2.24.16

SAMR...What's that???

This week we have been discussing and learning about TPACK and SAMR.  I hope I'm not the only one that still finds SAMR fuzzy and not very clear even after watching the videos.  Sure, I now know that SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition but what does that really mean when thinking about technology in the classroom.   Since I was still a little confused I decided to go to Google to find out more.  I was able to find an article on EdSurge News called "A Guide for Bringing the SAMR Model to iPads."  The title is not the part of the article that caught my eye though.  This article compares the SAMR Model to a Starbucks drink, and who doesn't love a good Starbucks drink.  This article made SAMR real to me and connected with the way that I think.  This is something that we must do in our future classrooms.  We have to find ways to make the material relate to things that our students enjoy or are passionate about.  If we can do that then our students are already that much more engaged, which makes our jobs a little easier.

So back to the Starbucks comparison...

Substitution is when you substitute a cup of coffee that you could make at home with a cup of coffee from Starbucks.  It's still coffee and there is no real change.  Augmentation is when you take a regular coffee and make it better by adding ice or cinnamon on top.  You didn't change the coffee, but you made it taste better by adding other ingredients.  Modification in Starbucks terms is when we add whipped cream, caramel, and some special flavoring to create salted caramel mocha.  Now we have modified the augmented coffee and made it more of its own personal flavor.  At the Redefinition level of the Starbucks line, we have the Pumpkin Spice Latte, which is something that you can only get at Starbucks.  

When you take these comparisons and apply them to the SAMR method, suddenly the method makes a little more sense to me.  I was then able to understand the suggestions the article lists for bringing the SAMR method to iPads.  

So with the iPad (or computer) at the substitution level we can now have students take notes or type an essay using Google Drive or Evernote instead of writing with a pencil.  Essentially the students are doing the same task but they are just using technology to accomplish the task now.  At the augmentation level students can use apps such as Skitch or PicCollage to find objects in the classroom, take pictures, and then label their work.  This doesn't change the task of labeling, but it uses a different tool to make the final product look "better" or different from a printed worksheet requiring labels.  Technology used to modify could be having students create soundtracks with GarageBand or create an Book Trailer using iMovie.  This changes the task some by making it more personal.  By finding ways to use technology to take the learning outside of the classroom's four walls you are redefining a task.  This can be done by using Google Hangouts for Virtual Book Clubs, taking Virtual Field Trips, or connecting to the world through Twitter.

This article gave me a clearer mental image of what SAMR is and gave me some unique ideas for how to reach these levels in my future classroom.  I related this article and the learning that I gained with NCTCS 3d and 4d.  I found that making information relevant to the student (in this case myself) really does help students learn and retain information better because they have made lasting connections.  I also found new ways to utilize technology and the levels at which I can apply technology in the classroom.  It is not possible to reach the Redefinition level everyday, but I think that it is important that 21st century learners have the opportunity to be taught at the M and R levels as much as possible. 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-02-06-a-guide-for-bringing-the-samr-model-to-ipads

2.15.16

What is STEM and why is it important?

I'm sure that we have all heard about STEM in the past year or two.  You may even know that it stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.  But did you know that it also relates to Social Studies?  Did you think about the fact that we already lived in a STEM world before the term STEM even existed?  "STEM is everywhere; it shapes our everyday experiences."  Science can be found in the daily weather, technology in your phone or computer, engineering in the building you live or work in, and mathematics at the grocery store or the bank.  If the world around us is the very definition of STEM why wouldn't we teach these concepts to our students?  STEM schools and programs are popping up everywhere, but shouldn't every classroom already be a "STEM classroom?"  After all, we should be teaching Today's Learners using the curriculum as well as 21st Century skills.  We must constantly connect learning to real-world experiences and examples.

Now you're probably thinking, "How does STEM connect to Social Studies?"  The article I found stressed that "We only have to look around to see what improvements to our lives and homes have been engineered in the last decade alone" and "that STEM careers are truly 'helping' professions that build communities and transform nations."  I know that in fourth grade there are Social Studies standards that say, "Explain the impact of technology (communication, transportation, and inventions) on NC's citizens, past and present" (4.G.1.4) and "Summarize changes that have occurred in NC since statehood (population growth, transportation, communication, and land use)" (4.G.1.1).  To me, these standards illustrate that Social Studies can be used to study changes in the world around us caused by STEM.  

I Related what I learned about STEM to NCTCS #3 (and all of it's points).  By knowing what STEM is and the content you are required to teach you will be able to seamlessly integrate STEM with any subject area.  Also, STEM is the new move for the workforce and by fostering an interest and respect for STEM in the elementary school and beyond prepares students to live and work in the 21st Century world.  

