Tag Archives: digital literacy

Challenging the Base

Posted on by
4

“Challenge Based Learningis an engaging multidisciplinary approach to teaching and learning that encourages students to leverage the technology they use in their daily lives to solve real-world problems.” This statement begins an outline of outcome-focused learning that Apple is promoting and supporting in an effort to revolutionize the way we do education.

From Orange Co Register

The concept of challenge-based learning really does challenge the basic assumptions of our current educational system. We have an idea of what these kids should know by the time they exit high school and, by-golly, we’re gonna make sure they learn what we think they should know. No wonder they’re not engaged in this process.

I asked my daughter, who is in her first year of high school if she thought that what she was currently studying in school was relevant to her life and future work. “Not really,” she said. “Well then, what would you study if you could choose?” “Art, humanities, social studies, science, math that is actually interesting and applicable.” “So how is that different from what you are doing now?” I asked. She responded, “The math is not applicable; we’re not doing humanities and not a lot of writing in English, just reading; and science class goes too fast and we’ve only done, like, one or two hands-on experiments.” Continue reading →

SubAugModRed; Getting to the “Red” Zone

Posted on by
3

The SAMR model was developed by Dr. Reuben Puentedura to help educators rethink the way they use technology to enhance and encourage student learning. Because the use of computers in education is still relatively new, tech tools are not being used to their full potential in the classroom and this is the impetus behind SAMR. This model was designed to push educators towards more creatively intentional use of today’s available technology. The acronym SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification and Redefinition.

The SAMR graph helps to show the progression of the levels of computer use in academia. At its simplest level, the computer is used as a substitution. A research report can now, for example, be typed on the computer instead of being handwritten. At this level, other computer and tech capabilities are being ignored. A student could be encouraged to embed links in the bibliography which would redirect back to the source (Augmentation), or present the report as an oral report in video form with additional data or sub-points branching off of the main report (Modification), or the report could be something entirely different. A research paper in Redefinition mode makes creative use of all the new technology and connectivity that is now available to us.

A research project enters the “Red” zone, when the purpose of the assignment (that of demonstrating new knowledge garnered by thorough researched) makes authentic use of available technology and “redefines” the assignment. An audio-visual report might be given that augments the live speaker’s informative talk with video and sound back-up and may even include a real-time Skype interview with an expert in the field with the opportunity for other students in the classroom to also interact with the expert and ask questions or even suggest future experiments or areas to investigate.

I am attempting to pull our school library into the “Red” zone, or at least the “Mod” zone now by adding features to its website that will help students in various ways. Students will be able to link directly to library-authorized educational games that they will be allowed to play in the library after school. They will be able to see and hear their favorite library assistant, Baabara the Lamb, read a story to them. They will be able to watch fellow student storytellers present a variety of folktales from all over the world and leave comments and questions for them. Watching a video of themselves will also teach them which public speaking skills they still need to work on. They will be able to select the perfect Guided Outside Reading book by reading summaries and fellow students’ comments and recommendations.

The plan starts with a need and tries to fill it using tech resources and capabilities in the most direct way possible. I hope that these new capabilities will help school families get even more out of their library interaction experience.

Schematic of new CAJ library site:

Making It Seamless

Posted on by
2

This week has been a frustrating one technologically-speaking; some successes, but a couple key failures. Examples follow:

I was in charge of chapel for the Elementary School which entailed planning the half-hour with songs, a message, a bit of fun, and hopefully some depth and substance as well. After sketching out the general plan, I went to work on my puppet show to support the central message. No big struggles with technology here… only issue was making sure that the puppeteers were all miked backstage. This was solved with two wireless stand mikes on the two sides and one wireless headset mike in the middle. Wireless is so great for puppet shows; no tripping over the wires behind the curtain.

After finding a willing guitarist and another person to help with the singing, I made use of the internet to find chords and even give examples of the song being sung and strummed. One song was too ancient to find on You Tube, so I had to teach it directly. In defense of this poor, neglected song, I did find others who recognized this song, but they were (of course) about my age. So far, so good.

I made use of Keynote to get the lyrics up on the auditorium screens to assist the sing-alongs and even figured out how to embed a pre-recorded song into one of the Keynote presentations. (That would be the song used to support the colorful, lip-synching Muppet-style monsters.) The monster song was to be the energy high point of the chapel, so I worked hard on that one to make it appealing and easy to read.

The night before, we rehearsed the puppet show and the puppet song and everything worked beautifully. The next morning, two of my puppeteers showed up one schedule, but one was sick… so we had to quickly adapt. I gave my narrator part to another teacher and ducked behind the curtain to play the part of the cynical dog. We did mike checks but did not have time to do the puppet-song Keynote check since my sound booth guy had safety duty out on the sidewalk. So, the chapel starts, and we roll into the first song; the Keynote lyrics work fine. Then comes the puppet song. Monsters are in place, ready to begin…. and …. nothing. Ad-libbing monsters pop up and ham it up for a bit…. still nothing. So out from behind the curtain I come with my vent puppet, Truthful the Lion, and we continue as best we can segueing into the puppet show, “A Love Story with No Kissing.”  That part goes fine, but I am still frustrated by the failure of the music to play upon launch of the Keynote. (Still waiting to hear back about that one.) Technology is great, except when things go wrong.

