Using Technology to Achieve 21st Century Skills

     A couple years ago I participated in a summer program called Education to Industry that took teachers to spend the day speaking and working with local employers.  The goal of the program was to allow teachers to see for themselves opportunities for real world application of the skills they taught so that teachers could make their instruction more relevant.  Our area has spent years hiring in staff from other parts of the country rather than recruiting locally, because our high school and college graduates lack the skills needed to succeed in industry.  Employers were eager to participate, because it was their opportunity to tell teachers what they needed from potential new hires so that their candidate pool could improve.   We went to almost a dozen different businesses over the course of several weeks, and I found it very interesting that all of the contacts said the same thing.  Every employer that we spoke to said that they needed people that could work in a team to solve problems.  Young people, they told me, were great at finding information, but once they had that information, they didn’t know what to do with it.  The companies all said that no one works alone any more.  The problems they work to solve are too complex to be tackled by a single individual.  Teams need to be able to self-manage.  They need to be able to work together to break down their mission into workable pieces, assign realistic deadlines to all of the components, assign tasks and roles, and then fulfill those tasks, roles, and meet both internal and external deadlines.

     Having heard that so many times, I became convinced that problem-solving and collaboration are the most important of the 21^st century skills.  If I had to narrow it down to just one skill, I would say problem-solving, because if you are at skilled problem solving, you can solve the problem of how to communicate well and work effectively as a team.

     Problem-based learning is an ideal strategy for instilling these skills in today’s learners, but in order to expose my students to meaningful problems and give them the time and latitude they need to develop their own solutions (rather than simply follow the steps that I prescribe for them), I need to open up their world beyond just what they can see within the four walls of my classroom.  That’s where my Technology Infusion Plan comes in.  Because I teach Spanish and the ultimate goal of any language is communication, a problem to overcome would involve using the language to send a message.  In order to be considered successful, the students would have to receive a response. 

     Depending on the level and unit being taught, the problem to overcome could be simple or complex.  For example, beginning students could find memes that use words for a particular vocabulary theme and then make and share their own digital postcards.  If their work is ‘liked’ or ‘shared’, then they have communicated effectively.  I would grade this on a rubric that considered not only grammar and spelling, but also the number of memes located, number of memes created, and how many likes, comments, and shares their own memes received. 

    At more advanced levels, students can start to seek out their own problems and solutions.  For example, our campus is closed.  Once students arrive, they cannot leave until the day is over.  A lot of my students think that they should be able to run out to lunch or leave during a study hall, and in many other parts of the world this is common practice for secondary students.  If students identify this as a problem, they could contact administrators and students in Spain and South America and ask them to describe their policies, how they were arrived at, and if they have problems such as contraband arriving at school or truancy.  Students might then use that information to support their request for an open campus when they present it to the local authorities.  Using the internet, it is reasonable that they could locate appropriate schools, contact them, and expect at least some responses within a few weeks, whereas sending overseas mail via the traditional method would have taken months and the project probably couldn’t have been completed within a single semester.   Of course, projects don’t need to be limited to reading and writing; students could produce informational videos to attract exchange students, Skype with people pursuing research in the rainforest, or tailor the projects to their own interests in other ways.  These projects would also be graded using a rubric that considered quality of expression, use of grammar, variety of vocabulary, and the effectiveness with which they interpreted responses to their communications.

     We truly are fortunate to be living in a time where our ability to make connections need not be hindered by the county line, or even our country’s borders.

Technology and my Philosophy of Education

     While preparing to write this post, I pulled out my pre-service Philosophy of Education and re-read it. I hadn't looked at it in years, but I didn't think my central beliefs about education had really changed much. It turns out, they hadn't. Nothing I read surprised me, and I would feel confident handing my old Philosophy to a potential employer even today. What surprised me, A LOT, is what I didn't read. No where in the entire document did I specifically address educational use of technology. I defined education and discussed the responsibilities of the state, district, school, teacher, students, and parents. I talked about student-centered learning, the role of the teacher as a facilitator and motivator, personalized teaching styles, differentiation, the importance of using a variety of content-delivery methods and assessment methods, and the role self-reflection plays in improving the performance of both the students and the teacher.

