A Guidebook for Social Media in the Classroom

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/guidebook-social-media-in-classroom-vicki-davis

In “A Guidebook for Social Media in the Classroom,” Vicki Davis writes about the need for students to learn how to use and write for social media. She suggests that there is one powerful form of writing that can get you fired, will be read by college admission counselors, and haunt a political campaign, and that form is social media. Given its power, she believes that we should be teaching students how to communicate, that is, how to write, when using social media. She also gives several examples of how teachers are doing this in their classrooms.

“Social media is another tool that you can use to make your classroom more engaging, relevant and culturally diverse,” says Davis, and I have to agree. Yes, as teachers we often loathe the potential for Snapchats and Instagram posts to take over our students’ attention in the classroom, but the reality is, the technology is in their hands, and there’s nothing we can do to stop it.

However, we as teachers are far from powerless. I believe, especially as a social studies teacher, that it is imperative that I teach my students how to use these social tools responsibly. Unfortunately, not all parents realize the extent to which their students are posting to these sites, and therefore, aren't spending enough time monitoring or teaching students what's smart and what's not when it comes to posting. And certainly many of our students do not realize the potential long term consequences of posting comments or pictures. Teachers do have the ability and opportunity to educate students about social media, and I believe we should be embracing this role.

As Davis suggests in her article, one way to do this is to use these social media sites in our lesson plans. By following the examples that she shares in the article, we can not only teach responsible use and demonstrate how wide-reaching these sites can be, but we can also effectively teach content and writing skills. Our students must be taught how to communicate through these mediums because they’ll be using them, or similar technology, for the rest of their lives. By using them in our classroom, we can not only engage students in learning but also help them understand how to be responsible posters and discerning consumers of the information they process from social media.

Recent Findings on Technology in the Classroom

     This article touches on several different points. It talks about how the needs of learners have changed and so have the ways in which teachers teach. There are so many different levels of students and abilities in the classroom now and technology can help with the individualization of learning for the students. I agree with this. Right now I have some of my students who have tested out of my math curriculum working on a self-driven math program on the computers. Once I taught them how to use it, and we got the computers to work, they loved it. They can go at their own pace and they aren't sitting listening to me and working on material they already have mastered.
     I also use another program for reading and it is a program where each child can read books at their own individual level and this personalizes the reading and the quizzes(learning) for them. The books are at their ability level as well as the questions about the books and the best part is I can monitor all of their activities and see what they are doing well on and what they need help with. Something that they mention in the article that I whole-heartedly agree with is how much time it takes to teach and learn technology. It takes up so much time, especially working with younger children. When the computers don't work or one small thing goes wrong then they need your help. So sometimes, it can get in the way of learning depending on how well your children know the technology.
    The last thing that the article states it that is helps student focus. I agree with this because I know that my own students are more engaged with learning when they are using technology. However, I would hate for all learning to be done using technology because I think there is something to be said for eye contact and person-to-person communication. Sometimes I get nervous about teachers using too much technology in my classroom because I want my students to be able to talk or explain without blogging or posting to a discussion board. But, in general I think that technology greatly improves the learning in the classroom.






http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-hendricks/technology-education_b_2867458.html

How do special education students benefit from technology?

The author of this article examines the myth that special education students cannot utilize the same technology as those students in the general education classroom are able to use. In fact, technology serves as an equalizer in the classroom, as students with disabilities are able to access differentiated curriculum via assistive technology devices and software.

Examples of assistive technology in the classroom include e-Readers to help students with vision or dexterity issues and Dragon voice recognition software, which allows students to answer questions without needing to write. Reading assessments can also be given using iPad or iPod apps. There are many apps that provide support for students with reading and/or writing disabilities, including Voice Thread, Sounding Board, and TechMatrix. These different software applications make access to the general or special education curriculum easier for students with various disabilities. Finally, the author proposes that providing access to technology increases student motivation and provides a sense of accomplishment for those students who struggle in the general education classroom.

http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/6917?ref=popular

How Technology Trends Have Influenced the Classroom

This article/blog addresses the differences between how people used to learn, compared to how students learn today. I really enjoy the point that the author, Carl Hooker, makes about how we used to have to wait to watch TV and movies, and now we can watch whatever we want - whenever we want. Hooker relates this idea to the classroom. Maybe it's not a bad idea to allow students to "binge learn," similar to how we binge watch TV. He suggests recording some lessons, or providing materials online for students to learn when they choose. This of course should be done as one of many options. I don't think that some teachers could get on board with doing all of their teaching through technology, but honestly I see happening in the near future.

Hooker also makes me reflect on the idea of filtering what we write. What we used to read would always have to go through publishers, editors, advertisers and others before we got to read the material. Now, people are able to write with limited or no filtering. This can really encourage students to write their own raw opinions, and not just what the teacher wants them to write. 

http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/03/how-real-world-technology-use-has-inflitrated-change-classrooms/

Five Benefits of Emerging Classroom Technology

This article reports on information from k-12 teachers and college professors regarding increased technology in the classroom.  Benefits such as increased student productivity.  Educators reported that students were more productive because of the tools they were able to use. Performance also increased, students were able to watch online lectures and podcasts at their leisure.  Having iPads in the classroom not only increased enthusiasm but attendance as well.  A school with an all digital library reported that students could access all of the resources of the school library from anywhere thus increasing student outcomes.
This article clearly showed that technology does increase student interest and performance.
http://info.lecturetools.com/blog/bid/38720/New-Study-Highlights-5-Benefits-of-Emerging-Classroom-Technology

10 Major Technology Trends in Education

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10-major-technology-trends-in-education.aspx

Summary:
This article takes information from numerous studies done about technology trends in education. Some of the 10 topics covered include, personal access to mobile devices, use of video for homework, use of mobile devices in and out of the classroom (homework, and in-class work), social media in schools, and the diversity of all the different tools and apps students are using. It is a good read that shows the shift from how education used to be to what it is now, and the direction it is headed because of technology!

http://thejournal.com/articles/2014/02/03/10-major-technology-trends-in-education.aspx