The future of Technology

Audio blog

Works Cited:

Bort, J. (2011, July 15). 10 technologies that will change the world in the next 10 years. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from http://www.networkworld.com/article/2179278/lan-wan/10-technologies-that-will-change-the-world-in-the-next-10-years.html

Heick, T. (2015, November 05). 30 Incredible Ways Technology Will Change Education By 2028. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from http://www.teachthought.com/terry-heick/30-incredible-ways-technology-will-change-education-by-2028/

The Results Are In: How Technology Affects Student Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2017, from http://www.teacherinformation.org/the-results-are-in-how-technology-affects-student-learning/

Top 12 Ways Technology Changed Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved June 30, 2017, from http://www.teachhub.com/how-technology-changed-learning

Mobile Learning

Mobile Learning

• Why should a teacher be prepared to allow or require students to use mobile devices to achieve learning objectives?

Teachers should be allowed to use mobile devices for learning objectives for a variety of reasons. First and foremost, mobile devices are ubiquitous. They are an essential part of people's lives and a resource that can be utilized. Mobile learning can provide us with a variety of resources including social learning, access to knowledge resources, and the ability to quickly check student knowledge (Chaffe 2016). Furthermore mobile devices have a variety of resources and features built into them including audio recording, video/still photo cameras, access to/ability to create QR codes, polling of student knowledge, and access to online forums (Adeboye 2016). Mobile devices are thus a powerful tool to engage and empower students in the processes of learning and we should not shy away from their use. 

Guiding Principles

There should be some guiding principles on how mobile learning is used in the classroom. I came up with the following to connect to standards that I taught as well as greater concerns with student learning moving towards process, reflection, and thinking rather than acquiring knowledge. I had working in the International Baccelaureate System. 

Mobile learning in the classroom should do the following:  

• It engages the student in a process of inquiry and reflection.
• It allows the student to record, reflect, or check their comprehension in faster and more dynamic way.
• It allows the student to access, store, create and curate learning resources.

3. Without referring to specific apps, suggest two or three examples of mobile activities for your classroom. Include the principles or qualities of the activities that make them particularly worthwhile. Why are they good activities? To get you started thinking in the right direction, here are some examples of mobile learning that do not depend on any specific app:

Mobile Learning Examples for the PYP Art Classroom:

Voice Recorder Audio Dictation Reflections: 

At the end of a unit students are meant to be assessed on both creating and responding in their artwork. The creation is the actual artwork but the responding should be some kind of reflection. By using the audio record or voice memo feature of their mobile device, the students can record their reflection, listen to it instantly and revise it if necessary. This way they can practice putting down their thoughts verbally and can instantly revise and correct them. The students can practice throughout the unit and collect their audio reflections on their device before adding them to a drive or better yet a scannable QR code which anyone can access. The students can in a very basic way record one short reflection a week, review them, and then record a final project reflection condensing and synthesizing the past reflections.

Photo Documentation of Learning:

Part of the process of reflecting on one's learning is the ability to think about the learning as it progressed throughout the project. Photo Documentation is an excellent way to record and document student learning as it progresses. This is especially pertinent in arts, but can be used in science, PE, and even math. Photo Documentation works especially well for PBL. As a component of a project students can be asked to asked to document their learning in a visual way. The students can use the camera on the mobile device to record the learning process and make it visual. This can be tied to PBL through the development of student roles and responsibilities. One student could serve as the photo journalist per week and photograph the work and write annotations to explain what the photos were documenting. At the end of the project the students could then use the photos to create a slideshow illustrating their learning, the successes, failures, setbacks, and breakthroughs. 

Works Cited

Adeboye, D. (2016, July 15). 5 Effective Uses Of Mobile Technology In The Classroom. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from https://elearningindustry.com/5-uses-mobile-technology-in-the-classroom

Chaffe, S. (2016, February 29). Getting Mobile Learning Right: 6 Best Practices. Retrieved June 30, 2017, from https://elearningindustry.com/getting-mobile-learning-right-6-best-practices

Teacher Evaluation

One form of teacher evaluation is based on looking at student growth. The evaluation of the teacher's performance as used in the the Tennessee Value-Added system looks at whether students are growing in their performance. Rather than focusing on meeting certain standards, both high performing and low performing students are measured in their growth. The teacher is evaluated on how their classes grow rather than whether they meet a particular standard. This approach is quite interesting in that it makes room for a more flexible view of student achievement and links teacher performance to that achievement. However, there are problems with this approach in that in some situations growth is maybe not possible due to situations beyond the control of the teacher (poverty, crime, violence, issues in the life of the students, or greater cultural issues). In my current school, growth would be very hard to achieve with many students due to a lack of motivation and a lack of overall academic interest. One could still be a strong teacher, who is organized, producing good lessons and is engaged with their students, but in one of these situations it might not be possible to achieve growth with the students. In such situations a teacher could be penalized for not achieving growth.

Another form is observation-based evaluations in which periodical observations form a basis for teacher evaluation and recommendations for development and improvement. In my personal experience with observations, I've found them to be helpful, but not necessarily an accurate encapsulation of me as a teacher. At my current school I've been evaluated twice in two years. This is odd considering that I teach in the high school, middle school, and elementary school. The method of observing teachers on such a limited basis is the rule rather than the exception in my career. While these observations have resulted in helpful feedback, it does not provide me with much opportunity for growth and development at the given rate. 

I am interested in being evaluated on a more consistent basis with regular feedback to help direct my growth. The Teach Now rubric and system for evaluation seems like just this kind of system in that it provides detailed regular feedback aimed at helping me to grow as a professional. I think the level of detail of the rubric helps to fine tune a lot of details associated with teaching and to help the teachers in training to hone their skills. 

