Last week I established two standards I hope to achieve in my classroom. Those two standards are promoting student reflection using collaborative tools and the second being to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools (ISTE, 2008). I am planning on using a wiki and podcasts both are not areas of expertise for me. I have had a some experience with creating podcast and have used wikispace.com for discussions. To achieve these two standards I will have to take what I know of podcasts and wikis to a much greater level.
To teach these standards in my classroom Cennamo, Ross and Ertmer (2009) have created a GAME plan to help us learn these technologies. Having already established my “G”oal, it is now time to move on to “A”ction. My first step to learning wikis and podcast is Google. For me, I have to either see someone else doing it well or need to be hands on when learning a new technology. I find goggle is typically the best starting point for building a base. I feel as though if you do not search what is out there before you start doing podcasts and wikis, I would have nothing to compare my work too or to aim for.
A second resource I plan on using would be my technology director. He and I have spent many hours teaching one another how to use all manner of technologies. I would also attempt to find a seminar or private tutor. My school has great support for teachers when it comes to technology in the classroom. Summiting an email to BOCES will ensure that I will have a seminar, class or tutor to teach me exactly what I want to learn. Another resource I would use to learn podcasting and wikis are my colleagues on the technology committee with me. After school a group of us show off what we know or have found on technology in the classroom. We will typically explore and share but with a goal in mind this group has taught me a great deal and I would turn to them again as a resource. Finally, I would use students, as educated as all of the people around us are, I still feel students are some of the best sources when it comes to learning things like wikis and podcasts. It is amazing to find out how many of our students actually participate in blogging and podcasting. It also makes students feel good when they are the ones teaching you! This is my plan of Action to achieve my goal of promoting student reflection using collaborative tools and the second being to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools (ISTE, 2008).
Kevin Kleespies
ISTE, Initials. (2008). The Iste national educational technology standards (nets•t) and performance indicators for teachers. Retrieved from iste@iste.org, www.iste.org.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
GAME Plan
It has become increasingly important for teachers to gain a greater understanding of technology and what it can mean for our students. There are many different ways in which technology can be used in a classroom but it takes a teacher who understands how to use this technology with each group of students to be successful. There are two areas of the NETS-T that I wish improve on, one being to promote student reflection using collaborative tools and the second being to design relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools (ISTE, 2008).
A GAME plan will help me achieve these standards (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer 2009). My goal is to promote student reflection using collaborative tools. The action I will need to take to achieve this goal will be to practice using wikispaces. I will need to know this site with great detail to be able to answer any questions students will have. Another action to complete this goal will be to design a structure in which to evaluate these collaborative efforts. I will also need to explore other teacher websites for ideas and to learn the lessons they have learned already. Lastly I would need to work closely with my tech department. In order to monitor my progress I will keep my own learning log on what I have learned or found difficult (Shellard & Protheroe, 2004). To evaluate my progress I will need to be able to set up a wiki with everything student will need to complete this standard and project.
Designing relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools is the next standard I have set a goal in (ISTE, 2008). My goal is to see students create their own Today in History podcast. The first action I will take to complete this goal will be to become more familiar with creating a podcast. I already feel comfortable with the IPod itself, however the sites and creation of podcasts are still new to me. I will need to learn from fellow teachers, students and friends who already podcast from one on one interactions. Another action that will be need to accomplish this goal will be to build a collection of sites that students can use to find what has happened in history today. Two sites come to mind right away one being the history channel which already does a today in history, which will be our model, but I would also use news sites. I want students to not only use historical events but events from today they feel are historic events nationally, statewide, locally or personally. I will monitor my progress by creating my own today in history podcasts. To evaluate my progress I will reflect on all the podcast I have done hopefully seeing a steady improvement in the podcasts themselves. These podcasts will then become a second model for students to use when creating their own.
If I can master these two technologies I feel that my classroom for next year will change dramatically. Accomplishing these two goals will allow students to share much more about themselves and to connect to content like never before.
Kevin Kleespies
ISTE, Initials. (2008). The Iste national educational technology standards (nets•t) and performance indicators for teachers. Retrieved from iste@iste.org, www.iste.org.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Shellard, E. & Protheroe, N. (2004). Writing across the curriculum to increase student learning in middle and high school. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.
