Emerging Technology in the Classroom: A reflection and a plan!

One of the most incredible aspects of human nature is our ability to learn. With each  and every class I have taken, I truly take something away that affects my life. So it is with no surprise that I learned so much this semester as a student in my "Methods for Integrating Technology" class.

As an educator, it is my job to differentiate each lesson in order that I may reach each and every student. One of the most commonly researched and sought after ways of differentiation is through the use of technology. This class that I recently attended has afforded me the opportunity to learn so many different ways of integrating technology. The class itself was taught entirely through technology through a process called gamification.

info.esparklearning.com

Gamification is simply the ability to earn rewards for successful completion of tasks.  Take a second to visit the Knewton website to get a more in-depth knowledge of gamification.  I will definitely be incorporating this idea into my class. It helps with grading time and it gives the students the opportunity to have a goal to reach.

Other aspects of the course that were very intriguing include ways to incorporate technology into lesson planning using apps like voice thread,

langwitches.org

screencast,

www.hr.niu.edu

 or padlet.

blog.edtechteam.com

I really enjoyed learning how to use these items, especially voice thread and screencast. One very drastic change I have officially changed in my career in education is my style of teaching. I plan to flip my classroom next semester and these two additions to my knowledge of technology are the perfect tools! Take a moment to watch this youtube video on the idea of a flipped classroom, It may intrigue you as well.

I am extremely grateful to have learned a great deal in such a short period of time. These items share are only a fraction of the marvelous things I learned. This class has officially started my journey to becoming a true 21st-century educator.

TED Talk Hole In the Wall

This morning I sat down and watched a very interesting video from one of the infamous TED Talks. In this video, my thinking on today's form of education was not only challenged, but eternally changed. Bare with me, as I try to do the same for you.

The speaker, Sugata Mitra starts off with the question, "Where did the kind of learning we do in schools, come from?" This question intrigued me. I honestly never took a moment out of my life to actually stop and think, where did this school system idea originate? Mr. Mitra tells us how today we have the physical computer, but in the times of the largest and last of the empires, all they had was people. Hence, the need to create a system, the school, where everyone was identical. Everyone would have the same handwriting, be able to read, and know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide, in their head. Now the victorian empire could flourish whether the connection was in Canada or New Zealand.

So how are taking that same idea of identical people and applying it today? With so many socioeconomic classes, are we allotting the same opportunities to the low-class citizens as the high-class citizens? Or are we allowing the rich to be seen as gifted while the poor gets labeled incompetent?

Mr. Mitra put this question to the test with his hole in the wall experiment. He placed a computer in the hole of a wall in the slums of India, testing to see if those so called poor and incompetent children were really as incompetent as they were being labeled. Not only did the children teach themselves English but they also taught themselves how to use this, to them, foreign object; a computer. This sparked Mr.Mitra interest and so he continuously repeated his experiment. Ultimately he found that we as homo sapiens have a natural desire to learn. We don't have to MAKE learning happen, we simply need to LET learning happen.

This is the way learning must be facilitated in today's school system. Educators must stop feeding children loads and loads of information that simply test their foundational skills. Instead, simply give students a question and allow them to teach themselves. Allow the learning to emerge within them. This is what Mr. Mitra calls S.O.L.E, Self Organized Learning Environments.

http://uniqed.com/2014/05/building-schools-cloud/

The teacher no longer drills students with the chore of learning and memorizing. Instead, he or she give students the question, tools, and necessary encouragement to collaborate with each and allow learning to organize all on its own. In doing this, we take the idea of the identical student from the victorian empire and mold it into the need of our students today. Every student learns the same information because they explore it together.

Students no longer need to be able to simply write and simply read. They now need to be able to read and understand, write and create, multiply and build. They need to keep the idea of knowing and understanding alive. Otherwise, the technological era will cause students to become less of an innovator and more of a regurgitator. Then learning will become obsolete. I encourage you, dear reader, to stop teaching your students and allow them to teach themselves. facilitate their lerning, direct their learning, but allow them to explore the reasons why all on their own!

Real or fake

Today’s generation is a generation that revolves around social media. Every day someone reports and snaps a picture or quote that has gone viral. But are these pictures and quotes legitimate? I have to admit, I am one of those individuals that do not always check the validity of a picture before I repost it. To be perfectly honest, there are times when I have thought about whether it was real or fake but did not know how to check the validity. That is why I am glad I participated in a "real or fake" challenge for my class.


Real or Fake Challenge:The challenge began with looking at a picture, 2 hotel reviews, and 3 quotes, which I needed to determine whether or not it is real or fake. I saw a few obvious things on these items so I was able to make a hypothesis. The picture still contained the cursor and a few of the items were much bigger than they should have been, so I knew it was fake. For the hotel reviews, I was completely stumped. Lastly,the quotes, they were the easiest to determine validity, I simply googled these.

