Apply and Discover 11.1

By putting many of the concepts of this course into action, I’ve found myself changing as a teacher.  I have tried to remain current with my knowledge of available technology, so the difference for me was not so much in learning about new tools (although I do have a few new ones in the ol’ toolbox) but instead about changing the way I use that technology—or more specifically, the ways in which I encourage my students to use technology. 

I’ve become much more flexible in letting students explore the ways in which technology works for them, instead of expecting everyone to use it in a particular way (my way).  I am the kind of person who, by nature, likes things a certain way; I’m organized and linear and in the past I’ve kind of expected everyone else to be too.   But more and more over the past couple of months, I’ve found myself saying to my students, “Whatever works best for you.”  Or, instead of leading them through certain steps, I’ll point out a bunch of resources at the beginning of class and say, “Use these to help you as you work, and let me know when you need me.” This has transformed my classroom by allowing students to capitalize on their own learning styles, and has given me the freedom to interact with students one-on-one. It allows to watch students as they are in the process of applying skills; I can intervene when I need to, provide additional supports, and get a better grasp of where students are struggling.

These changes in my approach are a direct result of gaining a better understanding “digital natives.” Schrum and Levin (2009) argue that 21^st century skills include “flexibility, adaptability, initiative, self-direction, social and cross-cultural skills, productivity and accountability, leadership, and responsibility” (p.31).  I found myself asking how much I really show that I value those skills, and I wondered about the ways in which I can teach and encourage them within the realm of the classroom.

As a result, technology becomes not the target itself, but instead the vehicle through which students can learn not only content-area skills, but also all of the other skills that will be needed in a future that has yet to be determined.  Lessons and curriculum units must be designed with the perspective that technology is merely a tool used to reach other targets, whether the goal is learning to analyze literature or learning self-direction (or both).  Many of the tools we learned about in EDU 533 demonstrate this concept when used correctly.  By using a WebQuest, for example, students not only master content-area standards, but must self-initiate to work through the process at their own pace, access resources, solve problems along the way, and help each other.  As Schrum and Levin (2009) put it, “You can…let [students] discover for themselves, not just tell them” (p.85)  In other words, students become active in the learning process, which cements their learning.  

Although most of my learning in this course impacts classroom practice in my role as teacher, it also helps me as I continue on the path towards an administrative role.  As many of us have pointed out in the discussion board, administrator support is essential for teachers when it comes to technology.  I know that if or when I become an administrator, modeling the use of technology will be one important step.  Maintaining a blog, using wikis for communication, and sharing resources are all ways to show support.  A sense of understanding and empathy for teachers trying something new will also be important in encouraging others to step out of their comfort zones. 

In just the short time since I began this course, I’ve already seen many changes in myself as a teacher.  And I feel like the transformation just beginning.  This is one course that will continue to impact my beliefs and practices long after it has ended. 

Resource:

Schrum, Lynne, and Barbara B. Levin. Leading 21st century schools: harnessing technology for engagement and achievement. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin, 2009. Print.

Engagement or Distraction?

Recently, my students were working on writing blogs in response to literature they were reading.  We had a mobile lab, and students were working individually on computers, but they were sitting in groups with others who had read the same book, just in case they wanted to discuss aspects of the book while they worked on their posts.

One particular group was comprised of all boys, two of whom would be typically be labeled as 'reluctant readers.'  They had read Heroes by Robert Cormier, and were working as I circulated around the room to ask and answer questions.  While I was across the room near a different group, I heard one of the boys ask (to no one in particular), "Who wrote this book?"

I was just about to call out "Robert Cormier" when I bit my tongue.  Wait, I thought. He has a book sitting on the floor beside his desk with the author clearly written on the front.  He has three peers around him (all with their own copies). He has a computer. He can figure this out.  Hey, if I want students to be independent learners, I better give them a chance to do so.

And that's when I watched it happen.  Being a 21st century learner, he ignored the book near his feet and went straight to Google, where the top hit sent him to Wikipedia.  He quickly found the information he wanted, but instead of stopping there, he read through the rest of the page about Robert Cormier.  He read off a couple of other titles by Cormier, and the rest of his group became curious.  So they too jumped on Wikipedia.  "He wrote a book called I Am the Cheese!" one laughed.  Another remarked, "And The Chocolate War.  This guy must have a thing for food."

It continued: "He was from Mass.""Look at his picture--I didn't think he would be that old"  "He was born in 1925?!  Wait, when was this book written?...Oh my gosh, he was like 70 when he wrote it!"

