EIM 505

The world we live in is ever changing. Technology and technological practices have changed drastically through the years. They quite literally change with every passing day. It is our job as educators to stay on top of the new trends and prepare our students for the world outside of school. One way to do this is by challenging them with technology use and being on the forefront of technological practices. One concept that is used in today’s classroom is deep learning. Deep learning goes beyond the worksheet and flash cards and challenges students to be creative and thought provoking. One of the aspects of deep learning is to, “discover and create digital learning tools and digital resources to explore new content (Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M., 2014). The idea that we as educators can use technology and technological advances to give our students the opportunity to achieve deep learning is a good one. Students deserve to be able to let their voice be heard through the work they do, and if we as educators teach this through different technologies, we will have prepared them as we should. Going forward on the classroom 

One of the first things you learn about in college in your teacher program is Blooms Taxonomy. This for good reason, Blooms lays out the road map for success in the classroom and engaging students in a higher order of thinking. What makes blooms so effective is the taxonomy has different levels, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation (Huitt, 2011). All these levels work in unison to ensure the education process for the student is well thought out and a higher level of achievement is found. The great part about this taxonomy is that technology can be used in every facet. Chromebooks and laptops are in every classroom these days. Some schools even have 3D printers in use. The possibilities are endless when it comes to technology used within the Blooms model to achieve higher learning. Good educators and principals will strive to use and encourage the use of blooms in order to give students the highest quality of education experience they can. 

Adoption process is a theory that impacts many parts of life not just education. However, it has a large impact on education process. There are 5 categories within the adoption process, innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards (Rogers, 1963). Innovators are people who may take risks or think outside the educational box of normalcy. Project based learning schools can be considered run by innovative staff due to the relatively new approach. Early adopters look to see success had by others before adopting. Early majority are open to new ideas but may be afraid to jump the gun on certain aspects of what is to be adopted. Late majority is characterized as skeptical with peer pressure needed to adopt (Rogers, 1963). Laggers find value in tradition and the old way of thinking, most likely not open to innovative practices or ideas. 

The adoption of curriculum, new tech policies, different styles of learning can be a scary on taking for administrators. These people are in charge and expected to give their students the best chance at a high quality education that balances the needs of the individual school. For the needs of the student to be met administration needs to be innovative or at least a part of the early majority. E-learning is one of categories under the technology umbrella that needs addressed, especially with the impact covid-19 had on our country. Administrators and developers who can find the best way to go about this will be highly valued in the educational community, because in most systems E-learning days are now built into the calendar. Another technological tool administrators may look it is gamification. This is simply the idea of allowing students in some school activities and content the opportunity to use video games as a learning tool. This is a great idea to engage learners and spark interest in subjects that may lack in student interest. 

 

 

References 

Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. 

London: Pearson. Retrieved from https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-

  dot-com/one-dot-com/global/Files/about-pearson/innovation/open-I                              deas/ARichSeamEnglish.pdf

Hobbs, R. (2011). Empowering learners with digital and media literacy. Knowledge Quest,

39(5), 12-17. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.  

Huitt, W. (2011). Bloom et al.'s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Educational 

Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved f            rom http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/bloom.pdf  

Rogers, E. M. (1963). The adoption process II. Journal of Cooperative Extension, 1(2), 69-

75. Retrieved from https://archives.joe.org/joe/1963summer/1963-2-a2.pdf  (

 

Theories of Critical Thinking

 

When students go to elementary or secondary school, typically, they are taught the who, the what, the when, and the where within a specific subject. Post-secondary work expands on those concepts and teaches the why.  Technology has unleashed learning of why. (Fullan, 2014, p.7) While my current position is not a teaching position, it is responsible for training post-secondary staff and faculty on specific software. Digital Citizenship, deep learning, and expanded learning styles are three ways this group can apply the knowledge learned and answer the why.

Digital Citizenship requires that people acquire new knowledge and skills to make wise and responsible decisions. (Hobbs 2011) This past semester, my office offered several workshops for end users to learn the curriculum software and to complete a hands-on activity. Each section of the software was analyzed, data was entered, and output was reviewed. If Bloom’s taxonomy terms were applied to this training, application, analysis, and syntheses would be included. (Huitt, 2011) This is the real potential of technology to affect learning- not to facilitate the delivery and consumption of knowledge, but to enable students to use their knowledge in the world. (Fullan, 2014, p. 16) The new or revised curriculum changes allow the faculty to teach the most current content to their students.

Kuhn (2008) stated the power of educational technology is making it easier for teachers to ensure depth and balance in their lessons. (p. 1) Within the training, one of the agenda items was to cover the impact of the curriculum changes to other departments. Reviewing a list of all majors, concentrations, and minors that would be affected by a small change within the curriculum ensures the end user will evaluate if the change is indeed needed or will promote the needed communication within the affected departments.

