Course Reflection

As this course comes to a close, I took the time to look back at my personal GAME plan that I had developed at the beginning of the course. The personal goals that I had set for myself were:

1.)                engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resource

 

2.)                collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.

 

As result of creating a personal GAME plan I think about the new learning that has occurred. I have gained more of an understanding about what I can do to strengthen my students technology and communication skills. With each week’s new topics and time spent reviewing my GAME plan, I gained knowledge and many new ideas and resources to help me accomplish the personal goals that I had set out.  Through the course, I have learned more about problem-based learning, online collaboration, and digital storytelling. I realized how well these fit into my second goal listed above. Incorporating these forms of learning into my curriculum will provide students with engaging and meaningful learning experiences. Creating a GAME plan has forced me to look at lessons in a different way. Before I thought about how time consuming and long it would be to try and incorporate this into my own lesson plans. But after completing this course, I can now see the benefits. My new learning will definitely have a positive impact on my instructional practice. It will remind me to look deeper and more carefully at the way I teach. It will also be a constant reminder to add technology, real-world examples, and collaboration into my lessons. The GAME plan that I have developed for myself and my students is still a work in progress. Like I had mentioned in a previous post, I do not know that I will ever meet my goal as I will continue to strive to do better with each new implementation.

Additionally, this has been one of my favorite classes that I have taken thus far. Each week there has been something new that I have learned about incorporating technology into the classroom. The best thing about this course was the idea that everything learned is applicable to any age group. One of the immediate adjustments that I plan to make in my instructional practice is the idea of adding more digital storytelling into my lessons. As Dr. Abrams (2010) discussed in Spotlight on Technology, it can be integrated into any subject area. Seeing how it can be used across the curriculum encouraged me search different ways I can use it in my 3^rd grade classroom.

Another change that I see taking place is the implementation of a classroom blog. The blog will allow my students, parents, and I to communicate events and document learning that is taking place at school. Adding this online collaboration tool into my classroom will increase communication and collaboration amongst the students. It will serve as a great space for parents to keep up on their child’s learning as well as provide us with the opportunity to collaborate with students outside of our classroom. The last change that will take place in my goes along with my first personal goal previously mentioned. Because I plan to engage my students in more real-world and authentic learning experiences, I will need to add more project-based learning activities into my teaching. Therefore, in conjunction with my teaching team, I would like to create more opportunities for my students to participate in authentic learning experiences. Together, we will brainstorm ideas that will align with our common core standards.

In the end, technology is becoming more pervasive in our students lives. Because students are using technology on a daily basis it only seems natural to combine it with the rest of their learning. Adding technology into my lessons will stimulate critical thinking and creative thinking skills. I realize that this will not all happen overnight. It will take time, research, and dedication to be sure it is meeting the needs of my students. Most importantly, I cannot do this alone. I will be looking to my peers, students, and parents for support throughout this process as well. Sure it will take time, but the end result is what matters most. Through all of this, I want my students to be able to see that learning can be fun, engaging, meaningful, and powerful all at the same time. By adding various forms technology into classroom I know this goal can be met.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Spotlight on technology: Digital storytelling, part one. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Monitoring My Game Plan

As I review my GAME plan that I have been developing over the past few weeks, I feel that the process and the research involved is going well. The first goal that I have been working on is engaging students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. Authors Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) express that authentic instruction requires students to demonstrate an understanding of concepts and perform skills within a context by replicating real-world performances. One way that I have been working on this goal is by searching Edutopia. Edutopia is an educational site that provides educators with many different teaching ideas that focus on various authentic and real-world issues. I signed up to receive weekly e-mail alerts from them as well. Doing so, I am able to get updates and new ideas each week. I have also been looking at our common core standards for 3^rd grade and have been finding ways that I can incorporate authentic and real-world learning experiences with our new standards.

As for my second standard collaborating with students peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation it is also going well. I have taken advice from what my colleagues from both my Walden community and school and have looked further into the different types of blogs to use to communicate. After researching, I plan using Blogger to communicate with parents, students, and my Walden community. I found that it was the easiest to use and there were a lot of options for add-ons as well.

