Teachers' Philosophy in Technology Integration

Technology of Integration is a must in the 21st Century Classroom. The no can do attitude, must be thrown to the side to become, yes we can! We as educators need to take more from life experiences and just use the text books as a source of information, not the day in and day out lessons that are given. Next we need to use software in a different approach than what is expected , asking ourselves what else the software can do. Our students have a high intellect when it comes to technology, but it is up to us to coach them in a method that will stretch their imagination and education.

The posts to follow are the opinions and perspectives of the Educators participating in the Technology Integration for Educators course through Viterbo College.

Hybrid Course

Hybrid Courses

The definition of a Hybrid course is as easily explained as an instruction that is delivered partially in a traditional lecture and part in an online environment. My eighth grade computer course this year was delivered as a Hybrid course. The first two weeks were the hardest, not for me but for the students, because the students were not use to the row of independent study. The students pushed and pleaded for information to be handed to them with me as the sage on stage. The favorite statement my students would say was “I don’t get it” when asked what they didn’t get they were unable to vocalize what it was they didn’t get, the truth was they didn’t want to do the work. This was a big issue with this year’s class. They were totally against having to read direction. I decided I needed to start slower with these students, but not to the point that I was an enabler. I found my techie students and lower end students loved the format. The techie students just breezed along from one topic to the next. I was able to give more one on one attention to the lower end students. I need to say my class is not a subject it is a how to use tools class that should be integrated into the core subjects and other encore classes, and the students already know this that is why I have a difficult time with students taking my class seriously. I find most of my time spent babysitting students that want to spend their time in my class playing games.
After reading the topic paragraph you might be saying to yourself why she is still saying we should offer Hybrid courses. I have seen the power of differential studies and offering your course as a Hybrid is just another way of differentiating the studies. Professor Brian McFarlin conducted an experiment with one of his classes, with the focus of observing the strengths and weakness of hybrid courses. As Brian McFarlin suggested to Meris Stansbury, the assistant Editor of eSchool News, the students’ grades improved by a whole letter grade or by 9.9 percent. Brian McFarlin states, “When I started, I just wanted to make sure that students did as well in the hybrid version of the class as the traditional. I quickly learned that technology is powerful when used properly.” Wow, with these numbers showing who wouldn’t want to try incorporating technology. First let me start by stating the study was done with college students and with 500 hundred students included in the study. They did not state whether they had a control group and doesn’t state what base line they used for the results.
Technology is a very strong tool and it is important to use the tool properly. I t will be essential to no longer spoon feed our students information, for them to thrive in the future as adults. Hybrid course can easily be put in place by using our Online Server (Moodle) and your already build curriculum. The students can be offered forums to state information or thoughts. To students this is like open mic night, many students that you don’t hear from in the traditional classroom you will hear from in the forum. Asking students to do different projects that are located on the online course, and offering links to videos that reinforces that topic are all pieces of the puzzle.
If you choose to try and build a Hybrid course, start slow, and just add few activities at a time. Eventually you will start finding other ways to add already built curriculum in a different format to your Hybrid course.
Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.” Keri Russell

Why do project-based learning?

Project-based learning (PBL) is a new model which stresses the importance of student centered lessons and emphasizes on real world issues. PBL boost the immediate benefit of motivation and students engagement in their own learning. Students pursue their own interests and their questions. Once the questions are formed they need to learn problem solving technique to answer the questions they have set down in front of them.
The teacher is no longer the sage on stage but is support for the students. Teachers’ role varies from coach, facilitator, and co-learner. As Hillary Clinton had stated, “It take a village to raise a child.” PBL holds philosophy much like the former first lady’s, where parents, mentors, and the business community all have a stake in the students’ education.
Computer education and PBL is it a good fit? Yes, I believe this model is a good fit. One example of a lesson I used in the classroom using a real world issue was the Katrina Hurricane. I partnered up with Chip Berceau, who teaches sixth grade Social Studies, for this lesson on Katrina. The students had many questions about hurricanes and Katrina. Chip and I found different educational sites that explained hurricanes. The students’ spent a class answering their own questions on hurricanes. The students then asked about the living conditions and the history of the areas that were hit. Once again Chip and I scrambled to find sites on the internet the students could find the answers to their questions. Working off of the student’s interest and motivation this lesson became a very meaningful one as Chip and I played the part of facilitators.
Another way I use PBL in my classroom is by demonstrating Microsoft Excel with several different mini labs. I then ask the students to keep track of their scores for their many different classes. As they keep track they are able to see their progress daily hopefully it will make some of the students more accepting of taking ownership of their scores.
Pros and Cons are present in most models teachers use in the classroom. I fill PBL is a good fit for the computer lab. It uses the lab as a tool for the teachers and empowers the students to search for answers, and strive to ask questions.