Week+4

A New Development...

We began today's class with a discussion about the newly released IPad which our instructor hailed as a game changer for education. I couldn't agree more, yet I am still weary over some of its applications. I agree, because with what I have been exposed to so far (podcasts, movie making, student response systems, the world of Google, etc.), using the IPad could bring all of these applications to the touch of each student's fingertips. The very idea is incredibly empowering. Having an outlet for personal/academic expression and development in the palm of your hands is educational dynamite! Especially when the outlet is a device that the students associate with progress, development, creativity and excitement.

I wonder, however, what the benefits of using them to replace textbooks are. I can see how saving trees and eliminating back strain is an immediate benefit... access, cost (digital copies I am assuming would cost the school less than actual books) and multimedia potential are other positives. Yet me must consider the negatives as well (there is immediate danger in utilizing something before realizing its costs - even though we may not consider this initially), as I believe they need to be addressed.

That said, saving trees is one thing, but what about student responsibility for their IPad? Would we have to make them sign a contract? How often would the IPads need to be replaced? Would we have to demand students supply their own? How then can we promote an equitable classroom when some students have access and others do not? Again, back strain is one thing, but what about eye strain? I don't know about other people but I personally do NOT enjoy reading from a computer screen for long periods at all. In fact, I'm quite sure there are some serious side effects associated with looking too long at a computer screen. Accessibility and multimedia availability is also very appealing. However, are we doing the students a favour by providing them with a device that makes learning easier? Are we really developing skills, or are we just offloading some skills onto a capable computer, thereby causing us to be increasingly dependent on technology? The atrocious spelling and grammar of high school and university students, I believe, has direct correlation to the introduction of spelling and grammar checkers. Notwithstanding, I have no doubt that IPads will make an entry into classrooms and that this will have an overall positive effect at engaging our 'digital natives', I do however need to express my criticisms as I feel like the adoption of technology into classrooms, at this point, seems all to rampant and unquestioned.

The meat of the class required us to take control of our own technological development and discover a new appendage we can add to our evolving technological selves, i.e. Moviemaker. With the rest of the class at our disposal to make a short film, a crew of four of us headed do wn to the cafeteria with the intention of grabbing some food and making a short film along the way! Using a small camcorder which was exceptionally easy to use (classroom application and usage would be amazing) and a program called Microsoft Moviemaker, we were able to make a creative video using segways, cutting scenes, adding audio, creating titles and transitions; all within a relatively short time. Using moviemaker to get students to present information is an amazing way to really personalize what the student wants their audience to see and hear.

You can find a copy of the short film we (Luca Abbruscato, Justin Pyl, Patrick Ronzio and Lily Oliveira) made here:

media type="youtube" key="RBTq2-VcNtI" width="425" height="350"  Now, discussing the reading for this week which can be found at (http://weblogg-ed.com/2009/i-dont-need-your-network-or-your-computer-or-your-tech-plan-or-your/) I believe the best way to respond to this article is simply to answer a couple of the author's questions which frame the content of his article: We can ask them to leave it in their lockers so long as they think they can use them with impunity in the classroom. Students aren't supposed to be using sources of entertainment while in class and that is a rule that has been around forever (a comic book sneaked inside of a textbook is a classic example). Even when cell phones first came to mass popularity they were still banned from the classroom and many other spaces where distractions are impolite and detracting from the environment. This is not to say we cant introduce a time or specific lessons which utilize this technology from time to time but the fatc remains that classrooms are a place for learning, not for distractions and personal, undirected entertainment. I'm not quite sure what the author is trying to get across here but I dont believe people are thinking that we HAVE to provide kids with an internet connection. Not all learning can come from the internet and internet-enabled devices. In reference to the second comment... huh?? Of course we need to let our students use their own brains! If anything, the use of technology deters students from using their brains thereby stifling any academic development. Personally, I believe we're doing a terrible job at helping our teachers understand the potential of phones in that we are only discussing their potential and NOT their pitfalls... How am I the only person who has a critical opinion here?! Enough said...
 * If at some point in the fairly near future just about every high school kid is going to have a device that connects to the Internet, how much longer can we ask them to stuff it in their lockers at the beginning of the day?
 * How are we going to have to rethink the idea that we have to provide our kids a connection? Can we even somewhat get our brains around the idea of letting them use their own?
 * How are we helping our teachers understand the potentials of phones and all of these shifts in general?