1.      My first takeaway that the students love to use any form of technology in the classroom. The students loved viewing the PowerPoint, using the projector, and most of all using the Quizlet I made for their first lesson which can be found here: https://quizlet.com/294356350/westward-expansion-flash-cards/

2.      My second takeaway is that during this course I had a hard time adjusting to the method of grading. It has taken me a while to understand that we are graded based on reflection and ways we can improve our education. Someone on the GSC Facebook page posted an image last week and it really stuck with me:, it can be seen at the bottom of the Padlet.

3.      Lastly, my third takeaway is that is understanding time management and figuring out how exactly I was going to get all of my work done. Like most people in this course, I have a full-time job, but I also took two clinical classes this term and had to complete a total of 15 lessons. During the week that the EDU 612 lessons were due the EDU 613 lessons were due as well. I am still not quite sure how I did it but I was able to complete all fifteen lessons plus other activities in the class by the end of the week when they were due. Pacing yourself is important and without setting time relevant goals, planning to teach would have fallen apart. 

 

 2. Writing measurable goals:
This was a huge learning curve for me. I felt as though this was the trickiest part of the entire lesson writing process! (Even more so than developing the unit, understanding what to teach, and connecting everything to Common Core, ISTE Technology Standards or National Art Standards!) It was nice to have a teacher who was willing to work with me to create or re-work goals again and again until they seemed right. 

 

3. Using twitter as an educational tool and professional learning network:
This is something I really enjoyed: I liked posting to twitter, I liked following others to read their ideas, and I liked participating in the live chat. Overall, I felt like I have become part of something much larger than myself; I can communicate with other teachers, people in the education field, fellow students, and motivational speakers from around the world! What a neat opportunity! I would have never created a twitter just for fun or for personal use, but creating one to develop a professional learning network was amazing. 

~Jennifer

 

I think the resources and support Emily provided while discussing technology was great. My favorite resource for better understanding technology integration was : https://granite.pressbooks.pub/teachingdiverselearners/chapter/learning-with-digital-tools-2/

I loved the idea of a growth mindset board and lessons used in the classroom. I think that all teachers should introduce this in their classrooms.

I found the online learning experience to be a helpful way to have teacher candidates and students step out of their shell, and work with technology in a meaningful way. I am glad I was pushed to use Seesaw and interactive technology. I will be using Flipgrid with my students in the future, even though I didn’t enjoy recording myself (but I do like the idea of it), I think the students will like that. I am glad Emily used more in her course then the traditional weekly discussions on Moodle. Even though change is hard, it helps us to experiment more with the different ways we can use technology, and how we can use it in the classroom to better the student's learning experience.
Twitter was also new for me this quarter. I try not to be over consumed with social media, but the PLN on Twitter was helpful.
I learned a lot from my feedback this quarter. That includes from my SP, FPF and Emily. I have learned so much about planning my lessons in a way to differentiate, scaffold and engage students. Those are my areas of weakness, but the difference between this quarter and last is huge.
https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2QQNsq2vv0SbGlhS2U4RXVKUVk/edit
The resource above was very useful, along with the book Teach Like a Pirate by Dave Burgess

A resource I found to be quite helpful is the K-12 Social Studies NH Curriculum Framework.  In particular, the grids and grade-span expectations, which made writing goals and objectives for my lessons much easier.

Paula Lombardi’s online book, Instructional Methods, Strategies and Technologies to Meet the Needs of All Learners was an invaluable resource for this class.  I’m sure I will be referring to it again and again throughout the rest of my teaching journey.  I like that it is clearly written and includes videos that explore topics more deeply.