Pre-Assessment

Unit: Sequential Art

Grade 9

Visual Arts

Pre-Assessment

After taking the following quizlet to assess the students prior knowledge the students 
were divided into three groups. Pre-Assessing the students allows the teacher to 
ascertain current student knowledge and then to differentiate from that point. Usually for art, I do pre-Assessments in the form of practical art exercises to see what student skill 
levels are. In this assignment I created a quiz to test students knowledge about the art 
form studied.

Pre-Assessment: https://quizlet.com/_32rwc9

Group 1: 5 students who answered most of the questions correctly

Group 2: 12 students who have some knowledge of the subject but need to further 
develop their higher order thinking skills

Group 3: 5 students who have limited knowledge of the topic

Lucid Chart showing the differentiation:

https://www.lucidchart.com/documents/view/6eac6c40-eef5-48ce-8914-7e3e90b93f90

Group 1:

Task: Reading and Annotated Observational Drawings 

This group already has an understanding and knowledge of the concepts and art form 
studied. They are ready to begin the practical application of their knowledge. They are asked to read and analyze two chapters of Scott McCloud's Understanding comics and 
identify the use of panel transitions by creating annotated artist copies (observational 
drawings from the work with annotations). The annotations would reflect on the concepts presented in the original artwork, detail the techniques used, and include the student's 
interpretation of the effect.

Above: sample annotated drawings showing process, research, and student reflection working in tandem. 

The student annotated comic pages will show copies of McCloud's work that the students will select. They will illustrate the techniques of each of the six panel transitions. Then the students will complete annotations that identify the techniques being used, what effect they have, and how they communicate with the reader. These pages will be presented to class to visually represent and reinforce the concepts. 

Group 2:

Task 1: Visual Dictionary The students will be introduced to the work of Scott McCloud and read the chapters on the introduction to sequential art. They will work with partners to find definitions for the terms that they missed from the reading. The students will created a short dictionary of terms that has a written definition and an illustration showing the 
concept. The students can use visual examples from the text, but they are also 
encouraged to create their own visual concepts to illustrate the terms. Along with each 
definition the students will create a category called applications. This category will 
evaluate and articulate how the concept or technique is used or applied in Sequential Art.

They will present their work to the class as a way of sharing their research.

Group 3:

Visual Scavenger Hunt: The students will be given a copy of the graphic novel text 
Understanding Comics by Scott McCloud. They will be given a scavenger hunt sheet that has visual excerpts associated with each concept. The visuals in the graphic novel have
text associated with them explaining the concept or technique that McCloud is discussing. The scavenger hunt sheet will have all of the text whited out. The sheet will have two 
additional columns with a space to fill in the name of the concept and the definition. They will have to skim or read through the text to find the visual excerpt and then read it, 
identify the concept, and the definition.

Flash Cards: From their Visual Scavenger Hunt the students will create flashcards to 
study the concepts and techniques in greater detail.

High Stakes Testing

The emphasis on testing and high-stakes tests is a big and controversial issue that has been at the forefront of American education since the introduction of No Child Left behind in 2002. This act mandated that students were tested yearly from grade three onwards and linked incentives and funding to school test scores. In some accounts this created a culture in which teachers and schools were teaching to the test in order to prepare the students for their yearly test.

The NCLB act came out of a mindset that American students were falling behind internationally and sought to make schools accountable through the institution of testing. The act put an emphasis on boosting the achievement of students in ELL, minority, lower-socioeconomic, disabled, and special education groups by mandating that schools and states increase achievement. The schools that were unable to do so would risk losing Title I funding. (Klein)

However, the argument that yearly testing would bridge the achievement gap and create equity fails to take into account that outcomes are tied to  access and opportunity. (Kamenetz). Access and opportunity are also connected to a diverse group of factors such as home life, community, and economic status. 

The school that I currently work at is Advanced Learning School in Saudi Arabia. It is a full IB Work School and offers inquiry-based instruction across the grade levels. We use MAP testing as a diagnostic tool for student reading, writing, and math. The test are used by teachers to judge student levels and create differentiation. The tests are used for purely diagnostic and data gathering and the students are not taught by the teachers to prepare for the tests. They are simply used to measure student levels in order to focus teaching and learning. They are also used to help assess students for additional help in these subject.  

In the student's senior year, they have IB exams in their subjects. These are dependent upon the courses that the student has selected for the IB Diploma program. The tests are a kind of high-stake in that they reflect on the school in the IB World schools depending on the scores and the amount of students who pass. However, unlike high-stakes assessment in America, the tests are not connected to policy or funding.

Apart from that, the assessment at the school uses authentic assessment, portfolios, and performance-based assessment. The school uses an inquiry-based model that focuses on the fact that students will need to be able to think and adapt to real world problems in an increasingly unpredictable world. High-stakes testing may provide an objective assessment of student knowledge, there are things that cannot assessed by a test such as coupling project-based learning with service. When students go out into communities with real need and use their skills to solve real world problems whether it be helping to design a community garden or teaching an art class at an orphanage, the real life application of knowledge is infinitely more valuable, yet much less easy to quantifiably measure.

The lack of high-stakes testing in the school is positive in that we are free to focus more on teaching and learning rather than on satisfying a requirement.

If I were to consider a similar-sized school in the US, but with an emphasis on annual tests to satisfy federal mandates, it seems that something considerable would be lost.

Works Cited:

 Klein, A. (2015, April 10). No Child Left Behind: An Overview. Retrieved January 27, 2017, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html

Kamenetz, A. (2017, January 22). The Past, Present And Future Of High-Stakes Testing. Retrieved January 27, 2017, from http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/01/22/377438689/the-past-present-and-future-of-high-stakes-testing

Fast Facts. (n.d.). Retrieved January 27, 2017, from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=1