Category: Uncategorized

Throughout the course of history, we have constantly seen examples of younger generations look to set themselves apart from the generations prior. Examples of this could include younger drivers having easier access to cars, students being able to access materials at faster rate than there parents, or even something as simple as pulling through a drive-threw to obtain a quick bite to eat. While there are essentially unlimited examples of these changes, we are currently living in a time where generational gaps can either be greatly reduced…or significantly widen the gap. In a study conducted by Pew Research Center in 2014, they found that 64% of American adults owned a smart phone, while a staggering 90% owned some sort of mobile telephone. The Data Center at Kids count calculated that the number of individuals over the age of 18 in the US was roughly 245,273,438 in the year 2014, meaning that each adult had one phone, there would have been 220,746,094.2 cell phones in the United States. As expected, the percentage of cell phone users decreases as the users age increases. However, Pew Research Center discovered that 74% of adults above the age of 65 used a cell phone; the age range of 50-64 saw 88% using cellular devices; and 18-49 had an astonishing 97.5%!

These statistics bring me to the issue at hand, is technology, more specifically cell phones, hindering or helping the generation gap? In a society that has become almost reliant on having the world at our finger tips, I believe that if used correctly, technology can actually close the generation gap significantly. With this, we will be able to keep in contact with older distant relatives more effectively and not simply be restrained to our elders using out dated corded phones or phones that cannot be operated outside a given distance from the receiver. There will be a significant amount of frustration on the part of the younger generations however. It seems like everyday some new update is available, new program is released or a new social media site is created. Another study conducted by the Pew Research Center found the 48% of individuals over the age of 65 used the social media giant Facebook! That number in my opinion is astonishing, considering I am not sure how many younger users want to be friends with their parents let alone grandparents. Having to constantly teach the older generations about the new trends, tricks and trades of an industry that realistically hasn’t even neared its peak will be a frustrating task. Having to explain what emoji’s are, how to add filters to Instagram, or even something as simple as updating a status will cause many headaches. We all have seen that one middle-aged women in the middle of the grocery store trying to shop, talk on the phone, and watch her children at the same time, it creates headaches for everybody around the situation.

In my professional career as a teacher, I have found myself to be somewhat behind on the latest apps, trends or ways to maneuver around frequent issues that seem to partner technology. Being 23 and a high school teacher should put me in a relatively sound position in being able to identify with the technological changes/ fix any problems that have occured in my classroom. There have been countless times where I had to ask students to help in setting up a new program, formatting the Smartboard, or even finding a way to clear a jam in the printer. Technology is rapidly tightening its grip on education and those teachers whom are a part of older, more traditional generations will eventually be stuck behind the eightball. The teaching profession is essentially one generation passing their knowledge down to another, so why can that not work in reverse to close that ever present generation gap?

The generation gap is something that will always exist because the youth of any society will constantly be introduced to new ideas or ways of thinking/solving problems. However, technology can limit the size of that gap by requiring parents/grandparents to ask the youth for help; Which actually creates a sense of community among the different generations. The youth are so used to being reliant on their elders for help, a turn of the tables will be much appreciated!

In short, when grandma comments something “embarrassing” on one of your Facebook posts, don’t get mad, she’s just trying to keep in touch and keep up with the times!

Duggan, M. (2015). The Demographics of Social Media Users. Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/08/19/the-demographics-of-social-media-users

Mobile Technology Fact Sheet. (2013). Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheets/mobile-technology-fact-sheet/

Total population by child and adult populations | KIDS COUNT Data Center. (n.d.). Retrieved July 10, 2016, from http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/99-total-population-by-child-and-adult#detailed/1/any/false/869,36,868,867,133/39,40,41/416,417

When most people think of bullying, they envision the schoolyard thug verbally or physically threatening hapless victims on the playground or on the school bus (Kowalski, 2008). With our new found dependency on technology, there is no escaping its use in the realm of education; there is no escaping its misuse neither. Cyberbullying has become a very controversial issue within schools recently. In one US study of 3767 middle-school children, 18% reported being targets of cyber bullying within the previous 2 months, and 11% said they had cyber bullied someone at least once within the previous 2 months (Kowalski, 2008). Whether it be secret blog pages about a certain individual or harassment through various social media outlets, the phenomenon of cyberbullying is a force to be reckoned with for every school leader.

