Diigo and Trends in Education

Diigo is one of my favorite technology tools to use in my classroom!  I’ve been using this site for over 3 years, and have yet to find a way that I can’t make it work with my students!  By signing up to have a classroom version of Diigo (for free), I was able to create student accounts.  Part of having student accounts is the ability to share URL’s with students.  As an elementary teacher, this resource saves me countless hours in the classroom.  Rather than having the class hand-enter every URL we wish to visit, and having them miss a letter or go to the wrong site, Diigo allows me to ensure that my classroom is accessing the correct site and information by the click of a button.  For example, we do research projects every year in which we use MEL and the databases linked through MEL as our primary sources.  Part of my students Diigo accounts is the links to the 4 databases the class can use to access their information.  It’s a great way to ensure that they are finding and using accurate information, and not a random website they Google Search. 

Another great aspect of Diigo is the ability to share links with other staff.  I have a group established that I share with my peers.  They then, in return, use the links to integrate technology into their rooms.   Diigo also allows you to share links and join groups with other educators – even those you might not know.  I have joined countless Diigo groups that allow me to extend my technology skills.  One of my favorite groups is the “Web 2.0 Tools For Teachers” group.  This group constantly updates new and creative sites that I can incorporate into my classroom experience.  I’d love to see my district use Diigo as a way to share links and resources that fit the curriculum.  We constantly find that when sitting in district wide grade level meetings, that another teacher has encountered something that fits perfectly into the curriculum.  Diigo would be a great way to share those resources, and always have them handy for easy access.

Our classroom text, Trends and Issues, really led to a great reading on the definition change for the field of “educational technology” usage – and I find myself relating more towards the current AECT definition than the books.  While I agree completely with the books definition, especially the key component of the field of instructional design and technology being “intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings”, I feel that it misses the ever important component the AECT definition hits: “Education technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance.”  I feel that my job as a teacher is to facilitate the students learning, not just to improve their learning.  As a teacher I have the availability to use technology resources to take a student’s thinking and deepen their understanding, not just improve how they are learning the materials.  I find it surprising that they focus on the need to “improve human performance in the workplace” instead of the need to help deepen the level of student thinking and learning.  I’m curious to read further into the book and see how my opinion changes!

(Feel free to check out my Diigo library!  Click here or visit the post below)

Diigo In The Classroom

I have been using Diigo for years in my classroom! It is one of my favorite tools to use with my students, and it is so easy to work with.  I have students from previous years still working with thier Diigo accounts to access some of their favorite sites we've used over the years.

Check out my Diigo page here!

Wiki's In The Classroom

As part of our recent EDT homework assignment, I created a Wiki to explore for classroom use.  While my Wiki right now only has our classroom assignment pages, I'll be exploring more personal classroom options in the future!

Check out my Wiki here!

Cone of Experience and Computer Imagination

While using a blog isn’t a new experience for me, it also isn’t a favorite of mine.  Blogging is a great tool to use, when given the appropriate audience and interest.  I have found that blogs are easy to set up and manage, but finding the audience to entice into reading is much more of a challenge.  A personal blog often leads towards more of a seller stance than of a sharer, which isn’t something I seek to find myself falling into in our education world.  While I avoid using a personal blog, I’ve had great experiences using it in the classroom!

The RSS Reader Feedly was a new experience for me.  In the past I had used Google Reader to follow along with the professional blogs that I followed.  I never expanded my use of Google Reader past school and technology related blogs.  One of the features of Feedly that captured my attention instantly was the ability to link-in websites.  There are several websites, such as Tween Tribune or News ELA, which I use in my classroom on a frequent basis.  Attaching them to Feedly has allowed me to have instantaneous access to all the sites I use, and places them in one location for easy and quick access.  The ability to attach blogs also has made me get back into the blogging world – at least on the reader end of things.

      After my experiences with blogging and the RSS feeder, I feel that both fall into the “exhibits” section of Dale’s Cone.  RSS Feeders place information in one location, with quick and easy access to read that information.  To me, this is a technological version of a museum exhibit, with the exception that it might capture the reader’s interest simply because of format.  A blog, if used in the classroom, while is still a prime example of a technological “exhibit”, is at least more of a sensory experience exhibit.  It allows for interaction between pictures/slideshows, videos, and even allows for student interaction with questions and comments after each post.  Students can even take turns posting to the classroom blog, which ties in the sensory experience and the ability to interact of some exhibits found in museums.

