Dear Parents,
I am Mrs. Bennett, and I am delighted to be your child's 7th grade English teacher.
Imagine your children in our classroom
· viewing photos from the internet of Anne Frank’s family and home as I introduce our study of Anne Frank's Diary
· working individually on computers to draft and edit their essays
· watching a PowerPoint presentation that a group of your students designed themselves about Japanese culture to introduce one of this year’s novels, The Samurai’s Tale
· Dialoguing about culture with Japanese teachers and students in classrooms on the other side of the globe.
We may have an exciting opportunity this school year to help raise money for computers for our classroom. Fast food restaurants want to "Supersize Us" - I say, let's Digitalize Us! You can be an important and memorable part of bringing our students into the Digital Age of Computer Technology in Education.
First, let me acknowledge any concerns that you parents may have. Internet safety is our topmost concern.
· We will only allow websites that are educational, appropriate, and safe for your children by installing filtering software that will prevent access to objectionable sites (Roblyer & Doering, 2010).
· We will also abide by the school’s Authorized Use Policy (AUP), which safeguards access to students’ personal information and is signed by you, the parent (Roblyer & Doering, 2010).
Second, our computers will not be utilized to play popular video games or to access social websites. Instead, we will use the computers to teach students necessary skills in today's technological world, including word processing, spreadsheets and graphs, PowerPoint, and global communications for their school assignments. In fact, we would be doing our children a disservice by not providing these vital and competitive skills – skills that you parents may use daily and take for granted.
As you may be aware, there are two main theories about learning: Directed learning theory, and Constructivist learning theory.
Directed instruction, or objectivism, championed by B.F. Skinner and other behavioral psychologists, focuses on learning that, via a teacher, is transmitted to students who store this knowledge in their minds (Roblyer & Doering, 2010). This type of teaching is especially valuable when
· content is “clearly defined, concrete, and unambiguous” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 36)
· students need individual practice or tutoring “to learn and demonstrate skills” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 36)
· “students need to acquire skills as quickly and efficiently as possible” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 36).
Beneficial technology applications for this theory include online drills, practice, and tutorials (Roblyer & Doering, 2010).
Constructivist or inquiry-based learning preferred by such education and psychology giants as John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Howard Gardner, emphasizes that students “construct all knowledge in their minds by participating in certain experiences” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 35). This knowledge may be “colored by background, experiences, and aptitudes” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 35). This type of teaching is especially relevant when
· “concepts to be learned are abstract and complex; teachers feel that hands-on, visual activities are essential to help students see how concepts apply to real-world problems and issues (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 42)
· “Teachers want to encourage collaboration and/or allow alternative ways of learning and showing competence” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 42)
· “There is time to allow unstructured exploration to motivate students and help them discover their own interests” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 42).
Beneficial technology applications for this theory can cultivate inventive problem solving and group interaction, increase knowledge transfer, and allow for different learning styles (Roblyer & Doering, 2010).
Furthermore, technology applications that involve “problem-solving, multimedia production, [and] web-based learning can enhance either directed instruction or constructivist learning, depending on how they are used” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 34).
The two types of technology I believe we should begin with for our classroom are
· a computer linked to a projector and screen
· and a workstation of five computers for our students to work at.
All computers would need internet capability to be most effective.
With this technology, I would be more effective in the direct instruction approach by engaging students with media images via PowerPoint during lectures. For instance, while discussing the effects of the flood on the characters in the novel, Stand Tall, I would show photos and video of the recent, devastating flooding in Nashville. This approach would make their reading more relevant and tie into current events.
In addition, utilizing the constructivist approach, the students would be given time in class to create their own PowerPoint presentations about a prospective career choice. They would present their findings to their fellow students. In this way, students would learn how to use PowerPoint technology, how to conduct research using the Internet, what careers they may be interested in via their own research and others’ presentations, and would practice their oral communication skills using a helpful display. 
In The World at Your Fingertips (1997), J. Hawkins said,
“Students are conducting original research on the weather, for instance, using some of the same tools as professional scientists then sharing their data and results with others all over the globe. Astronauts on the space shuttle and explorers in the jungles of Peru have involved students in the excitement of their discoveries as they happen.…Instead of asking, ‘Should schools have computers?’ we need to focus on a more productive question: ‘How are technologies best used in education to help students achieve and prepare for the world outside of school?’” (Roblyer & Doering, 2010, p. 31).
Parents, we have the opportunity to increase educational opportunities for our children via technology in our classroom. Will you please join with me in supporting this endeavor? There are many ways to contribute:
· by giving financially
· by volunteering to write proposals to funding sources
· by applying to and talking with businesses about donations (Roblyer & Doering, 2010).
Some of you may even work at large companies that might wish to donate equipment and software.
We can all work together to make educational technology in the classroom a reality.
Digitalize us!
Please post your comments, ideas, and suggestions on this blog. I look forward to hearing from you!
DISCLAIMER: This blog is an assignment for an educational technology course at National University. It is not a real fundraising blog.
Resources
Atherton, James. (2010). Constructivist theory. Retrieved from http://www.learningandteaching.info/learning/constructivism.htm
EducationBug. (2010). Direct instruction. Retrieved from http://www.educationbug.org/a/direct-instruction.html
Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A.H. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (5th ed.). Boston: Allen and Bacon/Pearson.
