If you recall, I was creating a webquest for my genetics section. Well, it's done and here it is!!
Journey to the Center of the Cell - the website's a little rough, but I still have time to work on it before I show it to students. It's the content that's important.
And for those who want it in all one succinct package - here's a link to a google doc.
That's all I really wanted to say in this post. It's short and sweet. So here's a cute cat video.
So, I'm going to begin this blog with one of my favorite songs:
Appropriate? Of course it is! This post is about what I've learned from this course and what I want to know more about. Mulan learned that she is not who everyone thinks she is and that she doesn't know who that person is herself. See the connection now? Good! Let's keep going.
First, a bit of reflection of my own - I've created my second podcast reviewing the final learning objectives for this course.
Why is it important for all teachers to integrate technology into the lessons they teach, regardless the age of the students or genre that they teach? Or is it?
It is! And I think I covered this in my week 9 post, but I will reiterate in short form. Teachers will never go out of style - a passionate person speaking about a subject they love can inspire. Technology however, will constantly change. Wait, this seems like the opposite argument . . .what's going on here? Bear with me. While we stand up there lecturing our hearts out, students are getting jazzed by the latest technology. And if we can combine those two passions, think of the things we can accomplish. Here's an article by Edudemic that talks about how students are using technology. The short answer is - for almost everything. According to that article 96% of college students have experienced an online component to their courses. NINTEY-SIX PERCENT! If colleges are moving to embrace technology, we can not do our students the disservice of not doing the same.
Discuss what may be barriers to technology integration and how you as the teacher can overcome them.
Appropriate to this discussion.
In my opinion, the biggest barrier to technology integration is funding. Most of the technology that I have taken advantage of in my classroom came from me. I used my tablet, my laptop, my webcam, etc. to make my classroom a more interesting and inviting place. In the last couple of years, we have acquired a great deal more technology for the classroom - laptop carts, smartboards, student information systems, etc. But all that came because the funding was put in place to do so. School boards and the public in general needs to see that technology is an integral part of our society. As a teacher, its my job to show them. To make my programs and resources visible to them in fun and interesting ways. I want them to say "Wow, that's great! How can other teachers do that?" By being a futurist, I can encourage and inspire others to come along with me. I want students to show their parents the great work their doing using Animoto or Vimeo and have the parent attend PTO meetings and discuss the great uses of technology and have it spread from there. Like that old shampoo commercial - and they told two friends, and they told two friends and so on and so on. Here's a great article that can help get parents on board and riding the technology train. One of my favorite parts the the "Follow up with parents" step. Inviting parents in to see what their student has done or other students have done is a great way to get people excited. One year for parent teacher night, we ran a looped video that showed students doing science. It was a big hit!
Another barrier to technology integration, sadly, may be the teacher. Some people are just fearful of technology. One of the fears they have is not knowing how to use it and their students getting some advantage they didn't know about that will decrease the rigor of an assignment. Its an understandable problem. Marc Prensky writes about it very well in his article about Shaping Technology. He says "resisting today's digital technology will be truly lethal to our children's education," and I agree with him. We cannot fall back on old ways with the new ways out there waiting for us. So, my solution is to be a teacher to my fellow teachers. I want them to feel like they can use technology without fear of something going wrong. They have to know that (in most cases) their "dabbling" as Mr. Prensky puts it, is not going to break anything. I'm planning on having Tech Tuesday at our monthly meetings at school to introduce new technology to my colleagues. And then, they can introduce it to others and so on and so on (see the theme here?). I love technology and I love teaching, so I can combine two passions into one and help my fellow teacher. Some of the tools I will be covering come from Edudemic's 100 best Web 2.0 tools. Things that will be helpful to everyone like Diigo and Wordle.
Personal Learning Network
Throughout this blog I've talked about the framework I'm constructing for my classroom and my colleagues. To put a formal name to it - it's a PLN. I'm connecting to others through this class, through Diigo, through the interview process with Mrs. Carney. Plus, I get to bring all of this information back to my colleagues in my department and staff meetings. I get to bring everyone who gets excited about technology into my personal learning network. And that's just the start - I'm planning on reaching out to experts to speak to my class through Skype and Google+. I'm planning on continuing my role in my district as a technology go-to guy so that when people find new things to share, I can get in on the action. I think having an open mind about technology can really help lead to a better place for teachers and students alike.
So, this is my last blog post for this class. What should it be about? Technology!! Yes, that's right, the theme of technology continues. Shocking, I know.
