Below you will find the link to my ISTE Lesson Plan, Miscrosoft Office OneNote Class Notebook, and Screencast Presentation. Please have a look at it and let me know your thoughts and suggestions. The ISTE Lesson Plan document and OneNote Class Notebook has all of the rubrics and ancillary materials included.
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Prior to ITEC 7430, I was just merely brushing the surface of integrating technology tools into my classroom. I have always been interested in incorporating technology tools into my classroom, but I truly did not know what all is out there. Our Web 2.0 How-To For Educators has to be one of my favorite resources to pull from next to Pinterest and Twitter (now). I will now think of an idea and immediately start looking for the tools that fit my needs and allows the students to get the most of the lesson. I found this course extremely useful in exposing me new tools to use in my classroom. I am no longer hesitant to try new technology tools in my classroom. I have more resources at my disposal and I know where to find what I need.
I looked forward to trying new tools to see their functions and learn how to incorporate it into my classroom. By blogging about the tools, it taught me how to articulate exactly what I wanted to say to my colleagues so that they could learn from my blog. I believe that I could continue blogging and set something up where I could share the technology tools with other teachers. I enjoyed learning from reading my classmate's blogs. I would like to thank my classmates and professor for their support, for sharing their tools and ideas, and challenging me to be a better educator and coach. Without this course, my perspective of technology tools would have been extremely limited. I feel that I am better prepared and have more confidence in implementing tools into my classroom to show students that technology is not just for entertainment, but can be a valuable resource in their education. I plan on continuing to teach my students this and improve their digital citizenship. After my semester in ITEC 7460, I have definitely changed and grown as an educator and a leader in technology. I am sure everyone has experienced this as this course has taught me valuable skills, tools, and techniques to use in my classroom and for others to use. From this semester, I have found myself taking more risks in the classroom by trying new tools out, troubleshooting, and having the confidence to share these tools with other colleagues so that they tool can see how technology can enhance their classrooms. I have a strong understanding of the different variables that goes into to make technology changes in my own classroom, and even in making the change for teachers. These skills will take me far when I face certain situations like working with a teacher who does not see the use for technology, or the teacher who resist change despite the great results. I feel that I have the tools now to appropriately address these situations and many more that may arise.
Through this course, I have not only challenged myself, but also my students in ways to make them better digital citizens and make them more aware of the tools around them. I have also created better relationships with teachers in my school thanks to this course. Prior to this course, I did not feel that I had the proper tools or techniques to approach someone to share my ideas or assist them. Since this course, I have found myself reaching out to teachers, building relationships and putting myself out there as a resource to others. I am proud of the progress I have made over this course, and I know that this is a work in progress. I plan to continue to teach my students and my colleagues how technology is not just used for entertainment, but also for education. I am becoming more involved in my school and in my county, which is putting me on the track I want to be. I knew going into my master’s degree I wanted to be the technology specialist that had the relationships with the teachers, so everyone could benefit, lead workshops, and make an impact on our school system. Without the foundation from this course, I do not think it would have been a smooth and valuable transition in changing teachers’ perspectives from just another teacher to someone they can use as a resource that genuinely wants to help them in their classroom. I would like to thank my classmates and professor for their continual feedback and support. I thoroughly enjoyed reading your thoughts, learning from you, and working with you during this semester. Between all of us, we have a lot of experience and have been able to bounce ideas amongst ourselves to better our techniques in the classroom and handle situations. I hope to continue to learn from each other as we progress through our future courses. Digital Citizenship and YouStudent’s safety is school’s and teacher’s top priority, but it does not just relate to their physical safety, teachers more than ever have to teach students about online safety. As more classrooms move to utilizing the internet as a resource and tailoring their classroom around learning management systems and encouraging students to collaborate and connect with each other, teachers also need to make sure that they are preparing them for the digital world making them aware of netiquette, their digital footprint, and digital citizenship. There are also dangers out on the web called cyber-bullying and students need to learn how to avoid and redirect these situations. Teachers have the task of making sure their students know how to conduct themselves online. Some students have the belief that what they post online won’t affect them later, or have the mindset of that wouldn’t happen to me. Netsmatz Workshop is an interactive website that brings the consequences of poor internet decisions to life and puts it into perspective. The article “A New Twist on Cyberbullying” from the ISTE website, describes how teachers can use this workshop to open up the communication with your students about cyber-bullying. The article mentions that the teacher starts this discussion by asking, “Will you accept the identity that others give you?” It is important to give students a voice and empower them to say something when they see it happening. By using this workshop, teachers can touch on a variety of topics that relate to the internet and it comes with lesson plan guides to get students more aware of the behaviors behind a computer, tablet, smartphone screen. ThinkB4U is an interactive website that allows students to make decisions based on several different situations and educate them on the outcomes of their decisions. In this interactive game, students go through the members of a family from school, home, and the mall perspectives. As a teacher, you could assign students to complete all of the