Personal Learning Reflection

This course allowed me to gain insight on the use of technology in education as a whole as well as my own usage and understanding of technology use in the classroom.  I felt that I grew tremendously in the area of professional collaboration.  Before taking this class, it was almost as if I forgot about the abundance of resources available to me.  By creating my RSS page and thinking critically about my own Personal Learning Network,  I was forced to really take a step back and examine the way I enrich my own knowledge on a regular basis.  Since the PLN and RSS assignments, I feel like I am consulting more resources on a regular basis, which better prepares me for the work I do every day.  

Aside from my own professional growth, the SIG assignment allowed me to grow in my knowledge of learning management systems.  My district has a Moodle license and because I was really unfamiliar with its capabilities and bogged down with many other projects, I never really took the time to learn about it.  My SIG assignment allowed me to gain an understanding of its capabilities and benefits.  I, now, feel much more equipped to develop sample units and training in order to begin implementing the tool at my school.  

One limit to my growth came in conjunction with the SIG project.  Because my group’s focus was on Learning Management Systems, I wish I would have been required to have a product to show as an example.  This is difficult because LMS programs are often times fee based and are developed as part of an organization or school district.  We currently have Moodle in my district, but in terms of managing my work responsibilities and class assignments, I did not take on the extra task of designing content in Moodle.  Had this been a required component of the SIG project, I would have taken on the task.  The limitation I faced was self-imposed as a result of balancing class, work, and life and not enough hours in the day.  

One of the most effective strategies learned about integrating technology is that it has to be organic.  Technology integration cannot be isolated.  To be impactful for students it also should be systematic.  The information provided during the TPACK session was really helpful in seeing how this idea really can come to fruition.  Being able to use these resources as backing for the work I do as a teacher-coach is really important and helps me transform my interaction with and mentoring of teachers.  I will begin working with my principal to start incorporating some of the TPACK pillars both in my individual work with teachers but on a building-level as well.  

The Internet is key to integrating technology and to evaluating uses of technology in the classroom.  Without the Internet, the type of collaboration fostered by this course would not be possible.  Whether developing and calling upon our PLN or working with our SIG groups, the Internet was key to the communication and collaboration needed for this class.  Our SIG was successful as a result of Internet collaboration.  Whether it was creating Google documents and scheduling weekly chats right on the document, or whether it was creating our quality list of resources for our SIG via a shared Delicious site, we were able to all contribute to the quality of our project thanks to the Internet.  

Of the assignments that were part of this class, NETS session was the one that really stuck out for me in terms of fostering exemplary teaching.  NETS are so important when we think of integrating technology and act as the Common Core Standards would in other content areas.  We need to utilize these guiding benchmarks in our usage of educational technology and as we work toward integration, making sure to have these benchmarks in mind is important.  In my role as a teacher-leader, these and content standards are how I guide my work in curriculum design.  I have the unique ability to be a model for teachers in my building, and as I work to promote more systematic usage of technology in learning, this is a meaningful focal point.  

This course set me on the right course toward accomplishing my ed tech goals.  The activities allowed me to be a more active participant on a global ed tech scale, and gave me opportunities to collaborate with other educators around the world.  The opportunities, in this course, for me to set my own plan for the future helped set my path in educational technology in the right direction, and was a catalyst in helping me to really sit down and think through a plan of action.  Before, I had lots of ideas and hopes for technology in my district, and assignments like the Personal Technology Plan helped me to put those ideas onto paper and think through how I’d really go about accomplishing change.  

My other goal of expanding my ed tech horizons was also accomplished in this course.  Both in working with a group through the SIG process and assignments as well as the PLN activities and other session tasks allowed me to gain great insight on what others are doing in their schools and classrooms.  My SIG topic helped me to discover ways to implement Moodle in my district, and I’m planning some building-wide workshops on how to utilize this tool with our students.  


Because of my work on the SIG, a short-term, very focused goal would be to develop the use of Moodle with my staff.  I hope to put together a presentation/workshop to deliver to my building staff before the holiday break.  From there, I will hopefully get some teachers who are excited about utilizing such a tool and can start helping teachers implement an online component to their classrooms.  

I wouldn’t necessarily say that I have totally new goals for my growth in ed tech.  I am looking forward to further developing my ability to coach teachers on the use of E-Portfolios.  Since the start of this class in October, I have been piloting e-portfolios with one team at my school and the project is taking off.  I’d like to continue to foster the growth of those activities within my school.  

As part of my Personal Technology Plan, I laid the foundation for implementing an instructional technology plan within my district.  I hope to continue to chart that process out and coordinate the meetings of stakeholders in order to move the creation of a plan forward.

Learning Theories

 After completing the interest inventory, I was not surprised to find out that my strengths were interpersonal and linguistic.  In past learning style assessments, I have had similar results.  This is not a surprise to me as I think about my strengths as an individual, as a student, and as a teacher. 


I have always been good with words and writing is a strength of mine.  As a student, I was always relieved to be given a writing option on choice projects or be asked to take an essay test vs. multiple choice.  As for the interpersonal strengths, I felt like those were fostered in collaborative work and I learned content on a deeper level when given the opportunity to manipulate it within a social learning setting.  I was less apt, especially in math classes, to do individual work.  


In my classroom experiences and in my position in a coaching role, I place great emphasis on student choice.  By utilizing choice boards or choice assignments, students are able to select work that fits with their learning style.  For an assignment or project where you offer choice, not every singe intelligence needs to have a corresponding assignment as students usually have multiple strengths.  Even 3-4 options empower learners and allows them to show their understanding in a way that showcases a strength.  When offering choice assignments, it is essential that teachers have clearly and explicitly communicated the learning goals and objectives to students.  I like to turn my goals into 'I can' statements and help kids think about being able to show me that they 'can' demonstrate a specific skill or understanding in a diverse array of products.  

Creative Commons Images

This image could be used in our SIG proposal.  We are focusing on online learning systems and will need images to support the presentation.  Because Moodle will be explored in our SIG proposal, adding one or more images of the LMS system would help our presentation's visual appeal.

Original Image:  "Moodle"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewsaunders/3496815255/sizes/m/in/photostream/
By:  Matthew Saunders

Released under an Attribution- Non-Commercial -Share Alike License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/



Flickr Page:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/70277158@N04/
My image:

Original Image:  "Chicago Skyline"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/70277158@N04/6382703037/sizes/s/in/photostream/
By:  Elise Jury

Released Under an Attribution- Non-Commercial -Share Alike License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/

PC Maintenance

After having gone through the PC maintenance module, I learned some information about computer security and safety that is honestly not at the forefront of my mind when I think about utilizing technology in the classroom.  After viewing three video tutorials on the Atomic Learning site, I have gained a new perspective on being aware of this aspect of 21st century learning as well.

1.  Cookies:
I was unaware that there were different types of cookies and that there were different ways you could protect your computer from them.  Before this tutorial I thought users were only able to clear cookies.  I did not know users could block cookies all together or disable them.  This is a piece of information I would also pass along.  As computers and internet surfing become increasingly more personal based on our activity, this means that cookies become more active.  I was also surprised that cookies fostered this personalization.

2.  PC updates:
I use my computers and have automatic updates run once per week.  For the most part these updates are helpful and keep my computer running smoothly.  I am a personal mac user so most of the updates are for specific programs and not as much for security.  My work computer, however, is a PC and there are more updates run on a daily basis.  Because my PC is owned by my district, I don't have control over when or what updates are run.  One thing I learned is to back up both of my computers more often.  I usually do this once per year or twice per year, but I will definitely make it a more routine maintenance activity.

3.  Unprotected Computers
I learned why it is so important to use a safe browser.  I am a firefox user by default but I have a lot of teachers or students who use Explorer.  I was unaware that Explorer has more holes and security breeches than Firefox.  I will now suggest and remind teachers and students to use Firefox for safer browsing.

Blog Tracking Through RSS

One of the blogs I’ve added to my RSS feed and am actively following is the Edutopia blog.  I’ve used Edutopia as a resource for a few years and find that it is always a great wealth of knowledge.  Quickly upon adding the Edutopia blog to my RSS feed, I came across a post that caught my eye.  It was on the idea of the ‘Flipped Classroom.’  This is a term some of my colleagues are tossing around.  From their description, I’ve had a difficult time wrapping my head around the idea.  Essentially the Flipped model means that the kids learn the skills at home and get to practice them at school; the idea that the homework is done at school and is facilitated by the teacher.  I think it could possibly be a great addition to a classroom, however, I don’t think it will work for all kids.  Obviously in education, we know that this idea or problem is common to many teaching strategies.  So, I if we think about flipping our classrooms as an option or one strategy, that’s when it can work.  I expanded upon this notion in my response to the blog post and got two other respondents who shared their feelings toward the idea of flipping.  

This was very powerful for me.  Much like the first time I posted a question on a Ning and got responses, I was almost surprised to see that real, live teachers responded back.  Obviously they, like me, have a personal learning network, but its those simple moments where the collaboration actually takes place that are still amazing to me.  

Since these posts back have been added to the blog I initially commented on, I almost feel more empowered to communicate on other blogs.  It was not that I didn’t feel like I could or that I was nervous to do that before, but it was the act of actually having others reach back that makes blogs so powerful as learning networks or collaborative spaces.  

Below are screen shots of the edutopia posting and my comment. 

Click here to view the blog post and additional comments on Edutopia. 

RSS Growth

A few years ago I set up my google reader feature, and made up my mind that I’d follow news related to my new teaching interest, technology.  Well, it didn’t take long for that summer to end and to get bogged down with the stresses of the classroom once again.  Needless to say, the checking of my rss feeds ended.  As CEP 810 began and maintaining and checking RSS feeds became an assignment, I quickly remembered why I intented to keep track of my Google reader a few years back.  I was quickly thrust back into real-time, instant professional development, and in my current role as a teacher leader for technology, was filled with ideas I couldn’t wait to bring up to teachers.  

Checking and maintaining my RSS feeds, gives me hopeful opportunities for what teaching with technology can be.  I am inspired by reading accounts of successful experiences with Project Based Learning (Buck Institute of Education’s Blog),  state-wide roll outs of new 21st century devices (Education Week: Technology), and discussions of what quality, 21st Centiry professional development can look like (Edutopia).  When I found other resources for my RSS feed, I tried to seek out sources that were not only tied to specific ed. tech ideas, but good teaching practice as well.    

In terms of changes or trends to the story topics on each of the feeds, I’m not noticing specific trends or patterns in postings aside from the fact that they all focus on innovations in the classroom and in education as a whole.  There are obviously themes that the feeds incorporate.  Some common topics I’ve come across as I’ve read the feeds over the last few days are:  teacher-training, discourse on legislative actions/decisions related to education, the application of 21st century learning on the adoption of the Common Core standards, and device adoption (i.e. ipads).  

As I think about honing my craft of providing 21st century resources to my staff and students, I am happy to have re-discovered the value of keeping up with the educational technology community.  I am in a very interesting job situation, and feel strange about my role, as my district is pouring money into equipment and even positions like mine, but yet, are not willing to create a workable plan or goals for the future of 21st century learning in my district.  Just in the short time I’ve been following the news feeds, I’ve already gotten some great ideas for how to develop a district-wide technology plan that relates to teaching and learning rather than just the adoption of more devices and network capabilities.  

Below is a picture of my current RSS feed:

GTD

Project planning and managing my to do list has been a craft that I've honed over the years.  Before reading the GTD materials, I regularly utilized my Google Calendar and task lists within the calendar to keep track of tasks and projects on my radar.  I also utilize a three subject spiral notebook to keep track of tasks, notes, ideas, meeting information, etc.  This method is extremely low-tech, but its always worked really well for me, especially when I use my Google calendar in conjunction.  On a daily basis, I make to do lists in my notebook and transfer those to my google calendar.  I still feel that the act of physically writing  things down is an important processing task for me.

