Using a wiki is an awesome way to share information while creating interactive and interesting pages. There are other programs that let you write collaboratively, but a wiki easily lets a student add pictures, videos, links and widgets. The concept of a teacher creating a private wiki is very powerful in the education setting. This gives me confidence that only the members I invite or add are seeing my classroom wiki. I think the privacy allows students to feel they can share more authentic feelings knowing who will see what they write. Teachers can upgrade to a free educational wiki and get paid options for their classroom wikis, this includes an easy upload for student usernames and passwords.
I feel like writing collaboratively is a great idea, but I still completed my portion of the assignment in almost total isolation. If a teacher is planning on student collaboration and communication as an end goal, there will need to be some guidelines set up to help students understand how to do the communicating effectively. Each member of the class worked on the wiki as a whole, but I don't feel like we truly did much effective collaborating to gain a deeper understanding of each topic and how they relate to each other.
A potential weakness could be students are becoming an expert in their assigned topic, but not connecting the information to other writer's pages. Depending on how you structure the wiki, some students may complete their page and never look back. These students do not get the intended goal of writing collaboratively and learning how to take someone's opinion and make changes or add information to their topic.
The wiki has many strong points when it comes to writing collaboratively. A wiki gives an option on the left hand side that will let you see the recent changes to a wiki. This feature allows each group member see who is working, where they are working, and what they are working on. I think students will see this as an accountability system for each other within their own group. When you think about middle school students and group work you hear "that's not fair" often. I think using this as a way to keep students accountable within their own group and without teacher interference.
Using the wiki gives the learner instant updated information. There is no waiting for a document to be emailed, no trying to pass large presentations back and forth and most importantly no dealing with files being too large to get to everyone. The universal access to a wiki is a huge strength. It doesn't matter if a student is at home, school, cell phone, etc. if they can use the Internet they can use or see the wiki.
I have previously used a wiki in my classroom and it was one of the best "technology experiments" I have ever done. I had students who were logging on to check, comment or change information on their wiki page at all times of the afternoon and evening. I hadn't seen many students rush home to do homework at night, but using the wiki they were updating and checking constantly. Imagine if we could our kids to do this with all their homework. They were really impressed with being able to share information instantly and get a peer reply.
Something I ran into that I hadn't really planned for was my students wanting to talk about EVERYTHING. I did have to make a "chat place" that allowed them to comment on random school things because they were just so excited to talk to all of the math classes at once. Once my designated random chat space was there, they really buckled down to keep the information on the pages and discussions on topic.
I was so scared to do a wiki the first time. I thought my students would not be able to do all of these things, I have to teach them step by step and this is going to take too much time to teach them all the skills before we can even start. Oh my, was I so so wrong! I let my students play for 10 minutes in a practice wiki before logging them into my classroom wiki. Just like your little pre-k kiddos, my kids just wanted to play and see what they could do with the new toy. I truly believe, no matter what you are teaching, this is the best teaching practice out there. Kids want to explore and play with a new toy before they care how you (an adult) are going to use it. After 10-20 minutes of playing in the wiki, my kids were ready to find out what the heck we were going to be doing with this really cool new toy.
I have actually used a wiki for many different activities in my classroom.
I have used a wiki for professional collaboration with some of the high school teachers teaching in my subject area. We were talking about planning and issues we found our students were having. This was a great place to share ideas, talk about plans, find out what was going wrong in our curriculum all without having to be at school or meeting in the same building!
My first classroom adventure was doing a culminating year activity for my math students. We watched the Ron Clark movie, decided how students impact their own education and created a multimedia presentation with ideas to impact their own education. I loved using a wiki because it could embed and share the video without making it publicly available to everyone out on the Internet.
I also had a classroom wiki that students would use for a math resource page. Students would post questions they had on homework and other students would reply to the question either with videos or questions that would help students solve problems. They posted websites that were helpful, calculator tricks, and overall were more engaged with math homework than I thought possible.
My best experience using a wiki was using it in my engineering classroom during Automation and Robotics. It happened that I only had enough parts for one classroom but two classes trying to build. The students had to keep a page to communicate all information from one class so the second class could continue to work. The students had to write down all changes to programming and construction, leave information that the next group would need to continue and also ideas or issues that they couldn't figure out on their own. This was one of the most impressive things to watch. I was watching students learn technical writing and collaboration without me teaching or presenting how this would work. Engineering classes work differently than core classes, my ultimate goal is to give students confidence and independence. I want them to move from depending on me for knowledge, but instead feel confident they can find the information they want or need. I want to move into a facilitating role rather than the provider of information. I believe using a wiki made this role switch possible in my classroom. Students were depending on each other instead of asking me if something was ok or right.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Digital Natives-Digital immigrants vs Visitors & Residents
I think this categorization has some definite flaws to its system. While I can identify with parts of the terms in digital natives, digital immigrants, visitors and residents, there are still big gaps for me.
