Reflective Blogging # 2

Reflective Blogging Assignment # 2

1.  How can a teacher find balance during this transition from more traditional knowledge-based content standards and more process-oriented skills?

As a teacher, transitioning from one form of assessment to another is not always an easy task.  The most important aspect in a transition is educating the teacher.  What is expected?  What is changing as well as staying the same?  What are the expectations for myself and the students?  What is the importance of changing over from what we have to what we want to get to?  Part of a district/administration's responsibility is to inform and educate their employees of the who, what, where, when, why and hows.  This can be accomplished in several different ways including Professional Development days.  

As far as an educated and informed teacher, I believe they need to keep an open mind.  A lot of educators are set in their ways.  They are comfortable and see no reason to change what they are doing.  As educators, we need to realize that the world is always changing.  It is our job to educate our students based on what they need to survive and be successful in the future.  To accomplish this, we must keep an open mind with ideas, techniques and ways of educating.  

2. What are key factors that help improve the success of inquiry-based lessons?

There are several key factors for having success in lessons that are inquiry-based.  One factor includes being educated.  In order to have success, our teachers must be educated.  Without this, how will teachers know how to implement inquiry-based ways of teaching?  Not only do teachers need to know how to do this, but also how to incorporate it into their lessons specifically and how to talk to their students with what they learn.  Another factor is time.  More than not, we are pressed for time in our classrooms.  In order for students to explore, they need the time to do so.  As teachers, we need to allot a certain amount of time to allow students to make self-discoveries.  Having the necessary tools available is another factor.  This could be as simple as a programming software on our school computers to design a map or design rectangular prisms.  The more opportunities and tools we have as educators to challenge our students to use inquiry-based lessons, the more I believe it will happen.

3. What role can technology play in assisting those factors?  Give specific examples.

 Technology can assist in a variety of ways.  Computer search engines, such as Google.com, can help teachers find specific examples of lessons to use or help assist them with ideas for their lessons.  Video search engines, such as youtube, is another great source.  Also, the internet is a great source in helping to find other teacher's comments with ideas they have used and how they or you could tweak the lesson to make it more effective.  Another way is by having tools available for our students.  An example of this would be such as having computers readily available with software that allows students to explore the topic and information in higher level thinking.  As seen in my classroom, the use of technology keeps students more engaged.  If we have software to help implement our inquiry-based lessons, it will help the teachers in several different ways, such as with keeping the students engaged to achieve higher level thinking.  

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Reflective Blogging Assignment #1

Reflective Blogging Assignment #1

What were some of the factors that played a role in ensuring positive results when technology was integrated in the classroom?

• As the article, “Learning from Case Studies of Technology Integration,” mentions, in order for technology to be used, our educators must be educated with how to use the equipment.   Without proper training, teachers will become overwhelmed.  More than not, when someone is overwhelmed, they hide the problem and go back to their old ways.  Schools have to make sure that the technology is not put away gathering dust. Professional Development days are a great way to make time for teachers to learn.  Half the battle is finding time to learn how to use the equipment.  PD days would be mandatory and would give an allotted timeframe to learn.  Another concern in this particular article was the managing of technology, as with computer labs.  If teachers do not properly schedule time for the usage of computers or do not plan properly and overlap timeframes, frustration will occur.  A way to ensure positive results with this is to set up a school wide plan to effectively plan usage time (such as a schedule agenda book).  Having “adequate equipment” is another factor.  If our schools do not have the technology properly functioning, there is also no hope, so it is the schools responsibility to ensure the technology works (such as with a technology administrator).  With administrators and educators working together and coming up with functional plans, positive results can occur to help with the integration of technology.

What are ways that you can, in your own setting (or for those not currently in a classroom, in your future setting), ensure that these factors are present or absent? (Be specific to your situation; do not make general statements.)

• This year, my school received a Smart Board for each and every classroom.  A lot of the teachers in my school are at an age of which they are near retirement.  A lot of them have been teaching in their own ways without great use of technology.  Our principal knows that the new technology in our classrooms is a huge advantage.  We have had multiple trainings during our mandatory staff meetings.  We have had teachers present lesson plans, our technology person come in and explain how to use the technology, a question and answer session and part of a Professional Development day for Smart Board discussion only.  Every teacher was then required to set a goal that was situated with the use of the new technology.  We were required to write up a short page on how we were going to use the Smart board, and in what ways we were following through.  We then have informal observations in which we are to use the technology.  I think our school is doing a great job in ensuring that the technology is positively being integrated.
• Another example is with our computer labs.  I have more times than not gone into the computer lab for a lesson, only to find another class is using it.  I designed a weekly schedule to check out the lab.  This way, teachers will not get frustrated if they wanted to use the computers due to the easy scheduling process.
• I often have technology issues with my projector, document camera, smart board, etc.  Our school has a technology person that is able to be reached for questions and that is able to come into our classroom and resolve our technology issues.  This to me is a must for schools.  If we have a technology problem, the issue is usually resolved within a day or two.

How would you go about evaluating the success of a unit, lesson, etc., that involved the integration of new technology?

• “Technology is instructional preparation, technology for instructional delivery, and technology as a learning tool” are the three categories in which technology can be grouped in according to the Inana & Lowther article.  If we consider this, I think this is what we can evaluate technology on.  As with any assessment, there needs to be given standards in which are required to happen.  When an administrator, such as a principal, comes into a classroom to evaluate a teacher, they should look for evidence of technology usage within instructional preparation, delivery and as a learning tool.  As far as rating the “success of a unit”, I think it could be viewed on how well the teacher incorporates the technology usage and how the students respond and use the technology. A lot of teachers have anxiety when thinking about technology.  The evaluation process should be no different than before, other than now, we are required to use technology as a tool.  Having a lack of technology knowledge is no excuse for earning a bad evaluation.  It should be the school’s job to educate the teachers on the required equipment usage, and then the job of the teacher to follow through with it and incorporate it as required.  Technology is the future and as educators, we teach children to succeed in the future.  It is our job to learn how to use technology and the job of the school administration to make this happen.  Evaluations are the last step in the process and are to help our schools and students better succeed.   

Finally, what could you do to disseminate successes and failures to your colleagues, administrators, and school board members?

• As the article by Inana & Lowther finds, “increased availability of technology in the schools does not necessarily lead to improvement in classroom teaching practices.”  Just because the equipment is there, does not necessarily mean we know how to use it.  I think the best ways we can use our technology to the fullest is to teach educators how to use it.  Have Professional Development days in which someone shows educators how to not only use the equipment, but also how to incorporate it into our lesson plans.  Set goals to use the technology and document when it is being used and how.  Administrators should then set dates and meetings in which they evaluate the educators to make sure this is happening and give constructive criticism on how they can improve their technology integration and usage.  I believe in a school, the energy is set with the school board first, then the administrators, followed by the teachers.  Schools need strong administrators who take the time to help and follow through with given and necessary goals.  In order for success to happen, everyone needs to work together to accomplish their goals and follow through in a multitude of ways.