Technology in education is ever growing, changing and developing. It encourages administration, teachers, and students to push their understanding of the content and curriculum in new ways. Through this class I experienced how technology could be used to its fullest to influence the education system and help guide students to becoming 21st century citizens.

Through this class I learned how the growth of technology beings a number of new enriching changes to the classroom, however there was one big take away found through this course for me; technology=greater engagement. I can not be the only teacher in the world who struggles with getting her students to want to be involved with their learning. I love what I teach but I have always struggled at finding a way for pre-teens to love it as much as I do. I want them to WANT to learn and find motivation through developing their understanding of new things. Through the research done within the mini-projects and the activities I have participated with this class I learned one simple truth, technology enhances a lesson and creates greater engagement. When tech is involved students want to participate. I have always known that technology excites my students especially when I see the pure joy and excitement on their faces when they walk into our classroom and see the iPad cart awaiting them. But I never really knew how to use this technology to advance the lesson, it was always used in small easy ways to further research or essay writing. Yet now with completing this class I feel that I finally understand the educational technological tools I am able to use in the classroom effectively to create engagement and a robust lesson.

One area I plan on using in the future is collaborative project based learning. I found that through researching different global collaboration programs I feel in love with the idea of participating. Education is more then helping students learn their times tables or remember the amendments, I believe that at its core educations role is to inspire students and help create level minded, kind, educated, understanding adults. To do this I think global collaboration is key. Using Skype for education or iEarn students and teachers can learn from different cultures and experience education in a whole new way. It is something I am truly excited for in the upcoming year to try with my 5th graders.

Overall this course was challenging and inspiring. I enjoyed learning about ways to increase engagement in my classroom and how to open my students up to new ideas through technology.

This week in instructional technology and learning we took a new turn and focused on fake news. The Michigan State University video explain how so many of us get our news or information from social media; this makes sense. Most people spend their time on Facebook or Instagram and are bombarded with click bait articles or long misinformed posts. Because news sites survive off of views they survive off of click-worthy titles that grab readers attention, even if the article doesn’t match the name. How are we supposed to sort through the facts and the falsities? How do we know when something is fake news? How do we avoid clickbait when it seems to cover social media?

I will be honest, I fall easily into the fake news mouse trap. I love reading articles with flashy titles and truly don’t know if the site is selling false facts. I found the simple steps the video shared incredibly enlightening and helpful. First its is so easy to take a second to look at the domain and find the author, this is an easy way to tell if a site you are on is legitimate. One can also check to see if the information or site has already been debunked or verify your information from a variety of sources. I loved how the video mentioned how many fake sites have titles that invoke strong emotions. This is where I found my cheeks blush and realized I need to pay more attention about the news site I find information from! I always click on the title that gets my blood boiling or create any type of strong emotion! Now I know not to trust the source.

In Instructional Technology and Learning this week we delved into equal access to technology and assistive technology. I found this week very interesting and eye opening. I have never had the opportunity to teach individuals that used any type of assistant devices or work with these devices to create modified engaging assignments. Therefore, having the opportunity to conduct research and watch/read articles on the topic was very insightful.

The primary purpose os AD (assistant devices) is to maintain or improve an individual’s functioning and independence to facilitate participation in the classroom. It is amazing how far technology and education has come, 20 years ago most of what we have now was not even possible. Many student service children would fall under the cracks or get lost in translation because what they needed was not accessible to them. It is wonderful to know that adaptable mice, switch boards, TTS technology, Brail keyboards and much more are now available for students.

Overall assistant devices are essential for many students and it is the teachers responsibility to learn about the device and support the student.

Universal Design for Learning

In addition to Assistant Technology we also learned more about Universal Design for Learning. UDL is an educational framework thats purpose is to guide teachers in creating lessons and a classroom environment encourages flexible learning and can accommodate individual learning differences. There are three main principles to UDL; engagement, representation, and expression.

While reading more about UDL I found it surprising that this educational framework is not more wildly implemented and supported. This framework supports both students and teachers. Its goal is to not create cookie cutter classrooms with “disabled curriculum” but rather inspire students and individualize learning.

All in all ULD wants to create learners who can assess their own learning and feel responsible in their understanding; this should be the goal of all educators. The only way to help raise and educate students to become intellectual well functioning adults is to encourage them in taking a lead in their learning. Encouraging students to want to learn is the only way to truly educate.

