The Most Powerful Tool in the Classroom

Loyola's article "The Most Powerful Tool in the Classroom" seems to reinforce the recurring theme in many of the articles on the blog: that the Internet is now the most important tool in the classroom.  Loyola even goes so far as to say that the teacher has been replaced, shifting from the "sage on the stage" to a "guide on the side".  She gives personal anecdotes about being both a student and a teacher, having to lug around textbooks, using the Encyclopedia Britannica to do any research, or even having to waste time perusing card catalogs to find sources...which is all nice and convincing, especially when she goes on to provide a personal anecdote from her AP Spanish class and how they have been able to successfully use iPads and apps to do their own research and teaching...

But she breezes over a very critical point: not everything on the Internet is true, and just because you can find an answer for most rote material that used to lectured on in lightning speed, that still doesn't signify learning.  True learning comes from critical thinking, analysis, and evaluation, which she seems to pass of as being able to use Google.  While I'll admit that using peer teaching and research is a start, the teacher still has to be there to push students in the right direction and ask the critical questions that a computer is incapable of.  She even admits that most teachers are experts in their field of teaching, but then claims that they often use lecture as their teaching methods.  This seems to be an unfair assessment(especially since she provides no data, other than her own anecdotes. Perhaps she just wasn't good at lecturing. It happens.), an attempt to throw a teaching method under the bus because it hasn't worked well for her.  The argument would have been strengthened if she would've provided more insight into other teaching methods besides lecturing that aren't dependent on technology. 

A Primer on Educational Technology: 5 Terms Parents Need to Understand

Spirrison's article provides some nice insight for parents of current students, an area that I think is somewhat overlooked in many of the articles I've read.  He elaborates that even the most tech-savy parents will need to keep up-to-date in this evolving tech world if they are to have meaningful conversations with their children. The article lists the following 5 terms each parent should become familiar with:

• Flipped Classroom
• Personalized Learning
• STEM, STEAM, and STREAM
• Common Core Standards Alignment
• and Device Agnostic Learning

The article gives a brief summary of watch each term means for both the student and the parent, and provides various links and sources within each area for further reading and exploration, including links to numerous app developers and emerging app markets for both teachers and parents alike to better help familiarize themselves with technology in the classroom.  

Overall it was a solid article, providing sound information and opinions.  I think the strongest aspect was that the article admits that no matter how tech-savy we are, technology is a constantly changing and evolving field, so all of us should prepare for this by knowing what is out there and what may be developed, even if we can't use it in the classroom yet. 

Study: Emerging Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom

In Ryan Lytle's well balanced article "Emerging  Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom", we are allowed to explore some first hand experience, both positive and negative, from teachers who have had some experience with using technology in their classrooms.   The experiences range from an AP teacher who has started recording her lectures and placing them on iTunes as podcasts, to a headmaster who sees technology integration as "inevitable" and has overseen the digital overhaul of his school's library, making is accessible to all students from anywhere on campus. 

The article then shifts to a study done by CompTIA, called IT Opportunities in Education Market, interviewed 500 K-12 teachers and college professors regarding technology in the classroom, and the results were overwhelming positive: 78 percent of teachers said they saw technology in the classroom as a positive impact, while 65 percent said students are now more productive because of technology.  My favorite aspect of the article, however, was they also interviewed teachers who fell on the other side of the argument.  One teacher gave the biting remark, "Gadgets go out of date and humans do not. We only get better with age and with teaching and our gadgets all break down."

All in all, I thought the article did a nice job of balancing the positives and negatives of incorporating technology in the classroom.  More impressively, the author was able to get his message across without revealing any bias or personal opinion, which I feel is key when reporting about a topic such as this. 

Risks Involved in Integrating the Internet Into the K-12 Curriculum

The self-explanatory article "Risks Involved in Integrating the Internet Into the K-12 Curriculum", from Bernie Poole's column, seeks to do just what it says: provide the reader with simple and clear risks involved when using the internet in a K-12 setting.

