My Take-Aways

After finishing up this class about online/blended learning, I find myself wanting to share the information with my adminstration. I think that there is a lot of anxiety surrounding a move to online/blended learning. Many teachers are afraid their jobs will be in jeopardy. I want people to know that online/blended learning doesn't mean students stop interacting with eachother and their educators. I would also like to share with my fellow teachers the different levels of using technology in the classroom. It really stuck with me, how many teachers simply replace an activity in the classroom with an identical activity on a computer. That isn't really using technology or preparing students for a world of technology. Many teachers feel that if they do this, they have done what they are being asked to do, when it comes to using technology. Students see that it is simply replacement activity.

Social Media with Students....Dunt, dunt, dunnnnnnn

I personally LOVE social media. I check my Facebook and Instagram all the time, I mean ALL the time. I even have a Facebook page for my Drama Club students. So you would think I would be all about using social media for my classroom. In some ways I am, but in a lot of ways I'm not.

First, my Facebook is for me, the not-at-work me. I want to have seperation between my job and my home-life, as much as possible. I already find it hard, since I live five minutes from my school and live in the community where I work. I always feel like I'm in teacher mode when I am out and about. I don't mind having the Drama Club Facebook page, since it isn't a class and there is so much community involvement. However, I make it a policy to not "friend" students until they graduate. This is also for them. I don't want to know every little detail about their personal lives, and I want there to be no confusion over whether I'm their friend or their teacher.

I have used a program designed to look like Facebook in my classroom, though. It is called Edmodo. It looks A LOT like Facebook, and anyone who can work Facebook can work this website. It allows for some of the same type of interaction, but has a much more academic feel. I can control who sees my page and there are no ads. Plus neither my students nor I choose to express our personal feelings (like normal status updates) through Edmodo. It is more like an extension of the classroom, not an invitation into my private world.

What Tool I Would Like to Use

I really like Kelly Clifford's tool, Mentor Mob Curration. This tool was very user friendly and looked great. I think that students would be drawn to this tool, because it looks so clean and professional. It isn't something that appears to be hasded together. Students can absolutely tell when we teachers rush to put something together without really knowing what we're doing. This site doesn't give off that look. Even if you weren't really confident with the tool yet, you could learn with your students and still have a clean looking site to use. I really appreciated this about this tool. It also allowed her to post differnt items (pdf, video, artilce, ect.) I think this is very beneficial. Students need lots of different options.

What Can I Use?

I have found the majority of information presented in the course very helpful, but I think the piece I will be able to use best in my own classroom will be authentic assessment. Since my school system struggles so much with technology, simply using many of the digital tools will be a challenge. Hopefully this will change soon, but in the meantime authentic assessment is something I can implement right away, regardless of my technological situation. I think it is also one of the most challenging things to implement in a classroom, as well. When we are all so bogged down with paperwork and extra responsibilities, we often search for the simplest method of assessment. I know I have been guilty of that. However, if I keep my mind set on using authentic assessment, I know I will be benefiting my students, which is what my aim and passion has always been. We all slip and start to take the easy road, at times, but authentic assessment really prepares our students for what is waiting for them beyond our safe, little classrooms.

I am having trouble finding the course blog. I went ahead and wrote my blog here. This way everyone could still see it.

Sooooo..... Here is my cool, new, tool for school.

Swipespeare
iOS (Ipad, Iphone)
This tool has almost all of Shakespeare's work available for free. It gives you the orignal Shakespearean text, but with a simple swipe to the left the Shakespearean text goes away and is replaced with modern text. It is similar to No Fear Shakespeare, but you don't have to see the entire work in modern text, only the parts you need clarified. I would love to have this available in my classroom for when we read anything Shakespeare. Students could prepare scenes to act out. When they were uncertain about what a line meant they could easily look at the modern text. It doesn't simple give them a summary, they still have to use their reading skills to develop meaning and understanding.

Technology Integration Matrix

First of all, I found the Technology Integration Matrix very confusing and EXTREMLY wordy. I don't if they were trying to simplify things, but I did not find it all simple. However, I did attempt to rate myself according to the matrix.

I think that I working at an ENTRY level in the Active area and Collaborative areas. We don't have access to much technology, so on a day-to-day basis I am in the classroom using my personal technology. When we do use technology, it is on an individual basis. The students use individual devices to work. Even though I would like to be doing something different, I am somewhere between ENTRY and ADAPTATION for Constructive. Our technolgoy is used mostly to deliver information or create a typed paper. I am absolutely ENTRY level in Authentic. I don't know that many of my assignments could be used outside the classroom. I am at ADAPTATION level for Goal Directed. We have a program that allows students to view their grades online. They can see what they are missing and monitor their own grades.

I think that I could move to Adaptation in the Authentic category. I need to be focusing on how students could use what they do in my room later. I've heard students say, "When will I ever use this." There have been times I couldn't really give a good answer. Those types of assignments shouldn't really be happening. I need to plan my lessons around real world learning and application. I think I could work an assignment in each week, for the remainder of they year.

Courage Behind Digital Screens

If you're a teacher, you have them. Normally they don't cause problems, they do their assignments, and they are generally good students, until you ask them to speak. Immediately upon the words, "And we're going to share our ideas with the class," they completely SHUT-DOWN. Since I've been teaching (only three-years, so I suppose I'm still a rookie), I've had several of these students. They simply will not speak in front of class. Some blame it on shyness, fear, or (in one of my cases) ugly teeth. Whatever the issue, these students are missing out on an important eudcational oppurtunity.

However, if students are presented with the chance to share their thoughts through a screen, any screen (computer, iPad, cellphone, etc.) they aren't quite so scared anymore. Even students are not normally afraid to speak in front of the class will share more when given a digital format. This is a major gain in an online/elearning classroom! Isn't it every teacher's dream to have meaningful classroom discussions! I know it is at least one of my teaching dreams. Think of the possibilities!

Of course, teachers would have to be mindful and very observant for this to work. Not only will students find their courage for sharing valuable thoughts behind digital screens, but they will also find courage to share negative thoughts. None-the-less, I believe the benefits far out-weigh the negatives. So, if someone will please purchase about forty Ipads, I will immediately begin an online discussion board for each of the my classes. :-)