EDTECH 541 Final Post - Course Reflection

Part One: Course Reflection

What have you learned? Other than for my own subjects (Social Studies and Language Arts for Middle School students), I had never really studied what tools and techniques work most effectively in another subject area.  We have a strong Science teaching staff, who are also interesting in deepening the technology integration in their classrooms. So, I chose High School Biology as my focus. This was a good thing. I was able to dig in over the course of the semester and find a large number of high quality websites and iPad apps that I think will enhance student learning. My next major step is to sit down with one or more Biology teacher, show them the results of my coursework and then develop a plan for them to start integrating what appear to be very high-quality resources. If they want, I can assist them in  searching on their own  for resources, using some of what I found as a starting point.

How has theory guided development of the projects and assignments you created? Understanding theory definitely helped me  as I developed projects for the course. Understanding what does, and does not work, regarding how learning materials need to be presented, the appropriate scaffolding of information, and even how the brain can process the material, was very helpful in developing my content. For instance,  learning that a student's auditory and visual channels for learning are very small contributed significantly in how to develop multimedia resources for effective learning. Even though you, as the subject matter expert, may be tempted to include "everything and the kitchen sink" on a page, that has a deleterious effect on student learning: too much information (verbal, other audio, written word, images) on a page can stop the students' learning before it has even begun. People are just not mentally able to take in that much material at once. This idea (the Coherence Principle) was brought forth in my Edtech 513 Multimedia course, and it was good to see the same concepts bubble up in this course.

How did the coursework demonstrate mastery of the AECT standards?  I feel confident that my course work does reflect mastery of the AECT standards.  Please refer to the analysis of the course standards on my Edtech 541 Google Site. 

How have you grown professionally? I have learned, or had reinforced, a considerable amount about how to better integrate technology into the High School Science classroom. As I noted above, I now have considerable ammunition to work with the science teachers at my school regarding how to more effectively integrate technology - in a practical way - into their coursework. Since my job is to support teachers in doing that, this is of supreme importance to me. Of course, it applies to the whole school, not only Science subjects.  I have also (re)learned how to break projects out into bite sized pieces to successfully complete. The assignments every week provided me good practice for my organizational and project management skills.

How has your own teaching practice or thoughts about teaching been impacted by what you have learned or accomplished in this course? What will you do differently as an educator as a result of this course? More than anything, I think that I have honed my approach to working with teachers, based upon this course. I see how busy the teachers here are - with considerable academic and "other" deadlines to meet. For me, it's instrumental that I be able to support them by "cutting to the chase" and finding relevant tools, sound approaches, and reasonable "how to"' steps to effectively integrate tech more fully in their coursework.  This goes well beyond just the how to's regarding the function of the tool or resource; the key component is the integration into their actual curriculum. Taking the Edtech 541 course has given me some tools and techniques to do just that.

As I noted above, it's always tempting to include everything in a multimedia presentation used for learning. This course reinforced what I already knew: less is more when presenting learners (teachers) with new information, and of course engaging the learner as much as possible (no passive "sit and git" in my training classes!)   As  staff developer, being mindful of what the student needs to successfully learn has to always be top of mind.

Part Two: Assess Your Performance

Upon reflection, I am very pleased with the body of work I have created for Edtech 541,  Integrating Technology into the Classroom Curriculum. I have consistently provided information in clear and concise ways, and I think I added value to other students who chose to read my posts. I also feel that my responses to others were substantial and added to the ongoing conversation. I could have done better by posting earlier on occasion, so more people could have read and responded to my posts.

Content  70/70- I consistently made clear connections to current content, as well as real life situations with significant detail. In particular, the posts on Internet Safety, Mobile Wifi and  Accessibility Options on iPad exemplified some of my best work.

Readings and Resources 18/20 -  I did make references to outside readings and did use APA style references as appropriate in my posts.

Timeliness 15/20 - I did do all the postings required with quality, and most were done early enough for others to respond. 

