digital blog post #d

     While reading chapter 5 there were a few concepts that I found very interesting. The first concept was about students usage of e-readers and online e-books. Students usage of these types of reading materials has increased over the years which seems to simply correlate with the growing popularity of the devices, increasing variety and availability of e-books, and the ease of access to obtain both the devices and online books thru programs like kindle and e-reader. It does not surprise me that the popularity has been passed from adults to students with these items. They are light weight, rechargeable, and contain access to hundreds of books in varying genres in one place instead of having to carry around or buy multiple physical books. But with the growing use of these items the less that seems to be going into actual print. This does not seem to help keep places like libraries and book stores in business, which does not benefit those that cannot afford said devices. This seems to keep the digital and literacy divide growing instead of shrinking. There are pros and cons to both sides of these devices, but somehow we need to find the median ground that can benefit all in this area.
     The next concept that I found to be good was about electronic note-taking. I find both pros and cons to this concept as well. The book talks about how programs can make note taking easier, keep them organized and some can even record audio for later reference. While these are great tools to help students, I feel like these are still skills and abilities that students need to physically learn and master as well. Learning organizational skills with school work can and does cross over into other areas of their lives. Organization skills will be needed in all job fields and is part of time management skills. An electronic device will not be able to organize all aspects of ones life and relying on a program to keep school work and notes organized from as early on as elementary school, such as suggested in the text book, does not assist in teaching a student to do this for themselves. I believe the same types of cons go with being able to take notes as well. For instance, during a college lecture, which is still the most common form of college learning, a student would either go through a terabit of storage trying to record all lectures or spend the entire class trying to type in their notes words for word if they haven't learned how to properly take notes. If a student does not learn to discern important verbal concepts from other conversational audio during a lecture or how to write/type shorthanded then they will spend hours re-listening to the audio tracks or pouring through pages of written information to find and learn what they need. Especially since, at least so far in all of my on-campus classes, you are not allowed to bring in or at least use a phone, computer, tablet, or kindle device during the class. That leaves one to listen and remember the lecture word for word or write physical notes on paper. If a student has never done so in any grade before, this would be a very time consuming a difficult concept to master quickly enough in college to stay up in their assignments.
     The last concept I found interesting was about plagiarism and cheating. These have been issues ever since I can remember, even before electronic devices. The growing problem is that electronic devices and the internet make these two things easier to do. Having so many different resources at ones fingertips for writing papers, copying word for word information is very easy to do and a bit harder to catch without a program to do so. And quick and simple things like texting or sending pictures via cellphones for answers on tests between students makes cheating easier and quicker to do without getting caught. The book has a few suggestions to curb these activities but most seem to point towards preventing plagiarism more so than cheating. I found some of the suggestions to be helpful but a bit obvious. I found the suggestions from a previous source, '6 Pros and Cons of Technology in Your Classroom', to have better, more precise, and usable ideas.

Citrino, J. (2015) How to Curb Cheating and Plagiarism. Via Piktochart. Https://magic.piktochart.com/editor/piktochart/8096720#

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park.(2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston,MA: Pearson Education,Inc.

Montano, Jean. (Mar. 6, 2015). 6 Pros and Cons of Technology in Your Classroom. Tophat blog. http://www.blog.tophat.com

digital blog post # C

    While reading chapter 3 there were a few points that stuck with me. The first being about Information and Internet Literacy on pages 55-57. I believe both are extremely important to teach current and future students. Too many times have I personally seen articles shared or posted on the internet that people believe are real or contain true information when in fact they do not. You cannot always believe what you read at face value without further and independent, in-depth research on the subject matter. Anyone with even the most basic knowledge of website or blog building skills can put anything on the internet for everyone to read. It needs to be shown and taught to students that you must question where information comes from, whether its' from a reliable source or a satire type source, or whether it's just someone's opinion or factual information. Too many times people either don't seem to know where the information originated from or how to distinguish the information's source. This will be very important when finding research and statistical evidence for papers in school, college, and even in the work environment.
     The next topic that stuck with me was the concept of Digital Citizenship. Maloy, et al (2013 pp 65-69) I think this is also a very important concept to teach all students to actively practice daily. Quoting resources, avoiding plagiarism and conducting oneself in a respectful and non-harmful manner are all skills or personal traits students will need to master and showcase for their entire school and career lives. Students need to understand that the internet can make people feel more secure and they may post writings or drawings online that they may not feel confident enough to do in a face-to-face situation, but they need to make sure they use that for good and it is never supposed to be used to harm or exploit anyone else in any fashion. Used in those ways can be considered digital bullying or pirating and are harmful to those on the other end of their actions.
     The third topic that stuck with me was about the research on the science or learning and the outcomes of that. "The contemporary view of learning, what the editors call 'constructivism', is that people construct new knowledge and understandings based on what they already know and believe." Maloy, et al (2013 pp 47) I believe in that statement. I also think it holds very true in subjects like math, which I plan on teaching. It is very hard to introduce the concept of trigonometry to someone who has no knowledge of algebra or geometry. That would be very hard for one to grasp without prior information or practice. I also believe this can apply to almost every area of our lives. Without prior use of technology like a computer or software I do think one could normally use a computer for the first time and write computer code. At the very least you would have to do some research of some type to begin a task you have never encountered before. This is just like the scaffolding concept, which I also believe is very important to use with students and to try and relate more undesirable subjects, like math, to more real-world applications to help expand the understanding, retention, and active engagement a student may have pertaining to the concept being learned.

