Building the Digital Divide: A Building Block for Teachers
This article addresses what is known as the Digital Divide: The fact that students' access to digital technology differs according to things such as race, economics, and school funding. This article helps teachers by providing educators with ideas and strategies that address equity and access issues among all students. It discusses the placement and location, as well as the access given, to technological devices within a school -- whether there has been enough funding for the school to provide at least a few computers in each and every classroom. One thing that I found very interesting was the fact that when schools do not have computers in the classrooms, but have what is known as computer labs, students do not see computers as integral to their learning experiences. It also addresses the fact that since all students do not have access to computers at home, there is an equity divide between those that do and those that don't.
The article goes on further to inform teachers that they need to be more aware of how they use technology in their classrooms, remembering that some students will know much more about how to use a computer than others. Oftentimes, teachers who keep journals of their computer use find that they are using them more for themselves to create lessons than using them in the classroom so all students have access to computers. It also addresses the fact that keeping parents in the loop is important in that there are some stores, like Target, who provide computers for students in need of such devices.
I learned from this article that teachers are not using the computers as much as they should in the classroom, but rather are using them for their lesson planning and making digital videos. I also learned that just because your school is not well funded doesn't mean that there is no other way to get computers for your individual classroom. There are many businesses that form partnerships with schools or individual teachers to help them gain the technological resources so needed in this age.
I will certainly remember that I have other options to gaining computers for my students once I start teaching.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Digital Video Goes to School
This article describes how teachers are now incorporating the art of making digital videos into their classroom experiences. It explains how digital video making helps motivate students and energize teaching. Digital videos are now being used in all grades, K-12 and teaching students to make digital videos has become a necessary conduit into increasing their appreciation of the various subjects being taught.
The article discusses how video newscasts, documentaries, informercials and video clips to be used on a Web page are now being taught to students. The article also demonstrates how using a concept map, such as Inspiration 9 can help students achieve the goal of creating interesting and informative videos.
I had very little experience with creating digital videos until I took this class. I had seen them, but had no idea how to make one myself. I now know that as a future teacher it is important for me to continue my education on digital video making. This is a tool that can make learning enjoyable for students who no longer worry so much about their grade, as on written tests, as they do about making a great video. It helps them increase their understanding of subjects such as history by bringing the events and people alive so that they can better comprehend the subject matter at hand.
Saturday, October 13, 2012
The article I just read really enhanced my understanding of what disabled students can accomplish with the new assistive technology being introduced daily.
The article gave examples of students who had to use their eyebrows with a headband to communicate with their computer which would then verbalize what the student was trying to say. Another student who had cerebral palsy could make movements with her cheek that the computer was able to read and then verbalize what she wanted.
Another student who had limited use of both his hands and legs, could not participate in sports but finally found that he was able to participate in the band with the special accommodations made for him by a nearby music store owner. This young man would not give up and when these accommodations were made for him he is now able to participate fully by the use of a joystick that punches the buttons on his tuba-like instrument.
As I hope to go on to earn my credential in special education, and currently volunteer at an alternative school for students with behavioral and emotional problems, learning that these types of assistive technology are becoming more and more accessible to our schools, I was quite pleased with the information I obtained from this article. I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone who hopes to work with the physically, psychologically or learning disabled in the future should read this article and remember that it is possible if you want something bad enough.
Curtis, D.Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement and Independence to the Physically Challenged. Retrieved at http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-class-school-participation
The article gave examples of students who had to use their eyebrows with a headband to communicate with their computer which would then verbalize what the student was trying to say. Another student who had cerebral palsy could make movements with her cheek that the computer was able to read and then verbalize what she wanted.
Another student who had limited use of both his hands and legs, could not participate in sports but finally found that he was able to participate in the band with the special accommodations made for him by a nearby music store owner. This young man would not give up and when these accommodations were made for him he is now able to participate fully by the use of a joystick that punches the buttons on his tuba-like instrument.
As I hope to go on to earn my credential in special education, and currently volunteer at an alternative school for students with behavioral and emotional problems, learning that these types of assistive technology are becoming more and more accessible to our schools, I was quite pleased with the information I obtained from this article. I wholeheartedly recommend that anyone who hopes to work with the physically, psychologically or learning disabled in the future should read this article and remember that it is possible if you want something bad enough.
Curtis, D.Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement and Independence to the Physically Challenged. Retrieved at http://www.edutopia.org/assistive-technology-class-school-participation
Copyright 101
This article demonstrates the importance of acknowledging work that you use in the instruction of your students by delineating copyright laws and giving examples of when a teacher may copy material to distribute to her students and when she may not do so.