A GAME plan will help me achieve these standards (Cennamo, Ross & Ertmer 2009). My goal is to promote student reflection using collaborative tools. The action I will need to take to achieve this goal will be to practice using wikispaces. I will need to know this site with great detail to be able to answer any questions students will have. Another action to complete this goal will be to design a structure in which to evaluate these collaborative efforts. I will also need to explore other teacher websites for ideas and to learn the lessons they have learned already. Lastly I would need to work closely with my tech department. In order to monitor my progress I will keep my own learning log on what I have learned or found difficult (Shellard & Protheroe, 2004). To evaluate my progress I will need to be able to set up a wiki with everything student will need to complete this standard and project.
Designing relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools is the next standard I have set a goal in (ISTE, 2008). My goal is to see students create their own Today in History podcast. The first action I will take to complete this goal will be to become more familiar with creating a podcast. I already feel comfortable with the IPod itself, however the sites and creation of podcasts are still new to me. I will need to learn from fellow teachers, students and friends who already podcast from one on one interactions. Another action that will be need to accomplish this goal will be to build a collection of sites that students can use to find what has happened in history today. Two sites come to mind right away one being the history channel which already does a today in history, which will be our model, but I would also use news sites. I want students to not only use historical events but events from today they feel are historic events nationally, statewide, locally or personally. I will monitor my progress by creating my own today in history podcasts. To evaluate my progress I will reflect on all the podcast I have done hopefully seeing a steady improvement in the podcasts themselves. These podcasts will then become a second model for students to use when creating their own.
If I can master these two technologies I feel that my classroom for next year will change dramatically. Accomplishing these two goals will allow students to share much more about themselves and to connect to content like never before.
Kevin Kleespies
ISTE, Initials. (2008). The Iste national educational technology standards (nets•t) and performance indicators for teachers. Retrieved from iste@iste.org, www.iste.org.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Shellard, E. & Protheroe, N. (2004). Writing across the curriculum to increase student learning in middle and high school. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
EDUC-6712D-2 Reflection
This class was an eye opener. Other classes have talked about the 21st century skills that schools need to be teaching but few have had us make examples how to do so. What I enjoy about this masters program is how well the classes work together. Each class builds off of the other and it allows a student time to absorb and construct relevant materials for classroom students.
The most striking revelation I had from this class was just what teaching 21st century skills should look like. Creating the inquiry project has showed me how much should go into using technology in the classroom. I have seen plenty of teachers and I myself have been guilty of this as well, giving students assignments on a computer with no other expectations than the final product. What I learned from this class is that the final product is only a result of a well planned and organized unit intended to teach 21st century skills. Skills like verifying websites and sources using the REAL system (Eagleton & Dobler. 2007).. These types of strategies improve school work but most importantly teach our students to become smart internet consumers and that is a skill they will use the rest of their lives.
Going forward in my own teaching I will be focusing on teaching my content while teaching 21st century skills. This will be difficult but I compare it to my first year of teaching. I know what my students need to learn but I will need to create new lessons that emphasize skills students need in today’s world. It is not enough to simply assign a PowerPoint assignment or a wiki discussion. The form and function that are 21st century skills need to be taught alongside our content. Our classrooms can no longer be one dimensional, ever content teacher worries about their content, reading and writing, but there is now much more that teachers need to be responsible for.
For my professional development goal I would like to work to continue to improve creating inquiry projects. I can see adding many different aspects to this project. I would like these projects to move further into the realm of technology as I improve in creating it. I will also need to work on how I create grading rubrics for these projects. Assessment creation and grading is a second area I would like to improve upon for a professional development goal.
I enjoyed this class. There was a fair amount of work but I enjoying what I learned from this class. Learning complete process to determine the validity of websites was a lesson I will never forget. This skill is important for adults and students, I am looking forward to sharing this skill with students next year.
Kevin Kleespies
References
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
The most striking revelation I had from this class was just what teaching 21st century skills should look like. Creating the inquiry project has showed me how much should go into using technology in the classroom. I have seen plenty of teachers and I myself have been guilty of this as well, giving students assignments on a computer with no other expectations than the final product. What I learned from this class is that the final product is only a result of a well planned and organized unit intended to teach 21st century skills. Skills like verifying websites and sources using the REAL system (Eagleton & Dobler. 2007).. These types of strategies improve school work but most importantly teach our students to become smart internet consumers and that is a skill they will use the rest of their lives.
