By the end of this week, you should complete the following:
- Fill out the Pre-Assessment Survey
- Create a Google account if you don't already have one
- Watch the video and read the article on 21st century learning and discuss within the Blog comments feature
PRE-ASSESSMENT:
Take a moment to fill out the Pre-Assessment Survey: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dGt0eFR4N280YnZDaDl5alhsOGRuYWc6MQ
This will help us get some background on your skills and type of device you will be working with. We will use this information to match you up with your mentor.
HOW TO MANEUVER AROUND THE COURSE BLOG:
Watch this screencast on how to get around the blog:
SETTING UP A GOOGLE ACCOUNT:
Much of what we will be doing will require a Google Account. If you already have a Google account that you wish to use, then skip ahead to the next assignment.
If you need to set up an account, or if you would like to make use of the BHRSD Google for Education account, then follow the steps to do that in this document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1h0JV6Bg5HvbUzxqOq4eKHCeQQOdy_ohZeo4rJeOla7o/edit?usp=sharing
There are a few advantages to using the BHRSD Google account, you get more storage than with a regular Google Account, you will be able to easily connect to others in the BHRSD Google network, and it will keep your school and personal files and accounts separate.
21st CENTURY LEARNING DISCUSSION:
One of the hopes of the course is to begin to think differently about the ways to educate our students. And this includes thinking about ways to teach in a 21st century, tech-rich world. You are to watch the video below and to read the article linked. Then, offer up your comments and reactions to them in the comments section at the bottom of this post.
Watch this video:
Read this article on 21st Century Learning: http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2011/01/21st-century-pedagogy-teachers-should.html
View this infographic on Ways to Morph Into a 21st Century Teacher: http://edudemic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/morphing3.pdf
Post your reactions as a new comment in the Comments area below. Reply to at least one other person's original posting.
NEED HELP?
Feeling confused? Feel free to reach out to Kara (kara.staunton-shron@bhrsd.org) or Tom (tomroy@gmail.com). We'll walk you through any issues.
Have fun!
At Monument, we see the value in getting away from teaching to the test and to being a life-long learner (so much so that we included this sentiment in our own mission statement). Taking this class here is just one more way to continue our education and effect change in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteIn reviewing the differences between the 20th century teaching style and the 21st century teaching style, I can say that I think we are in the process of changing over as a district. In my own department, making the material reflect real-life problems is one of our biggest challenges, but we are moving more and more in that direction. We are moving away from textbooks in favor of discovery-based learning, and we use things like Kuta software for student practice. This allows for greater flexibility in the classroom and in presentation of material. This summer, we are also rewriting an entire curriculum based on exploring real-life financial issues with pieces of the math curriculum embedded naturally into those essential questions.
When looking at the learning pyramid, I noticed that students learn best when they are practicing by doing or teaching others. From experience, I can say that this is true: you never learn better than when you are expected to teach others. A few years ago, I gave my seniors a project: each group was to learn a topic from Precalculus and then teach it to the class. Some did very well with this, but for others, it was a struggle. How can we teach students to learn, organize, and present material better? This remains a goal for the 21st century style teaching.
Ultimately, I liked the idea of “flipping the classroom”, mentioned in the infographic. Ideally, the teacher would function best as a “guide on the side” instead of a “sage on the stage”, forcing students to take a more active role in their own learning.
Lastly, I can’t help but notice that the infographic advocates cell-phone use in classrooms. Honestly, most of the time it seems as though cell phones are a distraction from the lesson at hand. I am curious: has anyone used cell phones as an effective learning tool in the classroom, and in what context have you implemented this usage?
Hi Maria, I like so much of what you say here. There can be a belief that 21st century teaching is a cure-all, that students will automatically be more engaged and learn more just by moving to this type of teaching. I don't really agree with that. Students will still struggle and not be successful. I see this as just another way to have more "tools in your belt". Sometimes they will work, sometimes they won't, but at least you have more methods at hand with which to teach.
DeleteI agree, too, that often the technology is more of a distraction in the classroom. I have found, though, that a couple of good uses for cell phones are for polling the students (we'll look at this later) and for photo projects, some of which I used to do when I taught Social Studies. I'd love to hear what others have to say.
Cell phone use can certainly be a challenge. I think an effective way to address distractions is to focus on the behavioral expectation (engegement in the classroom activities) and only address the specific distractor (phone, music, note, interesting spot on cieling) in realtion to the behavior. Then the discussion tends to be around what the student should do, rather than what I want them to stop doing.
Deleteceiling...apparently no autocorrect here!
DeleteSuch interesting reading and video. I am definitely feeling old, but also excited to learn more and use these tools in the classroom. I have two overriding concerns: 1. in previous classroom work with technology, I feel I have been fighting an unspoken idea that technology is for pleasure, not for school. Even when they can easily access something, having students use technology outside of school can be a struggle. 2. Like many teaching models over the years, these new ideas can be excellent for students who are already engaged in their education and who have supportive and involved parents. We should still be working to learn these new tools, of course, but need to recognize the fallacy of the notion that this is all we need to make learning ideal. I know noone here is under that illusion, but I just want to acknowledge that this is one piece of many in effective teaching and learning.
ReplyDeleteI think you make two great points in here. One about how students don't always "do" technology outside of school. It is amazing how many broken printers, computer crashes, etc. happen at home at night. There is also limited access for some. I feel the same about a push to Bring Your Own Device models. Not all students have a device, or if they do, it is a device like a phone that is not always appropriate for the school task at hand. We can't just assume that students have access, nor the knowledge, to do all sorts of "techie" stuff.
DeleteSecondly, and this goes to some of what you said, that we need to instruct students on how to use some of these tech tools. But I don't believe that the tech tool should be the focus of the instruction, but should an enhancement to the curriculum material that is to be covered.
Hi everyone,
DeleteThank you all for your responses regarding cell phone/tablet use! It has been interesting to read all your comments and strategies for teaching in general, as well as your use of technology.
I agree with Kara that technology should be used as an enhancement to the curriculum material that is to be covered, and this is certainly not a “one size fits all” situation. Just because a certain technology is popular does not mean that it is best for every type of classroom. There are many programs available to us that make for beautiful presentations but perhaps are not ideal for demonstrating every lesson (i.e. Using Animoto to teach the quadratic equation may not be ideal, whereas using it to show a historical timeline montage may be extremely effective). Part of what we can discover here is the strengths of each program so that we can match the program with the overarching goals of each lesson.
In fourth grade, I'd be very leery about BYOD and using it in the classroom. However, I'm forcing myself to think that it might not be so different from using a calculator or any other manipulative we share with this age level. To all of you who work with middle and high school students you have my respect. Reading about tech and math was very much appreciated. Thad showed us the Dan Brown video at a faculty meeting and I must say that I've been trying to impact my practice in a different way since. My class loved IXL (used it for the free 30 day trial), some of the games at the Cool Math site, but I want to set up more inquiry-based problems as I move forward this year. I'm grateful for the collegiality and the collective wisdom that I read here.
DeleteThanks everyone for your comments, insights,video and suggestions. In one of the blogs I read this week, Bill Ferriter challenges us to not see technology as an outcome but as a tool. This statement has resonated with me ever since I read it. In fourth grade, I often get bogged down with the minutia of each specific curriculum as mandated by MA Frameworks and Common Core and have to keep reminding myself to step back and see the big picture. I've been looking at tech this week with "fresh eyes" and thinking about possibilities in which kids can ask and answer a combination of their own and curriculum-related questions, and how they can read a variety of visual information closely to synthesize their own understandings.
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