Knowledge+Building+Resources+2

Second Installment of the Knowledge Documentation Wiki Assignment
This page is for entries by students in 4131/5131 //Technology and Education// Section 02, Fall 2011 to post their knowledge resources to the table. To add an entry, simply click on the "**Edit**" button located at the top right corner of this page. Additional rows can be added by clicking on the table icon symbol that floats next to the table when you are editing it. Be sure to "**Save**" your entries before navigating away from the page.
 * Knowledge Documentation Rubric **// 120 points (20 points per module assignment) //
 * Exceeds Expectation || Meets Expectation || Below Expectation ||
 * ==== Used the Knowledge Documentation Template to document key issues and their solution suggestions, along with the author and page upon which the issue is discussed. The contributor(s) of the information is identified. Submit your assignment on the assigned day. ====

|| ===== Used the Knowledge Documentation Template, to document key issues and their solution suggestions, along with the author and page upon which the issue is discussed. The contributor(s) of the information is identified. Turn into the Knowledge Update assignment on the assigned day. A minimum of two issues were identified. ===== || ==== Failed to document some of the following components: key issues and their solution suggestions, author and page upon which the issue is discussed, contributor(s) of the information is identified, turned in late or less than two issues were identified. ==== ||

Please provide some suggestions for any key issue that you have identified.

Honesty, building a sense of trust within the virtual online classroom Responsiveness, students are responsible for their actions in the virtual online classroom, collaboration also plays a role within this element. Relevance, subjects need to be relevant to students in the online classroom. Each student has something relevant to share with the class. Respect, students and teachers respect the views and feedback given by other students. Work is respected both in the virtual online classroom and outside the classroom. Openness, students and teachers should feel comfortable with opening themselves up to everyone in the virtual online classroom. And know that their openness will not be counted against them. Empowerment, students need to feel empowered when it comes to their own learning. If students feel empowered they are more likely to succeeded in the virtual online classroom. || Palloff and Pratt, 2007 || 228-229 || 12/16/11 Jacey Sobolik || By making sure the curriculum fits within the course, content is relevant, accessibile, students are interactive within the course itself. Also to make sure the learners stay on course through out the online course as well. The online course itself is designed well for each student, students can find course content in an orderly fashion. || Palloff and Pratt, 2007 || 154 || 12/16/11 Jacey Sobolik ||  Students that have certain characteristics tend to more successful in the online environment. Self-motivation, good communication skills through the written word, and access to technology are just a few of the many characteristics of students who are successful online. Not all students will transition to being successful in the online classroom, as is the same with instructors; some will simply have to reassess their ability and their commitment to their own learning when this option is explored. || Palloff and Pratt, 2007 || 8-9 || 11/27/2011 Destery Hildenbrand || By developing questions that are open-ended and allow for the beginning of a detailed discussion instructors can help to facilitate a more in-depth discussion process and in turn further the online community. Encouraging these types of discussions to happen between participants in the class, and not directly aimed at the instructor, the sense of community will be enhanced between everyone involved. || Palloff and Pratt, 2007 || 170-173 || 11/27/2011 Destery Hildenbrand || Transformative learning is learning that takes place in the subconscious of the students and happens as a natural reaction to being place in a new environment such as an online learning class. The transformative process is one that takes the students and allows for them to become more self-reflective about the process of learning in general thus making the process of learning as a whole more beneficial. || Palloff and Pratt, 2007 || 187-192 || 11/27/2011 Destery Hildenbrand ||
 * **Key Issue(s)/Suggestions12** || **Source Citation** ||< **Page Number(s)** || **Date/Contributor Name** ||
 * What are the six essential elements that are critical in distance learning success?
 * How can one create an effective online course?
 * **What type of student tends to be the most successful online?**
 * **What type of student tends to be the most successful online?**
 * **How can an instructor best encourage expansive questioning within discussions for their online course?**
 * **What is transformative learning and how beneficial is it to the online classroom?**
 * **What is the difference between assessments and evaluations?**