Where is technology going in the classroom? That's a really great question that I challenge anyone to try to answer. My answer (and it is by no means complete) is that technology is going personal. Here's one example of what I mean. Technology is moving into the students' pocket. Cell phones are becoming more and more powerful and more and more useful for education. In the example above, his classroom is effectively going virtual - students are able to learn at school, at home, on the bus, or wherever they happen to be. And his classroom is getting support from Verizon!
Does everyone have a cell phone now?
There is a wonderful quote by Sister Rosemarie DeLoro - "You can't stay in teaching and keep going to the old ways." And I agree with her. She's been teaching for 60+ years and she knows what's up. And the new ways seems to be working. This article from US News & World Report discusses how teachers and administrators feel that new technology is improving student performance and even attendance. The article goes on to say that the numbers aren't there yet to show that technology is improving test scores, but if the teachers are seeing more productivity in their students, then something good must be happening. But the technology (much like anything) is just a tool. It's not the technology that drives the learning, it's the teachers. William Astore of the Huffington Post wrote an excellent article about this topic. He and I are of the same opinion on distance learning (online, correspondence, etc.). The one online course I took I really couldn't tell you what I learned. There was no delivery of material, it was just reading and writing down what I read in my own words. This isn't going to excite young minds to learn. So while technology is moving forward, we as teachers have to move with it because we're a critical part of the system.
With that in mind, I interviewed Mary Carney, a history teacher at Dracut High School who has been adapting to new technology for several years now. As her blog work is with students, it is not public, so I won't link it here. Suffice to say, she is a dynamic teacher that is really embracing the technology movement. Click on the picture to read the complete interview (which I have placed in a separate post in the interest of brevity).
Read my interview with the amazing Mary Carney!
Its no wonder that Mary & I are good colleagues! We believe in the same basic principles of technology in the classroom. Technology is great, but will never replace a teacher. One of the great things I took from the interview was that she uses her blog to connect with parents as well as students. This is a great way to get parents to see what the technology is doing and can be used for. Often parents are a bit afraid of technology, leaving them out of the loop on a lot of things that are happening today. By getting them used to communicating through blogs/websites/social media/etc. they can learn the challenges that their students are facing and then help them to grow into better digital citizens. And blogging is just one way - here is an article by Adam Steiner (who may have worked in my district for a year) about ways to connect to parents through technology. He gives great advice on blogs, email newsletters, website and more to help bring parents into the classroom. As he mentions, studies have shown that an active parent leads to student success. By helping bring in parents, we can help our students be more successful. And technology can help!
For those of you who are interested in learning more about using technology with your students, I've included a few links to get you started: Blogging - http://teacherchallenge.edublogs.org/blogging-with-students/ Social Media - http://www.teq.com/blog/2013/07/7-steps-on-how-to-use-the-new-edmodo/#.U_TF7Pk7vWc Technology in general - http://www.edudemic.com/9-wrong-and-8-right-ways-students-should-use-technology/
As the last article suggest - technology is amazing, but it is just a tool in our every growing toolbox of teaching implements. Just like when a shop teacher hands over a saw, we have to teach our students to be responsible with the tools they have available to them. We don't want them cutting their hands off with a saw, do we? Are cell phones as dangerous? Maybe not physically, but they can be used in ways that are harmful to themselves or others. We don't get good carpenters without training them. What makes us think we will get good digital citizens without training them?
Interview with Mary Carney, High School History Teacher Me: How has technology changed during your tenure as an educator? M. Carney: I have taught for 9 years in the same high school. In that time I have transitioned from using an overhead projector with transparencies, to a projector that connects to a pc, to a mobile smart board, to a permanent smart board with a laptop that has the appropriate smart software. In 9 years I have not had the same level of technology for more than a year or two. On one hand it has been wonderful to see the level of technology increase and on the other hand it has been a constant job to keep up with the changing technology without the appropriate professional development or technical support. There has also been a tremendous change in student data software. I began my career keeping physical grade and plan books. All discipline referrals were hand written and submitted in person (often prompting a conversation between myself and the administrator about the situation). Book lists, attendance, and other administrative tasks were all paper based. While the implementation of this new software was unnecessarily difficult, the end result is a much more efficient and certainly more earth-friendly system. Additionally, the technology available to students has increased dramatically in the 9 years that I have been in the classroom. When I began, many students had cell phones that functioned almost exclusively as phones. Throughout the last decade texting, social media, smart phone technology, and addictive smart phone games have all entered the classroom with positive and negative results. While the students have the amazing new ability to access virtually all of the world's information at their fingertips, they are constantly distracted with games and social media.
