Ed Tech Hopes and Dreams for 2019

January 8, 2019

1. I would like to learn and implement two new ed tech tools in order to incorporate their use in my classroom and possibly apply to my unit for EEND677.

2. I would like to expand my use of EdPuzzle and Padlet in my classroom.

3. I need to finish this endorsement program by this summer so (please) it would be great if EEND 680 was offered this summer.

#ISTE2018 - Things I Learned, Things I Love, Things You Should Know About...

The International Society for Technology in Education held a massive conference this summer in Chicago, bringing together teachers, administrators, and tech specialists to learn about the most effective and innovative ways to integrate technology in the classroom. The ISTE conference offered sessions on a wide range of topics, where presenters shared ideas, strategies, and tools for using technology to enhance learning.

Apart from the scheduled sessions, the conference brought together 18,500 people from all across the U.S. and 87 other countries. Connecting with other like-minded educators had a whole host of benefits:

• strengthened my resolve to keep getting better with teaching and technology
• established connections that will last well beyond the conference
• provided effective and exciting teaching practices

So how did I, a science teacher from a small high school west of Chicago, find out about this conference and burst onto the scene? TWITTER. Twitter has really been a turning point in my 16-year teaching career. It has become a go-to resource to connect to awesome people who broaden my horizons and inspire me to take risks and be innovative.

I attended the NSTA (National Science Teachers Association) conference when it was in Chicago three years ago. Same location, same setup, lots of walking and LOTS of sessions. My experience three years ago definitely prepared me for ISTE’s conference. Except maybe for the walking tech zombie part...many of us were walking around with our devices, hoping to avoid others who were also looking at their device getting to or from somewhere in our quest to get in line for a session, show up on time for an amazing raffle prize in expo hall, or just find a bathroom!

#ISTE2018 took it to the next level when it came to useful (but sometimes overwhelming) amounts of information. I did my best to stay organized and pull together resources from my sessions that I could use and could also share with my colleagues. My experience was stimulating, productive, and engaging. This graphic (created using one of my new tech tools, Adobe Spark!) offers some buzzwords that summarize my 4-day experience.

Based on this list, an outsider might think I didn’t actually attend a technology conference! But it wasn’t really about technology - it was about how to use technology tools to enhance what teachers are already doing in their classrooms! Sure, the big guys...Google, Microsoft and LEGO, were in attendance but it wasn’t about them. It was about teachers helping teachers be better teachers as they use technology to educate their students.

Innovation, creation, and curiosity were mentioned in the bulleted list above. These words were echoed over and over throughout the four days. Young students traveling from all parts of the nation and even internationally were in attendance to share with attendees their passion for learning. They were excited to share how they were using technology in their classroom to any stranger who approached their table. Andy Weir, the author of The Martian, referred to the problem-solving main character, Mark Watney, in his keynote speech. Kids need to tinker and figure things out (with or without technology). And @TheTechRabbi, Michael Cohen, shared a moving and powerful message to all who sat before him, reminding the audience that “innovation is not achieved by knowledge and skill alone. It’s through having belief in yourself, belief in others and belief in something bigger than us. We need to give our students the courage to believe that they can create incredible things in the world.” The ability to challenge and engage students was a common theme throughout the conference and renewed my spirit in preparation for the coming school year.

When #TeachersBecomeStudents, amazing things happen in our quest to be lifelong learners. A little professional development goes a long way in rekindling our passion and love of learning.

713 Course Reflection

As my coursework in EEND 713 comes to an end, it's time to reflect on my learning. Each of the last eight weeks I learned something new that pushed me to step outside my box and try new ideas in my classroom. Through my work with the Next Generation Science Standards and my department's quest to redevelop units that align to these standards, I found the evolution of an e-learning unit moderately easy to create and manage for an Anatomy & Physiology unit of the muscular system.

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In modules 1 & 2, my group developed the initial phases of our muscular system unit. Identifying outcomes for learning and finding important resources to support weekly lessons was valuable time spent with my group. It was important for us to find a variety of online tools and resources for the students because, unfortunately, high school students lose interest quickly if it's not new and/or engaging. In module 3, we began developing our assessments and rubrics. This unit has two assessments: a cat dissection practical and a summative exam.

In the weeks that followed, we learned about open educational resources (OERs) and multimedia resources. I was introduced to multimedia resources in EEND 675 but had never understood the value of OERs until this course. My classmates provided some great resources as they worked on their e-learning units and I look forward to using OERs regularly as I continually develop and improve my units.

The remainder of the work on our muscular system unit centered upon our creation of a roadmap - a hyperdoc that laid out the specifics of our unit and communicated how students could get from point A to point B. Hyperdocs are a great tool for sharing information with students, parents, teachers, and administrators because it organizes everything in one spot. The development of our hyperdoc was time intensive, but the final product was ready to roll out to our students immediately.

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I'd like to thank my classmates for offering great feedback and resources. Our weekly discussions were enriching and enlightening. The discussion I found most rewarding was week 2's discussion about technology tools for engagement. Classmates suggested some great tech resources, and as I progress through this endorsement program, I continue to add to my educational technology toolbox.

I've really worked hard at becoming a connected educator. My participation on Twitter has increased, as I've followed many people that I think will suggest ways to be a better educator and individual. The more my PLN grows, the more tuned in I feel as an educator. To think that I could reach out globally to other educators was not something I envisioned when I first became a teacher 16 years ago. I'm glad for the technology and will continually strive to use it regularly in my classes.

EEND 713 is my second course in the sequence of courses for the Teaching with Technology Endorsement. I've enjoyed this course and the information it provided. I'm continually looking to improve my curriculum and my educational philosophy as it pertains to science and technology, so I look forward to continuing my work in this program.

713 Artifact Reflection

As I reflect on the class, Engaging e-Learning, I am excited to think of the new opportunities for organizing my curriculum and presenting it to my students. This course provided many useful tools and resources that enhance my science curriculum and support my goal of incorporating more technology into my units. Working on the unit plan for the muscular system helped me to see which parts of the unit were supported and where gaps existed. By adding multimedia and open educational resources, the gaps were filled and the unit was more robust.

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In module 4, I learned how to research and incorporate OERs (open educational resources). I have found "free" resources in the past and have used them as extension activities for a lesson or unit, but I didn't really comprehend until this course, just how many great OERs there are. For the muscular system unit, I chose a case study through http://www.oercommons.org titled Wearing on Her Nerves Exploring the Interrelation between the Nervous and Muscular Systems. To facilitate their learning, students will be asked to analyze this case study related to their study of the muscular system. Most of my high school anatomy students plan to major in pre-med/dent/vet/nursing. Continual exposure and review of muscle content is a must for success in a post-secondary program. A case study like this would lend itself to the type of learning they would get in college. The more I can prepare students for real-world scenarios, the more successful I hope they will be.

In module 5, I learned how to use Pear Deck as part of a multimedia lesson for muscle identification. Having Pear Deck as an add-on for Google Slides really convinced me of its usefulness in class. It raised the level of student engagement and I found better retention of muscle groups as demonstrated by their performance on a formative muscle review several days later.


Labeling diagrams can be tedious, but in an advanced elective class such as Anatomy & Physiology,  students require constant review of muscle names, while connecting origin and insertion points on bones. This activity certainly challenges the student - if they can label muscles in this activity, they are on their way to successfully mastering the muscular system.

675 Course Reflection

As my coursework in EEND 675 comes to an end, it's time to reflect on my learning the last eight weeks. Each week I learned something new that engaged me and improved my level of understanding in educational technology. Being introduced to the ISTE standards was one of the bigger takeaways from this course. Not only am I responsible for my content standards, but I should also take an active role in teaching my students and modeling the technology standards in order to make them "future ready".

SOURCE

The collegial discussions that took place each week were interesting. Gaining new insight and understanding people's perspectives definitely enriched my learning experience. The discussion I most enjoyed was the 5th C. Every "C" that was suggested made me consider how it would impact my teaching and my student's learning.

My favorite assignment was the Multimedia Project from Module 4. I enjoyed creating the activity because it incorporated many resources in one location and it's ready to be used in my Earth Science curriculum for next school year! The project made me reflect on how important it is to have a variety of lessons that incorporate technology and make them engaging enough to draw students in day after day.

As I mentioned in a previous blog post, I've really worked hard at becoming a connected educator. My participation on Twitter has increased, as I've followed many people that I think will suggest ways to be a better educator and individual. Twitter is there when you need it; you shouldn't feel compelled to check it every day like other social media platforms. A quick 10-minute stream scroll or search is all it takes to make sure I'm plugged into my PLN.

Path to Success

Professional development in educational technology can sometimes be absent within a district or building, yet it's a necessary form of education that all teachers should regularly participate in. This course is my first in the USF Educational Technology Endorsement program and I look forward to continuing my journey of understanding and incorporating technology as it relates to me both personally and professionally.

Trends in Technology #6: Twitter

Lately, Twitter has taken on a new meaning in my life. I tweet what goes on in my high school science classroom. I tweet reminders about club meetings. I retweet interesting science information from people and organizations I follow to use as a kickstart to classroom discussions in my Earth Science class. Twitter is a representation of my professional life. It allows me to follow a variety of people, organizations, professionals, and groups without being bogged down by lots of personal information.

Twitter is unlike other social media platforms in that it shares information instantly with thousands of followers. There are no frills, no extras - just up-to-the-minute information about things you want to know about. Twitter is being used by schools, districts, students, teachers, and parents to inform and stay informed.

I personally like Twitter for the connections I've made with educational professionals the last several years. I've been able to expand my understanding of educational technology, grow as a science educator, and increase my global awareness and appreciation of science.

I also like Twitter for the #hashtags. Hashtags act like filters to siphon the extra stuff and help find you the information you need. If I want to search #STEM, I might find tweets about educators who are implementing STEM lessons in their classrooms. If I search #eclipse, I might read about all kinds of eclipse stories from the August 2017 event or #CaliforniaWildfires from the December 2017 outbreak.

I wasn't instantly won over by Twitter when I first got started. My advice is to get yourself a Twitter handle - that's tech talk for a Twitter identification - and start exploring. Follow some groups, organizations, or people that know their stuff. Retweet a few stories that you like and want others to see and know about. When you're ready you'll know when to tweet your first time. Plus, you shouldn't feel compelled to check it everyday like other social media platforms. Twitter is there when you need it!

Trends in Technology #5: Blendspace

Blendspace, which is now called TES Teach, is an interactive dashboard that allows an individual to organize resources related to a certain chosen topic. The grid style of the dashboard allows a user to pull a collection of resources together that can be either web-based or self-created.

Let's say I want to create a lesson on Greenland's melting glaciers. To enhance my lesson, I might want to search YouTube videos, find related web articles, locate pictures or add my own documents. The menu/tool bar allows me to search for content, click to review the content, then drag and drop onto my gridded dashboard. The tiles can be moved around and ordered in whatever way a user likes. From the tool bar a user can do the following:

• search YouTube
• search Google
• search Google images
• search Flickr
• insert a Webpage
• insert from Google Drive
• insert from Dropbox
• upload Media/File

A completed dashboard can be used as a teacher's central lesson area or the dashboard can be shared in its entirety with students via a shared link, Google Classroom, or a QR code. TES Teach also allows for Common Core standards to be linked to lessons based on grade level.

I have used this for two lessons in my high school Earth Science course and have found it an easy one stop shop educational tool. I've also had my students create their own gridded dashboards in preparation for a Socratic discussion related to a specific topic. I really like this educational tool and find my students do too. This is another great educationl technology tool that more teachers should try!

Trends in Technology #4: Classroom Screen

There are so many _____ educational technology tools that enhance both a teacher's instruction and a student's learning. You can fill in the blank with your best adjective...good, useful, amazing, helpful, interactive, fun, etc, etc. My ed tech toolbox started about 5 years ago and it continues to grow steadily each school year. I have my colleagues, my PLN, and social media to thank for suggesting new resources that make my instruction more engaging and my lessons more enriching.

Wowza! Do I love Classroom Screen! Classroom Screen is a classroom management tool that has a bunch of widgets that help to maintain the flow of your class. You can keep time with a stopwatch or countdown timer, write instructions in a text box, monitor the sound level in the class, display work symbols or the stoplight to communicate what the students should be doing, QR codes can be added that link to outside resources, you can roll dice, generate random names, and draw images. You can add any or all of these widgets all from one screen! Here is a screenshot of my Classroom Screen. This tool is a game changer...having all of these widgets working together and displayed in one place is genius! The only negative about this tool is that it doesn't save the information you have on the screen once you close out the program. If you hit refresh or close out the tab, all the information disappears and you have to start a blank screen and add widgets all over again. Despite this small flaw, Classroom Screen is a very useful tool for teachers to maintain some sense of organization in their class. I highly recommend it!

Trends in Technology #3: Thinglink

I had seen Thinglinks on Twitter and on a really good ed tech email list that I subscribed to, but never really considered the benefits of using one for my high school science classes. So I created an account and made a generic thinglink about glaciers that ties to a unit for EEND 675. It was easy to upload a background photo and even easier to add links and edit the word bubble that pops up when you hover over the bullseye marker with your mouse. I liked this tool for its ease of use, its potential to engage students, and its ability to pull resources together for a lesson or activity. I made the assumption that this tool was better suited for K-8, but I've changed my opinion and feel this could be a good tool every now and again to change things up and bring variety to my day-to-day instruction.

Trends in Technology #2: Lino

As part of my EEND 675 Module 3 assignment, Collaborative Technologies in the Classroom, I used Lino for the first time. It's similar in some ways to Padlet, a collaborative technology tool that I've used regularly in my classroom, but Lino has some differences that make it a bit more versatile.

You can access Lino at http://en.linoit.com/. Lino is a sticky note and photosharing site that displays everything on a canvas posting board. Here's a screenshot of my sandbox Lino below. You add sticky notes in the upper right corner of the canvas. The base colors are yellow, green, blue, and pink, but there are 10 colors to choose from. In the bottom right corner you see the calendar for the canvas displayed. The lower left corner displays all of the user's canvases.

A user or collaborative group of users can post ideas, draft plans, add photos, create lists, upload documents, set reminders, add due dates, and add videos from YouTube or Vimeo. Some of the benefits of Lino include:

• The size of the sticky note can be altered, the color of the sticky can be changed, the font size can be big or small, and emoji icons can be added for a dash of creativity.
• Tagging posts allows a user to create their own personal library of resources and it can be searched relatively quickly. The tags are displayed right on the sticky (see above).
• The calendar and assigning of due dates is useful. This could help scaffold larger projects for students and break it down into smaller parts with due dates attached. Lino automatically sends reminder emails.
• A user can switch between canvases with relative ease and move or copy sticky notes between canvases. The sticky can also be emailed to an individual for a quick shareout.
• Lino canvases can be shared to Twitter or Facebook. This gives the user an opportunity to share out to a larger audience, get some feedback on a project and/or increase collaboration among a PLN (right upper sidebar).

I find both Padlet and Lino to be user-friendly and intuitive. Here is a comparative table analyzing the features of Lino and Padlet.

As with any collaborative tool, it's beneficial for the user to find something that works for them. As a classroom teacher, I see the benefits of both web tools mentioned in the table above. I had never used Lino until recently and I'm excited to incorporate it into my classroom activities. Students get bored when teachers use the same tech tools repeatedly. This versatile platform has some bells and whistles that I'm confident will grab student's attention and get them working collaboratively.