Technology in My Practicum

I am doing my practicum in a kindergarten class. I have not seen very much technology incorporated in the classroom I am in or any of the other classrooms I have visited. In my class, attendance is taken electronically, the students often listen to songs using the computer or record player (yes, an actual record player), and from time to time, when work is completed, I will see a few of the students working on computer games that reinforce what has been taught and or introduced in a previous lesson.

My technology inventory showed that my placement school has quite a few different resources available that could potentially be brought into the classroom. However, I do see bring such technology into the classroom as I get the feeling that my school is more traditional and perhaps has not embraced all that technology has to offer. I could be wrong though; perhaps I have just not observed the right classrooms and teachers.

I would like to see more technology in the classroom. From what I am learning in my Technology methods course, I seeing potential for incorporating technology into the classroom that I never thought was there. However, because I am just beginning my teaching career and I have very little experience as a classroom teacher, I am little cautious about bringing technology into my teaching (at least initially) because I am not sure how much value it would add to the lesson (at least the way I would incorporate the particular resource into my teaching). It would be helpful to see actual classroom teachers using more technology in their instruction, because it would give me a better idea of how I could use it and it would also put all the "theory" I am learning into practice.

I do not see where training (at least for the students) and access would be a problem in relation to bringing more technology into my placement classroom. As it has been said many times before, the students are digital natives, so the technology is inherent for them. I think the problem lies with many educators who are resistant to using technology due to their own fears and bias. I am not too sure about the technology orientation of my cooperating teacher. While I do not see her use a lot of technology in her instruction, I do not take that to mean that she does not know how to use the technology. I just take it to mean that perhaps her style of teaching does not choose to incorporate much technology. However, perhaps on the other hand, if she was introduced to more technology and the ways in which it could be used in the classroom, she would be more likely to use it in her instruction. On the flip side, I do think logistics could be an issue, especially since there is no computer lab; my classroom only has seven computers which are shared between 17 students, the teacher, and the paraprofessional. The media center has even less computers for students, so that is not an option. In this case, using technology that necessitated students having their own computers or less than three students per computer would not be feasible.

Nonetheless and despite the logistical and preferential challenges in my placement, based on the knowledge I have of how children learn, best practices for classroom teachers, and other guidelines, I think technology would engage the students, making instruction and learning easier on both the students and the teacher. Having opportunities to learn that appeal to the students (and often, technology is the avenue on which that can be done), could serve as way to kind of "trick" the students into learning. If they are having fun with what they are doing, they are not going to think about the instructional or school context behind it, but rather they will be so engrossed in having fun, that the learning will come even easier. This makes me think of the Oregon Trail game that so many of us played as elementary students. I can remember that when I was playing this game, I was not thinking about learning the social studies material involved in the game; I do not even think I realized that the game was more educational than entertaining. I just know that I became so engrossed in trying to successfully complete the cross-country trip that nothing else seemed to matter. I can also remember the disappointment I felt when something tragic happened and the game was over or when it was simply time to stop the game and move to some other classroom obligation.

With that said, I believe if educators could find ways to engage children in learning in the same ways that many games and other "fun" activities engage children, then technology can and will find a productive and necessary place in classroom instruction.

I can only hope that one day all the current talk of the possibilities of technology for the classroom will be realized and more educators will embrace technology.

Games and Simulation in Education

I do think that the notion of viewing a concept from various viewpoints is a good idea to help students understand practical and real life situations, but I also wonder that while such a feat may be practical for adults and older learners, how practical is it for younger children who have not developed as wide a body of knowledge and the life experiences that help in understanding situations and concepts from different viewpoints? To one extent, I think this approach can be modified for any learner, but on the other than, I know that for kindergarteners and many younger learners, they and that which is most immediate to them is often the only things they know and the only things they think about, so that makes me wonder would practical and effective such an approach would be for those learners. Also, I wonder about older learners who are more stubborn or stuck on a particular viewpoint and refuse to view situations and concepts in differing manners. However, I also know that when playing games, individuals are often able to choose to represent different characters; and that can be likened to viewing the same situation from different perspectives especially when you think that each character often has a different agenda and a different reason for its significance. So if somehow characters and viewpoints on more educational issues can be meshed, than I believe the potential for effective use of games and simulation for educational instruction is heightened.

The concept of using an anchor for instruction relates to the notion of giving students something personal which helps them understand and retain knowledge. I can relate to the passage on mathematics in the real world because I can remember asking my math teacher(s) what I was I going to need a particular concept for; especially when I was taking higher level math courses such as trigonometry and calculus. Using the anchor methods of instruction, I think games and simulation can definitely be incorporated into classroom instruction because many students are already interested in and often play video games and the like for hours on end. Although altering such games so that they may be more educational may be an initial turn off for students, I think if that games are made educational, but still exciting and challenging in the same way as the typical video game, then educational video games could definitely peak students interest and be used as a tool for instruction.

