Students and Technology

After reading the two articles, I believe that it is crucial for teachers to incorporate technology into the classroom. It is a fact that some students don't have access to computers at home, but many are more tech-savvy than we give them credit for. Plus, it appears universal that students enjoy using technology in the classroom, so we should work with that. 

There are solutions for dealing with the problem of outside access. We can allot time in the school's library or technology lab for certain assignments, and we can direct students to the public library for long-term projects. If I end up in a classroom with little or no technology, there are ways around that. It sounds like there are various online sources for discounted computers and for refurbishing old computers. Grants are also possible in securing technological equipment, so all is not lost.

Students are going to need to be proficient at computers, for college and for the workforce. It would be a detriment to ALL students if we decided to forgo the use of computers in the classroom because SOME may not have outside access or a high degree of proficiency. We can alleviate the latter by giving extra time/help for students who may be foreign to computers. It will be imperative to help guide students in the direction of modernity, and technology is the way to do it. While I was initially resistant to the idea, I guess I need to get out of the dark ages, for my sake and the students' sakes.

As I mentioned, I will make time for students who aren't as comfortable with computers. Just as I would offer extra help to a child who was weak in reading skills or faltering in his writing abilities, I will give the extra resources for students who may be at a disadvantage technologically. It's only fair; we need to give them a level playing field.

Cellphones in the classroom? No thanks!

Okay, I get it. Technology is valuable and wonderful and ever-present in the classroom. But I draw the line at cellphones. I see the merit of using phones for certain tasks, however, I think students would abuse the privilege. It would drive me CRAZY if I was giving a profound lecture or engaging my class in a riveting discussion, only to see a kid texting away on his phone. 

In his argument against cellphones in the classroom, Josh Allen asserts that "nothing that you can do on a cellphone will inspire students as they make their way into the world." I think that is a tad harsh, but I do agree that we can use other avenues of technology in lieu of cellphones. I have a hard time believing that socially excitable students could resist the temptation to use their phones during a 70-minute class, so I'd rather not give them the temptation. 

Over the course of our MAT classes the past couple of months, several ideas for incorporating phones into the classroom have been broached. They sound good in theory, but I have to ask, can students exercise restraint in using the phones for personal agendas? And on a broader level, how much technology is too much technology? Where do we draw the line?

Chatspeak IS destroying English!

Oh, how I long for the days of yore, when people wrote with quills and a jar of ink. Eloquent letters using perfect diction, grammar and spelling were the norm. Okay, so that was even before my time... but there is something to be said for the written word abilities of yesteryear. As it is, writing skills seem to have deteriorated for many modern students, and I fear that "chatspeak" is only worsening that occurrence. I worry that the shortcuts kids use might further hinder their writing capabilities in the classroom. 

Obviously the English language is near and dear to my heart. I hate to think of it becoming obsolete for some people who never fully appreciate its splendor. I may be biased, though: I am a person who literally CANNOT write "thru." I insist on writing out the entire word because I dislike abbreviations and made-up words. Yes, I am slightly crazy when it comes to grammar. But I just have an appreciation for it, and I want to instill that value into my students. As Linda Howard states in her argument, "Good writing skills are essential as high school students go on to college in traditional settings or online, and they will need to fully express their opinions and expound on subject matter in a way that compels them to think and engage with others on a deeper level."

After reading the article, I wonder if students can alternate/jump between their chatspeak habits and their correct, articulate writing skills needed for class. I worry that their former will take over, and that the latter will get weaker and weaker. I hope I am being overly cynical, but I do have concerns that the writing shortcuts will come back to bit the students. For my part, I plan to encourage my students to keep working on their writing and to learn to love the language as much as I do!

PowerPoint Presentations

I really enjoyed all of the PowerPoint presentations we saw today. In particular, I liked the graphics and easy-to-read content. I loved Ben's "Square Deal in a Circle" and other graphics, as well as Anna's captivating musical presentations, complete with musical scale sound clips. In the past I have seen far too many long, wordy, complex PowerPoint presentations being delivered in a droning, monotonous manner. This was refreshing because the slides and bullet points were concise and "simple," while the supplemental information given by the presenters was interesting and full of knowledge. I learned that technique during this assignment -- make the slides fairly simple and clean, and then use your "lecture" to elaborate on the points.

