EdTech 501 Course Reflection

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got accepted into the MET program at Boise State. I am a lot older - surely not wiser - than all of my colleagues and have been out of university for quite some time.  To be honest, I wasn't sure if I had it in me to go back to school.

Most importantly, I am so glad to be learning again.  My brain is tired and I felt stress many times in the course, but, so far, it has been a truly rewarding experience.  I would like to thank all of my classmates who helped me with the assignments and I appreciate all of the constructive criticism and comments throughout the course.  I hope I reciprocated with honest, constructive comments as well.

The main challenge of this course was the fear of failure, especially in terms of technology and all of its uses.  Although I am on a computer daily and teach out of a computer room, I lack many necessary technological skills.  Before the course began, I was not on any social networking sites - not FaceBook, Google+, Instagram or Twitter - and, although I knew what a blog was, I have never saw the purpose in it.  I have never used YouTube to create a video, I have never heard of VoiceThread and I have never used Hangouts or Adobe Connect to video conference.  Other concepts that were foreign to me were cloud storage, cloud computing, digital divide, digital inequality (at least as a definition) and RSS and its uses.  Today, however, I feel confident in speaking about and using all of these technologies.

So how did I get through?  I actually put my mind to it and did it.  I learned - wow, what a concept.  I had it in my mind before I started the program that, no matter how little I knew, I would take as much time as necessary to learn the concepts.  I started very early in the week and tried to get as much done without the pressure of time constraints.  Mostly, I learned from trial and error but there were many times I needed the support of my classmates and my instructor.  Again, thank you.

I feel that every single artifact was valuable in the learning of educational technology. The artifact I feel the most strongly about was the one on the Horizon Report.    I created an information learning situation for my school board and school where I wrote a report defining cloud computing and its uses.  I then expanded on this by giving a presentation and a VoiceThread to further enhance their learning of the topic.  This type of assignment was valuable because I hope to get into administration upon my return to school.  This is the type of thing that needs to be done to get our technology integration to the "intelligent" rating and move into the 21st century.

Upon my return to school, I plan to be an advocate for all types of technology.  I will work hard to promote professional development and training so our teachers can facilitate our students' learning to the best of their ability.  I will be involved in the implementation and integration of technology into all of our classes.  I will also fight to end our ancient policies of "no cell phones" or "no BYOD on our networks." Technology is such a powerful tool, we need to harness the power and let the students run.

School Evaluation Summary

This assignment is exactly what I was looking for when I enrolled in the MET program.  Of course I want and need to learn how to use technology, but one of my goals was to look at educational technology from an leadership position.  This assignment made me think of my school, not from a teacher's standpoint, but from the administrator's role.

I enjoyed the reading on the 2010 National Educational Technology Plan.  It was nice to compare the objectives of the US to that of my home province in Canada.  I realize that everyone is looking for the same thing - to help students learn.

Although I have never seen it before, I am very impressed with our Learning and Technology Policy Framework (our technology plan).  It is very detailed and provides information on how technology is to be used in each of our schools.  Surprisingly, neither my Board of Education or my school have their own technology plan.  All schools in our BOE use the provincial technology plan as its guide for integration of technology.

I was also very surprised by some of the results of the survey.  I am fortunate to be a member of the Career and Technology Studies team at my school.  We have all of the newest technologies in our classrooms.  The teachers like to work with the technology, but, most importantly, the students love it.  It is what happens outside of our area that is surprising.  I never realized how much teacher apathy there is toward the use of technology.  I also never realized how unavailable the technology is to many of our teachers.  I now understand their frustration when it comes to the pressures of using this technology.

Upon my return to my school, I hope to share this information with our staff.  I will be an advocate for more professional development and try to end the teacher apathy that is apparent in our school.

Darryan Memorial High School Survey

Darryan Memorial High School Summary

Province of Alberta Learning and Technology Policy Framework

Most of the information obtained during this Ed Tech 501 has been centred around the US Education System.  Being from Canada, many of our teachers at my school seem to get frustrated when we look to the US and follow the US system as far as new teaching pedagogy.  These teachers will say "why are we looking at the US when our education system is better?"  I must say, I have said this exact thing before.

