Backslide and Technology
Summer is quickly approaching.
What are your students going to be doing over the summer? Going to the beach? Going on educational trips to the Museum of
Science and Industry? Most of them
probably will not. Summer is the most
unequal time in America," said Matthew Boulay, the interim CEO of the
National Summer Learning Association. Not only is nutrition an area of concern during the
summer for most of our students, the summer academic backslide is also an issue.
Students who leave kindergarten reading at a level C, sometimes enter
my first grade classroom reading at a level B after 10 weeks of summer
break. Students who used technology for
reading and math during the school year will experience the absence of
technology during the summer. Instead of
using the summer to sit on the couch like couch potatoes all day, students
could be engaged in online learning experiences. Maybe technology usage over the summer break could
prevent the summer backslide. If so, what should a district do for those
students who do not have access to technology over the summer? I have two questions,,,
1. Should districts provide students with laptops, Chromebooks, etc. to use at home over the summer break?
2. If students receive laptops over the summer, should teachers provide assignments for them to complete? Summer learning could be equivalent to an Online Learning course and serve as a method of extending the school year without being physically present in a classroom.
1. Should districts provide students with laptops, Chromebooks, etc. to use at home over the summer break?
2. If students receive laptops over the summer, should teachers provide assignments for them to complete? Summer learning could be equivalent to an Online Learning course and serve as a method of extending the school year without being physically present in a classroom.
Ronna,
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Chromebooks for every student is a great idea to have over the summer even during the school year. However, I do see challenges that go along with this. I would guess that most of the students that lose so much over the summer are students that don't have the parent involvement that is also required to help and guide them over the summer and to keep pushing them. I know that we are never going to get 100% parent involvement. If we give students these Chromebooks, what happens when they don't have the internet at home? Yes there are places to take them to get the free Wi-Fi, but again we are relying on those same parents that aren't involved during the school year to now become involved in the summer. To actually take their child somewhere for them to do schoolwork. I'm not sure that is realistic either. Don't get me wrong, I love the idea, I just don't think we will get the results we would be hoping for. Then we have the problem of giving them assignments to do over the summer. We want them to be accountable, but how do we do that when they may not have internet at home, and the lack of their parents involvement. Do we still hold our 5, 6, even 7 and 8 year-olds responsible for things that are out of their control? How do we handle that? As much as I want the 1-1 ratio, I'm not sure if this would all work the way we would want it to. I'd be happy to hear of ideas to make my concerns become non-existent. :)
Lynda,
DeleteI agree with you on parental involvement being a guiding factor in the decision to release laptops to our students. Instead of this becoming a school wide program, we could initially begin with a small select group of students whose parents have to agree to the terms and conditions of using the Chromebooks during the summer. Again, parental involvement. Are the parents who agree, the same parents who are already involved in their children's education? Wouldn't a program like this cover those students who fall in the category of children who can't afford a Chromeboook but have the drive to do the assignments? I must admit that this can become a risky and expensive endeavor. What do we do if students damage or loose the Chromebooks? There are so many questions. I do not believe that this is a program for our primary students and maybe not even those in the intermediate grades. This could be a different form of Summer School for middle school students and beyond. A Blended Learning Summer School where students meet with the teacher 3 times during the summer. During the face to face interaction, the laptops could be checked and collaborative, in-class assignments could be given.
Hi Ronna! I totally think districts need to make this shift. I personally feel that partnerships could be put in place with AT&T or other providers to help those families without internet connection.
ReplyDeleteI personally feel we should have 1:1 so students can take the Chromebooks home over the school year. I never thought about the summer months but that would be awesome. I understand the hesitation Lynda expresses in terms of accountability and parental involvement. There are so many avenues that could be taken to help students continue to push themselves. As an educator, I personally wouldn't mind pushing assignments out to students or blogging with them during the summer. Even one or two assignments during the week. Even correlating it to myOn so we could encourage their reading and have an assignment on myOn to go with the reading. There's got to be a bridge that we could build to help bridge the gap that we know many of our students have. I would be interested to research other districts in the US who do this for elementary and see how it has impacted their population.
The only issue I have is the accountability. What happens if students abuse or loose the Chromebooks? I am also one of the educators who would not mind working with students over the summer months. Teachers are paid for summer school. This would just be another avenue to explore in the area of summer education. Using MyOn is an excellent way to utilize technology for education. There are many projects that could be assigned and posted to a Google Classroom or a blog.
DeleteHi Ronna,
ReplyDeleteI have had the experience of all my children on a 1:1 for computer starting in junior high through high school through District 86 and 204. In my opinion, as a parent, I don't think students should be given computers to take home during the summer. What I think is more important is for students to be active. I think districts should offer summer school to be more like camps. Camps that teach kids social skills. All the important but not enough time to teach, skills during the school year should be taught during summer camp. Those students who need academics can go to summer school, and all the others can sign up for camp.
Hi Ronna and Patty,
DeleteFirst, I love the idea to have some type of District type of summer school or camp, where the students can utilize their laptops during the summer. I think a lot of our students in high school could benefit from something like this. I do know, after speaking to our IT department at school, having student issued laptops are pretty expensive for the school to maintain. I know the IT department using the entire summer to check and maintain all the laptops, checking for damages, adding new software, etc.
Hi Ronna,
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of students having some responsibility with continuing their schooling over the summer. I love even more the camp idea that Patty posted above. We have so many great programs online such as MyON and other types of adaptive technology programs like MobyMax and IXL where students can continue to hone their skills. I know that in Joliet, the district offers a STEM related program that has a more "campy" feel but still emphasizes academics. And it's ridiculously inexpensive for parents compared to other summer programs offered through the park district, for example. Either way, students should be active over the summer and a laptop for their use isn't the best idea if it isn't monitored or used correctly.
Patty and Michelle, I agree with you on having active students. However, most of our students' activities are centered around the television. Parents who are at work probably don't allow their children to go outside to play. Organized sports and camps cost money that many parents may not have available. Our district offers the summer camps which involve academics and activities. The only problem is the limited space. All children aren't given the opportunity to participate in a camp program offered at such a great price.
DeleteGreat discussion! There are so many things to consider for both situations. I would be interested to see if there is any research proving that either one of these is statistically beneficial. I'm sure we can agree that there are some benefits to each, but are they statistically beneficial? Do the benefits outweigh the cost? Parental involvement is key to any program being most successful, but we need to see what the benefits might be without parental involvement because you need to be realistic.
ReplyDeleteStudents should have technology at home and teachers should be paid to monitor and guide students digitally.
ReplyDelete