Monday, February 28, 2011

How Technology Reinforces Poor Learning – An Experiment???

I was recently reading a blog from "The Tech Savy Educator" titled:
How Technology Reinforces Poor Learning – An Experiment

When I first read the title of this article I was a little turned off because I don’t look at technology as a way of reinforcing bad habits, but rather a supportive tool to compliment the “traditional” lesson plan. The author of this blog seems to be criticizing StudyBoost which is “a service that teachers can submit a battery of review and study questions, which are then delivered to student’s devices whenever they have time to study in their normally hectic schedules”.  I think his main issue with a service such as this, is the idea of “wherever/whenever”. To have students “studying” while at a football game or a noisy bus doesn’t seem effective to him. I tend to both agree and disagree with the author on this topic. I agree that if the student chooses only to use a service like this when he or she is highly distracted by other events taking place then the student might not be getting all they can out of it, but with the same token, I believe a service like this offers great possibilities, and as I mentioned before I believe technology tools are an additional aid to students being able to grasp content. The author thinks this might just be a cool use of technology but I think it’s that and more. It’s a cool use of technology that can be engaging for students and they can learn from it by having the teacher’s questions, notes, and comments at their fingertips.
The author of this blog did make a great point about the idea of using this service by running “student-led” study sessions, and I think that’s a fantastic idea. But why can’t it be both? Student-led & teacher-led? Do you think it is really a waste of time for students to have the teachers posting this kind of content for them? These are my thoughts on the topic, but the writer has decided to conduct an experiment to see if others feel certain technologies are not being used in an effective manner in the classroom. I can see teachers not using all technology effectively due to lack of knowledge and training of the tools more so than a lack of the particular technology tool being useful to students.  I’d love to know how others feel about this?

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

iLearn Technology - Magnoto

Inspiration for my post: http://ilearntechnology.com/?p=3662 

I head actually never heard of Magnoto until I read this blog post. At firs after reading the post I thought it sounded very similar to Facebook but after reading more about it I see that Magnoto acts more like a Wikki where a number of collaborators can post and share materials. It seems a little limiting given the fact that you can only have a maximum of four collaborators working on a document whereas something like Google Docs allows many more, however, it might be useful for classroom group projects. To me, the main attraction of this tool was the capability of adding to your page by virtue of an e-mail. I don’t know if it’s just me, but I haven’t heard of being able to do this yet and I think this option allows for so many good things. For starters, I would say this option allows for convenience, ease of access, and speed. Magnoto is only in beta right now, but I can begin to see a number of possibilities with it. I’m even thinking that it might be useful in creating the Webquests we have begun to discuss in class this week.


To sign up for a free Magnoto account please go to:
http://www.magnoto.com/


It's still in Beta version but I think it's going to have great possibilities.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Distance Learning Through Video-Conferencing

Recently I have become more and more interested in the idea of distance education through video-conferencing. I have heard of schools beginning to do this but I really feel like its an idea that should be expanded upon and carried out in more and more schools. Having the capabilities for K-12 students to be able to connect to other schools around the world is amazing.  From the comfort and convenience of your own classroom you can collaborate with a classroom of students anywhere in the world from China to Australia, to the classroom in the next school district. Being able to deliver classroom content and instruction while collaboratively working with another class of students in real-time can open up a new realm of possibilities for learning. Not only can it provide an interactive learning experience, but it can provide us with the opportunity to access outside sources for information. If we are conducting a lesson on Chinese cultures we can tap into a lesson with a Chinese classroom.
 
I think there is so much that can be done in the education field with the use of video conferencing technology and I think we have yet to even begin to tap into it.  I'm sure getting a program like this started won't be easy and it will take some extra time on the teachers part to incorporate this into their lessons, but it's just like anything else...you do it once and you can continue to build upon it year after year. I think the extra work it would require is well worth the benefits the students would receive.  I do understand this will take money from the districts for equipment and setups, I think its a worthwhile project...do you? Do the pros outweigh the cons? This is definitely a technology for schools to begin to consider...is it worthwhile? I don't know, but I definitely see it as an interesting tool that can be seen as attractive to students. And once again, isn't that what we want? To attract them to learning?
 
 

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Are iPads Effective in the Classroom...Or Just Another Fun Toy?

Since the iPads came out I feel like this has been an ongoing question. Are iPads just another gadget in the room or can they be used to effectively increase learning. When I first received my iPad I was in love with
it (still am!)...thin, easy to carry around, large led viewing screen. I mean what's not to love. For me, it made checking my e-mails and surfing the web much more convenient, but I had a little trouble understanding how this could be helpful or why it would need to be a "must have" for the classroom. I think since its inception it has come a long way in this area. I'm currently working with faculty at Pace University and through my department I was able to run an iPad initiative, and to see some of the great ways in which faculty are using them in the classroom , its just astounding. I have seen nursing teachers use apps providing 3D images that they can rotate and manipulate any which way the want and their students can take the iPad with them on rounds to use the app that has lists of all the pharmaceutical drugs they need at the tip of their fingers. I also have seen it being used as a great assistive technology tool for students with special needs.

Maybe we are not 100% there, and perhaps $499 is still to expensive for a school district to outfit all their schools with iPads, but I think the apps for this tool are continually growing and we will continue to be amazed. I think one of the greatest parts about iPad use in the classroom right now is the excitement that it seems to be adding to the classroom. If we can get students excited to use the tool, then we are halfway there!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Why could blogging change or not change the traditional classroom?

Blogging has been around for quite a while now and I was always sort of indifferent to it. Feeling like it could get tedious at times I just sort of wrote it off from the beginning for my own personal use.  As a teacher of faculty here at Pace I have had to teach a number of them how to use and create blogs. As each one would come to me I would get a new insight as to what they wanted to do and how they were going to use it in their class. It is so interesting to hear different idead and different takes on the blogging experience.

I most definately see great potential in blogging and would use it as a tool in my classroom one day. I think what Professor Calvert said about, "students sitting with a little more attention, writing a little more carefully, revising with purpose" is right on.  I see this as a positive driving force for students. Having a post for the world to see encourages them to take their time, be thoughtful, and put more focus into their work. Sometimes this can be lost on students who just create a draft in the classroom that is never to be seen.

I believe blogging still has a ways to go in the classroom given the number of educational restrictions, but even with those, I think it encourages students to write and that is so so important. We need students to be interested and want to blog, and that is probably one of the biggest struggles yet...how do we keep them interested?

Blogging is not necessarily going to change our traditional classroom but what it is doing, and what it will hopefully continue to do is enhance it. This "virtual extension" of the classroom is another avenue for students to learn and grow. Using blogging to reflect, criticize, question, and react to what is going on in their life, their classroom, their community can be extremely effective, can give students the opportunity they may not have had to express their ideas and, most importantly, continuously gets them to write and improve their writing and communication skills.