Connection Tool Final Reflection: Gantt Chart

As I introduced at the beginning of implementing this assignment, Gantt charts are visual reminders of all of the important scheduling items you need to keep track of while planning a project. Everything is put on a timescale which allows you to have instant overviews of a project and find out which associated tasks still need to be completed (“Gantt Charts”).

I choose to use Gantt chart through the Excel program and although I was not able to meet my goal of sharing it with other members of my departmental team, I was able to use it on my own as a personal record keeper/planning mechanism. One of my long term goals was to share a Gantt chart with my team members so we could work together to produce units and make sure we were meeting foundational knowledge goals all together. However, it was so near the end of the school year that it wasn’t feasible ask my team to do one more thing! 

I mainly used this program to set goals for the final units in my Writing & Grammar and Literature classes. The benefits of Gannt charts in general are that they help organize your thoughts and create realistic time frames for projects. My time frame for this project was May 1st-June 16th. My goal for Writing & Grammar was to fit the creative writing unit into four weeks and make sure I was meeting foundational knowledge concepts. Some of these foundational knowledge concepts overlapped and keeping my schedule straight was paramount due to the upcoming year end. From the Gnatt chart, I was able to create a calendar which I then printed and shared with my students and their parents/guardians so everyone was on the same page about upcoming deadlines. 

The disadvantage to using the chart like this was that it wasn’t really utilizing the purpose or features of the chart. Instead I basically turned it into a calendar that needed to be constantly updated and was more complex than necessary. Although I do think that it helped me understand what deadlines worked well for components of this project, that is information that cannot be utilized until next year when I revisit the curriculum. I think that Gnatt charts can be utilized very effectively but my circumstances dictated the way that I used it and I didn’t altogether find it very helpful.

In the future, I would like to be able to use it more like a project management tool with my team as is intended. This would allow me to be more aware of the advantages and disadvantages of this tool in general. 

 

References

Gantt Charts: Planning and Scheduling More Complex Projects. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2017, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_03.htm

End of the Semester Reflection

The end of this semester is quickly approaching and with that end in sight, I wanted to take the time to reflect upon some take-aways and next steps for implementing the information discussed in this course.  

One of my greatest take-aways from this semester was that it’s not enough to simply implement new technologies into the classroom unless there is curriculum and pedagogy behind it that will support the incorporation of those new technologies in a way that contributes to student growth.

Throughout this semester, we have read studies about various new technologies including, just to name a few- Twitter, Blogging, Videoblogging, Wikis, podcasting, and website creation. These technologies have all been proven to be effective tools in the classroom to support learning, whether that is because they speak to the different ways that people learn or because 21st century students are so technologically literate. However, educators should be diligent in how they choose to implement technology. They need to question themselves; are they incorporating Wikis into their writing units simply because they are trying to get ahead of the technological curve or is that really a valid way to support learning about concepts like editing and revising? I believe that educators in general are re-examining their curriculum and re-examining tried and true methods to see how technology can come aside and assist with the same goals. I think this is the correct-and smartest way to approach introducing emerging technologies into the classroom.

Personally, I’m excited to adapt two new technologies into my classroom this upcoming fall-the use of Google Forms and the better use of Wikis. Both support curriculum I already have but simply update it in a way that I think will be beneficial for myself as a grader, and for the students as they learn to research and write. I’m glad that I got the opportunity to look deeper into both of these platforms. I also plan on going back to code.org and Khan academy and doing some additional HTML programming. As an English teacher, I don’t often get to stretch the mathematical or problem solving part of my brain so I’m looking forward to the challenges that I will probably face learning some basic coding. 

Overall, although there were certainty some aspects of this course that I will not, or would not, implement into my professional life, I was happy to get some practical applications that I can use in the upcoming school year. It was refreshing to go beyond the pedagogy of education into practical steps. 

Technology, Collaboration and Communication

“Just giving a teacher a technology tool and expecting him or her to maximize its learning potential is a strategy destined for failure. A majority of teachers, including those raised in a digital age, do not have the knowledge or skill set to use technology effectively to maximize student learning” (Beglau et. al, 2011).

