ePals Project Participation

The ePals ABC book project will allow my students to participate in a 21st century global society because we’ll be communicating and collaborating with a classroom in the county of Georgia.  We’ll learn about another country, while teaching them about Yarmouth, Maine.  We’ll generate interview questions so we can discover about life on the other side of the globe and learn about their teenagers' interests.  Then, we'll take the information we learn, synthesize it, and create an ABC book about Maine to share with them.  We’ll enlighten them to facts that make Maine special while learning about similarities and differences between our two countries and communities.  My students, who may never leave the state of Maine, will virtually visit a country, via Skype or Google Earth, that lies on the line between Asia and Europe.  Participating in the ePals ABC book project will help my students see that learning takes place in many forms, and not necessarily always within our school building.  Finally, I hope that by participating in this project we broaden their understanding of the world.

Embedding Digital Texts

Digital texts are wonderful because kids can mark them up however they like.  They can underline and/or highlight important passages, answer section review questions, and use stickies to type questions on which to follow up in class.  Using digital textbooks also helps with some basic technology, research, and reading comprehension.  Kids are able to quickly look up unknown words that they may not take the time to find in a printed dictionary.  They can also practice deciphering key words in questions in order to search for the accompanying text.  I have kids who will try and find the answer to a section review question by typing it into Google.  The resulting information is often overwhelming and includes much more detail than necessary for an 8th grade student's answer.  It has provided a wonderful teachable moment, because instead, I can help them pinpoint the key words in the question and revisit the text in the chapter to find an answer written in language they understand.  We’ve then used those same skills when doing state-wide assessments - I don’t consider this as teaching to the test, rather teaching appropriate test-taking skills.

E-learning and open course software provide kids opportunities they wouldn’t have within the confines of the school building.  Kids can communicate safely and within a contained environment using social networking websites like ePals or Edmodo.  They can partake in activities using PhET Interactive Simulations and encounter disastrous outcomes without endangering themselves or wasting consumable supplies.  They can watch lessons at home (either tutorials made by their teacher or by Kahn Academy) and then come to class and participate in face to face opportunities.  Student can connect with people around the world and collaborate on projects using Google or on a Wiki, and then share their work with anyone, anywhere.  Teachers can also get immediate feedback as to the effectiveness of a lesson or comprehension of new material using Google forms or websites like Socrative.  Kids can also study from anywhere and collaborate on study material using sites like Quizlet.  Finally, teachers can record their lessons using applications like Doceri or TouchCast and publish them so their students can revisit the material at their own pace.  All these resources facilitate a personalized, engaging, and differentiated learning experience.

Building Media Literacy

“Media literacy is seen to consist of a series of communication competencies, including the ability to ACCESS, ANALYZE, EVALUATE, and COMMUNICATE information in a variety of forms, including print and non-print messages.  Media literacy empowers people to be both critical thinkers and creative producers of an increasingly wide range of messages using image, language, and sound. It is the skillful application of literacy skills to media and technology messages,” (NAMLE, 2013, ¶ 1).  By building media literacy we reinforce the use of a variety of means to access information.  Our society relies on technology to survive, therefore our students become better global citizens by refining their media literacy skills.  If "we are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist . . . to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet," (Fisch, 2007, p. 2) we must keep them current with the technology at hand so they will be able to adapt to what’s coming in their future.  

References

Fisch, K., & McLeod, S. (2007).  Text for did you know presentation. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from Shift Happens website: http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/file/view/Text%20of%20Did%20You%20Know%2020.pdf 

NAMLE. (2013). Media Literacy Defined. Retrieved August 11, 2013, from NAMLE: National Association for Media Literacy Education website: http://namle.net/publications/media-literacy-definitions/ 

Web 2.0 Tools

Web 2.0 tools are indispensable in my classroom today, especially since I teach 8^th graders with a 1:1 program.  Here are a few I the use most.  We access the simulations from PhET with almost every unit we teach.  They provide lesson plans and activities that we adapt to our content and standards.  The simulations allow kids to try activities that we can’t physically perform (building atoms) or demonstrate safely (overloaded circuits).  They also cater to differentiation as well as student choice.  

Another tool I use almost daily is Google.  We use Google Drive for individual as well as collaborative work.  My students can share a writing assignment with me for proofreading or they can work on a group project and share it with me for feedback.  Using Google Drive allows me to see who is doing what work (revision history) as well as monitor the content and provide questions or comments.  We also use Google Drive for class reviews.  Students add content, descriptions, explanations, and organization to study guides.  I’m also a contributing member and can clarify questions while also adding content specific to the assessment.  

All teachers in our building post our daily assignments to our individual Google Calendar while my team teachers and I do all our planning on our team one as well.  (I haven’t used a spiral bound planbook in about 10 years!)  As a team, we also use Google Drive for our team minutes, letters home, field trip requests, and Budget POs.  Finally, we use the Google Forms for surveys, classroom feedback, entrance/exit slips, and grade level sign-ups.  They are very user friendly and quick to put together.

