Module 6 Responses

I have been trying to post to Wanda and Christine's blog since Tuesday, but the comment would not post it kept returning to the sign-in page.  This morning I tried again and saw that Wanda posted the comments to her blog.  So here are my comments for Wanda Ardoin-Bailey and Christine Rand.

Response to Wanda

I like your philosophy, a lot!!!  I agree with you children are coming to us with different backgrounds and at different learning levels.  Teaching is not like it was in the “old days”.  As I reflect on my own educational upbringing, I don’t remember my teachers pulling students to the side for one on one instruction or differentiating the instruction in anyway.  It was a one shot deal.  Sadly, you either got it the first time or you were just out of luck.  Boy times have changed.  I am really looking forward to all that technology has to offer.   Technology has really enhanced my teaching practices and I enjoy using it in and out of the classroom. 

Response to Christine

Yes, Christine one of the biggest advantages about technology is the convenience that it offers.  However, that convenience has had a positive and negative impact on our society.  Using your example about the library, one of the negative impacts is that public libraries are being shut down because people are not utilizing the services.  I will admit that I am guilty of preferring the Internet over the library. The click of a mouse just sounds great when I think about gas prices.  It's like you said it is not about laziness it about options, using your time effectively, and what’s going to save time and money.   

Module 6

During my first year teaching, my mentor gave me a quote from an unknown author and it stated “All students can learn but not in the same way or on the same day”.  This quote has been the focal point of my teaching career.  When I get to a point of frustration, I remind myself that all my students are capable of learning the information that I present to them, I might need to change the way that I am delivering it.    

Technology is continuously changing the way that teachers deliver instruction and students learn information.  However, technology is not just making an impact in education it has changed the way that we function in our everyday living.  For example, now a person can bank online, self check out in the grocery stores, and keep in contact with family and friends through social networks and Skype.  Our students are growing up in a technology centered generation.  With that being said, what is critical and non-negotiable is preparation for the world beyond elementary school.  As an educator, I have to stay abreast of these constant changes in order to better prepare my students for the world outside of school.  My role as an educator is important.  I would like to take more of an of a constructivist approach to learning.    Anderson (2008, p. 20) writes that according to Ertmer and Newby (1993).  Constructivist strategies can be used to teach higher-level thinking that promotes personal meaning.  I have to make sure I’m providing opportunities for my students to engage in technology.  This can occur as an integral piece to my lessons/ activities or as student created activity.  In addition, I have to become comfortable with letting my students take the lead in the classroom and incorporate their knowledge and experiences into the learning environment.  But the bottom line is that the technology tools and skills learned need to be applicable to real world experiences.  Students need to understand how the skills they are learning will help them be successful in the world outside of school. 

Anderson, T. (Ed.). (2008). The theory and practice of online learning. (2nd ed.). Edmonton, AB: Athabasca University Press.

Module 5 Postings

I posted to Lauren Dart's and Bradley Gogan's blogs.

Module 5

Like all school districts mine is very data driven.  We have a set of benchmark assessments that we administer to students every nine weeks to assess their knowledge on the content.   Previously our students recorded their responses to the assessments on scantron answer sheets, which would be graded by a machine.  After the machine graded the answer documents, the teachers would sit and compile the data and send it in to the county office. This process would take hours to complete.  To rectify this tedious process, the school district rolled out iRespond.  iRespond is a handheld students response system that has been presented to the schools as a way to collect data on the county benchmarks quicker and in real time.  With iRespond we are able to immediately identify and track specific questions students missed on the assessments.  In addition, the results from the assessments are immediately sent to the county office for review. 

iRespond also is equipped with other features to assist with technology integration.  It can also be used as a teaching tool.  One of its features is that it has the capability to upload previous created PowerPoint presentations.  Once the presentations have been loaded comprehension questions can be added to the end of the PowerPoint for the students to answer using the iRespond system.  I upload all my previous PowerPoint presentations into iRespond and added comprehension questions to the end of the slides.  I shared with administration how easy this process was and the data that I would be able to collect.  Excited about the news, administration allowed me to do a demonstration at a staff meeting and they encouraged the faculty to utilize the features that iRespond had to offer. 

Some time had passed and I followed up with the faculty via email to see if anyone needed any help with iRespond and to my finding only three other staff members had attempted to use this feature in iRespond.  The teachers felt that it was something extra for them to do and only used iRespond to administer the benchmark test because it was required. 

According to Keller’s ARCS model (Driscoll, 2005) I needed to grab their attention first and could have accomplished this through arousing their curiosity. The next thing I needed to do was to relate the technology’s to personal goals (enhancing relevance) (Driscoll, 2005). For example, by uploading the PowerPoints into iRespond and then adding comprehension questions teachers are saving time of creating assessments, they are able to share among colleagues who again would be saving time because they could pull from a multitude of presentations stored, and they would be able to save time grading and receive instant results for future planning.  Third I needed to inform the teachers the pieces of data that could be generated from iRespond and how this could be useful to show how each student did in mastering specific content areas (building confidence) (Driscoll, 2005).  Finally, share with the teachers that by uploading their presentations into iRespond they are able to do file sharing which in return will save them time and reduce their workload (generating satisfaction) (Driscoll, 2005). 


Reference:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson