Feb
7
How might I design a technology learning space?
When pondering this question on my drive home tonight, I was simultaneously thinking about questions posed to me by twelve teachers that I had brought together as a numeracy learning group. During the first of six sessions, several teachers asked, “How do I use manipulatives to help my students learn?” Others wanted to know, “What do I do with the students who still don’t get IT ?” These questions helped me to realize that the most important element of design in any learning space is the teacher.
Allow me to consider the math classroom. Teachers need tools yes but more importantly teachers need deep conceptual knowledge and understanding of how children learn mathematics. Without understanding of concept and without knowledge of the mathematical key understandings and the mathematical phases that students progress through, all the tools in the world, (digital or otherwise), make for little benefit.
Math manipulatives are tools that can be invaluable for students as they work to make sense of and construct meaning in math. Our learning environment needs to have these tools available at all times. A variety of math manipulatives must be available for the teacher who will frequently make spontaneous decisions as to which tool is needed to further learning. The tools need to be available for teacher demonstration and for student use. One student may choose to use multilinks to construct understanding of multiplication while another student may make use of a personal number line.
The same is true for technology tools. In our learning space we need to have the tools that will enable the teacher to be a continued learner. The learning space must have technology that enables the teacher to connect to colleagues and information when needed. A teacher needs to have a variety of tools available so that he or she can access content at a moments notice as class interest and need dictates. Students need to have a variety of tools available so that they can best choose the technology that will enable them to demonstrate their understanding.
All the classrooms in our school district have computers, LCD projectors, wireless internet access, and document cameras. Many of our classrooms have Smart Boards. Our classrooms are richly equipped 21st Century classrooms but without teacher knowledge of purposeful pedagogy, differentiation, assessment for learning . . . the value of those tools as mindtools for learning (Jonassen, 2000) is limited.
– Hattie, J. (2003). Teachers make a difference what is the research evidence. Informally published manuscript, University of Auckland, Auckland Australia, Australia. Retrieved fromhttp://www.acer.edu.au/documents/RC2003_Hattie_TeachersMakeADifference.pdf
Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Computers as mindtools for schools, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/ Prentice Hall. Retrieved from Google Scholar:http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Jonassen+mindtools&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Search
Feb
7
Technology – An Appealing Definition?
Posted by: flick | February 7, 2012 | 2 Comments
It was in another MET (Masters of Educational Technology) course in which I was asked to pen a definition of educational technology. At that time I chose to define technology not educational technology. I defined technology as the ever changing array of digital tools, programs, internet capabilities, social media opportunities, that are available for all to make use of in business, pleasure, education, health . . . These tools, in my opinion are not educational tools, but may be employed as such. Many practitioners use technology to present information. Is that an example of educational technology? I think not. Many students use technology to produce a product. Is that an example of educational technology? I don’t think so. Can practitioners use technology to enhance and deepen the learning in such a way that the absence of technology would be a detriment to learning? I am leaning towards – yes.
The definition of technology that appealed to me from the offered choices was the one written by David Jonassen (2000). I agree that students do not “learn from computers or teachers” and that “students learn from thinking in meaningful ways”.
As Jonassen (1998) further supports, “technologies should not support learning by attempting to instruct the learners, but rather should be used as knowledge construction and representation tools that students learn with, not from” (p. 1).
I am intrigued by the concept of mindtools as “digital tools that support knowledge construction, exploration, learning by doing, learning by conversing, and learning by reflecting” Jonassen(2000). The mentioned qualities of mindtools are the qualities of purposeful pedagogy with or without digital technology.
Perhaps I can wrap my head around the notion of educational technology if I look at it from a connectedness angle. All learners (teachers and students) have access to a greater community of information, sharing, knowledge, . . . than ever before. As Tom Whitby states in his blog Island View, “The genie is definitely out of the bottle when we look at Social Media. Of course there are many who fail to recognize this, and continue to believe that somehow, someone must approve the use of Social Media in order for it to be acceptable in our education system.” (Whitby, 2011). Perhaps it is Social Media that truly is an example of educational technology. The funny thing is, it is Social Media of all that technology has afforded us, that most often is banned from our education institutions.
