Finally DONE!

My RUP is finally posted and the course is done. (At least I think it is.) The past two weeks at school are proving that this might have been a worthwhile project. With three sixth grade technology classes on my schedule, it is imperative that I focus on where we are going with the digital world. I am also a part of our school technology committee and we are looking at new directions. I am guessing 1:1 is in our near future and that is going to be good--- with some questions that will need to be answered.

Wrapping up the summer learning..........

First, let me say that it was probably appropriate that my first online learning experience was about online learning. This has made me ask a lot of questions about this particular type of learning environment. I am not sure that I am a fan, but since this is the direction that so many courses are moving, I guess I need to "get with the times" and grasp the concept.

This has been a good experience overall. I have learned of many online resources and been made to think about what we are teaching the kids about digital access. I think that we sometimes forget that they have so much to learn about the world that they seem to have grasped from a very young age.

I will be referring back to several of the things we have done as we enter into the new school year.

Social Media and the Student

I believe it would be important to not have individual accounts set up through the school for students younger than policy allows. (I did not realize that this was federal law that the rule was based upon.) I have not used a school account, but many of my the parents are friends on Facebook. I find that it has improved communication.
One of our school corporation's elementary schools has a PTO page. It is run by the parents and seems to be a great tool. It worried me at first that it would be a page for blasting teachers or school policy. However, they have done a great job of making it an informational page. I do think that we have to be cautious, though, of not excluding those not using this technology.

Classrooms using this media must make sure that the usage is truly academic. I don't believe it is appropriate to require individual accounts for the students. (Some things need to be parental decisions. Social media direct access is one of those.) How do we give the child access when the parent has not allowed this in their home? (Whether a personal choice or in one case that I know, as a punishment for inappropriate usage.)

So many tools...........

There are often so many computer tools to choose from that it becomes overwhelming. I would love to give Popplet a try with my fourth graders this fall. I had seen it over the past few years, but have never explored it. I love the looks of the project for this course that was done using Popplet.

I will also explore Pearltrees at some point, but don't see it happening before the start of school. Popplet on the other hand, will be checked out soon. My students do a lot of webs with the language arts teacher. If this could be done, it might encourage her to incorporate it into her classes.

The Useful and (Well, not so much)

The online and blended learning course is truly testing my patience with beloved technology. Seldom have I had it to be as frustrating at home as it is at school. At school, I have been accustomed to trying to log in and the server to ultimately be down. At home, that has not been the case. (I am in the mode of trying to figure out if it is a computer issue or an internet issue. After replacing the modem/ router, I am fearing that the computer is simply not liking me.)

I love to use technology in my classroom and generally feel like I am more than willing to take "risks" in trying new things. Therefore, this has been one of my favorite weeks. I thoroughly enjoyed the suggestions of possible sites for students from Michele Eaton. I am anxious to implement a few of them and see how the can be incorporated into my students' learning and eventually assessment.

I am thinking that parents are not going to be as accepting of some of these ideas since they do not get the immediate feedback that they often like. A few last year were upset when we tried to do some projects that they were not involved with. I think the time involved explaining the projects and the overall enthusiasm of students helped to win these parents over, but once again, it took time. Evaluation is much more subjective and this is going to be a challenge, as well.

My other challenge at the moment is that I do not know what I am teaching (subject wise) in the fall. We are departmentalized and with a new administrator, we are awaiting our schedules. I am guessing that I will be teaching science and/or math, but that is not set in stone. Therefore, to try to picture any of these ideas within my fourth grade classroom is difficult.

I have to admit that I am also struggling with the lack of a human connection in this course. I am far too "social" for the way this course is arranged. One would think that being able to be invisible to the person you are asking questions of would be a positive thing. I am finding the exact opposite to be true. I guess I like to be able to discuss things face to face.

What are we doing WRONG? Better yet, how do we do it right?

After watching this business oriented TED talk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrkrvAUbU9Y, I have to wonder where we are headed in education. I guess I was not surprised to find that the greater the reward, the less motivation there was to complete the task effectively. I know that I work best without a "have to" pressure. I am a creative thinker, but I know that I cannot think most freely when I know that there is a time limit. Give me a task and let me work through it on my time, I am usually successful at finding something that works. On the other hand, if I am forced to deal with that task in a "you need to do this or else" and do it NOW mode, I am usually going to draw a blank. In fact, with that pressure, I will find myself trying to think through EVERY single idea and not fully exploring any of the possibilities in depth. I am more than willing to help colleagues, but hope that they give me the task and let me ponder-- at least most of the time.
I came to education as the high ability teacher for our corporation's elementary schools twenty-seven years ago. My job was to encourage students to use divergent thinking. I knew that often times that was not going to fit my time frame in class and allowing that freedom was counter to what the students had been taught in school up to that point. It was hard to undo the thought "there is a right answer to everything" and you must do it NOW!
When I first moved into the regular classroom, I brought those skills I had taught my high ability students with me. I know that my students in those early years were more creative thinkers than my current students. Over the years, I have fallen into the trap of following a set of standards and a textbook to meet those standards. My own creativity has suffered, but the most sad news within that scenario is that my students have become little parrots. They can tell me exactly what I want them to (usually), but they often cannot solve a problem on their own. I really do need to let them develop their wings and move back to my own foundation. What good is education when it only teaches the material information and not how to apply it? Or even to find new information on their own?
Now that I think about it, that nest really isn't where the students need to stay for life. Let's fly!

Where am I? Seemingly more lost than I ever thought.........

     I teach fourth grade math and science. I love technology, but have to admit that I really do not do a very good job of integrating it into my teaching. It is my hope to change that...... to gain ideas from others of how to change. Like many, I have learned to rely upon the standards and, unfortunately, the textbook to get students ready for the test. While I think I am beyond an entry level, it is hard to admit that this is not really the case.
     I do have access to technology, but most of the time, it was not with the students I was teaching these content areas to. I went to the computer lab with sixth graders. This should have been ideal, but my understanding of what they were learning in content areas meant it was difficult to make it all connect. As a result, this time was often more test practice and isolated skill practice than it should have been.
     I also have access to iPad carts that could be checked out and used within my classroom. This is what I need to incorporate. Do I do that by automatically thinking a day a week with them? I need to have them scheduled, so it can't be something that just randomly happens. That would be my ideal..... A student asks a question and the tool is there. We are moving to Bring Your Own Device. Yet, that does not seem to really work. I am sure that was a teacher "thing" and my comfort with so many different devices in the room and a fear of a child not understanding the task at hand. Or a fear of my not knowing how to guide them with a device that I was not familiar with. After all, they are ten and "need" a teacher. Not really! (I need to remember they are better versed at this than I am..... They are natives; I truly am an immigrant.) However, I do better know how to make sure that the tool is charged! Why is it that they know how to manipulate the thing, but forget to make sure that they have it fully charged? That might be my first goal-- gather enough chargers that I can make sure that they can charge their own device in the room. Just kidding, but hey, it is a start!
     I need to start now, thinking about the plan. (Yet, I am not quite sure of what my schedule will be in the fall.) I want to be a part of the change for my students. I really think that I am the teacher that I am today because of innovative teachers in my life. We didn't have technology, but those teachers used every tool available to make what was going on in the classroom applicable and useful. Integrating the tools that I have and even learning to use some that I don't have at the moment, is necessary for my students to be the best they can be. Websites are a start, but student involvement in their own learning is going to be vital.