Social Networking-A World Outside the Classroom

I must admit, I am one of those individuals who has seen and heard all of the negative stories regarding Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. I agreed when I would hear about how it encourages cyberbullying, sexting, pornography and social isolation. I have 12 year-old twin boys and I found social media a scary place that I planned on discouraging them from using for as long as possible.

After reading the article from USA Today, "Social Media Finds Place in the Classroom," I have since changed my perspective entirely. The article begins talking about Eric Sheninger, a principal in the New Milford school district. His school uses Facebook as a tool for communicating with teachers, parents and students. Rather than banning cell phone use, they are used as a positive classroom tool for taking surveys or using Twitter.

There is further discussion that talks about media resources the teachers in his school use to expand their lessons. Social media is used by students to do research, do performances, and accomplish "authentic" work that can be shared by classmates and the world around them. The use of Twitter can be used to obtain breaking news in a Social Studies class. This is information that is not just in a textbook, but is real world occurrences happening in real time. Textbooks should still have a valuable place in the classroom, however, students will really pay attention by using their cellphones to connect to what is happening around them is a way to make a connection using real tools like their cellphones and real current events. YouTube is another fantastic resource to use in a classroom. Students can look at pictures of hurricanes in a textbook, however, to actually look at them in a YouTube video makes them realistic as students see them actually taking place. For an ESL classroom, students can look at a video of part of speech with someone singing the verbs or nouns, this can help with their listening skills also.

James Lerman, an author of several books, says we need to help students "get to the good stuff," We should help students by not treating social media as a forbidden fruit, but rather show them the benefits it has to help them learn. Technology is not going away, therefore, we can teach them about copyrighting, how to navigate sites and create different ways of learning using Facebook.

There also should be a middle ground. Students should still be taught online safety and traditional classroom tools should still be used. Social media should be used to further enhance learning as an additional teaching strategy, not the only strategy. Teachers should also have the knowledge to use media effectively, otherwise it will not serve the intended purpose.

I agree with one of the 5th grade teachers, Ms. Highfall, when she says there is risk in anything we do. We were taught to look both ways when crossing the street, instead of being told not to cross the street at all because of the potential danger it imposes. The same goes for Social Media - we need to tell our students to look out for danger and use it efficiently, rather than to stop using it.  

Online Safety for Me and My Students

The internet can be a very overwhelming and scary place. Children are learning to navigate it at very young ages. The problem seems to lie with children being aware that it could be scary. Because they are using it when they are young, unless they receive education about its use as a great resource but also its dangers, they can have the potential to be careless with it. This can be a huge advantage for teaching children safety. When they learn how to navigate the internet safely from a very young age, they will use strategies without even thinking about it, like looking both ways when crossing the road. The important teaching tools about internet safety is to begin by basic proper netiquette.  Then other measures can be taken such as teaching copyright laws, cyberbullying, Facebook use, sexting, etc.

The important things for educators to do is to begin early either through regular classrooms or during their computer classes. Students can watch films or attend school assemblies. Schools can also offer services for parents. Sometimes parents aren't aware of the dangers of the internet. Parents can teach their children proper safety measures and then these measure can be further reinforced in school.

Teachers can use powerpoint slides, their Smart Boards or flyers with sites about internet use. They can show these sites to their classes as part of classroom discussion. If children are able to talk about issues and ask questions, it will be able to further reinforce how they go about using it. For middle and high school students, in class discussion, films, educational programs and assemblies are especially important to educate students about sexting, pornography, and cyberbullying and the long term effects these things could potentially have on themselves and others.

Great Tech Expectations-What Should Elementary Students Be Able To Do and When?

Upon reading the article, "Great Tech Expectations:What Should Elementary Students Be Able To Do and When?" by Mary Beth Hertz, I was glad to see some type of benchmark that instructors can go by in order to gauge their students' computer skills. The organization of the chart was very helpful by identifying each grade and giving a symbol for Introductory, Developing and Advanced.

I also liked the fact that the author asserts that she is from a low-income area which is important to make known because these students may have limited use of home computers and may not be able to practice independently. This gives a realistic picture of the abilities given on the chart. It offers good guidelines when planning projects in knowing what to expect from students -- whether they are within their ability level or may need extra assistance.

