The Streamline
by Matthew Trimboli

 

          As we venture into the high-tech world of new technologies, it is always beneficial to consider what new tools and strategies will aid our efforts to enhance instruction and engage all learners.  For myself, the creation of teacher and classroom websites is a critical component in effectively integrating technology into the content and pedagogy of lessons due to its potential for improving learning and building relationships. 

 



 

          Teaching in an environment where even portable TVs and overhead projectors are not readily available, I relish the prospect of being able to create teacher and classroom websites to "streamline" the plethora of events, activities and communiques that comprise a full school year for most teachers.  To "streamline" teaching means to categorize and coordinate all of those processes into a centralized source, which the websites represent, while providing students and parents multiple conduits for locating and completing work, communicating with the teacher and remaining up to date with material. 

 



 

           Instead of wasting class time writing directions and expectations on the blackboard, I can post them all to the websites in advance so students can access them anytime.  Additionally, a website that is thoroughly and carefully designed will allow students to refer back to notes, lessons and assignments that they may have missed due to absence, field trips, extracurricular activities, etc.  At the same time, parents have access to a virtual mainframe that contains most of the assignments, materials and information their children are responsible for over the course of a school year.  When used in conjunction with regular communication, these websites are a powerful tool for developing and sustaining positive, proactive relationships between students, parents and teachers.  All parties have new opportunities for remaining in regular contact with each other, which translates into increased levels of trust, understanding and cooperation since they will all be equally informed about their respective work, expectations and responsibilities.  Such is the potential of classroom and teacher websites...

 

 

Three Questions:

 

1) As new technologies become more specialized and complex, will it be feasible and 

    advantageous for school districts to implement programs that promote the use of

    classroom and teacher websites?
 

2) How will we measure the projected benefits and drawbacks of using new tools such as

     these personal websites once they are widely implemented in schools?

 

3) Could education possibly become a completely virtual field in the future as learning
     and instruction increasingly transition into online formats?

Class 3/21/13:

I was pleased that we reviewed the procedures for composing webquests on Digication.  Unlike PowerPoint, this database is much more limited in the animation/visual/audio creativity department but compensates by allowing you to categorize information more easily into text, gallery, multimedia, etc. However, I acquired a number of good ideas for enhancing the initial draft which will hopefully improve its overall quality. Combined with images and other multimedia, it will hopefully lead to a more thorough, concise and interesting presentation.

Tools of

Transformation

by Matthew Trimboli

 

With the advent of new technologies, teachers are in a prime position to radically alter the means by which new knowledge is acquired and generated among students.  As a result, it is incumbent upon educators to design clear, appropriate instruction that seeks to meet current standards while also ensuring that real learning occurs.  Responsible, dedicated teachers will gradually assimilate those techniques, materials and tools that prove themselves to be truly beneficial to the learning process, while also remaining vigilant for bias and other defections in online materials that render them inappropriate for classroom use.  Games represent one such tool but most assuredly require evaluation on a case-by-case basis to determine the aforementioned qualities in order to determine their appropriateness for in-class use.

From my experience, computer and video games possess a trove of benefits for enhancing learning through their interactive, stream-lined approach, which engages students in accomplishing certain objectives through the use of intricate storylines. These stories motivate students to utilize not only memorization and recall, but deeper thinking skills such as analysis, summarization, strategizing, etc. to develop solutions to the numerous challenges encountered over the course of the game. Additionally, in many cases this approach fosters stealth learning (Maloy, Verbock-O’Loughlin, Edwards & Woolf, 2011, p.193) because the students are so immersed in the games they do not realize that they are acquiring new strategies and knowledge.

 

Math Blaster and Zoombinis Logical Journey are two of the programs mentioned by the text that I can personally attest to having a real value in providing effective, meaningful learning experiences.  Using them in my own childhood, I now realize how valuable they were in helping me understand different concepts and use deeper metacognitive skills to solve problems or challenges presented in the game.  In Math Blaster: The Search for Spot, the player must compete as Blasternaut in a race against time to rescue Spot, his robotic assistant, who has been kidnapped by the evil trash alien, a malevolent figure whose trademark is leaving a trail of garbage in his ship’s wake.  Utilizing concepts such as addition, subtraction, estimation, etc. to complete the assignments, players are able to practice and refine their basic math skills while also employing deeper thinking skills in order to solve certain equations.  The same holds true in the sequels Math Blaster: Secret of the Lost City and Reading Blaster: Invasion of the Word Snatchers and even expands upon the use of deeper thinking and comprehension skills.

 

 

The Logical Journey of the Zoombinis follows a similar format in that you have to help a group of displaced beings find a new home by traversing a number of perilous obstacles.However, whereas the Math Blaster games relied heavily on recall and memorization, the Zoombinis’ activities are all based on experimental, trial-and-error scenarios that require closer attention to specific patterns and details to solve them successfully.As a result, the Zoombinis’ is a far more attractive game for instilling the deeper metacognitive skills students’require in order to truly comprehend their learning.

Games offer a great benefit when utilized with clear objectives and appropriate content.  Avoiding the mindless violence and gore of such titles as Grand Theft Auto, Resident Evil, etc. is of paramount importance if we wish to avoid creating the opposite effect with our students.  If current research is to be believed, these types of games desensitize players and increase violence, aggression and rage among them, a troubling finding given their widespread use and popularity.  Consequently, it is incumbent upon parents and educators to instill the importance of utilizing positive and productive games that do not rely on death and destruction.

