Distance Learning: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

Summary: 


The article I reviewed was a study done by the National Education Policy Center titled, "Online K-12 Schooling in the U.S.: Uncertain Private Ventures in Need of Public Regulation” In particular, there is very little accountability for school districts who use online school as a viable alternative to the traditional classroom, in terms of class sizes, spending per pupil, and student accountability for work. In 2011, there were over 40 state operated or approved online schools, and about 30% of high school students have taken an online class. Online schooling has now become one of the most popular forms of distance education.

The report comments mainly on the lack of real effectiveness reported by the little research that has been done on online schooling and distance education. It also brings up what it perceives as the danger of private business interest in the world of online schooling. The study concludes that total immersion in an online education environment is not effective in terms of improving test scores, but that hybrid or blended learning may have some benefit for students.

Response:


Having been a distance education student at community colleges across the State, I can whole-heartedly report that the experience of taking an online class in NO WAY compares to the experience of sitting and learning in an actual college classroom. Yes, information can be delivered online, but if we agree that learning takes place in a social community through interactions with others, than online school is a sad replacement for the real thing. I think this report should be examined closely by school districts looking to involve online education in their communities.

Source: 


Glass, G. V & Welner, K.G. (2011). Online K-12 Schooling in the U.S.: Uncertain Private Ventures
in Need of Public Regulation. Boulder, CO: National Education Policy Center. Retrieved [date]
from http://nepc.colorado.edu/publication/online-k-12-schooling.

Braille in the Techno Age

Summary:

The article, "New Technologies Engage Students With Disabilities," documents the incredible rise of assistive technology devices for students with disabilities. Fifty years ago, students with vision impairments went to special schools for the blind. These days, students like Kyle Beasley carry around an iPad hooked up by bluetooth to a special braille translator that allows him to access the internet, read textbooks, and do just about anything anybody else can do with a computer.

The availability of technology to change the lives of people with disabilities has risen enormously in the last ten years, according to the article. Now, school districts hire special people to keep track of technological advances and match them to students with disabilities. The second half of the article tells the story of Ms. White, whose job it is to identify technology and advocate for its use with students in her district. She has an amazing amount of success stories, and sees technology as empowering her students to succeed in school and in their lives.

Response:

The article is a very positive one that seems to emphasize the power of technology to make the world a better place, especially for students with disabilities. And, when I read about the braille device that pops up new braille on a pad to correspond with whatever is on the screen (and communicates via bluetooth), I am entirely convinced that certain technologies can change lives. Part of me does wonder how much every student needs an iPod, a laptop, and special software, or how cost-effective it is to deliver that to each student.

I would like to see some critical perspectives in the article. I would like to know what the opposition to these technology programs - especially the ones that buy laptops and iPods for studetns with mild learning disabilities - has to say. It seems like there is a line between life-changing and merely convenient, and I wonder where school districts draw it.

Citation:

Shultz, F. (2012). New technologies engage students with disabilities. Education Week.

The ISTE Classroom Observation Tool

Citation: Holzendorf, D. (2010, Octoboer 1). [Technology in Education]. Retrieved from http://www.edarticle.com/article.php?id=1071

Summary:

The short article by David Holzendorf "Technology in the Classroom," brings up an interesting component to our discussion on technology in education. We've been talking a lot about things to keep in mind when utilizing technology in the classroom and about how too much of a good thing can overload learning. It really is up to the teacher to balance technology instruction and manage students' access and interaction with these types of tools. 

The article discusses The ISTE Classroom Observation Tool, an observation protocol to help teachers better implement and  use technology in the classroom. It's a free tool to use and teachers and administrators can use it to document the type of technology education going on in the classroom.

According to Holzendorf, the ICOT can be used to "promote a dynamic, digital-age learning culture," to "document and retain the effective use of technology in the classroom," and to "better prepare and plan professional development for teachers."

Response:

While I do see a need for school's to evaluate their use of technology in the classroom, I am wary of using observation protocols in any sort of high-stakes way. I think the ICOT's lies in being able to identify areas of improvement and implement staff training and development along those lines. It definitely streamlines the process of integrating technology in schools and sets guidelines for how districts should use technology in the classroom. 

It really is not enough to put some laptops or iPads in a classroom, teachers need to be provided with ideas and training to help them utilize the technology to its full potential. The ICOT is just one tool districts can use to document and evaluate the effectiveness of technology in education. 

Teaching and Learning with iPads in Special Education

Citation: Staley, J. (2012, February 29). Touch screens may ease verbal barriers to learning. Education Week.

Digital Stories with English Language Learners

This is a podcast of a review of the article "Learner Digital Stories in a Web 2.0 Age," by Ghinwa Alameen. Go here to check out the actual digital stories created by Alameen's advanced ESL class.

Citation: Alameen, G. (2011). Learner digital stories in a web 2.0 age. TESOL Journal, 2(3), 355-369.

A New Paradigm

Picture taken from a friend's personal collection.



SUMMARY:

For many teachers, the potential of new technology offers an opportunity to streamline traditional modes of instruction. The introduction of a Smartboard into the classroom, for example, provides an "upgrade" to the doc-cam and overhead projector of the past, allowing teachers to deliver the same content more efficiently.