Me: How have those changes changed the way you teach? M. Carney: I have tried to adapt my practices to keep up with technology. Of note, I have moved most of my content to an online format that supports the in-class instruction. I use a free online blog format to provide notes, class announcements, parent information, extra credit, and homework to my students. I believe that the blog has been a great change in the way I assign homework because my students can interact with the homework in a way that replicates work they will have as professionals. Each homework assignment is a blog post that consists of reading, a video, a webquest, audio, or an interactive activity and several questions. In the field of history, this is especially important because it breaks the students free of the narrow thinking that textbook sections and questions require and promotes higher order thinking skills. It also requires students to develop computer skills that will serve them in a modern world. Finally, it allows them to see the academic use of the internet that they will encounter in college.
One goal I have for myself this year is to incorporate the new technology in our school more in the day to day lessons in my classroom. Specifically, I want to learn that many ways I can use my smartboard and its corresponding software now that it is fully available.
Me: What do you think is the next trend in technology and the classroom? M. Carney: In the field of history and social studies, like many other fields, I hope the next trend is the globalization of the classroom. It would be amazing to facetime/skype with high school students from around the world. It would be wonderful to learn about other cultures from the people of the region itself. Imagine the experts that can be brought directly into the classroom through new technology. However, I feel so strongly that this all will be so much more meaningful in small classes with professional teachers leading them. There is so much value to online learning but I worry that society will lose sight that it is a distant second to a professional, passionate adult in young people's lives.
Me: What is one piece of technology that all students should have access to in a classroom? M. Carney: Honestly, I do not think there is any one thing that exists today that will level the playing field for all students. As soon as every student has a brand new ipad, a new and even more powerful device will come out and change everything. In a perfect world, a device that can only be used for educational purposes would be wonderful but that is impractical so we need to teach kids how to manage technology and their attention spans.
Me: What is one piece of technology (hardware or software) that no teacher should be without? M. Carney: An electric tea kettle or coffee maker. Just kidding (sort of). I think that teachers need to have a reliable device (laptop, tablet, etc) with a constant and strong internet signal and the ability to project. I also think a fully functional, user-friendly student data system is critical for the operation of a school. Much like my answer to the previous question, I think that more than any specific device, teachers have the responsibility to adapt to new technology constantly and districts have the responsibility to acquire this technology to the best of their ability and train their staff regularly.
I would like to thank Mary Carney for her excellent and enthusiastic participation in this project. I look forward to working with her on advancing technology in the future!
This week's blog post is about digital storytelling. Digital storytelling is just what it sounds like - telling a story using digital resources. Kathy Schrock has an amazing page of collected digital storytelling resources. Here's an example of one that I created as a representative project for the Biomes Lesson Plan that I use in my class. The students normally create a poster to show off the biome they've selected, but with Animoto, you can create short videos to do something very similar. Here it is:
We can use tools like this to help our students meet the standards that we strive for them to reach. For this project we could link to the following two Common Core standards (taken from corestandards.org):
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.2.A Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension. CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.7 Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
We can also use this for technology standards (ISTE) 3b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media 3c. Evaluate and select information sources and digital tools based on the appropriateness to specific tasks
Reflection:
Having actually gone through the process of creating that video, I'm thrilled to add it to my curriculum! It was so fun and easy for me to put together a simple 3 minute video. I will actually use this video as a demonstration to my students for what I expect them to create. The process was simple enough for any student that can do a Google search. I think students will find this process interesting and engaging and means they no longer need to buy posterboards. It took me about 20 minutes to create the whole thing, so I would expect it would take them about twice that - so, conveniently, one class period.
One of the resources I found interesting was from the University of Houston website on digital storytelling. They say "Teacher-created digital stories may also be used to enhance current lessons within a larger unit, as a way to facilitate discussion about the topics presented a story and as a way of making abstract or conceptual content more understandable." This means that I can take part in the fun too! I'm always looking at the projects I assign and wonder how I would do them. Maybe it stems from me not being challenged in my education to be creative while learning at the same time. I think that if I share my own digital storytelling with my students, they will relate better to the material and to the class in general. Another resource that I could use for this particular project is Meograph. Meograph allows the creation of map-based or timeline-based digital stories. Students could link particular places to their stories - very useful in a geography lesson! Students can upload images and add music and voice to the project as it moves from place to place (or time to time). They give this example on their website - if you're a basketball fan you might like it. Plus, the image links to an article about Meograph from Visual News.
