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Dear Parents,

The most recent article I read addressed one school’s strategy to ban all social media. This school, in Madison, Wisconsin, wanted to see if grades, behavior, and safety improved with the limitation. However, as the article goes to show, it is more important for us as educators to prepare students for the century we are in. This includes social media. The article focuses on the opposing view of the school that we need to teach students how to properly interpret what they see on social media, as well as use it for the benefit of their learning and the community.

This article also offers a few strategies as to what will prepare the students the most. First, students need to work to distinguish and recognize the credibility of an article or social media post. It explains a method of doing so called “C.R.A.P.” The C stands for currency. Students should ask how recently this was published or posted and how relevant it is to the times. R, for reliability, refers to how students understand the trustworthiness of the content. For the A, students need to look at the authority of the writing. It is important to know whether the person writing and posting it is in a position to speak and give direction on the subject. Finally, the P stands for purpose and point of view of the sources. They need to see if the information in the article meets its purpose and if the point of view of the sources is reliable in itself and in terms of this purpose.

The next strategy is using lateral research. Rather than simply reading through an article alone, we need to teach our students the importance of understanding the beliefs and biases behind the article. It is simple with the technology we have to open a tab, right next to the article, and search the background of the author, publisher information, sponsor beliefs, and much more. We know that we cannot take everything we read to be completely unbiased and pure, so we should begin teaching our students ways of understanding these biases to get the most out of the information.

Finally, students should be given opportunities to use technology to promote their learning. Since they are so immersed in social media and the digital world already, they have many skills that can be useful in productive and constructive ways. For example, creating a simple hashtag can build a movement of change and service in the community around them. They also can use social media to become active members of society by allowing them to see differing views, build their own, and share helpful things with others.

The questions we now must answer are these: What are the best ways to integrate these things into my classroom and your students’ lives? How can I implement these strategies to best prepare your children? What must you and I do to work together in these respects?

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Blog #4 Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities

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Blog #4 Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities

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Dear parents,

One of the most talked about and often changing aspects of special education is assistive technology. For many students, it can be the difference between achieveing their learning goals or staying in the same place academically. When implemented with appropriate intervention and other accommodations, assistive technology can be a valuable tool for students and teachers. However, many view it as a distraction in the classroom. Although this is always a possibility, it is helpful to properly train both the students and teachers on the use of the tool as well as when it is appropriate.

Assistive technology varies from student to student and can be anywhere from high-tech to low-tech. This range not only helps accommodate individuals’ needs, but also can assist the school or parents in terms of cost. If a student’s needs can be met the same using an iPad or color-coded folders, it would be very helpful to go the low-tech route. Overall, it may be helpful for students to have individual laptops or other devices because many tools are simply apps that can be added to them. Additionally, most come with speech-to-text and word prediction capabilities within the composing apps. Both of these would be incredibly helpful for students who have trouble writing, spelling, or typing.

There are two ways that assistive technology can be useful to students. First, it can support the learning that the teacher is already implementing. For example, text-to-speech for textbooks would allow the student to follow along and better comprehend the material the teacher is using. Secondly, assistive technology allows students to bypass challenging tasks in order to get to deeper learning. Handwriting is one thing that is often difficult for students with learning disabilities. Tools that take away the need for handwritten work can help students focus on their thoughts and answers.

Assistive technology cannot make students reach their goals on its own. It must be paired with quality teaching, a helpful institution, and appropriate accommodations. So then, what should the teachers consider when they recommend assistive technology for their students? Of course, they should look to see if low-tech tools will provide enough help or if higher-tech is needed. This would also play into the school or parents’ price range. The tool or tools should be selected based on the students specific difficulties, but also play into their strengths. Finally, they need to make sure that they receive and give their students the training that is needed for them to use their new assistive technology most effectively.

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Blog #3 Technology Can Make Students More Intellectual

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Blog #3 Technology Can Make Students More Intellectual

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Dear Parents,

Another article poses a similar view about how the change in technology can enhance and engage education more and more. It claims that technology will help make students more intellectual by allowing them to think individually. It also explains a process called just-in-case learning. This process consists of students finding a fast and concise resource that helps them learn what they need in that moment. It also presents a differing view, in which people fear that education will become solely based upon just-in-time learning. People with this idea often think of a past “Golden Age” in which student were smarter, more disciplined, and versed well in the classics. They do not understand that although a change needs to happen, it will not make our students completely lose their knowledge of the classics or their discipline.

