I Love Technology!

It’s back to school time!  That means shopping for school supplies for many.  I just read an article about what’s “new” on school supply lists this year to insure student success.  Here are some of the items listed: laptop computer, iPod, USB drives, external hard drives, digital pens and scanners, multi-function printers with Wi-Fi, and webcams.  We’ve come a long ways since the days of Manila paper, Elmer’s glue, crayons, scissors, protractors, rulers, etc.  

With the new supplies that most students already have or are quickly gaining access to, as educators we must be ready to embrace these tools and use them and productive and engaging ways.  Technology standards for teachers have been updated and provide the framework by which teachers can plan and implement highly engaging instruction in an increasingly digital world. 

Technology Standards for Teachers, revised June 2008

1.      Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity

a.      Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking

b.      Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c.       Promote student reflection using collaborative tools

d.      Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students

2.      Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments

3.      Model digital-age work and learning

4.      Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility

5.      Engage in professional growth and leadership

“Transformative proficiency of skills means really transforming education through the use of technology, not just laying technology over traditional educational practices.”  What this means for teachers and classrooms is that students need to have opportunity to create and produce podcast, digital stories, blogs, wikis, and participate in collaborative learning experiences.  These practices are not intended to be in addition to what is already part of the instruction but to take the place of some traditional learning experiences.  Teachers can begin to transform their teaching practices by dreaming big, showcasing student work in innovative ways, and using all of the resources available to them, including their BISD ITS!

My son graduates from high school tomorrow.  These seemed like appropriate words for the occasion.  The last 18 years have been filled with “first” and in reflecting upon those moments I can’t help but be a proud mommy!  But, I will be the first to say that the last 18 years have not been free of challenges as well.  It’s not easy to fit a round peg into a square hole and unfortunately much of his education has seemed much like that.  The last two years he was in a private school that recognized his learning style and needs and provided him the learning environment and structure that paved the way to success.  As we now look toward post-high school education I know that there will likely be more challenges ahead, but we have learned that hard work, perseverance, and prayer yields great results! 

“Today is the first…” are appropriate words for any milestone achievement as you look into those open doors ahead, but perhaps seeing these words as a challenge could motivate you to work toward attaining a goal that seems just out of reach.  As this school year comes to a close and teachers pack up and leave for a much deserved summer break I dare say that many won’t forget that classroom they are leaving behind.  Summer is a time for learning for many educators.  My challenge to any educator reading this post is to self-reflect for just a few moments.  Celebrate the successes you have had this year.  Consider the difficult moments and begin now planning your strategy to overcome these challenges in the future.  And, if you are looking for ways to engage and motivate your next group of students I hope that you will look toward some of the exciting technologies that are available for implementation in your classroom regardless of the grade or subject you teach.  The posts below hopefully can spark some ideas of ways you can begin using technology today, the FIRST day of the rest of your life and teaching career!   

Celebrate this day, celebrate life, and remember, every new day is the FIRST day of the rest of your life.

Distance Learning: Where We’ve Been, Where We’re Going

When most people think of a Distance Learning experience they think big carts of equipment, content providers, and scheduling, all of which means money!  And speaking of money, there always seems to be a shortage of that whether in education, business, or personal finances!  There are, however, some huge benefits to these learning experiences.  Connections with professionals such as heart surgeons, NASA astronauts, artists, entertainers, etc. provide students the opportunity to experience real-world events and professionals through the available technologies.  However, budgets sometimes prohibit all from being able to access.  This whole Distance Learning experience could be labeled Macro Distance Learning.

So, what’s the alternative?  Micro Distance Learning.  This type of experience would be using webcams, Skype, and teacher and student generated content.  But mostly, this type of experience is collaboration and sharing of knowledge through inexpensive and/or free tools.  This type of experience does, however, require planning and scheduling, but the advantage is that the teachers and the students control the curriculum and content being delivered.  Students especially are required to become the experts before participating in video conferences.  They can collaborate with their peers both in the classroom and with those at another site to create their learning.  Collaborative efforts do not mirror traditional learning experiences.  Students must be free to move around the room, work in groups, and share information, and sometimes this can look “messy” while in fact students are actually creating, evaluating, analyzing, and applying knowledge.  Hum….sound anything like Bloom’s?  These are exactly the types of experiences our student’s need to develop 21^st century skills.  Click here to take a look at the updated Bloom’s Digital Taxonomy.

The first steps in making Micro Distance Learning happen require users to become familiar and comfortable with the tools that will be used.  Skype, for example, is a free download that allows users to make free calls to other Skype users on the computer.  By adding a couple of inexpensive tools such as a microphone and webcam this free call now becomes a live video conference.  Or, you can try ooVoo to participate in a video conference with multiple users.

Using webcams in the classroom provides engaging learning experiences for both students and teachers.  You can use a webcam and Skype to contact Santa at the North Pole, just like our first graders did back in December, or to watch your kindergarten teacher participate in the Alaskan Iditarod while you are in the classroom at Holiday Heights.  Binion students got a glimpse into tomorrow by visiting with Dr. Tribble’s son while he was in Japan – it was already the next day there!  Next week Hardeman students will be connecting via webcam and Skype to Oceanside, California to meet face to face with their pen pals.  Students in a geography class can connect with classrooms in another region or country to hear first-hand about cultural differences.  Or, a physics class in Birdville could connect with another physics class to collaborate on a project or solve a problem.  Teachers can use webcams to connect with their teaching peers to collaborate, plan, and share ideas.  Using a webcam you can record a movie and/or stream a presentation, science experiment, or other event to those unable to attend can view later.

Use of webcams in the classrooms can motivate and engage students.  Students can work collaboratively to prepare for interactions with an authentic audience.  Students can experience real-world tools while broadening the knowledge and connecting their learning.  School is no longer contained to the walls of the classrooms.  Through available technologies the doors of learning are wide open!

  

5^th grade students at Birdville Elementary created their own TAKS study DVD.  Each student created a video clip defining/explaining a single concept in the Earth Science curriculum.  Similar concepts were grouped together and then the small groups wrote a script and filmed an introductory video for their segments.  Finally, all segments were burned to a DVD for each student to take home before Spring Break to aid them in preparing for the upcoming Science TAKS test that will be administered later this spring.

Katie Moran, Birdville ISD teacher is putting into practice the nine essential strategies that are most likely to improve student achievement as defined in Robert Marzano’s book “Classroom Instruction that Works.”  Homework and Practice, Non-linguistic Representations, Summarizing and Note Taking, Cooperative Learning, and Setting Objects and Providing Feedback are among the essential strategies included in this project.  Furthermore, the assignment required students to use higher order thinking skills such as synthesis, analysis, and evaluation as they gathered information and worked in cooperative groups to develop the video project. 

The students were given the opportunity to reflect on their learning, and their comments confirm that they were enthused and engaged for the duration of this project:

I like to use the technologies like the camera, and the microphone, and PhotoStory to put everything together.

I think it was fun because we got to act it out.  Most videos are boring but not this one because we were in it.

What I liked about my video project was that I am a visual learner and it helped me because we used models and acted it out.

It was fun working in small groups because if you didn’t know a person and you got to be in a group with them it was fun because you could be their friend and you could get to know them.

I liked this project because it gave everyone time to have fun and learn at the same time.  When I get the DVD I want to show my family and friends.

I thought that the media project was a lot of fun.  I like using the technology because it’s like way in the future.  I like working in groups because you get to hang out with your friends.  The hottest part about this project is how you can make your voice sound perfect.  I would love to do this assignment again.  As soon as I get home from school with that DVD we’re going to watch it ASAP.

I liked working with my classmates because you can learn from your own classmates what they think about it and they can learn what you think about it.  Plus, I like working with technology because it’s very cool.

I like working with technology because when you record it you can better understand it and can watch it over and over again.

I liked this project because I can learn about science better.  It was really cool.  I learned about the water cycle.

   

For as long as I can remember media of some type has been used in the educational setting to impact instruction and help students visualize and create meaning for ideas and concepts being taught. Not too long ago this media was filmstrips and vinyl albums. As the technology advanced we included audio and video cassettes. Today it is very common to see DVD’s, CD’s, and streaming media pouring into our classrooms. No one would argue that these types of media make a difference in helping student gain understanding.

With today’s generation of learners, I would like to suggest that bringing media into the classrooms is not enough.

Students need the opportunity to create and interact with media.

The tools to make this happen are already sitting in many schools today and with the continuous evolution of the web more tools become available daily, with a cost that no one can argue with – FREE!

Learning environments that utilize media are beginning to take shape in many schools today. Students are learning to download and subscribe to podcasts for example, and some are learning to create their own podcasts. By definition, a podcast is a collection of digital media files which is distributed over the Internet. Tools to create this type of media are easily accessible with little learning curve to implement into instruction. Online tools such as http://www.gcast.com take less than five minutes to register and create an account, and then with a simple phone call you can record an audio podcast that is published world-wide via the web. Free software applications such as http://audacity.sourceforge.net/ can be downloaded and with the simple addition of a $5 microphone you can be well on your way to recording all sorts of podcasts with a variety of curricular connections. More importantly, students at all ages can take an integral role in creating these podcasts thus demonstrating their knowledge and understanding of curricular concepts.

Combining audio with visual elements takes the original idea of podcasting to the next level, video-casting, or vodcasting, as some are calling it. Again, there are both online tools and free software available to create this media. Websites such as http://voicethread.com/allow users to create an account and then upload images, record audio, and publish their stories. Free software applications such as PhotoStory and Movie Maker are available on the PC side, with comparable applications available for Mac users. These wizard driven applications make creating media possible for all levels of technology users. Hardware needed for these types of projects can be a digital camera with movie capabilities, or even an inexpensive video camera such as the RCA Small Wonder. The completed media projects can be published via websites and blogsites to world-wide audiences. These digital stories created by students again demonstrate knowledge and understanding of concepts and allow students to creatively tell their personal stories.

Learning theory has long suggested that if an individual can teach or demonstrate a concept that true learning has occurred. Involving students in creating podcasts, vodcasts, and digital stories does exactly that – it requires students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding, and often in a way that helps other young learners create meaning in their world.

Making Media does Matter!

To see the same message delivered using media, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_A-ZVCjfWf8 (Note: this video was discovered after writing this post but does a great job of illustrating the message here! …cm)

Oral and visual language underpins the development of written language and promotes effective listening and speaking alongside reading and writing programs.  Purposeful talk should underpin all language activities. 

Children solve practical tasks with voice as well as eyes and hands (Vygotsky).  Talking is the most natural form of communication and the only one that some will use after they leave school.  Oral language is the most important skill to be taught in the classroom.  Children with language difficulties achieve lower than peers.

Research from the I Can Talk Series provides evidence that children with persistent language difficulty achieve lower academically.  Oral communication is also related to math achievement – vocabulary, sequencing, and concept formation.  Poor conversation skills also hinder social development that carries over through adult years.  “Oral language is vital; we need to do more.”

Podcasting provides children the opportunity to think, communicate, and it supports literacy.   

Developing a podcast includes four basic steps – planning, producing, publishing, and promoting. 

• Planning
  • Determine the content / curricular application
  • Research / gather information
  • Write a script / storyboard … plan what you will say; consider the attention span of your audience
• Producing
  • Secure tools – microphone, computer, software
  • Record and edit (http://audacity.sourceforge.net/)
• Publishing with RSS feed capability (www.gcast.com)
• Promoting – let your audience know how to access your podcast

That said,

Podcasting is a tool for our generation of learners that has practical application in the classroom.  It is not intended to be the panacea; however, effective and appropriate use engages students and makes a meaningful impact instructionally. 

Take advantage of what speaks to this generation of learners and put podcasting into your arsenal of tools.  

Bernajean Porter defines digital storytelling as “a very special genre…organized around the author’s  own voice as the centerpiece of content …mixed with multisensory elements like movie, stills, and sound…about personal understandings of self or family maybe knowledge, ideas, or experiences…merged through the power of technical tools.”

Bernajean Porter has become synonymous with Digital Storytelling.  She is described as “ a digital storytelling guide” on the DigiTales website at http://www.digitales.us/about/about_bernajean.php.

In Bernajean Porter’s interview with Tim Wilson, she talks about the skills attained through the implementation of Digital Storytelling.  An excerpt from this podcast can be found at http://www.birdville.k12.tx.us/instech/podcast/mcknight/ , titled Digital Storytelling Skills, The Baker’s Dozen.  The baker’s dozen skills include:

1.       Cognitive Apprenticeship

2.       Creative / Inventive Thinking

3.       Higher Order Thinking

4.       Enduring Understanding

5.       Visual Literacy

6.       Technology Skills

7.       Information Literacy

8.       Communication

9.       Multiple Intelligence

10.   Team Work / Collaboration

11.   Project Management

12.   Exploiting Infinity

 The entire interview with Tim Wilson, The Savvy Technologist, can be accessed at http://technosavvy.org/2006/04/18/bernajean-porter-digital-storytelling-part-2/.

Digital Storytelling, one of the top three in what many deem technologies that will impact student achievement.  I see the potential, and am confident that this is one strategy that will engage students in writing.  However, it is hard to find hard, cold data to support the implementation of D.S. and administrators who are driven by TAKS scores aren’t “buying in”.  So, what do you do cause change, change in thinking?  I’m looking for the data to support what I know and believe so that I can share with others. 

Technology infused instruction promotes digital literacy and student engagement while preparing students at all ages for a global society.  As digitial immigrants we must embrace the digital natives that enter our classrooms each day and continually strive to meet their educational needs. 

Are you a digital native or digital immigrant? 
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Comments please.