How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the iPhone
A synthesis essay by Eric March
“Education is not the filling of a bucket, but the lighting of a fire.” A few years ago, one of my own teachers shared that quote by Irish poet William Butler Yeats, and it has become a personal favorite. When I was going through school, I knew that my teachers were there to inform me of things that I didn’t know. It was not until I chose to become a professional teacher that I realized what was going on behind the scenes. I started to recall the teachers and professors that made an impact on me and pushed me in positive directions. One common thread came to the surface: these educators were the ones that discovered my intrinsic motivation. They were able to say all the right things to get me excited about the learning taking place in their class. To paraphrase Mr. Yeats, they didn’t simply impart knowledge to me, they made me care about why I was learning it. I truly believe that technology is able to open the door and light the fire that is burning beneath today’s learners. Their lives are already so immersed in technology that teaching the “traditional” way simply can’t compete for their attention. The beauty of the MSU MAET degree is that it teaches to a new generation of students.
I have always embraced technology in my life. My dad brought home one of the first personal computers back in the 1980’s, and I remember dialing in to his University in order to use Gopher and Mosaic to connect to NASA and other government agencies, because those were the only places you could go before the World Wide Web existed! I have always unconsciously integrated technology into my everyday life. I vividly remember programming my graphing calculator in BASIC in high school to save some time on Physics homework. When I asked my teacher if it was okay, she was taken aback as no one had thought to do that before. I took a few programming courses in college and enjoyed them. My first career was in Pharmaceutical research, the nature of which demanded the use of new technologies every day. It was only natural that I integrated the use of technology into my teaching career, and the MAET program seemed like a good fit.
The Bucket List
My journey through the MSU MAET degree actually began before I knew that I wanted to pursue the degree. I was enrolled in CEP 416 (an elective course that served as an introduction to educational technology) taught by Professor Dickson. He always put a large emphasis on form as well as function. He stressed that if something contained a lot of features, but was not user-friendly, then its use and worth was limited. At the time, I didn’t completely buy into his philosophy. Growing up with computers, I was always willing to sacrifice a few quirks, due to the fact that a lot of those early computer programs, as well as the actual computers themselves, were full of shortcomings and bugs. At this point in my educational journey, I was still in a “filling the bucket” mindset. Professor Dickson eventually led me around to his side of the argument. For a program or piece of hardware to be truly great and useful over a long period of time, it must grab hold of the user in a way that makes them keep coming back. There are numerous examples of the latest and greatest gadgets going by the wayside soon after their release due to the fact that they simply didn’t capture the hearts of their users. Something that is simple yet powerful, such as an iPhone for example, can survive the test of time and “light the fire” within people, who come back clamoring for more.
An example of an MAET course that filled my bucket of knowledge and got me excited about learning the material was CEP 800. I took this course fairly early on in my degree schedule, and it was taught by Nick Sheltrown. I liked his teaching style very much, as it matched the sort of quirkiness that I like to include in my courses. For example, we again looked at some of the work of pedagogical researchers such as Piaget, Locke, and Kohler. It would have been easy for Sheltrown to simply assign a written paper as a final exam, but he instead took an unusual route, having us create a fake Facebook page, filling in the ideas of the different philosophers as if they were users of Facebook. This method demonstrated two things to Sheltrown: mastery and application of the philosophers’ work, and mastery of image editing software to create the Facebook page. As I try to do in my classroom, Sheltrown not only had us stream memorized information back to him in a paper, he had us take it to the next level and apply the knowledge to a Facebook post. We had to boil down the theories of the philosophers to their essence, and then go one step further and have a conversation between them. In one example, I had Vygotsky making a post telling people he was planning on learning the Spanish version of “Jingle Bells”. Plato responded by suggesting that he simply listen to the version repeatedly, whereas B.F. Skinner suggested that he give himself a small reward every time he learns a new verse, an adaptation of his famous rat experiments. Additionally, Sheltrown didn’t just have us write the script for these interactions, he had us actually create the Facebook page using image editing software. It was good practice in an area of technology that we might not have had an opportunity to use before.
