We are at a unique time in our culture and society. Students are in school studying for jobs that have yet to be created and are ironically being taught by a population of teachers who are not nearly as tech savvy as the students. Regardless, our students future greatly depends on our teachers ability to adapt and integrate technology into the classroom.
One of the recurring themes from class was again present in this weeks article. Teachers need for professional development in relation to technology. Districts need to realize that to fully embrace a BYOD concept, they need to be willing to provide not only time, but many different avenues to help train staff on best practices and means of incorporating technology into the classroom.
- One surprisingly effective suggestion was the use of nline communities to provide peer support.
- Do you feel that online communities would provide adequate support for someone who is already uncomfortable in a tech world?
Upon finishing this article and continuing to Should We Be Concerned About an “App Gap,” I couldn’t help but think there needed to be more to technology integration and BYOD than simply training teachers.
- Schools that adopt BYOD need to consider developing courses that are mandatory for students and revolve around digital literacy. Students are given devices that have unlimited knowledge, power, and communication capabilities. Unfortunately, those devices also come with a new set of ethics and severe consequences. All kids do stupid things. Today, those “things” are broadcast to the world and have much more lasting impact than in previous generations.
- If schools are going to embrace BYOD, is it their responsibility to fully educate students on uses and consequences?
Topics that could be covered in a digital literacy course include:
- Cyber Bulling
- Sexting
- Research and plagiarism
- Facebook and online etiquette
- Bias
- Acceptable Use
The statistics in the “App Gap” article were staggering and I am befuddled trying to provide a solution to the problem. The author poses a great question at the end of the article.
- "So should we be concerned about an "app gap"? Or does doing so just deflect from other inequalities?"
Training? Who needs more education on BYOD? Is it the teachers trying to incorporate it into the classroom or the students, on how to more effectively use their devices in an professional setting.
Digital literacy and citizenship is something that should be at the forefront of all districts. Even districts that are not BYOD need their students to learn and understand this. However I feel it should be a combined effort from the schools and parents. Each family may have a different view on digital citizenship so allow them to lay the foundation and then continue education and learning from schools and teachers.
ReplyDeleteTeachers need training on how to effectively incorporate technology into their classrooms. I feel this is one of the reasons that teacher hesitate to incorporate BYOD into their classroom because they don't feel comfortable with the technology themselves. If we want these ideas to spread, which we have to, we need to prepare our teachers. I also believe that teachers need to be trained on how to teach digital citizenship to students. Many teachers have no idea where to even begin to teach that, also the question of who would be responsible for this in their class. Does each teacher teach this or would it be taught across the board? I feel that digital citizenship could be taught in those "teachable moments" we have as teachers.
ReplyDeleteI agree that digital citizenship needs to be taught and I personally think it wouldn't be the responsibility of just one teacher...it would be the responsibility of all teachers bc technology should be used across all content areas.
DeleteIn regards to training teachers on how to effectively incorporate technology into their classrooms; I agree that this needs to happen, but it needs to be ongoing with continued support. One or two training session won't do it. It's almost something that would need to be done through professional learning communities. The reason I say this is because teachers would need to try certain strategies, then come back and discuss why something did or did not work. I also feel like new ideas will constantly come up as new technologies are being created which in turn create new instructional opportunities.
I love the idea of professional learning communities - what better than to learn from one another about the things that work and the things that don't (especially with similar grade level/content area/etc.) It definitely has to be ongoing as Jay said and is a mandatory thing that needs to happen, training that includes but is not limited to digital citizenship. But as Claus suggested...how would it happen by each individual teacher or across the board? Smaller group settings allow for the more intimate and more attentive response i.e. advisory time. New technologies will always be adding and so the need to be flexible and adaptable will have to be something that teachers will need to learn or improve on in order to keep up and grow with our students through this learning.
DeleteJeanna I agree that the idea of professional learning communities would be great! I feel I learn the most from my colleagues.
