Danielle's Blog (Ed. 677) @dlevis-blog1 - Tumblr Blog

Self Assessment

Exploring the key principles of Connected Learning, with specific attention to issues of equity, as demonstrated through weekly making, reflecting and sharing- my exploration was cemented with each week’s task and linking same back to the fundamental beliefs of connected learning.

Contributing regularly to our class discussions-contributed on a regular basis

Engaging with others (another community, students, colleagues, etc.) outside this course each week and sharing that work with us-I have collaborated and held discussions with colleagues, students, and fellow classmates.

Documenting and reflecting on your journey in support of your own assessment and reflection-the blog adequately documents my journey

Create and share something to support your own work as well as others in thinking about connecting learning in equitable ways beyond the life of this course-I am proud of my final make, A Penny Harvest, and hope to turn plan into action next year.

How well do you feel you met these expectations this semester? I definitely feel I have met all course expectations

Where do you think you could have improved? I have a deeper understanding of the importance of seeking equity and allowing students to connect on a deeper level with themselves and each other.

How do your successes and reflections on improvement inform your connected learning moving forward? My reflections tell me how to not just talk about connected learning but to put into practice and now I have the tools to do so. I am also very inspired by my classmates’ levels of dedication to the same goals.

What else do you want me to consider when assessing your performance and participation over the past semester? Just know how much I enjoyed this course, especially the hands on element using blogs, google hangout, etc., very enjoyable and worthwhile, thanks!

Final Make & Inquiry Questions

My inquiry questions are listed below:

How can I assess for my students’ personal interests to ensure that opportunities for learning are student-interest centered?

In what ways can I incorporate connected learning practices into my 5th grade English/Writing curriculum?

What resources are available to me, i.e. technology/community outreach/literature, that will allow me to provide opportunities for my students to connect with each other, the world around them, with me, or with topics on a deeper level and reflect same in their writing?

The question listed in bold is the one that I centered my thinking around for my final make. In short, my final make ended up being something I discovered through my research on connected learning projects called a “Penny Harvest”. Basically, the students have a role in selecting local NPOs to raise money “pennies” for in order to support causes that they truly care about. It is certainly a student-driven project.

By reviewing the PPT I created for my final make, I list all of the ways my students’ interests are collected and valued, thus establishing a shared purpose, interest driven learning experience.

This certainly goes way beyond the bounds of Ed677 being this concept is supported by national organizations, such as the Young Philanthropists Organization.

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F5F 4/15 Interviews on App

With the idea for my app in mind, I decided to interview a member of each audience, student, parent, and teacher, which would be involved. Below are the questions I asked during my interviews:

Question 1: Have you ever used a QR code App before on a smart device? If not, would you be willing to learn how?

Question 2: What are some ways that communication between parent and teacher outside of school be improved?

Question 3: What is your interpretation of the effectiveness and practicality of my idea for the “Couch Classroom” app?

Each response below is paraphrased.

Interview 1 (One of my 5th grade students)

The student had not ever used a QR code reader and wasn’t exactly sure what a QR code was! When I showed one the child immediately recognized it and said that they had always wondered what those were for! She explained she would absolutely want to know how to use QR codes. When asked about communicating with parents at home about assignments, she explained that sometimes she completely forgets how to do math problems and, when mom tries to help, she confuses her more! When I mentioned a teacher being able to “virtually” appear to explain better, she thought it was “so cool”. After explaining the app, she showed excitement over the idea. She commented that not only would it help her, but it would help mom too, because sometimes mom doesn’t understand what she is saying when she is trying to explain the directions! Overall, she loved the idea.

Interview 2 ( Colleague: 5th grade math teacher)

The teacher had heard of QR codes but never used a code reader before. She was intrigued when I explained that it could have educational value. When asked about communication at home, she explained that she tries very hard to send worksheets home that demonstrate problem-solving skills for each topic because she understands the parent frustrations with “new math” concepts. However, even with examples as a guide, students come in the next day with work not done because they were confused or she receives an email from a parent explaining both the adult and child were lost at home working on it. After explaining the app, she said it sounded fabulous. Her only concerns were how to ensure QR codes are available when needed. Also, she is not familiar with screen casting and was unsure of how each teacher who is not “tech-savvy” would feel about the app.

