The online world can offer so many opportunities and provide so many advantages to people. But unfortunately, there is a very dark side of the online world. There have always been “bad” people, people who wanted to hurt other people or take advantage of other people. The internet has provided a new stage for these people. The internet has even provided an avenue for encouraging “good” people to engage in some not so “nice” behavior. As a parent and as a teacher, I am very concerned about how I protect my child and my students from the dangers that can be found online. I am also concerned about how I make sure that my child and my students don’t fall into the trap of bad behavior that can be cultivated online.
I think it is essential that we start providing are children with instruction in digital citizenship at an early age. The same way that we teach children to share and to say please and thank you, we must teach them how to be safe on the internet and how to be respectful on the internet. It is challenging enough to teach children to be cautious of real-life strangers, it is even more challenging to teach them to be cautious of online strangers who can pretend to be whoever they want to be. So, from an early age, we need to teach children what information is okay to share and what information is not okay to share and how to evaluate information that they find online. The anonymity of the online community, unfortunately, also encourages some negative behaviors. The anonymity of being online allows people to be mean and cruel, without the fear of facing consequences for their actions. Because it also allows people to be hurtful to people they might not even know, they don’t get to experience the effects of their actions. If I tell a person that they are stupid to their face, I will see firsthand the response. If I tell a person online that they are stupid, I am shielded from experiencing their response. This isolates me from having to experience negative feelings about what I said. It is important that children be taught how to treat people in person and online. It is also important that children be taught to speak up and that when they see something inappropriate, that they immediately report it to an adult. Digital citizenship is not something that can be fully explored in a few paragraphs, but it is essential that this education be provided to all students on an ongoing basis and that it starts now.
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Educational software games are everywhere today. There are thousands of educational apps that can be played on cellphones and tablets, and there are thousands of web-based educational games that can be played on laptops and desktops, and there are thousands of pre-packaged educational programs that include educational games as part of the package. So, are these game-oriented educational applications a positive or a negative for the classroom?
Advantages
Disadvantages
These are just a few of the advantages and disadvantages of educational gaming software. I believe that the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I believe that educational games are here to stay and will be part of the classroom for some time to come. As with any technology, the secret is in purposeful planning. The use of the games must be well thought out and well planned out in order to ensure that they are enhancing the other instruction that is occurring in the classroom. There is a wide variety of software that falls under the category of teacher task software. This includes productivity software, classroom management software, administrative software, and apps. The software is intended to make teachers more productive and to make our jobs easier. I would agree that these software technologies can make a teacher’s job easier and can provide multiple benefits to a teacher. But just like when planning to use technology in a lesson with students, it is important to make sure that the use of the software is purposeful and reasonable.
In my career I have been required to learn many different software applications that I was expected to use on a routine basis. Most of these applications had useful purposes, but many challenges come into play when districts impose software applications on teachers. The first challenge occurs when districts require teachers to use multiple different software applications, some with overlapping purposes. It can be difficult to manage entering data into multiple different applications. It also can be challenging to learn many different applications at the same time. What ends up happening, is that teachers end up learning a little about a lot of different applications, but never get to be experts in those applications. They don’t get an opportunity to really learn the ins and outs of the applications and take advantages of all the features of the application. Also, because many districts haven’t fully embraced technology and/or don’t fully trust technology, they often still require teachers to keep paper copies of documents and data that is entered into the software applications. For example, a teacher might be expected to upload a lesson plan to a software application and keep a printed copy in the classroom. Or, a teacher might be expected to enter attendance and grades into software applications, while still maintaining paper grade books and attendance books. This can become frustrating for a teacher, because instead of saving you time, the double duty ends up consuming more of your time. Lastly, because technology evolves so quickly and because software applications are not always well researched before purchasing, software applications are frequently replaced in districts. This does not mean updates to software applications, but entirely new software applications being purchased and required. Often, once a teacher finally feels comfortable with a software application, the district will announce that a new application has been chosen to replace that application. Despite all the challenges, these software applications still provide multiple benefits. Districts must plan for their use and weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each application. Teachers should always be involved in the discussions regarding software applications that are going to be mandated. If the use of technology is purposeful and well planned, the results will be positive. Advantages
I have spent most of my career working with children and students with special needs. One of the reasons that I am so passionate about technology in the classroom, is my belief that technology offers these students a chance at receiving a better education. I believe that technology offers these students a better chance at mastering the same objectives as their peers without special needs. I started my teaching career teaching students in a self-contained high school class for students with emotional disabilities. All my students performed significantly below grade level in the areas of reading, writing, and math. They majority of my students also hated school and were highly resistant to completing any type of academic work. These students all had IQs in the “normal” range and they were all capable of learning. Because of their behavior problems as young children they were frequently removed from the general education classroom, suspended from school, or absent from school. Therefore, they missed huge chunks of instruction. Each week, each month, each year they fell a little bit more behind. By the time they reached high school they were so far behind and had such negative feelings about school, that they did not have the confidence or motivation to put into the effort that would be required to learn all the material that they had missed. Often students with emotional disabilities just aren’t capable of learning in a traditional classroom. They often have specific needs or fears that make that setting difficult to manage. Technology can allow these students to have access to the same instruction as their non-disabled peers. The lessons in the general education classroom can be recorded, and the special needs student can watch them in another location, live or at a later time. If watching live, a chat feature could even be implemented that allowed the student to ask questions and participate in discussions. These students can participate in online learning that addresses the same learning objectives being taught in the general education classroom. When in the general education classroom, technology can also be used to encourage these students to be successful. Mobile devices can be used to provide students with a schedule of activities to reduce anxiety. The devices can provide prompts for the student to promote on-task behavior. The student can use the device to self-monitor their own behavior. Technology can be used to adapt a lesson or assignment so that the special needs student is more capable of completing the task. These are just a few ways in which technology can support these students. I believe that technology will help educators to make significant gains in our attempts to provide an equal education to students with special needs. As teachers, it is essential that we are providing instruction that prepares our students for their future. We must start providing the kindergarten student with the skills he or she will need to succeed in college or their career in 12 years. This includes preparing them with the technology and digital skills that they will need. It is very possible that their future will involve minimal paper and pencil work, few hard copy textbooks, and few jobs that do not require the use of some type of a device. It’s not enough to just prepare them for tomorrow, we must prepare them for 20 years from tomorrow.
