In Alan November's video Who Owns Student Learning, I must agree that it takes much more skill to move past transferring knowledge simply. My own educational experiences reflect this teacher owned teaching model. During my teaching experiences, I have tried different techniques such as Personalized Learning and the Flipped Classroom. Both methods are research-backed and show significant student ownership and growth, but I would receive an abundance of push back from parents saying, "THIS IS NOT TEACHING!" or hear students state, "THEY ARE NOT TEACHING ME!" The skill that Alan November speaks of suggests intertwining teacher and student ownership. Empowering the students is a skill that requires educating the parents on the importance too.
I began to chuckle when Alan November spoke about Google and searching. Welcome to middle school research! I cannot agree more with him, and I immediately thought of my advanced classes. I believe this has led to a conundrum in our advanced courses. They have been watered down with students who can follow directions and have become very good at getting the "A on the Iran Hostage Paper" but may not have the critical thinking skills when presented with a non-google question. A common misconception I have experienced with parents when their student does not get an A grade. They still think back to their days in school when the traditional direct instruction model occurred much of the time, and they had to memorize facts for regurgitation. I recently had a parent question their student's grade on a project. They had to research information to create a product to educate others on the importance of a life process and how you could improve or hurt the process. The parent argued. "The student explained the process and what it was. Why do they need to do more for an A?" They did not understand the importance of the student applying what they have learned by "designing their own questions," as Alan November suggests, and answering them with their product.
The tools I look most forward to learning about are Visual Literacy Tools and Tools to Support Productivity and Accessibility. About a third of the students at my school speak a second language. These seem to be what could have the most immediate impact. A major assignment is to work with an ELL student, so I am excited to see how they can support them.
My first two years teaching were in Henry County at a school that used overhead projectors. I never thought when I began teaching eight years ago that I would buy a Vis-A-Vis marker. I was the Technology Committee Chair. I wrote the BYLD Plan for the school. However, I did not use many Web 2.0 tools at all there. The primary tool I used there was eduCanon, which allowed you to embed questions into a video. I have used more Web 2.0 tools since I moved to Cherokee County in 2014 to a 1:1 school. I have more opportunities to use Web 2.0 tools. I enjoy using three tools to support the diverse learners at my school: Nearpod, Flipgrid, and Minecraft. The non-English speakers I have can use the draw function in Nearpod to draw pictures instead of words. Flipgrid helps me get more from the students because they love talking. They give greater detail verbally in most cases. For projects, I enjoyed Minecraft. It is enjoyable to see the worlds they can build and their excitement to show what they made.
My initial thoughts of Web 2.0 tools at a 1:1 school is to try using them as much as possible. They tend to be easily adapted by the students who were born into the 21st century. Students expect to use technology and want to, but it needs to empower them to do more. By giving the students assignments with Web 2.0 tools, I can see the shift of Empowering Students more and more in my room. The students enjoy being in my classes more when we use web 2.0 tools. They find it fun and stay engaged.
References:
November, A. [The Brainwaves Video Anthology]. (2014, May 5). Alan November - Who Owns the Learning? Preparing Students for Success in the Digital Age [Video] YouTube. https://youtu.be/NOAIxIBeT90
I began to chuckle when Alan November spoke about Google and searching. Welcome to middle school research! I cannot agree more with him, and I immediately thought of my advanced classes. I believe this has led to a conundrum in our advanced courses. They have been watered down with students who can follow directions and have become very good at getting the "A on the Iran Hostage Paper" but may not have the critical thinking skills when presented with a non-google question. A common misconception I have experienced with parents when their student does not get an A grade. They still think back to their days in school when the traditional direct instruction model occurred much of the time, and they had to memorize facts for regurgitation. I recently had a parent question their student's grade on a project. They had to research information to create a product to educate others on the importance of a life process and how you could improve or hurt the process. The parent argued. "The student explained the process and what it was. Why do they need to do more for an A?" They did not understand the importance of the student applying what they have learned by "designing their own questions," as Alan November suggests, and answering them with their product.
The tools I look most forward to learning about are Visual Literacy Tools and Tools to Support Productivity and Accessibility. About a third of the students at my school speak a second language. These seem to be what could have the most immediate impact. A major assignment is to work with an ELL student, so I am excited to see how they can support them.
My first two years teaching were in Henry County at a school that used overhead projectors. I never thought when I began teaching eight years ago that I would buy a Vis-A-Vis marker. I was the Technology Committee Chair. I wrote the BYLD Plan for the school. However, I did not use many Web 2.0 tools at all there. The primary tool I used there was eduCanon, which allowed you to embed questions into a video. I have used more Web 2.0 tools since I moved to Cherokee County in 2014 to a 1:1 school. I have more opportunities to use Web 2.0 tools. I enjoy using three tools to support the diverse learners at my school: Nearpod, Flipgrid, and Minecraft. The non-English speakers I have can use the draw function in Nearpod to draw pictures instead of words. Flipgrid helps me get more from the students because they love talking. They give greater detail verbally in most cases. For projects, I enjoyed Minecraft. It is enjoyable to see the worlds they can build and their excitement to show what they made.
My initial thoughts of Web 2.0 tools at a 1:1 school is to try using them as much as possible. They tend to be easily adapted by the students who were born into the 21st century. Students expect to use technology and want to, but it needs to empower them to do more. By giving the students assignments with Web 2.0 tools, I can see the shift of Empowering Students more and more in my room. The students enjoy being in my classes more when we use web 2.0 tools. They find it fun and stay engaged.
References:
November, A. [The Brainwaves Video Anthology]. (2014, May 5). Alan November - Who Owns the Learning? Preparing Students for Success in the Digital Age [Video] YouTube. https://youtu.be/NOAIxIBeT90