Journal Review Synopsis
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Synopsis
In doing this assignment I have learned much. Initially I was not expecting much, and while I think I still only have 1 reader, the instructor for the course, what I have learned is that as much as I would like others to read and benefit from the blog, the blog is more about my learning than others. While I am sure other blogs will differ on this, being designed and evaluated by the number of hits they receive of the number of comments made, friends added and what not, that is not the purpose of this blog.
The Wikipedia article on Technology starts with this comment.
“Technology is the usage and knowledge of tools, techniques, and crafts, or is systems or methods of organization, or is a material product (such as clothing) of these things. The word technology comes from the Greek technología (τεχνολογία) — téchnē (τέχνη), 'craft' and -logía (-λογία), the study of something, or the branch of knowledge of a discipline.[1]”
The craft of studying is something that I can wholeheartedly endorse, and what this assignment, along with those in rest of the class, as well as the other classes I am in at Western, and also most notably, the interactions I have had with my technologically savvy students at DigiPen Institute of Technology, Highline Community College and all the other schools I have worked with dating back to my first classroom teaching experience back in 8th grade at North Kitsap Middle School in Algebra I class, have really taught me is that technology and the use of it is not just based on the tools used in the practice of it. Rather, technology is the synergy of the tools, the techniques, the understanding of them that one has and uses. In other words technology, and hence information technology, is not just the physical tools of the keyboard, hard drive, printer, server, satellite and screen that make up the technology we use but the mental tools that we used to access it and the point of view or lens we use to guide our use of it to whatever ends and purposes that we can conceive of.
In this regards I would like to take a moment to comment on some of my articles. From the Finnish article on teaching science in the class I have been reminded that our use of technology is but one of many and how valuable it is to have other’s insights into the application of the tools of language and science that challenge our point of view and encourage us to see the world in different ways. From the articles I have retrieved from websites, the western portal, and the copyright laws e have been learning about I am learning the usefulness of really good search engines like ERIC and how much remains to be done to empower teachers to be able to engage with students effectively and to avoid some of the very serious consequences that can emerge from unrestricted access to download and publish to the net. From the articles on Science in the Big Apple I am reminded how technology and tools are often limited by our access to them and how educational reform can have unintended consequences as well as how much social engineering is involved in education planning and goals, sometimes to the detriment of core understanding and skills development, let alone access to the very tools and disciplines needed for success in a technologically driven world. And finally from the article I on James Burke’s Knowledge web I have realized that in the modern world the webpage is an article in the modern world, and yet so much more, it can be a tool of access, a propaganda piece or a list of resources or all of the above and how important the development of media literacy, critical thinking and the ability to construct and destruct knowledge, assumptions and understanding are.
In the end I am left wondering about some of the comments in the article by McKercher, Bonne, and Rogers entitled “The Web of Knowledge.” In it they discuss how knowledge has become separated into distinct disciples and fields of study at the very time we need to be more inclusive not less. In my own life I have often been denigrated and discriminated against because my studies in astronomy, history, religion, philosophy-eastern and western, modern and tribal, environmentalism and languages are not the norm in which an individual is expected to specialize over and over again. In regards to education has this not become the dominant theme as well? Have we have allowed the separation of professions into specialized fields of teacher, administrator, bureaucrat, committee member, etc… taken us away from the fact that we are all teachers to the next generation?
I remember watching a video about a magnet school in New York where there are no such separations, all the teachers have administrative duties and there are virtually no pure administrators. Of course this school also had a class size limit of sixteen and as a result had a much higher cost per student and thus such a system would provoke panic about spending nationwide, yet such experiment are getting results. We say we want the best education possible for our children but do we really mean it?
