Week #14 Reflection

Web 2.0 applications are a constant source of wealth for educators, and are something that I use consistently throughout my teaching.  When reflecting back on Web 2.0 applications from throughout this course, I reflected on Google Drive and Blogs.

Google Suite is probably one of my favorite resources to use in education.  I not only rely on it for my personal documents and documents related to my lessons, but I incorporate it into my students work-pieces.  Google Forms allows for a quick access to student thinking, such as exit tickets, while Google Drive allows for a broader range of student thinking.  I constantly use Drive for my students writing pieces along with presentations that they create.  The major benefit of Google Suite is that it promotes socialization.  Students are able to share their writing directly with myself, their parents, or other students.  This "increases the enjoyment and motivation for many kinds of work" (pg. 302), which helps students to feel positive about their work pieces.  It's always fun to watch the students reflect directly on someone else's work, all while seeing the suggestions and reflections others are placing on their own pieces.

Blogging is another of my favorite Web 2.0 applications.  I currently use blogging in 2 ways, one that is used as a classroom communication tool between parents and myself (showing what we've been working on, what's coming in the future, etc.).  The other way I currently use blogging is through student blogs.  This allows the students to reflect on a discussion lead that I created, but also to reflect on each others thinking.  We also open up the blog to other classrooms in our building, which allows "expanded privacy beyond just the classrooms comments." (pg. 303).  In a similar lite, I also use LiveBinder for student portfolios, which allows for public access to work for comments and such beyond our classroom walls.  It takes time to get them set-up for student use, but the portfolio's that come out of it are always worth the time!

Week 12 Reflection and Review

Chapter 29 Reflection:
One of the key points that stood out to me from Chapter 29 was the comment that "e-learning environments are delightfully saturated with opportunities for informal or incidental learning outcomes."  Anytime I have ever taken an online course there have been learning outcomes that were never the goal of the course.  While I haven't taken many online courses, the few that I have taken have always led to further discoveries and discussion that was the original outlined plan for the course.  One of the best examples of this I can give is the course of 21 Things for The 21st Century Educator.  The course held specific learning objectives, however the knowledge and wealth of ideas we walked away with surpassed the course goals.

The second key point that stood out was "E-Learning can be synchronous or asynchronous."  I think one of the most beneficial components to online learning is the capability to work on your own time frame.  We are all graduate students, which means most of us work a full-time job, and have families at home to take care of too.  Setting up a class time to be at every night isn't always possible.  The flexibility to "attend class" when you have time is fantastic!  During the 21 for Things course, the instruction was webcast, which allowed us to not only access it whenever you were able to, but always enabled us to access it when we needed to review materials. Items still had a due date, which enforces responsibility, but their was flexibility in when you completed the tasks.  I think in today's society, this is a key component to education.

Online Application Reviews:
I cannot get enough of Google documents!  I use it not only for my storage, but my students use it constantly!  We have even dove headfirst into Google Classroom which is tied directly into the students Google Documents drive.  Google makes a great storage place for everything!  The suite hosts its own version of Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.  So while it might seem pointless to use such a suite when you have Microsoft on your computer, Google documents have amazing features that out-reach Microsoft.  From the capability of automatically saving, to  eliminating the need for a flash-drive to transport files to work, my Google drive is my lifeline!

Sumo Paint is a image editing software program that I explored in the past, and again for this reflection.  The program has some great features, however it can be a pain in the butt too!  I have used it in the past when editing images in combination with Wordle.  It seems rather misleading, in that it tells you its completely online but the wants you to download their program. Plus, inorder to get their key features, you have to pay a monthly fee.  And if there is anything educators look for, it's free resources!  Once I got past the complexity of getting started (and whether or not I would need to download the program or not), the rest was decently easy to use.  The best advice I can give is if you understand other photo editing software, you should be fine to use Sumo Paint.  However I do wish it was slightly less complicated to figure out.

Weekly Reflection

After reading the chapter, and looking at the Author's point of view on achieving a job in the IDT field, 3 lessons really stood out and captured my attention.  The first being his lesson on developing a strong set of communication skills, followed by his lessons on developing an area of expertise and keeping up with the literature in your area of interest.

The lesson on developing a strong set of communication skills can really be applied to any job you currently have, or hope to get in the future.  As a teacher, communication is the foundation of my life.  I have to not only communicate with 39 students everyday, but I have to be able to actively communicate with the staff in my building and others that I provide training for.  As a tech leader in my building, I'm constantly being relied upon to provide training and education to other staff members.  Communication sets the foundation for understanding...poor communication = poor understanding.

The second lesson, developing an area of expertise, really made me think about how all teachers have a niche, or something they are strong in.  My niche is technology, and the math/science/social studies content.  Have an area of expertise helps to make you a team-player, and someone that can round out and balance a team or group.  All types of business and professions require you to have team-player attributes, and having an area of expertise really helps to develop a strong team.  In education technology, everyone has an area of expertise - mine being student technology such as Chromebooks, SMARTBoard, etc.  My goal with earning my masters in educational technology is to help me break down the gaps and become stronger in areas that are unknown to me, or aren't as familiar.

The third lesson, keeping up with the literature in your area of interest, is essential to continual growth.  If we fail to continue to learn about new technology, new teaching styles, new methods, then we fail to educate our children in the best methods possible.  The minute I become that teacher, is the minute I retire!

Classroom Websites

This week we were required to create a website (https://sites.google.com/a/slcs.us/joslin/) using Google Sites.  While this isn't my favorite website maker, it was something that I could easily picture using.  Last summer I was preparing to teach a brand-new grade, and wanted something to help communicate better with the parents.  I decided to go onto Google, since I'm known for loving all things Google, and began to create and design my own website for our classroom.  I quickly got frustrated with it, and instead went to Weebly to create my classroom site (http://msjoslinsclass.weebly.com/).  While I know that this assignment requried the use of Google, my preference is honestly Weebly.

Having a classroom website is something that parents really appreciate having.  It allows me to post updates on classroom activities, homework requirements, etc.  I also use it as a classroom blog, where the students are responsible for posting pictures to update parents on all the fun activities that we do!  Having a classroom blog takes time for updates, but it is a great communication tool!

Concept Mapping

As part of our week #10 assignment, I created a concept map using bubbl.us (one of my favorite concept mapping websites!).  I constantly use concept mapping with my students as electronic versions of graphic organizers.  These seem to capture their attention so much more, and they love being able to color code their thinking.

This concept map is the basic outline for our persuasive writing.  The students use this map as an outline guide, filling in their thinking, as a way to plan out their writing - such as a drafting sessions.  We also use this concept map when working on our basic research unit.  It helps to guide the students planning.

Week #10 Reflection

One of the major themes I noticed across the 3 chapters was the theme of technology based training and delivery, or the online presence.  Businesses use online training seminars to reach across the real-time communication boundaries.  Online access allows for easier communication with other companies, along with educating workers in a quick, real-time, easy access situation.  P-12 Instructional design requires 21^st century access, along with teaching students to use and include technology in everyday instructional design.  University roles require a distance-education department, such as our online classroom, to reach the needs of all students.  Online technology based training and delivery is something that, regardless of your career, is becoming an everyday common occurrence.

The second theme I noticed was the need for constant updating of knowledge.  Educators, regardless of P-12 or University, are required to constantly stay on top of technology.  We are required to be 21^st century learners and leaders, which requires us to consistently educate ourselves to the most recent technological advancements.  Business leaders are held to the same standard: either stay on top of technology and how you can use it, or find yourself falling behind in the business world.

One of the concepts I would like to take away from one of the other fields would be carving out time for research.  As an elementary teacher, it’s hard to find time for updating your educational technology fields (you find yourself doing grad school classes at midnight on weekdays when you should be sleeping!).  Finding a balance between everything is something that we all need to master – especially if we want to stay on top of instructional technology and how to use it in the classrooms.

Screencasting

As part of our writing unit, our students create research reports on their state of choice.  We're required to have them use online databases, and this is the first time students are exposed to such a resource.  It also required them to cite their sources, something very complex to 3rd and 4th graders.  Having a recording (sorry for the lack of microphone, it broke in the process this week) that could be posted to our classroom website would be a great resource to students.  I can see it being a reminder to the students, along with a helpful aid to parents when working with their children at home.

(Screencast is giving me problems with embedded this video.  It claims that I don't have an updated flash player, but mine is the most recent.  So I'm going to leave the embedded code in hopes that it works for you, and will also leave the link just incase).

(http://www.screencast.com/t/hsa1E7aWX)

Week #9 Reflection

This weeks reading brought about 2 trends/issues that hit home for me as an educator.  The first being the section comprised of the conversation on student use of technology as a tool changing teacher and student classroom behaviors.  Technology is something that students are always actively seeking to use, and has shown drastic results in my classroom.  When technology is incorporated into a lesson, project, or activity, the student thinking that is shown is much deeper and holds more meaning.  Even using a simple technology program, such as ClassDojo to monitor student behavior and share results with parents, helps to improve student interest, participation, and learning.  However, the results aren't always carrying across to standardize testing.  This is something that we, as educators, struggle to deal with every year.  How do we continue to advance students with technology while still passing the assessments that are mandated upon us?

The second trend/issue that stood out to me was the section discussing the technology integration: preparing for the twenty-first century.  This is something we've been discussing a lot in my district and throughout my county.  Technology integration is always a key component, but the portion that stands out to me most is the word "integration".  Teachers are always quick to add in a technology project, a Web 2.0 site that they have found, a new app on their classroom iPad's, etc.  However what skills are they teaching our students? How are they preparing them to be 21st Century learners and leaders?  One of the most important things I teach my students throughout the year is how to "use" the computers.  We work on not only the fun Web 2.0 things, but we also talk real-world skills.  One of the best programs I have found to help lead educators down this path, is the 21 Things for The 21st Century Teacher.  If you haven't checked it out before, I encourage you do to so!

Google Maps and Week #8 Reflection

I am in LOVE with the new Google Maps and I can't wait to use this with my class next year!  We teach Michigan geography as our first social studies unit in 3rd grade.  As part of the unit, students have to learn and memorize the Great Lakes Region along with key points in Michigan.  Each year we have the students make a map as a way to practice their thinking.  However, the new Google Maps project will allow them to create an electronic version instead.  I can just imagine my students adding pictures of the different places, adding details beyond the required places, and even adding in specific boundaries for the states and region borders.

As an example for the basics of the region maps requirements, I designed a sample map:




Chapter 18 Reflection:
The two noteworthy ways that I found related to education were the "subject-matter experts" along with the "technology-based training delivery".  Our district relies on the teacher staff to be subject-matter experts, and use these "experts" to create SAC's (or subject area committee's).  These SAC's are used to analyze curriculum and assessments, design new materials, purchase appropriate items, etc.  all based off one subject area and one grade level.  These subject-matter experts, like in business areas, must be available to educators when releasing a new curriculum - similar to how they must be available in business's because it is "critical to the project".

The education world also relies on "technology-based training delivery", similar to the business world.    A perfect example of this is the 21 Things for the 21st Century Educator project that runs throughout the state of MI.  The district I belong to (Oakland County) runs this program entirely online, while providing the much-needed professional development hours that teachers need to renew their certifications.  The program allows teachers to be involved in "collaborative activities" along with conducting a "self-study" that allows us to be flexible within our own classroom activities, personal lives, etc.  Technology-based training is a widely used concept amongst educators, in and out of the classroom.

Best Surprise EVER!

This weekend I received the best surprise EVER!  My twin is in the Air Force, and is stationed in Texas for the time-being.  I rarely ever get to see him in person, however we stay in constant contact through Skype or Face-Time when the military allows.  But it's been almost a year since I've seen him, and over 2 years since he's been home.

Needless to say, I was extremely surprised when he walked through the door of my house without me ever knowing he was coming!  He's home for just under 2 weeks, and I plan to enjoy every minute of it!

Week #6 Reflection

This week’s chapter has my brain spinning round and round.  I honestly found it difficult to read, and often found myself reading paragraphs over again several times in order to comprehend what was being said.  (I’m going to blame my niece and nephew for being cute little distractions while their Mom was at work this week!  Here's hoping I got the concepts right!) 

Once I got through the concepts behind HPI, I found myself comparing it mostly to the teacher evaluation system we have established here in Michigan and my district.  Teachers are often evaluated by a few classroom tours and visits.  This is a snapshot into our daily instruction, interaction with parents and teachers, and our everyday happenings.  However these 30minutes “visits” are enough to judge a year’s worth of educational happenings in the eyes of the public.  The vision of HPI is stated as being: “to achieve, through people, increasingly successful accomplishments, directly tied to organizational goals, that are valued by all stakeholders, including  those who perform, their managers, their peers, the organization as a whole, shareholders, customers, regulatory agencies and even society itself.”  It is within this vision statement that I feel we lose HPI in our environments.  How can it be a vision that shows improvement in our schools when we are constantly at “war” with the public and “society” for what is equitable in our schools and classrooms?