Assessments are those in which the student’s learning is assessed. This assessment shouldn’t only be the task of the teacher, but can also be the role of peers. Evaluations are more geared towards the course itself and towards the facilitator of the course. The facilitator need to make sure that they are evaluating how the class is going throughout it's course, and to make changes if needed. It is also important that a trusting community is set up in order to make the course evaluations useful, because often times students don’t feel very comfortable being honest about the areas of the course they were frustrated with. || Palloff and Pratt,2007 || 205, 206 || 11/2011 Gineal Schrunk ||
 * **How can technology be used to help people expand their ability to communicate?**

We typically all consider ourselves to be more extroverted or more introverted. It is clear that extroverts tend to have the edge in traditional classrooms. Extroverts feel comfortable speaking up in class if they have a question and they don't hesitate to offer their two cents in classroom discussions. On-line classes offer introverted students a less intimidating way of communicating. On-line students have ample time to collect their thoughts, and they are able to edit their responses- meaning that they don't have to talk off the top of their head. Also extroverted students who are use to thinking out loud, are in a sense forced to stop and really articulate their thoughts. It seems clear that all student benefit from the unique form of communication on-line classes offer. || Palloff and Pratt,2007 || 28, 29 || 11/20/11 Gineal Schrunk ||
 * **How can collaboration be encouraged?**

In order to encourage collaboration, it is important to first build a community. (It is hard after all to force complete strangers to work together.) Palloff and Pratt suggest having students post introductions at the beginning of the course. This way students can realize that their are "actual people" taking the class with them. Also the use of threaded discussions really promote collaboration. I do think that it is necessary to require students to leave feedback regarding their peers thoughts. Those taking on-line classes are typical adults that have very busy lives, so if it isn't required to read and leave feedback, the chances are that no one will take the time to do so. It is important that the discussion that take place aren't just student - instructor, but student to student. We sink or swim, but we do it together. || Palloff and Pratt,2007 || 161,170,176 || 11/20/11 Gineal Schrunk ||

//How can we prevent educational technology from failing?//
 * ISSUE:**

With the emergence of so many new digital technologies, it can be argued that educators need to be more able to adapt to possible changes. The same components teachers have identified to support their educational objectives, such as problem solving, should be demonstrated to the students by teachers. For example, a teacher could explain to the class that they had never used a certain application before, and so the lesson plan would be to learn how to appropriately use the new technology. So many students want to be shown specifically how to use things; requiring the student to figure out //how// to use a new software program could assist in developing fundamental skills. While I do believe it is important for teachers to have a plan when implementing new technology into their lessons, I also find value in using an improvisational process. Students need to understand the importance of flexibility, as many employers will require workers to have the ability to adapt to a wide range of situations.

“...planned change is merely a subset of a broader definition of change – organizational adaptability” (Cuban, p. 105). || Cuban, 1986 || p. 105 || 10/24/11 Nelson Rokke ||

//Is integrating technology into the classroom diminishing the interpersonal relationships formed between a student and their teacher?//
 * ISSUE:**

Traditionally, students have learned to trust their teachers as well as other professionals in positions of power. As the level of technological involvement increases in the classroom, Cuban suggests that some trust will be lost with the lack of emotional involvement an instructor has with their students. "Classrooms are steeped in emotions. In the fervent quest for precise rationality and technical efficiency, introducing to each classroom enough computers to tutor and drill children can dry up that emotional life, resulting in withered and uncertain relationships" (Cuban, 89). I think although this idea could be dramatized or inflated, it is definitely important for teachers to build and maintain relationships with their students. Teachers must know when it is time to turn off the digital technologies, and to use traditional teaching methods which require physical communication and socialization. || Cuban, 1986 || p. 88-90 || 10/24/11 Nelson Rokke || //What can institutions do to improve the effectiveness or quality of the online courses that they offer?//
 * **ISSUE:**

It seems as though the initial efforts to facilitate online classes among academic institutions failed to adequately consider the 'big picture'. The element that should be considered first when developing curricula, is the learner! The authors of //Building Online Learning Communities// support my claim when they say, “In order to successfully accommodate the needs of a diverse body of learners and to make room for both traditional and nontraditional students, along with online approaches that may encompass both, institutions should concentrate their efforts on what learners need and are demanding, as well as what our society is demanding of our graduates” (Palloff & Pratt, p.234).Everybody wins in this situation: students, academic institutions (increased enrollment), and potential employers.