Now that I have been a part of the MET program, I realize the pedagogy's are the same.  The readings  from this course have been every educational.  The Horizon Report and now the National Technology Plan are must reads for teachers from any country in the 21st Century.

Before this assignment I never really thought about what should go into a well thought-out technology plan.  The Guidebook for Developing an Effective Instructional Technology Plan shows a very detailed, easy to read account of what should go into the technology plan.  Using this guide, I looked at the Province of Alberta's technology plan.  It is called the Learning and Technology Policy Framework.

I was very impressed with this document.  Not only did it follow the guide to a tee but it was very informative.  It was only created in 2013 so it is quite up to date.  There is a negative however.  It is a five year plan.  Way too long of a time frame as new policies, laws, and technology can change very quickly.  Hopefully, it will be updated soon and continue to be updated annually.

The document envisions five policy directions for the school boards and schools in the province.  These include student centred learning, research and innovation, professional learning, leadership, and access, infrastructure and digital learning environments. School boards and schools across the province are expected to use this framework.  This document was created collaboratively with schools, school boards and the province.  As such, there are no school or district technology plans.

Tech Trends

Reflection

This week I found very rewarding.  Last week, while doing research I can across some articles that referred to the 2013 Horizon Report.  The related information was very beneficial to my research and I was happy to find out that this week's assignment was - in part - to read the NMC 2014 Horizon Report (K-12 version).  I found the information very useful and I hope to bring many of the ideas back to my school from, not only a teaching standpoint, but an administrative standpoint as well.

My chosen topic for this assignment was the use of cloud computing.  I knew very little about this topic.  I did not use any cloud storage sites or cloud office suite applications before this class started.  I must say, I was missing out.  Through many hours of research and watching YouTube videos, I can now say I know a lot about this topic.  I can't believe that we do not use this in our schools.

This Week's Assignment

I chose to do my topic on Cloud Computing.  I went at this assignment at a different angle.  Instead of writing a proposal to my school for the implementation of this technology, I decided to give information sessions about this technology.  First, I wrote a report that I would have sent to all of the stakeholders entitled "Cloud Computing: What is it?"  Then, after a few days, when everyone has had a chance to read the report, I would have done a slide presentation at our school so I could go over more information about cloud technology to all who were interested.  Those who were  not able to attend the slide presentation would have a chance to see it in a Voice Thread I created with the same information as the presentation.  If asked I would have then given my recommendation.

Conclusion

I am a firm believer of change in the classroom and in our schools.  It truly is amazing the technology that is out there to help kids learn and to help teachers facilitate the students to get the best out of themselves.  The last two assignments - with all of the research on learning and new technologies and the implications to our students -  and the reading of the Horizon report have made me realize that the students of today are blessed with the opportunity to do so much more.  It really is up to our education system to bring in the best possible tools for the generation of today and let our kids show the world what really can be done.

EDTECH Research

This research assignment this week in EdTech 501 was by far the most challenging of the summer.  I remember now how much I hated research projects when I was taking my Bachelor of Education degree.

Things change as we mature.  Even though the assignment was extremely time consuming, and, at times frustrating, I found it very rewarding.  Most of the research was so interesting and full of information that I got caught up and spent way too much time just reading articles and looking for more research about a certain subject area.

I learned so much about research techniques and areas of education that were completely foreign to me.  Google scholar was an excellent place to look for information - especially when I set my preferences for Boise State.  The Google Docs "research tool" was also very helpful.  The place I relied on the most to find the research articles was the Albertson Library at Boise State University.

The main areas of research were literacy and at the use of technology.  My original research topic included "how technology could help students understand and retain financial literacy", however, the information was lacking.  I changed my focus from "financial literary" and technology to just "literacy" and technology and found some amazing articles.  Literacy, online and distance learning, TPACK and so many things about the technologies that can be incorporated into the classroom were just some of the topics I now know much more about.

As rewarding as the research was, frustration is the word I would use for APA.  I had a chat with my instructor about my frustration and he came up with a very valid point. There has to be rules or it would be a "free-for-all" and plagiarism would run wild.