The other key point that caught my attention was Gilbert’s 4 principals and theorems laid out on page 137 of Chapter 14.  Each of these 4 key points describes exactly how performance should focused.    One of my favorite of the 4 points was the comment “A system that rewards people for their behavior without accounting for accomplishment encourages incompetence.”  As an educator, or in any profession for that matter, why would I want to work just as hard on a difficult task, when a coworker can work on an easy task and receive the same praise and reward?  I often feel that this is where our evaluation systems fall apart.

I feel that HPI is a great concept, and that with equitable input as HPI suggests, evaluations and systems set in place by the group as a collaborative would be a better success than when forced upon us unwillingly.

Podcasts and The Classroom

Podcasting is another of my favorite activities to complete in the classroom with my students.  We currently create podcasts as book reviews for future students.  We then link the podcast with a QR code that we print and tape into our classroom library books.  Audacity is an amazing program  to work with when creating podcasts!  My 3^rd and 4^th graders are able to easily create and record a podcast episode, without any help from me! And I think one of my favorite teachers was the lack of a required microphone when using the iPad! So simple to use.

My students are also looking forward to a creating video podcast this year that will be based around their research units.  The classroom will be writing research reports, but will present their materials through a podcast session using Windows Movie Maker and Audacity.  These will then be uploaded to our classroom website for parents to enjoy!

Since I sadly lack permission from parents to post student podcasts online, and is required in our district, I cannot share their student samples.  Therefore, I’ll share two of my favorite podcasts that I subscribe to as an educator.  I tend to listen to podcasts during my runs or off my Nook.  Therefore, I use the links a lot more than I do the iTunes access:

http://techlandia.podomatic.com/

Techlandia is a teacher generate site that promotes not only technology integration into schools, but provides instantaneously useful skills that can be directly applied to your classroom instruction the very same day.  One of the best notes about this podcast series, is the fact that it’s styled after late-night tv shows, which makes for a great and humorous listen normally!

http://edreach.us/channel/googleeducast/

Another of my technology downfalls is my obsession with everything Google.  I use Google Drive to store all my materials, Google Maps to go on virtual field trips, Gmail as my daily correspondence, and every other Google tool in between.  I was exposed to the Google Education Podcasts this summer through a Google Teacher Summit that I was invited to.  The Google Educational Podcasts are soley based on Google technology in the classroom, and was to actively implement Google into your everyday use.

Theories of Learning

The behavioral learning theory , while older, is a solid ground upon which teachers build their lessons.  Human choices are controlled everyday by behavioral stimulation (ex: we buckle up in cars so the buzzer doesn’t go off as we drive).  Students are no exception to this learned behavior, and ultimately learn certain materials through a behavioral process.

The main concept behind the behavior learning theory is the positive reinforcement.  While this makes for excellent classroom management skills, it also ties into students grasping concepts quickly.  In using this learning theory throughout classroom planning, the first major step is establishing a foundational point, or observing the students background knowledge.  To do so in my classroom would consist of utilizing a Cultures of Thinking routine names “think, puzzle, explore”.  During this routine students look at images or ponder a unit as a whole.  This routine asks students to share their thinking about the topic, similar to the “K” of a KWL chart.  This area allows students to share what they already know, while putting it into a “thinking” context which allows them to alter their choices later (rather than a “know” context, which perceives it to already be correct).  The puzzle portion of the routine allows students to share their puzzles, or questions, they have about the topic.  Why are the prices different for the same item? Why do companies charge differently?  The explore portion gives the students a chance to brainstorm ways we could go about exploring answers to our questions.  What could we do to figure out the reasons for the different costs?

After completing the routine, the students would be guided into a partner activity.  The best activity for this learning style is a game, iPad app, etc. that allows for immediate feedback.  One of the tech tools that I love to use for such an occasion, is the clickers that go along with the SMARTBoard software we have in our classrooms.  These clickers allow students to text, type, calculate, and enter in their answer.  All while allowing them to see immediate feedback on their answers.  The SMARTBoard clicker file would have questions that ask students to “pick the better deal”, kind of like the old shopping game shows.  Teacher lead discussions between each questions to lead to an in-depth discussion on why the answers were correct.  As an end result, the classroom teacher would be able to see how the student thinking changed throughout the SMARTBoard clicker file, and would show if the students were able to grasp the concept by the end of the lesson.

