SMART Day 5: Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Chapter 5

In chapter 5 of Teaching With the Tools Kids Really Use, Brooks-Yound dances around the concept of social networking and the thought of using them as a teaching tool in the educational setting. It was not until recently that the thought of using such an internet based networking site in the classroom ever crossed my mind. That opinion probably develops from my personal interactions with social networking sites. I entered the social networking community by means of MySpace. I believe it was back in high school and maybe my freshman year. At this time, Facebook was only open to college students so the next best thing for people in high school was MySpace. With MySpace I remember being concerned with the layout of my profile and how many views of my profile I could obtain. When Facebook opened its access to those outside the college community, I joined. I remember being hesitant to use Facebook as MySpace was all that I was used to. I did not want to change, nor saw any purpose at the time. Today, I would say I spend on average about an hour a day (total time from using the website throughout the day) on the social networking site. I mainly use Facebook to keep up with friends from high school or with family and friends outside the state of Tennessee. With Facebook taking up so much time and having so many features to look at, I have began to use twitter. Twitter provides me what people are doing in less than 140 words. With all this social networking community aside, I enjoy the concept of it, however, I see caution because social interaction still needs to happen in person. 

Using social networking sites in the classroom can be practical at times, but at that caution is advised. So much information is available through such websites and the teacher that implements services such as Facebook, MySpace, or the other sites mentioned by Brooks-Young need to be clear with the classroom intentions. If I had my choice of using any of the social networking sites in the classroom, I would more than likely select Facebook. There are so many features that would work well in the classroom. Given that most students in my future class will already come to class on the first day with a Facebook account, the need to have them create an account would be bogus. I would just suggest that they "like" the classroom page I created. This page would serve the purpose of a website but with more interaction besides the standard click here and follow this link. This classroom Facebook page would function as an interactive, constantly updating, and instant classroom newsletter. What better way for students and parents to stay connected to the classroom. Another feature that I would implement would be to create a learning community where students interact virtually from a global perspective. Students have the ability, through the use of the internet, to connect with people all over the world. I would promote a pen-pal type atmosphere as a year long learning project. Through Facebook peers can learn about students in other countries while yet feeling as if they where right next door. 

Overall, social networking as a place, just as every piece of technology does, in the classroom. The most important part would be for the teacher to select the proper lesson to implement such teaching strategies. Given that our society is promoting online relationships and expressions of 140 characters or less only create a larger challenge for future teachers. Educators are facing the challenge of keeping their students in the here and now and not the world wide web or the virtual world. If teachers can find the bridge that connects the two environments and do it well, I see huge academic improvements occurring across the board in all academic areas. 

SMART Day 4: Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Chapter 4

In Chapter 4 of Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Brooks-Young discusses the idea of using small, portable laptops known as netbooks in the classroom. Though the author focuses heavily on several different types of netbooks, some of the chapter does cover the classroom implications such devices can have. The idea behind each student having an Internet ready machine and using it for classroom instruction is known as one to one computing. Brooks-Young mentions this concept briefly, but does not really address if its a bad or good thing for classrooms today. My personal opinion leads me to conclude that one to one networking has its place in the classroom as long as the teacher does not solely replace all classroom interaction with a machine. Student's still need to know how to communicate and interact with groups. After all part of the education system is to teach students real world skills. I can see one to one computing, when each student has their own Internet ready, mini laptop, having a huge impact in classrooms or the classrooms that use them correctly. With everything that we have been learning with Google, it only makes sense to allow for students to use this type of hands on technology. Especially more so now since classrooms are starting to focus more and more on technology use and implications. I can see one to one computing becoming like reading. Each student is expected to know how to read before leaving kindergarten. In this case each student is expected to know how to use the basic features of a netbook prior to advancing to the next grade, problem is when do students need to use this type of technology in the classroom? I'll leave that as a whole other question.

Chapter 4 does not discuss or mention any connection to the phenomenon known as tablet computing. It appears to me that this is a fairly knew idea of interacting with the Internet; users no longer need a keyboard or mouse, they simply touch what they want to do on the screen. The most popular tablet that I can think of today is the Apple iPad. It is only a little over a year old but the buzz it is generating is beyond what anyone expected, including Apple Inc. Netbooks seemed to be the thing to use in the classrooms prior to the introduction of tablet computers, but now that tablets are being massed produced they are making their way into the hands of more and more students. Both types of technology, the netbook and the tablet computer (in this case the iPad), have advantages and disadvantages when used in the classroom atmosphere. In this instance, the advantages way surpasses the disadvantages. Some disadvantages I can see right from the start would be controlling what students access on the internet. Especially more so with the iPad than the netbook. Students have no limitations with what they access when the internet is literally in their hands. This would just require for the schools technology coordinator to set limits on the server side of things and students to abide by the schools internet use policy. Another disadvantage I can see is storage and charging issues. The teacher would have to find a place to charge these devices throughout the day and store them when not in use. The advantages I can see is that they allow children to interact in a much deeper level and go further with their learning. With the iPad students have access to countless Apps that make everyday learning seem like it's something of the past. Netbooks allow each student to use the internet and productivity suites to their fullest potential. Goodbye pen and paper, hello mouse and keyboard.

SMART Day 3: Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Chapter 3

This chapter focused on the classroom implications of using MP3 players in the classroom as an instructional tool. In my personal opinion, the use of MP3 players has a placed in the educational atmosphere, but I believe it is not the classroom. There are other sources of media that can accomplish what the MP3 intends to do, and those are usually presented in a classroom friendly manner. As far as the advantages and disadvantages of using such technology in the classroom, the list seems to be pretty balanced. Some advantages include the ability to use the listening device any where in the classroom. Student are not confided to a desk or a learning center station, they can make themselves comfortable to learning environment of their choice. Also the ability to store several files on such a small device leads to the ability to expand a student's exposure to various types of listening information. The overall advantage would have to be that students can take classroom material home and listen to it as many times as need. This leads to the repetition for mastery concept. Some disadvantages I see would be cost and upkeep. Someone has to be in charge of making sure all the correct listening information is stored on all the devices being used in the classroom. That takes time and energy and with a packed classroom schedule, I do not see many teachers having time for that. Also user error. Students might know how to operate or have the correct equipment to use an MP3 as a learning tool. This leads me to think that though some could learn by this technology, it is not meant for everyone.

Chapter 3 of Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use expose the reader to various websites that allow for free access to media files and videos. The goal of using these websites is that the teacher can find some type of classroom implication for what they find. Most of the websites focus on free mp3 files that can be used, but the one that I liked the best was Teachers Helping Teachers. This websites acts as an educational catalog of other professionals in the educational setting and what they are doing in their classrooms. One of the links I listened to discussed a particular garden project one class was working on. A website like this allows for teachers to share resouces and own the ever creative phrase teachers use of, "Why reinvent the wheel?" An advantage of a website like this is that it allows a teacher to multitask while planning for lessons, etc. Teachers are not bound to reading about ideas, but rather listen to them as they grade papers or prepare their classroom for the day.

Podcast are a great resource when the individual that creates and uses them has positive intent with them. There are many podcast available through iTunes that seem to serve no purpose of than the fact of allowing someone's voice to be heard. There are tons of educational podcast available, both on the student and teacher's perspective. Podcast can be used for professional enrichment in teachers and further lesson explanation in students. As far as useful suggestions from the chapter for me, I really like the idea of using such technology to enhance the learning of an English Language Learner in the everyday English classroom. This allows for extra practice and extra exposure to the English language that some ELL students might not have access to.

SMART Day 2: Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Teaching With Tools Kids Really Use, Brooks-Young discusses how cell phones have the potential to become a classroom norm. The chapter starts off with some surprising statistics about cell phone usage and implementation in general. The one statistic that surprised me the most was that only 79% of teenagers use a cell phone. I would have assumed that number to be a little higher because it appears in today's society everyone has a cell phone. Also, Brooks-Young mentions that of the 79% of teenagers using a cell phone, 20% of them are using a smart phone, or a phone with the ability to take advantage of sending and receiving data. 20% sounds about right in what I notice of teenage cell phone usage, however, I expect the number of smart phones being handed to teens to increase, especially with the ever growing popularity of the Apple iPhone or phones that can run applications. Another statistic that I found intriguing was the fact that kids as young as six years old have cell phones. I found that to be a little too much in respect to the use of technology. I did not obtain my first cell phone till I was able to drive and that was even extreme then. I just do not see why kids that young will need a cell phone. Maybe it is just me.

