Tech Tool Review

by Jennifer Jenkins

National and State Technology Standards

1. The purpose of the National Education Technology Plan (NETP) is to increase the number of college graduates who holds a two-year or four-year degree from around 41 percent to 60 percent by the year 2020. This will close the gap on the number of students who graduate from high school ready to succeed in college and in their careers.

I think that this goal puts a lot of pressure on teachers and students, however it is possible. Yes, this is a 20 percent increase - but there is still time to reach that goal. I think that these numbers may be scary to teachers and students and be a real wake up call, but it is needed. In order for America to continue and to be successful, our future depends on these children and what we as educators are teaching them.

2. Main Assumptions:

• Many of the failings of our education system stem from our failure to engage the hearts and minds of students.
• What students need to learn and what we know about how they learn have changed, and therefore the learning experiences we provide should change.
• How we assess learning focuses too much on what has been learned after the fact and not enough on improving learning in the moment.
• We miss a huge opportunity to improve our entire education system when we gather student-learning data in silos and fail to integrate the information and make it broadly available to decision-makers at all levels of our education system—individual educators, schools, districts, states, and the federal government.
• Learning depends on effective teaching, and we need to focus on extended teams of connected educators with different roles who collaborate within schools and across time and distance and who use technology resources and tools to augment human talent.
• Effective teaching is an outcome of preparing and continually training teachers and leaders to guide the type of learning we want in our schools.
• Making engaging learning experiences and resources available to all learners anytime and anywhere requires state-of-the-art infrastructure, which includes technology, people, and processes that ensure continuous access.
• Education can learn much from such industries as business and entertainment about leveraging technology to continuously improve learning outcomes while increasing the productivity of our education system at all levels.
• Just as in health, energy, and defense, the federal government has an important role to play in funding and coordinating some of the R&D challenges associated with leveraging technology to ensure the maximum opportunity to learn.

I think that many educators may take offense to the first assumption, because it may be taken as educators are not doing their “job” and teaching children effectively. Administrators may also take on this same feeling in that they are not running the district appropriately when they feel they may be doing the best they can. I think that some of these assumptions do seem harsh, unless you focus on the big picture of things. Students may feel like they are failing because their work is giving the school or district a bad score. However, in all aspects, change can only come from within - and it is up to everyone to make a difference. Administrators, teachers, and students need to work together to make a better learning experience.

3. Five Essential Areas

1.0 Learning: Engage and Empower

All learners will have engaging and empowering learning experiences both in and out of school that prepare them to be active, creative, knowledgeable, and ethical participants in our globally networked society.

2.0 Assessment: Measure What Matters

Our education system at all levels will leverage the power of technology to measure what matters and use assessment data for continuous improvement.

3.0 Teaching: Prepare and Connect

Professional educators will be supported individually and in teams by technology that connects them to data, content, resources, expertise, and learning experiences that enable and inspire more effective teaching for all learners.

4.0 Infrastructure: Access and Enable

All students and educators will have access to a comprehensive infrastructure for learning when and where they need it.

5.0 Productivity: Redesign and Transform

Our education system at all levels will redesign processes and structures to take advantage of the power of technology to improve learning outcomes while making more efficient use of time, money, and staff.

The 21st century competencies are critical thinking, complex problem solving, collaboration, and multimedia communication. While students are using these real-world tools, they are learning and given opportunities that will allow them to deal with real-world problems and they will be prepared for the real world. These competencies will allow student to be productive members in a competitive workplace.

4. The State of Ohio’s Education Technology Plan aligns with the National Education Technology Plan  by incorporating more technology in and outside of the classroom, building an infrastructure that will help the success of students and educators, and better preparing students for college and the real world. They big difference in which they are not aligned is that the State of Ohio Plan does not involve as much government input as the National Education Technology Plan details.

5. The two plans are aligned by incorporating more multimedia and broadcasting, more technology in and out of the classroom, incorporating federal programs, and expanding the data system. The difference is that the State of Ohio’s Education Technology Plan focuses on virtual learning, and the NETP does not gear as much towards that area.

6. I think that these measurements put a lot of pressure of educators and students when the expectations seems out of reach/not possible. It is hard to access the “number of students” in some areas. There may not be student who want to take college credits at the same time as high school, or AP courses. Some students may not want to take distance learning courses, or on-line courses. How can you base number on something that may be simply a student preference or not? That may be a hard “goal” to reach given that student preferences will be different.

ORC Lesson Plan

The lesson plan that I choose is a social studies lesson plan for grade 5 - titled First Amendment Rights - Grade 5. In this lesson, students experience (for a short period of time, approximately 30 minutes) what it would be like to live in a society where there is dictatorship. After the torturous 30 minutes comes to an end, the students get their voices back. Now the fun begins, and the students get to learn about the First Amendment rights they have and how they have an impact on their daily lives. Students will work together in class and in groups coming up with new ideas of how they can make a change in their school/classroom with policies that they do not agree with. Students will also keep a daily journal focusing on how their lives are affected by the First Amendment and what each aspect of freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right of petition and assembly means to them. Students will learn how they can make a difference in their society (in school or in their community), because of the rights they have as citizens of the United States.

OHIO SOCIAL STUDIES ACADEMIC CONTENT STANDARDS (2010)

Grade 4: Ohio in the United States

Government Strand

Civic Participation and Skills

15. 

