Educating the Millennium Generation

The internet has completely transformed how we acquire information and even how we communicate with each other. In some ways this transformation has been wonderful. Our students are able to locate information in a variety of formats within seconds instead of the hours or days it used to take. They are able to communicate with students all over the world with just a click of a button. But, unfortunately the internet has made it much easier for people to abuse this wealth of knowledge.




We have already discussed how easy it is for students to plagiarize. But just think about how easy it is for people to bully, use and abuse others. Students do not think about the long distant future. They have a difficult time understanding that what they put online stays online forever. When I was growing up, if I wanted to say something mean about someone I had to either say it to their face or put it down on paper. The face to face confrontation usually ended after each person had their say and it is easy to throw away a piece of paper. But now when students want to say something mean about someone else all they have to do is sign in to their Face book account and blast the other person on their wall. Instantly everyone knows your business and it becomes a terrible battle of “he said she said”. Others join in and before you know it a fight breaks out at school. I have broken up three fights this year stemming from what someone said on Face book.



Also, I found the sexting article very informative. Again back in the day you had to have a hard copy of evidence; which maybe one person had. It was much easier to get rid of the evidence. Now however it is easy to attach a picture and send it to everyone in your phone. Teenagers do not have the foresight to think about the consequences of these types of actions. They don’t realize the danger they put themselves in. I remember when I was six; I ran away from school. I thought I was old enough to walk home by myself; it was only a 15 minute drive. Needless to say when I was found I soon learned how scared my parents were, but I still did not understand why they were scared. What I do remember is the punishment I received. Now that I am an adult, I understand why my parents were so scared. I believe teenagers feel this way about sexting. They don’t get what the big deal is, why should we be worried. So how do we keep them safe?



States have incorporated acceptable use in the form of teaching standards. Michigan requires teachers to teach these standards from k – 12. Our district has a policy to teach students about how to use technology appropriately. We make it a point to teach them about the dangers the internet hold as well as long term consequences that can develop from inappropriate use. Parents have to be actively involved when students access technology at home. But perhaps the best way to safe guard a student is to arm them with an education.



I leave you with some food for thought…..



Human beings are human beings. They say what they want, don't they? They used to say it across the fence while they were hanging wash. Now they just say it on the Internet.


Dennis Miller



Both the American people and nations that censor the internet should understand that our government is committed to helping promote internet freedom.


Hillary Clinton



My wife and I had decided not to let anybody take pictures of our home because it was just the last place on earth we had that was unscathed. But people have climbed over the fence; they've taken aerial shots. They've gotten my address and put it on the Internet.


Steven Tyler



The Internet is just bringing all kinds of information into the home. There's just a lot of distraction, a lot of competition for the parent's voice to resonate in the children's ears.


Phil McGraw




Thanks:

http://techplan.edzone.net/METS/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkhpmEZWuRQ

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2009/12/03/poll-finds-sexting-common-among-youth/?

http://www.brainyquote.com/

http://www.douglas.k12.ga.us/?PN=Pages&SubP=Level1Page&L=2&DivisionID=1860&DepartmentID=1704&PageID=4535&ToggleSideNav=Single

Tech Plans

I really wish that all of our students that graduate were completely ready to start a career or enter college. I seriously thought by now that most of my students would know how to attach a document to an email, but I soon learned they did not have this knowledge. Almost every student I teach owns a cell phone and can text faster than I can speak, but when it comes to using a computer to type, email, create a power point or the like, they are ill prepared. When I was in high school, I had to take a keyboarding class so I could learn to type. Our county no longer teaches typing in school; they assume the students come with this knowledge (we all know what assuming does). I think as a society we want to believe our students just know how to use the technologies we provide, when in reality we are making a rather large assumption.


I believe our National Educational Technology Plan needs to set lofty goals. I always set high standards for my students and that is what they have done for us. We know in reality reaching those goals will be difficult, especially given our economic difficulties currently. But I think the point of setting the goals is the dream that each state will do their best to reach those goals and will ultimately raise student achievement. Michigan did a nice job trying to align their state goal with the national goals. I really like the detail in their plan. Out lining each goal specifically makes it easy on school districts to determine how they need to go about reaching those goals.

