Technology Integration: What I've Learned

As a 'digital native', meaning that I grew up with and used technology through much of my educational life, I use technology in my personal life a great deal (Prensky, 2001).  I rely a lot on my smartphone and tablet, and the technology tools that come with them- a digital shopping list and coupons through apps and emails, a camera that can instantly share photos with friends and family, a way to connect with my job on the go, social media to connect with others, a calendar that I can sync and share, and so much more.  These tools are a big part of my life and help to keep me organized, connected, and productive. Now, as I begin my journey to a Master's Degree online, these tools help me connect to my course, classmates, and instructor from anywhere.  This is a pretty amazing concept! 

Throughout this course, it's been important to me to do what I could to apply tools, concepts, and knowledge to my job as a preschool teacher and special education teacher.  I had actually seen several of the tools we studied before, applied to older students and more advanced, complex curriculum concepts.  What I hadn't done was take the time to really sit down and consider applications for a preschool classroom.  My communication with parents is very different than that of most teachers of older children, and I feel like many of the tools were great for this purpose.  Others were great for using with the students.  Overall, I was very pleasantly surprised with this, and if challenged me to do something I hadn't been required to do before, so it pushed me a bit. 

Blogging was one of my favorite tools that we used throughout the course.  I enjoy blogging personally, and really enjoyed blogging with my students' parents as an audience.  It's a great way to keep in touch and show them what we're doing in the classroom.  Students blogging is another excellent use of this tool.  "Academic blogs bring a reflective or cognitive dimension to personal narratives, and introduce an emotional and social dimension to formal academic work that often accentuates cognitive or intellectual tasks" (Hyung, 2008).  Blogging can be fun for kids, a way for them to get feedback from their teachers and peers, and a way for them to connect to their curriculum online. 

When planning classroom activities, it is important to keep in mind connections to state standards. My preschool classroom follows a curriculum called Teaching Strategies GOLD, which is one of a few state accepted programs which are accepted for use in classrooms which provide special education services to preschool-aged children who have IEPs. This curriculum is aligned to the Common Core standards, and extends from infant/toddler to Kindergarten level skills. It's important to consider the technology standards, and how we can effectively include technology into the classroom to meet these.  I think one of the best parts about technology integration is the flexibility, and the ability to incorporate standards from other content areas.  In creating my WebQuest, it was easy to include writing skills, fine motor skills, listening and speaking skills, and more.  During the Module 4 Discussion, it was so interesting to hear all about how my classmates are applying the technologies we've studied to the lessons they teach.  Some are elementary and intermediate teachers, some content-specific secondary teachers, some are primary teachers similar to myself. It was really amazing to hear about how different people view the same tool. 

When reflecting on this course, my thinking has changed in ways I hadn't expected.  I use technology in my classroom very regularly, with all children using the interactive whiteboard daily, and also with and iPad and desktop computers.  I do feel that sometimes I'm in a bit of a rut and don't always take risks with new technology tools.  This experience has inspired me to try these new tools with me students, or to communicate with parents.  I'm excited to begin applying these things, trying them with my students, and sharing with my colleagues! 

References:

Hyung Nam Kim, The phenomenon of blogs and theoretical model of blog use in 

educational contexts,  Computers & Education, Volume 51, Issue 3, November 

2008, Pages 1342-1352, ISSN 0360-1315,  http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/

j.compedu.2007.12.005.  (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360131508000158)

Module 4 Discussion Board

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the horizon; MCB university press, 9(5), Retrieved from http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf

Equal Access to the Digital World!

     When I have access to the digital world, it means that I can indepdently use the technology tools that I have access to.  It means that I am able to read the text on my iPad or computer screen, can hear the voice of the other caller on my smartphone, that I can physically type on a touch screen to communicate with others or write as needed, and that I can manage these things on my own with little help day-to-day.  When I have access, it means that I can use my computer functionally to complete the tasks which I'm trying to work on. 

     When others have access to the digital world, the goal is the same- independently successful use.  The approach may look, sound, or physically feel differently, but access is there.  Others may use talk-to -text technology, or adjust the contrast or inverse the colors on the screen for visual access. Some people may need to have an enhanced speaker, or use video chat so they can sign or lip read, or use other accessibility settings to make their tool work for them. 

     In the public school setting, the law says that students must have access to the curriculum.  As a special educator, it's my job to look at the typical preschool classroom and make it work for all of my students.  For each child, this may look different, and this is to be expected.  When I design a program or task for a specific child, I think about the goal of the activity, what they are able to do, and how they will be most benefited or most engaged.  For some students an iPad is a big draw. They may not know the letters in their name, but when an app shows their picture, plays a voice recording of me saying their name, and shows their letters on the screen, they are immediately drawn in.  This is, of course, only one of so many examples.  

