Video Conferencing Videos & The Power of Technology Integration--Technology Integration III

There is a great deal of confusion and apprehension surrounding the notion of technology integration in the classroom. Some of the confusion and apprehension is understandable. Technology use in the classroom has been over-hyped, oversold, and misapplied. Here are examples of technology use that does NOT reflect technology integration.

Not Integration:

• Computer labs and courses in programming, using software products, etc. Computer labs are valuable but do not constitute integration. Relying on computer labs as a form of technology integration is akin to you going to your office with no computer. You would then go down the hall to an administrator's computer lab to do email, conduct research, type memos, etc. That is not integration.
• Laptops or other electronic devices for taking notes in class. While this may or may not be acceptable and useful, it is not effective integration and has minimal to zero ROI.
• Students creating PowerPointless presentations. Using PowerPoint for student presentations CAN REFLECT effective integration, but not in isolation from more substantive uses. Moreover, PowerPoint presentations can very easily elevate form over substance.
• Internet research is not integration. Again, Internet searches can reflect authentic integration, but not when an isolated activity.
• Using a word processor to write a report. Who doesn't do that?

The above activities are all valid and useful but do not reflect effective integration in and of themselves. So what then is effective technology integration?

Authentic Technology Integration

Authentic integrated technology is the seamless infusion of technology in both instruction and learning so that technology becomes a ubiquitous tool used by both students and teachers. It goes beyond computer labs to the natural incorporation of technology into teaching and learning as naturally as a white board and notebook. Using technology for the sake of using technology is not the objective.

The objective is to use technology when it is the most effective way to teach and to learn and to enhance teaching and learning. Technology is not the end; it is the means.

Example I

The following abridged example[1] for a high school class may help illustrate the concept. Although designed for high school, this lesson could be easily modified for junior high students.

Lesson objective: Students will deepen their understanding of the relationship between social and human capital to the creation of wealth and to educational levels in a first and third world country.

Lesson Content and Assignment:

The teacher will provide background reading and lectures on social and human capital, biblical concepts of economic justice, fundamental principles of economics, and the impact of educational attainment on the creation of individual and national wealth and reducing poverty.

• Students are to use library and Internet based resources to research economic, demographic, and educational data for both a first world and a third world country using resources just as the CIA Fact Book, the Library of Congress, the U.S. Census, the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, etc.
• Data is to be collected using an Access database. Student will export the data to an Excel spreadsheet. Graphs are to be created depicting important data. Working with the math department, students will run a simple correlation analysis using Excel or a program such as SPSS.
• Students will use Word to write an eight-page research report. The report is to include embedded Excel charts and graphs. The report is to be in MLA format using Endnote for the citation of references and the creation of the reference section. This written report is to provide a discussion of biblical principles of social justice, a summary of research findings, and conclusions regarding the relationship between social and human capital to the creation of wealth and to educational levels in a first and third world country. Students will use e-Sword or similar software to conduct biblical research, in addition to online and library resources. Students are then to answer the following question:
• “What does this mean to me?” An internal blog will be created for use by students for reacting to the findings and implications of the research.
• Students will use PowerPoint to present a five-minute summary of their findings.

Assessment:

• Students will be assessed using both a traditional assessment (test) and an authentic assessment. The authentic assessment is the quality of the research, the quality of the written report, the quality of technology use and integration, and the quality of their presentations. A rubric is used for the authentic assessment.

Example 2

A useful middle school example is Was It Murder? The Death of King Tutankhamun: The Boy King. This lesson can be found at the following Internet page: http://www.pekin.net/pekin108/wash/webquest/.

The above two examples represent mature integration efforts. Obviously there are simpler ways to effectively integrate technology. The above examples are provided to illustrate that effective technology integration means that technology tools are fully unutilized if and when appropriate. Technology tools are leveraged but do not displace effective use of traditional instruction and resources.

Example 3--Video Conferencing

Video conferencing offers tremendous opportunities for enhancing instruction, exciting students, extending the classroom beyond the school and raising achievement. An exciting video conferencing resource is called Global Nomads. The following two videos give an excellent overview of this particular program.

