My Take on Transliteracy
Taken from the Transliteracies Research Project, "transliteracy is the ability to understand and communicate—i.e., to be “literate”—across all communication platforms, including sign language, speech, reading, writing, mass and social media." In the 21st century, there is no doubt that transliteracy has a very important place in the world and in turn—education. The ability to effectively understand and communicate is integral in both our private and professional lives. As technology advances and communication evolves, as an educator, I feel it my personal duty to teach transliteracy to my students. I need to know that my students are becoming increasingly proficient in using the different forms of communication to accomplish tasks. As my students progress into high school and college, they will surely be exposed to many new platforms of communication, whether it is Weebly, Blackboard, Zoom and so on and be expected to utilize them proficiently. My goal as a teacher is to prepare my students for the future and that includes teaching transliteracy, especially in the mathematics content. I believe that students in the 21st century have all the answers at their fingertips via the World Wide Web and if they can master how to navigate it and all other media (text, images, audio, or videos), they can tap into those answers for themselves. Transliteracy is needed to become autodidacts in this new information age. My wanting to transform my classroom so it can provide students a way to learn at their pace and feel included, I think, requires students become increasingly transliterate. In conclusion, transliteracy definitely plays a part in leveling the playing field if we want to get into talking about social justice and closing the achievement or opportunity gap. Those who are not transliterate will be at a blatant disadvantage. I am all for it, but what does teaching transliteracy really mean and what does it look like in the classroom? Questions About Transliteracy The definition of transliteracy seems pretty straight forward but it is a bit more difficult to imagine how teaching transliteracy would actually play out in the mathematics content area. What would a lesson look like? What tools would I need to train on before utilizing it? Are they compatible with my curriculum and standards? I wonder if that means I need to utilize fancy tech tools and introduce new platforms of communication into my classroom even if it may not offer any apparent advantages as compared to other means. Here are a few other questions that I have come across as I ponder the idea of teaching transliteracy. Does literacy in social media contribute to more learning in math? Or does it provide more distraction than benefits? In a race against time in my class and many math classes around the world, I worry that teaching transliteracy means spending abundant amounts of time on tasks that can be accomplished more speedily through a different mean. For example, I would like to have students create math video tutorials. I want to introduce different video making apps and tips for what makes a good tutorial video but is the extra time spent on this task worth it? Are their critical thinking skills in math increasing through this process? Is there more conceptual understanding and procedural fluency? That is a question I do not have an answer for but I hope to come closer to an answer as I progress through the Innovative Learning program. Influence of Transliteracy on Student Inclusion and Engagement I definitely believe that transliteracy teaching methods increase student inclusion and engagement as it may very well encompass technology that the students may already be aware of. It could possibly make the content more interesting and relevant to the student if the teaching methods are utilized correctly. However, I have definitely seen lessons that include transliteracy in math classes that do not engage students either so there are some things to consider when we talk about teaching transliteracy. It is important to understand how to effectively teach and utilize transliteracy. I do love the idea of allowing students to utilize YouTube videos and other media to support learning. I think that Khan Academy and various other platforms are valuable. Final Thoughts My final thoughts on transliteracy is whether teaching methods different from content to content and if it is important to teach transliteracy across all content areas? I have found that many platforms and apps align much better to Language Arts and whether gaining transliteracy skills in one class transfers to other classes. I do not want it to seem like I am pushing all the responsibilities to other content areas but I want to know if it is feasible in a math class. If so, I am willing to try it out!
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My Goals Relative to the Goals of the Program My original goals coming into the Innovative Learning program was to first off, expose myself to digital tools that could potentially support or improve the quality of student learning in the mathematics classroom setting and secondly, learn how to integrate them into my classroom to better prepare my students for the demands of the 21st century. To be honest, my goals were largely influenced by all of the good things I had heard from other educators about how they had successfully incorporated innovative learning via digital tools into their classroom. However, many of the stories I had heard were from other content areas such as English Language Arts, Social Studies, or Science. Sadly, there were far fewer success stories in the mathematics content area, making me wonder what relevant tools were out there for 8th grade math and how might I integrate it into my curriculum. Thinking about this evoked curiosity but mainly a sense of confusion and uncertainty. There were a lot of questions swirling around in my head. I thought to myself that these stories provided no road maps for how these educators achieved the success that they had achieved. There were no guarantees that tools they talked about would work in my particular grade level or benefit my students. Moreover, I had no access to research data to show that the tools would indeed do what some have heralded. I needed evidenced-based learning. Educators know that there are a great many tools out there, digital or not. However, we also know that not all of them are great quality and that they will not always align to our curriculum, standards, or objectives. Thus, this is how I have come to enroll in the Innovative Learning program and the influencing factors behind my goals. Moving forward into the program, my goals have somewhat naturally evolved to using digital tools as a means to affect social justice and equalize the playing field which aligns perfectly with the goals of the Innovative Learning program. At the start of the program, scholarly literature as well as my own research data led me to the conclusion that critical thinking skills are necessary for academic success as well as for enduring the 21st century. Students must be able to demonstrate a type of critical thinking skills called metacognition which can be taught through different means and mediums. Therefore, after taking the EDUC 702 Digital Tools for Edu-Vators course, I felt that personalized learning or competency-based learning aligned well with my previous goals. I saw how personalized learning could really support students