Reflection on this course

This course was life changing. I have learned so many up-and-coming technologies that can be applied to my current job. Prior to this course, I had heard of a blog, a wiki, and a podcast, but I had no experience with them and did not truly know what they were. Now, not only have I read and listened to these types of communication, I have actually created my own. I am not an expert, but I feel as if I am on the cutting edge of an upcoming breakthrough. “As educators, we must tap into the potentials that these tools give us for learning” (Richardson, 2009, p. 8). I am no longer afraid to try to create new things on the computer. With practice I believe I can be very proficient in using and guiding others to use these technology tools in my school and my district.

My ideas about teaching and learning have definitely altered. Learning about the twenty-first century skills was inspiring. I understand that students learn differently. I realized education is different than before, but I did not know how or why that was so. Now that I know that students’ brains are different now, it is easier to change how I work with students. I can use what I now know about the twenty-first century skills to teach students in a way that will better prepare them for their futures. Due to neuroplasticity my brain is also changing with new knowledge. I am reteaching myself how to do things differently and how to do different things. Technology is an excellent tool to differentiate learning. “The power of fast cheap computers with reliable fast networks in ways that directly meet the needs of students who are able to learn in ways we could have scarcely imagines a decade or so ago” (Thornburg, 2004, p. 7). Students love learning through games, interesting graphics and fun sounds. They enjoy working together to solve problems. Blogs and wikis can be used both in and out of the classroom. “The collaborative environment that wikis facilitate can teach students much about how to work with others, how to create community, and how to operate in a world where the creation of knowledge and information is more and more becoming a group effort” (Richardson, 2009, p. 69). Teachers need to find ways to incorporate technology and twenty-first century skills into their lessons. They are excellent tools students will need for success in their futures. “Today’s secondary and even elementary schools are filled with students… who are adept at multitasking and using technology in exciting new ways” (McHale, 2005, p. 1). We need to use technology in school to help pave the way.

The “sage on the stage” mentality has to go. Lecture is a waste of time for today’s students who can click and receive the same information in a matter of minutes. Students need time and experience identifying and solving problems on their own. They need to collaborate with others to find creative solutions to real world problems. “In student-centered learning, faculty must become facilitators and collaborators, and instruction must move from memorization to problem solving” (Keengwe, Onchwari & Wachira, 2008, p. 81). Giving students information is teacher-centered. This is definitely not a best practice in this exciting time of educational changes. Students must be challenged and involved in meaningful work in a learner-centered environment. This allows higher-level thinking and creativity in their work. “Unless you are changing how students are being taught and how they are learning and what they are learning, the technology itself isn’t going to do anything” (Laureate Education, 2008b). When teachers are lucky enough to have technology available to them. They need to make optimum use of it as an educational tool.

I am a lifelong learner. I really enjoy discovering new things. This course was a perfect example of trying something new and embracing it. I know, in my position as an Instructional Support Teacher of mathematics, that I must keep up with current research to know the newest best practices in the field. I also have a very positive outlook on technology being used to improve student achievement. “No matter how powerful the technology is, if the person who is using it doesn’t have the right mindset to use it effectively, then the only thing that changes is power consumption and electric bill of the school or institution” (Laureate Education, 2008a). I must practice what I have learned in this course. Practice is necessary in order for me to reach my comfort zone with technology and to discover all there is to learn with the new technology. “Just like anyone else trying to learn a new language, educators must practice the words, or in this case, the tools” (Richardson, 2009, p. 136). If I do not create another wiki, blog, or podcast soon I may lose the ability to know how to do it. I plan to incorporate a wiki into my school soon. This month I am going to share a professional article and post a discussion about it on a wiki. I plan to collaborate about best practices instructing ELL students, a topic from the last course that is very relevant to our school, as well as twenty-first century skills. I have a lot to share. Both of these topics should increase student achievement and motivation. Another thing I can do is model lessons integrating technology and twenty-first skills. The more teachers see these in action, the more likely they will be to learn to integrate them into lessons as well. Additionally, I will speak to others about using technology to increase student achievement. Teachers are a busy bunch and do not have time to research and plan another new thing. I will guide anyone who is interested through it and serve as a support person. Technology motivates and interests students. Also, it naturally differentiates lessons for students.

