Technology Times
February 3, 2015
How Technology Can Widen the Achievement Gap
In this New York Times Op-Ed article, psychologist/author Susan Pinker shares some troubling data about giving computers and Internet access to young children. After the initial novelty wears off:
- Students in grades 5-8 with access to a home computer generally have lower reading and math scores.
- For younger children, freedom to surf the Internet is linked to lower school grades.
- For many boys and African Americans, reading scores decline precipitously after their computers arrive.
“We don’t know why this is,” says Pinker, “but we can speculate. With no adults to supervise them, many kids used their networked devices not for schoolwork, but to play games, troll social media, and download entertainment.” The result: less personal contact with peers, less discourse with adults, and less cuddling with family members, all of which hold back vocabulary and conceptual development.
Can technology ever be helpful? Probably under the following conditions, says Pinker: (a) If it’s well-suited to the task – for example, teaching about science simulations; (b) if it helps accommodate students with disabilities; (c) if it’s used as a tool by an effective, well-trained teacher. Even here, research remains inconclusive, Pinker says: “While we’re waiting to find out, the public money spent on wiring up classrooms should be matched by training and mentorship programs for teachers, so that a free and open Internet, reached through constantly evolving, beautifully packaged and compelling electronic tools, helps – not hampers – the progress of children who need help the most.”
“Can Students Have Too Much Tech?” by Susan Pinker in The New York Times, January 30, 2015, http://nyti.ms/1zvdW6D
3 Things Great Teachers Do With Technology
3 inspiring examples of how teachers turn technology into relevance and make learning count
Too often, we see teachers putting the proverbial cart before the horse. They find an app or tool they like, so they introduce it in their classroom. The students might find it cool and engaging—but if the teacher hasn’t defined why they’re using that tool, its integration has no clear, educational purpose.
If, instead, you begin with a learning goal in mind and choose apps and devise activities in support of it, then you’re on a path to meaningful technology integration.
To help educators develop a vision for using technology in their classrooms, here are a few examples of what great teachers do with these tools.
1. They Empower students through creativity
Shawn McCusker has been teaching high school social studies for nearly two decades. For years, he would have his students demonstrate their understanding of the great industrial philosophers by writing a comparative essay.
Two years ago, Shawn was involved in an iPad pilot program, and he gave his students a choice in how they would demonstrate their knowledge: Students could write an essay, or they could tap the creative potential that existed in their iPads.
(Next page: How YouTube helped a shy student thrive—and score a hit video)
One of his students created a 12-minute video tutorial [2] comparing the views of Adam Smith and Karl Marx. Now, this was a particularly shy student, as Shawn recounts—and when students were demonstrating their projects and her video was about to play in front of the class, she conveniently went to the bathroom. She returned to a round of applause.
Shawn has a YouTube channel, and he likes to provide his students with an option to publish to an authentic audience. When Shawn’s student opted to post this particular video on YouTube, it garnered several hits. The student was so excited that she asked her teacher, “Can I work on this project some more? I’d like to improve my video.” (How many students typically ask, “Can I write another essay?”)
This student’s goal was to be the most popular resource on Adam Smith and Karl Marx on the web. And if you Google these industrial philosophers, you’ll find her video shows up in the top three search results—besting Wikipedia and the Library of Congress, among other sources.
Can you imagine the pride and motivation she feels in having this audience? Here, we have a student who’s so engaged in the process that she actually asks her teacher if she could work longer on her project. Here is a shy student whose voice isn’t always heard in the classroom, and yet she is able to shine by unleashing her creativity.
2. They connect learners.
Great teachers not only empower their students through creativity; they also connect their students to other audiences, giving their students a platform for putting their knowledge to use in a way that helps others.
Kristen Paino is a New York teacher who has helped develop a Global Book Series [3] that includes books authored by educators and students from around the world. Kristen solicits participants via Twitter and using the BookCreator app, they compile two-page creations in which students describe their school and their community. So far, there are a total of three books published in the iTunes Store.
By creating these global books, Kristen wants to demonstrate how classrooms around the world can come together to publish something unique and creative and learn from each other at the same time. One fascinating aspect of the project is that it has redefined the teaching of geography. As students hear from their peers in other parts of the world, they start to ask questions, like: Where’s Russia? Where’s Mexico? How do those countries compare to mine?
What was often a passive, teacher-centric process in which students memorize places and rote facts has been transformed into an inquiry-based process, where the students are asking the questions and driving the geographical exploration. Now, students want to look at a map; they want to learn more about these places.
(Next page: Lessons that stick with students)
3. They make learning last.
Years ago my then-16-year old stepdaughter arrived home from school and started pulling out cookware from the cupboards. All this while watching a movie on her iPod. ‘What is going on?” I thought.
Olivia was watching a cooking show created by two students in her advanced Japanese class. She was preparing to cook the meal herself. Olivia’s teacher had challenged the students to prove that they really understood new vocabulary. No test. No quiz. No worksheet. Their task was to create a product that communicated a persuasive understanding of the vocabulary. Since much of it involved things found in the kitchen, the students decided to create “Iron Chef” parodies and developed humorous skits using the vocabulary to teach viewers how to cook various meals.
Olivia is now 24 years old and taught English in Japan last year. She recounted a time when she had a Japanese colleague over for dinner. As Olivia was explaining to her guest how she prepared dinner her Japanese colleague interrupted and blurted out : “Wait! Olivia, your Japanese is not that good!”
Olivia is not fluent in Japanese, but she remembered the vocabulary, verbs, and idioms she learned from the “Iron Chef” video she and her students created. By her own admission, Oliva “can’t remember much of anything else” learned in that course, but seven years later the Iron Chef lesson is fresh in her mind.
In these classes, students are not going to forget the projects. That Adam Smith/Karl Marx video is going to stay with Shawn’s former student for a long time—not just the process she undertook, but also the content behind it.
As Shawn would agree, his former student knows the works of these philosophers inside and out. The video is simply a manifestation of her knowledge, made possible with the help of technology; it’s actually the hours she has spent reading their works, analyzing their arguments, and outlining her project that are the foundation of her knowledge.
Tom Daccord is the director of EdTechTeacher [4], a professional learning organization
3 things great teachers do with technology
Posted By Stephen Noonoo On January 26, 2015 @ 6:00 am In Featured on eSchool News,Innovation Corner,Mobile and Handheld Technologies,Top News | No Comments
Helpful LInks for Teaching 21st Century Skills
Ted Talk - Where is Google Going Next
Larry Page: Where Google's Going Next
For those who ever dreamed of sitting in the front row and trying to see what Google has up its sleeve, this TED Talk is a can't-miss. Google co-founder and CEO Larry Page sat down with Charlie Rose to discuss what's next for the search giant, including smartphones powered by artificial intelligence, Wi-Fi-enabled balloons, and automated vehicles, and more grounded topics like security and privacy.
"I don't think we can have a democracy if we're having to protect you and our users from the government for stuff that we've never had a conversation about," the Google CEO said, referring to Edward Snowden, a fellow TED Talker.
Page also defended the lack of privacy on the Internet by pointing out the good that could come from sharing information with "the right people in the right ways," such as making medical records available anonymously to research doctors. "If we did that, we'd save 100,000 lives this year," he said.