Calculator Scare

I heard a story on NPR today about how Texas Instruments invented the electronic calculator 40 years ago. I looked at my husband and asked "how did my parents do math when they were in their twenties?" I imagined my mom sitting in a mustard colored room trying to use an abacus to solve division problems. I could not believe that the calculator is so new! I would never be able to maneuver my way through my math or physics homework without my graphing calculator. Were my parents not subjected to math problems of the same caliber? This may sound naive, but I really never thought about life without a calculator. I remember life without computers, but a calculator seemed so basic.

This shock made me think of how dependent we become on technology, which is something we read about in Neal Postman's work and something we often debate in the MAC program. Is technology a crutch or a catalyst? I noticed today how heavily I rely on auto-spell check when typing papers, and I became afraid that I do not know how to spell anything correctly on my own. What is going to happen to me when I cannot write words correctly on the blackboard when I am a teacher? Can smart boards fix this problem?

Technology has so many great benefits. During the NPR story today, the inventor of the calculator was asked whether he thought that people were dependent on calculators. He said something along the lines of "cars replace the need for walking, but people can go so much father." I guess that could be true of calculators. All I know is that when it came time to figure out how much rent I owe this month, I resisted the urge to get out the calculator and added the numbers up by hand....

Cell Phone Etiquette?

I was out at a restaurant with a few friends the other day, having nice conversation and unwinding after a long week. It is great to have that experience, but the entire time I was there I kept feeling that the people I was with were waiting for something else to happen. The reason: Everyone kept checking their cell phone to see if they got a new text message or call.

I am guilty of checking my phone every now and then, but I think it becomes a problem when it is continually done in a social setting or in class. After noticing this, I started wondering if we should teach cell phone etiquette in schools. Then I started thinking about expanding it to cell phone and computer etiquette as well. Kids are bombarded with this new technology that many of their parents do not understand, and as a result, they are not taught when and how to use it properly.

Is it really the schools job to teach students about manners, or is that the parents job? I know that I will not tolerate the use of cell phones or i-pods in my class unless we are doing an activity that requires them. If we encourage our students to say please and thank you, maybe we should teach them manners regarding technology.

Technology in my Mentors Class

I have been in my mentor's classroom observing her teaching practices for just over two weeks now. I must say, I am amazed by her use of technology. Granted, the school is pretty well funded compared to other schools in this state....

In just these last two weeks, my mentor has presented material to the students using technology ranging to the simple over head projector to showing DVDs on a big screen with the new speaker systems that the school installed in every classroom. The school also has laptop carts holding roughly 20 computers, a printer and a wireless air port hub. This cart can be checked out from the media center, and my mentor take frequent advantage of that.

Laptops are used in my classroom mostly for searching the web for science information. The students go to the EPA website to find out data on benthic macroinvertebrates, look at sections of the human body, and look at practice quizzes from their textbook website. My mentor emphasizes that the students learn from a variety of media - books, handouts, and the internet.

My mentor also has a website with links to the three classes she teaches. On these sites, the students can find a weekly calendar, syllabus, and pdf versions of handouts in case they miss class.

My teacher incorporates technology into her classroom far more than other teachers in the same building and in other schools. However, there is so much more than can be done - blogging, listening to podcasts, creating wikis. These are things I would like to include in my class, but I now realize that time is the number one constraint that prevents most teachers from introducing technology in the class. There are so many great ideas and projects to develop for students, but it doesn't always seem feasible when there are so many other considerations and demands.

Use of Technology in 695 Presentations

Whew! We just finished a grueling week of presentations, and I think we all did a great job. One thing that I noticed was how the groups differed in their use of technology. Some presentations relied on powerpoint, video interviews, U-tube segments, clips from movies, etc, and other groups chose to engage us through group work and handouts. The use of different media and texts was really impressive, and all of the techniques were effective.

I have been thinking a lot about the appropriate use of technology in schools, and not using it for the sake of using it. There needs to be a purpose and benefit to using technology in a classroom as a learning tool. While I recognize this, one question continually pops into my head. Is it worth using technology in the classroom for the sole purpose of engaging the students? If students enjoy using computers and blogging more than writing and keeping a paper journal, does that justify using technology? Do we always have to make school fun, and is technology the way to do that?

Virtual Conferences

I was so excited to participate in my virtual conference last Friday. My parents taught in Wayne-Westland for 3o-some years and they told me wonderful things about Mary Jane Mielke, so I couldn't wait to get some good information from her. Perhaps I was a little too eager, as were some of my other classmates, because she was being bombarded with questions and could not address all of them.

As a participant in the conference, it was difficult to know when to type a question or answer because there was no indication of when another person was responding. Because of this, the conversation seemed fragmented and hard to follow. Maybe I have an unusual perspective on these online conversations, because I have never used instant messaging or anything of the like...

Although I learned a lot from Mary Jane about technological applications in the classroom, I think the conversation would have been more effective with fewer participants. That way she could address more questions, and the conversation may have seemed more intimate and connected. But then again, maybe not - maybe this is just the way virtual conversations are!

Wikis are taking over the MAC program

What have we been missing all of these years? Answer: Wikis. How have we completed group projects as undergrads without these? Since our introduction to this communal tool, all but one of my project groups has started using a Wiki. Mark VanKempen seems to be smitten with these things - if you are in one of his groups, you are sure to have a Wiki generated in about 5 minutes after the end of the first group meeting.

My groups have been using Wikis to share information about research, ideas, and make changes to living documents. Some people have been posting some inspirational/comedic images and videos (you know who you are, Lauren). I have found this to be extremely effective - this saves time, inbox clutter, and encourages a sense of group pride.

As a future science teacher, I have been researching (through other blogs) ways to use Wikis in my classroom for things besides group projects. Most of the examples I have seen from other teachers involve creating books or keeping communal reading response logs. These don't seem too science oriented. One idea I came up with is having a Wiki that I can set up to post study notes, or handouts so students have that resource option. Something more creative would be nice....

Classroom 2.0

I have started a blog on Classroom 2.0, which is a networking site where teachers share ideas and experiences about using technology in the classroom. I have only written one original post, but I have found it amazing to read and comment on conversational threads. Some of these teachers have used technology in really innovative ways - geocaching, blogs, wikis, data analysis - the list is extensive!

I just posted a message asking anyone if they have an insight about gender issues and the "digital divide," which is my 504 group topic. I am hoping some of these seasoned teachers can lead me to some research, or just share some of their own experiences.