According to Justin Reich, in his article "Use Technology to Upend Traditional Classrooms," the adaptation of innovative technology to the traditional vision of education is just one path teachers and schools can take as they embrace laptops, iPads, wikis, and other technology-based learning tools.

He writes, "The most interesting debate in education technology today is not about tablets vs. laptops or school-supplied tablets vs. bring-your-own-device scenarios. The choice is really between two metaphors and two visions of education - the factory vs. the creative agency," (Reich, 24).

As the world of work in the 21st century changes, Reich argues, the way we prepare students needs to shift as well. The fastest growing professions are creative, technology-based, and dynamic. The "assembly-line" metaphor of education needs to shift in order to keep pace with the realities of life and work in the digital age.

Teachers can use technology to "flip" their classrooms. The author describes a middle school science class where students collaborate on a class wiki using online threads to comment on and contribute to the classroom knowledge base. The teacher monitors the classroom "like a project manager," (Reich, 22) offering feedback and guidance but staying far away from the direct instruction model.

This type of instruction shifts the paradigm from valuing breadth of content knowledge and efficiency of instructional methods to using technological tools to enhance students' creativity, ownership, and collaboration.

In writing this article, Reich reframes the technology in schools debate from one focused on the efficiency of technology in delivering instruction to one where the whole purpose and method behind contemporary education are changed.

RESPONSE:

I really enjoyed this article and appreciate Reich's viewpoint when it comes to the purpose of technology in education. Previously, I have felt unsettled by the emphasis on technology to simply make education more efficient. For example, with online education/distance learning, a huge focus is on the ability of students' to access traditional forms of content delivery outside of the education system. Through personal experience with online classes, I see distance education as one of the most basic/rote ways to learn content (not to say this, too, couldn't also be "flipped"). An emphasis on using technology to reinforce traditional ways of learning just seems... well... boring.

Instead, teachers should be asking not what we can do with new technology, but what our students can do.

This article focuses attention on the necessary point that not all instruction is good instruction - no matter its delivery method. Just because I use a Prezi presentation on a Smartboard to deliver the same old social studies lecture doesn't make my content automatically better, or my students learn more (although perhaps they are more engaged?) However, giving students the tools to create a multimedia presentation that they can display and share on Smartboard IS powerful learning.

Overall, while Reich offers no definite conclusions, the point he brings up is a crucial one for teachers seeking to bring technology into their classrooms to think about. 

SOURCE:

 Reich, J. (2012). Use technology to upend traditional classrooms. Education Week, 31(32), 22-24. 

Democratic Talk Online

This is a PowerPoint presentation that addresses the use of online discussion boards and class blogs as places to foster critical thought and democratic talk:

Too Much of a Good Thing?

Is there such a thing as technology overkill? That's what author Patrick Welsh dives into in his article "A School That's Too High On Gizmos," (2008).

Welsh introduces us to T.C. William High School, one of the most expensive high schools built on record, and its technology-gone-rampant approach to education. This is the kind of high school where every student has a laptop, teachers carry electronic devices that highlight or underline PowerPoint presentations from anywhere in the room (at $500 a pop), and the administration mandates all day teacher technology training sessions.

The point Welsh illustrates, however, is that this may just be too much technology. Students get distracted and play online games during instruction, face-to-face interactions are lowered as students and teachers connect via the Internet, and teachers feel pressured to conform to the style of technology heavy instruction promoted by the administration.

Instead of striking the right balance between technology and other methods of instruction, T.C. Williams High is an example, according to Welsh, of technology pushed to the limit. And it is upsetting parents, teachers, and students, who feel disconnected and coerced into making their lessons fit to the techno-ideal.

As a teacher-candidate, I have the privilege of stepping into many different classrooms. One thing I've learned is that every teacher has a different style and approach to education. I've witnessed classrooms run on white-board only instruction and others that integrate frequent clips from YouTube and group assignments using Google docs to share notes and resources. The variety of instruction is what makes school interesting. Learning to adapt to different methods of instructions helps students gain experience in changing their own learner-input modes. It's the ability to make professional decisions based on the needs of our students that adds value to the career of teaching.

That said, it's awesome that T.C. Williams High School embraces the idea of teaching with technology and makes these resources available to their teachers. Some teachers need to be "shaken up" a little, and they should be asked to learn or try out something new. The decision of what technological tools used to best deliver instruction is one that should ultimately be left up to the teacher.
 

Citation:

Welsh, P. (2008, February 10). A school that's too high on gizmos. Washington Post. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/08/AR2008020803271.html

Using Technology to Increase Literacy

The article, "Using Technology to Enhance Literacy Instruction," describes ways that teachers, library specialists, and school districts can use technology to improve student reading and writing. The article begins by addressing some of the new "literacies" that have developed in the 21st Century. These include information literacy, digital literacy, new literacy, computer literacy, computer-technology literacy, critical literacy, and media literacy. These "literacies" refer to the ways that students will gather, interpret, and synthesize data in an era of limitless access to information via the Internet.

