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Distributed Cognition
The primary question of this exploration is “does technology make us smarter?”. When I was originally asked this question, it made me think. I thought about it for a while that day, because it could be interpreted in two different ways. Originally, I was confident in saying that technology does not make us smarter, it only assists us in finding answers. However, the more time I spent thinking about it, I began to second guess myself. Technology can essentially give us the answer to anything in the snap of a finger. Whether it be a date, an equation, or a piece of literature, we can find and utilize it quicker than ever thanks to technology. Through the use of this technology we learn lots of things, which therefor makes us smarter.
Technology can also take us anywhere in the world. A visual aid of the landscape can be provided through map applications. For my content area, AYA history and social studies, this can be used constantly in class in order to give students a visual aid of what we are learning about. For example, if we are learning about the Battle of Gettysburg, we can put ourselves on the battlefield through google maps. Having this on the Smart Board in front of the glass can show students what it truly looks like. Scaffolding can also be prevalent in a lesson of this kind.
In the lesson that I observed for distributed cognition, technology was used in two forms. There were individual laptops used to evaluate the students’ knowledge, and there was also a Smart Board used to prompt class discussion, slides, and images. The technological pedagogical functions that were most prevalent during these were connecting, translating, and monitoring. It was very interesting to see the different impacts both of these forms of technology had on the students.
As the students entered the classroom, my corresponding teacher invited students to pick up a laptop. A classroom set of laptops were in the front of the room, in a chest with shelves for each individual laptop. The students usually use the laptops for either a test or quiz, or classroom research. Today, they were going to be using them for a quiz. I observed that students taking the quiz by sitting in the back of the room so that I could see all of their screens. There is a lockdown browser that gets set on their computers while they take a test or quiz so that they cannot browse the web. The quiz consisted of ten multiple choice questions. This was the technological pedagogical function of translating, because the students were demonstrating their knowledge from the chapter reading. They were encouraged, or forced to translate what they learned from the reading into the multiple choice questions.
When all students were done with the quiz, they were asked to return their laptops back to the crate in the front of the room. They began their lesson with a discussion about the reading they did the night before and the quiz. This was the technological pedagogical function of monitoring. My corresponding teacher was monitoring the students progress with the chapter.
Blog Post 9
After watching the students, and talking with a few of them, I have learned what they generally use the computers for. The only two that I witnessed students using were Internet Explorer and Google Chrome. I was told by a few students that they use a calculator application in their math classes, but that was it. When I mentioned that I only saw them using Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, the students nodded in agreement. They told me that is all they really ever use. The two things they use it for is tests and research, both of which can be done through those applications.
Student learning through hardware and software is possible because of the information within these two things. As I stated in blog post 8, the students have access to iPads, laptops, and regular computers in the lab. In the software, the students use Internet Explorer and Google Crhome because it is an easy and quick way to get information. My cooperating teacher approves of both of these applications, and agrees that they are the most commonly used in his class. Sometimes he will give the students a set of in depth questions, and the students must research on their own to find the answer. This trains the student on how to use the internet, and how to find valuable information that they may not know.
The conditions of of both of these applications make learning possible because there are not many restrictions with either of them. As I previously stated, there are not many websites that are blocked on the school computers. It gives the students the opportunity to truly explore the web, and learn things that they might not have investigated if they were not encouraged to by a school assignment. In my own opinion, it is nice that there are not many things blocked on the school computers, as long as the students can stay focused on the task at hand.
Blog Post 8
In my time at Euclid High School, I have had the priviledge of watching the students engage in technological learning. The thing that is used most often is laptops, which are brought to the classroom. My teacher has set up all of his tests online, so the students each have their own laptop for the class period. When the student is finished, his grade is sent to the teachers account. After speaking with my teacher about this, he told me that the library media specialist is in charge of the learning technologies. Most of the sources of technology at Euclid are stored in the library when they are not in use. The library media specialist is trained for these types of things because she also teaches an elective called library media. The positions of Director of Educational Technology, Curriculum technology integration specialist, and technology security personel do not exist at Euclid High School.
As I stated, a majority of the technology is located in the library. After doing some investigation, there is one classroom set of iPad’s, and four classroom sets of laptops. Students can only have access to these things if they are available at the time. Teachers on the oter hand must reserve them if they want to bring them into their classroom. My teacher stated that he recommends reserving the laptops at least a week in advance, just to assure he will have a classroom set when it is test day.
