Category: EdTech Inquiry

For our last EdTech Group Inquiry Blog we discussed the outcomes of this project. We discussed the shortcuts we studied, why we were interested in this topic, the pros and cons to these shortcuts, and a quote that we thought was very powerful.

The shortcuts we researched:

• • Spell Check -function that allows users to scan a document for words that have been manipulated
  • Talk to text -(aka: voice recognition technology) -tool that takes audio content and transcribes it into written words.
  • Text to talk –assistive technology that reads digital text aloud.

Firstly we were interested in this topic because:

• We wanted to learn how to prevent student’s dependency on technology shortcuts.
• Does the use of autocorrect and spell check prevent students from learning valuable grammar skills?
• We wanted to know if students reach a competent level of literacy and grammar skills, will they diminish with the increased use of shortcut tools?

The pros to including these shortcuts in the classroom:

• Can help students with learning disabilities
• Students can focus on getting ideas down without worrying about editing
• Poor or limited motor skills
• Vision impairments
• Limited English Language

The cons to having these shortcuts in classrooms:

• takes away from the students’ learning
• students stop thinking about the little details of their grammar and spelling
• students rely on these shortcuts
• if you don’t know it, when there is a list of possible correct options given, you don’t know which one to choose.

A quote that we thought was very powerful is:

“Technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching”

(Glowacki, 2015)

Overall, we think this project was very interesting and important to keep in mind in our future classrooms.

How will we each utilize these tools in our own classroom?

To be totally honest, I am not entirely sure how many standard ‘tech tools’ I will use in my future classroom. It depends entirely on the needs of my future students. With the ever increasing challenges facing both the students and the teachers in the average classroom today, I will use whatever technology available to be of help to my students. I do however feel very strongly that technology shouldn’t replace the learning of basic literacy skills. I believe all students should come out of school with a solid foundation in reading, writing and the ability to comprehend and apply what it is they have learned. Although it frustrated me at the time, I had a grade 6 teacher who used our class as part of his masters thesis. We spent a lot of extra class time working on spelling and  grammar exercises,  learning how to restructure sentences to make them stronger and more complete. In whatever assignment we were working on he would always ask us to rewrite the sentence to make it better or re write it create a knew way of writing it. We had to edit EVERYTHING he gave us. Although I wasn’t happy about using recess or P.E. time to work on these skills, it definitely paid off.  At the end of gr. 6 he had us write copies of the gr.12 English exam and we all passed it.  Of those kids in that particular class only two of us did not go on to College or University, and I am sure our stronger language skills helped us in our other studies which led to us choosing to go to College or University. Although I would definitely stress having strong basic literacy skills, I think the most important thing is to be able to utilize all the skills available to you to maximize your learning opportunities.

“Technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching”

(Glowacki, 2015)

flicker@morbergCCBYNC2.0

For this week’s blog, we have decided to discuss and research the cons to have technology shortcuts in the classroom. During our group discussion…

• takes away from the students’ learning
• students stop thinking about the little details of their grammar and spelling
• students rely on these shortcuts
• if you don’t know it, when there is a list of possible correct options given, you don’t know which one to choose.

Following our group discussion, we researched a couple of articles and found the following quotes:

• “In using e-mail or word-processing software, we become less proficient proofreaders when we know that a spell-checker is at work” (Nordquist, 2019).

• “Typically, if you have misspelled a word the spellchecker will offer a list of alternatives. Unless your initial attempt is reasonably close to the correct spelling, you are unlikely to be offered sensible alternatives, and, even if you are, you have to be able to make sense of what is on offer” (Nordquist, 2019).

• “By middle school and high school, students start saying things like “I don’t have to spend time on this because I can ask Siri,” Gardner said. “I’m even guilty of it. I use Grammarly. … We’re less likely to self-monitor our spelling because we know the computer will do it for us” (Denn, 2019).

For this week’s blog we have decided to discuss the article “Technology in the Classroom no Shortcut to Success: OECD Report” from CBC News referring to the inclusion of technology in the classroom. This article states technology is constantly growing and becoming more heavily relied on, therefore, technology should not be eliminated from the classroom. Instead technology should have limits. We strongly agree with this statement based on our previous research of the benefits of having technology shortcuts in the classroom in which we learned how technology should not take away the teaching in the classroom. We believe this quote states this perfectly: “technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching” (Glowacki, 2015). For example technology can help students’ grammar but cannot teach students how to spell. This article states that students who use technology more frequently have lower performances. The article also states that “when students use word processors instead of writing by hand, they write more and their writing skills are notably better” (Glowacki, 2015). However, nothing can replace a solid foundation in literacy skills.

In next week’s blog we will discuss the negatives of having technology shortcuts in the classroom.

