McLuhan’s+Tetrad


 * McLuhan’s Tetrad**

=
I used McLuhan's tetrad to evaluate Skype. Skype is a website that allows individuals to communicate with others around the globe by video phone calls. This technology has enhanced global communication. Families can call long distance relatives on Skype and talk to them virtually. Professionals can conduct a business meeting face to face in different locations across the globe. Since an average family spends a considerable amount of money on telephone bills, this free service could make telephones obsolete. Microsoft recently purchased this software and if they discover a method for this technology to be secure and safe, this will be a powerful substitute for the telephone.===== This technology reverts back to the days before telephones, airplanes, and cars. Relatives and friends lived in close proximity and held conversations face to face. Now that families and friends are spread out across the globe, Skype offers face to face conversation via the Internet. The importance of gestures and body language while communicating could turn a negative statement to a positive statement. These benefits of face to face communication will open the way for 3D communicating systems such as real-time holograph communication. This technology is already being explored and invented. Since the world of technology is a never ending cycle, perhaps this new concept will make Skype obsolete. Keri

Responses to Keri: Keri, Skype is a great tool that we can use in the classroom. We use it to interview teacher candidates instead of flying them in to Alaska. I have seen where students can use it to work with other students across the world on projects. I agree that body language is a major factor in communication and is why e-mail is sometimes not a very good form of communication. Emily

Keri, I first used Skype when my mother and father went to Florida for the winter. I would use it as a source of communication and then when they were missing all of the snow here in the North, I would use the webcam to show them what they were missing! This is so much better than pictures. On the other hand, I cannot wait until the day I can use Skype in the classroom. I teach music, and I think that it would be so cool to Skype another music classroom and not only hear their performance but see it as well. This is a great tool. Kathy

My emerging technology that I chose for the McLuhan’s Tetrad was the iPad. The first tetrad of what does this the technology do that is new or enhances, it combines the ease of a handheld device with the functionality of a computer. The second tetrad asks what does this new technology replace or make obsolete? It replaces, e-readers, books, portable DVD players, music players, and even laptops. With the different apps that are available, the things that the iPad can replace are endless.

The third section of the tetrad is what the technology brings to mind or retrieves from the past? Movie making elicits the storytelling of past oral tradition. Instead of hauling around an abacus, we can calculate the tip for dinner quickly with the built in calculator. The final tetrad focuses on what might replace this technology in the future, or what might it cause to occur? There might also be more functions that will ease daily life, such as language translators, or shopping lists that create themselves. The ease of use will increase as newer versions or better models come out. Emily Million

Responses to Emily: Emily, I love all the functions of the iPad. After research, I have found the iPad does offer the iWorks software which was a question discussed on our classroom discussion board. Because of the iPads versatility, I agree that the iPad could one day make a laptop obsolete. When thinking ahead to the future, it is difficult to think of a tool that would make the iPad obsolete. I look forward to seeing what technology the future holds. Keri

Emily, Thanks for sharing your experiences with the iPad. I have little experience with them myself, but do agree that they can serve as a strong tool for increasing student acheivement. One of my concerns about the iPad is how quickly a version becomes obsolete. It seems like barely any time had gone by before the iPad 2 replaced the iPad 1. I know that this is not a strong argument for staying away from iPads. because from what I have seen they are one of the more effective and versatile emerging technologies. I know this may sound a little bizarre, but do you suppose that technologies similar to the iPad may eventually replace teachers? I want to say that there will always be a place for teachers, but what we have learned this week proposes that new technologies are being developed to replace old versions with a new version that does a job in a better way. Matt Maier

__**The technology that I think falls under McLuhan's Tetrad is the Internet.**__

**What does the technology do that is new?** “Since the mid-1990s the Internet has had a drastic impact on culture and commerce, including the rise of near instant communication by [|electronic mail], [|instant messaging], [|Voice over Internet Protocol] (VoIP) "phone calls", [|two-way interactive video calls], and the [|World Wide Web] with its [|discussion forums], [|blogs], [|social networking], and [|online shopping] (Wikipedia, 2001).” It also has allowed the use of online banking. Its existence has simplified many peoples’ lives.


