Universal Access

For you blog this week, please discuss the concept of universal access. In your own school and/or classroom, have you thought about this issue when it comes to the integration of technology? What are you doing to ensure that your technical resources are accessible to all?

Well... I suppose I first need to think about what "universal access" means -- even after the presentation, I know there are many varied facets to the concept. For example, I'll consider ESL learners first : Obviously, there are some handy technological methods for assisting students who struggle with the English language. We have a significant population of Korean students whose parents mostly work at the university -- and who haven't necessarily been in the country for very long. They are often tracked into lower classes simply due to their English language abilities (though their work ethic is that of an advanced student). Many Korean students have portable translators for use on assignments, but as far as I know, these are not provided by the school district. On the other hand, many of our Hispanic students who struggle with English do not have access to these devices. There are economic factors that I don't think I need to spell out here. Perhaps our district could help to improve the "universal access" by making these gadgets available to all ESL students.

Another facet of universal access is in considering students with other special needs. I've never seen a sight-impaired student using any technological tool for help with reading a computer screen, though it seems it would be easy enough to enlarge text. And some of the motor skills necessary for operating a computer would be undoubtedly difficult for certain special needs students. I've never seen these students using any disability-equipped keyboards... it just takes them a lot longer to hunt and peck. I'm no expert so I'm not even sure what they would use in these scenarios... but I'm sure these tools exist.

IL Tech Standards

For your Week Eleven blog, please reflect on one of the first blogs you wrote regarding the 20 skills every educator should know. In considering technology standards for teachers and students, are we reaching these standards -- or are the standards beyond what we could achieve?


Well I'll start a bit off the topic because this caught my eye from the teacher standards :
"2H. Adheres to copyright laws and guidelines in the access and use of information from various technologies."

Interesting considering my "confessions" from the previous blog. I guess I knew this was always expected, but I didn't know that this requirement was actually there, in writing, in the Illinois Tech Standards. It makes sense, though. Unfortunately, there is a vast difference between a "law" and a "guideline" -- with the first, you worry about actual legal trouble, but with the second, the boundaries seem a bit more hazy. In any case, am I going to look up the laws/guidelines for compiling a DVD of material that I already own for use in the classroom? When I'm not distributing or making a profit off of said DVD? Hmm.

Anyway, back on the topic. The prompt is a little confusing, since it asks us to review those 20 skills but then just comment on the Illinois Standards. So here's what I have to say.

Initially, my biggest beef with the "20 skills" article had to do with videoconferencing and online teaching skills. Not that I don't find these skills valuable... just that I don't see them as mandatory in my current teaching setting. Hence my gripe with those being skills that "every teacher should know." And yet I see standard 2I, which reads :

2I. Demonstrates knowledge of broadcast instruction, audio/video conferencing, and other distant learning applications.

So there we go -- apparently the state finds this skill important as well. But can we really say that teachers should be able to "demonstrate knowledge" of these tech skills if they aren't going to use them? If a school doesn't support, isn't equipped for, or doesn't have any need for audio/video conferencing, is it really feasible or even fair that a teacher should be required to demonstrate this? Maybe it's my own biased perspective, coming from a school that is sadly behind the curve on technology, mostly due to budget/space restraints. (Especially embarrassing considering I'm in the same town as UIUC.) I don't necessarily think this standard is something beyond what we could achieve... just that it's basically irrelevant to many current teaching situations. A nice idea, but some sophisticated technology needs to be in place before a teacher can "demonstrate knowledge" of these skills. Can't do that if it doesn't exist.

The other skills seem fair and reasonable to me. I can imagine more veteran teachers having a problem with learning technology if they haven't grown up using it, but as the years go on, that will become less of an issue. And so will, I hope, the issue of whether or not the necessary technologies even exist in public schools.

Copyright and Technology

Consider the question, are we responsible users of technology? How well do we model fair use and copyright guidelines when technology makes it so easy for us to use other people's material?

Well, I can really only speak for myself... so I'll come clean and be honest here. In a lot of ways, my use of technology has straddled the line between appropriate use and copyright infringement. But when it comes down to it, if you need a resource to make a lesson work, sometimes you do what you have to do. Hey, I'm not selling bootlegged copies of movies to my students, but here are a few possible infractions I'll fess up to :

Edited the curse words out of an R-rated movie and burned a new copy for use amongst a few of my colleagues. Yes, I own the original, but I think the distribution (even though it was free) probably breaks a few guidelines.

Made a compilation of scenes from different versions of Hamlet for classroom use.

