Real World Experiences Motivate Learners

Is it cheaper to buy items in bulk? I was recently reading a blog post by Alice Keeler called “Burger King is Bad at Math” which provides a great example of being a mindful consumer.
http://www.alicekeeler.com/teachertech/2015/11/06/burger-king-is-bad-at-math/ This article talks about the price of items on the Burger King menu and how it is cheaper to purchase items individually as oppose to buying a meal “deal.” All too often students and adults alike do not stop to do the math. We often assume that if items are packaged together or sold in bulk that they must be less expensive.

Real life situations such as this one ignite passion and motivate students to learn because they feel personally connected to what they're being taught when they see the significance of applying the material in real life. They take ownership of their learning while becoming motivated to further explore and make meaning of new found knowledge. When students are engaged they persist even when they experience difficulties and feel a sense of satisfaction when they successfully complete a task.

It is essential that students are given the opportunity to connect to the real world through their interests, experiences, or through significant issues that are compelling to them. These opportunities stimulate critical thinking and problem solving abilities as students dig deeper to explore the possibilities of each scenario. These skills are necessary to prepare our students to live in an interconnected and diverse world beyond the four walls of the classroom.

ISTE NETS, 21st Century Skills, and SAMR Reflection

Upon examining the ISTE NETS, 21^st Century Skills, and SAMR model I have come to the conclusion that teachers should aim for higher levels of Bloom’s revised taxonomy and the transformation area of the SAMR model when planning technology tasks.  These three frameworks are intertwined by their dependence on technology, higher-order thinking skills, and their overlying goal of preparing students to be productive members of society while thriving in our global economy. All three of these frameworks focus on infusing digital learning experiences that will result in higher levels of achievement for students. As stated by Kay (n.d.) “only people who have the knowledge and skills to negotiate constant change and reinvent themselves for new situations will succeed” in the 21^st century (xvii). Thus, students who can quickly adapt to change and collaborate to accomplish a task will be greatly valued in today’s society. According to Ruben Puentedura (2105), “we will see patterns among all subject areas including math, P.E., and Social Studies whereby all areas will be using visualization tools to make tricky concepts more concrete for students.” Puentedura further states that “we will observe greater gains in comprehension, greater possibilities for using knowledge, and increased peer mentorship” when actively engaged in the transformation level of SAMR.

Using social networks to collaborate is becoming the norm. As mentioned in ISTE standard 2 (2007), working collaboratively through digital media has a profound impact on the classroom because it extends the learning environment by allowing students to communicate and interact outside the classroom. By allowing students to communicate in school the same way they choose to communicate outside of school they are afforded an essential connection between what they’re learning in school and how it relates to the real world.

Due to the fact that today’s learners are digital natives it is imperative that teachers provide students the opportunity to use technology to enhance their learning experiences. A key factor for implementing technology is to ensure that students are cognitively engaged and not just merely actively engaged, performing rote tasks mindlessly. Teachers can facilitate this growth by offering students the opportunity to use technology to elicit creativity, collaboration, problem-solving and critical thinking skills all of which are vital to the above mentioned frameworks.

As an educator it is my goal to use technology in a planned and purposeful manner that supports learning objectives and engages students with content while evoking higher-order thinking skills. I have come to understand that integrating technology into learning experiences can have a significant impact on student outcomes. 

Resources:

ISTE. (2007). Standards for Students. Retrieved September 7, 2015 from: http://www.iste.org/
        standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-students.

                                                              

Common Sense Media Inc. (2015) Ruben Puentedura on the Impact of the SAMR Model. Retrieved  
         October 28, 2015 from: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/ruben-puentedura-on-the-
         impact-of-the-samr-model


Kay, K. (n.d.). 21st century skills: Why they matter, what they are, and how we get there (pp. xii-xxix).

Podcast: Will Richardson - Discussion with Julia and Pat

21st Century Skills

In this foreword by Ken Kay he discusses how the skills to succeed in the workplace, higher education, and life have changed over time. Kay states that “only people who have the knowledge and skills to negotiate constant change and reinvent themselves for new situations will succeed” (xvii). In the past it was common for workers to stay at the same job for the majority of their working years and many received pensions. Today this is not the case. People will change careers multiple times over their working years and very few people will receive a pension.

In the past individuals who pursued a college education had a greater chance at securing a good paying job with health benefits. Today a high percentage of people pursue higher education, however, many are faced with the reality that even though they are licensed in a particular field of study this does not guarantee them a position. Especially in the teaching field, numerous certified teachers are forced to find employment in other fields due to the fact that the number of certified teachers far out way the available positions. Kay points out that “Doing well in school no longer guarantees a lifelong job or career as it did for previous generations Americans (xvii).” 

Kay mentions that “technology has replaced workers who perform routine work while it compliments workers with higher-level skills and empowers them to be more productive and creative” (xxviii). Although, I do agree that school should be more aligned with students’ daily lives and prepare them to compete in our global economy I struggle with how best to incorporate technology to reach these goals. One thing I found interesting was Kays comment about “many people equate technology-rich classrooms or modern schools or rigorous core subjects with 21^st century learning, regardless of whether students are mastering 21^st century skills” such as “global awareness, health literacy, learning and innovation skills, life and career skills, or even media literacy skills” (xxviii). This comment made me stop and think about the fact that increasing the availability of technology in classrooms does very little for the “Big Picture” if the technology is not used in a way that addresses higher order thinking, problem solving, and critical-thinking skills.

