Tech-Know

What is the Internet?

2011-03-03T12:11:00.001-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Spotlight on Emerging Technology: Online Learning in K-12 Schools

2011-01-30T13:52:00.000-05:00

Application 4

Resources:

Guhlin, M. (2009). Moodle-izing your education enterprise. EducationWorld.com. Retrieved January 28, 2011 from http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/columnists/guhlin/guhlin012.shtml

Johnston, S. (2007). Developing Quality Virtual Courses: Selecting Instructional Models. In P. Adamson, B. Adamson, & N. Clausen-Grace, et al (Eds.),What Works in K-12 Online Learning (Chapter 2, pp. 21-31). Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.

Lemke, C., & Coughlin, E. (2009). The change agents. Educational Leadership, 67(1), 54–59.

Moodle. (2011). Retrieved from http://moodle.org

Reazon Systems, Inc. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.rcampus.com

Images:

All photographs by Nancy Kahrimanis

Moodle screen captures from http://moodle.org

RCampus screen captures from http://www.rcampus.com

google goggles

2011-01-11T12:25:00.002-05:00

Kids and Old "New" Technology

2011-01-07T15:36:00.002-05:00

Fascinating!!!

8pen keyboard

2011-01-05T18:38:00.001-05:00

Reflection- Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology

2010-12-26T13:20:00.000-05:00

Throughout this course, we explored the various tenets of Universal Design for Learning, UDL, and Differentiated Instruction, DI, and identified myriad applications of technology that could aid in the development of UDL and DI lessons. I was most struck by three main elements of the course, assessment strategies, using technology to share information, and using alternative final projects with technological incorporations.

Drs. Smith and Thorne reviewed the merits and uses of formative, ongoing and final assessments, stating that educators can use up-to-date assessments to understand what must be covered, ensure that they are progressing appropriately through the curriculum, and review the breadth of student learning at the conclusion of the unit of study (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a). I have always incorporated various assessments in my classroom, but have found them frustrating to prepare, tedious to correct and cumbersome to inform instruction as I have nearly one hundred students and a fast paced curriculum. Realizing that technology can automate much of the paperwork aspects of the pre- and ongoing assessments, I am enthusiastic about increasing the frequency of ongoing assessment in my classroom without making more work for me. As the burden of multiple assessments is lifted, it opens the opportunity for online student surveys that allows teachers to learn about their students as learners, their interests, and learning preferences (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b).

Mathematics instruction tends to be traditional, lecture-based with rote calculations in class and for homework, and pen and paper tests and quizzes. I see the potential of alternative instruction and activities, especially with the inclusion of technology. The presentation aspect of UDL, which encourages various representations of concepts (Rose & Meyer, 2002) is improved dramatically with technology. Multimedia, web quests, software, excel based graphing lessons, and manipulatable resources on active whiteboards can all allow students to approach the curriculum from an angle that personally resonates with their interests and learning styles. Additionally, as our students are digital natives, by bringing technology to the classroom, we are speaking our students’ language and engaging them in the way they choose to interact with the world. If we use technology to meet student interests and needs, we engage them as learners and individuals.

I am most excited about using alternative and technology rich means of sharing understanding. Though I must administer our grade level common assessments, I have begun to find opportunities for students to show their understanding through various creative means in addition to typical tests and quizzes. Students can show their understanding of concepts via the creation of infographics, VoiceThreads, PowerPoint presentations, slideshows, podcasts, digital drawings, movie makers, and various other resources. Once created, students can share their work on blogs, wikis, and hosting sites, or they can use the blogs and wikis to share their learning in written and/or visual formats. We acknowledge that math is more than computations in a vacuum and is more applicable and understandable in a real world context, but we continue to test in traditional methods. This course has shown me the vast means of expressing curriculum concepts in alternative manners than just traditional assessments.

Our students are digital natives and they will enter a workplace in the future that will undoubtedly incorporate various technologies. Not only can we prepare our students for this environment, but also we can improve interest and engagement and create meaningful learning experiences by incorporating technology.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009a). Assessing Students [Motion picture]. Enhancing learning through linguistic and cultural diversity. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Learner Differences [Motion picture]. Enhancing learning through linguistic and cultural diversity. Baltimore: Author.

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

2010-12-22T12:25:00.002-05:00

What can you do with Google Docs?

2010-12-16T12:27:00.002-05:00

-Nancy

Application 4 UDL video

2010-11-27T16:51:00.003-05:00

I was unable to close caption the video, so please find the text below:

Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, exists to ensure that resources including buildings and educational content are accessible for all. Initially an ambition of architects to design with varying needs in mind rather than retrofitting pre-designed buildings, UDL has been translated to the educational setting. At the heart of UDL is the notion that though some resources and/or technologies exist to help people, like stairs into a building, those are not sufficient for all people. To accommodate for these varying needs, architects incorporated resources including ramps, sidewalk cuts, elevators, and wider doorways. The byproduct of meeting the needs of people with specific requirements was the ease of use for others with non-prohibitive, yet complex needs. In providing for those in wheelchairs, for example, parents with strollers also reaped the benefits of ramps and elevators. Education realized that this concept of universal design, or thoughtful preparation for various needs, helps to enable all students to learn in ways that respect and accommodate for varying needs, preferences, and styles.

The three main principles of UDL are Representation, Action and Expression, and Engagement. Together these concepts ensure that differentiation occurs throughout the educational process.

Representation speaks to the need to provide information in varying manners. From educational thinkers like Gardner and his theory of multiple intelligences we know that not every student learns the same way and Lev Vygotsky let us know that students need to build upon their prior knowledge and learn within scaffolding structures. UDL acknowledges these thinkers and encourages teachers to provide information and instruct in varying manners and with multimedia incorporation. More than just lectures, UDL incorporates dynamic student interaction, videos, music, interactive games, self-paced explorations, and tiered instruction. The intent is that one or more method of instruction will meet the academic needs of a student and they will have the opportunity to learn in the manner that best suits their learning style and preferences.

Action and Expression are the goals of providing students with multiple venues for demonstrating their understanding of concepts and ability to complete skills. Student selected projects allow ownership and personal investment in the work. Even simple projects and assignments can be open to modification and interpretation, but UDL also encourages the inclusion of student selected problem-based and project-based learning.

Engagement is what makes the learning experience meaningful for the students. Student interest and enjoyment lead to meaningful and thus lasting educational experiences. Whether the students select their foci or the teacher uses their knowledge of their students to create activities the match the interests and lives of their students, it is the meaningful engagement that sparks interest and encourages effort.

Technology affords educators with the abilities to be in more than one place at one time, brings resources from various places into the classroom, and can enable students to bring the classroom home. The mission of UDL is to encourage student specific instruction, review, and assessment. Through technology and virtual resources, teachers can differentiate for students while still allowing and encouraging students to work independently. Multimedia including podcasts, academically centered music videos, online games, and tutorials can aid in the dispersal of information while students can use various software and online resources to help with the communication of what they have learned. Inherent in the medium of technology there is increased interest and entertainment, lending itself to engagement for students.

As our school is just beginning to incorporate SmartBoards into our classrooms, we have a unique opportunity to jump in with both feet. Using our new technology to its best advantage, we can provide our students with various multimedia exposure, improve engagement and interest among our students, and utilize the technology as a showcase for student work. Internet enabled technology is a portal to a wealth of information and resources that can help to provide unique learning experiences for our students.

Brain research supports the concepts underlying UDL and seems to parallel the three principles of UDL. The brain networks that support learning are, first, the recognition network that partners with the UDL principle of representation as they both deal with the intake and understanding of concepts from patterns and images. The strategic networks of the brain learn by doing and thus mirror UDL’s action and expression focus of creating and sharing what you have begun to understand in a manner that makes sense to you. Finally, the third network, the affective network, deal with the emotional connection to the content and hence matches the goal of encouraging engagement in UDL lessons. Each student has strengths and weaknesses in each of these areas, but lesson planning with an understanding of what brain research tells us and adherence to the concepts of UDL will allow students to make the concessions and decisions that allow them to be successful.

UDL seeks to ensure that although they may take different pathways, all students are heading to the same goal. It differs from traditional lecture-based instruction in that students are encouraged to work in accordance with their preferences, learning styles, and strengths. Variables like demographics, language skills, and academic readiness can be addressed or removed as a factor via the use of creative instruction, assignments, and assessments. Students whom are differently-abled in any way can form their work around their skills rather than be forced to conform to standard expectations.

Technology can individualize an educational experience via real-time feedback, various means of sharing one’s understanding, and the sheer volume of educational resources available. Though technology is not without its complications, it brings the 21^st Century Skills we hope to share with our students to the classroom in an authentic and meaningful manner.

The website, www.CAST.org offers a variety of tools and resources for students, parents and predominantly teachers to incorporate UDL concepts into classrooms. The “Learning Tools” section of the webpage provides multiple links to resources both on and beyond the CAST offerings. The Book builder site allows teachers to create their own online books so that students can use the benefits of technology, like text to speech, to aid them as they read. Not only can you create your own books, but you can also access books shared by other educators.

The National Center on Universal Design for Learning’s website, www.udlcenter.com exists to share the justifications for incorporating UDL into the classroom. Their videos, information and exemplars help to make the general concept of UDL come to life and make sense.

The Tom Snyder Productions page, in association with Scholastic, shares among other things ways to use technology to create student specific learning experiences. The technology allows students to work on topics with the added benefit of visuals, interactive activities, and skill responsive problems.

These resources, among the others offered can allow our students to meet curriculum requirements while receiving the academic support they need to be successful and challenged appropriately. We cannot meet with each student for individualized instruction and/or create educational experiences that match each child’s learning style, however we can use technology to support our goals and our students. Universal Design for Learning seeks to ensure that every child is successful and will help us meet that goal as well.