Poole provides the 8 following risks along with what I'd consider common sense information about all of the following:

• Filtering software
• Cyber bullying
• Online predators
• Invasion of privacy
• Inaccurate or biased information
• Information overload
• Garbage
• and Wasted time

The strongest aspect of the article is the links and information Poole provides for some bullet points.  He doesn't just throw these problems out with out offering a solution or at least pointing the reader in the direction of a solution.  However, he fails to provide solutions for all 8 risks, which drags the article and his credibility down somewhat. Another strong aspect is the actual risks he's chosen, especially "Inaccurate or biased information".  I think too often students (and even some adults) assume that because something is on the internet, it must be reliable, which is more often than not, untrue.  It addresses the importance that teachers face to teach things like referencing, sourcing, researching your sources, etc. which often falls through the cracks.

If I had one complaint with the article, it would be the overall negative tone it seems to take with using internet in the classroom.  I think the most effective arguments are the well balanced ones, the arguers who incorporate the yin and yang into it.  For this article to truly hit home, I think Poole should have addressed some of the positives that can come from an internet capable classroom, or at the very least, MENTION that some good things could come from it!  Too many times when you see "list articles" like this, it turns into griping, instead of building and reinforcing a valid argument. 

More High Schools Implement iPad Programs

Jason Koebler's "More High Schools Implement iPad Programs" is a brief(somewhat dated now) article that captures and elucidates on the now common trend of incorporating and providing iPads or tablets in the classroom. At the time the article was published, nearly 600 districts had been given funding to provide iPads in the classroom, with 2/3 of those being new programs. He also makes mention that districts have been using iPads as a 1:1 resource since it launched in 2010. 

Koebler's article first addresses the benefits the programs have had on schools, mainly that they are more cost effective than textbooks (after initial purchase of the iPad, apps and e-books can be purchased for much cheaper than a hardcopy textbook), more diverse than textbooks, have faster response time and computing capabilities, and generally seem to engage the students in a way that standard textbooks cannot.

More importantly, the article doesn't shy away from the downside of providing this sort of product in the classroom.  The biggest concern seem to be student distraction.  While you can readily download educational apps on the iPad, there is no way to limit access to the recreational apps and programs of the item.  Another major concern seems to be lost and damaged iPads, which would be a large burden for districts that are already low on resources.  The article cites a school in Minnesota in which 22 of 375 iPads were either lost or broken during the first year of use.

I would be interested in a follow up piece from the author since this one was published so early into the products career. I think returned to the topic and the schools featured in the piece would be beneficial now that we have a larger test period (4 years compared to just 1) and see what kind of changes, positive and negative, have been made since the incorporation of the iPads into the classrooms. 

3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Laura McMullen's article "3 Tips on Integrating Technology in the Classroom" focuses on the Alliance for Excellent Education, and more specifically, their "Digital Media Day": a day which celebrates and discusses teachers who have successfully incorporated technology into their classrooms. The alliance sees it as a way to reinforce good technological processes in the classroom while also being a place to learn about new methods. It is run by former West Virginia governor, Bob Wise.

After a brief explanation of digital day, the article shifts it's focus to the "3 Tips" mentioned in the title. The 3 Tips the article gives are for teachers to plan ahead, try something new, and to become an educational designer. In each step it reiterates how important planning ahead is in the classroom, especially with technology. A large part of the Alliance's job is helping teachers prepare to integrate technology in the classroom and combat the big misconception that you can just throw computers or other technological aides in the classroom and say, "Okay, we're 1:1 now so students should learn more."

I think the strongest aspect of the article is it features an educational group supported and run by a very prominent former politician, which allows for an ethos of credibility. However, I would have liked to see more of the political process of trying to get technology in the classroom, especially considering they are interviewing a former politician who would have firsthand knowledge of the process. The articles biggest downside is that it breezes over this section and instead provides information on what to do and how to prepare when you've already been allowed some sort of technology in your classroom without addressing how most teachers have to fight tooth and nail to get just a small amount of money to get anything done. 

How Should Technology Teach History? -Halley

This article was written in response to some what some called an extreme historical lesson. Author Tony Wan describes the efforts of two companies to give students a real life look into the horrors of slavery. Described as inappropriate and offensive, these are lesson plans that  fell way off track. From re-enacting an important historical trial via Twitter, and a game that simulates slavery, these ideas may have seemed like a good ideas in the planning stages, but the execution was poor. History is subject to interpretation and according to Wan, "anyone creating a narrative of history, must be aware of the biases and agenda in the the materials and sources used to create the content".