Digital Badge #A - Chapter 1

To begin with, I was interested to learn “hyperconnected” students (i.e. those with habitual need use devices connected to the internet), as referenced by Maloy, et al (2013, p. 4) and the “generally positive” impact that technology will have on current and future students. Being so interested, I reviewed the article, Millennials Will Benefit and Suffer Due to Their Connected Lives (Anderson, 2012), and it seems the accepted “generally positive” votes in the poll among leaders was only 55% vs. 42% that believed it may have negative, if not menacing results. There were also those people who believed the impact of technology on such “hyperconnected” students might be a combination of the two. I fall into the last category, having raised three children over the courses of the decades between 1998 and current. For instance, my eldest children were restricted in their access to computers, video games, and television programming until age 5-8. After this age, they had very limiting restrictions on their use of technology. This changed as technology became more advanced, and a larger part of their classrooms and society as a whole – and I feel my children have become “lost” to me, with their eyes, and minds always turned to whatever technological product they have in hand (iPods, iPads, Laptops, Cell Phones, Game Consoles). Still, the eldest children, now ~17 and 14, have many good qualities and excel technologically compared to the generations above them (including my own), and even their peers who have had less access – being able to multi-task, researching skills, and comprehension and filtering of applicable information with little of the negatives mentioned in the article, such as, lacking face-to-face social skills, or lacking deep-thinking capabilities. My youngest child, currently 3 years old, however, seems to receive both the pros and the cons of technology equally, and this is of great concern to me as a parent – he seems intent on the instant gratification that his iPad allows – giving him games, educational opportunities, videos, pictures, and more instantly at the touch of a screen! It will be interesting to watch my children grow up in this digital age, to determine how best to navigate this digital age, allowing for the improvements that technology brings to their lives, while minimizing the negative impacts that can be associated with it, as indicated in the article. I really feel that longitudinal studies across the age ranges will yield the most accurate results not only in the impact of this digital age upon children, and our future students, but also yield insight into solutions which allow us to utilize and hone the technological advances, while minimizing the negative impacts. Will it be the case, in the future, where we have classes that teach students how to interact properly in a face-to-face social environment, and how to write by hand? Will there be classes in the future which teach our children and students how to respond when technology is down? I also have legitimate concerns about the removal of content knowledge in order to make way for more technological courses, such as the removal of cursive and handwriting from the curriculum, as the local school district tried out in my pre-teen’s writing courses last year in Northwest Indiana. How will these future citizens be able to sign their names in a secure manner, without learning cursive? In my opinion, an “X” most certainly does not mark the spot where a signature should be. It certainly left a lot of extra work for me, and for his future teachers to instruct him in how to do something that should have been taught in his prior year’s instruction to become a more successful and productive student and citizen.

Next, I was excited to see some of the very tools that I use to educate my children referenced in the section about “must-have” technologies for teaching by Maloy, et al (2013, pp. 13-14). For instance, as a mother and future teacher, I utilize three of these seven referenced technologies on a regular basis with my three-year old son:

• Internet technologies such as virtual field trips, and educational websites.  We use The Magic School bus games at the library, and take trips to far away jungles, exploring different aspects of the navigation and observations of the plants, animals, and landscape of the places we “travel” to. Sometimes, we use educational games on Nick Jr.
• Problem-solving/inquiry-learning technologies such as digital learning games and apps. These are installed on the household iPad, and are used frequently – between 3-4 times per week. We have various alphabet learning games which allow him to trace his letters, with the reward of accolades from animals, and a spoken voice on the screen, in addition to the positive reinforcement he garners from his mother and other family members. We also have virtual puzzles and matching games which enable him to problem-solve and learn. Sometimes, with help, and sometimes on his own, my son has learned to navigate these at a whim – and is learning his letters even better because of it!
• Multimedia technologies such as the camera and video-camera on the iPhone and the iPad. Based not only on my personal experiences with all three of my children utilizing most of these seven technologies, but also on my classroom observation experiences, I believe that technology belongs in the classroom and will have an overall positive effect on both student’s desire and ability to engage, learn, and expand their knowledge beyond the classroom.

Third, the authors give us strategies for learning new technologies which included creating small technology groups (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 14), which provided the example of grouped technologies enhancing the qualities of one another to provide improved learning experiences in the classroom. In particular, I took interest in the clickers, mentioned here and also in other areas in the book (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 287). One observation I made during my pedagogical studies in recent years was that there was a negative impact on student participation based upon the perception that they would be embarrassed by wrong answers, where wrong answers were corrected and used as examples. Unfortunately, this practice which assists teachers in answering the questions of students, can have an unwanted side effect of singling a student out among their peers, where bullying may find a springboard. The technology of the clickers, paired with the computer, projector and screen, allow for anonymous answers when going over exercises, reducing the fear of embarrassment, or judgment and allowing students to feel a growing self confidence in a particularly challenging assignment. This practice, as the book indicates, opens up discussions which can expand ideas and insights. This expanded discussion can aid learner’s grasp a subject, or particular concept and improve their receptivity. 

As the above video shows, the application of these grouped technologies, including, in particular, the clicker, is widely reaching and can help in terms of assessment and tracking, listed as Assessment technologies in the book by Maloy, et al (p. 13). Additionally, in our geographic area, BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) has become popular, but has limits in terms of what children have access to the tools – which my family experienced first-hand until I was able to purchase the technology required – and clickers, coupled with software available to teachers, can bridge this access gap while still increasing engagement, assessment and assessment capabilities. I see the use of clickers advancing and making a huge positive impact in all levels of group learning environments, even including identification and interception of bullying behaviors. I believe small technology groups, in particular clickers, are the wave of the future to address each of these issues, as well as creating a highly interactive, inquiry-based learning environments!

Finally, while I considered myself previously to be fairly advanced and intelligent regarding technological advancements for living and teaching in the 21^st century, clearly there are areas that are uncharted territory – both positive and negative. While there are risks for such high levels of technology usage in and out of the classroom, if a balance is found and applied, it seems the benefits far outweigh the risks. Ultimately, had I participated in the Pew Research Poll (above), I would say that new technologies in the classroom are not only a benefit, but a necessity to address many of the issues students and teachers face today – time constraints, bullying, the lack of engagement and active participation – in order to become the 21^st century teacher that our 21^st century students need.

Photo credit to svonog on Flickr

Resources

Anderson, J., & Rainie, L. (2012, February 28). Millenials will benefit and suffer due to their hyperconnected lives. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/02/29/millenials-will-benefit-and-suffer-due-to-their-hyperconnected-lives/

UofS, G. (2013, December 12). A Really Quick Guide to Student Response Systems. Retrieved January 22, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=naCloNYRzkw

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.