In my future classroom, I would like to become STEM certified, but be able to intertwine STEM within all other subject areas.  I want my students to be well versed in Science, Tech, Engineering, and Math, but I also want them to know that these subjects relate to real life and how they relate.  I am interested in finding out what it takes to become STEM certified.

https://www.sciencepioneers.org/parents/why-stem-is-important-to-everyone

2.8.16

Keeping Learning Alive was an awesome experience for me. This weekend I attended a session hosted by Dr. Parker and Dr. Clark.  The session was all about Building Your Teacher Brand.  This session opened my eyes to the fact that as teachers we have our own brand and how we market it is completely up to us.

In the session, Clarker shared that no teachers are alike and we should identify what makes us different than other teachers.  They also shared that their are two views when it comes to your classroom and how you are perceived as a teacher.  Those views are an "Inside Out" view and an "Outside In" view.  The inside out view is how you view your classroom and the outside in view is how other people (teachers, parents, students, administrators) view your classroom.  It is ideal for these two views to be very similar but that is not always the case.  Creating and maintaining a teacher brand is a good way to help shape the outside view of you as a teacher and your classroom. 

"If you don't claim your brand and market it, others will market their own brand about you."  To me, this was a very powerful quote and fueled me to research more about what a teacher brand looks like and steps that I can take now as a future teacher to create a brand for myself before I step foot in the door. 

I found an article on EdSurge titled "How to Build Your Teacher Brand."  I actually discovered that creating your own teacher brand is a way to reflect on your practice and to work hard to constantly improve your practices (NCTCS 5).  EdSurge suggested starting with a blog or vlog and share what you are learning or doing in your classroom.  Guys, we are already creating our brand (Thanks Dr. Parker!).  We blog each week, sharing information that we have been learning and have researched in order to make us better future teachers.  We create a sort or vlog when we find out Top Tweets of the Week and share how they impacted us.  We also have a somewhat collaborative "blog" within the Google Community where we share and challenge each other to discover what differentiation is. 

This is awesome stuff and I am so excited to continue branding and marketing myself this semester and on into my teaching career!  My creating my brand now and continually reflecting on what I am doing right and what I need to reevaluate and modify, I am ensuring that my future students have the best learning environment that I can provide them and I am making myself known in the light that I want to be seen in, not in the light of others.

What will your #teacherbrand look like?  What sets you apart from me and others as a future educator? 

https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-12-23-how-to-build-your-teacher-brand

2.1.16

"Need for better ways to teach social studies"

This is the title of an article from a Singapore newspaper.  Singapore...the nation leading the world in global education rankings.  If the number one nation thinks we need to change the way we teach social studies, shouldn't we take note?  Don't worry!  I've got us covered.

The article that I found states that the Singaporean Education System is characterized by the pressure to produce good grades at all costs.  Because of this, teachers often teach solely for student achievement rather than understanding and critical thinking, meaning they teach memorization of the content used for tests.  This is not how education is supposed to be.  We have spent time discussing this in class.  That is the purpose of the concept-based unit, to move away from fact memorization and move towards connecting topics and facts together in order to create a deeper understanding of the material and how it affects the world around us.  (Maybe we should teach this to the Singaporean teachers)  Teachers in Singapore say that their students are not given the time to formulate their own ideas, let alone, discuss these ideas with their classmates.  Instead, students refer to study guides and teacher notes to master the right answer for the right test to get the right grade.

This is not what education is about.  We have moved into an age where teachers must move away from simply telling students.  We are facilitators of learning.  We must foster and guide students to think critically and deeper than just a factual level.  We must create and find problems or issues for students to work through on their own.  We have to scaffold their learning to provide the support students need without being the megaphone blaring the answers and facts on repeat.

I know that global education ranking is important to some people, but I would rather be ranked 28th (like we actually are) and be teaching students how to think at a deeper level.  In my future classroom, I want to model how to teach powerful and purposeful social studies that moves away from memorization and teaching to the test.  I also think that it is interesting that often times we strive to be more like others, in this case Singapore, when we don't even know what they are doing.  American's constantly compare our education ranking to those of the eastern world without reading articles like this and saying, "Hmmm, What are we doing that they aren't?" and "Is what they are doing preparing students for the real world?"  We've got to know what's going on in the world (current events!!!), how it affects us, and what we will do with what we find out.  I'm going to remember this article and move forward by making sure that I do not follow Singapore's example when it pertains to social studies education.

http://www.straitstimes.com/forum/letters-in-print/need-for-better-ways-to-teach-social-studies

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-32608772