Week 13 and 14 Reflection

This week I partnered with a classmate to practice facilitating my lesson online. Together we were a tad confused about the expectations for the course's final assignment. After collaborating and discussing the instructions posted we concluded that for the final assignment we must create a mock environment where we demonstrate our abilities to effectively navigate our lesson. For me, this will come in the form of intervention. I intend to have a student of mine log on to Google hangouts and ask potential questions about the assignment. At that point I will demonstrate my abilities to communicate and guide a student in an online environment.

Originally, my partner and I wanted to use Yugma. However, between my Mac and her PC we struggled to get the device to work. As a result, we both decided to experiment with Google hangouts. We realized that neither of us had truly spent time learning how to navigate this communication device before. We had been exposed to Google Plus in 501, but this gave us an opportunity to share our screens and practice facilitating the engagement of our lessons. I appreciate the opportunity to practice because it exposed areas that I need to improve upon when troubleshooting and presenting a lesson to a student. It also gave me confidence in my ability to effectively teach in an online environment.

Week 12 Reflection

It is hard to classify myself as teacher-centered or student-centered as I feel I tend to dabble in both equally. I believe that good teaching maintains a healthy balance of the two. Some items require direct instruction and there is no other way around it. Other times content could be better taught and affirmed through more engaging lessons and activities.

That said, this course and others in the EDTECH program have really challenged me to consider how I will go about creating a more student-centered learning environment online. Below is a list of lesson activities that pertain to the English content area and would be suitable for live meetings:

1. Interviews- Students could conduct interviews with peers to practice for jobs, help build class culture, etc.
2. Peer Review- Students can collaborate to review one another’s work using various tools that would allow them to teach each other.
3. Role Playing- Students could engage in drama or demonstrate understanding of things like dialect by acting them out and practicing creating the elements highlighted by the teacher.
4. Collaborative Concept Mapping- Students can use various digital tools to develop visual representations of their understanding of content.
5. Digital Presentations- Students could take all of their researched information and build group presentations through things such as Prezi or Google Slides.
6. Guest Speakers- In a video conference format, the teacher could invite a guest speaker to share with the class.
7. Discussion- This can be formal or informal, but students could have a live debate, seminar, question-answer time, etc. to facilitate academic conversation.

These are just a few activities that could be employed during live meetings. I believe there are an abundance of options, but these seven lay some foundation for future discussion.

Week 11 Reflection

In reviewing my lesson I believe that I meet all the requirements for an asynchronous lesson. Initially I was a little confused as to how to incorporate a screen castor video that logically aided student engagement in the lesson; however, once I decided to incorporate a video that gave an overview of the lesson I felt more confident in my finished product.  

The primary objective in this lesson is for students to collect information in order to build a synthesized, educated opinion of the modern American dream. Doing so requires analyzing, evaluating, researching, and many other components aligned with the ELA Common Core Standards. The digital tools used (i.e. Google Docs, Prezi, Google Plus, and mind mapping devices) all act as a means of helping students build digital literacy while simultaneously teaching the targeted skills for mastery in ninth grade English.

This lesson could be classified as a jigsaw activity, thus organizing student participation takes serious planning.  The focus standards I selected are addressed in following ways:

• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.2- Students determine central ideas and supporting evidence in their initial analysis of a decade article and using the annotation sheet. This also takes place with their viewing of other groups’ Prezis.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.9-10.8- Students must evaluate the arguments of others when they collaborate on their Prezi and discuss their understanding with group members. They also delineate an argument when they view group Prezis to help create their mind map.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.2- Students practice informative writing by developing their Prezi presentations and demonstrating their understanding of information.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.9-10.9- Via the Prezi and the mind map students are required to analyze, reflect, and research in order to develop an educated opinion and understanding of the material.
• CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.9-10.1- Students are given multiple opportunities to engage in collaborative discussion in an online community in order to refine their perspectives, practice clear expression, and engage in appropriate communication skills. This takes place in their use of Google Plus and their collaborative group Prezis.

While much effort was put into ensuring this lesson met the desired standards, I also put a lot of thought into how to create my lesson so that it would meet the needs of the various learning styles. The problem with this is that, at times, I focus so much on meeting ALL needs that I can complicate the lesson. In many ways I am my own worst critic when it comes to this. While the goal is to meet all learning needs, in some lessons it simply isn’t possible. Thus, I believe it is about finding the healthy balance of learning activities throughout the scope of the entire course. In this lesson students can watch videos, read information, or listen to resources in order to engage in the lesson.

I also feel that my assessments all accurately assess the standards I am trying to address in this lesson. The assessments offer students an outlet for creativity and some give them choices so they can select a means of expressing their knowledge in a manner that aligns with their specific learning style. The activities building up to each assessment are manageable for all students.

There is always room for improvement however. I believe that one of the ways I can do this is by offering more diverse choices for ALL of the activities used to build student understanding. In addition, it would be nice to create even more of a range for offering instruction.

Week 9 Reflection

This question has really challenged be to evaluate how I go about teaching. I realize that I am very much a visual learner, but at the same time benefit from the kinesthetic approach to learning as well. That said the below are suggested strategies for visual learners:

1. Video Tutorials- these allow individuals to walk through the process with guided instruction, but also incorporates hands-on learning. For example, in EDTECH 502 we were asked to create several Web pages using Dreamweaver. I benefited grately from the 30 minute videos each week that directed me in each step. Being able to see the icons I should be clicking, or what my page should look like when finished, helped me to self-assess my work.
2. Fill in the blank handouts- Another tool that can be used is to have handouts set-up with purposeful blanks left. This would allow students to look at the entire page of notes and visually fill in the gaps as they listen to a presentation. It would engage them since they are actively visualizing how to fill in gaps, while also increase their interest in listening as they need the answers to complete the handout.
3. Digital presentations- Instead of using traditional Powerpoints use more modern presentation tools such as Prezi, Google Slides, SlideRocket, etc. (a more comprehensive list can be found on this blog). All of these are engaging and captivate the interest of visual learners.
4. Mindmaps/Webbing/Pre-writing strategies- These are ways to which students can create a visual representation of their thoughts and ideas. It would also provide students with direction for their writing. Many students are intimidated by the writing process, but being able to organize their thoughts beforehand would provide a road map and allow for more effective revision.

The assessment proved that I was heavily dependent on visual and kinesthetic activities, but it was clear that I am definitely not an auditory learner. Thus, it became important that I explore the strategies that would be most beneficial to auditory learners. Below are some of the strategies that I think would be effective.

1. Podcasts would allow students to listen to content and absorb what they hear. The other benefit is that podcasts reach across a wide range of genres from politics to religion to comedy. Thus, they can serve educational needs while also offering entertainment and pleasure as well.
2. Audiobooks- Instead of reading, many people have taken to audiobooks. Not only do they compliment the strengths of the auditory learner, but they are mobile and can be played anywhere from the classroom, the car, or even from an iPod being used during exercise.
3. Audio Presentation tools- VoiceThread, Audacity, Youtube, AdobeVoice, etc. are all resources that record the individual's voice in alignment with a presentation. These tools present the learner yet another opportunity to hear the material as opposed to just looking at it and being forced to engage in visual learning.
4. Oral assessments- This would require creativity, but could involve a system where questions are read out-loud for students. Moreover, students might give their responses to questions orally and offer teachers the opportunity to assess knowledge through verbal presentation of material.

One of the most difficult aspects of teaching is figuring out how to meet the needs of all students. Each is uniquely created and designed, thus differentiating instruction is essential in order to help all the learn. At times the task seems impossible and extremely daunting, but evaluating resources and experience combine to make a better teacher that can reach learners through a variety of modalities.

Week 8 Reflection

I am pleasantly surprised that the INACOL standards align with the standards that any good teacher should expect to achieve in the classroom. In reviewing these standards I believe that standard D maintains the most importance. The standard reads that, “The online teacher promotes student success through clear expectations, prompt responses, and regular feedback.”  This standard holds such great significance because teachers must be constantly setting the bar high for student achievement. If students are provided quality feedback and asked to turn in quality work then they will find themselves successful in the classroom. I don’t believe there are any standards that can’t be transferred to the traditional teaching setting. All standards reflect the expectations for quality teaching, except these standards pertain more specifically to the online environment.

