Literacy Integrated With Multicultural/Multi-subject Topics

By Bonnie Sherman

I recently read an exciting article about University of Michigan students posing as story characters and having online “mentoring” conversations with elementary school students (“Undercover Teachers or Imaginary Friends”, by Joshua Andrew published in The Atlantic on April 3, 2015. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/04/undercover-teachers-or-imaginary-friends/389649/). 

These aren’t just any story characters – they are characters in stories from a supplementary program for teachers using a site called ImagineNation Matters (http://ics.soe.umich.edu/main/section/17). Each session (such as Winter 2015, Jan – Apr), ImagineNation has a variety of story modules, each of which are like storybooks in which there is a protagonist about the same age as the students. The goal of the online conversation between elementary student and fictional hero is to engage the students in active learning about a chosen subject in a personal way that uses their imagination. After reading a one-page story written in the first person by the main character, students respond to a discussion question. Story topics are often about other cultures, such as Native Americans or Arab Americans, science topics like nature or the environment, or social studies topics like the Underground Railroad. Rather than focus on new and better technology (as we discussed in another one of our class blogs), the focus is on looking at a new way to have a student-mentor exchange by using a technology that has been around for a long time – a digital interface – in a way that actively engages the student. 

I think this project is a brilliant idea! Students are using writing skills, are engaged in higher-order thinking, and at the same time get to explore a wide variety of possible topics. Classroom teachers assume facilitating and coaching roles. The conversation with a virtual character has great possibilities for differentiation, each student conversing on their own level. Besides following the story, conversations also include discussions about personal things like the fictional character’s favorite foods, birthday or family that help to develop a friendship. They can then move on to discussing things like the pros and cons of various options the character is facing, health hazards of a possible job, etc. The possibilities are endless! Sometimes students get so involved in their virtual relationship they “suspend disbelief” and even forget they are talking to a fictional character. This program intrigues me, and I think it can be used by a teacher in almost any subject area. What do you think about it? Is it a program you would use?

How Slang Affects Students in the Classroom

  Are social media and text messaging negatively impacting high school students? 

by: Zackary McDonald

This topic has been occurring for many years since social media exploded in the mid-to-late 2000’s. I was in high school myself when it started to become a “problem” for students and teachers alike in school. I can recall my own English teacher making it a point to prevent students from writing papers as if they were posting to facebook/myspace. Acronyms for sayings such as ‘idk’ (I don’t know) etc. have begun to run more rampant in students’ writing, not just in English and other subjects, but according to the article, college admissions are "getting [admissions] essays like they've never seen before. Admissions officers have shared with me that a lot of the essays they're encountering now are deeply rooted in this technological culture of cut-off sentences where you're writing like you speak. After the first few sentences, college admissions professionals toss them to the side." This has become an issue that we as teachers have of course observed ourselves, and I know that as a young teacher I catch myself doing it as well. I believe I know the difference of when to be professional and clearly write out my thoughts, but the students seem to do it without realizing they are and many do not possess the ability to articulate their opinions any clearer than what they know already.

Social media seems to, according to Chad Dion Lassiter, a professor of race relations at the University of Pennsylvania, attribute to "a dumbing down of culture." He goes on to state that we as adults and educators need to hold the students accountable for their writing or they will not be able to communicate effectively to one another in the future. The article also states how older generations observe this and often correct it or mark off points for it, while the younger generations of teachers often let it slide because they understand what it means.  I think that this practice is wrong and detrimental to our students’ successful futures. We need to do as Dr. Lassiter states and hold each student accountable, make them rewrite the phrase or essay using the correct terminology and sentence structure. Students should not be writing how they talk; most of them do not speak correctly to begin with.

This article was very eye opening to me as I do not grade written work very often being a Technology teacher. I do not witness students’ successes or failures in their writing skills very often, and when I do I can see that most students do not write in full or proper sentences. I’m not sure how all of this will play out in the future; it’s almost as if we need autocorrect to become full on “sentence correct,” which would truly only make things worse because student’s would still not have to correctly form a sentence on their own. I hope for a future where the parents and teachers work together to encourage sentence structure and proper punctuation so that students can write out their feelings and opinions in order for others to actually understand them.

To read the original article follow this link: http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2011/06/13/how-slang-affects-students-in-the-classroom

A Completely Versatile Curriculum

By: Gayle Diana

We have all heard about the flipped classroom where learning is supplemented through online learning and videos and the teacher can give more attention to individual students.  Online course are becoming the norm for many students to choose from in a college setting where all learning is done completely online.  What would happen if we took both of these concepts and implemented them into a high school?  Students would have a completely versatile curriculum and decide how they wanted to learn.  

In Quakertown Schools, PA, they have implemented a “college” environment.  Students are able to choose whether they prefer to complete their four years of high school on-line, partially on-line, or face to face.  The curriculum is student centered and technology infused.  What do you think; would you want to be a part of a curriculum such as this?

They have seen many benefits since beginning this new curriculum.  Attendance has increased, SAT scores have risen, and overall students to graduate have improved.  With the assistance of educators and 1:1/BYOD, they have created a blended learning for all students.  Some students choose to be at school all day or only a handful of periods.

 

Read more about this at http://smartblogs.com/education/2012/11/19/complete-versatility-public-school-setting-by-thomas-c-murray/

Education Apps = Loss of Privacy?

Continuing our discussion about online privacy rights and exposing students' information...

By Daniel Otto

Education Apps = Loss of Privacy?

With the new age of digital apps and assistive technologies rolling out on a monthly basis, are we as educators threatening the privacy of ourselves and our students by signing up for them? As future technology leaders this is going to be a key topic for us to cover in our buildings. With districts finding it difficult to keep up with the new technologies or even not having the funding to purchase these new technologies, educators are taking it upon themselves to purchase and sign up their classes. This is resulting in data breaches and privacy issues in some districts. Apps are sending students and teacher’s information to other companies which results in student profiling. Teachers have no idea who or what companies are seeing this data. Should educators be putting this information out there or should they be waiting for their districts to catch up to the times?

Diversity and Differentiation - At What Cost?

By: Elizabeth Hart

As the old phrase goes, “With great power comes great responsibility”, technology is no different.  Regardless whether we agree with it, technology has forced its way into the modern classroom and is here to stay.  One of the gray areas regarding educational technology seems to be how much information about our students is being harvested when utilizing digital resources.  The buzzword “data” seems to define education.  Any chance teachers, administrators, and now, companies, can gather information about our students educational habits is seen as a “prize” 

The article I have cited dives deep into the fact that, although there are a variety of individualized and digital learning apps available, many of these harvest student data and use them to develop more programs, thus turning a greater profit.  These adaptive programs are found in many schools, but are administrators and tech specialists doing enough research in order to protect our students’ information?

Are we sacrificing our students' privacy?

As our classrooms grow more diverse, it is critical that we provide a variety of different programs in order to meet the needs of all learners.  With this in mind, we also must make sure that educators are doing enough research on these programs.  We teach students about online safety in terms of Facebook and other forms of social media - but are we letting an even worse form invade our students’ lives without them knowing?  Overall, if we are to embrace a digital system of differentiation, we must make sure we are doing our research to keep our students safe.  What are your thoughts?

To see the article that inspired this post:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/12/technology/learning-apps-outstrip-school-oversight-and-student-privacy-is-among-the-risks.html?_r=0