Response #1

After reading Heidi Hayes Jacobs' book, in what ways have you worked with teachers or teaching teams to create interdisciplinary units? Have any had a global perspective? This topic is one that both our department heads and administrators look for in our collaborations, so if you haven't had those discussions yet, this is the time to start thinking about it.  If you've not done a collaboration yet, how might you get the conversation started?

I've not had a great chance to provide my students with interdisciplinary units as much as I would like. At the high school level there are many hurdles to pass over. Even though these hurdles should not be excuses, they are still reality. Our freshman classes are provided with a "team". The teams are named after our schools mission statement: pride, integrity, respect, and lastly courage. The teachers in those teams are given a "duty" period to get together to discuss cross disciplinary subjects. I find testing had a big part in the lack of cross curricular units. I even find myself cramming information due to state testing, field trips, and snow days to name a few. Not only do we have limited time with our students, but teachers may be covering different units at different rates due to our de-leveling of classes. During my nutrition unit I talk with a couple of the math teachers as well as the Foods classes to help enhance the learning. In my opinion that is not enough. 

Another hardship I find is the lack of time. Our school provides our teachers with "half days" on Thursdays. Every Thursday the students leave a half an hour early and the teachers are required to stay late in meetings. Most of this time are set up as data, department, faculty and SWAT meetings leaving no days to catch up or even talk with our teachers. 

I believe technology can be used as a tool to help connect our teachers. By utilizing technology, learning can be done at their own pass and at their leisure. Truthfully does that help our students? I guess we won't know until we try

Walk my World: Dawn of a New Day

What does "dawn" look like in your world? What do new beginnings look, sound and smell like as you start your day? What gets you excited to get up and enter your world? Do you have a favorite time of day?

As I wake at the beginning of a new day during these fridged winter months, I roll over to kiss my husband and stare at the innocence of my daughter sleeping. I thank god for being blessed with a new baby on the way and pet my endless loving dog who has now made her way on my bed. The smell of hot coffee brews from two rooms away and I stretch to wake myself up. The house is silent but soon will be filled with laughter and childs play. I listen in complete silence, gazing out at the backyard. I feel a sense of calming rush over my body. This is my favorite time of day. The time when I can hear myself breathing and find comfort knowing I am blessed with a family and beautiful home over my head on these fridges days.  This morning though, there is a slight chill in the air...this could only mean one thing! That's right, #SNOWDAY!!!! #walkmyworld #itdml

Week 5 Readings: Pedagogy

Based on the readings, explain what you find to be the most potent concepts that can be transferred into your own teaching practices and why.

When I think about pedagogy there are many things that enter my mind; curriculum, units, education, and concepts to name a few.  So what is “pedagogy” and how is it changing our educational world?  Tony Bates looks at that question in the article, New Pedagogy Emerging. The article addresses areas of education, more simply, what drives the development of a new pedagogy?  How pedagogy changes in society and student expectations through technology.

There are many hurdles to overcome when talking about pedagogy.  The main challenge is stated by  Tony Bates, “how to find, analyze, evaluate, and apply knowledge as it constantly shifts and grows”.  Students now are required to critically think on their own independent level.  Not only that, but they also have correlate the relevant information through technology and other software across disciplines!  The text states, "pedagogy means developing students with the skills to manage their own learning throughout life, so they can continue to learn after graduation”.  The "new student expectations" are set high and we as teachers need to prepare them the best we can.  So how can we do that?  The readings and videos gave some great examples of how we can prepare our students.  Some examples include:

1. Actively engage students in a fun and creative way
2. Allow a connection so the students can see the relevance of their learning to the real world
3. Use new technology such as blogs, wikis and social media, and mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets
4. Empower learners
5. Innovation

As a teacher I looked deeper into my classroom.  Do I prepare my students enough and if not what can I take from the readings to help my students become more competent?  The following are areas I believe can be improved through my teaching:

1. Blended learning: I am a part of a blended learning committee and therefore have an expectation to continue the learning home with the students as a ‘flipped’ classroom. When I think about this concepts it scares me.  Mainly because student grades are not based as heavily on homework as it used to be.  With that said, will more students be willing to involve themselves in a flipped classroom when technology is introduced?  Could I be using the wrong information to portray to my students? These are all questions I do not have the answers to other than to continue to try new ideas and concepts.

2. Use of multimedia and open education resources: Our school uses many YouTube clips as well as TED talks. The students can now access the information with their school issued tablets or smartphones through our new BYOD policy.  It is a concept I would like to use more in my classroom.  I would like to have my students develop YouTube video clips of various exercises.  The exercises can be in the weight room, pool, or even the gymnasium.  I believe if my students are capable of producing these video clips, they can be used for future reference.  I also believe my current students would like to view/share the videos if they were of their peers.

3. Increased learner control, choice, and independence: Unfortunately, this is a concept I would like to become better at. Exploration and independence is a hard thing for teachers to let go of.  However, when given control, the students appear to "step up to the plate" and prove they are capable of the task at hand.  I have tried to take a step back and become a facilitator in a couple of my classes.  I do believe this does not work with all classes.  Due to simple maturity, some of my classes would not do well with independent learning.  I believe this has a direct connection with a lack of creativity and exploration as a child. 

4. Anywhere, anytime, any size learning: Anytime learning can be a great experience.  Our school provides students with an online program called Odyssey Ware. This online class provides students with the ability to work from anywhere at their own pace.  It allows learners a great opportunity to "catch up" or even get ahead in the classroom setting.  

