Scenario

My strongest attributes as an educator are an excellent knowledge base in music: history, theory, composition, aural dictation, musical instruments, and singing. I am extremely passionate about what I do and will not let anything get in the way of doing what I love. I believe that schools are here to serve the needs of students and that is what I'm here to do: teach students about music from all perspectives and instruct them on how to play a chosen instrument or instruments and perform in different ensembles and in different venues. I am very responsible, thorough, and focused, and I love to create a fun, informative, and inspiring classroom environment. I admit that my patience is short sometimes, but I make up for it with differentiated teaching methods and hands-on activities. In a few years I hope to be teaching 5-12 band in a large school district; I would love to see a little bit of the country and culture of the United States, since I've lived in Kansas my whole life. At first, I do want to stay somewhat close to home, but after I get really comfortable with my career and get into a groove, I'll go wherever the job market takes me! I have a year of coursework left and a semester of student teaching, then I'll be out in the real world. 

In the event that I was instructed to teach students how to use new software, I would first explore it on my own; I would figure out what I could without any instruction manual, then I would refer to the instruction manual to supplement what I had already discovered. I would probably take this same approach with my students: let them figure a few things out on their own, then supplement what they have discovered on their own with instructions. I would give my students a few pointers to make sure they had their eyes out for important aspects, but I would want them to basically problem-solve on their own.

Technology opens so many different doors to everyone! Students get a chance to learn, collaborate, and exhibit what they've learned in so many different ways and so easily. Plus, special-needs students who may previously have had to get extra separate instruction don't necessarily need that anymore; they have the opportunity to be part of the whole classroom, and they get a chance to be an important part of the regular classroom community and effort. Students don't necessarily all have to use the same technology to learn either! There are so many different programs that cater to different learning styles that no student should ever have to try to learn in a way that doesn't suit them. Teachers have the opportunity to implement a learning revolution for their students now that there is so much educational technology available.

Technology has made my education a lot simpler than it was for previous generations. I can't imagine how much more difficult college would be without even email! Communication is such an important aspect of education, and with increased technology comes greater ease of communication. Also, information sharing has directly impacted my education. Not only email, but being able to share videos, documents, sound recordings, and ideas has changed the way people view the world and themselves. I don't feel like such a small person in a big world all because I have access to anything and everything that I could ever want. This means that I can be all the teacher that I want to be. I really have nothing holding me back from anything.

To encourage other educators in my school to use additional/different technology in their classes, I would try to put them in their students shoes: "Did you like sitting in classes where the teacher lectures all day? Did you like having to write pages and pages and pages and pages of notes? Did you like having to do busywork and cram for tests?" Anyone in their right mind would answer no to at least a few of these questions. Then I would challenge them to think outside the box: be the teacher every student loves because you tell them to get their iPods out instead of put them away. There are ways to use all these "distractions" for truly educational purposes. Now go out, figure out how to use them in your classrooms, and implement these ideas. I would even go as far as to require a minimum amount of technology to be used in a given time or in lesson plans. 

I am familiar with Google documents, website tools (iWeb, Wix, Weebly, Google Sites), Garage Band, podcasts, VoiceThread, Animoto, Delicious, Diigo, Glogster, Google Maps, Google Earth, Prezi, Wordle (and other word art programs), comic strip generators, avatar creators, Twitter, Skype, YouTube, Audacity and Smart Music. Since most of these programs are free or have free versions, I would try to implement as many as possible, especially the website tools, Audacity, Smart Music, VoiceThread, Animoto, Google Earth, and YouTube. I really like the audio/video programs because I teach music. Recording is a instant way to receive feedback; programs like Audacity are free, and have lots of cool sound effects, so students can even edit their own music. I would also love to use the website tools to have students create their own websites, and I would love to have students use Google Earth to create a tour of famous composer's hometowns (if I ever taught a music history class). I hope to be as much of a hands-on teacher as possible, and I think that with the help of all these awesome technologies, I can really make an ideas classroom for my students.

My Wow Moment

My "wow" moment was when I found a website format that I liked and really got going with it. Rather than just doing the minimum for the class, I realized that I can put anything I want to on here and really showcase what I like and what I'm about, especially for my content area. Since I am a music education major and this is a technology class, there isn't a whole lot of information that I would immediately implement in my classroom or use for anything at all. I think my website is the single most useful thing that I got from DED 318; if there was one thing that validated this class, it was showing me how to create and use a website of my own. I can use my website as a resume, an autobiography, a tool for music education advocacy, a resource for other music educators, and a cool collection of music related videos. I am really excited to continue to use, personalize, and showcase myself through this website. I am extremely grateful to have this tool at my disposal and to be able to exhibit my accomplishments, education, and love of music to future employers, parents and students, and other educators. 

