Inquiry Question #2

Inquiry Group: Urban Education & Teens

Question #2:  What effects does technology have on the Urban secondary classroom?...Revisited.

This week I decided skip doing a search on Google and jumped right into Edutopia, the web site I used last week.  A search of the terms "urban education" and technology integration" returned 113 hits. Certainly a popular topic on this site!

I found an article which addresses the use of interactive whiteboards in the classroom.  The idea was adapted from the business world which seemed to adopt the technology at its inception in 1991.  I believe most teachers would agree with comments found in this article, including, "each lesson becomes an interactive one, and students are very motivated to learn."  One comment, directly related to urban education, caught my eye:

The board is very useful to demonstrate and teach editing and rewriting," says Parker, who works in an inner city school with many bilingual students. "There are pens in different colors that allow you to write directly into the Word document you're using and save the editing marks, which is extremely helpful. 

One of the board's benefits, Parker adds, is that all students can easily see the images, enabling the lesson to become an engaging group activity. "Instead of crowding around little monitors, the students take turns interacting with the computer," she says. "They also get support from each other. The teacher can use it to demonstrate, then the students can use it to practice, but without feeling like they're put on the spot." Parker uses the interactive whiteboard in class daily, often in conjunction with the Internet, she adds, "in all subjects: reading, literacy, math, writing, science, geography, and social studies."

So, the introduction of interactive whiteboards seems to increase students' motivation in urban settings...especially for bilingual students, but does it really help in other areas of urban education?  Another article on Edutopia addresses the use of technology for students of astronomy.

With the abundance of light polution in urban settings, the study of the night sky can be adversely affected.  Stars, planets and entire constellations can be blotted out by the intensely bright lights of nearly shopping centers.  A program, GLOBE at Night, created by astonomers and educators in 2005 and 2006 uses computers to assist students with stargazing.  This technology is introducing urban students to a branch of science that may not be possible for them to experience without the use of computers and internet.  GLOBE involves independent work at home and classroom work at school.  Who knows...the next great American astronomer may come from the heart of a big city like  New York or Los Angeles thanks to the integration of technology into urban education!

Mott Hall School, a STEM magnet school found much success with the integration of technology at their school:

Sources:

Cruishank, D. (2007). Board of Education: A Wall-Mounted Computer Monitor for Your Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/interactive-whiteboards

Oswald, H. M. (2009). Young Astronomers Study the Night Sky -- and Collaborate with Peers Online: An international stargazing event inspires young scientists. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/astronomy-globe-night-sky

Mott Hall School: STEM Projects Encourage Students to Excel. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/mott-hall-school-project-based-learning-video