Reflection - Wk. 8 - EDUC 6715- New & Emerging Technologies

Wow, we made it to the last week of the last course of our Masters program!!!  I have learned so much over the course of my classes at Walden Online University.  I have enjoyed the discussions on the discussion boards with peers and learned a lot from completing the various application assignments and assigned readings.  I am now in touch with the latest educational technology trends being used to support learning in the classroom and have developed many lesson plans and unit plans based on current research and new technologies.  In addition, I have read about and developed my own personal opinions on current research that includes philosophical ideas relating to technology and education, trends in educational technology, and many forms of educational technology such as MUVEs, digital gaming, and online learning.

Through my learning in this class, I am now able to inform my colleagues and administrators to new and emerging educational technologies available to support learning.  In my lesson plan, I discovered a new online site that helps reinforce content through a short animated video, game-like activity, and a creative art project that incorporates an art concept.  Many of the online educational sites I discovered were free to teachers for use in the classroom to reinforce and teach content.  These sites incorporate the many learning styles, such as interpersonal, kinesthetic, visual, and auditory learning.  Students can use new technologies to store projects (cloud computing), collaborate on projects (wikis, blogs, discussion boards, etc...), and reinforce content learning (MUVE, digital games).  Using new technologies should be used to support and reinforce the learning that is taking place in the classroom, by the teacher.  As Gillard & Bailey (2007) state, "Remind educators that it is a tool to help them improve teaching, not a change in course content" (p.90).

Using new technologies engages, motivates, and challenges students to learn new content.  The Horizon Report states, "Technology is impacting our lives, and the lives of our students, in new and expanding ways.  Technology is now recognized as a primary way to stay in touch and take control over one's own learning.  Multisensory, ubiquitous, and interdisciplinary, technology is integrated into nearly everything we do.  It gives students a public voice and a means to reach beyond the classroom for interaction and exploration" (p. 6).  Students are using new technologies outside of the school, why not incorporate some of these new technology uses into the classroom?

Teachers need to keep up-to-date with new and emerging technologies through online classes, professional development opportunities, online research, and connections with fellow colleagues.  I will continue to keep my eyes and ears open to opportunities to learn more about technology use in the classroom.  I will also help support teachers in my school building who are new to using technology and need ideas and assistance. 

Digital tools are constantly changing and transforming into newer technologies.  Being able to understand and discover which new technologies work well in the classroom is important when making decisions on which technologies to purchase and use in the classroom.  This class has helped me understand and discover new technologies which I will practice using myself over the summer and incorporate into the classroom next school year.

Application 4 - Spotlight on Emerging Technology: Online Learning in K-12 Schools

http://voicethread.com/share/1183828/
View this Voicethread presentation by clicking on the above link.
Hope you enjoy it!
Becky DePuy

EDUC 6714 - Wk. 8 - Reflection Blog Post

Throughout this course I have learned about the Universal Design for Learning, Differentiated Instruction, and how to use technology in the classroom to support and adapt instruction to meet student's needs.  The goal of Universal Design for Learning, as Dr. Rose (2009) states, is "to provide every student with the maximum opportunity to learn" (UDL - dvd).  It is about changing the environment and instructional methods to support and help every child succeed.  It is all about offering students choices and options.  Every student learns content in a different way.  We need to be aware of that as teachers and present information in multiple ways.  I learned that with Differentiated Instruction, from Dr. Tomlinson (2009), that "Teachers can differentiate content, process, product, affect, and learning environment according to students' readiness, interests, and learning profile" (Intro. to DI- dvd). 

I will use the resources that my peers in the Differentiation Station social network (Group 3) provided to help me implement the principles of UDL and DI.  My peers provided many DI links to many good internet resources such as Google Videos, IKNOWTHAT.com, knowitall.org, many learning profile sites, brainpop.com, and http://tech4di.wikispaces.com/.  I will use the survey sites provided in the Differentiation Station to get a better feel of who my students are, their interests, favorites, and learning styles.  I feel that to truly provide the best instruction to your students, you need to find out the most you can about them and how they learn. 

As far as immediate adjustments I will make to my instructional practice regarding the use of technology integration, I will allow my students to have more options in their research and reflection projects using technology (such as podcast, blogging, VoiceThread, and PowerPoint) and continue using the Jumpstart Artist program which differentiates content learning for students and uses levels of readiness in many of the program's games.  Computer simulations and virtual learning is one area that I want to look at better over the summer to see where I can integrate this next school year.  I want to look at Virtual Art museums and how I can use these resources to differentiate instruction in my classroom.  It is best to give students multiple options for taking in information and making sense of ideas. 

