Webb of Thoughts

Last Wednesday, we had three awesome presenters for ECMP 355.  They discussed how they are currently technology in their classrooms and warned us about some of the myths about teaching and technology.  I’m going to share with you one large idea that stuck with me from each of them.  Our presenters were Kathy Cassidy, Clarence Fisher and Darren Kuropatwa.

Students using technology for their work (from Flickr)

Darren Kurpatwa talked about scribe posts.  He explained how his students create their own textbook through scribe posts.  At the end of every class a certain student is nominated to create the scribe post summarizing the class.  He said that he had no part in creating the scribes, he simply comments on them the next day telling them what he liked about it and what could make it better.  This idea really stuck with me.  Today, in my field placement, I encouraged one student who knew what was going on to tell the other students what he knew.  Within minutes the students who did not understood were well on their way to grasping the concepts.  I would take at least twice as long myself for just a single student.  This really goes to prove how incredible students teaching each other can be.  I’m not sure why, perhaps it’s the social factor, perhaps they understand each other better, who knows.  What I do know, is that this works.  I will definitely be incorporating this concept into my teachings in the future.  I love the idea of the students creating their own text book and making as good and useful as they want it to be.  I really think that this will be a powerful teaching technique, especially when you have access to the resources and technology capable of this kind of work.

Child using iPhone (from Flickr)

Kathy Cassidy discussed how she has been able to incorporate technology into her grade one classroom.  I was really skeptical to think that students that young would be able to use technology effectively enough.  She also discussed and dismissed various myths regarding using technology in education.  The idea that stood out most for me was when she discussed how students need to have a balance of online work and pencil and paper work.  In this day and age, being able to write with a pencil and paper isn’t good enough.  Students will need to be able to type, text, and use video tools in their every day lives.  No doubt paper and pencil skills are essential, but now, more than ever so are these technological skills.  Education should being preparing students for the real world, the world outside of the school.  The real world is no longer limited to pencil and paper.  A student who is able to use these new skills in a productive manner when they graduate school will be one step ahead of his peers who did not get the opportunity to do so.

Students in Papua New Guinea connecting (from Flickr)

Clarence Fisher talked about his class and how they use blogs.  The idea that he talked about that got me thinking was that we need to give our students a sense of community.  We need them to know that it’s OK to look at other people’s work and to get information from others.  When I was a student, I wasn’t given this luxury.  If my thoughts didn’t come originally from my head it was as if I was cheating.  We weren’t encouraged to build off of each others work.  I can’t imagine how much better some of our projects or papers could have been had we been encouraged to work with one another.  We need our students to not only know about the resources around them, but how to use them.  The best resource they have is not the internet, but people.  The internet has the ability to connect them to people who know things that may be interested in.  Things that teachers may not be informed on.  I will never know everything as a teacher, but I do not want that to hold my students back.  If we, as teachers, can build this sense of community for our students, they will never have limitations on their learning.

I am really glad that our class was able to hear from these teachers.  They’re words of wisdom and ideas will no doubt affect how we teach in the future.   I hope other teachers will be able to get their message in some way as well.

(This is an assignment I just submitted for my education class.  I’ll warn you, it’s a long post)

Just over a year ago I decided I wanted to pursue a career in education.  Since then, many people have asked me why I wanted to become a teacher.  At first, I was not entirely sure why I wanted to.  I would tell them that I wanted to make a difference, to work with children, to have as many holidays as possible, and to be able coach sports.  Don’t get me wrong, those are all things that still motivate me to become a teacher.  However, now I attribute my desire to teach to something much different:  I want to be a better teacher than my teachers ever were.  My teachers were behind in the times and did not always have the passion and enthusiasm I hoped for.  I do not feel that they prepared me to live in the world of today.  I can barely apply anything I learned in school to the real world and I am very inadequate when it comes to using technology.  My students will not suffer through an education experience similar to mine.  I will be a better teacher by using relevant, real-world problems and examples and I will incorporate the incredible tools of technology that are at my disposal.

From Flickr (click to enlarge)

For me, the most difficult aspect of school was applying what I was learning to the world I was living in.  Whenever a classmate of mine asked “Why are we learning this?” we typically got a response similar to “because it will be on your exam”.  What motivation is there for students to retain knowledge if the only reason they are learning is because it will be on their exam?  Students do not want to learn what will be on their exam, they want to know how it connects to their lives in the “real world” (Burden, 2000).   If a teacher can illustrate a purpose to a particular lesson, the students are more likely to dig deeper and expand their interest in the subject matter (Curtis, 2001).  Eventually, using this approach will encourage students to make connections to other lessons they have learned and apply a greater amount of knowledge when trying to solve a problem (Curtis, 2001).