The article focuses on the first view for the majority of the remaining text, addressing different ways that technology can make students more intellectual. First, it will greatly enhance reading, writing, and especially research. Using new apps, students can bookmark, save, and take notes about countless websites. They can share information and papers with incredible amounts of people. Additionally, they can see their progress and the reward of their work like never before. Since everything is accessible after completion, they can access past work to see their progress or use the research they had. Students can efficiently access their work through the years, allowing them to see the rewards more clearly. This not only will motivate them, but also allow them to build off of past work, leading them more easily to expertise. Finally, students today can explore their personal interests more in depth. They have more access to resources to find more things that fit and build their interest. This will then help students to know their interests better, allowing them to more effectively choose a career.

All of these things will continue to grow along with technology. So, we need to think about how we can best foster an environment for our students to work with these things and explore their interests.

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Dear Parents,

In another article I read recently, the idea that students today learn differently was again very prevelant. This article, as a part of the 21st Century Fluency Series, addressed this important topic and used it as a call for teachers to make a change in the way we teach. Many teachers however, hold the opposing view that teaching should stay the same as it has for many years. Though teaching, as it is, is set up logically and gives students the basics that they need, it does not motivate the students that we now have. Ultimately, the shift to better teach the digital generation is not about getting rid of the fundamentals, but instead preparing them for the world they will someday enter, which is incredibly digital.
The article shifts from showing these two views to focusing on how we can make the change necessary to teach today’s students better. First, students need us to teach the whole mind. Instead of emphasizing and putting all of our effort into the “top 1/3,” we should work to build up the student who are on lower levels. The article talks a lot about how technology is used. It is such a present and daily thing in our lives, but we often restrict it in the classroom. This not only makes students less likely to pay attention, but also wastes a helpful resource. As teachers, we can enhance our students abilities and build off of their previous knowledge of this technology in the classroom.
Another change that the article called for is an increase in student collaboration. Rather than keeping them separated to work independently, we should give students more of an opportunity to work alongside one another. This generation has so many resources to be able to collaborate with more people, in a shorter amount of time. Collaboration also allows the students to solve more numerous and difficult problems because it grows their knowledge and opinions.
Finally, in order to properly accommodate the digital generation, we need to change the way we do assessments. They cannot always be about memorization alone. Instead, students need to be able to show us that they know how to use the skills we are teaching in everyday life. To get here though, there needs to be more of an effort in practice and encouragement leading up to these assessments.
So, now that we can see how students today learn differently, the question we must consider is this: How can we best prepare our students to enter this digital age? These three changes are an important first step, but the changes cannot stop there.

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Blog #1 Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

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Blog #1 Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

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Dear parents,

I recently read an article and thought I would share parts of it with all of you. I found it very relevant to the way I am to teach your children and I believe that it will also be helpful in understanding how your child thinks and learns. It may also be beneficial in the way that you help your student with his or her work. I hope that you find this helpful and would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how I can better incorporate this into my class.
It is important first to understand, as Marc Prensky writes, children today are fundamentally different from those of previous generations. Therefore, they “think and process information fundamentally differently.” For example, they are used to having instant gratification and incredibly quick access to information. Additionally, students today are used to constant multitasking, such as doing homework and watching TV at the same time. Finally, everything that they do is networked and connected. With all of these differences, how can we expect students today to learn in the same way that those in past generations?
When we place these expectations on our students, it is clear that it does not work well for them. They do not pay attention well to long lectures or step-by-step teaching. Our society sees this as a problem, ADHD for example, or simply as the children’s lack of motivation. However, these Digital Natives, who have grown up with technology, often do not even understand what their Digital Immigrant -those who are now adopting technology as something new- teachers are saying. Since our students today are so drastically different, they will not be able to learn from the lessons teachers have grown accustomed to teaching.
As educators of these Digital Natives, we need to make a change in the way we teach. This means that in our methods, we must grow faster and become more stimulating to the students. This does not mean changing the meaning of our lessons, but we need to find ways to get them across more effectively to these new kinds of learners. Additionally, our content must also change to be more future-oriented, incorporating digital and technological advancements. Though the significance of the teachings will remain the same, we need new ways to teach them so as to better reach this technological generation.
There are, as with most things, two views on this change. The first being that it is a necessity and will help our students. However, some may say that new methods such as these will not work for all subjects. Making this change will definitely benefit students in school today. For example, it will keep them more engaged, as well as allow them to continue to use the skills they have mastered to be able to grow as technology does. But, such a radical change also comes with risks. There is the possibility that teachers will lose sight of what is fundamentally important for learning, along with the inevitable difficulty of adapting all subjects in this way. So then, the question we must consider is, how do we best teach the students we have without forgetting the most important aspects of learning?