The Marc Prensky video clip had a lot of good points, especially when he discussed how kids want to be engaged and have a desired to learn, so therefore learning is more effective when it is engaging. I definitely agree with Prensky’s assumption that engagement is more important than content because it is impossible to get the content knowledge is one is not interested. While it might be possible to get some knowledge from non-engaging materials, to maximize such learning, the more engaging, the better. Prensky also outlined how games engage children through the decision making, the complexity, the feedback, and the pacing. Also, Prensky’s statement about children learning how, what, where, when, and why from games lends itself to the idea of multi-disciplinary learning. If students can use games to teach them how to ask and find the solutions to such questions, then they can use that knowledge to figure out the how, where, what, when, and why of more educational issues.

I was a little frightened by the idea that games will eventually replace teachers, especially in the K-12 arena; and I am not sure how effective or close such an idea is to reality, but it does make me wonder. If kids can learn all they need to know from gaming, then what is the practical use of classroom teachers? On the other hand, I am not worried because while I do believe bringing gaming into the educational arena is potentially a great tool for maximizing instruction and learning, I do not think that gaming is the end all, be all to the various educational dilemmas, and I would hope that teaching and teachers would always be needed and useful instruments in education and the learning process.

Web-Based Research in the Classroom

There is a wealth of knowledge on the internet; some good, some bad. However, it seems that sometimes the fear of getting “bad” or incorrect knowledge makes many hesitate to use information from the internet. Nonetheless, there are a lot of accurate and useful website that are often overlooked due the numerous inaccurate websites and lack of knowledge about how to decipher useful and accurate information from information that is not useful and inaccurate.

I remember being told by teachers to only use information from websites that end in .gov, .edu, .org, and the like to ensure that I am getting good information. And that makes me wonder, should I even bother with .com websites? It seems inevitable that I would have to deal with .com websites because those type website are the majority domain. I also refuse to believe that every .com website is useless or that every .gov, .edu, or .org website is golden. Any website can have information that is inaccurate that may be because of purposeful or non-purposeful error on the part of the person(s) in charge of the website.

I also remember getting the rules for internet searches which include using Boolean operators, which have proven very helpful in narrowing search results and getting accurate information. While being specific and using as many keywords as possible can help, sometimes it narrows the results too much and the user us unable to find what he/she is looking for. I also think the search within sites option may also lead to results that are too limited.

Knowing what one is looking for (facts, opinions, narratives, statistics, etc.) is also helpful is determining which sources to use. The nature of the reason for wanting information is key in choosing sources because if one is doing a research project, then he/she will want the most accurate and fact-based information, however, for more playful endeavors or casual browsing, perhaps such authentic information is not a priority.

All in all, I think the search advice to know what one is looking for and the purpose of the search (leisure, academic, etc.), using Boolean operators, evaluating the source of the information (author, year of publication, organization, etc.) and the CARS checklist are good ways to ensure that search results are the most appropriate, useful, and accurate.

The teleresearch model is good for helping individuals, especially those inexperienced or unsure about how to do a useful internet search proceed through websites and information while making sure that he/she is using decent websites and obtaining useful and accurate information. The model starts with finding information and gives the user a variety of sources that may be useful, next, and then users are able to explore a topic which leads him/her to a leading website on the topic. Thirdly, users are directed to a website that further narrows their topic. The fourth step allows users to locate and use interactive websites that support their research. In the fifth step, students get a hands-on look at the topic, allowing the research to become more personal and hopefully more accurate. In the sixth step, the findings of the research are published using the sources gathered from the previous five steps and the information deemed most useful. This model represents a good way for users to narrow down searches and get quality information and then publish their information as a means to display their findings and help others who may be searching the same topic. Models such as this ensure the likelihood that accurate and useful information is available on the internet.

The Historical Scene Investigation is a good way for teachers to find primary source documents that may not be readily available. In this manner, teacher can bring in more accurate information and give students multiple perspectives on historical issues. This source represents a method for going beyond textbook information and supplying learners with a bigger picture of historical events. The Historical Scene Investigation website is a compilation of historical events put together as crimes that need to be solved. It is up to the user(s) to use the available evidence and information to form logical conclusions about the historical event. The site contains information about little known historical events, which further allows students to get a bigger picture of history and formulate opinions and knowledge based on more in-depth information (beyond textbooks). The site contains teacher notes so teachers know how to introduce to guide students through the activity and student notes which give students advice on how to investigate the case, the evidence, the clues, and finally the asks students to propose what happened. This site is excellent for critical thinking and broadening the learning experiences and knowledge bases of students.