Reading Review #3
My topic of integrating technology successfully into primary
classrooms had many hundreds of hits both through library search engines,
google, Pinterest, and Youtube. I am a visual learner so I definitely preferred
the sites that included pictures, video, graphs, and charts to the long and
lengthy written articles where you have to spend a good amount of time reading
to see if they have any relevant or interesting information on your topic. A
skill set that I need to learn, as a TL and teacher, would be to learn to speed
read or scan resources effectively.
(image retrieved from Pinterest)
Of the resources and articles I found, I would recommend the
following links below as the most relevant and interesting. I also wanted to
have a variety of resources so I searched academic journals, websites, blogs,
and videos. An additional article I came across since my last blog post (that was
sent to me by a parent), I have included below because I found it very
interesting. See link below.
The article talks about how businesses are influencing what
students learn, and how teachers teach — with millions of children serving as
de facto beta testers for their ideas and new apps.
This same parent who sent me the article also attended a
presentation by Amanda Lang at Crofton house in Vancouver, about innovative
thinkers. She said it was really interesting and talked about encouraging kids
(and adults) to be curious and ask questions. Or as we educators are
calling it - Inquiry based thinking and learning! :)
I decided to google this Amanda Lang and found that she is a
Canadian business journalist and I have also started following her on Twitter.
I cannot find anything about her speech or info night at Crofton House but I
will keep searching.
Here are the
following links to resources I found useful:
A blog site called “Education to the Core.” Making
Technology Meaningful in Primary
An article on the Edutopia website titled, “What is
Successful Technology Integration?” Technology
Integration Guide
An article by Nesta Publications, titled “Decoding Learning:
The Proof, Promise, and Potential of Digital Education.” Decoding Learning
A section from the handbook by Voogt & Knezek (2008) titled “International Handbook of
Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education.”
International Handbook for Technology Integration
International Handbook for Technology Integration
A video from TEDx titled “Blending
Technology with Classroom Learning”
TEDTalks
TEDTalks
In the literature, my topic was discussed with success stories,
data, new research, and technology models. The reason I selected these articles
was because they offer different perspectives and various opinions, ideas, and
research for successful implementation. It is key to create a safe and
inclusive classroom environment where technology can seamlessly be incorporated
into everyday lessons and learning. I explain each resource in more detail below.
(image created using Wordle)
In Emily Liscom’s blog she talks about her success with
implementing technology, specifically Showbie, into her classroom. She mentions
how it is our responsibility to prepare students to use technology as a tool –
to use it to explore, create, and produce.” She teaches Kindergarten, and if
she can prove 5 years olds can successfully document their learning and use
technology as an assessment tool, then my Grade 2 class can too! Making
Technology Meaningful in Primary
iPad Apps
Additionally, the Edutopia article presented two frameworks
on technology integration. I liked the TPACK framework because it “attempts to
identify the nature of knowledge required by teachers for technology
integration in their teaching, while addressing the complex, multifaceted and
situated nature of teacher knowledge.”
TPACK
TPACK
Finally, it provided a link to “Integrating Technology with
Limited Resources,” something I am currently struggling with in my own school.
It provided ideas of how to use a stand alone desktop computer as a technology
station where students can do various activities independently or in pairs
rotating through a schedule.
Free Tech Integration Resources and Ideas
Free Tech Integration Resources and Ideas
In the TEDx video, “Blending Technology
with Classroom Learning,” Jessie Wolley-Wilson talks about intelligent adaptive
learning and how some programs are designed to learn as the child learns to
produce the next lessons to be taught. She mentions such programs as Dreambox,
the same program from the article in the New York Times, that the parent emailed
me earlier this week.
In the publication, Decoding Learning
(2012), they provide wonderful examples of how technology integration has been
successful in schools and explain how and why it was successful. For instance,
they give an example of students learning from experts, with others, through
making, through exploring, through inquiry, through practicing, from
assessment, and in and across settings. In my last blog post I gave an example from
the Chapter “Learning through Making.” Today I will provide an example from the
chapter titled “Learning through Inquiry.” It suggests that students can
connect their inquiries to real world scenarios more easily with the use of
technology and take part in critical debates by problem solving, thinking
critically, and using organizational tools to help support their research (p.32).
