Final Thoughts Summer 2014

I have made it apparent on all my posts that I am on board with integrating technology in the classroom. Technology is a great way to get away from the bubble test and confusing multiple choice exams. Lets do some research projects using the Internet where there is a wealth of information and resources out there (but lets learn how to do that critically, safety and responsibly). Lets use all the great tools out there that can hit on all the learning styles that students have so that we can reach a broader range of students. Lets use those tools to foster and model creativity in students so they can get the newest and hottest jobs out there. Lets use blogs and social media to open student's minds to other worldly views and work collaboratively with others. During this summer my Technology in Education has taught me so much more than I thought I was going to learn. I feel i have learned too many things to remember so I will use this blog as a reminder to myself on the best things I learned and don't want to forget.

1. Don't do it alone! Use peers, not just at your school site, but around the world. On Twitter teachers unite from all corners of the world.
2. Find the need first and then find the tool (because its out there). Don't just use technology for the sake of using technology.
3. Know the law! So many creative commons licenses and copyright laws are violated, we need to model responsibility and etiquette about online resources.
4. Flipped classrooms. this is something I want to incorporate into at least some of my lessons. I'd like to research this further to see how this could work for me.
5. Best practices. No more death by power point! Pictures are worth a thousand words, so no need for the slides full of text!
6. Google might be king at everything else, but there are better and safer ways for students to research and find creative commons resources.
7. Blogging! I can't wait to integrate blogging into my classrooms. This is a great way for students to relay what they have absorbed from the lessons and learn from each other. A community of learning is a goal in my future classrooms.

Over all I had a great experience in this class. I enjoyed learning something new everyday and putting it to good use right away. I didn't expect to feel this much more prepared to enter a classroom. Maybe its knowing you have the world at your computer screen and an enormous array of tools available to you as your support system that gives new teachers the confidence they need. Signing off...next stop...student teaching!

Digital Equity

   Equity in the classroom is not a new topic and during my short time in education classes, this topic seems to ring through in every lesson. Equity in the classroom would mean that the teacher is attentive to ALL students. Time would have to be taken out to get to know each student and his/her learning styles in order to include all students into each lesson. Students with disabilities are not just the ones that need accommodations. Students vary in every detail and educators need to make their lesson as broad reaching as possible. This could mean a variety of things from changing the entire way the lesson is structured to adding an additional visual companion to the lesson or to simply have the students work with their accommodating assistive technology when needed. This is not an option in my opinion, it is the teacher’s duty to teach all children. While it might seem like extra work for the already over extended teacher, it is a necessity. Teachers need to be educated in the techniques that would help them to run an inclusive equitable classroom. An up and coming issue is on equity has to do with the technology advances we are experiencing in the classrooms. 
   The digital age is among us and more and more books are coming with digital copies of their printed versions, or CDs with various audio lessons. According to the article, AIM for Digital Equity  by Gayl Bowser and Joy Smiley Zabala Digital equity is the new topic being discussed and what is coming for the print disabled student might be promising. Changing over from print to digital allows for  students to manipulate the text to a form that is more readable for them. Some students with disabilities are accommodated by AIM, Accessible Instructional Materials provided to them. These students have problems reading material from print for various reasons and their disabilities qualify them for these special materials. But what about the "average" student that might not qualify for a disability, but still struggles with their reading ability? What about the English language learner? These students deserve an even playing ground with the lesson being taught just as much as the next student. Having materials set up to be able to reach the entirety of the student population might seem like an impossible task, but I have learned that there are simple things that in this day in age of technology can be added to digital material where the student need not qualify to benefit. 
    Because I do plan on utilizing a class website I will have to be attentive to the accessibility of the material I put on there. For written material, having it available online makes it easier for students that struggle with the written word to use a screen reader or a translator. For visually impaired students screen readers also let the student know what pictures are on the document as well so alt text is required for picture descriptions to be read to the individual. Audio impaired students benefit from having a transcript for all audio tracks recorded on videos posted online. Doing all these measures on every uploaded document or website page created ahead of time can help the teacher from having to tailor every lesson when a new disabled student is enrolled in your classes. Having these materials always accessible help with the family at home in case anyone at home struggles with these things too. Overall everyone can benefit from multiple ways to absorb the information so a couple extra minutes on each lesson to ensure accessibility for all students seems like a good trade off to me.  

