EEND 679 Course Reflection

While participating in this class, the coursework about rubrics really stood out to me. I really appreciated both the video, Designing Rubrics, from Lauren Hobbs and Grant Wiggins’ article On Rubrics and Models Part 2: A Dialogue. These two resources really struck me with their guidance to create rubrics. I completely understand the value of rubrics and have seen how they have been beneficial in my classroom. However, I have often struggled with creating my rubrics. I often find the language challenging. I want the language to be reflective of the learning standards, but also easy for my students to understand what is expected of them. Additionally, I often find the task a little overwhelming. If I am assessing on more than one standard, then there ends up being a need for lots of writing of descriptions. These resources really worked to help me to understand how to be more precise in my language and reflective about what I really want to assess and how to write that into the rubric.

During this class, I really enjoyed working with Janet on our Genius Hour Project. I think that we actually worked on this project was a great learning experience. I think it is easy to see how Genius Hour might work in your classroom. However, I think it was even more beneficial to work with a teammate. I think it was beneficial to see how she tackled the project, it was slightly different than the way I started my research. I think this provided great perspective about how students might tackled the Genius Hour Project. Additionally, it was great to have a conversation with her about how she was thinking of incorporating a Genius Hour Project in her classroom. It was great to have that conversation and have another perspective. It provided me with more ideas of how I could include Genius Hour in my class.

I think this class has helped me to grow as a connected educator. I think that this class has really helped me to connect all the learning I have done in the other classes. I think that in the other classes we learned about great resources and topics about technology. I feel in this class I was really able to pull together lots of the ideas I had learned and apply the assessment tools that we learned in this class to bring my lessons to the next level. The focus on assessment really allowed me to take the information about technology and determine how I can use it to assess my students and improve their learning experiences. I think that the use of rubrics and the better understanding of rubrics will help me be a more connected educator for multiple reasons. One reason is the online rubric resources. I have created rubrics in the past, but I love this resource and the possibilities to use in my classroom. Additionally, I think that using rubrics for the different technology projects I plan to implement will help take the learning to a higher level.

I look forward to taking what I have learned in this class and the other Foundations of Educational Technology classes and using them in my classroom. I feel that the tools and resources I have learned about in these courses are going to help me to differentiate the learning in my classroom. I feel that the activities that I plan to implement in my classroom next year will both increase students excitement and engagement and will also let me modify curriculum to meet my students at their level. From this class, I think it is so important to use rubrics and spend the time to discuss them with my students. This will ensure that students understand the expectations of a project and the standards on which they will be assessed. I think these classes have provided me with great resources to take into my classroom. I will continue my learning in my classroom through actually utilizing the resources and modifying my current curriculum and projects to better meet student needs.

EEND 679 Artifact #2: Assessment Tool Comparison Infographic

            The second artifact I chose to share for this class is the Assessment Tool Comparison Infographic. I chose this artifact because I think there are two elements here to be addressed. One element is that two different assessment tools that I compared. I really enjoyed reflecting on these tools, how I have used them and way in which I could potentially use them in the future. I used Go Formative almost every day during the last school year. However, when researching it for this project, I learned about even more options and capabilities of this resource. I look forward to using some of these new features in my classroom next year. Additionally, although I was familiar with Kahoot, I had not used it often in my classroom. It was fun to explore and see all the potential uses of this resource. While exploring I thought of so many ways in which to use this program in the future. The second reason I chose this artifact is the infographic element. In a previous class we learned about infographics and how beneficial they can be for student learning. However, this was my first time using piktochart. I was so impressed with this resource. I think I was able to create a really great looking infographic using this program. I look forward to introducing this resource to my students and using it in the classroom to see the amazing projects students can make.

            Although I really enjoyed using piktochart, there were some challenges that I experienced. I think that I was able to create a very sleek and visually appealing infographic. The resource I used, piktochart, was very user friendly. I did have to explore and play around a little with the site to find all the different available tools on the site. However, what I found to be most challenging was developing the content to display in the infographic. I very quickly chose Kahoot and GoFormative to compare. I was familiar with both of these resources, when that I used daily and the other that I wanted to use more frequently. However, I really struggled with identifying the five components I wanted to judge these resources on. I can see how students could be very excited about using the piktochart resource and create a wonderful looking project, but I imagine they may also struggle with what and how much information to show on their infographic. This was great project for me to experience before I assign an infographic assignment for my students.

            I think that infographics could be a great project in a classroom. I think it is a really creative way for students to show their understanding of a given topic. I think that students who struggle with writing long pieces, would really enjoy this kind of project to show their learning. I think that this kind of project is great because it is so diverse. One way I can imagine using this project in my classroom would be to have students create an infographic comparing two states or regions in social studies. Students already do some research on these topics and do a write up to show their learning. I think having them create infographics would be an even better way to show their understanding of the subject. Students could also use infographics to compare two different characters when reading. They could also show understanding of a science topic using an infographic. I think the diverse potential of this project and the creative aspect of the resource make this project a great addition to any classroom.  

            I feel like this artifact shows how much I have grown in my learning in not only this class, but during the series of five classes. In our third class, we learned about the importance of infographics. The infographic we read in the resources really struck me and has inspired me to use more infographics in my classroom. From early in the class we have explore a variety of different resources, such as Kahoot. This class has really allowed me to combine the knowledge I have gained in the previous classes and put it together in a way to really benefit the students in my classroom and use my knowledge to increase their learning and engagement. 

EEND 679 Artifact #1: Genius Hour Project

            The first artifact I chose for this class was the GeniusHour Project. I included this project because I think that this is a great way to really impact student achievement. This kind of project is an important way to differentiate and improve student engagement. Students will be excited and motivated to participate in a Genius Hour project because they get to choose their own question. Students will become excited to research a topic that interests them. This project is also great because there are so many different ways that students can show their research. This allows students to be creative in how they want to present their learning. Additionally, students will be able to show mastery of a variety of different skills during this project. They potentially can show mastery in reading, writing, and technology skills, as well as potentially a subject area that their project is connected to. This is why I chose to discuss the Genius Hour Project.

            Although this project has so many potential benefits, there are also some potential challenges. One of the strengths of this project, how open ended it is, could also be a challenge for some students. Some students enjoy or feel secure when completing assignments that have very explicit directions. These students often struggle when they are provided with more choices and freedom. One way to address this challenge is to have a rubric ready to discuss when presenting this project. By explaining and discussing the rubric with students, you will explain the expectations for students and give those students some structure, while still allowing them the choice and freedom to develop their own question and be creative when sharing their project. Another challenge could be helping students to develop questions to research. Students will need to develop questions that allow deep thinking and research. Students are often not familiar with asking these types of questions. It may take some time and some guidance to help students to develop appropriate questions to research for their Genius Hour.

            I think the Genius Hour Project would be a great addition to any classroom. I think one way to incorporate a Genius Hour would be during an informative Writing or nonfiction Reading unit. Ideally, if you are teaching these unit together you could devote even more class time to the project. You could potentially teach the reading and writing skills of the unit and then have students show mastery of these skills by completing a Genius Hour Project. During the process of researching their question they would have to use the nonfiction reading skills taught during the unit. Similarly, while creating their project, they would have to utilize the informative writing skills they had just learned. I think what is really important for this project, is to determine which skills you will be assessing at the completion of the project and be sure to include these on the rubric. It is important to take time to review and discuss the rubric so students have a true understanding of the purpose of the project. This project provides so many potential opportunities to incorporate into the classroom to address a variety of learning standards, it is just important that a rubric is provided and those standards are addressed with students to provide them with some guidance to understand how they will be assessed.

            I think that this project is a great example of how I have grown throughout this class. This project really shows how I have used the different information I have learned through the other classes, but through this class I am using this knowledge to assess and really transform my students’ learning. In previous classes I had learned about different site and resources that students, such as Google Sites, WeVideo, and Padlet, but during this class I learned about how to use these in combination with rubrics and other assessment tools to really impact my student’s learning. This project is a great example of this learning because of the variety of ways to utilize a genius hour. However, what takes this project to the next level is the use of a rubric to focus in on the specific learning standards the teacher would like to address. This will really help students to stay focused and improve their learning. 

EEND 678 Artifact #2: Grant Writing Proprosal

The second artifact I chose for EEND 678 was my Grant Writing Proposal. The reason I chose this artifact is because it is something that I had never tackled before in my career as an educator. During my ten years teaching, I have seen many colleagues write grants and receive funds to do amazing things in their classrooms. I have always been so impressed by these teachers. I have been impressed by their creativity in creating projects, their ability to convince others of the value of their ideas, and the way they have turned an idea on paper into a real life project. Although I have been in awe of the amazing things I have seen my colleagues due through the help of a grant, it is something that I had never attempted, and never thought I was able to do. This project really pushed me to try something new. I am so glad that I completed the writing for the grant. It gave me confidence to continue to pursue grants for projects that I think will benefit my students.

