http://www.infed.org/biblio/eisner_arts_and_the_practice_of_education.htm
This article certainly provided some interesting insights!
Eisner made an excellent point on what educational leaders are looking for today. "We look for "best methods" as if they were independent of context; we do more testing than any nation on earth; we seek curriculum uniformity so parents can compare their schools with other schools, as if test scores were good proxies for the quality of education...Acheivement has triumped over inquiry." I would have to agree with him on this point. As we enter into ISTEP testing week, the schools are feeling the pressure to dow well enough on thetest to pass AYP. This one test is the benchmark on whether a school is considered an excellent school or a failing school.
As I read the six points Eisner made in his article I couldn't help thinking about what we are working with our students on and my conversation with my literacy facilitator as we examined some theird grade stories. Her response to the students about correct spelling and punctuation was, yes they were important, but getting your ideas on paper was more important. This comment obviously hit home because the writing from my third grade was phenomenal!. Eisner said "How can we help our students view their work as temporary experimental accomplishments, tentative resting places subject to further change?" Education is about taking tentative steps and experimenting with nrew concepts. This can be true of technology.
One use of technology that my tech coordinator and I have just worked out is the use of the document image camera. We were baffled by how we would make this work with the current set ups in the rooms, but we figured it out. When I stopped back in the room, the teacher andstudents were so excited because it opened up a new way for them to work as a group. Everyone could follow along with the work begin done as a group because it was projected on the big screen. It was exciting to watch them take this step together.
Overall, a very interesting article.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Annotated Bibliography (EDTEC 770)
Birch, Dawn and Volkov, Michael. "Assessment of online reflections: Engaging English second language (ESL) students." Australian Journal of Educational Technology. 2007, 23(3), 291-306.
Online discussion boards are now ommonly used in many university courses and, in particular, to provcide a communication forum for distance learning students. The study presented in this paper looks at the impact of online discussions on perceived cognitive and social learning outcomes of English as a First Langage (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Students were required to participate in 4 mandatory online discussions as part of their final grade. A rubric was provided for assessment which explained that their contributions would be evaluated as being excellent, good, sound, limited or minimal. An electronic survey was administered at the end of the course to determine how beneficial online discussion board are in terms of acheiveing key learning outcomes, such as understanding course content, developing learning networks and seeking advice on assessment items. ESL students consider online discussions to be beneficial for achieving a range of cognitive and social learning outcomes, as well as providing a convenient forum for communication. It also provided them with an opportunity to meet and develop a closer relationship with other stuents in the course and encouraged them to keep up with their studies.
Higgins, Eleanor and Raskind, Marshall. The Compensatory Effectiveness of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Learning Disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 20(1), Winter 2005. pp. 31 - 39.
Over the last decade, the use of optical character recognition (OCR) systems combined with speech synthesis has become increasingly accepted as a means to compensate for reading disabilities. The study presented in this study looks at the use of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II and whether its use increasing reading comprehension scores for students with learning disabilities. The pen is a handneld scanning device with optical character recognition and speech synthesis capabilities. It is held much like a pen and is guided across printed text. Thirty-four students ranging in age from 10-18 participated in the study. Students were given an opportunity for training in using the pen, a practice period and a time for the researcher to conduct classroom observations. The results of the study showed an average increase of 7 points on comprehension questions, more than one grade level higher when using the pen. Most students responded well to the technology, two of the students purchasing the pen to use at home.
Schactez, John. "The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement: What the Most Current Research Has to Say." Milken Exhange on Education Technology. 1999. 13 pp.
This document explores five large scale studies of education technology. These studies were selected for their scope, comprehensive ssamples, and generalizability to local, state, and national audiences. The first study (James Kulik's (1994)) employed a statistical technique called meta'analysis to aggregate the results of over 500 individual studies to draw a single conclusion. The second study (Jay Sivin-Kachala (1998)) reviewed hundreds of individual studies whreby the authors shed light on consistent patterns that emerged across studies. The third study (Baker, Gecrhart, and Herman's (1994)) reviewed a partnership between Apple and five schools across the nation. The fouth study (Dale Mann's (1999)) reported the results of West Virginia's 10 year statewide education technology intitiative. The fifth study (Harold Wenglinsky (1998) assessed a national sample of fouth and eighth grade students using newer simulation and higher order thinking technologies. The sixth (Marlene Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter (1996)) and seventh (Idit Harel (1988)) studies reviewed two smaller scale studies that show the promise of new emerging technologies on student learning. Findings suggest that lerning technology is less effective or ineffective when the learning objectives are unclear and the focus of the technology use is diffuse.
