Let's See How Far We've Come

As I reflect back on this course and think about the questions posed for this assignment, I realize that I have progressed not only in my ability to use technology effectively, but have also improved my teaching methods to support that improvement.

The obvious way that this course has helped me improve my technology skills is by introducing me to technologies that I hadn’t previously been comfortable using.  Sometimes as teachers it helps to get that helpful “shove” out of our comfort zone and doing something we wouldn’t normally do.  My experience with technology prior to this course had been limited to what I had been forced to do for classes I was taking or mandates put in place by my school system.  What was great about this course from my perspective was the freedom to play around with the technology and try out theories about how well stuff would work without having to be concerned whether it was going to come back to bite you from an administrator.  Since we started this course, I have created a blog that students are using (although reluctantly) and parents are accessing regularly.  All it contains is a calendar for the week’s events and links to study guides I have posted to Google docs.  It’s simple, easy to keep up with, and I feel that it is a good example of doing something differently, but also making it MUCH easier on the teacher. 

One of the things I’ve come to more fully understand about teaching and technology is that technology, no matter how awesome it may be, will likely never produce the silver bullet of education so many of us (myself included) wish it could.  Technology is only as good as the person who is utilizing it, and that probably goes double for teachers, since they not only have to utilize it, but lead others into utilizing it and learning while he or she does it.  When you think about it that way, it’s a daunting task.  I have realized, however, that while the technology resources seem to be endless, the number of people who are using it in new and creative ways is almost equal in number, and many are willing to share what they are doing.  That willingness to share information is rarely found outside of the teaching profession, so why not take advantage of what is available?  To sum it up, there will always be someone out there smarter than me, so why not use what they are offering. 

When I talk with my teacher friends about school, inevitably the conversation turns to how busy we all are with school, how much work there is to do and not enough time to do it, or how the students just don’t seem to put forth the effort we think is necessary to be successful.  While I believe all of these things are true to a small degree, I feel that the real problem is that teachers are taking too much of the responsibility for learning on themselves.  A veteran teacher once told me, and I’m paraphrasing, that your students should go home more tired than you at the end of the day.  His belief was that the students should be doing the work.  If you give them a chance to check out while you’re up front lecturing them, you’re all wasting your time.  As I think about teaching after taking this course, I realize that technology offers us the perfect tool to put the work in students’ hands instead of our own.  Obviously it needs to be done correctly and with care, but the fact remains that we are most effective when we facilitate learning, not tell them what to learn. 

One of the ways I plan on continuing to lead using technology is to begin by implementing it in my department at school.  The education support services department at my high school is literally using 3 ring binders to keep track of each test and study guide they have created over the last 15 years.  Every time we need something it takes 10 minutes of searching, costing valuable time, especially when there is no prep period in the day.  My goal is to eventually have everything not only digitized, but uploaded to Google documents and linked to my blog where students can access it.  Ultimately, I’d love to have students make changes to the documents in order to better help their classmates prepare for tests or complete assignments. 

Goal 1: Digitize all documents and make available online.

In order to do this, it’s just plain going to take time.  Right now there isn’t even a scanner available at my school, and it would be beyond frustrating to type them all out.  My plan is to save documents as I create them (which I have started doing) and having teachers send me electronic copies of stuff they create so that all I have to do is organize and file it. 

Goal 2: Find or develop methods of using technology well in my Ed Support classroom.

Many of my students have developed an aversion to technology.  Technology changes so fast that they can’t keep up.  Once they master something, it becomes obsolete, so why try and master something else.  The hard part about this one is going to be that I will have to not only get past that aversion, but then present the technology in a way that they see it as beneficial to them.  One plan I have is to continue to create and distribute my test study guides in class while simultaneously having them on posted online with additional information available.  That way if a student wants to spend the extra time, he or she has that advantage available to them.  I think of it as leading a horse to water.  If he wants to drink he’ll drink.  

Student Interviews

Check out this link to listen to my podcast.  Listen in as I explore technology use in the classroom and have interviews with real high school students about the technology they use and their experiences with it as a learning tool.

Podcast  

The Project 21st Century Initiative and What it Means for YOU!!

As I read through the P21 website, I felt that it was a worthwhile effort.    Please let me try and explain.

My overall impression of the website was that it really was a good idea.  The idea behind preparing students to be ready for the 21st century is something that national corporations have been asking for quite some time.  My favorite aspect of the P21 philosophy is the "4 Cs" approach to learning.  This approach is used to develop curriculum that focuses on the skills of critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and creativity.  For most teachers, if a student develops these skills to a proficient level while in their classroom, the teacher will have done a great job.  This is especially true when you look at the desired student outcomes of the program, specifically life skills, learning skills, technology skills and proficiency in the core subjects (the 3 "Rs").

As I consider this approach to educating our students, I think it all looks really great on paper.  It makes perfect sense to educate our children with the intention of preparing them for successful careers.  However, there are a couple of potential pitfalls that I see that could prove difficult to overcome.

1. NCLB-  The No Child Left Behind initiative has put a premium on standardized testing, most of which is based on the core subjects, including math and science and language arts.  Of these three testing areas, all rely somewhat heavily on reading comprehension and thinking skills.  When you consider it that way, it seems that the P21 would be beneficial.  My concern would be in whether teachers would have enough faith in the P21 initiative programming to be willing to use it as a replacement for their NCLB preparations.  It would make sense to do so, but the potential for backfiring is certainly there.

2.  Expense- While it is obvious that there are many major backers of this program (including Apple, HP,Oracle and Verizon just to name a few), it still costs money to run a program like this.  In addition to training for teachers, the technology necessary to make this program worthwhile to students is a factor that schools will have to consider when looking into this program.  I am curious to know how much a school would have to put out in order to be a part of the program.

As teachers and students, the implications for such a program are real.  This is the direction education is going, should be going, and the sooner it happens the better.  This style of learning flies in the face of traditional education in all but the most advanced classrooms and best teachers.  Still, in order to best prepare our students, this needs to happen.

How to Use a Blog in My Classroom

I struggled with this idea for several days.  As a special education teacher, my initial instinct is to look at the idea of using blogs in the classroom as a "extended learning" tool rather than a "meat and potatoes" tool that has become the center of what I do for my students.
One idea that I thought of as I was playing with the aggregator sites is to have the students set up their own readers that would feed the blogs about topics they were interested in.  That way, if we had some down time, they could log into their RSS feeds and do some reading on a topic that is interesting to them.  It would be great reading practice, it manages itself by constantly updating, an because it is always changing yet stays on the same topic, the students will never get bored with it (at least in theory)

The Challenges of Special Education

We all know that working in the special education setting can be difficult at times.  As a special education teacher with a limited budget, I would like some guidance on how to appropriate my minimal funds.  My current situation is as follows:

- chalk board
- overhead projector
- small white boards (2 ft by 1 ft boards)
- bank of 4 computers with internet access and word processing capability

My first inclination is to ask for a media projector so that I can present things to my students in a more engaging and interactive way.  Is this a waste of funds?  I would appreciate and ideas anyone has.