Fun with Google Forms!

Technology as a Learning Tool

Assignment: Evaluate one of the examples (Science) using your technology rubric. <- (This rubric was created by myself and two of my Science colleagues in our technology class last week) 

How is technology used? 
This example was such an awesome use of technology in the classroom! "Skype Science" involved two physics classrooms, one in China and one in Chicago, in which lab partners communicated via Skype!  Students held video chat sessions with their international partners twice throughout the school year (due to the time differences) and collaborated in solving different physics problems.  According to our technology rubric, this is an excellent example of a Constructivist Communication activity. 

What are the strengths/weaknesses of using technology as a learning tool? 

     Some challenges that this example of technology in the classroom faced are ones that teachers often worry about when utilizing technology in their classrooms.  First, the reliability of the internet 
connection - with 30 students trying to access Skype all at once in a computer lab, the promise of the connection is limited.  I've been experiencing this problem at my school, and I know that lack of internet connection is happening district-wide. Today in my classroom, our devices couldn't recognize the Apple TV for our room (brand new, installed last week), so we could project (through mirroring) the video that we wanted to. Relying on internet for activities in your classroom, especially those that require a strong connection (like Skype), is a risk that teachers have to be willing to take in order to use technology in the classroom. 
     A second problem that this particular example faced was the time difference between the two locations in communicating via Skype.  This is something that you would only run into in this situation (international collaboration) so it has to be feasible and worth it for you to involve your students in (which I 100% think it is!)

How would you improve the use of technology as a learning tool in this example?
      The only thing I would change about the use of technology in this example is the frequency of international Skype communication! - I'd try and make it more that 2x per year, however this corresponds directly with the problem of internet connection, so I understand the difficulties that would go along with that. I really love this idea, it incorporates collaboration, communication, and seeing things from multiple perspectives! 

What technology is available to the students in your school?

At Santa Barbara Junior High, there is a computer lab with 30 computers, and 20 computers in the library that are open for classroom or individual student use. There is also a set of iPads in the library that teachers can check out for their classes to use. Classrooms are set up with Apple TVs which allow for 'mirroring' from devices within the classroom. My CT and I use both our laptops and iPads to do this. The classrooms have either TVs or projector screens that their Apple TVs and doc cams hook up to.  

What technology is available at home versus in the classroom?

Based on the data collected from my survey, my students for the most part have access to a computer and internet at home. I was very surprised to see the amount of students that were familiar with/have used an iPad, which is encouraging for utilizing technology in the classroom. It was also very surprising to see how many of them owned smart phones (even if they did not have a computer and/or access to internet at home). Only 2 students answered "no" to 3/4 questions, and only 1 answered "no" to 4/4 questions. 39 answered "yes" to 4/4. One of my students, when handed the survey said, "Oh, I have a lot of stuff, I live in Montecito," with a grin on his face as he circled "yes" to all of the questions.

Image 1: Anonymous survey handed out to content periods 1 and 3 on 9/25/13.

Graph 1: Graph of technology survey data - 8 CP Physical Science; 63 students total.

How will this influence the way you use technology as a learning tool for your students?

Because so many of my students are familiar with/have used an iPad, I think it would definitely be beneficial to use those once in a while during classroom instruction (check them out from the library).  Right now we use our own to stream through the Apple TV whether we're showing a slideshow or picture/video, etc.  I think incorporating technology into our classroom would be easy to do because of the students current exposure to it.  Next week we start our science projects which may be a perfect opportunity to start incorporating the use of technology - with accessibility to the internet and camera of the iPads.

How will this influence what you want to learn from this course?

With all of this information in mind, I really want to broaden my awareness of different applications we can use in our classroom that will aid in my teaching experience.  I want to discover ways in which I can use this technology - that my students have access to/familiarity with - to support my students learning. (TEACHnology remember? ;)) I hope to explore new things on both the iPad and computers, and discuss ways in which I can utilize them appropriately with my students. 

My Personal Vision of Technology in Education

Technology is obviously increasing at such a rate that no one can keep up with it - let alone educators. That being said, I know it has great potential for education and learning, if used correctly.  In writing this post, I accidentally typo-ed "technology" as "teachnology" and it brought about an interesting thought.

That is my vision of technology -  Teach-nology.  

Technology should be used to teach, to facilitate learning, and to provide unlimited (a say that warily) resources for our learners. My vision of technology in education goes along with this - I want to see technology used in classrooms as an aid to instruction, for example, I don't want to see my students on devices 100% of their time in my class.  I am all for using devices (let's say, iPads) in my classroom, but it'll never take over, and it'll never be used the duration of the class period.  I believe that technology has the potential to change education drastically, especially in the state that (California, at least) education is at.  With the initiation of the Common Core State Standards, technology is a huge focus, and with proper implementation, will change the way our students learn.

As promising as technology is for the future of our students' learning, there are also very valid counterarguments that propose great points as to why it could be destructive to learning.  And this is where my point of technology being used correctly comes into play - as educators, we need to discover these ways to use technology to teach, not replace ourselves with these fancy devices.  And this is where my blog is going - discovering the possibilities that technology can provide for the future of education... Let's explore!