Engaging E-Learning

This class focused on creating online or blended classes.  As part of this class we created a unit on Ancient Greece from our 6th grade curriculum that could be taught in more of a blended format.  We put together materials that could be done online at home so that class time could be used more for projects and activities.  You can see the unit on Ancient Greece here.  In the past we have spent a lot of class time completing the reading assignments and worksheets in class.  We have converted all of our worksheets to Google Docs so now they can be completed through Google Classroom. We were also able to add some discussion questions that can be used through the question feature on Google Classroom.  It allows students to write their response to a question, and after responding see their classmates results.  They can then respond to their peers to keep the discussion going.  This is a unit that I have been teaching for a long time, so it was great to be given an opportunity to add/change the unit to better fit the technology we now have with our students.  We were able to add some NewsELA articles to help connect what we are doing in social studies to what students are learning in Language Arts.  We were able to use EdPuzzle to add some videos for students to watch that include questions and open ended responses.  We also added a project based assessment at the end of the unit incorporating what students have learned throughout using Adobe Spark. 

The project based assessment that we added to our unit is the Ancient Greece Legacy Project.  You can see the materials that we use for this project here.  We have spent much of our time in class discussing how things in Ancient Greece affect our civilization today.  Students will have the opportunity to pick five of these legacies and share how they impact our culture today.  Some of the topics that students typically discuss are architecture, art, literature, government, alphabet, and theater.  Instead of a traditional paper or presentation students will create a video through Adobe Spark to share their projects. 

Images:
N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2018. <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/da/The_Parthenon_in_Athens.jpg/640px-The_Parthenon_in_Athens.jpg>.

Free Images : Building, Palace, Travel, Arch, Tower, Landmark, Facade, Tourism, Greece, Crete, Excavation, Antiquity, Historic Site, Ancient History, Ancient Roman Architecture, Ancient Greek Temple 3264x2448." Free Images : Building, Palace, Travel, Arch, Tower, Landmark, Facade, Tourism, Greece, Crete, Excavation, Antiquity, Historic Site, Ancient History, Ancient Roman Architecture, Ancient Greek Temple 3264x2448 - - 549408 - Free Stock Photos - PxHere. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2018. <https://pxhere.com/en/photo/549408>.

Managing Educational Technology Services

This class focused on managing educational technology services.  That included looking at laws that have implications for using technology as well as setting up a technology integration plan for a school district.  We spent time discussing FERPA, CIPA, ESL, and IDEA.  One of the assignments that I completed was an organization readiness assessment.  For this assignment I looked at the ISTE standards to create my rubric.  I set my rubric up as a checklist for each of the categories of the ISTE teaching standards.  Upon completion of the rubric I used a point system to determine if a school/district was ready for instructional reform.  Here is the rubric that I created.  When using the rubric within my own school I found that in some categories we were already meeting standards, but in other areas we had room for growth.  When looking at the teachers in my building as learners I found that as a school we weren't using current research.  We have a great staff that is constantly sharing tips and tricks, many of which probably hold up with current research, but we aren't actually sharing the research that is out there or the reasons why our tips/tricks are working.  Another area in which my school could improve is that of citizen.  We currently don't have much of a social media presence, meaning we don't have much out there as a model for students how to be a positive citizen on the internet. This rubric really showed where my school is and where it has room to grow.

The majority of this class was spent putting together an instructional technology plan.  Here is my final plan that I created.  The biggest thing that I learned from this assignment was how important it is to have a team creating a technology plan.  Many of the things that we worked on I had no experience in, and it is important to have people with a variety of backgrounds to complete all parts of the plan. A huge part of the plan is maintaining the network.  For this section it is important to have people who work in IT and understand all the ins and outs of a network.  It is also important to have someone familiar with the current laws, to make sure that when allowing students access to the Internet they are protected.  You need to have someone who is familiar with budgeting to make sure finances are being used responsibly.  Teachers should also be a part of coming up with a technology plan, they know which software programs are going to be useful, as well as user friendly for staff and students. It is also important to communicate throughout the process with staff, to make sure that they have the training that they need to implement the new technology being provided.  This is a big undertaking and not something that should be done alone.  The most important thing that I learned from this assignment was to use your resources.  If you are able to have a technology team it needs to includes teachers, administrators, and IT personnel to be successful.

Image Credits:

Ltd, B. (2018). Network Free Stock Photo - Public Domain Pictures. Publicdomainpictures.net. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/view-image.php?image=78371&picture=network

Checklist. (2018). Flickr. Retrieved 4 March 2018, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/71195909@N03/28955874330