Final Views on Technology

The greatest importance in teaching technology to any age group is that technology is in every aspect of the western world from music to writing and even entertainment.  Small business cannot survive anymore without technology integration and that is why this needs to be a factor with any age that we encounter in life. It is co nstant battle but most people in the end want to commit to a lifetime of learning and this is a different stage to tackle.

 

 

 

 

 

Being a teacher for 14 years now my stance on the barriers of technology will always remain the same as they did in 2000: there is simply not enough access to the materials that the students would need.  Schools do a great job in keeping the technology up to date but there will always continue to be an issue because of constant competition to use the computer labs. But this is how the students have been trained to think since they were young.

 

When I think about why we need this and why learning through technology is essential falls into the understanding that the brains of our youth are wire differently.  They are what most experts will say as being “digital natives”.  Their brains respond and think differently than we do.  There will always be a push to stress the creativity and innovation but I also feel that this is more than possible to co-exist with technology integration.  That is the main point that I would take away from this class.  When a student in brought up being digital, we are doing a disservice when we teach them in a way that is not. their native language.

 

One factor that has come into my teaching over the last four years that has helped in growth is to understand that the Good Old Days are over.  What we knew does not always apply and our teaching tactics need to be innovative and live in the 21^st Century.  However, many of the decisions makers and voters do no need to make decisions on this concept and can live in the past.  This will always continue to be a serious issue in terms of technology integration.  It involves money that only dwindles every year but if helps a students learn, it will be money well spent.

 

Last, in my own teaching I have learned a lot about effective technology integration.  I realize that where I teach, there is a lot done on basic computer programs but there is not always enough done that will go beyond the research.  We do spend a great deal of time in working with proper digital citizenship and creating effective digital portfolios that will follow the students.  However, this really did not benefit my students in general music.  The goals of teaching for my future will involve being able to have the students create their own blogs for music history.  I would love to be able to have them use their web quests for more projects.  This is one way that my teaching can adapt to what needs to take place for 21^st Century learning.

Good Afternoon friends.  I had a problem over the weekend and my computer was stolen from my car during the night.  I should have known that when my lazy 161 lbs. Newfoundland went nutz at 4AM that something was wrong. At least I have a back-up for most of my classwork

Good Evening and Happy Thursday!  Sorry for the delay of the video but this is quick glance and some of the rock and roll topics that my class researches in general music



http://animoto.com/play/Sbi1kDkniLkDmFzmNqKv4Q


If anyone knows how to make the picture box show up, I would love to know.

Dave

Lesson Plan: Billy Joel’s Modern Version of We Didn’t Start the Fire

“Big Idea” this lesson plan supports:  Music is a direct relation to events of the time to include history, pop culture and events of the time.

Lesson Plan Component	Criteria
Title	Relates to Instructional Goals and Objectives
GSE’s/GLE’s/Frameworks	NH.M.9. Music: Understand music in relation to history and culture.
Objective(s)	Students will need to evaluate, analyze and apply the knowledge of music history and pup culture
Materials	A computer that can play music Access to the internet
Anticipatory Set	When Billy Joel turn 40 during the summer of 1989 he composed the song “We Didn’t Start the Fire” to Commemorate Forty Years of World History.  The quest that each student learning group will have is to find 40 events from 1989 until 2014 that would work in the song.
Procedures	The teacher will need to do an extensive amount of researching to assist the students in finding school appropriate people places and events.  This should be considered an ongoing song where material may be added and dropped based on the needs and the interest of each class. Day 1 Student must be given access to a printout of the original song so they can count the syllables line for line to get a sense of the pulse.  Students need to be given the chance to hear the song a minimum of three times each class.  This is tougher for some and that is why they are encouraged to work in groups. Before the end of the first class, students should be counting the syllables line for line so they understand the form and the pulse of the song Day 2, 3, 4 Students will then be given the chance to do some research for pictures.  Each group of 2-3 students will need to put together a video and include the new events that they found.  Clipart and anything they need can be used. They should be able to select 40 important people, places and events from the years 1989-2014 to research pictures and clip art for their project. The music will be set to a karaoke version supplied by the instructor.
Closure	Students should not be putting any person place or event into this 3 class assignment if they cannot describe what it was or is.  Billy Joel strove to be historically accurate in the original version.  The students will need to do the same.
Assessment	Each group will show their final product to the classes with what they found to create a video and what they selected for their events.  This falls under the realm of tying history and culture to music.  Students need to apply their knowledge of rhythm and beat to allow for every event to line up with the song.
Modifications/Accommodations	Some Modifications will be needed for three students in this class.  15-20 events will work just fine.  They will also need to be paired up with students who understand the technology demand.

For this assignment, I did observe two classes at the Merrimack Middle School  One was for 8th Grade Science and the other was for the Unified Arts Family and Consumer Science Class.  Most of my attention was focused towards the 8th Grade Science Class (Instructed by Mr. E) because there is more interactive technology involved with his instruction.  Mr. E does use an interactive smart board for about 80% of his class presentations.  This allows for him to discuss the features that deal with topics such as the Cycle of Water.  I also ended the interviews by sitting down with one of the computer teachers at the middle school.

8th Grade Science:

The benefits to the students did seem endless because the use of technology did allow for constant feedback from the technology, the instructor and also the students who were involved.  What I was most impressed with was the fact that Mr. E does allow for the use of Smartphones/iPhones in his classroom a certain times during the marking period.  This does allow for the use of various types of formative assessment with the students have the basic capabilities to answer online questions that he has set up.

Whenever technology is implemented in the classroom, there is still a factor of relying on the fact that the technology and programing will work for all devices.  Some students may bring in their own phones to use but often will not always be compatible with the school’s technology.  There is always a need for constant improvements and this is an example of classroom that works with what it has.

Family and Consumer Science

Since the fall of 2004 the Family and Consumer Science Science class relies on the PITSCO programing for its curriculum.  This replaced the older model of a near 100% hands on approach to learning about Family and Consumer Science.  Currently there are 12 areas of study that students have access to that will each take 2-3 weeks so the students will not be able to get through all twelve topics in the 7th and 8th grade.  Students are divided into various groups and the workstations will look a lot like the one shown from the PITSCO Website

The program itself does allow for topics that may help meets the interests of the students. There is access to readings, instruction and then a 3rd component where they will need to complete the task (cooking, sewing, preparing a healthy food menu, studying different careers etc...).  From this standpoint the teacher does have options to attempt to make sure that every student can find what they do relevant.  From classes I have witnessed, the students do benefit from small group interaction both with people and with the computer.  The PITSCO program has it set up with tasks and assessments to attempt to create mastery of knowledge.  85%-90% of what goes on this room during the classes will be computer based.

This class is taught by two different instructors so I was able to ask them both the same questions and this program does work but there are many areas that are still trying to be improved:

• Technology like everything does cost money.  They do see that it does assist in helping students learn but it has often been difficult (just as every other school) to keep up with the demand for the constant upgrading.
• We are moving into a period that does involve making the best use of Enduring Understandings and Essential Questions and this program does not seem to fit what is being created with the school.  This is mainly because the assessments that are being created by the computer programs seem much more about fact based trivia and less about essential skills that all students should know when they leave the middle school.
• However it was noted by the instructor that more work is being done to shrink the module count from twelve to six to allow for every student to receive the same curriculum.  There is also going to be an upgrade done over the summer for the computers to be replaced and programs updated

Final Thoughts........ 

I did make one final set of questions to one of the districts technology teachers at the Middle School named (Mrs. F).  What I had been noting throughout the process is that the technology integration is used but it appears to rely heavily on word processing, powerpoints, story board and research based technology.  I did take the time to ask several questions that relate to the ideas of E-Blogger and Prezi.  I would assume that the greatest hinderance for not having these programs to assist in student learning is simply time.  Computers and Technology is not offered as class at our school and is instead integrated through the regular curriculum.  The idea seems strong to me in theory while at the same time it is very difficult on a regular core teacher to keep up with the various computer based programs that continue to be developed.

Possible Issues with Technology

For this blog entry, I will be discussing the Internet and technology.  Two videos were shown for this include Growing Up Online and Digital Nation.  I did note that there were many similarities between the two topics.  The greatest aspect that I saw is that the development of technology is very important to the world.  This is how the new digital age and digital natives function.  In both the videos, the students interviewed were young enough to know that this was their way of life.  However, I do feel that both of the examples given here talk about the dangers of technology but for different reason.

1. The first video tended to focus more on the dangers of being online.  There were so many aspects of varying opinions with the young students and even the grown-ups as to what would be the best way to focus on technology.  It focused on the dangers for all involved.
2. The second video seemed to focus more on proven science in dealing with the unintended consequences from the technology in relation to addiction, lack of attention and overall poorer performance. 

My thoughts on multi tasking are a bit different after watching this video.  About  six years ago I had to watch a video where it was said that multi-tasking is what the students like and it is something that they react well too.  However, if the smartest minds in the world at MIT are found not to be able to handle it, I am not sure if there is anyone who should be given the task.  What the issue is that our minds do work in a linear fashion but the world does not seem to work well that way.

I am a person who finds myself needing to multi -ask because it is often hard to fit everything into different blocks of the day.  The problem is that I do not like it because I never feel like I really give every task its do process.

The second video did at least give the notion and proof that addiction to these devices can be real.  I am not sure if we should be anymore concerned than we treat other addictions to legal substances. There are some people who cannot function with this.  People can live without smoking, people can live without drinking however, how can we function without technology?  I no longer feel that having access to a computer in the Western World is a “want” this device needs to be viewed as a need.  This is a difficult idea when we are talking about people who have a technology addiction.  How can we treat this when everything we do is tied to technology.

Video gaming will be a controversial topic in education for years to come.  The greatest issue that I see is that the education world needs to find a better way to embrace the gaming and make it work.  The students this day in age no longer respond to the ways of the pen and paper.  Textbooks are seen as something that is heavy to carry.From watching the two videos listed, it can be fair to assess that video gaming is dangerous.  Yes, there are programs out there that strive for historical accuracy in terms of war games but how much of this type of stimulation can the brain actually hack?

Through watching the videos, and experiences in class, there is educational value to using video games.  The brain will learn when it is stimulated and interactive.  Video gaming can easily set this type of material in place to have it work.  However, in teaching for a number of years, there can be a side effect of seeing students not respond to any material that is not flashy.

Using digital tools such as google can be scary. This is something that can work well to a point.  Not all search engines are accurate and will distribute the best information.  This is an example of something that can help students and school succeed because google can help the students and teachers connect to the world but they should never be used as a primary source.

Parents should have the strongest influence over their students in dealing with digital citizenship.  Having no children of my own I am always on edge to comment on this topic.  Based on what I have seen, it would be great if all the parents did not what was going on with their child on-line but there is really do good way to check to see how reliable the the thought of the parent is.  The news stories are endless about teens that have accounts that parents do not know about.  This is scary because every parent wants to be able to trust their own child and this is an argument that will work against itself.  The testimonies from the first documentary clearly state this.

There is really no clear cut way to enforce who is responsible for teaching the digital citizenship without asking the government to get involved.  Who can be at fault when a child injures themselves do to cyber-bullying when a grown-up was never aware as to what was taking place?

It is easy even for the most educated adult to ruin their digital footprint.  I have always been a person who feels that we can learn from making mistakes.  When a kid spends as much time as they do wired to technology, there does become social issues.  They are there in person to witness someone’s immediate reaction when something is not received that well.

In watching the first video, I do feel that most of the students did know what was appropriate and what was not but I also felt that they did spend time justifying what they did and tweaking it.  If it was appropriate to them, it should therefore be acceptable.  I always felt as it there was battle waged in the brains of the students that could not be won in any way.

Students should care that there are mistakes which can be made that could haunt you forever.  I can’t imagine how a student who is 15 and caught bullying another student online, the matter gets referred to the administration, and this can be an incident that will stay with them for years to come.  They should also care because nobody will want to hire a teenager if there is stuff on them which can be found online that will hurt their business.

I would feel that the real dangers of technology in this day in age is actually the digital footprint itself.  I think that the younger generation is slowly starting to understand this.  The best example is that some of these kids could have as many as 2,000 Facebook friends.  How do these students know that they can trust the other to do the right thing?  What would happen if they leak their cell phone info? Home information on one of these sights?  How do we know that all 2,000 friends have secured sights?  This is scary because and a serious threat because people can be found.  Pictures can be found on the Internet, manipulated and the end result will never be good.

My main comment that I would like make on each of these documentaries is that when the decision makers want to argue against technology integration, these videos do provide some great examples as to the dangers.  If students at MIT are struggling to use it the proper way, it can lead to an adverse effect on virtually everything.  I was a varsity track coach for ten years and know that technology can have a positive impact on performance because it allows for the watching and recording of videos to be done much easier and quicker.

At the same time, I did find the first video to be the most disturbing.  There was that one part mentioned the best way for certain personality types to commit suicide.  That was less than pleasant for anyone to realize that such material does exist and that there is no way to monitor who is on it and why?

Vision of Technology Integration:

Being a music teacher and athletic coach for almost fifteen years, I can’t stress how important technology when improving student development and learning.  When I think about the importance in music for being a teacher, the idea of the students having fun is very important.  We want them to create and make music particularly in the younger years but there also becomes a time when the music activities no longer become relevant in the middle school years.  

 Students having fun in the younger music years.

      In the particular interest of teaching general music to middle school students, there needs to me more.  Several of these students had spent grades 5/6 learning to play an instrument and did not succeed for various reasons.  There needs to be more to what they do to be able to meet the music standards in grades 7/8.  Using technology is about the only way that will allow them to still foster creativity and also be able to observe and identify the music language they are attempting to play.

                                    

      In the age of student centered curriculum, most will require more than a one-size fits all approach to general music. Most of these students do not have enough exposure to what the average band and chorus student would have to effectively learning the concepts and record their music.

      In using a similar approach with computers, iPads, and iPhones, the amount of music material which can be found is endless.  If we want the students to really be able to develop an understanding of music appreciation, they need to be given the flexibility of researching their own musicians and effectively evaluate their own styles.  By using their own work stations, each student can develop their concepts for what make the music that they like, important.  The more they understand, the more they can create.
Below is a youtube video for what would be ideal for the students to create ideal classroom:

      Last, this blog was actually intended to become an advocate for educating through technology.  In my professional experience, this really needs to be at the for front.  With programs that allow for the classic novels to be posted on the iPads and Kindles, our students can still get a quality education while using technology.  I did find a should video that will give us Ten Reasons Why we need technology in the classroom.

Here is my digital footprint:  Dave Babin 1996-2014