New tools in the classroom

I should consider some questions when introducing new tools into the classroom. I can know how to manage a new tool but maybe my students do not understand what I am doing. I remember when I was in 6th grade and a professor was really into technology. The problem was that he was really advanced and we didn't have any idea about smart boards. We were in class doing homework and he was asking for volunteers to do exercises in the smart board. We didn't know how to use it and he got mad. 

So many professors expect us to know how to use technology just because of the fact that we are young. So, as a future professor, I would ask myself if I am using the right tool or not and I should know if my students know how to use it. 

Also, an important question is if I am using the right tool according to the age. I should not use a smart board or using computers and do difficult exercises with five years old kids.  Another question is if I need to use that tool or not. Sometimes teachers work so much better with just a book and the blackboard. I feel like sometimes students start playing with the computer instead of listen the lesson. The last thing that I want as a teacher is to see that my students don't learn and that I am loosing my time. 

About positive attributes as well as potential barriers regarding the introduction of tools in the classroom, I totally agree with Nada Salem in " Integrating technology in the Classroom". As she said: "Students tend to work together more while using technology" and "Their critical thinking is also improved as they learn how to create and design websites then publish heir work." 

Moreover, students nowadays use tecnhnology almost all the time. Technoly is already the future. We are going to need technolgy to solve a lot of problems. Integrating it in the classroom gives students the possibility of having a better future. 

I really think that students work better with technology tools. Young people love to have laptops, phones and ipads in their hands. As soon as professors give to students some of these objects, they get excited and interested. I interview my nephew about this so I could see if I was right or wrong. He is six years old. 

- Do you like when your go to the classroom with computers?

- Yes! I do like it a lot.

-Why?

- We work in groups of three people and we have so much fun doing activities together. We are all the time laughing!

- Do you actually learn?

- Yes I do learn a lot because if I don't understand something, my partners can explain it to me and we also learn how to use a computer. 

I could tell that kids work together more when technology is available. In class, they just sit in their desks and listen what the professor says. Instead, technology in this case is a method where you learn so many things: respect turns, share opinions, help to each other and communication. 

I will choose one technology or  another in my classroom depending of the content. For instance, if I am going to explain a lesson about new vocabulary, I would use a power point and I would add pictures and games inside the power point. If I am in music class and I want them to learn some songs I would go to youtube and explain to them that if they want to listen songs, there is this website where you can listen your favorite songs as many times as you want.  Finally, If I am in Language class, English as well as Spanish, I would create a web page where they can upload their homework or posts and they can comment it among them. Every class is different, every child is different, we cannot use the same tool for every student and subject. 

Finally, TPACK is something that not everyone knows what is. According to David Carpenter, TPACK is a " framework that describes the process required of a teacher to bring together the requisite technology, pedagogical and content knowledge to effectively integrate technology in the classroom."

All right…technology  is awesome and we love it. However, it does not work always. We sometimes hate tecnology, specially when a web page does not charge or we cannot check our emails because Internet is not working. Same with TPACK, Are the tasks well suited to my learners? Does the tool do all that I think it can?Do the students have all of the information they need to complete the task? Are there other strategies that I may not use as often (or be as comfortable with), but that might be more appropriate for this task? Does the tool that I chose fit the type of task that I wanted to do? Does it tend to lean more towards one of the TPACK factors?

I feel like I just can know the answers once I teach in a class or observing a class that use TPACK. And I can’t wait to figure these questions out!

 "If we teach today as we taught yesterday, then we rob our children of tomorrow." So, it is our duty to teach today in a way that prepares our students for tomorrow. They are already halfway there... they have beaten us when it comes to technology; we should definitely catch up, and even more! - Nada Salem

Anywhere, Anytime.

There is no doubt that technology is gaining territory in the wonderful field of education. But, every school is different. Many schools continue to have policies which prohibit students from using cell phones or computers in class. However, other schools allow to their students to use technology in class. These kind of schools think that social media tools make it possible for students to connect with other students around the world. 

Nowadays, students use technology to communicate with each other. I think we use more words by texting than by talking. That's pretty sad actually. Anyways, almost every student have a smartphone. That means that they have Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at least. Well, if you don't have any of these social networks, you are not cool. And... everybody want to be cool at some point right?

Since the students love to have a phone in their hands all the time, why are they going to have books if they can have a phone? I mean, they can have their phones or laptops and have more fun by checking their pictures or playing some games. Also, another point for books to "disappear" is that you can download books on the Internet. Why are you going to spend hundreds of dollars in the bookstore if you can have a book for free? Going to the bookstore means to loose time and money. I honestly think that, at some point, books will disappear. We just need to realize how fast technology has improved in a short period of time. 

I see the future of education not too far. Actually it's already happening. Teaching and learning used to happen just in the classroom not too long ago. But nowadays, technology makes everything possible. I mean, all of us are taking this on-line class. We are learning because of technology. We don't even know sometimes our professor and classmates! The only thing that we know is that we have a laptop, we post in our blogs and that we receive feedback according to what we wrote through a screen. 

I can be at the park, at the beach or in my bed while texting my professors because I have some questions. Same with my professors. They maybe receive my e-mail while they are at the mountains or playing with the snow. Who knows right? So then, I would receive an e-mail with the answers to my question. Maybe at 7am or maybe at 6pm. Definitely, teaching and learning can happen anywhere, anytime and with anyone. 

So...never stop learning! 

Open, networked and participatory communities

Recently, open, networked and participatory communities are playing a huge role in our learning environment. Now is when you frown and think what the hell is she talking about. Don't worry. It is so easy. 

According to Henry Jenkins, Director of the Comparative Media Studies Program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Participatory culture are characterized by " relatively low barriers to artistic expression and civic engagement, strong support for creating and sharing one's creations, and some type of information mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices". A participatory culture "is also one in which members believe that their contributions matter, and feel some degree of social connectedness with one another (at least they care what other people think about what they have created)". In other words: group of people that work together, share creations and support each other. 

Open thinking is another concept that we all should know if we want to talk about learning environments. According to Dr. Alec Courus, open thinking is the tendency of an individual, group or institution to give preference to the adoption of open technologies or formats in regards to software, publishing, content and practice. Open thinkers critique, question and seek to reject technologies or formats that compromise the power of adopters, especially in the freedom to use, reuse, edit and share creative works and tools. Basically, open thinking is a group of people that prefers open technology, which is when you are allow to improve on previous technologies freely without limitations. 

How do we capture the spirit of open, networked, and participatory communities in our learning environments?  

Learning environments are everywhere. And of course social media is, nowadays, one of the most important environments to learn. Social media is an open thinking created by a participatory culture. We all are connected to share whatever we want just because… it’s an open network!

Students use e-mail to communicate with their professors in case of doubts. Through skype we can see our loved ones that are far away from us. Through facebook, we express ourselves and we are open to receive comments. Through this blog, you can read my thoughts about anything and comment whatever you want. Finally, we all have blogs because of…technology! We are sharing our opinions and as we read other posts from other people, we learn new points of view.

We capture the spirit of open, networked and participatory communities in our learning environments by sharing and using technology!