McLuhan's+Tetrad

Interactive White Board: Promethean Board
 * Enhances**: This technology allows students to see anything that can be displayed on a computer's desktop. IWB’s allow teachers to record their instruction and post the material for students to view at a later time. IWB’s are interactive for students as they are able to come up to the board and move objects around or listen for a reward sound to know if they are correct or to keep trying. Multi-media can be imbedded into a flipchart which can enhance the lesson and engagement for students. “It brings hands-on activities to life” (Promethean, 2012).


 * Obsolete:** The IWB replaces traditional chalkboards and dry erase boards. I also think that this technology has even replaced PowerPoint, or at least has provided a new outlet for it.


 * Retrieves/ Rekindles:** An IWB reminds me of using magnets and tape and constructing interactive games and activities for my students to complete on my old chalkboard. I tried to do a lot with the resources we had available and the chalkboard was where I was able to display and organize my information, data, games, activities… anything really that would support my lesson. It reminds me of the “upgrade” we had to a dry erase board and then to a projector to display PowerPoint, then to an IWB with a pen, and finally to the IWB I can simply touch to control.

Promethean World. (2012). Retrieved on January 11, 2012 from [|http://www.prometheanworld.com/en-us/education/products/interactive displays/activboard-500-pro]
 * Reverses:** This technology could be replaced by something similar to an Xbox Kinect system (Xbox, 2012); something that responds to movement and voice and does not require a physical touch at all. I can imagine being in the back of my room and calling voice commands to the IWB or making a simple gesture with my hand and the next page of my flipchart will appear. It will certainly cause a lot of changes in the classroom, not only for the students, but the teachers as well. “A new technology (or medium) carries with it the seeds of destruction paving the way for the next one to follow – even if we may have no idea (or foresight) as to what that technology may be” (Thornburg, 2008).

Thornburg, D. D. (2008). //Emerging technologies and McLuhan's Laws of Media//. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Xbox Kinect. (2012). Retrieved on January 11, 2012 from Microsoft. Website: []

Amanda Jourdan

Amanda:

I really like your forward thinking! The interactive white board has become an amazing and integral part of classrooms across the globe; I myself have only had one since the beginning of this school year but find myself thinking what I did before this. I agree that it has replaced traditional chalkboards, and whiteboards, but really love the idea that someday the interactive board could be controlled by simple body movements like a Kinect controller!

Jacob March

Amanda, I like that you mention interactive white boards. This technology facinates me, and I hope to some day be able to interact with it. Unfortunately my school cannot afford this right now. Friends that do have this in their classrooms love the fact that it is so interactive in so many ways. They use it for teaching lessons, reveiwing and manipulating items that at one time would have had to be taped to the board as you mention. I love that you see the interactive white board going towards something involving movement! This is so importnat for those students who learn kinestheically. I have found that any time I use movement while teaching my first graders remember it so much better than if they were sitting in their seats!

Elizabeth Kressin

Ipads in education:

Thinking of my schools around the nation, this tetrad becomes increasingly more important, looking into the future of technology, as we look towards the future of our students, and how we as educators, can best prepare students for an unpredictable future. As technology grows and expands daily, one technology that stands out above all others is the personal hand held device, such as an Ipad, Nook, Kindle, or even smartphone. I can't wait for when technology in education catches up to the type of technology our students are exposed to every day of their lives. Technology has enhanced education in such a way that it has become an invaluable tool for both educators and students. While the smartboards and powerpoints are an extremely useful way to teach students and help peak their interest, we have only begun to understand what can be accomplished in education when it comes to technology. As Bob Lenz wrote, our students are exposed to hi tech gadgets all the time and they shouldn't have to leave their tech savvy at the door when they come to school (Lenz, 2010).

