Take a look at the preview of the NMC Horizon Report 2016 k-12 Edition by clicking on this link to open the pdf document: http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2016-nmc-horizon-report-k12-preview.pdf . Look at the key trends in part I, choose one that you think you might like to incorporate into your practice and explain how you would do this. Which significant challenge in part II do you think it will be most difficult to overcome, explain why you think it will be so difficult. Find one important development in educational technology that interests you in part III and explain how you might incorporate this technology in your classroom. Please post your explanations as a comment for this blog post.
22 comments:
This school year I am teaching a technology class in a program called Codesters. One idea that I took away from this article was creating a classroom where students are centered around using technology. In the Codesters program that can relate to other subject areas. We are going to work a project during the year on statistics where the students will use the information they are learning in their math classrooms and build an interactive cite on the Codesters program. A significant challenge that many teachers including myself find is that the students are moving quickly with technology and we have to continue to adapt and try new instruction to engage our students.One development in the technology field I found interesting is using more online resources and technology based assignments in my science classroom to help engage my students and allow them to be active participants in their learning. We can work on a science project where they must compile research online in order to complete background information and design a project to test a hypothesis.
The key trend in part I that I would most like to incorporate into my classroom would be "Shift from Students as Consumers to Students as Creators". I think that having students create rather than just consume information would be the best way to include hands-on learning in my classroom.I think the significant challenge that would most hinder my ability to do this would be "The Digital Divide". Assuming that the sort of projects that I would want my students to create involved computers or video cameras, I could not assume that my students have access to these at home, or that they understand how to use them.
The important development in technology that I am most interested in is robotics. I think the fact that working with robots could help some students with spectrum disorders feel more comfortable in the classroom while also developing their social/verbal skills is a great reason to incorporate this technology into the classroom.
A key trend in part I that I would incorporate into my practice would be a “Shift to Deeper Learning Approach”. This strategy gives the responsibility more to the student when it comes to their education. Students will be given the opportunity to learn how to work with others in a group project, as well as, be pushed to investigate their topics “How” and “Why” answers, instead of simplistic answers.
A significant challenge in part II would be “The Digital Divide”. Students in a lower funded school are at a disadvantage when it comes to “digital literacy”. Many of these students will forever be playing “catch up” in both their academic and vocational lives. In the recent years, technology has become an important part of our society and without it, it can leave many children less desirable opportunities in the future.
An important development in educational technology in part III would be “Robotics”. Robotics not only sparks critical thinking and problem based learning, it also gives student the chance to develop a higher form of social skills. This method can be incorporated in a classroom by grouping students together, giving them roles in their groups, and providing several challenges the group needs to solve together. This activity will improve peer- to- peer relationship in an academic and social aspect.
One key trend in part I that I would incorporate into my classroom would be "Shift from Students as Consumers to Creators." This trend is great because it gets the children moving. I feel that children learn and comprehend better when they are moving, making or creating. In my classroom I would incorporate my lessons to include hands-on activities or projects they can create that reflects what they have learned from the lesson. I hope I can develop my lessons to have as much hands-on activites as possible.
The significant challenge in part II that I think will be most difficult to overcome would be "Digital Divide," because within every school there are a few students who don't have access to technology. If these students don't have the access, then they will feel out of place, left out and they will fall behind with the work load assigned.
One important development in educational technology that interests me in part III is the "Robotics," I think having a robot in the classroom can accomplish a lot in a positive way. I think having robots in the special Ed classrooms can be extremely beneficial with the social skills alone. I think overall this would be a great idea and it may really help the students in not only their academics but their social skills as well.
The key trend from Part I that I would most like to incorporate into my classroom is the notion of a ‘Shift from Students as Consumers to Students as Creators”. I teach at Brookville Center for Students with Special Needs and we are constantly fighting the battle of finding effective ways for students to not just consume information and material but interact and actually create as well. For any student, being able create when they are learning undoubtedly instills a more long lasting learning experience. For students with disabilities in particular, if they can perceivably arrive at the answer or concept themselves, it feels like its being created organically and sticks with them.
The significant challenge from part II that most resonated with me was ‘Creating Authentic Learning Opportunities’. This feels in some ways linked to “students as creators” rather than consumers, from part one. Authentic learning opportunities give students the ability to create rather than just consume but they are increasingly difficult to provide. Where I teach we try to provide the students with real life situations, as a lot of them have difficultly with basic functions (such as relaying their needs/wants, etc.).
One development in technology pertaining to education that interest me is the idea of Robotics, or robots in the classroom. Teaching in a school for kids with special needs, I could see robots making a significant difference to social skills as students might be more comfortable developing those skills with a robot, who (from their perception) isn’t judging them, rather than a teacher or another student.
Looking at the key trends in part I, one that I would like to incorporate into my own practice would be “ Redesigning Learning Spaces.” I think it is important that all students are able to engage and learn while in the classroom and I think the environment that the students are in can help. In my own classroom, I would learn about the kinds of students my learners are and then design the classroom around them. For example, if the students were more engaged in collaboration and team projects, I would have the desks arranged for that so that the students are close to each other and can discuss what they are learning. Also, if the students are more engaged through the use of technology, I would arrange the desks to be centered around the SmartBoard, or whichever large displays and screens are available in the classroom. I think if more classrooms are being redesigned with the students learning styles and needs in mind, the students will be more engaged and will allow them to be in the best learning environment possible.
In part II, I think “ The Digital Divide” would be the most difficult to overcome in the classroom. Today, technology such as Ipads and computers are commonly used in the workplace as well in schools and students’ home and with the amount of information and the various learning strategies teachers can access with the use of this technology, it is a great tool to differentiate and teach students. However, there are still many students who do not have to access to this technology in the classroom due to schools budgets, etc. While I would like to incorporate technology into the classroom and teach students how to use it for their future careers, it can be difficult for students who do not have access to it.
One important development in educational technology that interested me in part III was “Online Learning.” This refers to formal and formal educational opportunities that take place online. I think this is interesting because there are many college classes that have online components and I wonder how it would be for younger students to start having online learning experiences. I could incorporate this type of technology in my own classroom through online discussion boards, research projects, blogs, having students create videos on various topics and commenting on each other’s, or even recording myself teaching a lesson and having the students watch and answer questions about what was discussed.
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I agree with Shannon that robots in the classroom are an interesting educational technology. Working with robots in the classroom can benefit students with special needs by allowing them to be more comfortable in the classroom as well as helping them learn and develop social, verbal and non-verbal skills. With the growing number of robots globally, I think they can definitely be an advantage in the classroom.
One key trend from part l that I would like to incorporate into my classroom would be “Increasing Use of Collaborative Learning Approaches.” I am going for Adolescent Social Studies. Many people often say that social studies is boring, or their not interested in the information. However, I think if the students were able to work in groups more often, they would be able to collaborate their own ideas and make it more stimulating for their own behalf. It makes the classroom more of a “learner at the center”, rather than the teacher mandating everything. I would like my classroom to be as engaging as possible for all students, where no one feels disadvantaged and that they are not achieving.
A significant challenge in part II that I would find most difficult to overcome would be “The Digital Divide.” Technology is a huge part of today’s society, with new inventions coming out frequently. However, not every child has access to technology. Also, not every school has access or the money for technology. There is a great divide amongst the low-income and high-income schools, obviously the low-income schools would not have access to such technology and have the majority of students that wouldn’t have access to computers, compared to high-income schools. Then these students are who don’t have access of technology, will become less motivated in their work, less motivated in their self, and become left behind in the work and classroom. I would like to incorporate technology into my classroom, but there are many adversities that inhibit it from being the best option.
One important development in education technology that interested me in part III was “Online Learning.” Online learning usually takes place in colleges, many of the classes I have taken have some sort of component that is online. Many people believe that online learning can be an effective stimulus for motivated and thought-provoking discussion in all educational practices. I would like to integrate smart boards, research projects, use digital maps on the computer in my classroom, amongst many other things. However, the only problem that I see with online learning, is that technology, especially the internet is always changing. There are new innovations occurring with technology frequently, and not every child has access to technology.
One key trend from part 1 that I would like to incorporate into my practice would be “Shift to Deeper Learning Approaches.” I believe this approach to learning allows students to be more accountable for their education and the knowledge they obtain, which ultimately allows students to stay engaged and motivated to learn. I would implement deeper learning approaches by incorporating student-centered instruction, collaborative activities, and encourage students to apply their prior knowledge of one subject to another, in order to make the information relatable and seamless.