in improving their quality of learning and critical thinking skills. The next question was how do I implement this and are there any available tools? The answer I came up with was to create a digital assessment tool for students that personalized learning, integrated the use of metacognitive thinking skills, and supported mastery learning. My Cohort and I I have very creative and intelligent cohort members whom I really respect and admire. I believe that their ideas, suggestions, and discussions often provoke and inspire greater ideas in me. They greatly support me unknowingly by constantly making me think, rethink, and eventually connect my thoughts to bigger and better ideas. I could not generate all that I have without them. I believe that my cohort and I are in agreement on this subject and I think this will continue to serve as a great support. For example, one member is a tech tool guru, one thinks outside the box, and another has insights to my content area to list some of the support I can enlist. Additionally, my members have done a great job of trying to get me to not overtax myself which is more helpful than they know. Anxiety is a given when trying to attain your masters and we all need a little TLC and this cohort has endless amounts. Lastly, as the instructor has already said, I think “critical friends” or as we ACMSers know it, “friendly feedback” will be very import during this last stage of the program for our capstone projects. I believe that this platform will provide us with the opportunities to gain insight, generate new ideas, and improve our products. Group Norms I believe that hand raising is a great group norm. It ensures that discussion is orderly and that no one is being talked over or is dominating the conversation. I think it is important to share the floor even if we have a lot to say. I also believe that it is important to mute our mics when not sharing because background noises can be distracting or disruptive to the group discussion. I also believe in respecting everyone’s time which means starting and ending on time. I also like the 5 minute potty/stretch break in the middle of the 2 hour session because it helps circulate the blood and oxygen in our body and can contribute to refreshing our minds. New Design Steps and Progress--Incorporating Gamification
My prototype consists of a digital assessment tool for students and a digital instructional library for teachers. It is a truly large endeavor. For the most part, I honestly do not think creating these will be HARD but it will be TIME CONSUMING. I am taking that hit because I truly hope what I am trying to do will be of benefit to my students and colleagues. In my design steps I have decided I may want to gamify my digital assessment tool so I will need to flesh that out more and map out what I will need to do in order to accomplish this goal. I am thinking of creating the digital assessment tool using Class Craft because they have a "content" tab that can house assignments and checking it out, it already has some great capabilities for inputting different kinds of media into it. Unlike Socrative and Mastery Connect, it allowed me to embed images into the questions and answers. I still need to figure out if they have mathematical symbols enabled. There is a way to assign points to each assignment and send immediate feedback which may eliminate the need for Twitter and E-mail for the feedback section of my module. I am all about interactivity and getting meaningful responses and feedback so I do try to minimize multiple choice. That also means a lot of hand-grading of assignments. Google Forms, EdPuzzle, and Mastery Connect, have auto-grade and/or a rubric feature that are handy for hand-grading. Google Forms and Mastery Connect both have add-ons, extensions, or features that allow for easy integration of rubrics and grading. These tools provide data analysis of student assessment data that helps inform instruction. However, as far as I have seen and explored, Class Craft does not have a section that analyzes the data that can be used to inform future instruction. I do not think it auto-grades so that is still a "need to know" and next step for me. If not, can I find a platform to use that encompasses all of the features I am aiming for or can I blend two in a seamless way so students don't have to jump back and forth to different platforms? Dervin and Feedback to Measure Success--Google Form Survey I am really feeling Dervin right now. After working on my "Think Sheet" and prototype revision, I realized that I want feedback from educators on how my digital instructional library has influenced their class instruction. In addition to Twitter and E-mail I would like to include a Google Form Survey asking teachers what problem they were trying to address, what they were looking for, if they found it, if they implemented it or not, how it worked out for them, and how I can improve my module. I also wanted a hit counter on my module to see how much traffic the pages get. I wonder if there is a way to do a hit counter on how many times certain documents are download or clicked on from my page. I think I might extend this to the students section to get their input on what they liked and what was frustrating, what need to be changed or deleted, and what they would like added that is missing. Challenges and Successes Exposure to the different instructional design models has really broadened my perspective of instruction. In particular Dervin, Clark, and Baggio have really influenced my thinking on my prototyping and instructional design in general. Although Dervin was a dense read, her article on sense-making and research was very beneficial for seeing how surveys can be utilized to its highest potential by designing questions that give you the best bang for your buck. Human information is a very interesting subject and it almost feels like it fits in the realm of psychology which is one of my secret interests--probing and understanding the complex minds of humans. Clark had the biggest impact on me because her ISD model really leaves no room for failure if everything is designed accordingly and the execution is done by someone who has experience and support. If I had to describe instructional design in one word, it would be the word "plan." If your plan is well thought out, then learning will surely occur. Baggio has greatly influenced my perspective on visual design. My habit in the past was to be as efficient as possible by squeezing all the information on as little slides as possible. I was worried of leaving things out and minimizing texts on slides was my Achilles heel. I have been converted and now include more impactful and meaningful images that do not distract too much, worked on my alignment and white space for visual balance, and use repetition for cohesion. If I need to give students detailed notes it will be in the form of a handout from here on out. This has made me a more reflective thinker and forced me to be more prepared because there won't be reading off slides anymore. What is Game-Based Learning and Gamification and How to Use It Game-based learning and gamification are two different approaches to learning. Both aim to leverage elements of gaming for deep engagement and thinking. Game-based learning requires the use of actual digital video games, applications or software or non-electronic board games (which may be less efficient) while the gamification of learning is the application of