When I think of a flight path, I think speed. My path has really been more of a slow trek, as the metaphor of “base camp” on my homepage implies. It has taken me a long time and many detours to be where I am right now. But it feels like I am in just the place I ought to be. After twenty odd years of teaching intermediate students and raising two children I felt ready for an intellectual challenge. I started thinking about what I really wanted to learn about and what I already spent my free time investigating. I googled educational technology and voila! I could hardly believe my luck that the MET course existed. Little did I know how much I would actually enjoy the courses. I first took the theory courses, thinking that I could get them out of the way. I did so, but I realized later I was also grateful to have the theoretical underpinnings under my belt before delving more deeply into online programs and platforms.
What I would like to learn about Learning Management Systems is how to compare them to one another and find one that meets my needs. I’m beginning to realize already that there is no perfect program. It reminds me of a home. There is no perfect home, but if you start with a good one you can make it your own over time and be perfectly happy there. I would like to know if LMSs are designed for particular uses or age groups specifically. Can they be combined with websites, or do they stand alone? What will happen if I invest my time in one and then the province adopts a new Student Information System to replace BCESIS (which I have been told today at my district technology committee meeting isn’t likely until around 2015!)? Will it be easy for me to adjust? How much time do these systems require for maintenance and how successful are they for informing parents and increasing student achievement at the elementary level?
As for assessment, as part of a project in ETEC510 I co-authored a wiki page about assessment in the 21st century. My partner, Kara Crowley and I found that there will be pressure to change how we assess children, for example increasing summative assessment, so that creativity is not stifled by red-lined test results. Assessments will be more often and shorter. Performance and self knowledge will be refined over time, rather than focusing on products as much. Students will be assessed before and during learning so that feedback may be provided that can be used to improve work and deepen understanding. In addition to quizzes, tests and worksheets, conferences, notes, self-reflection, journals and rubrics and checklists will be used. Students will be encouraged to assess themselves and their peers to enhance engagement and awareness of their own learning. I’m pretty comfortable now with what needs to be changed about my assessments, and I am currently working toward those changes, especially taking the time to write more indepth comments on work.
What I would like to know about social software are the forms it takes that are relevant to education or students, that have real impact in their lives. For example I am fairly familiar with wikis, thanks to ETEC510, and blogs (I am quite skilled at starting blogs, keeping up with them, not so much). Having two teenage kids in the house has exposed me to texting, instagram, twitter, itunes (not sure if that counts as social software or not) and online social video games. I can see how important these tools are to my children because they spend a great deal of time using them. I have also seen the inherent dangers in their use. Making impulsive comments, especially negative ones, can have serious consequences. Cyberbullying is rampant, at least it was in the middle school I worked in for seven years. I was dealing with cyberbullying on a weekly basis. I am therefore quite leery thus far about incorporating their use in the classroom. Firstly, many of my students now (10, 11) are a bit young for many of these platforms and there will be plenty of time for that later. Secondly, as young people have so few rites of passage, it seems unkind to try to take away their precious social connections, or appropriate their use. My daughter calls it “creeping”. It’s like asking kids to come to school on Saturday. It just feels weird and wrong. Is there a way to use social media that does not create these scenarios for my students? Some seem to work better in classrooms, such as blogging, but how do you ensure comments are managed carefully? It’s a big responsibility.
What multimedia tools are available, other than Powerpoint, Prezi, and webquests? What are their applications in the classroom? Is there anything more user friendly than Powerpoint? It works very well for my students. It’s easy, there are many ways to individualize it and they are really confident with it.
The resources I may need to master these technologies are 1. Time (which I have but it never seems to be quite enough) 2. A decent computer (thank goodness I made this investment before I started in this program) 3. Technical support from my peers, teacher and IT people (very reliable so far) 4. exemplars of all of the above (the worst way to learn to play tennis is with a crummy racquet).
I’m very excited about this journey! It really feels like a climb, and I must remember to keep in contact with my family, who are only in the next room but can seem a million miles away when I get involved in learning through play.
Crowley, K. & Irvine, C. (2013). Assessment tools in a 21st century learning classroom. http://etec.ctlt.ubc.ca/510wiki/Assessment_tools_in_a_21st_Century_classroom#Goals_of_21st_century_assessments
Intel(2010). Intel Teach Elements: Assessment in 21st century classrooms. Santa Clara, CA.:Intel. Retrieved Feb. 10, 2013 fromhttp://www.intel.com/education/video/assess/content.htm))