5. New forms of assessment: Our school, as well as many others are starting to adopt the idea of e-portfolios and peer assessments.  As a school, we have talked about requiring our students to develop a portfolio for a graduation requirement.  Personally I think it is a great concept.  I believe this is a good concept because once the students leave high school they are able to not only collect information they have used throughout high school but also reflect on their learning.  

Resources:

1. A New Pedagogy is Emerging... and Online Learning is a Key Contributing Factor. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2015.
2. Grant wiggins-Understanding by Design 1& 2 (Videos)

Reflection on the Face to Face

Yesterday, our #itdml program took part in a couple on air hangouts with Heidi Hayes Jacobs, Lisa Jobson and two ladies from Mystic Seaport Museum.   It was a great experience.  Below is a brief overview of the discussion we had with all of the participants.

Hangout with Heidi Hayes Jacobs, author of Mastering Global Literacy:

• Global literacy should involve relevant and meaningful aspects of  teaching
• There is a total of 5 portals in global literacy and writing in curriculum
• Scaling is an important portal
• We should scale nationally, through our school, as well as an individual
• Literacy is depth and connectivity, mainly making meaning of it all
• Finland gives feedback and not tests, is there a difference? 
• Google earth pro is a great tool to use in our classrooms to help to connect our students with the world.

Lisa Jobson was our second speaker discussing project from iearn:

• We as teachers need to teach our students to learn and work cross culturally
• Students work better with connection to the information 
• iearn is designed by teachers
• Some projects have 60 classrooms working together
• If a teacher wants to use iearn they should:
• start with projects already up and running
• pick one that correlates with their topics
• iearn has a collaboration center for teachers secure
• iearn is project based learning 
• Join a teachers cohort with other teachers around the world to learn how to use iearn (teachers lounge)
• Projects show one day in the life of another student through various journal entry and photos
• To good projects are solar cooking, and the teddy bear project (swap teddy/mascot across world)

The last hangout we did was with two people from Mystic Seaport Museum:

• Website for educators 
• Art and objects are stored in a vault
• Museum offers opportunities for students to connect with artifacts used around the world.
• Teachers act as facilitators of learning
• Student driven atmosphere.

Walk My World: What Does Your Reflection Say?

Cari, carebear, and cappy are my usual suspects of names.  Family and friends are my ultimate priorities. Passionate and athletic are only a few words that describe me.  I have a strong work ethic but can appreciate relaxing.  One song I would love to live by is dream big by Ryan Shupe. Whenever I think about reflection, I think about the Michael Jackson song Man in the Mirror:

I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways

And no message could have been any clearer

If you want to make the world a better place

Take a look at yourself, and then make a change

Through a different "lens"

Pictures are worth a thousand words

MOOC Storify

Here is my storify to demonstrate my understanding of a MOOC and how it is beneficial in the school systems today.

MOOC's Response

What is a "MOOC", and how does it intersect with the online, or hybrid learning environments that we've been studying?

What is a MOOC? Another word for MOOC is a massive open online course. The benefit of MOOC's are they are available in a variety of topics and capable of being research from virtually anywhere! At your fingertips you can be connected with experts, peers, and others with the goals as you. The article mentioned a couple different MOOC's available to people such as Coursera, edX, FutureSense, or Udacity. I unfortunately do not have a great deal of experience with any of these courses.

Once the MOOC is complete, the student receives a certificate in the form most likely of badges. I like to call the badges "medals of honor". They provide a way to showcase you and build a digital portfolio. In some cases, badges can also be used for a professional development credit. Thinking about that concept, would it be beneficial for a teacher to be required to earn a certain number of badges rather than attend a professional development day? Would it be worth it? Would it be more beneficial or would more teachers take advantage of it?

The article discussed the differences between cMOOCs and xMOOCs. The C” in front of the word MOOC refers to a course based on connectivism where as the "X" is more directly related to University and "often meant delivery of content in a traditional academic manner". "Connectivism is related to how people use digital tools and environments to form networks and connections."

The article discusses many suggestions made by McAuley, Stewart, Siemens, & Cormier such as:

• The extent to which it can support deep enquiry and the creation of sophisticated knowledge
• The breadth versus the depth of participation
• Whether and under what conditions successful participation can extend beyond those with broadband access and sophisticated social networking skills
• Identifying the processes and practices that might encourage lurkers, or “legitimate peripheral participants”, to take on more active and central roles
• The impact or value of even peripheral participation, specifically the extent to which it might contribute to participation in the digital economy in extra-MOOC practices
• Specific strategies to maximize the effective contribution of facilitators in particular and more advanced participants in general
• The role for accreditation, if any, and how it might be implemented.

Above, I highlighted the phrase, "breadth versus depth". This can be a very powerful statement. One I believe the #itdml have proved this statement true. Although the content we produce is not of "typical" 6th year length, the depth of the conversations are far more meaningful and deeper than any program I have been a part of thus far. The #itdml classes closely relate to the MOOC's discussed in the article. During the 2014 summer courses we were a part of many different modules. For each module we completed we received a badge. I really enjoyed the idea from +Stephanie Lavado. She did a great job integrating technology into her physical education classroom. She discussed using pedometers and tracking each student’s steps. As a whole their goal was to "walk to Disney". This is just one example of many provided by the students in the class demonstrating the positives stemming from MOOC's. The Meriden Public School's are now trying implementing more MOOC's into our district. In a matter of minutes, one can be connected to experts, professionals and other peers with the same interests.

Resources:

• Ferdig, R. E. (2013). What massive open online courses have to offer K–12 teachers and students. Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute. About Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute