Whew! Time has gone by too quickly!

With all good intentions, I set out the summer full of ideas and ready to implement all of the new things I learned when I attended the Shift and DALLA conferences.  Then, I took a 9000 mile trip across the United States and of course, overwhelmed with new sites and ideas.  Since then I have been in recovery and unable to get back on track with Twitter, Google, Badger, Blogging, etc.  Needless to say, I learned so many things during the conference, I just need to immerse myself once more and get back into the swing of things.

During the conferences, there were so many new ideas, and energetic people who demonstrated various levels of experience and excitement about the ongoing tidal wave of new technology and applications.  I find myself looking, shopping literally for the perfect fit for my classroom and students.  The computers have been on hiatus during for most of the summer because of some negative behavior while I was vacation, but we will be starting up again in the next week.

So far, I have developed my own grade tracking Google Sheets program and have shared that with the other teachers in my PLC.  For me, my classroom is a revolving door and it is difficult to track my students work, credits, and grades across the year accurately.  By using Google Sheets, I am able to give each student their own grade sheet, and even if they come in for a week in the fall, then return at the end of semester, I am still able to keep an accurate count of their credits, as well as the assignments they finished.  Sharing the document is easy as well, allowing other teachers who may have the same student to see what the student has completed.

What does it mean to you to be an educator in the digital age?

Time again to blog away...Today's topic is, "What does it mean to me to be an educator in the digital age?"  As a teacher who is almost 60, I feel like I am peddling as fast as I can to stay up with all the technology. I realize my students are being bombarded with the same opportunities I am and if I am going to be considered as a credible educator by my students, I am going to have to acquire and maintain new technological skills. My students' interests involve technology, therefore it only makes sense for me to involve technology in teaching required subject matter through a medium they enjoy using.  I need to be savvy about wrapping common core standards within applications, allowing my students to be creative and interactive. This is the challenge.

I don't need to know it all...my students will teach me.  That's the fabulous part of teaching in the digital age.  I know my students are engaged when they stop what they are doing and share some new facts about something they are researching.  Or they get excited about the Google slide presentation they completed and are willing to share with the class.  

I know that if I was a student today, (and I guess I am still a student, just an older one), I would be excited to learn and use as many applications as I could.  There are so many opportunities and outlets for young people today!  I grew up in an age of manual typewriters and slide rules!  Thank goodness for advancements in technology.

Check out the ISTE Standards
For Teachers:  https://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-T_PDF.pdf
For Students: https://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf

Less than two months and school will be out. It is hurry, hurry time as we teachers try to squeeze the most out of our students before their energy wanes and the desire for vacation overwhelms them.  I too desire for summer, but as a responsible adult I need to focus!  And I remind myself frequently....FOCUS.

Good news comes at the end of the year also. Students pass their Exit Exams after struggling multiple times.  The joy they feel is almost as tremendous as the joy I feel!  It is such a spectacular feat for some of my students who are only one step away from giving up and wanting to drop out.  But something tells them to push on and they receive the benefits of their perseverance.  

I really enjoy the rush of the end of school.  Two months will fly by and before I know it I will be starting a new school year with summer school.  It starts the next day after the last day. I know its crazy but I really love the work I do and I enjoy helping my students surpass their own expectations.  Most of them do! 

My class is almost finished, but that doesn't mean I will not quit blogging.  I'm not sure how often I will do it, but it has been beneficial to me to review my thoughts on my teaching experience as well as consider what my students need to be digital citizens.  Overall this course has help me try new applications which I would have hesitated trying just because I wouldn't know how to apply it.  At first it seemed like a lot of work, but then it got easier as I felt more comfortable and got into a routine.  Most of the teachers in the class taught  younger ages in traditional classrooms and often times it was hard to relate.  Yet teaching is teaching and many of the skills they discussed about classroom procedures and organization were a good reminder for me.  Many of the teachers were young and very innovative, they totally have embraced technology and it was great to hear their perspectives about learning centers and teaching their students with technology.

Where I teach, there are limitations which I have expressed many times, but I would like to improve and incorporate more technology continuously.  I will always need to monitor very strictly to ensure the safety of my students, but there are so many different applications my students can learn and apply to their school work.  It is all a matter of me gaining the experience and being able to apply that experience in order for my students to be engaged within and utilize the same technology.

Here is a Glogster that I made to represent some of the things I learned...check it out...

http://amckellar222.edu.glogster.com/technology-glog/

As far as the ISTE Standards, I think my strongest areas are the first and second standards: 1) Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, and 2) design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments. I am working on the third and fifth standards: 3) Model digital age work and learning, and 5) Engage in professional growth and leadership.  I definitely follow the guidelines for promoting and modeling digital citizenship and responsibility by monitoring my students' work carefully. The school district firewall prevents my students from e-mailing or receiving e-mail from outside sources and they can't access social networks such as Facebook. I constantly need to remind myself to remind students about citing sources. It is so easy to just copy a picture or use ideas that some one posted on the internet.  I no longer allow my student to work through assignments on the computer without processing their ideas first on a piece of paper. I want them to synthesize information rather than cut and paste from the internet.  It all takes time.

Finally, I am a life-long learner and I will continue this work. It might look differently than it does now, but I find it a challenge and I am always up for a challenge.

After a week hiatus, I am now faced with the project of thinking about creating an ideal learning space in my classroom that utilizes technology and collaborative learning. Unfortunately I am limited technologically and collaborative learning isn't a safe practice inside juvenile hall....so I will have to think about an ideal classroom separate from my current teaching assignment.  In addition I am required to utilize the notetaking method of sketch notetaking which will be a real challenge for me. I am a methodical notetaker, very linear, what a surprise.  I like my notes to be organized, but I will try my best.

First let me think about what elements I would need in an ideal classroom.  First off, I would use tables instead of desks, where groups of two to four students can sit with each other in order to collaborate.  Secondly, I would have a work table that includes markers, art supplies, colored paper, utensils needed to create and organize student work. Technologically, the classroom would have notebooks and WiFi where students are able to take computers to their work area to collaborate with each other.  Students would also be able to access the Smartboard easily and work on it as a group. A color and a black and white printer will be available for printing student work. Walls would have meaningful posters related to topics covered in class, a word wall that constantly changes according to topics covered, and a timeline that represents the time period covered during history.

Here is my first attempt at note sketching...

This week I will address how do my interactions with students, teachers, supervisors or parents make use of Communications & Collaboration? What is most surprising to me in these interactions? Most of the time, I e-mail constantly or text using my phone. I prefer people to text or e-mail me because I am not always available by phone and I rarely check my voicemail. Texting and e-mail is a 24 hour, seven-days-a-week and I can answer them at 10 at night or 6 in the morning without waking anyone up. It is really convenient. I communicate with my students mostly by direct interaction. I give them assignments on the computer which they share with me and I write back comments. I would probably say this occurs about 10% during class time. Some of my students use independent study programs where I e-mail comments to them after I grade their work. I collaborate with other teachers through our PLC in meetings. I also share almost all of my documents with other teachers through Google. While my PLC work together on shared themes in math, english and history we do not necessarily share the same methodology of teaching the curriculum. I have incorporated most of my lessons through Google and they use other ways.

I'm not really surprised by the interactions I have. I teach in an isolated classroom away from a school. Besides working in my PLC, I do not have much contact with other teachers, supervisors or parents. While I can contact parents to discuss school related issues, I am apprehensive to deal with parents whose children are incarcerated. I would prefer to talk to them face-to-face, but there is not much opportunity for this to occur.

The second thing I need to address is which modalities, strategies and tools do I use most often and which modalities could I use more often in collaboration and communication. As stated before, I e-mail and text when I have time to respond to another's communication. In the mornings, before school starts, I fill out attendance in a google sheet that I share with the Edops secretary but this is still more asynchronous than synchronous. I rarely communicate synchronously unless I am in a situation such as a class where I am given an assignment and need to answer the assignment within a specific time period.

The opposite is true with collaboration. I think that I am much more synchronous in collaboration efforts, mostly because the collaborations I am involved are structured and have a time table. Occasionally they can be asynchronous as I run into people in person or online where we discuss a shared issues.  

Can I be more collaborative and communicative in different ways than I already am? I'm sure I can. I usually change the way I do things when something isn't working or I have the opportunity to see or learn a new way that I find to be beneficial.  Sometimes, it may not be my ideas to make the changes, but I will need to go with it becuase it is the new way of doing things.

This Will Revolutionize Education

Mostly I have been blogging because of a class requirement, but in this instance, I would like to share a video I showed my students today. We watch this gentlemen quite frequently for science class, but occasionally he covers other topics such as this one. I think he made some valid points and my students like what he had to say as well. Check him out.

Curation and Creation

This week I have worked on using the program Symbaloo to curate sites I believe will be helpful to my students.  The internet sites I chose related to the work we do in class.  Some of them are education sites we use on a daily basis, others relate to special projects, and then I added a few that will help my students with their writing experience.

I'm not quite sure how to share this with my students because of the limitations placed on them, but I am going to try sending it to them through Google, then have them add it to their bookmarks bar so they can access it when they want. I will have to try it next week and I will let you know how it turns out.  I might have to try several things before I get success.

I will share the site with my PLC only because they share some of the students, and we are studying the same themes in english, math, and history.

For our next assignment, I want to try a couple of things. First I found a video about animating with Google slides.