What makes cyberbullying different from traditional bullying is the arena in which they are individually executed. Traditional bullying takes place on school ground the majority of the time; incidents off school grounds have occurred as well. Cyberbullying is more damaging in that it can happen from anywhere at any time. Furthermore, cyberbullying provides the aggressor with a sense of anonymity; many people would be more empowered to say something behind a screen than face-to-face. This anonymity, thought, makes it more of a hassle for school leaders to effectively mediate bullying incidents.

One of the difficulties in treating children who have been cyber bullied is that they are reluctant to tell others about their victimization (Kowalski, 2008). Because of this reluctance, school leaders as well as parents, should look for any changes in their student’s/child’s behavior. Any signs of anxiety, depression, social isolation, or nervousness when approaching technology are indications that the child is suffering from bullying, be it traditional or cyber. In approaching a case of cyberbullying, it isn’t wise for leaders to take the conflict resolution approach because it gives the impression that both parties are at fault. The perpetrator needs to be made aware of their wrongdoing, and be held accountable for their actions; the victim needs to be empowered and assured that they are not at fault for the situation.

Cyberbullying is a major issue in the realm of education today. Evolving from school grounds to social media, this form of bullying can create more damaging effects than its traditional counterpart. It’s very important that school leaders address issues of bullying from a place that empowers the victim and holds the perpetrator accountable. In doing so, the school leader will begin to create a culture of empowerment and intolerance for such harmful acts of bullying; fostering a school culture where acceptance reigns, and the use of technology is for educational and positive social interactions.

Works Cited

Kowalski, R. M., PhD. (2008). Cyber bullying: Recognizing and treating victim                   and aggressor. Psychiatric Times, 25(11), 45-47. Retrieved from https://lynn-            lang.student.lynn.edu/login?url=http://lynn-                                                                     lang.student.lynn.edu:2955/docview/204637335?accountid=36334

Using technology in the classroom proves to be very beneficial to students. The Internet provides a plethora of resources that can be easily accessed. Schools are unable to always provide the most up-to-date material because funding is not always available; the Internet allows students to access these resources on any device with online capability. Through the implementation of the internet in daily lessons, students are encouraged to research and read information written by multiple authors. Students have the freedom to explore the web and use online programs to complete their work; this gives them some control over their learning. The Internet has been successfully implemented into classrooms over the years and shall continue to be utilized for many years to come.
Due to budget restrictions, some schools have difficulty retrieving updated materials to provide for their students. The great thing about the Internet is that it is regularly updated with the most recent information. Online information can be viewed in multiple formats including: online libraries, textbooks, articles, audio material, and videos. With Internet access, information can be accessed at any time and in any location. This allows students to begin working on his/her work in the classroom but has the ability to finish the work anywhere on his/her wireless device. Luckily, there are many public places offering access to free internet if the student is not able to connect at home.
If the use of electronics in the classroom is handled properly, the Internet can enhance a lesson rather than cause distraction. With use of the Internet, students have the capability to interact with the content rather than simply read and review the information. Different online programs such as Prezi and Emaze allow students to create visual presentations in “real-time.” This means that the educator can log in and monitor the students progress while he/she is actively working. Other online programs such as Kahoot and Socrative allow teachers to create exit tickets, student polls, and have them participate in content speed races to view student progress and understanding. It is critical that a teacher actively track his/her student’s internet access during class time.
The use of the Internet gives students a sense of control. As all students learn differently: it is very important to give them options of projects and assignments in which they can choose from. Allowing students to pick which topic and online program they want to use keeps them interested in the lesson content. Students who use the internet to complete work are more likely to remain engaged. Information on the internet is quickly and easily accessed; this is great for students who find it difficult to remain focused.
Why not let the students use the resources available to them? It is a constant battle to keep students engaged and off of their mobile devices. We should allow them to use their devices for a greater purpose while monitoring and tracking their content understanding. According to Teach-nology.com, “Teaching is ultimately a sharing of information and knowledge and all the available technology is a tool for facilitating communication. So, technology is an incredibly powerful teacher’s aid.” With rules and expectations set in place, the use of the Internet will only continue to benefit our students and help to expand their knowledge.