Finally, I heavily rely on Diigo for bookmarking.  I love the ability to create the list of links I want my kids to visit for specific activities while having the ability to organize them as well as annotate when necessary.  I also share sites with my colleagues and tag many sites for future use.  I know that Pinterest has similar uses and has the image perspective, but I worry that there are so many distractions and alternate directions kids can go, that I'll lose their attention quickly.  Like I’ve said, I need a little more time to work with Pinterest, I remember struggling when I switched from Delicious to Diigo.  It would be cool if I could embed Pinterest boards into my Google webpage, but it looks like you provide a link to it instead.  Another asset that Diigo has is the highlighting and commenting feature.  I like highlighting a specific section and having kids provide feedback as to its importance, or leaving a guiding question and having them search for support within the text for their answer.  It’s difficult to think of using just Web 1.0 at this point in time since Web 2.0 tools have become such an integral component of my teaching.

Evaluating Technological Tools

One great technology tool that can help create a global network and understanding of other cultures is Meograph.  It is a “four-dimensional storytelling,” (Meograph, 2013) interactive website.  My kids used it for a lesson they gave on the Vietnam War.  They enjoyed it because you can add maps, video, and pictures to a timeline.  In their project, they pinpointed specific events occurring in Vietnam, then discussed what was happening in the United States at the same time.  It would be a great project for kids to collaborate with other kids on a global perspective as well.  My students could document a time period and the events in the United States during the 1920’s while a group of kids across the world could discuss what was going on in their country during the same time frame.  Kids could draw comparisons or make connections as to the influence one had on the other.   

Another wonderful, interactive, engaging website is Prezi.  It is a non-linear presentation tool on which kids can collaborate.  Again, my students used Prezi for a presentation on the Vietnam War and although it took a while for some to get the hang of it, it could be used for the same plan as mentioned above using Meograph.  

Finally, another website I’ve used that could help make a global network is VoiceThread.  First, my kids created visuals illustrating what they learned about Gandhi, then they read their reflection, and then typed comments on each other’s work.  Again, in working with a global network, kids could create a visual about themselves, or an interest, or a place to which they’ve been.  Kids from other countries could then comment on these visuals and share experiences or ask questions.  This past year, we had a student who used VoiceThread while he was learning English as well as American History.  He created a Thread about the Statue of Liberty.  We then shared it with a few of other students who commented on what they knew about the Statue, but also commented on what they did when they visited NYC.  It was great because my kids typed their questions and the student learning English could take some time to translate and process them, then either type his response or practice his spoken language and speak it.  One problem I’ve had with VoiceThread lately is that it can be slow at times, especially when 24 kids are trying to use it all at once.  In order to avoid this obstacle, I often give VoiceThread as an option, so not as many students use it at the same time.

Reference

Meograph. (2013). Retrieved July 28, 2013, from Meograph website: http://www.meograph.com/ 

Moral and Legal Issues

In education, I see a very small distinction between the legal and moral issues of using technology with my students.  Legally, I must hold my students accountable for doing their own work (whether they use technology or not) and to cite their sources when referencing someone else’s.  I also need to educate them about what this means and take them through a step by step process by providing examples and modeling how to appropriately learn through research, interpret the information, and form their own understanding.  I also need to inform them of the consequences should they violate these legal issues.  

The moral aspect of using technology focuses on an understanding of what is socially right versus wrong, a concept just as important as a legal one when it comes to dealing with young people.  Morally speaking, I must model appropriate internet etiquette and explain what this means.  I must set high expectations for my students, and hold them accountable for their actions.  I need to correct their inappropriate behavior by addressing the action and not the person.  I need to alert them as to the permanency of their typed words, as well as to the effect they have on others.  Finally, I need to teach them to respect others and their opinions and educate them as to how to appropriately express their difference of opinion.  In conclusion, continuing one’s own education and keeping up with what’s happening in any area in which we teach, is crucial for all teachers.  Websites like Common Sense Media can provide us with the information we need to keep abreast of the crucial events in this technological, influential, and ever-changing age.

Using Blended Learning to Promote Global Education

Blended learning combines face to face interaction with online learning (Bonk, 2009, 112), an ideal means through which to promote global education.  First, kids collaborate in small groups about their lives, interests, education, and world around them.  When they complete this brainstorm, they create a visual in order share who they are with others.  Next, the class, or even just the small group, chooses any place in the world about which they’d like to know more and connects with a classroom there via ePals.  Students complete research online to familiarize themselves with the kids who live in their chosen location and then interview the ePals classmates by Skype or email.  Eventually, the two classes can decide on a class project, like a friendly competition using FreeRice.com, collaborating on a children’s books for an orphanage in yet another location, or having a fundraiser of some kind to benefit a charity.  Using a blended learning environment undeniably promotes global education.

Bonk, C. J. (2009). The World is Open: How web technology is revolutionizing education. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.