      As we experienced in the articles from last week, Postman shares the opinion that technology isn’t always for the better.  What was a problem that an RSS Feeder and a blog had to solve?  In my experience as an educator, the blog solves more of a problem than the RSS Feeder does.  The RSS Feeder Feedly is a great way to locate information quickly, and to place information at the student’s fingertips.  However, as an educator, I worry about the information that might emerge as a shared interest.  One of the best ways, and something I look forward to trying out in my classroom, is the ability for students to customize their news feed.  To have the students be able to add news websites and blogs, from local to worldwide, would drastically improve writing skills.  Students would be able to compare news feeds, reflect on current events, and even practice writing prompt skills similar to those present on the common core tests.

      The blog on the other hand presents lots of creative classroom uses.  Currently my classroom uses our blog as a way to provide instantaneous connections to parents.  Students take pictures throughout the day, and then document our day within our classroom blog.  In the past we’ve “hooked up” blogs from across the country as a way to study the other US Regions.  Blogs solve the old-school journaling problem – who’s turn is it to turn it in? Who reads the journals? Does it only go between one child and the teacher?  Blogs allow for multiple students to share their opinions and thoughts, while teaching the beginnings of opinions along with debate skills.

      Overall, as Siegel said on page 1, “Perhaps the answer has less to do with the technologies themselves and more to do with how we use the technologies to achieve learning.”  Any piece of technology, whether hardware, software, or an online tools, is a foundation for learning. It is up to us as educators to find useful ways to incorporate each piece of technology into a meaningful tool for student use.

Technology In The Classroom: A Reflection

References:

Postman, N. (1993). Of Luddites, Learning, and Life. Technos Quarterly, 2(4).

Reigeluth, C.M. & Joseph, R. (2002). Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation. Educational Technology, 42(4), 9-13.

Technology has become an integral part of our educational systems, sometimes in ways we might have never imagined. As Reigeluth and Joseph (2002) stated, “there has recently been a strong push by the U.S. Department of Education and technology leaders to integrate technology with teaching in the schools.” While I believe that it is essential, as educators, that we constantly integrate technology into our daily classroom routines, we also have to take into consideration what is a good use of technology integration.  I find that I lie in the gray zone between Postman and Reigeluth/Joseph’s views.

Reigeluth and Joseph (2002) states that ”Our current educational system reflects most of the industrial age key matters”, the predominant ones being standardization, bureaucratic organization, one-way communication, and adversarial relationships.  I feel that these markers of an Industrial Age educational system leads to a big miscommunication of technologies importance in educating children.  Because of the adversarial relationships teachers and district representatives, many teachers find that technology integration is just one more think that they are required to do.  This is also effected by the one-way communication that school districts tend to have.  Technology programs, resources, or devices are often purchased without discussion with the educators in the field, when leads to technology being “used to support the prevailing methods”.

As we attempt to move away from the Industrial Age educational systems, we are forced to examine how we “sort students”.  One of the main points of Reigeluth and Joseph (2002) that stood out to me was the concept of moving away from “advancement of the fittest” to “advancement of all”.  I believe that this is a key component into educating our youth, and as an elementary teacher I feel that it is essential that each student grows and learns at different rates.  The concept of shifting the report card paradigm is a key place to start.

Another key point that Reigeluth and Joseph point our is that technology gives us the chance to asses each student “through means that are as typical or real-world requirements as possible”, along with give students a chance to “learn collaboratively with peers” regardless of location.  How much more interesting is it to learn about the Southwest Region of the U.S. when you can talk to another classroom in Arizona! The availability technology gives us to expand our lessons can (and will) cause drastic changes in students thinking and understanding of concepts.

The main challenge I feel is finding resources to use.  As Reigeluth and Joseph states, “finding the best resources can be a daunting task” .  In educational settings, this relates back to the key markers of an industrial age education system.  Collaboration isn’t a driving force, which makes it harder to share worthwhile resources and technology skills.

Postman’s article did alter my thinking on a smaller scale.  I agree that technology isn’t the only solution; however I feel that it is key to helping develop 21^st century students prepared for the real world ahead.  Unfortunately we cannot control big businesses and the way they think.  As Postman (2014) states, people have a “strong tendency to get everyone to conform to the requirements of what is new.”  Businesses are constantly looking to have the latest and greatest.  Even everyday citizens fit that category, as we always want to have the latest iPhone.  Unfortunately this requires us, as educators, to ensure that our students leave our rooms at the end of the year well on their way to being 21^st century technology users.

EDT 5410

I'm excited to be back in the blogging world as I begin my Educational Technology Master's program this fall at WMU.  EDT 5410 is my first online course, so I'm excited to not only be exposed to this method, but to learn new technology tricks!