(13) Can Technology be a NECESSARY aid for Struggling Readers?

This article by Ted Hasselbring was pretty enlightening in that it allowed me to draw heavy connections between this online module about technology and my READ 411 class that gages on students with literacy issues.  I have occasionally thought that struggling readers would benefit from the allure that technology supplies students with reading difficulties. Technology can help reinvent a text to draw in student attention with vivid screens and designs.  Technology can also help students who struggle with dyslexia by use of interactive applications as well as focus on motivation to read a text as opposed to primary comprehension of what students might be reading. Though I feel comprehension is immensely important, it may also be equally important to try to hone in the reader and then practice over issues with structure and understanding. Students who have reading issues truly range from somewhat generic disinterest to various heavier difficulties such as context confusion, as well as struggles with intonation, syntax, point of view, and inferencing to prior based knowledge.

Though I agree with Hasselbring that technology can be an immense help to struggling readers, I can also agree with the reviewer of this article that believes some of his reasons that allow for technology to be a necessary aid for struggling readers are wishful thinking.  Hasselbring attempts to bring in novel concepts that if technology is incorporated into struggling readers' lessons, they may benefit from the many technological aspects.  These concepts vary but rely heavily on technology being available anytime and anyplace for students.  These are great ideas but can be truly difficult to acknowledge for teachers when students may not have the access at home that they may have while in school.

Hasselbring provides five (5) distinct aspects of technology that can attempt to reinvigorate struggling readers and help them absorb content from what they are reading.  I feel that the most important aspects are reasons # 1 and 5.  The first, technology is adaptive, is beneficial to students with difficulties in reading because for example if a student is reading at a 5th grade level but the student is in 9th grade, there are various applications that can enhance what they are reading so that the student can keep up in some way without them being completely lost and disinterested.  Hasselbring speaks of types of software that assist by changing the context to a more suitable reading level that the student can then comprehend.  The fifth reason, technology is motivating, as mentioned prior is just as important to struggling readers by engaging their thoughts and keeping them focused while they may have difficulty with what they may be reading.  SO many software and programs exist that are able to transform a text and help bridge students troubles with solutions.  With this technological aid, they can easily use applications that change the text to a storybook format or something with illustrations that makes them want to read more intently.

I think Hasselbring brings up some interesting ideas that might prove useful for students who struggle with reading in one way or even those who struggle in many ways. Are these reasons completely necessary in your opinion?  I think they might be both beneficial and somewhat burdensome, but that is primarily based on how distracted students can be when provided with technology that it different. Check the article out when you can.  Are they useful? Which reason do you think is most important?  Sound off with comments!

(12) Do You Think Technology Threatens Education By Supplying More Distractions?

Education Week brought up an interesting commentary this week about how despite technology providing advances in the classroom unlike anything ever has before, is it also promising a new generation of distractions to students who are trying to learn new concepts?  Is the technology integration somewhat hurting students' performance due to the possible distractions outweighing the positive aspects of their aid in learning?

The article, focuses on how over the many years, teachers have had to harness the power of new technologies being introduced into the classroom such as electronic typewriters, educational televisions, etc.  It lightly compares each of these technologies as they were introduced to classrooms in comparison to the personal computer and the uncharted territory that accompanies a computer and interactive web at every possible turn.  The article articulates the both pros and cons about how these new technologies should be aimed toward learning objectives for students. They can have a positive experience is the tools are used as intended without the distractions they also heavily provide. 

The article also examines the harsh reality of these possible distractions.  It says that as educators, "We believe that iBooks, tablets, and other technological tools can be worthwhile if they are seen as a means to an end rather than an end in themselves. For this to happen, they need to be used in a rich, meaningful context. We further believe that this context can be project-based learning. In our experience, these tools are servants—intellectual assistants that enable the learner to go beyond his or her intellectual capabilities. Like any tool—a hammer, for example—they can be used well or misused."

The article also poses the questions as to whether technology as a whole is able to provide students with outlooks separate from what they might be learning.  One strategy listed is Technology-inquiry education (TIE).  TIE is a projected strategy to incorporate technology into learning while also not diminishing students’ capabilities.  TIE focuses primarily on students being well advanced and able to present projects that are creative, new, authentic, and innovative.  This strategy will serve its very purpose by helping students transform the learning they are internalizing while also using the technology in a harnessed and less disruptive format.  TIE hopes to change student learning while still keeping their distractions to the very minimum so that the products that students create can be truly influential and advanced for our future.

