What Did We Do Before Technology?

The past few days I have asked myself this one question, "What did I do before... cell phones, computers, email, etc...?" I left home the other day without my cell phone. We all know how that feels! I felt so naked and disconnected. However, I survived. Except it made me wonder how I functioned before I owned a cell phone. Cell phones are ultimately for emergencies. What if the one time I needed it for an emergency was the one time I left home without it! What would I have done? Pay phones are completely non-existent anymore so that option is out. Email is another tool I do not know what I would do without. Email makes it easy to get in contact with someone fast and completely one sided. I like it because I can get all my thoughts out at once. You can also proofread and edit before you send it! So what did we do before email? Phone calls. It is a shame that fewer and fewer phone calls are being made nowadays. We can thanks text messaging and email for that! Text messaging is another bit of technology I don't know what I would do without. I would probably have to wait until after meetings/classes and other events where talking is not allowed to get in contact with someone. So think about that next time you pull out your cell phone to text or the next time you check your email. Ask yourself, what did I do before? It will make you think about how big of a role technology plays in our lives.

Google Docs

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This week in my teaching with technology class we were introduced to Google Docs. This is an application used to upload any documents and by doing so you are able to open that document on any computer. You can also invite specific people to view or edit your document.

We uploaded our resumes to Google Docs and invited certain colleagues to edit them. This way, people can view my resume and make changes to it themselves. Then, I can log onto Google Docs and see what changes my colleagues have made. This saves me from emailing my resume to all these people and looking at their changes separately. This way, there is one document and all my colleagues can make changes to that one document. It saves me time and effort!

I think Google Docs would be a great application to incorporate into the classroom. Students can upload their stories or other documents and invite the class or a certain group of students to view/edit their work. This would be a great way to peer edit other students writing. When they are done and their work has been edited and revised, they can invite me to view their work and grade it. This way, paper is saved and there is one document for each student that has been revised by their peers.

Another feature of Google Docs that can be useful in the classroom is students without computers at home can upload a document they created at school and open it on other computers at a friends house or at the library. It is not only saved on the computer they created it on. It can be accessed anywhere.

Kids Today

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I babysit for a family with 3 kids. The oldest just turned 9 years old. She is set on getting an iPhone when she is 10 and her own computer when she is 12. Although her parents have said no, she is determined that this is the case. When did children become so focused on technology? When did technology become something for kids? I believe that although technology is useful and can be used by children, it is mainly for adults.

Kids do not need computers, cell phones, or iPods. We all grew up without them and we turned out okay! I didn't have a computer in my house until I was about 12 or 13 years old and I certainly didn't have one of my own until I came to college. Even if I was allowed to use the computer it was only for about a half hour a day and I was closely monitored. I think I only played computer games anyways.

Children seem to have this pre-set notion that when you get to be a certain age, they get certain things. When you're 16 you get a car, when you're 13 you get a cell phone, etc... Is it the parents who are putting these ideas in kids heads or is it the media? I personally think it is both but the media has a bigger part in the issue. TV shows show kids having cell phones and laptop computers all to themselves. What about the dangerous doors that technology opens up? Does the media portray those? Of course not.

I understand that cell phones are there for safety. I got a cell phone when I started high school. However, I was only allowed to use it or take it with me when I went out with friends. It was not meant to be used for fun, it was to be used when I needed to be picked up somewhere or if I was in some kind of trouble where I would need it to place an emergency call. Nowadays, every phone has internet access and messaging applications. Anyone can access the internet or talk to just about anyone. Just the other day I saw a 5th grader coming out of school and immediately pulling out..get this.. a BLACKBERRY!! What 10 year old needs a blackberry?! I just kept thinking.. what kind of trouble could she get into with that? There is barely any way to monitor what she does with it. Is she getting onto Facebook or Myspace whenever she wants? Is she Googling things she shouldn't be Googling?

The internet is a wonderful thing and technology is so important. I just hate seeing it used improperly or in the hands of the wrong person. Kids don't understand it yet and until they do, it should not be so easily accessible.

Google Earth

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One of the newer resources I find to be very valuable in the classroom is Google Earth. Google Earth allows people to search a particular address and see an actual photo of that area. Although Google Earth is 6 years old (it was created and adopted by Google in 2004) it is still a 'newer' technology and people are still trying to incorporate it more and more into everyday life.

I personally find Google Earth to be a very resourceful tool for the classroom. In field, the classroom I am in has a large laminated poster size Google Earth image of East Lansing. It was brought in and hung up for their social studies unit where they learned about locations. The students learned about North, South, East, and West and how to read a map. They learned how to find places if you know the crossroads or what it is near in relation to other things. My CT put this poster up on their wall and the students had to find where their school was. As a class they drew a red circle around it so they could easily find it. Throughout the day, the students were asked to go up and find where their house is. I was up at the map and I had to help them figure out how they could find their house. Some students found their house in relation to the school. Others would find crossroads or larger landmarks. Once they found their street they were able to count the houses or look for certain things to find their house. When they found it, they put a thumbtack on it. By the end of the day, every student had found their house and the map of East Lansing was filled with thumbtacks. Students thought this was the greatest thing! Not only could they find their house on their own, but they could actually an image of their house. They could also see other students who lived by them and see where other houses were in relation to theirs.

