Teaching with Technology: Does it Really Help?

According to some articles I’ve recently read, there seems to be very little evidence as to whether technology actually improves student achievement.  In the article “Use of Web 2.0 technologies in K-12 and higher education: The search for evidence-based practice,” Hew & Cheung (2013) found that further research is required in order to support that Web 2.0 technologies have causal effects on student achievement.  So far, studies have demonstrated that how they are used (pedagogy) is the determining factor of whether or not they will improve student achievement.  They do note that since Web 2.0 technologies have not demonstrated a negative impact on student achievement, if is hopeful that as long as used appropriately, further research will demonstrate their positive impact.

Many articles, including one in Education News titled “OECD: Technology in Schools Not Boosting Achievement,” have this theme that moderate usage of technology in the classroom is key.  Students should only use technology if it will help them achieve the learning targets in a way that they couldn’t without the use of that technology. 

Based on my recent student teaching experience in a 1:1 classroom, I am very interested to see what further research will reveal about the relationship between technology and student achievement, and then how those results will impact schools such as my placement school.  I tend to agree that too much technology can do more harm than help, when not used appropriately, and that technology should only be used when it adds to the learning experience of the lesson.  However, I’ve noticed that the teachers I work with feel pressured by administration to utilize technology throughout every single class period, almost as just to show that the grant money spent on having 1:1 technology was well worth it.  I hope that as this first year passes, and the whole school adjusts, technology will be used because it helps, not just because it can be used. 

Another reason teachers may overuse technology is because it saves time spent at the copier, and therefore paper.  Teachers at my placement spend more time determining how to utilize their in house copy count, than making sure that the online activity is merited.  Hopefully, this will also change as the school adjusts.  I’m all for saving paper, but I also feel that students benefit from writing with pen and paper. 

All this being said, the use of technology in the classroom does have its undeniable benefits.  They just might not be clearly based on student achievement, but rather based on valuable skills students will need in the workforce.  Competence in various internet platforms and effective collaboration are two skills that can and should be taught in the classroom.  Though it is still being determined whether these skills directly cause students to better learn specific subject matter, these skills will benefit students in their adult life.  It is the teacher’s responsibility to make sure that students are collaborating effectively. 

In “Assessing collaboration: More than just lip service,” Siko (2016) describes ways that teachers can evaluate their students collaborative tasks, making sure that they are truly collaborating and not just “dividing and conquering” certain tasks.  Through various Web 2.0 platforms, teachers should be able to view activity logs, such as when and who made edits to a wiki or Google App.  Students should also be given an opportunity to evaluate themselves and their group members on their involvement in collaboration, and this can be done using a Google form or other online survey site.  Assessment is important in collaboration because if students are only provided collaborative experiences but not evaluated on them, they may not even gain the benefit of learning collaborative skills for the future.

In a nutshell, technology in schools is inevitable, and students will need to know how to utilize it properly in their futures.  Effective teachers will incorporate it wisely into their curriculum and provide valuable feedback.  Further research on causal effects of technology and collaborative activities on student achievement is needed.

CIPA and COPPA 101

 

Access to the World Wide Web is getting easier and easier. And those who access it are getting younger and younger. Today, children are getting smart phones before middle school! I didn't get a cell phone until I was 16, and the one I got hardly had a texting plan, much less a data plan for internet usage. Though schools may not be able to control what pops up on a student's cell phone screen or home computer, they have an obligation to regulate what can come across the screens that they own. Increasing usage and access to internet in schools caused Congress to make the following federal regulations. 

 

The Children's Internet Protection Act (CIPA) of 2000 requires that schools and libraries who wish to receive funds for technology hardware and internet access under the E-rate program have a certified internet safety policy that meets the following requirements:

• Protective measures that block or filter websites and webpages that are inappropriate and harmful to minors.  
• Monitors the online activities of minors (e.g search histories).
• Provides education to minors about appropriate online behavior in online interactions (2012 amendment). 
• Addresses unlawful online activities by minors (e.g hacking).
• Addresses the unauthorized use and disclosure of personal information of minors.  

There are some who criticize how well CIPA filters work, stating that filters either underblock harmful material or overblock perfectly legal material. An article produced by the American Library Association states, "Only about 1.5 percent of Internet sites are considered pornographic; and of those, the best filters block about 75 percent when set at the highest levels. At the same time, filters block at least 20 percent of the three billion benign Web sites—a whopping 600 million-plus sites."

This CIPA legislature was mainly created and amended to protect children in schools from the harm of obscene or crude content and cyberbullying via social networks. I was unable to find much information about how certification is enforced beyond complaint. However, failure to comply with regulations under CIPA is subject to full reimbursement of funds received.

  

The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) of 1998 was put in place to protect children under the age of 13 from having their personal information be collected, used, or disclosed without either the knowledge and approval of their parents. If an operator of a website wishes to collect information from a child, it must provide a disclaimer or other notice, require verifiable parental consent prior to collecting information, and keep the personal information confidential. Operators must also give parents access to their child's information, allow parents to prevent further use, and securely delete the information of children when it is no longer needed. Violators are subject to civil penalties and fines. More COPPA FAQs can be found here.

 

While schools who want technology funding must have filters and other protective measures, and website operators are required to obtain parental consent, it is important that children be educated to talk to their parents whenever something unexpected appears online at home.  This YouTube clip would be a great teaching resource to begin a discussion with young students about pop ups and other notices that might appear online during their computer activities at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5kW4pI_VQw

 

 

 

Technology: Now and Then

I may just be pushing thirty years old, but technology in the classroom still looks very different today than when I was back in school. 

At Grand Haven High School, where I’m doing my student teaching, each student is equipped with a Dell Chromebook that they keep for the entire school year.  Each classroom is equipped with a Smart Cart that includes a doc camera/control panel, a desktop computer, and a DVD/VHS player that are all hooked up to a projector which displays them on a Promethean Board.  Each teacher also has a second desktop computer for their desk and a Dell Chromebook to take home.  It’s kind of crazy how much tech we have at our fingertips.  However, there are some resources that are collecting dust. 

When the Promethean Boards were issued several years back, they came with Active Inspire software and a set “Activote” controls for each classroom.  These sets of interactive clickers were rarely used because the games and quizzes took too long for teachers to create.  Now that students have their own Chromebooks, teachers prefer to use Kahoot! and other online interactive game resources. 

Some teachers rarely or never use their Promethean Board projectors in their classrooms.  One teacher uses paper, whiteboard, class discussion, and VHS in his classroom.  Because he has been teaching for a while and has collected several transparencies over the years, he keeps a box of bulbs handy and reverts to his old cart projector.  The sad thing is, it is more focused and easier to read from than the newer energy efficient projectors. 

Back when I was in high school, teachers mostly wrote on the whiteboard.  Some teachers had their own projectors, like I mentioned above, and would display their transparencies on the whiteboard.  I don’t remember if teachers had computers or not.  I remember them doing all of their grading in gradebooks.  We wrote in class; we only used computers outside of class to type up a paper for English class.  I probably did more on computers when I was in grade school and junior high.

In grade school, our class would go to the computer lab about 2 or 3 times a week.  We had the old Mac computers with floppy disc programs.  We would play games like Oregon Trail or Dino Tycoon, work in math or science programs, and we would work in typing programs so that we could learn how to type.  I junior high, we focused more on typing accuracy and speed, and learning how to fully utilize Microsoft Word.

I think that the technology available to most students of this generation is incredible.  However, I hope that ALL teachers don’t go ALL tech.  I’ve already noticed that the vast majority of students have horrible handwriting.  And, what if there comes a day that technology does fail us?  Technology should aid our instruction, but not be our instruction.  It is important for today’s students to be well-rounded by becoming proficient learners and communicators with technology and without. 

Blogs by Science Educators

Subscribing to Blogs is a great way to stay current on education in your content area and gain insight and resources from other teachers.

Here are some blogs I've subscribed to through my Feedly account:

www.crazyteacherlady.com - Terie Engelbrecht has been teaching high school science and social studies for almost 20 years and blogging for 5 years.  As she strives to improve her own teaching craft, she shares her thoughts, ideas, and learning experiences through this blog. 

https://teachscience4all.wordpress.com/ - Kirk Robbins is a science educator who hopes to change the way teachers teach and students learn science.  His posts provide resources and tools to promote effective science instruction for ALL students.

http://blog.msbethea.com/ - Ms. Bethea is a high school chemistry teacher.  Her posts reflect her advocacy for inquiry based teaching and better grading practices.

http://www.pdsblogs.org/derrickwillardblog/ - Derrick Willard is a science teacher in North Carolina.  He mainly blogs about tech integration in the science classroom.

http://www.artofteachingscience.org/ - Jack Hassard is a voice for science education reform.  His blog posts inform teachers and inspire them to stay current in their pedagogy.

http://artofteachingscience.blogspot.com/ - This anonymous teacher (Geyer, I believe) teaches chemistry and blogs about her experiences and labs in her classroom.  It's great resource for lab ideas!

https://mrbarlow.wordpress.com/ - Mr. Barlow is a high school science teacher from Australia.  His blog has tons of hits because he blogs about anything interesting in science, and it all can be used in education. 

http://www.scienceteachingjunkie.com/ - This blog is written by a middle school science teacher in Texas.  It's a great resource for all sorts of fun science classroom ideas and activities.

