Cell Phones in the Classroom

A lot of my posts are about the new technologies reaching teachers and schools, which isn’t surprising considering how technologically reliant we are.  I came across an article as I was searching through my Yahoo! homepage that immediately got my attention.  “Teaching with Cell Phones” was the title.

Now I know we all use cell phones and that these phones are becoming even more advanced with things such as the iPhone and Blackberries, but the idea that teachers have used them and are using them more in classrooms was still a little unexpected to me.

After reading the article, I find that the idea isn’t so crazy.  Spanish teacher, Ariana Leonard, texts her students in Spanish to accomplish certain tasks like to find something green or take a picture with the school secretary.  She also uses it as homework reminders and for taking notes through the cameras on the phones.

It has potential to become something.  Banning cell phones doesn’t work like teachers want them to, but if the students are busy using it constructively in the classroom teachers like Leonard have found that their students will not abuse the cell phone availability in class.  This is a high school environment and things are different in a college because of the technology more readily available such as computer labs and camera check-outs.  I’m not sure the impact of using cell phones at the college level, or if we should even allow it there, but I think high school students could benefit from this type of learning.

So far this learning tool has proved to be useful.  Passage Middle School in Newport News, Virginia started using cell phones a couple years ago and they have expanded from using one as a calculator in a math class to using them for research, blogs, cameras, etc. in twelve subjects.

The Future of Books

When students are assigned a paper or project, they immediately go to the Internet to find their sources.  Where do books come in?  They are currently caught in the midst of the changing technological world.  Some are kept up in libraries, while others are readily available online.

A boarding school in Massachusetts has chosen a path for the way their students will get their information.  According to an NPR article, Cushing Academy has begun to take away all the physical books in the library and replace them completely with electronic ones. The Dean of Academics, Suzie Carlisle, says that they are doing this to keep up with the trends in technology and help their students be able to make the transition from the physical to the electronic, which many do anyway.

It would be great for people who want to read online to have that option including research materials for students.  I like that Cushing Academy is thinking ahead and getting their students prepared for the new age of books.  However, to take away the option of reading from a tangible text is a little ridiculous.  One reason I’m against it, is that people learn differently.  Some people need to have something to touch or to highlight and make notes in as they read.  Sometimes, they can do that with an online book, but typing the information is a lot different than handwriting it. 

The Truth About Multitasking

It’s been thought that multitaskers are better at storing and organizing information, have better memories, and switching from one task to another quicker than others.  None of this is true.  A study done by researchers at Stanford conducted several tests all concluding that light multitaskers perform better than heavy multitaskers.

Personally, I’m a huge multitasker.  I listen to music while doing homework, text and instant message people while watching TV, and surf the internet and stay connected while doing pretty much anything.  It’s hard to give it up.  I would have to agree that as a multitasker, I am distracted much more easily than if I was someone who always focused on one thing at a time, the light multitaskers.  I don’t find that my homework or anything else I do suffers because of it.  Knowing the results of their test does make me think twice about attempting to complete my tasks as I do other things, but I know I won’t change.  I think we’re all used to doing several things at once all the time.

Online classes Too Soon?

Image provided by Yahoo images

I was reading an article about online school, which has been getting more popular over the years.  This article wasn’t referring to online college courses though.  It was talking about options for students as young as middle school.

They don’t need the online classes because they aren’t pressed for time or needing to do school at any place like adults are.  Middle school is a time for socialization, not just learning.  They can interact with their classmates and teacher online, but anyone who has had an online class can tell you that it’s not the same.  Kids will miss out on that experience if they attend a purely online school. Plus, middle school kids need direction.  Not having a teacher close by to help them can be a big problem.

I’m not completely against this idea, but I think it should be more of a supplemental thing than the entire school experience for them.  If they have the option to partake in both on ground and online classes, they should take advantage of the technology provided to them.

The 3 Year College Plan?

Professor Robert Zemsky of the Penn Graduate School of Education lays out his argument for a three-year undergraduate degree.

Newsweek featured an article on the 3 year solution for college students.  It argues that it will help college students save 25 percent in costs by saving them that extra year.  It’s not just due to a lack of interest that keeps students in college for a longer time.  These days, all students, those wanting to get their degrees asap included, are having trouble.  Classes are getting cut, teachers are being let go, and students are paying more and more tuition every year.

The thought of a 3 year college plan is ideal but impractical.  I think it would only work for students dedicated completely to their classes and homework and nothing else.  It doesn’t allow for the full college experience.  A lot of students aren’t focused enough to realize what they want to major in when they enter college, many students have to work during the semester to pay for their education, and they’re taking less units to manage their time rather than the 40 a year it would take to follow this plan.  That’s outside the extra-curricular activities, sports, and family life they need to make time for as well.

