EEND 676B: Artifact #2 Reflection

Another artifact that I created for this class is my State Advantages and Disadvantages Project using Google. I created this lesson for Module 4:Google Tools. I chose this lesson for a few reasons. One reason I chose this lesson is the variety of Google Tools that are required for students to use. Students need to use Google Slides, Google Forms and Google Sheets to complete this assignment. I think that it is important for my students to have more experiences with all of these tools. At this point in the year my students have used each of these tools at least once in my classroom. However, this lesson requires them to not just use the document, but to create their own forms and graphs using these tools. I would like to incorporate more of these kinds of learning opportunities for my students. Another reason I chose this lesson is the content. The idea of advantages and disadvantages of the different geographical regions is something that my class has struggled with. When I implement this lesson at the end of the school year, my students will have spent more time exploring these comments. I believe this lesson will allow them to show off how their understanding has increased through the school year. 

I found the creation of this lesson to be very challenging. The idea that I needed to use three different Google tools in one lesson seemed a little overwhelming when I got started. I knew I wanted to create a lesson based upon our Social Studies curriculum. This is an area that my students would really benefit from. Additionally, the curriculum is much older than the other curriculum and could benefit from some updated lessons. However, I struggled to find a way that students could use multiple google tools while still staying focused on a social studies task. However, after debating a few different options, I thought that it would be beneficial for students to be able to reflect upon their peers' reactions to their slides. Hopefully the Google Form and the collected data on the Google Sheet will help students to reflect and understand why one advantage and disadvantage was viewed the best by his/her peers. 

My goal is to use this lesson towards the end of the school year. At that point students will have learned about the 5 different geographical regions and will have spent more time developing an understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of the regions. Currently they struggle with providing evidence to support their thoughts about advantages and disadvantages. At the end of the year students are also assigned a state to give a presentation about. I feel that this lesson would be a great supplement to the State Project. Finally, I feel that this lesson really shows how my understanding of collaborative web tools have improved through this class. Google is such a wonderful resource with so many options. I feel that prior to learning in Module 4, my students worked almost solely on Google Docs. This lesson shows how I have learned ways to incorporate different Google elements into my lesson. Similarly, in the past I had only used Google Forms as a way to gather information about students. This lesson, however, allows students to create their own Google Forms and collect and analyze that data using Google Sheets. This class has truly inspired me to expand my use of Google in the classroom.

EEND 676B: Artifact #1 Reflection

One artifact from this class that I really enjoyed creating and implementing was my Human Body Lesson.  I created this lesson for Module 6: Writing and Assessing a Collaborative Task. While creating this lesson I chose to use the Gallery Walk discussion strategy to introduce my students to the content that they would be using. Students were divided into small groups. Each group had to move to the 6 Gallery stations, read information about a different body system and take notes about the system in their science journals. Next, students worked collaboratively to create a Google Slide deck. Each slide focused on one of the body stems and students had to identify the function of the body and explain how that system is necessary for students to be able to rock climb, their current gym class activity. Students also were asked to comment on the work of their peers and self evaluate themselves on a provided rubric. 

While creating this lesson, one of the greatest challenges I had was being able to assess how well students collaborated on the project. I want all students to have some responsibility for completing the Google Slide deck, however I did not want to dictate how this would look for the different students. While assessing this aspect of the assignment, I looked at both student self evaluations on the rubric as well as looked at the version history on the document to see what each student contributed. This helped me to have a better understanding of each team members' role. 

I used this lesson during my science class on our Human Body unit. The lesson took place over 3 different class sessions. Students were actively engaged in the content and were excited to work with their peers on the project. I was happy with the completed assignment and the way that students had understood the information. I think this project shows how much I have learned through this class. Students truly worked collaboratively while completing this assignment. Students were all able to access the content at the same time and work simultaneously on the project. I am so proud of the work of my students. I am excited to use this lesson again next year and modify it to fit other content areas later this year. 

Canvas at Different Grade Levels

Technology is becoming a more constant and invasive element in education. However, as with many things, the benefits we can get out of the technology available is often dependent on the effort we put in and the way that we as educators are utilizing these resources in our classroom. I have been using Canvas for the past five years, since I was hired in district. However, the way in which I have utilized this technology in the classroom has varied significantly based upon the grade levels I have taught. 