This lack of real world applications will be addressed when I begin to teach.  If I can give my students reasons to learn, they will retain their knowledge rather than dismissing it immediately after their exam (Curtis, 2001).   I will give my students the framework to apply everything they learn within the walls of my classroom to the vast world outside of those walls.  I want my students to be able to do more than pass the final exam; I want them to connect their classroom experiences to their real-world experiences (Linking the real world, 2002).  It makes sense to say that “lessons related to real issues in a community have greater meaning to students than textbook ones” (Linking the real world, 2002, para. 17).  When students can build on their education outside of class, school will feel like less of a chore and will be more exciting.  Learning will become an everyday practice when students can start applying their school knowledge outside of school.

From Flickr (click to enlarge)

Having real life applications to schoolwork will unquestionably motivate students to learn.  Elliot Solloway, a University of Michigan professor, suggests that motivation can also be increased when technology is implemented into lessons (Kiedrowski, Smale, & Gounko, 2009). Tools like the internet can be used to link students to the real world (Linking the real world, 2002).  These tools make teaching more effective and interesting by better illustrating concepts and help appeal to the imagination and creative minds of students.

Technology is a bigger part of the world than it has ever been in the past.  In the 2004-2005 school year, there was over $7-billion spent on technology in the United States (Leonard & Leonard, 2006).  However, most technology still sits and collects dust (Leonard & Leonard, 2006).  When I was a high school student, technology was a large part of my everyday life, but never a part of my education.   Perhaps my teachers weren’t confident or educated well enough to effectively use the tools available to them.  According to Leonard and Leonard, many teachers have struggled to advance past the initial stages of using technology and ultimately have difficulty seeing its potential to boost their teachings (2006).

Some people argue that technology is not needed in education.  Some say the best teachers use very little technology while others argue that it disrupts the classroom environment (Leonard & Leonard, 2006; Kiedrowsk et al., 2009).  This may be true; however, technology is here to stay and is currently transforming our world (Leonard & Leonard, 2006).   Should education not reflect this worldwide trend?  Teachers need to begin finding ways to use technology for educational gains instead of ignorantly banning it (Kiedrowsk et al., 2009).  New technology needs to be used to its full potential because students will be using it for the rest of their lives (Leonard & Leonard, 2006).  For example, if a student is capable to accurately and professionally T9 text message a colleague in the future, they will have one more essential workplace skill than a peer who did not have the opportunity to learn this skill in their education (Kiedrowsk et al., 2009).

From Flickr (click to enlarge)

As a teacher, I plan to utilize technology to its full extent.  I do not intend for it to compensate for my shortcomings, but rather for it to complement my abilities.   It will be my responsibility to use technology appropriately and to ensure that my students are educated on how to use it safely and effectively (Kiedrowsk et al., 2009).  In the United States, the Congress’ Office of Technology Assessment believes that integrating technology into classrooms is the most important step for developing students to live in the future (Leonard & Leonard, 2006).   If a class can be made more exciting through the use of multimedia or projects made more fun with technology, why not use it to do so?  Teachers should be doing everything in their power to make learning more exciting and interesting for students.

I do not want my students to have a discouraging education experience like I did.  I want to make their schooling fun, exciting and practical.   My students will be prepared to live in the real world outside the walls of my classroom.  By encouraging my students to connect what they have learned in my class to their real life, they will be better prepared to handle real world problems on their own.  I will give my students the tools to succeed by exposing them to the incredible technology of the world and encourage them to use it in a safe, effective, and creative manner for their entire lives.   I want to be the teacher who makes school relevant to the real world.

References

Burden, P. (2000). Powerful classroom management strategies: motivating students to learn. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications Inc.

Curtis, D. (2001, 11 1). Real-World Issues Motivate Students. Retrieved October 18, 2009, from Edutopia: http://www.edutopia.org/start-pyramid

Kiedrowski, J., Smale, W., & Gounko, T. (2009). Cellular Phones in Canadian Schools: A Legal Framework. Education Law Journal , 19 (1), 41-62.

Leonard, L. J., & Leonard, P. E. (2006). Leadership for Technology Integration: Computing the Reality. Alberta Journal of Educational Research , 52 (4), 212-224.

Linking the real world to the classroom. (2002). Retrieved October 15, 2009, from Teaching Today: http://www.glencoe.com/ps/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml