Lauren Taylor's Portfolio

For our last Edtech Group Inquiry Blog we discuss the outcomes of this project. We discuss the shortcuts we studied, why we were interested in this topic, the pros and cons to these shortcuts, and a quote that we thought was very powerful. 

The shortcuts we researched:

• Spell Check -function that allows users to scan a document for words that have been manipulated
• Talk to text -(aka: voice recognition technology) -tool that takes audio content and transcribes it into written words.
• Text to talk -assistive technology that reads digital text aloud.

Firstly we were interested in this topic because: 

• We wanted to learn how to prevent student’s dependency on technology shortcuts.
• Does the use of autocorrect and spell check prevent students from learning valuable grammar skills?
• We wanted to know If students reach a competent level of literacy and grammar skills, will they diminish with the increased use of shortcut tools?

The pros to including these shortcuts in the classroom:

• Can help students with learning disabilities
• Students can focus on getting ideas down without worrying about editing
• Poor or limited motor skills
• Vision impairments
• Limited English Language 

The cons to having these shortcuts in classrooms: 

• takes away from the students’ learning 
• students stop thinking about the little details of their grammar and spelling
• students rely on these shortcuts   
• if you don’t know it, when there is a list of possible correct options given, you don’t know which one to choose.

A quote that we thought was very powerful is: 

“Technology can amplify great teaching, but great technology cannot replace poor teaching” 

(Glowacki, 2015)

Overall, we think this project was very interesting and important to keep in mind in our future classrooms.

For this week’s blog we decided to do an individual reflection on if we will include these technology shortcuts into our future classrooms. From the research we have done on the pros and cons of these shortcuts, there is a lot to consider before including them in a classroom. I believe the most important factor to consider before deciding would be the age of your students. I personally want to teach kindergarten to grade 2; therefore, I would not include these shortcuts into my classroom because this is the stage where they need to learn the basic literacy skills. Including these shortcuts could have a large negative effect on their learning process. On the other hand, if I was teaching in an older classroom like grade 6, I would most likely include these shortcuts with limits to enhance the students literacy skills as these students already have literacy skills.

For this week’s blog, we have decided to discuss and research the cons to have technology shortcuts in the classroom. During our group discussion…

• takes away from the students’ learning 
• students stop thinking about the little details of their grammar and spelling
• students rely on these shortcuts   
• if you don’t know it, when there is a list of possible correct options given, you don’t know which one to choose.

Following our group discussion, we researched a couple of articles and found the following quotes: 

• “In using e-mail or word-processing software, we become less proficient proofreaders when we know that a spell-checker is at work” (Nordquist, 2019). 

• “Typically, if you have misspelled a word the spellchecker will offer a list of alternatives. Unless your initial attempt is reasonably close to the correct spelling, you are unlikely to be offered sensible alternatives, and, even if you are, you have to be able to make sense of what is on offer” (Nordquist, 2019). 
• “By middle school and high school, students start saying things like “I don’t have to spend time on this because I can ask Siri,” Gardner said. “I’m even guilty of it. I use Grammarly. … We’re less likely to self-monitor our spelling because we know the computer will do it for us” (Denn, 2019). 

Based on our findings from these articles, we have found that there is good reason to be cautious about the amount these tools are used in the classroom. There are those students who need the support of these tools, however, it’s still important for them to learn basic literacy skills.  In younger grades, there is no need to utilizing these tools because this is the time when students should really be learning these skills. As students get older, and have a strong understanding of grammar, spelling, and reading, then they can begin to use short-cut tools to enhance their writing, however, it is important that they do not come to rely on these tools.

 Articles we used in this blog: 

https://www.thoughtco.com/spellchecker-1692122

https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2019/01/29/era-spellcheck-autocorrect-does-it-matter-that-my-son-cant-spell/