Creative Education

Authors, Regina Royer and Patricia Richards, discuss all the makings and processes of digital storytelling. Royer and Richards explain, in depth, an entire process from start to finish, which I found incredibly helpful before creating our own digital story. I learned that it is helpful to create a storyboard and sequence the events and setting in the story in an outline. Using digital storytelling in class can promote literacy development and reading comprehension, among many other skills related to technology use. I remember creating my own stories in all of my elementary classes and they were enjoyable to do but I was limited to my pencil and paper. With digital storytelling there are so many other elements thrown into the mix which can be very enjoyable to many students. The authors teach readers about reciprocal teaching, which is where the teacher gradual gives more freedom and control to the student. It is important in reciprocal teaching that the teacher effectively models and explains the task or project before the students are released to begin their work. It can be very stressful to a student when they have all the control but do not understand what they are supposed to be doing. I also learned that it is important to summarize in digital storytelling, like any other storytelling. One way that digital storytelling is different than original storytelling is that it promotes multimedia literacy, which is a growing skill in our day and age. Author, Bernajean Porter, shares insight to the world of Second Life and how digital storytelling plays into it. Porter discusses the steps of the project, starting with the beginning, students gather together to create the story on paper and are given a prompt to base their story off of. Once they had their story, they translated their story into the 3D world, which promotes multimedia literacy and fluency. Using Second Life, an online program which is what the title says, a second life, that you can create and make as real or fictional as you would like to. 

I know personally, I have a lot of fun creating a video, from writing the script, to acting it out, and editing the film. Students also learn and practice working in small groups and on a team. It is a great assignment for promoting team work and falls under project based learning. I've seen it in my own classes and observing classrooms, students love when teachers practice reciprocal teaching. They get excited about the freedom and feel energized and creative with their new control. From Porter's article, I would definitely use the outline and lesson that she explains in the article. I think it is creative, fun, and very educational. I can see students getting really enthusiastic about the project and going above and beyond for the mere fact that it is enjoyable. I think Second Life would be really fun for students to use, but I would hope that they don't get too far into the program after the project is completed. I've known some people that really go overboard with the game and it affects their first life. Projects that involve the creativity of writing a story, then using media to create the project not only help develop important skills for students but it is an assignment they are likely to remember as one of their favorite projects. Thinking back on my high school classes, there have been so many projects that could have used this digital storytelling and I would have retained the information better and enjoyed the process much more. You could use digital storytelling in any subject, not just creative writing. I remember doing a physics assignment where I had to create my own marble machine. Filming the process and analyzing the project really would have driven the point home and gone above and beyond in my learning. Middle school and high school should be able to create these stories in groups or on their own without crucial issues, elementary students may need to perform the work in class and be monitored by the teacher and be able to ask questions and for assistance. 

References:

Royer, R., & Richards, P. (2008). Digital Storytelling Process. Learning & Leading, 30-31.

Porter, B. (2010). Digital Storytelling in Second Life. Learning & Leading, 26-27.

The Future For Schools

I learned that not only is assistive technology and assistive devices helpful in the classroom, they are also easily accessed and can even be created by the class itself. Many people believe that within 10 years textbooks will be a thing of the past and learning on mobile devices will the the future. Students with reading difficulties have more helpful options on a mobile device than a textbook. Also, many of the tools already installed on many popular computer brands have the ability to assist students that may have special needs. One hiccup a class may face is whether or not the school will allow certain programs to be installed or downloaded on the schools computers. Another concern is that people with special reading needs won't have those needs met by the assistive devices, for what ever reason whether it be it's not accepted by the school or it is too costly. 

I think computer software like screen enlargement and screen readers that help students with sensory impairments are the most helpful in a classroom setting. Students could use software like these to learn really anything that can be worked on on a computer, from math to history. If the classroom is shifting to technology and devices then they must be improved from the previous tools that classes have used before, otherwise there really would not be any point to using them. 

I do believe that having access to assistive technology and devices will be extremely helpful to my classroom. Even if I don't have any students with special needs, which is highly unlikely, I will be glad that I am prepared as well as the school. Having an entry level understanding of these technologies and devices prepares me for very likely situations I will face in the classroom. I want to be as prepared as I can be because if I fail in any are then I've failed my students as well. 


References: Ahrens, K. (2011). Build An Assistive Technology Toolkit. Learning and Leading, 23-23.Bowser, G., & Smiley Zabala, J. (2012). AIM for Digital Equity. Learning and Leading, 16-17.

Chip & Hearst Interview

http://scratch.mit.edu/projects/51993852/

Using Scratch the Cat program would be helpful for many projects in class. It can be used by individual students and also as a collaborative group of students. The website fulfills many of the NETS for both teachers and students.

Including this program into a lesson plan would fulfill the teacher standards of 1a) Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness, 2a) Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity

2b) Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress, and 2d) Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning

Including this program would also fulfill student NETS 1a) Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes, 1b) Create original works as a means of personal or group expression, 1d) Identify trends and forecast possibilities, 4a) Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project, 6a) Understand and use technology systems, 6b) Select and use applications effectively and productively, 6c) Troubleshoot systems and applications, and 6d) Transfer current knowledge to learning of new technologies. 

Programs like this website, where a student has the freedom to get creative and apply knowledge and skills, and also build on problem solving and task analysis can be very effective and enjoyable to the students. I enjoyed creating the project and can see a lot of students have a lot of fun with it. Also, a teacher can use this for many projects, like interviewing a famous figure, or explaining a series of events like the water cycle. 

Mobile Learning: A New Era For Education

I decided to study further the notion of mobile learning. In the Learning & Leading Through Technology magazine, I pulled two articles to gain some insight on the issue. In the first article, "The Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning" (page 38), the author, Helen Crompton, touches on all sides of mobile learning in education. Crompton describes mobile learning as "learning across multiple contexts" (page 38) which leads me to believe that mobile learning would assist in expanding the possibilities in education. I was not aware of how big the issue of mobile learning was and found it interesting that it is discussed often and in depth and is even referred to as m-learning. Crompton also continues to explain the benefits of mobile learning in that it creates opportunities for students and also versatility in learning. She also discusses the challenges, as any new idea has. The issues of privacy with mobile learning and accessibility for some students definitely raises some concern in that safety might be at risk and also it would create an unfair playing field for students who weren't able to use the tools other students can. The second article, "Partnership Helps Schools Succeed with Mobile Learning" (page 9), by authors Yolanda Ramos and Justina Nixon-Saintil, sheds light on the Verizon Innovative Learning Schools Program. I have never heard of the program and was unaware that Verizon was involved in helping schools. The purpose of the program to increase student engagement, to help them in academic achievement and to support the growth of mobile learning. Mobile learning would be incredibly helpful to students and not all schools have the funding in place to provide the program for students so it is great that companies like Verizon are supporting schools in taking those steps forward.
I do think mobile learning would be helpful in schools. I plan on teaching kindergarten and if I am placed in a kindergarten class, I would probably not use mobile learning. I feel like they would be too young, too distractible, I don't want them to develop an early dependency on technology and the equipment would be expensive. But, if I were teaching older grades then I would definitely use mobile learning in the classroom. I would be weary of conflicts that may come out of it, like it is in the budget to provide mobile learning devices, and if not then how can every student afford the mobile learning devices. Also, how to I monitor the content they see, what they share, how they use the device, and if they are putting material on the device. Mobile learning could be a great way to share homework activities or project ideas with the class and to keep everyone engaged and a constant dialogue going. In conclusion, I don't plan on using mobile learning in the class I hope to teach, kindergarten, but if I ended up in an older class I think it could be great, but would also require a lot of maintaining.

Resources:
Ramos, Y., & Nixon-Saintil, J. (2013, September 1). Partnership Helps Schools Succeed With Mobile Learning. Learning & Leading Through Technology.
Crompton, H. (2013, September 1). The Benefits and Challenges of Mobile Learning. Learning & Leading Through Technology.

Personal Learning Network Reflection

RSS Feeds and Podcasts: I am very new to using real simple syndication feeds, and it was not too simple when I was learning it but with a little practice it became easier. Podcasts I am not new to, I have been listening to a few different podcasts for a few years and have become fairly familiar with them. I have subscribed to many educational websites that share helpful information on teaching. One site shares lesson plans that is custom made for all grade levels. I would love to be a kindergarten teacher so I am following a lot of sites that provide helpful information for kindergarten teachers like projects to use in class and lesson plans. 

Twitter: I have been a member of twitter for a few years now but never use it! I already had an account I create for my business and even started following people but never sign in to read what people are sharing. In my network I already have many real estate and business professionals that I follow and just recently added all of the twitter users that were recommended by Professor Anderson. Many teachers and education professionals that I started following share a lot of pertinent news and updates centered around teaching and the school system. I have been searching hashtags centered around education, teaching, schools, and kindergarten. I have found many of the users postings shared helpful news reports or articles about teaching plans. I tweeted my opinion an article about shortening the school week to four days, but no one tweeted me back. I wish someone would have tweeted me back so I could have heard others opinions on the issue.

Diigo: Diigo was the most difficult website for me to navigate through because you can do so much on the site and because I have never used it before. Diigolet however was a really easy little tool and I enjoyed learning about it and using it, also for other websites not just websites centered around education and the profession. I started following groups revolving around k-12 government, kindergarten, lessons plans, and of course cats. I learned about a few websites that keep teachers informed on new information that affects their career. I also got to look at lots of cute cat pictures!

Ning: I explored both the Educators PLN and Classroom 2.0. I can’t believe I am just now learning about ning groups because they have a huge community of users. I noticed that many of the users use the website as a social networking site and a site to express personal opinions. They also share information that may be helpful and relevant to other professionals in the field. I found a really interesting article about dyslexia and elearning and learned that it can be helpful to students, especially when paired with auditory learning. Also, many professionals posted their opinion and advice and other helpful links on the forum. 

I found the PLN experience to be a little tedious and overwhelming to learn all these different forms at once but can see how they can be helpful to the profession and in the classroom. My least favorite part was signing up at first and having to navigate through an entirely new website. But my favorite part was having access to helpful and relevant information for teaching, much more than I realized was available!

Digital Dangers Ahead

If one is to have technology in the classroom then the article, Digital Citizenship, by authors, Mike S. Ribble, Gerald D. Bailey, and Tweed W. Ross, is an incredibly important read to familiarize oneself with before introducing technology to children. I learned that there are norms of behavior when using the internet. I think many of these rules are common sense that any mature adult would realize is an appropriate way to behave online. Unfortunately, these rules do have to be spelled out to many adults and of course should be explained to children before they engage in internet use. Coming from a Psychology background, I’ve learned that it is much easier for someone to stay anonymous online and write hateful things, bully, look at inappropriate material etc. because when it is just that person and the screen around, it is easy to feel safe and comfortable. I think this article is incredibly important in teaching safety and etiquette when using technology and is a much needed read for teachers who plan on having technology in the classroom. 

I think digital citizenship should be taught in the classroom, as young as possible so that they have that lesson before they build bad habits. Like any topic, you can teach something in the class but ultimately it is the responsibility of the student to apply the lesson outside of class. I think digital citizenship should be taught for two reasons: 1. To teach people that your words and actions online affect real life people and 2. Real life people are behind the computers and they may have bad intentions. Both items are incredibly serious even though people are just now building momentum in discussing the repercussions of cyber bullying and online predators.