Decoding Learning
Decoding Learning
I wanted to mention this quote again,
even though I mentioned it in my last blog post. The quote is from the handbook
titled, Information Technology for Primary and Secondary Education (2008). It
stated that, “Education is no longer limited to taking place in one physical
environment at a certain time during the day” (p. 30). We don’t need to be
putting aside a block a week to teach technology. It should be seamlessly
integrated in our day-to-day teaching and lessons. However, for me, this seems
to be hard to implement, both because of the lack of individual technology
devices available at our school, and limited time available for educators to
find apps and online tools that will support their lessons. It is an
overwhelming digital world out there! Yet, being able to use technology is seen
as one of the core competencies in the twenty-first century (p. 32). This
handbook is a little outdated, almost ten years old, but it still makes some
valid points that I did investigate further since my last post.
Information Technology IT handbook
Information Technology IT handbook
Here is what I found.
It states that, “teachers’ use of IT is affected by will (attitudes towards
IT), skill (IT competencies), and access to IT tools. A competent teacher is
able to blend subject matter knowledge with appropriate pedagogy and IT
knowledge and skills” (p. 37). I agree with this, as you are more likely to use
something if you are interested in it, skilled, and have it readily available
to use. This statement does leave me feeling unsure about where I stand in my
competency. I am fairly good with technology, but not as confident as many
other educators. Will I be able to blend subject matter seamlessly with
pedagogy and IT skills? I don’t know.
However, through my research and deeper exploration on my
topic, the key learnings, findings, and takeaways have been to give something
new a try, take a risk, and learn along side your students. You don’t have to
be the expert all the time, your attempts may not be successful the first time,
but you can learn from these technology tools and ways of incorporating them
into your classroom by first giving them a try, then thinking critically and
reflectively about the process and learning that took place for both you, as
the educator, and your students. You will not lose by bringing technology into
the classroom! Below are some I will try this year!
(image retrieved from Pinterest)
Bibliography
Blog
Liscom, Emily. “Making Technology Meaningful in Primary.” Education to the Core. May 12, 2015. https://educationtothecore.com/2015/05/making-technology-meaningful-in-primary/#respond
Video
TEDx Rainier. “Blending Technology and Classroom Learning.” Youtube, commentary by Jessie
Wooley-Wilson, December 17, 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTEQVYDPpg
Websites
Edutopia. (2007, November 5). What is Successful
Technology Integration? Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description
Edutopia. (2011, October 25). K-5 iPad Apps According to Bloom’s Taxonomy. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/ipad-apps-elementary-blooms-taxonomy-diane-darrow
TPACK. (2012, September 24). Technological, Pedagogical, and Content
Knowledge Explained. Retrieved from http://www.tpack.org/
Edutopia. (2010, August 11). Integrating Technology with Limited
Resources. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/free-tech-integration-resources
Articles
Luckin, R. et al. (2012). Decoding Learning: The Proof, Promise, and Potential of Digital Education.
Nesta Publishing, 15-43. Retrieved from
http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/decoding-learning
http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/decoding-learning
Singer, N. (2017). The
Silicon Valley Billionaires Remaking America’s Schools. The New York Times.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/06/technology/tech-billionaires-education-zuckerberg-facebook-hastings.html?smprod=nytcore-iphone&smid=nytcore-iphone-share
Voogt, J. & Knezek, G. (2008). International Handbook of
Information Technology in Primary and Secondary Education. Springer, (20),
30-38, ISBN: 978-0-387-73315-9 Retrieved from: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-387-73315-9/page/1
A very well done final blog post for this reading review. Your personalized description and reflection were engaging and showed a genuine interest in your topic and desire to inquire more and deeply. You collected a very diverse set of resources and references and did a very good job describing and evaluating them for potential readers of your blog. A strong final bibliography that will continue to serve you well as you further explore implementing these ideas.
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