EDLD+5364+-+Week+5

In this, the final week of EDLD 5364 - Teachning with Technology, the focus of the week's activities were on reflection about the various technologies that were studied throughout the course and projecting what path education will take in the future. Through this week's readings, we explored ways to utilize technology to increase our students' ownership of their education through assessment variations and monitoring progress and effort. In __Web 2.0__, Solomon and Schrum discuss integrating authentic assessments into the classroom. "Authentic assessment" allows students the freedom to express hwat they have learned through means that are "replicas of or analogous to the kinds of problems faced by adult citizens and consumers or professionals". (Wiggins, 1993, p. 229) In short, it is vital that our students are given real-world problems in which they have to apply their knowledge, not just standrdized testing for which they will generally only memorize information. Pitler, et. al. discusses the importance of students monitoring their progress through the course of a class and stress that the effort put forth by the students should also be continually monitored by the students themselves and positively reinforced by the teacher. In __Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works__, Pitler, et. al discuss the use of an "effort rubric" or charts and graphs that students can create for themselves to physically track their effort record. It is important to note that, while monitoring effort, clear and specific descriptions of what qualifies as effort must be included. Since effort can be considered highly subjective, it is imperative that a teacher list quantitative expectations when defining what a "good effort" is.

This week's videos focused on the future of education and what part technology will play in that future. In the video __Big Thinkers: James Paul Gee on Grading with Games__, Gee stresses that the profession of teaching has lost its professionalism. He states that many districts and schools have developed set curricula for teachers to follow and, as a result, have taken the creativity and development out of the job. Gee states that it is imperative that schools begin to implement a myriad of strategies for diversifying learning and engagement (he specifically references games throughout the video) so that students truly begin to learn and apply their knowledge. In the video __Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on Digital Youth__, one of Gardner's main focuses in integrating technology into education is ensuring that it is done in a way that is safe and ethical, but still enjoyable. Gardner stresses that this "digital youth" is no longer limited to a community or family, but has access and is connected to the entire world through digital means. Because of this, Gardner enphasizes the role of teachers in instilling safe and ethical practices and aawareness in today's student. It is important that students are aware of all the possibilities that are available in today's digital world; however, it is equally as important that they knowhow to connect safely and in a way that will not harm themselves or others.