Teaching Independence

Becoming a facilitator of learning has been an eye opening experience. I did not realize how dependent students can become through a traditional approach to teaching. Students quickly learn that conforming to the expectations of their teachers and jumping through specified educational hoops that rely, for the most part, on the regurgitation of facts, results in being labelled a successful student. Carol Ann Tomlinson in her book, "Fulfilling the Promise of the Differentiated Classroom" suggests that "so long as we teach as though 'the students' were one student, we can get by with enabling student dependence." (p. 47) Students were understandably taken aback when I invited them to take charge of their own learning and to delve into tasks and topics at their own rate and capability. At first, many students were intimidated by the process and were unwilling to try a path that was outside of their comfort zones. It became apparent, very quickly, that independence needed to be taught. Students also needed to be convinced, through the scaffolding of tasks, that this new approach actually created more windows of learning and could help students become deeper thinkers and curious lifelong learners. Tomlinson also suggests "that students should develop autonomy as learners ought to be a primary goal of all classrooms from preschool onward. Failure to ensure that students become progressively more independent learners constitutes educational malpractice. (p.47) That statement really hit home and convinced me that I was on the right path in my hunt to become an increasingly effective teacher. Teaching independence is not an easy journey; it is a necessary one.

In School Planning Time: A Team Teaching Necessity

I have been very fortunate to be granted a significant amount of support to effectively teach in a 1:1 computing classroom. When I took on the 1:1 computer classroom challenge, I didn't realize just how necessary these supports are for delivering an effective learning program. However, as the year began, I realized just how critical a team approach is to effective 1:1 computing implementation. The core team consists of our division's digital learning consultant,(DLC) our school's differentiated instruction facilitor (DIF) and myself (the classroom teacher). During the first two weeks of school, the DLC played a prominent role in the classroom; instructing the students and myself how to use our classroom's wiki and how to use Moodle to access assignments in the different subject areas. Learning how to use Moodle to design instruction was foreign to me and for the first month, I was pretty overwhelmed. The DLC modelled the process for the first lesson and then, with guidance, I began creating my own lessons. At first I tried to create all of my lessons in all of the subject areas in Moodle which prooved to be a daunting and exhausting task. I decided to set a more reasonable goal of planning only the ELA units. The DIF has been an invaluable resource and has played a team teaching role in the preparation and the teaching of ELA. Along with scheduled after school planning time, the DIF and I have also been granted one afternoon a week, in school planning time, which has helped us create ELA units which authentically incorporate technology. This time is not only used for planning lessons that include a number of differentiation choices, but it is also time to create effective formative and summative assessments. Without this planning time I believe that the DIF would become a glorified EA when team teaching in the classroom.

The Document Camera: Wonderful Presentation Tool

I have discovered my newest favourite thing in the classroom... the document camera. Next to my mounted digital projector (a must in any 1:1 computing classroom) the document camera is quickly becoming a must have tool by both me and my students. Although we have only started using it two weeks ago, each day we are discovering new uses. The document camera has been used to display and analyze the text and focus on different text structures as a class. The drawing feature, where different text structures can be circled and highlighted is excellent for focusing students' attention. The document camera is also becoming invaluable as a presentation tool. Students are able to present hand made posters and diagrams to their grade 12 buddies using skype. The students are also finding it beneficial in math. Students use metacognition to explain their thinking to the class when they present how they solved a math problem. The ease at which the document camera can be used also needs to be noted. Setting it up for use takes moments. A substitute teacher even commented on how wonderful the document camera was during music class. He had asked a student to get an overhead and the student quickly responded that "you don't need an overhead, you need a document camera. Here let me show you." The substitute teacher was very impressed with the tool and the student.

