Will Technology Take Over?

        I have spent much time analyzing and applying new technology in the classroom in my teaching career, thus far. However, the whiteboards, laptops, and tablets are just the beginning of the technology that will be integrated into my classroom throughout my future lessons. New and innovative technology tools are being developed daily. The likelihood that these new innovative tools will be useful for our students is high and we will want to teach our students to utilize the tools to improve their learning. I remember during my student teaching, we had an LCD projector and thought we had won the lottery. Now, I have an ActivBoard and cannot imagine not having this resource for my teaching. Times change and new opportunities arise. We have to embrace change and innovation if we are going to prepare our students. In our society today, technology is an vital part of our classroom and teaching. It is also an essential part of our students’ futures and their lives outside of school. As I’ve said before, I feel like technology is a true asset if used in the proper manner. There has to be a balance of hands-on lessons, as well. I’m sure that there are some teachers who “overuse” the technology tools they have just because they are available. I am not going to eliminate a project from my curriculum just because it does not revolve around technology. I may, however, find a technology resource to enhance the lesson if it is beneficial. The opportunity for new innovative lessons and improvements should be taken as it is presented, but teachers have to create a sense of balance in their classrooms.


         I may be naïve, but as an art teacher, I feel like all the technology in the world could never take the place of me in my classroom. I feel the same way about drawing applications on tablets. They are really neat and useful, but they will NEVER take the place of drawing with crayons, pencils, markers, oil pastels, charcoal, etc. Painting is irreplaceable as an art form, as is sculpture. We have many applications and web 2.0 tools available now, and many more to come, but none of them will take the place of creating art with our hands. Students producing creative artwork and having a teacher helping hands-on is priceless. As long as there are projects, experiments, dissections, and so much more, teachers will be needed in the classroom. Online learning may work for some subjects and people, but kids need human interaction and social environments in order to truly develop and I just don’t see the schools environment being eliminated entirely. Our role may change to just guiding learning and leading students in their own projects as opposed to standing up front lecturing. I feel like the role of educators in the 21st century has already changed and we are giving our students more ownership and responsibility for their learning. I love that education is leaning in this direction. I’m excited to see what the children of today will be doing with all of this freedom and innovation when they make it out of high school and college. We are training students to be successful and problem solve and I really feel like we are preparing them for what they may encounter later and we are promoting ground-breaking ideas. New emerging technologies like cloud computing, gesture based computing, mobile and tablet learning, game based learning, and learning analytics will likely be integrated into our classrooms in the next few years and we will need to accept the changes and learn from them as we go. We are teaching our students to problem solve and use critical thinking skills and I feel like it is only fair that we, as teachers, do the same. Education has come a long way from the one room school house of yesterday and it is sure to go much further. We have to embrace the opportunities and use them to benefit our students the best we can!

Stupefy!!!

This week I've been exploring game-based learning and wanted to try out a game that I thought might be able to be used in a school setting. I have read all about complex games that help students with decision making skills, developing strategies, and improved hand-eye coordination. While the game itself does not have a specific subject area, there are many lessons and benefits of complex games. I chose an XBOX 360 game called Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I.  I chose the game because of the complex nature and also because it is based on a children’s novel. Also, let’s face it, I love Harry Potter. This game is most certainly a complex game. There are many small goals throughout the game and the end goal is to defeat Voldemort and his death eaters. Having read the book, I know that I haven’t even scratched the surface in completing my goals and missions, yet. The game leads Harry, Hermione, and Ron through the parts of the book. At each part of the story that the death eaters may be around, you must cast spells and defeat them. There are new spells and potions to gain as you go through the missions. Additionally, the game makes you choose the path that you are going to take and you have to keep your strategy in mind.

I had two excellent assistants to help me try to defeat the death eaters!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I...tougher than I imagined!

While playing this game, it is nice that there are short instructions that guide you to learn which buttons control movement or spells. It is difficult to remember what all of the buttons do all while being attacked with vicious spells from death eaters! I chose “easy” and almost immediately said to my fiancé, “this is difficult!” There is definitely a learning curve and you must have persistence to play the game and continue making the decisions necessary to complete missions. Whenever I failed a mission, it was a little easier the second time around. I did not kill enough death eaters or I was caught with my invisibility cloak on meant that I had to go back to the last time it auto-saved from the last mission. I like that games like this really make kids, and adults, think about how they messed up and correct it in order to move forward. It is very much like many instances in real life. I look forward to learning new spells and hopefully catching on with this game so that I can eventually defeat Voldemort! I really like that this is the type of game that saves throughout and you can continue at your own pace. I learned that these games are NOT easy. I also discovered that I can only play these games for a short time period and then I have to take breaks. I also tend to get frustrated easily when I can’t figure out how to complete a task. I reminded myself of some of my students while I was playing this game. It gave me an interesting insight into how they feel sometimes at school.

