Begining at the End: Reflections on Learning

As I look at the past seven weeks in this course, I realize I have come a long way, technologically speaking.  I am walking away with a quiver that has many more technological arrows: VoiceThread, Lucid Chart, and Jay Cut to name a few.  At the same time, I have discovered new ways to use all of those “old technologies” in new ways.  For example, I have learned how to take PowerPoint off the screen at the front of the class and place into the hands of the students, allowing them to direct their own learning.  Beyond the tools themselves, I have learned about the theories behind their application.  For the first time in my career, I actually understand the accepted learning theories of the day enough to apply those findings to my classroom in a way that is transforming my teaching.  In the following blog, I would like to discuss several of these revelations and explain how they will affect my classroom.

After studying each learning theory in depth, I believe that there is not one clear winner.  By this, I mean that each learning theory, from Behaviorism to Connectivism, has pieces that are essential to any modern classroom.  To expand further, I do not believe a teacher can be successful by relying on just one of these theories.  If I only used Behaviorism in my classroom, I believe students would not only be missing valuable learning, but they would rebel at a structure that does not match everyday life.  On the opposite side of the spectrum, I do not believe a classroom can run strictly on Social Constructionism, as there is a time and a place for working on something alone.  Therefore, I see my own classroom as cycling through all of the learning theories we have discussed, as they all have value at different times.

That being said, if I had to choose the one that I rely on the most, it would have to be Constructionism proper.  Although I do not believe you can run a class using only this theory, I see great power in building upon your own knowledge in a way specific to you.  I believe there is a lot of power in creating a “tangible” finished product that you can be proud of and share with others.  This is reflected in my decision to integrate technology that allows students the ability to create and share their work.  It has also been beneficial to understand the learning theory behind various pieces of technology as this seems to make the tools purpose clearer to me, and therefore, my students.
 

This has created a paradigm shift in my instructional practice.  I have always felt that technology integration is essential in a modern classroom.  However, I let the technology dictate the learning strategy and guide instruction.  I now realize that this could be akin to a hammer guiding a carpenter; it just does not make sense.  My new plan is to select the learning strategy that will give my students the best chance at learning the information.  I will then determine what the best piece of technology is and how it should be used to target that strategy.

As previously mentioned, I feel as if I have a lot more technological tools to work with.  This is not only in breadth but also in depth.  In other words, I not only learned about new software, but also how to use the ones I already relied on in different, much deeper, ways.  One type of technological tool I would like to implement into my classroom has to do with concept mapping.  I have often used concept maps on paper.  However, this always has me in the driver’s seat and students simply filling out a worksheet.  I have now seen the power of software like Lucid Chart and Spider Scribe and can see how students could benefit from creating their graphic organizers.  I am also interested in the concept mapping presentation program Prezi and cannot wait to put it into the hands of my students.

 

A second set of technology I would like to get my students into is that of video creation.  Looking at websites like YouTube, this seems to be a trend that is not going away.  In terms of actual implementation, I think that the first step is to create some stop animation films using digital cameras.  In this way, students can think more about what they are doing while creating their artifact.  It will also give us a chance to get our feet wet with online editing software like Jay Cut before moving into actual footage.  I believe this type of technology not only increases engagement, but increases learning.

This all sounds great on paper, but how am I actually going to start getting all of this into my classroom?  I have come up with two long-term goals to help me with both the pedagogical and technological aspects of changing my teaching.  The first has to do with Marzano’s Nine Researched-based instructional strategies.  If the research is correct, and these strategies really do show as much growth as they claim, then they should be prevalent in my classroom.  However, as we have been warned, no one should try to implement all of them at once, as we will get overwhelmed and gain no mastery.  Therefore, I have chosen two of the strategies to focus on in my teaching: 1) Identifying similarities and differences and 2) Creating non-linguistic representations.  My first long-term goal will be to be intentional about implementing at least one of these every week during the next year.  This also means researching new ways and new technology that allows me to incorporate them into my classroom.

 

A second long-term goal has to do more directly with technology.  During the next year, I will implement technology at least once a week.  In defining the technology tool, I would like to make it clear that this does not mean I use PowerPoint in front of the class.  This means that the technology is used as a learning tool in the hands of the students.  If this goal matches with the previous goal then I believe that is even better. 

By posting these two goals on the wall in my classroom, I plan to follow through with them not just because I said I would, but because I feel that they will actually make a difference in my teaching and my student’s learning.  I also feel that their integration into my weekly planning will reinforce the learning theories and learning strategies that we have looked at over these past few weeks.  In addition, I hope that their implementation will allow me to add even more technological tools to my already expanded repertoire.  Now I guess it is time to stop writing about it and go do it!

