Reflection
Chapter 7 #2 Many are concerned about the use of social media in school. Describe your views of the pros and cons of using social media. How will you use this tool in your classroom and what are your greatest concerns in doing so? As a creative educator, I enjoy using multimedia to present new information and repurpose prior knowledge to support student learning and development. Social media is a worthwhile tool for student learning. It also gives rich prompts for classroom discussions, diverse displays of knowledge, and convenient sharing opportunities for students to display work. The most important aspect of using social media as a learning tool is protecting student identity, student information, and access to students. I feel there are several reasons that social media should be avoided and integrated in the classroom. Some pros of using social media in the classroom are they can add support for instructional experiences, propel lesson deliver and instruction, increase student engagement, and supports diverse learning styles. Some cons are the rate that technology can change may require needed skills and access that are barriers for both students and teachers, privacy can be limited depending on the tool, and all students do not have the same level of information literacy. Social media in my classroom takes a layered approach. My favorite one is Twitter. It's easy to use even if students do not have accounts. I typically save a thread and share it in segments and have students discuss the starting tweet and what it means. Additionally, I am able to have students search for hashtags and topics to find diverse views and perspectives to help drive a robust discussion. My biggest concern in using Twitter is the language and having to be careful that I read the entire thread and edit any profanity or overly negative comments. Some students think Twitter is outdated and I have to help them understand how relevant and current Twitter is in the social media space. The other social media outlet I use frequently is LinkedIn. I use it mainly with seniors in getting them ready for the professional world and it connects nicely with our lesson on social media responsibility. My biggest concern with students in using LinkedIn they don't really understand it's value and how important it can be for their personal and professional growth. Learning Experience This week the project was challenging in a good way. As a group we were able to learn the importance of communication and still continue move forward to get the project done early. The project this week had three group activities and one individual activity. Kimberly and I were charged with developing the survey. The ten different questions for the survey had me reviewing other surveys and stretching my inquiry muscles. I really liked the topic - MLA formatting. I use APA for everything and have little to no experience with MLA. I was able to learn a lot by doing this project and even noticing how my colleagues at my job have students use MLA when submitting papers - mainly the English and History classes. We have a very supportive group. Everyone contributes in big and small ways to help get the job done. Overall, our strength is communication and I appreciate how responsive we are to successes and challenges within the group. Lesson Plan (Project 2) Survey (Project 3) Google Doc (Project 4) Google Slides (Project 4) Prelecture "Podcast" (Project 5)
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Group projects even on the graduate level can be challenging, even difficult. When I see group assignments, it gives me a level of anxiety until I’m able to size up the members. So far, our group is sizing up really well. From the onset, Eli and Sarah have been eager to set a tone of collaboration and effective communication. We established a text group during the first week and use it regularly to communicate. This week I realized how generous, supportive, and smart our group is! We had already established an open communication channel, so it was easy to manage roles and outline tasks for project completion. Our Zoom call on Monday set the tone for us to know the project workflow, member responsibilities and timelines (deadlines). All of us are busy and understand how important it is to respect the impact of your pacing on the entire group. We organically worked to get the project done well in advance of the Sunday deadline. Our decision on what subject to use was done with ease and based on the strength of several team members. We selected Science as our topic which made me a little nervous (I have a strong aversion to science…just too many why questions). Sarah took the lead with the lesson plan and I followed. She gave a great outline, and I was able to add content for using technology and some creative elements to extend the lesson. I also provide input in the budget/rationale. The best thing about our group is that we are open to ideas and suggestions. In reviewing the budget and the lesson plan, the Google doc allowed me to give input and make suggestions that everyone could follow. Additionally, with the live document, we were able to see edits in a timely fashion to make the adjustments need to finish early. I’ve used Google docs in the past and it does work well when you have several people completing the same document. Eli did a great job on the classroom designs. I’m interested in learning more about the program he used. Creating classroom models and just models for some lessons, the capabilities of the program seem like a great fit for what I need. While Science is the one subject I keep far away, I am proud of the work we’ve done on frog dissection. I learned a little bit as well reading up on the lesson plan ideas. Go STEAM! Looking forward to how we rock out Project 2! ![]()
Chapter 4 #3
Give two examples of technologies that were used when you were in middle school (it could even be as simple as the chalkboard). How have those technologies been transformed and what replaced them today? My middle school years happened during the late 1980’s so the most technological thing we had was the overhead projector. The other example of technology would be the chalkboard. The chalkboard merged nicely into the whiteboard and then more recently the SMART board that captures what you write on the whiteboard in various formats This is extremely helpful in math classrooms when students need more relevant examples of work. My 6th grade English teacher, Ms. Palmer, and her sentence diagrams would have really enjoyed this new technology. The overhead projector is also the SMART board in one version of sharing information from a worksheet or paper onto a screen so that the class can see it. Also, using a projector connected to a computer to display a worksheet, paper, or activity for the entire class to see and interact with in real time. If you could choose only one of today’s technologies for your classroom, which one would it be? Why? If I had to choose one of today’s technologies for my classroom, it would be classroom devices (computers or tablets) that have streaming and broadcasting capabilities. I really enjoy guest speakers, short films, and using mixed media to help extend a lesson. I enjoy engaging with educators and students from different parts of the world (pre and post COVID) so that my students are exposed to a variety of things. Additionally, if my students have their own devices I can easily diversity their learning experience. Chapter 5 #4 Teachers must often use whatever resources are available to them in order to enhance and support learning. How would you go about investigating the learning software that is available to you in your school? Learning software at my school is typically shared at the beginning of the school year during our Pre-Service Week. Each year, we are able to given a list of what's available (most are instructional based). My investigation usually starts with our Technology Coordinator which is school based to see what I can access just because I'm an employee. My secondary level investigation is with our district based technology support team that can remotely manage your computer including downloading software and/or giving you access to said software. Who would you ask and how would you go about acquiring what you feel you need? If I felt a need for a technology hardware, I would contact the school based technology coordinator to see if that's something we have and how to get it. If it's a software need, our school's operations manager would like me know which budget line is applicable and the process for getting the request made and approved. One of the great parts about working in Washington, DC, is that we get access to quite a few things since technically we also work for the government. Every school within our district is a member of a cluster of schools. Each cluster has a technology manager that sends regular information about what technologies are available, host trainings and sessions, and has weekly office hours. My technology manager (Ms. A) is also someone I could contact when investigating and inquiring about something I feel I need technology wise - hardware or software. Chapter 6 #2 Learning content within the framework of a language that is not your native language can be challenging. Consider how you would respond to this challenge. What technologies would help you if you were facing learning new content in another language? I currently work in school with over 40% of our students speak another language primarily Spanish and Amharic. It creates some challenges when information is shared and I face this battle multiple times a week. The technologies that I would need in learning new content in another language are text-to-speech options, dual language materials, translation services, and a language-line to help process the content when other services lack a clarity. Aside from the challenge for me to learn foreign content, it's also a communication barrier when delivering information to students. We have 24 hour service that provides use with an interpreter for over 10 different languages to help facilitate conversations with parents and students. Chapter 1 - #1 Assess your own technology skills and list three areas in which you could improve your abilities. The three areas that I can improve my abilities in technology are:
How competent do you believe you are in order to teach in a technology-rich environment? I feel pretty competent to teach in a technology-rich environment. I currently teach 6-12 online in which learning is mainly asynchronous and I’m charged with finding ways to engage with students to build relationships. What other opportunities would you search for to become even more proficient in the use of technology in the classroom? In order to become more proficient in the use of technology in the classroom, I would do three things – observe, practice, implement. The observation of how others use the technology and student engagement. My practice comes from actually using the tools in a small way to get more comfortable with the tool. I would also practice by using the tools in non-education spaces to extend the learning. Lastly, I would work to implement the tech tools within my work in ways to support student learning and strengthen my knowledge. How would you go about improving in these areas? The way I would go about improving my abilities in these areas are:
Chapter 2 - #3 What technologies are of most interest to you to support the teaching and learning strategies you prefer? The technologies that are the most interest to me in support of teaching and learning strategies that I prefer are:
How will you prepare yourself to use these technologies in your classroom? I am preparing myself to use technology in my classroom by taking classes over the summer like this one. I also am teaching over the summer and using some of the new tools to work out the kinks and see how students respond to them. Additionally, I am participating in a district led workshops that are focused on training teachers on current and new tech tools. I have also joined in discussions with our district technology department geared towards improving teacher access and utilization of tech tools approved and paid for by the District. Chapter 3 - #3 This chapter described how proper planning ensures success in teaching and learning. Describe two activities (not educational in nature) in which you have been involved in the past which were NOT successful due to lack of planning. Two activities that were not successful due to lack of planning are centered around my documentary filming that was slated to happen December of 2019, February 2020, and then March 2020. My co-producer was responsible for securing the people and I was responsible for the content of the filming. We lost money and ultimately didn’t get the footage because of last minute planning. The ongoing issue was that we waited to the week of filming to start scheduling the interviews which caused a few challenges – mainly the subjects’ inability to shift due to our poor planning. The other activity was teaser focus group screening and discussion. We talked about the event and had a free location to host it. The original conversation happened almost two months in advance and the teaser was edited and ready to go. We only have 10 RSVPs and only three people actually showed up. This was pre-COVID. We had a moderator and a panelist who came prepared for a robust conversation with a group of people. What lessons can you draw from those experiences that will help motivate you to plan for instruction? A few lessons learned from these experiences that motivate me to plan for instruction:
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. That resonates across all areas and career fields. |
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