Caution: Woman Constructing

Why is it when men work, they need to put up a sign that says "Caution: Men at Work"? You don't see women doing that! I know, it's an old joke, but our real goal here is to get our students to do the work. Yes, we'll probably get plenty of moans and groans, but after a bit of experience with project based, inquiry, problem solving, investigating,  and hypothesizing, students will appreciate the hands-on nature of constructionist learning methods. 

While I don't necessarily believe that generating and testing hypothesis is the most effective constructionist learning activity for my content area of social studies, I do aspire for my students to be "engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content." (Pitler, et al., 2007). However, I do see technology as a critical part in achieving this goal. 

So much has changed even since I was an undergraduate student five years ago in terms of completion and presentation of projects. Using spreadsheets and data collection software are helpful to students like me who don't feel the desire to tediously solve every problem. I always tell my students 'Work smarter, not harder!'. This is important because technology makes essential tasks more manageable. In the past, some students simply would not complete a project because of the sheet amount of work that can go into problem solving that can be completed by programs such as these. Now that this is eliminated, students will be able to better see the 'big picture' or major concept rather than get bogged down by details. Similarly, some of the projects that even middle school students create today are amazing! My colleague and I have had some mind blowing documentaries that have been produced for our National History Day historical investigation. It seems like making a poster is absurd when technologies like Movie Maker and IMovie are available today. 

This week's chapter did feature my favorite technology, web resources. Here is where the possibilities are endless for social studies! Especially in the case of simulation software, which "can provide incredibly engaging learning environments, resulting in increased motivation and retention in learning" (Pitler, et al., 2007). I have created several simulations in class such as immersion in Chinese philosophy activities and Life on the Feudal Manor, but they don't hold a candle to the websites such as the example given in our text, Practicing with the Catapult. Students love these types of programs and having access to a SMARTBoard makes it possible for the whole class to participate. Over the summer I plan to collect as many sites with simulations that fit my curriculum as possible in order to ensure that it is the students who are at work, learning and creating their own understanding, and artifacts throughout ancient history. 

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Cognitivism in Practice

As a teacher of ancient history, I had heard the quote by Confucius that introduced the Cognitivist method of experiential learning: "Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand."(Orey, 2001). But reading about embedding technology in chapters four and six of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works gave me a better understanding of what Confucius meant. Here I learned about how to integrate cues, questions, advance organizers, summarizing, and note taking while using technology to benefit students in the cognitive learning style. The goal of transferring information to long-term memory requires students to focus on main concepts, eliminate unnecessary information, and to organize it in a way that is meaningful to them so that they can build connections to their prior knowledge. In order to do this, teachers need to explicitly teach students how their brains work and model appropriate ways to manage the many pieces of information that they are required to learn. 

In giving cues, creating questions, and advanced organizers, teachers must recognize their role in helping students succeed. Higher level work will only be produced in the teachers create an expectation and environment that asks students to go beyond the basic facts and declarative information typical of rote learning. The students will probably have a tough time adjusting to this type of questioning and activities, but ultimately it will serve them well in helping them to make their own personal connections to material and will assist them in their careers in higher education. 

Technology can be applied in many ways to help teachers achieve this goal of student reflection and metacognition of learning. Some examples of specific programs that are helpful for teachers using the cognitive method include the various forms of Inspiration to organize information and multimedia sites like my personal favorite, United Streaming. If your district does not subscribe, urge them to do so before next year! "The technology, in turn, provides you with editable visual aids and multimedia resources that appeal ti a number of learning styles." (Pitler, et al, 2007). This is ideal for students since dual coding and elaboration can be delivered in this method. Additionally, this provides students with a specific episode of learning which can be drawn upon where no prior knowledge exists. 

As for summarizing and note taking, I recognized many of the problems that my students encounter as they worked on becoming better note takers from their limited elementary school skills in this area to the level that is expected of middle school students. When the students first begin taking notes in the beginning of the year they want to copy sentences directly from the book or power point presentation and they want to write down everything. If they were permitted to high light the text, the entire thing would be yellow! The authors of our text recommend that teachers do several things to prevent this from happening; teach students to eliminate anything that is not essential information, teach them to summarize, model various note taking formats, give teacher-prepared notes, and perhaps most importantly, to show students that information can be organized in a way to make it easier to understand. 

Again, the application of technology can make our job easier. Word can help to summarize student notes that are typed in a new document. They can also track changes, because as I learned, notes are not final. They should always be viewed as a work in progress. Infinitely more helpful could be the many available concept mapping softwares. Additionally, note taking can be a collaborative process- something I had my students dabble in by using blogs this year. But I plan to enhance the students ability for reciprocal teaching of our content by adding wiki projects and adding the steps of clarifying and predicting to their blogs. Mainly I had the students summarize and question one another about the material presented in class. I like the fact that blogs can take learning to the next level: "Blogs provide the means for students to use the strategy of reciprocal teaching be allow time for more in-depth conversation that can extend beyond the allotted time in the classroom." (Pitler, et al, 2007). Additionally, this kind of cognitive learning activity can help students review and assess their learning. 