I have learned that video gaming can be very beneficial to students in learning real life skills and tactics. I never realized how much concentration and memory is needed for these complex games. There is also, surprisingly, quite a bit of reading involved in the learning of the games. I like that literacy is necessary to complete tasks. So many of them also involve calculating what move is best for your character and mission. I have truly seen what video games can do for children in today’s society through not only my reading, but through actually experiencing the learning myself. I certainly have more respect for the children who are relentless in their gaming techniques and are very goal oriented in their missions. Gaming is much easier to watch that actually participate!

Game-Based Learning: Where to Start

Below is a playlist that I have created on mentormob to help with what can seem to be a daunting task to take on if you are unfamiliar with video games, in general. Many teachers are skeptical to incorporating video games into their curriculum. This playlist features videos and articles that will convince you that, if done in the correct way, game-based learning can truly benefit our students. I also feel like the engagement of our students will immediately be improved because they are so into the games! While there is not a video game for EVERY lesson, I would suggest researching the games available and incorporating them so that our students can learn practical life lessons they will need in the future! Enjoy!

Create your own Playlist on MentorMob!

Pencil Me In

I read the book Pencil Me In, by John T. Spencer, this week and was intrigued by his approach to writing about digital integration in education. His book is a fiction story following 19^th Century teacher, Tom Johnson, through the integration of such new and innovative technology such as pencil and paper, telegraphs, photographs, cameras, etc., into his curriculum. The entire novel is written in a metaphorical sense in that the integration of these tools then is similar to the integration of technology tools like tablets and netbooks of today. There are the pencils (computers), plogs (blogs), SmartCharts (whiteboards), telephones (cell phones), pen pals (social networks), iTablets (iPads), and other relative comparisons. The book started as a blog, Adventures in Pencil Integration, and evolved from there. I really like that while he “dated” the blog as the 19^th Century, he didn’t date it in the sense that he is talking about specific technology that is used today, but might not be used in a year or two. It is humorous in nature and sends his message in a unique way that was enjoyable to read. Spencer’s overall point of the novel is that integration of new innovative tools is important, but we also need to keep sight of the practices that work with the most basic of tools, such of our voice. There is no right or wrong way to integrate and use new tools, but it is process that each teacher needs to develop in order to best benefit their students and class.

I feel like the book takes the reader through the journey that teachers take when integrating something new and not really knowing the best way to both take advantage of the opportunity for new tools, but also to do what is best for students and the projects at hand. Mr. Johnson has quandaries throughout the novel about the way that pencils are being used in his classroom and whether they are a benefit or a distraction. When they are no longer being used to accentuate a lesson or project, it is time to use another medium. One of the programs that Mr. Johnson has to teach in his class is, “the Career Readiness Achievement Program.” I did laugh as I read this knowing that this was C.R.A.P. It was a program full of worksheets and had much in common with what many teachers are still forcing on their students in class. They wonder why they are not engaged! Mr. Johnson and some of his colleagues come to the conclusion that student guided lessons are the best way to teach for students to be prepared for critically thinking in the real world. He mentions pen pals as a metaphor for social media networks of today and teeters back and forth on the pros and cons of having these as part of the classroom activity. There are some risks involved for the students; however, they also get to collaborate with each other and students around other areas. I feel like the use of social media and collaboration across borders is truly dependant on the project and the group of students. It just isn’t black and white, just like with graphite, there are shades of gray. As mentioned in many of my previous posts, I feel like the use of technology is very important in teaching and education today, however, I also know that hands on creativity cannot be replaced by a technology gadget. As an art teacher, I will ALWAYS feel like there is no replacement for creating with your hands, no matter what technology tools become available. Some methods are just timeless.

I enjoyed reading the book on the surface, although, it was somewhat monotonous for me towards the end. I occasionally had to go back and read sections again because there are a number of pronoun agreement issues or words that did not make sense in the writing. I was quite surprised at the number of mistakes in a published book about teaching. I guess, overall, it does not affect the storyline; it was just frustrating, at times. On the one hand, I would recommend the book for the ideas upon which it is based. I would absolutely have to preface the recommendation by saying that the grammar and writing leaves something to be desired in many instances in the book. Taken as a whole, I enjoyed reading it more than some of the more research based texts that I have read for education because it was a novel. Spencer admits, himself, that there is not really a clear story arc, and it really is more the idea behind the story.  

I really have a benefit of teaching at a school that has already gone through many of the steps that Tom Johnson and his colleagues took in order to integrate technology into their classrooms. Many of the lessons that Mr. Johnson learns in the book are old news to me, as we have gone through the questions and struggles ourselves, at Delaware, and we’ve come out ahead on the other side for the benefit of our students. I think that, more than anything, after reading this book, I just feel overwhelmingly lucky to teach at Delaware Elementary with the staff and students that I get to work with every day. It is evident that not everyone is as lucky.