Preparing New Teachers with Technology

In the article, Preparing New Teachers with Technology, Christine Jones discusses the fact that districts could be facing a teacher shortage issue. The economic recession forced many districts to lay off both new and veteran teachers. And with many teachers nearing retirement and lower than average enrollment in teacher preparation programs, Christine believes that technology might be the key to keeping good teachers.  She states, “one way to retain qualified teachers is to offer them the appropriate support early in their careers to avoid burnout and to refine their teaching practices.” To test this idea, a Teacher Induction Program in California started to implement technology usage and support with their students. They are giving students practical experience of using Google Classroom as a tool to distribute content to their own students by using it as a tool to assign and submit their classwork. If they see the benefits of the digital submission capabilities, ability for instant feedback and collaboration, and more, than they are more likely to initiate and use that type of innovative tool in their classrooms. In addition, Google Classroom is no longer a “new program” first year teachers have to learn while trying to learn all of the grade level standards and resources their first few years teaching. It’s the “norm” for these new teachers. The Teacher Induction Program is also incorporating iPads, videotaping of proteges teaching, student digital portfolios and website building into their curriculum. They are encouraging the students to use social media to create their own professional learning networks. The overall thought is, “if  we don’t invest now in our new teachers through training and support, we will continue to lose teachers to other professions.” Why not teach teachers with technology programs that we hope they will continue to use in their own classrooms.

I think that this idea of teaching teachers using programs they will be expected to use makes total sense. Why use a learning management system that is out of date or not relevant?  We should use current tools to help teachers with their transition from training to teaching. From experience, learning new grade level standards, expectations, resources and more can be very overwhelming. When you throw new programs in like google docs or google classroom on top of it all, teachers’ feel burnt out. If new teachers are exposed to and given time to practice the ideas and concepts like student digital portfolios, using social media for education, or website building, they are less likely to be hesitant or unable to incorporate those things in their classroom.

I can see some obstacles to this concept though because not all districts use google or have the capabilities to be very “digital”. Overcoming these obstacles would be difficult as teacher preparation students don’t always know where or what they are going to be teaching. So in order to be fully “prepped” for their position, students would need to be exposed to a variety of the tools available which could be overwhelming. Ideally, I think it would be great for a new teacher to spend a year, or even half a year, co-teaching or working with an instructional coach to become familiar with their resource and expectations. Mentor programs are usually very helpful but they also load more time and work onto new teachers who are already struggling to keep up. Just like we say with our students, individualized support would be most beneficial. Seeing as that’s not always attainable, technology training and support early in a teaching career would be the next best thing.

References

Jones, C. (2017). Preparing new teachers with technology. Leadership, 46(4), 16.

What's Hot, What's Not

In the article, What’s Hot What’s Not for 2015, by Greg Thompson, 5 ed tech leaders were presented with 10 instructional technology topics and were asked to provide a prediction about what will be hot and what might not. Out of the ten topics, only two were selected as a “hot” topic and only one was “not”. The rest were placed somewhere in between, using a “lukewarm” rating.

All 5 ed tech leaders agreed that student data privacy concerns were a hot topic for the upcoming year. Whether at school or at home, students engaging in a digital life deserve some privacy. BYOD (bring your own device) was also an upcoming, hot topic as it provided non affluent districts with a way to incorporate more technology. The “lukewarm” concepts, or mediocre ones, were using social media as a tool for teaching and learning, digital badges, OERs, e-portfolios, augmented reality, learning analytics, and apps for learning. It seemed like the main reason these concepts were neither hot, nor not, was because each of the 5 ed tech leaders views were different. Ratings were given based off of opinion, experience, or political views, rarely research based facts.  The one “not hot” topic was learning management systems (LMSes). The article discussed that most staff is unsatisfied with where LMSes are and that in their full form, they are too complicated to use. Districts roll them out in large scales, but only small percentages of teachers use them collaboratively or as intended. Thomas C. Murray states, “The potential in this area is vast, but remains generally underutilized in 2014.” From experience, I would have to agree with this.

Overall, I found this article very enlightening. There were a few topics that I didn’t really know much about before hand, like digital badges, augmented reality, and learning analytics. Seeing as this article was published in 2015, the ed tech leaders predicted correctly that these “lukewarm” topics were just that, mediocre.  After reading about them, I could see both the pros and cons to each. I found it interesting though that BYOD was predicted to be “hot” and that there was no mention of 1:1. It seems to me that BYOD has seen some better days and districts are making the jump to 1:1 instead. The most insightful piece of information from this article to me though was the unanimous rating of “hot” to student data privacy concerns, and not for the reason you might think. At first, I thought putting filters on computers and monitoring students on their devices closely was a no-brainer. But, after reading Christopher Harris’s (one of the five ed tech leaders) comments about it being the students without unfiltered access that suffer the most, I sort of changed my mind. On page 7, Harris stated, “there are the real concerns about students who need to search for information to answer questions about their sexuality or find resources to respond to a sexual assault.” The idea that a student might need to research such topics and would be fearful to do so with filters and close monitoring in place, is something that had never crossed my mind and I can see where we may need to back off and respect students’ privacy.

References

Thompson, G. (2014). WHAT'S HOT WHAT'S NOT for 2015. (cover story). T H E Journal, 41(12), 12.

Math Apps

As I was reading my article, I immediately thought of the conversations we had in class today about making sure our assessments were valid and reliable. The article stated that they focused their reviews on four areas, “(1) the quality of mathematical content, (2) feedback and scaffolding, (3) richness of interactions, and (4) adaptability of the applications.” They chose tablets, mainly because Apple’s iPads were new and sweeping the nation. But also because they knew what was needed in education. They had the idea that “tablets could personalize learning and improve student learning outcomes. A key to achieving this goal is in the form of formative assessments to track student learning and provide timely feedback”, something these new apps might be able to do.

They narrowed a list of 64 apps down to 16 through various factors. These 16 apps were then subjected to two researchers taking notes on positives and negatives in each of the four areas listed above. It was interesting to read that they were a wide variety of different age groups and genres available out there. However, it was not surprising that the majority of the apps on the list were targeting a younger audience and game oriented. Interestingly though, they did not find any that claimed to be assessment apps. They found “four recommendations for researchers and assessment developers on designing tablet-based mathematics assessments: (1) Thoroughly review the mapping between concepts/operations and objects/actions early in the task design stage; (2) Start with what evidence is needed to make inferences about student performance, and design the interactions to collect the necessary data; (3) Create opportunities for students to self-reflect or explain their problem-solving process; and (4) Adopt the mindset of app developers to keep the user engaged, on task, and moving forward to ensure that students are “in the game” enough to accurately assess content knowledge.”

The thing that I find most interesting about this article is that what the researchers recommend for designing tablet-based math assessments is actually very similar to what teachers need to do when creating or considering any kind of assessment in their classroom.

1. There needs to be mapping between concepts. We shouldn’t teach things in isolation but instead as a progression or unit.
2. We need to start with the “why”. It needs to be designed to the collect the evidence and data  we are looking for.
3. Assessments need to provide an opportunity for reflection and revision, how else will students learn from their mistakes.
4. The students need to be engaged. There usually is no effort put into something that meaningless.  

References

Cayton-Hodges, G. A., Feng, G., & Xingyu, P. (2015). Tablet-Based Math Assessment: What

Can We Learn from Math Apps?. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 18(2), 3-20.

Tablet Based Math Assessment

Digital Assessment

Intended Audience:

• My first grade classroom

Learning Objectives:

• RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
• RL.1.10 With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
• W.1.5.  With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
• W.1.6.  With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.  
• SL.1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
• SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
• SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• SL.1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Rationale for Instructional Approach and Media:

• In first grade, we do a poetry unit. Students would be exposed to a variety of poems throughout the unit. They will have been able to play around with writing their own poems/rhymes and may chose to read aloud a published poem or their own original work. They will be required to circle/highlight rhyming words, as well as draw a picture to visualize the poem or nursery rhyme. This will be a written assessment. I also created an online assessment working on just the rhyming piece. This digital assessment will be used, in addition to the written piece, along with an oral piece, to assess the objectives listed above.

Rhyming Test

Rhyming Games Screencast

Intended Audience:

• My first grade classroom

Learning Objectives:

• RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
• RL.1.10 With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
• W.1.5.  With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
• W.1.6.  With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.  
• SL.1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
• SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
• SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• SL.1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Rationale for Instructional Approach and Media:

• In first grade, we do a poetry unit. My screencast would be used to show students how to access and play rhyming games to practice the skill at school and at home. Students would be exposed to a variety of poems throughout the unit. They are required to identify rhyming words and/or word families. They will also produce their own “screencast” using the Draw & Tell App where they will illustrate their chosen poem/rhyme and then record themselves reading it aloud.

Rhyming Games Screencast

Draw and Tell

I read an article discussing the app, Draw & Tell. First off, I noticed that it actually referenced a website, duckduckmoose.com, which is now working with Khan Academy to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Totally neat! The founders of the website set out to create the next generation of learning apps for kids to grow up with. That’s where the Draw & Tell app comes into play. As we’ve been learning about all sorts of new technology tools, screencasting has been mentioned as new digital learning. At first, I couldn’t see how screencasting would fit into my elementary classroom. Then, I stumbled upon this article. It states that this Draw & Tell App is a “superb screencasting and digital story creation tool, which will work on an iPad or iPhone.” It starts by having the kids first create a blank page or select a coloring page. They add colors, drawings with “pencils”, “paintbrushes”, etc. and even characters, stickers, or stencils. These young artists can then add audio when they are finished creating their masterpiece. Stickers can be manipulated as the audio is recorded if they wanted to be moving things. Finished work can be saved and emailed at the touch of a button.

The possibilities of using this tool in an elementary classroom are endless. Students can be expected to draw and explain vocabulary words. They can summarize a story or event using this app. They can basically explain any concept in any subject area. The article discusses using it for a formative assessment option, as a learning center, one-to-one, or even in small groups. It makes meeting the Common Core State Standards related to producing a multimedia project a breeze.  With my class receiving 4 or 5 iPads next year, I am really looking forward to utilizing this app in my classroom.  

References

TROUTNER, J. (2014). Draw & Tell (http://www.duckduckmoose.com/) Ages 3 - 9. Teacher

Librarian, 41(5), 70.

(n.d.). Retrieved July 18, 2017, from http://www.duckduckmoose.com/

Draw & Tell App Article

Podcast Project

Intended Audience:

• My first grade classroom

Learning Objectives:

• RL.1.4 Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
• RL.1.10 With prompting and support, read prose and poetry of appropriate complexity for grade 1.
• W.1.5.  With guidance and support from adults, focus on a topic, respond to questions and suggestions from peers, and add details to strengthen writing as needed.
• W.1.6.  With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.  
• SL.1.a. Follow agreed-upon rules for discussions (e.g., listening to others with care, speaking one at a time about the topics and texts under discussion).
• SL.1.4 Describe people, places, things, and events with relevant details, expressing ideas and feelings clearly.
• SL.1.5 Add drawings or other visual displays to descriptions when appropriate to clarify ideas, thoughts, and feelings.
• SL.1.6 Produce complete sentences when appropriate to task and situation.

Rationale for Instructional Approach and Media:

• In first grade, we do a poetry unit. My podcast would be used to show how to read nursery rhymes with expression. Students would be exposed to a variety of poems throughout the unit. They will have been able to play around with writing their own poems/rhymes and may chose to read aloud a published poem or their own original work. They will be required to circle/highlight rhyming words and sight words, as well as draw a picture to visualize the poem or nursery rhyme.

Nursery Rhyme Podcast

Podcasts in the Elementary Clsssroom

The article that I read discussed extending a readers theatre activity by using podcasts. Readers theatre is something that I have done with my 5th grade students and I truly enjoyed it each time we “squeezed” it in. I say it that way because realistically, how much time do we have for “fun” in the classroom these days. However, this article was enlightening and opened the door for me on how I can incorporate this “fun” learning activity while still hitting many of the CCSS.

Vasinda and McLeod discussed how 2 teachers took 10-15 minutes each day for 10 weeks to incorporate readers theatre and podcasting, as a reading activity and intervention, into their classrooms. The students were broken up into smaller groups of about 4 - 8, depending upon not only their reading level, but also their personal interests. On Monday, they were given two scripts, one for school and one for home. They were assigned parts and were given 10-15 each day to practice their parts. During this time, the teachers worked with groups as needed, modeling expression and guiding the fluency practices. Students also used this time to do practice recordings so that on Friday they could record their podcasts. This recording was done with the rest of the class as the audience, or in small groups while other students worked independently. The teachers found that implementing the practice of Readers Theatre as a strategy for improving fluency for as little as 10 weeks resulted in consistent gains in comprehension of more than one year! Podcasting this is just a way to enhance an already strong literacy strategy.