Digital Natives, as defined by Marc Prensky would be someone raised in the “native language” of computers, video games, and Internet. If we talk about digital natives that can be a large category of people included in the term. I have an issue that I am compared to a child born in 2000 and both of us would be digital natives. My level of experience and understanding is different than their level of understanding and experience would be. Are we all in the same cluster just because we had digital technology available to us during our childhood?
Sure, I will be the first one to admit having technology available to me made me more comfortable with the concept of new technologies while growing up. I also feel like part of my comfort and confidence in technology is a personality trait. I often feel like I am capable of figuring new things out, technology related or not. I like to get input and advice, but in the end I like to figure things out on my own.
In my educational career, I did not come from a school district that put their money into classroom technology. My mom went to school early to prepare her classroom and I would sit outside her classroom on the computer playing all of the games like Gizmos and Gadgets, Math Blaster, Oregon Trail, Super Science Show and more. I knew the technology was available, but it wasn’t used in my classrooms for educational purposes. I also can’t entirely blame my teachers for not using technology as most of my class couldn’t follow directions or obey rules.
I can’t remember most of my teachers even having a projector in the classroom, but I knew they existed. In my K-8 career I only had one teacher use a laptop or PowerPoint to present information. He used his laptop hooked up to a TV and we wrote down the slides instead of him putting it on the overhead.
Then in high school I had my two teachers that changed how I saw math and science. My math teacher, thank goodness I had the same one from 9-11th grade, was a mover and a shaker. She was a younger teacher, about 27 when I was a freshman. She wasn’t constantly using things like computers or projectors but She she let us use graphing calculators. I have to say; this was really exciting and not just because I’m a math nerd. This was the first time someone looked at our “high track” class and thought about giving us a shot at technology. Sadly, this was the first time in my educational career someone let me use a piece of educational technology in the classroom. My goodness, why on earth did I have to wait until I was in high school for someone to realize we could use technology in the classroom?
Up to this point, any technology I had used was strictly for a science fair project, something my mom let me play with in her classroom, or something my teachers let me use when I was done with my work for reward time. I see this discrepancy in many small town school districts, without enough technology for everyone technology becomes more of a “reward” instead of a teaching tool.
Note: To be clear, I understand (from a teaching perspective) the lack of technology with my particular class, we were the ones teachers had nightmares about…there were just too many naughty ones who didn’t care and would break something just to break it. However, there were about 6 of us that could have handled it out of 60. Even so, these teachers didn’t have access to it with the classes before or after mine.
The second teacher that made an impact was my high school chemistry teacher. He had taught both my parents, all my aunts and uncles, and cousins high school chemistry. He had retired 5 years earlier but they couldn’t find a replacement chemistry teacher so he continued to teach high school chemistry. He was 67 my sophomore year of high school and finally was able to retire in 2009. This man was clearly not someone who grew up with the same technology I did, but he was willing to learn and try something new for the sake of chemistry. His passion for chemistry was stronger than his lack of technology experience. He was able to buy some of the microscope cameras, temperature probes that attach to graphing calculators, and pressure sensors with his extra budget for labs. This class was had 18 students, only high track science and math students, and only if we had decided to take advanced chemistry. He didn’t have to worry about us stealing, breaking, or misusing technology. We were all so thrilled to be in a class that didn’t have discipline issues; we would have done anything he asked us to! He allowed us to use the tools in any way we thought would be helpful. If we were doing a lab and could find a way to use it the cabinet was open to us. The freedom to be creative and have an opportunity to use technology gave me back a passion for science and math that was almost destroyed by uneducated teachers and troublesome peers.
Note 2: The funding was not equal for most teachers in the district. Elementary teachers had $50 including all supplies like pencils, pens, tape, construction paper, book replacements, etc. while the high school teachers had a $200 budget each year plus additional funds for a “lab” class up to $1000 more.
As a kid I felt odd knowing my teachers as the teachers during school and outside of school because my mom worked with them. I would watch teachers after school and see half my teachers couldn’t log into their computer or use it themselves, there is no way they were going to rely on a computer instead of an overhead. Needless to say, my technology experience or my understanding did not come from my experiences at school.
I can’t exactly say my technology awareness came from home either. Growing up I didn’t have all the new and fun technology toys; my mom was a single mother on a teacher’s salary. I can’t remember a time when we didn’t have a computer and Internet, but that was the big technology in our home. When my mom got married and had two household salaries, technology didn’t change much in our home.