WeVideo is another great online digital storytelling resource. They are an online video editing software. Students can upload footage or import footage from other sites. They have a variety of tools based on the individuals experience with video editing. One of the best things they have is collaborative editing! Students can work together to produce a video of whatever the project might be. Again, they have an excellent video demonstration of their software.
Finally - I must thank the following website for the great images I found and used in my video. A lot of them are student created project - oh the irony.
http://biomedesertvacationproject.weebly.com/ - The Map of Desert Biomes, the Armadillo Lizard & the Food Web.
http://desertbiomepro.weebly.com/symbioticcompetitive-relationships.html - for the snake picture
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/grassland-biome-animals-and-plants.html - for the Armadillo picture
http://www.buncee.com/buncee/32676 - for the various desert images
http://bioexpedition.com/desert-tortoise/ - for the desert tortoise
http://www.glogster.com/ultmawolf/desert-biome/g-6lvg8kra9tav5aqq5micga0 - for the scorpion
http://laurentmikhail.hubpages.com/hub/Desert-Biome - for the adorable fox
https://biomee.wikispaces.com/Desert+Biome - for the barrel cactus
http://facstaff.gpc.edu/~jaliff/biome.htm - for the saguaro
http://www1.whsd.k12.pa.us/courses/J0088/Biomes_Webhunt/plants-desert.htm - prickly pears
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larrea_tridentata - for the creosote bush
Today I'm looking at two documentaries - Digital_Nation and Generation Like and answering some questions for my class. The first documentary is about how the proliferation of technology is affecting the population. It discusses multi-tasking, social relationships, gaming, virtual worlds and learning. The second one (as its title suggests) is more about the use of social media by the population. Not just technology - it's looking more at how the Facebook craze of 'likes' affects corporate activity. So there's the brief overview, here's the questions:
1. Compare and Contrast each documentary. What was similar or different from the first one Digital Nation filmed in 2010 to Generation Like filmed in 2014 ?
So, the first documentary is really looking at the technology that is up and coming - video games, social networks, virtual reality, etc. It examines how schools, the military, corporation, etc. are using the technology. While the second video assumes the technology is in place and focuses on the social media only. Facebook, twitter, instagram and others are all the focus of the film.
2. Your thoughts on multitasking. Do you agree? Can you multitask? Do you disagree with the video on the topic of multitasking? What do you think our students think about multitasking today?
I do agree with the idea that multitasking slows you down. While I can multi-task, I realize that it's not the best way for me to be productive. For this blog post, for example, I have turned off the TV (which was only playing music), I disconnected from Facebook, I even made sure my dog wasn't bothering me. All because I wanted to produce better work.
I don't think the human brain is any different now than it was 30 years ago, so I don't think teenagers are any better at multitasking now then I was when I was a kid. I think they believe they can and they use that as an excuse to diminish their own potential. They see the work that their producing as quality work when it's not. "A" students are becoming "C" students because they think that the "C" work they are producing is the best they can do because they are doing it while they are multitasking.
How many things can we accomplish at once?
3. Is there an addiction happening in society today with technology or is it just a new way of living? Should we be concerned?
I believe children are addicted to their cell phones. But not the device itself, but rather that feeling they get when someone responds or likes or re-tweets their ideas. Its sort of like the basis of drug addiction. The drugs are altering their brain chemistry to make them feel happy or relaxes or whatever. Children are getting good feelings from their social networks. Its almost Pavlovian. Should we be concerned? I think we need to keep an eye out for signs, just like any addiction. For the two students from the first documentary that died after a video game binge, there should have been signs, but they were ignored. Or this precious human being who starved his own child to death because he was busy playing games. We need to be aware that the potential for addiction is there and keep our eyes open for it.
4. Do video games serve a purpose in education or are they a waste of time?
I believe they can serve a purpose because it allows students to see things in action. To see how these things respond to their actions. Virtual worlds are much cheaper than real worlds. So, I might have students play a game to examine the effects of mining on an environment. I can't really have them mine, but these games act as models for them to see what may happen. There are even some studies that say they may help improve motivation.
