Please Help with this Dilemma
Hi everyone: I have already posted my life story as a comment in Diane’s blog. Sorry, as I am just learning how to blog (sorry, but true). I won’t repeat it all again and bore you to tears (you can see it in Diane’s blog). I have a real dilemma that I need everyone’s input on.
My very good friend is the vice principal at my high school. Due to major budget constraints, we have had some hard discussions about the cost vs. effectiveness of technology integration in schools. He is essentially asking me to justify my job as a technology teacher. The funny/unfortunate thing about this debate came from the struggles I had reading this week’s supplemental reading by the U.S. Department of Education meta-analysis review (did any of you read this?). Let me give you examples of why I am having trouble with my friend in this debate…
- Page 6 – “…other reviews of the distance education literature indicate no significant difference in effectiveness between distance education and face-to-face education.”
- Page 18 – “…in finding that instruction conducted entirely online is as effective as classroom instruction but no better.”
- Page 30 – “…the effectiveness of online learning was equivalent in older and newer studies…”
- Page 32 – “…with students receiving face-to-face instruction doing significantly better than those receiving the online blended version of the course.”
- Page 39 – “An additional six studies contrasting purely online conditions also failed to find significant differences in student learning.”
- Page 41. “Many researchers have hypothesized that the addition of images, graphics, audio, video or some combination would enhance student learning and positively affect achievement. However, the majority of students to date have found that these media features do not affect learning outcomes.”
- Page 44 – “No difference was found between the groups receiving the case simulation versus the text-based version.”
There are plenty of more examples from the reading, but you get the idea. These quotes don’t seem to help my argument when he shows me the technology budget and asks me to justify that high ticket price when the above quotes about the effectiveness are so alarming. His argument centers on how many face-to-face teachers that expenditure could cover. I know my job is important, but some of this is hard to ignore.
The article does work to prove that a blending of instruction is best, but that’s not the defense I need to justify my side of the argument. What would you folks say to your boss who is asking you to justify the expenditure of your job?
Thanks everyone, John
John,
ReplyDeleteGreat questions about the reading and I too found it quite thought provoking towards online education. However, I felt that by saying there was no real improvement of learning online compared to face-to-face that this shows the success of online learning. The learning can take place whether you have a desk or a computer and successful comprehension is possible in multiple ways. I don’t view online schooling as a replacement of face-to-face, but as an alternate method to accomplish the same design – growth and learning of the students.
Part of education of the 21st century comes with choice. We don’t always have the luxury of attending a brick and mortar school, or other circumstances takes us away from the ability to learn in a traditional setting. To state that an online education does not differ much from the face-to-face seems to prove that if one can’t conform to a traditional setting, it can be substituted for a different style, and in this case, distance education.
As far as your friend is concerned, I view these findings as completely irrelevant towards the discussion of the importance of a technology teacher. If I were to ask you to justify the need of an English teacher you would most likely begin a discussion of how it was important to learn how to properly develop thoughts and communicate with others around them. Are our communications with others limited to just speech and writing today? The fact that I am answering your blog and communicating with you (without all the LOL’s and the OMG’s) - shows that I have been instructed by a technology teacher on the proper way to communicate using the tools of the day.
Not only that, but much of what we do as technology teachers is to give students hand on experience and learning that they might not have at home and prepare students for fields that will help move our future. Why do we teach Biology? To give general knowledge and allow students who find their niche the ability to improve the quality of our medical and veterinarian sciences. Programming, Web Design, Multimedia, Computer Applications, Networking, Engineering are some of the classes that will develop some of the jobs of the future.
What I took most out of the article was on page 48, which stated,
“With respect to incorporation of multiple media, the evidence . . . suggests that inclusion of more media in an online application does not enhance learning when content is controlled, but some evidence suggests that the learner’s ability to control the learning media is important.”
It’s interaction with students that brings increased learning. Whether the multimedia interacts, or the teacher does the interaction with questions, games and activities the student will learn when they involve themselves. In my opinion, hands on learning – such as provided by technology classes – provide some of the most important learning opportunities for students to succeed.
