I agree that the educational system in the U.S. is in desperate need of an overhaul. Key to this overhaul is ensuring that our students possess the "Critical Thinking" skills necessary to be a full participant in this new world of education and the global economy. However, along with critical thinking skills we also need to develop the skills to tap into the enormous enabling technologies available - not just hardware and standard-based software but also the wealth of Web-based tools that our students may or may not be aware. I am pleased to say that the school that I am being sponsored by in my TAP program is Bellevue West High School. We teach Java skills, Photoshop skills as well as Moviemaker, Word as well as the power of the search engines out there that we can tap into for a wealth of information and we use the Clicker tools for instant assessments. What we ARE missing is a wireless access for the campus. However, we are trying to instill in our students a natural, healthy skepticism that must be developed as the World-Wide Web is the Wild West and much information is slanted (at the minimum) and some information is simply false. So a skeptical approach is warranted.
I've come to believe that the 1 for 1 approach where the students "own" their own laptop is the current ideal world while at the same time we remain vigilant for the next game-changer - for example, a mobile device from Google that resembles an oversized phone and contains their new browser and Google toolset. We need to remember not to get too enamored with a particular tool or piece of software as the preferred tool today is oftentimes and usually found in tomorrow's trash heap - it is not about the mode of travel it is about the journey. It's time to include the corporate world in our designs (without buying into their particular partisan agenda) all the while focusing on the cerebral requirements to use the tools to their utmost potential.
I think that it is important for our students to posess critical thinking skills however it does not see, that ti s is the wave of the future....unfortunate or not. I do however strongly believe that we as educators need to stay on the cutting edge as far as skills such as photo shop and all other on-line tools is critical to the educational process. If it is ok with you all I do not have a strong enough opinion to post a novel like Rich of the West :)
What I have seen in my limited experience with modern High Schools, is both similar and not similar to the teaching I received in High School in the late 1970's.
The classes I am involved in use a SmartBoard constantly. My understanding is that this became available last year in the building.
The classes I am involved in are not honors level. I would say that the challenge of the material is similar to what I had in the 1970's.
There is a computer programming course that I am involved in, that was of course not offered in the 1970's. This course is in Visual Basic. I know that Java programming is also offered.
I have been impressed with how quickly the students pick up the programming concepts. These are students with no background. On the third class day, they were creating simulations of a traffic lights using event-driven programming.
I agree with the author that instruction can and should be improved to be in line with the 21st century. I am not sure I agree with the perceived need to "overhaul" the system.
The vision appears to be, having students work together collaboratively on projects, rather than studying for unit tests and doing perhaps non-relevant homework. I would say that this is a 21st century work model.
I don't know that this replaces coursework and the need for individual assessment in math and science and the like. Perhaps the "project" course is a separate and required course, and your "role" in the project is related to your other coursework.
Does this vision require a complete overhaul of the education system? I am not sure I agree.
I agree that the educational system needs a spruce. As an elementary teacher I don't see enough changes in the way technology is used and perceived. I would really like to incorporate more technology into my classroom but the biggest problem I have is time. I do not seem to have enough time with my students throughout the day with all the other things they are pulled out for: specials, instruments, resource, challenge, guidance, and so on. I can barely get the basics in throughout the school day. My students have one day out of a ten cycle where they are in a "technology" class.
I also have 5 student computers in my classroom that aren't even set up and running yet because the computers are supposed to be used for a special reading program and that is it. I am not supposed to set them up because I haven't been trained in the program. My team and I can't figure out why we can't even get them up and running so kids can type and conduct research to make our lessons more interesting and integrated with technology. It is frustrating that we have the capability in the classroom and we can't even use it.
Integration with technology would be so much more beneficial for my students. The education system needs to revamped and the sooner the better for the future of our students.
For the most part, I agree with what the article has to say. Of course many classrooms are still operating in the "classic" style of teacher standing in front of the classroom lecturing while students sit and take notes and that needs to be done with. Another point I highly agree on is the teaching of globalization. I think it is absolutely essential that students are aware of other cultures and are "global trade literate".
I have no doubt that technology is needed in the classroom and will enhance our education, but it also leaves some questions. Such as are we relying too much on technology that students are not learning the concepts and deeper meanings to problems and questions? Are we really understaning concepts better or just understanding them better through technology, could we understand the concepts without technology? Technology is essential and needs to be apart of education and it could be highly effective if used properly.
