ISTE-T Self Reflection

Below is a reflection of learning related to the ISTE Standards for Teachers acquired during the Teaching in the Digital Age class. The class has truly helped me to make my teaching more relevant to my digital natives.

Created on easel.ly

First Google Classroom Assignment

Today my class did their first Google Classroom assignment. I kept the task simple as they are still learning the technology. Students had to find an item in the classroom that measured about 8 inches and have their partner take a picture of them measuring the object. Then they were to upload the picture in Google Classroom and hand in the assignment. It went well. Most of the kids were successful and I was able to fit the project in to our normal math time period. A few common issues were students forgetting to turn in the assignment after they uploaded the picture and some students logged into drive instead of classroom.

My Ultimate Learning Space

This is a sketchnote, floor plan of my ultimate learning space made with the iOS app flipink. Overall my goal is for my classroom to be a comfortable and inviting learning environment where the 4 C’s (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) needed for 21^st century learning will be possible¹. The plan is based on the classroom I am currently in, except it is slightly bigger and it has a door to the outside.

It would not take too much to implement most of the changes. The windows already provide a lot of natural light. The walls need to be painted with soft colors similar to those I used in the sketch. The desks need to go in order to make room for group work centers. To allow for flexibility, both the tables and chairs will be on casters². For the carpet area, I will need new comfortable chairs such as beanbags or gaming chairs. The ideal rug will be big enough for all to sit on, and it will have extra padding. I will have to get rid of some of the extra storage units I have in the classroom that contain my teacher items. This will make the room more comfortable to move around in.  Finally, my ideal learning environment will have 1:1 devices. I think I would like a combination of laptops and iPads so that students have choice in deciding how to create. While some of these ideas will are cost prohibitive, most can be accomplished over time.   

1 Partnership for 21^st Century Skills

2 Edutopia, “4 Tips to Transform Your Learning Space”

21st Century Learning Environment

This is my sketchnote of a 21st Century Learning Environment. I used the iOS app flipink. It took a lot of trying things out and erasing, and I did many Google "how to draw..." searches. Overall it was fun. It allowed me to show my ideas in a creative way.

Daily Communication & Collaboration

I communicate with my students through multiple methods. Most communication occurs by addressing them as a class and having discussions with them individually. During group discussions, everyone gets the same information whether it is directions for an assignment or the teaching of a concept. Also students get the benefit of sharing in each other’s understanding and learning from misconceptions. Individual conversations are equally as beneficial. Sometimes these happen in an academic context, while at other times they are social chats. These are the ones I love the most. I get to find out a lot about my students. Most of the time this happens during snack or when one student is helping me prepare something or clean something up. I get to learn about my their interests, their family dynamics, class activities they liked, things that challenged them and other things that impact their lives and consequently my teaching. Our newest method of communication is through Google docs. My students have recently learned how to create and share a Google doc and read my comments on their work. This has been very tricky with 2^nd graders. I’ve encountered issues I hadn’t anticipated. For instance, I had one very resourceful, starry-eyed boy figure out he could share his document with a student outside his group to send a love message. All in all, it has been a successful endeavor and I look forward to moving on with Google Classroom. Until recently most of our communication and collaboration in the classroom has occurred synchronously. Our recent delve into docs has allowed for both synchronous and asynchronous communication or collaboration.

I communicate with parents and colleagues in many different ways. Most of my parents have signed up for Remind messages which I use to send out important notices about upcoming dates. Some parents use email while others prefer phone calls. A few parents connect with me in the mornings when they drop off their students. The most regular form of communication my parents get from me is a weekly newsletter, which includes a progress report, upcoming learning, and classroom news. As the newsletter has to be signed and returned parents also use it to send me notes. Occasionally, I use Google Translator to help me with parent communications. My communication with colleagues is even more varied. I use most of the methods used with parents, but I also use Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and this blog. Most often all these communications are asynchronous. I prefer this method for communication and collaboration as I find it most convenient and it leaves a source to come back to when needed.

I will continue to learn and teach my students new methods to communicate. Also, I will work on sharing projects and ideas with colleagues. I often use ideas that were posted in the online communities I am a part of, but I am not very good at sharing what has worked well for me.