Technology vs. Non-Technology

I taught my technology/nontechnology based lesson plans today with some very interesting results. I had the 5th grade students I was working with research information about specific explorers. Half the class was doing their research by book in the library, and the other half was doing their research via the internet. Every student was given the same worksheet to guide their research. As expected, the computer group was able to fill in the worksheet entirely, and only about ¼ of the nontechnology group was able to fill in the whole sheet. Some of the nontechnology group was only able to answer one or two of the questions, leaving the other 15 blank. If the library had limited or no material for their explorer, they had to rely solely on the information in their text book, which may not have answered everything they were required to find. Also, each student in the computer group filled in their worksheet with time to spare.



Although these results were not extremely surprising to me, the gap was. To see how quickly and how much more information the technology group was able find compared to nontechnology group was almost scary. How limited our knowledge must have been before the age of the internet! I also found it to be very interesting to hear the responses about their thoughts from the students. While doing their research, the nontechnology group didn’t even know how to find books or conduct their research. They had never been exposed to research that way, it had all been via technology in the past. They also had very similar responses to those we heard from Joe in his non netbook experience. They felt that their research was limited because of the scarcity of their resources. I had always felt that this was the new norm for conducting research, but to hear it from these 10 year old minds really did astound me!

A Simple Use of Technology

Although an overhead projector has many uses, there is one use that I found for it to be particularly useful for. When I was doing my student teaching, my college observer gave me an idea on my first observation. As we learned all throughout my college experience, it is very important to give students an idea about what they would be learning in the lesson to come. It would get them prepared and focused. I found it difficult to constantly remember to do that before each lesson, and found the delivery of my introduction to always be unorganized, until my college coordinator gave me an idea.


Prior to each school day, I would write out an introduction to what we would be learning in each subject on an overhead sheet. I wrote a separate sheet out for each subject. I would write just a few sentences on the sheet about what we would be covering for that subject and what we would learn and the activities that would reinforce the lesson. Since I had them all written out prior to the day, I would put the sheet in with my lesson materials. It made it easy to remember to use it, and it eventually became second nature for both me and the students. I would put the sheet on the overhead and allow a different student to read the introduction. I really found that this kept the students focused on what was coming up each day. What an easy way to keep them attentive and to use a simple piece of technology every day!

Online Learning

Students who do not do well learning in the traditional classroom now have a new option. Online learning is available for students who need or want an alternative educational setting. The program, Cyber School, allows students to graduate without having to walk in a classroom. Many of the students who utilize this program are those that are at risk. Attending school may not be their first priority. Many of them have to work during the normal school hours. Enrolling into Cyber School allows students to focus on school when it fits best in their day, whether it be at 10 a.m. or 10 p.m..

I think this online alternative will be very good for students who have difficulty with the traditional classroom setting. I believe that as online learning may not be right for everyone, sitting in a desk with a teacher writing on the chalkboard and lecturing may also not be right for all students. Students can have the opportunity to work at their own pace and on their own schedule. This gives them a sense of freedom and want to do well. For some students, not working during the day is not an option. If they have to drop out of school to bring in an income, this alternative will allow them to do both. It will also eliminate a great number of distractions that many students may see during the school day that hinders their education. Students just need to stay focused and have discipline to still attend online classes and complete their assignments.

Technology Aids For All Students

Technology has expanded not only in the general education classroom, but also to aid special education students succeed in the mainstreamed classroom. I was substitute teaching the other day in a general education third grade classroom. In this class was a blind student that has previously been placed in a special education classroom because of his disability. I was nervous after learning about this student being in the room I was subbing for. How was I going to pay close attention to him and connect with him while trying to teach the rest of the class? How would I follow through with his accommodations? How was he going to do his work if he couldn’t see it?


I was very pleasantly surprised when the student was escorted into the room minutes after the bell rang. The student sat in his desk and waited for his instructions. He was not worried about his disability because there was piece of equipment in the room that would magnify his work enough that he could see it and complete his work. There was a magnifying glass type piece on the table which one would put over the paper he was supposed to be working on. The page would then show up on a computer screen that would allow the student to see and finish his work. Without this piece of technology, this student may not have the opportunity be placed into a general education classroom. His education may not have been able to meet his full capabilities. It was very interesting to see!

A Non Netbook Experience

This video helps to open eyes as to how technology orientated students have become. It goes about explaining how textbooks are dull and hinders learning. A textbook has a beginning and an end; there is no room to enhance any knowledge gained from its contents. As Joe, the student in the video, flipped through the pages of the textbook, he decided he wanted to see a picture enlarged, but there was no way to do that. Had he been on a computer he would have been able to double click the image to blow it up. There was also no way to click on any links to find additional information if wanted, where as on a computer there are options everywhere to go to other web pages to read more on the subject at hand. Computers give the option to save pages and organize them in a way that will make it easy to return to. Textbooks do not have that option. There are many more learning opportunities available to students on a computer that are not offered from a textbook. The video helps to illustrate this. Most interesting is the fact that a student recognizes this and would rather further their education with a computer. It shows that there are better ways to engage students in learning other than a textbook.

Google Wave

Google Wave is a program that I was not yet familiar with when I read the article posted on Black Board. I think the idea behind Google Wave is a great. It brings distance learning activities to a convenient level, making it more likely to be used. I also really liked the fact that a teacher can log on and see exactly what every body put forth in a project. The teacher can also view all conversation pieces between students. I think this is an excellent option because it allows teachers to grade according to effort put forth from each student, as opposed to grading everyone the same based on the finished product.


Another feature of Google Wave that I found to seem very useful is the program’s outstanding spell checker. As opposed to other spell checkers, Google Wave will check the spelling of a word based on context, not just dictionary spelling. The word may be spelled correctly, but is not used in the correct context; Google Wave will underline the word to signify that there is an error. Many spelling mistakes have gone unnoticed in other programs, such as Microsoft Word, because the author does not realize that a mistake was made.

I think Google Wave has great potential in becoming a key tool in education. It is especially helpful that the program is free to use. I think that because of this and all its capabilities Google Wave could be an asset to teachers and schools.

What Sticks?

I was actually around several other people when I began reading “What Sticks”. After reading the introduction about the man and the kidney thieves, I made a disgusted sound and read it aloud. I got the same “wow” that I had given myself, and then I continued on with my day. That was two weeks ago. Today I reopened the article and finished reading it. I didn’t even have to reread that first page, as I remembered it almost exactly. It was, in fact, a story that stuck. That began my interest in reading the rest of the chapter.


How is it that two weeks after reading that story had it stuck with me? I was curious to know because I sometimes have a difficult time remembering things I have read. Maybe this article really held some merit. Those were my beginning thoughts. As I continued reading, I came across other stories that would hold my interest. The popcorn story and the Halloween story kept with me throughout the article. After I completed the reading I sat back and thought for a moment. I actually still have a vision of the razor blade in the apple and a Big Mac and fries in a popcorn bag. That is how I determined what gave this article its merit.

People look for emotion while they are reading or listening to something. They are looking for purpose to continue using their time and energy. This article showed how putting visuals to something people care about make it stick. It puts meaning into what you hear. If I were to read an article about the nation’s economy and it gave me all sorts of big numbers that really meant nothing to me, I would have no greater understanding of the issue at hand than I had before I read it. However, if I had concrete evidence, or a visual, to show me what the downfall in the economy really looked like and how it directly affected me, I might remember it more. It would have more meaning to my life. Reading “What Sticks” made this clear to me.

The “tapping and listening” activity that the article talked about interested me very much. It suggested that one person tap out a common song, such as “Happy Birthday” or “The Star Spangled Banner”, while the listener tried to determine what song the tapper was tapping. The listener did not have a very high success rate. This was because the tapper was able to play the beat of the song in their head while tapping. They already knew what the song was. However, the listener did not have the knowledge that the tapper had and could not play the tune in their head. Instead they were hearing what sounded like morse code. The truth becomes that the tapper has the advantage of already knowing what they are going to tap, and the listener knows nothing.

I use this in the sense of teaching. The teacher has the advantage of already knowing the information that they are going to teach. The student most likely has either limited or no knowledge of the topic. The teacher has to draw to the student’s emotion and connect it with them to make it stick. A person cannot erase what they have already learned. Therefore, the teacher often has difficulty remembering that the students do not know what they know. It is the teacher’s job to make it memorable and make it “stick”.

After reading the introduction to this book, I am interested in reading the whole thing. The theories of what the book wants to send to its’ readers seemed to work with me on just the introduction. I would like to see all the ideas the book has to teach someone how to do the same. I want to find and implement ways to make what I tell my students “stick”.