They called me over.  "Did you know he wrote a book about cheese?  And one about chocolate?" (Well, yes, but they're not really about cheese or chocolate.)  "Have you read any of them?" (Yeah, actually, I have The Chocolate War over on that shelf. It's about a kid who's freshman at a private school.  He's a little guy on the football team and he gets targeted by a group of bullies.)

And slowly their attention drifted back to their blogs.

Many teachers would have called that distraction.  Get back to work on your assignment.  You shouldn't be on Wikipedia.  My sense, though, was not that this was distraction, but engagement at its best.

My sense was confirmed at the end of the period when one of those 'reluctant readers' asked if he could borrow my copy of The Chocolate War.

Apply and Discover 10.1

Gabrien's WebQuest on writing narrative essays is an excellent example of a teacher maintaining the same high standards for all students while differentiating the methods students may take to reach those goals.  At every step of the way, Gabrien points out the ways in which students can adjust this process to meet their own learning needs.  From offering definitions in several ways, to providing visual cues, to including examples through text and audio, students have multiple opportunities to tailor the lessons to their own learning styles.  I especially like that many students will see a practical use for this lesson in the form of college application essays, as it is designed for use with high school juniors and seniors. Through the WebQuest, Gabrien sets the tone of the unit as one that will includes both seriousness and a little humor—a perfect combination for the topic of narrative essays, as the best writing of this type includes a sincere message mixed with a few laughs. As a fellow English teacher, I can definitely see using this WebQuest in my own classroom.  

I was very curious to see Maureen’s WebQuest on folk tales because I wanted to see how such an activity would be adapted for lower grade levels.  Maureen kept the language and sentence structure simple and easy to understand, so her second grade students would be able to understand the task, process, and other aspects of the WebQuest.  Also, at the bottom of the home page, she included the directions to “Click on Task.”  This is a small step, but stood out to me as something important to help young students who would not be familiar with a navigation bar.  Older students, who have more experiences navigating sites online, would see the navigation bar and automatically know to click on the next page, but younger students need that extra direction to be successful with this format.  I thought the process page was very clearly laid out and the pictures next to each step would help visual learners move through each part of the process.  Maureen’s use of italics and bold are also effective ways to help focus students’ attention on the most important information in the text.  Providing YouTube links to audio text was essential in this case since Maureen points out that the reading level of the text may be above some students’ reading ability.  By providing the audio, she is able to stretch her students to use more advanced texts, but still make them accessible and understandable.  Maureen made students’ expectations and roles very clear by describing what each student in the group would work on.  She mentions that assigning each student to a role could be either student- or teacher-chosen.  As a teacher, I would probably lean towards choosing the roles for students because that would allow me to match the tasks to ability level of the student (working on the moral, for example, requires inference, so that would be a more difficult task than some of the others). Overall, this WebQuest would appeal to many different kinds of learners, was very clear, and would be accessible to young students.  

Michelle’s WebQuest on the Iditarod is an example of unit that encompasses many different language arts standards, and hits all the major areas of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.  She included a nice combination of whole class, individual, and partner activities, so that students would have a balanced experience of classroom activities.  One thing that I especially liked about Michelle’s topic is that it relates to real-world event, and by having students research a musher and write a letter, they are constantly reminded that this is not just something that exists in a text, but has real people (and animals) involved.   This must increase student motivation.  Knowing that their letters are sent to a real audience would increase students’ drive to write a clear and correct piece.   And learning about and making a connection with the mushers must make their stake in the debate stronger.  There were a few things that I thought were particularly good about Michelle’s WebQuest design and unit planning.  First, the directions for the letter were very clear in indicating exactly what students should include in terms of content, which would be especially helpful for students who struggle with writing.  Also, she used rubrics that were familiar to students, which would increase their understanding of the expectations. Lastly, I liked that on the conclusion page, she included additional links for students to explore.  This provides students who finish the material at a faster pace an activity to extend their learning.  I would expect that this WebQuest would have very good results in the classroom.  

Apply and Discover 9.1

What does it mean to provide equal access to the digital world in the classroom?

Teachers must ensure that we are helping all students learn.  With that goal in mind, technology is one important tool to assist students and meet individual needs.   Yesterday, my school hosted Jodi O'Meara, author of RTI with Differentiated Instruction, at our professional in-service day.  She began her presentation by pointing out that schools have been so focused on proficiency (thanks to standardized testing), that we often forget to look at students' growth.  Shifting our focus to growth will help us ensure that we are meeting the needs of students of all abilities, including those in both the highest and lowest percentiles.  Providing equal access to the digital world helps us to do that because technology can help us tailor instruction to the needs of individuals.

