You're just beginning a career that truly is one of the most important in the world. Take it seriously, but never take yourself too seriously! Begin each day with a "thank you" and end it with two questions:
1) Did I do my best today? and
2) What will I do tomorrow to make learning more engaging and more relevant for my students?
My wish for you also comes from the great poet, Dr. Seuss:
I appreciate the effort you have put into this course. I've learned from you, and I hope you've learned about technology and the critical role it plays in the lives of students and teachers today! Teaching and learning are forever changed by technology! And technology will only get better, faster, cheaper, more powerful, smaller, more affordable and more available!
Best wishes to you as your continue your education. Never stop learning! Here are some of my final thoughts in an interactive glog.
If you've been around educational technology for more than a few minutes, you've seen the name Kathy Schrock. In fact, I know you've seen it several times during this course. Kathy has been involved in technology for a very long time. In fact, she started a Facebook group called "Digital Pioneers."
Recently retired as technology director for a school system in Massachusetts, Kathy is continuing to put her experience and knowledge to good use with her web resources, presentations, slideshows and webinars.
If you ever get a chance to hear her in person, get there early and grab a seat near the front! Meanwhile, check out her blog and other resources. Here's one of her recent webinars: Connecting Your Classroom to the Future: Predictions and Predicaments. You'll enjoy her sense of humor, her presentation style and her ability to help you keep up to date on current trends and technologies.
Why You Should Begin Your Own PLN by @a
Kathy is part of my PLN, my Personal Learning Network--a group of people I've "collected" and "connected with" from around the globe via Twitter, email, Facebook, blogs and RSS. They are people I learn from every day, and because of them, I can share more things with you. I connect with people who think like I do, but I also learn from people who "think different" and help me look at things in new ways. I learn from people in education, but also from others in business, sports, entertainment and publishing.
We used to learn from our classmates, our friends, our families and--in teaching--our colleagues in the next classroom. But technology enables us to connect with people from around the world. Our best professional colleages and collaborators may be people we have never met in person!
It's time to start building your own PLN. Why? Because you'll be a better, more confident teacher and your students will benefit from that! How? Here are some resources to get you started:
We learn to share early in life....but only recently are things beging produced that are truly designed to be shared. In this video, Michael Jones talks about open content, Creative_Commons and the importance of sharing in today's world. He tells you how to find resources that are free use and designed for you to share.
So you think overhead projectors are old school? The history of technology in education goes back much much farther than that. SMART Technologies developed this short video history (so you know it will include SMART boards), but it ends with a very interesting question!
I hope that's not the case! For some of you, this course has been easy. For others, however, it's been more of a struggle. So why bother? That's a question posed by Scott McLeod in his Dangerously Irrelevant blog.
from Scott McLeod
Excuse 1:I don’t see it as teachers spurning technology, or choosing not to take advantage of those new ideas and tools. I think most teachers don’t even realize that there’s a decision to be made. It’s not a matter of choosing the red pill or the blue pill… if you don’t know that there are even two pills available as options.
… A teacher that has never heard of Blabberize or Glogster or Prezi, has never been introduced to the new world of online applications that are available to them. They likely don’t follow blogs or listen to podcasts. They have probably never been to an EdTech conference or seen a TED talk. In short, they’re just ordinary, average educators who aren’t aware that there’s a whole other world that they have easy access to… if they just ‘take the blue pill’. (Steve Dembo)
Excuse 2:The fact of the matter is that there exist a very large number of effective educators that are simply not able to contribute in any significantly recurrent amount to online discussion. All told, it’s not that they’re incapable of participating and it’s not that they’re unwilling. Rather, this group maintains perceived silence online because their professional priorities prohibit them from spending the time or energy required to provide plausible contribution. (Darren Draper)
Regarding technology, you have to show me how it’s good for kids
not to use technology. Not using available technology is like going to a doctor who says, “Oh, I’ve heard of Xrays.” It’s not okay. The first issue is not your comfort. It’s a no-brainer. These kids are in the 21st century. The question isn’t whether, it’s how.