Surveys for my Week Two Application

2010-11-14T18:51:00.000-05:00

Part One: Click here to take survey

Part Two: Click here to take survey

Part Three: Click here to take survey

-Nancy

Final Blog Post/Reflection

2010-10-27T22:54:00.002-04:00

The GAME plan provided a structure to my goals that made moving towards and achieving them less daunting. Though it is typically easy to identify hopes, the pathway to success can be difficult to define. After identifying my goals in the GAME plan, I found the planning of the actions I would take to be more effective than simply attempting to pursue the end goal. Monitoring and Evaluating the plan ensured that I did not get bogged down in the initial plan and allowed myself to adapt and reflect upon my goals as I moved towards them. My two goals were to improve communication of curriculum content to parents and students via the use of technology and to model and teach an ethical and responsible presence online (NETS-T, 2010). I feel that I have made great strides in both areas.

The incorporation of SmartBoard lessons, creating more depth on my blog, and increasing communication home have helped to make me a better teacher. I feel that I am reaching further and helping my students create more connections than before. My examination of ways that I can use technology to reach my students undoubtedly helped with this goal. Regarding the implementation of ethical usage of resources in technology, I have made great strides in using citations and modeling ethical use. In order to add my own creative elements, I have used more original work than borrowed images. I have worked with a variety of students in helping them set up blogs of their own. Via modeling and a “blog group” that meets periodically, we have confronted issues of fair use and citing sources. I am very pleased with my ongoing progress on these two goals.

In working with these goals, I was able to explore a variety of technologies and means for implementing my goals. I used screen capture tools to collect information from class and original images to add to my blog. I have participated in professional development to learn about the capabilities of my new SmartBoard as well as engaged in independent research and practice. Like most digital natives and technology enthusiasts, much of my learning has come from independent discovery and trial and error. This learning along with knowledge gained via class assignments and applications will greatly affect my teaching. Prior to constructing the collaborative learning assignment and the digital storytelling lessons, I did not believe that those types of activities would lend themselves to mathematics instruction (Cennamo, et. al., 2009).

The readings, examples, and videos showed that with a bit of creative thinking, these strategies are effective in all classrooms. Not only do I intend to implement these teaching strategies in my class, but I am also seeking out examples of successful implementation in other classrooms. For example, I have been incorporating mathematical music videos in my classroom on a regular basis as both a learning tool and an example of a type of digital story that we will create later in the year. Additionally, I have attempted to use technology to make my lessons more exciting and allow for more student involvement. Without a doubt, I have increased my students’ involvement in my lessons by making interactive elements in my SmartBoard lessons. Finally, I have taken the notion of the multistepped GAME plan to heart and have thus used that approach on a variety of specific tasks as well as my larger technology goals.

Overall, I feel that the more I am exposed to and educated about technology for the classroom, the more opportunities I have to improve my teaching. I am continually encouraged and excited by the programs and resources that I encounter in my classes and enthusiastic about their implementation. Our lesson planning during this course opened my eyes to resources that I did not realize could actually work in my classroom.

Resources:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

2010-10-18T01:42:00.002-04:00

Delving into the goals established in the NETS-T has helped me to become a better teacher and a more responsible member of the online community. I believe that the NETS-S goals can do the same for our students. The six goal topics listed below all coexist to ensure that students are well rounded in their technology education.

· Creativity and Innovation

· Communication and Collaboration

· Research and Information Fluency

· Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making

· Digital Citizenship

· Technology Operations and Concepts

(NETS-S)

By receiving an education in all of these arenas, students will be able to navigate their schooling in a dynamic and exciting way while preparing themselves for the workplaces that they will eventually enter.

In order to ensure that these goals will receive appropriate care and attention, I believe that the GAME plan will allow students to develop their skills while still playing a part in their education. Though the teacher will establish the basic goals, students will be able to help shape the actions that they take within the goal. Ideally, I, as the teacher, will be able to shape their activities so that the students can help to determine their foci and activities. I believe that the monitoring and evaluating aspects of the plan would be shared equally between teacher and student. Though of course the teacher needs to monitor, adapt, and evaluate the classroom procedures, the role that the students play will be even more meaningful and effective.

I believe that it will be necessary to approach one topic at a time and in conjunction with curriculum topics that offer opportunities to incorporate technology and the specific goals. As with almost any other curriculum, these goals should be part of a spiraling curriculum so that students are regularly revisiting these topics and applying them in increasingly sophisticated manners. The topics can also be approached as “essential questions” or “essential themes” throughout the year. After working towards these goals over the course of the year, students would be able to answer questions like, “How can spreadsheets help you learn” or “How could you creatively use technology to share your learning?”

References:

National Education Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) located at: http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Student_2007_EN.sflb.ashx

Revising my GAME plan

2010-10-12T21:33:00.001-04:00

NETS-T 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats (NETS-T)

Applications in Instructional Practice/Ongoing Goals: My learning and research has directly influenced my instructional practices. I have implemented elements of this goal in my classroom instruction, in my online presence, and by educating colleagues. Technology is ever-present in my classroom and I have branched away from the easy, typical elements that require little involvement. I began a discussion group among teachers in my school that seeks to improve SmartBoard use. Our interactions allow us to share what we have learned and troubleshoot any problems that we encounter. I continue to work towards regular implementation of new and engaging lessons in my classroom and on my blog, but still struggle with the investment of time that this requires.

New Learning Goals: To further implement my goals on this topic, I intend to require participation on my blog. I will have homework assignments that require a brief narrative answers that can be shared on the blog. I believe that this venue will be exciting for my students and hopefully inspire their best work, much as the teachers spoke of in this week’s DVD (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

Extending Current Goals: To extend the goals of this topic, I would like to help students create their own lessons. I believe that the students are capable of bringing a new perspective to our classroom activities and I would like to see what they could add to my efforts.

Learning Approaches for Next Time: Through my navigation through this particular goal, I have come to realize that I need to define my expectations. I was easily swept up in possibility as I explored this topic and found it difficult to narrow myself to manageable tasks. I believe that I will be more successful if I break down my goals into mini-goals that I can readily achieve and then continue to progress.

New Learning Goals: I would like to extend my current goal to include a “cheat sheet” for my students. Much like a citation guide, it would be a mini-version suited for a sixth grader. Complete with examples and hints, students could use this reference guide to help with their work. I believe that an easy “user’s guide” would allow students to meet expectations of properly citing sources while not being overwhelming for the students.

Extending Current Goals: To extend the goal I have already established, I would like to create shareable resources. As an amateur photographer, I would like to take mathematics/school themed photographs that will be available for free use among fellow educators. Students can also help by creating their own artwork for sharing. I believe that by creating the images ourselves, the lessons of citations and giving credit will truly hit home.

Learning Approaches for Next Time: My experiences with working toward this goal reminded me that I need to establish a philosophy, not just a goal, when determining how I want procedures in my classroom to develop. A good portion of my work towards this goal was in trying to establish a belief system for citing work. Though I believed in the fundamental principle, I needed to determine what my expectations for my classes were. Recognizing this need prior to starting my work would have streamlined the process and have helped me not waste effort going in the wrong direction.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 10. Spotlight on Technology: Social Networking and Online Collaboration Part 1. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Evaluating my GAME plan progress.

2010-10-05T18:39:00.003-04:00

NETS-T 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats (NETS-T)

Efficacy of my Actions: My research and efforts towards creating my own lessons have been quite effective. I have been able to incorporate a few dynamic lessons in my classroom and feel confident that I can continue to bring more technology to my lessons. My blog has been successful in being a repository for interactive web activities and my students have become increasingly involved in the blog. Additionally, I have used our school website to communicate with parents and students with decent success. As soon as our parent portal is open fully, I believe that the website will be even more successful.

Applicable Learning: I spent some time working with the different programs available to me to find what the capabilities are. At this point I feel comfortable navigating the technology and the available resources. Much of my learning has been achieved via practice and trial and error, thus my learning has been focused on my needs.

Still to Learn/New Questions: I still need and want to learn how to make the processes a little bit quicker. Any automation that I can create or work with will make my goals much easier to attain without taking such a great toll on my schedule and me. Does anyone know of any programs that help with multitasking? For example, I use tweetdeck to view my facebook and twitter feeds simultaneously and I use an RSS feed to read all of my favorite blogs, but I do not have a seamless process for taking classroom technology/activities and posting it to my blog and website. The cumbersome nature slows me down more that I would like.

Adjusting my Plan: The biggest adjustment that I have had to make is the recognition that I cannot always use technology in my lessons. Though I love to bring technology into my classroom, not every topic needs or benefits from the introduction of technology. Additionally, I realize that time does not allow for technology integration in every lesson. I do what I can to bring supplemental technology to my students via my blog, but I need to step back and accept that it is okay if I focus on some topics and leave some to be developed later.

NETS-T 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (NETS-T)

Efficacy of my Actions: I believe that my actions to date have been effective. My research has yielded tremendous information, but I am still somewhat stagnated at my philosophy. I have incorporated the beginnings of citations on my blog and I am pleased about that progress. I have not yet formally taught the concept of documenting to my students, but look forward to finding a time where the lesson supports that discussion. I was very pleased with the short discussions I had with my classes when I sent home a photograph permission slip for my blog. As I saw in the previous suggestions of my classmates, taking the approach of being the subject or creator of the intellectual property has piqued my students’ interest in this topic more than the opposite side of the coin might have.

Applicable Learning: Much of my learning has been through formal sources with a dash of common sense. Using accepted documenting formulas, e.g. APA, I have attempted to create a simplified version that makes sense in a blog format and for students in 6^th grade. I have also sought out a variety of exemplars from online sources to help me determine what I think will work for my needs.

Still to Learn/New Questions: I still need to determine what my philosophy will be in respect to my expectations of my students and my own work. I would greatly appreciate any commentary that others could provide. Should my students fully document any images that they use or would a shortened version suffice? I tend to think that they should, especially since this will not occur too often. Should I include full documentation when I use a picture on my blog? Due to the frequency with which I blog, this could be prohibitive. Additionally, most blogs that I see usually just include brief credits such as, “Photo from Reuters.” It could clutter the blog format if I include an extensive credit, but is it wrong to require more of my students than I require of myself? I would really appreciate any and all feedback that you can provide!

Adjusting my Plan: The focus of my work seems to be centering on my usage of images and other creative elements that I would like to include on my blog. I want to model ethical usage of the intellectual property of others, but do not want it to overwhelm my lessons, webpage or blog. I have not yet decided how I will modify this aspect of my plan, but I am very open to the thoughts of my classmates and look forward to your input.

References:

National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at:http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Monitoring my GAME plan progress

2010-09-29T15:36:00.001-04:00

NETS-T 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats (NETS-T)

Finding Resources: It has been a pleasure beginning to find the resources that I need to work on this goal. I have used SmartBoard resources available online to find, download and adapt for my own use. Additionally, I have found a multitude of games and multimedia resources to supplement my lessons and blog. I need to continue to explore and begin to look towards the technologies with which I am not as comfortable such as wikis and podcasts.

Modifications Needed: I need to ensure that I do not bite off more than I can chew in this arena. There are so many resources available, that it can become overwhelming. I am going to modify my goal to include quotas per unit of study so that I do not burn out and I do not overwhelm myself. Too many times I have begun looking for one element to add to a lesson or a blog post and I end up finding more resources than I can handle, often for topics other than the one I was researching. If I make it my goal to plan a great dynamic lesson for one or two topics and a truly engaging blog post for another one or two topics per unit, I will begin to build a library of quality technology rich lessons/posts that will serve me well for years to come but will not be overwhelming.

Learning: The school provided website, FinalSite, and Google’s Blogger have been wonderful repositories for my work and have allowed me to be creative in what I put online. I am in the process of learning how these two separate programs can work together, e.g. linking a document from my FinalSite page to my blog. I have also learned that I need to be an active proponent of using the page in order to encourage my students to use the technology at home. The more I provide, both informational and enjoyable, the more my students utilize the page and the more they get from the resources offered.

New Questions: The major question that I feel I am struggling with is “are these resources being used?” This primarily falls to the blog elements. As I stated earlier, the posts are a large investment of time and energy and I often worry that they are not being taken advantage of. Though my students continue to report that they are visiting the site, I need to find ways to encourage them to participate and get involved in the resources that I have made available. I question how I can incorporate blog elements into homework without penalizing students that do not have access to internet at home. It can be difficult to get computer time during class, so I am unable to provide class time to complete the assignments.

NETS-T 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (NETS-T)

Finding Resources: I have been able to find resources on this topic quite readily. If anything, I may have found too many. Various means of documenting resources exist and I have not found one that I prefer or a way to modify existing plans for my sixth grade students. I really do welcome any assistance that anyone can provide on this front.

Modifications Needed: I need to modify my expectations and realize that this process will likely take some time. Students (and teachers) can be resistant to the extra work associated with documenting resources and unless I find an easily implemented means of documenting, I fear that documentation will not take place or that avoidance will occur. Just yesterday, I was about to place a picture on my blog, but realized that I could not determine the actual creator of the image and therefore elected to omit the visual from my post rather than risk citing the wrong source. I need to find image libraries that are searchable and trustworthy so that I can know how I should be citing my images. I also want to explore the possibility of incorporating more of my own images (photography) on my page so as to ensure that I have the right to use the image. This development ushers in the new concern of protecting my own, and eventually my students’, intellectual property.

Learning: Thus far I have learned that I still have some philosophical issues to iron out before I can really move forward. Once I find a type of documentation that I feel comfortable with and can implement without too much burden, I believe that this process will be much easier. I have also come to realize that virtually everything online seems to be stolen from somewhere else. This realization was not necessarily unexpected, but it complicates my goal. Aside from documenting images, I have learned that documentation has not been too difficult. As I believe that I will not ultimately use full APA or MLA documentation, it has been easy to simply cite the source of games, links or information with a brief note or parenthetical comments.

New Questions: I have come to realize that I need to define my philosophy and my expectations for students and myself regarding documenting sources. Additionally, I have begun to question if using images from the internet can be justified when it is nearly impossible to determine original sources.

References:

National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Carrying out my GAME plan

2010-09-22T22:15:00.000-04:00

I have begun to implement my GAME plan in measured steps and have considered what I need to do to progress further. My goals are to use technology to assist with communication of information and content and modeling and teaching responsible use and documentation of resources in online communities.

NETS-T 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats (NETS-T)

Resources: In order to meet my goal, I will need resources that include technology, colleagues, and less tangible resources. The technology that is required includes a blog interface, a school website with a parent portal and the ability to post resources and links, an email distribution list, and software/hardware that allow me to create and manage class information like Publisher and SmartBoard. Online multimedia, games, and informational websites will provide additional resources. I will use the skill, creations, and input of colleagues within my building, district, and online sharing communities to assist, supplement, and inspire my work. Finally, as I hope to make my lessons and offerings dynamic and engaging I need adequate time, inspiration, and drive to deal with the trial and error aspects of creative lesson planning.

Additional Information: To help me move forward, I need to understand the capabilities of the technology I use and the usefulness of the various options. I must also better understand what materials and resources are free to use and how I should acknowledge the use of materials created by others (This ties in with my second goal). I want to reflect on the incidence of use of the materials I create to ensure that the efforts are not for naught. I also need to continue learning about the various technologies I hope to use while working toward my goals.

Steps so far: I have a blog established, but I am working to provide links that are more informational, increase the use of meaningful games, and provide exciting activities on the page. I am creating various original resources as I create lessons and notes with my new SmartBoard. Our school has recently begun using a new website that allows for increased communication with parents and students, though not all features have been rolled out thus far. Preliminary information and parameters have been implemented and I continue to explore potential applications of the features on the website.

Resources: I will consult with the Media Center Specialist to review fair use policies and establish a collection of resources from which we are permitted to use materials without asking express permission, e.g. subscription services. I will also use resources like APA citation manuals and online referencing guides to determine best practices for citing resources online and in the classroom. Creative commons will be used to collect and share resources. The last resource that I will use will be blogs to determine accepted protocols in the online community, extra credence will be given to blogs with an educational focus. Ultimately I will need a student friendly version of the rules so I can share them with my students.

Additional Information: I need to know what fair use practices say about use for educational purposes as I am not fully informed about what can and cannot be used without expressed permission. I need to determine what type of citations are required by my district and the technology I use, e.g. blogger and our website host. As I have a limited understanding of how creative commons works, I need to explore and participate in that resource sharing site.

Steps so far: I have used simple citations, i.e. “from the Weather Channel,” to begin citing the images I include on my blog. Additionally, I have tried to use photographs that I have taken to illustrate my posts, post links to notes and images rather than copy and paste, and embed items with inherent authorship stated such as youtube videos from the original author. Finally, I have been cognizant about recognizing the ideas and suggestions of my students in my work; students are always referenced in my blog and my classroom when I use their ideas.

I hope to hear from you, my classmates, if you are aware of any resources that have helped you with either of these goals or if you see something that I have overlooked when it comes to additional information. Unfortunately, I can only see these topics from my own eyes and I am quite sure that there are angles that I have not covered. I look forward to hearing your thoughts, suggestions, and feedback.

References:

National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

My GAME plan

2010-09-15T22:26:00.002-04:00

As “digital natives,” my grade six mathematics students interact with technology regularly and successfully. Outside of school, they use technology to communicate, for entertainment, and even in the most mundane of tasks. Televisions, internet connections, touch screens, and more are pervasive; accordingly, the children that have grown up using these technologies are skilled with the medium and engage with little hesitance. The same cannot always be said of the educators that attempt to enlighten them in school and thus we see a “powering down” (Prensky, 2008, p. 42) of our students, a move toward static interactions and a reliance on learning activities that do not match the 21^st century world in which we live.

I consider myself an acclimated digital immigrant and a bit of a technophile. My students see that I use and enjoy technology on my own and that it is incorporated into our class activities. Despite my enthusiasm and skill, I have strides that I would like and need to make for the benefit of my students. By exploring the ISTE NETS-T standards, I was able to identify two areas that I need to improve and believe that the GAME plan identified by Cennamo et. al. (2009) will help me improve my use of technology in the classroom.

NETS-T 3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats (NETS-T)

Goal: My goal is to ensure that I use technology as a means to deliver content in a meaningful and improved manner. Technology should assist in the delivery of information, not be the focus of class activities.

Action: In order to meet my goals I need to commit to creating at least one lesson a week in which technology assists in the instruction of the concept. I will use resources such as colleagues, professional online forums like blogs or resource sharing sites, and text connections to broaden my instructional approach. In respect to technology, I would like to use available resources such as active whiteboards, internet resources, software, multimedia, and public posting venues to improve my lessons and the communication of our content.

Monitor: To ensure that this implementation is beneficial to my students I will check for understanding via traditional and new methods that incorporate technology. Additionally, I will monitor student reported interest/engagement as well as my anecdotal observations regarding student enthusiasm.

Evaluate: To ultimately determine the success of this change in my teaching style I will assess students on the content via the use of various strategies to ensure that students are able to demonstrate recall, application, and interpretation of the content. Additionally, I will evaluate this endeavor on the enjoyment and engagement of my students through reflective discussion.

NETS-T 4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility a. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources (NETS-T)

Goal: My second goal is to model and teach safe, appropriate, and legal use of technology. My focus will be primarily in the areas of respectful online communication and use of non-self-created items.