Interview 3 (Colleague: Asked as a Parent)

My colleague and cooperating teacher has three children, 18, 15, and 13. She too had never used a QR code reader before, but has seen them often. She said that the majority of her communication is via email, and they attempt to tackle home assignments they best they can when working with her children. When I explained my idea for the app, she also said she could see how this could easily help struggling parents. She commented with all of the technology at our hands today, this would be a great way to open those lines of communication further and alleviate unneeded stress and confusion over home assignments.

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"Couch Classroom” App!

Through the course of my studies, one technological tool I found to be practical and interesting are the uses of QR codes for educational purposes. I had completed assignments/projects in various courses, through which I realized just how many subject areas QR codes can apply to as well as to serve as resources for student-learning, parent-learning, and for a variety of learning opportunities. One project in particular I created was in conjunction with our district’s Every Day Math program. I created QR codes which would be “photocopied” onto each night’s lesson # home link worksheet. For both students and parents alike, either could scan the QR code and access a screen cast video of the teacher reviewing the big ideas of the day and/or demonstrating problem-solving for that skill. Even though I don’t teach math, I proposed this idea to members of the math department, and they absolutely loved it. Now, obviously QR code apps have already been invented, but I wanted to come up with an app that includes QR codes, screen casts, and subject content which allow teachers to communicate with parents and students virtually outside the boundaries of the classroom.

It is not a new concern that when students are completing assignments at home, a common phrase parents hear is “I don’t know what to do.” In addition to the child’s struggle, parents who attempt help may find themselves in the same predicament! Therefore, the app, “Couch Classroom”, allows the parent and the child to create their regular home environments into a learning classroom.

The app would be a combination of a QR code scanner along with a homework planner of subjects. The app would be divided into the 5 subjects. Depending on which homework assignment additional clarification is needed, the parent and child may navigate to the respective classroom teacher. For example, if the student is working on Math Unit 1, Homelink 1-12, an image will be located in the corner of the page, “Need Help?” By scanning the need help code for that particular assignment, a screen cast of the classroom teacher will appear on the smart-device, giving an overview of objectives, steps, big ideas, etc.

Of course, in order for this app to work effectively, all teachers would need to be on board to: shoot regular screen casts which cover content, and/or ensure that a “need help” code appears on documents either on worksheets or kept safely in the subject area of the student’s binder. It’s fun to dream!

#ed677

Seek 7 Sunday 4/10

1. This is a quote from Dartmouth on the benefits for collaborative learning and writing: “For the past three decades, educators have recognized the value of learning collaboratively. Educators widely recognize that students do not learn well when they are isolated "receivers" of knowledge. Indeed, students must overcome isolation in order to learn to write. Collaborative learning exercises—such as peer review workshops, collaborative research assignments, group presentations, collaborative papers and discussion groups—are important components of our writing classrooms because they encourage active learning, giving students the opportunity to become more deeply engaged with their writing, and with one another." The site has great advice on how to include cooperative learning into the writing curriculum.

2. This video called “Critical Friends” from The Teaching Channel emphasizes the positive effects of peer review on young, developing writers.

3. This video from vimeo is called “Austin’s Butterfly”. While working with the facilitator, the students get to “see” how a young boy learns to improve his drawing of a monarch butterfly all based on peer feedback and review. The students see the bigger picture that each critique, suggestion, and piece of input helps Austin improve the quality of his drawing.

4. This resource from Beth’s Blog discusses “Peeragogy”, quite an interesting concept to support the foundation for peer-driven learning experiences. Peeragogy comes from Howard Reihngold’s thoughts on using social media in conjunction with peer learning and feedback.

#ed 677

Peer Learning

A course such as Ed 677 is such a practical way to cover the topic of connected learning because all of our assignments encourage connected learning! For instance, I’ve enjoyed the Find 5 Fridays where we are encouraged to look at each other’s blogs. It is such an eye opening experience to explore the experiences and ideas of other teachers that are truly all so different from one another. From inner city, to ESL, early childhood to specialty areas, we can all learn a great deal from one another. When I have read about interests, small moves, ways that each of my classmates are integrating the mindset to connect with communities, reaching outside of the 4 classroom walls, it is really inspiring and motivating.

I love the format of this course as well. When I compare how much I “hear” the ideas and “speak” with my classmates through the blog posts, google docs, etc., the volume and depth is even greater than what I experienced as an undergrad sitting in an actual classroom! There is so much to be said to the open-networked approach to learning. Not only in this course, but with respect to shared purpose, I have always gained a great deal when being paired with a classmate. It is so amazing that technology, such as live docs or blogs allow students to communicate across state lines.

With respect to equity, the backgrounds of each teacher in this class is very diverse. It’s so easy to interpret each of our own educational climates as a clear picture of what a classroom looks like at this moment in time. For a teacher like me, employed in a small, PA suburb, its a very closed-minded view of the bigger world around us. It’s a wake up call for me sometimes to read the challenges other teachers face; it makes me want to reassess the impact that I allow to be placed on the lives of my students and evaluate how well I encourage them to pursue a shared purpose or to connect with other learners in a meaningful way.

Ed 677

Seek 7 Sunday

1. As a writing teacher, I have used many of the debate articles selected from Scholastic SCOPE Magazine articles. The articles are listed in the “debate” section and offer students a non-biased view of pertinent topics in 2016. Some directly effect them, and others the world around them. Either way, these are my go-to articles to teach students to cite text evidence in essays as well as finding their “voices” as young, opinionated writers.

2. Here is an article from Edutopia entitled “Learner Interest Matters: Strategies for Empowering Student Choice”. I found this to be a great resource because it includes great suggestions on how to integrate student choice into assignment selection. Some examples are learner centers, learner menus, tic-tac-toe menus, task cards, etc.

3.From EdTech that Fuels Interest Learning: "One of the best ways to get students invested in learning is to connect what they're doing in the classroom to what interests them beyond the classroom. These picks help students get inspired, research their interests, connect with mentors and collaborate on projects, and create portfolios.” These technology resources/apps include student blogging, kids’ current events, podcasts, science and music resources, kid-friendly search engines that call for critical thinking, and more.

4. “Is School Enough? Exploring Interest-Driven Learning” This collection of video clips cover many different forms of learning which is student-driven and exploratory in nature from STEM in science curricula, video gaming and design, to spoken word in poetry.

5. Another resource from Edutopia, in this video, graduate students ask high school students questions on this topic. Many of the students claim to have a more rich, stimulating, intellectual experiences outside of the classroom because those experiences are driven by their own personal interests. Henry Jenkins also discusses the existence of a “participatory culture”.

6. Start with Why: The power of student-driven learning. This is a great article on making the shift towards interest driven learning and implications this would have on challenging each and every student to strive and thrive.

7. Through the Teaching Channel, I accessed a blog called Tchers’ Voice, and this particular blog the topic of ID learning is discussed as teachers share their own personal experiences with the phenomenon of enhancing learning through student interest.

#ed677

Interest Driven Learning

As educators, at all ages, we strive to foster students who are self-directed learners; individuals who desire to learn and broaden their base of knowledge. Doing so is not an easy feat, especially if the content does not hold a child’s interest. Being able to learn while being driven by personal interest is an extremely powerful tool in the classroom. As students ourselves, looking back through the past or even until present day, it’s easy to recall which classes, subjects, etc., we benefited from the most, retained knowledge from, or connected to. Naturally, our own levels of competency and interest are what drives us to gain more from one class from the next. As stated by Nicole Mirra in this week’s chapter on interest driven learning, Mirra states this type of learning is, “...a concept based in the seemingly common-sense notion that students will gain more knowledge and skills at higher levels of intellectual rigor when their learning originates from issues or activities that innately captivate them.” (p. 10)

I am a 5th grade writing teacher. I, myself as a young student, always excelled with ease through my English courses, so having a knack for this ever important skill served me very well throughout my educational and professional career. However, developing skills to write does not come easy for all and does not necessarily support equity. In those instances, I have had countless students I’ve supported who felt frustrated with their progress as developing writers. My grade level is the first stop for them in terms of lengthy, organized essays. I can completely sympathize with how a 5 paragraph essay can be a daunting task to 10-11 year olds; they can be even for adults! So, whenever I am selecting topics/prompts, I always make sure that the child has a way to express themselves based upon their personal interests and passions. With each assignment, those same students who at first were petrified, begin to thrive and grow with each assignment. We always begin the year of essay writing with writing about a talent, skill, or hobby. That lays the groundwork that writing....can be fun! Next, we write opinion essays which allow them to voice their own beliefs, usually on a school-related topic for debate or current event. This assignment teaches them to have a “voice.” Towards the end of the year, the students write about a person in their lives that they admire, either personally or celebrities, well-known individuals, etc. By the end of 5th grade, many of those same students who approached writing with a great deal of depredation advance to the next grade with confidence and the desire to further foster their skills as young writers. I have “interest” to thank for that.

As stated in this week’s chapter, the pressures of standardized testing doesn’t allow much time for interest-driven or passion-based exploration. However, I have tried to merge the expectations set by the state for students to “cite evidence” within their writing to news topics that they have the choice to select from. Scholastic SCOPE magazine provides many non-biased articles that allow my writers to weigh pros and cons, make informed decisions, and then express their thoughts through writing. Even giving them the opportunity to choose topics of intrigue to them is my way of allowing interest to drive the instruction.

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Seek 7 Sunday 3/27

1. This openly-networked community, Digital Is, is a great way to share and connect with other writing teachers. Some topics discussed in the blogs are the use of infographics, digital writing, the use of comic strips, etc. This is exactly why such arenas are so valuable; one teacher discusses her use of the characters from “The Walking Dead: to teach ethics! How brilliant and engaging for the students!

2. Great site on openly-networked learning through and between art museums. This online community asks the question how museums can closely connect with in school and out of school digital literacy practices; very cool.

3. This blog from Mom-mentum, entitled “Encouraging Children to Celebrate Differences”, relates to my inquiry question, which is how can I create connected learning between my writing curriculum and our community’s celebrating differences night on diversity? This site is actually created and blogged often by parents of children who either do or do not have learning disabilities, and, for those who do not, these “moms” blog in the hope of their children gaining a deep respect and appreciation for diversity. “I hope my children will grow up recognizing differences as positive aspects to be celebrated—not as excuses to judge, exclude or hate.”

4. Great blog to support children who face the learning challenges of being diagnosed ADHD. This blog, SmartKids, has the following mission and is also an open network: “ Our mission is to educate, guide and inspire parents of children with learning disabilities or ADHD. Our aim is to help parents realize their children’s significant gifts and talents, and to show that with their love, guidance, and the right support, their children can live happy and productive lives.”

5. This blog, ShutDown Learner, addresses many of the challenges which are put on display for Celebrating Differences Night, which are all topics my writing students will be connecting to and gaining a deeper understanding of what it is like to be a learner with dislexia, dyspgraphia, etc...

6. Home.Room is the official blog of the US Dept. of Ed. It also has many blogs that pertain to the topics of diverse learners, and contains many comments from parents and students identifying with many of the same academic struggles.

7. Great blog for my inquiry topic: I’m a Scientist with a Learning Disability, and That’s Okay! This would be a great way for students to gain an inside perspective of what it is like to function with LD, and also maybe post, ask questions to the author of the blog, or have open discussions amongst themselves.

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Small Moves

I promise...this is not an attempt to score “brownie-points”, but much of the course content here at Arcadia have pushed me in the direction of making “small moves” not only myself towards open-networked learning, but for my students as well.

As a writing teacher, my students record the majority of their work in writer’s notebooks, the typical black and white composition books. Throughout my coursework, I have learned a great deal about the value of blogging, have discovered many go-to blogs that I myself use, but I also came to the realization through positing and blogging my own coursework how much more engaged I was in knowing my work was being viewed by a much larger audience. I decided that my final project would be to teach my students to become digital writers who post, collaborate, discuss, and publish their work in digital writing notebooks. Initially, the idea was based around the application of using google docs for students to engage in editing and revising with other students “outside” of the 4 walls of our classrooms. From that point, I realized having an open-network opened other doorways that lead into all levels of the writing process, from the initial brainstorming sessions, opinion debate article writing, to editing/revising, and lastly, publication. It is by publishing their work for the whole world to see that students would feel a sense of accomplishment, duty, and value into their own contributions, all of whom are working collaboratively to achieve the greater goal of fostering skills in written expression. This idea is still in its infancy, but definitely a small-move in the right direction.

