EDUC 422 Reflection -- Last EDUC 422 Post

When I first began this class, I assumed technology integration was just the basics. This includes internet researching, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and probably Excel and other similar programs. I had no idea what this class would truly entail. This is a great thing, though. I am walking away from this class knowing that I learned a lot about online technology tools that are way more amazing tools out there to use in the classroom than I ever knew before. The biggest take away from this class are tools that connect me with not only my students (such as through the classroom website and my blog) but also with other educators around the world. Resources like Diigo and educational groups and forums through social media are simply invaluable. I never honestly thought to connect with other teachers this way and be able to find so much great information to bring into the classroom in creative ways. In such a diverse population that we live in, I think technology can really help students succeed because it offers the opportunity for students to learn through all different mediums. Like I mentioned, I never thought to use social media as a learning tool. I thought it was the enemy of education honestly. I still think there needs to be some monitoring and tactfulness when having students use social media for learning, but after this class, I realize that ultimately social media sites can be used just as an other educational tool if accessed and used properly. With social media and other online tools, students are able to bring thinking home with them and collaborate online easily in a medium they are comfortable with (which is something I learned in the Flipped Classroom articles). I think this is really important. As I said, coming into this class I assumed that it was about the basics, the boring use of Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, etc. Now that I have completed this class, I think classroom technology integration has far surpassed this and is on the rise. I think it is great, but also needs to be something that teachers learn about so that students don't run rampant on the internet without really knowing how to use it in a way that is beneficial to their learning. This class has opened my eyes to different online resources that will be beneficial to student learning. I really appreciated that about this class. Technology continues to grow and change and of course it is going to be a part of the classroom and students lives. So why not continue to learn new things through technology and help students with it as well?

The Pros and Cons of Social Media in Education

Write about your reaction to the idea of social media in education. What are the pros and cons. Consider how you and/or our students could use it as learners. After reading the articles 13 Great Twitter Chats Every Educator Should Check Out by Susan Bearden, Using Twitter to Break Down Classroom Isolation by David R. Wetzel, Teachers, students, social media: Where is the line? by Lori Grisham, and Can Tweeting Help Your Teaching? on the National Education Association website, teachers of all stages, including the inspiring ones like myself, will benefit from the different perspectives presented. One thing is a common denomination in all of the articles, though, and that is that all are interested in student learning and whether or not social media actually helps that. Overall, reactions seem to be mixed, but there are some pretty compelling arguments on the pro side that make me seriously consider including social media in my classroom, assuming that sort of thing is allowed in my district. Before even reading the articles, I was really intrigued about our classroom discussion and how Adina had showed us how to use Twitter in ways that are exceptionally valuable as educators in order to connect with other educators around the world and get new ideas circulating. I am a firm believer that in order to really be living, you must be always learning, and this is especially true for educators because their rolls are to, well, educate, and they can't do that effectively unless they are learning themselves as well. Otherwise, things simply become stagnant. As students, they could use social media in a similar fashion as educators. They can join networks and communicate with each other about educational topics either through Twitter or other social media outlets such as blogging or Facebook. The National Education Association article brought up an excellent point that through social media, students are encouraged to keep learning and keep thinking outside of class or while on their social media outlets. Usually this is something entirely separate from school, but by including it into their "socializing" time, it can be a great way to continue and advance learning for students outside of class. As far as teachers using social media, I mostly only see pros. It advances themselves as teachers and spreads new teaching ideas around. However, I can see that if teachers don't be careful about what they post online, it could become a serious issue both for that teacher's representation among other teachers and among students and their family's. For students, social media can also be used ineffectively and can be an issue if students use it unwisely. There would need to be a clear set down of rules as far as internet usage is concerned. Students would need to be made aware of what impact writing and posting things on the internet can have before allowed to use social media appropriately. Additionally, social media may not be as effective or even possible for younger students because most social media sites require the user to be at least 13 years of age. For older students, I think the pros for social media are numerous. I like the idea that students would be thinking outside of class, as mentioned above. Social media also encourages students to write. As a student of Literature and Writing, as well as a prospective teacher, I think writing skills are extremely important for students to develop in order to become well-rounded, educated individuals. This is especially important because advancing technology is making more and more communication in the written/over the internet form. If a student can't write well or reflect well and produce that in writing, they may have a harder time of things. Basically, I think social media can certainly help with learning inside and outside of the classroom for both students and teachers.

