Keidi Boatfield

CEL 606: Global Connections Through Technology

Breakthrough Leadership: Chap. 3 pgs. 63-84
1. Compare and contrast a chalkboard and a Smartboard. What are the good and bad learning
solutions that can be executed with each of these devices?

Some negative uses of a

chalkboard and differences
compared to a smartboard:

No-power device
Often stationary and not
easily moved
Can be the spans of a
whole wall to allow more
student interaction at once
Too many fancy
illustrations can
overwhelm students
Might provide too many
answers or cues too
quickly
Teacher does the work, so
students dont do them on
their own

Benefits of both a chalkboard

and smartboard;
How they both are alike:

Keep notes
Interactive between
teacher, student(s) and
whole class
Visual display of
diagrams, drawings,
illustrations and text
together
Track students ideas; flow
of class discussion
Visual component to
teachers audio voice-over
Sliding chalkboards like a
pre-stored slide/diagram
of smartboard
Reveal information
Show completed solutions
Pose pre-planned
problems
Display examples of
students work

Some negative uses

smartboard and differences
compared to a chalkboard:

Needs a constant power

source
Often stationary and not
easily moved
Size of board only allows
for one student interaction
at a time
If internet is not working,
then often times lesson
plans with use of
smartboard not accessible
either
Too many fancy
illustrations can
overwhelm students
Might provide too many
answers or cues too
quickly
Teacher does the work, so
students dont do them on
their own

2. List the 5 capabilities of technology as discussed in Chapter 3

Capabilities of
Technology:

Description:

1. Affordability

Technology can make the delivery of solutions cheaper; Can change the cost structures of
organizations/industry.

2. Reliability

Technology can make delivery more reliable; No constraints of: schedule hassles, travel
problems, or illness issues; available with the click of a mouse; more consistent;
designed to invariable to certain things a certain way repeatedly.

3. Available

Technology can make things more available 24/7; with a click of a button, things we
might have read, heard or watched is now accessible through modern communication,
recording and photography.

Keidi Boatfield
CEL 606: Global Connections Through Technology
Breakthrough Leadership: Chap. 3 pgs. 63-84
4. Customizable

Technology can make delivery more customized; Technology can step in and offer a
decent substitute for human-customization that is available, reliable and customizable
based on prior behavior and choices.

5. Data-Rich

Technology can make experiences more data-rich; Technology can look at the streams of
information that our actions generate and use that a predictors for future actions.

3. Evaluate the challenges of one-to-one tutoring with trained educators and discuss how
technology can serve as a viable win-win solution.

One-to-one tutoring is about the best way to provide intense instruction, real-time customized
assessment and intensive, personalize practice, but it typically far too expensive to provide at scale.
Human tutors = .75 standard deviation of growth
Simple intelligent tutor systems, which provide feedback based on whether students go the answer
right/wrong = .36 standard deviation of growth
More complex intelligent tutor systems, which provide guidance at each step of a problem = .7 standard
deviation of growth
The win-win solution = since more complex intelligent tutor systems are pretty much the same as a
human tutor in regards to the standard deviation of growth, however, they provide even more such as:
Provide target feedback
Repeated practice
Pacing matched to student
Variety of illustrations and explanations as needed
Audio and visual channels of information
Always available 24/7, anyplace anywhere
Can deliver scalable, cheap-to-deliver solutions
Potential to generate large amounts of performance data
They can make quality tutor more affordable, reliable, available, customizable and
data-rich--providing real benefits and real learning solutions at scale.

4. Using examples from the chapter and your own teaching experience, write your own
personal interpretation of this quote from the chapter page 69: "When decision makers don't
understand the problem they're solving, technology-based solutions can waste money -- and
make problems worse."
One example that I have from my own teaching experience mirrors the example provided in the
textbook about Huntsville, Alabamas one-to-one laptop and iPad program. I was part of a grant writing
committee where we were able to purchase both laptops and iPods. As an English teacher, the laptops were a
Godsend! I was able to seamlessly transition my lectures and activities to student-centered activities where
they were able to research and find immediate answers to questions, collaborate and create a class wiki or even

Keidi Boatfield
CEL 606: Global Connections Through Technology
Breakthrough Leadership: Chap. 3 pgs. 63-84
respond to formative assessment exit ticket questions by blogging/tweeting their answers; furthermore, the
flexibility to have students write their essays and research papers right in my class and not have to lose
instructional time relocating to the LRC, when it was available, made my life much easier as an educator.
Furthermore, those same laptops are now being used to facilitate on-line testing for district and state level
high-stakes tests. However, I know we have an iPod cart with 30 iPods, but where they are now and how they
are being used is a mystery. This is a prime example of "When decision makers don't understand the problem
they're solving, technology-based solutions can waste money -- and make problems worse" because the
purchase of the iPods were a waste of resources in my opinion, and ended up costing even more money to be
able to purchase, upload and utilize educational apps.
5. Remembering the Key Learning Elements presented in Chapter 2 and again in Chapter 3,
how might technology help with each of these. Make a comment about each of the 5 elements
related to the knowledge gained thus far from the text, but also applying your own thoughts and
experiences in education. (Chapter 3, Page 71)

The 7 Key Elements of Learning?

1. Objectives = come 1st; what we want students to
learn to do; need to be concrete so know when they
have been mastered; focused on present not distant
future; challenging to maximize learning; clarify the
purpose of the learning; provide motivation through
value and lend structure to what is being taught.

Based on the reading and my experiences,

how can technology help?

2. Assessments = gauge current expertise for a

given objective; work with tapping into both
procedural and conceptual knowledge; be tightly
coupled to the objective to measure intended
knowledge or skill.

3. Practice & Feedback = practice clearly linked

and aligned with objective and assessment;
formative assessment...students practice key tasks
and get real-time feedback; master one deliberate
stet at a time.

Technology can assist with the shift from

seat time to a competency-based learning
to ensure all students have the time they need
to master objectives.
Technology can allow accelerated learners to
master objectives more rapidly.
I shifted my gradebook to reflect standards
and skills to be mastered, not just content
which allowed students flexibility to master
skills at their own pace.
Technology can make it vastly easier for
teachers to check the data on assessments, to
share well-constructed items and
assessments.
Technology can gather evidence on the pace,
pattern, and confidence that students exhibit
via automated assessment systems and then
use that to help guide interventions.
I used textbook created assessments as a pre
and post test to guide my instructional focus
based on my students needs.
Technology can help make it easier to provide
students with opportunities to practice.
Computer-assisted learning can allow a group
of students to practice certain kinds of
problems while teacher instructs peers.

Keidi Boatfield
CEL 606: Global Connections Through Technology
Breakthrough Leadership: Chap. 3 pgs. 63-84

4. Demonstrations = showing well-constructed

worked examples demonstrations before students
start to practice; evolve into guided practice and then
solo practice; learn the elements of mastery and then
apply them.

5. Information = to maximize the value of

demonstrations and practice, students need a certain
amount of information ahead of time; should be as
simple and focused as possible; presented in discrete
chunks; used immediately to cement context and
familiarity; break difficult subjects into smaller
pieces and uses visual and auditory media to help
absorb new information.

6. Overview = of the whole learning activity

provides structure and a chance to explain why the
objective and practice are important; link the unit to
what learners have learned before in and out of class.

7. Motivation Support = when topics are

challenging, motivation is critical; needs to be
supported throughout the learning activity; include:
real-time feedback; demonstrating importance of
topic; sharing success stories and strategies from

Technology can incorporate interactive

practices easier than printed textbooks.
Computerized practice items can provide rich
data about student learning, enabling
teachers to provide additional, customized
practice time.
Though the use of chunking, timelines and
rubrics I was able to provide real-time
feedback and one-on-one assistance when
needed throughout my units of study.
Interactive technology can blur the
distinction between demonstration,
information and practice, while making it
easier to provide more structured
demonstrations for students will less
background and briefer ones for students
who are ready to engage in practice.
Technology can combine effectively audio,
text and visuals.
I always had some visual component to each
of my lessons to help all students see as well
as hear the instructional expectations.
Technology can allow us to store and share
data and resources instantaneously with
other educators and as well as students.
Technology can allow educators to save time
on lesson planning through collaboration and
file-sharing.
Thanks to my student teachers, I was able to
transitional all my instructional files to
dropbox and now Google drive to be able to
share information and go paperless.
Technology can help students see how all the
piece fit from what theyve done and what
they are going to do next.
Technology can help to create clarity and
explains why the topic is relevant.
Each lesson I taught always had a real-world
connection piece on how they would/could
use these literacy and computer skills later in
life.
Technology can help to customize learning
for each student based on their background,
interests and personal goals.
Technology can help student to understand
why an objective matters.

Keidi Boatfield
CEL 606: Global Connections Through Technology
Breakthrough Leadership: Chap. 3 pgs. 63-84
learners with similar challenges; affirm that they can
do the work; sharing examples of others who also
had difficulties; breaking down the task into
manageable, confidence-building, working
memory-friendly pieces.

Technology can make it easier to record

ongoing diagnostic information allowing
supports to be targeted.
The biggest motivation for my students was
the use of choice boards, learning menus or
tic-tac-toe assignments as well as
level-rubrics for each assignment too.

Final Thoughts:
Technology can allow people to work better and smarter;
Technology rarely allows us to do things that are wholly new; instead, it makes it easier to do these
things and lets all instructors do them more readily;
Technology can be used poorly or not at all; therefore, technology ought to offer discernable benefits
somewhere within the learning framework or the 7 key elements...if you cant figure out where, then
be wary.