In conclusion, technology can greatly aid teachers as they work to help their students learn. Cognitive tools can be applied for information seeking, information presentation, knowledge organization, and knowledge integration as teachers work to increase higher-order thinking in their classrooms.

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorism in Practice

Reading about the authors' ideas for embedding technology in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works was really exciting! I know that I am confident in using technology in the form of blogs, streaming videos, pod casts, and Internet research in the classroom myself but I recognize that there is a great deal more I can do to help my students use technology to their own educational advantage. Additionally I was surprised to find that many of these methods were actually behaviorist learning strategies, as I assumed most technology integration in the classroom would fall under the theory of social constructivism. "The entire rationale of behavior modification is that most behavior is learned." (Orey, 2001). So in theory, my struggling students can learn how to be effective students by changing the behaviors that don't work for them into ones that allow them to be successful by modeling, shaping, and cueing.

I had heard before that students respond well to data, but doubted the truth of this statement. The idea of tracking students' effort compared to results in terms of grades in spreadsheets and other data collection software seems like a good way to determine whether or not this will be useful to my students. Students often blame poor grades on outside factors and most annoyingly, on the teachers who 'gave them a bad grade or just doesn't like them'. "The research indicates, however, that students can change their beliefs and make a connection between effort and achievement." (Lever-Duffy, et al., 2001 p. 156). By setting clear expectations and grading requirements through rubrics and keeping track of effort and performance in a program like Excel, my students can chart the correlation between the two. If I can explicitly show my students in the beginning of the next school year that if they don't try their best, they won't perform to the best of their abilities, I might set up an attitude of self-efficacy and responsibility. What more could a teacher ask for?!?

Practice through homework is a prime example of behaviorism in action. Homework allows students to master skills and adjust what they have learned until they have achieved proficiency. Many of the ideas presented in the chapter Homework and Practice were great tips for teachers that many probably are unaware of. Even a simple program such as Microsoft Word can allow students to conducted focused research, identify the grade level of their writing, and summarize their work. The applications of these tools are really endless. When I teach my fledgeling researchers how to find out more about History Fair topics in the beginning of the year, I know I would appreciate this application. I could easily model how to do this using my SMARTBoard. Also after a recent class I took on the importance of teaching reading in the content areas, I know that I should ask students to self-assess written assignments with these tools as a part of pre-writing and I might even include them on my grading rubric for them. Shaping and cues could assist the students as they work to perfect the work they produce. 

Perhaps the most appropriate way to use technology in my content area of social studies though might be multimedia. As mentioned earlier, I am comfortable in using multimedia programs myself, but I know I can do more to assist my students. "In addition to learning from multimedia such as educational games and interactive simulations, students can learn with multimedia by creating their own projects at home or at school to develop their understanding and practice skills." (Lever-Duffy, et al., 2001 p. 194). Behaviorist theory has its place, but in order to meet my goals, I know I will need to combine these methods with other educational learning practices to succeed. And this is my goal as a teacher-to use technology to take learning to the next level. 

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

The Integrator

There have been definite ups and downs as I learned about the impact of technology on education, work, and society. It has been helpful to understand the history of and the ways that technology has changed our lives. Since graduating from college five years ago, I know I have seen many changes in  my personal use of computers, cell phones, and especially the Internet. However, the disconnect in my use and my students' use of these same tools has been made more clear through information I have been exposed to such as the Thornburg Center and the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. I am much more comfortable using blogs; so much so that I have incorporated them into my enrichment classes. Additionally, I am working toward becoming 'paper-free' at least in printing out articles of interest and emailed information. I will admit that podcasting is going to require more practice on my part before I will make it a regular part of my teaching tools. Figuring out how to convert files was one assignment that nearly caused a destroyed laptop and martial strife!

My understanding of the learning process has changed because I recognize that I and many of my colleagues use technology in very basic ways. Instead of asking students to learn from technology, they need to be taught to learn with technology. Assignments that I have designed in the past asked students to do very basic technological tasks; typing assignments in word processing programs, creating power points, and limited online research from sites like Proquest. However, I now know that these assignments don't necessarily engage students in those 21st Century Learning skills like critical thinking and complex communication. 

I am glad to be able to say that my lessons have always been more student-centered rather than teacher focused. Using technology will help me to continue to engage learners in meaningful ways that allows them to create projects through collaboration with their peers, allowing them to practice for the jobs they will one day hold. Employers want employes who are self-driven and can communicate with a team rather than mindless drones who take orders. Understanding how our workplace has changed helped me to see the significance in helping our students to be prepared for a wired workplace. I intend to continue to stay abreast of changes in technology by monitoring the technology blogs I subscribed to as part of this course. Also I will work with my media center coordinator to use new opportunities in my classroom. 

