CEP 810: Final Reflection

At the beginning of CEP 810, just seven quick weeks ago, I hoped to learn how to identify beneficial technologies to incorporate into my lessons. Thinking through this course the largest adjustment I will make to my thinking and professional practice is how I think about beneficial technology. Often the technology itself is not inherently beneficial for use in my classroom, but the way I make use of it in the lesson and the way I teach my students to use it is what determines its usefulness. After Cooking with TPACK I realized that I have to know each technology well before I can determine how or if it can be used in a classroom and the better I know the technology the more likely it will be for me to use it to increase student learning.

Another major piece of learning came from Renee Hobbs five core competencies found in her book, Digital and Media Literacy: Connecting Culture and Classroom (2011), access, analyze, create, reflect, and act. Using these five core competencies I am able to determine how useful a piece of technology is to my students learning and helps guide how I incorporate it. This pairs naturally with the TPACK theory as Hobbs’ questions for each competency can be applied to any technology that I consider adding to my lesson. These questions guide my decision making as I consider a new technology in my lessons, especially when it is a new or unusual technology.

The biggest question I have lingering from this class is how to effectively have my students engage in networked learning.  I have facilitated individualized research projects, but I’ve never felt that the students benefitted from it or engaged in the research as deeply as I did the networked learning project.  The production of something I was interested in, whittling a bear, could be a large part of that.  This leads me to wonder if opening up the type of products students can use to show their learning could increase student learning overall.  Maybe researching a topic they find interesting is not enough; it’s possible the product could have a big impact on their learning overall.  With the technology available it would seem that increasing student awareness of their audience could also go along way to improving their learning.  Next year, along with networked learning, I am going to try to find more significant audiences by having them post their work online and share their websites more widely.

Davis, Aaron. “Thinking Out Loud.” Flickr. 30 Nov 2014. Online image, 25 Jun 2017.

Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand, Oaks, CA: Corwin/Sage.

Cooking with TPACK

This week in CEP 810 I am learning about TPACK (the theory of Technological, Pedagogical And Content Knowledge), a theory developed by Dr. Matthew Koehler and Dr. Punya Mishra. TPACK emphasizes the intersection of technological knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and content knowledge when designing a lesson with a technology. Teachers typically focus on their content area as well as the pedagogy of the profession, but frequently are not taught how to adequately use technology personally. This is not helped by the fact that most technology is not designed with education in mine; most of the technology used in the classroom must be re-imagined in order for it to add to student learning.

The video below demonstrates how technologies can used to complete a task other than what they were created similar to how most technology used in the classroom must be used to complete a task other than what it was created. This requires I understand how to use each tool first, then rethink the possible use in my classroom. The cheese grater I used to cut my fruit had three additional cutting components that I never made use of because they would not have met the requirements of my task. Taking existing technology and fitting it into the classroom is often the same. There are many features that will interfere with student learning and students should be taught how to use each tool. Incorporating technology should be done with the goal of increasing student learning rather than incorporating it because it is new, popular, or just fun.

As I have considered the impact of TPACK on my classroom the biggest change that I am faced with is how to question my students in a way that really challenges their thinking.  With all the information they have available it is difficult to motivate them to learn facts that they know can be easily located using Google.  Now I must ask my students to use the wealth of information available to them to answer higher level questions like “how” or “why”.  When I ask these questions the tools that I offer must assist their work in a natural way and I have to teach the use of technology along with the content.  TPACK requires that along with my content and pedagogical knowledge I also master the use of technology in order to effectively incorporate it into my lessons.

 

Networked Learning Project: Final Update

A few weeks ago I started learning how to whittle using only videos posted to YouTube and web forums. I thought that I would be able to pick up on whittling quickly; I thought I would pull out my pocket knife, grab a block of wood, and start carving. I was wrong.

After just a few minutes of trying to whittle a block of wood with my pocket knife I found two forums, Lumberjocks and Woodcarving Illustrated that I used to answer “how do I begin whittling?” Using these sites I selected a whittling knife, found the correct wood and then often went back to these sites throughout this process to answer other questions.

When I was ready to begin carving I used these two videos to begin learning how to hold the knife, hold the wood, and what the different cuts looked like. I learned that there was a right and wrong direction to cut the wood (I still haven’t mastered this) and these videos convinced me that I would be best off with some sort of guard for my hand. The videos are linked here and here and the article I used to form my thumb guide is here. This video is what I used to model my carving of a bear.

I really enjoyed having these forums available to answer those questions. It did take more time to find the answers than if I were working with an instructor, but I could work on my time and have my questions answered anytime I could work. Having all of the instruction available so that I could work at my own pace and review anything I did not understand was a real benefit. This style of learning gave me to opportunity to make mistakes and I benefited from having to inspect my work closely to understand what that mistake even was. This process was the most true form of teaching using examples and non-examples.  The close inspection of my work made clear immediately what I did and did not understand.

Using a video to guide my learning was the best part of this project. This process forced me to pay attention to when I needed to review a step and go back.  As there was not an instructor watching my progress and adjusting my work as I went I had to pay close attention to what I truly understood. I was more aware of the metacognitive process while learning to whittle than I have been in any other learning situation. This is why I would like to continue learning using the internet. Going back over and over to understand a concept and searching for what I did not understand allowed me to really learn the beginning processes of whittling.

I would love to incorporate this style of learning in my classroom or encourage them to learn on their own time.  Giving my students the freedom to move at their own pace, review what they need more time on, and closely inspect their own work would be a great benefit to them. This type of learning would give my students the opportunity to learn something they are really interested in and direct their learning in a way that is meaningful for them personally.  My learning was deep and meaningful because I wanted to learn.  I hope giving control to my students would do the same for them.

Here is my final video update explaining this process and quickly showing what I learned.

Lesson Planning for the 21st Century

This week in CEP 810 I created a lesson plan for the 21st century learner.  Specifically, I wrote a plan that would integrate technology into a lesson in a way that would enhance the learning for my students.  My students will be asked to research three forms of communication then determine which of the three is the most valuable.  They will then compose a persuasive essay and post it to their student Weebly account where other students will have the opportunity to respond with thoughts.  This lesson is the introductory lesson to a semester long unit focused on communication as an overarching theme and will be used as an anchor to refer back to the ways we communicate.  If you would like to view the lesson plan I have attached it here.

By asking students to determine which form of communication I hope to drive them beyond an activity that will be graded and returned to them.  The question of which form of communication is divergent and does not have one correct response.  Each student will determine what they think individually after considering all of their research and support their thinking with facts.  Renee Hobbs (2011) asks if technology in the classroom allows students to create something meaningful or “do they primarily summarize and reproduce the ideas they encounter?” (p. 16).  One of the most difficult challenges I have faced when planning student research is how to ask a question that can be answered through research, but not with a quick Google search.  I feel my students will be able to answer this question and support their answer with research, but they will have to analyze and evaluate their research in order to do so; this will not be a summarize and reproduce activity.

When students have determined which form of communication they feel is most valuable I wanted to allow them to share their thoughts in a meaningful way.  Hobbs (2011) also asks “does their work reach real audiences or is it created as an exercise for the teacher to grade and return?” (p. 16).  To address that my students will create a personal Weebly site where they can share their work with others, primarily their peers and families.  By posting their work on a blog students will be able to change the way others think, receive feedback about their research, and see view other students’ research.  By making their research public students have the chance to share their thoughts in a meaningful way and in a way that they are already engaged with daily.

References

Hobbs, R. (2011). Digital and media literacy: Connecting culture and classroom. Thousand, Oaks, CA: Corwin/Sage.

Networked Learning Project: Update

Whittling seemed like a casual hobby that I could pick up for the days when I wanted to sit outside and enjoy the weather.  When I picked up my knife for the first time I knew that I would not work as fast as the people I watched and I knew my cuts would be less precise, but I really thought the learning curve would be pretty small.  After two weeks of working on basic cuts and imitating videos I realized just how wrong I was about the skill required to carve a bear.

I had no idea where to start or what tools would be necessary to begin carving (I honestly thought any block of wood and my pocket knife would do) so I found this website to be helpful from the start.  There were multiple conversations addressing how to begin woodcarving, what tools would be best, and suggestions for beginner projects.  The best part of this project so far is that all of my questions have already been asked and the answers are available already.  I have not had to ask a question and wait for a response; after researching, often for a short period of time, I have the answer to my question and I am ready to continue working on my own.  This has allowed me to work quickly and increased my confidence in learning a brand new skill in a way I did not anticipate.  As a beginner it is hard to know what question to ask at times and having a large amount of information to read through helped me to narrow my thinking so that I could search for a more precise answer.

Once I purchased a carving knife and bought a few blocks of Basswood as suggested, I practiced the most frequently used cuts in wood carving.  I hoped that this would give me more control over the knife minimizing the chances of cutting myself.  I also fashioned a thumb guard out of duct tape to protect my left thumb as it is most frequently the closest finger to the knife as I carve.

Feeling comfortable with the carving knife in my hand I began carving my first bear by pausing and imitating this YouTube video.  This has been the most useful resource to my learning so far.  I cannot imagine trying to learn how to carve by reading or looking at a progression of pictures.  I re-watch sections of the video multiple times to really understand how to make each cut before continuing my own carving.  This has benefited me the most because I am able to learn at my own pace; I am not trying to keep up with a much more skilled carver.

The progression of my first wood carving

Despite a moderate level of success with my first complete carving, I still struggle to find the grain of the wood.  Cutting against the grain of the wood causes chipping making the figure look jagged.  To work on this I practiced cutting a new block of wood, turning the block after each cut, and looking for the grain of the wood.  I even worked to find the grain of the wood and cut against it intentionally so that I could develop a feel for when I was cutting the wrong direction and adjust more quickly.

The three cuts I have used most often learning to carve.

Getting Things Done with Google Keep

This week I focused on how to organize my thoughts and spend my time more efficiently to better focus on the tasks that are most important.  The most noticeable change that came from this is how much longer I stayed on task because I did not feel like I needed to jump up and do something unrelated to my work before I forgot!

My system of organization has been a small, paper weekly organizer, at least until I started using Google Keep.  Most of the time it works great because I am able to quickly see what assignments are due, which nights I have plans, make lists of errands that need to be completed, and add anything new that comes up.  When I don’t have my planner with me I make a note in my phone intending to transfer that note the next time I open my planner.  However, when I forget to transfer that note there is no backup plan.  Google Keep has taken the place of the note in my phone.  Now when I make notes there is a reminder to notify me that a task needs to be completed.  Google Keep provides the backup plan that the old notes did not.

My favorite aspect of Google Keep is how easily it pairs with the other Google apps that I am already using everyday (Docs, Sheets, Drive…) and how familiar the user interface is.  There is not a learning curve because the Google system is already familiar.  

On the left is a screen shot of Keep on my PC and on the right I have the same notes from my phone.

Organization has never come easily to me.  Learning to use a paper planner was a painstaking and exhausting process that I never completely mastered.  Organizing my to do list, assignments, and plans in Google Keep has felt much more natural.  I don’t forget to transfer something because Keep is always with me after downloading the app on my phone.  When I need to complete something a notification pops up to remind me those instances I get side tracked.  Seeing all my upcoming assignments and events in one place has allowed me to stay on task longer complete those tasks more efficiently.  And now when I remember something else I need to do, I create a new note in Keep with a reminder for later.