Times Have Changed

Something so simple and obvious seems to have passed right by me. I am sure you know what I am talking about - when your brain is racing a mile a minute and processing all kinds of things the simple stuff gets missed.

We are introducing technology to the students to engage and motivate them so that they can use the technology (that engages and motivates them) to demonstrate their learning. It is one of many tools that we use to meet their needs.

Why is this so important to me at this moment? It is so important to me because part of preparing these students for the 21st century involves them learning how to use technology to meet their goals, to exceed expectations, to think differently, to be a part of the digital age - to be technologically literate, to strive for more, to be part of a global community rather than a local community, to make a difference, to transform the world in which they live in.

I was talking to someone today about our iPad/iPod project and they were fascinated. Sadly, their fascination was about the technology that the students would be using and not about the growth that would come from the technology they are using. I watch my students as they use the iPod touches I have in my classroom - I ask them about their experience, I ask them about their excitement and get answers like: "I didn't think I could read that word" and "we have an anchor chart about this". The technology excites them and motivates them and it provides me, as their teacher, with formative assessment about their learning and the opportunity to extend their understanding. It is a great springboard that helps me move their learning in a positive direction. It helps me meet their needs - no matter where they are or what their needs are.

Great things are happening in classrooms all over the place without modern 'technology'. Anchor charts, success criteria, word study, guided reading, problem solving, and collaboration are some of the things teachers are doing with their students that are allowing the kids to learn and to think differently than they did 10 years ago. The addition of modern technology items like mobile devices, touch screen tablets and social media networks like Twitter and Facebook are powerful tools to get students to release their knowledge and creativity in ways never before seen.

Times have changed and society is shifting...transforming... and we need to work on making sure our kids are as prepared as we can make them.

QR Codes and Student Engagement

I recently learned more about QR Codes - what they are and how they can be used in an educational setting.

"A QR code (abbreviated from Quick Response code) is a type of matrix barcode (or two-dimensional code) first designed for the automotive industry. More recently, the system has become popular outside of the industry due to its fast readability and large storage capacity compared to traditional UPC barcodes. The code consists of black modules arranged in a square pattern on a white background." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code)"

Here is a QR code that I generated off of the internet using GOQR.me (http://goqr.me/):

 

Go ahead and scan it with your smart phone to access the website that I have embedded within it!

 

I want to take a moment to share my recent experience with some Intermediate students. There are a group of grade 7 & 8 students who regularly communicate with me about technology and 21st century learning. I had just finished playing around with some of the QR code generators that I found online and was pretty excited to share my learning. Strangely enough, this small group of students did not really understand what QR codes were or what they were used for even though they had QR code readers installed on their smart phones!

After explaining to them what I had just learned, they told their friends and before I knew it I had a bunch of kids standing around me with their smart phones out and ready to scan QR codes! Realizing that I had just engaged a bunch of students that wouldn't normally notice that I am around I decided to take full advantage of the opportunity and connect the learning they just experienced to ways that we could use this technology in a school environment. They were quick to point out that they could include QR codes in their assignments in order to refer to websites quickly in a "cool" way. They were also pretty excited that one day down the road they would be able to use their smart phones in class so that they could scan codes that may be in the texts that they use at school in order to further their learning about a variety of subjects.

There was a lot more that they spoke about and referred to - I just wanted to give you a flavour of their learning and excitement. The short time I spent talking to them about QR code technology and the possibilities it may offer them as learners is probably one of the best lunch duties I have experienced with an age group of students that I don't normally spend my time with.

Digital Youth and Ethics

Howard Gardner - the developmental psychologist who is best known for his theory of multiple intelligences weighs in on the challenges that ethics and education face as digital media becomes more prevalent. He raises some interesting points, one of which being the responsibilities that adults have to understand the promises and challenges that have arisen due to digital media.

Interestingly enough, Garder's perspective instantly reminded me of a document written by Regan Dore-Anderson and Michael Redfearn entitled "Ethical and Responsible Use of Information and Communication Technology - A Guideline for all Stakeholders in Catholic Education" (2009)  ( http://www.catholiccurriculumcorp.org/Units/EthicalResponsibleICTDec.pdf ). Dore-Anderson and Redfearn (2009) provide a much needed and welcome guideline to assist educators in working with students to help imbue a solid moral foundation as they engage and make sense of todays digital technlogies. Waiting to react to innapropriate misuse of technology is not an option - it is up to educators to serve students better by being proactive around the meaningful and ethical ways to incorporate digital technologies into their daily lives (Dore-Anderson & Redfearn, 2009).

As a Catholic educator engaged in using digital technology to assist students with their learning, I am appreciative of Dore-Anderson & Redfearn's (2009) document. The team I am part of is all about guiding our students in positive ways as they grow and develop into reflective,  responsible, life long learners who will go forth and transform our world for the better. As the team and I work with our students, we will no doubt refer to the above mentioned document as a beacon of our faith based perspective and to guide us in our teaching and learning as we work side by side with our students. 

