step would be move to their curriculum area. Modeling and sharing would be the next step. Teachers always complain we never have time to share ideas or observe other teachers in the day to day classroom setting. Teachers having the time to talk about what they do in their classrooms and how easy it is or how it would be to use technology or even visit a teacher using different medias for a similar lesson they both teach would be an enormous help. Set small goals for planning. An example could be change one lesson in a unit to incorporate a technology media. The facilitator of the training could set up a support buddy, or support group for teachers wanting to change. Another key component of helping teacher change would be to reflect back to see how it worked this year and what would they change for next year. Teachers teaching teachers and sharing what they did in the classroom works. I believe the key is small changes over a period of time with a support network built into the training sessions. We need to get the teachers out of their comfort zone.
Students are basically the same as teachers. They have to buy into the 21st century classroom rather than the traditional classroom. Students, teachers and parents are use to the “stuff and dump” syndrome that the article addresses in the traditional classroom. They have the same fears and anxieties that the teachers have. They don’t like being out of their comfort zone. Change needs to be slow when it comes to the standardized testing that students are use to. They need to be brought slowly along for them to succeed in performance based testing. They need to move from the passive learner to the active learner.
Research shows that “active learning is one of the most important and beneficial components of the learning process.” Active learners are able to understand difficult material, adapt to difficult problem solving tasks, and relate the task to real life situations. Active learners retain what they have learned and have the skills necessary to achieve problem solving and higher level thinking skills needed in the 21st century. You’re never too old to learn new tricks!
The article “Active Learning and Technology: Designing Change for Faculty, Students, and Institutions” hit home in a lot of ways. It discusses single- and double-loop learning which was something I was doing, but didn’t know a label had been placed on it. The National Research Council broke change down into three categories: learning contemporary skills (single-looping), advancing foundational concepts (single-looping), and finally the skill area of adapting intellectual capabilities (double-looping). The majority of teachers I work with are at the single-loop stage which is day to day tech usage such as emailing, common knowledge of programs that they use all the time and seeing the advantages and disadvantages of using electronic media in their classrooms. The article goes on to say how change can take place in the 21st century classroom, teacher and student.
In order to have change in our schools we have to have change agents, people who are not afraid of change. I’ve taken team building workshops and there are always two main categories of teachers in schools, those who want to change and are not afraid of change and the others are called “boulders”, those who won’t change no matter what. The question is how we get the “boulders” to accept change and bring technology into the 21st century classroom. I asked myself what motivated me to want to change and use technology for problem solving and critical thinking in my lessons at school. I like change and enjoy learning new strategies. Intrinsic gratification comes to mind. Some teachers don’t want to change because they don’t want to do one more thing because of the demands of the day to day classroom. The first step is you have to want to change.
How can I get others to change? They didn’t Rome in a day! Baby steps, that’s the key. Small steps of introducing technology into your lessons are a large part of getting teachers to buy into change. Some teachers that don’t want to change by using technology is because the fear factor, their just not risk takers. Incorporating small workshops for teachers before or after school really does benefit not only the teachers but also their facilitator. I like conducting workshops with just two people in a group. That way they are gearing their learning to what they want to know at the level they are working at. They need a solid foundation in the technology if they want to try using in the classroom. A small setting always works better. Also, who is in the training with them makes a difference. After they are comfortable and working at a designated skill level, the next step would be move to their curriculum area. Modeling and sharing would be the next step. Teachers always complain we never have time to share ideas or observe other teachers in the day to day classroom setting. Teachers having the time to talk about what they do in their classrooms and how easy it is or how it would be to use technology or even visit a teacher using different medias for a similar lesson they both teach would be an enormous help. Set small goals for planning. An example could be change one lesson in a unit to incorporate a technology media. The facilitator of the training could set up a support buddy, or support group for teachers wanting to change. Another key component of helping teacher change would be to reflect back to see how it worked this year and what would they change for next year. Teachers teaching teachers and sharing what they did in the classroom works. I believe the key is small changes over a period of time with a support network built into the training sessions. We need to get the teachers out of their comfort zone.