In closing for this week, I read on article that referred many times to the Horizon Report.  I am looking forward to reading this document next week.

Here is my Annotated Bibliography.  I look forward to more learning next week.

RSS - Real Simple Syndication

This was another great week for learning.  Some very good and some bad.  From the course aspect, the learning of the new technology and the excitement for what the future holds in technology, it was a great week.  I learned about feed readers and the syndication of websites, received much more practice on embedding video and inserting links and images and researched the benefits of using this technology in classroom.  I also learned - through a four hour mistake -  to do long posts in Google Docs, paste over to Blogger and then embed and insert pictures and videos.  The negative of the week was the use of Blogger and its inability to recover accidentally deleted posts.   Do not write long posts into Blogger as it has no way to recover deleted work.

RSS

RSS - Rich Site Summary - uses web feeds to publish frequently updated information: blogs, news and sports headlines, audio and video.  This means the user will not have to manually check the website for new content.  The reader monitors the website and informs the user of updates.  

In simpler terms, RSS is known as Real Simple Syndication.  Instead of us searching for updates and changes to frequently used website, the reader does it for us.  It collects updated information from our chosen websites and organizes them into categories so that it is easy for us to read.  Unlike a email subscription, we decide when to read the updated information.

There many ways to subscribe to a website but the symbol below is the most used method.  When you see this symbol on the website, click on the symbol and it will add the site to your subscriptions.

Below is a short information video explaining what RSS is and how it works:

Feedly

The feed reader used during this assignment was called Feedly.  I had no previous knowledge of this technology or this particular feed reader but it was very simple to use.  With the help of a video - which was created by a MET student at Boise State University - it was very easy to set up this website.  The video showed that adding websites into Feedly could be done by searching a category, searching the title of a website or by using the URL of the website.

Feedly - Set up

The reader then gave you the option of putting each website into a category of your choice.  After using all three methods of adding websites, I explored the website.  I found out how to organize, edit, delete and move websites from one category to the next.  

We were asked to add four websites using the URL method and then add our own websites to our reader.  I organized my websites into five categories.    Below you can see a screenshot of how I organized my website:

The categories I chose to create were EDUCATION AND TEACHING, TECHNOLOGY, SPORTS, NEWS and EDTECH 501 - the place where I added the learning logs of each of my small group members.

In an expanded view of the TECHNOLOGY section of the reader, it is easier to see how easy it is to organize your categories.  You can drag a section to reorder the categories.  You can edit and delete the websites inside each category and even move websites from one category to another.

Feedly - Navigation

The reader is very easy to navigate.  Notice below, that on the left is a list of all of the categories your have made and inside these categories is a list of the websites chosen to be in each category.  This example shows that the website chosen is the Calgary Board of Education. It is inside the EDUCATION AND TEACHING category. On the right is the updated information for the CBE.  No need to go to the webpage of the CBE, it is right there for you. It works the same for all of your subscriptions.

Educational Uses of RSS

“In a ‘socially mobile learning environment’, it is no longer sufficient to use online learning and teaching technologies simply for the delivery of content to students. A ‘digital literacy’ exists where flexible and mobile technologies must be explored for collaborative and (co)creative purposes, as well as for the critical assessment and evaluation of information.” (The Use of Blogs, Wikis, and RSS in education:  A Conversation of Possibilities, Duffy and Bruns, 2006).

Gone are the days of just searching the web to have students find information for a class project.  Even though we have much teacher apathy in regards to using technology, it is time to move ahead.  RSS is an option teachers and students can use to move ahead in educational technology and learning without feeling the pain of learning new technology.  

There are many uses for RSS in the educational setting.  These could include research, collaboration with teacher and student in a blended learning environment, professional development for teachers, class reminders about homework and long term projects,  communication with parents and the community and new teaching pedagogy.  Also, it can be used so students learn from each other through inquiry-based learning and formative assessment.

Future Examples in the Classroom

Financial Management - In my financial management class, one of our mini-courses (modules) is Investment Planning.  In this course, students are given $100,000.00 to invest into the stock market.  They must buy at least twenty stocks from one or a combination of the major stock markets in North America.  They must research their chosen stocks and keep abreast of how these stocks are doing.  They are also allowed to sell these stocks as well.  RSS could and will definitely be used in this assignment.  The students could set up their reader and subscribe to business and/or stock market sites - CNN, Globe and Mail, TMX, Nasdaq, NYSE.  They could then go to their chosen reader to research all of the updates in real time to see what is happening to the economy that may affect their stock prices.  

At the same time, students could be posting to their Investment blog about what is happening around the world and how their stocks are doing.  RSS will allow students to view other class member blogs about the world’s economy and the buying and selling of their stocks and give them the ability to make their own assumptions and decisions about their purchases.  The students would be able to comment directly from the reader to the class about information - through Googe+ - and help others share their knowledge on this topic.  The students could also post about their thoughts on the choices the others have made.  RSS would be involved with the sharing of resources, the use of class blogs, the collaboration on learning and the formative assessment of each student.

Social Studies - RSS could be used in our social studies classes.  Our curriculum has recently changed and has moved away from the teaching of history to the teaching of Globalization.  The students are looking at things that are happening in today’s world and how they affect our own communities.  RSS is a perfect match for these classes.  One of the requirements of the course is to keep track of current events on the international, the national and the local stage.  The students could set up categories inside of their reader for each of these.  They could subscribe to websites that they would frequent to find current news events and place them inside each category.  This would save time and resources.  Just like in financial management, the students could write about these issues in their learning blogs and comment on other classmates posts about issues pertaining to Globalization and its affect on Canada and Calgary.  Again, RSS would be involved in the saving time to research news, the use of class blogs and also the collaboration and formative assessment to learn.

Career and Technology Studies - Career and Technology Studies (CTS) is an area in our school that uses a lot of blended and differentiated learning.  There is such a cultural difference among our students so there is really no other choice.  Although the students are in the classroom in front of the instructor daily, much of the hands on work in done outside the classroom or at home.  Each teacher tries to design as many mini courses (modules) as possible as to give the students enough choice as to fit within their cultural make-up.  Assignments need to be different for many students in order to not jeopardize the equity of learning based on previous experiences and cultural beliefs.

Teachers try to use a variety of teaching methods.  One of the most successful is the designing of audio and visual tutorials which the students access from our teacher websites.  RSS could be used to subscribe to these teacher and school websites to help in their learning.  They could choose the video for a particular tutorial and use it for enhancement of learning or the teaching of a concept.  The students could also share these sites with other students and sit with them and go over the tutorials together.  Students could set up their reader to gather the updated tutorials and move ahead with their learning.  They could also set up their subscription list to include websites that are relevant to the program.  An example of this could be in photography.  Students can go to their reader and search photography and subscribe to these websites.

Professional Development - Another way that RSS could help in the teaching and learning of students is the professional development of the teachers facilitating the classroom.  Upon my return to school, I plan set up a blog and use my school website for others to subscribe to.  I could create the same type of audio and visual tutorials we create for our students and have teachers subscribe to my blog and our website for the learning of technology.  Teachers could also subscribe to the education and learning websites that have already created learning tutorials.  Examples could be similar to the short video presentations that were given to us in learning what RSS is and how to organize your reader.

Conclusion

RSS and Feedly (or comparable feed reader) are technologies that every teacher and student in every school should access.  It not only saves time in searching the web it serves as as a user - friendly tool for research, sharing resources, collaborative learning, formative assessment and professional development.  I look forward to bringing this knowledge into my classroom and to helping teachers in my department and school learn about this simple but important technology.

Resources

Andrew, Tammy. (2014). Educational Uses for RSS Feeds. Retrieved from
https://suite.io/tammy-andrew/zyk21q

Duffy, Peter and Bruns, Dr. Alex. (2006). The Use of Blogs, Wikis, and RSS in 
Education: Conversation of Possibilities. Retrieved from 
sprints.qut.edu.au/5398/1/5398.pdf

Housley, Sharon. ( 2014). RSS Specification: Everything You Need to Know About
RSS. Retrieved from www.rss-sprecifications.com/rss-and-education.htm

RSS. Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved from
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RSS