Reflection

                This class has been by far the most interesting in my graduate work. I think that mainly has to do with the members of the class and the interactions that we were able to have with one another. I think we can all agree that technology integration is the future of education but we can also agree that the future is going to be tough for education as well. From authorized use policies to BYOD policies it will never be 100% perfect. That is one thing that I learned in this class. No matter how much we think we have covered in our policies there is always going to be some new technology or other new thing that will cause us to have to change our policies and other documents. One of the things that I had already known was that a BYOD policy has many constraints. The past few years my district had been working on a possible BYOD policy for the district. It was made apparent in the discussions that a BYOD policy was out of the realm of possibility for our district. I still like the idea of a BYOD policy though at the high school level. Jeni, Christine and I all agree that preparing our students for college at the high school level is important and a BYOD policy helps with that preparation. We also spent a lot of time as a district looking at Chromebooks which lent itself to this class as well. 

                As a district we are getting more and more Chromebooks so that students can be using them on a more regular basis. I already knew how to create a Google Form but had not used them in an educational setting. Now I am using them for more than just education. I am creating forms for friends that need them for other things outside of education. I am able to incorporate the technology and skills into everything even outside of education. I can now create a form for interviews as well as asking students about past experiences without having answers all over the place. The best thing about forms is that it organizes the responses for you without extra effort which means analyzing the data becomes easier as well. The analysis is the important part of the educational process so that teachers can reflect. The reflection will help perfect the integration. 

                Technology integration is not going away in education. Since it is not going anywhere there has to be an understanding by teachers as well as by administration about the technology and the use of it in education. Professional Development is the best way for teachers to learn how to use the technology in an educational manner. Using that information and the ability to schedule that professional development to the advantage of the district to improve the teacher understanding of technology. It will be difficult to stay in front of the technology but it is important to try. If teachers understand the technology then their students will reap the benefits. 

BYOD - Is Banning a solution?

                            Bring your own device policies bring a number of great things to the classroom as well as a number of challenges. Schools need to make sure that all these things are considered before implementing a BYOD policy in their school. The following are just a few of the items that need to be considered in the policy. 

PROS:

• Students are able to bring their own technology into the classroom
• Students are able to experience a wide variety of technology
• Schools can save money on technology
• Assignments for students are on their own devices which could help completion rates

CONS: 

• Teachers may not be able to help students if their are issues with the technology
• Not all students may be able to afford technology
• Teachers may not know what software the students have available on their technology
• Schools may not have the infrastructure for the connections of all the devices

          I personally do not mind the idea of a BYOD policy. I teach in a high school and one of our goals is for our students to be ready to go on to the next stage of their life, which in many cases is college. In college it is a BYOD environment in many places. Students need to be able to use their technology in a safe manner. They may not be able to use the technology in their classrooms in college but there are many times where an assignment or lecture is online and being able to use the technology is important to their grade. 

        Fang writes, “Many students expressed a strong preference to bring laptops into their classrooms so that they could take notes (2009).” This is a prime example of part of our job at the high school. We are preparing students to be able to use the technology outside of the classroom. By allowing students to learn how to use the technology in school students are allowed to learn the technology in a safe and secure environment where making a mistake is okay (Fingal, 2012). I think in order to fully prepare our students for the world outside the classroom a variety of technologies and learning experiences should be our goal and a BYOD policy allows for this to happen.

 

Fang, B. (2009, December 22). From Distraction to Engagement: Wireless Devices in the Classroom. Retrieved from EDU Cause: http://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/from-distraction-to-engagement-wireless-devices-in-the-classroom

Fingal, D. (2012). Is BYOD the Answer to Our Problems or the Worst Idea Ever? Learning & Leading with Technology, 5 - 7.

Bloom's and Technology - A new vision

               Bloom's has been a big part of education for many years. In recent years technology has become a much more prevalent aspect of education. Combining Bloom's and technology is only a natural progression for education. In the image above you can see how Bloom's traditional triangle look at education has been blended with technology options. Teachers can use the image above to find applications that can be used in the classroom and fulfill Bloom's. For each of the following classroom configurations there are challenges as well as advantages that must be recognized. 

One Computer and Projector: 
            Having only one computer lends itself to certain educational opportunities but can be challenging in the same class. Having one computer you can watch videos as a class or Skype with professionals with the entire class theoretically but individual activities can pose a challenge. If teachers would like to have an individual activity for students there are a couple of options that can be put into play. The students could have a non technology aspect to the activity that is being worked on while individual groups of students rotate to different stations. One of those stations can incorporate the computer. By using stations the students stay actively involved and all students will see the technology. The students could also share the computer and pass the computer around. One of my dreams is to have a computer that is also a touchable tablet that I can hook up to a projector using Bluetooth. This would allow me to pass the tablet around so that different students can use the technology throughout the class. 

10 computers or i Macs:
             Personally I would go with just normal PCs but that I suppose is a personal opinion. The great thing about having just a small group of computers is that students are forced to work cooperatively when using the technology. By having just those few computers in the classroom you can also set up a version of stations for the students. Multiple students can be on the computers and then rotate out throughout the class. Teachers can also have small groups working on different projects in the same area. If teachers are worried about each student getting to use the technology then teachers could assign roles to students with the groups so that each student had a responsibility within their group project. The teacher would have to pay attention that the students were completing the assigned piece of the project and that another student is not monopolizing the technology. 

