Week 6: Technology Integration: Why, What, and How of Effective Technology Use

Question from reading #1

The study "The Future of Children: Children and Computer Technology" by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, suggests that technology can enhance how children learn by supporting four key components of learning: (1) active engagement; (2) participation in groups; (3) frequent interaction and feedback, and (4) connections to real-world experts.
How have you seen technology being used in classrooms that use these four key components of learning?

Question from reading #7

From the article “Adopt and Adapt: Shaping Tech for the Classroom
21st-century schools need 21st-century technology.” It states
In the past, the pressure against disruption has always been stronger than the pressure for change. So, as new technologies -- from radio to television, from telephones to cell phones, from cameras to video cams, or even Wikipedia -- have come down the pike, American public schools have fearfully stood ready to exclude them. Change hasn't happened.
In many of the schools we teach in technology is coming in slowly. What do you think needs to happen to encourage technology integration at a large scale into today’s public schools?

Question from reading #1 (2)

Why should we integrate technology into our classrooms? How do you plan on using technology in your classroom?

Week 5 - Wikis, Wikipedia, Wikibooks and Collaborative Writing

When responding to a specific question, try to coordinate the color of the answer with the question to create a visual flow. Have fun!


1. Wikipedia is now the 8th most visited site in the United States. Is Wikipedia comparable to other encyclopedias, on-line and written? What are some advantages? What are some disadvantages? Would you let your students’ site from Wikipedia? Why or why not.

(Week 5, Reading #2 and Tidbit #3 and #4)



2. Compose a list of three differences between the learning styles of teachers and students. If today’s students truly are inherently different learners than those from earlier generations, how would you use Wiki resources to help bridge between your teaching style and your students’ learning styles?

(Week 5, Reading #1, Tidbit #3 and #4)



3. Lee Lefever in “Wikis in Plain English” (Week 5, Reading #1), shows people organizing their camping expedition. What kind of classroom activities (subject matter, age level, what the activity looks like, and purpose) could you implement using a class wiki?

The readings of the week

The readings this week focused on Web 2.0 and how it looks in the classroom. My questions this week are:

1. What does the Web 2.0 classroom look like? What form of Web 2.0 would you use in your classroom?


2. States are spending millions of dollars to update their public school's technology. If your classroom were to recieve some of this money, what technology would you want? Would it be a Smart Board, Laptops, Ipods, etc... ?


3. Is blogging suitable for every student? What would blogging look like in an elementary classroom ( k-4)? How about a middle school classroom (5-8)? Is it just for high school students (9-12)? What would blogging look like for your students?

Breadth vs. Depth: A Premature Polarity by E. D. Hirsch, Jr

Hirsch says that, The ability to learn something new will depend on whether or not the knowledge that one many already have. As educators a child's home environment will greatly affect how a a child learns and strives to learn. Their socio-economic status will play a part in their background knowledge and their ability to learn. With lack of resources will come they lack of back ground knowledge they will come to us with. Exposing them to what we can is a tough job because there never seems to be enough hours in a day.

I know recently my school took a survey...I found out about half of my class has a computer. That's 13 out 23 students. So socio-economic status affects them a lot.

Week 3 The Mind vs. the Tool: Learning theories and instructional design

Hi Folks,

Here are the discussion questions for week 3. You can focus on one or two, if not on all. Please voice your ideas/opinions or - just be provocative to make the discussion hot in such bitingly cold weather ;-)

(To Bridget's question: yes, let's try to wrap up the discussion by noon Sunday, ok?)

1. What does “backward design” mean? Why is backward best?
- From Week 3 Reading 1. McTighe, J., and Wiggins, G. (1999). The Understanding by Design.

2. What count as educational technology? What do educational technologies do in support of integrated, inquiry-based learning? Can you find examples of use of educational technology that would engage children in exploring, thinking, reading, writing, researching, inventing, problem-solving, and experiencing the world? Or can you imagine one of such example/design/activity?
-From Week 3 Reading 2. B. Bruce and C. Levin, "Educational Technology: Media for Inquiry, Communication, Construction, and Expression”, p5

3. Did you find any sentence/statement/claim/opinion interesting/ true/ bizarre/nonsense from Neil’s “Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology” ? why or how?
-From Week 3 Reading 3: What Neil Postman has to say…

Is there anybody clarify me?

Hi everyone,
I think Dr. Shi said that she will post topic for week3 but now i didn't see anything.
Suppose, she posted it what are we going to do next?
Punika

Ditto

Same as Jessica Kittle's

Breadth Versus Depth: A Premature Polarity

"Breadth Versus Depth: A Premature Polarity" by E. D. Hirsch, Jr., From Common Knowledge, Volume 14, Number 4, 2001.
Mr. Hirsch states that, "The ability to learn something new is ... dependent on the knowledge that one already possesses.
How do you believe the socio-economic status of your students affects their background knowledge and their ability to learn?

State exams and technology

With increased emphasis on State Exams how can a teacher use technology to gage student understanding? How does it allow the student to enhance their learning abilities?

Test

If as teachers we are assessing students on what they understand, what is the best design to assess all stusents instead of standard test?

Week 3 reading

What should we teach? Should we focus on a few subjects and teach in depth? Or, should we give our students a broader range of information at a more shallow depth of understanding?

Learning Styles

We are all aware that students learn in various ways. How can one develop a sense of understanding using technology (computers)? For example in the one article that focused on Johnny Appleseed, how can a student comprehend the importance of apples?

creativity and technology

Do you think that technology promote creativity and imagination ?

Can technology be an interference in the classroom? Can we become to dependable on technology and forget about our traditional ways?

Reading 3

How is the traditional view exerting influence on the stronger technological world view?

Test Feb.3

See if this will work

Neil Postman Article Question

How is the traditional world view still exerting influence on the stronger technological world view?

A) What do you feel you use more of in your classroom, activity focus teaching or coverage focus teaching?

B) Give an example of how you can use both within a lesson.

In what ways do you assess the learning that is occurring in your classroom? (If you don't teach yet, in what ways do you plan to assess learning?)

How do you feel about EDU551?

Why technology makes me puzzle?

State Tests

Would using technology in the classroom help students prepare for standardized tests? If so how?