Many people may look at online learning and think that because the student or teacher is not sitting inside the same building for instruction that there is a disconnect and that the learning taking place is less effective.  This couldn’t be further from the truth.  In fact the video by K12 showcased how interactive and effective online learning can be for students who participate in the virtual classroom.  My personal experience in education has been both in a traditional classroom and out.  I was home schooled for a large portion of my education based on my choice and learning style.  When I was in the traditional classroom I was bored.  I grew up in a home were learning, reading, math, science and history were all part of every day.  My mom was and still is an elementary school teacher.  My dad is a natural history buff and political science expert.  When I walked into the classroom of my private school in kindergarten I was three grades ahead of my classmates.  When they were learning how to write the letters of the alphabet, I was reading at a third grade level.  This is where my boredom grew.  At my own request I asked for my parents to home school me; at the time my mom had taken time off from teaching to raise me and my brother and sister.  Later on in my education I chose to leave high school for the same reasons and participated in a correspondence school for the last year of high school.  For me the choice was personal, I wanted to get the most out of my education and I felt that the traditional classroom with 25+ students was not for me.  I didn’t want to waste my time waiting for someone else to get a concept I understood three days earlier.

In my mind this is another feature that was shown in the K12 video.  Students are able to work at their own pace, which was the feature I enjoyed about my non-traditional education.  Students who participate in online learning need to be self motivated, engaged and dedicated.  These same skills go for teachers in the online learning world. 

Personally, I know several teachers who currently work for one of the companies mentioned in the list of websites to view.  For them they each enjoy teaching online for different reasons.  For me, I would like to be an online teacher because I know how beneficial education, even when it is coming out of a computer and not inside a brick building with desks.  I have experienced learning in a different setting and have been successful and I feel I would offer a perspective to teaching online that other educators may not have because they experience their education inside the traditional classroom setting in a school building.  I also feel that my organization, focus and attention to detail would help me to make my online classroom effective.

I was really surprised with how technologically savvy Cameron is.  He is an eleven year old student, yet he creates videos, works on websites and presents digital media to the school board.  I was impressed with how seriously he took his digital work and how much time he spends on it.  It was clear that Cameron makes technology his priority along with hockey and school. 

Something that really shocked me was the teacher, Chris who believes it is okay to friend students on Facebook.  I know that there are many school districts that have gone as far as telling teachers they cannot have Facebook pages.  I personally feel that is too far.  However, I am appalled by Chris saying he feels it is okay to be friends with students on Facebook.  There are other channels of communication with students and Facebook isn’t one of them.  This opens up situations and challenges that could put the teacher in a hard position.  Just like any other professional there needs to be a line between personal and professional life and Facebook should be part of a teacher’s personal life to be friends with family members, coworkers, college friends, but NOT students!

I would like to have a classroom that has more access to technology in every class.  I really like the idea of using avatars in the classroom.  This would allow students to be creative and express themselves in a manner that may allow them to open up more.  This would be something I would integrate into a writing class.  I would also like to create a classroom website and be able to post pod casts of lessons learned in the classroom to allow students to access the content outside of the classroom and school day.  These tools would be a positive addition in the classroom because it would open up expression and communication both inside the classroom and outside.  The current negative is always the struggle for all students to have access to technology outside of the classroom; however, this is something that has been a struggle since technology was introduced into the classroom.

Topic: Animals

Grade Level: 2^nd Grade

Remembering Question:   Identify 3 mammals.

Understanding Question: Classify the animals from the list provided.

Applying Question: Using what you know about animals; explain why some animals can be pets and others are wild.

Analyzing Question: Compare and contrast two animals using a venn diagram

Evaluating Question:  Explain why animals live in different habitats.

Creating Question: Using what you know about mammals, create your own mammal.

I often reference my own learning experiences from when I was a high school student.  When students or even younger siblings
comment on how time consuming a research paper is I always revert back to the story of my freshman year of high school when the internet was not common place.  Where research meant stacks of books, libraries and things called encyclopedias.
The response I receive is often half joking and half shock.  Students can’t imagine a day where the millions of resources weren’t available at the click of a button.  With the many resources the internet provides today education has become a “faster” process, but has it become faster at the cost of quality? There are many opinion pieces on this very subject.   Some sight the
advancement of technology throughout the years as in an article entitled, Is Google Making Us Stupid, where author Nicholas Carr debates the pros and cons of the internet and the mega search engine Google.  Here he shared this piece of history:

“Sometime in 1882, Friedrich Nietzsche
bought a typewriter—a Malling-Hansen Writing Ball, to be precise. His vision
was failing, and keeping his eyes focused on a page had become exhausting and
painful, often bringing on crushing headaches. He had been forced to curtail
his writing, and he feared that he would soon have to give it up. The
typewriter rescued him, at least for a time. Once he had mastered touch-typing,
he was able to write with his eyes closed, using only the tips of his fingers.
Words could once again flow from his mind to the page.”

Cleary the advent of technology in
1882, in the form of a type writer, altered Nietzche’s writing ability for the
better when it came to ability, but did it affect the quality?  He goes on to note that the style and tone of
his writings in fact changed over time.
One could argue, was it the technology that changed or was it his emotions,
feelings and opinions that changed due to the change in his ability.

Technology has certainly always played
a part in education.  From the advent of
quill, ink and paper to today’s computers and internet; people’s mediums for
learning, sharing and recording have vastly changed.  There was a time when research meant just that,
searching and not searching in the sense of typing in a word or phrase to the
Google search bar and hitting enter.  It
meant going to the library, finding the section of the resource you needed,
finding the book using the Dewy Decimal System (this is where my students and
siblings alike remind me I show my age) and scour through pages of information
to find what you were looking for.  I may
be showing my age again, but kids today, have it a lot easier.  With a simple click of a button they can have
unlimited resources (more than a single library’s worth) in front of them; and
it isn’t just reserved to text.  Their
searches provide text, photos, videos, sounds and more!  Is this really the age of technology that is “dumbing”
down society?  Or it is simply altering
the way we search?  Is our process
becoming streamlined or are we falling into the pit of simplicity where
machines do the thought provoking work and we fulfill the part of the equation
that monkeys at the Columbus Zoo could perform?

I was sitting at my desk at work the
other day and was trying to read a document.
I read it three times, each with the same result; I couldn’t tell you
one thing that I had just read.  I
stopped, looked up and said, “tens of thousands of dollars in higher education
and you can’t focus on three paragraphs”?
My first thought was adult ADD.  I
must have caught it, along with that lovely cold that is going around; sorry
folks this is my attempt at humor, Carol Burnett I am not!  Then I realized, my computer, aka brain was
in over drive.  It was making those
clicking sounds and was showing the spinning circle where the mouse pointer
should be, but nothing was coming happening.
I was trying, but nothing.  Too
bad your brain doesn’t have a control alt delete option!  But at this moment I recalled all the
articles read this week, and the once challenging blog post that I had been
struggling to write, began to all make sense.
My thought process somehow changed over time from my early days in high
school to my now gulp, almost thirty year old self.  Not only had my tools for learning and
processing information changed, but the manner in which I processed the
information had changed too!  But then
the challenge came; was I smarter or “dumber” because of this.  So I did what any type A, control freak would
do…..spreadsheet of pros and cons.  Be
warned…what follows is free flowing thoughts from my unfiltered brain.  Continue at your own risk!

In an article entitled, “Literacy Debate: Are You Really Reading, If
You Are Reading Online” by Motoko Rich, the debate of technological devises
and the internet are presented in relation to old fashioned books and
newspapers.   It is here that this
question is posed,

“As teenagers’ scores on standardized
reading tests have declined or stagnated, some argue that the hours spent
prowling the Internet are the enemy of reading — diminishing literacy, wrecking
attention spans and destroying a precious common culture that exists only
through the reading of books. But others say the Internet has created a new
kind of reading, one that schools and society should not discount. The Web
inspires a teenager like Nadia, who might otherwise spend most of her leisure
time watching television, to read and write.”

Check any poll that is conducted and I
guarantee the 18-30 demographic will overwhelmingly show that information is
attained from the computer screen, Ipad, Kindle or smart phone and not from
holding an ink filled piece of paper.  And
schools are starting to take notice of this.
Many classrooms now use laptops with online text books or E-Readers in
place of books.  Not only is information
more streamlined, but there are many who believe that comprehension can be
improved; as can school district’s budgets.
Many districts have found that e-books and technology are a more cost
effective way to provide students with the most accurate and up to date
information.   Yes, test scores may not prove this to be a
true statement, but here is food for thought: are these standardized tests
being given using paper and pencil or computer?
Are the results skewed by the blatant difference in medium?  Is it in fact comparing apples and oranges?  This debate is one that will not be answered
here today, but certainly provides food for thought.   In the end the questions of , “ Does the web
facilitate deeper reading, thinking and learning”, can be answered in one word:
Maybe. The answer is yours to fill in; as you can see there are pros and cons
to the internet and the process of thinking and learning.  In the end I believe there isn’t a solid
black or white answer, but a gray answer; an answer with many hues and shades
that in every circumstance can provide a different answer and shed a different
light or shadow on the subject.

INFOhio

Resources

Resources

Grade Level(s)

Curriculum

Connections

Important

Features

Collection K-12 This database has over 2017 videos available to view.  Videos connect to various standards that span the K-12 spectrum. Very easy to use.  Can search for a specific video using the “search” link or you can browse the library through defined content.

All content is free thanks to a library and technology grant. The Library of Congress: American Memory K-12 Social Studies, Geography, Language Arts, Science, Mathematics Access to search the Library of Congress’s archives.  Audio, video, articles, documents, timelines and biographical information all available in a digital archive.  You can also search using key words, categories or search options. How a Bill Becomes a Law lesson plan (Ohio History Teachers link) 4^th Grade Social Studies Content Standards: Chronology, growth, role of government, citizenship, Social Studies Skills & Methods This lesson lists all content standards as well as objectives, preparation, materials, the lesson itself and a glossary of terms with definitions that fit with the lesson. Do you plan to use any of the resources noted above in your teaching/learning?  If so, what are some possible ideas of how to utilize the resources(s)?  Yes, I will certainly use the digital video collection to bring many of my lessons to life.  Students engage more when they have various forms of learning being used in a lesson, so the use of videos is perfect to stimulate visual and auditory learners. 

I will use the Library of Congress to compile my own examples for lessons, but also use it as a research tool for students when they are working on projects, reports or group assignments. I will also use it as a tool to teach them how to search things on a data base on the Internet.

I will certainly use this lesson plan!  I can’t believe how detailed and in depth the lesson is.  I will use it to teach how a bill becomes a law.  I will also use the digital video collection to insert videos into the lesson.  What is better for designing classroom materials, resources like these, or the “open” Web? Why? I think both are useful, but these resources have some positives that the “open” web doesn’t.  Here the resources are tested, compiled with descriptions, categorized and available for use with lesson plans and content standards.  When using the “open” web, it is more time consuming because you have to sift through the millions of resources some good, some bad.  And then you have to assess the grade level, which content areas and standards the resources fit.  Using the resources listed above is more efficient and helpful for educators. ]]> http://blogs.bgsu.edu/bridgeh/2012/02/24/ohio-resources-assignment/feed/ 0 http://blogs.bgsu.edu/bridgeh/2012/02/11/stem-education/ http://blogs.bgsu.edu/bridgeh/2012/02/11/stem-education/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 20:49:15 +0000 bridgeh http://blogs.bgsu.edu/bridgeh/?p=37

STEM Education

Where Our Past Meets Our Future

In the world of education things are ever changing; new studies, technologies and policies keep the field evolving.  This is the case with STEM education. STEM doesn’t relate to flowers in this case, rather STEM stands for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics; and it is the way of the future.  Many schools are starting to look into STEM education, Washington DC is pushing STEM education, but before we get into that let’s take a step back and define what STEM Education is, does and means for you as an educator.

            As mentioned above STEM education stands for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics.  However, there is more to STEM education than these four areas.  It is a practice of teaching innovation, breaking down educational walls and barriers and a creation of a learning environment that encourages creativity and out of the box thinking.  In short STEM education is the twenty-first century classroom that is preparing our future leaders, inventors, doctors and scientists in today’s classroom.

            Studies have shown that today’s students are currently being taught for jobs that haven’t even been invented yet; which means there is more pressure on the educator to help students succeed.  Instead of students regurgitating lengthy soliloquies, memorizing theorems and recalling from memory historical dates; STEM education asks the students to think of a way to improve the theorem, define and create new ways to make it work and explain why it is important.  STEM education isn’t a curriculum, it is a new way of teaching. 

            There is a five E method that guides STEM education: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate, and Evaluate.  These five words guide the base of STEM education from the humanities to science and technology engaging students in problem based learning, creative processes and innovative thinking.  Students are encouraged to build learning networks with other students, engaging group learning and internalizing the process of learning.

            Many of you may be reading this thinking, “I’ve never heard of STEM education,” but let me assure you, STEM education is popping up every day.  STEM schools are forming in classrooms of all types from public schools to charter schools, private schools and everywhere in between; suburban to inner city STEM education is the classroom of the future.  In fact, STEM education began in Ohio.

            The first Ohio STEM school began in 2007 in Columbus thanks to partnerships between several foundations including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and The Ohio State University.  Since then, Ohio STEM schools have grown to succeed in over ten districts across the state.  After seeing the large success of Ohio’s STEM education, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was compelled to implement STEM networks in four other states including: Texas, California, New York and North Carolina.

            There are currently ten school districts in the state of Ohio that have converted to a STEM school, which means over 3,100 students have been impacted by STEM education in Ohio alone.  Many other districts have begun to implement STEM programs which are small steps into the realm of STEM education.  Through these various STEM programs over 101,000 Ohio students and eighty-one districts have gotten a glimpse into STEM learning.