Global Nomad Overview

Actual Video Conference

Early on the morning of February 2nd, before the World Forum program began for the day, ten members of the YDP representing all the countries attended a videoconferencing hosted by JAMS in partnership with Global Nomads Group and Facing History and Ourselves. Connected to four high schools across the country from San Francisco to Sun Valley, Idaho to Virginia Beach, Virginia, classrooms of seniors engaged in dialogue for ninety minutes. Differences on the Iraq War emerged and a discussion on how to communicate those differences so that others' perspectives were heard was valuable for everyone involved. High school classrooms in ten other schools were participating as "view only" sites in the videoconferencing.

The Status of Technology Integration in ACSI and CSI Schools:

Unfortunately, there is little evidence that Christian schools are integrating technology in a manner even close to the lessons described above. In a national study designed to assess the current level of technology access and integration, defined as Technology Level, in CSI and ACSI schools, Mosbacker (2005) found that the majority of CSI and ACSI schools are not characterized by the level of technology integration required to prepare students with the 21^st century skills needed in an information-rich, global economy.

The majority of CSI and ACSI schools are at a relatively low technology level as measured by the CEO STaR Chart[2] definitions:

• Seventy seven percent (77%) of the schools are rated as Low to Mid Technology.
• Twenty two percent (21.9%) of the schools are classified as High/Advanced Technology schools.
• Only one school was classified as a Target Technology school.

Most CSI and ACSI Christian school administrator are providing access to technology but with limited curricular integration. Given the conservative culture of most evangelical Christian schools, it is not surprising to find that most administrators are not adapting school programs to the realities of the global-information based economy of the 21^st century nor to the rapid pace of change and exponential growth in knowledge and information.

Now What?

How do we get from where we are to where we need to be? Technology is expensive, most teachers are not well trained, time is limited, funds are limited, and IT support is limited. How do we plan for, fund, and effectively implement technology in our schools? These are difficult questions, but it can and must be done. We will tackle some of these issues in upcoming posts.

Response:

It would be very helpful at this point to have input from the readers of this blog.

• What do you consider to be the biggest challenges to integrating technology in your school?
• Do you really believe in the importance of the integration or do you believe that there is too much hype and little actual educational benefit for the money and time required?
• Do you have good examples of effective integration from your school? Bad examples (no names please)?

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[1] The scope of this blog does not permit the presentation of a comprehensive lesson plan.

[2] For more information on the STaR Chart definitions, see http://www.iste.org/inhouse/starchart/index.cfm?Section=STaRChart&CFID=4488963&CFTOKEN=37864196

Mosbacker, B. L. (2005). An investigation of technology and school leadership in Christian schools in the United States. Charlotte, NC, University of North Carolina (Charlotte).

Technorati Tags: Technology Integration,Staff Development,21st century skills,leadership

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Why Do Finnish Students Rank # 1 in the World?

In a recent Wall Street Journal report, the authors ask, "what makes Finnish kids so smart?" To get a taste for the disparity between US and Finnish schools, consider the following example of a Finnish student who had to repeat a grade after attending a U.S. high school for a year:

Finnish high-school senior Elina Lamponen saw the differences firsthand. She spent a year at Colon High School in Colon, Mich., where strict rules didn't translate into tougher lessons or dedicated students, Ms. Lamponen says. She would ask students whether they did their homework. They would reply: " 'Nah. So what'd you do last night?'" she recalls. History tests were often multiple choice. The rare essay question, she says, allowed very little space in which to write. In-class projects were largely "glue this to the poster for an hour," she says. Her Finnish high school forced Ms. Lamponen, a spiky-haired 19-year-old, to repeat the year when she returned. Lloyd Kirby, superintendent of Colon Community Schools in southern Michigan, says foreign students are told to ask for extra work if they find classes too easy.