When I taught kindergarten, I found Canvas to be a great way to communicate with parents. I was able to share out classroom newsletters and photos so parents could feel like they truly understood what was happening in our classroom day to day. I was able to post resources for parents to use at home and links to various websites that students could use. There were also times where I had students post videos of some of the work they had been completing in class. However, these occasions were very much supported by myself and the TIS available. 

While teaching second grade, I was able to modify the way I was using Canvas in the classroom. I would still post newsletters, photos, and resources for parents to feel connected to our classroom. However, I was able to have students become more involved and independent in the way they utilized Canvas. Students were able to participate in group discussions, post their work, and comment on their classmates posts. They became more comfortable with independently using the site and uploading content. The Canvas page began to belong more to the students than the parents. 

This year I am teaching fourth grade and am so excited about the way that my class is utilizing Canvas. Between the combination of being 1:1 with the Chromebooks, and the independence and technological ability of this grade level, Canvas has become an integral part of our classroom. Students are accessing Canvas throughout the day. This can be as basic as using the Student Resource page to access other sites, such as Dreambox or StoryWorks, or more complex lessons. I have created pages on our Canvas site for specific lessons that allow students to link to copies of different Google Docs, had students collaborate in classroom discussion, and share content on the site. However, I am most proud of the Canvas Modules I have worked with my team to create this year. 

This year, as my grade level team began planning for our math intervention block, we struggled to determine what would be a beneficial independent activity for our students were were performing at level 3 or 4 on the skill we would be focusing on. We worked together to create a Canvas Module that students could work on at their own pace, focused on the identified skill, but that they could expand on. Using Khan Academy and FrontRow resources, created a multi-step module. Students would have to watch instruction videos, complete sample problems, complete assignments on Front Row, and finally create their own instructional videos. This module allowed students to work at their own pace, to engage with the topic, and then to show their mastery through their own videos posted on the discussion board. Students were engaged and excited to participate in the module and were able to show their understanding in the videos. Our team is looking forward to creating similar modules for different topics as we change our focus during this time. 

I have found the ways that I have used Canvas in my classroom has been very dependent on my grade  level and the technology available. How do you use Canvas at the grade level you teach? What Canvas activities are you most proud of?

ED 675C Course Reflection

      Overall, I am excited about the growth and progress I have made throughout this course. My participation in this course has helped me to become a better user of technology and I feel like I am better prepared to incorporate different technology into my classroom and encourage my students to use technology appropriately in the classroom.

     One significant change to my understanding about technology and how I am using technology in my classroom is my understanding about copy right. I am a little embarrassed to admit how little thought I gave to this topic in the past. While searching images to incorporate into a presentation to my students it never crossed my mind that the image I was inserting could actually be something I should not include. Through the class resources I now have a  better understanding of Fair Use Laws and copy right laws. I also feel strongly about how important it will be to teach these rules to my students. In the past, I have always talked about plagiarism in regards to a student's writing, now I can extend this to other media in projects we are completing in class.

    Additionally, this course has really helped to push my boundaries in regards to my use of social media and education. Although I have enjoyed looking at other's blogs and twitter accounts, this is not something I would have participated in without the push from this class. Now that I have a blog and a twitter account, I am very excited to be an active participate in these communities. I feel that I can better understand the value of PLN now that I have a twitter and am connecting with other educators. I am excited to continue to use my twitter account to share more ideas during the school year.

     Finally, I am so excited about the wide range of technology resources I have explored through this class. Because Canvas is the district paid platform, I had never explored Google sites. I am so excited with the class site I was able to create. It was so user friendly and I feel aesthetically pleasing for my students. I really enjoyed creating different projects on my site and I am excited to use them with my students in the upcoming school year. I also enjoyed exploring with Padlet and FlipSnack for some of my assignments. Also, I have loved hearing about other people's assignments. I feel like I have lots of ideas of new projects and am excited to explore the digital resources they shared. I feel that this class has truly helped expand my knowledge and understanding of educational technology and I can't wait to put my new knowledge to work in my classroom this year.

Artifact Reflection: Artifact #2 Multimedia Project

             Another artifact that I would like to share is my State Project. The purpose of this project was the inclusion of various multimedia elements. I chose to share this artifact because I think it will be a great element to be used in my classroom this year. I am proud of the look of the assignment and the ease of use for students to access on the google site.

