Teaching 2.0: Is Tech In The Classroom Worth The Cost?
I heard this story on NPR. It talks about if the cost of technology. It s about a year old so the numbers may be a bit of but I feel it still makes some good points. Listen to the story and leave your reflections.
Teaching 2.0: Is Tech In The Classroom Worth The Cost?
31 Comments
Joshua Hancock
10/6/2013 11:31:25 pm
I love the idea of having people speak to classrooms via Skype. It seems like a wonderful idea to me. If my students were able to receive a lesson by one of the authors who wrote one of the stories they read in my class, can you imagine how much they would learn? To actually get the first hand account of why someone wrote something would be extremely beneficial. When I was in college we got to hear the writer Tim O'Brien speak in this format. It was a one-time thing, but I learned so much from it.
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Lynn Royer
10/10/2013 07:55:19 am
I agree with you about students embracing the opportunities to learn with the tools that are available. ITV Classrooms I feel have been very successful. We have them on the MAC campus for MAC and CMU use, and it brings students together very nicely.
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Alanna Dennison
10/10/2013 01:20:40 pm
I took some classes via Skype at Missouri State and I can honestly say that I disliked them. I found it very difficult to stay engaged and often found myself tuning the professor out, as I noticed a lot of my classmates did as well. It is harder to have respect for someone and the information they are providing when you only see them on a computer screen. I also feel it would be more difficult for the professor to stay engaged and encourage the students.
Derek Lannigan
10/11/2013 01:56:11 pm
Last year I took a couple of VESI courses to supplement some of the graduate courses that I needed to take, and they had some pors and cons when it came to my style of learning. The positive thing about them is that if I had a quest about was talked about in a session then I could go back and replay the entire section and try to make more sense of it. Also when it came time for tests I was give 3 opportunities to get a good grade on each of my tests. The negative thing about the VESI courses were that I found them difficult to stay in tuned with and also one of the professors was Iranian and was difficult to understand him. Also the only direct communication that was available to the teacher was through email.
Thyago
10/14/2013 12:19:32 pm
" Students would probably enjoy having a different teacher for a day or two. " Its alwasy good to have something new , something different, Sometimes its the aprouch of the professor or sometimes could be a different teacher, Why not? I think all the students would enjoy it, Liked the point.
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Denver Price
10/17/2013 04:38:06 am
I agree with with you.. If i had a different teacher everyday i would be more interested in the class and also outside the i would talk about the class to my friends coaches parents.
Jodi McSwain
10/7/2013 11:10:37 pm
I think the idea of Skyping with authors and having the ability to have the students interact with them would be great! I think it would bring more interest in the subjects the students are learning. Often times, teachers get into the same boring routines in teaching and students loose interest - I know I did when I was in high school! Even in my kindergarten classroom, I could see how excited the kids would get if they had the opportunity to interact with authors of some of their favorite books or even with characters from the stories - if that could be arranged.
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Joshua Hancock
10/9/2013 03:20:32 am
I know where you are coming from when you talk about the technical problems that would be associated with Skype presentations. This year I am in a new classroom with a much better Smart Board. However, last year my Smart Board was broken for the majority of the year and the tech people were stumped and could not fix it. My district has one full-time tech and two part-time techs. Unfortunately, they are all busy all the time and just now have been able to fix all the problems that people had noticed when we cam back in August. I can imagine what would happen if we designate time for a speaker via Skype and then our technology fail. If this happened, it would be unlikely a tech person would even be at my building. Even though there are a lot of problems that could occur, I still think it would be a great way to enhance learning.
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Lynn Royer
10/10/2013 07:58:58 am
Oh my, yes, we have our share of when things do not work properly.
Travis Dalton
10/8/2013 02:17:12 am
I think the idea of skyping and other forms of lecture like that with technology is a really good idea. I think it opens schools up for a chance to get really experienced authors, doctors, etc... in to their classroom and schools without the hassle of travel and trying to plan around a lot of different life factors. It also would be a great tool for teachers to use to teach things, like the cadaver example, when normally that would not be an option. I also feel like it can really get the kids more involved in reading and writing with the ability to talk to authors and have them describe what their thoughts and feelings were behind a certain story or character.
