Conquering the Frankenbook

The article, “Conquering the Frankenbook,” is about two teachers’ efforts to use digital books in the classroom.  The author, an instructional technology integrator, and her colleague, a literature instructor, used iPads to assign the book, Frankenstein, to a tenth grade class.  They developed a set of technology goals and a set of content goals: “on the technology side, [the author] wanted to make sure students could actively read on an electronic device”; while the literature instructor wanted to be sure they “could meet the objectives of a literature unit” (32).  They first introduced the students to the technology, exploring apps and websites relevant to the task.  In implementing the iPads, they discovered some great sites and apps for free digital books in the public domain, though they also learned that some of the digital copies were superior to others. As the project moved forward, they assigned more traditional literature assignments with modern twists; for example, using themes, each student researched an individual topic relevant to the period of the book, wrote a paragraph and emailed their assignment which was assembled into a collaborative Wiki-style e-book and shared on the iPads. 

There were more problems, however, besides the superiority of certain e-books over others.  They found that moving between devices presented a problem; iPads are designed for individual use and so return to the last user’s settings and place in the book.  They also found the lack of page numbers made referencing and citations difficult; this also made the task of ‘turn to page…’ during class discussions extremely difficult without using a word or phrase search.  Taking notes was difficult for both teacher and student, though students were more open to exploration than the teachers admittedly were.  The author concludes that “perhaps much of the resistance we and our students experienced was because we knew how to actively read a paper copy…while [the author is] still looking at new app releases and waiting for that game changer, at this stage, a hard-copy book is preferable for active reading and discussion of a text” (33).

I think that nothing beats a hard-copy for active reading.  I use my Kindle mostly for downloading PDFs and travelling; e-books prevent the user from knowing how thick a book is, from the tactile sensations of turning a page, from being able to doodle in the margins.  I can see how using e-books in the classroom could eventually save a school money over time, but I agree with the author that active reading requires a hard copy almost always. 

This article addresses both NETS-S standards and NETS-T standards of technology operations and concepts and professional development.  The e-book was a great example of communication and collaboration, and the students were also taught about digital citizenship and plagiarism (this was part of the discussion and trouble with citing the materials). 

Read the article here: Conquering the Frankenbook

Barrett, J. (2012-2013) Conquering the Frankenbook. Learning &Leading with Technology, 40(4), 32-33.

Creative Professional Development

The article, “Design Creativity!” argues that teachers must develop critical and creative thinking skills in order to be able to teach their students to use the same skills.  The article’s authors propose that through the combination of technology and thinking skills, “educators can better prepare students for the world of industry and innovation” (17).  The IDEAStudio, a section of the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology at Virginia Tech, first established a set of criteria for projects to be based in: projects had instructional potential, they made creative use of technology, and they included products of the arts.  They then worked with teachers to “define the direction of projects and to design and develop instructional materials to support the products” (17).  Two workshops were held to develop and evaluate the materials.  The workshops focusd on the four basic components of critical and creative thinking: idea generation, reflective judgment, self-regulation and attitudes and disposition.  By developing the creative process, teachers found that they could make “surprising uses of everyday, affordable technologies” (19).

I firmly believe that creative thinking is one of the most beneficial, yet undervalued, assets to our society and it should have a much more prevalent role in education at all levels.  By helping teachers to develop their own creative processes, the authors and those at the IDEAStudio are doing a great service to the children who will be affected by this down the line.  I come from an art background and thoroughly understand the value of imagination, ingenuity and innovation; each of these characteristics should be nurtured in children especially.  The article examines both NETS-S and NETS-T standards dealing with learning and creativity.  Though the article focuses mostly on NETS-T standards of professional growth, leadership, and the development of digital-age learning experiences, it also focuses on the NETS-S standard of critical thinking, problem solving and decision making.

Read the article here: Design Creativity!

Baum, L. & Newbill, P. (2012-2013) Design creativity! Learning &Leading with Technology, 40(4), 16-19.

Saltwater Therapy

Duct tape surfing

Cyber Safety

Cyber Safety Glogster

The Future (Present) of Professional Learning

The article, “The Future of Professional Learning,” focuses on five emerging professional development (PD) technologies which are poised to spread globally for teacher learning around the world. 

Number five is television; worldwide, television watching is transitioning from a set time and place to a more social, individualized and mobile experience.  Teachers can benefit from socially interactive programming, or order PD programs and instructional videos.  This technology can allow for teachers to have remote access to mentors and progressive teaching techniques.  

Immersive environments-- number four on the list—are already used in many professions, like flight simulators for pilots, and allow users to “hone their technical, creative and problem-solving skills in a safe environment where they don’t have to worry about inevitable mistakes.”  In immersive environments, users can interact with avatars and get instant feedback that can be used to improve knowledge and skills.  I think this would be especially helpful in teacher training programs.