     So then I had to ask myself: Why? Why didn't I address the use of technology? It certainly was something that I was thinking about quite a lot at the time. I took classes on educational technology, and I remember struggling with the requirement that all of my lesson plans include the use of technology despite the fact that the only tools with electrical cords in the classrooms I were working in were a transparency projector and a television on a cart. I remember that I had to get creative to meet the requirements, so I used my home computer to make a music video that I burned to DVD. I spoofed artists that were popular at the time (Katy Perry and Justin Timberlake), projected the lyrics and made the students sing along. After one such lesson, one student (a tiny fellow, so very small for his age, and adorable) had the fortuitous timing to say to me directly in front of my university observer, “This is the first time I have understood anything all year!”. The enthusiasm that the entire class showed for my lessons was a huge contrast to their behavior under my mentor teachers, and although I knew that I certainly couldn't realistically put that much prep work into lessons every day, I also knew that there were tons of materials available on-line that I could use or adapt when I wasn't creating my own. I was immediately convinced that technology was hugely important to a modern education, yet I didn't even touch on it in my Philosophy. Why was that?

     I think it was because I considered the use of all available resources, including technology resources, so vital and obvious that I didn't feel it should be addressed as a separate issue, as though it were one more thing to add on. It should be central to all modern education. When I talked about using a variety of instructional methods, I didn't specifically talk about class websites, WebQuests, clicker systems, Smartboards, etc. because OF COURSE using those resources was a part of offering my students as much choice and variety as possible, and that *is* what I said I wanted to do. When I talked about assessing through the use of portfolios, research papers, and presentations (among other methods), I didn't specify whether those portfolios would be binders or an electronic version, if those papers would be researched using books or online journals, or if those presentations would use PowerPoint or a posterboard, because I didn't know which tools my students and I would have available.

     So, then I asked myself some more questions: Do I consider the use of educational technology to be essential? Not exactly ... students have not completely lost the ability to learn by traditional means. In fact, many uses of technology are substantially equivalent to traditional methods. I don't think it really matters if students read from a textbook or a website if they are reading the same information. I don't think it matters if they do an online journal search or dust off a card catalog, either. But... Do I consider the use of technology to be beneficial to modern education? Yes, unreservedly. Technology makes education more accessible and more interactive. It gives teachers more options for differentiation, and it can (but doesn't always) make learning more fun. All of these factors contribute to a higher quality of education. Basically, I took it as a given that teachers should make use of as many resources as possible, both technological and traditional, and I still feel the same way now.

Technology Integration 101: Goals

I am excited about discovering resources that can be used to add a community aspect to on-line learning.  During the Intro to Online and Blended Learning course, I learned about several exciting tools, including VoiceThread, Google Hang-out, and Ted-Ed comment-based discussions, that allow students to interact in a virtual environment.  I would like to further my understanding of those resources, and I also hope to learn about additional technology-based resources that facilitate active student participation.

Currently, I would not say that I am much of a leader with regard to implementation of any particular technology-based teaching methods, but I would say I am a leader in conceptual understanding of what is necessary to create an asynchronous on-line learning environment that specifically addresses the needs of language acquisition.  Many on-line language learning courses focus primarily on reading and writing, and several on-line courses do a fairly decent job of addressing listening comprehension.  However, to be able to say you have mastered a language, it is my opinion that one should be able to SPEAK that language (provided it is a living language).  I want my students (whether they attend class virtually or in person) to be able to hold a conversation in real time.  Many of my colleagues do not think that this skill can be addressed in an asynchronous environment, but I have many ideas about how to use technology to foster these skills for all students, not just the most motivated students.  My intent is to move from a conceptual understanding of what needs to happen in order to achieve this goal to establishing a toolset that will allow for implementation, even if just on a small scale.  Increasing the list of go-to resources that support this objective is an area that I hope to spend more time exploring, and I will be very grateful to anyone who is able to point out voice-based learning and discussion tools, particularly those that generate a record that can be re-visited for evaluation purposes.

I am excited to collaborate with my peers in this course and to take my technology-based teaching to a new level!

Teaching a teacher...new tools, tips, and techniques.

Overall, I would say that the last couple months have helped me become more aware of the tools and resources available for use in online and blended classrooms.  My favorite new tool is definitely VoiceThread, because as a Spanish teacher, the need for my students to practice listening followed by verbal response is essential.  Prior to the course, I knew that putting up a video or podcast was easy enough, but these tools don’t allow the student to respond verbally, so I was really excited to find out about VoiceThread.  VoiceThread can deliver a lesson, and require students to give verbal responses to multiple prompts, all in an asynchronous, online format.

