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Week 7 Response

I really enjoyed the New York Times article, “Math That Moves: Schools Embrace the iPad,” written by Winnie Hu. This article highlights all of the possibilities of these technologies. Todays technology has endless possibilities. The article mentions that there has not been any studies to date that show the use of iPads have directly effected or improved student’s academic performance. Although they have a plan to study these effects, as stated by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, “…It planned to compare the test scores of students using a textbook in digital and traditional book formats.” One major concern is the cost and budgets. One thing to consider, is it more effective for students to have more iPads and resources or more teachers? We all know iPads and other technological resources are expensive but there is so much potential for students once they have there hands on these tools. Not only in the education world but also in societies everyday lives. I know for a few years now the high school I attended has been fortunate enough to provide every student with an iPad each school year. When I graduated the SmartBoards were first becoming popular. I was not personally being taught with an iPad and the resources it provides but I have heard nothing but positive feedback on the subject ! 

I found it shocking when Larry Cuban states “there is very little evidence that kids learn more, faster or better by using these machines.” This is a bold statement especially during this movement in education. I know this article was published in 2011 but the integration of technology has been going now for years. I do believe today there are definitely more studies and research out there that would support the positive impact iPads have had and still have on student learning. 

The article “Digital reading spaces: How expert readers handle books, the Web and electronic paper,” by Terje Hillesund discusses the technological bases of reading. This study takes a look at the different ways readers handle printed texts and digital texts. There are many difference between reading a text in print or digitally. This article really made me reflect on my own way of reading and how society’s preference has changed.  I personally would rather read a text in print this way I can annotate and make notes on the physical sheet of paper. I know you can highlight and interest notes on a digital reading but I find it difficult. I believe this is because when I was in grammar school the only available option was printed texts and at that time even when people looked up information on the internet they would print it out to read it. Today younger generations are growing up in a society were digital is the “easiest” and preferred style of reading. Everything is through technology today and in digital print today, newspapers, books, weather forecasts, invitations are even done through E-mail. So it is not just in the world of education it is a shift for our entire society. The older generation must adjust to the use of technology or they will be left  behind in the manual world. Younger generations are being born into this and the digital way is all they know. I doubt if you walk into a fifth grade class any of the students in that class would be able to successfully find a printed book in a Library but if you asked them to find you a digital copy of the text or another digital resource they would be able to do it in seconds.

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Week 6 Response

Mobile gaming can be a beneficial resource that supports learning. As any other tool these devices have both positive and negative effects. Today our younger generation tend to play games on their mobile devices such as cell phones, iPads, tablets and computers. On these mobile devices users are able to download a variety of game applications some of which are even free. As an educator I believe it is our responsibility to learn more about incorporating these technologies involving mobile gaming into our students learning environments. I recently read an article titled “Study: Emerging Technology Has Positive Impact in Classroom” by Ryan Lytle which stated "that educators who are against the implementation of technology in the classroom are fighting a losing battle. Students inhabit a 21st century world for 18 hours a day, And, all too often, educators put them in a 19th century classroom for six hours of that day, and the students feel a tremendous disconnect. We have a responsibility to teach them the skills to optimize these tools." This quote represents my belief exactly that our students live in a world where they are surrounded by technology. Technology gives our students unlimited resources at their finger tips. Our society has even become dependent on technology. That is why it is so important to incorporate technology into our student learning environment. If students can make a stronger connection between their learning environment and real life experiences this will make our students feel more comfortable in their learning environment and also make learning under these conditions much more appealing. 

In both articles, “Mad City Mystery” by K. Facer and “Savannah: Mobile Gaming and Learning” by M. Squire, the authors discuss the benefits of mobile gaming in a learning environment. Our student’s education can benefit from the use of these games and enable educators to create their own unique learning experience for each of their students. The article expresses how collaboration and communication can be done within the gaming experience. The experience will also provide students with opportunities to exposed to realistic ideas and thoughts through a variety of scenarios before encountering them in real life.

One interesting part of the article “Savannah: Mobile Gaming and Learning?” was, “Mobile technologies, for example, enable children to interact simultaneously with both the physical world and with digital information.” I found this quote significant because it discusses how technology and games on these mobile devices could bring two parallel worlds together. Similar to what I stated earlier about our students benefiting from bridging the gap between their learning environment and real life experiences. Learning through mobile technologies, especially through mobile gaming, makes it a totally different experience from learning outside of students traditional learning environment. One aspect of education that is hard for educators is that “game technologies have for some time struggled to be taken seriously within the educational arena.” I believe this is because if game technologies are not incorporated correctly into our classroom, they can be seen as a distraction. Which would lead to students not learning to their highest potential. 