                While completing this assignment, one challenged I encountered was becoming familiar with FlipSnack, the digital resource the project is based in. This resource has many great possibilities; however, it was not a user friendly as some of the other resources I have experimented with for this class. It took so trial and error to really understand the resource and be able to use it to create the project I wanted. Although it was challenging to work with, I still think this is one of my favorite artifacts from the class. There are so many possibilities of assignments that can be created with this resource; I did not want to abandon it because there were challenges. I look forward to continuing to explore this tool to better understand and utilize it in the future.

                I think this artifact will be a great addition to my social studies curriculum during the upcoming school year. I think this lesson really works to transform a previous lesson that has become tired as it has not been changed for years. Each student chooses a state that they will research and then provide information about. In the past this information is written in a paper and shared through a 3D project, a “parade float.” However, I think this brochure helps to take this project to another level through the multimedia shared within the context of the brochure. Students are able to add another element to their presentation.

                Overall, I think this artifact helps to show how I am continuing to broaden my use of different technology resources in the classroom. Additionally, I feel that this artifact also shows how I am working to use technology to improve my current curriculum, not incorporating technology for technology’s sake.

Artifact Reflection: Artifact #1 Collaborative Project

                One artifact that I created during this class was my Road Trip Project. The purpose of this assignment was to create a project where students would be working collaboratively. I chose this artifact because I am proud of the lesson I was able to create and am excited to use this assignment in my classroom during the upcoming school year.

                This artifact was one of the first assignments for this class. As such it held some challenges for me. One aspect of the assignment was creating a classroom site and utilizing a collaborative web tool. I have worked primarily in Canvas during the past few years, however, this seemed like a good opportunity to expand my knowledge of other technology resources. At first, I found the project challenging in that I was overwhelmed with options available and trying to determine what would be the best fit for my vision of my class site and the accompanying project. However, once I decided on a Google Site, I was impressed with how user friendly it was. I was happy with the aesthetics of the site, and I really felt that it made my project accessible to my students. Similarly, I struggled to determine the appropriate digital resource to best meet the needs of the project. However, once I got started with the Padlet, it appeared to be a good fit.

                I am excited to use this project with my fourth grade class this year. The social studies curriculum centers on identifying the five themes of geography of the five regions in the United States. It will be my first year teaching this curriculum and I believed this project will help get my students excited about learning more about the regions.

                Overall, I feel that this artifact is a great example of how my understanding about Educational Technology has improved. I feel that I took at topic (5 regions) that is already an element of current curriculum, and was able to transform it with technology to encourage a better understanding for my students. 

Technology Integration Models

Prior to this week’s readings, the only technology integration model or framework that I was familiar with was SAMR. After some training received through my district at the end of the 2016-2017 school year, this model really made sense to me. I felt that I understood the different meanings of each of the levels. While completing the readings for this week, I also enjoyed the connection made between the SAMR model and Bloom’s Taxonomy as described on the Common Sense Education website. I thought that this connection was a great way to evaluate lessons and extend lessons to really improve the use of technology in the classroom. However, as I continued to do additional reading, I felt the RAT model made even more sense to me. I really liked how it is very similar to SAMR, but seems to be a more simplified version.  Sean McHugh states:

 SAMR is almost impossible to pronounce, in English anyway, and while it's simpler than most, it can be simpler, without, I believe, losing anything that is crucial. I don't need to wrestle with the distinction between Augmentation and Modification, seriously—is it that important?

Although I think in theory it is important to be able to differentiate Augmentation and Modification to better understand the lesson you are creating, when it comes to day to day lesson creation I think the RAT model is just as valuable. I believe that when reflecting on lesson creation being able to determine if the lesson is Replacement, Augmented or Transformed is easier and just as valuable. By determining a lesson is simply replacement reminds the teacher I can take it further, while realizing a lesson is transformed is a realization that you are truly using the technology to the best of your ability. I additionally like the additional diagram McHugh creates that continues to make the model user friendly:

R :: replacement | redundant | retrograde
A :: augmented | average | acceptable
T :: transformed | terrific | tremendous

I feel that this little chart just helps to reinforce the idea that it is not always possible or desirable to work at the highest level,  but we at lease want to augment the assignments we are creating.

            In general, I feel that my use of technology falls into the augmented category of the RAT model. I feel that very rarely or never fall into the replacement category. I really do not like to use technology for technology’s sake. I think that this mentality prevents me from falling into this lower level category. I feel that many of my lesson fall into the augmented category. I have changed lessons to improve on them through the use of technology. I feel that some of the lessons that I have created for this class will take my teaching to the transformed lesson. It is my goal to incorporate more transformed lessons into my classroom next year. I feel with the increase of technology with the district going 1:1 will make the feasibility of this easier. I also feel that to create lessons that truly fit into the transformed category requires an understanding of technology. When you truly understand the technology resources available, I think you are better able to incorporate them into your classroom and transform your lessons and take them to the higher level.

Resources:

McHugh, S. (2014, April 09). The RAT, SAMr, Transformative Technology, & Occam's Razor. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from http://doverdlc.blogspot.com/2013/06/the-rat-samr-transformative-technology.html

Puentedure, R. (2014, September 24). SAMR and Bloom's Taxonomy: Assembling the Puzzle. Retrieved July 18, 2017, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/blog/samr-and-blooms-taxonomy-assembling-the-puzzle

Introduction

Welcome! My name is Erin Meehan-Browning and I am a teacher at Elmwood Elementary School in Naperville Community Unit School District #203. I am excited to start my tenth year teaching in Fall 2017. I started my teaching career in first grade. After teaching first grade for 4 years I transitioned to teaching full day kindergarten. I loved the excitement and energy of kindergarten! Most recently I taught second grade for 3 years. I am excited to start a new adventure in fourth grade in the fall!

I graduated from Illinois Wesleyan University in 2008 with my B.S. in Educational Studies. I later attended National Louis University and earned my M. Ed. in Math Education. I loved the challenge and collaborative environment of my graduate courses and am excited to return to the role of student. 

I look forward to building my confidence with technology through these courses. Currently I feel a little intimidated by technology that I am unfamiliar with. However, I am always excited about the potential of new tools and usually find I am pretty capable once I get my feet wet. This is especially true as I transition to fourth grade in the fall. In my past teaching experience, my students have had access to iPads. With a 1:2 technology ratio at best, I was excited to have my students use PicCollage, Canvas, Explain Everything, and My Story. However, there were limitations to how we used technology as students had to share their devices. I am excited the next year my students will be 1:1 on Chromebooks. However, as I have not experience with these devices I am a little intimated about how to make the best use of the devices and the technology available. 

I feel that through this year my confidence has started to build. I think a combination of the information I have learned through these classes, combined with the 1:1 chromebooks in my classroom has really helped me to improve my tech usage in my classroom as well as my confidence in using technology. I feel that I have really pushed my limits and challenged myself to use technology I had been intimidated by through the assignments in these classes. I have learned that just trying something sometimes can be the biggest hurdle. There have been several projects that I have completed, that although not perfect, have encouraged me to continue to explore and use different technologies in my classroom. I can't wait to see how the next two classes will help me to continue to improve my use of technology. 

Having taught a variety of grade levels, I have had the opportunity to see what EdTech looks at different ages and what amazing things you can do even with some of the youngest students. I feel that one of my EdTech successes was with my kindergartners. We had been working hard on retelling fiction stories to include title, author, characters, setting, problem, and solution. With the support of the TIS at my school we taught my students how to record each other retelling their chosen book. Then, with some teacher support they were able to upload their videos to Canvas and comment on each other's videos. My students were so proud of their work and that they were able to share it with their peers and family at home.

However, as with everything in the classroom (and life), even the best ideas can turn into horrible failures. My most memorable EdTech failure looking back is now also my funniest EdTech moment. While teaching second grade, my class had earned a reward. We voted as a class and decided on "Bring Your Device" day. The students were ecstatic and I was looking forward to trying some new tech activities I had recently learned about. I sent out permission slips and got them all back in a shockingly timely matter. The morning of our "Bring Your Device Day" all but 3 students brought a device. I was ready and provided them with devices. Then chaos ensued. Every device was different, with different logins and passwords that I did not know. The wireless network was overloaded and we could not get any devices on. There were tears. Lots of tears. It was an epic disaster that now I can only laugh about. Hoping that 1:1 next year will be better!