Are teachers responsible for student learning and success? Clearly we, as a society, have said they are. And yet are we, as citizens, parents, administrators and bureaucrats really supporting this activity by demanding more of “them” while simultaneously providing less support and time for professional growth, let alone the acquisition and mastery of new skills, technology and techniques? Requiring more while providing less is not a recipe for success in the new technologically complex societies of the 21st century, and, while new tools, like those detailed in the articles reviewed for this assignment, may provide some answers and relief, is it not incumbent upon all of those involved-teachers, parents, administrators and official alike-to be involved in the process of solving these problems. Clearly it is. Technology offers us great opportunities, but it cannot resolve us of our responsibilities, responsibilities we must all embrace. Rather than expect tools and techniques to provide solutions to our educational concerns do the insights we have gained by learning about them, what they are capable and what promises they hold for the future provide us with an even more important gift-the gift of re-empowering us to learn how to use such to come to a better understanding of, appreciation of, and interaction with the underlying systems and methods that are just as much a modern technology as the physical technology itself? This assignment has taught me many things about various technological tools, programs, websites and articles but what I value most about it is that it has given me an insight into how to use them, to use them so as to empower others to find ways to make discover their own ways to use them. I plan on using the websites, articles and tools I have learned to one day make my own article, my own webpage, dedicated to helping new teachers-in-training better understand the education process and what is required of them and how to access resources that will aid them in creating their own careers and lives, so, in the end, this is not an end, but a beginning, and that will have to do for now.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Review of "Releasing the Isolated Warrior" by M. Goss
Journal Review of “Releasing the Isolated Warrior”
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Goss, M., (1996) Releasing the Isolated Warrior. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/goss.htm
Review
The article begins with a retelling of the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones (noteworthy for being a teacher) confronts a sword wielding warrior who is revealed when the crowd, remembers he has a gun and shoots him dead. The article then goes on to relate how most teachers are like that warrior, using the tools, techniques and technology of yesteryear in a modern education engagement. How can most teachers, happy to finally being able to use a collating copier instead of a mimeograph, deal with the demands of a modern, technology driven society? Fortunately the article does not go on to play the blame the teacher game, rather it details, in rather succinct fashion how modern education has gotten to this point including budget concerns, administration, government, poverty and the law. It then goes on to state that a new system based in the ideas of basing education in the actual learning process, systematic and holistic planning and the integration of technology is needed to empower reform and do so by empowering teachers. Yes, teachers. With already exaggerated demands for their time raging from increased student loads, increased time needs necessary to evaluate various authentic assessments, administrative concerns and special needs do teachers have the time to also take on being responsible for learning, adapting, adopting and integrating new technologies, beliefs and methodologies? Not without the support and time necessary to do so is the article’s final conclusion.
The article does a good job of providing a very high level discussion of the challenges that face the modern teacher. By detailing the state of the industry and the challenges that teachers face it become clear that without support it is unrealistic to expect teachers, already burdened with a full day of teaching and grading activities, lesson and classroom planning developmental tasks, social, parental and community concerns, administrative and special student needs, state assessments, requirements and constraints, let along the social engineering aspects now expected of them, to also lead the way in developing the solutions incorporating new technologies and techniques at the very cutting edge of social development, at least not without considerable support. In calling for a renewed effort to give teachers the support and professional they need to engage successfully with these concerns the article serves as a reminder of the challenges that teachers face in the modern world. If only it had provided links or references to articles on how to do this I would have been very happy indeed, but I must give some credit to an article written in 1996 and yet so very relevant today, perhaps even more relevant today than when it was written.
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Goss, M., (1996) Releasing the Isolated Warrior. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/goss.htm
Review
The article begins with a retelling of the scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indiana Jones (noteworthy for being a teacher) confronts a sword wielding warrior who is revealed when the crowd, remembers he has a gun and shoots him dead. The article then goes on to relate how most teachers are like that warrior, using the tools, techniques and technology of yesteryear in a modern education engagement. How can most teachers, happy to finally being able to use a collating copier instead of a mimeograph, deal with the demands of a modern, technology driven society? Fortunately the article does not go on to play the blame the teacher game, rather it details, in rather succinct fashion how modern education has gotten to this point including budget concerns, administration, government, poverty and the law. It then goes on to state that a new system based in the ideas of basing education in the actual learning process, systematic and holistic planning and the integration of technology is needed to empower reform and do so by empowering teachers. Yes, teachers. With already exaggerated demands for their time raging from increased student loads, increased time needs necessary to evaluate various authentic assessments, administrative concerns and special needs do teachers have the time to also take on being responsible for learning, adapting, adopting and integrating new technologies, beliefs and methodologies? Not without the support and time necessary to do so is the article’s final conclusion.
