Social Networks and Gaming - Teens and Tech

Just in case you had any doubt, teens today seem to be immersed in technology and spend a lot of time online or texting on their phones.  The Pew Internet and American Life Project offers some startling statistics about social media usage in the US. In 2009, 73% of online American teens used social networks, mostly commenting on the pictures or walls of their friends. A smaller amount (11%) of 12-13 year olds participate in online virtual worlds like Second Life, but once they hit 14 years old, that number declines to 7%, and I'd assume that the change indicates that teens from age 14 and up start spending more time on social networks like MySpace or Facebook instead of Second Life.

Adults are spending more time on social networks too, which isn't surprising. My mom's generation seems to be really getting into Facebook and spending a lot of time on it. I personally see Facebook as a time drainer. Whenever I go on there, somehow the minutes slip away and I feel like I've accomplished nothing but looking at the comments or posts of people that I'm really not that close with or somehow ended up looking at pictures of people that I don't know that well. It's very strange, but its so easy to find yourself doing it. I find that after I've been on Facebook, I often feel like I've just wasted my time on something pointless. Yet, knowing that, I still go on it a few times a week. I can only imagine that teens are spending way more time on Facebook than I am, and the addictive quality of the social network is probably an even bigger drain on their time than mine! 

I think the heavy social network usage of teens points to a huge interest in knowing what friends are doing, in reading short snippets of info versus long blog posts, and an affinity for visually stimulating information in the form of looking through friend's pictures. I personally know how addictive it is, and I'm pretty sure that teens are spending way more time on Facebook than on their homework. If teens are spending lots of time online and prefer this form of communication, then blogging and discussion posts could be a natural way to bring some of this interest into the classroom and homework assignments. 

I also read two articles about "gaming" and it's possible implications for education. I never really considered myself much of a "gamer."  We didn't have a video game system growing up, but I had plenty of my friends who did, and who were mostly boys playing games like "Golden Eye" and "Mario Kart." I never really got into it and I still don't consider myself much of a gamer. My husband and I actually have a Nintendo Wii and a PS3, but I'll only play if it's in a social situation where we have friends over and they are interested in playing. I have a few games installed on my phone, which I play from time to time.  

In his article, "Good Video Games and Good Learning," James Paul Gee explains the learning principles that are occurring when people are playing video games. He claims that people are learning about problem solving, risk taking, getting instant feedback, and working through challenges, along with many other things. While reading this, I found myself thinking, "okay..I guess I can see that..." but I really think the design of the game, the "learned content," and whether or not the skills one is learning through the game are truly important would greatly impact whether or not I think that video games are useful in education. 

Julia Kara-Soteriou's article "Video Games for the Disengaged (not only) Students" reviewed some popular video games and explained how people are learning when they play them. She made some solid points, but I still wonder if what she is saying that "kids are learning" when playing these games is really as significant as how she presents it. I'm sure that kids are learning these things, but I don't know that the skills she alludes to are really the focus of the game. I do agree with the point, though, that video games have the ability to grab students, so if there's a way to really use them effectively, I'm sure that they could be a wonderful compliment to instruction.

I have "Angry Birds" installed on my phone. I have spent quite a bit of time playing this game over the last few weeks, and I often think of this time as being wasted after I've played for too long! It's quite addictive and I enjoy the challenge that the game presents. Now, I could make the argument that I'm learning about trajectory and physics, while planning the angle and velocity at which to hurl the birds out of the catapult at the various structures, but I honestly think I'm working more with trial and error. Even if I am using the laws of physics, I can't really explain them to you, I just know that it works better to launch your bird in a certain way in a certain situation. I'm not convinced that "Angry Birds" should be pawned off as "educational" even though technically I'm learning.

I see my 9 and 10 year old students talking about Pokemon and the other games they play on their Nintendo DS systems. Yes, I think they've learned a lot of skills in that game, but whether or not those skills transfer to something useful in real life has yet to be determined. 

I found this video game that teaches multiplication skills last year called Timez Attack and I think its awesome. It is different from most flash-based math facts games because it actually builds on your understanding and works towards mastery, rather than just blasting you with random math facts without any rhyme or reason behind which ones you are asked to answer. It keeps track of your progress and uses spaced-intervals to review your math facts to make sure you are working towards mastery. This is really something I'd recommend if you're looking to use video games to help kids learn. Timez Attack is also very visually stimulating and looks like a real video game. However, multiplication facts are a very rote process. I'd be very interested to see some video games that people think are teaching higher level skills that kids need. 

Kids love video games. I'm all for using them to help them learn if they REALLY are learning what we want them to learn. It's true that they learn problem solving and are pushing themselves through challenges. They can allow kids to work on their individual level and not be constrained to whole-class teaching. However, I think as teachers we really have to evaluate the games we would use to see if kids are really learning what we think they are learning. Hopefully the video game makers will take this cue and start making some high-quality educational games! 

SMART Exchange

During our most recent superintendent's conference day, our district took part in a number of teacher-led "workshops" focusing around RTI and technology. I was lucky enough to be able to attend a SMARTboard workshop, taught by our science teacher (one of three teachers in the elementary school who has a SMARTboard in her room).

She gave us a fabulous tutorial, which left us all basically drooling for a SMARTboard. However, the reality is that we only have SMARTboards in the science room, computer lab, and library. Our principal recognizes that many teachers have an interest in utilizing this great resource, however, it just hasn't been in the budget yet! So in the meantime, we are going to start implementing a "sign up" system for anyone who wants to use the SMARTboard, during the free periods in those rooms (unfortunately, there aren't many free periods!).  

While browsing through SMART Exchange, a website where teachers can exchange SMART notebook lessons, I found tons of ideas for what I'm teaching in 4th grade! Its so incredible and useful to be able to share lessons so easily with other educators.

I came across a great lesson about the "Parts of Speech" (submitted by Erin Cole) which we just did in my 4th grade reading and writing workshop. I was blown away by this lesson and it really highlighted how powerful a SMARTboard can be in a classroom. In an attempt to create "interactive" lessons (without a SMARTboard), I've probably spent hours writing on sentence strips and chart paper - taping, coloring, laminating, etc. But to be able to download this lesson, and tweak it to make it my own, is just incredible to me! Even if I had created this lesson in SMARTnotebook from scratch, I'm sure I would've saved tons of time! 

But even more importantly, this lesson truly engages students! I love how the students can click on a button to reveal the definition of the different parts of speech. On top of that, the many "word sorts" really help students see examples and build an understanding of the types of words we are talking about. Then, when students are asked to apply their knowledge, they can drag a "star" above the nouns in the sentence, underline the verbs, place checks above the adjectives, etc., This makes the teaching point very clear for students! The creator even included a little "hint" button on the side of some of the pages to re-define the type of word, in case students got stuck, which I thought really would help to support kids who struggle. 

Finally, the inclusion of a Sentio quiz (where each student has a hand-held interactive response keyboard), helps the teacher assess student understanding and allows for participation from all kids, which is essential. We don't have a Sentio system at school, but my friends have told me about them and they sound really cool and useful. It's funny, because they remind me of those little hand-held things that the audience used at the end of "America's Funniest Home Videos" when they were voting for their favorite video in the final round! 

So, I'm loving playing around with SMART notebook and SMART exchange, but I'm still kind of bummed that I don't have a IWB in my classroom! I think it will be nice to use the one I can "sign up for" every once in a while, but I don't think I'm really going to be able to realize the full potential of this tool until I have one in my classroom and can really play around with it. I'm hoping that day comes sooner than later!

Open Source Software for the Classroom

Thea idea of open source software is awesome. It's free to use - you can customize it to suit your needs - and it was probably built in a collaborative environment. When it comes to schools with tight budgets, it makes sense to scour the web to find some open source options that might suit your needs.

I've known about OpenOffice.org for a while, as my husband never wanted to spend money on buying a license for Microsoft Office on his computers. I, on the other hand, always opted to get the license because I wanted full functionality of all of the MS Office programs for my grad school work and for teaching. Open Office has come a long way, and it can really do most of the things that MS office does- but it's free! It might make sense to use something like this in an Elementary setting, because right now, the students are barely cracking the surface of what is possible to do in MS office. Open Office could really suit their needs and save money for other technology resources. However, teachers may miss some of the functionality of MS office if they didn't have access to it.

I was trying to find a different open source application to review, other than OpenOffice, but I have to say that I wasn't that impressed with what I saw.  TuxTyping is a free, downloadable typing software program that you could use in schools or in students' homes. The arcade-style background music was a bit of a turn-off at first! This basic program isn't too bad, and let's kids practice typing skills in a game-format, where they have to type the letter before various things happen, like the penguin is trying to catch the fish in  his mouth before they fall to the ground.

I wasn't a huge fan of TuxTyping though, and I'll tell you why. It doesn't TEACH the kids how to type, it merely presents letters in random order, or words by category, like animals, or colors, etc. Kids need typing programs to teach them how to type - starting with the home row, and building off of that, there should be a sequential path of introducing letters and integrating ones already learned, rather than randomness. I've found DanceMat Typing, to be a much better free alternative, though not open source, in that it builds from the home row keys and is a bit more interactive and fun.

