Podcast: Students and Podcasting

Script: This podcast is a review of the article: Listening to Themselves: Podcasting Takes Lessons Beyond the Classroom By Maya Payne Smart (http://www.edutopia.org/podcasting-student-broadcasts) A podcast is a recorded audio file that is uploaded to the internet and available for public use. All you need is a computer, microphone, audio-mixing software (free options available such as Audacity and GarageBand) and a computer. More and more educators are employing podcasts as learning tools in, and outside, of their classroom. They post the student’s work on class websites. Having their work on the web for others to find and listen to is a motivating factor in the students’ effort. The teacher highlighted in the story has views on his website from every state as well as 87 countries around the world. He lets his students know that other people besides their teacher will have access to their work. Suggestions of available sources to help manage online and downloadable student work and educational material are Education Podcast Network and iTunes U K-12. Everyone, but especially youth, are getting more and more access to the digital world. There was a 23 percent increase of young adults’ (12-17) ownership of an MP3 device from 2006 to 2008. I can only imagine the statistical increase now, in 2012. These devices, like iPods and Zunes, allow students to listen to instructional materials anywhere, including home as well as during times of travel. Brent Coley has 2-3 students work in groups to create scripts. They review what they have recently learned and then Mr. Coley checks them over. Recordings are made with a Griffin iTalk Pro voice recorder. Included are an introduction and music. This type of learning is very “real-time” and real-world. Students are applying their knowledge to create a product for actual consumption, instead of a project that will either end up in the recycling bin or a folder tucked away in a closet. This authentic experience of practical application of learning is so important to a student’s sense of purpose and opinion of learning and school. Podcasting employs and develops in students the tools and skills of inquiry, analysis, and oral presentation among others. One educator, David Warlick, notes that, “…the exchange of ideas –not technology- is the point, and production- not memorization- is the proof of knowledge.” In other words, it’s about effective communication. More information about integrating technology in the classroom can be found at his blog: http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/.

Assistive Technology in Education

iPads, iPod Touches, and iPhones as Assistive Technology in Education

by Eric Lawson 

http://www.techlearning.com/article/ipads-ipod-touches-and-iphones-as-assistive-technology-in-education/47768

Summary:

Any handheld touch screen device is going to be a great learning assist in the classroom. It lends itself to both tactile and digital learners. Also, there are many apps available specifically targeted to special education and students with learning disabilities, as well as communication assistance for children with autism.

Handheld devices are used for many purposes, including reading fluency and comprehension and communication skills. Since there are so many available apps, the author of the article gives a few suggestions that can be used on iPads, iPods as well as iPhones.

These are TapToTalk, Proloquo2Go, Dragon Dictation, iBooks and iTalk Lite. The first program is free and helps students with verbal issues or no speech by forming sentences out of pictures and symbols. Besides Proloquo2Go, another communication tool, the other apps are also free, though iBooks only logs you into a digital library where you then purchase books to read. Dragon Dictation changes spoken words to text and iTalk Lite is a recording application.

Reflection:

Assistive technology is a wonderful aid, and just like Universal Design started out as specific to one group but ends up helping everyone, I think these tools are useful to every student. Using an iPad and other “I” products is just plain fun! Though the technology in schools varies widely, I am coming across more and more schools and districts that allow for touch screen technology in the budget. Another way to get these tools is through grants.

School Use of Technology - Bryant Elementary

School Use of Technology

Bryant Elementary, Seattle Public School District

Bryant Elementary is an urban school with great support and involvement from the PTSA. I interviewed one classroom teacher as well as the librarian to get a snapshot of how technology is used by individual teachers and well as efforts to integrate technology that apply to the entire student body.

Mrs. Connie Bernard, 3^rd grade

It is interesting that Mrs. Bernard does focus on integrating technology in her classroom, whereas she reports that other teachers do one project every week. Her students take the MAP testing on computers, as all students do, but other than that they do not spend much time in the computer lab. They do some keyboarding practice, using http://www.teachingkidscomputers.com (Krazy Keyboarding). As n side note, we surveyed the students after their math MAP testing, asking if they liked the computer format better than the paper format of MSP testing. Surprisingly, more students gave thumbs up to the traditional paper type test.

There are three computers in Mrs. Bernard’s classroom, one personal teacher computer and two student devices. All are desktop style. The students use the computers for some research during group projects, but mostly for game time during “rainy day” recesses or class free time. Besides computers, there is a document camera and television. The TV was used only once during the time I was visiting for my practicum, however the document camera was used on a daily basis. Morning work, directions for math assignments, science journal write-ups and many more activities entailed the document camera.