Written by: Alexandria Vicente

Works Cited:

Advantages of Using Technology in the Classroom – Boundless Open Textbook. (n.d.). Retrieved July 09, 2016, from https://www.boundless.com/education/textbooks/boundless-education-textbook/technology-in-the-classroom-6/edtech-25/advantages-of-using-technology-in-the-classroom-77-13007/

It was not long ago when all the teachers returned back to preschool week after a relaxing summer only to find out we all had Interactive White Boards installed in our classrooms. “Huh?” “Yay!” “Wait, a what?” “I can’t wait to use it, I have read and heard so much great things about using them in the classroom” “Is anyone going to answer my question?” “Yes!! New toys.” “Don’t we already have whiteboard in our classrooms?” As you can imagine, not all of us knew exactly what an interactive whiteboard was. No one was asked to demonstrate how to use one. No one was asked if they could share their thoughts or their experience using interactive whiteboards in the past. No one was asked anything about this new gadget. We were all just told they were in our rooms, the box that came with the remote control and whatever other tools we needed would also be in our classrooms on our desks and finally every teacher is expected to comply and be sure to use these whiteboards while teaching. “Great, I assume we will be trained on these new gadgets this week as one of our many other pointless PD’s we are forced to sit through” is what I thought. Imagine my disappointment when this Professional Development never came.

I find that one of the biggest issues of technology in education is hands down, lack of professional development, well, at least for me it is. Growing up, my parents didn’t have much and when my mom found a dinosaur of a computer at a yard sale one Saturday morning and brought it home it sat there for MONTHS without use since we didn’t have any internet at home to even use the thing. My siblings and I would use those AOL cd’s for free dial up internet but we only had access to AOL chatrooms with our friends. I say this to show that during those times, I was not previewed to technology as much as this current generation was so I was never really tech savvy. Of course throughout the years with more use of computers at school (google searches and Microsoft Word), I learned more on how to use computers but I still was no expert. Of course if someone showed me how to do something I was able to in time, do it on my own, there were things I figured out little by little too but I have always learned best from example. If I see you do it, I can do it too! How was I supposed to use this interactive whiteboard if no one was going to teach me how to use it? How am I to incorporate this gadget into my classroom lessons if I am not properly trained on how to use it? We already have so many PD’s on pointless things sometimes but at that moment I wished so badly for someone, anyone to conduct a PD on this topic so I am not found not using it during a walkthrough. I was completely stressed out the beginning of my second year teaching. “Professional development has to be relevant to teachers, contain numerous choices, and be hands-on. More often than not, this can be done with teacher leaders present in all buildings” (Sheninger, Eric 2014). Even if the district didn’t offer professional developments on how to use an interactive whiteboard in the classroom, this was the perfect time to bring out those teacher leaders who have experience to share. Those who were so excited about this new gadget because they had used them before and swore by it could’ve been of great use to staff members who knew nothing of it! Teachers need training to use technology effectively. Professional development is critical. The choice of medium will depend greatly upon the number of learners reached over the life of a course. (Garland, Tadeja 2013).

Effective School leaders cannot expect a positive outcome or a change in student achievement without the proper steps in rolling out something new with technology. Yes, technology can change a lot within a school in regards to student achievement, but, without the proper trainings, the vision will never get done.

Sources

https://thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6-technology-challenges-facing-education.aspx

Sheninger, Eric C. (2014-01-14). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times (p. 59)

Garland, Virginia E.; Chester Tadeja (2013-01-04). Educational Leadership and Technology: Preparing School Administrators for a Digital Age (p. 993).

With technology being embraced in classrooms all over the world, students are gaining accessing to endless supplies of educational materials ranging from e-textbooks to digital fiction and non-fiction books. I’ve utilized MyOn (www.myon.com), a website that provides an unlimited amount of digital books to students and expands your classroom library. This program monitors and tracks their growth and provides additional literacy tools to supplement their learning. With digital books gaining popularity, e-textbooks are the tools of the future. There are many benefits to e-textbooks versus the traditional hardcopy, a book that no longer grabs the attention of today’s learners. With students moving towards a digital future, many schools are integrating individual laptops or ipads for student use to access online material. According to The New York Times article, In a Digital Future, Textbooks are History; like so many others, a high school branched out into the digital world of learning by providing students with computers to complete classwork, homework, and preview class content in the form of podcasts. With technology integrated into the classroom, students are learning the same material but in a different way, a way that keeps their interest in a technological savvy environment. In order to move to a fully digital classroom, the question arises, are schools able to afford the quantity of laptops, ipads, kindles, etc. that will be needed to incorporate digital books into the classroom? This is a valid concern and one that is often thought about and discussed. As an educational leader is it crucial to determine whether the benefits outweigh the negatives. With incorporating e-textbooks into the already established curriculum and with the technology in place, schools are able to provide this resource on demand. As teachers, we are often faced with a shortage of textbooks with reasons ranging from new students, lost textbooks, etc. When the need for new textbook surface, an e-text can simply be purchased without the wait time of delivery. With this environmentally friendly resource, e-text often incorporate links to online websites such as YouTube or other multi-media resources to contribute to an unlimited supply of knowledge. Digital e-textbooks also provide text-to-speech functions that support struggling readers, readers with dyslexia, or the visually impaired. The number of teachers using technology in their classroom is growing at an exponential rate. The percentage of K-12 classrooms with Internet access has increased from 51% in 1998 to 98% in 2012.

In this video, you will learn about how digital textbooks influence student learning in the classroom.  http://bcove.me/06btxqq6

Sources:

http://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/9-Benefits-of-e-Books-That-Make-Them-Valuable-Classroom-Technology

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/09/education/09textbook.html

In today’s society implementing technology in the classroom has become the norm, even at the elementary level. According to Janelle Cox, as we sail through the 21st century, technology in the classroom is becoming more and more predominant. In many schools, tablets are replacing books which enable students to research just about anything. At first, I was reluctant to placing so much emphasis on incorporating technology into daily instruction as it is required at my school, but the results have been amazing. According to a study that was conducted by IT Trade Association, 75 percent of educators feel that technology has a positive impact on the learning process. The use of technology has caused teachers to change their teaching style. The adoption of technology has also changed the way in which students learn. This new method of education has created a learning environment that has allowed all involved to think outside of the box.
Students seem to enjoy the use of technology so much because it makes learning fun. My students are assigned a particular day of the week to work on the computers during independent work time. The use of technology has increased the reading levels of many of the majority of my students. The are excited to take a test on the computer after reading a book. Laptop cart day is one that they look forward to each week because this allows the entire class to work on the computers as a group.
A study conducted by Corp TIA’s showed that 9 out of 10 students believe that technology in the classroom would prepare them for the digital future. According to Janelle Cox, these 21st Century skills are essential to be successful in this day and age. The increased uses of technology in society mean that jobs that may not have had a digital component in the past may have one now. Students being familiar with the use of technology from a young age will prove beneficial in their future. Many of them are more technologically than their teachers, which is a plus.
Technology seems to be changing every minute. As educators, it is important that we keep up with the times to keep our students prepared for this ever-changing world that we live in. State Assessments are now being taken through the use of technology, each year the state has been adding a grade level. Last year school year the 4th-grade students had the experience of taking both the Reading and Math FSA on the computer. The year started out a little challenging but after working on the computers with fidelity through out the year, the result was positive. One benefit of using technology to assess the FSA was that the scores were back much sooner than they had been in previous years.
Integrating technology into the classroom has its benefits; I believe that traditional learning processes are just as essential and should be used as well.
Source: Benefits of Technology in the Classroom-TeachHUB. (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.teachhub.com/benefits-technology-classroom

I-ready is an adaptive computer program that assesses students and provides them with individualized instruction on their current level of ability. Teachers have access to a wide variety of reports ranging from standards mastery reports, growth reports, skill reports and parent reports. In addition, teachers can print scripted lessons for each student AND for each skill they are currently working on. Teachers can also use the program to group their students to form small group instruction. Once the students are grouped by ability and/or need, the lessons are provided with one click of the mouse.
I-ready’s adaptive nature is based on a theory developed by Georg Rasch in 1960. By using the Rasch Equation, it is possible to calculate the probability of success that a student of a certain ability would have with an item of a certain difficulty. In addition, i-ready meets the rigor of the Common Core Standards in an engaging, high-interest manner. The students earn tokens that can be used in the virtual game room as they successfully complete lessons. The recommended usage of i-ready is thirty minutes per day per student.
With an adaptive computer program that offers so much to teachers and students, it hard to imagine how utilization could not improve student performance. Perhaps that is the opinion of the School District of Palm Beach County because they purchased this program for every elementary school in the district for the 2016-2017 school year for the hefty price tag of six million dollars. However, as with everything, the program will only be as effective as the fidelity of implementation.
The four schools I support used this program last year. I have yet to see another program that is in better alignment with the demands of our new standards. In addition, I have never seen a program that offers more resources to teachers. Along with all of the benefits of this program, I have also observed a number of teachers who do not realize the contributions this program can make to their instruction. Some teachers use this program simply as a tool to keep their students busy. They do not pull the reports nor track their students’ progress. Some teachers want to devote more time to the program, but simply do not have the time to dive into the different facets of the program. Other teachers just roll their eyes when you mention i-ready because it is one more thing added to their “to-do” list.
I do, however, have one teacher who took on i-ready with enthusiasm and 100% effort. She taught her 18 Kindergarten students to alert her whenever they saw the word “congratulations” on their screen. She realized that each time the students successfully completed a lesson, they received the “congratulations” screen. I loved watching their little faces excitedly raise their hand when they experienced success. She then tracked their progress (see chart below) and added lessons to their account that she felt they needed. In addition, she printed the suggested lesson plans for each student to use while she conferred with her Kindergarteners. As a result of her innovate use of this new program, 17/18 of her students were reading on or above grade-level by the end of the year. That is not easy when you consider the high-demands placed on our Kindergarten students (in case you are not familiar with our little ones – the days of playing in the kitchen center in Kindergarten are over). By incorporating the four Cs of creativity, communication, critical thinking, and collaboration, this teacher promotes twenty-first-century pedagogy all day long! In fact, she has created a classroom of super readers!

As technology advances,the benefits will only be as effective as its implementation. I hope that the School District of Palm Beach County takes the time to help teachers understand the “why” behind this program and really embraces the necessary change that we need to occur. I fear that rushed implementation will lead to the improper usage of this valuable program. After I have seen how i-ready can help students make the necessary advances to compete in a global society, we owe it to them to take the time and make our classrooms ready for i-ready.

Technology Issue Blog Week 2

In the educational world today technology has been considered to be the most important tool that both students and teachers have access to. Students today and young people period are technologically savvy but are not necessarily using it the correct way. You see students daily walking around with al sorts of technology such as Ipads, smart phones, tablets, etc.… The use of this technology comes natural to this generation of students that there is no need to instruct them on how to use it. I have noticed how technology has changed drastically from when I was in high school that is almost 20 years ago when the big thing with technology, which was word processing. Now you have classes where they cover touch-typing plus the entire Microsoft office suite, coding and an industry certification test.

A major issue I see with technology is not getting the actual technology itself but developing the teachers to enable them on how to teach students and use technology successfully. School districts are making good investments with technology but are but are putting them in classrooms with teachers who are ill prepared and not able to understand the technology in which they have access too. Right now at my school there is plenty of unused brand new technological equipment not being used because some teachers do not want to take the time to try learn the equipment or even fit it into their curriculum.

http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/06/04/6-technology-challenges-facing-education.aspx

Education is an ever changing world. From chalkboards, to white boards, to SmartBoards, to Apple TVs and iPads, technology is completely changing the way that students are learning in our society. As a teacher, it is important to promote diversity within the classroom. With that in mind, it is extremely important that teachers utilize an array of technology with their students, in order to obtain the highest learning possible.

According to Ashley Wainwright, technology in the classroom has proven itself time and again. In her article entitled, 8 Studies Show iPads in the Classroom Improve Education, she points out that students of all ages are benefiting from iPads in the classroom. One study in Texas showed that students who utilize iPads were 49% more likely to score a proficiency rating versus the traditional classroom. Another such example from Wainwright’s article shows students in California who have used technology within the classroom have raised their mathematics standardized test scores by 20% compared to classes only utilizing traditional textbooks. More importantly, according to Wainwright’s source, Open Colleges, 81% of teachers and 86% of students across the country feel that iPad tablets can help students study more efficiently than normal means.

On a broad scale, Public Schools in the U.S. are now spending more than $8 billion annually on digital content, including hardware and software. Additionally, according to Benjamin Herold’s source of EdTech Strategies, for the first time ever in the 2015-2016 school year, computer based standardized assessments will outnumber the traditional pencil and paper tests. Not only does this trend speak volumes about where our education system is headed, but it also leads to a new type of teaching pattern called “blended learning”, which combines an appropriate amount of teacher based learning with technology based instruction. Proponents of the standardized testing trend explain that technology based assessments save cost, are easy to administer, and easy to obtain valuable feedback on student growth (Herold, 2015).

Overall, I think that iPads and other such technology are a necessity in our current world. Students need to be able to use their phones and tablets for things other than social media and emailing. Teachers that can provide structured lessons on various educational based applications and software programs can open doors and better prepare students for the future. Hopefully, as we evolve even more, we can create an appropriate equilibrium between technology and face-to-face interactions so that we can provide a well-rounded education for all students in our diverse culture.

Please follow the link below to a short video provided by edutopic.org on the importance of education, as well as a look into the 21st century classroom and student: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d59eG1_Tt-Q

Works Cited
1. Herold, B (2015). Technology in Education: An Overview. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-education/

2. Wainwright, A. 8 Studies Show iPads in the Classroom Improve Education. Retrieved from http://www.securedgenetworks.com/blog/8-Studies-Show-iPads-in-the-Classroom-Improve-Education