https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj en-us 2018-10-09 00:28:17 UTC 2025-11-09 16:06:05 UTC hello@padlet.com ashlehman https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/290522700 It’s 2018 and we are still using an education system designed for the students of the Enlightenment Period. Much has changed throughout the 200 years since, but nothing has changed as much as the 21st century. The use of technology is all around us and has permanently affected the minds of generations being born into it. Instead of having students who have patience to do step by step processes and think logically, we have students who need and enticing instant gratification. Many teachers and parents blame students who “won’t focus and learn”, but have we ever considered the fact that they can’t focus and learn. I’m not just taking about diagnosing with  attention deficit disorder, but rather question how we are presenting information compared to the world around us.  Marc Prensky was on to something when he said “there is no reason that a generation that can memorize over 100 Pokémon characters with all their characteristics, history and evolution can’t learn the names, populations, capitals and relationships of all the 101 nations in the world. It just depends on how it is presented.”  Changing not only how we teach but what we teach depending on the generation and their culture can better prepare and raise up the leaders of our future. However, drastically changing our education to focus on future and completely ignoring the past history is not beneficial either. One of the best ways to learn and grow stronger is from the past. Finding a way to modernly teach for the present is the key to successfully teaching but finding a way to engagingly teach the past is just as important. Though it’s a skill that has not been mastered yet, I’m curious to hear of more ways teachers have been embracing this, and what creative ways I can incorporate this into my classroom.   

]]> 2018-10-09 00:30:14 UTC https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/290522700 ashlehman https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/293678974 More and more educators are finally starting to realize the divide between our new digital generation of learners and the past generation of learners that most educators fall into. Two sides that are discussed in the article are Digital Learner vs Educators. Digital Learners prefer to receive information and instantly learn from multimedia sources where they can process pictures, sound, videos along with others through networking. Most educators, however, prefer to give information to independent students in a controlled limited sources type of way. These preferences can cause a huge divide and barrier between the teaching and learning done in the classroom. In order to effectively teach and prepare students for the future, this divide needs to seriously be mended. Three ways that I plan to bridge this gap in my classroom are shifting my instructional structural approach, teaching students to collaborate, and being willing to learn as a teacher. Shifting how content and instructions are delivered to students can honestly be one of the most powerful ways to bridge the gap. Simply by lecturing or “telling” what is to be learned takes the excitement and motivation out of learning. By leading students to discover rather than just telling, empowers students to become independent learners. Letting students collaborate can also be a powerful way to make connections between these two types of learning. Instead of making a no device rule in the classroom, I will try to encourage students to use social media, networking tools, and virtual learning together to enhance learning. After all what better way to teach students than to use the resources at their fingertips. My third way to bridge the gap has to do on my end as a teacher. It’s important to realize that as teachers we are also required to lifelong learning also. Many educators sit through seminars hearing that all students are different but fail to change the classroom accordingly. It’s important to be continually learning and interpreting where your students are at and where our current culture is at, and to adjust accordingly. One way that I have been challenged is to try to utilize a new digital tool every couple of weeks. My question as an educator, would be what ways and sources would you like to see me use in the classroom to help bridge this divide?]]> 2018-10-17 03:59:43 UTC https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/293678974 ashlehman https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/293679050 As current culture changes so does the classroom. The more technology is used and relied on in the culture, the more it should be used in the classroom. Here are some of my favorite top researched backed ways that technology can actually make students more intellectual. Number One: as technology advances, it can be used to bring history “to life”. Many classroom games can stimulate historical periods, allowing students to get first-hand experience learning. Number Two: Learning can now be done in an enticing format. Instead of just boring lectures, information can now be taught and learned including more senses than ears and sight. Information can also be shared, collaborated on, and distributed like never before. Number Three: With personal devices and browsers such as Google unlimited information is at students fingertips, cultivating environments where students can develop interests, tastes, and niches. There are always two sides to every new idea, and many are comparing just in case learning vs just in time learning. Just in case learning can also be described as “traditional” learning. This style is focused on learning the classics or past. Just in time learning can focus on vocational, practical training, focusing on current trends. I am curious to see some of the research behind just in case learning, and why it has been so effective in the past, I also would like to see research done on the downsides of technology in the classroom related to intellect.  ]]> 2018-10-17 04:00:19 UTC https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/293679050 https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/300601268  Assistive Technology is made up of devices that can be used to enhance the learning capabilities of a student, especially those with learning disabilities. Currently, there are endless resources, software, and devices that are categorized into "Assistive Technology." Some are considered High-Tech Devices such as laptops, computers, and smartphones, and others considered Mid-Tech Devices such as calculators, recorders, and mp3 players. These devices can be used endless amounts of ways such as text to speech, word prediction, graphic organizing, and math calculations. One of the beauties about assistive technology is it is featured through multiple platforms to help students that have a wide range of disabilities. In order to correctly integrate these useful tools into the classroom, it's important for teachers to be educated and trained, that way students can benefit from the fullest potential of assistive technology. It is also important that not only teachers be trained, but parents and students. It can be easy for students to get distracted and disrupted, especially with laptops and computers, so it's important to train students and parents how to properly use technology in an assistive manner. Two sides presented in this topic are using assistive technology to learn how to complete a task vs. using it to bypass an area of difficulty. Using technology to teach students how to complete a task can develop great problem-solving skills. Using it to bypass an area of difficulty can be helpful at the moment and enable the student to stay on track with the rest of the class, but in the long run can teach students to rely on technology for reading, writing, spelling, grammar, and calculations. One of the questions that continually needs to be asked, regarding technology in the classroom, is how helpful it is actually being to the student. Research cannot be conducted and published as fast as technology is improving, so before we jump the gun and incorporate technology into every aspect of the classroom, it's vital to question the long-term effects it has on student's learning.]]> 2018-11-05 17:22:38 UTC https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/300601268 https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/304107728 Digital Citizenship is a citizenship that every student in the 21st century will posses. So the question is as teachers how do we properly educate these citizens. First it’s important to realize the three types of citizens; Personally Responsible Citizens, Participatory Citizens, and Justice-oriented CItizens. All of these type of citizens directly translate into the digital world. Personally Responsible Citizens, feel obligated to contribute to society through community service and ect., Participatory Citizens make platforms and demand changes, and Justice Oriented Citizens interrogate and organize networks to fight for the oppressed. Realizing that the internet, especially social media is the perfect platform for this, forces educators to choose between two sides. Limit social media in the name of controlling behavior and safety, or accept social media as a huge part of society and teach accordingly. Personally I believe it is our job as educators to teach accordingly to culture.This means instead of limiting the internet, teach students to how to be safe on the internet, correctly use social media, thoroughly analyze articles, and check into the backstory and credibility of websites. It’s easy to talk about the benefits of incorporating digital citizenship into the curriculum, but it is harder to find practical ways to incorporate it. I am curious to learn of specific ways that I could incorporate digital citizenship into my own elementary classroom.  ]]> 2018-11-14 02:28:04 UTC https://padlet.com/ashlehman/jq9ylv76p5cj/wish/304107728