REFLECTIONS ON THE ARTICLES
Enabling Conditions for the Effective and Sustainable Technology Integration in Schools
This article by Shuchi Grover was really an eye opener for me.Not being ‘Digitally Fluent’ I until now have assumed technology to be using computers.And if I would be required to visualize how I would like to use technology in schools I would probably want to have an elaborate computer lab with high speed internet!!But not anymore…
The very first paragraph of the article hit me in the face.Indeed despite tremendous investments in elaborate computer laboratories, technology in most schools is UNDER UTILIZED. Above all the sad part is that we do not realize it.Therefore the distinction made by Shuchi between ‘technology’ and ‘computers’ I found to be very helpful.By merely seeting up a Lab, we are not using ‘technology’ but only one of its several components.
The Enabling conditions she talks about are also not very difficult to provide but need alot of thought and planning and above all hard work on the part of the teachers and school leaders.
In the 21st century digital fluency isn’t too much to ask for-it really just requires the teachers to be able to spend a little time on a computer on a regular basis.But WHEN would they be able to do this is the big question for me.Being in the EL course I first put myself in the shoes of the school leader-I needed to have all my teachers to be digitally fluent. But I also put myself in the sloes of the teachers-I then realized that they do not have time during school(considering any traditional school of today)and it is not fair to expect the teachers to devote time for this at home.So,then the big need is to provide them with computers in the class-room which gives them the opportunity to learn and develop a comfort level(absolutely imperative)without putting them out too much.(After all I would like to keep my teachers happy)also,like mentioned in the article the usual 40min classes do not allow for using technology and this is something that needs to be looked into.
Which brings me to another point of the article that really struck me-that about not having a fancy computer lab-but making computers available to children at all times. When I was in school the computer lab was a place of awe.We took off our shoes before we went in,never touched anything but the keyboard etc etc.Computers locked away are really no fun.
Finally-the part of the article I liked most-Instead of teaching about technology(schools currently have exams which require children to label mouse,keyboard,UPS etc) let us try and teach ‘with’ technology and I feel learnings about the machine will follow…..
One burning question-But what about the scores of schools which cannot afford to make heavy investments to leverage technology?
Thinking Through The Technology Puzzle
David Bowman starts his article by pointing out that despite large sums of money being spent on buying technology, precious little has changed in terms of student achievement. He also talks about the fact that teachers are not suppose to teach technology but their subjects.and then he makes he makes a big point-“Technology integration isn’t about replacing what we do it is about doing what we do,better.”
Like, in Shuchi’s article, he also makes the same point about ‘embedding’ technology in education rather than attempting to teach it in isolation.A point that I really liked was the distinction he made between acquisition of ‘technology skills’-which he says is a form of vocational training- and ‘integrating’ technology into the curriculum-making technology a tool to learn the subjects in the curriculum-what he calls ‘real work’.
This point makes a lot of sense given that nowadays,we are attempting to integrate learning in a lot of progressive schools.Project based Learning or PBL-is the new style of teaching and learning for the middle school-which means children start with an enquiring question and work on collaborative projects that integrate various subjects within the discipline.So while learning ‘with technology’, they would also automatically learn ‘about technology’.
Like stated in the article,I too feel almost every subject can use technology to aid understanding and make the learning more real and relevant.Also what struck me as something that I had never thought of before was the fact that since ‘children like using computers’, they will be self motivated to do anything using them-this greatly simplifies the teachers task since the battle would be half won.A very valid reason for employing technology in classrooms-yet not done so far.
But I do not agree with Bowman when he says that the aim of education is to create ‘not Life Long Learners’ but ‘Life Long Succeeders’.I find this point very debatable.I feel the aim of education is to equip children with the necessary skills and attitudes like analyzing,critical thinking,open to learning etc that they will need ahead in life.Ofcourse success is also a subjective term and can mean different things to different people but I still prefer the term Life Long Learners.
Again, like in the article on ‘Enabling Conditions..’he also emphasizes the need for a free-for- all
Setting in the computer lab and the need for bringing computers ‘into the classroom’.Even his recommendations I find very good since they focus on enabling effective utilization of technology in classes to help enhance a child’s understanding and knowledge and when I enter a school,I will definitely try to implement them.
