Genius Hour Post #1 – Introduction

What is good usage of technology in the classroom? As a upcoming teacher, I know that I
will have to face some sort of technology in the classroom, whether it is 1:1 for students, or one
computer in the classroom. No matter what it is, I am still not sure how to effectively use
technology in the classroom. I am afraid that I will fall into the trap where I give worksheets
online all the time or use it too much. I want to figure out how to use technology with the right
amount, and only use it with relevancy. 

The dream as a teacher is for every student to have his/her own laptop they get to take home
every day and use in all aspects of school. We’re going to act like I get to live out my dream and
base this research off of the idea that is the type of classroom I will have. This is relevant to K-12
education because if I do get into a district where I know they use computers every day and I
need to be prepared for how to use it effectively. 

All beginning teachers would be interested in my question along with older teachers who
either don’t like using technology or who aren't used to it and don’t know how to effectively use
it either. I feel like they would be interested in my question because we all don’t know what to
do, and we all need some place to start. If I can get a good list of easy, but fun things to do with
students, then it would be a good reference point for us struggling teachers to start.

Pinterest is life. I feel like I can always find fun things to do on Pinterest whether it has to do
with technology or not. The EdTech Pinterest board for this class is fun and interesting to look at
because it gives me many cool ideas that I really would have not thought about before. Also, the
running list of EdTech applications is another good source for me because since we have talked
about them in class, I already know how they work, and if I like them or not. 
So far, I have learned some good websites to use like makey makey and even simple things I
can use like wheel of names. I know I will try to use google tour creator in my classroom. I really
liked that, because not only did I learn a lot, but it was really fun to show the class what I had
created. I was proud of it, and I feel like my students would be just as excited as I was about it.
But also, I get really excited about the small things so maybe not.
 Genius Hour Post #2
Effective Technology in the Classroom YouTube Playlist

1. What was it like to use YouTube to collect videos and curate a playlist? Have you
previously used YouTube in this way?
1. It was really interesting to create a playlist to collect videos. It was really helpful
though because instead of making a running list or having 10 different tabs open
on my computer, I was able to have one running playlist that will always be there
that I can easily come back to anytime I need to. I have never used YouTube this
way, but I think I will in the future because it is really handy when you have to
come back to it at a later point or when you accidentally close out of the tab.

b. What experience did you have in creating and uploading your video onto YouTube and
how does your video add to content about your topic on YouTube?
1. It was surprisingly easy to upload a video to youtube. I honestly have never done
it before, but they made it very user friendly and simple enough for an
elementary student to be able to do. My video adds content about my topic
because FlipGrid is a technology I use in my classrooms in college often. It is one
of the things I have become very familiar with, and something I know works very
well in a classroom that enhances a student's learning using technology. (well, at
least it has for me).

a. How do you think PK-12 teachers and students could use YouTube playlists in the
classroom?
1. My playlist was more made for teachers because it was supposed to inform them
of how to use technology in the classroom, and different sites or things you can
use to start using technology. Students could use it though because it can be a
resource on how to use specific apps if they are told to use, say flipgrid, there is a
video in there to show them how to use it effectively.

b. Discuss the most important thing or things you learned from your YouTube research and
how they expand your thinking about your Genius Hour research question.
1. My favorite video on the playlist was the TedTalk about why technology in a
classroom is important. I think this is a good way to get the teachers to start
thinking about using more technology in their classroom in an effective way.
Then when you get further into the playlist there are instructional videos on how
to use some of those apps. I have learned a lot making this playlist, exactly what I
want the educators to learn as to why I created the playlist. This expanded my
thinking because it taught me how and what to use to have effective use of
technology.
 Genius Hour Post #3 – Interview

*disclaimer. When I say “technology” in this paper I mean computers*

I interviewed Emily, a student who is in her 15th year of schooling. She has seen
technology grow from the TV on the carts to a full online schooling during the 2020 COVID-19
pandemic. She was born and raised in Grapevine, Texas which is a fairly wealthy area just
outside of Dallas/Fort Worth. A lot has changed in her 15 years, and it was interesting to hear
her point of view when it comes to how she feels about technology in the classroom. Emily is
mostly favorable for technology in the classroom, but she says technology should, “Enhance
education not to replace it”. 
In her elementary years, the most technology they had in the classroom was a TV on a
cart they would roll in every once in a while for movie day. Then, in middle school it grew a little
more to having the SMART Boards. Onto high school, each classroom had a cart of iPads that
the students could use everyday in class. This is when she really started to see technology taking
over in school. Finally in college, we are in a time when school is fully online because of the
COVID-19 pandemic. Her experience with this rapidly growing technology has been quite
favorable, though there have been some setbacks. One thing she feels that schools could have
done better was, “we don't take classes that teach us the basics of excel and photoshop”. She
wishes that she could’ve taken classes that use these kinds of programs because that is what she
is using in her work life today. She doesn’t need coolmathgames.com or kahoot in her worklife,
but if she were taught excel, then she feels she would've been a step ahead of others. It’s things
like this that teachers have to think about when creating and designing lesson plans, will the
students need this when they are done with school? As an upcoming teacher, I have never really
thought about this before. I know there are a lot of cool websites for teachers to use for their
students' projects, but sometimes we have to remind ourselves, will this enhance the students'
learning? She even said it herself that technology should “Give some sort of edge to whatever
you're learning”. 
I noticed when I was talking to her that she didn’t experience different programs or
websites other than Kahoot, D2L, canvas, and everything that most of us have already seen.
When I was talking to her about google tour creator and FlipGrid, she was surprised these sorts
of things existed. It’s things like this that give students that extra enhancement on their learning
that they wouldn’t get otherwise without technology. I was telling her about a project we did in
Ed tech where we picked a place we wanted to learn about, which for me it was the athletic fields
on OSU campus. I told her how we went out, took our own pictures, and gave our tours to the
rest of the class. She thought this was amazing, and a perfect example of what enhancing
technology is. This is something that helped me understand what students would want to see in
the classroom, not just a quiz on google classroom. 
One of the biggest questions I had for myself that I wasn't sure about was, was there an
age that’s “too young” to have technology in the classroom? She brought up some really good
points that, “By the time they get into 4 or 5th grade that's when they should start. It depends on
the subject. Can do math games online when younger but if you're trying to write that should be
on pencil and paper first. You should learn how to read a book and flip a page before you use an
eBook. Knowing how to write on pencil and paper is the first step”. I very much agree with her,
and I think as a future teacher, it's important to learn how to do things with pencil and paper
first before you do it on the computer. This is how we establish what good use and bad use of
technology is in a classroom. Can they do it on their own first? Can they do this without a
calculator? Are they able to write a story using a pencil and paper before they begin to type it
out?
As a future teacher, I can now see the difference between effective use of technology and
not. Emily’s insight on this was eye opening to me because not only has she been a student for
the past 15 years, but she also saw our world go from very little use to fully online. When
thinking about my question, what is good/effective use of technology in a 4th grade classroom?
The answer is simple to Emily, and is now very clear to me, “Something that is adaptable to all
kids who may or may not be used to technology. User friendly. Gives some sort of edge to
whatever you're learning. Enhance education not to replace it. Can’t give an iPad and expect the
kid to learn it, but the teacher needs to teach first”. 
 Genius Hour Post #4 – Scholarly Research

