Reflection: Final Blog Posting

Emma Hankerson

This course has helped me develop better technology skills.  I feel that I have gained a greater affinity of how to integrate technology into the classroom.  The research and websites introduced in this course, and other tools that I have read have provided a firm foundation for me to integrate technology better in the classroom.  Although, I did not need any convincing because I realized a few years ago that students liked to use technology.  I watched students’ reaction when given the opportunity to use a computer and the satisfaction displayed by students as they interacted with a computer.  Based on Prensky (2008) students are bored.  During my career of teaching, I saw boredom in classes.  This discovery led me to become interested in using different teaching methods.

Prensky (2008),”Somehow, schools have decided that all the light that surrounds kids – that is, their electronic connections to the world – is somehow detrimental to their education.  So systematically, as kids enter our school buildings, we make them shut off all their connections.  No cell phones. No music players. No game machines.  No open Internet.” Since week one’s introduction, I feel that now in week seven I have learned techniques that can be added to my knowledge of how to use technology in the classroom.   

I have tried over the years to encourage my coworkers to use more technology.  Although, some teachers are still not as engaged in adding more technology for various reasons, i.e., lack of training and permission to add more technologies and motivation there is hope.  I know those factors will change. I feel Geddit, a web-based tool, will add to my classroom.  This tool is available for use with iPads, iPhones and computers.  Even with so few technological tools where I am working, the school does have Wi-Fi (on most days).  Unfortunately, those individuals that make the technological decisions for the school are working in the 20th century.  There is little concern about maintaining technology in the school.  However, I am planning to use blogs, Geddit, Khan Academy, etc. along with additional training to improve student performance and learning.

Teacher training using technology must become part of 21st-century schools.  “When people know better, they do better,” (Angelou, 2007).  School Districts and teachers need to research the influence of technology on student learning.  Keengwe, et als. (2008) state “There is evidence to show that computers can help students improve their performance on standardized tests (Ringstaff & Kelley, 2002), and student-centered approaches are better suited to fully realizing the potential of computer-based technology.  Further, when teachers use technology as one of the many tools in the instructional repertoire and only when appropriate for completing tasks, students are less likely to become bored.”  Participating in this course, as I have mentioned, has given me material to add to my conversations with my coworkers who are still not sure about why they must leave their old teacher-center methods.

 

 

References

Goodreads, (2014). Maya Angelou. Goodreads, Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2014 from http://www.

               Goodreads.com/quotes/9821-idid-then-What-i-knew-how-to-do-how

 

Mann, J. (2014). Lets Geddit.com. Retrieved August 4, 2014 from www.LetsGeddit.com

 

Keengwe, J., Onchwari, G. & Wachira. P. (2008). The use of computer tools to support meaningful

               Learning. AACE Journal, 16 (1), 77-92. Retrieved August 8, 2014 from

http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ehh&AN=28513453&scope=site

 

Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6), 40-45. Retrieved August 8, 2014

               from http://ezp.waldenulibrary.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct

               =true&db=ehh&AN=31926035&scope=site

 

 

Wiki Page

Wiki Page:  http://waldenelementarygroup.wikispaces.com

Geddit

Tags

21st-Century, communication, Teacher Tools, technology

Hello, I have a new discovery.  Geddit can be used on iPad, iPhones, tablets and computers to work with your classes. This is a response device that I have not used, however, I am anxious to try this fall.  Take a look at it!

Response Tool

Geddit-Teacher-PD-Presentation (1)

Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom

Tags

classroom, teaching, technology

Grade 3  – Mathematics

Utilizing Blogs in the Classroom

Teaching in the 21^st-Century classroom is a learning experience for students as well as teachers. Research indicates that students spend more time on the internet than teachers.  Although most students use technology for entertainment; it is up to teachers to redirect this usage to enhance their learning when in the classroom. 

I have always known that blogs existed, however, I didn’t realize their importance in the learning process.  During my first years in an inner-city school, my survival years, I could have used a blog to communicate with my parents about their children and activities in the classroom.  Blogs have unlimited uses as I learn more and more about them. 

Blogs can provide teachers’ communication between students and parents as well as between students.  As part of my class, I plan to show how blogs can be an indispensable tool. Blogs can be a form of secondary documentation for sending information to parents along with written communications sent by the school. One use on my blog will be a section for missed assignments for students who were sick or absent.   Another section will include upcoming projects, materials and dates. Student’s reactions to problems, pictures, videos explaining math steps, and writing prompts will give students practice with writing across curriculum.  Students will see how their classmates feel and if their feelings are similar.

Finally, blogs provide a setting for teachers to discuss math problems and instructional techniques.  According to Killough (2011, September, 30) teacher collaboration can raise student achievement.  She states: “Research suggests that collaboration with colleagues around student instruction is an essential part of our teacher’s job and results in rising student achievement.”  Killough, refers to Leana, C. (2011), Leana states:  Students showed higher gains in math achievement when their teachers reported frequent conversations with their peers that centered on math, and when there was a feeling of trust of closeness among teachers.  In other words, teacher social capital was a significant predictor of student achievement gains above and beyond teacher experience or ability in the classroom.”