And lastly, what is technology? What we think of as technology today we will not think of as technology in the future. Again as Tom Whitby caused me to reflect (you really should check him out), the car was once considered technology.
Is it today? Is what we put in the car considered technology? The radio? Traffic-monitoring Global Positioning Satellite displays?
Have we asked our kids lately to define technology? Have we asked our students to define educational technology?
Jonassen, D., Carr, C., & Yueh, H. (1998). Computers as mind tools for engaging learners in critical thinking.TechTrends, 43(2), 24-32. Retrieved from https://eee.uci.edu/11y/12385/home/Jonassen – Mindtools.pdf
Jonassen, D. H. (2000). Computers as mindtools for schools, 2nd Ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill/ Prentice Hall. Retrieved from Google Scholar:http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Jonassen+mindtools&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&btnG=Search
Whitby, T. (2011, October 27). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://tomwhitby.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/social-media-more-or-less/
Jan
30
Module 1 – Folio Entry
Posted by: flick | January 30, 2012 | Leave a Comment
As we approach the end of our fourth week of the course my thoughts and understandings as to the celebrations and challenges of using technology in the math and science classroom are becoming better defined. I still have many questions and issues though. One might think that the more I read, engage in discussion, and use digital means to investigate, perhaps I would finally be discovering answers to my questions, but no. Investigations seem to breed new questions without necessarily answering the original ones.
From a Kindergarten to grade seven-perspective I am made aware of and personally observe a greater use of technology in the science classroom. In the science classroom there are more examples of technology used for information gathering, dissemination, and presentation. In the math classroom I continue to personally observe little use of technology, digital or other. The case studies presented for our learning in lesson two of this course were overwhelmingly science based. Are my perceptions of this inequity, accurate? And if so, why is there such a difference? V.W. mentioned in one of our discussion threads that the teacher she interviewed was open to integrating technology but was less comfortable to do so in the area of math. From my research and learning in the area of teacher math anxiety I would hypothesize that this may be a widespread challenge. Are teachers more comfortable with, more easily able to, motivated to, incorporate new tools in subject areas for which they have a greater content and conceptual strength and understanding?
Many of our cohort and many of our discussions have highlighted challenges with teacher technology learning. Time, apathy, equipment, and infrastructure are frequently listed resources that are in short supply. Yet even when equipment and infrastructure are in place still my MET colleagues report purposeful incorporation of technology is not widespread. What does the research say in regards to effective professional development that has affect on purposeful technology use?
The interview that I conducted did differ from many of the other reported findings. I interviewed an older teacher who was excitedly facilitating technology with student learning. Self motivated to learn. Why? When I reflect upon the character, personality, interests of this teacher I realize that she has incorporated technology into her personal life and instruction preparation so should I be surprised that she has done so in her teaching time?
Do pre-service teachers need to take a course in technology? With the increasing pace in which technology is changing and developing do they need to learn how to use technology? Or do they need to be immersed in learning environments in which technology is an authentic and intuitive tool with which they learn? It is often said that teachers teach the way they were taught.
S.R. reflected that teachers, like their students, need to be offered learning experiences that are personalized and that take into account teacher interest, experience, and learning styles. Do we teach students to use technology by fancied up lecture delivered with accompanying power point or do we facilitate pre-service teacher learning (learning theory, assessment, pedagogy, etc.) and do so using technology and it affordances as a tool?
Questions. Questions. Questions. All worthy of further investigation and study. I must choose one issue to pursue and hope that members of my learned cohort will investigate the other and share their findings.
Jan
22
JB is a grade 7 teacher working in Trail British Columbia. She has thirty plus years of teaching experience in elementary and secondary classrooms and schools. She has spent many years delivering special services and also spent some time as an elementary vice principal and later as a secondary vice principal. She returned to the classroom for a variety of reasons. She loves to teach and she enjoys the classroom environment and relationships.
JB and I were meeting on January 16th of this year to collaborate on the development of a class/parent wiki and to set up a class blog. JB had requested release time to work with the district learning coordinator (me) on the above task. The interview took place in the school computer lab after our morning work.
| Transcribed Excerpts
Learning to Use Technology Q.How have you/do you develop your technology skills? “I attend workshops. I play around and I work with colleagues.”
