EDU 707: WEEK 02

D. M. Egan, Junior's Fall Semester 2016 Resources Related to EDU 707 Through CMU's Global Campus

WEEK 02 (October 31 - November 06):

Integration of Technology into the Classroom:

EDU 707

11-06-2016

WEEK O2 REFLECTION FOR COLLABORATION WITH CLASSMATES THROUGH BLACKBOARD DISCUSSION BOARD:

BEST PRACTICES FOR THE INTEGRATION of TECHNOLOGY

POINT I: I am delighted to be completing our second week together and I’m excited to share some of my thoughts with you! I believe that the proper INTEGRATION of TECHNOLOGY into the daily classroom experience, for PK -12 students, is critical if technology is to be used at all. I think we can all agree that without a reasonable amount of structure and planning, students who use technology in arbitrary ways are not necessarily achieving gains in their overall academic performance and, therefore, it might be reasonable to go back to the days of chalkboards rather than ignore the implementation of best practices (consider this last statement hyperbole) Further, I myself, as an EDU 707 student, submit the following premise: the sporadic and undirected use of the internet, and other forms of technology, generally will not constitute the higher echelons of cognitive engagement which we, as educators (parents, entrepreneurial-minded people and so on), desire students to experience so that measurable gains will typically be the outcome. Consequently, our concern, as it relates to educating students, ought to be mixing and combining 21st century technologies into daily classroom use so that students benefit beyond just having fun (which of course is okay in the proper order of things).

Incidentally, this relates back to EDU 662 (Applied Educational Measurement which I experienced with Professor Collings) in terms of how we were reminded, with crystal clear certainty, that teachers must allow assessment to drive instruction. Thus, I contend that in order for the utilization of technology, within any classroom experience, to be academically advantageous, instructors MUST perform their due diligence in making sure that such occurrences are actually rooted in scholastic concepts being defined, modeled, clarified, explored and adapted to a variety of situations. The reason for this, of course, is so that teachers can increase the likelihood that subsequent assessments will show measurable gains as proof that the use of the technology in any given situation was an appropriate use in the first place. With all of this being said, it is likely that seeds for other conversations have begun to sprout; yet, I want us to keep in mind that if teachers are not allowing principles of Bloom’s Taxonomy to be informing their decisions, concerning how to mix and combine the use of technology into lesson plans, then we should hopefully have consensus that such teachers ought to ask themselves why they are not and begin to explore for themselves the implications of why such a practice would positively transform the learning of their students. Finally, as Sherry had essentially pointed out in her thread/post for this Week 02 assignment, students absolutely need a reasonable amount of supervision when using technology rather than being turned loose to only do what they want, even if they have good intentions. I believe that this is critical for two key reasons: (1) teachers can make formative assessments and decide quickly as to whether or not a given technology-integrated activity is coordinated with a particular state standard concept(s) which will be assessed and, (2) assuming a given activity is in harmony with what will be assessed, students are able to receive appropriate scaffolding so that the benefits of the technology-rich activity can be maximized!

POINT II: BEST PRACTICES regarding the integration of technology into classroom experiences must be both research-based and intuitive. The White Paper article, entitled Best Practices in Education Technology, declares: “We are also beginning to see new collaborative approaches in which teachers and pupils are co-learners. Focus is increasingly on participation and negotiation rather than direction and instruction, giving students opportunities to act as nontraditional mentors providing support to other students and to teachers. This scenario can give students new insights into the education system and greater independence as learners” (page 4). I remember learning about the importance of collaboration when I taught in North Carolina. The school district who employed me was big on professional learning communities (PLC) for educators as well as students learning collaboratively in the classroom. This reminds me also of the science methods course I took at CMU as an undergraduate student and how the terms constructivism and inquiry based learning were introduced. It is imperative that both whole group and individual learning experiences take place with technology; yet, such experiences must be bridged together with ongoing communication about various academic topics and how they relate to the real-world.

Moreover, the White Paper article goes on to say: “Perhaps an important trend reflected by a changing approach to learning, with education being something that is done with learners rather than done to them, is particularly important” (page 9). I like this because it goes to the heart of the matter which is: (1) human beings learn best in environments where healthy interpersonal relationships are cultivated, i.e., students are made to feel included in a community of learning rather than treated as objects to which knowledge is imparted and (2) the use of technology in learning environments, as previously mentioned, should be approached in a collaborative, hands on way, in connection with the most effective methods for explicitly teaching, what can seem like an almost endless list of, state standard concepts which will be assessed.

Finally, I created a video last week and was able to volunteer at Renaissance Public School Academy where I used it as a means to engage students. The goal for me was to experiment with how to best create multi-media tutorials which help students to break math concepts into individual steps so that, eventually, they can grow strong with their critical thinking methodology when it comes to seeing the bigger picture in the world of math and beyond. I realize that it will only be through trial and error that I can learn how to most effectively harness technology as a means to support effective academic instruction. I would like advice on ways in which math and language arts concepts can be successfully communicated to students through various forms of technology so that even though I am no longer a classroom teacher, I can develop understanding in how to design tutorial-type resources to help students improve their academic competence. NOTE: please watch the video I created to document my efforts in connection with volunteering at RPSA in Isabella County last week. THANKS!

-Dennis
JTASP