Assessment...the unanswered question.

A major barrier to creating a constructivist classroom built around technology is assessment.

In the age of standardized testing and emphasis on summative assessments I question how this model can be achieved. In all of the theory and ideas about the use of technology in the classroom there are few suggestions to how we will assess student learning. The measurement needs to be valid and reliable and as of yet, I have not seen a blue print to what this "could" look like. For me this is a major downfall. If I implement these great ideas, I am going to be asked how I know they are learning? Where is the data? I have no real answer. I could show student projects and what they have constructed, but I can just hear the response. How are all these different products reliable and valid? The truth is I am not sure. I am anxious to learn about how I can create a technology laden constructivist classroom, while successfully assessing student learning.

We know the 5 W's...

Who
What
When
Where
Why


The theory, the reason, the ideas...I understand the importance. In fact, it is all very interesting, but I am finding that there is something lacking...

The HOW....

All too often in any form of education we learn about the 5 W's. We sit in a room and theorize about the mysteries of the universe. Sipping on our coffee and contemplating what we should be teaching or why. In the end, the how tends to be left out of the conversation. If it is mentioned, it is often in isolation and therefore holds little significance. This technology class has done a better job at asking us how we would use the technology in the classroom. However, the dialogue amongst our peers about the how's are usually left out. We submit our ideas and usually only the professor sees them. I would love to see us have to post different ways we would use the technology in the classroom to our classmates or give one example during class of what we could do with the technology. I think if we could share the how's with one another, we would leave any class with so much more valuable information.

In fact, ultimately without the how....what's the point of all the W's?

Access Denied

Access denied....Access denied...Access denied....

Utter frustration is all that I feel.

Once again, I have been denied by my districts firewalls to access various websites that I need for class. I understand the necessity to have things in place to protect the school and the students from accessing certain sites, but why can't the building trust the teachers?

I want to create meaningful lessons for my students that engage them. One way to do this is by making it relevant. I thought connecting the content to short videos would be great...too bad I can't access any site like YouTube or even MSN video. I learned about a great site for geography teachers called Google Earth. Denied, we wouldn't want students or teachers learning about the geography of the Earth. I am at a loss, so I go to ask some of my colleagues for ideas or maybe my professors, but once again....Access denied. I guess the University of Minnesota's website is too controversial for me to look at. I create a website so that my students can access resources, assignments, and information from home. I was unpleasantly surprised when I tried to open the site from school, again denied. This isn't even mentioning the disservice this policy has on our students learning.

I want my students to construct sites that help them understand the content. I want them to share the information they are learning and find people who have similar academic interests. I want them to develop a better understanding together, each adding the information that they know. I really think these types of things will increase ownership, engagement, meaning, and in turen learning. However, this is not possible when every wiki site, blogging site, and web creation site is blocked. There is no space for students to do an online chat and they certainly couldn't use a social bookmarking site, like del.icio.us, because that is far too risky. There seems to be no way for my students to share information utilizing technology in a meaningful way, because it is all blocked.

So, here in lies the dilemma. How am I supposed to use all of these valuable pieces of technology I am learning about in my classroom if the students and I do not have access to it? How can I prepare them for the digital age we live in when the district is still ruminating in the stone age? I think that a reevaluation of the system is in order, otherwise out students are going to be the ones who are left behind and suffer. In the end it will be learning....

denied.

My aspirations to be a DJ...

How can I create my own radio station?
How can I be confident that I am getting the best price when I book a flight?
How do I access my favorite websites from various computers?
Where are the best spaces to create and edit information?

The answers to all of these questions lies in exploring Web 2.0 technology. I have been amazed at all of the things I can do with Web 2.0 and open source programs. This week I went and explored various sites and I have been so impressed.

I can officially say that I am addicted to Pandora: www.pandora.com. On this website one can create their own radio station. It is so user friendly and entertaining. The amount of music the site has is impressive. I can't wait to create a global music station that I can use in my Human Geography class.

I always experience a level of anxiety when I book a flight. Now that I know about www.farecast.com I don't think that I will be as worried. This sites compares all the major sites, but the most impressive feature was how the computer predicts if prices will go up, stay the same, or go down. This isn't necessarily related to education, but I think it highlights the scope and magnitude of web 2.0 sites available for our use.

www.delicious.com is a great tool for students and educators. I hate it when I add a really great websites to my favorites at home and then get to school and can't find the site. Delicious eliminates this problem. Once I tag the site with delicious it is stored in on online database that I can access from any computer. The great thing is that I can also set up groups. I could collaborate with my colleagues and share sites that are useful in the classroom and we can all access the sites. Students could work with children from different schools and collaborate on projects using this site. It is a great tool to organize the vast amount of information we find on the web.

I want to develop a class wiki where my students create a book of the course content. I thought it would be a great way for the students to evaluate and summarize what they thought was the most important in each unit. There are so many wiki sites out there. The one I really liked, after a little perusing was www.wetpaint.com. I felt that this site was very easy to use and the design was superior to the other sites I looked at. I look forward to trying it out in my classes.

These are just a few of the Web 2.0 sites I looked at. I didn't even discuss sites such as facebook, zoho, or youtube. The web 2.0 resources I am finding online are extremly valuable and useful. I feel I have been opened up to a whole other world and the possibilities are endless!

Second Life as Real Life???

After reading the articles about Web 2.0, I have been thinking about all of the implications for my classroom. Mainly, I am interested in Second Life or programs like it. I think it could be so valuable in my Human Geography classroom. I imagine my students constructing an understanding of the world around them through creating their own world. They could study culture through creating people who practice different religions, dress in unique ways, speak various languages, or live in a different government. As their world grew they would begin to see first hand the population implications and how resources are limited. Politics and economics would also be very interesting in this context, because the student would be able to set it up and see how it played out. The final area that would be very interesting to study is environmental implications of human actions. It would be great to have students implement different types of pollution or live a certain type of lifestyle and see what happened to the world around them. These are pie in the sky ideas...at least I think they are.

Ultimately, I do not know what is possible. I know programs like this are expensive. So I will overlook that for a second. I wonder how I could assess the learning in my classroom. What constitutes understanding culture, politics, economics, or any other topic in geography? I am hopeful that much more information is to come and that the advances we are making in this area will continue to expand and improve. I do believe this type of activity would greatly increase meaningfulness and help the students connect abstract ideas to their own experiences. In turn, this should increase learning.

I think, therefore I know?

The Internet is changing the way the people attain information and learn. In our society gaining a diploma or degree is how we show that we are qualified to do a particular job. In the past this was necessary. You could not go on-line and learn the information on your own. With the growing use of the Internet this is definitely changing. Berkeley has decided to put many of their lectures on YouTube so that the community as a whole has access to the information ( http://youtube.com/ucberkeley ). They are interested in sharing knowledge. So what does this mean for the current state of education? At what point do companies or people hire someone, because they can demonstrate knowledge previously not attainable without a higher degree? Will this practice ever change? Will what having a higher degree means change? The ability to home school your child is completely different than it was 20 years ago. The curriculum and information available online is incredible; everything from itunes university podcasts to sites like http://www.curriki.org/. I am not sure, but I do believe that things have to change with the times. International schools are going to become much more appealing to those who want to become knowledgeable about the global world in which we live. The advances made in Web 2.0 are making this kind of interaction much more accessible and effective. We do not have to read a book about the culture in a particular region of the world. We can talk to someone from the region and they can tell us. Better yet we can virtually travel there and be submersed in a different culture, all without leaving the house. Could you argue that it’s different than actually going there, could you argue that it’s not “real”? Of course you could, but be careful because we are also in the midst of redefining the word “real”.

The bottom line is that our ability to attain information and learn in different ways is growing exponentially. This change is not a change for the few, it is a change that provides opportunity to the masses. You no longer have to live somewhere to get a feel for the town, get a job from a company in that town, or learn from the professors that work at the University in that town. The way information is presented is changing as much as the way we are seeking information. The question is, is how we turn information into knowledge changing? Does it need to?

PowerPoint as a Mindtool

As I sit and listen to my administrator process through the second PowerPoint of the morning, I can't help but think of the article "PowerPoint is Evil". Here I am at a professional development session being lectured about how we need to take an interactive approach to engaging our students, all the while watching a linear, traditional PowerPoint. Boring! The wheels start turning and I begin to imagine what it is like to be a student, watching PowerPoint after PowerPoint...and I can see how PowerPoint can be evil, but it doesn't have to be. It has the potential to be so much more.

Ever since I read the article my perception of PowerPoint has changed. I never used to question its effectiveness and I assumed because everyone used it, that it was great. Don't get me wrong, I see the value in PowerPoint, however recently I have begun to can see how not to utilize it. Creating a nonlinear PowerPoint has helped me see how interesting and engaging PowerPoint can be. The key is to being creative with its use and not just using it as a presentation tool. The students can use it to construct their own understanding of the content. They can embed video, sound, and images. If the PowerPoint is non-linear it could be used as a sort of website or tool to create a portfolio of their work. The possibilities are endless. They key is to be non-linear and think outside of the box. To all the concrete sequential folks this may seem like a nightmare, but I think if we could focus more on the process and less on the presentation that everyone would benefit.

Tangible Engagement

To me, there is something to be said about holding something in your hands. Whether it is a photograph, a book, or the artwork from a CD. I am more engaged and it feels more meaningful when it is 'real'. When I have conversations with my friends they concur. They gripe about teachers who put all of the readings online, complaining that they would rather pay the $20 to pick them up at Copies Plus. They explain that they can't read online and that it's too hard to get engaged with the text if they can't hold it and write on it. I nod my head and agree. I too, like to sit down, hold the text in my hands, and doodle my thoughts in the margins. We lament over the end of printed materials...the day when all of our books are electronic. I mention, "it just won't feel the same", and then I begin to feel like my parents talking about 'The Good Ole' Days'. I begin to wonder if I will be part of the last generation that feels this way.

