5.2 Activity- Organizing Data

   The data sheet I created is meant to show which students are struggling with particular problems under a particular math standard.  The way I color coded it was so that the questions the students got right or wrong would pop so that the teacher could easily tell which standards students were struggling with the most, plus the standards that individual students may be struggling with.  It's much easier for me to read tables and charts when they're color coded, so I thought that would help others as well.  The standards are across the top of the table in orange, the correct answers right below in yellow, the list of students down the left side of the spreadsheet in light blue, true answers in blue, and false answers in red.  The students answers are also colored the same blue as their names.

Click here to view my data sheet.

   I would advise the teacher to look through the data and make some notes on which standards or questions the majority of students had trouble with.  Then I would advise that he or she look at the individual students also to compare their wrong answers to the majority of what the class got wrong.  The teacher could easily find which questions need to be gone over again and then decide which standards need to be re-taught and which standards have been taught thoroughly. I would think that the teacher would have a better idea of where they need to take their lessons in the future and who may need a little extra attention along the way.  I think that providing teachers with tables like this on a consistent basis would be extremely beneficial to students because it would cater to their needs much better than just guessing from their grades.

4.2 Presentation

Here is the Prezi I created that is intended to help teachers understand why technology is important to incorporate into the curriculum.  I have also included several links to articles that explain the importance of technology in education today and some websites that list some great tech tools for teachers to use.  I had trouble embedding the actual video into my blog, so I created a link.  Enjoy!!

Discussion 4.1- Building Relationships

   One thing that I have always believed and will continue to believe is that you have to build some sort of a relationship with the people you work with, whether that be other teachers or students.  I would say that this is the key to get the ball rolling when it comes to collaboration.  I also think that attitude is another key factor in being able to accomplish great things with either another individual or a group.  With that being said, I think that a great strategy to use in order to build relationships with other teachers is to stay positive and make sure they know that they have support and they are able to call on you at any time.  If teachers feel that they can come to you whenever they need help, they are much more likely to cooperate and be patient when things don't work.  I can honestly say that I have a tendency to lean toward the negative side of things and I recognize that, so I try very hard to find the positives.  If I understand that about myself and I see that another teacher is struggling to see the positives in a new piece of technology they are using, I can easily relate and show them the positives and how to stay calm even when they are rattled.  I have tried this strategy within different groups of teachers I've worked with and it worked pretty well and allowed us to push forward and make progress.  I've also been in groups where I was the negative catalyst that caused the group to work sluggishly and quit before we even tried.  Attitude and can make or break the collaborative process.

   A strategy that I believe has not worked out well is putting teachers with only their grade levels and not allowing them to work with any other grade level or special class teacher.  I think that this strategy can be used for some things, but if the same group of people are always together, then when they collaborate, it's the same types of ideas being tossed around.  However, if teachers are all mixed up, then they can bounce new ideas off of each other and maybe see some neat things that others are doing.  It makes me sad when teachers stay within their cliques and never really share ideas with others.  We're all capable of incorporating new ideas into our classrooms, but until we actually sit down with others who aren't on our hall or teaching the same subject, we won't realize what all is out there.  This happens all to often during staff development and I hope to see it change in the future because there is so much we can learn from each other.  When I think about technology and how much needs to be done to help teachers embrace it, it scares me that these cliques may not be open to change and will continue to do what they've always done.      

3.1 Discussion- Collaboration Scenarios

Scenario 1:

Upon walking into the classroom of a new eighth grade English 

language arts (ELA) teacher, the teacher informs you that she will be teaching a 

lesson on fate versus free will the following week. She plans on using excerpts from 

Oedipus Rex and Dante’s Inferno. She has not put the lesson plan together yet but 

intends to have the students present examples from the readings to support their 

case through a persuasive essay.

I've always enjoyed English and I remember being frustrated when doing projects because I wanted to do more.  With all of the advances in technology, even since I was in high school, there are so many cool ways to create English projects.  My idea for this particular lesson was to allow students to present their examples either independently or as a group.  Students will make a video using either animoto, goanimate, or a flip camera and actually record themselves.  After they've finished their work they can use AirDrop to turn in their assignment using an iPad or other apple device.  The great thing about AirDrop is that is allows students to have the freedom to do this project anywhere and send it in whenever they're done (unless they need an iPad).  The cool thing about it is that is doesn't need WiFi and doesn't require apple devices to actually touch in order to send information.  This is a quick and easy way to keep up with things people send to you and it's great if a student has no WiFi at home or is out of range.  I think that giving the students different choices in how to approach this project would help them to be creative and enjoy the process more than if they were forced to do it one way.  

