St. John’s Professor Helps Future
Teachers Embrace Technology
Sandra
Schamroth Abrams, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Adolescent
Education in The School of
Education, on the Staten Island campus, firmly believes that
students’ use of technology outside the classroom offers vital
academic benefits. Whether students are gaming, texting or posting
to social media sites, they are engaging in a form of literacy, Dr.
Abrams observed.
A focus of her research has been the way students can hone the
skills they develop through their use of technology and bring that
expertise into the classroom. Many students, as well as educators,
don’t necessarily see an overt connection between the two, Dr.
Abrams noted.
“Many of my students have had very traditional school experiences,”
she explained, adding that schools often can’t adapt as quickly as
technology changes. Nonetheless, Abrams has worked with her
students to explore the dynamic applications of technologies inside
the classroom, noting that when tools, such as Smartboards,
websites, and video games are used properly, “they can be
incredible resources for meaningful learning.”
A New Frontier
Dr. Abrams hopes to guide her students (all future educators
themselves) in navigating this emerging and ever-changing
technological landscape so they can maximize the resources
available to them.
To that end, she introduced a pilot class last spring entitled, “
New Media, Virtual Environments and 21st Century Learners,”
stressing the idea that video games and other popular technology
possess academic benefits. Her students not only explored and
analyzed digital tools and virtual practices, but also they tutored
adolescents from local middle and high schools, utilizing the same
technologies.
Dr. Abrams received a great deal of positive feedback from her
students, some of whom were initially skeptical about the
educational benefits of the games and new approaches. “It was a
really powerful semester. My students were able to chart both their
own growth and that of their tutees.”
Because technology can be limiting and frustrating at times, Dr.
Abrams stressed the benefits of applying critical thinking skills
to digital problem solving: “We have to account for obstacles. It’s
one thing to discuss them in the abstract – it’s another to
implement strategic and resourceful planning.”
Seeking Answers
Dr. Abrams’ interest in digital literacy has paralleled its growth
as an important 21st Century phenomenon. Originally a high school
English teacher, she embraced technology as it evolved throughout
the late ‘90s and early 2000s. “I made my own webpage for teaching
grammar using now primitive technology,” she noted, but soon
realized there wasn’t a great deal of research available about how
emerging technology could help her students.
“What was out there wasn’t enough,” she explained. “I wanted to do
research on my own, and that’s why I went back to graduate school
for my Ph.D. The cyber revolution was altering students’ literacy
practices outside school, and I recognized the need to harness the
unique qualities of multimodal learning within the academic
realm.”
As she delved deeper into new technology, Dr. Abrams paid close
attention to the influence of video games in the lives of
adolescents. As part of her dissertation, Dr. Abrams received a
generous stipend to purchase game consoles and brought them into a
public school to document students’ thinking during game play. “I
was impressed to find how they developed vocabulary and content
area knowledge as a result of gaming.” Abrams also relayed how
gaming was a source for collaboration and critical analysis. In
addition, contrary to critiques of the isolating effects of game
play, Abrams found that games could offer students opportunities to
develop global networks. “In one case, a student independently
learned Croatian to be able to communicate with his international
cadre of gamers in Eastern Europe.”
When Dr. Abrams joined the faculty of St. John’s in 2009, she was
encouraged to continue her research and focus on 21st century
classrooms. Abrams notes how fortunate she has been to work in the
Teaching and Learning Labs on the Staten Island Campus.
Through a grant from the Richmond County Savings Foundation,
secured by Regina Mistretta, Ed.D., Associate Professor for the
Department of Curriculum and Instruction, St. John’s University
offers technologically advanced environments for future
educators.
Within these classrooms, Abrams has been able to integrate
technology instruction into all the courses that she teaches. “I
believe in training our students to be dynamic 21st century
educators. That includes learning how to conduct a session
online, communicate in virtual spaces, and use technology inside
the classroom to engage students and develop critical
conversations. It’s incorporated into everything I do.”
Abrams added that, despite the advent of technology, universal
pedagogical concepts and effective classroom practice continue to
be validated; and while the foundations of educational training may
not have changed, the tools and skills continue to evolve. “As
educators, we need to think creatively and resourcefully to ensure
that our students develop the flexibility, innovation, and judgment
necessary to successfully implement and apply ever-changing
technologies. These goals will ensure an educated
citizenry capable of adjusting to the transformative digital and
pedagogical landscapes and cultures inside and outside the academic
world.”