EME2040: A Reflection

Prior to the taking this class I had no idea what a Web 2.0 tool was! I had heard of them, of course I have, but I did not even know they were referred to as Web 2.0 tools, nor had I imagined being able to effectively use them! At the beginning of this class I was very intimidated by the idea of expanding my technological knowledge. I have read many blogs post by others; I had not ever attempted writing my own, until this class. I have learned so very much over the semester and feel quiet accomplished with what I can now do using technology. I am confident that what I have learned in EME2040 has created a strong foundation for me to continue exploring technology and its usefulness in my future classroom.

Early in the semester, I shared my feelings on Marc Pensky's theory of digital natives versus digiatal immigrants:  Marc Pensky classified technology using individuals into two groups: digital natives and digital immigrants. Digital natives are young people, born after 1980 and grew up using all the interactive technology available. Digital immigrants are older adults who are learning later in life how to use all the technologies of today.  By Pensky’s definition I should be considered a digital native, by birth rights I suppose, having been born in 1985, however, as the introduction of new technologies continue to surface, I often feel more like a digital immigrant. In today’s society, children are confident in their ability to use technology. They often seem comfortable using technology because it has been such a significant part of their lives since birth. Integrating technology into the classroom seems logical and necessary since most children have a well-established preexisting knowledge of technology and value their multi-media talents.  Digital immigrants, or those of us like myself who are a combination of both worlds, may not have such a well-rounded preexisting knowledge.
Through out this semester I have really gained confidence in my ability to adapt to the ever changing technologies and my ability to learn how to apply new (or new to me) technologies to role as an educator. I'm more excited now, than intimidated, to use the tools available to me enhance learning for my students and myself. I am now a bit more well-rounded when it comes to preexisting knowledge about technology!

One of my favorite lessons this semester in EME2040, was the creation of the WebQuest. I had not even heard of a WebQuest prior to this class! Not only was it fun to make (much more fun than typing up a lesson plan using a word processor) I imagine they are fun for students to complete as well! I asked my ten year old son to complete my WebQuest I created, just for fun, and he said it was "cool!" I hope my future students agree with my son, as I definitely look forward to using WebQuest as tool for enhancing lessons! I also enjoyed working on the collaborative Wiki. Wikis make for great group projects as each student is responsible for their assigned topic or page within the wiki. I enjoyed doing this project in the class. The collaborative lesson plan was much more difficult to do as group. Our final product was still good but the production process was sloppy. It was difficult to correspond via email, and text as we all had varying schedules. If I could do it over again, I would like to have assigned sections of the lesson plan for each student in the group from the beginning. Perhaps, in my opinion, having my first attempt ever at creating a lesson plan, and one infused with technology, as a collaborative assignment was more difficult than if I could have done it on my own for the first time. That is likely the only change I would suggest as for the class assignments.

I am so glad I was able to take this class this semester. I appreciate the value of technology and the implications of infusing it into the classroom much more now. I am much less intimidated now about exploring and implementing technology into my future classroom, I''m actually quiet excited about doing so!

Resources:

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. 

Digital Badge L: Chapter 12

Integrating Technology in the Classroom on PhotoPeach

As a future technology using educator I will need to decide when it is best to include technology into a lesson or to have learning infused with technology. Inclusion would be the use of technology for practicing skills and for transferring information. There are lessons in which technology inclusion would be very useful, especially in the elementary school level, such as learning how to use a key board for typing in a word processor program. Technology inclusion could also be used to assists in the lecture portion of a lesson by projecting slides with key terms or points for students to use as a guide for taking notes.  Infusion of technology will be necessary for completing hands on activities and truly enhancing the lesson or learning experience on a daily basis. In elementary school for example, as a teacher, students can use computers daily to research a topic and then keep a journal throughout the year about each days discoveries. Wonderopolis is a website that offers a “wonder of the day” topic, and links to research related to that topic. I would love to infuse technology into my daily classroom activities by having students journal about the wonder of the day using this website as a tool for research. 