The third on the list is video technology; specifically video for co-teaching, and video for coaching.  Co-teaching uses two-way video to “connect teachers who were new to technology to a master teacher so the two could co-teach a technology-based lesson that the novice technology user found particularly difficult.”  Video for coaching uses an off-site coach who watches a feed of the classroom and gives tips to the teacher through a Bluetooth device that students cannot see.  These two techniques seem a bit iffy to me as they are based on the idea that an underprepared teacher is already in the classroom. 

Social media ranked second on the list and its value as PD tool is already widespread in the realm of the PLN.  It can also be used to collaborate and share ideas through highly personalized content and micro-networks.  I think that social media is in the future of all professional pursuits and is necessary in resume, career and network building.

The top technology on the list was mobile technology; the ability to access, distribute, edit and learn at one’s convenience has changed the world as we know it through low-cost or free apps and smart-phones.  Well, this one just gets a big, fat “Duh!” from me. 

It was hard to read this article and feel that the author wasn’t just stating the obvious; I think that most of these technologies have been undergoing rapid change and development for the better part of a decade, if not longer, and their impacts on professional development should be broader than what is highlighted in this article. Though I would never want to use the video coaching technique for my own professional development, I can see the value of most of these technologies for teachers around the world.  Because this article focuses on teacher development there are no literal implications for student NET-S standards; however, the idea that teachers who are comfortable and well-versed in technologies are better able to teach those technologies to their students does correspond to the standards.  

Read the Article Here: 

The Future of Professional Learning

Burns, M. (2013). The future of professional learning. Learning & Leading Through Technology, 40(8), 14-18.

Research Papers and Prezi

The article, “Add Pizzazz to That Research Paper with Prezi!” is about the supplemental use of the online digital-authoring tool Prezi in a language arts classroom.  Middle school students were required to create an outline and then write a research paper; they then created a Prezi based off of the same initial outline, including images, video and text.  “Prezi is a virtual whiteboard that transforms presentations from monologues into conversations, enabling viewers to see, understand and remember ideas.  It mixes images and words to create a visual story with flow and narrative.”  Authors Peters and Hopkins first assessed the impact of Prezi on students’ content knowledge prior to the Prezis being created but after the students had written their research papers.  A post-Prezi assessment revealed that students’ overall comprehension of their topics increased by 30%.  “More than 50% of the students demonstrated growth in their knowledge of their topic after completing their Prezis. Of the students who demonstrated growth, the average amount of growth after developing the Prezi was more than 65%.” 

One of the more interesting aspects of this article for me was the massive growth in parent and guardian attendance at student-led parent conferences where students got to debut their Prezis.  Previous conferences had attendance rates of less than 20%, while the Prezi conferences had 95% attendance.  Some kids even brought extended family.  I think that the excitement that this kind of technology brings to the kids is infectious; in this particular case, students were able to share their Prezis with several other families in addition to their own, as the conferences were grouped with several students in each, subsequently helping to begin building a “learning community.”  This alone would be reason to use Prezi in my own classroom.

Using Prezi allowed students to demonstrate research and information fluency and critical thinking skills, as well as their grasp of technology operations and concepts.  There was a demonstration of communication skills, as students presented virtually and orally to their peers, as well as to a larger audience.  The authors pointed out that they may have introduced Prezi prior to the writing of the research papers, to expand the knowledge base ahead of the papers.  I think that might be a wise idea, though the resulting growth in comprehension and knowledge does not warrant a change in strategy.  

Read the article here: Add Pizzazz to That Research Paper with Prezi!

 

Peters, T. and Hopkins, K. (2013) Add pizzazz to that research paper with Prezi! Learning &Leading with Technology, 40(8), 36-37.

The Sunnydale Kids

The Sunnydale Kids

Campfires, Caves, and Watering Holes

The article, “Australia’s Campfires, Caves, and Watering Holes,” discusses how the creation of new learning and teaching environments can enrich curriculum and better engage students.  By using instructional tools which better relate to the world that students exist in, teachers “can personalize instruction and allow students to explore different modes of learning.”  Using David Thornberg’s archetypal models of the campfire, watering hole and cave, the article promotes physical and virtual learning spaces which can be used for both student and teacher learning.  The campfire, a “place where people gather to learn from an expert,” is where students can receive the story necessary for instruction, either through the teacher or other students.  The campfire exists physically and virtually.  The watering hole “is an informal space where peers can share information and discoveries, acting as both learner and teacher simultaneously.”  The watering hole can be online, via social media like Facebook or blog posts, or exist physically in the classroom, and fulfills the NET-S standard of communication and collaboration.  The cave “is a private space where an individual can think, reflect, and transform learning from external knowledge to internal belief.”  The authors, Davis and Kappler-Hewitt, argue that the cave is both the most important and difficult venue for students, as they are required to “reflect by themselves.”

