Michelle Hughes: Integrating Technology in the Classroom
  • Home
  • Course Projects
    • "I Am" Poem
    • Vision Statement
    • Relative Advantage Chart
    • Software Support Tools
    • Interactive Presentation
    • Video Integration Library
    • Adaptive / Assistive Technology
    • Lesson Plans >
      • Instructional Software Lesson Plan
      • Spreadsheet Lesson Framework
      • Shared Google Doc Lesson Framework
      • Video Enhanced Lesson Plan
      • Internet-Enriched Lesson Plan >
        • Activity #1: Utopias & Dystopias
        • Activity #2: Create Your Own Utopia Blog
        • Activity #3: Utopia Prezi
      • Social Networking Lesson Plan
      • Game-Based Learning Lesson Plan
      • Content-Area Project #1: ELA & Social Studies
      • Content-Area Project #2: ELA & Mobile Learning
      • Content-Area Project #3: ELA & PE, Art, and Music
  • Resources
  • Blog

Social Networking & "Walled Gardens"

2/26/2017

0 Comments

 
A VoiceThread discussing "Walled Gardens" including its purpose and possible advantages in the classroom. As a millennial and a teacher, I see both sides of "Walled Gardens." However, given the option of shielding students from the world versus teaching them how to deal and interact with it, I would always choose to teach them and give them the experience. 
Manuscript:

We learn from our mistakes. Hot stoves. Broken bones. Bad choices. With each wrong move, we gain experience and information that will help us to make better, wiser decisions for the next time. This idea transfers to technology as well. Shielding students behind “walled gardens” prevents them from facing real-world experiences and learning from their choices.

Webopedia defines “walled gardens” as a “browsing environment that controls the information and web sites the user is able to access.” As a teacher, I understand why schools use extensive firewalls to keep students away from unsavory information; however, I’m not so sure that building walls is the best way to teach our students about the Internet and how to handle the information they may find. Think about it: When you were young and your parents said no to something, how did it make you feel? It made you want to do it more, right? By putting stop signs after 5 out of 10 clicks, we are essentially doing the same thing. Limiting our students to only a few approved websites nullifies the benefits and usage of the Internet (and technology) in our classrooms.
In her article “A Guidebook for Social Media,” @coolcatteacher brings up an interesting point. She notes that students need to learn different forms of writing; however, with each new skill they learn (be it letters, e-mail, or social media), we are “opening our students to a whole new dangerous world.” Should we let the potential for danger prevent us from learning? No! I think we should instead face that potential for “danger” and instruct our students on how to deal with it.
One way to teach our students how to properly interact online, specifically using social media, is to utilize it in our classrooms. Let’s show our students that social media is not just a way to show everyone what you ate for dinner last night or your new high score, but rather a way to analyze a character, to summarize complex texts, to collect and annotate data, to broadcast learning.
Social media gives students the ability to connect with people all over the world. That idea scares a lot of people, but again, by making social media a part of education, we are creating opportunities to teach netiquette and digital citizenship as well as privacy/safety rules. Additionally, there are a number of global collaboration projects made possible by social media. For example, the Edmodo Pen Pal Project connects students around the world. It allows students to discuss everyday topics and current events with people from other cultures; thereby teaching students to respect and appreciate the opinions of others. Skype in the Classroom is another excellent benefit of using social media. Through Skype in the Classroom, students get to experience things that were never before possible. For example, students can go on virtual field trips, invite guest speakers from across the globe into their class, participate in Mystery Skype, and even collaborate with other schools.
As I said before, I understand “walled gardens.” It makes sense to me, but I believe that there is a better way. Walls don’t teach responsibility. Walls don’t teach respect and maturity. Walls don’t benefit our students. Real-world instruction does. Facing the Internet and social media head on does more for our students. After all, one day, they have to leave the protection of our classroom. I’d rather that they leave knowing what’s waiting for them. Wouldn’t you?

References:
Walled garden. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2017, from http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/W/walled_garden.html
@coolcatteacher, V. D. (2014, February 27). A Guidebook for Social Media in the Classroom. Retrieved February 26, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis
0 Comments

Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs)

2/20/2017

2 Comments

 
With great power comes great responsibility. Be it Uncle Ben, Voltaire, or Winston Churchill who said it, the maxim applies to the Internet and all that it offers students. Each of the benefits that the Internet and technology offers students comes with its fair share of drawbacks. Drawbacks that can be overcome with common sense rules and responsible guidance from parents and teachers. One way that today’s schools are facing these drawbacks is through Acceptable Use Policies (AUPs).

I grew up with the Internet. In some ways, the Internet and I grew up together. We were working out our kinks and glitches at the same time. Be that as it may, the great abundance and incredible availability of information was at times overwhelming. Copy and paste, screenshots, chat rooms, social media, and more. It was and is all too easy to be untruthful online, especially since there is no age limit for using the Internet.     

An Acceptable Use Policy, or AUP, outlines a school or organization’s expectations for proper behavior while using technology. An AUP should include an institution’s instructional philosophy, as it relates to the Internet; a list of responsibilities for students, teachers, and parents; a code of conduct relating to the Internet; a description of consequences for violators; and a guide as to what the institution considers appropriate and inappropriate behavior online. Additionally, an AUP should include a signature block for students, parents, and teachers to note their understanding and intent to uphold the behaviors outlined in the AUP.