|| Palloff and Pratt, 1999 || p. 234 || Nelson Rokke || How will schools/universities deal with this change in roles and the student-instructor relationship? Changing roles of instructor and student in an on-line learning environment. For example, to empower students to lead the discussion. || Palloff and Pratt, 1999 ||< p.73; 79-81;86 || 9/24/11 Mary Herring || This quote really troubled me. How can we expect students (especially elementary students, who Cuban singles out) to learn //from// a computer, if they we, as the instructor, do not know if the students are fully able to use the computer. I don't believe that He should be looking to compare Piaget's thoughts on child development, but rather Vygotsky's, which he does not mention. Vygotsky believes that children often need that additional help to reach their next level of understanding (Zone of Proximal Development). (A simple summary of Vygotsky's theories can be found here for those who are not familiar) I believe this is what teachers need to keep in mind when deciding if computers are the right innovation for their classroom.
 * //Example://
 * __Should computers be used as an "aid" to instruction, or //be// the instruction?__

__Instruction, as we know it, needs to be changed to successfully integrate computers.__ Cuban proposes that teachers need to change the way they think about instruction and pedagogy to successfully use computers. From what Cuban say, it sounds like problem based units and instruction, or instruction with multiple paths to a successful outcome, is what teachers should strive to achieve in a technology rich classroom. I agree with these views. Teachers that expect to integrate large amounts of technology can not even hope to achieve the "cookie cutter, cut and paste" form of pedagogy that schools used to thrive on. Technology rich classrooms need a much more "free form" approach to learning, and teachers need to be ready for a "lightbulb" or "spotlight moment" at anytime during instruction, and let these student epiphanies drive instruction and learning. || Cuban, 1986

Cuban, 1986 ||< p. 94; 98 - 103

p. 90 - 91 || 10/15/11 Andrew Smith

10/23/11 Andrew Smith ||
 * Is their a difference in how we use technology in elementary classrooms opposed to secondary classrooms?

In elementary classrooms it is much easier to simple use a piece of technology when you choose then when you are in secondary schools. Secondary school teachers must find a balance of when to use proper technology for certain lessons. A lesson has to be planned around the technology that the teacher is using rather than in an elementary classroom saying, "I think I could use this video or what not for this lesson later in the day." Secondary classrooms need to have more structure their for technology needs to have structure. Along with with the substance and style are different between elementary and secondary schools. || Cuban, 1986 || p.70 || 10/20/11 ||
 * Can technology be used with young minds and promote creative thinking, or is technology always detrimental to lateral thinking and visual imagination?

Technology can serve mainly as an enabler in teaching and learning to: help organize and provide structure material to students; help students, teachers, and parents interact, anytime, anywhere; facilitate and assist in the authentication and prioritization of Internet material; simulate, visualize and interact with scientific structures, processes, and models; help in learning history and depicting future trends; serve as an extension and enhancer for the handicapped; and provide automated translators for multilingual populations. || Healy, 1998. [|Resnick, 2009.]

Noeth & Volkov, 2004 ||< P. 162- 166 || 10/17/11 Johnika Bruce

10/17/11 Johnika Bruce ||
 * Why did teachers rarely use machines in their classrooms from the 1920's until 1986?

Some reformers stated that the problem is individuals (teachers and principles) who are hostile or indifferent to the march of modern technology. Others stated that "clogged bureaucracies" have stifled even the most persistent innovator; somehow the best ideas lost their vitality in a long journey between adoption by a school district and the actual implementation in the schools.

Cuban states that accessibility of hardware and software played a large role. Inadequate or obsolete equipment, limited availability of a viable signal, awkward scheduling of broadcasts, and amateurish programs have persistently blocked teachers from increasing their usage of technology (mainly of radio, film, and TV). A study taking place in 1977-78 asked teachers why they didn't use instructional TV more, they responded: broadcast time was inconvenient, no access to equipment or facilities, no time, and inconvenient facilities.

The second reason Cuban states for the lack of technology is the implementation of the innovation. Many people have pointed out that various technological advances adopted by school boards and pushed by university researchers and foundation-funded reformers seldom have remained in classroom use after the novelty wore off. The most common way to implement technology into a classroom is using the top-down approach; where administrators decide what to implement, and teachers are given the technology after the decision in made. How the technology was adopted and executed plays a huge role in determining the frequency of machine use in the classroom.