Going forward in my own teaching I will be focusing on teaching my content while teaching 21st century skills. This will be difficult but I compare it to my first year of teaching. I know what my students need to learn but I will need to create new lessons that emphasize skills students need in today’s world. It is not enough to simply assign a PowerPoint assignment or a wiki discussion. The form and function that are 21st century skills need to be taught alongside our content. Our classrooms can no longer be one dimensional, ever content teacher worries about their content, reading and writing, but there is now much more that teachers need to be responsible for.
For my professional development goal I would like to work to continue to improve creating inquiry projects. I can see adding many different aspects to this project. I would like these projects to move further into the realm of technology as I improve in creating it. I will also need to work on how I create grading rubrics for these projects. Assessment creation and grading is a second area I would like to improve upon for a professional development goal.
I enjoyed this class. There was a fair amount of work but I enjoying what I learned from this class. Learning complete process to determine the validity of websites was a lesson I will never forget. This skill is important for adults and students, I am looking forward to sharing this skill with students next year.
Kevin Kleespies
References
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Reflective Essay
As technology becomes more prevalent in our daily lives the role of the classroom teacher must evolve. I have learned from this class that our students are far different from the ones in which most of our teaching techniques were designed for. Being a part of this class has taught me a great deal about how to use technology effectively in my classroom. The readings and information provided in the course has not only helped explain how to use these new technologies but why these technologies should be used.
My own technology skills have increased due to this class. I had never watched or listened to a podcast before this class. Understanding how create a podcast has opened up a different world for me and my students. The experience I gained while creating the podcast has made me comfortable with a medium I otherwise may never have experimented with. Using the different software used to create a podcast has increased my proficiency with computers, along with understanding the language that goes along with them. As a social studies teacher podcasts can be used to create oral histories, interviews or reenactments of historical events(Richardson 2006). These types of student centered actives help create the 21st century classroom students need to learn in.
This class has improved my knowledge of blogs and wikis as well. I have had limited experiences using these applications and have been exposed to the benefit of them through this class. Being able to see all the other blogs created by fellow students really allowed me to see how many different ways blogs can be used and created. Creating a blog for the first time was frustrating and time consuming. I am happy to have been able to work through these problems with fellow teachers. I now feel confident enough to use blogs in the my classroom and am very thankful for that. I was also surprised with wikis. I have seen wikis created by teachers before and never really saw the benefit of them. The way in which I had seen them used it looked like nothing more than a digital bulletin board. After working in our groups to create a wiki, I saw how beneficial and extraordinary a wiki application can be. Without this class I do not believe I ever would have felt comfortable using podcast, blogs or wikis in my class.
Besides all of the great technologies I know feel comfortable with, creating a professional network of learning maybe just as important a lesson I can take away from this class. Finding all the different blogs and profession networks teachers can use to improve their knowledge has helped me grow as a teacher and a lifelong learner. It is great to know that all the questions and problems I experience or have, there is a forum to answer or solve them. With all of the teachers out there creating for their classes it is great to be able to share our hard work with others. After using the professional blogs for a while all I can think about is how I was basically reinventing the wheel. I discovered everything I have been struggling with others teachers having already been down that road and the answers are out there for those who care to find them. I believe that these tools will increase my knowledge of technology, teaching and implementation of technology in the classroom.
I found myself thinking about who my students are and how to reach them much more than I ever have before. I was always working to create work that would hold their interest and make history cool. After reading about digital immigrants and digital natives, my understanding of my students has changed (Prensky 2001). For me I feel like I see my students much more clearly than I ever did before. Being able to incorporate the world they are familiar with will change my classroom dramatically and the student learning process.
This class has not changed the way I worked to create a student centered classroom, what it has changed is the way in which I can create this type of classroom. The most profound change will be in using mediums my students will feel at home with. My projects have always asked students to learn and discover for themselves however with what this class has taught me these types of projects will be far more efficient and fun for students. Being able to allow students to share what the find interesting rather than what I think they would like is a huge deal. It is also a incredible time saver to allow students to find their interests instead of me looking for 75 students. The student centered classroom opens up a different sort of understanding for our students. When students can find and discuss with one another rather than the teacher it changes how students learn and increases their participation in the class. This classroom creates an active student rather than the passive ones that we find in teacher center classrooms.