Action: I will provide students with venues for online interaction within safe confines and give them rules for online communication via both online postings and classroom discussions. Safe usage guidelines will be shared with parents and students and I will engage in regular monitoring of student interaction online. I will also research ways to document appropriately the use of others’ content on my blog and in my classroom. I will use resources like creative commons and teacher sharing forums to populate my creative work to ensure that I model appropriate use of resources. Additionally, I will utilize the skills of our media center specialist to help improve my skills and educate my students on this topic.

Monitor: To monitor my progress on this goal I will oversee my students’ interactions online and work with them as new concerns arise. Regarding copyright and intellectual property, I will review my work to ensure I have documented sources properly and collaborate with colleagues to ensure that our entire staff uses resources fairly.

Evaluate: Though it is difficult to quantify the effectiveness of my work, I would expect to see adherence to expectations in 90-100% of posted material. Be it the work of my students or my work online and in the classroom, I hope that we all move towards safer and responsible presences online. Our skills should continually grow and develop.

Technological interaction is much like a new language and community. We must learn how to interact within the culture in an educated, safe and respectful manner. It is an ongoing process and I am excited to make improvements in these areas.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach (Laureate Education custom edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at: http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Reflection on my Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom course.

2010-08-22T15:35:00.000-04:00

Final Reflection:

Throughout our course work in “Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom” we learned about the benefits and methods of implementing inquiry based projects. Inquiry projects require students to get involved with the content and interact with the material so that they learn via practical interaction rather than passive memorization. As a math teacher, I have fallen victim to traditional class lessons especially as time constraints and expectations for performance on standardized tests are increased. I have tried to incorporate projects and activities with an inquiry style, but I often wait until after our early spring standardized tests when our pace is less frenzied. My fear has been that without traditional instruction, students will miss important concepts. What this course work has shown me is that although the process is different, the level of understanding and comprehension is as good, if not better, than traditional, lecture style education. Engaging with the material, students are able to form a working understand of the material via interaction, thus facilitating a relationship with the material and leading to a sense of investment and ownership with the content (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007). The philosophies of constructivism and socioculteralism support the notion that students learn more when they make something and interact with others in order to learn and inquiry project provide opportunities for students to engage in these activities (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007). By further incorporating technology in the inquiry project, student interest is increased and the project integrates modern relevance to the project.

A significant component of successful inquiry work is the incorporation of the new literacy skills that speak of the adept use of technology. This includes the searching, navigation, assessment and synthesis of technological resources. These new literacy skills ensure that students do not just merely fumble around online hoping to find what they need. They use search techniques and specialized search engines to ensure that the search yields worthwhile results (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007 and November, 2008). Students use techniques such as REAL, Read the URL, Examine the content, Ask about the author/editor and Look at the links (November, 2008) or ABC from Beth Phillips where students assess the Author, Bias, Content, Dates, Editor/owner (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b) to determine the viability of the information. Dr. Douglas Hartman reviewed that new literacies encompass Questioning, Searching, Evaluating, Synthesizing and Communicating (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a). I am impressed by the direction that teachers can provide students as they work within these new literacies while still encouraging independence. Via the use of modeling, strategic approaches and guided practice, students are able to develop their skills to become better consumers of online information.

As I move forward, the content from this class will change how I ask students to collect information. Previously, any internet searching that my students completed was much more hit or miss. I would encourage them to go to their favorite search engine, type their topic into the search box and then just explore the results. After our coursework, I have come to realize this process could be streamlined and focused. Additionally, I believe that the techniques for determining the reliability of a website are so important to incorporate into classroom instruction. Too often, we provide our students with pre-cleansed information where they do not need to cast a critical eye at the information they see. The vastness and independent publishing aspect of the internet require that students be critical consumers rather than collectors of information. I believe that these skills will certainly serve my students well in my classroom and well beyond.

For my own personal development, I would like to continue to explore the communication aspect of inquiry learning. This would manifest in two ways, opportunities for my students to share their knowledge and manners of instructing my students in a dynamic style. Though I have learned about myriad presentation options including VoiceThreads, slideshows, wikis, blogs, etc., I want to learn the best ways to bring these technologies into my classroom and how to instruct my students in the use of these programs. As I tend to be “self-taught” in most technology mediums, I often miss features that I do not use and my knowledge is limited by my vision/creativity. I would like to learn programs more thoroughly so that I can open up all functions and options to my students. Additionally, I hope to broaden my knowledge of technology so that I can instruct my students with technology incorporation. I am lucky to have just received an active whiteboard in my classroom and I want to use it to full advantage. Online tutorials and extensive explorations of technology will build upon my base knowledge. Participation in technology workshops at my school will allow me to understand the programs that are available to all students. I continue to request enrollment in training within district and I actively seek out technology courses and continuing education outside of school. Additionally, I am active in online communities and blogs that discuss technology, often with an educational focus like dy/dan, lifehacker, Blue Skunk Blog, 2 cents blog and Let’s Play Math. I believe that my best resource for furthering my education on this topic is my enthusiasm and excitement for technology!

References:

Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Program 2. New Literacies. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Program 6. A Teacher's Perspective: Evaluating Information Online. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

November, A., (2008) Web Literacy for Educators. Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

You know you are spoiled by technology when...

2010-08-15T14:21:00.002-04:00

From PC World: http://www.pcworld.com/article/203009/are_you_spoiled_by_technology.html

Logged In

2010-08-10T16:19:00.002-04:00

logged in from josh schaub on Vimeo.

I don't understand the language, but the video is quite interesting nonetheless!

Another Great Infographic Video

2010-07-31T09:40:00.002-04:00

Additional reflection on Application 4

2010-07-29T15:53:00.000-04:00

Please click the blog post title to view the video on an independent web site.

MLK website review

2010-07-29T14:53:00.000-04:00

As the video below is slightly cut off, please click the blog post title to view the video on its own site.

Thank you!

Reflection on MLK site

2010-07-29T14:49:00.000-04:00

Reflection on the MLK site:

As part of this video is cut off, please click the blog post title to see the video on its own site.

Application 4 part one

2010-07-25T18:36:00.001-04:00

Due to some technical difficulties, I have posted my application in two blog posts. Please view this video followed by the shorter one in "part two" to view the complete assignment.

It appears that the right hand side of the videos has been truncated and I do not know how to fix the problem. I am sorry for any inconvenience that this creates. If you click this blog post title as well as for part two, it will bring you to the screencast site where you will be able to view the entire video. Thank you.

-Nancy

Application 4 part two

2010-07-25T18:29:00.004-04:00

Part two:

Good is Great

2010-07-19T20:31:00.002-04:00

If you haven't ever taken a look at "Good" magazine or their accompanying website, it is definitely worth a gander. Here's a link to their education page, but be sure to check out the whole site!

http://www.good.is/category/Education/

-Nancy

Let Students use Internet for non school purposes

2010-07-18T15:11:00.000-04:00

click the post title or use the link below to read a few thoughts on the subject from Doug Johnson of the Blue Skunk Blog...

http://doug-johnson.squarespace.com/blue-skunk-blog/2010/7/17/let-kids-use-the-internet-for-non-school-purposes.html

-Nancy

Giggle

2010-07-16T16:24:00.000-04:00

This is what I miss about school during the summer! :)

From Reddit: http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/cpu52/sorry_theres_a_bear_in_the_way/ A bit of naughty language on the page, but some fun teacher stories too! :)

-Nancy

Dan Meyer

2010-07-10T15:41:00.002-04:00

His Blog: http://blog.mrmeyer.com/.

Thanks Professor Jarrett!

Reflection

2010-04-25T19:47:00.001-04:00

At the start of this course, as we just began learning and reviewing the theories of learning, we put forth our “Personal Theory of Learning” to clarify what we do in the classroom and why we believe that these actions are best practice for our students. I wrote at length about my personal beliefs about what students need to know and how they learn, focusing on Gardner’s theory of Multiple Intelligences to create variety in the delivery of material and creating connections within and beyond the content to solidify understanding and meaning, via the use of discovery, analogies, and comparisons. These comments and practices directly align with cognitive learning theory and connectivism, which state that students must make connections to learn and retain information and must integrate new knowledge by relating it to their current understanding and knowledge breadth (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a, Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b). They also begin to incorporate aspects of constructivism and constructionism as students are asked to create a new working understanding of concepts. In retrospect and in light of our course content, I would have put greater focus on the need for students to create something tangible or presentable while learning. Constructionist theories that suggest that students best learn when they create and/or do (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009c) are apt, and our studies reminded me of times when I do employ these tactics and reinvigorated me to incorporate “creating” throughout more of my lessons. Students have responded well when I have provided opportunities for playing with concepts and constructing their own understanding. My own educational experiences have shown me the benefits of “doing” and working with concepts and I want to provide the same encounters for my students.

Beyond the way I teach, I also referenced how technology is and is not incorporated into my class experience. Though technology is present in the ways I create my lessons and in the supplements I provide, blog site, multimedia, etc., I must acknowledge that much of the technology in my classroom is used and created by me. Too often in my classroom and my school, student interaction with technology is passive and/or used as a delivery method, e.g. watching a video, typing a paper, or researching, rather than a means for learning. I would like to bring technology in as a means for exploring information via webquests or virtual simulations and as a means for sharing knowledge using podcasts, video posting, creation and maintenance of blogs and wikis, VoiceThreads, concept maps, and smartboard/PowerPoint presentations. As I have moved through this course, I have seen and accepted the importance of student interaction with the technology. It is not enough to put technology in front of a student if the technology is kept at arm’s length. The overarching lesson I have learned from this course work is that students must use technology. They must play, explore, err, learn, practice, innovate, create, share, fail, reattempt, interact, react, and use the technology if it is going to bring any merit to the incorporation of technology in the classroom.