The third reason Cuban gives in the classroom and school as work settings (how settings shape behavior). How classroom and school space is physically arranged, how content and students are organized into grade levels, how time is allocated for tasks, and what rules govern student and adult behavior stem from the original mandate for public schooling: to get a group of students compelled to attend school to absorb certain knowledge and values while maintaining orderliness. The teacher is expected to maintain control, teach a prescribed content (curriculum), capture student interest in that content, match levels of instruction to differences among students (differentiate) and show tangible evidence that students have performed satisfactorily (assessment). The tools that teachers have added to their repertoire over time have been simple, durable, flexible, and responsive to teacher-defined problems meeting the demands of daily instruction.

The final argument Cuban gives focuses on the nature and culture of the teaching profession. Teacher selection, training, and experience and the beliefs teachers hold combine to produce a deep-seated conservatism, a reluctance to alter prevailing practices and use mechanical devices in the classrooms. Teaching is one of the few occupations where practically everyone learns firsthand about the job while sitting a few yards away, as students year after year. Recruitment and selection tend to bring into the profession people who tend to reaffirm, rather than challenge, the role of schools, thereby tipping the balance toward stability rather than change. Because teachers believe that interpersonal relations are essential in student learning, the use of technologies that either displace, interrupt, or minimize that relationship between teacher and child is viewed in a negative light. This argument targets the pool of candidates from which teachers are drawn to explain their reluctance to use electronic media. The culture of teaching gets transformed into such labels as inertia, resistance, or simple hostility to instructional improvement. || Cuban, 1986 ||< p. 51-62 || 10/19/11 Emily Keitel ||
 * Should (vs. how should) computers be used in the classroom?

Computers can be used as a tutor, tool, or tutee, or even a mix of all three, which is why how it is used is uncertain (in 1986). While the computer's versatility and promise for instruction exceeds the minuses of persistent hardware and software problems, knotty policy questions over how to computerize classrooms still puzzles decision makers. Cuban offered three points of argument regarding whether or not teachers should use computers as a central or even substantial part of classroom instruction: 1) cost effectiveness of computers used in instruction, 2) increased mechanization of teaching, and 3) impact upon children.

1) Cost effectiveness A study found that computer assisted instruction more more cost effective than reducing class size but less cost effective than having students peer tutor/teach each other.

2) Increased mechanization of teaching Efforts to introduce systematic classroom procedures and rational teaching methods became especially faddish in the 1960s and 70s with the growing awareness of the part of state and federal policy makers that many American children left school unfit to read, write, and calculate. Many teacher education institutions altered curricula by breaking down the act of teaching into measurable behaviors that could be taught separately to prospective teachers. The complex relationships between teachers and students have become uncertain in the face of (micro)computers. Students working with computers for long periods of time lose time for direct and sustained contact with teachers. (However, this is not necessarily true today with interactive whiteboards becoming increasingly popular and common in schools).

3) Impact upon children No one can answer with confidence the question of what impact continuous exposure to the surrogate reality called up on a computer screen has upon children. Cuban stated three concerns he had (in 1986) regarding this issue: 1) no consensus exists among scholars and practitioners on how children should learn and how teachers should teach, 2) there is much uncertainty over what students can learn from computerized lessons, and 3) collateral learning may be more significant in children's lives than the formal lessons taught by machines.

In 1986, I feel that Cuban was unsure of if and how computers should be used in the classroom. He had both positives and negatives to represent both sides of the issue, and a lot was still unknown because the technology was relatively new, especially to classroom. Since 1986, I feel that most of his concerns could be addressed. Students known as "digital natives" are in school now, and teachers are needing to adjust instruction to fit the needs of this generation of students. As digital natives, they have grown up with technology since they were born; it's a part of their everyday life. I feel that this is the main reason why technology plays such a large role in our classrooms today. Today, I feel that most people, especially education majors, would say that computers should, even need to be used in the classroom to help students establish, practice, and perfect certain necessary skills for higher education and the work force. Computers should be used as tools for students as well as teachers in today's classrooms. It is important for teachers to introduce students to various technologies, and it is important for students to experiment with those different technologies. In today's classrooms, the teacher needs to prepare his/her students for the "real world", not just higher education. Technology is a part of day-to-day life for most students and their parents, which is why it is important to include the use of computers (with the support or various hardware, software, and internet resources) in classrooms. || Cuban, 1986 ||< p. 82-92 || 10/19/11 Emily Keitel ||
 * Were computers weaken teachers control of the classroom?

