Once again- Revised- Teachnology Statement

With precocious determination I gripped the soft wooden stylus and concentrated on carefully making each stroke count. Up and down, side to side each line making meaning, making progress and creating my first written work; I was 3 and I wrote my name.

Maybe not everyone can remember when they learned to write or what they wrote first because it is such an ingrained part of what we do, we no longer think about it as a skill.  So people forget how hard writing is, especially good writing. Heck other faculty are incensed that after 15 whole weeks, first year writing students still make writing mistakes – so my pushback “Is a student who has one semester of Russian studies fluent?” Of course not. Writing takes time, it is a process and that requires work.  And just when we start to get people to understand that writing is something that will take practice, technology enters.

Teaching with technology is still teaching. There is still has to be an understanding of a strong pedagogy, goals and heuristic practice. So how do these things mesh?

In teaching I am committed to provide a safe learning space where low risk ideas are scaffolded into providing venues for increasingly more difficult concepts and theories of the topic that is being worked with.  I also believe that in order for learning to be effective that a variety of methods must be used to work with the differing learning styles. Often times this is through the use of technology- multimedia formats allow the ideas about composition, reading and process to become more fluid. It also allows students to use their knowledge bases and creativity in composition to come to the forefront and allows them to adjust their ideas about learning, meaning making and how composition comes into it. I bring a high level of professionalism but approachability into the learning space, there is a very fine line of being personable and losing control of the class space and despite having a congenial personality, I am sure to make the class space organized and academic.

We still teach the basics: clear outcomes and scaffolded strategies to reach the outcomes. This is further promoted by introducing and encouraging learners not only to use their previous real life experiences and sense of self identity but also to work collaboratively and embrace the notion of group learning. Learning should not just be competitive but instead should promote exploration of current trends in writing and technology together.  Email is writing, texting is writing and writers should embrace the varied forms beyond poetry and prose.

I believe that learning comes in the moments where experience collides with knowledge that is introduced.  It  is more than something that is done by rote, sometimes it takes hand holding through rough patches, but often it is making sure to provide examples, terms and activities that illuminate the end process desired and offers up many paths of understanding to get to the end goal.

Much like Cindy Selfe, I think that technological interfaces offer a heuristic mask that fosters the idea that students raised with technology are good at it.  However proficiency comes from a willingness to learn new programs, software and devices and often times students have no access and no instruction.  This creates a high risk learning environment and many students will not explore new technologies unless instructed to do so.  Exploring, failing with experiments and repeated attempts is the best way to embrace the unknown and figure out what works for each person’s learning style.

Learning happens at an individual pace at different levels, so I try to offer students the flexibility to take their learning from basic ideas to more specified concepts as time moves on. As explored in Vygotsky’s work- the idea of teaching with only one “concretness” is counterproductive and counter intuitive to most learning styles. I don’t expect expertise in a concept that we have only been working on for a short time, and will often revisit topics through the entire course. In addition learning happens in a variety of ways, offering multiple forms of articulation helps to give students a way to share what they know in a venue that they are comfortable with.

With these ideas students will begin to create a more symbiotic relationship between writing and technologies. Keep in mind that technology has its limits because it is a tool.  We need to remember to continually question the follow: is technology accessible and useful to convey the lessons in writing and literacy?

One consistent action in a course is checking in with the students for comprehension but not always in obvious ways.  This is in the form of asking questions with a Socratic approach, using activities that require deliverable products are used as well as starting conversations and using examples that lead back to the topics that are being covered. Not to mention there must be a very strong pedagogy and technology  interaction scheme if students are going to feel free to use technology as a composition tool. Exploration is a necessary component for figuring out a digital voice.  I like to change the learning environment often.  This is done both by how the information is given as well as the learning spaces: physical, emotional and mental.  Another action that I use often is showing my expertise in the subject taught- using a variety of methods to highlight why and how learning is paramount to what the students will do. I tend to keep a fluid but flexible schedule – I always have a general plan for what needs to be accomplished in the teaching time however I have learned to take the human element into account when teaching.  Some days you have to work with the student- not just the topic to be taught.

Technology can easily be used as an exclusionary tool or a tool to “enhance” a curriculum with bells and whistles that means nothing to the learning of the students. A warning many forget as they use the newest slide show, video or audio overlay.

So in my teachnology ideals I hold that that students will be able to be able to understand the affordances and values of using technology as a tool for writing and enriching their writing goals and tasks.  My values in teaching are to provide students a way to connect with the topics I am teaching.  This gets messy because students tend to resist learning something against the grain of what they have been previously taught. Students also tend to want to please the teacher and chafe when the deliverable outcome feels more nebulous to them.  In order to help the process of learning take hold, I offer certain amounts of agency to the students to show their knowledge base so that they feel they have a valid voice and opinion in the class instead of feeling the need to regurgitate what I have said.  I encourage them to take risks, to use new formats and forms and to “play around” with the emerging ideas that composition ranges beyond a pen and paper. I like using new ideas and methods- it is an ongoing process of becoming better at what I do.  I like to take risks in teaching- using new methods, or technologies or ideas to work with the content.  Even in failing a lot can be learned, and also offers up real world value to the students as well. They should look at technology as another form in creating a good writing process no matter the medium. These skills have to follow them through their professional and being good with technology is nothing if writing and communication skills aren’t high end as well.