typical elements of game playing such as levels, point scoring, competition with others, as well as project-based units which require students to demonstrate mastery in order to move on in lieu of the traditional lecture and testing. Key Takeaways from Gabe Zichermann, Katie Salen, and Jane McGonigal Three speakers: Gabe Zichermann, Katie Salen, and Jane McGonigal all make a compelling argument for the use of gaming in the classroom. Sharing some key takeaways, in his TED Talk, Gabe Zichermann offered his audience advice: don’t fight the game trend but rather be one with the game and try to understand the dynamic of how your children play games from the context of the game outward not from the outside in. This resonated with me because I interpreted what he said to mean that we need to understand the socio-cultural context and background of our students to really be able to create meaningful relevant instruction and support their learning. Katie Salen touched on how design thinking helped students become aware of where they are at, how far they have come, and what they need to work on. My reaction to this was, “how can I do that?” Last, Jane McGonigal offered a positive light on gamers as super-empowered hopeful individuals. In her TED Talk, she touched on something really important. The idea of the “epic win” which is an outcome that is so extraordinarily positive, you had no idea was possible until you achieved it. It is almost beyond the threshold of imagination and when you get there you are shocked to discover what you are truly capable of. Students need more “epic wins” in their life, especially in the content area of mathematics. They need those moments that build up their confidence and show them how hard work can pay off, in other words—a growth mindset. My Steps for Implementing Game-Based Learning and Gamification The first step is to leverage the gamer brain to support learning by having my students self-assess their gamer brain type. People like different types of games, some more collaborative, more social, and others more competitive. In understanding my students’ gamer brain type, I can then create lessons with different types of activities for students to pick from that they find most engaging. Or perhaps I can have students learn more about the elements of game design and have them create their own games. This would be a great lesson to develop design thinking in my students and would lend itself to gamification as a PBL/PrBL unit. As students learn to design a game, they can learn about goal setting and progress monitoring. As they complete different steps in their design, they can receive rewards. Students will get plenty of feedback during the design process. At the end, the students can then play the game-based learning games they have created collaboratively. My Use of Game-Based Learning and Gamification Tools Some of the tools I would consider using would be Class Dojo and Class Craft because I think Class Dojo would be a helpful as a reward or point system for fostering positive behaviors. It would give me a platform to provide students feedback as well as connect with parents. Students can also add work to their portfolio and I can then provide feedback to them instantly. I think a lot of our PrBL units could be documented this way. After learning about Class Craft, I fell in love with it. I can actually add in assignments into the “interactive classroom content” tab for students to complete and award them points for completing assignments. You can also take away points for negative behaviors. Students also grouped into teams so they are accountable for one another. There is a “class tool” that measures the classroom volume using a microphone and encourages students to quiet down. You can set the level wherever you want. This is a cool feature because I have been wanting to get one of those red light green light volume monitors but this would be free and easier. The students can gain points for keeping the volume down. Boss battles is a formative assessment feature that would work really well with my prototype because it gives the students xp points as they work on their quests. Students can earn points for various reasons and use them for cool classroom privileges like the ability to eat a snack in class or get a hint on a test. This is exactly what I was looking and am aiming at. I would also like to incorporate a tool for the mastery of concepts in which students aren't allowed to progress if they don't master a concept first. Socrative and the more upgraded version, Mastery Connect are awesome ways for teachers to create formative assessments, receive immediate results, return feedback, and analyze the data. I think this has a lot of useful features but lacks in the engagement department. My Students' Use of Game-Based Learning and Gamification Tools Some of the tools my students would be using would be similar to mine which is Class Dojo and Class Craft in order to monitor behavior and complete assignments and assessments. They well also utilize various game-based learning tools like Desmos, Khan Academy, and a few new games I found. I think Prodigy, DragonBox Algebra 5+, and Twelve a Dozen would be good tools for learning math content as a supplementary resource. I like the idea of having students use game-based learning tools while the teacher is able to work one-on-one with individual students or small groups. Desmos is a great tool because it has a lot of math activities and games that are individual and collaborative. There is one game that is similar to the board game called “Guess Who?” in which students are looking at graphs and they have to describe theirs to their partner and eliminate the right ones. There is a marbles game and a train track game in which students explore linear equations and manipulate them in order to move the marbles in the trajectory they want. This means students will need to learn about the y-intercept as well as how slope plays a role in making a line steeper or more gradual and moving them up and down. Examples of Gamification That We Encounter Examples of gamification that we encounter regularly include reward point systems for behavior management and gamifying activities in a way that mimics quests and boss battles. One article talked about PBL/PrBL itself as gamifying an activity. Game-based learning and gamification are two buzz words I hear a lot but know little about. So far, these are the only two ways I have seen or heard them being used. I have probably been exposed to a lot of other game-based learning and gamification tools but it escapes my brain at the moment. Faced with a dilemma, I wondered if there were any simple solutions already out there and if not, what could I do to in order to address it. As a teacher, it is my job to support my students in their journey to gain knowledge and skills that will adequately prepare them for the future. I asked myself what kind of knowledge and skills will my students need to be successful? After much research, I came to the conclusion that students really need three things: critical thinking skills, the ability to set and monitor their goals, and the ability to learn independently as autodidacts. The time for hand-holding is coming to an end and my 8th grade students need to be prepared for it. In addition to those three things, I really wanted my students to build their confidence in their math skills and to master necessary mathematical concepts for academic success.
