Transforming Student Learning with Technology

                                                   

                                                                                                      Image source: D. McMahan

Learning How to Transform Student Learning

The second challenge presented in the online course, Advanced Teaching with Technology, consisted of  incorporating the first three standards of the ISTE Standards for Teachers by developing a Hyperdoc lesson using technology to transform and redefine student  learning.  First I developed three learning activities implementing technology using the eBook, 40 Simple Ways to Inspire Learning with Mobile Devices by Sam Glicksman, as inspiration.   You can read about these activities in my previous blog posts.

Growth in Transforming Student Learning

In developing projects using devices to redefine learning I realized how easy it is to implement technology and also discovered my creative side in planning learning experiences for students.  When my school decided to implement a 1:1 iPad program I originally had no idea where to start using the device beyond a substitution for the textbook.  I created my first Hyperdoc to teach atmospheric pressure which also included modeling digital citizenship and practices to protect student privacy and security.   My Hyperdoc first required students to watch an EdPuzzle video as an introduction to atmospheric pressure and how it is used to forecast weather.  Next they were instructed to download an app to their iPad or phone  to measure atmospheric pressure.  Using Padlet each student signed up for a city that they would take pressure reading for the next two weeks.  The experiment I incorporated for this lesson involved using Vernier wireless pressure sensors.   The final activity directed the students to create a weather forecast based on their pressure readings using  Adobe Spark video.   I am very proud of my Hyperdoc and this challenge has helped me move from straddling the chasm to an enthusiastic and confident educator with a new motto, "Technology in the classroom, bring it on I'm fired up!"

Plans to Continue Transforming Student Learning

I need to continue expanding my PLN and connect with other educators who can inspire me with additional ways to use devices in the classroom.  I currently am a member of Computer Using Educators (CUE) and plan on continuing to attend the local conference (and possibly be a presenter) and hopefully the national conference in March 2018.  It is also important for me to stay current with information regarding protecting student security and privacy.  I  am very much looking forward to the summer months not only for the time off from work, but as an opportunity to revisit my lesson plans and incorporate what I have learned in challenge two.  It has always been my hope that I inspire learning and creativity in my students and now I know how to include technology in making this a reality.

       

Transformation of Students in the Digital Age

                       

                                                                                           image source: fenn.org                                                                                                              

Transformation of Learning

During the past thirty-two years as a teacher I have witnessed first hand the impact of digital learning on education.   By incorporating technology the transformation on student learning  includes; individualized learning allowing students to learn at their own pace, formative assessments with immediate feedback allowing students to monitor their own progress, ability to publish their work online to authentic audiences, and collaboration with their classmates 24/7.

Transformation of Classroom Policies

As our students  continue to utilize technology it is the role of the teacher to incorporate classroom policies that support students in understanding copyright laws and how one can protect their privacy and be safe while using technology. Examples of these policies include; instructing students that when posting work on line they should never use their first name, provide personal information or post pictures of themselves or others.  Students should be instructed to  use an avatar instead of a profile picture.  I have included a link to free digital citizenship info-graphics and other resources for the classroom here.  When considering digital tools for our students it is important to know if the vendor will use students' data.  It is also not the duty of only the English teacher to teach students about plagiarism and copyright laws but should be the role of all teachers to model and inform students of their responsibility.  For example many educators will import pictures into their PowerPoint presentations without considering if a citation is needed.  Students can be shown how to locate open source materials on the internet.  A consistent and uniform message from all teacher at a school site regarding copyright laws will support student understanding.  I still wonder if apps, like turnitin.com, assist student understanding of copyright laws or teacher instruction is a bigger influence.  I am fortunate to work in a school district where teacher training, instructional materials and online resources are available to inform teachers of students' privacy and copyright laws.   

Animate It!

Each year my students participate in the local science fair.  Some students wonder how to visually show judges the changes their experiment undergoes for several days or months.  Also, restrictions on bringing hazardous or live materials prevent students from visually demonstrating and explaining the procedure or results.  By using the app, Animate It! students could show a time-lapse video of their project to the science fair judges and also share with their classmates.

Using the app, Animate It! I created a time-lapse video of the chemical reaction between sulfuric acid and zinc in a few seconds compared to over five minutes.

My Animate It! chemical reaction video on YouTube 

Using the Animate It! app can allow me to redefine instruction by allowing me to capture a lengthy demonstration and condense it to a few seconds allowing the focus to be on the classroom discussion of the chemical principles involved.  Many times I will refer back to a previous demonstration or student conducted experiments to review or present new material and I am counting on students memories to remember what they saw.  If a student was absent then they missed out on the experience.  Now I could simply show the videos again or place them in the learning management system for the class.  An important part of the chemistry class is the observations and connections to content students make through conducting experiments or watching observations.  I have wanted to assess what students have learned from these experiences.  I can now embed an Animate It! video into an online assessment, a task I could not previously have envisioned without technology.

Who Says You Can't be Creative Using an iPad

I created the front page newspaper article below using the Lifecards iOS app. When working with technology I prefer to use my laptop.  In order to truly experience technology through the lens of a student, I decided to try an activity using an app available only on an iPad.   

The  Lifecards app is very simple to use and I was able to complete the postcard in approximately 45 minutes.  I decided to write about an element because this is an activity I could assign my chemistry students.  Each student could select an element and provide information about its discovery, symbol mass, etc.

Using the  Lifecards and Seesaw apps an assignment typically given to chemistry students is modified and redefined through technology.   The assignment task has been modified since students will have a digital record of the element they studied and can create additional element postcards adding further information throughout the study of chemistry (such as electron configuration, oxidation numbers, ionization energy, etc.)  By the end of the chemistry course, each student could have a permanent digitized index of the chemical and physical properties of all 118 elements created by themselves and their classmates. The assignment task is also redefined if the postcards are placed in a digital portfolio using the Seesaw app (please see my Seesaw blog dated 3/8) and shared among the classes and globally through the Seesaw blog allowing the students' work to be published to an authentic audience.  

Using Seesaw to Create Digital Portfolios

 image source: Helen C Bartlett, PhD

I have always wanted to use student portfolios in my classroom. I was apprehensive of doing so because of  concerns about how to store over 150 portfolios stuffed with papers of student work.  Using the app Seesaw I created both a teacher and student account (I used my dog's name, Athena, for the student account).   I created a science fair folder for students to place their work for the Ventura County Science Fair.  I really enjoyed using Seesaw as a student, it was very easy to add to the folders created by the teacher.  Besides uploading files; photos and videos can be taken with one's device and added to the portfolio.  A drawing tool, adding links and notes are also options. On the app there could be improvement in the way the folders are organized.

Seesaw transforms traditional student portfolios because in addition to the options mentioned above, the app allows parents to have access to their students digital portfolio and students can leave verbal or recorded comments on their classmates portfolios.  The teacher can also use Seesaw Blogs to publicly post students' portfolios.  I would definitely use this app in my classroom.  My students begin working on their science fair projects in August and the final project is not due until March.  Seesaw is a great way for the students to organize everything related to their project and when we use class time to work on the project there will no longer be the issues of lost papers or left at home.

My Journey in Becoming a Connected Educator

                                                                                                     image source

I have been an educator for over thirty years and retirement is on the not so distance horizon.  Since I want to end my teaching career with a bang I decided to take an online class through Cal State Channel Islands called Advanced Teaching with Technology.  The course is comprised of three challenges; the first involves becoming a connected educator.  As someone who did not grow up with technology (I owned my first PC at the age of 31), it scares me at times but I have decided to feel the fear and do it anyways!

On my journey of becoming a connected educator what has impacted me the most is how much I have learned in six weeks. At the start of each week, I feel overwhelmed but as I tackle each assignment I know I can complete the challenge because of all the resources available to me in each learning module.  Before I started this challenge my idea of a professional learning network (PLN) consisted of subscribing to journals, attending conferences and watching webinars.  I am doing things I never thought I would such as tweeting and blogging.

I always thought of Twitter as a form of social media for famous people and youth.  I did not realize the potential Twitter has as a means of developing a PLN.  I currently am following 83 people, have tweeted 36 times, participated in several Twitter chats and to my amazement I have 17 followers.  I look forward to Tweeting at the National Science Teachers Association Convention in Los Angeles on March 30 to April 2. #NSTA17

Following EdTech and others on Twitter has provided me with a resource to keep up to date with educational technology.  I have not participated in an EdTech chat but I intend to in the future.  I am also particularly enjoying following on Twitter the "Think Out Loud Club." The quote on their Twitter page,  "A group of learning technology evangelists sharing the pleasure and pain of technology," resonated with me because of my own technology fear.  

Professional Learning Network to Enhance Project Based Learning

In developing my PLN I am also using the Google extension Peartrees to curate resources and connect with other educators.  Via email, Pearltrees suggests collections based on my interests.  I am adding resources to Pearltrees including ones to support the project based learning (PBL) I will be incorporating in my chemistry class.  The first project will incorporate the book The Martian by Andy Weir followed by a project based on the research I did at UCSB the summer of 2016.  My students started the first PBL activity this week.  I have included a video on how being a connected educator will enhance PBL and have included images of the students collaborating on the project.

Becoming a connected educator enabled me to be part of a world-wide group of educators.  As the only chemistry teacher at my school, I no longer feel isolated because I have joined a wide group of educators.

Digital Citizenship

                                                          image source

Digital Citizenship

This year my school implemented a 1:1 iPad program which involved not only deciding how technology was to be used for instruction but also how to teach our students to be digital citizens.  Digital citizenship promotes a sense of community and respect for all when using technology and taking responsibility for one's actions.  This includes an awareness and understanding that everything one does and says online has positive or negative consequences.

I am currently evaluating my teaching strategies that will model and support digital citizenship.  Currently I do not use the iPad at all times. This encourages the students to focus without it when they don't need them and to use the digital media in the appropriate way at the right time. I also bring real-life issues to the conversation, for example discussing  cyber bullying which reminds them of the negative consequences of not being a good digital citizen. 

One of the challenges I am facing is the fact that my current students have grown up with technology without realizing the repercussions of such, no one anticipated the effect of technology and social media on today's generation. Parents and teachers of the next generation of students know what can happen now (good and bad) and can mold digital citizenship starting early; current generation is already groomed in particular ways and must make active, thoughtful actions in order to have the best positive effect. 

Comments and suggestions are always welcome, I value your feedback!

Resources

Information on being a global digital citizen

Digital citizenship and digital literacy

Digital citizenship agreement, grades K-12

                                          image source