Technology in Lessons

Chris Hangerford’s lesson plan was successful on two levels. First, he made the subject of microeconomics come to life by putting students in a real-world situation having them run a corporation. Second, the lesson plan was effective in getting students to use practical, real-world technologies such as creating spreadsheets and graphs. Combining these two goals made for a strong lesson – i.e. he killed two birds with one stone.

One thing we need to remember is that technology should supplement the content, not over-shadow it. In Hangerford’s lesson, technology is helping to bring key economic concepts to life. I’ve had economic classes and they were based solely on lecture. The classes were boring, and students had to have active imaginations to picture how the concepts would work. With technology (ex: Lemonade Stand) students can see the cause and effect of different economic variables. I’ll wager the students understand the concept of supply and demand much better than those who just sat in a classroom and were lectured at.

The weakness to a technology based lesson plan is if students aren’t comfortable using the technology or become more fascinated with the technology than the content that they are suppose to be learning. For example, programs like Office Word are a good writing tool if students already are comfortable with word processing. However, the writing suffers if the student spends more time trying to figure out how to use the application than concentrating on what they are trying to communicate in their writing. Technology becomes distracting with programs like PowerPoint when students are more interested in playing with the “bells and whistles” of the program that adequately presenting information.

As educators, it is our responsibility to help students navigate the gray area between using technology and abusing technology. Like most things, technology is good in moderation.

The Poor Scholar's Soliloquy

The Poor Scholar's Soliloquy is a reminder that all children do not learn the same way. It's also a reminder that student's aren't necessarily goingt to be as excited or see the relevance of a topic the same way as a teacher will. As educators, it is important to keep this in mind so we strive to reach students with different ability levels and style of learning.

My first thought was Stephen is quite intelligent and that there is nothing wrong with his intellectual abilities. The real problem was Stephen's teachers and their inflexible teaching styles. Stephen is part of a dynamic where the teacher is all and the students are just expected to absorb what is being told to them instead of researching information for themsleves or being more actively involved in the learning process. An example of Stephen's intelligence was his ability to navigate the trip to Chicago and figure out exactly how much money was made on the trip. His family knew how to spark his interest in learning by first, having him do the work and then by relating the importance of what he was doing to "real life."

His teachers were oblivious to how quickly Stephen could look up information or find what he needed in an index and instead focused on "traditional" methods of rote repetition. Perhaps instead of having Stephen just memorize names, the teacher could have told Stephen to look up the seventh, 14th and 23rd Presidents. Maybe he would have been more engaged if he had been given a task instead of just being bombarded with facts and stats.

Stephen’s teachers are also failing to relate the importance or usefulness of what he is being taught in school. He wants to be a good citizen, but doesn’t see how knowing all the Presidents makes him a good citizen. Perhaps just the simple explanation that a good citizen is aware of all the past leaders would be enough to ignite a fire under him and learn about the 30 Presidents.

The saddest part of the reading was Stephen not being able to wait until he was 15 and could drop out of school so he could start learning how to do stuff. That statement should be the nightmare of every teacher. Though he may not have realized exactly what he said, Stephen has let every teacher he has had know that they have failed him. I hope his teachers read this and were shamed into sleepless nights…

Framework for Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Watching the video in class, I noticed four ethical uses of technology in the classroom. The teacher demonstrated: use of the operating system, instructional software, ethical use of software and use of technology in society. All four areas are not only important in the classroom, but are important in the “real” world as well.

Use of the operating system seems simplistic (and maybe it is), however the inability to use an operating system can cause a lot of problems. The video showed the teacher demonstrating to the class where to save their file. As the teacher mentioned, just reducing the screen to work on the file later is a recipe to have the file closed or deleted without saving. In the classroom that means lost homework, research or essays; however, in the business world that can mean not only the loss of a file, but the loss of a customer and quite possibly your job. I know from previous experience that it is not a lot of fun having to search for a file over 4 different drives.

Ethical use of software and technology is a topic that I don’t think gets discussed enough. Coming from a printing and graphic background I have a lot of experience in the manipulation of the content and color of files and photos.  I don’t think enough people stop to think about the ramification of file manipulation (especially image manipulation), but there are generations of women trying to achieve a look that can only be achieved through Photoshop. Would women push themselves so hard if they were aware of the manipulation that goes on?

As teachers, the instructional use of software becomes a balance between being a teacher and facilitator. I’ve sat through instructional software classes and though the teacher can show students the “basics” of using a program like Photoshop or InDesign for instance, it is really up to the student to explore and experiment to fully discover what is possible with a software program. At this point a teacher is more of a facilitator – more of a reference guide for the student who asks questions as they encounter new problems.

I think it is important for students to realize the practical applications of anything they do in the classroom. In the video the teacher discussed how a previous student was able to use their knowledge to get a job in journalism (I believe). It’s a good motivational tool for students when they know the purpose for what is expected out of them. Though I don’t believe anyone should pick a career just based off of money, the fact is most people who decide to pursue either college or a technical trade do so based off of a monetary promise. If a student knows there is money to be made, I think this is another factor to help promote further learning.

Technology is a powerful and useful tool, but students need to realize that there are ethical implications to how technology is used. There is a “right” and “wrong” way to use technology and our duty is to make students aware of the implications and costs of technology so they can make an informed decision on their own.