Historically, pedagogy is defined as the way we teach and the way we learn. With the influx of technology and the manner in which is has permeated our lives, it is evident that Pedagogy will change. The 'New Pedagogy' to which Bates refers is framed by the changes in teaching/learning structures and availabilities of new opportunities and resources. Factors Bates includes when discussing New Pedagogies include:
The component that I would really like to try with my students is the example of ePortfolios that were implemented by the Faculty of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University. My role as a technology teacher and our district's use of Google in the classroom afford my students the opportunity, hardware, platform and resources to create their own ePortfolios. While my students are considerably younger than college age, the overarching ideas are applicable at any age. Students can use the Blogger pages they have set up and reflections they post in a similar way, or we can modify the structure of their blogs and use Google Sites instead. My students can report on their activities and progress, set goals and strategies, compile a full list of their technology work, and have guided discussions with me at the end of the rotation. Grant Wiggins supports this in his discussion of 'Understanding by Design' when he asks the educators in the room to come up with a mission statement for their course and answer the question, "What is the point?" We could do the same for students, and ask them what they think the goals of class/courses/tasks are. Some specific things I'd like to try in conjunction with ePortfolios:
Resources:
Bates, Tony. "A New Pedagogy Is Emerging... and Online Learning Is a Key Contributing Factor." Contact North. N.p., n.d. Web. "Grant Wiggins - Understanding by Design (1 of 2)." YouTube. YouTube, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. "Grant Wiggins - Understanding by Design (2 of 2)." YouTube. YouTube, 7 March 2013. Web. Chapters 2 and 3 in Mastering Global Literacy include many resources for bringing global programs into schools. Silvia Tolisano begins Chapter 2 by mentioning the 'standards' that I have read about: Skype, Twitter, Google Apps, and Wikis. She goes on to discuss other ideas for globalizing classroom instruction, some categorized by subject matter. One example of this is Dot Day, which was inspired by the book The Dot, by Peter Reynolds. Dot Day is now an international phenomenon, where schools all over the world connect and work on projects together to celebrate individuality and how students 'make their mark.' I'm always looking for new, interesting, and pertinent activities to do with my students in my technology classes, both for them and for me! I was very eager to read about the Student Blogging Challenge discussed by Tolisano. Upon further investigation, twice a year for 10 weeks, students create and contribute to blogs, all while developing a worldwide audience for their work. Tasks are outlined for the ten weeks of the challenge, and teachers are encouraged to modify the tasks to suit their classroom needs. Blogs can be put together as a classroom or on the individual student level. My sixth grade students each have blogs, and my colleague at the grade 1-5 level in my district is having grade 3 and grade 4 students also create and maintain blogs that they will be able to continue to use after they graduate to the next grade levels. This would be a wonderful use of these blogs, guaranteed 10 weeks of practice blogging and commenting on others' blogs, building a community of learners on a global and local scale, and giving students positive experiences with social media. Stay tuned...the next Student Blogging Challenge begins in March 2015! I appreciated William Kist's honest discussion about challenges and barriers that teachers face when beginning to implement global literacies in their classrooms. Common Core Standards are touted as being more 'global' and the word 'global' itself appears within the standards many times over, yet specific global skills are nonexistent. Schools also encounter issues of hyper-vigilant network filters, poor professional development, incompatible time zones. These challenges, however, can be addressed and overcome. Permission can be asked to unblock specific websites, Learning Management Systems can be set up to accommodate schools in different time zones, and teachers can take an active role in finding and defining their own professional development. Resources:
Jacobs, Heidi Hayes. Mastering Global Literacy. Indiana: Solution Tree, 2014. Print. Reynolds, Peter. The Dot. Cambridge, MA: Candlewick, 2003. Print. "Resources and Downloads for Global Competence." Edutopia. Web. A MOOC is traditionally defined as "free, online courses that are typically attended by a large number of participants." (Ferdig, 2013) Many positive attributes of MOOCs are heralded by participants and institutions. Among them are:
Ferdig further shows differences between cMOOCs and xMOOCS in that the 'c' represents connectivism, where participants bring their own ideas, materials, questions and content to the course. Inversely, the 'x' refers to using a MOOC to deliver content in a manner that distributes traditional course materials to students. MOOCs are right in line with what we are doing in our Instructional Technologies and Digital Media Literacy Sixth Year Certificate program at the University of New Haven; the ORMS MOOC is a great example of this. Students were invited to read, process, learn, share and create content that was, in turn, read, processed, learned and shared by others in the MOOC. A MOOC is not a Learning Management System, yet they share some very similar characteristics. The intentions behind each resemble one another, and the motivations for establishing each are also very similar. Collaboration, asynchronous workflows and free tools are all common traits that both MOOCs and LMSs share. Content can be created, shared and modified with each. The challenges that arise as questions about MOOCs and their implementation are valid. What weight does a badge have? Will Universities need to restructure graduation requirements and credit awards? In our particular experience with the Online Research and Media Skills MOOC, it was part of a course and not the course itself. Much that we read about MOOCs this week cast them in the role of primary course; how does that impact student compensation? The more I read about MOOCs and Learning Management Systems, the more questions I have. I am glad that we have the opportunity to discuss these questions with each other! Our central reading this week from Watson and Watson, as well as the videos, clarify the nature and function of Learning Management Systems. The overarching definition of Learning Management Systems is a software application that is used to create e-courses. Some common LMS characteristics include:
Overall, I have been very impressed with the implementation of the free tools used in our community that come together to form our LMS. G+, Drive, Communities, Twitter, Google Groups, etc. are used asynchronously to target instructor and student goals, and allow for seamless communication between students. I am a visual, task-oriented learner. I ask many clarifying questions and complete work in a methodical, systematic manner. Our LMS allows me to communicate at my convenience with my peers and instructors. If I am working on an assignment during a planning period at work or after my kids go to bed, I can post a question on the Community or in a Hangout and am guaranteed an almost immediate response from someone (thank you, night owls!). Feedback is both specific to my work and connected to the work of others. I enjoy the fact that after a reflection is posted, my peers' comments cause me to further think about the discussion points of that week. One of the many reasons why I joined this ITDML cohort was to further my understanding of contemporary issues in instructional technologies; consistent, thoughtful conversations that occur throughout the week and into the weekend have already made me a better teacher and learner. With any evolving technology, challenges are encountered and need to be addressed on a regular basis. Specifically in regard to this LMS, I do really well when there is one consistent place to check for assignments and resources. I love the way the Communities are structured this semester in terms of Week One, Week Two, Questions, etc. If I want clarification on the Week Three assignment, I first think to check in the ED 722 Community and then go to the sidebar and select the appropriate week. Where I have difficulty is when the assignments in the syllabus and the assignments in the Community are not identical. Google Drive is a great storage facility for copies of important documents and readings. I do not necessarily think we also need to have coursework located in Blackboard or Livebinders or in emails or in Google Groups. Again, my learning style is pretty methodical and thorough. I want to make sure I'm not missing anything, so on a weekly basis I will compare the syllabus in Google Docs to the outline in Livebinder, make lists of what appear to be the assignments and then compare that list to what is posted in the Google Community. It's cyclical and pretty intense. One thing I've noticed about the Google Community in ED 722 is that the assignment for Week Three is now at the top of the page where it does not shift as my colleagues add their responses since it has been 'pinned.' It looks like this: This is great! Conveniently located, always in the same spot! I've been glad to get to know this type of Learning Management System and have thought about all of the different ways it could be applied to my own classroom. I envision a smooth transition, as students in my school are already comfortable with the use of Google Accounts. We do need more studies that will help us address some of the needs of our learners with features that will enhance interactions with technology and communication. Resources:
Watson, William R., and Sunnie Lee Watson. "An Argument for Clarity: What Are Learning Management Systems, What Are They Not, and What Should They Become?" TechTrends 51.2 (2007): 28-34. Web. "What Is a Learning Management System ? LMS Software." What Is a Learning Management System ? LMS Software. ProProfs, n.d. Web. 22 Jan. 2015. #1: Global Competence Globally competent students are lifelong learners who approach their learning both inside and outside of school. Among many qualities they share are the abilities to:
On the website sponsored by the Asia Society, the learning outcomes and rubrics are broken down into disciplines. These competencies, listed in rubrics and descriptions and performance outcomes, seem to be practical in terms of my teaching assignment as the Technology teacher for Grades 5 and 6. The performance outcomes remind me a lot of the Common Core standards in the way they are outlined and worded. I like how the rationales are specific as to how global thinking and encouraging global competence fits in with science - it treats the relationship as a necessary one. I believe, as with any added standards, that integration with existing curriculum is key. As a Technology teacher, I am required to integrate Common Core standards into my lesson planning, units, and be able to show evidence of this in my TEVAL process. According to the Asia Society, Global Competence is "the capacity and disposition to understand and act on issues of global significance." When you look at the ELA outcomes listed on the Asia Society website for grade 5, so many of them can be aligned with Common Core standards. The communication of ideas via multimedia projects, using digital technology for publication, and citing text to defend a position are all goals that both CCSS and Global Competency standards highlight. The goal, I believe, is to stop seeing these standards as mutually exclusive and begin to understand that they are complementary and necessarily beneficial to each other. #2 Mastering Global Literacy, Chapter 1 I have a reputation for being a very 'eco' teacher and person. We have solar panels on our house. We compost and use cloth napkins. We have a 900 square foot vegetable garden and preserve a lot of the food we grow from seeds. I plant for pollinators and do not use pesticides, herbicides or synthetic fertilizers on my yard. I have rain barrels, chickens and honeybees. Environmental issues fascinate and frighten me at the same time. As I have mentioned before, I am responsible for integrating Common Core Standards into my teaching but have a lot of flexibility with the topics I cover. Often, I choose some type of environmental issue for students to research and present on. As Mansilla and Jackson argue, "globally competent students are able to investigate the world by identifying an issue, generating a question, and explaining the significance of locally, regionally, and globally focused researchable questions." In the section on Climate Instability and Global Environmental Stewardship, they go on to say that studying the why and how of global issues, framing local problems for study, and building informed arguments are essential if students are going to gain an understanding of future climate conditions and their associated impacts. (Jacobs, 2014) One of the projects I have worked on in the past with fifth grade students is one where they choose an environmental issue (based on some websites I give them to peruse for a period), conduct research, and publish a multimedia presentation on the topic for their peers. (Click here to see the form students are asked to fill out for this part of the project) We work on finding reliable resources online, citations, publishing tools, etc. Students generate questions they want to research about their topic and record their findings in Coggle or Popplet. After reading this section, I was struck by a significant absence of global perspective on the issues students research. When a student chooses habitat loss, for example, they typically focus on one area, like the Rainforest in Brazil. Wouldn't it be great if they could compare their findings to another region in the world? This approach and small tweak in the assignment would not only allow for deeper understanding of the topic, but for the fostering of "individuals who understand environmental systems around the world well" because "such individuals will find opportunities to act now as global environmental stewards preparing for the work of their generation." (Jacobs, 2014) #3 Mastering Global Literacy, CH. 1 The New York Times noted that 2014 was the hottest on record. There are no pollution lines drawn between countries, or towns, or states. While Connecticut creates plenty of its own air pollution, prevailing winds carry much polluted air to us from the south and the midwest sections of the United States. (Turmelle, 2013) I can honestly say that I do not do an adequate job of teaching global interdependence. I help students with geography, social studies and we do our projects on environmental issues, events like the Iditarod and Olympics and elections, but rarely do I make a point of comparing countries, shared issues, and concerns. #4 Global Literacy PowerPoint The learning objectives and assessments listed in Stambler's PowerPoint seem to be worded in a more advanced context than I believe my fifth and sixth graders would be able to understand. That said, the topics could be altered slightly along with the verbiage used to be more appropriate to those grade levels. Slide 15 sounds promising: I could envision using this to introduce students to using tables and spreadsheets (one of the District computing objectives). Dating graphing in Google Spreadsheets and mapping in Google Earth could also be included. Collaborations with other cities could be established, but not necessary, to extend the activity. It would be interesting to have students generate questions that arise while they are researching and reach out and try to find a teacher/individual/school to communicate with. Skype would be ideal, but email could also be sufficient. The members of my PLN (twitter, Google+, Facebook) could possibly, through their own PLNs, extend the reach of my search. #5 Service Learning Full disclosure: I am always a little bit uncomfortable when our school-aged students first enter a service-learning environment. The point is to be helpful and to also expose them to new environments and people. Often, however, the responses from our students are less than compassionate, understanding, and open-minded. Even assemblies brought into our mostly-white school district with the intention of fostering diversity and cross-cultural competence are met with giggles and snyde comments. This quote from a 2013 Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement speaks to this point: "Ivan Illich’s (1993) provocative speech, “To Hell With Good Intentions,” calls into question the very idea of international service-learning. Illich makes known his opposition to North American “do-gooders” in Latin America and challenges the value of the work conducted by international volunteers for the communities they hope to serve. He concludes that international visitors are welcome as travelers or students, but not as volunteers. Illich (1993) writes: “Come to look, come to climb our mountains, to enjoy our flowers. Come to study. But do not come to help” (p. 460). He challenges international organizations to think not only about the training of their volunteers, but also about “spending money to educate poor Mexicans in order to prevent them from the culture shock” of meeting with Western students (p. 459). " While I do believe that service-learning projects are important, I think it is critical for students to be deeply prepared for their service-learning opportunities. Ideally, students will gain a better understanding of themselves in the broad scope of 'humanity' and what it means to be a citizen of the world. It is also important to provide a 'moral framework' for the project so that students do not see the group they are working with as 'lessers' but as human contemporaries. Opportunities should also encompass more than just a 'one-shot deal' and participants must be given time, space, and the forum for reflection. Service-learning projects, when done well, can be a powerful vehicle for encouraging and supporting globally literate students. Resources:
Garcia, Nuria A., and Nicholas V. Longo. "Going Global: Re-Framing Service-Learning in an Interconnected World." Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement 7.2 (2013): n. pag. Web. Gillis, Justin. "2014 Was Hottest Year on Record, Surpassing 2010." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Jan. 2015. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. Jacobs, Heidi Hayes. Mastering Global Literacy. Indiana: Solution Tree, 2014. Print. Turmelle, Luther. "Connecticut to South, Midwest: Stop Polluting Our Air."Connecticut to South, Midwest: Stop Polluting Our Air. N.p., 9 Dec. 2013. Web. "Global Competence." Asia Society: A Partnership for Global Living. Web. Global Literacy Power Point by Leah G. Stambler I graduated from college in 1998, right around the time that computers were becoming available in individual classrooms. Teachers at my school, at the request of administrators and the IT department, were asked to try using technology with their students. Even later, when I began teaching in Regional School District 13 in 2009, teachers were told that they should 'do' at least one lesson using technology per year. Many of these lessons, as you can imagine, were disconnected, isolated, and what I call 'using technology for technology's sake.' I agree 'that it is not just the incorporation of technology in pedagogy that facilitates learning, but it is instead the design of the environment and the interactions and types of connections that the technology affords.' The Figure from Ally's article on the left illustrates the reason why I agree with the above statement. When learners engage in real-life applications of technology and meaningful activities, they learn, retain and internalize both content and technology skills, as well as gain the ability to become problem-solvers and global thinkers. Isolated technological instruction is flat and stagnant. The learning environment I foster in my technology classroom for grade 5 and 6 students is constantly evolving. It changes all the time, every year, even during the year, as new technologies become available, world events emerge, and student interests come to light. I teach 3 semesters of Technology each year; each semester contains about 125 students. My teaching evolves for selfish reasons, too; if I were to stagnate my instruction and teach the same topics and skills multiple times a day for a semester and then repeat it twice in the same year, I would lose my mind! My approach is imperfect - but it seems to be working. Students have structured choices in my classroom as to the technologies they would like to use. PowerPoint can be redundant but often times it's what teachers expect - how wonderful, then, to enable students to use a newer presentation tool like PowToon or refine what they know about iMovie (click here to see some of their projects). Embedded within these projects are universal technology, presentation, and Common Core skills that I am responsible for teaching. A critical component to my teaching is the reflective, or metacognitive component that I address and circle back to with every student. Sixth graders each create blogs at the beginning of their semester with me, and during the course of a project, they blog a reflection about the process they are undergoing. They also communicate ways they might apply what they are learning to other aspects of their lives - both personal and academic (click here to check out Liya's very precocious reflections). While Jennifer Lewis states in her "Learning Theory and Online Course Design" that there is no perfect or best theory, we can glean the advantages or each one and use them to our advantage as we support our students in navigating the rise of online learning. Summary: Chapter VI of Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World centers around the idea that globally competent students see and create opportunities to take action and contribute to the world around them. "Globally competent students are able to take action in the following ways:
Reflection: Each one of the case studies discussed in Chapter VI had the common thread of encouragement from adults as well as exposure to global situations, challenges and problems. In the case of the fourth grader, Florence, her interest in detention centers stemmed from conversations at the dinner table with her parents. Opportunities were afforded to the students by competent, curious, and motivating adults who cultivated those same characteristics in the children they taught. This encouragement allowed the students to take action in the ways listed above. The questions that faced each child and group of students, in essence, was, "So what are you going to do about it?" Taking action embodied the incorporation of real-world experiences, which expanded the citizenship of all involved. Students came to the realization that they can (and did!) affect change, overcome cultural bias, and view themselves as present-day, contributing citizens. Each also, very importantly, showed the capacity to reflect on their actions in terms of him/herself and in terms of the other. Resources: Mansilla, Veronica B., and Anthony Jackson. "Educating for Global Competence: Preparing Our Youth to Engage the World." Asia Society (2011): Chapter 6. Web. |
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