The number of technology tools available to teachers is already daunting, and more are emerging everyday. Given the value of these tools to enliven and support 21st century learning, what will you do to keep yourself informed about the options available to you? How will you manage your discoveries and work toward integrating them into your classroom?
This prompt brings up a problem that I have faced since becoming a teacher: how do I choose the best technologies for the classroom and how do I make them work? It is so true that there are myriad technologies available to teachers today. The question becomes, how does one choose an effective technology that will most effectively enhance teacher’s lessons? The most important way to learn about new technologies is collaboration with other teachers. I am always learning about new programs and apps that are being used by other teachers from other teachers. What’s so great about sharing ideas with fellow teachers is that you can see how well the technology is working before implementing it yourself. It is also extremely important for teachers to join educational organizations that publish articles, journals, and newsletters about emerging technologies. I am a member of a French teacher’s association and every month I receive a newsletter informing members of new techniques that could be used in the classroom and technology is almost always a part of them.
So, after discovering new tools, the question becomes, which ones should I use and how will I use them? I think it is a common occurrence for teachers to get excited about new technology and the endless possibilities that come with it. However, it is also a common occurrence for any new tools adopted by the teacher to fail after only having been used just a few times; I know that this has happened with me. One year I planned on creating accounts with pretty much every social media platform in order to appeal to each and every one of my students. I knew that some were on Twitter, some on Facebook, a few were on Instagram and even fewer were on Tumblr. The first day of school I gave each student all of my usernames and told them that I would be updating them daily with classroom-related information. It was no surprise that after one week, I had only updated one single account just one time and eventually I stopped talking about the accounts and they all fell by the wayside.
What I learned from this was to figure out one, maybe two, tools that you really understand and can see working in the classroom. A few things to consider are ease of use, access, and availability. If the tool is not user-friendly, it will fail. In order for technology to succeed in the classroom, whatever it is needs to have the full attention of the teacher for it to work. I still get excited about all of the new tools that I learn about and for a split-second I think about using them in the classroom, but I ultimately remember that I should focus all of my attention on just a few tools instead of some of my attention on many.
Chapter 2 - Question 1
Imagine that you are going to teach a unit about Christopher Columbus to the grade level of your choice. What strategies immediately come to mind as good possibilities for teaching this unit? What relationship can you discern between how you might want to teach this unit and your learning cognitive style? Describe how you think your own personal style might affect your teaching styles. What lessons can you draw from this realization when you teach your diverse students?
If I were given the chance to teach a unit about Christopher Columbus I would choose to teach it to high school students. Christopher Columbus is someone all elementary students learn about and most of what they learn is untrue. I would like to create a lesson for high school students based on dispelling the myths of Christopher Columbus. I know that I would first find a documentary made for the mature learner that discusses the real story of Columbus. Then I would assign groups a particular myth about Columbus and they would be tasked with verifying or debunking the myth and presenting the information of what really happened.
My cognitive learning style is Extrovert so I would want the groups to create presentations of their findings using models, maps and primary sources. I would also like to hold a class discussion where everyone can present a “fact” that they learned about Columbus and have other students respond as to whether it is true or not.
Since I am an extrovert I am a very social learner so I would expect everyone else to be willing to openly discuss and present. What I could learn from this is that not everyone shares the same learning style and that I would need to differentiate my instruction to appeal to multiple learning styles so that every student feels confident and performs to the best of their abilities. I think that it is common for teachers to overlook the fact that their classroom is made of up students with a variety of learning styles and it is only fair that each be addressed.
Chapter 3 - Question 2
To effectively design instruction with technologies, a number of instructional design models are used in education. After reading this chapter, discuss the Dynamic Instructional Design (DID) model with the focus on its five steps.
The DID model ensures effectiveness by continual formative and summative assessment feedback. The first step of the DID model is to know the learner. It is impossible for a teacher to effectively teach without knowing who the learners are. Learners can come from all types of backgrounds, which could affect how they learn. If they come from an impoverished household, learning will not occur because their basic needs aren’t even being met. Some students come from different cultures where English may not be the first language. In addition to knowing where the learners are coming from, the teacher needs to understand what type of learners he is dealing with. Instruction needs to be differentiated to appeal to different types learners and this can’t occur if the teacher is unaware. When the teacher focuses on the learners and not the content, learning will take place.
The second step in the DID model is to effectively communicate performance objectives. In order that instruction remains on target, student performance objectives need to be expressed so the end goal is always in sight. If objectives are too vague the teacher will not have much guidance as to what and how to teach. When creating performance objectives the teacher needs to be aware of the six levels of cognition of Bloom’s taxonomy. Bloom’s taxonomy aids the teacher in identifying the levels of thinking so that they know each is being addressed when writing objectives. It goes without saying that performance objectives need to be aligned with any given number of standards set forth by states and districts.
Step three of the DID model calls for identifying teaching and learning strategies. In order for students to achieve the desired learning outcomes, teaching strategies need to be considered. The teacher needs to know what they are going to do to help the students achieve the goals they have put into place. If the teacher has sound strategies developed prior to instruction, instruction will be organized and effective.
The fourth step of the DID model calls for identifying support technologies that will aid in instruction. It is very important to identify teaching strategies prior to selecting the technologies to be used in instruction. In doing this, the teacher ensures that the appropriate technologies will be chosen to best support student attainment of the performance objectives.
The final step of the DID model is assessment and revision. This step is in place because every instructional plan can be improved upon. Assessments allow the teacher to compare targeted objectives with the students’ actual performance to determine if they are being met. The results of the assessments will alert the teacher if changes in instruction need to be made and also develop a remediation plan if the objectives are not met.