Final Blog - Technology Integration Plan (TIP)

The Technology Integration Plan (TIP) Model had a great impact on me and how I will operate my classes in the future. I was unaware of this plan before I took this class, and I immediately saw its usefulness when I read about it. Teachers are asked to integrate technology more and more these days because this integration is becoming a necessity in education. Administrators are getting pressure from the districts to use technology because it is a sign of a progressive system. This is exactly the image most districts want to portray. Administrators are the n pressuring the teachers to use the technology in the classrooms because the districts have spent the money on these resources. The teachers, in turn, begin utilizing the technology provided to them. The main problem in this sequence of event is the lack of direction for the implementation. The TIP model provides this direction by serving as a general approach to address challenges involved in integrating technology into teaching (p.50). The six phases of the TIP model help ensure that technology use will be meaningful, efficient, and successful in meeting needs (p.50). This is an invaluable tool for new and veteran teachers alike. As I move forward with my career, I will most definitely use this model when deciding which technologies to use and how. This is important in my current career due to budget constraints when requesting funds for new resources. There is no reason for me to go through the arduous process if I will not end up using what I have asked for to its potential.

Roblyer, M.D., & Doering, A.H. (2010). Theory and practice: foundations for effective technology integration. In (5th ed.) Integrating educational technology into teaching (pp.31-70). Boston: Allyn and Bacon/Pearson.

Apple Apps for Education and the iPad

I have decided to write about the use of Apple Educational Apps for the iPad in this blog. I have used this in my present setting as a Hospital School Teacher at Arkansas Children's Hospital. This is something that I have used mainly to encourage the students to get involved in the idea of going to school in the hospital. Generally, I meet my students after they have been in the hospital for about a week. If they are in the hospital for this long of a time, the reason they are in is usually somewhat serious. I say this in order to illustrate the point that I am usually the last person they want to see in their doorway. This has been an issue that I have had to accept. It is extremely difficult to get the kids interested in going to school or doing classwork while they are hooked up to an IV pole. The iPad is great in this capacity.

I usually walk into a room for the first time carrying a clipboard explaining why I am there and getting information from the patient. Typically, I am met with rolling eyes and shock. It is for these kids that the iPad usually makes an appearance. As soon as I enter the same room with the iPad under my arm, I see more interest from the patient, and I am able to get through to them a little more by letting them use it for a little while. These patients usually end up being more receptive the education services as time goes by.

The apps are helpful when I am unable to get schoolwork from the patient's school. The plethora of apps that are available that span countless subject areas are especially useful in this scenario. I can ask what they are studying and find content that is applicable. The fact that thy get to use the iPad for this increases the engagement factor substantially. There are many great drill and practice programs available as well.

The main way that I have found the most use for the iPads and their education apps has been in the area of Traumatic Brain Injury patients. The iPad format provides the stimulation that is needed for these patients. Typically, it is unknown where these patients are functioning cognitively, and the many levels of educational material available is perfect for this. The visual aspect of the apps is advantageous for gaining and sustaining the attention of such patients. The touch-based format of the iPad allows these patients to practice fine motor skills and tracking, which are two areas that are necessary in the rehabilitation process.

The Apple website provides ample information on the thousands of apps available for educational purposes. Many of these apps are free of charge, or at the least a minimal charge is necessary. This is a small investment to make due to the profound effect they have on the learning process.

Each of the apps is very easy to use for both teacher and student. However, it is imperative to make sure the app that is being used is appropriate for the cognitive level of the student. The speed of the processor and the user-friendliness are impressive qualities.

The fact that there are so many apps available for so many different levels of learners makes the iPad invaluable. It can literally connect with learners of any academic level. I have allowed my daughter to use it when she comes up to see me at work, and she is three years-old. She also uses it with very little trouble. I have also seen a senior in high school use it for Trig and Calculus. The possibilities are infinite.

The Language Arts Apps range from diagramming sentences to entire books/texts available.

This section of apps is especially useful with my TBI patients as I mentioned above. It is also helpful when working with Special Education students or other patients that have needs that exceed what is available in the hospital. These are often the patients that need the most one-on-one instruction.

I never thought that these apps would be very useful in the classroom. We usually concentrate our efforts on the four core subjects, because these are the most important as far as the schools are concerned. However, I have used these apps to tap into what interests the patient in order to gain trust and get them more involved in our program. It also works great as a rewards system with iMovie and Garage Band.