The answer became clear to me. I immediately knew that I wanted to create a digital assessment tool that would allow for differentiated learning. With a digital assessment tool, students can work at their own pace and at their ability level while still being challenged. By adding notes, examples, visual instructional plans (VIPs), practice problems, and a video tutorial feature, I felt that these features would support my struggling students. Students can choose which chapter and which lessons they want to work on that day and they can easily see what the standards they will be addressing. They can review notes and examples and try problems on their own. They can even get hints, guiding questions, or suggested video tutorials when they do not understand a specific question. They can request feedback from the instructor through twitter or e-mail. The digital assessment tool also has a formative assessment module after each lesson of each chapter as well as a summative assessment that encompasses content from the whole chapter. I like the idea of the formative assessment because it is like game-based learning in which you have to beat each "boss" where the lessons are your missions, and the formative assessments are the bosses at each level. Then that would mean that the summative chapter assessments are the big bosses. I really like this format because the lessons give students practice and confidence, the formative assessment gives them even more practice, and the summative assessment evaluates whether students have truly mastered the concepts and skills for knowledge transfer and easy retrieval. I think procedural fluency is so very important because students should be able to apply the knowledge they have gained to various academic and life situations. Knowledge is useless if it is never used. I am still working on figuring out how I could make the lessons engaging. Gamification and game-based learning are two possible options. I hope to make the lessons and activities relevant to the students to gain and keep their interest but I am sure there must be more that I can do. Although this module is technically for students, parents should also be able to use it. Standards are included as well as tools and tutorials on how to use the tools. Parents wishing to understand what their child is learning or trying to help their child can also access the math help videos and notes. From the lens of a teacher, I knew that I wanted to create a resource for teachers like me, teachers who are tired of searching for GOOD resources and materials for hours only to be left empty handed. At the end of it, I am forced to create my own materials, explore different tools, and try to come up with a user guide for my students. The word for it all is, "time consuming." I hope that the digital instructional library will offer educators different instructional designs that they can use to meet the needs of their students, lesson plans, assessments, tools and materials that can easily be adapted in their class, and project ideas that will engage their students and make them think critically. Overall, I want to save educators time and hopefully provide valuable information or ideas. They will get suggestions on different digital tools, concise descriptions, pros and cons, and even videos and links to resources on how to use the tools eliminating the need to search the internet far and wide for instructions and tutorials. Overall I really liked how my prototype came out. It is a hefty endeavor though as there are many components and because there is a student and educator module, it is like creating two things which means a lot of work. I still have to think more deeply about my audience's prior knowledge and anticipate what they will need based on what is being asked of my students from the CCSS to determine what tools and tutorials need to be included. Nine chapters of content with 62 lessons means that I really need to think through each lesson and come up with good hints, guiding questions, and video tutorials to support my students. I feel scared but excited about my prototype so far and look forward to fleshing it out more. Helpful Tech Tools for Creating Visual Displays and Videos The two tools I chose to explore were Snagit from techsmith.com and Screencastify which is a Google Chrome extension. I chose these two tools because they offer a feature that would simplify capturing images and marking them up for making slides and tutorial videos. These two tools also offer video cropping and editing that eliminate having to use other editing software. They allow recording of computer audio such as music as well as narration all for free. Many other free screencasting software allow for voice recording, but not free computer audio with their free version. Not to mention, they are user-friendly and there are video tutorials if you ever get stuck. Snagit offers a lot of customization features. You get two in one with Snagit because you can create images as well as videos (mp4 or gif format). You can create images that are highly customizable like that of apps like Canva. With Snagit, you can probably eliminate creating a screenshot and having to transfer it to Canva to further edit because Snagit offers a lot of similar features as Canva. Overall, Snagit and Screencastify are both great tools because they help save time by simplifying the editing process and they generate professional high quality products Free is an Important Word Free is an important feature of a tool. As educators, our budgets are already pretty tight so being able to access tools that can be used for better instruction and learning for our students for free is a high priority for me. Moreover, most of the students at my school are low-income and cannot afford to pay for these features. If we expect our students to become tech savvy and knowledgeable, they need hands on experience and practice of these skills. If these tools were not free, it would be difficult to teach and support technology integration in the classroom because students would not be able to access important features to gain skills needed in the professional world. Newer More Sophisticated Tools Save Time and Generate Higher Quality Products In making slides and tutorials, I often have to screenshot images using a snipping tool or with “print screen” which can be a time consuming task. With the snipping tool, I have noticed that the image captured is of a lower quality than what I see on the original screen. The image looks fuzzy or blurry and furthermore, I have to save each image individually and pull them back up for editing and customization in MS Paint which is a pain. Getting screen shots using the print screen button is just as time-consuming as the snipping tool. You have to open MS Paint, paste the print screen image, and then crop the image manually. This method actually produces a better quality image than the snipping tool but there are too many clicks involved especially when you are trying to capture many images. Next, in order