I really liked this activity because my students have experience with Slides and this would enhance their knowledge of what they already know.  I'm thinking this would be great to have one of my students create a presentation like this using WWI images and statistics. 

In addition, I want to use the program GoAnimate to make a cartoon video to explain an idea to my students. I'm not sure what they will look right now. Something will come to me over the next week while I'm teaching or driving to and from work.  Sometimes, I just need to relax my brain and ideas will come. One reason I will choose to do make a cartoon animation rather than video tape my image is because I think my students will like it more. Another reason is that I can script it more carefully and control what appears on the video. I think this will be a lot of work and I am not very comfortable with the process right now, especially since I have never done it!  There might be an advantage in giving my students a break from my direct instruction.  Plus it would be great to give them the opportunity to create one of their own.

ISTE: Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

The International Society for Technology in Education, (ISTE), provides a set of standards and performance indicators for teachers to build into their daily teaching routines. The overall purpose of standard two is to challenge teachers to utilize technology in their presentation of information and assessment, as well as giving students an opportunity to creatively develop projects, learn to research effectively, and incorporate the research into a meaningful medium to share with others.

There are three sub-sections of standard two that I will focus on: 
B) Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
C) Customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
D) Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.

This is the first year where I have been able to use Google and all of its applications, therefore I am just a beginner when it comes to using standard two effectively. Of the three subsections, I would say, sub-section 2D is my strongest.  I assign a variety of assignments to my students using Google Slides and Google Docs. Students learn to share their document with me where they can present it to the class on the Smart Board, and I can give them on going feedback on their progress.  I develop vocabulary quizzes and reading comprehension questions through Google Forms. I have just added Flubaroo to my repertoire of digital tools to grade my multiple choice assessments. Students use programs such as Khan Academy and Odysseyware for independent study work. Both these programs are common core friendly and give students quick feedback on their progress. Our PLC has developed math assessments where we use Illuminate to grade and track progress.  

Sub-section 2C would be my next area of strength.  Most of my assignments are made with the diverse learning needs of all my students.  Sometimes I do have students are off the charts, either extremely low or high.  Most of them function between the 4th and 8th grade levels of math and reading comprehension.  Having assignments where students can type rather than write is a confidence builder for most students, plus it is easier for me to read and grade. When a student finishes his or her regular classroom assignment, they can access on-line learning programs, allowing a more directed independent-study experience, while the rest of the class finishes. Technology has helped give extra time for students who need it.

The least skilled area for me is sub-section 2B.  First of all, the environment where I work does not allow students to pursue their own "individual curiosities," because of the restrictions of probation. This year they have much more freedom than in previous years since our server has been pulled under the school district umbrella and the firewall allows students to reasonably browse in Google. This area is a tricky subject, and I don't want to seem pessimistic about my student population.  In general, my students are very limited by their own lack of educational experience.  To help my students complete assignments, I have to restrict their options rather than increase them because if they have too many choices they get overwhelmed.  They tend to lack ability to pare down and prioritize information. 

I think that I am on the right path as far as strengthening my skills in using technology in the classroom  I try to take advantage of opportunities such as this class where I can get exposure to new methodology. I don't have a lot of time to explore the net and try new programs on my own. Therefore I depend on what others are doing and their success with the program. I think this is an accurate assessment of where I was before completing this module.  My goal for technology is related to my own personal knowledge of digital tools and passing that knowledge on to my students.  The ways it might be different is the awareness of the standards and with awareness comes ideas of how I can be more effective in the classroom.

Digital Citizenship and the ISTE Standards for Teachers

In the environment I work in, students usually are not as ethical and concerned about respecting other's property, either physical or intellectual as other students in a more traditional school. Therefore, it is an essential goal to teach ethics and respect across the board in all things. As a teacher it is my responsibility to first model the behavior I want to elicit from my students. 

One of the first things I must do, and I have been lax about, is to make reference to materials I borrow from the internet and to require my students to add bibliographies at the end of their Google presentations. The ISTE standard 4a  for teaching technology suggests that there is a need to "advocate, model, and teach safe, legal and ethical use of digital information and technology." To utilize this in my classroom, I need to teach my students how to compile citations as they search for information and then organize the citations in bibliography form. This process will not be a one-shot deal because my population of students changes almost daily, so therefore it needs to be addressed every time I have students research for information on the computer.  

Citing sources will need to be a key step written out on the worksheets I create for the assignment. Extra time will need to be allotted to allow students to be more thorough in their research efforts. Since the diversity of my students includes grade levels, learning styles, and technological experience, every lesson has to be built on review of the basic expectations which includes safe, legal, and ethical use of the information gathered off the internet.

Students in the Hall are not allowed to interact with others through social mediums. They are allowed to forward their work to me, but they are not allowed to send messages between themselves or to others unless they are teachers. Understanding this, I will not be spending too much time on promoting digital etiquette and responsible social interactions specifically. I will in a general sense when discussing the responsibility of using computers in the Hall.