Xeroxed a "long short story" to distribute to students when we didn't have enough copies of the book.

Et cetera. These aren't exactly jail-worthy offenses here, but I'll fully admit that I didn't research any "fair use" laws before doing any of this. Possibly out of laziness, more likely due to the fact that I needed these resources for a lesson, and I wasn't about to scrap the entire plan just due to fears over copyright. And let's be honest--how often do the copyright police sweep schools looking for rule-breakers?

As far as modeling this for the kids... in the days of YouTube, LimeWire, torrent sites, etc., the students are more than aware of all of the ways to get something for free. So my DVD of Simpsons clips (all from DVDs that I already own) isn't giving them any ideas they don't already have.

Sure, we have a responsibility to follow copyright guidelines. But part of the problem is many "fair use" policies are constantly in flux as new technologies aries. The aforementioned YouTube... I'm surprised that site hasn't been shut down yet. (In fact, they were just bought by Google for over a billion dollars!) But what an incredible resource, especially if you're researching media. With the proliferation of the Web, the idea of ownership is hazier than ever.

Digital Storytelling

As an English teacher, storytelling is pretty close to what I do. (When I'm not teaching skills that directly tie to the district-mandated assessments, that is.) However, after looking over the resources and readings on digital storytelling, my first reaction was : isn't this "little kid stuff"? Of course I realize how dismissive that sounds, but it was my honest first opinion -- mostly because the examples of digital storytelling I came across all seemed to be charming stories told by elementary school children. While I was amazed that kids of that young age had an opportunity to use technology in such a creative way, I just couldn't see how it connected to anything I would do.

And then it dawned on me...I'm constantly asking students to tell me a personal narrative about something important in their lives. Why couldn't that work too? My first narrow reaction had to do with assuming that "Telling a story" meant making something up about a rabbit who achieves his dreams, etc. But a large part of our freshman year literacy unit involves asking students to tell the story of how they have developed as a reader/writer -- both the positive and negative aspects of it. So yes, I see digital storytelling as useful in my class as a complement to the narratives we ask them to write. Maybe not so much for the "creative writing" aspect, but definitely the personal, true life stories.

Two obvious obstacles I see, though : resources and time. I feel like I've been beating that dead horse through my entire CTER experience, but it's true. Especially # 1. Banaszewski talked about the computer lab he had access to with some pretty state-of-the-art equipment... AND the six months it took to create a project! In my own classroom, this would have to happen on a much smaller scale. Ideally, I'd love to teach an elective that was solely devoted to digital storytelling, filmmaking, etc. Maybe when I get that job at New Trier. But in my current position, we're sharing one semi-functional computer lab with 1500 students.

But there are ways around some of the resource problems. Even if we don't have reliable access to scanners (and we don't), students can tell digital stories using clip art and images available on the 'net. In place of voice-over narration, they can create title cards. Instead of the costly Adobe software, they can use free software such as iMovie or Movie Maker.

Students often make videos on their own in place of presentations. But these are students who already have the necessary resources (and expertise). As far as a class project, yeah, we'd have to scale it down. But I just may consider this the next time I assign a personal narrative to my students.

Digital Literacies and etc.

Okay, a few scattershot comments on the readings:

A lot of what is presented here is common sense, when you think about it... the world is changing, we have to keep up. That's the simple version.

The UCLA research mentioned in the R & B article states that children who are exposed to media naturally will develop skills of visual analysis that their "elders" (I guess that's us) don't necessarily have. Connects directly to the digital native vs. digital immigrant discussion in Prensky. I have a simlar conversation with friends my age... I look around at high school/college kids and wonder : "How did we ever get through our 16-22 years without cell phones?" As a mid-Gen-Xer, I was aware of the internet for my last few years of college, but I can't say I ever used it for research. And I remember discovering e-mail, but it certainly wasn't something I checked every day.

R & B comment that students have to learn (and we have to help teach them) to filter out digital messages when they are using digital media... I think they're mostly referring to internet advertisements. I wonder if students really have a hard time filtering those out? I think they know the difference between "content" and "advertising"... it's the temptation to get sidetracked that we really need to worry about. Computer lab research time on Greek Mythology can very rapidly switch over to MySpace. The modern version of keeping a student from sneakily reading a magazine in English class.

Keeping visual elements appropriate to the age & ability level of students... very important. We have to be able to look at visual graphics as having an appropriate "age level" just as we do with other pure text reading materials.

Prensky says we should reconsider our "methodology" and present information that is less linear and more hypertextual. Yes, that's the way of the digital age... but certain low-level thinkers still need linear explanations sometimes. As always, fit the delivery of the material to the ability of the student.

