6714 Reflection on Assessing My Students' Learning

Being a special education teacher I am all about individualizing, customizing, and differentiating amongst my special education students. With this said, the growth, knowledge, and enrichment which resulted from this course not only helped me grow as a professional, but will have a direct positive impact on my students. This course has coherently demonstrated how to integrate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in conjunction with Differentiated Instruction (DI). As I begin my plans for the next school year, I will begin including both UDL and DI. Surveys were one of the main focuses throughout the last several weeks, in which I am very grateful. I have never used formal surveys with my students. Typically, I would gather the same information from my students (their interests, learning styles and profiles), but through observations and conversations. Surveying my students will become more time efficient and less subjective with more consistent results. This will definitely be an easier way to survey. Also the information will already be documented for referencing quickly when needed. Another important aspect of the student surveys this course examined was using the information for the purpose of grouping students. With this newfound knowledge, I will now be able to customize groups more accurately due to UDL and DI, which will also allow their diverse levels and learning styles to be met. Additionally, my students will be able to choose from different ways they want to present their knowledge.

Because of our collaborative groups, I have gathered a plethora of sites, which will be related to my lessons, resulting in creating a hook to captivate my students and further provide an enriched learning experience. My curriculum has received an enormous boost by utilizing technology due to what I have learned from this course, instructor and colleagues. During this course, evaluation of student learning was also aided with technology, proving how important and simple technology is to incorporate. The opportunity for me to add technology within DI, are vast and endless and doesn’t require creating individual lesson plans for each student. Remembering how important it is for students to retrieve their prior knowledge, experience new information, and then be able to transfer this to the next level, was reiterated in this course.

After giving much thought and reflection, the technology I have learned through this class will immensely benefit my students. I cannot wait to partner my teachings with the various technology tools while watching my students have fun learning and preparing for the 21st century.

Online Learning

Here is my voicethread discussing the advantages and disadvantages of online learning featuring Moodle.
https://voicethread.com/?#u1846131.b2081247.i11076092

Final GAME PLAN Reflection:

 

The reflection process is a very important step in any type of improvement circumstances and reflecting on the last eight weeks, throughout these GAME days, is no different.  As I embarked on creating my GAME plan, eight weeks ago, I remembered being a little fuzzy trying to envision the end result, but I persevered week by week.   Soon, I was able to see the whole picture and enjoyed working towards my goals.

There have been some very helpful aspects of my GAME plan that I had developed through this course and have already begun incorporating into my daily teachings. My first Goal of “Model Digital-Age Work and Learning” involved me being able to demonstrate fluency in technologies both current and rising, while sharing my information to support students’ learning.  Because I continued to reach above and beyond my comfort zone when using technology, I have learned so many new things over this past 8 weeks that I would have never predicted.  Due to my hard work and using all types/kinds of technology, I was recently asked to assist my school’s technology teacher during a computer session for my entire faculty.  Also, I have made progress in incorporating this goal with my students.  The next few weeks I have two- technology integrated projects planned that I am working on with my students.  Having never done anything like this before, I am very excited and eager for both my students and myself.  No matter what the end results may be, my students and I will be more enriched and experienced.

The second Goal I worked on was conveying relevant information through various digital venues in an effective manner to student, parent, and colleagues.  At first, I thought this goal was going to be achieved within a quicker timeframe, but in fact, the opposite could not be truer.  When trying to start a group account for my colleagues to share information and resources, I came across a professional barrier.  This is an adjustment that I will have to sort through in order to be able to bring this goal to fruition.  By the end of this summer, I plan to have the group account for my colleagues operating and the said address distributed, and additionally, I plan to have my class website, new and improved and ready for action as soon as school starts.

I am very grateful for the privilege of being exposed to such useful and practical ideas that I can incorporate into my classroom.  This course has provided me with a sound foundation in which to build and grow upon for the unknowns of tomorrow.  I am a better teacher because of this course today, tomorrow, and beyond.

Linking NET-S and NET-T; Week 7

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                Images Taken From http://www.iste.org/

As one examines the NET-S and the NET-T standards, it is obvious they are intertwined; therefore, one must understand BOTH.  The most obvious way to thoroughly begin to understand something is to explore and act on it.  This is a cycle that will have a snowball affect on both teachers and students.  Teachers will begin to implement more technology, students will see teachers using more technology and begin to learn and want more technology integrated into their daily lessons, teachers will witness the students positive response and eagerness to learn and an adept ability to understand digital concepts quickly, students will begin to experiment on their own or formulate questions to ask teachers, teachers will explore, learn, experiment more.  When working together on the same team, both students and teachers can motivate each other while constantly learning.  Teachers need not be afraid that they might not know everything about technology, but just be confident enough to be honest and keep learning.

When creating my lesson plans I will incorporate NET-S and NET-T guidelines.  Even though I'm not using the GAME acronym,  I will be more conscientious because of our GAME assignment.  I have already met with my CTT (computer-technology-teacher) this week and outlined a plan of all the technology software programs I would like to use for the remainder of this year and for next year.  When I approached my CTT, I stated that it was my responsibility to expose and teach my students in their elementary years, the basics of certain software programs and technology in general, resulting in basic knowledge for my students when they move on to middle school. 

NETS standards for Teachers and Students definitely overlap. One of the most important things to keep in mind for all teachers is that no matter how tiny your step might be when integrating technology, it is better than not incorporating any technology at all.  Always keep in mind that you are still helping your students improve their literacy skills in this 21st century demanding world!

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach (Laureate Education custom edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning. Chapters 8-16.

Reviewing my GAME

The two NET Standards areas that I chose for my GAME plan are

“Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.”

This first Goal involves me being able to demonstrate fluency in technologies both current and rising, while sharing my information to support students’ learning.  As far as this goal is concerned, I am making tremendous progress.  I am adding some type of 21^st century skills in my lessons for my students almost daily now.  I have joined a twitter network that shares educational ideas and rejuvenated instructional ways to help reach students.  I am now in a position to access new an array of websites and also I’m able to now help my colleagues locate and access ideas or information for which they are searching.  This particular goal will be ongoing, because I do not foresee myself being regarded as ‘all-knowing’ in the technology realm.  By extending this goal to ‘permanent mode’, hopefully my current growth rate will continue as is, and I will always be a lifelong-learner.  In the area of future improvement for my future learning and continued growth, will be not to hold out so long in experimenting with things like twitter or blogging etc.

The second Goal is conveying relevant information through various digital venues in an effective manner to students, parents, and colleagues.  After receiving feed back from colleagues and peers, I believe that setting up a parent night in order to provide direct demonstrations and opportunities for parents to experiment and ask questions is one of the key to this goal being successful.  I have already spoken with my principal and she was excited and eager for my goal to be implemented, but asked me to execute this intent next year.  Concerning the goal of creating a group account for special education teachers has more or less hit a snag and this particular goal I am still working on.  One approach I have learned stemming from that goal is it might be better to ask for forgiveness rather than asking for permission (I would really only consider this tactic only when I know my actions are not breaking any regulations or rules).

GAME PLAN REFLECTION

Once again I am required to take time and reflect on my GAME plan, which is a necessity when trying to accomplish any and all goals, but honestly, sometimes I “think” I don’t have time to do this step.  In order to accomplish my GAME plan and all other goals, this step is vital.

With this said, I am taking a step back and reflecting on my 2 GAME plan goals; the progression towards incorporating more technology into my daily teachings and also conveying information through various digital formats.  As I access my actions, I am able to share that I am making progress towards both of these goals, although I am not running full speed towards the finish line, I am steadily moving towards the finish line.  So far this past week I have created a new blog, a twitter account and an iWeb site.  Concurrently, I have utilized some form of technology or digital format in everything I have done for school, including learning new techie things for my IEPs.  Because of my constant work towards these goals, and the progress I have made this week, I have learned that the more I continue working and exploring new digital tools, equipment, software, and incorporate these into every part of my professional life, it gets easier and easier.  For example, the time it took to activate clickers this week as opposed to the time it took last week.  WOW.  Also, I have added BrainPop to my clicker settings this week, so I can click “activate vote” and my clickers are INSTANTLY set-up, turned on, and programmed. WOW.  

