Category: Uncategorized

BLOG 10: DISTRIBUTED COGNITION

Below is a series of essays that complied together address distributed cognition and various terms such as effects with/of technology, monitoring, translation and offloading. As well, an analysis of the technologies within the classroom that contribute to the student’s learning and teacher’s teaching.

The implementation of technology is present now more than ever before. Classes are centered around this technology and for most classrooms, it is rare to find no incorporation of technology. Between both my time at Cleveland Heights-University Heights High School (CHUH) and Hathaway Brown, the presence of technology was rich in every lesson observed. Although included in different ways, it was a large focus of each class because of how it could enhance the student’s ability to learn. Distributed cognition is an idea that most individuals would claim they know the meaning of, but fail to grasp the full context of these words. Martin (2012) defines it as “it asserts that intelligence is not the sole province of the individual mind, but is distributed across multiple systems, both human and artificial” (89). While Morgan et. al (2005), concluded distributed cognition as “..a way to understand how people interact with their environment and how they can be enabled by the environment to undertake highly complex tasks that would usually be beyond the abilities of the unassisted individual” (127). Distributed cognition is the notion that an individual’s cognition is not exclusively dependent on the individual but is two dimensional. The individual’s cognition is dependent on their interactions with others and interactions with technology. Without distributed cognition, many of the developments we are witnessing in the present age would not have been possible. Through interactions with others, the distribution component emerges clearly as the collaboration aspects are evident. Allowing your individual cognition to grow through collaboration with others is a powerful technique. Additionally, interactions with technology are tremendously powerful. Technology is a tool that we, as humans, are constantly depending on. Ranging from the simple pencil and paper that have been essential tools since we entered school, to the more prevalent obvious technology such as SmartBoards, laptops, and calculators that are plentiful in classrooms today.

At CHUH, every lesson required the students to utilize their school-supplied Chromebooks to access not only the class website and an online calculator but websites that allow deep engagement with the material. For instance, one lesson deeply incorporated the usage of the website GraphingStories.com. GraphingStories.com provided videos that allowed the students to be transported to different situations with information for them to graph. These situations would not have been attainable if it wasn’t for the use of technology. Having the students view these videos and then generate graphs off of them, initiates their thinking. Engaging their thinking augments the student’s thinking helping them commit the visualizations to memory and thus moving forward their visualization ability is part of their cognition and can be utilized down the road (Salomon & Perkins, 2005). The guided graphing of a visual situation is a technology that is meant to be withdrawn. Thus, GraphingStories.com is an effect of technology (Salomon & Perkins, 2005). Through the incorporation of this website, the students connect real-world experiences to the content in class. From repeated use in class, the students begin to see the patterns form within the situations. Hence, when the videos are removed the student can still make the connections in their own experiences. As well, this deepens the understanding of the content as they reason through a problem and determine if their answer has merit based on their knowledge of patterns. This knowledge is acquired through the use and engagement of the technology. Using technology to access the website is an example of translation, which is a crucial aspect that educators should become fluent in. Translation, is how the teacher translates the information to the students to best suit the learning of the content. For example, at CHUH, having the students view videos to demonstrate situations provided the students with the best approach to comprehend the information, compared to reading words on a page that tries to convey a situation. 

