Thing #21: Emerging Technologies

First Steps

We are truly fortunate to live in an age when technology is so prevalent in our lives. Being able to access most resources online is amazing, especially when physical distance might be a limiting factor. However, this connectedness can also be viewed as a curse. Oftentimes, I feel overwhelmed when I begin researching a topic or reading articles and blogs. I’ll log on simply to read one article, and before I know it, I’ve spent two hours reading related articles, but still haven’t found the information I originally looking for.

With that being said, there are a number of extremely high quality and useful resources at our disposal. Blogging and vlogging have become essential in the field of education. Even things like podcasts are becoming more common in many classroom. Throughout this course, I’ve read many articles and blogs related to education. While there are many resources that I have discovered and fallen in love with, recently I have found podcasts to be very helpful, as I can listen while I’m walking around my town or commuting to Screen Shot 2019-03-06 at 19.17.06.png and from work. One great resource to find audio files related to education is Bam! Radio Network. I really like how organized this website is, and how easy it is to find interviews or presentations on a wide-range of topics. Since I’ve been very interested in flipped classrooms, I decided to visit the Flipped Learning Radio part of their page, where I found an interview about cultural differences in the flipped classroom. The title of the program I listened to was “The Cultural Factors that Impact Flipped Learning.” One of the main reasons I was intrigued by this recording was the fact that one of the speakers was an ESL teacher.

There were many ideas that jumped out at me while I was listening to this episode. Being and ESL teacher in France, I am constantly thinking about diversity and multi-multiculturalism in my classroom. I appreciated that culture responsiveness was addressed, as well as finding ways of being inclusive. One best strategy that I learned about from listening to this episode was thinking about the cultural factors, specifically with flipping, based on culture and physical location. Once you buy into that, they’ll buy into you. Not only buying into different cultures, but finding ways of honoring it.

In thinking about ways of being culturally responsive and appropriate when flipping classrooms, we are finding ways of both transforming and enhancing learning. When thinking about the SAMR model, I think that being culturally responsive when flipping addresses ways of augmenting learning with technology (enhancing learning) as well as modifying various tasks (transforming learning).

Emerging Technologies

There are so many amazing things happening in both education and technology, and especially educational technology. I don’t think that we could have imagined all of the different ways of implementing technology into our daily instruction. It seems like each time we blink, there are changes or advancements being made in technology. So many great articles have been written discussing the role of technology in education, as well as thinking ahead. One such article was published by SpeakUp’s Project Tomorrow. The article is titled Digital Learning 24/7: Understanding Technology–Enhanced Learning in the Lives of Today’s Students.

Within this article are some key ideas that we as educators need to be considering. Among the most interesting, even surprising to me were:

Blended learning environments hold great promise for the future: While I know that blended learning has been being used at institutions of higher education for quite some time, I was slightly surprised to see the impact that it could have at lower levels. This got me to thinking about ways that I could create a blended learning environment in my current role.
Every student should be able to use a mobile device during the school day for learning: For me, this was both shocking and not shocking. It makes sense that we should be meeting students where they are, and today we are living in a technologically connected society. However, in France, where I am currently teaching, cell phones and personal electronic devices have actually been banned from schools and institutions of education.
Students connect the use of technology tools within learning to the development of college, career, and citizenship skills that will empower future capabilities: Students recognize the connection between technology and their futures, so it is only appropriate that schools and teachers do the same. In order to prepare students for the future, we must be incorporating technology into our best practices.

Now, thinking about the future of technology, it is not a science to determine what the future is going to look like. Rather, we must look at trends and use data to help us make informed decisions. One tool that we as educators can use is the NMC Horizon Report 2015 K-12 Education. This report is extremely thoughtful and detailed in how it presents information. They not only introduce new technologies, but provide a projected timeline for implementation in the classroom. There is essentially a 5-year plan outlined regarding advancements in technology. One thing that I had to keep in mind while reading this report is that it is based on data from the United States, and therefore might not be a relevant to me in my current role and situation. I know that many of the devices outlined for the future already exist (at least to a certain level). For example, Bring Your Own Devices (BYOD), Makerspaces, 3D Printing, and Wearable Technology.

