Reflecting on my Experiences in ED 240

After having gone through this class, I have become more aware of the issues in technology integration in the classroom, particularly with regards to the digital divide and the importance of using technology in ways that promote equity for all students. Having this awareness has made me more attuned to using technology in ways that go beyond basic skills and instead challenge students to engage in deeper forms of thinking. In addition, I have gained a more nuanced understanding of designing instruction as a result of learning about the instructional design process. I hope to take this understanding and apply it to my own instructional planning, particularly with regards to being detailed and thorough about my instructional process and constantly reflecting on my instruction in order to improve student learning. However, I think the most important thing I have learned in this class is the importance of cultivating a constructivist classroom and how integrating technology in the classroom can serve as a powerful tool for students to be active participants in the learning process. I hope that my classroom will reflect the core values of constructivism and I think I am better equipped and prepared to ensure that I use a constructivist approach when planning my instruction. In the end, I was able to take all that I have learned and apply it towards our final project, which I think will serve as invaluable tool for me to use in the classroom. 

"For the Love of Classroom Tech"

In this op-ed article, author Todd Felderstein reflects on the current push to integrate technology in the classroom and the growing concern with regards to its effective implementation in the classroom. He emphasizes how the marketing surrounding technology has filtered into schools, with districts allocating their budgets to technology integration in the classroom and with tech initiatives becoming commonplace (e.g. the Los Angeles Unified School District's push to ensure every classroom has an iPad). While he questions the justification behind these sorts of initiatives, he does not deny the fact that technology integration in the classroom has proven to be beneficial for many teachers and students. Even throughout his own childhood, technology, whether it be in the form of a Nikon Camera or musical instruments, spurred his creativity and fostered an inventive spirit. In this sense, technology certainly has much to offer students in the way of creative freedom and expression. However, the author raises a concern with regards to how quickly technology is changing and the rate at which we dispose of old forms of technology and usher in the new. In this sense, it seems as though schools become overly focused on the novelty of an item rather than on its functionality and practicality in the classroom setting. As a result, the emphasis is placed more on the "trendyness" of a particular device and less on how that useful that device is in actually fostering the creative and higher order thinking skills we seek to cultivate in students. He challenges teachers to "harness the inspiration necessary in [themselves] for students to imagine infinite possibilities instead of concentrating so much on the tools necessary to physically breach the universe." Ultimately, we must not forget the powerful role the teacher plays in facilitating an engaging learning environment. Technology is a powerful tool to help in this endeavor, however we must focus more on how we use this tool and less on what we are using. 


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Hypotheticals

iPad & Logitech Plug-in Keyboard

If I won a grant for $10,000, I would buy my students a class set of iPads and Logitech's plug-in keyboard. This pair of technology devices is particularly beneficial for students because it allows them to not only use the iPad for navigating the internet, using educational apps, or taking photos/videos, but it also allows each of them to easily use the iPad to write and edit papers or compose presentations. In this way, each student would have their own "laptop" in a sense, but a laptop that provides multiple uses for a variety of classroom activities. While there are a variety of tablets on the market, I chose to go with Apple's tablet because of its user-friendly interface and the wide variety of educational apps its ecosystem provides. Younger students would find navigating the iPad to be much more simple than an Android tablet and this ease of use would allow me to focus instruction on my target goal as opposed to teaching students how to navigate the basic features of the device. 

While the iPad provides multiple benefits, it also limits the types of activities and resources available to me. I am limited to using only the apps available on the app store, whereas if I were to have laptops I would have access to more sophisticated programs that can be used in the classroom. However, given the amount awarded to me, purchasing these devices would ensure that I have a classroom set for each student as opposed to having only a handful of laptops or computers for the class to share. In this sense, students would be able to effectively use class time to complete projects or activities rather than having to wait for another student to finish their work on the laptop or computer. Ultimately, it seems as though the pro's greatly outweigh the cons in purchasing these devices for my classroom.  

Exploring Technology in the Classroom

The student technology showcase videos provided a breadth of insight into the ways in which technology is currently being used in the classroom to deepen and enhance student learning. The majority of the projects students were engaging in involved iPads and the variety of apps offered through these devices that allowed them to create projects such as books, movies, posters, essays, etc. Other projects were a bit more intricate and required computers, cameras, and special software to create. As a whole, the majority of these projects seemed feasible to replicate given the ease of the technology platforms involved and the prevalence of iPads in most schools today. However, it is clear that a drawback to replicating these projects would be if a school lacks sufficient resources to provides students with access to these technological devices. A common theme that seemed to extend across all of the projects was the ways in which integrating technology into the classroom increased students' engagement in the task at hand and made the learning process as a whole "more fun." However, what stood out to me was the ways in which technology provided an almost limitless mode through which students could demonstrate their learning. For instance, I particularly loved the weather game project that required students to choose a topic related to weather and create a game building on this knowledge to teach others about their topic. The game allowed students to tap into modes of expression that were not necessarily "realistic" but that engaged their creativity and provided alternative ways of demonstrating their learning. The "cherry on top" was them gaining insight into some of the basics of programming games.

A salient point that arose in one of the videos was the importance of having students publish and edit their writing on computers, mobile devices, or iPads given the new online format of the Common Core Assessment. At first, the teachers' discussion of the project he was having students complete in class (i.e. transfer their writing assignments into Pages and complete their editing on the computer) did not seem like a revolutionary use of technology in the classroom. However, when he made the point about students needing to practice writing and manipulating things on the computer given the new testing format, I realized just how imperative it is that classrooms begin making the shift in using technology as the primary medium through which students complete work. Ultimately, while not all of the projects discussed in these videos were particularly novel or inspiring uses of technology, the wide range of content areas covered and the types of projects discussed emphasize the multiplicity of ways in which technology can be used in the classroom.

Survey

Preparing Students for Today's World

Both the ISTE standards and the 21st Century Skills emphasize the important role critical thinking skills, collaboration, and technology play in ensuring students are prepared to succeed in today's world. While the ISTE standards place a greater emphasis on technology and situate technology as a medium through which students can develop the aforementioned key skills, the 21st Century Skills framework (see image below) emphasizes the important foundational role core content area knowledge plays in helping students develop the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. In this sense, the latter positions core content knowledge at the core of student success while also identifying the critical skills and literacies that will help students stand out in today's world. Ultimately, while I believe both documents adequately address and explicate the diverse skills students need to acquire, I found the 21st Century Skills to be most comprehensive because it provides a holistic framework that is sensitive to the social and contextual factors that are critical to student success (i.e. professional development, curriculum and instruction etc.). However, while the article identifies important skills students need to develop, teaching the wide range of these skills seems extremely difficult to accomplish given the emphasis school's currently place on standards based instruction and assessment and the lack of resources (both fiscal and temporal) to ensure students develop life and career skills as well as information, media and technology skills. Many teachers already struggle to cover the content standards within the constraints of the school year. Not to mention the lack of technological resources available to schools in low-income communities makes it difficult for students to access technology and use it in useful and meaningful ways. If we are to help students develop these skills, we need to ensure that all students have access to technology and instructors who are well-versed in this area while simultaneously providing students with opportunities to engage in internships/volunteer work within their communities to ensure they acquire hands on experience that will help them develop life and career skills.

Part 1

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