The most profound need for the "modern" classroom would involve an understanding that students approach the classroom from a variety of backgrounds and experiences. No assumptions can be made about previous learning and thus, educators must be focused on providing the support necessary for students to navigate a rapidly changing world.
For example, students in my classroom walk in the door with cell phones in their backpacks. One could easily assume that therefore, they have access to technology and those phones are connected and have data plans. However, in most cases this in NOT accurate. My students may have a phone, but that does not mean they have access to technology. I cannot, therefore, assume that they will have any access to technology outside our campus. This has two major impacts: 1. It forces me to be thoughtful about planning and building tech lessons. I must set aside time for instruction on HOW to use the technology as well as what to use it for. 2. It limits what I can plan for outside of the classroom. I cannot "flip" my classroom and expect them to complete videos or explore websites at home because not only of my students can accomplish this task. It is essential to keep this in mind when teaching students; not all of them have access to technology. Another key element it the idea that the classroom should always be evolving and changing. I have an obligation as a teacher to be in a continual cycle of learning myself. As the world around my students change, I must change with it. Education is not a static profession. It is one that changes exponentially as the years go by, and teachers must continually be in a position to explore, discover and learn new things. What technology is available today? What technology will be available tomorrow? EQUALITY is the most essential element of any classroom. All students must have access to education. All. Students come to the classroom with a variety of background experiences. This also means that we must strive to provide students with all the supplies they need. Not every family can afford to provide a device for their child, and schools must find a way to make sure that their school is truly one-to-one if they are to present themselves as a one-to-one device school. Whatever innovations or whatever type of technology is added to the classroom to transform learning, it is useless if it is not available to ALL students. Equality, therefore, is the most crucial element in any and every classroom.
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Driving Question: What effect does the increased use of technology have on socio-economically challenged students?
1. What access do students currently have to technology? 2. What ways do students use technology? 3. What apps/games/sites do students use outside of the classroom? 4. Do students continue persue the technology introduced in class outside the classroom? 5. What long term effects does the use of technology in the classroom have in the lives of students outside the classroom? Need to know:
DO YOU THINK ABOUT YOUR ZIPCODE? You don't or probably not too much. The truth is, your zipcode determines your fate. It really matters where you live. It determines what opportunities are availbe to you, and, shapes your future. I was watching the PBS Nova epsidoe about Schools of the Future today, and they really hit that point home.
Kids who live in poverty have less opportunity thatn kids who don't. Huge shock, right? We all understand this. We understand the impact of our address within the various cities and states in America, but also understand it on a global scale as well. If I were a woman born in Yemen, my life would be vastly different than the one I experience being born in a Northern California town. My address has shaped my opportunities. One of my most beloved books, Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton states this of his beloved home, South Africa: "Yes, there is only one thing that has power completely, and that is love. I see only one hope for our country, and that is when white men and black men, desiring neither power nor money, but desiring only the good of their country, come together and work for it." I love that quote. I was going back through my copy of Paton's book; the copy I used to teach out of when I taugth 9th grade -- it's got sentences like that underlined all over the place. It is hard to believe that it was published in 1952, just before Apartheid became law. It is harder still to belive that Paton wrote this wonderful, beautiful story as he tried to understand his nation, and then tucked it into a drawer; hiding it from the world. Good friends sent it to a publisher behind his back. They apologized profusely when the publisher made him an offer. Paton was a school teacher, just like me. His early career was spent teaching the boys of the rich Dutch families of South Africa. However, he became bored with this. He wanted something deeper; something with greater meaning. He spent the second half of his career teaching the boys of Diepkloof Reformatory School. His work there carried so much meaning for him, and inspired him to write one of the best books I've ever read. He was struggling to understand how these two worlds, one of opportunity and one bereft of hope, could exist within his beloved South Africa. We have the same problems here in America. How can it be that I can spend my Saturday driving my children to birthday parties, and to the park, while another mother somewhere in the same town, is trying to find a way to explain to her children that they are being evicted. It is difficult to fathom. How can it be acceptable that my son practices his cello, while another child somewhere else across town cowers from a closed fist? How can we turn a blind eye to those suffering within our nation; within our city and even within our own neighborhoods? Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy, an organization dear to my heart, has also struggled with this equation. How can we give all children a fair start? How can we close the gap between address and opportunity. His solution, a world-class on-line education that is FREE TO ALL, provides some stellar instruction for anyone willing to click on the screen. He was featured in the Nova piece I watched tonight and was why I was watching it. Khan Academy has been very good to my students, and so we keep it close to our hearts. I'm taking 90 students on a field trip next week, that is direct result of our connection to Khan Academy. This is an opportunity that my students would never have had -- if there weren't hard-working, intelligent people thinking about the gap in education. You've no idea how hard those folks at Khan Academy are working, and you should, but more than that, you should be aware of how hard they are working to level the playing field of your nation. It is a company born out of the hope. Sal Khan might be invited to some amazing destinations to meet with some really impressive people, but he made his start in his walk-in closet, desperate to encourage one little girl that ANYONE can learn math. There is a very old saying "That when you save one life, you save the world entire." I like to extrapolate that thought out even further: When one child perishes, we all do. Lin-Manuel Miranda says in Hamilton, through his character, John Laurens, "Until we end slavery, we will never be free." He was speaking of American as a nation. I make the same empassioned plea: America can never truly be a great nation when we allow a portion of her citizens to recieve a substandard education. We must adhere to the belief that every child is our child, and must be loved, protected, cherished, and provided every opportunity. It is not just our children that we save, but our futures as well. It is painful to think that somewhere sleeping on the cold streets of our great nation, is a lonely, hungry child, who if given different opportunities could develop a mind great enough to end alzheimers, or cure cancer. The only thing that held her back was her zipcode. --Jen The way the world functions has changed so much since the first public school classrooms opened their doors. We have access to every bit of information - usually in our back pockets. There isn't anything we can't access through our cell phones or computers. Seven of my former students were told by their employees that they could live wherever they wanted. It did not matter where their physical location was -- all their work is created in a digital world. We are all easily connected.
It sounds fantastic, doesn't it? It is, as long as you have access to technology. The new gap between those who have and those who do not -- centers on access to technology. My students do NOT have access to technology - except when they are at school. Many of them do not have internet at home, and although they might clutch a cell phone in their hands -- it is often simply that - a phone with not data or internet access. On the surface, this might seem like a small thing, but in reality, it is everything. These students cannot easily look something up when working on homework. They can complete any digital work unless they are on campus or at the public library. They can't access review or instructional videos to help them when they are struggling with new concepts. The distance between students who have a house filled with devices and access to information and support, and students who do not, is an endless chasm. The world is becoming smaller, closer and more interconnected, and yet at the same time, a generation of children are being squeezed out and pushed aside. It might be the information age, but only if you can reach that information. True education in the public school system must include education for ALL students -- and this involves the tremendous challenge of bridging this technology gap. Driving Question Draft: How can the use of technology in the classroom improve the lives of students living in poverty?
Driving Question Draft: How does technology impact students living in poverty? Driving Question Draft: What effects does the increased use of technology have on student swho are economically challenged? Because I teach in a high poverty school, I am very mindful of the opportunity gap that exists between those who have money and prestige and those who do not. Can technology help equalize the experiences of those living in poverty? Can increased understanding and development of technolgy skills improve the lives of students caught in the cycle of poverty? Driving Question: How does the use of technology effect students who are socio-economical challenged? Need to know: How much access to technology do students currently have? The greatest dilemma facing my classroom right now is how to bring equity to my students. My classroom should provide students with equity of opportunity, equity of resources, and equity of experiences. Teaching in a high poverty school, however, this is not the case. Many of my students have little or no exposure to the world in which they live. They are just a short drive away from large cities and amazing opportunities and experiences, but few of them are even aware of what is beyond their small neighborhood.
How can I help them gain a new perspective on the world around them? How can I help them be proficient in all the skills they need if they lack supplies or access to technology? I want to formulate my driving question around this idea of equality and how it relates to not only technology, but also to world exposure and experiences. Students living in poverty enter the classroom at a profound deficit of understanding of the world around them, simply because they haven't seen it or heard about it. Technology is one obvious way to bridge this gap -- bringing in experiences, connecting them to people and organizations without having to physically travel there. I will need to understand not only the effects of poverty on students but also how technology can bridge that gap. I will need to understand the impact of a "digital" experience on students. Does it has the same effect as an actual experience? Does it benefit students in a tangible, measurable way? How can we bridge this opportunity/experiential gap for students? What are some real ways that this can be achieved? I have already seen how exposure can impact and change students view points. I have already been working at exposing students to various careers, work place environments, and global locations in my computers classroom. This exposure has lead to students gaining a new understanding of the choices that are in front of them. |
AuthorJen has been teaching school for awhile now. She's learned some stuff, but she's got tons more to learn. Archives
October 2017
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