Reflection- 7430 Web Tools
Web tools are the bling of instructional technology, and I like bling! I feel like a cool kid when I sit down with other instructional tech people and say something like: “Have y’all seen the ___________ app yet?” and everyone scrambles for their phone because they haven’t! Inevitably, this one question sparks a tirade of one-up-manship as everyone pulls out their latest and greatest app or tool to impress the group. The best part of this game is that everyone wins because no one knows all the apps or tools that get tossed around. In ITEC 7430, I learned about a couple new webtools, but what really made me a better tech integrator was thinking about how to use these tools to enhance learning. Bringing in a new tool doesn’t benefit students unless it can be integrated into the curriculum, lesson, or unit to enhance or extend learning. Though the process of looking at various categories of tools I had the opportunity to deeply think about how to use those tools as an extension of learning rather than something to bejewel a project or lesson. One example of how I would use what I’ve learned in this class to enhance or extend learning is to have students explain their project or assignment in a screencast. I’ve created screencasts to explain how to do something on the computer, but I’ve never had to explain my work before. After the fifth time I re-recorded my lesson plan project, I realized that accurately and succinctly summarizing my work challenged me to think through my work on a deeper level. Likewise, having students create a podcast rather than a traditional report brings an extra depth to their understanding of what they are reporting on, as it did me.
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Since I began pursuing my teaching certificate in 2000, I knew ultimately I wanted to do professional development. I was fortunate that early in my career I had some really great professional development that kept me from giving up on education as a career. I loved teaching, and I loved my students, but I didn’t love a lot of the minutiae that is involved in a career in education. Good professional development provided me strategies and ideas to help me with the aspects of the job that I struggled with, and I credit those well-timed conferences and sessions with keeping me in the game.
As I continue to develop my career in education, I want to help other teachers deal with the stressors they face in the classroom. I feel strongly that technology can be a tool that helps give teachers time back in their hectic schedules to get back to the stuff that really matters: building relationships with students. In the era of personalized learning, teachers who utilize technology to get to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses will be the ones who build the strongest relationships because they will be the ones with the time to get to know their students as individuals. Technology that helps students learn through avenues that are engaging and responsive to the way they learn and technology that helps teachers assign, collect, and grade lessons will create learning environments where teachers and students are co-creators of learning. I want to be a vital part of that classroom. Keeping students safe on the internet is akin to saving them from themselves. Whether it is sexting, sending inappropriate photos, or posting bullying messages students will publish information on social media channels that have the potential to cause them social or legal problems in the short-term and long-term. The power of the internet and social media to impact a student’s life is tremendous, and there is not a way to prevent the misuse of these tools by students. So, what is an educator to do? The answer is easy: learn and lead. First, learn about digital citizenship so that you can knowledgably talk to your students about both the good and the bad consequences of posting to social media and publishing photos and other work on the internet. ISTE Standards for Students (2016) states that students should be global collaborators; they should work collaborative with students and experts from around the world. In order to accomplish this goal, students need to be able to post their work safely and responsibly online. All educators need to start their quest to learn how to learn about good digital citizenship at Common Sense Media. For any educator who really wants to increase their knowledge and be a leader in their school in digital citizenship, he or she should check out the Common Sense Media Certified Teacher Program. This is a free program that will help teachers gain the knowledge they need to not only help their students but to also help their school and community. Maintaining an open dialogue with students, colleagues, parents, and community members is a critical part of keeping students safe on the internet. They will look to you to be the expert, so learn as much as you can about digital citizenship. The second part is the fun part! Lead by example. Post to social media. Use social media in your classroom and professionally to set the standard for your students on how to use it in a positive way. Class blogs, class Twitter feeds, a class Instragram are all ways to share student work with a world-wide audience while modeling how social media is used responsibly and respectfully. There are many websites to help you learn about digital citizenship. Netsmartz.org does a great job with their one hour course. To help students learn online safety, try these games from the FBI. Cyber Surf Island teaches students how to protect their information online, Friend Finder helps students learn safe ways to communicate online, and Invasion of the Wireless Hackers helps students learn to protect their information online. Every teacher should make sure they are sharing these basic strategies to keep students and student information safe on the internet: · Never share passwords, even with your best friend. You should never give your password to anyone. Also, update your password periodically. · Make it your policy to never say anything on the internet, social media, or in a post that you would not say in person. The anonymity of the web can make us feel braver than we would feel in real-life. Public networks, like the networks you get on at Starbucks, are not secure. People are able to easily see what you are doing and the information you input into your computer and online websites. It is best to never enter passwords, personal information, or credit card information on public networks. You might be asking yourself, “Why do I have to teach digital citizenship? Why do educators have to be concerned about keeping students safe online?” Well, certainly schools should not be the only authority figures in a young person’s life teaching these lessons, but there are two main reasons why educators need to take the lead role in this task. First, many parents don’t know enough about digital citizenship to teach their children about it. After all, most parents have never been explicitly taught all the complexities of digital citizenship, so they do not have the depth of knowledge to be experts for their children. The second reason, and perhaps the most important, is that we are moving towards an educational system that is technology driven. Between online learning, personalized learning, and blended learning students are going to increasingly be accessing their learning online. Because the educational system is demanding more online learning, students must be taught by the educational system how to effectively use technology and how to safely use technology. We have moved past the time when the band saw in shop class was the most dangerous piece of equipment in the school building. The 2016 Horizon Report calls personalized learning a “Wicked Challenge.” I wholeheartedly agree – it is a wicked challenge. The challenge part comes in with a major mind-shift for educators regarding technology and how students learn. The Horizon Report looks into the future of educational technology and lays out the trends and upcoming challenges for instructional technology. The 2016 reports highlights wearable technology, artificial intelligence, and virtual technology as up-and-coming movements. While all of these technologies will certainly appear in classrooms, their impact will be minimal. I’m in classrooms on a daily basis as a technology coach. I’ve got news for all the ed tech companies out there: stop making any more new technology! Stop it, seriously. Just stop. We need to hit the pause button for a bit; teachers aren’t integrating the technology from five years ago, much less the brand new technology like augmented reality and virtual reality. It’s not that classroom teachers are luddites; it is that the system is still geared toward teacher-driven instruction and rewards students for the amount of learning they can regurgitate onto a bubble sheet rather than for learning that is authentic or derived from critical thinking, tenacity, and metacognitive skills. The teachers of the [near] future are fighting to emerge from the quagmire of standard driven, teacher-centered education. Technology can help them do that, but a lack of time to learn new technology, and misunderstanding of how students learn technology, and a culture of traditional teaching dampens their ability spirit. In the infographic pictured here, you can see what the teacher of the [near] future can look like, depending on whether or not the teacher chooses to fight their way out of the muck. The teacher of the [near] future that we need is the one who F.A.I..L.s students, gamifies, and blends learning. |
Ana HaleHula Hoop Champion, 1980 Crestwood Middle School (I can't believe I peaked in the '80s) Archives
November 2017
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