In the article “Mad City Mystery” the author, K. Facer, mentioned how teachers are “lagging” in regards to social change. Personally, I believe this is because of Apple Inc. Apple constantly has a new products, devices and applications, making it hard for society, including teachers to keep up with the most current technology. Being in the field of education I believe more time is spent and wasted on learning how to operate these devices then on how to integrate them into your classroom. Most new teachers are more familiar with the new technological tools and resources available for their classroom but I also believe if school districts provided training on the most beneficial way to incorporate new technology into their classroom teachers would not be “lagging” behind.

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Dominique, Enid, Melyssa Assistive Technology

https://voicethread.com/share/6371020/

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Assistive Technology

By: dominiquemobilelearning , erod122 , and melyssawithay88

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Annotated Resources for Tech Report:

Topic: Assistive Technology

By: dominiquemobilelearning , melyssawithay88 and erod122 

http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/techdis/resources/mobiledevicesat

This website discusses the different accessibility features in mobile operating systems such as, IOS, Androids, and Apps.

http://www.fctd.info/factsheet/at101

“The Family Center on Technology and Disability” website gives the reader a clear and formal understanding of what assistive technology is. It also provides a section on how to find out more about assistive technology. 

http://www.ncld.org/students-disabilities/assistive-technology-education/overview-assistive-technology

This website was great because it explained what assistive technology is and what it is not, who it is for, and the questions to ask before choosing assistive technology devices. 

http://www.pbs.org/parents/education/learning-disabilities/strategies-for-learning-disabilities/assistive-technology-devices/

 This website article talks about the different types of assistive technology devices for persons or students with disabilities. It’s a simple list of the different types and examples of devices that help make life more manageable for persons with disabilities.

  http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/assistive-technology/702-assistive-technology-for-kids-with-learning-disabilities-an-overview.gs

 This is a helpful article for parents of students with learning disabilities to find assistance for their children. It is an in depth insight on everyday struggles of students with learning disabilities and the new technologies available to help. It is more an article persuading parents to seek help when they notice their child may have learning deficits and to teach parents how they can close the gap for their children with a disability. 

http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-learning-disabilities-overview

This website was very informative for teachers and parents. It included information for students with learning disabilities and the various choices for assistive technology available to help the students.

  http://www.jisctechdis.ac.uk/techdis/resources/mobiledevicesat

This website was great because it listed all the various mobile operating systems such as the IOS, Android, and Apps. It explains how these systems can be used as assistive technology and specifically benefit disabled users. 

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2013/03/how-technology-helping-special-needs-students-excel

This “EdTech focus on K-12 Magazine” article by Heather B Hayes (March 2013) focuses on the benefits of assistive technology. 

Lewis, R. (1998). Assistive Technology and learning disabilities: Todays realities and tomorrows promises. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 3, 16-26.

This article was very helpful and explained the various devices used by students with learning disabilities.

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Week 5 Response

The article “Communication, Power and Counter-power in the Network Society” was very interesting. One thing that really captured my attention was when the author, Manuel Castells, states “Politics is based on socialized communication; on the capacity to influence people’s minds,” and “The main channel of communication between the political system and citizens is the mass media system, first of all television.” Today the television is one of the most powerful ways to spread information or news to the public. In our society almost everyone watches television at least once a day. Another source of media distribution that influences the public is the radio. Products, politicians, charities, sports teams, events, organizations, and many other things are being advertised daily on television, radio advertisements, internet popups, even when you are on hold on the telephone there are advertisement blurbs. All of these forms of advertisement are very influential over the public because you cannot escape them, these advertisements are forced on you. Even if you change the television channel or radio station the information is being put in front of you long enough for your brain to process it as an advertisement. I definitely believe the television is one of the most influential aspects in our society today because people are generally in a relaxed state while watching television and it is a combination of an audio and visual stimulation. Another aspect to consider is the fact that people often conversant about what they see on television and hear on the radio. For example, during elections you will see millions of advertisements for budgets or politicians. This advertisements main goal is to gain votes by influencing the audience. Senior year of high school I took a college government course and part of the course was to register to vote. Most of my classmates had no idea about politics at that time. All they knew was what they see on television and obviously advertisements either glorify the budget or politicians or bash the opposing party. That is the major problem with the media. It is hard to distinguish the truth from the lies. On television it is so easy to glorify, sugar coat, or pursued the audience.