Teachers need to grow beyond their habits. Doctors take an oath. They don’t say, every September I am going to give you my favorite medicine whether you need it or not. Would any parent take kids to a doctor using techniques of the 70s and 80s? It’s not okay.
The course is almost over, but your learning about teaching and technology is just beginning. My friend and colleague, Doug Johnson, Director of Media and Technology for the Mankato, Minnesota Public Schools, has written a book I'd highly recommend to you. It isn't expensive and it is full of great ideas and practical advice to help you---well--SURVIVE! It's the Classroom Teacher's Technology Survival Guide, available from Amazon in both paperback and Kindle versions.
In the book, Johnson "offers concrete advice on creating high-quality project assessments, handling the potential distractions technologies may cause, and managing issues of safe and appropriate use. He also answers basic questions about computers, software, and networking and outlines practical ways to use computers, the Internet, and digital cameras in the classroom environment."
Read the reviews on the Amazon page and see what other educators think of the book. Johnson's experience and expertise are evident in all of his work--as is his sense of humor. To get an idea of his style and content, check out his Blue Skunk Blog....including "15 Educational Experiences My Granddaughter Won't Have." You can also read some of his other articles here.
Here's a great webinar about some terrific tools for education. Steven Anderson presented this free webinar several months ago, and Simple K12 is making it available to all for free through this recording.
In the webinar, Anderson shows 30 great tools. Some of them were mentioned in the textbook and your assignments. Some were included in the challenges. Some of them you may not have heard about before, but they are all worth taking a look.
This webinar is definitely worth 50 minutes. And check the bottom of the webinar page for a link to some more free resources from Simple K12.
Webinars like this one are super ways to keep up with what's new and to learn from other teachers. You are responsible for your own professional development. What do you need to know? I'll bet there is a webinar or website or online tutorial or and app for that!
Here's an opportunity for you to learn more about technology, teaching and learning. Join hundreds of other educators from around the world for one or more of these 24-hour round the clock sessions on April 25-26. Yes, right after the final exam!
Here's a few of the sessions:
Using Your iPad to Make Movies on the Go!
Publish a Book as a Class Project
Picture This: Grabbing Attention with Talking Pictures
Digital Writing: Collaborate, Reflect, and Publish
Be the Change You Want To See In the World
Dos and Don'ts for Creating Good Presentations
Using Google Maps for Virtual Journeys
Register and get more information here. I hope you'll check it out!
Hunger Games, as you know, has become extremely popular, and with the movie playing to sell-out crowds, more and more young people will be reading it.
Teacher-librarian Cathy Jo Nelson, Dorman High School in Spartanburg, SC, developed this presentation to encourage her high school students to read more. Because she can't always reach every student in their classrroms or when they come to the library media center, sharing it on Slideshare allows students to access it from any computer and she can embed it in her blog or on her library media center webpage.
Better than that, others can use her good work....like me....and YOU!
I thought some of you might be interested in this free ebook. Just enter your name and email address, then confirm and download. It's a PDF document with some good stuff! Did I mention it is free? Did I mention I adore teachers who share what they know and do!?
Remember earlier in the semester when I said I was sure you will have etextbooks and online teaching in your future if you're going to be teacher?
Discovery Education is making the etextbook part come true for science teachers already. Discovery Education’s new “Techbooks” expand on an instructional delivery model that Discovery launched for K-8 science in 2010. Much more than just digitized versions of static textbooks, the Techbooks include videos, embedded assessments, and other interactive features that leverage the power of the internet, the company says.
Florida is one of the states that Discovery is targeting. "Built from the ground up to address Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards, Discovery Education SCIENCE TECHBOOK is the new primary instructional resource for Florida’s elementary schools. Dynamic, interactive resources support the 5E model of instruction and capture digitally native students’ attention. Coupled with a real-time assessment component that measures students’ progress, it recommends individualized resources that reinforce classroom instruction."
Utah's Office of Education has announced plans to develop open
online textbooks for language arts, science, and mathematics. The press release
also reveals that early pilot programs were able to provide 3,800 high
school students with science textbooks at $5 each, a drastic savings
from the average of $80. (--via EdSurge)
Do you think there will be ebooks in your future? For sure!
By the way, I've been very impressed with the state of Utah's web presence. Take a look!
You heard about TurnItIn during the FLVS webinar. It's a tool for detecting plagiarism that FLVS teachers use. UCF also uses TurnItIn. Why? Because with the web, copy and paste sometimes takes the place of original writing and critical thinking.
The TurnItIn folks recently completed a study related to plagiarism. You can see the details in this infographic and, if interested, download the whole report. Be sure to see the bottom with ideas for combatting this growing problem.
I read all three of these today, and they each inspired me and made me think about teaching. I hope one or all will inspire you or make you think about teaching and learning in a different way. Enjoy!
None of you have said you'd like to be a school librarian, but all of you will soon wotk with a school librarian. What do you know about what they can do for you as a teacher? Maybe this video will give you some ideas:
One of this year's events was a video contest for students. The wilnners will be announced on April 17 but until then, take a look at all of the submissions on the School Library Media Month 2012 SchoolTube channel.
Yes! Your school library media specialist (librarian, media specialist, teacher-librarian) can be your best friend. Next time you're in a school, go visit them and see what services they offer for teachers!
All those backups seemed a waste of pay.
Now my database has gone away.
Oh I believe in yesterday.
Suddenly,
There's not half the files there used to be,
And there's a milestone hanging over me.
The system crashed so suddenly.
I pushed something wrong
What it was I could not say.
Now all my data's gone
and I long for yesterday-ay-ay-ay.
Yesterday,
The need for back-ups seemed so far away.
I knew my data was all here to stay,
Now I believe in yesterday.
So putting these two celebrations together, library media specialist Diane Cordell offers "Picturing Poetry" with her photographs illustrating selected poems. Enjoy!
Keeping examples of student work is important in documenting student achievement. You want to be able to show progress--to the student and his or her parents.
Often
teachers find it problematic to manage the huge number of student
assignments and quizzes they get. At times like parent-teacher meetings,
pulling out a student's quiz from a big stack can be time-consuming.
Here to help is a tool called Three Ring.
Three Ring is a free to use smartphone application that offers
versions for Android as well as iOS devices. The app helps teachers
organize the quizzes and assignments of their students by taking
pictures of the papers and then uploading those pictures online. When
teachers upload the images, they can tag them and sort them class-wise.
When you want to find the image, simply log in to the service and use
the tag information to pull the images.
Features:
A user-friendly phone app.
Compatible with Android and iOS devices.
Lets you store student's work online.
Lets you tag photos you upload for easy browsing later.
Did you know that many newspapers offer free teaching materials? One of my favorites is the New York Times. Check out their teacher resources and ideas for helping students learn more about the Titanic.
You've got to read this article by Dr. Joyce Valenza and watch and listen to the videos by Heidi Hayes Jacob. Love it! Love it! Love it!
My favorite parts:
Regarding technology, you have to show me how it’s good for kids not to use technology. Not using available technology is like going to a doctor who says, “Oh, I’ve heard of Xrays.” It’s not okay. The first issue is not your comfort. It’s a no-brainer. These kids are in the 21st century. The question isn’t whether, it’s how.
Teachers need to grow beyond their habits. Doctors take an oath. They don’t say, every September I am going to give you my favorite medicine whether you need it or not. Would any parent take kids to a doctor using techniques of the 70s and 80s? It’s not okay.
Information graphics or infographics are graphic visual representations of information, data or knowledge. These graphics present complex information quickly. Take a look at the infographic below and then think about these questions:
What is the most surprising fact that you discovered from this infographic?
Do you agree with the statement that today’s students “are no longer
the people our educational system was designed to teach”? Why or why
not?
Would you consider yourself to be a “digital native”? How do you
compare to other digital natives with respect to the way(s) you use
mobile devices?
Classroom technologies have come a long way since the end of the
19th century. In your opinion, what is the most important educational
technology ever invented? Why?
Many students and teachers around the world have found mobile
learning to be very successful. How has mobile learning impacted your
own education? Give examples.
But here's a neat experiment in which you can participate in the podcast and see how others have responded. A different story every time! Very clever! Take a look (er, um, listen).
How could you use something like this in your classroom?
Time to take stock of what you know about technology. You're a student. And you're going to be a teacher, so you definitely need these skills AND you need to be able to teach them. Reflect on what you already know and use some of the resources provided to learn what you need to know!
The list and resources are from David Andrade, a Physics teacher and educational technology specialist in Connecticut. He is the author of the Educational Technology Guy blog, where he reviews free educational technology resources for teachers, discusses ways to use technology to improve teaching and learning, and discusses other issues in education. Educational Technology Guy is another of the blogs I have on my must read list! This article orginally appeared in the Technology & Learning blog.
1. Internet Search - students need to know how to do a proper internet search, using search terms and modifiers. This skill is needed for school, work and life in general.
2. Office Suite Skills - students need to now how to create, edit, and modify documents, presentations, and spreadsheets. Businesses still use MS Office for the most part, but iWorks, OpenOffice / LibreOffice, and Google Docs are all getting more popular. They all work similarly so the learning curve when switching isn't that big.
3. Self learning of tech and where to go for help - knowing how to search a help menu on software or hardware, where to go to find user forums for help, and where to find the manual for technology is a huge skill that many do not know about.
4. Typing - yes, typing. I can get much more work done since I know how to type, then people who don't. It's a skill that is necessary for any kind of writing.
5. Social Media - how to properly use social media for school and work, how to protect yourself on it, the issues of cyberbullying, connecting with others in your profession (PLN).
6. Netiquette - Internet/Email/Social Media etiquette - proper way to use the internet, write professional emails, use social media in relation to your job (not complaining about the boss).
8. Hardware basics and troubleshooting - knowing what different parts of technology are called, how to make minor fixes, and how to do basic troubleshooting for WiFi, networks, OS won't load, etc.
10. Finding apps and software - how to find, evaluate, and use apps for school and business. Also, how to find quality, free alternatives to paid software, apps and services.
What do you think are the top tech skills students need to know?
Bonus:
11. Copyright and Citing Sources - students need to understand copyright laws and rules, how to cite a resource, and how to integrate someone else's work into their's properly.
I found this graphic recently. It was created by Susan Oxnevad for a presentation at the Illinois Computing Educators Conference. The focus of the presentation was on the many ways teachers are integrating technology info learning environments. The fact that the tools are digital means that they can be offered to and used by students anywhere, anytime.
I wanted to share it with you for several reasons. First, it encompasses many of the things we've covered in this course from the perspective of real classroom teachers who are successfully using technology to improving student achievement. Second, it is a great example of a teacher developed graphic and teacher-developed presentations. Next, it shows how generous teachers are sharing information--not just at conferences, but through blogs and social media with anyone interested no matter where they may be. Finally, it is a good example of using Thinglink--one of the tools in your challenges--to present information in a non-linear way.
The author says:
How to use this interactive graphic:Click on the small circle next to Slideshow to view a linear presentation of the big concepts OR click on the small circle associated with each idea to view more information and find resources on my wiki.
You'll notice that I pointed out the importance of this unit on curriculum integration and asked that you pay particular attention to objectives. That's because knowing what you want students to be able to do is at the heart of good teaching. The focus is on the student and the changes that you want your instructional activities to bring about. Too often we think about what we as teachers are going to do tomorrow or during the next period. We need to think about what we want the outcome of our efforts to be AND how we will know whether or not that has happened.