Gagne’s Theory of Instruction is very similar to “traditional” lesson plans and workshop formats that are used today in classrooms.  Each lesson is conceived of many smaller pieces, which together form a complex lesson session designed to help guide student thinking throughout the day.  The key pieces to this workshop time lead to a complex, well thought-out, lesson plan.

To begin using Gagne’s theory in a classroom lesson, the lesson plan is broken into 9 key parts:

1) Gaining Attention – To begin the lesson I would pull my class to our group gathering space on the carpet.  On my table in front of them I would have several packages of cookies, all different brands and styles.  By including something the students can relate to and desire, the teacher automatically draws in the student interest.

2) Informing the learner of the objective – At the beginning of each lesson we are required to state the targeted learning goal for the day.  At this point I would explain to my class that I am planning a party for my niece, and need to purchase enough cookies for our family and all her friends.  I went to the store, but was overwhelmed with all the options and choices.  However, I wanted to pick the best “bang for my buck”, and get the most out of my purchase.  I would explain to my class that today they are going to help me determine which cookie purchase would be the best purchase for my party.

3) Stimulating Recall of Prior Learning – This is the point in the lesson where I would ask students to generate or brainstorm thoughts and ideas as to how we could solve my problem.  As students brainstormed ideas, I would remind them of their multiplication and division units we’ve been completing, along with their prior knowledge of cookies, money, and shopping.

4) Presenting the Stimulus – After the students brainstormed their ideas and strategies, I would pick one type of cookie package to model with.  At this point I would ask the class what information about this package we need to know (ex: number of cookies, price).  With student guidance, I would use this time to completely model going through and finding the unit price per ounce on my model package.

5) Providing Learning Guidance – Sometimes students need a cue or a helping hand to guide their thinking throughout a process.  During this time, I would help to guide students towards a strategy that works best for the class overall.  As a teacher this is hard to predict, as each years group of students thinking would change depending on the students.  While I encourage using strategies that work for the individual, having a starting point helps to guide them along when stuck.

6) Eliciting Performance – During this time I would have the student’s partner up to explore the remaining packages of cookies, and determine the price per unit of each type.  This gives the class the time to practice their strategies, while I conference with those students who are struggling.  This is one of my favorite times during a lesson, because I’m able to helps those who need assistance, while being able to push those whose thinking has already achieved the task requirements.

7) Providing Feedback – At the end of the partner time, the students would come together to share their findings as a class.  This gives us a chance to reflect on how their thinking has grown, while simultaneously giving me the time to help fix any errors or mistakes on a whole classroom level.

8) Assessing Performance – After sharing as a class and working with partners, I would have my students conduct an exit ticket.  Exit tickets are designed to quickly showcase the students thinking, all while giving a brief assessment to show if they are on-track or needing further assistance.  The exit ticket for this lesson would have students determining the unit price per item for a box of pencils and erasers to sell at the school store.

9) Enhancing Retention and Transfer – To finalize the learning, the students would have a daily practice page or homework page that would have them taking the skill learned to another application (ex: pricing items to construct our own classroom store or farmers market within our building).

The situated learning theory, in my opinion, is a project-based learning style.  This style allows for students to use real-life situations to help build problem solving and mathematical thinking skills.  In this case, to achieve the desired goal, I would have students create a classroom store.  The students would need to decide what items we would sell in our classroom.  Once the students have decided on their items, we would be able to begin breaking down the unit costs to determine how much we should charge in order to gain a profit.  This would stimulate conversations about unit price, needs, consumers, purchasing, tax, etc.  which would help to guide the student and thinking.  While this learning theory allows for a more “open-ended” thinking approach, it also requires a teacher to be VERY comfortable with stepping back and letting the students be the leaders.  To allow them to be the students and the teachers of their instruction.

Embedding Media In Blogs

One of my favorite things about the district I teach for is their amazing initiative to promote student thinking.  Too many times throughout our students careers they are given exact ways of thinking.  We memorize multiplication facts, but struggle to use them later in life.  We memorize spelling words to pass the test, but still misspell them when writing papers.  Yet, over the past few years, my district has begun to place the emphasis on student thinking, and not the final product.  The growth our students have made is enormous, and Making Thinking Visible has quickly become an everyday classroom use.

When looking for information on Cultures of Thinking, this video gives a great example of one of the routines used with students.  It also happens to be one of my favorite routines!

The Cultures of Thinking Program is all based around this book, written by Ron Ritchhart:

All of our district's training was provided through our school consortium, Oakland County Schools.  We attend all our county training's through Oakland Counties facilities building.

