Using Technology to Engage, Enhance, and Extend Learning

Technology integration is the use of technology resources (such as interactive white boards, computers, the internet, tablets, hand-held devices, and other software applications) in daily classroom instruction. The purpose of technology in the classroom is to engage, enhance, and extend the learning of our students. Technology is not a mere tool for teachers to choose as an easy hook to engage our students. With the right technology and the right implementation of it, technology can be used for more than just engaging students. Technology needs to be taken past engage, and to enhancing and extending the learning of our students!

Educators may often discuss using technology to engage, enhance, or extend learning. But what does this really mean? Technology that engages learning uses tools of technology as a way to motivate disinterested students. Technology can be used as a median to motivate students to begin the learning process. This causes a shift from passive to active learning. Technology that enhances learning is technology used to help students develop understanding of material that could not have been accomplished without the tool. When technology is used to enhance learning it can help students understand material in a way that is easier than a traditional tool. It can also allow students to acquire a more sophisticated understanding of the material, and to demonstrate their understanding of the material in a way that would not be possible with traditional tools. Technology that extends learning is technology that takes learning outside the walls of the classroom and into the students' everyday lives. When technology extends learning, students merge their school learning with their everyday life experiences. When technology is used to extend learning outside of the students' typical school day, it is paving the road for our students' journey as lifelong learners.

One of my favorite websites is edutopia.org. This site contains professional strategies, articles, videos, and tips for teachers. On edutopia I encountered a brief video that shows how teachers at one school are using technology to inspire self-directed learning through problem-solving of real-world material. This video highlights how middle school students in the Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST) program, at Horace Mann Magnet Middle School, in Little Rock, Arkansas use technology to enhance their twenty-first century skills. The teachers do not call their class a computer class, but rather, a problem-solving class. Students in the EAST program are using their problem-solving skills to work on meaningful, real-world assignments. I embedded the video in my blog for you to watch!

If you do not know where to begin when it comes to integrating technology into the classroom, you are not alone! This is the first time that we are really seeing technology make its way into the classroom like never before. It is something that is so new! An article I found (also on edutopia) may just provide the help that you need to get started! The article How to Integrate Technology outlines where to begin and how to integrate technology across different aspects of the curriculum and learning process. Included are also suggestions on what to do for various scenarios of differing technology availability. There are suggestions for what teachers should try if they have an interactive whiteboard, if they have 3-5 computers in the room, if they only have one computer in the room, if students have mobile devices, etc.


The article What Is Successful Technology Integration from edutopia better defines what technology integration truly is and what successful technology integration looks like. When it comes to technology integration, Mary Beth Hertz describes four levels of technology integration that she has observed: sparse, basic, comfortable, and seamless. Sparse refers to when technology is rarely used. Basic would be when technology is available or used occasionally; students are comfortable using one or two tools to showcase learning projects. The comfortable level is when students are using technology in the classroom on a regular basis; they are comfortable working with a variety of tools, and they use those tools to showcase their learning of content. As twenty-first teachers, it is our goal is to aim for a level of seamless technology integration. Seamless technology integration is when students are working with technology daily; they are using a variety of tools to complete assignments and showcase deep understanding of learning. The article also details some examples of technology that can be used to engage, enhance, and extend learning. Such suggestions include project-based activities incorporating technology; game-based learning and assessments; learning with mobile and hand-held devices; interactive whiteboards and student response systems; web-based projects, explorations, and research; student-created media (such as podcasts, videos, or slideshows); collaborative online tools; and safe social media networks. The article itself goes into more depth of suggestions within each of these categories. There are so many other types of technology out there that is not even touched upon in the article. Not to mention, new technology is constantly developing as we speak! Following technology integration sites on social networks and collaborating with your colleagues are great ways to stay up to date with the most current technology that is out there! (See my next blog post about using Twitter as a social networking site that can be utilized to enhance your teaching!).

Technology integration is certainly being pushed in classrooms now more than ever. In order to prepare our students for the twenty-first century, we ourselves need to transform our classrooms to create an environment that stimulates twenty-first century learning. Technology should not be used for the sake of technology. Technology needs to be used by teachers to engage, enhance, and extend the learning of our twenty-first century students. To view some of the teaching projects that I have created using various online tools, you can visit my professional teaching wiki by clicking HERE! There is a world of technology resources at our fingertips now. It is up to you to educate yourself so that you can better educate our learners for the twenty-first century!

References

How to integrate technology. (2007, November 5). Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation

Keren-Kolb, L. (2013, May). Engage, enhance, and extend learning into your lessons. Learning and Leading with Technology, 20-27.