Responses to Other Students - 25/30 - I did respond to my peers with substantial posts that added to the conversation. I  made only one substantial response to a peer in one or two weeks of the semester.

EDTECH 541: Accessibility options on iPad

The iPad and other iOS devices offers a number of accessibility features to assist users. Many of these features can be found in Settings --> General --> Accessibility. There are four sections, each with a few features allowing users to pick and choose what is necessary to make their experience more user-friendly.

iPad Settings

Vision features assist the visually impaired or blind student. Some of the settings allow the user to manipulate the size of text and icons. There is a voice-over feature, using Siri to verbalize screen touches, as well as using a finger to draw letters instead of typing. Speech reads the content on the screen, making email, text messages, web pages and books accessible.

iPads also allow for a braille display when connected to a wireless braille device. These displays allow for braille in a number of languages.

Communication and collaboration between visually and hearing impaired students can take place using Facetime, the iOS video calling feature. Students who use sign language can see each other, including gestures and facial expressions, making Facetime a valuable tool.

Hearing impaired students have a number of options on an iOS device. They can turn on Closed Captioning to view CC enabled videos and podcasts, including ones in iTunes U. There is mono audio available for students who hear best from one ear. And iOS offers connectivity for Bluetooth-enabled hearing aids.

Students with physical or motor challenges have some options on the iPad. AssistiveTouch allows users who can’t pinch or spread fingers to use a one-touch or assistive device to substitute for the more complication gestures.

Students can use Siri to provide certain directions to the device, such as sending a message or scheduling a task. Many apps that require typing now has the Dictation feature, where students can talk instead of type. There is also Switch Control that allows Bluetooth-enabled hardware to perform certain on-screen tasks.

Students with speech impairments can use Facetime to communicate using sign language. iMessage allows them to collaborate using text. Speech Selection allows the device to speak for you. This feature can also help students with speech development, providing an always-accessible model.

From the list of accessibility features listed above, it appears that Apple is making a thoughtful effort to assist disabled users. From my observation, just in the past couple years this list has grown, especially with accessibility to Bluetooth-enabled assistive tools. In addition, Apple has partnered with third-party app developers to provide learning tools to students and others who need them.

Here are some links to additional iOS accessibility details:

https://www.apple.com/accessibility/

https://www.apple.com/ios/accessibility-tips/

http://www.imore.com/how-use-accessibility-iphone-and-ipad-ultimate-guide

EDTECH 541 - Obstacles and Solutions to Technology Use in Biology

Biology classrooms have technology related issues similar to most. We always have a “plan B” if the internet is down, the projector won’t fire up, a student forgets her iPad at home, or assignments cannot be accessed because of no home connectivity. We also struggle with teacher tech knowledge and how well trained they are on applications. Those are givens, and the teachers, along with the IT/ET team, work together to mitigate those problems. The science classroom has its own obstacles, which that team has recognized and are working to minimize.

Our school has adopted a 1:1 iPad program for students this year.  Although initially a bit skeptical, teachers and the tech team have found several quality apps students can use that mimic hands-on activities, making technology a valuable tool to augment student learning. This presents our obstacle:how often and when do teachers substitute actual labs with virtual labs?

My reading finds that there are some common issues with virtual labs. One is the inability to provide students with timely, specific feedback. In an actual lab, students and teachers can interact and address questions on the spot. In virtual labs, the teacher can provide feedback - but more likely after the lab has been completed. Secondly, some virtual labs cannot differentiate instruction to varying learning styles and disabilities our students possess.

Virtual labs have many benefits - they are cost-efficient, allow for "any time" completion, provide absent students an opportunity to do it, and can be revisited to refresh learning. They provide flexibility for the project-based learning classroom, where a number of different labs can take place at the same time. Actual labs allow for tactile manipulation of the lab supplies, the ability to better understand and respect supplies (e.g., chemicals used for testing), timely feedback from classmates and instructors, and greater attentiveness to results.  So how do biology teachers know when a virtual lab is more appropriate to an actual lab? Teachers first need to know what they want to accomplish in the lab. What are the higher order skills and larger learning they want their students to achieve? Possibly the most efficient way to get there (considering costs and availability of supplies) is a virtual lab.