In thinking about my students and their futures, I believe that technology will continue to play en extremely important role in their lives and their success. I know that my students are becoming more and more connected with technology, but it seems that some students are beginning to lose the ability to interact in face-to-face situations. I believe that we are going to continue seeing technology becoming more and more integrated in our daily lives.

In thinking about which of these emerging technologies I would love to implement with my students, I would first choose BYOD, because I think that it is the most feasible at this time. Of course, I need to overcome many obstacles with administration, but I believe that this is a battle worth fighting for the sake of my students.

Hour of Code

Coding is something that has always intrigued me, unfortunately, I have never found the opportunity to try it myself. I had no idea that there were resources available for both teacher and students to try coding. Hour of Code activities through Code.org is an excellent way to dabble with coding. For my hands-on experience I decided to try a coding activity related to a unit I use with my students: The Civil Rights Movement. One of the activities that is linked to the social studies standards is to design a flag based on what you know about the March on Washington. At its base, I found this activity to be intriguing. However, once I began doing it, I realized that the activity was more about coding and less about demonstrating an understanding of the March on Washington. If I were working in a school which had technology standards, I would not see any problem doing this activity with my students. However, in my current capacity, I do not think that I would be able to justify dedicating class time to this activity. In the end, it was a fun activity, but I do not believe that my understanding of the March on Washington is represented in my flag (see below).

Screen Shot 2019-03-06 at 18.15.33.png

While I found it interesting to learn about coding, I did not understand why I needed to add multiple shapes (rectangles and circles) to my flag. I think that it would have been more beneficial to use images from the March on Washington and perhaps a text box with key words or phrases.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Being able to integrate and essential skill like coding into a lesson is an excellent way of teaching students valuable, real life skills. I believe that coding activities will truly engage tech-savvy students, as well as opening their eyes about future opportunities.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Again, coding is a very practical skill. I like that website like code.org provide students with the opportunity to try this skill in a variety of contexts, as coding continues to be an essential skill.
Assigning Homework and Practice: Providing students with the opportunity to demonstrate understanding or mastery of a concept or skill using coding is an excellent way to encourage creative thinking and expression.
Model Digital Age Work and Learning: Thinking about how to integrate the newest technologies into our classrooms and lessons is essential in preparing students who are ready to enter the real world.

Thing #20: Blended or Flipped Classrooms

I’m very new to this idea of a blended or flipped classroom. I’ve heard about both for many years, but never really took the time to investigate what they meant or how I could implement them in my classroom.

Recently, I discovered a tool called Loom. I’ve used Loom a number of times and have found it to be incredibly useful for my teaching and my students. Some of the features that I especially like about Loom is that you can just record a video, just record audio, screen share with audio, or screen share with audio and video. Personally, I do not like looking at myself on camera, so I rarely use the video feature, but have uploaded a picture of myself so that viewers can see who I am. However, I find that the video or photo icon is a bit large and can block some of the information on the screen.

Loom and similar programs have multiple uses in today’s classroom. I’ve used it to create a short message for my students when I was going to be out of the building (either for an inservice or because I was ill). I’ve used it to reteach a confusing concept to students, and then posted the video on my website or sent the link via email. I’ve used it to create an audio newsletter for families. I’ve also used it to upload lessons or reviews, especially when many students were absent. The possibilities are virtually limitless!

I also like that you are able to edit the video once you have finished recording. Another use of this tool is having students use it to ask you questions or even upload assignments/responses when appropriate. I attempted to create a recap of my lesson on The Civil Rights Movement. It was very easy to do, but I found it extremely difficult to remain within the time constraints. I did go over by about 15 seconds, but it was almost only my conclusion of saying see you next week, so I decided not to re-record my summary.

Screen Shot 2019-03-05 at 22.29.03.png — Click here to check out my Loom recording

I’ve also uploaded to recording to my class website, which you can view by clicking here.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: In providing students with the opportunity to review class content outside of the classroom, we are promoting deeper thinking and understanding. Tools like Loom give students the ability to create their own recordings as they see fit, thus encouraging individuality and creativity.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: I remember when I was a student and felt so behind and lost after missing one day of class. With digital recordings like this, we practically eliminate this possibility. In meeting students where they are, we are able to provide the best education possible to all students.
Model Digital Age Work and Learning: In using these tools to help students learn, we are enabling them to use these tools themselves.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: In demonstrating how to behave in an online environment, we are helping students become responsible, virtual citizens.
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback: We could easily review expectations and homework with a tool like Loom. We could also record individualized feedback to share with students, as well as celebrate accomplishments with families.
Assigning Homework and Practice: An audio and/or video recording is an excellent way to ensure that everything is clear and eliminates the possibility of ‘I forgot to write it down.’

