Blog Post #E

     I have always believed in the benefits of integrating technology into education. I was aware that with everything in life there are pros and cons but I have always been excited about the pros of technology in the classroom. This chapter gave me an opportunity to view some of the cons that can be associated with technological learning. Though it did not persuade me to jump ship on the thought of more technology in the curriculum, it did give me an understanding of some possible negatives, and some ideas on ways that teachers and educators could address and avoid them.
     The cardinal reason I was so intrigued by using technology as a learning source, was because of problem solving incorporated in the learning.  Problem solving was always a difficult concept for me. Sometimes I could look at a simple problem, and if it was segmented into different pieces, I could never get the pieces to fit together to finally get to the end result. Pencil and paper were my worst nightmare when it came to understanding math or statistical problems. It was almost as if the math problems were taunting me, laughing at the amount of times I had erased and rewritten the same problem and answer over and over. But problem solving with computers, opens an entire new world to creativity, solving strategies and the ability to change the direction of thinking when the problem or situation changes. Another positive aspect of computer problem solving is the immediate feedback and instruction provided when the student answers incorrectly. When completing math problems, a lot of times the student doesn't know if they are correct or incorrect until the following day when it is reviewed in class. And even then, they may not completely understand why they were incorrect. When completing problem solving activities online, there are activities that won't allow the student to progress until they master the skills at hand. Once they have accurately answered the questions provided, they can then move onto the next section. If the student is having difficulty and is answering incorrectly, the computer will automatically know how and why the student is incorrect. This information is immediately relayed to the student so they can correct the mistake, and continue with the problem correctly. Also, when completing these simulations online, they have an opportunity to see a wide variety of situations and scenarios. This gives them the opportunity to use quick thought changes and allows them an opportunity to be "quick on their feet" in terms of changing strategies and mind sets.

     Learning the difference in learners and the separate ways that they obtain knowledge was a very interesting chapter to me. What this chapter taught me however, was that there are separate sequences of learning, within those learning techniques.  Higher- order and lower-order thinking processes of thinking that are both significantly important in a child's education. Lower-order thinking is the very basic of interpretation and recollection of memorization. This kind of learning is done when a teacher gives their student's vocabulary words to memorize. Or when students are learning their times tables. These kinds of problems are stable, their answer will never change or alter. Higher-order thinking is instigated when students are exposed to a higher level of perspective learning. They will use more evaluation and comparison using higher-order thinking. An example of this would be writing literature or dialogue. Blooms taxonomy depicts the higher and lower orders of thinking into a pyramid structure. The two bottoms tiers of the pyramid consist of comprehension and knowledge. These two are on the bottom because they only require a lower-order of thinking. There is no evaluation or comparison involved in these processes. The top four tiers consist of application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. All four of these skills will help in preparing the student for real life situations. While lower-order skills are extremely important for memorization and cognitive ability, it is the higher-order skills that will allow the students to find multiple solutions to a problem instead of just one. (Blooms Taxonomy)
     There are many ways in which educators could integrate technology into education. I think the biggest controversy parents have with this is when teachers integrate computer games as resources for learning. This is where I have some mixed feelings towards the subject. Computer games have some amazing results as far as allowing students to initialize those higher-order learning skills. Everything from simple multiplication, to highly interactive creativity can be utilized with these "games". Gramification is a term I had never heard before, but is described in our text as "application of game elements to non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior". (Transforming Learning With New Technologies)  This means that students are using lessons learned through these educational computer games, and putting them to use in actual scenarios. A big advantage to using the games as an educational tool is that there is instantaneous feedback to the students answers/actions. The computer doesn't have to wait to grade or observe the student. They are rewarded when correct and encouraged when incorrect. A downfall to using games as a learning tool is that effects it may have other than learning. Students sometimes get consumed in the games. Their competitive natures come out, they get excited about their scores and they loose the reasoning behind the game to begin with, to learn. There was a quote in out book that stated, "Playing the game can override the importance of academic material when students become more concerned with winning and loosing rather than learning." (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) I think this can be monitored however by being active within the child's game play. Keeping updated in their experiences and accomplishments can help in centering the student around the importance of the game and understanding its purpose.
      There were so many new concepts in this chapter that really caught my attention. I still stand behind the idea of technology in the classroom. I think it is an experience that children should be exposed to because of the importance it will have in their adult lives. Understanding the concepts of learning, how children learn, the type of learning they are experiencing and making sure they aren't getting carried away with the wrong concepts are all boundaries that educators can have in preventing students from using technology incorrectly. Overall I learned a tremendous amount from this chapter and I think it was a great insider on some of the cons that can be associated with technology. This allowed me to open my mind to the other side of things and prepared me with solutions for the situations. Much like computer games might do for a child in the classroom!