EDUCATIONAL BLOGGING
I had heard about blogging many a times but never experienced it.My first experience, I must admit, was rather pleasant after which I moved onto read Stephen Downes essay on the above.
The article is a very useful reading for a first timer since it gives one the history of blogging, the meaning of blogging, the hazards of blogging etc.
So I learnt that blogging really became popular post 9/11. Weblogs started as link driven sites but have today become much more- personal online dairy entries which incorporate new links and information and a form of personal publishing.
The advantages of introducing blogging in class rooms really hit me.Previously a skeptic, Downes article made me realize that from posting instructions to time-tables, to readings to organizing class discussions to providing reading summaries-when teachers and students start blogging the sky is the limit!! That students also get to create their own websites is the icing on the cake.Being able to edit and update ones entries is another bonus I realized.
I am a ‘literature person’ and I am in favour of any activity that will encourage children of today-so very immersed in TV and Play station-to think, read and write. Blogging is a more fun way of doing the same and also-“blogging allows ideas to be based on merit, rather than origin…”
I had asked Shuchi why we need to blog and here I found my answer.Blogging encourages one to read about anything that is of interest to the blogger. Infact not just read but also reflect,critique and question.I feel it is then helping to acquire important skills and attitudes and helping students become life long learners.
I especially liked the part of the article when Downes admits the hazards inherent in blogging but cautions not to be discouraged, because the activity is worth it. This is something that I will always remember when I enter a school, especially,if I need to convince someone of the advantages of blogging.
I could empathise with a point in the article where he argues that when students blog for the teacher to read, can the activity be called blogging? But I feel in order to make it a productive activity and prevent its misuse some regulation is necessary, especially since the bloggers are children and may tend to mishandle the tool .
Which brings me to another question-We too are blogging as a part of an assignment,so are we ‘really’ blogging????? I guess the coercion is necessary to get us started, after which we will hopefully be addicted to it (given its immense value) and will blog regularly…
This article by Shuchi Grover was really an eye opener for me.Not being ‘Digitally Fluent’ I until now have assumed technology to be using computers.And if I would be required to visualize how I would like to use technology in schools I would probably want to have an elaborate computer lab with high speed internet!!But not anymore…
The very first paragraph of the article hit me in the face.Indeed despite tremendous investments in elaborate computer laboratories, technology in most schools is UNDER UTILIZED. Above all the sad part is that we do not realize it.Therefore the distinction made by Shuchi between ‘technology’ and ‘computers’ I found to be very helpful.By merely seeting up a Lab, we are not using ‘technology’ but only one of its several components.
The Enabling conditions she talks about are also not very difficult to provide but need alot of thought and planning and above all hard work on the part of the teachers and school leaders.
In the 21st century digital fluency isn’t too much to ask for-it really just requires the teachers to be able to spend a little time on a computer on a regular basis.But WHEN would they be able to do this is the big question for me.Being in the EL course I first put myself in the shoes of the school leader-I needed to have all my teachers to be digitally fluent. But I also put myself in the sloes of the teachers-I then realized that they do not have time during school(considering any traditional school of today)and it is not fair to expect the teachers to devote time for this at home.So,then the big need is to provide them with computers in the class-room which gives them the opportunity to learn and develop a comfort level(absolutely imperative)without putting them out too much.(After all I would like to keep my teachers happy)also,like mentioned in the article the usual 40min classes do not allow for using technology and this is something that needs to be looked into.
Which brings me to another point of the article that really struck me-that about not having a fancy computer lab-but making computers available to children at all times. When I was in school the computer lab was a place of awe.We took off our shoes before we went in,never touched anything but the keyboard etc etc.Computers locked away are really no fun.
Finally-the part of the article I liked most-Instead of teaching about technology(schools currently have exams which require children to label mouse,keyboard,UPS etc) let us try and teach ‘with’ technology and I feel learnings about the machine will follow…..