One realization I did encounter when I was reading the reflective questions was that I do need to always learn to continue to stay active in the learning mode and not rely on “that’s the way I’ve always done it” attitude.  Don’t get me wrong, I am always trying to self-improve and grow, but to work this hard in such a short amount of time in order to reach your goals, is hard work, time consuming, and even exhausting mentally and physically.  So, I do work hard, but just not this hard all of the time.  As we approach TCAP and then the end of school, I am beginning to question if all of this work towards my goal of conveying information through various digital formats is going to be launched with enough steam and momentum when it’s so close to the end of the school year.  With only 30-something days, most teachers are trying to first get through TCAP, then will start winding down their school year.

Even though we (my school colleagues) are thinking about how many days/weeks are left and our students’ performance on TCAP, I will continue onward towards my 2 GAME plan goals with as much zest and zeal as I started.  As of now, I will not adjust my current plan at all, because I know I will fully implement both goals to their fullest potential whether it’s this year or next.  Therefore, if both my goals do not attain their level of significance within the next few weeks, that’s ok because both goals will be in full swing starting the first day of school next year and I’ll have all summer to tweak here and there if needed.

Revisiting GAME #2

Since my last posting for my 2 GAME goals, I have made some progress. My first goal being more fluent with technology both current and upcoming, I have taken several progressive steps towards this. This past week, I attended a full day of training to learn about the Promethean Board that I have. I learned so much and was so very excited to get back to my students and start playing. I also learned how to use the clickers, which I have wanted to do this for some time now, and I learned how to create my own assessments for the clickers. This is a huge step towards my goal. Additionally, the Internet has provided me with sample rubrics that I can use for assessing my students and myself, and also in finding resources to help me work on improving my electronic communications with my parents. With all the information I have found, I am right now trying to sort through while absorbing it all in order to utilize what I am able to use for my plan.

The only part of my plan, at this point, that I have to think about modifying is sending out a mass email to all of my colleagues throughout my county, which will invite them to join a collaborative yahoo group. A supervisor I contacted about last week said she thought there was something in place for special education teachers to visit, but what she is referring to is a link from an existing commercial site that has to be subscribed to.

One thing I have learned since creating my GAME plan is that it takes time to follow protocol and sometimes you are not able to advance to the next step unless you have completed all the current formalities. Also, some of these formalities are hinged upon human responses/actions, which further means, when they become able or choose to act! In addition, I have become more aware of how technology is really not integrated into the classroom or lessons when it is crunch time in preparation for state testing. Other colleagues do not want to “waste” their time on “fun” activities with our TCAP (state testing) being right around the corner.

Finally, one question that I have started pondering is how do I get my parents involved electronically? Many parents are choosing not to take advantage of the technology that is already in place such as: teacher web pages and our Power School that posts student’s grades.

Reviewing my GAME

As I consider my first goal, being fluent in technologies, the more it occurs to me that I do not know. Does this make sense? Technology is like an onion, the more you peel back, BAM! there is another layer underneath. For starters, I would like to make an inventory list of the digital tools and technologies: 1) I utilize often 2) I feel I use effectively 3) Impact on students’ performance. I would also like to review some rubrics used by teachers when evaluating their own teaching and then modify to meet my particular needs. Concurrently, there are several strategies that I have pondered, for instance, locating more professional development classes/sessions, talking with colleagues, and spending more time exploring/creating/experimenting. So far I have signed up for a technology conference in April and have already participated in an iGoogle webinar

For my second goal of conveying relevant information to students, parents, and colleagues through technology, I have spoken to some of my colleagues and inquired about using technology to achieve this goal. I discovered that several used emails or teacher web pages when outreaching to parents, and they also used emails and blogs for colleagues. As I plan to create a centralized location for both students and parents, I have started gathering and organizing links that I want to include. Also, I have emailed my principal and requested time to speak with her about a workshop for parents to help them access teacher/school information via technologies. At the same time, I have already sent a couple of emails to special education coordinators to ask for specific guidelines when contacting/communicating throughout my district.