Accessibility for all Students

After reading the article, AIM for Digital Equity by Gayl Bowser and Joy Smiley Zabala, it reminded me strongly of the conversations we had the other day in class involving the importance of making sure all students have a fair access to material online and where ever else class material is involved. This discussion, as well as with the reinforcement from this article, allowed me to understand that education in today's classrooms and on the internet requires accessibility for the seeing and hearing impaired (or simply for those who have various learning disorders or other special needs). These types of tools required may include subtitles or close captioning, or simply large print text, and screen readers for those who have difficulty reading or simply cannot read. I look forward to learning how to upload text to include in videos, and have found the screen reading resources like Chrome Vox given in class extremely valuable. These things I will take with me into the classroom in order to best serve all of my students. Like Bowser and Zabala say, it is important to give these kinds of options to all students so that they know they have the tools to help them succeed and learn as well as any one of their classmates. From this article, I have learned about these valuable organizations such as the AIM Center (National Center on Accessible Instructional Materials and the NIMAC (National Instructional Materials Access Center that provide help for teachers who need resource aides for students. I think these are really important for all teachers to know about and have access to. One of the things I found really interesting about this article is that it talks about a shift from traditional school textbooks to only having electronic devices for our books and other educational information. I found this fascinating, and a little sad/worrisome. Sad, only because I am attached to the old methods of pen and paper and paper books. Yet I understand that with technology, we can more easily reach all students with different abilities and learning styles. This is a wonderful thing. However, I agree with the writers that the shift to technology only classrooms is worrisome because the people creating these programs and devices must create them right, so that they have the resources that students need to be successful (such as screen reading and closed captioning). Either way, it is hopeful that soon society will get to the point where things are worked out and students are having an easier time learning and teachers are having an easier time educating through technology.

Flipped Classrooms?

After reading "What Is The Flipped Classroom Model And Why Is It Amazing? (With Infographic)" on Forbes and "Things You Should Know about Flipped Classrooms", I understand that the concept of a flipped classroom is one that takes away most, if not all in-class teacher lectures and puts them instead online in video format. This is to allow for more classroom time for the types of assignments that in a "normal" classroom setting, students would normally be doing at home or outside of class time. These things include projects, discussions with peers, and other hands-on activities. The Forbes article included pros and cons, as well as the other article. It is important to take into consideration the fact that some students may not have the tools to be able to easily access these video lectures. This can make learning either more of a difficulty or impossible for some. Additionally, the Forbes article mentions that teachers would easily be able to have online assessments that they can have students take in order for them to monitor how well the students are doing in grasping various concepts. I didn't think this was an overly strong argument for a flipped classroom because as we learned earlier with the idea of using computers for testing, students are likely to cheat or use the internet to come up with ideas or facts for them instead of really proving whether or not they have learned anything. As the "Things You Should Know about Flipped Classrooms" article mentions, it would take more time on the educator's part to record and upload all of the lecture videos for their students. However, I think this could be done and I really like the sound of the benefits associated with a flipped classroom. These benefits I like are: more one on one time with the teacher, ability for students to have more time to understand concepts before moving on with the rest of the class at the same pace, more time for communication between peers and teacher, the ability for students to still learn if unable to make it to class, and for easy access for parents to be involved directly with ongoing class functions. These are the sorts of things I would love to include in my classroom. Depending on the school I teach at someday, perhaps Macbooks will be standard issued every year to students so they will all have access and eliminate that problem of flipped learning. Either way, I think there should still be a balance between what students do on technology and what they experience in the classroom. Maybe we could have a "partially flipped" classroom instead?

