Diversity, Cultural Understanding, and Global Awareness

Diversity, Cultural Understanding, and Global Awareness 

As an educator, I model and promote diversity in my classroom by attending professional development that assist me in accommodating students with exceptionalities through the integration of QR Codes on learning menus that look the same, but are tier based upon ability level and curriculum standard. I model and promote cultural understanding through Nearpod and Storybird. Nearpod is an informational resource that allows me to personalize lessons content to highlight cultures that are present in my classroom. Storybird lends itself to student crafted stories that reflect the traditions and celebrations from within their culture compliment with an illustration. I model and promote global awareness through the use of digital-age communication and collaboration tools such as facebook messenger, google docs, google classroom, and classdojo. The aforementioned apps assist all individuals involved in education whether they be a parent, student, or education professional work together on projects and message one another on a local and global scale.

Gamification Delivery Systems

Gamification Delivery Systems

The three applications that I suggest educators use to gamify the classroom are Classcraft, Classdojo, and Reezly. The chart below identifies the application features of each device making it a beneficial tool for classroom management and behavior. Classcraft and Reezly allows students to take control of their own learning. The teacher assigns quest or tasks for the students to complete with instructions. Points are awarded for completion, or assignment is returned with feedback from the teacher regarding areas that need attention for a grade to be awarded. Classdojo assist students in monitoring their behavior in the classroom. Points are awarded and deducted depending on classroom rules and behavioral infractions in the classroom. All three applications communicate with students, parents, and educators in real time encouraging collaboration and engagement between all parties with profiles. Gamifying the classroom assist with classroom managament and allows srudents to determine the order in which they would like to complete tasks that are aligned with the curriculum. Gamifying the classroom is the way to go to produce responsible students that are equip with twenty-first century skills for college and career. 

VGo

VGo

What is VGo?

VGo is a mobile robot that acts as a medium between the individuals within the classroom and a student that is home bound due to medical conditions or special needs that prevent them from attending school. This is achieved through robotic telepresence which is the ability of the VGo robot to be physically present and relay information through teleconferencing on the webcam.The elements that are necessary to use an maintain the VGo technology are wifi internet connection, digital devices, VGo robot, and VGo cloud network.There are two models of VGo available the robot starts at $3995. 

Classroom VGo 

VGo is a practical device in the school setting as long as education professionals stress to the student body that the robot is as an education tool rather than a toy. The following is a list of benefits VGo has for students and educators within the school setting.

• VGo uses webcam and display allowing students and educators to see one another and classmates.
• VGo allows students to moves independently through out the school building along with peers. 
• students remain in good standing in attendance and academics.
• actively participate in collaborative small group projects.
• student operated

AR Runner

AR Runner 

This is an augmented reality app that turns the environment around the user into a running track. The avatar collects coins as it runs. The game ends when the runner runs into a barrier. The runner is given a performance score, and a report on the number of coins collected.  The option of retrying for a higher score is offered at the conclusion of every game. 

AR Runner app features diverse avatars, mythical opponents, theme music, augmented reality, and the app is free. 

Storybird

Storybird

What is Storybird?

Storybird is a platform that provides illustrations for users to write stories. These stories are stored on the Storybird available for peers to read works that originate from amateur writers. Storybird offers the following story genres are comics, picture book, poetry, longform story, flash fiction, and blog. This gives the writer much flexibility in the story that they wish to create. The user chooses a genre, an illustration, writes a story, and then publish. 

My Storybird Example

Party of Five Story

Storybird classroom Use

Storybird lends itself to many uses within the classroom. The following is a list of ways that it can be used:

• Writing prompts in all academic subjects
• Prior knowledge activation 
• retelling a story (using character, setting, and plot)
• writing center
• math story/ word problem
• informational science stories
• informational social studies stories

Storybird is not limited to the above uses if you can brainstorm the story it can happen. 

VR, AR, and MR with Intel

VR, AR, and MR with Intel

Virtual reality, augmented reality and merged reality are instructional tools that lends themselves to build users first hand experiences to places, procedures, or things that they would not have access to if it were not for technology.

