Being a Connected Educator

Being a connected educator means that you take the time to connect personally with other teachers, sharing and gaining new knowledge relating to education. In todays society, most connections are done through technology and social media. In order to be a connected educator, you must first be a connected learner. After watching the video by Tom Whitby, I learned that teachers need to teacher students how to analyze their knowledge, "teach them to fish rather than giving them a fish." Everything  around us is changing every day, we, as educators, need to stay on top of everything that is going on. Teachers need to stay engaged and continue learning through their engagement/connections.

One site that I looked at and really enjoyed was http://www.edutopia.org/blog/10-tips-become-connected-educator-elana-leoni. This ten tips are great and very useful as an educator trying to stay connected.
These tips include:

1. Embrace Making Mistakes
2. There's No Right Way - There's Only Your Way
3. Just Jump In
4. Be Open to Learning Unexpected Things
5. Follow Like-Minded People in Education
6. Join the Edcamp Movement
7. Join a Live Virtual Event
8. Block Out Time to Get Connected
9. Be Yourself and Help Others
10. Start Blogging

When I read tip six about joining the Edcamp Movement, that got me really excited because I plan to attend the Edcamp later in March. I can't wait to learn more at this event!

I was unable to be part of the interview with Toby, but I learned a lot by watching the video. He was a big fan of Twitter and talked a lot about the different uses for twitter for staying connected with other educators. One thing I really picked up on was when he said, "you only get out what you put in." This can pertain to just about everything that you do in life and I believe that this is a great quote to live by while going through my teaching career. Toby really stressed that we need to follows several people, but to unfollow those who don't you to become a better educator. He did a really great job of promoting the positives that Twitter can bring to us as future educators. 

I can't wait to learn more about how to become a more connected educator for my future classrooms. I plan to continue using Twitter, Pinterest, Facebook, and keeping up on reading educational blogs. These are all great starts to becoming better connected. 

All About Standards

After taking the standard assessment and looking over my results, I rated highest in Standard 2 (design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments) Standard 3 (model digital-age work and learning) and Standard 5 (engage in professional growth and leadership). My lowest ranking standard was Standard 4 (promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility). Of the missed answers, nothing really surprised me when looking back at the questions. The few problems that I missed were those problems that while taking the test, I struggled with them or were unsure of the answers, but answered them to the best of my ability.

The ISTE Technology Standards for Teachers, include:

1)  Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
2)  Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
3)  Model digital age work and learning
4)  Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
5)  Engage in professional growth and leadership

The ISTE Technology Standards for Students, include:

1)  Creativity and innovation
2)  Communication and collaboration
3)  Research and information fluency
4)  Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making
5)  Digital citizenship
6)  Technology operations and concepts

When comparing these standards there are several similarities that I see between the teaching standards and student standards. They both discus digital citizenship and responsibility. The standard is important for students to learn but even more important for the teacher to learn and be able to teach to their students. If they understand this, they can apply it effectively to their research and presentation use in the classroom. One thing that immediately stood out to me was that they are laid out in very similar ways. They are split up into similar content and concept areas. The biggest difference that I see between these two, was the wording and the meaning of the standards. For example, the teaching standards don't call the idea of working with others and discussing problems communicating and collaboration, they still focus on that same concept. It didn't surprise me that the teaching standards were more complex and used larger words to help define the standard meaning. Looking at the student standards, I noticed that the wording is simpler and in a more understanding language. One major thing about these standards is that they hold the teacher accountable for what they need to be teaching and doing with their students in the classroom. I feel that these standards are very much appropriate for teachers and they are important that they follow the standards. They allow the teachers to become literate with the use of technology. Being able to use technology allows the teachers to be a more effective and engaging teacher. These standards are very basic and easy to follow, and things that teachers should already be doing in their classroom in the first place, just with the use of technology.

I feel that there are many ways to ensure the understanding of these sets of standards. One thing that could help pre-service teachers understand these standards would be to create a communication piece, such as a blog or online chat area, where pre-service teachers can communicate with each other and other teacher already in the teaching field. I think that this would allow for all teachers to communicate with each other about the standards and how to apply them to your classroom setting. You can also give examples of what these standards mean and having them come up with activities that would help achieve that standard. The pre-service teacher can look at the standards and communicate with others about what they feel these standards mean and what ways they can incorporate these activities to meet the standards.

This week I was asked, after looking at and discussing the teaching and student standards, to come up with three lesson ideas. For this activity, I have selected grades 3-5. Below each lesson idea, I have provided the standards that fit that lesson.

1)  Students will work on their group projects about famous Iowans. To successfully complete this project, students will need to communicate and share information before being prepared enough to share with their peers in class. (standard 2)

2)  Students will read different version of the Cinderella story from different cultures. They will compare and find information through collaboration with students from around the world. They will determine whether or not the stories have similar characters, settings, and plots, which will then help them to compare the different stories. (standard 3, standard 6)

3)  Students will create a public service announcement using Movie Maker to explain why we shouldn't bully others. They will be required to interview fellow students and teachers in the school, or community members. They need to define bullying and provide examples of what problems bullying can cause in and outside of school. (standard 1, standard 2, standard 6)

Harris & Hofer's 5 Steps to Lesson Planning

Last week is class we talked about Harris & Hofer's 5 steps to learning. Harris & Hofer discuss five steps that educators should take when planning a lesson for their classroom that technology will be involved in. As a future educator, I feel that it is very important to plan lessons according to these five steps because these steps give all teachers the same strategies that will benefit their lessons and their students when using technological tools in the classroom. I know that most teachers have there own way of creating lessons, but by using these strategies, all teachers can build their plans on the same framework that is most beneficial for their students and their classroom. 

What are these steps you ask? Harris & Hofer's five steps include the following; 

1.  Choose a learning goal

This step is important because without creating actual learning goals, what is the point of your lesson? Having standards to base your lesson off of is very helpful and important to make sure your lesson is actually meeting the standards provided for the students learning. 

2.  Make pedagogical decisions

Thinking about the students actual learning experience is important. If teachers are not planning around learning needs of their students, then the lesson will not be effective to the students. By looking at and using the eight corresponding continua, teachers will have a better chance of connecting with their students and create lessons around their students needs. 

3.   Select activity types to combine

The teacher now determines what activities will help with the learning experience. This is an important step because deciding on an activity that will assist in students learning helps students become more engaged in the lesson.

4.  Select assessment strategies
Assessments are important in order for educators to know if their students are understanding what you are teaching them. If there are no assessments, there is no way to determine understanding or find struggling areas. 

5.  Select tools and resources
The last step, in my eyes, is the most important. This final step is where the teacher finally determines what technology tool they will use in their lesson. It is important to determine the tools and resources last instead of building your lesson around the technology you chose. 

I can honestly say I have not used this method when planning my lessons for classes and practicums, but I have seen a lot of other teachers plan their lessons this way. They use technology tools to increase the effect of their lessons instead of building their lessons around the use of technology. Technology tools should be used to better your lessons and make them more memorable and a better learning experience. If you are planning your lessons around the use of technology, you aren't really spending time on your lesson, but instead thinking more about the technology. 

SAMR Model

Last week in class we talked about the SAMR model. The SAMR model has four different levels of technology integration. These levels include;

Did you notice that dotted line in the middle of the image? The line corresponds with Bloom's Taxonomy, representing the the lower and higher order thinking skills. 

 - Is it important to teach "above the line"? - 

In my eyes, I believe that there is a certain time and place for all of the levels of technology integration. You need to consider whether or not the technology is the central focus of the lesson. The substitution and augmentation levels allow for the technology to be the aid in learning, while they sometimes provide more functions and experiences than traditional paper and pencil method. In the modification and redefinition levels, the task is impossible without the use of technology. This has the potential to be extremely beneficial for the students learning if technology is used in the correct way. Technology is a great way to engage all students and make learning activities more meaningful and memorable for your students. 

