I have the good fortune of observing Scott in his classroom for Eng 505. This past Thursday, watched him work with a projector from a computer; the class watched as he typed and edited an assignment he had given them, listening to his thought process as he wrote. Scott was acting as an integral part of the learning community using technology. Since my 504 project is based on collaborative learning, I was thrilled to see some of my grad course content working its way into actual classrooms.
One thing that I find interesting from my observations: classrooms currently use web based programs primarily for management. Being slightly overwhelmed (but warming to the idea) of using blogs and websites in collaborative learning, I am both reassured and perplexed that even at the best of sites, it is not common for students contribute writing and interact with a class site. Blog classroom interaction seems to be on the horizon (albeit near horizon) for many classrooms, even amidst the techiest of teachers.
PowerPoint is widely used in the classrooms I've been in, and so it seems like an interesting thing for ENG506 to at least look at. I wonder if most of my classmates are able to do the interesting things that Scott did with interactive quizzes? I was a bit in the dark, and wondered if I was the only one. Please comment.
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3 comments:
Tamara,
It's great that you were able to observe Scott writing with kids in his classroom.
Media production technology is the new frontier. You're right--you will see technology used as a management tool more than you will see it used for some of the purposes we have been talking about. There are many reasons for that but the primary one is that teachers comfortable with traditional pedagogies (direct instruction, emphasis on classroom control, etc. etc.) will simply put the computer to use as a tool to support that pedagogy. Witness the "interactive quizzes" and remember what Friedman say about "tests."
The availability of technology alone does not change the instructional model.
You see that clearly.
Will (and Friedman) are challenging us to see classrooms in new ways--to construct "English Language Arts" in new ways, to see our work with kids in new ways.
This is much more than a class in tech apps.
That's why we haven't rolled out the Power Point "model" of teaching.
I do think you can use PP in creative ways and I would expect some 506 students will be using PP for their end of semester presentations.
What are you planning to do for your project? Have you put that together yet?
Is the iMovie app easier to work with now that you have the podcasting assignment behind you?
Tamara-
I'm kind of jealous that I'm not observing this semester. Wow, I never thought I'd be saying that! But after meeting Shade and Scott, it would be a blast to witness these technology applications first hand. I love the idea of using interactive quizzes on PowerPoint. What are you thinking about for your project? Are you going to involve Scott and his students?
Hi Tamara, just browsing for new blog content. Karen
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