This is a great source for supplemental information when textbooks are not available. There have been times when a patient must refer to a map in the textbook to answer a question and we do not have the textbook in the hospital. There are apps in this category that can access almost any map so the patient is able to get the information they need.There are also many virtual apps that are useful when studying different periods of time.

This is another group of apps that serves a great use in working with TBI patients. Some of these patients have actually lost the ability to communicate verbally. These apps enable us to help teach the patients the skills needed to speak coherently once again.

The wide range of topics covered in these apps is immeasurable. I have seen these apps being used in simple addition and subtraction exercises as well as Statistics and Calculus. The MathBoard app is one of the favorites of the patients that I have encountered.

Apps in this category are great for the students that have to work on research projects while they are in the hospital. Yes, there are many resources online that the patients can access from their rooms, but this is highly unlikely to happen unless there is someone present prodding the patient along. As I spoke about earlier, just being able to use the iPad motivates the patient to do the assignment and it makes the "boring research" a little more interesting.

Science apps are most helpful when patients are asked to answer questions regarding an experiment. Experiments are hard to carry out in a hospital setting. There are many virtual lab experiments such as dissections and astronomy that are able to be completed thanks to the Science apps. These are usually the most interesting to the patients because of the great visuals that are involved.

Working with the iPad in education is incredible. It is great for motivating the students, encouraging involvement, and in my field, providing needed distraction. We are looking to be able to communicate with the patients' schools using them in the upcoming school year. The only drawback that I can see so far is that I can't take it home with me. I can see this technology becoming a very powerful force in education. In fact, there are many schools with pilot iPad programs around the country gaining ground each day. Kudos to Apple for providing such a great educational resource.


Sources

Unknown. (2011). Learning with ipad. Retrieved from http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/.

The History and Role of the Internet in Education

I find myself sitting down to a computer writing a blog about the history of the internet in education for a Master's level course that I am taking online. That in and of itself is testimony for the role of the internet in education. I am 32 years old and I find myself saying things like, "I remember when we didn't even have the internet to do our research". Pretty soon I will start rambling about how I had to walk to school in the snow uphill, both ways. All this is to say that the internet has had a drastic effect on the education system in a very short amount of time. Not only has this been true for the students, but it is just as true for the teachers and the parents.

I remember sitting in the UALR library as a high school student searching through anthologies of LIFE and Time magazines as well as rolling through reels of microfilm for a simple, freshman-level research paper. Now, thanks to the internet, I was able to research for this assignment without even leaving my desk. Oh, and it took a fraction of the time. I can also remember seeing my teachers writing down grades in the infamous green grade book every time an assignment was graded. Thanks to online grade books such as Edline, teachers today simply enter numbers and the program computes grades as well as other valuable information. The internet is education.

Learning is the act or process of developing skill or knowledge. Modern, web-based learning and computing provides the means for fundamentally changing the way in which instruction is delivered to students. Multimedia learning resources combined with CD-ROMs and workbooks attempt to explore the essential concepts of a course by using the full pedagogical power of multimedia. Many websites have nice features such as interactive examples, animation, video, narrative and written text. These websites are designed to provide students with a "self-help" learning resource to complement the traditional textbook (Arsham, 2002). Arsham, one of the pioneers of on-line learning, taught the first web-based course in the MBA program at the University of Baltimore. His statement can be summed up in that the internet has given the student a more active role in education than before. The student is an instrumental part in not only the learning process, but also in the process of instruction. Through online courses, more responsibility is placed on the student to remain current with assignments and materials. The internet lends itself to a more student-centered, constructivist approach.

A vast majority of classrooms today in the United States have at least one computer. In fact, the National Center for Education Statistics completed a survey entitled Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-1999. In this survey, that long ago, 95% of public elementary and secondary schools had access to the Internet (www.originami.com). This survey was completed twelve years ago, and the numbers were that impressive; it only makes sense that the number is even greater today. Schools that I have been in have had laptop carts that provides every student in the classroom a laptop for use in the class. As technology advances, schools must advance as well. The Internet has made education more accessible than it has ever been in the past. Students can do research, teachers can provide instruction, and parents can monitor progress all more easily thanks to the Internet.

