My Thoughts on Blended Learning

As a middle school teacher, I think that blended learning has a lot to offer for the K-12 classroom. I agree that when traditional classroom methods are blended with technology in order to supplement the curriculum and when more progressive approaches to teaching are used, that it is more beneficial and engaging for the students. With this being said, it seems as though there are multiple definitions of "blended learning" as is apparent from the definition Norma gave us at this week's lecture and the readings. On the one hand, it seems that blended learning means utilizing technology in such a way that nearly everything covered in class is made available online, or that content covered in the face-to-face class meetings will be discussed between classmates in an online forum. On the other hand, it seems that blended learning is a combination of utilizing technology while still using traditional and progressive teaching methods in order to meet the needs of the many different types of learners in the classroom. Personally, I see the latter definition as one to which I can relate.

Because I teach at a school where more than half the students are living in poverty, it is no doubt that not every student has access to technology outside of school. Many families do have a computer, yet not every family has Internet access. Also, our school only has so many technological resources. Now that I have been at the same school for four years, I have seen the developments and additions our district has made when it comes to technology. I must say, we are working our way up and I think we have come quite a long way since I first began teaching at Wilkins. We've always had pseudo-computer labs (in the science classrooms) and one computer lab (which is most always used for the computer classes), but just recently, we have obtained the following: four LCD projector/laptop carts (2 for each grade level [7th and 8th grade]; a small number of Smart Boards (which aren't able to be used just yet); an ELMO machine/projector; and now, two "mobile" labs with four laptops each. Although it isn't much, it is an improvement and is something, to say the least. I believe having some technological resources available is better than having none at all. With this being said, it is not always the easiest or most convenient to incorporate technology into the curriculum. It is often a hassle to get computer-lab time since it means switching rooms with the science teacher for the day. Also, the limited number of technological resources makes it somewhat difficult to plan because the equipment you want might already be checked out.

Despite the aforementioned challenges, I have used technology in various ways with the students throughout my teaching experience, and I believe that, to an extent, I have also used blended learning. I feel that I am more of a progressive teacher anyway, and that I try to avoid teaching in a strictly teacher-centered way. I like it when the students are actively involved and are able to learn in more of a hands-on, collaborative way. As such, I have incorporated learning centers into both my Spanish and language arts curriculum in order to nurture the various learning styles of the students. I have used dice and spinner games for kinesthetic learners as well as designing activities in which the students get to use dry-erase boards and manipulatives; Pictionary and analyses of artwork for the more visual learners; reading, writing, and journaling activities for students who are more linguistic learners and intrapersonal learners; and light research activities involving use of the Internet for a variety of learning types. At other times, I have used differentiation in various activities to meet the needs of students who were performing at different academic levels. I have also designed a couple of webquests for Spanish and language arts (though these were nowhere near as in-depth as the one I am currently working on will be) so that the students were put on a mission to discover the answers to different questions; I've used the ELMO to present a book and related class material to the class; I've had the students use the Internet for research and to type papers and produce products such as pamphlets and PowerPoint presentations; and finally, I've used the LCD projector to present PowerPoint presentations to the class.

I think it is fair to say that what I have done can be considered blended learning. Due to the circumstances of where I teach as well as the grade level and certain other restrictions, it would not be possible to put all class material online, or even supplemental material, and expect students to discuss readings or engage in online chats outside of school. That just wouldn't be right because some students would not have a way of completing the assignments, unless they went to the library or stayed after school or during lunch. Same thing if I were to assign an Internet or computer activity to be done at home...not every student would have the same chance at completing it. However, I actually have done this before. Even though we worked on these assignments in school, there were still only a limited number of computers (15 in the science rooms/computer labs) and not enough time to accommodate every student to such an extent that the work would be completed. I always let students who don't have computer access at home use the computers at school first during class, but some of these students happen to be seemingly unmotivated, unfortunately, who normally have trouble completing regular types of homework assignments. Anyway, my point is that blended learning can be incorporated to the extent that it will work in one's curriculum as long as the necessary resources are there. I have found this to be true of my own teaching.