Scenario 2:

 A high school science teacher is presenting a unit on astronomy, 

specifically on how Polaris is no longer the central point of the northern sky. The 

teacher is confident that he can teach it out of a book but is anxious to give the 

students a better experience from the lesson. He is hoping that the technology 

integration specialist will be able to help make a more authentic study for the 

students. 

I had trouble with this scenario at first, but I think that the app called Star Walk would make this lesson really cool for students.  Star Walk allows you to look at constellations, planets, moons, etc. and I think the coolest thing about it is the fact that the graphics are 3D and can be manipulated easily.  The second website was through McGraw-Hill and I like the many links students can go to depending on what they'd like to do or what they're studying at the time.  There's a link that let's you play with equations for the evolution of the universe and let's you see how the universe can change along with all the stars and planets in it.  I think this would help students get a better grasp of why Polaris is not the central point anymore.   

Scenario 3:

In a fourth grade social studies class, the class is discussing the 

role of landscape and surroundings on early natives—what type of food they ate, the 

type of dwellings they built, and of course defensive systems or escape routes. Many 

of the students have never traveled out of their own state and are not familiar with 

alternate surroundings. The social studies teacher has requested that the technology 

integrator help her create a new lesson. 

This lesson really appeals to me and I enjoy watching kids get to see places they've never been introduced to before.  GoogleEarth is a great tool that allows anyone to zoom in to a particular place in the world and see exactly what it looks like right now.  Students could easily visualize what things would have been like for the Native Americans with this website.  Another tool I've used before in class is Arounder, which let's you view pictures from all over the world and while viewing them you can drag your mouse and get a complete view of what's around you in the picture.  My students absolutely love this website!  The last website I came across was from the History Channel and there are some great videos students could watch as well as physical descriptions of each part of the United States as it was before the Europeans came over.  I think each of these would greatly enrich student learning.    

Scenario 4:

According to the math teacher, math is everywhere. The teacher is 

concentrating on a geometry unit discussing area and volume. The teacher is hoping 

to have the students design a home consisting of 1500 square feet of living space 

with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a family room, and a kitchen. A playroom or 

dining room are nice to have but are not needed. In the past, the teacher has asked 

the students to draw it out with paper and pencil; however, this proved to be a poor 

choice for reasons he has not given. The teacher is currently thinking of using craft 

sticks and glue to have the students build models, but this does not fall within the 

budget. The teacher is turning to the technology integrator for help. 

One website I found that could be useful to students is called floor planner and it's free and allows students to draw their own floor plans and design the interiors too.  The second tool I found was sketchup and I think it's really cool because it's in 3D and looks like a lot of fun to use.  I think either of these tools would provide students with something that should make their ideas come to life.  Since the teacher is trying to save money, these are perfect because they're free and don't require any apple devices for use!  

Discussion 2.5- Motivational Strategies for Teachers

   It's hard to know what will get teachers motivated to collaborate with their peers in order to create rich lessons that include technology.  All I can do is look at different resources and think about things that would work well for me.  When I think about integrating technology into my classroom I get overwhelmed because there's so much to be done and I never know where to start.  I know many teachers get overwhelmed when asked to do something extra on top of everything they're already doing so I think a good place to start is by sitting down and sharing concerns and ideas.  A fellow classmate mentioned in a post this week that it's important to build trust in a collaborative group because it opens the pathways of communication and allows everyone to share ideas openly without worrying about being shut down.  I think another great idea is to give teachers a list of different ways to integrate technology so that they can refer to it quickly.  The website "50 Ways to Integrate Technology" is a tool that I've enjoyed looking through and could easily share with teachers (Branch. 2010).

   Another aspect of motivation that could easily be overlooked is how much the students will gain from using technology within the curriculum.  When talking about teacher motivation, Ibrahim Kocabas says it quite well by stating that "Motivation is an extremely complicated and multi-faceted subject.  However, meeting people's needs plays a very important role in their motivation" (Kocabas. 2009.).  I think this explains teachers quite well because I haven't met a teacher who doesn't want to try and meet the needs of their students.  If teachers know that students will make great gains by using technology, they are more likely to stay focused on learning how to incorporate it and be patient as they learn because they know the ultimate goal.  I am much more likely to actually complete a plan if I know where I need to go with it.
   
