OK. I am digging this Hedron text. I so like that He offers specific lessons which teachers can use - right down to assessment questions.
Before he gets into that in this chapter on podcasting, Hedron (2008) offers some advice to teachers who have not experimented with podcasting yet, and it really is great advice for any new technology. First, before a teacher can have students create a podcast, he/she must be very familiar with a podcast. He/she should subscribe to them and listen to them. Next, the teacher must consider the school's acceptable use policy. Posting anything online can be dangerous business. Students must be reminded to not use their full names or offer any other personal information.
With that said, Hedron offers several ideas for podcasting in the classroom. The most obvious use would be a news cast. Some others are book reviews, end-of-unit reports, career interviews, or foreign language interviews. What I like most about these lessons is that Hedron gives resources to use every step of the way. Hedron offers podcast planning sheets, step-by-step procedures, and assessment questions. What I like overall about the podcast is the fact that in order for students to do an adequate job, they must do some research and create an actual script. So a podcast lesson is multifaceted. Then there is the idea of having an actual audience. I agree that it would encourage students to do a better job. They don't want to look or sound like idiots.
There really is a lot that we have read this semester that I could connect this information to, but I feel like I have said it all already. Of course there are several elements of podcasting that show the qualities of MLT - collaboration, real-life connections (authentic work), intentionality, active inquiry, etc. I could get into the levels of understanding technology. Clearly to work with podcasts, one would have to be at least at the appropriation stage. Because podcasts are so new to students, teachers would have to have such a level of understanding.
At any rate, I hope that in my free time (ha...so much of it, remember?), I can become familiar with podcasts so that I can incorporate their use into my classes and my book club.
Hedron, J. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Eugene, OR: ISTE.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Horizon Report - 2009
This report was awesome - current, relevant, and useful. Like many other sources we have read this year, this report points out that the best learning with technology incorporates real-life experience. However, the report states that this kind of learning "is not occurring enough and is undervalued when it does take place." (2009). The first thing I did was write "standards" in the margin. Then soon after, I read Kleiman's follow-up article (2004) in which he states, "The focus on standardized testing as the sole measure of success by students, teachers, and schools has cuased many educators to focus on how technology can be used to increase scores, rather than how they can best prepare children for their lives in the 21st century." EXACTLY! Schools are missing the boat on how to best use technology. However, the Horizon Report looks at the technology of the future and how schools might utilize that technology.
The horizon report:2009, k-12 edition. (2009). The New Media Consortium. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report-k-12.pdf
Kleiman, G.M. (2004). Myths and realities about technology in k-12 schools: Five years later. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education 4(2), 248-53. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v4i2seminal2.pdf.
The report lists six technologies and how they might impact schools. Some of those technologies are readily available now, while others are in beginning stages of development and use.
The first is collaborative environments. The report says that this will have a significant impact within a year or less. With sites such as google docs, all this one will take is teacher training. Collaboration is an important element of mlt.
The second is online communication tools, which students use all the time for social reasons. Now, to take that energy and use it for education!
The third is mobiles. The students who have phones are getting younger and younger. My 8-year-old is begging for one and can't seem to wrap his head around the fact that I was 30 when I got my first phone! At any rate, the mobile phones these days are really amazing. GPS, internet, kindle for my iphone, the app choices are just about endless. This is another tool that teenagers would respond really well to in classroom use.
The fourth is cloud computing, which basically allows the user to use applications with ample online storage space very cheaply (or free). The online tools readily available to students these days are amazing. My wiki just on the presentation tools alone does not even scratch the surface.
The fifth is SMART objects. I thought immediately of the smart board here, but it appears that is just the beginning.
The last is the personal web. No longer do we just visit sites. We can now tailor the internet to our own personal needs and interests. Google home pages, delicious book marks that keep track of our every online whim.
What I liked most about this article was the list after list of resources a teacher could use to further explore any of these technologies. You can bet in my free time (I have so much of it!) I will begin to check out some of these sites and create my own list on delicious!
The horizon report:2009, k-12 edition. (2009). The New Media Consortium. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://nmc.org/pdf/2009-Horizon-Report-k-12.pdf
Kleiman, G.M. (2004). Myths and realities about technology in k-12 schools: Five years later. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education 4(2), 248-53. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v4i2seminal2.pdf.
The report lists six technologies and how they might impact schools. Some of those technologies are readily available now, while others are in beginning stages of development and use.
The first is collaborative environments. The report says that this will have a significant impact within a year or less. With sites such as google docs, all this one will take is teacher training. Collaboration is an important element of mlt.
The second is online communication tools, which students use all the time for social reasons. Now, to take that energy and use it for education!
The third is mobiles. The students who have phones are getting younger and younger. My 8-year-old is begging for one and can't seem to wrap his head around the fact that I was 30 when I got my first phone! At any rate, the mobile phones these days are really amazing. GPS, internet, kindle for my iphone, the app choices are just about endless. This is another tool that teenagers would respond really well to in classroom use.
The fourth is cloud computing, which basically allows the user to use applications with ample online storage space very cheaply (or free). The online tools readily available to students these days are amazing. My wiki just on the presentation tools alone does not even scratch the surface.
The fifth is SMART objects. I thought immediately of the smart board here, but it appears that is just the beginning.
The last is the personal web. No longer do we just visit sites. We can now tailor the internet to our own personal needs and interests. Google home pages, delicious book marks that keep track of our every online whim.
What I liked most about this article was the list after list of resources a teacher could use to further explore any of these technologies. You can bet in my free time (I have so much of it!) I will begin to check out some of these sites and create my own list on delicious!
Myths and realities
I really enjoyed reading the two articles about the myths and realities of using technology in the classroom. It seems to me that school districts have always liked to brag about how much technology they have, but really how many computers a school has is really no measure of how much or how well that technology is actually being used. So I thought Kleiman was right on not only with the myths but also with the reevaluation five years later.
Myth 1 - Putting computers in schools improves learning - more computers = more learning (2001).
Insightful...it seems that Kleiman was right about the barriers school districts face - in his 1999 article and the one five years later. He says that the computers might be there, but they are not necessarily being used "in ways that enhance teaching and learning." It's true. Perhaps computers are used for reward time or for skills drills, but they have much greater potential. In his 2004 article, Kleiman mentions a new development that seems to be having an effect on computer use - the No Child Left Behind Act. That's a huge influence.
When we looked at MLT earlier in the semester, there was an emphasis placed on making connections between learning and real life. We also discussed alternative ways to assess student work. The recent emphasis on standardized tests seems to be in complete opposition to the ideas of MLT. I look around my district, and I see that these tests have influenced technology use in a negative way. Computers are used, all right, but they are used for standardized testing practice. Students in grades 9 - 12 take Scantron tests four times a year. Now I will say that it is pretty handy that a student can take a test, and I can see a result immediately that compares their score with what is considered proficient on the PSSA. I can see immediately which skills the students need to work on. However, if they do not score proficient, what do they get? More computer skill work. So the technology is helpful, but is it meaningful for the students? Probably not. They are using it for skill drill instead of making real life connections.
On the other hand, I have to say that as much as our district places an emphasis on testing, they also see the value of MLT. I just attended a smartboard training yesterday (not that I actually HAVE a smartboard!). Even though last year was the final year of the Classrooms for the Future grant, our district chose to continue to pay for the CFF coach, who is a teacher in our district. He is doing his best to help the teachers in the district to use the technology they have received in the best way. He offers training on some of the latest technological tools, many times one on one. It is also wonderful that he is a teacher in the district. Not only does he have the necessary knowledge of the district and its students, but he will still be around once his position as coach ends. And hopefully by then, he will have trained some other "experts" in the schools.
So I have some mixed feelings about computer use in our school. Although the goundwork is there, we have a long way to go. We are not using technology to its full potential.
Kleiman, G.M. (2000) Myths and realities about technology in k-12 schools. LNT perspectives. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://www.edtechleaders.com/documents/myths.pdf
Kleiman, G.M. (2004) Myths and realities about technology in k-12 schools: Five years later. Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education, 4(2), 248-53. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v4i2seminal2.pdf
Myth 1 - Putting computers in schools improves learning - more computers = more learning (2001).
Insightful...it seems that Kleiman was right about the barriers school districts face - in his 1999 article and the one five years later. He says that the computers might be there, but they are not necessarily being used "in ways that enhance teaching and learning." It's true. Perhaps computers are used for reward time or for skills drills, but they have much greater potential. In his 2004 article, Kleiman mentions a new development that seems to be having an effect on computer use - the No Child Left Behind Act. That's a huge influence.
When we looked at MLT earlier in the semester, there was an emphasis placed on making connections between learning and real life. We also discussed alternative ways to assess student work. The recent emphasis on standardized tests seems to be in complete opposition to the ideas of MLT. I look around my district, and I see that these tests have influenced technology use in a negative way. Computers are used, all right, but they are used for standardized testing practice. Students in grades 9 - 12 take Scantron tests four times a year. Now I will say that it is pretty handy that a student can take a test, and I can see a result immediately that compares their score with what is considered proficient on the PSSA. I can see immediately which skills the students need to work on. However, if they do not score proficient, what do they get? More computer skill work. So the technology is helpful, but is it meaningful for the students? Probably not. They are using it for skill drill instead of making real life connections.
On the other hand, I have to say that as much as our district places an emphasis on testing, they also see the value of MLT. I just attended a smartboard training yesterday (not that I actually HAVE a smartboard!). Even though last year was the final year of the Classrooms for the Future grant, our district chose to continue to pay for the CFF coach, who is a teacher in our district. He is doing his best to help the teachers in the district to use the technology they have received in the best way. He offers training on some of the latest technological tools, many times one on one. It is also wonderful that he is a teacher in the district. Not only does he have the necessary knowledge of the district and its students, but he will still be around once his position as coach ends. And hopefully by then, he will have trained some other "experts" in the schools.
So I have some mixed feelings about computer use in our school. Although the goundwork is there, we have a long way to go. We are not using technology to its full potential.
Kleiman, G.M. (2000) Myths and realities about technology in k-12 schools. LNT perspectives. Retrieved December 2, 2009 from http://www.edtechleaders.com/documents/myths.pdf
Kleiman, G.M. (2004) Myths and realities about technology in k-12 schools: Five years later. Contemporary issues in technology and teacher education, 4(2), 248-53. Retrieved December 3, 2009 from http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v4i2seminal2.pdf
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