Technology and Learning

The articles in this section made me think about how learning occurs in our classrooms and about how I can be a facilitator of that learning. As teachers begin to think of themselves as coaches or facilitators instead of the keepers and providers of knowledge it shifts the responsibility for learning and solving a problem to the students. One of the advantages to this approach is that we are teaching the student how to fish instead of just giving it to him or her. As I think about these articles it makes me consider how to balance the various approaches to teaching and learning to best support our students. I find that many people have an all or nothing approach when it comes to teaching philosophy. They either refuse to use the textbook or use it everyday. The most effective teachers that I have encountered have used a variety of apporaches to reach their students. They vary their approach based upon the needs of the students and the content being covered. Interesting articles!

Standards and Websites

As I read the article on standards and technology based lessons I kept thinking the same thing....Duh! That thought shows that I take for granted that every teacher plans their lessons around standards. Standards based education, while prevelant, is not always a given. It helped me to continue to look at some of my biases and assumptions about teaching.

Evaluating web sites is a new literacy skill that students and educators need to become versed in. The Berkley article about evaluating websites is a great place to start because it is a simple, step by step process through which students can learn more about a particular website. It reminded me of what I know about URLs, etc...but also left me with some things to ponder as well. The section on the quality of information was especially beneficial.

School websites

Schools and districts are joining the 21st Century through the use of technology. There are a wide range of sites that schools are offering for thier communities. There are a wide range of services that can be avilable to parents including access to homework, grades, school information, and school paperwork. School websites can also be a gateway to new learning. The possibilities are endless!

The virtual tours are awesome! They allow interested parties to get a lot of information about the school or the community at the click of a button. I am in the process of creating a virtual tour of our district that will be an ongoing project.

Global commuity projects offer students and teachers a way to get hands on experience solving a problem or developing a theory with real data from other places. The Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science gave students access to other students from as far as Transylvania! Students are using technology to facilitate service learning projects and making a differnece in thier communities while they are learning for school.

This set of articles was very interesting and opened my eyes to wome additional ways that students can use technology as a tool for learning.

The Digital Divide

Access to technology is a serious challenge for students and education. Technology skills are developed through instruction, experience and practice. If students do not have access to technology, then they will be a disadvantage in school and in the marketplace. Technology community centers are one way to bring technology to under-served areas. A community center brings not only hardware and software, but also opportunites to learn and gain technological experience. I would be very interested in more recent studies of the technological divide. My school has a 70% free and reduced lunch rate and it seems that more and more of our studnets have access to technology at home.

Information Literacy

Teaching information literacy is vital to students future success.  The world is changing rapidly and students need to be able to adjust and grow with new technologies and through new skills.  There are various skills that students need to be skilled at.  Searching strategies and knowing how to search efficiently is vital for students to be able to navigate through the growing morass of the internet.  Students also need to be consumers of information.  They need to be able to check the reliability and usefulness of a multitude of information.  The Quick- Quality Information Checklist is a useful tool.  Teaching students to paraphrase and then cite their sources from various types of media will continue to be an important skill.  Students also need to be taught how to apply the skills they learn in order to solve real world problems.  Using technology as a tool to teach higher level skills like analyzing information, synthesizing information, problem-solving, critical thinking 

Internet Safety

As a regular user of various formats on the internet it is easy to forget the dangers that can be encountered.  As we consider students or children using the internet it is important to educate and monitor them.  There are various forms of protection that parents and schools can use to insulate their network from dangerous influences- web blockers, parental controls, rating systems, etc...  It it is vital however, that we do not rely on these measures alone.  Internet predators, internet gurus, and the children themselves are very good at getting around security systems.  We must educate children as to the dangers that they could face on the internet, monitor them and then communicate with them about their internet use.  At our school we do this in various ways.  Our computers teacher begins the year with an age appropriate safety course and then follows-up throughout the year.  We also have the Goodyear Police Department come in and give an internet safety presentation.  It is eye opening for the students.

Ways to Change Education

The articles for day five had a common theme of, "How to improve education."  The Edutopia article, "Big Ideas" discussed various innovations the George Lucas Educational Foundation has found during their research.  Some of the ideas for teaching students include project-based learning, integrated studies, cooperative learning, and comprehensive assessment.  While none of these ideas are new they are a good reminder to keep in mind as we reflect on schooling.   The article on the arrangement of the room was great.  As I think of how my staff sets up their rooms, many of the more effective teachers have a couple things in common with the article.  They have various setups within their rooms that have a purpose.  They also vary the way the desks are arranged  in their room based upon their needs.  The Counting on computers article discussed some early attempts of the Chicago school system on integrating technology.  Boy have we come a long way!