Research Article #2

Last week in class, we talked a little about interactive white boards. I wanted to learn a little more about them, so as I was digging, I decided to find a research article on interactive white boards. The one I found was written by Dr. Mary Ann Bell and can be found at http://teachers.net/gazette/JAN02/mabell.html

Dr. Bell first became interested in interactive white boards for middle school and library instruction. She thought that this technology could be used for large or small groups as well as distance learning. She found that student's attitudes improved towards writing instruction when using technology.

The author then gives a brief description of what exactly interactive whiteboards are and how they can be used in general and in the classroom. Dr. Bell then gives her "baker's dozen" reasons for why she is so enthusiastic about using interactive whiteboards in the classroom.

1-They are great for demonstrations. Adults and students alike can present things simply by using their fingers and everyone will be able to see the board.

2-She then describes interactive whiteboards as being a "colorful tool". There are many options for changing colors and sizes and students respond to displays where colors are used.

3-The board allows students with all types of learning styles to be involved: audio, visual, hands-on, etc.

4-The white board is a tool that can be used for all ages!

5-Interactive whiteboards are a great tool for distance learning. They can be connected and displayed for distant learning at more than one place around the world.

6-If you have limited computer use in your classroom, the white board allows many students to get involved instead of just one person at a computer.

7-Dr. Bell also says that the interactive whiteboard is a great thing to have for the constructivist educator. They are extremely adaptable and do not need additional software.

8-They are clean and attractive. No dry-erase markers, no chalk; simply the use of your finger or pen that comes with the interactive whiteboards.

9-This whiteboard makes it easy for student that have limited motor skills. Sometimes it's hard for students to use a mouse-this way, they can simply use their fingers.

10-It's INTERACTIVE! The teacher can be at the computer while the students are at the board. They are allowed to physically contribute their ideas.

11-Images and videos can easily be displayed on the whiteboard and students/teachers can mark on them or add text.

12-You can save any work that is done on the interactive whiteboard or print it.

13-Dr. Bell explains it as a "kid magnet". They are drawn to the board and are excited to use it whenever possible.

Research Article #1

For my research article, I came across archived information from the U.S. Department of Education. The title of the article is "Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students". The specific people that conducted the project are Dr. Ram Singh (U.S. Department of Education) and Dr. Barbara Means (Education and Health Division of SRI International).

There were seven areas that it covered:

• Change in Student and Teacher Roles
• Increased Motivation and Self Esteem
• Technical Skills
• Accomplishment of More Complex Tasks
• More Collaboration with Peers
• Increased Use of Outside Resources
• Improved Design Skills/Attention to Audience

The "role-changing" for students that it talked about was basically that students change from passive to active when using technology. The students are actively making choices and thinking about what they're doing while evaluating the whole process. The teacher changes roles to more of a facilitator of the activity rather than giving direct instruction. When using technology, usually the activity is more student centered and the teacher is there to support.

Next the article discusses the practically universal report of increased motivation in students when using technology in the classroom. The motivation that was reported ranged from wanting to work on computer skills in general, to the sense of accomplishment students would feel from the immediate response of the technology. It also discusses the increase of student self-esteem when using technology, which I thought was interesting. Students became more confident as they learned the technology and saw what they were capable of when using technology. Students relate technology to the real world and realize that they can accomplish a lot in life simply by using technology.

The article briefly discusses technical skills: The students will learn basic technical skills by using technology. Even as technology changes in their future, students will have that base knowledge and be able to adapt as changes to technology are inevitable to occur in our culture. Students will also accomplish more complex task by using technology because of it's supports and capabilities.

The article also stated that students will work collaboratively to teach each other basic skills of technology. Students that are familiar with these skills are very willing to share their knowledge and help others learn. There is also an increased use of outside resources that was found when using technology such as telecommunications.

Finally, the article goes over how technology improves design skills and attention to audience. There is greater awareness about the audience from students when they're presenting a multimedia project because they want to see the peer reactions to their work with technology. There are many different applications students can choose when doing a multimedia project. They can decide which application they want depending on what they are focusing on and what the best way to show it would be. One negative to this is that the students are spending less time on the content of their project and spending more time on worrying about the minor details of the design, such as the font.

http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/effectsstudents.html

Blogging in My Classroom

I think that the main purpose of writing a blog is to share your thoughts, ideas, videos, pictures, podcasts, etc. with others. The keyword here is share. In my classroom, I could make a class blog with all of these aspects to be able to share with parents, other teachers, and the community. Although I would have to do most of the work of recording this information in the class blog, I definitely still want the students to be involved. For example, if we went on a field trip, I would have the students give me their feedback--by video or podcast--of what they learned on the trip. Another thing I could do is post pictures of the students in the classroom. I could write a description of what the students were working on and attach pictures to view.

