And So We've Reached the End My Friends...

Part 1

I have learned so many great things in this class as the focus has been using technology in the classroom and that was one of the main goals I had when I enrolled in this program. There are definitely some things that I have already been doing (pats self on back) but a number of new concepts I was able to take and use in my classroom - creating digital books, cross-content integration, etc. This class has given me pedagogical reasoning for many of the things I have done to integrate technology into my classroom.

I saw many of the AECT standards being met while working on the various assignments over this course. We pursued research on a weekly basis with a focus on content knowledge and pedagogy. We also learned how to differentiate using technology in the classroom - this was a very valuable section of the class for me. In addition, we met the standard for evaluating technology for classroom use.

Looking back on where I was when I started my journey at BSU, I was a classroom teacher who was interested in making my interest in technology something that could improve my classroom. Over the course of the last two years, I have grown in proficiency and confidence in that area. In this class specifically, I felt more confident about the technology I was trying out in my room as we read about the various ways would could integrate. I also grew in my confidence in sharing these ideas with my colleagues at work. I've learned a number of great skills and this class have really helped me nail down some ideas I've wanted to try in my language arts classroom.

I think the biggest impact this class has had on my teaching thoughts and practice is, that it has increased my confidence in trying things in my classroom. Prior to this course, I would try things here and there without really having a plan in place. Now, I have a plan for how and when certain tools will be used and a lot more confidence in using them with my students. This course has also helped me to reflect on how I evaluate the technology I use to determine if it is worthwhile or if I need to find another resource to use.

As I mentioned previously, I feel like my evaluation of the technology I'm using is more complete and has more "bite" to it. Determining if a tool I'm using provides an improvement (RA) over what I was already doing is always in play when I'm looking at a tool or application. I also think more about who will be using it and if it makes sense to incorporate it. Theory was in practice in all components that I created for this course.

Part 2

Self-grading always weirds me out...here we go.

Content - I would rate myself between proficient and outstanding in this area. I think my posts were generally thoughtful, included insight, and were a synthesis of what I learned. I tend to write about my real-life experiences a lot as there is no better way to connect to what you are learning. (65)

Readings and Resources - I used the readings and other appropriate content to support my blog posts and I used APA style to cite. (20)

Timeliness - I believe most of my posts were made on Friday/Saturday in this class which should have given time for classmates to respond. (20)

Responses to Other Students - I responded to at least two blog posts every week - at first I was doing more than two but as I got busier through the school year and in my other BSU classes I just made sure to give two responses. My responses were generally thoughtful and focused on the information posted by the blogger. (30)

Accessibility Features on Google Chromebooks

All students deserve a chance to do their absolute best in any classroom. When a student has a disability, it can make daily activities seem impossible at times. Assistive technology is a tool that a classroom instructor can use to help that student feel and be successful in a classroom setting. As discussed in the text, the use of assistive and adaptive devices (along with other components) should be used to find the best solutions for all students. (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019)

My focus is usually on language arts and when I began looking I found that assistive technology can be used in a number of ways in that specific content area. Based on certain studies, students with reading disabilities are able to use assistive technology assimilate and communicate text to promote participation in a general classroom. (Nordstrom et al, 2018) The key is that using assistive technology allows for inclusive opportunities where students with disabilities feel confident that they can work with peers and collaborate in my classroom.

I currently use Windows 10 on a typical PC platform at home and in my classroom. The majority of assignments and work that my students perform on a daily basis involve the use of Google Classroom, so I am going to discuss some of the accessibility features that are add-on applications or that currently exist on the Google platform.

The first add-on that I use with my students (and definitely for myself) is called Mercury Reader. Mercury Reader allows you to basically clean up the page you are reading by removing ads, pop-ups, videos, etc. What you are left with is a clean version of the text or article you were attempting to read. Often times websites are so cluttered by junk that it makes it nearly impossible to tell where the article begins and ends. I share articles on a very consistent basis with my students and the use of Mercury Reader allows us to focus on the important stuff and not the distractions. For students who struggle with attention issues (ADD, etc.) this is a very helpful way to minimize their issues. In addition, this would benefit students with visual or cognitive disabilities by simplifying the screen. I personally use this tool as well because often the articles or pages I view for class suffer from the same overabundance of advertising and distractions that the ones I share with my students do.

Sometimes it's easier to talk about what you want to write than it is to type it out on a computer screen. In the past, I have had students use an application called SpeakIt! on Google but eventually, Google rolled out a Speech-to-Text product of their own that works really well. It is very easy to activate this tool and I purchased some cheap microphones that came with mini-tripods off of Amazon. This was a huge help in my classroom, as I work with struggling learners in language arts on a consistent basis. For students who struggle with writing (for cognitive or other reasons), it can often be easier to talk to the screen to get their ideas down than struggling through the activity with a pencil and paper. The quality of depth and writing vastly improved in my classroom when I  introduced this to students for the first time. I personally have used speech-to-text products both on my computer and smartphone to allow me to make notes or give feedback to students. If struggling with a keyboard is something that you do consistently, speech-to-text could be a huge benefit to you.

In addition to these add-on products, there are a number of features built into the Chromebooks that I use and make my students aware of. There are display settings to increase the size of the mouse cursor, zoom in/out on the page, change the brightness or contrast of the screen, or change the resolution. There are also toggles for sticky-keys, an on-screen keyboard, highlighting, word prediction, and speech-to-text. An additional option is the ChromeVox screen reader which assists visually impaired users in their use of the Google Chrome system. These settings can benefit students with a wide variety of learning disabilities in an educational and non-educational setting.


