It's Elementary…

Could you teach online? I honestly don’t think this question has ever crossed my mind until this very assignment. The integration of technology within the classroom and the benefits that technology can bring to the facilitating of learning for students has always been my goal. Is that not what online teaching is? To take this question seriously, I needed to know what the definition of online learning was before moving on. Yes, it would seem if one is attending web-based classes, that one should understand what the definition is. However, as it would seem, there are at least three categories of online learning. Leanna Archambault and Kent Crippen outline the three types in their article K–12 Distance Educators at Work: Who’s Teaching Online Across the United States.

1. Online: Course where most or all content is delivered online (80-100% content online).

2. Blended: Course that is both online and face-to-face (30-79% content online).

3. Web-facilitated: Course that uses web-based technology to facilitate face-to-face course (1-29% content online).

Knowing that there is more than one definition to online learning has definite swaying power in this argument. When I first encountered online learning, it was out of convenience. However, after continuing to take the convenience into consideration with my graduate degree, I also began to note the other benefits of online education as a student. Those same benefits are there for the teacher as well. The ability to be flexible, interact in a different environment that still maintains one-on-one interaction, as well as the avenues that are opened up for global interaction. In addition, according to Greg Kearsley and Robert Blomeyer in Preparing K-12 Teachers to Teach Online, online education has many things to offer that I had not honestly taken into consideration. Online learning leads towards student-centered and problem-based learning, collaborative learning, with many opportunities for peer evaluation. These methodologies are goals of any educator. bearing in mind that my area of concentration is Early  Childhood Education, I had not considered fully, web-based learning as an ideal avenue for those grade levels However, after reviewing the curricula at several online schools I beg to differ on that point. Please look at Ohio Virtual Academy and Electronic Classroom of Tomorrow if you are also a skeptic.

It is stressed throughout many reviews and articles on online learning and teaching, that it takes a certain type of educator to be able to facilitate learning in the online environment. A level of commitment to the students that mitigates several hours in front of a computer (which most of us do regardless of educational endeavors), the ability to create engaging activities for students, having the ability to keep students motivated and interested, and being able to promote interaction between students. These are many of the same qualities that are required of any educator, the playing field has been the only thing changed. My main point of contention with this scenario brings me back to the early learners. Ensuring that the capability of interacting online and piloting the basics would be of the utmost import. Thus, when online learning is promoted to grades PreK-K, is the technology becoming the focus of the learning or can it remain the tool for facilitating the learning?

Viewing The Role of the Online Teacher has made me consider the possibility that online learning could be the future of k-12 education. Given that I am no longer teaching in Ohio or the United States for that matter, speaks a bit about my decision. With the rapid rate that educational institutions are closing their doors and educators are finding themselves without a job, leads me to wonder about the students. Where are they receiving their education from? Online schools offer affordable alternatives and quality educational environment that may be lacking in a certain situation. Furthermore, after a bit of research, I’m sure you will see too, that the quality of the education the students receive is not lacking either.  In the aforementioned video, you can see the lengths to which teachers go to ensure their students understand concepts and relate them to their everyday lives. With this in mind, I consider the skills that I have developed throughout this course. Extending your knowledge base daily and exploring new avenues to complete tasks is not something that we promote only for our students, but for ourselves as well. It is my hope that I continue to develop these skills and add to my repertoire; perhaps one day, I’ll try my hand at being an online educator.