Source 1  A Counterargument to Ineffective Technology in Classrooms:

Characteristics of High Achieving Schools

Summary This paper dives deep into the world of why technology in a
classroom is ineffective in a classroom. They make claims that
“technology provided at young ages can hinder their learning
processes” and “educators are not allowed by technology to
effectively implement teaching strategies”. They do reference the
other side to the argument as to why some people think that
computers do help, but then they continue to prove what that isn't
always necessarily true. 

Strengths They do have counter arguments so the reader can see that they do
see, hear, and recognize the other side of the argument. This is a
good thing to have in all research papers. It shows that even though
they recognize the other side, that they are still right when they say
it is ineffective. 

Weaknesses In my opinion, as I was reading the paper, I feel like all of their
arguments were based on opinion, and they had to really search for
things that proved their point as true. One of their sources even
came from google.com. I also feel like at times they didn’t go very
much in depth explaining how the quote they just cited explains the
answer to their thesis at the beginning of the paragraph. They never
really asked students either if they feel technology was helpful and
what kind of technology is. The students are the ones who are
learning, not the teacher or administrators. 

How found ProQuest; I searched for “ineffective technology in the classroom”

and this was one of the first things that popped up.

How does the I think it’s important to recognize the other side to the story, and to
source assist you in see why some people think that technology is ineffective in a
answering your GH classroom. I want to hear this side to help me better understand
question? why some people think technology is bad, so then I can help figure
out a way to shut that argument down and only find helpful ways
for technology. 

Source 2 Teachers’ Views about Effective Use of Technology in Classrooms 

Summary This paper was about a study they did in an elementary school on
teachers and how they used technology in the classroom and their
opinions about using that technology. They also went above and
 asked the students about the technology in the classroom. They
found that the students know more about technology than the
teachers do, so that means it is something they are good at and
know about, and that is “ increase the interaction between teachers
and students”. 

Strengths I feel like this was written more professionally and scholarly than
the last source. They did their own study, and then on top of that
they referenced many other scholarly articles throughout their
paper, 25 others to be exact. This shows that they have done a lot of
research to prove their thesis. The article talks about different ways
that technology was used in the classroom, and how that made
learning more or less effective. They also asked the students what
they thought about the technology. 

Weaknesses The article didn’t do much to recognize the other side of the
argument that technology was ineffective in the classroom. 

How found ProQuest; I  searched for “effective technology in the classroom”

and I chose this article because it talked about the teacher views
and it basically was the first article that answered the exact
question I was looking for. 

How does the source Because they did their own research in a 4th grade classroom, this
assist you in directly relates to my question about how to effectively use
answering your GH technology in a 4th grade classroom (elementary school). They
question? talked about how all of the teachers used technology in their
classrooms and how that was helpful and how it wasnt, so that gave
me references to think about when I am trying to answer my
question of what is effective technology. 

Source 3  Incorporating iPad Technology: Creating More Effective Language

Classrooms

Summary Technology is something we cannot get away from as a society

anymore, and schools need to start incorporating it into the
classrooms. This article shows how the use of iPads in ESL
classrooms can change the way student learning is achieved. It
talks about different apps that can be used, and how you can
incorporate iPads into the lessons you already have. 

Strengths This article cites many different reliable sources that different
studies on a variety of things, and further explains why technology
in a classroom is not only helpful, but important in today's
learning. It talks about how we are to keep up with the changing
times and keep the new generations ahead of the game when it
comes to technology. They mention the challenges and how to
overcome them 

Weaknesses Again, it doesn't really mention the counter arguments of why

 technology in a classroom could hinder learning. It only mentions
how it is good and useful. 

How found ProQuest; I  searched for “effective technology in the classroom”

and I chose this article because it talked about the different apps
some teachers used to help make their ESL classroom more
efficient. I wanted to see exactly what apps worked in what
classrooms. 

How does the source This helps answer my question because it references specific apps
assist you in that worked for teachers in the past. It talks about apps that were
answering your GH used in an elementary school (my question is 4th grade specifically)
question? and why they made the classroom more efficient. So basically it
helps answer my question as to what technology makes a classroom
more effective.