End of course reflection

This course has taught me to really reflect on my teaching practice and to be more intentional as I develop instructional plans and strategies.  Necessary reminders to state the objective and break down the desired outcomes into achievable goals as a part of best practices have actually been a highlight of the course. Yes it takes more time, but the pre-planning and constant formative evaluations really help me to redesign along the way and become a better teacher as a result.

End of course reflection

As I complete my final assignments for this course I feel compelled to say I was wrong!  In the beginning, I thought this course was "too easy" for a post-graduate course.  I thought the text and its technologies was outdated.  The second text is inspirational.  The detours I found myself taking while reading this text were totally worth it.  I am inspired by rotational models, problem-based performance tasks, personalized learning and self organized learning communities.  I am fascinated with a future where a child gets to direct his own learning instead of a factory model that dictates what he/she should know.  I am also discouraged at the amount of roadblocks there are in South Carolina, but I remain hopeful for the future.

Extras from week 14

More reflections on summative assessments and in particular end-of-course exams in South Carolina for our discussion board this week...

I have two high-schoolers and I asked them if they felt EOCs were an accurate representation of what they had learned or were expected to learn throughout the semester.  This is what they said.

• The questions are unbalanced - not evenly distributed (i.e. 20% of the test comes from a single chapter.)
• The curriculum is too broad and their teachers do not have time to cover everything.
• There is unfamiliar content on the test (possibly because of the reasons above.)
• They test too early.
• Why do they have to take a final exam for the class when they took an EOC two or three weeks before?

Based on their responses, I would say that the EOC system does not work well; however, as a parent my view is that it is a necessary component.  Teachers should be evaluated.  Students should be evaluated.  I'm afraid that even as an educator, I do have not viable solution or replacement for summative evaluations.

Extras from week 12

Last week we were asked about instructional plans and materials we've used.  I am a huge fan of problem-based learning and love Dr. Shelagh Gallagher's work with gifted learners.  I had the opportunity to attend an educator conference sponsored by the Duke TIP program several summers ago.  I attended two of her sessions - one on problem-based learning and one on effective questioning.  Both were excellent!  I purchased her middle level problem-based learning units and have tried (unsuccessfully) to get my teachers to use them.  I think that I am finally going to get an opportunity to facilitate one of her units at the end of the school year (after state testing has completed.)  I am so excited and can't wait to share that experience.

Extras from week 12

So this video showed up today based on my previous searches and views.  "What if every child had their own teacher?"  Take a look at this view of blended learning and the limitations of America's current education system.

Extras from week 10

Our discussion board this week - “Research since the early 1980’s confirms that the choice of media for delivering instruction does not make a difference in how much students learn or in their attitudes about what they are learning; rather, it is the design of the instructional experience- the instructional strategy- that makes the difference.” (Chapter 9)

I agree whole-heartedly.  The same multi-media presentation can be shown by two different teachers and there will be two different results.  The content might have been delivered in the same way, but it is the teacher's use of effective instructional strategies that engage the learner and progresses the learning.  The same is true of our students.  We know that they do not all learn the same way, yet somehow there is a perception that there is a one-size fits all prescription for teaching.

Dick, W., Carey, L. & Carey, J., (2015).  The systematic design of instruction.  (8^th ed.).  New

     York:  Pearson.

Extras from week 10

Chapter 5 introduced me to Summit Public Schools.  The video clips are not available on my kindle book :(  But I found this clip on YouTube.  I love this idea of blended learning with personalized learning time and project mode instead of a traditional school day schedule.  I would love to see this model in South Carolina!

Extras from week 9

Planning the learning components of an instructional strategy...  This was a good week.  The preinstructional learning activities part of this made me really reflect on posting objectives.  I'll be honest and say that I used to think of this step as a necessary component only because it was required of me as a student and by my first principal.  My second principal is much more laid back.  As a result, I became a little slack and stopped posting objectives (and corresponding standards.)  My lessons are fun and engaging but only after really studying this chapter of our text did I realize that I was doing my students a disservice.  I want them to be able to evaluate our lesson (and particularly my instruction.)  Their feedback is important to me.  They can't do that if they don't know what their expected outcomes are in the first place.  Eye-opening moment for the teacher!

Extras from week 9

I am completely enamored with Blended: Using disruptive innovation to improve schools. I cannot stop reading in order to write my discussion post.  I am inspired!  But sadly, also defeated!  How can I share this message with the stakeholders of my school district?  How can we implement a true blended learning model in our school?  How do I get my teachers to understand that technology-rich instruction is not the same as blended learning?  Our district has invested heavily into providing access for our students.  We are 1-to-1.  We have a district technology integration specialist.  We are making progress, but we are still missing the mark.  Our district's mission is "to provide a quality, student-centered education."  How do we live up to our mission?  New inspiration that wants to be fueled met with frustration at how things really are.  One recent example - a math teacher tries to implement a flipped classroom.  Spends a good portion of her summer converting her old lecture slides into videos hosted on EdPuzzle.  Weeks into the semester, she is flooded by complaints from parents.  Students are saying she is not "teaching" them.  They have to teach themselves.  More time should have been spent educating the parents.  We need them as stakeholders to "buy in."  Instead, she stopped assigning the videos for homework and they listened to them during class time instead.  What??!!  Our teachers were initially overwhelmed by pressure to integrate technology into their classrooms.  They now have, but they don't seem to have made the connection that all they have really done is substitute (SAMR model).  Technology-rich instruction is not personalized.  It is not student-centered.  Sometimes it is more engaging.  Sometimes it addresses different learning styles and modalities.  Sometimes.  Sometimes it proves what teachers (with their eyes open) fear - they are making themselves irrelevant.  You can't sit a student in front of a hyperdoc for an entire class period, day after day, with no direct instruction.  I'm sad.  We've added technology resources but we've maintained our traditional school factory environment.  

Extras from week 8

Extras...

Extras from week 8

I'm playing a little bit of catch up.  I may have taken a few extra days of fall break! 

In reading our text and delving into criterion-referenced assessments, my mind wanders to the state of public education in our state - an antiquated system that seems unwilling to change, a seemingly impossible feat, but also no simple solution or model to change to!  It's easy to complain about standardized testing.  It's easy to complain about teachers being evaluated based on the results of standardized testing.  Most agree that change is needed.  Almost none agree on what those changes should be.  The truth is teachers should be evaluated on their performance.  I feel sorry for teachers who complain about teacher salaries.  You didn't decide to become a teacher to become rich, but like so many, you feel entitled to a raise, but why? In the real world, people don't receive a raise every year.  (Teachers say they don't because the payscale doesn't change every year, but the truth is the payscale adjusts based on years of experience and education received, so teachers receive more pay this year than they did last year, and will receive more next year than they did this year.)  Everywhere else but in education, that's called a raise.  Do quality teachers deserve a higher salary?  Probably.  Does every teacher?  Definitely not.  I don't know what the right answer is.  I am very intrigued by self organized learning environments, but find it hard to imagine a South Carolina where this education model would exist.  Fewer teachers but with higher salaries and a decreased need for brick and mortar schools would certainly save tax dollars over time.  Enough for now - I've expressed some very unpopular opinions and probably should have done so anonymously!

Extras from week 6

I completed my third tutorial today.  This one was an intro to Canva, which I absolutely love!  It is so fun and easy to use.  You can quickly create very professional-looking graphics for print, web and social media use.  I cannot say enough good things about it.  I also really like Adobe Spark.  They have a graphics design element as well as the video creation tool.  I did find a small issue with Adobe Spark just this week.  They require an additional authentication.  You are asked to verify your email address with a link that they email to you.  Our student accounts are blocked from receiving emails outside of our domain.  Our district office did exclude Adobe Spark from this policy but only for students aged 13 or older, which did not help my 6th grade GT class of mostly 11 year-olds.  Oh well!  That's the price we pay for child protection and privacy.

Extras from chapter readings (week 6)

So this week, I should be focusing on performance objectives but my mind wanders to performance tasks.  I love ill-structured problems, or rather I love watching my students solve ill-structured problems.  I am a huge fan of Shelagh Gallagher's work with gifted children and especially her problem-based learning units.  My teachers complain that there is simply not enough time in the school year to implement units like hers because they are in a time crunch as it is to cover content before state standardized testing begins.  My district paid for DefinedStem.com which is a great resource for smaller, content-centered PBL performance tasks.  It is great!  Unfortunately, not enough teachers used it last year and they discontinued the subscription.  I am frustrated that teachers will not try new things and that administrators jump into a new model without preparation or adequate staff training and then discontinue when they don't see results - results that they shouldn't even expect to see without providing a little extra support or incentive.  Everyone agrees that we need to focus on critical thinking skills but everyone continues to teach to the tests.

Extras from class readings (week 5)

The amount of tech tools available is simply overwhelming.  As a library media specialist, I feel it is my duty to remain a technology leader in my school, but I find myself feeling inadequate if I am not proficient at every new and great tool that comes along.  It's discouraging, especially in a time when librarians are fighting to stay relevant and working to dispel out-dated perceptions of spectacle-wearing old ladies reading at a desk, telling kids to be quiet all day long!

Extras from Discussion 5 (week 5)

Two trains of thought colliding within me this week after reviewing the week 5 discussion board:

1) Advancing students too early?  I wonder if this will run its course in just a year or two.  It will be about that amount of time before our first cohort class are juniors in high school, realizing that they have all of the credits needed to graduate.  Why should they stay for a senior year?  What will the school district think of this mass exodus?  Will we then go back to being more discriminating in our selection process for honors and advanced placement classes?

2) Using test scores as a predictor for future test scores?  Our students have taken MAP two or three times a year for so long, that I fear that they don't really take it seriously.  As a whole, I think they are just rushing through the test.  While I don't want any of my students to suffer from test anxiety, I do wish I could see more effort.  BUT, this leads me to question - Are we over-testing our students?

Extra from chapter readings (week 3)

Instructional Goal Analysis
I guess I appreciate a good assessment.  The interesting pick of the week for me from this week's required readings was the rubric for evaluating a goal analysis.  I will be using this tool to examine my instructional goals in future instructional design and lesson planning.

Additional reflection on chapter readings (week 3)

Presentation Tools
I've used Prezi and Slideshare, but I have to say Google Slides is my current favorite.  It continues to improve and I am fascinated by the ways other educators are using it.  One spectacular example from this week was an idea from Micah Shippee shared by Kasey Bell.  (You must sign up on her site and follow her on social media!)  It is on how to use Google Slides to create your own school app.  Crazy good idea with complete instructions here.

End of course reflection (week 5)

As I finish the final assignments for this course, I am inspired to change the world!  I am also overwhelmed by the obstacles there are to overcome.  I will not feel defeated, but will remind myself to take it "one step at a time."  I may continue my research (especially since the new ISTE standards were just unveiled.)  I may also try to put some of my technology plan recommendations into place.  I am hopeful that I can share them with admins and colleagues to modify and even develop more steps to positively impact successful technology integration into the classroom.  I am going to work more closely with our instructional coach on providing PD sessions for our teachers, and may even share my notes and resources from this class with her.


http://www.iste.org/standards/for-educators

Extras from research last week (week 4)

One of the articles I discovered last week really got me thinking..."Ultimately, teachers’ personal pedagogical beliefs play a key role in their pedagogical decisions regarding whether and how to integrate technology within their classroom practices" (p. 556).  The article was a little complex for me and I didn't include it in my paper last week, but this quote really stood out to me as I reflected on the importance of having a shared vision, purpose, mission...

It's not just important to have a vision - it's way more important to get others to believe what you believe.  Only then, can you effectively bring about real, positive change.  I'm reminded of organizational cultures like the ones described by those who visit Google's headquarters, or visionary leaders like the original founders of Patagonia and Clif Bars.  If you're interested in inspiring employees to give more, take a page from their books, Let my people go surfing by Yvon Chouinard and Raising the bar: Integrity and passion in life and business by Gary Erickson.  Both excellent reads.



Tondeur, J., Braak, J., Ertmer, P., & Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. (2017). Understanding the relationship between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and technology use in education: a systematic review of qualitative evidence. Educational Technology Research & Development, 65(3), 555-575.

Extras from additional readings (week 4)

This week I wanted to highlight a journal article I found during my research.  It's from Dr. Anthony Chow who, at the time of its printing in TechTrends, was the Online Director of Learning for the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.  The article is titled "One educational technology colleague's journey from dotcom leadership to university e-learning systems leadership: Merging design principles, systemic change and leadership thinking."  He starts with an interesting visual representation of a map that highlights internet activity in the world.  There were large areas of darkness in certain regions of China and the Amazon, but the USA was completely lit up.  When I think of that representation, it is hard to fathom how we could possibly manage or keep up with technology.  It is growing at such a rapid pace, how can we possibly prepare our middle schoolers for the jobs of the future?  Systemic change needs to happen, but how can we possibly all agree on what changes to make, much less on how to make them.  Admittedly, this article provided more questions than answers for me, but questions are good - especially ones that really make you think!

BTW...I found the article using SCDiscus.org.  If you are in K-12 education and you are not using Discus or teaching your students how to use Discus, you should be!  It's free thanks to the South Carolina State Library!