I thought it was important to note that along with keyboard and program skills, the list included good netiquette skills, how to work collaboratively, knowledge and understanding of copyright and copyright rules, determining what type of information is appropriate to share and not to share online and how to handle "cyberbullies." I liked that these important skills were introduced as early as Kindergarten. The only question I had was while the list  did indicate typing skills such as words per minute that each grade level should acquire,  I would like to know if beginner typing skills such as finger placement in relation to the home keys and developing  from there are being used. Students need to acquire more and more sophisticated experience with computers, however, they still need to be knowledgeable with the basics.

My Digital Autobiography-From the Stone Age to the New Age

When I look back to when I was in elementary school and high school in the 1970's/early 1980's, it seems like  it was centuries ago, especially in relation to technology. I always tease people by saying sometimes, "Back in the Stone Age when I was younger...." but sometimes it feels just that way. I remember having rotary phones, then graduating to a push button. We had no remote controls, if you wanted the television channel changed, you needed to get up and change the 1 out of only 7 available channels and make sure you adjusted the "rabbit ears" on top if the picture was fuzzy. In school, technology was non-existent. We hand-wrote our reports and assignments, then graduating to using a typewriter in high school which used "correction tape" or "White Out" to fix your errors. The advancement at the time was self-corrrecting typewriters. We did not own our own typewriters, so most assignments were still hand-written. We needed to look up any information from an encyclopedia that we had at home or go to the library to use them or other resources that the library had.

The three types of technology that have influenced me greatly would be my cell phone, computer  and television. My cell phone still surprises me. I received my first cell phone about 10 years ago and never used it. It was thick and you had to pull out the antennae from the top. I still upgraded my phones since then, but still never used them too much. I then started hearing from my friends talking about how their teenagers would "text" all of time. This concept was completely foreign to me. I did not understand how it could be so great. I now understand why. Before I attended Montclair State two years ago, I bought a phone with a QWERTY keypad. When I started school and began working with other students on group projects, I began texting and have never looked back. I do not text thousands of messages,however, if I want to ask a quick question or simply "talk" without a whole conversation, texting is so convenient. I do not know how I functioned without it. From there, I just upgraded again to receiving emails on my phone. Again, the convenience is amazing. I can check and send messages quickly without logging in to my computer, browse the internet and my children are showing me which "apps" are cool to use.

I have a love/hate relationship with my computer. I love the ability to look something up easily and I am just getting familiar with You Tube to learn just about anything. I do feel frustrated at times. Sometimes I feel like I do not have the skills to search something easily and because I was never brought up with it, I still always feel like I am going to "lose" something. Since I am back in school, the fact that technology is used so predominately in every class, I am forced to learn. I find that this is a good thing. By having to fill a need for using technology, I am learning many diverse aspects of it. I would never think, for example, that I would be blogging, but here I am and I am beginning to really enjoy it! I still wish I had the ease like my children to just go on and start playing around with no fear; however, I am starting to feel more confident with it. I think about how my professors use their laptops for slide shows, and I am able to print out Powerpoints for notes and far use of technology in school as come. My boys tell me about the use of Smartboard in their classrooms and how they love using it because it is hands on. Learning is not just one dimensional any more, but can be achieved in so many different ways. This is one of the reasons why I am looking forward to using technology in my classroom. I can implement so many diverse applications for my ESL students to use.

I know television has been around for a very long time but with the availability of so many news programs, channels, shows that are "on demand" and the fact that on a cold Saturday night, my family and I can just order a movie on our television set instead of going out to the store. I tell my children of when I was younger and we had no remote control. Then there was the development of HBO and MTV with cable along with a VCR. They are in awe of what was available then and what is available now. We now have news programs 24/7, no longer having to wait until the 6 o'clock news to find out what is going on and they can choose from hundreds of channels at any time to watch a program.

Even with all of the new innovations of today, I still do not feel the need to always be "connected." I do text and use my computer; however, I still enjoy actually writing something down on paper, and I only text if there is something important I want to ask or say. Young people connect more with technology today. With the use of Facebook and Twitter the world is much closer for them. Technology is also very useful in the classroom along with traditional teaching. It makes instruction and learning much more interesting.It is also helpful with communication between teachers and parents, tutoring, or working together as a class on a project,. It is amazing that children can use it and learn from it.

Learning Powered by Technology-Is This the Answer to Education Reform?