The article does a good job of providing a very high level discussion of the challenges that face the modern teacher. By detailing the state of the industry and the challenges that teachers face it become clear that without support it is unrealistic to expect teachers, already burdened with a full day of teaching and grading activities, lesson and classroom planning developmental tasks, social, parental and community concerns, administrative and special student needs, state assessments, requirements and constraints, let along the social engineering aspects now expected of them, to also lead the way in developing the solutions incorporating new technologies and techniques at the very cutting edge of social development, at least not without considerable support. In calling for a renewed effort to give teachers the support and professional they need to engage successfully with these concerns the article serves as a reminder of the challenges that teachers face in the modern world. If only it had provided links or references to articles on how to do this I would have been very happy indeed, but I must give some credit to an article written in 1996 and yet so very relevant today, perhaps even more relevant today than when it was written.
Review of "The Web of Knowledge" by P. McKercher, J. Bonne, and A. Rogers
Journal Review of “The Web of Knowledge”
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
McKercher, P, Bonne, J. and Rogers, A., (December 2002) The Web of Knowledge: Vision, Design, and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/bonne2.htm
Review
The article is practically a biographical account of how James Burke’s Knowledge Web came about. It begins with a simple telling of how James Burke, who first became famous because he could speak Italian and, therefore, was hired to do a program on the Sicilian Mafia and how it’s success lead to the TV studio to ask him to present, in one sentence, a proposal for what he wanted to do next. His inspiration to do the show Connections then lead to his interest in education and the creation of the K-Web, http://www.k-web.org/ or the Knowledge web. The article them goes on to detail how the knowledge web developed as a collaboration with Silicon valley programmers and how it was almost lost in the dot.com bust but was resurrected when a teacher(telling that part) prodded him not to abandon it but let teachers and students actually make it themselves rather than having it provided for them. The K-Web is based on the concept of constructivism and goes beyond interactivity to engage it’s participants in immersion and educational virtual reality or edVR. By involving students and educators alike in its creation it allows for a constantly changing, adaptable and high level thought generation, such as organization, evaluation and synthesis, in a way no traditional education could possibly conceive of into the next generation as a true community of learners.
Initially the reader wonders exactly what the authors are intending as it rambles on about a wide variety of subjects but, fortunately, it manages to pull all the strands together and reveal their purpose. To explain, expound on and encourage exploration of the concept of educational virtual reality in general and the K-Web in specific. In its detailing of how separated, dispersed and specialized knowledge, and the mastery of it has become, such as how a friend of Burke got his Ph.D. for the study of the use of the comma in the writings of Milton, the article manages to invite the reader to start to consider how, especially in this modern age, we need to be able to see the big picture and explore the connectedness of things rather than on expound in detail about specifics and minutia. While the article does remind us that basic skills are necessary, they are no longer sufficient for a proper education. The article intrigued me enough to go out and find the Knowledge Web for myself; I hope that an exploration of it proves it to be as useful as it promises to be.
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
McKercher, P, Bonne, J. and Rogers, A., (December 2002) The Web of Knowledge: Vision, Design, and Practice. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/bonne2.htm
Review
The article is practically a biographical account of how James Burke’s Knowledge Web came about. It begins with a simple telling of how James Burke, who first became famous because he could speak Italian and, therefore, was hired to do a program on the Sicilian Mafia and how it’s success lead to the TV studio to ask him to present, in one sentence, a proposal for what he wanted to do next. His inspiration to do the show Connections then lead to his interest in education and the creation of the K-Web, http://www.k-web.org/ or the Knowledge web. The article them goes on to detail how the knowledge web developed as a collaboration with Silicon valley programmers and how it was almost lost in the dot.com bust but was resurrected when a teacher(telling that part) prodded him not to abandon it but let teachers and students actually make it themselves rather than having it provided for them. The K-Web is based on the concept of constructivism and goes beyond interactivity to engage it’s participants in immersion and educational virtual reality or edVR. By involving students and educators alike in its creation it allows for a constantly changing, adaptable and high level thought generation, such as organization, evaluation and synthesis, in a way no traditional education could possibly conceive of into the next generation as a true community of learners.