Finally, I spend a lot of energy in developing and modeling cultural understanding and global awareness with my students.  Stereotyping and prejudice influence most of my students attitudes towards people of different cultures and race. Asking the hard questions and expecting students to respect differences is precedent in my classroom. The expectations naturally flow into their digital presentations.

Since I have a relatively large digital project coming up on World War I, I will have the perfect opportunity to teach and incorporate elements of digital  citizenship and responsibility.

Incorporating Technology in the Classroom.

Forty years ago I sat in a classroom, pen and pencil were my primary tools in most of my classes, a slide rule for Physics classes.  It is hard to believe that my cell phone has more memory than the IBM computer I owned back in the 80s. It's all a blur, how quickly technology changed the way we handle information, one idea igniting hundreds, and thousands more ideas. The possibilities today seem almost limitless.  I suppose the limit would be how much we as humans can learn during our lifetime and that is where teaching comes into the equation. We don't necessarily have to know it all to teach our students to be curious about the world, we just need to be able to open the door for them so they are able to explore and find their own interests.  

The population of students I work with unfortunately have not had a good relationship with school.  Their goal is basically to be done with school, the quicker, the better. They treat their assignments in a similar matter, do the least amount to pass and get credit. My biggest challenge has been to motivate my students to research, to think deeper, to just not settle for the first answer they come across when they google. If only they knew what it was like to have to write out all your assignments by hand, type them on a typewriter with no spell correction, and to use an encyclopedia for all your research, they would be grateful for modern technology. They would be thrilled at the ease of it all, but they are products of a technological age, and it would be hard for them to imagine that world. The reason I became a teacher was because I love to learn and it doesn't matter whether you are product of the 1950s or 2015, learning is learning and using the tools of the day to achieve your goals can only enhance your learning. What took crayons, colored pencils , scissors and glue to make project posters in the past can now be precisely presented in digital form on a Smart Board.  It is all exciting to me, and it is my job to inspire the same enthusiasm in my students.

This year is the first year that I have been able to actively use Google docs with my students.  I have spent most of the year interacting with them through e-mail, forms, docs, and slides.  Figuring it out how it all works for our assignments has been a journey.  By now, my long term students are becoming more proficient using Google and for the most part they can complete tasks without instruction. Unfortunately, my student population is always changing. New students come in with different levels of experience with Google, and their ability to use and understand how to use Google differs.  With most students I am successful with teaching substitution, with fewer numbers, we reach augmentation, and very few are able to master modification.  Redefinition is not practical, my students are not allowed to publish their products through blogs or on the internet in the public realm.

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

I just made a new Voki. See it here:: http://www.voki.com/pickup.php?scid=10979861&height=267&width=200

Technology Integration Matrix

Working in a Juvenile Hall, there are restrictions to what students can access through technology.  When I first started, students were not even allowed to access the school e-mail accounts, but now they have more freedom.  They still are not allowed to access e-mail from outside programs such as Khan Academy, Road Trip Nation, or the Big History Project which are programs we are actively involved with in class, but we manage to figure out alternatives.

What we can do is utilize the great applications within Google Chrome as well as extensions that are provided through Google.  I have not been overly creative in assigning projects.  Mostly we as a class have used Google Slides (Presentation), Forms, Docs and Sheets.  We have done projects in Science, English and History.  The Big History Project, a online science/history experience program has introduced the creation of an infograph where students create a one-page document that introduces and explains a topic such as The Big Bang Theory.  I have students use Google Slides to make their infograph.  I give students a rubric for researching the information and graphics for the picture, then they create their page.  I give them several days to complete the project, and then they share the document with me, I show them on the Smart Board and students present their document.  I have not had any students who refused to get up in front of the class. They appear to be excited about sharing and overall, they have done a very good job.  

For the most part, I would say that my students and I are at the level of Adoption. I choose the tool for the student and they utilize the tool to create a product.  I think my assignments have included most of the characteristics of the learning environment within the Adoption level. My student population tends to fluctuate.  Some students are in for a day and others stay for six months.  Some students come in and out of the hall and then others I see once and then never again.  Adoption is probably the highest level I will be able to achieve with most of my students because of the fluctuation.  I have a few long term students who would benefit from learning to use new tools. but I need to consider the entire population of students and whether or not they have enough skills to learn something more complex.

I am intrigued with the video maker. My students are not allowed to video themselves or others, but they could put images together in a video format.  Of course these are things I will need to learn to do myself before teaching students.  Unfortunately, everything my students do on the computer has to be monitored strictly and this can be quite limiting. Yet, despite the limitations, my students have enjoyed having the opportunity to use computer technology, not only for classroom assignments, but for credit opportunities.