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/blog/ - not sure who the "science buddies" are, but this blog is too fun to pass up.  Each blog is a STEM activity that students or even families can do.

http://scientificteacher.com/ - Nick Mitchell is a science teacher who is dedicated to scientific approach to teaching through continuous examination.  He blogs to collaborate with other teachers and improve teaching and learning in all content areas.  His recent posts are his digital notebooks. 

20 Science Educators You Should Follow

Following other educators in your field on Pinterest and Twitter and subscribing to educator channels on YouTube is a great way to stay current in your content area.  It also provides you with some quick and fun resources for your classroom.  Here 20 educators that I'm currently following on social media outlets. 

Pinterest:

1. Mrs. Smith: She is a science teacher at CVHS.  The majority of her boards are strictly educational.  What's so helpful about her boards is that she uses the Next Generation Science Standards as her titles.  Each standard (board) has multiple teaching resource pins!

2. Amy Brown Science: Amy Brown is a biology and chemistry teacher who has taught for over 30 years.  She posts pins of original resources and teaching links, and she categorizes her boards based on subject and topic.  She also provides a link to her website on teacherspayteachers.com where you can purchase some of her teaching products!

Twitter:

@dragan39: Doug Ragan is a chemistry teacher at Hudsonville High School who uses a flipped classroom, lots of ipad applications, and fun demos and lab activities in his classroom.

@DrAl_wmu: Allison Hart-Young tweets about educational practices in general.

@AmandaChemist: Amanda Hardy is a British science teacher who tweets about biology, chemistry and all things STEM.  It's good to know what's going on in science education over there.

@iteachchem: Janet Brownell is a HS chemistry teacher who tweets about chem resources and educational inspiration.

@chrisludwig: Chris Ludwig is a high school science teacher in Colorado who is "practically paperless in every way" and tweets mostly about educational articles and student work.

@sfhs_Clark: Mrs. Clark is a high school biology teacher who tweets fun science resources and PD reads.

@Furlow_teach: Seth Furlow is a chem and bio teacher who tweets about science teaching types and he usually uses the hashtag #miched at the end of every tweet.

@LReustle: Lindsay Reustle is a biology teacher out of Kansas who tweets fun biology articles, pictures, and facts.

YouTube:

ScienceMusicVideos: This YouTube channel was created by Mr W.  He is a science teacher who creates original raps about biology topics!  These fun to show in class and are a great way for students to review the concepts.

ParrMr: Mr. Parr also creates songs about all sorts of science concepts, but he covers hit songs that students are familiar with.  These are also a great introduction or review tool. 

ThePenguinProf: This channel was created by a introductTyory biology professor who wants to give students more background and history behind biological concepts and discoveries. 

Bozeman Science: Mr. Anderson posts video lectures of biology concepts and includes visuals and demonstrations. 

Beverly Biology: Kyle Kobe is a high school biology teacher who posts his PowerPoint presentations of various topics. 

Brian Swarthout: This chemistry, physics, and math teacher's channel has all of his lectures and some of his demos presented in a visual way.  Great for homework/reviewing of concepts.

Amoeba Sisters: Theses sisters have so many biology videos explaining key concepts in a cute, humorous, and clever way.

Teacher's Pet: This channel is made by a science teacher in California.  She provides quick and easy to follow animated video explanations of science concepts.

RicochetScience: Produced by a group of science educators, provides a lot of visual explanations of introductory science topics. 

Tyler DeWitt: Tyler does an excellent job of breaking down complex chemistry concepts for introductory learners. 

Educational Organizations for Science Teachers

Joining national and state-level educational organizations can give teachers more support and tools to be successful in their content areas.  Here is one national organization and one state-level organization that I will consider joining as a high school science teacher. 

A great national-level organization specifically for biology teachers is the National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT).  The mission of NABT is to "empower educators to provide the best possible biology and life science education for all students."  The website provides information on the organizations conferences and workshops as well as a free resource page for teachers.  However, most of the benefits and resources are only available to members.

