27
April
2009
Well, I’m pretty psyched about this “free choice” blog as I just recently heard about a new way of learning using technology that kids love in the classroom, iPods! Many schools are turning to iPods for a variety of reasons in the classroom which I will go into detail on in a moment. I think it is a great idea as you see kids everywhere with iPods, so it is a great way to keep them interested and motivated in school. I feel there are some advantages and disadvantages of using iPods in the classroom though which I will discuss throughout my blog.
To begin, according to the article “Ingenuity and iPods: Exploring Their Many Uses in the Classroom” from Edutopia, iPods are used for many things in the classroom. This article mentions uses such as how, “Students recorded interviews for their social studies projects. They made digital stories based on poems they had written and used the iPods for getting the sound into their iMovies”. All of these ideas are wonderful. They went on to mention more uses for the iPods in the classrooms such as when one of the teachers mentions, “using them to record student responses while giving individual reading tests. Audio books downloaded to the iPods have also been popular with students. By the end of the year, we had moved on to podcasting. One English class did a weekly podcast of the class newsletter for parents”. This particular teacher said at first he was not sure why the school had purchased the iPods but soon began to think they needed more of them! These are the kinds of teachers we need in schools, the ones who are not afraid to try something new and to take on the challenges posed by the school systems so that students can learn more about technology.
Another article I read was titled, “Using iPods in the Early Childhood Classroom” from Mrs. Levin’s Pre-K pages. This article was especially interesting to me as I teach first grade and found the various uses she has come up with for the iPods very interesting. Mrs Levin states, “At first I was a little hesitant about what to do with it other than listen to music, but soon my eyes were opened wide!” She says that she has used her iPods for creating music to go along with classroom units or themes, music for classroom management, colors, numbers, shapes and letters. Wow! There are so many neat things to do with iPods in the early classroom that I did not even think of. She also says that now she does not have to worry about switching cd’s all of the time and can just use her iPod. She also uses her iPods for her listening centers and says, “You can easily record your own voice reading the stories in digital audio format (Audacity) so any book can become a part of your iPod listening center”. This would be great for my classroom as we have phonics readers as part of our reading series that are not available on cd, so I could incorporate those into my listening center if we were to get iPods. She also uses iTunes as a listening center. Mrs. Levin is also creating podcasts for parents to listen to who are not able to attend school functions, which means they send the iPods home with the children. A contract has to be signed, but I’m not quite sure how well this would work out in my school. I feel that the iPods could disappear. I am all for the use in the classroom, but I am not sure about sending the iPods home with the students and even some of the parents because of the cost of the software. Mrs. Levin is another example of how teachers can go the extra mile to try something new and really take off with it.
I also read the article, “iPods in Education” from the T4-Jordan School District website. This school district is also using iPods for learning. They have used them for “podcasts, audiobooks from a variety of authors, music to supplement a history lesson and bring rich cultural, historical and educational value to all subject areas as well as for photos to bring new life to a science experiment, art history and journalism projects and for videos so students can experience a range of visual content from short documentaries to foreign language lessons” as was mentioned in the article. These iPods seem to be used for older students by the sounds of what they are learning with the iPods.
There is also an article titled, “iPods in the Classroom” from the site called Campus Grotto. It talks about how Duke University was the first college to use iPods in the classroom. There was a grant that was written to give every incoming freshman an iPod when they came in. The article says that the professors, “would upload class notes online and make them available for students to download to their iPod, making it easier for them to study on the go. Class lectures and other presentations were also made available for every student”. This is a great ideas rather than to make students take notes. They could instead just listen in class and then review the notes later on their iPods. I would think that this would make students come to class less though. The professors also found that, “a few of them decided to do their own thing with it and even went as far as to use it as a distraction in the classroom”. The article said that, “Other potential benefits of the iPod in the classroom include the ability to record lectures and take oral notes while studying”. They also said that iPods cold help the environment as there would be less paper used on note-taking, which I had not even thought of, but it is definitely true. There still remains the issue of the students who are not using the iPod correctly, which to me would mean to take it away from them. If they had to sign some type of contract when they got them saying they would not use the iPod in a distracting way in the classrooms maybe they would think twice about the use of the iPod, and if they violate it, they lose it, plain and simple.
As you can see, there are many uses for the iPod in the classroom. The major problem that I feel that my school district would face is teachers resisting it. They would feel that it is a waste of money or that they were pointless in the classroom. This is why teachers should be given workshops on how to use new types of technology such as the iPod. If they could see all of the possibilities that iPods are capable of, they may actually want to try it and like it. The only solution that I can think of for this since money is short in most counties right now is to apply for some type of grant as Mrs. Levin did for her school. Maybe the grant could include money for training teachers in using the iPods in their classrooms. I feel that if teachers would just open their eyes and see that students are becoming more and more technologically advanced, that they would raise their own standards and want to learn more about what kids are interested in to keep them focused on their education and not what they are going to do when they get home from school. If students had things to look forward to using in school such as iPods, they may actually be motivated to come every day! I know how excited my students get when it is their turn to just use the computers in my classroom, so imagine what having an iPod would do!
The down side is the money situation right now. Where do we get the money? We could apply for grants as I said before, but that does not mean we will get it. There is also the issue of kids taking them home as they do in Mrs. Levin’s classroom. I’m not sure that I would let this happen in my classroom as I would be afraid to send home such an expensive piece of technology. I think classroom use would probably be the best way to use the iPods. There would also be the issue of teachers themselves learning how to use the iPods. Surely some teachers would not learn all of the uses in one workshop, there would have to be numerous ones which would have to also be mentioned in the grants. There is also the issue of someone having to install all of the software for us in our schools as we are not allowed to download anything without a tech. This could pose a problem as in our schools in my county, we sometimes have to ask for things numerous times before it is actually done concerning computer downloads and technology problems that need to be fixed. Maybe if they took the summer to download the software on everyone’s computer and did the workshops then, there would not be a big problem. We would be ready to start at the beginning of the school year.
I think that all of the uses that I found for iPods in the classroom are fantastic! There are ideas on the internet for children in Pre-K all the way up to college! Imagine how advanced students would be by the end of just their elementary school career if they were given the opportunity to work with iPods every year. They would be very fortunate and ready for one more thing they will face in the real world.
