Phase 5 Individual Project Reflection

The individual project for this course gave me tools and resources that I was not aware of before now. This project helped me to think about the SAMR model in relation to how I use technology. 

I realize that most of the time when I have used technology in the past I have been either not using it or I have been using it as a substitution and at best a augmentation. I hope that in the future I will be more aware of how I am using technology and strive for a redefinition use of digital tools. 

The lesson that I used for this project is a lesson that is used in many classrooms in the public school district. Read a text, discuss the text, and write about the text. There is nothing wrong with this model, students love to read, discuss and write but now thinking about the SAMR model I will strive to transform my lesson for technology integration. 

I would want to change some things about my current lesson to incorporate better flow. I would still start with the youtube video "I got a Habitat" (left) because my students love to sing along with the characters in the video. This is also a great time to get our wiggles out! I would want to utilize digital storytelling. If I were to use this lesson in the future I would rewrite the lesson so that once we read as a class I could have students use the chromebooks (or what resource I had) to allow the students to record themselves reading the book. Once they finished recording they could listen to themselves reading! I think this would help them recognize their own fluency and get them even more excited about reading! I also might choose a different book for the beginning lesson. I could choose a book that talks about animal habitats as well as human habitats to create a smoother transition from lesson one to lesson two. I, of course, would need to finish the lesson plan for lesson 2 as well! 

I feel that when considering different types of learners there is a lot of flexibility with this lesson. I believe that each step in this lesson can be altered to fit the needs of each student in your class or small group. It is because of this flexibility that I feel this lesson will be something that I can incorporate into my first year of teaching, or even in the spring as a student teacher!

ISTE 4 Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making

ISTE 4 discusses how students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources. In the article by Grover they discussed promoting computational thinking skills (CT) in the classroom and in the curriculum. It discussed how CT is "the process of recognising aspects of computation in the world that surrounds us, and applying tools and techniques from Computer Science to understand and reason about both natural and artificial systems and processes”. I wanted to know what I could do in Kindergarten to start developing these skills for my students. During my research I kept coming across four concepts that seem to be the building blocks for CT skills: 

imagine found at https://code.org/curriculum/course3/1/Teacher

Helping students understand these four concepts/vocabulary will help them build their CT skills. Code.org has provided a free lesson plan for doing just that. The lesson plan begins with introducing the four words and than building a working knowledge of what those words mean. This lesson is done %100 with out a computer which makes it accessible for all. What I find extremely helpful with this resource is that the standards are provided for the lesson. For example the ISTE standards that code.org felt were covered with this lesson are 

• 1.a - Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes.
• 1.c - Use models and simulation to explore complex systems and issues.
• 2.d - Contribute to project teams to solve problems.
• 4.b - Plan and manage activities to develop a solution or complete a project.
• 4.d - Use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to explore alternative solutions.

This was very helpful for me because it provided a lesson example paired with the standards, it helps me visualize the standards better.

Along with this lesson plan code.org provides a number of resources for students and educators. Code.org provides courses for each grade, for kindergarten I would utilize course A which consists of 12 lesson plans that teach basic CT skills. This course is free and provides an unplugged activity option for each lesson. There are several fun quick videos and game-like activities for students to practice what they learned. I love this resource and I plan to utilize it in my future classroom.

Grover, S., & Pea, R. (2013). Computational thinking in K–12: A review of the state of
the field . Educational Researcher , 42 (1), 38–43

ITSE 3 Research and Information Fluency

ISTE 3 discusses how students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information. After reading and researching I wanted to focus on the resources that I found that could assist in Blended Learning in my classroom. Means, Toyama, Murphy and Baki did a Meta-Analysis of the literature on the subject of using lecture only, online only and blended learning. What they found is that blended learning can be an effective way to keep students engaged and motivated.

One of my peers found a kid friendly search engine  which is a website that provides students and teachers questions that the students use their search engine to find the answers. It helps guide them through the process and can provide practice in using a search engine.

Another helpful search engine that could assist with classroom research projects is another kid friendly search engine which is a google search engine that is geared for children to research social studies, arts, sci/tech, language arts, people, animals,  etc. 

The last resource that I wanted to post is a picture dictionary this is also like a search engine but it is a picture dictionary which could be a great way to introduce or practice vocabulary. I like that it is picture based because this is extremely helpful for ELLs and all kindergartners. They also provide English, Dutch, French, Italian, German, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Swedish picture dictionaries as well as a Phonetic picture dictionary.

There are so many ways to incorporate technology with your lesson plans so that you can participate in Blended Learning. By combining teacher instruction, technology, and cooperative learning I hope to keep my students engaged and motivated to learn!

Means, B., Toyama, Y., Murphy, R. F., & Baki, M. (2013). The effectiveness of online

and blended learning: A meta-analysis of the empirical literature . Teachers College

Record , 115, 1–47.

ISTE 2 Connecting Students Globally

ISTE 2 discusses communication and collaboration "Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others."

The subsection that I focuses on in this standard is "Develop cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures". I was originally attracted to because I really believe that the best way to become gain more knowledge of other cultures is from experiences with individuals from those cultures. I questioned myself to look for ways to engage my future kindergartners with others across the globe in a way that is safe and appropriate. Through my investigation I found kidblog.org ( https://kidblog.org/home/ ). This is a site that you can pay for (one of my peers discovered that it is $44 a year or $9 a month) and have access to interactive portfolios and blogs for your students. What drew me to this site is that it can be used from kindergarten to high school. Student can create an avatar and can personalize their portfolio, even make vidoes. This site makes it easy to connect to other classes that use kidblog by following another class or entering in your search criteria.
https://kidblog.zendesk.com/hc/en-us This link to the left is a link to their help page. I am posting it because it helps you understand the site more providing links to classroom examples, FAQ, tutorials and webinars.
Another site that one of my peers help me find is http://www.epals.com/#/connections . This site is different from kidblog because you are connecting individual students to individual students, rather than whole classes collaborating on a project. This could be a great way to create unique and genuine friendships between students on your class to other in different cultures. What I like about this site is that you can select an age range, the youngest age is 3!