            Along with project based learning, a large component of STEM education is partnering with technology, science, mathematical and engineering companies.  An example of these partnerships can be found by looking at Perkins Local Schools, a suburban school district in Erie County.  At Perkins they began implanting STEM education in 2009.  The first step that Perkins took was to implement a one-to-one laptop program for their middle and high school students.  A one-to-one lap top program is an essential tool in the STEM education process.  It ensures that all students have access to the technological tools they need while in the classroom and at home.  The district is currently in the process of completing their transition to STEM education for all grades sixth through twelfth grade.

            As I mentioned above, a large component of STEM education is partnering with companies that specialize in technology, science, math and engineering.  At Perkins these partnerships can be found with companies such as Apple, a computer and technology company; government agencies such as NASA Plum Brook, an aerospace, engineering and technology agency and Sierra Lobo, a technology and engineering leader in the industry.  Partnerships with companies such as these are providing students with real life application to lessons they are learning and forming every day.

            The benefits of educating today’s students with tools for tomorrow’s challenges are immeasurable.  However, the benefits don’t come without issue.  Many schools are finding it challenging to implement such a sweeping overhaul of teaching practices.  Other schools are faced with financial issues and are forced to prioritize basic educational services over the education of the future.  These issues are somewhat address through grants that can be applied for by districts; however, it is a long process with few winners. 

            Another uphill battle that districts face when looking at STEM education is the training of staff.  Educators need to be taught STEM skills, practices and how to use the many technological tools that will be used in the classroom.  These challenges among others can be large barriers for many districts to overcome.

            Training challenges can be overcome with teacher workshops, conferences and continuing education courses that will train educators in the STEM program and help educators to maintain a current grasp of the topics and trends in the field.  Perkins Local School District began the training process with the one-to-one lap top program; first educating all staff members on the use of Apple computers.  By taking the implementation of the program as a step by step process, many challenges can be avoided.

            However, with change comes challenges, but also rewards.  Districts that have implanted STEM education or STEM programs are at the forefront of the twenty-first century classroom.  Challenges can and will be expected, but the benefit of educating students to be successful in their futures is the true reward.  In keeping up with the demands of the global market schools are able to train students and prepare them for careers in high demand fields, thus impacting the local, national and global economies.  Just as America led innovation in the twentieth century; we can arm students with the tools they need to maintain America’s title in innovation for the twenty-first century.  As Galileo once said, “All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them.”

 Examples of STEM education in Ohio

References

1. Beatty, A. (2011). Workshop on Success STEM Education in K-12 Schools. Highly Successful Schools or Programs for K-12 STEM Education (pp. 58-69). Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press.
2.  Herschbach, D. R. (2011). The STEM Initiative: Constraints and Challenges. Journal of Stem Teacher Education, 48(1), 96-122.

1. Ohio Stem Its Not Just Rocket Science.  (2012 January).  Retrieved January 2012, from http://notjustrocketscience.ning.com/

1. Ohio Stem Learning Network. (2012, January). Retrieved January 2012, from http://osln.org/

1. Ohio Stem Learning Network.  (2011, September).  Retrieved January 2012, from http://d21acdf807c58cd479379aaf80f5fdf7a5af7dea.gripelements.com/regional/nw-ohio/perkins-stem-school.php

Using Google Search Engine

Check out the blog here: http://jswanski.wordpress.com/

One of the things I loved about this blog was the vast amount  information that is available.  The most recent 4 posts deal with conference information and Google.  Swanson uses her blog to detail conference information that she is a part of, new uses of technology in the classroom and shares informative videos that can be used for personal development and in some cases can be used in the classroom.  The latest two posts deal with Google and include video posts that can be used to help students use the search engine in a more effective manner.  The posts also layout the various benefits and uses of Google Apps in the classroom and as a tool for school districts.  The third and fourth most recent posts are notes that she took during the 2011 TIES conference.  These posts note ideas and practices to engage students more in the learning process by including technology in the classroom such as ipads to “make students documenters of their own learning.”  Swanson’s blog also has a detailed listing of useful interactive websites for SmartBoards and classrooms broken down by topic and grade level/content area.

Many people would benefit from reading this blog, but most importantly I believe it is a great tool for educators.  Swanson is a current educator who is engaged in the everyday advances of technology in the classroom.  She also practices personal development by participating in national conferences such as TIES. 

Jennifer Swanson is not only a blogger, but an educator. Swanson graduated from the University of Wisconson, Seven Points with a Bachelors Degree in Early Childhood Education and a minor in Computer Science. She went on to Nova Southeastern University where she earned a  Masters in Teaching & Learning with a focus on K-12 Technology Integration.  Swanson  has taught in Daytona Beach, Florida and in De Pere, Wisconsin.  She has taught technology in high school, middle schools and elementary schools.  She currently teaches in De Pere, Wisconson as a Technology Resource Teacher for the elementary schools and as a Computer Education Teacher at the middle school.  Swanson participates in various educational conferences including the 2011 TIES conference.  Swanson is also available for speaking engagements and presentations to school districts.