Using Technology to Engage, Enhance, and Extend

In an increasingly technological age, teachers of all kinds are being asked to integrate technology into their lessons in one way or another. Although this is a great idea that promotes digital literacy and an overall understanding of technology, sometimes we are not using it to its fullest extent. In my experience, many times that teachers intentionally integrate technology, they are having students use iPads to answer questions or use a computer or laptop to complete an activity. While these are not bad teaching practices, they do not necessarily engage, enhance, and extend learning in the classroom. 

Engage, enhance, and extend are three educational "buzzwords" that carry a whole lot of meaning. However, if we aren't sure of their meaning within the context of education, we can't use them correctly and to the benefit of our students. Many students fall victim to a teacher's lesson that engages them with technology, but does little to meet the learning needs or curriculum standards with its use. This is what Liz Keren-Kolb set out to correct when she wrote her article in Learning & Leading with Technology. By defining these terms and applying them to an actual lesson, Keren-Kolb illuminated the inherent differences between each of the words and explained their relevancy in education. 

Engage 
The purpose of engagement is to motivate a student to begin learning. Rather than being a passive learner that sits back and listens to a lecturing teacher, the student shifts their role to a learner that actively participates in the lesson. Teachers are great at this! They use Animoto, create a Glogster, or allow students to participate in an interactive whiteboard activity. 


In many of my Educational Technology courses, I've learned to create an engaging "hook" to draw students into a lesson using technology. There are so many examples of tools that teachers can use to accomplish this goal, while also helping students gain deeper understanding of a standard. The following video is a great example of several technological tools, including WheelDecide, TodaysMeet, Puzzle Maker, and Direct Poll, that can be used in the classroom. 

Out of all of these ideas, Direct Poll is my favorite! Direct Poll is a site that allows teachers to ask questions and get instant feedback from students using technology. This would be a fantastic element in a lesson because students actively participate using a tablet, computer, or iPhone. A teacher could use this to introduce a topic and gauge the overall understanding before teaching or a teacher could use this as a formative assessment to understand the whole class' understanding of a topic that has already been taught. Either way, students are active participants in the activity, which motivates students to take a greater stake in their learning. 

This, however, is where most of the use of technology dwindles. Teachers do not take the extra step, using activities that are unique to technology and are enhanced by its use. 

Enhance
Using technology to enhance learning involves employing technological tools in the classroom that make a difference in the understanding of a particular topic. The essential part of educational enhancement with technology is recognizing that its goal is to accomplish something, academically speaking, that could not be done without the technology present. 

A great example that I'd love to use with my students one day is having students create "podcasts" to demonstrate their research on a subject. Students would work in pairs to record themselves talking about their research in a creative way and interview relevant people during the podcast. These podcasts would be posted to a class webpage, where other groups would listen to podcasts to learn about classmates' findings. Students could incorporate polls or other interactive features to go along with their podcasts to enhance their research. Finally, students would also conduct reviews of the podcasts by commenting on them and having a discussion about the content with their peers, demonstrating that they've learned about and retained the content. 

The reason that this is an enhancement in the classroom is because students would not otherwise be able to do something like this without technology present. This is a fully online project that requires students to engage in recording and mastery of content. Additionally, students engage in online interaction to show deeper understanding and their ability to interact with features on a webpage. A great website, EdTechTeacher has a wealth of information about podcasting in the classroom and even provides free websites to use when podcasting with students. 

By combining engage and enhance, teachers already are motivating students to work hard and deepening understanding throughout their lesson. However, they do not need to stop there! 

Extend
To extend a lesson with technology is to extend learning beyond the boundaries of the classroom and apply learning to relevant parts of students' lives. 

The best way to do something like this is by doing what is interesting to students and connecting students to the community around them. A teacher in Texas involved in the National Writing Project actually uses technology to help students establish partnerships beyond the walls of their schools (Kelleher, 2014). 

Her students use social media to reach out to authors, scientists, and engineers and ask them relevant questions about their work. They also use blogging sites to express their ideas and invite these professionals to view or comment on them. Additionally, their peers respond to posts and interact outside of the classroom as a part of their assignments. This extended learning is happening beyond the school day and has an element of choice involved, making the assignments relevant to students and responsive to their interests. 

