Course Reflection Post

What have you learned with regards to critical issues in Tech and Communications

As we have talked about before, I have been pretty heavily involved with technology from a classroom perspective and, as much of the reading has shown, the major issue there is the use of technology in support of learning. While I was on some technology committees, involved with tech from a staff development perspective, and have been part of the teams of staff leading change initiatives, I really had my eyes opened to TWO major issues: money and time.

In terms of time there were many areas that jumped up, but how quickly technology changes and how long it takes (and how difficult it is) to get folks to make a pretty big philosophical shift are a few that really jumped out. Just as it’s tough for teachers to make the shift from teacher centered to student centered classrooms, which can help effectively integrate technology, there are also ‘district wide’ shifts that need to be made to effectively systematically integrate technology into their systems.  This could be at the classroom level as well as the administrative level (secretaries, directors, principals, etc.).  There is a flexibility and adaptability that all levels, ie- curriculum, need to subscribe to for effective integration of technology.  Whether changing platforms or systems, it could take some folks a while to get on board and make the shift, and some may not even get fully on board.  I do believe that while some of this is a 'technology use' issue, most of it is more a resistance to change.

One of the more eye opening parts to class was the conversation with our tech director on what he did to make his decisions on why we are making a big change in our technology next year.  It was nice to hear about how much background research and thought went into his decision, but also interesting to hear how much money played into the decision.  No surprise because of the current state of things, but still worthy of note.   The key in both these cases is to not let challenges like time and money become barriers; these will always be challenges, so I need to figure out a way around them!

How have your perspectives evolved or changed over the last several months (if they have)?

I’m not sure they have changed a ton (I’m still in favor of purposeful, effective use and purposeful, well thought out systematic change), but my understanding of the larger issues involved around and how important a school leader’s role is in the success of technology integration has grown.  The ISTE standards for school leaders was really good information as they touched on a variety of areas from being an instructional technology leader as well as creating a digital friendly environment.  This is so important to the success of any change initiative, but even more so with technology.

What tools or technologies do you want to get better at using or learn how to use? 

One challenge this summer will be adapting to our new Dells (we are making the move from Macs) and using Microsoft’s ONE note.  It sounds/looks awesome from what I’ve seen/played with so far. I like the idea of making a virtual binder of the course I am teaching and then sharing it, in pieces, with the students.  I think for them it will be great to be able to grab the whole year if they want from the 'cloud' ahead of time then work on some aspects of the course at their own pace. Figuring out the best ways to use it to support my students and curriculum will be key.

Where I am with the PC right now:

What areas interest you most at this point and how do you expect to learn more about them?

I do not know too much about PLN’s, and after a few folks in class discussing them and some of the articles posted in our Diigo group I am definitely interested in pursuing more info and getting myself wired into a few; I am going to start with some of the blogs and articles that were posted in Diigo and on some of the principal blogs that are listed in Google Reader.  Along with this, my larger interest lies in studying and further working with changing ‘old school’ curriculums to reflect a more 21^st century environment.  After writing several grad courses that use tech in support of standard curriculum, use it in a hybrid format, and now getting ready to work on a full online course, I am fascinated by the possibilities and challenges that creating meaningful, useful, and challenging 21^st century curriculum poses. 

TED Talks: Kim Cofino: Mobile, Connected, Collaborative

Kim Cofino: Mobile, Connected, Collaborative
TEDx Talks
March 21, 2012

In her TEDx talk, Kim Cofino discusses a 'vision' for what our schools can, and hopefully one day, will look like in the future.  She discusses her experiences living in Southeast Asia and how these experiences directly relate to a mobile, connected, and collaborative educational learning environment.

She does a nice job describing the following descriptors of life in SE Asia in the comparison to education: mobility, timing, adaptability and flexibility, customization, valuation, collaboration, and globalization.  While the the message is clear, well spoken, exciting, and I agree with it wholeheartedly, it is, much like a lot of the research and discussions we have been having in class, an idealistic vision without much practical application.


