Reflection Statement

Throughout this course I have learned that my students need to learn digital literacy skills along with traditional ones. While printed books are not likely to disappear anytime soon, online and virtual text is ever increasing. By teaching my students how to navigate the web, use a search engine properly, evaluate resources, and give proper credit to authors, I am being a responsible teacher in a Web 2.0 world. I believe that the most striking revelation that I had was that I believe I was taking for granted the fact that I personally know the web isn't linear. People cannot read websites the same way as they read the latest fiction book, or even non-fiction textbook for that matter. I know how to read and navigate a website, and I realized that I often assume my students do as well. In the past, I could never understand when a student would say to me, "That information isn't on the page, I looked!" I would march over to their computer, click a few buttons, skim quickly, and point out that the information was right in front of them if only they had looked a little harder! (What did they mean they didn't realize that the place where toucans live is under the page called "habitats," not the main page?)


This ties into my goal for the future. I need to make more of a concerted effort to teach my students how to more easily navigate webpages. By skimming side bar (or top bar) links, scrolling down while looking at headings, and thinking of synonyms for the keywords they are looking for research will be much less stressful both both them AND me! I think that by modeling several examples and having my students "be the teacher" to practice will really help them to learn that digital literacy.

Course Reflection

I feel that since I contemplated becoming a teacher I have always been drawn towards the constructionist way of thinking, even before I knew that was what it was called. As a student I loved building things and figuring out how the academic puzzles went together. As a teacher, I so enjoy the expressions on my students faces when they are creating artifacts and figure something out. I feel that too often in today’s society, teachers have a misguided theory of instruction, and view children as empty vessels waiting to be filled with knowledge. In fact, students bring a vast array of previous knowledge, experiences, and worldviews to the classroom setting. I believe that learning activities and experiences should therefore be guided by the constructionist approach, which incorporates and builds upon students’ insights and understandings via inquiry based learning and active exploration. Instruction should be engaging and ought to stimulate a variety of senses, including visual, tactile, and auditory, and is as such in my classroom.

To enhance that engaging instruction, I would love to create more webquests. I want to speak to my grade level about their idea for the exciting technology and work together to create at least one more for our school or grade level. Another short term goal is to become even more student-centered. I know that I have the intention of doing so, and can sometimes “hog” the SmartBoard to demonstrate skills such as notetaking. If I use the track changes feature in Word (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.122) I could more clearly show my students exactly what I mean. I have used the track changes features countless times on my own, but have never thought to use it as a modeling tool for my class. If my class can see how I ignore certain sentences, and shorten others I think that visual aide will be beneficial. After I model a paragraph or two I would use Word to type up my notes in “student speak” so that they can see what that end result would look like. I believe I would use this tool first to model, and then put up a new paragraph for my students to work on in pairs, for another type of practice.

As a more long-term goal I would like to focus on reinforcing effort. By using self-evaluative rubrics and an effort achievement spreadsheet (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.159)I could physically show my students that effort DOES matter! By having my students assess their effort and then see the correlation between their effort and their grades, they would (hopefully) be more motivated to try harder in school. I would start out the year with simple charts with something as quick as multiplication timed tests. The students who studied would see they did better. As the year went on I would have my students work on charts for unit tests and quizzes to show the large impact studying/practicing can have on success.

My last technological goal would be to integrate concept maps and advanced organizers into my classroom. “Advance organizers help students focus their learning ((Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.73).” Most students have used graphic organizers such as webs either on paper or digitally before, but to provide some of the information in the “bubbles” beforehand helps to focus the student in knowing what to take notes on. When my class does their annual research report on global warming, a site such as Spinscape would help them to organize their notes and even link to the sites where they found information. There would be no more (or at least less) “I don’t know where I found that info” or “Sure, those are my own words.” By typing up their notes and physically moving around the nodes, students would see how to best organize their materials into a streamlined research report. It would also be easier for teachers to check the sources to ensure facts were being written. This is something else I would like to discuss with my grade level, the computer teacher, and our librarian as we all work together to plan the research projects each year.

