Category: EdTech Inquiry

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Well it is time to conclude our group inquiry into short cut tools that are used in the classroom.  We will discuss the tools we researched about, why we were interested in this project, and the pro and cons of using these tools.

The short cut tools we looked at are:

• Spell check: function that indicates which words have been misspelled in a document.
• Talk to Text: tool  that takes audio content and transcribes it into written words.
• Text to talk:  assistive technology that takes digital text and reads it aloud.

Why we were interested in this topic:

• We wanted to learn how to prevent student dependency on technology shortcuts.
• Does the use of spell check and auto correct prevent the students from learning valuable grammar skills?
• We wanted to know if students reach a competent level of literacy and grammar skills, will they diminish with the increased use of shortcut tools?

Pros to using these tools in the classroom:

• Can help students with learning disabilities.
• Students can focus on getting ideas down without worrying about editing.
• Can help students with poor or limited motor skills.
• Can assist students with vision impairments.
• Are a good tools to help students who are learning English as a second language.

Cons to using these tools in the classroom:

• Takes away from the students’ learning.
• Students stop thinking about the little details of their grammar and spelling.
• Students begin to rely on these shortcut tools.
• If students don’t know how to spell a word or make a certain grammatical correction, when given a list of possible correct options, they won’t know which one to choose.

We felt this was a very powerful and relative quote: “Technology can amplify great teaching, but technology cannot replace poor teaching,” (Glowacki, 2015).

This was an interesting topic to explore, and is definitely something to keep in mind in the future.  For myself,  I agree with the research we found stating the importance of ensuring students have solidly learned the necessary grammar and spelling skills before introducing these kinds of shortcut tools.  I think in elementary grades there is no need to be using these tools at all, as convenient as they are.  For older students in middle school, I think they can begin to use use these tools but only secondary to using their knowledge and skills.  For tools like text to talk and talk to text, I think they are a great support tool for students who may have a learning disability or other impairment that makes it difficult for them to read or write.  These tools in particular help make learning accessible to all students.

I hope you enjoyed following our inquiry journey!

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

For this week’s blog we have decided to discuss the article “Technology in the Classroom no Shortcut to Success: OECD Report” from CBC News referring to the inclusion of technology in the classroom. This article states that technology is constantly growing and becoming more heavily relied on, therefore, technology should not be eliminated from the classroom. Instead technology should have limits. We strongly agree with this statement based on our previous research of the benefits of having technology shortcuts in the classroom in which we learned how technology should not take away the teaching in the classroom. This is stated perfectly in the quote: “technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching” (Glowacki, 2015). For example technology can help students’ grammar but cannot teach students how to spell. This article states that students who use technology more frequently have lower performances. The article also states that “when students use word processors instead of writing by hand, they write more and their writing skills are notably better” (Glowacki, 2015). However, nothing can replace a solid foundation in literacy skills.  Research is supporting our thoughts of how though there are some positive benefits of shortcut tools, it is important to ensure students learn necessary literacy skills before utilizing the technology.  If these skills are not in place before students begin using shortcut tools, then the tools become more of a detriment to learning rather than a support.

In next week’s blog we will discuss some of the negatives of utilizing technology shortcuts in the classroom.

This is the link for the article:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/technology-in-the-classroom-no-shortcut-to-success-oecd-report-1.3230587

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

This week for our Tech Ed inquiry we have decided to share our own experiences with technology shortcuts and how they have affected our own learning.  For myself, I went through school before the age of technology took over.  Technology played a very small roll in my years of grade school.  I remember I was in grade 7 when my family got internet for the first time.  This definitely had an impact on my learning as far as research projects went because all of a sudden we were able to look things up easily from home.  Yet I still would turn to books first and it took a while before the internet became my go to for looking up information.  iPad’s, tablets, and Chromebooks were not a thing yet, so the only technology in schools were computers in the computer lab.  We didn’t have the learning games and resources that are available today.  Our computer time was focused on learning how to type properly, and learn how to edit our work.  I think there must have been a basic spell check in some word programs, but I do not have memory of using them a lot.  We still had to edit our work on our own even if it was typed up on the computer.  There was no talk to text or audio support for reading.  I think I benefited greatly from learning these skills before technology took over.  I learned how to edit my work before tech tools did it automatically.  I would  say that I have gotten lazy since technology has made it so  I don’t have to think about those little details anymore.  Whether it is a word I constantly spell wrong, or grammatical error I always make, right clicking to fix the mistake without having to think about it means I don’t experience the process of learning that happens when I have to figure out what is wrong and how to correct it.  There are grammar rules that I have forgotten because I never have to think about them.  While this technology is convenient and saves me time, it definitely hasn’t helped my intelligence!

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

Our group tech inquiry topic that we have chosen is “how to prevent student dependency on technology shortcuts such as auto correct, talk to text, and text to talk.”  For some students, and in some situations, these are very helpful tools. However, in many cases students rely on these tools for efficiency purposes which causes them to lose some basic literacy skills in the process. We believe this is a growing problem in schools today with the ever increasing use of technology in classrooms starting at a younger age. As an example, the use of auto-correct and spell check is preventing students from learning valuable grammar skills.  Throughout this project, we would like to investigate the effects this has on student learning. We are curious if students reach a competent level of literacy and grammar skills, will they diminish with increased use of shortcut tools? We will research studies online, talk with practicing educators, and speak with peers about their own experiences with these tools in school.

This is a link to an older article we found which looks at the effect of technology on student writing:  file:///C:/Users/megha/AppData/Local/Temp/1661-Article%20Text-1790-1-10-20110511.pdf

– Meghan, Alison, Lauren T