{"id":16353,"date":"2013-01-28T06:00:48","date_gmt":"2013-01-28T11:00:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/?p=16353"},"modified":"2013-01-28T11:06:36","modified_gmt":"2013-01-28T16:06:36","slug":"as-education-technology-deadline-nears-a-florida-teacher-lets-iphones-invade-her-classroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/01\/28\/as-education-technology-deadline-nears-a-florida-teacher-lets-iphones-invade-her-classroom\/","title":{"rendered":"As Education Technology Deadline Nears, A Florida Teacher Lets iPhones Invade Her Classroom"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_16355\"  class=\"wp-caption module image center\" style=\"max-width: 620px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/01\/28\/as-education-technology-deadline-nears-a-florida-teacher-lets-iphones-invade-her-classroom\/1-28-ipads\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-16355\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-large wp-image-16355\" title=\"1-28 ipads\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/01\/1-28-ipads-620x332.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"332\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/01\/1-28-ipads-620x332.jpg 620w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/01\/1-28-ipads-300x160.jpg 300w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2013\/01\/1-28-ipads.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Kominyetska \/ Flickr<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tablet computers such as these will be more common in Florida classrooms as schools switch to digital instruction.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><em><a href=\"http:\/\/fetc.org\/Events\/Florida-Educational-Technology-Conference\/Home.aspx\">FETC, one of the nation&#8217;s largest education technology conferences<\/a>, opens in Orlando this week. StateImpact Florida will take a look at how state schools are trying to meet requirements to integrate more technology in lessons.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">_______<\/p>\n<p>When 12th grade English teacher Mariolga Locklin\u2019s students started thinking Shakespeare was nothing but an old fogey, she told them to pull out their phones and pull up Google.<\/p>\n<p>A quick search proved The Bard was occasionally bawdy.<\/p>\n<p>Locklin found allowing her students at Miami Palmetto Senior High School to use their smart phones and other high-tech devices in class kept them involved.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m techy. I have an iPhone,\u201d Locklin said. \u201cI\u2019m always looking things up.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen we have vocabulary, they prefer to look up the words on their phone,\u201d she said. \u201cThey have their phone out anyway, and I just turn to them and say \u2018look this up.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>About 10,000 of Locklin\u2019s fellow techy teachers will gather in Orlando this week for FETC, one of the nation\u2019s largest education technology conferences. The 33-year-old conference used to be called the Florida Education Technology Conference, organizers said, but was renamed as the event grew and began to draw a national following.<\/p>\n\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-content alignleft\"><h4 class=\"related-header\">Related<\/h4><div class=\"links\"><h5>Posts<\/h5><ul><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/01\/24\/a-billion-dollar-education-budget-wishlist-teacher-raises-and-new-technology\/\">A Billion-Dollar Education Budget Wishlist: Teacher Raises And New Technology<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/01\/24\/five-takeaways-on-floridas-switch-to-new-academic-standards\/\">Five Takeaways On Florida&#8217;s Switch To New Academic Standards<\/a><\/li><li class=\"link\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2013\/01\/08\/why-states-are-designing-two-tests-for-common-core-standards\/\">Why States Are Designing Two Tests For Common Core Standards<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class=\"topics\"><h5>Topics<\/h5><p class=\"topic\"><img class=\"alignleft\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/05\/aple-core.jpg\" height=\"60\" width=\"60\" \/><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/topic\/common-core-2\/\">Your Essential Guide To The Common Core<\/a><\/p><\/div><\/div>\n<p>This year educators from all 50 states and 27 countries will attend.<\/p>\n<p>The conference is a chance for teachers, principals and others to compare notes, share ideas and meet the companies behind the latest ed gadgets.<\/p>\n<h3>Tech Imperatives<\/h3>\n<p>They meet as schools across the country are contemplating a technology overhaul to meet <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/12\/19\/13th-grade-common-core-standards-aim-to-smooth-the-path-from-k-12-to-college\/\">new, tougher education standards adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia<\/a>, known as Common Core. Those standards take effect in the fall of 2014.<\/p>\n<p>And Florida schools face a second deadline: <a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/09\/25\/explaining-floridas-shift-to-digital-textbooks\/\">By the fall of 2015, half of classroom instruction must use digital materials.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Jennifer Womble is a former teacher who helps organize FETC.