As far as my own presentation, I felt that I spoke too quickly and hustled through my PowerPoint. I liked the outcome and aesthetics of the slides, but my delivery was a bit rushed. When I have my own classroom, I need to remember to speak slowly and clearly to make sure my students will absorb the information. In addition, my material was slightly "dark," so I used images that emoted the somber, macabre feeling of Poe's works. Obviously, when creating PowerPoints for other subjects, I will try to make them more light-hearted and bright.

I really enjoyed using the new-and-improved PowerPoint program. Like I mentioned, I think I previously had a stigma about PowerPoint presentations, This inspired me to approach them in a new way. When done right, they can allow the us to be creative and engage our students. They can also be a great tool for helping the students learn. I'm officially a fan of PowerPoint!

Educational Technology & Attention Span

I have to agree that technology is a boon to education and that it is not hindering students' attention spans, although I do take exception to a few facets of John David Son's "yes" argument. I believe that technology, when used in the appropriate arena, can be helpful and instrumental in the learning process. I think kids now can multi-task on an extreme level and that technology has helped them to become more adept at juggling several projects/tasks at once. 

However, as a future language arts teacher, it saddens me that the handwritten paper may become obsolete. Call me old-fashioned, but I think the power of the written word (literally, written) goes a long way. I like penmanship and the "archaic" method of using a pen to craft words and sentences on paper. To me, typing everything sometimes takes away the luster and sentiment of the writing. Then again, I still like handwritten love letters and snail-mail birthday cards over emails and e-cards. I guess I AM old-fashioned!

Yet I see the benefits of technology in the classroom, and they far outweigh the negatives. As Son asserts, "Technology has the power to capture our children's attention by making learning interactive and fun." I agree with him, and think we teachers need to adapt to new styles of instruction that will truly engage our students. If they are proficient at technology skills already, why not use that to our advantage? We can give them a chance to shine using their existing strengths by incorporating wikis, blogs, online games and class websites into the learning environment. Son mentioned that the students he observed who were using technology in the classroom were "excited and engaged" by the content, and that many "didn't realize they were learning." That sounds like a plus for students and teachers alike.

The only question that I have after reading the article is, Is there a happy medium? Can we incorporate technology into the classroom at times, but still teach the other practical skills our students need in the "old" way? Perhaps we can use condensed Power Point presentations at times (to give them the need-to-know info in a concise and easy way), but also give lectures and have discussions without the use of a computer or overhead projector. I think there is a happy medium, and I hope to find it when I begin teaching!

Cyber-Bullying

Cyber-bullying is a scary thing. It was bad enough when bullies overtly taunted and teased other students in person. Now they have the veil of anonymity to hide behind, which means they have license to run wild and terrorize their peers with little worry of punishment. I have heard countless horror stories about children being so tormented by cyber-bullies that they end their own lives. It's just awful that this is what we've come to. Obviously we need to remedy the situation and enforce mandates to punish cyber-bullies. We can't allow this to continue; intervention is necessary.

I haven't personally know anyone who has been affected by cyber-bullying, but I saw a powerful TV show in which the situation was addressed. The show's guest was the mother of a young man who was cyber-bullied. A once quirky and outgoing kid who loved to act and sing, he became the target of several cyber-bullies from his school. They began calling him hateful words and making fun of his sexuality. He tried to ignore them and then he tried to engage them, but nothing worked. This fun-loving kid became withdrawn and depressed. He felt that he had no way out, so he hanged himself in his closet.

I realize that many people feel schools should not be involved in dealing with cyber-bullying since it takes place off school grounds. But I believe there needs to be external intervention on behalf of these tormented kids who are being bullied online. Yes, it starts with parents. They need to be aware of what their children are doing online. However, schools also should be involved. They need to regulate what students are doing to each other in order to protect the meek students who are the focus of this abuse. There should be punishment for students who cyber-bully; it's the only way to prevent this toxic behavior from escalating.