 * What does the technology replace?** What does this technology bring to mind or retrieve from the past? “The Internet has precursors that date back to the 19th century, especially the [|telegraph] system, more than a century before the digital Internet became widely used in the second half of the 1990s. The concept of [|data communication] – transmitting data between two different places, connected via some kind of electromagnetic medium, such as radio or an electrical wire – [|predates the introduction of the first computers].


 * What might replace this technology in the future or what might it cause to occur?**I believe the use of the Internet is going to continually create global problems within the human race. The ability to access an abundance of people through the social networking websites, the wealth of information that is true and untrue on the Internet, and the Internets ability to provide ways to further educate humans. These are just a few examples, but I think that we will see more unmoral activities being conducted, more adultry, and more crimes committed due to the information that can be located through the Internet. I also think that is not out of the question that eventually high school teachers could eventually be replaced by online education. School districts, nationwide, are scrambling to locate funding every day. Could it be possible that some of them eventually would resort to online education to cut costs in their districts?

On the brighter side, the Internet can be a great tool for schools. The Web 2.0 applications have opened a new door to the Internet. It allows people to create online blogs. It allows people to collaborate on projects at a particular website and be able to make changes on the site without communicating back and forth via emails. The Internet allows educators to do virtual field trips when it is not possible to be there physically and monetarily. Classrooms can access other classrooms throughout the world via Skype and a simple webcam. The advantages are numerous.

Posted by: Kathy Ramsey

Tania's Response to Kathy:

Wow! What a scary thought "eventually high school teachers could eventually be replaced by online education." It is very possible, but I think we are very far from that happening (fingers crossed). I think the Internet will continue to enhance and replace many other technologies that will come and go. I also think that the Internet will eventually be our main means of communication. Soon, we will all use video calling from any phone and not need WiFi to do it.

Lance's Response to Kathy, I agree that the internet has its advantages as well as its pitfalls. One pitfall that I have lately been discouraged about is the assumption that everyone is an expert in online activities by corporate America. When my daughter applied to college it was all online, the applications for grants, financial aid, and now for her - her grades, submission of assignments, as well as research. Then comes the difficulty of password protection. I don't know about you but I have so many passwords, mailboxes, and user names that I often get frustrated trying to use an online tool. I can only imagine the difficulty of both the older and much younger generations. While you mention the use of online education and we are completing such, again, I am shocked by the amount of online participation required by a four year university (Ferris State University, my daughters freshman experience). You would think that a classroom would be the place to educate but an online community is practically a requirement.

__**TANIA'S EMERGING TECHNOLOGY AND McLUHAN'S TETRAD**__

The technology that I used for this weeks assignments is called Augmented Reality (AR). It super interesting and I just can't wait to use it in my classroom. My head was spinning with ideas! I hope you find it as cool as I did. I found it in a report call The Horizon Report 2011. This is an excerpt from my application:

Augmented reality (AR) refers to the addition of a computer –assisted contextual layer of information over the real world, creating a reality that is enhanced or augmented. AR has actually been around since the 1960’s, however has recently increased in popularity because of the use of smart phones and the Internet. Through the utilization of these devices more and more people have access to augmented reality than ever before. It is my prediction that augmented reality will change the future of education and the use of technology in the classroom.

AR & McLuhan's Tetrad:


 * Enhances**
 * Blends the real world and virtual, creating a unique, rich environment