Although each of these elements hold value individually, a lesson can be so much more effective when each of these elements have been integrated together. Students actively participate, they learn the content in a deep and meaningful way, and they connect their learning to their lives. By combining the three elements, students walk away from a lesson more accomplished and with a greater depth of knowledge than they would have without technology. 

References

Kelleher, M. (2014, May 19). How can we make learning relevant to today's students? Retrieved September 9, 2016 from http://remakelearning.org/blog/2014/05/19/how-can-we-make-learning-relevant-to-todays-students/

Keren-Kolb, L. (2013, May). Engage, enhance, extend learning! Retrieved September 9, 2016 from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1015177.pdf

[Students at board]. Retrieved September 9, 2016 from http://teacher2mom2tech.weebly.com/uploads/2/1/4/3/21439042/7824427_orig.jpg?463

[Students with technology]. Retrieved September 9, 2016 from http://resources0.news.com.au/images/2010/11/17/1225954/823600-ipad-learning.jpg

Twitter as a Professional Learning Network

Social media is quickly transforming from a solely recreational outlet to a resource for professional development. Facebook, Instagram and the like are being used for their incredible social power to attract businesses, promote progress, and connect people.

Twitter is one of these social media resources, and arguably the best. The platform, which allows you to express yourself in 140 characters or less, makes it easy to get your point across quickly and efficiently in order to grab a readers attention and get them interested. It's free and easily accessible from any smartphone, tablet, computer or device with the Internet in order to always stay in touch with the world around you.

Joining Twitter is fairly simple—all you need to do is visit the website and create an account! To create an account, you must come up with a Twitter handle. This will be your username and what people will see when they try to contact you through Twitter, so it's important that you choose something reflective of what you intend to so with your Twitter. Because we will be using Twitter as a Professional Learning Network, I would recommend using something mature and marketable.

Once you've logged in, there is some "housekeeping" to do. Like any other form of social media, it is important that your profile communicates who you are, professionally speaking. Uploading a picture, including a short biography, and adding relevant personal information are all ways you can make your Twitter most effective.

After you've established your profile, it's time to learn how to use Twitter. As I previously mentioned, Twitter allows you to Tweet at most 140 characters. Luckily, though, you can link webpages, photos, or videos so as to include all the information you need.

When Tweeting, you can use two important tools that increase the visibility of your Tweet. The first is tagging other users by using the "@" sign. For example, if I would like to tag myself in a Tweet, I would write @nicoleafont. This literally "tags" me in the post, notifying me, and making it easy for me to see and retrieve later.

The other tool essential to Twitter is the hashtag, "#." This is one of the best ways to find common ground with other users. Hashtags are typically words that are most relevant to your post or the subject at hand and serve as buzzwords for the rest of the community. When you hashtag something, the hashtag becomes a hyperlink which directs users to every tweet with a common hashtag. Most notably, hashtags are used in popular television shows, advertising campaigns, and the like.

Other tools that Twitter provides are "Favorites" and "Retweet." When you Favorite a Tweet, you essentially save it for yourself to reference later. When you Retweet a Tweet, you repost the Tweet on your own profile and credit the source of origin.

The only way to make your Tweets relevant to the world around you, though, is if other people get to see them. This is where the Professional Learning Network (PLN) comes in. According to Brianna Crowley, a PLN is "a vibrant, ever-changing group of connections to which teachers go to both share and learn. These groups reflect our values, passions, and areas of expertise" (Crowley, 2013). She emphasizes that it is a group of people that an educator can trust and rely on in order to learn and grow as a professional. By following other educational resources and educators on Twitter, you can effectively create a PLN that provides you with support and advice when you need it.

Following someone is, essentially, like "Friending" someone on Facebook. When you Follow someone on Twitter, you get to see both their profile and their Tweets. When building a Professional Learning Network, it is useful and important to follow other related accounts in order to collaborate and exchange ideas.

In order to immerse myself in the world of Twitter and begin to build my own PLN, I created an account of my own at the beginning of the semester. I had a Twitter before this, but I was using it for social purposes and didn't find much value in it, so I deleted it a few years ago. Now, though, I am using it for things relevant to my future. I made sure to include photos of myself which suited a workplace. Eventually, though, I am going to get professional photographs taken of myself to use for professional development.

Right of the bat, I chose to follow accounts pertaining to education. A few of them are Education Nation, edutopia, and Education Week. These filled my newsfeed with articles, photographs, and advice that I really liked. Although I found some really great stuff, I recognize that I have a long way to go and many more accounts to follow. Building a PLN is a process, and although it takes a long time it is definitely worthwhile.