Initially the reader wonders exactly what the authors are intending as it rambles on about a wide variety of subjects but, fortunately, it manages to pull all the strands together and reveal their purpose. To explain, expound on and encourage exploration of the concept of educational virtual reality in general and the K-Web in specific. In its detailing of how separated, dispersed and specialized knowledge, and the mastery of it has become, such as how a friend of Burke got his Ph.D. for the study of the use of the comma in the writings of Milton, the article manages to invite the reader to start to consider how, especially in this modern age, we need to be able to see the big picture and explore the connectedness of things rather than on expound in detail about specifics and minutia. While the article does remind us that basic skills are necessary, they are no longer sufficient for a proper education. The article intrigued me enough to go out and find the Knowledge Web for myself; I hope that an exploration of it proves it to be as useful as it promises to be.
Review of "Learning with the Internet" by M. Kumar
Journal Review of “Learning with the Internet”
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Muthukumar, S. (September 2004) Learning with the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/muthukumar.htm
Review
In this relatively short article the author summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet in education. He begins with a short discussion of the ways in which the internet can be used, as a tool for inquiry, communication and construction as detailed by Bruce and Levin in 1997 and continues to discuss the details of such. For example how the internet allows for rapid access to facts and data or how it allows teachers or students to communicate across vast distances. He then discussions the pedagogical benefits of using the internet, such as high level learning, self reflection and social awareness and then goes on to detail some of the drawbacks of such a system, such as the need for increased training in media literacy, evaluation strategies and the need for students to be able to access more complex thinking in order to effectively use such tools. Finally, he details how the benefits of such a systems, such as how students can learn how to organized, reflect on and interact with, evaluate and synthesize new skills must be based in core skills and abilities such as Boolean logic and critical thinking skills. He also details how the time and budget constraints of the system and accessibility of such a system which would require monitoring and guidance from teachers and administrators alike thus requiring a new level of complexity in order to be actualized successfully for enhance learning implementation.
The article is well written, easy to read and does a good job of detailing the basic advantages and disadvantages of the importance of technology to modern education. While I had hoped for a more detailed review of specific techniques, programs and methods such was clearly not his intent. He does a good job of listing the basics of what is needed for the student, parent, teacher and administrator the challenges and opportunities of the Internet in regards to learning and as a basic introduction it succeeds, however it should not be confused, it is no more than that and lacking a good list of references or links to websites that detail more specifics one is left wanting more. Fortunately it is only one article on a much more useful website and as such is acceptable for what it is and what it is not.
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Muthukumar, S. (September 2004) Learning with the Internet. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/strategies/technology/muthukumar.htm
Review
In this relatively short article the author summarizes the advantages and disadvantages of using the internet in education. He begins with a short discussion of the ways in which the internet can be used, as a tool for inquiry, communication and construction as detailed by Bruce and Levin in 1997 and continues to discuss the details of such. For example how the internet allows for rapid access to facts and data or how it allows teachers or students to communicate across vast distances. He then discussions the pedagogical benefits of using the internet, such as high level learning, self reflection and social awareness and then goes on to detail some of the drawbacks of such a system, such as the need for increased training in media literacy, evaluation strategies and the need for students to be able to access more complex thinking in order to effectively use such tools. Finally, he details how the benefits of such a systems, such as how students can learn how to organized, reflect on and interact with, evaluate and synthesize new skills must be based in core skills and abilities such as Boolean logic and critical thinking skills. He also details how the time and budget constraints of the system and accessibility of such a system which would require monitoring and guidance from teachers and administrators alike thus requiring a new level of complexity in order to be actualized successfully for enhance learning implementation.
The article is well written, easy to read and does a good job of detailing the basic advantages and disadvantages of the importance of technology to modern education. While I had hoped for a more detailed review of specific techniques, programs and methods such was clearly not his intent. He does a good job of listing the basics of what is needed for the student, parent, teacher and administrator the challenges and opportunities of the Internet in regards to learning and as a basic introduction it succeeds, however it should not be confused, it is no more than that and lacking a good list of references or links to websites that detail more specifics one is left wanting more. Fortunately it is only one article on a much more useful website and as such is acceptable for what it is and what it is not.