Thing #18: Dig the Data

I hate spreadsheets. Ever since I was in middle school, I could not stand creating spreadsheets. It’s not that I couldn’t do it, but that I found the task daunting and frustrating. I used to use Microsoft Excel, but found it to be very confusing, even overwhelming. However, with Google Sheets, creating and manipulating spreadsheets does not seems nearly as awful as I remember.

I found the overall design and layout of Google Sheets to be extremely clean and clear. I was able to easily find what I needed in order to sort the document in a number of ways.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.06.39 — Here’s the original spreadsheet, sorted by School Year.

Practice Your Skills: Manipulate Data, Part 1

I absolutely love every Google product that I have used so far, and Google Sheets is no different. For me, Google Sheets is much more intuitive than Microsoft Excel. Immediately, I felt more comfortable and at ease using Google Sheets than with my previous experiences using other programs.

As I was making changes to the spreadsheet, I felt confident and comfortable with my skills and ability to do so. Below are some examples of the different ways that I sorted the data.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.07.03.png — I loved the overall appearance of Google Sheets and the fact that options opened in new windows.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.07.17.png — Now the data is sorted by the number of students who Met or Exceeded expectations.

Practice Your Skills: Formatting and Applying Formulas, Part 2

In the past, I’ve succeeded in figuring out how to use formulas in spreadsheets. Honestly, I think it was pure luck most of the time. After watching the tutorial video and practicing the skill myself, I feel much more confident formatting and applying formulas in spreadsheets. I think part of my problem was that I was never given a formal explanation or hands-on opportunity to apply formulas. Thinking about myself as a learner, this makes sense, as I know that I am a very kinesthetic learner.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.35.18.png — Here’s the same spreadsheet, but with some formulas applied. I liked that I could see the formula that I used in the bar at the top of the screen.

Practice Your Skills: Graphs and Charts, Part 3

After all of my positive experiences with Google platforms, I was bound to find one that I did not like. Let me express my complete frustration with trying to insert a chart into Google Sheets. My Google Sheets looked nothing like the one being used in the tutorial. Perhaps it has been updated, I’m not sure, but I hated this activity. While I was able to create a chart using data from the spreadsheet, I never figured out how to add titles to the x-axis/y-axis.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.07.24.png — Here’s my chart. I think I still need more time and practice for this skill.

Applying the Skills I Learned

I compiled the data from a Google Form that I used to assess student understanding of some of the key concepts that we have learned so far. Here’s my original spreadsheet:

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.44.41.png — This is my original spreadsheet, sorted by Name.

Then, I tried to sort the data based on number of Questions Answered Correctly:

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.46.46.png

Then, I applied some formulas to find the averages for number of questions answered, number of questions answered correctly, and number of questions answered incorrectly.

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Finally, I created a chart showing the results of the Grammar Review:

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.50.56.png

Future Applications

Based on what I have learned (and done) in this Thing, I believe that using spreadsheets and charts would be an excellent way of representing student growth and learning. I think that gathering data regularly is an important part of teaching, but then doing something with that data is something I think often gets overlooked. Using tools like Google Forms and Google Sheets makes it really easy to create data for any kind of information that you can imagine. When I’m back in a position where I will be able to do this with my students, I plan on using this data to celebrate our learning together, as well as to identify more challenging areas.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards:

Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback: This is an extremely easy way to check student understanding and learning, as well as to provide almost immediate feedback.
Reinforcing Effort/Providing Recognition: Being able to sort data in a number of ways allows us to find different types of successes to celebrate.
Assigning Homework/Providing Feedback: Creating a quick Google Form is a great way to provide students with some extra practice (as well as to check their understanding).
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Utilizing the digital resources currently available to us is an excellent way of providing students with authentic learning opportunities.

Thing #16: DI and UDL

Since my first year of studies as a university student I remember constantly hearing about differentiated instruction (DI) and how it was going to be the new norm in education. However, there have been many changes since I finished my studies. A new idea that we’re hearing more and more about is Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Honestly, prior to this course, I was unfamiliar with this acronym.