This activity was a perfect example of how Google Earth can be used in the classroom. Students can actually see a photograph of their houses and the area they live in rather than looking on a regular map. This gives students a more realistic view of where they live and students need that. Maps are pretty abstract to students. Even as an adult I have a tough time reading maps. Google Earth can give a more realistic approach to an abstract idea.

Technology is a luxury

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Technology needs to be integrated into teaching. However, what about schools that cannot afford expensive technology?

Although technology is great and should be incorporated into lessons whenever teachers are able to, I think we need to correct ourselves when we say technology 'should' be incorporated and say technology 'can' be incorporated into lessons. When we say 'should' or 'need' it comes off as if schools with limited technology are not getting a proper education. Technology enhances learning but it does not define learning. We learned just fine before technology became readily available.

Teachers who use email and class websites need to check with their class before deciding that computers will be a necessary way of communicating. As teachers, we need to remember that not every household has a computer or email account. We need to especially remember this if we are working in a lower income area.

My issue is we need to stop talking about how important technology is to teaching and rephrase it by saying that technology is very useful, but it is not a necessity when it comes to teaching and learning.

Twitter

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I have had a twitter account for a few weeks now and although I do not use it as often as I like or should, I do see it's strengths and weaknesses when it comes to teaching.

Twitter can be very useful for teachers. I can see myself using Twitter to gain knowledge from fellow teachers and education professionals. Lesson plan ideas, school news, and interesting facts and opinions can be shared through twitter. Some of my family members who are teachers have been using Facebook as a way to communicate with each other about their excitement as they await new Smart Boards in their classroom. They share ideas, tips, and issues they come across and help each other with this new technology. Although Facebook is a quick and easy way to get in touch with family and friends, Twitter can be used just as easily.

Although Twitter can be utilized by teachers, I do not see how Twitter can benefit students (other than indirectly through teachers). How do you incorporate Twitter into a lesson? The only thing I can think of is using it for homework help once the students are at home and away from their classmates. Twitter could be used to post homework questions or interesting finds and ideas. However, then you come across problems such as not every student has a computer at home. Also, age comes into the picture. How old does one need to be to create a Twitter account? Do you utilize Twitter in a 2nd grade classroom? I am one to think that isn't the best idea. I believe the internet to be a great, yet scary place for children. I don't think students should have internet access unless they are being supervised. I also think Twitter is confusing even for myself! I cannot see elementary aged students understanding how to use Twitter very easily.

So, although Twitter is a great tool for teachers to connect and bounce ideas off of each other, it is another issue when connecting students to Twitter. I think there are better technological tools to use such as controlled blog/discussion areas where students are monitored and no one can see/use the blogging area without a teacher's acceptance. Twitter can be an excellent tool but perhaps only for adults.

When technology fails you...

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As much as I love technology and think it is an absolute must to have in the classroom, I can't help but hate it equally as much. When technology fails us, it is as if the world is coming to an end. When my phone stops working or I can't receive any emails my whole day is ruined! As much as we utilize technology it will fail us twice as often.
Just last week I was in one of my method teaching classes and the Internet just stopped working halfway through the class. Perhaps it was because I could no longer facebook chat, but the whole class just shut down! We all acted as though we just could not go on with class or continue lecture. When did our lives come to this? When did it start revolving around technology?
Here at MSU we use a website called ANGEL. ANGEL is where our professors can post lecture notes and homework assignments. It is also a site where we can upload papers, projects, and post on discussion boards. It is a great tool and is used quite often in the majority of my classes. However, when the ANGEL site is down all hell breaks loose! We can no longer download the readings assigned for class or upload our 20 page papers we have worked weeks on. When ANGEL is down everyone panics and it seems as though class cannot go on.
So why do we rely on technology so much when it can 'break down' anytime? Aside from the convenience and the organization ANGEL brings MSU students and staff, why not turn in hard copies or assign readings from the $200 textbook we had to buy?
When did we decide, as a campus community, to put all our eggs is one technologically constructed basket?

Technology observations

This semester I am working in a 2nd grade classroom in the East Lansing school district. I go twice a week for 2 hours each time. Although the school is located in an area where money is not as scarce as it is in other districts, they do not seem to use the technology they are quite fortunate to have as much as I would think they would. A Smart Board, which so many teachers would be THRILLED to have in their possession, collects dust in the library. A whole computer lab goes (for the most part) untouched. These materials that could be utilized during day-to-day lessons go overlooked and set aside.
Technological items that are specific to the classroom I work in are used quite often. Although the extent of the technology present in the classroom is an Elmo overhead projector, TV and a single computer. Each resource is used almost every time I have been in the classroom. I myself have used the Elmo during my occasional lessons. It has been great when the class is working on a worksheet of some kind. They can work on it individually but their attention can be called up to the Elmo where we can come together as a class and work on a particularly tricky problem or two.
So, although higher technology is present in the school, it does not seem to be utilized by the individual classrooms. Why is this? Are teachers fearful of leaving their classroom to teach a lesson in the computer lab? Are teachers afraid of the Smart Board or other aspects of higher technology?
Whatever the case may be, teachers should be using the technology they are fortunate enough to have in their school for their benefit and the benefit of their students.