Course Reflection

I decided to take this class because technology is becoming such a large part of our every day lives within teaching.  Next year our students will be one to one and there will be less tech support.  I felt that this was the perfect time to challenge myself to learn more ways to integrate technology each day, but to also make it purposeful.  

Through this course, I have grown as a connected educator because I am willing to take more risks.  I never thought I would have a  blog, let alone a Twitter account.  It is difficult to put my thoughts out for the world to see and critique,  While there have been many frustrations along the way, I realize these may be some of the same struggles my students have as they begin a new journey with technology.  How I can truly help them if I have not been down the same path.  

Learning something new reminds us, as teachers, what it is like to be students again and creates a sense of empathy as we begin a new school year.  We may be continuing with much of the same routines, but are these routines and concepts are very different and new for our students.  The next steps for me are to integrate all of the new ideas I've throughout this course to provide choices for my students in their learning.   

"The Final Countdown"

Educational Technology Blog-Online Learning

Final paper

There are two assignments I created through this course to help integrate more technology within my classroom.  One of these assignments was revised but put into a different forum: Google Classroom.  Another, was a newly designed Prezi presentation in order to incorporate more engaging lessons on the water cycle.     

I currently have my students collaborate using Google Docs and Google Slides.  In the past when students had to work on projects together, they had to find a common time outside of school to complete the work..  Now, students are able to complete the task simultaneously and offer feedback at the same time.  In addition, I am able to see their ongoing work and also offer feedback so they can make the necessary changes.  One project, in particular, focuses on the Midwest and Illinois.  What was once done on poster board, can now be done on Google Slides.  In addition to the students creating with technology, they are also able to learn from the technology.  For example, there is a video posted for students to watch about Illinois, as well as the list of topics which creates less paper.  While the pros certainly outweigh the cons, there are some challenges to consider when creating assignments such as this.  When students have access to each other’s work, we need to be more aware of how the tech is being used.  We, as teachers, need to discuss expectations of being digital citizen to set the framework. Next year as our students are 1-1, it will be necessary for us to introduce the expectations as well as follow through as the work using technology increases.  Our team’s plan is to start with tutorials about how to be a good digital citizen, having students create rules for computer use, and have students and parents sign a contract to open the lines of communication.  Technology is a great way to engage students in their learning environment, but it is also important to set a strong foundation in the beginning.

Another assignment that I really enjoyed making was the Prezi presentation on the water cycle.  In the past, students watched movies as a whole class, read books and created paper models of the water cycle.  This Prezi presentation, I feel is more flexible to each student’s learning and allows them to go through the learning process at their own pace and begin where their interest level is at.  This can be done with a partner as well.  The activities range in information as well as activities.  One activity that I particularly like requires the students to read a short article about the water cycle and then create a vocabulary matching game on either a Google Doc or Google Slide.  Rather than just taking a vocabulary quiz, students are not only identifying important vocabulary, but also creating a learning assignment together that their peers can use later.  Another activity provided a link to an online article about different clouds.  Later, students would incorporate this new knowledge into an art project.  I feel this reaches all of the multiple intelligences and I can remember doing a similar activity to this when I was in school.  Creating this project helped me remember the characteristics of the clouds and the associated weather.  Designing this Prezi presentation was engaging for me as a teacher and hope that students would find it engaging as well.  There are many positives to this educational experience that steps outside the traditional teaching model.  It helps students to become more self-directed in their learning and really create and construct their new knowledge.  With that said, I feel there could be two challenges teachers might face.  One is time, which is something we don’t have a lot of..  We need to allow our students to explore and become familiar with this new tool.  Students that are not as tech savvy as others, may become frustrated and disengaged, but if we give them the gift of time, I feel they could have a lot of success. Another obstacle would be for those students who may not have access to technology at home.  They may not finish the assignments as quickly as other students which could again lead to anxiety and frustrations.  I feel there would need to be time built into the class day to allow these students to complete their assignments.  Overall Prezi has allowed me to become more creative as a teacher and challenge myself to become less apprehensive about using technology.    

Link to Google Classroom:

https://classroom.google.com/u/0/c/NjkyOTE0Mzk5N1pa

Classroom code: 5ovs49k

The SAMR Samurai

Examining Integration Models

THE SAMR SAMURAI

It seems there are always new models in the field of education to help us determine our level of expertise.  The latest one we have recently learned about, SAMR, is just that.  What I like about this model is that you don’t always have to reach for the highest level, but rather work towards integrating more technology when appropriate for different assignments.  It might be perfectly fitting for students to type a paper on Google, and while this is not considered REDEFINITION, it is still providing the students the opportunity to use technology.    

In the article, “SAMR and Bloom’s Taxonomy-Assembling the Puzzle”, I thought the video was very helpful when determining the different levels of SAMR by giving specific examples of the changes made to different assignments.  It also highlighted on how it is more than just the integration of SAMR: “In addition to the integration of SAMR and Bloom described above, two more ingredients are necessary for the best results:a clear motivation for the change -- the best results are obtained when a teacher has a strong reason for changing existing practice that is independent of the introduction of technology, and a clean app flow, designed to move through the tasks, that is as simple as possible, avoiding needless complexity -- e.g., in transferring work products from one app to the next.  The big idea here is setting a purpose for the technology.  

The SAMR model seems to make most sense to me.  Not only is this model one we focused on within our most recent professional development, but it also closely relates with Bloom’s Taxonomy.  It the article, “Teaching Effectively With Technology: TPACK, SAMR, RAT, it states, “ The goal for the teacher is to construct a simple SAMR ladder that is coupled to Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy — i.e., as the task moves from lower to upper levels of the taxonomy, it also moves from lower to upper levels of SAMR.”   I appreciate how the two models correlate to add on new information to a model that we are already familiar with.   

If I were to evaluate where my level of technology integration is while using the SAMR model, I would have to say between Augmentation and Modification.  Last year as I was beginning to teach a new grade level, I challenged myself to modify the lessons and integrate more technology.  For example, when studying the regions, the students would write or type a paper about a state within a particular region.  Instead, I had them collaborate to create a Google Slide, presenting the same information, just in a different format. Not only were students able to collaborate in the classroom, but at home as well, by simply “sharing” their slides.  I could also provide feedback to help guide their work.  

While I am not yet a SAMR SAMURAI, I am always looking for ways to integrate technology into my classroom, but also making sure there is a clear purpose for doing so.  As teachers, we have so many things on our plates, and as many of us are going to be 1-1 next year for the first time, we need to give ourselves grace to learn new teaching strategies.  The SAMR model allows us to do so at a level that we feel comfortable, but also moving to higher levels when appropriate for student learning.