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We are teaching classrooms of “digital natives,” more familiar than any other group of students that we have seen so far with the most current technology (Blanchard & Farstrup, 2011, p. 286). Teaching in a technology-rich district, I am blessed to have access to a lot of technology to use in my classroom. We have ActivBoards, Activotes, document cameras, a Learning Management System, and this year all of our students received their own laptops to use for school. However, before taking EDTC6536, I did not know about the NETS-S standards and how I could integrate them into what I am doing in my classroom along side the content standards that I already address.
After taking the self assessment and learning more about the NETS-T and NETS-S, I noticed that I was using technology as a one-way outlet of communication with my classes. I posted weekly schedules and attached assignments on our Learning Management System. I used PowerPoints in class to show the daily schedule and review vocabulary and grammar concepts, but there was no back and forth. My students were using technology to type papers or create PowerPoints for presentations but again these get turned out to be like a paper rather than changing and transforming through collaboration. I realized through this class that I wanted technology to be more interactive in my classroom. I wanted to use it to engage students in conversation, giving and receiving feedback, and taking assessments using technology. This course focused on Standard 10 Technology which states, “Integrates current technology into instruction and professional communication/collaboration activities where appropriate.” (Curriculum and Instruction Program Standards, 2012). During this course, I focused specifically on using technology for collaboration as evidenced in this overview of the way that I integrated what I was learning in the course into my classroomIn EDTC6538, we were exposed to different technologies each week. We not only saw how they were used, but we also took the time try them out. Our class sessions were centered around the topics such as communication, presentation, collaboration, and creativity guided by the NETS-S and NETS-T. Through this class, I created a podcast, a glogster, a video, a prezi presentation and a wiki. Before trying them out myself, I was unsure of how I would use them in my classroom and I hadn’t taken the time to explore them. After familiarizing myself with theses mediums, I took these tools into my classroom. My students participated in discussion boards, surveys, online homework assignments, and collaborated on a wiki to create a presentation for class. It was cool to see what I was learning about put into practice in my classroom.
Since taking this class, I have continued to integrate technology into my class as I have gained experience and resources. This year my students each received their own laptop for school use, which made technology in and outside of school much more accessible to all of my students. Benefits of this program include increased communication, problem solving, critical thinking, accountability, individuality, and data (Blanchard & Farstrup, 2011, p. 304). At the beginning of the year, we talked about how to use online tools as well as digital citizenship. This helped to set up my classroom for success as I integrated technology into my classroom.
“Research indicated that the use of technology can best affect student learning when learning goals are clearly stated beforehand (Pitler, Hubbell, & Kuhn, 2012, p. 3). I now tie our learning activities both to the content standards and to the NETS standards. For example as students worked on their Social Studies Classroom Based Assessments, they were hitting the Social Studies standards that states “I can describe key ideals and principles outlined in the Declaration of Independence, including life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” (“Social Studies,” 2012) and the NETS standard which states “I can locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media” (“NETS,” 2012).
I have used our Learning Management System for assessments, discussion boards, and as a place to give and receive feedback. Our French curriculum has an online textbook so students are able to access this on their laptops and get immediate feedback on activities in the textbook as well as hear the pronunciation of the vocabulary and watch videos that support the content. I also project this in front of the classroom every day as I am teaching. The Learning Management System has helped me to integrate technology into my assessments. I use this especially for pre-assessments, formative assessments, and reflections to get a quick gauge of students’ understanding of the learning targets. This helps me to know when to go on and when additional review is needed.
One thing that I have really picked up from this class so far is the importance of authenticity. How can we make what we do in the classroom really transfer into our students’ real lives? Some features of authentic learning include a supportive learning environment, curriculum alignment, thoughtful discourse, cooperative learning, and goal-oriented assessments (Parkay, Hass, & Anctil, 2010, p. 320). Another aspect of authentic learning is using technology in the classroom. This is what students will interact with in their real worlds and in the workplace. K.U. agreed with this point in the discussion board and added a great quote. She said, “I think your point about technology is an important one. I know many teachers that are really resistant to using technology in their classroom, but in order to prepare our students for what’s to come, we must help them to use it fluently. As Marc Prensky states in Parkay, resisting the technology of today ‘will be truly lethal to our children’s education’” (2010, p 320).