One of the biggest challenges in regards to this artifact was determining what exactly I should write a grant for. There are so many amazing possibilities available and can think of about a million things that I would like for my classroom that I think would benefit my students. However, for the grant I had to choose one project that I thought was the most valuable, would be the most beneficial for my students, and that those who decide the grant can understand the value of. I went back and forth between a few different projects or ideas before deciding that mobile recording stations would be of great value to my students and the rest of the students in the grade level. I chose this project because I felt that the value of the project extended beyond just one subject area. Students could use these tools to improve their assignments and projects in every content area. Also, by creating 5 mobile recording stations, each one could be housed in a different classroom, then the project would benefit all the students in fourth grade, not just my class. It was challenging to determine which project to write a grant for; however, I feel like I chose a project that would be of great value for more students across multiple content areas.

Although the actual grant cannot be implemented in the classroom, if I win the grant money, my project can be implemented. I wrote a grant to create 5 mobile recording stations. This school year when we went 1:1 Chromebooks, we have increased the number and type of digital projects that students are creating. More and more frequently, my students are creating projects with audio or video aspects. However, my students often became frustrated when trying to record audio on their Chromebooks. The audio was often hard to hear, either drown out by other noises in the classroom, or interference from the Chromebook itself. However, these mobile recording stations would eliminate these problems. Students could use the higher quality microphone and mobile recording “booths” to ensure a quality audio that the audience would be able to understand on the first try. This would increase student productiveness and improve the quality of the assignments students are creating.

Finally, I feel that this artifact speaks to my growth as an educator. Educators every day are faced with what can feel like an impossible task. We are often stretched thin with a laundry list of things to accomplish with minimal time and resources in which to do so. We are expected to help a crowded classroom of students, each with their own strengths and challenges, learn and grow at their own pace and skill level. We seem to be expected to do it all with very little resources. One way in which I can grow and improve as an educator is to seek out resources that will help the students in my classroom. One way in which I can do this is to write grants to supplement the resources that I am given. I think it takes thought and reflection to decide what tools would benefit your students and how to get those resources into your classroom. I think that by writing grants I am working to improve the learning environment and resources of my students, and therefore am becoming a better educator. 

EEND 678 Artifacts #1: PBL Unit

The first artifact that I have chosen for this class is PBLUnit. I chose this artifact because I feel that it really encompassed learning from several different weeks in class. The idea of Project Based Learning is something that I heard about, but did not think was something that I was interested in incorporating into my classroom. The more I learned about PBL I realized that I did not have a true understanding of what PBL was or why I should be using it in my classroom. During the first few weeks of this class I learned a lot about what PBL is and the successes and challenges that often go along with it. During this time I also brainstormed several different PBLs I could implement in my classroom with a variety of corresponding technology experiences for my students. Next, we learned about UbD. I was finally able to combine these two important topics by using UbD to create a PBL unit for my students. I am so excited to implement this unit with my students during the next school year.  I think that this project is a great example of the learning I completed during the first few weeks in the class.

Although I am very proud of the work I completed for this project, and I think it shows my understanding of UbD and PBL, it does not mean that this project did not have its challenges. One major challenge I faced while completing this project was my knowledge of the subject content. I really felt that the science curriculum would lend itself best to the PBL concept, and it one of the few content areas where all my students are present. Additionally, I wanted to be sure that if I was putting in the time and effort, I wanted to create a meaningful and useful product that I could implement for multiple years. However, next year we will be implementing a new science curriculum in the elementary buildings. Although I have a curriculum map, I do not have experience actually teaching the lessons. This was a challenge when trying to create a PBL unit that focused on the topics covered in the curriculum map, even though I have not yet taught the curriculum yet. I look forward to implementing this unit next year with my students. However, I also recognize that because it is the first time that I will be teaching this curriculum, I will more than likely have to make changes and modifications to my unit as I am implementing and better understanding the curriculum and resources provided.

This assignment could be implemented into the curriculum very easily. I wrote this PBL Unit based upon the concepts that are being studied during Trimester 3 Science in fourth grade. The trimester topic in science is Waves and Earth Features. I created a PBL unit that students can work on for a few weeks during this trimester. It asks students to learn about different energy and fuel types, determine which is best for the Earth and try to convince others how and why we should use it. I think that this assignment would be great to implement because it is a real life problem that students could become really engaged with. I also provided a variety of learning opportunities for students to combine technology, research, reading, and writing skills to improve their understanding of the science topics. I believe that implement this unit will improve student engagement and improve their learning and understanding of the topic.

Finally, I think this assignment is a great example of how I have grown as an educator through this class. PBL is more than just a buzz word, but a shift in instruction that can have huge benefits for students. Prior to this class, my understanding of PBL was very limited. It was something that seemed like a lot of work that I was not interested in exploring further. However, during this class I was able to brainstorm a variety of ideas that would make great PBLs and then explore one of the topics deeper to create a PBL unit. This showed me what I am capable and has given me the courage to continue to explore PBLs in the future. I really hope to share my knowledge and understanding of PBLs with my teammates and hopefully we will be able to create additional units together. I look forward to leading my team in creating real life valuable learning experiences for our students. 

EEND 678 Course Reflection

While reflecting on this class, one article that really was meaningful to me was, “35 Leaders on the Successes and Challenges of Project Based Learning.” I found this article to be so meaningful for a few reasons. One reason it really stuck with me was the honesty of the people interviewed. I feel like often times the successes and the amazing possibilities of technology are presented, but rarely are the very realistic challenges discussed. For example one Blossom Johnston states, “The work we've funded in this space in Idaho over the past 4 years point to a few key lessons. But, first of all we've seen that this is a really difficult learning approach that requires a lot of time, effort, resources and support to implement.” I think it is really important to acknowledge while we are trying to implement these amazing concepts there is a lot of time and effort involved. I feel like often times we are expected to do amazing things, without any consideration or acknowledgement of all the work behind the scenes. This article is great because it speaks to the amazing possibilities of technology in the classroom without ignoring all the effort and challenges behind the scenes.

One discussion that I felt was truly meaningful was “Feedback on a Flip.” Flipped Learning is a concept that I was had heard about but found to overwhelming to try to tackle. I found the discussion with my peers really beneficial. It was great to hear their different ideas of how to make this “big idea” work for them in their classrooms. I also really enjoyed seeing their Flipped Videos. It was great to see the variety of topics as well as different tools and programs that people decided to use when creating their Flipped Video. It provided me with lots of ideas and inspiration. I feel that prior to the discussion and the sharing of the videos the concept of Flipped Learning seemed overwhelming and I wasn’t sure how to do it “right”. The discussion with my colleagues helped me to realize there are so many ways to explore with this topic and doing it “right” may look a little different in each classroom.

I feel that I have truly grown as a connected educator through this class. I have really pushed out of my comfort zone for many projects during this class. Project Based Learning and Flipped Learning are two huge buzz words that I had heard about, read about, and decided were beyond something I could tackle. However, through this class I have been forced to push out of my comfort zone and tackle these innovative approaches to learning. I am so excited to implement my PBL next year and share my knowledge with my teammates and hopefully create additional units together. Similarly, from discussions with and examples from my classmates I have gained so many ideas of ways to flip learning in my classroom. I look forward to exploring this concept with my students next year and make it work for my classroom. 

EEND 677: Artifact #2

            The second artifact I chose to reflect on for this class is my Screencast project for Module 7. I chose this artifact for a few reasons. One reason I chose this artifact is that I feel it shows my understanding of really two different projects I completed for the class. While creating the screencast, which shows my knowledge of this multimedia tool, I was also demonstrating my knowledge of WeVideo, which I had used to create my book trailer for Module 4. I feel that the screencast was a great way to show how my understanding of these multimedia tools had improved through this course. Another reasons why I chose to share this artifact is that I feel that is shows how I have pushed myself beyond my comfort zone and used a tool that I thought was too challenging in the past. Prior to this class I had seen many screencasts, but had always been intimidated by this tool. I felt that I was not tech savvy enough to create something like this, nor did I have information that needed to be shared in this way. However, I feel that through creating this screencast for this class I really pushed myself and can really see the value of making screencasts in the future.

            While creating the screencast project for Module 7, I found the experience to be very different than I had anticipated. The elements of the screencast that I expected to be challenging turned out to be much more user friendly than anticipated. However, the elements that I expected to be easy, turned out to be the most challenging. Prior to becoming more familiar with screencasts through the resources provided in Module 7, I worried about the technical aspects of actually creating and editing the screencast. However, this turned out to be incredibly easy using ScreenCastify. This app is incredibly user friendly and easy to navigate. It only took me a few quick experiments to feel comfortable with this tool. However, I found the content and the timing of the screencast to be much more challenging than I anticipated. I originally had planned on covering much more content in my screencast about using WeVideo. However, midway through my first recording I had exceeded the ten minutes provide by ScreenCastify. I was shocked by how long my screencast had run! I did not intend to make such a long video. I knew that a longer video would struggle to hold the attention of my students. I had to modify my outline to include less information to fit better into the time constraints. Additionally, having been sick with a cough and cold for the last few weeks, I found it frustrating that I could not pause and restart my screencast. There are several times when I cough during the screencast. However, as I was sick and can’t seem to go more than 5 minutes without coughing, this seemed inevitable for the time being. I wonder if I had a different app to create the screencasts if I would have been able to edit this. However, with the free app I was using I did not have that option. However, despite all the challenges involved I was proud that I was able to step out of my comfort zone and make a screencast that my students can use.

            I made this screencast because I felt that it really responded to a need I had seen in my classroom. My students had been exploring WeVideo and had used it in a few different projects. They have become much more proficient than I in using the various features of WeVideo. They have created some amazing videos and book trailers. However, the problems seemed to arise when they were finishing the videos and moving them out of WeVideo. They also struggled with sharing them so that others could view them. I had reviewed how to save the videos to Google Drive and how to open up the sharing aspect. However, each of these concepts required multiple steps and students struggled to follow through. This is why I chose to create a screencast that would help students to share their videos to Google in a way that they could utilize them and share them. I felt that screencasting would be a great way to do this because students could pause the video as they were working. They could complete one step at a time without becoming overwhelmed. I shared the screencast on our Canvas site so that they can access it whenever they need to.

            I feel that this artifact really shows how I have grown through this course work. Prior to this class, a screencast really seemed outside of my abilities as an educator. I really felt that I did not have the technical experience or ability to create a screencast. Nor did I think that I had technology knowledge valuable enough to share in this manner. However, this class taught me how technologically easy it is to create a screencast. Also, it showed me that screencasts can be created for a variety of reasons. I learned that if I saw a need I could create a screencast that would help me to share information with my students. I look forward to improving my screencasting skills and using screencasts in the future to continue to support the learners in my classroom. 

EEND 677: Artifact #1

       The first artifact that I chose to share from this class was my “Day in the Life of 4MB” infographic. I chose to include this artifact because it related to the topic that I found to be one of the most impactful during this class. During Module 5 we learned about infographics, graphic design, and typography. This module provided some information that was the most significant that I read in the class. It was in this module when reading the article/infographic, “The Power of Visual Communication” that I read the fact that people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see and do. This statistic was very striking to me. As an educator, I feel like how can I ignore this kind of information? It made me really think about how I can modify some of my teaching to improve student learning using this information. I am really excited about finding new ways to use images and infographics in my classroom to improve my students learning. Additionally, I noticed how my own interest and engagement improved while looking at these documents. I can understand why I may see similar engagement in my students using this type of multimedia.

            Although I really enjoyed this topic and felt very inspired to make some changes, I can’t say that this project was without challenges. I think that one thing that is so important about infographics is the way that they provide lots of information in a way that is appealing and not overwhelming. I think because often they try to look simplistic to engage the reader, they seem simple to make. However, as I created two different graphic design/infographic projects for this class, I learned that it is more challenging to look simplistic than one may anticipate. One way in which this is true is the many decisions to be made in regards to the aesthetics of the project. The font, color, and images used in the design are very important. Through the different resources presented in Module 5, I learned how important these elements are and how they can affect the way the reader perceives the information. For that reason, it is far more challenging to choose 2 appropriately contrasting fonts, than just picking one that looks nice. Similarly, there are design elements in play when choosing a color scheme, including number of colors used and the contrast desired. The design elements chosen are a very deliberate decision that requires some trial and error and planning. Additionally, my biggest challenge was how to incorporate enough information while not seeming to overwhelm the overall project. The project I was creating required a lot of information. I don’t think that this is necessarily a negative. Many infographics provide significant information. However, it is the way that they present this information in an aesthetically pleasing way that helps the reader to understand it. I feel that I struggled with including the necessary information, while still using white space, and not overcrowding the page.

            I ended up creating two versions of this artifact for class. The first version of this artifact provides more detailed sentences explaining the daily routines in my classroom. This version was created as a tool to help my maternity sub become more familiar with the routines of the classroom. She had requested this information, and I felt that this was a great opportunity to create a fun document to share our classroom routines. Additionally, in the past I have created an entire substitute binder. This binder held an enormous amount of information explaining routines and expectations for our classroom. There were several different resources in this binder. However, time and time again it would appear that the substitute did not read through the material provided. I hope that a shorter two page infographic would be a great resource for any substitute who is working in my classroom, rather than the binder. Additionally, I created a second version of this document that has just bullet points of the different elements of our day. I think that this version could be a great visual to share with parents or administrators at the beginning of the year to help them get a better understand of our daily schedule.

            Overall, I feel that this artifact works to show my growth through this course. I think this shows that I have learned the importance of using graphics and visual elements to support the understanding of a topic. I think that this artifact was a great initial infographic that allowed me to experiment with typography, color, and graphics to become familiar with the various resources available. I look forward to apply the skills I learned while creating this artifact to creating additional resources to improve my students’ learning next year. I would also love to share this information about infographics with my students, and allow them the opportunity to create infographics to show their understanding and mastery of a given topic. I feel that there are so many opportunities available in regards to this multimedia tool and I cannot way to continue to explore them. 

Course Reflection EEND677Y - Multimedia Tools in Education

      I really enjoyed learning about the different multimedia tools during this course and experimenting with how to incorporate them into my classroom. One type of media and article that really stuck with me was "The Power of Visual Communication" and the use of infographics. I feel that this article and the module as a whole struck me for several reasons. One reason, was there was great information shared in the article. The article stated that people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see and do. This statistic was just so significant to me and my role as an educator. My goal is to provide my students with information that they will learn and retain. With this kind of data, it is easy to see how my teaching will benefit significantly from making modifications to include activities where students will see and do, to increase their memory on the topic. Additionally, I also noticed how my own interested peaked when reading infographics. It is easy to see how this type of multimedia would grab student attention and help them to better understand the topic. 

    One discussion that I really enjoyed with my classmates was the twitter conversation for Module 3. I really appreciated everyone's insight into how they were using audio in the classroom. One aspect I appreciated was that it really made me reflect on my use of audio in the classroom. Although I feel that my use of audio as an editing and revising tool in writing has been very beneficial for my students, I realize there are so many other opportunities available. I really appreciated hearing my colleagues' ideas of how they were using audio in their classrooms. Since that conversation I have already introduced one project where I had students use audio to share some research that they completed. I look forward to using some of the ideas I heard from other members of this class and increase the way I am using audio technology in my classroom. Additionally, I really enjoyed the story clip, "The Well" and hearing my classmates' reactions to this story. It was such a moving story, I love to be able to share those conversations. Finally, I really appreciated the twitter format for this discussion. 

   I feel that this course has provided me with great opportunity to grow as a connected educator. I feel that through the multimedia tools that we have explored in this class, the ideas that have been shared by my peers, and the projects that I have created, I have really expanded my skills in using technology in my classroom. I feel that at the beginning of this school year when 1:1 technology was first introduced, I was stuck in the Substitution and Augmentation levels of the SAMR model. I was using the technology available, but not really using my resources to their fullest potential. However, as I think about projects that I have worked on in this class, and the assignments that they have inspired in my classroom, I truly feel like I am moving up in the SAMR model. I feel that through the different multimedia tools I am utilizing in my classroom I am entering the Modification and Redefinition levels of the SAMR model. 

   Although I feel that I have grown as an educator, I feel there are areas I can continue to grow my learning. One area where I would like to continue to grow and explore is the area of infographics. I mentioned earlier in the post how this topic really struck me as significant. I really enjoyed creating projects involving the infographics and using the information provided from the resources. However, at this point, although I have shared some of these graphics with students, I have not had students create graphics. I feel like this would be a great next step in my growth as an educator. I think about the significant benefits of this type of multimedia and I think a logical next step would be to have students start creating their own infographics. I can think of several areas of our curriculum where this kind of activity could be implemented. In Social Studies, students could make infographics about the states or regions we are studying. In Science, they can create google drawings to show their understanding of a certain scientific concept.In Writing, they could create a graphic that would support their informative writing pieces. I think that this would be a great next step for myself as an educator, as well as my students. 

   I am so excited to continue to integrate different multimedia into my classroom. As a teacher I have already integrated screencasts and infographics as resources that I have created to share information with my students. I have already begun projects where students are using WeVideo to record audio and video to show their understanding of a specific topic. I was so amazed to see the quality work my students were able to create during their first experiences with the program. I am so excited to continue to incorporate these types of learning experiences into the classroom and continue to see my students' technology skills grow. It has been so rewarding to see my students to actively engaged in projects where they are enjoying showing their knowledge and understanding.

   I really enjoyed the resources presented in Module 8. I thought the Ted Talk about the virtual laboratory was so interesting and such an amazing step and resource in higher level education. I found all the various tools out there amazing. I have seen some of these different resources, such as Google Cardboard and Google Expeditions and Aurasma shared at different tech conferences. Although these seem like amazing resources, it is not something that I have felt I have the ability to bring into my classroom. It seems like most of these apps require some kind of mobile device, such as ipads or iphones. We have just recently gone one to one with Chromebooks. I would love to incorporate some of these kinds of activities if I could with the Chromebooks, but that does not seem like an option at this point. The Google Expeditions seem like such an amazing tool that I would love to incorporate, but with a price tag of almost $10,000 for a class of thirty, this doesn't seem like a realistic option at this point. 

Graphic Design

      This week our readings focused on the ideas of Graphic Design and Infographics. I really enjoyed these readings and the different perspective it provided me. I think that through these reading's my ideas of Graphic Design changed, and similarly, I have a new appreciation of how I can and should be incorporating it more into my classroom. I think prior to these readings my basic understanding of Graphic Design was art created on the computer often for advertising. However, my point of view has changed significantly. One article that really stood out to me was titled, "The Power of Visual Communication Infographic" from the wyzowl website. Both the information presented and the way it was presented were very powerful. It really spoke to me about how using graphic design in my classroom could be so valuable. One statistic that really stood out was that people remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, and 80% of what they see and do. This is a huge selling point for including graphics into the classroom. If using different visual aides would increase my students memory, and hopefully in turn their understanding of a topic that significantly, it is hard to ignore it's value in the classroom. Another article that stood out to me about the value of graphic design in the classroom was "Why Teachers Should Care About Typography"from the ASIDE blog. I found it really interesting about how the different types of typography can affect students learning and understanding. The font we choose seems like such a minor decisions, however it can have large impacts on learning. This is something I know I need to be more aware of when I am creating items for my classroom. However, as my students are becoming more creators, than just consumers, I feel like this idea has value for them as they are creating different projects. Finally, I also noticed how much more engaged I was with the various infographics that we looked at this week. It seems to obvious that this would be a great way to increase student engagement in a topic. By creating and sharing infographics and then having students' create it seems like a great way to increase student engagement and understanding about a given topic. 

       Many of the articles and videos this week discussed how people absorb information. As I mentioned earlier, the article "The Power of Visual Communication Infographic" discusses how people only remember 10% of what they hear, 20% of what they read, but 80% of what they see and do. Using this information we can modify our instruction to better support the learners in our classrooms. If we think about the traditional classroom and the "Sage on the Stage" mentality, we can see that this most closely aligns with have students hearing, of which they remember 10%, and often times reading, of which they remember 20%. This is obviously not the most effective teaching strategy and we need to modify our teaching to include more of the "see and do." I think one way we are already doing this is in math where we are providing manipulattives and integrated task problems where they are actually "doing" the problem. They are thinking through, using tools and models, and not just learning and regurgitating an algorithm. I think another way that we can improve is to include infographics or other types of diagrams to help show information in a new way. This will help students to see and remember the information. Finally, I think it is such a great idea for students to take the information they have been studying and then creating their own infographic to show their understanding and then share it with their peers to reinforce understanding of the whole class. 

     I am really excited about this type of project and already have several ways in which I would like to experiment with this new type of Multimedia tool to encourage my students' learning. One lesson where I would like to try to incorporate having students create an infographic would be in relation to our study of Nonfiction. We spend time focusing on different nonfiction genres. One idea I have is for students to do research and read about a person of their choosing. Then have them create and biographical infographic on the famous or historical person of their choosing. I think this would be great because students would have to research, read, and gather information. Then they would need to decide on what would be the most important information to share in their design. Another idea I have connects to our Social Studies unit on the Midwest. Students use a hyperdoc to learn about different states and write a report discussing the advantages and disadvantages of a given state. I think it would be a great extension for students to create a flyer advertising a state and why someone might want to visit. 

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!