The changing role of the teacher in the classroom due to technology was not in case of controlling the overall ongoing process of learning. as it was mentioned in Cuban1986, "The password that will unlock the classroom door remains in the teacher's head; undrestanding what questions teachers ask, and what criteria they apply, is essential to unlocking that door.

in Dwyer's work with students in Pittsburgh, for example he had constructed math setting were students control the technology and teachers act as "knowledgeable facilitators", It said that labs were full of students and teachers who were actually trying to discover things, and such examples were so little.

Computer and software are tools, and devices that could facilitate and enrich teaching with examples and more opportunities for students to discover and to communicate. They let them have access to a variety of resources. on the other hand there is always need for a teacher or instructor who will assists and teach how the student should take that benefit from the available technology they have in hand.Students are so curious and might be able to have more technological knowledge than their teacher, so it may lead some confusion if the teacher is not enough knowledgeable, but in case that the teacher has the necessary knowledge related to the course subject and the technology they need to use, that confusion will lead the class to a possitive communicating environment that everybody learn something new, and source of knowledge can change from teacher to computer or student without making problems in controlling the whole process of instruction.

"... because teachers believe that interpersonal relations are essential in student learning, the use of technologies that either displace, interrupt, or minimize that relationship between teacher and child is viewed in a negative light."

Some times teachers are worried yet that the relationship between the teacher and student is not as effective if they are using computers, It is essential to have an organized schedule in which the time for using technology is clear, and planed well, so that we have enough time to be in touch with students. Technology is a good way to keep the peers and teachers communicate more easily, but yet to be more effective we have to work on it. || Cuban, 1986

-

Cuban,L(1986) ||< p.62-71,

p.82

P.61 || 10/20/2011 Maryam Ghayoor Rad

Maryam Ghayoor Rad || Technology should be introduced to students who should be allowed to learn it like anything else, at their own pace. Technology should take its place as yet another tool for learning. || Murphy, DePasquale, McNamara 2003 ||< p. 1-2 || 10/20/2011 Destery Hildenbrand ||
 * Technology is a great tool when used correctly, but how should technology be used to benefit children of all ages?
 * What changes do teachers have to be willing to make for technology to make a successful transition to the classroom?

The pedagogy that teachers have adhered to this point will need to be reevaluated to see where technology can fit, and benefit the students. This pedagogy should be enhanced and improved upon. || Cuban, 1986 || p. 86-92 || 10/20/2011 Destery Hildenbrand ||
 * What are some of the obstacles that have routinely been identified with the implimentation of new technology in the classroom?

Introducing technology into the classroom, regardless of the technology, has seen some of the same issues hinder it's implementation regardless of the technology involved (ie. radio, T.V., film, Computers). Below are a few of the bigger obstacles. Destery Hildenbrand ||
 * Cost
 * Teacher acceptance/understanding
 * Fits the curriculum || Cuban, 1986 || p. 18, 49, 59-62, 84 || 10/20/2011
 * Why can teachers be resistant to incorporating technology?

In the teaching profession almost everyone learns by shadowing in classrooms. People who enter into the teaching profession tend to “reaffirm rather than challenge the role of schools.” Aspiring teachers look up to the good teachers they had, and try to replicate their classroom to a certain extent. They feel that if their role model of a teacher didn’t use technology in their classroom, they don’t need to use it either. || Cuban, 1986 || p. 59-62 || 10/21/2011 Gineal Schrunk ||
 * Is teaching more of an art or more of a science?

Many teachers consider teaching to be an art. Veteran teachers aren't usually in it for the money or for the academics, but for the "inner pleasures gained from contacts with young people." Classrooms are full of emotions and contact with others. Time spent working individually on computers lessens the student's contact with teachers and peers. Sometimes this contact with others experienced by students is taken for granted and not seen as a way to foster both emotional and intellectual growth. || Cuban, 1986 || p.88-92 || 10/21/2011 Gineal Schrunk ||
 * Who is the catalyst behind the increased use of technology in schools?

