Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Week 6: Technology Standards in the Classroom



     As part of an advancing view of how education should evolve, it's obvious that we need to teach students to use technology ethically and effectively. I think many teachers assume that today's students already know how to utilize the technology that is placed before them, if only for the reason that they were raised in a time that had the technology in it. However, I've actually found that this isn't necessarily so, and I teach high schoolers. This is why the ISTE created technology standards for both students and teachers.
      The ISTE breaks the standards into manageable groups based on grades and age. I found it interesting, however, that the very basics of technology, such as being able to type or format an essay on the computer or navigate through Microsoft Office applications. I suppose that these are assumed skills. Once these skills are used, I believe that the types of technology required by these standards will be utilized in the students' future lives.
   The standards reference being able to communicate and collaborate via a mode a technology, which in turn would apply critical thinking skills, problem-solving, and decision-making, which is another standard. Then, looking at the students profiles, we can see what students are expected to do while using these standards. For example, a high school student should be able to "select digital tools or resources to use for a real-world task." Now, tell me that these standards don't reflect what students actually need to know before entering the real world. What's that? You can't? Neither can I! Finally! A set of standards that I think everyone can agree on.
    These aren't just skills that students who go off to college and even higher will use. These are skills that every person living in the twenty-first century will need to know. I don't think that my own school district has begun to look at these standards, but hopefully they will soon.

You can find the Student Standards and Student Profiles Here.

Sunday, November 1, 2015

Week 1: Projects Ahoy!

     In the articles "More Fun Than a Barrel of...Worms?", "March of the Monarchs," and "Geometry Students Angle Into Architecture through Project Learning," the overwhelming idea that came through to me, and I'm sure the rest of the readers, was that the students were learning multiple subjects by doing one project. Each project was either science or math based, but each one required student organization, writing, synthesizing of information, working with technology, and working in groups. Students must practice and utilize skills from across the curriculum in one project.
    Each project also utilizes what is pointed out in one of the titles: real-world problems. Students aren't given hypothetical problems to work out; they are given ideas and situations that are actually happening. Even in the case of creating new schools--that is something that goes on now and will continue to happen as long as we educate children in mass.
    I really think that the best part of these project-based learning experiences is the ability for the teacher to slowly release responsibility to the students. Not every piece was structured. In fact, even in the case of the elementary school in Newport News, an entire project came from the curiosity of the students. It hadn't been planned until the students thought it up. This ownership and autonomy make the kids enthusiastic to learn about something they're interested in, especially when it involves creating something of their own. They are no longer completing a worksheet created by the teacher, but finding the answers to the questions that they themselves posed. They have become explorers trying to solve a problem, instead of students in a box trying to memorize information.
     This kind of exploration is something that I would like to see in my own classroom. The majority of the examples that I've ever heard or read about, however, seem to come from a science or math classroom. How do I create a project that is cross curricular for a group of students who really need to learn the basic grammar of higher-level writing? I struggle with this. I don't know how to let go of the instruction and be assured that my teenagers will learn what they need to in order to succeed. Hopefully my time taking these graduate courses will give me a better idea of how to do this.

References
Armostrong, S. (2002, February 11). Geometry Students Angle into Architecture through Project
       Learning. Retrieved November 1, 2015. 
 Curtis, D. (2002, June 6). March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies' Migration.                     Retrieved November 1, 2015. http://www.edutopia.org/march-monarchs
Curtis, D. (2001, October 1). More Fun Than a Barrel of...Worms?! Retrieved November 1, 2015.




Friday, October 30, 2015

Brand New

Hello, there!

This blog is brand new and will be used for multiple reasons: for professional development, to share what I know, do, and make to other teachers, and to get my ideas out in the open.

I hope you find this informative and entertaining at the same time!