A Life Long Learner

Image taken from Shutterstock

Becoming a life-long learner is essential in anyone’s professional development, despite the career path they are on.  As an educator, I believe it is important not only to continue to develop as a better teacher for myself, but also for the development of my students.

"If we want students to learn, the most critical element is the teacher. So professional development is the overall most important thing we can do to help students learn."  (Johnson, 2014, para. 4)

Education is in constant motion.  Best practices are often changing and keeping up with those changes is essential in providing the best education for the students we are entrusted with.  I define professional development as not only things that are formally called “professional development” like attending conferences or inservices, but also using tools such as Twitter, Google+, Pinterest or even collaboration with a coworker.    

This summer I have reached out and really starting looking for ways to build my personal learning community. I teach in a school where they is only one teacher per grade level or one teacher per subject in the junior high. This makes collaboration and bringing new ideas into my classroom a bit of a challenge. I have joined multiple groups on Facebook. Some of my favorite are:

MIDDLE SCHOOL MATH TEACHERS UNITE!!!

SURVIVING SIXTH, SEVENTH, AND EIGHTH GRADE MATH (FOR TEACHERS!)

BUILD MATH MINDS

TEACHERS USING GOOGLE CLASSROOM

Through discussions on these boards, I have found many new ideas I am bringing into my classroom. They range from classroom management to new technology tools to try. I am so excited about the resources other educators have shared with me.

Do you have groups that you belong to that inspire you to step up your game in your classroom? Please share in the comment section below!

Tona

HE>I

Reference Johnson, B. (2014). Why quality professional development for teachers matters. Retrieved from
     http://www.edutopia.org/blog/why-quality-professional-development-teachers-matters-ben-johnson

Radkov, I. (2011, July 07). KEY acronym - KEEP EDUCATING YOURSELF. Educational concept with different color sticky notes and white chalk handwriting
        on a blackboard. Retrieved from https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/key-acronym-keep-educating-yourself-educational-80589910

Leadership and Vision

I just came from a school board meeting where we took a look at our vision for the school:

PROVIDING AND EDUCATION FOR NOW AND ETERNITY 

We discussed ways we can make sure that our vision is present everyday, whether it be with our words or our actions. It was a positive and uplifting discussion as a teacher leader in my building. As I was driving home by myself...I point that out because that rarely happens. This is usually what my car looks like when I'm driving anywhere...

 Yep...me and four kids...don't let their cute smiles fool you...they are loud and very competitive with each other (and I wouldn't trade their personalities for anything! I am a blessed mama!)

Okay...back to leadership...so as I was driving home by myself from this discussion, I got to thinking what leadership has to do with vision. Why was it the role of the school board to discuss the vision, when it is the teacher's role to carry that vision out daily in our school?

Here is what I came up with:

I believe that leadership and vision go hand in hand; you can’t have one without the other. Good vision stems from good leadership. Even though leadership and vision can both consist of forward thinking, leadership takes place in the present, whereas vision sets the action for the future. Kouzes & Posner (2006) write, “You are the most important leader in your organization for the people who look to you" (p.11).   Leaders serve and sacrifice using the leadership aspirations of being forward looking yet willing to be a follower too in order to fulfill the vision. I would have to say that our current principal is an effective leader. He leads up towards the common goal of providing an education for now and eternity. With the principal leading us towards this goal, we have been able to create unity and action in our mission. When creating a vision, it is important for the leader to effectively communicate their vision to all key players. There it is...they why of my question. It is the role of the leader to communicate the vision to all the key players and to demonstrate what that looks like daily in our school.

What is leadership and vision to you in your school? I would love to hear how this topic plays out in your school!

Tona

HE>I

Reference
Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2006). A leader’s legacy. San Francisco. Jossey-Bass.

Student Control

In my last post, I wrote about blended learning and how I had to give up some control of my students' learning in order to truly allow blended learning to happen in my classroom.  

I wanted to provide another thing I did at the end of last year with my 6th grade students that I will definitely be repeating this upcoming year...and more than once! 