MY GAME PLAN

Learning a new game can be fun, exciting, challenging or even the opposite; uninteresting. Recently, I have been discovered that I not only must learn a new game, but also be the inventor of this new game. WOW! It took me a minute to wrap my mind around what is being asked of me, especially because this game has such high stakes.



Being the winner of my game is defined as being an effective teacher by utilizing 21st Century Literacy Skills. In order to achieve this, I must have a solid perception of what being effective entails, therefore, I need to understand the National Education Standards for Teachers (2008) in order create my GAME plan. As Dr. Cinnamo (2009) explained, GAME signifies “Setting Goals, taking Action, Monitoring, and Evaluate and Extending” (p.30) therefore my first step is setting my Goals.


The NET Standard I am creating my GAME plan for is “Model Digital-Age Work and Learning.” This first Goal involves me being able to demonstrate fluency in technologies both current and rising, while sharing my information to support students’ learning. The Action is to incorporate many of the skills I have learned from previous and future courses via Walden into my lessons as well as using my classroom technologies to their fullest potential on a daily basis. In terms of Monitoring, this will be more of a trial and error event that will need adjusting, but most importantly, I will need to be very honest when reflecting objectively on my teaching. By monitoring students’ performances through informal and formal assessments in addition to creating a rubric for myself, these day-to-day notations will help me track specific moments while considering either modifying or moving forward. In order to Evaluate and Extend these specific moments, I will test my students’ content knowledge on the lessons that I have incorporated the aforementioned technologies. From here, I will reteach or enrich, which will show me the level of mastery of my students based on my teachings.





The second Goal is conveying relevant information through various digital venues in an effective manner to student, parent, and colleagues (2008). My Action will include a multi-facet approach starting with creating a group account for my colleagues in which to share files, questions, and information. After I create the group account, I will send a mass email to all schools within my county asking each principal to forward the invite for colleagues to join, but will also set the group’s profile for special education teachers around the world. Within my classroom, I will provide ‘show and tell’ with my students showing them my teacher webpage and the various links that are available. For my parents, I will offer times (PTA meetings, parent-teacher conference night, and even during/after school) to demonstrate how to access my webpage and the wiki that I will create for parental use. To eliminate confusion, I will also provide my parents “quick step” guide outlining the steps to take for obtaining different options. Monitoring will be on-going, by providing my contact information, my parents contact me at various times for various reasons. During the times mentioned above, I will be available for monitoring, questions and even conferences. Concurrently, I will be Monitoring the colleague group account on a daily basis via my email. Evaluating and Extending will be based on the volume of response in which is received through the various digital venues. After examining the reactions, I will then continue, adjust or alter for the start of the next school year.


I look forward to doing this project for the remainder of this year, which will enable me to tweak as needed, therefore, starting off next year strong from day 1. GAME ON!!!!



Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

Reflective Thoughts on Supporting Information Literacy and Outline Inquiry in the Classroom

As my journey through Walden’s master’s program, Integrating Technology in the Classroom has brought me to the end of EDUC 6712; I have evolved into a teacher who grasps the importance of the new literacy skills. One of the most striking revelations about my teaching of new literacy skills to my students is the fact that without evening realizing it, I am incorporating these skills without thinking. Because I understand how the definition of being literate has changed to now encompassing the need for our students to acquire the new literacy skills in order to be able to compete in tomorrow’s work force, I will strive to add more of them into my daily lesson plans.

Due to the knowledge and experience of this course, I am more equipped to teach and guide my students through the process of being able to indentify websites that are reliable and valid as opposed to websites that are created with the intent to mislead or spread untruths. Never realizing such faulty websites existed, I take satisfaction in being more conscious and skilled in educating my students in where to find kid-friendly appropriate sites and search engines such as http://www.ivyjoy.com/rayne/kidssearch.html and even researching an existing site by finding out who the true author is by using www.easywhois.com. Will Richardson states, "They (students) must be able to assess its authority by examining the incoming and outgoing links from and to other sites on the Web to ensure it references--and is referenced by--credible sites" (Richardon, 2009, p. 29).