Experts have spent years creating networks for themselves that give them access to other professionals who provide advice, support, ideas, and share their work. This is especially important in the field of education because it is constantly evolving and improving.

Sarah W. Caron, a writer for Education World talked specifically in an article about how to use Twitter to keep up with the constant changes. Most notably, Caron referenced a blog by Shelly S. Terrell which compiled a list of "helpful education-related hashtags" (Caron, 2013).

The following are Terrell's suggested hashtags:

#edchat
#sschat
#kinderchat
#cpchat
#ntchat
#elemchat
#edscape
#tlchat
#subject
#edcampKC

I found these hashtags to be most helpful in developing a PLN because they linked me directly to conversations about education and provided me several useful profiles to follow. They are constantly being used and updated, so if I'm ever looking for new ideas, I can search for them using the hashtags. 

Overall, I believe that Twitter is such an incredible resource for any profession, but education in particular. Because of the fluidity of education, it's easy to get overwhelmed by the demand of being a teacher. It's important that we rely on each other to alleviate some of this stress. By creating a Professional Learning Network, we can find ideas, connect with other educators, and improve upon our techniques in order to better ourselves for our students.

To check out my Twitter and follow me, click here! 

Resources

Caron, S. (2013, January 25). Using Twitter for Professional Development. Retrieved April 21, 2015, from http://instructionaltech101.weebly.com/blog/using-twitter-for-professional-development

Crowley, B. (2013, December 31). 3 Steps for Building a Professional Learning Network. Retrieved April 21, 2015, from http://www.edweek.org/tm/articles/2014/12/31/3-steps-for-building-a-professional-learning.html

[Twitter logo]. Retrieved April 20, 2015 from http://www.clohound.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Twitter-Logo-4.png

[Square Twitter logo]. Retrieved April 20, 2015 from http://img4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130329090125/warframe/images/1/1a/Twitter_logo.png

[PLC diagram]. Retrieved April 20, 2015 from http://theinteractiveclassroom.org/Welcome/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/CoP-and-PLCs.png

Evernote

Something I've always been proud of are my organizational skills. From a very young age, I've been obsessed with color-coordinating and filing. However, this gets hard in a technological age—there isn't as much flexibility when saving folders and files on a laptop or iPad. Evernote, an incredible and multi-faceted organizational program used for note-taking and archiving information, is the solution to this.



A great way to access your information from anywhere, this digital notebook is downloadable on computers, smartphones, and tablets. It allows users to create any number of notebooks and fill them with notes, PDFs, videos, photos, audio files, and clips of webpages. The versatility this program provides makes it easy for anyone to find some use for it.

Accessing an account is easy and free—all you have to do is download Evernote and create an account when prompted! As aforementioned, this account will be accessible from any device that has Evernote on it, so it makes it easy to recover anything you have created.

When the program is opened up on your iPad, there are a few things to take into account: there are two categories of organization. You can create Notes and view them in order of creation, or you organize those notes into Notebooks which keeps things clean and un-cluttered. There are also options to create different types of notes. These range from regular text-style notes, to reminders, lists, and photos.

Although there is a premium version of Evernote, which comes at a price of $4.99/month or $44.99/year, there aren't very many features that differentiate it from the free version. Additional capabilities include more storage space for files, increased ability on a mobile device, a presentation mode, and the ability to find documents using words or phrases using the search tool.

In my experience with Evernote, I've found it to be a useful product despite my initial hesitation. I have a well-established, tried and true system of organization that I have used for years. I tried to use Evernote in high school and it was an unsuccessful journey, so I initially wrote the program off when I heard I'd be using it again. I found that my lack of success with Evernote in the past stemmed from my ignorance—I had no idea how to use it!

After a little bit of research and exploration, I think I understand they hype. Obviously, Evernote serves as a great note-taking device, which is what I've used it for most frequently. In addition, the list feature is a great tool, too. Often times I find myself writing to-do lists and reminders on sticky notes all over my agenda. These tend to become un-stuck and sometimes fall out. Evernote solved this problem, keeping all of my "to-dos" in order. Its reminder feature also reminded me of due dates or important things to finish.

