Part I: Reflection on EDTECH 541
I was very excited to begin this course in January since it is the first “elective” class I’ve taken for my M.E.T degree. I decided to take “Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum” because the name of the course is the whole reason I decided to pursue an EdTech degree! I enjoy working with students to help them achieve their personal best and I see technology as an important component in that process. Although my goals may change in the future, I see myself as a classroom teacher for a long time to come. I learned a lot this semester, much more than I thought I would. As a Social Studies teacher I love being able to make my own presentations using Google Slides or PowerPoint. I find that my students learn best when direct instruction is assisted by guided notes, pictures, and videos. Before this class, I was guilty of simply pulling images from the internet and using them for instruction. While I seek no personal profit from my materials and can most likely get away with the “fair use” excuse, I make an effort now to attribute any picture or video I use that is not in the public domain. To be honest, I never stopped to think about the repercussions of using copyrighted work for school. My intentions were certainly never to cheat the original owner but I realized that I was not abiding by “best practice” in this area and so I’m actually glad to take a little extra time to give credit where credit is due. Many of the projects I created this semester were webquests or had webquest-esque elements to them. I certainly made webquests before I took this class, however I feel as though I now have the process down to a science! As with anything else in life, practice makes perfect. I believe webquests provide high quality learning opportunities to students with the ability to incorporate different types of content. The theory of multiple intelligences suggests that students learn best through different methods such as visual, verbal, musical, cooperative, etc. Whether the theory is correct is up for debate, but I tend to believe that students absorb content better when they are exposed to it in multiple ways. As a matter of fact, my understand of certain concepts in my content area has deepened through the creation of webquest learning activities. Howard Gardner (2013) suggests; “by presenting materials in various ways, you convey what it means to understand something well. If you can only teach in one way, your own understanding is likely to be thin”. Every project for this class, besides the “Vision/Mission Statement” aligns to the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) Standards. The assignments for this class were primarily focused on using and assessing content knowledge, as well as creating and using content pedagogy. As a Social Studies teacher I really appreciated the fact the focus of our projects was creating instructional tools for us to use in our classrooms to help us assess and evaluate our students. As I mentioned before, this course has allowed me to understand more about the educational uses of modern technology and how to apply them in my classroom. One of the areas I feel I’ve grown professionally is in the area of “assistive technologies”. We live in an age where cell phones allow those with disabilities to access content and participate in ways that simply were not possible only a few years ago. Although I do not teach any students with physical impairments this year, I feel like I am more prepared to “hit the ground running” should I have a physically impaired student in my class in the future. In the end, I am glad I decided to take this course...it was what I thought it would be, only I learned much more than I originally thought I would. Before this class, I was a big believer in learning as much as possible about different technology-based resources. I found the weekly updates to my “resource page” to be very helpful for future use. I will continue to explore new apps, videos, articles, programs, etc. to make my teaching the best it can possibly be. I think if there is one thing I’ll do differently as an educator as a result of this course it would be to explore areas of technology that do not immediately jump out at me as being useful. The “content area” projects taught me that other methods/resources can benefit my students even though I teach a different subject area. Resources Strauss, V., & Gardner, H. (2013, October 16). Howard Gardner: ‘Multiple intelligences’ are not ‘learning styles’. Retrieved April 19, 2017, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2013/10/16/howard-gardner-multiple-intelligences-are-not-learning-styles/?utm_term=.9d8f779a5e19 Part II: Assessing My Performance Content: 70/70 All of my posts were rich in content and full of thought and insight. My points (synthesis) had clear connections to previous or current content and/or to real life situations made with depth and detail. Readings and Resources: 18/20 All of my posts included information from either the course text and/or other worthy resources. APA style was used to support my blog comments as well as to cite references. I took off two points because there may have been one or two blog posts where I did not reference the course text. Timeliness: 15/20 Most of my posts were made on Saturdays and Sundays when I had a chance to sit down and read the required materials before I began my posts. I should have made my blog posts earlier in the week most weeks, however I always made my posts before the module was over. Responses to Other Students: 25/30 I made two or more substantial posts every week with the exception of one week.
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When deciding on an area of study for my Master’s degree, I made my choice hoping that an educational technology program would help me make my lessons more interactive and understandable for all of my students. My wife is an autistic support teacher and a few of my cousins have various learning disabilities so I take special needs instruction very seriously. It has been my experience that most of my students with IEPs are simply below grade level in reading and/or math. Reading and Math intervention (support) classes, coupled with incentives promoted by the school, are often successful at raising student performance. Most students, especially in a high school setting, do not want to be treated differently from anyone else because they don’t want to be seen as different. I believe this desire to be treated the same should be honored, despite the obvious fact that students learn best from a variety of methodologies and at different rates.
For some students, remediation and extra practice may not be enough. Assistive technology (AT) can be a tremendous help to students who require additional tools to access and make sense of content in a general education class such as Social Studies. 21st century technologies are allowing for better learning opportunities for students with physical and mental disabilities. My hope is that assistive technologies will continue to develop to the point where they are no longer easily noticed by others...or noticed at all! For this particular blog post I am going to focus on assistive technology through the use of a mobile device. Specifically, the mobile device I am using is an iPhone 7 running iOS 10.3.1. I am well aware that not everyone has an iPhone 7 available to them, but what is now considered a “top of the line” device will certainly be considered “average” in two short years and it’s price will drop significantly. In a world where mobile device manufacturers constantly compete to create faster, easier to use, and more reliable “smart” phones, the consumers, especially those with special needs, benefit the most! It is important to note that while I happen to have an iPhone7 running iOS 10.3.1, many of the features in this post are available on earlier iPhone models and iOS versions as well. Siri is the world famous virtual personal assistant who can help anyone! “The intelligent personal assistant inside of iOS devices has a simple goal: to help you find your content easily, send messages and discover new information using nothing more than your voice. Siri is a well-known feature, but it doesn't get enough credit for its potential as an aid for those with physical and vision impairments” (Faulkner, 2015). Not only does Siri help with looking up information and keeping track of day to day tasks, she also speaks many languages and even different dialects within those languages. Ok, we all know Siri can help us find information...but what good is her findings if the user has trouble viewing the content or cannot see at all? “VoiceOver is the key feature that makes using iOS devices more intuitive for vision-impaired individuals. This feature switches the default navigation that previously relied on precise finger presses in favor of one where broad strokes and gestures can complete just about any task” (Faulkner, 2015). VoiceOver is essentially a screen reader which allows the user to know what is happening on their iPhone without the ability to see it directly. Turning on the VoiceOver feature also activates sound effects that will give the user audible feedback on their gestures and touches. (Apple, 2017). In addition to VoiceOver, most iPhones and iPads have a “Zoom” feature which enlarges pictures and text for people who have difficulty seeing small print or other objects. iOS 10 offers a number of options in the Accessibility menu to assist students with hearing impairments. “Users can pair a Bluetooth-enabled hearing aid to their iOS device through the "Hearing Aids" option. Once tethered, all audio (music, podcasts, movies) will stream to the hearing apparatus similar to how streaming audio works with wireless headphones” (Faulkner, 2015). Also, if students have a learning disability such as dyslexia, features like Speak Screen, Speak Selection, Typing Feedback, and Predictive Text can help by adding an auditory element to reading or writing email messages, blog posts, and long documents (Apple, 2017). Speak screen can be incredibly useful for students with vision impairments. A simple “swipe down” motion with two fingers will allow the text on the screen to be read aloud to the user. This feature is available on any iOS device so if students are using iPads in the classroom they can benefit from this feature as well. Siri, VoiceOver, Zoom, options for hearing aids, Speak Screen, and Speak Selection are all valuable tools available on Apple mobile devices running iOS 10 or higher. Although I did not focus on Android in my post, I imagine most of these features (or similar features) are available on many Android devices running Lollipop (5.0) or above. Resources Apple. (2017). Accessibility - iPhone - Apple. Retrieved April 14, 2017, from https://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/ Faulkner, C. (2015, June 02). How to turn your iPhone and iPad into capable assistive technology. Retrieved April 14, 2017, from http://www.techradar.com/news/software/how-to-turn-your-iphone-and-ipad-into-capable-assistive-technology-1295627 Obstacles and Suggested Solutions for Integrating Technology Into the Social Studies Classroom4/10/2017 There have been a few “bumps in the road” in my quest to find and apply innovative ways of integrating technology into my Social Studies classroom. Early in my professional experience I would often heard teachers say; “Technology is great...when it works”. Many of us, at one time or another, have run into frustrating circumstances when trying to use technology with our students. Sometimes these experiences are annoying to the point that some want to ditch technology altogether...or at least they say so in the moment. Thankfully, as one of my colleagues recently told me; “technology seems to be trending in the direction of working with us rather than against us”. Generally speaking, technology is becoming faster, cheaper, and more reliable with each passing year. As a matter of fact, I would go so far as to say the attitude of “giving up” on technology is no longer acceptable. In my opinion, a failure to recognize available technology for one’s content area is unprofessional in the 21st century. With the amount of digital content available, especially in Social Studies, we would not only be acting unprofessionally, we would be ignoring the needs of many of our students. The “bumps in the road” will surely continue, but great outcomes do not often come easy.
