Though I am not a teacher, I am very familiar with the LoTi
framework because of my relationship with Dr. Bill Daggett and my understanding
of his “Rigor and Relevance” model. We
have built our product to align to Quadrant A (skills acquisition) and discuss
with schools the importance of focusing on Quadrant D. As I travel the country and work to partner
with schools and school districts, we often evaluate schools based on their
LoTi level in order to determine if they will be a good fit for a partnership
with our company. Because we offer a
cloud-based program, most schools that are levels 0-1 and sometimes level 2 are
not a good fit because they do not have a good enough adoption of technology in
the classroom.
Because I am not a teacher in the classroom, I will assess
the LoTi levels of my daughters’ 4th grade classroom in her
school. Her class is designated for gifted
and high-achieving students so they are offered a more intense curriculum than
those in regular ed. Unfortunately, even
though her classroom has more options than most in her school, I believe her
class to be at Level 2 – Exploration. I
would like to see this grow to at least level 3 (which I will detail the plan
below).
The reason her classroom is classified as Level 2 is because
while they do utilize technology, it is only as an extension to the work they
are being assigned. Creating a
PowerPoint presentation every once in a while is encouraged, but not
required. Only the students who have the
prior knowledge or that have parents at home willing to help typically do
computer based projects. There are only
three computers in the classroom, so they are only utilized when the teacher
creates small group assignments. They
school had implemented a “Bring Your Own Device” initiative in years past, but
they have gone away from that this year. This could have moved the classroom to Level 3
had they still implemented BYOD.
Brooks
I enjoy reading your perspective of technology integration since this is your field and you’re an “outside source” giving a different viewpoint that maybe a teacher would have. I agree with you that your daughter’s class jumping from a 2 to a 3 LoTi level would be a realistic goal based on their limited access to technology in the classroom. Seeing the amount of technology other schools have makes me not take for granted the high number of devices we have at the school I teach at.
ReplyDeleteJust like your daughter’s school, I’ve heard that “Bring Your Own Device” has had mixed reviews at other schools as well. With BYOD, a lot of students get their parents’ “hand me downs” and damaged devices (a lot of cell phones with broken screens). These types of devices often just aren’t practical for doing assignments and accessing documents on, which is a drawback of BYOD. I think this makes your recommendation of using the computer lab for inquiry based projects a good idea. My question would be how often the class can use the computer lab since the school seems to have few devices in the classroom. Other teachers may also want to use the lab a lot which would make it difficult to find available times.
I agree with your assessment on why BYOD has been an issue because of the limited capabilities of the technologies brought. I think 1-1 schools where the devices have been provided offer a much stronger technology implementation. Regarding how often for the computer lab: The school currently has each class go once a week for 60 minutes. The teachers can also sign up for "floating" times that are available during the week. Thanks for your insight!
DeleteI think that you set a realistic goal of moving the technology level in your daughter's classroom from a level 3 to level 4. It is a shame that the school is not using the BYOD program very often. Our school is in its third year of BYOD implementation and I have noticed that more teachers seem to be embracing the program. I agree with you that considerable computer lab time is essential if not using a BYOD program. Also, it is really smart if students have technology access at home to encourage the use of this technology at home in order to improve the technology use for the students. I know that our school automatically schedules a minimum of 60 minutes of lab time a week, and it is quite easy to sign up for 60 - 90 minutes of additional time a week as class and project needs arise, so hopefully that is a scheduling possibility for her teacher as well.
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