     When everyone has equal access to the digital world, I know that each child is being exposed to and practicing using different types of technology tools and resources.  I know that some are more appropriate for some students as opposed to others, but I know that they can get what they need with a little thought and creativity.  When I provide access to the digital world, I know that I'm modifying a sign-in chart at the interactive whiteboard to enlarge or change the color of the name of one child who is visually impaired.  I know that I am supporting the hand grasp on the pen of another student for whom functional hand use is a challenge.  I know that I am changing the settings on an app to turn off the music in the background of a game for a student who is sound sensitive. I know that I might use a stylus with a child who has difficulty isolating only one finger on a tablet screen.  These are examples of how I'm thinking about accessibility to technology at the preschool level.  

     I'm amazed at the accommodations that so many technology tools today offer.  When I look at the settings on my tablet or smartphone, there are so many options to make the technology work for the consumer.  This is a big change!  People with physical, visual and auditory challenges can still use these tools successfully and indepently, and make them work for their lives and their needs.  

     

The Educational Benefit of Social Media

I have chosen to create a Twitter page for my social media component.  Twitter is a tool that I use in my personal life to keep up with home decor, cooking, educational, and lifestyle bloggers and websites, news site such as my local news, NHPR and NPR (and some of their hosts) and more. Twitter works well for me because I can follow these types of people/organizations, as well as co-workers, friends, and family.  When I log on, I can easily sort through headlines, photos, articles, recipes, etc., while quickly keeping up with topics of interest.  If I have a particular interest or query, I can easily search for additional tweets from experts, bloggers, individuals, and organizations. 

In the educational world, I felt that these qualities were applicable and beneficial.  When communicating with parents, who in my situation are the audience of any written communication, I want them to have easy and convenient access and be able to quickly find items of interest.  Parents can access my classroom's Twitter feed via the internet or an app on a tablet or smartphone.  I have begun and plan to continue to post content related to my nocturnal animals WebQuest such as videos, games, webpages, and links to suggested books.  I will also plan to post articles related to preschool activities, technology integration, classroom announcements, and both classroom and school-wide documents, links, newsletters, etc.  

The benefit of this type of communication goes beyond convenience and ease.  Parents could contribute by sharing posts with me, enabling other parents to read the articles, see the activities, or benefit from the information that they find interesting.  As the page's manager, I can control what of that information that I post to the whole page to be sure it's relevant, credible, and helpful.  As someone who uses socia medica personally, I know that it is a way that I prefer to interact with the people I know.  I'm not a parent, but if I was, this would definitely be a way that I would be interested in interacting with my child's school.  

Older students, of course, could be the users of a tech tool such as Twitter.  Students could show what they know and understand by creating a Twitter feed and including relevant information, creating their own tweets with their comments, thoughts, and questions, and be interacting with classmates, content experts, and their instructors.  Another argument for the use of social media technology in the classroom is student engagement.  Teachers are constantly having to rival students' smartphones- why not join them rather than trying to beat them?  Allowing students to participate via social media might engage a new set if student who may not have the confidence or interest to raise their hand and/or speak in front of their class.  Reading Meenakshi's article, Digital Learning,  helped me to think about social media use in an entirely different manner.  "A study at the Purdue University established that use of Twitter in the classroom helped students overcome the shyness barrier, by allowing them to answer questions without having to raise hands to identify themselves in a big lecture hall. Increased participation, in turn, has been linked to better academic performance overall. Increased communication also opens up perspectives and allows one to appreciate different points of view" (Meenakshi, 2012). I think that it's important to consider inclusion of all students- and this may be an easy and fun way to ensure inclusion of students who might be more shy or less comfortable speaking in class.  

Meenakshi's article also helped me to consider why the use of Twitter was a good choice. It's stated that social media benefits students by "enlarging and enriching the universe from which one can draw upon for experiences and acquaintances" (2012). This is exactly why I chose this tool to include in my WebQuest and create for my classroom.  I am hoping to enlarge the experience past just my own ideas and thoughts, to include the resources and research of others.  This is done in a way that does not remove the idea, article, activity from the creator or writer, as it is always traceable.  This is an easy to way to ensure that anything share gives credit to the original author.  

