My Teacher's Padlet by Melanie Boulis https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn Made with a lightning strike of genius by Melanie Boulis en-us 2021-03-03 21:57:22 UTC 2025-09-25 02:46:57 UTC hello@padlet.com Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants 3 biggies 1. Prensky states, “my own preference for teaching Digital Natives is to invent computer games to do the job, even for the most serious content” (Prensky, 2001, p.4) I really like this idea. I remember when my kids were little and used JumpStart computer games, back when having a home computer was becoming a popular thing. Everything was in game form, but they learned math, reading, letter sounds, etc. They watched a Leapfrog Letter Factory video that aided them in learning their letter sounds by the time they were 3. They were all reading before kindergarten because learning was made fun for them. Why would we want to sit and lecture when learning can be a fun game? I really enjoyed Prensky’s story of the new software for mechanical engineers and how they were resistant to change their old ways until it was made into a game”(Prensky, p.4). There is no reason that a generation that can memorize over 100 Pokémon characters with all their characteristics, history and evolution can’t learn the names, populations, capitals and relationships of all the 101 nations in the world. It just depends on how it is presented” (Prensky, p.5) 2. Digital immigrants have a strong “accent”. “Today‟s older folk were "socialized" differently from their kids and are now in the process of learning a new language. And a language learned later in life, scientists tell us, goes into a different part of the brain” (Prensky, p. 2). Printing out an email is an example of our accent. So is “needing to print out a document written on the computer in order to edit it (rather than just editing on the screen)” (Prensky, p.2). I have done the later. I wrote a book that was published in 2013. I printed off the whole thing so I and a couple of friends could edit it with different colored ink because I prefer to read things on paper. Yes, I am THAT old. I realize that this will prove as challenging to me, as my immigrant accent is strong. “Smart adult immigrants accept that they don’t know about their new world and take advantage of their kids to help them learn and integrate. Not-so-smart (or not-so-flexible) immigrants spend most of their time grousing about how good things were in the “old country.” “(Prensky, p.3). In not wanting to be the old gal that refuses to change, I need to learn what ways work to teach digital natives. 3. There are 2 kinds of learning content- legacy (old systems) and future content. Legacy involves reading, writing, math, logic, and understanding the past. Future “includes software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology, genomics, etc. it also includes the ethics, politics, sociology, languages and other things that go with them (Prensky, p. 4). We need to learn how to teach both in the digital natives language. Teaching legacy content to digital natives involves using different methods than teachers have used in the past. Teaching future content adds new content and new thinking to our new methods. 2 SIDES Without a doubt, I am a digital immigrant. This world feels foreign to me sometimes compared to the world I grew up in. I have a strong accent. I appreciate putting my phone away when I am around other people to enjoy a conversation without distractions. When on vacation, I put my phone away and try to only check in once a day. Being unplugged is less stressful to me. Sometimes I want to be unreachable. As a teacher, it would be much easier to stick to what I know- the old school way. It will be hard work learning things that don’t come easy to me. Creative educational games on the computer sounds time consuming to me. I’d rather create a worksheet. Everything takes me twice as long to do on the computer as it does technology smart people. One thing I would never want to replace is real paper books. I know people can read e-books now, but that is something I don’t see myself ever embracing aside from textbooks. Even my 8- year-old would rather read a book from the library and turn the pages than read a book on the computer. Some things are worth keeping as they are. On the other hand, Mr. Prensky makes a lot of sense as to why jumping all in to the digital age is the way to go. “Today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors.”(Prensky, p. 1) “They like to parallel process and multi-task. They thrive on instant gratification and frequent rewards”(Prensky, p.2). We can’t keep using the same techniques and expect them to work. Their whole life they have been networked and have no attention span for lectures and or things they deem not worthy to pay attention to. Technology is here and we need to find a way to use it to enhance learning. It’s not going away. We can’t step back in time and pretend that we are living in a pre-technology age. When the kids we teach grow up, their jobs will be using technology more than ever. We must prepare them and teach to their digital language. 1 QUESTION I realize that technology has bombarded even the youngest of lives. My concern is that young kids will lose their creativity and imagination if everything in life is done on screens. How much screen time is too much? If they are allowed to use unlimited screen time at home, should we be doing much at school for kindergarten and preschoolers with Ipads and tablets? I limit screen time (TV, tablet, phone) for my 8-year-old. I want her to be active and to be able to use her imagination for pretend, creative play. On one hand, there are so many wonderful educational games on tablets, but on the other hand, some kids have no idea how to function without a screen in front of them. Learning can be wildly fun for the younger set without using technology to accomplish that. How important is it to include technology for preschoolers and kindergarten? References Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the horizon Vol.9, No. 5. MCB University Press. mrsmelanieboulis https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1342892808 2021-03-23 13:45:06 UTC https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1342892808 DIGITAL GENERATION “Our traditional minds recoil from the discomfort of new ideas that are outside our past experience”. (p.12)That quote sums up me with new technology. Being a person that is behind the times a bit in the technical world, this article was just what I needed to challenge me to learn more so I can help my students be all that they can be. I want my students to be able to solve problems for themselves and apply learned knowledge in their lives and in the real world. If they leave my class being able to recite lots of information, but don’t know if or when they will ever use this information, I will not consider myself to be a successful teacher. “Knowing content doesn’t make you competent; competence is the ability to apply content in some useful way”. (p.11) 3 BIGGIES (ACTUAL 4) The traditional way of educating is not motivating to students in the digital generation. They are not engaged in the learning process if they are just sitting there listening. “It’s not just about getting them to learn, it’s about getting them to WANT to learn. Without motivation there is no learning”. (p.3) I found Edgar Dale’s learning cone to be eye-opening. He claims that after two weeks of learning information we only retain 10% of what we read, 20% of what we hear, and 30% of what we see. My childhood classrooms consisted of a lot of reading and listening. The things that help us retain the most are participating in a discussion group, giving a talk, simulating a real experience or actually participating in a real experience, or teaching someone else. Those all fall under the category of “saying” or “saying and doing” and boast a 70-90% retention rate. Hands-on experiences make the learning relevant. Students learn how to apply what they have learned. Our goal is for the students to eventually not need us and to be able to have critical thinking skills so they can solve problems on their own. I am hearing more and more about the need to have students collaborate. This article emphasizes this concept, as well. Collaborating with peers prepares students for the real world of working together with co-workers, in board meeting, and working together in marriage and other relationships. Several minds working together can get things done in creative ways. The article points out how easy it is to collaborate not just with school peers, but people around the globe, due to technology. The last of the seven changes educators need to make is that of re-evaluating assessments and evaluations. The example of needing a pilot that not only passed a written test but can actually land a plane really stuck with me. Our students need chances to experiment and make mistakes without being penalized. Instead of just filling in a bubble, they need the opportunity to demonstrate what they can do in front of an audience. 2 SIDES I understand how some people could be against using new technology in the classroom. I can see how teachers would be reluctant to make all 7 of these changes. They need the kids to pass the big state tests every year and that involves a lot of memorization and doesn’t at all fit as an assessment that would be in the digital generation. I realize it also costs money to involve technology in the classroom. Some schools may have the funding and others don’t. The schools with money would have a definite advantage in preparing their students for out technology-rich world. For a teacher that is “old-school”, she may have to spend hours learning new ways of doing things in the classroom. She may feel like everything she ever learned how to do is now changing. It may be the difference between an older staff and a younger staff in how they do with embracing technology in the classroom. I realize it may be harder for me to get my first teaching job at almost 50 years of age than if I was in my 20’s simply because of the technology divide. On the other hand, many educators could see our technology-rich age as an exciting time of possibility. I read about the 4th change educators need to make -we need to let students access information natively. The reactions to new innovations in education progress are laughable. Thinking that calculators could never surpass the speed of the human brain, or that using paper and pens were just so wasteful and would never be able to be sustained proves that all generations think their ways are best and are resistant to change. Cell phones and social networking are here. We might as well find good uses for these in school instead of banning them. Those things are not going away and so many kids, even at a very young age, have their own technology devices. If we are preparing our students for the future, we need to think about what is happening outside of school. “The widespread blocking of these tools and activities is happening at the same time that in businesses and higher education, social networking and digital devices are commonly being used as the communications and collaboration tools of choice. Schools may be missing a huge opportunity to leverage digital and social networking tools as powerful learning resources for after-school homework help, review sessions and collaborative projects to enhance the educational experience.”