The Ipad has revolutionized the way that many students, teachers, and business people do work, and communicated on a regular basis. Though when they first arrived on the market the Ipad was a technological novelty, they have become an essential part of many people’s everyday lives. The Ipad has made it easy to not only communicate, but organize, present, and share information with people around the globe, with or without wifi, and now with the addition of a camera it allows people to create and share picture and video presentations, taking the Ipad to the cutting edge of new technologies. The addition of this technology to many schools has replaced the personal computer at many schools, as a district can adopt this at a lower cost than the traditional tablet computer, and with a relatively easier user interface that many students are already familiar with, students can create presentations, take notes, research, and present with ease. As mentioned before, the world of technology is ever changing, and it is difficult to see what will come next, however I don’t think that the tablet computer system will be going anywhere anytime soon.

Refrences: Thornburg, D. D. (2008). //Emerging technologies and McLuhan's Laws of Media//. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration

Lenz, B. (2009, June 10). Will the iPad and Similar Technology Revolutionize Learning Edutopia. //K-12 Education & Learning Innovations with Proven Strategies that Work Edutopia//. Retrieved January 15, 2012, from [] Jacob March

Jacob, Well said. It is unfortunate that so much technology exists and that so many teachers see it as a hindrance to the classroom experience. The reality of the classroom we work in is that the students we serve are "wired" all the time. It's the world we live in, and we should be teaching accordingly. In my own school, if students were to take all the money they spend on textbooks throughout their high school career and applied that to purchasing an IPad, the cost would be relatively the same. The benefits of having one of these tools over a backpack filled with textbooks would be tremendous. I can't help but imagine the apps and tools that would be discovered on a daily basis that assisted in the learning process. As more students started using these tools, I imagine the increased demand would result in multitudes of classroom specific software designed especially for the learning environment. The possibilities are staggering, if not endless. I agree, the tablet system seems to be here to stay. Bill

Jacob,

I used a tablet as my suggested technology for our discussion this week. I think that the benefit they hold is huge. i agree with you when you by thinking that computers are going to be around for a while. Yes, they will change over time, but the basic idea and use will remain the same. It is something to invest in and feel confident that the money won't be wasted. The cost is high for technologies like the iPad, but if a deal can be made or finds can given, it's not something that is impossible at all. I completely agree with everything Bill is adding as well. Textbooks are something that are becomming less and less and commonly used in our classrooms. Why not take that money and put it towards something that can be updated with the touch of a screen instead of recycling or throwing something away and replacing it with something else that will just need the change again in a few years? It's something to think about and for a school distrcit to begin to weigh the benefits of this in the long run.

Amanda Jourdan

IPad/IPods In The Classroom

Enhances – The IPad/IPod increases student engagement in the learning process. These devices create the opportunity for virtually unlimited software applications that can be created to target specific learning goals. Additionally, these devices allow the kind of flexibility and information handling power that has become the expectation in today’s high stakes learning environment.

Obsoletes – The IPad/IPod has the ability to eliminate many of the standard items we use daily in the classroom. This list could include the following items: Classroom computer, student white boards, calculators, lined paper, video/digital camera, tape player, voice recorder. It could even eliminate or minimize the need for having a pencil or pen. In more advanced math and science classrooms, there are applications that would eliminate the need for the various charts, maps, and graphs that are typically plastered all around the room. Realistically, these devices (or those like them) also eliminate the need for lengthy and expensive textbooks.

Retrieves/Rekindles – For me personally, using the IPad and IPod brings rekindles the idea of exploration and discovery. Although we do not use these tools at my school, students have them. They approach me regularly to show me the new app that he or she has “discovered” that has in some way made an improvement in his or her life that they were unaware they even needed. Also, in the case of many students, there is a fondness for the tactile effect achieved when using these tools. They somehow feel more connected to what they are doing compared to the relative distance perceived when using a mouse and monitor.

Reverses – While there is no denying that this technology has and will continue to change the way we do things, I am reminded of the way in which other technologies have changed the standard skills that are considered acceptable. For example, the fact that inexpensive calculators are so readily available to my generation has resulted in the fact that my father can tell you the solution to 9 x 8 twice as fast as I can. I have become reliant on a technology that didn’t even exist 60 years ago. The result of this technological assistance is that we can do a lot of really cool stuff, but don’t always know how or why it works.

