Digital Blog #I Chapter 4

Special Note: This week I will be discussing Chapter 4 in my textbook (as I have the older version and I already covered this week's material in a previous blog, #C). This chapter is called "Integrating Technology and Creating Change".

Technology Integration and Educational Change is the topic of my first section. I wanted to begin here because this is really the meat and potatoes of what the class is about in my opinion. It's one thing to know how to check your email or to use a YouTube video in a classroom, but it is another thing entirely to be integrating technology for the purposes of enhancing education. After all, a single chocolate chip falling into a batter does not make the cookies chocolate chip cookies! Like the textbook tells us, we must "make technology a central part of education" (Maloy). With schools in Lee County setting up SmartBoards in so many classrooms, we are already becoming a society of tech-savy educators! Now, we have to embrace that power and use it to its fullest extent. I am already excited to use some of the technology that I discovered while working on my collaborative lesson plan. The one piece of software that I am most excited about is called Google Sketchup. Students can throw away the shoe boxes (finally!) and the glue that never holds things upright in favor of a sophisticated 3D modeling adventure.
Justin Kreule's Youtube Video
Yes, it takes a little practice to work to its fullest, but it is well worth the investment. And if that particular program does not suit your classroom, I've discovered that there are dozens more out there! Assigning students interactive and creativity building exercises is how we truly integrate technology. I can't imagine any student being bored with an assignment that allows them to create a world from their own imagination, even if there are some restrictions such as a topic or an architectural time frame they need to work within. To be honest, I never liked the way my dioramas turned out in school. They always looked better in my mind. With tools like Sketchup, they would be more suited to what my imagination created. Using a program like this in a classroom is, to me, very similar to what some teachers are doing with the popular game Minecraft. Sketchup is just a more complex and realistic version of Minecraft, but both of these programs have a unique way of showing students that they are still allowed to play while they learn and it's our job as teachers to show them how to enjoy learning. Change is good, especially if that change connects us with our students in ways we've failed to do in the past!

Mindtools is the next section of the textbook chapter that I want to touch on. I am excited as I read this part because the book talks about how computers used to be used for drills or math facts and not very much else in school. I remember these dark days all too well... I was still completely computer illiterate when I got to high school. I had set up my first email address when I was fifteen and the only social media available was something called LiveJournal; it was similar to a blog really, but if you were particularly talented (or had a friend who was), you could use html to code your text in a variety of different colors. Now, all I need to do is highlight the text I want to change and click a button on my tool bar above. It seems like cheating really, but I don't miss all the work that went into making a single word red or blue.  What took me a few seconds there would have taken seven or eight minutes in the "old days". The text goes on to say that we have really begun to use computers for more than just drills and fact practicing, although those are still useful things to do on a computer. We now use computers to push the critical thinking of our students. We ask them to analyze what is and is not a credible source. We ask them to fact check. We ask them to keep up on current affairs in their world and make informed decisions. We teach them how to spot felonious statistics and how to read citations and how to do so many wonderful things. As the text quotes Jonassen from page 10 of his script, they "engage learners in representing, manipulating, and reflecting on what they know, not reproducing what someone tells them"(Maloy). The text goes on to say that it is more crucial to know what sorts of feats can be accomplished with technology than it is to know what springs and cogs make it work. I agree. Although it is useful to know the difference between a power supply and a fan, most people benefit a great deal more from using self-help sites to install dishwashers (I know I did!) and greatly enjoy the satisfaction of having been able to research something and then improve their lives with that knowledge. When I think of Mindtools, I think of more than just computers though. I become nostalgic for a memory game that I was addicted to as a kid called Simon. Simon was a black heavy disk with four pieces of colored plastic that lit up in patterns which the user had to repeat to win. My Simon broke when I was in my mid twenties and although they have been reproduced, it just was not the same. Two weeks ago, my best friend sent me a link to an app that I could put on my phone for Simon. It may seem silly, but I really think that playing that game is great exercise for my brain and I encourage my kids to play it too. Mindtools can really be anything of value that helps a person learn or improve so in a way I agree with our textbook, but in a way I think that the simple things (like toys made in the early 90's) are worth a great deal too.

Strategies for Single and Multiple Computer Classrooms is the next section I wanted to cover. I have been in classrooms that have only a handful of computers, not nearly enough for all the students to use at the same time, as well as classrooms that have individual laptops assigned to each student. In either case, the teacher was able to utilize the technology available to them in wonderful ways. When many computers are accessible, students may be able to work on group projects together, do research at the same time, or work on assignments while the teacher grades papers or begins putting together the opening to a new lesson.When only a single computer or a small amount of computers are available, small groups that take turns using the computers works well. It also helps to have assignments that do not take a great deal of time. A perfect example of a small project that does not take a lot of time is PhotoPeach's images slide show. A great presentation can be created in just a few minutes. Music can be added from a variety of samples, or your own music can be uploaded. For this occasion, I tried PhotoPeach and chose to use old Halloween photos of my kids - just for an added smile as I sat and did my homework.

Halloween Throwback on PhotoPeach by Nicole Weeks





Resources:
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2011). Transforming Learning with new Technolgies. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.