Week 6: I Came... I Saw...Now what?

Over the past five weeks I was introduced to many different technology tools to use in the classroom. From smart boards to stop motion movies, the possibilities are truly limitless. Yet as educators using digital technology can appear idealistic and overwhelming. Many teachers are left asking where do I even start? Additionally, many schools are debating what type of IT they should bother investing in, especially when technology is constantly upgrading.

I recently read a blog post featured on the educational website Edutopia called Bridging the New Digital Divide. (http://www.edutopia.org/blog/bridging-the-new-digital-divide-lori-day) Educational psychologist and blogger Lori Day follows an inner city school in Rhode Island, who is tackling the digital schism of offering technology in a low-income neighborhood. Many schools both independent and public alike, need to consider the financial cost of going beyond installing Wi-Fi in the classroom. Schools should also provide educator's with technology training  in order to best serve their students. Technology shouldn't just sit in the corner of the classroom, nor should it only be used for entertainment or 'free time' value. Students should actively and critically use it to its fullest capacity. Designing videos, creating digital presentations, adding to  e-portfolios and communicating with other schools across the world, are just some ways students can use technology as a resource to  create and optimize their learning. The blog  mentioned above as published in edutopia,  concludes with the sentiment that technology is not the solution, but rather a tool used towards the betterment of learning. Striking a balance between the "digital" world such as logging on to a virtual tour and the "authentic" world of visiting a real museums is the most effective approach when incorporating technology in the classroom. It is the teacher's duty to help bridge the digital divide between the virtual and real world.

Learning more about digital education and its role in differentiating instruction has allowed me to think outside the box, to see how it can be used both effectively and creatively in the classroom. Keeping current and informed about technology, knowing what schools have to offer, and advocating for what should be offered are ways in which I anticipate keeping tech savvy in the class(y).

"I came...I saw...I blogged!"

 

Both sides are Beautiful

Source: Merceds-Benz http://pinterest.com/pin/75927943689665719/

Not all flowers are just red and green...Bloom's Taxonomy

Week 5 Creativity

"...We grow out of creativity, or are educated out of it."

I wanted to open my post with this quote as presented by creativity expert Ken Robinson's in his 2006 segment featured on Ted Talk. (http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity.html).

This quotation is a sad and scary truth and reality for many students and their education experience. Why is that we spend so much time teaching literacy and mathematics, but the arts always seem to fade within the education agenda? It doesn't make sense to teach only to the brain, and in particular the left side. While the right side or creative hemisphere is quite simply abandoned. I can't help but notice the natural and innate creativity in my young nieces when they uninhibitedly dance upon hearing music. Dancing is apart of the human condition, yet as we grow we resist that urge, we become contained and rigid. Drawing a picture as an accompaniment of a written assignment magically stops after grade 1. These analogies are demonstrated in many systems of education, not just in Canada, but the world over.

I was fortunate in my educational career to be taught more holistically if you will. My high school had a beautiful theatre that was central to the school, and I was fortunate to be involved in my high school dramatic arts productions. Growing up in Haliburton Highlands the most Southern tip of Algonquin Park, placed me demographically in an area that appreciates beauty. The famous Canadian artists The Group of Seven, have painted many landscapes of Haliburton's lakes and forestry regions.  During the summer my former high school is transformed into a "school of the arts", an extension of the Fleming College School of Arts facility. Courses range from soapstone to silkscreen, jewelry making to pottery design. Every Fall the Highlands hosts a Studio Tour, celebrating the many art studios featured in Haliburton. My family is interested in participating in a studio "detour" of our own this year, hoping to avoid the hundreds of dollars needed to register in the tour.

In addition to the right-brained education I was fortunate to receive, I grew up in a very artsy family. Just looking at the career paths of my four sisters will attest to their artistic capabilities. For instance my sister's are a fashion stylist, hair stylist, painter/artist, and folk artist. My father also has his own wood working/sculpturing studio, my mother his muse. I too have always "belonged" in the arts, and continued this gift by studying dramatic arts in my undergraduate studies at Brock University. It is during my post secondary education that I dappled in acting training, stagecraft, wardrobe, mime and drama in education courses. So if you haven't guessed it by my brief biography I AM A HUGE ADVOCATE OF THE ARTS IN EDUCATION! As a future teacher I want to incorporate art, drama, music, and dance into all subject areas.

There is an interesting cartoon and sing-song video on YouTube about a student who is scolded by his teacher because he uses all the crayons to draw flowers, rather then using the two colours  all the other students used to draw their flowers. http://youtu.be/qeJJOjb7fj4  It is devastating when the government takes money out of arts education, but it is equally dissatisfying when the arts are offered, and somehow teachers may stifle it, limiting the creative freedom of their pupils.

Our curriculum in many ways is intended to create cookie-cutter students. As teachers we should consider breaking the mold a little, by encouraging individuality and working to destigmatize mistakes. Using technology as a a digital tool is just one way we can provide creative opportunities for students. Differentiated instruction is another initiative to utilize in order to ensure that all intelligences, from Gardner's to Bloom's are being met.

--From,
the creative Tech Savvy Classy

WEEK 4 - student self-directed learning

I have heard about Ted Talks on several different occasions and in various contexts, but never followed through in actually watching a video. Finally, I got to it as recommended in my Digital Technology for Learning course. The slogan for Ted Talks is "ideas worth spreading", and I agree with this statement and would like to spread an idea presented in one such video talk called Hole in the Wall Child-Driven Education.

This Ted Talk led by education scientist Sugata Mitra, followed his research which placed computers in public accessible areas within countries ranging in depravity. The concept behind this study was to see what would happen when computers with Internet access were built literally in holes in a wall, left unsupervised. In all of the studies mentioned, students by curiosity and self-motivated interest, were successful in not only learning how to use the computer but eventually were able to figure out how to play games, send emails,  and research science diagrams too. Ultimately, children left on their own will learn how to use computers, so long as there is some type of individual and or group curiosity.