New technology is advertised. Parents see these innovations and want their children to benefit from them. The parents go to the school board and ask that they invest into these technologies or they buy them for the school and expect them to be used. Teachers are handed these new technologies and either spend the extra time to incorporate them well, or they collect dust. Other times superintendents wanting to improve their districts push for technologies with the some consequences. The best situation would be that the teachers themselves push for these new technologies after careful consideration and with a willingness to learn, however, that is not always the case. || Cuban, 1986 ||  || 10/21/2011 Gineal Schrunk ||
 * Issue: How are computers beginning to transform classroom practices, and the “DNA” of classroom life?

Solution: Computer instruction has become an additional tool in the vast arsenal possessed by teachers. Machines are used as student tutors, and used as a “learning center for occasional student play when class members have completed their assigned work,” (Cuban, 81). Additionally, microcomputers make it easier for teachers to record grades, mark attendance and tests, and increases organization. The teacher does not have to spend as much time on these things, so he or she can spend more time focused on classroom instruction, and interactions with students. Thomas Dwyer suggests that teachers act as “knowledgeable facilitators” in the classroom when working with technology, allowing students to control the technology themselves, promoting discovery and self-efficacy. “The customary classroom arrangement with the teacher in control gives way, according to Dwyer, to student-controlled computers and a world of experiences to be ‘lived in by both teacher and student,’” (Cuban, 82). Therefore, the computer-equipped learning arena would be turned into a “mutual search for knowledge in real-life settings,” between teacher and student. This could drastically change the face of the classroom as we know it, especially instructional methods, and teacher-student interaction. || Cuban, 1986 Thomas Dwyer, 1980 || p.81-82 || 10/23/2011 Alison Leytem ||
 * Issue: How important is a sense of time when viewing stability and change related to technology in schools?

Solution: Time must be considered when looking at change trends in researching classroom technological integration. Studies have been making conclusions after studying the planned change for an impatient period of time, with no real time for trends to develop and be observed. “Such impatience, while understandable, erodes the credibility of educational researcher’s findings,” (Cuban, 106). Educational researchers looking to observe substantial changes in classroom governance, curricula, and organization tend to not study the phenomena for very long. It is important to realize though, that change can be better detected when a larger period of time is available for analysis. “Time…is crucial in identifying the enduring devices that organizations have constructed for responding to external demands for swift changes,” (Cuban 106). Technology integration, then, will follow this pattern of change and stability. The degree that most computers and machines are incorporated into schools may not follow the speed that reformers or policy makers might want (ie, quickly and dynamically), but they will be incremental. Gradual integration and change will make it easier for teachers and students to adapt to such changes. Slow and marginal changes end up being more substantial, and more effective, than a “quick-fix” style of integration. || Cuban, 1986 || p. 105-107 || 10/23/2011 Alison Leytem || Solution: Cuban suggests the idea that the classroom is like a workplace. Teachers face daily issues that are steeped in the regularities of compulsory schooling, and organizational demands that have derived from the demand for mass schooling. Therefore, part of a teacher’s occupation is to create (daily), informal criteria for their classrooms, preparing themselves for what will and will not work within their lessons and pedagogy. This is always changing, which is why it is so important for teachers to remain flexible and prepared for anything that might happen. However, teachers can also anticipate planned change, and this requires a considerable amount of patience and understanding. “Patience is needed for accepting that what is intended seldom materializes immediately, and understanding is required for working with the stable processes of change at work in districts, schools, and classrooms,” (Cuban 108). Just as an employee at a company must anticipate and prepare for change going (or not going) his or her way, teachers must have a similar mentality.
 * Issue: How can the classroom being viewed as a workplace help us understand the additional problems associated with technological changes in education?

Cuban cites an example of a compilation of case studies from a number of preindustrial and industrial cultures coming to terms with change. The following statements regarding change were extracted by Edward Spicer (the researcher):

-People resist changes that appear to threaten basic securities. -People resist proposed changes they do not understand. -People resist being forced to change. -Changes generated in one subculture where science and technology are highly valued, if they are to be accepted in another subculture, must be made understandable and given clear value.