   The last thing that I think would be great motivation for teachers is having help planning out the lessons that will incorporate technology.  They can do this with the help of a technology integrator within their school or district or they can find resources online.  The website teAchnology shows a step-by-step process that makes it much easier to figure out how to get technology into the classroom.  I believe that starting out small is the key to starting the process because trying to integrate technology all at once will drive anybody crazy.  I can't imagine asking a teacher to take all their lessons and put technology in every single one of them before they teach them.  I think it takes some playing around with ideas, and if teachers will sit down together with a template to look at for incorporating technology, they will start to throw ideas around and tweak lessons to fit their teaching styles and personalities.  Trust has to be a big part of collaboration, but I think that reminding each other that we do want to meet the needs of students can help to break the ice and get everyone on the same page to work toward a mutual trust and respect for one another.

Resources:

Branch, J. 2010. 50 Ways to Integrate Technology. 50 Ways to Integrate Technology in Your Classroom Tomorrow. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/anchortechnologytomorrow/home/50-ways-to-anchor-technology

Kocabas, I. 2009. The Effects of Sources of Motivation of Teachers' Motivation Levels. Education 129.4. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/docview/196408121

Teachnology Inc. 2012. What to Consider When Writing a Lesson Plan. Retrieve from http://www.teach-nology.com/tutorials/teaching/lesson_plan/

Discussion 2.2- Conrad Wolfram

   I am not mathematically minded, so when I started watching Conrad Wolfram talk about math I wasn't very excited until I realized what he was suggesting.  This idea of using computers to help students get to a deeper level in a subject and grasp real world ideas while achieving higher level thinking is actually quite brilliant.  I believe that what Wolfram was suggesting is to let computers do more of the computation for math problems so that students can dig deeper into the meat of the subject and learn how to be practical when it comes to doing problems by hand.  Like Wolfram said, it's okay that students are learning how to compute by hand, but we're spending so much time on that, that we're missing out on some great stuff that comes after the tedious stuff that computers can knock out quickly.   Even though he talks about math, I can see how his message can apply to other subjects because what the computer is really doing is the work that is tedious so that students can begin to go much deeper into a subject.  I also think that computers are a great tool to help students get to where we want them to be and don't "dumb down" material if they are used to catapult us somewhere else.  

   If I were to take this idea and present it to teachers I would probably ask them why they teach the subject they do.  I would also want to know their personal thoughts about using computers as a tool to get students thinking in more complex ways. I would hope that they could see the value in letting computers do some of the work that we try to get kids to learn all year long.  One thing that Wolfram said that I really like is that this will get kids to "start asking real questions" (Wolfram. 2010).  That seems to be the point, right?  If we're not allowing kids to dig deeper because we're teaching them tedious things that computers can accomplish then are we really helping them?  In order to lay down a foundation of collaboration I might point out to teachers that using technology doesn't mean that kids aren't as smart or that it's cheating, but that technology has improved our way of life and can be used to advance our society.  That's how all technology begins quite honestly, and even if there are some opposed to it, they have to admit that computers aren't going anywhere.  Instead of resisting it, we need to try and find better ways to use it so that we can push past what we've been doing for years just because it's comfortable to us.  

References:

Wolfram, C. 2010. TED Talks. Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers. Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/conrad_wolfram_teaching_kids_real_math_with_computers.html

Discussion 2.1- Motivation

   Motivation is different for everyone and I think that is important to keep in mind when trying to help others get motivated about something that may frustrate or confuse them.  Looking through our resources, I was pleasantly surprised to see an article about a teacher in my district who is pushing for a "21st century learning community" and wants there to be technology coaches to help teachers out (Bernard. 2013).  I think this is a fantastic idea that would benefit the entire school because it would give teachers a sense of community and support.  If teachers felt this way I believe they would be much more motivated to integrate technology because their peers are doing it too and sharing ideas constantly.  I also feel that with a technology coach there would be a sense of leadership that would make everyone more at ease because they could just go directly to the coach with any questions or problems they have.

   I think another great motivator is actually showing teachers what the results of working with technology will look like for students and in the classroom.  I'm the type of person who likes to see what I'm working toward so that I have a clear picture in my head of where I need to go with my instruction or research.  I think that if we can see what technology integration looks like, how it benefits student learning, and how it can minimize teacher's workloads, everyone would be more likely to get excited to integrate it into the curriculum.  The last tactic that might work for some is to have teachers pull from past experiences of their own and remember a time that they had to learn something new and overcame the challenges that were presented.  There are times that I have to remind myself that I've had to learn some tough skills, but with patience and perseverance, I eventually learned that skill and it became part of my tool box, so to speak.  Once you get through the hardest part, things get easier and it becomes almost second-nature to you.  I have to keep that in mind when we use new tools in our classes through SNHU, because I get nervous about things I've never used before.  :-)

References:

Bernard, S.  2013.  Collaborative Crusader:  Creating a Twenty-First-Century Learning Community for Teachers.  Edutopia.  Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/collaboration-age-technology-lisa-huff