I would like to preface the following by saying that I am not talking about all teachers. There are many fabulous teachers out there that are working hard making what they have work and who have eliminated “I can’t” and “never” from their vocabularies. To them I say kudos! Rock on! I can only talk about what I have thus far observed during this short and limited observational period. PS I know my grammer and punctuation are horrible, sorry.
Technology? What’s that? Sad to say, at Benson in the science department it is barely used and they are supposed to be all about tech. The “big deal” this year at Benson was mounting the projectors they had already purchased last year. Most of the department uses these projectors (which are fully hooked up to connect to the web and other tech tools they don’t use) only for projecting their hand written notes, not for power point, going on the web, or anything tech. A lack of motivation on the part of teachers there to use what little they have perpetuates the cycle and gives students even less motivation than the teachers.
I hope that the next generation of teachers doesn’t say “I don’t know how to do that, so I can’t do it” (which I have heard almost word for word from more than one teacher), but instead says “I don’t know how to do that, so let’s find out how” (I hope that all of us will be the next generation). Some of the teachers where I am look at tech as more work and I find it sad. There are four computers in the room I am in and only one gets used and it is only used to check e-mail and take attendance.
In general I think we all realize that technology is a necessary part of education, but for some reason we are still just complaining about it. Reading articles like this just makes my mind run with ways to engage students whether it is with tech, cooperative learning, or real life application of the skills I am supposed to pass on to my students.
Some observations / comments regarding my experience at Papillion LaVista Senior High. I am in four different classrooms in which 9th grade biology, 10th grade physical science, 11th grade chemistry, and 11/12 grade physics are taught. The teachers are at various stages of tech literacy with one utilizing very little, one using a ton, and the other two in between. The teaching resources are present in each room (projector, computer, most with smartboards, etc.), but several of the classrooms are short on the supply of computers for student use. I see all of the teachers working to employ strategies to teach their students about scientific inquiry, teamwork, and the ability to think creatively. The 9th and 10th grade teachers are working to teach their students how to employ learning skills such as notetaking and organization in addition to the science material. The 11th and 12th grade teachers are employing quite a bit of student utilized technology such as hand held data collection devices and motion sensors to teach chemisty and physics concepts. I see all of these teachers as working to master current technology and to incorporate it into their classrooms. Even though there is a long way to go, I think that the PLVHS science department is on the right track regarding teaching the 21st century skills discussed in the article.
It was interesting to read more about the International Baccalaureate in Time Magazine. I had no idea it was first offered in 1968. This is something that I would like to find out more about; students who are extremely advanced could take advantage of something like this if their teacher knew how to facilitate that.
As for knowledge versus complex thinking skills: I do think schools/teachers have an important role in helping students gain mastery over important bodies of knowledge (and of course knowledge changes over time, with new scholarship and new priorities). Teachers can help define what this knowledge should be based on their withitness in their content area and in terms of modernity in general (little "m"). That also will inform what processes and media (books are media too) they use, and I believe it should be varied (including the variation of things they are comfortable with and things they are experimenting with).
I definitely buy into the ideas posed by Bloom’s Taxonomy -- that you need knowledge and comprehension before you can move onto higher level functions like analysis and synthesis. Therefore I don't think people can just assume that Google or whatever new technology will solve that side of things for them.
As for something like learning all the rivers in South America -- it just sounds like a busy-work assignment. If that teacher had been forced to come up with a carefully reasoned rationale for this assignment, as we were instructed to do in Effective Teaching Practices, s/he probably would have discovered for himself/herself that it was NOT a worthwhile assignment. And if the teacher cannot justify a lesson or an assignment, that does not bode well for the students’ motivation.
I agree with most of what the article had to say and also with most of cole's points concerning the article. the school i am working at has little technology available in the general classroom and, although that is a shame, it's not the end of the world. a teacher should be skilled enough to be effective regardless. teachers need to stay abreast of the latest developments in technology themselves, both in order to identify with the kids they are teaching and to utilize it in the classroom should they end up at a school district that is technology equipped. i worry about the kids that aren't keeping up with their peers in terms of tech knowledge due to not having computers at home or in schools. Some districts are just too poor to have what others have and that is unfortunate. those kids will be behind their peers later on when they enter the job force lacking certain computer skills.