Could technology benefit from a modified version of itself that is particularly harnessed where its potential distractions are somewhat contained? I don't have a Facebook account and surely I do not agree with Facebook and all its supposed glory, but I can see how it's incessant presence in technology could distract students from learning.  I think that a modified version would definitely help students keep their minds on track as well as help them perform better.  Where do we begin to modify? What do you think?  Comments?

(11) Interactivity #4 - Pedagogical Uses of Technology

                         Lesson Plan Analysis Map

I chose this particular lesson on idioms because I feel that figurative language is an important part of our speech today that is widely weaved into how we speak but may not be completely understood to others as it is spoken.  This lesson also provides emphasis on how we speak and how that can be conveyed using various texts.  The lesson itself being taught at the 3^rd grade level and its ability to be reiterated again until grade 5, shows it’s heavy importance in our early comprehension of texts as well as readings of all kinds. 

The lesson plan did have some gaps.  I feel that it did engage students with the standards of reading and writing but more technology could have been adapted into the lesson especially considering that some students as young as kindergarten and 1^st grade are already participating in computer literacy classes.  In regards to the specific standards of 3^rd grade English, specifically writing and reading, focuses on being able to clearly identify their rationale and understanding in conveying ideas about a text.  This idea crosses over from texts into anything that these students might read.  By integrating more technology besides Eye on Idioms such as KidPix4 as well as online games like Quia helps to reinforce main ideas for the students with different methods.

The integration of sites such as KidPix4 and Quia to the lesson plan helps in achieving the curriculum goal because it provides students with different interactive modules toward understanding the goals of the lesson.  These technologies apply more visual understanding to the literal language aspect of idioms.  By students gaining online literacy and interacting with one another, they will be able to better comprehend the ideas that the teacher is conveying to them.

(10) TeacherTube... Revolutionizing Learning Through Videos?

If you happened to have caught some of my prior posts about the YouTube in schools debate, you know that it is a very controversial debate in all of education because there are so many ways that it can harm the learning process for students as it is helping them at the very same time.  A friend of mine recommended trying a similar website that is titled TeacherTube. This website works on the very same premise as YouTube, but puts a cap to the content that is added based on subject matter.  I found it incredibly interesting because it does not link videos based on search terms, so students may not be distracted by music from an artist with similar search terms in their song title.  After searching through accounts on TeacherTube for enriching videos, I came across certain videos for English word structure.  What intrigued me was not only the videos on these pages, but the comments posted by viewers.  Some of the comments on these pages said that these people were learning this material for the first time.  That itself is an amazing example of how technology is helping students in our country as well as from other countries learn new things about our English language at any age.

Below are some examples of videos on TeacherTube that can aid in various subject content areas.  By TeacherTube being somewhat "safer" than YouTube in terms of content exposure for students, is it necessarily better in terms of it's videos? Do you think they have value in a classroom over YouTube and it's vast presence in media/video learning? Check out some of the links below and let me know what you think.

English / Language Arts

Math

Science

Art

(9) YouTube in the Classroom... An Friendly Ally or A Potential Foe?

I stumbled upon this article about the addition of YouTube into classrooms.  All teachers can recognize that instruction for students must engage them in more than one way in order for them to adequately absorb content and be able to reflect it in other content areas that they know or may be studying.  While many of my classmates have incorporated articles of how YouTube has now chosen to include a more selective educational channel/aspect to it's site for teachers and students, there still remains a crucial question about it's integration.  Though learning will most likely benefit from it's adaptation, how will schools respond to the constraints it's integration will have to overcome?  Schools will likely have to cross over their own policies on internet and social media allowances to overcome the introduction of it's new educational assistant.  It is known that students can learn immensely from sources on the internet but they can also be immensely distracted by all that the world wide web has to potentially offer?

Will schools be able to make such a transition without having to overhaul and redefine their policies on students allowance onto certain internet sites as well as social media sites like YouTube?  I can see the immense relevance and importance in trying to convey a lesson to students and then having an educational video or snippet to assist them toward better comprehension of what they are learning.  Though YouTube can be an enriching site to aid in instruction for students, it is also where among the educational materials there are various quirky and potentially unsuitable materials for certain age groups.  As teachers, how do we censor the entire world wide web while still trying to get the lesson across our students' desks?

