Conclusion Post

Next school year is going to be interesting with all of the new Indiana State Standards.  Lesson wise, I am constantly tweeking old ideas and trying to learn new ones to incorporate.  I have a degree in technology, so I can't say that I learned anything new to use for next year, but I can say that this class made me think more about stakeholders and the different points of view.
Helping other teachers brainstorm and come up with new ideas is always a great, so I enjoyed helping out where I could.

Going beyond the requirements

What motivates a student to go above the basic requirement and self-motivate themselves?  We may never know!
I have had a few years of experience with the math curriculum in my classroom being completely digital with no text book.  When the lesson leans more towards a teacher-centered classroom and we work through the online resource Agile Mind together, students seem not to enjoy it as much as individually getting on a device to work through it, but more students complete the required task that day.  So this is why I balance my lessons with both teacher centered and student centered activities.  When students get to be on a device working through the lesson with a guided student activity sheet, there are a few that get off the website and choose to do other things and there are others that work much slower and never get through as much as what we could have done together.
I think it is important though to teach students that independently working on a lesson and using the technology to their advantage is the best college preparation or real work readiness they could learn.
I also incorporate a program called ALEKS in my curriculum and students hate the "explain" button.  Their first reaction is to raise their hand and ask for help when they can't figure something out and there is a great tool on there that explains step by step how to do every problem.  But many students lean towards the lazy side and can more quickly ask me to explain it to them than to read it themselves and independently figure it out.  I still struggle with getting students to WANT to learn through the technology and not always by someone telling them the answers.
I am a student myself when it comes to always being a learner.  Teaching students to demonstrate their understanding when they aren't given explicit requirements is an idea that I'm still learning.

Engaged or Not Engaged...? That is the question.

Is every single student on task at ALL times absolutely EVERY time we use devices in my classroom??? 

I wish I could say yes, but I don't think I'd be fooling anyone.  

     Reading the Freedom, Digital Distraction and Control article made me wish it was as easy as saying I really want to be in level 3.  My classroom on a typical technology day falls in level 2.  There are some activities (like tests and quizzes) that are administered through the iPads where I find students getting off task.  If Synchroneyes was downloaded on my iPads, I'd be in heaven as a teacher being able to see every single screen at once.  But we all know that we when walking around the room, your back gets turned to a student at some point and they have the open opportunity to switch applications and play on something else.  Now Guided Access helps this, but sometimes activities take multiple apps and this feature would not work.  So making sure every single student WANTS to be on the app you need them to be on becomes difficult.                There are always going to be students who are completely apathetic towards their education in general and refuse to do anything you give them even if it's a game (a.k.a. why no child left behind was great in theory but impossible in application).  So having in the back of my head that I want to be in level 3 is beneficial, but might not always happen.  Focusing on creating lessons where the majority of students are engaged is key.        

     Giving students the opportunity to explore a subject through technology is a wonderful tool, breaking up the activity with group conversations, video clips, etc... can help in continuously engaging students.  And this is what I strive to do with each digital lesson I create.

From Student to Stakeholder

What are the top three things to communicate when introducing the concept of technology integration to students?

This is a question that I asked myself two years ago when Shelbyville Middle School purchased 8 carts of 30 iPads for students to use in the classroom and went to B.Y.O.T (bring your own technology).  

1.  Students need to have a clear understanding of appropriate use of technology in the school (not just the classroom). 
This involves several aspects of using a device for education.  
Big ideas here would be: 

• using the device for the intended lesson
• using devices for academic purposes not personal
• when you can and cannot use a device.

2. Digital Citizenship is the next important topic that needs to be communicated to students.  Children have this idea that what they say behind a screen name is hidden or a picture they text to a friend won't go any further.  Misconceptions like this need to be addressed over and over again to remind students of the truth about social media and internet safety. 

3. Actually knowing how to use different devices is another key thing when integrating technology into education.  Most adults think that kids now are all techy and can navigate any device you hand them.  This is not quite the case.  Students spend too much time looking for the app they are supposed to be on or finding out to un-invert the background of the iPad when learning how to do those things in a sufficient manor needs to be addressed the first time students get devices in their hands in the classroom.  A minute here and a minute there might not seem like a big deal, but some students spend several minutes searching for a fix on the device before they ever ask for help.  So knowing the "how to" to the devices is a must.

21 Century Skills

This might sound cliche, but the most important skill I think students should have with technology is actually being able to use it to answer their questions.  This generation is so used to just be handed an answer (mainly because of the great tool of Google), but this seems to have made students even more lazy than ever.  If they can just ask for an answer, they would rather do that than even pick up their device and look it up!  As a math teacher when I ask them to show their work, they think the world has ended.  Many times answers are posted around the room or I let students use a device on a quiz and they still want to ask me basic questions instead of just taking the time to find the answer themselves.

There are so many amazing things that people can use technology for.  But the most basic thing is one of the most powerful things it provides...answers!!!

Since more and more schools have technology or even 1:1, hopefully the standardized testing goes along with that.  Adding ISTEP to a computer does not seem to even touch the tip of what we could be testing kids now that technology is so prevalent.  I would like to be able to assess students on their ability to move past the basics of mathematical foundations at an Algebra level and allow technology to help them in any way they can come up with to be able to reach an answer.  That is what they would be able to do outside the walls of the school, so why not inside.
Assessing this could be done in many ways.  How student work collaboratively, being able to reach an answer, explaining how the technology guided them to a solution, etc... are all ways that I could assess that students are utilizing technology to its fullest potential.

I could go on forever about this topic, but that seems to sum it up!

Philosophy of Education

Through song, the philosophy I follow speaks “I believe that children are our future.  Teach them well and let them lead the way.  Show them all the beauty they possess inside.  Give them a sense of pride to make it easier.  Let the children’s laughter remind us how we used to be…”

I truly believe that each child I teach can bring a unique quality not just into the classroom, but in life.  The future police officers, lawyers, teachers, etc… are the children we are teaching today.  Students need to be enabled to learn both through guidance and independence.  My philosophy is to assist and not direct students through their educational experience.  Ideas are not concrete until their minds allow them to be and my goal is to support them to a real world application in any standard I teach. 

Believing in students is the number one philosophy I have in developing a successful student.  Not just teachers, but individual students need to embrace their differences and accept and respect others’ as well.  I provide a caring and safe environment for my students to express their differences.  To be successful in life, students must believe in themselves and love themselves for who they are.

Education is continually changing.  I know I have to adapt to these changes as they come.  Remembering the past, as a student, and learning more for the future, I am constantly trying to better myself as a teacher.  Students teach me new ideas each and every day. Connecting with children is a concept that cannot be learned.  It must be embedded in our desire to teach the youth of tomorrow. 

Technology is just one way that teachers have to adjust to new ideas in the world.  Simple things such as memorizing a spelling word, knowing a definition, etc... are almost going out the window.  Being able to look up simple concepts and apply that to more problem solving ideas through exploration in the classroom is the student centered model I want to follow for my classroom. 

Reflection #1

I am very excited to learn about more ways to implement technology into my classroom. 
I already use several forms of technology in different ways, but I want it to be more student-centered.  I don't think I'm ready to move completely to a flipped classroom, but I like several ideas from it.

I can lead in how to use iPads in the classroom in ways that are not just educational games. I can also help in brainstorming best practices for schools who allow students to bring their own technology.  Our school is a B.Y.O.T school, which has given me personal experience on what can work and what cannot work.

I would like more time in exploring, as a math teacher, how to become almost always having a student-centered classroom.  In my mind, it just seems so difficult to completely become student-centered classroom in math.  To completely give up giving direct instruction to students who are 12-14 years old seems extremely difficult.

I am also always up for hearing new apps that work for student engagement, classroom tools, and ones that enhance mathematical skills based on 8th grade standards. I am an App Master in the school and am 1 of 6 teachers who are required to maintain an iPad cart, keep them up to date with current apps, and help other teachers incorporate the technology into their classrooms.