Throughout this course I have said how lucky I am to have a classroom set of laptops to use with my Global Studies classes on a near daily basis. I understand I am a minority in this respect, not only in my district, but across the nation as well. “Despite their obvious value and relevance to future citizens, social studies themes and topics are not usually among those included in statewide assessments. Many states limit their graduation tests to language arts and mathematics. Since schools tend to focus instruction and resources primarily on tested topics, social studies areas are often placed on the back burner” (Roblyer, 2016, 338). Obviously having a classroom set of laptops, chromebooks, or tablets increase the possibilities for learning activities in class. Teachers who do not have the luxury that some of us do can still use their own computer to project images, video and sound clips, and presentations during direct instruction. Many popular learning management systems like Google Classroom and Schoology, as well as classroom tools such as Kahoot!, Socrative, and Quizlet are available to students as mobile apps for their smart phones. Any social studies teacher will tell you that the toughest part of planning for instruction is not the “what”, but the “how”. We know our content. History excites us and sometimes our biggest flaw is trying to teach too much information at once and confusing our students in the process. “The sheer amount of material to review in many social studies topic areas is also a challenge. The amount of content, coupled with the de-emphasis on social studies topics, creates an ongoing challenge to the teachers and schools to address social studies in a meaningful way” (Roblyer, 2016, 338). As I’ve said before, the amount of digital content to use in a social studies classroom is enormous and grows with each passing day. One way I have helped my students understand topics covered in class is to recommend certain YouTube channels to follow. To earn my recommendation, a channel should be credible, non-biased (as much as possible), and relevant to our course of study. I’ve found that recommending channels works particularly well because students often come back to me and tell me of another video they saw either from a playlist or just scrolling through other closely related videos on the topic. The conversations that follow often lead to a deeper understanding on the topic for them, and sometimes for me! Unfortunately, I recently ran into a problem with one of my favorite YouTube channels. The original channel I encouraged my students to follow merged with another channel which is politically biased. While I was disappointed, the original videos have not been changed and I simply explained to my students what happened with the merger. I told them I can no longer recommend they subscribe to the channel for class (although they certainly may do so on their own) as many of the videos that are being produced show only one side of a story as opposed to the whole story as was the case before. While frustrating, this “bump in the road” is what I like to call a #firstworldproblem, and not a cause for panic. While providing students with information from pre-screened sources can help supplement traditional classroom instruction, 21st century students should be taught how to be critical of online sources. “Today, printed books and human librarians are used less frequently, while powerful search engines are consulted more often, delivering millions of online results instantly to desktops, laptops, tablets, or smartphones. With nearly instant access to immense amounts of information, students must learn the skills to search the Internet effectively, evaluate online materials, and accurately synthesize and report the facts, ideas, and theories they have learned” (Maloy, 2016, 173). Indeed, students are turning to the Internet more and more to find answers to their questions. As a 21st century social studies educator I strive to teach my students how to determine if the information they found is actually correct. I teach my students to ask questions about their sources and use a framework developed by the Erma Wood Carlson Library at Lee College to decide the credibility of a source.
