Final Reflection

Technology Plan for Greenwood High School 2011-2013

The technology plan developed by Noemi, Ancizar and myself.

Emerging Issues

Cell phone; instructional tool OR annoying communicating device???

Without a doubt, cell phones can cause serious disruption in the classroom. From urgent text messages flying across the room to lessons interrupted by rap-song ringtones, these gadgets are responsible for nationwide frustration among educators. And, in extreme cases, students have used their cell phones to cheat on tests and harass other students, even during class time. While such disturbances are certainly a nuisance in school, not all teachers see cell phones as the enemy. In fact, for some, they’ve become a teaching solution
;Why and how

Smart phones now have hundreds of applications meant to educate kids — from graphic calculators to animation programs that teach spelling and phonics.


   In the article Cell phones have much potential in classrooms  there was this middle school teacher who did not have enough calculators for those testing, and he allowed them to use their cell phones and from then on he started incorporating it in his lessons. the students actually had ideas in taking pictures of the assignment and sending it to the students who are absent.

this video also shows the use of cell phone in classroom.



All this is good but then schools have policies and procedures that have to be followed.For some institutions this may be a decision of the school board. Not to say that you are to sit and be passive Get proactive,as an administator ,present a plan to the board , showing research data ,of course show how the diciplinary concerns will be handled. Request a pilot pilot program to start with.

Educators: Formal PD or Self Taught

In will robinson's blog he poses a very interesting question " Should the URGENCY be all about the teachers right now " and this was because of the frenzy in getting kids urgently ready with the 21st century skills. can this be if the educatrors are not capable of teaching the skills.
One thing I know for sure is that these Net gen learners are by far ahead of some educators in the use of these skills because of the time spent with technology. As educators this should make the job easier ; instead of teaching how to use the goal is now enhancing the lesson .




That brings me to the second point, how do educators learn these tools to use then to enhance the lessons?
Some have said that faculty development is a critical component of a technology plan.  Others have said that in this web application world, teachers should not need formal development, they can pick up the tools themselves - just as their students are doing. 

Well I do think a bit of both is good, like we did in this course that was interesting and as educators we should not wait to be taught, but should be able to take the initiative to learn on our own, especially when there are tutorials on  how to use of course there are some learners who can handle this.
However some tutorials are not easy to follow and one could benefit from some guidance available in a formal professional development . This is what Iwould implement, Iwould select a few tools and have mandatory formal training on those, of which I would like to see incorporated in the lesson.

Horizon Report

I liked this because it actually shows the reason for the cell phones ON or OFF. The arguments are fairly equal. now this brings me to the Horizon Report which speaks to mobile computing as a near projection and for some reason this pops out at me.
Now we know of the  capabilities of cell phones. As an educator you are presenting a topic, which involves internet access. Here is one student on his/her phone . Would you consider it distracting?
Maybe for some from the old school, and I reflect on a  particular course requirement (laptop) , maybe not that could be debatable.( Certainly can be acceptable with more mature students and even those will be distracted sometimes)

With the NO CELL phone policy , I do not see this happening in the near future in my school district.

If cell phones were to be allowed and used in lessons, there are going to be alot to consider
1) is it the school that is going to purchase these as a learning tool ?  ( additional resources that is limited or possibly grant) 

As educators, we have to make the best decisions depending on who our students are we need to assess  and the decide.
As consumers do you buy everything advertised?
There are other tools that can be used that will have technology integrated and learning fun and of course differentiation.

This is an interesting  site    Classroom 2.0, it definately can play a part in keeping schools current in technology. It provides training in various web 2.0 tool and has forums that teachers could use to their benefit.

School Boards Role

Basically my school district has the elements of the 5 components in place , serving a district where more than seventy percent of the students are on free and reduced lunch.  My high school had a grant where each student in grades 9, 10 and 11 were assigned were given a laptop to use for the school year and return and the end of the year.
However this program has been changed to giving the teachers in the core area a classroom set to use, and the reason for this is that it was too costly to maintain and service when the students had them.



As for my district we have just elected new members to the board, will the just go along with decisions or will they have a greater impact that I am not sure of.
The best role for them to take is make a decision that is in the best interest of the students that is increase students' performance and achievement. School Boards should ensure that technology is integrated into instruction used by all students and staff as an integral part of school improvement and student success.

How much should internet be controlled?

 CIPA (Child Internet Protection Act)

Recommendations
Have students and parents sign internet agreement, and ensure teachers check before allowing the kids to use the internet.
Have a policy in place in accidentally inappropriate material was viewed
Have disciplinary actions for those who violates their intenet use terms and conditions.