 * Retrieves**
 * Intrinsic motivation
 * Discovery


 * Reverses**
 * Omission of the virtual world


 * Obsoletes**
 * Pictures and videos
 * Traditional education

__**LaVanway's McLuhan’s Tetrad Post**__

Last year I was able to acquire a classroom response system of “clickers” to assist in teaching my third grade students. While new technology to me, and having little time to delve deeply into the myriad of options supported, I have been able to appreciate the value of these devices in assisting teaching and learning. Research suggests that; “Teachers using these systems have students answer multiple-choice questions, and predict the outcomes of readings, word problems, and science experiments. Individual student and class wide responses can be immediately tabulated and displayed so that teachers can use the data to guide their feedback and adjust their instruction accordingly” (Salend, S., 2009, p. 49). I am able to observe up to 36 students while working at their own pace on an assessment or during group question and answer periods and to assist individuals on an as needed basis. This technology tool offers insight into students understanding immediately, offering an effective practitioner an opportunity to clear up points of confusion (immediate feedback), as well as guiding decisions whether to move on to new skills or reteach a previous lesson.
 * Classroom Response System (CPS) **
 * **//__ Enhances __//**  ** Allows immediate feedback **  ||  **//__ Obsoletes __//**   ** Grading papers **  ||
 * **//__ Retrieves/Rekindles __//**  ** Individual attention **  ||  **//__ Reverses __//**   ** Cellular phones **  ||

I no longer take home a stack of papers to grade, now I monitor the individual students’ progress on the test as the students are taking it. “Giving students’ feedback seemed to be more productive than giving them grades. If I carefully and consistently gave them feedback about their work, I felt more like a teacher than a warden” (Tomlinson, C., 2008, p. 9). Using the data collected from the individual students with the clickers along with informative assessments also helps me determine which students work in which small groups, who works with a paraprofessional, who works with the Title One assistance, and who need individual guidance and support.

As an elementary classroom teacher, covering several topics, often with an overcrowded classroom and no support, I find it difficult to assist students on an individual basis. While //No Child Left Behind// implies that every student needs to be monitored and effectively assisted, today’s classroom often leaves some students forgotten. Each learner is unique! With the classroom response system, I am able to tap into the uniqueness of the learner in a way I never was able to before and offer immediate feedback as if I were standing alongside each as they work independently.

Learn more at: []

Resources: Salend, S. (2009). Technology-based classroom assessments. //Teaching Exceptional Children//, //41//(6), 48–58. Retrieved from __ [] __ Tomlinson, C. (2008). Learning to love assessment. //Educational Leadership//, //65//(4), 8–13. Retrieved from __ [] __

Responses to Lance: Lance, I too have the handheld response systems in my classroom, but I do not implement them as often as I should. The one downfall I found in implementing this tool whole class is the time it takes for students to complete an assessment. Students can not work at their own pace. The entire class has to be completed with a question before moving on to another question. I like that students can see the immediate results of both their individual responses and the classes response. This allows time for reflection to determine misconceptions or discuss test taking strategies. You had mentioned that your systems allow for students to work at their own pace. What handheld system to you use at your school? Keri

Lance, Thanks for sharing your insights and experiences with handheld response systems. You will notice your experiences are quite similar to mine. I have found that the most valuable aspect of these tools is the instant feedback to students. I have also seen the power that this can have on many of my students. So many times I have seen disengaged, low achieving students find a new meaning for learning. Many times it is surprising that being able to push a button and see their own results is enough to motivate a child. Though I may find it surprising, at the same time I am thankful to have a way in which I can reach these students in a way that fits their own learning preferences. While the clickers have given me instant data on student understanding, I have been careful not to make it my only method of collecting data. I like how quickly it collects data, but at the same time I realize that it may not be the preferred method for demonstrating understanding for some of my other students. It is still important to provide them opportunities that fit their specific learning needs. Matt


 * Matt Maier's Student Response System (SRS) and the McLuhan's Tetrad**

**Enhances:** The student response systems provide many new and important enhancements. First, the systems allow all students to be engaged in a lesson. The teacher receives feedback from each individual. The feedback is also instant, which allows the teacher an opportunity to gauge student understanding and effectiveness of their own teaching. **Obsoletes:** The student response systems (SRS) replace the timeworn “raise your hand and wait to be called on” routine. In such a scenario only a handful of students would process a response and even fewer would be called on to share their response. Opportunities to share evidence of understanding were limited. More recently students have practiced such routines as slate and mini-whiteboard routines. In these types of routines students were able to write responses and share them with the teacher. The SRS replace both practices of these practices with a streamlined and powerful alternative. **Rekindles:** The SRS rekindle similar practices that were present in the classic one-room school houses of the nineteenth century. It was common practice for students to use slate boards and chalk to record spelling words or writing lessons. It was a way of allowing all students to practice at the same time, regardless of age or ability. **Reverses:** Responses to Matt: