PQ + CQ

After reading Thomas L. Friedman’s article about PQ (passion quotient) and CQ (curiosity quotient) a few thoughts immediately occurred to me.  First, I thought about how it’s ingrained in us as teachers to be passionate.  However that’s no longer enough – we must also be curious to continue finding new ways to reach students and push boundaries on what what we thought ‘traditional’ education looks like in order to prepare students for the real world.  Secondly, I thought about how as teachers we need to be instilling this idea of PQ + CQ into our students.  Like Friedman says, students will have to adapt and possibly make up a new job that hasn’t existed yet.  Lastly I thought about how this truly relates into building lifelong learners.  As educators it’s our job to develop in students a love for learning.  Students will not only need these skills in the real world, they will need that passion and curiosity to keep them going.

Throughout CEP 812 I have been learning many new things.  PQ + CQ has been a nice way to sum everything up.  While technology is important to education, it’s our passion and curiosity that drives what we do with it.  If we don’t instill that in our students then we aren’t helping them to truly become lifelong learners.

Here’s a video I made on PQ + CQ using PowToon.  Check it out!

Rethinking Teaching – A Wicked Problem

Throughout this course I have been learning about wicked problems and how they are the most difficult kind of problem to solve.  In January of 2013 the New Media Consortium identified five wicked problems.  The past few weeks I, along with the rest of my group, have been working on what it means to rethink teaching.  This was such a relevant topic so it was very interesting to do some research and get my other group member’s ideas and feedback on the topic.

We decided to that when it comes to rethinking teaching there’s a lot to think about.  We focused on what rethinking teaching would mean for the learner, the teacher and the institution.  You can take a look at our Blendspace to see our ideas!

Technology in Communities of Practice

This week for CEP 812 I created a survey to send out to my community of practice, my school.  I created a survey on how technology is being integrated into instruction and what and how teachers want to improve when it comes to using technology.  This survey was sent out to the entire staff at my school and I was pleasantly surprised as almost everyone responded.  This gave me a really good idea of where everyone was at with their feelings towards technology.  Now more than ever teachers need to be comfortable and confident when it comes to using and integrating technology into instruction.  It’s a high stakes world in education right now and technology can help support student learning and help teachers deliver instruction.  Take a look at my white paper here to see how the teachers at my school are using technology to support student learning and what they would like to improve on.

Here is the graphic I created to represent trends from my survey.  I liked the idea of a map because I thought it represented the “road to technology” very well as it is a journey we are on.  One that is allowing us to learn as we go!

Technology to Support Students with ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, is something that affects students in every classroom.  While this special learning need seems to becoming more and more prevalent in our classrooms, the question remains – what can teachers do to help support students with ADHD and their learning?  After doing some research I realized that technology is a great way to support those struggling with ADHD and their learning.  The app EduCreations immediately came to my mind.  Here you can read more about what I learned about ADHD and how EduCreations can help students!  You can see a student example using EduCreations here.

Infodiet & Filter Bubbles

After learning about the many ways we consume information from the internet I realized that being in a filter bubble happens easily and occurs often. I definitely have specific websites/apps that I check pretty regularly every day. While I don’t think this is something that’s unusual I do think most people have ever even heard of a “filter bubble”. Eli Pariser (2011) describes filter bubbles and how they affect society’s problem of only affiliating with people or viewpoints that match your own. What most people don’t realize is how the internet sort of ‘chooses’ for you. It sees what you tend to click on, what websites you visit, your likes, etc. and filters things out accordingly. While at first this idea seems like a good one I have quickly realized it isn’t. If the internet is filtering things out for you, all the time, then how will you ever see things from a different point of view? Gathering information from various perspectives is what helps shape our thinking. If everything you’re seeing is mimicking what you think back to you then you’re not really gaining new knowledge.

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One place most of us go are affinity spaces. In The Anti-Education Era by James Paul Gee, Gee (2013) describes affinity spaces as places on the internet where people who have similar interests can gather and work on those interests together. In my own life I have affinity spaces that I look at that help inform my thinking. Websites like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr all give me information on various things. However because I choose who I follow, I choose the information I want to see and learn about. When I go on these websites I often find articles that support my current thinking on things like Common Core or the curriculum “push” in kindergarten. After reading what Gee (2013), Jenkins, Pariser and Carr had to say in about the information we consume on the internet I realized that I needed to do some searching so that I could find sources of information whose thinking varied from my own.

I use Twitter mainly for education and connecting with and getting ideas from other educators. However I realized that I was in a filter bubble and needed to find some contrasting points of view so that I could inform my thinking even better. As I thought about who I could follow to get this kind of information I thought about things that right now in education are “hot topics”. One thing that sprang to my mind immediately was the Common Core. Following them has allowed to read some articles on the Common Core and to get some different perspectives. Going on with the theme of hot topics in education I decided to follow Rick Snyder, the governor of Michigan. A new law that’s going into affect in Michigan is that third graders will have a reading test and have to be proficient – if they aren’t they will stay in third grade rather than moving on to fourth. To me this is very controversial for a number of reasons but for the sake of helping me to inform and round out my thinking I followed him. Another new source of information I chose was to follow Arne Duncan, the U.S. Secretary of Education. I wanted to follow him to get a better understanding of what’s happening at a national level in education. Thinking of new sources of information to follow was very challenging, but allowed me to see how much of a filter bubble I was in.

Frozen Thought

This week for CEP 812 I read The Anti-Education Era by James Paul Gee (2013).  In his book Gee (2013) discusses how people are stupid.  After reading through it I was surprised at how everything seemed to ring true to me, especially through the lens of education.  In today’s society our education system is in need of a change.  Gee (2013) poses the question of how to solve big, complex problems smartly.  One way to do this is by unfreezing frozen thought.  Often times institutions, such as our education system, find a solution to a problem and then “freeze” that solution even though over time, it becomes less and less effective.

There are many big, complex problems that need solutions in education.  In order to work towards these solutions though the unfreezing of frozen thought must take place first.  Until we start to think about our problems, reflect upon them and make new decisions our frozen thoughts will remain frozen.

Check out my paper on frozen thought!

CEP 812 Problems of Practice Screencast

Teaching kindergarten comes with many challenges.  One of the biggest goals we have is to get them reading.  Within that I expect them to interact with text through various aspects.  Students must be able to comprehend the books they’re reading and one way we practice that is through retelling stories.  In my district we are lucky enough to have one iPad for every two students.  Using the app ChatterPix Kids students can take pictures of a character in the book (or of themselves – all 5 year olds love selfies!) and make it talk.  They can then record audio and retell the story.  This allows students to get creative and have some fun with retelling.  Check out the screencast I created using Show Me.

CEP 811 Reflection

Throughout CEP 811 I have learned more and more about the Maker Movement in education. It’s easy to recognize the advantages of using technology to enhance student learning, but too often teachers recognize the disadvantages first. Technology has so many uses in a classroom, for both students and teachers, and it’s significant to the future of education. It not only prepares our students for a technological world, it allows them to learn and think creatively and compete in digital world.

After working with and learning about the Maker Movement in education I can see myself implementing technological adaptations to assess/evaluate students. As a kindergarten teacher I have found that assessing students in a “traditional” way is difficult because students are just learning how to read and write. Giving them a project to complete where they can be creative and get their ideas out will excite them and keep them interested in learning. One way I have thought about using a technological adaptation for assessing is for writing. Since I have to assess them on their ability to meet a standard based on narrative writing I thought they could do it  using an app called Story Buddy to create their piece. They can type their story and illustrate it so that it ends up looking like a book. Giving students that creative outlet is imperative to keeping them inspired about learning. After using my Makey Makey Kit I also realized the possibilities for assisting students with disabilities in their learning. I think that most students benefit from these same advantages even if they don’t have any disabilities. Giving them the opportunity of learning in that way is powerful. Using my Makey Makey Kit for students to explore with would be hard due to their age, but I definitely think that we could explore ideas as a class and then work on a project together. Keeping students inspired and feeling good about learning is so important because it fuels their attitude towards learning and school forever.

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After taking CEP 810 and 811 I think that I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher and how to grow towards becoming a better one. I also have found that often, when it comes to something that as a teacher, I am “required” to go to, it’s often not worthwhile. I have found with my CEP classes that the things I’m learning in them are not only interesting but also useful!  The content that I have been learning has been so valuable to me because I am then able to try and apply it in my own classroom and see it’s worth. The students are also receiving a huge bonus because they are learning along with me and are getting to try new and exciting things. CEP 810 and 811 have made me want to continue to learn how I can transform my classroom with technology so that my students receive an even better education. I’m excited to continue on this journey!

