Calling the Justice League of America???? or maybe Super Friends?????

I assume that student's socio-economic status influences their access to technology in their lives. My assumption is challenged in the 2008 article "Who are Today's Learners?" by Christine Greenhow. The article examines students knowledge and use of technology in and outside of school. The article looks at "predominately rural low-income students who scored at or above grade level on standardized math and reading test." These students reported general competency in various forms of technology.

The article identifies ways student’s access technology outside school as "digital music, Web-based gaming, cell phones, and social computing tools such as social network sites." Will integrating these kinds of technologies be unfair to some of the students who lack access? Yes. Are there ways I can level the playing field and promote social justice for my students? No. Does that mean technology should be excluded from my classroom? No.

So, what is left for me to do? Understand and accept that all students experience social oppression and domination. No matter how much effort I put into addressing the "digital divide" as suggested by Swain & Edyburn (2007), it will continue.

The power I have as a teacher resides in recognizing the ways education can work to oppress my students. The mechanisms of student oppression matter less then recognizing the oppression (De Lissovoy, 2010). The actions I take in my classroom to increase student's access to technology will be tempered with my belief that my actions no matter how seemingly harmless can work to marginalize, exploit, and normalize oppression in the lives of my students.

PowerPoint is something I will avoid

Starting with a video clip is a great opener for getting students engaged in the topic being presented. The video clip from Seinfeld was very funny and well placed. Nick implemented a great transition into discussing management style. Josh’s graphics were fun and interesting. Josh’s sounds were fun as well. Andrews’s video was funny and a great retro reference. Laura engaged the group in the very beginning of the class; this was a great example of how to get students active during a PowerPoint.
My presentation felt like the least engaging presentation, as a result of my technical difficulties. I need to improve on my general understanding of how PowerPoint works. I also need to get over my general resistance to the media as useful tool. I could improve my PowerPoint by learning how they work or understanding how this may be useful in my classroom.
After viewing others presentations, I wish I could have included more interesting graphics and transitions. I would like to have the opportunity to practice in a classroom without fear of a grade and have it be more of learning tool. It seemed very stressful to find a topic appropriate for a 10 minute PowerPoint when I have never used one or really thought they were that useful.
My presentation was pretty flat. It took me almost two full days to work the PowerPoint , it was very difficult and does not align with my teaching theory. It feels like PowerPoint lends itself to strictly lecture style teaching which I try to avoid. The way I will use a PowerPoint is to provide a link for videos, audio recordings, provide definitions and dates of events.

If we can’t keep cell phones out of prisons do we honestly think we should keep them out of schools?

Should cell phones be used in the classroom? My first thought is no, they are distracting to students but the reality is I do not think it ultimately matters. What does matter is that teachers utilize every tool available to help encourage learning. Students enter the classroom with a range of skills and talents; many students are able to communicate effectively using various multi-media tools.
Schools could pay for student cell phones if they are added to the curriculum. It would also be a useful tool for schools to be able to contact students that do not have access to consistent phone service Beyond the logistical nightmare intrinsic in giving each student a cell phone and keeping track of minutes, texts, and data used, how long would students actually have the phone? I lose things all the time and I’m an “adult.”
The reality is students will have cell phones in schools and it is not realistic for schools to pay for student cell phones. So once we understand this, teachers and schools need to set clear behavioral expectation around how respect is expressed in the school communities regardless of cell phones ownership. We must move beyond attempts to control behaviors, and start to see the strengths inherent in each students interest, whether it is texting 200 times a day or drawing realistic chickens.

Hold on, I’ve got a call coming in…

Who me? I'm no bully.

The all knowing and totally trustworthy Wikipedia defines bullying as “an act of intimidating a weaker person to do something…” and “persistent acts intended to make life unpleasant for another person.” Bullying can be verbal, physical, or emotional. Cyber-bullying involves the use of technology, the internet and cellular phones, to achieve the same ends as more traditional forms of bullying. The schools responsibility to manage Cyber-bullying is confusing as laws and policies continue to develop for how to manage this newer form of technology.

As a teacher, listening to my students talk casually is a great way to hear what is happening in their world. Integrating the ideas of bullying, intimidation, or harassment into lesson plans throughout the year would be a great tool for maintaining a open dialogue about all kinds of things impacting my students. I have no real experience with Cyber-bullying or bullying (other then in 7th grade in 1991 but I had lots of people who had my back). My lack of experience may put me at a disadvantage to identify bullying when it was happening.