A comment on Prensky's assertion that (I'm paraphrasing) students who can memorize Pokemon characters should be able to memorize geography, and "it just depends on how it is presented." What he's not considering is that Pokemon (or insert your own pop-cultural reference) will always have the advantage... because that's what they'd rather be doing!! But I suppose that's the cynic's take. Presentation is important, of course. Our lessons may never achieve the level of interest of Pokemon (or whatever), but we can try to come close.

Media in Learning

Well, since my WebQuest is all about media, I found this to be a relevant and appropriate Techsercise. But first on the general use of media in learning...

Unavoidable, really. Without sounding too curmudgeonly "kids these days", I don't think modern teachers can afford to be ignorant of kids' reliance on multiple forms of media for both entertainment and education. We have to adapt to what they're interested in, and the more we can connect what we're asking them to do to what they like to do, the better off we are. So maybe a unit on one particular novel now involves audio, film, online video, database searching and creation, web-based discussion, and so on. Now if I could somehow incorporate text messaging into a lesson... I swear my students have serious cell phone addiction.

So the role of media is that it shouldn't be a novelty or a separate piece or an "extra" to a particular lesson, but should be integrated as seamlessly and as often as feasible. But of course, media needs to be user-friendly and appealing to students. I took a look at a few tools from the website we were presented:

YouTube
This has exploded in the past year, and I admit I've lost many hours looking up film trailers, old music videos, anything and everything. I'm surprised that legal issues haven't shut this down yet since much of what's up there is copyrighted material... but even the non-copyrighted stuff spreads like wildfire. (The term "viral video" has even been coined to describe a user-created video that spreads quickly across the web).

If I decide to have students create a video advertisement for their African-American film festival, this would be the perfect place to post it. As long as students are handy with saving a video file, YouTube does all of the conversion and everything else. There is a length limit on the videos (I think around 9min?), but that's plenty for what I'd like to do with it. Plus, every teenager in America now knows about YouTube (it's right up there with MySpace), and would have easy access to their finished products.

BubbleShare
This I hadn't heard of before. BubbleShare lets you create picture slideshows with audio narration and a few snappy transitions. It's free (always a plus) and similar enough to Flickr and other picture-sharing sites that I think students would pick up on it quickly. Plus it's a great alternative to the overused PowerPoint presentation, and students can view the finished product online. This might actually be more practical for my final WebQuest product, because they can use movie stills/clip art from the internet (along with their own narration), and they don't have to deal with more sophisticated video-editing techniques. As I type this, I'm really leaning in this direction.

PBWiki
I also took a look at this site, thinking I might have students create a Wiki entry for an African-American film, actor, director, etc. Supposedly, this is as "easy as a peanut butter sandwich", hence the name. Hmm. Anyway, they have a template gallery available so students could just plug in the information and go... and have more visually appealing Wikis without having to know anything about HTML. Not really enough free storage space (10MB) to include video clips, but they could always post links. I think I may use this as well...

On Blended Learning

For your blog this week, consider your thoughts on the idea of blended learning. What place does it have in the K-12 classroom – in your classroom?


Blended learning is a method that certainly fits the needs of modern youth culture. Today's students are used to everything in their lives having multiple components, and access to these components is easier than ever. Students who read a book for English class no longer simply rely on the text; they may now read a synopsis online, download the movie and compare it to the book, listen to the audiobook on an mp3 player, IM a friend about a question, peruse a searchable version of the text online, etc. Students do this already; why wouldn't we incorporate this into the classroom? Attention spans are shorter and one method of teaching for an entire class period just doesn't cut it anymore.

Of course, blended learning doesn't have to refer to technology, but current definitions of the word tend to lean that way. Because of this, blended learning is only as effective as the state of technology in one's school. I try as often as possible to show (relevant!) clips of works we are reading in order for students to compare their own visualization to a filmmaker's perspective. Getting my hands on a DVD player isn't a problem.

Access to more sophisticated technologies, however, isn't always so easy. With one computer lab for 1500 students, long-term technology-based projects aren't always feasible. I'd like to have students work on a Wiki of, say, term definitions as we are reading a novel. I could probably require students to do this at home... but there are still a handful of students with no easy internet access. In a few years, this may be a non-issue.... but for now, it still affects what teachers can/can't expect outside of the classroom.

Blended learning is a necessary method that most teachers do without even knowing it. Student interest is higher when they can approach a lesson from multiple perspectives. As long as access is there, blended learning can be successful.