Education: It's what's inside

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Technology in the Classroom

     In Marc Prensky’s article “Listen to the Natives,” he gives a vivid depiction of the difference between children growing up in this day and age and those of us who are from the 20th century. He calls us “digital immigrants” since we have come into the 21st century from the outside. Our students are termed “digital natives.” They know a language and in some ways a culture that is to us learned. How shall we then educate?

     One way to bridge this gap is to pay attention to what our students’ interests are.  Ask for their insights based on those interests.  Even if this means that they will talk about technology that we are unfamiliar with—if they are making connections, they are learning. 

 

     Collaborating with students is essential.  Education is a like a triangle between the student, the teacher, and the parent.  It takes all three to be effective.  However, keep in mind that there is an authority structure.  The student does not get to decide what is taught.  

     Engagement and motivation are essential to the learning environment.  Learning cannot be forced upon someone; it must be intrinsic.  While it is a must for our students to be engaged, we must be cautious on what they are engaged in.  Just because students are fully absorbed with technology does not mean they are learning useful things.  It also does not mean that they are not engaged in education.  Our lazy hearts pull us to what is easy and fun.  We must push ourselves and our students to do and be more.  Learning does take effort.

     Technology must be used for the tool that it is.  One of the reasons why there is more “technology” used in after-school programs than during school is that much of the educational software out there is in game format that is meant for individuals having fun playing.  Many of the games spend much more time on the game part and not much education is imparted.  Also, many of the games are meant to enhance skills that have been taught in the classroom.  They are not built for the teacher in the classroom.

     The end of the article gives away the author’s leaning.  He is saying that the students are the customers and that parents and teachers do not know what the students’ needs are.  A more accurate view is that education is a duty that rests with parents.  They are entrusted with their children’s education.  They may choose to delegate this authority to schools.  The purpose of education is not to entertain. 

      That being said, the author’s core intention is correct.  Students must be engaged in their education or else learning has not actually taken place.  The excellent educator uses whatever tools possible to ensure that growth is happening.

To read article, click here:  http://www.siprep.org/prodev/documents/Prensky.pdf

PowerPointLessNess

     In his article "Scoring Power Points," Jamie McKenzie warns presenters about the dangers of powerpointlessness (http://www.fno.org/sept00/powerpoints.html#anchor3).  Have you ever watched as a PowerPoint presentation actually took over an event and became the end in itself?  Sometimes you can't even find the person doing the presentation--they have been absorbed into the electronic abyss.  How can we use a tool like PowerPoint without it using us instead?  Even more so, can we teach our young people to use this tool effectively to help them on their educational journey?

     The top hint that McKenzie gives us is to keep the focus on the main goal.  Whatever our students are presenting needs to shine through and not be obscured by the media.  The presentation should be like an iceberg (no, not cold).  What is visible to the audience is only a small portion of the development that has been prepared for the topic.  Use the slides, pictures, bullets, etc. to prove the main points.

     His second suggestion is for the aesthetics.  Typically, students just want to finish the assignment.  We need to teach them how to present themselves winsomely.  Remember that people tend to have short attention spans.  Think about who the audience is and what their interests are.  It is important not to go overboard with gimmicks, instead include memorable images or wording that will stick in the audience's mind.  Put effort into how each page is built.

     Lastly, is you.  The PowerPoint is not the end in and of itself.  You are the one that people are listening to.  Look at them as you speak.  Have deliberate and powerful wording planned.  They already know what the slides say--they can read--instead tell them what your message really is.  Be who you really are.  You have an important message to convey.  Keep your tool in its proper place as a tool in your hand and use it to the best effect.

Benefitting from Bloom's Taxonomy with Technology

     How can someone's idea from so long ago possibly have anything to do with technology or be advanced by it?  Well, of course, that is the very meaning of timeless truth.  Benjamin Bloom gave us the building blocks to help students climb to higher levels of thinking skills.  Technology can be one of the means by which they rise.

     As we begin at knowledge, the entry level, we can assign students to look up all sorts of things on line.  They can look for information for projects.  They can even browse information to see what topic most interests them in order to choose which project to do.  

     For comprehension, students can visit sites where they can practice skills learned in class.  This can be for students struggling so they can have extra practice in a fun way, or it can be homework for the entire class instead of assigning worksheets.

     To enhance application, the class can make a graph on line.  They can do a survey and display the results.  They can do work through an interactive simulation of a historical event.

     Moving on to analysis, we can search various person's reactions to the same historical event.  Students can enter their own research topic on line and build their outline for the remainder of their project.

     For synthesis, the students can take the analysis of various person's reactions to an event and put them together to gain site into a movement.  They can also search for and put together ideas from across the subjects.

     To top it off with evaluation, the students can help design grading rubric checklists.  They can also interact with other students across the country studying the same things they are.

     While we bring our students to higher levels of thinking, technology is there to aid us.

     See the following links for more info:

http://eduscapes.com/tap/topic69.htm

http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/techtorial/techtorial011.shtml

Who is The MeloBlogger?

     I am an educator.  That is the simplest way to put it.  There is hardly anything in my whole life that you can find where I'm not either learning something or teaching someone.

     I have longed to be an educator ever since the fourth grade.  Learning has always interested me in every subject.  I love learning new things.  Children are a particular delight because they love new things, too.  It is a particular privilege to be involved in pouring your life into someone else's.

     The paths of my life have led me to a moderate level of technological proficiency.  I learned to type on a manual (non-electric) typewriter.  (I guess I should erase that since it is technically off topic.)  Computers were not used much when I was in high school.  In college, I used a Commodore 128.  In my years of teaching, I have been at private/low budget schools, usually with no computer.  However, I did become proficient in using the copier to blow up or shrink images to manually cut and paste onto documents, newsletters, etc.  I have a lot of experience with data entry in a school management database and in the customer database at the publisher where I currently work.  For two years, I managed a school website using Dreamweaver.  Other technologies I have used include a digital camera, floppy disks, flash drive, external hard drive, scanner, and printer.  Internet research has been a big part of my current job as well as email and searching for locations on the map.

     Currently, I am enrolled in graduate school in the course Educational Technology.  This course should really stretch my skills as I have much to learn in this area.  I do want to enhance my classroom learning environment with technology.  It will be difficult breaking out of my comfort zone, but this is one of the reasons why I chose this school.