Beginning of the Year Survey (using Google Forms)

 I enjoyed using Google Forms to create this Beginning of the Year Survey because it allowed me to see all the features of Google Forms. I could see myself using Google Forms to make a beginning of the year survey for my students' parents. It would save me the time of making a get to know you form, making copies, and waiting for the students to bring it back. I know from personal experience that some parents never send these forms back. Having parents fill out this survey online would spare me from having to make copies and waiting for students to bring papers back.
  Since Google forms sends you a spread sheet of the responses given by those who answer the form I could see myself using this app to make pre and post assessments. This would help save paper and would save me the time of having to record all the of the students scores into an excel spreadsheet. Google forms would also make creating rubrics much easier. I could create the rubric and post it to my blog, wiki, etc. so that my students can see it. This way they always know what is expected of them and their parents can also check to see what the criteria for a paper and/or assignment is. There seems to be a lot that can be done with Google Forms and I know that I have not even begun to scratch the surface. I look forward to discovering new and innovative ways that I can integrate Google forms into my "teacher tool box."      

Reflection - google apps

A simple Google search led me to a multitude of resources that give specific examples of how Google apps could be implemented into education and the classroom. There are so many ways that Google can be used in education that I was honestly overwhelmed by the examples I found. Some of my favorites that really stuck out to me include using Google Docs for collaborating on lesson plans. This is a great tool since I know that in many districts all the teachers of a specific grade are expected to share lesson plans and stay on the same page for the most part. Using Google docs to translate documents or letters for parents is something I could definitely picture myself using because some of my students' parents do not speak English. Being able to translate documents with the touch of a button would make my life so much easier and allow me to communicate with parents that I might otherwise have no connection with. I also really liked the idea of using Gmail to connect students with pen pals and due to Google translate a language barrier is no longer an issue. I definitely see how Google could help make my life as a teacher easier and help me provide my students with new learning opportunities.

Certificate for the Google for Education Basics Exam

As I was reading the basic lessons for the Google for Education Basics Exam it occurred to me that there is a lot I do not know about Google and all of its capabilities. Every time I think of Google what comes to mind is the main search engine page that I use on a daily basis. Now that I have gained some insight into all that Google has to offer I am curious to learn more about what components I could integrate into my life and/or classroom.

As I was reading the lessons before completing the basic exam it occurred to me how little I knew about Google and all the apps it has. Whenever I think of Google what immediately comes to mind is the search engine page that I constantly use. I never realized how many apps Google has that could not only be integrated into the classroom but could also make a teacher's life much easier. The calendar app alone could help an educator with organization which is a must in our field. I am excited to learn more about Google's applications and what I can do with them.

Wikis and "Casting"

       I could definitely picture myself using wikis because it would allow me to connect to the parents and promote interaction between multiple classes. Wikis could however be useful for keeping parents in the loop and for collaborations between classes if led by the teachers. Wikis can be used for parents to sign up for parent conferences and other events. The new spelling words for the week can be posted on the wiki rather than sending paper copies home every week. The parents can list which spelling activities the students completed and provide screen shots of the online activities students completed if requested by the teacher. Teacher can post links to educational websites such as Starfall that parents can use with their children. Parents and children can add additional links to sites they come across throughout the year. In first grade students learn about plants and insects. They cover the life cycle of a butterfly so the class could create a wiki with the information they already know about life cycle of a butterfly and other classes could collaborate by putting their knowledge onto the wiki.

         At this point I do not know if I could picture myself using screen casting or casting of any kind. If I did screen casted a few times just to get comfortable with it than I could picture myself posting them on my wiki or website for my students to view. Off the top of my head I could picture screen casting to show parents how they can log on to the math and literacy websites that go along the programs. The parents often ask multiple questions about how to log in so by posting a screen cast of how to log in online they can go back to it as many times as they need to. Using wiki and casting meets the ISTE standards because it allows students participate in various learning communities and promote student reflection.  

Link for 21st Century Educator Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1lhP2o7V6xkfMJsMYhTkA31o0vySvXLvJLbMmAgOLsxQ/edit?usp=sharing

Professional social networks/ blogs

Today I joined Edutopia, Classroom 2.0, and TED blog. These sites seem to offer a plethora of information regarding the field of education and/or will allow me to connect with other teachers from around the world.

• Classroom 2.0 seems like a great site where I can connect with others. I look forward to posting some of the challenges I am facing as a new teacher and being able to discuss these topics with teachers from all around the world. 

•  Edutopia's site has information on topics such as classroom management, diversity, differentiated instruction, etc which I look forward to exploring. These are all issues that are pertinent to my profession and that I have questions about so I look forward to being able to find useful tips on this site. 

•  TED blog is a site I joined because I can honestly say I enjoy TED talks and have watched many that discuss the education profession in the past. This site will make it even easier for me to watch TED talks and I might even be able find something that I can use with my students.  

