This blog was created for the purposes for fulfilling a course requirement for ETEC 524. I will be updating through out this semester with my thoughts and reflections about using technology in education. Who knows if after this class is over I will keep up with it. I have always wanted my own blog, espcially with my many opinions about education.
The first educational technology organization I found was the IEEE Technical Committee on Learning Technology. (http://lttf.ieee.org/) IEEE is a larger organization, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. This part of the organization is part of the Computer Society in IEEE, and was founded to assist teachers and professionals in finding emerging technologies that can assist with learning. I selected this organization because they believe that technology can largely assist with learning and they are dedicated to finding out how best to do this. Through this class so far I have really started to look around at what technology we have just to have, and what technology is actually helping students. This organization provides introduction to different technologies, trainings, workshops, forums, and the ability for teachers to collaborate so that everyone has a better understanding of technology. Once we have a better understanding of different technologies, we can decide which would best help our students achieve the educational goals we have for them and they have for themselves.
The second organization I researched was EDC (Educational Development Center), and specifically the part of their group called ewit (http://www2.edc.org/ewit/) or Educator’s website for Information Technology. I really loved this part of the organization because it brings together professionals of all kinds such as Information Technology, K-12 teachers, and various other organizations to discuss and work with technology together. One of the biggest goals I want to achieve in my classroom is to have problems model the real world. With professionals and educators working together on technology we will be able to really see if the technology we are integrating not only meets our educational goals, but will be useful when students go into the workforce. This organization will help with technology integration, training and curriculum development, which is really the whole package when it comes to putting technology into the classroom.
My definition of Educational Technology
Educational Technology is about merging education and technology where it is beneficial to the students. Technology can take on many forms: computers, the web, iPads, video games, computer programming, Smartboards, etc. But integrating the technology is not good enough, we must make sure that the technology is helping education. It should be interactive, hands-on, fun, exciting, and give the students a different perspective then what they already have.In other words it should improve learning, not be a replacement of the teacher. Below is a Concept Map that shows my ideas in a more visual representation.
I think this definition aligns with my philosophy very well. In my philosophy I stated that I wanted to use hands-on, interactive methods to help students learn better and educational technology is a great way to accomplish that goal. Also in my philosophy I say that I feel the teacher should be a facilitator, which I feel also fits into my educational technology definition. The teacher is not being replaced by technology, but can better step into the role of facilitator with the help of technology.
I choose teaching as a career because I wanted to make a difference. But the real question is: A difference in what? When I think back on all the teachers in my life, the ones I remember most as the ones that instilled confidence in me, and helped me figure out how I learn best. The content in most cases was irrelevant. This has instilled in me the ability to learn and the curiosity to want to learn. I truly believe that this is the most critical part of education. I want to help my students develop the skills that will help them in all aspects of life, not just in one particular subject. In other words I want to teach them how to think, not just teach them what to know.
After researching educational philosophies I believe that my own philosophy is best described as a combination of Constructivism and Pragmatism. I believe that education should be focused on using real life examples and situations to help students learn the material that we are required to teach. This puts concepts into practice that in turn helps students learn and remember them better. But even more importantly this approach helps them learn how to think critically and solve problems on their own. To me, the process of thinking and learning is more important the material itself in most cases. As I look back I see these skills as the ones that have helped me the most in my life, and I want my students to have those skills.
In a classroom that is fulfilling my philosophy, I see teacher and student roles being very different then the traditional classroom. I believe that the teacher should be a facilitator, instead of the leader. If the teacher assumes this role then the students are searching for, finding, and internalizing information instead of just being given information on the board. In this kind of classroom the student’s role should be to take control of their learning and have a thirst for knowledge. When they leave my classroom I want them to have critical thinking skills, curiosity about things they don’t know, and the skills to be able to find out more about those things.
As an engineering and robotics teacher I plan to accomplish these goals in many ways. First I want my assignments and projects to model real world problems and present a challenge to the students. I plan to use scaffolding questioning to help them achieve things that they may not have thought they were capable off. Second I want to offer them the opportunity in these projects to be creative and let their unique point of view shine. Lastly I want to create an environment where they feel safe, they can be themselves, and where they can have fun. Not only do these three methods go along with my overall philosophy, they also help the students develop confidence in themselves.
