Today we were so lucky and blessed to have a few guest speakers into our class. We had MAC graduates from Kevin Hankinson in '08, as well as Larry Liu a good friend of mine who also graduated in '08. In addition, Andrea Clyne who graduated in '06 skyped in from Paris, France! In addition, Lauren Fardig who graduated from MAC.
Larry is going to the Dominican Republic to teach at the American School of Santo Domingo. He told us about incorporating technology into his classroom. He utilizes facebook in his classroom! That is completely different than my conception of how to utilize technology in the classroom. He also told me about how he utilizes podcasts in his classroom. He would record his lectures in a podcast for his students to review as well as for people who miss the class. It was really great to know that technology has been successfully integrated before. I hope to follow his example in this way!
Lauren Fardi also gave us the opportunity to ask a few of her students as well as herself questions about technology practice. I asked a question regarding her students' internet accessability in their homes. My concern was centered on how many students do not have access to internet in their homes. This in turn would hinder their ability to engage with integrated technology in the classrooms. Her response really surprised me. She noted that 70% of the students in her school in the Bronx had internet access in their homes, but because of the 30% that did not, she never created strict deadlines with regards to assignments that require the use of the internet. She noted that the most common way for them to access the internet is using their phones! Yet the main issue that she noticed was the lack of technological literacy. Her example was that most of the students knew how to utilize Microsoft Word, but were not inclined to utilize technology further due to a lack of knowledge.
I have a new found passion to impact students' in the form of technological literacy so as they do not fall behind in the economically driven technological world.
I agree - it was really great to have those 4 speakers in our class - whether in person, skype or google chat! I was really impressed with Larry's usage of technology in the classroom and he certainly has used it in ways I would not have thought of either! I also was surprised by Lauren's internet stats for her class as well as her comments on the students' illiteracy when it came to computers. But who would of thought - Facebook office hours? Pretty cool stuff..
ReplyDeleteI'm with ya David. I thought it was really cool to be able to ask Lauren's students some questions about using technology in the classroom. I was struck by the fact that they can have their cell phones out in class. Seems like it'd be wayto distracting for them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, it was such a great experience to meet and talk with all of those people! I really enjoyed talking to Lauren and her comment about ed tech is interesting. Most of her students know how to use a cell phone and send a text message, but not more than that. How can we teach our students about technology while still accomplishing all the things we want done? Does there need to be separate courses for students?
ReplyDeleteI wonder where Banana Kelly High School in the Bronx is, in terms of student achievement. It's an urban school, but I feel uncomfortable writing it off as a "failing" school (or whatever term "Waiting for Superman" used) just because it's in the city.
ReplyDeleteThe reason why I wonder is because you mentioned that the technological literacy of Lauren's students, as well as your passion to make your own students more technologically literate so they can keep in step with the world. In the hypothetical but also very possible and real situation that we wind up in a school where the students are behind in their reading and math and other important school subjects, and on top of that, technologically illiterate, what takes priority? Do we teach them concurrently? Is there even time to do that?
Also, I think it is awesome we are busting out comments at 4:19 in the morning. GET IT SON!
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether Banana Kelly falls into the category of failing school or not (by NCLB standards, I mean) but I do know that it is located in the poorest congressional district in the United States, so the economic issues are highly resonant. It's also interesting to view the cell phone in this context, where it's likely that there are a significant number of students for whom the cell phone is their best means to access the web. You'll enjoy the conversation with Liz Kolb when she visits our class to talk about the computers that kids are "carrying in their pockets."
ReplyDeleteWRONG! Ah, I just really wanted to respond to a blog once this semester by saying that, regardless of what it said.
ReplyDeleteTo add to RJ's response, I think concurrently is the best approach. Writing skills in today's world means almost nothing without using Microsoft Word, so the two are totally coexistent. Reading for most people occurs the majority of the time on the internet, so we can't ignore that, although this is not to say we should wean ourselves of books in the least bit. Technology is as vital now as proper handwriting was years ago.