Social Justice and Technology

My main concern about using technology in the classroom has always been access. However, after doing the reading, I realized there are a lot of options for students who do not have computer access. These include the public library (and probably the school library as well), community technology centers, or Boys and Girls Club. I suppose, though, that if I was going to teach technology and require students to have some kind of access at home, I’d need to check out all public options to make sure they were accessible and had the kind of technology I was requiring my students to learn. If outside access was truly a problem I couldn’t feel justified in requiring students to do outside work where computers were needed.

Another cool resource from the reading is the Digital Equity Portal. Apparently it lists a whole bunch of resources for schools to obtain computers cheaply. Sweet. And software too! I still stand on my no cell phone platform, though. I just don’t see how that could ever be fair since not all students have one (Rhiannon, feel free to comment here).

I do think that I will be doing my students a disservice if I don’t teach them basic technology skills (and as of right now, I don’t think that includes cell phones). Almost every job and every university requires the use of technology. In order to keep up with their peers all students should know basic computing skills, at the very least. Today it is almost more critical that students can use computers and technology than that they know higher math. It is extremely difficult to become successful without knowing the basics about technology.

If there is truly not universal access outside of the school I could require assignments be completed at school. Or, I could allow more access time to students without home access. At any rate, at every school I’ve been to, there is at least one computer in the classroom. I could allow the kids to rotate through that computer to complete class assignments or I could open up the classroom for kids to sign up to use it before or after school. And if the school itself has, say, only one computer lab, I’d make it essential for every student to rotate through the lab at least once (preferably a lot more) every school year.

PowerPoint Presentations

I usually hate Power Point. I avoid it at all costs because I think it often makes a really good presentation boring. However, I can totally see how it works in an educational setting for visual learners. I might actually use it for that reason. And just being able to show pictures is key to any lesson. It would also be good for changing things up once in a while and making things more interesting. Problems arise when you use Power Point in place of note-taking. Two things occur here: 1) students don't take any of their own notes, even when it would be useful, 2) students don't pay attention when they know they'll receive notes later. Also bad is when the Power Point is covered in words instead of used for pictures or to get main points across.

Powerpoint don'ts: ...
-use black font!
-use more words than pictures--blah.
-talk to the screen.
-use notes section as a script.
-put dark fonts on dark background.

Powerpoint do's: ...
-use more pictures than words.
-include pictures of primary sources that you might not otherwise be able to obtain or bring in.
-use PPT as a visual, not as a lesson in itself.
-use big font.
-make videos full-screen, or close to.
-use arrows or circles to emphasize.

Best item: Paul's bird pictures and few words except for bird names. Paul's birds running across the screen. Also, circles on important ID characteristics.

Item to improve on: Make things as big as possible, if there's room. This includes fonts, pictures, and diagrams.

After watching all the presentations, I have a few improvements for myself: I will try to use LIGHT animation if I can. I'll use sound to reinforce topics. I'll use Power Point sometimes simply for showing pictures. For this particular presentation I'd fix my sound and make it not loop (although I know I did that in the preferences--hmmm...).