Benefits of Online Collaboration Between Grades and Schools

My grade 5 class has had the opportunity to buddy with a grade 12 Biology class in the neighbouring town. The grade 12 class has access to a class set of netbooks so that the students have the opportunity to skype with their buddies and to journal with their buddy using a wiki on a regular basis. It has been a wonderful experience for the students to get to know another group of students who are a lot older and who, on the surface, do not share many apparent commonalities. Modelling was needed for both groups of students on how to use skype and how to journal effectively with someone you don't know. The students caught on very quickly to the technique of asking someone that you don't know questions that are open ended and that do not allow for a yes/no answer. To help structure the interaction of the two groups and to provide purpose for the students, we (grade 12 biology teacher and myself) met and linked outcomes between Biology 30 and grade 5 science. The students were working on a unit in plants and as a culminating activity the grade 5 students were to present photosynthesis in a digital format that could be presented during a skype session with the grade 12 students. I was amazed at the myriad of ways that the students came up with to effectively present the process of photosynthesis. Some of the ways were: a rap, drama, interview show, glogster poster, hand drawn poster and song. Each presentation show cased the students' multiple intelligence learning style well. Each morning we skyped for about 15 minutes where each grade 12 student had the opportunity of presenting a "Wonder Why?" based on biology and then 10 interesting biology trivia. The grade 5 students had the opportunity to ask questions based on the presentation. The grade 5 students took turns each day presenting on photosynthesis. The grade 12 students were expected to take notes and then had a quiz based on what they learned. The grade 12 teacher commented that the students in her class did very well on their photosynthesis quiz. It was fortunate that the grade 12 students were able to have access to netbooks over a six week period because it allowed for the connection between the students to be established. In fact, the power of the relationships created was very well illustrated when a student in my class who struggled in math mentioned to me that her grade 12 buddy (who is also female) commented that her favorite subject is math and how she wants to study to become a doctor. That comment from her grade 12 buddy affected my grade 5 student so much that she said that she didn't know that girls could be good at math and that she was going to try to concentrate during math and to do better. This side benefit of collaboration with an older student group is something that I didn't ever imagine happening.

E-portfolios: Beginning of a student's Academic Journey

November has been incredibly busy with report cards and student led conferences. I have done portfolios with my students in the past so that they could showcase their growth as learners. Because of the students' access to netbooks, I thought it would be worthwhile to create an e-portfolio that the students could add to as they progress through the grades. We decided to use Google docs to create the e-portfolios and I was amazed at how fast the students caught onto creating an organized online portfolio. Students were able to write about each piece of work that they selected and upload to the e-portfolio for viewing. They could also scan pieces of written work and then upload it. We didn't begin creating the e-portfolios until the third week in October which made it difficult for the students to be creative since the e-portfolios had to be completed by the beginning of November; in time for student led conferences. Although, I was apprehensive at first; not really knowing how student led conferences using e-portfolios would work, I was very pleased with the outcome. The classroom was set up into four stations. The students and parents started at a station with me where we could talk about how the year was going and any concerns the parents and students were having. After the brief discussion, the students invited their parent(s) to one of the stations that had a netbook. The students logged onto their e-portfolios and were able to present what they were doing. I was very impressed with the level of dialogue that was created between the parent and the child. The parents had a lot of questions and the students were able to answer the questions well. I was also impressed how the interviews flowed. Because of the stations and the students being in charge of the presentation, three groups could be presenting at one time. I became the facilitator who answered questions but remained on the sidelines, allowing the students to shine. At the end of the conference we gave the parents the opportunity to provide us with written feedback about their experience and thoughts about e-portfolios. From the comments, the parents were very pleased with the process and how excited the students were about their work. It was also interesting that parents were pleased to see that the students scanned some of their handwritten projects. It was apparent that some parents had difficulty letting go of the idea that learning can only take place using textbooks and looseleaf.

The Connection: Home and School

One of the exciting aspects of teaching using a 1:1 computing system is the new ways in which students are becoming connected to their learning. No longer does learning take place within the four walls of the classroom. Now, students can access the subject areas from anywhere that internet is available. Recently, one student was hospitalized for over a week and while she was recovering, she was able to complete all of her work. She even had the opportunity to stay in contact with her peers and myself through our wikispace. When she came back to school, she said that it really made a difference to be able to stay connected with what was happening in school. She never felt that she really was gone. The transition back to school was made a lot easier because of her ability to stay connected to the classroom and to be able to complete tasks in the different subject areas while she was away. Another student was gone from the classroom for a two week family holiday in Scotland. Again, the student's comment was that it was great to see what the class was doing while away and that it made coming back a lot less stressful. From home, students are also able to view when assignments are due on our wikispace and to preview our classroom schedule using google calendar. One student commented that he likes using google calendar from home because by viewing the daily and weekly schedule, it organizes his day and it makes him feel more prepared. Parents are beginning to also access our class's wikispace and they also like being connected to what the students are doing in school.

Substitute Teachers and the 1:1 Computing Classroom

I have recently been absent from my classroom and different substitutes have had the opportunity to experience a 1:1 computing environment. I am quite interested in the reactions of the substitutes who have come into the classroom. One substitute teacher did not feel comfortable using technology and altered the day plan to accomodate pen and paper. Another substitute felt that because the instructions for the different subject areas were explained sequentially and in detail in Moodle, then the students should be self sufficient and would not require monitoring. I am quickly understanding that substitutes in my classroom require advanced preparation apart from a written dayplan.

Another issue I am finding is that substitute teachers in our school division need to have usernames and passwords created for them before they can access our division's computers. This needs to be completed by our system's administrator and although it is an easy task, it takes time and if I am away suddenly it is difficult for me to orchestrate. Once the substitutes have a username and password they then need to be registered in Moodle and on Wikispaces. Again, this process takes time. Currently, I have given them access to my username and password so that they could access the sites needed to provide instruction for the students. I have not felt comfortable in providing this information; however, because of time constraints and not knowing who was coming into my classroom until the last minute, this appeared to be my only option.

