Learning in the Open

Over the duration of my course EDU 702 Using Technology to Teach Social Studies, I have been introduced to a wide variety of online learning tools and techniques that can enhance my teaching practice. I have particularly enjoyed using the Twitter app, as a way to communicate, collaborate and learn with and from others. This resource offers a wealth of knowledge on difference perspectives, strategies, and experiences as well as an avenue to additional resources.

While I appreciate the open discussion forums that are held in class, I find that personally I learn better from face to face discussions with my colleagues and fellow educators. I truly enjoyed being observed by the GSC college staff because I was able to engage in an open dialogue about my teaching practice, and it seemed more authentic. I do like using video as an open discussion tool. Sometimes I think it’s difficult for me to reflect on others teaching through online discussion because I haven’t been fully engaged in it. That being said, I do appreciate the discussions and blogs for reflective purposes. Reading about others strategies and ideas allows me to learn from them, and try their ideas in my own practice.

I have really enjoyed using Twitter. I didn’t think I would at first, but this was a lesson of trying something new and giving it a chance. I was surprised by how much I have been able to learn from the posts, blogs, articles, TED Talks, etc that can be discovered on Twitter. I will definitely continue to use this social media platform throughout my teaching experiences.

Within the classroom–

The classroom I work in uses shared iPads and laptops to conduct research and engage in online educational games. However, the students I work with have little experience using these technologies as a collaborative tool to engage in learning with their peers. The do not share content with one another, or use apps such as Flipgrid or Twitter. They also have little experience learning in a collaborative learning environment. They participate in group work, but have difficulty designating roles within the group, and understanding that group work includes sharing the same learning goal, each contributing their equal part.

I have learned how to use some of these technologies to encourage group work, but feel collaborative and cooperative learning is a skill that must be taught prior to or during the learning activity. Teachers can work with students in whole group, demonstrating and modeling learning goals and how to participate in group learning effectively and efficiently.

The Digital Leadership Project that we completed taught me the importance of first learning how to use different applications and websites before incorporating them into my lessons. It also taught me how to instruct students on the importance of digital responsibility, safety, communicate and etiquette.

As I continue on this journey as a teacher candidate I will continue to use Twitter, Flipgrid, and other apps that I have enjoyed using. I wish the best of luck to everyone within this course as well! #GSC612702!

Emma

Digital Leadership and Citizenship

As we start to learn about digital citizenship and leadership, my initial thoughts are that it begins with the teacher.  We first need to educate ourselves on the safe practices of technology use so we can then educate and protect our students. As the world of education shifts to join the digital age of communication and collaboration, it is essential to the safety and security of our students that we understand the rights and responsibilities of users. From my experience working in a classroom for only 2 years, one thing stood out to me. Students are taught digital citizenship in their media/library classes, but it often isn’t carried over into the classroom.  The use of laptops and iPads are extended into the classroom, but from observation, the language and discussion of digital citizenship and leadership is not continued by teachers.  In my upcoming social studies unit, students will be using the SeeSaw App to participate in learning activities, present their projects and assignments, and reflect on one another’s work.  After reading about digital citizenship and seeing it taught first hand from other educators, I realize it is my responsibility to teach my students the appropriate manner in which to collaborate and provide feedback to students.  Before they can be introduced to the learning activities, I must teach students how to provide positive and respectful feedback to each other, as well as   modeling for students the appropriate manner in which they collaborate.  Here are some great examples and ideas for activities to start the discussion with your own students. 

https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=LS4x09WNS8eu–RU5WNVdw&prompt_id=prompt.150248b6-a205-4dbf-a02f-d2dedb7a63c1

https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=QK-Cbnh2ROyri1DBWWBkyg&prompt_id=prompt.1af78781-67b1-416a-b0fa-cb7d9592bd7b

References: 

Common Sense Education. (n/d). Retrieved from: 

https://www.commonsense.org/education/digital-citizenship

International Society for Technology in Education. (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.iste.org

SeeSaw The Learning Journal. (n/d). Retrieved from:  https://app.seesaw.me/#/activities/library?community&subject=DigitalCitizenship

Individualism, Equality, and Authority

The teaching of Social Studies can seem overwhelming, as the framework encompasses 5 major strands: Civics, Economics, Geography, US History and World History and intertwines 10 different themes throughout. On of the themes that I would like to share is Individualism, Equality, and Authority. This theme in itself started to overwhelm me when reflecting on how to present it, as it the foundation of our democratic society. In Social Studies we study the balance and relationship between each of these three principles throughout the strands.

The theme of Individualism, Equality and Authority encompasses the tension created by the search for freedom and security, liberty and equality, and individualism and the common good (NH Dept. of Ed., 2006). Establishing a variety of authorities provide safeguards against abuse from both individuals and governments (NH Dept. of Ed., 2006). This theme is present in all areas of Social Studies curriculum (NCSS, 2010).

In the field of Civics, students gain an understanding of concepts related to individual rights and responsibilities, minority rights, equality of opportunity, and the equal protections of those rights under the law. Students develop skills to identify and evaluate the effectiveness and fairness of rules and laws. Students can apply this theme to the structure and function of government as they learn the branches of government and the importance of limiting powers to protect individual rights.

When studying the field of Economics, concepts such as entrepreneurship, productivity, wages, and standards of living all apply to the individual and the potential impacts each contribute to our daily lives. Shortage and surplus affects the price of goods and services, which influence individual habits related to financial decision making such as saving, borrowing and lending money.

