Technology limits Critical Thinking

My AVID sophomores are learning about argumentative essays. We have looked at the structure, compared it to persuasive essays and  read a student sample. They have a strong grasp on what an author's claim is, how to support it with evidence and reasoning. This week I asked my students to select ANY topic in which they felt strongly one way over the other. More than half the class couldn't come up with a topic. They waited for me to GIVE them a topic. I refuse to give them a topic. I believe that the person that lifts the weights, is the one that gets strong applies to learning. If I DO it for them, then I only get smarter. I gave them the evening to determine their topic and asked the students to email me; none did.
Today, the students were to complete the pros and cons with supporting evidenced based on their claim. I still had multiple students who had yet to determine their claim. So, they took out their devices and relied on the Internet to make their opinion for them. The other students were using their devices to find supporting evidence (good use of BYOD) but those without a topic still questioned me and others to see if it was good. I would throw it back at them and ask what do they think. How do they feel about it? What do you already know? What kind of evidence would you use? And, their responses ranged from blank stare to "I dunnos".
I concluded today that students are crippled by the technology. They are so accustomed to finding everything they need on Google that they were stumped when asked their opinion. They are losing the ability to think for themselves.  

Motivated to go Digital

The past few weeks in my Fundamentals of Technology for Educators class, we have been working to create a Digital Storytelling lesson for our students. Let me tell you, it has been very interesting, engaging and rigorous! What in the end could be perceived as a basic presentation, is so much more.
I have designed a lesson where my students would research an influential leader of their choice. They will have to research the person and what characteristics made him/her a leader and of course the significant times in which that person was a leader. We were instructed to create a sample project for the students. I selected President Abraham Lincoln as my leader and found myself deep in research. I thought I was pretty well versed on his accomplishments but I was fascinated but all that he had done in such a short amount of time. I was motivated to find more. I was searching YouTube for the most authentic reading of the Emancipation Proclamation (which I know now was only a short 242 words). I walked away with a much deeper understanding of President Lincoln and what made his legacy so memorable. I can definitely see where the students selecting a leader of their choice, they will be just as excited by the research and synthesis of sources as I was. They will discover things that are not so common and well known and be eager to share their presentation with the class. This will be a project that they will not soon forget!
What I find most interesting is ho the project covers the gathering of information, the processing and then applying. The students have to use critical thinking skills to accomplish everything for the project. It will definitely be time consuming but well worth it. It provides the students the opportunity to develop the college and career readiness skills that they will need. Overall, great activity!

If you would like additional resources or want to check out my project, go to my wiki page at
http://mscolleencarney.wikispaces.com

Digital storytelling

As a part of my curriculum, we do a unit based on leadership with my AVID 11th and 12th grade students. We discuss what it means to be a leader, the characteristic of great leaders and examine examples of leaders. The students select a leader to study and I have them complete a research paper based on their chosen leader. I would like to have the students this school year use digital storytelling to show us the life of the leader. 

I would allow the students to choose what media elements to include. There must be audio narration and some sort of visual whether they use picture images or video will be up to them. 

The students would need to search the various websites and/or apps that they could create their project through. They would need resources for copyright free images if they chose not to create them themselves. 

I would suggests the sites Pixie 3, Capsizes, SlideStory and Frames to make their video. I would also tell them about Pics4Learning as a resource of copyright free images for their video. Jamendo is a source of music students can use.
I would need to find high school examples of digital storytelling. So many of the online resources available are elementary or lack certain elements. I do not want my students creating podcasts that I have seen a lone. I think it is important that they have both audio and video elements, I am fortunate to have an Apple Mac studio and my students would be more than welcome to use either iMovie or Final Cut Pro to create Leader Biography digital stories.
I am looking to seeing what my students are capable of producing.  

This Page Cannot Be Displayed

After this weeks lesson, I am really thinking about the use of technology is the classroom. The articles we read proved the importance of it to allow our students to THINK. Yet, every year the county has me read the mandates and restriction on the use of technology. You can make a phone call to a student but you can't text one. You can email them but only from your work email. You can have and Edmodo but not a Facebook. What are we so scared of? 

I teach Digital Video Production and my students cannot access YouTube. It is the king of all videos but they cannot use it as a source of inspiration. YouTube has transformed the way we advertise and the way we watch TV. It is a huge influence on our society and economy but "This page cannot be displayed" gets shown any time a student wants to watch something. Today major companies are turning to the public to create their advertisements for example Doritos and the Super Bowl. Every day people are canceling their cable service to switch to Apple TV or Roku. We have subscriptions to Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime and Netflix. We don't need cable.  So why can't our students access YouTube? 

Back to Basics

Learning Journal #2

Hello World Wide Web! This is my very first blog and it seems only fitting that it be for an educational technology class. I not only don't blog, I do not read blogs so please be forgiving of my format and style.
I find it ironic that I am in a Technology for Educators class when I am pursuing my Master's Degree. This is a class that every student should be required to take at the latest, middle school. Chapter 2 defines communication and the basics of the Internet and World Wide Web. My students have grown up in a world where they do not know life without a computer or WiFi however, they lack some of the very basic skills needed to operate it effectively. In my high school classes,I require typed essays in MLA format. Every year and practically every assignment I have to teach the students how to operate Microsoft Word. They have no clue as to how to change the margins or spacing. Because I can, I also explain to them what that blue square is that they click to save their document. In the day of auto correct, my students still submit essays with abbreviations such a u or ur. It kills me.

Gone are the days of typing classes where you were taught the home keys and how to type without "pecking" or looking. Students today learn how to build websites and design graphics but I would argue that they are lacking the essential basics. Bring back typing and teach students Microsoft Office so they can track data in Excel or create a resume in Word. Sure, they can tweet and use tumblr but are we preparing our students for success in a global society?