To alleviate this problem, I have asked the administration if I could make a list of 4 substitutes who will be called on first to come into my classroom when I am away. I am planning to meet with these four substitutes and go over my expectations for them when facilitating tasks to be completed using the students' netbooks. The majority of substitutes have never had the opportunity to teach as facilitators and find it quite unnerving and definitely out of their comfort zones to teach in this way. By having four constant substitute choices, usernames and passwords can be created ahead of time and, through our advanced preparation meeting, substitue teachers will have time to practice logging onto Wikispaces and to Moodle to access the different subject areas.

Perfect Fit-- Technology and Differentiation

For the past few weeks I have been learning how to use the content management system, Moodle, to plan lessons in the different subject areas. Although it has been overwhelming at times planning lessons in a new way, it has also been very rewarding to see the opportunites that digital teaching has for all the students in the classroom. Digital teaching lends itself very well to differentiation and the possibilities on how it can be used to promote and to extend learning are endless. For each lesson in ELA that is planned in Moodle there is a section specified for differentiation. During today's lesson the students were expected to read a memoir and to create jot notes based on specified sections of the text. In order to ensure that all students met success during the activity, an option was given to listen to the memoir while tracking text. Students were then asked to create jot notes based on the information that they heard. I was particularly impressed with a student who was usually off task because reading was difficult for him. He suffered from low academic self esteem and was usually a class distraction because he was unable to complete his work independently. This option to listen to the memoir and then to create the jot notes allowed him to succeed at the task independently. His technological skills also helped him because he quickly discovered how splitting the screen could allow him to write his jot notes and to have access to the sound recording where he could replay sections of text. After the activity, he was very proud of his product and he commented numerous times how a teacher didn't have to remind him to get back to work. His academic self esteem increased today and it was due to digital learning.

Delivering Authentic Curriculum without Technology... Is it Possible???

I have been unpacking outcomes in the ELA curriculum and I am interested in how many times that technology and multimedia are mentioned in either the outcomes or the indicators. Using multimedia literacies is an expectation by the Department of Learning; it is not a choice. Because of the prevalence of technology in the curriculum,it makes me wonder how authentic curriculum can be delivered without extensive access to technology? I am extremely fortunate that I am part of a 1:1 computing classroom and have access to technology whenever it is required. Technology is a tool in our classroom and is used to enhance the lesson plan. Multimedia literacy skills are taught when there is a need and are based on a specific task or assignment that is, in turn, based on the particular subject outcomes. Multimedia literacy skills are never taught in isolation. Yet, if I was in a traditional classroom how could I manage to cover all the expected outcomes requiring multimedia when I am relegated to only a few hours a week in a computer lab? In a traditional classroom I also would not have time to teach and have the students practice the necessary skills to create a multimedia presentation or to compose texts and graphic representations. (CC5.2 indicator "h") Using multimedia literacies effectively in the classroom is extremely time consuming and definitely requires extensive access to technology like a 1:1 computing classroom allows.

Collaboration.... the possibilities!!

We are into the second week at school and I am starting to understand the tremendous possibilities that come with teaching in a 1:1 computing classroom. I am able to work with teachers and classrooms that I wouldn't have considered when teaching in a traditional classroom setting. For example, a partnership has been created with a grade 12 biology classroom that is in a community an hour away. We are working on a science unit focusing on plants where our grade 12 buddies will help us learn about the processes of photosynthesis and transpiration. The grade 12 buddies and their teacher are taking the role of "plant experts" and I am excited that my students will have a direct link for questions and to possibly delve deeper into a question through an inquiry approach. Multiple intelligences were used as a way of pairing grade 12 students with grade 5 students. I am particularly interested in observing the personal relationship that is established between the students. Will pairing the students based on their multiple intelligences help the students make a connection because they share common traits? I can already tell that we are going to learn a lot through this buddy experience and I can't wait for the students to be able to Skype each other and to begin building their relationships!!

