Now What?

We have had a lot of time to reflect about ideas and topics over the last 5 posts.  For this post, I would like you to think ahead and frame your last blog post around the question, "Now what?" as it relates to you, teaching and the use of technology. 

Google Docs: There are many ways that I can see myself using Google Docs in the future. Many different careers require group planning and Google Docs allows may allow this process to run much more smoothly and efficiently, while also saving time. I can see Google Docs being helpful for teachers working together on units and lesson plans.

Common Craft: I am so looking forward to using common craft in the classroom. This is one of the best concepts of communicating understanding, creatively that I have seen yet!

PowerPoint: I really enjoyed learning about how to use PowerPoint in a more interactive way. I believe that PowerPoint is a great way to present material in a linear form. However, when using hyperlinks, it allows the students to have more direction in their learning.

Because I believe that PLN’s (personal learning networks) are important I hope to get involved in something like Twitter. Because I don’t naturally enjoy journaling, for now I will not continue blogging. Nonetheless, that is the advantage of having so many different kinds of PLN’s there is something out there for everyone and their different learning styles.     

Creativity!

These are some of my thoughts after watching this video:http://youtu.be/qeJJOjb7fj4

Things should not be this way. I love creativity and imagination. If the world did not have creativity it would be a very boring place. Not only that the world would not have very many other things. It takes creativity to do so many things. For example how could people invent things if they thought that there was no ‘other’ way of doing things. Furthermore, even if they thought that there should be a better or at least different way how would they be able to come up with a new solution.

This video upsets me because I do not want to be the teacher that thinks there is only one way of doing things. If we didn’t have creativity, we would not be able to develop perspective and understanding as well as we can with it.   

Next I watched:

http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html

·         Robinson said, “We should treat creativity with as much importance as literacy” – i do not see this happening in schools

·         When the child says that people will know what God looks like in a minute, I see this as such a ‘child moment’ – children are so raw and true. As we get older we have to be more careful of what we say but I think that as adults we are so busy trying to be polite that we lose the beauty of what it means to be a child.

·         Robinson expands on this idea by saying that adults are afraid of making mistakes.

·         When one is afraid of making mistakes it will suppress creativity.

·         I believe a lack of creativity encourages this movement from being like a child to being a ‘sophisticated’ adult

·         I am stereotypically someone that should be good at the arts and creative. For awhile I felt jipped because I felt like I did not have some creative gift that was supposed to be my strength. Although I now see that there are many different ways to show creativity; I question whether or not I would have a more ‘creative gift’ if creativity had been more encouraged when I was in elementary and high school. I wonder if I wasn’t so often told that I was wrong, would I be more willing to try new things?  

I think we can use technology as a form of creativity but it is important to not use it as the only way to show creativity. This would be very contradictory in that the point of creativity is to be different.

TED Talk with Sugata Mitra

After watching the TED talk: Sugata Mitra: The child-driven education, where Mitra discussed the findings of his Hole in the wall 1999-2001 experiment, I found I had lots to think about and even more questions. Some of the points that stood out to me most were:

·         A teacher that can be replaced by a machine, should be

·         If students have interest, then education happens (learning for the sake of learning)

·         Photographic recall because they are discussing it

·         Other scores show that the marks go up over time because the children continue to Google the information

I thought it was interesting when Mitra introduced the Grandmother concept to his study. I was reminded of learning about differential reinforcement in another education class. According to Woolfolk, Winne, Perry (1012) “differential reinforcement means ignoring inappropriate behaviours, while being sure to reinforce appropriate behaviours as soon as they occur.”  This is what the grandmother concept was doing for these children.  

Some questions that I have been pondering since watching this video are:

·         How does, where people grow up influence their desire to learn?

·         Are teachers needed then?

·         What are teachers providing students that they cannot get from other places?

·         Perhaps Mitra included the quote: “There are places on Earth, in every country, where, for various reasons, good schools cannot be built and good teachers cannot or do not want to do...” to imply that computers are a useful substitute when teachers are not available.

What do you think might be important technology to use/have in a classroom?

When trying to determine what kind of technology would be the most useful in the classroom there are several questions to ask. Is the technology being added into the classroom for that sole purpose? To have technology in the classroom and give the impression that the classroom is ‘with it’ or is the technology being added to the classroom to assist with teaching and increase desire and ability to learn? With this in mind it would be pointless to put advanced technology into classrooms if the teachers do not know how to use it affectively. They do not necessarily need to be experts but it is important that they know enough so that the technology is being used optimally and not being wasted.  

