Crazy Busy in the Best Way Possible

Happy Valentine's Day!!! It's been over a month since my last post and today is the first day I've had time to sit down and blog. *Sigh* I have been very busy with student teaching, life, and landing my FIRST JOB!

I've known for awhile that I had a job, but last week found out what grade level and building. Beginning in August, I will be teaching 1st grade at Butler Elementary in Fort Dodge, IA, my hometown. I have heard wonderful things about the Butler staff and I cannot wait to become a part of it. I will be meeting my team over spring break and pick out my classroom for next year. It is all very surreal. I can't wait for next year, but right now, my focus needs to be student teaching.

The 2nd graders keep me busy and on my toes - I love seeing them every day. I am finally full time teaching and it is fabulous. It makes me so excited for my own classroom next year. I've been able to get to know each of them, which has been very rewarding. They make my heart happy. Only 3 weeks left with them; I don't like thinking about having to leave.

We have doing a lot of things, but my favorite project we've been working on in 2nd grade is our blog. We have been using KidBlog to publish our writing to express our opinion. This writing unit began by introducing opinion writing and what that should include. We used an OREO to help us remember.

O - state your Opinion
R - back it up with Reasons
E - provide Examples
O - and restate your Opinion

Next, I introduced the blog. This lesson was a bit of a nightmare, yet a success all at once. I went home that day mentally exhausted. Of course, with technology, you have to be patient and know that something will always go wrong. It was a process to familiarize the kids with it - they had lots of questions, but their engagement and excitement level was through the roof.

The next lesson, however, was a breeze compared to the first! They had a better understanding and the initial craziness of a new app had subsided. They still had questions, but they didn't bombard my brain like last time. They published their first post - an about me post - including 3 facts about themselves. 22 second graders sat quietly at their desks without a single reminder, while writing. SUCCESS!!!!!!

I learned an important lesson during these first lessons; trying new things requires you to take a leap of faith, but the jump is SO worth it. We have had great discussions about digital citizenship, proper use, and purpose of our blog. We are all learning as we go; learning new things each day.

The students have been able to publish a few opinion writing pieces, comment on peer's posts with editing advice or their thoughts, and write to an audience which provides great purpose to their writing. It makes writing much more appealing to them.

Our next project is a book review. It has many components, but I am very excited to try it out. Here's a breakdown of the plan:

• Students pick a book
• Students brainstorm on paper 
• Students write a draft on paper
• Students revise and edit
• Students get their final draft approved by the teacher
• Students post their book review on the blog
• Students read their book review and are recorded
• Videos are posted to YouTube 
• QR codes are created for each YouTube video
• QR codes are placed on the books in the library
• Students can scan the QR codes to listen to their peer's opinion and recommendations about books in their classroom library

This will be my first time doing anything like this, but as my cooperating teacher says, "This is your time to try new things!" Very true. I'll never know unless I try.

Realistically, it will probably be awhile again until I am able to blog due to the craziness of life, but hopefully next time I'll have a successful book review project to discuss!!

Final thoughts

People have always told me that time flies as you get older, and man, they weren't kidding! I can't believe this semester is almost over. As I reflect back on this semester and the knowledge I've gained through my technology class, CI 302, I am happy with how far I've come. I have learned so many tools and ways to incorporate technology into my classroom someday. The biggest take away for me is pushing myself to redefine teaching and learning with technology, not just substitute old ways with new ways. That is something that had never been brought to my attention before this class and I think it's really important to consider.

The learning that has happened through this class matters because it pushed me beyond my limits. It challenged my thinking and opened my eyes to technology I wasn't familiar with. I learned from my peers and was also able to teach them what I knew. More than just learning about tools and gadgets, I learned how to be a better educator; connecting with others using technological tools to gain insight and ideas. This is only the beginning, and I look to grow more in the future.

As a future teacher, I think this class helped me realize that I will never be a master at technology. There is always someone else who knows more, and as a teacher, it is my job to find and connect with that person to share knowledge and grow. I also have so many more goals for myself now, not just my students. I want to participate in twitter chats, continue blogging to share ideas and reflect, and connect with educators across the world. These are things that weren't a priority of mine until this class.

To my teacher, Jamie Fath:
Thank you for a great semester. I truly learned a lot and appreciate you taking the time to teach us. To help you become a better educator, I will provide "one glow, one grow" as feedback (one thing that went well and one thing to work on). My glow would be how you let us teach each other. We were able to share the resources and tools that we know about and teach it to our peers. This is how the real world of teaching will be and it was really nice to see that in our class. My grow would be to enhance our blogging experience. It is hard to keep up with everyone's blogs because we had a large class. I think it would be beneficial to group students and then each group can follow, comment, and keep up with only their group's blogs. This would be less overwhelming than the entire class and allow us to practice interacting through blogs.

In conclusion, I am sad to see this class end, but I am excited to continue moving closer to student teaching and my future classroom. I look forward to growing and learning more about being an educator in the future.

Writing a Grant

In my technology class, we had to apply to a fake grant as a group. I worked with two of my peers as a '3rd grade team' at a K-5 building. We applied for 60 iPads to be used in the 3rd grade as a trial for eventual full implementation of iPads in K-5.

I learned a lot through this process. I had never even considered applying for grants, and didn't know that it was something teachers did. It was empowering to know that we have the ability to make a change in our school environment. I think it is a great way for teachers to get what they want and make something happen. This assignment also showed me how easy grant writing can be. I am by no means an expert, yet I successfully wrote and submitted a grant!

During the grant writing process, the biggest struggle my group encountered was getting everything we needed to say into 5 pages. The grant proposal called for no more than that. We wanted to sell our case and show that we deserved these iPads, while being concise and getting our point across efficiently. It was a challenge because we had to decide what was a priority to write about and what could be left out.

As I begin to think about the future and myself as a teacher, I think grant writing is something I will try to do. During my first few years of teaching, it will not be my main concern. However, once I have a secure job and see myself at that school for a long period of time, I think it would be great to take a look at the school and its needs and make it happen. I look forward to seeing what my future brings!

Technology Interviews

For my technology class, my teacher interviewed a teacher librarian, a technology coordinator, 1:1 teachers, a technology integrationist, and an AEA staff member. She posted videos of the interviews and we were to watch them all.

My goal is to be a teacher will technology in my classroom, so the role I found most interesting was the 1:1 teachers. One of them was in her 1st year of teaching so it was really cool to see how she was adjusting to a new classroom and a new technology tool. They gave great advice that I will take with my in the future.

• Take baby steps with technology
• Don't be afraid to try something new
• Ask questions
• Find technology to support your outcomes, not outcomes that support the technology
• Consider room set-up to manage classroom

After watching all 5 interviews, there were many similarities to the information discussed. I saw 2 major themes throughout all the interviews: don't be afraid of the technology and technology is not all that matters. 

Hearing from 5 different perspectives that it is important to try new things and be willing to fail was very comforting. As a new teacher, it is nerve-racking enough to plan a lesson that will go well - let alone one with technology. It is nice to hear from so many different perspectives that failing is okay. I think that is a great outlook to have when it comes to using technology, because failure will happen, but you just have to learn from your mistakes and fix them for next time.

Technology is not all that matters is very interesting to hear from people whose jobs center around technology, but I totally agree and see where they're coming from! Technology is amazing; it's a game-changer in the best way possible, but student learning is still more important. Technology may be a great way to reach student understanding, but it is not the only way. One of the 1:1 teachers stated that it is important to find technology to support your outcomes, because then the technology is supplementing your teacher and the students' learning, not just an addition.

I learned a lot from watching each video. I think it was very helpful to see multiple perspectives of people working with technology in schools. Even though I hope to be a 1:1 teacher, it was helpful for me to see the perspective of technology integrationist and coordinators because if I ever need help or have an issue with something, I know have a better understanding of what their jobs look like and realize I'm most likely not the only teacher with a problem. It was also a great professional development opportunity. I connected with educators and now have more people to follow on twitter!

Many of the people interviewed have different tools at their schools: chromebooks, macbooks, iPads, etc. It was interesting to hear why they chose the tools they did and how they are being used in classrooms. It solidified for me that the tool isn't what is important, it's how the teacher uses it to further student learning.

Speed Geeking

In my technology class last night, we spent the majority of the time reviewing many devices and tools very quickly - or as my teacher called it, "Speed Geeking". Through doing this, we learned about 7 different devices and 9 tools in less than an hour.

Devices:

• Acer Chromebook
• Samsung Chromebook
• Lenovo Chromebook
• Nexus 7
• Kindle Fire
• iPad
• Surface tablet

Tools:

• Write About This
• iMovie
• Educreations
• Popplet Life
• Lucid Chart
• WeVideo
• Powtoon
• Padlet
• Educreations

My favorite device: the iPad. My favorite tool: Write About This.

My least favorite device: Chromebook. My least favorite tool: Powtoon.

Strictly my opinion, but let me explain...

I chose those two devices as my favorite and least favorite for many reasons, but I will admit, my early childhood degree sways my opinion on this one. For students PreK-3rd grade, I believe the iPad is the best tool out there and the Chromebook is not appropriate. However, that does not mean I believe the Chromebook is a bad device. I think it is a nice, cheaper option for older students. I believe the iPad is the best tool because it's interface is student friendly, it is easily carried by students, and through the App Store, there are a multitude of tools to further the students' education. I also have the most experience with the iPad - working in an elementary school that is 1-1 I have seen it implemented in classrooms successfully.

Write About This is my favorite tool out of the tools we reviewed. It provides students with writing prompts: photos, a starting sentence, or directions on what to write. I think this is a great tool to use with elementary students. It avoids the response, "But I don't know what to write about!" I did not like the tool Powtoon because I think there are other simpler tools that teachers are more familiar with that do relatively the same thing. There are so many tools out there and as teachers we must decide what's worth spending our time to learn and what is not. In my opinion, Powtoon is not worth spending our time on. It is very similar to Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Presentation with a few "fun" additions.

If I chose a device for my classroom, I would choose an iPad. I would use the iPads for many things, but here are a few examples:

• To hand out assignments virtually
• Conduct spelling tests
• Record students' reading
• Practice math facts and spelling words through game-like apps
• Quickly assess during a lesson
• Daily journal writing assignments for students
• Behavior management
• Conduct running records
• Explore the world with Google Earth
• Communicate with pen pals from across the world

Every device can make a difference in your classroom. It takes time and research to find the best tools within that device to further your students' education, but the extra effort is worth it!

I updated two of my previous blog posts with a more in-depth review of the apps I discussed in them. Check out Live and Learn and Pic Collage to learn more about how you can use Toontastic and Photo Collage in your classroom.

Digital Equipment for the Classroom

For my technology class, I chose to do my Digital Classroom Project on "Digital Equipment for the Classroom." I had to state what kind of hardware and computer access I thought should be available for grades K-12, while backing up my opinion with reasoning and evidence to support.

I chose the topic "Digital Equipment for the Classroom" because I have the most experience with this topic. I work at an elementary school which is 1-1 with iPads, each teacher has an audio system that serves as a microphone to project their voice throughout their classroom, every classroom has a projector, and I also went to a 1-1 laptop high school. With this experience, I felt that I had a good stance on this topic.

When we're thinking about "digital classrooms", I think the most important aspect is educating the teachers. Working at that elementary school, I see so many times teachers struggling with the tools provided for them because they were never educated on how to use them. Simple tasks become impossible without education. Professional development can solve this problem. It will take time and effort, but it is worth it in the end to provide a better education and ensure that the money spent on technological tools is put to use.

I created a presentation to compile my ideas of necessary hardware and computer access for each classroom. Below is a summary of my presentation:

A K-2 Classroom needs:

• Projectors
• Lab of mobile devices or mobile device for each student

A 3-5 Classroom needs:

• Projectors
• Mobile device for each student

A 6-12 Classroom needs:

• Projectors
• Laptop for each student

Again, this is all my opinion based on my experiences and some research I've done. Every students' needs are different, every school district is different, and the need for technology will depend on all this. Check out my presentation for more detailed information!

Kindergarteners or Paleontologists?

This semester I am placed in a kindergarten classroom for my science field experience. I have been teaching them about dinosaurs and they LOVE it! It's amazing how motivated they are when something interests them. As I was planning my lessons I was struggling to come up with something hands-on for them to do with dinosaurs because I don't have dinosaur bones to show them! After some brainstorming with my cooperating teacher, we came up with a plan to engage them.

To begin we had a surprise "visitor" in our classroom. I took the kids to a bathroom break and when we came back there were items strewn all over the carpet.

The items included:

• Diaper
• Onesie
• Pacifier
• Tiny sock
• Tiny shoe

We had to look at the clues our "visitor" left because no one saw the visitor in our classroom. We made a list of what the clues told us:

• It was a baby.
• It could've been their ESL teacher because she just had a baby. (wasn't expecting them to make this connection!)
• It was a boy because the clothes were blue.
• It was a small baby.

Once we had a good idea of who our visitor could've been, I made the connection back to dinosaurs. No human has ever seen a dinosaur, so scientists who study dinosaurs have to look at their bones like clues or pieces of a puzzle! I introduced the word paleontologist and we watched a video about what paleontologists do. The video was perfect because it illustrated for them what a paleontologist does much more than just me talking about it.

The most exciting part of our activity came next. The students were able to make their own fossils! They put a small animal into play-doh to make an imprint. Then they moved around the classroom and tried to guess what the animal was by looking at only the imprint. We were paleontologists!

The kids were so engaged throughout the whole lesson! I am excited with how well it went.

A Connected Teacher

Being able to be a team player, work collaboratively, and communicate with colleagues are crucial characteristics of great teachers. This week I did a little research on being a "connected educator". For those of you that are not familiar with this term, it simply means a teacher who is connected through technology tools with other teachers. For example, not just 'following' other educators on twitter, but tweeting back and forth, creating relationships, and carrying on conversations. Here is a great visual that Dr. Alec Couros created which illustrates this idea.

[Retrieved from http://dmlcentral.net/blog/howard-rheingold/professor-alec-couros-connected-teacher]

Through my research, I found that a lot of people are talking about Connected Educators online. There is a Connected Educators project, a month dedicated to Connected Educators, books for sale on the topic, the information was overwhelming! I found a site with ten tips for becoming a Connected Educator. It is a great starting point, I recommend checking it out!

Benefits of being a Connected Educator:

• You can learn from other teachers' mistakes and successes.
• You can use resources created by other teachers and share your own to save time.
• You can create relationships with teachers all over the world which will last much longer than any tool.

Am I connected? Not nearly as much as I should be. Sure, I blog, tweet, post and buy things on Teachers Pay Teachers, search sites for lessons created by other teachers, follow blogs and educators on twitter. All of those things I'm doing are great, but I have not taken the next step to create a flow of communication back and forth. I plan to challenge myself to do so. This is what I will do to become connected:

• I will comment on other's blogs when I see an idea I like.
• I will participate in EdTech tweet conversations using hashtags.
• I will contact teachers to question them about lessons they've created or done that I find online.
• I will create relationships with teachers I do not know or have not met yet.

"The tools come and go, but the relationships endure." - Dr. Alec Couros.

I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and create deep connections with other educators!

Technology Comes Last

Now you may be thinking, "What's up with that title?" "This is a technology blog, what is she talking about!?" We are always looking to experts to back our decisions in teaching. Harris and Hofer have 5 steps to planning a lesson and I have studied those steps in my technology class. The steps have choosing the technological tool last. I agree with their steps and think it's a good basis to ensure that you are teaching a lesson with a learning purpose in mind for your students. Read on to learn more about it!

Here is a short summary of their 5 steps:

1. Determine the lesson's purpose
2. Make pedagogical decisions - they have 8 continua to help guide you
3. Select activity types
4. Select the appropriate assessment
5. Choose the right technological tool

[Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0iefVzmSlbtXzFWYUd3bGxiWHM/edit]

As you can see in the steps above, the technology piece of the lesson doesn't have a role until the very end. The reason I think this is a beneficial way to teach is because it doesn't allow the technology to take center stage. Let's face it, technology is exciting and fun to use, but we need to remember that our students' learning is our main goal and how we reach that goal is the important piece; not what technological tool we want to use. Once the learning goal is stated and we know what we want our students to learn, then we can begin brainstorming ideas of how to reach that goal. Harris and Hofer have a list of different activity types for varying learning goals. 