I see the models of the campfire, watering hole and cave as opportunity to blend traditional instructional models with new technology advances.  I see the benefit of being able to provide instruction online, like in a flipped classroom model, where students can absorb instructional material at their own pace, on their own time.  This information can then be carried into online forums or back to the classroom (the watering holes) where students share and discuss ideas.  I agree with the authors that the cave and the time to digest new information is the most important aspect of the learning process; this time for self-reflection will nurture students’ abilities for critical thinking, problem solving and decision making, as well as creativity and innovation.  In my own classroom, I think that classroom time would be better spent working with individual students rather than lecturing on a lesson and sending students home to work through the ideas alone.  “If the class uses digitized content, and students are empowered to access the content through the media that makes the most sense to them, then teachers can move throughout the classroom zones of campfire, watering hole, and cave, both personalizing and individualizing instruction.”

The article’s final point is that teachers must be fluent in content and have a “solid pedagogical background” in order to use these ideas; otherwise, it’s akin to the blind leading the blind.  The article also suggests that teachers also create these same environments for themselves; in mirroring the student learning design, teachers can learn from each other, test out new ideas, and take personal time to reflect, think and create.  

Read the article here: 

Australia's Campfires, Caves, and Watering Holes 

Davis, A. & Kappler-Hewitt, K. (2013). Australia’s campfires, caves, and watering holes. Learning & Leading with Technology, 40(8). 24-26.

Information Literacy Quick Write

In order to ensure that research on the internet is trustworthy, certain search tactics must be employed.  When doing the initial search, using the search engine's advanced search options can narrow down the field of information which will result.  Looking to the domain name is the first and easiest way to know if a site is academic or government issued; the domains .edu and .gov are reserved especially for school and government websites.  Upon finding a page, a researcher can look to the publication date to judge the currency or  relevancy of the issue they are researching.  Doing a Google search about the author or the organization which has posted the article or website can vet out unreliable sources or those with an agenda.  Reading the reviews or comments by other readers and users can help by highlighting issues or points about the article or site.  If the website or article has a large number of errors in the writing, or if the website is poorly put together, may be an indicator that the site is unreliable.  When looking at databases, peer-reviewed articles are definitively the most trustworthy sources of information.

Using Facebook in the Classroom

 In the article, "What if Abraham Lincoln Had a Facebook Page?", Brian Glover describes how historical figures and events can be studied through the supplemental use of Facebook.  He argues that traditional biography reports can cause students to “slide into a coma,” but that the use of Facebook can make the same research tasks more interesting and relevant.  Glover uses the example of Abraham Lincoln to show how a student can apply research to the creation of a Facebook page, giving historical information a modern twist through status updates, photos, videos and polling.  Similarly, historical relationships, like the given example of the relationship between the US and the USSR post-World War II, can be documented over time via the same tools on the social media site.  Glover uses these two well known historical examples to demonstrate how social media does not need to be an enemy of the classroom.  He argues that “many educators need to change their negative views of technology if they are to take full advantage of powerful digital storytelling tools.”

      As a person who is not inclined to share what I had for lunch on a social media platform, I found Glover’s argument for the use of Facebook compelling.  Social media, whether we like it or not, is going to make its way into the classroom, and I agree that it will be more useful if its use is assigned, rather than being sneakily used from a personal device under the desk or behind the façade of a textbook.  I think the implementation of social media as a platform for delivering research can be just as useful as a blog, and can help to demonstrate the NETS standard for communication and collaboration.  Students might be more inclined to participate in research on a social platform that they will be using anyway, with the end result being a demonstration of students’ research and information fluency, as well as participation in digital citizenship.

     Glover’s argument that “school leadership must foster an environment that allows technology to spark learning” is a valid one.  A prohibition against social media in the classroom will not only lead to covert rebellion, but it also misses the opportunity for making learning relevant for students today.  Utilizing the tools that students are already familiar with can allow educators to speak to students’ interests and habits, while still teaching to the content standards that must be taught.

Read the article here:

What if Abraham Lincoln had a Facebook Page?

Glover, B. (2013). What if Abraham Lincoln had a Facebook page? Learning & Leading with Technology, 40(8). 38-39.

So, the question is about the most pressing issue in education...where to start?  The easiest place to begin is funding, of course; without money, schools are fundamentally unable to serve their students.  Without financial means, schools cannot provide the opportunities students need to succeed.  When a student is distracted by windows that do not close, by heating and air that do not work, by a lack of supplies and basic learning tools, those students are disadvantaged from the get-go.  It is easy to connect the majority of issues which currently confront the educational system to lack of funding.  It's a well known fact that American society under-funds education and has for years; education is usually the first place that budget cuts are directed towards, even in socially progressive states like California.  It goes to mention that in recent years, California directed some 80% of educational funding towards salaries and administration-- not students.