Teaching with Technology Blog— Ethical Consideration and Positive Social Change

Educational technology have influenced the lives of the twenty-first- century teachers and students in diverse ways: the manner in which they communicate, collaborate, learn, and teach. The twenty- first- century teacher should understand that rich project- based learning that incorporates problem-solving and authentic tasks can meet many standards simultaneously and must, therefore, be embraced. Today's pupils have the latest and best technological tools. The world we live in has fundamentally changed, our students have moved into the Information Age. Students are now using podcasting as a method of distributing their multimedia files such as audio programs or music videos over the Internet, using the RSS feeds, for playback on mobile devices and personal computers. Educators can incorporate Podcasting in their teaching strategies as the technology allows for the distribution of video and audio recordings (podcasts) over the internet as digital media files. Students can view podcast posted by their teachers online or download it to their computer or handheld multimedia device such as portable mp3 player, smartphone and tablet devices.

I have found that podcasting can be an effective teaching and learning tool for mobile and electronic learning, as it provides the flexibility in when, where, and how learning can take place.

The results from a study done by  Kay and  Kletskin (2012)  indicated that many students used video podcasts frequently, rated them as useful or helpful, viewed them as easy to use, effective learning tools, and reported significant knowledge gains in pre-calculus concepts. Such findings are encouraging news for mathematics teachers at the tertiary level. Results from this study have recommended podcast as a strategy that mathematics educators can used as they cater to the different learning styles of their students. Matava et.al (2013) has given the following reasons for incorporating podcasting into the teaching and learning situation. Presentation of data is not linked to any particular time or location. Audio Podcast is an excellent teaching tool for auditory learners while video podcasts are suitable for visual learners. Also, podcasts are inexpensive to produce, is easy to use and can be deployed in a short time.

            Technology is now used in the classrooms of the twenty-first century as a support mechanism for knowledge construction and as a tool for exploring knowledge to support learning. The expanded use of educational technology such as Podcast, YouTube, Twitter and Pinterest has introduced new legal and ethical complexities. According to Dr. Tony Bates (2013) one of the ethical issues college educators has to consider prior to the implementation of technology to support learning are questions dealing with students’ privacy and students’ data. Information about students should be held in the strictest of confidence and should therefore not be accessible by their peers or persons from other jurisdictions. Both leadership and faculty of institutions that offer online courses must ensure that existing copyright and intellectual property rights are clear and that they specifically relate to electronic materials (Garza Mitchell, 2009). Also, there should be clarity as it relates to course development and implementation. Faculty should be educated about the suitability of materials from outside sources that are used as resources for the course.

According to Cain and Fink III (2010) ethical questions regarding social media can be classified into five areas:

1.      Who is viewing the social media facts or knowledge?

2.      How are the social media facts or knowledge accessed?

3.      For what purpose are the social media facts or knowledge used?

4.      What are the criteria used by students and teachers for making judgments about social media facts or knowledge?

5.      What is the nature of relationships in social media between students and teacher?

The ethical issues highlighted by Cain and Fink III (2010) has brought into focus the   legal and moral adjustments that will be required if technology is embraced as a primary instructional tool to enhance student achievement. The rapid growth and development of Social Media has given people from all over the world the opportunity to create and share content on a large scale. Participation in social networks is reflected in the large amount of opinions, news, ideas and product reviews that are posted and discussed. Such discussions have the power to influence how people behave and think, thereby affecting social change.  The communication dynamics of social media can be used for the successful mobilizations of people to support movements that contribute to the well-being of people. Social media may be used to get people from different cultures and ethnicities to communicate with each other by sharing and exchanging ideas in an instance. Geographical borders are no longer a problem. Social media such as Twitter, face book and Pinterest all have the ability to democratize thought and ideas and thus contribute to positive social change.

  

References

Cain, J., & Fink III, J. L. (2010). Legal and ethical issues regarding social media and pharmacy education. American journal of pharmaceutical education, 74(10). Retrieve from the Walden Library databases.

Garza Mitchell, R. L. (2009). Ethics in an online environment. New Directions for Community Colleges, 2009(148), 63-70. Retrieve from the Walden Library databases

Kay, R., & Kletskin, I. (2012). Evaluating the use of problem-based video podcasts to teach mathematics in higher education. Computers & Education, 59(2), 619-627. Retrieve from the Walden Library databases.

Laureate Education (Producer). (2013c). Dr. Tony Bates: Overcoming resistance to technological change and sustaining change [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu

Matava, C. T., Rosen, D., Siu, E., & Bould, D. M. (2013). eLearning among Canadian anesthesia residents: a survey of podcast use and content needs. BMC medical education, 13(1), 59. Retrieve from the Walden Library databases.

Teaching with Technology Blog—Using Technology to Foster and Assess Student Learning

Many mathematics teachers are failing to teach their students the conceptual basis for understanding mathematics, that could support flexible transfer and generalization of knowledge. A large percentage of college students graduate with a procedural knowledge of many mathematical concepts. In mathematics, procedural understanding is knowledge of the rules and procedures used in carrying out mathematical processes and also the symbolism used to represent mathematics. In order to overcome this lack of a conceptual base for mathematical knowledge, teachers can integrate YouTube and the Interactive student response systems into their teaching strategies.

 Benefits of using YouTube for teaching and learning include the convenience of students watching the video clips anywhere and at any time where there is a reliable internet service.  According to Kay and Kletskin (2012) students have described YouTube videos as enjoyable to watch, satisfying, motivating and intellectually stimulating. The video clips also, have the advantage of allowing the students to work at their pace as well as making allowance for visual learners. Pupils have the flexibility of pausing, rewinding and forwarding the video to suit their pace of learning. Also, YouTube is useful for teaching at all levels of the education system: kindergarten, primary, secondary and tertiary. One challenge is that it might take a long time to search, view, and decide on the appropriate videos to meet the needs of your students. In some jurisdiction, students may find it difficult to accept this technology for teaching and learning due to the culture differences.