Technology inspires self-directed learning [Video file]. (2010, April 21). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duq1D2Ziz1s&index=4&list=PL02AAC2B3653AB69A

What is successful technology integration. (2007, November 5). Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description 

Building a Professional Learning Network Through Twitter

Social media has become a major part of today's 21st century world. Social media sites are great tools for sharing your thoughts and ideas, and for staying connected with friends, family, and colleagues. As educators, we are sometimes hesitant to use social media because of any negative repercussions that could come out of it if we are not careful with what we share. While you may have seen on the news some teachers who have gotten in trouble for something that they posted on a social media site, you may not know about the thousands of other teachers who are currently utilizing social media to become better educators. So, there is a popular social media site out there that educators are using right now to build their Professional Learning Networks? The answer is yes! And what if I told you that you most likely have already heard of the site, but had no idea that teachers have already been using it to build PLN's (Professional Learning Networks)? It may surprise you, but the site I am referring to is actually Twitter! According to Brett Baker, Twitter's account executive, out of the half billion tweets that are made on Twitter each day, 4.2 million of those tweets (posts) pertain to education.

Get an Account!

Building your very own Professional Learning Network on Twitter is both free and easy to do! To create your Twitter account, simply go to the TWITTER website, and click on "Sign up" in the top right-hand corner. (You may also download the app on your smartphone or tablet). You will be prompted to type in your name, provide an email address, make a password, and create a personalized username.

Getting Started
First, you will want to fill out information for your profile so that others know a little about who you are and what you are using Twitter for. Since you will be using this Twitter account as a tool for
building a Professional Learning Network, make sure that in your profile you talk about who you are as an educator. You should include a short biography and upload a profile picture to be displayed on your page. Feel free to also add in any pertinent personal information about yourself that you feel is necessary to include. Since this Twitter account will be used for building your Professional Learning Network, it is important that your profile information and all of your tweets (aka posts) that you add to your page all stay professional.

What is a Tweet?
A tweet is simply another name for a "post." Your tweets (posts) can be something that you type out (if you are familiar with Facebook, this would be similar to a "status" that you may type out). However, it is important to note that each tweet is limited to only 140 characters. Other than text, you can also tweet an image, article, video, or link to a website. If you see a tweet that someone else has posted that you would like to share on your page as well, you can "retweet" it. A retweet is the same thing as what a "share" on Facebook would be.

Build Your Twitter Feed: What to Tweet and Who to Follow
What is your Twitter "feed?" Your Twitter feed refers to all of the tweets that run along your homepage. When you "follow" other accounts on Twitter, anything that they tweet will show up on your feed on your Twitter homepage. If you like something that they tweet, remember that you can also retweet it to your own page! Now, you may be wondering, how do I find people to follow and how do I follow them?  Towards the top, right of Twitter there is a search bar. Here you can search various topics pertaining to education to find other accounts that regularly post about topics and news in education. One way teachers can connect is by following other educators and education accounts. If you wish to follow an account, simply click on the "Follow" button towards the upper right of that user's page. As you find accounts to follow, you can also view who they are following to see if you wish to follow any of them, too. Some accounts and users that I follow in education are PBS teachers, Discovery Education, Larry Ferlazzo, Teacher Goals, MindShift, and Sean McComb.

My favorite account on Twitter is edutopia. Edutopia posts helpful ideas in all areas of teaching. Edutopia will post lesson plan ideas for various subjects, classroom management strategies, ways to stay organized, parent-teacher conference tips, and more! Some posts that I have retweeted from edutopia include, "Nurturing Intrinsic Motivation and Growth Mindset in Writing," "Strategies to Build Intrinsic Motivation," "37 Ways to Help Kids Learn to Love Reading," "Morning Meetings: Create a Safe Space for Learning," "How to Use Twitter to Grow Your PLN," and "11 Habits of an Effective Teacher."

Another way that teachers can connect is by using the search bar to find posts on specific subjects. In Twitter's search bar you can search any topic that you are interested in. When searching something on Twitter, it is most effective to use a hashtag. For example, if you are interested in finding some classroom management tips, simply type "#classroommanagement" into the search bar. You will then be directly linked to a feed of other tweets relating to classroom management. Start reading to get ideas, and even retweet some of your favorites!