Implementation and Tools Q. How has technology changed your teaching methods?
“Profoundly. Specifically, I am able to let the students cover the learning outcomes using material that they are interested in, with presentation styles that suit them . . .the classroom is less teacher centred . . . it has allowed me to expand my portfolio of acceptable demonstrations of student knowledge. It’s also provided me with more up to date background knowledge . . .made me let go of feeling like I have to know everything that is being learned . . .”
Q. How is technology used in your classroom? “It is used for presentations and for demonstrating thinking. It is used as a research tool. Laptops, phones, ipads have been used for searching for information. It (technology) is used for relaxation. Kids are allowed to listen to music while working. Lots of students are faster at typing. They don’t use notebooks and binders much anymore.
I have created a wiki for parents and students so that parents have a window into the classroom.
Q. How is technology used in your Science Classroom? “Research. They write up summaries of information. They use it to find science fair type projects to do and they use the smartboard to prepare science demonstrations for younger grades.”
Q. How is technology used in your math classroom? “That is part of what the wiki is going to do. It will be a help to parents as I can put demonstrations on the wiki that can help parents see how I would like it (math) done and then parents might be more comfortable talking to their kids about math. We have used videos to understand patterning. Calculators are always allowed.” You seem to use technology differently in the two classrooms. Why? Because the software for working with numbers is not very good – try and write a fraction it is not as friendly – also I want them to diagram and express their reasoning – when we have epaper?
Q. How might your district and/or your learning coordinator better support you and the use of technology in your classroom? Continued and more workshops organized by colleagues. The district gives me release time to work on my skills. To be coordinated to work with others in my district who have skills that I need. Personal tutorials.
|
Analysis
JB is self-motivated to learn to use technology and to purposefully incorporate technology into her classroom. She has always devoted a great deal of personal time to professional development, including attending workshops/conferences (in and out of district) and journal reading. She also seeks opportunities to coordinate with colleagues who posses skills that she needs or who need the skills that she has.
JB spoke quickly and excitedly when answering this question. She was very animated. The teacher is fortunate to have classroom access to laptops (1 to 2 laptop to student ratio) and to have a classroom smartboard. JB believes that students must be encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and she prefers facilitating learning rather than delivering knowledge. Her personality and teaching beliefs do make her a good fit with technology. Her pedagogical strengths and knowledge of learning would have her a strong teacher using rocks and sticks or laptops and social media.
What impresses me with this teacher is that the technology is not just being used by the teacher. Technology is truly a tool for both teacher and students. Viewing technology as a tool means that this teacher and her students will likely continue to evolve in their use of technology?
Of interest is that this teacher is turning her thoughts to parents and how classroom technology use might affect them.
I was curious to discover differences that may exist between technology use in the science and math classroom.
Technology in the math classroom is of great interest to me. How might students better use technology to construct and demonstrate their mathematical knowledge? Math is different than science? I believe that many teachers have weaker conceptual understanding in math and this must surely affect how technology is used in the math classroom. Might technology be used to improve teacher math understanding?
This teacher would make an excellent mentor for other teachers who wish to purposefully use technology. She is just a classroom teacher, she is not young (sorry JB), and she has no technology background or studies. |
I have spent many hours in this particular classroom. It is as the teacher portrays. It differs from the cases that I viewed in our case study in that the atmosphere is calmer and more purposeful.
Jan
8
Hello ETEC 533!
Posted by: flick | January 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment
My world seems to revolve around learning. In the last decade learning to parent, learning to teach adults, and learning to harness the potential of technology tools has seemed to dominate my world.
My professional heart is in the classroom but for the time being my professional path has led me to working with teachers and teachers in training. The path has also led me to MET. The path will not end here even when the ten courses are complete. The path must surely lead me back to the classroom where I will continue to be a learner but without the district responsibility, the deadlines, and the expense.