Internet For Test Taking, Yes or No?

As far as using the internet in classrooms during test taking, I had never really considered it. While taking online classes through the community college and university, I have certainly thought about it and have used it as a resource myself. I had never really thought critically about it before, but this article has certainly opened my eyes to both sides of the debate. On the pro-side, I really enjoyed the argument that allowing students to use the internet as a resource during test taking would force teachers to create tests that ask more from the students rather than just the basic regurgitation of dates, facts, and shallow knowledge of events. I think the fact that she presented her argument in a way that favors critical thinking is huge, and I definitely think that the internet could give students the starting point for coming up with their own ideas and responses of things. On the opposition, I agreed with his argument that students shouldn't be using the internet for certain basic skills, such as math calculations. While I myself am not the best at math and need a calculator or pen and paper to do some basic calculating, I definitely understand why it would be beneficial for more students to be able to have a basic knowledge of everything first, before going straight to the internet for everything. Essentially if they did that, they would know absolutely nothing other than how to type and use a computer. Additionally, I agreed with his argument that using personal smartphone internet is not the best way to allow students to access the internet since the content of what they research cannot be controlled. At this early point in my own career, I feel like I stand somewhere in between the two arguments. I certainly do not feel like I would allow my students to use their smartphones for tests is the best idea (although, I'm unsure how many of my elementary school students will have smartphones anyways). However, I do think that changing tests from basic multiple choice (or guess), basic facts format to more critical thinking evaluations will be more valuable for student learning and I think using the internet for ideas is not a terrible thing. It definitely depends on the the subject/lesson being taught.

Digital Tattoos

After reading the three articles posted on the course blog, I realized that all three share the common theme about people's online presence and how it affects their chances of getting a job. All of the articles talk about with the rise of social media comes the rise of employers doing not only standard background checks, but social media checks as well to see what the candidate is really like through their social media outlets. After reading these articles, it is clear that in order to have a good "digital tattoo", I need to continue to make sure that everything posted on my own personal social media sites are only things that present me as a roll model or clean person and go through and delete anything that may indicate I am not the best candidate for a teaching position or other career. When I become a teacher, it will be important for me to take preparatory steps with my young students. I will show them how to use the internet safely through class blogs and other such outlets, and I will explain the importance of using it safely since everything can and will be tracked.

Technology Integration Article Response

After reading the article, Technology Integration: A Short History by Suzie Boss, I found the article to be pretty informative and thought provoking. One of things I had already known about since my high school and college career was that the popular drill-oriented public education system is not the best method for students to learn concepts, especially those concepts like mathematics. However, it is interesting to hear that as far back as the 1960's scientists and educators have been using computer-type items to teach students through different ways other than drills, such as through simulations. It makes me realize how far we have come both as a society and technologically, and therefore how important it is to continue to understand the impact technology has on students as learners and to take that and continue to develop it properly. One thing that surprised me was at the beginning of the article when Boss talks about students who have "grown up in a digital world" already knowing how to use technology and actively do so. Perhaps I am reading too much into this and she did not mean it as narrowly as I read it, but I don't think this can be broadly labeled for all of the younger generation. It doesn't take into account their personal family, cultural, or financial circumstances.

Overall, I enjoyed the article and it reinforced my idea that it is important to stay up to date with technology so that when teaching students, I (or all educators) can be the first to positively show how technology can be implemented to aid in their learning. My ideas on educational technology has not changed much after reading this article (though I am much more informed about its history that is surprisingly longer than I thought it would be!) because technology has been an important part of my own growing up experience and I understand how it can be a strong influence both as a learning tool and as a social/fun aspect in people's lives as it has certainly impacted my own learning experience.