At Euclid there are not as many things bloked as I imagened. Students were able to access social media from their laptops. The nature of the firewall blocking access is controlled by the library media specialist, who also takes orders from the Board of Education in what must be blocked. After breifly chatting with the library media specialist, I confirmed that she knows the most about the technology at Euclid High School. She managed who and where to distrubute the tecnological pieces of the classroom to.
Blog Post 7
Below is our assessment rubric for our Digital Storytelling Assessment.
Digital Storytelling Assessment Rubric
Engagement of Personal Identity:
-Is it clear that the creator is personally connected and committed to their subject? (This is proven by using different technological resources such as sound, images, transitions, etc. Simply stating facts proves you are not committed to your subject)
Digital Flow:
– Did the story avoid patterns such as color to black and white images, or music in every other slide? (This should be avoided within the digital story as it can distract students from the story itself)
(The digital story should use sequencing, transitions, colorful contrast, emphasis)
-Do the chosen digital resources help get the message across in the story? (This is achieved by sound putting an image in the audience’s head, images displaying what is being said, etc.)
Narrative Flow:
– Does the audience understand what your narrative is about (This is achieved by the title of your story and the content within your story. If your story is about Slavery in the U.S, you should discuss its origins, history and chronology)
– Is the lens that the audience is viewing the story through make sense given what the story is about? (Chronological, present to the past, character lens, etc.) (Historical story should use a chronological sense while a story of morality or personal experience should use a specific character lens)
Clear goal and purpose:
-Did the creator(s) of the story demonstrate their goal? (This is done by staying on track and sticking to one topic such as Slavery or Democracy)
– Does somebody have knowledge about your chosen subject after watching the story? (Your story should educate the audience and include facts and concepts)
Grammar:
– Is proper grammar used in both the text and narration?
-Is the text and naration punctual, understandable?
(At no point should the viewer be confused due to poor grammar, avoid typos and text/narration that does not pertain to your narrative)
Use of media:
-Are images of good quality? (Images should be clear, the audience should not have to guess what is being displayed)
-Is the audio understandable? (Viewers should be able to understand what is being said. Narration should be spoken slowly and clearly with proper pronunciation. Music should pertain to what is being displayed)
Implementation of Content:
-Does your digital story represent ideas and concepts relevant to your content area?
-Does the video serve as an effective and informative academic resource for your students? (The story could be used to teach a history class and thoroughly explains the chosen topic with factual and conceptual ideas)
Audience:
– Does somebody need to have prior knowledge on the subject before watching the story?
-Is there an age range for your story? (The grade level for your story should be established before showing it. If your story is about slavery, it should not be shown to students until Middle-School, if your story is about Presidents it can be shown to children in elementary school. The age range of your video should be evident within itself, don’t leave guessing room)
Citations:
-Are there proper citations/rolling credits at the end of the digital story?
Blog Post 6
Blog Post 5
I have recently been spending time at Euclid High School, my ED 386 placement. I continue to learn more everyday by watching the interactions in the classroom. I have specifically been paying attention to students technology availability in the classroom. In my own class, we have spent a great deal of time discussing student multimodal compositions. I am intrigued to see how this topic transfers to the classroom that I am observing at Euclid High School.
Generally speaking, Euclid is a low income community. This variable makes it interesting to me, because most people would make the assumption that there is limited technology availability in a low income school. Contrary to this assumption, I have found that the students of Euclid have access to more technology than even I anticipated. Sources of technology include Smart boards, laptops, and iPads. I went to a rather diverse high school in Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent, Ohio. I often times find myself comparing my experiences at Euclid to my experiences at Kent. When applying this to technology in the classroom, I would say there are very similar sources to technology between the two schools. Many people would consider Kent to be a wealthier community than Euclid, but I can attest that there was not a difference in technological opportunity in the school building.
Another thing that I noticed was the lenience teachers have with cell phones in the building. While they technically not permitted, I witnessed multiple students playing on their phones during the school day. I felt as though students were communicating more through the phone than in person. I have been in the classroom for about 17 hours so far, and I have not seen the students work in groups once. However, I still pay close attention to how they communicate. If I’ve ever seen a group of students fall into the “millennials” stereotype, this was them.