Jigsaw Blogging

Recently, I have been looking into how to use blogs in my classroom. Through my master’s class at Walden University I have been introduced to several great resources to help get those creative juices flowing. At first, it sounds great to just jump into the computer lab and have students start blogging. However, Kathy Martin (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010), makes an excellent case for scaffolding the blogging process before jumping directly into the collaborative process. She discusses how students may seem familiar with “collaboration” through sites like Facebook, but how that is more of a journaling process. It takes practice to get students to realize the difference between “OMG ur post wz awesum,” and the formal language we expect in a classroom setting.

Taking this into consideration I believe blogging would be a great platform for a jigsaw activity. In my high school biology classroom, especially my honors group, I try to maintain relevance by using current articles and research related to the content we are covering. In a traditional jigsaw, students are placed in groups of usually four to six students. From here they break up into assigned groups to read and discuss a specific article, topic, or research project. After mastering understanding they return to their original group to summarize, respond, and teach what they have learned. Each student becomes a key piece of the puzzle. In theory jigsaw sounds great, however factors such as time, shyness, and lack of discussion are always an issue in getting the most out of the activity.

I believe that using blogs would be a great way to overcome many of the issues associated with jigsaws and help take students to a higher level of learning. You could set up the activity in the same manner as before, except it would be easier to do since you can simply link the resources rather than print copies. A blog group could be set up specifically for this assignment, or student blogs previously set up could be used. If the latter is the case students would need the names and links of the individuals in the group. It would work best to require an initial post to establish understanding of the content we are learning, for example natural selection. From here students would decide who is going to take on each piece and work individually read and research accordingly. Their second post would include a summary of their research and how it applies to the content we are covering.

Already, students will have breached many of the problems associated with standard peer-to-peer interaction. As an example, Richardson (2010) discusses how: “A blog gives them the opportunity to share in writing the ideas they may be too shy to speak” (p. 27). Students will also be able to re-read a summary if clarification is needed. However, the real power of using a blog comes in with the responses to these initial posts. Students will be asked to respond to their group member’s posts, adding in their thoughts about how that fits (or does not) to what we are studying. They will also be asked to make connections between what they studied and what their group members studied. Blogging will not only help them get over certain social obstacles, but allow for deeper connections and understanding in a way that would be difficult to reproduce offline. Finally, there is the hope of outside input. Even though students are working in set groups, their thoughts and summaries are online for anyone else to read and respond to.

I look forward to further thoughts, ideas, and questions.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). Blogging in the classroom [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.

Computer or the Egg

As we look at technology and its effects on society throughout the ages we see a general trend. Generally, a need is met by some form of technology, whether by study or by accident. This new technology improves the productivity of a group and therefore becomes mainstay, however rudimentary its origins are. It appears to me that the larger the society the more technology they are able to use and produce, stemming from the fact that a larger society will allow for more “free time” (in terms of agriculture, etc.) to work on such devices.

As we draw nearer to the present, the speed at which technology arrives has increased. In a sense, we see technology beget technology. In the past, technologies were a matter of survival or toys for a wealthy minority; it has now become mainstream. As we have entered into what Alvin Toffler (Laureate Education, Inc., 2011) called the Information Age the pace of technology has actually overcome the needs of society. We have switched from a time where a need created a technology to a point where technology creates a need. A large part of this comes from the capitalistic society we have created. Advertising is key, with companies convincing us that we cannot live without certain pieces of technology. This hunger for the latest and greatest simply feeds the creative minds pushing it. Inventors rarely stumble across a new technology, rather they are racing to discover and create it, funded by the corporations work for.

Look at all of the technologies in our lives that really are not necessities, yet people would laugh at you without. Microwaves for example are just considered a mandatory piece of the house. The same goes for dishwashers and refrigerators. Televisions have entire rooms designed around them. Planning for power, phone, cable, and Ethernet ports is an essential part of building a new home. This past year I was amazed, while registering for a new baby, how much stuff we “have to have” to raise a child. But this “have to” is driven by want and not necessarily by need. Could a child be raised without a Diaper Genie and Baby Bjorn? Yes, but it is so much more convenient if it is available.

As educators we must realize this trend. Technologies we grew up with in the classroom are no longer “wow factors” in lesson plans. Students are weaving technologies more and more into the fabric of their lives. Things our parents could not have dreamed of are becoming every day necessities in the mind of the children we teach. We cannot keep technology out of our classroom in the same way that our grandparents could not keep rock and roll off of the radio. As technology now drags us forward and we are told daily that we “need” the latest and greatest, we must remember that students are that much more immersed in this culture. We need to integrate these technologies into our classrooms not just to keep them relevant, but because they are becoming part of everyday life. Education as we know it is like a shark, if it does not keep swimming, it may die.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2010). The third wave [DVD]. Understanding the impact of technology on education, work, and society. Baltimore, MD: Author.