Podcast Favorites

Most of the podcasts I listened to were about technology, which I didn't always find helpful. I am a music education major, and I thought they were all interesting, but I didn't really find a lot of the technology information helpful. Of all the technology podcasts I watched, I thought the Salman Khan one was the best and the most inspirational and applicable to all content areas. I think that adding the TED Talks to the list of podcasts for the blog reflections was a really good idea. I did stumble upon a podcast that discussed why music isn't just "fluff." It was one of the K-12 Greatest Hits: Best Ideas in Education podcasts, and it is a podcast full of ammo I can use to fire at anti-music school boards, parents, and just general non-believers in the power of music. 

The podcast/presentation I found kind of late in the game was the K12 Online Conference, and I liked those presentations because they weren't all about technology. They were about education in general and how to deal with different situations, good and bad. They dealt with really deep subjects and the kind of topics that really inspire me to be a great teacher. These are the kind of podcasts that all teachers/nearly teachers should be required to listen to and reflect on because they are rooted in the heart of good educational philosophy.

Semester Favorites

My two favorite tools that I learned how to use this semester were all the different Google tools (Google documents, blogger, sites, forms, spreadsheet, etc.) and (this really counts as more than one thing) all the different ways to access and share information and resources - like how to use Twitter productively and the Web 2.0 tools.

I liked the Google tools because they allow everyone access to a word processor, a spreadsheet, and a way to create online forms without having to purchase an expensive software package (like Microsoft Office). I love being able to easily make online forms; this could potentially eliminate all kinds of paper use. There are so many possibilities for these Google tools, and they're all free!

I enjoyed learning about all the ways to access and share information because it opened my eyes to many, what I previously thought to be unconventional, avenues for information transfer (like Twitter). I used to get frustrated trying to find information for projects or papers because I would always go to the same couple of resources, and eventually those ran dry. Now I feel like I have unlimited resources and resources where I can find more resources.

Challenge-Based Learning Reflection

Challenge-based learning is taking what we consider "traditional" education and schooling and kicking its butt. It seems that the most popular forming of teaching today is rote: lecturing and regurgitation without useful application. Challenge-based learning is anything but that. In the few videos we watched in class about challenge-based learning we saw students realizing that they can making a difference, even in a short period of time with seemingly small activities. I think challenge-based learning has the potential to change the U.S.'s education crisis and maybe even the world.


First of all, the education crisis in the United States: too much importance is placed on test scores that have to applicable meaning to functioning in society or developing important life skills, and not enough importance is placed on finding individual meaning in everything a student learns. As a public school student myself, I can attest to this. Even though I attended school in a well-off suburban district, there were not many instances where I can honestly say challenge-based learning was implemented. Because there is so much importance placed on test scores, teachers often can't find time to fit in anything but lecturing on the curriculum for the standardized tests. I'm not sure where the change should begin because it seems difficult at both ends, but eventually the governmental requirements for testing need to be relaxed, school curricula need to be reworked to be student centered, and teachers need to shift their focus to the more student-beneficial paradigm of teaching and learning.


Second, I think that challenge-based learning has the potential to empower generations of school children. With challenge-based learning, it makes it clear that EVERYONE can do SOMETHING to make a difference in their community or the world. By giving students a way to start small (like recycling or making another person laugh everyday), they can build on their small successes, and eventually grow up to be a great innovator or leader in their adulthood. It seems to me that challenge-based learning is really emphasizing one point: student empowerment. If we empower school-aged kids now, we can set in motion a very positive force for change.

Podcast Reflection #12: K12 Online 2008 - Leading the Change: Overcoming Entropy

Wesley Fryer discusses how to continue innovating and change the course of education through making the momentum of change overcome entropy. "Reflection of lessons learned in creating change has brought to light successful and unsuccessful ways to balance energy and entropy as well as several barriers and thoughts that should be considered."

Entropy by definition is chaos: a move from an organized pattern do a disorganized one. We can relate entropy to the current state of the American education system and 21st century learning as such: the loss of energy and the chaos of ideas. With educational change innovators and early adopters have a large amount of energy and information: entropy is low and energy is high. Things slip from exciting to routine, and ideas get lost in the exchange. Entropy, however, creates opportunity for change. When we try to get people to buy in to new ideas, we generally get "why?" as a response. It is very important that everyone understands the purpose of the change and in what ways it is advantageous to change; it is human nature to seek out the purpose of something.  

To decrease entropy and increase information, people need to become part of the change. This process is a great outline and procedure for initiating change. It is not everything you'll need to inspire change, but it is a good place to start.

• Tell a story
• Look at others' perspectives
• Look for leverage points
• Seek out their vision
• Lead by example
• Create order with energy
• Be a coach
• Listen
• Empower and build ownership
• Remove Barriers
• Ripples of energy remove entropy
• Embrace quantum leaps
• Communicate

The education system we are dealing with compared to the vast number of resources and technologies we have access to creates a difficult situation. We have so many incredible resources, yet so many restrictions and rules with which we must comply that it is easy to become quickly bewildered. We must remember that we do have the capacity to change the status quo and set in motion a revolution in education. This presentation had a TON of information on just that, but it went by really fast and was hard to get all the good stuff (which was everything that was said). Visit the website and watch it for yourself to learn more.

Podcast Reflection #11: K12 Online Conference 2010 - Shh!! The Students Are Learning: Being an Effective Classroom Faciliator

Dr. Clif Mims discusses how to "be a facilitator of learning rather than a deliverer of information."

http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=728

He said that this idea really dawned on him when he visited a classroom one time, and all the students got quiet because he was a new person in the classroom; they were "on their best behavior," so to speak. Clif said that it should really be the other way around: students' learning should never be shushed, rather the teacher sometimes needs to be shushed in order to let their students' learning and thinking go uninterrupted as often as possible. 

Over time, Clif has asked a lot of people what they want from teachers and other professionals like them; he made a Wordle from all the responses he got, and by far patient and caring came up the most. 

He gives a few tips from an instructional design point of view:

• develop a driving question or scenario that will engage your students
• understand that the students are going to need alternative resources
• as we move toward being the guide on the side rather than the sage on the stage, this kind of information is going to become more and more important
• try to predict what your students might need and have those things readily available in your classroom
• you'll probably need to do mini-lessons
• this will happen if you realize individual students or groups are operating under a misconception
• avoid being the sage on the stage and remember that you're still a facilitator
• it doesn't have to be taught all at one time, it can be done in chunks
• prepare to do conferencing with your students
• talk with your students in small groups or one-on-one
• Does everyone understand the content?
• Is everyone committed to the process and providing assistance?
• How is the process going?
• Is it clear what you're supposed to be achieving and producing?
• think about including organizers
• graphic organizers
• study maps
• outlines
• things that provide support that doesn't necessarily come straight from you
• guide students through questioning
• let students know ahead of time what kind of things they should be aware of and looking for before they jump into the information
• reading strategies
• questioning techniques
• teach them how to guide themselves through the process

Practical tips for teachers: things that will better help you as you go about facilitating learning

• think like a coach
• you want to be on the side, get them prepared, practice with them, but you cannot do the heavy lifting for them. They must do the competing; they must be the ones putting the effort in.
• the same is true of learning
• we must resist the temptation to come in to the rescue and make everyone feel good regardless of the situation
• you REALLY learn when you have to struggle a little bit, and there's gratification at the end when you know you've accomplished something on your own
• bring earplugs
• as a teacher, you may not be comfortable being in a loud classroom, but often it's okay because students are still on task
• ease your way into more facilitative lessons
• it can be hard to develop these lessons, and it can be hard to get used to these types of lesson in action
• you need to become comfortable with these types of lessons and you need to find success so that you're more likely to replicate it and continue to use these kinds of lessons
• a great starting point is one or two of these kinds of lessons a semester
• get some help
• take advantage of online PLNs - blogs, Twitter, podcasts, etc.
• a lot of schools have help in the building or in the district
• technology integration specialists
• literacy coaches
• other facilitators
• often these resources could even let you take the side while they teach the information on which they are experts
• you are learning, too!
• if a student asks you something and you don't know the answer, don't be afraid to say you don't know! Make a teachable moment out of if and model how research and learn more about the topic.

For more information on Clif's profession development ideas, visit the professional development page on his blog: http://clifmims.com/site/consulting/professional-development