EDTC 6433- Tech Integration Reflection

I believe I was successful in achieving my goals. I have taught students the importance of being a good digital citizen in regards to 2nd grade technology. We have learned how to handle equipment properly. When they are unsure, they help one another in succeeding, which has been a huge growth area for them compared to what they were able to do the year prior. They also learned about the importance of being safe online, how to create unique passwords, and why it is important not to share passwords with others (outside of getting assistance from their family or teacher). I feel that I was able to achieve more than what I thought I would, which was an important learning for me throughout this course.

With the age I teach, it is really important that students watch their teacher model exactly how to be appropriate with technology tools and create ownership and responsibility within the classroom. I was able to model (more than once) how to handle equipment, including carrying it to and from the cart, logging on, getting to where they need to go, shutting down, and putting away login cards and headphones properly. There were some re-teaching moments along the way where I had to show them again, but I used these moments to have student role models act out and show their peers how to handle the equipment, which I think was really powerful for my students. I also showed my students some BrainPop videos (they LOVE BrainPop). It was fun to watch them be really protective of their computer login cards in class. When helping one another, they were very respectful when teaching and showing their peers how to get to places online, but would back away to let their peer type in their username and password on their own before continuing to help. It made me realize how much of leaders they really can be at such a young age!

I plan to be a leader by continuing to be open when trying new things. Currently I am having my students try out new keyboarding programs, and being a part of learning new technology is something I plan to continue. I believe it helps to keep engagement high in class when students learn new things and feel a special ownership when they have to provide feedback. I think it will be important for me to believe that my students can do great things in regards to technology, even if I have to adjust accordingly so that it is more appropriate for primary students.

In my school's community, I am someone that teachers from older generations come to with questions regarding technology usage. I am the youngest teacher on my grade level team by 20 years, so they always look to me to provide support and new findings. I also help teachers outside of my grade level team, as I feel very comfortable with the technology platforms we use to teach, such as ActivInspire. I love to teach, even if it seems easy to me. When my students try new technology tools, they are excited, which excites and intrigues their parents. After emailing my 2nd grade parents about field testing new keyboarding programs this year, I received a lot of positive feedback. My students have been logging in daily at home to work on the new program and are excited to grow. My role in the classroom is to teach and encourage students in an engaging way, which I think can be easily done when trying out new technology!

EDU 6528 End of Course Reflection

Prior to starting the Teacher Leadership program, as well as this course, I wasn't as clear as to what made a teacher "accomplished." My assumptions included the length of one's teaching career, the number of leadership roles they took within the school, and the amount of knowledge they had about teaching practices. Although some of these assumptions were true, I loved learning that the longevity of one's teaching career doesn't automatically make them an accomplished teacher. Being a "new" teacher in the 3rd year of my career, it was encouraging to know that accomplished teaching and the number of years they have taught do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. 

Upon starting this course, it quickly became clear that reflection and collaboration would be strong themes. I felt that I was an effective reflector and collaborator, but wasn't aware of the research behind the different ways to do so. I often felt that I reflected internally on my own practices to make them better, but wasn't always sharing my thoughts with others. I learned that reflecting alone can be self-validating, but reflecting with others helps us not to perpetuate only our own thoughts (York-Barr, Sommers, Ghere, & Montie, 2006, p.107). This is powerful, because our thoughts alone aren't enough to make the most effective change in our practice. We must collaborate and work together to strengthen our teaching practices. This confirmed for me the need to have more PLC and collaboration time with other educators in our building. As Barr (2006) said, "Shifting from a culture of doing to a culture of learning and doing, however, is not easily accomplished," (p. 3). I found that working with a partner to collaborate and coach in this course was powerful in that we were able to help one another reflect and adjust according to our student's unique needs. Being able to plan, observe, and reflect with the same partner helped make the experience stronger than if I had done it on my own.