With my limited amount of time working thus far at Millard South High School I can say that I have observed the English department and their lack of technology in some areas, where in others it's used everyday. The Basic 10 English class that I have been working with hasn't even used an overhead let alone viewed a powerpoint or completed an assignment on the computer. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum the Journalism dept. is where I spent most of my time and there is an unlimited amount of technology the students can use each day. In our classroom are 25 Macs that students use to search the web for research as well as type their assignments and design layouts for the yearbook and newspaper. When talking with my co-op teacher if she has used blogs or classroom websites in the past she said she feels it's something that Millard has "shunned" due to lack of monitoring them. She felt that students maybe didn't have the freedom of speech needed to respond to a blog and that it gave them ample opportunity to post things not suitable for the classroom. I feel that Millard South has a vast amount of technology available for students to learn and use, but it depends on the teacher as to whether or not they will use it. The "dinosaurs" as I have heard many students refer to them as are unwilling to learn this technology, thus unable to use it in their classrooms. I feel techonology is very important and agree with the article that it's important to learn and adapt your teaching to include such things. Technology is only going to increase, so wouldn't it make sense that if we have these resources at our finger tips that we actively engage students as much as possible so they can be citizens in this global environment?
I agree with the article and everyone else in that schools need to move more into the 21st century. I like the idea of kids learning computer skills early in their educational career. They are going to grow up with an abundance of technology, and they need to learn to utilize these resources properly at an early age. I also like the idea of forcing kids to learn at least one other foreign language. I wish that they had done that when I was in school.
As far as technology use in the Bellevue schools, they still don't have the resources to give every teacher a projector or a smart board. They are working on taking care of this in the next year or two. They are also starting to integrate the "clicker" systems. Bellevue East currently has six class sets of clickers, and we've been told that the more they are used the better chance we'll have of getting more and more sets. Overall I think using technology is necessary to enhance the educational process.
The US educational system is in need of an overhaul of curriculum and of teaching the teachers. This includes the use and involvement of technology, but also in changing teachers' attitudes. In my short time being inside a public school, I find that teacher's who have been teaching for a while are stuck in a rut. Technology would be great, but where are we going to get the money? And if we're so busy 'teaching to the test' in a short amount of time, how do we change? These school that are mentioned in the article sound great, but how are they dealing with NCLB? If they're charter or prviate and aren't taking federal money, then NCLB doesn't matter, they can teach what they want and not worry about district standards that may be outdated.
We (TAP) are constantly learning about all these problems and ideas, but when do we get the HOW?
I think this article had some very good points. It also had some great ideas about how to implement technology into classrooms.
The classroom that I will be working in has two computers (working that is) and a smart board. According to my teaching the Smart Board was put in by chance. We have probably about 10 non-working computer in there, why I don't know. So, for labs we are limited to pencil and paper - something that is strange to me, working the Physics lab here at UNO. The only 'technology' the students have used as of yet is their calculators. And most students refuse to bring them to class or don't have them. Mr. Aramagan said he used to have a classroom set, but all but three calculators were stolen so he can no longer provide them to the students.
Physics has so many technological aspects to it. From graphing to engineering. We'll see how the rest of the year goes, but it almost seems that I don't even have an option to show the students how awesome physics is when you can use a computer to manipulate graphs and data.
The other thing I see is that students moan and groan at even the tiniest bit of homework. To try to have them take extra time on their computer at home or in the computer lab at school to do some research or look something up seems as if it would be impossible. I know we have to get the students motivated to do these things, but I've already seen problems with this.
I think if we had computer in our room, where they could see and not only here, how Physics works, their understanding would be so much greater. I also think they would learn how to "critically think" with a physics brain. Physics is a hands on subject, it can't be learned by lecture.
The article hits on something that may be very intuitive for some but has really made an impact on me. I’m realizing lately that science, or Biology specifically, is a subject that students either love or really hate. Because of this fact, I am trying to motivate students to discover how science can be important to their personal interests and to help give them the rationale needed to sit in a 90 minute class. In the first days of school, as I was introducing myself and talking about how the zoo field is a great career, I found a surprising amount of unimpressed students staring blankly back at me. When I asked a class of 11 and 12th graders who was intending to pursue science based fields, a low proportion of students responded. I suddenly was scrambling to make my introduction relevant to the majority of the class. It was then that I realized, as I was attempting to baffle them with BS, how truly interdisciplinary science can be.
The article stresses that the era of NCLB has over emphasized some content and left other disciplines fighting for survival in American schools. Thus, leaving students with inadequate tools needed to succeed in a world that is evolving into a global community. Do things need to change? Absolutely! As teachers, it is our responsibility to give our students the knowledge and expertise to deal with a world that stresses technology, cultural awareness, cross-cultural communication, and a multitude of other new priorities.