Interestingly, I have used something like this in my career. I overheard one of my teaching colleagues discussing her Language Arts curriculum, and the fact that she was about to start her mythology unit. I suggested that she do something similar to what I did in CEP 800. In the end, she ended up assigning each student in the class one God or Goddess, and had them interact on a website that was very similar to Facebook. The kids really enjoyed being able to upload music and images appropriate to their God or Goddess, and liked the social interaction of the Facebook-like page. The interactions came naturally to them, but they had to force themselves to stay in character and react as their deity would. They had the opportunity to do something fun and interesting while learning about the different aspects of Mythology. In discussing the project with the teacher, she said that she had many more students “buying in” to the project than other projects she has done. This project engaged those reluctant learners that we, as educators, always struggle with. Without it becoming a gimmick or novelty, I now consciously make it an effort every day to ask myself if I could differentiate the lesson in some way in order to “light more fires”.
An example of an MAET course that filled my bucket of knowledge and got me excited about learning the material was CEP 800. I took this course fairly early on in my degree schedule, and it was taught by Nick Sheltrown. I liked his teaching style very much, as it matched the sort of quirkiness that I like to include in my courses. For example, we again looked at some of the work of pedagogical researchers such as Piaget, Locke, and Kohler. It would have been easy for Sheltrown to simply assign a written paper as a final exam, but he instead took an unusual route, having us create a fake Facebook page, filling in the ideas of the different philosophers as if they were users of Facebook. This method demonstrated two things to Sheltrown: mastery and application of the philosophers’ work, and mastery of image editing software to create the Facebook page. As I try to do in my classroom, Sheltrown not only had us stream memorized information back to him in a paper, he had us take it to the next level and apply the knowledge to a Facebook post. We had to boil down the theories of the philosophers to their essence, and then go one step further and have a conversation between them. In one example, I had Vygotsky making a post telling people he was planning on learning the Spanish version of “Jingle Bells”. Plato responded by suggesting that he simply listen to the version repeatedly, whereas B.F. Skinner suggested that he give himself a small reward every time he learns a new verse, an adaptation of his famous rat experiments. Additionally, Sheltrown didn’t just have us write the script for these interactions, he had us actually create the Facebook page using image editing software. It was good practice in an area of technology that we might not have had an opportunity to use before.
Interestingly, I have used something like this in my career. I overheard one of my teaching colleagues discussing her Language Arts curriculum, and the fact that she was about to start her mythology unit. I suggested that she do something similar to what I did in CEP 800. In the end, she ended up assigning each student in the class one God or Goddess, and had them interact on a website that was very similar to Facebook. The kids really enjoyed being able to upload music and images appropriate to their God or Goddess, and liked the social interaction of the Facebook-like page. The interactions came naturally to them, but they had to force themselves to stay in character and react as their deity would. They had the opportunity to do something fun and interesting while learning about the different aspects of Mythology. In discussing the project with the teacher, she said that she had many more students “buying in” to the project than other projects she has done. This project engaged those reluctant learners that we, as educators, always struggle with. Without it becoming a gimmick or novelty, I now consciously make it an effort every day to ask myself if I could differentiate the lesson in some way in order to “light more fires”.
Come on Baby Light my Fire
There were a few other courses in the MAET program (CEP 812 and CEP 815) that allowed me to focus on one theme that I saw constantly reoccurring in my own classroom: students absent due to sickness or extracurricular activity and subsequently falling behind on their work. The new State of Michigan Curriculum Guidelines leave very little extra time for any particular unit. Therefore, I don’t have the option to hold back instruction just because a few students are not in class. In my early years as a teacher, it was simply a matter of trying to get the kids to check in with me when they returned from class. Needless to say, students would not always remember to do this, and even those that did found themselves in the uncomfortable position of having to catch up on their schoolwork while not falling further behind with the current workload. Thankfully, technology has offered a nice solution to this dilemma. My school district makes use of Moodle course management software. This software allows me to post assignments, tests, and quizzes, and it hosts files as well. Additionally, Moodle encourages students to be more independent and responsible. Rather than expecting the teacher to stay on top of their missed assignments due to absences, students will be taught how to access the materials themselves, and are expected to do so after missing class.
