Wow! Six weeks of internet tools at full throttle! This course was everything that I had expected it to be. It was exciting, insightful, collaborative, and more. In my opinion it is the “meats and potatoes class” because it feels like the main point of what we hope to accomplish as Instructional Technology Specialists. It makes the actual connection between internet tools and classroom applications. My overall experience has been quite positive and I appreciate all the feedback that I received.
The ELL module was a great opportunity to take a closer look at how we support diverse learners with effective integration of available technologies. Although there were challenges in finding an ELL student over the summer, the experience was worthwhile and necessary. The lesson plan project was great and allowed me to reflect on a variety of internet tools that support student engagement and maximize academic accomplishments. Simply put, this course developed a relevant connection between internet tools, student need and purpose for the tools we integrate into our lessons. To promote internet safety in my classroom, some of the strategies that I would use to educate my students on internet safety is to keep my students informed on the power of the internet and how digital activities have a direct impact on their private lives. It is also important to set very clear expectations and guidelines for internet use in the classroom. In addition to setting clear expectations and educating the students on internet safety practices, it is necessary to develop a habit of monitoring student activities online. This continuous effort not only keeps students in check but it allows timely adult intervention when there is internet misuse such as cyber bullying, inappropriate content, etc. The following are 3 websites that I found for safe and healthy use of the internet: www.Ikeepsafe.org This website provides a foundational approach for introducing children to healthy use of the internet. According to information on the website, it was developed “In response to new student data privacy laws passed in California, the California Student Privacy Badge makes it easy for educators to identify privacy compliant products for use in classrooms, and allows vendors to clearly communicate their dedication to privacy best practices”. Parents, students, educators, and communities are encouraged to use this website for determining safe and healthy use of the internet. The website has a mission to “to give parents, educators, and policymakers the information and tools which empower them to teach children the safe and healthy use of technology and the internet”. Ikeepsafe.org uses videos, quizzes and online activities to teach kids the basics of internet safety. A cat’s online adventures are featured on the videos that teach internet safety. Then students take an online assessment before they are allowed to start using the internet. By passing the quiz, the students demonstrate a clear understanding of internet safety and consequences for misuse. One important strategy that www.ikeepsafe.org reinforces is to emphasize the expectations through videos for healthy use; dangers and consequences of misuse as well; and allowing students an opportunity to demonstrate internet readiness or maturity prior to use. www.CommonSenseMedia.Org Common Sense Media is a widely known website for validating the age restrictions for specific media use. In my opinion, it is a comprehensive website for educating children on healthy internet use, rating media, internet safety advocacy and best practices for educators, schools, and parents. One strategy that I could use to keep my students safe while using the help of this website is to review best practices prior to developing lesson plans that require students to use the internet. Its recommended best practices for educators is a great tool and reminder for maximizing online learning experiences by taking a proactive approach to internet safety rather that a reactive approach… as the saying goes “prevention is better than cure”. Another strategy for using it is to recommend it to parents when an online assignment is given. That way, parents can easily review websites with their children prior to using new website for completing homework or online research from home. This website is actually in collaboration with the National Program for Missing and Exploited Children. It uses songs, videos, comics, quizzes, and interactive games to teach children about internet safety. It is not linked to other websites; therefore, it minimizes unnecessary exposure of kids to other websites. It also provides resources and tips for educators to effectively incorporate their website tools into instructional materials and lesson plans. Therefore, Netz Smartz kids supports safe and healthy internet use for students and educators as well. One helpful strategy from using Netz Smart Kids to keep kids safe in my classroom is to use the videos that teach consequences of internet abuse by age group. For example, videos that show the consequences of online drama would be a great teaching tool for teenagers given that they are more prone to split second choices that usually lead to online drama due to peer pressure. In other words, it’s resources are categorized by age groups. The fact that it raises awareness for missing and exploited children creates an opportunity for me, as the teacher to emphasize the connection between internet safety and real life safety. Tools of the future In exploring tools of the future, I particularly took a keen interest in cloud computing and infrastructure. It was only about a year ago that I realized some solutions which used to be downloaded to a computer are now cloud based. For example, Microsoft Word Online, Power Point Online, and Excel Online. The newer cloud based solutions are OneNote and OneDrive. OneNote is a collaborative Learning Management Platform, while OneDrive is a cloud storage space. According to Solomon and Schrum, “Typical cloud computing providers deliver common business applications online which are accessed from another web service or software like a web browser, while the software and data are stored on servers” (p. 250). OneNote is a fusion of Microsoft Word capabilities embedded into a Learning Management System. OneNote can be used to create digital binders, save work to OneDrive, and assign work to students, which they can complete online. The best part is that anyone using OneNote can work online or offline. Recently, Microsoft launched an add on tool to the OneNote platform called Learning Tools. Learning tools is a collection of research proven tools that support diverse learners. With Learning Tools, educators can really personalize learning by using its “dictate” tool support students who struggle with mobility and fine motor skills to author content. Its “immersive reader” tool incorporates highlighting and voice text to incorporate two senses and provide reading supports to English Language Learners and readers who struggle with decoding. When using learning tools, the immersive reader tool can also break down a word by syllables for easier pronunciation. For example, Ge.og.ra.phy. It also has the capability to aid comprehension by emphasizing visual cues to passages being read. Web 2.0 certainly has a future in education; however, I’m concerned that some of the Web 2.0 tools that drive the curriculum today will likely be phased out within the next decade because technology is moving very fast and the longevity of educational technology is only defined by its ability to remain dynamic, that means, what is new today will likely be outdated by tomorrow… figuratively speaking of course. To think that VHS probably belongs to museums today and the iphone is less than 10 years old yet has managed to leave a legacy in technology, tells me there’s more to come and it is beyond my imagination. But if I would dare to imagine, I envision school systems where subject matter experts will support authentic learning by visiting classrooms in hologram. Or the teacher can use holograms to provide instruction to homebound students. As a matter of fact, I won’t be surprised if some classrooms in Japan are already playing around with holograms.
Some of the challenges that may arrive with holograms or adding new technologies is complexity, high cost and frustration. According Schrum and Solomon, “adding new technology without simultaneously upgrading the bandwidth and infrastructure would almost guarantee failure and frustration. In other words, keeping up with modern technology can be complex and expensive. No matter the cost, of keeping schools abreast with newest technology, its advantages are numerous: For students with disabilities, some of their academic accomplishments that could not be accomplished in the past would be made possible. For the average learner, increased engagement is beneficial for maximizing academic potential. These benefits are priceless and worthwhile. Resources Solomon & Schrum, 2014. Web 2.0 How-To for Educators. 2nd Edition 2016, July 16. Retrieved from www.ikeepsafe.org
I came across some familiar tools and some unfamiliar tools as well. I also noticed that some of the unfamiliar tools were actually familiar but known to me under a different brand name. The 3 tools that I explored are: Planboard, Present.me and Boomwriter.
Planboard At first, Planboard seemed new to me but when I read up on it, I realized that it is very similar to Planbook, which I have been using for the past 3 years. I wondered if planboard was free and considered switching from planbook because I pay $12 per year. Surprise Surprise! I was directed to planbook.com - the website that I have been using for the past 3 years. Apparently, planbook and planboard are the same ownership and I’m stuck with the $12 annual fee. In exploring the uses for Planboard/Planbook, it supports teaching as a lesson planning tool for teachers. It’s online and convenient to access or share with colleagues for collaborative lesson planning. I doubt that as a tool, planbook can directly impact student learning; however, when a teacher is able to organize her lessons and collaborate with colleagues, the diversity of professional knowledge in group lesson planning becomes beneficial to students – indirectly. One major challenge that I noticed was that sharing lesson plans was not seamless and was quite a process when I tried it 2 years ago. Regardless, I’ve been paying the annual fee because it’s a powerful tool for keeping my lesson plan organized. Let’s put it this way: it’s a productivity tool because it makes my work easier and I found the color coding extremely helpful for separating my classes when I taught 3 subjects in one school year. Present.me Another tool that seemed unfamiliar was Present.me, based on the name, I knew it had to be a presentation tool but after I read up on its capabilities, I realized that it’s similar to Microsoft officemix. The officemix is an add-on tool to powerpoint, you download it and use it to capture screenshots, record videos and even collect polls/feedback, make comments, quizzes, etc – all on your powerpoint slides; I’m a huge Microsoft fan and as long as Microsoft has a solution, I stay with their version. Present.me is ideal for presentations as it takes presentations from the “lecture” approach to a more interactive space, and that increases student engagement. My favorite functionality is that tutorials can be recorded and embedded on each presentation slide. These functionalities help diverse learners improve their skills through practice. To manage this tool with students, it is important to set clear objectives and monitor students so that they don’t perceive it as an opportunity to take selfies and record videos that are off topic. Better still, a rubric should address this especially if the rubric is shared with the students prior to using the tool. Diverse learners who are dyslexic and struggle with spelling may use video presentations to showcase their projects or work that they have done. Students who struggle with fine motor skills can also benefit from the video presentation functionality. Boomwriter The third tool that I investigated was Boomwriter. This tool is completely new to me. I’ve neither come across its name nor come across its kind of functionality and I must admit that I am impressed with what it does. “Students are presented with the first part of a story and then write what they think should happen next. Students read the anonymous submission of their peers and then vote for a piece they think should be the next part of the story. The winner becomes the official next chapter, and the process continues until the piece is completed” (Solomon & Schrum, p. 261). As an English teacher of students with learning disabilities, I know how important it is to teach “Predictions” as a critical thinking skill. In addition, the voting option keeps students motivated and engaged with class literature as it allows them to assume the role of an author through participation. Students with Emotional Behavioral Disability (EBD) who struggle with anxiety will be able to share their work anonymously without feeling called out on a public platform. One challenge that I foresee is inappropriate text content. To address this challenge, expectations must be made clear so that students don’t seize the opportunity for cyberbullying or inappropriate content. According to the Best Practices video on https://vimeo.com/55821286, constant monitoring of student online activity is always ideal.
SCREENCAST I decided not to use jing at all because it needs to be downloaded to a device. In support of web 2.0 – Opensource, free and ONLINE, I decided to take a complete Web 2.0 approach to the screencasting experience by using screen-o-matic; unlike jing, screen-o-matic functions over a browser and still has offline capabilities if the app is downloaded. That being said, my experience with screen-o-matic was positive. I found the website intuitive and easy to use and the tutorials were very helpful; otherwise, I would not have thought about refreshing my page to launch the screencast recorder. Some ideas for using screencasting in my classroom as a Language Arts teacher would be for immediate feedback and immediate remediation. When students know what they don’t know, I believe that half of their learning problem has been solved. The immediate remedial aspect of using a screencast eliminates a formal remedial to saves both teacher and student a lot of time in the future. In general, it’s a great drill and practice tool for students who need emphasis for mastery of a skill or concept. References 2016, July 8th. Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/55821286 Solomon & Schrum, 2014. Web 2.0 How-To for Educators. 2nd Edition PLEASE CLICK LINK BELOW TO LISTEN TO PODCAST
http://anuebunwa28455.podomatic.com/entry/2016-07-02T21_05_44-07_00 I reviewed the grammar girl podcast with the caption: Are Your Kids Using Secret Apps to Hide Stuff?” When it comes to children, we all want to stay on top of things – whether you are a parent or a teacher. As an adult responsible for kids who are technology natives, protecting kids online has gone beyond using mere passwords (that still helps though). It has become necessary to be as technology savvy as our youth who are technology natives. Well, it sounds like an African immigrant teaching an American native a signature American recipe, right…? Good luck! Regardless of how challenging this responsibility may seem, it is possible. The above podcast provides some useful tips for keeping up with the technology natives: From being conscious of body language during technology use to taking a second look at generic seeming apps like calculators, checking the history of apps in use/last used and unusual storage space for apps that should not ordinarily take up space, we can keep track of the media or information that our kids are sharing online and with whom they are sharing such information. Podcasts are a great way for teachers to maintain communication with students at all times. For instance, a teacher may begin a homework series and use it to provide homework announcements, due dates, and even step by step guidance for students to reference at their own convenience for each learning unit introduced – this is the entire premise of personalized learning: Any device, anytime, anywhere. DIFFERENTIATION As an instructional technology tool, I see how podcasts can support instruction especially for diverse learners. In general, when students are struggling, they are usually aware and of course low self-esteem becomes a concern. Students may use podcasts to practice their own read aloud. I know my students love to hear themselves or watch themselves in a video. This tool can certainly help their phonemic awareness and even decoding skills as they practice reading aloud, while receiving that immediate feedback through playbacks. VISUAL TOOLs The use of internet visual tools helps develop students develop an understanding of their peers’ perspectives. Through digital assignments and the collaborative efforts that come with it, students are will have a voice and hear their peers’ voices as well. In addition, digital citizenship develops when students are able to respect their peers' work and acknowledge their efforts during interactive tasks that allow them to use the internet. By making digital tasks culturally relevant and authentic, it is possible to increase students’ cultural awareness and global understanding. As a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, I belong to a global community that allows me to use Skype to connect with community members in different parts of the world. My students love such opportunities to exchange cultural practices with classrooms and educators around the globe. This allows my students an opportunity to make meaning for themselves and develop a perspective in an authentic manner. Skype Session between my class and a community member in Africa Popplet activity in another course Exploring Flickr...
References http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/tech Solomon, G. & Schrum, L. (2014). Web 2.0 how-to for educators. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in Education |
AuthorOma Anuebunwa Archives
July 2017
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