Technology?

Does access to the vast amounts of information on the internet inhibit students analytical thinking skills? More importantly do students rely on other people to provide the answers to question or can they think for themselves?


All institutions of learning want to produce students who can think analytically and find solutions on their own. It is a lofty goal these days when the internet provides the answers to all questions that they can dream up. Students have access to so much information at all times. With the information now being available on the go in the form of an iphone or other cellular devise there is less opportunity for critical thinking.
In my classes I allow students to use calculators for graphing and other operations in order to save time during assessments. Students tend to use the calculator like a crutch and don't see the value in knowing how to do it without one. They often ask why they need to know how to do it when the calculator can do it for you. They want things to be simple so that they do not have to work as hard to obtain the desired results.
I have fallen prey to these habits when it comes to reading books for school. I can see why students would turn to the internet to look at sparks notes and cliffs notes. The convenience of having a summary of the text is helpful when you have a limited amount of time to dedicate to each class.

Digital who?

Technology has become a vital part of our modern world and has influenced all aspects of our daily lives. Marc Prensky breaks the world down into two different groups, the digital natives and the digital immigrants. I think my generation is somewhere in between the two of these groups. We did not grow up and go through our early years with most of the current technology however we were exposed to it and used it regularly once we entered college and in the workforce. Although I am not a digital native I feel I have adapted quickly to this new environment that technology has created.

In Prensky’s article he states that “Digital immigrants think learning can’t (or shouldn’t) be fun”. I have experienced this point of view in the school I teach and among my fellow teachers. I am not sure that I agree with this opinion but I am also not sure that I disagree either. To a certain extent I think learning should be fun especially at an early age, however going to college requires hard work and the sooner students adjust to that regime the more successful they will become in college. After all we are supposed to be preparing them for their futures and not all aspects of any job are enjoyable.

All teachers young and old should learn how to communicate with their students regardless of how fun they make their curriculum. “Today’s teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students.” Digital natives have their own language that is continually changing with each new technology or resource created. Teachers need to tap into this language to help create a relationship with their students.

The real question however is if education needs to change with the way students have changed? I think education is no different then any other industry and does not exist in a bubble and so therefore must change and adapt. More and more education programs are starting to include technology in their curriculum to prepare teachers for this new generation of students. What really needs to happen however to see any major changes is a re-education of the teachers who have been teaching for years and are considered to be the “digital immigrants”.

In my department there is a teacher who has been teaching for more then 20 years and does not use technology on a regular basis. He was come under fire by the administration for not using more technology and not updating his teaching techniques. I understand the administrations position however training must be provided to him in order for him to truly embrace the technology at his disposal and he must be trained enough to feel confident using it. It is simply not enough for schools and districts to require the use of technology they must also provide good training to the digital immigrants that will be using it. Prensky says this about the digital immigrants “They will succeed in the long run – and their successes will come that much sooner if their administrators support them.”

It is no mystery to me that the brains of digital natives are different then those of their predecessors. I do believe however that fundamentally students do not change much and still struggle with the same issues of previous generations. Although their thought process might be different the problems they face and struggle with are the same. Any parent who has dealt with discipline can tell you that what works for one child doesn’t always work for another child. So the task educators have does not change because of technology. A good teacher gets to know their students’ individual needs and styles and then adjusts to them.

Education cannot afford to ignore the changing environment but must embrace the changes and provide training and support to the teachers in the classroom. Students will continue to change and technology will continue to advance to better cater to these digital natives. The sooner education catches up the better for students and for society at large.

5

Mayan numbers taught in Somis school to help students learn math

• By Cheri Carlson

• Ventura County Star

• Posted January 24, 2010 at 10:47 p.m

Math has moved beyond numbers and formulas at Mesa School in Somis.

A group of sixth- and seventh-graders still crack open their textbooks and practice regular math skills most days. But once a week, they turn their math attention to history, culture and places far from Somis.

Teacher Jill Brody’s class started learning about Mayan math in September, part of the school’s efforts to incorporate “ethno-mathematics” into some of its classes.