EdCamp Reflection

A couple of weeks ago I participated in an EdCamp “unconference”.  EdCamps are a form of professional development where the participants make up what the conference will be about rather than having a preset schedule of people presenting information to them.  The participants then are able to discuss and interact with the “presenters” about the topic to give them a rich, knowledgeable professional development experience.  The best part about them are that they’re free!  You can read more about them here.

For my EdCamp we discussed innovative uses of technologies that support learning.  One thing that I really liked about this was that everyone brought something new to the table.  If someone brought up something that other people had used before or knew about then they added their two cents.  I felt like I was getting a lot of useful information from educators who have used these tools and knew their benefits and their drawbacks, and were forthcoming about both!  One thing that I didn’t like was that there were sometimes long pauses between conversations.  I know that part of this was due to the fact that it was all online, rather than face to face.  I’m not sure how to fix that other than for more prompts to be given throughout.   But you want to keep the conversation natural and flowing so that might not be the best bet either.  I also would have liked for the conference to have been broken up into elementary and secondary groups.  Throughout our conversation I felt like it was hard for me to relate to the other people because they mostly taught high school.  I think breaking it up by the grade you teach would give you a better take away.

This type of conversation has great potential for professional development because it allows everyone to have a stake in the conversation and to bring their knowledge to the table.  I think that this type of professional development would be great in my school/district because we have recently went to 1:1 chrome books and 2:1 iPads.  Having an EdCamp would be great for teachers to get together and have a conversation about what they’re finding works the best for their students and classrooms.  Being able to hear what other teachers in our school/district are doing would give many ideas and even help other teachers out since often new technology can be overwhelming.  I also think that this type of professional development would be much more valuable to teachers compared to the traditional kind.  Teachers being able to have a say in what they’re discussing and learning will lead to much deeper learning on their part.

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In order to organize an EdCamp for others there are many things to take into consideration.  I would need to find out various topics that people would even be interested in discussing.  If they aren’t interested in them then no one would come.  I would want to make sure to offer a variety of topics so that people had a choice and would have more to offer.  I would also need to find a time and place that is central and works for everyone.  Like I said before I would try and split the groups into elementary and secondary just so teachers would be able to relate to one another’s conversations.  Overall I think EdCamps are a very valuable experience for educators that allow them to have a say in their professional development.

UDL in the Classroom

This week in CEP 811 I learned about Universal Design for Learning. This is the idea that every classroom is made up of many students who all learn very differently. Universal Design for Learning, or UDL, helps teachers get content across to all students making sure they are really learning it. The CAST center published UDL guidelines that you can read more about here. There are many things that you can do to help meet student needs. Assistive technologies offer many options that have a wide range of uses. Here is a list of technologies that help with UDL in the classroom.

After learning about UDL we were asked to take a look at our lesson plan we created using our Makey Makey Kit. My lesson is  about students working together to complete a game without losing all of their lives. I looked at it with a careful eye and noticed I was already supporting some of the guidelines set out by UDL. I also noticed that there was a lot more that I could be doing. So I went through my lesson plan and made additions where I felt necessary.  You can view my updated lesson here.

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I found that I seemed to do a good job with already including the use of giving directions in various ways (verbally and visually). However I realized that there were other areas where I could add various types of cues in. For example when talking about phrases to use to encourage one another while working together I said that I would write them down. After reading through some of the UDL guidelines I decided to not only write these phrases down but to add a picture with them to help students remember. I also realized that while I had a clear goal in mind of what this lesson would accomplish, I didn’t make the goal as clear to my students. So I decided to not only tell them what the goals were but to again, use pictures to show them. I think that in general, because I teach kindergarten, I give directions and cues in many different ways but I realized that I need to be more purposeful when doing this. Giving directions or cues in this way will allow students to better understand them because it’s going to hit all different types of learners.

Going through the UDL guidelines I recognized the need to also give students the opportunity to keep track of their progress and to challenge them. I noticed there was no way for students to see how they were doing when it came to achieving our goal (to complete the game without losing all of their lives). So I came up with creating a graph where students will put their group on it depending on how many lives it took to complete the game. This will then allow them to collaborate with other groups to get advice on what seemed to work for them. I like this because it gives students a way to see their progress towards our goal but also lets them talk with their peers to get more ideas. Overall my lesson supported some of the UDL Guidelines but I found that there were definite additions to be made. Now that I have learned more about UDL I will keep these guidelines in mind while I create many other lessons for my students.