The real scoop on teaching and learning with technology in the elementary classroom. Reviews, tips, tricks, and opinions.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
#8 Can You Hear Me Now?
There are a myriad of communication tools out there and many of them such as email and discussion boards have been around for decades. Though useful they are not synchronous. Merriam Webster defines synchronous as “happening, existing, or arising at precisely the same time.” Synchronous communication tools allow users to interact in real time with one or more individuals. This includes conferencing (web, audio and video), on-line chatting, and instant messaging which are growing in popularity. The Standards for the 21st Century Learner (American Association of School Librarians, 2007) dictates that “today’s students need to develop information skills that will enable them to use technology as an important tool for learning, both now and in the future.” These are the tools of today and they are being introduced into K-12 classrooms as well as becoming a mainstay in higher education courses. On-line and blended higher education courses are transformed into learning communities where students use Skype, Messenger, iChat and other communication tools to ask questions, share trials and errors about new concepts, discuss research and clarify thinking. K-12 educators often use these tools for the same purpose as well as to bring outside experts into the classroom. In Clicking Across Cultures (2009) Cutshall reports, “Students say they prefer making connections through the new technologies to traditional activities.” Watch the video below to see Skype being used in an elementary reading class.
Are you ready to Skype, IM or chat in your classroom?
References
Cutshall, S. (2009). Clicking across cultures. Educational Leadership, 67(1), 40. Retrieved from EBSCOHost
American Association of School Librarians. (2007). Standards for the 21st century learner. Standards definitions document. Retrieved from http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards
Skype is a great tool to use in the classroom. It can be used in a variety of ways, here are just a few:
* Field Trips * Guest Lectures * After School Tutoring * Connect with others from around the world (individuals and/or groups) * Bring parents and/or home-bound students into the classroom. For an extensive list check out this website: http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/.
Teaching Degrees. (2011) . Retrieved on October 21, 2011 from http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/.
Immediate teacher accessibility can create a learning environment that provides student support, extended instruction via outside resources, foster the development of social interaction and blurs the line between student instruction enabling teacher to more easily move into the facilitator role (Cox & King, 2011).
Using a four step process of
* Identify the participants and the task. * Brainstorm topics for conversation. * Provide instruction and connect participants. * Wrap up and discussion.
Chen, Medlin & Mitchell investigated the usefulness of Skype to foster an innovative learning environment. Their findings concluded that Skype was not only a positive learning environment but an additional benefit of their process was relationship development (Chen, Medlin & Mitchell, 2010).
References: Chen, C., Medlin, B., & Mitchell, A. (2010). Teaching and learning with skype. In Cutting Edge Social Media Approaches to Business Education (pp. 35-54). Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/books
Cox, T., & King,K (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Information Age Publishing. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/books
A year ago, a professor at the University of Central Florida traveled to South Africa, and video-conferenced his class live from the field. My cousins had the opportunity to travel with the professors to work the cameras and satellites, so I could listen in to the lessons. Instead of just talking about Nelson Mandela, the professor was interviewing Mandela's daughter at Nelson Mandela's house! It was incredible. They would conduct interviews and then would have a question and answer segment with the students. The students would submit a question, and when it was their turn they could ask the question directly to the person. Each session was about an hour and a half. They are all available to view at www.intxafrica.com.
Reference:
Interactive Expeditions. (2010). Interactive Expeditions: A South Africa Cultural Transect. Available from www.intxafrica.com
One of the great things about this technology is how easy it is to integrate distance learning.
Among the benefits of distance education for school-age children are broader educational opportunities for students who are unable to attend traditional schools, access to resources and instructors not locally available, and increases in student-teacher communication. (Bedard & Knox-Pipes, 2006)
There are a lot of inner city and rural schools that could really benefit from this technology.
Today’s society is all about connection. Across the world, people are constantly plugged in. The latest news comes from tweets and status updates accessed from mobile devices, which are never powered off. Technology connects the entire world at once and has transformed the way humans receive and synthesize information. A study on the learning styles of the Millennial generation—born between 1984 and as late as 2004—asserts that “finding out what skills educators want them to achieve and then designing the curriculum so that they can achieve those goals—effectively reverse-engineering the curriculum—has to be an integral part of reinventing education” (Emeagwali, 2011). Education does children a disservice when failing to prepare them for a world as diverse in technology as it is in people.
Emeagwali, N.S. (2011, May). Millennials: leading the charge for change. Techniques: Connecting Education and Careers, 86(5), 22-26.
Skype is a great tool to use in the classroom. It can be used in a variety of ways, here are just a few:
ReplyDelete* Field Trips
* Guest Lectures
* After School Tutoring
* Connect with others from around the world (individuals and/or
groups)
* Bring parents and/or home-bound students into the classroom.
For an extensive list check out this website:
http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/.
Teaching Degrees. (2011) . Retrieved on October 21, 2011 from http://www.teachingdegree.org/2009/06/30/50-awesome-ways-to-use-skype-in-the-classroom/.
Immediate teacher accessibility can create a learning environment that provides student support, extended instruction via outside resources, foster the development of social interaction and blurs the line between student instruction enabling teacher to more easily move into the facilitator role (Cox & King, 2011).
ReplyDeleteUsing a four step process of
* Identify the participants and the task.
* Brainstorm topics for conversation.
* Provide instruction and connect participants.
* Wrap up and discussion.
Chen, Medlin & Mitchell investigated the usefulness of Skype to foster an innovative learning environment. Their findings concluded that Skype was not only a positive learning environment but an additional benefit of their process was relationship development (Chen, Medlin & Mitchell, 2010).
References:
Chen, C., Medlin, B., & Mitchell, A. (2010). Teaching and learning with skype. In Cutting Edge Social Media Approaches to Business Education (pp. 35-54). Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/books
Cox, T., & King,K (2011). The professor’s guide to taming technology. Information Age Publishing. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ezproxy.shsu.edu/books
A year ago, a professor at the University of Central Florida traveled to South Africa, and video-conferenced his class live from the field. My cousins had the opportunity to travel with the professors to work the cameras and satellites, so I could listen in to the lessons. Instead of just talking about Nelson Mandela, the professor was interviewing Mandela's daughter at Nelson Mandela's house! It was incredible. They would conduct interviews and then would have a question and answer segment with the students. The students would submit a question, and when it was their turn they could ask the question directly to the person. Each session was about an hour and a half. They are all available to view at www.intxafrica.com.
ReplyDeleteReference:
Interactive Expeditions. (2010). Interactive Expeditions: A South Africa Cultural Transect. Available from www.intxafrica.com
One of the great things about this technology is how easy it is to integrate distance learning.
ReplyDeleteAmong the benefits of distance education for school-age children are broader educational opportunities for students who are unable to attend traditional schools, access to resources and instructors not locally available, and increases in student-teacher communication. (Bedard & Knox-Pipes, 2006)
There are a lot of inner city and rural schools that could really benefit from this technology.
Today’s society is all about connection. Across the world, people are constantly plugged in. The latest news comes from tweets and status updates accessed from mobile devices, which are never powered off. Technology connects the entire world at once and has transformed the way humans receive and synthesize information. A study on the learning styles of the Millennial generation—born between 1984 and as late as 2004—asserts that “finding out what skills educators want them to achieve and then designing the curriculum so that they can achieve those goals—effectively reverse-engineering the curriculum—has to be an integral part of reinventing education” (Emeagwali, 2011). Education does children a disservice when failing to prepare them for a world as diverse in technology as it is in people.
ReplyDeleteEmeagwali, N.S. (2011, May). Millennials: leading the charge for change. Techniques:
Connecting Education and Careers, 86(5), 22-26.