The first goal I would like to achieve is to slowly integrate technology into my lessons. “Every state has technology standards, but they go untested, which makes real change difficult to achieve” (Miners & Pascopella, 2007, p. 28). One of the obstacles with this is that I am a support teacher. I do not have a classroom or a core group of students I teach. So, although I am learning a lot, I am unable to put what I am learning into action the way my colleagues can. Many teachers fear technology and all that we may use it for. I have the opportunity, though, to instruct other teachers. So, I may have an effect on more students in the long run. “The single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language” (Prensky, 2001, p. 3). I do go into classrooms and model lessons. However, I am at the mercy of the teachers for them to inform me what I am teaching. For example, I found out late on Friday afternoon the lesson I am modeling on Monday in a third grade classroom. This does not give me very much time to research and plan with a busy weekend ahead. If it were my own classroom I could easily look ahead and plan technology integration, however that is not the case. I can be proactive and take home teacher manuals this summer to preplan integration of these skills. I can plan meaningful real world problems for students that will teach them math skills as well as motivate them.

“Teaching and learning in a twenty-first century context involves making content relevant to life outside of school” (Cramer, 2007, p. 129). Another goal I have is to gather a collection of real world problems I can use with students. “By teaching in a 21^st century context, educators can create a balanced education that reflects both national concerns and local needs” (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org, p. 12). These lessons will teach skills and concepts from their curriculum as well as how to be valuable contributors in their societies. By using these real world problems students will apply math skills to authentic situations. This will demonstrate the importance of math in the real world and will motivate students to learn math well since they will need those skills in their futures. Students will be solving problems (learner centered) rather than being lectured to in school. They will use twenty-first century skills of collaboration and using technology to solve problems. The first obstacle will be to discuss this idea with my principal and the head of the math department. If, and only if, they are on board I will be able to move forward. Another obstacle for this goal is that I am not a classroom teacher. I must find a team of teachers to work with who are interested in planning with me and implementing this in their classroom. I believe the fourth grade teachers would be interested in trying this next year, but they are bogged down with a new reading program this year. I need to plan a few lessons, as examples, to show them what I mean. This may peak teacher interest and encourage buy-in by the teachers. “It is even possible that teachers do not have to work as hard to motivate traditionally failing students or to set much higher expectations for excelling students” (November, 2008, p. 81). I have found most teachers really stick closely to the math series to teach math. That is what they were instructed to do and the district has spent a lot of money purchasing the math materials. That doesn’t mean, though, that there is not a better way. “If we don’t stop and listen to the kids we serve, value their opinions, and make major changes on the basis of the valid suggestions they offer, we will be left in the 21^st century with school buildings to administer – but with students who are physically or mentally somewhere else” (Prensky, 2005, p. 13). We must be proactive and change what is happening now to ensure successful futures for our students.

References:

Cramer, S. (2007). Update your classroom with learning objects and twenty-first century skills. Clearing House, 80(3), 126–132.

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org

Keengwe, J., Onchwari, G., & Wachira, P. (2008). The use of computer tools to support meaningful learning. AACE Journal, 16(1), 77–92

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008a). The Emergence of Educational Technology. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2008b). Evolution of Technology and Pedagogy. Baltimore: Author.

McHale, T. (2005). Portrait of a digital native. Technology & Learning. Retrieved from http://www.techlearning.com/article/4572 


Miners, Z. & Pascopella, A. (2007). The new literacies. District Administration, 43(10)m 26-34.

November, A. (2008). Web literacy for educators. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).

Prensky, M. (2005). Listen to the natives. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 8–13.

Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (2^nd ed). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Thornburg, D. (2004). Technology and education: Expectations, not options. (Executive Briefing No. 401). Retrieved from http://www.tcpdpodcast.org/briefings/expectations.pdf


Podcast about Technology

Student Interviews on Technology

Evaluating 21st Century Skills

I really enjoyed the visit to The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills web site. It was interesting and exciting. However, there was a ton of information that took a while to look through. It is my hope that the great ideas to incorporate the 21^st Century Skills into the schools go through as planned. As America falls further and further behind other countries, it is time that our government takes steps to improve what our students are learning and how they are learning it.