I could also include my teaching philosophy & different things I am experiencing as a first year teacher. Sometimes, like students, parents view teachers as ONLY teachers. It can be weird or funny to see teachers out of school or know anything personal about them. I would want the parents to feel like they can get to know me a little more personally through the class blog, so I might include some personal information (my favorites, interests, activities, etc.). This way, they would know my interests and hopefully they feel like they could come to me with any questions. I could describe some of the professional developments we have so that parents will be aware that teachers constantly continue to strive to do their best job at teaching their children. I could also post current news about the school and/or flyers for upcoming events.

There really is a LOT of different, exciting, interesting things teachers can include in a class blog. I think one of the keys would be once you start it, stay consistent with your posts. This makes it more exciting for others to check out on a regular basis. Also I think it's important to "mix it up"--use of videos, podcasts, discussions, posts, pictures, etc. This way it shouldn't get boring for the viewer.

Pondering...

As I was thinking about what I wanted to write for this blog entry, not much came to mind. Then I started to think about what the class is all about: Technololgy & Literacy. There are several things we learned in class about how we could use technology with literacy: ipads, digital storybooks, the I-spy activity, software programs, etc. I'm wondering how teachers could use technology with literacy if they didn't have the resources in their district. I know most teachers would not go out & purchase an ipad just because they don't have resources and wanted to use it in their classroom. What are some other ways to be creative in using technology that wouldn't be expensive if there were limited resources? The only thing I could really come up with was buying a stereo with headphones for a listening center-but even that is around $60. Not saying that teachers absolutely couldn't afford some of these things, but what are some inexpensive options, if any?

My brain is a bit fried for this week-and it's only Tuesday! Let me know if anyone has suggestions!

Follow-Up

This is sort of a follow-up on another blog I posted recently. I was discussing having educational technology workshops available for teachers. Well, the Smart Board workshop was held in my room yesterday & only 5 teachers (including myself) were there for it. I thought it was also interesting that one was a kindergarten teacher, two were first grade teachers, and two second grade. This made me think about the upper grades and their interest in technology. Why was it that k-2 were at the workshop? All students can benefit from Smart Boards: k-12 and even college students. Again, frustrating that only 5 people showed.
The technology support person for our district was the one that gave the presentation. This workshop was mainly for the purpose of learning how to set up the Smart Board and how to download the software needed on your computer. I got the software all downloaded (finally!) and now I can actually play with it on my computer without having to hook it up to the Smart Board. I like this because I don't have to be at school to learn about the programs that I downloaded. I will just have to keep in mind different ways that students can interact with the actual board when I do hook it up and callibrate it.
I have seen Smart Board presentations before, but I didn't actually have a chance to interact with it myself. I am excited to try it out and am so thankful that one Smart Board (out of 2 in the building) is in my classroom. One of the bad things about only having 2 Smart Boards in the building is availability. If several people wanted to use it (hopefully!) we would have to come up with some sort of schedule and then worry about moving it out of someone else's room. Another thing I don't like about the Smart Boards we have is that the projector is not attached to the top. Because I have to use the infocus for the projector, it is easily uncallibrated if moved only a little bit and I know that my first graders will be bumping the infocus!

Okay, my rant on workshops/Smart Boards is over :) Hope everyone is having a great week!

Digital Storytelling

Last week in class we learned about the digital storytelling project and got to see a few examples. They were all done very differently and I liked how we got to see these differences because it shows that we can take many angles to our story. My favorite one, by far, was the wedding one where the audience found out in the end that the whole story was really about her husband's brother! I really want to try to think of something that clever for my story, but I know it won't be that easy. I also know that I will have to find a few days to work on it because I haven't done anything like this since my freshman or sophomore year in college. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to remember. It will definitely be a good re-learning experience. I also would like to have my digital story be something that I could show my first graders. I think they would enjoy it and I could have an extention activity afterwards, depending on what my story is. I also liked the different points of view we got to watch in the examples. That is going to be another huge part of my story-deciding which point of view I would like to use. All in all, it sounds to me like I have a lot to think about and get started on!!

Workshops

I think in one of my last blogs (or someone else's) we talked about getting teachers interested in using different technologies by having some kind of workshop for school buildings. These workshops could include how to use technology & also how to use it effectively in your classroom. Last week, the technology coordinator in my building sent out an email asking teachers to sign up for Smart Board training. Only THREE people responded!! It was myself, another 1st grade teacher, and a 2nd grade teacher. This was just crazy to me. I know that we only have 2 Smart Boards in our building, but they are portable. I guess I don't understand why teachers wouldn't want to at least attend a workshop to see what the Smart Board can do & then decide if they're interested in using it in their classroom. Maybe teachers think that whatever they're doing in their classrooms now is working for them, so why change it? I don't know what exactly the mindset is, but I now think that instead of only offering workshops for technology, they should be required! I don't really like the idea of forcing technology on teachers, but I want them to at least see and know what technology can do in their classroom. Most importantly, they should learn how it can greatly benefit the students. Hopefully when I find out more details about this training/workshop, I will be able to recruit more of my colleagues!

Hope everyone is having a great week...