Edmodo and Me!

Edmodo is a wonderful education tool that when used opens the lines of communication to everyone.  Teachers can send out assignments, students can clarify those assignments with teachers, students can interact with other students.  Edmodo can be used from any smart phone or tablet.  Teachers, imagine being able to create and assign projects from your kid's soccer practice.  Students, imagine turning in those assignments from the food court at the mall.  Parents, see the communication your child is having with his or her teacher.  Teachers, imagine grading assignments in line at the DPS.  Students, imagine getting notices of A+ work on your cell phone.  Parents, see the communication your child is having with their classmates.  Open up the lines of communication.  Use Edmodo.

An interview with my favorite teacher...me.

As my first assignment for my EDLD 5362 Information Systems Management course I was asked to interview a teacher who has been teaching for 20 years.  The purpose of the interview would be to gain perspective on how the teaching profession has changed from implementation of the internet in schools.  My school district is a year round district and the past two weeks we have been on intersession meaning this wasn’t the best week to interview a colleague.  But because I have taught in schools in which the technology was not up to date and schools that are on the cutting edge of technology I can give some perspective on the difference between pre internet teaching and post internet teaching.

The first four years of my teaching career were done at parochial schools here in El Paso, Texas.  There are many benefits to sending your children to a parochial school. Unfortunately technology is not one of those reasons.  The two parochial schools that I taught in during those four years were housed in buildings that were a combined 100 years old. No classrooms were wired for internet and the computer labs were filled with donated and outdated computers. 

The teaching practices that I was broken in with at these schools included the handing out of lesson plan books and grade books being handed out at the beginning of the school year.  Students were assigned books and asked to read the section and answer the questions at the end of the chapter.  Lectures were given as I wrote notes on a chalk board (I can’t tell you how many neckties I ruined).   I created tests on my home computer and printed them out on my personal printer.  I would take roll and write down absent students’ names on a piece of paper and clip it to the outside of my door.   I discovered TEKS five months into school when they were handed to me in a 3” 3 ring binder. 

Instructional strategies were given during district wide seminars.  The seminars were normally split between instructional strategies and religious growth and development of students.  The students that I taught were from mostly lower income families who sacrificed many things to ensure their children had a catholic school education.  I would venture out and say that 70% of their homes did not have the internet.  Many of my students entertained themselves at lunch by playing marbles or tops. During my fours years at the parochial schools I was unaware of any research and learning theories that were in place in 2001.  This extent of my knowledge came from a Harry Wong book. This was not something that was high on the priority list.

In 2007, after earning my teaching certificate, I joined the staff at John Drugan School.  Drugan is a public K-8 school in one of the fastest growing districts in Texas.  Drugan’s doors had only been open two years and it was one of the most technologically up to date schools in the city.  Every classroom had a white board and projector in place.  The first time I met the staff at Drugan they were in one of three computer labs in the school.  They were all receiving training on how to update their page on the school’s website.  I received a class set of books to be used as reference to support the PowerPoint lectures that I had created during my last two years at the parochial schools.  My first day I was assigned a user name and password to access my online grade book and online attendance.  I was given a lesson plan template created on Excel and was asked to make sure I have lesson plans emailed to the principal by 3:15 on Fridays.  I received the itinerary for inservice week via email and signed my contract electronically.  I was taught how to call in sick days via the internet, look up student information via internet, and how to make my seating charts via internet.

During my six years in the public schools our monthly faculty meetings normally consist of teaching theory and practices portion followed by a technology portion.  Substitutes are called in so we can be trained on the latest online educational software the district has decided to invest in.  We are expected to spend time every summer attending seminars that will improve our teaching skills and to keep us up to date with the latest education theories. 

I teach using PowerPoint and I feel those days are numbered.  Students have to be entertained while they are learning.  Classrooms are now student centered as opposed to teacher centered.  I have to create lessons that will not only teach the required TEKS but that will also capture the students’ attention.  I access those TEKS via a website and it tells me how many days I should be spending on this topic. . I allow the students to use two thousand dollar lap tops to access the internet wirelessly to do research for presentations they will be giving to their classmates. I assign group assignments.  I have students email me assignments and I have even created “classrooms” on education social media sites.   I teach, reteach and then rereteach every topic I am expected to cover.  Students see information in at least three different ways.  I teach to the visual, auditory, kinetic, and even the olfactory learners.  I don’t assign worksheets unless I am absent (which is rare). And I do this all before the late April deadline where we all get to show off how well we performed our roles during the course of the year.

During the week I also spoke with a 20 year school secretary veteran.  I asked her how her job has changed since the internet has become a part of the education system.  She said there is much less paper that she deals with.  Communication has sped up and is better documented.  She does admit as much help as the internet has brought to her job there is always that feeling that we are helpless if the internet is not available,  a feeling that I know all too well.