A Ted talk

I listen to Ted talks a lot while I am working online - (when I am not listening to music I always have to have some auditory thing going on). 

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/jesse_schell_when_games_invade_real_life.html

This talk fascinated and scared me. The conversation about how the little reward systems that are set into our lives by technology wasn't a new realization for me, but how rampant it was did surprise me.  Part of that might be because I don't play many online games.  I school online and I work online, so my free time has very little to do with online :)  Sure I get on facebook and check in with people.  Once a month I check into Twitter, and there is the whole daily email thing.

However- Jesse does a great job of talking about the reality behind this reward system and what misperceptions we have about the online gaming industry. How it functions in our lives, how it shapes what we do and how we think.

This is where I find technology scary- people stop thinking that real world interactions are necessary- and as a teacher this worries me because the move to online schools are strong but even worse is Pearson's MyCompLab- which I have to use in other teaching jobs - who is now starting to promote free basic writing courses.  Where does that leave me as an online teacher? They are rapidly moving from a tutorial system to a teaching system.

The interaction is necessary - people do not learn in a vacuum, people need human interaction and learning is not just reading from a screen and regurgitating.  There is more but these concepts are being lost from the "ease" of technology.

Again- a fascinating talk- very much worth the 30 minutes.

Teaching with Technology- other opinions

So let me start with an article link:

http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/edtechresearcher/2012/07/teaching_technology_to_teachers_i_used_to_think_but_now_i_think.html

and for those who aren't going to read it- here is the crux "It's not about technology, it about learning. It's not about tools, it's about goals. It's not about new gizmos, it's about enduring pedagogy."

So I started asking my teacher friends what they thought and the feedback was a bit more surprising for me.

They love using tech to augment the classes but wish their school districts would butt out and let them use what they are familiar with and good at instead of district mandated "gizmos".  

I was so thrilled to be in a place where I could use or not use technology that would help me with my class- and then I got the email about MSU's new platform today... is it mandated to use? Not yet, but I have to throw yet in there because on some levels Administrators must think that using technology is what keeps them ahead in the race.

My classes will always be about writing first- I love to incorporate the technology because as a learning tool it's fantastic.  My pedagogy incorporates technology because my life does- but this mandate idea has to be reexamined,

Understanding Students’ Motivation to Write: How Technology Impacts Student Engagement In and Outside the Classroom

I came across this research study as I was developing content for my online course and I wanted to share some of the information in a blog post because I thought a lot of the information related to general course ideas discussed in AL881 along with my own concept of a community course. In the study, the researchers wanted to know if preservice teachers were being prepared to not only teach student’s how to write but to appreciate their students’ vast array of writing skills. Particularly, the researchers felt that many of their students wrote in school for reasons very differently than writing outside of school because of technology. For instance, many of their students today were assigned in classrooms traditional papers to write. However, outside of school, students were writing via text messages and Facebook posts. Therefore, the researchers formulated questions around the idea of students writing for various motivating factors such as school or their social life. As such, the researchers posed the following questions:

• What motivates students to write in and out of the classroom? 
• How many students write for their own, authentic purposes using new technologies, and how often do they do so?
•  How can pre-service teachers attempt to create 21st century writing class- rooms that are responsive to students’ reported motivations?

They then created a questionnaire and gave it to students in preservice teachers classrooms. The results from the study found that students write inside the classroom for very different reasons than outside the classroom. Particularly, students are motivated in school to write for grades. Outside of the classroom, students are mainly motivated to write for communication. Think of the multitude of texts that can be sent from student-to-student or student-to-parent simply communicating with each other. The other reasons that students write outside of school are for encouragement and/or self-esteem. This too, makes sense considering the frequent use of Facebook and other social networking sites students visit throughout the day.

I found that the researchers understanding of how assignments impact student writing most useful and significant to understanding how students view writing assignments and in particular the use of technology with writing assignments. The researchers found that assignments made a large difference in the motivation of student writing. Specifically, students found that when the assignment was more student-centered, like a journal assignment, they were more motivated to complete it and be engaged. However, drafting a general paper students were less engaged and less motivated. As such, the researchers (2010) state “blogs are one way that teachers can successfully create a reading and writing space that can provide an authentic, worldwide audience for writing that is traditionally called an essay, for example” (p. 93).  