Social Media in Education

    Can social media be about more that what you ate for breakfast this morning or the guy that cut you off on the freeway? Although I have always been a fan of utilizing technology in the classroom, I haven't thought too much about social media having a place. At first glance it seems like oil and water. After reading up on the subject I am beginning to see that if used correctly and professionally, social media sites like facebook and

twitter can be a beneficial tool for the teacher and the students. Entering into social media with the students is a little awkward and sometimes hazardous to the teacher's career, so it would need to done with care. While I don't condone being "friends" with student on a personal page, I can see the worth in creating a class Facebook page. Students would be able converse with one another about topics taught in class. They can ask each other questions about homework or get together about their group projects.
   I see the hot topic in education right now as less about facebook more about twitter. More and more educators are tweeting about education and their experiences inside the classroom. Teachers can use twitter to pick the brains of a world full of colleagues. Having teachers unite in 140 characters or less can't underestimated. I plan on joining some twitter chats over the summer myself just to get a toe in and see what can be learned for a new teacher. Teachers might also be able to reach parents on this commonly downloaded app as well. Having parents connected is directly related to support at home. The more supported the student, the better they do in school. Students are also being invited in on the twitter bandwagon too. If students follow their teacher's tweets they can be brought into a class discussion here as well. Twitter and facebook can be a tool for teachers to extend their classrooms.  I feel it is important to maintain a community of learners in the classroom and the skill of peer discussion is of utmost importance. These social media sites are a gateway into the global community and I can't pass up the opportunity to teach kids a tool that will benefit in their upcoming careers as well as broaden their horizons and open their minds to other opinions in the meantime.Guiding students through social media is a great way to teach them how to properly utilize the technology we have that helps us reach out to the world community. We as educators need to educate our students that people care about what they have to say and they can learn a great deal from listening to other points of view as well. We need to educate students that there is more to social media than posting what we ordered for lunch.

Update 8/1/14 : I have joined the twitter groups @CAedchat and @ntchat . My twitter handle is @MBallacheyedu if your would like to follow me and my journal to becoming a new teacher!

Should Students be Allowed to Use the Internet During Assessments?

     Couldn't you just see this argument coming? Anything and everything  is looked up online. How many times a day do you look to Google to answer a question for you. I'd be embarrassed to say the number of times I do this. But just think of how satisfying it would it be to know the answer yourself. Can you imagine asking your doctor a question and the doctor saying, "Hold on, let me google that." This might seem extreme, but the reality is, in real life you can't just stop working, pull out your phone and ask Siri how to do something. We as a society decide to specialize in things in order to carve out a career. At least, that is the goal right? To find something you are interested in and enjoy and then make a living from that specialization. If we relied on technology for every  bit of knowledge we would become mindless drones, just going through the motions and following what the internet told us. Where would innovations and different ways of solving problems come from? If you think about it, relying solely on what is on the internet would result in a stagnant knowledge base and the end of progression all together!
   Okay, okay, lets all just take a breath now and come back to earth. I think my opinion is clear on the subject. I personally will not be allowing students to use the internet to answer questions in a test situation. I say this because I only plan on testing students in the typical sense on things I believe they should know and understand on their own. Science is a type of subject that builds on itself. You need to understand certain basic things to understand the next topic, so I can't see the benefit I would give to my students to be able to look up answers on the internet. I have always been on the side of technology in the classroom, but one of my reasons for this is that I believe a major part of my job as a teacher is to ready students to exit high school and into the world. Today's world is all about technology, so to not give my students an edge would be me not doing my job. However, I feel that having the internet available to the students on an assessment a step too far.
    I understand the argument that having the internet available allows students to answer more critical thinking types of questions. I might be able to see that stretch in certain subjects with a highly evolved teacher, but I just can't see it fitting into my classroom. What's wrong with critically thinking with the information you have learned in class? Aren't assessments suppose to judge the student and the teacher on the material present? I acknowledge that this could be considered the same as an open book test, but I was never an advocate of that either. Knowing how to look up information is a skill that is necessary and should be taught and tested, but I don't feel it should be included on every assessment. The internet is an imperative tool for projects and problem based learning so it will definitely have a huge place in my classroom, but just not for tests. Even as I am writing this I can feel myself being slightly closed minded, thinking back to my school experience where the internet was not as readily available. I will not judge teachers that allow this method,, more power to them! I promise to keep my mind open to any arguments for the topic. However, as of right now, on this topic only, I am going to remain with an old school aura about me.

The Flipped Classroom

After reading the two articles, 7 Things You Should Know About Flipped Classrooms by Educause and
What Is The Flipped Classroom Model And Why Is It Amazing? (With Infographic) by Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry I have learned a little more about the flipped classroom model. First I have to say that the article by Gobry was less like an article and more like a "infographic" like the title suggests. When reading this what came to mind was how ridiculous some of the arguments against the flipped classroom model were. I by far prefer the article by Educase because it was more informative and had some sense about it. I used this article to understand the model itself. The understanding I came out with is that the model consists of an opposite approach to today's lessons where originally the students attend lectures and then do homework and practice with the concept at home. A flipped classroom would have short lectures or podcasts of the teacher teaching the material. The students would watch these at home and then the students come into class to actively work with the material., answer questions, and do group discussions on the topic.

     One of the more valid points for the model were that students are able to stop the lecture and rewind if they missed something or needed more clarification. There was also the point that this extra time with the lectures would help the second language student or that the recorded lectures could have captions to help the auditory disabled student. Another point for this model is that students can spend more time in the classroom asking questions, learning and discussing the information with peers and physically practicing with the information. Gone would be the days where the students gets frustrated at home with homework, running to their parent saying "I don't get this!" The Educase article says, "The flipped classroom is an easy model to get wrong." I agree, I could see this going terribly wrong. Students not coming to class, students coming to class unprepared because they didn't bother to view the lecture, parents claiming that student do nothing in class. I think this is why there are so many ridiculous arguments against it in the infographic by Gobry. If meticulous planning was done for the lesson and parents were educated on the process then this might just be a valid alternative for the classroom. There are only two arguments against the flipped classroom that hold and weight with me. One, that students would need universal access to the internet in order to make the lectures available to everyone equally. Until this is possible I don't see how this flipped classroom can work. I have seen schools that rent or lease computers to students that they are able to take home. If these computers had internet access then I could see this flipped classroom having a benefit for students and teachers. The other problem I see with this is the students that feel that they have already learned the material so they do not need to attend class. The teacher would have to carefully plan the lesson so that students were inclined to attend class and actually get something more out of the class time.  

    If the above two conditions were met, I could see this working for me in my science classes. If the students watch lessons at home they could come to class ready to do the hands on labs and dissections that are so important in the science classroom. From what I have been  learning about pedagogy, the way teachers teach is evolving. We are living in an age where students can educate themselves online. In my head, when I am envisioning my classrooms, I see myself stepping farther and farther away from the typical lecture and rote way of teaching anyway, so flipped classrooms speak to me. I really love the group learning aspect of this model as well and since collaborative learning works within the parameters of common core so that is a plus. Students are given time to discuss the material together, allowing students to teach each other, they are able to see the material through other examples and perspectives than that of the teacher. These classroom discussions and having online quizzing can help the me so see where my class needs the extra help and instruction. Project based learning is a goal for me, so I would love to use certain aspects of this flipped classroom for my future classes because it would allow more time for the students to work on project under my supervision. Just as a cherry on top, I've never been a fan of the traditional worksheet or problems out of the book homework!