to mark up the images or add stamps to it, you have to spend time searching for images that have transparent backgrounds. The arrows and shapes provided on MS Paint are nice but are somewhat limited. Lastly, entering text on paint can be a pain because it does not allow for text alignment such as centering. Also, once you have moved the textbox to the location you wanted and click somewhere else on the image, the text becomes part of the original image and you cannot move the text anymore unless you click the “undo” button or CTRL+Z. By clicking “undo,” the textbox disappears which means you have to start the process all over again. I really like features where you can move the textbox around, preview what it would look like, then move it somewhere else if it does not look right. However, MS paint does not offer that feature. Tool Application Having tinkered with Snagit and Screencastify for a few hours, I was able to figure out several uses for them in my own instructional practices. I would like to use it to create visual displays and math help videos to support my students learning, make video tutorials for how to use these tools (student and teacher use), and as a learning tool that allows students to create products. One of my goals within my research study, capstone project, and professional goals is to create a digital assessment tool that provides math video tutorials and feedback for struggling students. Thus, I will definitely need to utilize screencast software to create these math tutorial videos. I would also like to create “how to” and review video tutorials for different digital tools that can be accessed by students and other educators. Sometimes it is fun to explore a tool but most of the time I like to see the tool in action while someone is giving an overview of the tool, its features, pros, and cons. The exploring comes later for me when I actually have an authentic use for it. I think other educators would appreciate such a resource because it would save them time in reading through various tutorials and searching for several video tutorials that are usually not comprehensive. Sometimes the website that offers these tools provide information in an easy to understand way and simple video tutorials all in one place but that is not always the case. For example, I came across graph/chart making tools that are very useful for learning in math but there are hardly any video tutorials for them. This then requires educators to spend hours tinkering with the tool, figuring out what our audience would struggle with then creating some kind of guide for them. I am always looking for effective tools that can help me save time on whatever I am doing or creating and I am sure many educators feel the same way. I think this tool can also be utilized by students for making their own social media and images/videos for their projects. I would like to have students create their own math tutorial videos or even “how to” video tutorials for others who might be struggling with a tech tool. Lastly, I saw various websites utilizing video responses in which students recorded their answers to questions in video form detailing their thought process. I think video responses are a great way for students to practice their public speaking, presentation skills for future careers, and as a way to reflect their thinking in a different format. I do not think that reflective thinking should only come in the form of written communication. Video as an Assessment Tool I think videos can be easily used as an assessment tool. As mentioned above, assessments can be collected in the form of video responses. Students can record themselves solving a problem, explaining their steps, and providing justifications for those steps in the math content area. Videos can even be used to assess oral communication, presentation skills, and creativity. Barriers Barriers exist even with very clear tutorials. I tried using the window scrolling feature in Snagit and it would not work for me. The window scrolling feature is like taking a screenshot of a panoramic picture which is just a really long up and down image. I followed the simple three steps outlined but the “arrows” that I was supposed to drag did not show up for me. So compatibility of computers and other devices is a big deal. We forget that not every device is created equal. Similarly, when I tried to use Screencastify, the settings button would not appear for me so I could not mark up my image and found that the free version would only allow 50 videos to be created per month. I tinkered around and made about 4 or 5 different videos which means I only have 45 tries left. I assume that although I was using the Google Chrome browser, but because I was not on an actual Chromebook, the settings bar did not pop up for me. With free versions of anything, there are often limitations so it is important that we keep that in mind when we are considering various tools. Although I think videos can be used as an assessment tool, I think it is very important that we must first make sure students are proficient at using these video making tools and learning what goes into an effective video before setting them off. It would be unfair to assume that our students are proficient at using these tools, asking them to create a product in which expectations are unclear, and grading their product based on unfair expectations. This is one barrier of student use. Another barrier for example is that I have students who are very shy and I can foresee some issues cropping up because of it. How do we work around camera shyness or shyness alone? How do we grade our students who refuse to participate? What are the alternatives? Then the last but almost one of the most important issues is having equitable access for all students. I think there are some simple solutions to accessing issues such as having students record in class and working out their video response, scripts and/or storylines out at home. This would actually lend itself really well to a flipped lesson. What do I want for my students?
I want my students to be college and career ready. That means that they need to become autonomous learners who are autodidacts. In order to do so, students need metacognitive regulatory skills, meaning they need to be able to pinpoint their goal (task, job, etc.), plan how to achieve it, monitor their progress, evaluate their success and make necessary adjustments. These are crucial skills for higher education and for work. No one will be holding your hand at work or giving you answers when you are stuck. That is what they are being paid to do. My hope is that a digital assessment tool will allow students to work at their pace and level, get the resources they need to overcome learning obstacles, and continue to learn for mastery. In setting their goals, monitoring their progress, and achieving their goals, I hope that they will gain metacognitive regulatory skills that can transfer to other arenas of their lives. What do I want for colleagues and other educators?
I think all teachers want their students to become self-sufficient independent learners. We want them to problem-solve and overcome obstacles. We need to find ways to support our students in doing that but there are few high quality resources and tools. Often times, teachers need to make their own materials and so I hope that the resources and tools I provide will help others create and customize what they need for their students' needs. Most teachers have little time to create amazing engaging activities so by providing available activities and ideas, I hope it will be of great help to them and save them a lot of time. Uses of Google Forms Google Forms is a very versatile app and can be used across various content areas and for various purposes. In the classroom, they are useful for gathering information on student knowledge and performance. They may even be helpful for gathering statistical data for student assignments or simply be used to gather data on your students or parents/guardians for instructional planning, events, and so on. Some uses of Google Forms include creating assessments (formative or summative), surveys, peer evaluations, and reflections. There are several question types to choose from which allows for personal customization. Question types include short answer, paragraph, multiple choices, checkboxes, dropdown, a linear scale, and a multiple choice grid. There is even a feature that allows the creator to mark the file as an assessment type, create an answer key for auto-grading, distribute points for each question as desired, and allow for feedback (see examples below). Personally, it was my first time using Google Forms and found it very intuitive and user-friendly. I fiddled and explored different buttons and features and was able to create three forms: assessment, survey, and evaluation form. The first was a diagnostic assessment I intend to use at the beginning of the school year to see where my students abilities are. It was the easiest to upload the full image of the question and answers (multiple choice) and make it a short answer (letter answer) because I did not want to go through the pain of typing of each question and then trying to type various mathematical symbols (which are not even an option) into the multiple choice answer fields. The only tedious part is making sceenshots of each of the 30 questions then uploading them individually into each question. One thing that made it slightly easier was to have my download folder open and drag each image rather than trying to find the file each time through browse. Since this assessment has not been administered yet, I have no data besides my own for which I submitted under the last and first name of "answer key." I have yet to try the feedback feature. Benefits of Google Forms One benefit of using Google Forms is the ability to look at the simple data analysis of the responses. It can provide some insights to the mean, median, and range of student performance for assessment types (see example below). However, for short answer or paragraph type answers, auto-grading really is not an option but grading can still be simplified using other methods. Grading Made Simpler by Add-Ons Responses from Google Forms can be also be collected and exported to a spreadsheet (Google Sheets) which can then be sorted in various ways (by last name, ID, question, etc.) and graded with the aid of various add-ons. Using add-ons, grading can be simplified and feedback and results can be sent to all responders immediately. For example, add-ons like Doctopus, Goobric, and Flubaroo are a few add-ons or extensions that help accomplish this (see examples below). I could not confirm the ease of the add-ons as I could not explore them too deeply because I do not have any responses populated with which I could manipulate. I learned that "Goobric" is actually a Chrome extension, not an add-on and unfortunately only works with Google Chrome. Unfortunate because I am a firefox user. Nevertheless, the assessment data gathered from google forms using various add-ons provides valuable analysis of student performance and helps inform future instruction. The data can show the mean score of the class, which problems the students struggled most with, and individual stumbling blocks to encourage personalized learning. Although I have come across many wonderful apps that are highly touted by colleagues, they do not always work in a mathematics classroom but in my opinion, Google Forms lends itself very well to the mathematics classroom and is highly compatible with the needs of those teachers. Google Forms Applications in My Classroom and Capstone Project
The audience of my capstone project are both students and colleagues as well as other educators who wish to incorporate personalized learning using digital assessments. Google Forms was one of the first apps that seemed viable for creating assessments that could be used to aid my quest in incorporating personalized learning and learning for mastery into my classroom. The assessments can be graded and returned to students immediately for them to review. The students can also receive feedback from me, either hints or tutorial video links. Students can try again until they master how to solve the problem. I honestly feel that I will be using Google Forms much more coming this new academic school year because I would love to limit the amount of printing I do by doing online peer evaluations and surveys through Google Forms. All the data can be exported to a spreadsheet which can be sorted into alphabetical order making it easier to enter grades into the ECHO platform. At long last I do not have to manually order students papers by last names based on, in some cases, very illegible handwriting just to enter scores into the grade book. I think I can use the assessment data to inform my instruction much more efficiently with Google Forms as well. I can look at patterns of student work much easier this way and see who is struggling and what they are struggling with. I have looked at Flubaroo, Doctopus, and Goobric and I look forward to seeing how they can be applied in my classroom. I am interested in using Autocrat but have yet to explore it very much. Inspiration, Observation, Reflection, Experiences, Connections, and Dilemmas from the Lens of three ID Models: SITE, ISD, and ARCS SITE Model--Contextual Learning Experiences The SITE model is an instructional design (ID) model that offers a learner centered framework for creating and implementing contextualized learning experiences. It takes into account socio-cultural, informational, and the technical subcontexts of the learner in the design of instruction to create a learning experience that maximizes the chances that the learner will be able to obtain and use the intended knowledge. Problem of Traditional Instructional Designs--Inert Knowledge The idea behind the brilliance of using the SITE model is to address issues of traditional ID such as the problem of “inert knowledge”. Alfred North Whitehead coined “inert knowledge” and is used to refer to knowledge that does not come to mind when it would be appropriate or useful. In traditional ID, the learning experiences tend to be designed in a manner in which knowledge (concepts, principles, and theories) do not get applied in life circumstances because knowledge transfer across a broad range of domains or contexts are very difficult for humans according to cognitive psychologists. It is much more difficult than applying the knowledge in situations that are similar to the context that the knowledge was first acquired. It does not mean that the person does not “know” the information, but rather they cannot connect this information to