As such, the researchers conclude and, I think appropriately, that understanding how students use technology and why they use it to write may better prepare writing teachers in engaging students in the classroom. There is this gap of space between the classroom and outside of the classroom. Technology is a tool that will help to bridge that space and create a hybrid third space for new, innovative and motivated students can come to create and write. Further, this third space is an innovative place for teachers to assign, evaluate and assess student writing. These ideas and understanding of space I think really support a lot of the ideas and theories that I have been working with to create my own course design. Further, I think this study highlights a key component central to teaching with technology and that is student motivation. Teaching with technology can begin to engage students in the classroom in new ways and I think that this is an important point considering how students today are often considered disengaged and unmotivated students. Redesigning the classroom space to incorporate technological tools and assignments then present new opportunities to counter such myths that continue to cause headlines on the 7pm news.

Dredger, K., Woods, D., Beach, C., & Sagstetter, V. (2010). Engage me: Using new literacies to create third space classrooms that engage student writers. Journal of Media Literacy Education 2(2), 85–101.

Fallen Angel: The affordances of a discontinued technology

I had many grand plans of what I might analyze the affordances of.  However, as I tossed about these ideas I have also been getting structure in place for my upcoming online course for the fall.  During this process I kept finding myself thinking about Angel.

It became clear that there were certain affordances of Angel that I wanted to hold on to.  However, there are also areas where Angel's affordances are lacking.

Centralized Communication

The first affordance that I want to discuss is the way Angel affords centralized communication.  With the selection of a few preferences I can insure that when I communicate with students through Angel they receive messages both through the Angel Communicate tab and their student email.

This lets me send one message that is delivered in several places.  An important note here is that neither Angel nor the student email is especially friendly when it comes to the mobile interfaces that many students use.

Secure Repository

The second affordance of Angel is that upon course creation establishes a secure place where course materials and student assignments can be kept.  A secure repository is important for logistical reasons (the college only wants registered students to take a class) and and it is an important part of establishing a safe writing environment (e.g. a student feels uncomfortable sharing their writing with the entire class during the writing process).

A secure repository also provides a space to collect copy righted materials for class use when public distribution for class would be frowned upon.  Note: A big challenge with Angel is there is no easy way for a 'public' space where students can choose to open their work up to a larger (unknown audience).

Varied Moderation

Being able to vary the types and kinds of moderation of class discussion is another important affordance of Angel.  Whether I want to have a closely moderated discussion group for the entire class or areas where only small groups can have conversations privately Angel supports moderation that can support these types of activities.

Another part of a big challenge with Angel mentioned previously, is that in addition to not affording a 'public' space, there are not easy ways to moderate or established public dialog.  This is an activity that Tumblr easily affords.

Levels of Visibility

When working on creating a course or changing parts of an established course structure the fact that Angel affords different levels of visibility is important.  Being able to hide unfinished material or establish reveal dates or date ranges of visibility supports a wide range of activities.  As I organize a course I can create holding areas and only reveal what is finished or immediately needed by students.  This type of visibility lets me see course structure while not distracting students with changing folder contents.  Changing visibility also helps combat information overload by letting me reveal items that become important as we move through a project and hide items that are no longer needed.

Affording visibility in Angel does not extend pass the password protected bounds of the institution.  Although it is easy to add students and other faculty from within the institution, extending access to 'outsiders' or the public as mentioned early is not easily supported.

Summer 2012 Symposium

Final symposium for Teaching with Technology, 2012

9:00 - 9:10 Welcome, technology connections, etc.
9:10 - Maria Novotny
9:30 - Chad O'Neill
9:50 - Simone West

10:00  break

10:10 Jessica Riley
10:30 Jennifer Fisch-Ferguson
10:50 Ruth Shillair
11:10 Doug Schraufnagle

Reflection- Teaching with Tech

So I've been teaching online since 2005.  I have seen many upgrades in both technology and attitudes.  When I started I was deemed "that tech girl from the government". I had the dual job of not only showing educators how to use technology in their teaching but also hooking up computer labs.  So what did teaching with technology look like in 2005 in the Detroit Public Schools?

For Northwestern high school they had 2 computer labs with 20 computers each for 800 + students. There were 5 computers in the teachers lounge and the Principal, Asst. Principal and head secretary had one. This meant that most teachers didn't have the technology in their room right? Not quite- what it meant is that the teachers didn't have computers in their rooms. Most teachers didn't seem to mind, however there were a few gung ho teachers that got permission to use their own lap tops. There were a ton of power point presentations (mind you the school had just been wired - no wireless here!) and some internet work and one teacher took it upon herself to set up the School Connection- each parent could log in and check student grades and homework and test schedules. Not bad for 2005.

Flash forward: Most college and university courses have an online component whether hybrid or not. However, I still know a lot of educators don't understand how to integrate technology with out it feeling overwhelming. The last tech in-service I did was to convince teachers how video, webinars / live chats, slide shows and interactive web sites could augment the lessons and weren't a cheat.

It's hard for some educators to face the fact that we are surrounded by tech, our students use a lot of tech and learning styles are impacted by this.

As I delve more into the digital world and digital learning environments, the more it becomes clear- we either shift with the changing needs of our students or we lose them. Just as we shifted from chalkboard to white boards we need to keep in mind that tech is here to stay .