Reflection: New and Emerging Technologies

As I come to the conclusion of this program, I am not only reflecting on where I have gone, but where I am going as well. This course in particular has prepared me to become a leader in Technology Integration, not just a passive follower. The school system that I work for is the largest in the state. I had always considered us to be technology rich. Although we have an abundance of computers, with all classrooms connected to projectors, and many with whiteboards, instruction has continued on in the same manner as always. As my understanding of emerging technologies and being on the cutting edge, not merely the leading edge, has grown, so has my understanding of my role as a model and mentor. I now consider it my responsibility to introduce my colleagues to new ways of learning and teaching. I need to step up to the plate and show them how the students can benefit from the use of the emerging technologies. The use of technology in teaching and learning is transforming instructional practices in 21st century schools and I must coach my colleagues to move ahead.

The learning activity I am most excited about implementing is the MUVE, or Multi User Visual Environment. Online educational environments delivered through the computer lab, facilitated by the instructor and made rich by the students’ research and involvement, can engage students in ways that the traditional classroom cannot. The MUVE provides an environment that, although similar to a digital game, allows the student to have more control of the environment. This allows for greater collaboration and communication between students and increased opportunities for the student creation of meaningful problem solving activities. Exactly what that will involve is still not entirely clear to me, but as I continue to work with existing MUVEs and see what they are capable of, some ideas are already beginning to take root. Through projects such as the River City Project (http://www.activeworlds.com/edu/index.asp), it is easy to envision the students creating a Civil War era community and working through a variety of problems from disease to dissension. With the instructor acting as a facilitator, the class could have a firsthand experience of the dialogue that went on with brother against brother. Although I am certainly not at the point to implement this yet, with collaboration and guidance from someone with more experience, it is clearly a direction that I want to go.

And so, the completion of the program becomes the beginning of my new direction. Through this course I have learned the importance of staying current and knowledgeable about emerging technologies. Through the use of resources gathered in this course, from digital games to MUVEs to the introduction of the Horizon Report that I have been introduced to, I will need to continue to devote time to finding ways to implement the emerging technologies in ways that support better classroom learning for my students, and most importantly lead fellow educators to do the same. Utilizing websites like Teachers Discovering History as Historians ,sharing lesson plans and ideas, and communicating our goals and frustrations, together we will help our students to become 21st Century learners.

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

Click the image above to go to the presentation on Online Learning and using a CMS. Like it says, "It starts with a single click".

Reaching and Engaging All Learners Reflection

Academic success for every child is my objective as a classroom teacher. This is not always an easy task. Our students arrive in our rooms with so many differences; differences in readiness, interests, learning styles, instructional needs and cultural backgrounds. In this course, I have gained knowledge of two frameworks for meeting the needs my diverse learners—Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI). Like UDL, the DI approach embraces student diversity and encourages the modification of instruction to support students’ needs.

Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology has taught me that differentiated instruction is about using teaching strategies and technological tools that connect with individual student's learning strategies. The ultimate goal is to provide a learning environment that will maximize the potential for student success. I will take from this course several salient concepts that will guide my instructional practices from now on: hold on to the effective teaching strategies that lead students to positive learning outcomes and to make adjustments when necessary, be flexible and open to change, take risks, and try teaching and learning strategies that I would have otherwise ignored. “Just as doctors must stay abreast of the latest medical research, and lawyers must keep up with case law, educators must stay current with practices that optimize student learning” (North Central Regional Education Laboratory & Metiri Group, 2003, p.11).

An invaluable resource that grew out of this course was our Ning group. This collaborative effort has yielded an abundance of links to informative assessments, technological tools and educational presentations. There is no doubt that as I grow and expand in my implementation of UDL and DI, and encourage my colleagues to do the same, I will be making reoccurring visits to our social network. The site that we created is a testament to the powerful and effective tool technology can be for gathering data about our students and providing instruction that recognizes and accommodates their interests, learning styles, intelligence preferences, and learning profiles.

This course, Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology, has solidified the importance of continually collecting a variety of data about my students. As an outgrowth, I plan to continue exploring the use of technology to facilitate this process. A new essential staple of my first weeks of school will be various inventories that lead me to know more about my students learning preferences as early as possible. This inevitability allows me to begin to differentiate based on students’ learning styles early on.