References:

 Maloy, R. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. 

 Lower Order Thinking - Bloom's Taxonomy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 30, 2015. 

   

Digital Blog Post #D

     This chapter gave me an opportunity to look at technology in a different sense. I have known that the internet has extensive advantages that students and teachers can access, but to learn different ways to use these advantages and the statistics behind student participation was a mind blowing experience. Technology today is a different language in and of itself. To be able to use and understand technology, one must know the different rules and phrases to be able to correctly utilize the internet and become fluent in its domains. But in order for students to learn and become comfortable with the language of technology, they must be taught. If the teacher isn't up to date on these concepts, the student will miss out on an incredibly important lesson of utilizing the internet to benefit them and their education.

     When I was a student in high school, cell phones were a constant battle between teachers and students. If ever caught with a cell phones, they were either taken away and held until the students parent could come pick it up, or the student was assigned in school suspension for a day. There is something about the identity students have with their cell phones that draws them to constantly accessing and utilizing them. Once I was in college, we as students were allowed a little more freedom with our cell phones. One teacher let us use them during a math test proving the different tools available to us via internet. But the struggle between teachers and cell phones rages on. But what if this didn't have to be a struggle any longer? I think the main problem teachers have with cell phones is the withdrawal of student attention. They are focused on their phones instead of the lesson. But there has been studies proving that when technology is utilized within the lesson, students prove to have higher levels of engagement and academic performance (Transforming Learning with New Technologies) According to our text book, 40% OF 1,200 e-reader buyers were spending more time reading now than they had before with print books. (Transforming Learning with New Technologies) If children are more captivated by using e-books are apposed to paper prints, I don't think there is a reason why we shouldn't allow them to utilize that resource. For years we have struggled with trying to get our children to be more enamored and excited about reading. We want them to WANT to participate in reading for fun. With new e-books available, we are enabling reading to be fun and intriguing for children. Another argument would be that when children get into the older grade levels such as high school and college, they are excited to know and understand the general basics of using technology as a learning resource. How to search for information and using that information to write an informative paper is a major assignment in almost every high school and college level class. If we could teach our children how to not only search for information, but how to do it in a more quick and effective manner, I think it will significantly help them in succeeding through out their academic careers.



     According to Wikipedia, language fluency is the degree to which one is fluent in a language. (Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia) This being said I think it is important to consider technology and the internet to have a language all of their own. In order to understand the concepts of the internet, you must understand its language. How to search, upload and post are all processes that add up to make a technological language. These processes are like sentences in a paragraph if you will. It is important for teachers to be fluent in the language of technology for they are going to be the educators to the students and to one another. The internet has its own set of rules and guidelines in order to be successful. With today's advancements, it couldn't be more easy to learn and adapt to the new learning concepts. But there are still many who look at a computer with a touch of distaste. They like the old fashioned pencil and paper. They don't think it necessary to learn this new day in age way of learning, through technology. But the truth of it is, this is the way the world is moving. In the direction of technology, simplicity and electronics. It is important for our students to be well attuned with these tools because it is their entire future. All through school, their careers and even their personal lives, everything is going to be connected through the internet and technology. I think it is important to give the children of today the opportunity to get a head start on their future and be equipped with the tools to succeed in tomorrow. According to our textbook, "Students develop fluency not by doing exercises in books, worksheets, or multiple choice tests, but by performing important-to-the-learner, technology based activities in real world settings, in which their actions and choices have meaningful consequences." (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) What better way to teach them the language of technology, then to interact them with it?
Observation Hours on PhotoPeach    
The internet provides hundreds of apps and websites that make students and teachers lives more simple and organized. Microsoft offers a variety of options that allow students to create and organize their own set of notes, guidelines, schedules and much more. Teachers can utilize the same tools to create rubrics, curriculum, timelines and itineraries. What is better than the convenience of these tools is that they are absolutely free. There is no need to go to the store and spend money on planners and agendas, notebooks and loose leaf paper. While those things will still be necessary, the total amount needed will be significantly reduced.   These pros are all fantastic, if utilized.This was an amazing concept to me. For years I wrote hundreds of thousands of words on paper and in notebooks, taking down notes, word after word, to help me study and understand the chapter being reviewed. To think that students never have to have another miserable hand cramp from pressing down on your pencil too hard for too long! And while some of these new concepts were around and being developed when I was in high school, I never learned or even heard about all the different options it provided for studying. I think it so amazing that students can help themselves to the endless amount of options provided to them through something they can't seem to get enough of...technology.
     This week was a great read. I enjoyed learning some new things like the different note taking options and the concepts of technology being it's own "language". I couldn't agree more with the text that teachers need to be equipped with the knowledge of these new up to date technology based learning strategies and I think this chapter had a lot of great points about the benefits it would behold for children in the future.