According to the article, the following characterizes Finnish schools and students:

• Basics only. Finnish schools have no sports teams, marching bands or prom.
• Teachers and students address each other by first names. About the only classroom rules are no cell phones, no iPods and no hats.
• Limited amounts of homework, a more relaxed atmosphere.
• Teachers must hold master's degrees, and the profession is highly competitive: More than 40 people may apply for a single job. Their salaries are similar to those of U.S. teachers, but they generally have more freedom.
• Finnish teachers pick books and customize lessons as they shape students to national standards. "In most countries, education feels like a car factory. In Finland, the teachers are the entrepreneurs.
• One explanation for the Finns' success is their love of reading. Parents of newborns receive a government-paid gift pack that includes a picture book. Some libraries are attached to shopping malls.
• There are fewer disparities in education and income levels among Finns. Finland separates students for the last three years of high school based on grades; 53% go to high school and the rest enter vocational school. (All 15-year-old students took the PISA test.) Finland has a high-school dropout rate of about 4% -- or 10% at vocational schools -- compared with roughly 25% in the U.S., according to their respective education departments.
• Each school year, the U.S. spends an average of $8,700 per student.
• Finnish students have little angstata -- or teen angst -- about getting into the best university, and no worries about paying for it. College is free.
• There is competition for college based on academic specialties -- medical school, for instance. But even the best universities don't have the elite status of a Harvard. Taking away the competition of getting into the "right schools" allows Finnish children to enjoy a less-pressured childhood. While many U.S. parents worry about enrolling their toddlers in academically oriented preschools, the Finns don't begin school until age 7, a year later than most U.S. first-graders.
• Once school starts, the Finns are more self-reliant. While some U.S. parents fuss over accompanying their children to and from school, and arrange every play date and outing, young Finns do much more on their own. At the Ymmersta School in a nearby Helsinki suburb, some first-grade students trudge to school through a stand of evergreens in near darkness. At lunch, they pick out their own meals, which all schools give free, and carry the trays to lunch tables.

Technorati Tags: International competition,globalization,world-class standards,academic Excellence,reform

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How to Teach and Tame the Digital Natives: Technology Integration Article II

Like generations before them our adolescent students have acne and raging hormones. They can be imprudent, impulsive, gangly, and temperamental. They are often funny, creative, daring, and insightful. In most respects the great tapestry of their lives is like every generation before them. They struggle with temptation and their hearts and minds are filled with dreams of marriage, family, and career.

They are also different--different in a very important and profound way. They are natives--digital natives. They are students who have grown up with digital technology and in a media saturated culture where special effects, rapid movement, vivid colors, surround sound, HD TV, social networks, and computers dominate their lives. Except when required in school, most of what they read is in electronic form and hypertexted. The authors of a recent Kaiser Family Foundation sponsored study (Rideout, Roberts, & Foehr, 2005) report that "young people today spend an average of nearly 6 ½ hours a day with media. Across the seven days of the week, that amount is the equivalent of a full-time job, with a few extra hours thrown in for overtime (44 1/2 hours a week)."

Unlike our students, most readers of this blog are digital immigrants. Digital immigrants are said to have a "thick accent". That is, the digital immigrant may be able to converse and conduct business in the new digital language but they do so with a "technology accent" that makes it obvious that the language is foreign.

The Language Gap

The difficulty arises when the immigrant is teaching the native. If you have ever been in a class, listened to a sermon, or heard a speech by someone with a heavy foreign accent you will appreciate how hard it can be to understand the speaker. They may have flawless English but the accent can make understanding (and interest) more difficult.

The immigrant teaches like he did in the "home country", with rows of digital natives passively listening to a teacher lecture, writing on a white board, and occasionally asking open-ended lower level questions. Although in the average K-12 school setting students have few choices but to passively endure the process, once in college things can change--dramatically. In a very interesting blog post titled Profs Compete for Students' Attention, Amy Tiemann writes:

Immersion in online technology and media has fundamentally changed the way our minds work, the way we gather information and split our attention. It may be harder than ever for educators to avoid coming across like the monotonous economics teacher in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I taught high school 10 years ago, and in many ways I am thankful that I was teaching in the era before networked laptops.

I was a talented teacher, but let's face it, when you are trying to convince 16-year-olds that they really are interested in learning chemistry at 8:30 in the morning, it helps to have a captive audience. Now teachers face new pressures: competing for their students' attention inside the classroom, and presenting material in a way that resembles the variety of mass media that teens consume on average more than 40 hours a week...

