Meta-Reflection Standard T January 1, 2010

Knowledge of teaching

Teacher candidates positively impact student learning that is:

1. Informed by standards-based assessment. All students benefit from learning that is systematically analyzed using multiple formative, summative, and self-assessment strategies.

I’ve heard a heard a lot of debate about assessment.  Some feel testing is biased towards certain students.  It is true some students are better at testing than others.  I was a good tester when I was in school.  For this reason we as teachers can use many different forms of assessment.  Our students are not just filling out answers to tests.  We have class discussions, we have various small assignments throughout the year, and we are constantly observing our students for signs of understanding or confusion.  I argue that there should be constant assessment happening in our classrooms.  This is a formative assessment I made up for the students that they did the day after we had an important lecture on the layers of the Earth.  This assessment let me see how well I did with the lesson and how well a lecture without teacher written notes would work with middle school students.  I was pretty sure that they had never  had to take notes from a lecture simply by listening.  I think it went well for most of them but also I know that note taking is a skill that they need to work on and that expecting middle schoolers to take notes straight from lecture is probably too much at this point.

2. Intentionally planned. All students benefit from standards-based planning that is personalized.

While the idea of personalized lessons for each student is a great idea the reality is that there just isn’t enough time for us to assign, monitor, or grade so many lessons.  The compromise is the development of lessons that are flexible enough to challenge students that need it but are also able to be understood by students who are slower to understand.  My      multi-cultural journal includes pieces on differentiation and diversity in the classroom.

3. Influenced by multiple instructional strategies. All students benefit from personalized instruction that addresses their ability levels and cultural and linguistic backgrounds.

Not all students learn the same way.  I myself am an example of this.  Some students learn best by reading, some by listening and watching, and others by doing.  I want to strive to include as many different instructional strategies as possible over the course of the year.  As a science teacher I am lucky in that my students often get to see results of lessons by doing labs.  I also mix in lectures and visual tools to create lessons that cover a broad base of learning styles.  These are three different lessons (Lesson 1, Lesson 2, Lesson 3) I created and entered into this blog for our content methods  class using the various Marzano strategies for creating a better classroom.

4. Informed by technology. All students benefit from instruction that utilizes effective technologies and is designed to create technologically proficient learners.

Technology is evolving at an amazing rate.  Some of this innovation has found its uses in education.  As the world becomes a more technology dependent students will only benefit from lessons that include and make use of technology.  I took a technology elective this past quarter.  In this class we learned about new technologies and how they might be used in the classroom.  Throughout the class we wrote weekly blog posts and created an educational technology  webpage and a digital narrative.

Metareflection for EDU 6535 December 14, 2009

I’ll start my final reflection with my thoughts on the class itself.  I think I was one of many who did a lot of grumbling throughout this class.  The work load wasn’t particularly overwhelming by itself.  I can only speak for those in the ARC program when I say that the workload added to an already busy quarter of volunteering at our internship all day and a very full quarter made for lots of late nights.  My hat off to those in the program with families and kids.  My only excuses are poor and long unused study skills.  I am hoping that by taking this class now I will make it easier for myself later in the program.

Now for my thoughts on the content of the class itself.

This class covered a number of technologies essentially all new to me.  Other than watching the occasional You Tube video, the internet for me was just email, news, and shopping.  Now I have posted my own You Tube video, created a blog, participated in a wiki, and frequently uttered lots of other funny sounding tech terms.  For all my complaining, however, I think my cold luddite heart has warmed to some of the things we learned and worked on.  The concept of free Web 2.0 tools available for use by anyone is a great concept and one that I hope continues to evolve and develop.  Blogs, wikis, etherpads, and more are all tools we explored that could be used for collaborative projects.

The concepts we learned go towards meeting the Washington State Technology Standards and also our educational standards at SPU.  Of particular emphasis are:

Standard S – 1.  Content driven. All students develop understanding and problem-solving expertise in the content area(s) using reading, written and oral communication, and technology.

Standard T –  4. Informed by technology. All students benefit from instruction that utilizes effective technologies and is designed to create technologically proficient learners.

Most of our standards could fall here in some way.  Technology can help teachers diversify their classroom in both instruction and assessment (Standard T 2,3).  Students are given opportunities to connect with theirs and other communities through technology (Standards L 4).  Learning about technology will benefit students by making them more marketable in the 21^st century environment (Standard L 2).  Students also benefit from me as a teacher continuing to improve myself through technological education and innovation (P 2).

Whether I or anyone wants it the world is becoming more technologically oriented.  Like any tool, technology only really works when used properly.  I think this class has given me some insight into the potential technology has for use in classrooms.  Any teacher who wants to educate their students in a relevant manner is going to need to evolve with the changing cultural, social, and technological environment.  If I may end with a Star Trek quote “Resistance is Futile”.

Digital Narrative December 14, 2009

Here is my Digital technology narrative I created in EDTC 6535.

I actually enjoyed working on this.  I learned that it isn’t all that hard and I could see the potential for use as an educational tool for posting special lectures or even reflection prompts to the web for students to use as homework.  This could be great for those students with lower english proficiency to be able to go over a lecture at their own pace and hopefully get everything out of it they couldn’t get in class.  I would count this a definite positive learning experience.

Educational Technology Creed November 28, 2009

I believe as a teacher it is my responsibility to guide my students in proper and ethical online behavior in today’s digital world.  Unlike previous generations, current students have grown up with a world of information right at their fingertips.  It is important that I make my students aware that increased access to information requires increased awareness of the rules governing the use of that information and increased scrutiny on their parts about the validity of that information.  My job as a teacher is to educate my students on the concepts of copyright and fair use.   Students need to know they cannot simply take what they want without first assessing the merit of the information and giving due credit to the owner.

I believe students need to be aware that their online presence is a reflection of themselves both personally and professionally.  Pamela Medels at the New York Cyber Times makes the observation “With today’s kids, tech savvy often outstrips ethical smarts”. (Medels, 2000) Students must realize  that hurtful or derogatory comments typed on a computer screen are no less painful than those said in person.  In addition, students need to be aware of how they portray themselves in cyberspace.  Media, such as photos and videos, posted online could be seen by anyone and could potentially  affect them positively or negatively years down the road.

I believe technology can allow me as a teacher to help each and every student succeed.   Proper use of technology and best practices can allow me to add educational value to existing lessons. (Martin & Martin, 2006)  Online and computer based resources can be powerful tools to help bridge language gaps in the classroom or for personalizing the pace of lessons.  Students can also access class materials outside of school allowing them to work and study on their own time.

I believe as a teacher I can take advantage of new technologies to expand the classroom to a global scale.  Former US Secretary of Education Rod Paige said “For our nation to continue to engage other nations effectively, we need to give our students at all levels an international education of the highest standards.” (IIE Network, 2001)  Collaboration with students from other countries can allow my students to not only learn about other cultures and places but to see projects in my science classroom from different perspectives.

As we progress through the 21^st century, technology is going to play an ever larger part in our everyday lives.  My goal as a teacher is to help my students make the most of this technology in order to remain current and competitive in the future.

Works Cited

IIE Network. (2001, 10 17). Retrieved 11 26, 2009, from Institute of International Education: http://www.opendoors.iienetwork.org/?p=29408

Martin, E. G., & Martin, C. M. (2006). Best Practices in Technology Education. Retrieved 11 26, 2009, from Virginia Tech. Technology Education: http://www.teched.vt.edu:16080/CTTE/ImagesPDFs/BestPracticesInTE.pdf

Medels, P. (2000, 02 16). Technology Cybertimes. Retrieved 11 26, 2009, from New York Times on the Web: http://faculty.plattsburgh.edu/stewart.denenberg/csc372/articles/ethics%20education.html

Issues and Advances in Technology Week 8 November 24, 2009

I thought the reading for this week The Horizon Report 2009, was a good one.  It was long, but it included great information such as time lines, relevant technologies, and examples of those technologies and even links and instances of those technologies being used.  This is definitely one site I will have to bookmark.  The report addressed one of my biggest issues with integration of technology into the classroom,  equity of access to computers and the internet.  We had students fill out forms at the beginning of the year about access to computers and the internet.  Most students have a computer at home as we would expect but there were those that didn’t.   So in terms of assigning and doing collaborative projects such as wikis or making groups pages how can we make it equitable?  Those without home computers are most likely disadvantaged in other ways then just lack of a computer or internet access.  Now these students have to find a computer to use meaning they have to stay after school and have their parents come pick them up or they have to find the nearest public library and try to get time on one of those machines while their peers can sit and work from the comfort of their own homes.  Perhaps there will be a time in the near future when everyone has a computer in their home, but I know that time isn’t quite here.  I am curious how mobile devices are going to be introduced.  The site gives some cool examples.  Again the issue is access to these tools.  No doubt these devices will continue to come down in price however, even with that there is going to be those who can not afford or don’t want or need the latest and greatest mobile device.  Despite my grumbling, I think there is some great ideas out there and I definitely want to keep an open mind about them.