Overall, I feel that my action plan is coming along well. At this time I do not feel that I need to change and or make any adjustments to my plan. I have learned that there are many options for my students when it comes to implementing technology into the classroom. There are tons of websites, blogs, journals, etc. that I have utilized to find resources to help me accomplish my goals. Basically, I have learned there is no excuse to not implement these standards into the curriculum. With everything that is out there, it just takes a little time and planning to accomplish this.

A question that I continue to ask myself throughout this process is when do I know I have accomplished my goal? To me, I feel like these are ongoing goals to have in the classroom. Should there be a point where we just say that is it, I met my goal and I am done? As teachers I feel that we are never done meeting goals because we are constantly working and striving to do better than before. Also, education and technology are constantly changing, so to stay current with the times I do not think there is a stopping point. So I guess I answered my own question. What are your thoughts on this?

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.

Carrying out the GAME Plan

Last week I posted my personal GAME plan to enhance my technology knowledge. The goals I chose to focus on were:

1.)    engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resource

 

2.)    collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.

One of the actions that I have taken to start this process is to search various blogs and teachers web pages to instill some ideas and creative juices in myself. I have become a follower to many blogs written by other teachers that focus on my grade level as well as grade levels above and below 3^rd grade. I can always take an idea and adapt it to my own grade level. In addition to following other educator blogs, I have also been following my colleague’s blogs from Walden. Becoming a follower of these blogs has allowed me to stay up to date on the information that is posted each time. I have been able to gain so many ideas and viewpoints from a variety of people in the teaching profession. In addition to subscribing to blogs, I have been using Pinterest to search for ideas. This amazing virtual pin board allows to me save the ideas that I have found so I have them for later. Moving to a new grade level this year, I have used Pinterest a lot to pin ideas on the new curriculum I am teaching. If you haven’t checked it out, I HIGHLY suggest it! But be forewarned, it is addicting! Here are some of my favorite blogs that I am following right now. Check them out!

Step Into 2nd Grade

What the Teacher Wants

My Life as a 3rd Grade Teacher

Teaching in Flip Flops

Furthermore, there are still things that I need to do to accomplish my goals. One of the things that is at the top of my list is creating a blog for my students, parents, colleagues, and I. Creating a blog will allow me to collaborate with a wide range of people. Students will be able to use the blog to update what is happening in class as well. I will be able to post announcements, assignments, and projects they have created. I feel that creating a blog will really bring out the collaboration piece that I am trying to reach.  Right now we have a Facebook page, but I do not feel that it is individualized enough for my students. With the blog I feel that they will be able to take more ownership of their learning. They will be allowed to contribute to the blog as well. I plan on using Blogger since I am used to the format and it is easy for the students and I both to post to. Does anyone else use a blog for their classroom? What other important factors should I think about before I get started?

GAME TIME

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) are standards for students, teachers, and administrators to lead the digital age. Reviewing the 5 technology standards for teachers was a great refresher as to what we should be focusing on when incorporating technology into lesson plans. With that being said, I chose two indicators as a priority for my classroom and students. The first indicator is 1.b (engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources). As a third grade teacher this year, I am trying to use technology in the classroom so it has meaning. I feel that focusing on this indictor will allow me to provide students with authentic learning experiences.

The second indicator I would like to enhance is indicator 3.b (collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation).  In this standard I would like to focus on the collaboration of students. I think it is so important to allow students to collaborate with one another. It is a great way to enhance their learning.

Developing a GAME plan is an important part of technology integration. Authors Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer explain that GAME is an acronym which stands for: goal, action, monitor, and evaluate (2010).

Here is my personal GAME plan:

Set Goal: My first goal is to create lessons that are meaningful for third grade students that integrate real-world issues.  Setting this as a goal, it will give me the opportunity to create more authentic learning experiences for my students. My second goal is to collaborate with students to enrich learning through various technology tools.

Take Action: In order to make these goals come to life, I will have research what other teachers are doing. I plan to do this by searching blogs, websites, and journals. Doing so will give me a good idea on how I can achieve my goals.

Monitor Your Learning: It will definitely be important for me during this time to track my personal learning and progress. Doing so will allow me to make improvements for the future.

Evaluate and Extend Your Learning: At the culmination of each project, I will have to take the time to reflect upon changes that I can make to make the learning experience even better for the future. Reflecting and finding alternatives will give me a chance to continue to improve. The continuous reflection will help me to see if I have met my goals, and what I have to continue to do to meet them.

 

Now that I have a plan in place, it is time to get in the GAME!

Resources:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2010). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage           Learning.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National education standards      for teachers (NETS-T). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Reflection

As I reflect back on my “Personal Theory of Learning” from week one, I was pleased to see that what I stated in week one still holds true at the end of this course. Not much of what I mentioned has changed. Looking back on my paper I noticed a section that stated this:

 “I feel that children learn best from one another. When placed in a cooperative learning environment, children have the opportunities to be active learners. Also in this form of learning, each child is given the opportunity to showcase his or her own personal talents. From my own personal classroom experience, I have noticed that the information sticks with the children longer when he or she is involved”

Looking back on all of the theories and instructional tools we applied in this course, learning is just as mentioned above, giving students the opportunity to be active learners. As Dr. Michael Orey stated throughout the seven weeks of video segments, the best learning takes place when children are engaged and have multiple opportunities to learn (Laureate Education Inc., 2011). This course has reminded me of all the various learning theories that can be applied in the classroom. I have deepened my knowledge in the fact that I now know and understand how to apply each theory more effectively in the classroom. I have definitely gained an understanding of how to successfully incorporate technology such as VoiceThread, wikis, iPads etc. into my curriculum. I am pleased to say I have many new ideas that I can add to my curriculum next fall.

As a result of this class, I will also be making some adjustments to my instructional practice regarding how I use technology. I have learned that I have to adjust the way I use instructional tools in the classroom. My goal is to be more proactive in creating learning tools that the students can use. Creating these types of lessons will allow my students to be more active learners. As Orey stated in Instructional Tools vs. Learning Tools I need to train my brain and ask myself “What can the child do with the technology?” (Laureate Education Inc., 2011). As a result, I plan to use virtual field trips more next year. I thought this was a great way to get the students involved in the learning. There were many virtual field trips that presented opportunities for students to be engaged and gain meaningful information from. Another technology I intend to use more frequently is SpiderScibe. I love how interactive and involved the students could be while creating a concept map. I felt that it really allowed them to critically think about the topic at hand while keeping them engaged in the process. Not to mention all of the activities in our Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works books too. By the looks of it, I will be one busy teacher come next fall.

Overall, my long terms goals for incorporating technology into the classroom include using technology in a way that involves the students first hand in the learning. By doing this, I will be creating lessons that will be powerful for any age group. Another goal I have is to begin to incorporate more project based learning into the classroom. Moving into third grade, I feel that I will have more of an opportunity to achieve this goal. I will have the opportunity to split the students up into cooperative learning groups and across many other subject areas besides reading. Through this course I have learned that in the end, I need to be a facilitator of learning and let the kids do the work.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program eleven: Instructional strategies, Part one [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program thirteen: Technology: Instructional tool vs. learning tool [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

Voice Thread

Here is a voice thread I made about a current problem my school is facing. If you have not tried voice thread yet, I suggest you do! It was super easy and  may serve as a great teaching tool in the future.

Enjoy and please feel free to leave comments :)

http://voicethread.com/share/3154502/

Social Learning Theory

This week’s resources presented information on social constructivism. Michael Orey states that when children are engaged in social activities, meaningful learning can occur (2001). One way to ensure meaningful learning is taking place is through cooperative learning. Cooperative learning focuses on having students interact with each other in groups. Orey states, “the purpose of cooperative learning is to actively involve students in the learning process" (2001).

After reviewing the resources from this week, it is evident that technology can be used to support social constructivism. One example mentioned in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works was ePALs. ePALS gives the students the capability to communicate cross-culturally with students from different parts of the world. Essentially, ePALS is like having a virtual pen pal. I feel that this would be a great way for students to interact with one another and be able to compare and contrast each other’s lifestyles. Although this is something I have not used before in the classroom, I am intrigued and wouldn’t mind trying it out next year with my students.

Furthermore, Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski discuss the idea of collaborative organizing. This idea allows teachers to collaborate over the Web to share calendars, bookmarks, and Web links (Pitler et al., 2007, pg. 149). The text mentions del.icio.us as a resource. Del.icio.us can help one keep track of websites, music, book and more in one place where they can be easily found. I am sure that many teachers use some form of bookmarking in the classroom. Here a site similar to del.icio.us that was brought to my attention at a reading conference earlier this year. The site is called Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a bookmarking site that allows you to create bookmarks to your favorite websites using symbols. If you have any kind of Apple device you are familiar with the look of app tile, the symbols on this site are fairly similar. It is a very easy collaborative organizing tool to use. It has been very helpful this year working with younger children because the children remember the pictures better than the names of the websites. Check out this tutorial to get an idea of how you can begin to organize your own. Here is my personal Symbaloo I started.

Lastly, I believe the social learning theories are very important for today's students. As an educator it is my job to guarantee that my students are able to communicate and learn with one another. After reviewing the learning resources this week, there are many instructional strategies and technologies that one can use to enhance cooperative learning in the classroom.

References:

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

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

Constuctionism, Constuctivism, and Technology

What is the difference between constructionism and constructivism? Well if you are anything like me then you are asking yourself this question a lot! Although they sound and look the same, they are different in when it comes to learning. Michael Orey describes constructivism as a theory of knowledge while constructionism is described as a theory of learning (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). In simpler terms, constructivism allows students to construct his or her own meaning while learning and the theory of constructionism allows students to learn while they creating.

One instructional strategy that correlates with constructivism and constructionism is generating and testing hypotheses. Authors Pitler, Hubell, Kuhn, and Malenoski (2007) explain “when students generate and test hypotheses they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content” (Pitler, Hubell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007 pg. 202). Technology can play a big role in generating and testing hypotheses. Though this instructional strategy seems to work better with older students it can be adapted for younger children, especially in science. Also, this theory correlates with constructionism and constructivism in that the children become the investigators. They would able to construct meaning and engage in the creation of an artifact.

 Having the children participate in project based lessons will allow them to be actively engaged. When related to real-world experiences, learning is enhanced and becomes more meaningful for students. Lastly, as Orey mentioned in Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning, “PBL learning advantages, increased motivation, increased problem solving, improved research skills, and increased collaboration” (Orey, 2001). So I guess, overall, my question for you is, what are you waiting for?

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). [Webcast]. Constructionist and constructivist learning theories. Baltimore: Laureate Media.

 Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

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

Cognitive Learning and Technology

This week we examined the cognitive learning theory.  The cognitive theory differs from the behaviorist theory we learned about last week in that the cognitive theory focuses on mind and the information in which it processes. As Michael Orey mentioned in Cognitive Learning Theory video, “cognitive learning revolves around information processing” (Laureate Education Inc., 2010a). Orey also discussed how the cognitive learning is about making connections to other ideas.
 
In Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, we read about instructional strategies that support the cognitive learning theory. According to, “cues, questions, and advance organizers focuses on enhancing student’s ability to retrieve, use, and organize information about a topic” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, and Malenoski, 2007). More specifically, cues are reminders or hints, questions trigger the students’ memory while advance organizers help students classify and make sense of the content.  This is done through the use of word processing applications, spreadsheets, brainstorm software, and multimedia applications. Concept maps are a great fit into this instructional strategy because it is a visual that children can use to connect information. Using concept maps is also a way for children to keep information organized which is essentially the idea of using cues, questions, and advance organizers. 

The cognitive learning theory is also present in summarizing and note taking. This instructional strategy focuses on enhancing students’ ability to synthesize information and condense into a brief new form. As stated in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, “teachers work on helping students separate important information from extraneous information and state the information in their own form” (Pitler, et al., 2007). There are many technologies that support summarizing and note taking. I especially liked the idea of a classroom Wiki. During the last class, we were to create a class Wiki. The Wiki served as a space for us to communicate, and store information in organized files. The use of this collaborative tool in the classroom will allow students to share resources, edit Web pages, as well as take notes and summarize content (Pitler, et al., 2007). I think creating a classroom Wiki would be such a powerful tool for children to communicate inside and outside of the classroom.

 

In the end, teaching with the cognitive learning process in mind can be effective for our children. Above all, as Orey discussed, it is important that we make as many connections as possible to the information learned as much as we possibly can so that they store information for long term use. Therefore, I encourage teachers to try some of the ideas mentioned above to make learning last beyond the lesson.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011a). Program five: Cognitive learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

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

Behaviorism in Practice

I have recently started a new class for my Masters program entitled Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology. Thus far the class has been interesting and has focused on some interesting information such as learning theories.

This week the topic at hand was behaviorism. Behaviorism is used in most classrooms in one way or another. In the learning resources this week, Michael Orey explained that a behaviorist theory of learning focuses on the different behaviors that children exhibit (Laureate Education Inc., 2011). Behaviorism in the classroom focuses on positive and negative behaviors that a teacher either wants to continue or discontinue. Orey described the two forms of behavior as desirable and undesirable.  In an educational setting, most teachers use behaviorism as a form of classroom management. As Orey mentions in the Behaviorist learning theory video, “behaviorism is a powerful strategy for managing behavior” (Laureate Education Inc., 2011).

One strategy that is tied to behaviorism was present in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Authors Pitler, Hubell, Kuhn, and Malenoski explain the instructional strategy reinforcing effort. As stated in the text, “reinforcing effort enhances student’s understanding of the relationship between effort and achievement by addressing their attitudes and beliefs about learning” (Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K., 2007). This theory teaches children about the importance of effort. Using technology allows one use surveys, spreadsheets, rubrics etc. to provide teachers with data to encourage students to try harder. I have used Survey Monkey before with my students after the completion of an assignment. This was done more so to gain an understanding of what I could do better in to teacher the particular assignment, but after reading this chapter, I realize that it can be used to track student’s efforts too. Another form of tracking that I enjoyed reading about was the idea of tracking data in a spreadsheet to monitor their learning. Personally, this seems powerful because the children are showing ownership of their learning. Although I have not tried in the classroom year, I would definitely like to try it soon.

Another strategy researched this week was the use of homework and practice in the classroom. I know what this is still a strategy takes place within our own education settings. As Pitler, Hubell, Kuhn, and Malenoski mention in this week’s text, “Homework and practice gives students a chance to review and apply that they have taught (Pitler et al., 2007). This strategy is used by many teachers as a way to allow children to deepen their understanding of the content that is being taught. I really liked and agreed with the comment made in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works about if homework is assigned it should be commented on. Doing so will provide the students with a sense of reinforcement and a behavior that will be most likely be repeated. There are many web resources that one can use as well to practice concepts and skills repeatedly from their home. There are several websites that provide interactive practice. Our teachers have a website called Porta Portal for the students that has a breakdown of websites in each subject area. The children are highly encouraged to use this site as a means of practice.  The Behaviorist Orientation to Learning sates that activity is important, “learning is better when the learning is active rather than passive” (Smith, 1999). Using these websites will strengthen student’s skills in an engaging manner, while it generates feedback for me too. This then creates more opportunities for learning and a chance to challenge them.

As one can see, behaviorism is used in many ways in the classroom. After reviewing the material this week, it is evident that technology can increase the effort, achievement, and homework practices for students.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2011). Program four: Behaviorist learning theory [Video webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Retrieved from http://laureate.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=5700267&CPURL=laureate.ecollege.com&Survey=1&47=2594577&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=0&bhcp=1

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

Smith, K. (1999). The behaviorist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm

Course Reflection

From the beginning, I knew this was going to be a beneficial class. After reviewing the syllabus during week one and seeing all of the things I was about to learn excited me too. Also seeing things I have wanted to try in my own classroom was a bonus too. This course has really opened my eyes to the possibilities out there when it comes to incorporating technology into the classroom. Taking this class has helped me in many ways. Not only has it taught me more about what 21^st-century skills are, but it also taught me how to be more of a 21^st-centruy teacher. In addition, I have learned more about how to use and implement wikis, podcasts, and blogs into my classroom as well. Before taking this class, I was intrigued by the idea using these in my classroom but had no idea how to even start them. So, after completing the assignments for class, I feel more confident about incorporating them into my teaching.

I have deepened my knowledge on the teaching and learning process throughout the course in many ways. The one area that really struck a chord with me was the idea of being more of a facilitator to the children. Being a facilitator of learning to me means creating, guiding, and managing groups. This is very different from the way teaching is now. As David Thornburg and Hall Davidson mention in the video “Digital natives vs. digital immigrants” more and more children are coming into the classroom as digital natives. (Laureate Education Inc., 2010) With this being said, it is now my job to facilitate the knowledge he or she is already bringing to the classroom. In addition, I have also deepened my knowledge on the 21^st-century skills that I am to incorporate into my classroom. After reviewing the Partnership for 21^st-century skills website, I found the 4C’s playing a critical role in my planning. As I plan lessons, I try to implement these skills into my students every day learning.

 Since the beginning of this class, my perspective has also changed on being teacher centered versus learner centered. The projects we completed such as the podcast, wiki, and blog allowed me to realize that most children already know how to do these things on their own so why I am not including them into his or her learning. I also realized that my students are probably more comfortable with these forms of communication than writing things out with paper and pencil. My thoughts before were more focused on the amount of time it would take for them to learn how to use it so I would do most of the work for them. However, after completing this class, I can now understand the importance of allowing them do the brunt of the work while I monitor his or her learning. The switch to more learner-centered activities will take some time to get used to, but I feel there is great potential for the students and their learning in the end.

 As I proceed to expand my knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology my ultimate goal is to increase student achievement. I believe that the most important way to do this is by continuing my education on the topic. I plan to do this through professional development opportunities that arise throughout the school year. There is a technology conference in Columbus, Ohio that I already plan to attend next year. Another way I plan to expand my knowledge is by continuing to follow blogs and journals on the topic and use ideas that I gain from them. Most importantly, I will continue to practice using technology skills in the classroom. Following the old saying, “practice makes perfect” will allow me to improve upon my skills for my future students.

 The statements mentioned above also serves as one of my long term goals for my classroom. As technology continues to change as will the children that enter into my class. Therefore, it is important to keep up on the most current trends and practices so I can be an effective teacher.  My second goal is to reach out more to the others in my building and teach some of our digital immigrants how to be more of a digital native. I plan to do this by offering professional development on various technology skills. More and more teacher are implementing the use of iPads into the classroom. Having a class set has allowed me to learn some of the ins and outs of using them with my students. Therefore, I feel that I could serve as a useful resource to others.

 When I revisited my checklist from week one, I realized that I was not implementing the use of 21^st-century skills into the classroom as well I as I could have been. Knowing more information about it, I feel that I will include it more as well as do it more correctly. Also looking at the checklist, I saw that I was not adding much collaboration into my planning as I do now. This has been a positive change for my children because they have the chance to learn so much from one another.  I was depriving them of their greatest resource in class. After reviewing the section of developing technology skills for the school and workplace, I noticed many of my answers did not change. I still create technology opportunities as I did before. I feel after completing this course, I have more knowledge of how to do this more effectively to provide my classroom children with the most beneficial resources for learning.

In the end, I have thoroughly enjoyed this class and all that it had to offer. I believe that any teacher would be able to benefit from information as we head into a very technologically advanced school environment.

References:

 Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program fourteen. Debate: Digital natives vs. digital immigrants? [Webcast]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.p21.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf

Podcast

Here is the podcast that I had completed with two very nice and tech savvy 3rd graders I teach this year. Enjoy!

Podcast

21st Century Learning Skills

This week we were to review the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills website. After reviewing the site, I learned that it is a national organization whose mission is to advocate for 21^st century skills for all students. The website provided tools and resources, state initiatives, as well as events and news for visitors to view. Sadly, this was the first time that I had heard of this website. It seems like it is a site that more people should know about though given the push for incorporating 21^st century skills into our schools.

In the mission section of the website, it discusses the profound gap between knowledge and skills children learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in a 21^st century community. It continued to explain how classroom environments must align with real world environments by fusing together the 3R’s and the 4C’s. The four C’s being critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation. The 4C’s mentioned were very similar to Dr. Thornbug’s 21 century skills and disposition that were mentions in his Skills for the 21^st century video segment. The 4C’s mentioned on the website will serve as a guide to help me to develop 21^st century within my own classroom. It made reference to aligning classroom experiences with real world experiences. As a classroom teacher, it is my job to be sure I am giving these opportunities to my children while learning. The tools and resource section of the website will serve as a reference for future planning to implement these skills in the classroom.