1.      My first big takeaway is a resource that I have used quite a bit this term for all my classes and it is the Open Education – Open Resources link.  I am ALWAYS using the openly licensed images from: Pixaby, Flickr, Unsplash

               https://pixabay.com/

               https://unsplash.com/

               https://www.flickr.com/

Through these resources, I was able to appreciate the value of the concept that learning should be open and free, allowing all to achieve their dreams.  Though, I may cringe at technology, it is what is offering so many a fuller, more engaging and meaningful education.   

http://openedgroup.org/oer-enabled-pedagogy

2.      The Annenberg Learner www.learner.org

This is a site that I have used for all my courses this term!  Their mission statement states: “we focus on the teacher as a learner, as well as the student as a learner” (Annenberg Learner, 2017).  I love all their resources from videos, lesson plans and interactives.

 

3.      Last, but not least, I thoroughly enjoyed my classmates’ blogs, tweets and facebook posts.  As much as I am a private person and am not completely confident enough to share my pedagogy with the world, it was truly a blessing to read the journeys of my peers.  It helped me to not feel alone with my lack of confidence and it gave me tons of food-for-thought.  

I see these as great tools and resources along my educational journey.  Also, I can’t offer my thanks enough to all my classmates for their wisdom and feedfordward!!!

Cheers all!

Tracy

I enjoyed reading, https://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?item=http%3a%2f%2fapi.edweek.org%2fv1%2fblog%2f163%2findex.html%3fuuid%3d74874&cid=25920011&intc=mob-topnav .

I always love reading about different theories or strategies used in teaching. I liked thinking about deeper thinking and the analogy, to let students play the whole game from the start and how I could do this with my future students. 

I most enjoyed learning more about hot to help students have a growth mindset. I know that I am constantly working on this myself, so I valued the resources that focused on how to help student have a growth mindset as well. 

Although this was a challenging semester, Emily was such a great resource, I value her feedback and try enjoyed learning from her and my peers! 

https://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2015/nov/15/four-questions-encourage-growth-mindset-students 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_TFaS3KW6s 

I really enjoyed this TED Talk. I love the simple conversations that open up a confetti cannon of ideas and questions. Tatum experienced this with her preschool-aged son, and I relate to her approach for answering his questions. She was thoughtful, honest, and kept her answers simple and concrete. This is what I try to do with all children, and I find that my connection with them only grows stronger. Children do not need every little detail about everything; a simple, honest answer is what I find they need to feel satisfied and move forward.   

Quote- Bruner said students’ “learning [is] through discovery, dialogue and self-reflection” (TEACHINGADVENTURESITE, 2017). 

TEACHINGADVENTURESITE. (2017, Jan 21). Constructivism -- Learning by constructing meaning from experience. Retrieved from https://teachingadventuressite.wordpress.com/2017/01/21/constructivism-learning-by-constructing-meaning-from-experience/.  

This quote had stood out to me in Week 6. As educators, we need to recognize how students learn. Bruner believes students learn "through discovery, dialogue, and self-reflection." As a student, I agree with this determination. When I am given the opportunity to make my own discoveries, discuss what I learned with others, and then reflect individually, I am able to take charge of my learning. In the end, this is more beneficial to my understanding than if I had not had any control, which is a conclusion I came to from my own learning and will help me in my approach to teaching.

Article- A Pernicious Myth: Basics Before Deeper Learning

Concept- Bloom’s Taxonomy as a web, not a ladder

Mehta, J. (2018, Jan 4). A pernicious myth: Basics before deeper learning. Education Week. Retrieved from edweek.org/teaching-learning/opinion-a-pernicious-myth-basics-before-deeper-learning/2018/01 

Reading this article gave me a different perspective. When I learned about Bloom’s Taxonomy in my undergrad, it was presented in the ladder format. This gave me the perspective that Bloom’s Taxonomy must work from the bottom to the top. After reading Mehta’s article, I found myself agreeing with her view of Bloom’s Taxonomy as a web. I related to the web idea from my personal experience with note taking. Whether I am taking notes for myself or for my students, I do not follow the pyramid from bottom to top. Instead, I work from top to bottom. I do not believe working in this order will work for every assignment. Looking at Bloom’s Taxonomy as a web means the order can be done in any way that best fits the learner’s needs for a particular task.  

