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    Just Because We Can, Should We?

    by Julie D. Ramsay
     | Jun 25, 2014

    In today’s world, the topic of using technology in the classroom can be intimidating. In this monthly column, join one teacher on a quest to discover the best way to meet the needs of her digital-age learners…moving beyond the technology tools to focusing on supporting each student’s learning. 

    Just Because We Can, Do We Need the Technology?
    photo credit: JD Hancock via photopin
    via photopin cc

    Warning: I’m about to let you in on how deep my geekdom really runs.

    Recently, I was in a somewhat heated debate on the validity of the first three episodes of the Star Wars saga; I’m talking about Episodes 1–3, which were released from 1999–2005. My stance was the original three movies (released starting in 1977) were of much higher quality than the newer episodes. In the original episodes, the writing was of higher quality with the storyline and characters being more multifaceted; the plot was rich and full of literary qualities; and the acting was better (hello, Harrison Ford!). Personally, I also love the fact it was a fairy tale told about the distant past but appeared to be further into our future.

    One point that kept coming up for debate was about the level of technology and special effects. More specifically, what wasn’t available when the original three installments were filmed, but which were spectacular in the more recent episodes. I can see how technological advances did add a “wow” factor to the newer films that modern audiences may see as lacking from the original three (I disagree, but that’s a topic of a different discussion). However, does all of that “wow” equate to a higher quality movie? Does it make up for the depth that was lacking from the story? I don’t think so.

    As I pondered the educational lessons learned from this dialogue (yes, another one of my passions), I realized that in today’s digital world, it is very easy for us to get sucked in by the “wow” factor of new tech tools we can bring into our classrooms. We see things claiming to make our educator lives easier and make learning more fun for learners. However, just because we can bring that technology into our classrooms, does it necessarily mean that it will do a better job at supporting student learning? Are we willing to buy into the premise that bigger, faster, or easier is always better for our students? 

    To be honest, I have found myself swayed by all of the bells and whistles only to discover my practice already provided the best support and level of challenge my students needed before our new, sometimes very expensive, toy arrived. So I thought I would take a few minutes and share with you my thought process when weighing “the wow” versus “the substance” a tool can provide.

    What do my students need? Sometimes we go to professional learning events sponsored by major vendors and become enticed by all that their product claims to offer to our students. All of a sudden we find ourselves wanting a product in an area where we do not have any needs or gaps in learning. As with so many of the decisions we make as educators, we always, without fail, need to lead with the learning. I discovered that if I identify practices, strategies, and needs of my students regularly and I keep my focus on those, I am much less likely to get sold any snake oil.

    For instance, we all know the power of small groups and one-on-one conferring with our students. The struggle I had was in how to document and collect that data in order to effectively develop my instruction for each student in a timely manner. I had tried many practices. Yet, I felt like I was using an inordinate amount of time away from the actual instruction. I knew I needed a better way, not just for me, but also for my students. So, everything I read, every vendor I visited, every educator with whom I conversed, I searched to fill that need. I adjusted my lens and kept focus until I found my answer in an app called Confer. Yes, you need to be open to new ideas, but student-need should always remain our focus.

    What will it provide that I don’t already have? As educators, it is crucial we model lifelong learning for our students. Each student, each year, is unique. That means we must continue to search for tools to put into our teaching toolbox. When you see a tool with a lot of pizzazz, you need to take time to evaluate whether it promotes strong pedagogy. Mentally strip down the bells and whistles to see what it is truly offering to you and your students. Will it not only support student learning, but also do it more effectively than what you are already doing?

    Several years ago, I encouraged my administrator to go with me to a technology conference with the sole mission of showing her the power of an interactive whiteboard. I saw it as a way to have students engaging with and creating content. In my mind it provided students, especially those with special needs, the opportunity to actively participate and engage in learning unlike anything we had done in the past.

    However, what happened was the district bought one from different company, one which did not offer the same capabilities for student engagement. Every class in the district was given this extremely expensive piece of equipment which ended up being used as a whiteboard without the engagement originally intended. We already had whiteboards; this electronic version had no impact on student learning (whereas the other model, with its more student engagement-friendly features, may have). As the ones in direct contact with students, it is our job to peel back the glitzy façade and analyze how a new technology could fill a need for student learning.

    What does it offer other than fun? I often hear teachers say how much students will love a new tech tool. They claim it will motivate students to want to learn. I have heard educators extol the features of a tool without once mentioning student learning. This is a danger I call “Christmas Morning Syndrome.” On Christmas morning, kids get up thrilled and excited by their new toys. They spend countless hours playing with them. They are having fun. But where are those toys in July? They are often broken, discarded, and generally left forgotten. See, although a tool may be fun, and research supports the role of fun within the learning process, fun without substance is short-term, not long-lasting. Just like those toys on Christmas morning, if we throw new tools at our learners expecting them to do our job of creating self-motivated learners, we are on a slippery slope.

    We are the educators. We are the content specialists and educational strategists. It is our responsibility to make the best choices for our students. We need to tap into their interests and learning styles to provide instruction that meets their unique needs. We need to differentiate, assess, challenge, inspire, and guide them to meeting their goals.

    None of these steps can be replaced by a tech tool. A tool’s role is to support aspects of learning and educating. If it can’t do that, we need to spend our time and resources elsewhere.

    Until next time, may the force of making the best choices for your students be with you.

    Julie D. Ramsay is a Nationally Board Certified educator and the author of “CAN WE SKIP LUNCH AND KEEP WRITING?”: COLLABORATING IN CLASS & ONLINE, GRADES 3-8 (Stenhouse, 2011). She teaches ELA to sixth graders at Rock Quarry Middle School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. She also travels the country to speak, present, and facilitate workshops in applying technology to support authentic learning. Read her blog at juliedramsay.blogspot.com

     
    In today’s world, the topic of using technology in the classroom can be intimidating. In this monthly column, join one teacher on a quest to discover the best way to meet the needs of her digital-age learners…moving beyond the technology tools...Read More
    • Blog Posts
    • Teaching With Tech

    Digital Tools for Teacher Reflection

    by Alexandra Panos
     | Jun 20, 2014
    Computer
    photo credit: boellstiftung via photopin cc

    As teachers, we learn how to improve at our jobs every day by being with students in the classroom. We learn from our mistakes and our successes, our bad days and our good ones. Bit by bit, year by year, we become experts. Marilyn Cochran-Smith and Susan Lytle (Inquiry as Stance: Practitioner Research in the Next Generation, 2009) call this work—of the actively involved, inquiring teacher—“theory building.” Through theory building we develop informed and well-articulated “theories” or knowledge about one’s classroom. The practice of reflection and inquiry into our methods and the realities of our students’ lives and learning require time and work, as we all know too well. I have found that digital tools support this work by making reflection smoother and more accessible in the short and long term.

    Digital tools afford us unique ways to reflect. The reality is that teachers have always reflected. Honing the tools we use to reflect and connect them to the purposes we have for reflection can help us build relationships, support student learning, and adjust our approaches to lessons.

    These are three ways to approach reflection in the classroom in order to benefit your students and your own progress as an educator:

    • Taking “snapshots” of your day with audio recording apps
    • Capturing student thinking with classroom social networking
    • Processing for the long term with your own blog

    Take “Snapshots” of Your Day With Audio Recording Apps

    How many times has a sticky note stuck on your desk reminded you to call a parent or check in with a student about missing work? Taking snapshots of your day can help you sort through the major events of the day as well as work as a good reminder system and re-set for the following morning. Rather than write down notes, taking a snapshot of your thinking at the end of the day using audio recording apps on your phone or tablet can allow you to think about the day and make a plan for tomorrow.

    For my purposes, I use my cell phone to record major events of the day, concerns about students, and reminders on my way home or while sitting at my desk before leaving for the day. Then, the next morning I check in with myself. Try searching your app store for:

    Here free audio recording apps for Android phones:

    And here are free audio recording apps for iPhone/iPad:

    Capture Student Thinking With Online Forums

    We know that a better understanding of student thinking on a day-to-day basis benefits learning outcomes. Thus, at the end of lessons we have our summarizing activities or our exit slips or some other creative way to touch base with our students as they head out of class. Another way to do this is through school-based, password-protected social media sites. These sites allow you to throw out a question, share a link, or ask students to do the same. Depending on your school and student population’s access to technology, this could be done at school or at home.