I had a cell phone in junior high and texting was a pastime. I wasn’t a text abuser; I didn’t have thousands of messages, so my parents allowed me to text. The problem came that not all my friends were allowed to text due to the fact they couldn’t control the number of texts.
To my mom new technologies were a want and not a need in our household. I had to save money from doing odd jobs around the house, grading papers, mowing the lawn, save birthday money to buy the technology I wanted. My mom was more than willing to let me spend my money how I wanted and she was encouraging and open to technology. I watched her openness to technology but also realized you can’t run out and buy all new things because they are fun. I had friends with parents that bought anything new and great, I had friends with parents who would buy the new toys and not be able to pay house payments, and I had friends who were told when they had the money they could get it. It really was a way of living and priorities where I grew up. Watching how my mom handled me wanting some new technology, taught me to consider how I spend my money. I can remember my mom being so excited when the first iPhone came out, she wanted to get it for me, she thought I would love it. I couldn’t get past the price and told her I wasn’t willing to have her buy it at that price. Here I have a parent willing to buy me something new and I can’t let her spend that much of her money on it!
All of that being said, I don’t feel like I wholly fit as a digital native but I am certainly not a digital immigrant either. I can identify at least 20 teachers (in my past 2 schools) that would not even qualify as digital immigrants. At this point they haven’t even acknowledged the boat exists, let alone get on the boat and travel across the ocean of technology to be an immigrant! This leaves me leaning more towards digital visitors and residents, but it really doesn’t hit the mark for me either. David White defines a resident as someone “who lives a percentage of their life online” and a resident as someone who “uses the web as a tool when the need arises.” Some people who are avid technology users choose not to live their life online, but instead utilize the applications they find necessary.
In my college education I have had some professors who utilize software at the age 60+ proficiently teaching college students how to use a piece of software to enhance their classroom lessons. The same professors also were the ones that couldn’t check their emails. Just because you can utilize and teach with one “piece” it doesn’t make you a resident. People find coping mechanisms that let them work through the issues they need to and the rest they won’t worry about. I find there to be just as many gaps or levels in residents and visitors as well. Someone might choose to be a visitor because they see the computer as a tool for an intended purpose, not to be their entire socialization. Just because a person is a resident there is no guarantee that the technology is being used effectively for yourself or learners.
I loved the video with Howard Rheingold. He had amazing and accurate things to say. While he isn’t a native, he does allow himself to use the tools at hand effectively. It is because of people like Howard and my personal experience that I am thinking we should reconsider the terms we are using to describe our technology levels. Brian Sullivan addressed the same leveling issue in Are You a Digital Native or a Digital Immigrant? deciding to include levels such as avoiders, reluctant and eager adopters. Dr. Zur suggested other levels such as avoiders, minimalists and enthusiastic participants. In the end I feel like we should be looking less at frequency with media and more to effectiveness and efficiency. Perhaps we should consider terms like effective users, social users, acceptors, and absolute refusers.
To me, a user would be someone who is on the technology bandwagon. I would consider two levels in the user category, the first being effective users, those people who are using technology effectively, efficiently, and proficiently. The second would be social users that accept technology, love technology, and don’t realize they could use it more effectively and efficiently. I believe many of my students are capable of using social media, their brains are wired for it, but they are not utilizing many of the technologies that would help them be better learners. While a powerful connection to social media could be an effective tool, I don't see a majority of teenagers viewing it as a tool to encourage or support their learning. These users are relying on being more social users than effective users of technology.
An acceptor would be someone who acknowledges some people learn better with technology and are willing to try. This doesn’t mean they have to run out for every new piece of technology with confidence. It does mean they are willing to try and accept guidance on how they might be able to use this new technology. I believe you will find most teachers are very willing to try new digital technologies with a little guidance.
An absolute refuser would be someone who wants nothing to do with the concept of technology. Sadly, there are many teachers who will not even consider using technology in their classroom. This teacher is not willing to listen or try anything new or innovative. These teachers tend to feel if it worked 30 years ago it can work today. I hear this type of teacher say kids don’t pay attention so why should I reward them with technology for not doing their work. I honestly feel that this type of teacher is no longer considering what is best for students. Both their passion for helping students learn and their passion for education need to have a “come to Jesus moment”.