I think this Prezi makes the connection between Bloom's Taxonomy and instructional objectives very clear. Take a few minutes to work through it. Hopefully, when you finish you'll be able to explain it to someone who is totally unfamiliar with these concepts.
This blog post is a fabulous example of both technology integration and a teacher's reflection. Although this teacher is focusing on English, I think there are ideas for every subject area and grade level. I found the end to be particularly telling:
My teaching . . . then and now
Before the technology/constructivist shift in my classsroom, I would
have taught all of this quite traditionally. We’d read books, answer
questions, and then address those questions in class. I’d lecture a lot,
with supplemental grammar lessons here and there, and I’d include some
type of artistic project to achieve viewing and representing objectives.
The whole design would have been extremely teacher centered. And at the
end of it all, I’d hope they learned something about writing and
thinking.
Instead, inquiry and technology are a natural part of our English
classes. It’s what my students have come to expect and have started to
design themselves. Instead, of saying, “hand in your assignments,” I
say, “publish your assignments and send me the link.” They think about
connecting and sharing their learning in the larger world.
One of my favorite bloggers, Richard Byrne of Free Technology for Teachers, recently presented a session about his favorite new webtools at the North Carolina Technology in Education Society Conference. He presented 70 tools in 60 minutes! How many of them do you know? How many could you use in your classroom? How many would you use?
I love teachers who share! Even though we couldn't attend the conference, we get to benefit from his presentation.
Check out some of the tools that look interesting to you. Write a sentence or two in the comments about 3 or 4 of the tools you didn't know bout before and how you might use them. Earn some extra points!
Everyone's Irish today! Celebrate! And start building your portfolio of ideas for holidays in the classroom. I found this great poster and activity at a site called Teachers Pay Teachers.
It's a site where you can purchase ideas from other teachers--clipart, lesson plans, posters, activities, exams, quizzes, powerpoint presentations, whiteboard activitites, bulletin board ideas and elements, complete units! Everything is original and made by a teacher! And of course, you can sell your own materials. Cool idea! Nothing is very expensive, and there are a lot of freebies, too. In fact, this St. Patrick's Day activity is free.
The same teacher, Karen Bolotin, offers some great basketball clipart for only $2! It would be perfect for March Madness or HS tournament time. (Follow her on Twitter at @KBKonnected. Great stuff!)
You can find so many great free resources on the Web. In the next week you'll be looking for great lesson plans and rubrics. You won't have any trouble finding either of those, but you'll need to make them your own and make them fit the ASSURE model in your textbook.
Thank goodness teachers are willing to share!
So what ARE three books that have led you somewhere? And where did they lead you? Share in the comments.
Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit organization, is facilitating a special online survey for college students in teacher preparation programs to collect and report on the views of the next generation of teachers about the use of technology within instruction.
Participation is open to all students in teacher preparation programs both at the undergraduate and graduate level as well as career changers in special programs.
The survey consists of a series of multiple choices questions, one open-ended question and six demographic questions. The demographic are optional and are used only by us to give context to our national data findings.
The survey should only take you about 20 minutes to complete.
All of your answers are 100% confidential. We will not ask you for your name anywhere on this survey. There is no way for anyone to know your specific answers.
Collaboration seems to be something many of you find difficult. Chalk it up to the fact that the course is online so you don't really know your teammates, busy schedules, procrastination, or apathy, many of your teams found working together difficult. Yet it is one of the skills employers value most and one that you will be expected to teach.
So I found this article pretty interesting. It describes tools, products and processes for middle school collaborative activities. The tools:
Cacoo is a free online diagraming tool which allows real-time collaboration. Weebly is a free site which allows users to create websites and blogs using widgets.Photo Story 3 is a free software download from Microsoft which enables users to create slideshows using your own digital pictures. Fotoflexer is a free online image editor which allows you to perform basic editing options as well as some advanced features.
These are some great examples of tools and techniques for integrating technology. Note that Photo Story 3 is one of the tools Windows users may choose over the next few weeks in telling the story of you.