Jan
8
Unpacking Assumptions
Posted by: flick | January 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment
In the math and science learning environment good use of technology is purposeful use of technology. (We have all been lulled into a comatose state by a power point presentation.) A teacher must always consider what the intent/purpose of the lesson or project. Working with the end in mind, a teacher then decides which tool best fits the intent and the need. Good pedagogy is good pedagogy. Stand and deliver, sage on the stage, will not be anymore affective given the inclusion of technology.
What does this look like in the science and math classroom? In science 2012 – I do not really know. It has been six years since I taught science and since that time, in our district, all classrooms have acquired teacher laptops, document cameras, LCD projectors, and wireless capability. The previous technology tools in my science class were often audio-visual. Other technologies available in an elementary school during my science teaching days were any tools that enabled hands on learning. This ranged from weather instruments, microscopes, batteries, to balloons and combs (static electricity anyone?).
Technology in math class? You bet! I teach math from Kindergarten to grade eight. I teach it almost every day. I have the privilege of providing numeracy support to our district teachers. I have always used technology in the math classroom. In the earliest days my primary classes used simple calculators to discover counting patterns. Math manipulatives have always supported conceptual learning and discovery. Computers were employed so that students could play a variety of math games designed to improve skills (would that I have known what I do now).
Document cameras have changed math class immensely. The document camera enables teacher manipulation of materials for all to easily see and enables student sharing and demonstration of knowledge building. Tools for graph creation, access to real life information for spreadsheets, chance and probability programs, the list is endless as to what computers and the Internet can bring to the classroom.
Perhaps the greatest effect of technology in the math and science class might be the collaboration, learning and support that are now offered every teacher. Wikis, Blogs, List Serves, Moodles, and more make it possible for every teacher to work not in isolation but as part of a learning community. Students too can form valuable learning communities. My district gifted students of like interest meet on Google doc to collaborate on problem solving.
What stops the above from happening in classrooms? In math, teacher math apprehension, discomfort, and sometimes lack of deep conceptual understanding interferes with teachers teaching using tools and pedagogy that differ from those used in their days at school. I fear that even when the use of technology to support learning becomes commonplace in other courses, math class may still be the ground of stand and deliver for many.
Jan
8
A Highschool Infatuation? An Auto e-ography.
Posted by: flick | January 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment
Thirty-five years ago my boyfriend would disappear each lunch hour to a small room attached to the biology lab. That room housed two computers. My boyfriend (the coolest of the uncool) along with his buddies would “program” the computer to do goodness knows what. They could actually enter information into the computer and hole punched cards would be expelled. I do not recall ever receiving any computer generated love letters but those cards could be used in the creation of spray painted Christmas wreaths.
Then, I went to University. There I lost both the boyfriend and any contact with computers. I graduated with my teaching degree in 1982 never having touched a computer.1987 found me employed by the local school district and teaching grade one. Computers truly entered my life at this point. The school had several in the library. Being a beginning teacher with little financial means, I had to approach the bank to loan me the $1200 plus needed to purchase an Apple II. I remember the excitement for both my husband (not the previous boyfriend), and I when multitudes of boxes arrived containing equipment needing to be “hooked” up and proudly displayed in the living room. So began work sheet creation and limited educational game playing. (Also began my twenty-five year love of Apple products.)
During the next two decades computers were in my school. The computer lab visit was a twice-weekly event in which students played games and learned how to open, create, save and retrieve. During this time e-mail came on scene and every teacher had a computer at their desk and used it to write report cards. I avoided using e-mail for several years but was happy to produce multi-paged report cards.
When the second generation of computer labs arrived THAT’S when everything changed. Why? Now there were extra computers in every classroom (the old lab computers) and it was not long until they were connected to the Internet. There was no turning back. The next years were ones of great learning for my students and I. Technology is best used by my students, not necessarily by their teacher. We have said it often enough it is an everyday tool not an event. I do not need to teach my students how to use the tools (they usually teach me). I do need to give them reason to purposefully use the tools. Will the next shift truly come when all students have access at school and at home? My students were my first technology teachers. When I left the classroom to do district work, I enrolled in MET. My MET instructors and cohort have continued to support my technology learning.
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