As I read my classmates blogs, I found that they too agree with putting more technology into the school systems. For example when Gisele talks about social networking sites she asks the question, “Shouldn’t we show students how to safely use networking sites instead of letting them go out and explore them on their own and most likely make mistakes?” I agree with her. Students are going home and using these tools in their homes and are talking to strangers, posting pictures that should not be posted and even ending up being harrassed by others on these sites. If these tools were not blocked at schools, we could teach them the right way to use these tools and how to do so safely. Jason C. also talks about the blocking of programs or school filters in his blog as he says, “Most school’s on the Eastern Shore have Firewalls that monitor the sites that are allowed to be viewed. This comes to many educators dismay because of the incredible usefulness of some sites that are currently blocked.” I could not agree more. As I mentioned above, we have to teach students the right way to use these tools, just as we have to teach them the right ways to use iPods in the classroom without them being a distraction. I feel that Jason’s solution for schools is “educating our students on what is purposeful navigation while in school”. This would solve all of the problems of students getting into trouble with finding their ways around firewalls and looking at inappropriate material. We are the ones who have to teach them right from wrong so why not do so in the school setting, just as we would with the iPods.
Posted under Blog Assignments
10
April
2009
Wow! I am really fascinated by the articles that I read on online learning. I had no idea so much online learning was taking place in schools. I thought that only colleges were the places where virtual course were being offered. This is a really neat way to get your education.
I do feel however that there are some disadvantages to online learning. To begin, as it said in the article from Edutopia titled “The Virtual Classroom Redefines Education” students still need social interactions with their peers. “Schools play a tremendous role in socialization and in the community” is what a teacher at the University of Washington states. I agree absolutely. Students still have to learn social skills in schools in order to be a successful citizen of the United States. You have to be able to get along and work with others to hold a job. I am also not sure about all students having to take online course. Some students may not be motivated enough for the courses. A teacher named Matt Wicks states, “Students must be willing to take responsibility for their own learning”. There are so many students who are not motivated to do the work with the teacher right there nagging them to death. What are they going to do if they have to be responsible for getting things done on their own? I do not think it is a good idea for it to be a graduation requirement as we just may hold more students back from getting their diplomas and getting a good job. We already ask so much of students before they graduate and I think this would really make some people drop out or even not graduate and we already have enough of that. I also agree with Gisele as she says, “By offering courses that are not your typical high school classes only a select few will be able to have access to them. What about the students who can’t afford the computer or internet? The article also touched on another issues.” To me, this is extremely true now as we are in tough economic times and students really may not be able to afford computers or the internet. So how can we expect them to do their homework or take online classes? If it were all available at school, then it would be not problem, but I think the point of it is to be able to take classes from home as there may not be enough teachers for a particular class.
It could however, reduce the digital divide. Students would all be required to learn the same types of things in these courses. If all students had to take an online learning course, they would all be involved in some type of technology learning leaving no one behind regardless or socioeconomic status, race, or gender. The classes would have to be available in and out of the classroom so that children without a computer would be able to participate, but other than that, this aspect of the online learning could be a good one. It would eliminate the problem of some people being more qualified for technology based jobs than others if they all had to take part in some type of online learning.
I already addressed the student achievement part and its negativities with people not being motivated and possible not being able to graduate. I do feel that it could help student achievement as well. It is a different way of learning and communicating. As we just learned in “The World is Flat” most people jump at the chance of new ways of communicating with others. With online learning, they can not only communicate with people in the school, but also across the country and even the world as we learning in the article “The Virtual Classroom Redifines Education”. Also, some students may be more motivated to do their work online unlike the people who may not be. If they are like myself, they do not like to speak in front of groups of people and voice their opinions face to face. It is much easier for them to do this online. For these types of people online learning could be a great way to show exactly what they think and how they feel. They could also learn about different cultures as they talk to others throughout the world. On the International Association for K-12 Online Learing, it states “85% of 17 year olds have gone online to get information about a college, university or other school they were thinking about attending”. This is another reason we need to be teaching about the internet and possibly even making students take online course, to prepare them for their future in searching for things such as these or for their college or future career.
We as teachers can prepare students for online learning by making sure in elementary schools that they are immersed in technology. They have to learn keyboarding skills, which they begin to learn at our school with the librarian as they take their media class. They also have to learn how to use the internet, e-mail, chat devices and other forms of online technology. If we begin this in early grades, the transition to these online classes would be much easier for students and they would be motivated to learn. Anytime we can transfer our curriculum into something that can be technology driven, we should. According to the International Association for K-12 Online Learning website, teachers said “those who teach online reported positive improvements in face-to-face too”. Maybe this builds their confidence level as they seem to get positive comments on what they discuss online, making them feel more secure with what they are saying offline.
This issue would definitely affect future and current teachers in schools. For example, I know that they are probably some teachers in my school that would freak out if they were told they had to teach on online class. Like the teacher from the article, “The Virtual Classroom Redefines Education” said, “It was almost as if I was a brand-new teacher again”. I am sure that I would feel this way at first as well. It is a whole different way of teaching and just like some people are wonderful classroom teachers, others may be wonderful online teachers. They may be better at one than the other. I think it would be very hard for me to teach an online course as I like to engage students in their thinking and hear what they say face to face as I continue to ask questions until they finally understand. I know that this is also possible with online learning, but it is just not as fast. New teachers may adapt better to it because they are new and do not know any different. They may be trained more in technology as well. Most likely they are which gives them the advantage over the current teachers in schools. This is why I feel that it is important for all teachers to take at least one technology credit or workshop to help improve their skills. This could come along in our county some day and we need to be prepared for it.
I honestly had no idea that so many courses were already offered online in Maryland. As I looked at the “Welcome to Maryland Learning Opportunities” website, I was amazed! It’s sad to say but I did not even know there was such a thing as Maryland Virtual Schools. I am definitely going to share this with teachers at my school as I know some would be very interested to learn about it. It’s great to see that our state is staying up to par with things.