One professional development goal I would like to pursue is to create a wiki for all special education teachers throughout my school district as a collaborative site to post and share ideas and links that have been enjoyed within their classrooms or as a place to ask for assistance from colleagues. This would also be the perfect avenue to share how to adapt 21^st century skills to each learner according to their individual needs. Current trends of technology could be shared as to how it is being incorporated into the curriculum. Just think of all of the resources that would be available to share with just a click of a computer button; powerpoints, voicethreads, lessons for Promethean and smart boards, and since special education ranges from K-12, there would not be limited materials by any definition. Another added benefit is that this wiki encompasses all realms of special education, which includes speech/language, physical/occupational therapy, gifted, resource, and co-teaching. My steps to accomplishing this goal is to contact my immediate special ed supervisor and acquire contact information for each school or sped teacher. Then I would set up the wiki and invite all to join. Between word of mouth and a great need for this collaborative effort among my peers, I feel I could accomplish this particular professional development goal without too much difficulty and we all would reap the rewards especially the students.

Kimberly

Reflection on Effective Bridging of Technology and Instruction

As I began to understand what this course, Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction and Technology entailed, I also began to investigate as well as express which theory I lean toward or used the most.

The more I reflect on my own personal learning theory, the more I realize that I continue to evolve and grow and do not prefer to be boxed into labeling my beliefs and teaching styles. With this said, I found that I adhere to mainly the constructivist and cognitivist theories with a little mixing of behaviorist. Bruner stated that learning is “an active process in which learners build new ideas or concepts based on their current/past knowledge” (Duffy and McDonald, (2008). Piaget “suggest that the adult’s role in helping the child learn was to provide appropriate materials for the child to interact and construct” (http://www.child-development-guide.com/child-development-theorists.html#theorists1). I believe that each child possess different learning styles and strengths in which I try to incorporate all modalities of learning in order to reach all of my students at any given time. I am a very intuitive teacher and also believe that most students learn best by actually experiencing things through touching, building, creating, and owning. I have always believed this meaning this portion of my personal learning theory has not changed upon the completion of this course. However, what has resulted from this course is the awareness of how to better implement technology using these theories.

Through this course, I have been enlightened to technology terms and tools that I have not heard before. One such tool that I have continued to use since being introduced via this course is VoiceThreads along with Concept Mapping. I have already utilized VoiceThreads in teaching concepts for reading such as main idea, cause and effect, and fact and opinion. This next week, I will take the next step and place my students in cooperative groups in order for each group to create their own VoiceThread. The second tool I have explored is Concept Mapping. In fact, the concept map I created for this course has been referred to on many different occasions in my class for reading, social studies, and science. I look forward in continuing to use concept mapping more easily as well as extending this technology tool for my students to create their own.

My first long-term goal is to keep abreast of current trends and applications in technology. There were many things we did throughout this course in which I had not heard of before. This first goal can be obtained by seeking more professional development classes, which focus on technology, as well as completing my masters through Walden University. My second goal is to add new technology tools to my lessons. As I begin to incorporate more technological tools, I want to ensure I am utilizing them correctly in addition to really benefiting my students and my lessons. Instructional time is limited and valuable. I want my students to be able to take these tools and use them with me being a facilitator. As I think of the technology and tools that exist now, I wonder of the advancements that will happen by the time my students and own children reach their college years.

The only consistent and steadfast element of technology is that it is changing on a daily basis; how we communicate, share ideas, make presentations, and even work in collaborative groups. It is a never-ending process. I hope to expose my students and even myself to different ways of incorporating technology as much as possible. This class has really opened my eyes to a lot of possibilities of using these tools as both instructional and learning.

Child Development Theorists...Major Theorist of Child Development. (n.d.). Retrieved September 11, 2010, from Child Development Guide http://www.child-development-guide.com/child-development-theorists.html#theorists1

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Voice Thread

Constructivism in Practice

This week's articles and videos examined the constructivist theories and their relationship to technology in the classroom. Within the chapter, Generating and Testing Hypotheses, Data Collection, and Web Resources were discussed and explained. When Generating and Testing Hypotheses was explored, I thought the example given of fifth graders who used Microsoft Excel to learn about compounding interest and saving money can lead to strong earnings over time was pretty powerful. The goal was not to learn about math or graphing; however, they were hidden in the use of this technology tool.