My Reflection re: How Will My Webquest Empower My Students?

I am actually getting more and more excited about my webquest as time goes on. I've decided the overarching, guiding question for the webquest is going to be: If you could go back in time, to a decade in the 20th century (between 1920 and 1990), to which decade would you go and why?

Through this webquest, I'd like not only for my students to meet the objectives of the social studies curriculum at school and to meet the IL Learning Standards in social studies and perhaps other subject areas such as science and language arts, but also to really think about the way society has changed over the not-too-distant past. I really feel like today's youth are growing up in an extremely rough, potentially dangerous environment - especially the students that I teach. More than half of our student population is at the poverty level. Many of our students come from single-parent homes, yet there are those families that are still nuclear, fortunately. Most children at my school come from "blue-collar" families and not all families within my school have Internet access, let alone a single computer at their home. What I want for my students to realize, as a result of doing this webquest, is that life in the U.S. was not always like the way it is now. Our children are dealing with terrorism, war, poverty, and are growing up in a time when it is not easy for their parents to make a decent living because of the poor economy in which many people are unemployed. At the same time, our children are living in a society that technologically, seems to be moving at the speed of light. There is so much technology and with it comes so many capabilities that it is hard even for an adult like myself to keep up. I often times wish life could be the way it was in the 1950's. Life seemed so simple back then. Families were together and stayed together; children went to school, learned, and knew what it meant to have respect for their teachers, parents, siblings, and classmates; music was actually wholesome and didn't blatantly allude to sex, violence, and drugs; families ate home-cooked meals together; and all of this technology didn't exist. People took pleasure in the simplicities of life.

What I want from this webquest is to understand how the students feel about society now, in the time they have been growing-up, compared to the way life used to be like for their parents, grandparents, and other ancestors. I do not want for the students to despise society now, rather I would like for them to develop an understanding and appreciation of America and the world the way it was in years' past and to foster thinking that will enable them to become citizens who can promote positive change in society today and in the future.

The TechTonic article really captured my interest because I do agree with some of the arguments that were stated. I do think it's important for children to take a step back and just look at and reflect upon all that this world has to offer. Where can they find happiness? It doesn't have to come from IM'ing their friends on the computer, or text messaging friends on the cell phone, or playing video games 24/7. It can come from partaking in their own special interests, just as the article said, and it can also come from learning about their elders and what life was like for them. What did they do for fun? What was the cost of living like? What was technology like? Were there health problems or epidemics they were faced with? What was going on in the world at the time they were growing up? Was there a war going on? Who was the president? Did they grow up in the time of the Civil Rights Movement? What was family-life like? How did they find joy in life amidst society's conflicts, such as times of war or economic struggle, etc.? I know I learned a lot about life in the 20's and 30's from my grandfather who grew up during that time. He also served in WWII, and because he served, I learned at a young age, from a primary source, what the war was like and what life was like for him during that time. I also learned a lot from my parents who grew up in the 40's, 50's and 60's. I wonder if my students have done the same? Have they talked to their parents, grandparents, other family members, or even teachers, who grew up during these decades? Or, are they just learning about history from textbooks and what their teachers have taught them? I want my students to be actively involved in learning about history and I want them to formulate their own ideas. I believe they can do this through my webquest. I will use the textbook as a guide for meeting the curriculum objectives, but at the same time, I would like for my students to actually investigate for themselves what life in the U.S. (and around the world in some cases, dealing with war and politics) was like from the 1920's on.

And now I'll leave you with a quote from the TechTonic article by the Alliance for Childhood, "For real technology literacy, we should focus on educating our children, at home and school, in ways that help them cultivate a profound sense of the goodness of life and of their own capacity to respond from the goodness of their own humanity" (pg.11). I believe my webquest will empower my students in this way and will be a reflection of this quote. I plan on incorporating interviews into the webquest so the students will need to talk to adults who have grown up during those time periods in order to better understand the realities of life back then. Hopefully my webquest will be able to do what I envision.

My Webquest Idea

Since I'll be teaching social studies second semester, which is a subject I've never taught before, I know I would like to make the class more exciting than just using the textbook. One way to do this would be to create a webquest. I've created two webquests in the past, one for my Spanish class and one for my language arts class. However, after looking at the different webquests as a result of our other assignment for this week, I noticed that these webquests were a little different from the ones I had created, for these were more inquiry-based. Considering the fact that our webquest does need to be inquiry-based and one in which allows the students to become active learners and to construct their own meaning, I think that the idea I have will fit these requirements.

The idea I have is to do a study of the decades. Since I'll be teaching World War II and history from that point on (mostly up through the 1980's), I think it'd be suitable to create a webquest that enables the students to learn about not only our country's history in terms of political events, fashion, pop-culture, education, and health, but also teaches them about economics, such as inflation and the cost of living.

What I would do is break the students into groups. Groups would be about 4-5 students each. The students would choose a decade they would want to research. I would probably have roles they could choose, similar to the roles that were identified in the webquest I selected as "the best webquest" for our other assignment, in which the tasks would be clearly identified. For example, one person in the group would research pop-culture, another would research political events, and someone would research health, to name a few.

The students would then compile this information into some sort of presentation - most likely a PowerPoint or poster presentation. I'd like them to stick with using technology, which is why I'd have them create a PowerPoint. At the same time though, I do like offering the students choice when it comes to creating a final product. At any rate, the information gathered would be compiled into a final product which the students would have to present to the class. The overall purpose of this webquest would be for the students to learn about the history of the U.S. and to be able to compare and contrast the way life is now to the way it was years ago. I think the students would find more meaning in learning about history this way rather than simply reading about it in the text.

For now, this is my idea. It may change after I give it some more thought. We'll see...

My Reflection Re: The 20 Basic Technology Skills All Educators Should Have

It is no doubt that technology has now become a regular part of daily life for most 20- and 30- somethings, many middle-agers, and baby-boomers. Even the younger generation of society, the children and adolescents who will one day become the future of our nation, rely on and use technology frequently. As such, it is important that technology be used in schools and that educators know how to use it; however, I do not agree that all 20 of the technology skills that Laura Turner mentioned in her article are "basic" or that EVERY educator should possess all of these skills.

I found that about 55% of the skills were basic and about 45% fell somewhere between intermediate-advanced. I felt that some of the more difficult skills that were among the 45% were not totally necessary for all educators to possess, mainly taking into account the level that one is teaching and the resources and policies the school has regarding technology. I also based my opinion on my own personal experiences with using technology in my own schooling and now as a teacher.

My breakdown and rationale is as follows:

Basic Skills

• word processing
• database
• spreadsheets
• electronic presentation
• web navigation
• web-site navigation
• e-mail management
• file management and Windows Explorer
• knowledge of computer-related storage devices
• educational copyright knowledge
• computer security knowledge

I believe these skills are "basic" because they seem to be skills that most people could most quickly learn if they do not already possess them. I know that I developed many of these skills on my own before I became a teacher. Simply based on the fact that I grew up using the computer, I learned these skills along the way. They didn't just come to me, however. I learned about some of them through my own schooling in elementary and middle school. In high school and college (both as an undergrad and graduate student) I became more aware of the bigger issues like educational copyright laws and computer security knowledge.

Since the aforementioned skills appear to be the ones that would be utilized most frequently in a classroom, and no doubt they have been around for quite some time considering the fact that I acquired some of these skills when I was an adolescent, I think that today all educators should possess these skills. Certainly electronic communication, such as e-mail, has become a widely used and convenient means of communication. I know at my school we are told to check our e-mail everyday; therefore, we must know how to use it. We also enter our grades electronically, so it's important that we understand how to use a spreadsheet. Some teachers even use the software program GradeQuick to keep track of grades while others choose to calculate grades manually. This is another example of being able to use a spreadsheet. Our school offers training for those who need to or want to learn how to use a certain program. There are "open labs" held at different times throughout the year where teachers can get this help in order to become more proficient and knowlegeable in using available technologies at our school.

