Tech Trends Article 3

EDU 6250 Article 3

This article talks about the use of 1-to-1 devices in Maine that has been there for a decade already and some issues they have come across.  They give Apple laptop computers to 7th and 8th grade students in the state at a cost of $11.5 million a year and have not seen a large return on investment.  There has not been an increase in Standardized test scores for them and they are questioning the effectiveness of the devices.  There is not much to show how much the program has helped.  They are worried the devices have just been used to replace other educational tools and used for word processing, presentations, and online research.  Michigan State recently conducted a study related to the efficacy of 1-to-1 devices (first of it’s kind) and found it led to increased student achievement and modest boosts in students’ ‘21st-century skills.’  There have not been many other states that have taken up this initiative on the state level because many school districts are taking it into their own hands to put laptops in students hands.

Maine is still considering what they will do with the devices and how they will progress moving forward.  They are considering using cheaper devices due to the much more affordable availability, giving the devices to students at a younger age, and possibly shifting resources away from devices and into professional development and training. The governor recognized how easy it was to take things for granted in a program and take the time to stop and reflect now on what has been done.  

When I first read this article, I was initially shocked by the results.  Why would any school not want to be equipped with 1-to-1 technology?  There are so many avenues people can take it to improve student learning, but then again, there could be too many avenues.  There is so much out there right now that many people tend to feel overwhelmed and inundated with the possibilities.  I think that having the devices is the right start for education, but needs to be revamped quite a bit.  Educators need to focus on a few key aspects to improve learning and put it into practice.  Once they have mastered a particular use of the device they can branch out to keep improving.  I think this article shows how important it is to have good professional development, training, and time to implement the training.  Technology has moved incredibly fast and it is time for us to catch up to it and understand the best use of this amazing resource at our fingertips.   

Herold, B., & Kazi, J. (2017). 1-to-1 Computing Under Microscope in Maine Schools. Education

Digest, 82(5), 48.

Tech trends article 2

EDU 6250 Article 2

This article describes some of the many obstacles we may come across with our advancements in educational technology.  It focuses on factors that are more in the educational environment control.  Assuming we are prepared with computers, networks, and software, there are many other factors to take into consideration when preparing for utilizing technology.  Labs, classrooms, and other facilities must be well designed to get the most out of the A/V equipment.  Some factors to think about are lighting, room darkening needs, and noise abatement for good acoustical qualities.  One also needs to think about the maintenance needs of these rooms with all of the technology in them.  The more technology in the room, the more dust seems to accumulate.  Maintenance needs to be regular as to not interrupt classroom time.  Batteries must be replaced, spare bulbs must be readily available, and dusting must happen regularly.  Some labs are too cluttered with technology and don’t have room for people to work.  There are also labs that are outdated and need to be updated.  All classrooms will need to be equipped with technology in the near future and only then can faculty needs be met.

Another issue is the training of faculty to use the technology.  From basic software to realizing the capabilities of technology, faculty need training in these areas.  Students and faculty lack the basic skills of acting for the camera and speaking for the microphone.  Teachers also don’t use technology because of inadequately equipped rooms.  Those that do have technology don’t always have the resources to perform their tasks.  Another issue technology brings is the issue of copying and plagiarising digital material.  

I like how this article brought out points that one doesn’t typically think about.  There are so many maintenance needs when it comes to being able to utilize technology.  As a teacher that has access to technology I have always taken it for granted that everything such as the ELMO projectors, LCD projector, and network are going to work.  You make it engrained in your teaching that it will work and then some get frustrated when it doesn’t.  We had a huge overhaul in our building to meet networking needs this year and it has made a world of difference and increased the seamlessness of instruction for me as an educator.  Thank goodness for a great maintenance staff.  

The idea of faculty not being trained in utilizing the technology has also resonated with me.  When we first moved to google in our district, I was very ill-equipped with using the technology and saw it as more of an annoyance to use the technology.  It wasn’t until I took a couple classes that moved slow enough for me to gain an understanding of how I could use these tools that it was actually effective for me.  This year is the first time I have felt comfortable using the many features of google and been able to enhance the organization and instructional capabilities in the courses I teach.  

T.W. (2005). Low-Tech and Non-Tech Obstacles to Information Technology. Eduexec, 24(10),

1-7.

Calculator Equipment Review

The Calculator

Tech Trends Article 1

This article describes 5 Educational Technology Tools that the author finds to be on their way out and cooling down in the educational world.  The author focused on the following: bans on cell phones, Common Core, flipped learning, homework and grading, and the use of tablets.  Besides these topics the author points out that arts education and blended learning are going into hibernation along with 1:1, gaming, and growth mindset.