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Morgan Goetschel
10/8/2013 02:32:24 am
I totally agree, if schools are able to do this they definitely should. But also like you said the main issue would be cost. But I feel there are a good deal of grants out there that could help schools but this ability together so that their students can have this experience, even if they can only get the money together for this option to be available in only a few classrooms in the school.
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Derek Lannigan
10/11/2013 02:02:08 pm
I agree as well. When a district does have the means to create environments where students can learn from abroad then they should absolutely capitalize on that opportunity. For the schools that do not have that same kind of funding they can still find other ways to incorporate extended learning by allow students to use their own sources of technology, and by making sure that the internet bandwidth is large enough to support multiple kind technology.
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Morgan Goetschel
10/8/2013 02:28:19 am
I think it would be awesome to have people come speak to a class via Skype that in most instances you would not be able to have talk to your class. I feel that it would open up many more doors for your students to learn from, and also get information that you cannot get from reading a book. I feel it would be highly informational and also highly beneficial for students to have those opportunities.
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Ethan Mignard
10/10/2013 03:16:17 am
I agree that most schools now have the resources to be able to do a Skype session or something similar. Maybe not in every classroom, but I don't know of many schools that couldn't set something like this up somewhere.
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Ethan Mignard
10/10/2013 03:08:33 am
Connecting with students with experts in a given area via Skype is a good idea. The cost could be a limiting factor, but I think a bigger limiting factor would be the availability of the expert. In my experience, many well-known people are more than happy to use their time to share information with a classroom of students and are happy to do it without reimbursement, but simply do not have the time to do this due to other commitments. That being said though, I think that Skype sessions can be a valuable educational resource, and that they would help students engage better in the material being presented.
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Travis Dalton
10/11/2013 01:41:14 am
I agree about the availability of the experts being a factor in limiting this program but at the same time I think the Skype sessions would allow the experts to give their lecture and lessons without even having to leave home. I think this would definitely help with their availability since they do not have to take the time to travel. They could also even skype for a quick session wherever they have WiFi which could help them do the sessions even at their jobs.
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Lynn Royer
10/10/2013 07:52:05 am
I really enjoyed this article. I would like to know if there are any measurement tools in place to see how much benefit students are receiving from this type of technology. We have in our Lab Sessions different hearing aid manufacturers come in to talk to the students about hearing aid technology, and I am very much looking forward to November when we will have two sessions such as this, due to reps not being able to come to Springfield and meet the students face to face. They are calling it a webinar, and we will be using the smartboard, projector, and Skype.
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Trisha Shannon
10/10/2013 11:57:06 am
I think that students being able to Skype with experts is a great idea. Students being able to connect with experts in an area would be very beneficial resource. It would be a great way for students to come together and learn without having to travel and set up a time that worked with everyone. The cost could be a limiting factor that many schools not having the funds to pay for the ability to Skype in each classroom.
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Thyago
10/14/2013 12:20:46 pm
And even if you are in a different country its free call, Can you ask for more? Its kinda of free knowledge.
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Dustyn Yung
10/10/2013 12:49:39 pm
I am a big fan of the school and students using skype. In a way it reminds me of the ITV classes you can take in high school. The difference is this is a guest speaker or experts talking to a class, whereas ITV your teacher is always online teaching to you. This is a great way to get students connected with different types of technology. I think teachers should look more into this. Even though field trips and guest speakers in the classroom are great, we do need to branch out and try something new. I am fully behind using skype in the classroom.
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Jodi
10/13/2013 09:50:54 am
Field trips are great, but even the cost of taking kids on trips can be a limiting factor. Not only do you have to pay for fuel for the bus, but the bus drivers - who are often just part time employees who work mornings and afternoons. Our school actually changed it's start and dismissal times this year b/c the cost of hiring substitute bus drivers was getting to be too much! By dismissing earlier, we can get our drivers back in time to take kids to away games for sports.