Technology can help me with these goals in multiple ways. First having computers in my classroom would allow students to do research on their own and find information that they want/need to know. Also as a technology teacher one of the subjects I teach in computer programming, which you need computers and various types of software for. Programming offers the ability to meet a lot of my educational goals. It is one of the best ways to develop critical thinking and problem solving skills because you must learn to “think like the program.”
In conclusion, my educational philosophy is very student centered. I want the students to develop these skills and qualities with little interaction from the teacher. I believe that by doing this I will leave a longer lasting impression on my students and they will be more prepared for life after school. There are many aspects of technology that I believe will help me achieve this. Not only the ones that I have already listed, but ones that I don’t know about yet, that I am hoping to find out about soon.
Review of Educational Blogging Article
At this point in time I see blogging in education very similarly as Stephen Downes. I think that it’s best uses are for the purposes of communication between students, parents, and teachers. Using a blog to post assignments, link to web articles or resources, reminders on homework, etc. I think you can really have an impact on how students perform and learn. I also think using a blog as a homework “helpline” would also be useful. A central pace where students could ask questions. Of course it would need to be monitored by the teacher to do this effectively.
I think that we have not yet reached the potential that Downes outlined in 2004 for educational blogging. I also think the level reached differs by grade level, district, town, and state. I think college level classes are the farthest along in working towards this potential. There are tons of online aspects in college now, blogs, chat rooms, 100% online classes. This whole class/assignment is living proof that the potential is being reached in some places. I feel like high school and lower are lagging behind. I think this is because of many things. First as a whole colleges have more ability to purchase and use the right technology in the right way. Second I think overall in elementary and secondary education there is somewhat of a “this is the way we’ve always done it, so this is the way we will continue to do it” attitude. Just by working in a high school I have experienced this attitude time and time again. It may be different in other places, but I don’t really know. I think we have a long way to go to reach the full potential of using blogs as an educational tool.
Review of Alan November’s Article
The article Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning,by Alan November, outlined six different areas about technology and education that deserve attention. The area that stood out to me the most was his discussion about Automating vs. Informating. Since first reading about this concept I have thought a lot about it, and it has even crept into my conversations about various topics. In summery November points out that we shouldn’t be throwing technology at things just for the sake of saying we have technology. What we really should be focusing on is creating educational goals and plans and then figuring out which technology can help us achieve those goals. After a quick search I found this video that outlines this concept.
I have meditated on this fact and gone back and forth about what I consider automating and what I consider informating. For example, November says in this article “if we automate report cards the result is we have prettier report cards, but we don’t improve learning.” My problem with this statement is that I would add to the end of it “we don’t improve learning directly.” But I would argue that automating report cards on the surface doesn’t improve learning, but ultimately it does. If we automate report cards it is faster for the teachers and the administration to enter grades and generate reports. Guess what I spend that extra time doing? Improving my lessons! And that DOES improve learning. So what I consider automating and/or informating may differ from this article a bit.
None the less, I think the concept as a whole has a lot of validity in education as a whole. It made me consider if I was choosing an online curriculum for my engineering class because it was better for the students, or just because it was using technology? Well the answer to that was hard to figure out for me, and in fact I am still weighing it out in my head and researching it more to find the answer.
What this article really helped me with was to apply this concept to other areas of education. Our administration preaches to us “Use at least two hands-on activities per class period.” Well that’s all well and good, but are we putting hands on activities in the class because they are the new buzz word and everyone wants them or are they actually helping student learning? In just a week of using this philosophy I’ve been able to cut out a lot of things I was doing in the classroom “just because” and have really started to focus on thinking about the goal of my lesson and what I can best use to achieve it.
Expectations
Lastly, I want to discuss my expectations from this course. In a recent conversation with someone I learned a couple of very useful web site building tips that I had never known before. I said to the person that taught them to me “You know, sometimes I think I’m tech savy, but it’s moments like these I realize I am really not.” I’m hoping that this course will not only teach me some new and interesting things about technology, but also how I can utilize them in the classroom to help my students learn better.