In the readings this week I felt I was exposed to a plethora of potential digital resources. I continue to toy with the concept of blended learning, but found myself particularly engaged in the Discovery Education site. The topics/lesson plans available are all relevant and applicable to the classroom. I was particularly challenged to figure out how I could take the traditional classroom (to which I teach) and push students to participate in an online learning community.

Thus, I began researching different avenues for creating a virtual lesson that would logistically pan out with my limited available to digital devices. I’ve always been fascinated and thankful for the lesson plans posted by the New York Times. All of the lessons are current, relevant, and most fit into the pedagogy of my classroom design. However, majority of these lessons are catered to the traditional classroom setting and don’t involve using technology. My challenge has been to take these traditional lessons and transform them to incorporate technology. This week I was encouraged to do this yet again. I’ve played with Prezi, Edmodo, and Google Plus, but the lesson plan I created really pushed me to coordinate and figure out how I could logistically use it in my classroom to develop a learning opportunity that is fully online. My goal has been to develop something that would be completely virtual and would logistically work out. I will be putting this lesson into practice tomorrow, and after seeing it play out I will be able to assess the lesson’s value more accurately.

Week 6 & 7 Reflection

In continuing to reflect on the facilitated chat/discussion I have two primary mediums I would like to discuss. First, I initially signed up for SlideShare for my online community building activity, and I expressed my frustration with the site. As a result, I decided to spend more time building my knowledge and skills for using Edmodo, this is a resource I currently use in my classroom and want to get better at using. In this reflection I have also considered my experience in the Diamond group where we developed classroom expectations in the online environment

My experience with both Edmodo and the Diamond group have enabled me to attempt new things in my traditional. Over the course of the last few weeks I have asked my students to participate in online discussions using Edmodo. I posted a series of articles and for each article students were to annotate in alignment with a specific Common Core standard we have been working on. In conjunction, students were given a controversial question attached to the article. Students were to post their thoughts (citing textual evidence) on Edmodo.

I saw similar advantages to what I experienced in the netiquette discussion. My students were exposed to diverse opinions, challenged to think beyond their comfort zone, and forced to sharpen their communication skills.

However, I saw more downfalls. The first being that the class size was not ideal for such a discussion. With 35 plus students in each class it became difficult for students to engage in healthy conversation when so many people were responding. In addition, students had very little experience with netiquette for the online setting. Responses weren’t inappropriate, but students quickly strayed away from the topic.

The big thing I saw was that the physical teacher presence isn’t necessary for student learning and appropriate discussion; however, the teacher presence is extremely beneficial in facilitating. I see so much value in having conversation face-to-face and being able to speak in the moment. In all honesty, I’m not sure where I plan to go from this point in helping my class engage in online discussion, but I do know I am open and ready for new experience. Thus, I really appreciate the resources, challenges, and opportunities being offered in 521.

Week 4 Reflection

I decided to join SlideShare for my online community building. SlideShare appealed to me because I often use Prezi to present information in class. It is a taxing task to always create digital presentations, so often I do a simple Google search for Prezi’s relating to a given topic. I then find Prezi’s that follow the structure I like, and may or may not have information similar to what I desire to present to my class. I make a copy of the presentation and then begin to edit the content to fit my needs. SlideShare acts as an additional resource for finding presentations related to my subject area as well.

I made my first attempt at using SlideShare this past week. I’m currently teaching theme and using the five elements of plot structure to help students analyze theme. I began searching on SlideShare and attempted to find a variety of resources from presentations to videos to documents. I found the process somewhat frusturating. While I think SlideShare is a great resource it was created not only the education profession, but for business, marketing, arts and a plethora of other realms. While I can select education as a filter it doesn’t allow me to narrow my search for theme within the education filter (or at least that was my experience). Thus, narrowing down SlideShares that are actually beneficial to the specifics of what I am teaching was a challenge. Also, I think there are other presentation tools that are more appealing, interactive, and engaging. While SlideShare is effective I'm not sure it is the best fit for me.

What I did find beneficial in becoming a member of SlideShare is that in the browsing process I found myself exposed to a wide range of new ideas and teaching resources. I think my original thought was that SlideShare would act as a resource in terms of classroom lesson materials; however, I found that this was actually helpful in that there are tons of slides posted to help teachers become better teachers. One in particular that interested me was a presentation on closing the race gap. Conclusions were made that helped me contextualize how I might achieve this in my own classroom.

Week 3 Reflection

Option 2:

Describe how you would adapt one traditional learning activity to the online environment. Include a complete description of the original activity. Describe the changes that you will incorporate to allow for successful implementation in the online environment. What tools will be needed for this activity? What scaffolding or guidance will you provide students?

Thus far the 521 course has challenged me to move to a more digitized format in terms of student participation in class. I have been fearful of making the transition because not all students have equal access to technological devices at home. What has enabled me to embrace change this year is setting up proper pacing that allows students at least one day where they can access the library to complete an assignment before it is due. The intent is that those that lack technology access at home will have time to complete all assignments. This week I intend to move two traditional learning activities to an online environment. 

The first is the creation of a digital portfolio. Normally, students create an organized folder where important assignments from the year are arranged in chronological order to create a display of the students’ work over the year. The objective is that students find pride in their work and also that the portfolio will help them to analyze their progression in writing over the course of the year. Taking what I have learned in the EDTECH program I will have students create a Blogger account that will act as their digital portfolio. The second assignment involves answering five, open-ended questions about student technology use. In the past I have simply asked students to write down their answers to questions on a blank piece of lined paper. This time around I will ask students to experiment with a new digital presentation tool, something outside of the standard Powerpoint that they are familiar with. Students will be asked to choose from GoogleSlides, Prezi, Popplet, or Mindmup. The objective is that students become familiar with how to use one of the specific devices while simultaneously answering the simple technology survey questions. When the presentation is finished students will post their presentation on their Blogger as a hyperlink. 

To complete this activity students will need a Gmail account, a Blogger account, an account with one of the digital presentation tools, and access to a digital device. There will be several scaffolds implemented to guide students in this process. This week we learned in EDTECH 521 the importance of active listening. My intent is to embrace the “LISTEN” acronym to help students better understand instructions. I believe the best way to guide students in this digitized assignment is to provide multiple exposures to the concepts and ideas through multiple modalities where students will be responsible to record their own notes. In the beginning I will provide instruction for how to complete both parts of the assignment via Edmodo. In the creation of the Blogger I will model for students using the projector and ask that they take notes on the steps for creating the account. I also intend to have students add to their Cornell Notes information they gather from the “Blogger Getting Started” page. For the second portion of the assignment I will post on the class Edmodo page video tutorials for how to use GoogleSlides, Prezi, Popplet, and Mindmup. Students will select the presentation tool of their choice and then watch the designated tutorial video to begin answering the technology survey questions. When finished students will then read the Blogger page that teaches users to create hyperlinks and add to their notes. 

My intent with these assignments is that I am able to gather information on student technology use through and engaging activity that also provides a meaningful opportunity for students to learn how to use a new digital tool. I anticipate hesitation from students, but I hope that the number of quality resources made available will help students to be self-motivated learners through technology. 

EDTECH 501 Reflections

In entering the EDTECH program I knew I was going to be challenged and I wasn't sure if the material taught would offer practical application for my classroom. I've sat through many classes over the years and found that most courses don't blend theory, methods, and application, but instead focus on hypothetical situations or scenarios. What I appreciate so much about this course is that we were exposed to a variety of methodologies, but required to experience them first hand. Expertise is cultivated through experience where trial and error is embraced. Without it we simply make assumptions that hold little credibility.

Perhaps the biggest challenge for me was adjusting to the use of APA formatting. Throughout my undergraduate degree I was required to use MLA and my school site requires that we teach MLA. It was a difficult adjustment making the transition. I often caught myself confusing the two and mixing up the distinctions that exist. It meant more time on the Purdue Owl website which at times was frustrating. Even though I thought I had the format down there were plenty of times where I had to back track and fix my errors. I felt the sample papers posted were a fabulous resource. I didn't just copy the formatted material, but rather looked at the example for guidance and used the Owl website to be sure I was following the correct format. I am also very thankful for the feedback of my small group.They graciously provided me with constructive criticism and encouragement. Their words were crucial in assuring that I felt an assignment was complete and done correctly. The whole process of using APA gave me insight into what my students must feel when they experience MLA for the first time. It humbled me in that it helped expose the struggles my students might face when I teach them about citations and parenthetical documentation. It has influenced the way I intend to teach MLA formatting this upcoming school year to best assist my students.