Individuals have a variety of opportunities to participate in and influence their state and national government. Citizens have both rights and responsibilities in Ohio and the United States.

Rules and Laws

19. 

The U.S. Constitution establishes a system of limited government and protects citizens’ rights; five of these rights are addressed in the First Amendment.

SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS (2001)

Citizenship Rights and Responsibilities

Grade Level Indicators (Grade 5)

3.

Explain the significance of the rights that are protected by the First Amendment including:

1. Freedom of religion;
2. Freedom of speech;
3. Freedom of the press;
4. Right of petition and assembly.

I think that there are many students that do not fully understand their rights as United States citizens. Most kids are under the impression that they have to go to school, listen to their teacher, do their homework, go home, listen to their parents, and then start over again on the next day. They may think they are just kids, but there is a bigger picture, an important aspect that this lesson will teach students - students are also citizens with a voice. All citizens in the United States have a voice, and a right to express their opinions and make changes on things they do not believe is right or fair to everyone. Even as students, they can make a change in their school and/or in their community. I will use this lesson to show that to students. I want my students to understand the importance of the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights and that these rights apply to them, even as kids -because they are citizens of the United States.

I think that the biggest problem with this lesson plan is that it may not be exciting enough for kids. Yes, it is interesting, but it could be more exciting. The start of the lesson has a big "wow" factor and will get the students' minds rolling - but that excitement needs to be sustained for the rest of the lesson in the days to come. So, I will need to research and try to incorporate a few more things into the lesson that may add some time to the lesson/change the length, but will make it more exciting and fun for the students. I think the part that would challenge the students the most is staying on task. The lesson itself is not too difficult for this age group, but at this age students may get a little "goofy" with this lesson. For example, students may want to change the food that is served in the cafeteria because they think it is nasty and they want it to taste better - but what their focus should be on, is how is the food unfair for students in the classroom and how can you make the choices fair/accessible to all students (i.e., what other options could be made available for students who cannot eat dairy products?). I think students will be challenged in thinking seriously and staying on task - but for the most part, I believe this lesson will be a learning experience that they will take to heart and take seriously once they understand the First Amendment a little better and how they truly can impact/change their school or society for the better. They may only be students, but they are citizens of the United States that have rights which give them power to make a difference!

https://ims.ode.state.oh.us/ODE/IMS/Lessons/Web_Content/CSS_LP_S06_BB_L05_I03_01.pdf

Pinterest in the Classroom

First of all, I think Pinterest is AWESOME! I have used Pinterest personally for home decor ideas, craft ideas to do with my nephews and niece at home, and recipes, etc. In making a teacher Pinterest page, I have learned that there is a TON of information out there for teachers to use! I am, without a doubt, positive that I will use Pinterest all the time as a teacher. I will use it for lesson plans, bulletin board ideas, classroom management ideas, activity ideas....honestly everything! I think the biggest strength of Pinterest is that a lot of people and teachers use it! All of these great ideas on Pinterest are able to be shared simply by "pinning it" to your board, so you can in turn share it with others. The only challenge that I have experienced with Pinterest, is that you have to key search using the same words that most others would use for the same subject. I have, in the past, searched for things and found no results, but then came across a different key search with the results I was looking for the first time! The only comment I have for others about Pinterest, is that if you haven't already established a Pinterest account, you should do it! Whether a teacher, parent, artist, cook, reader, traveler, there are so many different ideas that I'm sure you would find an interest in! Everyone all around the world get on Pinterest to share their ideas with everyone else around the world in all areas/aspects of life and careers! There is so much to gain from Pinterest! Truthfully, I love Pinterest!

Khan Academy and Coursera

Khan Academy - www.khanacademy.org

When I first visited the site, I did see this as something I would use myself. I think it is always better to see what other ways of learning/teaching is possible. I will also encourage my future students to use this website. I have even shown this website to my nephew already (he is a sixth grade student), and I think it will help him a lot with his math homework. Math is one of those subjects where there are so many different ways of doing a problem. I think this site would be helpful not only as possibly a different method to a math problem, but it would serve as a second tool to use to reinforce math skills learned. I do think that the videos are easy to follow on the site, and I believe that the step-by-step instruction is crucial. I think that Salman Khan takes his time in going through the steps of a problem and that is crucial for math. One little mistake can change everything! I do believe that Salman Khan is right when he states that we will rely more on "credentialing" through the use of online courses. I do think that this style of education makes learning way more accessible for more students. I am decent at math, but I don't know calculus. If my nephew (just one example) were to come home from high school one day with a question, I may not know the answer - and online learning is a great way to find out this information! Even if you're not sure about something - you can always find an answer online!


Coursera - www.coursera.org

When I explored the Coursera course offerings, I really found interest in finance and computer technology classes. Columbus State does not accept Coursera transfer credits. I think that Coursera courses would be as interesting as online courses at Columbus State. I really do like the set-up of modules that Koller talked about in her speech. (Where you can learn each topic in different steps instead of everything at once). I have taken a lot of online courses at Columbus State, and I believe my experience would be almost the same between the two. I do think that MOOCs (massive open online courses) are the wave of the future. I believe that being able to take online courses, at your own pace, and earning credentials for it (certificates, etc.) will really be a big part of our future. The available access to students, and free education will open many more opportunities for students to go to school and work full-time without suffering from money and time constraints. MOOCs are great opportunities for all students, and it will be a wave of the future.

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