I appreciated this section of researching because it is so important to connect students to other students who are different from them. I was not aware that there are SO MANY sites out there that make this possible for even our kindergartners (or preschoolers). I hope to utilize both of these sites with my future students. I know they will benefit from it and so would I!

ISTE 1 Module Creativity and Innovation

Triggering Event

How can students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovation products and processes using technology?

My Personalized Triggering Event Question

With so many apps and technological resources to choose from, how do I figure out which apps are effective and which apps are not before implementing them into my curriculum?


There are millions of apps available for mobile devices that I really wanted to spend time figuring out how I can choose an app that is appropriate and effective for an instructional aide. In an article written by Min Wook Ok, Min Kyung Kim, Eun Young Kang, and Brian R. Bryant titled How to Find Good Apps: An Evaluation Rubric for Instructional Apps for Teaching Students With Learning Disabilities I learned how to find effective apps.

When evaluating an app you want to look at objective, strategy, examples, practice, error correction and feedback, item error analysis, progress monitoring, motivation, navigation, font, customized settings and lastly, content area and bias. Below I have created a table the describes the qualities of the highest ranking apps according to Wook Ok, Kyung Kim, Young Kang, and Bryan. The authors go into greater detail in each area and I do recommend reading the article to better understand the information below.

Evaluating Apps Tips from Min Wook Ok, Min Kyung Kim, Eun Young Kang, and Brian R. Bryan
Objective	Clear and concise Easy to find
Strategy	Broke down into manageable and connected chunks Encourage, reinforce, and assess
Examples	Provides 3-4 examples for each concept or skill that make connections between instructional skills Examples model the concept or skill
Practice	Consistent and regular practice opportunities At least 5 opportunities to practice the concept or skill before moving on to the next step
Error Correction and Feedback	Notifies the student of correct/incorrect responses and are given the correct answer
Item Error Analysis	Keeps records of the types of errors that the student is making and provides a report
Progress Monitoring	Total point are provided Progress alerts are detected by a tracking system
Motivation	Constantly maintains student engagement during the entire learning process
Navigation	Easy and simple Students can easily get assistance Accessible (meaning simple, consistent and straight forward)
Font	Font size is sufficient and modifiable Font is easy to read
Customized Settings	Available customization settings to individualize for each student
Content Area and Bias	Content is free of errors and up to date Free from bias (like race or gender)

The main idea with this article and finding apps that are of good quality is to research it! Do not just blindly allow your students to use apps that do not meet the standards in the table above. Something that I noticed, and perhaps you agree or disagree, that many of these areas to evaluate seem to mirror types of good instructional strategies. I do think that this is the key to choosing an effective app.

Reflection 2 - Learners in Context

Our discussion on Nature vs nurture has been one of my favorite discussion because it was great to hear about the many different yet similar opinions. In particular Chad Johnson had a very unique take on it because his example mentioned his young twins. You could make the argument that his twins have had the same 'nurture' experience and yet he sees differences in their natural abilities. This to me is a great example of how there are biological predispositions. Our textbook stated that most developmental psychologist believe in the combination of nature and nurture rather than one or the other and I would say that our class agrees with this perspective. 
Another interesting topic that we have covered thus far is the chapter describing stage theories. I have always been fascinated when discussing stage theories because of it attempt the describe how we humans develop as we grow. Its also draws in my attention because Piaget is always discussed during a stage theory debate. While there are so many flaws (also addressed in our textbook) there is really some good information that does explain development. Specifically I think of the sensorimotor stage of development. Piaget described the type of learning during this time of growth to be all in the actions of the baby and not in the mind. Rather or not I completely agree with this or not is irrelevant because I can absolutely know what Piaget was getting at. Babies learn through experiencing not necessarily through thinking. During my time working at a Daycare we would think of all the different sensory experiences we could give the younger children: Soapy water, different types of fabric, rubber, etc. You could just see the expressions of pure amazement on their faces as they took in this new information and store it away. 
As for the information on the curriculum that is going to come I am really looking forward to the chapter titled "Language Development and Linguistic Diversity". I hope and also expect the authors to provide some really good information and research on the subject and I am excited to hear about it!

Reflection 1 - Learners in Context

I studied child and adolescent development at EWU, my bachelors degree is in developmental psychology with my focused age group being childhood and adolescence. I feel that I am familiar with concepts in this area even though it has been a couple years since I graduated. Our prompt asks us to say what we know about child and adolescent development and that is not the easiest thing to put into one reflection. I can say, however, that one of the most influential concepts that has shaped the way I interact with young people is that every interaction that you have with them could have a huge impact on their lives with out you ever realizing it. Childhood through adolescence is the most important time period in a persons life, it is the time when we look to the world for guidance. This vulnerability is something that I always remember when working with children, knowing that they are building trust, love, respect, good behavior and so much more based off of those who are closest to them. One of the most influential person in a child's life is their teacher, which is probably why I chose the path I did, I wanted to use what I knew to be a good influence in the lives of children. I am currently waiting for our textbooks to arrive and looking forward to reading it because I have read many books on development but none specifically geared for educators.