The two long terms goals that I have set for myself is to have students using and creating podcasts and blogs to share student created work, along with their ideas. I want to create the 21st century classroom we learned about from Dr. Thornburg and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 21st Century skills are possibly the most important tools we need to be teaching our students in our classroom (Laureate 2008). Right now my school has a ban on ipods and blogs in school. I have already been working to change these rules. I have recently gained permission to conduct a study on student learning and focus while allowing students to use ipods in class. Already I have discovered what we read a great deal about in this class. Our students are multi-taskers and find the silent work environment distracting (Presky 2001). I have also found a great deal of resistance from other teacher about what I am doing. I am confident after having this class that these goals are correct and that I need to continue down this path. In order to truly do this I will need to develop blogs and podcasts that will exemplify to other teachers how these 21st century tools can be used effectively in the classroom. Otherwise they will still be seen as a gimmick not a viable teaching tool.
I believe in two years I will be able to create the 21st century classroom that will incorporate all the skills that students will need entering the world outside of school. Blogs, wikis and podcasts are just some of the tools that I will need to create this classroom. I am thankful for having taken this class even with the amount of frustration and stresses I sometimes felt while working to complete our applications. It was far better to feel these pressures with a classroom of professionals rather than to try to learn all of this while trying to implement them into a classroom or even worse, to never try to learn them at all. With our understanding of technology in the classroom and its ability to revolutionize the role of the classroom teacher, I see those of us who have taken this class as the messengers that will bring about the 21st classroom leading by example and successes.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program #11: Skills for the 21st century [Motion Picture]. In Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants, part II: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6).
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for the classrooms (2nd ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
My own technology skills have increased due to this class. I had never watched or listened to a podcast before this class. Understanding how create a podcast has opened up a different world for me and my students. The experience I gained while creating the podcast has made me comfortable with a medium I otherwise may never have experimented with. Using the different software used to create a podcast has increased my proficiency with computers, along with understanding the language that goes along with them. As a social studies teacher podcasts can be used to create oral histories, interviews or reenactments of historical events(Richardson 2006). These types of student centered actives help create the 21st century classroom students need to learn in.
This class has improved my knowledge of blogs and wikis as well. I have had limited experiences using these applications and have been exposed to the benefit of them through this class. Being able to see all the other blogs created by fellow students really allowed me to see how many different ways blogs can be used and created. Creating a blog for the first time was frustrating and time consuming. I am happy to have been able to work through these problems with fellow teachers. I now feel confident enough to use blogs in the my classroom and am very thankful for that. I was also surprised with wikis. I have seen wikis created by teachers before and never really saw the benefit of them. The way in which I had seen them used it looked like nothing more than a digital bulletin board. After working in our groups to create a wiki, I saw how beneficial and extraordinary a wiki application can be. Without this class I do not believe I ever would have felt comfortable using podcast, blogs or wikis in my class.
Besides all of the great technologies I know feel comfortable with, creating a professional network of learning maybe just as important a lesson I can take away from this class. Finding all the different blogs and profession networks teachers can use to improve their knowledge has helped me grow as a teacher and a lifelong learner. It is great to know that all the questions and problems I experience or have, there is a forum to answer or solve them. With all of the teachers out there creating for their classes it is great to be able to share our hard work with others. After using the professional blogs for a while all I can think about is how I was basically reinventing the wheel. I discovered everything I have been struggling with others teachers having already been down that road and the answers are out there for those who care to find them. I believe that these tools will increase my knowledge of technology, teaching and implementation of technology in the classroom.
I found myself thinking about who my students are and how to reach them much more than I ever have before. I was always working to create work that would hold their interest and make history cool. After reading about digital immigrants and digital natives, my understanding of my students has changed (Prensky 2001). For me I feel like I see my students much more clearly than I ever did before. Being able to incorporate the world they are familiar with will change my classroom dramatically and the student learning process.
This class has not changed the way I worked to create a student centered classroom, what it has changed is the way in which I can create this type of classroom. The most profound change will be in using mediums my students will feel at home with. My projects have always asked students to learn and discover for themselves however with what this class has taught me these types of projects will be far more efficient and fun for students. Being able to allow students to share what the find interesting rather than what I think they would like is a huge deal. It is also a incredible time saver to allow students to find their interests instead of me looking for 75 students. The student centered classroom opens up a different sort of understanding for our students. When students can find and discuss with one another rather than the teacher it changes how students learn and increases their participation in the class. This classroom creates an active student rather than the passive ones that we find in teacher center classrooms.
