First Culminating Mini-Lesson for Professional Learning

Blended Learning in Our Classrooms

Introduction:  Maximizing the Ed Technology tools we have available and infusing them with purpose in our classroom is the best way to prepare our students for the ever changing world they live and work in.

Technology tools needed for this lesson:

• Google Slides
• FipQuiz
• Easel.ly

Guiding Questions:

1)  How are you currently leveraging technology tools in your classroom?

2)  What changes are you willing to make in your teaching style and the environment that your students learn in?

Definition: 
"...are classes where a portion of the traditional face-to-face instruction is replaced by web-based online learning." (Blended Learning Tool kid, Retrieved June 2017)

Required Reading:

https://www.edutopia.org/practice/blended-learning-making-it-work-your-classroom

http://www.teachthought.com/learning/blended-flipped-learning/the-definition-of-blended-learning/

After reading the above sources create a visual using the technology tool: 

Easel.ly

Your Easel.ly creation should represent your ahhh moment.

Demonstrate Understanding

Copies of "Blended Learning in Action"  by Caitlyn R. Tucker, Tiffany Wycoff, and Jason T. Green will be provided.  Read the first Two Chapters

Please click on the link for the following site which will direct you to our Google Slides.  There you will get a glimpse at what Blended Learning is and have the opportunity to share your ideas and respond to two study questions.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/147Hcz2r8CVGnWlhwVVbcsbvMxQTqYejy6bi8apUp6xY/edit#slide=id.gcb9a0b074_1_0

Second Culminating Mini-Course for Professional Development

Are We Embracing the 21st C Learner?

Introduction: 

The purpose of this course is to assess our knowledge of 21st Century Learners and to increase the use of purposeful technology tools to collaborate this understanding.

Technology Tools for this Lesson:

• Google Docs
• Diigo
• Digital Compass

Guiding Questions:

1)  How will we collaborate among ourselves efficiently to better understand what a 21st Century learner needs?

2)  What is your understanding of the 4 C's and how do you infuse them in your lessons?

Definition: "The term "21st-century skills" is generally used to refer to certain core competencies such as collaboration, digital literacy, critical thinking, and problem-solving that advocates the believe schools need to teach to help students thrive in today's world." (Edweek.org, October 2010) 

Active Learning:
Click on the following link which will take you to a Google Doc and follow the directions for reading and commenting.  This is an excellent tool for us to collaborate and better understand the needs of a 21st Century learner.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Wqp58pq_u9RPRoeSksFloE6h5kFyJAdOJNJcYAujhvk/edit

You have been invited to explore this awesome technology tool by going to the following link:
https://www.diigo.com/user/lindajbuckley5

Create your own free account and highlight three important new pieces of information that you wish to share with our team.


Culminating Activity:  Our team will be serving our students well when we embrace 21st Century learning ourselves.  Explore the following game and be prepared to give your opinion on how you envision its usage in your classroom.  Are there other sources of 21st Century learning that you have used?

https://www.digitalcompass.org/game/index.html

Third Culmininating Mini-Course for Professional Development(2)

What is our Mindset?

Introduction:

The purpose of this course is to investigate whether there is a growth mindset within and among our Junior High staff and students.

Technology Tools Used for this lesson:

• Twitter.com
• Padlet.com
• YouTube video
• Edmodo, blogger, Ning, or Blogger.com

Guiding Questions:
1)  Do we as a staff model a growth mindset?
2)  How are our student demonstrating innovation in their learning?

Background Prerequisites:
Create a twitter account by going to http://twitter.com

Once you have completed that task please post your twitter handle on our Junior High Padlet by clicking on the hyperlink below. You must also share on the Padlet the Twitter handles for 5 professional sites that you will find helpful in your learning and teaching.  Be sure to add you name to your entry.

https://padlet.com/lindajbuckley5/cyyelwnmdr2w

Definition-Growth mindset is the idea that we can grow our brain's capacity to learn and to solve problems. (Carol Dweck, November 2014)

Active Learning-
Please click on the following link in order to learn from Dr. Carol Dweck as she explains the merits and characteristics of Growth Mindset. 
As you view please reflect on where you stand.  Are your tendencies towards a Fixed Mindset?  What are the intended and unintended consequences of your mindset?  Perhaps you lean towards a Growth Mindset.  How does this mindset manifest itself in your classroom?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hiiEeMN7vbQ&list=PLv6BrJ4P1FAvXMDyp2B7jgS85FQaCbNlV

Personal Reflection-
Create a blog.  You may consider using Edmodo, Ning, Edublog, or Blogger.com

First Post-Contains 2 paragraphs that clearly explains and supports how you identify yourself as a Fixed or a Growth Mindset.

