ETEC 5303 Learning With Computers in the K - 12 Classroom

Incorporating technology in the classroom, specifically computers are no longer to be seen as a luxury, but a necessity. If schools are going to continue to deliver students who are ready for the challenges of tomorrow and the 21st Century, they need to be prepared for the sills and know how to accomplish success. In a Gallup Poll of September of 2015, 85% of parents see computer science as “important”, or as “more important than” core subjects like mathematics and language arts. President Obama, too, has jumped into the mix with his “Computer Science for All”, as part as an initiative to fill jobs here in America. However, a student needn’t go to the depths of coding and programming to secure employment. An article from the Wall Street Journal from March 2015 reveals that the best path way to a decent living wage is to know the basic computer software programs like Microsoft Excel. Students can and should master these basic programs while their time is spent in the classroom, and at home through proper learning activity planning.

 

As one who supervises teachers delivering  daily instruction to students in the Lower Cape May Regional School District, I have found, that teachers who incorporate technology into their classroom not only have engaged students while a lesson is being delivered, but have students who have an everlasting grasp of the  material that is being communicated. The teacher’s effect use of technology is so essential that it is incorporated into the Danielson Framework for Teaching, [our district’s teacher evaluation model]. Technology can not only create a clear communication path from teacher to student; but can also allow students design on how they want to present content knowledge to an audience, and hit that “meta-cognition” through self discovery and creation.

 

Getting Beyond the Fear of the Unknown and the Overwhelming:

 

So many times the lack of incorporation of technology is not a result of ignorance, but the lack of desire to take risks. Teachers who get stuck in their ways aren’t trying to be stubborn; they want to use what has worked in the past. Unfortunately, as the times change students also change, so what may have worked in the past does not necessarily mean it will work in the future. Teachers who are technophobes need to embrace that uncertainty and reach out not just to others for advice. Administrators need to support teachers taking risks, and understand there may be a rough trial and error that occurs with these risks. An important note about planning a lesson, “Technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching”; novice and struggling teachers who are looking for an easy path to success will not find it with technology alone. It is imperative that these types of teachers work with other teachers, instructional coaches, and administrators to strengthen their initial craft and then enhance with technology.

Technology in the classroom for even an experienced teacher can be an elephant in the classroom. Even the most tech savvy teacher needs to go beyond the confines of the professional development day, or that out of district workshop; he/she is scouring on their own time for: the next best thing, an easy tool for all, and a tool that won’t cheat students from understanding the content or skills that they need to know once they vacate the classroom. As devices/tools are constantly being enhanced, updated, upgraded, or replaced by the newest product, staying with the present or looking to the future can be a full time job on its own. Besides researching the best products, even more daunting can be finding the time to prepare (or play) with new tools or programs, while still planning a clear and quality lesson for the audience in the seats. Again support must come from school personnel that can allow for streamlined focus so that the teacher can hone in on what the teachers want their students to be able to do. Whether the teacher is in the fledgling start of or in the twilight of a career it is important that a culture is created where the use of instructional practices with most current technology is supported by all.

 

Allow Effective Learning for All Types of Students:

 

As suggested by the National Education Technology Plan for the 2016 year learning activities that generate a digitally active member, (and not a digital consumer), is the best practice for having student ready to be adjust to be a 21st Century Learner. Prior to becoming a curriculum supervisor, I was a special education teacher and prior to me leaving the classroom, there was a big push from my district to incorporate Universal Design Learning [UDL] into daily lesson activities. For those that are unfamiliar, UDL lessons, have three main components: 1) have multiple methods of presentation, 2) multiple options for participation, and 3) multiple means of expression. Technology allows all three of these components to come to life in a classroom. For the multiple methods of presentation, you can have you students: create a power point, create a video, or create a shared document that could be shared with student within his/her class or in another class. Participation with technology goes beyond the random call on a student, or the sitting audience raising a hand when someone has an answer. Now we have interactive surveys through responders, and tools that can text a blurb of information or email message document that says who did what. Finally with expression, technology can allow for a student to decide on how they complete an assignment; maybe in lieu of an oral report in front of the classroom a student decides to record a podcast and shares his/her assignment with his/her peers.

 

Moving Beyond the Classroom:  

 

Technical skills that are learned, developed, and mastered by the students in an everyday classroom can lead to other destinations once they leave the hallways. Using a spreadsheet to collect data tables in science class can push a student to be familiar with similar programs so that they can excel in a career in business whether it is in accounting, marketing, or sales. The slow note taker in the classroom can have a document emailed to an account so that they can pay attention to the presenter or participate in a discussion, and review points at a later time. A student in English class can correspond with another student and co-write a screen play and make real time editing revisions if they share a document, which then could be shared with a producer later down the line. A shy student can work on practicing their public speaking by using audio and video programs to become more confident and deliver a message to a group of people without succumbing to anxiety.

 

Public school stakeholders have spoken, it is essential that students today need to be exposed to technology during their instruction through the course of the day. Teachers and administrators need to be willing and able to allow incorporation to occur in order for students to become successful. Tools that are available today maybe obsolete when our children are adults as or technology is ever changing, however, the foundational practices done with our current programs will prepare them for the challenges and advancements of tomorrow.

 

Sources:

 

Busteed, Brandon “Many Students Lack Access to Computer Science Learning” Gallup.com September 16, 2015.

 

Danielson, Charolette "The Danielson Framework" The Danielson Group, January 2013.

 

Firchow, Nancy “Universal Design for Learning –improved access for all” GreatSchools.org, February 2010.

 

Schaffhauser, Dian “President Calls on Country to Deliver CS Education to All Students” THE Journal, February 01, 2016.

 

Smith, Megan “Computer Science for All” White House Blog, January 30, 2016.

 

Weber, Lauren “The Key to a Good-Paying Job Is… Microsoft Excel?” The Wall Street Journal, March 5, 2015.

Technology Statement