<\/p>\n<p>In the early days of computers, she said, schools viewed technology in term of business skills such as typing.<\/p>\n<p>But now?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s been a transition from technology being a tool on the side of education,\u201d Womble said, \u201cto technology being completely integrated into the education day.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Educators say they are excited about the potential that new technologies offer, but also have questions about how those digital tools will work with new curriculum and how schools will pay for the bandwidth, computers and other items needed to outfit students and schools.<\/p>\n<h3>Interactive Learning<\/h3>\n<p>Incorporating more technology in education has many potential benefits:<\/p>\n<p>Digital textbooks can be updated more quickly, and include interactive items such as videos or a timeline. In addition, digital books may be less expensive than traditional books.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/02\/how-schools-are-coping-with-a-communications-obsession\/\">Students are already using smart phones and tablets.<\/a> Why not deliver lessons on a device they already love using? Long-term, educators hope technology might mean higher attendance rates and fewer discipline problems. It also allows teachers to deliver lessons outside of school hours.<\/p>\n<p>Tablets and computers can provide instant feedback. For instance, in an Orange County classroom every student has a tablet. When the teacher asks a question, he or she can instantly see which students got the answer right and help those who didn\u2019t. And the tablet ensures that every student participates \u2013 even the shy ones.<\/p>\n<p>It provides real-world skills. Reading, writing and arithmetic aren\u2019t enough anymore if students can\u2019t use a computer or a word processing program. When\u2019s the last time a colleague sent you a hand-written memo?<\/p>\n<p>Technology provides more choices. Just like iTunes allowed music buyers to pick and choose what songs they want, schools and teachers could soon pick and choose only those pieces of curriculum and lesson plans they want.<\/p>\n<h3>Challenges Ahead<\/h3>\n<div id=\"attachment_11121\"  class=\"wp-caption module image right\" style=\"max-width: 225px;\"><a href=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/2012\/08\/02\/how-schools-are-coping-with-a-communications-obsession\/summer-2012-download-001\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-11121\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-11121\" title=\"Summer 2012 download 001\" src=\"http:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Summer-2012-download-001-225x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"225\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Summer-2012-download-001-225x300.jpg 225w, https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/files\/2012\/08\/Summer-2012-download-001.jpg 600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px\" \/><\/a><p class=\"wp-media-credit\">Courtesy of Mariolga Locklin<\/p><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Miami-Dade teacher Mariolga Locklin<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But many Florida schools districts will try to integrate these high-tech tools into low-tech facilities.<\/p>\n<p>Miami Palmetto teacher Locklin says her school is a half-century old.<\/p>\n<p>One reason she uses her phone in class is because the school computers are unreliable and the Internet network is slow.<\/p>\n<p>Letting students use their own devices helps keep their interest. But those who don\u2019t have a fancy phone can feel left out, she said.<\/p>\n<p>The PTA is buying flat screen TVs for some classrooms \u2013 but Locklin wants something more.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m still <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Smart_Board\">holding out for the smart board<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>This week StateImpact Florida will be looking at Florida\u2019s attempt to modernize its classrooms and instructional materials. What are school districts doing to prepare? How much research is there on whether high-tech education tools actually work?<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll also post photos, videos and more on what\u2019s new at FETC.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>FETC, one of the nation&#8217;s largest education technology conferences, opens in Orlando this week. StateImpact Florida will take a look at how state schools are trying to meet requirements to integrate more technology in lessons. _______ When 12th grade English teacher Mariolga Locklin\u2019s students started thinking Shakespeare was nothing but an old fogey, she told [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":16355,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[15],"tags":[1157,680,1050],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16353"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16353"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16353\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16360,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16353\/revisions\/16360"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16355"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/florida\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}