References How Can I Tell if a Website is Reliable? (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.edb.utexas.edu/petrosino/Legacy_Cycle/mf_jm/Challenge%201/website%20reliable.pdf Maloy, R. (2016). Commentary: Building web research strategies for teachers and students. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education, 16(2), 172-183. Retrieved from https://citejournal.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/v16i2SocialStudies.pdf Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th Ed.). Pearson. This week, I decided to go with English Language Instruction as my content area learning activity. I chose this content area because although I am primarily a Social Studies teacher, I teach two classes of ELL (English Language Learner) Global Studies this year so it only made sense to try and develop a learning activity that they might enjoy. The biggest challenge I face when teaching an ELL class is trying to meet the needs of all my students while still providing them with high quality and challenging content. While many of my students are Spanish speakers, I have a number of other native languages in my classroom, including; Malayalam, Urdu, Arabic, Punjabi, and Mandinka. Besides having multiple languages spoken in class, this is my first year teaching Global Studies period. I told myself that I did not want to get into the habit of creating fun and interesting lessons for the “regular kids” and then “dumbing down” my content for the ELL kids. As a coach, I firmly believe in getting my players to practice areas of weakness to the point where they are no longer weak. Improving areas of weakness is not easy, and sometimes very frustrating, however players see the benefits over time and their confidence soars once a skill is improved. I apologize for yet another sports analogy but it does serve a purpose! My philosophy is the same in the classroom as it is on the field; give your students opportunities to practice their weaknesses, guide them, and over time you should see an improvement. I am very lucky to have a classroom set of laptops at my disposal and I do not take them for granted. While I don’t claim to be a master of my craft yet, modern technology has allowed me to differentiate instruction based on language strengths and weaknesses while still providing high quality content to my students. At the end of the day, if I helped one of my kids gain a new skill or improved their understanding of a concept, I count it as a productive day.
“Ok, so you have laptops...but what do you do with them and how do they help your students learn?” Good question. Common sense tells us that simply lifting up the laptop screen does not magically help students understand the material. On the very first day of class I have my students log in to their school issued Google accounts. I guide them through Gmail, Docs, Sheets, and Slides and help them set up a folder for my class. I teach my ELL classes how to use Google Translate and show them the “voice” feature if available for their language. One feature that is relatively new in Google Docs is the ability to translate an entire document to another language. Google automatically creates another copy for the student in their language so they are able to compare their version with the English version. “But, what if they don’t know ANY English? Isn’t that a little much to throw at them all at once?” No. ELL students have urgency to learn the language quickly because they need English for everyday tasks, employment, and educational purposes (Roblyer, 2016, p.287). It goes back to my “coaching” philosophy...I never saw a player get better by ignoring a weak area of their game. Likewise, I’ve never had an ELL student learn better by shielding them from content. Of course I slow down direct instruction and repeat myself as necessary, but one of the great things about modern technology is the ability to incorporate high quality images and video into my instruction regularly to help get the point across. While ELL students certainly present their own challenges, teaching Social Studies in the 21st century to any group of students can be challenging regardless. As access to the internet continues to increase, the responsibility of teaching “what is right” can sometimes be difficult. “Teachers tell of students bringing in printed webpages to school to contradict what the textbook and/or teacher says” (Roblyer, 2016, p.339). I tell my students every year, no matter what class I am teaching, that it is my responsibility to help them understand the world around them. I believe the “information age” presents Social Studies teachers with the unique and noble goal to help our students think critically about information that comes their way. “Many educators believe we should use such controversial websites as demonstration tools to teach our students how to become critical consumers of information, and others believe students need digital literacy skills now more than ever” (Roblyer, 2016, p.339). I am one of those. I assign my students a current event once every two weeks, when I hand them back I ask if anyone would like to discuss their article and the conversations we have are enlightening for them and for me. While this is a relatively new phenomenon, I think it can be used for good...perhaps the “relative advantage” of a 24/7 news cycle world is the ability to help our students “how” to think and not “what” to think. It is ironic to me that the increase in politically biased news media (on both sides of the aisle) that is thrown across the Internet results in our students reverting back to the method Socrates swore by...learn by asking questions! References Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th Ed.). Pearson. When asked, most students jump at the opportunity to play a game in class. Simply saying the word “game” triggers a positive and fun correlation with learning. When planning to use game based instruction in our classrooms, as with any other type instruction, the question we have to ask ourselves as educators is; “do the ends justify the means”? Unfortunately, evaluation of games for instructional purposes can be difficult and time consuming for teachers with already cramped schedules. I believe a major hindrance for many educators of incorporating games into traditional pre planned topics/units is simply a lack of time to “properly” implement a game. While time constraints are a concern, they should not discourage teachers from adding what could be a very effective teaching tool. A simple method of determining a game’s effectiveness would be to ask students to perform a “playtest”. “The teacher should facilitate the game-based activity and then lead a class discussion on both the content and the overall experience” (Farber, 2014). A playtest could also be done by having students use a rubric to “grade” the game and it’s effectiveness in teaching or reinforces academic objectives. If students were engaged in the game and learning/reinforcement occurred, to me, the ends justified the means.