25 Chromebooks (COW)/ i Macs or computers:
        I think that this option as well as the next option are my personal favorites. These options are so similar that I am going to group them together in this case. Having enough computers for every or almost every student in the classroom leads itself to incorporating technology on a regular basis. Students can be given all different assignments to work on and teachers do not have to worry about copying of projects. This also allows for the ability for students to all be working on the same project on a (google sheets or docs) without having to share the computers. Students can also play one another on certain sites while practicing skills. It is important in this situation the teacher is very aware of  what the students are doing while on the computers. With all students having a computer it becomes easily overlooked that not all students are focused on the assigned task. This can be remedied if all students are required to keep their computers facing one way as well as making sure that the activities or projects assigned do not allow for down time. 

BYOD:
          Although an interesting idea this one poses the most issues for teachers. Not only will students all have different types of technology but they will also have different types of software access on their device. Having their own device opens the door for games and other distracting apps to be loaded on to the device without the teachers knowledge. It also can cause issues with connection at the school itself since the teacher cannot set-up the devices for the students before hand. However each student being able to bring their technology home to work on activities outside of the classroom opens the door for blogger style apps that can begin conversations outside of school and can be looked at at school the following day. 

Data Assessment

               When doing the data organization there were a few things that I was hoping to put into the table. As a teacher I wanted to see the correct answer as well as what each individual student answered. I also wanted to know how each student actually scored percentage wise as well as the percent of students who got the correct answer when taking the quiz.  By having all this information it gives the teacher options for grouping the students. The teacher can look at the individual students or at the individual questions. With having the topics for the questions the teacher can also look at how they are related and other options for teaching the information. 
                 When I created the table I added a few color coding items to help identify the correct and incorrect answers. If the teacher were to give the same quiz and change the student answers in the table the color would change accordingly. If the answer entered matches the correct answer at the top of each column the the letter will turn blue and the box background will turn green. If the answer entered is anything else then the letter will turn red and the box background will turn light red. By not only coloring the letter but also the background the correct and incorrect answers really stand out against the rest of the table. Unfortunately there was not easy way to calculate the percentages fro the students and questions but I also took a moment to format these so that if the percentage was a 60% or better the color of the background changed to purple and below 60% turned bright red. 
                 This information could not only be used to create groups for the students but it can also be a starting point for conversations with the technology integrator. There can be a conversation about the topics that might need more attention and how the teacher can integrate technology into that lesson. The teacher can also start a discussion with their students. The conversation could take place through something like blogger, where the students could comment about what they found difficult in the different topics. This conversation could also help the teacher make groups for the students. 

ANALYSIS: 
        When looking at the grid there were a few things that stood out to me as a teacher. There are certain questions that all students seemed to struggle on and there were questions that all the students did very well with. There were also students that overall did well with the quiz as well as the other end of the spectrum. It is important to look at both of these trends when analyzing the data. There are a few things that can be taken from this information. I personally would have liked to have seen the options for the students so we could also analyze what the choices were and if there was something in the answers as well as if there was a common mistake in the thought process of students. 
            From the information we did have it was clear that questions 3, 4, 5, and 6 could really use some review. Why that review needs to take place in up for discussion but a teacher could have students work at stations that focus on these four questions. Students could spend a day or more rotating through different activities that focus on these four topics. This would allow students to get the review needed with some variety. If after the next version of this is given there are still issues then the questions should be reviewed carefully as well as some more one-on-one look at the students who are still struggling. 
            When grouping students I would pair students based on their grades. There are 6 students who you would really like to see improve and 6 students that received at least a 70%. It would be interesting to group students so that the students are working to tutor students who are struggling. This would have to be done at a higher level where students have the maturity to do this activity. Otherwise grouping students by their performance may be more difficult. You could group students into the two groups and work with the lower group on the material while the other group works on some enrichment material for the same topics. 

Data Assessment

This is my Prezi... Been having difficulty with the audio but when I get it working I will replace the link if need be. SORRY!

http://prezi.com/gbiwu9qhyz0t/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Technology Survey

TPACK

TPACK

            TPACK (Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge) is a “framework that identifies the knowledge teachers need to teach effectively with technology (Koehler, 2012).” There are three main pieces that come into play content, pedagogy, and technology. Where these three main concepts come together is where TPACK originates from. The major thing to keep in mind about TPACK is that for each teacher TPACK looks differently. Each teacher must incorporate the three main pieces of TPACK in a way that works for their classroom and the subject matter that the teachers is working with (Koehler, 2012).

            The fact that TPACK looks different for each teacher makes TPACK difficult to work with for teachers. First, teachers have to work with the technology available and that can sometimes be little or no technology. Teachers also have to be able to take into consideration what technology is available outside of the classroom. Some students may not have access to the internet at home but may have a study at the school to access the internet. Other obstacles for the teacher may be a lack of knowledge as to the resources available to them and the unfamiliarity with technology in general. Teachers also battle the ability to effectively integrate the technology. One important thing about TPACK is that it is incorporated to make the educational experience better for the student. This means that the technology is not incorporated for the sake of incorporation.

In terms of the options from Instructional Planning Activity Types as Vehicles for Curriculum-Based TPACK Development, many of the options are options that can be used in multiple curriculums and in multiples ways (Harris & Hofer, 2009). The main thing to keep in mind again is that the incorporation of technology is in a meaningful and effective manner. These options need to be addressed in an individual manner. The teacher needs to ask themselves the expectations of the technology for themselves as well as what the expectations are in terms of their students. When the technology is incorporated in a meaningful way then everyone benefits.

References

Harris, J., & Hofer, M. (2009). Instructional Planning Activity Types as Vehicles for Curriculum-Based TPACK Development. Research Highlights in Techology and Teacher Education 2009, 99-108.

Koehler, M. J. (2012, November 22). What is TPACK? Retrieved from TPACK.org: http://www.matt-koehler.com/tpack/privacy-policy/