 

Issues and Advances in Technology Week 4 October 27, 2009

As we explore more in the topic of technology and it’s use in the schools, I have come to believe more and more in it’s potential.   The topic for the week was engagement and relevancy.  We were to review the WA Tech standard 1.1

EALR 1

— INTEGRATION

Students use technology within all content areas to collaborate, communicate, generate innovative ideas, investigate and solve problems.

Essentially the starting point for integrating technology in the classroom.  There are quite a few simple tools available to start the integration process.  http://www.bubbl.us/index is a free online brainstorming program.  Google Docs:docs.google.com/ provides simple and free word processing, spreadsheets, presentations, and forms that can be accessed from anywhere and anyone with the web address.  It would be interesting, with more time, to see if I could implement some of theses simple tools into a class or unit.  Perhaps next semester when I am bit less swamped by SPU work and more into the teaching side I will have time to try out a new tool.

Work cited:

Washington State Educational Technology Learning Standards K-12. (2008, December) retrieved October 26th 2009, from OSPI Washington website: http://www.k12.wa.us/edtech/pubdocs/K12EdTechStandards6-8_12-08.pdf

Issues and Advances in Education technology Week 2 October 13, 2009

The main reading for this week were the Washington technology standards put out by the OSPI.  These standards were put out in 2008 to address the need for technology skills among high school graduates headed for higher education, the career training or the job market. (OSPI 2008)

Students are growing up with more and more advanced technologies and tools.  Not only are these new tools for social interactions like Facebook, but they can be powerful tools for collecting, organizing, and spreading data.  When I first started using a computer I thought the word processor with the black screen and blinking green cursor and spell check was great.  Today there are calculators that have more power than those computers did.  We can do so much more today than just type up a paper and print it out.  Today’s tools can do anything from remind you what you need to buy at the grocery store to allowing multiple people in multiple locations have a real-time conference with voice, video, presentations.

As teachers in this modern age it becomes our responsibility to try to incorporate this technology into our lessons and help students learn how these tools might possibly be used in their academic and professional lives.

Work cited:

OSPI, Washington State K-12 Educational Technology Learning Standards (2008) from OSPI website: http://www.k12.wa.us/edtech/pubdocs/K12EdTechStandards_12-08_MostRecent.pdf

Issues and advances in educational technology. Week 1 Educational Technology October 7, 2009

As Jeff Thomas Cobb put it on one page of his Learning 2.0 piece it can be overwhelming.  Overwhelming to say the least.  Right now I am most concerned about being able to stand in front of the kids and just talk intelligently and maybe string a few ideas together.  With blog posts, journals, and discussion boards for the other classes and advisors I have a hard time thinking about new technologies and how they might be used in the classroom when I am just starting to learn about the existing technologies.

The Learning 2.0 http://www.missiontolearn.com/2008/02/learning-20-ebook-free/ piece was well done and very informative.  I have known about, or a least heard about, most of the technologies he discussed.  The social bookmarking was a new one to me.  I can see how something like that could be helpful for someone in need of specific information without the time to review a large amount of sources.  Having a community who shares the responsibility of reviewing and evaluating sources could be a big time saver. I could also see how tools such as blogs, video, and wikis could be used for group projects.

Something I am looking forward to learning, as a science teacher, is how these tools can be implemented into school work.  Until there is fully interactive virtual reality, computer models and simulations will not be able to replace the hands on learning of many science classes.  Also there is the overhead requirements for such learning.  Every student will need, not only a computer able to run the software, but also a high speed internet connection to be able to use some of the tools.  I am sure there is a point in the future where this may not be an issue, but for the time being there are still many less advantaged students who do not have convenient access to a computer and internet connection.

Also a general issue I am curious about with the web 2.0 tools is the socialization aspect.  Schools are a major factor in young peoples life.  Granted those factors are unfortunately negative for some children, school is still where children spend most of their socially developmental years.  If we take that socialization and make it all over a screen and an internet connection how will that affect the children’s social skills later?

Just a few thoughts.  I’m interested in hearing others thoughts about this.