Blog 8

What technologies are available to facilitate general pedagogy?

Of course the technologies that we talked about in class are applicable here:

Digital stories, educreations, infographics, podcasts, websites, ebooks, and more. Each one can be used to help with different subjects. There's class craft and class dojo to help with management as well.

What content-specific technologies are available to promote better understanding and engagement?

There are specific websites that are geared toward certain topics that can be used. There's also youtube videos that have been created with specific content in mind. Many apps have been made particularly for math, reading, and even cursive.

Really, it all depends on how the teacher uses the technology and how they expect their students to use the technology. It can all be used to help students become more engaged and have an increased understanding of content.

Blog 7

How can technology be used for presentation of content and assessment of learning?

There are many ways to use technology to present content and to assess students' learning. There is always the "death by powerpoint" method. Of course, now that I know about Nearpod that should make it so that my students are only "mostly dead".

I really like the idea of presenting information using the same technology that I want my students to use so that I can assess their understanding. In other words, I could create a digital story about Native Americans and show this digital story to my students to introduce them to my Native Americans unit. Then I can have the students create their own digital stories at the end of the unit about the Native Americans.

How can you implement project-based, authentic, technology-based assessment and still prepare students for standardized testing?

I feel that by making sure that I have instructed my students using the standards that have been set by the state, then I will be preparing them for standardized testing. Sure, using totally awesome authentic tools is completely different than the dry, boring standardized testing but.....

So, I guess the way that I'll prepare them for the standardized testing is by including the standards in my teaching. I'll prepare them by making sure they take some dry, boring tests in my class. I'll prepare them by making some practice tests using SAGE. Thank goodness they have that feature. However...I'll prepare them for LIFE by including fun, authentic learning opportunities. (And I really believe that these opportunities will help prepare them for standardized testing as well.)

Blog 6

What state and national standards should be considered in your scope and sequence? 

In my personal scope and sequence, the state and national standards that should be included are the 4th grade social studies core standards. I also need to include the Utah technology standards for 3-5 grades and the ITSE standards for students. In addition to those standards, I am looking at the ELA and the Math standards. I want to integrate them into my lessons as much as possible. It was interesting, because I actually wasn't really thinking about how to incorporate Math into Social Studies, but I mentioned what I was doing with my 4th grade team today and one of them suggested that I look at the math standards and see which of those standards I'd be able to include. I won't be able to include every ELA and Math standard. I'm not completely sure that I'll be able to include every technology standard either. I feel that because I am focusing on Social Studies and I've created the Global Objective and Essential Questions with Social Studies in mind, I will only be including the ELA, Math, and Technology standards that will help my students obtain the objective and answer the questions.

How will you model digital ethics and responsibility, and how will those skills be incorporated into your scope and sequence?

In my opinion, I think that digital ethics and responsibility should be a different scope and sequence. It feels like a different topic all together. That's not to say that I wouldn't remind students of their digital responsibilities whenever we're going to use technology. So, let me put this a little more bluntly because that's how I roll. ;) I would teach digital ethics and responsibilities as separate lessons, then I would remind students of those lessons before using technology during Social Studies. I really liked the Netsmartz website that we looked at in class. I think that I could use that to help me teach digital ethics and responsibilities.

Blog 5

How can technology be woven throughout the scope and sequence of a course?

I've really enjoyed the refresher course on Backwards Design. It's so easy to fall into the trap of just accepting what the teachers before you have done. By using the Backwards Design model I feel that the overall global question, and the key questions for each Unit, can really guide a teacher in deciding what technologies to include in each of his/her lessons.

Teachers need to have a good idea of where they're going in order to choose the right technology to help them get there. They also need to have a good idea of what technology would be best for each lesson. Sometimes technology isn't necessary and could actually hurt the lesson.

How can both general pedagogical and content-specific technologies be utilized effectively throughout a course?

One way that both pedagogical and content-specific technologies could be utilized would be through a flipped classroom. I also think that just creating videos for the students to watch to review what they've learned is a good way. Or having the students create the videos!

Really, it all depends on the teacher. The technology can be utilized if the teacher is willing to give up some control and let the class be more student-led.