Online discussion boards are now ommonly used in many university courses and, in particular, to provcide a communication forum for distance learning students. The study presented in this paper looks at the impact of online discussions on perceived cognitive and social learning outcomes of English as a First Langage (EFL) and English as a Second Language (ESL) students. Students were required to participate in 4 mandatory online discussions as part of their final grade. A rubric was provided for assessment which explained that their contributions would be evaluated as being excellent, good, sound, limited or minimal. An electronic survey was administered at the end of the course to determine how beneficial online discussion board are in terms of acheiveing key learning outcomes, such as understanding course content, developing learning networks and seeking advice on assessment items. ESL students consider online discussions to be beneficial for achieving a range of cognitive and social learning outcomes, as well as providing a convenient forum for communication. It also provided them with an opportunity to meet and develop a closer relationship with other stuents in the course and encouraged them to keep up with their studies.
Higgins, Eleanor and Raskind, Marshall. The Compensatory Effectiveness of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II on the Reading Comprehension of Students with Learning Disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 20(1), Winter 2005. pp. 31 - 39.
Over the last decade, the use of optical character recognition (OCR) systems combined with speech synthesis has become increasingly accepted as a means to compensate for reading disabilities. The study presented in this study looks at the use of the Quicktionary Reading Pen II and whether its use increasing reading comprehension scores for students with learning disabilities. The pen is a handneld scanning device with optical character recognition and speech synthesis capabilities. It is held much like a pen and is guided across printed text. Thirty-four students ranging in age from 10-18 participated in the study. Students were given an opportunity for training in using the pen, a practice period and a time for the researcher to conduct classroom observations. The results of the study showed an average increase of 7 points on comprehension questions, more than one grade level higher when using the pen. Most students responded well to the technology, two of the students purchasing the pen to use at home.
Schactez, John. "The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement: What the Most Current Research Has to Say." Milken Exhange on Education Technology. 1999. 13 pp.
This document explores five large scale studies of education technology. These studies were selected for their scope, comprehensive ssamples, and generalizability to local, state, and national audiences. The first study (James Kulik's (1994)) employed a statistical technique called meta'analysis to aggregate the results of over 500 individual studies to draw a single conclusion. The second study (Jay Sivin-Kachala (1998)) reviewed hundreds of individual studies whreby the authors shed light on consistent patterns that emerged across studies. The third study (Baker, Gecrhart, and Herman's (1994)) reviewed a partnership between Apple and five schools across the nation. The fouth study (Dale Mann's (1999)) reported the results of West Virginia's 10 year statewide education technology intitiative. The fifth study (Harold Wenglinsky (1998) assessed a national sample of fouth and eighth grade students using newer simulation and higher order thinking technologies. The sixth (Marlene Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter (1996)) and seventh (Idit Harel (1988)) studies reviewed two smaller scale studies that show the promise of new emerging technologies on student learning. Findings suggest that lerning technology is less effective or ineffective when the learning objectives are unclear and the focus of the technology use is diffuse.
Mini Tech Review #1 (EDTEC 655)
Destination Reading is a computer program that is used in my previous school. It is published by Riverdeep. Along with Destination Reading is Destination Math. The programs are specially designed for either primary grades or intermediate grades. This is a program my new school is thinking of purchasing.
This is a computer game that offers detailed instruction in reading and math. The program offers individualized instruction, collaborative learning as well as opportunites for whole class instruction. Immediate feedback is offered for students and the set up is very child friendly. I like this game becasuse it helps students to learn not only the basic reading and math skills but goes deeper into comprehension and math analysis skills. I would recommend this game for schools.
This is a computer game that offers detailed instruction in reading and math. The program offers individualized instruction, collaborative learning as well as opportunites for whole class instruction. Immediate feedback is offered for students and the set up is very child friendly. I like this game becasuse it helps students to learn not only the basic reading and math skills but goes deeper into comprehension and math analysis skills. I would recommend this game for schools.
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