Another difficult adjustment I plan on implementing for the following school year, involves relinquishing some control, and learning to trust the process. The current emphasis, in this school system, is on a prescribed curriculum and pacing charts that define what and when the curriculum is taught. At first glance, this inhibits opportunities to vary the curriculum and pacing necessary to differentiate. However, if I begin with the end in mind, knowing intuitively, and supported by data, that my best practices are the most effective means of instruction, then I will force the parallel lines to meet. After all, “The goal of education is not simply the mastery of knowledge; it is the mastery of learning,” (National Center on Universal Design for Learning, 2009).


References
Introduction | National Center On Universal Design for Learning. (2009). Home | National Center On Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved January 17, 2010, from http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/introduction

North Central Regional Education Laboratory & Metiri Group. (2003). enGauge 21st Century Skills: Literacy in the digital age. Retrieved from
http://www.grrec.ky.gov/SLC_grant/engauge21st_Century_Skills.pdf

Reflection: Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas: EDUC - 6713I

As I developed and followed my GAME plan, one of the things that became apparent to me is the enthusiasm that the students demonstrated towards learning new programs and applications in order to communicate their thoughts. They are anxious to get their knowledge and their beliefs out there for others to read. Traditional writing methods have become boring to them. Although they are employing the same techniques of writing (rough draft, revising, and editing), it is the publishing aspect that has taken on a whole new life for them. They have come to realize that they are empowered to communicate beyond the confines of this classroom and this school.

I have grown as much as the students have in this realization. Because of this, I have already begun to re-evaluate the upcoming units in Science and Social Studies. I am actively looking for ways to include these Web 2.0 applications in my lessons and assessments. The World Wide Web has always been a tremendous source of information for me. It became an eye-opening experience for me, however, when I made the connection that my students could become valid contributors to the vast source of information that others around the world would be reading. The integration of technology, for me, had always been to trot the kids down to the computer lab as a group. We would typically be looking at all students working on the same project, a PowerPoint presentation, for example. Although, they were able to produce wonderful slide shows, my eyes have now been opened to such a broader range of ways to present their writing. I have always enjoyed having the students work collaboratively and it is exciting for me to see that the NETS-S place importance on this, as well. Phrases like “group expression” and “interact, collaborate, and publish with peers” give such weight to the value of teaching students to work together and communicate their ideas effectively to their peers.

Looking back through the GAME plan, one of the things that I have enjoyed is how actively involved in the learning I have become. I have always put a great deal of thought and effort into my lessons and I have always been very hands on with my students, but learning the new methodologies of dealing with social networks, podcasting, and digital story telling has been as good for me as it has been for my students.

I think that I am in a unique situation compared to my peers in this program. In my personal professional development, through this degree program and its exploration of the NETS, I have been called upon to expand my thinking and my communication to a more global level. In my professional development at work, the whole concept of the International Baccalaureate program is to develop students that will be able to view problems an idea with that international mindedness. That dovetailing of my studies and application is truly what increases the intrinsic value of my degree. Often times, in education classes, there is a gap between the learning and the application. There is that element of separation between what I am learning and how it can apply to the population at my school. Strategies and techniques that I saw demonstrated in the past were sometimes viewed as only being able to be applied in a perfect world, which is not where I live. The NETS provide a framework that is not only feasible, but is essential. Digital citizenship and international mindedness are major components of the IB program, not an afterthought. Through the melding of these two programs of development, a more complete understanding has resulted. Yes, I am fortunate to be involved in an IB program that gives immediate validity to my studies. Beyond that, however, is the awareness that that wherever I am, this IS the direction of the future and my students need to be moving in that direction or they will be left behind.

Using the GAME Plan Process and The NETS-S

The GAME plan process is a strategy for learning that can be applied to anyone because we are all lifetime learners. As Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer (2009) proffer, “As you set goals, take action, monitor your learning, and evaluate your progress, you take control of your own learning process” (p. 7). This is the ultimate goal for us as life-long learners, and all of our students. By making students familiar with the GAME plan process, they will have the scaffolding they need to set a goal and take the steps to successfully attain that goal; something all humans do throughout their lives.

The relationship between the NETS-T and the NETS-S is one of facilitator and active learner. The teacher is facilitating the learning and setting up the environment that allows the student to develop as a digital learner. NETS-T 2a, for example, tells the teacher that they need to engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. NETS-S 2a, then has the student interacting, collaborating, and publishing with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media. In my classroom, for example, we have been working on persuasive writing using the topic of school dropout rates. The students have used a variety of digital environments and media to present their point of view. They have done so, not only a one-to-one basis with me, but have sought to publish their work to be shared on a global level.