I think that school leaders can impact the implementation of these elements through professional development in these areas and by encouraging teachers to share what they are doing in their classrooms. Next year, my school will be implementing one to one netbooks for students. This is be an opportunity to stretch many teachers out of their comfort zones and bring technology into our classrooms in a big way.
As I think about what I want my classrooms to be and what it is now, I was really encouraged by Lupton’s article “Ideals vs. Reality in the Classroom”. Like her, lots of us probably entered teaching with an idealistic view of what we could do. But like she says, “Students must participate actively as players, not spectators, in the educational process in order to succeed” (Parkay, Hass, & Anctil, 2010, p. 353). This makes learning more authentic and applicable to our students’ lives.
Classroom Context #1:
I would like to try this strategy in my 7th grade Social Studies class next year. This class will be comprised of about 30 7th graders ranging in interests and abilities. Likely I will have a handful of students who are in the Special Ed or ELL programs at my school. I will have these students for both Language Arts and Social Studies and due to this increased time spent together, I hope to quickly build respect and rapport. I will try this strategy as we begin to study the American Revolution, which will be a few weeks into the new school year.
Grade Level Standards:
EALR: 4. HISTORY The student understands and applies knowledge of historical thinking, chronology, eras, turning points, major ideas, individuals, and themes in local, Washington State, tribal, United States, and world history in order to evaluate how history shapes the present and future.
Component: 4.2 Understands and analyzes casual factors that have shaped major events in history.
- 4.2.1 Understands and analyzes how individuals and movements have shaped Washington State or world history.
Learning Goal:
I can explain what drove the colonists to declare independence from Great Britain.
Description of Implementation:
- After learning about the context in which the American Revolution took place, I will ask students to imagine that they were there. I will tell them to play close attention to what occurs in their minds as they read about colonists as they begin to organize to oppose the British policies. They will consider how people might feel about not having a say in the rules they must follow. I will ask them to think about where they see themselves and what they see, hear, taste, and feel. This will generate a mental picture in which students visualize emotions.
- Later in this unit, I will ask them to fill out a graphic organizer describing the relationships in the content being learned. In this, they will describe time-sequences, generalization patterns, and cause and effect.
Instructional Artifacts:
Cause and Effect Graphic Organizer
Classroom Context #2:
I would like to try this strategy in my Introduction to World Language Class. This class will be comprised of about 30 6th and 7th graders. This is an elective that the students have chosen to take. I will work closely with the Spanish teacher who will also be teaching this class. We will plan together and switch students at the quarter so that students get exposure to French and Spanish in a quarter long timeframe. I will try this strategy as we begin the year to reinforce our vocabulary.
World Language Standard:
Communication
Communicate in Languages Other Than English
Standard 1.1: Students engage in conversations, provide and obtain information, express feelings and emotions, and exchange opinions.
Learning Goal:
I can list body parts.
Description of Implementation:
- To reinforce vocabulary, I will have students create notecards with a French word on one side and a drawing of the object on the other side. Students will draw or create symbolic pictures that represent the vocabulary learned and aid retention. They can use these notecards to study the vocabulary.
- In addition, I will have students engage in kinesthetic activity to help them learn and remember the vocabulary. Students will play sing Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes while touching the body part that is being sung.
Instructional Artifacts:
Body Parts Notecards:
Teacher-candidates use technology that is effectively integrated to create technologically proficient learners.
Technology is so prevalent in our world; we use it to access more information, work efficiently, and collaborate with others. Our students have grown up with these tools from a young age and use and rely on them often times even more than we do. I choose to reflect on this standard because I believe that by tapping into this resource, we can use technology to interest and motivate our students in class as well as prepare them for future experiences.
I use technology in my classroom daily. Each lesson is taught through the interactive online textbook that is displayed on the screen in my class. Through this resource, students can watch short videos that explain vocabulary and grammar concepts that we are learning about, do activities and get immediate feedback, and get extra practice. Students also have access to this online textbook at home. In addition, I use a site call Communicator where I post the daily schedule and assignments, documents, and PowerPoints for each chapter. Through this students can also interact with each other through discussion boards, wikis, and blogs. This brings the technology to them and allows them to create content, ask questions and collaborate. One recent example is using a wiki to plan for an oral presentation. Rather than being required to get together on the weekend to plan the project, they could do a lot of the planning together at home on their computers.
Because I feel like I have been in school for my whole life, between attending as a student and teaching, it seems like library tools should be very familiar to me. However as I watched the SPU library tutorials http://spu.edu/library/online-tutorials.aspx, I found that I learned a lot that will help me as I work on my graduate degree. I learned how to use subject guides in the databases to figure out what the database calls the term you are looking for. I also learned how to better use the Boolean search by using quotations and adding the add/or boxes. I found out that the articles arranged by date by default and that you can use the magnifying glass to see the outline. All of these takeaways will help me a lot for research throughout my graduate program. It was nice to put a face with a name for Cynthia Strong. She has already been so helpful as I have been working on my Research Proposal for the Interpreting and Applying Research course.
This week we worked in a group to plan an event using a wiki. My group planned a night out in Seattle. I must admit before using a wiki, I was a bit skeptical. I didn’t find email too cumbersome and I wondered if people would check the wiki to find new information or if it would go dead. I like the idea of getting a notification in my inbox when I get a new message. However, I found this to be a very fun and positive experience. I enjoyed looking through the other contributor’s photos, descriptions and links. It was fun to go through and pick favorites from each category.
I plan to use a wiki as part of my technology integration goal in my classroom. My goal is about collaboration so this fits perfectly. During our next chapter of study, my students will be putting together a skit or a video about food and shopping. I am going to have them plan and collaborate using a wiki. I am excited to see how this works. It will take some time in class and in the computer lab working with the students and helping them through issues, but I think it will be a cool process.
After exploring a variety of sources that spoke about online netiquette and how one is perceived on the web, I feel like a have a greater understanding of how to create an accurate representation of myself on the web and how to use the web to help me communicate with others. I used to think that the smartest way to protect your digital identity was to limit the information that you post online or the social media that you participate in. However the opposite is true; it is important to make sure that you build your web presence.
I continue to feel more and more comfortable sharing information online as this becomes more of the norm, but I am much more cautious of my audience than the typical Digital Natives that I teach and interact with everyday. For example, I enjoy sharing photos with close friends and family over Path, in which my community contains only those who are closest to me; however, I do not feel comfortable sharing more than basic information over a site like Facebook. I don’t feel like I have anything that is important enough to share with such a broad audience; however, I do often use Facebook to send messages and communicate with friends and family on a more one on one basis.
During this class session, we explored different ways to find and save information and sources. We talked about the Big 6 Skills, which is a process that people of all ages follow to solve a problem. This process is used as our kids study or begin to work on a research project. It was interesting to become aware of this process.
We explored search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo, Yippy and WolframAlpha. I found Yippy interesting because it creates clouds of results in categories in addition to the traditional list. We also looked at websites where you can gather and save information like Delicious, Diigo, Themeefy, and Thoora and sites that help you cite your sources.
These tools will be useful for my own research and storage as well as great tools to teach my students. Some resources that I will put to use right away are the EasyBib app on my phone and my new Delicious account. Delicious is really nice because I can make stacks of websites that I will want to revisit for research or educational information. I will show this resource to my students as well as they do research projects or try to store information. Also by using sites like EasyBib or KnightCite I can reiterate the importance of citing where you found information with my kids without making it feel so overwhelming and impossible to get every coma and space correct like I felt when I was their age.
I am pursuing a Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction in hopes of learning how to become a better teacher including learning instructional strategies, ways to integrate technology into my classroom, and how to inspire my students.
As I begin my Master’s in Curriculum and Instruction, I have been asked to take the time to reflect on each of the standards. This reflection will serve as the spring board to state my understanding of these standards. I am sure that as I continue to work through this program and begin to apply these ideas to my classroom, my understanding and practice will continue to develop.
