Blog Post 6

The Networked Student

by Wendy Drexler

As I watched this video, I realized it is almost identical to my EDM310 class experience.  The student is learning how to use countless networks to maximize his understanding of the material for his class.  By using these networks, he can have access to the best teachers in the world.  I am finding this to be true in my class.  Like this student, I am blogging and researching every day and I have met teachers from all over the world who are more than willing to help guide me to a better understanding of the true meaning of being a teacher.

During the video I started to think about how much the student is learning on his own without his teacher and textbook.  I was about to give up on the classroom all together and then they asked, “Why does the networked student even need a teacher?”  The narrator then gave a list of reasons to still have a teacher in this classroom.  Some of these reasons include, but are not limited to:

·         To help teach the student how to build his/her network and take advantages of learning opportunities.

·         To give the student guidance when stuck.

·         To teach the student how to communicate properly and ask respectfully for help from experts.

·         To explain the difference between good information and propaganda.

·         To help the student organize mountains of information.

I thought about these reasons for a while.  If I did not have Dr. Strange and the EDM310 staff, there is no way I would be able to successfully do my best.  I can read the directions for our assignments, but without their positive feedback and help, I would be completely lost.  I chose the picture above because this really is more of the networked teacher than the networked student.

I have found that even the students are teachers when it comes to networking.  We teach ourselves and our classmates what we are learning from our teachers, as well as teach our teachers and mentors better ways to teach us. 

Teaching someone these skills is important for them to be successful.  I know that, with practice, I can one day be able to teach this to others.  I just don’t know how long it will take me to get there.  

A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment

by Wendy Drexler and Mr. H's 7th grade student

The first time I watched this video I was overwhelmed to say the least. I was astounded that a seventh grade student made such a great Personal Learning Environment, or PLE.  I actually watched this video during the first week of class and, at that time, I honestly had no idea what a PLE was.  This video was posted as a helpful tool in our project 10 instructions for our own Personal Learning Network, or PLN. 

I started working on my PLN at the beginning of the semester.  I have come a long way, but I am nowhere near this student’s level.  I have learned that it is more of a trial and error type of learning experience.  You find websites and build websites to add to your personal learning network.  Some will work and some will be replaced.

I hope that one day my personal learning network can be filled with many helpful teaching tools.  I have found a few websites that are amazing, but I know that things change every day and there will always be new material available.  I will just have to keep working at it and do my best to find the right materials for my personal methods of teaching.

Why Smartboards Are a Dumb Initiative

by Michael Staton

 

Mr. Staton was a high school US History teacher for two years at the Houston Independent School District. He said that if he were still a teacher he would only like SMARTBoards because he is a “gadget geek” and he would prefer if the education system would look toward re-imagining what’s possible before turning to SMARTBoards.

Mr. Staton makes two arguments:

·        Smartboards don’t change the model that’s broken. They just make that model way more expensive.

·        Smartboards are an administrative cop out. Administrators like Smartboards because when they spend money on technology they need to spend a lot of it and it needs to be on things they can point to and count.

He made two good points, but I was still curious to find out more.  I have never used a SMARTBoard and I have not heard anything about how "good" or "bad" they are.  Actually, I was quite intrigued by the conversations that followed on this blog page.  There were people defending the SMARTBoard, and there were those who absolutely loathe it.  My favorite responses were those made by TimeOutDad.  He gave specific reasons to why SMARTBoards are effective.  However, Ms. Nielson kept coming back with the same attitude “you can do that on a projector.”

I did, however, find an article by Silvia Tolisano on Langwitches,org where she explains that teachers who use SMARTBoards have a responsibility to use it “beyond a glorified projector screen.”  Her article was very detailed and explained ways that teachers can use SMARTBoards more efficiently. 

and  Why I Hate Interactive Whiteboards

by Bill Ferriter

Mr. Ferriter makes somewhat of a similar argument to Mr. Staton.  He too believes we are buying SMARTBoards as a “PR tool” for supervisors and parents. 

Heaven forbid that you run a school without whiteboards if your colleagues down the street have taken a big bite of this 21st century fruit. You’ll look like a hayseed at the next PTA meeting, won’t you?

All joking aside, is he right that schools are buying SMARTBoards as a vain attempt to buy change? 

Mr. Ferriter also gives an example of what a principal may explain as the best classroom environment, such as promoting independent discovery and collaborative work, to persuade his reader the SMARTBoard does little to promote what was described.  He then asks the reader why we waste so much money on interactive whiteboards when they are not helping with either of these.

I had a hard time finding something to refute that, but I did find a video by TeacherTrainer that made me believe differently.

I am currently doing early field experience with all of the first grade classrooms at a local elementary school.  I have seen both the highest level readers and the lowest level readers read this story on a computer using Starfall.  I have seen them all struggle with different parts of the story, and it doesn’t help their moral knowing they have to read it three times for their lesson. 

However, the student in this video was extremely enthusiastic about using the SMARTBoard to read the story.  You can see by the way the story is read, as well as how the student interacts with the moving characters, that the student is excited to read this story.  Even the better of my first grade readers did not look nearly excited when they had to read it on the computer.  This, to me, proves that there is something magical to these boards in the eyes of the students.  Therefore, we should not cast this technology aside because of cost, but enhance our abilities to teach students in a way which truly engages them.