In looking at these statements, each can be applied to attitudes toward changes regarding classroom technology integration. It is important to realize that in any setting, change will be best received when all parties are informed, and part of the change planning and implementation process. || Cuban, 1986 Edward Spicer, 1952 || p. 107-109 || 10/23/2011 Alison Leytem ||

Suggestion: Cuban notes that "gradually introducing computers into classrooms for such instructiona and administrative tasks may succeed, since these limited uses respond to teacher-defined problems. Such solutions help teachers to cope with classroom"
 * 1. Issue: How can computers and technology tools be introduced into a classroom so the students and teachers feel comfortable using them?

2. Issue: While no learning theory fully encompasses classroom and student difference, how can teachers generally utilize computerized learning? Suggestion: Cuban states that though tedious, drill and programming exercises can be used to allow students to experience limited computerized intruction.

3. Issue: How can technology costs affect students' learning capabilities? Suggestion: "New machines stocked with flawless software may hook students' interest and improve their proficiencies, but the unit costs may be prohibitive compared to alternatives." || Cuban, 1986

Cuban, 1986

Cuban, 1986 || p. 81

p. 93

p. 85 || 10/24/2011 Meghan White

10/24/2011 Meghan White

10/24/2011 Meghan White ||

In the case of putting television into the classroom, teachers were given the materials with little to no instruction of how to use them effectively. School boards began the discussion of integrating the technology, but only much later were teachers included in the discussions. “Reformers had an itch and they got teachers to scratch it for them. This pattern of bringing teachers in at the tail end of the hoopla surrounding an innovation targeted upon altering classroom practice was common in school organizations” (Cuban 36). Top-down implementation made sure that teachers were not initially involved in using a new technology. In school districts where television usage began at very high levels, eventually died down as did the limited resources for teachers. This top-down implementation of technology in the forms of computers did occur again, but in a different way. “Not all administrators and teachers had to be drafted into the campaign for classroom use of the new machine. Substantial numbers of teachers promoted computers, and networks of computer buffs sprang up across the country. . . The current embrace of the new computer technology contains simultaneous top-down and bottom-up movement” (Cuban 76-77). This is the essential difference. While top-down implementation is sure to happen in some districts, especially those where teachers may not be motivated to start a change, bottom-up is occurring as well. Teachers themselves have computers in their homes, and they can see a real connection between the computer and education, where it might have been more difficult to see with older technologies.
 * What was the difference between the integration of technology prior to computer use and today?

What questions need to be asked regarding implementation of computers in the classroom? The question being asked now is how should computers be used in the classroom - which is a fair question after all. The question that should have been asked at an earlier time is if computers should be used in the classroom at all (Cuban 83). Though this question is probably behind our time, it is still an important question to ask. What can the computer take the place of, what should remain traditional? “In the fervent quest for precise rationality and technical efficiency, introducing to each classroom enough computers to tutor and drill children can dry up that emotional life, resulting in withered and uncertain relationships” (Cuban 89). Some things need to and will stay the same, like the emotions that classrooms contain. || Cuban,1986

Cuban, 1986 || pages 36,76-77

pages 83 and 89 || Libby Sturgeon 10/24/11

Libby Sturgeon 10/24/11 ||
 * Issue: How can educators successfully incorporate computers into the classroom?

"The complex relationships between teachers and students become uncertain in face of microcomputers."

Suggestion: First, educators need to become familiar with the technology. When they are more comfortable with the computer programs, the more successfully they can utilize it into the classroom. Second, educators need to incorporate technology into the classroom in a way that maximizes learning. They cannot use this technology just for the sake of using it. Finally, educators need to work hard to maintain a good r elationship with the students and create an environment in which the students can build relationships with each other.

Issue: How do we know if the technology used in the classroom is always the best?

"If //how// is asked before //why//, we will be building a shaking foundation." [In terms of utilizing technology into the classroom]

Suggestion: When educators are making decisions about what technology to use in the classroom, they need to first ask themselves "why are we using this technology in the classroom? Is this the best way to present this information?". Once they have answered these questions, they can ask themselves "how are we going to incorporate the technology?" When the decision is approached in this, the educators will be able to make a more sound decision about the benefits of the technology. Other ways to know the technology is beneficial include: research the technology, talk with other educators who have used it, and do a few test runs.

