What's Bad About Education Technology

I want to start by saying that I am a huge advocate of technology in education.  I work in a one-to-one school and infuse technology into every activity and project in my class.  That being said, all great power can be wielded positively or negatively There are definitely some negative outcomes that can occur as technology floods into education.  Here are a few that a can lead educators and districts down a bad path.

Sorry Apple, but tablets that don't have full computer capabilities are are mistake as a one-to-one device.  You can try to make this square peg fit into the round hole of education, but you will have to jam it in to make it work.  I love my iPad, but I find it increasingly difficult to use compared to my Macbook when I do school work.  Problems with typing, moving from app to app, file management, compadibility, etc. can doom a one-to-one initiative if it becomes more cumbersome than paper and pencil.  I understand the cost prohibitive of a Macbook, but by the time you buy an iPad, accessories, apps, and other required equipment, you can nearly afford Macbooks, considering Apply will knock down the price on a large education purchase.  Don't go one-to-one because all the cool kids are doing it--with some device that "is good enough"--it will end up costing you more in the long run.

While we are talking about technology devices.  I have to get in a few shots at SMART Boards (SINO--smart in name only).  Spending valuable tech-dollars on SMART Boards is not a good investment of money or pedagogy.  These are a gargantuan waste of money for most classroom applications.  I can see the usefulness in a small elementary or special needs classroom, but in a classroom of 20+ students from middle school up--the only real purpose SMART Boards serve is a $8,000 projection screen.  Technology needs to be used for creation--student creation--not content delivery.  This leads me to my next point.

Using technology to replace or support traditional methods of direct instruction is a misuse of technology.  Computers are tools of creativity.  Schools are not going one-to-one to save paper.  Running worksheets through the Xerox machine to turn them into PDF's and digitizing multiple choice quizzes, based on a boring lecture are tech-crimes that should be met with corporal punishment at the very least.  This is bad and students will know it right away.  This stale method is not engaging to say the least, and it will lead to cheating and other discipline issues.   

Webinars are the absolute worst form of professional development and should be avoided at all costs.  If the video and audio feeds actually work, which is rare in my experience, a webinar is one of the most disengaging forms of learning I have experienced.  Short tutorials are useful, but a 5-person, conference-call-styled presentation is awkward and borderline absurd as a learning methods.  I understand if it is the last possible option, but it too closely resembles traditional direct instruction, only you're not in the same room--a method most effective teachers would laugh at.

When Google Search Doesn't Work

There are certain topics that are very difficult to "Google", which has been declared a verb for searching the Internet.  Maybe you have had this experience.  Your students choose a volatile topic for a paper such as abortion, religion, or guns.  You and/or your student are getting very partisan or unreliable search results.  There are some steps you or your students can take.

Step One:  Search Google better.  The operation and functions of Google Search is as unknown and mysterious to people as a microwave.  Most people are accustomed to pushing a button to make food hot or in the case of Google, typing in a single word or group of words and clicking search.  Just as your microwave has mini operations for thawing frozen vegetables, Google has thousands of "operators" and options that help you modify your search.  (don't include the brackets below, these enclose the search I would enter.

• [filetype:pdf gun laws]--this search will only show PDF files that contain hits on the keywords "gun" and "laws"
• [filetype:pdf gun laws site:.gov]--this search will only show PDF files that contain hits on the keywords "gun" and "laws" from state and federal government websites.
• [filetype:pdf ~"gun laws" site:.gov]--this search will only show PDF files that contain hits on  "gun laws" as a phrase and similar phrases such as "firearms" "automatic rifles" from state and federal government websites.
• [filetype:pdf ~"gun laws" site:.gov OR site:.edu]--this search will only show PDF files that contain hits on "gun laws" as a phrase and similar phrases such as "firearms" "automatic rifles" from state and federal government websites or university or education websites. 

I could go on about Google search operators here are a few others.  Here is a nice inforgraphic about how to get more out of Google.  Really, the steps could end there.  I firmly believe if something is on the web, Google can access it.  It is up to you to create the right query/search.  Obviously you could try other search engines such as Bing or Yahoo, but you will find similar results as Google.  

Step Two: If you have a divisive topic, you might also want to search a reliable database such as a curated library. One place to look is ipl2.  This is a  public service organization with thousands of resources devoted to teaching and learning environments.  Another virtual library is infomine.  This library is "relevant to faculty, students, and research staff at the university level".  You will find databases, journals, books, articles, and many other types of information.  

Step Three: Repeat step one.

Step Four: Go to the physical library in your area and ask a librarian.

Step Five: Give up and pick a new topic.  Seriously.

One-to-One Allows More One-on-One

Before my school went one-to-one I remember many teachers voicing a concern that we would lose the personal contact dynamic between teacher and student.  As many of us championed the benefits of email, distance learning, differentiation, digital resources, etc. others succumbed to fears of teacher obsolescence and digital barriers to human contact.

Unfortunately, computer-based classrooms can take a bad direction that gives legitimacy to some of the teachers' initial fears.  If the teacher assigns work to students and he or she simply sits at their desk, those fears may be realized.  This "method" works completely against the opportunities allowed by one-to-one computing.

I've realized after having a year of one-to-one under my belt that there are two major benefits of one-to-one.  Obviously, the wealth of resources and creative possibilities are probably the main benefit.  The second main benefit is less obvious, but potentially more powerful.  I spend WAY more one-on-one time with my students when everyone has a computer.  It is a resourceful, interactive, creative, and fun tool that keeps students engaged, giving you more time to freely move around the room.   I consciously spent less time using direct instruction, which is one factor that allowed more one-on-one, but I also learned to layer my activities and projects.  I would provide an additional challenge, educational game, or fun application related to the activity.  Another way to layer is to have a few weekly activities that students do on their own time, a learning journal, or a digital portfolio.  Layering can be very difficult without a computer, but with one it is effortless.