Roger’s (1963) relative advantage of a new idea is dependent upon how the learner perceives it and is willing to adopt it. (p. 70) Providing a training manual, a hands-on activity, and a PowerPoint allows for different learners to digest the curriculum software presented. If the end user learns the software, the process is streamlined, accurate, and consistent. In the end, success of technology is dependent on the one who drives it. 

References

Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep

learning. London: Pearson. Retrieved from https://www.pearson.com/content/dam/one-dot-com/one-dot-com/global/Files/about-pearson/innovation/open-ideas/ARichSeamEnglish.pdf

Huitt, W. (2011). Bloom et al.'s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Educational

Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University. Retrieved from  http://www.edpsycinteractive.org/topics/cognition/bloom.pdf

Hobbs, R. (2011). Empowering Learners with Digital and Media Literacy. Knowledge

Quest, 39(5), 12–17.

Kuhn, M. S. (2008). Connecting depth and balance in class. Learning & Leading with

Technology, 36(1), 18-21. Retrieved from Academic Search Premier database.

Rogers, E. M. (1963). The adoption process II. Journal of Cooperative Extension, 1(2),

69-75. Retrieved from https://archives.joe.org/joe/1963summer/1963-2-a2.pdf 

EIM 595 Critical Theories Post

 Technology in the classroom and digital literacy has become a hot topic of discussion in education circles as of late. One theory to help further that cause would be deep learning. This theory’s main idea encourages students to gain skills and knowledge to help them become better problem solvers in a technology ran world. Also, it speaks to their holistic health by desiring to bring out the good in themselves and in others by sharing their knowledge to improve mind, body, and soul. This speaks directly to the impact on students and their state of learning. If we can put students into a state of deep learning, they will be better prepared to succeed in the world upon graduation. Students will take skills in technology and digital literacy and apply them in their job. An elementary example would be taking data given to them, then using the data to create an online application that will fix the said problem. This effort to put students into a level of deep learning can be achieved by using Bloom’s Taxonomy to lead their learning. 

When speaking on Bloom’s Taxonomy in relation to students and coworkers, one tends to lead in a more negative trend and the latter a positive. In relation to the students, it is in a negative trend, this is shown through how we teach and discourse without students gaining knowledge on digital literacy and technology. Students cannot be routinely tested on simple vocabulary words. We should move them into the application phase by allowing them to work to solve problems within the technology space. Then, they can build into analysis and synthesis. Teachers are on the positive end of this by being able to choose the manner in which technology is presented and used within their classroom. 

Diffusion of Innovations translates to technology learning and digital literacy in the classroom in the terms of how information is gathered and delivered to students. First, innovators are summed up in the article as people who are okay with taking risks that could go good or bad when it comes to their farming. Coworkers and classmates can relate to this by taking risks in how we deliver information to our students. We can put them in situations in order to analyze different situations involving digital literacy and technology by giving them direct assignments that cater to both. Early adopters relate to this by getting administration on board as teachers take risks within the classroom. We need people that other teachers and central office personnel respect to give us a “stamp of approval” in these different projects. These projects will put students in different situations through allowing them to break away from a traditional textbook assignment, and use technology as their main tool for education. Early majority can be viewed as teachers that are within your teaching circle and will at least be open to the idea of discussing and tryin these technology based learning styles after they see a fellow teacher using these strategies. Late majority can be related to teachers that have a tougher time adapting and using technology in their classroom. Typically, physical education, traditional agriscience workshops, and any alternative classes have trouble and become hesitant after not finding many opportunities within their teaching to use technology or speak on digital literacy. These teachers can be brought around by seeing their school or district using these policies. Laggards are seen in this as teachers that are bound by older models of teaching and will not change unless forced to do so. 

Fullan, M. & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new pedagogies find deep learning. London: Pearson

Huitt, W. (2011). Bloom et al.'s taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Educational Psychology Interactive. Valdosta, GA: Valdosta State University.

Rogers, E. M. (1963). The adoption process II. Journal of Cooperative Extension, 1(2), 69-75.

Hailee Miradakis AVL

https://youtu.be/LfujQp5qTCs

PebbleGo is an early elementary-friendly database. Here, students can research animal, math and science topics. students can either type in their interest or click through categories. It has a read-aloud feature for all text on the screen, making it user-friendly for students who are not strong readers yet. This would be a great resource to use in my second grade classroom for a research project!

Nicholas Cook Home Improvement AVL

https://youtu.be/mLcTrcvWVEI

Home Improvement is the resource I chose to do my screencast on and the reason  I made Home Improvement was because of the inflation of Materials. The reading allows you to learn why prices are up or down.  Bill for materials required to build an average-size new single-family home increased by 42% from 2018 to 2022. The material continues to rise through the year causing the sale of homes to slow down.

