Tuesday, June 10, 2014
Team 2 Chapter 5
The dropout rate is incredibly high in the United States and it is an issue that is going to cause many issues in the future. Future generations are going to be impacted by this high rate and the economy and work force would be highly jeopardized. Jukes, McCain, and Crockett discuss in this chapter about how dropouts are "An Impending Tragedy for Education," and technology can play a pivotal role the increasing number of dropouts among students. As teachers how can we address this issue, and use student digital skills as support to keep them in school? How can we encourage the digital generation the importance of education for future careers?
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Participating in what students are currently working on is a great way to attach yourself to a students learning. I love your idea of filling out the applications yourself. What a great way to really access a student personally and academically. Jukes mentions an issue that I've seen consistently throughout my district: "While new teachers are encouraged to use technology, the underlying approach to instruction remains largely unchanged." We may be told to use technology, but never instructed how to use it effectively. Ipads and laptops become glorified notebooks. A Smart Board is just an extension of our blackboards. By getting involved in what our students are doing, we are able to take our skills and apply them to a student's learning behaviors. Again, as stated in later chapters, look at what students look at, read what they read, access information as they access it. If we can get just even a glimpse of how they see the world of education, public schools will have a chance. If not we will see an ever increasing level of frustration in educating the youth. Is technology forcing public schools to fail? I agree, certainly not. But would participating in how the new digital age is learning be beneficial to a public school's success? Certainly.
ReplyDeleteIn chapter 5 Jukes discusses how teachers and students are communicating in different ways. Students are speaking in a digital language, that teachers only use as a secondary language; which is unfamiliar to them. However Jukes et. all continue by stating the disconnect between students and teachers extends from the teachers being stuck in a traditional mindset. One way to help students increase their participation and interest would be to help them understand and utilize technology tools for other purposes than gaming, listening to music, etc. Also, maybe taking the time to find out what career paths the students are interested in and then posting the requirements for the students to see visually. By doing this they are able to see the goals they need to meet in order to achieve their dream.
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading this chapter, I think the authors are torn between technology being "good" and how technology has an influence on the drop out rate. I feel the same way. Technology is definitely beneficial for students because they are growing up in a digital world. As teachers, we cater to our student's needs. If technology is what suits students the best, we need to utilize it and integrate it into our instruction. However, it's important that we teach our students how to PROPERLY use technology to educate ourselves. The authors state "young people miss out on an incredibly valuable experience if they drop out or tune out of school before they have finished." This is very true and we say these things to our students all the time. However, can you blame students for dropping out if they don't have good teachers and if they are not engaged with the information they are learning?! Most people view "drop outs" in a negative way. Sure, if you drop out of school you are 'less' likely to be successful in life (but it doesn't mean you can't be successful). If our teachers, administrators, parents, etc, want to decrease and/or eliminate the drop out rates, we need to figure out ways to keep students engaged and excited about coming to school! One way is to use technology in a fun and engaging way for students!
ReplyDeleteI agree with both of you! Engagement is Key to the sucess of students. As teachers we know that in order to make our lessons and instruction effective engagement is key. I found this website is greatand has many ideas on how technology can be used and its' importance http://www.betterhighschools.org/expert/ask_tech.asp. I thought that this quote form the article was great; "Through the use of online curricula, social media outlets, virtual learning academies and assistive technology devices there is greater access for all students to enhanced education." Basically we should encourage students to use the technology along with teachers using the technology asa teaching tool with students.
DeleteWhen reading this chapter it made me question... are students really dropping out due to teachers lack of digital technologies? I am skeptical to think that is the reason the drop out rate is increasing. However, I due agree that students are dropping out because there is such a disconnect between the teachers and the students. Teachers need to realize that our world is moving at a very fast pace and that is what the students are growing up in and are used to. They need to utilize things (like digital technologies) in the classroom so that students can feel comfortable in their own environment. One of my biggest things in a classroom is allowing students to feel comfortable, and that includes adapting to their new digital learning styles!
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Nicoles, are students really dropping out of school duo to the fact that teachers are not using technology in the classroom? I have had discussions with some of my students who told me that they want to drop out of school. For the most part what they told me is that they have a hard time connecting to the material that they are being taught because their teachers keep telling them how it could be used “back in the day” and not making it applicable to them here and now. I think that one way that we can engage our students is to add technology into our classrooms. I know that if I get any new form of technology I like to have my students play around with it in study hall so that we can find all of the different things that it can be used for. Then, in class when I use it they can remind me how to use it if I forget.
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