Within the context of my sixth grade mathematics class and in consideration of the limited access to technology in my school, I feel that two technologies lend themselves to incorporation in my classroom. First, I found VoiceThreads to be dynamic, engaging, challenging, and entertaining while still acting as a successful learning tool. The system for VoiceThread is user friendly, highly adaptable for different foci, and allows for interaction among classmates as well as with the teacher. My students would be able to handle the technical demands of this resource and use the threads for sharing and reflecting. The children could easily use VoiceThreads to share the steps for completing various math skills, sharing attributes or properties of shapes or values, or collaboratively solving logic/challenge problems. I can pose a problem and ask students to share their thoughts, or students can create their own base presentations and interact with respondents. This will benefit student learning by incorporating constructionist learning theory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009c) as it requires students to personally interact with the material and contribute to the creation of an artifact of learning. As a constant advocate of encouraging ownership and pride for one’s work, I believe that students will rise to higher levels when they are allowed to be creative and share their own thoughts and perspectives. I was enamored with VoiceThreads and look forward to adding them into my classroom repertoire.

I would also like to further incorporate the use of blogs and wikis in my classroom. These tools afford students with the opportunity to publish and share their work, and provide a platform for student interaction. Via my blog, I have been able to share my thoughts, notes from class, homework assignments, and extensive supplemental materials with my students and their parents/guardians. I hope to provide an outlet for my students on which they can share their learning, thoughts, and accomplishments. As I have more experience with blogs, I will start there, but I would like to explore the use of class wikis as “virtual study guides” for each unit of study. I hope to have select students pilot the use of wikis for my classroom, but I feel that I could implement class blogs immediately. Blog integration would likely include student writings, photographs of class activities, links to sites and resources that students find useful, fun, or helpful, and recaps of course content. An added benefit of a blog is that it can serve as “home base” for other technology tools and can showcase multimedia creations, link to VoiceThreads or other online student work, and serve as a repository for other web resources.

The two goals for technology incorporation that I have for my classroom and my students are simply to provide my students with more opportunities to use and learn from technology and to act as an advocate for the incorporation of technology in the classroom in my school and district. These goals are interrelated as they both seek to bring technology to our students not as a mere novelty, but as a valuable means for learning. In my own classroom, I do not want to acquiesce passively to the limits I face. Admittedly, resources are scarce in my school and I defer to frustration over the benefits of finding a way to bring technology to my class. My goal is to fight harder for these resources and go against my nature a bit by planning my activities in advance so I can reserve the technology that will enable me to teach creatively, prepare my students for the 21^st Century Skills they will need, and allow them to create meaningful, virtual artifacts as they learn. Usually, I prefer to be spontaneous with my lessons; never planning for the same old lesson, but I feel that I could reserve the materials and then tailor my activities to the available resources. Also in accordance with this goal, I plan to create extensive opportunities for my students to work with technology in independent activities, so that even if I am unable to gather the needed materials, the students will still benefit from the technological incorporation.

As an extension of my first goal and its own independent objective, I hope to be an advocate for technology. As indicated by my choice to engage in this course of study at Walden, I believe that technology is exciting and imperative in education. My school district has historically performed tremendously well in many areas. We were recently named as one of the five best school districts nationwide for our median income by a well-known magazine. The downside of this honor was that the list was measuring the “best bang for your buck.” We perform well, with desirable standardized test results in the 90% range (eMetric, 2009), but we do not spend much per student and our district ranks 157 out of 169 in per student spending for our state (State of Connecticut Department of Education, 2008). Technology has not been incorporated enough as spending has been at a minimum. I have been and will continue to be an advocate for technology incorporation in the classroom and have spoken with Board of Education members, district and school administrators, and parents about the need for more technology in our classrooms. Additionally, I participate in school sponsored professional development, am active in online communities to learn independently, and work with teachers in my school to ensure that others see the benefits of bringing more technology to the classroom. My experiences with my Walden coursework have also brought a wealth of knowledge to my arsenal of possibilities. I intend to work with other teachers to help them bring technology to the classroom and advocate for the resources needed for 21^st Century instruction.

This course has re-instilled my belief that technology is among the best ways to help students learn. I appreciate that the tools and theories that we explored were not mere novelties, and instead facilitated meaningful learning experiences. I look forward to continuing to incorporate these technologies

References:

eMetric. (2009). Data Interaction for Connecticut Mastery Test, 4^th Generation. Retrieved on April 24^th, 2010 from http://solutions1.emetric.net/cmtpublic/CMTCode/Report.aspx.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Program 5. Cognitive Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Program 8. Connectivism as Learning Theory. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009c). Program 6. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

State of Connecticut Department of Education (2008, March 11). Per Pupil Expenditure Summary. Retrieved on April 24^th, 2010 from http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?A=2635&Q=322152

(PDF file: http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/lib/sde/PDF/dgm/report1/cpse2007/nceadm.pdf)

Digital Natives????

2010-04-07T11:41:00.000-04:00

Telstar Logistics founder Todd Lappin’s 2.5-year-old daughter reviews the iPad.
"As you can see, after geeking out on my Sutro Tower homescreen, she took right to it — including figuring out how to enlarge some of her favorite iPhone-legacy apps to 2x to display full-size on the iPad screen. If you’re good at understanding kid-speak, you’ll also notice that she immediately saw its potential as a video-display device. She lamented the lack of a camera, and wondered about its potential for playing games."

Just a little bit of creative/fun teaching!

2010-04-05T17:42:00.001-04:00

I wish that I was HALF as cool and tech savvy as this teacher!!!!

Voicethread

2010-04-01T15:49:00.001-04:00

Please visit my voicethread by clicking either the link below or the post title!

Nancy Kahrimanis's Voicethread

Working with the voicethread was very easy and a bit fun. I found that the format was very user friendly and forgiving when I made mistakes. I see that this could have many applications in the classroom and I have already spoken to our Language Arts teachers about using the format for Book Reports.

When I began my exploration I realized that I wanted to illustrate my work with pictures of technology from my school and I was able to easily upload the photographs that I took. My topic was about finding ways to bring technology to our students when resources and time are at a minimum.

I look forward to hearing your contributions to the thread.

-Nancy

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

2010-03-30T15:58:00.001-04:00

As we continue through the progression of various learning theories, we begin to explore Social Learning Theory and Connectivism. The fundamental belief in these theories is that students learn best when they actively engage with learning while working with others (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b). Dr. Orey explained Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development, the notion that students have the capacity to learn only what is intellectually accessible, and the concept of inert knowledge, which refers to statically learned information that does not carry over when applied (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009b). All in all, the concept that underlies social learning theories is that without the interaction and play of conversation and dialog, students will not be challenged to form a full understanding of a concept; it is the acts of defending one’s stance and being influenced by the perspectives of others that helps a student gain a multifaceted understanding of a concept. To further explain social learning theories, George Siemans speaks about connectivism and the idea of networks as a manner of representing information (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009a).

In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, we learn of various means of grouping students for activities with the common goals of positive interdependence, promotive interactions, individual and group accountability, interpersonal and small-group skills, and group processing (Pitler, et. al., 2007). These goals work together to ensure that each student wants to and does pull their own weight, works with their teammates in a respectful, supportive, and productive manner, and use the skills and work of all to create an experience that could not have been achieved independently. Cooperative learning serves to improve the learning experience in breadth and depth by sharing the burden (Orey, 2001b). Various means of interacting and working together are presented for incorporating technology into cooperative group work. Wikis, web quests, blogs, multimedia presentations and website creation can all be the technology used during group work, but I was most impressed by the technology that changed the dynamics of group work and aided students in their tasks. Bandura spoke of “reciprocal determinism,” the concept that each member of the group is affected by and effects upon others (Huitt, 2006).

Pitler, et. al. also discussed the use of “keypals,” rather than pen pals, which intrigued me. Technology affords the opportunity for students to work with others from all around the world or in the classroom next door. Social learning theory suggests that students gain a better grasp of content when they interact with others. I believe that increased experiential diversity in the group leads to greater understanding as more is brought to the table. The use of “keypals” and software that allows interaction with others, such as instant messaging and Voice over IP/Video over IP, diversifies the make-up of the group and increases the benefits of the group work. Beaumie Kim related that social constructivism values varying perspectives and backgrounds to help understand the complexities of content (Orey, 2001c) and these technologies help to provide opportunities for these interactions to take place.

I was equally impressed by the use of online software and programming that helps to make the process of working together easier and clearer. Online calendars, document sharing, bookmarks, and management tools can make the large, sometimes confusing, process of group work easier to organize and therefore, more productive. The three elements of connectivism are “chaos theory, importance of networks, and the interplay of complexity and self-organization” (Orey, 2001a). These organizational tools allow the intellectual process to meet these undefined ideals, while providing a procedural structure that gives some boundaries for the experience.

References:

Huitt, W. (2006). Social cognition. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved March 28^th, 2010, from http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/soccog/soccog.html

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009a). Program 8. Connectivism as Learning Theory. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009b). Program 7. Social Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001a). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ Section: Connectivism

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001b). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ Section: Cooperative Learning

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001c). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ Section: Social Constructivism

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Constructivism in Practice

2010-03-24T18:35:00.000-04:00

Constructionist learning theory takes our learning from last week’s Cognitivism learning theory study to the next level. Last week, we expected students to map what they had learned and explore content in a meaningful manner. This week we take it further and expect our students to immerse themselves in the process of learning new information, not just taking it in. We expect students to glean conceptual understanding from thoughtful interaction and extrapolation. Additionally we ask them to use their recently acquired knowledge in a practical manner such that they are able to demonstrate and practice their learning; they find the pitfalls and confusing elements and assimilate or accommodate their schemas as they work to form a truer and stronger understanding of the material (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

In “Using Technology with Class Instruction that Works” we learned about generating and testing hypotheses. Students are given basic information and a platform to explore, that being a spreadsheet prepared with formulas, an experiment in which data must be collected, or playing with parameter on an online game to creatively meet the requirements of a scenario. Students first use their prior knowledge to form an opinion and then use their experiences and integrated information to reassess their initial beliefs and adapt their hypotheses to reflect their new knowledge. Games like “Astroventure” allow a student to design a planet intended for human life based on their working knowledge of Earth’s atmosphere and properties (NASA). These various activities meet the dictates of Constructionism as they require students to build something that exemplifies their learning and provides a subject for students to discuss how their understanding has developed in working with the project.

