Sunday, July 12, 2009

Session 6

Please watch the video "Why We Need To Teach Technology in School." http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VnHdqpE4RMWhat is your reaction? In your opinion, is the video correct or incorrect or biased?In what specific ways should the content of this video impact education?

23 comments:

  1. I liked the old pictures because they represented the old-time ways of instructing in today's classrooms. We have been learning that it is very useful to use wikis, cellphones, and YouTube with our classes, however, there are policies in place at schools that do not allow these tools/resources. I, for one, do not have a texting plan on my own phone due to cost so it seems that the students have tools that perhaps teachers can't afford or don't use. How do we bridge this gap? Should school districts have a cell phone plan for teachers or do teachers have to pay for the extra costs to use cellphones in school. Will cellphones be allowed at times if discussed with the principal first and, if so, will the rest of the students be upset that one class is allowed cellphone use. Will I make some webpages and wikis only to find out that I don't have a web server to publish my work or permission to collaborate on my wiki due to school policy? These questions are frustrating for teachers. Its difficult to do the work and run into policy, cost, and inequal accessibility roadblocks. Most teachers would just quit trying because they already have alot to do. Finding the balance between what we want to see in the classroom and what is realistically possible at the district/school level is key.

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  2. I found the powerpoint to be very interesting. Technology has come a long way. I wonder what things would be like if our ancestors had not used the "new" technologies of their time. Where would we be then. Our students need to experience new technology as well as ourselves. We need to provide a safe environment for them to create, manipulate, and build knoweldge.

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  3. I believe that the powerpoint has a point. There is so much technology available and yet how much of that technology is used in creative and motivating ways for our students in schools. Many times the student knows more about technology than the educator. Our students spend more time on computers, their phones, or game systems than they do with anything else. We need to bridge that gap so that our lessons reflect what is important and interesting to our students now.

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  4. I thought the video was presented very well. Using pictures of old technology, but at the time of there introduction they were cutting edge. Then seeing all the new things we now have in society. Things kids enjoy and these are the same things we tell them they are forbidden to have of use during school. We know they like them. Why don't we use there toy as our tools to help teach them?

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  5. I agree with all of the comments so far. I think that many times our students know a lot more about new technologies than many teachers. I also agree that technology has come a long way, and that seems to be something that our society doesn't respect as much. We tend to forget about the old way of doing things. At the risk of "reinventing the wheel," how much should we teach our students about the old way of doing things? I also agree with Anne about the policies of the school district. YouTube is banned in most public schools because of all the inappropriate things that can be viewed. How do we as teachers educate our students on learning from these tools when we can't use them in class? Or should we expect students to learn these vital lessons through time and maturity? When technology is always changing, it is really hard to determine what to teach on these lessons.

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  6. The slideshow made a great point when it stated that if we don't keep up with technology we are going to be left behind. I know that there are a lot of issues when it comes to using technology in the classroom (cost, appropriate material, etc.), but if we don't figure out a way to do this our students aren't going to be competitive in their futures. The internet, among other new technologies, is globalizing our world and students who lack the tools to navigate the current technologies as well as those not yet created will find themselves with fewer and fewer opportunities. I do agree, though, that the using technology in the classroom needs to be carefully monitored and evaluated as to avoid "reinventing the wheel".

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  7. I was also amazed when I saw this video and all the inventions that have been made along with all the inovations. I feel that I was clearly caught up with technology until all the ipods started coming out. I still have no idea how to download music on those things. I have used the internet quite a bit in my classroom, but have been discouraged that youtube was restricted for most of the school year for teachers and also that having international epals have become dangerous since you never know who you are talking to. I do feel that it is important to use technology and the internet in the classroom, but it has also become dangerous whereas it has never been very dangerous before. I would like to know if there is a way for students to connect internationally with student in a safe productive way. I agree with the video that it is important for students to utilize the internet tools that they have, but also be taught of the danger as well.

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  8. Isn't it amazing, the quickening pace that technology has taken in the past half century in contrast to the previous. The presentation is right on the money. Most educators know, and agree with the video. The problem is change. Not the changing technology, but the willingness to change the way we do things in schools. Will we, the educational culture, be able to adjust student scheduling, teacher attitudes about what works, and spend money towards improving/allowing technology and how our kids are going to learn in the 21st century.

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  9. I enjoyed the video. Engaging students in the learning process is extremely important and will help to improve their lives. I agree that the kids are ready. The question is...Am I ready? Hopefully this class will help to prepare me to integrate technology into my future classroom! Students use technology and computers in their leisure time already, so why not integrate it into their classwork? We also need to teach our students to critically analyze what they read abd learn and use creativity and problem solving skills effectively.

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  10. I agree with the message of this video. It makes sense that students (and teachers) should use the modern tools that are available to us. I do not, however, believe that technology is the primary factor that needs to be changed for our educational system to be more successful. In my opinion, the most important factors are outside of the control of the school system, so I won't discuss them here. Within schools, I think we need to do more hands-on active learning - using technology and not using technology.

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  11. Seeing this video reminded me of how technology changes so rapidly! To think that when I was a child, cell phones or personal computers weren't heard of, and now life without them seems so last century ago. That's probably how every generation has felt seeing these rapid changes. Technology is here to stay, and in order for today's yound minds to learn we must ourselves be knowledged in these areas for the success of tommorrow's future. It's mindboggling to think of what else could come, but we must keep an open mind and not close the minds of tommorrow's generation for they possess within them solutions in which we ourselves have not even dreamed of. As with any new, technology possesses a power for good or evil, but must keep faith that it will advance in a positive manner.