This is the link for the article:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/technology-in-the-classroom-no-shortcut-to-success-oecd-report-1.3230587

(Glowacki, 2015)

• “Technology in the Classroom no Shortcut to Success: OECD Report”

• “when students use word processors instead of writing by hand, they write more and their writing skills are notably better” (relying on word processors= won’t get better)

ED Tech Inquiry

For this week’s blog, we have decided to discuss the pros towards including technology shortcuts into the classroom. As a group we discussed some pros to having technology shortcuts in a classroom from previous experiences or observations. To further our understanding and perspective on this topic we found an article. The article “What Middle School Educators Should Know about Assistive Technology and Universal Design for Learning” by Victoria Zascavage and Kathleen Winterman explains:

• There are many students with learning disabilities that are unable to succeed to their full potential without some aid from technology shortcuts.
• Spelling is a challenge with many students. Having some help for the weaker spelling students gains them some independence because they do not have to rely so heavily on peers, teachers, or others in the classroom.
• Technology shortcuts can also aid students progress their writing skills. As the students become stronger writers, they can eliminate some of the help to be more independent. For example, a student can begin by using word predictions and then switch to spell check.
• Technology shortcuts are also a UDL. These tools provide the teacher with different ways to present the information to meet the needs of their students.

For students who frequently experience “deficits in metacognition” as this article explains, this technology aids in students ability to set goals, focus, and monitor their progress.

The article link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00940771.2009.11461681

This article speaks to benefits of ‘Speak to Text’ and the pros as described:

• Learning disabilities, including dyslexia and dysgraphia
• Repetitive strain injuries, such as carpal tunnel syndrome
• Poor or limited motor skills
• Vision impairments
• Physical disabilities
• Limited English Language

The link: https://www.readingrockets.org/article/speech-recognition-learning

This article describes the importance of accuracy in language and presentation in terms of using spell check and grammar check to ensure a professional image. Because these tools are not completely reliable, students should have a basic grasp of language skills and how to use these tools appropriately. Since these tools are available in the classroom and their use is so wide spread, students should have exposure to these tools.

The link: https://www.teachhub.com/technology-classroom-grammar-check-websites

I think, depending on how solid your basic skills in English are, tech tools definitely help and are particularly time saving mechanisms when working with a computer. I know there are many useful tools available particularly when they are used as UDL’s to help those who would struggle in school or work without them. Those tech tools are not included in what I am referring to. For this blog, I am writing about some concerns I have with spell and grammar check. I have to admit, even though I have always been fairly good at spelling and punctuation and grammar, I use spell check and grammar check every time I use my computer. It gives me, what feels like, an extra set of eyes when writing and editing my work. I find that using these tools is such a time saver, eliminating the need to look up everything I am questioning.  However, if you don’t have access to a computer or laptop, you need to be able to write with a certain degree of competency that you might not have if you have if you have constantly relied on tech tools. I have a fairly solid foundation in English skills and wonder if it is because I grew up without having computers or laptops readily available. I had to hand write and edit everything I did, and used my dictionary and thesaurus regularly.

I remember my grade 6 teacher was preparing to write his Masters Thesis and used our class as a part of his study. I recall being so annoyed at having to sometimes miss P.E. and recess because we had extra writing assignments and lessons. However, by the end of grade 6, our teacher had gotten hold of a copy of a recent grade twelve English exam and had our class write it. We all passed, with many of us scoring in the B range. If my memory serves correctly, I think every student in that class, minus two, went on to college or university at some point. I can’t help but wonder if having strong English skills played a part in that. Fast forward to classrooms today, where I have noticed a fair degree decline in spelling, punctuation and grammar skills. I’ve helped out at many schools, particularly during volunteer hours and also while doing my first practicum. Each time I couldn’t help but notice how poor in general the basic writing skills had become. I noticed how much cooler the projects on display were, but I was dismayed to see such a low level of competency in writing. I was told that children don’t focus as much on those skills because the reality is that the computer will inevitably take care of those tasks. Some teachers I have talked to about this feel like there isn’t much that can be done to change this, so they decided to focus less on writing and more on building reading and comprehension skills. I wonder what happens to someone who is asked to fill out an application or certain paperwork by hand? Won’t they give the appearance of having less competency because they don’t have their tech tools to correct any mistakes and they haven’t a solid base from which to competently write out and edit their own words. I see my kids using tech tools all the time, and I know their writing skills aren’t as good as they could be. I often find myself going over their homework only to find what feels like a million sentence errors. (They are not very happy when I ask them to start correcting them.) I think tech tools definitely have their place, and certainly help in saving time, which is what I use them for. However, I think there is a certain danger in learning to rely on them instead of having the basic writing skills from which to draw upon if needed.

https://www.bookbub.com/blog/grammar-memes

https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/teacher-blog/2013/aug/16/teaching-literacy-technology-ict-schools

ED Tech Inquiry

Our group tech inquiry topic that we have chosen is “how to prevent student dependency on technology shortcuts such as auto correct, talk to text, and text to talk.”  For some students, and in some situations, these are very helpful tools.  However, in many cases students rely on these tools for efficiency purposes which causes them to lose some basic literacy skills in the process. We believe this is a growing problem in schools today with the ever increasing use of technology in classrooms starting at a younger age. As an example, the use of autocorrect and spell check is preventing students from learning valuable grammar skills.  Throughout this project, we would like to investigate the effects this has on student learning.  We are curious if students reach a competent level of literacy and grammar skills, will they diminish with increased use of shortcut tools? We will research studies online, talk with practicing educators, and speak with peers about their own experiences with these tools in school.

This is a link to an older article we found which looks at the effect of technology on student writing:  file:///C:/Users/megha/AppData/Local/Temp/1661-Article%20Text-1790-1-10-20110511.pdf