My favorite feature thus far is the Evernote Web Clipper. Since I've been writing a lot of papers lately, it's proven pretty useful when I'm looking for information from the web. This versatile tool can be used for everything and automatically saves the URL from whatever source you're "clipping." Building a list of resources for my papers has been quick and easy, without to having to open several tabs in my Internet browser.

Although I've only mentioned a few of Evernote's tools, there are so many things that make Evernote an awesome productivity program, especially for in the classroom. Students, especially middle and high schoolers, would benefit from the organization that it provides. Everything is in one place, so it encourages students to keep things together, whether notes are handwritten or typed.

Similarly, Evernote can be really useful for teachers. From taking notes at meetings, to keeping notebooks for each student, the program provides organization coupled with customization. In my opinion, customization is key for any teacher. Without it, it's almost impossible to make a lesson, a set of notes, or notebooks your own. Evernote gives me this capability, the ability to link certain notes together, and create relevant combinations that are tailored to my classroom.

In my investigation into Evernote, I found a great example of how expert teachers use the program in their classrooms. One teacher in particular, Michael Cruz, spends part of his time teaching teachers how to integrate Evernote into their classrooms. One of my favorite things he suggested is using the program to "prepare for your absence" (Cruz, 2011). He suggests using Evernote's sharing capabilities to literally share an entire day's plan with your substitute. Since it is possible to have "lesson plans, worksheets, answer keys and examples of completed work" saved within the program, Cruz simply shares this information with a sub to keep the class "moving even if [he's not] there" (Cruz, 2011).  

Despite my initial hesitation, Evernote has proven to be an extremely useful tool, combining efficiency ann organization into one program that manages anything you could possibly need. When I began using it in ninth grade, I could never have imagined the growth it would experience over the next few years. Not only does it have capability across devices, but there are also apps and add-ons that make the program even more adaptable and user-friendly. Always growing and innovating, Evernote comes out with new developments and improvements to make the system even more innovative than it already is. Although it is a great tool now, I can't wait to see what the future holds for Evernote.

References 

Cruz, M. (2011, January 13). 10 Tips for Teachers Using Evernote – Education Series. Retrieved April 3, 2015, from https://blog.evernote.com/blog/2011/01/13/10-tips-for-teachers-using-evernote-education-series/

[Evernote icon]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://cdn4.iconfinder.com/data/icons/free-colorful-icons/360/evernote.png

[Evernote iPad]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://appcenter.evernote.com/assets/img/apps/clever/ipad/clever-ipad-2.png

[Evernote logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://cdn.ndtv.com/tech/images/gadgets/Evernote_logo_635.jpg

Social Media in Schools

I don't know about you, but I think social media gets a bad rap.

When I was in high school, social media in class was a big "no-no," at least for some teachers. You see, my alma mater, Palmer Trinity School, didn't (and still doesn't) have a social media policy of any kind. The general "don't use your phone at school" rule applied, but what about outside the classroom? And what about when it could be a useful teaching tool?

Typically, teachers would make up their own rules about social media:

• "Don't friend request me on Facebook until you've graduated!"
• "Do not make groups on Facebook to share information from class!"
• "No taking pictures of your experiments and posting them on Instagram!" 

I can remember a select few that found social media helpful in their interactions with students, but I can count them on one hand. Two teachers in specific used sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, and Wordpress to their advantage, facilitating conversations between students and teacher both in and out of the classroom.

One of these teachers, David Cutler of Spin Education, revolutionized the use of technology and social media at PTS by transforming the journalism program from an print-only production to a greener and economically-friendlier online option. Although he no longer works for PTS, The Falconer lives on and continues to highlight school events, cover national news, and even host live-streamed athletic events. Learning to manage the website was a large part of his class, and students who were lucky enough to have him left with incredible knowledge on building and maintaining a good online reputation—an invaluable skill to say the least.

Preston Michelson, a member of Cutler's class and one of my best friends, has truly reaped the benefits of Mr. Cutler's instruction. At PTS he conducted countless interviews ranging from administrative faculty to famous musicians to Martin Luther King III. His experience inspired him to enroll as a journalism major at Northwestern University where he plans to pursue a career in broadcast journalism. The video above is an example of the types of media he and The Falconer staff produced, which required in-depth use of green-screen technology, Final Cut editing software, YouTube, Vimeo, and Wordpress manipulation.