situations for school, home, and the mall so that they see that they need to watch their digital footprint everywhere they go. It is not just something that they need to be aware of at school, but in all facets of their lives since we live in a society that revolves around staying connected. ThinkB4U provides interactive videos, discussion points for students and teachers, and give them real scenarios to analyze and make decisions on in the virtual world so that they are prepared when these scenarios arise in their own life. It is crucial that they are cautious not to overshare and put themselves in harm’s way. Teaching students about digital citizenship are not just important, but it is necessary. Common Sense Education provides teachers with lesson plans, activities, and resources to assist students in navigating cyber-bullying, privacy, safety that they will face at school and in their other digital lives. This website also focuses on having students create a pledge on how they plan to be safe, responsible, and respectful when they are online. When students are asked to analyze what it means to them, it gives them the opportunity to think critically about their behavior online. This can hold students accountable for the behavior that teachers expect, also on that same note, teachers need to express and set high expectations of the proper behavior and protocol when students are online. Communication is key in relaying the information and making them aware. These websites provided new and different ways to engage students in learning about their digital footprint and digital citizenship that will open up the doors for communication and awareness of the proper use of the internet. Parents, teachers, and students all need to get on board to help encourage and teach the students for their safety both at school and away from school. Keep in mind, teachers cannot be there with the student to tell them not to post that picture, not to say those things, or not to make those decisions, but it is our job to make them think twice about it, make them aware of their consequences should they do something, and educate them about the world that they live in. Teachers are molding students whether they know it or not and it is an important task that cannot be taken lightly. They need to make sure that they are properly equipped to handle real world situations and it starts when they walk into your classroom. Learning Management System- CanvasThe internet provides students and teachers with more resources and available web-based tools to increase student engagement in their classroom, but now there is more! Teachers can actually host classes in learning management systems (LMS) where most of the aspects of a physical classroom can take place online on one single platform. Edmodo, Canvas, and Moodle are some of the many learning management systems that can allow students to organize and connect to their education in a new way. These systems can teach them skills that they can use beyond the classroom, the organize class information for students, and provide teachers new ways to engage students in their education. This school year, I am using Canvas in my classroom, and I will be focusing on it in this blog post as I share my experience with it, but I would definitely recommend you trying out any LMS in your classroom to see the impact that it has. Canvas gives students and teachers more ways to engage students in their education. On Canvas, students can take tests/quizzes, participate in discussion boards, upload their assignments, and collaborate with other students. Canvas keeps students on the platform so that teachers can control what they look at and narrow their focus. Teachers can modify the tests and quizzes to best meet the needs of the students. Teachers can also modify assignments and differentiate instruction to assist with student understanding. By modifying the assignments and instruction, teachers can reach each student on their individual level. Teachers can flip their classroom by inserting videos, websites, and articles for the students to view prior to class that will allow class time to be focused on practicing the skills or discussing the topic more in-depth. This school year was my first time using it and incorporating it into my classroom. From my experience, Canvas has revolutionized the way my classroom functions. More students are involved in their education and active participates. Canvas is teaching them skills that they will use in the workforce and teach them to work together. This platform prepares students for life outside of school and creates accountability. More Web 2.0 tools and learning management systems give access to education far beyond the walls of the classroom. Teachers need to show students the tools and how they can use them to empower them to continue to learn. There are more resources available to the students now than there were 15 years ago and they keep growing. With more resources comes more ways to engage students, more information to gain different perspectives, and give them the opportunity to analyze facts and figures in a different and new way. Since I am a history teacher, I have access to primary documents, original news coverages of historical events, and I can make history come to life in the classroom. This breaks down the walls of the classroom and brings the topic to life. With this movement to using online and web-based tools and resources is revolutionary, however, it is difficult for schools to keep up with the increasing technology demands such as internet access, computers, tablets, and programs needed to keep up with these demands. More funding will be needed for maintenance, repair, and training to teach teachers how to use the new tools. Technology moves quickly and it can be difficult to fund, but it is important to allocate money towards because the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Schools may struggle with providing teachers and students opportunities to have access to computers and the internet at school especially if they do not have any at home. I believe that teachers and school systems realize the increasing importance and advantages of technology tools in the classroom. I know I have seen schools directing their focus towards this movement and allocating appropriate funding to make this possible. Already some schools are 1:1, which allows them to provide access to those students who may not get it another way. Web 2.0 tools, learning management systems, and digital citizenship create a more globalized classroom, teach students the skills to be successful, and appropriate behavior online to make sure students are aware of the dangers and consequences that the internet has. |
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January 2024
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