I think teachers tend to be more open to technology and new ways to create an exciting learning environment, but our careers also leave us in a position that we cannot purchase many of the technologies available for our classrooms or even ourselves. I think if teachers were able to afford more personal technology there would be a burst in confidence and in classroom use. I understand no one wants to stand in front of a classroom of students, unsure if a lesson will be successful or bomb out. I see that fear increase when it comes to relying on new and possibly unfamiliar technology. It isn’t fair to say someone is in a using category or a not using category; there are some people who are willing to take the risk and jump out to new technology.
In education, sometimes we have to take the risk with new technologies regardless of training, and meet or students where they are in the best way we can. I think this video applies to taking a risk with classroom teachers and technology usage, we always have a chance to learn from our successes or our failures, but someone has to try.
JayMJ23 (poster). Michael Jordan “failure” nike commercial [video].(2006, August 25). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc
Prensky, M. (2001, October) Digital natives, digital immigrants. NCB Univeristy Press (Vol 9 No 5).
Sullivan, B. (2011, August 12). Are you a digital native or a digital immigrant? Big Design Events. Retrieved on August 17, 11 from http://bigdesignevents.com/2011/08/are-you-a-digital-native-or-a-digital-immigrant/
Sullivan, B. (2011, August 12). Brain plugged into social media [photo]. Big Design Events. Retrieved on August 17, 11 from http://bigdesignevents.com/2011/08/are-you-a-digital-native-or-a-digital-immigrant/
White, D. (2008, July 23) Not “natives and immigrants” but visitors and residents. Retrieved from http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/
Zur, O. & Zur, A. (2011): On Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives: How the Digital Divide Affects Families, Educational Institutions, and the Workplace. Zur Institute - Online Publication. Retrieved on August 17, 11 from http://www.zurinstitute.com/digital_divide.html.
Digital Natives, as defined by Marc Prensky would be someone raised in the “native language” of computers, video games, and Internet. If we talk about digital natives that can be a large category of people included in the term. I have an issue that I am compared to a child born in 2000 and both of us would be digital natives. My level of experience and understanding is different than their level of understanding and experience would be. Are we all in the same cluster just because we had digital technology available to us during our childhood?
Sure, I will be the first one to admit having technology available to me made me more comfortable with the concept of new technologies while growing up. I also feel like part of my comfort and confidence in technology is a personality trait. I often feel like I am capable of figuring new things out, technology related or not. I like to get input and advice, but in the end I like to figure things out on my own.
In my educational career, I did not come from a school district that put their money into classroom technology. My mom went to school early to prepare her classroom and I would sit outside her classroom on the computer playing all of the games like Gizmos and Gadgets, Math Blaster, Oregon Trail, Super Science Show and more. I knew the technology was available, but it wasn’t used in my classrooms for educational purposes. I also can’t entirely blame my teachers for not using technology as most of my class couldn’t follow directions or obey rules.
I can’t remember most of my teachers even having a projector in the classroom, but I knew they existed. In my K-8 career I only had one teacher use a laptop or PowerPoint to present information. He used his laptop hooked up to a TV and we wrote down the slides instead of him putting it on the overhead.
Then in high school I had my two teachers that changed how I saw math and science. My math teacher, thank goodness I had the same one from 9-11th grade, was a mover and a shaker. She was a younger teacher, about 27 when I was a freshman. She wasn’t constantly using things like computers or projectors but She she let us use graphing calculators. I have to say; this was really exciting and not just because I’m a math nerd. This was the first time someone looked at our “high track” class and thought about giving us a shot at technology. Sadly, this was the first time in my educational career someone let me use a piece of educational technology in the classroom. My goodness, why on earth did I have to wait until I was in high school for someone to realize we could use technology in the classroom?
Up to this point, any technology I had used was strictly for a science fair project, something my mom let me play with in her classroom, or something my teachers let me use when I was done with my work for reward time. I see this discrepancy in many small town school districts, without enough technology for everyone technology becomes more of a “reward” instead of a teaching tool.
Note: To be clear, I understand (from a teaching perspective) the lack of technology with my particular class, we were the ones teachers had nightmares about…there were just too many naughty ones who didn’t care and would break something just to break it. However, there were about 6 of us that could have handled it out of 60. Even so, these teachers didn’t have access to it with the classes before or after mine.
