Social Technology or .......

Technology in the classroom is a topic that comes up more and more as technology grows by leaps and bounds. The issue to me is not whether we use technology in the education setting but how we use it. Having computer access alone does not address the social issues of access to information outside of the classroom. It is my opinion that technology is not the issue alone, it is in-depth understanding of our students that will push or pull them out of their respective deficiencies.

The articles Social Justice – Choice or Necessity? by Colleen Swain and David Edyburn and Who Are Today's Learners? by Christine Greenhow discuss the issue of technology in education very similarly to other articles I’ve read. I understand that getting into specifics would make the article long and tedious, but they always seem to give generalities of how to fix things or what to do. I believe, like technology itself, the integration of technology into education will happen organically. And not as a forced-upon tool to prepare students for jobs.

It is a disservice to any student anywhere to limit anything to them because some do not have access to this or that. Technology is just another means of information reaching us. Limiting any information to our students goes against our goals of building students up. Our job is to use all the tools available to us to enhance our students’ bodies and minds. And the use of any technology should not be limited, when appropriate.

My goal for my students is to increase the access to critical thinking beyond the subject I teach. How the information gets to them is not as important as what they do with it when they get it. Providing encouragement to students will help them overcome any boundaries that may be in their lives. Technology is an immensely useful tool for educating, but the power to persevere is a tool that will carry a student further in their life.

Here we go!

If I were a teenager today and my teacher asked me if I wanted to play video games in school, I would say yes in a heartbeat. Even if they were boring video games. As a teenager, I just wanted something to be entertaining and hold my interests. And I have a bad habit getting involved with games that do not really take me in the right direction. As an adult, and future teacher, I don’t see the logical value to including video games in the school environment. I remember the feelings I got from playing video games and it was never about learning or developing my problem solving skills. The problem solving skills developed in the video game environments were only for continued entertainment and fiscal purposes. I wanted to make my money last longer and prolong my excitement. Video games may minimally compliment instruction, but they fall too close to entertainment, in my opinion, to be instruction replacement.

James Paul Gee in his paper, Good Video Games and Good Learning, talks about 16 different learning principles of video games. That is quite a few. And though they all might be valuable learning principles, their practical application to learning in such a way as to pass standards tests or other forms of assessment won’t work.

The most resonating things Mr. Gee mentions are the examples of video games, over and over again. I don’t disagree that each example backs up that learning principle mentioned, but what practical application does that have in our standards based education. Yes, we can’t teach to standards, but the principles of learning Mr. Gee mention can all be encompassed by passionate, caring, engaged teachers and parents. The sole entertainment value of each one of those video games may take away from the functional ideas encouraged during school.

If I were to incorporate any ideas of learning from video games advanced by Mr. Gee, it would be of customization. I would like my students to be more self directed in their learning. Breaking the norm in helping students understand algebra or trigonometry might make their classroom time that much more enjoyable. There is always a point of understanding I feel I need to get my math students to, but making it fit their modalities of learning will engage them much longer than any video game will.

Wiki What?

Wikipedia is one of my favorite websites. Every once in a while, something pops into my head that I would really like to know more about. Like Lady GaGa or General George S. Patton. I would just really like to know more about what made that person, idea, place, or thing the way it is. One of the most interesting things was reading about Wikipedia’s own policies of page editing, and that came about when I was reading a little about the Church of Scientology. They have banned certain IP addresses from editing the pages on the Church of Scientology, IP addresses from both pro and con viewpoints.

Now it isn’t where I start out when I am researching something. My homepage is Google, and when I want to look something up, I usually type in a general idea of what I am looking for and search it. Quite often, an article from Wikipedia relative to the topic is at or near the top of the search results. If the brief descriptions brought forth by the search results don’t seem relevant or intriguing I will look at the Wikipedia entry. More often than not, it seems to carry less bias than other websites on certain topics, for example, the Church of Scientology. For that reason, I tend to trust the information a bit more on Wikipedia.

Since I will be teaching mathematics, I don’t foresee myself running into many situations where my students will have to rely on doing any research for any projects or assignments that may include visiting Wikipedia. If there is a reason for research, then I would probably trust Wikipedia, depending on the subject. I enjoy math because I perceive it as a black or white subject. Either 2 + 2 = 4 or it doesn’t. There is no real gray area in the previous equation that any anonymously edited page on Wikipedia might sway my students to believe differently. If I were a social studies, science, or English teacher, I may not completely trust Wikipedia, again, depending on the subject. The article, “Wikipedia: Ban It or Boost It?” brought up a scary point that I had not really considered. That “entries are written—by anyone, at any time, on nearly any topic. No editors or editorial process.” I knew that, but seeing it in print made me realize that even just enthusiastic people could mislead others with the click of a button.