Project based and problem based learning ask that students attempt to solve an issue or optimize an output by adapting to constraints imposed by reality or protocols and require students to do more than just find an answer; they must prove, represent, and justify their solutions (Orey, 2001a; Orey, 2001b). Beyond these resources, a variety of technological resources exists that allow students to share their knowledge and explore the curriculum. Student created wikis, blogs, and websites require a student to have knowledge of the curriculum at the minimum, but also interweaves the skill of being able to communicate their understanding linguistically, illustratively, and creatively while also providing practical experience with the technology. Podcasts, videos, and Power Point type slideshows call upon the additional skills and intelligences that students are not always able to showcase in traditional class exams, discussions, and reports. Students are afforded the opportunity to learn in a pleasurable and enticing manner that is engaging and helps to form lasting and true understanding. Constructionism leads to learning and pleasure; as Dave McDivitt found during his role playing game history project, the students “showed overwhelming enthusiasm while learning the material” as well as content knowledge (Pitler, et. al., 2007, pp. 214).

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 6. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

NASA. (n.d.). Astroventure. Retrieved March 23rd, 2010, from NASA: http://astroventure.arc.nasa.gov/

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001a). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ Section: Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project-Based Learning

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001b). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/ Section: Problem Based Instruction

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

concept maps

2010-03-21T19:59:00.002-04:00

Cognitivist Learning Theories in Practice.

2010-03-18T18:02:00.000-04:00

(Please forgive the double post. I realized that the previous post was initially published prior to my final edit, but the changes did not show in aggregators, so I wanted to repost to ensure that everyone saw the posting. Thank you and sorry for any trouble. -Nancy)

Cognitive learning theory states that one is best able to understand information when they are able to determine meaningful connections within the content, often through hands-on interaction with the material (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007a). Among the various means of embedding technology in instruction that support cognitivism, I was most draw to the virtual field trips. Though my content area, mathematics, does not necessarily align with virtual field trips, I am tremendously impressed by the function that they can play in various subjects. Virtual field trips provide an opportunity for students to create episodic memories (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007a) that otherwise would be impossible due to time and cost restraints. As showcased in the virtual field trip to Ford’s Theater, students are able to “be” there, look around the physical space, and explore artifacts (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007b). The site provided ample opportunities for students to feel like they were interacting with the materials and environment, and thus make the facts, figures, and dates meaningful. Upon searching for other virtual field trips, I was able to find various topics that support the curriculum in virtually every subject and engage students in varying levels of interaction and activity. These field trips can be into the inner workings of a plant, to the far reaches of the universe, cultures the world over, or the world of a classical author or philosopher.

When I have talked to friends and students that have traveled to the Louvre in Paris and seen the Mona Lisa, they all respond with one comment, “I never knew it was so small.” Visitors to Ireland remark that one has to lie down and nearly flip over to kiss the Blarney stone. Virtual field trips provide students with a taste of the experiences that they would have if they were actually there. As many students will never have the funds or opportunities to visit these cultural landmarks, we are able to provide them with the experience without the expense, the learning without the leaving. Relating to the goals of cognitive learning theory, we are able to provide our students with an experience that solidifies the knowledge and a memory that is part of a shared experience, supplemented with content. Dual coding is a cognitive theory that suggests that pairing curricular content with a sensory stimulus, i.e. sight, sound, smells, encourages recall and the formation of connections for memory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007a). The visual and auditory components of this theory are supported by the use of Virtual Field Trips and serve to help students learn the material in a meaningful manner.

Pitler, et. al. also reviewed some of the other ways that technology can be used in the classroom to support the cognitivist approach to forming connections with the material taught in class. Chapter 4, Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers, provides an overview of methods that one can aide in student learning in a way that guides students to their own recollections, rather than the teacher providing answers. Cuing is accomplished when the teacher helps the student access their previously stored memories and questioning requires students to use what they know to meet the expectations of varying levels of recall and interpretation (Pitler, et. al., 2007). Advance Organizers are means to encourage students to begin thinking about their upcoming tasks and activities (Pitler, et. al., 2007). Mapping tools, charts, graphs and media exposures that are available online act as advance organizers and provide opportunities to create connections and visually represent ideas. Providing virtually tangible “maps” of the connections between ideas via concept mapping and outlining programs and establishing foundational exposure to a concept or task via multimedia resources clearly exemplify the meaningful connections that cognitivism expounds.

Chapter 6, Summarizing and Note taking, reviews many of the different ways that students can personally interact with the content to form their own connections with the content. In alignment with Dr. Orey’s explanation of the limits of short-term memory’s capabilities of roughly seven bits of information at one time (Laureate Education, Inc., 2007a), the notions of note taking and summarizing require students to determine what is worth holding on to and what can be omitted (Pitler, et. al., 2007). Word processing programs allow for high adaptability and speed in taking notes. Additionally, they provide formatting capabilities that begin to show connections and bring form to notes. When note taking is approached from a concept mapping perspective, visual components meet the need to dual coding in cognitivist learning theories.

-Nancy

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007a). Cognitive Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007b). Spotlight on Technology – Virtual Field Trips. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Cognitive Learning Theory

2010-03-18T12:05:00.003-04:00

-Nancy

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007a). Cognitive Learning Theories. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2007b). Spotlight on Technology – Virtual Field Trips. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Behaviorism in Practice

2010-03-10T18:33:00.000-05:00

Pitler et. al. clearly define manners of incorporating technology in the classroom with hopes of using the benefits of technology to influence student learning and learning behaviors. The two main components of technological incorporation highlighted in the book cover using technology resources to define the relationship between effort and results and using technology as a dynamic learning tool (Pitler, et. al., 2007). Each of these objectives is related to the behaviorist theories of learning and instruction and can make positive changes on student learning and the classroom environment.

The correlation between effort and performance is nearly always positive; in our classrooms, we see hard work pay off every day. Pitler et. al. suggest the use of data tracking software or even simple spreadsheet programs for students to quantify their efforts and qualify their outcomes (2007). The use of accepted classroom constructs such as rubrics and self-evaluation tools used to determine an effort scale that is then compared to assessment performance (Pitler et. al., 2007) provides students with a sense of ownership while still embodying the action/response relationship of behaviorist theories. Students should be able to see that their increased efforts result in improved performance and attribute certain studying methods with success. Additionally, students will be able to determine which study methods and activities are most impactful and focus on the effective study skills when approaching new tasks. Behaviorism is only concerned with observable and measurable behavior (Orey, 2001) (Smith, 1999), and this method of technological incorporation takes a seemingly indefinable construct such as effort and describes it in a manner that allows for feedback and a stepping off point for reflection.

Beyond tracking performance and effort, technology has many applications in practicing and learning that act in accordance with behaviorist theories. Dr. Orey spoke of B. F. Skinner’s notion of “programmed instruction” to teach students, in which information is presented, a question is posed, and feedback follows (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Technology has the capacity to make this type of instruction exciting and the feedback rewarding. Online resources such as those listed in “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” can provide enjoyment while teaching skills and content. I regularly assign homework in my sixth grade mathematics class and believe that the practice it supplies is worthwhile when trying to reinforce and establish mastery of a skill. Many websites can provide the same opportunities to practice with the added benefits of links, virtual manipulatives, illustrative videos, and endless examples. Sites like Stellarium bring dynamicism to simple lessons and encourage student effort. Simple, rote learning becomes more stimulating via technological resources and thus students are willing to invest more time in their learning.

(Screenshots from Stellarium.org)

Behaviorist learning theories have a strong history in effective educational practices. Positive reinforcement builds student confidence and strengthens associations within the curriculum content. Technological resources provide novel ways to implement these classical conditioning methods in a manner that students find more exciting and worthwhile.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Program 4. Behaviorist Learning Theory. [Educational video]. Baltimore: Author.

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.

Smith, M. K. (1999). The Behaviorist Orientation to Learning. The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Retrieved on March 8^th, 2010 fromhttp://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behaviorist.htm (last update September 03, 2009.)

Online Flashcards from Headmagner via Lifehacker

2010-03-10T13:30:00.000-05:00

Lifehacker has a wealth of interesting tidbits for making life easier, more techy and more creative. In light of our subject matter this week, I thought I would add this additional post with a link to lifehacker's post on online flashcards that track your learning and quizzes you on what you need to know, not what you've already learned. Basically, interactive flashcards.

Click the title of this post or link to http://lifehacker.com/5489724/headmagnet-generates-intelligent-flash-cards to see the post and find the article and the link to headmagnet, the flash card site.

Enjoy!

-Nancy

To my former classmates!

2010-03-03T12:42:00.000-05:00

Hello all!

I am using this URL for my new Walden coursework and believe that my new posts will clutter your RSS aggregator or blogger dashboard if you are following my page. If you are not in my class/group, please feel free to unsubscribe to my page:

http://nancykahrimanistech.blogspot.com/

Best wishes with all of your continued coursework! I hope to see you again in future classes!

-Nancy

Another Interesting video

2010-01-25T12:05:00.001-05:00

Interesting post about Digital Natives vs. Immigrants

2009-12-28T19:23:00.001-05:00

Check out this post from GeekSugar that highlights the digital native vs. the digital immigrant.