The second teacher that made an impact was my high school chemistry teacher. He had taught both my parents, all my aunts and uncles, and cousins high school chemistry. He had retired 5 years earlier but they couldn’t find a replacement chemistry teacher so he continued to teach high school chemistry. He was 67 my sophomore year of high school and finally was able to retire in 2009. This man was clearly not someone who grew up with the same technology I did, but he was willing to learn and try something new for the sake of chemistry. His passion for chemistry was stronger than his lack of technology experience. He was able to buy some of the microscope cameras, temperature probes that attach to graphing calculators, and pressure sensors with his extra budget for labs. This class was had 18 students, only high track science and math students, and only if we had decided to take advanced chemistry. He didn’t have to worry about us stealing, breaking, or misusing technology. We were all so thrilled to be in a class that didn’t have discipline issues; we would have done anything he asked us to! He allowed us to use the tools in any way we thought would be helpful. If we were doing a lab and could find a way to use it the cabinet was open to us. The freedom to be creative and have an opportunity to use technology gave me back a passion for science and math that was almost destroyed by uneducated teachers and troublesome peers.
Note 2: The funding was not equal for most teachers in the district. Elementary teachers had $50 including all supplies like pencils, pens, tape, construction paper, book replacements, etc. while the high school teachers had a $200 budget each year plus additional funds for a “lab” class up to $1000 more.
As a kid I felt odd knowing my teachers as the teachers during school and outside of school because my mom worked with them. I would watch teachers after school and see half my teachers couldn’t log into their computer or use it themselves, there is no way they were going to rely on a computer instead of an overhead. Needless to say, my technology experience or my understanding did not come from my experiences at school.
I can’t exactly say my technology awareness came from home either. Growing up I didn’t have all the new and fun technology toys; my mom was a single mother on a teacher’s salary. I can’t remember a time when we didn’t have a computer and Internet, but that was the big technology in our home. When my mom got married and had two household salaries, technology didn’t change much in our home.
I had a cell phone in junior high and texting was a pastime. I wasn’t a text abuser; I didn’t have thousands of messages, so my parents allowed me to text. The problem came that not all my friends were allowed to text due to the fact they couldn’t control the number of texts.
To my mom new technologies were a want and not a need in our household. I had to save money from doing odd jobs around the house, grading papers, mowing the lawn, save birthday money to buy the technology I wanted. My mom was more than willing to let me spend my money how I wanted and she was encouraging and open to technology. I watched her openness to technology but also realized you can’t run out and buy all new things because they are fun. I had friends with parents that bought anything new and great, I had friends with parents who would buy the new toys and not be able to pay house payments, and I had friends who were told when they had the money they could get it. It really was a way of living and priorities where I grew up. Watching how my mom handled me wanting some new technology, taught me to consider how I spend my money. I can remember my mom being so excited when the first iPhone came out, she wanted to get it for me, she thought I would love it. I couldn’t get past the price and told her I wasn’t willing to have her buy it at that price. Here I have a parent willing to buy me something new and I can’t let her spend that much of her money on it!
All of that being said, I don’t feel like I wholly fit as a digital native but I am certainly not a digital immigrant either. I can identify at least 20 teachers (in my past 2 schools) that would not even qualify as digital immigrants. At this point they haven’t even acknowledged the boat exists, let alone get on the boat and travel across the ocean of technology to be an immigrant! This leaves me leaning more towards digital visitors and residents, but it really doesn’t hit the mark for me either. David White defines a resident as someone “who lives a percentage of their life online” and a resident as someone who “uses the web as a tool when the need arises.” Some people who are avid technology users choose not to live their life online, but instead utilize the applications they find necessary.
In my college education I have had some professors who utilize software at the age 60+ proficiently teaching college students how to use a piece of software to enhance their classroom lessons. The same professors also were the ones that couldn’t check their emails. Just because you can utilize and teach with one “piece” it doesn’t make you a resident. People find coping mechanisms that let them work through the issues they need to and the rest they won’t worry about. I find there to be just as many gaps or levels in residents and visitors as well. Someone might choose to be a visitor because they see the computer as a tool for an intended purpose, not to be their entire socialization. Just because a person is a resident there is no guarantee that the technology is being used effectively for yourself or learners.
I loved the video with Howard Rheingold. He had amazing and accurate things to say. While he isn’t a native, he does allow himself to use the tools at hand effectively. It is because of people like Howard and my personal experience that I am thinking we should reconsider the terms we are using to describe our technology levels. Brian Sullivan addressed the same leveling issue in Are You a Digital Native or a Digital Immigrant? deciding to include levels such as avoiders, reluctant and eager adopters. Dr. Zur suggested other levels such as avoiders, minimalists and enthusiastic participants. In the end I feel like we should be looking less at frequency with media and more to effectiveness and efficiency. Perhaps we should consider terms like effective users, social users, acceptors, and absolute refusers.
To me, a user would be someone who is on the technology bandwagon. I would consider two levels in the user category, the first being effective users, those people who are using technology effectively, efficiently, and proficiently. The second would be social users that accept technology, love technology, and don’t realize they could use it more effectively and efficiently. I believe many of my students are capable of using social media, their brains are wired for it, but they are not utilizing many of the technologies that would help them be better learners. While a powerful connection to social media could be an effective tool, I don't see a majority of teenagers viewing it as a tool to encourage or support their learning. These users are relying on being more social users than effective users of technology.
An acceptor would be someone who acknowledges some people learn better with technology and are willing to try. This doesn’t mean they have to run out for every new piece of technology with confidence. It does mean they are willing to try and accept guidance on how they might be able to use this new technology. I believe you will find most teachers are very willing to try new digital technologies with a little guidance.
An absolute refuser would be someone who wants nothing to do with the concept of technology. Sadly, there are many teachers who will not even consider using technology in their classroom. This teacher is not willing to listen or try anything new or innovative. These teachers tend to feel if it worked 30 years ago it can work today. I hear this type of teacher say kids don’t pay attention so why should I reward them with technology for not doing their work. I honestly feel that this type of teacher is no longer considering what is best for students. Both their passion for helping students learn and their passion for education need to have a “come to Jesus moment”.
I think teachers tend to be more open to technology and new ways to create an exciting learning environment, but our careers also leave us in a position that we cannot purchase many of the technologies available for our classrooms or even ourselves. I think if teachers were able to afford more personal technology there would be a burst in confidence and in classroom use. I understand no one wants to stand in front of a classroom of students, unsure if a lesson will be successful or bomb out. I see that fear increase when it comes to relying on new and possibly unfamiliar technology. It isn’t fair to say someone is in a using category or a not using category; there are some people who are willing to take the risk and jump out to new technology.
In education, sometimes we have to take the risk with new technologies regardless of training, and meet or students where they are in the best way we can. I think this video applies to taking a risk with classroom teachers and technology usage, we always have a chance to learn from our successes or our failures, but someone has to try.
JayMJ23 (poster). Michael Jordan “failure” nike commercial [video].(2006, August 25). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45mMioJ5szc
Prensky, M. (2001, October) Digital natives, digital immigrants. NCB Univeristy Press (Vol 9 No 5).
Sullivan, B. (2011, August 12). Are you a digital native or a digital immigrant? Big Design Events. Retrieved on August 17, 11 from http://bigdesignevents.com/2011/08/are-you-a-digital-native-or-a-digital-immigrant/
Sullivan, B. (2011, August 12). Brain plugged into social media [photo]. Big Design Events. Retrieved on August 17, 11 from http://bigdesignevents.com/2011/08/are-you-a-digital-native-or-a-digital-immigrant/
White, D. (2008, July 23) Not “natives and immigrants” but visitors and residents. Retrieved from http://tallblog.conted.ox.ac.uk/index.php/2008/07/23/not-natives-immigrants-but-visitors-residents/
Zur, O. & Zur, A. (2011): On Digital Immigrants and Digital Natives: How the Digital Divide Affects Families, Educational Institutions, and the Workplace. Zur Institute - Online Publication. Retrieved on August 17, 11 from http://www.zurinstitute.com/digital_divide.html.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
How do we learn to teach in ways in which we never learned to learn?
I would say my learners and I have some similar experiences and some new experiences as well. Growing up I had access to a computer at school and home with Internet; I can’t remember a time that I didn’t. However, during school the utilization of computers were not always effective. Most of my elementary school computer experiences revolved around Oregon Trail, Word, PowerPoint, and typing software. My students have the opportunity to have 1-1 laptops providing them constant access to information. Having their own laptops creates more opportunities to relay information in new and exciting formats. I can’t think of a single presentation in my K-12 career that was done with something other than a poster, a product, or a PowerPoint. My students are now using sites like glogster, wikispaces, ning, edmodo, e-portfolios, animoto, website creators, and wordle to share the information they have gathered.
My learners are Generation Z kiddos. I teach students from 5th grade to 8th graders, ranging in ages eight to fourteen. Students live in a small rural community with roughly 3,400 residents. Growing up I lived in a small town of 6,500 about 40 minutes South of where I teach. Like my students, almost all of the students I started preschool or kindergarten with I graduated with. The classes I teach range in 100-150 students per grade level, not much different from the numbers when I was in school. My students understand the concept of a smaller city, but have no idea what it would be like to be near a large city like Chicago. Most students have access to a computer at home, but not necessarily Internet or printers. We are in a unique location that keeps the atmosphere of small town living, but creates new issues such as some homes being “too far” in the country to get Internet access without having expensive cables placed in the ground.