After making my inferences, I went to the blog post with the answers. My thought process for the picture and quotes was correct. However, I learned something new when it came to the hotel reviews. There is a website, reviewskeptic.com, that determines the validity of quotes. But you could also do your own personal research. Google the reviewer and learn about their review history. Read some of their other reviews and determine if the tone of their review is consistent with the other reviews posted. Turns out, both reviews were real!

Knowing whether a post is real or fake is very important. As I was googling the validity of one of the quotes, I came across an article about Ben Carson. Ben Carson,a very prosperous surgeon, used a quote allegedly spoken by Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately for Mr. Carson, the quote was fake, and he received grand amounts of backlash for his lack of research. This is why it is so important to be very thorough in your knowledge of real versus fake. Especially when you are in a position that has such a heavy effect on those around you.

This is why, as an educator, I believe it is important to teach my students to be able to tell the difference. My students will write research papers or even simpler, repost posts on social media. They must know what is real versus what is fake. Many of my students will grow up to be the next doctor, teacher, basketball player, or even CEO of a company. They must know how to pass on the right VALID information, to those in their care and circle. As humans were are already judged our appearances, I will not allow my student to subject themselves to judgment for their lack of knowledge on real versus fake!

Maker Revolution

One of the main things that school systems try to focus on is the preparation of students for life after high school. We, as educators, want our students to be ready and able to live a very prosperous and successful life from the moment they cross that stage until the day they retire. Unfortunately, this goal is very hard to reach due to the very scripted school system we are forced to subject our students to. It is almost like we have to choose between high test scores and the building of character and successful life practices. Fortunately, the day has come where teachers have a movement they can merge into their everyday lesson plans; The Maker Revolution.

The Maker Revolution  is a movement where people are creating and remaking gadgets and devices. This movement is bringing in the era of do it yourself (DIY) and do it with others (DIWO). People are no longer wondering how to use the remote to turn on the tv or how to use the wheel of a car to turn left or right. Instead, they are now wondering why? Why is a remote built in such a way that a sensor controls the tv? Why is the car built so the wheel turns the entire car? They are even taking it a step further to ask themselves, what parts of my new discovery can be used to enhance the devices we already have or even create something completely new.

This revolution is the very thing that classrooms need! Just think of the enthusiasm that students would develop if, after learning how to solve and equation, they were able to apply that to rebuilding a computer. Or after learning lessons of compound interest,they could create their own banking system. Standards are continuously asking teachers to help their students become more innovative and creative. The  maker revolution is the answer to the development of these desired standards. Allow the students to bring in small gadgets and tinker with them. Give students permission to become innovators and creators. In return, the classroom will no longer feel like a chore. Students will value their education and have those successful practices instilled in them. Students have the ability to create, it's our responsibility to set up the correct environment for them.

My classroom webpage

Please take a look to visit my classroom web page. Critiques are both welcome and encouraged.
 Ms. Huggins' EGHS Webpage

Flipped Classroom as a New Form of Learning

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.” What was he really saying to educators? It is my belief that Dr. King is making it very clear that true education is a balance of intense critical thinking with a touch of true character? This, dear reader, is the very essence of today’s struggle as an educator. How do we, bound by test scores, teach critical thinking in addition to positive character traits? In what way do we show students that an education is a foundation of a successful life while still attaining scores high enough to keep the school’s grade at a desirable score? One effective model that has been created and successfully executed is the flipped classroom model. With the correct usage and execution, the flipped classroom has the ability to teacher students to think critically and become more responsible for their education.

A Little History:

The Flipped Classroom Model. What is the flipped classroom model? Authors and creators, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, explains it like this: “…that which is traditionally done in class is now done at home, and that which is traditionally done as homework is now completed in class.” (Bergmann, J., & Sams, A., 2012, pg 13). Students now have the opportunities to learn at home and practice at school with the person that matters most, their teacher! 

But what motivates such a drastic change in education? According to a research study conducted by Emilie Naccarato and Gulden Karakok (2015), three common motivators include: “(1) To focus more on and provide more time for exercises and application problems, (2) to create a collaborative learning environment and (3) to improve higher order thinking and metacognitive skills” (p. 972). Many students say “I get it when I’m with the teacher in class, but then I’m lost when I go home to do my homework.” Hence, the motivator to establish something like a flipped classroom. Now students can understand it as they walk through the lessons at home and also understand it as they try the independent practice in school.

Flipped Classroom Model Implementation: Teachers who practice the flipped classroom model start with the teaching of Cornell notetaking. This way the lectures are more effective. They show the students how to take notes and how to write down questions that they may have through watching the video lectures. Through a prerecording, students watch the videos on their laptops, smartphones, etc. as their “homework assignment”. The teacher then creates activities and practice problems for the student to work on individually throughout class. This flips the usual traditional classroom practices of lectures at school and practice problems at home, which in returns, flips the usual struggle of reaching desired test scores. It is also a good idea to use some form of pre-class assignment versus blindly trusting the students to watch the videos and take their own personal notes. Another suggestion for implementation is the length of the video. Videos should be no longer than 15 minutes. In the event that the class is stuck on a topic, mini-lectures are implemented, in addition to what would be homework problems, in the tradition classroom.

Flipped Classroom Benefits: Flipping the classroom minimizes the amount of things that a teacher must focus on. In a traditional classroom, teachers must review previous material, teach new material, and teach students to understand and analyze the new material. Flipping the classroom eliminates the teaching and maybe even reviewing portion of this very underrated list. Now teachers have more time to focus on teaching students how to thinking critically and understanding their work. As a result, there is an increase in test scores and student understanding. Michelle Crouch (2014) gives three benefits of the flipped classroom model. She says there are more interactions, less stress and high scores (p. 59). According to her article, she found a survey that shows, “nearly 70 percent of "flipped" students had increased standardized test scores as compared to traditionally taught students” (p. 59). The benefits of flipped classroom are also evident in the lower level class of students. Many times the students who struggle the most with their homework assignments are the students who have lower GPAs, IEPs, 504s, etc. This model is also very beneficial to them as well. In an article published by Independent Schools, in which they wrote about Professors Gross’ experience with flipped classrooms; the writer quotes Mr. Gross saying “Women and low-GPA students’ performance gets pushed up pretty significantly, but we feel most students get something more out of this” (2016).

 My Personal Opinion:

As an educator is it my belief that the flipped classroom model is a model that will make a positive change in school systems around the world. Students not only want to learn but they really want to understand too. This method is so beautiful because my students now have the ability to pause, stop, and even fast forward all lectures. They can come to class prepared to ask as many questions as possible. Even better than that, they learn to become responsible for their own learning! Students can and will remain engaged in school when they feel they can be involved and not lectured at for 90 minutes every day. This model really has the potential to change the world and its view of education!

References

Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom: Reach every student in every class every day.

Crouch, M. (2014). The Flipped Classroom. Scholastic Parent & Child, 21(5), 59.

Millard, E. (2012). 5 Reasons FLIPPED Classrooms Work. University Business, 15(11), 26-29.

Naccarato, E., & Karakok, G. (2015). Expectations and implementations of the flipped classroom model in undergraduate mathematics courses. International Journal Of Mathematical Education In Science & Technology, 46(7), 968-978.

Sams, A., & Bergmann, J. (2013). Flip Your Students' Learning. Educational Leadership, 70(6), 16-20.

Study shows female students and those with lower GPAs benefit most from "flipped classroom" teaching. (2016). Independent School, 75(2), 10.

Personal Learning Networks

Personal Learning Networks are ways in which educators are able to connect with other educators. Through these connects we are able to grow in our specific contents and become the best teacher that we can be! Unfortunately, many educators are unaware that personal learning networks even exists! I know, because I was one of those misguided educators. :(. Nevertheless, I now know and I'm excited to start connecting.

(image courtesy of barnettelizabethedm310.blogspot.com)

Personal Learning Networks are networked through the use of social media. Hence, my first step to creating my PLN was to sign up and create a twitter account. The image below shows my twitter name and the image I used as my profile. If you can not see the name its says

The next step in creating my PLN was to send out my first tweet and let the world know I was here and ready for take off! So here's what I decided to tweet:

Very direct, huh? I wanted to get straight to the point so I am able to grow my network as quick as possible. It must've work too! After following a few other twitter accounts related to education, I received my first retweet, gained two followers, and as added to a list!!

Boy oh boy, this is getting exciting!! Im very happy and anxious to connect with other educators to learn new and fun ways to teach. Now I have to work towards connect with other people so I can get my "followers" up!

TPACK is Cool, But SAMR Rules!!

Tpack ( technological pedagogical content knowledge )  and SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) is a framework that guides a teacher though his or her use of technology in the classroom. 

The SAMR model is very short and simple. It tells you exactly what to do and how to use the technology in the classroom. Below is a chart that goes into specific details on each level of SAMR.

(Techtipsedu.blogspot.com)

This model increases its usage ith each step. There are many many different ways that the SAMR models improve normal "old school" teaching practices to engage the students in each and every lesson. Below is a list of classroom practices and how they can be improved using SAMR. I really like that the SAMR model is so spelled out and straight forward. 

(www.schrockguide.net)

Next we have the TPACK model. Now this is a really great model because it looks at the whole picture. It covers everything from content to pedagogy. Now my when I first started reading this model I could not really follow it because I honestly did not know what the words meant. So if you are anything like me, take a look at the picture below for a better understanding.

(www.coetail.com)

Now, this pictures shows us that TPACK wants to not only focus on content or only focus on technolgy, but a very balanced mixture of content, teaching practices, and technology. This model gives us a way to enhance the places we may already be strong in while building a strong foundation for these areas we are completely weak in. This is a good model for beginning teacher who may or may not already know their strengths and weaknesses. They have the privilege of focusing on all 3 sections.

As stated, I do prefer the SAMR model. I'm generally pretty strong in my content, teaching practices, and what technologies to use. However, I struggled with adapting the technology. How can I use this piece of technology to teach my students to understand math and not just regurgitate math rules? SAMR shows me how to do that!

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