The one thing that surprised me about the website like I mentioned before was the fact that I had not heard of it before. I was especially surprised when I looked at the history section of the website and saw all of the major names that even made the Partnership for 21 century skills possible. Of the founding organizations were AOL, Apple Inc., Dell, Microsoft, and NEA to name a few. With such sponsors, I thought maybe I would have been a little more familiar with the site. I was also surprised to see that Ohio had a state initiative page because I have not heard of this either. The readiness initiatives were in place since 2009 and I am just learning about it. I must be really out of the loop these days!

Overall, I thought the website was a good resource to have as an educator. It had some helpful information and tools to use. I did not care for the organization of the site though. I thought that it was very wordy and information was jumbled here and there. If I did not have to look at it for class, I don’t know that I would spend much time on it for the mere fact it was too wordy. I like pictures, videos, lesson ideas, or other ideas on how I can implement this framework into my own classroom. Besides my personal aesthetic wants for the website, I thought it provided some meaningful information on how to incorporate 21^st century learning skills into learning.

Scholastic Tools

Starting today, I will be adding some new ideas into my blog that others can begin to use in your classroom.

The first one I thought I would share is all of the great resources one can find on www.scholastic.com. When you log onto the Scholastic website, you will want to click on the teacher tab located on the top left of the screen.

Here you will find many resources to suite all grade levels. Among the resources you will find include the following:

·         Lesson plan ideas

·         SMARTboard resources

·         Daily Starters for each day of the week

·         eBooks (which are iPad and iPod compatible in the app store now!)

·         Story starters

·         Printables

·         Freebies

….the lists goes on….

 A favorite for my second and third graders is Comuter Lab Favorites Under student activities is a link called Computer Lab Favorites. The grade levels can be changed to focus on grades K-2 and 3-5.  It is definitely worth checking out! Students spin the wheel and it chooses an activity for them or, they may choose to click on activity themselves. The subject areas are Spanish, math, language arts, science, and social studies. Here is the link: Computer Lab Favorites

Enjoy!!

The Grand Question: How will I use this blog?

Blogging has become a growing trend across the world. According to William Richardson in his book Blogs, Podcasts, and Wikis “blogs can enhance and deepen learning” (Richardson, 2010). With this being said, there are many possibilities as to how I can implement a blog into my own classroom. Being a second and third grade reading specialist, one way I can incorporate a blog into learning is by having the children use a blog as a means of reflection and comprehension. I think that it would be fun to have the children scribe what he or she learned in class each day. Children would be able to blog about a set of vocabulary words, a reading strategy, or be able to give a brief summary of the story that was read. This would also allow the children to review what was learne along with allowing parents to be informed on what hss or her children are learning in class.

Another way I would be able to incorporate a blog into the classroom would be to have the children complete a book review of a book that he or she has recently read. To ensure the children are compiling a good review, the children will have a template made in advance to allow him or her to keep the information organized. Depending on the number of children within the class would also depend on the number of posts being made throughout the week.

Lastly, I would be able to use this blog as a resource to parents. I could post ideas on how they can help their children become more fluent readers. Posting ideas on how to work on comprehension, fluency, and vocabulary would be a great benefit to parents striving to help his or her child at home. Blogging would serve as a great form of communication for parents.

Blogging has the possibility to enhance learning in any content area as it is applicable to any area of learning. As I continue to use this blog, I hope to receive encouragement and ideas from others in my learning community to make sure it is serving a meaningful purpose. Overall, the possibilities of using blogs within the classroom are endless. With a little creativity and dedication, blogging can serve as a terrific learning tool for our 21^st century learners.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

New Blogger

Hi Everyone!

I am very excited about this experience that we are all about to embark upon. I have been wanting to try a blog for a while now, and I finally have an excuse to get started. I follow many teacher blogs and have gotten so much inspiration from them all. I hope to pass along some of that same inspiration.

I currently am a Title I reading teacher in Hartville, Ohio. I have been teaching for a total of seven years and cannot believe how fast time flies! I love my job and my school! I work with an amazing group of "techies" who love to incorporate technology as much as I do.

I can't wait to see what this course has in store for us in the upcoming weeks!