Thursday, November 17, 2016
Reflective Blog Post #5 Educational Technology Research
Technology Addiction: Concern, Controversy, and Finding Balance
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/uploads/research/csm_2016_technology_addiction_research_brief_0.pdf
This research article discussed the issue of internet addiction. There is considerable controversy about defining internet addiction, since there are so many different activities that are social and interactive, and would not be considered pathological. The amount of time spent using the internet is not really a good measure of addiction, because the internet is used in so many ways. However, the American Psychiatric Association suggests that internet gaming disorder (IGD) is a condition that needs to be addressed and researched more before identifying it as a mental disorder. Studies show that brain scans of individuals meeting the criteria of IGD show similarities between individuals with substance abusers and pathological gamblers. Gray matter density is lower, and this area is associated with executive functioning and impulse control. What is not known is whether obsessive gaming causes a change in the brain or whether people with certain brain structures are more likely to be addictive gamers. There are also studies linking IGD to a possible genetic component. Clearly, internet addiction can be serious and should be studied more thoroughly in order to understand how it might impact a child's development, cognitively, socially and emotionally.
Besides looking at internet gaming disorder, the article discussed other dangers of excessive internet use, including exhaustion and loss of relationships. Other studies looked at technology use as a source of tension in families. One study found that 1/3 of the parents of 8-17 yr. olds struggled to limit media and tech use. Another study found that 54% of the children surveyed felt their parents were on their devices too often and 32% felt unimportant when their parents were using their phones. Still another study showed college students checked their phones for texts every hour or less (every 10 minutes). Still another study explored multitasking and it being a risk factor for mental health problems.
Not every study suggested negative outcomes due to excessive internet use. For teens, the internet offers new ways to engage with others and even maintain relationships with peers. Some studies suggested that posting on Facebook is related to narcissism and a decrease in empathy, while other studies showed a positive relation to perspective taking. Common Sense Media (2012) did a study and found that children between 13-17 years preferred face-to-face interactions with their peers and 52% felt social networking helped their relationships with friends.
The conclusion of this article, addressing the many studies involving technology addiction, suggested a balanced approach to using technology, with adults role modeling for children quality usage of media, as well as making sure time is also spent disconnecting and engaging with others off-line.
Having explored this article and others, I think looking at technology research can be valuable to educators, as it is good to be thoughtful about our use of technology with our students.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
TECH TAC TOE: CLICKER SENTENCES
Clicker Sentences app
Clicker Sentences, by Crick Software, is a writing tool that allows emerging and struggling writers to create sentences from a word bank grid. The teacher enters a sentence set and can determine whether there is a model written or spoken sentence, whether words are in alphabetical, random or guided order, and a picture can be added as well. The great thing about this app is that sentences can be highly personalized, according to the student's interests, so writing is more motivating. There are also pre-made sentence sets. The app allows the student to hear the sentence they create, enabling the student to make corrections to the word order if it is incorrect.
Clicker also has other writing apps, including Clicker Connect and Clicker Docs, which are apps with different levels of support for word prediction. Unfortunately, the app is rather expensive, costing $32.99. Clearly, it is an app that would not be used widely in a classroom, but it is very helpful for students with learning difficulties, as it enables them to be successful with creating sentences and stories independently. I am having great success with this app, particularly for students who have very poor fine motor and keyboarding skills. Writing and typing can be laborious for these students, and they often lose interest in the content when so much effort is put into the production of writing or typing, so with Clicker apps they are able to produce written content by simply tapping words.
TECH TAC TOE: EDUCREATIONS
Educreations: TESSELLATIONS - link
Educreations is an app that is an interactive whiteboard and screen casting tool. It can be used by teachers and students to demonstrate a concept, simultaneously drawing and speaking.
I tried using Educreations to demonstrate how to create a tessellation. It was a rather frustrating experience, but that could be because I was watching game four of the World Series at the same time! I believe the app is probably more useful for explaining math operations and other types of lessons than for art. In fact, looking through their featured lessons, there was only one example of a visual art lesson, about color families.
For the tessellation lesson, I had to recreate the drawing over and over, as I found it very hard to talk and draw very accurately at the same time. Part of the problem was I made unwanted noise from moving the iPad and I did not want the shuffling sound, as it was distracting. I could not just redo the sound, so each time I had to redo the drawing as well. I also could not save the first introductory slide, so each time I had to start completely over, importing the image, adding type and speaking again. It would have been better had I been able to start with a shape, then copy and paste the image to show how it could interlock with itself, but that was not possible. The app has its limitations, but there are definitely some useful possibilities for both teachers and students. I like the fact that one can import images and draw directly on them, as it can be really useful for offering visual explanations.
However, I think many people would have the same problem I had, with drawing and talking at the same time. If there was the ability to narrate after the drawing was made, the app would be easier to use.
TECH TAC TOE: Blabberize
Blabberize: Roosevelt High 5 Rules -link
Blabberize is a humorous tool that can be used to motivate students, particularly as a way to share oral information in an entertaining way. Blabberize is a photo editing tool that turns a photo into an animated talking image. I decided to try it, using a photo of our school mascot to share our school's "High 5 Rules". The tool was simple to use, although getting the mouth to line up took a little experimentation to work reasonably well.
Blabberize could be a creative way for students to share a report on a particular character from history or from a novel. This could be a great tool for oral presentations, especially for students with special needs, who may have a hard time getting up in front of their peers. It allows for repeated practice when recording the audio. An uninspiring assignment could be turned into a really enjoyable experience with this tool.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Reflective Post: Digital Tattoos
The parallel between between getting a tattoo and one’s digital image or footprint is an interesting one. What we choose to share in social media cannot be erased completely, so it is important to consider carefully what is posted. Tattoos can be expressions about one’s love, religion, status, a tribute, or simply decorative. Similarly, a person can use social media to transmit all kinds of information about one’s relationships, interests, religion, status, political beliefs and other expressions. It is critical to understand the permanence and power of putting something out on social media and to consider not only the audience for whom the message might be intended, but also others who may be able to view it. Just as one may regret getting a tattoo after a drunken escapade, one might regret posting an opinion in a moment of anger. Additionally, future prospects for education or employment could suffer by a poor decision.
Digital literacy is an area that must be given serious consideration in the classroom and should be an essential part of the curriculum. Not only is it important for students to learn how to gain technological skills, but they should gain wisdom about how to use technology so they benefit from it. Many people can be hurt by using it unwisely, particularly in regards to social media. There are many aspects to technology that need to be considered in the classroom. Besides needing to be informed about smart use of social media, students also need to be critical about the reliability of information they may get on the internet. Brianna Crowley wrote an interesting article in Education Week, addressing digital literacy. In this article she provides helpful resources to explore related to digital literacy, including strategies for online searches and understanding bias and authenticity of information. She suggests Google A Day challenges for students to learn how to search for meaningful information and watching the TED talk, “How to Separate Fact and Fiction”.
We cannot assume that students can figure this out on their own.
What Digital Literacy Looks Like in a Classroom
By Brianna Crowley
https://www.google.com/intl/en-us/insidesearch/searcheducation/lessons.html
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