Review of "The Future of Learning in a New Free World and how to Build a World Wide Learning Web" by G. Dryden
Journal Review of “The Future of Learning in a New Free World and how to Build a World Wide Learning Web”
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Dryden, G., (March 2004). The Future of Learning in a New Free World and how to Build a World Wide Learning Web. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/future/dryden.htm
Review
The article begins with a summary of the building blocks of the World Wide Web with an emphasis on free and open content and websites such as Linus, Netscape Navigator and Google. It then goes on to discuss the basics of what has driven economies in the past-land, labor and capital, and what drives them now-ideas, brainpower and information, specifically scientific information. The author then goes on to detail the current state of education in regards to computer use and fluency, which is that computers are typically used primarily in computer education and not in general education or other classrooms. He then discusses how the information revolution, free and open to all is being adopted by the younger generation who are now referred to as digital natives. These natives know how to upload, download, edit, access, explore and create using computer resources as easily and as early as their parents knew how to add, subtract and write their alphabet. He then details how teachers are creating some internet resources, such as online lesson plans and web-pages, but sharing them with very few users. He then calls on the education community to embrace these new technologies and learn from such nations as Singapore, who have wholeheartedly adapted the internet to supplement, not replace, instruction so much so that even during an outbreak of SARS, when schools were closed not one student missed their lessons or assignments. Rather than suggest that the technology be used to replace education he calls for it to supplement, support and accelerate it into the modern world, a world which needs students to be ever more scientifically adept and adaptable.
Overall I found the article prescience. Clearly the world is headed in this direction, and six years on much remains to be done. The article does possess some unique features, as a traditional article it is filled with improper writing conventions. Proper paragraph and article structure is almost entirely absent and while grammar and spelling is good it is filled with lists and other features that have been improperly used. This is not a problem nor does it distract from the effectiveness of the article unless one feels tradition bound to enforce them long past their expiration date. On the other hand the use of graphics, hyperlinks and other modern technological usages is also absent. The article, in word and appearance is at the cusp of the very sea change it is talking about. While published on a website it is still bound by the old forms and usages, sort of. Sadly, the most telling part of the article, that teachers and schools have yet to adapt to these new technologies except on a limited individual scale, for example, in the creation and then constant recreation of lesson plans and daily activities that modern cohorts of students at some of the most progressive schools in the country, are being ask to create anew is telling. Six years on modern students are still being asked to create something that should have been provided for them a priori as something for them to use, consider, reflect on and add to rather than have to recreate from scratch.
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Dryden, G., (March 2004). The Future of Learning in a New Free World and how to Build a World Wide Learning Web. Retrieved from http://www.newhorizons.org/future/dryden.htm
Review
The article begins with a summary of the building blocks of the World Wide Web with an emphasis on free and open content and websites such as Linus, Netscape Navigator and Google. It then goes on to discuss the basics of what has driven economies in the past-land, labor and capital, and what drives them now-ideas, brainpower and information, specifically scientific information. The author then goes on to detail the current state of education in regards to computer use and fluency, which is that computers are typically used primarily in computer education and not in general education or other classrooms. He then discusses how the information revolution, free and open to all is being adopted by the younger generation who are now referred to as digital natives. These natives know how to upload, download, edit, access, explore and create using computer resources as easily and as early as their parents knew how to add, subtract and write their alphabet. He then details how teachers are creating some internet resources, such as online lesson plans and web-pages, but sharing them with very few users. He then calls on the education community to embrace these new technologies and learn from such nations as Singapore, who have wholeheartedly adapted the internet to supplement, not replace, instruction so much so that even during an outbreak of SARS, when schools were closed not one student missed their lessons or assignments. Rather than suggest that the technology be used to replace education he calls for it to supplement, support and accelerate it into the modern world, a world which needs students to be ever more scientifically adept and adaptable.
Overall I found the article prescience. Clearly the world is headed in this direction, and six years on much remains to be done. The article does possess some unique features, as a traditional article it is filled with improper writing conventions. Proper paragraph and article structure is almost entirely absent and while grammar and spelling is good it is filled with lists and other features that have been improperly used. This is not a problem nor does it distract from the effectiveness of the article unless one feels tradition bound to enforce them long past their expiration date. On the other hand the use of graphics, hyperlinks and other modern technological usages is also absent. The article, in word and appearance is at the cusp of the very sea change it is talking about. While published on a website it is still bound by the old forms and usages, sort of. Sadly, the most telling part of the article, that teachers and schools have yet to adapt to these new technologies except on a limited individual scale, for example, in the creation and then constant recreation of lesson plans and daily activities that modern cohorts of students at some of the most progressive schools in the country, are being ask to create anew is telling. Six years on modern students are still being asked to create something that should have been provided for them a priori as something for them to use, consider, reflect on and add to rather than have to recreate from scratch.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Review of "Assistive technology training for teachers" by L. Chmiliar and B. Cheung
Journal Review of “Assistive technology training for teachers - Innovation and accessibility online”
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Chmiliar, L. and Cheung, B., (2007) Assistive technology training for teachers - Innovation and accessibility online. Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, 35(1&2), 18-28.
