Kick off the year with technology!

Ok - summer's ended and the school is is back underway. In the hustle and bustle of reorganizing and getting kids back into the swing of things, it can be daunting to consider taking on a new technology project. Despite that, I want to tell about a project that I've done each year at the start of school that yields some great results.

In preparation for our Open House Parent Night, I work with my class each fall to create a movie that is shown to the parents. The purpose of this movie is to have the students tell their parents about important parts of 4th grade. Depending on the time you have and the proficiency levels of your students, you can make this project as open-ended as is reasonable. In the past, I've had students develop a "news broadcast" about their classroom, take parents through a "day in the life" of a 4th grader, and identify their hopes and goals for the year ahead. There really are a lot of possibilities!

This activity sets the stage for further technology endeavors in the classroom by presenting students with a motivating and engaging project to complete. A built-in deadline (Open House) makes for some good lessons in time management and the process of developing the movie as a whole class presents opportunities for team building and cooperation. The real payoff of this work, though, comes on Open House night itself. Parents love seeing their kids on screen and are always proud of the work that has been done. By sharing this work with them, you can give them a sense of the excitement and creativity that you hope to develop throughout the year. (Plus, when the kids do the talking, it's less time that you need to stand up in front of the parents!)

To make this project a success, you will need to allow your students some time to plan and practice what they are going to say. If students are presenting in groups, you will need to support them in identifying what will be said (and by whom), where they will film, what props they might need, etc. As the teacher, your job will become that of producer and director: making sure that the important points you want covered are included and that everyone has a chance to be involved.

As far as technology goes, I have found that the Flip Video Camera from Pure Digital Technologies is a great tool to use. Its simple, point-and-shoot approach makes it easier for students to do the filming with just a brief tutorial. To edit the footage together, I have used iMovie from Apple's iLife Suite. I find it to be a reasonably user friendly tool that gives you good creative control over your finished product. While there are other movie making applications out there, I haven't explored them much, so I can't make any comparisons.

All in all, this is an excellent way to begin the year. The kids love it and the parents are usually thrilled and impressed. As they say, you don't get a second chance to make a first impression...

Using Text as Artwork: Wordle and TYPEDRAWiNG

Recently, I read a blog post by Terry Freedman called "Five Reasons to use Wordle in the Classroom." It gave some good ideas for ways to use this application to represent text graphically. Wordle generates "word clouds" of a text passage. The frequency that words appear in the text is represented by the relative size of the words in the cloud. The application allows you to control font, colors, and general layout. It's an engaging and exciting way to represent text in an unconventional way. Freedman's suggestions include using Wordle as a way to summarize and analyze material, reflect on your own writing, as a discussion starter for presentations, or as a way to illustrate a piece of writing. 

Today I was browing the iPhone app store (a guilty pleasure) and came upon another application called TYPEDRAWiNG, which has been available as an online application since 2005, in which you can enter a short line of text and use it to create line art. You use your mouse to draw a line. In this case, though, it's like you're using a paintbrush and the words are your paint. In my brief dabbling with the tool, I did find that the amount of text you can enter at one time is limited, as is the total amount of drawing you can do. The overall images are pretty cool, though.

Both applications provide interesting ways that students or teachers could use words in a graphic way. In a recent science lesson introducing rocks and minerals, for example, I asked students to describe several rock samples. I copied their descriptions into Wordle to create this image that we used as a discussion starter the next day. It was a good way to have them begin identifying some of the properties of rocks.

I can also envision a classroom activity using TYPEDRAWiNG in which students choose a sentence, or portion of a poem to illustrate graphically. For instance, I made this quick (and amateur) sketch for the first line of Edna St. Vincent Millay's poem, Afternoon on a Hill. "I will be the gladdest thing under the sun." It could be fun to see what kids create to show a favorite line of text!

All in all, though, the thing that I like about both of these applications is the fact that they can create a "wow" response to words. Anything that helps create excitement and interest for text seems, to me, to be a useful tool to have available. 

Ideas for using word processing software

Much of my thinking about technology integration seems to be focused on online technologies. However, teachers should not overlook stand-alone technology, such as word processing when considering tools for technology integration. Word processors are a common software application that can have some significant impacts on student communication.

In reviewing research, I have learned that the uses of technology that show the most benefit for student performance are constructivist, meaning that they help students to develop understanding and construct meaning from the work (Wenglinsky, 2005). In utilizing word processing for students, attention should be given to keep the software tools from interfering with student skill development. For instance, the ease of spell checking may encourage students to pay less attention to the correct spellings of words. Research has shown, though, that students who struggle with writing are motivated by the professional look that word processing offers, as well as by the ability to easily find and change errors. Additionally, the ability to hear work read back for students has been seen to increase the confidence level of developing writers (Zhang, 2000).

Below are a few ways that you might incorporate word processing software to support student work.

• Have students type their rough drafts rather than copying from a written draft. This, of course, requires that students be somewhat proficient in keyboarding skills. However, the benefit can be great. When students type their drafts, they are then able to use the software as a tool for revising.  Students can easily move entire sentences or paragraphs within a document. They can delete unwanted words or phrases and add description to other areas.
  
• Utilize pictures and clip art to provide a non-linguistic representation of the ideas being communicated (Pitler, et al., 2007). You could have students engage in word play and exploration by having them create a rebus, a sentence that uses pictures in place of words.
  
• Use the Auto-Summarize, word count, and readability scores offered by software such as Microsoft Word. Students can make revisions to their work and see if it brings their “score” higher. Research has shown that creating a game-like situation is motivating for student learning and approaching the readability and sentence length data as a "score" may encourage students to revise and edit their work.
  
• Turn off spelling and grammar check until the end. Encourage students to try to find and correct errors on their own first. The Track Changes feature on several applications can be used as a way of checking which errors the student found. You might ask students to print a copy of the document before spell checking it. Students could use bold text or underlining to indicate words for which they are uncertain of the correct spelling.
  
• Use text to speech features to support students with reading or writing difficulties to hear their written work. I have watched students who normally refused to make revisions to handwritten work replay a sentence several times in order to decide if it needed a comma. For students with disabilities or language difficulties, this can be very powerful.
  
• Allow students who have writing or keyboarding difficulties to use voice recognition software to generate a draft that can then be edited and revised.
  

These suggestions and ideas are a small sample of what can be done with word processing in the classroom. Have other ideas? I'd love to hear them!

Technology Considerations - what to look for and think about

In an earlier post, I outlined several best practices to keep in mind when using technology in the classroom. I believe that those general guidelines can help teachers to be more effective in their integration efforts. Here, I've identified a few things that teachers might take into consideration when looking at specific technology applications. It is by no means a complete list, but can give a good start to your deliberations!

• What is the “flash” factor? Some applications present an exciting first impression but don’t have a lot of substance behind them. It is important to think about the meaningful applications of the technology you are considering. Don’t simply be awed by the attractive visuals – determine the communication standards that you expect your students to attain and think about how the specific technology can support it. Ask yourself: does the technology make the communication easier or does it simply make a “prettier” final product? Keep in mind, though, that some “flash” is good as a motivator for getting kids to become engaged with the technology!
• What is the age and ability appropriateness? When you examine a technology application, think about how your students will use it. Are there any prerequisite skills that they need to have (such as typing fluency, spelling, web use, etc.)? How easy is it to use the application? There are many excellent applications for young students that are intuitive and use minimal buttons or controls. Likewise, many more powerful technology tools require students to have had a certain level of prior experience with software use and are more appropriately presented to older learners. When you plan an activity that requires students to use a specific technology, you should also plan to take time for students to become familiar with the tools. More complex software will generally take students longer to learn.
  
• Who will/can see the student work? Does the specific technology provide privacy controls? Privacy of student work is very important, especially in the elementary classroom setting. You should be aware of issues with parental permission and consider how the given technology allows you to control who sees the work. Additionally, you should think about who the technology allows your students to communicate with. Think “outside of the box” when considering ways to have your students communicate. You may find your students blogging with their favorite children’s book author or having a conversation with students in another country using video chat or voice-over-Internet applications.
  
• How is the specific technology accessed? You will need to think about the ways that your students will connect and use the technology. Is it a software application that needs to be installed on computers the students will use? Is is web-based, requiring Internet access? Can more than one student use it at the same time? These logistical considerations will impact the ways that you utilize different technologies and may make some technologies more attractive to your particular situation.
  

Using Music and Sound Effects in Class Projects

On Monday, I wrote about finding royalty- and copyright-free images to use in creating multimedia projects. I neglected, however to add resources for music and sound effects. There are several resources that you and your students can use to add sound to your podcasts or multimedia projects without risking copyright violations. 

Unlike images, recordings of music are not in the public domain. Sheet music or lyrics with a copyright of 1922 or earlier can be used (changes in copyright law mean that no additional music will enter the public domain until 2019). You or your students just have to make the recording. It could be a great project for you to coordinate with a music teacher!

When I record my class' podcast, I use Apple's Garage Band software. This application comes with a large library of sound effects and music loops that are copyright-free. There are lots of options to choose from (and my students love adding effects like crowds cheering, etc.).

There are several websites that offer royalty-free music for download. Look carefully, though, to see if you need to purchase the tracks - it can get expensive! A few sources of free music are:

• RoyaltyFreeMusic.com has a program to provide access to free music for schools, students, and educators. They have some requirements for application, so read the details to see if your school qualifies.
• incompetech.com has a large library of music by composer Kevin MacLeod. The music is organized genre and mood. This music is licensed under Creative Commons. He suggests a donation to offset his costs, but doesn't require it. He does request that you credit him for the music that you use.
• PartnersinRhyme.com offers a large selection of royalty-free music for download or purchase. They offer several music and sound effects tracks for free for you to use in your projects.

One excellent (and creative) way to avoid issues of copyright is to have your students create the music that they use in their productions. This, of course, is more time consuming, but it offers the opportunity for students to have even greater ownership of the final product. Talk with your music teacher for ideas about how the students could become the composers!

Finally, Creative Commons has produced a Podcasting Legal Guide that includes a lot of information on copyright and other issues in producing podcasts.

Using Copyright- and Royalty-Free Media

It is important to teach students that, although images and information are readily available on-line, much of it is protected by copyright. When completing class projects, it can be tempting for students (and, I'll admit, teachers) to simply conduct a Google image search and grab the first picture that fits the need. Unfortunately, this can cause problems due to copyright law, especially if finished projects will be available for public viewing. If you have questions about copyright and fair use, your school library/media specialist should be able to help you.

The images that students collect and use for their work should be copyright- or royalty-free (you can also teach them about how to obtain permission to use images if they find one they really want to use). A search on-line for copyright free images can get you many possibilities. Be aware, though, that many (or most) of these sites do not contain filtered content and may include images that are not appropriate for children. You must examine the sites yourself before linking your students to them.

Here are a few places to find images to use (be sure to check the sites prior to your lesson to make sure that they are still operable):

• US Government works are automatically considered part of the public domain. Excellent images can be found from the US Fish and Wildlife Service, NASA, US Department of Agriculture, US Department of the Interior, and more. Check the individual websites for these services to explore their image libraries.

• www.Pics4Learning.com is a library of images that have been donated for use in educational projects. Permission has been given for teachers and students to use all of the images in the collection.
  

• Wikimedia Commons has a huge library of images, video, and audio files, that are in the public domain or are freely licensed. When selecting a photo, you can see the licensing information for that image.

• www.PDPhoto.org provides thousands of pictures that have been placed in the public domain by the photographer, Jon Sullivan.

You should identify quality sources of images for your students and provide them with links to those sites that you want them to visit. As always - quality advance work yields better results!

Elementary Podcasting

For the past year and a half, I have had my students produce a weekly podcast in which they share the news of their week at school. Two students each week are selected to write and revise their script, summarizing highlights of the week, main ideas learned, planning interviews with faculty, and more. One of the kids' favorite segments seems to be visiting their younger siblings and talking about what they are doing in the lower grades. It has been an engaging and exciting activity, with some excellent opportunities for students to develop their expressive communication skills through writing and speaking.

A podcast, in its basic form, is like a radio show for the Internet. The name comes from the words iPod and broadcast, though iPods are not needed in the process. What is needed are a digital audio recorder (the built-in microphones on most newer computers are pretty good for basic recording) and web space to host the audio file. That's about it to get started - on the technical side. Having something to say and a reason to say it is especially important, too! There are many ways that students and teachers could use podcasting: reporting news, reading works they have written, sharing research results or opinion pieces, interviewing community members, and more. I'd love to hear other suggested purposes.

There are a lot of great examples of podcasting in the elementary classroom (besides my class, of course!). One podcast that is often cited as an exemplar is Radio Willow Web from Omaha Nebraska. The students at the school from all grade levels take their turn at sharing a topic they have learned. Their teacher, Tony Vincent, has put together some amazing resources at www.learninginhand.com. An extensive list of education-related podcasts can also be found at The Education Podcast Network. 

Like any good education experience, when it comes to podcasting with your students, you need to plan carefully to be effective. In working on the print version of my Independent Learning Project for my master's degree, I have been developing an integration plan for creating a weekly news podcast. Here are some of the key points.

Learning Objectives:

The students will...

• work collaboratively to develop a script.
  
• revise their scripts, taking into consideration organization, audience, and detail.
  
• accurately describe and discuss the week's content learning and class activities.
  
• speak clearly, with appropriate volume, diction, and pacing when recording.
  
• use recording software to edit their recording and prepare a final product (optional extension activity)
  

Creating a class podcast is , by definition, and on-going activity and is not completed with a single lesson. Instead, the project should develop and grow with the students' development of their skills. The best advice that I was given when starting my podcast project was to start small. Keep the scope of your podcast manageable and plan ahead for making it a success. If you take time with your students to create a clear plan and goal for podcasting, your end result will be that much more successful. As you and your students get used to the process and potential of podcasting, you will find new ideas to add to the quality of the finished product.

There are several topics and mini-lessons that should be covered with your students in developing their podcast. Some of these are:

• understanding what podcasts are
• brainstorming and planning ideas for a class podcast
• summarizing what has been learned in class
• writing a script
• developing an interesting lead and conclusion
• reviewing the script and making revisions
• understanding copyright and fair use policy
• speaking clearly and articulately
• planning and conducting interviews
• using software to edit and produce a recording

In future blog postings on this topic, I plan to include graphic organizers and an assessment rubric that can be helpful for planning and assessing student podcasts.

Some "best practices" and other considerations

I have been thinking about what guidelines ought to be considered when an elementary school teacher decides that he or she wishes to bring more technology into the classroom. It's a bit of a daunting task! The topic is broad - really integrating technology means changing some of the fundamentals of the classroom. It means adjusting the roles and relationships of the teacher and student. It means moving away from traditional assessment measures and towards performance- and project-based assessment. The promise of technology in the classroom is to enhance students' opportunities for problem solving, communication, and application of their learning in authentic ways.

Technology is already integrated into most students' (and teachers') daily lives. We use email and text. We quickly look up answers to questions we encounter. Banking, calendars, shopping, entertainment and other daily activities have moved on-line. We can even get the groceries by sitting in front of the computer! All too often, though, when students enter the classroom, their technology rich lives are left outside the door.

The Center for Applied Research in Educational Technology (CARET) is a project of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). On their home page, they say that, "CARET bridges education technology research to practice by offering research-based answers to critical questions." For the question, "How can technology be infused into curriculum and instruction effectively?" they offer four answers from the research. They determined that educators and decision makers should: review the content of technology applications to see that it aligns with content standards; enable students to develop proficiency with technology tools prior to content instruction; intentionally develop lessons and units utilizing technology to support content standards; and know how to use the selected technology and any additional resources or equipment required.

Edutopia, from the George Lucas Educational Foundation, has some amazing and exciting suggestions for ways to integrate technology. In one article on their site, the Edutopia staff identify four essential goals that effective technology integration can support: "active engagement of students, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts." They emphasize, too, that technology integration should be a seamless part of the environment and support curricular goals.

The research I have done for my Independent Learning Project (as well as hands-on experience with technology in my own classroom) has led me to the following considerations for effectively using technology to support students' expressive communication:

• The learning goals and content outcomes must be identified by the teacher before technology considerations can be made. Educators must think about what they want the students to learn and only then should they select the appropriate technology.
• Be aware of what the final product will be in order to plan the steps needed for completion. You can't answer students' questions on a project if you don't know where it should be headed.
• Think about who will receive your communication. Who is the audience for this activity? How do you want them to find and interact with the information? What is the content that your students are communicating. Consider privacy implications if your plan is to publish students' work. These first three points are closely related and align with good teaching practices generally: know what you want to accomplish and then make a plan for how to get there.
• Try out the technology yourself first. Whether you are creating a podcast, making a movie, or using a spreadsheet to show class data, you need to know how the hardware and software works. It's embarrassing (not to mention unprofessional) to be stuck in front of the students not knowing how to make the application work. Glitches will happen, but some practice with the technology will help you to anticipate them and know what to do. Technology's not perfect, so you should have a backup plan in case something's not working at the moment you want it!
• Plan to use technology in a  constructivist manner. Wenglinsky (2005) analyzed performance data from the NAEP and found that teaching practices that emphasize higher-order thinking, problem solving, and development of meaning correspond to better performance on assessments. Interestingly, he found that didactic uses of technology (rote skill-and-drill types of work) had either no effect or a negative effect on performance.
• Plan for differentiation of instruction. Consider the ways that the selected technology can support struggling students and provide additional enrichment for advanced learners. 
• Be creative! When you encounter or are told about a new technology, make a mental note of it. Try it out to see if it might have an application for your classroom. Don't force a lesson onto the technology (see bullet point #1) but keep the tool in mind for possible applications. Adding a new twist to some old lessons can bring them to life again and can make teaching and learning fun!

OK, I know that's probably WAY too much to put into one posting. I apologize for that! I encourage you to add considerations that teachers should make when integrating technology into the classroom. As always, these tips are just a starting off point!

Sifting through the Curriculum Frameworks

In starting to consider ways of integrating technology to support expressive communication in the elementary classroom, I dove (OK, waded) in to the Massachusetts English Language Arts Curriculum Frameworks. The Frameworks, which outline the skills that students in Massachusetts schools should learn, are organized into four main strands: Language, Reading and Literature, Composition, and Media. Within these strands are 27 General Standards (broad ideas) which are further subdivided into 337 Learning Standards.

I chose to limit my reading of the Frameworks to those learning goals targeted to grades 6 and younger, which brought the total number of Learning Standards to 191 - still a lot, but a bit more manageable! From here, I narrowed my focus to those goals that related to students' expressive communication skills: speaking, writing, and visual presentation. I tried to be somewhat liberal in deciding which standards applied. Even some seemingly receptive skills such as reading included expressive components, such as identifying or analyzing text elements. 

To get a glimpse of those standards, I decided to run it through the website wordle.net. This is a really cool and simple way to get a visual representation of text. It creates a "cloud" of all of the words in a selected passage (omitting commonly used words like the or a). The more frequently a word appears in the passage, the larger it is in the cloud. Here is the cloud that I created using my selected learning standards:

The most commonly appearing verbs here are use (which I combined with the word using, resulting in a larger sample), identify, write, and analyze. Other terms that stand out are text, language, information, and ideas. At a quick glance, it seems like application and critical thinking are pretty important components of the expressive communication standards. 

Obviously, English Language Arts standards aren't the only place that contain expressive communication components, but I felt that it was a logical starting off point. Other content areas provide wonderful applications of these skills, and can utilize technology to enhance that communication throughout the classroom.

Creating a Purpose for the Project

It can be easy for some teachers to view the integration of technology into their classrooms as an "add on" or a fad. After all, can the reality live up to the hype? Many teachers have seen educational trends come and go, while the basics always seem to be just that - basic. A skeptic can reasonably wonder if there is any substance behind technology's flash. Could tech integration really be the miracle pill that some proponents seem to imply it is?

I think that these reservations are entirely reasonable. In fact, while I am strongly in favor of integrating technology into the classroom, I believe that those who question its purpose and relevance can ultimately play an important role in making technology integration more effective (assuming, that is, that the critics are ultimately interested in the quality of education and are not simply operating from "tech-phobia" or simple resistance to change).

My purpose in creating this blog and its accompanying handbook is to explore the many factors that are involved in effectively integrating technology as a part of the elementary classroom. Specifically, I intend to focus on using technology to improve expressive communication skills, including spoken, written, and visual communication. As I mentioned in my previous post, I hope to create a usable resource for classroom teachers. I also am hopeful to engage in some on-line dialogue about the factors that support and inhibit the use of technology.

I have felt some hesitancy in getting started on this process. Perhaps because I know that I don't have all (or even most) of the answers to such a big topic. Then it hit me: the beauty of the blog format and digital communication in general is the use of collaboration. I can make a post, but that doesn't make it the final word. In fact, any comments just add to the thinking. So here goes!

A start

Let me take a moment in this, my first blog post, to introduce myself and set a course for this blog. I am currently a fourth grade teacher in Watertown, Massachusetts. I've been teaching in this grade for the past three years (I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of 9 and 10 year olds!). Each year, I've worked to integrate technology deeper into my instruction. I think that there is an intrinsic motivating factor for kids using technology to learn. They forget that they are working - and the end results are often much more impressive than what they might have developed originally. Plus, as a bit of a tech junkie myself, I get excited about the lesson, too!

I am also currently a student at Cambridge College, working on a master's degree in elementary education. As part of this program, I must complete an Independent Learning Project (ILP) that includes research and completion of a professional project. I have chosen to learn about ways to effectively integrate technology to enhance student's expressive communication. The new world of web 2.0 make so many things possible that many of hadn't considered even a few years ago. It seems as though the possibilities are nearly endless. In bringing my project to completion, it feels natural to me to create an on-line component. After all, if I'm touting the virtues of interactive technologies for the classroom, shouldn't I put my money where my mouth is and put my work on-line?

In the coming weeks, I plan to explore and discuss some guiding principles of technology integration, identify specific technology tools that can support the development of communication skills, and produce lesson plans for integrating those technologies. I look forward to sharing my ideas and learning more in the process.