One of the big challenges that I have and continue to battle as someone who tries to effectively incorporate technology into my learning space to support student learning is answering the question, "In reality, in practicality, what does this 'look' like?" 

Here is a quick example, from my own classroom, of what I am talking about:  our sophomores read 'Like Water for Chocolate'. It is a novel full of magical realism, symbolism, great characters and food as a metaphor. Before we began using technology, we developed a student centered project to synthesize the novel. The students created (using markers and paper or word for those who had access) 'Restaurant Menus' that touched on the characters, symbolism in the novels, food as a metaphor, had the magical realism tint to them, etc. The students created restaurant names, food/menu items, graphics, etc...that all were representative (based off our work with the novel) their understanding of the themes and issues tackled in the book. They worked in groups and had to write up an essay that explained their choices and decision making. We had to give them time in class to collaborate and most all were done hard copy using colored pencils, markers, glue, etc, while a few were done in Microsoft word or Publisher then printed out. Enter the 21st Century classroom and Web 2.0 tools. The question we asked was, "how do we keep the project student centered and focused on the outcomes of the learning while not getting lost in technology?" The answer was simple, what do restaurants use now? Websites-the students used generators such as Wix.com, Weebly.com, and Google sites. We kept the core learning and outcomes of the project the same, but just changed the format, the students now created websites for the restaurants.  Some of the big bonuses were that the collaboration could happen outside of school once they started (it took less class time so we could supplement with short stories and some more writing workshop time), and the students were experimenting with a media that was more multi-layered and dynamic than a word document. They also were able to build depth into the site by linking to other authors who dealt with Magical Realism (GG Marquez and Chris Van Allsburg), to background on the Mexican Civil war, and to more current films that dealt with food as a metaphor (Simply Irresistible). The 'sharing' of these projects became less a group in front of class presenting and more them giving the overview and then the students surfing them on their own and leaving comments and feedback on a discussion board on Moodle.  What we, my colleagues and I found, as that the more we kept the use of web 2.0 tools focused on student learning outcomes, the more that we could realistically and practically incorporate some the the pieces of a 21st Century 'School' into our 'old school' classroom and school structures.

As a future school leader, I am very interested in hearing about, reading about, and seeing (as well as having the chance to apply this theory to) a 'school' that is moving towards this type of mobile, connected and collaborative environment;  I would love to discuss or experience the 'day to day reality' of this type of learning structure/space.  I get that this is where we need to go, so let's start to take real, practical steps to get to a 21st century environment like the one pictured here:

Then I think that maybe schools that are embracing one to one environments and introducing different online systems are these schools?  Maybe schools like the one in Mooresvill, NC that has embraced a one-to-one environment is exactly what this looks like at this stage of the game.  Maybe this is step 1 towards the 'future' that Cofino discusses.  One of the topics a classmate and I covered for a project was online course management systems.  We read about traditional classroom structures supported with CMS's, to blended environments to full online schools.  Looking at the school I am in, I would say we are currently the first of these, still a traditional school structure (although we are moving towards a modified block schedule in which the students won't be in the same classes everyday so it's kind of an altered time sequence, however the students are still locked into a 7:35-2:35 school day) supported by CMS's.  While we are taking steps towards new, virtual learning spaces and time structures we're still working within the old systems, which allow for many to not take steps towards change. 

I have had the opportunity to teach graduate classes that are the second of these types, a blended learning environment in which 6 out of the 10 classes were face to face, while 4 were virtual; and this Fall I will be teaching my very first full online course.  But again, these are courses, not full on public schools.  These are learning 'spaces' that we have created that still, at some levels, follow more traditional timing patterns and work load expectations (on both sides- instructor and student).  The fact that some of these are still under the 'old systems' umbrella, there can be a slow process for change.  Maybe this type of 1 step at a time into the ocean is what we need right now?

The challenge now that we have the blended or full online formats is to create not just a single course but an entire school atmosphere that caters to all those involved; one that helps support those that are not 'there' yet, while at the same time those who are already on their way to an individualized, mobile, connected, and collaborative learning environment.  Again, I am absolutely IN with moving towards making these changes, the question that remains is 'how?'