My students either fall in the haves or the have nots categories. While talking with my students about how we can use apps in the classroom I found roughly 80% of the students have access to an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. I found that my students who have smartphones also have computers, internet, printers etc., while my students who do not have smartphones also do not have internet and printing access at home. My students have a clear digital divide when it comes to access outside of the classroom. Most of our classrooms have some version of an interactive whiteboard, writing slate, projector, voting devices, document camera or some combination of the items.
Unfortunately, the ISAT trap has caught us! My learners have been trained to function based on ISAT, bubble an answer and no more thinking required. They are not used to struggling through problems, having to use critical thinking skills, working with partners, and being able to communicate effectively. Students only know how to solve problems that have a clear answer, students expect everything they experience to have clearly labeled steps, they would rather work alone than deal with a partner, and they don’t understand that communication is more than talking and texting.
The good news is we are changing that in our school. We have the 1-1 laptop grant, we have engineering classes in middle school, and new reading strategies that emphasize reading skills and comprehension. We strive to make connections to everyday life with our students. I am in a unique class that allows me to give open-ended problems, criteria and constraints for design, discovery and hands on projects. My students still don’t want to struggle, but they are becoming more willing to go through the process. They leave my classroom with pride in their designs and creations, they feel like they are better at math and science, and they think they can solve problems more effectively. The truth is, they were capable of being good problem solvers all along but need the opportunity to find that out.
The methods that I have found to be effective with my students are teamwork activities, hands on activities and limiting the number of absorb-type activities. Teamwork activities encourage students to work as a team towards a common goal. They enjoy working towards one large goal and keep each other on task. One barrier of teamwork is meeting the needs of all the students. There are some challenges are difficult, I want to challenge my students but not overwhelm them. My students love doing hands on activities that let them do something and feel productive. Students have commented they enjoy my class because they don’t just sit and listen then do homework. Instead they get to create and try to solve a problem. I also find my students are less tolerant of letting me share information because they want to do something. There are very few days that I have to get them information, but when I do it is usually a large amount of information. I find that limiting the number of absorb-type activities really keep my students interested in the topic we are exploring. Absorb activities like me giving them vocabulary, supplying instruction before an activity, and or presentations of principles will burn them out if I try too many. (Horton, 2006) Instead, I have to balance presentations with activities so the students can get a little information and apply then return for more. (Horton, 2006)
I do not believe that comfort with technology and technology proficiency is the same thing. I see this every time I assign a PowerPoint to my students. I sit astonished at how painful listening to all the PowerPoint presentations are. I also get to enjoy the view, watching the back of my students’ head as they read from the board to me. Students know how to run PowerPoint, how to type information, know how to find a picture and drag it in, but they don’t know how to create an effective presentation, put only the important information (as opposed to every word) or save a picture and cite it. Our students and many adults have coping mechanisms for working with technology. People have found something that works ok, but don't continue to find out how technology should be used.
My students are currently using technology in their learning with almost all of the teachers, but they are not all learning with technology effectively. In my opinion, many teachers are not prepared to teach students using effective technology even though they are effective teachers. As David Perlmutter said, training is an obvious step to help close the technology gap between students and teachers. Teachers don’t have the education they need to be proficient in technology and pictures of the process doesn’t give a teacher thorough understanding. Just like the video You Can’t Be My Teacher, our kids are looking at how we are reacting to the new laptops. Students already know what teachers refuse to use the interactive whiteboards and technologies. They are already making assumptions that those teachers won’t let them use their laptops. The teachers are all good teachers, but don’t have the experience to use the technology. All teachers know when they are strong in their content their lessons are smoother, students understand more, and the students are more engaged. I believe learners who are comfortable with technology are more likely to become proficient if given the appropriate opportunities to learn or are self-motivated to find the training on their own.
Resources:
dcannelli (Poster). You can’t be my teacher [video]. (2009, October 25). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VSymMbMYHA&feature=youtu.be .
Horton, W. (2006). E-Learning by Design. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
leemijeehoon (Poster). Honda ok factory ad [video]. (2006, October 29) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9B9UD5Hlp4 .
Perlmutter, D. (2011, July). Bridging the generational tech gap. Retrieved August 7, 2011, from thechronicle.com: http://chronicle.com/article/Bridging-the-Generational-Tech/128304/
My learners are Generation Z kiddos. I teach students from 5th grade to 8th graders, ranging in ages eight to fourteen. Students live in a small rural community with roughly 3,400 residents. Growing up I lived in a small town of 6,500 about 40 minutes South of where I teach. Like my students, almost all of the students I started preschool or kindergarten with I graduated with. The classes I teach range in 100-150 students per grade level, not much different from the numbers when I was in school. My students understand the concept of a smaller city, but have no idea what it would be like to be near a large city like Chicago. Most students have access to a computer at home, but not necessarily Internet or printers. We are in a unique location that keeps the atmosphere of small town living, but creates new issues such as some homes being “too far” in the country to get Internet access without having expensive cables placed in the ground.