 - Is SAMR a good model for teachers to use when discussing technology use with students? - 

I believe that the SAMR model is very important to consider when you begin planning instruction. It provides a great framework for incorporating technology at different levels into the instruction. SAMR gives teachers very little knowledge of technology a place to start with substitution. The teacher moves through the stages to enhance and transform their classroom. It gives you the framework on how to use technology and how to improve the use of technology in your classroom. It is important to consider how technology will play a role in the classroom and assist in the students learning. When you are lesson planning, the SAMR model will help in the thinking of how to "teach above the line" and what needs to be done in order to do so. 

Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK)

One of the main topics that we focused on this week was Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge or TPACK for short. For those who are still unsure what TPACK actually is, it's an approach that stresses the importance of connections between content knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and technological knowledge. From a personal standpoint, I feel that TPACK is important for all education professionals to understand and have knowledge about the three concepts. With this knowledge, they are able to create an effective classroom environment for learning. As long as your lesson has that instructional planning that went into making it, the lesson will be successful as well as meaningful for the students. There is no need to include all three parts into each and every lesson, in fact, at sometimes you may not be able to incorporate all parts, and that is just fine. 

As you can see in the chart above, each of the three sections overlap with another in parts, which makes the planning and use of at least two of the three sections. These interactions are titled: Technological Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), Technological Content Knowledge (TCK), and Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK). Incorporating all sections into each lesson is the educators ultimate goal for writing lesson plans, but there are many other areas of knowledge that the teacher can incorporate into their lessons as well.       

Why is it important for teachers to understand the TPACK Framework?

I personally feel that all concepts being presented with the TPACK Framework are very important to understand for the educator. Without the use of technology, learners are unable to interact as much as they would be able to with the opportunity of using technology in and outside of the classroom. With no content, learners will not learn any of the subject matter required for learning. Without pedagogy, the educator will not be able to learn how their students’ actually learn and which teaching ways are more beneficial. All three parts of the TPACK Framework are very important for all education professionals to learn because without them, their students cannot have the best education that they deserve.

How will this impact you as a future educator?

As a new teacher coming into the world, knowing about the TPACK Framework and how it’s used is very important. I plan to use TPACK with all of my future lesson planning to make sure that all of my students receive the best possible education that they can. I feel that by using TPACK I will make myself a better teacher, and my students’ better learners all within one classroom. From the educator’s point of view, I feel that TPACK will be used in many generations down the road because of its ability to cover the different types of knowledge all within one lesson. In my future classroom, TPACK will play a huge role because I want all of my students to be successful in and outside of the classroom.

Grounded Tech Integration

While reading this article I learned, first, that technology integration efforts most often begin with what the teacher is least familiar with: meaning the actual technologies themselves. Even though becoming familiar and comfortable with the technologies, this alone will not ensure the most successful technologically facilitated teaching.

As a teacher, you need to focus on the students’ standards-based learning needs rather than the technology tools and resources. You must be easily adaptable to the many different teaching styles and levels of technological expertise. As the teacher, you must learn and apply rather quickly with very few additional resources required, even in those more resource-scarce settings.

There are five basic steps when planning a learning event, regardless of the actual planning model used.

• The planning must begin with appropriate learning goals. These goals are usually framed by the district, state, and/or national content based curriculum standards.
• Once the goals are determined, consider a series of eight practical pedagogical decisions to help determine the specific parameters of the learning experience you are planning for your classroom.
• Now you can determine the nature of the specific activities that will make up the learning experience.
• After the activities are determined, you must then select appropriated assessment strategies to progress monitor the students’ progress in achieving the targeted learning goals.
• You must now select tools and resources.

One big thing that you must remember when planning, is that “as students’ learning needs and experiences develop, as contextual conditions change, as teachers’ expertise grows, and as curriculum requirements shift, the decisions and choices made at each of the five stages of planning will similarly change.” With each new development, you may need to modify and make accommodations to help the students. These steps can easily be incorporated into planning with many of the different planning models.

Hi, I'm Kelsey Westrum!

I am currently a Senior at Iowa State University majoring in Elementary Education, with a specialization in Special Education and a Learning Technologies minor. I plan to graduate in December of 2014 and hope to get a job as an elementary strategist three special education teacher.