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Here is my interview with Adam and Brittany. I recorded this interview on my iPhone and edited it using the Splice app.

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Week 4 Response

Ipod in Education: The Potential for Teaching and Learning By: Shelley Pasnik

This article gave the reader numerous strategies on how to best integrate technology into education. I personally have never used an iPod in any of my lessons but not that I see all of the possibilities I am excited to integrate the use of it in my lessons and classroom. The section titled “Independent Learning” that starts on page 6 really captured my attention. As an educator I think it is important to remember “students must learn to learn.” I think this is often over looked in middle school and high school. During these grades students are never taught how to learn on their own everything is feed to them by the teacher. When students begin college and their professors expect them to be able to learn independently I think some students are overwhelmed. I think it is a great skill to learn in earlier years and will benefit students throughout their life not just in the classroom. As a math teacher, students always ask the question “Why do we have homework?” and “What is the point of homework?” These questions were answered in this same section of the article by the quote “A skill may be taught at school but it is at home that that skill is fortified.”

Use of Mobile Technology for Teacher Training By: Jocelyn Wishart

While reading the article on using Mobile Technologies for Teacher Training I kept wondering if people still use PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants). When the Palm first came out PDAs were popular but I think there popularity has died down. Today I think most people use their mobile devices to complete this task because it is available on multiple applications. I think it is more convenient for people to have everything including the functions of the PDA all on one device. I do think educators integrate different technological devices into their classroom and everyday lives

Designing Mobile Communication Tools: A Framework to Enhance Motivation in Online Learning Environment

One thing this article made me realize was that my students grew up in a world where technology controls everything. Technology makes everything at our students finger tips and this is what they are accustom to. I think technology does make student more engaged and eager to learn using those device but I think it is just because students are often bored of traditional teaching methods because they are simply “not fun.” I really thought it was interesting that the article discussed Moodle, an e-Learning program because we use Moodle here at Adelphi. 

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Tag Game

katyauchter tag you're it!! Now it's your turn to share a teaching activity with me.

I have already shared my teaching activity with mkase. I reposted it below so everyone can see...

One successful activity that I have used that incorporates this kind of learning was using oranges to discover the surface area equation for a sphere, which is 4πr².

Basically, students will: -Estimate the radius of the orange as close as possible. -Draw several (5 or 6) circles using that specific radius (you do not want to direct them to draw 4 because then they will know to use 4 but tell them several, such as 5 or 6, and this way they find out by discovery). -Peel the orange and place the orange peels into circles and try to make the orange peels tile inside the circles. -How many circles should be filled? FOUR!

I have attached a picture of a student completing this project below :)

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Tech Report Project

Hi everyone! Enid and I are doing our project on the mobile computing and assistive technology topic. If anyone is interested in this topic as well and wants to work with us! Let us know :)

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Week 3 Response

Situating Constructionism

by: Seymour Papert & Idit Harel

In the article “Situating Constructionism,” Papert and Harel presented the difference between constructionism and constructivism. Constructivism is the idea of "building knowledge structures." Constructionism is “the idea of learning by making.” They continue on to let the reader construct their own definition of constructionism. However we have to keep into consideration that everyone learns different so there is no exact best method for learning. The section of this article that struck my interest while reading was the “soap-sculpture math" idea because it allowed students to be creative while performing math and it bridges the gap from imagination and mathematics. The integration of art and mathematics was appealing to me because I am a math teacher. The idea of letting students control the classroom in a hands-on learning environment is a constructivist approach to teaching. The role of the teacher in this idea changes by enhancing instruction. The teacher will ask questions that promote student thinking rather than a question with a direct right or wrong response. I definitely agree with the idea that learning should not simply consist of reading a textbook. I think these types of hands-on, interactive, discussion based, student centered, methods of teaching benefit learners. 

I believe this article by Papert and Harels make us think how we apply new tools in our classroom and how this effects not only our teaching but our learners. Weather it is carving soap, using Logos or using technology, such as iPads, it changes our instructions. We as educators and students change according to situations and the context in which we learn evolves.