After reading this article, it was evident to me that we are not utilizing technology as we could in the educational system in America.
I loved the idea of global education in other countries. With the influx of diversity in our country, it is imperative that we have other avenues,such as global education to help retain culture as we enter the 21st century. While we are becoming such a huge melting pot, we still must preserve the various cultures. Creating a global student could do just that!
I am proud to say that Northwest High School is really making long strides with the use of technology among their students. Although, they still have to utilize the lab for various projects, the students still have the opportunity to learn from various software programs specific to content area. My cooperating teacher, utilizes quite a bit of software for music, that is used in the classroom for composing and editing, and theory review. Infact next week the students are going to go to the lab to record/score/ and edit some original music.
The sad thing is that while my cooperating is embracing technology, for enhancing his instruction, many other educators may have the fear of being obsolete, and have not jumped on board. Others see the need and do not feel they have the time or equipment.
I feel that all students and teachers must somehow be able to take advantage of technology. I also feel that when all administrators of schools make a stand about the vision and direction of all of our schools, in regards to technology, teachers and students will have no choice but to jump on board with learning through technology.
Basically, it has got to be a priority and not a choice for incorporating more technology in our educational system! Due to the fact that this is the age of technology, to be effective educators, we must find the time, making it a priority to incorporate it into our student's learning experience. This will also be one of the greatest ways of connecting with our students!
Change is difficult, before one makes a step to change. Once the first step has been made, taking more steps will become eaiser.
I think we can all agree on the importance of technology in the classroom. My content area is German, so my approach to this topic is from a foreign language perspective. Technology is the language of the “future”. It is what students will be using once they leave school and enter the “real world”. In order to prepare them for this, we as teachers need to teach them how to effectively use it and communicate using it.
Language is a performance skill and therefore you need practice in order to give your best performance. Where I see the gap, and I believe the article highlights this, is that students are using and experimenting with technology outside of school, but we are not connecting that use of technology to the subjects we are teaching in school. My classroom at Papillion La Vista South HS has a computer, an overhead projector, and a projector that floats between all the foreign language classrooms. There are also computer labs that we visit as a class on occasion. There are so many amazing videos and websites on the internet that would be great in exposing students to popular German media and culture.
Unfortunately the solution to this problem is money. Many schools don’t get enough money to buy decent, recent editions of textbooks, let alone computers, Elmo’s, etc. So as a teacher, you do the best you can with what you have been given and you fight tooth and nail for the money to bring new and exciting technology into your school and classroom.
Schools need to stay up to date with technology. Like the example in the beginning of the article, schools are probably the least technologically advanced part of our society. In many circumstances, they are still run the same way as they were 50 years ago. The classroom I work in has one overhead projector and one computer for the teacher. Most of our lessons are done with overhead transparencies or the chalkboard. This still is effective - the students are still learning. But there are so many more resources that could be utilized with the help of technology. I think the students would be more engaged. Where is the funding for such technology?
This article brings many concepts to light that new educators will have a hard time wrapping their minds around. We are all products of the defunct education system illustrated throughout Carolina A. Miranda's paragraphs. Is it that easy? Follow the lead of another country and we will succeed in moving our children's education into the 21st century. The idea of streamlining subjects into major concepts and working them into a collective learning environment has tremendous potential. I can see myself working with other departments on science skills, English skills, mathematic skills, geography skills, social skills, technology skills, physical education skills, music skills, business skills, theater skills and secondary language skills. The problem with this article is that most of these subjects aren't mentioned. The article insists we focus on math, science, technology and secondary language skills. What about the rest? What do we do with the students who will excel at music, art and not science or math? Are the deemed secondary citizens because they don't match up with other countries standards? America is known for many things including free public education for the masses. Not all children will succeed in high test scores and many will drop out. Is there a better way to do things? Yes, I think so and I believe technology is a part. Instead of relying on all the gadgets that fascinate many of us, we need to turn our focus on the professional who will guide our children in this 21st century. Teachers are the real changing factors and new system will begin with us.
I agree with most everyone. At this day and age, we would think that more energy would be spent making certain that classrooms were equipped with tools necessary to prepare our students for the global economy. But then I had to think about countries like China that have even less technology in their classroom but seem to surpass American students academically. I have to wonder how we account for this disparity. Often times discipline, rigor, and attitude have as much to do with students being prepared as technology. I am amazed at all of the tools I have learned about since being in this course. I knew the basic like PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Photoshop, etc. but I had not used any Mac software such as Imovie.
