Poleskys Big Time Blogger

Critical Issue: Technology: A Catalyst for Teaching and Learning in the Classroom

2006-10-11T21:02:00.000-07:00

This article again discusses the use of the Internet and technology to teach various different subjects in the educational classrooms. In todays society, imagining the world without technology is just something that is not feasible. Todays world would/could shut down if it wasn't for technology and the school systems need to do everything they can to continue to get this out to the students, in all classroom settings. However, again, I think that governments have forgotten where the world is and is going, and they, with increasing limitations using standards based learning, contradict teachers ability to further implement and strengthen their students knowledge with the use of technology.

Again, being an instructor in a CTE classroom setting, where technology leads the instruction, I could not see doing my job without it. The decision makers need to realize that where technology has a place in the classroom, the learning reaches a higher point than in classrooms without it.

In summation, I think that this article lists a number of reasons for and against technology in the classroom, and I think that this is an area where further research and development needs to be placed.

Critical Issue: Using Technology to Improve Student Achievement

2006-10-11T17:44:00.000-07:00

This article was about how schools should continuosly use technology to support the educational process. There was one quote in the article that I truly agree with, being an instructor who teaches in an all technological classroom. That quote was, "that every student should be technologically literate by the time they finish the eighth grade, regardless of the student's race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability." I think this is something that is a must. With technology being so abundant, I think all students by the time they enter highschool should have at least a basic understanding of the "basics, and then highschool could be used for the more advanced technologies and we could begin preparing students for Careers rather than just "getting by". Students need to learn that technology in the classrooms is more than just, music, or email, or video-games. Technology that supports their learning, will make them more successful in the future.

However, the way I beleive that NCLB works and looks at it, is that the basics of education, Math, Reading, and Writing, need to stay in the forefront and all the money that can needs to be put into those subjects, and unfortunately most don't understand the correlations that can be developed with these and technology, and we need to continue to look at and evaluate the best ways to bring technology to the forefront. Technology needs to be a priority as much as Math, Reading and Writing and schools need to find a way to support an ever increasing use of it to better prepare students for the future.

Does it Compute? The Relationship Between Educational Technology and Student Achievement in Mathematics

2006-10-11T17:33:00.000-07:00

The article hits on a point that I feel goes hand in hand with many subjects in the school system today. The overall jist of the article is how technology, when used correctly and appropriately, will not only help to produce better learners, it will make learner seem more real and students will want to succeed. Being an instructor in a field that uses technology in everything that it does, I can truly see how the using of technology to support the other fields of study, (i.e. Math, Science, English, etc.) the better the school systems will be. I think that as long as the technology being used directly supports the overall curriculum of the class, the only outcome that could possibly result is the acheivement of higher learning skills and higher test scores.

As the world constantly changes, and technology constantly changes, I think if schools can benefit from the use of the technology, they will only give their students a better opportunity to succeed in the market and economy today. It is time for us to become the best again and not the second best.

Locating, Using, and Integrating Internet-Based Mathematics Materials

2006-10-11T17:25:00.000-07:00

This article discusses the hassle and difficulty that teachers have when it comes to locating good, usable, and appropriate websites that deal with the subject of math. It mentions that the Internet contains numerous sites with vast amounts of valuable resources for k-12 educators and students, however, the time that is needed to actually research and find these sites is becoming more and more non-exsistent due to the ever changing expectations that administrators place on teachers. This article though, seems to understand that difficulty and went ahead and took all of these valuable sites and placed them all together in one easy to use location.

Good Job

Lead, Don't Lecture

2006-10-04T18:17:00.000-07:00

The article is about classrooms that provide a more real world, hands on approach to learning, rather than the standard, here is the text, read it, mentallity. The article then goes on to introduce teachers as "coaches", that are meant to mentor, lead, provide feedback, etc. to students and not just be a "voice" that stands at the front of the room. The article also mentions how teachers should become more classroom participants, working together with the students, like teammates, rather than the person who just stands behind a lectur saying "Bueller, Bueller..."