Our Cultures of Thinking training dates keep us plenty busy.  In the end, I keep a separate running tally of how many hours of training provided (over 180hrs last year alone).  Which means my Google Calendar comes into use a LOT!  Embedded is a sample of my October's month of dates.

Photo Sharing and Application Questions

This week for EDT we created a photo sharing album.  I love using Shutterfly, however I don't normally make my albums available for public viewing. For the purpose of this course, I made an album of family pictures to share through Shutterfly's site.  Visit my photos here!  I'm lucky to have an absolutely amazing niece and nephew, along with their mom (my sister who looks just like me!), that live 5 minutes from my house.  We love taking pictures and can sometimes get a little goofy!  I also have a twin brother, that I got to go visit on his military base in TX.  We carried our goofiness across state lines to visit him :)

Application Questions:

The concept of a one-to-one computer availability in the classroom, along with 24/7 internet access, would seem like an amazing resource for classroom use.  However, as shown in this application question, not all teachers would agree.  From past experience, there are 3 major factors that affect the likelihood of such programs succeeding (and I was pleasantly surprised to see them listed in Chapter 3 of our textbook).

The major factors include:

1) Most teachers can be resistant to change.  Unfortunately, in our world, there is constant change.  While most of the time these changes are smaller in nature, and easier to handle, the minute large changes such as everything all of the sudden being online, can cause massive wide-spread panic.  As a result, many teachers find themselves resistant to changing their routines.  They aren’t as comfortable as what they have done in the past, and when combined with all the other little changes that happen each year, it’s easier to resist the big changes looming in their face.  For example, in the past 8 years I have taught (in order) 3 yrs of fifth grade, 1 year of fourth, 1 year of third, moved to another state which means all new curriculum, taught 1 year of third, 1 year of fourth, and now a third/fourth grade combination classroom.  That makes for 8yrs of having to learn a new curriculum each year, along with everything else required.  So while I’m a very tech savvy teacher, someone who isn’t as tech savvy might find it easier to resist that change in favor of mastering the basics of the curriculum and their classroom.

2) Another factor that affects teachers is the top-down changes that occur in districts.  While school boards, superintendents, and other administrators think and feel that they are making choices that positively affect classrooms, sometimes they fail to consider the teachers opinions and thoughts.  Top-down changes are rarely welcomed in schools, as there is a major disconnect between the board office and the classroom.  It creates an automatic negative attitude towards changes, which is hard to overcome.

3) The final factor that can affect the program is the failure to provide teachers with adequate guidance as to how to integrate the new media into their instruction practices.  Unfortunately in today’s society not everyone is as comfortable with technology as they should be.  Handing a teacher a computer, software, and programs they have never used before can be overwhelming and confusing.  And as any human being, the logical next step is to set it on a shelf and ignore it for as long as possible.  Having all this technology and resources at your fingertips is fantastic.  However, if you fail to understand how to use it, all you’ve done is given a teacher a very expensive door-stop or paperweight.

In searching for ways to mitigate such negative outcomes of technology programs, there are two suggestions I would give:

1) Include teachers in the decision making process.  Start out small, with a core group of educators who are respected in their district and have a grasp of technology use in the classroom.  These educators can help make decisions on purchases, programs to use, ways to integrate, staff trainings, etc.  The major plus of having a core group of teachers become the leaders of the program: they become the “cheerleaders” for the district.  They become the voices that share how great the program is, how well it can be used, and the most important “if I can do it, you can do it” challenge.

2) Provide staff training on a consistent basis throughout the year.  Most districts provide an initial training that gives an overview and the basics.  However, they fail to provide a consistent amount of planning and training throughout the year.  It is essential that teachers have a chance to communicate their thoughts, concerns, and issues.  All while having a chance to share with their peers the good and bad aspects of the programs.  Teachers feed off each other, so the ability to share how it is being used in classrooms helps to brainstorm other effected uses that teachers can immediately take back and use the next day.

Diigo and Trends in Education

Diigo is one of my favorite technology tools to use in my classroom!  I’ve been using this site for over 3 years, and have yet to find a way that I can’t make it work with my students!  By signing up to have a classroom version of Diigo (for free), I was able to create student accounts.  Part of having student accounts is the ability to share URL’s with students.  As an elementary teacher, this resource saves me countless hours in the classroom.  Rather than having the class hand-enter every URL we wish to visit, and having them miss a letter or go to the wrong site, Diigo allows me to ensure that my classroom is accessing the correct site and information by the click of a button.  For example, we do research projects every year in which we use MEL and the databases linked through MEL as our primary sources.  Part of my students Diigo accounts is the links to the 4 databases the class can use to access their information.  It’s a great way to ensure that they are finding and using accurate information, and not a random website they Google Search. 

Another great aspect of Diigo is the ability to share links with other staff.  I have a group established that I share with my peers.  They then, in return, use the links to integrate technology into their rooms.   Diigo also allows you to share links and join groups with other educators – even those you might not know.  I have joined countless Diigo groups that allow me to extend my technology skills.  One of my favorite groups is the “Web 2.0 Tools For Teachers” group.  This group constantly updates new and creative sites that I can incorporate into my classroom experience.  I’d love to see my district use Diigo as a way to share links and resources that fit the curriculum.  We constantly find that when sitting in district wide grade level meetings, that another teacher has encountered something that fits perfectly into the curriculum.  Diigo would be a great way to share those resources, and always have them handy for easy access.

Our classroom text, Trends and Issues, really led to a great reading on the definition change for the field of “educational technology” usage – and I find myself relating more towards the current AECT definition than the books.  While I agree completely with the books definition, especially the key component of the field of instructional design and technology being “intended to improve learning and performance in a variety of settings”, I feel that it misses the ever important component the AECT definition hits: “Education technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance.”  I feel that my job as a teacher is to facilitate the students learning, not just to improve their learning.  As a teacher I have the availability to use technology resources to take a student’s thinking and deepen their understanding, not just improve how they are learning the materials.  I find it surprising that they focus on the need to “improve human performance in the workplace” instead of the need to help deepen the level of student thinking and learning.  I’m curious to read further into the book and see how my opinion changes!

(Feel free to check out my Diigo library!  Click here or visit the post below)

Diigo In The Classroom

I have been using Diigo for years in my classroom! It is one of my favorite tools to use with my students, and it is so easy to work with.  I have students from previous years still working with thier Diigo accounts to access some of their favorite sites we've used over the years.

Check out my Diigo page here!

Wiki's In The Classroom

As part of our recent EDT homework assignment, I created a Wiki to explore for classroom use.  While my Wiki right now only has our classroom assignment pages, I'll be exploring more personal classroom options in the future!

Check out my Wiki here!

Cone of Experience and Computer Imagination

While using a blog isn’t a new experience for me, it also isn’t a favorite of mine.  Blogging is a great tool to use, when given the appropriate audience and interest.  I have found that blogs are easy to set up and manage, but finding the audience to entice into reading is much more of a challenge.  A personal blog often leads towards more of a seller stance than of a sharer, which isn’t something I seek to find myself falling into in our education world.  While I avoid using a personal blog, I’ve had great experiences using it in the classroom!

The RSS Reader Feedly was a new experience for me.  In the past I had used Google Reader to follow along with the professional blogs that I followed.  I never expanded my use of Google Reader past school and technology related blogs.  One of the features of Feedly that captured my attention instantly was the ability to link-in websites.  There are several websites, such as Tween Tribune or News ELA, which I use in my classroom on a frequent basis.  Attaching them to Feedly has allowed me to have instantaneous access to all the sites I use, and places them in one location for easy and quick access.  The ability to attach blogs also has made me get back into the blogging world – at least on the reader end of things.

      After my experiences with blogging and the RSS feeder, I feel that both fall into the “exhibits” section of Dale’s Cone.  RSS Feeders place information in one location, with quick and easy access to read that information.  To me, this is a technological version of a museum exhibit, with the exception that it might capture the reader’s interest simply because of format.  A blog, if used in the classroom, while is still a prime example of a technological “exhibit”, is at least more of a sensory experience exhibit.  It allows for interaction between pictures/slideshows, videos, and even allows for student interaction with questions and comments after each post.  Students can even take turns posting to the classroom blog, which ties in the sensory experience and the ability to interact of some exhibits found in museums.

      As we experienced in the articles from last week, Postman shares the opinion that technology isn’t always for the better.  What was a problem that an RSS Feeder and a blog had to solve?  In my experience as an educator, the blog solves more of a problem than the RSS Feeder does.  The RSS Feeder Feedly is a great way to locate information quickly, and to place information at the student’s fingertips.  However, as an educator, I worry about the information that might emerge as a shared interest.  One of the best ways, and something I look forward to trying out in my classroom, is the ability for students to customize their news feed.  To have the students be able to add news websites and blogs, from local to worldwide, would drastically improve writing skills.  Students would be able to compare news feeds, reflect on current events, and even practice writing prompt skills similar to those present on the common core tests.

      The blog on the other hand presents lots of creative classroom uses.  Currently my classroom uses our blog as a way to provide instantaneous connections to parents.  Students take pictures throughout the day, and then document our day within our classroom blog.  In the past we’ve “hooked up” blogs from across the country as a way to study the other US Regions.  Blogs solve the old-school journaling problem – who’s turn is it to turn it in? Who reads the journals? Does it only go between one child and the teacher?  Blogs allow for multiple students to share their opinions and thoughts, while teaching the beginnings of opinions along with debate skills.

      Overall, as Siegel said on page 1, “Perhaps the answer has less to do with the technologies themselves and more to do with how we use the technologies to achieve learning.”  Any piece of technology, whether hardware, software, or an online tools, is a foundation for learning. It is up to us as educators to find useful ways to incorporate each piece of technology into a meaningful tool for student use.

Technology In The Classroom: A Reflection

References:

Postman, N. (1993). Of Luddites, Learning, and Life. Technos Quarterly, 2(4).

Reigeluth, C.M. & Joseph, R. (2002). Beyond Technology Integration: The Case for Technology Transformation. Educational Technology, 42(4), 9-13.

Technology has become an integral part of our educational systems, sometimes in ways we might have never imagined. As Reigeluth and Joseph (2002) stated, “there has recently been a strong push by the U.S. Department of Education and technology leaders to integrate technology with teaching in the schools.” While I believe that it is essential, as educators, that we constantly integrate technology into our daily classroom routines, we also have to take into consideration what is a good use of technology integration.  I find that I lie in the gray zone between Postman and Reigeluth/Joseph’s views.

Reigeluth and Joseph (2002) states that ”Our current educational system reflects most of the industrial age key matters”, the predominant ones being standardization, bureaucratic organization, one-way communication, and adversarial relationships.  I feel that these markers of an Industrial Age educational system leads to a big miscommunication of technologies importance in educating children.  Because of the adversarial relationships teachers and district representatives, many teachers find that technology integration is just one more think that they are required to do.  This is also effected by the one-way communication that school districts tend to have.  Technology programs, resources, or devices are often purchased without discussion with the educators in the field, when leads to technology being “used to support the prevailing methods”.

As we attempt to move away from the Industrial Age educational systems, we are forced to examine how we “sort students”.  One of the main points of Reigeluth and Joseph (2002) that stood out to me was the concept of moving away from “advancement of the fittest” to “advancement of all”.  I believe that this is a key component into educating our youth, and as an elementary teacher I feel that it is essential that each student grows and learns at different rates.  The concept of shifting the report card paradigm is a key place to start.

Another key point that Reigeluth and Joseph point our is that technology gives us the chance to asses each student “through means that are as typical or real-world requirements as possible”, along with give students a chance to “learn collaboratively with peers” regardless of location.  How much more interesting is it to learn about the Southwest Region of the U.S. when you can talk to another classroom in Arizona! The availability technology gives us to expand our lessons can (and will) cause drastic changes in students thinking and understanding of concepts.

The main challenge I feel is finding resources to use.  As Reigeluth and Joseph states, “finding the best resources can be a daunting task” .  In educational settings, this relates back to the key markers of an industrial age education system.  Collaboration isn’t a driving force, which makes it harder to share worthwhile resources and technology skills.

Postman’s article did alter my thinking on a smaller scale.  I agree that technology isn’t the only solution; however I feel that it is key to helping develop 21^st century students prepared for the real world ahead.  Unfortunately we cannot control big businesses and the way they think.  As Postman (2014) states, people have a “strong tendency to get everyone to conform to the requirements of what is new.”  Businesses are constantly looking to have the latest and greatest.  Even everyday citizens fit that category, as we always want to have the latest iPhone.  Unfortunately this requires us, as educators, to ensure that our students leave our rooms at the end of the year well on their way to being 21^st century technology users.

EDT 5410

I'm excited to be back in the blogging world as I begin my Educational Technology Master's program this fall at WMU.  EDT 5410 is my first online course, so I'm excited to not only be exposed to this method, but to learn new technology tricks!