Another tool that I really like for responding to a video is TED-Ed.  This curation resource lets you check for student comprehension of a video by using simple multiple-choice questions.  The user interface is easy to use both for the instructor and the students, and the instructor can even add links to multiple types of additional resources.  I’ve used videos in the past, but even after hosting a discussion about them, I haven’t been certain if the majority of my students had really been paying attention during the viewing.  I think that not only will the quick comprehension check help me determine if watching the video is a productive use of time, but just knowing that it is there will help some students to stay focused.

This class also got me to think about some sites that I had already known about in new ways.  For example, I had never thought of Pinterest as a learning tool before.  Honestly, I had only thought of it as a site used mainly to show off cutesy crafts projects.  Now, another teacher and myself have an idea for using it to teach an entire segment of our curriculum, and, when we brought it up to some other members of the department (informally), they really seemed interested.

In the future, I intend to use these tools, as well as several others, in my classroom.  Although my district does not yet have a timeline established for making the 1:1 transition, I know that this change will come.  When it does, in order for the transition to be successful, we need to be ready to embrace these new tools and ideas.  Now, I not only feel better prepared, I actually feel excited!

Social Media and the Classroom

          I think that blended and online coursework is wonderful, and I think that even in a digital forum, student-teacher and student-student interaction is a vital component of learning, but I don’t see any reason that those types of interactions shouldn’t be reserved for the learning platforms.  Online class sites can provide discussion boards, message boards, text chats, voice chats, and many additional forms of media sharing and online collaboration, and I have yet to hear of any reason that one of those options wouldn’t be equally as effective at disseminating information or facilitating interactions between students as non-educational social media.  Maybe someday someone will change my mind, but for now, I don’t want to be my students’ friend, Facebook or otherwise, I want to be their mentor.  Yes, I want my students to approach me with questions, but I don’t want them to rely on my constant virtual presence.  If I do my job, then they can use their knowledge and skills without me.

Furthermore, when students are completing my coursework, I want them to be focused on it.  I understand that distractions are inevitable and that most of my students consider themselves to be effective multitaskers, but I don’t see any reason to exacerbate this behavior by encouraging, or even requiring, students to use social media to stay abreast of coursework or to complete class activities.   I think that combining social media with classwork is at least as likely to provide a distraction from the classwork as it is to keep students engaged during out-of-class hours.

Speaking of out-of-class hours, I feel that the boundary between home and school is beneficial, and should be respected.  Students should not be constantly on-call.  This is stressful enough for a doctor, so how could it be appropriate for a teenager?  Students have a right to know when they are off-duty.  If they have participated in class and then completed their homework, then they should have the opportunity not to think about me or my class for a while.  I don’t need to be popping up in their feed all evening or all weekend.

I expect my students to take the class as seriously as I do.  Although at times some students do not meet that expectation, I respect the members of my class enough to assume they are responsible, capable students and then adapt my strategies for particular individuals that need more hand-holding.  My students are in high school, so even the youngest are only a few years from voting age and leaving home, and they have all been doing the education thing for a while now.  Because I take my class seriously, I keep my professional life and my personal life separate, and I want my students to do the same.  Yes, I am all for making a personal connection and connecting my content material to their personal interests, but I don’t feel like I have to become an active component of their private lives in order to do it.  

Curation Tools

           Until this week, I had never really thought about using Pinterest as a classroom resource.  However, now that I have seen some examples, like this one on Tapas http://pinterest.com/leticiaclen/tapas/  by Leticia Clendenen, I am starting to see some the potential.  Pinterest allows a presenter to present information in a wide variety of formats about a collection of related, but varied topics, and the resources can vary in depth and detail of explanation.  Allowing students to explore a set of pre-selected resources and allowing them to choose which ones to investigate is a great way to present differentiated information without singling out students as remedial and advanced. 