My favorite resource was actually a Bloom’s visual a middle school ELA teacher recently used to teach 6^th graders how to ask better questions. The students used the chart to develop research questions for a writing project. I wish I had this chart when I wrote my Unit Plan. I will definitely use it when lesson planning in the future.

A favorite quote of mine also came from Brene Brown’s website, “we should never underestimate the benefit to a child of having a place to belong—even one—where they can take off their armor. It can and often does change the trajectory of their life” (Brene Brown). Giving the students a safe place where they feel accepted and like they belong can change their whole life. It will be a class that they will remember for ever. If the students feel like they comfortable in the classroom, they will be able to show their true potential in their work. This is a quote that I will take with me into my future classroom. I want my students to feel comfortable enough to “take off their armor” so that we can grow a classroom community. I want to be that teacher that they feel safe with and that they can just be themselves. 

Another key takeaway is how to teach my students to become digital leaders rather than digital citizens. With technology being so common in today’s world, this is especially important. Collaborating, integrating and embracing change are all great skills to learn when teaching the students to become digital leaders. These skills will not only benefit them when it comes to technology but in their every day lives as well : https://www.theedadvocate.org/students-taught-digital-leaders-instead-digital-citizens/ 

-Cristiin

Another resource that I found to be extremely useful were the ones that we read within the choice board reflection. I definitely want to explore the other choices that I have not yet had the opportunity to explore. However, I did get to explore Brene Brown's Resources and they were extremely helpful. I love Brene’s work and have always looked up to her. So this was a useful resource for me to explore my leadership qualities and find ways that I can improve upon my skill set to create a supportive environment for my students. Her website has so many resources to help not only educators, but also students. There is a lot of great content on her website that I plan to continue to explore. I also love her TED Talks and recommend everyone to listen to those! You can find more here on her website https://brenebrown.com/.

One final resource that I would like to include is the SAMR as a Framework for Moving Towards Education 3.0 resource. I found this resource to be extremely helpful in navigating technology use within the classroom. Before this course I had little to no understanding of how to implement technology effectively. This SAMR resource helped me to identify when to use technology, how to make it meaningful, and how to incorporate it effectively. It was extremely helpful. 

Overall, there are many more resources I plan to take with me but these ones really helped to expand upon my skills as an educator. 

Thank you, 
Sadie Bloom

* Next, I loved the collaborative ways we worked in class like on blogs, shared google drive, commenting features on the lesson plans and all the sharing assignments. This format of learning was new to me but I enjoyed learning and engaging with peers’ posts and learning with and about technology at the same time. I thought it was clever for the instructor to teach the class while using the very apps we are learning about.

* My third takeaway is to somehow make sure I organize all these tech tools, ideas and articles into one spot: check out the  Wakelet App if you have not tried it so you can keep all these resources handy. I started curating all the things I am learning from everyone and organizing them in a way that I won’t need to flood my bookmarks.  It’s been a lifesaver! 

Some of the common components I loved were exploring Common Sense Media website, creating the Digital Leadership Resource, all the technology tools we were able to explore and creating the Unit Study Lesson Plans using the template. It took me time to learn it, but I loved how I grew in the process --from planning to teaching and finally self-reflection.

Thank you EDU 702 Spring Term peers for sharing your experiences, questions, ideas, posts and responses! I truly enjoyed this term learning with and alongside you all. 

First off, my lesson planning skills have grown so much. Being able to see everyone else's units really helped me to create new ideas, become inspired and assisted my unit journey so much. The helpful instructor feedback from this course was also very beneficial and it definitely helped me to improve upon my unit writing skills. I also feel that the debriefs after teaching my lessons helped me to understand what went well and what I should work on from a perspective other than my own. 

Next, the digital leadership assignment really taught me a new topic which before this class, I had never really given much thought too. Common sense was a great resource that I utilized quite a bit https://www.commonsense.org/education/. This assignment really hit two birds with one stone as I was able to learn a lot about digital leadership, but also enhance my lesson planning skills. I loved that this assignment was open ended and we had choices in what we wanted our final project to look like. I chose to do a less plan and because of this, I feel even stronger with my lesson planning abilities. 

