Taking this course has been an eye-opening experience. When this course started, I viewed it primarily as a means to completing my Masters degree. I was hoping learn new ways of engaging the urban, economically disadvantaged students that populate the charter schools I support. Unfortunately, I do not know whether I am any closer to accomplishing this task.
Learning about the incredible possibilities that digital media affords in the classroom, whether it is primarily used by teachers or students, has lead me to be quite frustrated with the company I work for. The classrooms in our schools do not even have ONE computer. Not even one. In most schools, teachers share about 2-3 computers in the teacher workroom. Our teachers do not have the training or resources to bring in critical 21st century digital literacy into the classroom. My awareness and heartache about this has changed since this class started. Previously, I really didn't think much about it. Throughout the semester, I have been brainstorming ways of bringing what I'm learning into our schools, and I do not believe that I am any closer than I was before. We even had one school administrator REQUEST a website where teachers could share questions, successes, lesson plans and more about the literature anthologies developed by our company. When I learned of this, I offered to develop and maintain a wiki for teachers at the school, and I said that I would do it without pay in my spare time. I mentioned that I've been learning about this and could use it as part of a final project for my graduate course. I was turned down. They said that they didn't want me working on that project, paid or unpaid.
One classmate suggested that I continue to bring up my ideas and suggestions, even if they are turned down. Eventually, the company will realize that it's 19th century model (and I do mean 19th century...our teaching method was developed in the 1880s and is now copyrighted) is not sustainable in the American public school system. It will have to change. They will have to adapt. I can poise myself to be a resource during that time. I like this idea. It gives me hope and motivation to continue learning about the value--and potential drawbacks--of bringing digital media into the classroom.
It would be interesting to track student responses to writing prompts or reading passages in an online portfolio. For example, students could post a blog or wiki page on a regular basis. The prompt could either be a state-style writing prompt (many of these encourage students to write about personal experience or aspirations) or as a reflection of a novel, short story, poem or other reading passage. If these were done weekly or bi-weekly, be the end of a semester, each student would have a nice portfolio of his or her writing. Advanced or older students could be encouraged to incorporate personal photos and other images into their writing. Mid-way through the term, students could go back and reflect on how their writing has developed and set goals for themselves in future postings. For this type of an assignment, I believe that the most important aspect of assessment is development--how has the student's writing changed or advanced? One potential problem with student reflections is that they might not be authentic. Students might hesitate to offer honest criticism of their own writing so that they don't put "bad ideas" into mind of the teacher (i.e. grade-giver). If the reflect is viewable by classmates, they also might not want to point out their flaws--or strengths--to their peers.
Minnesota e-folio might be useful for high school students applying for colleges. It would be a way to store their writing, other work, transcripts, and personal statement(s) all in one place.
As stated earlier, I plan to continue learning about the benefits of bringing computers and digital literacy into the classroom as a way of positioning myself for the inevitable future development of our company. I think the best way for me to do this is to regularly read educator blogs, keep up with the latest information from education organizations (e.g., NCTE), and network with other educators who are currently employing these technologies in their own classrooms.
1 comment:
Lisa: I empathize with you and your reaction to the inclusion of technology in the schools you support. I think it's a good idea to continue offering to develop technological curriculum development but I think it will take some time to be addressed and/or accepted. I have found this to be the case with the general population, also. Now that I have been exposed to so many technology possibilities, I have tried to incorporate them whereever possible and found that many arenas aren't ready. The social realm I interact with is much more comfortable relying on email for everything. Even introducing google docs where I work has been problematic. So I can see why your work situation would want to rely on a system that "has worked" for years. What a unique time we live in: some are using technology to great degrees and others don't even have computer access.
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