What is the Role of Technology in the Teaching-Learning process?

A very creative elementary teacher will retire in June because she no longer feels she can teach due to her district’s technology push.  Her district purchased a math online program in which the computer program presents the math concept and  the program has students do stations for a designated amount of time each day. Her job is to make sure that the students rotate through the stations.

Another teacher no longer has time to relate his subject area to the real world because he has to push through his textbook so students can do the  designated  and scheduled online drill and practice for each unit. The district looks at the student data from the online activities as an assessment measure.

A science teacher has to have her students do a specified number of app activities for each unit.  Although this teacher used to do many student inquiry labs, she has had to eliminate those labs in order to provide students time to  complete all the apps.

Finally, students in Carpe Diem schools spend half to  two thirds  of their day doing computer work. These students score well on state tests. (http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-article/2011/04/22/carpe-diem-charter-school-seizes-tomorrows-innovations-today)

What is your view of the role of technology in the  teaching learning process?  Do teachers or technology determine how students spend their learning time? Who/What  makes decisions about what learning gap  students have and supplies a new strategy to overcome the gap?

I have developed many  Spanish activities that allow students to begin to express themselves and to begin to move toward spontaneous speaking as in a natural conversation.  My Spanish spontaneous speaking activities (20+) includes Modified Speed Dating (Students ask  a question from a card-whole class), Structured Speaking (Students substitute in or select words to communicate in pairs),  Role Playing (Students talk as people in pictures or drawing from 2-4 people) and Speaking Mats (Can talk using a wide variety of nouns, verbs and adjectives to express their ideas- pairs or small group),  Spontaneous Speaking (based on visuals or topics in pairs),  and Grammar speaking games (pairs or small group). Available for a nominal fee at Teacherspayteachers:  http://bit.ly/tpthtuttle

My three formative assessment books:   http://is.gd/tbook

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Use any Web 2.0 tool at any Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy, Don’t be Limited by Listings

I have been teaching for many years.  In fact, one of my earliest presentations was on “Using Print Shop at All Levels of Bloom” (the original Print Shop).  Therefore, whenever I see the listings that supposedly say what Web 2.0 tools works at what level of Bloom’s taxonomy, I become very confused. A few of the many such listings are http://www.usi.edu/distance/bloom%20pyramid.jpg, http://tsheko.files.wordpress.com/2009/03/visualblooms1.jpg?w=500&h=359, http://www.bcps.org/offices/lis/Reference/images/web_2_Bloom.jpg, and http://edtech2.boisestate.edu/candacemcenespy/Images/vectormap.gif There is only a very slight overlap among the listing, each usually puts the same Web 2.0 tools at different thinking levels.

Let’s look at Google docs which a few sites place at the lowest level of Bloom, Remember/Knowledge. Google docs can be used to help students recall information. However, it can just as easily be used to paraphrase the information (from the original Shakespeare to modern day texting messages), to apply/use information (How does Pareto’s 20/80 rule apply to this story? ), to analyzing/contrasting (How are these two poems the same? Different?), to evaluating (Which literature that we have read this year best expresses man’s inhumanity to man? Why?), and synthesize/creating (Write a short story in which you mock some modern day thinking or organization.)

Teachers determine how any Web 2.0 tool is used. They determine at what Bloom’s level they will use the Web 2.0 tool. If they want their students to be bigger thinkers, they will use the higher levels of Bloom. If the teachers want their students to remain in small thinking, they will use the lower levels.

The choice of what level to use any Web 2.0 is up to the teacher. At what level do you use each Web 2.0 tools? Do you consciously build up Bloom’s taxonomy with each different technology you use during a unit?

Tuttle’s formative assessment books:   http://is.gd/tbook

Check Lower Level Learning Immediately (Formative Assessment)

We all want our students to be learning at the higher levels of thinking.  However, they first have to learn  lower level information.  For example, Spanish students want to converse in the language but until they learn basic vocabulary and grammar such as the present tense; they cannot converse.  We can change the format of class so that after we have introduced the lower level learning and have them practice it enough to know whether they understand the concept, then we can have them practice the lower level learning at home.

If we have them use an online program that “drills” them, shows them the right answer, and shows them  how to get the right answer,  they can immediately know how well they are doing and be given the opportunity to improve.  They do not have to wait until the next day (or in terms of a college course five days or week) to find out if they can do this lower level thinking.  Since the teacher has put in the program   a full explanation of how to get the right answer, the students can overcome their learning gap (formative feedback aspect of formative assessment).  They can redo the program to verify that they can do this lower level activity well.  They feel successful.  They have practiced this learning in the safety of their homes.

Then, in class, the teacher  can move the students to higher levels from the lower level.  For example, the Spanish students can tell what activities they do that day, can describe the various activities of their family members, and ask others what they things they do during a day.

So how do you practice lower level learning so that students know immediately if they are right or wrong and if they wrong,  do they learn how to change their thinking to get right answers? How do you  use formative assessment to move your students forward in their learning?