I also really liked the choice boards. I enjoyed the set up as it allowed us to have choices and to take a closer look into topics that really interested us.

I was enthralled with Brene Browns Daring Classroom. https://brenebrown.com/daringclassrooms/.  I explored the leadership assessment which helped me learn more about myself. I think this is important for professional growth. The area I need to improve in most was my ability to overcome setbacks. So often, I strive for perfection, even though I know that is an unrealistic expectation. This is something I will work to improve on. 

Overall, this has been a great course which provided me with both great learning opportunities and great resources. 

One a different note, I wanted to share with you all a quote that hangs in the first grade classroom I work in. I found out on our last day of school that it was actually a quote from one of the paras that works at the school. It says, “Children and not things to be molded, but people to be unfolded”. This has really stuck with me, and I hope that it sticks with you all as well.

 

Another takeaway I had was the “Teaching Hard History” website. These are very sensitive topics to teach, and as an educator, sometimes we want to shy away from these topics. However, “Teaching Hard History” helped show me just how important it is to teach my students the real, true history, and how to teach that in a way that is appropriate for my students.

 

In addition to the wonderful resources my classmates were, my top 3 takeaways from this class are as follows:

·       Word Wall – I am indebted to whichever of my classmates introduced me to this site. I have used it with my class for assessments, and they absolutely LOVE it!!!

·       The SAMR model – I learned a lot about this model and know that I will need to apply it to my future career when picking out appropriate technologies for my kiddos

·       Annenberg Learner – As far as videos go, I tend to multitask to keep myself from falling asleep out of boredom; however, I really enjoyed these videos and learned so much from them. In fact, I stopped doing other things while watching them, so I could soak up everything they were discussing.

In all, this was a great class, and I have enjoyed being able to practice what I have been learning. Thanks for being a part of this journey!

Sincerely, Mallory 

Before this course, I had never blogged before. This was a whole new experience to me, and I was a bit anxious at first, but I learned how helpful blogging can be for educators. Having the opportunity to blog each week allowed me to think deeper about my practices, created an outlet for me to vent and reflect on the teaching challenges I've experienced due to the pandemic, and allowed me to explore topics of greater interest throughout the course each week. I appreciated having this push as it allowed me to see how beneficial blogging can be, especially for educators as we are consistently reflecting on our practices. My hope is to continue blogging as I continue my journey here at GSC!

Chimamanda Adichie’s TED Talk introduced me to the power labels can have on ourselves and others. Many of us are guilty of identifying groups of people with specific stereotypes or “labels” based on the stories we hear from others or social media. While it’s natural for this to happen, we should try to stray away from this. We must recognize the importance of developing our own perspectives and being open-minded, and remember there are two sides, if not more, to every story. We should teach our students this as well, and help them practice being open-minded and thoughtful learners. Her quote: “When we reject the single story, when we realize that there is never a single story about any place, we regain a kind of paradise” (The Danger of a Single Story, 2009), deeply resonated with me and is one I’ll hold on to for many years to come. 

Lastly, I found the Common Sense website to be a helpful resource, and was one I referenced repeatedly as I designed my digital leadership resource. Additionally, I enjoyed exploring the different tools on their site to help teach diversity and equality in the classroom. My hope this year, and during my future years of teaching, is to introduce my students to the Who Am I? Race Game. I felt this was a wonderful tool to teach my students about diversity, and help them  become comfortable asking questions about race, ethnicity, and other elements of identity in respectful ways (Villamagna, 2021). Unfortunately, I feel this instruction is lacking in many schools, and at times, avoided because of fear of disrespecting others. 

References: 

The Danger of a Single Story. (2009). TED. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en.

Villamagna, D. (2021, October 1). Who am I? Race Awareness Game. Common Sense Education. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/app/who-am-i-race-awareness-game.

The Danger of a Single Story. (2009). TED. Retrieved December 1, 2021, from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story?language=en.

 

1)     Until I started this course, I had never heard of the SAMR Model. In today’s classrooms, it’s near impossible to avoid technology. With the presence of COVID-19 and the necessity for distance learning, Education 3.0, Gerstein (2014) argues, drives the need for technology to assist communication, contribution, and collaboration (p. 1). You’d be hard-pressed to find a classroom that doesn’t provide Chromebooks or iPads for students to utilize to complete work. The emergence of smartphones and social media creates a paradigm shift that demands that educators think outside the box for how information is delivered and how students are expected to demonstrate understanding of their learning.

 

2)     I really resonated with our module on Constructivism. The video from Dr. Andy Johnson was incredibly informative and I really liked the analogy he provided about the filing cabinet. Learning is like keeping and arranging a filing cabinet. As learning happens, information is constructed, and each student must manage the information in this “filing cabinet” and students must organize this material to construct new and deeper understandings.

 

3)     I really enjoyed the “openness” of our learning. Having many of our assignments available on Google Drive was different for me. I was a little hesitant about having my documents available for each other to see, but then I realized that we’re all here to learn and grow together. I know when I was completing my unit, I saw some wonderful examples on our shared unit plan folder, and it was helpful to have these additional resources available to help guide my thinking.

 

References:

 

Common Sense Education. (2016, July 12). How to Apply the SAMR Model with Ruben

            Puentedura [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQTx2UQQvbU

 

Gerstein, J. (2014). SAMR as a Framework for Moving Towards Education 3.0.

Retrieved from https://usergeneratededucation.wordpress.com/2014/02/23/samr-as-a-framework-for-moving-towards-education-3-0/

 

Johnson, A. (2010, November 15). Constructivism [Video]. YouTube.

            https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELPsKhd9lWs&t=16s

Overall, this course was amazing. I have really enjoyed all assignments because they helped me think of a wide range of activities to incorporate into lessons to make them more engaging. It also helped me understand the value of different activities and how to use them to enhance the students' learning experiences. 

Sam Ciampa

One tool I found very useful was screen castify. Though I knew it was a website you could use to record your screen, I had never used it, or knew how to use it. I used screen castify to show my students how to make an avatar character. It was so easy to download into your computer ( I used the Chrome store, it’s free), turn on, and boom your students can see everything you have on your screen. It also records your voice so you can give directions. This is a tool I will 100% be using in my future classroom. It is especially useful for online learning, should we need to do that again. This will also save instructional time in the classroom, to leave more room for learning. I’m a visual learner so being able to provide my students with a visual of exactly how to do something on their computer is important to me. 

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/screencastify-screen-vide/mmeijimgabbpbgpdklnllpncmdofkcpn?hl=en  

The danger of a single story really stuck with me for so many reasons. Chimamanda Adichie is an affluent speaker, you can tell how passionate she is about this subject. I loved the grace she showed while talking about a hard subject. The story of her roommate who was surprised she could speak English so well, and thought she didn’t know how to use a stove, because she was from Nigeria. She realized this was her roommates single story of Africa.  Rather than getting mad and calling her roommate racist, she thought back into a time in her life where she identified Fide’s (a house boy that worked for her family) family, as just poor, because she only knew one story of his life. To handle something like this with calmness instead of frustration, shows just how educated she is. Rather than getting mad at her roommate and society, she became part of the solution. She creates literature now that shows more than just one story of Nigeria and its culture, and was able to make this TED talk so people all around the world can understand the danger of a single story. 

https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story 

My biggest takeaways were seeing firsthand the benefits of incorporating technology into the lessons and learning to collaborate more with colleagues. I think using tech helped deepen comprehension for the students but I learned how to use it to make my life easier. Not only did the tech provide differentiation and UDL for students, but for me, it made data collection more efficient. I had never used Google Forms before but moving forward this will be a regular way to give assessments or student surveys. Through the process of creating the unit, I learned that experienced teachers are the best resource for advice and insight. A goal moving forward is to maintain professional relationships developed over this term and to continue networking and collaborating with my colleagues and classmates. 