A timeline shows that the concept of the Internet was created with the education system at the forefront. The following is a collaboration of two different timelines. I have omitted some of the information in order to concentrate on the milestones that deal directly with education and the education system.

1969 - Defense Department commissions ARPANET to promote networking research. First hosts of the ARPANET installed connect Stanford Research Institute, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah. CompuServe time-sharing service is founded.

1970 - 1973 The ARPANET is a success as scientists access remote computers, collaborate and share data. Email gains popularity fast.

1971 - ARPANET now connects 23 universities and government research center hosts in the United States.

1976 - The Apple I is brought into a school for the first time by Liza Loop at the LO*OP Center. 

1982 - The term "Internet" is coined.

1985 - Apple launches ACOT - Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow.

1993 - The White House commits to connecting schools via the Internet in Technology for America's Economic Growth: A New Direction to Build Economic Strength. The symposium "Reinventing Schools: The Technology Is Now" discusses integrating technology and the Internet into new instructional models for the classroom. 

1994 - The Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 calls for the creation of a national education technology plan. According to the National Center for Education Statistics 35% percent of public elementary and secondary schools, and 3% of instructional rooms, have access to the Internet.

1995 - U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Research and Improvement's Technology Innovation Challenge Grant program begins.

1996 - Telecommunications Act of 1996 signed into law, which among other things, established the "E-Rate" funding of Internet connectivity for schools and libraries. In February, the White House announced the Technology Literacy Challenge. To support the initiative, in June the Department of education released the nation’s first national educational technology plan, Getting America’s Students Ready for the 21st Century: Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge.

1997 -

1999 - Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-1999 According to the National Center for Education Statistics 95% percent of public elementary and secondary schools, and 63% of instructional rooms, have access to the Internet. In the fall, the U.S. Department of Education begins a year-long review of the national educational technology plan, Getting America’s Students Ready for the 21st Century: Meeting the Technology Literacy Challenge from 1996. Several white papers are commissioned and the Forum on Technology in Education: Envisioning the Future is held in December.

(www.originami.com)

2002 - Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) becomes law. This broadens instructors' legal use of copyrighted materials in online instruction. Without this act, distance education in its current form would not exist. Instructors would be limited to what they could share with their students outside of a textbook.

2009 - Quest to Learn is the first school to teach through game-based learning. Texas Instruments debuts 3D projector technology designed for the classroom.

2011 - Immersive Education Initiative launches K-12 technology working group. Immersive Education is a learning platform that combines interactive 3D graphics, commercial game and simulation technology, virtual reality, voice chat, web cameras and rich digital media with collaborative online course environments and classrooms.

(www.timetoast.com)

As is made evident by this extensive timeline, the internet's effect on education is far-reaching and quite extraordinary. However, there have been critics along the way. In his book, High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections, Clifford Stoll argues that schools should use funding to improve real education rather than invest in computer technology and rely on telecommunications for education. Further more, he indicated that the computer was often a crutch that diverted time and resources from programs that taught students to think and evaluate information. According to Arsham, online learning education does for knowledge what just-in-time delivery does for manufacturing: It delivers the right tools and parts when you need them. The opinion of Stoll, while intriguing, has not proven to be widely accepted. This is evident by the survey previously mentioned that was conducted by the NCES. Computer technology and the Internet are very much a part of the education system, and rightfully so.

The rapid growth of information, coupled with the ability to exchange it more rapidly among more people than ever before, is creating a new environment for education (Arsham, 2002).

To illustrate this point further here is a graphic representation of How the Internet is Revolutionizing Education

References:

Arsham, H. (2002). Impact of the internet on learning and teaching. USDLA Journal. Vol.16. No.3. Retrieved from http://www.usdla.org/html/journal/MAR02_Issue/article01.html

Author Unknown. (1999). Milestones in the Development of the Internet and its Significance for Education. Retrieved from http://www.originami.com/sp/milestones.htm

Author Unknown. (2011). The Internet and Education from 1981-2011. Retrieved from http://www.timetoast.com/timelines/the-internet-and-education-from-1981-2011

Stoll, C. (1999). High Tech Heretic: Why Computers Don't Belong in the Classroom and Other Reflections by a Computer Contrarian. New York: Random House.