Final Blog Post for Class - Why is technology important?

Why is it important for all teachers to integrate technology into the lessons they teach, regardless the age of the students?

Please forgive me as I answer that question… with another question.  What are the students we are teaching today going to be doing for careers in the future?  The fact that things change rapidly with technology has been a very common theme over my time in this course.  Another common theme, we are teaching kids today, for jobs that don’t even exist yet.  When we don’t use technology in class on a daily basis we are doing a great disservice to those we are teaching.  What good are we doing them and what are we preparing them for without technology in our daily lessons?

education ... perfected?

My Dad drives a truck for a living.  He has done this for over 35 years.  Do you know what he has to use on a daily basis?  Yep… technology.  Now as you can imagine it has evolved quite a bit, no longer is he filling out forms, now he just has a GPS.  My point in giving this example is that nearly every single job and career is going to utilize technology.

now with 84.3% more technology

What may be barriers to technology integration and how you as the teacher can overcome them?

To a certain extent people take great pride in things that they have memorized.  But is that really learning?  How can we change what we do to open their minds for higher level thinking  We as educators cannot go around with blinders on to the rest of the world around us and how rapidly it is shifting.  As it says in this blog “Students are using technology to solve problems outside of school.  They are also creating their own technology in some cases”.  So why are some of us pretending that we still live in a world where these things do not exist?  Let’s embrace things like Google Docs, Wikipedia, Sweetsearch, and other tools the Internet has to offer… and stop pretending they don’t exist.

what is this Interwebs thing? 

The biggest take away I have gotten from this class is Sugata Mitra and his educational philosophy.  His is approach is is extreme, but I think that this is necessary while trying to facilitate a change is a system that is  generally locked in one viewpoint.  So I think that what I could do to overcome problems, is lean on my online-PLC for support and ideas.  That is where I can go for help, and where I can go to move my career in technology integration forward.

Digital Story: Intro to PSA project

Quick links to research:
Source 1
Source 2
Source 3
Source 4
Source 5

Videos:
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven

BTP - Integrated Technology Lesson Plan and Artifact

Hi,  This week it got pretty technical and I ended up doing most of my work in Pages and Numbers (the Mac equivalent of Word and Excel) because of my compulsive need to have things designed and laid out in a certain way.

The overall point of my lesson is that it's the first part in the video classes production: Pre Production.  In Pre Production students create a schedule, write a script, and create a storyboard.

Specifically, this lesson is "Behind the Portrait" (BTP) where the students come up with  a backstory for a famous work of art.  For example how did the Mona Lisa end up being at the place where the portrait is located and what is going on with that smile.  It is the students chance to give that backstory and take a measure personal investment in art work they may not be familiar with.

On a personal note this has been, far and away, the most difficult project thus far in grad school.  I very much seen the need and importance, but these things are very difficult for me to do... I'm quite happy with my work, it just took me a very long time ;-)

Here are some quick links to the resources I used in this lesson:
Celtx
Storyboard That
Google Calendar
Numbers (also for calendar)


My Lesson Plan:


The rubric I created for this assignment:

Finally the student artifact created using Storyboard That:

Learning with Technology: An Observation and Interview

School: Pentucket Regional High School

Teacher: Mr. B

For my observation I watched my colleague Mr. B in his graphic design class over six days.  It was enlightening because the class is based on PCs (everything I do is on Macs).  The class is comprised of high school students, grades 9-12.

the Pentucket campus

During my first 3 observations they were woking on a postcard assignment.  when I came back the second time they were starting up on creating their own logos.   It was an experience that forced me to view the world of technology in a very different way than I usually do.

From what I observed in class, It was clear that the students were into the projects.  However, they were very apprehensive about trying things out on their own.  This to me is rather interesting because instead of taking calculated risk to figure something out, they would always ask Mr. B.  The way he responded to the majority of the questions was great though, he who would then in turn encourage them to figure it out on their own (unless it was something beyond the students abilities).

"I assure you that Boston is the capital of Massachusetts... no, this won't be on the test" 

I don’t think that having students ask the teacher for every little step is setting them up for success on their own.  I am aware that there are a portion of people that like it when people check in with them on every little step. teaching students that it is ok to take calculated risks (especially when you can edit -> undo) is a valuable way to learn.   I really like the way Mr. B was getting them to understand that it's ok to try and not succeed at something.

things worked out pretty good for this guy

As I mentioned earlier the students I observed were using PCs, they also were using photoshop which is not a program that I use in my classes.  The subject matter is close to what I teach, but it is intriguing to see a new perspective on how to utilize technology in a very similar setting.  

The following is the short version of the interview I had with Mr. B:

How often do you use technology in the classroom?