The significant challenge from part 2 that I believe is the most difficult to overcome would be “The Digital Divide.” Although technology has become very much prominent in school districts and allows for further student learning in the classroom, the distribution of technological tools is difficult to come by for certain districts based on their socioeconomic status. Not only may it be difficult for school districts to implement tools in the classroom, it is the most challenging for students who may not be able to have access to these tools at home. As a future teacher, I would love to incorporate technology into my classroom in order to enhance my student’s learning, however it may not be possible due to accessibility.
An important development in educational technology from part 3 that interested me was “Online Learning.” Although I have only experienced online learning as a college student, I’m curious to see whether or not this would work for younger students. I believe that online learning would create more responsibility for students, because it is up to them to make sure online assignments and requirements are being completed on time and to keep up with school work when it is not formally being presented to them in a classroom. With that being said, I believe this approach might only be helpful for adolescent students, because of the greater responsibility and access to the internet. As a future childhood teacher, I might introduce online learning with classroom discussion blogs in order to keep my students and myself connected.
I would like to incorporate “Redesigning Learning Spaces” from Part I of the Horizon Report into my classroom. I believe that students can get more out of their lessons when they are in an engaging environment. I did a little research into SMART classrooms and found them to be very interesting. There are a few different technological devices that teachers can use in order to teach more effectively. I would love to be able to use a SMART board in my classroom. SMART boards allow you to save the work that you write on the board. This will allow my students to go back and take a look at my notes, giving them a second chance to understand the material. There are a few other devices that can be incorporated into the classroom, one being a Senteo Interactive Response System. This devise allows students to answer questions the classroom with a little remote control. I believe that it will allow teachers to access on the spot whether or not students are grasping the material.
A significant challenge from Part II of the Horizon Report would be “Creating Authentic Learning Opportunities.” I have the hope of one day becoming a high school math teacher. I know that math for some students can be a struggle. Being able to teach my students how they can use the information they learn in class in the real world is very important. I believe that being able to relate the topics I teach to everyday life will keep students engaged. I am a numbers person and never thought of myself as being very creative. Creating authentic learning opportunities may come as a struggle for me because I will need to put extra thought into each lesson in order to come up with real life examples. This is an obstacle that I am sure I will be able to overcome.
One important development that interests me from Part III of the Horizon Report is “Online Learning.” People are constantly on their laptops, iPads and Smart Phones. I think that these devices can be excellent tools for additional learning outside of the classroom. I have had math teachers in the past that have posted lessons or tutorials on YouTube. That is definitely something that I will incorporate into my classroom. It will allow students to refresh their memory on topics, or give them time to go back and listen to a lesson again in order to grasp the concepts.
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I agree with Shana Krakower in regards to “Digital Divide.” It is true that some schools are at a disadvantage when it comes to technology. As Shana explained, this can pose as a struggle for students who do not have access to SMART classrooms, or even computers in their own home. Not having a computer or device to look up concepts online might cause students to become discouraged and hinder their learning experience.
Reply to Alyssa Willetts' Posting:
I agree with Alyssa pertaining to "Redesigning Learning Spaces." I believe it is true that students get more out of lessons when they are a part of an engaging environment. I agree that SMART boards are an effective way to ensure student's understanding as well as keeping them engaged. I had the opportunity to work with SMART boards throughout student teaching and experienced how effective they can be for student's learning. I have not experienced a Senteo Interactive Response System, however it sounds like an engaging way to ensure student's comprehension of material.
I have a similar experience as Alyssa, I have not worked with senate interactive response system, but I do agree with the fact that SMART boards impact children learning for the better. When children are involved in a lesson, even if it’s as little as walking up to drag a shape to its correct space etc., its more memorable than sitting down and listening to a lecture. "Redesigning Learning Spaces is something that I believe should be implemented in each class. Students getting involved and engaged in a lesson will actually make them excited to learn. I also agree that online learning can be beneficial to many students depending on the type of learner they are. Aside from that, online learning (YouTube videos, games) can be used for a whole class review before a test.
A key long-term trend that I would like to incorporate in my classroom would be redesigning learning spaces for students. From my own experience in the classroom and working with young individual learners, it is important for the teacher to design a classroom that best suits the needs of each learner. Therefore, arranging a classroom environment based on each learners desires and needs will create a positive, engaging classroom setting. In the beginning of the year, teachers should be able to get to know their students and their needs in order to make this environment happen. If students demonstrate a positive reaction to technology based instruction, then a classroom should be designed for technology use whether it is with a SMART board, ipads, laptops or individual computers. Moving the students around the room, incorporating their own personal interests and strengths will promote a strong classroom community with engaged learners working together as a whole.
A significant challenge in Part II that in my opinion, would be difficult to overcome would be, the Digital Divide. Although there are a rising number of schools who are able to successfully incorporate technology into their instruction and curriculum, there are many districts that are unable to afford such devices which serves as a disadvantage for those individual learners. Due to socioeconomic status's there comes a limit to what can and cannot be included in most curriculums and if a school is within a low socioeconomic district, they may not have as easy access as other districts who are at higher socioeconomic status's. This also applies to the home setting. Some families of students may not be able to afford certain digital devices that are used in the home setting to complete school work or further practice on a given subject. Hence, closing the divide to provide equal opportunities for all families and students may be difficult in certain districts, which overall affects the instruction that students receive all together.
One important development in educational technology that interests myself in part III would be online learning. In today's day in age, technology plays a dominant role in society. As younger individuals are exposed to technological devices such as ipads, cell phones, tablets etc, it would be useful to incorporate online learning outside the classroom to review material that was taught on that day or specific week through an online video screening while using hands-on materials to re-teach instruction. The online learning would build the bridge between an individuals in class learning and reteaching their learned skills in the home setting.
Reply Post: I have to agree with Alyssa Willett's post on her interest in online learning. As she stated how people are constantly on their iphones, ipads and other technological devices, it is definitely important to utilize those devices in an educational manner outside of school. Similar to Alyssa, I have also had college professors who retaught certain lessons on Youtube Channels / clarified homework answers through model explanation as well and it really benefited almost every student in my class. I agree with her comment that these online instructions/ clarifications helped understand concepts in a better way than I was able to comprehend in the actual classroom. Again, building a connection between the school and home environment with online learning may truly broaden students knowledge on particular subjects within a schools curriculum.
STEM club is very important at the school I teach at. The technology part of STEM for the students involves coding. Having coding incorporated into the lessons could help a student who is more tech savvy than a test taker. If he or she can create a website or game that has information on what an upcoming test would be on. This could help the student creating the website or game, as well as other students using it as a study guide or review game.
Personalizing learning, I believe would be the most difficult to overcome. Last year my 6th grade class was a total of 27 students. To think about having 27 specific learning needs for each student sounds overwhelming as well as 27 different lesson plans relating to each student. This idea is definitely not impossible. Montessori schools follow this teaching style every day, but for me it just seems like a lot and I’m not sure how well id do with practicing personalized learning.
Virtual reality would be a game changer in the classroom. Having a resource that welcomes the physical presence of people, objects, and realistic sensory experiences would support the students learning social studies especially. Being able to have a 3D display during class of the presidents, The White House, or the world map would be exciting, entertaining, and informative.
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I agree with Brianna about robots assisting students in special ed classrooms. Having a robot would help students practice their social skills. The robot could also help assist the students with problem solving in a more effective way for them.
The trend that I would like to incorporate into my practice would be increasing use of collaborative learning. I believe that collaborative learning is vital in a classroom because students tend to benefit from their peers. I think that if children are given the opportunity to “turn and talk” to their neighbor and exchange thoughts and ideas they will feed off one another and achieve more throughout the class sessions. As I observed in a classroom today, children got more work completed when they were collaborating with their peers and the teachers got a lot of work done during their prep period when they worked together to discuss their units.
The significant challenge in part II I think it will be most difficult to overcome is the digital divide. I think it will be difficult to overcome because so many children come from different socioeconomic status’ and may not have access to technology at home. I think that the children who are in a lower socioeconomic will always struggle if academics go completely digital.
An important development in educational technology that interests me is the use of makerspaces. I think that this will really assist children learning hands on and it will also assist them in working collaboratively with their peers. I think that this will help raise children’s self esteem and give them ownership of the project in which they have created.
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I agree with Briana about the challenge of the “ Digital Divide”. I think that this will cause many students who do not have access to technology outside of the school to feel out of place and fall behind their peers.
After reading this Horizon Report, I have developed many different agreements of my own as well as differing opinions in perspective. In my classroom, I aim to incorporate many of these factors they discuss, especially the perception of the changing role of the teacher. As education has become more progressive, it aims to have teachers play more of the role of the facilitator in the classroom, rather than the lecturing teacher. The ultimate goal of developing coordinating activities to the curriculum that is student centered and differentiated to accommodate to students of varying academic abilities, is what I perceive the role change of the teacher. I have attempted to use some of this in the classroom, as well as incorporating "real life experiences" as discussed in Horizon, through activities involving document analysis and Socratic seminars.
As education becomes more progressive, it is easy to see that technology is beyond necessary and needs to be incorporated into the classroom. As some students are more audio/visual learners and need varying degrees of interaction, technology is necessary to incorporate in some facet of our lessons, whether it be navigating the mountains of Greece or tracking the Sahara Desert of Africa on Google Earth, or incorporating a game for vocabulary matching on a SmartBoard.
I thought that the Virtual Reality segment of Horizons was most interesting. In my honest opinion, giving students the ability to navigate geography of historic land in history and see events for themselves, is truly mind blowing. Thinking of how students are in the classroom and the interaction and social learning necessary to help all students achieve academic success, I see virtual reality as a tool that can take students who do not have the ability or means to travel, to see what the land of Europe and Africa is like and assist them with their understanding of new curriculum and standards, while simply making the class fun for them as in some cases getting them to come to class is half the battle. Technology and the use of virtual reality can be a tool that excites the students and gives them a whole new perspective on history that they previously may have never thought of.
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Commenting on Laura's response, I have to say I full on agree with the idea that some districts with low funding in low socioeconomic areas may not have the ability to use these varying types of technology in the classroom. As they may not have the ability to afford such tools they are at a disadvantage in incorporating fun, and useful technology and activities in the classroom to help students achieve their highest academic success. To elaborate as well, I almost thought of much of this reading as a Utopian idea of education. As a teacher, I could not help but feel slightly overwhelmed with the idea of using technology in class every day, with social learning activities, changing the role of the teacher and collaborating, while simultaneously making lessons in accordance with changing New York state standards and still achieving yearly goals.
One Key Trend from Part I of the NMC Horizon Report that I would like to incorporate into practice would be the use of collaborative learning approaches. There has been a lot of research done that shows students perform better when working and learning in student centered group learning situations. Students are able to learn through group discussions, clarification of topics and through evaluations of other’s ideas. I would incorporate more collaboration by doing more group work and group discussions within my classroom. I would have my students complete tasks that force them to think critically. Also, in order for a classroom to be collaborative students must feel comfortable therefore a supportive and inclusive classroom environment needs to be created. Desks can be put into groups instead up in rows in to encourage more communication between peers. Within groups students can be given specific jobs and the teacher (I) can continuously monitor progress and offer encouragement throughout the lesson.
The challenge in part II that I find most difficult to overcome is differences in socioeconomic status. After reading each paragraph in this section of the report I kept coming to one conclusion; socioeconomic status has the biggest impact on student performance. I could not choose between the digital divide, achievement gap and personalizing teaching because at the origin of each issue is money. Students that come from lower income areas go to schools that have less funding and are less able to offer the support, technology and teaching that students need. Before entering school students from lower income families are already starting at a disadvantage. This problem is very hard to overcome without a complete overhaul. To overcome the achievement gap several different approaches will need to be made. Teacher would need to increase rigor, support and encouragement. At home participation and involvement will need to be increased.
One important development in education technology that interests me in part III is the idea of virtual reality. As a future Social Studies teacher this technology could be very exciting to use in a classroom. Students that are unable to conceptualize a time period will be able to place themselves in WWI, Mesopotamia or Ancient Greece. VR will allow students to make a connection to a topic and see it for themselves. Students sometimes are unable to understand history since it seems so far in the past. As a visual learner myself I understand the needs and use for this development.
reply to Victoria Bardin;
I agree with what you had said about the growing importance of technology and how lower funded schools are at a greater disadvantage. I also find robotics interesting and wish I knew more about the subject that why I could use this within my classroom. Robotics seems so futuristic to me right now and I can't see these entering classrooms in the too near future especially at the those lower funded schools. I know that teaching kids about robotics offers them new skills in a new and growing field. Robotics creates new learning experiences that students can improve creativity, critical thinking and problem solving skills.