Membership includes access to all of their resources and programs, as well as either a print or digital copy of their journal The American Biology Teacher. 
NABT offers a variety of memberships depending on the location and stage of the teacher's career.
Full Membership is available to teachers in the U.S., Canada, or Mexico and includes both print and digital subscriptions to The American Biology Teacher for $79/yr.
As a new teacher, I will qualify for the Early Career Membership, also available to residents of the United States, Canada, and Mexico, and who are within 3 years or less of full time employment. Name and email of department chairperson is required, and membership includes only the digital subscription to The American Biology Teacher for $35/yr.

NABT also offers a professional development conference each year that includes four days of "renowned speakers, hands-on workshops, informative sessions and special events that you can't get anywhere else!"

The next NABT Professional Development Conference for 2016 will be held November 3-6, 2016 at the Denver Sheraton-Downtown hotel in Denver, CO.

The cost to attend varies from $100 to $300 depending on career and membership status as well as time of registration.  The earlier the better!  The cost is much less for members and full-time students.

For current news updates, you can follow NABT on twitter. @NABT_News


A great state-level organization for science teachers is the Michigan Science Teacher Association (MSTA).  The mission of MSTA is to "stimulate, support, and provide leadership for the improvement of science education throughout Michigan."  Their website provides information about the organization, membership benefits, ways to support, conferences, grants and applications, publications, and links to the current issues and archives of the "Science Matters" Network in Michigan. 

Members of MSTA have access to all of the ideas, support tools, and programs offered and produced by the organization.  Other benefits include regular newsletters, journal issues of MSTA Journal, reduced rates at their annual conferences, and reduced rates or free admission to most Michigan museums.
There are several types of memberships at different rates, but most are $35 and under annually.
"Regular" membership is an individual membership with a base fee of $35/yr.

"Family" membership is for you and up to two other family members that are in the same household for a base fee of $40/yr.  For each membership, members receive an email notification when the Newsletters and Journals are available for viewing on the MSTA website.  If members want to receive a printed version of the Journal, they may add $10 to the base membership fee.

MSTA holds an annual conference in the spring.  This year will be their 63rd Annual Conference held on March 4 - 5, 2016 at the Radisson Hotel and Lansing Center in Lansing, MI.  Pre-conference sessions will also be held on March 3.
The cost to attend one day of the conference is $75 for members, and $140 for non-members.  To attend two days, the cost is $100 for members, and $160 for non-members.  There are also reduced rates for full-time undergrad students (member and non-member).

To stay current on MSTA news and events, you can like them on facebook, or follow them on twitter @MSTAMich.

About Me

Hello! Welcome to my blog about technology in the classroom.  My name is Clare Wood, and I am currently student teaching at Grand Haven High School in a biology classroom and a chemistry classroom.  I will be certified to teach these secondary content areas at the end of the semester.  I really enjoy working with high school students as they hone their skills and talents, define who they are as individuals, and work towards determining their futures.  Gaining exposure and experience with various technology tools is a crucial part of their growth, and it prepares them for our tech savvy society. 

Grand Haven High School just went 1 to 1 this year by giving each student a personal Google Chromebook to have throughout the school year.  Many, if not all, of the teachers utilize Google Classroom to post announcements, assignments, and links on the Classroom website.  Students can complete assignments through Google web programs and submit them on the Classroom website.  They can also comment on announcements and email instructors and students.  It's convenient for teachers to be able to log-in to Google Classroom and have each separate classroom right at their fingertips.  Helpful features, such as the capability to create an assignment and quickly apply it to multiple classrooms, add to the convenience of its use.

I have personally used Google Classroom to post a link to a Socrative quiz I created using www.socrative.com.  When students arrived to class and logged-in to Classroom, they could follow the instructions I posted on the board, and they could see the link as the most recent post on Classroom.  Once they got into the quiz and answered the few questions, I could view their responses in real time.  I could even view class averages for each question without lifting a pen to grade.  Socrative is a fast and awesome formative assessment tool for teachers as well as students. 

Besides being a fan of Google Classroom and Socrative, each student having their own computer has proven beneficial in other ways.  Students can quickly access interactive science links without having to go to the computer lab.  Because the internet is easily accessible to each student at a personal level, it increases the options for academically relevant activities and increases instructional time.  Although technology has many benefits, it does not have to be used exclusively.  There are many circumstances in which pen and paper are optimal, or even marker and whiteboard.  However, when used appropriately, technology resources enhance many classroom experiences for teachers and students.

Each classroom is equipped with a desktop and printer for the teacher's desk, a tech cart with another desktop, doc camera, and vhs/dvd player, and a promethean board with projector. 

At the beginning of class, students log-in to Google Classroom
from their Chromebooks and work on the "warm-up" question..