My educational philosophy post Ed Tech!

My Educational Philosophy Education should be seen as a method to better ones self and life situation. It should not be the goal of education to teach a subject, but instead to teach a way of thinking and experiencing a quickly changing technological world. A way of thinking that is necessary in life to approach and solve everyday problems and adapt to changing technologies. Education is not a goal to be reached, but instead a process needed for life. Education should empower individuals to be better people and citizens who can interact with life in a positive manner and it should provide students with the necessary skills to observe and interact confidently in everyday life. The purpose of education is to instill in every individual the desire to be a life-long learner that seeks to better ones self first at the college level if so desired and then professionally and personally. Education should empower students to influence cultural values and real-world problems in a positive way while using proven methods, evolving changing technology and critical thinking. As the teacher, I should not just been seen as the expert in a particular field, but also as a mentor, leader, encourager and facilitator. It is my desire to develop relationships with students in which they feel comfortable interacting with me inside and outside the classroom, not just about mathematics, but anything that concerns them as well. It is my role to not only educate my students in mathematics, but to continue to educate myself by broadening my base of knowledge and skills in mathematics and technology so I may meet the increasing technological skills of my students. I will also facilitate and encourage the same continuing education with my colleagues. It is my goal to provide a learning environment in which expectations are clearly defined, yet personal differences in students are recognized. The learning environment in my classroom will provide students confidence in trying to do mathematics boldly by providing acceptance of mistakes and the encouragement to continue to try. I will do this by providing purposeful lessons and activities that are sequential and clearly defined. I will use technology to enhance the learning environment. Students are expected to give their full attention and to be open minded to the idea that they themselves can learn math. As the teacher, I will be held accountable for my students’ performance on state mandated tests and will therefore expect competency and accountability from my students to be demonstrated through different types of assessments. Education of my students should result in a student who is confident and thus motivated to meet the challenges in and outside the classroom. Students will recognize the value of education and not see it as a point to be reached, but rather a journey upon which they will continue.

Reflection #6 Podcasts, oh how I love thee.

Of all the articles I have read in the past few years about the new trends in education, the relevance of those trends and most importantly the educational usefulness of those trends, this article on Podcasting was the most relevant I have read. It was a sound, non-biased look at the educational value of podcasting. I was actually introduced to this idea more than two years ago when I attended a workshop entitled “IPods in the Classroom.” This was such a hot topic then because most schools and teachers were fighting such technological gadgets in the classroom and did not see their possible educational usefulness. I came back from that workshop armed with all the reasons and possible uses for the iPod and podcasting only to be shot down by my administration for different reasons. Now, I am at a new school which is on the brink of incorporating “bring your own device,” so I am once again energized about the possibilities of podcasting. The irony of the term “podcasting” itself is it’s a term derived from the “iPod” which was a portable device, yet this article points out that many studies show students view podcasts from their stationary, home computers. No matter the three possible categories of podcasting i.e. creating audio/video archives of classroom lectures, delivery of supplemental teaching materials or for the production of podcasts by students for assessment purposes, podcasts are mostly viewed by students at their home computer. It makes me wonder if most administrators know this. This article provided both positive and negative support of podcasts, and different benefits that were not necessarily the intended reason for their use were noted as well. It mentioned podcasts for the purpose of review, for collaboration, for assessment and more. However, I want to mention the main reason I would like to use podcasts regularly in my classroom. This was my reason a couple of years ago, but has become even more important to me now because I am in a small, rural 1A school district presently. Absences and mathematics do not a couple make. In a small school where most students are involved in multiple activities, especially FFA, absences can occur often and even for days at a time for school activities. This leaves students and teachers trying to accommodate not just make-up work for absent students, but the time needed to re-teach missed concepts. Being a mathematics teacher, I see how one absence can interfere with learning, but when I have a student gone to a livestock show for four days in a row….well….we have issues. I want those students to show their livestock and be successful. For many, it’s a source of income and scholarship opportunities, but I also want them to be successful in my class. To me, podcasting is an easy answer. The article mentioned how important listening skills were, and one study even noted that it was the audio only podcasts that were downloaded more during a course than even the audio with video podcasts. This made sense to me, because no matter how detailed a copy of notes are or how much thought and explanation I put into them for an absent student, without my voice, the child is just not as comfortable. Similarly though, if I put pre-worked examples up in my classroom without physically writing them down as I say them, the students do not get it either. There is something about me talking and writing at the same time that enables their understanding. Again, podcasting is the easy answer. Of all the technology projects given to me this semester, I looked forward to this one the most. I brought my assistant principle in the day before I recorded to tell him how much I would like a document camera and webcam! I wanted to do this and I want to learn more. I will continue to research and study more sites so I can utilize podcasts in my classroom. The technology I used this week made it even easier than what I was willing to do two years ago. The more I do this, the easier it will get. I just need to get more familiar with the idea of “feeds” and become more adept at uploading the podcasts quickly and regularly. Podcasting for my reasons, to help absent students, or for any of the reasons the article mentioned previously make it a valuable tool that will be around for some time. It is because it can be used for so many reasons that it will definitely be an integral part of education in the future. In conclusion, I want to reiterate something the article said that I agree with whole heartedly. It is not the technology of the podcast that makes it wonderful, it is the learning that can take place as a result of the technology. Podcasting is just a tool. The planning and implementation of that tool is still the most important part.