In my district (Douglas County, GA), our plan is laid out like a paper you would write in college. The goals are stated, but they are not written in a way that makes it easy to identify the national goals. We have the same goal of providing as many students with access as possible as well as updating technology when possible. I know we participate in the 21st century grant and we continue to look for ways to improve how we use technology. Our district used the national and state goals to help develop our goals and we have created a plan to address these goals in the best interest of our students. I am beginning to picture a funnel.

Thanks:

http://techplan.org/STP%202010%20Final.pdf

http://www.ed.gov/sites/default/files/netp2010-execsumm.pdf

http://web.douglas.k12.ga.us/web/DCSS_TechPlan_09-12.pdf

7th Technology Standard

Imagine it is the year 1996, you just turned 16 and your parents hand you a cell phone for you to use in case of emergencies (minutes are like $10.00 per minute…haha).  You feel like you are totally awesome!!!  Little did you know about how much technology would change in the next 15 years…..That was me in 1996.  I thought I had it all.  When I entered college in 1998, I felt completely prepared to take on the world.

 I completed my undergraduate degree in 2002.  That feels like forever ago; in terms of technology it was forever ago.  My undergraduate degree required me to complete C++ programming and I utilized Microsoft software as well as several various math programs.  I also used the internet to send and receive e-mail and research topics.  I thought I knew a lot about technology.  I now feel like I learn something new every day.  I believe my undergraduate degree addressed most of the 7^th technology standard; however utilizing an online learning environment was not addressed.  The first course I took completely online was the summer of 2010.  I enrolled in a PBS course and really enjoyed learning from people all over the state of Georgia.  In fact that course persuaded me to enroll in an online master’s program.

Currently, I use many of the technologies I used in my undergraduate courses.  I have also made an effort to update my knowledge through staff development.  I use technology such as a smart board, website, math program and this semester module.  I am really excited to learn how to improve my instruction by using technology more often.  I believe this course addresses each of the objectives in the 7^th technology standard.   We certainly are collaborating on our blogs as well as our technology audit.  I really enjoy the set up of the wimba classroom.  I feel like I am connected, but from afar.  Learning in this manner allows for different perspectives from classmates attending class all over the world.  So far, online learning has been a wonderful experience for me.  I am inspired to include a wider variety of technologies in my classroom on a daily basis.

Thank you:

http://www.michigan.gov/documents/mde/SBE_approved_PSMT_May_13_2008+coverpg_258601_7.doc

www.bing.com for images

Technology and Nontechnology Lessons

Nonlinguistic representation-that is the name for the strategy I most often use when teaching acquisition lessons.  I just thought I was making students visualize what I was trying to get them to learn.  Now I am going to sound very bright indeed.  Seriously though, I have found that if I can get students to “see” what I am teaching, then they retain the material longer.  The two classes I am teaching this lesson to both have a 50% population of students receiving special education services.  I try to find strategies that play to the strengths of these students.  They already feel like they can’t do math.  They hate math, their parents hate math too.  If I can get them to “see” math, they feel like they might be able to do math, even if they don’t like it.   I am very familiar with Robert J. Marzano’s theories and instructional practices; our school decided to do a book study using his material.  I believe that blending both linguistic and nonlinguistic representations will help students remember the most new information.  I came across a website that supports my claim:

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/101010/chapters/Nonlinguistic-Representations.aspx

I particularly enjoyed the following information:

“It has even been shown that explicitly engaging students in the creation of nonlinguistic representations stimulates and increases activity in the brain (see Gerlic & Jausovec, 1999).”

I really try to engage students.  My students often tell me that my class is their favorite, but they still do not like math.  I ask them why they like my class so much.  They tell me it is because it is fun and they finally feel like they can do math! 

Thank you:

Marzano, Robert. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Denver, Co: McRel.

http://www.mathcats.com/explore/polygonplayground.html

Image found at:
http://www.google.com/

Action Research

When I started thinking about how I use action research in my classroom
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"Wiliality"

“Mrs. Heaton, does 4 + 8 = 12?” unknown student.  “It does today” is my response most of the time.  My students look at me like I’m crazy (I’m used to that) and then they ask doesn’t it always equal 12?  I simply say it will equal 12 until someone proves otherwise.  Our entire conversation takes less than two minutes, but it brings up a profound idea; truth.