Despite the struggles I believe my favorite artifact was my school evaluation summary. All the other assignments were valuable as they exposed me to new technologies and offered opportunities for practice. However, the evaluation gave me a better understanding of what I can expect from my district and school site in terms of technology support, both short and long term. I also felt this was the assignment where I had to do the most digging. I talked with various members of my district to be sure I had first hand knowledge. This assignment also took the most amount of time because I was passionate about finding the most accurate information to be assessed. I didn't just want to do the assignment, but I wanted it to be meaningful and useful for my school site. I think because of my passion and desire to evaluate my school's level of technology integration I produced my best work.

While I intend to share my findings from the evaluation summary with my administrators, I also see myself using just about every tool from this class over the course of the next year. Everything from feedly to VoiceThread to Blogger to GoogleSlides. I was hoping that this course would teach me how to maximize the potential use of the technology I do have available at my school site. I intend to take the resources introduced in this course and slowly embed them into my course curriculum. For example, Socratic Seminars are already an integral part of my classroom structure. For every seminar students must come to class with an article related to the topic. I plan to introduce feedly as a means of accessing news sources and helping students find credible evidence. I will also utilize Blogger so students can develop digital portfolios. My other intention is to share these resources with my colleagues in hopes that we can begin embedding diverse technologies into the curriculum across the grade levels. There are endless possibilities of how I will use what I learned in this course throughout the school year.

Week 8- Final Project

PBL site and Self-Evaluation

1. What do you know/ understand best about Project Based Learning? What do you

understand least well? 

I understand best that Project Based Learning must hold “real world” application. If what

students are learning holds value for their lives in the future then their involvement will be more

meaningful. It is therefore the responsibility of educators to create learning opportunities where

students can develop the necessary skills for life. Developing genuine, authentic lessons that

build student knowledge, allow for repetitive practice, permit revisions, and require professional

product development are all required for success in PBLs. 

What I am still learning with PBL’s is how to best set-up the pedagogical sequence so

that each lesson builds on the next to create the culminating activity. It isn’t that I don’t

understand how to go about this process, but more that the process is time consuming and

involves tremendous thinking. When looking at the scope of the school year and what content

must be taught in association with given standards it can be very overwhelming figuring out how

to logically implement all the requirements. 

2. What did you expect to learn in this course? What did you actually learn? More, less,

and why?

To be honest I didn’t know what to expect I would learn in this course. I was simply hopeful

that what I learned in this course would be of use in my teaching and also push me to grow in my

abilities to design instruction. I am very happy to say that I find this course very applicable to my

teaching. 

What I actually learned was the ins-and-outs in creating an effective PBL. I quickly found that

PBL’s are about mastering skills and standards. They require a “team” component that requires

students to collaborate with one another and build an atmosphere that accepts peer, self, and

teacher assessment for the sake of personal growth. At the foundational level PBLs must be

driven by an essential question that guides student creativity with large themes that serve as

protective barriers in the exploration process. I also found that PBLs support the idea of setting

high expectations and scaffolding lessons to help students achieve high standards for success. 

3. What will you do with what you have learned?

I have already taken my PBL that I created and presented it to my Professional Learning

Community (PLC). My hope is that I am able to implement this unit this upcoming fall when

teaching Of Mice and Men. Moreover, my goal is to pass along many of the resources I have

been exposed to in this course to the curriculum design team. There are already so many PBLs in

existence that there is no point in recreating the wheel, so knowing where to find well-developed

and effective PBLs and supporting resources is huge. I’m hoping in the months to come I am

able to build more PBL’s that center on the core literature taught each year in 9th grade English. 

Week 6- Role of the Facilitator

In reviewing my learning log I realized I never posted my week 6 reflection. Here it is below!

