Organizing My Life: Online Organization Tools

I appreciate technology and admire those who can use it successfully, but everyone who knows me even a little bit, knows technology and I have a tumultuous relationship. For some reason, working with technology just does not come easily to me, so when I was asked to research, explore, and teach about an online organization tool, I was less than ecstatic. My online organization tool was Evernote. Before this assignment I had never even heard of Evernote, but I was confident it could never be as user friendly (at least for me) as good old-fashioned handwritten notes.

Regardless of my opinion of technology, I was required to research Evernote, so I reluctantly did. I downloaded it, played around with it and found that it was surprisingly intuitive and user friendly. It is basically an online notepad where you can create notes and organize them into notebooks by topic. It allows you to store text, documents, audio files, images, and web links. You can also annotate documents and images, share notes via email or social media, and set email reminders. I found it to be quite useful and even created my class handout directly in Evernote.

While playing around on Evernote, I was trying to think of ways it could be useful to both teachers and students. I was actually able to come up with quite a few ideas. I have included these below, though my list is in no way comprehensive.

For Teachers:

• Create Handouts and Lesson Plans
• Organize Materials and Lesson Plans by Units
• Create Personal or Classroom Checklists
• Clip and Store Webpages and Images
• Can Save Snapshots of Classwork (student writing/work on whiteboard) for later use

For Students:

• Type/Store In-class Notes
• Organize Notes, Assignments, Projects, etc. by class
• Schedule email reminders for important due dates

Overall, I think Evernote could be a useful organization tool for teachers and students, so I would recommend trying it out. I have also found Google Drive to be an immense help both a graduate student and teaching intern. Finally, Blendspace might be of interest for lesson planning for some teachers.

Teaching in the Modern Age: Video Games

In my education class, we have been discussing the role we, as teachers, want technology to play in our classroom. A recent topic of interest for this class was video games - Can video games be used to enhance learning in a classroom?  For me, I think the answer is "it depends on the video game." I think there are some video games that could double as great educational tools, but some that lack in usefulness. For instance, I tried out two video games that claimed educational relevance to determine if their claims held true. Overall, I was wholly disappointed by the first game, while surprisingly engaged in the second.

First, I played the BBC interactive history game on Iron Age Life. Basically, this game gives you a task, such as build a fire, and the payer has to select objects used to complete the task. Instead of letting the player explore how to use the items together to build a fire, the game assembles the fire for the player once all the pieces are selected. Then the player reads an explanation and can move on to the next task. Overall, I found this game to be incredibly boring. There was no critical/strategic thinking involved, no real purpose for achieving the end goal, and a lot of descriptive text. Most important, if I did not find it fun, I doubt my students would. I was disappointed in this game and cannot see myself implementing it in my classroom.

On the other hand, I think "The Oregon Trail" has all the elements of an educational game. Indeed, I remember playing this game all the way back in the 4th grade. Since then, there have been new installments of the game which I have not tried out yet, but the version I remember was both engaging and educational. The ultimate goal of this game is for the player to assemble a wagon train party and supplies and journey from the east coast to Oregon via the historical Oregon Trail. It seems simple, but it involves a lot of critical thinking, planning, and strategy. For instance, before beginning, the player has to assemble a wagon train and plan out the supplies needed to sustain the wagon train on the journey. During the journey itself, the wagon train encounters difficulties (e.g. broken wheels, illness, food and fresh water shortages, etc.) that the player must address. These choices can have grave consequences for the wagon train. Furthermore, the player must make decisions about directions, shortcuts, crossing, rivers, etc. It is possible for the party to die before reaching Oregon , in which case the game is lost.

Overall, I think "The Oregon Trail" could successfully be used in the classroom. Not only does it involve historically accurate information pertaining to westward migration via the Oregon trail, but it allows students to take on the role of a settler, make decisions, and experience the consequences of those decisions. It gives the students a settler's perspective, something a lecture would have a hard time doing. Additionally, I like that it involves some planning, strategy, and critical thinking, but its fun at the same time.

After playing and evaluating these two games, I have come to the conclusion that video games can contribute to learning in the classroom, but this depends largely on what game is used. It is important to remember that not all games were created equal. Because of this, I highly recommend teachers play the games they are thinking of implementing in the classroom first and critically evaluate whether the game will enhance students learning. Ideally, the game would contain relevant content, involve higher level thinking, and be FUN!

Paper-testing or Computer-testing? - That is the question!

My worst fear became a reality in my Teaching With Technology class the other day - I was asked to take a computer-based standardized test! In the beginning, I dutifully followed instructions and virtually maneuvered my way to the online testing website to begin my test. But my mind froze as I clicked START and the screen split in two. On one side, a random, out-of-context excerpt taken from the dullest publication in existence and on the other side, a long list of purposely misleading questions containing vocabulary even Einstein wouldn't recognize followed by answer choices seemingly written in the ancient Aztec Olmec language. My PTSD symptoms returned as memories of the MEAP, ACT, and GRE tests flooded my mind. Instead of attempting to answer the questions, as we were instructed to do, I blinked repeatedly at the screen hoping each time after I opened my eyes that the test would be over. When the time was up, I breathed a sigh of relief, quickly closed my testing window, and opened a window with recognizable words.