Review
This is an article by the developers of a web based course in assistive technology for teachers so as to be able to learn how to use some of the modern technological developments and tools available to teachers to aid students with special needs. The article begins with a brief discussion of the fact that many teachers, over 70%, have had no training in how to used web or other technologies so as to be able to assist their IEP students or others with special needs. The article then goes on to detail what the program they have created at Athabasca University and show examples of the use of these programs and techniques via a web based course. The illustrations are primarily screen captures and the text supports and describes what is being discussed, such as their web based Tool Lending Library, discussion forums, interactive study modules, and assessment tools. The article concludes with the statement that the need for such training is evident as teachers need to be brought up to speed with the tools and techniques that exist to assist their students.
At first I had high hopes for this article, I was hoping for some sort of review of tools, programs and techniques that I could use in development of my classes and special needs students, or at least and overview of various such things as they exist today. In this I was disappointed, the article is really simply a description of what the University has done and how it manages to meet the needs of teachers in such a situation. Details are sparse and most of the technology they discuss is now commonplace or even superseded by newer, more advanced tools that simple did not exist in 2007. To be honest the article is not all that useful today except to remind us how rapidly technology changes and how we must never stop learning and adopting it, as well as adapting it to our own uses, as teachers.
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Chmiliar, L. and Cheung, B., (2007) Assistive technology training for teachers - Innovation and accessibility online. Developmental Disabilities Bulletin, 35(1&2), 18-28.
Review
This is an article by the developers of a web based course in assistive technology for teachers so as to be able to learn how to use some of the modern technological developments and tools available to teachers to aid students with special needs. The article begins with a brief discussion of the fact that many teachers, over 70%, have had no training in how to used web or other technologies so as to be able to assist their IEP students or others with special needs. The article then goes on to detail what the program they have created at Athabasca University and show examples of the use of these programs and techniques via a web based course. The illustrations are primarily screen captures and the text supports and describes what is being discussed, such as their web based Tool Lending Library, discussion forums, interactive study modules, and assessment tools. The article concludes with the statement that the need for such training is evident as teachers need to be brought up to speed with the tools and techniques that exist to assist their students.
At first I had high hopes for this article, I was hoping for some sort of review of tools, programs and techniques that I could use in development of my classes and special needs students, or at least and overview of various such things as they exist today. In this I was disappointed, the article is really simply a description of what the University has done and how it manages to meet the needs of teachers in such a situation. Details are sparse and most of the technology they discuss is now commonplace or even superseded by newer, more advanced tools that simple did not exist in 2007. To be honest the article is not all that useful today except to remind us how rapidly technology changes and how we must never stop learning and adopting it, as well as adapting it to our own uses, as teachers.
Review of "Convergence of Technology and Diversity" by W. Gaudelli
Journal Review of “Convergence of Technology and Diversity: Experiences of Two Beginning Teachers in Web-Based Distance Learning for Global/Multicultural Education”
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Gaudelli, W., (2006) Convergence of Technology and Diversity: Experiences of Two Beginning Teachers in Web-Based Distance Learning for Global/Multicultural Education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(1), 97-116.
Review
The article begins with a discussion of the importance of technology in the modern world, the need for new teachers to become familiar with it, as their digitally native students surely are, and the simultaneous need for diversity education. This is followed by a lengthy discussion of national accreditation standards, a review of the history of distance learning. Following this the author discusses his design for the study, in which two new teachers took a class on the convergence of technology and diversity and reported on their observations in regards to it and their actual practice of teaching. The author goes to considerable length to include their backgrounds, one a young female white teacher from suburbia with little teaching experience and the second a Hispanic male from a socio-economically disadvantaged community with a great deal of multicultural and education experience. He then goes on to discuss their responses in relation to the responses of the rest of the background students in the class and this is followed by his analysis of their experiences and conclusions about the implementation of the program and directions for future inquiry in the subject, particularly noteworthy is the need for greater support for new teachers in how to use specific tools for their teaching and the difficulty in doing so as the convergence of these issues is all too often given to the new teachers as burden with little to no guidance or help rather than included as part of their instruction. This is made particularly more difficult due to the fact that new teachers are on the lowest ranking rung on the educational ladder and frequently do not have the resources available to them or the support of the administration who seem more interested in high stakes testing, specific assessments and basic skills, as detailed in his earlier discussion of the teachers responses.