Educational Gaming

I remember growing up with computer games such as Math Blaster, Oregon Trail, and Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? that would teach math, history, and geography.  They were great PC games that were both fun and educational.

According to an article from eSchool News, UW-Madison has received a grant that will allow them to create a computer game to show college engineering students what it will be like in the field.  Previous funding allowed UW-Madison to create a similar kind of game for middle and high school students. Instead of engineering, they learned about math, science, and technology by working as urban planners.

In the computer game, Nephrotex, “players work as part of a fictitious engineering firm using nanotechnology to design a better dialysis machine.” The game will help undergraduates understand what will be required of them once they start work as an engineer and will give them an opportunity to look at how everything in their classes will help them.

Results: No Child Left Behind

The Center on Education Policy (CEP) recently released a study, which had examined student performance throughout the United States after the establishment of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002. The Act requires that schools give students an annual test in reading and math. This test is to show how well schools are teaching.

Achievement Stats from The Christian Science Monitor

I know there has been some controversy over the act because some people think schools lower their standards to accomplish better results but I don’t think the schools write the test.  That would cause a lot of problems if the schools themselves did write it because they would change it according to what they know their students excel at and it would be impossible to judge accurately if there were any improvements. Therefore the test would have to be standardized and schools have to teach to that level at least.

The study, according to the Christian Science Monitor, shows a narrowing in the achievement gap for minority and low income students by 74 percent of all trend lines. Not all results were as positive. The gap actually grew in 23 percent of the cases. It’s impossible to tell what our schools would be like without this Act because every school has been affected by it.  Overall though, the results show that the NCLB Act is working and should continue to be used in schools to help student achievement.  It may not be improving in every case, but that’s why there are measures in place to help those schools that aren’t succeeding.

Online College Calendar

DormNoise is an online calendar a few colleges are using to alert students to special events on campus created by University of Pennsylvania junior Jay Rodrigues.  It sends the alerts through student’s phones.  According to the article “On each DormNoise event page, students can see the time, date, event description, and who is invited and who will attend.”  It reminds me of the events created on Facebook where you can see all the details of the event and RSVP attending or not attending.

I think this would be a good idea for all college campuses.  Right now, this program is only being used on four college campuses: Clemson, Bay State College in Boston, and Bryant & Stratton College.  It gets the word out better than fliers because most students check their email and texts constantly.

Event planners could know who is interested in what, how many are coming, and could even get suggestions to make the event better.  If an event changes or is cancelled, this system would also help share the information quicker.  We’re all about technology these days.  I’m surprised more schools haven’t come up with something like this.

Internet Addiction

Online sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and MMORPGs may be more than innocent distractions from the real world

I’m shocked.  Internet addiction is starting to be treated like all other addictions. According to an article in the Washington Times, “the first residential treatment center for internet addiction in the United States just opened it’s doors.”

Younger generations especially, are using the  technology more and more.  We rely on it for everything: social networks, video games, sharing photos, videos.  Sites like Facebook, MySpace, Flickr and so forth are great for talking with friends, uploading pictures, videos, and links for easy sharing, and staying updated with various organizations.

It’s not a bad thing to stay connected, but these sites also distract teenagers and college students from getting their work done, and sometimes even from crucial things in life like eating and getting exercise. People have flunked out of school because they dedicate their time to online RPG games instead of going to class or getting sleep.

I never would have thought there would be a treatment center to help people using the internet too much, as well as other technologies.  It’s impossible to get away from it in today’s world.  Can this problem be treated?

The Affect of 9/11 on Students

We all know September 11, 2001.  It marks a day of fear and insecurity.  Remembering it now fills us with a sense of sadness, but we also have pride.  Pride because of how America pulled ourselves together after the tragedy to become one country again, united in our grief and revived patriotism.  Schools were affected in their own way.  Claudio Sanchez of NPR wrote an article called Post-Sept. 11, Colleges Take On Law Enforcement Role. 

It was discovered that “at least one of the terrorists in the attacks had entered the United States as a student. He had been allowed to stay in the country even though he never showed up for classes — a violation of his student visa.”  Though he was in violation of his Visa, it was impossible to tell because there was no good system in place to check.  FBI officials immediately came to college campuses looking for students just like that one who posed as a student to get a Visa and anyone with a link to terrorists.  Suddenly student privacy was gone, people were being detained, and new limitations were set on students when there was nothing concrete against them.

A new electronic system was put in place to prevent another 9/11 attack, which makes sense.  To newly transfer foreign students however, it probably feels like they’re automatically suspected terrorists with these new measures.  I know I would feel that way.  It singles out international students.  It could be anybody committing terrorist crimes, but they don’t think about that.  Or maybe they do, but think nothing of it.  Either way, students shouldn’t be singled out like this.