As far as data collection tools, I have never heard of a USB connectable data probe before so this was new for me. This activity for higher grades does indeed show many instructional strategies. It definitely adheres to the constructivist theory of allowing students to create their own meaning through experience.

Web Resources was the part of the chapter I like the most. I love linking to the various websites to find what parts I can utilize the best. I really liked the Plimoth Plantation's You Are the Historian website. It allowed the students to learn via a virtual fieldtrip about life back in colonial times. My son who is six has been ‘inventing’ for years therefore By Kids for Kids: How to Invent was a personal favorite to explore with him. Although he invents with legos, we still enjoyed it.

I believe that as I stop and think about my classroom theories that I do use the constructivist theory at times, but I feel I align more with the constructionist point of view.

Concept Mapping

Discovering Tennessee using concept mapping

Cognitivism in Practice

This week's readings, Orey presented four roles of cognitive tools and gave examples of each. These include information seeking, information presentation, knowledge organization and knowledge integration. Two instructional strategies that relate to the cognitive learning theories are cues, questions and advance organizers and summarizing and note taking.

"Presenting information involves the organization, format, and verbalization of knowledge conveyed through cognitive tools" (Orey, 2001). Examples include graphic organizers and concept maps. Using concept maps allows students to start at the top with the main thought and work their way down to the less general concepts. Concept maps are used frequently in elementary schools to prepare for writing paragraphs. I can now see where they would fit into other areas to strengthen the students' learning.

Summarizing and note taking strategies focus on "enhancing students' ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form" (Pitler, 2007, p.119). These strategies force the students to weed out what is not important and what is. I still use this strategy to jot down key words and cues and also to summarize in my own words, therefore, I will be more likely to remember the information being presented.

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism in Practice

Behaviorist theorists believe all behaviors can be unlearned and the key element to this theory is reward response. I wish that held true with all students, but I don’t believe that it does. I do use many methods that go along with the behaviorist theory such as contracts, consequences, reinforcement, extinction and behavior modification, and therefore, I believe it does have a place in education and educational technology today.
According to Standridge, “simple contracts can be effective in helping children focus on behavior change” (Laureate ) I have seen this work when dealing with children that need minor behavior changes. However, I have had students who were dealing with lots of issues, and contracts did not work. Honestly, I felt it was more of an imposition on my part to constantly monitor behavior every thirty minutes as some contracts are done. Usually these contracts were set up by our guidance counselor but left up to me to maintain. I do use both positive and negative consequences. I use a ticket system all during the day when I catch students doing the right thing. On Friday, they cash in five tickets for a piece of candy. I also use treasure box. Just as Dr. Orey stated in the video about his own son and his classes, most teachers use clip pulling for punishment, but before a student moves their clip, they must tell me what rule is broken. The point is for students to take ownership in the rule they broke so that hopefully, it won’t happen again.
There are times when behaviorist technology applications are appropriate and effective. Currently, our system is using istation as a means of testing, drilling and practicing for reading intervention. This is the fourth year we have used it. Even if a child does poorly on the initial testing, the program is designed to raise self- esteem as well as academics. The commentator will say, “Keep working hard and try your best.” The students love it. There are other programs out there that praise students for their hard work. It motivates the students to work harder.

I do think online educational programs need to be evaluated constantly by the classroom teacher. There needs to be a purpose in the program not just a usage of time in the classroom. “Researchers find that reading for understanding online requires the same skills as offline reading, including using prior knowledge and make predictions, plus a asset of additional critical-thinking skills that reflect the open-ended, continually changing online context” (David, 2009, p. 84).

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
David, J. (March, 2009). Teaching Media Literacy.

Appplication 8 Understanding the Impact of Technology in the Classroom

Even before starting my endeavor in obtaining my masters on integrating technology in the classroom through Walden University, I knew I was not very technologically savvy, but through this class I have created and accomplished things I never thought I would have been able to do.

