My Digital Story Telling: Facebook

While walking the halls of the school I teach at I hear students talking more and more about something I am unfamiliar with. More and more people are signing-up and logging on to Facebook to communicate. People are networking with old friends, sharing pictures, sending gifts, playing games, chattings and learning what their friends are doing all by being on Facebook. I didn't know much about Facebook and so I did some investigation and this is what I learned...


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Learning in the Digital Age

Aaron Routon: aaronrouton@hotmail.com: 1/28/09

“Learning in the Digital Age” by Ted S. Hasselbring and Margaret E. Bausch

Overview of article.

This article totes the value of using technology in the classroom as a tool for students who are struggling. Classrooms are integrating who have learning disabilities, which makes it more difficult to teach students with varying abilities. Technology is producing more and more tools that can be of enormous benefit to teachers and to students. In this article Hasselbring and Bausch acknowledge that technological tools are being implemented to help special needs children but many more students could benefit from these tools if teachers provide these resources to students who have minor learning disabilities.

Computer software and computer hardware can help struggling students access the content of their peers and free teachers from tutoring time. The article speaks specifically of a program generically called “text to speak” in which students will put the “reader” over the desired text and the computer will read aloud the words. Students can follow the reader and gain in comprehension, in word recognition, and in fluency.

Implementing such tools will help struggling students keep up with their classmates and improve their confidence. Technology can help in the problem area of reading /writing and reduce student stress and increase student confidence. These tools are to be used as mediation and tools to help remedial students. Many people with learning disabilities can be helped, but it is up to the classroom teacher to implement these newly available technologies. Limited resources places extra burdens on teacher and teachers must self-educate in order to implement these new tools that can help struggling students.

Reference Points:

• Integrated classrooms need to give tools to help students with learning disabilities perform at grade-level
• Studies have found that implementing “text to speak” programs have helped students be able to read at grade level without help from teachers or peers
• Other technology based programs focusing on visually presenting vocabulary context improves comprehension in students of all ages.
• Computer programs can help struggling students write easier by using a word predict option.
• Classroom teachers are the ones who need to seek out the training in order to help the struggling student.

Reflection:

I have mixed reactions to what the authors say. I think that teachers have a responsibility to teach all students in ways that they understand. I see integrated classrooms as a positive thing which does in turn raises the demands of classroom teachers. I can see how using these new technological tools can be advantageous for both the student and the teachers. But I think that there are many students who have learning disabilities who need to learn how to overcome their disability.

I am leery of over-diagnosing students and telling kids they have a learning disability because I was one who would have been classified as learning disabled (specifically a reading disability). I found school to be frustrating until a teacher made me feel competent by working with me putting her trust in me. After that I worked harder to overcome my struggles and now I see that as an advantage. I had to learn how to learn. I worry that if we provide students with artificial tools we risk two things: give students a complex of “learning disabled,” and giving them a crutch that they grow to depend upon.

In short, I think that these tools should be used sparingly and students should be “weaned” off of them a.s.a.p. (as to not create a dependency). Developing student confidence is crucial, but teachers need to prepare students for a world that will not provide assistance. Teachers and students need to work together to help the students become independent and competent.

"The Overdominance of Computers"

Aaron Routon: aaronrouton@hotmail.com: 1/20/09

“The Overdominance of Computers” by Lowell W. Monke

Overview of article.

In this article Lowell Morke argues that schools pressure to include technology into the curriculum supersedes the wisdom of how to include technology into the classroom. He feels that modifying curriculum to conform to changes in technology can omit other valuable aspects. He argues that as technology increases, educators need to help students in personal interactions, develop abstract thinking capacities, and find meaning in life.

Morke also sites studies that suggest that increasing time with computers and technology may not be beneficial developmentally for students. Studies show that young students respond well from personal interaction and face to face teaching. Early educational TV and computer programs demonstrate skills but lack the human contact vital to children. Also, a recent world wide study found that 15-year-old students who had more access to computers had lower all test scores (they found that computers became an academic distraction rather than a motivation).

Lastly Morke emphasized that students need to be guided on how to manage technology wisely. He believes that children develop in stages and therefore the technology should be made available to them at the appropriate time (just as you would not give young children all the alcohol they want).