As I researched and read the assigned chapters throughout this course, I was made aware of the elements that can make the reflection and collaboration process more difficult: trust and time. In order to make collaboration feel comfortable for both parties, both members must come into the process with an open-mind, eager to learn. Barr (2006) says, "Trust...is more readily fostered. Trust and safety are always issues when interacting with others, especially when revealing one's questions and thinking," (p. 108). In order to gain each others' trust, it is important that both members clarify, listen, expand thinking, and coach one another. This helps to increase effectiveness (York-Barr et al., 2006, p. 110). In order to have these meaningful coaching sessions, we must be given the time to do so. As Berg (2010) stated, "When teachers do experience evaluation, supervision, and relicensure as supportive of their professional learning, they find growth-oriented feedback and opportunities for reflection can do more than help them improve their practice; it can have a profound effect on their sense of commitment and efficacy levels," (p. 196). Realizing and understanding the strong research to support these claims will be extremely useful as I move into administration and make sure my staff is getting adequate time to create partnerships and reflect.

I also felt that I grew in the area of researching the importance of having a positive schoolwide behavior plan, as I wrote about in my final paper. Having a schoolwide system in place goes hand-in-hand with collaboration and reflection. Not all schools have the same needs, and educators must be prepared to critique and cater their school's system in order to meet the unique needs of their students. Just as schools recognize the importance of early intervention in schools in regards to academics, using a schoolwide behavior system can be a preventative measure that can be used as early intervention as well, which compliments RTI (Tillary, 2010). I now have a deeper understanding of the importance of these systems and why they are so successful in schools. According to Scott (2003), “Schoolwide application of PBS has demonstrated success with approximately 85%-90% of a school’s student population,” (p. 2). If an entire school can have that positive of an impact by implementing a schoolwide behavior system, I believe one should be enforced, no matter the student population. Often times educators see these schoolwide systems enforced at needy schools, such as Title 1, but all schools can benefit from a clear, structured system. I hope I can continue to encourage this in my building as our small research team continues to study and determine the importance in our own school.

In large, my learning this quarter was very valuable to my current and future positions in education. I learned some new strategies and techniques in terms of collaborating and coaching, as well as the important research behind reflective practices. I am eager continue implementing these new learnings as I move forward in this program and my career. As a result of this, I plan to continue researching best practices and sharing them with my colleagues as we learn together. I hope I can help them to understand the importance of working together, as well as advocating for the time we need to do so. I hope that this will help to better myself, my colleagues, and most importantly, the students I work with every day.

References

Berg, J. H. (2010, June). Constructing a Clear Path to Accomplished Teaching. Theory
     Into Practice, 49(3), 193-202. doi:10.1080/00405841.2010.487754

Scott, T. S. (2003, September). Making Behavior Intervention Planning decisions in a
     Schoolwide System of Positive Behavior Support. Focus On Exceptional Children,
     36(1), 1-19. Retrieved November 25, 2016, from http://web.b.ebscohost.com.
     ezproxy.spu.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=2b7c73ea-3785-4988-90e7
     b0bd27af2bcd@sessionmgr107&vid=0&hid=118

Tillery, A. D., Varjas, K., Meyers, J., & Collins, A. S. (2010, April). General Education
     Teachers' Perceptions of Behavior Management and Intervention Strategies.
     Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 12(2), 86-102. Retrieved from
     http://pbi.sagepub.com.ezproxy.spu.edu/content/12/2/86.full.pdf

York-Barr, J., Sommers, W.A., Ghere, G.S., & Montie, J. (2006). Reflective practice to
     improve schools: An action guide for educators (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA:
     Corwin Press.

Artifacts

EDU 6528 Final Paper

EDU 6528 Lesson Plan

EDTC 6433-What I learned, Week 7: EdCamp

I attended the EdCamp in Edmonds. I found the concept of how the sessions are determined to be interesting. I went into it thinking that there would already be classes determined with instructors. Instead, we went onto Padlet and people at the camp wrote what their ideas for sessions could be. We were able to comment on the posts to give support for the ideas or ask questions. We then were able to view a Google Doc to determine which sessions would be held, where they would be located, and who would facilitate them. I have used Google Doc before, but never in this capacity. It was a cool and easy way to organize the day!