Harris and Hofer's idea of thinking of the technology last is a point I have made in previous blog posts. Not only when it comes to technology, but any lesson, we need to pinpoint the learning goal before we decide the activity students will do. This is not how I have planned in the past, but through observation and learning in my classes this semester, I have come to understand that this is the best way to plan in order to ensure the learning goal is met. 

To every argument, there are two sides. Here is a pro/con list to planning the technological tool last:

Overall, I would say this is a good process to adopt, or at least consider, when creating lessons. Remember, this doesn't just apply to technology lessons, but rather your teaching as a whole. It is always good practice to think about your goal and what you want your students to learn before anything else.

Live and Learn

As teachers, we plan. We plan units, lessons, days, weeks, and even the whole year at a glance. You can plan all you want, but unless you can tell the future, you will never know how your students will react to a lesson. A lesson never happens exactly how you imagine it; good or bad. That is why we have to be flexible and learn from our mistakes.

This semester I have to do a 24 hour classroom experience for one of my technology classes. I am so excited to teach some lessons and learn from my cooperating teacher. I created a lesson using the app called Toontastic and taught it last week to a group of 2nd graders. I was so excited!

[Retrieved from: http://cdn-images.launchpadtoys.com/lpt/toontastic/promo-page/lead-screen/4.jpg]

It did not go as planned, to say the least. I was really disappointed at first, but then I realized that i had learned so much. I knew what to fix next time to make it a perfect lesson. Toontastic is an iPad app that allows students to create their own settings, characters, and storyline; and then voice over to create a digital story. I would highly recommend creating a story yourself using the app before teaching this lesson. It is very user friendly and talks you through the steps!

[Retrieved from http://teachertechguy.edublogs.org/2012/03/27/toontastic/]

I would recommend spreading a lesson like this out over at least a week; unfortunately I couldn't do that since I do not have my own classroom yet. Here's a breakdown of the lesson outline:

1. Discuss as a class what it means to "think in your head."
2. Ask students to close their eyes and think of their favorite story.
3. Ask them:
         What happens?
         Who is in the story?
         What do they do?
         How does it end?
4. Discuss the parts of a story and make a list on a board/poster. In the app, they use specific terms which you may need to teach your students (set-up, conflict, climax, challenge, resolution)
5. Show your students an example story that you create on the draft forms.
6. Build a story using Toontastic with them so they can see how it works.

A rough draft is key for the students to really plan out their stories and not just play with the app. I created a draft packet for the students. Check out my store on Teachers Pay Teachers to find the rough draft packet! It is a simple format for students to use to map out their story.

Try it out, your students will be very engaged and excited to use their creativity!

This tool can be found in the App Store on the iPads. They also have a website which provides support, resources, and FAQ concerning the tool. It is available only on iPads, iPhones, or iPods. Another classroom idea to use this app would be to have your students recreate a story line they have read. They can then discuss the similarities and differences between their version and the original version.

Pic Collage

One of the most frustrating parts of using technology in the classroom is finding great resources that don't cost you an arm and a leg. However, when you do find that free tool, it's a pretty good feeling. Pic Collage is one of those tools. It is a FREE iPad app that is very user friendly and can be used in a variety of ways in your classroom.

Pic Collage allows you to:

• Change background color or pattern
• Add photos from your camera roll or the internet
• Add text
• Add stickers

Pic Collage can be downloaded from the App Store and Google Play. It is available on Apple and Droid devices. There is a website for Pic Collage but it does not offer much information or support related to education.

Here are some ideas I have for using Pic Collage:

• Personal narratives: students add photos of themselves and add details. They can present their project to the class and work on presentation and speech skills.

• Acrostic poem: Your students will learn what an acrostic poem is. Then they research a topic, add photos and text about that topic, and present their topic to the class.

• Get rid of "tired" words: Create a list of overused words with your students. Next assign each student a word and have them research synonyms. They will then create a digital poster of the overused word surrounded by more exciting synonyms. These digital posters can be sent to the teacher. They can be printed out and hung around the classroom. This will allow them to use these new words in their writing.