          In particular, I like the idea of using Pinterest when the goal is to expose students to a broader theme.  Sometimes, it is important to give students a general idea of what there is to know, but it is not essential that they all recall a particular set of facts.  Next year, I would like to try using Pinterest to curate information about Hispanic cities.  I really don’t like the way we teach culture now, because we just teach it by the book.  The book has decided what is important for everyone, but if each of us were to plan trips to visit any particular city, I am certain that few of us would plan identical itineraries.  I would love to take a harbor tour in Valparaiso and stop at a seafood restaurant, but someone else might be fascinated by Bernardo O’Higgins and want to spend more time at the history museum.  We could approximate this freedom of choice by using Pinterest to curate resources that will allow students to virtually explore the city. Students could click through it to get an idea of some of the features and attractions in the city, but then spend their time learning about the particular aspects that are interesting to them.  Not only that, but they can select the presentation methods that are best for them.  If they like videos, they can watch videos, if they want to see stills of well-known locations, murals, paintings, etc., they can do that.  If they want to read, they can read about what interests them.

          The assessment would have to reflect this variability. Students could be asked to recall a few essential facts, such as the geographic location of the city or type of currency, but then other prompts would have to be open-ended.  For example, students could be asked to describe three tourist attractions they would choose to visit if they went to this city, or describe three cultural experiences (food, festivals, dance) that they would choose to take part in.  For the open-ended responses, a basic rubric should be provided so that students can determine the level of detail expected in their responses.  Rather than asking students to recall specific facts like the name of a particular museum, or even what is on display, it is much more important to me that they know about the many opportunities that these places have to offer.

The Best Online Tools for Language Learning

Online learning is an exciting development in the field of education.  Online learning tools can be used to make lessons more engaging, meaningful, and individualized than traditional teaching methods.  These tools can also be used to conduct classes that never meet in one location, and possibly, never all meet at one time.  This has worried some educators, because student-teacher interaction and collaborative learning activities are not only strongly correlated with student success, but, perhaps just as importantly, communication skills and teamwork are important job skills that employers expect students to develop throughout the course of their education.  For these reasons, the technological tools that use the Internet to facilitate interaction have been of particular interest to me.

                As a foreign language teacher, I consider the need for verbal communication to be of particular importance.  For this reason, the tool that most interested me so far has been VoiceThread.com.  I can use this platform to facilitate speaking activities that the students can complete asynchronously.    I particularly like the idea of creating a screencast that can be accessed through VoiceThread.com, so that students can actively participate in a pre-planned lesson at their convenience.  Writing and performing short skits has also traditionally played a significant role in world language classrooms.   In an exclusively online format, the students are never together at the same location, and it is not reasonable to expect them to edit together files recorded remotely for what is intended to be a brief practice activity or formative assessment.   Fortunately, these types of activities can also be adapted to an online format.  Students can write the dialogue either independently or collaboratively via a shared file, such as a Google Doc, and then create the skit using an animation tool, such as www.XtraNormal.com.  I was very happy to learn that XtraNormal is equipped to handle a variety of languages, including Spanish.  Unfortunately, I think students would have to pay to use XtraNormal, since when I tried it myself, I couldn’t save the video using a guest account, and our district doesn’t have a paid account.  Once I receive the skits, I can post them for the entire class to view and require the students to give each other feedback, either verbally through a platform such as VoiceThread.com or written on a discussion board. 

                Language acquisition teachers often use graphic organizers to work with vocabulary, and there are many potentially useful online tools that allow users to digitally create a huge variety of graphic organizers, but, personally, I am less likely to use these, because in most cases, I think it is just as effective for students to write out titles and lists.  I feel similarly about Prezi.  It’s like a slideshow, but with no sequence.  When I work through information, both as a presenter and as a learner, I want the progression of information to be well planned out, not haphazard or random, so this really doesn’t appeal to me.  Even in those rare cases where there is no advantage to planning out the sequence of the presentation, at least if I go through a sequence from a clearly identified beginning to end, I know that I haven’t missed anything.  There are various other services that I would probably make more use of if either my district had a paid license or if the systems were integrated with our grading system.  Quizlet comes to mind.  Quizlet has some good tools available free of charge, but any good practice activity takes time to make.  Because I currently have no way to track which of my students complete Quizlet activities, I cannot make them mandatory, and I don’t feel as though I have enough students that would be motivated to do these activities purely of their own initiative to justify the time that creating them would take away from something else I could to for my class. 

                Even though at this moment, I don’t plan on using every tool that I’ve learned about, I’m really glad to have learned about so many different options and ideas.  The tools that are less appealing to me right now might be exactly what I need in the future, and, if nothing else, I now have a better idea of the vast variety of tools and activities available for the blended or online classroom.