22 comments:
I agree that the educational system in the U.S. is in desperate need of an overhaul. Key to this overhaul is ensuring that our students possess the "Critical Thinking" skills necessary to be a full participant in this new world of education and the global economy. However, along with critical thinking skills we also need to develop the skills to tap into the enormous enabling technologies available - not just hardware and standard-based software but also the wealth of Web-based tools that our students may or may not be aware. I am pleased to say that the school that I am being sponsored by in my TAP program is Bellevue West High School. We teach Java skills, Photoshop skills as well as Moviemaker, Word as well as the power of the search engines out there that we can tap into for a wealth of information and we use the Clicker tools for instant assessments. What we ARE missing is a wireless access for the campus. However, we are trying to instill in our students a natural, healthy skepticism that must be developed as the World-Wide Web is the Wild West and much information is slanted (at the minimum) and some information is simply false. So a skeptical approach is warranted.
I've come to believe that the 1 for 1 approach where the students "own" their own laptop is the current ideal world while at the same time we remain vigilant for the next game-changer - for example, a mobile device from Google that resembles an oversized phone and contains their new browser and Google toolset. We need to remember not to get too enamored with a particular tool or piece of software as the preferred tool today is oftentimes and usually found in tomorrow's trash heap - it is not about the mode of travel it is about the journey. It's time to include the corporate world in our designs (without buying into their particular partisan agenda) all the while focusing on the cerebral requirements to use the tools to their utmost potential.
I think that it is important for our students to posess critical thinking skills however it does not see, that ti s is the wave of the future....unfortunate or not. I do however strongly believe that we as educators need to stay on the cutting edge as far as skills such as photo shop and all other on-line tools is critical to the educational process.
If it is ok with you all I do not have a strong enough opinion to post a novel like Rich of the West :)
P.S....I realize I have a few typos oops!
What I have seen in my limited experience with modern High Schools, is both similar and not similar to the teaching I received in High School in the late 1970's.
The classes I am involved in use a SmartBoard constantly. My understanding is that this became available last year in the building.
The classes I am involved in are not honors level. I would say that the challenge of the material is similar to what I had in the 1970's.
There is a computer programming course that I am involved in, that was of course not offered in the 1970's. This course is in Visual Basic. I know that Java programming is also offered.
I have been impressed with how quickly the students pick up the programming concepts. These are students with no background. On the third class day, they were creating simulations of a traffic lights using event-driven programming.
I agree with the author that instruction can and should be improved to be in line with the 21st century. I am not sure I agree with the perceived need to "overhaul" the system.
The vision appears to be, having students work together collaboratively on projects, rather than studying for unit tests and doing perhaps non-relevant homework. I would say that this is a 21st century work model.
I don't know that this replaces coursework and the need for individual assessment in math and science and the like. Perhaps the "project" course is a separate and required course, and your "role" in the project is related to your other coursework.
Does this vision require a complete overhaul of the education system? I am not sure I agree.
I agree that the educational system needs a spruce. As an elementary teacher I don't see enough changes in the way technology is used and perceived. I would really like to incorporate more technology into my classroom but the biggest problem I have is time. I do not seem to have enough time with my students throughout the day with all the other things they are pulled out for: specials, instruments, resource, challenge, guidance, and so on. I can barely get the basics in throughout the school day. My students have one day out of a ten cycle where they are in a "technology" class.
I also have 5 student computers in my classroom that aren't even set up and running yet because the computers are supposed to be used for a special reading program and that is it. I am not supposed to set them up because I haven't been trained in the program. My team and I can't figure out why we can't even get them up and running so kids can type and conduct research to make our lessons more interesting and integrated with technology. It is frustrating that we have the capability in the classroom and we can't even use it.
Integration with technology would be so much more beneficial for my students. The education system needs to revamped and the sooner the better for the future of our students.
For the most part, I agree with what the article has to say. Of course many classrooms are still operating in the "classic" style of teacher standing in front of the classroom lecturing while students sit and take notes and that needs to be done with. Another point I highly agree on is the teaching of globalization. I think it is absolutely essential that students are aware of other cultures and are "global trade literate".
I have no doubt that technology is needed in the classroom and will enhance our education, but it also leaves some questions. Such as are we relying too much on technology that students are not learning the concepts and deeper meanings to problems and questions? Are we really understaning concepts better or just understanding them better through technology, could we understand the concepts without technology? Technology is essential and needs to be apart of education and it could be highly effective if used properly.
