680 Course Reflection

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About 18 months ago, I started the Teaching with Technology endorsement program through the University of St. Francis. My first course was EEND 675: Foundations of Educational Technology. My final reflection today marks the last day of the last course in the endorsement sequence, EEND 680: 21st Century Educational Leadership, and my last hurrah in this program.

The ISTE standards have been the common thread throughout every course and each USF adjunct instructor has done a respectable job reminding course participants of their importance in education today. My goal is to continue to incorporate the student, teacher, and teacher-leader standards in my curriculum and be a resource in my school building.

Speaking of instructors...Michelle Nevin, Kristin Beeler, Scott Hagedorn, and Kim Darche were phenomenal leaders in their own right as they helped many of us along this path. I've also had the pleasure of meeting some great educators from all across the DuPage area who have participated in these courses with me. I've enjoyed the countless face-to-face and virtual encounters with many of you and have learned a great deal from your experiences.

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It's fitting that I end the program with this course because leadership has taken on a new meaning for me as I've progressed through the course sequence. Educational technology programs, applications, and platforms will continue to improve, and newer, better things will come along to enhance curriculum and guide student learning. Compared to 18 months ago, I can clearly see the importance of developing better digital citizens in my classroom, maintaining/modeling a positive and ethical presence online, and using technology to address the 4 Cs - communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Part of my job as an educator is preparing 21st-century learners to be successful, contributing members of society.

I doubt I will every move into an administrative role as I'm quite happy being a science teacher, department head and ed tech leader in my building. I endeavor to redefine my leadership role and be a lifelong learner in fulfilling this quote by John Quincy Adams: "If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader."

678 Artifact Reflection #2

In Module 4, I reflected on the feedback that several of my classmates gave on my PBL unit ideas and ended up pursuing my third topic listed. My essential question for is “Why is all the ice on Earth melting?” I started to get some ideas about this topic in the last USF course (677) I was enrolled and the idea seemed plausible to pursue with my high school Earth science students. You can find my climate science PBL unit outline HERE.

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This is a science topic that requires considerable research and students can arrive at multiple “correct” answers to satisfy the essential question. Most of the technology listed in the unit outline I have used before with my students, with the exception of the infographic platforms. Because I want my students to create quality infographic posters as one of their end products, I expect that I will need to provide some instruction in order for them to use Canva, Piktochart, and/or Adobe Spark. I'm excited to see what my students create!

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I think that sharing information outside of the classroom is a powerful means to communicate with other people. Student-generated infographics about climate science not only show other teachers what’s going on in other departments but it validates the importance of this topic to other students who are not enrolled in the class. This type of project-based learning promotes student voice and choice; something they would readily admit they don’t have the opportunity to engage in very often in any of their classes. This should be a great opportunity for my students to show what they know in supporting the essential question “Why is all the ice on Earth melting?"

Once I try this PBL unit for the first time next school year, I'll be able to reflect on the pros, cons, and outcomes of the unit, collect student feedback, keep some of the infographics for future school years to show students, and use my experience to educate others in my building. I worked tirelessly on this unit and hope to find success with it next school year.

678 Artifact Reflection #1

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In Module 3 we were asked to do some brainstorming to generate ideas for possible Project/Problem-Based Learning (PBL) units. Problem-solving and critical thinking experiences are the types of learning I hope to offer my science students every day and these types of activities align with the expectations of the Next Generation Science Standards. It's not my present reality, but with time, effort and collaboration on my part, several well-designed PBL units could be implemented in my classes. This instructional shift would ensure relevancy and keep the students coming back for more.

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Keeping the end in mind is a good mantra to recite for anyone in education, but especially with PBL, a teacher needs to stay the course and keep the kids focused on the outcomes. Sustained inquiry can be a challenge for teachers to maintain with their students, no matter what level of experience they might have. Teachers definitely need to be flexible and adaptable with PBL and also willing to learn with her students and make some mistakes along the way.

There are MANY resources on the internet that include great PBL lessons and units that could be implemented right away. Finding the TIME to wade through the information is a reality most teachers, including myself face. Best advice for any teacher considering incorporating PBL: take it slow and collaborate with like-minded people to achieve the best unit that packs the most punch for student learning. You can find my brainstorming document HERE.

#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.