5. How did what you watched in the two videos support your feelings about technology or how did it change your views?
I had seen parts of the first video previously - so I already shared some of the beliefs that they expressed. I often have the conversation in classes with students who claim they can multi-task, but I can clearly see their work is sub-par. Generation Like really supported my thoughts on how Facebook and social media influence these students. It really makes me think that using social media for education may be the way to go. My previous blog posts about Edmodo, for example, may be more important to my future as an educator than I thought.
6. Are kids and adults today ruining their digital footprints by sharing too much information online without realizing that it may be detrimental to their future? Should they care? Are they focused on too much of what others think?
As the second video really expressed, the social media craze is all about what other people think. Students can become members of groups that are spread across the country and across the world. They can get their 'empowerment' from anywhere in the world. They are becoming more social and less social at the same time. One of the problems I think they might run into is that they are lacking experiences that they might have had if they hadn't been so focused on the one or two ideas/topics. As the generations change, I think the digital footprints will become less egregious. As these students grow up, they will teach their own children about good digital citizenship and their experiences can be passed on to a new generation of digital natives.
7. What do you feel are the dangers of technology use? Are there any?
I don't think technology is inherently dangerous, I think is up to the individual to use the technology wisely. I mean, I could bully any number of students on Facebook, but I'm an ethical and moral person. Technology can be used for good or for evil - it's all about what we teach our children to do with it.
Overall, I enjoyed both documentaries. Though I had seen parts of the first one, I enjoyed seeing the rest of it. I like to see material that is based in science - the study on multi-tasking for example. I can use this very documentary in my classroom to help students understand their own potential. The second documentary, I enjoyed, but it was kind of depressing. It shows how children are being manipulated by the corporate monster into advertising to themselves at no cost to the corporation. Media is having a bigger impact on students lives than teachers are it seems and that makes me kid of sad.
And now the final piece of this week's assignment - the Podcast! Yes, you get to hear my voice when you hit the play button. It's not funny, but it's not boring either. I hope. Enjoy!
Digital Citizenship. What the heck is that? Well, to put it simply, it's the responsibility of someone to treat digital media in a respectful way. There are 9 basic tenets to the idea of digital citizenship. Feel free to read them, I'll wait. Done? Good - it's a good read and I'm glad you did it. So, now that you know what it is the next question is - who's job is it to teach digital citizenship? Is it mine? Is it yours?
Well, the answer (in my humble opinion) is - it's everyone's. When we teach good citizenship (analog), it falls to the community to do so. The parents, the neighbors, the teachers, the peers, etc. If you walk into a Wendy's, you don't reach over the counter and take money from the register. Why? Because our society has dictated that to be a bad thing. We put those people in jail where they are supposed to learn to be better citizens (supposed to be - this is not a rant on the jail system). Digital citizenship falls to the community as well - it's the bloggers and the web gurus and the parents and the teachers and the peers that teach it. For the parents and the teachers, it's often a struggle to understand the rules at all. But there's hope! There are articles like this and websites like this that help parents and teachers learn more about how to teach our children how to be good citizens in the digital arena.
Children need to be fed, even digitally.
Good digital citizens are not born, they are crafted. Here is a lesson from the Teaching Channel for elementary students. It's about 7 minutes long (in case you're planning your day).
So you can see digital citizenship should start young. Some argue we should start younger - as soon as they receive their first piece of technology. When does a student get their first cell phone? Children are not born knowing how to use them. They have to be taught. You don't hand your ten year-old a chainsaw and say "Go!" You instruct and demonstrate, you create a good "chainsaw citizen" as it were. Now, clearly you wouldn't give a chainsaw to your 4 year old. Well, you might, but that's another story.
Not all elements of digital citizenship are created equal. For example, I don't think we should teach digital commerce until children are in their early teens. But rights and responsibilities should be taught as early as possible. But again, it's the responsibility of the community to teach them. We must all make sure that the standards we want are the standards we live by.
So, for my Learning through Technology class I will be creating a WebQuest. What is a WebQuest you ask? Well, you can think of it this way - it's an assignment where our brave heroes (the students) wander the wilds (the Internet) looking for knowledge (the lesson objectives). There's a better definition at WebQuest.org. Or you could watch this video.
So the topic I'm choosing for my WebQuest is genetics. Genetics is one of the hardest topics that I teach. Waaaaay back in my undergraduate days, I struggled with genetics. My students aren't in college so I can only imagine how hard it is for them. One of the most important things to understand is the basic structure of DNA. If this were a bridge, I could show them pictures and have them build one out of toothpicks using the basic laws of physics. For DNA, I can show them pictures and make them build models, but that really doesn't give them the extent of what the molecule is all about. High school students (aged 14-16 for my classes) learn in a variety of different ways (multiple intelligences) and using a WebQuest will allow them to explore the topic on their own and learn in the way they find easiest.
What does it all mean?
Here are a couple of WebQuests related to genetics and the cell in general just to give you an idea of what I'm trying to do. All of them came from Quest Garden - a huge library of WebQuests created by teachers all over the world.
The DNA Learning Center is the main website for my WebQuest. It has a lot of 3D animations of the molecules and processes with both basic and advanced topics. My hope is that students will go to this website (among others) and dig deep enough into the structure of DNA that when they build a model, they have a much greater understanding of what they're building. Instead of them seeing blue and green plastic pieces they will see adenine and thymine. I think one of the best ways to do that is to have the students create an animation of their own. My classroom does animation using PlayDoh and stop motion photography for a couple of different topics. However, I have recently learned how to do animation with PowerPoint! So I think I will have them wrap the whole project with their own animations.
So there you have it - the beginnings of a WebQuest. I look forward to showing off the results as the process is completed.
The most recent post from Angela's blog (June 28th) is a short one about a book called A World Gone Social(Coine & Babbitt). Angela did a recap of the major points of the book and linked a video interview she did with the authors. One of the major points is that we are not in a technology age, but rather in a social age. They explain that it's not the technology that's changing our world, but rather the ability that technology has given us to "connect and be productive". One of the ideas that I really liked was the idea that the role of the educator has changed along with the age. The blog doesn't expand on the idea, but I think that it's fundamentally true. With student's abilities to communicate on a global scale, we are changing how they work and how they learn. The authors believe that companies have to adapt to this style of environment and thus as educators we have to prepare them for that.
I like this blog overall. It's short and precise without being to wordy or technical. One of my pet peeves is buzzwords and she stays away from them for the most part. One of the things I don't like about the blog is the volume of "other stuff". I understand some people use their blogs for an income so ads are necessary and I understand the desire to display one's credentials, but the combination of the two makes the site look busy and over done. I'm not sure how this blog can help me better understand technology, but it does has some excellent ideas about education. Between the blog posts about specific events, she discusses things like collaboration and how to engage students. There was an interesting post about the 2-5-2 method. Stuff like that I find interesting - it's stuff I can use immediately without going and doing my own hours and hours of research.
Darren is a doctor of education (EdD) and the director of education technology at Canyons School District. Plus, he's an awesome blogger. I really enjoy his writing style, it's engaging and thoughtful plus it includes all the background material he draws his conclusions from. Now, this may be because I agree with him on the posts that I read, but I think he's brilliant. I don't find any negatives about this blog. It's well constructed, there are good tabs and excellent post sorting techniques. It flows well and its easy to read. So, I guess, you might say its' too good?
One of the post I enjoyed most was his post on cell phones for children. It's a great look at how students learn technology and how they adapt to it. Like anything, they have to learn how to use their phones. I would love all of my parents to read this post because it has some excellent insight on how to introduce and teach children about this ubiquitous piece of tech. This really leads me to think about how parents learn these things. They are coming into this technology in a very different time in their lives. Do we, as educators, need to educate parents? Would a one night seminar help parents navigate these waters?
The first post I read was a review of a piece of technology. Very helpful! She has used and tested out this device and even goes over some of the finer points of it. For a technology blog, it's a great post. For an education blog, not as great, but the second post was fantastic. I don't think it's necessary for a great blog to hit both education and technology in every post. And the second post (about PowerPoint) actually taught me a valuable technique in animation. Here's the video on the basics of how to do it. It's narrated by a student, which I think is fantastic.
Over all the blog is good. Visually it's a little sterile for me, but she includes images and links in her work efficiently. The blog has an excited feel to it. As I was reading it, I felt like Kathy was super excited about this topic and sharing it with everyone. That makes me want to keep reading her work.
Okay - there you have it. The Great Hunt for the Blog has resolved and these three fine resources are at your disposal. Good hunting, my friends! Part 2 to follow.
Are we getting social? Well, the webinar above would like us
to. PBS hosted a webinar entitled Let’s Get Social! How to Effectively Incorporate
Social Media Into Your Classroom. The webinar was split into two parts – the first
was hosted by a marketing specialist from Edmodo (Lucia Giacomantonio) and the
second half was hosted by the PBS moderator (Mike Gormanhttp://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/).