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  12. It was interesting to watch the technology evolve through the years. To me this video stresses the point of how we not only need to give these kids the tools but we do need to show them how to use them. We need to make sure we show them how to use the internet and discuss the safety of it so they learn about it. I think of it as driving a car. We don't just throw them the keys and say figure it out. We have them watch us, then we slowly teach them. Until eventually they are driving on their own and you trust and believe in them that they will be responsible and safe.

    Someone said that most of the time the kids know more about most of the technology than we do and that would be the part of the if we don't change we get left behind. I think most of us are behind and we are the ones willing to take the step and learn to catch up. That makes us better teachers.

    I think the point about what is allowed and what is banned in schools is a great one. It doesn't do us a whole lot of good to learn about a bunch of things that we can't use at our schools, it is sad because I think by the end of this class we could all argue why some of the cites and cell phones could be useful.

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  13. Technology is one of those catch 22 topics because it can be wonderful and one is optimistic about using it in class until...they have to take time to learn the tool. I find myself learning of new and useful tools such as digital storytelling and blogging but then am weighed down with the prospect of exploring the technology piece and finding an easy way for students to access the tool. Also, I think there are some teachers who believe that just because they are integrating technology into an assessment piece that it will be fantastic regardless. Hardly so. Technology needs to be implemented with thought and strategy.

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  14. I enjoyed the video. It was brief and to the point. Plus, I found the music to be enjoyable to listen to. I found this quote to be interesting "We need to engage them or enrage them". A typical high school student nowadays walks through school hallways with an IPOD in one hand and their cell phone in another hand. For many high school teachers, including myself, I find these tools to be a distraction to the learning enviroment. However, I realize that ultimately we as teachers are going to have to realize that the gizmos and gadgets that can be found on most American high school students are going to be a part of the learning process. I believe that the goal should be to incorporate ipods, pdas ect into the learning enviroment. It is also important to realize, as noted in earlier comments, it is impossible for schools and school districts to stay ahead of the technology curve. The aim should be to train educators to use as many technologies as possible in their curriculums.

    As a realist, I also realize that incorporating more technologies is not a "silver bullett". Other factors that negative affect the learning process, as mentioned in earlier comments, need to be addressed.

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  15. I enjoyed watching the video. It was interesting to see how far we have come in the area of technology. It also presented the direction in which we need to be prepared for. The video could have been better. The text was hard to read through the pictures, and the music was ineffective. The video set forth the idea that the students do want to learn. I think often times teachers feel as though the students dont care. It is our job as educators to engage the students, and present curriculum to them in a way that makes it easy for them to understand/retain. The way to approach this is through the incorporation of technology.

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  16. I believe that it is inevitable that if we don't teach our students how to use technology they will get left behind. We as as teachers need to find creative ways to incorporate technology into our lessons and in our classrooms. Using technology will not only keep students interested but it will also propel them into the ever changing face of technology.

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  17. Over the centuries our society has embraced changed. Today's changes in technology are important for our students to learn as they prepare to enter the workforce. We can use the technology of today and tomorrow to prepare our students to collaborate, analyze, and sort through information in order to be successful. As teachers, we are preparing our students for jobs that don't even exist today. The only problem is that technology was once like a moped, you could go for a ride and enjoy the sights. Today it is like a rocket, hold on tight and pray you don't fall off!

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  18. This short video hit home for me. The first article that I reviewed was a position statement by the National Council for the Social Studies and it centered on the idea of Media Literacy. This idea is basically relates to all of the comments that were made in the video. A large part of the National Council's position agreed with the producer of the video in saying that we need to get our students to analyze the information they are receiving better and then need to synthesize that information into something that is creative. I have included the link to the site below:
    http://www.socialstudies.org/positions/medialiteracy1

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  19. I agree with some of the web page commenters who pointed out that in the end, students only get out of education what they put into it. Technology is important because it offers us great teaching tools and we need to teach students how to use technology constructively, not just for fun and socialbility.

    Too many times, students (even here) use the computer in front of them to ignore the teacher and surf or play rather than to learn, though. Also, the digital divide is very real, and even where technology is available to students, many students haven't used it for anything but required schoolwork and pleasure. They have no idea what it offers them as in the way of productivity tools.

    I'm wary of laptops. So far I've sent 3 sons to college with laptops. The longest one lasted 2 years. Even the computer science major dropped his and killed it. Mine all last me because I baby them. Will students? I doubt it.

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  20. To me, these kinds of videos are a little like a motivational speaker... while entertaining, they rarely say things you don't aready know. We know that it is necessary for us to adapt our teaching styles and materials to the technological advances our society has made. Teachers made changes to their teaching methods when students stopped writing with chalk on slates and started writing with pencils on paper. The changes we have seen over the last 20 years have been significant, and it will take some time to catch up, but I do think we will get there.

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  21. It is obvious that there is a lot of information on the internet. I like the idea of a wiki where people are willing to share their time and experiences to let others know what works for them. In a world where time is getting more valuable anything that helps us be efficient is a plus. A page like this wiki lets me know what’s available, but there is still a lot of information to sift through.

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  22. Though I do believe technology should be further integrated into the classroom there are quite a few other issues that need to be solved first. It would be nice to have computer, but if you ask any teachers they would much rather have less than 30 students in a classroom or a classroom in and of itself. The other major problem is just the plain fact that if we have this technology, who is going to train the teachers on it? That will be extra money needed. That is one issue that I find the most interesting, you give the teachers a smart board, yet do not teach them how to integrate it into the classroom? I have seen that done on more than one occasion.

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  23. I thought the video was pretty good. I liked how it showed the beginning of how we are constantly changing. I do think we need to be able to integrate the different ways to use technology in the classroom like cell phones etc... We do need to understand cost to this also. I know I only have 2 computers in my actual classroom so it's tough at times to be able to use computers for different instruction but I know it needs to happen because the video it correct when it says we will be left behind.

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