As most educators know, special education students are entitled to learning in the least restrictive environment under IDEA.  The mobile nature of technology has given teachers the ability to provide most students with the accommodations they need within the confines of the regular classroom setting.  We no longer need to send students to a resource room to access special programs on the computer; now the computer can come to them.  Laptops and iPads can be used for programs and applications that provide the assistive technology necessary.  Discrete earbuds allow students to listen to audio recordings as opposed to reading text; zooming in makes it easy for students to adjust text size to fit their needs; the vast number of videos available online provide teachers with a plethora of audio/visual resources as alternatives to traditional text-based information.   Learning to navigate and control the features of technological devices also encourages independence and allows students to take a more active role in their education.

The increase in using technology for all students limits the ways in which special education students stand out from students without IEP's.  Gone are the days when an outsider could walk into a room and easily identify assistive technology because in most cases all students are using the same devices.  While the differences among students are minimized in appearance thanks to these devices, it is easier than ever to individualize instruction to each student's unique needs and abilities.

Using technology as a tool helps all students move forward in their learning, regardless of their starting points when they come into our classrooms.  By providing equal access to technology, we can maximize each student's growth.

The [Virtual] World According to Teens

As part of our discussion about digital citizenship, students recently participated in an online forum (through my classroom Moodle site) about the topic.  The following excerpts show their thoughts:

"It is easier for people to be cruel through the use of the internet, texting, etc. because they cannot see the person's face and how they are reacting so they feel they can get all of their negative feelings out without having to actually deal with the reaction of the other person."

"I totally agree that people should think more about what they write out before they send it.  I heard someone created a "message preview" feature which read aloud whatever you were typing into a text box. The results were amazing, people wrote in to the guy who made it saying how stupid they felt for thinking up some of the comments they had written. Stuff like that should happen more often, then people would think through things more."

"What I think people who are mean to others online don't realize is that even though there isn't a true physical aspect there, there is still a connection between them and what they say online. The internet is called a "virtual world", but really, we're still here on Earth, and the things that happen online will still affect us."

"When people don't have to talk to someone face to face, they feel as though they have more power over that person. These people also may think that after they say something mean or inconsiderate that they can take it back, but the truth is that they really can't."

"I believe people do say things online that they may not tell directly to a person. The things people might say online doesn't automatically mean something negative, it could be that they are too nervous or feel uncomfortable saying something in person. Looking around, I noticed that we don't talk like this in class. Other people's posts, when you think of it, don't sound like him or her when you imagine it's their voice. I also notice that other people show their opinions and explain them very well. In class, I noticed that many people say their opinions, but not really explain it as much as these posts. Anyone noticed? (Even I am doing it.)"

"The internet allows us the freedom to talk to others and access information whenever we want, which makes us feel like we can do whatever we want. Also, we can feel anonymous behind a computer screen, which makes us feel like we can say anything."

"People use the computer almost as a "mask" and feel like they can say whatever they want, but in reality, talking through the computer can even hurt more than in real life."

"I feel that when people talk on the internet they use more caution.  If I had a complaint with someone and I was digitally communicating with them I would be calmer or reserved in my comments to them. I would do this because we all know how fast messages can be forwarded to other people.  So I would agree with the statement that people would says things they wouldn’t in real life but unlike everyone else thinking that they would talk more negatively on line than in real life I think that they would talk nicer than in real life."

Guidelines for Online Behavior

At the start of a discussion about digital citizenship with my 8th grade students, I asked them to work in groups to create a list of guidelines for online behavior.  After just a few minutes, each group had a list of at least five, and were ready to share with the rest of the class.  Here is a list of their top responses (in no particular order):

1. Don't put up inappropriate pics
2. Only friend people you know in real life
3. Only say what you would say to someone's face
4. No cyberbullying
5. No profanity
6. Don't give out personal info (address, phone #, where you are)
7. Ask permission before posting a pic of someone else
8. Use privacy settings
9. Don't tell lies or spread rumors
10. No illegal downloading

I was impressed; their lists indicated that they had a clear concept of digital citizenship.  They have thought about how their online behavior impacts their own safety, the feelings of other people, and the perceptions people might have of them.  Their lists also confirmed what I already suspected: the focus of their online world is social networking.

Does this mean they follow their guidelines all the time?  Of course not.  These are teenagers.  They don't always think through potential consequences before they act, either online or in real life.  But they have received the message that their online behavior is important, and that they need to be careful about what they're putting out there.

Technology Changes Outside the Classroom

Over 15 years ago, my then-boyfriend and I spent one of our first dates watching a local band play a show at the Portsmouth Music Hall, a beautiful renovated theater in Portsmouth, NH.  Fast forward to 2012, and we (now married) were sitting in the same theater watching the very same band as they played a reunion show to promote a documentary about Portsmouth's music scene in the 1990s.  Before the show started, as we looked down from our balcony seats at the crowd beneath us, I couldn't help but think of how different the world has become.

Portsmouth Music Hall

Bright spots of light dotted the crowd, as people checked their smartphones.  It seemed everyone was updating their Facebook status, no doubt tagging the people they were with and posting their location.  A guy behind us was texting the friend he was meeting there, trying to find each other in the crowd.  It was a strange juxtaposition between of the 19th century theater and the 21st century ticket-holders.

The show began with the documentary's producers introducing the project.  One spoke of the fact that much of the footage in the movie was filmed during a time when people had to go to a record store to buy music or go out to show to see a band, instead of just sitting behind their computers searching iTunes or YouTube. There was a sense of nostalgia for a time when there was a feeling of community among not only the musicians, but also their fans.

But the producers were not just living in the past.  Trying to move their project from a local level to a national audience, they invited the audience to film parts of the performances, they encouraged us to post those videos on Facebook or Tweet them.  They want word about their film to reach the masses, and they know the way to do that is likely to be through social media.  During intermission, they asked everyone to take out their phones, and had a specific message they wanted us to text or Tweet as part of their campaign to get into a film festival in the Southwest.

Much of the documentary was made up of footage from the early and mid-90's.  In one of those old interviews, one band member said, "We're doing whatever we can to get out there, so we're playing lots of shows, we're working on making a video, we're trying this Internet thing." That drew a roar of laughter from the crowd.

Once the bands came on stage, phones all around the theater started recording, perhaps creating as much footage that night as the producers of the film had to work with from years of shows played in the early 90s.  By the next day, there were several different videos posted to YouTube, two of which I shared on Facebook for a couple of friends who weren't able to make it to the show.

Yes, our world has changed. Some might say for the better; some might say for worse.  The Music Hall was built in 1878. Its walls saw first showings of moving pictures and the transition from silent movies to "talkies." Now, ticket holders sit in its velvet-upholstered chairs with computers in their pockets.  As I looked at the ornate scroll work along the balcony, I realized that although our world is changing at a rapid pace, but we can move forward while still respecting the values of the past.

Apply and Discover 3.1

Apply and Discover 2.2

Because students coming into our classrooms are digital natives who have grown up with technology at their fingertips, it is unrealistic—not to mention unwise, and maybe downright unfair—to expect these students to unplug and power down when they go to school each day. 


They have become accustomed to a fast-paced world where they have random-access to information, as opposed to the linear approach textbooks offer.  They have become practiced experts at multitasking, parallel processing, and networking.  What can appear to be a short-attention span is, in reality, a different way of thinking.  Instead of fighting this, we can incorporate technology to capitalize on the skills students possess.  


We can use sites like TodaysMeet and Sync.in to create opportunities for collaboration among students. TodaysMeet allows students (and teachers) to hold a backchannel chat during a class.  Why would we want students to "chat" during a class?  Because it allows them to process information in a collaborative manner.  They can ask and answer questions, discuss application of information, and internalize the lesson.  Sync.in (and other similar sites) allow students to collaborate on a single document, and also has a chat feature on the screen.  I've used this site when students have worked together to answer interpretive questions about literature.  I can post a number of questions about a book or story, and use the chat feature to ask probing questions as they work.  Students can add to each other's answers, and jump from question to question when they have ideas to contribute.  When using this site, I found that not only was student engagement much higher than during a traditional class discussion, but I could also post a link to the collaborative document on our classroom Moodle page.  Unlike a whiteboard that is erased at the end of the period, students had continued access to all of their ideas.  


Integrating technology allows teachers to better meet the needs of all learners in the classroom.  Today's devices offer more opportunities than ever to hook visual and kinesthetic learners, and students with special needs can seamlessly access support.  

Alphasmart

When I began my teaching career, students whose fine motor skills impacted their ability to hand-write work were obligated to carry around an Alphasmart for word processing.  These were provided by the special education department and were generally reserved for students with IEPs.  They hated it.  And no wonder.  For one, only a few lines of text showed on the screen at a time and it was cumbersome to print their work (requiring connection to a PC).  Most importantly, though, it was like carrying around a big label that said "I'm a special ed student" and was a constant reminder of their disability.


Today's devices, on the other hand, are not only more user-friendly and have greater capabilities, but they also have the cool factor.  And cool factor is big, especially among middle school students.   


Integrating technology is fast becoming a non-negotiable in education.  It is no longer just a matter of trying a new program or device every once in a while; it requires a paradigm shift in our way of thinking about curriculum, about our instructional practices, and about students themselves.  We can’t expect digital natives to change their way of thinking when they enter the school building, so we have an obligation to change our ways in order to meet their needs.