Being a special education teacher within a Resource setting, there are more times than not that I do not include any technology in my classroom or lessons. After completing this class, I feel more confident and compelled to have at least some type of technology during each class. Until I become more efficient, I can start off with baby steps-perhaps having students start and update a weekly blog or even experience skyping with other students or dive into the wiki world. My intent would be to expose my students to technology within another type of classroom setting in addition to what they are being exposed to in their regular classroom. When my Kindergarteners to Third graders reach middle or even high school, think of all of the technological inventions that will have been invented. Through this class, I have learned new skills that I will be able to incorporate into my classroom to ensure my kids are on the road to increasing their Web 2.0 skills, which will eventually lead to being a commodity in the workforce.

Knowing I did not posses adequate technological skills, through this class I have realized the importance of preparing myself for this 21st century in order to become a more effective teacher as well as for the betterment of all my kids, school and home. How do I adequately prepare my students at school? Do some of my students know more about technology than I do? I know my own teenager does. After hearing answers for a podcast assignment, I wonder what life will be like for kids even in a few years. I know the little things I am doing in my class- working together as a team, giving my students more control and responsibility in their learning, and having my students answer questions about ‘how’ they achieved their answers are great skills for helping them down the road. After completing this course, I realize I must do more in the classroom to allow them the capabilities of using more technology.

My classroom strategies and techniques are already learner-centered. After initial assessment at the beginning of each year or when a student enters my class, I formulate a plan for each student to succeed best based on their learning preferences and methods of modality. Each student has certain responsibilities in order to reach their potential at that point. After a student-teacher conference, we talk about what they are having difficulties with and what they want to accomplish, I have my students write down their goals. My goal is assist their learning and keep them on track. Now that I understand what having technology skills and knowledge entails, my perspective has changed in that my students are already coming in to my class with skills, such as email, websites, gaming, applications on phones, even Webkinz.

Since starting my master’s degree with Walden, I have been seeking more information from visiting educational websites to reading more articles and blogs that relate to various educational topics. These websites, articles, and blogs are providing me with more information about current trends, technology ideas for the classroom and for the special education student, brain based theories, etc. Through the continued reading of magazines, websites, and blogs, I can keep abreast of ways to use technology to increase student achievement and become more of an effective teacher.

Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment by which you may have to overcome institutional or systemic obstacles in order to achieve them. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?
1) I would like to receive a smartboard and projector to use for all subject areas. Two years ago, I wrote a grant, which enabled a colleague and I to purchase two e-beams, therefore I foresee myself writing another grant in order to obtain the smartboard and projector. After hearing my colleagues in this course discuss the uses of a smartboard and doing some of my own research, I feel certain being able to utilize this type of technology would make my teaching methods more exciting for my students and enhance my student participation and attention. Accomplishing this goal does not mean “receiving a smartboard”, that is not the goal in itself. This goal would be met only after I was discovered enough to utilize the smartboard to its fullest potential for the betterment of my teaching and my students’ learning.
2) Until recently, I never heard of using ipods within the classroom setting, but I have signed up to take a workshop through my school system and have discovered all of their uses. I would like to have a set of ipods where I could download reading stories, math songs, and even social studies and science information for my students to listen to at their own present level of performance. Since ipods are considered a ‘luxury’ instrument, they are not readily available throughout my school system. With this said, I have heard of some of special education teachers using them in various settings, therefore writing another grant through the special education department would provide the funds for this project.

After completing this third course through Walden, I feel I have gained more hands-on and immediate knowledge that I will be able to share with my students. Overall, I have found useful tools from all of my classes to incorporate into my classroom. I cannot wait to see what the next class holds for me. With the start of the 2010-2011 school year just weeks away, I will be sure to share my newfound info with my colleagues and students on blogs, wikis, and podcasts. These will become a part of my vocabulary inside and out of my classroom. I know I will be on board of this 21st century adventure and am recruiting others as well!!

Podcast: Profiling the Kids of Today

Podcast interview with 3 kids about their daily technology use, gadgets, and skills.