Students are basically the same as teachers. They have to buy into the 21st century classroom rather than the traditional classroom. Students, teachers and parents are use to the “stuff and dump” syndrome that the article addresses in the traditional classroom. They have the same fears and anxieties that the teachers have. They don’t like being out of their comfort zone. Change needs to be slow when it comes to the standardized testing that students are use to. They need to be brought slowly along for them to succeed in performance based testing. They need to move from the passive learner to the active learner.
Research shows that “active learning is one of the most important and beneficial components of the learning process.” Active learners are able to understand difficult material, adapt to difficult problem solving tasks, and relate the task to real life situations. Active learners retain what they have learned and have the skills necessary to achieve problem solving and higher level thinking skills needed in the 21st century. You’re never too old to learn new tricks!
Monday, April 28, 2008
TIE 532 Blog 1
Teaching Situation
I work for Homer Community School District 33C which is in Homer Glen, Illinois. Homer Glen is a fast growing community and can be found in the southwest suburbs of Chicago between Orland Park and Lockport. Homer Glen’s population is approximately 24,000 and has doubled in size in the last 10 years.
Our school district has approximately 3,500 students and is divided into three elementary buildings K-4, one middle school 5th and 6th, and one junior high school 7th and 8th. Our elementary school district feeds into Lockport High School. Homer Junior High has approximately 800 students and is divided into five teams. The makeup of our school is predominantly white Caucasian (88%). Our attendance record is 95%. 2.7% of our students are considered low income. The school district also has 2.1% limited English.
Teachers in Homer School District average teaching experience is 11.9 years. 54% of the teachers have a bachelor’s degree, and 47% have their master’s degree. The average teacher’s salary is $51,600, one of the lowest in Will County.
I’ve worked for our school district since 1990. I’ve taught all subjects in 6th, 5th and 4th grades; Kindergarten through 3rd Computers/Technology; 5th and 6th grade Art classes; and I’ve finally found a home in 8th grade Social Studies which I’ve taught for the past 3 years.
At the junior high, my 8th grade Social Studies class ranges in size from 22 to 32 students. I currently teach 6 classes a day plus one advisory class. The other teachers on my team say I have a laid back teaching style. I don’t believe in lectures of more that 5 minutes. I try to include different learning styles and reading strategies to meet the diverse needs of my students in all of my lessons. My goal for my students is for them to be able to learn ways to achieve and become successful. The content of what I am teaching is secondary. I have very high expectations for my students. I truly believe your attitude reflects your altitude in life.
Technology Available
Every certified teacher in our school has a laptop computer. We communicate through email to parents, administration and other teachers. Our district uses SharePoint for sharing how-to folders, network folders where we save our work or student work, and our homework website. Homer’s homework website allows teachers to post homework assignments, announcements, and worksheets for students to access or to keep parents informed. Our district also uses SchoolMax for our attendance and grading system. Next year our district will implement I-Parent. This is where parents can assess their child’s grades from home.
Homer Jr. High has about 120 plus laptop computers on portable carts housed in our library. Each pair of carts house 30 computers and one printer. Teachers sign out these carts as needed. In our classrooms each team of teachers (five subject teams) share one TV, DVD, and VHS. Our math teachers all have a tablet and a projector in their classrooms. We have one smart board in our school. Students have 4 laptops in the library where they can do research or access our online card catalogue.
Technologies in My Classroom
I use my laptop for attendance and grades, emailing and research. I also have the TV/DVD/VHS, housed in my classroom for our team. My most prized possessions in my room are a projector and my laptop. I can go anywhere in the world and show it to my students without leaving our school. Without my projector and my laptop I would be lost. I use these technologies for the majority of my presentations. We visit United Streaming at least three times a week to give a visual of what we are studying about in history. Seeing the filmstrip or PowerPoint presentation on the big screen really sets the tone in class. I use this to demonstrate how-to projects such as web quests and scavenger hunts about material we’ve studied. Students also use this technology for their presentations in class. I think students learn more from searching for material rather than me telling. Learning by doing and problem solving is important in my classroom. Technology is their future.