Sam: Awesome response. Thanks. That quote on page 48 I think is the whole key to the analysis (I also highlighted and circled that one), that a blending of instructional practices with learner involvement is the most effective instructional practice. With regard to your thoughts on the importance of technology in education, the more tools for success that we can provide our diverse learners, the better. It's about differentiation, and what better way to differentiate than provide the tools necessary. Thanks for the thoughts.
ReplyDeleteHi John: How unfortunate that you are being asked to justify your job as a technology teacher. I'm sure the math or English teachers are not being asked to do the same.
ReplyDeleteMany people seem to think that people born in the 21st century (or just before the 21st century) "automatically" know how to use technology. They do not! I got a "911" email from my 23-year-old son last week asking me to fix his resume. He was having problems formatting it! Most would think of him as technologically savvy because of his young age. However, he lacks some of what I consider basic computer and Internet skills. He is smart-phone and computer-game savvy, but those don't necessarily help in job-related real-world technology skills. I think technology teachers are badly needed in our schools. I teach undergraduate online courses for other schools and it amazes me how lacking in basic computer and Internet skills that many people are.
As far as the article goes, it is basically referring to the debate over face-to-face versus online education, so it shouldn't be used against you (as a technology teacher).
Here are a couple of resources you might look at:
MEDIA ADVISORY: Schools Facing Learning Crisis Spawned by Internet
Read more: http://www.benzinga.com/press-releases/11/01/p816635/media-advisory-schools-facing-learning-crisis-spawned-by-internet#ixzz1CMMg3ikJ
The school technology paradox. (from School technology solutions blog):
http://www.schooltechnology.org/2010/04/19/the-school-technology-paradox/
--Diane
Hi John,
ReplyDeleteI’m sorry to hear about your dilemma. I also suggest that you focus your argument on the importance of digital literacy and technology skills. For example, today’s students might need to know how to create a video introduction just to apply to colleges or to get scholarships. Digital citizenship is also becoming increasingly important as significant government documents, forms, and information become available only online. You could approach your argument as an academic exercise by providing your vice principal (who may need to justify your continued employment with his superiors) with examples of success stories--maybe even from your own school--as well as academic research findings. You might find some resources at edutopia.org (maybe something in the Schools that Work section) and in the National Education Technology Plan (http://www.ed.gov/technology/netp-2010), which was also produced by the U.S. Dept. of Education.
Depending on how much time you have, you might also present your dilemma to a wider audience, such as the Ed Tech Moodle Community forum. I am willing to bet that Barbara Schroeder would have plenty to say about your situation since she is quite an advocate for technology use in the classroom. Edutopia also has online forums--I’m sure other teachers have been in your shoes.
Finally, at the risk of sounding like a Miss Merry Sunshine, I suggest you approach this situation not from a defensive standpoint but as an opportunity to prove the worth of technology education. If you think technology education is important for your students, you are more likely to make a convincing argument for your job. Best of luck!
Margaret
Hi Miss Merry Sunshine: Thanks for the great posts everyone. Your ideas, thoughts, and resources are all important to this conversation. Margaret, you are right in so many ways that we always strive to show the successes. I think those success stories really need to center on how the differentiation of the instructional practice better met the instructional needs of diverse learners. It is the kids who need to be at the center of every conversation, not technical talk, computer talk, and all that techno stuff. Focus on the kids.
ReplyDeleteDiane, your comment about a 23 year old who had no idea how to format. He could probably kill some alien creature or download his favorite song. This is what I try to tell the parents at open house. Your kids 'think' they know everything, but really that's not true. There is a great deal of foundational concepts I try to teach the kids, and I feel I only scratch the surface. I watch 8th graders still forget how to save to a network drive, or forget how to format that header in Word. In some ways, the standards are quite good because they focus on the basics, which the kids often overlook in lieu of the fun and flashy.
Is it me, or is this exactly what we hope blogs to be? A collaboration of thoughts and ideas to improve the growth of our learners. Great stuff.