The internet now plays a large role in today's educational system.  There is a model of technology use in the classroom in which a teacher goes from becoming familiar with technology to using the technology to integrating it into the classroom. (Hooper & Rieber 1995) I would think that many teachers need to be at this point in order to expect any success.  The model has two more levels which are used by teachers of the future.  The next two steps are to reorient the technology to fit the needs of the students and then finally to make the technology grow and evolve into something else.

According to Ronald Berks' paper and lecture No Teachers Left Behind, most teachers in the classroom today can be classified as Gen Xers (born between 1961 and 1981)(Berk 2009).  He describes our students as Net Geners.  He suggests that we take an Avatar  (tall blue aliens not bald headed element bender) approach and do some reconnaissance on students and find out what makes them tick.  Then we can use technology to hone into pathways that will most likely lead to the flash drive in their brains.

 

20 years ago teachers needed a strong pedagogy and content knowledge background.  Now not only do you need the pedagogy and the content knowledge but a strong technology background is  necessary to be a teacher.(Wallace 2004). The fact of the matter is that technology is hear.  Fearing it is useless and could be detrimental to your educational career.  Embracing the technology and showing no fear though you walk into the Silicon valley of darkness, hand in hand with your students is without a doubt the path to success.

 

 

 

Berk, R. (2009). No teacher left behind. Teaching strategies for the net generation.http://www.pearsonassessments.com/hai/images/NES_Publications/2011_09Berk.pdf

Hooper, S., & Rieber, L. P. (1995). Teaching with technology. In A. C. Ornstein (Ed.), Teaching: Theory into practice, (pp. 154-170). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn and Bacon.

Wallace, R.A Framework for Understanding Teaching With the Internet.American Educational Research Journal.  https://www.msu.edu/~mccrory/_pubs/McCroryWallaceAERJ04.pdf

 

Teaching with Technology Reflections

Week V in Review

This entire course has inspired me to incorporate more technology into my class.  I was too scared to jump in feet first, so I experimented with my Pre Advanced Placement class.  I started an Edmodo site and invited my students to join.  The idea is that we can use Edmodo (which is now being referred to as Nerd Facebook) as a medium to post and critique videos the students will be creating next 9 weeks demonstrating Newton's 3 Laws of Motion.  By using Edmodo I hope to avoid the long process of showing videos in class.  I will also follow the format used by Lamar, and I will have the students comment on their classmates videos on Edmodo.   I also plan on flipping my class for a unit on Physics calculations.  I will be creating a series of lectures using "Show Me" on the iPad  showing the students how I want them to solve certain problems.  They will be responsible for watching the lecture at home and then they come into class and do their "homework" using what they learned the previous evening.   I know that I have a long way to go to improve the technology in my class room, but I am taking baby steps in the right direction.  With the help of my students I do believe the options are limitless.  The main limits will be whether or not the students have access at home.  Fingers crossed.

Universal Design Lessons

After three weeks of discussing and now working on the creation of a Universal Designed Lesson I absolutely see the benefits of this type of design.  It does a great job of making the class student centered and it is easily integrated with technology.  I think that in order to catch and maintain today's student's attention different methods must be used and they and this design could make it easier for a teacher to do so.  I do think that if a student is able to see different methods of teaching they are able to make adjustments to the different techniques.  The major benefit for the student in seeing this and other teaching methods is that they can determine what works for them and really take the learning into their own hands.  I am concerned that students will begin to think that every teacher they encounter should be as entertaining as a teacher that uses this type of design.  There should be a balance in the classroom.  There should be a little bit of creativity. There should be a little of desk work.  There should be a little bit of lecture and there should be a little of desk work.  Finally in today's standardized testing era a student always needs practice taking multiple choice tests.  Maintaining the balance between these methods is in my opinion the best way to motivate and engage students.

Frank's The Outsiders Science Lesson Plan

As part of the unit lesson using the S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders I created a science lesson to have the students take a look at the effects of smoking.  All the major characters in the book are young smokers and we wanted to ensure the students understand the effects on the health of these characters.  Here is the lesson:

Frank's Lesson Plan

The Effects of Smoking on Teenagers Lesson Overview Title: The Effects of Smoking on Teenagers Author: Frank McDonald Subject: Science Grade Level(s): 6–8 Duration: 5 days Unit Description                This section would be part of a grade level study on the book The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton.  Students will be expected to create a presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi describing the long term effects and the short term effects of smoking on teenagers.           Lesson Description for Day Students will be divided into four groups.  Each group will be responsible for creating a presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi.  Each group will receive a topic in which to cover in their presentation; 1)Short Term Effects of smoking. 2)Long Term Effects of smoking. 3)Methods of quitting smoking. 4)Methods of prevention of smoking. Each group will create the presentation, present the presentation and provide an assignment that will allow students to practice their newly gained knowledge.  Each group will also be responsible for creating a 3 question quiz which will be given to the class as a formative assessment.             State Standards          TEKS 6th (5)  Health behaviors. The student engages in behaviors that reduce health risks throughout the life span. The student is expected to: (C)  Describe chemical dependency and addiction to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs and substances. (D)  explain the relationship between tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and other substances and the role these items play in unsafe situations such as drinking and driving and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV)/Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD) transmission; (E)  identify ways to prevent the use of tobacco, alcohol, drugs, and other substances such as alternative activities; TEKS 7th & 8th(5)  Health behaviors. The student engages in behaviors that reduce health risks throughout the life span. The student is expected to: (J)  identify ways to prevent the use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs such as alternative activities;                  Goals Unit Goals: To read, comprehend, interpret, and analyze S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders using Universal Design Lessons.   Lesson Goals: To understand the short term effects of smoking on teenagers. To understand the long term effects of smoking on teenagers. To understand methods of prevention of smoking. To understand methods of quitting smoking. To create a presentation using PowerPoint or Prezi.   Methods Anticipatory Set: Students are to read S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders.  Student's will have had to have worked with PowerPoint or Prezi, along with technology basics such as saving work, accessing files, etc.                 Students are to read S.E. Hinton's <em>The Outsiders</em>.  Student's will have had to have worked with PowerPoint or Prezi, along with technology basics such as saving work, accessing files, etc.     Introduce and Model New Knowledge:   Student will be asked if anyone they know smokes and if they have ever been asked if they want to smoke.  Provide Independent Practice: Individual practice will be an assignment pertaining to the topic being covered by each group.  Each group will be responsible for including an assignment to go with their presentation.        Wrap-Up Review of long and short term effects. Review of methods of quitting and more importantly methods of prevention of smoking.                      Assessment Formative/Ongoing Assessment: Students will create a 3 question quiz as part of their presentation.                                                       Summative/End Of Lesson Assessment: Multiple choice test as created by Eduphoria.   When I give students assignments like this I like to tell them that I am tired of teaching and I want them to take over.  The amount of pride they take in their work is incredible and I normally have to be very clear on the amount of information that is included in the presentations.  I give them enough guidance to keep them from overwhelming their classmates with data.  I will normally have to edit the quizzes as well.  A lot of times the quiz questions are more specific than needed.  I will remind the students of their goals for the presentation.

Technology and self-esteem

"Significant gains in self-esteem were reported in a study conducted by Ryser (1990) in which computers were introduced into an experimental elementary school. A control group using traditional instruction methods in this same study reported no such gains."

 

It is my belief that once you have established confidence in a subject that a student will now be willing to invest the time to become better.  If technology can help increase that confidence, then it is well worth the effort of the educator to implement computer use in the classroom.

 

I do believe the programs that are used are very important to help build that confidence.  Programs that I have seen and used in my classroom follow a video game like format. The student acts as a character in the game and has to accomplish a set of tasks.  Progress is tracked as the student  navigates his or her way through some educational world.  Student is given information through video and that information is then used by the student to move through different levels.  Immediate feedback is provided given the student a chance to correct any mistakes or misconceptions. 

 

My 6 year old son's school subscribes him to IXL, a math website, and ReadingEggs, a reading website.  My son's class will go the compute lab and they will have an opportunity to work on these sites to improve their math and reading skills.  We can also use these sites to at home in order to build and reinforce lessons from school.  We used these sites this summer to help maintain concepts he learned during his Kindergarten year and to help prepare for his 1st grade year.  He could easily stay on these websites for hours, but we kept it to set time to insure boredom didn't become a factor.  He absolutely has a blast with the technology and he is learning at the same time.  Thus far he has shown that he loves the sites and he loves to learn and that should be the goal of any educational tool and educator.

 

 

What I learned in the 1st week of EDLD 5364.

During the first week of EDLD 5364 I have reconfirmed the type of teacher that I am and the type of teacher I want to become.  Although my classroom is set up in a very traditional manner in which all the students' desks are facing the front and they write notes as I lecture there is a very strong constructivist flavor.  I find ways to relate the information to things that hold my students' interests.  I am okay with having the students' help me build lessons and I ask how they would like to be able to show me they grasp the content.  We create projects that allow students' to both show they understand the information and to be creative in the process.  We don't read from the text and we don't answer the questions at the end of the section.  We do create foldables, they do have to link new concepts to prior knowledge, and most importantly we have fun while we are learning.

 

Probably the most important thing I have learned is that I need to start saving my money so I can become a cyborg.  I have a hard time not having the latest model of a cell phone.  I need to make sure that I catch this next technology wave.