What I Learned in EDUC 422

When I first started EDUC 422 I believed that technology integration was applying an I Pad or computer to creating and projecting a lecture presentation or perhaps a website.  My biggest take-away from this course was just how much in the dark I was in technology.   Website development, online research tools, presentation development, and online programing are just a few of the many subjects that were introduced to me in this class. The issue that the course changed my mind was on the use of social media.  Previous to taking this course I believe that social media was an invasion of my privacy and I resisted creating a Facebook or Twitter account.  Now I realize how important a positive digital tattoo is in this modern world and especially how important it is to the educational system.  Additionally this class changed the way I will integrate technology into my classroom.   I will use the flipped classroom because it has the advantage in developing a professional online lecture that the students could view and learn the material at their own pace.  I will also use my website and Twitter to communicate with my students, parents, and fellow teachers. 

Social Media in Teaching

Earlier in EDUC 422, an online search revealed that I do not have much of a “digital tattoo”. My lack of positive digital image is because I deliberately chose not to have any social media accounts or personal websites. After taking EDUC 422 I realize that this avoidance of social media is not congruent with being a teacher.  As a future teacher I understand that it is important to communicate with my students, teachers, and parents using the social media.  After reading theses article I believe that communicating and collaborating with my fellow teachers on “Twitter” offers the most efficient and concise exchange of ideas and information.  Twitter has well established Twitter chat forums that you can monitor for ideas and when you are ready exchange ideas.  Twitter also has the advantage of being limited to 140 characters, so the reading load it manageable.  Twitter is also safer for underage students because of its visibility.  Other forms of social media, for example Facebook, are less visible so they have to adhere to strict guidelines when students are involved.  The saying, “No man is an island” is especially true in education and the 21^st century teacher needs to embrace social media as a tool for modern communication.       

AIM for Digital Equality

      In the article, AIM for Digital Equality, Dylan’s story is very close to my own. Perhaps I always felt like an outsider in school but it was in sixth grade when it really hit. I always was petrified to read out load. Reading has always been very difficult for me. I had just transferred from a Catholic school, St. Philomena, where I was able to "fly under the radar” for six years. Then my parents bought a new house in Palos Verdes Peninsula and I was "forced" into the public school system. The name of the school was Ridgecrest middle school and I was terrified of “public school” from the beginning. The first thing I noticed was the infrastructure. The school was much larger than St. Philomena. The athletic fields were as large as my entire previous school. But as time went on I became fond of the public school system and the opportunities it offered. I excelled in athletics, math, and science but I was always afraid someone would find out that I could not read.
        Then the worst happened in Mrs. English's history class. She was randomly picking students to read from our text book. I was lying low trying to be invisible when I heard her call my name. My heart was pounding, mouth dry as I stumbled to my feet. It took me about a minute to even start read to out loud and when I did start my voice was shaky and weak. I stuttered through the first paragraph when finally Mrs. English took pity on me and asked me to stop. I truly felt like an outsider. Now everyone knew my secret. I felt frustrated, lonely, different, isolated, inferior, worthless, substandard, and ashamed. All these feelings are because I could not read. As I look back, I wonder why Mrs. English did not address the issue. I was too afraid and ashamed to ask for help and that the California public school system in 1967 did not have the inclusive school philosophy that it does now.
       Despite my, what I know now as a reading disability, I was able to get into UCLA and get a Bachelors of Arts in Biology. Even though I was able to get the degree I still only read a fraction of the required reading. Not that I did not try to do the reading but when you spend two hours reading what “normal people” read in 30 minutes, you tend to do whatever it takes to compensate for my weakness. My learning disability is a biological “processing” problem that impairs my ability to read, write and spell. According to Wikipedia, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke named this reading disorder as dyslexia. Dyslexia makes it difficult to spell, phonological process, and respond rapidly to visual words – read. I believe this is a genetic condition because my sister, nephew, nice, as well as my son and daughter have a reading disability. People with this reading disorder usually have normal to higher intelligence but their reading processing speed is well below the normal population. Unlike, in 1967, todays public system is cognizant of these issues and has developed an IEP, Individual Educational Program, designed to create an inclusive school environment that addresses their needs.
       My nephew, Matthew R., is an example of how an IEP can benefit an individual with a reading processing disorder. Matthew was tested in high school and received extra time for testing and was allowed the use of audio text books. This IEP was so successful that he was accepted into UC Davis, then UCLA Dental School, and presently he is in orthodontic school.
       When I become a teacher I will be very sensitive to learning disabilities specifically reading and math disabilities. As the article points out, the tools to address the accessibility of information are available to us. We as future teachers need to be aware of our student’s disabilities or learning issues and incorporate the available technology to help all our students’ access and process the information they need to be successful in their lives.