Though two years does not seem terribly long-term, in the world of technology, it is actually quite a long time! I would like to make my enrichment classes that I mentioned earlier work entirely on blogs that are set up in the beginning of the year. Here we would create an online community where the students can communicate about our content and collaborate on their assignments. In order for this to happen, I'm going to have to get our school board to pay for membership in a better blogging site. The free site I use has a limited number of student accounts with a small amount of storage that would not hold a year's worth of work. Also I am afraid that not all parents would embrace this idea, especially if they do not have Internet access at home. My second goal is to then use technology more in my grade level classes. I feel guilty denying these students the opportunity to use technology, especially since they are the ones who may benefit most. Potential problems in this venture are needing to monitor students more closely, behavior problems, and less experience with computers. I know that it will probably take longer to work with technology and I can't let our curriculum fall by the wayside. However, I consider it to be a worthwhile cause and will use our technology coordinator and lead teachers to help me overcome these issues. Wish me luck! :) 

First Pocast

Here is my first podcast. In it is an interview with three of my sixth grade social studies students. Their opinions well represent the norms of their classmates. After polling my students I discovered several characteristics about their technology use. 

First, they use much more technology at home than at school. The average number of hours using computers, cell phones, and gaming  was three hours daily. Whereas at school, the number was less than a half an hour and primarily in computer class, if enrolled at all. 

Secondly, the students are adept at using computers for both school work and pleasure. Browsing the Internet; though surprisingly not using social networking sites as I would have expected, is something the students have been doing for some time thanks to popular tween websites that they mentioned such as Nickelodian, Club Penguin, and Webkins.  Though the students I talked to do not visit MySpace or FaceBook, I know that many do thanks to their questionnaires. 

Finally, students use of technology has been so limited in school that they are either unaware or apprehensive about doing certain types of assignments using computers rather than traditional books or paper and pencil. In my survey I asked students how they would feel about holding class discussions online and many wanted to know exactly how that would work. Many were not aware of what a blog is. However, the students were excited about alternatives such as reading our textbook online or completing assignments in Power Point rather than doing paper projects. Please click the podcast link above to hear what my students had to say. Enjoy!

Evaluating 21st Century Skills

Overall, I am impressed by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills. They certainly have an impressive list of members and partners; groups which should be on the cutting edge of technology. Identifying and describing the "Six Key Elements of 21st Century Learning" and illustrating the "Bridge to 21st Century Learning" was helpful to educators like myself who are new to learning about technology integration. Additionally, I liked the fact that the Partnership has created "Nine Steps to Build Momentum" rather than just telling teachers that they need to figure out a way to implement those key elements on their own. A quote I appreciated from the Report and Mile Guide said it best; "Infusing dynamic, real-world contexts into classroom learning will invigorate teacher and student engagement." (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/images/stories/otherdocs/p21up_Report.pdf p. 5).

Some states that are involved in Partnership initiatives surprised me, since they are not as well known for their educational standards. By no means do I intend to write off all the hardworking teachers in more rural states like West Virginia or Wisconsin, but I know the realities that schools everywhere face when it comes to getting the equipment and access needed to get a program like this off the ground. Largely, it seems as if these states' participation is supported by their governors. This is important because we all know that schools depend on political actions and is instrumental in building said momentum and preparing citizens to one day be productive contributors to society. 

One aspect I thought was a bit odd were the missing success stories. A link is provided, alas, no success stories! Also considering how many publications cover the Partnership for 21st Century Skills as referenced on the homepage, I am curious as to why my state, Maryland, hasn't become more active. On the Tools and Resources page, the Partnership claims they "conduct extensive, ongoing outreach to a broad range of individuals and groups within the education community, including education experts, teachers, administrators, students, businesses, community groups, university faculty and researchers, under-served community representatives, after-school program representatives, and policy makers." So what's the deal Maryland? I'm new to technology integration, but surely someone more significant than me knows about opportunities such as this. What can we do to get involved?

I suppose that classroom teachers like myself are responsible as well. We can't push all the blame on our state curriculum writers or Boards of Education. Like new employees bring technologies to the business world, teachers need to maximize student exposure and create assignments as well as assessments that use Information and Communication Technologies in the classroom in order to prepare our students for the real, 21st Century world. If we do it in our schools it will trickle up!

Now What Do I Do With It?

I teach sixth grade social studies, which is ancient history in my county. Our enrichment students use something called an Interactive Student Notebook (I.S.N.) which is a part of the History Alive program and encourages text interaction, creation and use of graphic organizers, journal activities, and other higher order thinking activities. Immediately the I.S.N. seemed like a way for students to use blogs as an alternative to the actual notebooks that get lost, aren't completed, or are simply rushed through. 

The I.S.N.s are collected only twice per quarter so they are nice to grade just a couple times. However, you can imagine that some students don't keep up with assignments day to day since long-term projects are difficult for new middle schoolers to transition into. I am excited most about using blogs as a way to collect student assignments, or at least monitor their completion more easily. In addition, parents could access their child's blogs to verify that work is done on time. I could create a class blog to post the assignments and other class information. Another benefit would be that students would not have to worry about losing their work and furthermore would be able to monitor their progress throughout the year and refer back to it as they begin a new I.S.N. in seventh grade. 

I would love to try this with one of my three enrichment sections at least as an alternative for the few who are failing because of poor I.S.N. grades. I know there are downfalls such as limited home Internet access and several students may be inexperienced with technology. But I'm looking forward to hearing your ideas and suggestions for this application of blogs!