Sheryl Grant what she's seeing as an information and library sciences graduate student at the University of North Carolina. Sheryl says, "The most shocking part of going back to school at this point in my life (in her 30s) is looking around and realizing that nobody is in the room. "The professor is just another open browser window,1 of 10." Students work much as they would at their desks at home, multitasking like crazy, even when they happen to be in the live lecture hall.

While most of our students do not carry laptops to class, they can and do tune out. College students may choose to multitask on their laptops, but too many of our students respond like those in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.

Two Wrong Responses

The temptation is to react rather than thoughtfully respond. One reaction is to excuse one's lack of vision and innovation by blaming lazy and apathetic students, irresponsible parents, or a culture gone crazy. "My job is to teach, it is the students' responsibility to learn." "I am not here to entertain my students, I am here to teach them." Understandable, if not helpful reactions.

The second reaction is to completely excuse the students and to fall into the technotainment trap. Jamie McKenzie, an expert on technology integration, defines technotainment as:

Technology activities heavily laced with entertainment but essentially lacking in rigor or value. Technotainment often stresses technology for technology’s sake without enhancing student reading, writing and reasoning skills.

The right response is to recognize that our students are different in important ways from generations before them, to acknowledge that we have a responsibility to help our teachers explore creative ways to effectively teach the digital native, and to appropriately and effectively leverage technology to engage students, enliven classrooms, and to teach students the 21st century skills of accessing, assessing, synthesizing, analyzing, and communicating information.

We cannot ban technology and we ignore its impact and potential at our peril. We can and should harness it to expand and enhance the qualify of classroom instruction and professional collaboration. In his response to the observation that "The professor is just another open browser window,1 of 10", John Martin observes:

If the professor is simply browser window 1 of 10, the question then becomes this: Is the professor allowing this to occur because he has not created and drawn his students into an actively engaged learning community? Consider the opportunities for learning we could create if we tap our students’ affinity for technology by challenging them in class to find and share appropriate and timely references, news briefs, videos or lectures on our subject matter. Imagine if we showed our students how technology can serve them, rather than the other way around. The 21st century treats knowledge and information as currency and those who can effectively acquire, process and synthesize that knowledge into actionable projects and tangible results will be far better prepared for the world they will enter. (Emphasis added)

But How?

Integrating technology is easier said than done! We will tackle this practical question in later posts--stay tuned!

References

Rideout, V., Roberts, D. F., & Foehr, U. G. (2005). Generation M: Media in the lives of 8-18 year-olds: Kaiser Family Foundation.

Digital Native cartoon by Jerry King and was posted to From Now On.

Technorati Tags: Digital Native,Digital Immigrant,Digital,Reform,21st century skills

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Is Homework Accepted by Parents and Students?

Survey on Homework Reveals Acceptance, Despite Some Gripes

According to an article in Education Week, despite debates in the media over whether American students are academically overburdened, 85 percent of parents believe their children are doing the “right amount” or “too little” homework, and three-quarters of students say they have enough time to complete their assignments, according to a survey released this week. To read the entire article, click here.

Technorati Tags: Homework

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Beyond Hype and PR: Technology that Works and Inspires

Lord willing, over the next several weeks I will be posting a series of articles titled Beyond the Hype and PR, Technology that Works and Inspires. The title is intentional. Too much of our technology is peripheral to the curriculum rather than being integrated as a natural and ubiquitous tool of instruction and learning. More often than not, we have purchased technology (primarily computers) for marketing reasons (parents expect it); not because we have made a research-based assessment of its pedagogical potential nor thought deeply about the theological implications for technology (at least not beyond the problem of pornography).

I intend to write a series rather than a long article because shorter articles are easier to read on a computer, can be updated frequently, and are easier to share with others. The tentative plan is to write short articles on the following topics (I may decide to add sub-topics as well):

• 21st Century Skills: What They are and Why They Matter for the Christian School
  
• What is technology integration?
  
