This past week students were off but the teachers were "asked" to come in extra hours for professional development. I saw the use of technology both help and hinder our PD days. Here are a few examples
+ Online surveys to gauge understanding
- Teachers texting during meetings
+ Presenters using power points to reinforce their auditory instruction
- Phones and I-pads used to play games and kill time
For this weeks lab I focused on a few new tools. I tried the program Poll Everywhere which I first heard about in my CEP 812 class meeting. This was a fun, easy program to create polls where people can give instant, anonymous feedback to multiple choice or open ended questions.
This site was easy to use and fun both for me and for the people I had take the polls. I see this being very useful for adults. Think about the last time you spent a day without your phone. For my middle school students it might be useful as a homework assignment or for extra credit. I could always use it as another tool to connect to parents. I'm thinking my next poll is "Did your student do his/her homework tonight? Text Yes or No."
I also looked into creating podcasts of my lectures for students. Attendance is a big issue at my school and I believe podcast and videocasts can be a great way for students to get the material they missed at anytime and anywhere. I know for certain many of my students have mp3 players. If students have no problem finding mp3s from their favorite artists there is no reason they cant also get access to the class lecture.
I see some challenges in using mobile technology. Especially after watching the PBS video Digital Nation.
Here is the original video:
Watch Growing Up Online on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
And the 2010 followup:
Watch Digital Nation on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.
Here are my main concerns:
- Kids being over saturated of media (Read anything by Sociologist Juliet Schor)
- No or minimal access to technology
- Cyber bullying
- Kids playing games or listening to music online instead of learning
+ How to prepare our students for 21st century jobs that may not even exist today
We do have reason to be concerned. I watch my 8 year old step granddaughter read the tabloids and she knows way too much for her age. It really is not appropriate in my opinion. She is bored unless she is kept busy every second which drives me nuts because my parents did not entertain me. My favorite line was go play in traffic which for me was not possible as cars never went by our house. We do have to watch what our students and children are doing on the internet. They don't know what is correct or incorrect. They can easily misconstrue information.
ReplyDeleteWe also need to teach them netiquette so they are listening or texting when appropriate. There are a lot of rude adults out there who need some lessons themselves.
I am glad you tried Poll Everywhere. It is pretty easy and you get quick results.