Implementation and Effects of One-to-One Computing Initiatives: A Research Synthesis by: William R. Penuel

I believe every student should have access to a laptop in order to ensure equal opportunities for all students. But one significant element discussed by Penuel is the teachers’ attitude towards and professional development of one-to-one computing initiatives. I think it is important to remember it is not about how many resources you have it is about how to use them best to benefit your students. The technology has to be utilized well to have it be an advantage in the classroom. You can have one laptop of device for each student but if you, as the educator does not integrate them effectively into their lessons it will not be advantageous. 

One Laptop Per Child (Wiki) and Video (Nicholas Negroponte)

“One Laptop Per Child” is a great project to create affordable educational devices. This project has gained support from many different associations and organizations to make this development project possible. I have heard about OLPC before this wiki page provided me with new information on this topic.  

My favorite part of the video is when Nicholas Negroponte explains how students from this underprivileged village (discussed in the video) are now teaching their parents how to read. This is amazing. I love the fact that he was aware students are not receiving an education and he is taking action and doing something to change it. They are sending tablets with reading programs installed to villages where most are not literate and education, if any is extremely limited. This breaks my heart. The tablet programs support students learning on their own with “Learning By Themselves.” This form of student centered learning is possible with the advances in technology we have today and will hopefully make a difference everywhere not just this village. One thing that concerns me is that “Learning By Themselves” has some software and hardware problems. I know we are all fortunate enough to have IT or other professions fix these issues but what will happen in these villages when their is a technological problem? Who will be able to fix it?

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Tech Report Project

Hi everyone!

I am not sure what topic I want to do for the tech report project. All of the example topics seem interesting. So who ever has a topic in mind, doesn't already have a group and wants to get started let me know!

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Here is my "Where I'm From" poem project!

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Week 2 Readings

Communities of Practice

Etienne Wenger-Trayner

The term “community of practice” was newly introduced to me in this article. The article defines “communities of practice are groups of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly.” The community of practice consist of the domain, the community, and the practice. Each of these three elements is essential in having a community of practice. The domain is a the interest or connection of to the network or group. This sense of community encourages discussions and interaction between the people in these domains. I believe interaction and the sharing of ideas is an essential key to learning. This way people can bounce their ideas off of others or investigate different perspectives from their peers. The practitioners refers to the members of the community. They develop a collection of resources related to their domain. 

Communities of practice can vary they can be big or small, local or global, at home, at work, in education, in government, in business, etc. I think it is interesting how I was unfamiliar with this term but it turns they are everywhere. Not only do I belong to communities of practice but these structures are in almost everyones lives. Personally, in education I always create or join communities of practice. I believe the collaboration and interaction created by these communities of practice make me more involved and successful. Technology plays an extensive role in making connections and discussion easier to access.  It also allows communities of practice to not only be locally but also globally. Technology extents the boundaries of these communities of practice. Technology makes it easy for me to connect and share information with math teachers all over the world not just teachers in my school. It makes collaboration limitless. 

Situated Cognition and Culture of Learning

John Seely Brown, Allan Collins & Paul Duguid

The article “Situated Cognition and Culture of Learning” was my least favorite reading from module 2. Although this article did make me think about how teaching has changed over the years. In the past teachers played an extremely different role in the classroom. The teacher was the center of he lesson. Students were told to listen, take notes and memorize the information being given to them by the teacher. Now lessons are more student centered. Students are doing more hands on lessons that require students to be able to apply the knowledge they are being taught not just “sit, get, and spit.” This idea of “sit, get, and spit” was introduced to me by Dr. Carol Wade (She is a Harvard Graduate, a former teacher, a current professor, and published author on the subjects of mathematics and teaching.) She was a firm believer in student centered learning. Have students use real-life situations, hands on activities, and the integration of technology in the classroom. The teacher is considered a resource not a dispenser of knowledge the students should be responsible for memorizing. These approaches will ensure students are actually learning the content not just memorizing it for a test. That is why the new perspective on education made me think of this shift in education as stated above. As educators we need to consider the situated cognition while determining how to teach our students. It is proven that student learn better in a student centered classroom with engaging real-life application problems, authentic learning, hands on experiences, critical thinking, application, integration of technology, etc.