    I have found that using this type of digital tool to pose open-ended questions or for private messaging (so that students can ask questions without the risk of embarrassment) helped me get a better sense of how students feel and think about content and life in the classroom. Here, I am sharing just two of many social networking sites for schools that are protected, free, easy to use, and student/parent friendly.

    Here are some social networking sites for the classroom:

    • Edmodo: Includes a newsfeed, posting options, etc., which makes it operate much like Facebook. Also includes a library for documents, quizzing/polling options, and small group options. Allows you to network with other classes in your school and with educators around the world.
    • twiducate: Functions much as does Twitter, with short posts allowing the embedding of files, videos and images. Much more limited than Edmodo, but does include post threading and like functions.

    Processing for the Long Term With Your Own Blog

    The ideas and tools above support daily rather than long-term or project-/unit-oriented reflection. These are snapshots, quick moments captured to understand events and problems that occur quickly. To process and reflect for long-term writing, developing a blog, or digital “journal” on a weekly or project-basis can help develops theories of the classroom. Blog posts can be focused on a weekly set of lessons, on a unit or project, on a standard, or on a particular issue in your school or class. Unlike a paper journal, it allows for the inclusion of digital materials such as lesson plans, photos of student work, and links to resources that will benefit you in the future.

    When writing a blog with the purpose of reflection, you might ask yourself three questions:

    • What happened (in this lesson, unit, project, standard)? What is the story I would tell?
    • What have I learned? Where can I identify the successes and the failures?
    • What will I take away? How will I change for the next time?

    Here are some blogging platforms that allow for password protection or a disabling of search functionality:

    When reflection becomes part of your daily and long-term habits you act as a curious inquirer into the ways your classroom operates, ultimately becoming a theory builder and expert on your own learning and that of your students.

    Alexandra PanosAlexandra Panos is a doctoral fellow in Literacy, Culture and Language Education at Indiana University and former middle grades Language Arts teacher.

    This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association’s Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG)

    photo credit: boellstiftung via photopin cc As teachers, we learn how to improve at our jobs every day by being with students in the classroom. We learn from our mistakes and our successes, our bad days and our good ones. Bit by bit,...Read More
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    Promoting a Collaborative Environment With Classroom Blogs

    by Marilyn E. Moore
     | Jun 13, 2014
    Students on computers
    photo credit: shareski via photopin cc

    Digital technologies have become a necessary element of learning. Blogs have become very popular in the classroom especially to promote writing. “Blogs are interactive web pages where individuals can post entries, articles, links and pictures, and ask others to join in conversations” (Cohen & Cowen, Literacy for Children in an Information Age: Teaching Reading, Writing, and Thinking, 2011, p. 51). Writing to a real audience through a blog post is an excellent way to develop audience awareness.

    A group of students who share a common interest in a topic can engage in various activities which include: 1) working on a specific task after reading connected text, 2) assigning discussion questions for teams to respond to, 3) using a case-study approach to solve a problem, and 4) presenting projects or reports online. An example of such an activity would be to write a book review for a blog. A student would inform readers of the group about the book of their choice by introducing the book, telling about the book without giving away the ending, telling about their favorite part of the book, and recommending or not recommending the book to everyone.

    There are many free blogs that facilitate interactive information sharing in collaborative digital environments. Below are blog resources for teachers.

    • Kidblog:  www.kidblog.org  – Students publish posts and participate in academic discussions.
    • MixedInk: www.mixedink.com – Small groups or a whole class draft and reflect on several versions of a text written on the same topic.
    • Cool Cat Teacher Blog: www.coolcatteacher.com – Students doing research or science fair projects are able to compile it in an infographic (written artifacts about collected resources in a visual format).
    • Google site: www.blogger.com – Readers will see sender’s profile using Google+ Profile. Students are able to read their classmates’ posts and comment on them.
    • Voki.com: www.voki.com – Students use Voki.com to create and then share a talking Avatar onto a blog post or e-mail a friend by clicking on publish.
    • Parsley Patriot Kids: www.blog.parsleypatriotkids.blogspot.com – Students upload stories about adventures of their school class pet or class mascot.
    • Wordpress: http://wordpress.org – Students share favorite stories over 1,500 words.
    • Weebly: www.weebly.com – Students create a unique blog site.
    • Interesting Way Series: EDTECH@edte.ch/blog -- A site where teachers can learn 64 interesting ideas for class blog posts.

