Reflection..............

As I write this post, I am reflecting on the discussion held, the wikis and the blogs that were created by colleagues and I.

I must admit that I am familiar with several of the technologies presented to us in this course.  I am however very appreciative to be given the opportunity to have a second chance at Podcast.  My first attempt with it was disastrous and I was hesitant to use it again. After accepting it as a challenge, it continued to frustrate me.  I persevered and was very successful.  I did another podcast just recently. I smiled at  ease of creating it. This brings me to the point about resilience to technology in the classroom by many of my teaching colleagues.  Toby Houtz in one of his post wrote “….veteran teachers are stubborn…” and I could not agree with him more. 

After an analytical review of the situation, it is obvious that teachers lack the confidence and do not wish to be deemed, as failure and this prefer not to use the technology. It is my hope that I would be given the opportunity to help build the teachers’ confidence in the use of technology in the classroom. I would recommend that training type of training, length and frequency of the training be examined carefully based on the ICT proficiency of the teachers. Emphasis should  be place not only on skills training but on pedagogical training as certain strategies and techniques must be learnt in order to manage and monitor students’ learning in an ICT classroom.  Appropriate training will be an underpinning of the confidence teachers would display in the classroom. As teachers elude the fear of technology through proper training, students’ success will increase.

Another of my colleagues, Suzanne Nemetz  found the “role of the facilitator to be hard”.  This is true for several teachers but with practice, it would come with ease. I have grown to understand, that I am not only one with the  knowledge and I must facilitate the several suggestions made by students.  I must take into consideration my students’ interest, learning styles and abilities.

As a teacher, I  must possess  certain characteristics in order for facilitation to go smoothly. The ability to formulate task based on the time, ICT tool, students’ level of concentration and assessment are skills that I  must have if success in my learning environment is to be achieved. My role is to motivate students, enhance their interaction, verbalization and classroom involvement through collaborative learning. “Using technology to promote such collaborative activities can enhance the degree to which classrooms are socially active and productive and can encourage classroom conversations that expand students’ understanding of the subject” (Roschelle, J., Pea, R., Hoadley, C., Gordin, D., Means, B. ,2001).

With ten years of teaching gone, I do hope that I would evolve with the technology. I will like to develop a series of ICT lessons plans for a variety of subject areas that would be adaptability by teachers anywhere i n the world.  In addition, I will continue  to enhance the use of technology in my class to promote and assist learning where students will think critically, analyze, evaluate and make decisions.

The rapid advances technology are reshaping the society and the world and more so the  schools in country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  The students of today have a wide range of new technologies open and available to them. This information changes the relationship between people and knowledge and the distance they can go.  By integrating technology in education students and parents will see positive improvements in many different areas. We as teachers would make ourselves more marketable as we gain all the necessary skills and knowledge of ICT integration and its role on producing active citizens to function effectively in this globalized world.

Roschelle, J., Pea, R., Hoadley, C., Gordin, D., Means, B. (2001). Changing How and What
Children Learn in School with Computer-Based Technologies. The Future of Children, 10(2).
Los Altos, CA: Packard Foundation. 76-101.”
http://ctl.sri.com/publications/downloads/PackardChangingLearning.pdf

Students' Interview

As a requirement for my course, I had to create a podcast with some of my students.  I am still familarizing myself with the tool and its usage.

Semonique' s Interviews

My Views on Digital Native and Digital Immigrant

Prior to this course, I was certain that I believe in the words of Pensky.  I am however rethinking and tweaking who I believe a digital  native ought to be and how they come about.  Exposure to television should not be the only reason why persons are labeled at digital natives.  I believe their environment and the methodologies the students are exposed as well as their learning styles and interest contribute significantly to the way they learn.   

Students who have been exposed to various forms of technology do bring the skills needed for 21^st century to the classroom. What do we do with the other students who lack such pervious knowledge? I ask this question because I equate it with the fact that students come to us with various learning styles.  Do we take preference to one style and teach that way only?

Thornburg in the 70’s was exposed to technology is some form or the other before six and at 64 he can be considers a digital native.  Today, I know of several persons over 40 who are well capable of using technology and have learnt using them, doesn’t that make them digital natives.  While on the other hand, I know of persons who are under 30 and have no care for technology even though they grew up with a television.  So, surely, age is not a determinant in my opinion.

Who is the digital native?

