Theme+5+-+Researching+Digital+Culture+and+the+Implications+for+Teaching+and+Learning

//Goal 5//

This goal is one that fascinates me. Even though I am young, students today have a much different learning experience than I had growing up. They have grown up in a world that is fast-paced and heavily saturated with information that is readily available. It is important for me to understand the current digital culture and use that knowledge in my teaching. By understanding how students learn and take in information, I will be able to present it in a way that engages them and hopefully sticks with them.

Teachers need to be able to research effectively on how to teach students in this digital age. Once the research is done, teachers must also be able to implement what they have learned. This is where I need to improve the most. I am fairly confident in my ability to do research, but I know that I need to improve in the implementation of this research.

Artifact 1: Journal of //Alone Together//, by Sherry Turkle (Level 1) This journal shows my reflections to some of the comments put forth by Sherry Turkle. In //Alone Together//, Turkle explores why we expect more from technology and less from each other. Cell phones and computers make it easier to connect to people, but we can also use these technologies to keep people at a distance, keeping ourselves from getting hurt. This idea is affecting students as they grow up in a world full of technologies. It also affects teachers who may fall into some of the same traps.

Artifact 2: Critique of //The Shallows//, by Nicholas Carr (Level 1) In this critique, I explore how the brain is changing. With technology being such a large part of our everyday lives, we are training our brains to think in short disconnected thoughts rather than deep, critical thinking. Technology is shaping the ways that we think and act. Schools need to be careful that they do not use technology just for the sake of using it, but rather with a purpose and desire for students to gain an understanding of the topic.

Artifact 3: Information Overload (Level 1) http://prezi.com/lsakzp3u9udf/how-information-overload-is-affecting-our-students-minds-and-research-skills-and-what-teachers-can-do-to-help/

This artifact shows that I know how to use technology to share data and research about information overload. This presentation is intended to be shown to parents and teachers, to inform them on how to avoid information overload. I also share information on how to evaluate web material effectively.

Artifact 4: BYOD Policy (Level 3) In the development of this policy, I spent lots of time researching various studies about technology use in school. By evaluating other schools' technology policies, as well as research on how students use technology, I was able to write an effective policy for St. Peter. This policy took into account all those who are invested in it, including parents, teachers, students, and administrators. Ultimately, any policy comes down to how the teachers utilize it. Having technology in a school is not enough; teachers and students must be willing to use it effectively and purposefully.

Artifact 5: Information Literacy Resarch (Level 2) In this research paper, I explore the need for information literacy to be taught in schools. It is apparent that with all of the information available to our students, they need to have a way to sift through this information so that they can actually use some of it. I also explored a few ways to improve this literacy in students. One such way is to use hte acronym REAL, which stands for Read the url, Examine the content, Ask questions, and Look at the Links. This simple technique can help students quickly evaluate the content that they encounter on the internet. This, along with other techniques, can vastly improve a student's ability to find useful and reliable information.

Artifact 6: Reflective Paper on Digital Culture and its effects (Level 2) In this reflective paper, I evaluate numerous sources from the literature as I look for implications of the digital culture on the lives of my students. As I explored, I discovered that the digital culture is greatly influencing how students think and make moral decisions. As a result, I have made it a point at the beginning of the year to use materials from common sense media to teach them how to keep their morals and standards consistent throughout their lives, including when they are online. This also raises the point that most students are not being taught how to act online at home, so the schools become a great place for me to influence the decisions of many young people. I also read literature about how technology is affecting how students learn and apply the information that they encounter at school.

Artifact 7: EDT889 Portfolio of lesson plans and technology reviews (Level 3) http://edt889portfolio-calebabraham.wikispaces.com/ This portfolio contains lesson plans that are reliant on technology in my classroom. They are designed in a way to foster curiosity in my students, as well as give them multiple ways to learn. The technology reviews are focused on tools that can be used to improve classroom learning. This wiki has been shared with my colleagues and some of the lessons have been used by friends at other schools.

Artifact 8: #EdChat (Level 1) https://twitter.com/search?q=%23EdChat&src=typd I follow this hashtag, as it has many great ideas about education. I like this since it it involves more than just technology and includes basic statistics and ideas for all classrooms.