Blog Post I

 Pt I 

Hi Everyone, 

My name is Claire Kalinsky and I am working on my second Master's degree in this program. I am currently a Science & Social Studies teacher at Adult Education in Conway, South Carolina. I received my undergraduate degree in Marine Science, and went on to achieve a Master's in Teaching with a focus on science which I got both from Coastal Carolina University, here in Conway. 

My ultimate goal is to become a better teacher, and a lifelong learner. I ultimately want to work on getting a PhD in the future and do what I can to improve others' lives. I love helping people and that is what I try to do in my life. I am an animal lover with one cat at home, his name is Jarvis and he is my baby. My boyfriend and I regularly volunteer our time to help out cat rescues and organizations around the area, and we wish to adopt more furry babies very soon.

Pt II. 

The ISTE standard under the creative coordinator 6.a. asks that "[s]tudents recognize and utilize the features and functions of a variety of creation or communication tools (International Society for Technology in Education, 2023)." Students in an Adult Education setting can choose the type of technology they wish to use in order to present ideas to their peers about a specific topic within the main topic of discussion, energy flow through ecosystems. Specifically with Science, one of the South Carolina state content standards, 5-LS2-1, asks students to "[d]evelop a model to describe the movement of matter among plants, animals, decomposers, and the environment (South Carolina College and Career Ready Science Standards, 2021)." I would have students get into groups of 2 to 3, and together decide on creating a word document with photos, a powerpoint, a video, or some other kind of approved technology to present their ideas after having some practice with this topic in class. Students would be able to collaborate on their project in class with the available laptops, that would give them access to Google Drive and also a camera to record a video should they choose that option. Many stuidents are not very familioar with technology as they are older, so they would be allowed to work on this in class so the teacher would be able to help with any technical difficulties or questions. 

Pt III. 

In Liz Kolb's book, Learning First, Technology Second, Kolb discusses whether having full access to electronic devices is really beneficial for learning or not. Kolb discusses a study from a school in Baltimore County vs. The City schools. The County spent a large amount of money on allowing access to a laptop for every student, and the City schools did not do this. The study showed that "[w]hile they have alleviated some of the digital access issues, the overall achievement outcomes have been less than desirable (Kolb, 2020)." She also describes that it is how the technology is used, not necessarily giving students access 24/7 (2020). If it is not being used strictly to enhance the lessons and encourage higher level learning, then there is not much benefit to it. For my class activities, I do believe it is important for students to become familiar with technology, but I do not want them to have to rely on it either. Only using it to supplement the lesson and expand on ideas, or allow the students to be creative with how they want to present their understanding of a topic will help students achieve mastery in the content. It is better to use a mix of media and also paper-pencil or hands on learning so students can utilize different ways in which learning may take place. 

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2023). ISTE Standards: For Students. ISTE. https://iste.org/standards/students

Kolb, L. (2020). Learning First, technology second in practice: New Strategies, research and tools for Student Success. International Society for Technology in Education.

South Carolina Department of Education. (2021). South Carolina College and Career Ready Standards. https://ed.sc.gov/instruction/standards/science/standards/south-carolina-college-and-career-ready-science-standards-2021-approved/