Interactivity # 5

I interviewed an educator who teaches graphic design, introduction to engineering design and art to 9 through 12 graders in the Paterson school system.  The school he teaches in a small academy of 100 students that is based on engineering.  His current supervisor reinforces technology use.  They have a digital lab, smart boards and a library.  He was not sure if he had seen NETS/T standards before although he stated he had previously seen technology standards.  They were similar to the technology standards that he currently uses.  He indicated NJ Core Curriculum Standards are what is mandatory for him at the moment.  He had not come across the term NETS/T before and wanted to know if those were the standards for NJ.  Also, he was not sure if other teachers in his school were utilizing technology standards.

            The teacher had not come across any documentation of a push from the state towards using technology standards.  Technology standards are used depending on the administration, the theme of the school, or the inclination of the teachers.  It is not enforced unless you are a technology teacher.  

            As a graphic design artist he is more inclined than an art teacher with a traditional concentration to use technology, he has a natural affinity towards it.  He feels that because students are living in a world filled with technology it is important for them to know how to properly utilize it.  According to him every student is not going to be a painter but every student will use technology.

            In order to make implement the NETS/T standards a school district needs to be well funded.  They need money to purchase technology, hire staff to take care of the technology, and for professional development so that the teachers can implement technology into lessons.  He states that sometimes teachers get training but then there is no technology for them to implement.  There are not a lot of professional development opportunities within his school district and technology is not pushed by administration.

            I was not surprised by the answers I received because I interviewing a teacher from an urban environment.  I previously visited a school in Paterson that was supposed to be a technology academy but they barely had any technology for the students to utilize.  My school visits has opened my eyes to the lack of funding in many urban schools, it dictates everything.  I do not have any false expectations of the circumstances I will face as a teacher.  If NETS/T were not implemented in my school I would discuss implementing it with my administrator.  It could be applied gradually so that all teachers can easily become comfortable with the new standards.  We could begin with the younger students and build their proficiency and constantly provide assessments to gauge progress.  If it is a matter of funding for technology, this class has taught me that there are many free options available for students.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ar5ACq1X9PTsdGRDdElKdHpSY3NXSlo4cEc2RGRicXc#gid=1

Media Literacy

                                                            What is media literacy?

 One of the lessons learned in Read 411 this semester is media literacy and how it relates to role media plays in our every day lives.  We discussed a project in which art teachers instructed students on dissecting newspaper articles in an effort to see how media messages are used to persuade its audience.  It opened the eyes of the students to see that commercial advertising is used to get its audience to buy things, public relations organizations promote a positive or negative image of a organization or government and advocacy groups try to persuade us to see things from a particular view point.  This would be an excellent project to adapt for the internet, television, Facebook and other technologies that students use on a daily basis.  Below is a great YouTube video I found that expounds on the issue of Media Literacy as it pertains to the news.  

Online Education for K-12

This is an online course.  I know others who take a few courses online, and I know individuals who attend online universities.  However, do you know that online courses are a growing trend for students in K-12?  Did you know that sometime in the near future it would be mandatory for primary and secondary education?  I didn’t, after all what have we been learning all semester?  We have learned that technology should supplant ones education, not take over the job of educator. 

            In the school year of 2007 to 2008 more than one million students took such courses.  So far it has primarily been used for make up courses, to offer additional courses that the school may not have the money for and also for advance placement courses.  However, should online courses be mandatory?  Budgetary restraints make this an attractive option for schools with deficits in their budgets but who is behind this push.  Is online education being pushed because educators believe it will be an asset to students, or is it being pushed by online content authors who see this moment as they’re opportunity to create a new source of income?  This is reminiscent of the influx of technology initially introduced into schools.  The same questions could have been asked back then as well.

            As college students we have had a lifetime of conventional learning to help us navigate through online courses.  However, primary school students do not have this advantage.  As a teacher we are supposed to offer students multiple ways to learn content.  As different students learn in different ways.  I admit by utilizing the computer a student will have the benefit of the pictorial, auditory, and also the written word.  But what happens when they have questions that can only be explained in person by a human being.  I myself have learned many things online and still needed a real person to help me completely grasp something. 