It is likely that my future classroom will be filled with students from different social, racial, and economic background. Research has shown the within multicultural classrooms, there are often digital inequalities as well. Each students previous experiences with technology will vary greatly based of social issues such as race, ethnicity, and household income. Higher income households tend to have more access to technology, including the internet. Students who do not have computers or internet at home tend to fall behind in tech competencies and tech skills. One to one laptop computing in the classroom may help close of the participation gap, although this is not always an option. Some schools, including the school my son attends have a “bring your own device/ BYOD” policy. At my son’s school, students who do not have a device to bring will be paired up with a student who does have a device and they will work together on activities. As a future educator the idea of BYOD seems slightly more intimidating than having a single device provided to each student. The reason it is intimidating, is because as teacher, I would be likely be expected to know how to trouble shoot any issues that may arise on a large variety of device makes or models. Even if each child in my classroom is not able to use a technology device individually at school, we will do plenty of small group activities using the computers or devices we do have access too. I actually prefer small group activities as they allow students to learn from one another as they collaborate on the lesson, and small group assignments tend to be student centered as well. 

Most changes that occur within the educational setting are top-down changes to existing policies. Teachers do not always get much say in the changes, as they are coming down from the administration. Technology integration in the classroom allows teachers to create change and transform learning experiences. Automating, recreating existing practices using technology, is common practice these days in schools. Informating, however, allows teachers to redesign activities completely. As a future teacher I will need to determine what technologies to use to positively change the learning experience in my classroom. Students should be actively invited into having a voice in regards to technology and change as well. As a future teacher, I hope to gather the insight of students, as they are the most vital member of their own learning process. Through curiosity and practice, my students and I will build our computer literacy together. 

References:

BES Classrooms. The New Classroom at BES. Jan. 24 2008. Retrieved on Nov. 28, 2014 from https://flic.kr/p/4m5ojv

Lmmatz728. Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Nov. 28, 2014. http://photopeach.com/album/17yd3p4

Knopp-Schwyn, C, Serene Computer Lab at Seward Montessori School. Sept. 21, 2007. Retrieved on Nov. 28, 2014 from https://flic.kr/p/3apksQ

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc. 

Digital Badge K: Chapter 6

        Photo Credit: Mortten Oddvik via Flickr 

Twenty-first century teachers have access to an unparalleled amount of academic information through the internet. The digital content teachers have access to can be extremely useful in enhancing learning. Teachers can use bookmarking sites to help keep all of the digital content organized and readily acessable. I have been using the social bookmarking site Delicious to save links I will likely want to reference again in the future as a teacher. Delicious also offers and option to “tag bundles,” which allows for students and teachers to assemble learning activities together, as the bookmarked sites are shared publicly. The links saved, categorized, and tagged using bookmarking sites like Delicious, make accessing material already assess by the teacher, readily available for use when creating WebQuest, Blogs, or other interactive activities.

As I just completed making my first WebQuest, I now see the true value in social bookmarking site like Delicious. “WebQuest are online inquires by students that are designed and quided by teachers” (139). Teachers can hyperlink pre-assessed material saved and catagized in their bookmarking tool when creating original WebQuest. WebQuest are broken down into steps, making them well organized, easy to follow, inquiry based, and interactive lessons for students. As a future teacher, I look forward to developing new

WebQuest that will be engaging to my students. I believe that make great tools for small group activities as well. Each student can have a different role, or task, in completing the group WebQuest.

Another exciting group assignment for students, which involves engaging learns with digital tools, is going on digital field trips. I love this idea! Google Earth is a great, free, tool to use for virtual field trips. There are also many other virtual tour available online. Interactive video conferencing can further enhance the virtual field trip. For example, if student went on a virtual tour of the Chicago land area, and explored the Lake Michigan Coast, they could later speak with experts from Lake Michigan Science Research Center, or perhaps with another classroom of students from Chicago.  There are many student-to-expert website available, in which students can chat with content experts, ask questions, and gain more knowledge. 

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. 

Digital Badge J: Chapter 11

Assessments are a vital part of the teaching role. As I work towards becoming a teacher, I really need to start to consider the three main types of assessments associated with teaching. The first type of assessment stated in the textbook is, “new teacher assessment.” This involves licensing exams, observations from mentoring teachers, observations from professors, academic teaching methods, classroom management, and strategies to connect with students, parents, and colleagues. The second type of assessment will cover how I plan to assess my students’ progress of learning. Through assessing students, I will be assessing my own effectiveness of teaching as well. The third type of assessments to consider is how will encourage my future students to self-assess their own learning. Student involvement in the assessment process is very beneficial as it empowers students to be self-sufficient and motivated learners.