What I Retweeted

Below I would like to share a couple of my favorite posts from edutopia that I have retweeted! The first one is "Strategies to Build Intrinsic Motivation." This post discusses 7 ways to get students to motivate themselves, without using rewards or punishments. Many administrators and
educators believe that systems of rewards help to control students; however, this is not always the case. When students do something just with the goal to obtain a reward, their motivation is merely extrinsic. As educators, we want to push students towards intrinsic motivation when it
comes to learning. When students are intrinsically motivated, learning is deeper, concepts appear 
more interesting, knowledge is retained long-term, and learning is more meaningful. Out of the 7 tips that this edutopia post outlines, here are my favorite 4!

• Questions with a scale: Ask your students questions using a scale. For example, if students didn't do well on one test, you might ask, "On a scale of one to ten, how likely are you to do better on the next test?" Since students will naturally want to get a better grade the next time around, they will be inclined to select a higher number. But if a student selects a lower number on the scale ask them, "Why did you pick a low number?" Questions with a scale help to keep students accountable for their learning and persuade them that they are likely to complete the task.
• My Goals sheet: At the beginning of each day (or subject), have students write down their goals for the day. These goals can be specific to academic subjects (ie mastering long division), behavioral related, being a good classmate, etc... Students will commit to their learning at the beginning of class, and then at the end of the day have them review the commitment. Was the goal met? How was it done? If a goal wasn't met, why? What steps can be taken tomorrow to meet it?
• Student-created rules: When making and going over classroom rules, invite students to offer in their own input as to what they think good classroom rules should be. After writing out a list of the classroom rules, have each student sign this sheet as a promise to follow them. If they ever break a rule, then they will feel more accountable since they actually played a part in making those rules and signed them.
• Remind by asking: The freedom of choice is the most persuasive tactic. Instead of outright telling a student what they should be doing, it is more effective to ask them what they are going to do.

Another post from edutopia that I retweeted was "37 Ways to Help Kids Learn to Love Reading." This post discusses 37 different things that you can do to help your students love reading. With 37 different suggestions to follow, you are sure to be able to get even your most reluctant students to learn to love reading! Out of the 37 tips, here are some of my favorites:

• Read Aloud: Children love listening to stories being read to them! The more you expose kids to reading, the more they will enjoy reading. Read stories to your students that interest them, that inspire them, and that challenge their thinking. Involve them in the read aloud, too, by asking them questions throughout the story and inviting them to turn and talk with a partner to share their thinking.
• Let children know what you're reading: As the teacher, it is important to model what you are reading in your own life. Share your favorite genres, your favorite books, and the texts that you are currently reading. Bring those texts to school to hold up and share with your class!
• Take a child's interest into account:
  Before we can begin to encourage our students to read, we must find out what types of books they like! To figure out what types of textsinterests your students, you should hold individual reading conferences with them. After learning what books appeal to your students, you can guide them to some of those texts in your library for them to choose from. From the reading conferences, if you notice that your library lacks particular genres, authors, or a book series that a good portion of your students tell you about, go ahead and look for it to add to your classroom library! It is important that children get to choose what books they read. When children are making their own choices in books, they become more in charge of their learning, they develop greater interest in reading, and their confidence builds as readers.
• Reading spaces should be inviting and comfortable: In your classroom, create comfortable spaces for children to read in. These spaces should have no distractions and good lighting. You can include pillows in the area, stuffed animals as reading buddies, posters with quotes from famous authors... go ahead and get creative with these spaces!
• Introduce books throughout the year: If you acquire new books throughout the year, showcase them in your library and tell your students about them. They will become intrigued by these new additions to their classroom library and feel motivated to check them out!
• Teach children how to find the right book for them: "Just right books" would be texts that students can comprehend. There shouldn't be too many words that they don't know in the book. Students should also be interested in the story, and have a purpose to read it.
• Never use reading as a punishment: This is an important tip!! If teachers send children off to silently read as a punishment, these children will naturally associate reading with punishment. As a result, their love for reading will decrease. Reading needs to be associated with joy and positive learning.
• Host a reading party: Once a semester, host a reading party for your students! Invite them to bring in pillows or stuffed animals from home. For an hour, they can spread out around the classroom, and comfortably read with their pillows and stuffed animals!

A more recent post that I have retweeted was "11 Habits of an Effective Teacher." This post describes the characteristics of the types of teachers who students remember for the rest of their lives. When it comes to teaching, the best teachers are the overachievers. While we have our "overachiever students," there are also the "overachiever teachers." No one likes average; put in the extra hours, connect with your students, go the extra mile, and be the superstar! Below are the eleven habits of life-changing teachers that the article outlines.

1. Enjoys teaching: As exhausting as teaching is, you chose this career because of your love for children and determination to make a difference in the world. Never lose sight of that! Have fun in every lesson that you teach. If you are having fun, your students are having fun!
2. Makes a difference: Teachers are impacting their students every day. With teaching, comes great power. Use this power to take genuine interest in your students and make a difference in their lives!
3. Spreads Positivity: Smiling is contagious! If you are smiling, so will your students. Smile as you talk. Be positive, happy, and smile all day long! A positive environment provides a safe, comfortable, and more enjoyable place for learning.
4. Gets personal: The best way to achieve student success is to have strong relationships with them. Make an effort to sincerely connect and bond with your students. Also make sure to talk to them about your own life. Teachers who know their students and students who know their teacher are more comfortable with each other.
5. Gives 100%: Don't just do your job of teaching because you feel obligated to; but rather, remember you are teaching because you love to teach children. Always give your lesson plans, instruction, and assessing assignments your full 100%!
6. Stays organized: Stay on top of your grading, don't fall behind. Keep a journal of notes, and stay ahead on your lesson plans. It is better to be ahead than fall behind.
7. Is open-minded: As a teacher, you will constantly be evaluated throughout your career. Stay open-minded to criticism. Don't get offended, but be open to change that can make you a better teacher.
8. Has standards: Be sure to create standards for both yourself and your students. From day one of school, your students should know what is acceptable and what is not. As the teacher, it is also important to demonstrate these standards and stay consistent. 
9. Finds inspiration: Students learn best when material is interesting. Don't settle for average, boring lessons. However, find inspiration and get creative!
10. Embraces change: As great as your lesson plan may be, things do not always go as planned in the classroom. Being flexible and thinking-on-the-spot is crucial when it comes to teaching. When it comes to administrative and curriculum changes, simply accept it and do not complain. Do no complain about what you have no control over. Change is okay!
11. Creates reflections: As a teacher, it is important to reflect upon yourself and your lessons at the end of each day. Reflecting on what went right, what went wrong, and what should be done in the future will help you grow as a teacher. Teachers who grow foster students who grow.

How Can I Use Twitter for Students in My Classroom?
In my future classroom I hope to effectively use technology to enhance learning. One way that I could use Twitter in the classroom is by having students each create their own Twitter account for class. I would post homework assignments, test reminders, study strategies, and any other tips to the class Twitter page. I would also post articles for students to read (such as articles from Time for Kids). I would have students read the article and then have them post comments beneath my post. They could comment on their reactions to the article and what they learned from it. Students could also read what others have commented before them so that they could build upon each other's ideas. Twitter is a wondrous tool for educators, because it can be used both in the classroom and to build Professional Learning Networks!

References

Hill, H. (2015, March 26). 37 Ways to Help Kids Learn to Love Reading. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/37-ways-help-kids-learn-love-reading?utm_content=community&utm_campaign=37-ways-love-reading-ugc&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow&utm_term=first-image

Palank, D. (2015, September 2). Strategies to Build Intrinsic Motivation. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-self-persuasion-david-palank?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow &utm_campaign=RSS

Stevens, K. (2014, April 30). Twitter Exec Reports that Educators Dominate the Twitter sphere (EdSurge News). Retrieved October 19, 2015, from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2014-04-30-twitter-exec-reports-that-educators-dominate-the-twitter-sphere

Teachers and Social Media: Policies and Use

In Connecticut, teachers who work for Simsbury Public School systems are allowed, under the First Amendment, to have accounts on social media sites and speak out on them. But the policies of Simsbury Public School systems do of course have some regulations. For example, an employee can never use social media to discuss the school district in a harmful manner that would damage its reputation or disrupt work. Also, no employees of the school district are allowed to "friend" or "add" any students (nor their parents) on personal social media sites unrelated to school. Simsbury Public School systems have the right to monitor district computers, including teachers' social media sites. If a teacher wishes to use a social media site for school (classroom or extracurricular activity club) purposes they must get permission and follow a series of regulations. All employees are responsible for their own social media posts; any violations can result in termination of employment and/or being sued. Without a doubt, I agree completely with all of the regulations Simsbury Public School systems has for their teachers and other related employees. It is a teacher's right to still be able to engage in social media sites in their personal leisure. But because teachers are working with children or adolescents and for an educational system, of course it is necessary to place restrictions on what they can say about that educational system and who they can "add" or be "friends" with on their personal social media sites. I completely agree that work matters should stay completely separate from personal matters. Only for educational purposes should a teacher set up a social media site for student use and interaction with the teacher.

