Technology Reflection

Blooms Taxonomy:

Benjamin Bloom developed a set of skills that build upon each other called Bloom’s Taxonomy. Originally, in the 1950’s these categories were labeled using nouns, knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation. His taxonomy follows the brains natural thinking process. You cannot comprehend unless you have the knowledge, you cannot apply these thinking skills unless you comprehend and understand (knowledge), etc.

About forty years later, a student of Bloom, Lorin Anderson, revised Bloom’s Taxonomy so that each of the taxonomy levels were now categorized as verbs. (Churches, 2008). Bloom’s Taxonomy now seems a lot easier to interpret, helping educators and students to realize that these are skills that you are going to DO.

Technology integrates nicely with Bloom’s Taxonomy and you can find many versions of Bloom’s Taxonomy which incorporates digital tools. 

Retrieved from http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/cms/lib08/GA01000549/Centricity/Domain/6648/blooms20pyramid.jpg

Retrieved from http://selectedreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ipadagogy-wheel-001.jpg?w=1600&h=5220

Based on my budget matrix, in order for students to successfully implement technology using Bloom’s Taxonomy to its full potential the configuration that would work the best would be the 1:1 technology configurations, in other words, the computer lab (equipped with 30 iMacs) and the portable computer cart  (equipped with 25 Chromebooks). But, even so, these configurations have their pros and cons. In an ideal situation all students would have these technologies at their fingertips at all points of their school day in order to easily access higher order thinking skills on a daily basis.

Pros and Cons of each Configuration:

One Computer Classroom and Projector:

Pros:

•        Access to some technology in your room.
•        Technology can be used for whole class instruction
•       Save on the school budget with limited technology costs.

Cons:

•       Very limited access for students
•         Only 1-3 students on the computer at one time.
•         Very hard to differentiate instruction, access to Bloom’s Taxonomy is limited.
•         When the computer is occupied, no one else can use technology. 

Small Cluster of Computers in the Classroom (10 iMacs):

Pros:

• Access to computers at all points of the day
• Able to differentiate/increased small group work
• All levels of Blooms Taxonomy can be met
• Technology can be used to accommodate ELA and EC learners.
• Technology support for all computers.

Cons:

• Students would need to rotate and share computers.
• Almost all projects would need to be done in groups because of time restraints.
• More classroom management strategies need to be in place to help organize computer time and computer monitoring.
• Increased budget costs for classroom computers/equipment.
• Limited Room Layout

Portable Computer Cart with 25 Chromebooks:

Pros:

• All student have access to technology (depending on class size)
• All levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy can be met
• Files can be saved easily on devices (students may have to use the same computer-unless there is a Student Share Network)
• Can differentiate instruction and student can be on different tasks at different times-more flexibility
• Room layout does not need to be altered.
• Technology support for all devices.

Cons:

• Increased school budget costs of technology upkeep and new equipment.
• Increased time for teacher and student training (Wainwright, A., n.d.).
• Limited access to cart –share amongst grade levels.
• Increased chance for Chromebooks to break with the transition of devices and their constant mobility. 

Computer Lab 1:1 Technology for all (30 iMacs):

Pros:

• Same Device/same platform
• Every child has access to technology-Equal opportunities
• Uniform integration
• Tech Support for all computers.

Cons:

• Limited access to the lab-share among all classrooms
• Increased school budget costs of technology upkeep and new equipment.
• Increased time for teacher and student training (Wainwright, A., n.d.).

Bring your own device (BYOD):

Pros:

• Majority of students and teachers already own devices of their own, and for the few students that do not own their own device it is more feasible for schools to purchase a few devices rather than an entire class. (Wainwright, A., n.d.).
• Schools save money
• Student files are easily saved and secured on their own device.
• Students are more familiar and comfortable using their own devices.

Cons:

• Not all students have their own devices.
• Applications are not universal across all platforms, example, Apple Products vs. Android Products. (Wainwright, A., n.d.).
• Costs parents money to pay for devices for their child and/or to pay for applications/networks.
• No tech support for device issues, such as, not being charged, screen size, Firewall settings, network connectivity etc. 

Obstacles with Technology Configurations:

When it comes to technology it is sometimes hard to prepare for the obstacles that may come your way in the classroom. I have learned over the past few years of teaching that you should always have a back-up plan because you never know when the network is going to be offline; a program is going to be blocked or some other problem that may arise. I have run into network problems a lot this year and sometimes when planning at home the websites I am able to access at home on my network are blocked at the school using their network. I always am preparing some sort of back-up lesson plan and/or testing the programs at the school before trying to teach the lesson. Scheduling issues are sometimes a headache when having to share technology with the entire school and that is an obstacle you will always have to face when technology is limited. Finally, one of the biggest issues among schools today is school budget cuts and trying to fit technology costs into the budget. Usually the first things to get cut out of a budget in many schools tend to be technological devices/tools and/or those special area teachers, such as, technology lab, math lab or science lab, when trying to save on their budget. This will only hurt students in the long run with their future depending so heavily on having skills and knowledge in the subjects of technology, math and sciences.

Surprises with the Budget Matrix:

After completing the budget matrix it really surprised me how much all the devices cost. My budget matrix did not take into account the additional costs of maintenance and upkeep, which would cause the costs to go above and beyond the total costs of just the devices. In my classroom, I have 1 Dell Laptop, 2 Dell desktop computers, a projector, 3 Android tablets and a Nexus Tablet (for testing purposes only). I would be interested to look up each specific item and total up the cost of my room alone. Each room in my school has a similar configuration. The hardest part of this assignment was looking up potential concerns because this is not typically what I look at when looking into adding technology into my classroom. At the last school that I just came from had unlimited technology offered to the teachers and students with a full-time technology integrator and a full-time technology support tech. At the school I am at now, we have a more limited amount of technology where we have a district technology support team which we share among all the schools in the district and a technology integrator which we also share with 1 other school. I find that even with the limited technology configuration it is still a must to have that full-time technology integrator at each school in order to properly and successfully implement Bloom’s Taxonomy using technology in the classroom. Overall, this was a very eye-opening and engaging project. 

References:

Churches, Andrew. (2008). Bloom’s Taxonomy Blooms Digitally. Retrieved from http://teachnology.pbworks.com/f/Bloom%5C's+Taxonomy+Blooms+Digitally.pdf

[Subject and type of work]. Retrieved January 4, 2015, from: http://schoolwires.henry.k12.ga.us/cms/lib08/GA01000549/Centricity/Domain/6648/blooms20pyramid.jpg

[Subject and type of work]. Retrieved January 4, 2015, from: http://selectedreads.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/ipadagogy-wheel-001.jpg?w=1600&h=5220

Wainwright, A. (n.d.). Pros and Cons of BYOD and 1-to-1 technology in the classroom. Retrieved from http://www.securedgenetworks.com/strategy-blog/Pros-and-Cons-of-BYOD-and-1-to-1-Technology-in-the-Classroom