This past Wednesday, I experienced something that I will remember for a very long time. Many Euclid students participated in the nation wide protest happening in high schools fighting for stricter gun laws. There was much miscommunication between the administration and teachers. The nation wide “walk out” was happening at 10 am that day. Going into the school day, the teachers heard nothing about Euclid participating in the protest. At about 9 am, all faculty members received an email stating that they must allow their students to leave if they choose to. While this is the politically correct thing to do, it should have been organized and communicated days before. As a result of the miscommunication, very few teachers were outside with the students who chose to walk out. I would estimate that somewhere between 500 and 600 students participated in the protest. With limited supervision out of the building, some students made the poor decision of causing a scene. There were students in the road outside of the school, stopping traffic in both lanes. Other students went into a convenience store across the street and shoplifted. A few students were actually on top of cars in the faculty parking lot.
This experience reiterated the importance of communication in the school building. I have learned a tremendous amount about multimodal literacy and digital story telling in ED 386, and from my observations at Euclid High School. I look forward to further expanding my knowledge in these areas.
Blog Post 3
In my recent observation visits to Euclid High School, I have been watching students learn about different forms of government. Specifically, Democracy and Communism. I have noticed that the students struggle to differentiate these two sometimes. They can identify that many eastern countries such as Russia and North Korea are communist. But they do not understand the principals of what make them communist. The teacher that I am observing had an interesting activity for the class. He would state an aspect about society and the class would have to tell him if it were a democracy or communism. For example he said “capitalism” and the answer to that is democracy. He would then say something like “dictator” and the answer to this would be communism.
My mobile app is designed to help students differentiate the fundamentals of Democracy and Communism. This is an important thing for high school students to understand, because as they enter the real world, they will have to understand how our nations government operates. There are great privileges that come with a democracy. The first one that comes to most people’s minds is voting. In order to truly do your part as an American citizen, you should be an educated voter. In the mobile app, I also included videos, secondary sources, and some games about communism. The two forms of governments are on complete different sides of the spectrum.
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Blog Post 4
Suzanne Miller’s ideas in the Multimodal Composition in Classrooms: Learning and Teaching for the Digital World, are what helped me create this comic strip. It demonstrates the integration of technology in the classroom, and how it can benefit social studies classes. In the comic strip, two students use a person they already know about (Martin Luther King Jr.) to expand their knowledge of the past. They us the technology provided by the school to expand their knowledge on the subject matter.
Blog Post 2
I have recently learned how to play Wii Sports for my video gaming blog. The Wii gaming system is unlike many others because it is actively engaging. It gives you the ability to make the actual physical motions of whatever sport you are playing. For this blog, I want to focus on bowling.
The game bases it’s success off of how accurately you can perform the bowling motion. With the controller in whatever hand you bowl with, you simply hold the B button, and execute your best bowling motion. The remote can detect how accurately your roll is. If you follow thru to the left, the ball will go to the left. If you follow thru to the right, the ball will go to the right, and so on.
Wii bowling was rather simple to pick up on because I have bowled in real life. This is about the closest thing you can get to virtual bowling, The one thing about the game that was hard to learn was the release point. Your person releases the ball when ever you release the B button. If you hang on to the ball for too long, the ball will hang in the air for longer, making it a less accurate shot. If the release is too early, the ball will slow down dramatically. It took me multiple games to become experienced with the game, but I would say that I am now a pretty good player.
Blog Post 1
Hello, my name is Riley Larkin, I am from Kent, Ohio. I play quarterback on the John Carroll University football team. I also volunteer my time to coach Special Olympics. I am an Adolescent Young Adult Education and History Major. I want to enter this profession to have a positive influence on my students lives. I can also see myself coaching football or basketball when I begin my teaching career. My interests outside of school include my faith, family, and sports.
In order for me to feel comfortable taking risks in class, I must feel a sense of community in the classroom. This comes from a close relationship with both my classmates and the instructor. Intellectual risks will come from confidence that is built up over time from success in the classroom.
An essay that I’ve recently enjoyed reading was called Be a Coach, Not a Guru. It compares the general strengths and weaknesses of general coaches. It is parallel with a lot of the things I believe in; determination, positive spirit, and using sports as a tool to teach life lessons.
https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2013/07/29/essay-coaching-style-mentoring
Will we be learning how to use educational technology for ourselves, or more-so how we can implement technology in the classroom?
What do you consider your strengths and weaknesses as an educator yourself?
Riley's Page 