- Just about every day

one of the students postcards

What obstacles do you run into when trying to use technology in the classroom?

- Not every student has their own computer

- trying to keep students all on the same page

- alternatives if the internet goes down

- getting students to organize their files effectively 

- getting tech support in a timely manner

What is your plan if the technology does not work as you expect it to?

- ALWAYS have a plan b, which may be a project that does not use technology, or does not have internet access

What types of technology do you use in your classroom and why? 

- computers

a (fake) photo of the interview I had with Mr. B

- photoshop

- the Internet

- word

- (why) because the curriculum is based on these pieces of tech

How do you obtain devices for use in your classroom?

though the school

new technology grants

Do all of the teachers in your school use technology at the same level?

- no

Do you think teaching with technology is helping students? why?

- yes, it's teaching them 21st century skills, teaching them to express their ideas in a new medium.  it promotes creative exploration.

I’ve taken away quite a bit from my observation.  I think the biggest point that has stuck with me is giving connections to the history of the “art” we teach.  I’ve observed how some students con flourish when they make that connection to the past and how for others it gives them a more concrete idea of what they are going to do.

Mr. B's portrait of me
(he made the mistake of telling me about this reddit on video game music and concentration)

Also, while it was not an explicit part of what I observed, the class is offering to design logos for anyone in the school if they want them.  I think this is a great way to advocate for getting more teachers on board with technology in the classroom.

In conclusion,  Technology is vitally important in a school.  If I personally allow myself to have a narrow view of what technology education in the classroom looks like, that will significantly limit my ability to teach technology moving forward.  We are teaching students for jobs that don’t even exist yet, but making sure that they have a fundamental understanding of technology, how to utilize, and how it works it is imperative to their future success.

Date	Time	Lesson Observed
4-11-14	9:31-10:19	students were locating templates for postcards online, to use as a starting off point for their own work, on their own postcards.
4-15-14	10:24-11:12	students used photoshop to create a text/image relationship and create a clear visual hierarchy in their post cards
4-18-14	1:26-2:15	students had printed out their postcards and a class critique was held.  Students gave feedback on their work.
5-1-14	12:33-1:21	Students were doing research online about logos … finding a few that they like, and a few that that do not like.  The class then discussed
5-8-14	9:31-10:19	They are working on their logos (they have to make 10!) in photoshop.
5-9-14	7:35-8:28	students continuing to work on their logos in photoshop … they were learning different tools in photoshop though out these two projects…. this one was specific towards image manipulation

Week 7 - Looking at “Digital Nation” and “Growing Up Online”

Your thoughts on multitasking.  Do you agree?  Can you multitask?  Do you disagree?

I feel like I could provide a great counterpoint to nearly all of what is presented in these documentaries… except for this one.  I have ADHD, I’ve only been taking medicine for it for a year now.  One of the things that I have learned by being on the medicine and is very difficult to admit:  I am not better at multitasking.

as much as I wish I was :-/

I'm sharing that I have ADHD because I know personally that it has shaped my mind (even now) into believing I am a great multitasking person, from my minds desire to be constantly engaged and stimulated.  But In reality, I feel like I can accomplish it all, but feeling and doing are not the same.  

Take for instance what I’ve done while this blog post: I’ve bought a video game from the app store, checked my email, looked on Amazon for computer parts, read other (unrelated) articles, and have had to constantly fight the urge to play that new video game.

“I’ll only check it out for 10 min” …5 Hours later... “I can finish that blog post in 10 min!”
(this is not the actual game, this is the worst game ever: Superman 64)

The hard results in Digital Nation are the same, (9:45 in) people accomplish their goals much slower when multitasking.  I could have been done this post much sooner if I had only focused on writing and researching it.  Is it the end of the world?  No, not really, I know I’ll get this done.  This may differ from person to person too.  I do think it is important to teach people that multitasking may not always be the best approach, depending on your situation.

Do parents of today have any idea what their kids are doing online?  Whose job is it to teach them the safety and digital responsibility?

This is a mixed bag of an answer.  I think that while it is really important for parents to be mindful of what their kids are doing online, most can’t.  I believe it was in Growing Up Online where the kid talks about how he knew when his dad was trying to track what he was doing, and just worked around that.  That had got to be very difficult for all parents, especially ones who are not into technology.  Who needs to teach them?  Everyone in their lives!  These kids need to know the stuff they are doing and saying online

Do video games serve a purpose in education or are they a waste of time?

I’ve written about the video game part before, and I really think this is a generational misconnection.  What people think of when they hear “video games” is nothing like what they would think of when they hear “learning in the classroom”.   We not live in an age where nearly all of us have a smartphone that we use for gaming.  Imagine turning that into a powerful tool in the classroom?

