Case 2 & 8

Case 2: High school math teacher describes his experience with using technology in his grade 11 enriched math class.

Case 8: Elementary student teachers that are working on using images to create “slomation” creations.

I chose these two videos to describe the differences and similarities that became apparent to me when comparing an elementary perspective to that of high school.  It is important to note as well that Teacher F (Grade 11) has 28 year of teaching experience, where the elementary student teachers are just beginning in their career.

Case 2:

In my initial post, I stated that “good” use of technology is when educators are able to push students beyond a “googled” answer.  During his interview, teacher F explains that his yearly goal is to find questions that push students to greater level.  He describes it as “getting at math” not just a calculated answer.  He describes an example of a bonus questions provided to students that had students coming before and after school to work through this problem collectively.  They were learning from one another, working with previous knowledge, and integrating other disciplines to create models to help solve their problem.  He believes that by using the technology, the students felt comfortable to push their understandings and engage in the problem.

Limitations:

1. The largest limitation described by Teacher F was the funding required for a class set of computer. He realized that he was able to use a graphic calculator and resources from other departments to create an equally effective learning environment.  This was encouraging as it was an example of a teacher with similar resources to myself, and yet did not seem defeated by it.

Case 8:

During these interviews, elementary student teachers were asked to describe their “slowmation” creations.  Their goal was to move beyond the static picture in a textbook, and onto a moving animation to engage students.  It seemed that students had differing opinions about the task and the reality of using it in the classroom.  I believe that there are teachers that are effectively using technology in the classroom with their students; however, it seemed that these teachers felt that it was their role to create them and for the students to watch.  As well, it seemed that many were still relying on print/text to preload or review the information alongside the video.  I wonder if this is a “good” example of the use of technology.  I had stated that “good” technology needed to have a focus and a reason being used.  I get the feeling that they are doing this because they feel that they have to use technology (like a box that needs to be checked).

Limitations:

1. These elementary teachers identified the limitation of time. They felt that creating these videos with their young students (grade 2 and 3) would not be “worth it” as many of the roles would fall on the teachers.
2. One teacher also explained the lack of equipment available to them in the classroom. I compare this to the first case study (STEM Program) where students had access to building equipment, coding materials, computers, etc.

Shayla