Virtual Teachers

This week I began reading Empowering Students with Technology by Alan November.  Although I am only about half way through, I already see what a valuable tool this text can be for any educator or administrator.  It is evident that November is an advocate for technology in the classroom, and the reasons he offers prove just how beneficial technology use in the classroom is not only for students, but for teachers and parents, too.  November emphasizes how technology and computers allow students to take pride and possession in their own learning and also engage and empower students.  November (2010) stated that "the widespread application of technology can reform schools, level the playing field for disadvantaged students, provide disable students with real opportunities for participating in the mainstream, and create new opportunities for educators to build communities of best practice" (p. 2).  Initially, I was one of those teachers who were hesitant about incorporating so much technology in the classroom, mostly because the idea of shifting control over to the students terrifies me.  However, over the past several weeks, I have come to see just how beneficial and even necessary this new technology is.

I finished reading November's Empowering Learners this week.  In the final chapter he discusses online learning and mentions three online high schools that currently exist.  While high schools are still relatively exclusively "seat time only", we are seeing increasing amounts of colleges that offer courses that are wholly or partly online. He mentions that the spread of online learning has been limited in primary and secondary grades by states and districts not recognizing the standards and validity of courses. I think his next edition of this book will see a change in this chapter.  As the Common Core State Standards are being adopted by so many states, there will be a greater opportunity for development of courses that will work around the country.   As school districts, consulting groups and independent companies develop more online materials that align with the Common Core, I believe more students may have the opportunity to take courses online.  With the advent of programs like Skype, Google+, Face Time and other online video sharing and communication an online course could offer more interaction between teachers and students than ever before. This increased methods of communication between students, peers and teachers would help teachers design engaging and creative lessons that would not only be standards based but also provide students with a greater degree of freedom to problem solve and present solutions (21st century skills!). At the high school level, online courses could help students catch up on credits they may have lost earlier in their careers.  Many of the students who come to my program either failed or lost credit in most of their freshman (and some sophomore) courses.  Studies show that many of these students end up dropping out, because they lose motivation to go to school because they feel they have fallen too far behind. As it is, we offer directed studies or altered schedules to help students make up their credits, and many take advantage of this.  Currently, I have a senior who is really motivated to graduate working in my freshman Algebra 1 class to make up his credit. An online class might offer him a similar opportunity and would have allowed more freedom in his daily schedule. Several other seniors have English credits to make up.  One of them is interested in computers has recently gotten hooked on Glogster from a recent English project. He has expressed interest in doing more with it or similar projects for his directed study. If we had an online, project based course created it would provide more opportunities for him and his teacher to discover other ways for him to present his knowledge. November mentions that most students who succeed in online courses are similarly motivated.
By no means do I think that students should take all of their coursework online, and, according to November  neither do the founders of the online high schools.  One even mentions that they want and encourage their students to step away from the computers, go out to find information and use the computer to share what they have found.  Real world experience is important and nothing makes up for face to face interaction.  The point being made is similar to what we have been talking about in class: the technology should be used to provide access to the greater world. I think it would be cool to teach an online course where I could set up interviews with people at their jobs, record our questions and the person actually using math at their job and have students respond to the posts. Mathematical modeling is frequently referenced in the Common Core standards (especially linear, logrithmic and exponential models), and I think that some of the problems we come up with are a little simplistic or we don't have enough information to make a realistic simulation.  I often get asked the question, "When would I ever use this in real life miss?"  These videos would speak to it and I could have students post comments or maintain a blog about the interviews.  Although time constraints are kind of tricky, I wonder if I could even incorporate this idea into my current classroom. Anyone have suggestions of people I could interview?