"National Ed Tech Plan Puts Technology at the Heart of Education Reform" by David Nagel summarizes President Obama administration's plan called "Transforming American Education: Learning Powered by Technology." This is part of Obama's federal policy statement: National Educational Plan (NETP).  The main idea of the plan is to instill practices similar to businesses such as longer school days, longer school years and integrating technology totally into our educational system.

Arne Duncan, the United States Secretary of Education believes that schools integrating technology into its classrooms will improve student engagement and learning. In addition, he believes that it will instill motivation and "inspire all students to achieve, regardless of background, languages or disabilities." The plan is divided up into categories - assessment, infrastructure, learning, productivity and teaching. As I read through the categories I kept thinking to myself, "Classrooms are increasing due to less hiring of teachers due to budget cuts,  teachers are not receiving thorough training of the technology given to them because of budget cuts and is all this really necessary?" Is a blackboard, chalk, pen and paper really that detrimental to helping children learn?

I agree somewhat to what Mr. Duncan says about students' achievement regardless of their language. In an ESL classroom, technology may be helpful to work along side with my instruction in teaching the domains of English; however, I still would good teaching strategies myself in order to help my students utilize the technology to its optimum potential. Without better teaching methods, technology will not be used effectively. There is also a risk that teachers may rely too much on it in the classroom.

Basic tools such as using a pen and a notebook and raising hands instead of using a clicker should not be ruled out entirely. It is still beneficial that children learn to create their thoughts by using pen to paper and working face to face in collaborative settings with their peers. The use of technology should be used side by side with standard instruction methods.

I do like Category 5:Teaching. This is one way technology is such a beneficial tool. The fact that teachers can provide learning outside of their classrooms by way of online tutoring, connecting students with libraries, and establishing communication with students' parents is a fantastic way to assist students outside of the classroom.

Whether all of this is the magic bullet for education reform, however, still remains to be seen.

Kyrene School District-Why Are Test Scores So Low?

English Language Learners’ test scores continue to have a negative impact when included in a school’s statistics in meeting their AYP. I look forward to developing and attaining the knowledge to use technology tools in a way that will increase and reinforce my students’ motivation and my lesson plans.

                Technology is a great tool to use in the classroom, however, as with any tool -  it needs to be used correctly. To simply have laptops and Smart Boards available in classrooms is not enough. A thorough knowledge of how these tools will be effectively implemented to maximize learning potential is required; otherwise, they are a waste of teachers’ time and taxpayers’ money. As the article states on Page 7, there is minimal research so far on exactly how beneficial technology is for motivating students and helping them learn.

                While it is true that using a Smart Board, for example, helps students engage in a lesson, engagement alone is not enough and gets “old” quickly. Background knowledge is still needed in order to grasp concepts.  The example given of the little boy playing a math game on the computer, the prompt tells him to ‘Try Again’ is not showing him the cognitive processes that are needed in order to solve the problem. He can keep trying and trying until he “shoots” the right answer, but he does not know how to get there on his own. As the article suggests, he is just playing, not learning.

                I agree with Randy Yerrick, Associate Dean of Educational Technology at the University of Buffalo. Technology should be implemented for instruction BEYOND what can be done in a traditional classroom. Only then are lessons used to not quickly engage for a quick moment and that is all, but to use these resources to accomplish more sophisticated lesson plans that technology has the job to do. A good example is in the English classroom where students are blogging, picking out their favorite songs and building Facebook pages in order to gain perspective on Shakespeare.

                This does not take away from the traditional teaching methods with the teacher lecturing in front of the room, students doing group work and writing with the pen and paper method, which this particular teacher still believes in and the fact that even with technology, larger classrooms still make it extremely difficult for the instructor to tailor lessons and attention to diverse learners. Technology does not replace individual human attention.

                If I were a parent who had children in the Kyrene school district, I could not justify voting for a larger budget on technology, and consequently have my taxes increase if my child’s school district still did not meet its AYP. The Kyrene school district’s budget should not concentrate its spending on technology only; however, it should include increasing the hiring of effective teachers, implementing funds for basic classroom supplies and decreasing class sizes. I believe if these changes were made there could be a strong chance their test scores will improve. There is an old expression, “We cannot put all of our eggs in one basket.” We cannot rely on just one vehicle for change. Our children are too important.