Although shocking, from personal experience, I have found this statement to be true. Technology is advancing at such a quick pace, that even millennials, like myself, aren’t as technologically savvy as the students we serve. The ISTE White Paper that I quoted in the paragraph above, declares that unless teachers can figure out how to creatively integrate technology quickly into already existing curriculum strategies, then students won’t have the opportunity to become productive digital-age citizens. They propose the following solution: personal development that is:

1. Technology-rich,
2. Delivered through a coaching model, and
3. Enhanced by the power of community and social learning.

If properly combined, newer teachers can get the input and support that they need to maximize the potential of the technology in their classroom. Technology that is not just being used but maximized for the potential of student growth!

References

Monica Beglau, Jana Craig Hare, Les Foltos, Kara Gann, Jayne James, Holly Jobe, Jim Knight, Ben Smith (2011)  Technology, Coaching, and Community.  ISTE White Paper.

 

The Maker Movement and Learning to Code

The Maker Movement is a hands-on approach to engage students in problem solving using technology.

One component of the maker movements is 3D printing where machines build 3D models based upon blueprints. The high school within my district has recently acquired a 3D printer, as has the local library, which speaks to the excitement around this new technology and the drive to get young people excited about this emerging software.

Although coding has been around for much longer than the 3D printing movement, only more recently, have educators started incorporating coding and programming basics into primary and secondary curriculum. The following aps have all been used as resources to help students even in primary school; learn how to code: Scratch, Diary and Dinosaur, Kodable Pro, Cargo-Bot. In an earlier blog post I shared about my experience coding through Khan academy and it’s “Hour of Code” campaign where in only one hour I learned basic HTMl and CCS, showing that people of all ages can learn coding.

When a teacher is deciding on the right apps to use in their classroom to support coding initiatives, one of the factors when making software selection policies is whether the software is open to public use or not. Software that is open to the public at little to no cost is considered open-source software as this software can be edited, copied and modified by the general public.

Alongside regular programming, students can also be taught through educational aps, how to compose and calculate in programs like Excel and Word. Composing and calculating skills are normally hard skills that are taught in math or writing classes but these same skill sets can be applied across word processing and spreadsheet software. In a writing class, students can be taught digital writing which combines traditional writing skills (grammar, conventions, punctuation, voice, tone) and newer skills like learning how to write for a blog, wiki or email. Tone and voice are skill being taught but using more modern platforms.

The last element I’m going to talk about regarding emerging technologies and integrating those technologies into the classroom and curriculum is the use of digital games and game-based learning. I know from personal experience how much my students loved playing Kahoot to help them study for finals, use Waggle to practice foundational knowledge components and I’ve seen them play the same math games over and over. Games are now available on every browser and every network and can be based around any content. Teachers who are not using technological based games in their curriculum really are missing out on great opportunities for fun learning.

Coding basic HTML

For the code.org challenge “Try an Hour of Code” I choose the Khan academy one hour introduction to basic HTML and CCS. Throughout the module, you are introduced to various essential elements of HTML and CCS through videos and then are required to complete a similiar module on your own using the expertise gained through the video. The activities are very hands-on and interactive. The final project involves creating a holiday card (any holiday) which must compromise: creativity, a list, inserting images, changing style and changing color.

I created a holiday card celebrating summer break as this is my first day of summer vacation. The card did meet all of the requirements for this project and taught me the very basics of html.

Tool Discovery: Gantt Charts

 

 

Out of the many project management and podcasting tools I viewed, I found the idea of Gantt charts to be most appealing. Gantt charts are visual reminders of all of the important scheduling items you need to keep track of while planning a project. Everything is put on a timescale which allows you to have instant overviews of a project and find out which associated tasks still need to be completed (“Gantt Charts”).