I did not grow up with technology and it is not second nature to be 'connected', but my students did. They have been reading text online for years. So, I wonder, is it just as easy for them to get engaged with something online as it is with a piece of paper? Maybe it is even more engaging online, because like me and my tangible items, it is what they are used to.

I mention these rantings, because they highlight a question I have about agency. As I meander through the computer lab I am well aware that my students are very engaged when they are constructing an understanding online. They seem empowered and interested in what they are doing. I think that this is partially due to the fact that they get to decide what they are looking at. In addition, I wonder if they are engaged, because they are so used to doing it. When I think of my mom doing the same thing. She would not be engaged; she would be lost. I imagine her frustrated and bored. She would not be using the computer to construct an understanding, she would feel controlled and used by the computer. In this case, all sense of agency is lost. Her story reminds me of all of my students who do not have access to computers. Students who get in the computer lab and are disengaged. I think it is important to think about how much of the engagement we see with our students (or teachers) is due to accessibility and comfort with technology? In addition, how do we gauge computer literacy in order to help our students succeed in the 21st century?

Is technology cold? I don't mean chilly.

So...I've been thinking about a comment that I read this week about how technology is impersonal. I really do not know what I think. With computers between us do we miss out on that human contact or in the age of technology is the concept of human contact going to change? Is there a generational gap? Do people who have grown up in this technological age feel more comfortable when they are "connected", do they feel like they are having human contact when they are interacting with their friends online? I do not have any answers...I do not even have a hypothesis. This concept of human contact being beyond physical space is just very interesting to me.

What would need to occur in order to force quick, sweeping change in education? We move at a snails pace when enacting change, but is this technological revolution different? Is it a true revolution? Will our education system have to change in order to survive? I imagine if countries started surpassing us (like they are) and education becomes much more accessible online....people would begin to look elsewhere for their education. Will a demand for something more effective, and the availability of more global options fuel an educational transformation?

Blogging

I have learned a great deal about blogging. Initially when I started this project I thought of blogs as a means to communicate with your friends or post your own ideas, somewhat like a journal. I still see its use as a journal of sorts, but now I can see the value of utilizing it in education. Blogging may be used as a means to communicate with my colleagues and further develop our professional abilities. It could be used by our department to store valuable articles or ideas about the field. Blogging is also great for the students and enhances the learning process by making it more interactive and meaningful. Students could create their own blog, construct a blog on a topic with classmates, or blog with people from all over the world. The opportunities are endless.

Through creating my blog I can also see how much more there is to learn. I thought after the first day that was all there was to do. Then on the second class we learned about all of the different features that enhance one's blog. These features made my blog so much more interesting. I never would have found all of that information if I had not dug deeper and played with the technology. I imagine there is so much more to discover.

Thoughts on Mindtools

I took this course, because I support utilizing technology inside the classroom. After reading the assigned articles I am begining to see just how valueable it is. The main things that I learned this week from the readings is how narrow my understanding of technology truly is. Two things really struck me. First, I saw how I tend to use technology as a means to help people study or display something that they already know versus utilizing the technology to learn. The article on Mindtools really opened my eyes to seeing the potential in using tech. to construct an understanding. I especially appreciated the portion that discussed how to get the most out of your computer and the student i.e., use the computer for retrieval and the student for problem solving. In addition, I saw how technology is the perfect tool to help my students construct their own understanding of the content in an active and meaningful way.

It becomes difficult to narrow down all of the ways that technology is relevant in education. In the end, I do not believe there are many things that are more relevant. Our world is becoming increasingly complicated and information is expanding beyond our comprehention. The only way students will be able to process, understand and manipulate this information effectivly is through the utilization of tech. Technology makes the information active, relevant, fluid, and meaningful. If we do not use it in education, I feel we are doing our students a huge disservice.

I was asked how I will make a difference through using technology. To me that seems like a loaded question. It seems difficult to not make a difference. What will students lose if teachers do not use technology? In the end, if I work to integrate tech in my classroom I can see only benefits.

However, I can discuss all of the reasons that tech. is great, but there are always concerns and questions. As I read the articles several questions popped up. How do I access effective technology? How do I afford it? What do I do in a school that there is little access to technology? Where do I learn how to integrate it properly? How do I assess what students learning? How does one balance the push towards satisfying LOT content standards with letting students construct an understanding of content that has no defined goal? How do we teach students to interact with the information in a meaningful way? How do we structure an assignment, while still keeping it open enough so that it meets the diverse needs and abilities of our learners?

I have no doubt that there are solutions out there. I look forward to learning more.

Hello...

This is an attempt at my first blog. I hope to share ideas and construct a better understanding of technology. Maybe by the end of this I will be a savvy consumer of technology.

Here's hoping. :)