Another important question to ask is about accessibility. What can the school realistically afford to add and maintain in its classrooms? It costs money to repair, replace and run many of the current technologies. What technology do students have access to from home? Do all the students have computers and internet at home so that they can access information at home? Do they already have iPods, and cell phones that they could just bring into class?

After these questions have been answered, I believe that it is important to look at what grade levels. Different forms of technology will be better suited for different ages. Perhaps interactive white boards (IWB) would be better used in the primary and junior grades because they are already more inclined to be up, walking around and moving. The primary grades are also more inclined to kinesthetic learning. Laptops and iPads might be more useful in the intermediate, senior grades when students are writing papers and reading textbooks.

There are many different perspectives and things to look at when asking the question, what is the most important kind of technology to have in the classroom? The following blog had some interesting perspectives.

 http://goo.gl/wR2d0  

Standards and Conditions in Technology for Learning

Today, technology has developed in a way that most people could never have imagined. Youth are living in the technological world and have never known any different while older individuals are forced to try and keep up with it. However, it seems that the older generations have a sense of discernment that Generation X might be lacking.

To help students and teachers the International Society for Teachers in Education has developed five standards and performance indicators. A detailed explanation of each of the standards and performance indicators can be found at: http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-t-standards.pdf?sfvrsn=2.  Each of them are interesting and important however, I will focus on the first one for this entry. Technology provides a new way for people to illustrate their own creativity.  How can teachers facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity through technology? Teachers can demonstrate and encourage students to use technology to show their own unique ways of thinking and inventing. They can help students grapple with life problems and world issues from research and other Web 2.0 technologies. Teachers can encourage student reflection by helping them develop their thinking and understanding of issues. Finally teachers can encourage creativity through technology by teaching their students how to communicate and share ideas responsibly. Technology can help develop creativity in students who may not fall into the studies that are traditionally considered creative such as art and music.

ISTE also has fourteen essential conditions for teachers: http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/netsessentialconditions.pdf?sfvrsn=2. Two that I find particularly interesting are ongoing professional learning and student-centered learning. As I mentioned before for those of us who remember a time before the internet and not having a computer in our house it takes effort to stay up to date with technology. Teachers need to continue learning about technology, how they can use it to teach more effectively and how they can teach their students to use it responsibly. During my placement in a SK/ Grade 1 class I saw the benefits of using technology for student centered learning. Students could work on independent reading online at home and the teacher is able to see what the students are reading, how they are doing, and how frequently they are using the program. This program is called Raz- Kids and a great resource to add to your classroom. Class Dojo is an app that was also beneficial to this classroom to help with behavior. There are so many fantastic resources out there that, when used effectively can be very helpful in the classroom.

Introduction

An introduction to myself:
I am in my 5^th year at Redeemer University Collage and my first year in the education program. For my BA I double majored in Physical Education and Psychology. I have known that I want to be a teacher since I was in grade six. I am very passionate about finding ways to present material so that all different kinds of learners may understand.   

Areas of interest in education:
I am interested in special education, health and physical education, and problem based learning in education.  

A little bit about why you are taking digital technology for learning:
I want to learn about new ways that I can use technology to improve student’s learning.

Why you think educators should use tech in education

·         I believe that educators should use technology in their classrooms because it can help them make connections with other teachers. Community learning and sharing can help teachers think more creatively while also providing them with good resources so they do not have to “recreate the wheel” so to speak.

·         Technology can also provide teachers with different methods of teaching which can cater to students’ different learning styles.

·         When teachers use technology in education it also teaches students how to use technology in the appropriately.

A couple interesting articles that I found:

·         Using Contemporary Technology Tools to Improve the Effectiveness of Teacher Educators in Special Education by Chris O’Brien, Nancy J. Aguinaga, Rebecca Hines, and Richard Hartshorne

http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8fc5af58-3c82-4378-98aa-79785dfc9665%40sessionmgr110&vid=5&hid=102

·         Creating Student-Centered Learning Experience through the Assistance of High-End Technology in Physical Education: A Case Study by in Wang, Deborah L. Myers, and Martha J. Yanes

http://ehis.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=8fc5af58-3c82-4378-98aa-79785dfc9665%40sessionmgr110&vid=7&hid=102