MAIT 402 - Blog 5 Assignment

1)      Dr. Roberts’ Presentation – Media Use of Children 8-18 Years of Age

 I really enjoyed Dr. Roberts’ presentation about media usage of children 8-18 years old.  The next day, I actually found myself rattling off some of the findings from his studies regarding the great increase in media exposure versus media usage in the last 10 years.  Since the presentation, I also have repeatedly used his term “media multitasking” in different discussions about children’s over-stimulated brains and the negative effects this has not only on children as students, but on children’s development as a whole.  I hope Dr. Roberts is able to do another study in 2014, so that he and his team can measure the effects of new types of media on children (iPads, Kindles, text messaging, etc.).  I think this presentation was very helpful for me as a teacher because it provided me with evidence to support my claims about children’s over-stimulation and lack of focus that is a result of media multitasking.

2)      New York Times’ Article – “More Pupils are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality”

The NY Times’ article “More Pupils are Learning Online, Fueling Debate on Quality” was very informative and made me even more disappointed with the American education system.  It is one thing to let a high school student who wants to take an A.P. class that isn’t offered at his/her school to take it online; it is something completely different to require high school students (or younger) to take courses online.  There is no study out that proves the effectiveness of online classes as comparable to traditional classes in a classroom with a teacher.  If there was a study done, I highly doubt these online courses would be as effective – and just to be clear, I am talking about K-12, not college education.  I think these courses are an easy way out; a way for administrators to save money and a way for students who can’t pass certain classes to receive the credit with little learning involved.  Like many issues with education, I think this is all about money.  Online courses are being pushed because they are a lot cheaper than paying a teacher’s salary, benefits, and retirement.  It is horrific to me that the kids who obviously need good teaching – because they are failing classes – are the ones that get to skate by and take an online course in order to graduate.  Children need face-to-face instruction.  They need empathetic and passionate teachers, not just to read information on a computer screen and answer questions. 

I also fear for teachers’ futures if there is a continuing rise in online courses; the more children take courses online, the fewer teachers are needed in schools, and the fewer teachers are needed in schools, the more teachers will be laid off.  It is a sad state of affairs that something as important as educating the future leaders and citizens of our country is not given every resource it needs.  Schools need good teachers; they need money for resources.  Children need socialization and human contact in addition to a quality education.  Why are we, as a nation, constantly taking away from our children?  Online courses are yet another way that the American public education system is going to let its children down.

3)      Moodle Site – “Technology Resources for the Teacher”

I had never heard of or seen “Cool Timer” before.  As a visual learner myself, I like being about to see how much time I have used or have left.  I think this will be helpful to project in the front of the room to keep students on task.  I just downloaded it on my computer and am excited to start using it!

Donorschoose.org seems like an amazing idea!  As a teacher who works in a low SES community, this could be an invaluable source to get the resources necessary to have an effective classroom.  I really like that you can create a profile so that people can see who you are.  I know I would be a lot more willing to give to someone who I could see a picture of and read about versus just writing a check to an organization to help teachers.

As much as I like children to do hands-on projects where they can actually touch and manipulate materials, I do like the idea of using Glogster.com as a way for students to make creative posters online.  I think this would be especially useful if it were assigned as a project to do outside of school because the only materials the child would need to do the poster would be a computer with internet and his/her brain.  This would be a good way to let children explore and become more computer-savvy and electronically-capable.

Quizlet.com seems like a great resource for teachers and students.  I really like that you can create flashcards online.  In this way, students can continue to access and add to them without fear of forgetting or losing them.  I think I will definitely use this as a resource for my students or at least recommend it to them for studying at home.