"Do not be afraid of new technologies! These rank “among the marvelous things”–inter mirifica–which God has placed at our disposal to discover, to use and to make known thetruth, also the truth about our dignity and about our destiny as his children, heirs of hiseternal Kingdom."

The Rapid Development - John Paul II - Apostolic Letter (2005)

(taken from Dore-Anderson & Redfearn, 2009, cover page).

The Digital Generation = Engagement, Self-Directed Learning, Creativity, & Empowerment

I found this video (http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-project-overview-video) and thought that it explained the Digital Generation very well. It's not all about playing video games online - there is an awesome world of opportunity for our children to learn, communicate, and socialize. We don't need to dive in blindly but at the very least we owe it to them to be aware of the benefits of digital media in their personal, academic, and future professional lives.

The Work Before The Work

Now that we have the devices we need to run our project (laptop, iPads, and iPod Touches) we are ready to start the work before the work. A key element in this project involves the iTunes Store and researching applications (which will now be referred to as apps) that will be helpful to our specific student population. A simple Google search yields a plethora of apps that can be used to assist Autistic students with their learning. Combing through the reviews of the apps that sound relevant and/or trying them out is a task in and of itself. The iTunes store also yields many suggestions and depending on the search terms you use different results will be produced. Seeing as how there are many factors at play here, it seems appropriate to gather a variety of different apps involving different curriculum areas as we become familiar with student strengths, interests, and next steps. As we progress through the project it is my hope to list the apps that we find beneficial and describe what makes them useful to our students.

Aside from finding the apps we want to start using with our students the next steps before getting the iPads and iPod Touches in the hands of the students is to ensure they are all 1) updated (software) and synced with our iTunes Store account, 2) safe guarded with screen protectors and cases that will protect them from small drops and things of that nature and, 3) providing the staff who will be working with the students on the basics of how the devices operate. With respect to educating staff on how to use the devices, “Touch Tutorial – Elderly, Autism & Special Education ($2.99)” is an app that is perfect for anyone who is not familiar with today’s touch screen technology. It’s also a great introduction to the iPad and the iPod Touch. Here is the description of the app taken from the iTunes store:

"Touch Tutorial was designed bu a BCBA (Board Certified Behaviour Analyst) to teach users with little to no experience with new technology how to use touchscreens. Touchscreens, like those found on ipads, iphones, ipod touches or other devices, are being used more and more frequently in every day society. This application uses easy to understand language and icons to teach foundational skills and then builds on these skills so that the user learnes many of the common gestures using a different target, or symbol, to prompt each different gesture. Targets are introduced with their corresponding gestures, when the unique target appears the user taps, touches or slides it with the gersture associated with it. After each target is introduced the user gets a chance to hone their new sklills by playing a game. AppAdvice.com calls Touch Tutorial "an app for those learning disabilities or spectrum disorders" and describes it as "an app that include[s] more people into our technological world, rather than exclude[s] them because they couldn't keep up otherwise" - AppAdvice.com" (http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/touch-tutorial-elderly-autism/id433039466?mt=8)

What a great and inclusive app that could apply to ANYONE who is not familiar with touch screen technology. The fact that it is labeled as an 'elderly, autism, special educaion' app is suprising to me. I know some non 'elderly, autistic, special education' people that would benefit from this app. It is a great first step for people to beginning using touch screen technology. Aside from finding this great app to teach people how to operate the devices, my quest to update and sync continues!

Digital Natives

Our world is changing - right before our eyes. The digital age is here and the human brain has changed to deal with this new age. Educators need to deal with this change. Our project is one way to possibly meet the needs of Digital Natives who are growing up in the "digital landscape". Special needs or not, our society is moving in a digital direction and we need to step things up for our students. Most of them are familiar with the newest and up to date gaming systems, mobile devices, and home use tablets. Our school now has Bright Link Projectors that allow for interactive learning and allow us to bring media from all around the globe right into our classrooms. We are catching up to where our students are at but I believe we need to get one step ahead of them in order to better facilitate and guide them in their lifelong learning.

Ian Jukes - Understanding The Digital Generation

Integrating Technology (iPod Touch) Into The Primary Classroom

I have been fortunate enough to be part of a pilot project involving the use of the Apple iPod Touch with my students. We are now in the third year of this pilot and the excitement and student engagment has not waned. Michael Redfearn, Waterloo Catholic District School Board's ICT Consultant, is the kind soul who has provided me with two Touches and has even posted my reports to him on his blog http://mcluhansghost.wordpress.com/.


During the first year of the pilot the focus was on Language Literacy http://mcluhansghost.wordpress.com/2010/03/27/apples-arent-just-for-teachers/. In the second year I decided to amp things up a bit and integrate the technology into my Religion program, specifically around sacrament preperation http://mcluhansghost.wordpress.com/2011/05/30/when-faith-meets-technology/. In this third year of the pilot my students and I are experimenting with a few different things - stay tuned to read about how we used the Touch in our classroom.