1. Will my role in the teaching/learning process change?

I don’t believe my role in the teaching/learning process will change very much. My normal

teaching relies heavily on the the implementation of student-centered activities. My primary task is to

develop curriculum that allows students to be self-directed learners. I must creatively think of how to

create more manageable tasks that hold real world value and keep students engagement. These

components allow students to develop mastery learning. That mastery learning comes from hands

on/do-it-yourself (DIY) mentality of learning. I see my job in the classroom as

guiding students in the right direction, asking higher-level thinking questions to drive their

understanding, and facilitating learning. My job also requires that I assess the classroom climate to

meet the needs of all students and develop differentiation when necessary. 

2. What are the skills of effective facilitation?

Effective facilitation requires that the teacher be organized. It demands that students understand

the norms of the classroom along with the expectations of the assignment. For teachers to trust

students in collaboration students must demonstrate a level of maturity that comes through effective

teacher modeling and classroom management. I think a huge component in facilitation is allowing

students to struggle and not giving in when they simply want to be told how to do what the task

requires. I know when I feel fatigued and frustrated it is easy to fall back into the default mode of

explaining to students the steps they should take rather than guiding their thinking process. When

teachers stay patience and guide students through questioning and providing appropriate resources it

puts the responsibility of learning on the student. The road to self-discovery is often more

challenging, but the fruit produced is far more meaningful. 

3. Will the students develop the competencies and skills needed to be successful?

I believe students will develop the skills they need to be successful. The thing I like about my

PBL is that each of the formative assessments is a result of a purposeful lesson that is taught so that

students are exposed to a specific skill that will be required in the culminating activity. The goal is

that through managing the amount of information students are introduced to in each lesson that they

will develop a depth of learning. Moreover, each activity requires that students engage in critical

thinking skills and in some work with others to solve problems. As a result, students will find

themselves having to dig into the meat of the content through the application of the desired skills. It is

through application and evaluation that students find themselves engaging in higher-order thinking. 

4. What changes will you need to make in order to become an effective facilitator in your PBL

unit?

       One of the biggest changes I will need to make in my PBL is creating a list of guiding questions

for students. I think by creating a set of questions that can easily be accessed at any time to facilitate

informal, impromptu classroom discussion will allow me to be proactive in the facilitation process. 

School Evaluation Summary

This assignment was a fresh reminder of why I am enrolled in the EDTECH program. While I believe my school district is progressive in how it is attacking technology integration and support, I believe I play an important role in improving our district use of technology. My job as a teacher is to contribute to professional development and provide educated, research-based suggestions for improvement. While my district's technology plan is solid and self-evaluated frequently, something I greatly appreciate, more specific professional development needs to be put in place to assure maximum use of the technologies that are provided. It is easy to point fingers and say that more needs to be done to make room for the purchase of technologies to create a nice 1:1 or even 1:3 ratio of devices to students. However, the reality is that our school has almost 3,000 students making it difficult to build such an environment. I do believe and trust the direction my district is going and see it as my responsibility to maximize the resources that are available. 

The knowledge gained from this assignment helps me to see the areas of weakness at my school site. With these area exposed it helps me to understand the capacity to which I am able to integrate technology and what personal research I can conduct to contribute to solving these issues. It also showed me that I need to be more proactive in assisting and helping other teachers with technology integration. Most are willing to incorporate technologies, but lack the understanding of how. Taking the knowledge gained from the EDTECH program I can contribute from the ground-level by exposing my Professional Learning Community and other colleagues to the methods, strategies and tools I am learning about. 

The survey process also provided me with insight into the in-depth details of the technology plan created by my district.  I can now proactively monitor the district and my schools site's progress for technology integration. I am extremely blessed to be in a district that takes pride in all that they do. This is reflected in the development of the technology plan which reveals the districts desire to do everything possible to create a learning environment where all students can succeed in mind, body, and spirit. 

Evaluation Summary Survey

Evaluation Summary

Technology Plan

In navigating the National Center for Technology Planning Guidebook it became even more clear how essential it is to have a plan behind technology integration. There are endless options and paths schools and districts can take when considering how to best incorporate technology in the classroom. The end goal remains the same: prepare students for the real world through the application of critical thinking skills. Technology is simply a vessel used to prepare. 

