Distraction, Distraction, Distrac...

Note: This post is in response to ESC407 Week 11 Module 9 Blog 3

One of the biggest threats to the use of technology in the classroom is the belief that students will be distracted by their devices and learning outcomes will be affected. This results in the banning of devices in the classroom (Johnson, 2012). Is technology a distraction? I would certainly argue that it can be, and that there are certainly times when it is appropriate that its use be banned but I would most definitely argue against a blanket ban via a school policy or similar. And what counts as technology anyway? Should we ban the use of a pencil or pen as well? Again, there are times and places where we should. Would you allow a student to sit down in a sports lesson and write an essay?

When we teach, we use different tools in different ways for each lesson. We might ask students to open a textbook or a novel, take notes, watch a video or paint a picture. Technology can be thought of in the same way – just another tool (or indeed an incredible array of tools) for the teacher’s toolbelt. Just as you can say “pens down” you can say “close devices” for one lesson and ask students to use their devices to interact with each other during another. Johnson (2012) suggests that technology is not going to go away so rather than banning it, we use its potential to enhance lessons, even going so far as to say that we should not ban the use of the internet at school for non-academic purposes. We must still use classroom management skills to ensure that learning is taking place when it needs to which Johnson suggests may be as simple as walking around the classroom. I do think that, as teachers it is our job to manage the use of technology with our students. There is some evidence that at a university level, laptop use negatively affects results (Ravizza, Uitvlugt, & Fenn, 2016) so I feel it is important to teach students the skill of “switching off” when necessary and about the impacts technology could have on their lives.

Ultimately students have always had the potential to be distracted from what they’re supposed to be doing. As educators it is our job to engage students in lessons such that they want to be there and they’re keen to learn.

References

Johnson, D. (2012). Managing disruptive technologies in the classroom The classroom teacher's technology survival guide (pp. 137-148). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Ravizza, S. M., Uitvlugt, M. G., & Fenn, K. M. (2016). Logged in and zoned out. Psychological Science, 28(2), 171-180. doi:10.1177/0956797616677314

TPACK revisited

Note: This post is in response to ESC407 Week 11 Module 9

In one of my first posts to this blog, I touched on the TPACK framework shown below:

Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org

This framework aims to give educators a picture of where technology and the associated knowledge of how to use it should fit into the classroom. As you can see, they've defined different types of knowledge - Pedagogical (how to teach), Content (what to teach) and Technological (familiarity with technology). Teachers can have any combination of these types of knowledge, with the ideal being in the centre where teachers have "TPACK". So where do you fit? Where do I fit? As a student teacher, I feel my Content knowledge is good, and my Technological knowledge is also quite good having worked in technology in my former career. So right now I probably sit in the TCK and I'm aiming to improve my pedagogy as I continue my degree and new career.

I quite like the TPACK framework as it doesn't place any type of knowledge above another - balance is the key to ensuring that you know your content, you teach it well and you integrate technology in a seamless way. By doing this technology enhances pedagogy and improves learning outcomes rather than distracting from the core aims of education.

Where does all the data go?

Note: This post is in response to Week 10 Module 8 Blog 1

In living our lives in an online world, we leave behind a trail of data which cannot be ignored. Every time we make a purchase with a credit card, sign up to a newsletter, claim that free coffee, we hand over information about ourselves, our circumstances and our buying habits. In accessing educational technology we do the same - statistics are gathered on location, usage frequency and time, and the types of applications we use. Searches are saved and used to suggest future searches and target advertising. Web pages detect when your mouse pointer heads up to the URL or "x" to close and throw a pop up at you to try and keep you on the page a little longer.

 

As teachers we must be aware of safety and privacy issues around technology use and we need to teach students the value of the own data and privacy and the balance between convenience and the value of data being connected which can lead to advancement which benefit us, and the privacy which we lose as a result (Horvitz & Mulligan, 2015). The sheer volume and variety of information is mind-boggling (Wang, 2016) and exponential in nature. This leads me to a teaching opportunity:

Big Data is Big Maths

The mathematics classroom provides endless opportunities to explore the nature of the internet and “Big data” – it can be used in teaching statistics, exponential numbers, linear and non-linear relationships and a variety of other topics whilst at the same time weaving information about safety, privacy and the potential use and misuse of information. It has the potential to link complex mathematics directly with the world around students and showcase the real-life applications.

