My Learning about Technology Integration

My Learning

This quarter has been very productive. I had been expose to new material, new approaches, and most important to the new technological tools that are available for children's benefits in education. I was exposed to new tools that can I expose my future and current students with. I like to do my blog every week and able to include the links and the images. It was a good exposure for myself now I feel more confident to expose my students in the near future. I think Google Blog is a good tool for students to use.

I loved to use voicethread.  Now that I was exposed i feel that I can use it with my preschoolers and create stories and also use their voice for the wording. Also the web 2.0 tool such as storybird is something that I can use it in my room. I feel more comfortable to use these web tools that I was introduced during my quarter. I feel that I am taking a lot of this new information that will benefit my teaching.

  One of the most valuable things that I learned was the new ways that schools are integrating technology in the classrooms. I think is a good way to reinforce or enhance the content that teachers need to teach. I was very enthusiastic to read about blended learning or hybrid learning. I think that for many students, this new innovative approach could inspired them to continue in school and continue with their education. I am thankful that I was exposed to new material that probably I did not know that existed. This opportunity to be exposed to new material has inspired me to continue learning and discover and familiarize myself with the upcoming trends and information about technology in the classroom.

Copyright law and

Technology in the Classroom

Many of the schools across the country had adopted the new approach technology in the classroom. Many of the classrooms have adopted the new integration as new method how to enhance their pedagogy. For example, in some schools have adopted the flipped classroom approach also known as a the blended learning approach.Many teachers are thankful of the use of technology. Technology is  a resource that provide many more opportunities for students to master a skill or to get a deeper understanding of academic concepts. Technology in the classroom brings a lot of benefits  many children benefit from  However, how safe it is to use? how teachers or schools deal with the copyrights of all the different resources that teachers use? This situation can be beneficial or harmful for our teaching.

When we touch this subject, many teachers can take as a positive route and do the extra word in getting the appropriate permissions for the use of the specific material that they want to integrate in their lessons. Also, the teacher can use this opportunity to teach her students about the importance of being respectful and ask for permission before using the resource. In the note, she can teaches her students to also request the same permission when someone tries to use their work.  However, for other teachers this extra work can be not the best option. Even Though that a teacher wants to use technology and nows the benefits might not want or have the time to investigate what is consider fair use and what is not.  This could bring down their willingness to try to integrate technology in her classroom. Either or, it is important to educate ourselves about the law on online use. Nancy E Willard offers some tips and resources on her document that discuss this topic.  

Media Literacy Education

Media Literacy

Literary in the education framework is a big component. Teachers creatively find ways to enrich, support and reinforce the skills that children will need for their academic success. However, after the new technological revolution in this century, now teachers are finding ways to also meet the needs of the media literacy in education. 

  

Children need to be educated to understand the world that is around them and be able to distinguish the reliable information between the rest of the information.  Media literacy has its own definition. According to the National Association for Media Literacy Education, media literacy education is the way that children access, analyze, evaluate and communicate information that is printed or not. Educators teach these valuable things in the classroom and they are related with the framework of literacy.  The media is bombarding the public with messages  and children are the included as a potential target. Therefore it is important to teach our children  the critical thinking skills and be more open for future research to verify the information. David Fowler published an important article about the importance of teaching these skills to our children. It is important for children to be equipped to take advantage of the good side of the media and not be harm by it.

Teachers need to create and implement lessons that can help children develop a more questionable way to think before they accept the information as a the most reliable information available. Media Education Lab gives a list of five important questions that teachers need to teach children before they accept the information as reliable information. It also gives them resources about activities and resources that could be beneficial for their teaching careers.    

Web 2.0 tool for Education

Web 2.0 Tool for Education

This web2.0 tool is used around the world in different classrooms. Many children are being creative creating books and using their own imagination and creativity. This innovative tool makes their story more vivid and easy to share with others. Many times is difficult for children to write stories in paper and draw pictures. Some of them complain that their pictures are not the best and they stop writing altogether. However, now, they can be exposed to do the typing and select the pictures that they like for their story and share it with their teacher. According to their website Storybird, it has six different things why children will really love to use this website. First, there is a great art that they could choose for their stories. In addition, the children can unlock stories by solving puzzles. There is also the social reinforcement by hearing feedback about their work. On the other hand, it is free, safe and it can help students to get better grades.

For teachers, there are a lot of affordances by using storybird in their classroom. Children can use their imagination and their creativity. They can demonstrate their understanding about the process of how a story is being developed. They also can enhance and reinforce their literacy skills. As   Tech Tutorials names it as a “Collaborative Storytelling Tool”. Also Lisa Dabbs an Ed consultant shared some of the successes of using storybird in the classrooms.