As with most things in teaching, there is no easy answer, and the direction to take truly depends upon the particular learning needs described the standards to be covered, and the focus and methods the teacher identifies to teach those standards. As we have learned often, the answer to using tech or not is, "it depends." What is clear is that the technology approach should not lead this discussion. It's one tool in the teacher - and student - toolbelt, and needs to be used when it's advantageous to do so, and not used (or de-emphasized) when student learning can be maximized some other way.

References

Cyberlearning. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://circlcenter.org/giving-students-feedback-complex-tasks-virtual-biology-labs/.

Turkman, H. (2006) Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED501461.pdf .

EDTECH 541 - Technology in the Content Areas

As I have worked through our assignments, I'm continually reminded about the amazing breadth and depth of resources available (in all subject areas) that can add to student learning. My core area for this class is High School Biology, so of course I have spent considerable time this semester getting a decent feel for the apps, websites and other 'tools' available to a biology teacher. Not being a Biology teacher, it's been interesting for me to uncover the wealth of resources that are available. For instance, I stumbled across Biology Corner, which has an amazing array of lesson plans, diagrams, quizzes and other resources that can be used to augment student learning. I've done a little bit of evaluation of iPad apps for bio, and there are several are specific apps that can add much to a student's learning, such as BioNinja IB (free), which can be used to research the biology of genetics, including chromosomes and meiosis.

I also did some research into the tools available for those English speakers learning a foreign language, like Spanish. Translation resources abound, of course, but there are innumerable YouTube and other videos available to assist the learner in actually hearing the words pronounced, using proper grammar and so on. There is an excellent and easy to use web-based tool call Lingt that provides a way for teachers to provide prompts to students, who can then record and turn in their response to the teacher. Simple, but very effective. And of course, there is an endless list of iPad apps that can help to some degree, particularly for younger students.

I created an eBook for Biology, and again, there is a phenomenal array of tools (some better, some not as good) to provide ways for students to "show what they know" and deepen their learning. I used Bookbuilder and it was ok. It was nice that is was web-based, but a little clunky and not particularly speedy. It helped me accomplish my goals and was fine overall. There are some iPad apps - Book Creator and Book Writer - that I plan to explore in more depth this summer. They look like excellent tools that can cross all subject matter boundaries and enhance students' ability to write about the topic of their choice, and then publish their work. These types of tools deserve more of my time, as I see that need in our students - writing in depth about whatever subject matter topic is at hand.

Beyond the almost innumerable subject-specific resources are the so-called "Evergreen Apps" - those that cross just about all subject boundaries and are useful in many and varied learning situations. These are tools such as the Google Apps for Education Suite (which has an amazing array of tools, of an by itself). Beyond that, Padlet, Quizlet, Notability (iPad), YouTube, WeVideo/iMovie, LucidChart, PiktoChart, and many others make a great base for any student or teacher to get started in technology, depending upon their particular learning goals.

So, it's very clear that there are more than enough tools and resources that can augment student  learning of any type. An area I struggle with is how to make all these possibilities not seem overwhelming for an "average" teacher who wants to add technology to learning in a practical way.  From our textbook, I have gotten quite a bit from the "Top Ten" Integration Strategies referenced throughout the book (and listed on Special Features on page HV). I intend to refer to some of these, as I work with teachers as they explore opportunities. Focusing at first, of course, on the teacher's academic goals for the day, week, unit, etc. I think that talking the teachers through a short list of integration strategies that could augment what they are doing may just be the spark they need to get started. In particular, I think this may be a strategy that works for those teachers very reticent (or just plain confused) as to where or how to start. Plus, it's a focus on learning need, not tool, which is very appropriate for any discussion about adding tech to curriculum: start with the academic need, then dive into how (and what) tech can support it. DON'T start with a "this is a cool tech tool" perspective.