(5) Interactivity #3

The Google document aspect of this interactivity frightened me because I had never had a truly collaborative experience with the program.  Mostly, I was not aware of the group work capabilities built into the program.  After panicking for a few days, I created the document for our group to work on.  Since we do not meet face to face, the group project established a new aspect of group work that was very unfamiliar to me.  Because we were only able to communicate through email, each member had to take responsibility for him or her selves and contribute their research.  I believe that this type of group work allowed for students to function effectively as a group because there was not a chance for someone to slack off.  Each member had to sign in, create a list of websites, sift through the information, and post their contributions correctly.  The project eliminated the stereotypical “slacker” from the equation and created authentic group collaboration.  Although I still do prefer a tangible output to a digital one and a face-to-face interaction versus online communication, I thought this interactivity was a really fabulous way to establish accountability. As a teacher, I would absolutely consider incorporating Google Docs into my technological materials as a way to reach outside the bounds of the classroom and establish new standards of group work.  

(4) National Ed Tech Plan

National Ed Tech Plan

I found this article interesting and worth sharing because of the immediate effect it will have on all of us as future educators.  Because of the way our world has evolved with the inclusion of technology, it is necessary for our educational systems to change as well.  Our schools need to incorporate more technologies as a way to motivate learners while also being able to relate to their knowledge and interests. President Obama's new plan addresses several revisions to the institute of education that I believe are worth considering.  He proposes using the "clicker" technology as a more appropriate and time efficient way to approach student's needs in the classroom.  This device allows students to answer questions throughout the class anonymously to their classmates and complies the information into statistics for the whole class.  For the teacher the clicker serves many purposes; it takes attendance, shows individual understanding, and allows the teacher to see if a concept needs to be retaught.  For students it allows a comfortable class setting to express their knowledge without fearing embarrassment.  This tiny addition to the classroom has to potential to revolutionize what teachers know about the students and how to properly teach to their needs.  Another great component of the plan talks about the equipping schools with the proper amount of bandwidth to support the use of the technology.  In my cooperating teacher's classroom, this exact issue exist.  The teachers avoid using the smart boards because of the speed, consistency, and technological issues that prohibit a lesson to effectively play out.  By requiring schools to accommodate their technology needs, this problem would be abolished and the learning can become the main concern again.

Like taught in many of my classes at Montclair State, the article discusses the shift to student engaged lesson plans.  This shift will encourage learners to develop critical thinking skills that will serve them the rest of their lives.  As teachers, we are not educating our students for today but instead for the future and most importantly for careers that do not yet exist.  By allowing education to continue in the "traditional" beliefs of lecturing, we are doing a disservice to our students.  We need to adopt a plan where students are the focus while promoting individualized plans that help each and every student specifically.  The plan also has a section devoted to teaching and the incorporation of online classes.  Although technology is a great addition to education I believe it should be used as a supplement to schooling and not as a substitute.  There is a huge part of learning that take place in face to face instruction.  There is no way for a teacher to learn and cater to their students if they are virtually unknown to the educator.  How can we as teachers encourage a democratic classroom and fairness to our students without properly learning their needs and strengths?  Many people with power but disconnected from education are not aware of the essential communication that occurs in a classroom.  The idea of productivity and business like manner overwhelms the true ideas that have created the educational institution.  As teachers we should not require our students to memorize information or sit quietly and listen to lecture.  We should be learning our students, helping them achieve with the necessary help they need personally.  We should teach democratic beliefs, morals, and humanity.  Wthout face to face instruction and relationship, we would be failing our youth.  Clearly, online classes are not the answer.

With the momentum of technology, we need to reteach those in power how to control and properly use technology.  The purpose of technology is not to replace but to aid in the process.  We cannot completely delete the institution of schooling and expect to produce democratic citizens.  Content is a percentage of what is taught in schools.  I believe that many people have lost sight of the personal growth that occurs within schools.  We need to remind those who make the decisions that childhood education's purpose is not only to teach literature, history, science, art, but to teach students how to properly function in society and interact with others.

(3) Media Literacy

Media Literacy

A major concern I have as a future teacher is the inclusion of technology in the classroom.  I have always believed that it was such a wonderful thing to be able to have computers, projectors, online grade books, and other advances start to trickle into the forgotten land of education.  However, I was shocked to that the embrace of technology is often times absent from classrooms. Caitlin Barry’s article entitled, “Defining Media Literacy” illustrates what I have encountered in many classrooms, which do have the luxury of technology.  Barry says that most teachers who have the technology resources are hesitant to use them to progress learning and instead use them as a vehicle to view a power point on.  From my many experiences in observation, fieldwork, and subbing, I have found that often times the smart boards in classrooms are not even touched!  The idea of technology is described as a wonderful advancement for education but it fails us when the practice is not implemented.  I have always excused these behaviors by the assumption that teachers are not educated on how to use these items and therefore are unable to embrace their beauty.  Barry brings into question another point of view suggesting that teachers don’t know what media literacy is. 