Jean Hudson McQueen AL Demonstration

Jean Hudson-McQueen AVL Demonstration - YouTube

My video showed how to navigate through PBS Learning Media. I chose this resource because I have never used it before. PBS is a name that students are familiar with. I accessed this resource through the website http://www.avl.lib.al.us/. PBS Learning Media is a free resource for students. However, some of the activities require the parent, student, or teacher to sign up to access other parts. What is offered for free is excellent for students. PBS Learning Media delivers research-based, classroom-ready digital learning that engages students in exploring concepts aligned with national standards. This resource provides videos and interactive lessons in reading, math, science, social studies, and art. It is tailored for grades K-12. Students and parents can also find videos offered in five languages other than English.

 In my classroom I would use this resource with my struggling students, students needing remediation, and students that are just in search of further enrichment. I would encourage my ESL students to use this resource because it offers videos in five other languages. This would also be a great opportunity for my English-speaking students to click on the videos offered in other languages because they teach that language in the videos. What better way for us all to communicate than to take an interest in learning our neighbor's native language.

AVL Demonstration - Encyclopedia of Alabama (Megan Kreitlein)

AVL Demonstration - Encyclopedia of Alabama

As a fourth grade teacher, I am amazed at the wealth of information that teachers and students can access for free in the Encyclopedia of Alabama! The focus of this resource is basically every little detail about the state of Alabama from state symbols, to history, to the famous people who have been affiliated with the state in some way. This is perfect for fourth graders and above, because fourth graders learn state history. Shamefully, I must admit that before grad school, I didn't utilize the AVL in my classroom because I had no clue what was available. I have definitely shared the Encyclopedia of Alabama with my fourth grade team members, and my students have it bookmarked for easier access. My students will use this resource for projects, research, and more. 

Mary Harper AVL Presentation

 https://youtu.be/wczm1jEP3ZA

I used the Book Connections resource, which can be used in Elementary, Middle, and High School. There are even resources for students for homework help and homeschooling resources. Book Connections includes thousands of resources on thousands of books for all ages. There are fun games for students, author videos of book readings, audiobooks, author and illustrator interviews, book trailers, etc. This also has professional resources for teachers and librarians such as book clubs, library analysis, library programming, pre-made summer reading lists, reader's advisory, diverse books, and even professional exploration. You can search books, browse books, filter for different types of books. Basically this resource is a literary teacher's dream come true because it is all free! I will definitely be using this in my reading intervention classes, my English Language Arts Classroom, and of course as a future librarian. This resource is meant to help teachers and students foster the love of reading by providing free and useful resources on thousands of books. Book Connections has resources specific for librarians to use because it includes an entire section on library programming. Book Connections even includes help to pronounce author and illustrator names and a follow up game to help students pronounce their names, which is a blessing! Instead of using Youtube, TeacherTube, Audible this resource combines all great resources in a safe and secure space for educations and readers for free.

Alabama Virtual Library-Allison Williams

 https://watch.screencastify.com/v/yxy1FCEzUsmcUqFGlmpp

I have shared a video showing you all how to navigate through the Brittanica Learning Library.  This database includes access to fiction and nonfiction books in various subjects.  Students and teachers can use this site to read books online ot download them onto a device.  There is also a bookshelf in which you can categorize the book that you are interested in for future use.  This site also has a downloadale app which can be downloaded onto you device, such as a smartphone or tablet.  I plan to use the Brittanica Learning Library in my classroom this year.  It is a valuable tool for teachers and students!

AVL Screencast

 

https://youtu.be/Oo034a8uZNI

 

The Encyclopedia of Alabama is a free, online reference resource on Alabama’s history, culture, geography, and natural environment. The resource has a plethora of resources that would be able to be used in the 4-12^th grade classrooms. It would be recommended that students are old enough to navigate webpages but the resource is very user friendly. The categories that you will find in the encyclopedia are as follows: agriculture, arts & literature, business & industry, education, folk life, geography & environment, government & politics, history, peoples, religion, science & technology, and sports & recreation. There are even galleries and features on prominent things and people in Alabama. As a civics and geography teacher the options for this resource in my classroom are endless. It puts the research in one place for my students. Once you have clicked on a link within the encyclopedia to the right of the page there are external links that will allow you to dive deeper into whatever content you are exploring.

In my classroom I would use this to have students complete standard 4 in civics that reads as “Describe structures of state and local governments in the United States, including major Alabama offices and officeholders”. I would have students use the resource to look up the roles of the governor of Alabama. Then I would have them use the external links to pick either the current governor or an old governor and research whether or not they fulfilled those roles and policies that they enacted as governor. This resource would make a great addition to the civics and geography classroom but I could see it being used with different contents and grade levels of social studies.