In the spirit of class assignments, I decided to try one of the tech tools that can assist the GTD process.  I set up an account with Simple GTD and began the process through that lens.  I used the list of tasks I already had on my Google Calendar and put them onto the GTD tool.  I grouped the tasks by project type and ordered them in order of importance.  Initially when I transfered my small tasks to this online tool and ordered them into bigger projects and in terms of importance, I felt like the tool would be helpful.  Once I ordered them and grouped small tasks with projects, I didn't really find that the tool was helpful beyond that.  And in all reality, my Google Calendar (and to do list within Google Calendars) and paper and pencil methods really were no different than what I did with the online tool.  It felt as though I was just repeating the process, and in all reality I didn't have any more clarity.

I think processes of project management are essential to productivity.  I have always been a learner that needs to see the process and chunk it into smaller bits in order to accomplish the big task.  The processes described in this module are those that I engage in on a regular basis.  I will continue planning tasks and projects in this way, but I feel that my Google Calendar management along with my trusty spiral notebook, have served me well in terms of managing and completing projects.

Social networks have surely changed the way we communicate and interact.  I remember creating my facebook page when it was still dubbed 'The Facebook,' after my friend from Notre Dame (who had it before MSU) told me of its greatness.  As I created the account, I couldn't imagine myself using it for long. Years later, my Facebook page has morphed into an account of my life.... I'm friends with everyone from my mother to political figures.

Not only has the life of Facebook evolved, but so has my usage of social networks.  Before joining the MAET program, I was turned on to the world of Nings... So many of my professional decisions are enhanced or made better through my involvement in the Classroom 2.0 Ning.  I am able to ask questions and actually get answers.  Amazing!

A few areas of social networking that I have not tapped into yet are social bookmarking, Twitter (although I tried to get into it a few years ago), and LinkedIn.  Linkedin has the power to connect us professionally, on a different level than a network like a Ning.  In an age where careers are changing and jobs are being eliminated, LinkedIn can hopefully connect us with people in order to help foster those career opportunities we might not find without the use of a specific, themed social-network.

As for social networking in the classroom, its already here.  Sites like Edmodo are providing teachers with an opportunity to create online classrooms and allow us to reach students in a way that's familiar to to them.  I work in a middle school, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a student without a Facebook account.  By bringing social networking into the classroom, we are building upon a skill-set that students already have.  It seems silly not to connect with them in a way that is so familiar.

One of my shining moments from my first year as a teacher-leader for technology was with the creation of a mock-social network.  Students in a 7th grade social studies class used a wiki I created to engage in a social networking scenario where they took on identities of individuals living in the early 19th century. They created profiles and as they learned content, communicated as they do on Facebook.  Because I created this activity on a wiki, the kids didn't have all the amenities of Facebook at their disposal, but they thoroughly enjoyed posting questions and discussing through the simulated social network as opposed to pencil and paper.

Initial RSS Feed

I have recently set up a Page Flakes pagecast to house the RSS feeds I'm currently following.  I find that Page Flakes is nice in that it allows you to share the information you are reading/learning about.  I am a Google Reader user, so I still find myself logging into reader to actually keep up on my feeds.  Below is a screen shot of my current RSS page via Page Flakes. 

Blogs: Interactive Information

Blogs have grown in size and strength over the last few years.  They have even become a career path for many.  Blogs act as online journals that allow users to post information, commentary, or news on a multitude of topics.  Not only do they act as a media outlet, but they also foster collaboration between readers and bloggers; essentially acting as online community builders.  The major difference between blogs and websites involves the state of information on each.  Websites advertise information that is meant to remain more static and blogs, on the other hand, are constantly updated with new information.  As stated above, they also welcome input from readers that fosters more opportunities for interactivity.