Schools should work to prevent bullying by helping students learn compassion and respect through discussion and creative activities. Formal policies will do little to help students in cyber-bullying situations and will most likely put the child at an increased risk. Clarifying behavioral expectations for all students and setting clear consequences when expectation are not met will be more beneficial to students. If schools, teachers, and parents try to constantly put new policies in place to manage emerging technology they will be wasting their time an valuable resources.

I'm lucky, as a social studies teacher I will have a great platform to help students expand their understanding of how their actions directly impact others (even if their actions are meant to be humorous). Students in my class will be held accountable as a group for their actions individually. I think a could intervention would be to begin the year and have students develop consequences and avenues to ensure everyone in the class is treated with respect. These classroom guidelines could be revisited throughout the year, and students could have the opportunity to reflect their experiences inside and outside of the classroom.

Gone googling, be back soon

I googled myself and not a lot comes up. Is this a good thing? Or should I be questioning my own place in the world? Do I even exist at all?

I tried a number of my different "handles" and I was hard pressed to find anything, other then a link to my old myspace account; other information includes addresses that go back to when I was a kid, and two links to pdf files from 2003. Both are benign and I am having difficulty locating them again. When I googled my name, what came up was a story about a women with my name burned as a witch.

Even that is just a reference from a book. The things that mention me when I searched for myself are in reference to my large family. We stay in touch mostly on Facebook. I sensor what is available about me because I don't want my family to know all of my business or be embarrassed by anything I do.

I believe not just teachers should be accountable for what information is available about them online but as adults this is our responsibility to children. Interestingly, I have used the social networking sites to research my adolescent clients. Part of our program when I was a wilderness guide was for parents to research their kids on the web. We taught them how to find information about their kids. It is strange how my clients parents were so shocked about what their kids had put online; I was shocked that the parents were so out of touch with the behaviors of their children.

The things I can do to protect myself is to stay informed as new and different social media sites come into fashion. I will never be able to control all the information available about me online, but I can look from time to time to be aware of what students, parents, and employers might find.

Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants

Am I a digital native or immigrant? Lets see… I have spent the last four hours trying to figure out how to use my iphone. My friend has just called me because she said that I called her. Too tell you the truth; I am not sure if I did. I have hung up on my brother twice, after calling him for advice and he keeps laughing as I try to explain my confusion. My brother plays online war games; his “system” takes up a large portion of his living room, and I consider him an expert consumer of simulated violence.

My house and life serve as an antidote to him. He has a flat screen; I gave my television and DVD player away when I took a job working in the back-country. The technology we had in the woods was impressive. Our company searched for ways to improve field workers communication with our office staff and the parents of our clients. We used satellite phones with the capability of sending clinical documentation back to our office in Albany, OR. We had the tiniest computer with a foldout battery powered keyboard that we would type and store our client files on, the whole thing fit neatly into a watertight box and was hidden deep in my backpack. Compared to high school and college, the technology I needed at my job in the woods was light-years ahead.

During my education, I avoided and struggled with classes that required “posting” on discussion boards. Even now, my heart pounds faster, just thinking about it. Posting or blogging strips me of my ability to hide my dyslexia. It puts my disability on display for ridicule. Sharing my writing with professors was already such a challenge. In this way, as classes began to require blogging/posting my educational freedom was limited as I avoided professors or fields of study who adopted this forced exposure into their curriculum or lesson plans.

My experience with technology as a tool for learning has definitely colored my thoughts about using it. I will most likely never keep a blog for parents or students to follow the progression of the class. I will likely set up a web page allowing parents and students access to my lesson plans, rubrics, Q & A, and my contact information. With in that, I see myself establishing office hours on Skype to promote communication with parents and students.

While my experience with technology as prescribed to me by my professors in college was frustrating, programs that check spelling and grammar helped me get through college and help me now as my fingers tap away on the keyboard. So, am I a technology native or technology immigrant? Neither. I am a refugee returning meekly after fleeing to the Cascades. I was raised in a world steeped in operating systems, commands, hard drives, and the lure of high salaries if I pursued a career in IT.

The problem? Blue skies, perfect waves, the rush of facing your fears, and all the adventures yet to be experienced.

Introduction

My name is MK Freeston, I am a MAT student at Concordia University in Portland, Or. My endorsement area is HS/MS Social Studies. In my previous life, I was a therapist at a wilderness company working with teens struggling with mental health, alcohol and drug, and behavioral issues.

My favorite animal is my dog, Albie.