EDSP 6644: Final Reflection

Danielle Petrovich Lit Review EDSP

I chose to include my literature review assignment as my artifact for this class.  The topic of my paper is students with emotional behavioral disorders.  Many students with EBD spend the majority of their school day in a general education classroom setting.  This means all educators are highly likely to work with a student with EBD.  As such, it is important for educators to mindful of the challenges that kids with EBD face and the best ways to support them.  Being aware of this topic will make me a better teacher because it makes me a more informed educator.  Every student is unique and has different needs, but knowing what some of the common challenges are and some of the strategies that are successful in working with students with EBD makes me better equipped to help these students.  Students with EBD need support and instruction in not only academic, but social and emotional skills as well.  They are challenging students, and understanding why is an essential component of helping them.  In my paper I discuss how important building relationships with students is.  This is true of all students, but it is especially significant to helping students with EBD be successful.  With all the responsibilities modern educators have it is hard to find time to build relationships, especially with students who can be very difficult to interact with.  Despite what their actions may imply, students with EBD really do want to connect with people and they need to.  Another teaching strategy I have taken away from this research is the importance of praise.    It is very important to catch students doing well and to positively acknowledge them, especially if they do not often get compliments from the adults in their lives.  Part of this is providing lots of opportunities for all students to be praised.  The more positive interactions teachers have with their students, the more likely that this trend will continue in the future.  Many of the strategies for helping students with EBD apply to general education students as well.  Ultimately, helping the student(s) in your class who have EBD is beneficial to all the students and you because it promotes a positive learning environment and good rapport among everyone.

EDTC 6431: Final Individual Project

Part of being a well-rounded educator is being flexible and adapting to change.  21st century students are living in the digital age.  Part of setting them up for success is ensuring that they have proficiency with technology, and possess digital literacy.  This is not accomplished in a single lesson plan, but rather developed over time.  Technology can be incorporated into lesson plans that promote greater student engagement, and allow for learning content and technology skills simultaneously.

For this class, I wrote my own lesson plan that incorporates common core as well as an ISTE standard.  I used the ASSURE model.

Analyze learners
State standards and objectives
Select strategies, technology, media, and materials
Utilize technology, media, and materials
Require learner participation
Evaluate and revise

Here is a link to the Google Doc containing my lesson plan.

Google Doc

ISTE Standard 6 Reflection

My question was, how can students learn and help with the process of troubleshooting?  There is a common trend of students being more tech savvy than some of their teachers.  Students can be a great tech support resource for teachers and peers.  The article I found gives an example of a successful program called Generation YES (Generation of Youth and Educators Succeeding).  It started in 1995, and since then has helped train many students on providing technology support in their schools (over seventy-five thousand students in two thousand schools all over the world).  The program involves developing technology skills, project planning and mentoring.  The Gen Yes curriculum is a combination of lessons led by the instructor and student help desk.  It advances best practices as well as good digital citizenship.  The students learn how to troubleshoot hardware and software problems and build their digital literacy skills.  Some schools offer it as an after school program, and others offer it as an elective class.  A lot of things the students learn are professional and life skills, which means they have many applications outside of the program.  It is empowering for students to learn troubleshooting skills and then use those skills to help others.  They are more likely to be engaged because of the hands on nature of the tasks.  It is a great program for students who are interested in technology, and it gets them involved in the school community while doing something they enjoy and feeling like they are contributing in a meaningful way.  The program is designed “so that students bring technology into myriad initiatives–peer mentoring around tech literacy, student-led community workshops, helping teachers retool their lessons–as a way to get the entire school to embrace technology”.  Putting students in leadership positions in this way can be very effective.  They are likely to be excited to share their knowledge with others.  Students  may be more receptive to help from their peers than their teachers.  That being said, it important not to assume that all students you have will have strong technology skills based on their age.  Not all students have access to or interest in technology.  It is also important that students do not develop learned hopelessness when it comes to technology.  It can be tempting when working with students that are very low so simply take control and do it for them.  Instead, teachers should walk them through the appropriate troubleshooting steps so they can do it independently in the future.   It is important that teachers are comfortable with the technology that they use in their classroom with students.  Technology can be empowering for both students and teachers when executed successfully.

Pierce, M. (2013, October 1). Student-run Tech Support Programs Advance at the Speed of Technology. Retrieved August 12, 2015, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/11/06/student-run-tech-support.aspx?=THE21

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ISTE Standard 5 Reflection

My question was; what are some strategies for teaching students good digital citizenship?

Digital citizenship is appropriate and responsible behavior with regards to technology.  Digital citizenship is becoming an increasingly essential issue that schools and teachers need to address with students.  Many schools are using technology in the classroom in the form of desktop computers, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, and other devices.  This is also an issue that parents need to address as many students have access to technology at home.  There are nine components of digital citizenship that should be considered.  They are access, commerce, communication, literacy, etiquette, law, rights and responsibilities, health and wellness, and security.  Lessons regarding digital citizenship can be tailored to meet student needs.  Teachers start as early as kindergarten teaching relevant age appropriate digital citizenship skills. It is an extensive topic, and everything cannot be covered in a single lesson.  Digital citizenship  needs to be taught over time, and the lessons should vary with age and grade level.

One strategy teachers can use is a learning management system such as Edmodo.  Systems like Edmodo can be used to manage lessons, make content that engages students, and interact with other teachers and students.  Another important aspect of digital citizenship teachers should discuss with students is safety related issues.  These can include lessons on not sharing personal information online, being cautious about interacting with strangers, how to change privacy settings, being selective about posting photos online, and cyber bullying.  Another important topic of discussion is the idea of cultivating a positive reputation online.  Helping students understand that what they post online can stay there even after they post it, and that a person’s online presence is a part of how others (such as employers) get an impression of them and evaluate them.

Bruder, P. (2013). Digital citizenship: Responsible technology use in the classroom. Retrieved from https://www.njea.org/news-and-publications/njea-review/january-2013/digital-citizenship-responsible-technology-use-in-the-classroom

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EDTC 6431 ISTE Standard 4 Reflection

My question was; how can students use technology for problem-solving activities?

The ability to problem solve effectively has been, and continues to be a crucial life skill.  It is used both in academic settings and in everyday life.  This means that it is absolutely necessary for students to learn and for educators to teach. There is a strong correlation between problem-solving and decision-making.  Both are skills that will be of great use to students beyond the classroom, extending to their daily lives.  Developing the aforementioned skills can help students avoid conflict and be more empathetic.  Technology can be effectively incorporated into the teaching of problem-solving.  Using technology allows students to identify problems more efficiently and also facilitates stronger and more in-depth analysis of more complex problems.  Technology also allows students to find information from a wide variety of sources.  It fosters creative thinking.  One great use of technology to develop skills is coding. “Coding is the language of critical thinking. It requires students to define problems, break them into parts, and be resourceful in finding the answers to their problems” (Kiang, 2014).  Teaching and using coding can be a great tool for facilitating student engagement and supporting learning in different content areas as well as at different levels.  It is creative, has a lot of freedom, empowers students and is highly interactive.  Coding also allows for collaboration and is helpful in building powerful skills the students can use in the future.

Sources:

Saxena, S. (2014, January 8). Problem-Solving Activities With the Help of Technology. Retrieved July 26, 2015, from http://edtechreview.in/trends-insights/insights/749-problem-solving-activities-with-the-help-of-technology

Kiang, D. (2014). 3 ways coding and gaming can enhance learning. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/coding-and-gaming-enhance-learning-

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