ETEC 533 Inquiry e-folio

Technology in the Science and Math Classroom

ETEC 533: Interview Analysis

Grade Six Teacher: Vancouver, BC

January 28, 2009

This grade six teacher is in his first year of teaching, and has utilized technology in his current practice and in practicum.  Examples of technology used in his classroom include the following:

·         Computer generated food chain posters that use various animations and graphics (student project)

·         Online surveys (e.g., ecological footprints)

·          Online math games (e.g., fraction hunt)

·         Student and teacher made power point presentations

·         Webquests

The following questions and responses are copied from an online chat discussion that occurred on January 27, 2009.

Question:  Did you reflect on the effectiveness of your use of technology?  If so, how did you measure its effectiveness?

·reflect, yes, more informally

·i always think its good simply because we are in a technological society what kid doesn’t think technology is great

·any chance they have to use the computer they cheer

I purposefully asked my interviewee this question to gain insight into how this educator rated the utility of his use of technology.  While his reflections and measurements are informal it is clear that his students respond well and are motivated by his use of technology in the classroom.

Question:  Do you think it enhanced their learning and ability to meet the prescribed learning outcomes?

·greatly enhanced

·it’s more REAL to them because they’re on a computer when they get home too

·the more quickly get to the task at hand

·which means they pick up what they are learning more quickly

·and therefore getting through the PLOs just in doing so

·you don’t have to draaaag something out that may have taken forever through the old way

This question was asked to see if the teacher thought his use of technology was actually helping his students meet the prescribed learning and performance outcomes.  It appears that this teacher feels the relevancy of the technology use for his students quickens the learning process for his students.  This teacher also responded later in the interview that his formal assessments also demonstrated enhanced learning.

I feel this is a great reflection regarding relevancy as there is so much evidence in educational research that demonstrates that children’s learning is enhanced when it is relevant.  Students are inundated with technological devices so this reflection just makes sense to me.  However, I think we still need to be cautious about what technological innovations we’re going to use as teachers. Technological “gimmicks” may grab student’s attention, but we need to ensure that it will be of value to their learning.

Question: As teachers we need to be cognizant of the diversity of learning needs in the classroom.  How was this considered when implementing your use of technology?  Explain.

·         Utmost because technology is what inspires the [attention difficulty]

·         the kids that need that extra “urge”:

·         to do an assignment

This question has great relevance to me as I view good use of technology as that which is open to the most users as possible.  There are a lot of students in schools who are hyperactive or have other exceptional reasons that make it difficult to focus on tasks at hand.  Kids with ADHD, FAS, FAE, and Autism are an example of just some of the exceptionalities where attention to tasks can be difficult.  If technology can help these kids focus on tasks designed to enhance learning than it is a success!

Question: Do you find most learners are able to use the technologies you described?

·         they are and they teach me things

This question I posed relates to open learning as all kids need to be able to actually use the technologies introduced.  Introducing something that is too far from their schema can cause disinterest, frustration, and lack of motivation.  I was encouraged by this teacher’s response to the question and reflected on my own similar experiences.  My students often teach me things they know about technology and I think this can do great things for their pride. 

Good Use of Technology in a Science and Math Learning Environment

I believe that good use of technology in a science and math environment is any use of technology that can help a learner acquire, manage, examine, and understand life.

Good use of technology should not be done in ignorance and the facilitator in the learning environment should be well versed in the utility of the technology.  Students should be taught how to use the technology and more importantly what potential goals are available when using it.  The facilitator should be cognizant of the benefits and drawbacks of utilizing the technology, and whose vested interests are being served by its use.  Students should be given due process prior to utilizing the technology so they are aware of all the potential effects that could occur from its use.

Good use of technology in the science and math classroom can dramatically enhance an instructor’s ability to develop open lessons where learners from many abilities can participate.  Open lessons can significantly decrease the amount of students who become academically and socially isolated from a learning environment due to the necessity for adapted or modified curriculum.

Consider the following for presenting an open, inclusive lesson for students who struggle with literacy:

There is often a component of note-taking in a science classroom (esp. secondary) where the students are required to write down information from an overhead, power point, or another medium.  Students who struggle with reading and writing can find this task quite demanding and may not be able to engage in valuable class discourse that occurs during the lesson.  I have developed power points for my students where I hand out copies of the presentation where key words or phrases that have been blanked out.  Students who struggle with reading and writing find this much easier, as there is much fewer words to copy and these words are highlighted on the presentation.  All students are able to keep up and participate in valuable discussion that occurs throughout.  It’s a simple idea, but opens the lesson to more participants.             

A wise user of technology in the science and math classroom realizes that technology is but one example of the many tools teachers can pull from their toolbox. 

Stephen Hawkins

The digital technology event that is memorable for me is when I decided that keyboarding skills are actually useful, and perhaps necessary for course work in college.

I was 20 years of age (now 35), and decided that I would apply to the local college and enroll in social service courses. I despised typing class in secondary school, and as a result failed miserably. The prospect of taking college courses meant writing papers, and my traditional two finger method of typing might be a little inefficient. I was still living with my parents and they had a PC that I rarely used because I simply did not know how, nor did I care to.

My mother, who was quite the academic herself, queued me into a typing program on the computer in our office. I figured I could handle this challenge considering that my mother could hardly operate our VCR remote control yet she managed fine with our computer. I quickly got started on this typing program and within weeks was using the keyboard quite efficiently with two hands.

The significance of this event is that I realized that I was quite able to manipulate a computer program on my own. I had always found computers daunting and was quite apprehensive to learn how to use them. Thus began my journey of utilizing various computer applications, and I credit much of this endeavor to my mother.

We live in a different technological time now and many children are quite versed in the basic use of a computer before they even begin grade school. Part of the reason I am taking this program is to experience that typing program effect once more. I want to understand contemporary digital technology, and I hope this program will ignite a fire in me to learn more. Our students are immersed in a digital environment and I feel that it is almost required that I stay current.

Stephen Hawkins

Hello Folks,

My name is Stephen Hawkins – no not THE Stephen Hawking, but a wise old owl nonetheless! I live and teach in a small rural First Nations community called Dog Creek which is in the Caribou region of British Columbia. Dog Creek is located in a beautiful geographical area of BC on the east side of the Fraser River, and is home to some of BC’s youngest basaltic volcanic formations. Some of you may be aware of Gang Ranch which is very close to Dog Creek. The people here are mostly from the Shuswap (Secwepemc) nation, and belong to the Canoe Creek First Nations Band. There are approximately 140 people living in this community and the closest major centre is William’s Lake, BC which is about a 1hr, 15min drive (mostly gravel).

This is my second year of teaching and my current assignment includes math and science for grades 4-10, and all other required courses for the grade 8-10 class with the exception of English and socials. I live right behind the school in a teacherage and have the advantage of being able to get to work in less than 5 minutes! I have no children, but between my dog, cats, teaching, running, and the MET program, I find my life quite busy and full.

I have taken ETEC 511 and 521, and am currently enrolled in this course and ETEC 500. My educational background includes a B.Sc. in Biology and a B.Ed. in secondary education. From this course I am hoping to glean a lot of valuable digital tools to support my instruction in science and math.

I am looking forward to working with you all!

Stephen Hawkins