One teacher offered to record the puppet show with a digital camera. The one that she borrowed from the library, however, was not fully charged, even though it had been plugged in overnight. Turns out that the charger doesn’t work when the computer it’s plugged into goes into sleep mode. I think I have found a solution for that one now, but too late for getting that puppet skit recorded. Sigh.

With the chapel over and done, I launch into my library classes. I am in charge of the large and wiggly second grade class for a half-hour library lesson in the second grade classroom and I am ready to do a unit on non-fiction books. I would like to show them a lovely book, written and illustrated by Peter Jenkins, called “In Living Color.” It is beautifully detailed with many fascinating critters and facts on each page. I would love to be able to show each student these illustrations up close. Wouldn’t it be great if I had a document projector? There’s one in the 5th grade classroom? Run, run; unplug and borrow; back to 2nd grade… hmm. Different setup and no available cord. No way to hook it up. It will be set up later, but not for a while. So, back to showing the pictures from my lap at the front of the room. Kids are still really excited, but some can’t quite see the details.

Good technology should be seamless. But in order for this to happen, you have got to set it up ahead of time, practice, know how to troubleshoot, whittle down transition times, and make sure that your tool is a good fit for the intended use. I need more practice. I am getting more practice, but I am very tired at the moment.

It’s All in My Head

Posted on by
2

“Digital literacy is less about tools and more about thinking, and thus skills and standards based on tools and platforms have proven to be somewhat ephemeral.” Wow. It’s starting to soak in. I’m reading something called “The Horizon Report” and I have to keep stopping to absorb stuff. Although I feel like I’m already water-logged (steady rain during my hour-long soggy bike commute home) I know that to “stay afloat” in this digitally-connected and ever-evolving academic world, I need to cultivate the ability to be ever more absorbent. Now I sound like a diaper commercial. Let’s go back to that first statement.

“Digital literacy is less about tools and more about thinking.” So it’s not just a matter of absorbing all of the new applications, digital organizers, enlightened blog posts, and cool resource-laden websites…. (how can I remember all that stuff anyways?)…. it’s more about changing my way of thinking about the learning process and welcoming the digital shift.

I admit that change does not come easily to me. I watched an amazing but completely normal event in the library today. The usual early-morning batch of educational gamers had installed themselves at the computers and I mentioned to one of them my plans for expanding the school library website and adding some extras… like links to some great new educational games. “Like what?” Of course, he was curious. They are tired of playing the same old teacher-approved games and typing practice. So I gave him one example of a reasoning, physics-based game like Civiballs, and he took off. No instructions, no questions, no prompts needed. He just figured it out as he went along. After about five minutes, at least eight kids were playing the game and other related games. I watched them for a while and slowly figured out some of the rules and they charged ahead to level 10 and beyond. No fear. I watched them fail at some levels again and again, but they did not show any frustration; they just persevered until they understood the rules. New is not scary. New is an adventure. That is the mind shift that I need to absorb.

I suppose I have changed and become more able to embrace new technology, but I often only see my failures and frustrations and no longer notice what I can do. I think that for many of us, we don’t realize we have changed until we stop to compare what it was like before. We may have been soaking in a new and challenging environment and learning to adapt, but we cannot see how far we have come.

I was thinking about this as I was biking home in the rain today. Back in California, I had been immersed in a car culture. We drove everywhere. For a while, we drove our kids to school. We drove to the grocery store. We drove to church. I am ashamed to admit that I even drove to the health club which was only a few miles away… and I looked for a parking spot close to the door. How ironic is that? Sacramento has one of the highest incidences of asthma because of its poor air quality. Driving to a health club (in a perpetually sunny environment) really was ridiculous on so many levels, but I didn’t notice it at the time. Now, here in Tokyo, I bike 22 km a day in all kinds of weather. On my way home today, I passed several automotive traffic jams and realized that biking, even in a downpour (or especially in a downpour) was faster than driving. It was cleaner, healthier, gave me my needed exercise and allowed me almost two hours of downtime per day. And lots of other people were doing the same. I was surrounded by a different environment and had changed without knowing it had happened.

Of course, it is easier not to change. Change can be painful and uncomfortable. I have to accept the fact that I will get wet and cold and tired while biking, just as I have to accept the fact that learning about new technology and then having the courage to try to use it effectively, failing and then trying again, is all par for the course. To finally feel that you are in your element, you first have to be immersed in the elements. A change in thinking will allow a change of heart.