In all, online learning has some ups and some downs. I liked when Vicki said, “I am taking both types of classes right now. I feel I put more time in on my online class because it contains deeper concepts”. I definitely agree, I am taking both types of classes as well and I feel like I put more time into this class. It makes you think about issues and concepts a lot more. I also think it could really help students with busy schedules like the ones mentioned in the article and video. I also feel that it could close the achievement gap. We also have to remember the lower level learners who are not motivated though. Is this really the best thing for them? We as teachers need to be prepared for online learning as well as it could be a requirement here at any time and who is going to teach these kids about technology if we don’t?
Posted under Blog Assignments
9
March
2009
This is actually a topic that I have thought about a lot lately. To begin, there are all kinds of issues with internet security. You hear a lot of stories about teenagers hacking into teachers gradebooks online and changing grades, which actually happened in the county I teach in last year. Schools are more worried about security in the school itself than in the online school community. As I read in the article, “One-third of school systems say security needs improvement” by Joel Griffin, he states, “School districts managed to improve their physical safety score by 39 percent from the previous year’s index, but during that same time period, their cyber safety scores declined by 25 percent”. This to me is scary as students and teachers are more involved online now than ever, not to mention, grades and personal information for schools being stored in computer based programs. This is also mentioned in the article, “Public Schools Increase Public Security, But Cybersecurity Declines” from Information Week by K.C. Jones. He says, “The firm released its 2008 School Safety Index on Monday. The annual report found that American public school districts have improved their physical safety, but cybersafety scores dropped by 25% since last year”. This shows that school systems are not taking this as seriously as they should. According to this same article by Jones, there have been problems with schools still using general log-ins rather than passwords and individual log-ins as well as a problem withi internet hacking. The physical security, I do agree is important, such as the use of cameras in buses and hallways in some schools, but I feel that the internet security is equally as important.
This is an issue for me as a teacher and my students for several reasons. To begin, we use a system called Powergrade in our county to store students’ grades. We of course have log-ins and passwords, but they could still be hacked into. We also do our report cards on the Powerschool network which involves the internet. As it is said on the Teacher Tube video that Dr. Royer shared with us, teens are the most likely people to hack into internet accounts not knowing how much trouble it causes. As Gisele stated in her blog, “If students themselves can hack into school systems from their home computers what about outside hackers? How do we prevent this from happening and protect our students from potential harm?”. This is what I worry about the most in my classroom with first graders. They would probably think that it is neat to talk to anyone on the internet, so I feel that it would be a great time to combine internet security and internet safety. With our high school and middle school students, I am sure there are some students in our county who have knowledge of these types of things and could do this. It scares me because on the Powerschool system, it also lists information such as the students’ social securtiy numbers, birthdates, home addresses and phone numbers. If someone forgot to log off one time, or if a student or even a parent got onto this site, they could have access to so much personal information about other students in the schools. This is why we do have individual log-ins and passwords and that it is stressed over and over to us not leave the computer without logging off of this program. We also have to log off of our computers or shut them down before we leave schools every day as we do not know who may end up in our classrooms when we leave for the day, and could have access to all of the information we have stored on our computers as well as access to our e-mail accounts. We also have individual log-ins at our school for our e-mail accounts so that others can not just look at personal issues between us and other people in the county. Our students do not use individual accounts, but there are general log-ins for classes that we use with the students if we are trying to log them into a program such as their Starmath test, or their SRI test. It is so important that we log them off when they are done as we do not want other students to see their scores or even some other teachers for that matter. What your students do is your business and theirs, as well as the other adults in the building who should have access to it, such as the principal, reading coach and math facilitator. A lot of it is up to us as teachers to remember to log off when we are not using the internet or other technology in the school so that we can keep it confidential. We have to remind students who do have passwords and log ins to not share the information with people such as their friends, and not to accept e-mails from others we do not know so we avoid viruses in the school system as was also mentioned on the Teacher Tube video Dr. Royer shared.
There are lots of problem when it comes to internet security, such as money. I like when Gisele said, “Maybe we should ask Obama for more money to protect our student’s information from being accessed by potential pedophiles? “. What a great idea if only it were possible!! 
It is not possible though, so what can we do? Kids are in danger every day as they get on the internet. We need to be the ones to teach them not to be those people who try to hack on. We need to show them how to install firewalls and virus scanners as the teacher tube video stated. Viruses are so easily caught through emails and other programs that are downloaded. We need to teach children not to open mail from people they do not know as it could be a potential virus as was also stated on teachertube.
Basically, it is up to us as educators to teach children about internet security. We need to teach them these types of things before they are even allowed to be on the internet in schools. There are so many hackers and viruses out there, so we need to teach them how to handle these types of situations. Money is the other problem. If we had money, we could get teachers and librarians (who have the most access to computers) some sort of training on internet security so that it isn’t so scary. Librarians could even just be trained and then train the teachers so that it may not be as costly. The librarians in turn could also teach the children how to use their internet safety sense. In all, it is up again to us as educators to teach children right from wrong. Maybe if they were educated about the consequences beforehand, they would think twice about commiting the crime or letting it happen to them.
Posted under Blog Assignments
2
March
2009
Copyright is best defined in the article by Technology Support Services which states, “Copyright law gives the author of a creative work the exclusive right to control who can make copies, perform in public, or make works derived from their work”. ”Generally speaking, the copyright laws exist for three basic reasons: to reward authors for their creative works; to encourage availability of the works to the general public; and to facilitate access and use of the works by the public in appropriate situations” as stated in the article “An Ethical Edge in Education: Cognizance of Copyrights and Copywrongs” by Duane Goehner. There are some rules and restrictions when it comes to copyrights which can have harsh penalties if they are broken. When trying to research things for this blog, it was hard to put things in here as I was afraid that I was breaking copyright as everything had a copyright at the bottom of the page and I was nervous to use it! I will sum up what I have researched to the best of my ability. To begin, copyright protects all things that an author has written. You can not take the work of someone else and use it as your own or use it for educational purposes unless you have permission which was said on many websites numerous times and in many articles that were read. I like the article “Copyright Laws-12 Do’s and Don’ts” when it says, “Do quote something you find interesting” and how it also says “the quote should involve only a small portion of the work, and not the heart”. This made me feel a little better about just typing this blog as I found some very useful information that I wanted to share. As I read all of these articles that Dr. Royer has shared with us, it seems that they all have the same ideas, either get permission from the author for the use of the information or use small portions and cite your information. If you do these things, you can not go wrong, just do not credit yourself for the work.
