Reflection on Smart Board Lesson

Jenna Stoffel                                                                                                   Due: 10/27/14

Tech 5170- Reflection on Smart Board Lesson                                              Mr. Hladun

A dear friend once advised my husband and I to “not purchase or buy into anything we did not fully understand.” Technology is currently advancing at an astronomical rate, doubling each year. Without a doubt it is safe to say that using technology is no longer an option, it’s an essential. Claiming this, how are those involved in education effected when school districts are asked to purchase large quantities of expensive technologies they themselves do not even understand?

Pertaining to interactive whiteboards (IWB’s), or smart boards, there is much debate whether or not they are a waste of the school, and therefore the tax payers, money or not. Unfortunately, I have personally observed at as humans, many times we like to do things in extremes. Concerning IWB’s, districts feel either the need to turn their cheek and reject IWB’s all together or feel the pressure to put a smart board in every classroom thus paying millions of dollars for “technology” that may or may not be utilized properly.

After fiddling around and creating a smart board lesson of my own, I can personally empathize with the educators who do not feel as “tech savvy” as their teacher counterparts. With that being said, I do feel more comfortable and even proficient in using the tools that I focused on during my lesson. As I struggled through creating various aspects of my smart board lesson, I was building memory and gaining understanding without an overwhelming amount of stress. However, I will say that due to past experiences using new technologies and after being honest with myself about how long it usually takes me to learn a new technology, I provided myself with ample amount of time for this particular assignment.

For my lesson, I was able to time manage two to four hours a day for three days. I knew that the first day not too much lesson planning would get done instead that chuck of time was set aside for me to play around, stress free, to become more familiar with the program. As I found activities and Icons that I liked I dragged and pasted them into the slides. Eventually, I deleted or modified several, but like I said, at first this first day was a time for me to become familiar with the program, not to lesson plan. In short, how would I be able to teach from a program I didn’t know myself?

Fortunately I was able to use this lesson in real life with my students a week after it was due. The lesson had to be modified as my school does not have smart boards nor do we have ipads for the students. At the beginning of class I set up five different stations one being my laptop with the smart notebook lesson. Before we began the lesson, I had students get into groups of two’s and three’s. Then I walked each student thought each part of each station; especially the station where the smart notebook would be used. In conclusion, they students loved two stations more than the other three they were the:

1-      The conversational station where they could use food props for discussion and

2-      The smart notebook station

Would I personally desire to have a smart board in my classroom? I’m not 100% sure. Would I use it- yes I would. Would it be a daily lesson tool? Perhaps for one or two activities but surely not for the entire lesson for all five of my classes every day. Would I then be classified under a teacher who wouldn’t “utilize” the smart board technology as mentioned in the blog posted October 21, 2011? I’m not sure. Would it be better, if possible, to have a few rooms designated for IWB’s that teachers would sign out a week in advanced? Perhaps!

The other article titled, “Are Interactive White boards a Smart idea when they Make Even the most Innovative of Educators Look Dumb?” was a very opinionated and passionate article stating the “10 reason to Ditch the board.” Below I will state some valid and invalid arguments:

·         Having access to the computer keyboard and mouse so that one is able to see where you are typing and clickingà This is a personal preference. If the teacher has done the proper pre in order to teach a smart board lesson this shouldn’t be a problem.

·         When addressing a classroom it is better to look at student’s faces then have them look at your behind of sideà Whether the teacher is using a smart board or writing on a white/black board, the students will view the same thing.

·         Focus on the students, not the “sage on the stage” à I personally believe that teaching my means of direct instruction should be limited and split up. It is reasonably that every few days, there will be a complete grammar lesson where direct instruction is needed, but having the teacher use the IWB as a projector to read off of is not teaching. The students can do that themselves.

In conclusion, I believe that having access to IWB’s are a wonderful thing. I would enjoy having them in class if I were able to do so. That being said, it would not completely change the way I am teaching now, but it would add a lot to my methodology. I believe that both of these articles were very strong and almost defensive responses to what ever happened in their district. If the teacher can prove to their board/management teach/ whoever is in charge of providing these types of technologies to the school, can present it as if they were a salesman and can prove it will better their teacher and academic achievement in their class, then they should If other teachers refuse to learn or teach themselves the program, they are much better seeking other ways to improve their pedagogy. 

21st Century Skills: Why They Matter, What They Are, and How we Get There... dun dun dun

21st Century Skills: 

Why They Matter, What They Are, and How we Get There... dun dun dun

Ken Kay, among many others, are representatives for integrating "21st century skills" into the educational system in The United States. The valid points and data that Ken Kay brings to light is no surprise to me. Education is indeed on the threshold of a tipping point in public education.  The work force has dramatically changed and the largest demand for students of this generation is knowing how to work on a global scale and with diverse workers both domestically and internationally. Knowing content is no longer enough. The workforce demands skills such as problem solving, critical thinking, communicating and presenting, collaborating in multiple languages...and so the list goes on. 

Isn't it true that educational institutions today are preparing students for job that don't even exist yet? I believe so. At this rate, technology is doubling every two years and as Ken Kay bring's up "more than 3/4 of all jobs in the United States are now int he service sector" (p. xvi). Translation= Manual jobs are being replaced by technology so that people can be interaction, collaborating and problem solving with each other. This means that no longer will workers be expected to perform routine work but instead accomplish high-level thinking tasks that will "empower" workers to be more productive and creative. Ken Kay states that workers without 21 century skills will be "relegated to low-wage, low- skill jobs." 

On a very different note, one thing that I learned from the article that really hit home was the high percentage of students who, for whatever reason, are not graduating high school. Kay claims that the high school dropout grade has reached "crisis proportions, with only 70% of students- and 50% of minorities- graduation from high school on time and with a regular diploma" (p. xvii). Why is this so traumatic? Nationally, Black, Hispanic, and disadvantaged students perform worse than their peers on national assessments and with the great demographics of the United states shifting, minority populations are growing at a much faster pace than the rest of the population. What does this mean for our future work force? What does this mean for society? 20% percent of children are already living in poverty in the US. Will there be a larger gap in America with the richer getting richer and the poorer getting poorer? How can education shift so that students have equal opportunities to learn these 21st century skills to advance themselves in life and in society? 

References

              Kay, K. (n.d.). 21st century skills: why they matter, what they are, and how we get there.

Week 4- Digital Natives Versus Digital Immigrants

“Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach” (Prensky, 2001 p. 1).

Marc Prensky writes in his article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants about the differences in today’s generations.  I have heard these terms, digital natives/immigrants, used before although never quite like how Marc Prensky described them.

It’s peculiar to realize that today’s students K through college represent the first generation to grow up with this new technology of “computers, videogames, digital music players, videos cams, cell phones”, among other digital devices. Not that I was surprised to read that today’s average college graduates have spent les that 5,00 hours of their lives reading, which is a scary thought, but easily over 10,000 hours playing video or computer games. It’s say to admit that I may as well also be included in this demographic.  Digital technology and media are integral parts of our society’s lives. Now- a- days it’s nearly impossible to have a phone plan without data or a smart phone at all!

So what does this all mean? It means that unlike ever before educators have to be come students of their students.  This has always been true, but educators are in need of realizing that “today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors” (Prensky, 2001 p. 1). According to Prensky, Bruce D. Perry of Baylor College of Medicine claims that student’s brains have physically changed and are different than those who did not grow up since infancy with digital technology. These students are classified as Digital Natives and are “native speakers” when it comes to technology. They are quick to learn and quicker to adjust than digital natives who are learning the technological advances of today as adults.

This article was very eye opening for me as I have caught myself having some of the “digital immigrant accent.” I still prefer to print out an article, email, syllabus so that I can physically highlight and feel the paper for myself. Yes of course you can highlight on the computer screen, but there is something different about doing it with our own hands!

One thing I must remember that the students presently are used to immediate responses, fast feedback, and receiving information incredibly quickly. I can’t name one student of mine who goes to the library to look for information for a project. Why should they when they can save the time, effort, and frustration and ask Siri to look up an article for them? Students “thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards. They prefer games to ‘serious’ work” (Prensky, 2001 p. 2).

Teachers need to jump on board because at this point, there is no going backwards. Methodology of teaching, connecting and empathizing with students are different, and display and application of content must be done atypically. Educators must go faster, allow for less “step-by-step” and more parallel, and allow more random access rather than have things done in a chronological way. This is stressful as there is so much knowledge to teach, little time to teach that knowledge in, and structured lessons s the only way to sift through and select the most important material.

               

             In closing, even the most brilliant of teachers cannot compete with the rapid enhancement of technology and the world wide data base that is being developed more each day.  Educators must learn how to partner with technology so that they can not only provide students the knowledge the need to success, but also capture and engage them in the classroom. 

 Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools

Will Richardon's article was full of valuable information and conviction as I hope to integrate more technology based learning into my Spanish classroom. One main point of the reading was how “this is a world of learning built on the connections that individuals create with one another, the personal networks that people build with far-flung, like- minded students and teachers, and the anytime, anywhere communities of practice that from from them.”

Teachers used to be the source of all knowledge. Now a day, any person can type into a search engine and find their answer in 10 seconds or less. The concern is, however, how do students learn how to differentiate between false information or personal opinions on particular subject matters and valid and solid truth? Teachers and parents need to be intentionally engaging students and educating them how to be safe online as well as search for legitimate information. Richardson points out that “individuals can learn anytime, anywhere, as long as they have access to the Web and, in turn, to other people with who they can form groups.” For this reason it is pertinent that teachers are knowledgeable and up to date with the various types of technologies and resources online as well as a basic understanding of how to locate and add to these data bases themselves.

Lastly, Richardson points out that it’s not enough to be able to solely navigate the Web but we must become literacy in understanding networks themselves.  This is not only difficult for children but for adults as well. The world is shifting once again into a world where we not only need to be working on embracing diversity in race and gender, but also in respectfully challenging opinions. 

Tech Biases and Beliefs

How do you feel about the use of technology in the classroom?

Living in the time that we do, I LOVE the idea of technology in the classroom. It's hard to imagine what life would be like as a teacher without a coping machine that could print double sided, in color, and staple! 

A few decades ago, before the internet really took off, teachers were the source of knowledge. When a student was unsure of something, they would ask their teacher. Now a days, most 12 year-old children have the world wide web at the tip of their fingers and google can answer even the most difficult or strangest of questions. Google can even provide images, correct and incorrect, to go along with that information. Although there are valid arguments supporting that this "boom" in technology is has both its pros and cons, as educators I believe we need to jump on board and get a few steps ahead of students so that we can guide them in the correct direction.

Are there certain types of technologies you like, don't like?

I feel as if this is a loaded question.... 

The only technology that I am still unsure about, mostly due to my ignorance in the matter, would be google glass. The fact that pictures could be taken so easily without anyone knowing is a little unsettling to me. 

To be honest, I love 99.9 of technology. What I have a difficult time with is not the device itself, but often times the maturity and integrity of the person using that device. 

Example: I do not think its necessary or eve wise for parents to allow their middle school children to have i phones or devices where they can access the internet 24/7. Personal opinion. 

What have been your educational technology experiences? 

Currently

#1- Projector: The past two years I have used a projector at the beginning of each class for a "bell ringer" activity. Students know that as soon as they walk in, they open their binders to the first section titled "para empezar" or "to begin" and then complete the three to five minute bell ringer or "hook."

Due to the fact that I teach five levels of Spanish back to back, this use of technology allows me to redirect my focus from one level to another. It allows me to have those few moments to switch gears and get ready for the next class. Most of the time the "para empezar" activity is review, but other times, there are fun and goofy questions to keep my lovely students entertained. 

#2- Duolingo: There is a magnificent language learning app for iphones, androids, and standard computers/lap tops called Duolingo. The best part about this program, other than its accessibility and results, is that it’s free! A professor from Carnegie Mellon university felt foreign language learning was so important he has taken a sabbatical from teaching just to focus on this program. My high school students and I have created a class and cross grade competition. This has been an exciting journey as my students are studying Spanish on their own outside of the classroom and are bringing new vocabulary words into class while having fun along the way.

What are you hoping to discover in these classes this year? What are you hoping to avoid?

For these next two semesters I am hoping to discover fun and creative new ways to get m students involved with technology. As a foreign language teacher, I feel as If there are multiple opportunities I can take advantage of and I do not want to pass up many of those chances.

To be honest, I really cannot think of anything I am hoping to avoid. Perhaps numerous group projects only because my schedule is so busy I have scheduled times when I do homework and grade for school. Besides that, I am looking forward to all of the new skills I will have acquired throughout the duration of this course.