Infographics: Another Way to Use Technology to Enhance Learning

In pursuing my M.A. in Educational Technology, I've had the privilege of being exposed to some really great technology tools and uses for them in the classroom.  Each course I've taken has left me in awe at some new software or program that I become really excited about (chalk it up to my being a technology novice when I started this program).  So when I came across the article "Beyond the Book:  Infographics of Students' Reading History" by Sara Mulhern Gross on Edutopia.org (one of my favorite sites), I had to share it.  I've never in life heard of an infographic, much less how to use one in such an engaging way in the classroom.  In an effort to encourage students to not only read more, but to enjoy reading, Ms. Mulhern Gross developed a lesson in which students would create infographics.  The infographics they created were to be based upon their reading histories, and be compared and discussed among their peers.  The resulting increase in reading interest described by  Ms. Mulhern Gross in the article was enough to make me want to implement this lesson in my classroom.  I hope you all find the article inspiring and helpful as well!!

Preventing Summer Learning Loss...

It's that time of year again!!  The end of another school year, the excitement of summer and, most importantly to students- FREEDOM!!  Of course, as educators and parents, we want our children to experience all the fun that summer brings, but it's also important that we continue to expose them to educational experiences in order to prevent summer learning loss.  Studies show that students can lose two to three months of learning if they aren't exposed to any academic activities during summer vacation.   I came across a really interesting article on Edutopia.org entitled "Seven Ways to Prevent Summer Learning Loss" by Barbara Dianis.  In the article, Ms. Dianis offers seven really great ideas for incorporating quick academic review activities into our children's summer days.  These ideas include setting aside 15-30 minutes dedicated to reading, completing two or three math problems a day, or encouraging children to develop and write short stories throughout the summer.  These are great strategies to use with either young children or teens.  I plan on implementing a few with my youngest son, who will be a high school senior next fall and hates to read anything that isn't video game related, lol.  I hope you all will check out the article and find it as helpful as I have!!

"Big Brother" E-books- Friend or Foe

I hope everyone is enjoying their Memorial Day weekend!!  I just came across an article on Edtechmagazine.com that caught my eye.  It seems that e-book provider CourseSmart has developed a new technology aimed at monitoring student reading of textbooks.  According to the article "Technology Tells Teachers If Students Do the Reading- or Not" by Corey Murray, teachers utilizing this technology will be able to receive generated individual student reports that supposedly show if students have completed assigned readings, any underlined or highlighted passages they may have made, and how many times students referred back to the text before an exam.  The article showcases both the benefits and criticisms of this technology.

I'm all for incorporating technology into the classroom if it makes learning more effective, but this "Big Brother"ly approach just rubs me the wrong way.  Besides informing schools of students' study habits, what real value is there in employing this technology.  And who's to say that any information gathered from this "super e-book" will be accurate and reliable anyway?  All educators know that students can be very crafty when they need to be.  I'm sure every teacher has a student or two (or five) who would open up the e-book mark it up and leave it on just to make it look like they've been reading for two hours.  Also, as the article points out, not every student would be highlighting and underlining notes in an e-book.  Some might just work better with the old-fashioned pencil and pen method (I know I do!)  Seems like this is just another gadget for a big company to make more money on, not something that's going to make any real contribution to student learning, in my opinion.

Voucher System... More Harmful than Helpful??

I was reading an interesting article on the implementation of voucher systems in Louisiana called "Louisiana's Voucher System Grows"  this morning, and I must say that I'm rather torn in my opinion of this strategy. As a parent of three myself, I know the concern of parents wanting the best opportunities for their children.  Voucher systems allow students from poorly performing schools to attend high performing private schools that they would normally not have access to.  What parent wouldn't take advantage of such a great opportunity for their children if given the chance??  I absolutely get that.

As a teacher, though, my concern is for those students who are left behind at those low-performing schools.  Instead of utilizing funds to send SOME students to private schools, why not use those same funds to improve the neighborhood public schools, so that ALL students can benefit.  Why not observe the teaching strategies and tools used in those private, high performing schools and implement them in public neighborhood schools.  I understand that it would be expensive to provide all neighborhood schools with all the bells and whistles that the private schools have, but I don't think that the whole of academic achievement depends on what kind of gadgets a school has.  Parents, teachers, and communities make all the difference in how much a student achieves.  I mean, people DID learn and become innovators and inventors without smartboards and ipads in the past, for goodness sakes. 