Another thing that I really enjoyed about this class was the Tic-Tac-Toe board. This activity was so much fun and it gave us the opportunity to choose what we wanted to do. This activity is something that I would like to use within my classroom to have the students take control of their learning. They will be able to have choice on what activities that they want to do and will be able to work on them in their own creative way! 

With that being said, one of my favorite videos from this class, was the TED talk from the tic-tac-toe board. The Danger of a Single Story, was absolutely eye-opening and should be something that educators should watch as well as older students, like in high school. It gives you another perspective on looking at people and concepts and although you think you may have an open-mind about things, I bet you that you don’t. I learned that I need to become better in my perspectives because of this Ted Talk. 

Another resource that I really enjoyed that I had discovered through the Digital Citizenship project was https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship . This resource has so many things that it is overwhelming, however it is SO HELPFUL. It has articles and resources for teachers and parents along with lesson plans that are already made to help you incorporate digital citizenship within your classroom! If you haven’t checked it out, I highly recommend it. 

On the other hand, I feel the most accomplished that I have at the end of any course so far.  The fact that I turned in a 50-something page unit of lesson plans seems unreal.  That is something I truly questioned whether or not I would be able to do.  I made many mistakes this term, but I learned a lot from all of them.  

Trudging through the end of this term was challenging and to be honest, it was discouraging.  I felt at the end that I was letting myself down by falling behind and still making mistakes.  Going back through my unit and final submissions I just kept thinking “why didn’t I do it this way earlier, so I wouldn’t have to go back and fix it”.  I’m trying to take those ideas and put them to action next term.  Now I understand the pace and demands of an intermediate course.  I have definitely picked up a few tips and tricks to making my life easier in the scope of the course as a whole.  

My favorite resource that I found regarding technology integration has been Common Sense Education.  This webpage inspired my digital literacy project, and is now one of many resources I have bookmarked to go back to in the coming years.  I just know that I will turn to Common Sense Education to help with lesson planning and resources in the future.

Common sense education. Common Sense Education | Digital Citizenship Curriculum & EdTech Reviews. (n.d.). Retrieved June 5, 2022, from https://www.commonsense.org/education/

 

It’s safe to say that looking at technology as a whole and its connection to teaching can be overwhelming. The SAMR model is a great tool to remind ourselves if what we are using is just another substitution for a tool or if it truly helps to redesign and help create new forms of collaboration. Ultimately, this is the goal for integrating technology tools and devices in the classroom. 

Finally, here are some resources that really stuck out to me this semester regarding how to approach social studies topics and how to safely integrate technology in the classroom:

Learning for Justice: 

https://www.learningforjustice.org/frameworks/teaching-hard-history/american-slavery/k-5-framework/introduction 

Interland:

https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us/interland. 

Annenberg Learner: 

https://www.learner.org/series/social-studies-in-action-a-methodology-workshop-k-5/assessing-students-learning/ 

National Council for the Social Studies:

https://www.socialstudies.org/position-statements/powerful-purposeful-pedagogy-elementary-school-social-studies 

Daring Classrooms Hub:

https://brenebrown.com/hubs/daring-classrooms-hub/ 

Tate

I am feeling very proud about having gotten this far and being almost done. This course helped me to reflect in new ways, blogging has become a way to vent about what happened during the week and move on. My classmates commenting on my post helped me to feel that I am not alone. Attending school online can really make me feel that I’m all alone and interacting with other classmates reminds me that everyone is in this together. Another big takeaway from this course was using technology for learning and not just for the sake of using technology. It was really great to see how my students thrived while using technology in a useful way. Another important takeaway from this course was the fact that although I am currently a special ed teacher, I can still utilize social studies material with my students. There are a lot of excellent readings I can do about topics that meet the NH social studies curriculum framework and having more knowledge about the SS curriculum is very important. Social studies is about so much more than I had thought and it covers so many wonderful topics that would be fun to explore with students in different ways while still relating to the student's special education goals. 