I enjoy using technology in my class, not just as tool for teaching but also as a tool that allows my students to be creative.  Presently, my class has one Ipad ( my personal one and oh how I wish for just one more tablet) and I have the kids compose their own songs about several of the topics. I find that my students remember all the words to the songs on MTV and BET and even though I cannot sing to save myself I have decided to use this method.  Soon I would like to create some simple music videos with them. In a previous class, the students used Microsoft suite to create a glossary of their own for their personal reference. This personal reference builds their vocabulary. If technology is what we have today to assist in the classroom, use it but dont make an upgraded version of chalk and talk as it several mediums that reach the children and adults of today.

P21: 21st Century Learning Part One

I found the website to be very informative.  I must admit that I have visited this site before ( a months ago) but did not perused it in detailed as I have just recently done.

I found this visual representation of the skills students ought to have and the support systems to be very important and enlightening.  Yes! I believe that  learning is maximized when supported in the different areas from teacher involvement, planning, assessment, school culture, climate and students' attitude.
One of the skills that stood out to me was flexibility and adaptability.  I agree that this is an extremely important skill students need to develop and it would be very useful in their world of work.  As a second grade teacher, I often find myself being flexible in the class.  Some weeks ago my students forgot the materials I requested a week prior in email to parents and I had to adjust my lesson quite a bit without losing focus of the content and the objectives.  It took a few minutes to regain focus but when the class resume , I explained to my kids that sometimes things do not go as plan and we  have to go to plan B.  I smiled just yesterday when I forgot my materials, the students asked if I don't  have my plan B.  I believe that due to the explanation, the students are aware that things can change on the spur of the moment and we must try our utmost best to readjust without losing focus.

Another key point that I agree with is  assessment.  As we prepare 21st century minds, we must assess using different methods.
Assessment is a crucial part of any educational institution.  It is where I evaluate my performance and use of instructional strategies as well as my students’ performance. Research has indicated that using variety evaluation methods is best as students learn differently. ICT Assessment can determine the depth of instructions and the amount of knowledge gained or reinforced by students. ICT assessment allows for timely feedback and analyses of items.  Quite often this instantaneous feedback provides the opportunity for students to address any misconceptions that may have occurred. When the students are involved in this process, a good classroom culture and climate is developed. This would lead to a change in their self-esteem and overall performance. In essence, when students receive constant and instantaneous feedback about their performance academically and socially, their positive self-perceptions is increased.  
The resources and tools link allowed for some additional reading.  The blog written on August 26th, 2013 by Arthur L Costa entitled "Is there an assessment gap?" shed  some light on the new paradigm of assessment. I strongly believe that self assessment is crucial.  It provides the opportunity for students to reflect and differentiate quality of work they produce enabling them to selection what is improved, best or acceptable. 

P12: 21st Century Learning Part Two ....coming soon......

Costa, A. and Kallick. B.  (2014 In Press) Dispositions: Reframing Learning.  Thousand Oaks, CA Corwin Press 
 
http://www.p21.org/

Blogs in the Classroom

Just like many of the other tech tools, blogs have their place in the classroom. It  however, needs proper planning for it to be successful.  There  must be a purpose to the blog or its potential value will depreciate.
Blogs can be used for

• collaboration
• sharing of information and work
• easy access for parents to keep information of class activities
• publishing of students' work
• provide a place where reflection can be done and feedback be given
• developing reading and writing skills

I believe that blogs have one major advance over several tech tools in the classroom.  The cater to the different learning styles of the students in the class.
As a grade two  teacher, I can use blogs in several different areas .
Reading Comprehension
I can post a story and a number of questions where students answer by posting a comment.
Science
After posting a video on the water cycle or how plants grow, students can post their comments and questions about it. 
Vocabulary/Phonics
I can post a "Word of the Day" with instructions for students to comment by writing a sentence using the word or uploading an image to visual represent the word.
Creative Writing
The blogs can be used to practice and reinforce the writing process. 

These are just a few of my ideas and I am sure that there are several others out there. 
Share your ideas, enhance the ones I contributed.
Semonique

Free Technology for Teachers: A Handful of Ideas for Using Tellagami In School

Free Technology for Teachers: A Handful of Ideas for Using Tellagami In School

Who is Semonique?

I am from the Caribbean multi- insland of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.  I am presently a Grade 2 teacher at the country's lone Roman Catholic primary school - St. Mary's RC School.  The school is attached to the church.

I enjoy teaching with a number tech tools including IWB and Ipad.  I often incorporate the use of my mobile device as quick way to record the students and have immediate replay for discussion purposes. I am a BIG fan of social media and its place in education. You can follow me on twitter @semonique1.