Legislators and educators seem to be focusing on the wrong issue, in my opinion.  The focus should be on developing a relevant curriculum, getting and keeping  qualified and caring teachers in the classroom, and getting the parents and community more involved.  When students are encouraged and expected to achieve, they will- especially if that motivation and expectation is consistent from a young age.  Just my humble opinion, though...

Strategies for Using Technology to Teach Social Studies...

As a history buff (and former Social Studies major), I can spend all day gawking at artifacts in a museum, watching the History Channel, or reading biographies about who my children less-than-affectionately refer to as "those old, dead people" and think it's absolutely fascinating.  Unfortunately, I've found that my children and most of my students (in fact, most people in general) do not share my adoration of people and events of the past.

As a teacher, though, it is my duty to convey the events and stories of the past to our students in a way that engages, informs and encourages them to think critically about our society and themselves.  Luckily for me, I am a teacher in the 21st century and no longer have to rely solely on textbooks and drawn out lectures.  The tools of technology give us fresh, interesting and even fun ways of exploring the past and linking it to our present and future.

I came across an interesting article on education.com called "Top Ten Strategies for Technology in Social Studies Instruction" by  M.D. Roblyer and A. H. Doering.  The article lists various intriguing ways to utilize technology to enhance social studies lessons.  Some of these strategies include: adventure learning, virtual field trips, webquests, treasure hunts using GPS devices and many more.  

I thought this would be an interesting article to share with other teachers who get the blank stare like this: ( 0_0 )    whenever a historical event is even hinted at.  (We all get that at one time or another...)

If you have any more sites or suggestions for strategies using technology in teaching, please feel free to leave a comment below!! 

Teaching a Live Online Class...

Given the topic of this week's class wiki discussion- online courses- I thought it more than appropriate to share a blog from WizIQ.com, which is a site that provides software and other tools for those educating online.  The blog is titled "Teaching a Live Online Class" and talks about the tools and strategies necessary for teaching an effective online course.  Of course, it endorses the use of WizIQ products, but it also encourages the use of other technologies such as Google Drive (which I've never heard of before, by the way).  The blog also talks about the importance of having teacher/student connectivity even though you're working online. 

Nothing too too exciting or controversial this blog.  I just thought that for all of us still learning how to integrate all this wonderful (and sometimes overwhelming) technology into our teaching, this would be a great resource.

As always, let me know what you think!!

Texting Paid Off!! Maybe??

Today, I read an interesting article on Edsome.com (that's Educational Social Media, for those not familiar with it).  The article was titled "Texting Paid Off!!!" by Karl Meindhardt.  The article is about the implementation of a "social networking/social media strategy" at a Portland, Oregon middle school.  Basically, the focus of this particular strategy was to improve daily student attendance at the school.

The school decided to form a "texting team" and recruit the most chronic attendance offenders to take part in the trial.  Students' cell phone numbers are collected and a number of mass text messages are sent out to the group throughout the day to keep them on task, I suppose.  "Time to wake up!!" texts every morning would not motivate me at all, though.  The school developed a texting schedule which would get students up in the morning, move them forward to school in a timely manner, and get them to an attendance check-in station inside the school" on time.

I was more than a little leery about this strategy as I read the article.  If student's aren't motivated to come to school (hence the high number of absentees), how in the world would you get them to give over their cell phone numbers so they can get text reminders a gazillion times a day?  How does this help to re-engage students in the learning process? (Which is probably the main reason they don't come to school in the first place).  I guess we have to start somewhere, though. Meindhardt did go on to say later on in the article that since the program was implemented in February 2010, the days of school per week missed by these "chronic attendance offenders" decreased by 35%.  Maybe there's more to it than I'm seeing.  Although this is a good strategy as far as making students accountable for their attendance in school, I just don't see it as a real learning motivator- which should be the ultimate goal.  It does show, however, that technology can be used for so much more than we think sometimes, and is an invaluable asset in an educational setting.

Let me know what you think!!