Blog Post 2

Blog Post 2: Handheld Devices

In the article, Rekindle the Love of Reading (Isero, 2014), the author explains his initiative of providing Kindle electronic readers to his ninth grade students to motivate them to read more. In this professional article, Mark Isero describes his grass roots efforts and how even his most reluctant students reported liking reading on the Kindle much more than a traditional book. Although not a scientific study, one significant fact according to the author was that his “Kindlers” read more than their peers with physical books and increased their reading level by almost two grade levels. One of the reasons given for this increase was the Kindle classroom project met the needs of struggling readers with the features of the Kindle itself. The Kindle electronic reader has built-in features which my double as academic accommodations such as being able to highlight, change the text size, incorporated dictionary, and in some cases, the Kindle offers text to speech. Students in the article found these features to be helpful and increased the fun of.

Another key point in the article was how the students took care of the classroom Kindles. The author reported that the students began to take ownership of the Kindles and took care to keep them in the cases and not jostle them in backpacks where they may become broken. While the Kindles are fairly durable, it is imperative that care is taken when the Kindles are being used in education because of the replacement time and cost.

One final important point the article made was the bonus of being able to read the same titles at the same time on up to six Kindle devices for one purchase. With Amazon’s sharing capability, one purchased electronic book may be shared on up to six devices, thus enabling the teacher’s budget or school budget to stretch further. Having a ready-made small group of Kindles, opens the students up to informal book discussions with each other or the teacher in a more formal setting. The social aspect of reading is appealing to many teens and is more enjoyable when reading takes on a more social role in school.

            After reading this professional article, I have many ideas as to how to implement the use of Kindles in the elementary library setting. After determining an overall budget, I would decide how many Kindles to purchase and what titles would be best utilized as an electronic book. I feel as though a numbering system would be most effective in keeping track of which Kindle has which title. Checking out a Kindle would have the same process as checking out a regular library book with the exception of a parent permission slip that must be signed prior to checking out a Kindle. The Kindle has many features that lend itself very well to elementary reading. Noting that not all types of Kindles have the same specifications, there are many features that would work well in education. The text to speech feature allows the user to listen to the text as it is read aloud for the reader. The Kindle also has a built in dictionary allowing the user to look up word definition with in the text just by hovering the cursor over the word. This would benefit readers of all levels who most often will not stop to look up the meaning of an unknown word. There are, of course, many other features, but using Kindles in the elementary library would allow struggling readers the anonymity of off level reading material. Students get the chance to use a device that looks like everyone else, so no one has to know that the book they are reading happens to be below grade level.

References:

Features available in Kindle books. (2016). Retrieved from

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00I15SB16/ref=topnav_storetab_kstore

Isero, M. (2014). Rekindle the love of reading. Phi Delta Kappan, 95(7), 61-64.

doi:10.1177/003172171409500714

Blog Post 1

Blog Post 1: Technology Strengths and Weakness

According to the National Educational Technology Standards for teachers (NETS) published by ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) in 2008, there are five standards for teachers. As an elementary teacher, these five standards guide my teaching so that I may help prepare my students to utilize these 21^st century skills to become productive users of technology. Below are the five standards and how I use them in my teaching.

1.  Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

My students participate in Web Quests and create projects using interactivity and collaboration found in Web 2.0 sites. I work with my students so that they do not only learn the technology, but learn how to use the technology to create projects, artifacts, and learning experiences.

2. Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

I assign and develop authentic learning experiences using project based learning. I differentiate instruction and evaluate through checks for understanding, demonstrations of learning, and assessments.

3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning

I collaborate with peers, parents, and the community in the form of Google Docs, Outlook calendar, school website, and Google Hangouts. I communicate relevant information through parent and community newsletters and family math, science and technology nights at my school. One of the areas I would like to enhance is video production and video conferencing.

4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

Digital citizenship is a focus in my class in the form of online safety, information fluency, cyber bullying, and intellectual property. Although I teach my students about internet safety, one of the areas I struggle with is trying to stay current in digital safety. With the online environment constantly evolving and predators always finding and creating new ways to endanger children, I struggle with remaining current with digital-age communication.

5. Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership

This in an area in which I am always looking to improve. Because of budget constraints, my school district has little to no formal technology instruction on the elementary level. There are computer labs in the schools, but very few have certified teachers to teach students how to properly use technology for learning.

As an educator, I use technology to empower my students. My mission is to prepare students to become lifelong learners and to be able to participate in today’s interactive global society. Students are motivated to use technology. It engages them on a level that is difficult to attain with simply lectures and worksheets. Today’s students have access to information 24 hours a day. It is my job, as the teacher, to meet the diverse learning needs of our 21^st century learners so they will not only be able to find pertinent information, but to evaluate it for usefulness and be able to use it appropriately in their lessons and projects.

The field of educational technology is continuously changing and evolving, therefore I feel as though very few people could be considered to be experts. There is a learning curve for people new to educational technology, and veterans to the field must remain current and up to date with newer technologies and trends. One of the ways to increase educational technology familiarity is with professional development opportunities and professional journals. Another way to increase expertise is by attending professional conferences. The TCEA (Texas Computer Education Association) state conference is held in Austin each February. The ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference is held each summer at different locations across the United States. Attending professional conferences provides the opportunity to see what is currently available and what is on the horizon in educational technology.

As all students come from various backgrounds with differing educational needs, it is the job of their teachers to meet those students where they are and transform them into information literate students. Some students, due to their economic level, cultural background, lack of opportunities, educational need, or handicapping condition, simply need more time, encouragement, and access to information materials to be successful. Because I serve all student in the school, I must be attentive to the special education population as well. In keeping with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), I need to be able to differentiate instruction for all handicapping conditions including: vision and hearing impaired students and students with various learning disabilities. According to Smaldino, Lowther, Mims, and Russell (2015), “Children with disabilities in particular need special instructional interventions” (p.3). I would like to learn more about autism and how to better serve my students on the autism spectrum.

International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National educational technology standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-teachers

Smaldino, S., Lowther, D., Mims, C., & Russell, J. (2015). Instructional technology and media for learning. (11^th ed.). Pearson Education, Inc.

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