Blog Post 14

Teachers Know if you have Done the E-Reading
In the article Teachers Know if you have Done the E-Reading by David Streitfeld is a study done in Texas at Texas A&M. The study is to compare are students reading their textbooks for school. The program by CourseSmart allows teachers to see which one of their students who are being active in the course with the reading. CourseSmart has it set up where the teachers can see everything that is going on that the students are doing for the reading. For instance, the teacher can see if the student is taking notes, highlighting important passages or simply just not doing the reading. This is probably every teachers dream to monitor students but it can also be a downfall to students and teachers.
As a teacher I feel as if the CourseSmart program can be very beneficial to me and my classroom. I want to know how my students study habits are and were they could use some improvement to make them better students. CourseSmart can be deceiving because, the students can easily open something up and make it seem like they are learning. I do feel that if this in my classroom I will still test my students on the material there were assigned to read just to make sure they and understanding what is being taught in the classroom.I will also get my students opinions on how they like using the program also do they feel like it is benefiting them. I feel it is more for the secondary students.
As a college student now I feel that this is making students change how they study. A student like myself who is use to having a hard copy of the book and material so they make their own notes, highlight and underline what I feel is important. Also I feel like I am an independent learner who does not need someone to monitor what I choose to read, because it is on me if I do not read the assignment. The article also mentioned about students trying to trick the system. I know many students who would do this because they will think the assignment is irrelevant and would not be beneficial to the student and the program would be a waste. I feel that CourseSmart should only be used for certain subjects not all then the students might feel overwhelmed by the assignments.
Questions for the Teachers 1) What is your purpose for using CourseSmart? 2)Does this make your job easy? 3)How will you handle the students who do not do the reading assignments?
Questions for the Students 1)Do you see an improvement in your grades by reading? 2)Did this make you want to read in your other classes? 3)Which do you like the most a hard copy of the textbook or the online reading? My comment: I am very interested in the way technology is growing in today's society. I feel that sometimes technology is going to make some lazy with school work. I think the students are going to try to play the system.