Teamwork is essential in many of my goals. I need to teach my colleagues what I have learned and then collaborate with them on how we should best utilize our new knowledge. Just as I want to share my new ideas with my personal classes, I also want to enlighten my peers so that they are able to enhance their teaching styles as well. With all of these goals in place and the skills I learned from this course I believe that we will all be able to more successfully integrate technology in a more meaningful and student-centered way.

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Voice Thread on Bullying

My VoiceThread: http://voicethread.com/share/567753/

I really enjoyed using VoiceThread to make an interactive project for my class. I can foresee using this website to view existing VoiceThreads and also having the students make their own. For this application, I chose to focus on a guidance type lesson. My school is very proactive in the field of Character Education, and has been wonderful over the years incorporating these real life skills into our everyday lessons so they do not seem forced. Thus far in our program, we have focused particularly on bullying. Our guidance counselor does a unit every year in every grade on what bullies are, why they bully, and what to do as the victim. The lesson are received well, and I think that our students have a fairly good handle on these concepts.
Before the school year ended a few teachers and I decided that we needed to do more to focus on the bystander’s role, as that affects most of the students. There are so many songs, TV shows, movies, lessons, etc. that empower the victim and help correct the bully (all good ideas by the way). We found, however that there is not enough out there to show the bystanders, which are the majority of the students, what to do besides “tell a teacher.” I decided to make a VoiceThread that let the students know that I have been in their shoes, and I know it isn’t as easy as running to the nearest adult. I posted three pictures, speaking about the role of the bully, the victim’s role, and lastly the bystander’s role. I asked my students to post either an experience they have had as a bystander or what they would do in the future when they are one (knowing that situation is inevitable). I envision my students jumping right on this, and would open it up to the whole school. My students from last year already know how to post on VoiceThread, so perhaps they could post first to show other what to do. I also believe it would be powerful to see if others, who are not in our school, post their reactions so that the students could see other’s experiences.

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Dr. Orey (Laureate Education, 2008), speaks about jigsaws as great way for classes to work collaboratively. I wholeheartedly agree that jigsaws can be beneficial in teaching students the topic at hand by making them experts and teachers themselves. As Dr. Orey explains, teaching another person is one of the best ways to solidifying knowledge (Laureate Education, 2008), so this learning theory capitalizes on that idea. In my classroom, while we are studying explorers, I have my students create a Help Wanted Poster as one of our culminating activities. We start by having students talk about what they have learned about explorers in general, and why most explorers ventured out. I then break the students in 4-6 groups and assign them an explorer they might not have heard of (ex: NOT Columbus!). Students research in their groups using books, newspaper articles, and their textbook to find out basic information about their explorer. Next year, I would like to add in a technological component and ask my students to research their explorer online as well. After the groups become experts, students go back to their original groups and share their newfound knowledge with the others and they all use their knowledge to create a generic Help Wanted poster for an explorer. I would like to alter this as well, and give groups the choice of creating a paper and pen poster, or a virtual one using Publisher or PowerPoint. Everyone would have to do the same project, but this would give them the choice of medium.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Social learning theories [Motion picture]. Bridging

learning theory, instruction, and technology . Baltimore : Orey.

Constructivism in Practice

Project and experimental type lessons are clear examples of constructionist/constructivist learning theories. Using an Excel spreadsheet as Mrs. Omar does in Pitler et al.’s book (2007) to figure out how much interest someone would earn within various investments situations lets students find out results on their own with the teach doing the work for them. By using these real life examples I feel that students get so much more out of the content we teach. Dr. Orey explains in the video that PowerPoint is another great tool to create constructionist lessons, by letting students create a presentation to showcase their knowledge and understanding of the academic content. Every fall as we wrap up our Native American unit, I have my class split into groups and study a specific tribe of Native Americans. The group members break up which facets of the tribe they want to report on (food, shelter, men’s roles, women’s roles, etc.) and turn their knowledge into a PowerPoint presentation that they show to their parents. It really impresses their parents how they not only retained SO much information from their research but they also learned technological skills by creating a presentation.
Projects like these that support constructionist/constructivist learning generate enthusiasm in schools and let students see that their effort really pays off!