Our history as citizens of NH, the United States, and the world, has been changed and influenced by courageous as well as vileness individuals, groups, political figures, civil right leaders, artists, scientists, and countless others. Students gain an understanding of history by identifying and assessing individual and group ideals and through the exploration of biographies, art, and media.

References:

NH Dept. of Ed. (2006). K-12 Social Studies NH Curriculum Framework. . Retrieved from: https://www.education.nh.gov/instruction/curriculum/social_studies/documents/frameworks.pdf

NCSS. (2010). College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies Standards: Guidance for Enhancing the Rigor of K-12 Civics, Economics, Geography, and History. Retrieved from: https://www.socialstudies.org/sites/default/files/2017/Jun/c3-framework-for-social-studies-rev0617.pdf

Asking for help

‘Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help Dad.’

I hope and expect my student to be confident enough to ask for help when they need it, why is it so hard for me to do?

This week was a lesson in realizing that sometimes you might be over your head, and you need a little assistance in getting through your struggle. I had created a lesson for our social studies class, and on paper it seemed like it would be an engaging and motivating learning opportunity for the whole class. And then I started to read through it and plan for my upcoming student teaching. That’s when I panicked. I started to doubt the whole lesson and whether or not it was going to convey to my students what I had intended for them to learn. My SP noticed immediately. She sat me down and asked how she could help. We went through it once more and made the necessary adjustments to ensure it would be a successful lesson for the students. Afterward, I was able to regain my confidence and focus. I realized that I’m never going to have all the answers during my teaching career, and that it’s ok to ask for help when I don’t. I’m thankful to be working with such a supportive and knowledgable team.

Blogging to Build

I have to be honest when I first read that I was going to be required to keep a blog this term I was dreading it. I had just deleted my Facebook account and was leaning toward decreasing my time on social media. And now, after a few weeks of learning how to create a blog and reading multiple blogs (both personal and educational), my biggest struggle is finding the time to read everything I want to. As this week’s blog post shared, there are so many benefits to blogging. Blogging has opened my eyes to abundant creative resources, ideas, and strategies. In addition, most are evidence based. Starting a blog has been a great way to get my foot in the door into a worldwide professional  learning community. I hope through practice and reflection I will someday be a source of knowledge and resources to others. 

Blogging is not only beneficial to teachers and educators, but can be a creative sharing tool for students as well. 

I am still trying to figure out how I will incorporate technology as a learning tool, instead of as a teaching strategy, for my students. One thing I know is that I want the technology to be interactive, instead of cause an isolating effect. I have a fear of seeing my students heads tilted down, headphones on, staring at screens. However, I was re-assured the other day when watching 5th grade students in their media class. No matter what they were doing, or different program they were using, they are always sharing with their peers, inviting them to come take a look.   They were so eager for their classmates to see, and tell them about their product or achievement. This gives me hope that no matter what technology I incorporate, they will be engaged with each other and excited to share their new knowledge and skills. 

On one blog I saw a teacher had used Twitter as a way to incorporate technology into her classroom, while engaging her students and motivating them to share their understanding, creations, and reflections and build their own PLN. I would love to be able to do something like this in the future. 

#GSC612702 Some thoughts to consider…

https://www.kqed.org/mindshift/52648/coaching-teachers-to-become-powerful-users-of-classroom-tech

What to Teach? Exploring Social Studies in Elementary Education

Teaching Social Studies can seem like an overwhelming task for an elementary school teacher. As this weeks Module video explained: What do I teach?  There are so many topics, concepts and processes to cover, it can seem like a bit of an overload, and I find myself asking where do I start? I am currently working on a Science Unit for EDU 704 at GSC, and I am focusing on waste management.  The goal for the science unit is for the students to understand their environmental impact on the world around them, including pollution, their carbon footprint, .  So when planning for my Economics unit this week, I chose to try and relate the subject matters to each other. This allows students to apply them to real-life situations and experiences.  As my Supervising Practitioner always suggests, try not to teach a lesson in isolation.

Through the video I have a better understanding of how to focus my lessons using the discipline–theme–concept approach.  I broke it down: Discipline–Economics, Themes–Material Wants and Needs, People Places and the Environment, and Science, Technology and Society.  I may find through my planning that I only want to focus on one or two of these themes, but I figured I would start big, and then narrow my focus as i began planning.  When brainstorming some concepts and processes (wants vs. needs, goods vs. services, supply and demand), I thought how can I ensure that I am connecting the concepts to real-life situations and to the students’ own personal experiences? Quick overview of the unit: I will introduce concepts of wants vs needs, good and services, supply and demand, scarcity, and the opportunity cost of decision-making. Student will process through the terminology and concepts, applying previously learned terms to new concepts, with the overall goal of personal decision-making and potential consequences of those decisions. This is where I aim to link the two subjects of science and social studies, purchasing decisions with environmental issues.

What I love about the framework, although it can be overwhelming, is that it provides flexibility to teachers. There are so many different avenues or directions a teacher can take a particular concept or theme when designing a lesson.

The Journey Begins

Thanks for joining me!

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Welcome to the Daily Blackboard! My name is Emma Read and am I a teacher candidate at Granite State College, working toward a certification in Elementary Education and General Special Education. Blogging is very new to me, but I am excited for this new journey. There’s a first for everything! In order to learn and grow as an educator, I am looking forward to all feedback, comments, and perspectives.