The two long terms goals that I have set for myself is to have students using and creating podcasts and blogs to share student created work, along with their ideas. I want to create the 21st century classroom we learned about from Dr. Thornburg and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. 21st Century skills are possibly the most important tools we need to be teaching our students in our classroom (Laureate 2008). Right now my school has a ban on ipods and blogs in school. I have already been working to change these rules. I have recently gained permission to conduct a study on student learning and focus while allowing students to use ipods in class. Already I have discovered what we read a great deal about in this class. Our students are multi-taskers and find the silent work environment distracting (Presky 2001). I have also found a great deal of resistance from other teacher about what I am doing. I am confident after having this class that these goals are correct and that I need to continue down this path. In order to truly do this I will need to develop blogs and podcasts that will exemplify to other teachers how these 21st century tools can be used effectively in the classroom. Otherwise they will still be seen as a gimmick not a viable teaching tool.
I believe in two years I will be able to create the 21st century classroom that will incorporate all the skills that students will need entering the world outside of school. Blogs, wikis and podcasts are just some of the tools that I will need to create this classroom. I am thankful for having taken this class even with the amount of frustration and stresses I sometimes felt while working to complete our applications. It was far better to feel these pressures with a classroom of professionals rather than to try to learn all of this while trying to implement them into a classroom or even worse, to never try to learn them at all. With our understanding of technology in the classroom and its ability to revolutionize the role of the classroom teacher, I see those of us who have taken this class as the messengers that will bring about the 21st classroom leading by example and successes.
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program #11: Skills for the 21st century [Motion Picture]. In Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore: Author.
Partnership for 21st Century Skills. (n.d.). A report and mile guide for 21st century skills. Washington DC: Author. Retrieved from http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants, part II: Do they really think differently? On the Horizon, 9(6).
Richardson, W. (2009). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for the classrooms (2nd ed.).Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
PodCast
The Podcast for my Walden University Week 5 Application is located to the right of this post labeled Tech survey.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Partnership for 21st Century Skills Website
This site when I first began to explore it was frustrating. None of the pictures showed up on my page which was frustrating, with how many times they referred to this rainbow that I was not able to see, until using the pdf file from our class resources. I had a difficult time navigating the site. A number of links did not work and the ones that did typically linked to pages with a short description. I did find some great resource links and great examples of what a 21st century classroom should look like. Overall I would have to say I like the idea of the site and its collection of 21st century ideas for teaching. I am not sure that I disagree with this statement but I did find it somewhat odd “Teaches 21st century skills discretely in the context of core subjects and 21st century interdisciplinary themes”(Partnership 21st) Are students not supposed to know they are using technology or learning 21st Century skills. What I did disagree with is the idea that what they are presenting is new. Most of the skills they are expressing as 21st century are skills teachers have been teaching for years. Creative thinking, problem solving, civics, economics literacy, health literacy, if teachers have not been working to teach these in school we have much further to go than I thought. Of course the use of technologies to teach these skills is new to most teachers but these fundamental skills were taught to me and the generations that came before me. This site to me shows that there will be a change in the way teachers teach and how students learn these skills. Will the fundamentals of teaching change because of this? I do not believe so, I really believe that with all that technology has accomplished and achieved, we as teachers are being asked to do more for students than any teachers have ever been asked to do prior. This thought is based on how schools are still structured; state exams, paper, pens, scantrons, and all the other ancient techniques still held onto in our schools. Pens, pencils and paper cannot be tossed aside but at some point teaching cursive has got to go and until teachers are allowed to abandon these it will continue to be a struggle to incorporate the 21st century skills into an 18th century school model.
(2004). Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved from
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php
(2004). Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Retrieved from
http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Blogging the Classroom
I would use a blog for students to share with students from other classes. They could share character journals, answers to their questions, and discussions over controversial topics. If I could teach the British point of view on the Revolutionary war in global class and then a detailed American point of view in eleventh grade US History, they could discuss a common event.I teach an 8th Grade Social Studies class US History 1865 to Present, 9th grade Global I and 11th grade US History (block). I think just allowing students to share what they find interesting on a topic will help get other students interested as well. I think being able to join in the discussion and help guide it along while providing places and ways to find their answers would be an incredible tool for learning.
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