The evaluation process is so important for teachers. As a future teacher I really should start building my tentative digital teaching portfolio. Having a well put together digital teaching portfolio can make all the difference in the competitive job market. Teaching portfolios can include personal reflections, teaching philosophy, field experience, photos, videos, a resume and teaching strengths. The portfolio will continue to be a work in progress as my career progresses. Starting on a portfolio now will help me to evolve as a student and as a professional.

“Democratic schools are places where students and teachers together make substantive decisions about important aspects of educational operations, from the academic curriculum to school climate and rules” (Maloy 283). While some critics suggest student involvement in academic decisions is a poor idea, suggesting students would make ill-informed and self-centered choices, I disagree. As the textbook suggest students can set goals, assess progress, choose topics of learning, and assume greater responsibility in the classroom using the method of democratic schools. While few schools actually practice this entirely, teachers can implement some democratic school like activities within the classroom. I would like to allow my future students to offer insight into their own learning process. Democratic schooling may provide more involvement and interests in academics while promoting leadership skills amongst students as well.

Another means of promoting student engagement in the learning process using technology is by incorporating clickers. Similar to voting, students can see a topic of question displayed on the projector screen and use their clickers to vote. The votes will be correlated and projected as percentiles, or in graph form. Clickers can be used to test knowledge, formulate opinions, make predictions, and to encourage participation in lesson topics. I love the idea of using this type of technology in the classroom. 

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. 

Digital Badge I: Chapter 4

When designing a lesson plan the first step is often deciding what to teach. The academic content of a lesson may often times be predetermined by the school system to align with the state mandates. The goals of a lesson may be given as mandatories but the teacher often has more say in the methods of delivery in which the lesson topics will be presented. Teachers also decide the procedures for how those methods will take place. Teachers can use technology to assist in all levels of the lesson, from the planning, to student activity, and eventually to the grading of lessons.  Teachers may choose to use presentation software, flow charts, visual aids, classroom websites, podcasts, wikis, creative design software or other assistive technologies as they see fit to enhance the lesson. Technology can also assists teachers in evaluating the student understanding of the lesson material. Learning assessments can be done using electronic test, quizzes, surveys, and rubrics.

There are three main influential factors in determining how teacher will assess students. The first is based off their own personal experience. Often time’s teachers implement tools of assessment they are familiar with from their own past experiences of being a student. The second influential factor is the standardize test. “Within a climate of test score accountability, teachers can easily conclude that the only test that matter are those that rank students according to their numerical scores on local, state, and national exams” (Maloy, 84).  Teacher’s test, or the test teachers must pass in order to teach can set presidency as what a teacher feels the students must know.  Based off of my own personal experiences, as a student and a parent of student, I am not the biggest fan of standardized test, or any multiple choice exams for that matter. I do not test well on high stake exams because the pressure I associate with testing often distracts me from the material I would otherwise be able to recite. As a future teacher, I hope to allow my students the joys of celebrating their understanding of classroom topics without the fears of failure distracting them from absorbing the material. In middle school I had a teacher that would give the students an option of test types. Students could pick to take the multiple choice exams or to write an essay reflecting the topics. I always choose to write essays, most of my peers choose the multiple choice option. Either way, the teacher was able to assess our retention of the knowledge gained from the lesson and we were all equally prepared for the mandatory state exams.

Performance assessment are another alternative to the standard multiple choice exam. Instead of a test, I would like to see my students apply the lesson contents in practice. This may be easier with certain subjects, such as math, but can be applied to any lesson if the teacher is creative. For example, if my students are studying poetry, I would prefer my students create their own poetic expressions and share them with the class. Perhaps they can be shared through a classroom wiki. If the class is studying local wildlife, all students can take a digital photo of local wildlife, write a corresponding report on the animal, insect, or plant and working in small groups students could create a digital movie or slide show to present their material.  

As a future teacher, my end goal will the same for every lesson plan I create: All students in my classroom will be learning and gaining knowledge. 

By Lmmatz728 | View this Toon at ToonDoo | Create your own Toon

Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. 

Digital Badge H: Chapter 9

In the modern day classroom, teachers have many options of multimedia tools to use as a means to enhance the quality of learning. Teachers can now quickly and easily create displays of videos, photos, written words, audio clips, and much more using readily available media on computers, smartphones, or tablets. Multimedia tools allow teachers to incorporate a variety of learning modes or styles within a single lesson. "Multimodal learning happens when teachers combine spoken words with visuals or written text with audio or utilize simulations and models" (217). Technology now allows for more effective multimodal learning to occur and this is very important as research conducted by Multimodal Learning through Media reports, "Students engaged in learning that incorporates multimodal designs, on average, outperform students who learn using traditional approaches with single modes" (217). As a 21st Century instructor I can create digital displays to emphasize main ideas or important fact relevant to the lessons. I can use podcasts, PowerPoints, video clips, photos/pictures, and share websites with my students using the smart board or white board in the classroom. I can also encourage my students to create their own videos, podcasts, and slideshows to share with the class.