In Martin (2012), he discusses the concept, offloading. Offloading, in its most basic form, removes some information the students are required to know thus opening up space for them to engage with more challenging material without being impeded by information that doesn’t apply to the learning objective. If a student has trouble remembering multiplication factors, that challenge can be offloaded to a calculator, allowing the student to gain the knowledge of the current lesson. Offloading, if done correctly, can allow for deeper interaction with the content, however, if done incorrectly it can eliminate students from gaining vital knowledge. Through my observations, I have witnessed both forms of offloading. At Hathaway Brown, the students were allowed to offload the formulas for calculating sphere and cylinder areas. This required the students to focus on the objective which was being able to identify and apply these formulas in the context of a question given. Instead of spending their time memorizing a formula, that they may soon forget, they engaged with areas within the complex story problems that demanded them to extend their thinking regarding the components of the formula. However, while at CHUH, I observed a lesson where the students were encouraged to use an online website called desmos.com. This website offers numerous advantages in the classroom setting since it can generate graphs from data collections and compute rigorous calculations. Yet, the students’ usage of desmos.com was careless and it offloaded the necessary content knowledge from the student to the computation power of the software. This is an effect with technology. Effects with technology, according to Salomon & Perkins (2015), are cognitive technologies that while being used extend the cognitive ability of the students yet when the technology is removed the cognitive competence is negatively affected. Hence, the students develop a cognitive ability that is only present alongside the technology and without that certain technology assisting them throughout their education, they will be worse off. Therefore, the technology impedes the students from developing indispensable content knowledge that will be necessary moving forward into future classrooms.  

Monitoring is a technique that educators use that can alter the progress of a classroom. Educators are required to monitor the progress of their students, so they are aware if they are being effective teachers. They need to be conscious of whether or not the methods they are using to articulate the information to their students is beneficial. A lesson I viewed at Hathaway Brown had the students connect with their iPads to the online eBook of their textbook, as well as record their work to the problems on a document to which the teacher had access. Since the students were working in groups, this permitted my cooperating teacher to meander around the class and engage with the students. Not only did my cooperating teacher actively monitor them in real-time by going around, and promoting mathematical discussion with abundant feedback but she also had access to their thinking following the class. Since the technology the students were working with was shared with the teacher immediately, my cooperating teacher could analyze the thoughts of her students and see where the gaps of knowledge were. Consequently, the technology being utilized in class augments the teacher’s capabilities to monitor the students in a more effective way prior to this technology. Additionally, the instantaneous aspect of the shared notes allows the students to receive increased feedback that can extend their thinking regarding the topic. Thus, she could edit her teaching process for the next class to which she would be distributing the same content. Similarly, monitoring was prevalent at CHUH. The usage of tools for the World Cafe lesson consisted of paper, markers and online calculators. Even though these tools are not typically thought of as technology they are still categorized as technologies since they extend the learner’s thinking. During this World Cafe lesson, the students were required to travel around the room in groups to stations where there would be a problem. At each station, there was a large sheet of paper and the group would have 5 minutes per station before rotating again. Upon arrival at a station, each group would have to assess the former group’s work and correct or continue their work to complete the problem. The monitoring of the class is incorporated by the tools selected by the teacher. Because each group was assigned a different colored marker, the teacher could easily, and formatively assess each group’s work and corrections based on their colored work. This use of technology allowed the teacher to assess how each group was understanding the material presented and help the teacher adjust her teachings to assist the students.

Throughout all of this analysis, the overarching question of these series of essays has been “Does technology make us smarter?” Compiling my own understanding of distributed cognition and the associated terms, informative articles, and classroom practices, my conclusion would be yes, technology does make us smarter. Distributed cognition tells us that we as individuals cannot do everything on our own so we have to rely on other means to fully increase our cognitive ability. Although with some occurrences technology may be detrimental to the advancement of student’s cognition, the benefits are far greater than any cons. Additionally, implementing technology within classroom practices only further prepares the students for the realities of the world they are going to enter. The most important feature to technology making us smarter is the notion that the technology is properly augmenting the student’s thinking and teacher’s teaching to develop long-lasting cognitive growth. Since I believe that technology makes us smarter, logic dictates that as technology becomes more advanced, the abilities of our students could be augmented even further, allowing for greater learnings and achievements that otherwise wouldn’t be possible. 

 

Bibliography

Martin, L. (2012). Connection, Translation, Off-Loading, and Monitoring: A Framework for Characterizing the Pedagogical Functions of Educational Technologies. Technology, Knowledge & Learning, 17(3), 87-107.

Morgan, M., Brickell, G., Harper, B. (2008). Applying distributed cognition theory to the redesign of the ‘Copy and Paste’ function in order to promote appropriate learning outcomes. Computers & Education, 50(1), 125-147.

Salomon, G. & Perkins, D. (2005) Do Technologies Make Us Smarter? Intellectual Amplification With, Of and Through Technology

 

BLOG 9: CLASSROOM TECHNOLOGIES

At Hathaway Brown, the classroom is enriched with technology. There is a wide range of hardware and software available to both the students and teachers. Each student has an iPad that they bring to every class with them. On their iPad, they all have software that allows them to have the class notes in PDF format directly on their tablets and easily able to be annotated upon. This allows the students to follow along with the teacher’s instruction and write directly under the questions embedded in the notes. Along with this, their class textbook has an online version. Many times, I have seen students with their iPads’ screen split between their online textbook and their class notes. This provides beneficial as the students have all their class materials in one central location where they can view them simultaneously. However, with the ease of technology also comes with a learning curve. Several occurrences, I have witnessed the students spending the majority of their class time trying to neatly format their tables instead of working with the data inside said table. 

My cooperating teacher utilizes her smartboard daily whether that be for direct instruction class notes or just to present the goals for that day’s class. She also implements the use of her document camera to show the class anything that isn’t connected to technology, such as their physical workbook. My cooperating teacher has expressed to be her fondness of the smartboard technology as well as the ease of having the PDF format for notes that are easily accessible to the students. She also has recently received the hardware, “Jam Board” in her classroom. This “Jam Board” is similar to the smartboard however it creates a live working document that can connect to software the students can download. Thus, the students and teacher can be working on one document and the “Jam Board” will update accordingly. The collaboration aspect of this technology can be both beneficial and impeding within the classroom. While used productively the students and teacher can achieve more in a shorter time span. However, if used unproductively such as the students messing with each other’s contributions it could lead to mayhem and end up not achieving anything. In my cooperating teacher’s classroom, technology is a daily usage in one realm or another. Even though, there are some drawbacks to technologies in the classroom overall the students benefit from becoming fluent users of it and allowing it to enhance their learning of the content presented.

 

BLOG 8: DIGITAL STORYTELLING ASSESSMENT

DIGITAL STORYTELLING RUBRIC

Story (_____/15 pts)

The progression of the story should make sense and there should be a sense of character development (that is, the story should have a clear beginning, middle, and end and there should be a solvable problem that drives the plot). The story should accurately depict at least three relationships between angles that the student chooses to elaborate on and should include at least five terms that have been used throughout the unit.

Content Understanding (_____/30 pts)

Relationships between angles should be described and depicted accurately. Angles should be properly identified and the correct terminology should be used throughout the digital story.

Project Development (_____/20 pts)

Students create and submit at least one draft of their work that they receive feedback on and revise. Students distribute workload evenly amongst group members and exhibit effective collaboration throughout the course of the project. Following the presentation, each student will submit a brief explanation of their contributions to the overall project.

Presentation (_____/20 pts)

The images in the digital story are clear (easy to see, bright, it is understood what image is being depicted), neat (precise and orderly), relevant (obviously applicable to the story), and properly cited. The digital story is easily accessible to the rest of the class because it is published on a social media platform such as YouTube. The digital story as a whole provides the audience with a good sense of clarity regarding both the story itself and the mathematical content (that is, someone who is not a geometry student should have a good understanding of what happened in your story even if they have no previous knowledge of the content).

Originality, voice, creativity (_____/15 pts)

The content created is original and unique to the students creating the digital story. It is obvious that a lot of thought went into how the content would be displayed and how the audio and voiceover would connect with the images presented. The voiceover included is clear and articulated with no incorrect pronunciation of the mathematical terms.

