Planning a Lesson That Uses Technology

The evolution of learning has changed so much over the past 15 years and that has to do with the emergence of technology in the classroom.  Years ago it was acceptable for teachers to just have students memorize facts.  Now, we want the students to dig deeper into the information and to develop critical thinking skills.  When they get older it will be important for them to be smart and know facts, but now it's even more important that they understand how to problem solve and think creatively.

Since the world has changed so much over the past 15 years, how teachers teach has changed so much as well.  When teachers plan their lessons now, they are strongly encouraged to incorporate technology into the lesson.  This is difficult though because it has to be more than having the kids use the technology as a fact checker.  Technology in the classroom is more than just a book that lights up for the students.

When teachers are planning a lesson that uses technology, they must remember these steps from Bloom's Digital Taxonomy.

1. Analyze the Benefits
2. Start the Brainstorming
3. Map the Project
4. Create the Teaching Template
5. Develop Assessment Tools
6. Evaluation Mode

Everyone has heard of Bloom's Taxonomy and making sure that we as teachers get the kids thinking more critically.  The higher you go on the chart the more beneficial it is for the students.  Now they have Bloom's Digital Taxonomy and the higher you go on the chart the better that assignment is for the student. When planning a lesson it will be good for the teacher to incorporate some of the higher levels of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy.

The levels we as teachers want to incorporate are the top 3, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. When the students analyze they are making connections from the material.  When the students are evaluating they are making judgements based on criteria.  When the students are creating they are producing new or original work through animating, blogging, filming, podcasting, and much more.

When you go into planning a lesson using technology these are just some things to think about, and the biggest thing to remember is to don't use the technology as a virtual textbook.  When you are incorporating technology into your lesson plan, make sure that the technology takes their thinking to the next level.  Make sure that the technology enhances the learning of the students! Integrating technology into the classroom is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.

Break the Rules and Pay the Price: When Educators Can Search Your Phone

As the new school year begins, a new BYOD policy is set in place at your school.  The first thing that passes through your mind is “I can’t wait to text my friends during class!” right?  Not if your school has an Acceptable Use Policy.

An Acceptable Use Policy at most schools that have a BYOD initiative may include any or all of the following rules.

 

Students will:

·     Only use devices for educational purposes

·     Respect the privacy of others

·     Comply with copyright laws and user licensing agreements

·     Connect to district Wi-Fi

·     Not password protect their devices

Students will not:

·     Use devices for any illegal purposes

·     Search for inappropriate or obscene content

·     Use devices to discriminate or cyber-bully others

·     Engage in hacking of any kind

·     Repost or forward any personal communications without prior approval from educator

·     Plagiarize others’ work 

·     Use their devices for cheating

Even with an Acceptable User Agreement in place at your school, there will still be students who believe they can do what they want on their device, simply because it is their personal property.  Failure to follow the rules in the AUP can have some negative outcomes for the student who breaks said rules.  

Students expect to have some privacy expectations with their cell phones at school.  There are several factors that can cause the students to relinquish their cell phone privacy at school, allowing educators to seize and search their phones for evidence.  All of these factors should be included in the school’s AUP.  

It is imperative to include a policy that states that a violation of the AUP will result in the confiscation and searching of personal devices by the administration.  Without this policy in place, as Justin W. Patchin mentions in his article, because of New Jersey v. T.L.O. (1985), the Fourth Amendment of the Constitution protects students against search and seizures of their personal property.

Other cases focusing on the issue of whether or not search and seizure of students’ cell phones is justified include the following:

·     Klump v. Nazareth Area School District (2006)

·     J.W. v. Desoto County School District (2010)

·     G.C. v. Owensboro Public Schools (2013)

In each of these cases, the school was being examined to see whether or not they had “reasonable cause” to lawfully search through the students’ phones.  So when you and your parents sign your school's AUP, remember what could happen if you violate any portion of it.

BYOD: A Good Or Bad Thing?

How BYOD Has Changed Education

With technology advancing seemingly everyday in 2018, educators have been forced to take note and by bringing more and more technology into their classrooms.  The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative has been pouring into school rapidly over the past decade, and I wanted to look at the changes in education that have occurred since students have been able to bring their own mobile device to school.

Ashley Wainwright and Corey Murray both wrote posts containing pros and cons of implementing BYOD in schools.  In order to fully comprehend BYOD's positive and negative impacts, you must look at both sides of the argument to see what side of the fence you believe in more.  Let's look at the 5 biggest pros and 5 biggest cons that both writers mention:

Pros

• Students are already familiar and comfortable using their own technology so they can focus on actually learning with them than learning how to use the device.
• It’s a cost-effective way to save schools money on technology.
• With BYOD students are more likely to continue learning outside of schools hours.
• Students love technology so BYOD promotes teacher creativity and engages students by creating enthusiasm and excitement about learning.
• BYOD allows more opportunities for more personalized learning where students can excel at their own pace.

Cons

• Students may be more easily distracted while working on their own mobile devices.
• All these mobile devices can overload your wireless network.
• It possibly opens up the opportunity for cheating and virus being brought onto the school's network.
• Students forget to bring their mobile devices OR forget to charge their devices.
• Some teacher may resist teaching with technology.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Pros definitely outweigh the Cons for the BYOD initiative.  In order for educators to eliminate the negative impacts of BYOD, teachers must be open to changing for the better education of their students and also display good classroom management skills when it comes to technology.  Those are easy fixes that just take an educator who is willing to self reflect on their own teaching and be willing to do whatever it takes to enhance learning for all students!

Do you agree with me that the positives outweigh the negatives when it comes to BYOD changing the landscape of education?