I never promised you privacy....Love, The Internet

...and if I did, our policy has changed.

     The articles What Kind of Stuff do Employers Search For When I Apply For a Job by Thorin Klosowski, The Online Activity That's Keeping you Unemployed by Sara Roncero-Menendez, and They Loved Your G.P.A.Then They Saw Your Tweets by Natasha Singer are all articles on the online profile and how it affects the chances of getting where you want to in life. The articles describe how potential employers and colleges are screening the internet for additional information about candidates. Colleges and companies are looking at social media sites like facebook and twitter as well as the good "old fashion" Google search of your name. We all know about background checks, credit reports and criminal records, but this is taking it a bit further. According to Sara Roccero-Menendez, companies are thinking twice about candidates that show or hint about illegal drug use, pictures of alcoholic beverages, sexual comments, profanity and even spelling errors/ grammatical errors on their social feeds.  I was surprised to see that overtly religious and/or political views posted were looked down upon too. It almost seems like your online personality has to match your public persona...imagine that! 

    It does worry me that this is happening, but I can't say I blame the companies/colleges. If the information is out there then why not get a better picture of who you are letting manage your company or who has the potential of raising your drop out rate. I can only hope that companies realize that people do have personal lives and that people understand how to change gears as they step in their roles in their jobs. There has to be a little balancing here. The way I choose to look at this is that companies are just making sure you know how to divide that personal life and professional life online as well as in person. If you want to be a professional you have to project yourself as a professional. 

   Teachers are professionals as well, but even more to the point they are working with our kids. I would not want to see my daughter's third grade teacher passed out cold in a picture her friends posted on facebook with her permanent marker mustache glaring at me. Teachers need to understand that they have to be role models outside of school as well as in the classroom. I have always been kind of a prude and I had my children relatively young so my partying days are few and far between. However, I don't mind going through my pictures and changing the privacy on or deleting the occasional borderline inappropriate comment or picture. I also plan on talking with my friends about tagging me or posting any pictures of me otherwise compromised. My students will need to understand what in on the internet is judged and lasts forever. high school students are notorious for making bad decisions, but I hope to at least reach those that plan on having a professional career to be careful about what they say. I am interested in having students create a portfolio where they can upload their achievements and future goals. I'd like to see what it would take to pitch this and implement this school wide. Having such a portfolio would help them to create a positive, professional space and therefore a positive digital identity. 

Technology Integration Response

     I have always been excited about incorporating technology into the classroom. I feel it is imperative to set students up for what they are exiting high school into, whether it be to college or the work force. Gone are the days that schools turn out factory workers. We are now responsible for turning out entrepreneurs, the

next Steve Jobs (Apple) or the next Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook).There are so many ways a student can show competency in a subject and technology helps us implement them. There are so many helpful and engaging tools out there, why not use them to our advantage while teaching our youth the same? These kids have to leave our classrooms empowered to better society and further technology.
    The Technology Integration article by Suzie Boss highlights ways in which technology can enhance learning. One that stands out the most to me is that students utilizing the internet have a tremendous amount of variety and they are bound to find something that interests them. It is imperative that the material be engaging for students. When students are engaged that is when they absorb and then configure it in their own brain where it fits. If not, the information is stored in an analogous "spam folder" in the brain. The student might be able to recover it, but it doesn't mean he or she knows how to utilize the information. Another point that I totally agree with is the article's reference to teachers and how most teachers that don't use technology in their classrooms are the ones that haven't had much experience with the technology. I'm sure that if teachers were shown what technology would be useful to them and how to confidently apply the tech to their lessons, they would. Technology courses should be done regularly throughout a teacher's career to help people stay up to date in this fast changing digital age. I am happy to take a course that will help me reach my students in today's tech world and better prepare them to create tomorrow's.