These three lessons are engaging, hands-on, and allow your students to express their creativity through technology while learning. Try it out in your classroom!!

The Total Package of Teaching

Technological Pedagogical And Content Knowledge

TPACK is the idea that all three components: technology, pedagogy, and content, must work together in order to create a successful education environment. As a teacher, this can be daunting to think that in each of your lessons you strive to hit the middle of this venn diagram, but it is worth it to foster the best kind of learning in your classroom.

It is important to practice TPACK in your classroom because:

• It will teach your students 21st century skills.
• You will enhance your lessons with technology, without shaping your lessons around the technological tools.
• You will cover the appropriate content in an engaging manner to involve your students.
• Technology may draw in your students' interests, but you need a meaningful plan to implement them in order to achieve learning goals.
• It will make you a better teacher!

In a YouTube Video about TPACK, the creator Darren Kuropatwa's introduction got me thinking. He states that a frame draws attention to the focus of the picture. My first thought after watching this video, was that in the education field, the technology is the frame. It draws your students in, catches their attention and excites them to learn. However, a frame by itself is nothing. It has nothing to highlight and has no purpose; just as a piece of technology is nothing without purpose. You must pair your technological "frame" with rich content (the focus of the picture) and purposeful pedagogy (the background of the photo).

Here's a screenshot of a frame in the YouTube video I mentioned above. 

As teachers we must do our best to aim for the center of the venn diagram and be the best combination the three components. It will take practice, effort, and time to master, but practice makes perfect, so don't give up!

As a future teacher, I think TPACK will effect me on a daily basis. As I plan units, lessons, and day-to-day activities, I will need to remember the TPACK framework and strive to accomplish a perfect blend of content, pedagogy, and technology. As a teacher with a digital technology minor, I believe my future colleagues will expect me to be the expert and go-to with technology. I will teach other teachers the tools I've learned to use in my own classroom. In a YouTube Video it is stated that we can't keep doing the same thing we've done and just add technology, we must challenge ourselves to come up with new ideas, cutting edge lessons that will engage students in a way that we never did before. As a future teacher, I will research and try out new ideas to incorporate technology into my classroom and share with my colleagues.

In conclusion, TPACK is something I hope all teachers strive for in their classroom. It provides the best learning environment for students and makes us as teachers better. Try it out!

TPACK photo retrieved from: Cary Academy

Grounded Technology Integration

The purpose of this blog is to reflect on the readings, activities, and discussions in the course, CI 302, Principles and Practices of Learning Technology. I am very excited to learn more about tech in the classroom this semester.

I read the article Grounded Technology Integration, written by Harris and Hofer. The main idea of the article was as teachers, we should first plan our lessons according to standards and content goals, what our students need, and then consider how technology could play a role. So many times we begin with the technology and try to figure out how to shape a lesson around a certain technological tool, but in reality, this is backwards.

I'm not going to lie, in the past, I have done the backwards planning; starting with technology and trying to fit a lesson around a certain tool. After reading this article, the grounded technology integration makes so much more sense. If we think about it that way, we would still be reaching the same goal as if there was no technology, but then the technological tool serves as an aide, not a necessity.

As a young person who grew up with technology, I am very comfortable with it. I know that some of the teachers who have been teaching for many years and don't have technological experience, aren't comfortable with it. I think the grounded technology integration would help them, because they would take the same lessons they've been using for years, and consider how technology could assist those lessons; rather than creating entire new plans based of technology.

I perused through some of the blogs my teacher recommended us to explore and saw how great blogging can be from an educational standpoint. So many ideas are shared on blogs between educators and it's a great place to go for resources. The Cat Chronicles had a lot of great ideas; I began following him on blogger! I also saw many of the blogs mention EdCamp and other education fairs and I am grateful for the opportunity to attend one this semester for this class!

Blog reflection #1 complete.

Until next time,

Jenn

Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Grounded Tech Integration. Learning and Leading with Technology, 22-25. Retrieved from https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B0eifVzmSlbtXzFWYUd3bGxiWHM/edit?pli=1