         In a short glance over the Educational Channel on YouTube, I found that it does have very much to offer in a classroom to virtually many different subject areas such as Art, Foreign Languages, History, Math, Science, and Language Arts.  Media can vary from subject to subject as well as grade level.  I posted an example below of how simple the English Parts of Speech such as Pronouns can be learned in a new and interesting approach.   The major problem with the channel is that is has no filters separating it from other content where other detrimental things can be seen and accessed by students.  For example, when examining English Subject Videos, one can easily search for music by a favorite artist which is a virtual gateway into much more than anyone can control.  How will schools integrate this while also protecting certain content from being seen by students? Can we have really have YouTube educationally without all its other strings attached?

What are your thoughts/comments? Let me know what do you think? 

(8) Hybrid Schooling Over Face to Face Instruction?

As we are all familiar, technology is transforming the environment within the classroom.  In some ways, the classroom itself is taking new shapes based on how and where the instruction is actually taking place.  As important as it may be that we make headway with technology changing students' instruction, by time itself transforming the classroom to have a more hybrid style teaching experience, where do teachers stand on the front of education through technology and no face-face acknowledgement?

We all have taken online classes throughout our university and college careers, including this module.  Would the success of our education be better if conducted completely virtual at the high school level?  Various funding by major company supplied grants are being spent for studies conducted on hybrid charter schooling for grades 6-12 to prepare students for college readiness.  Though funding can be an extremely controversial topic when concerning schooling, does it have a place being funded into adapting students for college readiness in grades as low as grade 6?

As future educators, we know that a blended instruction where technology is incorporated into traditional curriculum adaptation is providing students with educations that are constantly being redefined.  Is it necessary to take this to the next step already?  In my opinion, I can see the relevance in supplying high school students with early preparation that is alternatively hybrid as predominantly face to face.  That being said, I cannot see that this is integrated fully taking the place of face to face instruction.  Not all high school students will respond and benefit from this type of new instruction because teenagers are prone to all different kinds of behaviors.  Students occasionally need the traditional framework of learning in a classroom to revolutionize the way they will carry themselves in many future endeavors. As teachers, are we ready for virtual instruction taking the place of all future teaching of our students?  This may be adaptable to various types of schooling, but will funding truly make up for this difference?  Will most teachers have positions when various types of instruction can happen purely online through webinars and other modules?

Read this Education Week article here.  What do you think? Sound off with your opinions on this intriguing future of education.

(7) "Digital Conversion" in Schools Makes Major Headway

This article was a very interesting take on how the new advances in technology have shifted toward hybrid schooling as a priority as opposed to one on one, face to face centered instruction. Is a "digital conversion" really necessary from such young ages to prepare them for the workforce that is out there?  According to how this school district has progressed since its digital conversion, how could it really hurt?

After reading this article, I was intrigued to see how the "digital conversion" that the Mooresville School District in North Carolina has underwent has changed their school in so many ways in such a short time.  In roughly four years since it's inception, the conversion has boosted so many areas and continues to change incredibly.  Such areas as it's annual yearly progress as compared to other schools, it's graduation rates, it's proficiency in subject and content scores, it's aimed learning objectives, etc.  By adapting to this new technology incorporation, this school has remarkably reformatted it's own educational values by not purchasing certain textbooks because the 6,000+ laptops distributed have taken their place and eliminated printing costs immensely as well.  This "conversion" has encouraged teachers to use technology more frequently and more liberally within their lessons by finding content to incorporate that is either web-based or otherwise technology-vested to help better analyze learning objectives for students.

After watching the video posted on the website with the article, I realized that this is an amazing school that any teacher would want to be a part of.  The most notable aspect that I found was that among it's various accomplishments, Principal Todd Wirt has established a program titled Capturing Kids' Hearts. The program is centered on teachers revolutionizing how students react to schooling in general with a positive feedback model.  The program functions "in which teachers are asked to greet students with a pat or a handshake, and open the classroom to details about the good things happening in students’ lives, in an effort to make the school culture less teacher-centered." This intent to shift learning onto not just the students shoulders by the teacher who they feel is just giving them work, reignites learning and shows it to students differently.  The "digital conversion" instead bridges the gap to form relationships with students where the work they are doing is enriching, engaging, and spurs students to look at teachers with understanding as to why such assignments must be completed to better prepare them for the challenges of the workforce.