Citrino, J. Sept. 19 2015. Via Bitstrip.com Via facebook.com app
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

digital blog post #b

     The first point of chapter 2 I'd like to reflect on the when the book describes the term 'technology'. It describes technology "as an innovation designed to solve problems and extend human capabilities." Maloy, et al (2013 pp 24) I think this is true in almost every sense it can be conceived. By this I mean personally it can aid those with various disabilities run their personal lives more independently, it allows an endless amount of information to be at ones' finger tips, it enables a sense of personal connection through social medias and messaging forums, and most importantly I believe it can help teachers reach and teach every student in all of the different ways students learn like teacher could never quite do before. Visual learners can learn from videos and power points, auditory learners can listen to podcasts and educational concepts put to music or lyrics, kinesthetic learners can play educational games and operate field trips with the google 360 viewer and feel like apart of the interaction. Technology devices can offer an amazing array of aid to teachers to help reach each and every student. I as a future teacher can only hope to learn enough at all times to stay on top of this curve and bring the best possible learning devices and programs to my students.
     The second concept that resonated with me in this chapter were the results from the High School Survey of Student Engagement Survey done by Indiana University. I found those to be very eye opening. When I was in high school, mind you not even that long ago, technology was not a major part of learning or teacher usage in the classrooms beyond maybe a power point presentation and the old style overhead projectors that used transparency sheets. all of my classes were mostly lecture based and I as an auditory and visual learner enjoyed that teaching style. I did not enjoy group projects or technology based projects. Mostly because in group projects I would end up with most of the work and since I didn't have a computer in my home until I was 15 did not enjoy research or technology based projects. The survey results are the complete opposite of what kids today enjoy about school and what I did. This makes me feel both very apprehensive about my ability to catch up and surpass the technology needs my students have while at the same time lighting a fire in me to make it become a personal challenge to do just that.

     The third concept was about the digital barriers, divides, and participation gaps among kids and access to technological devices and the abilities to use them. This concept may sound new, due to technology being a newer front that schools are using but to me sounds like the same concern when access to books, and kids reading levels were in question. The textbook said "digital divides and participation gaps affect mainly low-income, nonwhite, urban, and rural youngsters, and occur when students do not have access to the latest technologies at school or at home. Lack of access to new technologies is a contributing factor to academic achievement gaps." Maloy, et al (2013 pp 32). I do not know yet of a way that schools or districts, or even states can provide enough funding so that every student can obtain some type of personal digital device, like an ipad, to gain equal access to technology like other students have, but it makes me think there is something that is being over looked somewhere along the way. Unless we can get those students to tools they need as teachers and faculty I am not sure how to close this gap. It is an age old gap that just keeps increasing as rapid as technology does. But I am hoping to be able to help curb some of this gap in my classroom by using the techniques I read in my articles for our discussion # 2 post.

Citrino, J. Sept.13, 2015. Created via ToonDoo.

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon, A., and Woolf, Beverly Park. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

     In the very beginning of chapter 1 the quote " We move from looking at technology as an addition to life to looking at life through that technology" resonated very deep with me Maloy, et al ( 2013, pp5). I believe that technology and internet resources are a valuable addition to the classroom as teaching tools and learning interactives, but we should also expand our modeling of technology for students to not only include internet responsibility and safety, but also when to step back from it and interact with the physical world around us. It's one of the great ways to learn and refine their interpersonal and communication skills. Both of which are a necessity later in life Maloy, et al (2013, pp15).

     The second concept that caught my attention in this chapter was about the Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) Maloy, et al (2013, pp10). I believe that being able to combine and exhibit content, pedagogical and technological knowledge in the classroom can assist in teaching the students information they need to know in all of the different ways students learn. while introducing and or keeping up their enthusiasm for learning and learning that particular subject matter. Introduction to the TPACK Model helps explain the concept in less technical terms and has a great visual aid to assist in understanding this concept.
     The third concept in this chapter that resonated with me is about the technology divide between income classes. I sub at a lower economic status area school and see first hand how the students use, knowledge, and interaction with various types of technology differs. In this area a grant was obtained to turn an old school bus into a mobile internet and tutoring service. The bus contains a few laptops, tablets, wifi, printers and teachers. they then go around at least three days a week after school to various neighborhoods to give students k-12 access to do research, homework, print reports, and academic tutoring from teachers at no charge. This has slowly begun to help close the technology gap among our student population. I can only hope that one day we find a way to supply all schools and districts with this type of funding so they don't have to compete for grants or go without for the sake of all current and future students.


Resources

Common Sense Education. "Introduction to the TPACK Model" Nov 3, 2014

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly   Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA:  Pearson Education, Inc.

Tuck, Gary. "Look Up". Apr 25, 2014