When it comes to my students using Wikipedia, again I have no real problem with it. I still see it as a useful research tool. But I would require that any student who uses Wikipedia as a reference for a project must use another credible reference for approximately the same information. In addition, I would require that my students reference the name of the web page used for information and provide the URL. One of the most frustrating things for me is seeing a reference to information that is only a main website. I feel anyone should be a little more transparent as to where they got the information they are presenting.

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzz, Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz, Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cell phones in the classroom are a somewhat touchy subject. I’m sure ninety nine percent of students would want to have their cell phones in the classroom with them, while probably an equal percentage of teachers and administrators would not want them in the classroom at all. As for me, I don’t think cell phones in the classroom are any different than any other distracting object or situation students bring with them into class. Even with supportive evidence to include cell phones in the classroom, I still haven’t been able to wrap my brain around the concept of using them in class, during school hours to enhance the curriculum of the subject that I wish to teach, mathematics. Now using cell phones as a way to connect with students outside of school, of course with parental permission, would be a great way to send out pop quiz questions to help students reinforce in memory the ideas experienced in class. I used to think that cell phones should not be allowed in classrooms because of the distractions of text messaging and cell phone games. But like I said, they are no different than other distractions students bring to class. Texting, to me, is about the same as passing notes, just without the paper and a much larger distance to travel. My opinion changed after my exposure to current classrooms and discussions about how students haven’t changed, just the technology they have access too.

My cell phone policy will be somewhat open ended. And I hope to have my students and coworkers involved in shaping the policy even further. Pretty much, if they are demonstrating mastery of the subject and class I am teaching, they can use their cell phone as long as it does not distract from others in the class. And then, only if they are not distracting another person in a classroom with more restrictive cell phone policies. Part of the consequences set up for the classroom will be determined as a compromise of what I think punishment should be and what the class as a whole thinks the punishment should be. Policy could be cell phone taken away for first offense or just a warning. It will all depend on the respect demanded and given between myself and my students. As long as students have a sense of control and respect, they will abide by the rules set forth for them.

As I stated earlier, I can see using cell phones as a reminder for subjects taught earlier that day or week. Sending out somewhat simple questions with simple answers will keep students involved longer with the subjects. I can’t foresee using cell phones with the physical classrooms, but I can see them being used in any imaginative way students may want to use them. We teachers must not be afraid of change, even technological change, for that is what we are trying to effect on our students. Change.

You can't bully me!

Cyberbullying is the act of using technology, in almost any form, by someone younger than 18 to demean, harass, intimidate, belittle, or just plain bully another person younger than the age of 18. I believe that I am too old to have been involved in any forms of cyberbullying. Before I turned 18, there were no widespread cell phones, no forms of text messaging or paging, and the internet was in its infancy. The closest I have ever really came to being involved in anything similar to cyberbullying was responding to someone who anonymously insulted my game playing ability in different online games. I just laughed at their insults.

The biggest problems face regarding cyberbullying is just finding out. Most schools do not have the resources or the time to monitor any possible internet involvement related to students from their school district. Finding out about any bullying, whether it be cyberbullying or in real life, involves someone spilling the beans. Either the victim themselves or someone else who knows telling someone of authority in the school. Legally, as supported by many different cases, schools have limited rights to inhibit or punish students for speech expressed outside of school. And cyberbullying falls under that limitation relative to school imposed punishments. Yet, it is my opinion that schools should not turn a blind eye to the activity of cyberbullying, just as they cannot turn a blind eye to physical or sexual abuse of students. If evidence is believed to exist that a student is cyberbullying or being cyberbullyed, than that information should be reported to the local authorities and/or the parents of the students. Schools need to deal with behaviors with the legal scope of their own authority.

I intend to have a somewhat preemptive plan for dealing with cyberbullying within my classroom. This preemptive plan is to have an all encompassing acceptable behavior policy stated within each syllabus for each class. This policy will state that inappropriate behavior in any form or media will not be tolerated. I legally cannot outline what, if any, punishment will be vetted out, but it will be a requirement of all my students that they have their parent or legal guardian recognize through signature that they understand their child is aware of this acceptable behavior policy. I am not the ultimate caretaker of these students, but I will be a defining influence in their behavior as my students.

The Internet isn't that anonymous.