Using blogs with primary students

      Use of blogs in the primary grades can be tricky. For example some of my students can write sentence after sentence on their assignments and others have difficulty writing the words why or can. Based on their varied writing and reading levels it would be very difficult for ALL of my students to contribute to a blog. If I had a classroom that had enough computers to accommodate approximately five or more students I would use blogging to help with differentiation. I would have my advanced students who constantly finish their work early go over to a computer and blog. I would have discussed with them in advance that their comments must be appropriate and that they are only to provide the information necessary to answer the questions asked. I would use prompts such as "What did you learn from today's reading lesson?"  or "What is something that you would be interested in learning about?" By asking students what they learned today I can see if they are actually learning anything or if the information is so easy that they are no longer learning anything. Differentiation is also easier to do if I know what the students' interests are because then I can use that as way to hook students in.
       Another way I could use blogging with my students and get their parents involved in the learning process is when doing the Super Student of the week. Teachers often give students a poster to complete with their parents at home and bring back to school the next week. The poster asks a multitude of questions about the student such as their age, favorite color, etc. I could have students and their parents complete blog posts based on a list of questions I would provide instead of posters. This allows students to use technology and allows their parents to become involved. This allows other students and their parents to get to know the other children in the class. In addition to saving paper which is always a plus.  
        

Reflection II

Reflection II

            The TED talk How to escape education’s death valley addresses how our school systems are failing our teachers and students. Ken Robinson discusses how we have a drop out epidemic in America many students drop out of school every year. This is compounded by the fact that many of other students that are sitting in class but are disengaged and not actually learning. This is due to the fact that there are three principles on which human life thrives, and they have been stripped from the education world. The first principle is that humans are diverse but in our schools we promote conformity which goes against human nature. I have seen this in my student teacher placements. Children are separated or labeled rather than praised for their differences.

            The second principal on which human life thrives is curiosity but in our schools we focus on standards and assessments. In our schools, we focus on teaching to the tests (standardized tests specifically) rather than teaching our students material that will spark their curiosity or that correlates to what goes on in the real world. The third principal is that humans are creative which is evident by the creations and ideas children come up with when allowed to. However, we stifle creativity because our students are busy completing worksheets and memorizing information.

            The video Engaging the Net Generation (https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=engaging+the+net+generation) discusses the fact that are current students are different from any students that have entered our schools before because they are ‘digital natives.’ They have grown up with technology, and it consumes nearly every aspect of their lives. However, we are teaching these students the same way we taught students 40 years ago. The video states that students need to explore and discover information on their own in order to truly learn. Teachers have to find a way to make learning important to students so that they will truly commit to the learning process.

          Another important point that Ken Robinson addresses in his TED talk is that teachers are no longer respected. Teaching has gone from being an art to a profession where teachers simply pass on the information that the students have to know passed on what their grade level is. From my own experiences, I do believe this to be true. People often ask me why I would chose to get involved in the education field and make plenty of degrading comments. As Robinson states, we cannot expect our teachers to truly help our students if they have been stripped of their respect and handed the information they must regurgitate to the students.

 

            In my personal opinion, every point Robinson makes is valid. We have to give teachers the respect they deserve and allow them the creative space they are entitled to. In my opinion, it would make sense to let the teachers and administrators who are actually in the class with the students to take the reins. Ken Robinson’s TED talk shines a light on the overall problems that are currently plaguing the world of education but as he points out, nothing will change unless everyone insists that change occur. If we do not find a way to permanently engage students in their education thousands, if not millions of students, will continue to slip through the cracks.    

Reflection I

The video Learning to Change-Changing to Learn discussed the future of education in a manor I have never been exposed to before. From my field experiences, I have seen how students tend to zone out because they are usually being instructed to memorize facts that will not help them when they are out in the real world. This became evident after I heard many students ask the seemingly universal question, “Why do I need to know this?” These comments demonstrate that our students are not connecting with what we are teaching them, so they are less likely to actually be learning skills that will help them when they are out in our technologically creative driven world.   

The video helped me realize that our students are not learning because we are attempting to teach our students by disconnecting them from technology as if they were still in the industrial era. Many of the speakers in the video discuss how in order for our students to be able to compete in the future job market, they need to know how to research, verify answers, be multi-disciplinary, amongst many other skills. However, in our schools we simply focus on feeding students information and having them memorize it so they can regurgitate it on tests. We are essentially setting up our children for failure.

In her article Real-Life Math and Teacher Training: Cures for “Innumeracy”, Liana Heitin explains how our dependency on the use of memorization in regards to math is crippling our students. http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/curriculum/2014/07/real-life_math_and_teacher_tra.html?qs=innumeracy “Teachers should move from encouraging “answer – getting” – memorizing procedures and algorithms – to focusing on “sense - making” – letting students struggle through problems and make mistakes, so that they’ll come to understand the “whys” of math on their own” (Liana Heitin). Liana Heitin’s theory on how math should be taught can be applied to all areas of education. Our children will have to learn how to be innovative and uncover information in order to excel in the world, so we should stop feeding them definitions and one answer questions. I have seen it with my own eyes; children thrive on having the opportunity to discover answers and come up with hypotheses on their own.

Charts such as this one

 (http://teachers.cie.org.uk/gp/21st-century-skills.html) found on Cambridge International Examinations demonstrates the 21st Century skills students need to succeed our progressive world. Students need to be information literate, cultural aware, and critical thinkers amongst possessing other skills. We cannot assume that students will attain these skills before they enter the professional world if we do not teach them these essential skills. The more I see what our students will need to succeed in the future, the more I agree with the views of those presented in the Learning to Change-Changing to Learn. As the times change so must the world of education. If we do not get on board with this change, our students will suffer.