There was some information on the site that surprised me. For example, I did not know that “A Nation at Risk also called for computer programming to be included as a ‘new basic’” (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, p. 8). Although it is slightly incorporated into our state standards, it is definitely not included as a basic in our students’ education. Another surprise was that the Terra Nova was listed as one of the test that will be used to assess critical thinking skills. Our district was required to administer the Terra Nova test as part of a grant we received. No one felt that the data we gained from this test was valid for any reason. Now that the grant is over, we will no longer use the Terra Nova, but will use a test that has more usable data for us. One last surprise is that the state will continue to generate standards in order for the teachers to create assessments to measure these standards. The people creating the assessments should be the ones with input into the standards. We are in the trenches with our students every day. We have a good idea about what they should know. The panel of decision makers should definitely include educators since we, ultimately, have to live closely with them.

I disagree with the idea that only certain states were chosen to participate. If our government is involved with this effort, which they are according to the documentation, it should be for all states and all students. I also disagree that “results from large-scale summative assessments, along with other measures of achievement, are regularly used to determine whether students can advance to the next grade, and to judge the quality of schools and the educators who work in them” (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org). I believe student scores on tests are not the only indicator of readiness to progress to the next level. What about formative assessments? How about the students who do not test well, but demonstrate mastery of content? Also, it is not fair for teachers and schools to be judged by student performance on these tests. The population of students I work with are below grade level. The students are low income and high risk. How can my school or my district be compared to a high performing wealthy district? We are enrolling more and more ELL students and our IEP population is growing. The teachers in my school are some of the best I have ever seen. They are making gains, but not in comparison to other districts. Does the Partnership for 21^st Century Skills recognize this?

The implications for me as a teacher is that I will need to pay even closer attention to connecting learning to students’ lives and to the real world (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills). Also, I can look forward to professional development on how to integrate these skills into my classroom rather than just being handed the curriculum to implement (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills). I look forward to collaborating with members of my school community, organizations within the community, other educators in the community and parents in order to see this concept to fruition (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills).

The implications for students are that they are finally going to be tested on what they are being taught rather being taught what they are being tested on (Partnership for 21^st Century Skills). They are going to experience learning that they need in order to be successful in their futures.

http://www.21stcenturyskills.org

Partnership for the 21^st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21^st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf

To Blog or not to Blog, that is the question...

To blog or not to blog, that is the question.

Making the blog for this class has inspired me to create a blog for my school. I am the math specialist in my elementary school. So far I have collaborated with the two reading specialists to create a both a reading and a math section for the blog. I have sent the blog to my principal for approval before I meet with a translator. The purpose of this type of blog would be communication with the parents and students in our school. I have included a pole about how to best contact the parents. The blog explains a little bit about the reading and math programs in the school and asks how we can help our parents. I have included a reading and a math website students may use to practice their skills. In addition, today I posted a K-2 grade level math challenge of the month and a 3-4 grade level challenge. Students can solve the math problems and post their solutions. Teachers can use this in their classes as a math center or students can go on the site at home. Right now it is in the very beginning stages, but it fulfills a goal of mine to get more in contact with parents. The most difficult part of keeping in touch with parents from my school is the language barrier. Since we have access to Spanish translators in our school, it is an excellent way to reach out to the parents and have them respond in their language. It is a comfortable environment with which to communicate, where parents will not worry about how well they speak English. It will bridge some gaps that may exist. This will also serve as a type of enrichment for math students, since I am providing them with a monthly challenge. For many parents and students this will be the first time they have participated in a blog. It is my hope that the math challenges will encourage mathematical discussions at home. Also, this will give parents a little bit of practice with English, since the English translation will be directly above the Spanish version. So, this blog would serve as an instructional resource, math enrichment and a communication device. If it reaches even a few of our parents, it will have served its purpose.

Survey time - technology integration

How do use technology to improve achievement in your classroom?

Math Sites for teachers

There is so much out on the web today. I thought it would be great to have one location where we could all post sites to help teachers teach math. I will post some of the sites I know about, but please add the ones you like to use so the list will help more teachers.

Sites you can use with your students:

http://www.toonuniversity.com

Click on math games on the left of the site. This site serves students from Pre K through 6^th grade levels. There are fun instructional games that are colorful, sound interesting and are easy to use. There are games for math, science and social studies. The language arts section will read to you or you can read stories to yourself. There is a Spanish translation version on the stories. Some parts of this site are only available for members and there is a membership fee.

http://www.sufnetkids.com

Click on educational games. This site provides many links to safe sites for kids.

http://www.primarygames.com

Games are listed by subject for primary aged students. Click on math. Puzzles and fun interactive thinking games with try again messages and visuals to assist to correct answers. Caution – there are advertisements on these pages.

http://www.learningplanet.com/act/fl/aact/index.asp

Click on activities, then choose a grade level. This site contains student activities for preschool to 6^th grade. There is a yearly membership fee, but games can be played by students for free. The time clicking on some of the games could be distracting and irritating, but they are good practice for the specific skills listed. The site includes interactive games, learning activities, worksheets and teacher tools.

http://www.edu4kids.com

Go to E4K Drill Games. Under Drill Games, choose a topic. This site has drill games for general math, math money, time, social studies, and

science and language arts. Some items are available to members only.

http://www.softschools.com

Click on math games. For use with pre K – 5^th grades. Activities listed by grade and by subject. Colorful but no animation. Somewhat uninteresting with unclear directions.

http://www.aaamath.com

Choose a subject on this site. This site has many math topics for grade levels K through 8. Skills are listed and then broken into learn-practice-play-explore-and feedback about the site. Some listed sections can only be accessed by purchasing a CD. Overall, not a very exciting site, but can be utilized as extra practice on a particular skill.

http://www.mathplayground.com

This site is for students in grades K-5. There are games to practice that are interactive. Keyboarding skills are practices since numbers need to be entered. There is a lot of reading involved in this site, so good independent reading skills are a must. Directions to games are not well explained.

http://www.mathcats.com

There are fun interactive games on this site, but they are hard to figure out how to play them.

http://www.moneyinstructor.com

Click on basic money skills, then choose a lesson, This site offers good information and interactive practice worksheets. Students can choose their own level of difficulty. There is limited access, however, to materials without membership.

http://www.aplusmath.com

This site practices facts using online flashcards, games, and worksheets. If you choosed game room, you can play different games. The games are fun to play. If you want to check your math homework, there is a homework helper section where you input the problem and your answer and it will tell you if you are correct or if you need to try again.

Sites for teachers:

http://www.lessonplanz.com/

LessonPlanz.com is searchable directory of free online lesson plans and lesson plan resources for all grades and subjects. The resources are free and can be searched by grade level preschool through 12^th grade. There is a separate search by subject. Games are included for teachers to incorporate. The lesson plans include printed versions for classroom use.

http://www.dclearn.com

Go to at home section, then math. There are videos you can use to teach math skills.. Digital Curriculum™, from Discovery Education, is a curriculum video-on-demand teaching and learning system that fully integrates full-length educational videos, key concept video clips, still images, Encyclopedia Britannica content, teacher guides, lesson plans, and interactive online assessments and assignments into a comprehensive learning tool for teachers, students, and administrators with complete record-keeping and an internal messaging service. Digital Curriculum offers multimedia components for every K-12 subject, state and national framework correlations, multiple bit-rates encoding for school and home use, and simple incorporation of local content. Used by more than twenty million teachers, librarians, and students, Digital Curriculum is the de facto standard for educational video-on-demand.

http://www.ed.gov/teachers/how/tools/initiative/index.html

This site is the United States Department of Education. You can find articles, lesson ideas, teaching opportunities, assessment, standards, and more from this site.

http://www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/bluewebn/

This site is a resource for teachers and librarians. There are lessons, webquests and information for teachers and librarians to utilize to improve their instruction. Quick links listed include arts, business, community interest, education, English, foreign language, health & physical education, history & social studies, mathematics, science, technology and vocational education. There is a search at the bottom to limit the amount of matches that you will receive when searching for a topic. The site is an online library of 2007 outstanding Internet sites categorized by subject, grade level, and format (tools, references, lessons, hot lists, resources, tutorials, activities, and projects). The site is easy to use and would definitely eliminate time when searching for specific information.

http://www.rhlschool.com

This site has free ready to use worksheets for reading, English, math problem-solving, research skills, and math computation.

http://www.edhelper.com

This site contains sample pre-made worksheets for math, science, language arts, themes, test preparation, and daily skills review. Member subscribers can create their own printable worksheets. The site is only somewhat valuable since it is limited to pre-made items unless you are a member.

