Technology In The Classroom

Just the other day I was thinking how much different graduate school would be if we did not have access to the internet. I remember when I was a freshman in high school and how I dreaded doing an assigned report. First, I had to dedicate an entire day if not multiple days in the library. Second, once there I had to dig through the card catalog and look for sources that seemed relevant. Third, I had to find each book and then start reading through them to see if they were sufficient.

In comparison, today I can sit at home on my computer and with a few clicks of the mouse have an infamous amount of information. At times I feel that I was cheated by not have the internet my entire life. It has been around a short time and has only gotten better with time. But, I also feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to value a book and understand the importance of a library.

I do not have to look any farther then the hybrid course I am taking. The thought of participating in a graduate class from home was just wishful thinking a few years back. I can receive the feedback and thoughts of my classmates without leaving home. If someone includes a link on their blog, I can simply click and view the source first hand in less than a second.

To be literate doesn’t mean to just be able to read, write and comprehend text. Today you must be computer literate. It seems that reading and writing are not the only factors that make up literacy. Most if not all classes require assignments to be turned in typed or sent via e-mail. Technology is now a part of the modern day classroom.

Instead of meeting after class to study, students can meet on the computer. While they discuss class work they can surf the net or download music. Students can post a blog and be the publisher of their own web page. It was only a few years ago, that only computer programmers had that capability. You can post your research onto Wikipedia and take part in an ever-growing online encyclopedia. For those who think Wikipedia is nonsense, it was compared to other sources and found to be over 90% accurate.

A student that had difficulty in reading had few options. Now, a student can put on headphones and work with an interactive book on the computer. They have a super modern, customized Sesame Street. They can go online or play interactive reading games to help improve and enhance their reading skills.
When going on a job interview, the most common question asked throughout all careers is, “Are you comfortable using a computer?” It is not a trend or fad and will not be going away. The computer, telephone, radio and television are beginning to merge as one. Most vehicles have satellite radios or navigation units suction cup to their windshields. Once reading was the only concern but today education demands a lot more from each student. As teachers we must help them shuffle through the infamous amount of information and guide them to success.

No Chile Left Behind Act (NCLB)

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was designed so that all children would receive an education. Apparently the name may originate from the U.S. Army Rangers slogan, “Leave No Man Behind.” The concepts for both ask for the best of an individual, but are very different. The Army trains all their soldiers to be the same and expect the same from each individual. In education, we must view each student differently and adjust to his or her unique style and pace of learning. So passing a law that sweeps across the nation as a whole would definitely leave holes that needed to be filled.

It appears that the government passed a law knowing the amount of funds necessary to allow the Act to be effective. But since 2001 they have contributed very little to the necessary funds. Instead, the government found an excessive amount of money to fund a war. NCLB has been ridiculed by many in the education field because they are asked to abide by the Act, while the government does not. It is difficult to support NCLB because it is apparent the government does not feel it’s a priority. Utah has realized this flaw and requests that they receive full funding otherwise they will not implement NCLB. It seems that all states should follow suit and force the government to make a decision on funding.

An area of NCLB that I found interesting was that parents needed to be notified if their child’s teacher is not highly qualified. This assures parents of who is teaching their child. It also forces school districts to hire qualified individuals. This is an area of NCLB that is working but with funding restraints, it makes it a difficult task. It demonstrates that NCLB had the best interest of the students in mind upon its creation. It is apparent that the execution of the program is where it falls short.

As the Bush era comes to a close, we must find the candidate that realizes changes must be made. Once that individual is voted in, we must make sure that they follow through on their promises. Otherwise we will have at least four more years of children not receiving a proper education. Another four years of stringent testing and undue stress of making sure children pass their statewide assessment tests. A slogan we can use, is that from MTV, “Rock The Vote.”

Assessment

Routman did an excellent job in covering the many different aspects of assessment. As I was reading I made sure to underline some key phrases and sentences that I found insightful and valuable. Despite taking an entire course on assessment I feel there is still a lot to be learned. Assessment is an ongoing process that will always be correlated with teaching as long as there are students.

The text provided the historical background to the word assessment. It is derived from the Latin word assidere, meaning to sit beside someone. The definition does not refer to someone receiving a grade or evaluation but rather someone sitting beside another. When I thought about it, that is what assessment should be. Assessment should be the act of accompanying another in their attempt to ascertain knowledge. Your job may include a variety of different tasks. You may be there to assist, guide, evaluate or just simply provide the company of another. We should not always direct assessment with a grade or judgment.

As teachers we implement assessment in a variety of ways. We may use portfolios, observations, or even tests but the reason should be the same. Routman wrote, “Assessment must promote learning, not just measure it” (559). Assessment is a gauging tool to allow us to know how well we are doing as teachers. If the entire class did poorly on an assignment, it most likely means the teacher failed in the execution of the lesson. No one should be penalized, just evaluate the situation and move on. After teaching the lesson again in a different style the whole class may excel past your expectations. Allow assessment to promote growth not stagnation.

The concept about making a checklist and having the class work in groups was a great idea. I can see how students would most likely double-check their work before having a peer evaluate it. This past school year my class enjoyed the lesson, when I made them teachers. I would pair the class off into groups of two and let them evaluate a letter I wrote. Each group was provided a red pen and it was their job to correct my letter. They enjoyed being the teacher and helping me find my flaws to make my letter sound better. I never thought of breaking them into groups and evaluate their own work. I may use the checklist from the text and modify it from my class for the upcoming school year.

Lenses On Reading Review

JoJo White, a Boston Celtic Legend once said, “You need to know where you came from in order to know where you are going. We need to get back to the basics, back to the fundamentals of the game” (nbrpa.com).

Mr. White was talking about basketball but his words can be easily viewed from an educational perspective. We as educators must know where teaching practices originated and the thought process behind them. In the beginning chapters of the TIP book, I found the passages informative and thought provoking. Certain theories are dated back to the time of Aristotle and Plato. Some may disregard their theories as outdated but to me they are still relevant. They lived in a time that people dedicated their life to education and the process of learning.

The Mental Discipline Theory supports the belief that the brain is a muscle that must be exercised regularly. Just a few weeks ago in the news, a report indicated that people over the age of fifty should exercise their brain daily. The study reported that individuals who play puzzles and brain exercising activities are less likely to suffer Alzheimer’s years later. If Plato and Aristotle were still alive, they would be saying, “I told you so.”

The TIP book has been a fun read and I think the format structure of each chapter makes the material easier to understand. I have not focused on the flaws of each theory. Instead, I focused on the concepts in which I found effective. At the start of the new school year I will have a better understanding behind literacy centers due to the Unfoldment Theory. The only chapter I found difficult to read was chapter 5 on Theories of Literacy Development. Most of the theories stressed the importance of a literacy rich-home environment. As a teacher I am limited in assisting children with their home life. In a positive perspective, when I have children I will take advantage of the time I spend with them at home. My home will be a literacy rich-home which will provide my children with a great start to literacy development.

Language Acquisition

Normally I formulate an opinion on an issue but in the case of language acquisition I am siding with both arguments. In my opinion, we learn language due to an innate ability (Nativist Theory) and because of our interaction with our surroundings. I believe both theories play an intricate role in humans developing the ability to learn and apply linguistics. I understand both party’s arguments and feel both have a legitimate argument.

I have never met a person that remembers actually speaking their first word. We normally discover what our first spoken word was from our parents. How did we learn to speak that very first word? The Nativist Theory suggests that we are born with an innate ability to learn language. The article from Wikipedia indicated that as a baby we are able to decipher the word pairs “bah” and “pah.”

On the other side of the debate, you have the theory that we learn language due to our environment. We are first introduced to language via oral communication. We repeat or imitate what we hear from our parents and learn to communicate orally. One article suggests that we learn grammatical rules from listening to our parents. For example, looking at a kindergarten class can support this belief. They enter the first day of school able to speak and communicate with each other and the teacher. Depending on the individual you can say they have acquired this skill by observing their parents or they had an innate ability to do so.

There are two disturbing cases of children that were not raised in a “normal” environment and never acquired the ability to speak. This is in reference to Victor, The Wild Boy of Aveyron and Genie. But it can also be argued that Victor may have learned to speak a language spoken between animals. After reviewing the material, I could accept both theories together as one larger theory. The two arguments appear to blend together in my opinion. You cannot have one without the other. We have the innate ability to learn language and it is nurtured by our ability to observe our environment. The two thoughts blur together into one huge theory for me. I am curious to see how others view this argument.

The aspect of reading allows a child to visually put speech into words and pictures. I believe there is a strong importance introducing children to written words and pictures as early as possible. They can begin to correlate words to their surroundings. This past school year I had a student that struggled to read and had difficulty articulating his thoughts. As the school year progressed, his reading improved, and articulation improved. He began to use words he could read and had been learning to read throughout the school year. I remember being told, do not speak it if you cannot spell it. In his case, if he could not read it, he was not going to speak it. Linguistics is paired with literacy in my mind. The art of speaking, writing and reading all work together allowing us to communicate effectively with one another.

My Perspective on Literacy

The three articles posted on literacy provided a variety of different perspectives. One article gave a brief cultural history on literacy and its view around the globe. Another stressed the value of pictures to gain the interest of young readers. The third depicted a story on what educators today are facing when it comes to a rigid curriculum. All three articles were insightful and provoked a lot of thought. I was reminded that literacy is a broad term that represents a multitude of different areas of learning. It is important to understand what literacy entails before we can move forward. I view literacy as a combination of reading, writing and comprehension skills that all individuals must master to provide effective communication.

There are a variety of issues that caught my attention while reading the assigned passages. In addition to catching my attention they have also left me pondering where is education headed? It appears that we are losing qualified and caring teachers because of rigid, pre-designed curriculums. Districts are observing teachers as if they were criminals making sure the curriculum is followed out to the period. They have altered their thought process about what is best for the student or just feel that a cookie cutter curriculum is the best thing for all students. As a first year teacher I know that every single student is different and learns at his or her own pace. Some students are visual learners while others learn with the assistance of manipulatives. Any teacher that believes all students learn the same way has more to learn then his or her students.

The same article also stressed that the Open Court curriculum is designed to be conducted at a fast pace. This prevents the curriculum from being designed with differentiated instruction in mind. As an inclusion teacher that is a major conflict for me. All my lessons are designed with differentiated instruction in mind. I want to present a lesson that will benefit the entire class and allow time for questions. If the class does not understand the material at the end of the lesson I have failed them. The next day I must re-teach the lesson in a different manner. Teaching should never be viewed as a race against time. I want to make sure all of my students reach the finish line no matter how much time it takes each individual student. What will happen to our children if we race ahead of them?

It appears that history has indicated that religion played an intricate role in teaching individuals to read. In the past, cultures that held religion with importance had a larger population of individuals that could read. Has a decline in the importance of religion, lead to a decline in reading?

As districts decide what cookie cutter curriculums are best for our kids, we must find ways to work within the system to make sure they are receiving the best possible education we can provide.

Welcome

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