Tuesday, September 28, 2010

G.A.M.E. update...

So far, results are not encouraging on the personal electronics campaign. Initial discussions with administrators have been met with extreme resistance, and stern looks of disapproval. After all, what I'm suggesting is in direct opposition to our published policy on such devices. However, my conversations have been purely hypothetical so far, and have not included the unit plan I intend to write that shows exactly how personal electronics will be applied.

I do understand the point that administration is making though- any "bending" of the rules in my classroom makes it difficult for other teachers to enforce the rules in their rooms.

In terms of Rubrics, I have published a rubric for guiding students in their personal reflection of quiz results. So far, the rubric is printed on paper and deals with traditional pencil-and-paper writing prompts, but the rubric is a step in the right direction. I plan to incorporate the rubric into the Moodle page for the course, and to make their quiz logs part of their personal Journals, but I do not currently have enough computer resources to make the transition for my classes.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Andrew!

    I am not surprised that you have had some difficulty with convincing administration to allow the incorporation of new technologies in the classroom. Unfortunately, we tend to throw the baby out with the bathwater when we do not realize the potential of technology. The fear of what could go wrong seems to supersede the benefits that we are able to see. This seems to parallel the common activity of blocking websites rather than teaching students how to work around "bad" websites in a responsible manner. Until we are given the freedom to use technology for its potential for good rather than bad, we will miss a variety of opportunities for our students to learn. Best of luck in your ongoing battle!

    -Nancy

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  2. Nancy-

    Fortunately, we have worked some compromise with our web blocking. Teachers have less of a restriction than students, and many teachers have been trained on an application that can unblock a site that has been blocked in error.

    One of the biggest issues, whether dealing with the web or with personal electronics, is personal integrity. It only takes a couple of individuals to misuse technology for it to become a problem for many. I have a great number of students who can totally be trusted with appropriate uses of technology, but I have others that I cannot turn my back on, or they have the headphones back out and the tunes are rolling before I even cross the room.

    In the Spiderman movies and comics, there is a great message: with great power comes great responsibility. Students with smart phones may not realize it, but they have far more computing power in those phones than flew on any of the Apollo missions. Talk about power! We just need to get students to use their powers for good!
    -Andrew

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