The first session I attended was to learn about WeVideo. WeVideo is a video creating and editing program. There is a free and licensed version. They shared some good sites to use for finding media to insert into the videos. The instructions went very quickly, so it is definitely something that I would need to spend a good amount of time figuring out how to use. I am not so sure that I would have my students use this, but it is something I could use to make something for my class. Maybe they could each make a short clip and I could put them altogether as one whole-class video for the end of the year. It would be fun to play around with!

The second session I attended was about collaboration using technology in the elementary classroom. We sat and shared sites and programs that we use for collaborating in our classrooms. Half of the class was a Google district, and our half was Microsoft. From the information shared, it seems like each platform has very similar programs to one another. I didn't walk away with any new tools per-say, but it was interesting hearing different viewpoints and programs from another district than the one I currently work in.

EDTC 6433-What I learned, Week 6: Research

Big 6 Research Skills/5 Star Research:

"Work smarter, not faster." This resonated with me when learning about the Big 6 Research Skills. As teachers, we are reminded to "work smarter, not harder," so applying this way of thinking when researching is important. These past 2 weeks, when researching Digital Citizenship for my annotated bibliography, I was unknowingly using these skills while narrowing down which sources and cites to use. Maneuvering your way through the cyber-world of research can be daunting and tricky, but keeping these skills in mind can help with the process.

I appreciated making a plan for my research before collecting my sources. I liked trying out the different search engines, and even learning about some I had never heard of before! Google results were still the best of all--Sorry Bing. In my opinion, I think using technology has only strengthened research. All of my sources came from the digital "world." Using the internet helps you to find all kinds of sources on one platform. Without the internet, I don't think my research would have been nearly as easy or "smart."

EDTC 6433-What I learned, Week 5: Collaboration

Tech Smackdown:
The Tech Smackdown was fun! I presented about Raz-Kids, which is an amazing program that I use everyday for reading groups in my classroom. Each reading group gets to go on once a week at school. I ask parents to pay for it in the beginning of the year since it does require a subscription. I enjoyed listening to the other presentations as well. One that I may try in the future is Bloomz. I hope it would help to eliminate the length and frequency of emails. I send out bi-weekly newsletters through email to my parents, so I wonder if there would be a way to send it over the Bloomz program. I will have to check it out!

Skype in the Classroom:
The Mystery Skype session was both educational and engaging. I loved playing the guessing game and could definitely see myself doing that with my class! I loved that there was a GoNoodle mystery Skype session coming up when we last logged on. That is something that my students would LOVE! My only concern is obtaining a camera for my ActivBoard. It would only make sense for me to do a whole class skype session that way, since students wouldn't be able to see on a small laptop.

Breakout EDU:
This was definitely the highlight of the night! It was cool seeing everyone's strengths and how we worked together to figure out the locks and beat the timer. Overall I think we worked well as a group and took on certain roles without really having to designate anyone. In the classroom, I might have to help facilitate with my 2nd graders as they are still learning about appropriate social-emotional actions. I could see staff doing this during a LEAP to build teamwork and community.

Overall this week's class was a lot of fun. I really have enjoyed all that I have learned so far and am looking forward to what is yet to come!

EDTC 6433-What I learned, Week 4: Innovation

This week was a-SWAY-zing (see what I did there?)

I loved learning how to create and use Sway. What a cool tool! I like it so much better than power point. It's more user-friendly and the designs look more professional. I like that a layout is given to you so that you only need to worry about content. I think this would be a great tool to use for a more personal presentation. For example, if I were able to split up my curriculum night presentation into specific sections, it could be a more engaging way for parents to follow along. I could also use it to make research more engaging for my students. For a writing lesson, I could share information about a specific animal that we were going to research. In 2nd grade, students only need to be able to add text and images to 1 power point slide, so I think something like Sway would be more appropriate for them as they get older. At their age, watching as I model would be more appropriate than them creating.