Overall, this class has provided me with much information on helping me use technology to differentiate instruction and make my classroom a better learning environment.  I have gained many online resources from my peers that I will use to support student learning and engage students.  I have enjoyed the online chat with my Walden peers that took place during this course and also enjoyed the discussion boards each week, where we could support, challenge, motivate, encourage, and give suggestions to our Walden peers.    I feel more confident in my knowledge of DI and UDL and providing a better learning environment for my students.  This course has opened my eyes to the importance of looking at the various learning styles and multiple intelligences and using many different resources to help support my students' learning of content.

Final Reflection

As this course, Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas, comes to a close, I am reflecting upon what I've gained from this course that I can apply to my content and that I can apply in the future.  One of the main strategies that I am going to take with me is developing a GAME plan, where I am always setting goals, performing actions towards those goals, monitoring and evaluating my plan as it progresses.  I really like this concept and will use it myself and with my students now and in the future.  This course really promoted the idea of self-directed learning for students and described ways that technology can be used to accomplish a more self-directed approach.  Using problem-based learning, social networking, and digital storytelling are a few ways that I learned to integrate technology into my content while promoting self-directed learning among students.

At the beginning of this course, we were to look at the NETS-T standards for teachers and chose at least two standards that we were not as proficient or confident at utilizing in the classroom.  I chose design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments and engage in professional growth and leadership.  As the weeks went on, I tried to incorporate the problem-based learning into my classroom and explored various digital-age learning experiences, such as social networking programs, digital storytelling, and online portfolio systems.  I feel that the GAME plan that I developed and followed throughout this course really made a difference in my engagement, motivation, and learning.  Having the goals and each week working towards them really challenged me.

As I discovered the NETS-S standards for students towards the end of this course, I am going to include these standards in my lessons to students.  I will try my best to integrate these standards into my current content lessons and integrate technology when I see fit.  I would like to use discussion boards and blogs more in my classroom as a form of educational social networking around specific content standards.  I like the point in this course where Dr. Peggy Ertmer describes integrating technology effectively requires "knowledge, confidence, beliefs, and a supportive culture" (Enhancing Content - Part 1 dvd).  This point is so true, for teachers to integrate technology effectively they must be competent in those areas.  Belief is a main part because many older teachers just don't believe that technology can enhance and support learning.

In conclusion,  I am going to continue developing and following a GAME plan and engaging in professional development and ongoing research into different technology resources that I can use in my classroom.  This summer, when I have more free time, I am going to research and explore more social networking sites, podcast sites, and ways to integrate technology into my Art lessons.  I fully believe that self-directed learning and authentic learning experiences help students learn content best and that integrating technology not only builds their knowledge and skills that they will need for the future, but enhances their learning of content.

This is an example of my high school Art 1 student's computer art using Microsoft Paint program.

This is an example of what can be done on Artsonia.com  

Upload student artwork to Artsonia.com and tee-shirts and other merchandise can be purchased with student artwork on it.  Artsonia.com gives 15% of profits to the school.

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

By using a "GAME" plan, teachers are promoting self-directed learning through the process of planning, monitoring, and evaluating actions.  The "GAME" plans involves setting goals, performing actions, monitoring progress towards the goals, and evaluating whether or not the goals were accomplished.  I think that this is a good and very organized way of meeting objectives and content standards. 

I did not know until today that there were both technology standards for teachers and students.  After investigating the ISTE website, I was made aware of what the standards are for both teachers and students.  Although, I was kind of disappointed to see that the only standards posted for students were from the year 2007.  The student standards were similar to the teacher standards, such as developing digital citizenship, inspiring creativity and innovation, and communication/collaboration.

I think that I will introduce these technology standards to my high school Art 1 class.  I will have a discussion with them about how these standards can be integrated into our curriculum and get their input.  It would be good for them, at that point, to use the "GAME" plan process and develop some personal goals.  Then, throughout the remainder of the school year, it would be good to come back a few times and look at the technology standards again and monitor and evaluate actions taken towards the personal goals.