(p.9) 1 QUESTION I would like to see a video of a week in an elementary classroom that fully embraces technology and all its benefits. My experiences as an elementary student do not involve any technology, so I have not seen it used much, other than in the preschool setting with the kids using the Smartboard and having IPADs with educational activities on them. On top of just reading about the changes, I want to see someone who has actually made the changes and is seeing positive results with embracing the concepts in this article. Reference 21st Century Fluency Project. (n.d.) Understanding the digital generation II. The Committed Sardine web site. mrsmelanieboulis https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1342997878 2021-03-23 14:02:51 UTC https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1342997878 ARE WE INNOVATING OR JUST DIGITIZING TRADITIONAL TEACHING? mrsmelanieboulis https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1369946178 3 Biggies
 One thing I learned from this Edutopia article is that blended learning is not just doing everything the same as before, only switching the same content to the computer. We need to move from it being teacher-directed to student-centered. “When blended learning is equated with digital workflow, students remain consumers of teacher-directed content instead of becoming creators of knowledge within a context that they can actively control” (para. 3). In paragraph 4 I learned that true blended learning gives students “an element of authority over the process”.  In the example of the 1:1 ipads, the kids controlled where the learning took place, the pace they worked, and the mode they used to access the content.
The idea of using videos to scaffold independent learning stuck with me. I like the idea of cloning myself through screen casting as Jeannette talked about in the article. It would free me up to work with individual students. I could give detailed instructions via video and if the students forget what to do, they can refer back to the video. I can work out a sample problem on the video, so they can do see it step-by-step with me, again, being able to refer back to the video any time they need to.
 Blended learning is more personalized for our students. They all have unique needs that are not a one-size-fits-all classroom experience. Students can pick from options for acquiring content, like in the example of  Jeffrey Bernadt in paragraph 8. He offered choices from “video, digital text, paper or e-books, or face-to-face conversation” for acquiring content. It is up to the teacher to make conditions where their students can flourish using technology. Also, “digital tools give students new voice and choice in demonstrating their learning”(para. 8).
2 sides
I understand that it may be easier to follow the way we’ve always done things, just transferring the same ways that we do it now to the computer-  digitizing traditional teaching. Instead of reinventing the wheel, a teacher may want to stick with what they know, as it would take hours and learning how to do a lot of technical things to make true blended learning happen. Also, having kids go at their own pace might not be as easy for a teacher to keep up with. Having all the students moving along lessons all together seems easier for the teacher to keep track of and coordinate.
On the other hand, if we always did what was easy in life, nothing great would ever happen. If we, as teachers, can personalize learning for our students to a higher degree, they will be more successful. Isn’t that the goal? For our students to succeed in their learning. Blended learning makes personalizing learning happen easier and frees us up to help kids on an individual basis while the other kids do independent work using technology. For the kids who struggle to keep up, this gives them an opportunity to process learning at a speed that is less frustrating. For those students who feel like the rest of the class is holding them back, they can blast ahead, as long as there are things for those students to do if they finish the lesson or unit much earlier than the other students. Using blended learning we can cater to our student’s learning styles in the way they access content and show their learning.
1 Question
Blending learning requires technology and it seems that 1:1 is best. What about the schools that do not have the funds for 1:1 technology for their students? How can we fully transition to blended learning if only some of our schools can do so?  Wouldn’t the other schools be left behind and continue to struggle to see the success that wealthier school districts are able to achieve with the aid of technology?

Resource

Holland, B. (2017, February 22). Are We Innovating, or Just Digitizing Traditional Teaching? Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/are-we-innovating-or-just-digitizing-traditional-teaching-beth-holland.

]]> 2021-03-30 23:21:41 UTC https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1369946178 ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY mrsmelanieboulis https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1391261179 3 biggies
                The main idea of assistive technology in the classroom is to not just support learning, but to bypass challenging tasks, as well. For example, a speech to text device bypasses decoding for a student who has trouble with that. Audiobooks can help a student with dyslexia dysgraphia, bypassing the need to read words on a page. 
                Assistive technology is not what will make a student succeed on its own. There must be quality instruction taking place in the classroom. Paired together, the student has what he/she needs to be successful if they are motivated to learn. 
                Assistive technology is not just about expensive computers. There are 3 categories of devices. Pencil grips and slant boards are an example of low-tech help. Mic-tech devices include calculators, pentop computers, and web-based graphic organizers. High-tech devices are what is mainly used for learning disabilities and include word prediction devices, speech to text and text to speech devices, and braille writers like the Mountbatten machine used by Mason in the video within the assistive tech presentation. 

2 sides
                These devices are key to helping students take part in the general education classroom. Without them, kids would have to muddle through, feeling frustrated at not being able to keep up with the other kids because of their learning or developmental disability. Some of them not only bypass hard things, but help the child to learn, such as a device that reads the book aloud and highlights the word that is being read so a student can learn new words and what they look like. “Students with learning disabilities may have a history of academic failure, which contributed to their development of learned helplessness” (Young & MacCormack, 2018). With the use of assistive technology, their academic failure can be turned around and a student realizes that with help they can achieve success in reaching their IEP goals. 
                Some may look at the hefty price tag of the high-tech learning devices and decide that there are too many kids with needs to begin to meet them all with high-tech helps. There is not a lot of research to show if these devices really help much. Teachers may fear that students may become too dependent on the technology to help them instead of learning how to read, write, and organize their own work. There would need to be teacher training to know how to use many of these devices and computer programs and the time it takes to teach the students how to use them may also be a lengthy process. Will the assistive technology be worth the time, money, and effort?

1 question
                When a student has an assistive technology device, do they typically use it for every assignment or just the ones where they need the most help? For example, a child who has trouble with writing has assignments where paragraphs need to be written and others where only a sentence is needed. Should that child write the sentence without the use of their device so that they do not become too dependent on it and never learn how to write well? Or should a child who has trouble reading have all things read to him audibly or just things that are more than a few sentences long? 

References

Grubaugh, J., & Shoemaker, L. Assistive Tech Presentation. Google Slides. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kM-5sn-gmrShuoPNDY3j3IKnJNH70i34rcCIB7EeifM/.

Young, G., & MacCormack, J. (2018, May 4). Assistive Technology for Students with Learning Disabilities. LD@school. https://www.ldatschool.ca/assistive-technology/.

]]> 2021-04-07 13:09:06 UTC https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1391261179 DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP IN THE CURRICULUM mrsmelanieboulis https://padlet.com/mrsmelanieboulis/ant1p4ggsg94rxxn/wish/1414279120 Digital Citizenship in the Curriculum

3 biggies
         There are 3 kinds of citizens our 21st century democracy needs- personally responsible, participatory, and justice-oriented. Those 3 can be translated into digital citizenship as well and need to be taught to our students. Some are just teaching internet safety, but it’s not enough. Lessons and curriculum should involve all 3 of these types of digital citizenship.

1. Personally responsible digital citizenship. We need to teach our students where to focus their attention and how to identify credible and untrustworthy sources. They must learn how to tell who runs and funds the websites before bothering to read the article. The C.R.A.P. test used currency, reliability, authority of the person writing the article, and the purpose/point of view of the source. These strategies could be used in many subjects. For example, math teacher can use this when asking his class to verify statistics of claims of politicians. An English teacher might have her students “analyze the rhetorical strategies employed in politicians’ tweets” (p.53). 

2. Participatory digital citizenship. We can teach our students to examine the power and limitations of social media. Instead of just being passive readers about politics, they can learn how to “organize quickly, challenge dominant discourses, and demand changes” (p. 53). We can teach them how to carefully craft a message and which messages are worthy of replying to, given their aim. They need to be able to know how to voice their concerns and negotiate with other parties both in school and out. 

3. Justice-oriented digital citizenship. We can teach our students to organize on social media to fight injustice and oppression. They can lobby social media companies, asking them to make online spaces more supportive of healthy democracy. Students need to know that these companies carry biases and they need to know how to figure out their financial, political, social, or corporate reasons why the companies do what they do. Students need to figure out if certain voices are marginalized or prioritized. 

2 sides
          Because students spend excessive amounts of time on social media, some schools want to ban students from social media in school. It then won’t be a distraction during the school day and students can concentrate on schoolwork and face-to-face relationships. 
          When we do this, we are being authoritarian. Instead of teaching our students how to be responsible and use social media for good and at appropriate times that don’t interfere with classes we are teaching them nothing to arm them to live in our social media driven world. Whether we like it or not, citizenship is digital now. If our students are going to use social media, we need to teach them how to pursue justice, act responsibly, and participate by letting their voice be heard in a respectful way. 

1 question
           What would be a good age/grade to start teaching digital citizenship like we talked about above? I feel like the article was talking mostly about middle school and high school students. How can we “dummy” down these lessons on digital citizen ship for elementary students?

 Reference
Krutka, Daniel & Carpenter, Jeffrey. (2017). Digital Citizenship in the Curriculum.            Educational Leadership. 73.
 
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