Reference Points:

• With a key stroke students can now inflict pain/ or damage work sitting away from their subjects
• Students need to develop concrete experiences interacting with the world around them so they have a better context of what is happening in the digital world
• Increasing screen time and decreasing face-to-face interaction may retard some aspects of development in children
• It is crucial that schools help students develop their distinctly human capacities such as hope, compassion, trust, respect, a sense of belonging, moral judgment, stability, community support, parental care, and teacher competence and enthusiasm that keeps so many students imprisoned in ignorance.
• Educators need to be concerned with how to provide students adult relationships, unstructured play, music, art, nature, and hands on lessons
• We need to let kids develop naturally and not diagnose, medicate, and use external tools to address the latest trends

Reflection:

I think that Morke makes an excellent point. I feel that technology is a constant buzz word and a topic of which educators are often unaware. The result is pressure for students to know and operate the latest and greatest technology… BUT when do we teach students what is appropriate. Just as we teach kids about drugs and their affects on the body and don’t hand out drugs, we also need to teach students how to use technology wisely.

I think technology is bringing us many wonderful things but with it also comes some horrible things. Gambling, pornography, fraud, and deception are vices which are now more readily available to people of all ages: but what are we doing to help students learn how to navigate these aspects of the web. In my experience we are doing very little (because we are relatively new to the technology scene as well) and leaving students to find out on their own. This is a huge disservice to this and future generations. Children need guidance and we are to guide them.

A couple times Morke’s extreme points and examples may have lost him some credibility with average readers but I believe his points are still very valid. I think we as educators need to proceed with caution and help teach these children the important lessons we received about how to be human and about kindness, respect, wisdom, and moderation.

Philosophy of Education

Learning happens when 2 people work together.... the teacher and the student. Both people have to work together.... it takes two..... just like dancing. And just like dancing, education requires a leader and a follower. The leader is the teacher who invites, guides, and demonstrates the moves (new material). The follower is the students who accepts, trusts, and engages. Then this happens- Magic happens and students learn. For my full philosophy in video form, please click here.

Energy Project Evaluation

Final Energy Project thoughts:

My findings were a good representation of someone living in a small community (like a college) but what about more average people. What about people who travel in larger circles? Or what about people who spend more money on their cars? This project needs replicated to fit the lifestyles of more people. I think if more people tried this experiment (possibly with larger radius), we'd get a better understanding of the average person and their expense on commuting. I think the average person would have to bike a larger radius.... but hey.... isn't that a good thing anyway. Thanks for taking time to read, the following are self-evaluations of my presentation and my video.

Presentation: 88 out of 100
Good things:
-Content interesting and well organized
-Conclusions offered viewers options
-Data was defined and gathered well
Needs improvement:
-Too many variables
-When vehicle is needed to transport more
people or objects than only the driver
-What effect will ice have on both driving
and biking?

Video: 88 out of 100
Good things:
-Delivery and tone was comfortable
-Hand motions added
-transitional phrases helped
Needs improvement
- read off of Power Point too often
-speed was fast
-intonation was not varied

Energy Project

I live in a small town and driving is expensive so I did an experiment to calculate how much time and money I'd save by riding my bike everywhere in a 2 mile radius. The full presentation and results can be found by clicking here.

About my experiment:
I have an inexpensive car, drive very little, have cheap insurance, and work on my own car. I also pedal fast and the price of gas was based upon a rate of $4.39 per gallon.

My findings

I traveled an average of 50 miles per week and 23% of my miles were outside of a 2 mile radius. This means that I can use my bike for most of my transportation. (I base my final figures on my lifestyle and a complete and detailed power point presentation math can be found by clicking here.

My calculations:

• my car costs about $2700 per year to operate.
• Riding my bike costs me about $350 per year.
• The time spent commuting on a bike and in a car is almost equal.
• Biking is more economical and equals a savings of about $8.50 per hour.

For raw data and figures, click here. You can watch me give this presentation by clicking here.

2 Mile Biking Radius: Energy Project

With the energy crisis we know that rising fuel costs make it more expensive to own a car and we must look for alternate ways to save energy. Think BIKE…. Congress did. Congress just passes an economic bail-out plan which includes employers receiving a $20/month tax credit for every employee who commutes to work. (Estimate what you spend on commuting fuel HERE. Estimate the total amount you are spending to drive per mile HERE)

For this project I will investigate for one week the benefits and costs of riding bike instead of driving a car for any distance within two miles of my house. I live in Sitka Alaska where the weather is rainy and I know that riding a bike means ride in poor conditions and therefore my analysis will include two dependant factors: time and money.
For this analysis I will assume 3 things

• time - it takes more time to prepare, travel, clean-up when using a bike
• money- it takes more money to operate a vehicle
• exercise- 20 minutes of exercise 3X's a week improves health

I will spend one week traveling by car tabulating total time and total distance traveled.
I will spend the next week biking and tabulating total time and total distance covered.
I will publish my results in my next blog entry.