Chapter four Question 3 When technology is used to support culturally and linguistically diverse students, it is often remedial. Often students find themselves using technology that has been designed for younger learners simply because the vocabulary level matches their current language acquisition. These types of remedial technology can be frustrating to use. Imagine yourself living in another country, trying to learn its language, and being asked to learn via remedial software. What concerns would you have about this instructional approach? What other options might be found to avoid remediation when it is instructionally unnecessary? Culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students, gifted students, as well as special education (SPED) students, all have different ways of learning due to a variety of factors. In education these factors are important because the teacher needs to work to meet the needs of the diverse group of students each year. The teacher should always conduct learner analysis to better understand each students’ abilities, skillsets, cultural background, language barriers etc… If educators have a basic understanding of their students, they can really make some positive changes to their instruction, which benefits the students. These changes, such as providing additional instruction or designing activities for the different levels of performance can provide positive results, but as with everything there are issues that educators face. Creating a curriculum that fits such a large spectrum of learning types is difficult and some teachers often feel frustrated, which is understandable. If I were a student who found myself in another country trying to learn their language and perform up to standard for my academic and cognitive level, I think technology would be a great addition to my instruction. Technology in the classroom allows for certain barriers, such as language or learning difficulties, to be addressed. Certain software could be used to help me transition to the new language. Having remedial software would be frustrating, as I have seen this myself when teaching. Students who have different forms of technology for support need to have technology that fits their needs. The problem is, not all needs are the same. Technology, when applied correctly, can be a valuable tool for CDL students who need extra instructional support. If I were faced with the actuality of having remedial software in my school setting, and I was to use this to help fill the gap for the language barrier I am facing, I would certainly not reach my full potential. I feel I would learn what basic information I could from the software but eventually I would need something more challenging and creative to keep my interests. I would probably get bored with the remedial software and look to other means of entertainment, such as sleeping or drawing. There are a vast array of resources that are free and online. These forms of software can also grow with the student as the language barrier is slowly diminishing over time and the cultural aspects are understood as well. Using the correct form of technology in the student’s instruction can help them reach their full potential and be successful. Educators have resources such as the University of Washington’s Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology (DO-IT) project. It offers many different tools, instructional approaches, and other resources that can be applied to the instruction for the CDL or SPED students. Another resource that could be used to help fill the gap for learners is the U.S. Department of Education’s website, which offers a great amount of suggestions, ideas, and resources for educators to apply to instruction that could effectively meet the needs of such diverse learners. Chapter five Question 2 Discuss the cloud storage. Why is it advantageous for educators to share resources and programs on a network? What concerns are associated with program sharing? Cloud storage is defined as information that is stored at one location and can also be accessed by others online. Dropbox is a great example; the storage capacity is large, and individuals can save their documents on their home computer via Dropbox and access the same information at work on another computer as long as there is an internet connection. With cloud storage, no portable device is used to save the information, which is great because you do not have to worry about losing the USB or flash drive. When I was teaching, students often forgot their earbuds or misplaced their portable USB flash drive. The cloud storage can also be shared if the owner wishes, which is a great tool for collaboration purposes. Having a form of cloud storage is great for educators because of the collaboration feature it enables. One teacher can share the information with another teacher or team members. Another teacher can edit, correct, change a document which would be then be updated in everyone’s files so everyone could see it. The others that the files were shared with could then add suggestions of their own and so on… I found this most helpful when I was teaching when we all had different planning periods. Of course, we met weekly for our team meeting, we used Dropbox which allowed for us to work together simultaneously or share important information when we could not actually meet face-to-face. Teachers can also use the cloud in the classroom for students to access. Disadvantages for using cloud storage is mainly the connectivity. If the internet connection is interrupted the updates or changes will not sync to everyone else. Internet issues also hinders the ability to even access the cloud storage. It is important to always have documents backed up. Technology is wonderful, but it can be unreliable. Chapter six Question 2 Some teachers believe that too much emphasis is placed on computers and other technologies in the classroom. Considering the technologies, you have learned about in this chapter, do you agree or disagree? Technology is such a great aspect of today’s society, especially in education. Technology used as a part of instruction can be an effective means of delivering creative and interesting content to students but also content of high-value. Keeping students’ interests is important in education. Technology is always advancing and will continue to do so as the years pass by, so it is important to stay current with the latest technological tools and other forms of media that students would be interested in. With technology comes some disadvantages, drawbacks, and difficulties, as with anything. The issue to investigate is do the advantages outweigh the disadvantages? It is important for educators to address that question when looking into a new form of technology to integrate into the classroom and instruction. I think it is important to always have a back-up plan when using technology in the classroom. Technology does not work as internet connectivity can cause issues with access, saving of information, which can then be lost. Also, technology tools and devices can malfunction. With that said, I do not think there is too much emphasis placed on technology today. I say this because technology is everywhere, whether one is paying bills online, swiping their bus card when getting on the metro each morning, accessing medical records online, or using a debit card at the store. Technology has reached many parts of the world in one form or another. Technology has so many advantages. For example, robotic arms for amputees, surgical equipment equipped with software to read test images and offer results, the possibilities are endless. As educators we need to prepare our students for the world once they are out of grade school. Not using technology or using very little is not going to ready them for their future, which is going to include technology. With that said, it is important to use technology for certain aspects of instruction but always have the information backed up and have a plan B if the technology fails to work.
3 Comments
Jena
6/19/2019 02:45:45 am
Courtney, one main advantage you listed for using the cloud, is so students do not have to worry about keeping up with their USB drive. You are right, one less thing to keep up with. I, myself do not use the cloud very much; usually just to transfer large files. I bring my personal laptop into the classroom and home every night. I use two computers at once at work and if I would get into the habit of using the cloud, I wouldn't need to. As with anything new, it may take a while to get used to that. Just the thought of not having my laptop with me, is unnerving. Great post.
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6/20/2019 10:02:05 pm
Courtney,
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April
6/21/2019 11:54:47 am
Courtney, I really appreciated your pros and cons on cloud storage. It really is amazing how far technology has come in the past 10 years. I use cloud storage for absolutely everything - work and personal life. I really appreciate being able to access and share my content, when, where and with whom I want and the cloud lets me do that. It also has taken away a lot of anxiety for me. I no longer worry as much if my computer completely crashes - I know my files are available and safe. ~April
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