The authors propose that teachers can integrate technology into the classroom so as to improve student reading and writing. They also mention that teacher guidance is necessary to help students gain the tools necessary to utilize the different "literacies" mentioned above.

Of the methods used to improve reading instruction among students, books on tape, electronic e-books, and talking books were highly lauded as ways to improve word recognition, decoding skills, and fluency for beginner readers as well as comprehension and insight for more advanced readers. The authors also mention electronically packaged reading instruction software as a way to improve reading.

On the writing side, the authors detail how word-processing and publishing technologies have improved student writing and allowed students to format and present their work in more true-to-life ways, such as class newsletters. Access to the ability to integrate audio and visual effects into student writing serves as a way for students to increase their interest and create multi-layered finished products. In addition, publishing writing to the Web has been shown to increase student investment in writing.

They recommend that teachers take advantage of these technologies as a way to increase students overall literacy. Interestingly, they offer a "differing opinions" section towards the end of their article, where it is mentioned that audiobooks and e-books are no substitute for being read to as a child. The interpersonal reaction that comes from a face to face read-aloud leads to deeper questioning and greater comprehension by students.

I tend to agree with the "differing opinions" when it comes to early childhood reading instruction. I have never believed that technology is a substitute for teaching, and I will resist the movement towards online and distance learning. A face to face interaction will always be better for students. I see technology as "additive;" rather than taking away anything from instruction, technology should "add to" student learning.

That said, from an English Language Learner standpoint, I would love it if all of my textbooks came with audio tracks! English Language Learners will definitely benefit from getting content information both aurally and text-based. Interactive e-books with links to vocabulary, pictures, and videos have the potential to hugely increase ELL comprehension. I would love to create my own class website with lecture notes, pictures, links to definitions and video clips, etc., as well as an interactive space for student discussion.

Writing tools such as word-processing, which seem so simple to many of us, have the potential to affect student effort by removing barriers such as fear of spelling words incorrectly or making grammar mistakes. It is important to teach student show to use the editing software of word processors. Once students are comfortable with the technology, I believe it can help improve student writing greatly.

I also really like the idea of online-publishing. I would love to keep a class wiki on historical topics.

Citation:

Holum, A., & Gahala, J. (2001). Critical issue: Using technology to enhance literacy instruction. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, Retrieved from http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/content/cntareas/reading/li300.htm

The Cellphone as an Educational Tool

The article: "Class, Turn On Your Cell Phones: It's Time to Text" (Aug. 2011) by Audrey Watters, is just one of many recent news articles that discuss the use of cell phones as learning tools in the classroom. The author notes the change in educational circles from viewing cellphones as an in-class distraction to a tool to be utilized for educational purposes. More than one in three students send over one-hundred text messages a day, so technologically-forward teachers are exploring ways to tap into an already popular form of communication. 

Cellphones can be used, in their most basic texting form, to perform in-class polls and form text-message discussion groups. Online companies such as Celly and PollEverywhere offer simple and accessible SMS text polling, group messaging, and questioning/feedback options. This type of technology is private (individual phone numbers are blocked) and widely accessible to students with cell phones. Watters writes, "Celly can be used to send messages home from school — reminders about homework assignments, for example — but it can also be used to monitor local and relevant news and information — all in real-time, all sent to users’ cellphones," (Watters, 2011). It seems, with this type of technology, teachers have the ability to be present in their students' lives using the device and form of communication already found in their own backpockets.

A more recent survey of news articles shows that many school districts are turning to "bring your own device" policies to encourage student use of cell phones, ipods, ipads, and laptops inside the classroom. With the utilization of smartphone web-browsing, students can do a quick google search and find the answer to fact-based questions. I'll discuss the potential for learning that web-based browsing brings to the classroom in a later post; needless to say, it may help nudge our higher-order thinking skills up a few levels on Bloom's taxonomy by making the value of memorization and recall out-of-date.

In terms of this article, the egalitarian ramifications of equality of access to mobile devices that plays out in BYOD programs is less present in simple SMS cell messaging. A teacher need only to perform a quick survey at the beginning of the school year asking who has access to a cellphone. Odds are, most students do. From that point on, it's up to the teacher to set the boundaries for Celly use in and out of school. Are students expected to reply to teacher texts? Will the teacher approve all group messages before they are sent to the class? Will the teacher text students at home? Until what time?

Once these boundaries are set, the use of simple SMS texts to communicate class business, conduct informal polls, and allow students to communicate with each other informally and outside of class, has the potential to be beneficial to learning. And fun! Belonging to the class "group" may even foster a sense of belongingness not found in simple teacher-to-student emails or online computer-based discussion groups. Students who lack access to computers at home probably have a cell phone on hand. Setting up class groups with Celly or another provider is definitely something I will look into with my own class.

Citation:

Watters, A. (2011, August 25). Class, turn on your cellphones, it's time to text. KQED: Mind/Shift: How we will learn. Retrieved from http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2011/08/class-turn-on-your-cell-phones-its-time-to-text/

First Post

This is a testing post :)