7 – A – 1

Big Shifts

The big shift I focused on is:

Big Shift 1: Open Content

How has this shift affected your teaching practice so far?

I believe that open content (Google, Bing, Search Engines) has affected my teaching the most.  Many times during the course of the school day or school week when students do not know the answer I over hear them say, ‘I'll just Google it when I get home.”  Which is not always bad, however it is an answer that is only skin-deep.  I call it the NOW answer.  Students want to know the answer right NOW! Students usually just click on the very fist link and whatever it says they students believe.  Students do not dig beneath the skin-deep answer or click on other links to double check the facts. 

How do you expect it might affect you in the future?

It has already started to affect my teaching and it will continue to affect teachers.  I usually give the students a ‘fun’ challenge problem on Monday and they have until Friday to answer the challenge problem.  The students would take the problem homework on it during the week; ask their parents for help if needed or maybe an older sibling.  Times have changed, students now will just go home Monday night Google the answer and be done with it already looking to move forward. 

Have your views changed since you started this course?

No, I have always been an advocate of including technology into the classroom.  I enjoy learning new technologies that I can include in the class.  I am finding harder because of the Common Core to integrate technology into lessons because my school is not letting us be to creative during teaching.  The admin wants us all to be on the same page, teaching the same way…so that is a sign that I need to find a full-time technology-teaching job.

How can you use technology to facilitate this shift in your own classroom?

I use technology on a daily basis in class SmartBoards, computers, laptops, and much more.  I try to create projects that have the students search deeper on the Internet or have more elaborate steps that include technology.  It is a change that we as teachers have to face everyday. 

6-A-3

Connectivism Group A

When we were first assigned this project I really had never heard of connectivism.  After doing some research I was on the fence with the connectivism – not really for it or against.  I believe that both sides of connectivism have positives and negatives.  One quote from Group A jumped out at me: “What if a connection isn’t available at that exact moment when a student needs it?”

As a teacher I try to make much of the math that I teach connect to something in the students life.  For example, geometry I connected to building a house or decimals I connected to designing a room in your house.  Those connections I tried to make for the students, so they knew where they might use this type of math in real life. 

On the other hand, when I teach other types of math I do not make the connections for the students.  So, what if the connection isn’t available at the exact moment when a student needs it? Then in that case students have to find a connection on their own or maybe someone can help them make a connection.  Having students make connections is a great way for the students to learn on their own and have their brain develop. 

6 - C - 2

I have had the chance to connect with a few educators & Military personal around the globe using Skype.  The one class I taught had the opportunity to Skype a class from Brazil and learn about their society, culture, and how a student spends and ‘average’ day in Brazil.  Another class had the chance to Skype into and interact with students at a architectural dig.  My class was asking, posting questions using Skype the students at the dug were answering the questions, blogging and had a back channel during the entire process.  Another chance my class had was to Skype an active Military personal (which was a parent in the class – to his surprise) that was stationed over in Afghanistan.  He would answer ‘some’ questions, however was limited in his answers because of security. 

I plan on continuing to use Skype in the classroom because those experiences are what the students remember and have a lasting affect of them.  I found most of the contacts in Skype using: https://education.skype.com/ This is a site were teachers can create account, look for teachers are have common interests and set up a Skype session.  Thanks to this site my previous students have had memorable experiences. 

5 - B - 3 

Podcast in the Classroom 

Link: Podcast 

 I decided to to go with option one for this assignment.  Since I teach 5th graders I would use a Podcast that introduces what Podcasts are.  Since many of the students in my class have not heard of or even listened to a Podcast, I would start from the beginning and introduce the students to the concept of Podcasting.  

The reason I selected this Podcast was because when I was searching for Podcast to follow I stumble upon Podcast Answer Man.  I listened to a few of his Podcasts and really enjoyed his voice, his topics and he spoke in a way the is easy to understand.  I figured that this man would be perfect to teach fifth graders how to Podcast.  After listening to this particular Podcast I thought since many of the students are not familiar with how to Podcast this would be the perfect opportunity to teach the students on how to Podcast.  

5-A-1 Flickr in the Classroom 

I have never officially used Flickr in the classroom, however I have used the theory in my classroom. At the beginning of the school year, as an ice breaker,  I post a variety of images (clouds, inspiring, beach, motivational, etc) on the SmartBoard and have students tell me what they see.  (Just imagine the ink blot test, but with pictures that actually look like something).  I mainly do this just to get the students talking and find out a little bit about them.  

I can see myself using Flickr in class especially during the geometry unit.  Students can search Flickr or better yet upload pictures to Flickr that show symmetry, or have geometrical shapes in them.  I usually have the students walk around the school looking for geometrical shapes, however the students would have more fun using Flickr.  

The following image: 

I used in class this morning and asked the students what would they title this image.  Some students had simple answers: waves, beach scene, white caps, relaxing, etc. One student really looked at this image from a different angle and titled it: Rough Start Smooth Finish.  He went on to explain that if you were walking into the waves they would be rough and knock you around.  If you look past the waves you will see that the ocean is calm with no waves.  He said the beginning would rough, but once you got based the waves it would a smooth finish.  I was amazed!! 

Citation of photography:

Flickr Link

4-D-1 Wikis In Your Classroom

About 6 years ago my district was really big on using Wikis when collaborating with fellow teachers, grade level or team, parents, and students. The district supplied many trainings on how to use them, incorporate them into teaching lessons and how to communicate with parents.  Then all of a sudden Wikis kinda fizzled out and then the district moved on to Google Docs.  

One of the most challenging part of the collaborative Wiki is getting every team member on the same page.  I will admit that I was the last one to get on board and I apologize to my teammates if I caused any type of stress for them.  I just had some unforeseen circumstances come up and I could not be the team member that I could have been.  Once everyone is on board things run a lot, A LOT smoother.  

As for my own classroom, I will not use Wikis because personally to me it is a technology that is a little outdated.  There are a number of things that I would like to change about Wikis, for starters make it more user friendly.  Now with all the newer Web 2.0 tools, i.e. Weebly,  a lot of sites offer drag & drop feature to make less stress on the user.  The main reason I will not use Wikis is because our entire district, including students, as a Google Doc account and it is much easier and more user friendly to share, and collaborate ideas.  

BLOGICAL DISCUSSION FORM 

Why should education leaders/teachers embrace digital technologies in their schools/classrooms?

If you are in a state that adopted the “Common Core State Standards” (CCSS) you really don’t have a choice. There are many English Language Arts standards alone that require students as young as kindergarten to use technology to read, produce and publish digital content and to collaborate in doing so. 

Here a few examples from the CCSS:

K – 12 - Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

With guidance and support from adults, explore a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

5th grade –  Analyze how visual and multimedia elements contribute to the meaning, tone, or beauty of a text (e.g., graphic novel, multimedia presentation of fiction, folktale, myth, poem).

6th grade – Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of three pages in a single sitting.

Programming and design – 3D printing, software development, engineering, graphics, architecture, transportation, art, medicine and much more all rely on programming and design skills.

So you think children are already mastering these skills and technologies on their own by using their smart phones and other technology?  Where is the money coming from to attain these standards?  Are schools going to create a new position to reach all these goals or is it going to fall back on the classroom teacher to make these attainable?  Where is the extra time coming from to make sure the students master these standards?  

I look forward to reading your feedback and hearing your take on these new digital technology standards.  

Have a great week! 

PS - Sometimes the blog requires me to to approve your response. So, please be patient I will approve your response.