            Read 411 has provided me with a lot of strategies to ensure that students know how to acquire new knowledge.  Will a computer program be able to do that for our students?  How will plagiarism be prevented?  Will the makeup classes be so easy as to help a school boost their testing data?  These are all things we have to ask our selves and our educational institutions and not till we have sufficient answers should online classes be mandatory.

Technology and Teacher Development

I overheard my art history professor saying she wanted to learn how to use Youtube and other supporters as teaching apparatuses.  It got me thinking about how most of the art history professors that I have had used slides to teach.  I have only had one who used other methods.  She utilized virtual museums, Youtube, and other art specific websites that provided art documentaries whenever applicable.  So, even though we viewed slides about the Dogon Couple we were also able to watch a video depicting the process of art making, and the shift in Dogon culture from the past to the present.   This professor appeared to be in her early thirties and was the youngest professor I have ever had. 

            This caused me to question how the university handles professional development.  Does sharing best practices in the arts include best practices in technology as well? Does a teacher simply begin teaching in the way they were taught and continue that way through out their career?  How similar or different will professional development be within the school system that I will one day teach in and how can I supplement that?

            All of the classrooms I have been in that were not in the art building are wired for technological purposes.  They have overhead projectors that are equipped for watching VHS and CD’s.  It is understood that professors will most likely be using these things to supplement our learning.  In the art building only the two classrooms that are used for art history are wired like the above.  My studio classes have been devoid of technology that was not immediately associated with the type of art being taught.

             I have been a witness to the inconvenience this has caused studio professors who sometimes wanted to do a presentation, show a video clip or simply look up something really quickly.  This is the opposite as above, where the teachers wanted to use technology but felt they did not have adequate access.  As I plan to teach in an urban environment one day, I wonder which reality I will face.    How can you make due while still assisting students to the best of your ability? 

Online Responsiblity

I woke up to a news story about Rehtaeh Parsons.  A Canadian teen who was allegedly raped by four classmates.  I say allegedly because she did not initially report the crime and consequently her claims were not proven.  However, one of the boys took a photo during the act and decided to circulate the picture.  It went viral and subsequently she began being harassed and taunted by students through text as well as on Facebook.  After dealing with the harassment for a year she hung herself.  The shaming had apparently caused psychological and emotional effects. 

            The details are reminiscent of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.  Or how about Tyler Clementi, the Rutgers teen who committed suicide after it was alleged that his roommate thought it would be funny to secretly video tape his intimate moments.  Let us not forget the countless videos online of one teen pummeling another.  These types of scenarios keep repeating themselves.  Students are so comfortable with technology yet there are many cases of them being used irresponsibly, and even criminally. 

             I am in no way negating any of the unspeakable things that were committed against the victims.  I am simply examining the matter of technology use. Teenagers seem to only realize the positive that can come from technology uses.  The negative is not being considered. They obviously think that since you can’t see them and they can’t see you its okay to make negative remarks.  Frankly adults have this problem as well.  Have you ever read the comments on a new article?  Individuals post things regardless of how much it may hurt someone else.  Somewhere there is a disconnect between humanity and technology, and there lies the problem.  How can be make sure that the two are married, in my opinion with technology something always suffers. 

            Technology has exploded so fast and we did not foresee the risks that it would bring with it.   As teachers it is our responsibility to look out for our students.  How do you keep a watchful eye out for cyber bullying?  Parents, teachers, and the law have all been caught unaware and in the meantime students are suffering because none of us know how to protect them. 

            Despite the censorship that exists in classrooms we need use these cases as teaching moments.  We should be discussing these situations with our students.  It can help them to see what the actual consequences could be for the actions they take. You can discuss the actions taken, who did what and what could have and should have been done in each particular case and how it would have affected the outcome.   It’s a great way to teach them responsible strategies to use when they are online.

Interactivity # 4

Url:http://web.archive.org/web/20101202074157/http://wbra.org/html/edserv/ntti/nttipdf/mindman.pdf
Link to spread sheet:https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ar5ACq1X9PTsdGRDdElKdHpSY3NXSlo4cEc2RGRicXc#gid=1