The article also goes into the importance of using more of a one-on-one teaching method, where each student gets a little bit of individual instructing, while the rest of the class adopts a do-it-yourself philosophy, also utilizing peer mentoring and instructing.

All of this sounds good, and is something that I think the "decision makers" need to look further into, but in this day and age with AIMS and NCLB, how much real time is there to devote to teaching or "coaching" in a "real-world aspect" and just getting all those numerous state standards met and having 80% of 80% meet requirements, or funding = $O. This is something that I would like to see addressed further at a later time.

Mapping a Path for the 3D Web

2006-10-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

This article was about a recent meeting of the large computer industry giants to discuss and plan the future look of the Internet or the World Wide Web. It mentioned something that I have never heard of, but they called it the Metaverse, which would be like an interactive, 3-dimensional, Internet that would be up and running in the next 10 years (2016). I think that at a time like this, with the way technology constantly changes, a 10-year window is stretching it a bit. I think that if the technology brains really think about it and try, something like this could happen sooner than later, and by 2016, we could be in a place where technology changes our lives more significantly than can be imagined.

Standards for Math, Science and Technology

2006-09-14T18:55:00.000-07:00

In both articles about the new standards for Math, Science and Technology, they pretty much talk about what the standards are going to be and how they are going to be applied in the classroom. They also discuss the reasons that the new standards are necessary to the effective education of the children of the future. Students will become more actively involved in the education process to help them reach the new standards that the government believes all students need to be successful in life.

As a CTE instructor, I am very familar with teaching to the standards, and how each student needs to be held accountable to them at a passing level (80% of 80% in our case). Teachers then need to track and record how all of their students do, and they are then held accountable for this. The standards are also tied into funding, etc. and it puts the teachers at a higher plain in making sure that their students are achieving.

I used to hear other teachers saying how "Easy" the CTE teachers had it, because they were free to teach what ever they wanted. Now that they are going to be held to the same standards as we are, I would like to hear from those people now :)

Constructivist Theory

2006-09-03T15:22:00.000-07:00

In the use of constructivist theory, teachers are there to push students and guide them to build and construct "knowledge", from the foundation to the top, like they would a house, or a building, etc. In constructivist theory, teachers are out to build a "Knowledge basis", rather than maikng students nothing more than "parrots", or "tape recorders", etc. that just absord and spit out information, and then eventually lose it for newer information.

The teacher who follows the constructivist theory allows students the opportunity to dig deeper into the material and then come out with a stronger system of knowledge and beliefs. The students then build their own conclusions and decide and figure out ways to use the knowledge obtained to better strengthen their belief systems and core knowledge.

One tool that aids in this theory is the WebQuest that we also read about in class. A WebQuest uses a constructivist approach that allows students to do the deeper digging into the insights of knowledge and hopefully gain a better prospective of learning. The WebQuest is guided by the teacher, but the students build their knowledge in an interactive process rather than just by being lectured to or reading material from a book.

It is kind of like fishing...if you go down deep enough and have the patience to wait and try to become one with what you are doing, you can become better rewarded with the bigger fish, instead of those that hang on the service and give themselves up readily. The more patience, time and effort you put into your learning, the better rewarded you will be.

WebQuest in a Nutshell

2006-09-03T14:58:00.000-07:00

In the article about WebQuest, it pretty much sums up what a WebQuest in and gives a little insight into how one should be used. WebQuest are simply interactive "learning" websites, where the students not only search through them for information, but actually interact and hopefully learn something upon the completion.

WebQuest are used to lead the student from one point, an Introduction, which gives a brief synopsis of the task at hand, and then will lead the student through various aspects and come to a Conclusion, that is used to wrap up the learning process and bring the experience to a close.

Then there is also an opportunity for the students to Reflect on their learning and even Extend the learning into a further aspect beyond the classroom, or possibly create their own WebQuests to further expand on their or their peers knowledge.

When used well, a WebQuest can open up the use of technology and the Internet in the classroom, from the mundane surfing, video game downloading, and MySpace messaging, into something a whole lot more, and finally become an experience that has meaning, and quite possibly, a point

2006-08-24T19:19:00.000-07:00

And Away We Go..................!