Iphones, Ipads, and Ieverything else.

As my own observation shows and this gif demonstrates, students have their own hand-held devices that are constantly out and being fiddled with during class.  As teachers, we might as well face the fact that these devices are here to stay and find ways to have students utilize them in class.

While observing in my theatre class, the students were assigned a monologue project in which they had to find and present monologues.  I would have sent them to the library or provided them with monologue books to aid them in finding their pieces.  They, however, went straight to their phones, located their monologues on Youtube, and found scripts for them on Google.  I was amazed.  They did the same thing when they had to find music to use for their upcoming lipsynch project.  I think that we tend to believe that students aren't as tech savvy as they actually are.  Finding ways for them to use the technologies they are most comfortable with in the classroom is something to give thought to.

There are also a lot of websites that allow students to respond to survey/quiz questions in class by texting their answers with the program then calculating and displaying the results in real time.  I think websites like these are much better than those clicker things.  You don't have to pass them out and collect them back and worry about them getting damaged or stolen.  Again - simple solutions.

I also like the wireless carts that allow laptops to be used in the classroom.  While computer labs are nice, you have to deal with moving to the lab before class starts and then back to the classroom afterwards before dismissal.  This is very disruptive.  And there area lot of free programs for theatre that can be easily loaded onto school laptops.

Relying on students to use their own portable devices is a way to keep their interest and keep them involved.  I know I will be looking for various ways to use what would normally be disruptions in the classroom as an aid to teaching.

The Technology Divide

We spent some time in class talking about the technology gap between schools with a large amount of financial resources and schools who barely have enough resources to open every day.  We also talked about schools that either require or give electronic devices such as ipads or laptops to students to use in the classroom.

When it comes to the technological divide, it has to be agreed that children in economically-depressed areas are fallowing behind in the use of technology.  Even if they have laptops or desktop computers, chances are that they are obsolete or broken and there is no money for replacement and repair, thus depriving poor children of the same technological education that students in better-funded districts receive.  To allow this practice to continue places a "separate but equal" conundrum on the table withe argument that "well at least they HAVE computes, so they should be happy.  The concept of "separate but equal" died when the Brown vs. Board of Education decision was handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court.  In my opinion, allowing this disparity in technological education and resources must stop, and all schools should have truly equal access to technology in the classroom.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, other districts try giving techological devices to their students for free in an attempt to both familiarize them with technology and raise test scores.  But the truth of the matter is that the mere presence of technology in a school is not going to automatically transform children into technological whizzes.  Instead, technology must be integrated into lesson plans to support what is being taught in order to get the results you want.

I don't have any hard or fast answers to this problem.  But jobs are becoming more technologically driven and our failure to include meaningful technology use in the classroom is disadvantageous to students from all socioeconomic classes.  This is a problem that must be addressed sooner than later.

In Which We Get Organized......

I really enjoyed the research and presentations that we did about how we can use technology to make our professional lives more manageable.  I really believe that I will use some of the things that were presented.

I liked ALL of the apps that can be used to manage communications with parents and others.  They are surprisingly easy to use and are definite time savers.

 

I have been in a quandary over how to organize all the forms and articles that we're received over the course of our degree work that I would like to be able to access because they would be helpful.  I believe I will be using Live Binders for that - everything in one place. While it was mentioned as a way to keep in touch with parents in terms of assignments, etc., I think it's a bit too cumbersome and overwhelming for parents and students to deal with.  And this beats storing everything on your laptop and running the risk that your computer will crash and take everything with it.

 

Even though most school systems use Inifinite Campus, I think I will use Engrade for my own personal use.  I like the way that it automatically calculates grades.  Math is one of my other anxiety-producing areas, and Engrade will take the mystery of math out of the mix for me when it comes to grading. 

 

I was amazed at the sheer number of things out there for teachers.  Nathan and Hillary's presentation on apps for coaches was incredible.  Who would have thought that there was a "robotic" basketball that can keep stats?  I think for my purposes I like apps and programs that really do simplify things.  Some of them seem more trouble than they are worth.