The article lists four examples of what constitute "fair" usage of copyrighted material. These include (1) the purpose of the use; (2) the nature of the work (3) the amount of the work used in relation to the work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use on the market or potential income for the work.
Fair use is considered on a case-by-case basis, but some examples of fair use are teachers copying an article for distribution to her students or perhaps copying an article to use in planning a lesson for her upcoming class. An unfair use example is a teacher copying an entire textbook and distributing the copies to her students. This affects the author's source of income and is prohibited.
This is a great example of what is copyrighted and what is considered fair use of copyrighted material. It also delineates the various types of copyrighted material and should be consulted in order to better understand what a teacher can and cannot do in regards to using copyrighted material for her classroom.
Thompson, Kate A. Copyright 101. Learning and Leading with Technology, Vol 39. No. 7
http://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products
The article lists four examples of what constitute "fair" usage of copyrighted material. These include (1) the purpose of the use; (2) the nature of the work (3) the amount of the work used in relation to the work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use on the market or potential income for the work.
Fair use is considered on a case-by-case basis, but some examples of fair use are teachers copying an article for distribution to her students or perhaps copying an article to use in planning a lesson for her upcoming class. An unfair use example is a teacher copying an entire textbook and distributing the copies to her students. This affects the author's source of income and is prohibited.
This is a great example of what is copyrighted and what is considered fair use of copyrighted material. It also delineates the various types of copyrighted material and should be consulted in order to better understand what a teacher can and cannot do in regards to using copyrighted material for her classroom.
Thompson, Kate A. Copyright 101. Learning and Leading with Technology, Vol 39. No. 7
http://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Don't Feed the Trolls: Using Blogs to Teach Civil Discourse
In today's language, a troll is someone who posts personal attacks, is disrespectful of others, leaves inappropriate or offensive messages on social media such as Facebook or UTube. The main message of this article is to ignore trolls at all times. Responding to inappropriate postings only fuels the fire, often causing more ignorant, offensive messages to follow the original message. It is up to teachers, as well as parents, to teach our children that the Internet was invented to convey proper information which in turn leads to civil discourse.
So what does this mean to us as educators who are responsible for teaching today's students not only academic subjects, but also proper behavior. We all know that teaching children to behave properly is always uppermost in our minds; yet we often forget that proper behavior must also be taught when they communicate via the Internet. Cyberbullying has become a serious problem and has led to tragic outcomes. We must always be aware of what our students are writing in their emails, on their blogs and posting on social networks.
It has become a serious enough problem that many companies now demand from their employees that they provide the company with their password in order that the company officials may monitor what is being said about coworkers and administrators. This is, of course, really a breach of our personal information and many people are very concerned about this new trend. Teachers and principals cannot demand such information from their students, yet they really need to know what is being said over social websites and in emails back and forth to the students.
I think the author really sums up the article effectively when she states "Civil discourse forms the foundation of a democratic society." (Richardson 2008)
Richardson, K.W. (2008) Don't Feed the Trolls: Using Blogs to Teach Civil Discourse. Learning and Leading with Technology. Retrieved 9/15/12 from www.iste.org
In today's language, a troll is someone who posts personal attacks, is disrespectful of others, leaves inappropriate or offensive messages on social media such as Facebook or UTube. The main message of this article is to ignore trolls at all times. Responding to inappropriate postings only fuels the fire, often causing more ignorant, offensive messages to follow the original message. It is up to teachers, as well as parents, to teach our children that the Internet was invented to convey proper information which in turn leads to civil discourse.
So what does this mean to us as educators who are responsible for teaching today's students not only academic subjects, but also proper behavior. We all know that teaching children to behave properly is always uppermost in our minds; yet we often forget that proper behavior must also be taught when they communicate via the Internet. Cyberbullying has become a serious problem and has led to tragic outcomes. We must always be aware of what our students are writing in their emails, on their blogs and posting on social networks.
It has become a serious enough problem that many companies now demand from their employees that they provide the company with their password in order that the company officials may monitor what is being said about coworkers and administrators. This is, of course, really a breach of our personal information and many people are very concerned about this new trend. Teachers and principals cannot demand such information from their students, yet they really need to know what is being said over social websites and in emails back and forth to the students.