We all might see this as a relatively easy thing to do.  I thought that it was rather obvious for teachers to incorporate this into our teaching styles along with adapting our curriculum to fit students' needs and caring about their performance so they can succeed.  I was naive at first and then realized that this approach changes traditional teaching and poses a true importance on teaching through technology to better the education of our students.  This district shows how the hybrid schooling and one to one, face to face centered instruction can merge and includes a introduction of new methods into our craft of teaching that at every opportunity possible not only make the students learn but the teachers learn as well.

My sister recently was given a laptop as was all of her colleagues within her school district to aid in teaching as well as adapt their curriculum.  Though she initially seemed not too happy about its presence, I thought that this was an amazing breakthrough in learning for her and her students.  I tried to pose it to her this way.  Though it may seem a bit cumbersome to have more responsibilities, it is already our responsibility to aid in the best education for our students that we are capable of. This only further helps bring that aid to fruition.  How can we be upset about changing lives by enriching the mind and fueling creativity with our lessons?

Would you want to work in this district? Seems to me like a rather simple answer comes to mind.  Read the entire article if you have time.  It focuses on something that all educators should see importance in. Also, watch the short video on the article's webpage to give you some further insight into how this "digital conversion" has dramatically changed these students and their learning.  Sound off with your thoughts or comments!

(6) A World of Difference With a Simple Touch

As educators, we will all face various individual, social, and political hardships at some points that will come heavily into our profession.  We will have to facilitate lessons with students test scores so that by them meeting state scores, we are able to impact their learning as well as keep our positions.  We will navigate stormy seas with parents, guardians, and other associated family issues that occur in students' lives outside school. Though some us of may not be educators specializing in teaching disabled students that require intense educational modifications to assist in learning, we all will have the responsibility to adapt our lessons for students who have difficulties learning by their own faculties or faculties that are beyond their control.

We are all well aware of how types of technology are revolutionizing learning for students in classrooms all over the world.  Not only are visual aids, smart boards, and enriching websites taking over our potential classrooms, they are revolutionizing the way we will be teaching our students for the rest of our careers.  I stumbled upon this article that showcases this very amazing feat but not only for academic level education students but for students with various learning disabilities or physical disabilities.

Times are changing in every aspect of our lives. The picture above displays a person reading braille from a traditional 8x7 form in order to study materials and read concepts for a lesson.  This type of instruction has dramatically changed over the past few years.  While students might rely on notebooks and pens for note taking, the transition to laptops and tablets has changed the dynamics of instruction and concept understanding in classrooms everywhere.  Problems arise when these advanced technologies cannot help disabled or special needs students.  Tablets performance in classrooms is unconventional, but how might their performance help impact the learning of blind students who cannot type their notes or see the applications on their tablets?

In a Wisconsin school district, blind students are being reengaged into technological learning by the use of an iPad application called Refreshabraille as well as smart attachments like the Omnifier.  When combined together, these advancements allow blind students like Kyle, age 7, to read stories that are on his iPad by use of the technology of braille dots popping up as the story progresses on an iPad case.  The dots raise on the case as it "reads" the story and adapts it for a blind person.  Though Kyle may not be able to see the story and read it on the screen, he can read it through the braille bubbles appearing on the Omnifier case that allow him to follow stories and learn new concepts.  When he finishes the first sentence, the next sentence in bubbles appears so he can continue reading.  Other iPad applications like VoiceOver help students like Correy who are dyslexic to read by reading aloud the content on the screen.  Correy, who struggles while attempting to sort words and read them from a book, will see the words on the screen as they are highlighted and being read to him from the iPad.  This application helps students to focus on "problem" words to help struggling readers keep reading with assistance.

 

Though technology may be debated widely while being used in instruction, the applications and attachments here provide students with capabilities that can change their education immensely and advance their abilites to absorb new concepts.  Though funding is required through Medical Assistance applications for these, blind students as well as diagnosed struggling readers will have various new learning styles that can revolutionize their understanding while still honing in their abilities of comprehension.

What do you think?  Does "it", meaning advancing technology, have a place in a classroom for students that have disabilities that prevent them from some comprehension or learning? Sound off with your thoughts or comments:)