References

Nordström, T., Nilsson, S., Gustafson, S., & Svensson, I. (2018). Assistive technology applications for students with reading difficulties: Special education teacher’s experiences and perceptions. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1-11. doi:10.1080/17483107.2018.1499142

Roblyer, M.D. and Hughes, J.E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: transforming learning across disciplines (8th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education Inc.

Obstacles and Solutions for Integrating Technology in Language Arts

The definition of literacy is changing in the educational world. Instead of focusing on onlu reading and writing, a new form of digital literacy is taking place in the language arts content area (Robyler & Hughes, 2019) One of the possible obstacles that you would face when integrating technology into language arts (or really any content area) is the red-tape of your school district. I ran into this issue earlier in the school year as I tried to integrate student blogs into my sixth-grade classroom. Over the summer I took a course on blogging and it really lit a fire for me to get my students working online with their writing. Before I could implement the blogging into my curriculum, I had a number of hoops to jump through to avoid complications or issues later on. There was paperwork, a meeting, a discussion with the district technology coordinator and administration. I had to make parents aware and offer an opt-out for families not interested in having their students participate. I chose a private blog host and created a rationale before I even began the process but it still took almost a month to get everything lined up. While some districts adopt technology across the district, it can be difficult for an individual classroom instructor to integrate technology because of red tape. The best thing to do is to make sure you get approval and make the administration aware of your plans to avoid having issues later on. After a couple of weeks blogging with my students it's been amazing to see the increased interest in writing because of the blogs we use.

A second obstacle that I have faced is the difficulty in choosing what technology to use in your classroom and how it is used. There are so many technology tools available for a language arts classroom and I expect that this number will grow in the future. As an instructor, you are constantly having to choose between products that provide similar services to your students. As an example, there are currently two free grammar/spelling check tools that can be used - Gradeproof and Grammarly. Each one offers certain advantages and each one has its own set of issues as well. I've seen instructors use Google Classroom, Moodle, Blackboard, DropBox, Turnitin, and more as virtual classroom tools. As I dug into this problem, I came across a study done in 2005 by Britten and Cassady. In the study, the researchers focused on how the technology could be integrated into classrooms and used ISTE standards as a basis to create a set of rules and guidelines called the Technology Integration Assessment Instrument (TIAI). The TIAI rubric gives a consistent framework for an instructor (or other stakeholders) to evaluate how technology tools are used and how that technology is tied to critical pedagogical features such as assessment, student needs, and educational standards (Britten & Cassady, 2005).

References

Britten, J. S., & Cassady, J. C. (2005). The Technology Integration Assessment Instrument. Computers in the Schools, 22(3-4), 49-61. doi:10.1300/j025v22n03_05

Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.

Relative Advantage of Using Technology in Language Arts

When thinking about the relative advantage of using technology in a language arts classroom I found many examples. I'm going to focus on three specific advantages of technology use for my own classroom.

Level of Engagement
One of the greatest advantages technology affords is that instructors can give students a level of autonomy in the classroom. Instead of standing in front of the students and becoming a talking head, educators can use technology to interact with their students. The idea of releasing responsibility to students (Zoch et al, 2016) is something that instructors need to be comfortable with. By giving away control through the use of technology, instructors can boost the level of engagement they see with the students. By shifting the role of students and teachers and giving purpose to the learning in the classroom student engagement can increase engagement and deepen student learning. (McKnight et al, 2016) When students are engaged in a classroom, the bell that ends class is looked on as a disappointment - technology makes them enjoy being in the classroom.

Real World Learning
Technology gives an opportunity for students to build skills they can use on assignments and once they start to engage with the real world. The use of technology in the classroom increases access to resources and enhances both communication and feedback. (McKnight et al, 2016). Being able to communicate effectively, give feedback, and locate resources are all skills that employers value in their employees. In my classroom, we do all three (and more) through the use of technology on a daily basis. In addition to those ideas, students are building basic skills and learning about personal responsibility. When I first started teaching language arts, I sometimes had trouble connecting what we did in the classroom with what students would experience in the world. With the integration of technology into our daily schedule, it has become a much simpler task to convey the usefulness of what we do.

Makes Life Easy!
There are a number of ways that technology makes the classroom easier to navigate for both students and instructors. In my sixth grade classroom, we use Google Classroom and the Google Suite on a daily basis. I post information in the Stream (discussion, links, etc.) and assignments/materials under Classwork. Since integrating Google Classroom into my classroom I have eliminated any issues with missing materials (I can't find it is no longer an excuse) and students are well aware of what is turned in and missing. In programs like Google Docs, I can leave feedback directly on work and return the assignment to the student for them to revise and improve their work. Students can also collaborate with each other with shared documents or by posting revision feedback as well. My district also uses Turnitin which provides writing support, plagiarism checkers, and a drop box for assignments. I use a number of other technology resources in my classroom that have replaced live/paper assignments and materials (Vocabulary, No Red Ink, Grammarly, GradeProof, etc.).

These three advantages are not the complete list of advantages technology affords a language arts classroom, there are many more out there!

