ISTE Standard 4

Critical Thinking, Problem Solving,
and Decision Making   

ISTE Standard 4 sets forth that students will: 1.) Use technology to help identify and define problems for investigation, 2.) Plan and manage projects with the help of digital graphic organizers, 3.) Utilize technology to collect and analyze data, identify possible solutions, and make informed decisions, and 4.) Explore and compare solutions with various technology tools. Standard 4 focuses on students ability to think critically, problem solve, and make decisions using technology as a tool. For a teacher this creates the question of how can technology function as a tool for students learning. This week’s reading provided some initial insight into just how technology (specifically gaming) can be used as a teaching tool, from students learning coding as a way to create digital 3D worlds as discussed in the Edutopia article, “3 Ways Coding and Gaming Can Enhance Learning”, to digital storytelling and game based learning from the Elsevier article, “Empowering students through digital game authorship: Enhancing concentration, critical thinking, and academic achievement.  Reading these articles on various game based teaching tools led to my Personal Trigger Question, “What is the role of gaming in an ELA classroom?”. In my quest for an answer, I read many applicable articles, but I found a combination of two articles best addressed my question and brought into perspective the feasibility of gaming as a technology tool.

The first was an Edutopia article, The Role of Video Games in the English Classroom ,by Terry Heick. I liked this article because it explained and gave examples of how diverse and expansive the subject matter can be in an ELA classroom. It then furthered this with examples of how various games could be used as technology tools.  In my summary for this article, I wrote, “For example, an introduction to a lesson on the element of tone could be presented/demonstrated by showing students a video game that is bright, colorful and has bubbly characters, then switch to a game that is black and white and macabre. “From here you can move on to speeches from Martin Luther King, where tone is overt, then short stories from Wendell Berry and Franz Kafka, where it may not be.” (Heick, 2012). The games are a foundation and source from which discussion can flow.” Games can be used much in the way books and movies have been used traditionally because they are filled with characters, quests, narratives, and role-playing, to name only a few subject specific content areas. A fellow ELA teacher,classmate also found value saying they go well together because they're both story based, but also pointed out that they can be used as a visual aide for students who are more visually inclined learners.This a great point that I had not considered.

The second article I liked because it worked as a newer supplement to the first article. Found on Edutopia the article is titled, “Using Games for Serious Learning in High School” by Matthew Farber. This article also paired ELA content with a game which could function as a learning tool. These articles in combination demonstrate the role gaming can have in an ELA classroom.

There are of course many other ways in which technology can function as tools in an ELA classroom. Standard 4 relates the need for students to plan and manage projects with the help of digital graphic organizers. Digital graphic organizers are readily available. They range from Venn diagrams, and character trait charts, to essay writing organizers. The Standards need to utilize technology to collect and analyze data, identify possible solutions, and make informed decisions can  be addressed with the use of  digital polling or survey tools. All of these factors together illustrate just how technology can be used as a teaching tool.

References

Farber, E. M. (2016, November 17). Using Games for Serious Learning in High School. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/games-for-serious-learning-matt-farber

Heick, T. (2012, September 17). The Role of Video Games in the English Classroom. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/video-games-in-english-classroom-terrell-heick

Kiang, D. (2014, May 20). 3 Ways Coding and Gaming Can Enhance Learning. Retrieved February 25, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/coding-and-gaming-enhance-learning-douglas-kiang

Yang, Y. C., & Chang, C. (2013). Empowering students through digital game authorship: Enhancing concentration, critical thinking, and academic achievement. Computers & Education,68, 334-344. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2013.05.023

The Fight Against Fake News

ISTE Standard 3: Research and Information Fluency

ISTE Standard 3, Research and Information Fluency, involves students using digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. When reading through this Standard I saw the criteria for students needing to “research strategies to locate information”, “evaluate the accuracy, perspective, credibility and relevance of information, media,”,“curate information from digital resources” (ISTE, 2017) and was immediately reminded of the numerous lesson plans and articles I have recently seen on helping students determine real news from fake news. This led to my personal trigger question “What tools are available to help students determine real news from fake news?”  Social media and the growing epidemic of fake news articles have created the need for students to be able to differentiate real news from fake news and determine viable information and sources.  It is not always an easy task. In response teachers are now seeing the need to create curriculum to address this issue.

One article, The Classroom Where Fake News Fails, illustrated why this skill is necessary relating that a recent study had shown American middle school, high school, and college students were bad at it.The article discussed a pilot blended learning program called the checkology virtual classroom as a new tool and teaching strategy to help students practice determining real from fake news. The article offered commentary by both the teacher and students as to the benefits of this program. Commentary from a student stated that, “We don't know which is which at this point," ... "We actually have to sit down, take our time, and actually read it.” (Turner, 2016). Overall, an important theme from this article was that teens get their news largely from the social media. “Some true. Some false.” Therefore, it is necessary to teach students methods and strategies of fact-checking. This program offered an engaging digital means of doing this. Since being able to evaluate credible sources is a cross-subject need, I agree with a fellow classmate's view that this program sounds like a great idea in any classroom. The blended learning platform of this program reiterated how “The move toward blended learning also has changed students' perception of computing devices. "Before, they saw them as something for word processing or web surfing at home," ... "Now, they see them as learning tools." (Wong, 2014).  

In my search, I found that there is not a conveniently packaged list or set method for students to follow to distinguish real news from fake news. There are, however, many lesson plans, websites, and strategies a teacher can share/teach to help students in this endeavor. Strategies, such as the C.R.A.P. Test, or  Google Reverse Image Search,  when combined with the blended learning platform, I think will provide students a great set of tools to work from.

References

Checkology™ Virtual Classroom. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.thenewsliteracyproject.org/services/checkology

Evaluating Sources - Use the C.R.A.P. Test! (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2017, from https://libraries.mercer.edu/research-tools-help/citation-tools-help/evaluating-sources

Google Reverse Image Search for Mobile. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2017, from https://ctrlq.org/google/images/

ISTE Standards for Students. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-students

Turner, C. (2016, December 22). The Classroom Where Fake News Fails. Retrieved February 05, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2016/12/22/505432340/the-classroom-where-fake-news-fails (Links to an external site.)

Wong, W. (2014). How Technology Enables Blended Learning. Retrieved February 5, 2017, from http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2014/04/how-technology-enables-blended-learning

Image:

(n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2017, from http://www.easybib.com/guides/evaluating-fake-news-resources/