EDT 6020 SPRING I WEEK SIX DISCUSSION

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Permalink Reply by Lucy Salvatore on February 22, 2014 at 9:29am

http://www.teachthought.com/technology/10-ways-teacher-planning-adj...

I chose this article about changing instruction to adjust to the Google generation.  Essentially, the article points out how most teachers are currently using Google to find factual knowledge at the spur of the moment  For example, if the class comes across a word or event they don't know, the teacher might look it up on Google and throw the images up on the projector.  While this can be positive experience, connecting words to imagery, this article emphasizes how we need to use Google to have students inquire, research, and collaborate.   

Instead of positing factual questions where the answers can be readily found, we need to pose open-ended questions where the answer isn't so black-and-white.  This will create inquiry-based learning, where kids search for answers, debate the pros and cons of the answers they found and form their own opinions.  In addition, with all the mobility Google provides, teachers can use that to allow for more collaborative, project-based learning which strays from typical unit lessons.

In recent years, I have become more and more interested in inquiry-based learning as it appears to be more meaningful to children (they work harder because they want to find answers and they have more ownership of their final product).  The drawback to inquiry-based learning through Google would be finding a way to seamlessly integrated into our overly-structured, creativity-killing curriculum.  I want their research to make sense, be connected to what we're doing in the classroom, and not feel random.  Therefore, it would take a lot of planning on the part of the teacher.  In addition, in order to ensure all students are comfortable using Google, a teacher would most likely have to spend a lot of time training students of using its different features.  

As I look further down the road of this year, I would like to find a way to combine persuasive writing and Google; I think I might want children to research other child authors, persuasive propaganda, traits of writing, and then create their own persuasive piece on the topic of their choice.  This is just an idea.  To be continued...

Permalink Reply by james weeks on February 22, 2014 at 3:46pm

I like the idea of having students answer open ended questions online, however it hard to find the right balance of structure. If the activity is too open ended students often become overwhelmed with everything that is online. They could easily miss the essential learning that you are trying to teach. On the other side, if there is too much structure it is not an open ended research project. Students would not learn how to find information for themselves. 

Permalink Reply by Todd Goldie on February 24, 2014 at 7:28pm

I liked the idea of kids discovering with their imagination.  Some kids can learn from reading others need to learn by discovering.  Those are the kids with the imagination to invent the technology that will be used to transform the classroom for the next generation. 

Permalink Reply by james weeks on February 22, 2014 at 3:59pm

I believe now more then ever teachers need to change up what they do periodically. With rapid changes in technology and what is available there are always new ways to improve our craft. In addition, with the recent changes in curriculum and standards teachers have to look closely at what and how they are teaching. If we stand still to long we will not only be left behind but so will our students. 

Permalink Reply by Sharon O'Neill on February 22, 2014 at 6:50pm

I think these are all great ideas. I love the idea of letting the students make a plan for learning something. I think the ideas they would come up with would be surprising.  The tough part would be hard feelings by those whose ideas you couldn't use.  I try to give my students input whenever possible and this sometimes becomes a problem. But I think I am going to give this a try, especially for my over achieving students who need to be challenged. 

We are trying to incorporate the Responsive Classroom ideas into our classrooms. This goes hand in hand with ideas 3-5.  We have a Morning Meeting and share whats going on, these would be some great things to include.

I am not so sure that I think these are new ideas for teaching in 2014.  I think many great teachers have incorporated these ideas in some way in the past. But the pressure of testing and pacing guides have seen them disappear, just like celebrating holidays and birthdays and teachable moments in general.  

Permalink Reply by Laura Bossert on February 23, 2014 at 9:47am

I really like these resolutions you listed from the article. I think one of the toughest things is going "outside the box" with technology. There are so many different responsibilities placed on the teacher and trying to experiment is just too much sometimes. But through these different resolutions, we can really increase the engagement of our students. It is important for them to see that we are always learning about technology and through technology. They can also see that technology can be an incredible way to learn, not just play games. I think the hardest resolution here is consistently try new approaches. I am very interested in technology and use it as much as I can in the classroom, but teaching a different way sounds a bit intimidating. I enjoyed learning about the flipped classroom model in a previous class, but it takes careful planning to work out all the kinks. However, trying never hurt anyone!

Permalink Reply by Sharon O'Neill on February 22, 2014 at 4:44pm

http://www.teachthought.com/teaching/how-should-your-classrom-look-...

     I started with "20 Tips for a More Organized Classroom" but found that it just listed what I already knew. Like many "how to's..." It told me what I needed to do and why I needed to do it but not "how do I make it happen" or "how to get started or motivated". However, that post led me to a post about "How Should Your Classroom Look", which had some good ideas:

1. Decide what you value and let that determine what your classroom should look like. For example; do you favor an environment that supports "neat, tidy, and organized", or "teamwork, relationships and community"?
2. Imagine you can create a room with an unlimited budget. A space that will encourage creativity and learning.  What would that look like? What words would you use to describe it? How can I make this happen?
3. Any poster left up for more than 2 weeks is no longer noticed by the students. (I didn't know this and found it interesting)
4. Create a place you and your students enjoy being and that inspires you both.

