Citation
Alagbe, Agodi F., & Lemlech, Johanna K. (1998). Middle
School Teachers' Use of On-Line Communications. (Report no. IR 019
0135). SanDiago, CA: American Educational Research Association. (ERIC
Document Reproduction Service No. ED 419 514)
Quotation.
"Clearly the need for appropriate in-service education is as great and significant
as pre-service education. School districts spend an inordinate amount
of time and money preparing teachers to use new technology, new instructional
materials, and fail-safe discipline systems designed to protect the authority
of teachers. What a waste! Experienced teachers need to focus
on the "new basics" of constructivist methods by engaging in their own authentic
learning projects, collaborating with colleagues, practicing inquiry, and
monitoring their own accomplishments." (p. 16)
Explanations and Comments
The Internet is a valuable resource in the modern world of technology.
As I approach a unit, in which I am using and having my students compose
on the Internet. I lead myself to this paper on how Middle School Teachers
use the Internet. The paper focuses on eight essential questions teachers'
need to face when dealing with the Internet.
The first question the paper addresses is "In what ways do
teachers use online communications in the classroom?" I found that
online communications were being used to create web pages, collect data and
participate in global studies, interactions of email with different parts
of the world, to obtain research and graphics, and to act like a virtual
museum. This ties into the course work because in this course I learned how
to find experts, newsgroups, Listserv's, lesson plans, videos, software,
and many online resources I will use with my students in the process of creating
online communications.
The second question the paper engaged its readers in was "In what subject
fields do teachers use online communications?" They found that teachers
could use online communication in all subjects in some kind of research capacity.
The subject that is neglected the most as far as on-line communication goes
is Math because it is felt that on line communications are harder to integrate
in the math curriculum. I feel that this course took us a step beyond
the research because we learned to use spreadsheets and databases as a part
of math curriculum but go beyond that and look at the sensor data and database
calculators on the web. This is another valuable online resource that
the paper did not approach.
The third question the paper looked at is " What purpose does new
technology serve in curriculum?" There was an overwhelming positive
remark that the Internet was a source of wonderful resources that exposed
students to different parts of the world and helped to bring instruction
to life. This course of study supports that because of my own on hands work,
I got to experience and explore many of the web resources now open to students.
The fourth question the paper pushes on with is " What problems do teachers
and students encounter when using online communications?" The problems
were broken down into four categories, teachers having enough time, the reliability
of technology, integrating technology with the curriculum, and classroom
management. I feel these issues hit home for me as a teacher.
When I attempted to use technology in the classroom, I encountered issues
from reactions to my plans as wasting class time, and problems with classroom
management do make it very difficult to command the fullness that the Internet
has to offer.
The sixth question the paper delves into is "How does the use of new
technology affect roles and relationships in the learning environment?"
This simply put means that the teacher can create a student-centered classroom
or a drill and practice classroom. I feel it is important to validate
either model, even though the paper discredits the drill and practice model.
If these teachers are changing and are now willing to use technology, I feel
they should be applauded for being willing to change. Any change can
create some positive results so I hesitate to condemn teachers just because
they have not made the leap to student centered curriculum.
The final question the paper looks at is "What preparation is needed
to use new technology?" Students and teachers alike need to know how
to use the Internet not just why to use it. This means that they must
gain skills in searching and research, as well as invest in reading and comprehension
skills. At this point most training is too complex or to simplistic.
This in itself is what led me to choose the Computers in Education class.
I feel it is important to allow teachers to change in their own ways instead
of forcing them to conform to a particular model.
Although this paper supported only a constructivist model of reform, I feel
we need to reexamine what our overall goals are, and when this is done as
allies to each other then we will accomplished the change and reform that
is truly wanted in the school system.
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Article Two (2):
Final Guidelines and Procedures for Teacher Development Systems: Integrating
Technology and Instruction.
Fleming-McCormic, Treseen; and Others. (1995) Final Guidelines
and Procedures for Teacher Development Systems: Integrating Technology and
Instruction. (Report No. IR017 462). Washington, DC: Office of Educational
Research and Improvement. (Contract No. RI91002006).
Quotation:
"Technology is a cross-cutting educational reform tool, with the potential
to provide opportunities previously unavailable and to expand the knowledge
and learning experiences of both teachers and students (O'Connor, 1992; Polin,
1991). Ideally, technology programs in educational environments support
current directions in curriculum and instructional reform. Technology
helps engage students in complex and meaningful tasks and can change the
interactions and structures related to learning…"
Explanations and Comments
As a teacher on the brink of introducing technology in a competent way to
my classroom, I felt drawn to this paper because the title says it gives
guidelines for teacher implementation of technology. This paper has
two main purposes. The first is to examine how technology enhances
instruction, and the second is to see how technology is integrated into instruction.
In order for this to take place the philosophy and commitment of the teachers
is foremost in the process. It takes teachers willing to change and
use technology as well as proper support staff for technology to be used
effectively and influence content standards and guidelines.
This directly ties into this course of study because the purpose of this
course is to give teachers the confidence and know how to be instruments
of competent change. If we are the leaders of the reform process, then
this gives validity to teachers studying technology for educational use.
At the present time, technology is used in elementary schools as a reading,
writing, and math tool. It seems very two-dimensional when stated as
such. I think one of the gains this course of study has shown is how
this two-dimensional tool used for reading and writing can be transformed
into a composition tool. This will be accomplished through the implementation
of draw and paint programs as well as a process of publishing using a combination
of graphics and words. The paper addresses this quickly almost skimming
over this issue of technology in the elementary level. I felt I had
learned a more vivid approach through my class explorations, and that technology
has to be more than drill and practice on the elementary level. If
this is one of the most absorbent times that children have, plus they have
the desire to learn then, I think a new focus needs to be made on the younger
students.
In the middle school arena, which is where I will be spending most of my
professional time, technology is beginning to hit the scene as a curriculum.
This means that beyond the classroom where technology is being used for research,
making videos, creating virtual reality of the school, and other such projects
as well as having independent classes that are solely technology. These
classes can be flight simulation, bridge building, aerodynamics, video production,
and modules on laser communications, car building, solar energy, computer-aided
design, and small engines. These are great examples of technology becoming
more than a tool and being approached as a legitimate curriculum. My
only concern is that if technology becomes a class, will it then become less
valued in the classrooms individually. In this testing atmosphere where
the ruler of student achievement is a socially arbitrated test, my feelings
are that this will be turned into an elective and loose the value of the
reform it is truly capable of taking on.
In the high schools, technology as a course makes the most sense and has
the easiest time of being accepted as a legitimate curriculum. There
are seven areas of advanced technology that can be translated into a year
long high school program, computer design, computer science, management information
systems, systems technological support, technology applications, ethics and
computers, and responsible technology use. These programs can become
internships, which give students a way to connect to the job world.
Will technology truly reform education? I do not think anyone knows
the outcome. I feel like as we are in flux as educators, so is technology.
Only time will tell if true reform has happened or if the legitimacy of technology
courses is only a Band-Aid hiding an elective, job training. My hope
is that technology has the momentum to overcome the packages that social
studies and sciences have fallen into in the back to basics movement of today.
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Article Three (3):
The Implementation of a Positive Discipline Program to Increase the Social
Skills of Middle Grade Students.
Citation
Forbes, Reginald D. (1996) The Implementation of a Positive
Discipline Program To Increase the Social Skills of Middle Grade Students.
(Report No. PS 024 312). Altamonte Springs, FL: Nova Southwestern University.
Master's Final Report. (Eric Document Reproduction Service No. ED 396 833)
Quotation
"Discipline in schools had been a major concern of parents, teachers, and
administrators for the past two decades. A 1995 Gallup Poll, as reported
by Elam and Rose (1995), indicated that lack of discipline was the number
one problem that Americans feel the local public schools face. This
has been true in 19 of the last 26 Phi Kappan/Gallup Polls."
Explanations and Comments
As a new teacher, one of the biggest frustrations and problems I encountered
during my first year was discipline. I felt that I had a pretty good
grasp on the subject matter, but getting that subject matter to my students
was a challenge when students spend a great deal of their time ignoring the
new teacher and being disrespectful to the new teacher. In my search
for some clarity on dealing with the discipline issue, I found this article.
The title appealed to my sense of need as a first year teacher because it
is stating that a positive discipline program can be implemented to improve
the social skills of middle school students. I was ecstatic to find
that such a plan existed.
Two factors that I found in the article made an impression on me for why
this plan was so well received and effective. First the writer of the
plan, Reginald D. Forbes formally approached his administrator with a plan,
and discussed it with the administrator. Once the administrator allowed
the Mr. Forbes to proceed, then he introduced it to the staff. This
created a feeling for me of inclusion. The staff and the administration
are working together for a common goal. I felt that in another school
this plan may not have been as effective if this inclusion of staff and administration
did not exist. The second factor that impressed me was the use of technology
by Mr. Forbes to accomplish the implementation of his plan.
On the surface this paper does not appear to be about technology, and yet
technology was one of the tools that helped to make his plan a success.
Mr. Forbes used video to track the student's progress as he observed them
in the hall and in the cafeteria at the beginning in the middle and in the
end of his program. He used outside video resources to support his
program, and had students view the video, "Giving it, Taking it, and Working
it Out," on two occasions once with the girls and once with the boys.
Technology was also used in storing the information about the discipline
cases so that a print out could go to the teacher's each week and they would
feel informed. Desktop publishing would have been used in the creation
of the questionnaire that the teachers were given before and after the project.
The memo that the principal sent to the teachers was sent on email.
All of these technology factors although behind the scenes were really parts
of a successful implementation of Mr. Forbes discipline plan.
I feel what I gained from reading this seventy-five-page paper was that technology
and cooperation have to go hand in hand in order to have success. The
success of a plan depends on this combination regardless of type of plan
the teacher is trying to implement, whether that is a discipline plan, a
unit plan, or even a daily plan.
Mr. Forbes uses the word positive in his title, and I feel very strongly
that it was the positive attitude and the willingness of the teachers and
administration to work with him that made this successful. He used
the video recordings, the questionnaires, and even his meeting with his administrator
to calibrate his plan. His greatest accomplishment may not be the success
of the plan but how he learned to modify it for the next year. Mr.
Forbes learned from his experience, and he knew what he need to do next year
to make it successful. He saw that the future success depended on more
involvement from the teacher, developing a checklist for monitoring behavior,
and starting the program earlier.
I think in a way this is an inspiring paper because the writer did not get
it right the first time, but was happy with his results. He used his
results as a springboard, and he recorded his accomplishments on video.
I feel like this video process will be very useful to him in the future because
now he can go back each year and see the changes.
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Page Author: Danielle Earley
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