To be fair, this test was not graded nor was it used in any way as an assessment. It was used to supplement a class discussion about both standardized tests in general and also computer-based standardized tests specifically. As a student and recent participant in both paper and computer standardized tests, I can attest to the fact that neither are exactly pleasant. (Indeed, it is a form of torture designed to withdraw deeply-buried intel from the student brain!). Now, however, I have a new interest in testing/assessment as I am now viewing it from a different perspective - the teacher perspective. As a developing teacher, I now have lots of unanswered questions/thoughts about standardized testing and computer-based testing.

As far as standardized testing in general, I am not a huge fan, and this is not just because it is unpleasant (though this is undeniably true!). In most case, I believe standardized tests only test how well a student is at taking a standardized test. The GRE is a good example of this. The GRE tests ones ability to make sense out of obscure vocabulary and solve trick math questions very quickly. I question whether this is a reliable/valid measure of ability (at least any relevant ability) or simply a measure of who studied the most/took the most practiced tests. If you think about it, how much time and effort do schools put into preparing students for the ACT? Is the ACT, then, a good measure of anything other than which school was most successful at "teaching to the test"? Yet, my biggest problem with standardized test is that it emphasizes factual knowledge without considering other forms of intelligence (e.g. athletic ability, artistic ability, social ability, etc.). In my opinion, these other forms of intelligence are just as relevant, so why are we not considering them?

Finally, the issue of computer-based vs. paper-based testing. In my humble (and admittedly biased) opinion, I think computers complicate even more the issue of standardized testing and raises an entire list of new, unanswered questions. For instance, does a student takes a computer-based test have an advantage over a student who takes a paper an pencil test (or vice versa)? Would students more familiar with technology score higher on computer-based tests than those who are less familiar? Which computer skills (if any) should be taught in schools to help prepare students for these types of test? In addition to these questions, there are a variety of other concerns to consider such as physical consequences (visual fatigue, headaches, etc.), navigation issues, and reduced comprehension. The latter, in particular, concerns me as I am familiar with research that suggests digital screens interfere with text comprehension.

Perhaps I am too much a skeptic when it comes to standardized tests, especially computer-based standardized tests. In my defense, my skepticism stems from concern for my future students. At the very least, I think these issues need to be researched further and the consequences, both positive and negative, considered carefully.

What Dewey Think About Education?: John Dewey's Philosophy on Education

As everyone who knows me surely knows (and is probably sick of hearing about it), I am absolutely and completely enamored with psychology. One of the reasons I love psychology so much is because of its relevance to EVERYTHING and this is certainly the case with education. Ever since I started on my path to becoming a teacher, I have been interested in using psychology to increase effective teaching. Additionally, I think developmental psychology can be used to address what I believe to be the other aspect of education outside of content- the social aspect. So when I came across John Dewey and his philosophy of education, I was excited! While Dewey's views are very much idealistic, his philosophy demands consideration.

My favorite thing about Dewey's philosophy is that it challenges the idea that factual knowledge is the sole purpose or goal of education. Instead, Dewey takes a multidimensional approach to education Essentially, Dewey believes that the educational process has two components - psychological and sociological. He goes on to say that "neither [component] can be subordinated to the other or neglected without evil results following." Dewey elaborates on this point and suggests that the psychological component is the students' instincts/motivation/dispositions and that this is the basis, but it in itself cannot equate learning. These instincts must be useful and able to adapt in social contexts. In my own words, students need guidance to learn how to apply the the knowledge, skills, and dispositions they already possess and think critically about the world around them.

I also like Dewey's assertion that "education is the fundamental method of social progress and reform." Furthermore, he states "that education is a regulation of the process of coming to share in the social consciousness." These two ideas helped me see where both the psychological and sociological components of education come into play and intertwine. It is my belief that studying psychology (i.e. how the mind works, how people process information, how people interact, etc.) might make us more aware of our thoughts and actions; hence more socially conscious. I think this social consciousness has the potential to bring about social progress and reform - but it all starts with education! I realize this is a highly idealistic notion, but I think there is something to the idea.

A brief note on Dewey's philosophy and how it relates to student's bringing their own technology in the classroom. I would assume that since Dewey advocated for a sociological aspect to education, he would then support technology in the classroom. This way students could learn with technology and develop the skills to work with technology in school that they can then apply in other contexts. I can definitely begin to see how this Dewey approach to incorporating technology in the classroom could be beneficial, but I also have some reservations about it. If students are allowed to bring their own devices to utilize in class, it is inevitable that not every student will bring the same device. My concern, then, is that this could lead to a type of inequity in the classroom that would exacerbate SES differences. For instance, some students would be able to  afford the latest technology, others may have the standard grade technology, and still some students may not be able to afford technology at all. The question this leaves me with is the following: Would there be a way to implement bring your own device policies in school without creating inequities among students?