I found the SAMR model interesting. It seems like for younger grades, most of the technology used in the general education classroom ends up being a substitution or an augmentation. With the new LWSD technology standards, sometimes it feels like we have to just "check off a box" to integrate technology rather than use it for something useful. In this way, the technology would only be the at the bottom 2 tiers rather than the top 2. In my classroom, I have found it hard to justify that kind of use of technology. Sure, I use technology everyday, but my students aren't creating something new. Since I only have 6 netbooks for my 20 students, I have a small group use Raz-Kids during reading and IXL during math, so that students have access to a computer once a week each for reading and math. When teachers feel the pressure to address all of the standards they are supposed to, it's hard to justify a "fun technology project" when they aren't independent or don't have the tools to access it properly.

EDTC 6433-What I learned, Week 3: Communication and Presentation

I loved the learnings this week. Doing the class Twitter chat was actually really fun! I didn't realize that all the posts we were sending were automatically posting to our Twitter pages, and vise versa. I have had back-and-forth conversations on Twitter, but wasn't aware of actual Twitter chats. I think I would like to try the Teachers College Reading Writing Project chat, the 2nd grade chat, or the BrainPop chat. I would love to collaborate with teachers whom I don't know and most likely don't live near me. I think it would only benefit my knowledge and help me to reflect.

I also found making an Office Mix very interesting. It was actually way easier and more user-friendly than I anticipated it to be! I really liked the feature of deleting the recordings for just the particular slide you were on. The first time I messed up, I thought I was going to have to start all over. I think that next time I may want to try making a mix on a computer with a less-sensitive microphone. The microphone on my laptop picked up EVERYTHING! Slight movements I made, or even the clicking sound of my mouse moving to the next slide were picked up. I will have to figure out next time how to lessen the background noise.

I definitely think Mix would be beneficial for my parents. If I made a presentation for parents to listen to, like the Curriculum Night mix I posted, it may make them feel more at-ease with the information, as well as be more accommodating to their schedules if they aren't able to make it to the event.

EDTC 6433-What I learned, Week 2: Digital Citizenship

I really enjoyed this week's learnings! Last week I felt a little discouraged knowing I didn't have enough computers for my class to use at once. This week, however, I feel as though I left with a few tools in my "tool belt" because many of the lessons can be accessed whole-group. I loved that there was a free Brain Pop online etiquette video. I plan on showing both that and the Brain Pop Jr video on internet safety in my classroom. My students LOVE the robot Moby, so I know it will help them to be engaged!

The learning and teaching of Digital Citizenship impacts my teaching because children are living in a world that has an amazing amount of access to technology. Because of this, it is important that they learn how to stay safe, navigate properly, and be respectful online. As they enter into 3rd grade and are accessing so much online to help prepare for the SBA tests, it is important that I help to prepare them for the online world.

EDTC 6433-What I learned, Week 1: Overview, Self-Assessment, ISTE Standards

New learnings for the week include reading and reflecting upon the ITSE standards vs the LWSD technology standards. I had never heard of the ITSE standards, and am curious if our district used this as a framework to create their own standards. Is ITSE more of a general guideline? The LWSD standards seem more specific. For example, they mention specific programs that teachers should be using with their students (e.g. Microsoft Office), whereas the ITSE standards mention "a variety of tools."

This learning impacts my teaching by making me more aware of the ever-growing use of technology in schools. It still amazes me! I don't think I started typing on a computer in school until I was in middle school. Now, there are (basic) typing standards for as early as 1st grade! It makes me think about the importance of our school district providing 1:1 netbooks for students so that they can reach these standards and be more successful on digital standardized testing.

Another component of this first week was taking the self-assessment. It was good to be honest while reflecting, however, it made me realize how little my students are able to individually access technology when they don't have the means to do so! Although we use a lot of technology whole group, there isn't many opportunities given for my students to access classroom technology individually when they have to share 6 netbooks among 20 students.