Cognitivism in Practice

By using software such as concept mapping, advanced graphic organizers, and note taking strategies teachers can hone in on student’s prior knowledge and use it to create connections to the material being taught. “Advance organizers help students focus their learning ((Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.73).” Most students have used graphic organizers such as webs either on paper or digitally before, but to provide some of the information in the “bubbles” beforehand helps to focus the student in knowing what to take notes on. Programs such as Kidspiration, Inspiration, PowerPoint, and online wikis and blogs can help to create tools to make learning easier. Teachers should be giving verbal or visual cues to tell students what they are about to learn (Pitler et. Al, 2007, p.77), not hinting information at them to trick them; by using a simple advance graphic organizer to show the essential question for the lesson the children will know their objective and be more focused in their attention. Without knowing what the point of the lesson is, it is very difficult for students to know what parts of the lesson to pay closest attention to.

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism in Practice

I love the idea of using a spreadsheet to correlate effort data with my students. Previously, I have used RubiStar (Pitler, Hubbel, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.162) to create various rubrics to assess my students, always including effort as portion of their grade. I have also created rubrics for students to assess themselves, either individually or as a group. I have never thought of making electronic rubrics for the students to use however, and think that is an idea that not only would show how important effort is in life, but also teach valuable technology skills. By having my students assess their effort and then see the correlation between their effort and their grades, they would (hopefully) be more motivated to try harder in school. This idea is linked to positive reinforcement. When a person receives a positive response to a behavior or action, they are more apt to repeat that action (Orey, 2001).

Similarly, to use the spelling and grammar tool in Word (Pitler et al., 2007, p.190) is a fabulous idea to increase my students’ vocabulary and self-esteem. Most of my students are familiar with typing research reports in Word and using the thesaurus to find better vocabulary, but often they do not choose the correct synonym. If I teach them to use the research tools, in conjunction with the thesaurus they will have a better grasp on new words. By checking their written grade level in Word, my students will be spurred to increase their “score” and make it almost a competition with themselves to have a higher grade level while still focused and understandable for a fourth grader. Behaviorist techniques can be tweaked in ways I never thought of to help make students increase their effort, motivation, and behavior in the classroom!

References

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved

from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom

instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Reflection for the Course

After completing this course I am even more energized and excited to complete my Masters in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. I thought that I knew a lot about various technological applications, but my eyes have been opened to a world of possibilities. I have only used blogs for my personal interest, but have never created my own nor used them for educational purposes. I feel more confident in using blogs and wikis with my class now that I have practiced and created them on my own.
With podcasts, I believe my perspective has shifted more into the realm of student-centered. I can trust my students to create meaningful and enjoyable learning experiences for themselves if I give them the right tools to use. My students can now record their own voice and link it with a picture to demonstrate their grasp of a concept.
My plan is to continue researching and testing new technology and brainstorming its use for the classroom. Just as I never saw the use for blogs within a school setting before this class, I am sure that there are many other applications I have overlooked because of narrow-mindedness. I would like to meet with my colleagues and transfer this knowledge to them so we can all work as a team to guide our students with 21st Century Skills.
If I had to set two goals for myself to overcome, they would have to be opportunity and patience. I have so much new knowledge in me that I would like to share with my students and revamp the entire fourth grade curriculum! I know this is unrealistic however, and will need to work on slowly integrating new skills into my classroom (and future classrooms) so as not to overwhelm the students, the administration, and myself. I also know that I will need to carefully integrate the new technology into the existing curriculum, with minor tweaks. The digital immigrants as they are called, will be my last goal. I will need to convince certain staff members that integrating technology into the classroom is neither a negative nor scary prospect. I will try to hold professional development courses for teachers in our district to show them small and simple ways they can utilize the technology that our district has so generously provided us. I am not positive that I will be able to turn the mindset of these digital immigrants, but I am hoping that I can at least show them the light.

Technology Survey

Last week and this week, my class took a technology survey I created using Google Docs. Below are the results and the reactions of 4 of my students. You can tell that we had a lot of fun, but some were a bit nervous!
Enjoy!

21st Century Skills

When I first browsed the homepage of Partnership for 21st Century Skills I was a bit overwhelmed. Then I saw the wonderful “FAQ” section, which was quite helpful! (Perhaps they should put that on their sidebar). The part of the site that most interested me was seeing which states have been working with the “Route 21 project.” I was glad (and proud!) to see New Jersey was on the website. I was a bit surprised that more states were not a part of this project. I am not sure if that is because other states are incorporating the 21st century skills “unofficially,” or they just haven’t joined with this project…or what.