Besides using games to teach or reinforce content, 21st century educators should make an effort to use digital games or virtual experiences to prepare students for future employment. “Serious Gaming is used to teach and train K-12 students or as professional development. In fact, today's millennials should expect job training to be gamified” (Farber, 2014). While different professions use varying forms of games or virtual simulations to train their employees, I agree that the prevalence of using these types of training methods are becoming the standard as opposed to the exception. Just think how far flight simulators have come since their inception! One does not have to be a pilot to understand the benefits of game/virtual flight training. While I have no concrete statistics to fall back on, I’m willing to bet that our military, delivery, and civilian aviation sectors have saved millions of dollars just in fuel with flight simulator training. While digital/virtual games may be the future of education, there are a number of gaming concepts that can be implemented into a classroom without modern technology resources such as laptops or tablets. The idea of “gamification” is essentially applying game elements to non-game environments to encourage higher participation and motivation. For instance, private sector companies offer credit card reward systems where “points” earned from using the card can be redeemed for perks like free rooms, flights, upgrades, or other amenities (McCarthy, 2016). This concept is very similar to the concept of gaining “experience points” and “leveling up” in video games. “What if each student could choose to do additional skill tasks, readings, and experiments? Gamification can create this opportunity—and can allow for differentiation as students choose which of the additional elements they will take on” (McCarthy, 2016). While implementing a “gamified” approach may seem like a monumental task, it really only requires small adjustments to previously planned units or chapters. McCarthy encourages the use of a “leveling chart” which would show students the amount of “experience points” needed to reach the next level, badge, grade, etc. Traditional techniques of instruction such as guided notes, readings, worksheets, etc. can still have value on the leveling chart, however assessments such as tests and projects could be worth more. Students could also be afforded opportunities to “gain levels” through additional assignments such as homework. Teachers can further differentiate instruction through the use of achievements and badges. “Achievements and badges require learners to spend more time on practice and exploration of lesson outcomes. They are non-competitive ways for individuals to explore areas of personal interest and push themselves to accomplish the required goals. Students can earn achievements for attaining specific levels, trying out a new skill for the first time, reading a number of articles or books, or demonstrating skills like collaboration or creativity” (McCarthy, 2016). The use of badges and achievements can offer incentives similar to the rewards/points given to consumers by using store credit cards. The way in which students can “cash in” on rewards earned through achievements and badges is limited only by a teacher’s creativity. One of the greatests aspects of a system like this is that it can be customized by content area, grade level, and even ability level. As with almost everything else in life, a healthy competition often produces successful outcomes. Resources Farber, M. (2014). Why Serious Games Are Not Chocolate-Covered Broccoli. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/serious-games-not-chocolate-broccoli-matthew-farber McCarthy, J. (2016). Gamifying Your Class to Meet the Needs of All Learners. Retrieved March 12, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/article/gamifying-your-class-john-mccarthy The term “Acceptable Use Policy” (AUP) should be somewhat familiar to many teachers, students, and parents as the use of technology in the educational setting has grown tremendously over the past two or three decades. Each year, millions of students and staff across the country sign their school’s Acceptable Use Policy at the beginning of the school year. Most people, including myself, understand an AUP as a document that must be signed before we are allowed to use technology provided by the school. I don’t have any numbers or specific studies to support my claim, but I’d be willing to bet that at least half (and probably more!) of all AUPs that are signed each year are not read by those who sign them. While it is not advisable to sign documents without fully reading their contents, many people struggle to find the time to absorb AUPs in their entirety (especially during a busy start to the school year). It is my hope that this post may help shed some light on AUPs and bring about a better understand of their contents.
