week 3 technology questions - edci 5825

•Now that there is unlimited potential to celebrate the work of students with their communities, what is the best way to mange this opportunity?

The best way to manage this opportunity is to allow students to pursue issues they are interested and get them involved in solving those problems. They can pick a community issue and help to solve it. They should narrow their focus to one issue to solve, and the teacher can help guide them on who to speak to about the problem and where they should start. Students are sometimes more adept at technology than teachers, so they should utilize those skills to reach out to the community (November, 2010). Alan November cites an example of a student he had named Colleen, who was not interested in doing schoolwork. He then assigned her a project to help create a database of all the resources for people with disabilities in Massachusetts (November, 2010). Since she had a personal connection to the material (she had a disabled relative), she was more likely to be motivated to engage with the material. Giving students a problem to solve can help students feel autonomous and in control of their own learning. It may motivate them to become better students, much like in Colleen's situation.

•How can we create authentic work and relationships for our students to give them a deeper meaning in relation to complex issues such as globalization and cultural sensitivity?
We can have our students colloborate with other students across the globe, to make them realize what they might have in common with other cultures. Technologies such as wikis and videoconferencing can be utilized to have students work together in ways that wouldn't be possible with just paper and pencil (November, 2010). However, just because the technology connects us doesn't mean there isn't a cultural barrier. Students need to understood each other's differences and that they may not receive the answer they want when they ask a question of someone from another country/culture. November mentions how students asked an Israeli citizen about if peace would happen in Israel, and they received an answer about water issues. The students then gave up, but they need to push for answers and understand that they need to ask the right questions as well. It is important to be culturally sensitive and realize that others do not think the same way you do. I think many students are very egocentric and only focus on themselves. Through this technology, they can begin looking outwards and realizing this is a wide world out there with many different cultures and ideologies. I also think we need to encourage students to work colloboratively and make sure the truly understand the technology as well. If a student feel comfortable with the assignment and technology, they will form better relationships as well.

•What are the emerging collaborative relationships for teachers

With technology, teachers can share their knowledge with other teachers. They have class websites that people can refer to and they can even video their classrooms in action so other educators can view them (November, 2010). Teaching is thought of as a solitary occupation, but it is essential for teachers to discuss problems with one another and even borrow teaching ideas/methods. Technology such as a class blog or website or videos can help other teachers see what is going on in their colleague's classroom without just doing direct observation, which isn't always practical.


References
November, A. (2010). Empowering students with technology. Thousand Oaks, California: Corwin.