The ban of cell phones has become a ludicrous idea in the classroom.  This is the tool we use today to find information at our fingertips.  It doesn’t make any sense to not use it in the classroom.  The concept of Common Core is also slowing down just like all of the political buzzwords.  The politicians are not supporting it and most states are doing away with it.  The flipped classroom is slowing down much due to the uncertainty in it’s effectiveness.  They point out that there is conflicting research on how well it works.  Some studies show it works well, some show it is not statistically significant, and others show it actually hurts a student’s learning.  Another problem is that not every student has access to the technology for this means to be effective.  

Another idea cooling down is homework and grading.  This is due to the fact of busy schedules for students and parents affecting time constraints, and also parents ability to be able to help students at home.  Grading has changed with the move to developing understanding and progressing through formative assessments and being graded on more of a final product.  Tablets have also gone cold because they are not so exciting for students any more.  Students want the next big thing.  Other ideas mentioned were one to one devices along with gaming and growth mindset.  

The first thing I thought about when hearing about these ‘cooling off’ ideas was how I am just starting to try them out myself.  My school just went 1 to 1 this year and now that every student has accessibility to the web I am trying out many of the new google tools and starting to try the blended classroom.  I would never go to a completely flipped classroom, but the blended classroom has already allowed me to provide so much more accessibility to students and be much more productive during class time answering questions.  

I would agree with these experts that these technologies are slowing down, but I like the term being more like hibernation.  I find that there is so much out there with technology and it is growing so fast that there is not enough time for many teachers or school districts to keep up with it for many reasons and many outside of their control.  This is why I think many schools and teachers just need time to catch up to be able to get the most effective use of the technology in their classroom.  As the flipped classroom research pointed out, it can go very well, stay the same, or actually hurt student’s learning based on how the technological idea is used.  

Schaffhauser, D. (2017). 5 Ed Tech Trends on the Way Out in 2017. T H E Journal, 44(2), 14.

Multimedia Lesson Plan, parabolas

check out the multimedia lesson plan

Digital Assessment

The following DIGITAL ASSESSMENT created in google forms is being used as a formative assessment to determine how well students understand the transformations of a quadratic function in graphing form.  This is meant as a review for students in my Pre-Calculus class and as the start of an investigation into the transformations in my Algebra 2 class. 
Students will be able to accurately sketch the graph of parabolas when quadratic equations are in graphing form.  Students will be able to accurately identify transformations from the parent graph.  Students will be able to determine a possible equation in graphing form of a parabola from a given graph.
The media presented in this lesson will allow students to revisit the base idea of the equation in the podcast, see how it is done on desmos using screencastify, and also be assessed on their understanding using google forms.

Article 3 Media II

This article describes the positive effect of instant feedback techniques on Computer Science students at the University of Nottingham.  Students from the previous school year did not receive the feedback, while the following year students did receive immediate feedback mechanisms.  These students made 35% fewer common mistakes on a subsequent exercise than the previous cohort.  ‘The Marker’s Apprentice’ (TMA) produced the feedback which was instantly generated for student submissions.  The TMA used in the study pointed out the lines of bad code in a particular program and offered a link to a short tutorial of the concepts missed.  The feedback was of high quality and purposely not specific to the exercise so there is some effort needed by the student to complete their code.  The author points out that students need high quality feedback which should be: timely, informative, reliable and consistent, clearly communicated, specific, and useful for teachers.  

Submissions made using TMA did not count towards student’s grades and were used as formative assessments.  There was a pre-submission of work and a post-submission of work which averaged to about a 24.6% improvement in student scores which averaged in the mid 80%’s.  Great results, but it does not show that a deep understanding has taken place of the material.  Students who engaged in the feedback had work that led to improved performance compared to students given feedback on drafts.  The author also points out that automated assessment is not a replacement for staff-student interaction, or just a way to save time.

I think this article verifies a couple of key points about providing assessment.  First it points out how beneficial it is to students to receive immediate feedback and resources while the material is fresh in thought.  When feedback is not timely students will often forget where they may have been in their thought process and it does not entitle them to closure in their understanding of a particular concept.  Using digital tools for formative assessments can greatly benefit students to receive this immediate feedback and aide in their understanding.

The second point I wanted to make was that the feedback needed to be meaningful.  It doesn’t do a student any good if their feedback does not make any sense or provide a resource to aid in understanding.  The feedback should be informative, reliable and consistent, clearly communicated, and specific.  Students should not be trying to play a guessing game when trying to figure out where they may have gone wrong on a particular problem.  It should be clear cut and provide useful, productive explanation.  I think the use of a digital tool like google forms helps make this much easier for teachers when providing formative assessment feedback.  

Nutbrown, S., Higgins, C., & Beesley, S. (2016). Measuring the impact of high quality instant

feedback on learning. Practitioner Research in Higher Education, 10(1), 130-139.

Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1129863.pdf