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