References

Mcknight, K., Omalley, K., Ruzic, R., Horsley, M. K., Franey, J. J., & Bassett, K. (2016). Teaching in a Digital Age: How Educators Use Technology to Improve Student Learning. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 48(3), 194-211. doi:10.1080/15391523.2016.1175856

Zoch, M., Myers, J., & Belcher, J. (2016). Teachers’ engagement with new literacies: Support for implementing technology in the english/language arts classroom. Contemporary Issues in Technology & Teacher Education, 17(1). Retrieved from https://www.citejournal.org/volume-17/issue-1-17/english-language-arts/teachers-engagement-with-new-literacies-support-for-implementing-technology-in-the-englishlanguage-arts-classroom

EdTech 541 - Relative Advantage to Digital Games

If you were to listen to a typical conversation between middle school students in a classroom, a subject that invariably pops up is that of video games. Currently, students spend their after-school hours playing games like Fortnite or Roblox. As a classroom instructor, I'm always looking for new ways to engage my students in the classroom. The use of games to enhance learning is clearly a way that I can take student's interests from outside of school and include them in what we are doing in the classroom. Like the Edutopia article Why Serious Games Are Not Just Chocolate-Covered Broccoli stated, "just because it's serious doesn't mean that it shouldn't be fun!"

The biggest advantage that I see is that games engage students. This is not an "every student" situation, but most students in middle school become engaged through games. The idea of putting engagement before content in education (Prensky, 2005) resonates with me when thinking of digital games in learning. I can stand in front of students and discuss the amazing world of sentence fragments with them or give them the opportunity to try a game like Floyd Danger Adventure to recognize complete sentences and fragments. When I was a student a concept like this was taught with worksheets and practice. Now I can show them the concept and have them practice with a game.

Another terrific advantage that games bring to learning is collaboration. 
On page 179 in Roblyer and Hughes, they point out the Tsekeleves et al. study which identified prominent benefits for learning from the inclusion of collaboration in both immersive and realistic setting using problem-based learning. Students love to work in groups or with a partner in the classroom. Games give them an opportunity to solve problems together and learn in a social setting that they crave.

Students often learn through shared experience. When students are all playing the same game, you can hear the conversation as they share what happened or how they did or any number of other details from the time spent at the keyboard.

Digital games can offer an instructor an amazing tool when working to engage students in the classroom. The games also offer an amazing tool to allow for student collaboration and shared experiences in the classroom. On top of all of that, games are just plain fun for students. 


Resources

Farber, M. (2014, February 19). Why Serious Games Are Not Chocolate-Covered Broccoli. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/serious-games-not-chocolate-broccoli-matthew-farber

Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the Natives. ASCD, 63(4). doi:10.4135/9781483387765

Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.

Social Networking and Walled Gardens

Please see the embedded voice thread about Walled Gardens and Social Networking below.

References

Reed, J. (2007). Global Collaboration and Learning. EdTech Magazine. Retrieved from

http://www.edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2007/09/global-collaboration-

and-learning

Smith, A., & Anderson, M. (2018, September 19). Social Media Use 2018: Demographics and Statistics | Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/

EdTech 541 - Acceptable Use Policy

An Acceptable Use Policy is a vital component of a classroom, schoolwide, and district-wide understanding of the use of electronics and online behavior. Having a clear and concise set of rules and guidelines will eliminate many possible issues that students might have when using electronic devices at school. More importantly, an AUP is about keeping all users in a network safe (sometimes from themselves).

At the beginning of the year in my classroom, we always go over my district's AUP before students are allowed to log in for the first time. As part of the deal, I ask my students to always think about what they are doing online and discuss with them the use of electronics for entertainment versus academic use. It's always an interesting discussion and it helps my students understand why the district policies are in place. One comment I generally make to my students regarding electronics use is to never find themselves doing something on the screen that their parents or teacher would disapprove of.

 My district has a fairly extensive Acceptable Use Policy: CdA Schools Acceptable Use Policy 

As a part of student orientation every year, students are required to sign the Technology Agreement (bottom of the document) to receive their access rights. The thirteen-page document that precedes that agreement is rather cumbersome and difficult for students to understand. As a sixth-grade teacher, I often wonder how the early elementary teachers get through it. My school has a presentation that we go through and post for students - but again pretty dry and some components are still hard to understand. This policy was adopted in 2014 and hasn't been revised or updated since. I would think updating the policy yearly is probably in the best interest of all involved and that there should be a version that focuses on kid-friendly language so that our most important users are able to understand just what the AUP is telling them.

The closest school district to mine is the Post Falls school district. Their acceptable use policy is a much leaner three-page document, of which the third page is the student agreement for technology use. Their initial document was created in 1996 and was most recently updated in 2011. The policy is very straightforward and does not get into the legal details of my district - I do like that the document is likely a much easier and less daunting activity than the CdA Schools document. I wonder if this policy is as detailed as it should be to deal with student misuse.

One of the largest districts in my area is the Spokane School District (Spokane, WA) located about thirty minutes west. Being in a different state and with a different set of expectations, Spokane Schools has actually broken their AUP into some different components.

The first is a student-friendly summary of the AUP for the district. This one-page document covers the basics of the policy in language that can be understood by most students. It also offers some specific examples of behavior that would be inappropriate. This district has also created documents for students that outline internet use, telecommunications/technology use, and e-mail/online expectations.

I grew up in Portland, so I ventured to Portland School District and found they have posted an acceptable use policy on their website. One interesting facet of their AUP is that they specifically state the policy is for staff and students which I would like as a student, knowing everyone has the same standards applied. I also found a very neat AUP Poster for students with kid-friendly language and a Red/Yellow/Green stoplight theme to help students understand what is okay and what is not. The district has also listed a number of other technology-based policies and documents on their IT Department page.

Looking at these examples of acceptable use policies across a number of districts, I was surprised to find that some of them are not updated yearly - hopefully they are at least being reviewed. Another concern I have is that the language is not always kid-friendly which makes it difficult for the students (who should have the best understanding of the AUP) to understand what the policies are.

EdTech 541 - The Benefits of Multimedia in the Classroom

Please see the embedded video below - apologies for the voice and demeanor as I've been dealing with a head cold/sinus thing over the last few days...