Using Mobile Technologies for Multimedia Tours in a Traditional Museum Setting

Laura Naismith & M. Paul Smith

The article “Using Mobile Technologies for Multimedia Tours in a Traditional Museum Setting” is focused on how mobile technology supports museum learning. This article takes a look at how mobile learning will impact learner-centered experiences to it’s visitors. Along with delivering the same look and feel of the museum specifically the Lapworth Museum of Geology. Museum Learning uses mobile devices and allows learners to learn about various things, like the museum and it’s different exhibits. A key component from the article for this style of learning is observers engagement. While reading how this component was essential all I could think is this is like any learning environment. In ever learning environment engagement and interest are important. During any presentation or demonstration people can loose interest and it will have a negative impact on what they had learned. So this is a more general component. These devices were One thing the article mentions is the complications that come along with using these mobile devices or really any technology. Such as the audio being difficult to hear, links between the labels and available information, age gaps of visitors, visitors knowledge of technology and how to utilize it, flexibility in the systems, battery life, etc.

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While reading your post I liked the way you provided us with multiple definitions of the term mobile learning. I was not fully confident in my understanding of the term mobile learning prior to reading these articles. I believe Wieser provided the reader with a fuller definition of this term. Wieser discusses the different forms of technology and how these devices change the way people interact with one another and even their environment. As an educator I always recognize how these devices change and impact education. These devices have changed the way we educate our students. These ubiquitous technology devices make it easier for educators to differentiate and individualize learning. Wieser believes technology has evolved to connivence our society. I believe our society today uses these devices subconsciously and even relies on devices like these.

This article made me rethink my current understanding of what ‘Mobil learning’ means. At the moment, my definition focuses mostly on small devices that myself and many others use to read, play, do information-ful activities. I hadn’t even really considered the virtual collaborative documents that...

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Week 1 Readings

The Computer for the 21st Century

The article “The Computer for the 21st Century,” by Marc Weiser written in 1991, was extremely accurate pertaining to the future of computers. Weiser’s prediction about the growth and advances of computer devices and how they fit into everyday life was fascinating. Wesier had written these ideas over 23 years ago and for the most part these ideas had evolved into the technology we have available today. Weiser starts this article by stating “the most profound technologies are those that dissapear.” This demonstrates the idea that technology would someday fade away into the background of your everyday life so much so that intricate steps to accomplish goals using these devices would vanish. The best type of technology is the technology that is used unconsciously in your everyday life. He discusses how computers can be used in various ways. Weiser exclaims that these devices were made to fit our lives not fit into our lives. He predicts that devices would become ubiquitous. Devices such as, phones, tablets, laptops, etc, are mobile devices that can be carried around with us throughout the day. These are the devices he projected would exist and play a significant role into our society. This is true because today many individuals subconsciously utilize and rely on these mobile devices not only for their personal lives but also for their professional lives.

Weiser states that these advances in computers could potentially pose problems due to shared networking, therefore he proposes that with knowledge of potential issues they would have to be resolved. This also shows that though this technology is beneficial to society, it will possess flaws. One overwhelming flaw that Weiser mentions in the article is security and privacy issues. This is a problem today with people having access to other peoples personal documents, private information, such as bank account numbers and credit cards, allowing them to store this information for their unauthorized use. Issues such as these are continuously being worked on to be resolved but with such advances it is extremely difficult to completely eliminate this issue. 

Current State of Mobile Learning 

In the article “Current State of Mobile Learning,” written by John Traxler, the term mobile learning is characterized as “uniquely placed to support learning that is personalized, authentic, and situated.” 

Mobile learning allows the students to have more power over their learning. As an educator I feel it makes it easier to individualize learning to best suit each particular student. Based on my experience utilizing mobile devices in my classroom will also gain students interest in learning. I also think their is a fine line between using these devices properly in the classroom to intrigue the students and using the devices to entertain the students.  Technology makes it easier for us to differentiate material for each individual learner. As educators we must be able to integrate technology in a proficient way to benefit our students. Just because every student has an iPad or another mobile device in your class does not mean you are integrating technology into your classroom if you are not directing students to use that iPad as proper learning tool. These ideas from the article remind me of a quote from Hayes-Jacobs (2010) Curriculum 21(this is a reading from the EDT 503 course which some of you might have also taken), which states "sometimes we do not know what is available in an electronic backyard." This suggest that it is our role or responsibility to learn what is available and how to use it in the best way and these mobile learning devices make it possible to have our students reach their highest potential. This is directly related to Tralxers claim from this article. I think that there potential for the issue of improper use to arise but I think proper training of the use and interaction provided by these devices is available and this is avoidable.

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