Flipped Classrooms

After taking EDUC 422 my eyes have been opened to the possibilities of the use of technology in the modern classroom. The Flipped Classroom is another use of technology in the 21st century classroom. After retiring from the military I began to prepare for my next career in teaching. This time around I am more focused and determined to actually learn in my classes as opposed to my first attempt at education 40 years ago at UCLA. If I missed a class at UCLA, and I often did, I relied on classmate’s notes and text books to get me through with a “passing grade”. This time if I happen to miss a class, which happens rarely, there is a plethora of information online line or posted to a classroom website to get me caught up. One of the greatest tools that I have found is Kahn Academy. I lost track of the times I have watch the Kahn Academy tutoring video of electron orbitals in Chemistry until I finally “got it”. The same was true with Calculus, Biology, Accounting, and the list goes on and on. With flipped classes the teacher develops a quality lesson once, with online resources such as video, images, teaching websites etc., while the student can view it several times and learn at their own pace. The next class period the student is excited about what they have learned so far, and eager to share and/or discuss their new insights. The teacher, freed up from having to develop and present a lecture, has the ability to supervise and augment student discussions or activities. Although the teacher has a high work load to develop the lessons, after they are finished they can be refined and used for years to come. As a future teacher I plan on using the flipped classroom regularly but not exclusively.

TESTING WITH THE INTERNET

I remember when the first Texas Instrument calculator was introduce to the public it only added, subtracted, multiplied and divided. I eagerly bought this miracle machine for around fifty dollars, which was back then allot of money. I was at UCLA and wanted to use my new technical device for a Chemistry test instead of my old, but faithful, slide ruler. It took a semester to finally use the “new technology” on our tests.

http://www.vintagecalculators.com/assets/images/TI2511_1.jpg

______________________________http://www.hpmuseum.org/powerlog.jpg My point is there are always going to be questions on how to use any new technological device. I believe that a policy that allows internet use on all test would be a mistake. I understand where James Cash is coming from when he says that critical thinking skills need to be the goal of higher education. But I am an old school future teacher and believe in the building block philosophy in education. I believe that certain facts need to be common and set to memory. The dates: 1492, 1776, December 7, 1941, or September 11, 2001 should not be researched on the World Wide Web to know why they are significant. To use Jeffrey Starr’s example, everyone in high school should be able to see the 11 X 36 is 10 X 36=360 + 36 or 396. The point is mastery of the basics is among the first steps to critical thinking. That said, there is a place for the internet in testing, but it needs to be focused and limited in the lower grades while it can be expanded, but still controlled, in the older grades. Yes we have to embrace new technology but I believe we have to be slow to “pull the trigger”.

Digital Tattoo

In all of the assigned digital tattoo articles, the individuals online presence is being evaluated for insight to the "real" personality and character of the person that being considered for employment, position change, or higher education program. This online research to dig deeper into our lives is not comfortable but it is reality. My online search revealed that I do not have much of a “digital tattoo”. My lack of positive digital image is because I do not have any social media accounts or personal websites. As a future teacher I understand that a positive digital tattoo is very important to the 21st century classroom. The first step to building my positive image is to develop a professional Facebook page and a professional educational website. In my future classroom I will mentor my students on how to present a positive image on the social media sites and the advantages that come with this positive digital tattoo.

Edutopia: Some people have the gift of seeing the future. Seymour Papert was one of the first to recognizes the potential that technology had on education. He was one of the few that projected how the computer, which was a bunch of vacuum tubes that counter one’s and zero’s, affected the education process. Over the decades I have worked in the technology evolution that saw computers that just fill out forms and crunched numbers to being an indispensable to the office, home and classroom. I have embraced some of the change but not all. I have avoided the social media revolution in the past, but as the article points out, the classroom of today and the future thrives in social media. As a future teacher, I need to embrace the 21st century classroom and all of the technology that supports it.