Technology Integration

Technology Integration

Being a middle aged woman, I remember the current technology trends, when they were in their infancy.  Yes, that means I did not have e-mail until I was in my twenties, carried a gigantic bag phone, and played the Oregon trail.  When I messed with the wrong commands in class in high school, I brought down the entire schools network, and my teacher, told me that I would go far.  Since he happened to be one of the original NASA scientists to work on the original computer (room sized), I felt honored.   

Because I had such great experiences with technology, I have always tried to pass on the flame and integrate the newest technologies in my classes. 

The first year I taught full time was the 1999-2000 school year.  I entered my students in a web page building contest, and we begun our techy journey. The kids loved it.  We created what would be considered very low tech websites, were one of the first to do our Yearbooks online, and by the end of the year people in the community were contacting us and the kids even made the graphics for traditional billboards.

What I learned that year, and what the students learned, went beyond the English curriculum.  It started many of them on a path that lead to tech careers and other job opportunities.  It also engaged them, making the mundane curriculum come alive. 

Technology is not something that is going to go away.  It is ever changing, sometimes difficult, but also an excellent way to engage students, and give them a heads up in the job force.

There are several pointers that I have learned along the way that will help any teacher integrate technology.

1) Be familiar before you start, and take time to test your equipment.

2) If you encounter problems, ask for help.

3) As soon as you learn it, it will change - so embrace the change.

\4) There is stuff out there that will amaze you, so enjoy and be prepared to learn!

Photo Credits


Success kid: http://mrwgifs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Success-Kid-Meme-Gif.gif

Reeves: http://ct.fra.bz/i60/5/12/8/f_8321a8380c.jpg

Brace yourself: http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/newsfeed/000/182/856/IcK0T.jpg?1317939560

What if I told you: http://i1.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/original/000/009/889/Morpheus2.jpg

Virtual Teaching: Benefits and Challenges

Image Source: http://www.mrlsmath.com/the-benefits-of-tech-in-math-class/

Virtual Teacher Benefits

There are many things that teachers find attractive about virtual education.  They include:
* Autonomy (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Ability to participate in ongoing professional development (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Less time spent dealing with classroom disruptions
* Less discipline problems
* Easier to differentiate instruction
* Ability to design own lessons (Borup & Stevens)
* Flexibility in when and where to teach (Borup & Stevens)
* Can create a sense of community (Borup & Stevens)
* Virtual teachers report a fulfilling experience (Borup & Stevens)

Image Source: http://www.teachhub.com/7-technology-tools-every-educator-should-use

Virtual Teaching Challenges

Because virtual teaching can be much different than a traditional classroom, there are also many things that teachers find challenging about virtual classrooms, including:
* Disconnection from students and staff(Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Loss of interaction between teacher's making collaboration more difficult (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Often did not receive training in advance of their teaching online. (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Lack of physical cues from students (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Lack of instant feedback (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Harder to build personal relationships (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* Change in traditional platform - a lot of instruction needs to be created or modified (Hawkins, Barbour & Graham)
* There can be a lot of written communication (Kossan & Ryman)
* Need additional training (Kossan & Ryman)
* Average less pay than their average brick and mortar contemporaries (Nagel)
* Lower completion rates than traditional schools (Nagel) (Michigan)

How can I use this information?
* Be intention in actions and writing to make sure that the intended message is being expressed
* Vary communication styles to find out what works with your students
* Be intentional about making connections to student
* Understand if your personality fits the type of teacher who is successful in the online environment
* Advocate to define online education and to establish the professionalism and reputation of the profession.

Additional Resources

"Online Teaching: The good the bad and the ugly" - Pros and Cons of Teaching online - Anecdotal
http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2015/03/03/online-teaching-the-good-the-bad-the-ugly

"Pros and Cons of Teaching Online" - More of a consumer article
http://www.uscranton.com/resources/teaching-tips/pros-and-cons-of-teaching-online/#.VglbqflViko

"Thinking of Becoming a Virtual Teacher" Quick pro and con list
http://www.bridgetefl.com/thinking-of-becoming-a-virtual-teacher-pros-and-cons-of-teaching-english-online/

Works Cited

Borup, Jered and Mark Stevens.  "Factors Influencing Teacher Satisfaction at an Online Charter School".  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwtAYgIkjWAGYkN1bTdPdGdXRlU/edit

Hawkins, Abigail, Michael Barbour and Charles Graham.  " Everybody is their own island: Teacher disconnection in a virtual school" http://www.irrodl.org/index.php/irrodl/article/view/967

Kossan, Pat and Anne Ryman.  " Teaching online presents challenges".  2011.  http://archive.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2011/12/15/20111215online-schools-teaching-online-challenges.html

Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute.  "Study find virtual learning enrollments reveal mised results".  2014. http://www.mvlri.org/Publications/ID/21/Study-finds-virtual-learning-enrollments-reveal-mixed-results


Nagel, David.  "Report Spotlghts Problems with Virtual School Data".  2014.  https://thejournal.com/articles/2014/04/16/report-spotlights-problems-with-virtual-school-data.aspx

Popplet

The role of a virtual educator

The Role of an Virtual Educator

Different roles

 - Virtual educators can play a variety of role.  In addition, and there is a lot of varience on what it means to be an virtual educator.  With few norm in type of format, style, and even what teaching looks like, it is important to define virtual education before explaining it.

-   In "Virtual Schooling," Davis and Niederhauser identify different types of virtual learning, including: distance, online, virtual classroom, virtual schooling, course shell and each of these platforms can contain a variety of platforms including: WebCT, videoconferencing, and self-study.

Image Source: http://psychology.unt.edu/cns-lab-parsons/simulations/virtual-classroom

Who are virtual educator?

One surprising statistic is that most virtual educators are experienced teachers (K-12).  Since many virtual classrooms are lower paying that the traditional brick and mortar buildings, I had assumed that it was most attractive to new educators, just getting experience.  In fact, the few head hunter hits I have gotten have all contained language about getting experience, and contained pay ranges half of what I was currently making, but this is not the national norm (Suttle).

Image Source: http://ged578.pbworks.com/w/page/25547755/Virtual%20classrooms%20for%20public%20school%20use

Unique challenges of finding the right type of virtual educator

   - I have been thinking a lot about the type of person that would be attracted to being an on-line educator.  For the most part there are personality traits like autonomous, self-directed, right brained, eager to try new things, etc. that would all be positive traits for an on-line educator.  However, without self motivation, it would be difficult to maintain a quality product.  

-  As a Librarian, I noticed two types of teachers - those that procrastinate, and were often found chatting away in the break rooms or in my library (often these were the social teacher's the kids really connected to), and the ones who hung out in their rooms and were always ahead (always has the best content but often had a hard time connecting to students).   The second type of teacher would thrive in the current on-line environment with lots of autonomy, the ability to expand what they teach, and really push students who had the willingness to learn, but how about the first type of educator? Is there another platform for educators that provides a more structured environment for the educators. 

Several platforms have begun to provide a brick and mortar building both for students and educators.  How does this change the way on-line learning is accomplished, and does it mitigate the benefits of on-line learning?  Is the autonomy or the platform the more attractive motivators for educators in this platform? 

But its not just a different type of educator that is needed, there is also a virtual support staff, identified in "Virtual School", as including, tech support, educators, administrators including principals, designer, site facilitator, and parent.

Original Popplet

An awesome example of how Google Hahgouts can be used as a virtual round table.

Cited References:

Archambault, Leanna; Crippen, Kent.  "K-12 Distance Educators at Work: Who;s Teaching Online across the United States" 2009. <http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ844272>

Davis, Niki and Dale Niederhauser.  "Virtual Schooling". 2007.<http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ779830.pdf>

Suttle, Rick."The Average Salary of Adjunct On-line Instructors.  2015.< http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/average-salary-adjunct-online-instructors-7985.html>

On-line Education

On-line Education

On-line education is still in its infancy, and as such it has to potential to evolve and become anything, However, with that potential, lies the ambiguity.  With a huge variance in standard, mode of operation, and even how on-line learning is facilitated, it is often first imperative to define what is meant by on-line learning, before the merits can be discussed.

Schools for Maine's Future

Once the definition of on-line learning has been established the individual merits can be weighed.  It has been estimated that, "sixty-five percent of students will be employed in jobs that don't exists yet" ( source). Because as teachers, we are trying to teach to a job that does not exist yet, it is imperative to change the way we teach, and adapt to the new ways our learners learn.

 (source)

Since it has been established that there are over a million current K-12 students taking some form of on-line learning (link).  The trend has been set, it is just a matter of defining and setting standards for uniformity. On-line education also varies significantly from the K-12 to the adult, college and business settings.  With different standards and different expectations.  

Popplet 

Growth of K-12 Online Education

Who are on-line learners?

High school students

Middle school students

Former home-school students

Former home-bound student

Students who are advanced learners

Students with medical needs

Students who enjoy computers

Students who need to complete an extra class or redo a class they have already taken

Students seeking extra certifications

(Anyone is a potential on-line learner)

Why are students choosing on-line learning?

There are multiple reasons why students are choosing on-line learning:

1) Traditional home school students - expanding learning in specific content

2) Provides alternatives for special learning needs and medical needs

3) Provides a different type of interaction

4) Avoidance of negative social interaction

5) Enjoy computers

A thought about why on-line education is so important in the post secondary setting. (A plug for the MOOC)

Jenifer Pickens

Jenifer Pickens 

Professional

- Certified Librarian, Reading Specialist, and English Teacher
- Ten years of teaching experience
- Specialization in at risk youth
- School Web Administrator
- Parent Portal Administrator
- Recipient of multiple grants for Library programs

About the Clan

- My husband and I are parents to many children.  The actual number changes on a regular basis, as we are also foster parents.

- Our current clan consists of 5 boys (7,10,10, 14,18) and one young lady (16), five cats, one dog, three chickens, a few fish. and a SIL. 

- Our motto is work hard, but play harder.
- My husband and I have both survived multiple types of cancer, and know we are here for a reason. We live each day like there maybe no tomorrow, because we know how fragile life can be.
- All of our kids have been in multiple failed foster / family placements before coming to us.  Each one is proof of God's love and his ability to change lives.

Other Stuff

- Compassion International Advocate
- Adobe Campus Leader
- Avid Quilter
- House flipper (on house five)
- Certified Brick Layer

- Adobe Instructor for ConnectED (See Video Below)