The added one-on-one time allowed me to formatively assess my students in a authentic and meaningful way. I was also able to efficiently address major gaps in understanding.  I tried to touch base with each student at least every other day.  To help me keep track I carried a clipboard with my roster for each class.  The roster also listed the content questions and/or skills I was looking for in that particular activity.

I think my teaching method would work without computers, but it would be very hard to keep 25-30 kids engaged if they only had paper and pencils.  I couldn't have the focused, genuine one-on-one time I now enjoy.  The only discipline issues I had last year were kids who didn't finish their work (probably too engaged in other things!).  I truly believe one-to-one is the first domino in a series of changes that will shift education to a new paradigm.

My Favorite Web Tools Part 2

About a month ago, I posted some of my favorite web tools.  I wanted to mention a few others.  Of course, there are bloggers who make a living reporting and reviewing web tools, but as a teacher who actually uses these on a regular basis I hoped to provide a different perspective.

I can't say enough about Twitter.  I learn more on Twitter in an hour than I do at most 2-day professional development seminars.  This is not just another social network.  Too many people hear Twitter and they think Facebook.  They couldn't be more different.  I once heard, if Facebook is the mall, Twitter is a specialty store, especially when you use it strictly for professional purposes.  For people who are reluctant to join, you don't need to "tweet" anything.  You can just sit back and learn.  I recommend using TweetDeck.  It allows you to follow the topics you are interested in.  In case you don't know, topics are organized by "hastags" (#).  Since I am a social studies teacher I follow #sschat and #socialstudies, but I also love #edtech, #elearning, #edchat, #educoach, and a few others.  Tweetdeck allows you to view the "tweet stream" of all of these topics simultaneously, where as the Twitter site allow you to view one stream at a time.  Twitter is a great first step to building a PLN--professional (or personal) learning network.  This is the professional development of the future--personalized, individually driven, and organic. 

Thinglink is a fairly new site.  It allows users to make images interactive by adding "tags" to selected areas of an image. You can see an example I made of India here.  This is a great way to bring content to your students, or better yet have them create content. These can easily be embedded into a website or blog and Thinglink lets you create 50 for free.  Last year, my students struggled reading complicated graphs and charts, so this year I want them to upload the chart/graph image into Thinglink and explain the various parts with tags.

Students could also create a basic timeline in a spreadsheet (one of my favorite ways), then take a screenshot, and tag it with information, videos, and webpage links to annotate the timeline and bring it to life. You could also take a screenshot of an assignment and give instructions through the interactive tags.  The same idea could work for teaching students new technology.

PaperRater is a great website.  Unlike other similar sites, PaperRater will evaluate the vocabulary level and "grade" the paper.  When you copy your text into PaperRaer, you can select the type of writing and intended grade level.  The spelling and grammar do a nice job of explaining why something might need changed, so students learn some basic mechanics in the process.  I sometimes use it for this blog--probably not often enough.  I always use it when I put together text resources for my class--it can help identify the reading level.  Next year I plan on encouraging students to use it too.  This way they can focus on the content of the paper and get some feedback aside from me. 

Flipped Class: A Second Look

Last year I did a Flipped Class experiment.  The Flipped Class model seems to penetrate every corner of my PLN (professional learning network).  I had to have a taste of the model that I was admittedly skeptical of.  The main question I tried to answer was, "Would students actually do their homework if it was engaging instructional material rather than practice work?".  The clear answer was no.  Using anonymous surveys to encourage honesty, I never had more than 70% of students who had watched the instructional video before coming to class.  Some commenters on my blog suggested activities (worksheets/quizzes) in tandem with the videos, which I saw as traditional homework and an eventual enforcement issue.

Ok, full disclosure--I was very skeptical of this model to begin with because I have completely divorced my class from traditional homework.  My homework now follows one simple rule, inspired by a quote from Joe Bower: "homework should be inspired, not assigned".  Eight hours at school is enough, homework has little to no effect on comprehension, and it's not worth the enforcement and grade damage that often follows.  I want my class to be so engaging that kids want to go home and learn more or work on their project because they are invested in it--not because I make them.

Photo--http://www.republican-eagle.com/ 

However, I continue to read about the Flipped Class, and I have a new perspective.  I still won't use this model in my class, but now I understand the draw.  The popularity/effectiveness is less about the instructional homework as it is about the change in classroom dynamic.  As a class moves from a traditional model to Flipped, the teacher spends class time working one-on-one with students as they work through class activities.  The teacher tutors and formatively assesses all at the same time.  Teachers become more of a facilitator than the sage on the stage.

I think this one-on-one environment is the major draw for the Flipped Class and its the primary reason for any success it enjoys.  This is how my class works too, but without the homework instruction.  I mainly use the project-based model or a simpler version I call PBL-Light.  I remain very skeptical of any homework, especially instruction without facilitation.  In my opinion, the Flipped Class model could work if you ignited a fire of interest before class ended and provided an engaging video for students to find out more at home if they are so inclined.  All that being said, to each their own--we all need to find the method, combination, or mutation of methods that works with our own philosophy and personality.  I just had this epiphany about the real power behind the Flipped Class and thought it was worth a second mention.