Differentiated Instruction

Recently, I’ve participated in a number of professional learning opportunities focused on differentiated instruction. I think my big take away right now is that differentiation is a process and it is not something that we will do for 100% of our students 100% of the time. After reading a few more articles and reflecting upon my own practice as an educator and differentiating my instruction. After reading the article What is Differentiated Instruction? by Laura Robb, I made a list of some of the steps that I am already taking in order to differentiate my instruction.

Ongoing, Formative Assessment: At least one per month I assess what my students have learned and what we need to review
Recognition of Diverse Learners: I recognize that my students do not all learn in the same ways and are not equally strong in all areas of language learning. For that reason, I am sure to regularly include activities that appeal to different styles of learning.
Group Work: Every single class there is at least one activity where students are expected to work collaboratively, whether that be with a partner or in small groups.
Choice: Depending on the skill being taught, students always have a certain amount of choice regarding how they apply the skills and what types of articles they read.

I also spent time reading articles on ReadingRockets about differentiated instruction. I learned that there are four elements which we can differentiate in our instruction:

Content: the learning goals
Process: what students do (the activity)
Products: what students make/create
Learning Environment: how the classroom works and feels

Thinking about these four elements, I would say that I am already differentiating my instruction in two of the four areas. I have always differentiated my process and products, even without realizing that I was differentiating!

Universal Design for Learning

The idea of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is something new for me. Prior to this course, I had not heard this acronym. After visiting the UDL: The UDL Guidelines website, I was able to better grasp exactly what UDL was and how to best implement it in my practice.

I especially found the chart representing the guidelines on the UDL website to be helpful. It made it easy for me to not only understand the guidelines, but also how they are connected to one another. I think in my current capacity, I can easily address the three main goals of UDL:

Provide multiple means of engagement
Provide multiple means of representation
Provide multiple means of action and expression

I found it very helpful that the website not only identified the goals, but also the intermediary steps that must be taken when working toward achieving these goals.

Access
Build
Internalize

At this point in my practice, rather than trying to implement all three goals at the same time, I think that it would be more beneficial for me to focus on them one at a time (and when appropriate, introduce another goal). I would begin by focusing on providing multiple means of engagement. I really like the idea of providing students with the power to make individual choices, as well as fostering community and collaboration. It seems only natural to pair up students who have chosen to complete a task in a similar manner, thus promoting collaboration. Being able to implement this in my practice will allow me to better meet all of my students where they are, as well as providing them with a thoughtful and personalized learning experience. Also, this is a great way of getting students engaged and invested in the activity.

Text-to-Audio Conversion

While I understand the value and importance of text-to-audio for many students, I am not convinced that it is an appropriate resource for English language learners, unless it is a recording made by an actual human being. When I was still teaching in Michigan, I have many non-verbal students in my classroom, so being able to use text-to-audio was an extremely important resource. I also had a few dyslexic students who truly benefited from listening to the text, rather than struggling and becoming frustrated when reading just text.

For this activity, I chose to try a tool with which I was unfamiliar: Natural Readers. I was intrigued by the name and really hoping that the audio was going to sound more natural than most computer generated recordings I have heard. While the audio was better than many others that I have heard, it was not the greatest. One of the most challenging parts of learning English for language learners is getting annunciation, intonation, and emphasis correct. The audio that I heard did not follow the natural flow of English, and my fear is that my students would begin mimicking what they are hearing. We spend a lot of time practicing these three skills, and I think it would be better if I could find a way of recording myself reading the text so that students could listen to it with proper intonation, annunciation, and emphasis.

While this tool would not be very helpful for my students in my particular situation, I am in no way saying that it is not a useful tool. On the contrary! I definitely see many situations where this text-to-audio application would be extremely useful, especially with native English speakers. One feature I really liked with this program was that it highlighted the line that was being read, and then put smaller parts of the sentences at the bottom of the screen so that students could easily follow along.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards

1. Summarizing and Notetaking: Using resources like the text-to-audio programs is a great way to expose students to the same material, but in a different way.

2. Model Digital Age Work and Learning: In using technology to help differentiate instruction, we are ensuring that students are being provided with the most current tools, as well as learning how to learn in a digital age. I especially like the fact that students would be able to use the text-to-audio resources for any sort of text they like.