I can’t count any more the number of times my students have asked me what life was like when I was young (much to my dismay the realization they view me as, gasp, “old”) or the shock that arises when they discover I survived without the internet for most of my life. The digital generation has caused students to grow in a way that differs from those of children five and ten years ago. The curiosity and drive to explore remains, yet new tools have been developed for this generation with which to do so. With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies, students are able to take that exploration to a new level. For my generation, collaboration with peers around the world was done via pen-pals. Students are now afforded the ability to communicate with nearly infinite numbers of peers at the click of a button; not just with the written word, but web-conferencing and live-chat feeds. Students have much more opportunity to truly participate in a global community; leading to better communication and collaborative skills, critical thinking and problem solving ability. As seen in a Chicago-based social networking community, Digital Youth Network, students can utilize many different formats to be avenues for learning that may have previously been overlooked. This format allows for students to share work, artistic creations (musical, digital stories, etc.), and give and receive constructive criticism.  It is time that all educators begin to think outside of the box and use the new technological innovations, engage students’ interests, and strive to encourage students to invent their own learning.

Earlier this semester I was asked to follow a blog that focused on technology in education. Vicki Davis struck me as a pioneer in her field; having founded several projects (The Flat Classroom Project and DigiTeen, a social networking site that focuses on digital citizenship for students) that I find inspirational and encourage me to grow as an educator.  Her philosophy outlines that students engage in a rich learning experience, where children create their own learning . Click on the image to view her story.

           One of Ms.Davis’ students, Virginia, was featured in Edutopia’s Digital Generation Project. Virginia, who speaks far beyond her years, advocates the necessity of digital citizenship to younger students. I was surprised when I learned how she had made the choice to tapper off her social networking time because she felt it was an unhealthy habit to spend 3-4 hours a day.  Ms. Davis has instilled a sense of empowerment within her students that is commendable. Watch Virginia’s story and see for yourself!In addition to advocating for digital citizenship among her students, Ms. Davis strives to challenge her students. Through the creation of her various projects, she is connecting students around the world; challenging and encouraging collaboration and communication to become better 21st century learners.

While my students are quite young to participate independently at such a level of peer collaboration, I would like to incorporate more of the “flat classroom” techniques and ideologies that Ms.Davis advocates. Understanding that when a new technology comes along, it is NOT imperative that the teacher be proficient at it before allowing students to discover what they can do with the tool(s). We may just be surprised at what our students can teach us!

Early Childhood Educators (ECE) are trained to understand and consider the ramifications of brain development and brain research within the education field and their students.  Children’s synopses grow and change at alarming rates; assimilation and accommodation made with every new strand of information uploaded into brains melding into a conglomerate of that child’s memory files. Seeking out ways to make sure our students gain the optimum from their learning experiences has been an ever present motive for all teachers. Inventing new activities, projects, and now incorporating 21^st century skills into the curriculum. With this advent in mind, the new question now, “Does the web facilitate reading, learning, and thinking?”

I remember when I was a child; my mother would tell me that television was going to rot my brain. For the life of me, I could not understand what she could possibly mean. How could something so wonderful, be so bad for me? Today it is not necessarily television we are questioning to be the only source of the disintegration of children’s minds, but the internet has also come into the picture. The avenues by which we gain most of our information is steadily changing and leading towards mainly digital media; far surpassing that of just televised programs and news.

Nicholas Carr posed the aforementioned question in his article, “Is Google Making Us Stupid?” Poignantly, Carr reminds readers of Marshall McLuhan’s words, “media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought.” With what we in ECE know about brain development, it is then after reading this article, I too began to ponder the same question. Was I too less apt to be able to concentrate for long periods of time? Did I skim through articles, only to gain the gist and then move on? How did this affect my daily life? How did this affect my students?

As an avid reader, someone who tore through novels with alarming rates at time, I wouldn’t think reading on the internet would be any different. However, as it would seem, theorists are suggesting the internet is changing the way that readers read. This in turn, as Carr points out, is changing the way we are thinking as well. Within Carr’s article, he references one Maryanne Wolf, a developmental psychologist at Tufts University. Wolf stresses that

the style of reading promoted by the Net, a style that puts “efficiency” and “immediacy” above all else, may be weakening our capacity for the kind of deep reading that emerged when an earlier technology, the printing press, made long and complex works of prose commonplace. When we read online, she says, we tend to become “mere decoders of information.” Our ability to interpret text, to make the rich mental connections that form when we read deeply and without distraction, remains largely disengaged.