Curriculum and Instruction: Program Standards
Standard 01. Instructional Planning
Because my time with my students is limited, it is important that I work strategically with my students to check understanding and develop plans for success in my classroom. I frequently check for understanding using entry task and exit slips, which are written on post it notes that I can look at quickly and give back with feedback. In addition, at mid-term I create a “Success Plan” with students who have a C- or lower, which includes goal setting and reflection.
Standard 02. Learning Environment
In order to create a safe and healthy classroom environment specifically outlined classroom expectations are essential. I also incorporate routines into my classroom such as Clock Buddies for group work, Student Led Reviews where partner groups teach the class, and Entry and Exit Tasks on Post-It Notes. By teaching procedures and practicing routines, students feel comfortable in my classroom and they know what to expect.
Standard 03. Curriculum
While focusing on state standards for World Language such as Communication, Culture, and Comparison, other worlds can come alive in the classroom. I use the online textbook, the tv5 French news, and interactive learning experiences to bring my students on a voyage through Senegal, Paris, and Quebec.
Standard 04. Pedagogy
I strive to engage my students in meaningful and exciting learning experiences through conversation, projects, and research. By giving students the tools to learn more and discover information on their own, I am equipping them to continue to learn and see the real life connection to my instruction.
Standard 05. Assessment
My true goal in my classroom is that students are learning and through formative and summative assessment, I am able to measure their mastery of the curriculum. I use entry tasks and exit slips to measure learning along the way, while I use tests and presentations to measure learning at the end of each chapter. By modifying certain assignments and assessments, I work to make sure that all students are able to tell me what they know.
Standards 06. Communication
Communication is very important to be a successful teacher. I use email to collaborate with colleagues, send newsletters home to parents, and send reminders to students. I use StandardsScore to let students and parents know their grades and I use Communicator to let students and parents know about upcoming assignments, tests, announcements and homework.
Standard 07. Collaboration
Working together with other teachers and professionals helps me to become a better teacher and enables me to better meet the needs of my students. By putting our minds together, we can create something better. Because I know this, I plan assessments and projects with teachers in my discipline and work as a part of a multi-discipline learning team to research best practices for teaching in a longer class period.
Standard 08. Exceptionality
All students are unique and it is important to recognize their different learning and behavioral needs. By working alongside parents, counselors, and the school psychologist, I modify and adjust instruction, assignments, and assessments to make sure that all of my students’ needs are met.
Standard 09. Cultural Sensitivity
My students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. It is important that I create an inclusive learning climate that makes everyone feel comfortable and ready to learn and succeed. I work to make sure that all students feel that they can share their culture as well as learn about others through Language Learning Surveys, Flash Culture, and discussion.
Standard 10. Technology
As a teacher in the 21st century, it is vital to use current technology in instruction. I do this through using an online textbook with videos and interactive activities in my classroom. Technology should also be used as a tool for communication and collaboration with colleagues, parents and students. I use email, StandardsScore, and Communicator for communication and collaboration with these groups.
Standard 11. Inquiry/Research
It is important to stay up to date with the newest research and data around education. These findings guide my instructional practice.
Standard 12. Professional citizenship
In the best interest of my students and the community, it is important that I stay informed and involved in the conversation around educational policy and practice. Through being an involved community member and advocate for education, I am able to be a voice for my students and their families.
Last night we explored Microsoft Movie Maker and created videos showing a day in our lives. It was a really fun project to work and everyone enjoyed seeing each other’s videos. I was surprised how easy the program was to use and I was quickly able to edit my video clips and add short splices of music. I was able to get over 30 minutes of film down to a 1 1/2 minute video. Check it out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t99cY__lRzE&feature=mh_lolz&list=HL1318341434.
I think that video would be very fun to use in my French classes. Often we do presentations in class, but I think that video would be a good alternative. One nice thing about video is that students can practice their lines many times and use their best quality of work in their final product. Also when it comes to presentations, the videos would be a little more interesting and creative and I think that there would be less lag time in between presentations.
Elise Phillips's bPortfolio 