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Openly-Networked Learning

Similar to last week’s discussion of shared purpose, as human beings each of us can say the moments in which we learn the most about ourselves, professionally and personally, is through the exchange of ideas and conversations with like-minded people, or even others who come to the table with experiences, stories, anecdotes, and advice that are far from the world in which we live in. In Bud Hunt’s chapter on Openly-Networked Learning, he discussed his experiences that take place outside the boundaries of our classrooms and within the hours of a regular work day. He shares his first discoveries of communities of teachers who blog, share, post, and discuss, and how, soon enough, he became one of them, often videotaping himself analyzing his goals and objectives and sharing with others who would find his knowledge and wisdom meaningful in their own practices.

Hunt states, “ I improved as a teacher and as a learner through lots of little exchanges, wonders, and posts about what was happening in my classroom, what I wanted to happen, and how to bridge the gap between the two states.” With this Web 2.0 world we live in, finding mediums to bridge gaps and open lines of communication across states, countries, or boundaries that separate school communities and actual community life, e.g. “in-school and out-of-school spaces”. Teachers must have the willingness to share and take from the sharing of others. Hunt goes on to state a significant point, saying, “ Seeking connection, meaning, and a better sense of purpose has been a human pursuit far longer than the Internet has existed to support these practices.... we can’t find everyone that we could possibly learn from and with, but we can find enough people who share our passions and can build loose networks to solve problems.” Hunt discusses the value of engaging with others that have the same “shared love”, whether the craft of teaching or the like.

This week’s video was super cool; I like being able to actually see and listen to Bud Hunt. Sometimes it’s easy to overthink concepts, so it was comforting to hear right from the source what he defines an open-digital network to be, a network that people can find, access, and contribute to. I also enjoying seeing and hearing the “New Tech” High students’ opinions on where learning takes place, and, according to them, there is not one location, but learning takes place everywhere.

I LOVE the Do Now Project, especially as a writing teacher. I without question see the value of social media outlets to foster written expression skills, however, typically the content is not enthralling. The Do Now Project gives students a sense of purpose to engage in a real way in such an openly networked arena. As it stated in the more about Do Now page, the project has many layers of learning, from civic duty to digital citizenship; in this way, students are learning skills necessary to be 21st century citizens that are productive members of our technology-driven communicative society.

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Find 5 Friday 3/18

1. As I am connecting and reading what my classmates are posting, I am so impressed with the level of community involvement from many of them. It really makes me feel like a “shlub” that I am not more actively involved in community engagement for connected learning.

2. I am challenging myself to base my inquiries that integrate the writing or “written expression” skills I teach with community involvement issues, establishing a shared purpose.

3. Each year, our special ed dept. hosts a “Celebrating Differences” Night for the local community to grasp a deeper understanding of what it is really like and what challenges children and adults face with all different types of learning and physical disabilities. It takes place in April, so I may use this as an opportunity for students to write, get engaged, and establish a shared purpose.

4. Questions that continue to raise for me include the question of what are areas of interest and concern for my young students? We are not inner city and live in a very bubble-like concealed community; if I want them to experience something “real”, what are some topics that I should cover? Should it only be community concerns, or should I challenge them to think and act globally?

5. What form of writing do I want to take place for students to reflect on their experiences? Should it be documenting in journals with daily guided questions? Should it be more organic? Should I provide controversial prompts that require them to take strong standpoints? Wheels are turning now!

Shared Purpose

I found Danielle Filipiak’s chapter on “shared purpose” to be well-written, easy to connect with, and helped shed a light on the concept from many different perspectives. I was especially taken by the initial excerpt from 11th grader, Roberto, an inner city kid who could identify on many different levels of community members, from his pot-smoking buddies to his local church groups he helped lead in prayers. Filipiak discusses the element of engagement as it relates to personal interest and connecting in a real way to community. Shared purpose is much more than simply student collaboration; it is creating opportunities for students to grow on a deeper level, relation, resilience, and the like. Through these experiences, they get to know the person that they are and what they are capable of. Teacher, Jennifer Woolven, states What I’ve realized is that shared purpose is more than just collaboration among students; it can be something that emerges quite organically as students pursue their passions and engage with their communities.

