In
September 2011, the U.S. Department of
Education sponsored a new project called
Digital Promise. The bipartisan, public-private initiative will fund research
in educational technology and will bring leading technologies into the
classroom to help students with problem areas such as STEM subjects. Review the
main directions of this project using the provided link and post your thoughts
on which initiatives could be particularly helpful for the development of
next-generation learning environments in Alabama schools and colleges. (Focus
on your own subject area and grade level.)
Corporate partnership with public education is not new, they existed in the 1980’s when I was in high school but what is new is the public schools’ commitment to the new, national education standards. The education system is focused on preparing students to be college and career ready at the end of the high school experience, which benefits small business and corporations. The next logical step, between corporations and public education was to share funding to create best practices and develop the highest, forward leaning technologies that they could in order to transform teaching and learning. The workers of tomorrow are the students of today and if corporations can have a better prepared hiring pool then they will have better work results from those they hire.
ReplyDeleteThe partnership funds are to help in different areas and one such area is in identifying technologies that will result in the best outcomes for the most school systems. R&D are costly and time consuming and is attempting to remedy the variations in school systems. Not all school systems are the same nor do they believe in the same standards or curriculums. This issue has been reduced over the last ten to sixteen years, with national directives and standards that have been aligned to some degree but curriculums continue to vary greatly. As R&D continue to find technologies that work for a great number of school systems they focus on the technologies versatility and adaptability. They have even invested in computer education immersion games. The shared funding can sometimes support technologies that may not be expandable or flexible enough to change quickly with the needs of the students, faculty, or school systems. It is hard to find technologies that are a one size fits all or that are robust enough to accommodate all needs. Another cost to these joint partnerships in development of technologies is deciding quickly, what works and what doesn’t. Like any other experiment, testing, data collection, and results evaluations are just a part of implementing new technologies but enough data has to be generated in order to make an informed and intelligent conclusion and that takes time.. What I believe the new cloud based technology can bring to this process is real time changes based on student and faculty use. Also an intuitive system possibly that will branch in various ways depending on user responses. This might be the biggest impact on determining effectiveness of technologies used in education.
Along with the corporate, public education partnership, the focus is on market development for new technologies and digital content and reducing overall cost by sharing costs through school coalitions and buyer’s consortiums. This will make a huge impact on the dedication of both groups to innovation in learning technologies. I’m not sure which of these initiatives is the most important since all the pieces have to work together to achieve the goals of the partnership but if the shared funding was gone then none of this would progress and schools would be left in the past and students would not be prepared for success in college or work in the 21st century.
MTew
I feel like ELA gets pushed to the side as far as technology advances go. Aside from the nonverbal vocabulary robot, there was not anything mentioned for my field. That being said- college and career readiness go hand in hand with testing. It seems like it is just reasonable to follow the lead of the more northern states and pool resources for a "higher quality product for a lower price". Sharing of resources can also lend a hand to the schools in need of technology advancement. I went a year and a half teaching with no technology because of the lack of funding. Now, I feel like I am playing catch-up with my skills. Students should have access to the tools as well. I read an article as an undergrad that was entitled "Don't Let Them Take the Pencils Home" and it was a metaphor at how the pencil can be used for play as well as learning in relation to the technology of today. Increase or accessible resources in relation to shared resources is a game changing plan that should be expanded more.
ReplyDeleteSThornton
Educating the future of prehospital emergency medicine is often a difficult process. Although technology is emerging to assist instructors in developing and delivering state-of-the-art instruction, the cost associated with such is often priced out of the value. Many schools that train EMS struggle to face the changing face of the student population. The department I work in is starting to adopt to many of the modern student requirements, but still some instructors utilize only lecture based instruction. The results of national exam pass rates is demonstrating the benefits of utilizing modern technology to enhance learning. Cyber learning is one of the most beneficial advancements. Students are able to learn at their own pace, and at their own time to supplement the instruction learned in the classroom. As many of the concepts of the medical field are often difficult to grasp initially, the repetition of at-home instruction through any media is helping the students retain and understand these difficult concepts.
ReplyDeleteAlthough it is often expensive to develop these tech programs, the text describes how R&D is moving at much higher speeds. Being able to troubleshoot and improve programs to adapt to the changing clientele without risking the loss of business revenue shows how student population is so fixated on the utilization of technology. These companies are using "games" to diagnose exactly what the students need. They are then using technology to cater instructional methods to the students' needs. Technology is replacing, with higher confidence, old school teaching methodologies.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the things I like least about the modern educational environment is the continuing trend of conflating the value of its process with the intellectual equivalent of a trade school. While the value of education within the marketplace and in relation to business is undeniable, it is (or should be) to my mind a byproduct of something larger and more important, a process that produces first informed, responsible, and broad-minded citizens, who will then necessarily be productive ones in a more pragmatic sense.
ReplyDeleteThe slavery to market notions and outcomes among many of the initiatives concerns me in their myopic confusion on the point. That said, two particular investments in the article excited me. First, NSF investments in Cyber learning has immense potential, both in terms of riding new technology into authentic application on a global scale, and as a real-time application of instructional principles aimed at course correction and enhancement of student understanding, potentially doing in the moment what teachers had largely grappled with, at best, within a day or unit following assessments. Amazing potential in it as a teacher's aide, tutor, and advancement for students struggling for any number of reasons, from disability to simple, momentary confusion on an essential point. A second point of enthusiasm for me involves video game applications as learning tools. Having used Minecraft to dramatically advance my child’s problem solving and written language skill sets, I am intimately aware of the potential in the domain for tying real interest on the part of a child to meaningful academic advancement, personal investment and enthusiasms.
Kids these days are very much into video games. Instead of going outside and playing, they are staying in their house and playing the newest Madden or Call of Duty. Instead of constantly playing video games that do not benefit them in a positive way, they could play a more education game that would reward them. I think the Video Game Challenge would very much benefit students. Also Valve, which is the creator of Portal 2, will let students compete by playing brain-challenging puzzle games. The students could win prizes worth as much as $250,000. Students who like video games, which seems to be everyone nowadays, would be very interested and engaged in a competition that would benefit them academically as well as make it fun.
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ReplyDeleteOne of the initiatives of Digital Promise that stood out to me was the online tutor project. In the special education field in the elementary setting I have parents ask about tutors all the time. Students receiving services for learning disabilities could be greatly benefitted by this initiative. An easy to access tutor would be a great option for parents wanting the extra help, especially during the summer months. The article described the tutoring project as a program that would "assess a student's real-time comprehension and tailor learning strategies."
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I saw that could be of benefit to an ELA classroom is the section on "Rapid testing of promising new technologies." This reminds me of the Edmodo websit many schools are using these days. We all know technology is a major part of student's lives, and Edmodo is a way to combine technology with education. Edmodo basically resembles Facebook. You have to set up a profile and upload your class work there just as if you were posting on Facebook. I also liked the mention of video games. I can see the benefit of something like a Jeopardy type game being implemented in the classroom to review passages from the latest book we're reading through. Putting them in groups should be fun as well, and the points they win can be awarded toward an upcoming test grade.
ReplyDeleteThe two initiatives that stood out in the Digital Promise to me as an elementary Special Education teacher was the online tutor and the Valve video game challenge. As a special education teacher, I have parents who I am always trying to provide additional resources to to help their children excel. I feel that having the online tutor access would be very beneficial for the students that I teach as any additional support is always beneficial. This would also allow additional learning strategies to be identified for the students and help them work toward skill mastery.
ReplyDeleteI also like the idea of the video challenge, even though it is currently geared for older students. Often times I use various games as portions of or extensions to my lessons. My students love game-based learning because they get to have "FUN" while they learn. I can certainly see this initiative being beneficial at all levels, even more so if they were competing to win prizes as stated in the initiative.