   

On the other hand, as we know already the benefits of using this innovative tool in the classroom, there are also some constraints about the use of this tool. If teachers, don’t have the proficiency to use this website or have an idea how this tool can enhance their teaching, this will not benefit the students. In the following tutorial by sliceshare , it shares some of the requirements that students and teachers need to have in order to be beneficial for the student’s learning skills. Having internet is one of the requirement and some of the students still do not have access to internet at home.  

The Meaning of Technology Affordances and Constraints in terms of Education

Affordances and Constraints with Technology in Terms of Education

As effective educators, we always try to find ways to teach using the best resources that we can find as an enhancement or reinforcement to the subject that we want to teach. With the new innovation of how technology integration, content knowledge and pedagogy framework from TPACK , our adaptation to the new trends is easier. However, as part of life, this new way of teaching has advantages and disadvantages that in technology are known as affordances and constrains. In the next paragraphs, I will try to define the terms base on education.

Ann Palmer in her blog explains that affordances are all those things that benefit our teaching. For example, having an extra resource, such a video as a reinforcement to teach a term or a concept; it is a positive way to use technology. That is an affordance. It is a way to use the experts to reinforce our lecture or the subject that we are teaching. There are many benefits for teachers to use technology in their classroom.  One document published by boundless explains all the benefits on top of having the students to be more computer literate.

On the other hand, the constraints are all the other things that are in the way to make the integration a technology a positive asset for the classroom and the curriculum. One of these constraints could be the time that teachers need to prepare the classes and finding resources for their students. Another constraint can be the lack of access to the resources by the students in the schools if the schools do not have enough funds for the latest technology as Chiasuanchong explains in his blog.
Even thought that there are pros and cons about this topic, it is important that as educators expose and prepare ourselves for the new technological updates is the best option because if we have the possibilities available, we can enrich our new teaching methods.  

Flipped Classrooms

      

 Flipped Classrooms

The new Era in many classrooms is taking place. We used to have the idea that having a traditional teaching was the best way to teach children all the educational subjects. Traditional teaching means that a teacher needs to be in front of the classroom lecturing and trying to keep the individual attention of all her children. This idea is still used in many schools and classrooms around the nation. However the new Era and a new way are substituting this traditional. This new concept or a teaching approach is called "Flipped Classroom".

Flipped classroom is a new way to work with the children in the classroom. This new concept means that children will learn the lecture part at home and the practice will be done in the classroom. In the document by Educause  explains the information about flipped classrooms. This document explains how this new approach works, the implications and who is doing it. In the following chart lists some of the benefits for teachers and students that are part of the flipped classrooms. 

The Great Salman Khan the founder of Khan Academy in one of the talks on ted talks let's use video to reinvent education explains with details how he was able to create the first videos trying to help his cousins and eventually he found out that many other people took advantage of this innovative way. Also, in his speech, he mentioned how the teachers in many classrooms are benefiting by using this new approach. The following picture compare the two different ways that teaching and learning is done. However, it is up to us to decide what will work for us and with us.      

 In the Flip Learning Network   there is document that talks about the four pillars of flip learning. One of them is flexible environment where the professor plans and allows students to identify the way and the times where and what to learn. The second pillar is learning culture, base on this approach the students have more time and opportunities to learn from each other. The third pillar is intentional content. The professor needs to be intentional and organize his subjects in a way that he or she does know what the students can learn on their own and what things they can elaborate in class. The last pillar of this framework is professional educator. This is one of the most important qualities that a professor should have in my opinion. Even though, the students will be learning from each other, the professor need to be prepared to give assistance to the students that had difficulties learning and understanding the lecture.       

Best Practices for Technology in Education

Best practices for Technology in Education

As the time changes in our lives, so does the life in the classrooms. I can still remember the old times where the teachers used to plan their lesson from beginning to end. Their expectations were minimum for children to have previous knowledge. However, in this new era things have change. Now the children and teachers are in the same route for learning.

The document The best practices in Education technology  Best Practices for Education    talks about the different trends that are taking place in

many of the classrooms where they have an integration of technology. One that caught my eye was the relationships between teachers, students and parents are working together as co learners of the new learning approaches in the schools also giving the opportunity to the students to be mentors for other students, parents or the teacher. 

As the times had changed, many of the times, professor are having a hard time with leaving the control that they used to have. Now, the students are also involved in the learning process and have the ability to advance the information that they are interested or required to know. Students are more proactive in their learning as Peter West illustrates in his article Blended Learning and the paradox of the experienced teacher

how much things have change in the last decades that we need to be informed and educated about the best methods for teaching. This method follows the frame from TPACK. 

In another article posted in the Sun Associates website Best Practices in Technology Integration illustrates the combination on how the right pedagogy, with the content and technology component can enrich a curriculum making it more meaningful and receptive for students where as for professors technology in their teaching can help them to enrich their lessons.  Everything change around us, therefore it is time to get ready for the new era.