Issue: If there is no clear advantage to the use of technology in the classroom in terms of test scores, should educators still use it?

According to standardized achievement tests, "there was no substantial difference between the amount of information learned from televised lessons and information conveyed through conventional instructional approaches used by the classroom teacher."

Suggestion: In today's schools, technology should be used in the classroom even if the standardized test scores are not effected. Much of our society is based around the use of technology. If educators can introduce students to this technology at an early age, the better the will be prepared for situations later in life that technology would be useful. However, I believe technology can enhance learning if used properly.

Issue: What can be done to ensure that educators are using technology in the classroom properly?

"Students surfing the net on their own waste 95% of their time."

Suggestions:

Educators need to be properly trained on the technology being used so they can teach their students. Administrators need to steps to make sure inappropriate internet sites are blocked and monitor the sites the students are visiting. Finally, students need to be educated on how to use the internet as a resource just like they were educated on how to use a dictionary or an encyclopedia. || Cuban, 1986

Cuban, 1986

Cuban, 1986

Healy, 1998 || p. 89

p. 84

p. 38

p. 258 || Katie Pruiksma 10/23/11 ||
 * Issue: To what degree, and under what conditions, if at all, should computers be used in the classroom?

Suggestion:

As Cuban states, "to question computer use in schools is to aks what schools are for, why teachers teach certain content, how they should teach, and how children learn". All of these questions are almost impossible to answer, because not all students learn the same way efficiently. I believe that as long as teacher's make computer based assignments student centered, and make all student's think critically, it will be beneficial to their education.

Issue: How long should student's work on a basic assignment on a computer?

Suggestion:

As Cuban states, "students working with computers alone or in pairs for long periods of time lose time for direct and sustained contact with teachers." I believe that students long usage of computers can be a good thing since students can develop a bond with machines which can generate praise and nudges for the students path for further learning.

Issue: Why are some teachers willing users of technologies while others are not?

Suggestion:

As Cuban states, "there are teachers, for example, who believe that films and television enhance textbook reading and mimeographed worksheets." I believe these teacher's that keep using technologies in their classrooms have seen an improvement in their students education, otherwise I do not believe they would keep integrating this into their lessons. Finding new ways to use technologies in the classroom is important for all teachers to find the best way for integrated technologies with their students. ||  || p.98

p. 89

p.68 || Joe Johnson 10/24/11 ||
 * Issue: If the full influence both positive and negative of television watching on children continues to be debated three decades after its introduction how can anyone assess the complexity of what happens to children using classroom computers?

Suggestion: All we see in the media are the attractive eye catching pictures of small children working with machines. Concerns seldom are raised about negative or questionable influences. My concerns at this time concentrate on these three points:

1. No consensus exisists among scholars and practitioners on how children should learn and how teachers should teach.

2. There is much uncertainity over what students can learn from computerized lessons.

3. Collateral learning maybe more significant in children s lives then the formal lesson taught by machines. || Cuban 1986 || p. 92 || KaelynneNevins 10/24/11 ||
 * Issue: Should children be playing outside and not on the computer?

Jerry May, Ph. D states " Exercise is about as close to panacea as you can get, and I don't believe in panaceas, he is a sports psychologist and psychiatry professor. "It is a health inducer, a stress reducer and a self confidence booster." Working outdoors is a also an important source of learning about, oneself, and responsibility."

Victor Davis Hanson of California State University complains that lack of such experiences is shortchanging our children in the human domain "We send our children to computer camps so that they may learn how to gain access to information instantaneously, but most of us would never give our children a shovel and gloves and send them to dig weeds for a month so that they develop a sense of what is to get dirty and tired for someone else.

Suggestion: Students in school still go outside for activities like P.E and or creative writing. They could also go outside for art if they were asked to paint a tree or incorporate something from nature into their work. It is not always not included in schools. Although I like what Jerry May states about going outside and enjoying nature being a health inducer. Technology can be handy in the classroom you just need a healthy mix of both in my opinion. || Healy 1998 || p. 121-122 || Kaelynne Nevins 10/24/11 ||