Andrea Seaner
11/29/10
Technology Final Project
Students of the 21st century will need to have superior technology skills to compete in the world. It’s important for teachers to recognize this and teach their students these skills so that they are successful. If teachers want their students to develop 21st century skills, they need to provide them with a 21st century learning environment. A 21st century learning environment can be defined as “support systems that organize the condition in which humans learn best – systems that accommodate the unique learning needs of every learner and support the positive human relationships needed for effective learning” (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, n.d.). A 21st century learning environment should be rich with technology to help students learn skills they will need for the future. Students should be able to use this technology to participate in technology based activities, such as wikis, blogs, podcasts, and presentation programs to help students strengthen these skills and become competent.
One way that a teacher can help students embrace this technology is by incorporating Mobile Internet Devices (MIDs) into the classroom. These devices can be used for a wide range of activities. Students today enjoy using technology on a daily basis. They use applications like Twitter and Facebook regularly to keep up with their friends and gather information about the world. They use cell phones and text messaging to communicate daily as well. Students crave technology and science has shown that their brains have been modified to accommodate these new skills. Students today learn differently than their parents and technology can help to increase motivation, attention, and creativity. I am applying for this grant so that I can incorporate these devices into my upper elementary classroom. My students already enjoy using technology and I think by incorporating these devices into my classroom that I can help increase their achievement.
I plan to use the MIDs in the classroom in a variety of ways, however, before the students receive one of these devices I will have them and their parents sign an agreement form. The form will let the students know how they are expected to take care of the device and what they are and are not allowed to do with it. They will be asked to only use it for school activities and communication with me and other students. They are not to use it for personal communication or the storing of personal data, such as pictures and video. They will be requested to only visit appropriate websites. The agreement will also include a section on cyber bullying and respect and will remind them of how to interact with others when using the device. The students will be asked to make sure that they charge the device every night and make sure it is ready to go each morning for class. Any violation of the agreement may result in a suspension of use of the device or taking it away altogether.
In a 21st century learning environment, “educators need access to tools and resources to share knowledge and practice with other professionals, interact with experts in their field, and connect with their students, families, and communities” (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, n.d.). Therefore, I will be using the MIDs as a communication device and it will become the main source of communication for the class. The students can use the text/email functions of the MIDs to ask me questions and communicate information. Currently, if a student has a question about an assignment, they have to wait until the next day to ask me (and by then it’s too late!). A MID can help students to get their questions answered faster and enables them to hand in work on time. I can use it to send texts/emails with reminders to students, such as due dates, special events, etc. The MID should have some type of calendar feature which will help students stay organized and keep track of important dates. The students can use the device to communicate with each other while working on class projects or helping each other with assignments.
Using the MIDs would change the way that I give homework completely. Many students have trouble keeping up with homework as they get into the upper grades. Students have busy lives that include activities, sports, and family functions. Typically, I have students copy their assignments into a paper assignment book, in which they carry with them back and forth to school. Problems that arise with these assignment books are that they can get lost or students may not copy the assignments correctly. A MID may help to keep them organized and help them complete their assignments on time. First of all, I would not have students copy their homework in their paper assignment books anymore. I would post it to the class wiki where students could access it whenever they wanted. The students wouldn’t have to worry about copying the assignments or losing their books. I would also assign more internet and technology based homework assignments. For example, I currently send home a weekly paper reading comprehension packet, a weekly math packet, and spelling words each week. I would experiment with different types of reading assignments, such as scanning in the reading packet as a PDF and have students type their answers in MS Word and email the file to me. I could also assign articles to read on the internet through websites like Time for Kids, Kid Biz, and Scholastic News. For math, I could send documents with math problems for them to solve and Excel activities. I could also design math activities thorough sites like Compass Learning and have them practice basic math facts through websites like www.fun4thebrain.com. For writing, students can keep an online journal. There are many possibilities for internet based homework and I think this aspect would motivate students to complete their work. The MID will help students to access to their homework 24/7 from anywhere so this may help some busy students keep up with the workload.
In order for students to develop 21st century skills, they need to participate in tasks in which they work collaboratively with other students. One way that they can work collaboratively is by working on a Problem Based Learning scenario with a partner or group of students. In Problem-Based Learning, students are given real life scenarios that are similar to what professionals experience in their daily lives. According to Howard Barrows, the students are presented with the problem first before learning information about the topic (Barrett, 2005). They are asked to use their knowledge and critical thinking skills to come up with a solution to the problem (De Gallow, n.d.). Problem-Based Learning uses constructivist views in that the activities are student centered and relevant to the students. Students are asked to synthesize information and incorporate it with the knowledge the already have to solve a problem. The students are active, not passive in their learning. The teacher takes a step back and gives more control to the students. Many of the activities I plan to have students complete with the MIDs are based upon the constructivist theory and involve PBL.