Every year I have my 6th-grade science students create an online book about plants.  Instead of me just handing out a rubric for the book project this time, I allowed the students to help me create the rubric.  Asking them what they think a good informational book should contain proved to be an excellent task for them to complete as a class.  I got this idea after reading A teacher’s guide to classroom assessment: Understanding and using assessment to improve student learning by the Butler and McMunn. They provide an example of a teacher allowing students to create a rubric for a presentation.  I have to say that I witnessed the same reaction from my students when I first told them they were going to help me create a rubric for the books.

“The students responded to this session with a good attitude but at the same time showed some hesitancy because they had never been asked to do this” (Butler & McMumm, 2006, p.xxvii).  

I saw an excitement in some students that I had not seen before when they heard they were going to be able to help me grade their plant book projects.  I also saw students more engaged in the research of their book because they had the freedom to design the book how they saw fit. Something I need to consider is making sure all students are getting a saw in what the rubric contains.  When I first asked the question “What should a good informational book contain?” many of my advanced students were the only ones contributing to the conversation. After some prodding, eventually everyone had said something, and all seem excited.

I won't be allowing my students to create a rubric for all the project we do in class, but I saw them take more ownership in their grade with this method.

Tona

HE>I

Reference Butler, S.M. & McMunn, N.D. (2006). A teacher’s guide to classroom assessment: Understanding and using assessment to improve student learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Giving up control...

I recently had a conversation with a college friend (who is also a middle school teacher).  Our conversation eventually led to what learning looks like in each of our classrooms.  I shared with her that our school went one-to-one with Chromebooks about 5 years ago and since then I have changed my role in the classroom.  Instead of being the teacher that lectures to students for their learning, I am the teacher that facilitates their learning.  Her first question to me was, "How can you give that much control to your students?"  Well, it wasn't easy, especially for this type A personality teacher.  I like to have a plan and I like things to go according to plan but when you hand over the reins to your students and let them lead the learning, well, things don't always go according to your plan.  

Image taken from His Work In Progress

What Giving Up Control Looked Like For Me

Three years ago I flipped my math classroom... meaning my students have homework every night that consists of watching a video on the concept that they are going to practice in class the next day. At first, this brought on a lot of anxiety because I felt like I was losing control of my classroom.  I didn’t know what each day would look like because I didn’t know how much help each of my students would need. After a few short weeks, I saw that the environment that I had created was much more student centered. Students could watch and rewatch the video as many times as they need to to grasp the concept being presented.  They are also given the opportunity to show me how they can apply the concept to the real world instead of always doing practice problems on a worksheet.

Blended Learning

Flipping my classroom wasn't just about giving up control and allowing my students to lead the learning, but it also meant that students were often times learning from more than just me. In my flipped classroom, sometimes I would make a video for my students to watch, but often times I would look for a video online that they could watch. When my students are working on practice problems for math or science and they don't understand, I often ask them if they have used all their resources before coming to me to ask the question. Those resources being: their textbook, their classmate, and their computer. Students today have everything they have every wanted to know right at their fingertips! Often times, I think they forget that. As a teacher in the 21st century, I believe it is my job to teach students how to use the resources they have available to them. Don't get me wrong, I also believe in knowing the process behind how to solve for x and y and understanding the stages of mitosis, but I also believe in teaching students how to advocate for themselves in their learning. Educators and parents need to understand that classrooms today look much different with the focus being the use of technology and the individual needs of each student. This is a mind shift for many teachers. Change can be difficult for anyone, but I think we stop making education about us and start making it about the kids.

Tona

HE>I

Reference
M. (2014). Your Plan vs Your Reality. Retrieved from http://hisworkinprogress2.com/plan-vs-reality/

PBL and PBJ

Go ahead...push play...you can't help but like it or dance along.  I don't know about you, but I hear this song and my shoulders just start moving!

Anytime a colleague brings up PBL (Project Based Learning) this is the first thing that pops into my head.  Someday, I want to make a rendition of this song, but singing (or rapping) about Project Based Learning.

Project Based Learning has been thrown around quite a bit in the education world over the past five to eight years and for good reason!  PBL engages all students at all levels.  It also provides teachers the opportunity to get a sense of what each students knows as they work through the problem the project presents.  I have found, there are times I think a student completely knows and understands a topic after we have read about it, but then we go to work on a project where they have to apply it and I find they have only memorized the facts they needed to know to complete an assignment.  Application of knowledge is what leads PBL.  Last year was my first year of making project based learning a priority in my classroom.  This year I want to take it to another level and making the learning process project based learning.