References

Killough, L. (2011). Research shows teacher collaboration helps raise student achievement. 

               Connecticut Education Association. Retrieved July 21, 2014, from http://blogcea.org/

               2011/0930/collaboration-raises-achievement/

 

Miners, Z. and Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies.  District Administration, 43 (10), 26-34.

               Used by permission.

 

Keeping up with technology in the classroom

This article has good suggestions for Media Editing.

Media Editing

By Emily Krstulic

The Des Moines Register recently wrote about a fifth-grade class at Rolling Green Elementary School using Moodle to enhance their researching projects. The website, whose name is an abbreviation of “Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment”, is a virtual learning environment created by teachers for teachers. It brings together web links, online activities, presentations and course documents, to name a few, creating an online platform that allows teachers to guide their students’ research.  The fifth-grade class, who was studying constellations, could download class documents from Moodle and then create their presentation on PowerPoint or on a poster board.

The students said they loved working on the computers, and they represent a larger trend of using new technologies in the classroom (one that prompted Moodle’s creation). Students living in an actively technological world are used to always being connected. Smartphones keep us online at any given moment, and texting has made communication lightning fast. Instead…

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Mathematics Practice

     This is a good website for practicing skills: Practice Math and Language Skills.  This site covers grades K-12.

 

Time

During an average school day, teachers are spending:

• an average of almost 5 hours on instruction (in class and providing tutoring or extra academic support)
• approximately 36 minutes on student supervision and discipline
• 45 minutes planning, preparing, or collaborating with colleagues
• 36 minutes is spent on grading, documenting, and analyzing student work
• almost 15 minutes communicating with parents via email, phone, or face-to-face meetings

That left the surveyed teachers with a whopping 23 minutes for lunch and personal time!

 

 

Mathis, M. (2012). Top 10 teacher facts that will make you proud.  TeachHub.

  Retrieved July 10, 2014 from http://www.teachhub.com.

Thoughts about teaching…….

• “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” ~Alvin Toffler

• “I have never in my life learned anything from any man who agreed with me.”~ Dudley Field Malone

• “Always walk through life as if you have something new to learn and you will.”  ~Vernon Howard

• “Education consists mainly of what we have unlearned.”  ~Mark Twain

• “I am learning all the time.  The tombstone will be my diploma.”  ~Eartha Kitt

• “It is what we think we know already that often prevents us from learning.”~ Claude Bernard

• “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.” ~ Harry S Truman

• “You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.“ ~Clay P. Bedford

• “Life is like playing a violin in public and learning the instrument as one goes along.” ~Samuel Butler

• “We now accept the fact that learning is a lifelong process of keeping abreast of change. And the most pressing task is to teach people how to learn.” ~Peter Drucker

• “The aim of education should be to teach us rather how to think, than what to think—rather to improve our minds, so as to enable us to think for ourselves, than to load the memory with the thoughts of other men.” ~John Dewey

• “Wise men learn by other men’s mistakes, fools by their own.” ~Unknown

• “By three methods we may learn wisdom: First, by reflection, which is noblest; Second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third by experience, which is the bitterest.” ~ Confucius

 

Callahan, D.(2011). 50 Quotes about teaching. Creative Commons. Retrieved July 7, 2014, from http://learnstreaming.com/50-quotes-about-teaching/.  

Ideas for using my blog in the classroom.

    Due to the fact that I am new to blogging, I plan to use my blog with a third grade class in Richmond County Georgia.  The content area will be Mathematics.  Mathematics is currently a low scoring area and students tend to struggle.  With this blog, I will list the core content areas for each 9 week teaching period. During the first 2 or more weeks, students will receive instructions on how to blog, what to say and not say, the website or information they will need to blog and practice on how to respond to the blog  After students have demonstrated a good knowledge of using this blog, they will receive information about rules and guidelines.  Later in 9 week period, actual content area information will be introduced.  This will include Math skills required.   Of course, I will learn as much as they will.  This blog will provide a place for students and parents to be informed of what their students are expected to know.

The doorway to Professional Learning Communities

My understanding of this title would be related to the creation of communities that could involve students, teachers and parents. The idea of a learning community that would only focus on the best for all students in that community may be difficult.  According to Dufour, R et al’s:  “The very essence of a learning community is a focus on and a commitment to the learning of each student.”  Would some learning communities with different beliefs, experiences, etc. be able to work that well together?  Until I have further proof that it is possible, I feel that it isn’t possible.  My recent observations of our country, indicates that no one is able to agree to disagree.

Dufour, R., Eaker, R. and Many, T. (2010). Learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN;  Solution Tree Press.