    Teachers need to talk to their students about the postings to these blogs to make this approach effective.

    As you consider barriers to implementing blogs in your classroom, it is important to make sure that the barriers do not overpower the instructional goal. Lack of time during a class period may be a barrier to the integration of information and communication technology into literacy instruction. However, technology has redefined how knowledge is produced. Creation of knowledge can be as simple as a blog post.

    Marilyn MooreMarilyn E. Moore, Ed. D., (mmoore@nu.edu) is a Professor and Faculty Lead for the Reading Program at National University, La Jolla, California.

    This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association’s Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG)

    photo credit: shareski via photopin cc Digital technologies have become a necessary element of learning. Blogs have become very popular in the classroom especially to promote writing. “Blogs are interactive web pages where individuals can...Read More
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    Gathering Diverse Texts for Multimodal Enrichment

    by Angie Johnson
     | Jun 06, 2014

    For teachers in the northern hemisphere, summer has arrived. Typically, our summer work revolves around planning for the year ahead. As we look forward to the fall, we consider how to re-envision and enhance our lessons. In doing so, I am drawn to the concepts of collage—the combination of different elements to create an artistic whole—and bricolage, described by Louridas (Design Studies, 1999) as “the process of designing within contingencies by using and repurposing the tools at one’s disposal.” Today, the variety of available texts is more diverse than ever, and multimodal literacy practices demand we include these diverse texts in our instruction (Leu, Kinzer, Coiro, & Cammack, Theoretical Models and Processes of Reading, 2004). More than ever, I find myself gathering, collecting, blending, and recombining resources like a mixed media artist. 

    Blendspace for Collages

    My preferred tool for curating multimodal morsels is a site called Blendspace. Blendspace is not unlike Pinterest in that it displays collections using image tiles instead of text descriptions or URL addresses. But I like its speed and efficiency; I can search for and preview videos, images, and websites in the sidebar and quickly drag them to my canvas. I can also narrow my search to Youtube, Google, Open Ed, Flickr, Edcreations, or Gooru.

    Added features include the ability to insert specific web pages and upload media files, Dropbox files or Google Drive files. Note that Blendspace collections are called lessons, though I used these to collect resources for an entire unit. Here’s a snapshot of my poetry collection page: 

    Blendspace

    Transitioning to Edmodo

    Because my school uses Edmodo as a Learning Management System (LMS), I primarily use Blendspace in the gathering stage. It works nicely as a visual filing cabinet for potential resources, which I’ll later post to Edmodo if I choose to use them. However, the site does provide other LMS functions like creating classes, tracking lesson views, and creating quizzes.

    Finding Resources for Units

    What’s important here is not that I use Blendspace specifically, but that I use something to collect multimodal resources for potential inclusion in my unit. I begin a search with this question: What multimodal texts will enrich my students’ understanding of this topic?

    In the case of poetry, I found middle-school appropriate resources such as: spoken word performances by youth, poets reciting their work, videos of popular songs and their lyrics, choral performances of famous poetry put to music, photos of poetry posted in public places, and multimedia interpretations of poetry. Consistent with the argument that one of technology’s greatest affordances is in providing diversity (Dede, International Handbook of Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education, 2008), these texts provide multiple representations of meaning. Not every student makes a connection to every text, but I reach more students by providing alternative paths to their appreciation of the genre.

    Later, in the context of the writing workshop, modeled in Kelly Gallagher’s excellent book Write Like This (2011), these multimodal texts provide examples and inspiration for our own compositions. Students write poems to “Haiku the School” with public poetry; they compose poems grounded in things and memories; and they seek and then speak their voices in a class poetry slam. In the spirit of bricolage, we create a class “coffeehouse” with a makeshift stage projected behind the poet performer, a class microphone, and background music streamed from Pandora. Finally, we create multimedia representations of our work using sites like Tackk, Haiku Deck, and Animoto, and share them with our schoolmates, our families, and the world on Edmodo, Twitter, and Youtube. In short, what began with a treasure hunt via Blendspace ends in a celebration of our literary selves.