There is no doubt that the IPad is an amazing tool. The question about its usefulness, at least for me, is whether or not it will truly change the way we educate. The reality is that there are piles and piles of old technology that was also amazing for its time that no longer gets used in the classroom. Technology continues to change and improve, but in most cases, the classroom as we know it is almost the same as it was 20 or 30 years ago. As teachers, it is our job to take this new technology and find ways in which it not only improves learning, but completely changes the way that learning is accomplished in order to best benefit our students. Technology is only disruptive if it alters the paradigm of education. Our responsibility is to be flexible enough in what we do to recognize the potential and then maximize the benefits.

Christensen, C. M., & Horn, M. B. (2008). How do we transform our schools? // Education Next //, //8//(3), 12–19.

Thornburg, D. D. (2008). //Emerging technologies and McLuhan's Laws of Media//. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration.

Bill Lutke Bill, You are right about all the old technology that is currently taking up space somewhere in the school building, but not put to use in such a long time. I do think that something like an iPad would change the way I personally teach, if all my students were given one. The communication and the activities that I imagine doing are unlike anything I am able to do right now. A lot of my teaching strategies that use technology aren't as individualized as I would like them to be. I think with an iPad, there would be fewer boundaries and the personalization seems endless.

Amanda Jourdan

Enhances: This technology allows students to carry many different books with them for practice or reading for fun. The fact that they can connect to the internet is a plus if it is supervised well at school. Books can also be dowloaded in a matter of a minute so it is easy to create a collection with books of topics that interest all students.
 * E-Readers **

Obsoletes: Though some people still really like the look and feel of reading paper books, I believe e-readers are replacing them to some extent.

Rekindles: E-readers still have aspects of paper books such as turning pages (though it is done with a push of a button.) They also have the same look while reading that a paper book has. For example, the screens are usually no glare like a page would be, and the pages of the books are still set up the same including title pages, tables of contents, and chapter headings.

Reverses: Down the road I think e-readers could be replaced with newer versions that allow students to interact with the pages, just as some websites allow now. In the younger grades I think this would mean being able to interact with the words including help sounds out or giving definitions if the student does not understand what a particular word means.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). McLuhan’s Tetrad. New and emerging technologies, Baltimore, MD: Author

Elizabeth Kressin Elizabeth, I am on of those people who prefer to read printed text, especially when it is an informational text or a text that I am using as a learning tool. I like being able to highlight and write my thinking in the margins. Nonetheless, I agree with you. Electronic versions or Ereaders are replacing printed text. I believe that even people like me will come around especially if we are given the capability to write in the margins of the electronic documents much like some of our Walden professors do when they comment on our papers. Carissa Martin Enhances- This device runs a basic word processing program allowing students to compose, edit, cut-copy-paste text and print. This technology was an affordable alternative to the PC because schools could purchase 6 to 8 AlphaSmarts for the price of one computer (Russell, Bebell, Cowan & Corbelli, 2002). My school continues to use AlphaSmarts because although we have two computer labs with our student population over 1300 is rather challenging to gain regular access to the labs. AlphaSmarts allow teachers at my school to provide their students with frequent access to a word processor. They are also popular amongst grade 1 and grade 2 teachers because of their user friendly design. These tools automatically save student work eliminating the headache that comes with getting young learners to understand the logistics of the PC. .
 * AlphaSmarts**

Obsoletes: word processors tools such as this one replaces the typewriter.

Rekindles: According to Dr. Thornburg word processors rekindle interest in typeface from the Renessaince (Thornburg, 2008).

Reverses: AlphaSmarts have already been replaced by ipads and other tablet devices. These devices offer the same word processing and portability benefit in addition to access to the web and a host of other applications.

Resources Russell, M., Bebell, D., Cowan, J., & Corbelli, M. (2002). An AlphaSmart for each student: does teaching and learning change with full access to word processors? Chestnut Hill, MA: Boston College. Retrieved from [|www.bc.edu/research/intasc/PDF/**AlphaSmart**EachStudent.pdf] on January 12, 2012.

Thornburg, D. D. (2008). //Emerging technologies and McLuhan's Laws of Media//. Lake Barrington, IL: Thornburg Center for Space Exploration. Retrieved from Walden Library on January 9, 2012.


 * Carissa Martin**