My book, Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students, is available through Eye on Education.

Also, my  book,  Successful Student Writing Through Formative Assessment, is available through Eye on Education.

21st Century Skills: Making a Difference

We can have our students develop many 21st century skills but they may not use any of these skills for anything other than their own academic improvement.  We can help them to use their skills to make a difference in our community, state, nation, or world.

For example, students examine a traffic problem at their local school,  come up with a viable solution, and present  that solution to the Board of Education.

Students create a video documentary  that shows a  historical perspective on a current problem.  They explore similar problems. They analyze what past solutions seemed to work and why  and which ones did not work and why.   They send their short documentary to their state legislators as these officials consider new legislation.

Students select a national problem such as literacy.  They then figure out how they can begin to work on the problem locally. For example, they may write and illustrate their own books,  digitally record the reading of the books, and create CDs to be passed out at the local food banks.

Students, collectively, select an area of the world and then read the various profiles of people requesting microloans on Kiva. The students decide which person/group they will fund after they decide on a criteria for selection.  Each student contributes one dollar so the class can loan a $25.  They looked at the map of where the other funders come from to see the international dimension of this project.  They monitor the repayment and then reloan the money.

To what local, state, national or world problem do your students apply their 21st century skills to make a difference?

My book, Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students, is available through Eye on Education.

Also, my  book,  Successful Student Writing Through Formative Assessment, is available through Eye on Education.

Open Source Free Educational Software

The following list of  free open source educational software comes from OpenDisc

Art and Graphics

GIMP – Edit digital photos and create graphics
GIMP animation – Create animations
Inkscape – Make professional looking vector graphics
Pencil – Animate your own cartoons
Blender – 3D graphic modeling, animation, rendering and playback
Tuxpaint – Drawing program for children ages 3 to 12

Multimedia

VLC – Play music, videos and DVDs
Audacity – Record, edit and mix music
TuxGuitar – Compose your own music
Piano Booster – Teach yourself the piano
Avidemux – Edit movies and add special effects
Infra Recorder – Burn your own CDs and DVDs
CamStudio – Record your actions on a computer
Really Slick Screensavers – Great looking screensavers

Science and Mathematics

Nasa Worldwind – Discover the earth and other planets~
Greenfoot – Teach yourself how to program
GraphCalc – A graphical calculator
Guido Van Robot – Learn how computer programs work
CarMetal – Cool mathematical modelling tool
Maxima – University standard computer algebra system
Celestia – Explore the universe in three dimensions
Stellarium – A planetarium on your PC

Games

FreeCiv – Control the world through diplomacy and conquest
FreeCol – Discover the ‘New World’ and build an empire
Numpty Physics – Solve puzzles using physics
TuxTyping 2 – Learn to type like a pro
Tux of Math Command – Test your mathematical skills
Winboard Chess – The classic game of chess

My addition to the above list:
Openoffice – word processing, spreadsheet, “PowerPoint like” presentation, drawing, database program

My book, Formative Assessment: Responding to Your Students, is available through Eye on Education.

Also, my  book,  Successful Student Writing Through Formative Assessment, is available through Eye on Education.

Pre-checking for Student Engagement Through PowerPoint

Like many teachers, I use PowerPoint to guide the lesson. I like that I can have all the images, videos, quotes, essential questions, class activities, etc. in one place for the lesson.  Lately, I have been thinking more about student engagement during class. I’ve come up with a simple way to verify that students will be engaged.  I use a distinct color such as dark blue  in the PowerPoint to indicate  all the  student activities  such as questions to be answered, small group discussions, and  comparison charts to be done. Before I teach a lesson, Iscan my PowerPoint slides to see how often I am engaging the students- I simply look for the dark blue text.  Since I’ve begun doing this, I find myself  wondering how I could be talking/showing for so long without students being asked to think through the topic.  I find myself adding more opportunities for students to  become engaged with the material.

Go dark blue and see what happens in your class.

My book, Formative Assessment: Responding to Students, is available through Eye-on-Education.

Organic Learning With Technology or Inorganic Learning?

I drove past a farmer’s stand that proudly proclaimed itself as organic. I laughed. When I was growing up on a farm, everything was organic. Cows produced the fertilizer for the fields.

I wonder if we have made changes to make the learning process less organic. Have we gone to using technologies in which that might reduce learning? Do our PowerPoints truly energize the learners into deeper learning or do the PowerPoints put them to sleep? Does the time we have the students spend on creating a podcast really reflect in-depth learning about the course’s standard or does the time reflect surface only learning over multiple days? Do our students spend time in responding to others in a blog when the other people do not read their comments? Do our students spend time in creating fancy projects that include many visuals when the visuals do not add more meaning to the project? Do we have students create the same information on a wiki that is presently available in another location? Do we have students virtually visit a location (like a zoo) without having them learn critical standards information?

Have we used technology to interfere with students’ learning instead of helping them to grow in-depth and comprehensively in the standards? How organic is your classroom or have you covered it with harmful fertilizers?

