BLOGICAL DISCUSSION FORM
Why should education leaders/teachers embrace digital technologies in their schools/classrooms?
If you are in a state that adopted the “Common Core State Standards” (CCSS) you really don’t have a choice. There are many English Language Arts standards alone that require students as young as kindergarten to use technology to read, produce and publish digital content and to collaborate in doing so.
Here a few examples from the CCSS:
K – 12 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.
With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.
5th grade – Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).
6th grade – Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.
Programming and design – 3D printing, software development, engineering, graphics, architecture, transportation, art, medicine and much more all rely on programming and design skills.
So you think children are already mastering these skills and technologies on their own by using their smart phones and other technology? Where is the money coming from to attain these standards? Are schools going to create a new position to reach all these goals or is it going to fall back on the classroom teacher to make these attainable? Where is the extra time coming from to make sure the students master these standards?
I look forward to reading your feedback and hearing your take on these new digital technology standards.
Have a great week!
PS - Sometimes the blog requires me to to approve your response. So, please be patient I will approve your response.
I am very lucky to teach in a district that has access to so much technology and resources. However, even thought the resources are available, the district relies on the teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom and just expects them to stay up-to-date on the newest tools available.
ReplyDeleteMany of my students are already technology savvy and have their own personal smart phones, laptops, iPads, tablets, and social media accounts. Although the standards are to use technology, I think my students have mastered that concept. Standards that I would like to see added are related to problem solving. The students an use technology in all aspects, but once something goes wrong with the technology they have no idea how to fix it or where to go for help, and I almost think that is a more important skill to have than being taught just how to use it.
-Connie
I work in a school where technology isn't at the tip of each teacher and each student's fingertips. I do believe children of all ages are mastering the technology skills on their own. Think of all of those times you were at a grocery store or eating in a restaurant and you hear a child (2 or 3 years old) crying and look over and see someone give them their smartphone to play with. I know for a fact these younger children know more about smartphones, tablets, and iPads than I do. You raise a good question about where the money will come from to attain these standards. Will the salaries of each teacher decrease and the tax payer money increase in order to have funds for all the technology?
ReplyDeleteSince technology has been on the rise over the past decade, I believe that it is important to become somewhat knowledgeable about different technology that is available to use in the classroom. I don't think every teacher has to use technology in their classroom just to say "they are using it." Even though the internet and all sorts of technology devices seem to have the answers right on hand, I think it is important for students to know how to learn without always using technology.
I think that most children will have mastered these skills without the schools help. Using a cell phone and a computer is something that students want to do. They want to communicate with their friends, make plans, and share photos online. By wanting to do this, like anything other interests students have, they are going to try to learn more about it.
ReplyDeleteAnyone who has access to these tools will in my belief be able to learn without the schools help. Therefore I think it is only the school who will be needed for the writing skills portion instead of the publishing technology use. However, there will always be areas where there is no use of cell phones and computers. I think in this case if common core is going to mandate these skills then they need to fund the school. It would be unfair to reduce the salary of a teacher to provide these tools.
I am an adjunct instructor. So when I listen to my wonderful peers share with each other what is going on in your classrooms and in your school districts I am both in awe and in shock.
ReplyDeleteStudents already have access to these technology tools at home. And yes, even a lot of the poor or disadvantage students. When I had my business I would often share with my clients when doing market research to be honest when looking at the facts. Race, Age Geographics and Demographics do play a part when it comes to product purchases.
Did you know there are more Latinos and African Americans that use smartphones and smartpads as their main communication tool than their non-ethnic counterparts? These tools are more affordable then buying a laptop. And a lot of these tools will do just as much if not more than a laptop. The latest iPad coming out is designed to act, if not replace having a laptop.
Schools need to find ways to work around budgets in order to have these tools and technologies in place ( a lot of them low cost cloud technologies) so that teachers and instructors can have them at their disposal for teaching. But I think gone are the days when schools should purchase all of the desktops, laptops etc., to supply the students with the "hardware" needed to learn.
Believe me, they have the hardware, software and connectivity at their fingertips and withing their own homes.
“Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.” I think one of the most interesting parts of this standard is that we (in most cases) are not practicing what we preach. I think modeling this is a great place to start for the simple fact that collaboration will allow us to find ways to tackle this issues and using, producing, publishing, and interacting with technology will allow us the user-experience that our students will have to face, too. Outside of the 3D printing, I think many of these items are attainable at low cost. Luckily, with so many Web 2.0 tools and devices with basic features that were once considered extra specialties, students and teachers alike have access to so much more than when I was a high school student. Simply using their phones and devices doesn’t imply mastery; instead, it is our jobs to facilitate those learning opportunities. If all classroom teachers tackle even one aspect of the technology skillset, it would all add up. Collaboration between teachers in the same grade would help achieve this. Therefore, not only would students be mastering a concept within one course in a sequenced fashion, they’d also be able to integrate their learnings in one class with learning activities in another. If you think about learning about the writing process, one course can tackle finding sources, another evaluating sources, another citing sources, and another putting it on paper. These skills span across disciplines and teachers can work together to determine the timeframe and order of who will be in charge of each skill. It’s not the most ideal setup; however, I like that it forces teachers to work together, that learning a concept in one classroom can translate to other classrooms, and that it can save teachers from covering duplicate material, which ends up being a source of boredom for students. Divide and conquer!
ReplyDeleteI think that most children are mastering certain skills on their technological devices and I would imagine that many of them could show me a bunch of things that I don’t know how to do myself. On the other hand I am sure there are several students in my district (a low income district) that either don’t have access or are to busy playing games to worry about all the other helpful tools that they could be using.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many times that I have had to show students in middle school how to use simple features in Word or even PowerPoint. It really boggles my mind. I am not sure why they don’t know how to perform these basic skills at this stage in life. I wonder is it because these tools are becoming a thing of the past and new software is being introduced?
I know in our district at grades K-5 they are getting some exposure to technology in school but it isn’t until they enter the 6th grade that they are required to take a specific computer class. I think that if it is going to be a part of common core standards that the state needs to provide the districts with the funds necessary to implement these tools. They should also be training the teachers how to implement these tools and standards or creating new teaching positions for someone who can. I would like to see a computer teacher at the intermediate school level teaching basic computer skills. This would help for when they reach the middle school and are expected to use technology for projects.
I am very fortunate to work for a district that prides itself on using and implementing technology but at what cost. I know that we were just at a point a couple of years ago where they were looking at cutting teachers and even now when teachers retire we always wonder if they will be filling the open positions. Yet next year we are going to be implementing a 1:1 for every student at the secondary level. I would like to think that in the long run technology will end up saving schools money but at this point it is hard to look past the initial expense and what it is costing them.
Thank you for your responses! I really appreciate your input!
ReplyDeleteIt seems that many of us believe that students are mastering certain skills when it comes using technology (iPhones, Tablets, iPads, etc). The tools that students/children have access to are the ones they seem to be mastering. Many of this sounds like it is taking place outside of the classroom walls, usually in homes, restaurants or when we want our children to be quiet.
Trouble seems to be lurking in that students are not exposed to the 'right' technology in schools (Word, Excel, etc) and students are not sure on how to problem-solve issues when the technology breaks. This is where the schools can step up and show students on how to properly use the software. Showing the students how to use all the features of a program efficiently and effectively. School could show students on how to solve problems with technology, however I believe that students should learn how to problem-solve or do some research on how to solve problems when technologies break.
Seems like their needs to be some common ground between school ad outside of school with technology. I am not sure if there will ever be a definitive answer, but something needs to be done.