MI in the Digital Classroom

It has been a very busy two weeks in the classroom. Along with technology and response to intervention strategies, a major focus this year is using multiple intelligences as a way for students to recognize their learning strengths and their preferred learning styles. Because of the age group of the students, I decided to use the idea of "learning smarts". After a brief introduction of the eight "learning smarts", the students completed an online multiple intelligence inventory where their top three multiple intelligence strengths were identified.
http://literacyworks.org/mi/assessment/findyourstrengths.html
The students were asked to reflect on their strengths in our classroom wiki and I was interested in the number of students who were surprised with the results. For example, students who thought they were people smart were actually self smart. This revelation made their need to work alone legitimized and took the pressure off of always feeling the need to be social. Using technology in the classroom is often collaborative and the students who were people smart immediately recognized their proclivity for working in groups and using technology as a tool for collaboration. Self smart students also recognized how technology could be used as an individual, reflective tool and were commenting on how they enjoy the ability to work on their own online journal. After recognizing their three top learning smarts, the students created bookmarks where the smarts were colour coded and then affixed to the table at each student's home station. The idea is to make it easy to make flexible groupings based on the students'learning smarts. For example, sometimes students will work in learning smart alike groups and sometimes in mixed learning smart groups depending on the activity.

First Day...Letting Go!

This has been the first time in many years that I have been nervous to start the first day of school. Not having students preassigned to tables or lockers was a bit unnerving and not knowing how students would react to the less structured environment also was a tad worrisome. However, the students adapted very well to the new environment. Response to Intervention (RTI) is also a school focus and I found the effort I made to de-clutter my classroom and to create an organized environment really suited the one to one computing environment. The students really liked the idea of sitting at tables and choosing where they sat based on their own individual needs. I was concerned that the groupings the students chose would not work because of the distraction of sitting with friends. This, however, was not the case. The students were very engaged in what we were doing and staying on task was not an issue. I was also very impressed with the speed the students were able to unpack their supplies and get ready to learn. Students have their own cubby where they keep their supplies. Not having desks has also alleviated the problem of students having easy access to a myriad of handy distractions. The students were very excited to be assigned their netbooks and all of the students were able to log on quite easily. To save time it really helped to have the computers pre-assigned to the students. It was also handy to have their usernames on hand for easy access for those students who forgot over the summer.
Planning for a one to one computing classroom is the area that I feel the most overwhelmed. Because of my lack of experience planning online I naively thought that I would be encorporating technology into my lessons slowly. However, I have quickly come to realize that in order to effectively and to authentically create a one to one computing classroom that I need organize my lessons online. This has meant for me learning to use a wikispace as the hub of my online classroom and learning to create lessons in Moodle. Organization and creating easy to follow pathways for students is key for a successful one to one computing classroom.

Setting up an Authentic Learning Environment

School starts in a week and I have been busy rearranging my room to accomodate a 1:1 digital learning environment. After meeting with our division's learning consultants and doing some online research, it becomes apparent that desks in rows will not work since working with technology is all about collaboration. After extensive internet searches, I did not happen upon a site that showed me the perfect 1:1 classroom set up. I realize that the perfect classroom does not exist; however, I was hoping to see a few models from elementary school classrooms from which I could glean ideas. Alas, I could not find that model. What I did find were computer classrooms (mainly at the college level) that were designed for collaboration. There were no desks in sight, only tables arranged in pods. The TEAL studio model became the model I followed. For more info., see Kirk Kezema's blog entitled "Out of Snooping Around comes TEALs Classroom Set Up Approach." (June 29, 2010) Thus, began my hunt for tables that would be conducive for learning pods. This was no easy task in a school where trapezoid tables and kidney tables are at a premium. I did manage to finagle the tables that I needed and arranged them in pods. Because one of my main goals this year is to teach using Gardner's multiple intelligences, I also wanted a table for each of the intelligences. In that way, students are free to move to different tables based on the subject and the intelligence that he or she wants to use. Flexibility and choice for students being key ingredients.

The Beginning of the Journey

WOW! It has been an exciting day. I received news that my classroom has been chosen as the one who will receive one to one computing. I have been teaching for over 18 years; however, I still feel like a rookie. There have been so many changes in education over the past few years. Gone are the days when the "one size fits all" strategy works in the classroom. The students we are teaching are extremely techno literate which makes me a bit trepidacious to embark on the journey of incorporating technology on such a high level. I have been reading the book: Brain Based Teaching in the Digital Age by Marilee Sprenger and what struck me is how the brains of students today are wired differently for technology. Technology for them is what a pencil is for me. In order to be an effective teacher in the 21st century one must "know the language, the programs and your students better. Knowing their world means being familiar with cyberspace, text messaging." (Sprenger 2010) This means that I'm going to have to let go of many of my previous teaching methods and to rewire my own thinking in the way that technology, as a tool, can be used throughout the subject areas. When I was first approached to be part of the digital literacy project my first thought was "will I have a paperless classroom." Is it possible/realistic to go paperless? How beneficial/detrimental is a paperless classroom to students' learning? So many questions. At this point I need to relax and realize that heading to a paperless classroom happens in baby steps and not all at once. As Gail Gregory once said during one of her online presentations, "The way you eat an elephant is not all at once but by one bite at a time."