EEND 675 Reflection

Over this course there have been a handful of ideas to reflect upon, such as articles, discussions, how we have evolved as teachers, and how we plan to continue our learning. I feel that I have definitely gained knowledge and was able to practice new skills with my student because I took this course, which will only benefit myself and students in the long run.

One of the interesting theories we read about was the 4Cs in education. “Today’s students are moving beyond the basics and are embracing the 4 Cs—“super skills” for the 21st Century: Creativity, Communication, Critical Thinking, Collaboration. [These] 21st Century Skills [need to be] infused in the Common Core Standards which are the end goals of the Career and College Ready Standards” (Kivunja, C. (2015). Ensuring that educators follow the 4Cs for our 21st Century learner is imperative to making sure students are able to keep up with peers around the world. I thought that the articles that focused on the 4Cs were very important fundamentals to read about. I feel too often people are terrible communicators and lack critical thinking skills. However, if we begin to teach children how to communicate clearly, and effectively, they will be able to collaborate with one another better.  I think that when you show children to slow down and analyze what they’re doing, or what they are answering, I think that helps them become better critical thinkers. Lastly, creativity is essential for students of the 21st century because they need to be equally as innovative as their global peers.

I also liked the discussions with my peers because sometimes when I was feeling insecure or overwhelmed, and then realized I was not the only one, it made me feel more comfortable going forward. That as long as we keep working together and sharing ideas, that we will benefit from one another. I also liked that often my classmates shared different things that I did not know about, and through them sharing their ideas and tools they’ve used, I was able to gain more insight on particular frameworks and/or tools I previously did not know about.

I feel this course has helped me grow as an educator because I learned of new technologies and tools teachers could implement in their classroom. For example, the Linoit page I learned about through one of the modules St. Francis posted.  I read it, watched a youtube video on how to use it, and then created my own. Luckily I still had a few weeks with students so I was able to practice with them and see how effective or ineffective the website was. I did not know what I was expecting, but I do know that I was pleasantly surprised with the outcome. My students were extremely engaged when completing their assignment. It was really cool to see, how I could learn something, quickly apply it, and analyze it’s usefulness in a short period of time. I look forward to new skills and tools that upcoming courses may teach us.

I have hopes that as we continue this course, that I can see past my frustrations, and confusion, and know that the end will certainly justify the means. I understand why there are many teachers resisting technology because of it’s newness. However, the more I learn and equip myself, the more I am able to collaborate and help my fellow peers. I do not like the vagueness of the rubric or assignments sometimes, which has caused me anxiety… I try to respond to my best ability to what I interpret the assignment asking. I am optimistic that as I continue through this endorsement, I will feel less overwhelmed, I will have the proper guidance from my instructor, and in the end leave with a set of knowledge and skills that will transform my classroom, my teaching, and truly help my students evolve into a 21st Century learner.

Hopkins, D. (2011, August 9). Technology Enhanced Learning Blog. Retrieved from http://www.dontwasteyourtime.co.uk/video/4cs-communication-collaboration-critical-thinking-and-creativity/

Kivunja, C. (2015). Exploring the pedagogical meaning and implications of the 4Cs “super skills” for the 21st century through Bruner’s 5E lenses of knowledge construction to improve pedagogies of the new learning paradigm. Creative Education, 6(02), 224.

Twitter Handler

Artifact 2: Twitter Handler

https://twitter.com/Seonsaengnim_84

A digital artifact that I was introduced to during this course was Twitter. While I was not unaware of Twitter’s existence, I certainly had never created one, much less used one for educational purposes. I am still undecided how I feel about Twitter. It could be because I have had minimal use with the website and do not understand the complexity and potential uses.

When using Twitter, I found it to be almost frustrating. I did not appreciate the limited amount of text you could use in a “Tweet”. I found it to be restrictive in what you could share with the public and your followers. I do not see how microblogging could provide students a chance to have deep and meaningful conversation about a topic if their response or posts are limited.  In my opinion, it certainly is not a place for students to get into complex and deep dialogue about.  I think that Twitter would be used as a place to post links to articles, photos that apply to curriculum, and quick messages, however, it is not something I would use to use as a conversational piece.

The challenges I see, would be the with students being connected to Twitter is that it would be hard to control what goes through students’ feeds. You cannot predict or know what someone will Tweet or Retweet. Also, what could prove to be frustrating is that an entire conversation with strangers could wind up on your profile, or students’ profiles. According to Livewire, “It is impossible for one to review an entire dialogue exchange as this social medium doesn’t offer you the ability to thread your conversations.” (Gil 2017).

Conversely, while I found frustrations with the newness of my experience to Twitter, I could also imagine the benefits it could offer. For example, you are able to easily connect to educators all over the world. Which assists us in continuing to evolve and learn from other extremely thoughtful and intelligent people. It is an easy way to get ideas for the classroom. Twitter provides teachers to connect with authors for free and other mentors/experts that students may not have otherwise had an opportunity to connect to. For example, you could connect to R.L. Stine when writing a scary story for Halloween, and R.L. Stine has the potential to Tweet back advice for writing. Which makes the entire experience of writing a scary story that much more authentic. Twitter could also serve as a platform for PLC/PLNs with others who are excited about teaching and student learning. And lastly, I believe that Twitter could help educators stay current with what is going on in other places nationally and globally.

Even though I felt frustrations with Twitter because of how unfamiliar I am with the social medium, I feel that there are far more benefits than there are disadvantages. I believe that if we connect to our students using Twitter we need to guarantee that our students understand the responsibility and safety of internet use. Additionally, make sure students are using it academically and do not get distracted with Tweeting and retweeting. Twitter is a tool that I would need to explore more with, and wait until I am comfortable navigating throughout the site before launching it with students.

My Twitter Handler

Gil, P. (2017, March 10). “What Exactly Is “Twitter”? What Is Tweeting?”. Retrieved from http://www.lifewire.com

551 Words

EEND 675 Artifact 1: Linoit.com

Artifact 1: Linoit.com http://linoit.com/users/sheiladaly/canvases/Collaborative%20Assignment

In the beginning of the course we were assigned to find an online tool that would help students collaborate with one another. After browsing through St. Francis’s modules and reading a list of recommended online tools, I stumbled upon Linoit.com. I first found a video on YouTube to help me understand the design of the website before proceeding forward. The site is simplistic in nature, but I found to be extremely engaging for my students, as I created an assignment for my students two weeks before the school year ended. My rationale was that, if I am going to be exploring new options, I might as well try it out with my students, and that way, I would be able to tell immediately if it was a useful or useless tool.

I decided on this digital artifact to use because it resembled some of the lessons I had previously done in the classroom with my students. Previously, I would have students write their thoughts, questions, and/or responses to other students, on sticky notes, and walk to the posters in the corner and place them in according positions. What I noticed about this, was children were more willing to respond and be engaged in the activity. However, it was always awkward having 10-27 children crunched into a corner trying to read each other’s responses, place their answers on the poster, and/or respond to one another. So when I stumbled upon Linoit.com, I felt that it was literally an activity I use in the classroom already, except now it was digitial!

What I found attractive about this digital tool, was the fact that students could stay at their desks, answer their questions and post their answers without the jumbling around the classroom. I also liked the fact that when students typed out their answers, it was far more legible than some of the students’ current handwriting.  I also found students to be far more engaged, and their answers to be more thoughtful than typically on the tangible post-its. My students did this assignment with nine days left of school, and remained incredibly engaged in the activity. It was much more useful that I thought it would be. To be honest, I expected a disaster, but I was completely incorrect.

For this particular tool, I used it in a Social Studies assignment. Students were responsible for asking questions I posted about Manifest Destiny and the Trail of Tears. They were also responsible for answering one another, or posting questions that they developed while reading their curriculum. In the following assignment, students collaborated on different ways Manifest Destiny and the Trail of Tears could have been addressed. However, I feel that this very simplistic site could be used for much more than a Social Studies assignment. In all reality, any subject could be applied to this website, from math, to health, to PE. Additionally, because it is an online tool, this could provide students from other classrooms to communicate with one another on the same curriculum they are learning with a different teacher. For example, if we had an assignment for ReadyGen where students have to find text evidence and answer questions from the curriculum that are complex, they have the opportunity to connect to another classroom and read their ideas. Let’s say, I posted a question, but emailed the same link my students had to Mrs. Hamilton who is on the other side of the building. Our students could help one another with questions, collaborate, debate, share ideas… the potential could be very exciting for our students, and I truly hope to launch it next year. Trial and error, and I will find out what works well and what does not next year.

Conversely, some of the issues I did see when launching this assignment with my students for the first time, was how cluttered the page could become. To avoid this problem, it would be important that you explain to children how to navigate the page and that they do not have to pile on all their answers in one corner of the page. Additionally, instead of having 27-30 children answering, you could break students up into groups, which would also solve the “cluttered” look.

Overall, I feel this is a very fun, yet simple, tool teachers could apply in their classrooms. Students understand how to use it quickly, correspond with one another, and know they are held accountable because people know who you are and what you are saying.

First attempt with Linoit and students

Perdue, T., & Green, M. D. (2005). The Cherokee removal: a brief history with documents (Vol. 18, p. 198). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.

Stewart, M. (2007). The Indian Removal Act: Forced Relocation. Capstone.

Crago-Schneider, B., & Pepper, J. (2010). Social Studies Alive.(District 99 curriculum)

Schelb, Kevin. YouTube. (2016, March 7) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dI0Eqd3mGd0

752 Words

EEND 675 Introduction Post II- via Coursework Tools

Name: Sheila Daly

School/District: District 99

Level and Courses you Teach: ESL/Special Ed (resource)

Years of experience: 3 years international/ 6 years in district

Current comfort level with technology/digital learning: Beginner/ Rudimentary

Favorite tech tools: Google classroom (currently, but ever evolving)

Your School/District's movement towards a 1:1 Transition: 2016-2017 1:1 Launch

EdTech Success: Students being able to help one another with technology complications before coming to the teacher (me).

-Most memorable EdTech Failure: After students attempt to help one another and cannot solve the problem, then coming to me, and I too, cannot solve the problem. For example when PARCC testing goes awry.

Your funniest EdTech moment: N/A

Second Course: After learning about a few new collaborative tools in the last course, I have been able to apply these tools in the classroom and see how can can effectively and efficiently benefit my students. Last course we also discussed new theories, pedagogy, and ethics that surround use of technology in the classroom. I look forward to learning more and evolving my knowledge and skills in this upcoming course.