After watching the video clip, “Wikiality” (http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/72347/july-31-2006/the-word---wikiality), I began to think about the impact websites like Wikipedia have on our society.  If anyone can logon and post anything they wish, then how do we determine if their claims are real and valid?  What place does this type of information serve the learning community?  I decided to create an account and find out if editing an entry on Wikipedia would go unnoticed. 

 I picked a small town’s library as my victim.  Lithia Springs no longer has a library named Betty C. Hagler Public Library; it is now named Beatrice C. Hagler Public Library.  Why would I do such a thing, to change the name of a place where truth and knowledge is supposed to be sacred?  Ah now that’s ironyJ  I thought for sure someone would notice this difference especially since I know how proud Lithia Springs, Ga was when they renamed the library after Betty Hagler.  I happen to know Mrs. Hagler first hand; she is my best friend’s grandmother.  I still recall how proud everyone was of Mrs. Hagler’s achievements and her dedication to the Public Library in Lithia Springs, Ga. If she knew of my devious action, she would be more that displeased.  In fact I feel remorseful for changing the information; I am changing it back tonight. 

Well needless to say, it is day 4 and they still have not corrected my edit.  I told my coworkers about my assignment and they told me that they have heard of students that have contests to see who can edit the most information without having their edits changed.  In fact our county has banned Wikipedia access from our computers at school.  But does that mean that I think all websites are unreliable?  Of course not.  I mean the idea of having a math text book online for students to use whenever they need access sounds wonderful.  I am encouraged by the article, “$200 Textbook vs. Free. You Do the Math.”  (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/technology/01ping.html?_r=1&src=me&ref=general) and the efforts Scott McNealy is taking to make resources easily and affordably accessible to all users.  However, I feel strongly that published text books provide security to their readers.  The students and teachers can trust that the sources are correct and have been verified.  Wikipedia cannot provide such assurances.  Now, do I think that text books hold nothing but truths? No.  Truth is up to perception.  I think Colbert‘s concept of a democratic encyclopedia is intriguing.  I often think about how we know what truths are actual truths and which are actually false.  There was a time when we believed the world was flat, imaginary numbers did not exist and even Pluto was a planet.  As time marches on, so does the history of mankind:  a history that is ever changing depending on the accepted truths at the time.

Plagiarism

I found it ethically difficult to cut and paste from other people’s works and pass them off as my own, however; it was very easy to cut and paste from the internet.  I completed this assignment in less than 30 minutes and did not really have to think too much about it.  My safe assign score was an 84%, so it was very close to the 90% I plagiarized.  All I did was add 90 words to my 1,000 word essay.  I pulled my content from four sources and just cut and pasted their content. 

I believe students do not share the same ethical dilemma that I did, in fact they seldom care if the answers they give are even correct.  I teach high school mathematics and I have seen a lot of different types of cheating.  Perhaps the worst case I ever saw was when over half the class wrote on their papers that 11 * 7 = 4.  They didn’t even stop to think about the sentence they wrote down, nor did they care if it was correct.  When I approached the students about their apparent cheating, they did not even seem bothered by their indiscretion.  I find it troubling to say the least that students are so apathetic to cheating.  Of course, I can put some safe guards in place to catch students in the act of cheating, but this does not address the fact that they find it acceptable to copy work from other students.  I have tried to address the issue from a different approach.  I discuss with my students why taking something without permission is wrong.  I give them all candy and have three to four students walk around the room taking everyone else’s candy without asking for permission to take their candy.  The students become very hostile.  They do not like having their candy taken without their approval, I correlate this scenario to someone stealing another person’s work.  This usually sends the message home.  We then talk about ways to make sure our work is our own.  I try to establish a classroom environment that centers on learning, not answers.  I have found that if we focus on learning, then students are more receptive to helping each other learn how to arrive at a solution.  In my class it is not enough to provide an answer; you must also be able to explain your reasoning.

Even though I focus my instruction on learning, I still see cheating.  Students have a wealth of knowledge right at their fingertips and find it easy to cut and paste.  I didn’t realize how easy it was to cheat until completing this assignment.  I believe it is our job to find a way to encourage students to not just cut and paste; we have to make them think for themselves and give credit when credit is due.  The idea of documenting someone else’s ideas and works must be made to “stick” in their brains (Inspired by: “Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die” by Chip Heath (Author) and Dan Heath (Author).)