If They Can Continue to Tweet, Students Can Learn and Teachers Can Teach.

Literature Review

If They Can Continue to Tweet, Students Can Learn and Teachers Can Teach.               

 My first question to all of my Juniors and Seniors the first day of school is, "Who has used their phone to tweet on Twitter or give a status update on Facebook in the past two weeks?"  The majority of them usually raise their hand slowly showing curiosity, but certainty at the same time.  As they view around them all the hands that are raised in unison, hands get higher and higher, faster and aster.   They gain more confidence and excitement from the feeling of being a part of the in-crowd with their own peers.  My rebuttal to them with my own sense of confidence and excitement of their participation in showing off their popularity is simply, "Thats great to hear because if you can do either of those, you have no excuse to ever miss a homework.  Feel free to tweet of post a status update on your newly acquired knowledge."  It usually doesn't go the way my students expect it to, or in their favor.

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The Vicki L. Philips and Lynn Olson's journal article "Teachers Connect with Technology" expresses the need for schools to promote the collaboration of technological resources among teachers and students to enhance the ability for teachers to teach, and students to learn in a more productive and effective fashion.  The article informs about the desire teachers have expressed to receive assistance in using technology in their curriculums for various subjects.  The content teachers are expected to relay to students while still satisfying state standards is proving to be a burden for some.  Some teachers work well with technology, and others lack a base foundation of any form of technology.  I notice this at the school I currently work at.  We have a great faculty without question.  We all do a great job of implementing and reaching students in all subject areas.  Our district also does a decent job of providing us with the necessary resources to complete this task in order to meet our school's mission statement and the state standards.   For resources, my school extends to the whole school community the ability to create a free school specific Gmail address and use of all the Google Apps.  This resource expedites and enhances communication, file sharing, and use school databases for the administration, teachers, students, and student's parents.   My students and I enjoy this resource and benefit from it's use tremendously.  

The combination of Gmail (Email Client), Google Drive (Online Storage), Google Forms (Online access to created forms or assignments), and Bitly (Shortens and creates new URL address') allows me to give my students access to all of the class's notes and assignments on any device that can access the internet, anywhere they are.  Despite cramming the sandbox with 4 different apps, they really play well together.  What happens on one, translates to other seamlessly with the click of a few buttons.

 

Google Apps+Bitly = No Excuses for Homework (3,1453 Likes)  

It may seem like it increases the workload for the teacher despite the idea they are trying simplify the formula for the success of their student's.  For the teacher, though, they may have the easier task.  We explain to students how to access the materials and assign a due date.  Remember, if they can admit they can Tweet, then they can learn.  Once the complete the assignment and submit it, the apps are able to sort any information as preferred or even grade it as each is submitted. 

The Assignment Sorted for Teacher

The Assignment For Student

 It works wells for both parties.  The grades are complete and the students receive feedback expeditiously.

Looking back at this, I do have to remember that this is technology I personally feel comfortable with inside and outside of school.  The school didn't have to teach me much for me to be able from this. This appreciation of this technology isn't shared by all. Its the same for me with some of the technology my colleagues use that could benefit me, but I don't feel comfortable with using.  The article clearly expresses this as a main concern because  this is a common occurrence that some teachers run into.  The ease or difficulty some teachers may have implementing their lesson plans for their subject as opposed to their colleagues due to their personal knowledge of technology varies.          

For example, a school that may have every classroom equipped with a Smart Board to ensure success for the teacher and students.  This can still have either a positive or negative effect on their teaching methods.  Some teachers ability to teach using this technology may gain great benefit because of their comfort with it.  This may hinder other teacher's ability to teach because of unfamiliarity.  Philips and Olson's article point this problem out by stating that the little training in the area for implementation of a curriculum through technology greatlyvaries.  Philips and Olson give an explanation to bridge the gap between teachers, their needs to collaboration among all teachers, curriculum experts, and other educators in they wish to  meet their school's mission statement and the state standards.  This collaboration if successful, won't have the feeling of it being forced down teachers throats because the effect it will have for all involved.  They state that when these groups come together to reach the goal expected, it draws a shared trust, expertise, and experiences to improve instruction.  Two organizations that support this structure of collaboration are the LiteracyDesign Collaborative  and the Mathematics Design Collaborative  through which groups of teachers, curriculum experts, and other educators work together to create high-quality, useful lessons and research based instructional tools satisfying the State Standards.  

The article by Philips and Olson on the use of technology by teachers does a great expressing the needs technology in the classroom and also offer possible solutions this challenge may present.