I remember being in primary school and having assignments that required making a presentation for class. I dreaded classroom presentation assignments! It was not the topics presented that I dreaded, nor was it speaking in front of my peers, it was the actual presentation material I disliked! The first task in creating a presentation was convincing your parents to spend the extra money to buy a cardboard tri-fold standalone poster board, these were much more impressive than a standard poster board and scotch tape. Growing up in Chicago (the windy and often snowy city) the preparation for safely transporting a presentation to school was another task in itself. The endless hours spent perfecting bubble letters and gluing pictures took away from the learning experience as well. Today, students can create a PowerPoint, including as much fancy word art and photos as desired without losing out on valuable learning time. Transporting presentations to school is also much easier (especially in Florida as there is never any snow) since flash drives store presentations and fit nicely in a pocket. PowerPoint presentations allow students to creatively express their acquired knowledge using a multimedia readily accessible in the classroom.

Photo Credit: leslle via flickr 

Teachers can encourage creativity and explore digital artwork with students. Digital artworks are "artistic expressions that happen through electronic or computer-based environments" (232).  I am a huge fan of using digital artwork for creative exploration. As a parent, I appreciate the no mess clean up for new artwork! As a teacher, this might prove true as well. My son uses an app called Procreate on his Ipad as a means of creative expression. He then saves his drawings and uses them in apps like iMovie, adds some music he loves and the end products are often quite impressive pieces of artwork created by a ten year old. These apps have a combined cost around $10, the same cost of  markers and a sketchbook. As a teacher, I wonder if digital artwork might help keep cost down, while still allowing for creative expressions, and no need to ever cut these classes from the curriculum due to budget cuts within the school system.



Resources:

Leslle. (December 8, 2008) Walkers Active in the Snow. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from https://flic.kr/p/9b5wKG

Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Digital Badge G: Chapter 10

America is a very culturally diverse country, as are the classrooms within our schools. As the textbook points out, "More than one in four youngsters are from immigrant families, and most of them speak a language other than English at home" (244).  In today's multicultural classrooms, there are many roles for technology to enhance the learning experience. Teachers can use technology to support their lessons. Teachers can use programs, some available online and free, to translate from many commonly spoken languages to English or from English to another language. As a future teacher, one whom only speaks English, this type of tool might be very useful in my classroom. Google Translate is one free version that is easy to use. If I want to greet my students on the first day of class, and I had a Spanish only speaking student in my classroom, I could easily use Google Translate for some assistance.



("Hello, I am your teacher Mrs. Matz.
I am very happy to have you as my student. This year we will learn so much!"- translated from English to Spanish using Google Translate) 

Another great way to use technology in the class room would be for creating word clouds. Word clouds are visual representations of text. While world clouds are not very in depth, they are visually stimulating and often do a great job of summarizing main points. Word clouds are one of many tools that are easily created and accessible online.   
The word cloud pictured here was created using a free online site called Wordle. Word clouds can contribute the universal design for learning(UDL). "UDL applies recent advances in understanding how the brain processes information to the design of a curriculum that can accommodate broad student needs" (250).  As a future teacher I am very excited to use technology in roles which will be engaging for my diverse students and will help to meet their diverse needs.

Storybook apps are now readily available tools teachers can use to further engage students while meeting the needs of diversity. Students can explore options within the storybook under the teachers guidelines. As a future teacher, I fully intend on letting my students utilize such tools. Storybook apps can be read like an e-book, or the text can be played like an audio book, and they are often visually stimulating as well. Some storybooks have options to further explore through "gaming" and even game playing may increase the learning experience.  Interactive electronic storybooks have many advantages which the text points out from reaching multiple learning styles, to creating an engaging mood, all while increasing vocabulary and reading comprehension skills. Scholastic Books offers some free online interactive books for younger students, including Clifford storybooks. Sites like this are interactive, can be used for small group activities and will address the specialized learning needs of many children.



Resources:


Maloy, R., O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2^nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.