Regarding the knowledge of educational copyright laws and computer security knowledge, I feel these are basic concepts that every educator should have because at some point, the students will most likely be using computers to do school-related activities. It is important that the teacher is first aware of the copyright laws her/himself so she/he can pass this information along to the students. Even when it comes to non-electronic sources that are being used for educational purposes, the teacher needs to set a good example for the students and needs to educate them on the correct procedure(s) to follow when borrowing and using a source created by another individual. As for the computer security issue, I know that most schools block inappropriate or potentially dangerous sites and computer applications from the school network and particularly, at my school, don't allow classes to partake in such activities as blogging with other classrooms from another school district or participating in online learning projects with another classroom around the world. Even though potential risks and dangers associated with computer security are avoided on school networks, teachers should still work towards educating students on how to safely navigate and use the computer so that when the students use the computer outside of school, they will be aware of how to stay safe and not give out too much personal information.

Intermediate Skills

• deep Web knowledge
• scanners
• digital cameras
• computer-network knowledge
• downloading software from the Web
• installing computer software
• video-conferencing

I feel that these skills are more intermediate than simply basic. I myself wasn't even totally aware of a couple of these skills, like knowledge of the deep Web and the possibilities of video-conferencing in the classroom. After reading a few of the articles within the actual article by Turner, I thought that these are good skills to possess, but I wouldn't consider them basic, for they take more time to develop and become familiar with.

I also based my opinion on the fact that not all schools might have such peripherals as digital cameras and scanners. If a school doesn't have these tools, then why should an educator be required to know how to use them? Maybe a teacher doesn't feel comfortable using these devices either. Although these would be helpful skills to have, I don't think they're basic and I think it's up to the teacher's discretion and the school/institution one is working at, to have the ultimate say in whether or not a teacher must possess these skills.

As for the more technical skills like school networks, installing computer software, and downloading software from the Web, I think that these are more important for the technology administrators at one's school to possess. I think a teacher should have a surface-level understanding of how the computers are networked and how information can be sent to any printer within the building as a result of the network, but knowing more than that I don't think is necessary. Also, I know that at my school, software programs are already installed on our computers for us prior to the start of the new school year. If a program is not installed, we contact the system operator at our school who then tries to remedy the problem him/herself or who then contacts the district-level tech admins who can then resolve the issue. As for downloading software from the Web, we are not allowed to do this. Certainly we can download ClipArt, but as for downloading new software programs or applications, or e-books, I am pretty sure this isn't allowed. I'd like to check with my principal to know though if downloading e-books on the school computers is possible because I do think that'd be a great tool to utilize in the classroom.

Advanced Skills

• WebCT or Blackboard teaching skills
• knowledge of PDAs

I feel that these skills are definitely not basic nor intermediate. Rather, these skills seem to be much more advanced, especially for an elementary, middle, or high school teacher. I could definitely see these being pertinent skills for a college and/or university instructor and/or professor to possess as educators at this level would be most likely to use these tools in their teaching and/or for their own purposes. As it is, I know that at my school, we teachers would never be required to have this knowledge mainly because I don't see these implementations taking place any time soon, if at all, at my school. Not all of the families in the district even have their own home computer. Last year there was some talk about getting classroom sets of PDAs for the students to use, but it was definitely put on the wish list and there has been no talk of it since. We're still trying to implement our new scope and sequence for utilizing technology, mostly in the form of using desktop and laptop computers, so obviously if PDAs were brought into the picture, teachers would have to acquire new knowledge in knowing how to use them and I wouldn't consider this "basic" knowledge.

Conclusion

All in all, the skills mentioned in this article seemed like they'd be interesting and useful to know and acquire, but that they should not be considered "basic" and that not all educators should have these skills. I think the more important thing to consider in thinking about the skills an educator should possess would be to take into consideration the level one is teaching, whether it's elementary, middle school, high school, or higher education and also to look at what resources the teachers have available to them. As long as all teachers have an understanding and are competent with the skills that I have deemed "basic" then I think they can work their way up in learning about and acquiring more advanced skills as they go on, depending where they teach and the resources and tools they have available to them.