Honestly, I feel that I'm still learning about this. I'm just starting to seriously weave technology through this scope and sequence for our class. I use technology everyday, but not with such purpose.

Blog 4

What is the difference between technology in education and educational technology?

Technology in Education

Educational Technology

*When teachers use tools to supplement what they are already teaching. *Leans more toward standardization in that the teacher tells the students which program to use and how to use it. The teacher sets up specific parameters and only allows the students to work within those parameters. For example, the teacher may want to supplement a lesson with a math game that is found on the internet. Rather than letting a student that understands the concept continue on and learn something new, that student must continue to practice what they are already proficient at, because that is what the rest of the class is doing. *According to Disrupting Class technology in education is basically what teachers have been doing ever since the big push to put computers in schools. *Teacher-centered. For example, when a teacher creates a podcast to review the lecture for the day.

*When technology replaces what the teacher was teaching. *Leans more toward modularity. For example, rather than the teacher focusing on teaching a lesson in one particular way, the students could be using educational technology which could teach in several different formats that could fit the child’s needs. It has a better capability of slowing down or speeding up the lessons according to the child’s readiness. *The author of Disrupting Class argues that one of the best forms of educational technology would be online learning. This is essentially going to school online. *Student-centered. For example, when a student creates a podcast based on an article they wrote.

What is TPACK and how does it help us better understand the role and impact of technology?

TPACK is when pedagogy, content, and technology come together. I'm totally stealing a page out of Michelle's book and using an image that I found online because I feel that it explains TPACK perfectly for me. :)

Pedagogy, content, and technology are all essential elements for TPACK. To me having TPACK is what educational technology is. On the other hand, technology in education is when pedagogy or content are missing. The teacher is trying to incorporate technology into his/her curriculum, but they are skipping key ingredients.

I really liked the Venn Diagram that we created in class that listed several tools that we use with pedagogy, content, and technology. When it came to actually bringing all of these elements together the tools were very student-centered, such as blogging, webquests, podcasting, flipped classroom, etc.

Blog 3

How has technology been used in education?

For the most part I believe that technology has been used in education to enhance what teachers have already been doing. For example, the smart board is mostly used by teachers as a glorified white board. I myself use technology a LOT for enhancing my lessons. I use my iPad and AppleTV to project the math work on the board and then walk around my classroom to help my students with the work. Occasionally I let the students write on the iPad to demonstrate to their peers how they solved a particular problem.

How should it be used in the future?

I feel that continuing to use technology to enhance our lessons is still a good idea. We should also start looking towards using it to "redefine" our lessons. For example, rather than writing an article about a specific research topic, we can ask students to create a video of the topic. I don't believe that technology should replace everything we do in the classroom. However, I know that we can be creative and use it to help our students to understand concepts that they might not without it, become more engaged, and relate what they're learning to the real world.

Week 2

What does it mean to be a Teacher-Leader?

I feel that this little comic strip really illustrates what I initially thought a teacher-leader was. I believed that a teacher-leader was someone that had to try new things, even if they didn't want to. I felt that eventually they were juggling so many things, that they get a little bogged down. I still believe that teacher-leaders are people that are willing to try new things, but I also feel that there is more to it than that.

Teacher-leaders are:

To be a teacher-leader means to inspire other teachers to try new things, to be motivated, to continue to learn, to share what we've learned, and more. It means to help other teachers see that there are many possibilities and that they are completely capable of accomplishing their goals.

Why is teacher-leadership so important with regard to educational technology?

Teacher-leaders can help other teachers become more comfortable with using technology. They can inspire other teachers to incorporate technology into their school days. They can be creative and use technology to encourage their students to be more engaged in their studies.

My team of fourth-grade teachers is fantastic! I love working with them and learning from them! Each one is a teacher-leader in her own way. I feel that I am more the teacher-leader when it comes to technology. Each of the teachers on my team are uncomfortable when it comes to using technology. I know that I can help them feel more comfortable with it, and use it to help their lessons. Sometimes, I can just help them to use it to make their lives a little easier.