The idea that anyone can learn everything about you from a simple google search is daunting!

This week in Instructional Technology and Learning we dove into data mining and the scary realities of the internet. Data Mining is the process of discovering patterns in large data sets involving methods at the intersection of machine learning, statistics, and database systems. What!? In layman terms data mining is “mining” or searching the internet for individuals “data” or content. To fully understand what this means I dug through the trenches of the internet and conducted a “data mine” on myself.

I have googled myself before for fun but never truly delved deep. It was interesting to see how easy it is to find someones address, phone number and email. This was the most scary aspect of the research. I don’t mind if someone finds my wedding photos from the photographers site or knows that I teach 6th grade at Freire Charter Middle School, but do I want strangers to have access to where I live? I know this is public information through county sites and tax info, but I never knew how easy it was to find with a quick google search. Other then my address everything els discovered was information I assumed I would find. There was nothing to ruin my reputation or give someone access to my social security number. Most information found was information I willingly made public. However, this mini project did make me questions the safety of my students while on the internet. How often to children make information public that shouldn’t be? Are students of all ages making sure their internet persona is respectable and safe? How can we as educators make sure students consider this? Maybe doing a similar data mining project is key.

Theories of Learning and Preforming

Chapter eight of Spector’s book, Foundations of Educational Technology, discusses different theories associated with how students learn and therefore preform. There were two major take aways for me. The first was the theory of humanism. I found this description and information new and insightful. According to Spector, humanism is a perspective that focuses on the value of the individual and personal freedoms. He continues to explain that this particular theory of learning believes that when an individuals needs are taken into consideration within the context of learning issues revolving motivation and urgency rise to the surface. I specifically took to this section of the text because I believe a lesson is only as good as the motivation in creates. Considering the humanistic perspective while lesson planning is key in creating engaging activities. The second biggest take away for me was cognitive load theory. Cognitive load refers to the used amount of working memory resources. I found this theory very interesting and found myself reflecting on how can I educate students keeping this cognitive load theory in my mind. Knowing how students process information is crucial, and I believe combining these two areas (cognitive load and humanism) together when lesson planning will result in engaging and meaningful lessons.

This week I researched and compared two global communication sites, Skype of Education and iEarn. Both site are used by students and educators around the globe in encourage collaboration, engagement and project based learning. Project based learning is a student-centered pedagogy that involves a dynamic classroom approach in which it is believed that students acquire a deeper knowledge through active exploration of real-world challenges and problems. Project based learning builds 21st century success skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, communication, collaboration and creativity/innovation. Adopting this pedagogy benefits both educators and students. The two sites researched encourage project-based learning incorporating collaboration among students from many countries. This aspect makes the two sites ideal for student centered and modern classrooms.

According to their website Skype for Education is “a free global community that fosters empathy and compassion for each other and our planet.” The platform Skype gives teachers an opportunity to take students on a virtual field trip or host a guest speakers. The one feature that is very useful for educators is the ability to search projects, speakers or activities by age range and time length. This aspect is very similar to iEarn. Both sites have a very accessible platform for finding projects. iEarn is a non-profit organization who’s mission is to empower educators, students and their communities through global collaboration and transformative learning. This site allows for collaboration similar to Skype, as well as, several options of professional development opportunities for teachers.

I believe both sites have major benefits. iEarn’s projects seem more creative and incorporates the students communities more then Skype however there seems to be more opportunities and activities with Skype. I think both could be used interchangeably with in a classroom. Skype and iEarn are an amazing way for teachers to Ditch the Textbooks!

Both sties achieve what Ditching the Textbook submit preaches. Creating classrooms that are student centered and allow for students to learn from other through collaboration teaches more then just facts and content. These platforms and many like them teach 21st century skills and engage students on a deeper level.

The purpose of this blog is to share my insights and reflections from our class, Instructional and Learning Technology. As a classroom teacher am exited to expand on my technology knowledge and learn new tools to use to engage my students.

I love teaching but on somedays I find myself bored with the traditional curriculum schools produce, and I know if I am bored so are my students. I believe technology is the way to combat that boredom and create an authentic classroom filled with engagement and a want to learn.

With the way the world is advancing, our classrooms should too. Through this course I hope to develop new understanding on instructing students about technology as well as incorporating tech into multiple content areas.