Thing #13: Digital Images

Using authentic and relatable images is a great way to connect with students and their families. There are a wide-range of tools and resources available to create slideshows, videos, and to edit digital images. What is great about many of these resources is that they are free and very easy to use.

I’m quite interested in photography, so I have used a number of programs to edit my photos. I do not think that there is a best program, but rather the program that is best for you. I recommend that you try a wide-range of editing programs before deciding which you like best. Once you have edited your photos, your possibilities are virtually unlimited.

Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 12.18.51.png One great way to use your photos is by making an animated slide show. PhotoPeach is one popular tool to do exactly that! This program is extremely easy to use, very straightforward, and has many options available.

https://photopeach.com/embed/4vgquw” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener noreferrer”>Click here to see an example of what an animated slideshow might look like when using PhotoPeach. The purpose of this slideshow is to engage students and families to talk about their happy places. I was happy to be able to share some of my own photos with my students, as I think it makes the lesson and learning experience more personal.

Voki

This is one great site where you are able to create avatars. It’s a unique way of Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 12.43.19.png introducing yourself in the virtual world or even sharing content with students in a new and innovative way. While I had fun designing my Voki, I found that it took longer than I expected. Also, the intonation of the recording is not the best, so I am not sure that using this resource would actually be helpful for English language learners. If you want to see what my Voki looks like, click here!

Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 12.44.55.png — A snapshot of what my Voki looks like.

Thing #5: Collaboration

I’ve never really been a traditional classroom teacher. My only experience as such was during my year as a student-teacher-intern. My passion was never to teach students the traditional subjects, but rather to enrich their education with languages. Being an auxiliary (or ‘specials teacher’) is an entirely new experience. You realize how much you do not matter. You realize that you are always an afterthought (and sometimes not even that). You feel isolated and alone. No one quite knows what to do with you or how to help you. This is especially true when you are the only person in your department, and it is your sole responsibility to make decisions, as well as create the curriculum.

While this might make being an auxiliary teacher sound awful, it was a truly rewarding and enjoyable experience that I would not trade for anything. However, all teachers, but especially auxiliary teachers, have to become resourceful when it comes to finding a team and creating a support system in the school. I was very fortunate because I quickly became very good friends with a handful of teachers in each of my buildings.

Even in my current role, I feel very isolated, but am still thankful for the connections I have with so many former colleagues and teacher friends. I can’t imagine living and working overseas without being able to use technology to keep in touch with them. During my first year in France, my students were digital penpals with students in my best friend’s class. Being able to use Google docs to exchange letters and create authentic learning situations and interactions was essential. Being able to see first hand the collaboration that was taking place between students on two different continents, who did not speak the same native language was truly fascinating.

I’ve also used Google docs to collaborate with former colleagues and to improve my teaching. We’ve often used various platforms to talk and exchange ideas–Google Hangout, Skype, FaceTime, etc..With technology, the possibilities are virtually limitless.

Quotes-about-Education-4

Creating a Collaborative Lesson

It used to be that distance was a restrictive factor in communication. Today, that is no longer the case. With technology, you are able to easily communicate with people around the world. As I am still working without a department or cohort, I still rely on friends and colleagues in the United States to help with with lesson planning and brainstorming. Now, there is a six hour time difference, which can complicate things from time to time (especially with video conferencing). However, with collaborative documents (such as Google docs) sharing ideas has become much easier.

I recently contacted three of my friends who are also teachers to get some feedback regarding an upcoming lesson I am preparing. I typed the lesson in a Google doc and then shared it with them, and gave them editing rights. This is a quick and easy way for everyone to not only share ideas, but to interact with each other. I also created a Padlet where we could share other resources we found that might be useful. With both of these examples, we are able to have asynchronous collaboration that is beneficial for everyone.

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Collaborative Lesson Reflection

I love exchanging ideas with other teachers! When I first started my career I was very hesitant to accept any sort of feedback (positive or negative). Luckily, that is no longer the case. What I really like about my self-created cohort is its diversity. I love getting perspectives from a wide-range of levels and backgrounds, as well as learning about resources other teachers use that I may be unfamiliar with.