The current learning standards mainly address knowledge and understanding levels which require lower level thinking skills. I agree that students should be challenged and learn to become better problem solvers and critical thinkers, I just question how to bridge this gap. Do you change the learning standards altogether to require students to analyze, synthesize, and create using higher order thinking skills? If so, what happens to those students who already struggle with knowledge and understanding skills? 

Honestly I feel for todays’ students. They are faced with the pressure to perform at an even higher standard than in the past, at an increasingly fast-pace, all while being under the internet microscope which showcases their adolescent lives and beyond for the world to see. By the looks of things, counseling might be the job to pursue in the near future.   

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Reflection

        Up to this point, I have never thought about the technology divide between students and teachers in this way – Natives vs. Immigrants as well as technology being referred to as a “language.” But it makes complete sense. Technology has become an integral part of students’ daily lives due to the fact that they have been immersed in it since their early beginnings.  For those of us who were not raised using these technological advances on a daily bases it becomes more of a challenge when we try to incorporate them into our lives and the lives of our students. There tends to be a greater “learning curve.” I suppose it may be because we must first “unlearn” the ways of the past and strive to replace our old learning/actions with new, more productive, and up-to-date approaches. In the article Prensky raises this very question, “which is harder – “learning new stuff” or “learning new ways to do old stuff.”” (2001).

        Marc Prensky brings up a good point when he states, “the single biggest problem facing education today is that our Digital Immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language.” (2001). I am aware that in order to be an effective educator, it is important for me to learn how to effectively communicate with my students. The challenge lies in learning to reprogram my brain to allow for the changes that are necessary to facilitate this new, faster paced world we are currently immersed in. Prensky (2001) suggests that, “Digital Natives like going faster, less step-by-step, more in parallel, with more random access.” This can be challenging, to say the least, for digital immigrants such as myself who are used to structure/order and who need more time to adequately process new information.

     When students are engaged they become motivated to learn new information and their attention span increases. Marc Prensky (2001) suggests that inventing computer games to teach digital natives will increase their attention span because they are actually learning in a way that interests them. I have mixed feelings about computer games being used as educational tools. If used properly computer games can enrich content and foster a greater sense of motivation for student learning. It is when these computer games are devoid of meaning and context that I do not support their inclusion.

Prensky, M. (October, 2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon (NCB University Press), 9(5). 

PLN Reflection

        I found the article Navigating Social Networks as Learning Tools by Will Richardson to be very informative. This article talks about the importance of educators and students making the shift to network literacy. It explains what a huge undertaking this is due to the fact that you need to be able to navigate people, information, and networks alike. The main message I took away from this reading was the necessity for the teacher to become comfortable utilizing technology to publish and build networks in order to effectively model these learning connections for their students. With all of the information available on the web it has become increasing important to understand how to build social networks that consist of participants who are trustworthy and provide viable feedback. After all, there is much to be learned from others who have viewpoints that are different than our own.

        The section that discussed making technology a part of your daily life really hit home with me. When the author stated, “we need to experience a steep “unlearning curve” that allows us to replace old habits of practice with newer, more interactive and collaborative ones” I felt a connection. For so long I have become sedentary, a creature of habit so to speak, not embracing social media and its potential as an effective educational tool.  I am slowly coming to understand the importance and power of learning transparently, sharing information and building social networks which include trustworthy participants. When I say “slowly coming to understand” I simply mean that I see the relevance of social networks in the realm of education however it may take a bit of time and effort on my part to replace my old habits with newer, more efficient ones. In the past I viewed social media strictly as a tool to connect with family and friends with very little regard to its educational networking capabilities.

        I would like to further explore ways to create a balance between network identity and privacy. Formerly, I have been reluctant to jump on the social media train because of the uncertainty of how the information you share will be used. I have come to realize that in order to be an effective educator it is essential for me to set aside my biases about social networking and embrace its potential as an effective networking tool in our ever changing world. 

NETS Reflection

     Although the current NETS standards do not specify what technology you must use to meet each standard I feel it is important to expose students to technology that is currently being used in the “work world.” Students need to be able to see the connection between what their learning in school and how it relates to the real world. I don’t believe the new standards should delineate what technology to use to fulfill a specific standard, however, a list of current programs/presentation software, apps, etc. (used solely as a reference of what is being used in today’s workforce) would prove to be beneficial.

      I think the digital citizenship standard needs to be revamped. I think it is redundant to include “Advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of information and technology” and “Exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.”  In addition, student access to certain sites and social groups is often restricted by the school’s network administrator, therefore, preventing them from participating in social media sites which can hinder collaboration. With that said, I do believe digital citizenship is a double edged sword so to speak. Teaching students to be digitally responsible is very important, however, if schools were to loosen their network controls and allow students to participate in social networking sites some parents may not be in agreement with this practice. It would be as if school administrators/teachers would be taking the power away from parents to determine what they deemed as appropriate sites to expose their children to. This may become less of a concern as children get older (Jr./Sr. High School).

      In order to make the NETS standards more relevant in today’s classroom there needs to be alignment across the board. By this I mean that the up-to-date technology must be accessible to students and teachers alike, the teachers must know how to effectively use it to assess students accordingly and school leaders must ensure that teachers and students are given the appropriate tech support and upgrades to fully utilize the technology in place. I realize this proves to be a difficult task due to the ever changing world of technology.

Gary Stager. (2007). Refreshing the ISTE Technology Standards. Retrieved from http://www.districtadministration.com/article/refreshing-iste-technology-standards