This fits in with the rest of my teaching philosophy, where students are encouraged to be active participants in their educations. Having assignments available for absent students will actually benefit all students, as they will have a way to review previous lessons and labs online. For students with visual impairments, they can enlarge the text on their assignments when they view them online. Students who work with a special education teacher will be able to access the materials when working with that teacher in order to receive extra help for any topics they may be struggling with. Students will be able to use Moodle to review all missing assignments and any accompanying PowerPoint presentations or labs, so that they can work through all of the materials that students who were present that day did. In that way, they will be kept up-to-date not only with assignments, but with the actual learning and knowledge as well. Students who wish to review the information will be able to access the Moodle site in order to do so, which can be helpful for struggling learners as well as for review purposes before a test. This allows students the opportunity to work through information more slowly if necessary, and go back to any difficult topic if they need a refresher. Hopefully, this way of keeping students current will help prevent them from becoming discouraged with a large workload, and instead keep them interested and focused on returning to the classroom and continuing their education.
I often think of teachers from 100 years ago, teaching multiple subjects to multiple grades in their one room schoolhouses, with ink and quill. Technology and information are more accessible now than at any time in human history. Students can now carry in their pocket an entire set of encyclopedias, the contents of their local library, video, and music stores, and all the information that can be found on the internet. Today’s generation of learner is vastly different from those in that one room schoolhouse. They are expected to learn so much more information in a given period of time. Technology is available to assist in the student reaching a goal, but should not be used simply as filler. Instead, it needs to be integrated into the curriculum so it enhances, and not completely supports, the students learning. My MAET degree from MSU has taught me that I must keep in mind all that I learned about how students learn, and not that technology can save a poorly thought out lesson. However, a great lesson enhanced with great technology can light the fire of even the most reluctant learner.
This fits in with the rest of my teaching philosophy, where students are encouraged to be active participants in their educations. Having assignments available for absent students will actually benefit all students, as they will have a way to review previous lessons and labs online. For students with visual impairments, they can enlarge the text on their assignments when they view them online. Students who work with a special education teacher will be able to access the materials when working with that teacher in order to receive extra help for any topics they may be struggling with. Students will be able to use Moodle to review all missing assignments and any accompanying PowerPoint presentations or labs, so that they can work through all of the materials that students who were present that day did. In that way, they will be kept up-to-date not only with assignments, but with the actual learning and knowledge as well. Students who wish to review the information will be able to access the Moodle site in order to do so, which can be helpful for struggling learners as well as for review purposes before a test. This allows students the opportunity to work through information more slowly if necessary, and go back to any difficult topic if they need a refresher. Hopefully, this way of keeping students current will help prevent them from becoming discouraged with a large workload, and instead keep them interested and focused on returning to the classroom and continuing their education.
I often think of teachers from 100 years ago, teaching multiple subjects to multiple grades in their one room schoolhouses, with ink and quill. Technology and information are more accessible now than at any time in human history. Students can now carry in their pocket an entire set of encyclopedias, the contents of their local library, video, and music stores, and all the information that can be found on the internet. Today’s generation of learner is vastly different from those in that one room schoolhouse. They are expected to learn so much more information in a given period of time. Technology is available to assist in the student reaching a goal, but should not be used simply as filler. Instead, it needs to be integrated into the curriculum so it enhances, and not completely supports, the students learning. My MAET degree from MSU has taught me that I must keep in mind all that I learned about how students learn, and not that technology can save a poorly thought out lesson. However, a great lesson enhanced with great technology can light the fire of even the most reluctant learner.