With the vast amount of information available on the internet, people are now required to become masters of skimming and relevancy must be determined to maximize efficiency. With this increased need to decode the mass of information, the ability to retain information, absorb content, and concentrate for lengthy period of time, may become diminished. However, there are always two sides to any story.

In another article, with a similar theme, the internet has been praised to offer alternative avenues to those who may not be fluent readers due to learning disabilities. I have witnessed this in my younger sister. Far later than most, my sister was diagnosed with dyslexia as well as an information processing disability in middle school. Her ability to retain information that she had read in text was extremely limited, fluency was minimal, not only her grades, but her self-esteem suffered because of this. In high school in part to a government grant, she was given a lap top that utilized text-to-voice technology to read her lesson materials; her grades improved. Now, in college, she is attending 100% web-based classes. The interaction and delivery method of online class formats, allows for her disability to be overcome. She is excelling at her studies, maintaining a 4.0GPA; retaining information at a recall rate that is astounding. On a personal note, I am tremendously proud of her in what she is accomplishing. I wonder if this would have been possible if the avenue of web-based courses had not been presented to her.

In Motoko Rich’s article, Literary Debate: Online, R U Really Reading?,  it’s noted that when today’s students are online, they are learning skills like locating information quickly and making sure the information is accurate by comparing the information they find with other sites for continuity. Deciphering and analyzing information like this takes critical thinking skills. These critical thinking skills are outlined within Bloom’s Taxonomy and an educator’s goal of teaching their students higher orders of thinking. These goals are to be met by any means necessary; hence the adoption of differentiated instruction. Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms by Grace E. Smith and Stephanie Throne, highlights the importance of differentiated instruction and the avenue it provides for promoting diversity within the classroom. DI encourages the modification of instruction to meet the needs of all learners, while maintaining a comfortable yet challenging learning environment for all students. This differentiated instruction not only applies to the incorporation of modified lessons, small and whole-group instruction, but also the incorporation of technology within the classroom. With the above-mentioned articles, students were engaged in reading and learning via online activities, promoting the development of those critical thinking skills we as educators are aiming to achieve.

It is often that with everything in life there must be balance. Incorporation of technology is a must for students to be successful in this day and age of 21^st century learners. With studies being in their infancy as to whether or not the internet facilitates deeper reading, learning, and thinking skills; I cannot evaluate any hard copy evidence as to whether standardized test scores have increased due to the internet. Though, through first- hand experience, as with my sister, I’d tend to say it’s a positive tool for the growth and enhancement of said skills. As with any web 2.0 tool, it is important to remember, that the tool is to be a means to facilitate the learning and not become the sole focus of the learning.

“The major work of the world is not done by geniuses. It is done by ordinary people, with balance in their lives, who have learned to work in an extraordinary manner.” ― Gordon B. Hinckley

Sources:

Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classroom. International Society for Technology in Education, by S. Throne & G. Smith

Helping Children Find What They Need on the Internet by Stephanie Olsen from The New York Times

Is Google Making Us Stupid? by Nicholas Carr from The Atlantic

Literacy Debate: Online, R U Really Reading? by Motoko Rich from The New York Times

My KG1 class has an upcoming unit, entitled “Let’s See What Happens”. The first two weeks students will be discovering colors and mixing colors more in depth. With project and inquiry-based learning being an essential focus within our school “district”, I’ll be creating a webquest to accompany the book Mouse Paint by Ellen Stoll Walsh to help facilitate the learning process for this unit. Following are some sample “essential questions” according to Bloom’s Taxonomy to possibly be included in the webquest.

