CLT & DLT

Educational Technology

Standard 6: Uses educational technology to promote student thinking/reflection to clarify students’ conceptual understanding.

Standard 7: Uses educational technology to make abstract content more accessible to students.

When researching for an educational tool for an elementary classroom I wanted to ensure that it would be safe from viruses and was more than just a new program or application.  What I found was Osmo: https://www.playosmo.com/en/.  Osmo turns any iPad or iPhone into a tangible learning tool.  I like that Osmo works with iPad and iPhone as they are not as susceptible to being hacked or viruses taking over the program as other hardware.  Some programs in Osmo are available in Spanish as well as English making it accessible to more students and can help bridge the gap with some ELL students.    

 “Osmo enables the iPad and iPhone to merge the power of physical play with the digital advantages of real-time feedback. Playing beyond the screen invites students to collaborate on tables or floors while manipulating tangible game pieces such as number tiles, letter tiles, and coding blocks.” Osmo Official Website

 Osmo is also continuously growing and is currently in 30,000 schools.  It is beneficial for grades K-6 so an investment into this technology would not be limited to only one classroom but could easily float between grade levels or classrooms.  The most important aspect of Osmo is that it helps clarify students’ conceptual understanding by using physical blocks or tangible game pieces such as number tiles, letter tiles, and coding blocks.  When using the blocks, the camera on the Osmo reacts to the placement and creates a fun learning environment that changes students’ concepts to concrete thoughts and ideas.  This feedback is instant and provides visual and auditory feedback.  This acts as a scaffolding effect when students are close to the right answer but need a little help or a hint to bring them along to the correct answer.  Beginning with concrete representations prior to the use of abstractions is more likely to result in accurate understanding of abstract concepts (Olson, 2008).  Osmo would be used to enhance the current curriculum and not replace entirely.   Research indicates that people more easily understand abstractions when they are preceded by concrete representations (Olson, 2008).  The Osmo system is built on the four C’s of the 21st century: collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking.  Collaboration is important for students to develop social and emotional skills in addition to the subject being learned.  The communication involved develops leadership skills and helps the team work in cooperation with each other.  The app is designed to bring concrete objects to life and students are not limited by the apps programming.  The apps programs are designed to move students through their learning and always produce new scenarios that require critical thinking to solve.   

 Osmo uses tangram pieces, number and word tiles to help abstract ideas in mathematics and geometry come to life in front of the student.  Osmo uses concrete objects and turns them into adaptable drawings that each student can change and manipulate.  This technology will help develop a positive experience when working with subjects like art, handwriting, STEM, spelling and geography.  Students accumulate points and can be competitive in learning and progressing through the programs.  As a father of two kids in elementary school I can tell you that it is a sense of pride for them to know what level reading they are at or what their latest score on their computer math game is currently.  The abstract content appears to come alive as soon as the tiles are placed in front of the camera.  This will be enough to engage every student and the point system will help motivate those already eager to learn to move further along with the subject matter into more difficult scenarios.  In “Have technology and multitasking rewired how students learn” Willingham suggests that even though technology can’t be a guarantee to make students learn it is sometimes the little energy boost that is needed to engage students (Willingham 2010)  The Osmo system would allow the teacher to incorporate another approach to learning and wouldn’t require much set up time and could be used as a reward until all content was verified.    



“Kids Learn Best Through Play | Osmo Hands On Learning System‎”

Osmo – Award-Winning Educational Games System for IPad, http://www.playosmo.com/en/schools/.


Willingham, D. (2010). Have technology and multitasking rewired how students learn? American Educator, 23-42. Retrieved from https://www.aft.org/sites/default/files/periodicals/willingham-summer-10.pdf

Technological Literacy & Ethical Issues with Technology

Technological Literacy

Standard 1 - Technological Literacy

Technological literacy is always changing and it is becoming more difficult to become literate on all types of technology and platforms.  Technological Literacy is defined by the International Technology Education Association's (ITEA) as the ability to use, manage, evaluate, and understand technology.  It is almost impossible to confidently say that one is an expert at all types of technology and the ability to use all of them effectively.  Technology is racing forward quickly with more and more individuals and companies creating new and improved platforms and gadgets on a daily basis.  It really is mind numbing to wrap your head around all of the improvements that have happened over just the last decade.
  

Probably the best aspect of becoming technologically literate is that software and technology is becoming more and more resilient and a lot of times are so user friendly that an individual can learn a lot by simple trial and error.  I know for me it is still a challenge to teach this to may parents who seem to think that pushing the wrong button on the remote might break the tv or somehow interrupt their cable service.  Children are easier at learning new technology because they click before thinking and continue clicking or trying new functions until they reach their desired outcome.  I think the biggest challenge is not trying to incorporate our children learning technology but how to keep teachers and the vast majority of the population that is outside of school literate on the latest technology.  Once a person who is not competent in using technology learns that there is little, they can mess up by simply playing with a new system and realizing that there are likely safeguards put into place to ensure catastrophic failures will not occur.  There are always a plethora of user videos and reviews on all technology showing a new user the functions either in a YouTube video or similar style format.  Another good aspect of technology is that you don’t need to learn how an operating system worked 5 or 10 years ago to start learning it today.  Chances are that the developers have troubleshot through many of the difficulties and made it more user friendly if it is either a piece of technology or program that has withstood the test of time. 

Ethical Issues & Technology

Standard 5 - Ethics and Technology

I think that talking about ethical issues and technology is similar to how one might teach a child about common manners or even in some parallels to say no to drugs.  There are many ethical issues when dealing with technology and they vary from not using all caps when emailing your colleagues to not plagiarizing and correctly citing your sources.  It is never to early for students to learn all of the particulars and dangers that using technology can create.  Everyone has seen teachers begging others to retweet an image or phrase so that their class can see the impact the internet has and the speed at which information good or bad can spread throughout the world.  As a future educator it is of paramount importance to teach students all this from an early age even if they don’t quite comprehend all of the formalities and details.  We teach children that bullying is bad before they fully understand what it is and how to identify those actions.  We also teach children that drugs are bad and to just say no.  We should be doing exactly the same with letting children know that it is dangerous to text and drive and that posting someone’s video or picture on the internet without their consent can be damaging or hurtful.  The better able to identify these actions and the more it is role played for them what to say and how to say it will help immensely when confronted with these always difficult to deal with situations.  Technology will become more or more complex but the simple rules of how to treat other people will never change.      



Koehler, M. J., & Mishra, P. (2009). What is technological pedagogical content knowledge?
Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 9(1), 60-70.



Bleazby, Jennifer. “How Compatible Are Communities of Inquiry and the Internet? Some Concerns about the Community of Inquiry Approach to E-Learning.” E-Learning and Digital Media, vol. 9, no. 1, 2012, pp. 1–12.