I'm looking forward to continuing to grow my Twitter feed.  I'm on the lookout for other resources related to my WebQuest or other related topics such as technology integration, preschool activities, articles for parents, and more. I made the choice to use this particular tool because of the quick access it provides, and the fact that items are always left credited to the appropriate sources. Twitter is definitely a purposeful and beneficial tool for teachers, and I'm looking forward to trying it out in my classoom! 

Please check out my Twitter page here: https://twitter.com/Efortier918

My Twitter page is also embedded in my WebQuest site here: https://sites.google.com/site/webquestpreschoolef/class-blog

Below is a screen capture of some of my tweets:

Resources:

Meenakshi. (2012, 05). Social media in education. Digital Learning, Retrieved from http://ezproxy.snhu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/1010988112?accountid=3783

Nocturnal Animals WebQuest

I've created an exciting project for our class!  This project is called a WebQuest, which is like an adventure for you to do on the computer.  We'll be learning more about Nocturnal Animals, like we are learning in our classroom.  Remember, nocturnal animals are awake during the day and sleep at night. Can you think of any animals like that? 

Your adventure will be to choose one animal to study and then complete your project about.  You'll learn about the animal and then create a poster with some writing and a picture that you draw of your animal.  When you're finished, you'll bring it to school and get a turn to share it with your friends! I'm looking forward to seeing your posters and hearing all about your adventure, learning more about your nocturnal animals. 

If you have any questions about your project, ask you mom or dad to write a note to me!

Parents' Note: The purpose of this home- school project is to expose children to online resources such as videos and games so that they can extend the learning that is taking place at school.  Your child will then use their knowledge to write or help you write some information about their chosen animal to share on their poster.  They will also draw a "scientific picture" (using the correct colors and referencing a real photograph), so that their classmates can see what the animal looks like.  Children will share their posters with the class. Please let me know if you have any questions! 

Image credit: http://media-cache-ec0.pinimg.com/236x/d7/fb/53/d7fb532096d46149c46cdb4e74f043f4.jpg

Nocturnal Animals Animoto Video

Check out this short Animoto video about nocturnal animals! 

http://animoto.com/play/c1qToySxL1rDYKT1QnYu1Q

Animoto is a video creation website where a user can easily upload photos and make their own short film!  This is a great tool for children to use in a classroom, because of the ease of use.  Children can easily choose a theme, or style, for their video and select the photos they would like to use.  There is also an app for use on an iPhone, iPod, or iPad, which is great for classrooms which have varying technology tools. Children benefit from easy to use, "user friendly", technology because they can feel successful when they can work and create a product independently or with a partner.  When children can learn to use a tool from start to finish, they can be confident in their skills.  This tool could be useful at many grade levels, and for all different purposes.  Young children could make a video which simply includes photos, similar to the model video I made. I wanted to show my students a video that they could easily view and make, without needing reading skills for the most part.  Older children could use PowerPoint slides, flipchart screen shots from interactive whiteboard software, or create their own project! I had never used this technology tool before, but am excited to try it in my classroom! 

Photo credits:

Nationalgeograpic.com

Discoverychannel.com

http://siouxlandchamber.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/nocturnal-animals.jpg

The Educational Value of Wordle

 Above is a Wordle, created to match the theme of my WebQuest about Nocturnal Animals. This WebQuest is designed for preschoolers to complete with the help of truer parents to gain knowledge about science and technology concepts. 

One of the ways that preschoolers can explore new words, spelling, content vocabulary, and using an online technology tool is Wordle. Wordle is a website that creates colorful, geometric, and customizable word clouds. A first time user can quickly and easily see how to get started. There is a box to type the words to be included, and then simply click, "create"! Once you can see your Wordle, you can edit the font, colors, and randomize the arrangement if desired.  Once you have an arrangement that you like, you can publish the Wordle to be seen publicly, copy the link to embed in a site or blog, or print.  Students benefit from this type of technology tool because of the many skills that are practiced when using it, and because of the wide variety of possible applications.  Children gain practice using online resources, the keyboard and mouse, typing and spelling words, generating lists, and the fun of customizing to create something that they like! Using Wordle can be easily modified to meet the skill level of a range of abilities. For example, children could independently or with help type or dictate words, either generate or use a pre-written list of words, and use the mouse independently or with help using hand-over-hand assistance. This flexibility is essential when using a tool with a whole class of children. Technologies that are easily differentiated are so important for this reason. A benefit is that at the end, all children would end with a similar looking outcome, which is helpful when the work might be shared publicly on a class website or bulletin board. For confidentiality purposes, this is often helpful. Overall, I was so excited to try a new tool, and am already planning to use Wordle in my classroom! The educational benefits are varied and many.