"Should Teachers Be Using Social Media in the Classroom" from pbs.org is one article that discusses two teachers' opinions on the matter of social media use for educational purposes. According to broadcast and media teacher, Don Goble, social media has developed into a tremendous educational tool yet it often goes untaught. Since students are already using social media, I agree with Mr. Goble that they should be taught how to make the most use out of the social media sites that are available to them. Mr. Goble is a strong proponent of using social media sites in the classroom to supplement instruction, he treats his students like professsionals, trusts them, and has high expectations for them. Mr. Goble has found that the quietest students are actually the ones who speak the loudest on social media. One of his most reserved students, Nadia, approached Mr. Goble one day to express how excited she was to receive a comment on her blog from someone who lives half way around the globe in Australia, agreeing with an argument she made on her blog. Moreover, there is no doubting that when a student gets excited about learning that they are more motivated in the classroom (and thus perform better!). On the other hand, eighth grade language arts and literature teacher, Gail Leicht, disagrees with Mr. Goble on the use of social media in the classroom. Mrs. Leicht says that school should be the one place that students come where they can unplug and actually be "present." Too many people, she states, have become addicted to social media and sites such as Facebook have created an "all about me" mind-set and is turning her students into self-absorbed individuals. Simply put, Mrs. Leicht would like to "keep social media social" (Leicht and Goble). While, yes, Mrs. Leicht can be correct that social media appears to set off an "all about me" vibe, that is merely because social media is a place to express yourself. In my opinion, social media should be used in the classroom because teachers could show students how to express themselves in more ways than just personal ways; for instance, there are ways in which students can use the internet, such as for collaboration, and expressing major policies and ideas going on in the world. In doing so, they are stepping outside of their own town and into the broader world.

In the article, "My Favorite Teachers Use Social Media: A Student Perspective," one high school freshman, Katie, offers her viewpoints on teachers using social media for classroom purposes. Katie points out that nine out of ten students use social media, and once students are let out of class they are glued to their phones in the hallway, browsing Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and other sites. With students constantly using social media, Katie suggests strongly that teachers should be open to utilizing social media related sites in order to enhance learning. Considering how often students are using social media, I agree with Katie that teachers should incorporate social media into the classroom because it is a fabulous way to hook them on topics; keep them engaged in the new form of learning; and simply supplement curriculum. Katie says that she even has one teacher who has a class Instagram account in which the teacher posts all homework assignments and reminders there, so that when students are scrolling through their usual Instagram feeds they will see homework reminders pop up, as well. I think that this is a superb idea to help out the students who most often get distracted on certain social media sites; as they browse through their friends' posts, seeing a homework reminder appear while they are currently using the site is a great way to re-direct their attention to get started on upcoming class assignments. Katie has also appreciated it when she had teachers who set up Facebook groups for class or group projects. She also enjoyed it when one teacher would host planned, online book discussions to replace book reports. Katie could not count how many book reports she had written in her school career so far, so an online book discussion was great for her to intellectually stimulate her in a new way. "The best teachers I've ever had have used technology to enhance learning" she writes. I completely agree with all of Katie's points, because in today's 21st century classrooms, it is imperative to modify the ways in which we teach students to befit the society in which they grow up in and to modify existing teaching methods for maximizing student learning and growth.

While Katie Benmar explains how her teacher uses Instagram to post class assignments and reminders, there are other teachers who use this social media tool in more interactive ways. Some teachers will post prompts that require students to find something specific to capture a photo of and then caption it. Other times students will need to respond to a certain image. Whether teachers use Instagram just to post information or use it in a way that requires students to respond and post back, there are a variety of ways to incorporate it into learning. Below is a video in which one teacher describes his use of Instagram in the classroom.





Whether it is Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or blogs, there is a wide variety of social media sites that exist out in the web for teachers to be able to utilize in the classroom. While there are certainly pros and cons of teachers using social media, the benefits will certainly outweigh the risks when done appropriately. All that teachers need to do is simply be responsible in their use of social media sites. They need to keep their personal social media separate from classroom social media to avoid trouble. Educators who wisely integrate the right social media sites into the right lesson plans (and in an appropriate manner), will enhance their students' knowledge in a whole new way.

References

Leicht, Gail, & Doblin, Don (2014). Should teachers be using social media in the classoom. PBS Newshour. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/social-media-valuable-tool-teachers/

Benmar, Katie (2015). My favorite teachers use social media: a student perspective. Education Week. Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2015/04/22/my-favorite-teachers-use-social-media-a.html

Instagram for teachers. (2013). Retrieved from http://cleverclassroomblog.blogspot.com/2015/03/do-you-instagram-instagram-for-teachers.html

ablairzis. (2015, April 14). Using Instagram in the classroom- zis interview 2 [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wSSHCwk8ao