When is Virtual Real Enough?

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Permalink Reply by Natasha Gallagher on October 6, 2009 at 7:30pm

Liz,
I agree with you that technology is a part of students' everyday lives and therefore it is important for teachers and future teachers to incorporate technology in the classroom. Although technology is something I use everyday for classes and to complete assignments it is still pretty new to me. I am currently attending a technology class, which teaches us how to incorporate technology into the classroom in an efficient manner. I encourage teachers and future teachers to take a class where they are able to learn more about how to incorporate technology into the classroom. Technology is a skill that most students know how to use and some know more than I do and therefore should not be wasted. A problem many educators come across is not having access to technology in their schools or the knowledge of how to use technology in the classroom. For both of these problems there are resources out there to help solve these issues. I also want to mention that although technology is important and helps students learn in many different ways that teachers must not forget that classroom interaction is equally or more important.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Kocher on October 7, 2009 at 4:55pm

The world of technology has certainly enhanced those classrooms that have teachers dedicated to its use in the school environment. This is especially true for social studies classrooms. Through technologies such as the internet or the SmartBoard, students are able to immediately connect with thousands of resources on almost any topic they are studying. There is no doubt that this kind of opportunity has greatly improved student knowledge and also the students connection with the content material. Being able to quickly pull up a map from the internet on a SmartBoard and illustrate for students various battle paths and other locations that were important to some type of conflict or war is excellent because now instead of student's viewing the topic as an event from the past, they are being confronted with the facts and visuals that will connect with their everyday lives in some way and show them that history is always changes and is relevant to their lives.
The internet has also provided several chances for professional development through collaboration with other teachers. Sites such as these, have provided a better chance for educators to improve their teaching skills, methods and content knowledge alike. Now I can not only discuss my teaching methods with those in close proximity but also those around the country and the globe. Also, online workshops and instructional videos are just another way that teachers can improve their skills and become even more effective in their classrooms. Overall, it is clear that the internet is a vital tool that can enhance the education environment and serve not only the students but teachers and educators as well. It has certainly helped shape my education as a student and likewise, as a future teacher I plan to use it to enhance my student's learning.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Cooper on October 7, 2009 at 7:40pm

I definitely agree with you and the others about how the Internet and technology is becoming more important and more usable in the classroom. Technology is something that we all must learn to deal with in our everyday lives, and incorporating it into our classrooms only makes the experience more authentic for the students. I also agree with you that the actual four-walled classroom is necessary, because replacing physical classrooms with virtual ones seems like it would only encourage isolation of students instead of promoting social communication skills that are integral for people to navigate and succeed through today's societies effectively. Students are willing to interact with others online, but by removing the physical aspect of education, students still lose out on the affective skills they need. Emoticons, word formatting, and icons (for those sites that use them) will only allow students to learn so much about how to behave and empathize with their fellow human beings.

The article "Are We There Yet?: Changing Trends in Online Learning and Internet Use," by Christine Greenhow brings up a lot of good points about the fact that even though we know that many, even majority, of today's students use the internet, there is still the gap with students of low socioeconomic status, and that prioritizing technology in the classroom could disadvantaged those students who do not have these technologies available to them at home. Not all students can take what they are learning in the classroom and apply it to their everyday lives. So while technology can and should be used, because all students need to know how to use computers and important software such as word processors and how to use the internet as a resource, it's good to maintain the physical classroom so that students have an equal footing from which to branch off from in their own learning process.

Technology is a great tool for using to supplement and even take the place of physical classroom learning when necessary, but sometimes students seem to feel that these are the only things that matter and it is the task set to us as educators and future educators to be able to collaborate these various skills and tools that are students have to help them to become successful and productive citizens. Using the internet in the classroom allows for a broader range of lessons, activities, and projects that teachers can use to do this, but really sometimes nothing beats a good hands-on group activity in a classroom where the teacher can supervise and guide students as they go along. In some classes, especially sciences such as chemistry and biology, these are invaluable and cannot be replaced.

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Permalink Reply by Andra Brichacek on October 28, 2009 at 10:24am

This is a big topic of conversation in L&L (ISTE's member magazine). You should check out L&L Editor Kate Conley's Issue Oriented column in the Sept./Oct. issue, which was inspired in part by the feature on online learning programs in that issue, e-Learning Programs Come in All Shapes and Sizes. Check out L&L's new commenting feature and tell us what you think about the article! You can also find more discussion on this specific topic on the L&L group page.

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Permalink Reply by Ellen Hildenbrand on October 30, 2009 at 8:21am

Just a thought to share, Liz. I have found the use of the internet to be fairly natural. Although I have a degree in instructional tech., the use of the internet need not be nearly so pedagogically challenging. When you're doing your own planning, you may find yourself using internet resources to inform your own teaching. I'd say share those web resources on, for example, World War II, with your students. You can show them the site in class and demonstrate how you found it, how you perused it and how you came to decide it was reliable and worthwhile. Or you can send them the link and challenge them to find certain bits of information which you know are contained therein.
I often, for example, tell my students (10th grade) about an interesting feature I may have heard on NPR or seen on YouTube, and then I send them the link (or post it on my page) so that they can investigate further.

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Permalink Reply by Lee Bond on November 26, 2009 at 12:41pm

Hi Liz - I agree with your comments that schools are places for normalising and socialising children, and there is certainly a need to have an educator present to enable and steer young minds. I think we are in an era when being 'online' is a reality for most children who's social networks now revolve around Facebook, Myspace, Twitter et al. Conversely there are the traditional teachers out there who haven't picked up on the social cues, continuing to teach using the 'factory' model. There are however many teachers who are incorporating technology effectively into the learning environment and going one step further, seeing technology as ubiquitous

Giant strides are being made by MIT to take create real/virtual 'blended environments' which is where I see classrooms going in the future - please have a look at this 6th Sense

It sounds like you're a passionate educator and if you're not already aware of the work of Ken Robinson or Stephen Heppell, I'd encourage you to Google them. As far as VLEs, look to at GLOW Scotland and maybe ISTE users can provide links to other VLEs. I think the secret is to create responsible digital citizens in our learners, so they can collaborate effectively and differentiate between the mountains of trash on the internet to reach the salient information.

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