Technology: Friend or Foe

Technology... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ~C.P. Snow, New York Times, 15 March 1971

“Lead the way Macduff!” As a struggling student of technology, I find it interesting how torn my perspective is regarding technology use in the classroom. In the before the before time, I viewed technology almost as a burden rather than an instrument to assist in following my core curriculum; lessons were designed that focused on using technology rather than bridging core concepts with Bloom’s Taxonomy. As a result, chagrin would follow the infamous technology problems that arose during class: spinning carousel of death, login problems, and other glitches. Moreover, after enrolling in Social Studies and Language Arts Technology Integration, I feel that one of the most paramount accolades and accomplishments of this class is a change of attitude regarding the use of technology in the classroom.

I’m not quite sure what I expected from this course when I enrolled, maybe strategies for integrating Social Studies into my middle school Language Arts curriculum, or maybe more emphasis on using Moodle, but I feel that with the ubiquitous presence of technology in every corner of our lives, students have become more dependent visual learners and need to be provided with opportunities to utilize technology in their education, whether that technology be interactive educational software, net books, clickers, etc. Moreover, technology is a means of production, to perform the same task and demonstrate the same outcomes of pre-technology pioneers, only in a different medium. As a first year 8th grade teacher, my goal in taking this course was to revisit strategies that would assist me in reaching a larger population of students. I feel that I am still impressionable and not caught in an academic rut while also tying to approach technology with a positive attitude. A few of the communicational technology sources I found valuable in class include: Blogger, Moodle, and Ning. By using technology as a tool of integrating core subjects into my discipline, I am horizontally assisting students in pensively comprehending standards.

Integration has become a sweeping academic and expected norm in schools around the nation. Teachers who collaborate with team teachers design lessons that extrapolate and wed concepts in core areas. As a L.A. teacher, it is difficult to oversee the impact of social studies on literature. Our course offered an opportunity to analyze and align the standards of S.S. and L.A. The outcome of this strategy is an awareness of aligned Enduring Understandings, Essential Questions, and standards approached with the confidence of finding a comfortable medium. In my project, I collaborated with my social studies teacher to create an engaging lesson on future goal setting: “A Future Success Story,” while supporting the S.S. standard To what extent do citizens have a responsibility to work for the common good in a democratic republic? In addition to having the advantage of teaming to explore integration prospects in core disciplines, the course conveniently allowed colleagues to collaborate in a cohort setting.

Possibly one of the strongest components of the course was the ability to work closely with educators around the district in a non-threatening manner. It is oftentimes difficult for teachers to work on curriculum relating material together because of a natural proclivity to compete and assess. We naturally and often involuntarily do this in and outside school as a result of being conscious of our students and problem-solving strategies to assist them and identify areas of improvement. Yes, educators are the best teachers and worst students; we constantly render advice to our wonderful kids, but rarely accept advice with an open, positive attitude. However, I found that the teachers who enrolled in this course were eager to place themselves in vulnerable positions, while holding the highest respect and courtesy! Throughout the course, teachers were mingling, offering ideas and stating: “I don’t know! What do you think?” Issues and indecisiveness were settled with collaborative help, and best yet, everyone got alone just fine! In my opinion, I believe that all teachers are slightly diffident around technology and are more apt to speak honestly when in small groups. Many questions were discussed, and especially worked out through communication and dialogue between cohorts. This, to me, is the quintessential setting for learning.

While time is always an issue, in the future I would like to see more time spent on more narrowed topics. Don’t get me wrong, its nice to sample everything on the table, but if you’re like me, I tend to forget which one I like best! Moreover, the strategies and ideas that were disseminated were extremely beneficial and lead to further post class thought, which is always a sign of positive instruction, but I did feel a little overwhelmed with the plethora of information. Maybe in the future, there may be classes offered that focus on more refined strategies, such as Ning, Blogger, and Moodle, just to name a few. For me, it’s hard to only take one bite, and in honesty, teaching takes so much time that when I do leave school, I feel spent! Relate??? But, in conclusion I feel satisfied and comfortable with the content focus of Social Studies and Language Arts integration using a variety of technology resources.

A mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimensions.
- Anonymous

New Plagiarism

“Copy from one, it's plagiarism; copy from two, it's research.”
John Milton

What chagrin in the handling of students who have unknowingly plagiarized copyrighted material without the least admission of guilt! In “The New Plagiarism,” Jamie McKenzie hits the nail on the head by basically reinforcing what so many of us face day to day- plagiarism. Copying and pasting has become a sweeping skill among so many of our kiddos that they are having problems understanding that what they’re doing is wrong- and illegal! As a result, even after reviewing what plagiarism looks like, how to avoid it, and discussing the repercussions of plagiarism with them, I become so frustrated by the degree of plagiarism in completed research essays that I often don’t know how to handle such a global predicament without bringing criticism my way! Moreover, students are trained extensively on the techniques and ethics of documenting their sources in a works cited page and even reprimanded when caught, but who can tackle the issue when 1/3 of a class plagiarizes without lament?

Am I guilty? Possibly! After reading this article, I couldn’t help but think of the many times I asked students to research a topic superficially without considering the higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy; research the impact of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan; research your career profile, wages, education, and benefits. As Antidote 1 states: “Distinguish between levels and types of research.” Students need to be encouraged to solve problems that lead to good decision-making skills, but many of us have become apathetic in our own discipline that we unknowingly assign a prompt without consideration of the celerity of plagiarism. As a result, the 4th Antidote really hits home when it asks students to generate their own answers. While this presumed solution is tactful, students while always cheat because it’s the easiest way to “get through” a research essay, and if they fail it, no big deal, they can always bring their grade up with an easier assignment!

In conclusion, I feel that more time needs to be spent discussing this rather complex issue among educators. In the meantime, conscious alertness and adroitness needs to be taken when assigning essay prompts as discussed in the article. When students use My Access, they are being assigned prompts that help steer them away from plagiarism by reaching the upper levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.