Although the Digital Promise was launched in 2011, I have not heard much about it at all. It seems as if with in the past few years, the education system is just now beginning to implement more technological learning. Children in this era have grown up with technology, so it is their normal. The problem is, that most children do not use technology for educational purposes. The National STEM Video Game Challenge is a great way to change that. Games motivate children no matter what, so they will be more excited about learning and are able to do so in a way that is relatable and fun for them. I will be teaching special education, so I think that the robot to teach vocabulary using non verbal cues would be beneficial. Sometimes, special needs students need to learn through more of a physical, hands on way rather that just auditory learning. Using non verbal cues would be a great way of strengthening their vocabulary as well as socialization (from understanding what the cues are) skills. Systems that create augmented reality for students with hearing disabilities would be great for my area of study as well, for obvious reasons.
ReplyDeleteThe 2012 National STEM video game challenge would be something that I feel my 6th grade Science students may benefit from. These students are technology kids, they have grown up with and using computers in the classroom and at home. The use of computers is an everyday learning tool for them. This may be something that would engage them in learning. I also think the use of online tutors that assess real time comprehension and tailor learning strategies would greatly benefit students. As a teacher, having that immediate data to guide instruction or remediation would save precious time in how to teach students on their level.
ReplyDeleteCreating a League of Innovative Schools is very beneficial! Unfortunately, I didn't see any schools in Alabama on that list. One of the speed bumps that teachers run into is the fact that their school district/classroom is outdated. This means that it is hard for them to incorporate technology when they do not have access to it! While this initiative is a great step forward, we need more help in Alabama than we are getting. Sometimes, especially with students who learn slower than others, using a game on the computer can significantly help them learn the material. Students learn in different ways and at different rates. By creating a league of innovative schools, which the Digital Promise intends to do, it can help teachers not only incorporate technology in a significant way, but it can also help ALL students be more successful!
ReplyDeleteThe Digital Promise Initiative I most identified with was the Video Game Education Prize. I would like to teach middle or high school Engilsh. The idea behind the video game is to have a competition where teachers, students, researchers, and fans can create brain-challenging puzzle games for prizes. I think students are already interested in video games, but the addition of prizes would motivate students. Students would be able to interactively participate in video games. I believe they would learn the information better if they were creating a video game with it. The game could consist of English grammar exercises or literary references. I think anytime we involve the use of technology, curriculum, and something the students love already like video games, it is more likely to be successful.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about the launch of 2012’s national STEM video game challenge, I think that this program would be the most beneficial to our student’s elementary grade through high school in getting them motivated to participate in the core subjects. I like how this program connects the obsession some students have with video games to motivate those students in the STEM subjects. I think that students learn more when they don’t feel like they are being taught and video games are a great way to foster that learning. I have worked with so many different students in every subject area in elementary school and I have found they each of them learn differently and at different paces but all of them seem to know how to manipulate and engage in interactive or technological devices. I think that by implementing the video game challenge it could in return increase the test scores in STEM subject areas.
ReplyDeleteI think that my ESOL students could benefit from a lot of these initiatives. I really liked that a few of them built in plans to create their programs in other languages. This is essential for some of my students and especially their parents. These initiatives would have to largely be implemented at school because a lot of these students don't have access to internet at home and have no reliable transportation to get them to a location with free wifi. I do think that these programs would be great for them, though, because there is a significantly smaller minority population in STEM fields. I have one student in particular that I thought of when I read about the augmented reality programs. He is significantly hearing impaired, does not know sign language, and also has little to no basic literacy skills because of a lack of programs in his home country. A program like that would help him to grow the leaps and bounds that he needs to before he ages out of the school system. I also think that the video games could reach students before they even have a lot of English.
ReplyDeleteAs a special educator, or any educator for that matter, I find it challenging to keep my students engaged. This becomes especially challenging when the materials are over the students' heads and they begin to shut down and give up. This happens all to frequently in the inclusion setting; the special education students get left behind. I think a remedial tool like the National STEM Video Game Challenge is a great tool to help motivate students to become engaged in learning new materials. In a society that is so oriented on technology and not being bored, I think this is a great initiative that will increase student engagement across the board.
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