If I were to make any connections in my professional experiences to shared purpose, I would say it is in the veign of “activisim” in the local community that I have seen young learners flourish in this way. Our seniors are required to complete graduation projects prior to graduating, therefore, many of these projects manifest themselves in ways that spark personal interest and address needs or desires of community members. I have seen Eagle Scouts who work together to build a garden area in a local senior citizen community, trips to Washington, D.C., organized by students to take veterans to see the sights of our nation’s capitol. Shared purpose does go far beyond books and research; the keyword being “purpose”. When students have a feeling of purpose, they are turned on and tuned in. When they can connect to the “real world” that they live in, authentic learning takes place.

#ed677

Seek 7 Sunday 3/6

1. Pinterest Ladies and Gentleman! When I was first introduced to Pinterest, I was floored at the amount of educational content within. There is an endless amount of teachers snapping pictures, sharing links, etc., it’s a great community for making and creating...and sharing. After many years of taking, I thought I should share and give back some of my ideas for others. Here is a link to my board which contains anchor charts I made and bulletin boards. I haven’t updated in a while, but I have a ton more to upload and will soon. It makes me so happy when others re-pin my creations!

2. Teachers Pay Teachers is a fabulous resource for making and creating. It is such a well-organized and well-constructed site which is easy to navigate and narrow in on the content desired, grade level and subject-wide. It’s a great place to find freebies, make purchases, or download to find inspiration to create.

3. We have a room at our local IU unit called the “Make and Take” room. I spent a great deal of time down there as a student teacher, die-cutting and laminating to make posters, games, centers, etc. I still enjoy going down there when the creative juices are flowing!

4. The majority of the inspiration for me to create comes from a need I recognize among my students. If there is an area of concern or in need of further clarity, I grab my markers and anchor charts and get to making hand-made resources. I constantly encourage my students to utilize resources around the room to find answers themselves and inspiration as young writers. I actually really enjoy making them and designing them! My coop teacher thinks I’m nuts!

5. Speaking of creativity, I found a great link to the Denver Art Museum which specifically features resources, pictures, photos, and ideas for educators! What is extra special about this place is that all visitors under 18 have free admission every day!

6. Since beginning my Master’s Program, I am fully aware of the endless amount of teacher blogs that are out there for each of us to access. When I see photos and read about all sorts of wonderful lessons and ideas, I get the urge to create and share; my blog has been in the works for years, and will hopefully be available soon so I can try to give back to a community of blogging teachers that have given so much to me.

7. The 6 + 1 Traits Method is the heart of my writing curriculum. I have a plethora of trade books, text books, and various resources that allow me integrate these traits into my lessons. What I love about the program is that it was developed by writing teachers who understand the craft of writing so well. When I dive into these books, it pushes me to steer away from the structured, state test based writing I am FORCED to teach and focus more so on the interesting elements such as voice, word choice, and style, which are the areas to focus on to create writers who truly love to write.

#ed677

Map

I used Prezi to construct a map which covers my journey to becoming an educator. I have used Prezi several times and think Prezi is a great digital mapping tool and coincides with our topic of presentation.

My Prezi can be found here.

I chose the template of a tree and entitled it, “Roots Run Deep for this Teacher!” I began with my inspirational teachers who impacted my life in such a way that, even though I did not know it then or dreamed about it, my path to becoming an educator was filled with meaningful experiences that led me to my chosen career. Even though the thought of teaching was not always clear to me, I knew I loved working with children and would like to do that for a living. I mapped my first experiences assuming the role of a camp counselor, which is very influential to me wherein I realized, wow, kids really do like me! Haha! I loved the role of a guardian and a role model, so the seed to teach was planted.

My map continues with my path through college, my absolutely FANTASTIC student teaching experiences, and my eventual hiring for my current dream job, teaching 5th grade English.

I am fully aware of how lucky I am that my job just doesn’t feel like “work” to me! It’s my passion, my calling, my everything, and every year gets better than the last. For more details, feel free to access my map above.

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