References

Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.

Tucker, C. (2016, October). The Techy Teacher / Escaping the Lesson-Planning Doldrums. Retrieved September 29, 2018, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/oct16/vol74/num02/Escaping_the_Lesson-Planning_Doldrums.aspx

Willmot, P., Bramhall, M., & Radley, K. (2012). Using digital video reporting to inspire and engage students. The Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved September 30, 2018, from https://www.raeng.org.uk/publications/other/using-digital-video-reporting.

EdTech 541 Relative Advantage of the Basic Suite

When I saw the content for this week and read the words Basic Suite, my mind immediately went to the Google Suite family. I had to remind myself that prior to the G Suite family, the basic suite had been around for some time. While the Microsoft products were the "go to" product for some time (and are still around) there were even earlier iterations that I remember using back when the screens were green and the discs were large and floppy. 

Relative Advantages of Basic Suite

Quality: The first relative advantage that comes to mind for me is the improved quality of both instruction and the improved quality of student submissions. In the Basic Suite, I can consistently create professional looking documents, spreadsheets, and presentations for my students. I'm able to create templates for any number of needs (rubrics, assignments, etc.) and can modify any of the work without having to start over or use white-out to remove information or fix mistakes.

The students, in turn, are able to create higher quality projects and turn in a higher quality of work. When I first started teaching I dreaded having to decipher the hieroglyphics that some students turned in to me when they submitted written assignments. The word processing in a Basic Suite allows students to avoid the issues they may face with sloppy handwriting. Students can use other components to share data and present information with their classmates in ways that would have been hard to replicate prior to the availability of the Basic Suite software.

Access: In the past, only students with a home computer or access at school were able to consistently use the Basic Suite for classwork. With the introduction of Google Suite into the picture, it has opened up the possibility of using productivity software for students. A student can now access their classwork in any location where they have a device and internet capability. I have students in my classroom who access their classwork at home using a tablet or smartphone at times. In addition, students have discussed working on classwork at their parent's place of work, the local library, and many other non-school locations. The advent of the G Suite means that students can no longer state that they forgot their work or that they lost the assignment. It is stored online and is accessible to them (and me) at any time. An additional advantage is that students can share their work with each other with a few simple clicks to aid in collaboration and peer reviews.

The ability to share and collaborate with colleagues is another component of access that the G Suite offers. I can work with colleagues at my school, across the district, or in other places to refine lessons and build curriculum that we can use. I no longer carry around a USB drive or stacks of paper to meetings as I can just grab a Chromebook and accomplish a higher quality of work with less effort. I get feedback from my peers without having to interrupt their schedule or class. I can work on lessons at home or grade students papers without having to physically transport anything. It makes my life so much easier.

A last component of access to discuss is that previous Basic Suites (Microsoft for example) were "pay to use" products. You had to have a license if you wanted to use their tools. G Suite is free, which eliminates another hurdle for my students and their ability to access tools for schoolwork. 

References:

Roblyer, M. D. & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York, NY: Pearson Education, Inc.

EdTech 541 - New Horizon Report 2017

Introduction

After reading through the 2017 New Horizons Report (K-12 Edition) I saw a number of areas where the content presented could affect my teaching and presentation in my classroom. I'm going to focus on the changes I can make to my Language Arts class, as I have already transitioned many aspects of my technology-based courses (Junior Engineering and Robotics) into formats that reflect the trends presented in the article.

How will the New Horizons report impact my presentation?

I think the component that will most impact the presentation that I use in my classroom is the connection to the curriculum. It answers the "when will we use this in the real world" question rather nicely, as students are immersed in simulations and experiences connected to something concrete from their future. Instead of lecturing my students I present ideas and questions and ask them to work together to find solutions.

One area that I would like to adopt more is the redesigning of learning spaces. I currently have tables and chairs which I group into pods so students can work together. I would love to be able to create a more open learning space in my classroom introducing some soft seating, yoga balls, and more informal seating/table arrangements. Two of my colleagues are trying out alternative/open seating this year and I am watching their implementation and making plans to transition in that direction soon.


How will the New Horizons report impact my teaching?

One change that I continue to make and that matches up well with the trends discussed in the New Horizon report is the increase in the deeper learning approaches which "engages students in critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and self-directed learning." (The NMC Horizon Report, pg 18) As mentioned in the article, my classroom has evolved into a student-centered collaborative environment. We spend more time per subject with discovery-based learning as our focus (research, collaboration, etc.) in creating new knowledge. My students spend less time in their seats listening and more time moving around the room to collaborate and work towards solutions.

The article discussed how learning is becoming more personalized and this was again discussed in the class text within the section on personalized learning systems. The ability to give agency, depth to the content and an integrated approach (Roblyer & Hughes, 2019) are all things I feel make a direct impact in a student-focused classroom.

I've been lucky in that I have had 1:1 technology in my room for three years now. This has allowed me to integrate technology on a daily basis in a number of different ways. This year, we started blogging in place of a number of other assignments which creates additional time and opportunities for other student-centered activities. My students have responded to the increase in the use of technology in very positive ways.

References

NMC horizon report: 2017 k-12 edition. (2017). Retrieved from The New Media Consortium website: https://cdn.nmc.org/media/2017-nmc-cosn-horizon-report-k12-EN.pdf

Roblyer, M. D., & Hughes, J. E. (2019). Integrating educational technology into teaching: Transforming learning across disciplines. New York: Pearson Education.

EdTech 541 - Vision and Mission Statement

In the time that students spend within the four walls of my classroom, there are a number of goals that I set out to accomplish with them. Most importantly, I teach my students to value themselves for who they are. I build meaningful relationships with my students by using honesty, compassion, trust, and empathy. I love to see my students grow, not just as learners but as well rounded thinkers who reflect on their experiences and the world around them. As academics, I push my students to look past the easy or basic answers and create well-rounded responses that reflect on their experiences and intentional thoughts. We reflect together on learning and work as a team to create knowledge that the students show ownership in and can be proud of. Technology is a key component in everything I do to create meaningful experiences and relevant learning for my classroom.

Meaningful Experiences
Thinking back to the many hundreds of worksheets that I filled out during my years as a student in the public education system, I can honestly say that none of them meant anything to me. I've forgotten most of the paper tests and papers I wrote as well. On the other hand, I remember almost every project that I was a part of throughout school. The appropriate use of technology in the classroom can create experiences that will connect students to the content using student projects and learning experiences. Students no longer have to just read about the Great Wall of China, they can visit it through Google Maps and Youtube or walk down the wall using virtual reality. 

Another integral part of the meaningful experience is the collaboration between students and collaboration with their instructors. The importance of students learning and reasoning together was first introduced by Lev Vygotsky and is a key component in the social constructivist theory. Technology makes this collaboration easier now than it ever has been. Through the use of e-mail or direct instant messages, students can discuss and work together without being in the same physical space. The use of blogs and micro-blogs (Thoms, 2012) is another fantastic way to create meaningful collaboration in your classroom.

Relevant Learning
In my first few years of teaching, a not uncommon question that would pop up every now and then was, "When will I use this in real life?" In most instances, I was able to justify or explain how this particular skill may come in handy some day. Occasionally I would suggest that this particular skill would be used later on to learn a new and more relevant skill. It always left me wondering if what I was teaching was, in fact, useful or relevant to my students. Briggs (2014) writes; "Relevance is a key component to intrinsically motivating student learning. By establishing both personal and real-world relevance, students are provided with an important opportunity to relate the course subject matter to the world around them, and to assimilate it in accordance with their previously held assumptions and beliefs." As a student of the constructivist theory, I see components of those ideas in Briggs' statement. Personal experience and real-world relevance create connections to the content that stay with the student in a way that a lecture will not. 

In the last five years, there has been a dynamic shift in the use of technology in the classroom. Most of the students I see have at least one piece of portable technology in their life and some have access to many. We have Chromebooks available for every student in every classroom. We have access to more information through the world wide web than anyone could possibly learn in a lifetime. As an instructor, I can choose to embrace technology and show students how to use it productively or I can ignore it and watch my lessons become irrelevant.



References

Briggs, S. (2017, March 24). How To Make Learning Relevant To Your Students (And Why It's 
      Crucial To Their Success). Retrieved August 31, 2018, from 
      https://www.opencolleges.edu.au/informed/features/how-to-make-learning-relevant/

Thoms, B. (2012). Integrating Blogging and Microblogging to Foster Learning and Social Interaction
      in Online Learning Communities. 2012 45th Hawaii International Conference on System 
      Sciences. doi:10.1109/hicss.2012.332

Google Classroom 2.0

There has been quite a bit of buzz about the updates coming out this fall for Google Classroom. I took some time today to check in with a couple of articles and news items to see just what to expect. What I saw has me pretty excited to start working with the new Google Classroom.

The first thing to discuss is the addition of a "Classwork" section to the front page. Instead of everything coming to the student through the stream, there is now a separate section where assignments can be found. I find this really helpful as I've had to help some students find assignments in the past. In addition to a separate section, the instructor can separate the classwork by segmenting it. This means you can group assignments by unit, time frame, etc.

One other feature that looks very useful is the ability to filter your work so you can see what is done and what is not done. Students can check their missing assignments or see if they forgot to submit something very easily.

The Classwork section will also mean the stream is being modified as well. It is now the place to post classroom discussions, reminders, etc. I think this is a much better set up as the communication type posts seemed to get buried in the Stream area as assignments were posted. I think this will help keep the online learning community in your classroom better informed.

There was also some discussion of some streamlining to the grading process. The one that caught my attention the most was being able to move from file to file in a much simpler way. It has always been a pain to open the files for grading one at a time. There was also mention of a comment bank, but I don't generally use canned comments with my students.

There have always been little annoyances when using Google Classroom in the past, but as this was really the only option out there for me I made do with it and got used to its shortcomings and quirks. This new update really irons out a lot of the issues I've run into in the past and I think it will improve the usability of the program immensely.

It does look like the new features will only be available with newly created classes for now, so if you plan on using the upgraded Google Classroom keep that in mind!

The Future of Schools

It seems like change is a constant in the field of education with new ideas and ways of learning constantly being brought forward or recycled in the classroom. The leap forward in technology (both hardware and software) has also created a number of changes in the classroom for instructors and learners. It often makes me wonder what the future of schooling will look like. There are a number of ideas that have been presented.

Vintage Classroom Structure - Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

In this September 2017 article by CNN entitled Are these the schools of the future, there are a few ideas and concepts that are put forward. One of these is the portfolio school which focuses on project-based learning and integrating technology into the mix of guided choice and personalized education. The use of an interdisciplinary model is a key component to their model and the idea of balance in life (school/home, work/play) is also a piece of the puzzle.


Future Schools Imagined Using the Essential Fluency of Learning is an October 2017 article by Lee Watanabe-Crockett does an excellent job of describing some of the changes we are seeing in education. One key idea that really resonated with me is "The best piece of classroom technology available is, and always will be, a teacher." The idea is that technology should augment education and the interpersonal relationship is still key to learning. Other key concepts presented include; self-motivation, problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, digital media, and information fluency. The focus of these schools is to create a citizen who can become a part of their community and be productive in a future workplace.

Concept Classroom

My favorite idea was the open school concept that I first learned about in an article I read a few years back. Unfortunately, I do not remember the article name or publisher, but if my memory serves me correctly the trial school was in New York state. In this conceptual school, the doors open at 6:00 AM and close at 6:00 PM with students expected to attend 6.5 hours of school each day. The school uses an automated check-in and check-out system and the daily schedule is flexible and based on student choice or interest. This means that the student decides when they would like to do math or history or language arts. They still need to "attend" each class on a daily basis but there isn't a daily schedule set by the school itself. 

This model is heavily dependent upon technology, as the student must keep track of their short term and long term learning goals through a management software. The open class concept means that the instructor has posted the content and learning expectations with the student expected to engage with the learning - it reminds me of the constructivist theory in this aspect. The student is required to give summative evidence of learning, but they have a considerable amount of choice on how they want to accomplish this. The physical space is also an open concept with traditional settings (tables, chairs, workspaces) and non-traditional settings (couches, bean bags, etc.) available to students. The instructors work in shifts to provide support to students who need help and the school focuses on having teachers who are highly qualified in specific content areas there at all times. Each teacher also has a cohort of students that they are responsible for monitoring with weekly advisory times where the student and teacher meet one on one for some discussion time. This model is really focused towards middle school or high school learners as there is a considerable amount of personal responsibility involved.

If you have time, PBS produced an interesting Nova show about the future of schools that gives some ideas for anyone involved in education to ponder. It runs a little under two hours but is very informative. The video can be viewed here.

Curriculum Adoption Survey

This past year, my district was tasked with choosing a new curriculum to adopt for English Language Arts across all grade levels. This was a pretty daunting task and a number of committees were put together to come to a consensus. One consensus that soon became clear was that each level (elementary, middle school, and high school) needed or wanted something different. As a result, it was left up to each of those levels to decide what was best for their particular group of students.

Even at the middle school level, we could not agree between the three grade levels. In addition, there wasn't really a consensus between the needs of teachers within specific grade levels. In the end, there were a lot of compromises, but there were still a number of teachers who were disappointed with the final decision.

There ended up being three major groups that formed within my grade level for adoption and each had a different idea of what they needed/wanted for their classroom. Here are the three groups:

Technology Focused - Purchase of Kindle readers for each classroom along with a yearly budget for purchasing text (books, articles, etc.). Classroom/District licenses for a number of online tools for productivity (Grammarly, Kami, Turn It In, etc.). Classroom budgets for additional technology or software to be used at that teacher's discretion.

Traditional Text Focus - Each classroom receives a new set of traditional hardback books that include a variety of texts aligned to grade level. In addition, the teacher receives an instructional guide that helps create lessons based on the texts included. This adoption also included the use of disposable student workbooks that are one use only - each year the classroom receives a new set of workbooks from the publisher. In addition, a district license for Turn It In would be purchased.

Mixed Focus Technology/Text - This group was pushing for the use of online tools that were brought up by the technology-focused group, but not the purchase of Kindle readers. Instead, they wanted to purchase a simpler text from a different publisher that just included stories linked to content and a simpler teacher guide. This option also allowed for some discretional classroom funds that were earmarked for specific needs to the classroom and a variety of ideas were discussed about what that could be.

I have a large Houghton Mifflin bag sitting next to my desk that contains the decision made by the grade level. I received it in June and have honestly not touched it since it was handed to me by my district's curriculum administrator. I was a little disappointed to say the least that the decision went this way and a little surprised that certain colleagues of mine agreed to this choice as well. My district is relatively forward thinking, but there are a number of vocal veteran teachers that seemed to really hinder this process. I think in many cases they were a little afraid of the technology and what they would do without a physical book for text sources. Most of what we work on in my classroom is technology focused, so integrating the text might be a challenge for me. I'll eventually start thumbing through the book and see what is there, but I'm not really in a hurry to do so.

If you were in this situation of adopting curriculum, which group do you think you might be in? Let me know your choice and reasoning in the comments below!

Sounds of Summer Part II

I posted a few songs that were previous Songs of Summer at my house and thought I would add a couple getting heavy play time at my house this year!

Live version Eric Hutchinson's All Over Now.

A classic remake of a Paul Simon song by a band called Perpetual Groove.

No official video on this one, so it's just the official audio track.

Hope you enjoy these!

Sounds for Summer

It seems like every year, there is a song that takes over my house during the summer. It ends up on repeat and I hear it many many times over the course of these three months. I enjoy music and have a wide variety of tastes, but these songs are some examples of summer songs in my household the last couple of years. Enjoy!

Something Just Like This - Chainsmokers featuring Coldplay


Feel it Still - Portugal The Man



Two High - Moon Taxi

What's a Grognard?

Grognard (noun)

     1. an old soldier
     2. A soldier of the original imperial guard that was created by Napoleon I in 1804 and that made the final French charge at Waterloo. 
     3. (games, slang) Someone who enjoys playing older wargames or roleplaying games, or older versions of such games, when newer ones are available.

From the French word grogner which means to grunt or grumble.

Well, I'm getting older but I'm definitely not that old. The third definition holds the key to this blog post. I'm one of a small percentage of Americans (it has a larger following and is more common in England and many European countries) that engages in the hobby of tabletop wargaming. Many people play games like Battlefront or Call of Duty and call themselves wargamers, but that's not what we're talking about here. When I try to explain what I do, people have a difficult time understanding what I mean, so I usually try to add pictures. Often, I simply give the answer...its like really detailed and convoluted chess. Sometimes it makes me nervous to share my hobby because I'm not sure how people will react to it.