As far as my younger elementary art students go, I feel that I will take my knowledge of the student technology standards and try to integrate them into the curriculum as best as possible.  The short amount of time spent with students each week in art class would make it impossible to cover the Visual Art content and spend considerable time discussing the technology standards with them, especially at such a young age.  So, it is really my job to have a "GAME" plan for integrating the technology standards with them into content lessons.

I have learned a lot throughout this class and will continue to develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments and engage in professional development in the future.  The necessary component throughout this and to make successful connections is to take the time and effort to do so, because without time and effort new engaging lessons will not take place.  It takes time and effort to design lessons, integrate new technology resources, and learn new learning strategies.

Revising GAME Plan

The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for teachers are goals in which I hope to integrate into my classroom.  Of the five standards, I chose standard 2 (Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments) and standard 5 (Engage in professional growth and leadership) as standards that I did not feel as confident or proficient as I would like to be.  During the past few weeks of this class, I've been working on improving my confidence and proficiency of these standards.

What have I learned so far that I can apply to my instructional practice?
I have learned that it is very important for me to design lessons that present students with self-directed, collaborative, authentic experiences where they are using digital tools and resources to learn content.  I have also learned that it is important to give students more choices to pursue their individual strengths and for them to set goals, manage their own learning, and assess their own progress towards the goals.

What goals are you still working toward?
I am still working on designing and developing more digital-age learning experiences and assessments.  As I am learning about new technology and resources available online, I am going to try to review these tools, practice using these tools, and try using them with my students. 

Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?
I believe that all teachers should set their own personal goals for instruction that they are working towards on a continual basis.  In addition to my goals of designing and developing digital-age learning experiences and assessments and continuing to engage in professional growth and leadership, I am setting a new goal for myself of standard 3 (Model Digital-Age Work and Learning).  I want to "demonstrate fluency in technology systems and transfer current knowledge to new technologies and situations" and "model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning" (NETS-T Standards).  I want to be an example to my students and colleagues.  I want to use, model, and help others understand and use digital tools and resources for learning content.

If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?
I am ready to set a new learning goal, as stated in the above question.

What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?
Recently I have discovered all of the free digital tools and resources that Google provides online.  I am going to set another goal of researching and learning about these tools and resources to see what may be integrated into my classroom to use with students.  So, my learning approach is to be flexible and to always be on the lookout for new digital tools and resources to add to my knowledge and to use in the classroom.

Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress

My learning this week has been on problem-based learning.  Although I understand what problem-based learning is and what it encompasses, I am having trouble thinking of ways to integrate this learning strategy into my elementary art and high school Art 1 curriculum.  Problem-based learning involves students researching and analyzing various solutions to a real-world problem.  Here are a few of my thoughts regarding the implementation of PBL in my art classroom:
1. Culture and how it affects the arts
2. Is everything that people create considered art? What essentially is considered "art"?
3.  How does art that is put on public display affect the viewers?
4. Should religious art be put on display in public government buildings?

How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?
My actions were successful in helping me meet my goals.  By researching visual art learning experiences for my students that were more self-directed, I have discovered more ways to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessment.  By talking with colleagues, emailing other art teachers, and attending professional development opportunities presented, I am meeting my goal of engaging in professional growth and leadership.

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
I have learned to involve my students in more self-directed, collaborative learning activities, where they have a choice for how they would like to present their information to the class.  Also, using technology to support student learning enhances their learning and is necessary in the 21st century in which we live.  So, I try my best to research ways I can use technology resources in the classroom to support content learning.

What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?

I have to practice using the technologies that I have available to me in the classroom, so that I feel comfortable using and teaching with them.  I still have to learn to be patient and to take it one step at a time when using new technologies in the classroom.  Also, being flexible is important.  There really isn't any new questions that have arisen, other than how do I use problem-based learning with the content that I teach?

How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?
There is not much adjusting to my GAME plan that needs to be done.  I will continue researching and analyzing ways to design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments and engaging in professional growth and leadership.

I want to share a few statements that I read in our text, Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use.  The statements include, "Creativity is the process of sensing problems or gaps in information, forming ideas or hypotheses, testing and modifying these hypotheses, and communicating the results" and "The use of technology in visual-arts classrooms inspires students to evaluate gaps in information, form ideas, and communicate the results" (p.337).  This sounds very scientific to me.   But, in thinking about the statements, I realize the truth of these two statements.  In the process of being creative, students must look at information and evaluate it, think about it, form their own ideas and thoughts, and display their thoughts and ideas through a presentation or their own artwork.  What do you think about the meaning of these statements?