Podcasts in Middle School

Reference:

http://etec.hawaii.edu/proceedings/2008/Nguyen2008.pdf


Review/Summary:

In this article entitled, "Podcasting in Middle School:  A Case Study and Implications for Teacher Education by Thanh Truc T. Nguyen and Marybeth P. Hamilton from the University of Hawaii, a case study was presented that revealed the use of podcasts by seventh and eighth grade students in English and computer literacy.  Of these two subjects, computer literacy was the only curriculum that was still in the formative stages and not fully established.

When the podcast first came about it was in the form of audio with access through MP3 players.  The podcasts today also incorporate video and can be viewed online.  They are useful tools in the area of instructional technology.

The teachers who presented this technology to their students knew that they had to emphasize active student engagement and participation in addition to maintaining connection to the realworld.

Reflection:

Social Studies, Constructivism, and Technology

Reference:

http://www.tojet.net/articles/v5i1/512.pdf


Review/Summary:

In this article entitled, "An Examination of the Relationship between the Integration of Technology into Social Studies and Constructivist Pedagogies" by Cemalettin AYAS of The Ohio State University, the author noted the importance of effective technology use in the area of Social Studies and its relation to the theories of learning that involve constructivism through the use of technology.  As technology is incorporated in the classroom and paired with constructivism in the subject of Social Studies, a wonderful learning experience can take place.

Some reasons for technology use that remain prevalent include the fact that it is all around us and should therefore also be included in the classroom.  Also, there has been research to document that methods involving computer use have been shown to be effective.  Motivation remains a chief element for inspiring technology use in education.

Social Studies has been recognized as an essential subject in our country and through the world. Since the subjects incorporates many disciplines, it is often hard to define.  Generally, most of those in the field of education believe that Social Studies has to do with studying humans from many views while keeping citizenship education at the forefront.  Decision-making that will benefit the public is emphasized that also encourages young people to remember their citizenship role.

Reflection:

As I taught this subject to students, I definitely saw students who were more motivated when I allowed the integration of technology into the classroom through virtual field trips, interactive games that focused on this subject matter, and the incorporation of video clips or full videos relating to the subject matter.

Influences and Barriers of Technology Adoption

Reference:

http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed00/beggs/beggs.htm


Review/Summary:

In this article entitled, "Influences and Barriers to the Adoption of Instructional Technology" written by Thomas A. Beggs who is the Director of Learning Resources for the State University of West Georgia, analysis takes place to determine why technology is not readily used in the classrooms of higher education.  In addition to this, the author takes a look at what are some of the influences that encourage technology use.

One of the primary barriers that has been noted with regards to use of technology in higher education involves a fear of failure of its implementation in the classroom.  Professors are often quite knowledgeable in their subject matter but not in the use of technology.  Also, many instructors are reluctant to use certain types of technology because they fear that it will be hard to use.  If it does prove to be hard to use, then these same instructors will not make efforts to incorporate the technology in their classroom.  Another deterrent of technology use in higher education involves the lack of support staff to assist when problems arise.  Many professors fear job loss if they do not have the skills necessary to incorporate technology in the classroom and those needed to administer distance learning coursework.  The restraint of time also proved to be a significant barrier to the incorporation of technology use. 

On the other hand, some of the things that influence the use of technology in higher education primarily involve such things as improving student learning, the access to equipment, and notable advantages of using instruction with technology compared to traditional instruction along with a higher degree of student interest.

Reflection:

Personally I have encountered some of these same barriers in my own classroom at the middle school level as well as my observation of them at the post secondary level.  When I returned to the classroom in 2002, computer use was becoming more and more prevalent with administrative tasks in teaching such as attendance and grading as well as that of instruction.  One year our school administrator had the teaching staff use three different programs for grading/attendance as he was seeking the best program for these functions at our school.  This was rather frustrating for me and several of the other teachers who almost felt that the traditional gradebook and attendance by paper would have been better than the time required to learn these various programs.  A few years later, I was allowed to have use of an interactive whiteboard in my classroom.  Unfortunately, I did not feel that I had the time or training to use this device to its fullest capacity.  While taking coursework at the higher education level a couple of years ago, I noted that a certain professor who was very knowledgeable in her subject matter experienced similar complications with technology (interactive whiteboard) and initially seemed reluctant to use the device with classroom instruction.