Etherpad

Etherpad is a website that allows you to edit documents in real-time with other users that you collaborate with. You are able to write articles, press releases, to-do lists, etc. with your friends, fellow students/colleagues all at the same time.  Etherpad has all instances accessed to all data through API and you are able to import/export data exchange formats. Etherpad, in my opinion, is very similar to Google Docs. They are both free and allow collaborative editing. However, Etherpad offers some more features than Google Docs such as: a built-in chatbox, import/export in various formats, multi-player editor, etc. Etherpad is a free website, and it supports integration with a lot of third-party apps like wordpress, mediawiki, dokuwiki, etc.


Link: https://etherpad.org/

Diversity, Cultural Understanding, and Global Awareness

In this day and age, I feel that there are several ways that a teacher can model and promote diversity, cultural understanding, and global awareness by using digital-age communication and collaboration tools to interact locally and globally with students, peers, parents, and the larger community. Throughout the blog posts that I have submitted, I have reflected back on some tools that I have studied that goes along with this particular post.

The first program/app that I feel would promote/model diversity, cultural understanding and global awareness is Nearpod. Nearpod is an interactive classroom tool for teachers that engage students with interactive lessons. I created a Nearpod lesson that taught students the history behind music that had a political message. The culture during the time that these songs were written was very different, and sharing a lesson on that topic promotes that.

Newsela is another tool that I learned about in this course. Newsela is a data base that includes various articles related to current events. There are many different themes included such as: Arts, Science, Health, Law, etc. A teacher can create a profile and add their students to the class. After this is done, they can assign articles for their students to read and take quizzes or submit a writing prompt. The reading level of the article can also be adjusted. Newslea, in my opinion, definitely promotes cultural understanding and global awareness.

VGo is also a great tool that promotes diversity. VGo is a tool that helps a person to replicate themselves in another location. This tool give the person the ability to move around as if they were physically there. An individual can see, hear, talk, go anywhere and interact. VGo is great for students that cannot physically go to school because of an illness, accident or medical condition.

Another program/app that can model diversity, cultural understand and global awareness is Seesaw. This app is a platform for student engagement. Teachers can upload photos, videos, drawings, text, PDFs, and links. Seesaw engages students, improves the quality of their work and teaches students key skills. Seesaw promotes 21st Century skills, and this is helping students to thrive in today's world.

I am sure there are many other apps and programs out there that can promote and model diversity, cultural understanding and global awareness. I am not a teacher presently. However, I do plan on using the tools that I have learned about in my future classroom!

Storybird

Storybird can be accessed by using the link https://storybird.com/ This program is considered a language arts tool. The website allows you to use illustrations that are already uploaded into the program. You can then use your own imagination and creativity to create your own story. There are many options to choose from as far as how you want to format your story. For example, you can use a comic book format, a picture book, a narrative, etc. This program is great for anyone including educators, students, artists, etc.

In order to use Storybird, you must first create an account. After this you will be showed a dashboard, and you should click on "Start your first writing challenge". By doing this, you will be able to choose from the "Free Trial" section. This shows different narratives, poetry, picture books. You can also click on the "Write" tab at the very top of the page, and this will give you other options to view. I chose the picture book option. I clicked on the picture that looked the most appealing to me, and I was presented with a work space with several images. I chose an image and formatted it into my space, and then I was able to write whatever came to mind. After you are done with your story, you can save the project and share it online.


Here is a link to a story that I created using Storybird:

https://storybird.com/picture-book/julie-jack-and-joe 

More Scratch!

Scratch is a program where you can create interactive stories, games and animations. After you have completed one of these, you can share your project to anyone online. Scratch is very useful for students because it promotes them to think creatively, reason systematically and work collaboratively.

You can access Scratch by clicking on this link: https://scratch.mit.edu/ If you have never joined scratch before, you will need to create an account. There are great tutorials included to help you along the way.

Check out my video below that shows one of the projects I worked on.

Digital Storytelling

According to www.digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu, digital storytelling is “the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories.” There are also other terms used to describe digital storytelling such as: digital documentaries, computer-based narratives, digital essays, electronic memoirs, interactive storytelling, etc. Digital stories focus on a specific topic that contain a point of view. Typically these stories last between 2 and 10 minutes. Digital storytelling is being practiced in community centers, schools, libraries, businesses and technology users.

Below are three links/examples to digital stories that I viewed on the website.

Galveston, Hurricanes and Oz

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/view_story.cfm?vid=465&otherid=featured&d_title=Featured%20Digital%20Stories

This digital story discusses the hurricane that occurred in Galveston, TX and how it relates to the movie, The Wizard of Oz

Behind the Lens

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/view_story.cfm?vid=467&otherid=featured&d_title=Featured%20Digital%20Stories

This digital story discusses the desire behind photography.

Thundery Fairy Tale

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/view_story.cfm?vid=455&otherid=featured&d_title=Featured%20Digital%20Stories

This digital story discusses memories of the sounds of thunder and how a lady escaped this fear.

BYOD

According to techradar.com, BYOD is an acronym that stands for Bring Your Own Device. This basically means a school (or company) can have employees and students bring and use their own personal laptops, tablets and/or smartphones. There are several pros and cons of implementing BYOD. Below is a chart I created to outline these pros and cons:

PROS	CONS
Increase in student participation	Devices clashing with security
Student-driven learning	Cost for school to integrate and support diverse range of devices
Personalized instruction	Distraction in the classroom

Based on these pros and cons, I feel that if smartphones are here to stay, the only way to manage BYOD in the classroom is if a BYOD policy is in place. The IT department within the school will need to secure the data of the devices and eliminate any way that a device can be a potential risk of unsecure data. For example, running a full risk assessment that included anti-malware, encryption, passcodes, remote wipe and preventing jailbreaking.

In the past, I have interned at a private school, and students were allowed to bring their own cell phones. However, the cell phones had to have the schools network installed on the phone so that the IT department could track every text message sent for safety and security reasons. There were rules as to when the students could use their cell phones during class time. I liked how that was set up at the school and I agreed with the way they did things there.

I strongly feel that if students do not use mobile devices for activities beyond entertainment (such as learning), they will not be prepared for the world of work in the future. Technology is expanding every day, and if we aren’t implementing new technology and ways to use it in the classroom now, then students will not be up-to-date when they are in the real world.

Unfortunately for lower performing schools, teachers are battling a persistent student culture of disengagement (according to kqed.org). Teachers have found great ways to use mobile devices and students have their own. However, this is not enough to have success with BYOD. Angela Crawford, and AP English teacher at BC Rain High School in Mobile, AL (a low income school) suggests teachers build a circle of trust with their students. Building respect in the classroom takes time, but when this is achieved students will be open to new ways of learning. Classroom management is also something that Crawford suggested.

Teachers can build their professional development by implementing BYOD. Staff training is an essential tool for this to happen. This can also encourage the teachers own personal interest in technology and using it in the classroom!

Technology Trends 2018-2019

In the whitepaper titled, Technology Trends in the Classroom, there are several technologies mentioned. These technologies are:

• Gamification
• Device Mesh
• Personalized Learning
• Coding
• AR/VR
• Data Mining

Game-based learning (also known as gamification). Gamification is described in the whitepaper as, “fundamentally applying game-like principles to a system in order to drive its interaction level and appeal to those using it.” Gamification provides students with a different framework and this helps students understanding and knowledge to grow.

Device mesh is, “the growing ways in which people access applications and information, as well as communicate with each other across the Internet on both a personal and organizational level.” As a society we have been introduced to device mesh through smartphones and computers. This has since expanded through watches, tablets, cars, etc. Device mesh has a student’s work cloud set up to where all of their work is saved and accessible through any device.

Personalized learning is used when face-to-face teaching, technology-assisted instruction and collaboration are combined in order to address a student’s learning style and interests. Personalized learning modifies instruction, expression of learning and assessment to a student’s needs and preferences.

Coding has become popular because of the maker movement and robotics. Activities are run by coding, and teachers can integrate coding activities for students at any age. Coding can also be used in various subject areas in order to encourage computational thinking.

AR/VR is also known as augmented reality and virtual reality. Students can access VR activities if they want to swim with sharks, visit outer space, walk through a museum, and other settings without leaving their classroom! AR/VR is transforming education and classrooms.

Data mining is described as, “collecting data to answer education research questions that shed light on the learning process.” The goal of data mining is to better support learners and develop data-driven understanding of the learning process in various contexts. These contexts include: learning management systems, interactive learning environments, intelligent tutoring systems, educational games and data-rich learning activities.