The school provided the document camera while the PTSA distributed the carts that they rest on.

Mrs. Anne Aleverte, Librarian

Mrs. Aleverte is very tech savvy and very knowledgeable about district and school policies and use of technology. In her library periods, students use the computers to learn research skills, both in the library catalogue and online, as well as Web 2.0 applications. Third graders are introduced to PowerPoint presentations, including symbols and animations, and in 4^th and 5^th grade students do extensive internet search projects. She mentioned that often she herself learns something new from the students as they experiment with programs and discover tools and tricks of their own.

As a very active librarian, she seeks out trainings and collaborations with parents of current students to help with bringing in new technology to the school.  She also writes grants, two of which earned her digital microphones as well as ten kindles. She is pushing to bring e-books into the library. We discussed the purchasing of software, and she told me about a recently resolved issue regarding the number of e-titles purchased for multiple kindle machines. With the help of a parent, and Mrs. Aleverte’s husband who is also technologically minded, they were able to purchase only one title that they could then load onto five machines. Other software programs are bought through the school and come specifically from the building budget.

All the computers have MS Office Suite, provided by the district. Online subscriptions are also credited to the district, such as glogster.com, an online cloud-based poster making program. Other resources online available to students include NoveList (K-8), Culture Grams, TumbleBook Library and World Book Online. Students get a username and password and can access these anywhere. Teachers and parents can access the school server from home; parent’s get log in information upon student registration. All teachers are supposed to have their own webpage linked to the main Bryant Elementary Seattle Public School site. It is required that passwords change every six months.

Technical support comes in the form of Oleg, a student from UWired of the University of Washington, who is onsite a few hours a day for a few days a week. This service is provided by the PTSA. Other financial support come from levies. The most recent levy passed has allowed for Bryant to receive 137 new computers next winter (2012). Mrs. Aleverte said currently talks were in progress between various members of the faculty as to where the computers should be distributed. 

"High Stakes Online Testing"

“High Stakes Online Testing”
Schaffhauser, D. (2011, June/July). High-Stakes Online Testing. T H E Journal, 38(6), 28-39.

Summary: From bubble sheet to blinking cursor; are online standard exams a testing or technology initiative? Online testing has been around for 10 or more years. It has been a choice of states whether to use it or not. Virginia and Delaware are two states who are already using online testing, and have been for some time. They extol the benefits of digital delivery of data in a “secure and efficient manner”. Also, the results are immediate. Online testing was born from a convergence of a focus on accountability, Standards (Common Core), and the development of more sophisticated assessment. Currently, with paper testing, results come too late to help students in their current grade before they move on. Using computers, teachers may give students practice versions several times throughout the school year to “gauge progress and address inadequacies”. After the Common Core State Standards came about, several groups backed by the Race to the Top initiative started developing better assessments based on the CC. These claim that online testing is slated to be a better fit for the upcoming generation. Benefits include reducing the paper trail, as well as the speed of results. Other possible advantages are better data collection and increased accuracy. In addition, a computer can provide accommodations, such as a larger print or a electronic voice. Increased student interest is also claimed. Challenges for the project of implementing computer testing in all 15,000 school districts in the country will be in relation to the numerous variables that exist between areas. These include: adequate number of computers, bandwidth capabilities, scheduling, network security and stability, power surges, staffing, budget, comparability (to paper testing), and overall readiness variability. For the best success, it is advised to form a strong relationship between the IT and assessment staff groups.

Response: This was written about one year ago. Now, online standardized testing is more a reality, and next year a regulation. I was surprised to discover that online testing has been around for ten plus years, since it was only recently that I learned about its upcoming implementation. I would be interested to know how many states, and districts, currently dabble/fully support it. With only the information from this article, I think overall online testing will be a positive move forward for standardized exams. I agree with the idea that it will appeal more to the next generation, and like how students can take several versions prior to the actual “official” test, giving teachers much information to guide their instruction. I also like how it can provide easily accessible accommodations for special needs students. However, even if it’s a good idea, the probability of it being equal for all students is going to be a great challenge. Once the systems are implemented in some states/districts and not others, will there be a disadvantage for those students who continue to take the tests using paper (i.e. those without computer resources, aka, poorer districts)? Security also seems like a major issue to tackle. As its mentioned in the end of the article, for testing to be successful, it has to be “air-tight”. Technology allows easier use in many ways, but also brings a host of other problems along with it.

Classroom Technology Integration Ideas

Starr, Linda (2011, April 14). Technology Integration, Ideas that Work. Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech176.shtml.