Digital Blog Post #C

Electronic Note-Taking

Handwriting notes have been the status quo for thousands of years, but not so much anymore. Technology is taking the world by storm in many ways, and note-taking is just another skill technology is advancing. Why is electric note taking better? It provides ample opportunities for students to keep important information. Notecards and papers can get lost or ruined, but electronic note-taking is more permanent. There are so many note-taking applications and programs on computers and tablets. The great thing about technology is that you can save whatever notes you have to online database, so if you lose your laptop those documents are not completely gone. Another great enhancement that technology brings to note-taking is that you can easily manipulate information even after you write it. With the press of a button you can change, add, move, organize, and expedite your notes. On paper, you can either scribble it out or erase it, but there is still going to be a messy mark on your paper. 

Strategies for Preventing Plagiarism and Cheating

The best strategy for dealing with plagiarism and cheating is a proactive approach. Some students may not know all of the in's and out's of citing their work and paraphrasing correctly, and unintentionally plagiarize. Teachers cannot expect their students to come in knowing all of these technicalities. It is a teachers responsibility to provide students ample information on obtaining, using, and citing research. According to Transforming Learning with New Technologies, there are seven still relevant ways to combat plagiarism:

• Distinguish levels or types of research
• Discourage "trivial pursuits"
• Emphasize essential questions
• Require and enable students to construct answers
• Focus on information storage systems
• Stress citation ethics
• Assess students progress throughout the entire research process

These are all great recommendations, but I want to stress the importance of assessing students progress throughout the entire research process. This is a superior way to combat plagiarism because the teacher can check in on the students and provide feedback on anything the student is having issues with. 

Teaching Problem Solving with Computers

Problem Solving is a life long skill that is used daily. It is one of the most important skills you can teach a child because they not only use it in their academic life, but also in their personal life. All students in school now have never lived in a life without technology, so it is important that teachers give students these life skills in a way that they can enjoy and relate to. There is obvious help that technology can bring to the classroom when it comes to problem solving, such as learning games and intelligent tutoring programs. Using such programs can help students come up with many solutions to a problem, and help them to think outside of the box.

Check out this Prezi that talks about this process.

Resources: 

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #B

Digital Blog Post #B

Overcoming a Digital Disconnect: 

In the world of technological advances, we are still finding that many students at all grade levels believe they are not allowed to use enough technology in school classes. One contributing factor to this problem is known as the digital disconnect, or the differences that (tech-savvy) students perceive between themselves and their (not so tech-savvy) teachers (Maloy et al. 2013). It was not until my high school years that I began to feel this way. Before that it was only flip phones and laptops, and we were all able to use computers through out the day. In high school, all of the students were so tech-savvy and we were supplied with ample new technologies that the school barely used, or did not even know how to use. Now that I have learned of digital disconnect, I can definitely see how it effected my school, and I am sure effects many other schools, as well. Students are way more comfortable finding information online than in a book. However, there are some downsides to allowing certain technology in classrooms. When I was in high school, many students took to social media on their cellphones during classroom hours and actually began bullying other students, even teachers were getting harassed on social media. The teacher was in tears in class, and I believe that this caused much more harm than good. From personal experiences, I can say I found my phone to be distracting to what I was learning in class. Allowing smartphones in the classroom is also allowing social media, online shopping, and text messaging to interfere with learning.

Learning Theories and Tech:

When using technology in the classroom, teachers are able to incorporate 1-4 learning theories in the classroom. These learning theories are behaviorism, cognitivism,  constructivism, and constructionism. Many teachers will choose one or a combination of these learning theories when it comes to integrating technology (Maloy et al. 2013). The method that I think I prefer out of all is constructivism, which basically claims that every person interprets and constructs their own reality, and the implications for teaching focuses on computer activities that incorporates learning. This really stresses the actions and responses of learners rather than teachers. I believe this is so important because truthfully every student has their own version of the world. If we give students what they need to be successful with technology, they will be able to explore and learn about the world in their own way. Each new thing they learn fits into the puzzle pieces they are constructing in their mind. There is a big difference between memorizing and learning, and I believe with constructivism we can encourage actual learning.

The Role of Feedback:

Feedback is another great tool educators need to use in the classroom, especially when it comes to technology. As you can see from the diagram I created above, feedback is the communication between a learner and an instructor, and it has so many benefits to the students and the teachers (Maloy et al. 2013). This is a list the textbook provided of ways that teachers can use technology for feedback:

• Tutoring systems and software
• Text messaging and real-time chats
• Email, online discussion groups, and blogs
• Student participation systems
• Tablet computers for note-taking, writing, and editing
• Handheld calculators
• Global positioning systems 
• Interactive educational websites
• Interactive maps and galleries

Feedback is one thing I know I would ask for from my teachers. If I am writing an essay or doing a homework I will email my teachers if there is something I do not understand or if I want to make sure I am on the right track. However, I know that some students, especially at the lower levels, do not know to ask or are too shy to ask for feedback, so as a teacher it is something I should automatically give. When incorporating technology, I will use some application that allows communication between students and myself as a way to communicate even after school hours if there is confusion.

Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.