Digital Nation actually does a very good job outlining the social benefits of gaming online and trying shift peoples perception of what video games are and what they can do.  This is a good thing, gaming can be incredibly beneficial to students.

My overall reactions and thoughts on the documentaries 

The most prevalent parts of both Growing Up Online & Digital Nation are what I like to call “generational ethnocentrism”.  Most of the “problems” are things that an older generation just does not get.  This can be seen nearly universally and Dateline does a great job addressing those peoples fears of the unknown.

Don’t get me wrong, many parts in these videos are very, very important (the Cyberbulling part in Digital Nation comes to mind immediately).  My point is that people always think that their generation is the best.  They feel how their generation went about doing things is the best.  And finally feel as though their value system ought to be the standard for generations to come…but this simply isn’t realistic. 

Also: 80% of them are working

Facts that support my point: 35 minutes into Digital Nation we have the gentleman who wrote the book “The Dumbest Generation”.  Yes sir, your generation clearly has not done anything even remotely dumb.  While I don’t think his viewpoint really is that narrow (you have to have a dramatic title to sell books), he basically rattles off several reasons why this generation is the “dumbest”.  What are those reasons?  Oh, they all just happen to be things that if you have a device, you can look up in less than two minutes.  So yes, maybe this generation is not the best at repeating back memorized information… but doesn’t that open them up for more important higher thinking?

My first 5 Links on diigo

here they are

Week 4 - Vision of Technology Integration and my digital footprint infographic

“What a computer is to me is it's the most remarkable tool that we have ever come up with. It's the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.”

Steve Jobs  (link goes to the video where he says this)

I love that quote.  When I first read it a few years ago it was so taken about by how clearly and concisely Steve Jobs summed up my feelings on not only computers, but technology in general.  None of us are born knowing exactly how to ride a bike, but we all can.  Some people get it faster than others.  But any way it happens you need to take time, patience, practice and realize that you are probably going to fall.

hang in there buddy!

But it is something we can all do because there are all sorts of bikes people ride, most have two wheels, others three … some even have four.  But what matters is that just about everyone can, in one way shape or form, ride a bike.  The same is exactly true with technology.

laugh, but she will probably kick your butt at wii bowling

Probably the best argument for why technology is pivotal … assistive technology.  I found this heartwarming video and corresponding article from Edutopia.  Honestly if you watched that video and your heart did not melt… you may not be human.

The one thing though … why the heck did it take so long for some of these students to get this technology?!?  Oh yeah, because the traditional pedagogy of how we should teach (pardon the passive aggressive hyperlink), says we shouldn’t.

On this point I draw a lot of inspiration from my wife, Lisa, who is a Speech Language Pathologist in a school where she works with preschool aged children.  Lisa is admittedly not a tech person.  But just seeing the leaps and bounds that these young kids make when utilizing technology, has driven her to work on implementing technology more and more into her what she does with the kids.

it's not like these guys have a way to access the greatest collection of knowledge ever created

When Lisa integrates that assistive tech with her kids what does she see?  More and more children being able to communicate.  If they did not have the assistive tech?  They are probably struggling more, being pushed though a system that does not adapt to their needs, and leaves them on the outside because they don’t neatly fit in the system.

So the question becomes what can I do in my career to help.  The first thing I need to start doing more of, advocating.  I would certainly not start off on as grand a scale in the link, but getting involved in a movement or just doing the most I can in my area.  Why is this vital to the success of technology integration?  Because, just like with my wife, many people don’t think they are tech literate … until they see how their students will thrive.  

But also where student assessment is concerned.  If I can learn to be more open minded when it comes to the various ways students take in knowledge I can be a much more effective teacher.  I can show them how to mind their digital footprint and how important it is to be a good member of society, even when they are online.

EMC2's Digital Footprint Calendar

Also, not just teaching to specific technology.  So I’ve seen many videos (including the one we watched the first week of class) where it spoke to how we are training our students for jobs that may not exist yet.

I feel that if you teach to just one specific piece of technology you will be missing out on so much more.  And, though it may look good on your yearly observation, you are not really doing a great service to the people you are teaching because chances are it is going to become obsolete.  

do you really need that calculator?   this works just fine

I think, in a way, this is part of the fear of technology.  It is constantly changing and evolving.  In conclusion, that is how we need to teach our students.  How to change, shift and evolve.  How to utilize specific skills they have to overcome the obstacles they will face in life.  Just like riding that bike, we don’t give up when learning gets too difficult.  We stick to it and adapt, maybe we find a bike that fits our needs better.  Or maybe, we reinvent the bicycle.