Another teacher of mine found it useful to host a Facebook group for the Student Government Association (SGA). I was the president of my class for three years and was constantly in contact with our grade's advisor. It seemed weird to me, particularly when I was a freshman, to simply call her up and ask her a question after school hours. She was my teacher! She had her own life! She didn't need an anal-retentive ninth grader bothering her at 8:00 P.M. on a Wednesday. Creating the Facebook group made it so easy to contact her and other members of the Student Government, even when ideas were floating around in my head at midnight. Without it, I don't think the SGA would have been as successful as it was during my time at PTS.


For some reason, though, teachers are hesitant to accept the benefits social media use can have on a classroom, or an extracurricular club/organization for that matter. These sites are viewed as recreational, and therefore pose a threat to the learning environment and a teacher's privacy. But while there are considerable drawbacks to using social media sites in class—occasional racy content, possible lack of focus, and probable multi-tasking—it's hard not to recognize the good that can come from them.

For example, Mr. Cassidy, a teacher from Waterloo Schools located in Black Hawk County, Iowa used Twitter in his Advanced Literature class. The school itself is 21st century focused, incorporating technology whenever possible. The YouTube video below shows how his students tweet about various topics using hashtags specific to their class.

In an article written by Allie Bidwell, an education reporter for U.S. News & World Report, she suggests that teachers and their students create social media accounts, like Cassidy's, in order to reach out to experts and invite them into their classrooms for a broader learning experience.

This is an incredibly inventive strategy, one that draws on global understandings and unique perspectives. In many instances, students can't see past the social aspect of social media. They forget that it's an essential tool in business and marketing. By using it in a productive way, teachers may shed some light on the professional side of social media and inspire students to take responsibility for what they post. I believe that PTS does a good job of this; the faculty managed to teach us how to use technology and social media responsibly, without a policy guiding them.

To better understand the district that I've been student teaching in, though, I read through the Social Media Guidelines for Guliford County Schools. While I understand that it's important for administrators to set rules that protect their employees and students, the guidelines feel so strict and cautionary. Rather than set up of defensive strategy that restricts the use of social media in the classroom and friendships between students and teachers, I think that we should take an offensive strategy—one that encourages children to use technology as an extension of themselves and as a tool.

When you think about it, it's easy to begin teaching students these habits at an early age. I plan on teaching 2nd or 3rd grade and would find it really helpful to use strategies like these to encourage students to love learning. An amazing example of a tool like this is Fakebook. It is a classroom tool that allows you to create a fake profile for a fictional character. In my brother's 3rd grade class, they created Fakebook accounts for characters in the novel The Lemonade War. I thought this was a truly inventive idea! My brother, Jake, was so excited to tell me all about what Evan Treski, the main character, was up to that day. His teacher really got into it and they continued the characters' interactions well into the school year, writing reflections on them once a week. Although at first it was merely a summer reading activity, it turned into a semester-long activity that incorporated math, science and reading.

We're in the 21st century; YouTube, Facebook, Blogger, Instagram and Twitter are outlets of expression and have the potential to serve as incredible platforms for learning, if used responsibly. Teaching children how valuable these tools are at an early age can encourage them to be socially responsible. While initially intended for recreational use, these forms of social media can truly benefit both teachers and students, and can teach us that being a student's "friend" doesn't have to be a bad thing.

Happy teaching,
Miss Font



References

[Cell phone notice]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://https://haveyoumetjosh.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/nocellphone.gif

Preston Michelson. (2013, August 27). Preston Michelson interviews Martin Luther King III [Video file]. Retrieved from http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQzSR77vaC0

WaterlooSchools. (2012, November 6). Social media and technology in the classroom [Video file]. Retrieved from http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aaYIvdv4jFs

[Students with newspaper dedication.] (n.d.). Retrieved from http://https://media.cdn.whipplehill.net/241/photo/2013/05/large_photo264020_3391067.JPG

Bidwell, A. (2014, January 17). Check out that selfie: How to use social media in the classroom. Retrieved from http://http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2014/01/17/check-out-that-selfie-how-to-use-social-media-in-the-classroom

Guilford County Schools. (n.d.). Social media guidelines. Retrieved from http://http://www1.gcsnc.com/boe/2011/3_24/Social%20Media%20Guidelines.pdf

[Fakebook logo]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://http://internetfitpro.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/fakebook.jpg

[Students with phone]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://http://media.jrn.com/images/660*413/b99144895z.1_20131201224939_000_g9l3kga7.1-1.jpg