Last year, I looked for activities that provided my students with hands-on experiences.  Sounds good, right?  Well, I have since learned that project based learning shouldn't happen after you teach a concept, it should happen as that concept is being learned by the students.  GettingSmart.com wrote a great article on the importance of project based learning in the middle school years.  Check it out here!

During this upcoming school year, I plan to implement more project based learning into my classroom, but I have some work to do in learning about how I implement PBL into the learning process.

Well there you go...now I have a problem (How do I implement PBL into the learning process for my students?) and I'll have to work through that problem (project based learning) to find a solution to that problem.  I guess I'll do a little PBL myself!  🧐

What do you do to bring project based learning into your classroom?

Tona

HE>I

ReferencePeanut butter jelly time song. (n.d).  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/

To grade homework or not to grade homework...that is the question!

In my last post, I mentioned a book by Rick Wormeli (2008) titled Fair Isn't always Equal:  Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.  This is my favorite assessment book that I have ever read and I would like to tell you why.  In this book, Wormeli covers topics that I have had many questions on throughout my years of teaching, the most important one for me is:

WHETHER TO GRADE HOMEWORK

I will admit grading homework is something I always did...until reading Wormeli's book.  He describes homework as practicing a skill, and teachers should only grade whether a child has mastered a skill.  If we grade homework, we are grading the process of learning a concept, not whether the child understands and will retain that concept.  Wormeli points out it is important to give feed back on a student's homework.  The work is not done for nothing, but these feedback allows the student to know and understand how well they have mastered the concept.  

"My students will not do the homework if it is not graded!"

My thoughts exactly!  In the middle school years, most students have not yet developed the idea of intrinsic motivation.  I worry they will not complete their homework and then I ask myself "Why am I giving the homework?  Why do I feel the need for my students to work outside the classroom, taking time away from their families, other activities, and just being a kid?  John Buell (2000), coauthor of a book titled The End of Homework:  How Homework Disrupts Families, Overburdens Children, and Limits Learning points out that homework is particularly unfair to impoverished children.  He says that some children do not have the tools, resources, and school focus required to make homework a useful learning tool.  I teach at a private school, where you would think parents would value education, after all they are paying for it.  But sadly, I have many students in my classroom that do not receive any kind of help outside the classroom.  (These are the children I just want to take home with me...) 😥

Wormeli  believes every educator should ask themselves this question: Is this homework assignment, and our requirement that it be done, in the best interest of my students' growth and learning?  

This definitely has me thinking...I may be changing my homework policy for this next school year...

Tona

HE>I

References
Kralovec, E., & Buell, J. (2000). The end of homework: How homework disrupts families, overburdens children, and limits learning. Boston, MA: Beacon Press.

Wormeli, R. (2008). Fair isnt always equal: Assessment and grading in the differentiated classroom. Portland, ME: Stenhouse.

Differentiated Instruction in Tweens

Differentiation is a topic that is thrown around in education on a daily basis.  It is something that crosses mind every time I plan a lesson. My teaching philosophy is:

"TO MEET EACH CHILD WHERE THEY ARE IN THEIR LEARNING AND HELP THEM GROW FROM THERE" 

As a middle school teacher, I know that this age is known for forgetting their brain sometimes most of the time!

Image take from Make A Meme

Even though there are trying days (as there are with all levels of teaching) this is the age that I love, but it also the age where I feel like differentiation is very important.  In the elementary years, children enjoy coming to school.  They love their teachers and playing with their friends and academics to them is still considered to be fun.  Then they hit middle school and, along with all those hormones running all over their body, there is also a lot of confusion and frustration.  This is the age (I feel) that we loose a lot of children and their fondness of school, and I think this is because their brains are developing at such different rates during the tween years, yet many educators are teaching as if the curriculum is one size fits all.   School gets more difficult each year, but when we just keep trudging through with a child that is physically not ready to trudge, we loose them...and they end up hating school and possibly becoming those that drop out in high school.  One of my favorite things I have ever read about this age come from Rick Wormeli.  He writes, "“of all the states of matter in the known universe, tweens most closely resemble liquid. Students at this age have a defined volume, but not a defined shape. They are ever ready to flow, and they are rarely compressible. Although they can spill, freeze, and boil, they can also lift others, do impressive work, take the shape of their environment, and carry multiple ideas within themselves.”

Image take from Facevertizing

Each day when my students walk in the room, I don't know what shape they will take on for the day, and that's what makes teaching this age so challenging exciting! Every day I have lesson plans written and how I want the lesson to go and many times how I want it to go gets thrown out the window, and that's okay! I am thankful I teach at a school where I don't have administration breathing down my throat to be on a certain lesson on a certain day. I truly don't know if I could be a teacher if I did. I feel like that would be going against my own teaching philosophy and what is the point in teaching if you can't demonstrate what you believe education should be?

Thanks for letting me reflect!

Tona Speltz

HE>I

If you haven't had the opportunity to read any of Rick Wormeli's books, I highly recommend checking him out! He has a way of writing that is easy and inspiring to read. Two of my favorites by him are Meet Me in the Middle and Fair Isn't Always Equal: Assessing & Grading in the Differentiated Classroom.

Reference

Image. (n.d). Retrieved from http://makeameme.org

Nailed-It-Baby-Meme-06 – Facevertizing. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.facevertizing.com/er-success/nailed-it-baby-meme-06/
Wormeli, R. (2006, April). Differentiating for Tweens. Retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/apr06/vol63/num07/Differentiating-for-Tweens.aspx

There is No Offseason

As an educator, one of my most frustrating things I hear is:

"You're so lucky!  You get your summers off!" 

Image taken from Snappy Pixels

Now, anyone that is an educator knows this could not be more false. Yes, there is about 10 weeks during the summer that I don't HAVE to go to work, but do I?  Of course I do!  It's a little like being a parent, you never just shut it off.  Even as I write this blog post to you, I am sitting at my daughter's softball tournament thinking about an incoming student I have that struggles with math.  I am thinking about what I can do to start the year out meeting this child where they are and helping them grow and be successful.  One thing I have learned about this student from his 4th grade teacher is that he struggles because writing things down is very difficult for him.  It takes him a long time.

You probably know by now that I love finding ways to incorporate technology into the classroom so naturally I am looking for some kind of assistive technology for this student.  I came across an app for the Ipad called ModMath.  Have any of you heard of it?

What is ModMath?

ModMath is an app that assists students with math skills.  Through the app students can type math problems onto a touchscreen instead of writing them out longhand. The app does not aid in solving the actual math problem, but provides a way for students to be able to show their work using correct math symbols.  You would be surprised how many math programs don't support correct math symbols like fraction signs, square roots, or ways to show work in long division problems. One of my favorite things about ModMath is that the graph paper makes it easy for students to correctly line up the numbers and symbols. The size of the squares on the graph paper is changeable so students with vision problems also find ModMath to be helpful.  Students can also adjust color setting for easy organization of math problems. When students are finished with their work they can chose to print or email their work to their teacher.

So far this is the best assistive technology for this particular student I have found for the biggest concern the 4th grade teacher shared with me. (She did inform me his ability to do the work is there, but having to physically write things down is a road block for him). I am excited about the possibility of using this, along with some modifications in the number of problems this student will do compared to others. I feel like I at least have a starting point and then we can go from there.

Feel free to share if you have other ideas I could try for this particular student.

Championship game for my daughter! Time to get back to my time off!

Tona

HE>I

References ModMath (n.d). Retrieved from https://www.modmath.com

Our Favorite "Oh No You Didn't!" Gifs and Pictures. (2013, November 09). Retrieved from http://snappypixels.com/funny/favorite-oh-didnt-gifs-pictures/

Reflecting on being a teacher leader...

"When I was working through a leadership class during my Master's degree, I learned about the different areas of leadership within education.  I learned that leadership was not just the principal or the school board, but the teachers that step up and take on a role or leadership even if it's just for one task.  One of my favorite books I have read on teacher leadership is Awakening the Sleeping Giant: Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders by Katzenmeyer and Moller.  This book was required to read during one of my classes, but I enjoyed it so much I kept it for a future re-read and thought it was worth a shout out, and a moment of reflection, with other educators.  

The book provides a teacher leadership self-assessment.  The assessment provides statements where you score yourself based on how well it describes you in a given situation.  I really enjoyed this self assessment.  As someone who hasn't always seen myself as a teacher leader, this assessment affirmed that my  thoughts and beliefs are on track with being a good leader.  In all the categories, I scored a 27 or above except in the self-organization category where I scored a 23.  This surprised me at first because I consider myself a very organized person. When I went back to see where I scored low, it was the statement, “I exhibit self-confidence when under stress or in difficult situations.”  I scored myself with a 2 on this statement. I know I am a person that does not have a lot of self-confidence. It’s a lot better than it used to be but is still an area that could use a lot of improvement.

Katzenmeyer & Moller list seven factors that contribute to the uniqueness of teachers:  professional teaching skills, personal philosophy of education, generational needs, work perspectives, interactions with others, adult development, and personal lives.  Reflecting on my abilities on these factors are as follows:

Professional teaching skills:  This is an area I am very confident in.  I know that I am successful with my students.  I strive to meet each student where they are and help them grow.  This is a quality that has developed a lot over the past couple years.  Katzenmeyer & Moller (2008) state, “As teachers become secure in their professional teaching skills, they are ready to reach out beyond the classroom to share with others" (p. 43).  Up until the past two years, I never felt comfortable sharing my knowledge with others due to fear that I would be seen as incorrect. As I have had continued success with my students, I see that I do have the skill and knowledge to help my students succeed and should share that with other.

Generational Needs: I have never given this area much thought until reading about it in the text.  I do believe there are differences among generations in the teaching profession, but I take the approach that this gives all teachers the ability to learn new things from each other.  I have two teaching partners, one is right out of college, and the other will retire in the next couple years, and I’m in the middle. I have learned so much from both of these people.  There have been times we disagree on things, but I try always to take the approach that people with differing opinions provide opportunities for us to grow in our own thinking. **(This is also a topic for another time. I find generational learning very interesting!)

Work Perspectives:  Katzenmeyer & Moller (2008) state some “teachers may believe teaching is a mission and devote extra time and effort."  I personally truly believe the work I am doing is a mission. I believe God puts the children in my life that need me as a teacher and I need them as a student.  I put a lot of time and effort into my teaching because I truly care about the children in my classroom. I want nothing more than to see each of them succeed in their own way.

Interactions with Others:  Interactions are vital in teacher leadership.  Developing relationships with coworkers is essential to becoming a great teacher leader.  Katzenmeyer & Moller (2008) discuss people who enjoy working with others and those that prefer to work alone.  The majority of the time I do enjoy working and collaborating with others, but there are also times that I need to just focus on some things that I need to get done, and then I work better by myself.  I think it’s about finding that balance for each person.

Adult Development:  This was another area that I haven’t given much thought to until reading the text.  I have read hours and hours on child development, but it makes sense that we don’t complete stop developing at a certain age.  Looking back at my adult life, I know I think differently now at the age of 35 than I did at the age of 25.

Personal Lives: As a teacher leader already in my school I can relate to how it affects your life personally.  There have been many nights I have missed tucking my own young children into bed because of a late meeting or a school situation.  It is the nature of the job. Having support helps a lot.

I reflect on this book with you to encourage you to not only read the book, but take a moment to really reflect on these different areas of your life that effect your teacher leadership.

Tona

HE>I

Reference Katzenmeyer, M. H., & Moller, G. V. (2009). Awakening the sleeping giant: Helping teachers
develop as leaders (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Symbaloo!

Isn't that a fun word to say?  Just say it out loud and really accent the o's at the end.  SYMBALOOOOO!  

See... made you smile didn't it? 😁

What is Symbaloo?

Symbaloo is not new.  I believe I first heard about it about 4 years ago. (and I'm sure it was around before that.)  It is a place to store your bookmarks in the cloud to which you can access them from anywhere at anytime.

My favorite part about Symbaloo

I like to believe all teachers (at least junior high teachers) write a website on their board for their students to type in and at least 17 out of the 20 of them type it incorrectly and you have all of them letting you know that you must have it written wrong on the board (because junior students are always correct)  🤪

Symbaloo to the rescue!

I use Symbaloo to house certain websites for my students to use for a particular assignment.  It works great for research!  My students still haven't moved past the point of believing everything they read on the internet.  Creating a Symbaloo board for them, allows me to know they are getting their information and I don't have to look up every website they cite in their work.

I also use Symbaloo to collaborate with other educators.  I have a board just for Teacher Blogs I follow.  Take a look here!


Have you used Symbaloo?  Do you have a board you would be willing to share?  Add the link in the comment section below.

Tona

HE>I

Reference
Symbaloo (n.d).  Retrieved from http://www.symbaoo.com

The Importance of Teaching Digital Citizenship

Since my last post was about why I believe integrating technology into education is important, I thought it would be appropriate to follow it up with the importance of teaching digital citizenship.  

Graphic credited to dogoodbekind.life

My students use digital communication as their main form of communication with their peers.  Many times in the morning as students are entering school and getting ready for the day I hear them talking about the group messages from the previous evening.  I also have students that text or email me. (I am thankful that I work in a school that allows me to do this. This has built some great relationships between myself and my students). I have learned, both with my own children and with my students they are more willing to share things with you via text message. With that in mind I believe it is even more important for me to lay the groundwork for my students on the importance of digital citizenship. I believe it is my role to “promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information” (ISTE Standards, 2008, n.p).  Students need to know and understand digital etiquette. Ribble (2015) states, “Often rules and regulations are created or the technology is simply banned to stop inappropriate use” (n.p). While this may be an easier route, and possibly necessary under certain circumstances, it creates a situation where students never learn proper digital etiquette.   The ISTE Standards for Students (2016) outlines specific goals for students when using technology which includes, “engaging in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices” (n.p). If students aren’t taught what ethical behavior online is or aren’t given the opportunity to practice it, is difficult to hold them accountable for something they don’t know much about.  

During my Master's courses, I learned a lot about digital citizenship and found many free curriculums that I have since utilized.  Common Sense Media has an extensive library that I found to be extremely useful when I began looking for resources to teach my children about digital citizenship.  My students particularly loved the games that went along with the lessons I taught.  The main thing I have felt is essential to get across to my students is that what you post online, text in a message or your search history is your digital footprint.  It is there forever.

via GIPHY

I see the look on my students' faces when I tell them this.  Sometimes it is utter fear, and this makes me sad for them.  It also makes me realize no one has taught them about online behavior, which also shows me that I need to work on educating parents on digital citizenship.  I am slowing but surely doing this.  It is part of my conference talk in both the fall and the spring.  I would like to host a digital citizenship night for parents.  They don't know what it is like to grow up with any information you could ever want, be right at your fingertips, and therefore many of them don't know how to parents children that do have it at their disposal.

I will post an update when I host this parent night (hopefully this fall) and let you know how it goes.  Has anyone does this and are there any tips you can provide?

Tona

HE>I


References
Image. (n.d).  Retrieved from https://dogoodbekind.life/

International Society for Technology in Education. (2016). ISTE standards: Students. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). ISTE standards: Teachers. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-T_PDF.pdf

Ribble, M. (2015). Digital citizenship: Using technology appropriately [website]. Retrieved from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Home_Page.html

A Case for Technology Integration

Image taken from Ouachita Parish Schools

If you know me at all (which I realize many of you don't...yet 😉)  you know I am passionate about

bringing technology into the classroom. While there is a case for an argument against technology

(which will be saved for another post), this post sheds some light on the importance of technology in

the classroom.  