We spotted this M7 Priest a few years ago and my son had to have his picture taken with it...wonder who he takes after.

Even within the small tabletop gaming community, I tend to stick with an even more specific genre and am known as a historical tabletop wargamer. This means my focus isn't on wizards, elves, space marines, or dragons. I focus on recreating real or realistic battles to simulate outcomes with or without changes to the variables. I've always been interested in history and specifically military history from an early age. I've read hundreds of books, my favorites are usually the individual stories of the soldiers. Just to be clear, I do not glorify warfare, but study it and celebrate those who served and sacrificed.

A large part of the hobby is the artistic component, where the gamer creates the game table through a variety of means and paints miniature models of soldiers and vehicles to use during gameplay. Often, when you purchase miniatures they are bare metal or plastic pieces that must be assembled. After that, you prime the miniature, give it color through paint, shade, drybrush, and finally base the miniature. It is quite the process. I started doing this when I was twelve years old and have finished thousands and thousands of figures in my time. Hopefully, some of my passion for this hobby is evident in my words, but I'll show a few more pictures to help you visualize just what this means.

From a WWII scenario a few years ago.

A shot from the woods of a German anti-tank gun.

Another shot showing part of a town and some woods with an ambush.

 Almost everything you see in the pictures from the ground up (literally) has been created and built by myself. The models are all vehicles and figures that I have painted. For reference, my infantry figures are 10mm tall - there are larger and smaller scales out there, but that's another post for another day. Needless to say, attention to detail and precision are key!

Don't Fence Me In...

I agree with certain components of Prensky's article Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants but there are also some ideas that Prensky misses out on. One of the first things I agree with was the idea that our current educational system does not meet the needs of the students who are in our classroom. In general, these students have a significant amount of access to technology in their daily lives and have grown up surrounded by technology. The current education system doesn't seem to compete with these tech wonders and for lack of better terms, it makes school boring. I also agree that instructors need to find a way to reach the students in a way that connects with them and not in the outdated language of an immigrant.

My disconnect with Prensky's idea is that the students are generally only consumers of digital media (watching videos, playing games, etc.) and they aren't active users of the technology in ways that will help them be successful. Teaching students to use technology as an academic tool is key in the process. In an earlier course I took, we discussed the use of game-based learning and one concern that I had with creating a video game for learning is that on my own I can't create something that can compete with what they play on their PS4 or XBOX One at home. It ends up looking like something a digital immigrant created and that a digital native will laugh at. One other issue I have with Prensky's article was that not all of my students are natives and not all of them speak that language. I have a number of students every year who have few (if any) tech skills and little understanding of the digital language (more on this with Wheeler).

In the McKenzie article, he takes issue with a number of Prensky's ideas and his comparison of Prensky to the early American nativists is an excellent analogy. McKenzie focuses on picking apart Prensky and shows a number of issues with the article as it is written. The Reeves article focused on categorizing based on popular social/cultural labels. There are a number of interesting tables of characteristics, but it focuses on generational characteristics to categorize people. I'm not totally comfortable with this approach and it seems more about generalizing people based on their age than any significant learning component.

The last item I read this week was the Wheeler blog post, which spoke about the importance of recognizing the individual in learning. This is something I attempt to practice as much as possible in my classroom. Each student in an individual and has needs that won't be met by a cookie-cutter approach, even if it's through the lens of corraling students into learning styles. Creating meaningful relationships with your students and checking in with them over the course of the year will yield much more fruit than assuming that you're hitting the needs of the student with a one size fits most approach. His ideas also counter some of Reeves ideas about placing individuals into categories based on characteristics. I think focusing on the student and their learning needs at that time will give the best opportunity for meaningful learning.

When Leadership Takes the Wrong Path No One Survives

Allow me to introduce today's guest blogger - Dr. Nancy Larsen. Dr. Larsen is currently the superintendent of Kellogg Public School District #391 in the Silver Valley of North Idaho. She has a wealth of experience in a number of roles and is a former Idaho State Teacher of the Year (2000).

Keeping one’s head low so an employee doesn’t become the next target is a sign of leadership gone awry. When team members watch others be demeaned and wish they had the ability to change it, but don’t because it puts their job or livelihood in jeopardy, the system is broken. When a revolving door describes the in and out of people to the system, there’s a desperate need for a change. So, how does it get this bad?

No one goes into leadership wanting to be a failure; however, most individuals are not prepared to become a true leader and resort to being a manager. A leader inspires the desire for team members to want to perform because they admire and respect the person at the helm—leadership is based upon nurturing the human interactions within the system on a daily basis. On the other hand, a manager, believes themselves to be the most important part of the system and maintaining one’s ego becomes the first priority instead not ever experiencing the results of nurturing team members; any results are based upon fear and anxiety.

Of those organizations of which I have most felt a productive and satisfied member, I find my well-being and membership within the group as one to which I want to contribute—the desire to work and accomplish is deep. Of those organizations of which I have most felt disjointed from the group and marginalized, I find my feelings are those of dejection and desire to leave it behind. In both cases, the leadership has inspired my attitudes and thoughts.

There is a natural tendency in some individuals to become inspiring leaders, some are born with this talent; however, leaders can also be made. With mentoring, training, and patience leaders can emerge. More time needs to be spent analyzing those qualities which inspire and build up others so emulation can occur. Ongoing mentoring and feedback can refine and cultivate the person at the helm to create environments that perpetuate the desire to be part of a team; to create systems where people stay and want to be there; and, eventually, environments which are sought out by individuals who admire the work from afar.