YouTube is undoubtedly an important and essential pedagogical tool for the classroom of the twenty-first century. Students have the flexibility of searching for basic information and the demonstration and application of concepts and principles. Mathematics teachers need to realize that YouTube videos can support students’ development when used with appropriate pedagogical approaches. It should become a part of a complete student-centered teaching strategy to engage students in developing conceptual understanding and problem-solving skills.

Many mathematics educators argue that the interactive student response systems (clickers) support collaborative discourse through interactive engagement, the foundation for the constructivist teaching strategy, and provide a method for formative assessment. Results from a study done by Sternberger (2012) showed that students felt engaged in their learning and were enthusiastic about the integration of clickers into the teaching and learning processes. After the software and the receiving device are installed in the classroom the teacher can ask any of the following questions: numeric, short answer, multiple choice and true/ false. The problems can appear on a power point screen that interacts with the installed software and receiving devices. Teachers can also, ask questions orally or within the software. Three main steps are involved in using the interactive classroom system: (1) the teacher presents a question or problem projected onto a screen in front of the class, (2) students have a specific time to use their clicker device to input answers and (3) students and teachers then instantly view the responses. Students are not afraid to respond to questions because answers are anonymous; this system ensures that a larger proportion of the class participates in the teaching and learning processes. Clickers are useful in large classes as it gives the teacher a better opportunity to assess the progress of the students almost instantaneously. Instructors also have the capability of saving or displaying responses linked to individual student or clicker identification.

Another benefit of using clickers in the teaching and learning process is that it helps to facilitate classroom discussion. Students can be placed in groups to discuss answers or respond to questions. Interactive student response systems enhance class communication by providing the instructor with the facility to assess understanding during the lesson and prepare intervention for individual students.  Educators need to understand that technology will keep changing as hardware and software evolve, but they also provide new opportunities to enhance teaching and learning. Also, the teacher is the key variable in Technology implementation and effectiveness

References

Sternberger, C. S. (2012). Interactive Learning Environment: Engaging Students Using Clickers. Nursing Education Perspectives, 33(2), 121-124. doi:10.5480/1536-5026-33.2.12

Kay, R., & Kletskin, I. (2012). Evaluating the use of problem-based video podcasts to teach mathematics in higher education. Computers & Education, 59(2), 619-627. Retrieve from Walden University Library

Teaching with Technology Blog—Sustaining Technology Use

Technology will be the catalyst to improving instruction in my classes. My challenge may be to get the administration of the college where I teach to change the culture of the institution to one where the use of educational technology is encouraged in the teaching and learning of mathematics. In this regard I will be encouraging the Dean of my faculty to purchase interactive whiteboards. According to Beauchamp and Kennewell (2013) the interactive whiteboard pedagogy should be seen as an aid to orchestration rather than merely a set of tools which substitute or supplement traditional teaching resources. I will use the interactive whiteboard technology to: enrich the teaching/learning processes, exploit the opportunities it offers for observability, aid in monitoring and to aid in formative or summative assessments.

The interactive whiteboard is just a screen that can communicate with a computer; this means that any information on the computer can be used in the classroom to enhance the teaching and learning process. Interactive whiteboards allow teachers to use videos, the internet or ready-made materials. One of the important features of this technology is that information on the computer can be edited at the board; this provides scope for both students and teachers to manipulate or play with the information that is projected. Such features are beneficial to students in a mathematics class because it will help them to build conceptual understanding of concepts and thereby improving their problem- solving skills. Just as important is the fact that it will enable the teacher to cater for the learning style of each student in his or class. Many of the students in my mathematics classes are English language learners and therefore, I use the interactive whiteboard technology for grammar presentations, pronunciations, playing games and for providing immediate feedbacks for the students.

Many teachers struggle with finding effective ways to integrate an interactive whiteboard, for language proficiency development in English language learners; this challenge can be reduced if educators learn to use an interactive whiteboard for: visual presentations, interactive games, and test reviews. Findings from a study done by Won and Suhyuns (2012) showed that effective use of the interactive whiteboard will help English language learners to develop new vocabulary and participate more in the teaching and  learning process. Technology component such as an interactive whiteboard can develop active learning environments by providing engaging and repeated learning opportunities for all learners.

 A number of studies indicate the benefits of interactive whiteboard  for teaching and learning, such as promoting learner motivation, supporting the whole class while teaching, assisting effective presentations, meeting the needs of diverse learners, and making it easier to interrelate texts, images, and videos (Wood & Ashfield, 2008). Interactive whiteboards motivate students to participate in lessons because of the way they allow them to offer answers to teachers' questions by reason of the high visual and interactive effect. In order to help ELL students with the development of language proficiency and mathematical competency, an integrated whiteboard  is an effective teaching aid.

References

Beauchamp, G., & Kennewell, S. (2013). Transition in pedagogical orchestration using the interactive whiteboard. Education and Information Technologies, 18(2), 179-191. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10639-012-9230-z

Jung Won, H., & Suhyuns, S. (2012). Making Learning Active with Interactive Whiteboards, Podcasts, and Digital Storytelling in ELL Classrooms. Computers In The Schools, 29(4), 320-328. doi:10.1080/07380569.2012.734275

Wood, R., & Ashfield, J. (2008). The use of the interactive whiteboard for creative teaching and learning in literacy and mathematics: A case study. British Journal of Educational Technology, 39(1), 84-96. Retrieve from the Walden University Library