One of the websites that I will use the most with the MIDs is a wiki/blog, most likely through a site like www.wikispaces.com. I will create a class wiki in which we will be able to communicate with each other and share information. This will take the place of the current webpage that I use now. The current website I have is through Schoolwires. Although this application allows me to post documents and information, the students are not able to post anything and cannot communicate with it. On this wiki, I will post all classroom information, such as homework assignments, a calendar of important events, upload any documents that might be needed by students, links to frequently used websites, etc. Students will be required to check this site on a daily basis and use it as a method to communicate with one another. I will create posts that students need to respond to pertaining to classroom topics and discussions. Students will need to write a minimum number of posts per week. The students can use this wiki as a tool to help them work with a partner or group on a Problem Based Learning activity. They can upload files to share with one another. I will also use the wiki as an online textbook that they students will help to create. They will share information with each other, upload videos/pictures, and post links to websites pertaining to the topic. The students can use the wiki to blog about certain topics, such as book reviews and current events.A link to a sample wiki page can be found below.
One project idea that I would like to have my students participate in is a writing project using the wiki. Students will be working on a variety of writing projects throughout the year and I usually have students conference with each other and have them share ideas on how they can improve their writing. In addition to doing this with a partner face-to-face, students can post their written work on the wiki for all students to read. They can read each other’s writing projects and give each other feedback on things that they liked about each other’s writing and what they could do to make it better. Typically, I would have the students present a partner a paper copy of their written work and the students would comment on the strengths of their piece and offer suggestions. By posting their work online, instead of just getting one student’s opinion, they could get the opinions of the entire class. This would give the student a lot more feedback and giving them an opportunity to become better writers.
Throughout the year, I will incorporate many more collaborative projects into the classrooms using the MIDs. Students of the 21st century should engage in collaborative projects with their classmates in order to develop important communication skills for later on in life. Students will be able to work on these collaborative projects with their group outside of school hours because they will always have a way to communicate with one another. They will be able to share information back and forth easily. Students will be able to collaborate on presentations using sites like Prezi. They will be able to make podcasts using programs like Audacity. Since the MIDs come equipped with picture and video capabilities, I will incorporate movie making projects into the curriculum. The students could create a video about a topic (such as a commercial, advertisement, parody, etc) and upload it easily onto the class wiki. Slideshows could be made in a flash using websites like Flickr, Animoto, and Comic Life. By working on these types of projects with their classmates, students will help each other develop important skills for the future.
In addition to participating in collaborative projects with their classmates, I would like to have students participate in projects with students from other schools through the web. Students can work with other students from across the country and even across the globe. Students can communicate with each other through the web with sites like Ning, Blogger, and Wikispaces. They can share videos, pictures, and documents with one another. They can even speak to one another through live chat using programs like Skype. Collaborating with students from across the world will help students to develop respect for one another and for groups of people who are different from themselves.
The MIDs will be running the Andriod operating system, which had many educational applications that can be downloaded onto the MIDs. I plan to have students download many of these educational applications to help them with their assignments and with learning in general. One example of an application that would be helpful is one called Math Ref. This application includes many frequently used math equations and definitions. The students could use this as a reference when working on math homework assignments. Another great application is called World Countries. Students could use this application to help with social studies and geography assignments. Another application is the Merriam- Webster’s Dictionary, which is free. Students could use this application to help with vocabulary and proofreading their written assignments. Students could use other tools for helping them with their work, such as hardback dictionaries and atlases; however the applications on the MIDs would make it much easier and faster for students to access this information. They would be able to accomplish more learning and more work because they wouldn’t be slowed down by searching for the right tool. There are many more great applications for Android that can be downloaded and help to improve the students’ learning.
As a teacher, I believe that it is important to prepare our students for the future. This means we need to be incorporating 21st century skills and activities into our classrooms. These activities should involve constructivist theories and have the students take control of their own learning. The MIDs are a great way to incorporate Problem Based Learning activities into the classroom. These devices will help students to collaborate with one another and with students around the world. Students will be able to learn about teamwork and respect for one another. Their creativity skills will flourish and they will develop higher level thinking skills. All of these skills will help them to be successful in the future, no matter what path they choose to take.
Resources:
Barrett, T. (2005). Understanding problem-based learning. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://www.aishe.org/readings/2005-2/chapter2.pdf
De Gallow. (n.d.).What is problem-based learning? Retrieved December 12, 2010, from http://www.pbl.uci.edu/whatispbl.html
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). 21st Century Learning Environments. Retrieved December 12, 2010, from https://my.arcadia.edu/bbcswebdav/courses/FALL2010.ED569B.OL1/21st%20Cent%20Learning%20Environments.pdf
