Ruth's 8 Tech Tool Picks

*Layout designed by Ruth Cuenco

**Various company logos retrieved from google images.

Possibilities -> Realities

Today, I was awakened by the alarm on my cell phone. Then after wiping the crust
from my eyes, I checked my phone to see whether I received any text messages during
the night. Soon after eating breakfast and rushing to school with a fuel-efficient car, I
opened my laptop in order to take notes in class. During the break between my classes,
I decided to continue writing an important essay that was soon due. I researched via
Google and the periodical hosts online, then typed my research faster than if I wrote
them by hand.

To many of us, technology is very much integrated in our lives, and for schoolwork,
it is an indispensable tool. While technology is a very important part of how we learn
and how we do our work for school, for many other people, technology is the only way
they could really work and function well in life. These types of technology that help
people with disabilities are known as assistive technology, which are "...products,
devices or equipment, whether acquired commercially, modified or customized, that
are used to maintain, increase or improve the functional capabilities of individuals
with disabilities" (Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs, 1998).

With the recent years, we are seeing more and more how assistive technology is
changing lives and making possibilities into realities in the classrooms, which used
to be unimaginable a few decades earlier. But the beauty of such technology is that
not only are students with disabilities enabled to learn and participate in class, but
teachers are also given the opportunity to diversify their instruction and be
empowered to reach out to these kinds of learners.

Therefore, if lesson plans could include the use of technology such as online games
to reinforce a topic, provide opportunities for students to use VoiceThread to turn in
homework rather than the usual paper-pencil method, or using talking word
processors, then students with disabilities are not only given the opportunity to learn
and be included in the lesson, but even students who do not particularly have the
disability are encouraged to explore these types of technology and appreciate their use
and importance to the classroom learning of all students.

As educators who will face a great variety of learners, it is important that they should
know and understand the use of assistive technology in the classroom. Educators
should be given the chance to train on the types and purposes of these tools, and they
can research on their own and explore how they can use such technologies in lesson
plans (Family Center on Technology and Disability, 2005).

"Why must lesson plans be revised to include disabled students?" In 2001,
President Bush signed for an education reform known as the No Child Left Behind Act.
Whether this act was a success or not, that matter will not be discussed here, however,
the very message in its name and what it stood for is the point I am striving to make. It
is important for the educational system to fulfill its duties to all students, to include all
students in the classroom learning, and to provide them with the tools and resources
for them to attain their goals. When it was nearly impossible to do such a feat in the past,
but with the gigantic strides in technology that now have, it has become possible to cater
to all learners. And who knows, by empowering them with knowledge accessed by
technology, who will become the next great persons of our future? Who will become the
Helen Keller, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, or even Beethoven of tomorrow?

References:

Association of Assistive Technology Act Programs. (1998). Assistive Technology Act of 1998. Retrieved from http://www.ataporg.org/atap/legislative.php.

Family Center on Technology and Disability. (2005). Assistive Technology in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.fctd.info/assets/ppts/1/Assisstive_Technology_in_the_Classroom.ppt?

1237563981.

Image:

Baby Boomer Care. Retrieved from http://www.babyboomercaretaker.com/assistive-technology/.

Putting It All Together

The advancement of technology has been incredibly rapid. The pace is unprecedented, especially in the recent years when the latest model becomes obsolete as soon as you take it out of the store. Consumers are clamoring to keep up as companies compete to not only get to the most advanced technology, but also the most profitable. Considering all these, there comes a demand for the educational system to keep up with the digital age. Therefore the question is, have technological advancements really been incorporated into the system nationwide? And more importantly, how about the school system here on the island: what are we doing to keep up?

For these reasons, standards, such as the NETS*T and lesson planning models, such as ASSURE, have been established so that the educational system can grow from not only using the book and lecture methods, but to have students learn and use technology in the classrooms (Academy of Teaching Excellence, 2002). Using these standards and model, our group took on the task of making a lesson plan that makes use of technological media.

Our target learners for this particular lesson were fifth graders in a Guam public school setting. We then explored and analyzed the Guam Department of Education Standards for fifth grade in order for us to begin setting up our goals. Here is one of the standards that we used in order to establish the content area we wanted to teach:

5.2.17 Analyze Abraham Lincoln’s presidency, the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), the Gettysburg Address (1863), his views on slavery, and the political obstacles he encountered.

Then, having a topic for instruction, we worked with NEST*T standards in order to solidify our focus on our objectives in regards to the use of technology:

Creativity and Innovation

Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

Students:

a. Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.

b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression.

c. Use models and simulations to explore complex systems and issues.

d. Identify trends and forecast possibilities (International Society for Technology in Education, 2008).

And hence, we came up with these objectives for the lesson:

Students will be able to:

Explain the significance of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Define terms such as slavery, equality, and freedom.

Relate the concepts of slavery and freedom to their personal lives.

Demonstrate their understanding of the core concepts of the Emancipation Proclamation.

Submit a video through the Internet, using a video editing software and a digital camera.

Develop characters, a plot, climax, & resolution in a story (Aguon, Cameron, Cuenco, Kaminaga, Mailloux, & Navarette, 2010).

It was very important for our group to know our objectives in order for us to understand our targets and with our objectives as our reference point, we were more confident to continue to develop our lesson plan. However, one of our setbacks was making our objectives because the assignment requirements were not clearly stipulated. For example, our group was confused at first whether the lesson plan would be included within the video. And then the following class meeting, we were told that the lesson plan and the video were to consist of two different perspectives: the lesson plan from the perspective of the teacher and the video from the perspective of a student. For the continued development of this assignment, we hope that next time, the requirements would be written down, clearly and explicitly stating what is expected for the groups to accomplish. Along with that, a rubric updated for the assignment would be really helpful and a sample video invaluable.

Despite those, I would commend the ASSURE model, because it helped keep our lesson focused and the elements of the lesson cohesive with each other. Also, it keeps the lesson plan developer diligent and reflective on what he/she is teaching. It is definitely a format that I can see myself using in my instruction.

Lastly, the use of technology was very interesting. As an artist, technological media (we used iMovie, Illustrator, and Garage Band for this project) has opened more ways for creative expressions. And I believe, that is what we can expect of our students- their creativity to arise and astound us in how they would juxtapose technology, what they learn in class, and their own creativity. One of our jobs as educators and as a school system is to empower the students with this ability to create. Therefore, technology must not be excluded nor treated merely as an afterthought, but technology should be included and be a vital part in how students learn and apply what they've learned!

References:

Academy of Teaching Excellence, Metropolitan State College of Denver,C. (2002). The Assure Model. Retrieved from: http://www.mscd.edu/~act2/courseconstruct/assure.html.

Aguon, N., Cameron, H., Cuenco, R., Kaminaga, K., Mallioux, C. & Navarette, B. (2010). Lesson on Emancipation Proclamation.

International Society for Technology in Education (2008). Standards. Retrieved from: http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS.

Guam Department of Education. (2010). K-12 Content Standards and Performance Indicators. PDF. https://docs.google.com/viewera=v&pid=sites&srcid=Z2RvZS5uZXR8Y3VycmljdWx1bS1hbmQtaW5zdHJ1Y3Rpb258Z3g6N2NiYmJjYTIwNTAyZjgyMA&pli=1

Lesson on Emancipation Proclamation

YouTube link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc4PdBlLAak

Response to Microsoft School of the Future

Will Microsoft's School of the Future eventually prove to be the school model that we have been anticipating even before its construction in 2006?

My initial thoughts before seeing the news broadcast and reading recent articles about it were more on the negative side of the argument. I initially thought that rather than for the school district to spend an incredible amount of money on one school, why not spend that money on more schools? Why not spend to improve curriculum, infrastructure, technology, and resources of many schools in the district? It seems that trying to salvage what is already on hand would be more beneficial for more people.

The school had to prove something for the community and its critics, and thus, the pressure was certainly present. However, in its infancy, the school has had its own share of difficulties and did not really live up to the expectations. USA Today and CNN reports that the SAT 10 gave dismal results for the school with only 7.5% of 11th graders scored proficient or higher in math and 23.4% scored proficient or higher in reading (Matheson 2010; Hoye 2010). Adding to the struggle of the school is the constant change in the administration- in which the school is already in its fourth principal in the past four years (Matheson 2010). Some students have claimed that the school was quite like a traditional school except for the laptops, and CNN reports that the school have incorporated textbooks and paper as part of the instruction (Hoye 2010).

Amidst the criticisms and the struggles of the school, there are some great news for it still. Its first graduating class will have an almost 100% graduation rate, and each and every student is in the pursuit of a higher education, from acceptance into community colleges to selective schools (Hoye 2010; Matheson 2010). Some even attested that because of the caring and supportive environment that they have had in the school, they felt encouraged to succeed. And the feat- such as graduating from high school and going to college- was not even conceivable at first because of their own personal and socioeconomic issues (Matheson 2010).

I would hate to repeat an old cliche for what I feel about Microsoft's School of the Future, but here I am to repeat it: only time will tell whether this school succeeds or not. To me, the school is still in its developmental stages and what is being done there is under the microscope and may yet still prove to be pivotal to the school system if it succeeds. And as with any school climate, there will be certain problems that we'll have to deal with and find the best solutions for. However, my concern for the school is that they should be striving for excellence in teaching and learning the core subjects such as Reading, Writing, Math, and Science, rather than just gaining "computer-/tech-savviness." And another concern is how realistic would it be to make every classroom in the country this futuristic- this technologically advanced.

After watching the video, I reflected upon the importance of the role that Microsoft School of the Future has in how it will revamp the entire American public school system, and even, perhaps, fulfill our hopes and dreams for the system. So, the question gradually forms to this, "Was it worth the $65 million?"

It was worth the try I believe. But time will continue to tell.

Reference

Hoye, S. (2010). School of the Future focuses on the basics. CNN. Retrieved from http://articles.cnn.com/2010-06-21/us/microsoft.high.school_1_test-scores-school-s-mission-curriculum-overhauls/2?_s=PM:US.

Matheson, K. (2010). Microsoft 'School of the Future' in Philly finally in a groove. USA Today. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2010-06-19-microsoft-school_N.htm.

Image

Keating, D. David J. Keating Construction Company. Retrieved from http://www.djkeating.com/projects-education-01.asp. [Photograph].

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