The Gender Gap

Is there a title IX technology provision? In all seriousness, we have a growing need for technology and seem to be growing in a lopsided fashion. Sure girls use technology, but they’re not the ones creating it. After reading the article it was interesting to see that it’s not necessarily that they have an aversion to technology, but how its being used. Which I guess makes sense due to the more social nature (dare I say) that women seem to have. This might be why men are more than happy to alone in their “cave” doing their own thing, and women would rather participate in a group activity. Most young girls are less apt to sit around for hours tinkering with something by themselves. It’s the same reason why there are no pink Legos (or maybe there are some nowadays).

So the keys are socialization and communication. The tricky part is creating ways of infusing these traits within the use of technology. The physical environment matters more to the girl than the boy. This doesn’t seem that shocking since we all have seen the difference between a boys and girls bedroom/dorm room. And the fact that they like communication is no surprise either seeing the extraordinary popularity of IMing and texting with girls. Not to say that guys don’t, but if you want to learn how to type-talk with four or more people at a time, ask a twelve year old. We should be using their interests to our (education's) advantage.

Dexter's E-Tips Continued - What's the "value added"?

In this chapter there was large focus on what technology should do for the teacher and student. On of the most important factors to me is the ability of the curriculum to accept technology. It should include alternatives and allow flexibility for the diversity of the students. The technology requirements that are being sanctioned by districts should be absorbed into the curriculum. The difficulty is figuring out how to still maintain the original goals before the technology piece was there. Often technology is a "side car" rather than a new mode of transportation. Those that have the ability to alter curriculum for their schools need to take this idea of integrating into consideration. If technology is going to become a stronger part of education it needs to be seen as less of a break from the norm, and more of a student's everyday life.

Another interesting point dealt with the difference in accessing learning and accessing information. I feel that many teachers are misled by technology in using it mostly for the latter. Information is now cheap and plentiful. Project that regurgitate information only help the students learn how to work the software, and even then that's not always the case. How can we use technology to promote thinking rather than gathering? A lot of what's out there is gathering in disguise.

Some Thoughts and Reactions

So far the class overall has been great. For a regular classroom teacher, it has been nice to be introduced (or reintroduced) to a number of excellent programs. A few I've used or heard of but rarely had the chance to use them. On top of that, most of them are FREE, and that can play a huge role in its eventual use down the road. I forgot about good ol’ GIMP for years until a few weeks ago. And the new portable version now resides on my flash drive.

And even if I never use MovieMaker again, I can see myself being more willing to approach projects like it with less hesitation. I have liked the fact that we are making projects at are own level. If we want to make the project more complex or challenging, we can; or it can be simple and effective. I guess I'm sensing it’s about exposure and comfort, rather than overall mastery. It's also interesting to see the variety of skill levels within the class. I guess that can be challenging to approach seeing how some people have never made a website and others can type in HyperText.

I plan on using this class to create projects for my class that I would otherwise not have (or set aside) the time to do. Just about everything so far has been useful for me in my regular classroom environment. We'll see what happens with the Podcast and the Wiki.