References:

 Fluency. (2015, September 7). Retrieved September 24, 2015.

Maloy, R. (2011). Teaching Information Literacy and Digital Citizenship. In Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon. 

   
   
   

Digital Blog Post # C

     I find it amazing how many different opinions and theories there are regarding learning and the concepts of communication. I had touched base on all of these different theories in a Sociology class that I had taken and was always fascinated with how they all seemed to interlace among one another. Kinesthetic learning is in touch with active learning and active learning is in touch with Cognitivism. In all of these theories and opinions, technology can be used to better educate and help in the learning processes.
     Two concepts that caught my attention were the teacher-centered and student-centered learning approached. I myself tend to lean more towards the student-centered learning approach. It is important for me to be involved and active within a lesson in order for me to obtain any knowledge or concept of the information being taught. As a student, I learn more easily if I can collate situations within the lesson to actual events within my life. This system helps me to remember and asses a situation more accurately. However, in the teacher- centered approach, it says "The goal of the teacher is to "instruct" in the most efficient and effective ways possible so that the students will learn the information." (Transforming Learning with New Technologies.) In the student centered approach, the "goal of the teacher is to "create" situations in which students participate in minds-on problem solving and thoughtful reflection and academic experiences." (Transforming Learning with New Technologies.) What if teachers created these situations while also instructing efficiently and effectively? Which approach would this be considered? And in which theory would this be instilled? 

     The second concept that stood out to me was the online problem-solving section. Now that I work full time and it is primarily up to me to run a front office, I see how the early building blocks of problem solving are so important. Being able to take on a problem head on a think through what the solution will be is a skill some don't have, but is imperative to being successful in a surplus of careers. The concept of technology ruling our everyday lives is a very real reality and is not going to change anytime in the near future. Having our children today, learn how to us technology in their futures, is an advantage for them that is immense. There is a superabundance of "games" online that allow children to utilize the fun of interactive activities while challenging their logical thinking and reasoning abilities. In a journal written by Joseph McCade, "Technology education changes problem solving from simply a means to an end into the end itself. Rather than use problem solving to produce a product, the product becomes one of many ways to teach problem solving."(Problem Solving: Much More Than Just Design) I think this is a brilliant way of saying that problem solving is a revolving door to the future. There are always going to be barriers and building blocks to succeeding. If you overcome one of those barriers, use it as a reinforcement to overcome the other obstacles standing in your way.  Tackk Poster
     A concept that I was not familiar with was the different literacies that are required within some career choices. There are multiple literacies judged and analyzed within job applicant to see if they have what it takes to perform professionally. Digital literacy, media literacy, internet literacy, information literacy and visual literacy are all aspects that people should be trained on in order to be successful. They all are different in that they all have different skills associated with them. Media literacy is different than digital literacy because students learn how to think critically about their experiences in media while digital is a multidimensional concept. A good example of visual literacy would be creating a cork board on Lino!
     I genuinely enjoyed reading this section. There were so many concepts that I had never taken into consideration before. I had know idea that there were so many different pieces towards technological literacy or that there were even different theories on learning such as teacher-centered or student-centered. I have always thought critical thinking was an important skill. But to learn all the unique ways to practice and sharpen those skills is a real game changer!

References:

Joseph McCade. Problem Solving: Much More Than Just Design. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v2n1/pdf/mccade.pdf

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.


"PLTW Launch: Engaging Students' Natural Curiosity Through Problem-Based Learning and Technology." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Sept. 2015.