I am always careful and quote what I am not sure about as I do not want it to come back and bite me in the long run. If I saw the idea somewhere else, then I feel that it is not mine and I want to give that person credit for all of their hard work and accomplishments which is why I believe there is a copyright after all. I would not want someone to come and steal all of my hard work. I have made sure, just in this blog, that I have cited my evidence to let people know that these are not all of my ideas, but that I feel that they were wonderful to use, so I used quotation marks and citations to give the authors credit for their hard work. All of these rules sound simple to follow, but they are very easy to break. Just make sure you have permission to use these things if they have a copyright is the best policy to probably abide by.
We as teachers need to be very careful about this in our classrooms, especially when using the internet today. It is very easy to just cut and paste things without giving the appropriate person credit and we want to make sure that we are not doing this as our students would then think it is okay. There are so many sites today where students can get papers and other sources of work or information and they think it is okay to just do this, we have to teach them that it is not. I found that in my other class that I am taking as I made my webquest, that it is hard to find images that are readily available to place on there that do not have a copyright. This has made me very cautious as I do not want to be the person in court over a picture of a fish on a website. As I took my research class last semester, I was always very cautious about the material that I used and made sure that I quoted whatever information I got from somewhere else. We also have to be careful when copying things on the copy machine, and to make sure before we are copying things that we do have permission to do so before we just take the information or work and hand it out to the students if it has a copyright. A copyright pretty much means “hands off” unless you have permission from the author, so get permission first!
As I read Gisele’s blog, I found that she also saw a website that I had seen http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm#Introduction . It lists the seven categories of copyright which are:
1. Literary Works
2. Musical Works
3. Dramatic Works
4. pantomimed and choreographed works
5. Pictorial, graphics and sculptured works
6. motion pictures and audiovisual works
7. Sound recordings
All of these categories have copyrights and you are not allowed to use them unless you get permission from the author or cite the information that you use. Gisele also talked about not really knowing what creative commons was before she started this class. I have to admit, I had no clue either, but now it is crystal clear to me and I will explain it further in this blog. I love Gisele’s quote, “But as teachers shouldn’t we be allowed to use copyrighted material if it is for the greater good and educational purposes? I agree with this one hundred percent! This is again where fair use and creative commons comes into play. We have to make sure that we still have permission and that the material was meant to be used for education before it is just used, so as long as we do that, we will be okay as educators.
Creative commons is still using a copyright, but with less restrictions. With creative commons, people usually want to share their work as was stated in the YouTube video that Dr. Royer shared. You can do things such as let people modify your work or even let them take parts of it. It is up to you as the author as to how restrictive you want your creative commons license to be. You get to choose what they can use and what they can not! It is really pretty neat if you want to share your information with others so that they can widen their knowledge. If you are a person who wants to use a creative commons work by an author, then you must abide by their restrictions and use only what they allow as was also indicated on the YouTube Creative Commons video shared by Dr. Royer.
This is pretty much the same as copyright when using it in the classroom, but you may only use the parts that are okay to be shared as stated in the creative commons license issued by the author. If it is a part that you really like, but it is not okay to use, just do not use it or see if you can get in touch with the author and try to get permission to use it. Sometimes we just have to look for that information in different places until we find somewhere that it is okay to use it. We also need to teach this rule to our students, especially if they are using the internet as a source of infomation for a research project, or to create their own webquest or website as it is very easy to just take a picture or a piece of music and attach it without even checking to see if there is a copyright. It should be a part of our introductory lesson. We as teachers also need to beware of these same things as we are short on time and it is easy to just cut and paste things, but we really need to look to make sure we are not violating any copyright laws.
Finally, there is fair use. Fair use is defined in Wikipedia as, “a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as use for scholarship or review”. This means that you can use parts of the article or document for educational purposes or to review them, but not as your own work. You have to again cite the things that you find that are not yours. You can use facts as long as you cite them in your work. It again is important that you only use a small portion of the text, and not a huge piece as that would constitute as plagiarism.
We have to teach this to our students as well. It pretty much goes hand in hand with copyright and creative commons as you either have to cite what you are using, use only a small portion or get permission from the author. They have to know that it again is not okay to take the work of someone else and use it as their own.
When I read Will Richardson’s blog it never even occured to me that the use of lesson plans off of the internet was another form of copyright infringement. He states, “My friend Bruce Dixon pointed out to me a few weeks ago that if you do a search for “lesson plans” in Google you get almost 9 million hits”. This is something that I was very aware of, but never really put it in the copyright infringement category. I guess it is the work of another person though and it is important to have their permission before you use them. You should check for copyrights, or even probably email this person to find out if it is okay to use their plans before you just steal them for your own personal use. Most likely, if it is on the web, it is probably okay because they wanted to share it, but it is still best to make sure. I also find it amazing in the blog “$12.50 For Five Words” how they are going to start charging people to copy and paste information into their blogs. Will himself says that he is guilty of this in his blogs and that it will “cost him”. I find this truly amazing! We really need to educate our students about these things as it could save them a lot of trouble in the future.
Today with the illegal sharing of music files, school reports, pictures that are copyrighted and I’m sure so many other things that I am not even aware of, it is important that we as teachers are educated about these things as well as our students. You could end up in a lot of trouble just by copying something as small as a two minute song. We have to educate ourselves, which could be done by taking classes such as this one, or to have professional developments in schools for our teachers pertaining to copyright laws with our new use of technology in the classroom. We could then be educated enough to share these types of things with our students so that they know what is okay and what is not.
In all, the safest thing to do is to abide by all copyright laws, use only a small amount of information from the sites or books you read, cite the informaiton you do use, or get permission from the author. If you follow these simple rules, you could stay out of copyright infringement issues.
Posted under Blog Assignments
23
February
2009
Well, to start off, before I started this class, I had no idea what a digital divide even was. I had never heard this term before. Since this is the topic that I will be covering for my final project, I had already begun to research the topic to gain some familiarity with it. Now that I know that it is the gap between races, genders and socioeconomic statuses when it comes to using the internet and technology, I have thought of it many times. I had just never heard it called the digital divide.
For this blog, I have chosen to focus on the racial digital divide. There is so much research that has been done in this area. Since my school has many different races, caucasion, african-american, hispanic, asian-pacific islanders and more, I figured it was a good idea to find out just what they may have access to and what they know about using it. After reading through a lot of research, yes indeed, a racial digital divide does exist in the United States. In a study done in the year 2005 titled, “Are We Really A Nation Online? Ethnic and Racial Disparites in Access to Technology and Their Consequences” by Robert W. Fairlie it states”Blacks and Latinos are much less likely to have access to home computers than are white non-Latinos (50.6 and 48.7 percent compared to 74.6 percent). They are also less likely to have internet access at home (40.5 and 38.1 percent compared to 67.3 percent)”. These percentages do not sound like a huge difference, but when you think about this with only around twenty kids in your class, half of who are caucasion and the other half who are minority students, it really opens your eyes to the scarcity of technology that these students are immersed in. I also read the article “Digital Divide” which had so many statistics from the year 2000 census, and said “White (46.1%) and Asian American & Pacific Islander (56.8%) households continued to have Internet access at levels more than double those of Black (23.5%) and Hispanic (23.6%) households”. In another article I read from 2005 titled, “Study: Digital Divide affects school success Kids with home computers more likely to graduate”, they state the following statistics:
Only 50.6 percent of blacks and 48.7 percent of Latinos have access to home computers, compared with 74.6 percent of whites.
Only 40.5 percent of blacks and 38.1 percent of Latinos have internet access at home, compared with 67.3 percent of whites.
This means that even if they do have access to a computer at home, they are probably only using it for word processing and playing games. They have no way to research topics, interact with others in the world, to blog, or to even look at the daily news that pops up every five seconds. These children are at a loss when it comes to doing research projects for their teachers and when it comes to general things that they need to know in today’s world, such as using e-mail, which further widens the digital divide. It is not just about having access to a computer, it is what you do with the computer as well, how you use it for communication purposes and research purposes. Just because you have a computer does not mean you are using it for educational purposes or even using it at all for that matter. What are we to do about these issues? This is a good question!
We certainly can not make parents buy their children a computer. I am sure most parents in my school system have no place to put a computer and with today’s economic situations, there is no way to afford a new computer, let alone the internet. Yes, students do have access to computers and the internet in schools and in libraries, but what about students who are in first grade which is what I teach? Teachers in middle and high school can get away with giving assignments that need to be researched and to use computer skills to complete, as they can go to the library or somewhere in school to use these types of technology whenever they want. They do not necessarily have to have an adult with them. Students in elementary schools can not have assignments given outside of the class that have to be completed using computers and the internet because there is not always access to them for these students outside of the schools system. Their parents may not be able to take them to the library or even have a car to get there for that matter. What are we to do about this?
My solution that I have come up with so far is to do all that we can in schools to broaden their understanding of computers and the internet. We have to find ways to incorporate these technologies into our already crammed curriculum. We have to use things like webquests or internet sites such as Starfall.com for literacy centers. We also need to e-mail students from other schools and even in other countries. Projects can be given for students to work on during class time. I read recently in my book “Teaching with the Internet K-12: New Literacies for New Times” by Leu, Diadem Leu and Coiro that one teacher gives assignments in her classroom but makes a matrix or schedule to let each student get on the computer for a half hour each week. This makes it nice because it also stated in this book that students who finish their work first are usually the first ones allowed on computers, which is definitely the students who probably need the least computer access at school as they already have access to a computer and the internet at home. The matrix allows students to have an equal amount of time on the computers. I really took this idea to heart and am going to try it out in my room. We have a great science unit that we have just started titled “Observing an Aquarium” where we observe live fish and aquatic life. I would love for them to do a project using the computers for this unit. I think it would be a great way for them to learn to research at least one new fact about aquatic life that they have not heard before. I would start off with something simple like this as they are only in first grade and this is most likely a lot of the students’ first time using the internet for this type of activity.
I know in the school that I teach in now, there are a lot of students and parents who have no clue how to use the internet or a computer. I would love to share with students all of the neat ideas that I am learning about this semester. I feel that another way that we could incorporate these types of activities in the classroom is through the librarian. She gets to work with the children every time she sees them on the computers. If she taught them basic skills starting in kindergarten, such as researching, e-mail, blogging, etc., they could have a great background knowledge by the time they start middle school. They would all also have an equal amount of time on the internet here as well, which could lessen the digital divide.
The statistics that I have read about do not shock me at all. I see it all the time in my own school. I think more people are turning towards technology lately, but that does not mean that they have parents who want them to have it, or feel that if they do not know how to use it, then their child should not either. I feel that if we as educators give them that “nudge” as it was stated in the Digital Divide video that Dr. Royer shared with us from YouTube, then they might gain a great interest in using the computer and the internet and begin to do it more on their own for more educational purposes without being instructed to do so as was also said on the YouTube video. I found it very interesting, but also very disturbing when it said in the article, “Study: Digital Divide affects school success Kids with home computers more likely to graduate” that “Access to a home computer increases the likelihood that children will graduate from high school, but blacks and Latinos are much less likely to have a computer at home than are whites, according to a report by a researcher at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC)”. When I think about this quote, I think of the children in my class now. That would mean that at least half of my class would have a much higher chance of graduating than the other half, though they are equally as smart and ready to learn whatever is thrown their way. They have so much potential, which is why we as teachers need to turn to technology to push students further towards graduating. After all, they will need word processing skills for college papers, filling out job applications, paying bills online, e-mail and so many other things as an adult in today’s world. Where will they learn it if it is not with us?
I really feel that in the elementary schools, it is not fair to give students work outside of the classroom to complete as we will continue to widen the achievement gap if this is done. There will be the students with computers and the internet who are learning so much more technologically and educationally while once again those without this access are being “left behind” which our nation is trying so hard to avoid. If work is given that involves computers and the internet (and I think there should be some) then we should use the matrix I mentioned earlier or a laptop cart if possible. This ensures that all kids have equal access and time on a computer.