a situation for where it might be used. This is the problem experienced by thousands of teachers, including myself and is the focus of my research study. Students can obtain knowledge and can apply it but do not know when or why they might use it regarding unfamiliar situations which essentially means that what the students have just learned is information stored in their brains that goes unused and wasted. Hence, the SITE model advocates for Functional Context Education (FCE) and performance-oriented learning in which learning is situated in a context in which learners will apply those skills ensuring that skills can be utilized outside of the classroom. Problems Traditional ID--No Transfer of Learning So, how do we foster the transfer of learning to other situations and contexts? That solution to that question remains to be seen. This is the exact dilemma that my research study aims to address. My driving question explored the connection between critical thinking and standardized test performance but embedded in that question are two subquestions that aim to address whether teaching metacognition or metacognitive thinking skills in a systematic way can foster procedural fluency or a transfer of knowledge to different contexts as well as produce autonomous learners. Hence, the SITE model combined with Clark’s ISD model as well as the ARCS model might offer a viable solution in answering how one might design instruction that promotes the transfer of learning. Combining Three Instructional Designs--ISD, SITE, & ARCS Applying Clark’s ISD model, the first step seems to be assessing the needs of the learner and using that to define what will be taught—the task. The first step should also include the “S-socio-cultural subcontext” from the SITE model and the “A-attention” and “R-relevance” from the ARCS model to assess socio-cultural subcontexts of the learner to aid us in understanding the factors that motivate the learner to invest in the learning process and designing instruction that will grab and hold the learner’s attention. Without some relevance to the learner’s goals and motives, it is unlikely that they will invest themselves deeply in the learning. Applying the ISD model, the “I-informational subcontext” and “T-technical subcontext” from the SITE model, the second step would be analyzing the task to determine the content of the instruction by identifying information and skills required by the task, subtracting students’ prior knowledge. This step will require the instructor to take the mindset of the novice or the mindset of their learners to determine what supports need to be embedded in order for them to gain the information and skills. In this step, the instructor should also define the learning objective and assessment that will be used to evaluate the performance outcomes to evaluate the success of the ID as well as the instructional methods, techniques, and media that will be used to during instruction. Last, applying the ISD model, the “C-confidence” and “S-satisfaction from the ARCS model, one should pilot the instructional design and make revisions before implementation or classroom instruction. Class instruction should help develop a positive expectation (confidence) for successful achievement by clearly outlining the requirements, providing various challenging experiences or practice exercises that create satisfaction through extrinsic and intrinsic reinforcement for effort, and offering personal control and feedback such as verbal praise, incentives, and constructive comments based on criteria that is supported by instructional media (i.e. displays, workbook, video, etc.). Reflections and Connections--Applications to My Research I believe that these three ID models work together to provide me the best method of designing my instruction for knowledge transfer. Relevance and motivation will ensure student interest and the building of strong schema and hopefully automatization of knowledge by providing opportunities for varied practice of knowledge in different contexts. If the information knowledge is obtained in a familiar situation or context, it is more likely that the learners will be able to recall the information and be able to apply it. Allowing students to practice the skills, concepts, or procedures will lead to concept mastery and exposure to different contexts will create flexible thinking and allow students to see applications of that knowledge to different settings. Procedures are not learned best by rote but through application which is why designing instruction as well as learning objectives that create ample opportunities for practicing these procedures are so important. In chapter 3 "How to Teach Procedures", Clark discusses the ways in which procedures are best learned. She advocates for follow-along demonstrations and exercises that require the learner to perform the procedure supported by memory support such as information displays of the needed steps. One type of information display is an action and decision table. However, Clark continually emphasizes follow-up demonstrations or explicit direct instruction which many educational research studies I came across also support the conclusion that it is a good way of teaching procedures. The “E-education” in the SITE model requires us to develop broader perspectives and understandings amidst the fairly specific goals and techniques in order to develop a whole person and enrich a whole society. At the end of the article on the SITE model, there is increased emphasis on learning to learn or creating learners who are autodidacts—people who learn without the benefit of a teacher. This resonated with me because as I mentioned previously, my research goal is also to explore how to help my students become more autonomous learners which connects to my interest in developing CBE (personalized learning) and a digital concept mastery based assessment tool or system that allows students to track their progress, develop their learning goals, and learn independently with limited teacher support. It is important to remember that there is only one of me and thirty-six of them so utilizing digital tools to empower students to learn independently should be explored as a viable solution. First and foremost, I would like to say that I have very little experience with social media and have honestly tried to actively stay away from it. There are a few reasons for why I have tried to stay away from social media and these are the same reasons why social media is such a powerful tool for developing, collaborating, and communicating in a professional or personal capacity. Social media can be used for good or evil. That being said, it is not just our youth that need to be educated so that they can become proper digital citizens, I would say that many adults out there also desperately need to be taught how to use technology appropriately and responsibly. There is a great need for people all over the worldwide to understand that what one says and does can have a greater impact on themselves and others than they could have imagined. Stupid and inappropriate posts are not limited to our youth so although we need to prepare our students to be responsible digital citizens, we also need to make them aware that they will also definitely encounter people who will abuse technology (peers and adults) and that it does not allow them to follow suit just because others are doing it. Be Aware of Dangers and Protect Yourself First, the internet is neither good nor bad. It is in the way a user chooses to utilize it that determines whether the internet can have a positive or negative impact in the world. The internet is a place that offers up many benefits. It allows us to reach, share with, and connect to exponentially more people than ever before—globally. It offers up anonymity that allows users and creators to be freer, more expressive and more honest in their interactions and activities online as opposed to other settings that can make people feel more oppressed or judged. The internet allows for access to new knowledge, exploration, and tools that help better lives as well as entertain us. However, there are two sides to a coin. The internet can also be used to hurt others. Just like how the internet affords us the luxury of anonymity, freedom of expression, and the ability to connect to many others, it can also allow for things such as cyber bullying precisely because people can say what they would like to whomever they choose. Cyber bullying has become a common occurrence across the world resulting in many tragedies. I myself have personally experienced this phenomenon (bullying and negativity) and precisely the reason why I do not participate in social media. I know myself well. I know that I am a sensitive person and that I dislike critique. I also know that strangers can be judgmental and harsh and although people can be blocked, sometimes it is already too late to stop the effects of that ONE negative comment. So is it the responsibility of educators and parents to teach our kids to be cautious in this digital world and to help them develop thicker skin to the harsh world around us? I personally have no clue. My Personal Experience with Social Media My experience with social media has mainly been with Facebook because it was a platform in which I could use to connect and network with friends, family, classmates, and colleagues. As one of the first universities to participate in Facebook back in 2004 and as a freshman in college, it was imperative to have an account. This was the main mode for finding a classmate, scheduling study groups, discussing about class and homework, joining social circles and events, and connecting with friends and colleagues. With the expansion of Facebook, this came to include family and even employers. As a student, that was what I was using social media for. So what about as a professional—how should social media be used to develop, collaborate, and communicate with others? Ways in Which Social Media Should be Used by Professionals As a professional, social media should be used to develop, collaborate, and communicate products and information that help us better ourselves, others, and the world at large (blogs, e-portfolios, digital resumes, video tutorials, presentations, movies, training videos, artwork, and so on). I found that the top 15 most popular social networking sites include Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Reddit, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr, LinkedIn, ClassMates, Tumblr, and Google+ just to list a few. These social networking sites provide opportunities to create and share with people all around the world which can range from any of the products and information listed above and then some. Social media is a powerful and effective tool for starting a two-way conversation (both reaching out and receiving feedback from others such as to students, parents, colleagues, customers, etc.). It would be a failure on our parts if we did not utilize such a tool to our advantage. We often hear, “two heads are better than one.” Professionals should use social media to collaborate with brilliant minds (experts) all over the world who share the same passion as them for which they would normally not have the luxury of working with. For example, Facebook, Skype, and other social media allow us the opportunity to communicate with people from all over the world (video chat, texts, file sharing, etc.) which help us obtain more insight and learn new cultures and even new languages. Through social media, we are able to communicate, get feedback (assessments in an academic setting and surveys in a corporate setting), share ideas, improve ideas, and so much more. Social media allows for real-time immediate information and feedback. Furthermore, professionals could even use social media to advertise products, build their reputation, get customer feedback, and connect with clients. Social media can even be used as a tool for learning--synchronous and asynchronous online courses--that require students (both young and adult) to complete assignments such as writing a blog or creating a video. It offers students access to information using various types of media besides pen and paper. Professional development is also possible through social media with access to videos and assessment tools. These tools should not go to waste. Critical Issues to Consider When Using Social Media As mentioned above, with social media and using the web in general, there are always pitfalls to watch out for. Some critical issues to consider are the health and safety of each user. We need to be responsible digital citizens who are aware of the dangers of technology. That means being aware of all nine components of a digital citizen: access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights & responsibilities, health & wellness, and security (self-protection). In order to use social media, one needs to become literate—understanding how the technology should be used. One also needs to understand that each community has its own etiquette or rules of conduct as well as how to communicate and be respectful. One also needs to understand the laws, rights, responsibilities, and security surrounding social media so that the individual knows what information is appropriate to share for the safety of themselves and others. For example, someone might post an artwork that they created without watermarking it and it gets stolen and claimed by someone else. Someone might unknowingly share sensitive information from work online and get them into trouble. In conclusion, professional or not, we all need to be knowledgeable digital citizens who are able to safely and responsibly navigate the internet. How to Deal with Inappropriate Social Media Posts If I were to come across an inappropriate post made by one of my students outside of the school, I would first screenshot it or get hard evidence of it before it can be deleted or otherwise. Second, depending on the content and severity of the post, I would inform the parents, the school administrators, and relevant parties (parents of other students involved, police, etc.) so they can have a conversation or “teachable moment” with the student or take other proper action, especially if it involves the safety of other people. For example, someone posting a picture of themself with a weapon and threatening to shoot up a school or a specific group of people would not just warrant a stern talking to in private. I would probably involve parents and administrator who would determine if the police needed to be involved. Posting a risqué picture (i.e. very skimpy outfit with exposure of cleavage and too much visible buttocks) or a culturally insensitive post might warrant a private discussion with the student and then a class discussion to review the rules of digital citizenship. If it is a case of cyber bullying or sexting, I would inform the parents of all parties and administration and defer to them on what steps should be taken. Considerations for deciding what to do ultimately should be reliant on school policies, codes, and laws. If worse comes to worse and there is uncertainty, always turn to administration. |
Nai Saelee
Middle school math teacher preparing the leaders of the future. Inspiring curiosity, creativity, collaboration Archives
December 2017
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