I would like to preface the following by saying that I am not talking about all teachers. There are many fabulous teachers out there that are working hard making what they have work and who have eliminated “I can’t” and “never” from their vocabularies. To them I say kudos! Rock on! I can only talk about what I have thus far observed during this short and limited observational period. PS I know my grammer and punctuation are horrible, sorry.
Technology? What’s that? Sad to say, at Benson in the science department it is barely used and they are supposed to be all about tech. The “big deal” this year at Benson was mounting the projectors they had already purchased last year. Most of the department uses these projectors (which are fully hooked up to connect to the web and other tech tools they don’t use) only for projecting their hand written notes, not for power point, going on the web, or anything tech. A lack of motivation on the part of teachers there to use what little they have perpetuates the cycle and gives students even less motivation than the teachers.
I hope that the next generation of teachers doesn’t say “I don’t know how to do that, so I can’t do it” (which I have heard almost word for word from more than one teacher), but instead says “I don’t know how to do that, so let’s find out how” (I hope that all of us will be the next generation). Some of the teachers where I am look at tech as more work and I find it sad. There are four computers in the room I am in and only one gets used and it is only used to check e-mail and take attendance.
In general I think we all realize that technology is a necessary part of education, but for some reason we are still just complaining about it. Reading articles like this just makes my mind run with ways to engage students whether it is with tech, cooperative learning, or real life application of the skills I am supposed to pass on to my students.
Some observations / comments regarding my experience at Papillion LaVista Senior High.
I am in four different classrooms in which 9th grade biology, 10th grade physical science, 11th grade chemistry, and 11/12 grade physics are taught. The teachers are at various stages of tech literacy with one utilizing very little, one using a ton, and the other two in between. The teaching resources are present in each room (projector, computer, most with smartboards, etc.), but several of the classrooms are short on the supply of computers for student use.
I see all of the teachers working to employ strategies to teach their students about scientific inquiry, teamwork, and the ability to think creatively. The 9th and 10th grade teachers are working to teach their students how to employ learning skills such as notetaking and organization in addition to the science material. The 11th and 12th grade teachers are employing quite a bit of student utilized technology such as hand held data collection devices and motion sensors to teach chemisty and physics concepts.
I see all of these teachers as working to master current technology and to incorporate it into their classrooms. Even though there is a long way to go, I think that the PLVHS science department is on the right track regarding teaching the 21st century skills discussed in the article.
It was interesting to read more about the International Baccalaureate in Time Magazine. I had no idea it was first offered in 1968. This is something that I would like to find out more about; students who are extremely advanced could take advantage of something like this if their teacher knew how to facilitate that.
As for knowledge versus complex thinking skills: I do think schools/teachers have an important role in helping students gain mastery over important bodies of knowledge (and of course knowledge changes over time, with new scholarship and new priorities). Teachers can help define what this knowledge should be based on their withitness in their content area and in terms of modernity in general (little "m"). That also will inform what processes and media (books are media too) they use, and I believe it should be varied (including the variation of things they are comfortable with and things they are experimenting with).
I definitely buy into the ideas posed by Bloom’s Taxonomy -- that you need knowledge and comprehension before you can move onto higher level functions like analysis and synthesis. Therefore I don't think people can just assume that Google or whatever new technology will solve that side of things for them.
As for something like learning all the rivers in South America -- it just sounds like a busy-work assignment. If that teacher had been forced to come up with a carefully reasoned rationale for this assignment, as we were instructed to do in Effective Teaching Practices, s/he probably would have discovered for himself/herself that it was NOT a worthwhile assignment. And if the teacher cannot justify a lesson or an assignment, that does not bode well for the students’ motivation.
I agree with most of what the article had to say and also with most of cole's points concerning the article. the school i am working at has little technology available in the general classroom and, although that is a shame, it's not the end of the world. a teacher should be skilled enough to be effective regardless. teachers need to stay abreast of the latest developments in technology themselves, both in order to identify with the kids they are teaching and to utilize it in the classroom should they end up at a school district that is technology equipped. i worry about the kids that aren't keeping up with their peers in terms of tech knowledge due to not having computers at home or in schools. Some districts are just too poor to have what others have and that is unfortunate. those kids will be behind their peers later on when they enter the job force lacking certain computer skills.
With my limited amount of time working thus far at Millard South High School I can say that I have observed the English department and their lack of technology in some areas, where in others it's used everyday. The Basic 10 English class that I have been working with hasn't even used an overhead let alone viewed a powerpoint or completed an assignment on the computer.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum the Journalism dept. is where I spent most of my time and there is an unlimited amount of technology the students can use each day. In our classroom are 25 Macs that students use to search the web for research as well as type their assignments and design layouts for the yearbook and newspaper.