(1) topic: Colors; science & art
(2) grade level: PreK/K
(3) remembering question: What colors were in the three jars of paint in the beginning of the book?
(4) understanding question: What happened when the red mouse stepped into the yellow puddle and did a little dance? What happened when the yellow mouse stepped into the blue puddle and his feet stirred? What happened when the blue mouse jumped into the red puddle and splashed?
(5) applying question: Why did the mouse’s fur get dry and crack?
(6) analyzing question: What would happen if the mice stepped into different color puddles?
(7)  evaluating question  & (8) creating question: Let’s check to see if we’re right in our guess! Using “Scratch” let’s create our own “Mouse Paint” story.  Experiment with the colors to see what you can create. Then we will post our projects to our class webpage.

While not fully accessible to those outside the Ohio Educational System (You must have a user name and password to access many of the websites!), the INFohio web portal maintains a wealth of links to resources for educators. Linking you to collections by grade level and content area, curriculum connections can more easily be sustained. Below you will find a table outlining several of the resources you will find available to those of us without a password to the treasure trove.

The Digital Divide is a term that we hear thrown around often in the field of education. The term itself is ever shifting, as is the question as to whether or not the digital divide still exists. Within my research, I found many articles and video clips that support the conclusion that yes, the digital divide is very much in existence and is ever growing. Please view my findings in this Prezi presentation. It is a “bit” lengthy, yet I’d like to thank you in advance for watching and learning about what you as an educator or just good samaritan can do to help bridge the gap of the digital divide.

DigitalDividePresentation

Seriously Google has a whole other side to it that so many of us do not take advantage of. Why sit and go through each page, after page, after page? By using more specific phrases, key words, exclusions, and in the advanced search defining date posted, type of file, and even reading level! Here is my search string on the life-cycle of the mayfly. (While content is applicable to middle school, it could be altered for other grade levels.)

I’ve been steadily trying to work on my research project and came across an amazing article entitled, “The Power of Social Media in Developing Nations; New Tools for Closing the Global Digital Divide and Beyond.” I just had to share. It’s quite lengthy, but well worth the read! Check it out here.

Searching for a single blog to follow was more difficult than any analogy I can think of to equate the experience to. However, after reading many pages, I found Vicki Davis’ blog, Cool Cat Teacher.

Amazing…simply amazing. This full-time teacher, self-proclaimed “passionate advocate for inspiring and informing teachers, parents, and professionals about how to reach this generation of learners” , and mother of three manages the time to blog daily, tweet, and Tumbl. (I don’t even know what a Tumblr does.) In addition, she blog’s for the Life Time Channel’s morning show, the Balancing Act, collaborates with both Google and Discovery, not to mention a litany of other accolades too lengthy for summarizing.

Vicki has been writing for this particular blog for approximately 6+ years now. Her latest posts pertain to a project entitled the Flat Classroom. This project aims to transform professional development and expand towards global collaboration and networking. Creating a “flat forum” on which both educators and teachers alike can collaborate sounds nearly Utopian. It is pleasing to read in her Bio, that at the end of the day, “digital citizenship, 21st-century skills, and a quest for excellence underlie everything” she does. Furthermore, the insightful feeds and links that litter her posts are amazing and helpful. Daily Education and Technology News for Schools, Teaching with Lesson Plans that “Rock Teaching”, working towards global literacy, just to name a few. The personal anecdotes sprinkled throughout each post remind you that yes, we are all in the end, working towards the same goal and share many of the same experiences.

There are so many worthwhile links, that any educator, regardless of grade or subject matter, could benefit. There are most definitely too many links to process in one short sitting, so I recommend many visits. I’m looking forward to the late January publishing of “Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds”; it looks to be an interesting read.

AbuDhabiVideoIntro – YouTube

I must say that this interface is a little more, well, complex than the Google Blogger that I’ve used in the past. Although, as I’m new to blogging (around six months), it’s good to step out of your comfort zone, explore, and try new things. While living overseas, my friends and I delight in shooting short films of the “wonders” we have seen (many found on my videographer friend’s Facebook site)…not so much of a “wonder”, but none the less, I hope you enjoy my video introduction.