Evaluation Rubrics for Educational IPod Apps.

While evaluating the two different Evaluation forms, I was immediately reminded of what the research for my Ed Tech paper said is often missing from educational technology evaluations. While both of them do have a section for "Differentiation" neither of them have a section that specifically evaluates the bias of the program. Does the program program appeal to a diverse group of students, reflecting characters of both genders and reflecting different races and ethnicity's.

That aside I think that both of the Evaluation sheets has their own pros and cons. The Rubric allows a broader range in the different subcategories. Instead of having to respond by "Yes" or "No" the rubric allows for the evaluator to more accurately rate where they think the application falls on a spectrum from 1 to 4. On the other hand the "Critical Evaluation of Content-Based Mobile App" allows for a brief summary at the end in which the evaluator can expand on more of the specific details of the app. It also leaves room for the evaluator to expand on their evaluation, stating why they would or not recommend the app. The "Critical Evaluation of Content-Based Mobile App" also includes a section that incorporates the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy, which is helpful for teachers to look at when trying to meet the needs of the student's different learning profiles and multiple intelligences.

Gender Bias and the Technology Gap

In my research paper, I looked at the issue of gender bias in the classroom and how it is perpetuated through the use of technology that continues to include a gender bias. The alarming aspect of this research is the suggested contribution has on the gendered technology gap that exists. As of today there is a disproportionate number of males in the fields of science, math, technology and engineering. The research I read through analyzed how gender biased educational programs in the classroom can contribute to the lack of women representation in the above fields. Many of the educational computer programs in the classroom reflect characters and content that more often appeal to males, researches suggest that this decreases the likelihood of positive engagement for females. Also since much of technology is used in math, science and technology classrooms, female students are more likely to see these fields as subjects that are for males. Much of the research demonstrated that this occurs more frequently throughout higher grade levels.

Although much of the research I analyzed was from after the year 2000, some of it might have been a bit dated, especially considering the continuing changes in technology in the classroom. However it stressed a key point that can be even more broadly stated. Although the use of technology in the classroom has the opportunity to bridge many different achievement gaps, it will continue to perpetuate bias in the classroom unless these biases are intentionally deconstructed.

Reflection of Film

While watching the video on learning disabilities for this weeks class, I found myself continuously thinking and reflecting on the tendency of teachers to both find comfort and control in their position of authority, as well as rely on punitive measures or external rewards when students, in the case with learning disabilities do not behave or respond according to what the teacher has declared as acceptable. This was demonstrated in various different sections of the film. When the teacher was speaking about the effect of perception on student behavior, he demonstrated how teachers have the tendency to respond in punitive ways when they assume a student is not paying attention or when a student doesn't respond in a manner that the teacher has decided he/she must, but students often are not aware of why they are being punished because of a difference of perception. Another section of the film demonstrated  4 ways that teachers often respond when a student is not able to answer a specific question. 

1. Teachers often tell students to look harder 

2. Offer to give the student something if they are able to come up with the answer

3. Teacher begins taking things away

4. Teacher blames the victim, tells student that they are not trying hard enough. 

This is yet another example of teachers tendency to react to students who do not comprehend, a focus on punitive measures and external motivators, however as shown in the movie, students with learning disabilities are not lacking motivation. 

Lastly, a quick note that was just briefly mentioned in the film stood out to me as being a very important  critique of the environments of many classrooms. The teacher presenting in the video mentions how students are often discouraged to take risks in the classroom in fear of what will happen if they get an answer wrong. He talks about how this specifically relates to students with learning disabilities, and mentions that these students are less likely to take chances later on in life because of this. I think that this can be applied to both students with learning disabilities and students who do not have learning disabilities, as the classroom is not often a place where risk taking is valued or encouraged. 

Visual Learners

Keeping in mind that everyone learns differently it is important that teachers continue to develop teaching and learning strategies that are inclusive of a wide range of learning methods. As a teacher I think that is important to provide students with outlines that allow them to see where the unit is going, this could be done through both visual, audio, and textual strategies. To benefit the range of students it would be beneficial to include at least these three strategies to present the Unit topics to the students. In addition to using different input strategies, I think it is important to allow students multiple different output strategies while completing certain assignments. In order to assess the students comprehension and understanding of the material, it would benefit the different range of students if they were given options on how to complete certain tasks. For example, the students could be given options on how they want to present the information that they have learned. Some students might chose to incorporate more visualizations and art, while other might choose to use strictly text. Obviously in subjects such as ELA there comes times when assignments must be completed in a certain way, however where there is flexibility I think it is important to embrace a diverse group of strategies.