Moving From then to NOW

Education today looks very different than education from even ten years ago. Chalkboards have been replaced by Smartboards, traditional textbooks are being replaced by ebooks, and pencil and paper have been replaced by Chromebooks or Ipads. Current day students understand and effectively use a large amount of technology. The skills students need to know to be prepared for the workplace include the ability to use a variety twenty-first century technologies. Selwyn (2011) points out “this increasing capacity for technological development has been accompanied by a corresponding growth in the use of digital technologies across most areas of life” (p. 22).  An important piece of effective teaching is meeting students where they are and today’s child, between the ages of eight and 18, spends an average of 7 hours 38 minutes a day with digital media (Kulman, 2015). It is a double when when teachers teach 21st-century skills by incorporating technologies that students know and enjoy to enhance current lessons.

Embracing Twenty-First Century Skills

Digital technologies are essential to supporting effective forms of education in the twenty-first century. One of the main responsibilities of the any school system is to prepare students to be successful in the current workforce. According to Selwyn (2011), “many occupations are now centered on information processing, with workers using digital technology to create and manipulate information-based ‘virtual’ products” (p.23). In the 2010’s, the expectation of employers is that students have the capabilities and comfort to use incorporate technology. Many states have added “21st-century skills” to their list of required standards. Twenty-first century skills, which include a broad set of knowledge, skills, work habits, along with character traits, are skills that are essential to successful employment.

Bringing the World into every Classroom

This ability to use digital technologies in the classroom provides so many opportunities for students that would otherwise not happen.  Possibly the most basic use of technology in the classroom is the number of video resources available to teachers to enhance lessons. Websites like YouTube put an infinite number of videos are the fingertips of teachers, and if a video can’t be found, teachers have the ability to create their own and upload them.  The use of videos outside the classroom provides students, and parents, with additional support to supplement teacher instruction. The use of technology in the classroom also gives students the ability to conduct online science labs, “travel” to any place in the world, and bring experts into the classroom through applications such as FaceTime or Skype.  According to “New literacies” (2009), students have the right to “a literacy curriculum that offers opportunities to collaboratively read, share, and create with peers from around the world” (p.2). Through technology, students can easily communicate and collaborate at school or even in the comfort of their own homes.

What are your thoughts on this topic? Why do you believe it is important to integrate technology into education? I would love to hear your thoughts!

HE> I

References

Great Schools Partnership. (2014). 21st century skills. Retrieved from http://edglossary.org/21st-century-skills/

International Reading Association. (2009). New literacies and 21st-century technologies: A position statement of the International Reading Association. Retrieved from http://www.reading.org/Libraries/position-statements-and-resolutions/ps1067_NewLiteracies21stCentury.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). National educational technology standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/iste-standards/standards-for-teachers [https://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-T_PDF.pdf]
Kulman, D. R., & Watkins, L. (2016, April 20). How Much Time Do Kids Spend With Technology? Retrieved from http://learningworksforkids.com/2015/07/how-much-time-do-kids-spend-with-technology/
Selwyn, N. (2011). Education and technology: Key issues and debates. London, UK: Bloomsbury.

Here I go...

Have you ever wanted to do something, but honestly didn't know how to get started?  

Ever sit down at a computer and have so many things to say but not be able to bring yourself actually to type out the words?  

That is the story of me and blogging.  I have always wanted to start a teacher's blog.  In fact, this is the third one in the past four years I have tried to start.  (I never published any of the others).  But I am bound and determined to post this one for other educators to read.  I read many other educators blogs, and I have learned so much from the experiences they share.  

You see, way back when I was in middle school, I was told by my English teacher that I was just "no good at writing."  That woman's voice and those words have haunted me every time I sit down to write anything.  (literally anything...for the past 15 years!)  It's like I have PTSD when it comes to writing because for some reason I decided to believe that woman.  

So why do this if I still have that voice echoing in my head even as I sit and type out this post?  Well, if I am being honest, I am starting this blog as my capstone project for my Master's Degree.  

Image take from HeartsAndMindsbBooks.com

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE...

I want to inspire other teacher's:  PUT YOURSELF OUT THERE.  Share your experiences in your classroom with other educators!  I am thankful to those educators out there that have already done this.  I have learned so much from you!  

Let's be the voices in our students' heads years after they are no longer in our classroom that tells them "You can do this!"  (whatever "this" may be!)

Join me in reflecting, collaborating, and inspiring other educators! 

HE>I

ReferencesImage. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/2017/01/more_best_books_of_2016_-_a_g/