It's also a matter of prevention, though. If we can preempt the behavior by educating our students about the tragic effects of cyber-bullying, and hopefully get them to understand the ramifications of cyber-bullying, then maybe we can prevent bullied kids from feeling hopeless and from feeling that they have no option apart from suicide. I plan to address this problem with my students. If there are kids I suspect might be experiencing cyber-bullying, then I will talk to them about their options. I will encourage them to talk to a counselor and to ignore the taunts. Usually bullies get tired of teasing people if they aren't getting the desired response, so I will ask the bullied student not to engage the bully. 

Similarly, if I learn (or even suspect) that one of my students is a cyber-bully, I will head it off immediately. I will alert that student's parents and make sure the student is fully aware of the consequences of his/her negative actions. I will definitely be proactive about handling the situation. I simply won't take the chance of something horrific happening because I didn't intervene. 

Wow... I hadn't realized how strict the copyright parameters are. After perusing the Fair Use Guidelines and seeing the slider scale, I now understand that teachers need to be very careful about the materials and information we use in our classrooms. I learned that copyrighted material from certain time periods can be protected for 70 years after the death of the "owner." I also came to learn that we are limited in our usage of movies and published works in the classroom. Certain things fall under public domain, but others are extremely protected by copyright law. It is our duty to know the rules and practice responsibility when using these items.

I think it is necessary for certain watchdogs to be in place, and a result, I think copyrighting is fair. If I were an author, I would be totally offended if my works were being fully repoduced and distributed without my consent (or without at the very least giving me credit). Similarly, I understand that many motion pictures and TV programs are protected and shouldn't be shown to audiences (even classes of students). It isn't fair for people to have the ability to rent and show these without following the proper channels. Although it may seem asinine for big companies (MGM, for instance) and even the middle man (Blockbuster) to complain about a lowly teacher showing a motion pictures to her students, at the end of the day business is business, and they should be making a profit on their movie distribution.

This means we need to avoid copyright infringement whenever possibe: we should give credit where due, ask permission when necessary and use discretion when "borrowing" material. Specifically, we should show videos for educational purposes only, and in all fairness we should rent several copies instead of one for 30 students. We should use minimally substantial amounts of copyrighted materials and incorporate items from public domain as much as possible to avoid trouble. If we want to take liberties with copyrighted material as a jumping-off point for a lesson (i.e. using a song to teach grammar), we must transform it enough that it differs from the original. Lastly, we should use these materials in moderation (as mentioned in the brevity clause of the guidelines).

As a result, I will make sure I'm following the copyright guidelines in my own class. I can't say I'll never show a movie without permission -- that would probably be a mistruth. But I will be sure to heed the rules when it comes to other areas. I will be teaching Language Arts, so my resources will include works by myriad authors. To make sure I'm staying within the appropriate copyright parameters, I'll photocopy snippets of poems, stories and excerpts in moderation and will be sure to distribute only one copy per student. Also, the CSU Faculty Guide to Copyright and Fair Use suggests putting original copies of authors' works on reserve in the school library as opposed to always giving out full copies. That makes a lot of sense.

Copyright and fair use are tricky. It seems vital for us to make sure we are following these strict guidelines to avoid problems. Teachers should be aware of the ramifications of copyright infringement; it's something that can come back to bite us. Giving credit where due and asking permission from the "owners" when necessary are truly important. Additionally, we should use these materials in moderation and only repoduce small amounts (like photocopying one chapter as opposed to an entire book). Last but not least, we need to use them for good intentions. It sounds simple, but I think we have more leeway when we're using copyrighted works for educational purposes.

I realize that I will need to pass these guidelines on to my students. Technology is far more common in classrooms today, and a result, kids will be incorporating media and print works into their own assigments. They need to be made aware of the specific rules so that they don't run into problems themselves. By explaining to them the concepts of copyright and fair use, I can (hopefully) instill in them responsible habits and appropriate methods for using others' works. In fact, the websites we were given as a reference would make a great resource for students, so I would direct them to the same sites.