Edmodo  is an examples of a choice to use to begin blogging

Digital Toolbox Showcase

     I deliberately created my toolbox of Apps and websites with my future Junior High colleagues in mind.  Having attended an in-service with them a couple weeks ago and hearing one of the teachers dismiss the use of Google docs saying "when you ask students to use their Chrombooks they just play games and tab out when you walk by."  That was so alarming for me to hear, I was left wondering what technology is used (if any)  and perhaps I could introduce one or two at our next meeting.
     Overwhelmed, was the feeling that I operated from once I began exploring the "plethora" of digital tools available.  However, once I read the Edutopia article "The Epic BYOD Tool Chest and the 51 Tools You Can Use Now" I was able to see the purposes of each tool as they categorized them.  Once organized by purpose or function, I began to see that the number 51 became 12 categories with 3-4 suggestions in each.  For example, if you are looking for Formative Assessment tool you might try Canvas or Haiku Learning and since this course uses them, I can assume they have been vetted by those who created the course, therefore, ones I will use myself and recommend or JH staff to do so.
     This week I have been exploring and reading so many blogs, Tweets, and articles that I was beginning to wonder how I would be able to maintain this pace once the school year begins.  As I desire to be the Connected Educator I'm reading about I wonder how I can continue in the midst of the demands of actually do the job!  It seems that just when I begin to wonder and just as I begin to start to par down expectations of myself and the reality of how much technology I can realistically hope to master and utilize I come across an additional source that gives me the confidence to keep trying. One such source was Andrew Marcinek's article, "Open Education Resources Meet Instructional Design.  "...Rather, find one or two Apps or resources that work best for you, become an expert with them, and focus on student learning rather than on App harvesting."  (Edutopia, 1/8/2015)  Those words surely give me the confidence that I can begin to establish my classroom next year as a blended classroom and perhaps convince my colleague's of the benefits as well.

The rubric which I will share with my colleague's can be found by going to the site below:

https://docs.google.com/

Friday, June 2, 2017

Who is Paying Attention to our Youth and their Relationship to their Devices?

     There is the Children's Internet Protection Act which Congress enacted in 2000.  There are the Nine Elements of Digital Citizenship that Earnie Krames discusses.  There are 8 topics of Digital Citizenship that "Common Sense Media" put together.  There are numerous acronyms such as REPs or Respect, Educate and Protect that have been created when it comes to teaching our youth about being responsible users and consumers of the information they spend more and more time engage with.  The more I read about 21st Century learners the more I fear there is a growing dissonance between the Internet's enhancement of their learning and the interference the Internet can cause. It seems that this following statement is becoming a part of the daily classroom climate.  " Guiding behaviors (digital) is just as important as the content they (teachers) will be covering. "(Holy Korbey, MindShift)

     I am growing increasingly more nervous  about my ability to utilize these amazing resource we have available to enhance student engagement, learning, and positively effect their outcome. Will I be able to monitor how students are using their computers in class and then what about a potential for outside class time interactions with social media and the stress that may be on my students.  I think just talking about the dangers of too much screen time and helping them to become aware of the potential physical and psychological issues may not be enough.  How will I ever be able to solve or alleviate cyber bullying victims or even attempt to be proactive about the potential of that occurring?    

     The TED ED Talk by Sheey Terkle titled:  Connected, but Alone? was extraordinary in articulating the dangers of the plugged in lifestyles that we have acquired and how our devices are not only changing what we do, but also WHO WE ARE!  The implications Sherry Terkle raised have far reaching consequences on our students interpersonal skills that they are developing in the school setting and also their own inner conversations that they are learning to listen to.  As a pyschologist she is seeing many patients who are desperate to have someone listen to them and are replacing that "someone" with a device. This is a terrifying notion to me inside and outside of the classroom!

Digital Divide

     Week 3
     After reading this week's material I became acutely aware that this notion of "digital divide" has changed in its meaning.  According to Edutopia's article, A New Understanding of the Digital Divide, " 10 years ago the digital divide referred to those people who had access to technology and those who didn't, now this access has shifted from an access issue to a kind of access divide. As educators it would benefit for us to know who in our class has high speed Internet delivered to their home on a laptop or a personal computer.  We can not assume that owning a Smart phone is an indicator that broadband is at their home.  Students are connected to the web, but many are connected in order to play games, listen to music, watch videos, and check out their many social media sites.  Educational purposes such as research and creating evidence of learning can not be done well using a Smart phone.  The statistics compiled for the Mashable Spotlight article written by Jessica Goodman in August of 2013 shed light on this idea. "91% of Americans had access to high speed Internet but only 71% actually subscribed to broadband at home."  

     Our class presentation illustrates and articulates our understanding of the digital divide.  My slide focused on the relevancy of the digital divide to educators today.
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/10qvp-LjExapCx9OPg1xQjN43LK5eope2dZhz6euY8r4/edit#slide=id.gc6f80d1ff_0_27

If you click on the following link you will be taken to a 3 minute cartoon video found at YouTube that illustrates even further this notion of "Digital Divide".
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ounC6NHCu0k&t=38s

    
   

Are Today's Tech Savy "Screenagers" Aware of the Unintended Consequences of of Constantly being plugged in? 📲📲📲

 Students in our classrooms today have the expectation that the content of what they are charged with learning is delivered to them in the same way that they are being entertained.  Once logged the possibilities of what students are looking for, creating, and being entertained with are endless!  ATCS reminds educators that we must "further skills in collaboration and digital literacy to prepare students for 21st employment." 

In the midst of the constantly changing technology and how we communicate and learn from them we can see that students who posses the DESIRE and WILLINGNESS to learn will do so out of the motivation to keep up with their peers.  No longer is information possessed by the teacher and then poured into the minds of their students, rather, students may be the first to acquire the information from a variety of sources and now are ready to move on quickly. 

My interest as a teacher returning to the classroom lies in the understanding of the unintended consequences of this constant connection to the evolving e-life.  Are we creating an impatient generation that wants quick answers but lack the patience to read in depth articles?  Are we developing learners that expect to be entertained?  What about students activity levels and outdoor time? 

The storyboard that I had a blast creating is portraying at a basic level the distance that this instant connecting generation may be creating with the people they can touch and hug everyday!