A resource that I really liked is the Ted Talks! I really look forward to watching those videos when I see them assigned in a course. I find them so incredibly well done and so knowledgeable for me. Some that stood out to me in the past are the one about a growth mindset, the one about invisible disabilities and treating others with compassion. In this class I watched one about Is my skin brown because I drank chocolate milk? And went over what it means to be color silent and how that can have a detrimental affect to society.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_TFaS3KW6s

Another great resource, especially for social studies is Time for Kids or Scholastic News articles. Often, these catalogs highlight current events and introduce them to kids in a fun engaging way that is also at their level. It contains words that are not too challenging and presented in a way that they can fully understand and comprehend the importance and how it relates to their life.

This course was challenging, harder to balance with a new job than I anticipated, but also rewarding. I learned a lot during this course and I have a lot of new knowledge to utilize as I continue to work towards my certification. 

This course has truly been amazing and has taught me so much. Personally, I think my biggest takeaway was learning about all of the technology that is available for educators to use in the classroom. Before taking this course, I was never introduced to Wixie, Seesaw, or even Google Classroom. When I initially found out that we had to incorporate technology into each one of our three unit lessons, I was worried because I only knew about Google programs (i.e., Google Slides, Google Jamboard, Google Docs, etc.) and had no idea that other programs existed for students to use. I am beyond grateful to have learned about other technology tools from my classmates and professor, and I cannot wait to use them in my future clinical courses and future classroom! While learning about these technology tools, I was also retaught about the SAMR model, which is basically a model that helps teachers decide whether or not a technology tool will be useful in the classroom. For example, at the substitution level, the technology may not be necessarily needed because it does not enhance, engage, or extend learning further. However, at the redefinition level, technology is totally necessary because it will enhance learning, engage students, and extend learning. With this being said, I learned how important it is for educators to examine the technology they will be using and to really reflect on whether or not they should be used in a lesson.

Another takeaway that relates with these new technology tools is using them and testing them out before students use them. If I had tested out Seesaw before having students use it in my lesson, then I would have been more familiar with the program and most likely would not have run into any problems on the day of my lesson. Basically, in this course I not only learned about these tools, but I also learned the importance of using and practicing them with students before the day of the lesson.

Moving forward, I also really enjoyed learning about the social studies standards and framework. I was never introduced to these standards before this course, so I am really grateful to have been exposed to these standards and apply them in my lessons. Since I want to be an elementary school teacher, it is imperative for me to know about the standards and be familiar with them, as well as know how to implement them. Not only was I introduced to the social studies standards, but I was also introduced to the art and technology standards, which I was unaware of until this course. Once again, it is imperative for me to be familiar with all standards because I will need to create lessons that focus on these standards.

Even further, I learned about digital leadership and the importance of teaching students to be kind and safe users online. This was super important to learn about because teachers should not expect students to already know how to be a digital leader online. Students should explicitly be taught how to be a leader. It was really beneficial to learn about the traits of a digital leader and to make a word cloud focused solely on digital leaders because it made the topic meaningful to me and it also made me realize how essential it is for students to be taught. Therefore, when I become a teacher, I will make sure to go over these qualities before letting students use technology because I want them to be safe, cautious, respectful, and kind when using technology.

Lastly, I have absolutely loved blogging throughout this course. This is something I want to take with me and continue to do even after the course ends. I think blogging is a great way for educators (and all people) to reflect on what they are learning about and also to share with others what they have learned. Blogging has also been a way to alleviate my stress throughout this term. In fact, blogging has been my favorite thing to do in this course! Like I said before, all educators should be exposed to blogs and try writing them because they may find that they love doing them more than they thought they would!