Let’s not rush this…developing true leadership is worth the time it takes.

How We Spend Our Time

As I am sure some of you can attest, being a teacher is a very time-consuming job. From late August to early June, we spend a significant amount of time at school doing, well...teacher things. I usually start my day at 6:00-6:30 and am one of the first to arrive at my school in the morning. I am not a morning person so you can imagine that it's sheer force of will that gets me there with a pretend smile on my face. From the first bell to the last bell we bust our tails making magic within the walls of our classroom. On conference nights we stay late until well after dark meeting parents, hearing concerns, and making plans to alleviate student issues. We spend time making calls to praise and work with parents. We create lessons, refine plans, and correct work. What it all boils down to, is that great teachers are hard workers.

If you haven't heard it, there is an old joke that goes "What are a teachers favorite months?" The answer is June, July, and August. I don't think it was a teacher who came up with that joke, just another person who likely has little understanding about what teachers really do. For one thing, I don't get paid for those months. My contract runs through the school year and I'm only being paid for those months. Like many other teachers (I've been surprised by the number of recent articles about this) I work a second job during the summer. In my ten years of teaching, I've only ever really taken off one summer when my daughter was less than a year old. Almost every teacher I know in my school has a side hustle - painting houses, doing yard work, bartending, waitressing, golf caddy, and I even know a few who give blood throughout the year to get a little extra money. Those of us not working an actual job are bettering ourselves through educational opportunities or spending time outside of contract hours refining our craft (or learning a new curriculum like I am this summer).

Even though I spend so much time working, my favorite moments are spent with my two kids. Jacob is twelve years old and Ellie is five years old. I'm lucky enough to have a summer "side hustle" that only involves a couple of hours a day during the summer and can be done in spare moments throughout the day. So, my kids basically get my full attention for three months during the summer. That means we go on hikes, swim, take day trips, make art, read, and basically jam as much as we can into those three precious months. It is fantastic.

Sometimes I need to remind myself that how we spend our time is something that's worth considering on a daily basis. Thinking about what is really important and prioritizing your actions based on that is something that everyone needs to consider. The power of saying "no" is something that I've learned in the last few years and it's helped me be a better steward of my time for sure. I find ways to work the mundane around what I really want to do every day and squeeze every ounce out of my summer days. It's important to me that I spend time with my kids, re-energize myself, and increase my level of happiness. 

If you ever feel overwhelmed or burdened by your work life, I encourage you to step back, take a breath, and reconsider how you spend your time.

The Future and Automation

The future and automation have become a talking point at a number of events I've been to recently and it's also started to come up in casual conversations when I tell people that I teach robotics at school. It's definitely something worth discussing, so I'll throw some of those ideas out there and get some feedback.

What is it?

Automation is a system where machines and their processes are used to do the work of a human being. Some of the first big appearances that automation made were in heavy industry - things like automobile manufacture, electronics, and machine production. Automation has actually been around a lot longer in more simpler forms (water wheels, mills, carts, etc.). When you look around in today's world automation is pretty much everywhere.

What is the problem?

The main issue that seems to pop up in conversation is that automation will take jobs away from people. Granted, we are not talking about doctors, engineers, architects, etc. we are talking about menial and sometimes dangerous jobs - factory work, construction, mining, logging, food processing, food preparation, and other similar jobs. For more information check out some of the following articles:

End of the road: will automation put an end to the American trucker?

MIT Technology Review - Every study we could find on what automation will do to jobs in one chart.

Forbes - Jobs and Robots: 25 countries based on job loss potential,

End of the checkout line: the looming crisis for American cashiers.

And just because my students got a kick out of this when I shared it with them...

New McDonald's in Phoenix Run Entirely By Robots

The idea of automating our daily lives is not a new one, but it is definitely picking up steam. What do you, my dear blog readers, think of the issue? Is widespread automation a good thing, freeing people up to pursue more lofty goals than working in a fast food restaurant or is it a terrible idea that steals jobs from those who need them and will have a negative effect on society as a whole?

EV3 Components List

This blog post will be a list of components in a Lego EV3 Mindstorms education kit. Just to make viewers aware of what is included along with a description for each item.

Image Courtesy of Lego Education

Intelligent Brick - The EV3 Intelligent Brick is the brains for any robotics build. The programming that you create on the software is transferred to this component to allow the robot to move autonomously throughout it's environment.

Large Motors - These are aptly named, as they are the larger motor included in the kit. These provide locomotion as directed by the Intelligent Brick.

Medium Motor - This motor is a smaller motor with a different look and often a different function. I have had students use medium motors for moving their robot but generally, it is used for other functions. An example would be the motor to open or close a claw.

Gyro Sensor - Measures the pitch and angle of the robot, which allows the intelligent brick to react and can trigger programming based on those variables.

Touch Sensor - Is pretty straightforward. It works like a button and can be used in a variety of ways (as a button being the simplest). It can be used to help the robot avoid walls in one example of it's many uses.

The Color Sensor - This sensor can detect colors across the spectrum, as well as black and white. This is an extremely useful sensor as it can allow for changes in programming based on color variables. This sensor also allows a robot to follow a line, which we often use in multiple step problems in class (e.g. follow the red line to the first checkpoint and drop off the box).

The Ultrasonic Sensor - Is affectionately known in my classroom as the detached Wall-E Head. It uses sonic waves (like radar) to detect movement, objects, distance, etc. and allows for changes in programming based on those variables.

In addition to all of these great sensors and motors, Lego includes enough building pieces to construct quite an array of robots. Students also really enjoy combining kits to be able to build bigger and more complex robotic creations and it is amazing to see where their creativity leads them.