Brooks-Young list several advantages and disadvantages to using the cell phone in a classroom environment. My initial reaction to reading this portion of the text led me to develop a so-so opinion toward using such technology in an instructional setting. Though after thinking about it, I think I would lean more toward the advantage side as opposed to the disadvantage. Some advantages I see of using cell phones in class is that it would strip the students of the burden of distraction. I would hopefully see the teachers intention that if students are allowed to use them in the classroom, they (the students) would not feel it necessary to use them without permission. Also, I using a cell phone in the classroom leads to an unexpected medium that students would not normally use. This could create some excitement or even some extra motivation toward a student's academic success. On the opposite side, using cell phones in the class room can work against the teacher's intentions. The number one challenge I can see is that not every student has a cell phone. Some parents are still old fashion or simply can not afford one for their children. So the idea of using cell phones would only work as long as each student has access to one. Another disadvantage would be students can be using them for activities other than class work. Sure the student can say they are participating via the cell phone in classroom activities when in fact they are simply texting their peers. I see a fine line between the pro's and con's and it is one that needs to be treaded on very carefully.

In addition to the advantages and disadvantages discussed by Brooks-Young, there are several different classroom applications mentioned in chapter 2. The only practical one that stands out to me is the idea of using the cell phone as a responsive tool to surveys. I have used several different versions of websites in my own presentations that allow for my audience to interact with my material via a poll and they simply text in their responses. The concept of using cell phones for activities other than that seem a little shady to me and even at that a little unpractical. I would be afraid that teachers and students in general would be too focused on the concept of using the cell phone in class versus actually teaching or learning the material at hand. I am not against using the cell phone, I think it is too early in the educational world to mainstream such a technique into everyday classroom instruction.

SMART Day 1: Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use, Chapter 1

In chapter 1, Brooks and Young discuss the importance of developing an appreciation for the core content knowledge taught as well as the 21st century skills necessary for real world assimilation. The overall message I gained from reading chapter 1 of Teaching With The Tools Kids Really Use is that in today's fast paced, ever changing world, teachers have to be prepared to implement and utilize the technology presented to them in their everyday teaching routine. Teachers that teach from non updated notes from years past are only doing a disadvantage to the students. Students now days, more so than ever, are exposed to technology in many different medias and contexts. The classroom teacher needs to realize that and use it to the learning student's advantage. I can relate, probably more closely than others, to Brooks and Young when they write that today's educational system is rooted in the past.

Toward the end of chapter one, Brooks and Young offer suggestions for the classroom teacher on how technology or the 21st century skills can be incorporated into everyday classroom instruction. The one phrase that echos with me is that teachers are not to implement technology that only creates a task easier for the student, but challenges them to dig deeper with material at hand. I have seen it done in so many classrooms when teachers will say they are meeting a National Educational Technology Standard when in fact they are merely creating less work for them to grade. From my own personal experience with technology and classroom instruction, a teacher that is more susceptible to using technology in the classroom promotes the learning of the 21st century skills whether the teacher knows it or not.

One of the greatest insights learned from this chapter is that those teachers that understand and can use technology in the classroom to accurately fuse the 21st century skills with core knowledge need not keep to themselves. For instance, everything technology comes super easy to me, especially anything deriving from the Apple platform. Keeping in mind that teachers want to enhance and engage student's with their learning, the most practical thing for tech savvy teachers to do is to share their resources with their fellow co-teachers. It's a partnership that works to the success of the student's learning as well as the teacher's professional development in uprooting traditional paper and pencil teaching styles.

Blog Setup

Today I created a new blog within in my blogger account. I have previously used blogger from a prior class, but I have not really kept up with keeping it up to date. For today's task, I simply went into my blogger account (I was already logged in since I used gmail on this machine) and created a new blog within my blog. I decided I would pick a different design scheme that was generated, I chose to go with a UT theme (despite I am not a sports fan). However, I do like the color orange and my fiance attends UT. Consider it a tribute to that, or so we say. I added my new blog to my blogger account from the iPad. I found it very easy and super simple in terms of time and energy. Dr. Krug commented that there are people in the CPED 5300 class that can set up a blog in five minutes or less, well I am one of them. Since I had my blog created prior to going to the computer lab, I helped my partner, Jess Smith, with hers. I am exited that we are using a blog in class for the simplicity that it exposes us to reflection via typing and peer collaboration. Yay for blogs!