For any one who is interested in implementing formative assessment in the classroom, my book, Formative Assessment: Responding to Students is available through Eye-on-Education

Sensationalizing Weather and Technology Benefits

I’ve noticed this year that the weather people tend to sensationalize the weather just as the news reporters do with the news. They predict horrible storms and we get a few inches.  They warn about possible ice conditions that could making driving extremely difficult and then we get a very thin layer of ice that melts away in a few hours.

I wonder how much we sensationalize the effects of technology.  My class is doing so much better due to ……

Some questions we might want to ask ourselves:

Do we assess how much the students are learning  with the “new” technology through an assessment instrument? Is that assessment instrument similar to one we normally use in class?  Similar to one used on our school final or a state assessment?

Are we noticing the students’ excitement and motivation and misinterpreting those as their learning?

Has the “new” technology allowed our students to probe more in-depth than without the technology? What evidence do we have?

Does more student talk or even student talk with others in distinct locations give students a more comprehensive learning about the goal? What measurable evidence do we have?

Have we restructured how our students do learning activities in the classroom? Is that restructuring the real cause of the student learning and the technology is just the context of the learning?

Has the “new” technology allowed our students to make more mental connections among their learning?  How do you measure those connections by using concept maps or other assessment tools?

Eliminate educational technology; have technology-infused learning

Educational Technology. Instructional Technology. What a misnomer!

Technology is not instructional. It is how the teachers and students choose to use the technology that makes it instructional.

Why is “instructional” (the purpose of using technology) the adjective that describes “technology” (the noun)?

I like terms like “technology-infused learning” or “technology-mediated learning.” Notice that learning is the noun and “technology” is the adjective.

Our focus should not be on technology since it is only a tool to help us get to the end of learning. The more we focus on learning, the more wisely we use technology and the more our students learn.

What is your focus?

© Harry Grover Tuttle, 2007

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Educational Technology Conference or Just Technology Conferences

I recently submitted some conference proposals to two different educational technology organizations. I become very frustrated with the first one since I had to select which category my presentation was under. The topics were elearning, emerging technologies, leadership, technical and integration. My topic was not any of them. I wanted to focus on Student Learning.

The second conference had two interesting educational questions:
Does your session address remediation strategies or techniques?
Does your session provide measurable activities that lead to improved student performance?

I was intrigued that we have to ask the second question of whether a session leads to better student learning. If it does not, then why should the session be in an educational technology conference? I thought that the reason we used technology was to improve student learning. Or do we just use technology to learn technology?

I wish that more conferences focused on student learning. The same for journals. To me the real question is how students improve in their academic learning through technology, not what is the newest technology.

 

© Harry Grover Tuttle, 2007

 

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Stop Idealizing Technology Integration and Begin Helping Other Educators

 I am amazed at how we educators still tell the ideal glamorous story of technology integration but we usually neglect the struggles, the issues, and the problems that we have encountered.  We have forgotten that others can grow from our mistakes and they can avoid those problems if we let them know about the problems.  I think that every educational website, blog, and conference presentation, and article should build in a “what went well” and a “what did not go well (or what might go wrong)” section.   

Do we want to help each other or do we only want to sugar-coat our own experiences? Let’s help others to stand on our shoulders by telling them about our disasters as well as our successes. Tell others about all the steps we have had to go through to make something work so others will be aware of those steps.  If we help each other, then each of us will be much better at integrating technology for improved student learning. If we do not, then each of us will be independently spinning our wheels. Let’s travel together.

Blogging:

Went well:
I was able to easily migrate my blog from another blog site.

What did not go well: 
I recently moved this blog from another blog site but I did not realize that I have to re-insert all the graphics so numerous entries have broken graphics symbols.

I had used another blog site that did not use RSS feed and so few people knew the site existed. Although RSS feed may or may not be the best “feed” system, it is the one that most people use.

I could not find what the widgets did  in this Wordpress until I did a web search for some outside references. I’m sure that they are explained somewhere within WordPress but I could not find it and I did not want to put in any widgets unless I knew what they did. 

Technology-Infused Learning: Restricted or Scaffolded Learning?

( learning)

( learning ….Learning….LEArning……LEARNing…..LEARNING)

I had a talk with a teacher who decided to incorporate technology into her unit.  She decided what activities she wanted the students to do and then she fit the technology into those activities.  She was working with countries of the world.  She wanted each student to do a report on a country.  She decided that they would gather the information from the library’s encyclopedias and then her students would prepare a PowerPoint presentation of the country’s information. It was to be all words.

I had a talk with another teacher who decided to incorporate technology into her unit. She decided what particular standard she wanted her students to practice.  She and I discussed various activities and various technologies that might help scaffold the learning for her students.  She decided to have the students select five images for their chosen country from Flickr/Woophy and then for them to describe the variety of geography in a PowerPoint. They would use those five images to tell the different geography and how it might influence life in that country. 

Have you talked with your technology integration teacher or Library Media Specialist recently to see new ways of using technology-infused learning to scaffold learning for your students?