As I read this article, I thought of the SAMR model (2009) that we discussed in class. Adding the podcast piece takes the readers theatre activity to the augmentation level with some functional improvement. It also discussed how you could take it to the modification level by completing a video recording. This transforms it from readers theatre to traditional theatre with a twist. Overall, I think that this innovative concept would be beneficial to my class. The article states many positive things like the over abundances of availability of scripts tied to various topics, the home and school connection piece, the authentic purpose that makes repeated practice engaging, and countless creativity options. The podcasts also allow for students to reach wider audiences and drives them to do better. I can’t think of a reason why you wouldn’t want to try this in your own classroom.

References

Puentedura, R. R. (2009). As we may teach: Educational technology, from theory into practice.

Retrieved from http://www.hippasus.com/rrpweblog/archives/000025.html

Vasinda, S., & McLeod, J. (2011). Extending Readers Theatre: A Powerful and Purposeful

Match with Podcasting. Reading Teacher, 64(7), 486-497.

Extending Readers Theatre: A Powerful and Purposeful Match With Podcasting

Today's Tech Literacy Tools

The article that I chose to review took a different spin on research about book apps for preschoolers as it discussed the parents perceptions of them. Howard and Wallace (2013) wrote about a survey  asking  parents about their use both digital and print books as well as the most important things that they looked for when choosing a book app for their child. The article states, “The survey results indicated that the majority of respondents were committed to reading print books with their children—98 percent indicated that they read physical books to their children, at least occasionally, and 88 percent read physical books with their children at least once a day.” It also shared that only “Fifty-three percent of respondents indicated that they also provided their children with access to book apps, the majority on an iPad.”

This was interesting to me as both a parent and a teacher. I understand the growing need to build literacy skills at such a young age but I also get that limiting screen time is just as important. We all want “well-rounded” children, the kids that are smart but not too smart for their own good, and ones that can entertain themselves without being dependent on technology. So I guess my thought would be to choose an app carefully, based off of it’s educational purpose, and use it WITH my child to help build a love for reading. However, that’s not what this study found. The article stated that “The most commonly sought feature for a successful book app is entertainment value, and respondents stated that apps had to be fun and interactive or children would not want to use them.”

With that being said, this article made me realize that as we incorporate technology, such as book apps, into the classroom  we need to be cognizant of what educational tools parents are already using with their children at home.  We don’t want the children to be repeating or burnt out on a specific app or program. We also have to realize that this allows for some children to come into the classroom way ahead of others and that we need to continue to teach to each child's’ ability level. This is much easier done these days with adaptive practice tools that enhance our teaching.

HOWARD, V., & WALLACE, M. (2016). Today's Tech Literacy Tools. Children & Libraries: The Journal Of The Association For Library Service To Children, 14(1), 3-9.

Today's Tech Literacy Tools

Sustaining a Makerspace

A makerspace is a growing concept in education. It’s a space created in a community, such as a classroom or library, where materials are provided for students to make and explore new things. Teachers are struggling to find ways to meet the 21st century learning expectations of problem solving, creativity, and collaboration and makerspaces have started to come into play.

An article by Kristin Fontichiaro discussed how to sustain a makerspace. Students are encouraged to make things move or light up, or even just to solve an everyday problem they are experiencing by inventing or creating a solution. Technology can be extremely useful when setting up an area like this in your classroom or library. Some items though can be expensive, so you must choose them carefully. Fontichiaro (2016), states, “consider Drawdio, a nifty tool that electrifies your pencil and lets you make electronic sound with pencil lead. Cool, but at $17 per kit, it can only be constructed once and is outside the budget of many groups. By comparison, consider a $50 box of LEGOs -- endlessly reusable and flexible, whether your students are creating new worlds, responding to design challenges, or prototyping ideas for inventions.” She suggests using items that are reusable that “offer features, challenges, or options that grow as students do. Students remain interested in them for longer periods, revisiting them repeatedly as they ramp up their skills.” These can be things like

I feel like this article supports an idea that technology doesn’t always have to be the best answer when helping students achieve 21st century learning skills. It’s insightful to see that hands-on learning can be just as beneficial as educational technology. Ask for donations from the community, in the form of money or time,  and share out things that the students are making using social media if you still want to incorporate technology.

Sustaining a Makerspace Article

FONTICHIARO, K. f. (2016). Sustaining a Makerspace. Teacher Librarian, 43(3), 39-41.