Mitra also developed learning spaces called SOLE's (self-organized learning environments). These SOLES are small rooms that have a computer, high-speed Internet access and furniture  to host small groups. Within these rooms are large screens where a teacher or mediator can assist students or lead them through activities. What I found most interesting is how educating and facilitating learning can happen despite distance and language barriers.

Recently it has come to my attention that many of my colleagues in the education program, are considering uprooting themselves to teach overseas in countries such as Kazakhstan, Australia, Japan and Honduras. It is very inspiring to see their global approach to education. It is likewise encouraging to see in this video how long-distance education can take place via computers. Mitra began his video by stating a very real issue that there are great teachers, but these great teachers are unwilling to teach in such countries as the places he set up the computers. What I believe Mitra was getting at was that education can be global, whether an individual teacher is physically in the classroom or not. Students are also capable of directing their own learning in so much that there are some resources provided for them. We can take a lot away from this video in the sense that educators both in North America and all over the world should give more credit for children's natural curiosity to learn that is in many ways innate to them.

Week 3: WHAT TECHNOLOGY DO YOU HAVE IN YOUR CLASS?

At this point in the field of education we know the value of incorporating technology into our instructional strategies and classrooms more generally. But what types of technology promote both learning and motivation for students?

This is an interesting question, as it has formed the theme for my upcoming presentation about appealing to the net generation or generation z. Spoiler alert: To avoid giving away too much of my groups presentation  ideas, I will examine only one article that attempts to answer the question 'what technology do you have in your class?'

The Ontario College of Teachers published an article recently about this topic in their Professionally Speaking magazine. This article looks at leading-edge uses of technology in the classroom as ways to enhance the curriculum.

Danika Baker OCT, is a media-literacy and English teacher at the high school level. Baker proposed the solution of using digital tools to address the problem of engaging her texting grade 12 students. Baker is undergoing an experiment with her students to use Twitter to role-play Hamlet.
I wonder what the hash tag was? #ToThineOwnSelfBeTrue #ToBeOrNotToBe #ThatIsTheQuestion #WordsWordsWords ...Can you tell I love Hamlet?

Baker is a tech-savvy teacher that uses digital tools from Glogster to Bitstrips and Twitter to Voicethread. What is most inspiring about her courageous and bold experimentation with technology, is how she expressed that the learning continues after something has been handed in, marked and returned. The dialogue is interactive and  living. Baker ends her article with the encouraging words "you can do it too".

Ultimately we are living in the 21st century and teaching students who are digitally native. Welcome to the future of education, embrace it, love it, do it!


Yours truly, 
the tech savvy classy


  http://professionallyspeaking.oct.ca/march_2012/features/tech_class.aspx#.UQHntThlF0w.gmail

ISTE Standard for Students:: Digital Citizenship

Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Week 2...GeT cOnNeCTeD

In the process of becoming a certified teacher I have flipped through the Ontario College of Teacher's Standards of Practice booklet (http://www.oct.ca/public/professional-standards/standards-of-practice) numerous times. So quite naturally, I couldn't help but make the connections between the standards outlined in the OCT's document with those of the International Society for Technology in Education (iste.nets), also known as Net's Standards (http://www.iste.org/standards).

Both of these documents focus on the importance for student and student learning by taking a clear and directed stance on teaching and assessement that is student-centred. Another link I made between these two documents are their emphasis on professional knowledge (whether it be as a teacher or digital teacher) and ongoing professional knowledge such as keeping up-to-date and using digital tools effectively.

Upon visiting Net's Standards website, I noticed the standards placed capital on inspiring students to be creative! I love any movement that nourishes the creativity of students, which ultimately allows them to express themselves in both innovative and authenic ways.

The iste.org website is full of information regarding technology and education policy. Although written from an American perspective, its information and advocacy are relevant in North America more generally. The Net's Standrads of modelling digital age and promoting digital citizenship and responsibility are certainly areas already implemented in the Ontairo curriculum.
If interested, you can become a iste member, read the monthly blogs or follow its twitter timeline using the hashtag #edtech to keep connected.

Until next time keep it classy you tech savvy's!

Digital Evolution in Classroom Technology

ARTICLE: Thinking Globally - Professionally Speaking - Dec 2012

Thinking Globally - Professionally Speaking - Dec 2012

Click the link above for article.

This article is from the OCT's Professionally Speaking magazine demonstrates how a teacher effectively incorporated technology into her classroom to increase computer skills and keep her students globally connected! This is a great read! The teacher used e porfolios (pbworks.com), blogs (kidblog.org), skype and other online resources for her elementary social studies class.

Allow me to introduce myself...Reflection #1

Who... Are... You...? 

Who? Michelle Christian

What? Education Student who is interested in using technology effectively in the classroom. My interests include Dramatic and visual arts as a medium students can use to express themselves creatively. Differeniated instruction is also an area where my interests lie. DI means meeting students where they're at and understanding that one size of education doesn't necessarily fit all.
  
Where? Redeemer University, Hamilton Ontario

When? 2012-2013

Why? I took this course to increase my knowledge of technology and gain confidence in using different types of digital tools in my teaching startegies and for my students!

Why should educators use technology in education? My answer is WHY NOT! We are living in a time where information technology is continually evolving and changing the way we look at the world. Educators need to be innovative, and follow the professional standards of practice which include ongoing professional learning. From smart boards to digital simulations, the possibilities are endless. In my perspective it is in the teacher's best interest to be one-step-ahead of their digital native students, to show that as a professional you are relevant, knowledable, and tech savvy!