These videos are a bit dated, in technology years that is, but they are still relevant to the state of education today. And that, is a bit concerning. Schools should not be rejecting technology, but embracing it. Students on the other hand should be taught to use technology as a tool to enhance their connection to the material and overall learning experience. With that being said, students shouldn’t have to ask to be engaged in learning. The pedagogy shift in teaching has occurred, and it is our duty as teachers to integrate our classrooms for 21st century thinking and learning. For the following two videos I will be reacting in the voice of a parent, analyzing their content as well as giving feedback. Video 2- The Essay My Interpretation – I loved this video. In my science fiction class students have to complete an activity with an outcome similar to this little girl’s essay. They have to research trends in social, political, and technological fields, and then become futurists predicting what the outcomes of these trends will look like in 100 years. The advancement of technology in the past twenty years has been unprecedented. Think about it, if you went back in time forty years and told your parents they would have all the information of the world at their figure tips in a little magic box, they would think that you were crazy. Yet, with the evolution of smart phones, that’s what we have today. In my lifetime alone, my cell phone is more powerful than my first family computer my father bought when I was thirteen years old. Video 2 – Role: Parent As a parent viewing this video I was a little concerned that the teachers and administrators seemed to be showing little respect for this girl’s ideas. Sure, they may have been a little different form those around her, but did she follow directions? Was she allowed to be creative? Did she really disrupt the learning of others? Imagination is the essence of discovery, which should not be stifled when it doesn't fit into a neat little box. I was also taken back by the fact that the parents took their child to a doctor and psychiatrist to have her evaluated. I am a father of a seven year old, and he may have some weird ideas, but I want to teach him that his imagination will help lead him down exciting paths in life, not ones of ridicule. I would be proud of my son if this was his essay, though I think we would be looking to enroll him in a new school, one that would help foster his creativity and innovation. Video 3 - We think My Interpretation – For a video promoting mass innovation, this was anything but innovative. Maybe that is because the video was dated 2008, though better techniques were being used at that time. It felt like a very low budget “white board” video. Remember those from the UPS commercials? Anyways, though I got the message, if I were to show this to my students, they would have lost interest quickly. There are many other videos out there that do a better job is showing the consumer shift into the 21st century of the mass consumption of free knowledge and open sharing platforms. Video 3 – Role: Parent If this is how the world is changing, especially with regards to thinking and the open sharing of information, what is my child’s school doing to get them ready for the jobs of the future? Are they doing anything? Are they helping create one of these new communities that will foster creativity, innovation, and invention? Or is my child receiving the same old education that has been used for the last century just because it fits the testing model established by the state? Form a parent’s perspective this video is eye opening, and would make me question teaching styles and classrooms that will not help my child compete in the future. If the answer to my questions is “no” I think I would be at every school board meeting attempting to get my voice heard in order that my child’s needs are met to better help him in the market place of tomorrow.
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We are an increasingly data driven society. But one of the problems with data is the presentation of facts and figures for the masses that is easily digestible. The solution? Infographics. Infographics are a great way to present information, or large sums of data in a visually appealing medium to best suit a targeted audience. Not only are the visuals of infographics appealing, but it also allows students to hone their visual and graphic design skills that have a place in the 21st century workforce. Another reason that I like infographics in the classroom is that it gives those artistic students, as well as computer savvy students, a chance to shine. English class in high school can get a bit monotonous (though I am actively trying to change those conceptions in my classroom) with standardized testing and common core implementation which leaves little time for extension through the arts and sciences. Applying inforgraphics is a great way to still meet the state’s rigorous standards while giving the students a bit of creative freedom to use 21st century technology and build visual and spatial skills. One example of this in my classroom is a project highlighting the differences in characteristics between a hero and an anti-hero. Allowing students to explore a concept through visualization not only enhances learning, but also helps give them a greater connection to the piece. Many students struggle with this connection in Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse Five because it does not follow a simple chronological plot pattern, nor is the antagonist, Billy Pilgrim, a hero archetype. Billy Pilgrim is an interesting character, and not your normal hero by any means. In fact, he is an anti-hero. One of the common misconceptions with the term is that people often associate the anti-hero with a villain. But instead, an anti-hero is just someone who shows the complete opposite characteristics of the traditional hero archetype. Billy is anything but a savior, though he does help highlight the insanity of war and the inglorious nature of death. The following is a formative assessment given at the midpoint of the class novel, Slaughterhouse Five to help students visualize Billy as our protagonist, anti-hero, and help bring meaning to his existence. Overview: Infographics are visual representations of information that can be used to express learning while strengthening information literacy skills. Infographics can demonstrate their knowledge in an engaging and creative way by expressing large amounts of information and showing relationships between concepts in a concise and representative way. Infographics can be used to describe relationships, statistics, hierarchies, or timelines very easily through the use of web-based infographic creators such as easel.ly.com or piktochart.com. Using infographics as an authentic assessment also introduces the opportunity for students to learn about media design principles and copyright laws. Directions: After exploring the content in the first 5 chapters of Slaughterhouse 5, the use of irony, and characterization, use easel.ly.com or piktochart.com to create an infographic that compares Billy Pilgrim to our traditional thoughts and images of a hero. In other words you are defining what a traditional hero is, and creating a visual defining the anti-hero by highlighting what Billy Pilgrim is not. Your infographic should:
Reference Points and Ideas: 1.) Billy's Physical appearance as compared to a hero 2.) The ironic survivability of Billy during WWII as compared to the scouts, generals, Edgar Derby, etc. 3.) Billy's wife as compared to that of a lovely maiden 4.) Billy' actions and thoughts about his wife as opposed to that of a chivalrous man. 5.) Willingly submitting to capture by the Tralfamadorians and adopting their deterministic mindset of "So it goes", compared to a traditional hero. Creating infographics can be difficult for many though, as visual and spatial relationships are an acquired skill. Giving students the option to work in groups when creating these visuals can help alleviate any stress students might be having who are not as artistically inclined. I personally, am pretty bad at art so having this option would give me the ability to still meet the research and interpretation requirements of this piece, while working with someone more inclined to visual representation. In the end, this is just one of a few infographic assessments used to help bring literature to life for my students. When my school district decided to become a 1:1 district in the fall of 2014, departments were tasked with finding creative ways to implement technology in the classroom. Not only was the district invested in this technology initiative and had to succeed on a performance level, but we also had to show the community that these devices were educational tools, not distractions made for gaming. There was a lot of skepticism from teachers, administrators, and community members. As much as people desired change, many were still content to do the things they way they had always been done. This complicated our task; how could we convince the community of the importance in the paradigm shift of teaching pedagogy, if we could barely convince ourselves.
We began with substitution, then augmentation, modification, and then redefinition. For better or worse we used the SAMR model for the implementation of technology based assessments in the classroom. To make this an easier task, we didn't want to leave teachers out in the cold. Collaboration helped bring departments and teachers of varying skill levels together, all for the common purpose of turning our school into one that truly reflected training students for the careers of tomorrow while using the innovative technology of today. All of this brings me to the point of this first post. How can we bring English classrooms into the digital age with materials that have really not changed since the invention of the printing press? Besides reading digital materials or having students turn in their papers using our Schoology interface, we needed to create projects that truly used technology in a new way, while still keeping with the rigorous standards outlined in the Common Core curriculum. The answer? Taking traditional assessments and giving them a 21st century makeover. To accomplish this we have began to implement authentic common assessments; having the students synthesize, create, and evaluate new tasks through a variety ways. For instance, the 10th grade students in our district must read Shakespeare's “Macbeth” as part of their drama unit. In the past the students had to memorize and perform a scene from the play in order to meet the public speaking requirements of common core, but with the help of the iPad and web tools, we were able to meet those same requirements in a more authentic way. Our students were tasked with creating a podcast explaining an idea inspired by the play. To make their podcast interesting as well as informative, the students had to write a script and create a storyboard using the digital story telling model, add in sound effects, and link their studies to outside experts and sources. The podcast was also linked to a webpage their group designer made with links to additional resources, pictures, facts, and an interactive poll. Students also had to use the social media feature of SoundCloud (The site to which their podcast was created and posted) to evaluate other students’ projects. In tis way students were still meeting the public speaking requirements, but using new web tools integrated into their assessment, synthesized information into an original creation, and evaluated themselves as well as others on their final product. This task also helped our department reflect on purpose. What was the purpose of having students memorize and recite? Did that assignment really have a place in today's English class? Maybe. But only if you were trying to master language in order to have a future on Broadway or in Hollywood. The podcast assignment still met all of the Common Core requirements for speaking and listening while facilitating student use of new technology such as the Garage Band software for editing and creation. Students also mastered web design, an applicable real world skill for many careers, and still met the writing and researching requirements of the 10th grade standards using journals, periodicals, and interviews from experts in their field of study. Below are the links to some of the projects, recently presented on May 19th, 2017. The first link, #feminism is to a podcast exploring the ideas of modern feminism in society and literature, and questioning whether lady Macbeth was truly a feminist character. The second link, "Do We Decide Our Own Fate?", looks at the concepts of Free Will and Determinism, and whether or not we truly have control over our own lives. They connect this concept to the meeting Macbeth has with the three witches, did they change his fate? Did he have free will? Or was their meeting and influence predetermined, in which Macbeth has no control over his actions and is free of immoral guilt. The last link, Do Ends Justify Means? explores the concepts of moral ambiguity with regards to decisions that can have a lasting impact on people as well as nations. This concept is linked to the play in which Lady Macbeth deals with the consequences of her ambitious quest for power. I believe this assessment truly reflects what it means to be a 21st century thinker and learner, and look forward to creating and sharing more authentic assessments. #Feminism Do We Decide Our Own Fate? Do Ends Justify Means? |