http://www.education-world.com

Highly recommended! This site has several different areas of concentration. There are sections for lesson planning, administrator’s desk, school issues, professional development, technology integration and edworld at home. The lesson planning area is comprehensive and includes monthly themes of interest to educators and students. Each theme link has a multitude of suggestions to use immediately in the classroom. There are games and items to print as well as education tips and articles. This site can be very helpful for teachers.

http://www.proquestk12.com/curr/elibrary.shtml

This site provides teachers with standards based lesson plans with printable student companion lesson pages. It is worth checking out.

http://www.lessonplanspage.com

This site allows you to choose your subject area – math, science, music, language arts, computers/internet, social studies, art, physical education and health, other and multi-disciplinary. Within each subject area is a choice of grade level from Pre K to high school and then specific lessons by skill/topic. Check this site out.

http://www.teach-nology.com

There is a wealth of information on this site for teachers. To access much of it, though, you need to be a member.

Teacher and Student Sites:

http://www.coolmath.com

There is a teacher reference section on here that gives mathematical definitions and visual representations. Also, there are many games, lessons and other subcategories for students to explore.

http://www.emgames.com

This site is a resource for both students and teachers using the Everyday Math program. There are game demos on this site, but you need a username and password to get the most out of the site. If your district teaches Everyday Math, contact your representative to see if you can have access to this site. Games are fun and speak aloud to the students to help both visual and auditory learners.

http://www.figurethis.org/challenges/toc.htm

The rigors and demands of our increasingly complex, technologically dependent society have made high student achievement in mathematics a top priority among educators, policymakers, and employers. Today’s citizens need more than basic computation and rote mathematical skills. They must master the higher-level concepts and approaches to problem solving that are keys to success in work and everyday life. To meet this need, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, in cooperation with the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering, Widmeyer Communications, and the Learning First Alliance, launched Figure This! The site has a section for teachers who wish to present information about the site. The math index lists content and links for each skill under content areas. Cute graphics and challenges may be downloaded and printed. The site targets middle school math students. Hints are given and there is a section for students who speak Spanish. This is a great site to differentiate math instruction, practice or enrichment.

http://www.superkids.com

This site can be used by teachers, parents and students. It serves as an educational software review with a rating scale of 1-5 for educational value, kid appeal and ease of use. Teacher can find and print specific skill math worksheets. Students can play interactive math, vocabulary builder and logic games. The games are fun!

http://www.factmonster.com

This site is a wealth of informative facts about topics such as the world, the United States, people, word wise, science, math, sports, cool stuff, games & quizzes, and homework center. There is information and examples on a multitude of topics and there is a search in case you can’t find what you want.

http://www.funbrain.com

There are many games and activities on this site. There is a math arcade, a reading section, an arcade, playground and all games section. One portion has a find a game by grade level link. There is a teacher section, which includes a standards finder, curriculum guide and a homework relief center. If you click on the standards finder you choose a grade and then choose a standard. There are games listed to reinforce the standard. Subcategories for students include flash arcades, classic fun brain, web books and comics and movies. The games are fun and reinforce or enrich specific skills. There is also a funblog category which separates for boys and girls. Under the teachers’ section there is a standards finder tab. You can use this to differentiate by specific standards the students need practice with. There is also a curriculum guide section where you can choose the subject and grade level for differentiated practice for your students.

http://www.homeworkspot.com

This site is very helpful for teachers, students and parents. It gives definitions of terms to help answer questions and gives practice of skills. The only drawback is the number of links it takes to get to the specific information you want.

http://www.eduplace.com

Teachers can use graphic organizers from this website. There is a section that lists state resources (standards) and a list of leveled books. There is an educational site search where you can enter a topic to search. Students can use the edugames section where there are fun educational games in language arts, math and geography.

http://abcteach.com

There are ideas and printed material for students, teachers and parents here. To access some you need to be a member.

http://www.kidport.com/

Kidport is an Internet-based educational service designed to help K-8 students excel in school. It provides a unique, multi-step program to create empowered learners, not simply good students. The components of this site are coherent learning system (think and learn modules), curriculum-based content (what kids need to know), compelling experience (what kids love), and learning processes (how kids learn). Students can practice items based on grade level and then skill.