Here are some links that I would like to share and refer to in the future:

Sincerely, Hope

Sam Harvey

Adichie, C. N. (n.d.). The danger of a single story. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story | TED Talk. Retrieved March 10, 2023, from https://www.ted.com/talks/chimamanda_ngozi_adichie_the_danger_of_a_single_story/comments

Are your diversity strategies missing the mark? nine ways to get it right. Cult of Pedagogy. (2022, February 15). Retrieved March 10, 2023, from https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/diversity-strategies/

Daring Classrooms Hub. Brené Brown. (2022, March 30). Retrieved March 10, 2023, from https://brenebrown.com/hubs/daring-classrooms-hub/

One of the things I enjoyed about this course was learning about the different technologies my classmates used in their lessons. Since the district I work in isn’t very up-to-date with technology, I found this information to be especially valuable. I’m excited to explore all the different ways I can incorporate technology into my lessons and engage my students and help them learn and grow.

What’s more, as we learned about these different technologies, we got to use them ourselves. We used tools like Padlet, Jamboard, and choice boards to collaborate and learn from each other. It was a great experience and reminded me of the importance of sharing experiences and perspectives to help each other learn and grow. 

 

I find it hard sometimes to get out of my own mind as to what technology is and how it can be used.  I feel that we all tend to think about computers when we think about technology, but it is more than just computers and could be impactful if used properly.  I like how Miller (2020) pointed out that when integrating technology or other tools into a lesson plan it is useful to attempt to use the tool as if you were the student in different learning brackets.  We build lesson plans and try to build in different scenarios but to take the time to actual try to think like an advanced learner, the math minded individual, or the individual with reading trouble can bring a new and perhaps a very strategic perspective to the lesson to help with those students.  I feel like we are being taught a lot more how to help those who struggle or those who are ahead and may sometimes overlook the people who don’t necessarily fit into either group but tilt towards one or the other.  It is important to keep an open mind about our learners and the kind of thought processes they have as we build and teach a lesson and with the use of technology. 

 

I have truly learned a lot about social studies and how it is incorporated into a lesson.  I have learned that sometimes one subject can overlap with another in the classroom so students can work on two objectives at the same time.  Although social studies may not be “taught” in the younger grades, it may be there but in a different format or within the use of another subject such as reading.  The younger grades may have a reading assignment, but the assignment may be about something pertaining to social studies or even science.  

 

Overall, I also learned that I can still accomplish anything if I put my mind to it.  In my own mind, I knew from the beginning that this was probably going to be my worst graded class.  Social studies is a subject that I do not do well with but I also learned that it may have been because of the way I was taught.  After learning about different and creative ways to teach social studies and even different ideas of what social studies actually are, I realized it may not be so bad.  

 
References

Holmes, E. (2017, July 20). Are you a still a reflective practitioner? https://www.eteach.com/blog/are-you-a-still-a-reflective-practitioner

Miller, S. (2020). What Matters Most When You’re Evaluating Edtech Tools. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/what-matters-most-when-youre-evaluating-edtech-tools

Finally, I learned about the importance of reflection for teachers. It is only through looking back on what can be improved upon, as well as what is going well, that teachers are able to improve upon their skills. As teachers we are often very busy, which makes it difficult to find time to sit down and really reflect on our jobs but it is extremely important to do so. Through reflecting, we can become the best educators we can be. 

National Council for the Social Studies. (2017). Powerful, purposeful pedagogy in elementary school social studies. 

Kracl, C. (2012). Review or True? Using higher-level thinking questions in Social Studies instruction. 

A resource that I have enjoyed earning through is the Annenberg Learning modules. I got a lot from watching other educators in action and also from diving into the content that is provided. https://www.learner.org/   

I have learned so much from each person in this class, and am inspired by what they may have noticed or learned that I hadn't noticed originally. Kelsey mentions a good point about progression in lesson planning. I definitely need to work on this! She says, "....the order in which students need to learn things in addition to what they are going to learn." Moving forward, I will be spending more time on this as I see that I was too quick in developing a well-rounded unit. Practice makes progress!
-Jill