Week+2

My evolution continues..

 Today we were introduced to the wide world of Google. Google docs, Google sites, Gmail, Google Forms, Google Presentations... Google! In my primitive technological state I had known of these applications ('apps') but I had no idea how they worked or what they were used for. Now I am far more Google-literate!

Using Google and having a functional knowledge of it is invaluable in a technologically-driven schooling environment. Students and teachers alike can use these apps to construct, communicate and collaborate on any number of ideas and assignments. That these apps are free and very user-friendly are big benefits to using Google in an educational setting. What's more, by using these applications in tandem with others, the assignment becomes varied and applicable to the efforts of individuals with varied skills. Doing a quick search using Google, I found a lesson plan idea that encompasses a variety of Google apps (e.g. Lesson ideas for tracking the 2008 US Presidential campaign using Google Earth, Docs & Spreadsheets, News Archives search, and Blogger ). When students can work through a series of problems in an environment that is familiar, functional, and fashionable to the students needs and wants, there is a perfect opportunity for learning to happen in a meaningful, effective way. All that said, it also makes the job of the teacher much easier! Using apps such as Google forms allows for quick, efficient and organized gathering and analysis of data.

 My technological evolution was also accelerated today with my orientation to student response systems, i.e. 'clickers'. To be honest, and I feel somewhat odd to admit this in an 'integrating technology into the classroom' class, but before today I had no idea this technology existed! The idea is simple enough, using radio waves and a pre-programmed question/response matrix in order to ask and quickly analyze student responses. The system can be used in many ways such as quizzing the students or simply reviewing the previous day's material in an engaging, interactive manner.

That said, the clickers can be used for formative and summative assessment and across a variety of subject areas. The real advantage of using the clickers is that it encourages all students to participate. Because there is no open forum for answering questions, but a closed, anonymous system for answering there are no inhibitions to deal with and students are unafraid to answer.

A final thought for this week has to do with the use of smartphones in class.  I am still unsure as to what my position towards them should be. Ontologically, I have a real issue with letting one's Self (capital 'S' Self) get tangled up in a web of endless modification to the virtual personality. Using a smartphone to offload some of the burden of thinking or doing real, meaningful work is not, in my approximation of teaching, an effective way to develop young minds.