When talking with my co-op teacher if she has used blogs or classroom websites in the past she said she feels it's something that Millard has "shunned" due to lack of monitoring them. She felt that students maybe didn't have the freedom of speech needed to respond to a blog and that it gave them ample opportunity to post things not suitable for the classroom.
I feel that Millard South has a vast amount of technology available for students to learn and use, but it depends on the teacher as to whether or not they will use it. The "dinosaurs" as I have heard many students refer to them as are unwilling to learn this technology, thus unable to use it in their classrooms.
I feel techonology is very important and agree with the article that it's important to learn and adapt your teaching to include such things. Technology is only going to increase, so wouldn't it make sense that if we have these resources at our finger tips that we actively engage students as much as possible so they can be citizens in this global environment?
I agree with the article and everyone else in that schools need to move more into the 21st century. I like the idea of kids learning computer skills early in their educational career. They are going to grow up with an abundance of technology, and they need to learn to utilize these resources properly at an early age. I also like the idea of forcing kids to learn at least one other foreign language. I wish that they had done that when I was in school.
As far as technology use in the Bellevue schools, they still don't have the resources to give every teacher a projector or a smart board. They are working on taking care of this in the next year or two. They are also starting to integrate the "clicker" systems. Bellevue East currently has six class sets of clickers, and we've been told that the more they are used the better chance we'll have of getting more and more sets. Overall I think using technology is necessary to enhance the educational process.
The US educational system is in need of an overhaul of curriculum and of teaching the teachers. This includes the use and involvement of technology, but also in changing teachers' attitudes. In my short time being inside a public school, I find that teacher's who have been teaching for a while are stuck in a rut. Technology would be great, but where are we going to get the money? And if we're so busy 'teaching to the test' in a short amount of time, how do we change? These school that are mentioned in the article sound great, but how are they dealing with NCLB? If they're charter or prviate and aren't taking federal money, then NCLB doesn't matter, they can teach what they want and not worry about district standards that may be outdated.
We (TAP) are constantly learning about all these problems and ideas, but when do we get the HOW?
I think this article had some very good points. It also had some great ideas about how to implement technology into classrooms.
The classroom that I will be working in has two computers (working that is) and a smart board. According to my teaching the Smart Board was put in by chance. We have probably about 10 non-working computer in there, why I don't know. So, for labs we are limited to pencil and paper - something that is strange to me, working the Physics lab here at UNO. The only 'technology' the students have used as of yet is their calculators. And most students refuse to bring them to class or don't have them. Mr. Aramagan said he used to have a classroom set, but all but three calculators were stolen so he can no longer provide them to the students.
Physics has so many technological aspects to it. From graphing to engineering. We'll see how the rest of the year goes, but it almost seems that I don't even have an option to show the students how awesome physics is when you can use a computer to manipulate graphs and data.
The other thing I see is that students moan and groan at even the tiniest bit of homework. To try to have them take extra time on their computer at home or in the computer lab at school to do some research or look something up seems as if it would be impossible. I know we have to get the students motivated to do these things, but I've already seen problems with this.
I think if we had computer in our room, where they could see and not only here, how Physics works, their understanding would be so much greater. I also think they would learn how to "critically think" with a physics brain. Physics is a hands on subject, it can't be learned by lecture.
The article hits on something that may be very intuitive for some but has really made an impact on me. I’m realizing lately that science, or Biology specifically, is a subject that students either love or really hate. Because of this fact, I am trying to motivate students to discover how science can be important to their personal interests and to help give them the rationale needed to sit in a 90 minute class. In the first days of school, as I was introducing myself and talking about how the zoo field is a great career, I found a surprising amount of unimpressed students staring blankly back at me. When I asked a class of 11 and 12th graders who was intending to pursue science based fields, a low proportion of students responded. I suddenly was scrambling to make my introduction relevant to the majority of the class. It was then that I realized, as I was attempting to baffle them with BS, how truly interdisciplinary science can be.
The article stresses that the era of NCLB has over emphasized some content and left other disciplines fighting for survival in American schools. Thus, leaving students with inadequate tools needed to succeed in a world that is evolving into a global community. Do things need to change? Absolutely! As teachers, it is our responsibility to give our students the knowledge and expertise to deal with a world that stresses technology, cultural awareness, cross-cultural communication, and a multitude of other new priorities.