I'm sure there are a lot of other great open source programs/software out there, but I wasn't too impressed with Tux Typing!

Personal Learning Environments - "LMS vs. PLE"

I just read one of Mohamed Amine Chatti's posts about Personal Learning Environments (PLEs). Before choosing which post to respond to, I have to say that I felt a little overwhelmed by all the acronyms - PLE, MLS, VLE, TEL, etc!

However, the article I picked, which was entitled, "LMS vs. PLE," really got me thinking about how technology can be used in many different ways to promote learning. In the LMS (Learning Management System) framework, technology seems to be a means of delivering teacher/institution specified content, and uses specific tools for students to learn. Students follow a framework, such as a syllabus, or modules, to complete course work, and are using specified technology to do so. The Blackboard system that Pace University uses seems like a very good example of a LMS.

Chatti is critical of LMSs because he thinks they are too "institution/teacher" driven (course syllabus and tasks are predetermined, and they employ a "knowledge-push" method of learning). PLEs, rather, are a collection of all of the tools that a student uses to learn, including email, blogs, rss, webpages, social networks, etc. A PLE is not determined by the teacher or institution, but is personal for each individual.

 PLEs sound like a great way of learning, but as a teacher, I feel there needs to be some central and connecting environment to actually "be" the PLE, especially if you are working with children, because it can help them organize information and have a central place to see all of their tools and problem solve about which ones will help them within specific learning tasks.

I think Symbaloo EDU seems like a very cool way to help students create PLEs. That way they can have all of their tools in one space in an organized and efficient system. Without a central location, I think kids might be too overwhelmed with how to find the resources they need to learn about something in a meaningful and valuable way.

Now, if you're talking about someone teaching themself how to do something, then undoubtedly, they'd be using their PLE, but it may not "be" in a central space like Symbaloo. Someone using their PLE, may just look like them logging in to their email, checking their RSS feeds, doing internet searches, etc.

I feel like a lot of advocates of PLE stress that the learning should be completely student-centered and not directed by a teachers and institutions. However, I'm pretty sure that I would not be learning nearly as much about "Designing Standards Based Technology-Enhanced Curriculum" if I was just teaching myself through my PLE. The structure of the syllabus and week to week modules in Blackboard give me a framework in which to move through. Figuring out the same information on my own might have taken much longer, or I might have missed out on knowing about many of the tools I've been exposed to through this class. However, to be honest, there are a lot of things about Blackboard that I'm not crazy about. For example, it would be great if you could have RSS feeds about posts you write in the discussion board. Right now, it seems like the only way to see if someone responded to you is to log in and find that specific post. Knowing about how RSS works and Google reader, I just think it would be cool if you got some notifications that someone wrote back to you. So in this instance, I think it would've been nice to have been able to use a different tool for discussion threads/posts than the one blackboard has. I guess that supports the argument for PLEs, so that you can use your own tools, rather than the ones predetermined for you by the institution.

But no matter which way you slice it, and without getting too caught up in acronyms, I think that taking a course on something, and working through tasks in an organized way, that has been planned and thought out by an expert teacher, is still a great way of learning something. As long as components of individualized choices are worked in to the mix, it can be a great balance. I think it would be even more true for children, because many need the structure to be able to navigate through and accomplish something. At the same time, they need differentiation based on their interests, learning styles, and abilities.

Rugrat-ical Technology

I chuckled to myself when I read the title of Gaetan Pappalardo's blog, "Rugrat-ical Technology: Five Truths of Teaching Tech to Elementary Students."  I feel like I'm being exposed to all of this awesome technology through the ed. tech. course I'm taking, but as an elementary teacher, some of the coolest resources I come across seem like they might be too challenging or not appropriate to implement with my little "rugrats."

So, instead of getting bummed out about the fact that my kids only have a 9-year old's technology skill set, I should embrace their newbie-ness and let them "go mess up!" as Gaean, says.

One of the most important points he brings up is that you have to give kids lots of time with a tool before you can expect them to really be able to use it. He frames this as "Time + Exposure = Progress."

This is something that is so important to remember. Very often, even when I felt like I gave the most clear, well-modeled, and organized lesson about how to do something in the computer lab, I often found myself running back and forth between their workstations to kids who have hit some sort of "bump in the road." However, today I had a discussion with my kids about "problem solving" with the computer. We talked about how sometimes, they are going to feel like they're not sure what to do, and that their initial reaction might be to raise their hands and start calling out my name, "Mrs. Mattison...Mrs. Mattison....I don't know what do click on next!" However, I challenged them to try to stop and think through some options before immediately calling me over to fix it. Maybe they could try clicking the back button, or on a different link, or reading the text on the page again, etc. And part of my responsibility will be to make sure they feel comfortable enough to try! I have a feeling that a lot of kids have hesitation about doing something "wrong" with the computer or somehow "breaking it" by clicking on or doing the right thing. But ultimately, they need to get in there, get their "hands dirty" and try to figure some things out! Of course, I'll always be there to support them, but I want them to know that its okay for them to explore a little more, and try to figure out how to solve some of the problems they run into.