Three Questions:

1) What sources exist for locating more programs like Math Blaster and Zoombinis?

2) Does overexposure to computer/video games diminish childrens' imaginations?

3) How can we strike a balance between technology and tradition when learning?

Class 3/14/13:

The takeaway from this lesson is the plethora of multimedia and interactive resources available for use in the classroom by teachers and students.  As an ever-increasing amount of material becomes available, educators, especially social studies teachers, have more opportunities to provide students with meaningful activities and lessons that enhance and improve the value of their learning. Whether it be a virtual trip to Mount Rushmore or a 360 degree view of the Hagia Sophia, the possibilities are endless for revolutionizing education in the classroom and allowing students to see, hear and touch the subjects they are learning about. I am especially excited about the increasing abilities to share lesser known topics and material that the limitations of older methods and materials prevented. This is perhaps the greatest benefit of the emerging high technologies.

Visions of the Future

by Matthew Joachim 

            During this week’s readings, two major ideas in particular caught my attention in Chapter 4.  In describing technology-using educators, the text asserts that they are those teachers who “explore technology by using it in the classroom while analyzing its role in schools and society” and “promotes change at the classroom, school building and system levels (Maloy, Verock-O’Loughlin, Edwards & Woolf, 2011, p 89).”  I wholeheartedly agree with the necessity of critically evaluating technology in order to improve instruction and assist students in realizing their full potential.  By doing so, we ensure that curriculum standards are being met while also engaging the individual strengths and interests of all students.  This is imperative for ensuring that a thorough and complete differentiation is taking place in our classrooms, allowing our students to learn through a plethora of mediums, experiences and materials.

 



 

 

            As a result, simply choosing resources for use in class are not enough for the successful integration of technology with pedagogy and content area knowledge.  Just as in writing, we must ask ourselves what, when, where, how and why we utilize such resources in order to ensure a truly effective lesson.  For example, showing students full movies or video clips without providing background and purpose diminishes the educational value of such tools.  Additionally, lack of reflection or analysis before, during or after the viewing further erodes value until we are left with time killers whose only purpose is to run out the clock until the students can move on to their next class.  In the same vein, when completing research papers, it is not enough to simply direct students to look up certain information or visit particular websites.  Teachers must provide a format so that students know where and how to locate information, evaluate it for accuracy, bias, relevance, etc. and develop their own arguments without plagiarizing others' work.  In this way, students hone their critical thinking abilities as they become more familiar with exploring multiple sources and points of view, helping mold their own opinions,  instead of mindlessly copying someone else’s work from the first hit they found on Google.

 



Old Long Island  Blog Image: Land's End
 

            For my Webquest, I hope to highlight the importance of providing students with carefully-planned purpose and direction when utilizing new technological resources.  The main focus will revolve around Long Island’s “Gold Coast” era, a relatively brief period in which the north shore of the island attained a legendary status in US history as the home of the American elite during the first decades of the 20^th century.  My aim is to help students understand how the great wealth and prosperity of the “Roaring 20s” helped give rise to the great estates that came into being during this period.  Consequently, the webquest will seek to highlight how the economics and culture of this decade are represented through these grand homes and their owners. 
 

Old Long Island  Blog Image: Killenworth

            Currently, most of the information about the estates and their owners can be found in large reference books that would be more suited for living room coffee tables than students’ desks.  As a result, it had traditionally been difficult to teach this lesson due to a lack of appropriate, readily-available materials.  But with the advent of the Internet and other online sources, I believe this lesson's time has come for use in the classroom.  Assisting me in this educational enterprise is Old Long Island, a historical blog “dedicated to the preservation Long Island’s ‘Gold Coast’ estates and other things old.”  Created and maintained by Zach, an architecture major at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, the blog draws its material from primary and secondary source materials such as pictures, brochures, blueprints, articles and the aforementioned reference books.  As a result, it has become a comprehensive source for information on Long Island’s “Gold Coast” and even garnered recognition from Newsday, the official newspaper of Long Island.  I can verify its accuracy and authenticity since I own most of its source materials and keep in regular contact with its author, who is a passionate student of architecture seeking to preserve and raise awareness of this fantastic yet forgotten period of Long Island history.  He updates the blog with new entries on a daily basis and has catalogued it so users can search for information by house, owner and/or architect.  Additionally, he provides links to other blogs and sites with similar content.  As a result, students will find that most of the information they need to complete the webquest is located on this blog.  For additional assistance, I will also provide links to the Wikipedia entries on selected homes and owners.  These entries are sourced with the same references utilized by Zach and complement students’ research.  Because of this, and combined with the fact that the "Gold Coast" is not a controversial or divisive topic, I feel that Wikipedia is warranted for use in this case.  Additionally, since I own many of the print materials that Old Long Island and Wikipedia reference, it only enhances the plethora of sources available for students’ use. We shall see how it fares…

Three Questions:

1) What are some other websites that we can use?

2) Are their any standardized lists of educational sites and resources we can use?

3) Is there a limit to technology's potential?