References

Horvitz, E., & Mulligan, D. (2015). Data, privacy, and the greater good. Science, 349(6245), 253-255. doi:10.1126/science.aac4520

Wang, Y. (2016). Big opportunities and big concerns of big data in education. TechTrends, 60(4), 381-384. doi:10.1007/s11528-016-0072-1

Flipping out

Note: This post is in response to Week 9 Module 7 Blog 1

When looking at web-based learning resources for the mathematics classroom it is hard to go past YouTube channels such as Wootube and sites such as Khan Academy which provide a huge range of web-based lessons on a variety of mathematics topics. Why then do we still need to teach at all? The quote at the top of this blog says “Any teacher who can be replaced by a computer, deserves to be” (David Thornburg) and I tend to believe that. As teachers we tailor teaching strategies to our individual classrooms. Every class and school is different and there is no “one size fits all” approach. This doesn’t mean that we cannot take advantage of the resources made available to us. In the same way that we’ve used text books – not by simply reading through them but by picking activities, sequencing learning and scaffolding students as they work, we can use web-based learning resources to support our lessons.

One interesting way to do this is to implement a “flipped classroom”. Just as in an English lesson you might be asked to read a novel before studying it, the flipped classroom takes advantage of web-based learning resources and asks students to prepare for lessons by watching web-based videos at home and attempting problems. By doing this, they can walk into the classroom with some of the basic knowledge already in place, as well as have questions to ask and skills ready to implement in the classroom. 

A study on a Year 10 classroom (Bhagat, Cheng-Nan, & Chun-Yen, 2016) showed that there were achievement increases for students using a flipped classroom model and that this increase was especially seen in low achieving students. One possible reason for this is that the students were able to rewatch the material multiple times if they wished. Having confidence in ones own ability has been shown to affect test scores in mathematics (Keys, Conley, Duncan, & Domina, 2012) so it is critical that students are able to gain mastery of the content (Furner & Gonzalez-DeHass, 2011)

Mathematics learning can sometimes be likened to a house with shaky foundations (Khan, 2015). Each stage builds on the stage before but unless the foundations are solid, the upper stories cannot be built. By allowing students to control their own learning and revise concepts they may have missed, they are able to ensure their foundations are set for future learning.

References

Bhagat, K. K., Cheng-Nan, C., & Chun-Yen, C. (2016). The impact of the flipped classroom on mathematics concept learning in high school. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 19(3), 134-142.

Furner, J. M., & Gonzalez-DeHass, A. (2011). How do students' mastery and performance goals relate to math anxiety? Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 7(4), 227-228.

Keys, T. D., Conley, A. M., Duncan, G. J., & Domina, T. (2012). The role of goal orientations for adolescent mathematics achievement. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 37(1), 47-54. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cedpsych.2011.09.002

Khan, S. (2015). Sal Khan: Let's teach for mastery -- not test scores. [Video File] Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/sal_khan_let_s_teach_for_mastery_not_test_scores

Web 2.0 - playground or classroom?

Note: This post is in response to Week 6 Module 6 Blog 3

Web 2.0 or the read/write web is firmly entrenched in the lives of our students. Many teenagers can be seen documenting their lives online and view it almost as an extension of the playground – conversations via social media continue those started in person, pictures from events are shared and commented on, and anecdotes and opinions are recorded as snippets of information on anything from what’s for breakfast to global news.

How then do we take advantage of this for the classroom? The first thing is to accept it isn’t going to go away. We must work to break down barriers in both mindset and curriculum and work to integrate these aspects of student life into the classroom (Hao & Lee, 2015). There are a myriad of tools which can be used for collaborative activities which can engage students and encourage them to share and store information. Focusing on the positives of Web 2.0 technology such as:

• the ease with which students can create and present work
• communication and collaboration with other students and their teachers
• the wealth of knowledge available
• the connections both within and outside the school

will help students to become responsible, critical users of the digital environment (Jones & Mitchell, 2015).

There are many tools we can use to implement Web 2.0 in the classroom. From general blogs (e.g. www.blogger.com) and wikis (e.g. which can be used for information storage and dissemination to more structured ideas like Webquests. Webquests are an inquiry oriented lesson where the information required is found on the internet. They have been around since before the introduction of Web 2.0 and there is research around them supporting inquiry based learning and cross-curricular integration, even in secondary school situations where each subject tends to sit in a "silo" (Virtue, Wilson, & Ingram, 2009). More recently, the concept has been expanded to include more Web 2.0 features, including blogs, wikis, the use of RSS and communications applications such as Skype (Lin & Ward, 2013). Students both search for information and create communities to collaborate as they work.

In mathematics specifically, tools such as Geogebra can also be used by students to work together and create resources which can then be used to teach fellow students concepts, deepening their own understanding of concepts.

The internet is with us – could you go back to living without it?

References

Hao, Y., & Lee, K. S. (2015). Teachers’ concern about integrating Web 2.0 technologies and its relationship with teacher characteristics. Computers in Human Behavior, 48, 1-8. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.01.028

Jones, L. M., & Mitchell, K. J. (2015). Defining and measuring youth digital citizenship. New Media & Society, 18(9), 2063-2079. doi:10.1177/1461444815577797

Lin, L.-M. G., & Ward, C. L. (2013). The integration of Web2Quest technology into multicultural curriculum in teacher education: a potential for globalization Curriculum, Learning, and Teaching Advancements in Online Education (pp. 46-60): IGI Global.

Virtue, D. C., Wilson, J. L., & Ingram, N. (2009). In overcoming obstacles to curriculum integration, L.E.S.S. Can be more! Middle School Journal, 40(3), 4-11. 

Citizenship 2.0

Note: This post is in response to Week 6 Module 6 Blog 1

Citizenship technically means being a member of a particular country and having the rights which go along with that. But where does that leave the globalised "country" of the internet? How do we become a digital citizen, and more importantly, how do we teach students to have good digital citizenship?

Roblyer & Doering (2014) suggest there are several “controversies” around the internet. I would argue that these are not so much controversies (although I guess their effects may be controversial) but facts of life when on the internet. They list them as follows:

#1 Accessing sites with inappropriate materials

#2 Safety and Privacy issues for students

#3 Fraud on the internet

#4 Computer viruses and hacking

#5 Copyright and plagiarism issues

Some of the issues listed related to both digital literacy and digital citizenship. What is the difference? If you have digital literacy are you then a good digital citizen? Some research (Jones & Mitchell, 2015) recommends distinguishing between the two – defining digital literacy as the skills to be able to do things – search, protect privacy, cite online information, avoid scams and so on – and digital citizenship as practicing respectful and tolerant behaviours towards others and having civic engagement – much like the definition of offline “good citizenship”.

Jones and Mitchell (2015) also suggest that building specific good online social skills rather than admonishing bad ones may be more effective. This is an interesting point to me – many programs I’ve come across do focus on the “bad” aspects such as cyber bullying. Would it be better to teach some good skills alongside the warnings? One study cited showed that youth participation in online interest driven activities (e.g. contributing to a discussion forum or website around a hobby, or giving instruction to a less able person around an interest area) predicted future civic participation in areas including politics, volunteerism and community problem solving (Kahne, Lee, & Feezell, 2013). Perhaps encouraging students to start online interest groups within a school community and beyond might be one way to help students be good digital citizens.

When it comes to digital lives, we can’t put the genie back in the bottle. We must therefore learn how to manage it well in our own lives and teach these skills to our students, just as we teach them other life skills.

References

Jones, L. M., & Mitchell, K. J. (2015). Defining and measuring youth digital citizenship. New Media & Society, 18(9), 2063-2079. doi:10.1177/1461444815577797

Kahne, J., Lee, N.-J., & Feezell, J. T. (2013). The civic and political significance of online participatory cultures among youth transitioning to adulthood. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 10(1), 1-20. doi:10.1080/19331681.2012.701109

Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (2014). Integrating educational technology into teaching (Sixth international ed.). Harlow, Essex: Pearson.