Generational Issues

    My philosophy regarding educational technology is that things in schools today are very different than they were even 20 years ago. In this day and age where my third graders have smart phones, we need to be continually re-educating ourselves and be innovators on how to tap that technology potential to use in our classrooms. Technology is not one more cumbersome thing we have to squeeze into our school day. Many teachers have this mindset, especially teachers who have been in education for many years. Technology should be in student hands as much as possible. It should help us be more efficient in our instruction and engage students better. However, just because students are using technology doesn’t mean they are engaged. We need to be aware of how our students are learning as much as always. Technology is an excellent motivator for students. Reading may not be exciting for them, but reading a book on iPad is suddenly very appealing. There are so many teacher created resources using technology that allow us to collaborate with teachers from all over the world and share our ideas.

    I think that one of the main barriers of technology is lack of funding. We need money to get the technology in the hands of all the students. In a recession like we currently are, technology is not at the top of many districts’ lists. They are more focused on keeping teaching jobs, which is also important. Another barrier is stubborn people. Many teachers are set in their ways. They think technology will be more work and no benefit to them, so they don’t even try to work with it.

    In my classroom I am very lucky to have many technology resources. I use my projector and document camera every day. I could live without them, but they make my instruction much easier and better for showing the students first hand. I also use my iPad and apple tv. I am able to project very hands on games and content for my students. Like the stubborn people in my previous paragraph, I avoid technology I am not familiar with. I know it takes time to learn a new program, so during the year I play the excuse that I do not have enough time for it. However, unlike the stubborn people, I work very hard to continually teach myself new technologies, even when I don’t think I have the time, because I know how important it is, and how much it could benefit myself and my students. 

Introduction Video

My Introduction Video  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yue4t0L1Q1E

To go with my video: I think there are a lot of different technologies out there. Some of them seem redundant and every time you buy something new, the next model is already coming out. But, I definitely agree that technologies will continue to progress in ways I can’t imagine. I love technology in my classroom, but like Hank from the video, I also think that there will always be a place for real paper books. Credit to Hank Green of the Vlogbrothers on Youtube for the video. 

I believe that the stage of technology I am in is Implementation. I have done a lot of research and received quite a bit of training in using different technologies in my classroom. This is to the point where other teachers seek me out to help them with their technology needs.

I teach third grade in the general education classroom in the Adams 12 Five Star School District. I am taking this class because it is a stepping-stone to gleaning more information about information literacy and earning my masters in Instructional Technology. The three words that describe my relationship with technology are creative, embracing, and innovative. I am Generation Y in regards to technology.

Instructional Technology Reflection

This class has changed my understanding of instructional technology. It is not just about the technology resources available; computers, iPads, projectors, doc cams. It is about teaching the life skills of utilizing technology effectively and purposefully.

The most important thing I would change about my original job description is the primary objective. My original thought was working with the technologies itself. While this is part of the job, I think the more important part is being a resource for other teachers regarding all of the different technology standards and strategies for implementing these standards in the classroom. People often think that using technology well is just best practices, but effective technology strategies need to be on the forefront of our mind, not on the back burner.

    I would definitely need to add to my Technical Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities section of my job description. It would need to include knowledge of all the technology standards: 21^st Century Skills, NETS for students and teachers, state standards for technology, TPCK, Universal Design for Learning, Nine Essential Instructional Strategies, and Digital Equity. Knowledge of those standards and guidelines are at the heart of the instructional technology specialist job.

    I had never heard of any of these technology standards/ guidelines before this class. And while I did find things in the standards that I already do as a teacher, there was so much more I learned and got ideas about, after studying the standards.

One thing that has not changed in my job description and definition is the mindset that technology is not something that we need to make time for one day a week. Technology should be integrated seamlessly and consistently throughout the day. We can use technology to better deliver instruction that we would have had to teach anyway.

    In the future I will consult the guidelines when planning my lessons to be able to include them in my instruction. I will use the matrices and planning tools I developed in this class to ensure that I am including as many technology strategies and practices as possible in my day-to-day instruction.

My knowledge of the existence of TPCK, learning theories, Universal Design, Essential Strategies, and divide equity has made me an exponentially better teacher. My understanding of all the different guidelines and standards has helped me change my mindset about instructional technology. It is not just about the technologies available, it is about the effective implementation of them and the strategies we use to teach them. The guidelines are a fantastic resource that are easy to use and contain great teaching best practices.

My TPCK planning tool Pinterest board is a collection of internet links that allows me to easily and quickly locate all the different technology standards and guidelines. While the guidelines may be easy to use, they are not always easy to find and maintain. In my Pinterest board I also “pinned” tools I have found created by other teachers utilizing the technology guidelines. My tool allows me to easily “pin” new resources I find in the same place. It is flexible and continually changing with my needs. I can also allow other teachers, many that I do not know even, have access to my tool, and even edit my tool and add their own resources. This constantly changing and growing collaboration of teachers is a very exciting resource. I think this model I am using as a teacher could be a really cool idea for a project for students. That is definitely something I will be looking into in the future.

Reflection in Instruction

I incorporate reflection into my classroom in many ways. We do a lot of pre-reflection before instruction to activate background knowledge. My kids love telling stories. (This gets to the point where we need to discuss that when I ask if there are any questions, their questions cannot start with “This one time…”) However, this is great for making connections to what they already know and have experienced.

Having students reflect throughout a project is a great idea. They need to be aware of what they are doing and what they are learning. They need to be held accountable for their own learning and reflecting allows them to understand what they are (or are not) learning.

When teaching my students to reflect they have a very difficult time at first. I do a ton of modeling and thinking aloud reflecting on myself. This also builds a community trust, because they can see that I am just like them, I am not perfect, and I have things that I am working on as well. I also teach them that we reflect to make ourselves better, not to put ourselves down or “dip into our own buckets.” (We talk about being bucket fillers.)

I also connect reflecting with goal setting at the very beginning of the year. I got this idea off Pinterest, but at the beginning of the year my students and I had to make goals for ourselves (academic, behavior, and personal) and we wrote them on paper di-cut balloons. Then I took all their pictures and they cut themselves out to look like they were being carried through the sky holding onto their bunch of goal balloons. We come back to these often through the year and the students reflect on how they are doing working towards their goals. This is working great to have them practice reflecting on their own learning and growth. It really holds them accountable. 

Planning Lessons with Tech Standards

I think it is important to include the various technology standards and guidelines. Consulting multiple standards/ guidelines while planning every single lesson is completely impractical. I think that if a teacher has a general knowledge of the standards they can keep them in mind while planning. Then they can go look up something specific if need be. A lot of lesson planning to include technology is just best practices of a teacher with a 21^st century mindset. So as long as we keep technology in the forefront of our minds and not on the back burner, we don’t need to be super concerned with looking up every single standard.

Determining the importance of strategies/ standards/ guidelines depends entirely on the teacher. Many of the standards align well, so which ever set of guidelines you find the most simple to work with is the one you should use.

The easiest way I think to incorporate as many standards as possible would be to create a large matrix comparing all of the guidelines. Unfortunately this is a time consuming process that I don’t think any teacher would take upon themselves. Having one institution or the districts create such a matrix for distribution to schools would be very beneficial and make the information available to many more teachers than it was before. Teachers do have a lot on their minds with having to follow state standards, district and building requirements, and state testing.