Evaluating 21st Century Skills

Evaluating 21st Century Skills


My reaction to the web site:
This is the first time I have ever looked at this website. Obviously, lots of time and effort went into designing the website. Personally, I found it a bit confusing as well as a platform for selling different books and materials pertaining to the 21st Century concept. Upon first exploring this site, it seemed as if that was all I was finding, authors plugging their books. Also, when I was exploring different links, I was getting lost and not able to find certain information or pages again. But as I continued to explore the site, there appeared to be a lot of well-known businesses affiliated with promoting 21st century development. This got me thinking about the corporations within my own backyard and the potential and positive impact they could have on the schools around here. One of the businesses is well known for shipping parcels all over the world, but less well known for helping the schools. These companies are getting free tax incentives to stay here which in turn lowers tax monies to fund our schools.

What information on the site surprised you?
Reading the Mission Statement was a nice surprise. This really helped me cement what the 21st Century philosophy is all about.

“Mission Statement”: To serve as a catalyst to position 21st century readiness at the center of US K12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community and government leaders.
Another surprise was learning that some states were already partnered with businesses and were actively engaged in this program. I wondered if my state of Tennessee has taken the initiative to become involved.

Another surprise was the article about NEA’s partnerships for 21st Century Skills to promote global competence. This article detailed the importance of incorporating 21st Century skills into today’s curriculum and for all students Pre-K through College. Additionally, it stated the importance for educators to revamp their teachings strategies and curriculum so that all students are able to thrive in this global society.

Do you disagree with anything on the site? Explain.

As I found and read the overview of State Leadership Initiative stating in preparing students with the 21st century skills and in order for them to succeed in life, that all students need to be successful in school, work, and life and maintain all of these skills. Not every student is college bound. Not every student has the academic ability to master grade level curriculum and the desire or assistance to seek higher education. Not every student has a supportive family life to help them succeed and it is left up to the teacher to do everything. 21st Century skills must always include the traditional basic core subjects of reading, writing, and arithmetic. These subjects must be taught competently and never left out even when technology is moving to the forefront.

What are the implications for you students, and for you as a contemporary educator?

Becoming more enlightened with the reality of needing 21st century skills for the students of today was never more apparent as I explored this website. Realizing that I need to start instilling some of the skills my students will need to be able to integrate effectively in tomorrow’s workforce upon graduation is a bit overwhelming. If I was a middle or high school teacher, it might be easier to understand the urgency of trying to fit technology and 21st century skills into my daily lessons. But knowing I teach elementary special education students and only having one hour for reading per day, I don’t have enough time to cover their individual IEP goals and the reading curriculum and now this. Please don’t misunderstand me; everyday I teach my students communication and collaboration skills and how to get along with each other and even with those for whom they don’t agree with or care about. I also teach my students to have high expectations for themselves, as I have for each of them, and to be hard workers and always try to stretch themselves while giving their absolute best.
With all of this said, I am a teacher, whether it’s elementary, middle, or high school, and we are all teaching the same students, just at different times, so I need to do my part in preparing our students for the global society by finding ways to adapt more of the 21st century skills into my classroom.

Blogging from the Classroom

While exploring the world of blogs and trying to become more familiar with them, I was also thinking how I would incorporate them in my classroom. Deciding to google “blogging with special education students”, many sites suddenly appeared to my discretion. John Lloyd author of Teach Effectively! Blog http://www.blogged.com/blogs/teach-effectively.html stated this blog was intended to be used as a source for current news and opinions about effective teaching focusing on children with special education needs. John Lloyd shares how to use this blog as a tool of information as well as provide examples of how to reference properly.
As I was thinking of what purpose my blog could serve, it occurred to me to create a centralized location for collecting information and ideas which correlates directly with the specialized materials, curriculum, and instruction our school district requires of the special education teachers. It would be simple to gather teacher contact information and spread the word of this collaborative ongoing adventure.
Since the majority of special education teachers from my district are asked to use the same reading and math curriculum, we could compile a plethora of ideas of how to enhance and/or provide supplemental activities for each lesson. This blog would offer more of a venue for teachers to share ideas, concerns or even student’s work, allowing student’s access wouldn’t be productive.
I believe creating a blog for teachers at this time while planning for possible future expansion to include my students would best serve my needs as well as provide the needed time to practice my blogging techniques before extending to students. (Plus there is a confidentiality issue which encompasses special ed students)
I currently teach special education within a resource setting for K-3 graders.