After reading this article, it was evident to me that we are not utilizing technology as we could in the educational system in America.
I loved the idea of global education in other countries. With the influx of diversity in our country, it is imperative that we have other avenues,such as global education to help retain culture as we enter the 21st century. While we are becoming such a huge melting pot, we still must preserve the various cultures. Creating a global student could do just that!
I am proud to say that Northwest High School is really making long strides with the use of technology among their students. Although, they still have to utilize the lab for various projects, the students still have the opportunity to learn from various software programs specific to content area. My cooperating teacher, utilizes quite a bit of software for music, that is used in the classroom for composing and editing, and theory review. Infact next week the students are going to go to the lab to record/score/ and edit some original music.
The sad thing is that while my cooperating is embracing technology, for enhancing his instruction, many other educators may have the fear of being obsolete, and have not jumped on board. Others see the need and do not feel they have the time or equipment.
I feel that all students and teachers must somehow be able to take advantage of technology. I also feel that when all administrators of schools make a stand about the vision and direction of all of our schools, in regards to technology, teachers and students will have no choice but to jump on board with learning through technology.
Basically, it has got to be a priority and not a choice for incorporating more technology in our educational system! Due to the fact that this is the age of technology, to be effective educators, we must find the time, making it a priority to incorporate it into our student's learning experience. This will also be one of the greatest ways of connecting with our students!
Change is difficult, before one makes a step to change. Once the first step has been made, taking more steps will become eaiser.
I think we can all agree on the importance of technology in the classroom. My content area is German, so my approach to this topic is from a foreign language perspective. Technology is the language of the “future”. It is what students will be using once they leave school and enter the “real world”. In order to prepare them for this, we as teachers need to teach them how to effectively use it and communicate using it.
Language is a performance skill and therefore you need practice in order to give your best performance. Where I see the gap, and I believe the article highlights this, is that students are using and experimenting with technology outside of school, but we are not connecting that use of technology to the subjects we are teaching in school. My classroom at Papillion La Vista South HS has a computer, an overhead projector, and a projector that floats between all the foreign language classrooms. There are also computer labs that we visit as a class on occasion. There are so many amazing videos and websites on the internet that would be great in exposing students to popular German media and culture.
Unfortunately the solution to this problem is money. Many schools don’t get enough money to buy decent, recent editions of textbooks, let alone computers, Elmo’s, etc. So as a teacher, you do the best you can with what you have been given and you fight tooth and nail for the money to bring new and exciting technology into your school and classroom.
Schools need to stay up to date with technology. Like the example in the beginning of the article, schools are probably the least technologically advanced part of our society. In many circumstances, they are still run the same way as they were 50 years ago. The classroom I work in has one overhead projector and one computer for the teacher. Most of our lessons are done with overhead transparencies or the chalkboard. This still is effective - the students are still learning. But there are so many more resources that could be utilized with the help of technology. I think the students would be more engaged. Where is the funding for such technology?
This article brings many concepts to light that new educators will have a hard time wrapping their minds around. We are all products of the defunct education system illustrated throughout Carolina A. Miranda's paragraphs. Is it that easy? Follow the lead of another country and we will succeed in moving our children's education into the 21st century. The idea of streamlining subjects into major concepts and working them into a collective learning environment has tremendous potential. I can see myself working with other departments on science skills, English skills, mathematic skills, geography skills, social skills, technology skills, physical education skills, music skills, business skills, theater skills and secondary language skills. The problem with this article is that most of these subjects aren't mentioned. The article insists we focus on math, science, technology and secondary language skills. What about the rest? What do we do with the students who will excel at music, art and not science or math? Are the deemed secondary citizens because they don't match up with other countries standards? America is known for many things including free public education for the masses. Not all children will succeed in high test scores and many will drop out. Is there a better way to do things? Yes, I think so and I believe technology is a part. Instead of relying on all the gadgets that fascinate many of us, we need to turn our focus on the professional who will guide our children in this 21st century. Teachers are the real changing factors and new system will begin with us.
I agree with most everyone. At this day and age, we would think that more energy would be spent making certain that classrooms were equipped with tools necessary to prepare our students for the global economy. But then I had to think about countries like China that have even less technology in their classroom but seem to surpass American students academically. I have to wonder how we account for this disparity. Often times discipline, rigor, and attitude have as much to do with students being prepared as technology. I am amazed at all of the tools I have learned about since being in this course. I knew the basic like PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Photoshop, etc. but I had not used any Mac software such as Imovie.
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