Final Course Reflection
EDTECH 541-4202

Every day, 

teaching with technology, 

I feel like I've "Only Just Begun"!

Part 1:

My Beginnings
In any field involving technology, which I guess would be all fields these days, the learning never ends. I began teaching Technology Integration in 1998 and the big push was for the integration of Microsoft's basic suite and introduction of instructional software into the curriculum. The younger students came to the computer lab to work on CCC in order to practice their math and reading skills, and the older students worked on integrated projects using Word, Publisher, PowerPoint and Excel. What a breakthrough for the time and the students loved it. Of course, Zoombinis was also a favorite! Back then, software purchases came on floppy discs (even some of the 5 1/4, but mostly 3 1/2 inch), one per license, a far cry from the cloud based licences and availability of the free choices in today's cyber world.

What I've Learned in This Course
In the instructional software unit, I learned the importance of understanding the different types of instructional software and some key things to look for when evaluating the effectiveness it. Through my exploration, I came across quite a few great resources and tools that I will use in the future.

Students love creating presentations or books, and I was introduced to many tools that I had never used before, such as Voicethread, Story Jumper, Screencastify and Camtasia, for example. I came to realize that not only were these tools great for the students to use to present their work, but for teachers to use to "Flip" their classroom. Presentation and recording software is also a great way to provide course content in a form that can be reviewed as many times as a student needs to in order to absorb the information.

Students love playing on the computer, but I never realized how many educational games and simulations were available online, free. In the weather unit that I created, I was able to find plenty of games that fit in well with the curriculum. What a fantastic way to engage students, hold their attention, increase their knowledge, and still meet the goals of the unit.

Social Media in the Classroom is generally considered "taboo" in our school, but I think that's because everyone automatically thinks of the negatives that they've heard in regard to social networking sites. There is so much more to social media than Facebook and Twitter, not saying that these are bad, but things tools where students are able to interact with others, such as Skype or Facetime, the sharing features of Google's productivity suite, and the many other opportunities enabling students to connect and learn in environments that books can't provide.

How Theory Guided Me
Howard Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences will always be my guide.  I know that there are many educational theories out there, and they all play a part in how our educational system has developed and changed, but I feel like having an understanding of  the different ways that my students think, understand, and get excited about learning is key to being successful in reaching the greatest number of students. I am able to apply his theories every day, in a very practical way. As an individual who learns best through visual and auditory media, through sound, music, and videos, I can relate to the need for providing students with choice and options in education. Including a variety of teaching media will help students of all learning styles to be more successful and engaged.

How I've Grown Professionally
Professionally, I have gained so much knowledge. Even though I've been working in Technology Integration for almost 18 years, the changes that occur in the field are impossible to keep up with. Immersing myself in courses, seminars, and conferences is the only way that I can even come close to keeping up with the new and innovative opportunities available for use in the classroom.

How My Teaching Practice Has Been Impacted
Resources, resources, resources! My teaching will be impacted by all of the resources that I found while doing my projects. I never realized how many free simulations there are available for use in the classroom. Science educational games are also plentiful. Integration of these resources will take my teaching to a whole new level, being able to engage so many more students, do more "flipping" of my curriculum, and cover much more material because students will be truly engaged because they are going to be in a 21st century learning environment, using tools that are most familiar with.

What Will I Do Differently
As the Technology Integrator, I now have a whole new set resources to offer to the classroom teachers. Working together, we can develop new curriculum around new ebook tools, presentation tools, recording tools, simulations, and games. Even though the students still love using Google Presentation, changing it up a bit by adding a new tool, will strengthen their technology skill set. In my teaching, which is mostly with 1st-4th grade classes, I'm excited to use some of the ebook software, specifically StoryJumper, instead of Google Presentation, which they currently use. As science is my true passion, and most of my integration is into that curriculum, I will definitely be adding more science games and simulations to my lessons.

Conclusion
Overall, I found this course very useful and practical. Finding time to just "surf" the Internet and explore all of the amazing tools out there just doesn't usually happen. Through this course I have many new resources that I can now integrate into my curriculum. I love it when I am able to do projects that can be put to use in my teaching. Doing "fluff" research, in an already crazy teaching schedule, is not something that I'm a fan of. So, thank you for designing this course in the way that you did!

Accessibility on My Computer

Accessibility Features On My Computer

Windows 7

Computers with Microsoft Windows 7 as the platform have many built-in accessibility features. Microsoft does a great job of describing them, so in addition to discussing all of them, I'm going to use some screen shots that show how to get to them. All of the accessibility features can be accessed by going to: All Programs - Accessories - Ease of Access. 

Ease of Access Center-In the Ease of Access Center there are descriptions of all of the accessibility tools, the ability to choose the options that would best suit the user's needs, and the ability to turn options on and off.

1. Optimize for Blindness-Use the computer without the display. This feature includes options to turn on a narrator which reads text and an option to hear descriptions about what's happening in a video.
2. Optimize Visual Display-Make the computer easier to see. The display settings can be changed in order to meet the individual visual needs of the user.
3. Set up Alternative Input Devices-Use the computer without a mouse or keyboard. Use the onscreen keyboard with a pointing device or mouse. Avoid using the mouse or keyboard by using speech recognition. Physical difficulties can be overcome by using input devices other than the mouse and keyboard.
4. Make the Mouse Easier to Use-The mouse settings can be adjusted, changing the mouse or other pointing device. The color and size of the mouse pointer can be changed. The numeric keyboard can be used to move the mouse. These settings will help out people with visual and physical difficulties.
5. Make the Keyboard Easier to Use-The following features can be adjusted on the keyboard in order to assist someone who has a physical difficulty that makes the normal functioning of a keyboard a challenge.
1. Make it Easier to Type
1. Sticky Keys
2. Toggle Keys
3. Filter Keys
2. Make it Easier to Use Keyboard Shortcuts
3. Make it Easier to Manage Windows

 Make the Keyboard Easier to Use (1)

Taken Directly From Microsoft

Fingerprint Reader

A feature that I have never used, which is available on my computer (a Lenovo ThinkPad), is a fingerprint reader. This feature, although not specifically included as an accessibility feature, would be useful for someone who has difficulty using a keyboard. One swipe of a finger would log them in to the computer.

Chrome Browser
Chrome has a whole help section referring to accessibility options that work and don't work on the browser. This is helpful to look at because some of the programs will not work on certain browsers.

The Chrome Web Store has many accessibility extensions to choose from. Read & Write for Google is fantastic and provides many accessibility features in one program. Read & Write has word prediction, text to speech, highlighting capabilities, and much more. It can help students struggling with reading, writing, comprehension and organization.

1.  (2013). Make the keyboard easier to use - Windows - Microsoft. Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/make-keyboard-easier-to-use.
2. (2014). All Products and Features – Google Accessibility. Retrieved April 17, 2016, from https://www.google.com/accessibility/all-products-features.html.
3. (2011). Chrome Web Store - Accessibility - chrome.google.com. Retrieved April 17, 2016, from https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/ext/22-accessibility.

Obstacles and Solutions to Integrating Technology into the Weather Unit

Integrating Technology Into the Weather Unit

Obstacles and Solutions

Lisa Breit posted in The Journal, What Obstacles Prevent Teachers from Using Technology,

a statement which describes the way a school should approach the introduction of any new technology. I feel one of the main reasons that teachers in my school do not use technology more often in the science curriculum is that they feel unprepared. Not many public schools have the time or resources to embark upon a training like the one mentioned by Lisa Breit. In our school we had one technology related professional development day this year, and that was geared toward creating teacher web pages, not classroom use, although web development skills can be used in the weather curriculum.

Lack of Professional Development

Opportunities for introducing games, simulations, and videos into a weather unit are numerous. But, if teachers are not confident in using the technology or familiar with the tools available to them, it's not going to happen. Professional development is usually geared toward reading and math programs, along with new initiatives brought forth by the government. So, that being said, what can we do within the school in order to ensure teachers have the skills necessary to understand how to use technology. 

Where's the "ON" button? (5)

Below are some ideas that I feel will help to get more teachers comfortable integrating technology.

• Seek out of district training opportunities, whether they be on-line (3) or at a fixed location. NSTA offers science webinars developed to assist teachers in their entry into the world of STEM. Weather resources are free to members. 
• Weekly after school hands-on sessions, lead by the technology savvy teachers in a school. PBS has a pre-recorded webinar on "Top Strategies for Transforming Professional Development". (4) Introducing a website such as the PBS Learning Media site, and giving teachers time to "play" with the resources, such as weather, will help to build teacher confidence and see the value of integrating technology. 
• Incentive (5) for pursuing professional development in technology. With everything else that a teacher has to do, like planning, grading, testing, benchmarking, communication with parents, and trying to have a personal life, it is difficult to carve out time to commit to anything else. But, what if there was an extra benefit to finding that time, like a guarantee of a piece of equipment or software to implement what they learn? Would they be more likely to attend?
• Reimbursement for time spent learning about new technologies. Many technology based conferences are during the summer or on weekends. Paying teachers for their time would help to get more to attend. Many of the GAFE tools can be used while studying weather, and there is always a Google Summit held during the summer. 
• Teacher-to-teacher training is a great way to spread the knowledge. Showcasing software being used during a staff meeting is a great way to share. Free Technology for Teachers, a blog written by Richard Byrne, is full of great technology ideas.
• Students who are tech savvy are a great resource in the classroom. Students who study weather in 6th grade could go to the lower grades and be the "experts", assisting the younger students.
• Bring local professionals into the classroom or school to share how technology is used in their profession. Meteorologists from the local news station could come into the classroom to answer questions about how technology is used in forecasting.
• Resource pages are set up for teachers, listing the games, simulations, and lesson plans available within the school, and those free resources that other teachers are using. Organizing these by grade and subject would help teachers to locate good technology resources.  

Lack of Time to Learn New Technologies

Finding the time is always a challenge. With everything that teachers are expected to do on a daily basis, asking them to locate, evaluate, and learn to use and integrate new technologies is overwhelming. While designing the weather unit, I came across hundreds of videos, games, and simulations. There was no way that I could look at all of them, and I was only working on one unit, weather. So, what can be done to make the task less daunting for a teacher? 

• The Technology Committee could form a group of interested "tech geeks" to explore tech options.
• Students who love gaming could locate and evaluate resources.
• The Technology Integration Specialist could locate and suggest resources.
• The school could buy into a STEM program, where simulations, games, videos, and materials are all included as part of the program.

Lack of Technology Resources

If resources are not available, all the professional development in the world won't help! Having a strong Technology Committee and supportive administration, a community that supports technology use, and evidence that technology use in schools will benefit the students, will help to get the technology budget approved. Having students showcase the results of their use of technology, such as videos and presentations produced while studying weather, will demonstrate to the community how they are putting their knowledge to use. Posting these on the town's cable channel and on the school's website is a great place to display these projects.

Availability of Resources on a Regular Basis

In order to have true technology integration, resources need to be available to teachers all the time. Teachers are hesitant to changed over to technology based teaching because there are not enough Chromebooks and laptops to go around. A weather unit, or any science unit, could benefit from technology through the use of free videos showing interesting weather phenomena, simulations demonstrating how to use weather tools, Google Earth to explore weather around the world, and games to practice the scientific concepts. But, if the resources are not always available, teachers are not motivated to put the work into planning lessons that integrate technology. One solution to this would be to have a policy that would allow students to bring their mobile devices (BYOD) to school with them.

BYOD - Bring Your Own Device

Used for Testing

Smarter Balance, NWEA, Science NECAPS...when these are being administered, technology access for classroom use disappears! So, for many weeks of the year, sadly, classrooms are "tech-less" for a good part of the day. A one-to-one laptop program, with separate computers would alleviate this problem. Another thing that could help is to work in a "flipped classroom" environment, where most of the computer work is done at home. Many of the weather simulations, videos, and games are perfect for homework assignments.

Difficulty Locating/Retrieving Equipment

Visualize this scenario: I've got a great project planned for my weather unit, where the students will use the Internet to follow a hurricane that is occurring on the other side of the world. My class is 50 minutes, I have no other adult in the class, and the laptops are checked out by someone in another area of the building. I have them signed out, but it turns out that the other teacher didn't need them, so someone else took them for that block. Now I need to find them. By the time I locate the equipment needed, half of my class is over. More commitment to the sign-out calendars, and a better method of delivering the carts to the next class, would help to eliminate some of the wasted time.

Lack of Actual Time Spent Teaching Science

Due to federal mandated testing, math and reading are in the forefront and science and social studies take the back seat. "Teach to the Test" is what happens, and this is no reflection on the teachers. Districts are judged based on their scores, so this has come to be the expectation. Yet, all the talk now is about STEM/STEAM programs. Technology is the opportunity to pull it all together, integrating reading and math right into the science and social studies curriculum. Why do districts keep buying reading programs, when the focus should be more on a curriculum heavier in STEM? The answer...the tests and the fear of changing over to meet the needs of the 21st century!

Dino Miele sums it up in the quote below. Right now the focus is on getting the resources to the students, without proper professional development for the teachers. Technology should be used in a way that is just a part of the science curriculum, not as a "special treat". Students should just automatically incorporate technology and see it as a natural part of their learning. 

Dino Miele, Chief Information Officer

 District School Board of Niagara (5)

Enjoy! Learning for the Future

1. (2015). What Obstacles Prevent Teachers from Using Technology ... Retrieved April 3, 2016, from https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/11/03/what-obstacles-prevent-teachers.aspx.

2. (2014). Teaching Science Resources - EdTechTeacher. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://edtechteacher.org/tools/science/.

3. (2012). NGSS Web Seminar Series - NSTA Learning Center. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://learningcenter.nsta.org/products/symposia_seminars/NGSS/webseminar.aspx.

4. (2011). PBS LearningMedia. Retrieved April 3, 2016, from http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/.

5. Richard, V. (2007). ERIC - Technology Incentives: Motivating Teachers to ... Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ779944.