X-mas Wii post

Reflection

2009-12-27T15:41:00.000-05:00

Over the course of the last eight weeks, I have been engaged in the learning and creation of various technological advancements that can be incorporated into the classroom, involved in discussions on the rationale for why technology should be brought to students of today, and active in considering various expert standpoints on how and why technology has a place in modern classrooms. As Marc Prensky has outlined, the students that we encounter in the classroom these days are digital natives (Prensky, 2001). These students are well versed and well practiced in technology and spend a great deal of their out-of-school time using technology (McHale, 2005) (November, 2007). This class has opened doors to help me realize not only the need to bring technology and 21st Century skills to the classroom (Laureate, 2008), but the ways and means to provide these innovations to the classroom through the information provided by Richardson (2009).

Upon entering this class, I considered myself relatively skilled in navigating technology. I regularly used wikis, used online resources for entertainment and references, read blogs, maintained an RSS feed, used social media daily, engaged in online chats, made purchases and paid bills online, sourced the internet through my mobile phone, communicated by e-mail and uploaded photographs. Despite my regular, even heavy, use of technology, most of my interactions were one sided. During this course, I was able to expand my reader to incorporate more education based feeds and become an active part of the online education community. After creating a blog for the class, I developed a level of comfort with blogging and started a classroom blog and a personal blog. My enthusiasm for blogging has reached my coworkers and I will soon be teaching a professional development course for my colleagues on setting up, maintaining and reaching students through blogs. I was able to collaborate with my classmates to create a wiki on the various blogs we had discovered to provide a resource for one another and beyond. Though my initial attempts at bringing a wiki into my classroom was not warmly received, I feel that I have a strong baseline of understanding of wikis such that I will be able to bring them into my regular classroom instruction in the future with better success.

Undoubtedly, my greatest pleasure and success with new technology incorporation has been with blogging. My classroom blog has been met with enthusiasm from my students, my administration and my colleagues. I have found opportunities for incorporating video tutorials, providing homework assignments and attachments, fun challenges and links to games that reinforce the concepts that I am teaching in my curriculum. I believe that this avenue will allow me to engage and motivate my students in a way that will maximize both their learning and enjoyment (Prensky, 2005) (Laureate, 2008). Though there is a wealth of research and writing backing up the efficacy of dynamic incorporation of technology and 21st Century skills, the enthusiasm and interaction that I see from my students is sufficient proof for the merits of my efforts.

I hope to continue to expand my knowledge of technology by continuing to explore what is available. I have been active in participating in online communities about education and technology. Blogs such as the Blue Skunk Blog and David Warlick’s 2₵ Blog for education, and technology blogs like Lifehacker keep me apprised of new developments and technologies for the classroom. My own exploration of blog creation has enabled me to bring multimedia to my page and expand its reach via the use of links to other online resources. In order to improve my knowledge and understanding of wikis, I need to further investigate the wiki work of other educators. Currently, my knowledge and expertise with wikis is limited and I would like to see more of their potential in action from the postings of fellow educators. Understanding the potential of wikis will better enable me to find ways to best incorporate their usefulness in my classroom.

My long-term goals for the further incorporation of technology in my classroom are to maintain and improve my blog and to bring technology-based lessons to my classroom. The first goal of further developing the blog is limitless. I see potential for increased student interaction via the use of required comments, a platform for starting webquests, and a space for me to post podcasts and videos. Though I feel I have created a template and online home for myself and my students that is relatively well established, I see that the possibilities for improving the page and moving beyond the basic set up that I have established are expansive. This technology can be part of every day by bringing the class instruction and curriculum beyond the walls of the classroom and creates a better understanding of the content via the “hands-on” interaction in the medium that our students are best versed in (Nussbaum-Beach, 2008). I will meet this goal by remaining highly active in developing and improving my blog with various multimedia components and networking with other bloggers and educators. “Anytime, anywhere” is the notion that technology is omnipresent and a blog allows me to be one of the influences that my students can turn to (Friedman, 2005) (Laureate, 2008).

The second goal may be harder to achieve, but I feel will have a greater impact on the full education of my students. I would like to use technology in my classroom on a more regular basis. Be it the use of the Smartboard, computers in the classroom for research, power-point presentations and/or wiki creation for content review, I feel that the more that I do with technology in my instruction, the more the curriculum will come alive for my students and be relevant to their lives. Students will need technology skills when they enter the workforce and the 21st Century skills of working together and communicating with people all over the world (Friedman, 2005) (Hof, 2007). By including various elements of technological offerings like online chats and communications, and students posting their learnings, the children will be able to work in the medium that they are best versed in. Though complications and difficulties due to resources and funding do exist in fulfilling this goal, part of my personal goal will include being an advocate for the use and incorporation of technology in our district. My hope is that I will be able to bring various elements of technology into my regular classroom instruction such that my students do not see technology in school as a discrete event that happens occasionally, rather as a common and customary means for acquiring knowledge.

Throughout this course, I have been able toward the creation side of technological advancements that benefit education. Previously I sought out information and resources through technology, but now I feel well versed in providing and distributing knowledge online. I have read and processed the rationale presented by experts on why the incorporation of technology is necessary for today’s students and I have learned how to access, create and improve resources online to benefit my students. Most importantly though, my enthusiasm for technology is heightened and I am excited to bring technology to my students. As Dr. Thornburg said, “Learning is a human craft and a human task” (Laureate, 2008). I am happy and excited to be a human teacher with a strong interest in technology.

References:

Friedman, T. (2005, April 3). It's a flat world, after all. The New York Times. Retrieved from
http://www.nytimes.com

Hof, R. (2007, August 20). The end of work as you know it. Businessweek.com.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). 2008. Skills for the 21st Century [Motion picture]. Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Baltimore: Author.

McHale, T. (2005). Portrait of a digital native. Technology & Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/4572

November, A. (2007). Banning student 'containers'. Technology & Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/7468

Nussbaum-Beach, S. (2008). No Limits. Technology & Learning, 28(7), 14–18. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/8466

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).

Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the Natives. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 8–13.

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms
(2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks: Corwin Press.

Digital Natives Podcast

2009-12-06T10:50:00.001-05:00

Marc Prensky speaks of “digital natives” as people that have grown up in tandem with the proliferation of technology (Prensky, 2001). My grade six students range in age from ten to twelve and live in a moderately affluent town. Even students that are from a lower socioeconomic background than most have access to technology at home. In my attempt to better understand the influence of technology on my students lives, I surveyed 90 of my students on a variety of technology based questions. In addition to the general information gathering, I was able to personally interview a few of my students about their comfort level with technology. Excerpts from these conversations are included in the following podcast.

Survey results:

Demographics: 46 boys, 44 girls, 90 students total.

1 ten year-old, 70 eleven year-olds, 19 twelve year-olds.

Findings:

· 38% of students own a cell phone, 41% of those students have internet on their phone, 85% of those students use text messaging on their phones.

· 88% own an ipod/MP3 player

· 50% have their own computer

· 69% have laptop computers at home, 100% have a computer at home

· 84% have internet access at home

· 27% have a facebook page, 3% have a myspace page

· 41% use instant messaging online

· 3% have their own blogs

· 8% have added to a wiki in some capacity

· 84% have a video game system at home, 49% of those systems are hooked up to the internet

· 72% have a wii video game system at home

Technology usage:

Among the 34 students that have cell phones, eight students reported that they spend three or more hours on their phone each day. On average, my students with cell phones spend 1.44 hours a day on their cell phones talking, texting and/or using the internet.

Based on student reported averages, my students spend about 1.3 hours a day on their home computers each day. Only eight students reported that they do not go online on an average day and the group average was 1.4 hours a day, with seven students stating that they spend four or more hours online each day.

All but 15 students play video games on a regular basis. Students spent an average of 1.27 hours a day playing video games.

Access:

74 students reported that they primarily use technology at home. Usage at a friend’s house was the next most common place, followed by school and a relative’s house and the fewest votes for the library.

When asked what they would want if they could own or have access to more technology, students wrote in the following answers:

· Laptop (28)

· Cell phone (49)

· facebook (5)

· Personal TV/Better TV (9)

· ipod (17)

· Instant messaging (9)

· Various gaming systems/ video games (33)

When asked what they believed was outdated technology, the following answers were submitted.

· Cassettes (9)

· MP3 Player- non-ipod (8)

· Gameboy (12)

· Various gaming systems- PS2, gamecube, playstation, etc. (25)

· Disposable cameras

· Film

· Flip phones

· Desktop computers

· Tube televisions- non flatscreen

· Radios

· Boomboxes

· Records

Level of expertise:

59% of students reported that they believe that they are better than their parents when it comes to working with technology. Less than 6% believed that they were worse than their parents. 56% of students considered themselves to be about equal to their teachers in technological understanding, 18% believed the teachers were more skilled and the remaining 26% feel that they are more skilled than their teachers.

Favorite Aspect of Technology:

Fifteen students cited the internet as their favorite aspect of technology, with many elaborating that the speed and access that the internet affords and the availability of information are what they like about the internet. Twenty-nine students mentioned communicating with friends through various outlets such as facebook, texting, instant messaging, cell phones, e-mail and internet/video games. They also mentioned the ease of communicating for school work as well as in social capacities. Most of the other students cited video gaming systems and the interactive elements of online gaming.

Reflection on Survey Results:

I found that the survey results met my expectations. My students engage in a high level of interaction with technology and I expected that they would have access to many technological resources. I was most curious to see how they compared their understanding and comfort level with technology to that of their parents and teachers. As the teachers on our team are all in our thirties and relatively savvy with technology, I expected that students would rank our abilities relatively high. Fifty-six percent of students believed that we were on par with their abilities, but twenty-six percent felt that they were more skilled than the teachers. I would love to explore this further and see how we actually compare. As the students’ parents, on average, are a little bit older than the teachers and the children see us using technology regularly in school, I am not surprised that the teachers were ranked at a higher skill level than the parents, but I was amazed that 59% of the students believed that they are more skilled at technology than their parents. Again, I think it would be very interesting to determine actual skill levels of each group.

