RSA#4 Technology Enhanced Learning Environments

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED522011.pdf

Technology Enhanced Learning Environments

Well we know that computers are the way of the future and I have jumped on the bandwagon.  Actually I have been there for at least 15 years.  Lesson planning during my first year of teaching was done solely with online resources.  Units developed from the ground up; readings, worksheets, quizzes, tests.  I killed more trees that year.  I had no textbook only the State Standards to work with.  I was a first year teacher teaching a subject that had never been taught.  It was an exciting year.  Some activities worked and others flopped.  I did see during that year that it was better to lead students on a journey and let them discover the end on their own.  Keeping that in mind as the years rolled by I was always pursing the internet for the next best activity, video or web quest.  It was time consuming to Google key words and check out web pages.  Today Twitter and Facebook give you a plethora of resources with the click of 1 button.  These two sites are my “online learning community”.  When I look at this quote from our textbook Online learning communities are a great place for building group collaboration. Students learn to work together and depend on one another to reach their learning goals and to elevate their learning experiences (Palloff & Pratt, 2007) I can’t help but replace students with teachers.  I follow a group of teachers and we share information, antecedents, activities etc.  There is so much we know and to be able to share it with others is wonderful.  When I look for lesson ideas it doesn’t seem like work because I get a piece here and there of my friends lives too. 

The results of a recent study confirmed the motivating elements found in the previous research highlighted problem solving, playing and information processing as main contributing factors to student engagement (Horton and Liu, 2011) These are the same things that motivate me.   I keep this in mind when designing lessons.  I have been blessed with a school district that has embraced technology and its benefits.  I can do so much more with my students now 15 years later on the web, that I don’t need a textbook but you know what, I got one.  So it’s a resource just like the ever changing web.  Bet you could guess which one we use more. . 

RSA3: Learning Communities

RSA3: Learning Communities

http://www.learningforward.org/news/getDocument.cfm?articleID=2311

Educators are working to become Professional Learning Communities in hopes that student learning will improve.  With all the challenges facing schools today, lack of funds, lack of parental support, lack of supplies and resources, coupled with increased accountability. The idea of a school of teachers working together for common goals seems idealistic but if you realize this is the best strategy for improvement.  You have to swallow your pride and realize you may not know everything.  Maybe one of your colleges has a better way of doing what you do.  So you adapt and try something new.  Isn’t that what we should have always been doing?  Dufour goes on to say that this is the best strategy for sustained, substantial school improvement.

 Reflection has always been part of my lesson planning.  Once a unit or sometimes even a lesson is done I reflect on what went well and what didn’t work.  I try to change it up before I do it again.  Why should I keep doing something that did not work to improve the students’ knowledge? It is only reasonable that I would need to find something better.  So I ask others who teach the same thing. Be it in my building or across the country.  That is the joy of living in this internet based world.  I can collaborate with so many more of my colleges.  There are many teachers’ forums to exchange information about lessons and problems we encounter.  Believe me GOOD teachers have been exchanging ideas for most of their career with others.  Only now schools are asking you to go within your school for ideas.  Think about it. These colleges of yours may see something about a student’s learning capability that you don’t.  They have the inside track on them.  They can steer you to lessons that work within their cogitative abilities.  Other teachers on the web do not have that advantage.  Quantitative data gathered from a statewide representative sample of 78 elementary schools in eight school districts show that collaboration is a strong predictor of student achievement gains in reading and math (Rosenholtz 1989).