Welcome to the Technological Jungle
Using Technology Outside of the Classroom, too
The Preface
My very first year teaching at AMSA
(Advanced Math and Science Academy Charter School), I was given a mentor to
help guide me through the new-ness of the school and the curriculum. He was a
colleague who taught the other half of the sixth graders, and he was old enough
to be my father. In fact, he had two sons around my age. I was intimidated to
say the least. Pushing my fear aside, I decided to view my mentor, Mr. V, as a
friend and resource. I had no idea, at that time, the impact he would have on
me as a young teacher, especially in regards to technology.
Mr. V was an obvious choice for the
interview and was the first teacher who came to mind. I remember three years
ago in August when we first met. We were sitting in my very first classroom,
which was unbearably hot at all times and resembled a very narrow Swiss Chalet.
The opposite wall is literally just out of view on the right.
After handing me a business card that proudly displayed his
profession and contact information, Mr. V opened up his laptop to show me his
website. I was in awe. I had previous spent six months student teaching with a
teacher who still used carbon sheets to make copies. (I wish I was kidding).
And here was Mr. V, who was the same age as my student teaching mentor, and he
had his own website! That he designed himself! And not only was it useful, but kids actually used it.
However, as the years went on, my enthusiasm for using
technology in the classroom wavered. Although we are far more blessed than many
school districts, we still don’t have computer labs available for students to
use during the day. We don't have laptops or iPads. Additionally, we have a
small population of students who don't even have computers at home. The task of
incorporating technology into the classroom seemed so daunting to me, so I
avoided using it. Sure, I utilized PowerPoint and my overhead projector, but
for the most part, students in my classroom weren't interacting with the
technology themselves. I really thought I couldn't do it, and to be honest, I
wasn't looking for any ways to do it either.
The Interview and Observation
Before meeting with Mr. V for the interview, I took a look
at his website again to get some ideas for questions.
The first thing I noticed
was that he has a welcome podcast for parents and students to view. This was a great way to introduce himself to parents if they're unable to make it to parents' night. It shows just how accessible Mr. V is as a teacher, and the technology is there to highlight that.
Clearly,
Mr. V is even more versed in technology than I thought. The website also
includes Portuguese and Spanish translations, links to a student discussion board and interesting, inspirational videos that connect to the curriculum.
This really impressed me. I knew the website existed
from my experience being his mentee three years ago, but it was truly more
accessible than I imagined or remembered.
This led me to my interview, which I conducted before
observing him. Through the interview, I learned about some new technological
techniques that Mr. V was trying out this year. The first and most notable one
was his use of Podcasts to give feedback on student papers. In order to make
this work, Mr. V creates a 3x5 note card that has all the grading criteria (bulleted)
for the assignment. This ensures that each individual podcast includes all the
same grading criteria. As he reads the paper, he talks out loud, giving feedback by recording on a Podcast. This allows him to correct each paper in half the time
by simply reading it once and “hitting” each of the criteria. In addition, the
audible learner can connect better with the feedback, as it must be listened to
first before they receive their grade. According to Mr. V, it is also easily
accessible for future reference. He showed me an example of one, which I can't
post here because it includes student names, but (to use Mr. V’s words),
“they’re incredibly cool.” When I observed Mr. V’s AP Psychology class, I
noticed some students were discussing feedback he had recently given them
through a Podcast. Clearly, it sticks.
Mr. V also
uses Turnitin.com for grading.
If you don’t have Turnitin and you teach English, you need to convince your
school to invest in it. Not only does it check students’ papers for plagiarism
based on a database of hundreds of thousands of student papers and literally the entire internet, it also
offers an amazing electronic grading system as an included feature. After
learning that Mr. V grades using Turnitin, and since I learn by doing, I had
him give me a little tutorial on the basics. You can find a page with webcasts on it that explain how to use certain features, as well as showcase teachers' different uses for the website HERE! I even downloaded the grading app on my iPad and am in the
process of grading a set of papers using it.