After reading Gisele’s blog, I found it interesting that people are still stereotyping computer users, no matter if you are looking at gender, race, or socioeconomic status! Gisele found a study that said, “The students were surveyed, asked to make representations of typical computer users, and interviewed. This research was conducted in 2006 by Stanford University. While in the students drawings or description of a typical computer user was male and wore glasses they didn’t portray this in a negative way.” I am glad they did not portray this in a negative way, but I just find it very interesting that students do not think of themselves when being computer users, because I am sure that all of the students surveyed were not male and wore glasses! You would think in today’s society that they would draw a picture of someone like themselves as they most likely use computers for more social purposes, such as myspace or facebook or instant messenging. I know that there are lots of girls that use the internet, but it does not surprise me that boys are still the more frequent users. I also like the idea that Gisele mentioned, of making a schedule for students to use the computers during the week, as I have mentioned before. This gives all students an equal amount of time on the computers and not just the same students who finish their work all of the time. This is a great way to close the achievement gap.
I really like the quote, “The sky is not falling. The numbers are improving. But there is still a gap, and we need to find a way to address it” from the article “Digital Divide? It’s Still There”. It says to me that we still have time to close the gap before it is too late for some of these students. If we start in elementary schools with using these tools, students are sure to benefit from it before they graduate, and it could possibly push graduation rates higher if all goes well!
Posted under Blog Assignments
15
February
2009
When I first thought about this topic, I thought to myself, I do not know very much about what is and is not allowed at our school. I will try to get some answers on all of that this week. I did check our acceptable use policy which I had read through at the beginning of the year when I had to sign it. Most of it was about teachers using the internet correctly, but it did state, “The staff of Dorchester County Public schools will be responsible for a. Teaching students the Dorchester County Public Schools Policy and Procedures for system and network services and b. Supervising and guiding students access to system and network servies to ensure that each student adheres to the appropriate use guidelines” (http://www.dcps.k12.md.us/pdfs/I_policy07.pdf). It also talked about the filtering network that we have on our computers, which does not allow us to access anything remotely illegal.
Speaking of our filtering network, I know that one is needed, but it sometimes holds you back from a site that you may really need to get to. Something as small as an advertisement could keep you from a very valuable educational site, and nothing makes me more upset than that. We also can not download anything on our computers such as advertisement blockers. This would be a help if we didn’t do it, but if there were one of our techs who could come in and find some way to make the advertisements go away, so that the rest of the site could be accessible. I do not know if this is possible or not, but it would be great.
I think it is our responsibility as teachers, as it is stated in our county’s policy, to educate students about appropriate use of the internet. In other countries, such as Finland, which I have read previously in an article by Weinstock, they do not even have to use internet blockers because students are responsible enough to know what sites they can and can not navigate. If we could take the time to teach students about internet safety, maybe this could become a reality here. I just do not know how to fit it into our already crammed schedules. I guess we would have to combine it with some sort of educational activity and figure out a lesson based around a particular educational site.
Gisele seems to have the same thoughts, as I read in her “Web 2.0 and Acceptable Use Policy” blog. If kids know what the outcome is going to be before they break the rules, they usually think twice about doing it. This is what we need to be teaching here in the United States as well. I also agree with Gisele as she talks about students facing the same types of dangers offline as they do online. I never really though about it that way. Students are just as easily peer pressured or feel the need to do things such as lie about things like their age offline just like they do online. Maybe we just need to teach some good old safety to the students about how to conduct themselves around strangers online and offline, like we do in elementary schools. It could not hurt to do it in the upper grades either since that is where lots of these things seem to be happening. Maybe if we take the time to do this, they would see the horrible things that have happened in the past and not make the same mistakes as the people they learn about.
I have spoken to a couple of my peers and they feel the same way. We do not know when to incorporate these things into our curriculum. We are so short on time already, but if there were a way to do this while accomplishing educational activities, then we could definitely give it a try. It just seems like we are always trying to fit too much into one day. I would love for someone to come to our schools and train us on internet safety and how to teach it to young children, such as kids in first grade, which I teach, without scaring them to death.
The experts are saying that you just need to train children how to use the internet appropriately. My problem is, there will always be those couple of children who want to just try to do something they are told not to do. The time issue also plays a role in this issue as well. When do people have time to do this? One way I thought of is during the children’s media specials. Maybe librarians could be trained how to teach students acceptable use of the internet and we could get rid of the filtering or at least cut it back to not be as restrictive. This would not cut into our class time, and would let the librarians still teach computing skills, but with something much more meaningful than just basic typing skills.
In my research, I did not find any information about schools having e-mail accounts for students. I did however find an article that is very recent. In the article titled “Department of Education Set to Give Kids and Parents E-mail Addresses”, it talks about New York and how the “City public school kids and their parents could soon be getting their own free e-mail accounts from the Department of Education. The city hopes the e-mail, which could be available as early as fall, will make it easier for principals and teachers to keep in contact with families”.(http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/education/2009/01/18/2009-01-18_department_of_education_set_to_give_kids.html). I think this could be a great idea. In my school it may not work because of the lack of parents’ and students’ access to the internet and e-mail on a regular basis, but it could be a great idea for keeping in touch with parents and students if they have a question about their homwork at night or on the weekend, or about a project that is due. I also found an article titled, “New feature: Classroom accounts for students without e-mail addresses” which states “Today, we’re happy to announce a new feature, Classroom Accounts, which will let you add users without email addresses. In consultation with dozens of educators, we’ve created a system that makes it unbelievably easy to add your students to your 2.0 educational wiki” (http://blog.pbwiki.com/2008/08/12/new-feature-classroom-accounts-for-students-without-email-addresses/0). Students could then access your wiki page, which many teachers are using for a communication tool, or for assigning work to students to complete. Usually an e-mail address is required, but with this new tool, it could be a great asset for students if they do not have an e-mail account.