Another tidbit I read under New Jersey’s professional development plans is that they are “Recommending a plan for phasing-in 21st Century Skills into teacher preparation programs that includes a requirement for demonstration of competency in criteria for accreditation (Route 21, 2007).” I think this is a fabulous idea. Why not start teaching these skills to future teachers while they are still in school already soaking up a vast amount of knowledge! Sometimes it is hard to teach an old dog new tricks, so to speak, so teaching skills to potential teachers is a smart idea.

“A balance of assessments, including high-quality standardized testing along with effective classroom assessments, offers students a powerful way to master the content and skills central to success (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2004).” I was so glad this quote was on the site. I firmly believe that alternate assessments and informal assessments are key to finding out our students’ retention of knowledge. State testing can only show so much, never the whole child. I know that state testing will never go away, but at least this partnership is recognizing that we can’t rely solely on the state testing’s spreadsheets.

I am excited to learn more of these skills, especially now that I know my state is pushing them into the areas of professional development for all future and current teachers. I am more than willing to take courses to find out how to best prepare my students for life. My question is…how will they get these new computer (or perhaps in-person) courses out to all current teachers when some districts barely have any form of technology in their own schools for students? Perhaps the NJ Education Association, local superintendents, the DOE (and the many other collaborators listed on the site) are already figuring that out…

By the way…check this out it’s quite interesting: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=185

Formal Blog Idea for my Class

Here is my formal writeup:

For my classroom blog I would like to use it for a writing aide. Once a week (building up to twice some weeks) I will post a simple writing topic for my fourth graders, along with a one-minute timer. They will have to write down a response to the prompt in one minute, using the full time (eventually the time would be extended). They would then post this, and it would be sent to me for my approval before I allow it to be formally posted on the class site. The students would sign only their first names so we would all know who they were, and I could give them credit.As class went on, I would change the requirement to post their 1 minute response, and then the next week comment on 1-2 of their peers. This way they get work peer editing (a big focus in 4th grade at my school). Blogs would be SO helpful for this because they would inspire more creativity in my students. I believe my kids would look at this as “fun not work” and be more apt to try harder. Since I have never actually done this before, I would LOVE for you to play devil’s advocate and tell me how to improve this idea.

Updated Blog Idea

Update to my potential blog ideas for my classroom:



1. 1 minute writing: 1-2 times each week post a 1 minute writing timer and a prompt. Students type their responses and leave them on my blog for others to comment on.

Negatives: Need email accounts…..don’t think parents would like that…one of my students recently created their own email account (secretly) and when the parents found out she got in trouble. Could have parents post w/their emails…I think parents will do their child’s response however, or might not like that.


*(Update: I just pretended to leave a comment on my own page, and found that you don't need an email address. I posted just with my name (I could have my students just do first names to protect their privacy, or even their class number). This is much better because they don't need email accounts! I have decided that I would like to choose this idea as my Application #2 idea....unless you all have a better one!)

Potential Blog Ideas

I have a few ideas on how to use this blog in my classroom but keep coming up with ways they won't work.
I would appreciate any input or even new suggestions!


(Keep in mind I teach 4th grade- all subjects).

Ideas:

1. 1 minute writing: 1-2 times each week post a 1 minute writing timer and a prompt. Students type their responses and leave them on my blog for others to comment on.
Negatives: Need email accounts…..don’t think parents would like that…one of my students recently created their own email account (secretly) and when the parents found out she got in trouble. Could have parents post w/their emails…I think parents will do their child’s response however, or might not like that.

Note: I saw http://www.gaggle.com/ which is a free school email service…I can monitor all accounts and turn filters on…parents might not ok it. Also, free version includes ads 2-3 times each month


2. Have students ask me questions on my blog
Negatives: TIME!!! (and email accounts)

3. Have parents communicate with each other/me
Negatives: Might turn into gab-fest or non-school related things, TIME!

Welcome

Hi! I'm new to educational blogging (but use it constantly for finding new recipes!).

I'm starting this for a class assignment, but also to find out...

How do YOU use blogs in your classroom?