It lets you upload and build rubrics too!
During the
interview I also learned that Mr. V recently had his sixth grade students
complete a Wiki using wiki-spaces
on a non-fiction book they read in class. Students worked in groups and made
changes to the wiki outside of school. It helped teach them collaboration over
the internet, which is something I never even thought of doing. So many of our
interactions today are not face-to-face. By creating this assignment, Mr. V
addressed this in a realistic and applicable way. I can’t even count how many
times in my professional career I've had to collaborate with a colleague
without ever meeting face-to-face. Mr. V’s sixth graders, as a result, are already
far more prepared for the 21st century work environment than I was
when I graduated college. This is saying something.
To close
out the interview, I asked Mr. V to share his opinion on completely,
unabashedly integrating technology into schools. Specifically, I asked him how
much technology is too much. Here’s how he responded:
“Too often we do not implement sound practices because we fear that a few idiots may act irresponsible. I say, lets educate our students with proper practices and policies with technology integration and punish those who abuse the policy. If we assign individual sign-on passwords for every student, it would be so easy to find abuses and to punish them.”
I think this is incredibly powerful, and it
connects with my personal struggle to integrate more technology into my
classroom. Just recently, I asked the IT department if we could perhaps invest
in a laptop cart, since our computer labs aren't available for students to use
during English classes. I was immediately shot down because “it’s too much work
to maintain” and “students would abuse it.” Unfortunately, this is how it is in
many schools. Why should, like Mr. V said, a few idiots ruin it for everyone
else?
Conclusions
Mr. V is such a great example of a
teacher who goes above and beyond to incorporate technology in a school that
(to use his words) “barely has enough bandwidth to allow two teachers to stream
YouTube at the same time.” However, I do question the reason why he uses
technology the way he does. In hindsight, this is something I wish I asked
during my interview. For instance, I love the online discussion boards, but
they aren't graded, and they aren't frequently monitored. The accountability
aspect makes me skeptical about whether or not this particular use of
technology is effective. A teacher should never use technology just to use it; technology
should truly increase the learning of the students. It’s hard for me to say
whether or not some of these outcomes actually increased student learning. Does
an online discussion accomplish anything more than an in-class discussion
would? On the other hand, using a podcast to give students feedback on their
papers seems to be an effective use of technology. It addresses different
students’ learning styles by giving an auditory response, as opposed to a
written. If I were to implement this in my classroom, however, I would probably
do both. Some students need the feedback on paper in order to be able to go
forward with the next step in the writing process. Mr. V only uses podcasts.
In the end,
Mr. V proved to me that one doesn't need
in-class access to every technology on the planet to be able to successfully
use and incorporate it. Although he did not actually use technology within the
three classes I observed, it’s clear that it’s an everyday part of his routine.
The podcast feedback system, the utilization of Turnitin.com for grading, and
the weekly online discussions that students engage in: these are all excellent
representations of Mr. V’s proficiency in using technology. I definitely see
how some of his techniques could apply to what we've learned in class as well.
For example, Mr. V’s Wiki assignment aligns perfectly with what we've learned
about Wikis in class. His students use Wiki-spaces, and some of the outcomes he showed me were
wonderful. In thinking about my current eighth graders, I wonder if having students create their
own webquest on a Wiki in groups would be feasible.
In the end, the implications of
this field service interview on my teaching have been outstanding. I’m looking
forward to implementing some new techniques, all thanks to the inspiration of
my old mentor. I feel it’s best to leave you with his words:
“We must integrate technology, not only because of the standards that we have, but more importantly to prepare our students for college and future employment. Technology enhances a lesson, making a strong curriculum even stronger . . . Technology reaches out and stimulates thought.”
***
- Podcasts
- Turnitin.com
- Wikispaces
- Edline
- Animoto
- Forums/Discussion Boards
