Virtual Schooling and 21f

As an elementary school teacher, we have experienced a dramatic shift in our curriculum and the use of technology in our classrooms. Specifically in lower elementary, kindergarten through second grade, our educational program is based on what the district calls "Blended Learning Model". The "Blended Learning Model" was implemented in the 2011-2012 school year with kindergarten classroom across the district. Each year the next grade level is required to implement the model. With this format, teachers are required to teach to small groups of students, no more than 6. While the teacher works with small groups, the rest of the class is completing tasks which include logging into individualized instruction tools via the iPad and MacBook. The purpose of this model is for the teacher to have the ability to differentiate student instruction. So far, the district has shown tremendous growth in test score and dramatic percentile gains when compared to districts across the country.

The district has has to purchase the technology to support the "Blended Learning Model". I am not sure how they plan to keep the technology updated and how it fits into the budget. Also, with these funds going to technology, what will no longer be funded?

Virtual Schooling Part II

Students choose virtual school for a number of reasons: flexible schedules, Advanced Placement courses, convenience, loss of credit, etc. Virtual school can vary between full-time online courses and blended courses, partially face-to-face and partially online. Students are able to complete all of their required courses online or have the ability to select just one or two online courses.

One of my myths has been busted, maybe. I’m still a little skeptical. One of my thoughts was that virtual learning would hinder children’s social development. According to NACOL, students not only complete assignments but also are able to socialize with their peers and adults at home and in the community.  However, this is typically for students taking only one or two courses online and additional courses in a traditional classroom setting.

Another myth that I found interesting was that online courses are not only for gifted and talented students. According to NACOL, online schools have worked well with at-risk, English Learners and special needs students. Again, having worked with these learners, I would have to see it to believe it. I can understand if these students are supplementing their instruction via virtual learning instead of completing full-time online learning courses.

Virtual Schooling

Lately, I have heard and seen many advertisements for K-12 online schooling. Being a teacher in a traditional classroom setting, I have to say I don't know much about online learning. 

When I graduated high school, in 2001, we did not have any type of virtual school or online learning within my school or school district. As a high school student, the extent of using technology in the classroom was to create PowerPoint presentations or type a document into Microsoft Word. 

What I imagine online learning looks like is students logging into a program, similar to BlackBoard, watching instructional videos, completing various tasks, and completing quizzes/tests. It seems to be a more feasible option for higher education and high school students, but I having a hard time imagining early elementary students, kindergarten through second grade, completing these tasks on their own. I feel that parents would have to be much more involved in their child's education. The responsibility of checking whether or not a student is logging in, completing tasks, etc. will fall onto the parents. Furthermore, I think it would take an extremely independent and motivated child to have the initiative and the responsibility of completing the tasks. 

In my school district, we have adopted the "Blended Learning Model" in all of our kindergarten and first grade classrooms. This means, each of our classrooms are equipped with iPads, MacBook Airs and an interactive whiteboard. Teachers are required to teach to small groups of students for a majority of the day. The students who are not working with the teacher are completing work independently and logging into the various online programs we have. Students receive online instruction from these various programs for about 60 minutes each day.

My fear for these young students who receive instruction solely online, is that their social development will lack. We already see elementary age students will their hands and eyes glued to their iPhones, Xbox, etc. When will they have the opportunity to develop social skills, work collaboratively with their peers, learn to share, experience conflicts and conflict resolution?

Wikis and Non-Vetted Sites

I personally use Wikipedia and YouTube on a weekly basis. Typically, when I am looking for information on a topic and google the subject, a Wikipedia page pops up. I like to use Wikipedia as a starting point when searching for information. I use YouTube periodically in my classroom to link videos to my instruction. When it comes to using it for instruction, its important to preview the video and to be sure that the information you are about to show your students is accurate and appropriate.

Since I teach kindergarten, its safe to say that my students do not use Wikipedia. My school district blocks students from searching YouTube for the sole reason that it cannot be filtered. I, as a teacher, am able to you YouTube as long as my computer is logged into my teacher account.

Building and Refining my PLN

The three blogs that I have selected are: Mrs. Willis Kindergarten, Miss Kindergarten, and Mrs. Jump's Class. I have been visiting these blogs since September via a teacher website (www.teacherspayteacher.com) as a resource for my kindergarten curriculum. Since my district does not support or offer any specific curriculum, I had to venture out to find resources to build my lessons. I have used hundred's of ideas from these blogs. I have also purchased several items from Mrs. Willis Kindergarten and Miss Kindergarten from their blogs. I follow these blogs because they not only are they relevant to education but specifically to kindergarten. Kindergarten is like a whole different world that many people don't understand. All of these bloggers post pictures of their classroom, student projects, and activities. These blogs are saving my life during my first year of teaching. It will be nice to be able to use the RSS reader to tag blogs that I already follow and to help me find new ones!

The five people I selected to follow on Twitter are: @kinderlessons, @LMKindergarten, @kindergartentip, @KreativeinKinder, and @KdgWorks. I found many of the tweets and links these people have posts both interesting and beneficial. I will continue to follow them and search for more people within K-12 education.

To be honest, although these tools are helpful, I haven't used them very much. Mainly because we have used so many new tools in such a short amount of time, I haven't really had time to fully USE the tools. From what we have used so far, I do enjoy the RSS reader. It's a nice way to organize the blogs I follow. I like that the blogs can be categorized so I can separate personal blogs from professional blogs. The tool I feel that I will use the least is Twitter. I am not a fan of the constant updates of social media, I find it to be a bit overwhelming.

SAMR Model

I teach all subjects of all-day kindergarten. After reading about the SAMR Model, I realized how the resources and technology that I have in my classroom applies to each of the categories.

SAMR Definitions and Classroom Examples:
Substitution- Computer technology replaces traditional methods but does not change the function of the task. Using an Elmo to project a paper activity onto the whiteboard.

Augmentation- Computer technology substitutes a tool and provides functional improvement. During reading centers, my students use a program, Raz-Kids, to listen to and practice reading.

Modification- Computer technology enhances and redesigns traditional classroom tasks. The program, Raz-Kids, allows my students to record themselves reading a book. I am able to login to the teacher dashboard and listen to, save, and email their reading to parents.

Redefinition- Computer technology that creates new tasks that was previously inconceivable. My students use a program, eSpark, and follow a personalized educational plan in reading and math. They are assigned apps to play and videos to watch based on an adaptive computerized test administered. Once students complete a pre-test, watch the videos, complete the apps, and pass the post-test, they must record a re-teaching video. I am able to login to the teacher dashboard to view, save, and email their recordings to parents.

Teaching Generation Z

During an undergraduate course, I had been introduced to Prensky and his views of "Digital Natives" and "Digital Immigrants". To be honest, at the time, I did not give the idea much thought until I began my student teaching in a kindergarten classroom and especially now as a kindergarten teacher. My students amaze me everyday with their knowledge and capabilities with the use of technology. In my classroom, my students have access to 6 iPads and 6 MacBooks and an interactive whiteboard everyday, all day. Not only do I teach my students as a whole class, in a small group, and one-on-one, but my students are also able to play educational "games" that reinforce what I have taught.

Although I am technically a "Digital Immigrant", I do not agree with, as Prensky states, "the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language". That does not mean that as a "Digital Immigrant", we cannot learn and master new technology to teach a new generation. I believe that the biggest challenge in learning new ways of doing things, is a person's attitude. If you are willing to learn, you can!

Not all that has been taught in school and the way it was taught is irrelevant. It is my job as an educator to plan my instruction around my students' needs and teach in a way that is effective and engaging for them. It is my job to prepare them for high school, college and the workforce.

The most important lesson we can teach the next generation is, to think!