What I appreciated most about this collaboration was how easy it was to organize and the thoughtfulness of the feedback I received. I loved the idea of adding a kinesthetic element to the lesson. I also had no clue about Coogle, but it seems like a great resource to use since all of my students already have Gmail/Google accounts. Prior to this collaboration, I was unfamiliar with the idea of using inquiry based hooks, but thanks to the example that was given, I believe that this activity would be extremely beneficial and enable me to do some slight differentiation with my students.

We also used Padlet to exchange ideas. I like this resource, but if I were to do it again, I would have chosen a different format. I didn’t like that I wasn’t able to directly reply to posts from other people.

Even though we’re over 3,000 miles apart, technology made this collaboration super easy and super meaningful. I think that this is an activity that all teachers should try to complete at least once per year in order to push themselves beyond their comfort zone.

ISTE Standards Connections:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Using tools that allow collaboration, such as Google Drive, Padlet, etc. not only encourages collaboration, but truly facilitates it in a way that is engaging and enriching.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Preparing students for the future means giving them the opportunity to use programs that are currently being used in the workplace. Authentic learning experiences are key to student success.

Thing #4: Cloud Initiation

It’s hard to imagine a time in my life when the digital cloud was not present. Unfortunately, I do remember a time, and I remember the moment when I became forever grateful for the cloud. I was a traveling teacher, so organization was key. That being said, I was far from perfect, and often felt scatterbrained. I remember the day when I went to plug in my USB key to my laptop, only to find that it was missing! I practically burst into tears and was unsure what to do, as I had a class scheduled to begin in only a few minutes. Needless to say, I was forced to get very creative that day, but once my USB key was located (phew!), I talked to my tech-savvy friends and learned about the cloud. Ever since that day, I’ve never looked back.

I’ve loved using DropBox for many years, but find that the space restrictions for free accounts is quite limiting. Once my DropBox became full, I began using Google Drive, which comes with significantly more storage space, and I love that it is connected to all of my Google accounts. I honestly don’t know what I did before Google!

Here’s a sampling of my current Google Drive account. I love putting documents into folders (probably a little bit too much), so I create new folders almost weekly.

Screen Shot 2019-02-23 at 18.03.31 — Here’s a screenshot of my Google Drive homepage. I love keeping all of my documents organized by using folders and sub-folders.

Screen Shot 2019-02-23 at 18.03.47 — This is an example of what one of the folders looks like. This folder was designed to organize my documents for teaching verbs.

Screen Shot 2019-02-23 at 18.04.08 — This is another example of what the contents of one of my folders looks like. This is for all resources related to my current position as a Cambridge English Teacher.

Screen Shot 2019-02-23 at 18.04.25 — This is the folder I use for anything related to administrative documents at school.

Symbaloo:

Prior to this course, I had not heard of Symbaloo. However, after watching videos and reading about it, I found it to be a very valuable tool. I am a very visual person, so I love that you can customize each website with whatever image you see as appropriate. Below is an example of what my Symbaloo page looks like. It is just getting started, but I’m looking forward to adding more websites as I discover them.

Screen Shot 2019-02-23 at 18.48.14.png

Personal Reflection:

I found this Thing to be extremely useful and informative. All of the information I learned will really help me to stay organized and enable the sharing of resources with other educators. While I was already familiar with a number of the tools discussed during this course, I also learned about new tools, which I will share with my students as well as colleagues.

I really like the idea of creating a class Symbaloo so that all students have easy access to resources related to course work. I have also used Google Drive in a number of ways with my students. I find that using Google Drive and Google Docs is a great way to collaborate and quickly provide feedback to students.

CITW Connections:

Cooperative Learning: Using Google Drive or DropBox is an excellent way to promote student collaboration. Best of all, the resources are free and very easy to use!
Summarizing and Notetaking: I really liked learning about the different things that Diigo can be used for. This is a great way to teach students a variety of methods for notetaking, as well as summarizing.

Thing #3: Visual Learning

There are so many great (and usually free) resources available not only to teachers, but everyone! In my experience, I often find a program or website that I really like and find easy to use, and then stop trying to find additional resources. This is something that I am actively trying to change about myself.

With Thing #3, I was forced outside of my comfort zone, and as a result found myself becoming frustrated with the websites that I was trying to use. In the end, I persevered, and as a result, now have many other tools in my belt to help integrate technology into my teaching.