DeleteLove learning from my peers... right? Seriously, we feel comfortable learning from each other, nobody feels threatened or "stupid" for asking questions. The only issue is eliminating the "Debbie Downer" of the group. How do you address that issue? I love working together, but it is tough when someone is an "energy taker" and not an "energy giver." So in all professional learning communities we always fear the negative reaction of our stubborn teachers. We walk on egg shells... right? We need to be honest and get things out in the open, we cannot always have serenity in our professional learning communities, because "serenity now- could lead to insanity later."
DeleteI completely agree! Digital literacy success starts with a common ground and with professional development. I attempt to teach digital literacy to a degree in my classroom, but I truthfully often do not know where to start. It would be nice if we had a set of district wide standards or expectations to deliver to our students. I realize we have the AUP, but of course the AUP does not cover all of digital literacy or its importance.
DeleteBen brought up some great points and had some great takeaways from the article. I completely agree that professional development needs to be provided for teachers to effectively implement BYOD. However, I think there needs to be two kinds of PD offered. One PD that is training focused and another for teachers who are proficient with implementing technology, but need to have structured time to explore and discover new tech and/or apps that they could use to support their classroom instruction. The time is critical because discovering new tech (which is constantly being released) takes some time to find and then learn. I also agree about the digital literacy piece, but I don't think it should be just for students...it needs to be for teachers as well.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the "App Gap", I would be curious as to what those statistics look like now in 2013. That article was written in October of 2011. There have been some significant reductions in prices of technology since then as well as some significant changes in government programs that helps to provide technology for low socioeconomic families. I would venture to say that the statistics have changed significantly.
I definitely agree with what you said about how there needs to be two types of PD. Just as students are not at the same level, I believe that teachers are not at the same level when it comes to technology. There are some who have a great understanding of new technologies and are current on what is out there and there are those who struggle with anything new that might deviate from what they typically use. I hope that at some point we could provide some professional development to the staff where we would have varying levels so that those who are not as well versed in technology can learn some new things at a slower pace and those who are well versed could learn about new and exciting technologies that they could use in their classroom immediately.
DeleteJay mentioned the time piece being so critical - this is true due to the new technology always emerging but we have to find a way to establish a base knowledge and way of thinking. We should focus on the foundation and theory as opposed to specific technologies that will become outdated once the teacher gets a good understanding of it.
DeleteI definitely agree with what you said about how teachers need professional development when it comes to technology. I feel as though an online community would definitely benefit teachers. However, I also think that some teachers would need more hands on instructions. I really think that it depends on how technology savvy a teacher is as to what kind of training they would need.
ReplyDeleteI believe that both teachers and students need training when it comes to BYOD. I think that in order for us to prepare our students for jobs that don't exist in technology we as a staff have to become more tech savvy so that it classrooms can provide the base foundation for future jobs. I also believe that you brought up a good point about how with this technology can bring new dangers for our students. I personally believe that it is our responsibility to educate them on how to use their technology appropriately and safely. As you said, they are kids and kids make mistakes. We should should do what we can to guide them away from those mistakes.
Great job Ben. There is one portion which I truly feel you "hit the nail on the head." Teaching responsible student use. So much of our tech crazy world is- give them the tools and let them explore. However, teaching good communication skills, learning how to write professionally, breaching the subjects of etiquette, bullying, sexting and plagiarism need to be addressed. We must not forget our number one responsibility- educating the young women and men in our district to become better citizens, better sons and daughters,and eventually good parents. We are in contact with them 8 hrs a day, so we should help them to become more responsible. Much like the other articles, I know we have to train our teachers and have more professional development, and become more "tech savvy." Let us not forget why we are teaching online- to meet the needs of our students- so keep the focus on them as well.
ReplyDeleteI really like the idea of online learning communities, somewhere where teachers can bounce ideas of each other, post resources, and ask questions. On Schoology, there are several online learning communities such as the "Flipped Classroom" learning community and "Blended Learning" community. I LOVE getting ideas from these online conversations! The best part is I get get see with other teachers are doing across the country, not just at Oak Hills.
ReplyDeleteTeaching digital literacy is a necessity that we are not adequately covering at the moment. I touch on it in my class, and I review the basic etiquette with my students as we investigate different digital resources. However, the expectations are not the same for every classroom. We do not have a common ground. I could definitely see an online community as another awesome resources to share ideas on how to teach digital literacy to our students!