For starters, AUPs are essentially contracts between you (the user) and the school (the provider of technology resources). “An acceptable use policy is a policy that outlines, in writing, how a school or district expects its community members to behave with technology. Similar to a Terms of Service document, an AUP should define publicly what is deemed acceptable behavior from users of hardware and information systems such as the Internet and any applicable networks” (1-to-1 Essentials - Acceptable Use Policies, n.d.). Like an contract, if you break the terms there are often repercussions. Consequences for failing to abide by your school’s AUP depend on the severity of your infraction. AUPs obviously differ from school to school so it is important to at least review what kind of activity is prohibited and the consequences or penalties for inappropriate use. Even though the contents of AUPs vary at different institutions, AUPs should include a few basic parts. First, the structure of an AUP sometimes depends upon state regulations or recommendations. For instance, the Commonwealth of Virginia provides strict guidelines for its schools to follow. “An AUP must address (1) access to and transmission of data and information within the K-12 environment and (2) any technology-based device in the school or personal device brought into the school” (Virginia Department of Education, n.d.). To see a full list of requirements of AUPs in the Commonwealth of Virginia click here. There are a few parts that should be included in a well written AUP if the state in which you reside does not dictate specific requirements. Topics including; Use of Network, Internet Safety, Filtering and Monitoring, Copyright and Ownership of Work, Network Security and Privacy (student data), Disciplinary Action, Digital Citizenship, and Social Media Usage can and should be addressed in a school’s AUP (1-to-1 Essentials - Acceptable Use Policies, n.d.). Examples of well written AUPs from public school districts in Pennsylvania include…
Resources 1-to-1 Essentials - Acceptable Use Policies. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2017, from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/1to1/aups Virginia Department of Education. (n.d.). Acceptable Internet Use Policy. Retrieved February 26, 2017, from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/safety_crisis_management/internet_safety/acceptable_use_policy.shtml We live in an age where finding someone who has never used "the basic suite" is next to impossible. In fact, a thorough understanding of basic suite programs is a job requirement of almost any professional position in the 21st century. So what is this "basic suite"? The "basic suite" refers to word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software programs (Roblyer, 2016, p.109). Do people who have never used these programs still exist? I suppose so, but when my grandmother who is well into her 80s and my 6 year old cousin are both proficient users of Microsoft Word, I think my initial statement is fairly accurate.
In the state of Pennsylvania, every child is entitled to a "free and appropriate" education. The term "appropriate" has been, and will continue to be a source of contention between parents, school districts, and state legislators. From the standpoint of a "21st Century Educator", I don't know if an argument can be made against teaching "basic suite" programs to our students in order to prepare them for whatever path they choose in life. Personally, I use Microsoft Office and Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides on a daily basis. While I certainly don't think all my students are going to become teachers, I still try to incorporate these basic suite programs into my curriculum when appropriate. I truly believe regular use of basic suite software allows my students to build essential future job skills as well as create beautiful finished products. Of course, the benefits of utilizing basic suite tools in the classroom depends on the requirements of the assignment and the capability of the program being used. Programs such as Microsoft Word and PowerPoint allow my students to refine and organize their work quickly. One mistake on a handwritten paper or poster can result in disaster, however a mistake on a document or presentation requires nothing more than a simple "undo". If you really think about it, the amount of time a students save when using these programs is extremely significant. The ability to quickly fix mistakes results in not only a better looking product, but often a more complete assignment. Less time fixing mistakes allows for more time learning new material. I have to say I was appalled at the minimal use of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides when the school district I currently work for first hired me. Each student in our district is given a school issued Google account, however when I began teaching four years ago a majority of my kids didn't even know their passwords. Part of the problem back then was a lack of resources. While we are moving in the right direction with the purchasing of more laptop carts for daily use in the classroom, an ideal 1:1 scenario will be very difficult as we have a large population of students. On a positive note, students in my school are using the Google Apps for Education apparatus on a much more consistent basis than they were before. I was the first teacher in my building to use Google Classroom and I saw immediate benefits of doing so. Students are able to collaborate on assignments using Google Docs even when they were not in school. Google Slides has allowed my students to build wonderful presentations using text, pictures, and video. One of my favorite features of using Google Docs and Slides is that I have the ability to make corrections to their assignments. While making corrections may not seem like a big deal, the ability for students to see my comments and correct their mistakes is a huge part of the learning process. Students are able to simply click "issue resolved" once they finish correcting their mistake and it disappears. I always appreciated when my teachers made corrections on my assignments but I never fixed the mistake once I submitted my assignment on paper...marking the paper up even more just made a bigger mess in my view. Another advantage of Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides is the fact that students do not need a computer to use them. Many of my students come from low income households and some do not own a computer. While technology continues to improve and generally become more affordable, as professional educators we need to think about students who may not have access to a computer or the internet at home. The ability for students to use Docs, Sheets, and Slides at the school library, local library, or on their phones makes the Google "cloud" service invaluable. I had students on more than one occasion submit assignments to me in the wee hours of the morning on Google Classroom. When I asked them what they were doing up so late they tell me that they are in charge of their little brother, sister, cousin, etc. while Mom or Dad is working at night...it is a humbling experience. One last advantage, although there are many others that I haven't elaborated upon in this post, is the ability to use Google Docs to translate documents into other languages. Many teachers use Google Translate, however Google Docs has a feature built in where an entire document can be translated into Spanish, French, Arabic, Italian...you name it! I teach two ELL (English Language Learner) classes and this feature is priceless. References Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th Ed.). Pearson. As a student, I always found it easier to learn when I was given the task of building or creating something using information that had been given to me either through lecture or a worksheet. My desire to pursue a Master's degree in Educational Technology stems from my passion to try to create fun and engaging opportunities for my students to learn content, while also preparing them to be responsible users of technology. Apparently I wasn't crazy as the New Media Consortium's Horizon Report has recently recognized the benefits of student creativity. "A shift is taking place in schools all over the world as learners are exploring subject matter through the act of creation rather than the consumption of content" (Adams, et al., 2016). This shift is an important one because it replaces the mindset of using projects and creative assignments as simply a "fun" activity, to one of serious implementation to achieve better learning results. The idea of creative assignments is not new as teachers have used creative assignments for decades. However, the incorporation of modern technology in classrooms across the country are allowing students to demonstrate understanding in new ways, many of which produce better results when compared to other methods.