During this unit, I learned about many resources to help improve my instruction for visual learners. I learned about a number of resources to help me to organize lessons and ideas in a visual format. Some of the ways I learned were:

-Graphic Organizers -Infographics

-Word Clouds -QR Codes

Graphic Organizers:

There are many, many great mind mapping resources available. I chose to try Bubbl.us because it was a resource I had never used or heard of. What I liked best about this website was how easy it was to manipulate and make changes once you got started. I think this website would be an excellent tool to organize brainstorming sessions during class. Here’s an example of a mind map that I would use to help introduce the idea of verbs to my students. We would then work together to add more information.

New Mind Map.jpg

Word Clouds:

I absolutely love using word clouds! I have used them for many years, not only for teaching, but in my personal life as well. I think word clouds are engaging and fun and can be used for so many different reasons. Students also love making word clouds. In the past, I used the online version of Wordle to create word clouds. Unfortunately, the online version no longer works and you must download the program. This has some potential drawbacks, especially limiting when and where it can be used. Here’s an example of what a word cloud might look like when talking about why English language learning is important. I’ve also shared this visual on my class website, as I think it’s an interesting representation of languages in the world.

Infographics:

I also love infographics! I have used them on countless occasions and find them to be very easy to use and understand. While I love reading infographics, I find creating them to be less fun. I became very frustrated when trying to create an infographic using Piktochart. While I absolutely see the value of this for some content areas and students, I do not think that this is a visual representation that I will use regularly in my instruction. Here’s an example of a inforgraphic representing the results of a class survey:

QR Codes:

For many years, I’ve been seeing QR codes everywhere I go. When I finally downloaded the application to scan them, I was quite intrigued. I thought this was a genius way of using technology to quickly and efficiently share information with a very large audience in a very short period of time. I find the available websites to be equally user friendly and easy to use. For this activity, I tried QRstuff.com. Unfortunately, this has not caught on in France. In fact, I can’t remember ever seeing a QR while living in France. So again, I think this technology has a very important place in learning, but not in my current situation. To get an idea of how QR codes worked, I made one to reach the website of the company I work for (the website is in French). If you’re interested in learning about the company I work for, scan the QR code below!

qrcode.50571323.png

I love the idea of incorporating things for all learner styles into my teaching. I think that the websites I mentioned in this post could be very useful for helping me to use more technology in my teaching.

Connections to ISTE Standards:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: As the possibilities are limitless with these resources, students would be given the opportunity to express themselves in countless ways.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: As technology is constantly changing, so are the resources which are available to us. Employing these new technologies will ensure that students are being given authentic opportunities to learn and explore.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: Remembering that once we create something on the internet, it is there forever (even if we delete it). Helping students learn appropriate ways of questioning and disagreeing.

Thing #2: Face of Your Classroom

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 17.34.23.png — Link to my Website

When I was a teacher in Michigan I had a class website that was invaluable to my school community. As I was a traveling teacher, without a classroom to call her own, the website provided me with a space to call my own. It also allowed me to communicate with students, families, and other staff clearly and regularly.

Since my transition to teaching in France, I have noticed many stark differences between how technology is used in America and in France. France has been slow to jump on the technology bandwagon, and it is still a very, very slow rate of progress. It is my hope to be able to use a class website with my students, however, I am not sure that this is something that will be approved by the small, private company where I work. I have started my website, with an optimistic outlook that I will one day be able to share it with my students.

I feel like the movement toward incorporating technology into every level of learning has been a long time coming. I remember using blended classrooms when I was a student, and eventually only web-based learning platforms. While these tools are important, it is equally important to remember that all learners are not the same. While technology is a great supplement to traditional classroom instruction, I think that we must be careful not to use it as a replacement, but rather as a complement.

CITW Connections:

Assigning Homework and Practice: Using a variety of technological platforms (blogs, websites, etc.) teachers are easily able to communicate with students and families any homework, as well as resources for additional practice or explanations.
Cooperative Learning: Depending on the selected platform, students could be able to interact with each other through discussions and comments. Teachers could also post discussion questions for students/families to ponder.
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback: As a way of documenting learning goals and progress, teachers could dedicate a part of their platform to documenting this progression for families. Additionally, this could be a space for teachers to respond to comments and promote deeper thinking.