Digital Blog Post #B - Chapter 2

This was an interesting chapter for me because it addressed many of the questions I was starting to ponder. For example, what about those teachers that don't have easy access to technology to be used in the classroom? What if technology cannot fit into the curriculum that teachers are required to teach? Chapter two helped me peace together some of my own answers and clarified others that I wasn't one hundred percent certain on. There were also many concepts that caught my attention while I was reading through. Having graduated in 2010 I was starting to see an integration into technology in the classroom but it wasn't something that was school wide or wasn't frequently used. I love that the very beginning of this chapter states that a career in teaching is a career that will always be appreciated and that "it is a career that matters to everyone.." (Transforming Learning With New Technologies)

The first concept that jumped out at me was that students tend to teach as they were taught. That statement struck me as such an oxymoron. We live our lives as educators teaching students so they can grow up to succeed. Yet going into the education field, we are now being told that it is not necessarily correct to teach, as you were once taught. What a concept to wrap your head around! What I took away from this was not just to teach students a specific concept or process, but to teach them multiple. If you teach them multiple ways of doing things, you are also teaching them to adapt to different situations. If they are taught to adapt to different situations, than as their lives go on, and things begin to advance (as technology always will) they will have the skill and mind set to grow and change with it. This is what a lot of educators today lack in their teaching methods. They were brought up in a time where everything was taught in the same monochromatic manner. For example, the desks are arranged in nice neat rows with the professor up front giving a lecture or presentation. Therefore, when they completed their own education and became an educator themselves, that was the only way they knew how to teach. Students today need to be taught to be flexible with learning new skills and strategies. If we have learned anything from the past, it is that the future is not set in stone. So why have a teaching method that is?

The second concept that stuck in my brain were the statistics used regarding student drop out rates.Our book states that "Nationwide, about 75% of entering first-year students, graduate high school four years later." (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) That means that 25% of first-year students do NOT graduate high school four years later. 25% is a huge number in my opinion. A number that should be significantly lower. According to an article written by the Huffington Post "the national drop out rate was 7% in 2011". This is still lower than is was in 1990 when the drop out rate was averaged at 12%. When asked why the students were dropping out, a large portion of them blamed being bored and not being engaged or stimulated. I know from self experience that high school was torture for kids that are kinesthetic learners. Being one myself, it is hard to sit through an hour long class while staring at a teacher giving a lecture. I walked away from those classes none the wiser on the subject at hand and I was exhausted from sitting in that classroom listening to a monotone voice drone on about a subject I couldn't care less about. The image below is a perfect example of how I, and many other kinesthetic learners feel towards understanding new concepts. As sad as it is to say, I can see why these kids are dropping out from being under stimulated. They want to do things that make them feel accomplished and proud of themselves. Listening to lectures and taking notes does not give most students those feelings.  This chapter showed a spectacular reason behind using technology in class. Technology is such a huge part of our youths everyday life. They not only use it for school, but for personal interaction. This is something that engages them. If you can take something that students are using less for academics and more for personal reasons and incorporate it into their curriculum, they are going to be more interested in the task they are performing. Students enjoy using technology. Take that enjoyment and put it towards teaching them something. Engage them in a way that they understand and appreciate. I think this is a great start to lowering that 7% drop out rate. 

The third concept that I found interesting kind of tied everything together for me. The  digital disconnect today has left students frustrated and uninterested. While teachers are accustomed to reading through a text book, students are more interested in searching the internet for the answer. Teachers are associated with meeting a study group face to face while students are happier doing so virtually. While many fight the issue of whether face to face contact is more essential than online, the fact is most students today are doing so. They feel comfortable with it and the end result is that it is the way the world is moving. I think the real issue, is that the teachers aren't as educated as the students when it comes to virtual learning. While many students take advantage of things such as social networks, teachers are still considering those things "distractions". But what if we as educators could use those "distractions" to our advantage. Students could use social media sites as means of communication for group projects with classmates. With all of the capability a smart phone has, why use is for just talking and texting? Teachers could utilize a smartphone to do so much more such as having students download learning games or e-texts. Our book uses the statistic that 94% of students use technology to work on assignments at home, even though less than half of their teachers (46%) give homework that requires the use of computers, the Internet or other technologies. (Transforming Learning With New Technologies) If more teachers utilized the information that their students were giving them, I think they would get a better feedback as far as interaction and participation. 

This chapter was a lot of fun to read through. Emotionally, I could relate to a lot of the issues it described and I think that is important in understanding the topics discussed. Being from a younger generation, I can understand the wants and needs of a technologically advanced student. 

Bibliography: 

     Lynch, Ed.D. Matthew. "Is the U.S. Dropout Rate Really a Crisis?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 10 Sept. 2015.

    Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.