Many of the NETS-S standards are skills that my students already possess. They just may not have thought of them in those exact words. For example, NETS-S 1a says that students will apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes. This is what constructivism is all about and at the basis of the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) program that we are adopting at my elementary school. The area of communication and collaboration is an area that I can help facilitate the students’ goal setting and developing an action plan. Monitoring, for my students, would involve developing a timeline and a checklist. Again, as part of IB, evaluation or reflection on a learning activity is a standard part of the procedure. As I continue through the rest of the school year, I plan on posting the NETS-S for my students to add a new standard to each of their current projects as the year progresses. This will ensure their readiness for the future that awaits them.

References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

ISTE | National Educational Technology Standards. International Society for Technology in Education | Home. Retrieved December 13, 2009, fromhttp://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=NETS

Revising My GAME Plan

As I said in my original post, The NETS-T, as they are listed, seem to be a bottom up approach to me. The professional development occurs first, followed by the design and the facilitation of learning that involves technology, creativity, and innovation. That being said, I feel that having gone through my “professional development” and becoming familiar with programs, such as Audacity, and web-sites, such as Voicethreads.com, I am now much better equipped to facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.

The use of podcasts and voice threads have certainly helped me towards the goal of promoting student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
As stated in my last post, the students’ planning and thinking has developed in wonderful ways as they have had to prepare their writing for publication. They are beginning to truly see writing as communication to others, not just as an assignment.

Moving forward with my students towards becoming digital citizens, the NETS-T goal of engaging students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources seems to apply well to our upcoming unit. There are many digital resources out there for exploring earthquakes, volcanoes, and seismic activity. As is often the case, having so many resources scattered everywhere, the difficulty is in pulling it together in a cohesive unit. My approach, therefore, is to explore the Notebook software that comes with our SmartBoards and come up with a unified presentation method for the students using websites, animations and interactive activities. In response, the students will use digital tools to create their own representations of the constructive and destructive forces.

My approach for the next step is to use digital tools that I am more familiar with, such as Paint and PowerPoint. By using familiar tools, I will be able to spend more time with applying the information and less time with teaching the tools. By modeling different digital resources for them with the Notebook software, the students will see different ways in which their creations can be presented. Together we will come up with ways to incorporate the audio tools that we have already learned with the visual tools that we are currently exploring.

Evaluating My GAME Plan Progress

In looking back at my progress so far, I am feeling quite good about it. The actions that I took towards learning about creating podcasts and voicethreads have been very effective in helping me meet my goals. As my overall goal is to equip myself with the tools that I need to move my students into the digital-age, I feel that my toolbox is steadily growing. One of the things that I have found to be true is that making that single step is the most difficult part of the journey. Once you have started, you find yourself with an amazing amount of choices that you never even knew existed. Creating a podcast using Audacity with my class has led to creating voicethreads with them. If I can create audio podcasts, then video should not be an overwhelming challenge now.

I think that the thing that I have learned in this process is the importance of planning and structure for the students. Helping them to develop storyboards and scripts for their voicethreads has been a growing process for all of us. They understand sequencing better through their development of the voicethread. They are developing their writing in ways that will elicit responses from a listener rather than just delivering information. They are finding ways to leave things open-ended to draw out questions from the listener, creating an active rather than a passive audience. Going through the planning and discussion phases with them has allowed them to bring out all of these things in their writing.

As they say, “a little bit of knowledge can be a dangerous thing.” My question has become, “Now what? What else is out there that I can tap into?” I have been told that Audacity is the best free software for recording, but what are my alternatives? I am currently looking at some of those alternatives through a website, appropriately named, http://alternativeto.net. This website provides information on software programs that provide an alternative to what you are currently using. It lists both commercial and free software.

Continuing into a new International Baccalaureate unit on Constructive and Destructive forces, there will be some places that will allow for audio podcasts and voicethreads. The unit, though, seems more suited towards visuals. In keeping with my goal to equip my students with the tools that they need to move into the digital age, incorporating graphic tools into our repertoire seems to be the next obvious step. Viewing it, not as a new direction, but an addition to our voicethreads and podcasts, my plan is now expanding.

Resources

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

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