Category: Assignment 1

I am starting with an image created by Will Lion, since the image of drinking from a fire hydrant resonated with several people.  I worry that the class was trying to drink from a fire hydrant during my presentation, since I felt like I was talking a hundred miles an hour!

Two years ago, when I started the T-L diploma program I was all about the books.  I was so happy to have an excuse to read all the children’s literature and YA books I wanted.  Then, as I took classes, I got excited about the unit planning and collaborative aspect of the job.  Now, I recognize the importance of technology in our job, and the need for the librarian to be an advocate for ICT.  I am trying to be a leader in my school, although I am still a classroom teacher.  I volunteered to be tech liason, and have been trying to integrate some technology into learning activities.  I even set up a padlet for teachers to share ideas for our whole school performance of the Jungle Book next year, and am happy to see that some have started using it!

I was very much looking forward to this course, thinking I would find new apps and web tools… I mean web resources to use with my class.  Having finished the first week I see that I will learn some of that, but I will also come away from this class with a much deeper understanding of the theory behind ICT use in schools.  I struggled with the volume of theories, terms, and content that the class was generating (fire hydrant) and felt that I wasn’t getting a good understanding of anything (trying to drink).   I am the kind of person who wants to understand and learn everything, but I was leaving class with more questions than answers.  I know this is good because I have so much I want to learn, but exhausting because I know I don’t have the time to learn it all now.

After a minor meltdown last night (my husband is a good listener!) I have decided to focus on what speaks to me.  I’ve started a spreadsheet where I am keeping topics and questions I would like to find out more about, and know that I can come back to this list.  Meanwhile, I will choose one thing from each class to investigate and write about in my blog.  This will hopefully make learning manageable for the next two weeks, and create a bank of potential topics to research in the future.

I found an article today when we were researching the many facets of ICT teaching that I really connected with.  The premise of the article is that technology is not being used effectively in classrooms.  Bowman argues many that teachers feel that technology is an add on, something else they have to teach (technology education), when instead we should be looking at technology as a tool to help us teach better (technology integration).  He provides several bad examples of technology in classrooms and several ideas for good use of technology.  He also stresses the importance of teachers being trained with the skills to use technology (relatively easy) and professional development for how to integrate technology (harder).

The dichotomy between teaching technology skills and using technology for meaningful curricular activities reminds me of a discussion that has been happening at my school.  We have a fine arts focus, and students currently receive one hour of instruction per week in each of the four disciplines (music, drama, dance, visual art).  As a staff, we have had discussions about our vision and how we want to grow.  Some teachers are very committed to the four disciplines being taught explicitly, so students have the appropriate skills and vocabulary.  Others are more in favour of an integrated approach, where learning activities are planned which enhance students’ understanding of both the academic curriculum and the arts.  While I understand the need for explicit instruction, I am more on the side of integration, mostly because of the time constraints.  With four hours of the school week taken up with the arts, it can sometimes be a challenge to fit everything you want to do into the schedule.  If I can integrate the arts in a meaningful way with curriculum, then I think that is the best use of time, but it does require some confidence and proficiency on the part of the teacher.

Teaching with technology also requires confidence and proficiency from the teacher, although I think there is plenty of room for teachers to learn alongside students.  I believe technology shouldn’t be an add on.  It should be used for meaningful activities, that couldn’t be done without technology, or at least are done much better with technology.  Playing with a magnet letter app on the iPad… fun, but students aren’t gaining anything that they wouldn’t get from playing with real magnet letters.  Using a voice recording app on the iPad to record students reading in first term, then reading the same book in second term, and having them reflect on their own progress… much more meaningful and not possible without technology.

After Jenny’s email tonight, I did a little searching to find a reference for personal learning networks.  This article is about the role of Twitter in personal learning networks.  I thought this was timely, since we will be looking at Twitter tomorrow.

The author states this definition:” A PLN is an informal learning network of people you connect with for the specific purpose of learning, based on reciprocity and a level of trust that each party is actively seeking value added information for the other.”  That definition causes me to reconsider my own personal learning network.  I am not sharing information with any of the people I follow, there is no reciprocity.  What have I created then with my RSS followings?  I feel connected to these professionals, but the flow of information is one way only.  I don’t know that I have any ideas to share with these people who I view as experts.  I think I need to do some more reading about PLNs and reflect on what it means to me.

I am not really a sporty girl (I’m much more comfortable with books than anything athletic) but I’m going to give the metaphor a try:

I feel like a tennis player practicing with a ball machine.  New terms and ideas are coming at me rapid fire, and I have to be on my toes ready to switch direction when a new one presents itself.  I am switching between tabs, apps, and devices as fast as I can; opening links, adding new blogs to my RSS reader, jotting down questions and ideas for blog posts and future projects.  My mind is going a hundred kilometres an hour, but I know I am good at this school “thing”.  I am on my game!

The connected self was not a term I had heard before today, but I liked the three facets of cognitive dimension, cultural dimension, and technological dimension.  I think it is easy to get caught up in the technological dimension (“We need iPads!” “How do I use a SmartBoard?” “The wifi is down!”) and forget about incorporating the cultural dimension.  Knowledge is meant to be co-created and shared between individuals.  We are fortunate enough to have access to the knowledge of other people– Will Richardson talked about the abundance of knowledge and information available today in “Why School?”.  My favourite part of taking university courses is sharing ideas with other teachers.  When I first started my diploma I worried, “What will I do when my courses are done?  Who will I turn to with questions?”  That fear is being put to rest as I build my personal learning network.  I have started following several library and technology blogs, to get ideas and to stay current with new technology and books.  Following these blogs gives me the same feeling of being connected to colleagues as participating in my LIBE and LLED courses.

If you are interested, here are some of my top blog recommendations.  I’m hoping to discover some more good ones throughout this course.

• Media Smarts – great tips on media literacy for teachers and parents
• Free Technology for Teachers – reviews of free apps and websites, as well as tips for using them
• Nerdy Book Club – book reviews of YA and children’s lit, I’ve found some great reads here!
• Stephen’s Lighthouse – Stephen Abram shares ideas and articles about various library topics, not always relevant to school libraries, but a nice Canadian perspective
• CM Magazine – reviews of new Canadian literature for children and youth
• Van Meter Library Voice – this librarian in Iowa does some great things with technology to connect kids with books and authors