What I found about myself after searching my name on both Google and Pipl was that my name was somewhat more common than I thought. There was someone who had music for sale. Another person with the same name as me was a punter and kicker on his high school football team. And the scariest thing of all was my name was linked to a killer in a couple of different news articles. After I tried to refine the search by including my middle initial and state, I found only one thing specific to me besides my blog I just recently created. And that was an OLCC mediation hearing over the suspension of my service permit from March of 2000. (Mcneil_Troy_FO_00.doc - oah.state.or.us)
As for changing something that may have been unbecoming of me as a teacher, I’ve already done a couple things. I changed my profile picture on Facebook and made my profile on MySpace private. Not that I feel anything was wrong with my profile picture on Facebook, but some people might look down on the fact I had a menacing look on my face while holding a knife over a pumpkin, getting ready to carve it. It was for fun for the family, but my wife and I decided to pull it down. I used to write juvenile, humorous things on MySpace too, but decided to stop. I know that once you put it on the internet, it never disappears. So if I can make it at least somewhat more difficult to access, I will.
I do and don’t believe teachers should be held to community standards in terms of their personal lives. As long as a teacher’s behavior is legal, they should be free to do as they wish. Yet, because of the large amount of trust the community puts into teachers and how many students the teacher comes into contact with, just being legal is not enough. Teachers need to hold themselves to higher ethical and moral standards than most other professions. You can’t clock in and out and not be known once you leave the school. A teacher’s behavior stays with them from generation to generation of students. That even includes whatever a teacher may say.
The most interesting story, for me, from the article was about the art teacher from Virginia who posted a video of himself painting with his butt and other body parts. I just don’t get why someone would do that. Would the teacher have done this same thing if it were to be broadcast over a community television station? I highly doubt it. I just think it shows a lack of forethought for people to not think about the consequences of their actions, even if it is in a new medium. A general rule of thumb should more than likely be, if you are going to behave like this in public, what would your grandma say? If you wouldn’t do it in front of your grandma, then you shouldn’t do it in public, or even a medium you students could possibly access.
The only thing I can do to protect myself in the future is just to think and use common sense. What would grandma say?

Prensky, Prensky. He's our man. If he can't do it.....

Marc Prensky presents a fascinating viewpoint on technology and the learner. As such, we as teachers need to bridge our own digital divide in terms of what we are comfortable with and what our students are comfortable with. I hope to put my own position in perspective and provide some answers to the question of the benefits of technology in the classroom.

What do I consider myself in terms of being a digital native, immigrant, or alien? Of the examples of digital immigrant accents described by Prensky in Digital Natives, Digital Immigrant, “needing to print out a document written on the computer in order to edit it (rather than just editing on the screen)” etc., I don’t recall doing any of those. (Though I probably did print out articles to read during the initial explosion of the internet.) I might be considered an early digital native who is immigrating into a more complex digital world. I had a dial telephone while growing up, but my parents were some of the first in town to have cable television and a computer. Unfortunately, I was never able to use the computer for games. I had to go to friends’ houses to do that. I didn’t have access to computers in my school district until I was in seventh grade (1985-1986). The first thing I did on the internet (early nineties) was look at pictures of my favorite NFL team, and each picture took forever to download. Thus, I decided my time was better spent at the rec center. I guess you could classify me as having a digital native attribute, I “crave interactivity—an immediate response to their each and every action.” I got my first e-mail address as a sophomore in college, but I didn’t really know what to use it for. I obtained my first cellphone at the age of 26. It didn’t have text messaging and cost me over $40 a month for 100 anytime minutes. I didn’t own my own computer until an old one was given to me by the IT guy at work back in 2003. I finally bought a new computer in 2006. And, lastly, I got high speed internet in my home for the first time in 2008. So, obviously I’m slow to adapt, but I can neither be consider a full digital native nor a full digital immigrant. I could be considered a digital natigrant or immitive.

Since I deem myself as being part digital immigrant and digital native, I have had some differing experiences with technology in the classroom. My high school experience with computers was very minimal. Computers were either used as tools for practicing typing, for creating papers at home, or for learning computer programming. That was it. I didn’t have access to the search capabilities available to students of today. Any research I did for papers or projects had to be done in the field or in the library. Which meant my teachers did not actively used computers for teaching in high school. Computers came to a greater forefront during my college years. Unfortunately, my professors had little inclination to use computers for teaching purposes. Technology was still immature as a teaching tool. Near the end of my undergraduate work, I was finally able to use the vast information available on the internet for educational purposes. My first experience with an online class happened recently. I did not like the impersonal nature of the experience. I was not used to interacting with people in an educational environment without being in a classroom. I feel like I learned more from the readings and tests from the class than the discussion post interaction. Yet, of the two classes I’ve taken so far at Concordia, I can say for sure that I have learned more by being in the classrooms than I would have if the learning was just based on posts and multiple choice tests. So as of right now, yes, technology has improved my learning experience with the increase in the avenues of availability. But I still haven’t seen a direct improvement in my learning experience due to technology beyond me sitting, writing, listening, reading, and doing during class.

My mind has been changed about using technology in the classroom since I’ve read these articles and viewed the video. I understand and recognize my limitations as a technologically literate person. I know I am different type of thinker and processor than the students I will be teaching. And I’m ok with that. I recognize when Prensky writes in Engage Me or Enrage Me: What Today’s Learners Demand, “When what is being offered isn’t engaging, these students truly resent their time being wasted” that he is stating that students are applying the cost-benefit relationship of accounting to their lives. We as teachers must understand when students subconsciously ask “Is the benefit I receive from staying engaged in whatever I am doing worth the cost of my time and effort?” And I as a teacher, hope that I can get them to say yes to that question by using technology in the most meaningful and relevant way. Speak to them in their digital language.