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Denver Price
10/17/2013 04:46:14 am
i agree Dustyn, another idea that i thought of was why would we need teachers anymore if we can just talk to an expert on a subject of science who works for NASA we dont need to listen to a young science teacher who has only been teaching for couple of years.
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Alanna Dennison
10/10/2013 01:44:31 pm
I think that if schools are using Skype as an occasional tool and not for every day lectures, it is a great tool. I think when daily lectures are done via Skype, the students are difficult to engage and they do not pay as close of attention as if the professor is in the room. However, I do think that it is acceptable/useful for students to use Skype as an occasional tool to bring a new learning experience to students. Skype can be a great tool to bring in new perspectives from individuals too far away to come teach in the classroom.
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Ruth Ann Pfremmer
10/12/2013 12:25:10 pm
I think you bring up an excellent point. I agree that it is much more effective to have the daily lecture completed by an instructor in the classroom. Student engagement seems to be best when they respect the knowledge base of the instructor and have direct interaction within the classroom rather than through a computer. I also agree guest lecturers could definitely be presented through Skype and students tend to be excited when this happens occassionally and view it as having access to a different (maybe in their minds more knowledgable/interesting) perspective for a class period.
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Trisha Shannon
10/13/2013 03:50:31 am
I agree that it can be difficult to engage when the professor is not always teaching. I also agree Skype can be a great tool.
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Dustyn Yung
10/13/2013 11:51:00 am
I agree using Skype has to be occasional. I know if I was a student and the teacher taught through skype everyday I would be goofing off and not paying attention. Skype needs to be used for guest speakers and lectures.
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Derek Lannigan
10/11/2013 01:48:55 pm
I like the idea of using Skype for teaching in high schools because it gives students that are bright flight an opportunity learn from teachers that are in higher education. Also this creates opportunities for schools to set up guest speakers to talk to students without having to pay the expenses for travel. The more exposure students get to outside sources the better. The difficult thing about trying to create an environment where this kind of environment can take place is the cost of all the equipment plus maintaining and updating all the technology that is needed. Once everything is in place though, I feel that this kind of teaching can be very beneficial.
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Ruth Ann Pfremmer
10/12/2013 12:19:43 pm
What a wonderful way for to enhance student engagement. Using Skype is a great way to bring live people into the classroom and allow an interactive learning experience for the students. I think students could learn so much more from this interaction than just reading the same information in a textbook. When the students can ask questions and receive immediate feedback from someone other than their "everyday teacher" I believe most students will be more interested and retain more of the information.
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Jodi
10/13/2013 09:46:12 am
I agree with you on the training! There have been several times when I've been in classrooms trying to use the technology provided and had no idea how to use it or I may know, but don't use it to the fullest. I'm guilty of that even with the SmartBoard in my classroom now. I've had opportunities for training, but it's always during the summer when I'm on family trips!
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Thyago
10/14/2013 12:17:51 pm
I liked the idea of skyping. Why? For me as a International student , sometimes its so hard to understand some assignmente by just reading. So would help a lot if we could skype the professor or the class would have a skype group where professors and stydents could help me . Last year I took statistics class online and I know that if I could skype my professor I could did much better.
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Denver Price
10/17/2013 04:43:41 am
This kind of program in the class using skype to teach is amazing and different, everyone is timid of change but it is necessary at times, kids in the back would be more interested and involved you wouldnt be looking at the same teacher everyday (which can be bad at time) another concern i would have is if the class is just a one subject class, are we going to be skyping only math professors all the time, or can we talk to a engineer one hour and the next hour speak to a french professor over seas.
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Class BlogThis blog is for class conversations for Ed 514 at Central Methodist University. We invite input form other teachers about how they use technology in their classrooms. Archives
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