 I struggle with creating a comfortable environment and keeping it all organized and neat. I am always looking for help to make this happen. I like these ideas.  I usually start with, "this is what I have, what can I do with it," instead of, "this is what I want my room to look and feel like, how can I create it,". I'm not sure about making drastic changes this year, but I am starting to plan for next year and trying out a few subtle changes.

As far as keeping up with technology trends, I have found many great links that I can add to an RSS feed, which I hope will keep me from getting overwhelmed.

Permalink Reply by Rob Sample on February 23, 2014 at 8:22pm

I really like this approach.  I inherited an art classroom 7 years ago, and I am still finding things that I didn't know about.  I really like point 3, I have a steady supply of artwork that I post in the room and in the hallways, but I have a tendency to leave the work up for about a month at a time.  I'll have to see if I can get on a more routine and revolving cycle in the two week range, and then look for any increased interest by the students.  This can be tricky, as there is a tendency to leave the really good pieces up for as long as possible.

Permalink Reply by Todd Goldie on February 22, 2014 at 8:40pm

http://www.teachthought.com/technology/10-roles-for-artificial-inte...

I picked the article “10 Roles For Artificial Intelligence In Education”.  I used to follow AI when it was making its original breakthroughs over 30 years ago back when I was in high school.

The article identified how AI will provide benefits for customizing teaching for the student or the teacher.  This is largely done through grading.  The article seemed to reflect what would happen if AI is used by a teacher.  An aspect of the customization not elaborated on in the article is the impact if one AI system is used for an entire school district.  It can compare a student’s performance across all of his (her) classes and all previous years.  It could alert a teacher if a student is doing well in all classes except for their class.  If a student tends to let performance slide seasonally trend, AI could alert the teachers in advance and provide suggestions to maintain performance. 

Outside of education, AI is used to make complex decisions, handle high volumes of routine tasks, or react faster than human interaction possible could.  If AI handles the grading for the teacher, the workload is will not go down; something else will fill the time.  Besides grading, AI can provide analysis and make suggestions, but the response time required can wait for the human interaction.  It comes down to the human interaction which is teaching.

Permalink Reply by Rob Sample on February 23, 2014 at 8:28pm

Interesting.  I especially like the idea of the AI handling all of the analysis and collation of data that is generated by the students.  I don't know if I agree with the notion of letting the AI grade the work, but it would certainly be nice to have an integrated program/intelligence that could provide all of the information for a student tracking all the way back to elementary school.  Delaware is already universally using Eschoolplus, but I often feel that it's capabilities in this aspect are severely limited.  I also know that we have other programs available to us, as educators, that provide these services - but I find them incredibly cumbersome to use on any kind of regular basis.  Having an artificial intelligence "help" with the paperwork would be something that I would most certainly advocate for.

Permalink Reply by Rob Sample on February 23, 2014 at 7:47pm

I chose the article "Why you should be tagging your curriculum"

http://www.teachthought.com/technology/why-you-should-be-tagging-yo...

It was refreshing to read an article that, perhaps selfishly, focused on adding some efficiency to the daily grind of teaching, and specifically centered on a task that only applies to "behind-the-scenes" work as opposed to something for use in class.  I enjoyed the author's witty, and sometimes snarky, tone in conveying the benefits of tagging various files that have been created in the service of the classroom.  

In quick review, tagging refers to labeling data with a keyword to make it more easily accessible through search functions.  The author points out that by coming up with specific tags, outside of "lesson", "unit", "test", etc. teachers are able to quickly group and find relevant material that they have created.  Four clear benefits are outlined as the following:

Organization - now less important because files can be easily searched.

Filtering - files can be searched by broad or specific concept.

Visibility - strong and weak spots in curricula become apparent.

Collaboration - again, others may easily search your work.

The author also offers specific advice on how to incorporate tagging in several commonly used apps.  I found this article especially useful, as I have been teaching for seven years, I do not use a textbook, and have created almost all of my material.  This being the case, I have a lot of files, in a lot of different places, and I have always struggled with an effective way to organize them.  Organizing by year does not always make sense, as I use units many times over the years, nor does organizing by class level - sometimes I shift a project up or down depending on my students' experience and capabilities.  More often than not, I end up dumping everything into one large "Art Ed" folder and then utilizing the search function on my computer anyway.  Tagging provides me with an extra edge in collating my materials and grouping them in efficient ways that do not rely upon the two previously mentioned points.

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