It also became evident that the endless opportunities available are dependent upon student and teacher accessibility and knowledge of how to use the technology. It became evident that in order for success districts and school sites must have a comprehensive and detailed plan that includes self-evaluation in order to ensure the productivity of technology integration. Moreover, this plan must remain "broad" so as to stay flexible to the ever-evolving world of technology. 

While I looked at state plans and those developed by other districts, I was pleasantly surprised by the initiative developed by the district to which I work. Adopted in 2012 the plan is a five year plan (2012-2017). The primary objective of my district is to grow students in "mind, body, and spirit." The desire is to help students use technology to accomplish the mission laid out my the district. The in-depth plan is a lot to take in, but I believe it shows the proactive approach my district is taking. While flaws always exist I trust this plan is and will be effective. 

Clovis Unified Technology Plan 

Week 7 Reflection

I’ve stated several times throughout this semester that I am very thankful for the practical application the EDTECH 542 class provides. The fact that this course is designed to allow educators to create curriculum for their classrooms while learning new methods and teaching practices is an invaluable experience. With that said I have been very purposeful in designing my PBL because I want to be sure it is something that can be used by my 9th grade English team. In the transition to Common Core our district has moved in the direction of PBLs making this course content very applicable. Thus, my evaluation process will largely involve my PLC (Professional Learning Community).

There are four other teachers that make up my PLC team. If teachers hop on board we can implement this 4-6 week unit this coming fall as we teach Of Mice and Men. The hope is that with a diverse group of teachers, and a wide range of teaching experience, we will collectively be able to work out the cinks of this PBL while simultaneously assessing how well the assessments build student knowledge and meet the Common Core standards. I would like to monitor our PBL experience through the use of a double-entry journal for teachers. In the left hand column teachers will list the activities done in class each day and how the class was structured, essentially a rough outline of a lesson plan. On the right hand side of the journal teachers will then reflect on the aspects of the day that went well and those that need improvement. This journal will serve as the foundation for conversation after the PBL is complete. In this way we can look at what common issues surfaced or which classroom structure provided the best environment for PBL success. Assuming that time allows it, our weekly PLC meeting time can be used to analyze and compare our journal entries as we progress through the PBL. Doing this will chunk our reflection and hopefully create an opportunity for deep and meaningful analysis for how to improve the PBL as a whole.

Moreover, I have a close friend that teachers at a different school. Her school site is not nearly as diverse as mine and mostly composed of affluent white students. I have asked that she would implement this unit as well that we might compare how the PBL plays out at each of our school sites. With the data from her journal we will be able to explore how different demographics influence the productivity of the PBL.

In addition, I intend to create an evaluation form where students can provide feedback about this learning process. I hope to list each formative assessment and ask students how useful they found the assignment in preparing them for the summative assessment. I will also ask students to consider what additional skills they would like to be exposed to in the weeks leading up to the summative assessment. From the teacher’s perspective the pedagogical sequencing of a unit often makes sense; however, students might have a different perspective and hearing their voice will be key in building the PBL so it fits student needs.

The reflection process never stops. The goal would be that every time we teach we reflect and look at ways to which we can better serve our students. It is my hope that through this PBL, and the reflection that follows, that I will be able to guide my students in developing mastery learning of both Common Core standards and 21st Century Skills.

***My peer evaluation partner for this assignment was Catherine Holthaus.

Tech Trends

So much of what I appreciate about the EDTECH program is that the content of each class seems to bleed into what we are learning in other courses. In this assignment we were asked to select an educational trend to analyze. I decided to pursue what methods are being used to successfully create deeper learning. My primary objective in teaching is to see students develop complete understanding and mastery of material. If we don’t go very wide in what we learn but can create depth then I believe it teaches students the proper process for creating lasting knowledge. In choosing this topic I was excited that the content of my selected trend relates closely with EDTECH 542, which focuses on building PBLs (Project-Based Learning). In 542 I am working to build my own PBL, but what this assignment did was it provided me with the opportunity to look at the various factors that make a PBL successful.

It quickly became clear to me that in order for deeper learning to exist there must be more collaboration between teachers at my high school. We are only given 45 minutes of collaboration time per week. Our collaboration is within our content specific areas and grouped based on grade level. I believe my PLC (Professional Learning Community) works well together and has taken some steps towards implementing strategies for mastery learning. However, with such little time to collaborate our progress in this process is slow moving. 

In addition, our school has not built into its’ schedule time for teachers to collaborate across content areas. Projects built across subject matters presents students with opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of content-specific standards while under the umbrella of one project. I believe in the value of this process for students and sought to embrace it this past school year. A fellow colleague of mine teachers health and we were placed in the same “house” together. “House” is a label used to describe when teachers share the same students. In this case all of my English 9 students also took her class for health. The house system worked well as we were able to develop a project where students researched a disease and a celebrity with that disease to create a 5 page research paper. Students then created a digital presentation that highlighted the main points of their research paper. I was able to focus on MLA formatting while she graded the content. This worked great for our classes as we were able to scaffold our lessons to build student understanding on the specific standards we wanted them to master. The downfall is that not all teachers are part of houses, thus not all teachers are offered the luxury of implementing cross-curricular projects. 

This assignment helped me to better understand the importance of teacher collaboration time. The National Council for Time and Learning’s (NCTL) research offered five suggested priorities for cultivating a school environment that develops deeper learning. Of those five I can implement three as an individual teacher. I am able to make assignments meaningful, design them to maintain “real world” application, and cultivate a positive learning environment. However, without creating teacher collaboration time I lack a key ingredient that is necessary for building success in student learning. 

My school site would greatly benefit from the PBL model of learning, but with a student population of nearly 3,000 it presents logistical challenges. Regardless, I believe if the method isn’t fully adopted portions can be used in our classrooms to slowly begin building a culture of deeper learning. In a recent meeting at my school site we were told by our administration that the school will be moving in the direction of implementing more PLC time in the school schedule. Therefore, I would like to present my findings from this project, and my EDTECH 542 PBL, to affirm and encourage this movement for more teacher collaboration time. Perhaps this research will provide insight that will push our staff members to engage in this design for learning and allow administrators to see the lasting benefits. It does require more work and time, but the end outcome means we are more effective educators and students are better learners. 

Tech Trends: Deeper Learning Prezi

EDTECH 542 PBL site (please note this project is not yet finalized)

Week 5- Interdisciplinary Curriculum

Developing curriculum across the disciplines is something my school site would benefit from. While our API scores remain high and students demonstrate mastery learning, I believe we could be more effective through interdisciplinary studies. There are some teachers that make an attempt, but without very much PLC (professional learning communities) time it is hard to develop the curriculum. The video suggests that successful interdisciplinary curriculum design starts with backwards mapping, knowing what you want students to know by the end of the PBL, and figuring out what needs to be learned for students to successfully meet the end objectives. Throughout the process teachers need collaboration time to discuss and plan effectively how the content areas will be intertwined in instruction.

This past school year was my first year taking a stab at interdisciplinary curriculum design. A colleague and I have built a solid professional and personal friendship over the years. We decided to put in the extra time to develop a project tougher since we were placed in the same "house." This meant all of the students that took my class for English were also taking her health class. Realizing that meaningful learning calls for curriculum that blends subject matter, we decided to experiment. My main objective was teaching students effective research techniques and how to develop a formal, professional, MLA formatted research. Her objective was for students to understand the process of learning about a specific disease and the features that should be looked at when analyzing a diseases' cause and effects.

While it wasn't perfect, there were tremendous benefits to doing this project. Students felt more accountable because they knew the final paper would count in both classes. Moreover, students had not one but two teachers that they could ask questions and get feedback from. The major benefit for me was that when I gave instruction it was all focused on teaching the elements of research and writing a research paper. This left room for me to demonstrate how to use different technological tools as a result of not having to focus on teaching content, which was taught by the health teacher. It made it far more manageable to grade as my focus was honed in on proper citation, MLA alignment, and that the paper was free of plagiarism.

Moving forward, I am hoping to voice the effectiveness of interdisciplinary curriculum. I believe if we can come together and figure out a way to have more collaboration time at our school site we could be better serve our students.

This topic aligns with our Planning and Preparation additions to our PBL this week. Below are links to pages added to my PBL site.

• Entry Event.
• Project Timeline.
• tools and resources.
• Teaching and Learning Guide.