I think the author really sums up the article effectively when she states "Civil discourse forms the foundation of a democratic society." (Richardson 2008)
Richardson, K.W. (2008) Don't Feed the Trolls: Using Blogs to Teach Civil Discourse. Learning and Leading with Technology. Retrieved 9/15/12 from www.iste.org
Ecology
ECOLOGY TIPS FOR SCHOOLS
I have chosen Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity to teach my future students how to be responsible citizens through inspiring them to learn about ecology and, in particular, recycling.Many students know something about recycling, but few realize that even their old printers and computers can be recycled. These articles inform the students of the policies of their schools, cities and states' regulations regarding what can be recycled and where.
In an article entitled "Steps to Responsible E-Waste Management at Your School," by Caprice Lawless, five steps are listed that enable teachers and administrators to learn how to best undertake the process of recycling in their schools.
The five steps are:
1. Educate yourself about local, national and international legislation
2. Investigate recycling options from the companies that sell you equipment
3. Learn about shredding and sorting and how to certify that recycling is happening
4. What others are doing
5. Put together your plan for responsible waste management
There is a page entitled, "How your classroom can help" that communicates ways students can contribute to the recycling effort of your school, district, and city.
You can access the article at:
Lawless, Caprice. (2008) Steps to Responsible E-Waste Management at Your School. Retrieved September 15, 2012, at www.iste@iste.org
There is another very informative articles entitled, "Portland & the Globe - Thinking about how school's reputations change." that discusses the current obsession with recycling that has overtaken Portland, Oregon. The article addresses how schools' reputations can suffer if their students and faculty are seen as uncaring about our planet's ecology when no effort to save paper, water bottles, and soda cans is forthcoming. Portland's schools are evaluated in the Portland monthly magazine on a yearly basis.
You can access this article at: Rurik-Rory Nackerud's blog. The blog is entitled:
Portland & the Globe - Thinking about how school's reputations change. Retrieved September 15, 2012, at www.iste-community.org/xn/detail/2280708PBlogPost:133375?xg.
First Graders with iPods
The article I read is entitled "First Graders with iPods" and was
written by two teachers, Sara Getting and Karin Swainey who worked
together to incorporate the use of iPods into teaching their first grade
students. The iPods were used to aid the children in the reading
capabilities and were funding through a special grant. Through the
incorporation of the use of iPods, the teachers discovered favorite apps
for the teaching of sight words, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and
literacy. The article gives this information about their favorite apps
to the reader for their use if following this new path in education
technology.
The initial reaction to giving iPods was met with some consternation; however, after the first year of using this technological resource it was proven that the most at-risk learners improved 15 percent in their reading comprehension. The article discussed how the children learned better when confronted with sight words, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and literacy. The students, even the most at-risk students, showed marked improvement in all these subjects. The improvements caused by the use of iPods by these first graders actually contributed to their school's being selected to "join a cadre of 14 leading-edge school districts." (Getting. Swainey 2012).
The article also discussed areas where collaboration proved to be so important to the facilitation of the trial run, if you will, of giving iPods to first graders. As this was a new innovation in the district's schools, the teachers were on their own to arrange the research parameters. The only advice they were given concerned how to get the funding needed to buy the iPods for this project.
As a hopeful future special education teacher, I found I was highly informed as to the manner in which to allow young children to use technological devices I myself have yet to use. I feel that finding a way to allow special education students to watch the videos and other lessons taught through the iPad will certainly enhance not only their interest, but their accomplishments. I know that I will push for this type of research to be used with special needs students in the future.
Getting,S. and Swainey,K. (2012) First Graders with iPods. Learning and Leading with Technology.
Retrieved from www.iste.org
The initial reaction to giving iPods was met with some consternation; however, after the first year of using this technological resource it was proven that the most at-risk learners improved 15 percent in their reading comprehension. The article discussed how the children learned better when confronted with sight words, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary and literacy. The students, even the most at-risk students, showed marked improvement in all these subjects. The improvements caused by the use of iPods by these first graders actually contributed to their school's being selected to "join a cadre of 14 leading-edge school districts." (Getting. Swainey 2012).
The article also discussed areas where collaboration proved to be so important to the facilitation of the trial run, if you will, of giving iPods to first graders. As this was a new innovation in the district's schools, the teachers were on their own to arrange the research parameters. The only advice they were given concerned how to get the funding needed to buy the iPods for this project.
As a hopeful future special education teacher, I found I was highly informed as to the manner in which to allow young children to use technological devices I myself have yet to use. I feel that finding a way to allow special education students to watch the videos and other lessons taught through the iPad will certainly enhance not only their interest, but their accomplishments. I know that I will push for this type of research to be used with special needs students in the future.
Getting,S. and Swainey,K. (2012) First Graders with iPods. Learning and Leading with Technology.
Retrieved from www.iste.org
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