EDTC6433: ISTE Standard 1-Digital Storytelling Project

ISTE Standard 1:  Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity 

 Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness

b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources

c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes

d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments

i. Why did you select this topic and who do you think would be interested in viewing it?

The reason I selected this topic is because it is one that is near and dear to the heart. Katie and I have been through a lot of ups and downs in our friendship and this summer was a really exciting adventure for the both of us. I thought it would be a fun way to show our Disney Adventure. Since we have been best friends for so long, a lot of our friends and family know us as the dynamic duo. They and my students…who think that I don’t have a real life outside the 4 walls of our classroom would also really enjoy viewing it.

ii. Describe if and how this project might be used in a formal or an informal educational setting.

What I really like about this project, is that is combines a lot of different elements. This project allows for visual representation as well as auditory practice. With working with a large number of ELL students, this project would be perfect for them. We are currently working on personal narratives in class. Seeing my students struggle to find the ability to physically write what they are thinking is a huge challenge. I really like with this project that there is a way for students to TELL a story and then be able to HEAR what they said. It is a more comfortable way for my students to present their stories who are initially shy to speak out load.

iii. Describe how this video helps you demonstrate competency on ISTE NETS Standard 1 for Teachers.

ISTE Standard 1 for teacher’s states: teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation both face to face and virtual environments. This video helps demonstrate competency because it meets the criteria of using technology in a creative way that will engage students to advance their learning. Digital Storytelling provides a new innovative way to “tell a story.” It gives students who struggle with writing, language, and other learning challenges an opportunity to create something to communicate with others around them.  

iv. Describe the process you went through in completing the final project. This should include a list of all of the software programs you used, where the content for the project came from, what items in the project changed from the early stages of selecting the topic through completion, plus any other information that describes your work on the project.

The first part of the process was researching the different programs to use to create my story. I ended up using Puppet Edu. This app allowed me to create my story by uploading my personal pictures from my phone and allowing me to organize them, in the order I wanted them to be in. It also supplied a song that I could use, and then put in my personal narration.

Resources that I used for pictures that were not my personal images:

http://ex.mukilteo.wednet.edu/pages/ExplorerMS

http://ma.mukilteo.wednet.edu/pages/MarinerHS

http://www.factslides.com/imgs/911-planes.jpg via google search

http://www.kentucky.com/latest-news/ezdkr0/picture43553208/ALTERNATES/FREE_640/LopiP.So.79.jpeg via google search

http://66.media.tumblr.com/ccf917f56d7c17d4fa60aae77413d5bf/tumblr_nt0lk3rU5i1tk0udho1_1280.jpg via google search

v. Describe the major challenges you faced in creating this project and if and how you overcame them.

The biggest challenge I faced was finding a program that allowed me to do everything in one fell swoop. I did not want to struggle with fining images, then putting them together, then adding music, then adding narration. I had to trial run a few different programs until I found Puppet Edu really meet my needs. The song I chose for my movie ended a bit too soon, but I still managed how to get a song in there. I did not figure out how to put the song on a loop to finish the video. But I think for a first try, it turned out okay. 

vi. Discuss the most significant things you learned from completing the project.

That with enough research, and trial and error, you are able to produce something you did not think you would. I really did not know if the beginning of this project if I was going to be able to do this project. I really struggle with "techy" things and it was nice to actually overcome that fear and get the project done. I know it is NOT perfect, and for a perfectionist that is hard to accept, but I think with a little more practice, this will be a project I hope to have my students create for their own personal narratives. 

ISTE for Teachers Standard 4 - Trigger Question Reflection

ISTE for Teachers Standard 4 - Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. 

a.       Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources 

b.       Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources 

c.        Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information 

d.       Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital age communication and collaboration tool

Question: How can I teach/model to my 4th grade English Language Learners safe, legal and ethical use of digital information and technology?

Resource:  Technology Safety for English Language Learners (Links to an external site.)

Summary: 

On this website there is a variety of different resources for teachers and parents to access to help teach and support students with internet safety. The biggest challenge for my class is, that a majority of my students and their families speak different languages other than English. This website provides many different medias and resources for other languages. I really like NetSmartz Workshop which provides videos, games, activities cards and presentations for teachers and parents to use, and the website is available in Spanish, which will cater to a majority of my student’s families. I also really like iKeepSafe which offers videos in Spanish and Arabic-languages that are a part of my class makeup this year.

Reflection:

The biggest challenge that I face with integrating technology into my classroom is finding the time to explicitly teach internet safety and how to cite sources when we research information for class projects. My students are of that age where they now own cellphones, have iPads, tablets, and access to video and computer games that connect them to other users all over the world. One of the articles that I really enjoyed reading was found by Conrado Julian, who is part of my learning circle. The article is titled “The Strategy forDigital Citizenship: Children in a Digital World.” What I really loved about this article is that it really hit upon the ideas that educators tend to overlook. That technology can be integrated into everyday lessons. The source states “In a school that prides itself on academic excellence and character development, digital citizenship needs to be woven throughout all core curricular areas. It needs to be relevant to students’ lives and integrated into their everyday learning and living” (Orth, 2013). As teachers, it is part of our job to make whatever we are learning in class, in any subject area, relevant to real world application and purpose. I have never really thought I integrating technology into a lot of my core subject areas, but can see how important it can be. I just wish that we had more resources here at our school to be able to do technology integration smoothly. Normally when we do so, to get students logged on, into the system or application we are using, it takes a lot away from instruction time. But I am definitely more aware and thinking more about how I can integrate to teach my students how to cite their sources during research, what is a reliable source, how to perform safe searches as we enter into informational writing. 

Another idea that I really liked about this article is having that school-home/parent connection. For instance in the source, it says “alignment between school and home with regards to digital citizenship and healthy digital usage is a hallmark of a 21^st century school. A community-wide understanding on norms, rules of engagement, and common practices is necessary for all schools in order to raise an ethical, digital (and real-life) citizen” (Orth, 2013). My school has really jumped on board with a lot of ideas to try and get parents more involved. Just after researching for ISTE3, our school is now jumping on board with getting the Remind App for school-parent communication. We as educators know how much parents really rely on us to help their students, this article fully supports that idea. At Horizon, we already have a group of parents, ParentNet, that connect with our Spanish speaking families to help close the gap. With information from this article, it would be nice to add that technology safety and cyber bullying component to their group conversation.

Another resource that I found that will be very helpful for my English learning kids is the resource that another fellow learning circle mate, Vanessa Oh found titled 13 Apps and Gamesfor Internet Safety Awareness. With English Language Learners, we are told that having visuals-such as drawing, sketches, and videos are great tools to help them understand concepts. These applications provide a way for students to visually see and participate in learning internet safety. An example of one of the games is below:  Carengie Cadets: MySecureCyberspace Game Demo 

After all the research I believe that my question has been answered. In order for my students to learn safe, legal and ethical technology practices, they must be integrated throughout core instruction and taught explicitly. As teachers, we cannot come to the conclusion that since our students have access to these gadgets that they know the proper ways to use them. We also need to help bridge the gap between home and school life. At Horizon, we constantly talk about how our PBIS behavior system can be transferred to home use, technology safey, is another thing we need to think about linking as well. With my question also being directed towards ELL students, that falls on how to approach the instruction of technology safety. When I teach these concepts, I have to have a lot of vocabulary practice and visual representation, which most of these resources found through research have provided.  These websites have given fun, hands on ways for our students to learn important concepts. 

Resources:

 C. (n.d.). Technology Safety for English Language Learners. Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://www.colorincolorado.org/teaching-ells/technology-ells/technology-safety-english-language-learners

 G. (n.d.). 13 Apps and Games for Internet Safety Awareness. Retrieved November 17, 2016, from https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/13-apps-games-internet-safety-awareness 

 Orth, D., & Chen, E. (2013). The Strategy for Digital Citizenship: Children in a Digital World. Retrieved November 17, 2016, from http://www.nais.org/Magazines-Newsletters/ISMagazine/Pages/The-Strategy-for-Digital-Citizenship.aspx

ISTE3 EDTC6433 Resolution Reflection Module 3

ISTE3 EDTC6433 Resolution Reflection Module 3

Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:

a.             Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.

b.            Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.

c.             Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

My Question: What digital tools are available to educators to communicate grades, ideas, and other important information with their students, parents, and local community to support student’s success?

Growing up through the time where technology continues to make new developments, makes it extremely difficult to keep up and catch on to all the “newness.” I also think that because I am one of the youngest on my team at work, they expect me to be more tech savvy, which is not always the case. However, this class and with research, I have definitely come across and become more aware of what is available to create new learning situations for my students, colleagues and find ways to get parents involved, which is all what ISTE3 is about.

I approach working at Horizon Elementary with a mindset that this school and these kids are my mission field. It is not the easiest at times. As I have mentioned in posts before, I work in an area of high needs kids. They come from families that are not always involved or want to be involved with their child and school. In an article that a fellow cohort member posted states how parent involvement in school correlates with student success. It is said that “Students who have parents who are actively involved in their education have higher grades, test scores, enroll in higher-level programs, graduate high school, and go on to post-secondary school” (Olmstead, 2013). Knowing how important parent involvement is, set forth my question of: What digital tools are available to educators to communicate grades, ideas, and other important information with their students, parents, and local community to support student’s success? Katie Adams, posted an article that I really enjoyed. In the article “Using Technology to Increase ParentInvolvement in Schools” brought up a point that really made me think of how to address parent involvement. Olmstead refers to parent involvement in two ways-reactive or proactive. “Reactive involvement in schooling includes activities such as attending meetings, family activities, or volunteering. Proactive involvement in children’s learning includes activities such as helping with homework, staying informed about school events, and following a child’s progress.” From that list, we would want parents to try and do all those things, but unfortunately there are situations where parents either cannot or wont. Continue to read the article, it brought up the point the convenience to access materials.

Through my research, I found an article ( 7 Free Apps for Keeping Parents and Teachers Connected) that introduced 7 phones apps that allowed parents to stay in the loop with their child’s teacher using their cellphone or tablets. The one app that I feel would be best is the Teacher App & Gradebook by Acedemically InformED. This particular FREE app offers a lot to parents who wish to use it to stay informed. This app offers access to grades, messaging, interactive class calendar, attendance records, a way to send assignments, and assignment grades and notes. I feel that this app offers a lot and is a great resource for parents that is literally in the palm of their hand. The other app, which I am looking into implementing in my classroom soon, is the Remind app. Horizon caters to a high foreign language community, Spanish, being the most popular. This app sends messages straight to parents phones AND has the ability to translate messages into 70 different languages. We often send home notes that are translated, but the odds of that paper getting from a child’s homework folder into the hands of their parent or guardian is slim, compared to the instant message sent directly their phone. Remind has the ability to send to a single person or to a group, and you can tell who is receiving them.

All in all, I feel that my question has definitely been answered. There are MANY different ways using technology that can get parents involved with their child’s classroom. I also really enjoyed Vanessa Oh’s resource of "SocialMedia for School Leaders : A Comprehensive Guide to Getting the Most Out ofFacebook, Twitter, and Other Essential Web Tools" offers a TON of insight as well. This book gave so many different ideas of how to use different technology formats to communicate and for students to display work-each chapter giving the benefits, best practices, and how to use.

 

                                                  Works Cited:

Dixon, B. (2012). Social Media for School Leaders : A Comprehensive Guide to Getting the Most Out of Facebook, Twitter, and Other Essential Web Tools. Retrieved November 5, 2016.

McCrea, B. (2013, June 11). 7 free apps for keeping parents and teachers connected. THE Journal. Retrieved from https://thejournal.com/Articles/2013/06/11/7-Free-Apps-for-Keeping-Parents-and-Teachers-Connected.aspx?Page=1

Olmstead, C. (2013). Using technology to increase parent involvement in schools. TechTrends, 57(6), 28-37. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.spu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip&db=eft&AN=91587612&site=ehost-live