Blog Reflection #5 Is my beloved tree octopus real?

We’ve all seen the commercial or at least heard a student say, “It has to be true! I found it on the internet.” Being a little older and a little wiser I know this little adage to obviously be erroneous. However, I did not know there were tools on the World Wide Web that could help me qualify the information I may be researching. Furthermore, after taking the “Information Literacy Quiz,” I saw just how informational illiterate I was. I will definitely be bookmarking the site http://novemberlearning.com/ to use in the future and share with my son and students. It is a wonderful site that shares different tools to make today’s learner “information literate” i.e. decide which information is true and reliable and the information that is not. To learn how to use these different tools, my educational technology assignment sent me on a scavenger hunt for the truth. I picked a topic/website of my choosing; I chose the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus because I love animals! From this point forward I was shown tools from Dr. November’s website that would allow me to research the validity of this website and its claims. After all, it’s not like the old days. Not just everyone would up and publish a book or encyclopedia on a given topic in the past, yet in today’s world, anyone can post information on the internet (look at me now). I was first taught how to analyze the URL, uniform resource locater. (Look at me learning!) I noticed that is had .net in its URL which shows it is a network, not a site from an educational institution or even the government. Next, I thought maybe the website was a person’s name, but was unsure. I then used the link command to see what other websites might be linked to the tree octopus website. It was interesting to see that sites regarding “Faux Sites” and even sites on how to see if another site is erroneous were listed. I then went on to use different search engines to search for just the topic “tree octopus.” I actually tried 6 of the 7 that were listed including: AltaVista, Excite, Infoseek, Go and Hotbot. I was immediately shocked to see how many of these “other” sites were actually owned by Yahoo or Google or even pulled the search results from those to sites to their own. Some of the sites had ads and others did not. This was explained on Dr. November’s site as well. Yahoo and Google are the biggies and so most sites by ads to appear on them. I went to the search engine watch site to see how information is sorted on the different search engines. I got a little confused but think the basic idea is that most sites are “crawler” sites, meaning that list the sites most visited. Yahoo used to be a directory site, which I’m still not very sure of what that is, but it is now a crawler as well. I did learn that Hotbot is somewhat of a metacrawler in that it brings the searches from the three major engines into its search site. The only complications I ran into were when I was trying to find the author of my site and its purpose by using the easywhois site. I was able to see an example by using a martinlutherking.org site, but my lovely Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus site would not show here. I did however find success using the archive.org site to see that the site was created March 3, 1998 by Zapatopi Productions. Obviously I have not become a master of Information Literacy, but I definitely have tools I can refer to, practice and become well-equipped to use and share with others. I found this particular exercise very informative and useful! I was kind of sad to find out the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus was not real….guess my donation was for nothing! 

Reflection #4

Apparently in today’s technological world, particularly the educational technology world, someone as me is referred to as a Net Gen or as a Digital Immigrant. The generation before us was called the “Baby Boomers,” but my generation y label has been officially replaced because of all the technological advances made in my lifetime. I remember the first time I heard about the internet. I was taking classes in the late 80’s at University of Central Oklahoma and the professor was telling us about this wonderful research tool that had linked libraries all over the nation. Thus was born the “net” in my Net Gen I suppose. Since then I have seen many changes occur in education due to the impact of technology. Research, gathering information, word processing and saving of information are just a very few that have made my life so much easier. Now today’s youth, the Digital Natives who have been born and raised with technology, would laugh at my former sentence and say those are not examples of technology. However, they did not grow up looking at microfiche and trying to hang on to note cards and sheets upon sheets of paper, or doing math just to figure out where the center of my paper was on a typewriter. With that being said, I’m proud to be a Net Gen! I am proud to say I think I am a healthy balance of knowing how to do things the “hard” way, but take advantage of technology as a tool, but not as a crutch. I have all the same “symptoms” as a Digital Native. I have forgotten most phone numbers because they are saved in my phone. I wake up and immediately grab my phone to check Facebook and Twitter. I am looking forward to purchasing an iPad so I can have it in my school meetings. However, I am still not a big gamer but do indulge in cards and mahjong on my phone. But mostly, when it comes to technology, I cannot multi-task. I used to take pride in being a very good multi-taker, but that never involved technology. I can help several different students with different levels of math homework, all while working on lesson plans and other items, but I cannot do my online homework, listen to my radio and talk to students all the same time like today’s youth can. If we are to assume that today’s learners have the “symptoms” or characteristics I have just described above along with the ability to multi-task as well, it does not change some basic facts about learning. Let me say that again. Technology has changed how quickly we can learn and assimilate information, but it has not changed good habits of learning. Students still need to know what a reliable source is and how to go about finding it. Students still need to use their own words and thoughts to relay information instead of plagiarizing. Students still need to know how to organize information whether they use note cards or concept maps. As educators, we need to remain focused on the end product: what students need to know, and not be so focused on the “how” we get to the end product. Net Gens need to understand today’s youth’s seemingly flawless coordination with technology. Today’s youth need to understand Net Gen teachers are trying to show them the necessity of using their minds.

Reflection #3 AFL verses AOL

I must admit I am usually a “sucker” for the new and upcoming ideas in education, but I must say the idea of an e-portfolio is not something I’m gravitating to all that quickly. I can definitely see where e-portfolios would be an asset if you are looking at someone’s education holistically, but not over a remotely short period of time. When I say holistically, I mean over a longer period of time, not during just a course or a year. In my opinion the term “assessment for learning” in and of itself insinuates a broad base of knowledge over a vast amount of time. For example, at my former school I taught a Gifted and Talented pull out program. The kids were able to choose a course or idea for study each year. They would then do various projects centered on that area. Our GT program required the students to keep a “portfolio”, binder, of everything they had done in grades 9th – 12th. In their senior year, the portfolio should have represented all the areas of study they had done, the areas of interest that had sought out and maybe even point them in a direction for a career or further study at the post secondary level. I definitely believe this was an example of “assessment for learning.” There were no high stakes decisions or grades tied to this portfolio, but was meant only to be a showcase of things the student had done through their GT experience. The flip side of that is if I were told I had to keep an e-portfolio under the guise of “assessment for learning” for simply one course, I would be infuriated as the learner. It would be like keeping a binder in high school in which I’m required to keep track of items just for the professor’s sake. I’m beyond that as a learner. It would reek of the very things the article listed in the table when comparing “assessment for learning” verses “assessment of learning”. However, if I chose to keep all the papers, research and projects I had accumulated throughout graduate school as a tool for self-evaluation, direction for doctorates or even for evaluation upon receiving my entire Master’s degree, than that might be a different story. As I mentioned before, I usually get completely excited about the innovative ideas on the forefront of education, but I just did not feel that when reading this article. Frankly, as I read through the “ten researched based principles for AFL, the first thing that went through my mind was very negative. • AFL should be part of effective planning of teaching and learning • AFL should focus on how students learn • AFL should be recognized as central to classroom practice • AFL should be regarded as a key professional skill for teachers • AFL should be sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an emotional impact • AFL should take account of the importance of (and foster) learner motivation • AFL should promote commitment to learning goals and a shared understanding of the criteria by which they are assessed • AFL develops learners’ capacity for self-assessment so that they can become reflective and self-managing • AFL should recognize the full range of achievements of all learners • Learners should receive constructive guidance about how to improve The two tenets I highlighted made me think we do enough in today’s society to make everyone think they are great. We give everyone a trophy in little league. We give everyone a ribbon at the science fair. We make sure everyone gets something at the awards assembly. Now I have to realize that my assessments have an “emotional impact” on my students, and I have to teach them to be self-managing and reflective without hindering them emotionally as well? Wow. I need to tell my principal, superintendent and TEA that their assessment of our schools is having an emotional impact on me. Forgive my sarcasm, but I see this as feel good approach to assessment. I’m not saying the idea in and of itself is bad, but that assessments are just that: assessments. We are assessing where a child has been, where they are now, and where they need to be in the future. We can label it AFL or AOL, but in the end, assessment is needed. Life requires it. Now with that being said, I do identify with the tenets stating, AFL should “be recognized as central to classroom practice, effective planning of teaching and learning, learner motivation and constructive guidance about how to improve.” I try to foster a “risk free” environment in my mathematics class. I want students to try big and feel ok when they mess up big. One thing I started doing a few years ago was a “weaning” process in their learning. Home/class work they could use notes, each other and me. The next step was quizzes on which they could use notes and each other, but not me. Then tests were on their own with no outside help of any kind. It was amazing how the middle step influenced and increased student centered and student motivated learning, and directed my planning and showed students where they needed to improve. By using each other, but not me, they got to see if they knew something well enough to help others. They got to see which skills they had to go look up because they forgot which in turn showed them what to study instead of me telling them. So in my opinion, my teaching strategy or classroom management strategy is achieving AFL without requiring an e-portfolio or trying to incorporate same fancy digital storytelling or the like.

Reflective Blog #2 Concept Mapping....Wow!!! Ironically enough I had to Google the terms concept mapping just to make sure I knew what it was before I went to any of the sites Dr. Huang had given us. I was surprised, and comforted, to see it was basically a jazzed up graphic organizer...at least the Bubbl site was. I found it easier to use the Bubbl website as it was akin to a flowchart. Growing up in the paper and pencil generation, I was taught to make outlines. As a result, even now when I start to do research for any reason, I find myself copy and pasting information and references into a semi-type outline form. As I read the articles on being a digital immigrant verses a digital native, I had to laugh as I very much found myself being described. Even though I am adapting to the digital age, I still like my paper copies of everything....and I still learn best and organize my information best by organizing it in outline form. I found myself stumbling through making bubbles and getting it to "look" the way I wanted it. However, when it was all said and done, I saw that it was just another way of organizing my thoughts just like an outline has always been for me. The more I used it, the more I liked it. The main thing I learned was how very important it is for people to produce their knowledge in the way they were instructed or in a manner similar to how they learned it. This was a main point for the article concerning digital immigrants. Just as it was hard for me, after learning outline form, to produce a concept map, it would be equally difficult for a young person who has mastered thinking in branches and groups like the Bubbl site or word phrases such as the Wordle site, to suddenly be asked to conform to making a rigid outline. We are doing our digital natives a huge disservice if we do not show them such tools as these to help them in their school work. Again, as a mathematics teacher of over twenty years, I have prided myself in trying new and innovative techniques and methods in my classroom. It has been a challenge for me to truly incorporate technology as a learning tool and not just as an archetype show all. However, I saw the possibility of the Wordle site a little differently. I can see how maybe I could use this site for students to remember key concepts or vocabulary they have learned. I tell my students all the time that they must learn to speak “mathanese.” The use of the Wordle site could show me that at least they are absorbing the vocabulary. The flip side is it might just be a way for them to vomit words in their heads out onto the page so they can process them. I will continue to try and use the new skills and purposefully look for ways to incorporate them into my personal use and the use of my classroom.

Digital Concept Mapping Technology Project 2

Automate vs Informate

Creating a Culture for Teaching and Learning was an awesome article! It was so good that I made copies and gave it to my superintendent, principal and English teacher/department head.  It made me step back and evaluate the use of technology in my classroom and our district.  Our district just incorporated a “BYOD”; bring your own device, program in our high school.  Teachers and students are encouraged to use iphones, ipads, laptops and etc to enhance learning.  However, I found myself wondering if we got the cart before the horse so to speak.  Just because electrical devices can be used in the classroom now, does not mean learning will be enhanced.  In fact, it could be hindered. I do not mean by students texting and being distracted either, but because teachers have not asked themselves if they desire that technology to “automate” learning or to “informate” learning.  Do I consider “flipping” my classroom just because it will speed up the lesson or because it will enhance the lesson?  Will my students who have access to technology at home get ahead of my students who do not if I flip a lesson? These are the types of questions I started asking myself.  I was most intrigued at the idea of putting a live video in my classroom by which families and other teachers could watch me teach. I actually like the idea.  What better way to show others what is important to me and the skills needed to be successful in my class.  What if a teacher got a great idea from me or gave me an idea to improve one of my lessons? Students could benefit! In the end, we cannot buy more technology for our schools if we first do not ask ourselves some very important questions! It reminded me that just the other day I saw some teacher throwing away some brand new mathematics manipulatives.  I can remember years ago I would have killed for those.  It was like the district had bought them because they were the “in” educational item at the moment, but then never used them.  I can see that happening very easily with technology. So what if we get every kid an ipad.  If we do not know how to truly incorporate the use of that technology in the child’s learning, it too will just be another manipulative gone to the way side. 