I believe that this product can enhance the learning experience through either administration/teacher use or through student utilization. This project management tool could be use as an extended version of a calendar for the family of a busy high school senior who is juggling their various tasks. The way that I would like to utilize this tool is through my small department at work which is compromised of the 8th grade English teachers. Our department is very small and heavily relies on student need which seems to guarantee that the other teachers in the department aren’t necessarily working on the same steps in the curriculum as I am. This freedom does allow for accommodations/modifications to be quickly made to schedules, but also potentially poses the risk of missing required deadlines trying to fit in all the curriculum. I would encourage the other teachers in the department to write on the schedules which element of the common core they will be tackling each week, per unit. This will allow for the flexibility that we are all used to and also serve as a great accountability tool when conversations come up with administrators or parents over what we are actually learning!

Gantt charts can be created and are utilized mostly in Excel. Although there are project management websites that will do the heavy lifting for you of actually creating the Excel document, there are also plenty of free guides on how to create one yourself. Excel worksheets are okay for sharing across platforms, but I would prefer to create mine in the Google equivalent-Google Sheets- as my school already has us tapped into Google through email and docs. Google can be accessed through any devise by going to your Google Drive.

Although we are 20 days out from the end of the school year, I do plan on talking to the department head and getting their feedback on Gantt charts and the feasibility of sharing one all together for the 2017-2018 school year. As with most teachers, I could always use more ways to keep organized!

References

Gantt Charts: Planning and Scheduling More Complex Projects. (n.d.). Retrieved May 17, 2017, from https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newPPM_03.htm

Netiquette and the 12 Be-Attitudes

Blessed are those who use careful grammar and spelling for they are sure to not look like idiots in front of their coworkers…

The guide to careful netiquette and the Top 12 Be-Attitudes (linked here) gives careful reminders of how academics can maintain their professional relationships and veneers through simple checks and stay away from some of the easy pitfalls that net neutrality easily lends.

Although for the most part these 12 rules are common attitudes and courteous behaviors that all people should follow regardless, it is good to stop and reflect at this time in our introduction to emerging technologies on how our own behavior and attitudes can be maintained or changed.

As an educator, I am constantly finding new resources that could help support my classroom. For instance, while doing some light Googling I will come across the perfect PowerPoint or worksheet that will help support learning in my classroom. I quickly download it, print off 70 copies and thank my lucky stars that educators before me found the perfect wording/images to express a new concept. But in that rush to create and disseminate new materials and contribute to the learning in my classroom, I have *GASP* forgotten to abide by Netiquette Rule #5-Be Respectful of Copyrights. My mentor teacher is a champ of respectfully using copyrights. At the end of each of her PowerPoints or at the bottom of a worksheet, I often saw credit being given to the original author/creator often in the style of MLA, which students are familiar with.  This is a standard I should hold myself to more often if not just to avoid possible legal trouble for myself, or my school, but also to essentially teach my students about citations and plagiarism through osmosis.

One of the ways to ensure that my students are learning proper netiquette is through an acronym that I often use in class-A.T.T.P. This stands for Audience. Text. Tone and Purpose. Before any writing assignment, students should self-reflect on these four subjects before beginning their writing to understand how their writing should be structured. If I start to incorporate this acronym into smaller written assignments on a regular basis, instead of just major essays, perhaps the repetition will lead to students applying this policy of thought to daily interactions over email, text and chat as well. Additionally, I believe that students should be directly taught safe internet procedures through deliberate and direct instruction in technology classes.

A key component of digital citizenship is giving students the materials and instruction they need to interact with technology in a responsible, and safe way protecting both their information and themselves from harm. Many resources (including this one) are now out there that can give advice, resources and talking points to teachers, parents, and mentors on safe technology practices-some of which the adults need refreshing on as well! Technology is rampant in our society. To ignore the progress and to not match our education up to it, is to potentially put ourselves, and our futures at risk.

References

Berk, R. A. (2011). Top 12 be-attitudes of netiquette for academicians. Journal of Faculty Development, 25(3), 45-48.

Ribble, M. (Ed.). (n.d.). Digital Citizenship. Retrieved May 08, 2017, from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/