Below are three case studies. These cases have been pulled from Edutopia’s “Schools that Work” series. Each one focuses on a different American school and what they are doing to find success. All three focus on some sort of technology implementation model. The Maker Movement - Edutopia
This case study focuses on the Maker Movement, an organization dedicated to promoting the idea that in culture of consumers and users students can be makers. Students become makers by creating their own products via 3-D printing, robotics, coding or other physical production methods. I chose to examine this case of classroom technology because another teacher at my site has been telling me about grant opportunities with the Maker Movement. In this case, a student who was passionate about being a Maker brought the technology to his school. He attended a board meeting to pitch the idea of incorporating the movement into the classroom. Once in the classroom, students can create their own products while making connections to math and science concepts along the way. The style of learning promotes questions and is driven by the needs of the students. While this technology use certainly motivates students to learn and has them apply concepts in a real world setting, it is still unclear what kind of pedagogical impact it has on content delivery. How does using a computer software to convert a 3-D model into (X,Y,Z) coordinates help a student learn about the coordinate plane or three dimensional geometry? It provides a strong visual, but I do not see yet how it helps students learn initially. However, students being excited or motivated to learn the content as a means to completing their creations is reason enough to look into the Maker Movement. As far as implementing in the classroom, the required equipment to make it real is expensive. However, there are definitely grant opportunities out there. There are plenty of organizations and individuals who want to make great things happen for students. One thing that is clear though, is that the Maker Movement is, as of now, a passion project for many. It takes significant work and set up to successfully implement after securing the funding necessary. Quin’s school has Makers because of Quin’s passion for the technology. Ultimately, this is a successful use of technology when implemented by a teacher and school site who believe in it’s potential. Otherwise, it becomes a high-tech shop class. Tech Literacy through Content Learning - Edutopia This case stuck out to me because tech literacy is something I have wanted to improve in my own classroom. Our students are fairly tech savvy. They use technology daily in the classroom and use Google apps on the majority of their assignments. One app that is underused in my opinion is the Google Spreadsheet. I am always looking for opportunities to show the wide variety of uses a spreadsheet has and develop those skills in students. They are marketable skills and allow opportunities to tie in financial literacy. However, I am always wary of doing technology literacy for the sake of technology literacy. So, I was excited to see how they blend it with the content. The school in this case uses a technology teacher and classroom to partner with the core content teacher to enhance projects and lessons. The technology teacher coordinates with teachers to plan what technology skills to teach. The idea is to use technology as a tool to help students express their learning in different ways. They apply the SAMR model for different levels of tech integration:
Obviously, there is merit to all four levels. Even in substitution, the addition of technology literacy makes the lesson richer, as long as content is not lost in the process. If a teacher needs to choose between Lesson X content or Lesson X content + technology skills, it seems apparent which choice provides more for students. What is essential is that content is still the main focus of the lesson. In the video, you can see that the technology teacher is familiar with the content and relating it to the technology. He scaffolds students through story-building strategies and shows them how they can use technology to enhance their storytelling. The examples here give a lot of insight into what strong technology use looks like in an educational setting. Technology is not a means to an end, it is a way to enhance learning and provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning in meaningful ways. This case study definitely encourages me to take greater advantage of our own technology resources on my campus. Blended Learning Case Study - Edutopia This case interested me because I have noticed that technology can sometimes be a distraction to students and can water down the content students interact with. While I strongly advocate for students to use appropriate tools, sometimes I feel as though online learning is not always the best option for students. This case study highlighted several teachers at a school who apply blended learning in the classrooms. These teachers take advantage of technology to provide students with choice and autonomy, Students can view learning resources anytime when outside of the classroom. Blended learning helps contribute to effective differentiation. Teachers can run multiple groups in a classroom and make their presence felt simultaneously via prepared materials like podcasts. It certainly speaks to the efficiency of well-prepared blended learning. This model has been shown to be effective. Students testify that they feel they learn more with the technology use. Test results show students performing at the highest level. The school makes a strong case for blended learning. What I felt was most interesting about this case was that different teachers approached blended learning differently. The biology teacher had a different structure in her room than the math teacher. One staff member mentioned that blended learning works when you make it work. Teachers cannot just copy successful models, in the same way that students do not learn by copying each other. A teacher needs to design their own structures to meet their own goals in a way they believe in. Technology is not some magic pill for increasing test scores. It is not an easy answer to struggling schools issues. When looking on a global scale, different countries with drastically different education systems can find success with students. What makes a system effective is the teachers and administrators driving the system. Blended learning is full of potential, but that’s it. Computers do not babysit students and magically teach them math. It needs to be adapted to a specific classroom, experimented with, and implemented with fidelity. This case study has encouraged me to keep experimenting with technology and find the structures and activity types that have the largest impact on my students.
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October 2017
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