Why Wiki?

Until recently, I didn't have much experience with wikis, other than Wikipedia. I knew that wikis provided a collaborative and interactive writing platform, but I hadn't really thought about them being used in school settings. Although I'm becoming more aware of the ways that wikis can be used with students, at this point, I'm much more drawn to the idea of using wikis in schools as a platform for collaboration and information sharing among administrators, teachers, and staff.

In her July 2009 post, "8 Ways to Use a School Wiki to Increase Communication, Collaboration, and Enrich Instruction,"  Lisa Nielson (The Innovative Educator) describes how wikis can cut down on paperwork, increase instructional time, and significantly improve curriculum mapping and planning, among many other things! As I read this post, I found myself saying, "Yes! This is what we need!" after every example she gave.

I played a significant role in updating our elementary school's ELA curriculum maps for the latest ELA evaluation by the Board of Ed.  Currently, our maps are saved in a "Teacher Share Drive" on our server, which all teachers can access. I even showed the ELA mapping committee how to "link" lesson plans to the maps using hyperlinks within MS Word. Everyone was very impressed with the linking feature, but the problem is, our "teacher share drive" has become ridiculously unorganized and inundated with files and most people can't remember how to get to the maps! Even if teachers do navigate their way to the maps or lessons, they are merely MS Word documents, and don't have any of the discussion or collaboration features of a wiki. If someone accidentally makes an unwanted change, its very difficult to undo it and we have to wait for the BOCES tech to come and try to retrieve it from the file logs.

Wikis could be a breath of fresh air for our curriculum mapping. Teachers could add their comments and thoughts through the discussion feature, and changes could be tracked, logged, and "undone" if necessary. Everyone could upload and add their resources for each unit to one place, with a place for comments, feedback, and reflection (which I think is one of the most valuable features). Additionally, teachers could access and add to this valuable information from home (which we aren't able to do currently). With real-time collaboration, teachers could really benefit from sharing resources and experiences, and save themselves from re-inventing the wheel. This article makes me want to sign up for the next available workshop for "Bringing wikis into your school."

Convincing the administration that its a good idea and getting teachers on board...? That might take some more effort, but I know that it will be a much-needed step in the right direction.

Teacher Evaluation: A Starting Point for Action | Edutopia

I read a blog from Edutopia this week, which discussed teacher evaluation, and the issues that are arising surrounding this issue.

I was blown away when I first heard about how the LA Times used a "value-added" formula to rate teacher effectiveness, based on students growth on standardized test performance, and then published the results in the newspaper and an online database. Almost every teacher I know agrees that while standarized tests can give some information about skills that students have/haven't mastered yet, they should only be viewed as a "snapshot" of a child and is certainly not the best measure of their learning.  However, the reputation of teachers and their effectiveness are being tied to these tests, and this model looks like it will be here to stay.

What really struck a chord in me, about this blog, was the assertion that, if we want to raise the bar in public education, we really need to find out what is working and what isn't with the way we are teaching and give teachers the support and feedback they need, without using it as a shaming tool.

With the adoption of the Common Core Standards, and the "Race to the Top" initiative, states have also agreed to rework their teacher evaluation systems, and those states will be moving to a system that ties a percentage of a teacher's effectiveness rating to their students' performance on standardized testing and locally created testing. Our district is going to be negotiating our contract this spring, and the new teacher effectiveness measures and system are going to be part of what is negotiated.

While I agree that students should be making progress towards standards and that teachers need to be accountable for their students' learning, I feel like this value-added model and the idea of publishing it in the newspaper could turn into a very slippery slope, very quickly. Teachers should be supported in the areas that they could improve, without it being published in the newspaper - especially since the "value added" model has many critics who say it isn't an accurate portrayal of who the child really is.

I really think this is going to shake things up at schools across the country. If we can really figure out some of the qualities/strategies/skills that are involved in solid and effective teaching, I think that would be great. But its certainly going to be a challenging task, met with plenty of opposition!

Here are some more interesting articles about this subject:
http://www.workers.org/2010/us/education_0916/
http://californiawatch.org/watchblog/panel-debate-measuring-teacher-effectiveness-5085
http://rye.patch.com/articles/how-will-race-to-the-top-affect-classrooms-in-rye-and-blind-brook