Mike Gorman & Lucia Giacomantonio
As you can imagine
the first half was all about Edmodo. Edmodo is a social media website for
teachers to engage students in an alternative way. In her part of the webinar,
Lucia discussed some of the basic functions of the site. The site has similar functions to Facebook,
including postings and groups, but it also has a number of functions dedicated
to the educational side of social media. The site allows you to quiz your
students and track their progress as well as store files of various types to be
used later. All in all, Edmodo has a great deal of potential for helping build
an online experience for the classroom.
In an effort to validate that last sentence, I went to
Edmodo and created an account. It’s remarkably easy to do and the site doesn't ask
for a great deal of information (unlike Facebook and other social media sites).
I created a group and explored the site – even though the webinar was from
October of last year, the site remains remarkably the same. I created a group
for my (future) biology classes and explored their links to the common core
(which my school system is switching too in 2015, I think). There are quite a few teachers that have
already created projects/quizzes that they have shared through the Discover section
demonstrated by Lucia. It has a great deal of potential. I currently use a wikispaces website (DHSAPBiology) for one of my classes. Its a bit clunky, but it does the job I need it to do. I think I might migrate over to Edmodo next year - it has more visual appeal for the students and may seem more familiar to them. Familiarity leads to comfort and I would love to have discussions with students initiated online!
Online Learning is just one path
The second half of the webinar was a general overview of how
to use social media in the classroom. The moderator reviewed some basic
guidelines to stick to and things that we as teachers should do to help
students learn. One of the first things that he shows is a list of available
social media tools – not just Edmodo, but also Kidblog, Classchatter and
Schoology. Along with the list Mike reviews some basics of creating an online experience for your students. These are simple things to keep in mind that we as teachers might take for granted. I've often had an experience of trying to create an online resource only to be frustrated by the process not going smoothly or not having all of my ducks in a row. I found the list of tips to be just what I needed to make the process more fun for me as well as the students. One of the basic tips is "Learn the Ropes", understanding how the product you're using works is extremely helpful! Our students are often afraid to try things out - they just want to be told how to. If I don't know how to do it, we all get frustrated and then the lesson is one in how to use Edmodo instead of how muscles work (for example).
Mike also gives a helpful document he refers to as a "white paper". The white paper is a PDF of the information that he covers in his half of the webinar. It includes the websites, tips and 10 ideas for improving academic use of the internet. One of the things the list reminds us of is that online discussions are not social media - they are academic forums. As such, students should behave appropriately, following ground rules laid out by the teacher and strictly enforced. For our students to learn good citizenship, we teach them how to act in society. One of our new challenges is to teach them good digital citizenship, how to act in a digital society.
Use of social media continues to grow. A recent study showed that higher education faculty use mirrors the general populations and that more than half of them use social media in a professional context. Still, only about 41% of them use social media in the classroom, but the study suggests that this number is growing year by year. If our colleges are starting to use social media, we have to start using them with our students. My classes all end in CP1 - College Prep. I want them to have all the preparation they can for college and it seems like it must include proper use of social media.
We are facing a dilemma however. I pulled this image from the same study above:
Are we really so conflicted?
It really speaks for itself - we as teachers are trying to embrace a technology that we fear will destroy everything we work so hard to provide for our students. We are creating better learning environments that are more distracting than helpful? What the what?
All in all, I found the webinar very informational. I choose this particular one because of its source (PBS) and because it relates to a topic that I find fascinating. Children are being bombarded by input from all angles these days (TV, YouTube, mp4 players, Google, Spotify, etc.). This technology has erupted in less than a generation. They have no idea how to manage it all and frankly, neither do we as teachers. I have often wondered how such an overwhelming input of information affects their learning process. I think that might have been a question to bring up in the chat box if I had been watching the live webinar. I suspect being involved live provides a lot more opportunity for people to interact with their fellow attendees as well as the speaker and moderator.
So, since this is an assignment I have to include some learning objectives. If you're not my teacher (or a fellow student), you may wish to end here. Here are the learning objectives I accomplished by watching this webinar and creating this post:
1. Learn ways to promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding.
I believe the over of Edmodo helps to accomplish this learning objective. Because I have a basic understanding of the tool, I can use it in the future the help guide my students in a collaborative discussion and use the same to to assess their understanding. The reporting power of edmodo's online quizzes can then allow me to address any misconceptions in class or online (or both!)