My students either fall in the haves or the have nots categories. While talking with my students about how we can use apps in the classroom I found roughly 80% of the students have access to an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. I found that my students who have smartphones also have computers, internet, printers etc., while my students who do not have smartphones also do not have internet and printing access at home. My students have a clear digital divide when it comes to access outside of the classroom. Most of our classrooms have some version of an interactive whiteboard, writing slate, projector, voting devices, document camera or some combination of the items.
Unfortunately, the ISAT trap has caught us! My learners have been trained to function based on ISAT, bubble an answer and no more thinking required. They are not used to struggling through problems, having to use critical thinking skills, working with partners, and being able to communicate effectively. Students only know how to solve problems that have a clear answer, students expect everything they experience to have clearly labeled steps, they would rather work alone than deal with a partner, and they don’t understand that communication is more than talking and texting.
The good news is we are changing that in our school. We have the 1-1 laptop grant, we have engineering classes in middle school, and new reading strategies that emphasize reading skills and comprehension. We strive to make connections to everyday life with our students. I am in a unique class that allows me to give open-ended problems, criteria and constraints for design, discovery and hands on projects. My students still don’t want to struggle, but they are becoming more willing to go through the process. They leave my classroom with pride in their designs and creations, they feel like they are better at math and science, and they think they can solve problems more effectively. The truth is, they were capable of being good problem solvers all along but need the opportunity to find that out.
The methods that I have found to be effective with my students are teamwork activities, hands on activities and limiting the number of absorb-type activities. Teamwork activities encourage students to work as a team towards a common goal. They enjoy working towards one large goal and keep each other on task. One barrier of teamwork is meeting the needs of all the students. There are some challenges are difficult, I want to challenge my students but not overwhelm them. My students love doing hands on activities that let them do something and feel productive. Students have commented they enjoy my class because they don’t just sit and listen then do homework. Instead they get to create and try to solve a problem. I also find my students are less tolerant of letting me share information because they want to do something. There are very few days that I have to get them information, but when I do it is usually a large amount of information. I find that limiting the number of absorb-type activities really keep my students interested in the topic we are exploring. Absorb activities like me giving them vocabulary, supplying instruction before an activity, and or presentations of principles will burn them out if I try too many. (Horton, 2006) Instead, I have to balance presentations with activities so the students can get a little information and apply then return for more. (Horton, 2006)
I do not believe that comfort with technology and technology proficiency is the same thing. I see this every time I assign a PowerPoint to my students. I sit astonished at how painful listening to all the PowerPoint presentations are. I also get to enjoy the view, watching the back of my students’ head as they read from the board to me. Students know how to run PowerPoint, how to type information, know how to find a picture and drag it in, but they don’t know how to create an effective presentation, put only the important information (as opposed to every word) or save a picture and cite it. Our students and many adults have coping mechanisms for working with technology. People have found something that works ok, but don't continue to find out how technology should be used.
My students are currently using technology in their learning with almost all of the teachers, but they are not all learning with technology effectively. In my opinion, many teachers are not prepared to teach students using effective technology even though they are effective teachers. As David Perlmutter said, training is an obvious step to help close the technology gap between students and teachers. Teachers don’t have the education they need to be proficient in technology and pictures of the process doesn’t give a teacher thorough understanding. Just like the video You Can’t Be My Teacher, our kids are looking at how we are reacting to the new laptops. Students already know what teachers refuse to use the interactive whiteboards and technologies. They are already making assumptions that those teachers won’t let them use their laptops. The teachers are all good teachers, but don’t have the experience to use the technology. All teachers know when they are strong in their content their lessons are smoother, students understand more, and the students are more engaged. I believe learners who are comfortable with technology are more likely to become proficient if given the appropriate opportunities to learn or are self-motivated to find the training on their own.
Resources:
dcannelli (Poster). You can’t be my teacher [video]. (2009, October 25). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VSymMbMYHA&feature=youtu.be .
Horton, W. (2006). E-Learning by Design. San Francisco: Pfeiffer.
leemijeehoon (Poster). Honda ok factory ad [video]. (2006, October 29) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9B9UD5Hlp4 .
Perlmutter, D. (2011, July). Bridging the generational tech gap. Retrieved August 7, 2011, from thechronicle.com: http://chronicle.com/article/Bridging-the-Generational-Tech/128304/
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