Virtual Reality

My prior knowledge regarding virtual reality consists of a computer application that manipulates the brain into believing what it sees is reality.  After watching the video, I learned that virtual reality products over time will become reasonable priced making it affordable for the public. This includes school districts allowing them to purchase the products for education and engagement purposes. 

Augmented Reality

My prior knowledge regarding augmented reality consists of the merger of reality and virtual reality together in one experience. After watching the video, I learned that augmented reality uses proprioception cues that allow objects in the real world to become a virtual object that interacts with things in the augmented reality.

MR with Intel

Before watching this video, I believed that merged reality was strictly for entertainment. After observing how merged reality is beneficial to the medical profession, I can foresee how other industries will use it to educate their clients and staff. What I learned from the video is that merged reality occurs when a computer is programmed to sense and interact with surroundings including the people that are present in the space. 

Education Today

Every education professional is looking for 21st Century ways to keep students engaged while addressing academic content that will prepare them for higher learning institutions and careers after grade school. Virtual reality, augmented reality, and merge reality all make this possible for student centered learning to take place. Students will no longer be told how something works now they can experience it for themselves. 

Wearable Technology

Wearable Technology

The two wearable technologies that I researched were the Coros Omni smart bike helmet and the Phillips SmartSleep Tracker.

Coros Omni smart bike helmet

 

The purpose of the helmet is to protect the brain if a cyclist is involved in a collision. It also offers other features such as bone conduction audio, caution lights, phone notifications, and an emergency contact notifications. The helmet connects to mobile app on smartphone through the bluetooth. The smart communication feature gathers data data about the cyclist and analyzes it assisting the user with navigation and emergency alerts when necessary. The helmet comes in patriotic colors and black starting cost is $129.99. More information about the Coros Omni smart bike helmet can be found on this website https://www.techradar.com/news/coros-omni-smart-bike-helmet-lets-you-listen-to-tunes-while-still-hearing-the-road.

The purpose of the sleep tracker is to allow the user to rest well by interfering with their sleep waves. The device targets shorts sleep waves allowing the person to wake up with less fatigue than they usually have without the tracker. The sleep tracker has sensors that collects and analyzes data while manipulating sleep waves for a better nights sleep .The sleep tracker connects to a mobile app through bluetooth connectivity, and responds to sleep waves that are emitted by the users brain.The sleep trackers starting cost is $399.99. More information about the Philips SmartSleep Tracker can be found on this website

https://www.usa.philips.com/c-e/smartsleep.html.

Top Hat Vs. Nearpod

Top Hat Vs. Nearpod

If Top Hat and Nearpod were people they would be siblings. Top Hat would be the brother, and Nearpod would be the sister.  I  was first introduced to Nearpod in this course. Last month, I attended a professional development that showed the benefits for the classroom. Top Hat and

Nearpod are mirror images of themselves. They both allow the teacher to conduct a lecture from the classroom, while students  follow along on their own digital device.  Both applications require student engagement  by requiring the students to  record responses to academic questions on their digital device.  The only difference that I noticed between Nearpod and Top Hat was that Top Hat will allow students to record their attendance.  While Nearpod records data that allows the teacher to determine the students who were present for the lecture. This missing feature in Nearpod can easily be corrected by the instructors simply adding an open ended question that ask them to record their name.

 I give both Tophat and Nearpod two thumbs up.  The determining factor would come down to which application Top Hat or Nearpod would fit within the school districts budget for academic resources.

Realsense Technology

There are many ways that RealSense technology is beneficial to its users.  The following are ways that RealSense technology is useful when using images, video, cameras, scanning 3D images and collaborative projects. RealSense technology is beneficial for images because it allows the camera to recognize faces, and track a particular subject from within the environment. RealSense technology is beneficial to users because it offers gesture controls which allow people to interact with technology and other people through a variety of applications. RealSense technology is beneficial to video because it allows users to remove the background, and apply a new environment creating the desired scene for production. Speech recognition is also available through RealSense technology which allows users to control technology with their voice. RealSense technology is beneficial to scanning 3D images because it allows users to inspect, create, and print models of actual products. RealSense technology is beneficial to individuals that collaborate with other people through video conferences. Lastly, Realsense technology allows users to collaborate together to create and complete products in both the academic and corporate world.