Technologies I Would Like to Learn
I would like to learn about making digital movies, podcasts, and digital story telling. I’ve never used a tablet or a smart board. Also I would like to learn something as simple as how to burn DVD’s to imbedding home made movies into presentations. Any technologies that would enhance the classroom to help students become engaged would be on the list.
I work for Homer Community School District 33C which is in Homer Glen, Illinois. Homer Glen is a fast growing community and can be found in the southwest suburbs of Chicago between Orland Park and Lockport. Homer Glen’s population is approximately 24,000 and has doubled in size in the last 10 years.
Our school district has approximately 3,500 students and is divided into three elementary buildings K-4, one middle school 5th and 6th, and one junior high school 7th and 8th. Our elementary school district feeds into Lockport High School. Homer Junior High has approximately 800 students and is divided into five teams. The makeup of our school is predominantly white Caucasian (88%). Our attendance record is 95%. 2.7% of our students are considered low income. The school district also has 2.1% limited English.
Teachers in Homer School District average teaching experience is 11.9 years. 54% of the teachers have a bachelor’s degree, and 47% have their master’s degree. The average teacher’s salary is $51,600, one of the lowest in Will County.
I’ve worked for our school district since 1990. I’ve taught all subjects in 6th, 5th and 4th grades; Kindergarten through 3rd Computers/Technology; 5th and 6th grade Art classes; and I’ve finally found a home in 8th grade Social Studies which I’ve taught for the past 3 years.
At the junior high, my 8th grade Social Studies class ranges in size from 22 to 32 students. I currently teach 6 classes a day plus one advisory class. The other teachers on my team say I have a laid back teaching style. I don’t believe in lectures of more that 5 minutes. I try to include different learning styles and reading strategies to meet the diverse needs of my students in all of my lessons. My goal for my students is for them to be able to learn ways to achieve and become successful. The content of what I am teaching is secondary. I have very high expectations for my students. I truly believe your attitude reflects your altitude in life.
Technology Available
Every certified teacher in our school has a laptop computer. We communicate through email to parents, administration and other teachers. Our district uses SharePoint for sharing how-to folders, network folders where we save our work or student work, and our homework website. Homer’s homework website allows teachers to post homework assignments, announcements, and worksheets for students to access or to keep parents informed. Our district also uses SchoolMax for our attendance and grading system. Next year our district will implement I-Parent. This is where parents can assess their child’s grades from home.
Homer Jr. High has about 120 plus laptop computers on portable carts housed in our library. Each pair of carts house 30 computers and one printer. Teachers sign out these carts as needed. In our classrooms each team of teachers (five subject teams) share one TV, DVD, and VHS. Our math teachers all have a tablet and a projector in their classrooms. We have one smart board in our school. Students have 4 laptops in the library where they can do research or access our online card catalogue.
Technologies in My Classroom
I use my laptop for attendance and grades, emailing and research. I also have the TV/DVD/VHS, housed in my classroom for our team. My most prized possessions in my room are a projector and my laptop. I can go anywhere in the world and show it to my students without leaving our school. Without my projector and my laptop I would be lost. I use these technologies for the majority of my presentations. We visit United Streaming at least three times a week to give a visual of what we are studying about in history. Seeing the filmstrip or PowerPoint presentation on the big screen really sets the tone in class. I use this to demonstrate how-to projects such as web quests and scavenger hunts about material we’ve studied. Students also use this technology for their presentations in class. I think students learn more from searching for material rather than me telling. Learning by doing and problem solving is important in my classroom. Technology is their future.
Technologies I Would Like to Learn
I would like to learn about making digital movies, podcasts, and digital story telling. I’ve never used a tablet or a smart board. Also I would like to learn something as simple as how to burn DVD’s to imbedding home made movies into presentations. Any technologies that would enhance the classroom to help students become engaged would be on the list.
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