• Why Technology Integration Matters
  
• Technology Standards
  
• The Current State of Technology in our Schools
  
• Examples of Technology Integration
  
• Increasing the Marginal Value of our Schools through Technology
  
• Technology Planning
  
• Sample Resources

You may find the following video thought provoking. What will school be like if textbooks can be completely customized on the fly by experts from all over the world?

See example Chemistry text: http://www.college-cram.com/study/chemistry/presentations/509

Connexions Site: http://cnx.org/

Technorati Tags: Technology Integration,Technology

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Did You Know?

Did You Know?

Response?

• What implications does this have for our staff training?
• What implications does this have for our students?
• Does this really matter at all?

Technorati Tags: 21st century skills,technology,Pedagogy,Internet,Globalization,world-class,excellence

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Glassbooth - Quiz to help you choose best 2008 presidential candidate

Glassbooth is a very interesting site that has great potential in history, government, economics, ethics/Bible, and social studies classes. Here is a very exciting way to use this site in your school:

• Have students in class complete the online quiz prior to discussing political candidates and issues
• Discuss the candidates and issues in class
• Review media coverage of the candidates
• Review the candidates' websites, blogs, Youtube videos, etc.
• After class discussions and research, including probing discussion including various Christian perspectives on issues, have the students retake the quiz

How did class research and discussion change the aggregate results for the class? What did students learn that they did not know before? How would they compare/contrast:

• The candidates' positions as noted on their websites/blogs with media presentations?
• The candidates' positions as noted on their websites/blogs with their own perspectives?
• The candidates' positions as noted on their websites/blogs relative to a biblically informed perspective?

Take the quiz yourself. Also note the "Explore Candidates" feature, which I find very helpful.

Response:

• Do you see this a potentially useful for classes in your school?
• Do you plan to pass this information on to any of your teachers?
• What other suggested uses do you see for this site?
• Do you see any potential dangers in using this site?

Technorati Tags: Politics,worldview,Perspective,Critical Thinking

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How Would our Seniors Do?

THE primary aim of most Christian schools is to teach their students to think biblically, to development a biblical worldview. Central to that mission is preparing them to "defend The faith." The arguments lodged against Christianity by Burrus (click here for PDF) are not particularly sophisticated. Nevertheless, here is the question: Can our seniors provide intellectually honest, logically coherent, and theologically sound responses? If the majority of seniors who have attended our schools for at least four years are not able to effectively respond to these attacks against their faith, I would argue that we are failing in our primary mission.

As the leaders in our schools, we have the responsibility to know to what extent our students are intellectually competent to defend their faith--for the sake of their own souls as well as their witness to the Gospel. How do we know if they can respond to these and other arguments against the Christian faith? If we don't know, why not? How can we find out?

I suggest the following responses for consideration and discussion:

1) Map the Bible curriculum (there are several good tools for mapping the curriculum including, Curriculum Mapper and Rubicon Atlas) from K-12th grades to determine what is taught when and why,

2) Develop an essay or series of essays to measure your seniors' ability to respond to The 10 Reasons Why Christianity is Wrong, or similar attacks. Read the essays--are the seniors largely "clueless"? Do they respond simplistically, in so many words: "God said it, I believe it, that settles it?",

3) Discuss the results with your teachers. What is their reaction? Assuming your seniors performed poorly on the essays, how will the curriculum, teaching methods, and assessments be changed?, and

4) Initiate intensive in-service training to focus on developing teaching and assessment methods designed to dramatically improve our students' knowledge, understanding, and ability to articulate the intellectual, philosophical, and theological foundations of their faith.

Response:

How do you think your seniors would do? If poorly, why? Our schools spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in the pursuit of our core mission of helping students develop a biblical worldview. If they cannot adequately respond to relatively weak attacks, what are we doing wrong?

Do you believe any of the suggestions above have merit? If so, are you currently implementing any of the suggestions or if not, would you consider doing so? If so, which ones? What challenges do you anticipate? Do you have other suggestions to share from your school's successful experiences and practices?

Technorati Tags: Worldview , Leadership , School Culture , Christian , Christianity , In-service Training , Bible , Mission , Apologetics , Christian School Leadership , Curriculum Mapping , Assessment , Professional Development

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