To Technology! And Beyond!

Whether you embrace it or bash it, use it or refuse it, technology has embedded itself in every aspect of our lives. It isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so everyone might as well buckle up and enjoy the ride. That being said, I think we can expect many exciting advances in technology in the next five years, especially in the setting of the school classroom. In coming years I believe that new technological innovations will quickly disseminate into the daily instruction of teachers as more and more of those teachers become young, technologically savvy educators. I expect to see more teacher use podcasts, blogs, websites, and audio files to reach and stimulate their pupils. I also imagine that these advances will allow more parental insight and participation within the classroom, a much needed side of learning since parents struggle keeping up with their children nowadays. I think all of these technologies will be used regularly in classrooms in five years to help facilitate instruction.

            Overall, I feel that technology is changing education for the best. New technologies are breaking down the once opaque walls of the classroom and replacing them with the clearest of glass. Now, teachers, students, parents, administrators, and the community can all see what is taking place in the classroom and make the appropriate changes when needed. I also feel that education can now be transported more easily to the students’ home. What I mean is, that with new technology, students can now access school documents and study materials from home and in that way; learning can take place 24/7.Technology also allows educators to accumulate material from around the world in seconds with the help of the internet and the mountains of information databases available. Using this, teachers can use the most up to date and accurate information in their lesson plans.

            Teachers are reaching their students in a different way today by using technology students are already familiar with. No longer is the traditional lecture the best way to convey a learning objective. Students today are more technologically apt than ever, and as teachers, we need to harness this ability of theirs and incorporate it into our teaching. By doing so, we are reaching our students educationally in various different learning methods, whether it is spatial, auditory, kinesthetic, etc. Students are changing and so are teaching methods, so as future educators we must stay abreast of all the technologies that can help improve our instructing styles. So, in a few years we’ll find ourselves at the pinnacle of these decisions. The brink of another school year. We’ll have a classroom of wide-eyed students waiting for us and we’ll have a thousand choices to make. What to teach? How to teach? What to use to facilitate todays lesson? And most likely, new technologies will help answer each and every one of these questions. 

            Below you will find an AudioBoo file that details how I believe Podcasts can be used in the classroom and how I hope to one day incorporate them into my lessons. Take a listen by clicking on the “Play” button below. Enjoy!

listen to ‘Podcasts’ on Audioboo

Inspiration Station! - Graphic Organizers

 

            As teachers, it is our responsibility to see that each of our student’s receives an adequate education entrenched in the learning technique they most benefit from. Obviously, it is impossible to customize your entire curriculum around the needs of only one student. This doesn’t mean, however, that a teacher cannot insert various learning devices into their lesson plans that reflect different learning methods. In this posting, I will briefly highlight the benefits of using a graphic organizer, Inspiration 9 in this case, to convey information to students who are spatial leaners.

            We can all remember that time in the classroom when we have struggled teaching a concept to our class. What have we done in these instances? Probably, try and draw a chart/graph. And what has this usually accomplished? Well, if you’re like me, your drawing skills probably just confused your students further. This type of situation is perfect for the use of a graphic organizer. Graphic organizers allow the user to convey information in a visually appealing manner, which also provides an organized, easy-to-follow pattern of comprehension. This sort of technology makes it easy for students to grasp educational concepts as well as provide them with a visual memory of the information. Inspiration 9, just one of the many graphic organizers available (and the one I am most familiar with), is extremely easy to use and provides teachers with a multitude of graphic resources to create their idea. Overall, graphic organizers create a new way to present information in the classroom and also make it incredibly simple to export this information to study guide sheets, or as image files for uploading. This allows students to easily access this classroom information to study from.  

            Another way this information may be used to teach students is to have them create a graphic organizer to teach a lesson to their fellow classmates. In this way, students will not only be rehearsing the information, they will also be instructing it by showing their graphics to one another. A graphic organizer would also work wonderfully as a wall hanging to engage students in a particular subject the class is studying. In this way your students gain knowledge through the aesthetically pleasing aspects of your classroom. The advantages of graphic organizers, such as Inspiration 9, are endless. Teachers can present new ideas, put student ideas on the organizer as they are generated, formulate study guides, and make lasting visual connections for students.