Further Comments Made by Teacher:

BLOG 7: ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY

Hathaway Brown is a 21st-century palace, not only in the architecture of the building but the technological tools contained within. The heavy emphasis placed on technology is shown as they have a specific technology team for the school to coordinate and further the use within the classroom. My mentor teacher was very knowledgeable about the technology she has access to as well as her students’ technology. She also instantly knew how to get in contact with the technology team, who had a greater plethora of knowledge regarding technology in Hathaway Brown. This team is comprised of 5 individuals, the following titles of these individuals are as follows Director of Network Technology, Director of the Center of Technology & Invention, Director of Advancement Information Services Information and two Help Desk & Information Technology Support individuals. This team makes the decisions of the technology and internet at Hathaway Brown and they cooperate with the teachers to educate them on new software and further the use of incorporation with the classroom. 

Additionally, the teachers of Hathaway Brown have the ability to apply for grants specifically designated for new technological advancements that they have witnessed in other schools or at a conference. The opportunity to engage in technology and access new technology at Hathaway Brown is widely promoted. For 5th grade, Hathaway Brown provides students with a school iPad however moving into 6th grade and beyond they are required to purchase their own iPad to utilize within the classroom. As well, many of the individuals I have seen have also purchased the Apple Pencil for greater ease taking notes on their iPads. The technological devices do not end there. The students have an abundant list of resources they interact or have access to. For example, in the classroom, there is a SmartBoard that allows the teacher’s notes to connect to the student’s iPads. Also, Apple TVs are available so with ease the students can project their work from their iPad onto a large screen. Aside from the in-classroom technology, the students of Hathaway Brown have access to 3D printer labs and workshop with wood burning. 

In the last two years, Hathaway Brown has implemented a firewall for the campus-wide internet, prior to that there was no means of a firewall. The philosophy of Hathaway Brown is focusing on developing the student’s decision making. Therefore, it would be the student’s individual choice if they would spend their class time on apps that are typically blocked such as social media and they would then face the natural consequences of not doing well in class. However due to the recent influx of hacking, Hathaway Brown decided to implement a firewall as well as educate their teachers on hacking training through a program called KnowBe4. Moreover, even though the students bring their own iPads once they are connected to the system, the pre-verified apps are the only ones that they have access to. Technology is the key to the future and Hathaway Brown demonstrates an environment that gives students the tools to succeed moving forward into the future.

 

BLOG 6: DIGITAL STORY SCRIPT

Storyboard Script: ~LINEAR LOVE~

Characters: Abby Alpha: an acute angle who Brody eventually finds and falls in love with; the two become a linear pair once they get together

Brody Beta: an obtuse angle in search of love 

Gracie Gamma: the alternate interior angle Brody tries dating before Abby; the two are congruent angles and they are just too similar to really work out 

Script: There was once an obtuse angle named Brody Beta. He lived on the right side of Transversal Drive, where he had a beautiful view of a lake with some mountains in the distance. He had a good job where he was surrounded by many of his angle friends. But despite his amazing view and vast network of friends, Brody was lonely. He had no one to share his life with and he just felt incomplete. 

One day, Brody woke up and decided that enough was enough. This was the day he would begin his search for love. It wasn’t long before he noticed a pretty angle named Gracie Gamma. Gracie was also an obtuse angle and she lived just a few blocks down, on the other side of Transversal Drive. Brody and Gracie hit it off right away and discovered that they had a lot in common! But after a few months, it became clear to Brody that maybe they had a little too much in common… The fact that they were alternate interior angles meant that they were congruent and Brody and Gracie found that everything about them was the same! While they never fought because they always agreed on everything, they both realized that something was missing from this relationship, so they went their separate ways. 

A few days after his breakup, Brody gazed off into the mountains in the distance, feeling lonelier than ever. Just as he was turning away from the mountains, his gaze landed on the cutest angle he had ever seen! She was entering her house which just so happened to be right across the street, on the other side of Transversal Drive. Brody had a feeling about this one. So he went over to introduce himself. He discovered that the cute angle was named Abby Alpha and, though she was an acute angle and much smaller than him, they made the perfect pair. 

Brody wondered why he hadn’t ever noticed Abby before, she had always been there, right next to him, with nothing but the transversal separating them. Brody and Abby decided to stay together forever and their wedding was a perfect celebration representing their perfect love for each other and their perfect summation to 180°. This linear pair lived happily ever after!

 

BLOG 4: REFLECTION ABOUT MY STUDENTS

My placement at Cleveland Heights-University Heights High School, CHUH has been a great experience. My cooperating teacher, Mrs McDonald is an educator who truly cares about her students and wants to assist everyone in succeeding. The students generally respect Mrs. McDonald. One aspect where they lack respect is when they blatantly ignore her instructions to the point where she has to personally tell each student the instructions repeatedly. That being said, once they finally acknowledge Mrs. McDonald isn’t going to let them slip through the cracks they get to work and attempt to engage with the material being presented.

I have gotten to witness how much of an impact positively or negatively, technology can be in the classroom. First thing every class the students head to the portable laptop cart and get their designated Google Chromebook. The students log onto their class’ website that is full of hyperlinks to activities as well as going to Desmos, an online graphing calculator program that they use for all of their graphing and calculating needs. However, from this constant crutch develops a lack of personal growth. One time, as the students were working in groups and talking me through a problem they would state “Now, plug it into Desmos”. When prompted asking what Desmos did to produce that answer, they didn’t know. This overuse of technology frightens me as they move forward in math classes as their basic skills will not be internalized as Desmos would always do it for them. 

Through my conversations with the students, I have come to realize their phone is an extension of their body. They have to constantly have it on them and be going through social media or communicating with their peers. Almost every day, Mrs. McDonald has to remind them to get off their devices and engage with the material which has led to conflict a couple of times. However, as this may seem like a drag to do every day I can visualize using their phone to get them engaged in the material. These students are very savvy when it comes to technology and with the right modeling can witness how technology, social media specifically can benefit their learning of mathematics. Dalton states in Multimodal Composition and the Common Core State Standards the following, “We live in a multimodal world where being an effective communicator involves composing with media” (336). Educators are incorporating technology within their classroom and the students can interact with that given technology component but are failing to offer their students the opportunity to compose with media and create something from scratch. For example, they frequently post polls on their Instagram stories reaching out to their followers for an opinion. As an educator, you can use this to your benefit as they can develop a question that’s relevant to them, have them create a poll through their Instagram and then record and synthesize their results in a mathematical context. As well, they can categorize the responses to their question in relation to the demographics of their followers. From this data, they can create a digital story discussing their question and the results in fitting graphs. 

Producing these digital stories in a small group may lend beneficial to the students. Small groups are always a topic that individuals’ opinions vary on. In Mrs. McDonald’s classroom small group learning experiences are frequent and this generates mixed reviews. One student exclaimed, “I hate group work”. He followed up by explaining how it’s always one student doing the work for the entire group. I tried to articulate to this student that if all members of the group were participating equally, the appeal of group work is being able to achieve more in a short time frame and even though he may not enjoy it, small group work continues in all aspects of life moving forward. However, to have the students all participate equally it requires the students to be accountable for themselves and one another. Aside from this one indivdual, the majority of the students I talked to enjoyed working in small groups with their classmates as they benefited from the peer feedback. Dalton emphasizes this point with his claim “…part of the teaching and learning in digital designers’ workshop centers on learning how to be a contributing member of a creative partnership” (336). Incorporating digital storytelling engages small group work which leads to the students developing their ability to be an instrumental part of creating content that they can then reflect and be proud of.

Implementing digital storytelling not only gives the students an opportunity to showcase their talent with technology but captures their attention. With the component of student choice within the realms of digital storytelling, the students have their work have significant meaning to them. Gould’s findings stated in Trigonometry comes alive through Digital Storytelling supports this point. He concludes, “Almost all students were deeply engaged in their projects. The student’s motivation level throughout the project was significantly higher than what I typically observed when students solved story problems from the textbook” (Gould, 300). This notion could combat the problem that was prevalent in my observations. If the students were continuously working on their digital story they would enter the classroom and beginning working as they are excited about the content they are creating. Tying together, student’s interests, their technological capabilities and mathematical content can create more engaged students and deeper levels of learning.