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.