At first the article seemed dry and rather slow, and I wondered exactly what the author was trying to relate. The limitations of the study are obvious, small sample size; limited study responses and concern over applicability are all major concerns. However, once the actual responses of the two teachers involved are related it all becomes clear. The article is more of an in-depth piece about the trials and tribulations of people in virtually the same boat I will find myself in one short year. Their responses are authentic and straightforward and given insights into the problems faced by new teacher in such a way as to make the article extremely enjoyable to read and should be required reading for anyone involved in setting up a new program of instruction or in charge of teacher training anywhere. The author’s analysis of their trials and responses is thoughtful, insightful and reveals the layers lying behind the difficulties faced by these teachers and his recommendations for inquiry and helpful in both new teacher and teacher preparation education alike in understanding the situation and challenges faced by new teachers being asked to engage in the creation of the new digitally native curriculum. Particularly interesting is his discussion of how these different and diverse strands of teaching are coming together in a convergence of issues and challenges that all involved need to consider as we move forward into the future of teaching and how even greater teacher preparation and training are needed to make the leap from such training to being able to ensure the success of students in the ever increasing complex world of modern education.
Ray Etheridge
Western Washington University
Gaudelli, W., (2006) Convergence of Technology and Diversity: Experiences of Two Beginning Teachers in Web-Based Distance Learning for Global/Multicultural Education. Teacher Education Quarterly, 33(1), 97-116.
Review
The article begins with a discussion of the importance of technology in the modern world, the need for new teachers to become familiar with it, as their digitally native students surely are, and the simultaneous need for diversity education. This is followed by a lengthy discussion of national accreditation standards, a review of the history of distance learning. Following this the author discusses his design for the study, in which two new teachers took a class on the convergence of technology and diversity and reported on their observations in regards to it and their actual practice of teaching. The author goes to considerable length to include their backgrounds, one a young female white teacher from suburbia with little teaching experience and the second a Hispanic male from a socio-economically disadvantaged community with a great deal of multicultural and education experience. He then goes on to discuss their responses in relation to the responses of the rest of the background students in the class and this is followed by his analysis of their experiences and conclusions about the implementation of the program and directions for future inquiry in the subject, particularly noteworthy is the need for greater support for new teachers in how to use specific tools for their teaching and the difficulty in doing so as the convergence of these issues is all too often given to the new teachers as burden with little to no guidance or help rather than included as part of their instruction. This is made particularly more difficult due to the fact that new teachers are on the lowest ranking rung on the educational ladder and frequently do not have the resources available to them or the support of the administration who seem more interested in high stakes testing, specific assessments and basic skills, as detailed in his earlier discussion of the teachers responses.
At first the article seemed dry and rather slow, and I wondered exactly what the author was trying to relate. The limitations of the study are obvious, small sample size; limited study responses and concern over applicability are all major concerns. However, once the actual responses of the two teachers involved are related it all becomes clear. The article is more of an in-depth piece about the trials and tribulations of people in virtually the same boat I will find myself in one short year. Their responses are authentic and straightforward and given insights into the problems faced by new teacher in such a way as to make the article extremely enjoyable to read and should be required reading for anyone involved in setting up a new program of instruction or in charge of teacher training anywhere. The author’s analysis of their trials and responses is thoughtful, insightful and reveals the layers lying behind the difficulties faced by these teachers and his recommendations for inquiry and helpful in both new teacher and teacher preparation education alike in understanding the situation and challenges faced by new teachers being asked to engage in the creation of the new digitally native curriculum. Particularly interesting is his discussion of how these different and diverse strands of teaching are coming together in a convergence of issues and challenges that all involved need to consider as we move forward into the future of teaching and how even greater teacher preparation and training are needed to make the leap from such training to being able to ensure the success of students in the ever increasing complex world of modern education.
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