Teaching with Technology - Week 1 Reflection

"Technical literacy should not be taught as an isolated subject, nor should activities with technology be isolated from other activities in the classroom” (Sprague 1999).

 

This week I was able to easily relate to this quote which comes from the views of Sprague (1999) and how constructivism is used in today’s classrooms with technology. I found this especially interesting because at the beginning of the year in-service for teachers, our superintendent spoke to us about inspiring learning. He encouraged us to be open to new ways of teaching students. One of his suggestions was to get away from “the way we learned” and embrace the new opportunities for teaching and learning with technology in today’s classrooms.

 

Building technology into the classroom activities also relates to the constructivist teacher builds on the student’s knowledge and expands on what they know (Abbott 2008).  By using this theory of constructivism and using the idea stated in the article, Learning as a Personal Event: A Brief Introduction to Constructivism, “Knowledge is constructed in multiple ways, through a variety of tools, resources, experiences, and contexts” (1999). A teacher can ignite learning with building on a student’s background knowledge and use technology as a tool to build on the current knowledge.  The newer version of Bloom’s Taxonomy embraces the use of technology tools to support today’s student by creating and engaging learning with high order thinking and technology.  See the comparison of the traditional and the new version of Bloom’s Taxonomy in the figure below (Schrum 2007).  While Bloom's was always a building threory, the updated version improves on the theory of building for today's student with technology. 

 

Abbott, J. (nd). Building Knowledge: Constructivism in Learning. [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F00R3pOXzuk.

 

Schrum, Lynne; Solomon, Gwen (2007-10-01). Web 2.0: New Tools, New Schools (p. 30-32). International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). Kindle Edition.

 

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html.

 Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, Am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning, 27(1). Retrieved from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf.

Research Reflections

After completing this course, I have a whole new understanding for research, specifically action research.   One suggestion made by Dr. Lewis from the week two videos was that action research be practical and able to be applied to the researcher’s current situation.  He stated that if action research is practical, the researcher will be more interested, more focused on the outcome, and students or campus will benefit more because of it.  I also remember the thoughts of Dr. Chargois.  He advised those who will do action research to ask themselves, “Will it be able to help student performance?”  A teacher today should “never stop learning – if you are green or you are growing.  If you are brown, you’re dying.”  Teachers today need to be action researched oriented.

Technology has given us another form of networking that fits my lifestyle.   Since beginning this class, I have really enjoyed blogging.  This is something I have not done much of in the past.  I feel blogging or some other form of peer communication is essential to all educators.  This online class has given me a whole new group of connections with similar interests.  I will continue to collaborate with the other members of the online class.  I also hope to make other new connections in the future.   We do not have to leave our home to network! 

By setting the example of research, evaluation, and reflection, students and other teachers are led by example. And because action research is led by those involved, the results are positive for students, teachers, administration, and the school as a whole.

Chargois, T. (Performer) (n.d.). Interview 2 - dr. timothy chargois [Web]. Retrieved from https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=2855174

Lewis, K. (Performer) (n.d.). Interview 3 - dr. kirk lewis [Web]. Retrieved from https://lamar.epiclms.net/Learn/Player.aspx?enrollmentid=2855174

Revised Reseach Plan

Action Research Draft
Goal: Promote teachers to use collaborative teaching to incorporate technology into the classrooms to improve student performance.
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
1. Obtain permission from elementary principal to conduct research inquiry.	Debra Sicking Lou Heers	Aug. 13-17, 2012	Written document stating the elementary principal gives permission for this action research to be conducted on their campus.	N/A
2. Survey teachers on comfort level of use of technology tools including, but not limited to: basic computer usage, Web 2.0 tools, iPads, and SMART Boards.	Debra Sicking	Aug. 20-25, 2012	Surveys created with Socrative	Spreadsheet and graph of results.
3. Select and obtain permission from four teachers to conduct action research project in their classrooms.	Debra Sicking Selected Teachers	Aug. 27-Sept. 4, 2012	Written document stating teacher permission to conduct action research in their classrooms.	N/A
4. Interview the four teachers in depth to gain a baseline for knowledge of technology (computers, Web 2.0 tools, iPads, and SMART Boards).	Debra Sicking Selected Teachers	Sept. 4-10, 2012	Interview questions Notebook for interview notes	Interviewer notes will be compared to end of year interview with teachers’ results of collaborative teaching with technology.
5. Collaborate lessons with the four teachers to be conducted throughout the school year using technology.  Involved teachers develop grading rubrics for collaborative grading.  (I will be the common collaborating teacher as I hold a technology specialist position at my campus.)	Debra Sicking Selected Teachers	Sept. 4-Oct. 1, 2012	Blank lesson plan format. Blank grading rubrics Schedule for ELA lesson to collaborate with teachers	Lesson plans and rubrics from group planning
6. Provide technology support for the four teachers throughout their lesson implementations.	Debra Sicking	Oct. 1, 2012- May 3, 2013	Classroom visits Email Cheat sheets on website “Tech Help” page Cell phone contact	Technology support satisfaction will be assessed in the final interview with the teachers after the lessons have been completed.
7.  Collect student grades on similar assignments without cooperative teaching or technology	Debra Sicking Selected Teachers	Oct. 1, 2012- May 10, 2013	Student grades	Student performance standards will be compared to the performance standards and surveys of students when using cooperative teaching and technology
8.  Collect student grades on assignments and projects with cooperative teaching and technology.	Debra Sicking Selected Teachers	Oct. 1, 2012- May 10, 2013	Student grades	Student performance standards will be compared to the performance standards and surveys of students when not using cooperative teaching and technology
9. Re-survey teachers on new comfort level of use of technology tools.  Is there improvement with comfort and usage?	Debra Sicking Selected Teachers	May 6 – 17, 2013	Survey created and administered with Socrative.	Spreadsheet and graph of results.
10. Conduct exit teacher interviews of the four teachers regarding teacher growth, cooperative teaching strategies, and overall thought of cooperative teaching with technology.	Debra Sicking Selected Teachers	May 6 – 17, 2013	Interview questions Notebook for interview notes	Interviewer notes will be compared to beginning of year interview with teachers’ results of collaborative teaching with technology.
11. Conduct student surveys of cooperative teaching with technology assignments/projects compared to traditional assignments/projects.  Is there an increase in satisfaction or interest in learning?	Debra Sicking	May 6 – 17, 2013	Survey created and administered with Socrative.	Spreadsheet and graph of results.
12. Analyze teacher and student survey data.	Debra Sicking	May 17 – 24, 2013	Surveys and spreadsheet of gathered data at beginning of year.	Analysis of survey results.
13.  Write a self-reflection based on interview notes, survey data, student performance data, and overall observations.	Debra Sicking	May 24 – June 1, 2013	Microsoft Word Collected data Observation & Interview notes	Self Reflection of plan of action to take place.
14.  Share information found on action research with administrators, teachers, and other stock-holders.	Debra Sicking	August 2013	Visual presentation software Visual presentation at beginning of 2013-2014 school year.	Presentation feedback.