I have just read an article about the value of the Internet in today’s schooling system and it was quite interesting. Gelertner’s statement about how students are overwhelmed with learning today’s curriculum so the Internet shouldn’t be part of school life, got me thinking about how many other people have this opinion. I for one DON’T as I feel the Internet is an asset to any learning system as it has a wealth of information at the click of the button. Unlike libraries that are time consuming when searching for facts and they usually don’t have a full range of resources to sufficiently give answers, I am speaking from experience here! So I feel that this style of learning technology definitely supports student’s active learning as it is a time efficient mechanism with a wide range of uses.
Log on education: K-12 and the Internet Soloway, E. et al. (2000). K-12 and the Internet. Communications f the ACM 43(1), 19-25.
After reading this article Constructionism vs. Instructionism by Seymour Papert, I came to realise the importance of having a constructionist approach as a teacher, guiding the learners (students) on the academic journey. It explores ways in which technology enables students to use knowledge, not just store it in their heads. Even though the article was aimed at teaching and learning mathematics, I think it can be related to all areas of the curriculum, as I have witnessed lots of teachers who make students sit in classes and write down information, not describing it to every day life which they can relate to.
Sophie shares similar opinions to me in her blog, as we both feel that this approach should be used within schools.
After reading Wherefore art thou, Telecollaboration?by Judy Harris, it opened my eyes to the fact that most teachers use the Internet as an electronic library, not a place to get idea’s. This is quite distressing as I feel the Internet has a wealth of information and has assisted me with my practicum experience, offering ideas for lesson plans, and interactive support documents that can assist with teaching an interesting class. I used an interactive learning website Rainforest Maths, as a lesson filler for students who finished a maths lesson early. They saw this as a reward as they got to use the Internet – something which their teacher never usually incorporated within her lessons. But really it was a teaching tool, as they were using their recently developed 3D object skills and applying them to the online activities. A great global exercise was expressed within this article, where students wrote a novel with other students from across the world – what a fabulous idea! It not only gives students global ownership, but allows them to interact online with overseas students, getting them all to put their creative minds together.
Harris, J. (2002). Wherefore art though, telecollaboration? Learning and Leading with Technology, 29(6), 54-63.
I just read a commentary piece “The Pros and Cons of Technology in the Classroom” which was held ten years ago. It is about “educational technologies” and the positives and negatives to it, although there are very few “con’s” if it is used correctly. It is evident that technology is changing the way that students learn at school, with new tools being invented and upgraded all the time. A key issue in this debate is that it’s hard for teachers to find what’s available out there, as well as finding the time to learn how to use these effectively to enhance student learning. Judy Harris’s article backs up this statement, saying that only 33% of teachers intergrate technology well. I support their idea’s of teachers being a crucial link in the classroom, so if they don’t understand how to use classroom technology, they are not effectively teaching to the standards of today’s technologically advanced society. So maybe we need to allow the time for teachers to have some form of training to understand the way these work, providing more workshops and support during business hours.
I feel that if this piece were written today there would be the same issues I raised above, and I have seen it in action when at practicum. Many teachers had SMART boards, but were not properly trained in how to effectively use them, so this tool just sat switched off on the wall, while the teacher continued to use the white board.
Harris, J. (2002). Wherefore art though, telecollaboration? Learning and Leading with Technology, 29(6), 54-63.
Pea, R. & Cuban, L. (1998). The Pros and Cons of Technology in the Classroom. Bay Area School Reform Collaborative Funders’ Learning Community Meeting, Palo Alto, CA February 5, 1998
I was lucky enough to be placed at my old Primary School. Throughout my visit I witnessed many classes and it was interesting to see how technology has been integrated into the daily life of a student. If anyone were to finish a task early, they had the option of going to the class computers and using Rainforest Maths to enhance their skills in 3D shapes, which was a topic they had been studying. There were a lot of SMART board usage and students were presenting a lot more class work as typed documents, very different to when I were at school. We only had 1 computer room and the only time we used computers was in our weekly computer class! It will be interesting to see what the future holds for technology in classes!
I have been on Practicum and in this class I have been lucky enough to access an electronic whiteboard. Last year I was also placed in a class with this tool and only got to understand the very basics of it. This time round I was able to explore the technology more thoroughly, with the teacher giving me mini tutorials and I even sat in on a teacher training exercise, where the teachers were being informed of the latest offerings this piece of technology had. I have learnt that it isn’t just an electrical whiteboard, it provides easy access to the Internet, which in itself offers class lessons a wealth of information to support any area of the curriculum and captivates the audience more-so than a text book. Rudd raises the question that introducing such technology is insufficient to promote interactivity in the classroom, but how can this be when teachers are getting students to come and interact with the form of technology via such things as accessing the internet, which cannot be done with a regular whiteboard or even when reading from a book, it is a massive piece of visual stimulus!
If you are wanting to find out about podcasting and how to integrate this technology into the classroom, you must watch this video below by Colette Cassinelli, a technology evangelist. It demonstrates possible ways to engage students with learning and informs you of exactly what you need to get started, with many websites listed. I feel that teachers need to take some time to learn this advancement in technology as the possibilities for engaging students are endless. If teachers can get to the same level as these “digital natives” and get them learning the curriculum using the latest technology, then a fruitful and productive classroom environment should be achieved.
In regards to a blog a wrote a few days ago about electronic portfolio’s, I have found a few great websites that assist teachers with this movement in technology.
Teacher Tap, a professional development resource for teachers. There is a great list of articles, examples and links, providing good background information for electronic portfolios. ** HIGHLY RECOMENDED
Portfolio Resources, offers some great examples of electronic portfolio’s for student use in K-12, as well as assisting teachers in deciding what program is the best for them. Also more links to great sources
Yolanda Abrenica’s summary, has great info on how to create them, what to include and some more Internet sources!
It was interesting to read Kates opinion about the future of electronic classrooms and the article she referred to. I found this rather confronting and almost unrealistic and it made me wonder – who is going to fund this move towards a technologically advanced classroom? I can imagine that the majority of Australian parents can’t afford to buy each one of their children a personal laptop! Will it be just another item to add to the tax payers list? I do agree that it is the away of the future but not too sure if it is just around the corner for every school and who will cop the receipt!
After reading Sophie’s blog on electronic whiteboards and watching the debate, I would like to answer a few of her questions. I have used the electronic whiteboards before and believe they are a great learning tool but know they are really time-consuming when learning just the basics. This means that teachers have to be well prepared and also have to not only rely on this technology, but have back-up just in case it fails, leaving a lot of extra work for teacher!