I also researched some other Web 2.0 tools and the acceptability of their use in the classroom. The two horror stories about Rob and Katie in the article given to us by Dr. Royer titled, “Safety and Social Networking ” are too much of a reality for many people today. This is something we as teachers need to be aware of before we even begin to think of using tools such as facebook and Myspace in and out of our classrooms. We have to remember what goes on the internet is usually there to stay. As for using these tools in the classroom, I do not think that I would go that route. I am too nervous about the outcomes of these things. I would be afraid that once I showed kids how to use them, they may use them uncautiously and something could happen to them. I could never, ever forgive myself if something were to happen to them. Even if I were to teach them the correct ways and the safety of their uses, I would be nervous that once they got home to use these things, they may not be as safe there. At school, they are protected by our filters and monitored, but at home, it could be a different story for some students, which just makes me nervous. I also read the article titled “Don’t Tell Your Parents: Schools Embrace MySpace” by Robert Andrews, which states, “Some schools ban social networks for wasting classroom time or to protect students from weirdos. But, as part of a wider trend toward less top-down teaching, other institutions are putting tools like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook on the curriculum — and teachers are saying: “Thanks for the add.” It pretty much talks about how students use these tools outside of class so much, that it may be a great way for them to stay on top of their learning as well. A lot of online discussion communities are being formed this way in schools now. I feel that this may be okay for high school, possibly middle school students, but it is a little much for elementary schools. I am just really concerned about their safety and who could hack into their accounts. I thought it was also interesting how parents feel about online discussion groups in the article “Social Networking in Schools Gets a Boost from NSBA”. They state “In fact, 76% of parents expect social networking will improve their children’s reading and writing skills, or help them express themselves more clearly, according to the study, and parents and communities “expect schools to take advantage of potentially powerful educational tools, including new technology.” I agree that it probably does get students to read and write more than they would outside of school. It is much more educational than just talking on the phone to your friends at night. As long as students are being monitored in the classrooms, I do not see where this would be an issue in schools either. It is outside of schools where I worry about the children as I stated before. You hear all of these horror stories about innocent children becoming victims of child predators and falling for their awful tricks. I just do not want to be responsible for teaching children how to use these tools which they will then be able to use outside of schools. I know it is a great learning opportunity, but I just feel that school is not the place to learn these types of things, at least not in elementary schools as I stated before. There are many other useful things we could teach children with the internet, such as just searching the internet for information or using learning games to enhance their learning, or using a Webquest. I really do not think that most schools are allowed to use social networking because of these ramifications. I would not even try to use it in our county as I have heard of teachers in other schools being suspended because of their inappropriate internet use. It is just too much of a risk for me. We have also heard rumors about gang related activity as Andrea stated in one of her earlier discussions. It is just another way that they could be linked with other people in these types of affiliations.
To sum up, I feel that there are pros and cons of using Web 2.0 tools, social networking and e-mail in the classroom. As for the pros, they are great ways for students to be communicating other than just talking face to face or on the phone. They are also great ways to share ideas and links to the internet. I also feel that it does probably help children with their reading and writing skills, but sometimes they are probably using “text talk” which defeats that purpose. It also is a great way for teachers to be able to introduce using the internet appropriately and safely. The cons, on the other hand, are that the teacher is then responsible for introducing some kids to this new way of connecting with other people, possibly dangerous ones. There are also always those students who just have to try what they are told not to try. It may not happen at school, but it could happen in a place where the students are not as closely monitored which is a scary thought to me. I feel that access to online videos is probably pretty safe as long as teachers are showing them a site such as United Streaming or TeacherTube and not YouTube. Our schools in our county do allow access to TeacherTube and United Streaming which can be very helpful for showing real events that have already happened, giving children a great idea of what happened rather than just reading about it. I know lots of teachers are using Wikispace now as a tool in their classrooms, but I still think about all of the children in my district who would not be able to access this from home and feel left out. This is why I have not attempted this yet. I think it is important for kids to be able to access these types of things on the internet, but not at the age that I teach, which again is first grade.
Acceptable use policies that I looked at all seem to have the same requirements, telling teachers what is and is not allowed, and showing the students how to conduct themselves on the internet as well. I read one article titled, “Developing a School Acceptable Use Policy” which even talked about sending home a letter to parents telling what is and is not appropriate use of the internet. I feel that this is a great idea, so that if students are caught doing something that they shouldn’t, then parents are already aware that it was not acceptable. Making sure you include, “definition of the school districts’ stance on what constitutes appropriate and inappropriate materials or resources” in the letter to the parent and in the AUP would be something that would need to be considered as well, as stated in the “Developing a School Acceptable Use Policy” article. Students should also be trained on what sites are appropriate and what sites are not, because there could be a malfunction with the filtering system and students should be notified beforehand of the consequences of visiting inappropriate sites.This article also says, “AUPs should be drafted by teams involving board members, teachers, parents, and others in the community”. This way, there are lots of ideas coming from different people from different perspectives and they can all come to a conclusion about what is best for the students. If there were something about Web 2.o tools, and social networking added to these AUPs I feel that parents should definitely have a strong say in the issue as well as teachers who feel that they are able to teach these things in a safe manner. The AUP should include that there must be training for teachers before they are allowed to teach anything on the internet and that they have to teach children safety first. Ultimately, the safety of the children needs to be the priority, not the educational purposes, when there have already been so many victims of social networking sites. The parents and teachers seem to always say they had no idea that the child was in contact with these people, or that they have talked to their children about appropriate internet use, but sometimes it just does not make the children think it could happen to them. This is something we need to keep in mind. Next, I feel that there should be something in the policy about bullying and harrassing others as well as notifying someone if you know of someone being bullied or harrassed, including yourself. I have heard stories about students being bullied to the point of suicide by other students and sometimes even parents. It is just sick and I think that needs to be a major part of the training students receive before they are even allowed to blog and participate in social networking. I do not know if there is a way to do the next thing I thought of , but maybe there is a way that you can only be allowed to be friends with people in the same school. This would solve a lot of problems with predators. Plagiarism and copyright infringement should be a part of the students’ training before they are allowed on also, as stated in the document “Critiquing Acceptable Use Policies” by Dave Kinnamon. Students should also be told that their computer use is being monitored ahead of time, which may eliminate a lot of problems, as this was also mentioned in “Critiquing Acceptable Use Policies”. Finally, I feel that the children should be trained on how to leave positive feedback for people, even constructive criticism for assignments if this is what they are talking about on these sites. Kinnamon put this as “ to encourage polite and civil communication” which I could not have stated better myself. They should not be allowed on the computers or these types of Web 2.0 and social networking sites until they can show that they are ready to comply with these rules.