            So there you have it. Graphic organizers. They provide a new and exciting way to deliver classroom information. Inspiration 9 is just one of many graphic organizers that can be used to accomplish a multitude of learning objectives. They are generally easy to use and allow the user to export their work to compatible processors. So, what are you going to do with your graphic organizer? Teach prime numbers? The Spanish-American War? Or maybe, like me, you’ll use a graphic organizer to teach the Hierarchy of the Catholic Church.

Below, you will find an image I exported from Inspiration 9 that I created to teach my students about the Catholic Church’s Hierarchy. Check it out!

         

The Podcast Task

            In today’s ever evolving classroom, podcasts can play a very important role. There is no doubt that after a few hours of hearing a teacher talk (maybe a few minutes for some) students tend to zone out in the quagmire of monotony. Podcasts can liven up a classroom by bringing an outside opinion (and voice) into the classroom. For example, in my Social Studies classroom, I might use a podcast of someone reading the Emancipation Proclamation as President Lincoln. This would give my students an idea of what it would have sounded like on January 1, 1863, and then provide a basis for in-class discussion afterward. This technology may also be used to teach valuable classroom appendages such as vocabulary or test reviews. These podcasts could be made accessible on a teacher’s course site so students could access them at home and prepare for an upcoming class.

            There are both advantages and disadvantages associated with the use of podcasts in school. Advantages include; making the classroom more transparent so parents can see what’s being taught, having teaching resources available to students at home on the teacher’s website,  providing a different type of learning strategy for students who may have a nontraditional learning method, and to break up the overall repetitiveness of the everyday lecture that often occurs in a history classroom. Although the advantages alone may be enough to sway a teacher to utilize podcasts, the disadvantages must be taken into account. Some students may not have internet access, so making listening to a podcast part of an at home assignment might not be possible. Another disadvantage might occur in the long run. A teacher might rely heavily on using a certain podcast(s) in class and fail to update their lesson plans because “it’s way too easy” just to have the students listen to a podcast. And finally, we must still be conscious of the fact that many parents are still not comfortable using technology and may not be able to figure out how to access a podcast aimed to inform parents about a topic.

            Although there are both advantages and disadvantages to using a podcast, all can agree it is a valuable teaching resource that should be investigated more thoroughly by educators. This technology has the ability to transform the classroom by making teaching more accessible and interesting. I think we can all expect more fascinating developments to emerge out of the world of podcasts in the years to come.  

            Because of the 100^th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, below I have posted an audio review of the Podcast “What Caused Titanic to Sink?” part of the Rhapsody Tours podcast series. Please take a look at the Audioboo found below and, if interested, check out the podcast.  

listen to ‘Titanic’ on Audioboo

Digital Storytelling - Bringing History to Life

Maybe one of the most difficult things in education is presenting information in an interesting way the very first time. Although we teach children from an early age not to form conclusions based on a first impression, that’s exactly what they do. So making a topic seem exciting from the very beginning is very important. This is more difficult for history teachers because we teach the subject most associated with the word "boring." However, with the aid of Digital Storytelling, teachers can introduce lessons in a fun, interactive manner. This technology allows the user to set a series of pictures and text to music to give students a brief understanding of an educational concept. The fact that the teacher gets to make the presentation themselves allows them to decide what to include and what to especially emphasize for their students. Another nice part of using Digital Storytelling is that if a teacher finds this media to be successful in the classroom, they can use it over and over each semester or pass it along to another educator.

Students can also use Digital Storytelling to show they have a thorough understanding of content covered in class. For instance, if a class just finished a chapter over the Industrial Revolution, a teacher may assign each student to make a Digital Storytelling presentation on a specific part of the Industrial Revolution, such as tenement living, the assembly line, or cottage industries. In this way, students can share with the entire class more in-depth information about the parts of the chapter they found most interesting. Students can then use the questions they asked at the end of their presentations as study questions for the chapter test.

So, there you have it. Digital Storytelling. The future of education? I’ll leave that question up to you. But whatever the case, you can’t deny its usefulness within the classroom. Whether it’s shown in class, shared with parents through a teacher’s website, or assigned as a class project, Digital Storytelling is just another multimedia tool that can be used to enforce an educational concept using various educational learning styles. Below I have posted an example of a Digital Storytelling presentation. This one is over the Industrial Revolution. Enjoy!

Industrialization on PhotoPeach

Twitter This, Twitter That

I'm going to level with you all. I am still not entirely sure what the draw of Twitter is. However, having looked further into this social network, I realize it may in fact be very useful in the world of education. Twitter is all about information. Information about what you are doing. What your friend is eating. What your mother-in-law is complaining about. It's all new information delivered to you instantly. So naturally, there must be a place for Twitter in the field of education, because that's exactly what education is. A constant flow of new information. Now although I think we can all agree that Twitter is well suited as a purely social outlet, I think that if maintained properly a teacher's Twitter page could be quite useful. For instance, a teacher could tweet that she is looking forward to her third periods’ Industrial Revolution presentations tomorrow, or that she hopes none of her students forget to study for the Chapter 8 Test on Friday. Parents and students who follow, let's say Miss VanGildenhauf, can remain connected with what’s happening in her classroom by doing something they would otherwise still be doing, Twittering. Twitter can also be used to keep fellow teachers in the circle of communication. A simple tweet about a teachers meeting at noon or that an important education bill just passed in the senate can help teachers stay informed. Now, I'm not saying that every teacher needs to rush out and get a Twitter account so that the world doesn't pass them by. However, I do think that if a teacher wants to continue making their classroom "transparent", so parents and the community can see what exciting and enriching things are happening within, Twitter may be an excellent tool. Another and maybe just as useful aspect of Twitter is that teachers can gain further insight into the lives of their students by following the students' parents. Now, instead of just the classroom having glass walls, so does the home. Teachers could then understand why Jimmy hasn't been at school for two weeks, or why Amy has burst into tears for the past three days. This capability can allow educators to teach better and care more because they understand each child on a deeper level. So why is this technology different from other communication methods? Because Twitter is entertaining. People want to follow people. So why not the person students see the most, and parents hear about the most? Their teachers! Twitter is just another example of how we are living in a world where we are more and more connected. So if we are living in a more connected world, shouldn't our education be just as connected? Interesting thought, huh? Go ahead, tweet that.

Using Blogs and RSS's

Blogs, blogs, blogs! Blah, blah, blah! How can a blog be used in education? And why would a teacher want to use one? And what is a RSS aside from an acronym that sounds like a horrible disease? Both of these useful technologies will be discussed in today’s blog as I explain their usefulness inside and outside the classroom. I will be using an example of both a useful blog and RSS as I highlight and discuss their advantages.



"To Blog or Not to Blog" - That really is the question!

In my online conquests of historical knowledge, I came across a very entertaining blog written by a history teacher. Dan McDowell uses his blog, A History Teacher, to talk about what he's interested in, which is mainly history although he also teaches and posts about photography. Dan’s blog can be useful in many different ways. For instance, say Dan's class went on a field trip to a World War II museum, Dan could go home that night and blog about all the things he and his students did that day. All the way down to the cold pizza they probably ate in the food court. You can obviously see the advantage to this kind of classroom to home connection. Parents no longer have to be excluded by their child’s casual response of "nothing" when asked what they learned in school that day. Parents can just hop on the computer and check Mr. McDowell's blog to find out how the field trip went. Teachers could even post day to day to update parents. Dan may also post interesting websites he has found and think his students and their parents might enjoy. During the summer, Mr. McDowell can even blog about where he goes for vacation and what he does. In this way he can keep connected to his students, teach them a little something, and also give parents some insight into the kind of person educating their children. Overall, what a blog really does is help replace the walls of a classroom with glass. Parents can finally see what’s going inside the classroom. Dan can also use his blog to look back on how he felt about things back when they happened as opposed to how he feels about them now. Overall, blogs can be extremely useful in keeping open lines of communication between the classroom and the home. Plus, it's very therapeutic to write what you are thinking about, especially for overworked, overstressed educators. A site like Dan's is extremely valuable to a fellow educator because it can provide insight into various other ways of teaching a topic or lesson.


RSS- Really Simple Syndication

Although RSS means Really Simple Syndication, its purpose may be better explained with the acronym meaning Right on the Same Site. Because that's exactly what a RSS allows a user to do. RSS's help you keep up to date on the ridiculous amount of news and information we need to know. And as teachers, we have even less time than the normal person. RSS's link all the sites you normally take time to look up on the internet, onto a page which updates continuously as new posts are made on your favorite sites. Take for instance the Education News website. This website provides all the latest news in the world of education. For instance, one could find out what's the current politics behind education, what cool new gadget can be used in the classroom, what other countries are doing, as well as the news coming from the Department of Education. So, if you were a teacher who usually follows the Education News website, you might want to use a RSS to keep you abreast of the most recent news in the education world. But how would you go about this you ask? Well, pages that are RSS compatible have what you call subscriptions. By subscribing to a page, you will be able to see the new posts on your web portal, such as iGoogle. These subscriptions are usually indicated by a small orange icon. Often RSS's are broken down into various topics. That way you can receive only the history or math news instead of the sports and politics. All you have to do after that is select the RSS feed you want to receive posts from. No longer do you have to fumble around on the computer frantically trying to skim as many news stories as you can before the next period begins. I personally love this RSS because it allows me to watch what's going on not only in the U.S., but across the world in education. RSS's are perfect for teachers because it saves them the commodity they often have very little of: time. A teacher can now log on to their personal web portal (in the few spare minutes they have in the morning) and get all the news they need for the day in just a few minutes. And would you look at that! The teacher has an extra fifteen minutes before class starts. What shall they do with all this extra time? Probably undertake that never ending battle…Grade more papers.

A 21st Century Teachers: A new, and unique profession.

New generations of educators are roaming the halls of a school near you. From a distance they seem like the typical teacher preparing for a new school year: hanging up posters, rearranging desks, sharpening pencils, and copying papers. But upon further observation, an onlooker might notice these young teachers are armed with something new. Something that will transform how subjects are taught and how students will learn. What is it you ask? Technology.

Technology has totally redefined the world we live, making things easier, brighter, and more connected. And the classroom may be one of the most exciting arenas for the evolution of technology. Before I continue I should describe what a 21^st century teacher is. In my opinion, a 21^st century teacher is a young educator who realizes that it’s time for education to change. Now, I’m not saying that the rule book needs to be thrown out and we need to redo every tiny thing our teachers did, but I do believe it requires us to take a long, hard look at educational tactics and ask ourselves “Is this effective?” and “How can I improve on this?”  As 21^st century teachers we get to personally partake in this new advent in education and learn to discover how we can use technology to facilitate our teaching.  We find ourselves in schools now equipped with Smartboards, Airliners, the internet, projectors, labs, etc. and we realize that we literally have the whole world of education at our hands instead of as much as a publisher can fit in a book. As a future history teacher, I will be able to take my history students to Bangladesh through vivid pictures, study culture by means of music by Amazonian tribes, and learn politics at the hands of video debates. We can now travel the world, with the world of knowledge at our feet, and never have to leave our classroom.

However, as 21^st Century teachers we also have two big responsibilities. First, we must promise to become proficient in using our new found technological devices. I think we can all agree there are few things more disheartening then watching an educator struggle with technology for twenty minutes before giving up and resorting to handwritten notes. We owe it to our students and ourselves that we know how to use our technology and keep up on the current developments and new applications they can perform. And secondly, we must respect technology and know its boundaries. There is no debating that fact technology is entertaining but we must make sure we use technology for our educational purposes and not to be pulled into a vacuum of silly online time wasters. We are educators and our utmost responsibility is to educate.

So there you have it. Goodbye chalkboards! Arrivederci overhead projectors! The 21^st Century teachers have arrived and we’re gearing to go with our Smartboards and our weblogs. We’re here to teach and we’re not going about it the traditional way. The world is just within our grasp. And you know what? We’re reaching out for it.