Commenting on Laura's and Victoria's responses, in addition to not all schools having funding to provide technology in the classroom, I also have many students who do not have access to computers at home. This poses a challenge when trying to convert a classroom over to programs like "Google Classroom" or Class Websites. Many students can not access the sites to receive or complete the homework assignments. I also do not believe it is appropriate to allow some students to opportunity to complete assignments online while others must complete it with paper and pen because they do not have access to technologies. This could lead to harming children's self esteems and make them "stand out" among their peers.
In regards to this article I found that it was quite interesting with all the points that were touched upon and I believe that this article is beneficial for all ages. It is important to understand the evolution of learning and how it does not always have to be a textbook or lecture type of process, there are new ways to make learning fun. Times have changed in the more recent years and it is good to know new ways that children are able to learn differently. There are different kinds of learners and it is important that that student learns the best way that fits their learning capabilites. The rise of technology and how it has advanced many students learning capabilities is amazing. The only downside to these new ways of learning is the fact that it can change the role of teachers and the importance that they will play in future classrooms. It is important to allow older teachers to understand the changes as well so they are not "left behind" in how they can help their students become better learners. Another unfortunate circumstance when it comes to technology is that schools in lower income areas may not get to witness this change until it is possibly too late, and it is unfair that some schools are not funded properly to allow equal learning for all.
A key trend in Part I that I could incorporate into my teaching is the use of technology in collaborative learning. The benefits of collaborative learning can lead to higher-level thinking, development of oral communication, self-management and leadership skills. There would be an increase in student-faculty interaction, student retention, self-esteem, responsibility, understanding of diverse perspectives and exposure to real life social & employment situations. A significant challenge in part II which would be most difficult to overcome is the digital divide. When students come from a low socioeconomic background, they usually have unequal access to, and the use of, technology. Those students who do not have school with the funding for technology are not exposed to and have the same opportunity to the vast information on the internet. An important development in educational technology is the design and application of robots, or Robotics. A STEM or robotics program can help develop students into better problem solvers. Also, students with disabilities, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, may feel more comfortable using their hands while working with robots. I would like to work in a special education, self-contained classroom, so having my students work with robotics, they would be able to develop their verbal, social and non-verbal skills.
A key trend in Part I that I will like to incorporate into my Spanish class curriculum is shifting to deeper learning approaches. Students enjoy asking teachers questions and trying to get to their core (especially new teachers), so why not reverse it and connect the lesson to them and have them think critically about a certain theme or scenario. By doing so, students will have to look deep into themselves and it challenges their own thinking. They can work collaboratively in groups or with partners to gain knowledge in the specific subject and will give access to students allowing them to grow and learn from their peers. One example I can relate this to is when I taught Native Speakers Spanish class (9th and 10th grade), I was able to focus on critical thinking topics like whether or not they believe zoos are isolating animals from living happily in the wild or if animals are being abused in small cages. I had so many students stuck on this topic because they never really thought about this, they brainstormed ideas, some were for it and some against it. it flourished a whole big discussion on animal cruelty and vegetarianism; very interesting stuff.
In part II, The Achievement Gap refers to poor academic scoring between student groups. Students are the future of the world, they all hold so much potential to be someone. Unfortunately, student groups such as socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, or gender hold extreme factors in becoming who they want to be. I wish this was not the case, but it's real. Students from inner city schools, growing up in poverty, immigrant students, peer pressure all play a crucial role in their stand. Technology plays an important role in their school day because teachers try hard to get their attention and stimulate their minds for the period. But, when they go back home, it is back to reality and their home life plays somewhat of a domino effect in their lives. Teachers can only do so much for their students before sending them back off into their real life.
Virtual reality stuck out to me the most and I would love to incorporate this into my classroom. It would be awesome for my students to step into another world and actually feel like they are experiencing a Spanish speaking country, or traveling through the Amazon rain forest in South America. This would pique their interest more in the language and culture and see how other people live.
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