The bias SATs

In the article, Correcting the SAT's Ethnic and Social-Class Bias: A Method for Re estimating SAT Scores, by Roy O. Freedle, he discusses how to change to cultural bias of our nations standard on college admission. He feels that the SAT's a basis on two levels culturally and statistically. By using a reformed scoring idea, R-SAT's, Freedle feels that more minority students may enter prestigious colleges. Different cultures view things differently leading to much different test scores. The highest difference in scores in in the verbal part of the SAT, which is often because of cultural differences. Freedle shows many different studies that show that most of the time the African American students do better on the hard questions by whites in volume preform better. There is also evidence that lower income white students would benefit by the R-SAT way of scoring. This article takes a hard look at the test that every high school student must face. It is time that we make college a fair fight.

The Value of Hard Work

In the Article The Value of Hard Work: Lessons on Parent Involvement from an (Im)migrant Household, by Gerardo R. Lopez, the concept of parental involvement in education is discussed. This articles follows the academic progress of a migrant family though the education process. When we think about parental involvement it normally pertains to the PTO or the amount of time spent helping children with their work after school. In this article we see a different perspective on parental involvement. The Padillas family taught their children to value education in a very different manor. The parents both taught their children to work hard in the fields and by doing so encouraged the children to continue their education so as not to have to work the fields in the future. It also taught the children the value of hard work and also manual skills that they could always fall back on. Although this was not the traditional way to be involved in the schools, the Padillas saw all of there children, one still in high school, continue on to college. It is important to look at all the ways that parents can be involved in their children's education.

Laptops In The Classroom

Check out this SlideShare Presentation:

Laptops In The Classroom

View more presentations from guest2c4f5906.

Scrapblog

For my third emerging technology post I choose to do a digital scrapbook. I used the Scrapblog website. It was very easy to use and I had a wonderful time putting up pictures of Wesley ans Sam playing hockey. I did not add many stickers and borders to the scrapbook because it does cost a small amount of money to do so. Many of the scrapbooking websites make you pay without a free trial which was a nice bonus to scrapblog.

I did have a couple of problems posting the scrapbook. If you click on the full screen button at the bottom left hand corner you can see my pictures.

Enjoy!

hockey scrapblog

Yammer

https://www.yammer.com/iupui.edu/home#home

Here is a link to my Yammer account. This is a great networking site for those in the work place. I am part of the IUPUI Yammer You can use this site to stay in contact with the people you go to school and work with. This would be a wonderful way to network when working or trying to find jobs. It was extremely easy to sign up for and interesting to see the others involved in the site. It is a wonderful place to see what people are doing in your workplace.

You do have to sign into yammer with a username and password but the link will get you to the home page.

Podcast

I know that this was the very first time I looked into what a podcast really was although I had heard to word before. It was refreshing a very easy to learn. The site I used walked you through the process a step at a time. It took me just a few minutes to set up my first podcast.

This will be very helpful as a future teacher to help the children explore and post their own podcasts adding excitement to any project!

I have been playing around with some different podcasts and here is the first attempt at yet another new and exciting chapter on my journey into computer technology.......


http://www.yodio.com/Yo.aspx?CardId=PnFgQTiEm06atWDxVP2csG

I sometimes can't believe how fast my kids grow! Wesley I hope you had a wonderful tenth

B-day!

Who would of thought blogging could be such fun!!

Isaac Asimov:
I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.

Have a great day!

My Family

Critical Thinking Paper

Here is a paper I wrote for my class W200. It is a class that teaches future teachers how to use technology in the classroom. Enjoy......

In the article, Handheld, Wireless Computers: Can They Improve Learning and Instruction?[i], the issue of using handheld, wireless computers in the classroom setting is explored. In reading the article, two main questions came to mind. First, can the use of handheld, wireless computers (HWCs) make learning a more interactive experience? Second, what are the disadvantages of using these devises in the classroom?
In the article they looked at three different classroom settings all using HWCs. In general, they found these devises helpful in the classroom. The students and the teachers agreed that HWCs increased participation and only created a few minor problems.
I believe using HWCs can be beneficial in the classroom. It can make the students and the teachers interact more frequently and in a timelier manner, leading to more involvement in classroom discussions. In the article, teachers were asked after using HWCs, what were some of the advantages? An overwhelming numbers of teachers indicated that students were more involved in the learning process. One teacher noted, “Students were highly engaged and appeared to remain on task during the entire activity...[instructor # 1]” (Moallem, et. al., 2006, p102).
In another article, Type II Uses of Technology in Education: Projects, Cases Studies and Software Applications,[ii] written about the use of HWCs in the classroom, the editors came to a similar conclusion. The editors explored the issue and had the following observation:

What happened when HWCs were used in delivering instruction? Instructors and researchers reflection and observation notes indicated that in all three course, using HWCs for delivering instruction changed the class dynamics from a primarily lecture-driven, large group discussion to a more interactive and student-involved learning environment (Maddux, C., et. al., 2006).

This research further indicates that in most classroom settings, HWCs increase the level of participation and lead to increased satisfaction from teachers and students.
In my own experience, I have seen the use technology have a similar effect of increasing participation in the classroom. While working as a teacher’s assistant last year, we had the opportunity to introduce laptops to a group of children in the classroom. While laptops are different from a HWC, it is still a new interactive technology for the students and teachers alike. The results were amazing. The children were so excited to use these computers because they were able to access information that went along with classroom instruction instantaneously and integrate it into their learning. As a result, they created better schoolwork and papers as compared to before the use of the laptops.
Even though HWCs have the potential to increase participation in classroom activities and discussion, they also have disadvantages. Use of HCWs can allow for students to share information easily. In general, this is a benefit to the educational process but if the ability is abused (in the form of cheating), it becomes a concern. Another potential disadvantage is the difficultly of the instructor to monitor the use of HWCs within the classroom. In the article, Handheld, Wireless Computers: Can They Improve Learning and Instruction?[iii], the authors discuss how these two issues (potential cheating and monitoring of student activity) can collide. “One issue relates to the security of student and faculty information over wireless networks and the potential for classroom dishonesty should students decide to daisy-chain data to one another and beam answers from device to device.” (Moallem, et. al., 2006, p105). As HWCs use in the classroom proliferates, all aspects of their usage, including the downsides, will have to be addressed and monitored.
I believe that HWCs can improve the educational process by increasing student involvement and participation in the classroom. Use of HWCs can also help instructors bring information to their students in a timely manner, which will increase their readiness and willingness to learn. As with the adoption of all technological advancements and improvements, the use of HWCs will take further study to learn how to use them in the most effective and efficient manner.


[i] Moallem, M., Kermani, H., & Chen, S. (2006). Handheld, Wireless Computers: Can They Improve Learning and Instruction? Computers in the Classroom, v22 n3-4 p93-106.
[ii] Maddux, C, & Johnson, D., (2006). Type II Uses of Technology in Education: Projects, Cases Studies and Software Applications. Computers in the School, v23, n1/2.
[iii] Moallem, M., Kermani, H., & Chen, S. (2006). Handheld, Wireless Computers: Can They Improve Learning and Instruction? Computers in the Classroom, v22 n3-4 p93-106.

First post....

Other than reading my nephews blog this is brand new. So I don't fall to far behind Max I will give this a try! I am a mother of two wonderful boys, Wesley ans Sam, a brand new student and I love to throw in a yoga class every once in awhile. My family and I live in Zionsville In, where we love to hang out at the park ride bikes and throw around any kind of ball.