In all, my final thought is that I do not feel comfortable enough teaching students how to navigate Web 2.0 sites or social networking sites. If this were to happen, I would need a lot more training which is a possible solution for my fear of introducing students to these things. If our county could have someone come and train us and let us try, with parent permission, then I may feel more comfortable with these types of tools. I just do not want to think about all of the ramifications that this could cause. I also do not think first grade is the place to teach these things, maybe in high or even middle school would be better. If the librarians could start teaching these things in their class times, then it would give children a jump start on learning about the safe ways to use the internet. This means that they would have to get some sort of training for this as well. This would probably not be a possibility at the moment though because of the money issues education is facing today, but possibly in the near future. I feel that we do need to show students how to research things on the internet and how to find useful information, but these types of things may be a bit too much for students.
Posted under Blog Assignments
5
February
2009
There is definitely a digital divide in today’s world. People are either catagorized as “digital natives”, which is the younger citizens of our society who grew up using various forms of technology, or “digital immigrants”, which refers to people who tend to shy away from technology or know very little bout it. There seems to be a problem in schools between the way instructors teach their students and the ways in which students learn. What the instructors are doing is not nearly as interesting as things they are used to, such as video games, text messaging and IPods. In the text, “Digital Divide, Digital Immigrants”, the quote, “Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach” really stuck with me. It is so true! No matter what fancy new textbook series is purchased, it can not compare to the excitement of the technology these kids have grown up with. It is like the students and teachers can not communicate because there is a type of language barrier or as stated in “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants”, “digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely different language.” This means we need to find a way to “meet in the middle”.
I also read “Dawn of the Digital Natives-Is Reading Declining?” by Steven Johnson. It talks about how people are so scared that “digital natives” are not reading books and how they are starting to panic about what the future holds for them. It also states, “There have been almost no studies that have looked at the potential positive impact of electronic media. Certainly there is every reason to believe that technological literacy correlates strongly with professional success in the information age.” I could not agree more! People are very quick to criticize technology, but are not even paying attention to the fact that kids are still reading when they use technology, they are learning how to locate information and how to use that information. All of these things will most likely help them in their future careers and communications. I also like the quote, “We don’t know how exactly that (use of technology) will play in the long run, but thus far, there’s genuine cause for celebration.” The article says these people who grew up using technology are “the least violent, the most politically engaged and the most entrepreneurial since the dawn of the television era”, so it sounds to me like something is working!
This all plays a huge role for me in my classroom as I consider myself somewhere in between the two categories. By the time high school and college rolled around, technology really started to blossom, so I have a little bit of a feel for it. I want to know more though, which is why I am enrolled in two technology classes this semester. I feel sometimes that the kids know how to work pieces of technology better than I do, such as the internet, cell phones, IPods, etc. I want to make their learning interesting, but getting my hands on the technology to do so is hard in these tight economic times. There is little technology for us to use in classrooms and if we do have it, some of our rooms are not equipped to handle it, or it doesn’t work. I feel that the idea of video games for learning is wonderful. The new leapsters and other such learning tools for children are wonderful! They teach phonics, reading, math and I’m sure many other great things. I would love to get these sorts of things in my rooms to use during center times. The kids would have a blast and learn by doing so. We need people who are “digital natives” to come in and share their success stories with “digital immigrants” who do not want to change their ways. I feel that if we could convert some of these instructors, we might actually be able to change the way children feel about learning. They would enjoy coming to school, helping them to learn and keeping attendance rates up as well!
I read Jason’s blog and I totally agree with how he talked about his parents. It was really neat how he even e-mailed his dad and got his reaction about the article. I definitely feel that my parents are not as technologically savvy as my siblings and I. They really are trying to learn though. My mom has even started e-mailing me recently! I like how Jason’s dad said that we will probably be “immigrants” to our children. As rapidly as technology is progressing, I think he is right. There have been so many changes and additions to the internet just since I have started using it around 1999, which was only ten years ago. I can not imagine what will come next!
As I have stated throughout the article, the issue is finding a “middle ground” between educators and their students (digital immigrants and digital natives). We need to find a way to do this before students lose all interest. We could make school a fun place to be while learning is taking place. Educational video games, such as the leapster would be such a big help in the classroom. I feel that we also need training for teachers who are not as technologically literate so that they can see how exciting these ideas can be. The other problem is the funds that are needed for these things. I do not really know what can be done about that in these tough times. The big solution is for “digital immigrants” to want to change as we should not expect the students to go back in time, but rather ahead into a more realistic world in which they will have to live.
Posted under Blog Assignments
27
January
2009
Hi,
My name is Kristin Guesfeird and I teach first grade. This is my sixth year teaching. I am interested in new ways to use technology in my classroom and am open to any new ideas. I have been married to my husband Matt for 2 1/2 years and we have a yellow lab named Sassy who is spoiled to death! I am eighteen weeks pregnant, due June 27th . I am really excited about having a baby. I am also excited that I will be finished my Master’s Degree in Elementary Education this semester if all goes as planned! This class seems really interesting so far and I hope to learn a lot.
Posted under Introduction to Kristin!
26
January
2009
January 26,, 2009
A Glimpse of the Future Blog
This article was very interesting to me. I had no idea that so much new technology was being used in the schools. I know that Guitar Hero is a really popular game with children now. I love how they incorporate math, social studies, writing and marketing into the game as the students design their world tour. It makes learning fun and probably pushes attendance rates up. Many children today know more about technology than adults if they have been taught these skills in schools. If the skills continue to be taught, we could have a technologically literate future generation.
My question is, what if they have to take home an assignment and do not have the right technology needed or they do not have someone at home who is technologically literate to help them? What do they do in these instances or is all the technology used in schools only?
These skills will definitely help children to be prepared for a fast paced technology filled world. Instead of banning phones and games in schools, they should be incorporating them into the curriculum. Then the need to be sneaky with these devices may also disappear just as the text-bullying did in the article. Schools need to be introduced to these programs as I have not heard of them. I am sure many people would be open to them if they learned about them.
Posted under Blog Assignments