2. Demonstrate an understanding of safe, ethical, legal and moral practices related to digital information and technology
Because one of the focuses of this webinar was proper digital citizenship, I think it allowed me to grow my own ideas of what that means. It allowed me to reflect on how students use social media and what I can do to help them develop skills to navigate the online arena properly.
Today, I sat in a classroom while 12 juniors worked diligently on a final exam. But their final exam wasn't the standard pen and paper test. I gave them some simple guidelines and asked them to write a letter. The details of the letter don't really matter - the idea does. I asked them to search the internet and craft their letter from what they found. I asked them to find something they found interesting and write about it. The goal was to generate interest in the subject and perhaps influence them to go a little bit further with the information they've accumulated over the semester.
I am fortunate to have access to laptop computers in my classroom. The National Center for Education Statistics reports that 97% of teachers have one or more computers in their classrooms, but the student to computer ratio remains at 5.3 to 1. My classroom is an exception - but does it need to become the norm? Before we had access to computers, we had to schedule library time and have the students look in books to find the information they needed. Now, they can do a Google search to find pretty much anything they need. There were 31 BILLION Google searches per month in 2008 - 10x higher than 2 years previous. This video (from YouTube) is a great collection of statistics on technology penetration across the world:
Statistic like this shouldn't scare people. They should encourage people. They should inform and drive them to innovate. Our children are falling behind in education, ranking 24th in math and 25th in science among industrialized countries. By bringing more technology into our education system we give our students the full advantages of living in the United States. Even student that have never seen a computer can learn from them. MIT did a study with kids in Ethiopia who had never even see printed words. They were able to take a tablet and within days become prolific users and learners. What could our students do if they were given laptops?
Most cynics say "use Facebook" or "text their friends" and that is one way of thinking about it. We can't continue to think of technology as the enemy in schools. We have to give students direction in its use - to become good digital citizens. In other words, we have to be educators. If we can help guide them in the proper use of technology, we can use it to their (and our) advantage. Right now cell phones are taboo - most high schools have some policy which bans cell phones in the classroom. So, students hide them and use them without us "knowing". They become contraband instead of becoming a tool for their learning experience. I recently had a conversation with a student about water quality. During our discussion another student standing by helped out by providing definitions and data that we couldn't recall. And the data was provided quickly allowing the discussion to move on with confidence and real engagement. All from his cell phone.
Teachers fear technology because they don't understand it. I'm a techno-phile and I don't understand 90% of the new technology that's coming out these days. But we can't let that deter us. Angela Watson posted an excellent blog about this very subject. Her take home message? No one is an expert in technology. It's changing so fast that no one can be. As teachers, we're supposed to be experts in our subject areas. We don't have time to even become experts in technology. But we can use Google just like anyone else can. Like Angela said "When you get stuck, Google it." Join the rest of the world and become search number 31 billion and one.
So, this post is about how I use technology on an every day basis. First, let me say that I loooooove technology. I'm a total nerd about new technology, even if I don't understand it. The recent articles on a robotic pancreas (here), the advent of solar roadways (here), and all the other technology news that comes up is just fascinating. It makes my mind whirl with possibilities. One of those possibilities is how will the technology affect my daily life.
In my own life, I use all the standards of the day - cellphone, laptop, desktop, connected TV, tablet, etc. Having the power of a computer in my pocket allows me to schedule important events, remember birthdays and check on future dates. I can play games when I'm bored, I can look up directions to a restaurant or store, I can check the prices on the item I'm looking at in the store. My cell phone is a powerful device! I can even look up information from the vast pool of the internet.
Of course, none of this is news to anyone reading this. As a teacher, I encounter that last one fairly frequently from the other side. Students in my classroom love to look up information and tell me tidbits from the web. Recent surveys put the numbers at 70% for teenagers and 79% for young adults as smartphone owners (Nielsen). This means that most of my class has instant access to supplemental information on whatever I'm talking about. But the real question is: Is this a good thing?
As my title suggests, I believe it is. Any time a student is interested in a subject, I want to foster that interest. I want them to delve deeply and participate in the discussion. Does it take their attention away from me? Yes, of course it does. But it keeps their attention on the subject and maybe even carries their attention outside of the classroom. I recently came across the idea of "situational interest" in a class I was taking for my master's degree. Situational interest is the idea of a thirst for knowledge - that by being curious about a subject you gain interest in that subject until such a time as you find the answers you are looking for (source). If students are able to derive their own situational interest by using their phones in the classroom, I hope that we can drive their curiosity and their engagement.