Educational Blogging: Do we really do that?

Reflective Blog #1

I just read an article by Stephen Downes’ on Educational Blogging. I was shocked to find the article was written back in 2004. I was shocked because it appears that educational technology, or I guess I should more properly say, the use of technology in education does not keep up with the rapid pace of the use of technology in the real world.  Being a mathematics teacher, I'm going to have to really get out of my comfort zone to see and develop ideas of how blogging can impact my students learning in mathematics class.  However, as I look around at other subjects within my school and others I've taught at, I can see that educational blogging is not being used as it was intended, that is as true blogging. Just because a teacher may use blog software to post class syllabi, rules and announcements, does not mean she is blogging.  Also, if a teacher posts a writing prompt on a blog site or an IWA (independent writing assignment as our teachers call it) on a blog site for students to respond to, does not mean the students are blogging either.  True blogging is a result of a legitimate intent to read, learn and respond to information.  “It starts with listening” as stated in Mr. Downes’ article.  For instance, most adults, including myself, and kids “google” when they have a question about something.  Many times I’ve read articles that included information  I did not completely understand or wanted to know more about.  As a result I began to look for more information on the internet…which may have led me somewhere else and so on and so forth.  Imagine if that were happening in context of the classroom and that one article may lead to another, and that along the way students could ask questions and make statements to others that had done the same thing along the way.  That would be true blogging.  Blogging, in its purest form, leads to research based learning.  I do not see this occurring in the educational environment.  I believe this is happening for several reasons, but I’d like to mention just a couple. The first is I do not believe teachers truly understand the concept of blogging. I know I did not until I started reading these and other articles.  As a result, I do not believe they know how to incorporate this into their curriculum.  Furthermore, the school environment and the policing of web content by administrators on teachers and students could have a negative impact as well.   

With this being said, educational blogging in some places is obviously working well.  I believe as time goes by and more teachers become educated on the proper use of technology in their curriculum, that blogging will definitely become a viable tool in learning. 

Putting it together (take 1)

Education should be seen as a method to better ones self and life situation. It should not be the goal of education to teach a subject, but instead to teach a way of thinking. A way of thinking that is necessary in life to approach and solve everyday problems.  Education is not a goal to be reached, but instead a process needed for life. Education should empower individuals to be better people and citizens who can interact with life in a positive manner and it should provide students with the necessary skills to observe and interact confidently in everyday life.   

 

The purpose of education is to instill in every individual the desire to be a life-long learner that seeks to better ones self first at the college level if so desired and then  professionally and personally.  Education should empower students to influence cultural values and real-world problems in a positive way while using proven methods and critical thinking.

 

 As the teacher, I should not just be seen as the expert in a particular field, but also as a mentor, leader, encourager and facilitator.  It is my desire to develop relationships with students in which they feel comfortable interacting with me inside and outside the classroom, not just about mathematics, but anything that concerns them as well.  It is my role to not only educate my students in mathematics, but to continue to educate myself by broadening my base of knowledge and skills in mathematics and technology so I may meet the increasing technological skills of my students. I will also facilitate and encourage the same continuing education with my colleagues.

 

It is my goal to provide a learning environment in which expectations are clearly defined, yet personal differences in students are recognized.  The learning environment in my classroom will provide students confidence in trying to do mathematics boldly by providing acceptance of mistakes and the encouragement to continue to try. I will do this by providing purposeful lessons and activities that are sequential and clearly defined.  Students are expected to give their full attention and to be open minded to the idea that they themselves can learn math.  As the teacher, I will be held accountable for my students’ performance on state mandated tests and will therefore expect competency and accountability from my students to be demonstrated through different types of assessments. 

 

Education of my students should result in a student who is confident and thus motivated to meet the challenges in and outside the classroom. Students will recognize the value of education and not see it as a point to be reached, but rather a journey upon which they will continue.