I have been reading Alan November's Web Literacy For Educator's and while it is more of what I would call a "technical book," it really breaks down what to look for as far as reputable websites.  November presents situations in which students have used "reputable" websites however did not critically think about the information presented on the website therefore when the information was used, it was "misused."  From a teacher perspective, I think about when I do my own research online.  I have the ability to question information that I find before I make decisions to use the material however I think about my 10/11 year olds.  I'm not sure they all would know to question the information they find without the proper guidance.
November presents a simple scaffold to assist students validate web information by using a process called REAL.  R-Read the URL  E-Examine the content  A-Ask about the author and owner L-Look at the Links.
As an adult, these are things I think about however I don't take a lot of time to dissect each piece of a URL.  November breaks down reading the URL as far as what to look for so you can identify where it originates from, who the author is, and how valid it actually presents itself.  The extensions in a web address is helpful to identify the owner of the website.  For example a web address that ends in ".k12" is from a school in the United States.  A web address that ends in ".edu" is from an educational organization (most U.S. colleges), ".ac" is from an Academic Institution not in the United States.  Most of these are familiar however there are extensions that are not familiar.  I would be hesitant to use a web address if I didn't recognize the extension.
Examining the content is also important as both an educator and student because often times information on the web is beautifully written and presented however it's relevance and/or validity is questionable.  Students need to be guided to further question the material found on the web by asking questions such as, "Are there links and resources provided and do they work?  Is the site current?  Does the information contradict information you have found elsewhere?"  All of these questions are great for guiding students to decipher between sites that are useful and those that might just be mediocre.
Asking about the Author/Owner is also beneficial.  November states that anyone can be the author of a website so it's important to question.  Some questions to ask in order to find the author are, "Is the author's name provided?  Is there a contact person or address provided?  Does the author seem knowledgeable.  Is he/she an expert?"  Presenting these questions for students to look for can only help guide them to more reputable information/websites.
Look at the Links  Quite simply...do the links go to where they say they are going to go?  November states to look at the forward links and back links and make sure they function properly to the appropriate sites.  Lots of times links either don't work, throw you to an irrelevant site, or bring you to information that could be questionable.  This helps students to validate sites information.
Overall, I found this particular information in November's book to be both interesting and beneficial.  It really made me think ahead for when I have my students do any sort of research on the internet.  I feel like I can help guide them at least a little bit better as far as what to look for when they do searches and what to steer clear of.  I feel like using the acronym "REAL" can help students focus on their search and also have an awareness for sites that are either questionable or irrelevant.  Certainly, communication and collaboration is a huge component of the process of validating website information.  Students can discuss with each other as well as use me as their guide and facilitator.  Students will definitely need to use their critical thinking skills in order to determine whether information is true/false or questionable.  Again, asking themselves, "Does any of this information contradict anything else I've read?  Should I further research other sites and/or links on this page?"  Lastly, students need to be creative in their searches.  Perhaps using key phrases and vocabulary to help narrow down to reputable resources. 
Connection to Curriculum and Instruction and Connection to technology, Common Core, and State Standards
I feel as if I could really use these techniques in my classroom with my kids; specifically when we are using online review games as a class.  From the beginning of the year, I have had "gaming groups" to accommodate all of my students with the one computer I have in my classroom.  I set up the groups either at random or by ability level.  I then have the students rotate through different activities and one being the eno board with specific games saved for each group of students.  They know where to find them on the home screen and which are appropriate because I have designated a list for them to use.  I could, however, allow students to search for their own review games appropriate to the material we are studying and learning about.  In doing this, I could spend time prior to my "gaming groups" modeling and demonstrating what a "good site" would be and what to look for.  Although I have 6th graders, I feel as if if I took the time to direct them to what to look for when searching, they would be able to find more reliable and more reputable sites to use and share with the class. 
As of right now, my classes are in CCSS  Content 6.G.A. 1 - 4.  With the study of geometry, I constantly use my eno board to demonstrate and display information from my own searches online.  For example, when we first started our exploration of polygons, I googled for images of "real-world" polygons however with some of the polygon images I found, I wanted more of an explanation, so I clicked on the link to find out more information.  I found myself researching further in depth on some of the images I found than I had anticipated.  The CCSS of Geometry is a great unit to incorporate technology because the kids are able to relate real-world images to what we are studying. 

So, I picked up this book that was by one of the given authors, Alan November but was not on our reading list.  I just finished Web Literacy For Educators and although it's more of a "technical" book, I really am coming away with some basic knowledge that we as teachers need to look for and be knowledgeable about in order to guide and facilitate our students as they research and use the web.  One part of this book that made me think, not only about how my kids search for information, but how I, as an educator, approach it as well.  In the beginning of the book, November talks about how we need to know how to effectively search the internet in order to get the most valuable information.  For example, I think of my students and they automatically use or suggest to me to use "Google" for any question they may have, but is google really the best option for information they are looking for?  Not always.  As a classroom teacher, I need to research more sites that might be appropriate for their researching purposes/needs.  I think I have the hardest time nurturing student learning on the internet because I, myself, am not completely caught up with the "top" sites or research sites so how can I guide my students to the best sites with the best information in which they need?  Having limited technology use in my school, I admit that I don't take time to research sites in which students can use.  I'd like to become more knowledgeable of internet sites, locations in order to provide the best and most appropriate learning experience for my students.   (I hope some of this made sense!)  :)
Connection to technology, common core, and state standards
CCSS.Math.Content.5.G.B.3:   Understand that attributes belonging to a category of two-dimensional figures also belong to all subcategories of that category. For example, all rectangles have four right angles and squares are rectangles, so all squares have four right angles.
In implementing the CCSS this school year, I am very familiar with the language used and, unfortunately, in the Math portion, there is no language of using technology specifically.  There is, however, language stating often that the standard must "apply the technique to solving real-world mathematical problems."  With this said, I feel as if I can bring the real-world applications into my classroom by using the technology that is available to me.  For example, November talks about making the best of "google searches" so I could lead my students in a "search" in whatever unit we are in.  Most recently, we have been learning and working with polygons and different characteristics of polygons.  I conducted a polygon webquest with my students in order for them to discover on their own, different characteristics and qualities of polygons given to them.  Before we did the webquest, I allowed students to explore the internet for polygon properties on their own.  We talked about how to search, what links would be good matches to click on and search, and what to do should they navigate "off track."  Being quite inexperienced with "teaching" and "leading" internet skills to my students, I think they (and I) did a decent job figuring out strategies to use only "the best" search results.
I also provided for the students some of the sites I found for them to use.  I highlighted on these websites because they provide examples of what to look for in a good site search.   

The first book I am reading is Alan November's book (the title of this post).  Now, often when we read books we tend to skim the preface and introduction in favor of getting to the "meat" of the text.  If you end up reading this book I highly suggest you don't follow this pattern.  Through the preface November shows you the paradigm through which he views education and technology.  The most powerful part for me came with his statement that the easy part is getting technology into the classroom.  Rather the difficult part is to realize that the use of modern technology is about "reshaping the relationship between teachers and students" in order to "shift... control from the school system to the learner."  That is a very powerful statement and I think points to our general underlying uneasiness about technology in the classroom.  A sense of control (I think) is necessary to a general sense of well being when you are in a classroom.  Nothing strikes more fear into the heart of a teacher than the statement "things are out of control". As such we are tentative with lessons, activities and systems that might destabilize our current status quo. Children and teenagers can be quixotic, and I personally worry what my students would come up with if I asked them to create something to demonstrate their learning (and good grief what would the rubric look like? lol). But I think November speaks to this very sentiment a few paragraphs later when he quotes another teacher:"we have succeeded in teaching our students how to be taught, and what we need to do is teach them how to learn". (see what I mean about not skipping the preface?) Some of our student's learned dependence is our fault.  We want them to follow guidelines of assignments and directions in class.  While there are many good reasons for both of these, neither exactly encourage "out of the box" thinking.  With the technology available today, so many things are possible, it is hard to walk the line between the need for order and the need for creative freedom. Currently I have no answers and struggle with this line myself (often erring on the side of order). How about the rest of the class?

In the introduction, November introduces Shoshana Zuboff's (a Harvard Business professor) view on why sometimes the incorporation of technology is successful and other times it produces little to no growth.  The crux is whether the technology is automating or informating the system.  Automating refers to "bolting" technology on top of current processes and procedures. This (according to the author) results in little growth. I think this is currently our approach to technology in education.  How many times have you asked yourself, "how could I do this, but with technology?" I am uncomfortable with my own answer to this question (Answer: A lot).  An example of this is how I frequently have my students create a table of values in Excel and use the program to create a line graph.  While they are preforming a skill, this is not a lesson that promotes critical thinking or any true collaboration or communication.  The technology is not enhancing the lesson and helping the students gain greater insight or meaning from the lesson as is. Instead they are just creating a graph more quickly (and in many cases more neatly) than if they had done it with pencil and graph paper.  November describes it well when he writes, "students can use the computer as a $1000 pencil with which to write a five paragraph essay for a grade."
The opposing process is informating, where the technology not only changes the product or process but also the "flow and control" of information.  In the previous example of the Excel graphs, students could be using that skill in the context of a larger project or presentation.  Maybe the data is informing some issue that they want to inform the public about or take a stand on.  As an alternative program we are often forgotten, marginialized or maligned through misconceptions about what it means to be "alternative".  This is something that our students feel deeply about.  The excel graph could be used as part of a research project into what other alternative programs do and how it related to  their success.  The students could work together to create a presentation on why the program is important to them and how it could be made better.  This would be a positive use of skills and could be used to present to the faculty of the program, the mainstream high school or even administrators.  Students would feel empowered and would be using a digital tool as part of a  larger process.
While the previous example was a positive spin on how informating could be incorporated, there is also the possibility of students remaining uninformed about digital citizenship and abusing the tools at their fingertips.  November has no illusions that this is a possibility and references companies and universities who learned the hard way that the shift can result in "chaos and even disaster".  The problem he places before teachers is the same many investors face: we can stay with the "safe" way and see minimal growth for the investment or we can take the risky way and see either a huge gain or a huge failure.  Give any board of education that choice, and they will always go for the safe route. As employees who have to answer to said board, I think it make our choice that much more difficult to navigate. We have a responsibility to our learners to prepare them for the workplace and life where there are few multiple choice questions, but to do it in a safe and responsible way that keeps both them and our districts from harm.
I have found this book so far an interesting mix of challenge and information and hope others are reading it too.