Fostering Technological Innovation

      Once again, while watching a TED Talk video (which is a great way to stay informed of emerging technologies and what’s going on in the world of education) I felt compelled to blog my thoughts.  So here it goes….

    
     In grad. classes (such as Instructional Apps. of the Internet) we are pushed to use technology to create instructional materials (such as instructional websites, podcasts, webquests, and screencasts) that foster learning within classrooms (whether face-to-face or online).  As educators, we also encourage students to explore and use technology to create projects and share ideas.  However, sometimes I think we get so wrapped up with trying to keep up with emerging technologies that we fail to think much about where they come from and how they come to be.  I enjoyed Catarina Mota’s “Play with Smart Materials” talk that focused on describing and demonstrating a variety of “smart materials,” such as plastics that change shape, paints that conduct electricity, pigments that change color, fabrics that light up, jelly that makes music, and a window that turns from clear to opaque at the flip of a switch; she went on to stress how important it is that we really begin to understand, explore, and tinker with smart materials because “innovation has always been fueled by tinkerers.”    

     As I watched Mota’s talk, I was compelled to think about the way schools are typically structured today and how kids are expected to use technology and learn.  Does our current education system promote creative thinkers who are encouraged to tinker with materials and ideas in order to create?  Sadly, the answer is usually “no.”  Our educational system is set up to fill students with knowledge; however, we need to do a better job of encouraging students to explore that knowledge and discover how to apply it in creative ways.  It is not enough that students know how to use different types of emerging technologies; they should be encouraged more to invent new ways of using current materials/technologies and even to create new materials through discovery learning. 

     As educational technologists, it is our responsibility to help foster the creativity and innovation within students.  We need to lead by example how a 21st century classroom should be structured to promote learning through creative and exploratory means.  Students need to be provided with opportunities to problem solve and use critical thinking skills in a variety of meaningful learning experiences.  Learning needs to be authentic, engaging, and problem-based.  What good is having critical thinking and problem solving skills if students do not know how to effectively apply them to real-world situations?  For example, instead of simply telling my second grade students about magnetic poles and magnetic force, I have them experiment with magnets in learning centers.  I use problem-based learning activities (like how to move a metal toy car around a track without touching it) to get students to experiment with magnetic force, explore its properties, and find new ways to use it (not simply to stick stuff to the refrigerator).  Not only is this approach to learning exciting, motivating, and engaging for students, but they must use creative thinking, problem solving, and critical thinking skills to build their knowledge and create.  They become more independent learners and acquire a thirst for knowledge that is fueled by curiosity.  The students we help prepare today are the innovators of tomorrow; they are the key to a bright future flooded with emerging technologies.

BiteSlide: A New Digital Presentation Solution

   
  Exploring and keeping up-to-date with web 2.0 tools is an never-ending task.  There's such an ever-growing abundance.  During my recent search for a tool to include in the Instructional Apps. of the Internet's wiki assignment, I came across BiteSlide.  I immediately feel in love with it!  This website allows students and teachers to create more engaging and creative digital school projects.  It is very user-friendly and my second graders would love it!  BiteSlide was even voted EdTech Digest's 2013 Award Winner for Best Presentation solution (K-12).  This is the best program that I have found so far for students to use for making digital presentations.

     Yes, presentation software has been around for quite awhile; however, I feel like BiteSlide is an emerging technology because of the way it is structured and its target audience.  It's a great tool for project-based learning because it simplifies the integration of technology and keeps the focus where it should be-on the project and content.  It allows even young students to collaborate on projects online - which is difficult to do because most collaborative online technologies are above the early elementary level.  For example, I tried getting my kids to use a wiki that I thought was kid-friendly that they could collaborate on to make a site about penguins, but it was a failure because the students could not handle all of the steps and the way the wiki editing process and such was set up.  They also were not able to incorporate much creativity because they struggled to get even the basic text onto the wiki and in an appropriate location (let along creative design elements and illustrations). 

     BiteSlide, on the other hand, allows the teacher to essentially create a "Project Folder" in which the students can then create individual "books" within that folder.  Their smaller projects can then be combined to create an overall class project; students learn to collaborate by using technology and 21 century skills.  During the creative process, a project’s SlideBooks are open for teachers and other students in the class to view. This means that teachers and classmates (if the feature is enabled) can give feedback during the project creation phase - which promotes digital communication and collaboration!  There is also an option to involve people from the outside world (perhaps students' family members, friends, or even guest "experts"). BiteSlide can be used to invite outside parties into the project to also add comments and give feedback as the SlideBooks progress. This is a great way for students to hone their final presentation with authentic input from the outside world. 

     Overall, it seems like BiteSlide is emerging as a great digital stepping-stone for young kids as an introduction to online digital self-expression, collaboration, and communication! 

Check it out!  How do you think it can be used within a classroom?

Coding for Kids?!

     After finishing my WebQuest project and beginning to focus more on my instructional website assignment, I have been thinking about students using technology in different ways.  The concepts of having students interact, communicate and learn through WebQuests, wikis, blogs, and instructional websites are becoming more common in schools now.  However, these usually involve “teacher-prepared” technology activities that students just access or interact with.  Most kids are not truly fluent with technology because they usually just interact with new technologies instead of also creating new technologies.  What if kids were encouraged to create their own?  What if kids were taught how to code starting at a young age?

     While exploring the Code.org website, I was shocked to hear that “1 million of the best jobs in America may go unfilled because only 1 in 10 schools teach students how to code.”  This fact really emphasizes the importance of coding as an important life/career skill for students.  However, what really interested me was how available and easily accessible programs are that teach individuals how to code.  I did not previously realize that there were programs like Scratch, Khan Academy, CodeHS, and Codecademy that teach coding; there are even apps for iPads (like “Move the Turtle” and “Robo Logic”) that help teach even young children the basics of coding.  Opportunities to learn how to code are far more plentiful and accessible than I had originally thought. 

    I think it would be beneficial for children to learn how to code so they can read and write new technology.  Also, coding helps students strengthen their critical thinking, problem solving, creative learning, cooperative learning, and higher-level thinking skills; exploring and practicing these concepts within the context of coding is meaningful and motivating.  I think coding is becoming an increasingly important life skill. I can definitely see the possibility of integrating it within my elementary classroom.  I think I would begin by using it as an enrichment challenge for students (especially the ones who finish assignments quickly and need a challenge).  I could also use it as a learning center during center time because it would promote critical thinking and problem solving skills.  Once students know the basics, they could create products via coding that display their content knowledge in other areas of the curriculum; for example, they could create an animation that illustrates the water cycle.  All in all, I think it’s a great idea to teach kids to code because it can better prepare them to live and work in an increasingly technologically-saturated world . 

 

I guess I better learn how to code soon…. 

 

Want More Food For Thought?

Watch Mitch Resnick’s “Let’s Teach Kids to Code” TED Talk

Tools for Differentiated Learning

 

    Lately, I have been delving into the science behind creating and using WebQuests and Instructional Websites within the classroom.  I like these tools because they lend themselves to differentiated learning goals and outcomes for students.  I am always on the lookout for new ways to help differentiate learning within my elementary classroom.  Another cool tool that I came across while checking my EdSurge RSS feed this week is called TeacherMate.  It is a cloud-based learning management system created by Innovations for Learning.   It is a differentiated instruction system for elementary-leveled reading and math; it allows educators to target (differentiate) instruction for individual students in the class via the use of laptops and hand-help devises.  TeacherMate gives continuous support, reinforcement, and feedback for students as they progress through content and difficulty levels at their own pace (as decided upon by their teacher and the TeacherMate program); at the same time, the teacher is in control of what content and difficulty level each student is working on and is given immediate feedback on student performance.   

     The overall goal of TeacherMate is to help teachers differentiate learning more easily by using laptops and handheld devices.   TeacherMate seems like a great idea/product because it appears to be user-friendly and enables teachers to easily better individualize instruction (as mentioned by a first grade teacher in an interview about using the product in the classroom).  Teachers are able to maintain control of the curriculum by managing what content and levels of difficulty individual students are working on and receive real-time result data; student scores and voice recordings are wirelessly synced to and from the online management system in order to create summaries and detailed performance reports that can guide future instruction.  Students are eager to use this piece of gadget technology because it delivers the content through a mix of videos, animation, and games (all things that kids love); the program is also enticing to students because they can earn points while completing assignments/games that can be redeemed at a virtual store.

      I think TeacherMate would be a great tool to have in the classroom and would be a great addition to my guided reading/center time.  Continuously differentiating instruction is not an easy task, but TeacherMate seems like it could definitely help that!  I also think students would be more likely to use it independently (without the need for constant redirection from the teacher in order to stay on task) because it makes learning fun with videos, animations, games, and options to record and listen to themselves read.  TeacherMate has the potential to majorly change the concept of individualized instruction.  I’d love to try it out!

Where There's A Will, There's A Way

            So I just got done watching a TED Talk presented by Vinay Venkatraman titled “Technology Crafts for the DigitallyUnderserved.”  This video intrigued me enough that I felt it would be a good topic for a blog entry.  During this video, Venkatraman shared his alternate vision for a digitally inclusive world.  This talk is centered on the two-thirds of the world that does not have easy access to the plethora of latest technology that most of us are accustomed to.  Within this talk, however, he shares interesting stories of how local electronic shops in these small towns and villages around the world are becoming adept at fixing pieces of technology using low-cost parts (which are sometimes even salvaged parts).  He also explains his work in “technology crafts” which helps enable people to turn simple devises (such as a mobile phone, lunch box, and flashlight) into more advanced technological tools (such as a digital projector for a small village school).  The creation of these “technology crafts” has the potential to help a lot of people (especially in the fields of education and healthcare) who would not have access to such valuable tools otherwise.         

I live in a part of the world that takes technology for granted and basically centers our lives around it.  However, I know there are still people in many parts of the world that do not have access to even the most basic pieces of technology that I (as many people) take for granted.  It was very interesting to hear how people are finding ways to create more advanced technological tools from very basic items in order to help everyone gain access to helpful technology.  They are thinking about technology in a different, non-traditional way.  They do not simply see an alarm clock as a means of waking people; they see it as a building block of a health screening tool that can help save lives in small villages that do not have easy access to medical care.  These ingenious people are using and combining whatever tools and materials that they have easy access to in order to build more advanced, life-changing pieces of technology.  They continuously tinker, test, and readjust their creations until they get an end product that they are pleased with.  Who would have thought that parts from an alarm clock, TV remote, and computer mouse could be combined to create a valuable health screening device for triage in small villages?    

All in all, it is amazing what people can do when they see a problem and put their minds to finding a solution.  People’s ingenuity never ceases to amaze me; where there’s a will, there’s a way!

 

 

Late Night Thoughts

     So, it’s 1:15 AM and I can’t sleep due to my crazy dogs freaking out over a small thunderstorm storm; I have decided to be productive and write on this blog to help fulfill the class requirement. 

     To be honest, I’m still not really sure how I feel about blogging and using Twitter (two things that I have to do for the Instructional Apps. of the Internet course).  I’m not someone who likes to announce everything I am thinking and doing on the internet for everyone and anyone to read.  However, as I explore the topics in more depth,  I am beginning to see some possible benefits for these programs.  For educators, I think social communication apps. (like Twitter and blogs) could be used to create even more open lines of communication with students, parents, and other educators.  Teachers could use these internet apps. to post updates about what is going on in class; students and parents could then follow the feeds and be better informed of what is going on.  Students could also share their thoughts on topics (such as current academic content exploration or books they are reading) any time of the day or night with the teacher and other students.  Students could also use them to find help on homework or studying.  However, privacy and protection would still be a concern for me if I were to begin having my second graders participate in blogging; I’d have to look into finding a blogging program that is kid-friendly and safe for them to use. 

     All in all, my thoughts on computer apps. such as Twitter and blogging are beginning to change; I just need to remember that it’s all in how each user chooses to utilize the tools.

   

Getting Started

I've decided that it's time to start working on stuff for Instructional Apps. of the Internet.
     Step 1.  Create Twitter account....CHECK
     Step 2.  Create a Blog account....CHECK
     Step 3.  Try not to get overwhelmed while reading the course syllabus and activities outline....