I was also intrigued by the level of comfort with technology that my students expressed. I was unable to use one student interview because when I asked him what he thought he would be able to do with my cell phone if I let him borrow it for a few minutes because he was laughing too hard to hear the intricacies of his ability to work with the technology. These digital natives know how technology works and feel comfortable exploring new technologies with confidence.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

2009-11-24T15:27:00.000-05:00

The Partnership for 21st Century skills is a website dedicated to like-minded members seeking to improve the content and quality of Information and Communication Technologies in the classroom. The site provides portals to online resources and content, articles and news releases on their ongoing efforts and clear explanations of their goals. Various corporations, advocacy groups and charitable organizations have teamed together to work towards the Partnership’s goals of implementing and seamlessly incorporating 21st Century Skills into the current educational framework of core subjects.

Upon perusing the website, I found the information and mission to be quite exciting and inspirational. I was happy to see that various technological companies and education advocacy groups were working together with a common goal of providing a fuller education to our students. As represented by the “Rainbow Framework," the core curriculum subjects are paired with the skills in life and career, learning and innovation, and information, media and technology (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2004). Support for these curricular goals are provided by the “pools” below the rainbow and consist of many of our traditional educational supports such as professional development and set standards.

I was surprised by the partnership’s support for standardized tests as I feel that standardized tests as they are currently implemented are inadequate for measuring the 21st Century Skills that we are hoping to develop in our students. Upon further reading and reflection, I understand that the standardized tests that would measure 21st Century Skill development would look quite different from the bubble-in standardized tests that our students currently take. I was also surprised that so few states were represented in the Route 21 list of states that had demonstrated the commitment to the cause, and I was disheartened that mine was not one of them. As a lifelong Nutmegger, from Connecticut, I was disappointed that we were not on the list, especially as the New Literacies Research Lab is located at the University of Connecticut (Miners & Pascopella, 2007), I would hope that Connecticut would be represented.

Another aspect of the webpage that surprised me was the copyright date. As I am acutely aware of casting a critical eye on internet sources, especially in light of our course and this week’s discussion of what it takes to be literate whilst navigating online, it seems odd that a site dedicated to 21st Century Skills has a copyright date that is nearly six years old. It is clear that the site has been updated with new information, i.e. new releases and updated MILE guides, but the copyright date remains stagnant. As our Walden course included materials from this site in our resources this week, I am inclined to trust the site, but remain wary of the lack of updates on the copyright. The site address seems like something that is reputable as well. Along those same lines, I was surprised that so many of the links that I found from the Route 21 website went to purchasable items (Route 21, 2007). Though the Partnership’s website is touted as source for online learning materials to support 21st Century Skills, it seemed like a great deal of business and money exchange would take place through the website. I would certainly do my due diligence prior to spending any money or providing information through the site or its offshoots.

I do agree with the fundamental philosophy presented in the site’s mission statement, “[To] serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders” (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2004). I do have some concerns with the excessive amount marketing that I encountered from the Route 21 webpage. I am opposed to the blatant marketing of the page if it is intended as an advocacy group. When exploring most websites, I am able to leave a page with ideas for implementation and examples of what worked in other classrooms. Even when I sorted the information on the Route 21 page to my grade level and/or subject matter, I was unable to find much material that I could immediately put into practice, drew my enthusiasm or inspired my creativity.

The implications for my students and me are that these goals need to be broached in the classroom immediately as we are already behind. 21st Century Skills are necessary for a student to leave school fully educated. I think that the self-assessment checklist included in the MILE guide (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, 2004) is a great starting off point for educators. By completing the self-assessment for what we already do, we can identify areas of change and improvement. Initially, I believe that mindfulness of 21st Century Skills is the most important aspect of basic implementation. If we teachers constantly ask ourselves if our lessons and activities bring in the three skill subsets, life and career, learning and innovation, and information, media and technology (The Partnership for 21st Century Skills), we will begin to move forward with our goals. Ultimately, we must act as advocates for our students and ourselves to our administrations, governmental policy makers, and corporations to receive the assistance that we require in realizing these goals.

Miners, Z., & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10), 26–34.

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills, (2004). Retrieved November 24, 2009, from The Partnership for 21st Century Skills Website: http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/

Route 21, (2007). Retrieved November 24, 2009, from Route 21 Website:
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/route21/index.php

Mini wiki reflection.

2009-11-23T18:54:00.001-05:00

WIKIS!

I really like wikis, but I am not yet convinced that I am ready to put them to use in my classroom. Undoubtedly the content of wikis surpassing virtually all other sources when it comes to up-to-date reliability and multiple edits for clarity and accuracy.

Personally, just over a month ago, I was at the doctor's office having a minor procedure/test completed by my oral surgeon. Without going into too many details, it was a surgery that he rarely completed in the office and required a very specific procedure. He said that upon speaking with one of his colleagues, he learned that he was supposed to follow a certain protocol for the surgery. Through the many fingers, implements and cotton balls in my mouth, I agreed and reiterated the colleague's instructions. With shock, he asked me how I knew that when he didn't. My garbled answer, "Wikipedia."

I am amazed by how many times I have called upon wikipedia on my mobile phone to settle a discussion, remind myself of a bit of forgotten trivia or add more reliable information to a conversation.

Beyond the fun and trivia, I regularly use wikipedia for personal research, health information, and concise overviews on complex topics. I appreciate the links and references that are included in most entries as they provide next steps to the initial exploration. I remain a little hesitant about further participating in wiki creation, but feel that the mystique around adding information to an existing wiki has been broken down a bit. I look forward to participating in wikis beyond my classroom experiences as well as in work with my students.

-Nancy

Bringing Blogs to the classroom! (How I would incorporate a blog into my class)

2009-11-10T12:41:00.000-05:00

Blogs have many possible incorporations into classes. As I teach Grade Six Mathematics in a district with very strict guidelines on the curriculum, I often run out of time for extension and challenge activities. Many of my students are capable of going beyond the basic curriculum expectations, but need the class time for the initial instruction. As we rarely spend more than a day or two on a topic and I only have support in one class, I do not have the luxury of taking time to work on a challenge assignment with my students and need an assignment that they can pursue independently with minimal teacher guidance.

I believe that I could incorporate a blog to provide challenge activities to my students. I think that they would not only enjoy doing independent exploration, but also believe that they would take the challenge quite seriously. As Kathy Martin suggested in this week's video resources, the students not only rise to the challenge of the content in the assignment when they work on a blog, but also engage by interacting and considering their audience (Laureate, 2007). The blog would also enable me to provide resources to help prepare them for the challenge tasks via the internet. Many of the benefits of online learning that are present in advanced courses such as ours will also be present in these mini-challenges. The students will be able to work independently, but have the opportunity to collaborate as they see fit. Additionally, they will be expected to use their writing and communication skills to explain their thinking. In mathematics, we are constantly looking to find ways to encourage our students to effectively communicate their thoughts and this provides an outlet that can be easily monitored and extensive in scope, but does not take away class time.

The benefits of a blog set up in this nature are that students can be challenged, are able to work collaboratively and independently, expectations are clear but intrinsically motivated and students can access the resources in their own time. I am also encouraged by the reflection of the young man in Mrs. Martin's class in the "Blogging in the Classroom" video segment, in which he said that he found the assignments more interesting and the venue a fun place in which to learn. He also remarked that he felt that the blog assignments were more "face to face" than the writing that he usually did in class (Laureate, 2007). I was inspired by the enthusiasm and sense of connectedness that this child exhibited after using blogs and I am encouraged to incorporate the resources in my class.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2007). Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society [Motion picture]. Teacher as professional. Baltimore.

Smartboard Prep

2009-11-06T12:16:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of incorporating Smartboard technology in my daily lessons, but have found that the time preparing the lessons and activities has become a bit prohibitive. I do not have a dedicated system in my room and need to sign out the board, projector and laptop from the library in order to use the technology in class. We only have one mobile Smartboard in our school and teachers need to plan days or weeks in advance to ensure that the technology is available and also need to "buffer" the use date so that everything can be set up and finalized the day before the lesson and returned the day following the lesson as the storage room is locked when the final bell rings.

As I said, I love the technology, but the convenience of the tech is lost when the procedures around using the technology is so frustrating and difficult. Thankfully we just had the program downloaded to our desktop units so that we can at least start a lesson in advance of borrowing the resources. Unfortunately, the inconvenience of our procedures has made me less likely to incorporate the tech as often as I would like. Upon speaking with a colleague with a mounted Smartboard at the Upper Middle School, I learned that he came in an hour to an hour and a half early each day to create his lessons. I don't know if this is feasible for every teacher or even a reasonable expectation.

I am hoping to get a mounted/dedicated Smartboard in the next year or two and hope that I will have created lessons for the majority of my curriculum within two to three years.

For those of you with Smartboards or Promethean systems, how long did it take you to create an arsenal of lessons? How often do you use your technology? How often do you use its dynamic aspects vs. using it as a plug-in whiteboard?

For those of you that do not have dedicated units, do you have access to this technology? What is the procedure for using it and do you find the technology easily accessible? What challenges have you run into and what seems to be working?

Thanks in advance for any insight or thoughts!

-Nancy

Let's try that video again!

2009-11-04T21:50:00.000-05:00

Let's try that video again!

Video on Social Networking

2009-11-04T21:46:00.000-05:00

Though this has a business focus, I found it quite interesting! A coworker posted it on his blog, Teacher Tech Talk, and I wanted to share it!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8&feature=player_embedded

Hello!

2009-11-04T21:29:00.000-05:00

Hey there fellow Walden students! I am excited to begin blogging and exploring technology that can be incorporated into the classroom!