Instruction through Gameafication

Gameafication Classroom Use

 I would use gameification in my classroom because I know the benefit gaming has on the learning environment. The two ways that I will use gaming in the classroom would be as a skill based center and as a formative assessment tool.  The skill based center activity would focus on math and English language arts. The first way that I would use gaming in the classroom is to make it a skill based center during small group rotations. I currently use Edgenuity in my classroom for Math and ELA it sets students on their own personal learning path. The program reads to them and the students select their responses using the mouse or keyboard. The data collected from the student responses are utilized to make instructional decisions, and form response to intervention groups.
 The second way that I would use gameification in the classroom is for formative  assessment. As I teacher I utilize formative assessment before a lesson assess my students prior knowledge, and during the lesson to track student progression of learning. Gaming in the classroom will equip students with the 21st century skills necessary for college and careers. This is a positive move for educators to allow students to be responsible for their own learning and keep students engaged with academic content.

Technology Trends 2018-2019

Technology Trends in the Classroom 2018-2019

The  Whitepaper entitled Technology Trends in the Classroom: What's on Tap for 2019 and Beyond highlighted six technology trends for 2018-2019.  The technology trends that were mentioned are applications that I have experienced first hand, or heard great reviews about its use within the classroom. Educators are looking for apps that will engage students within the classroom, while allowing the student to gain academic knowledge.  The first trend is Game-based learning commonly known as gameification. It has game-like qualities that gives students access to assignment called quest, and rewards points and badges for completing assignments. The second trend is called Device Mesh. This trend allows students and educators to communicate with one another through a digital device. The device becomes the medium that connects the multiple parties together for the sake of academic achievement. The third trend is personalized learning. It is a hybrid approach to teaching students academic content  personalized learning paths and in class instruction. This approach engages the student because it focuses on the unique interest of the student while meeting academic needs. The fourth trend is computational thinking, coding, and robotics . This trend engages students on a cognitive level in which they create codes to contribute to an assignment in which they produce a game for users to play.The fifth trend is augmented and virtual reality. Augmented and virtual reality creates an instructional setting that allows the class to engage in activities on the school campus that they would not have access to due to budge and safety reasons. This trend is idea for virtual field trips. The sixth trend is Data mining which is the collection of data that is used to answer academic questions education professionals have about student academic performance within the learning environment. All technology trends address the needs of educators and students to produce engaging lessons that take student thought and understanding to higher level of thought within blooms taxonomy. Theses trends also assist teachers in asking questions regarding student data and improving the quality of instruction.

Newsela in the Classroom

Newsela in the Classroom

The site allows student to access article collections that range in reading Lexile levels to differentiate Reading passages for students. Students also take quizzes on the content within the article. Newslea has a feature that allows educators to customize assessments. Students that have exceptionalities within the classroom are able to access information as their peers do with slight modification.

Newsela Site Amenities

• Collection of information in all academic content areas such as Social Studies, History, Sports, Economics, Art, and Science.
• Text Collections
• Student binder that collects data on academic performance
• Power Words
• Customization Binder
• Accessible to all students no matter their physical disability
• Text to speech option

Newslea Use

Newslea is used in the classroom by students and teachers. The teacher creates a class in order to create and assign assignments. The teacher assigns and then invites students to assigned classrooms. The teacher assigns articles to students. The teacher creates instructions of how they would like the assignment completed. The teacher has the ability to highlight an annotate parts of the article they would like to bring to the students attention. Teachers can create and assign writing prompts for students response. Students complete the assignment through Newslea. The teacher reviews student responses to the completion of assignments.. The teacher also has access to the amount of reading time the student committed to reading the article.

My Classroom

In my Kindergarten classroom, I would use Newslea as a resource for informational text. I would read the article to the students  and conduct the close read  in whole group. I would annotate and highlight academic vocabulary . I would also use the highlight feature within the article to highlight important concepts within the print. During center rotations, I would use the text-to speech opinion and writing prompt feature that accompanies the article. If I had a one to one classroom with each students assigned a device I would assign the quiz immediately following the article reading. However, I teach Kindergarten so I would take a collection of response to device answers from the quiz.

Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling

Digital Storytelling is an interactive story that is told through pictures, audio, video, and web publishing to tell a story. Digital stories are available on digital devices can be as short as 2 minutes and as long as 10 minutes. Joe Lambert and Daniel Meadows are the founders of digital storytelling. The first digital stories were published in the 1900's. People are familiar with digital stories as digital essays, computer-based narratives, and interactive story telling. 

Digital Storytelling Links

1. Make beliefs comix
2. capzles
3. PicLit

Additional Storytelling Links 

Examples of Digital Storytelling

Germ Digital Story

Saigas in Distress- The Mystery of the Dead Antelope

The Boat

Digital Storytelling in a Nutshell

The following is the who, what, when, where,and how of digital storytelling. Digital Story telling is the a collection of pictures, video, text, and audio that are arranged to create an interactive story that is told through a narrative. 

Seduction of Video Game Designers

The elements that are important to players are: 

• Systems and Puzzles
• creative environment
• power
• surprise rewards
• Story line
• multi-game players

Players stay engaged with the following tools and autonomy:

• weapons or magic
• challenge that changes as the plot thickens
• constant progress
• need to control 
• tension and resolution 
• progression from one level to the next
• disproportionate feedback
• social interaction
  

As I reflect on the information presented in the article I have a new found understanding of how the inclusion of gaming elements in the learning environment can be beneficial to students.
Students will enjoy a mystery where they control what happens and the challenge changes as the complete the story line.  Social interaction will encourage student engagement as they work in groups to receive points and rewards for the completion of tasks. Students experience tension and resolution as they turn in assignment and receive feedback and grades for classroom assignments. Gaming in the classroom through class assignments encourages peer interaction and motivates students to complete work.Gaming in the classroom definitely returns the joy of learning back to the classroom.

Top Technology Trends

As I reflect on the article, Keeping Pace With edTech: The Top Educational Technology Trends. I agree with the article that the influence of technology is increasing in education. Technology has gone from being taught in isolation to becoming intergrated in all academic content areas.  This school year, Montgomery Public Schools required teachers to include technology standards within our lesson plans. The teacher evaluation tool also assess how students utilize technology within the classroom. Technology is an educational tool that assist every population that is present on the school campus. Administration collect data to determine budget, attendance, and educational data. Teachers use technology to teach, review, assess, and document student progress. Classified employees use technology to access building and document time at work. Students use technology to complete academic tasks. Parents use technology within the building to check student grades, enroll students, and complete parent surveys. Technology lends it to many more functions within the school day. There are only a few example of how technology has become apart of our daily school operations.

My opinion is that technology was created to make tasks easier to complete with minimized effort. The technology trends that stood out to me in the article were customized learning programs, cloud computing, 3D printing, augmented and virtual reality. Technology is beneficial for students educational experience not one learner learns the same way we learn differently and at a varying pace.Schools utilize technology because they are able to customize the students learning experiences. Cloud computing can assist with reducing the academic budget. MPS has done this with google classroom each student has been given an account where they can receive, complete, and turnin course work. 3D printing prepares students for careers following grade school education. Virtual and Augmented reality I must admit is my most favorite technology because it allows students to inexpensively experience activities, places, and events.

I currently use cloud computing and individualized learning programs in my classroom. If there were a technology genie, I would wish for 3D printer, classroom sets of digital devices, and applications that would allow augmented an virtual reality lessons.

What would  your three wishes be for technology in your classroom?

.

Ryver

Ryver in the Classroom

Ryver is a collaboration tool that is used within the classroom. Students participate in topic based discussion threads. Work together on group projects and assign roles for group members to complete tasks for a project. Messaging feature allows students to chat in real time as a group or individual messages. Overtime a finished product is presented to the class all coutesy of Ryver.

Ryver Features

• messages
• chat
• thread discussions
• assignable tasks
• discussion boards
• task boards
• voting
• Privacy
• avatar

How it can be used 

I would use Ryver in the classroom to introduce a discussion topics. Students will create avatars and vote on the topic that interests them. Student led discussions will occur amongst the student body in public and secret groups. Students will be separated into groups and tasks will be assigned to group members. Students will utilize messaging and tasks boards to produce a finished product.