Many students in my 9th grade Global Studies class (and all across the country) have grown up using technology which was not available in 2005 when I graduated high school. The resources available for students and teachers in 2017 are vastly improved than what was available a short time ago. "A vast array of digital tools is available to support this transformation in K-12 education; indeed, the growing accessibility of mobile technologies is giving rise to an increasing level of comfort with producing media and prototypes" (Adams, et. al., 2016). Free digital resources such as Kahoot!, Quizlet, and Google Apps for Education are allowing teachers to design high quality instruction for their students. I know what you are thinking; "Ok dude, so what? You keep talking in generalized terms but haven't given any specifics on how technology use benefits anything". Well, here goes my best effort! Let me first start off by saying I am extremely lucky to have a classroom set of laptops available for my students use on an almost daily basis. I realize many teachers across the country do not have this luxury so don't worry, I'll include some examples for you too! First, let's use my Holocaust timeline assignment for an example. Students in my class are exposed to the horrors of the Holocaust at first though direct instruction using a short lecture, note taking, and question and answer process. After my introduction, students are shown how to navigate the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's website. Students are tasked with creating a "timeline" using Google Slides, some events on this timeline are mandated (they are covered on the common assessment), and some are up to the students themselves. Students must create this timeline using information and pictures from the USHMM's website which is superior in every conceivable measure to any textbook I've ever seen. Why is this assignment better? Students are exposed to primary sources and detailed descriptions which are not readily available any other way. Students are able to create their product at a relatively quick and efficient rate, especially when compared to other methods of trying to accomplish the same thing (imagine cutting and pasting printed pictures onto a poster). Finally, students are afforded the opportunity to learn at their own pace and include events which they deem significant after including the required events. Sheppard Software is a website I use to teach geography skills to my students. While the website may appear antiquated by today's standards, the feedback from the drill and practice quickly builds student's knowledge of the locations of African, European, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries. The "World Geography" games are just one of the great warm-ups available on their website. Teachers who do not have the luxury of laptops, iPads, etc. for everyday use in their classrooms can still benefit from mobile applications. Many public school districts and private schools are adopting a BYOD (Bring your own device) policy. Apps such as Quizlet and Kahoot! allow students to use their personal devices to participate in both review and drill and practice applications. "Drill-and-practice software functions are exercises in which students work example items, usually one at a time, and receive feedback on the correctness" (Roblyer, 2016, p.79). Quizlet is especially useful as it allows students to create digital flashcards and practice memorization on their own and at their convenience. While not necessarily a "drill and practice" technique, my ELL (English Language Learner) students make good use of the Google translate app on their cell phones in class as well. The major issue for teachers in 2017 is not the availability of useful, high quality technology tools to use in the classroom. Many teachers find the lesson planning process time consuming when trying to implement technology in the most effective manner. I view technology integration in classroom as a pioneering effort, and just like with everything else in life, practice makes perfect. Adams Becker, S., Freeman, A., Giesinger Hall, C., Cummins, M.,and Yuhnke, B. (2016). NMC/CoSN Horizon Report: 2016 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium. Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th Ed.). Pearson. |
AuthorSocial Studies teacher. Graduate student at Boise State University. Archives
April 2017
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