Technology is being introduced and changing at an alarming rate, so it can be difficult to figure out what technology will be present 20 years from now. So, how does an educator prepare his or her students for this futuristic world? To begin with, we must not abandon the good sound instructional strategies that have already been proven to be effective. Technology does not have to replace good teaching, but should only enhance it. Second, good planning is still essential. All the essential components of a good lesson plan need to still be present. This includes addressing all levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy. This does not mean that all levels of the taxonomy need to be addressed in every lesson, but that the instructional plan does not leave out opportunities for students to analyze, evaluate, and create. Third, teachers must stay familiar with current technologies and must be evaluate which technologies best meet the objectives of the lesson and the needs of her students. Technologies should be chosen that provide the most bang for the buck. Fourth, we, as educators, must resist the urge to reject a technology just because it’s new and kids prefer it. Just because a technology is new, doesn’t mean it’s not good. And just because the presence of a technology can have many negatives, doesn’t mean that there aren’t positives that outweigh the negatives. We also must resist the urge to insist students learn a technology that is outdated and will not serve them in the future. I will never forget being forced to take a rotation on a manual typewriter in my middle school typing class. Even though no one used manual typewriters anymore, the teacher insisted it was an important skill for us to have. Reinforcing Learning
Technology is a great way to reinforce learning that has occurred in the classroom. Technology can be used to reinforce learning at school and at home. Kahoot! Is a great game-based learning tool that can be used in the classroom. You can search for games created by other people or create your own game. Students love playing games on their devices and Kahoot! provides a fun and exciting platform for reviewing class content. JeopardyLabs is another great site for combing game playing with content review. And finally, Quizlet is a great resource for students to use to study at home. Flash cards and other study aids created by others can be accessed or students and teachers can create their own. Addressing Diversity In a class of 30 students, a teacher is likely to have students that are very diverse. There will be students from different backgrounds, students who don’t speak English as their first language, and students with learning differences, and so on. Technology is a great way to help a teacher to meet the needs of a diverse student population. Technology can easily allow a teacher to provide content in a different language for a student or a parent who doesn’t speak English as their first language. Technology tools are available that allow content to be read aloud to students who may have a learning disability in reading. Other tools support writing with text editors and word prediction for students who struggle with writing. Fostering Creativity One of the biggest benefits that technology can offer is to provide students with more avenues in which to express their creativity. Prior to the dawn of technology, there were a limited number of ways that one might express his or her creativity. You might use a pencil, a paint brush, your voice, or a musical instrument. These all required a was person to be able to translate his or her creativity using a real world physical object. Technology provides new tools for translating creativity. I have seen students shut down when asked to create a drawing as part of an assignment and/or turn in something that resulted from little effort on the student’s part and was difficult to interpret. But I can ask those same students to create drawings using a program like Storyboard That, and witness students who not only increase the effort put into the assignment but who create complex and insightful work to address the objectives of the lesson. The seemingly infinite number of technology tools available to a teacher can be both a blessing and a curse. In 2018 we have access to SO MANY technology resources, many that are available at a click of a button and even free. As a teacher, this means that you are blessed with numerous resources for assisting you in the classroom and for enhancing your lessons. This includes tools to aid in behavior management, to differentiate instruction, to communicate with parents and students, and to provide students with unique learning experiences.
The flip side of the technology tool coin is that there are SO MANY technology resources. This can be overwhelming for a teacher. Which technology resources are the best for your students? Which technology resources best meet the objectives of your lesson? How do you use the new app or program that you just learned about? When looking for technology to enhance a lesson, it can be easy to find yourself lost down an Internet rabbit hole of choices. You spend so much time investigating options, that you don’t have enough time left to plan the lesson. You might also go to a technology training and learn about numerous tech tools that would be great for your classroom. You end of leaving the training not knowing where to start, and eventually forget about all the great new tech tools you learned about. I have experienced both the positives and negatives of the vast availability of new tech tools. When I attend a training or staff development session, I commit to walking out the door with one idea that I will immediately implement. This doesn’t mean that I will never come back to the other ideas, but if I commit to one idea I can reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed and I can increase the likelihood that I will actually try something new in my class. I also commit to sharing one thing I’ve learned with a colleague. I find that if I share something that I’ve learned, then I am more likely to remember it myself and possibly benefit a fellow teacher with the new knowledge. |