    You can find my developing collection for poetry at this link. Happy gathering!

    Angie JohnsonAngie Johnson (ajohnson@lakeshoreps.org) is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology and Educational Technology at Michigan State University and teaches 8th grade Language Arts at Lakeshore Middle School, in Stevensville, MI.

    This article is part of a series from the International Reading Association’s Technology in Literacy Education Special Interest Group (TILE-SIG)

    For teachers in the northern hemisphere, summer has arrived. Typically, our summer work revolves around planning for the year ahead. As we look forward to the fall, we consider how to re-envision and enhance our lessons. In doing so, I am drawn...Read More
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    Do-It-Yourself Professional Development

    by Lindsey Fuller
     | Jun 04, 2014
    Do-It-Yourself Professional Development
    photo credit: CollegeDegrees360
    via photopin cc

    School is out for summer! Is there anything better than the first days of summer break? I always have a ton of plans for the productive things I will do with my time off—after taking a few days for myself, of course.

    Summer break provides teachers with a much-needed chance to relax and regroup after a stressful school year, but it also presents us with an opportunity to continue our own education without having to be absent from our classrooms.

    My favorite way to engage in professional development activities during the summer months is by finding sources of online content that is geared towards my needs and interests. By engaging in online learning, I can remain in the comfort of my own home and even follow my own schedule. As an added bonus, many of the opportunities offered online are free, and some even provide Continuing Education (CE) credits. (And don’t think I forgot about apps—there’s one of those, too!)

    TeachersFirst is a website that offers tons of teacher resources, including both live and archived professional development sessions on topics that range from blogging in the classroom to working with parents. The sessions are short and easy to manage on a tight schedule. Certificates of completion are available for live session participants, which allows teachers to get CE credits.

    Coursera is available both online and through a mobile app, which adds an element of flexibility to the resources that are offered. Coursera's content includes a variety of college-level topics, including teacher education in subjects such as student assessment, using 21st century skills in the classroom, and educational philosophy. Some content is even available for non-English speakers. The courses are free and typically last around six weeks, with a statement of accomplishment being awarded upon completion. Many courses offer a Signature Track option; for a small fee, you’ll receive a verified certificate issued by Coursera and the partnering university.

    Concept to Classroom is a website that offers free, self-paced workshops for professional educators. The range of topics is somewhat smaller on this site, but the workshops are intended to cover "hot topics" in the educational field. Some of the current offerings include “Cooperative and Collaborative Learning” and “Teaching to Academic Standards.” Participants can print completion certificates to be used for professional development credits.

    EdWeb is another web-based professional development resource that conducts both live sessions and houses a library of archived sessions to aid teachers in completing professional development. Live session participants will receive CE credits, but in the event that you are unable to participate in the live session, you can view the archived material and complete a quiz in order to earn credit. Upcoming topics include digital citizenship, early literacy instruction for students on the autism spectrum, and integrating stretch texts. The topics are timely and highly relevant for practicing teachers.

    The Teaching Channel takes a little different approach than the rest of the resources listed here. The professional development is informal, and all the resources are created by teachers to be shared with their colleagues. The website houses a massive collection of videos that range from subject area lesson plans to models of best practices and new teaching methods. The variety is incredible, and the videos are an excellent source of inspiration for a teacher who is looking to bring something new to the classroom.

    Engaging in continuing education is essential to staying up-to-date in a profession that changes at such a rapid pace. Online sources such as these allow teachers to work from home while taking advantage of the extra time that summer break provides. If hiring a babysitter and spending warm, beautiful days in a conference room doesn't appeal to you, take the time to explore these options. Kick back, relax, and learn at your own pace!

     

    Lindsey Fuller is a sixth grade teacher in Decatur, Illinois. Her interests are classroom technology integration, literacy instruction, and Common Core curriculum development and implementation. You can read more from Lindsey on these topics at her blog, Tales of a 6th Grade Classroom.

     
    photo credit: CollegeDegrees360 via photopin cc School is out for summer! Is there anything better than the first days of summer break? I always have a ton of plans for the productive things I will do with my time off—after...Read More
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