One burning question-But what about the scores of schools which cannot afford to make heavy investments to leverage technology?
Thinking Through The Technology Puzzle
David Bowman starts his article by pointing out that despite large sums of money being spent on buying technology, precious little has changed in terms of student achievement. He also talks about the fact that teachers are not suppose to teach technology but their subjects.and then he makes he makes a big point-“Technology integration isn’t about replacing what we do it is about doing what we do,better.”
Like, in Shuchi’s article, he also makes the same point about ‘embedding’ technology in education rather than attempting to teach it in isolation.A point that I really liked was the distinction he made between acquisition of ‘technology skills’-which he says is a form of vocational training- and ‘integrating’ technology into the curriculum-making technology a tool to learn the subjects in the curriculum-what he calls ‘real work’.
This point makes a lot of sense given that nowadays,we are attempting to integrate learning in a lot of progressive schools.Project based Learning or PBL-is the new style of teaching and learning for the middle school-which means children start with an enquiring question and work on collaborative projects that integrate various subjects within the discipline.So while learning ‘with technology’, they would also automatically learn ‘about technology’.
Like stated in the article,I too feel almost every subject can use technology to aid understanding and make the learning more real and relevant.Also what struck me as something that I had never thought of before was the fact that since ‘children like using computers’, they will be self motivated to do anything using them-this greatly simplifies the teachers task since the battle would be half won.A very valid reason for employing technology in classrooms-yet not done so far.
But I do not agree with Bowman when he says that the aim of education is to create ‘not Life Long Learners’ but ‘Life Long Succeeders’.I find this point very debatable.I feel the aim of education is to equip children with the necessary skills and attitudes like analyzing,critical thinking,open to learning etc that they will need ahead in life.Ofcourse success is also a subjective term and can mean different things to different people but I still prefer the term Life Long Learners.
Again, like in the article on ‘Enabling Conditions..’he also emphasizes the need for a free-for- all
Setting in the computer lab and the need for bringing computers ‘into the classroom’.Even his recommendations I find very good since they focus on enabling effective utilization of technology in classes to help enhance a child’s understanding and knowledge and when I enter a school,I will definitely try to implement them.
EDUCATIONAL BLOGGING
I had heard about blogging many a times but never experienced it.My first experience, I must admit, was rather pleasant after which I moved onto read Stephen Downes essay on the above.
The article is a very useful reading for a first timer since it gives one the history of blogging, the meaning of blogging, the hazards of blogging etc.
So I learnt that blogging really became popular post 9/11. Weblogs started as link driven sites but have today become much more- personal online dairy entries which incorporate new links and information and a form of personal publishing.
The advantages of introducing blogging in class rooms really hit me.Previously a skeptic, Downes article made me realize that from posting instructions to time-tables, to readings to organizing class discussions to providing reading summaries-when teachers and students start blogging the sky is the limit!! That students also get to create their own websites is the icing on the cake.Being able to edit and update ones entries is another bonus I realized.
I am a ‘literature person’ and I am in favour of any activity that will encourage children of today-so very immersed in TV and Play station-to think, read and write. Blogging is a more fun way of doing the same and also-“blogging allows ideas to be based on merit, rather than origin…”
I had asked Shuchi why we need to blog and here I found my answer.Blogging encourages one to read about anything that is of interest to the blogger. Infact not just read but also reflect,critique and question.I feel it is then helping to acquire important skills and attitudes and helping students become life long learners.
I especially liked the part of the article when Downes admits the hazards inherent in blogging but cautions not to be discouraged, because the activity is worth it. This is something that I will always remember when I enter a school, especially,if I need to convince someone of the advantages of blogging.
I could empathise with a point in the article where he argues that when students blog for the teacher to read, can the activity be called blogging? But I feel in order to make it a productive activity and prevent its misuse some regulation is necessary, especially since the bloggers are children and may tend to mishandle the tool .
Which brings me to another question-We too are blogging as a part of an assignment,so are we ‘really’ blogging????? I guess the coercion is necessary to get us started, after which we will hopefully be addicted to it (given its immense value) and will blog regularly…
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