As an English teacher, AUPs are important to my classroom. At the beginning of each year, I explain plagiarism and the importance not to copy someone else’s work. Each year, I find myself going more and more over the top to make an impression upon my students about the importance of crediting sources, paraphrasing, and finding credible sources. However, no matter how I stress the importance, someone tries to take the easy way.

Acceptable Use Policies help to prevent plagiarism in my class, because it is all too easy to copy and paste information from the Internet into a document. AUPs are not just a set of rules, like a code of conduct or academic honest policy; it is an outline of appropriate and inappropriate behaviors that students should learn to function properly online. Perhaps the most important thing about AUPs is that it is not a list of behaviors that one would only practice at school, it is a list of behaviors that students will practice at home, in college, and in the workplace. AUPs provide critical instruction for students, especially as technology continues to change and rule the day.

The following links are four examples of Acceptable Use Policies:
  1. Westbrook Christian School's BYOD Policy
  2. Burlington High School Acceptable Use Policy
  3. Corcoran Joint Unified School Student-Technology Acceptable Use Agreement
  4. St. Vincent-St. Mary High School Student Acceptable Use Policy for Technology

References:

1-to-1 Essentials - Acceptable Use Policies. (n.d.). Retrieved February 20, 2017, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/1to1/aups

Why Have a Technology Policy in Your School or Library? | Librarians. (n.d.). Retrieved February 21, 2017, from http://www.scholastic.com/librarians/tech/techpolicy.htm

2 Comments

Benefits of Using Multimedia in the Classroom

2/13/2017

3 Comments

 
Well, here it is -- my one and only (so far) vlog post. Please excuse the quality of my voice. I have been sick for a few days and lost my voice.
Manuscript:
   Do you remember that feeling when the teacher rolled the TV cart into the classroom? It meant excitement, entertainment, and relief for our ears and minds that were struggling to consume chunks of information.


  Multimedia has changed over the years - from glass slides and transparencies to PowerPoints and videos to virtual reality. With each step forward, student engagement has increased. What’s the result of using multimedia in the classroom? Greater learning potential.

   The Florida Center for Instructional Technology lists a number of advantages to using multimedia in the classroom, including: gaining real-world skills, learning the value of teamwork, practicing effective collaboration and communication skills, analyzing and synthesizing complex ideas, and expressing creative thoughts. This list, while comprehensive, is just the tip of the iceberg. Multimedia, particularly in the hands of our students, shifts the power and focus of the classroom. Students get to take the lead and demonstrate their knowledge through creative, constructivist avenues. Like with any form of technology, there are some concerns to consider; however, the benefits far outweigh the concerns.

   In terms of real-world skills, multimedia gives students the opportunity to learn and practice valuable technical skills. As society becomes more and more digital and technology-centered, technical skills are no longer a bonus skill but a required one. The world expects students to graduate high school with certain skills, and now, those skills must have a strong backbone in technology. By integrating multimedia into the classroom, we are helping our students to learn those skills.

    It seems like teamwork and collaboration have been educational buzz words for as long as I can remember. Teamwork and collaboration? Aren’t those the skills that students learn through sports and during P.E.? Multimedia and technology integration provide excellent opportunities for students to learn, practice, and perfect those skills in the classroom. Through collaborative technologies, like the Google Suite, students can easily create, collaborate, and critique all in one place. Creating a group presentation has never been easier! Multimedia assignments also give students a way to contribute their different talents to a group. Movie makers, artists, actors, and word nerds alike can combine their strengths to create and produce movies. As a student, collaborating to create interpretation-based movies are some of my fondest memories. I’ll never forget acting out and editing my group’s interpretation of Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby.

   During those collaborative assignments, students also learn how to communicate their ideas, thoughts, and criticisms effectively. The two-fold benefit of learning communication skills through multimedia is that students can practice communicating face-to-face as well as through digital environments.

   Creating multimedia like presentations, movies, vlogs, and graphics gives students the opportunity to analyze, synthesize, and express complex ideas through non-traditional means. Every student is different. Multimedia gives each student a platform to relay their understanding or navigate complex waters using an individualized method. Rather than writing a detailed report on a topic, students can create an infographic or animation or even an original piece of art.

   Finally, multimedia gives students the freedom to express themselves creatively. As a middle school teacher, my room is filled with color. Not by my own doing though. My students are constantly drawing and showing their creativity and understanding of a character through non-traditional or different means. By teaching my students to use multimedia, I am giving them another avenue to express themselves and their knowledge.
​

    So, what are the advantages of using multimedia in the classroom? Multimedia offers a whole new world. It gives us, as teachers, the opportunity to shake off the rust of traditional instructivist methods and embrace constructivism. What’s the reason that I use it? It helps me to see my students’ personalities and understanding through a different lens. It helps me to help them.
3 Comments

    Author

    Michelle Hughes is an EdTech student at Boise State University. She works as a 7th grade English teacher in a small, private school in Gadsden, Alabama. 

    Archives

    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.