So I’m forced to ask myself (since she’s probably right), if I know what media literacy is?  Looking back on a prior class entitled Media Literacy and quick Google searches I have put together that media literacy is evaluating forms of media to reveal the hidden intentions, the message, and encourage consumers to ask questions.   Considering this definition and the incorporation of technology, I am confident as a teacher that I will be able to encourage my students to ask questions in order to discover answers beneath the surface of “media”.  Children need to begin to question what they are fed through movies, radio, television, and the Internet in order to educate themselves. For example, integrating news video clips into a lesson allows students to visualize the classroom discussion.  Further, they are then able to question the point of view of the station, what message was sent, how do we know if it is reliable or not.  We as teachers can begin teaching the aspect of life that was either ignored or reserved for experience only. 

In the past we have blamed the lack of technology on low funding, inexperience, or no relation to a subject area.   Barry’s article reveals an alternate view which may be more realistic in the educational world.  This is another example where teachers must take their learning and teaching into their own hands and gain their own knowledge. The benefits of technology outweigh the hassle of learning how to use the technology because it paves a clear path to relating with the students.  It allows connects from outside the classroom to be made and more importantly, begin to bridge the gap from learning from experiences educated versus uneducated. 

(2) Interactivity #2

 The published word within the English discipline has allowed literature to become a vehicle for teaching comprehension, analysis, and interpretation as a way for students to create their values and their understanding of society.   


  
http://www.colourbox.com/image/boys-reading-books-in-classroom-image-538373

(1) Interactivity #1

My Three Techonlogies:


1) cell phone
2) email
3) iPad


The integration of technology in my life has radically changed the way I now learn information.  With the use of my three technologies, I’ve seen that the biggest and most important change is within the idea of accessibility.  I am constantly connected.  To only name a few, I am always with a dictionary, thesaurus, encyclopedia, and maps.  Whenever I encounter an idea, concept, word, or name that I am not familiar with I am able to immediately research to find the answer.  My phone allows me to integrate the unknown into the learned aspect of my brain quickly and easily.  Not only does my attachment to technology allow me to seek out answers to the unknown but it has also taught me skills.  I recently bought a new computer and made the drastic switch from a PC to a Mac.  As anyone knows, this kind of drastic change comes along with a whole new set of keyboard shortcuts, new programs, new layouts which I had never had experience with.  By having access to the Internet, I was able to connect to question boards, YouTube videos, blogs, and have access to explanations from people who all were learning like me and also from experts who were able to “dummy down” the explanations.  

Learning becomes much more accessible and allows people to take the process of learning in their own hands.  This process not only allots for more knowledge to be exchanged but also encourages learners to feel a connection with their knowledge.  While the benefits of this capability are obvious, there are still downfalls to the ease of the Internet and technology.  Laziness can be symptomatic of the Internet’s availability.  Because the information is so readily available, many people become passive in readings or classes because they know that worst case, the information is only a short Google search away.  With a little research, the answer will be able to give them a shortened and simplified definition that may not withhold the same value that a teacher would. 

Olivia displayed an ability to be extremely resourceful with her need and want to be around technology.  Even without having a computer, she was able to teach herself where to get access, how to use it, and developed advanced skills in an aspect of the internet that meant a lot to her; MySpace.  I find those same characteristics within myself.  If need comes around for me to find access or need to teach myself something that truly interests me, I find a way.  The Internet allows us to rely on ourselves for our education like displayed by the students in the second video.   The one student explained how by trial and error he is teaching himself the different music programs available on the computer.  I had the same type of experience but with the Photoshop program.  By looking up tutorials and of course trial and error, I have begun to develop a basic understanding of a rather difficult program.  Another student talked about using her phone as way to photograph, email, and post photos for projects with school.  Again, like her I have been able to sync my life to my technological devices and avoid the separation of having documents at home, school, and my flash drive.  Now, everything is accessible no matter where I am. 

I can almost call my relationship with technology an addiction because it has revolutionized the way that I operate as a student and future teacher.  I am able to explore options of learning and teaching that were never possible.  Further, technology has become a universal language that all people use to learn.  It’s a commonplace that all types of learners can benefit from.  It allows students like Olivia and myself to reach beyond the constraints of the classroom and learn a different skill or interest while promoting the concept of motivated learning.