Reflecting on Wordle, Google Earth, Google Forms, and Mindmapping

It's been a little over a week since my 518 colleagues introduced me to these tools. I've been using some of them a lot (Wordle and Google Forms). For example, one of my classmates had to miss that particular class session, so I wrote up my notes and gave her specific directions on how to use Wordle. This forced me to think through what I had learned and how to teach it to someone else, a process that is always instructive! With regard to Google Forms, I found myself talking to friends throughout the week about how useful this tool can be. I made up several mock quizzes to show them how powerful this tool could be  in a classroom context. I even created a survey using Google Forms for my work -- it looked very professional and was easy to edit. I'm sold!

At first glance, I wasn't drawn as much to Google Earth or mind mapping. In the case of the former, I have used that before and while it always evoked a "gee whiz" response, I'm not sure how to use it effectively in a classroom setting. I know that sounds STRANGE given that I'm planning to teach social studies, but ... My preliminary idea is to show it to students and let them show ME how it can be useful in their learning. With regard to mind mapping, I've always been a huge fan of graphic organizers (i.e., mind maps), but I'm not totally convinced that the technology version is preferable to the old-fashioned hand-drawn version. I think I may simply need to play around with the technology a bit more. For example, the technology version may be more effective if a great deal of text is involved because it's much easier for me to type than to hand write. This is definitely a tool I need to consider at greater length.

In reflection, that's the greatest value for me in learning about these tools. I don't have to use them, but I need to have them in my toolbox so I can use them for a particular "job" I need done!

Wordle -- A new (and fun) web tool

Prensky and Our Final Project

Like most of my classmates, I think, I've been worrying about, fussing over, planning, and beginning to write down my ideas for the final project for this course. Even in my rough draft, I can see how profoundly I've been influenced by so many of Prensky's ideas -- the importance of student choice, thinking about students and their passions (instead of focusing only on content and coverage), trying to make the content real as well as relevant, creating guiding questions that intrigue and "hook" students, and using technology to let students create (chapter 8). It is this latter consideration that is keeping me very busy right now in terms of the final project. I'm working on creating a multigenre research project that calls on students to do all the research and writing associated with a traditional research paper, but instead of writing write 1500 words, but not in a traditional research paper. Instead, the project I'm working on calls on the student to create 7 different "text pieces" using the technology of their choice to cover the research topic in a unique and creative way. Of course, I am leaving open to the students who they want to research, how they want to display what they learn (e.g., through poetry, obituaries, diary entries), and the technology they want to use  (Powtoons, Prezis, email exchanges, blog post, twitter feed) to display their learning. I haven't figured out exactly how to showcase their work beyond the classroom, but I'm thinking about videotaping their presentations and having them organize them for mass consumption. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I'd greatly appreciate them because I'm a huge believer in Prensky's thesis (chapter 9): We, as teachers, create the possibility to continuously improve through practice and sharing.

Guiding Questions, New Technology Tools, and Lesson Planning

I've spent a lot of time this week thinking about guiding questions, which Prensky terms "the primary link between partnering and content." I am coming to believe that coming up with good guiding questions is one of the most important things we as teachers can do. I appreciate greatly his advice (e.g., pair why/how), but I'm still struggling. I spent a huge amount of time coming up with a question for a new unit, but try as I might to tweak it, I just didn't like it. I put it aside for a while, but then discussed it with a colleague. (Obviously, it wasn't very far from my conscious mind!) Within a couple of minutes, my colleague came up with a wonderful suggestion -- something that resonated with me and that I think will engage students and get them on the right track in terms of the content. That led to this week's epiphany -- I need to partner with fellow teachers as well as students!

I loved the new technology tools our classroom colleagues presented last week. I've already done one screencast and see an important use for it in an upcoming lesson. (Thank you, Alisia!) I've also created several animatos. I'm trying to pull together a multigenre research project assignment and that will be one of the genres students can use to demonstrate their content mastery.

It's with continuing amazement that I see how far I have come in terms of my understanding and embrace of technology as a core instructional tool. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I thought this class was going to be something I just had to "get through." Oh, I was so very wrong. I'm stretching and growing and feeling excited about putting what I'm learning into practice.

New Tools Make Me Feel Smart!

Read my story and let me know what you think!

Dream Big!

Prensky is partnering with me!

I am coming to appreciate Prensky’s book more and more with each passing week. He offers a big picture view of technology and education and leaves it to us (his readers) to do some of the work ourselves. He’s the provocateur who makes arguments, suggests questions, and touches lightly on a range of issues. It is these “lightly touched issues” that I find begging for more in-depth research and analysis. “Frustrated” at times that he is not supplying the specificity I want, I am finding myself doing independent research to find answers that satisfy my need to know more. It finally dawned on me this week as I was lamenting the lack of attention he accorded the BYOD/BYOT issue that I began to suspect that his strategy is deliberate. He is partnering with ME. That was an epiphany!

So the aspect of this week’s reading that prompted me to “do independent work” (beyond the reading) is the BYOD/BYOT issue. On its face, this approach seems like the perfect solution to cash-strapped schools. Let students bring their technology! However, understanding that too many students are already stigmatized because they can’t afford 7 for All Mankind jeans or Kobe Bryant shoes, the inevitable question arises: How will these students feel when they are once again in a situation where their economic status defines their social standing in the classroom? Of course, the counter argument is that having students bring their own devices at least provides access to technology, self-esteem issues aside. The most useful discussion I have found (so far) on this topic is an article by Lisa Nielsen entitled, “7 Myths about BYOD Debunked.” She’s surveyed a wide spectrum of research and speaks directly (and with examples) to questions such as: Does BYOD deepen the digital divide? Will BYOD lessons be geared toward the weakest technology? Does BYOD cause students to be distracted? Will teachers need to be experts in the devices students use? I found her article enlightening and helpful in thinking about this issue. Thanks, Prensky, for encouraging me to be an active learner with you!

If you’re interested in Nielsen’s article, here’s a link: http://thejournal.com/Articles/2011/11/09/7-BYOD-Myths.aspx?Page=2&p=1