Ethno-mathematics links math with culture. Some educators say it can help kids feel more connected to the subject and better understand the why and how behind the skills they learn in school.

“Math is not usually treated as a subject with a cultural context,” said Faviana Hirsch-Dubin, a former elementary school teacher and lecturer at UC Santa Barbara who is working with Mesa on the special math lessons. “Being able to feel some cultural connection to math or other subjects can enable students to feel more ownership of the subject matter.”

Ethno-mathematics is not the norm in public schools, said Hank Kepner, president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, but it can be a powerful tool for getting kids motivated and engaged in math.

“It can help kids feel that they’re part of the mathematics world,” Kepner said. They learn where various math skills came from historically and the many different ways people have looked at math. “It’s sort of a motivation for kids to make sense of mathematics.”

In many schools, there’s too much emphasis on testing, Kepner said. Getting the right answer is important, but that’s too narrow. “Math isn’t just rote answers without understanding,” he said.

Hirsch-Dubin started working with the Mesa Union School District last spring after meeting Superintendent John Puglisi. She has worked with various grade levels at the campus, exploring different cultures and how they relate to math.

“Most students don’t think about why they’re doing certain things in math,” Hirsch-Dubin said. “They just learn to do them.”

The school isn’t replacing regular math classes, just adding the ethno-mathematics lessons, she said.

“The biggest thing: It gives math a meaning and purpose,” said Brody, who didn’t even know what ethno-mathematics was before she signed up to teach summer school last year. Brody and Hirsch-Dubin worked with a group of migrant students in an ethno-mathematics program over the summer.

When Brody saw it in action, she asked Hirsch-Dubin to work with her students during the regular school year. Brody, a resource specialist, has a small group of sixth- and seventh-graders with some learning differences, she said. Ethno-mathematics was different and would grab their attention, she said.

In class recently, students practiced adding and subtracting using the Mayan number system and symbols, reinforcing skills they have learned using the regular math system, Brody said.

Whether the lessons will make a huge difference in student test scores, Brody wasn’t sure. “But it’s keeping them engaged in math,” she said. Students are making connections between different number systems and getting an opportunity to do higher-level thinking.

“It helps me in math, regular math,” said Ricardo Letona, 11. “It helps you learn a different way to do math, and it teaches about the Mayan culture.”

What a teacher should bring to school.

At the start of this term we read "What did you bring with you to school?" by Vasilia Kazoullis. In this article Vasilia shares her experience in her kindergarten classroom with her teacher. She found the homemade cookies she gave to her teacher in the trashcan. In life there are times that we all experience situations similar to what Vasilia felt in her kindergarten classroom. When you share an important part of your life with others and they do not value it the way you do. It is unfortunate however that children have to experience this an the environment where they are supposed to feel safe and supported. The teacher may not have realized how devastating her actions were and what affect they had on her students attitude toward her and toward education.

In the TPA we did this module it was required that we consider what we want to know about our students and how we will get that information. That experience helped me realize how important it will be for me to get to know my students right from the very beginning. Since it will be my responsibility to teach them how to learn and understand math I will need to know where they came from and what motivates them.

Students with disabilities

In researching the No CHild Left Behind Act I found an article written by the superintendent of the Ventura Unified School District, Trudy Arriaga. The article was written in response to political statements that were made about the districts standing. The article stated that the district only met 37 out of the 38 requirements they were supposed to meet. The one requirement they did not fulfill was that they were supposed to have 95% participation in the state testing of students with disabilities. The district had 99% participation however some students were not counted because they were allowed modifications during the test. "Students with disabilities used modifications, i.e., questions were read or signed (sign language for deaf students) to the students during the exam, as stipulated in their Individualized Education Plan, their participation in the exam was not counted."-Ventura County Star October 8, 2009

It seems very contradictory to allow a student to have an IEP with modifications and not be allowed those same modifications during the star testing. If we are supposed to be giving students equal opportunity for success shouldn't these modifications be allowed for special needs students.