Educational Technology

Examining 21st century literacies and their implications for teaching and learning in the digital age.

The Case for 21st Century Education• Education is changing.• Competition is changing internationally.• The workplace, jobs, and skill demands are

changing.

Digital Natives• “Different kinds of experiences lead to

different brain structures” - Dr. Bruce D. Berry of Baylor College of Medicine. – it is very likely that our students’ brains have

physically changed – and are different from ours – as a result of how they grew up

Digital Natives• It is now clear that as a result of this

ubiquitous information environment and the sheer volume of their interaction with it, today’s students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors.– Marc Prensky – “Digital Natives, Digital

Immigrants” 2001

Who are the digital natives?

• Our students today are all “native speakers” of the digital language of computers, video games, instantaneous communication, and the Internet.

• Those of us who were not born into the digital world but have, at some later point in our lives, become fascinated by and adopted many or most aspects of the new technology are Digital Immigrants.

The Nomadic Grazing Patterns of Digital Natives• Digital Natives are used to receiving information really

fast. • They like to parallel process and multi-task. • They prefer their graphics before their text rather than

the opposite. • They prefer random access (like hypertext). • They function best when networked. • They thrive on instant gratification and frequent

rewards. • They prefer games to “serious” work.

We are no longer teaching if what we teach is more important than who we teach or how we teach.

(Carol Ann Tomlinson 2003)

The Challenge• Our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an

outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language

Content• Legacy

– reading, writing, arithmetic, logical thinking, understanding the writings and ideas of the past, etc. – all of our “traditional” curriculum.

• Future– software, hardware, robotics, nanotechnology,

genomics, etc.– ethics, politics, sociology, languages and other things

that go with them

Essential Questions• How can we teach rigorous and relevant

knowledge, skills, and understandings to all students in a diverse academic setting?

• How can differentiated instruction be enhanced through the integration of educational technologies in the classroom?

Many educators believe in the ‘exceptionality’ of computers, viewing them as instructional talismans that can do for student learning what other reforms cannot.“Tools for the Mind” – Mary Burns

Technology & Student Learning• This has resulted in the narrow focus on

technology at the expense of the more important pillars of learning . . .– cognition, – instruction, – assessment, – and curriculum.

I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

-Confucius

Tell me and I forget.Teach me and remember.Involve me and I learn.

-Benjamin Franklin

Enduring UnderstandingWe learn. . .

• 10% of what we READ

• 20% of what we HEAR

• 30% of what we SEE

• 40% of what we both SEE and HEAR

• 70% of what is DISCUSSED with others

• 80% of what we EXPERIENCE personally

• 95% of what we TEACH someone else

--William Glasser

The New Literacies• Play — the capacity to experiment with one’s

surroundings as a form of problem-solving• Performance — the ability to adopt alternative identities

for the purpose of improvisation and discovery• Simulation — the ability to interpret and construct

dynamic models of real-world processes• Appropriation — the ability to meaningfully sample and

remix media content

The New Literacies• Multitasking — the ability to scan one’s environment and

shift focus as needed to salient details.• Distributed Cognition — the ability to interact

meaningfully with tools that expand mental capacities• Collective Intelligence — the ability to pool knowledge

and compare notes with others toward a common goal• Judgment — the ability to evaluate the reliability and

credibility of different information sources

The New Literacies• Transmedia Navigation — the ability to follow the flow

of stories and information across multiple modalities• Networking — the ability to search for, synthesize, and

disseminate information• Negotiation — the ability to travel across diverse

communities, discerning and respecting multiple perspectives, and grasping and following alternative norms.

Tools for the Mind• Read “Tools for the Mind”• As you read, consider the two essential questions:

– How can we teach essential knowledge, skills, and understandings to all students in a diverse academic setting?

– How can differentiated instruction be enhanced through the integration of educational technologies in the classroom?

Lower-Order vs. Higher-Order• What is the difference between a lower-order technology

application and a higher-order technology application?• What are some examples of each type of application

category? • Why have schools historically limited themselves to

lower-order applications?

Integration IdeasGraphic organizers

Multi-media presentations

Interactive activities

Simulations Virtual field trips

Digital stories

Online activities & assessments

CPS processing & assessments

Podcasts

Blogs Wikis Social networking

Building Resources• Microsoft Word,

Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, FrontPage

• Inspiration• Pinnacle Systems

Studio DV• QUIA• E-Notes

• LCD projectors• AverKeys• Smartboards• Computer Labs• Wireless Labs• eInstruction CPS• Document Camera• Digital cameras

Online Resources• Blogs

– http://classblogmeister.com/index.php • Wikis

– http://www.wikispaces.com/site/for/teachers100K

• Podcasts– http://www.gcast.com

Integration Resources• http://holicong.wikispaces.com/• http://jdorman.wikispaces.com/