1. Connect students and teachers inside the classroom
2. Publish student and teacher work locally and globally
3. Connect students and teachers outside the classroom
4. Connect with experts around the world
5. Collaborate with others to create and share knowledge (p.71).
As mentioned in the book, I would love to incorporate a healthy mix of all five in my classroom. I want my classroom to have unreachable walls. I want my students to make connections beyond the 4 walls in every classroom they sit in. I want to have a classroom where I am learning AND my students are learning. Balance, safety, and ethics should be balanced with healthy interactions.
To find connections globally, I was surprised to see that teachers use Facebook to connect personally with other educators. I have never thought that would be an option. The more I think about it, the more realistic it sounds. I have to say I am scary good at finding people on Facebook, especially people I've never met.
I loved to see that Gina Hartman's (MoBap professor) wiki was included in our book. It makes me feel like I can create things that can be published elsewhere as well as make a difference for other educators.
Out of all the positives, I had to reflect on the online safety precautions (listed on page 75). They share the need for: safety and ethical use, transparency, ownership and rights, and parents. When I think about these categories, bullying comes to mind. This all relates back to being prepared for the precautions and how I would execute them. Another route is making sure students are using technology appropriately & understand the consequences. Having parents on board is huge for privacy reasons. Parents would also have to understand that when their child is irresponsible, they are on trouble as well.
My final thoughts are on assessments. How in the world do I assess literacy within technology? The book clearly solved my confusion. "The goal is not sharing for the sake of sharing; it's sharing for the sake of connecting and learning".
Some fun pins I found on assessments: Cool Tools for 21st Century Learners: Open School ePortfolio for Authentic Assessment and
I think this will be the hardest way thing for me but I am open and willing to learn more!
**** I wanted to also mentioned that having technology for ESOL students is amazing. I had a student last year who only speaks to her friend. She can use technology to speak to us,even when she is afraid! I thank my lucky stars we had ipads to give her a voice! ****
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThat's a fantastic infographic! Thank you for sharing. You mentioned the importance of having parents on board. This is a win for so many reasons. Being transparent about what is going on in class is a way to increase support and buy-in from school administrators, colleagues, and parents. Parental involvement ensures they are informed about how tech is infused into the curriculum, understand how their child is kept safe, and can see their child's creations and monitor progress, they're likely to respond with appreciation and support.
I think parents are more technology driven than they were in the past because they start to see how quickly children can learn from tablets and devices. I'm excited to see what educational look like in 10 years with this motive in mind.
DeleteI like the Infographic about ways to stay safe online. It really fits into the digital citizenship strand. These are topics I always try to touch on in my course because students really don’t understand the dangers online or the health and wellness of it.
ReplyDeleteGina Hartman is one of the technology coordinators in the district I work in. I run into her from time to time and she completely amazes me. Every time I talk to her, she has some new tool that she has found. She would be a really good person to follow on Twitter. https://twitter.com/ghartman or @ghartman
Thank you for sharing her Twitter handle. I didn't find it earlier so I appreciate you!!
DeleteI think the info graphic is pretty cool as well!
I love that you mentioned Facebook. Did you read my post where I said I am in a closed Facebook group with over 7,000 teachers all across the world? It's called Primary Teacher Ideas and Resources. I absolutely LOVE this group, it's where I get about 99% of my questions answered. Yes, I utilize my 2nd grade team, instructional coaches and administrators, but sometimes it's good to have a completely unbiased opinion from someone who doesn't 'know' you. I have made so many amazing connections through Facebook and have made some awesome teacher friends. And the other great thing about Facebook...I'm on it all the time lately, so it's not like I need to go far when I'm looking for advice. You should give it a try :)
ReplyDeleteThat is FANTASTIC! I am in a lot of Facebook groups for sewing and trade groups but I never thought about looking up education groups. I will have to check it out thank you for your resources. If you haven't download the Facebook group app it is really helpful because it separates all the groups into a little icon. You should definitely download it.
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