Technology to Educate

Technology to Educate: Book Reviews ~ A Third Grade Literacy Project

Oregon Technology Standards and Requirements in the Classroom

Considering the fact that many of today’s students are termed digital natives (people whose culture is deeply embedded in a variety of emerging technologies) it’s more important than ever that educators stay up to date with all of the latest technologies and incorporate them into their classroom curriculum. As a teacher, it’s vital to keep this in mind in order to plan an education that best suits the needs of all students and to provide them with the skills necessary to be fully functioning productive citizens in the future.

In order to meet technology requirements for both students and teachers, I plan to incorporate technology into my classroom as often as possible, while also taking into consideration the developmental level of my particular students. Because I plan to teach K-3, I will not be using many valuable forms of technology, such as social networking, simply because they are geared towards older ages. However, I do realize that as the years pass more complicated technology will be commonplace in the hands of younger and younger citizens, and as that occurs I will make adjustments.

According to the Oregon Department of Education it’s now a requirement of all teachers to instruct students to be technologically literate. In order to teach others to be technologically literate, I too must possess these skills. To do this, it’s key that I provide students with opportunities to work with a variety of technologies and train them in how they can be utilized.

Web2.0 Tools, such as Yodio, Blogging, Dabbleboard, Podcasting, Screen Toaster, Tokbox, and Skype are great technologies to incorporate into early elementary classrooms. I personally prefer these programs because they are all easy to use and easy to learn. It’s my goal as a teacher to create a classroom blog and incorporate into it student videos, work and presentations through Podcasts, Yodio, Dabbleboard and Tokbox. I plan to also use Skype because it is a great resource that allows my students to communicate in real time with others far away, sharing ideas and customs. Each one of these programs has great potential to motivate and showcase students in a way that can be shared with their families and others in the school community.

According to Oregon Educational Technology Standards, teachers need to guide children through technology to improve:

1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
   
3. Research and Information Fluency
   
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
   
5. Digital Citizenship
   
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

The National Education Technology Standards for Teachers, state that teachers must:

1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessment
3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

Many of these objectives can be met through the Web2.0 Tools I mentioned earlier. However, other tools, such as digital cameras, camcorders, recorders, webcams, and access to the internet can be useful tools in addressing all standards that students are expected to meet in this day and age. Teaching children how easy it is to access information and to express themselves through a variety of modes is an exciting notion that I can’t wait to embark upon.

Analyzing Student Data in a Spreadsheet

Original Data
Data Averages (Test 6-10)

Students with Above Average Test Scores

Students with Below Average Test Scores

After completing the data analysis on an excel worksheet, I quickly discovered that the excel format needs to be specifically formatted to each specific destination. While this is of course possible, it makes the task of embedding, while maintaining function and formatting time prohibitive. As a result, though this is a useful tool individually, I feel that spreadsheets need to be created in their final destination. While excel is a very useful program when installed on a computer, the many versions make it a compatibility nightmare. Looking back I wish that I would have used google spreadsheet for this particular assignment. Live and learn.

The results of the data collection were clear upon graphing the information. Students who scored below average on tests 6-10 showed the same upward trend in grade improvement when compare to the rest of the class. This shows that although they fall below the class average, they are improving at roughly the same rate as the rest of the class.

The student's cumulative average and the total class test average both equated to the same value. This of course makes sense because they are ultimately measuring the same value sets, averaged from different ends.

The hide function is especially useful in analyzing specific portions of the test year, while maintaining the ability to quickly access the cumulative data for each student. It is also important to note that averages can be calculated with specific data set to either zero or null. Since these will give you much different results, it is therefore important to mindfully enter data, so as to not over or underscore the student.

Screen Toaster

For the multimedia project assignment, I worked with Kyle, Katrina, and Radhika to explore the web2.0 tool known as Screen Toaster. While I can see where it's applications would come in handy, it was, in my opinion, not very user friendly. The recording itself was not tricky to figure out, however the final steps to download and embed from the program were a real pain. The biggest difficulty we had with the program was that it did not notify us that we would have only one opportunity to download our recording. If we missed that opportunity, which took place during our save options, then we were no longer able to access our recording and make changes that would allow us to download or embed. We even tried to take the embedding code and input it into our blogs (as we have many other times), but discovered that this code only acted as a link to our recording rather than an embedded video. Having discovered this, we were forced to attempt more recordings (as well as give up more precious time) to complete the required task in order to download the video and upload it to our individual blogs and teachertube.com. Another percieved flaw I discovered in the program had to do with the voice-over application. We found that the recording would cut us off at both the beginning and the end even though we gave it adequate time to capture the entire recording.

Having manipulated this tool and discovered it's strengths and weaknesses, I feel more comfortable putting it into use, however I am not a huge fan and feel that there must be better programs out there that serve to meet the same function.

Scribblar/Dabbleboard

Skype

As I said earlier, Skype is an internet tool I use often. It allows me to make calls anywhere in the world for free or, in my case, a small fee for the added benefit of a designated Oregon phone number.

Skype can be used in my classroom as a tool that brings the outside world within our isolated four walls. It would provide a great opportunity to communicate with others in distant parts of the world. For example, the video chat feature could allow my students to not only speak to others abroad, but also see and experience their cultures and ideas.

This is a tool I am very familiar with and I love how easy it is to use.