Reflection

 The Final Blog

image source: erintegration.com

My views on technology in education have changed significantly since this last semester. I was very hesitant to incorporate technology within my classroom out of fear. I did not want to guide students in a direction that would not lead to learning. Since May I have taken four technology courses: Digital Literacy, Gaming in Education, Flipped Classroom, and Integrating Technology into Programming Services, and Instruction. These courses have taught and changed my relationship in the classroom with technology. 

Incorporating technology with digital citizenship and digital literacy and the tools to be successful have played a large part in redefining my role as a teacher. As I would say we are preparing students for careers that do not exist yet while navigating a lot of unknowns. What I do know is technology is here to stay and there is a safe and easy way of incorporating it into the classroom so every student is able to participate in 21st Century learning and build off 21st century skills.

I have become more open to using technology within the classroom because I learned about technology. As a millennial, it was easy to think that I just came with these skills, but as an adult learner, I was able to see how much deeper I needed to go to gain the skills and confidence to use technology within the classroom.  Since taking these courses I have incorporated more technology as I explored it. Some of my favorite blog posts reflected on my use of technology where I am and where I want to be. 

I was conflicted about taking technology classes to wrap up my master's degree because technology moves at such a rapid pace, however, I was misled. It wasn’t the technology tools themselves I was embarking on a journey with, it was more about understanding technology within the classroom.  Sure it's so cool to find tools that can apply to what you are teaching, but I lacked the foundational skills and knowledge that I needed in order to go past just using the apps. This course has taught me that technology isn’t just a 21st century skill, rather it is a life skill and I am grateful for being able to have learned how to navigate it. 

Moving forward I will be using more technology within my classroom. I will explore new things online that help boost engagement, foster a love for learning, differentiate instruction, and cater to 21st century learners. I will be more aware of content that I can present in a multi-facet way. And maybe, just maybe I will increase my online presence and boost my brand. #teachwithtech

Full disclosure: #teachwithtech does not exist because I don't have a Twitter or "X" account, I just wanted to be cool in my closing. Best of luck to all who enjoyed reading these blogs and watching me learn :)

Image source: American Institute of Research

Artificial Intelligence in Education

 

Artificial Intelligence in Education

image source: https://www.analyticsinsight.net/

Do I? 

I use artificial intelligence sparingly. Although I do rely on spell check, Suri, and Alexa at home. In the classroom, I have not yet explored much AI. We have used Canva template to guide different presentations and reports. I can see how AI is revolutionizing how we teach and learn. 

I have installed Grammarly on student Chromebooks to enhanced personal learning experiences.  This program helps my students and myself recognize spelling and grammar errors. We have also used an app called Paper, which helped students edit and revise writing pieces. Sorry to all my die-hard English teachers, I missed the boat on this one.

In the classroom apps such as Freckle have helped students in my class. It offers adaptive content within the learning continuum. This targeted practice can boost, help remediate and target a certain content area or standard.  Other apps also offer explicit content to help provide support and enrichment for those individual students. AI helps differentiate instruction. 

Some tools offer accessibility to students with impairments such as CoWriter. 

Many programs offer data-driven insights based on assignments which help guide instruction efficiently. Most of our curriculums such as Savvas, STEMscopes, and Google Classroom let me see data in real time. 

So Do I use AI?

I do. 

Let’s Explore!

The tool I chose to explore for this blog was ChatGPT. I saw a colleague help another adult learner write an essay for an anatomy class a few weeks ago. I have never cheated- I mean I have never used ChatGPT in any form before so I thought for the purpose of this blog, let’s give it a whirl! In fact I called that colleague to ask her what the application was called. She was very helpful in the sense she gave me the name of it and told me to be careful because often times students are flagged for plagiarism.  I would be lying if I didn’t say I tried to use it for this post. But let me explain first.

I went started by Googling “ChatGPT” and was surprised at how user-friendly it was. I typed in “Blog post in artificial intelligence in education,” and within seconds- seconds! I had a six-paragraph explanation that didn’t sound terrible, but it also didn’t sound like me. The terms and the wordage weren’t on point. 

I further selected the six-paragraph ChatGPT created blog and entered it into Grammarly to check for plagiarism. Fun fact, I had to do both steps twice so I could get an image to add to the blog. Are you surprised I got the same exact results both times? This was a big turn-off that it wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. 

Grammarly flagged “significant plagiarism” within the text. I wasn’t at all surprised because my friend had warned me about it. 

I think this would be frustrating as a high school English teacher, however, I am sure there is an AI program that detects this type of effort or lack thereof. 

Within the plagiarized, ChatGPT, I did find some information that I did use in this post. The headings were organized and were able to guide my thought process because I do use AI, I am just so used to using teaching tools that they don’t seem so taboo as something like ChatGPT. 

I think with all this research, I will stick to district approved resources.

Digital Tattoos and Data Mining

Digital Tattoos

Digital Tattoos are a digital image of a person and what people see of us. Digital footprints can disappear, however, a digital tattoo will never be removed. 

Defragmenting a computer removes all those continual copies that occur in the background. It organizes what you need frequently and access then eliminates what you do not need. It improves the performance of the system.  As Sherry Turkle from “Life on the Screen,” coined the phrase “Identi-frag,” which refers to the bits of information we share online, considering Turkle’s idea of “Identi-frag,” I can see how different people choose to share what they do on different platforms. This reminds me of defragmenting a computer because we intentionally organize our shared thoughts, ideas, and experiences based on the platform and audience. 

For example take for instance LinkedIn, a professional probably wouldn’t choose to share discriminating information, such as having tattoos or a bunch of children. Although the amount of tattoos or children one has should NOT, may I repeat should NOT influence an employer, it can. 

So the big question is what does my digital tattoo say about me? Let’s take a deeper look into Data Mining. 

Data Mining

Image source: Fandom

Personal Findings

Like most of my peers, I was able to see my published addresses, phone numbers, and my job title along with an image of myself (self chosen, thankfully). I also saw myself connected to some family members down to extended family, I saw my Pinterest and LinkedIn accounts. I was able to see what GoFundMe donations I’ve made along with the condolences I have left on obituary pages.  There were ancestry links to a person who shared my name in the past, of no relation. I was interested in finding another woman with my same name currently, probably a much more exciting search in my opinion.

I was not linked to old social media accounts such as MySpace, Facebook, TikTok, or Snapchat which wasn’t too surprising to me.  Although I have Pinterest and LinkedIn accounts. 

I cannot say I was concerned about the content on the internet about myself. It might be the lack of information online that was more concerning. As Nicole Zumpano states, “You should have a digital presence.”  I am not sure if I am interested in branding myself at this point, not because I am unwilling, but because I appreciate my privacy when it comes to social media. 

As you may know, I am also selective in what my friends and family can post about me and my children because I feel they have the right to share their stories and information in time. They may disown me because their online presence is limited, but my hope is that they know I love them enough to let them make those decisions or tattoos. 

Influences on my Digital Tattoo

Having started my career in 2009, the district I worked in laid down the law on social media accounts and privacy. I think as a teacher you can be held to a different standard than other careers. When I entered the profession there was a “teacher type.” With the passing of time things in the profession have changed and become more acceptable. I am happy the dress code has become a little more casual than professional. Teachers now can have visible piercings and tattoos.  I think the “teacher type,” has evolved into a “human type.” Are able to express themselves with respect to not influencing students. 

Data Mining and Students

With respect to the privacy of minors, I do not think data mining should be conducted at the level in which I teach. I can see this being beneficial to students in college who are concerned with their digital presence and what a simple Google search might be able to pull up. I would suggest to any teaching candidate that it is good to be aware of what is out there.  A small photo although harmless can be the reason another candidate gets a position. 

Interested?

6 Ways To Get Unfiltered Google Search Results

Access Your Learning!

Access Your Learning!

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

The Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework used by educators and employees to enhance learning and create an inclusive learning environment. The umbrella framework includes engagement, representation, action and expression. Because a typical classroom has diversity within students’ learning needs, it is important to incorporate differentiation techniques within the classroom when planning to accommodate students. In any quality delivery of a lesson, teachers must be responsive to the learners' needs. 

Currently, I have had the pleasure of working with students of all abilities. Many of the strategies and practices I implement are beneficial to all students. For example, in my district, we have a large population of ELL students, one way to cater to their needs is to implement the SIOP model for multilingual students. Providing paired picture vocabulary to add to our word wall, not only was beneficial to ELLs, but was also helpful to other students too. 

image source: Pearson- Always Learning

By far one of the best conferences I attended was by Rush University Medical Center on Executive Functioning. This conference was very helpful in meeting the needs of students who need assistance in using executive functioning skills in a classroom setting. Instructional practices targeted specific executive functions such as time management, following directions, organization, note taking, test prep, and goal setting. Although this targeted learning objective is helpful to neurodiverse students, it is also helpful to those who are not. 

image source: Brain Power Academy

Digital Accessibility

Digital accessibility refers to features that offer technology assistance for those who either have a disability or a preference for how they see, hear, use, and access their device. 

Neurodiversity Features

In researching accessibility features offered, aside from general accommodations such as larger print or a magnifier, virtual assistance, and speech to text, I stumbled upon neurodiversity features. Microsoft offers different features such as the ones listed below. 

Accessibility Tools for Neurodiversity offered by Microsoft:

Set up Windows to fit your needs Simplify the Start menu Clean up taskbar clutter Focus on a task by minimizing distractions Customize the taskbar	Improve reading comprehension and writing skills Enable text suggestions in Windows Download fluent fonts for easy reading Customize text spacing Use learning tools in OneNote Learn about Microsoft Translator Use Microsoft Editor to check grammar and more
Read without distractions and customize your reading experience Learn about Immersive Reader in Microsoft Edge Use Immersive Reader in Microsoft Edge Use Immersive Reader in Word Open Immersive Reader for Outlook Use Immersive Reader in PowerPoint Use Immersive Reader for OneNote Learn about Read aloud	Stay focused and organized Enhance your PowerPoint slides Never lose your work - Keep your Microsoft 365 files in OneDrive Organize things your way with the calendar board view Go paperless with Microsoft Lens Microsoft Lens for iOS Microsoft Lens for Android

These tools are not only helpful for me, but for students who struggle to stay focused. Vision, hearing, and other physical impairments tools can be beneficial to all students. 

Another feature or extension I like to use with all students including both ELLs, and students with disabilities is a program called Co-Writer. This program allows speech to text and it helps students who struggle with executive functioning skills within the area of thought organization. It helps students find the word with the word prediction feature.

CoWriter Screencast

Accessibility tools aren’t just for people with disabilities, these features can benefit anyone. Assistive technologies can come in all ranges from simple accessibility features on a computer to extensions that have technologies to help ease workloads, and I have not even gotten into AI!

Educational Technology Research & Statistics

 Educational Technology Research & Statistics

Image source: Edtopia

Reflective Practices

As John Dewy states “ We do not learn from experience, We learn from reflecting on experience.” Educators may argue that our job is half planning, preparation, and instuction, while the other half we reflect and analyze.  

The modern classroom consists of data-driven instruction. We present lessons and reflect on what worked, what didn’t work, and what we can do better next time. Making time for reflective practices is important. This circle of deliberation helps students grow and teachers refine their craft. 

Importance of Technology

Technology has become just as useful as a pencil in school. Teachers are finding ways to incorporate technology into engaging lessons. Furthermore, teachers are also finding resources within technology to meet the needs of 21st-century learners. 

Image source: Project Tomorrow Speak Up

It might not be surprising to most that teachers are seeking materials and resources to help improve their teaching and enhance their student learning. What is surprising is that this infographic displayed shows that just a little more than 50% of teachers are seeking information. Despite McCrindle research on how our students are a generation of “knowledge-seekers.”  I come from a heavy curriculum-based district. Our district spends months, and even years selecting a research-based curriculum to excel student learning and improve student growth…. However, as any good educator knows there are times when you need to supplement materials in order to meet the needs of diverse learners. This statistic surprises me because most of our staff is generally populated by Gen Z. These teachers have grown up with technology and have had more social outlet platforms than past generations by a landslide. From Instgram, TikTok, Facebook, PLNs, and more this population has always had access to ideas from across the globe. I would think that a greater percentage of teachers would be exploring more resources past their building or district. 

Using Technology

Image source: Project Tomorrow

Using technology in the classroom is a must in today’s day and age. We know that technology isn’t going anywhere and the skills needed to be proficient continue to rise.  The future stakeholders need to be able to analyze, create, and evaluate in order to continue the trajectory of the world. Although less than half of the teachers are participating in data driven instruction, the majority of teachers do not support student-led learning goals, use technology to differentiate instructors, or provide tools for students to collaborate across digital platforms. This is shocking! It makes me wonder if technology isn’t used to enhance learning goals, what are we using it for? Does this data reflect the digital divide? Is the use of a device a glorified word processor? Perhaps the new Enclopedia Brittanica? Does it serve as a portable gaming device? With digital tools available, how is this not best practice?

Watch, Play, Connect

It isn’t new news that the current and future generations spend a lot of time on devices. I myself have wondered if computer-based assignments were more harmful than helpful at times. I believe educators have to consider the focus of their lessons and see what kind of technology and medium is appropriate. We know students are outside of the classroom using their devices to watch videos, play games, and connect on social media.  Although students are spending time on devices at home, the purpose of technology use at school’s goal should be to learn. Watching videos, playing games, and connecting with classmates to collaborate are all different ways students engage with technology at school. Learning-based vs. entertainment based has two different purposes. 

As we reflect on our teaching and consider what is at stake, educators need to incorporate technology in a meaningful and purposeful way to establish the next generations of global citizens. 

Resources:

Kamal, J. (2020, August 11). Making time for reflective practice. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/making-time-reflective-practice/ 

Perceptions of gen alpha. McCrindle. (2024a, September 11). https://mccrindle.com.au/article/perceptions-of-gen-alpha/ 

SPEAK UP Data Findings - Project Tomorrow. Project Tomorrow - Preparing today’s students to be tomorrow’s innovators, leaders and engaged citizens. (2024, September 12). https://www.tomorrow.org/publications/speak-up-data-findings/ 

Spectrum enterprise overview. (n.d.). https://det.wi.gov/telecommunications/Shared%20Documents/SpectrumEnterprisePresentationforStateofWITelecomManagerMeeting11818.pdf