Issues and Challenges with My Final vision Project

Issues and challenges with my Final Vision Project

 This is my second time typing this blog because I just lost my whole blog so it will be short! there was an error warning and it wouldn't save just as I was putting in my link for the final project so I lost everything so thats the downside of technology! 

example of clip art from Buncee

 I found Buncee alittle difficult at first getting used after using Google slides like to add text boxes first then deciding the font not just typing and using highlighting and cut and paste at the end also at first I thought with the link you just paste but you need the text box first.  Also you need to save as any uploaded image first and its kept in the cloud which is good.The extras that can be added and preloaded like the clipart; messages and Pixabay images and Utube videos are great to keep students from straying and staying on topic with their Buncee presentation. Of course when selecting the topic you need to be very general for the preloaded offerings like children. I liked the digital citizenship and educational main headings.
 I used the free version so I did'not have voice recording; use of QR codes and 360 images which would really add to a presentation. Overall  I think Buncee would be useful with grades 4 to 8 or so and with the preloaded extras to give students autonomy all in one place and they can choose a topic they are motivated to learn about and share their Buncees with classmates and they can comment on others. Teachers have ability to monitor comments too.

I found it alittle challenging in coming up with resources directly about Montessori and technology and their rationales but i feel this was inquiry process was useful for me to be aware of what other Montessori educators were writing about this topic and how they were using digital tools in their schools .This constructed knowledge allowed me to rationalize the use of digital tools that follow Montessori principals  for elementary children .

Example of a sticker from Buncee

Montessori Education and Use of Digital Technology
Please click above for my final vision project and I hope you gain some new insights that will be helpful to you.

Contents of the Future Vision Project

Contents of the Future Vision Project

Using Buncee slides this is the order of the major contents to present from my constructed knowledge synthesizing what I have learned so I can apply it in my future Montessori and non-Montessori educational practice and to share with other educators in assisting them in making choices on the use of digital tools and apps.

1. Pose the question:

If Maria Montessori were alive today what wold she say( I think) about using technology with students?

2.General  Montessori philosophy;method and planes of development for children to lay framework for criteria in creation of  Montessori materials and applying it to digital tools/apps

3. New knowledge/frameworks learned in this class

4.  4 criteria questions to ask to determine if the digital tools/apps would meet Maria Montessori criteria and the needs of the 21st century learner? they should meet one or more of these attributes

5 -9. Suggestions for possible tools for each of the 4 main motivating attributes

10. Cautions I believe Maria Montessori would have with the use of technology/screen time in the classroom

11. Suggestions of technology that meets special need/remedial students

12. Square Panda digital tool pros/cons

13.Suggestions of movement technology and assessment

14.Conclusions

This will be my first time using Buncee so its a learning curve for me too as I construct this future vision project and share it!  Check out Buncee Blog for uses in the classroom.

Rational for Future Vision Project

Rationale for Future Vision Project;

My rationale is based on my background experience and education because I have about 10 years in the Montessori field and after my BED  I became accredited as a Casa teacher(ages 3 to 6) through American Montessori Academy so I wanted to take my  digital tools/and apps understanding knowledge and synthesize it and decide  how I would apply this new knowledge in a Montessori classroom. I'm most familiar with the casa environment but have also worked in lower elementary ages 6 to 9 and in upper elementary 9 to 12 so the digital tools are my best choice from what I know at this time and are only a suggestion of course. Digital tools change and modify quickly sometimes so its a good idea to be aware of what is available but newer its not necessarily better. I would assume all Montessori teachers to make their own choices or not if digital tools fit in with their own rationale/

Though I had not thought about technology at all and the changing literacy needs of the 21st century learner before taking this course I can see now how digital tools can be beneficial for  students learning and life when chosen with intent and knowledge. I feel that because we have very intentional scaffolded materials that flow together throughout the mixed aged classes it was important that the tools are not seen as  replacements always but have a purpose that adds to the learners intrinsic engagement with their learning that creates  greater authenticity; autonomy; connection and inquiry. For example the use of the place value golden bead material in the casa and the bead frame in the lower elementary class provides a visual; tactile; color coded tool to learn about place value and completely replacing it with a screen application.   Or as seen below compared to screen letters in the  majority of children is more beneficial because it involves all of their senses except taste! I'll rationalize in addition the use of digital tools for young children for exceptional and remedial needs because Maria Montessori having started her casa class with special need children in Rome would see the tools as a way to break down barriers to learning; for example text to speech apps such as Google Text to Talk booktalker; audio books; display text control of font size; color etc; digital graphic organizers and more I will list in my project. As well as more for elementary children.

  “The senses, being explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge. Our apparatus for educating the senses offers the child a key to guide his explorations of the world, they cast a light upon it which makes visible to him more things in greater detail than he could see in the dark, or uneducated state.” Maria Montessori

I decided to do this as my future vision project to give a rationale not just about tools but analyzing how Maria Montessori designed her materials and how that could also be applied to my new learning in libe 477 when selecting digital tools/apps for students use.

From my photos; Sandpaper letters; vowels are color coded blue

My rationale also is for my professional development in being clear in my practice in the Montessori field and beyond of  what apps/tools I would choose; how I would use this and Why I would choose them. Because there isn't a unified stance on technology in the Montessori field this could be a guidepost to think about as its important to consider the  additional learner needs because of the information age we live in now.

Hopefully all educators can take some useful ways to analyze tools and come across some suggestions of tools that fit in their environment.  

Resources;

Amazon.ca. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://www.amazon.ca/Absorbent-Mind-Maria-Montessori/dp/0805041567 [Accessed 18 Nov. 2017].

Future Vision Project Scope

Future Vision Project Scope

My vision of what I wanted to do for my future vision project changed as I gathered information, made discoveries and wrote  and read others blogs on Teacher librarianship topics. I thought a lot about how to categorize apps since their were so many and I came upon some websites like Commonsense education media reviews and classification frameworks like SAMR; lesson flows etc to put apps into context and assist with sorting through the many apps to evaluate if they meet students 21st century learning needs.

My vision also changed as I thought about my audience and sharing this project vision with other educators and how it can be useful in creating dialogue and further investigation.
 I thought about Symbaloo which is a tool to paste your tools you use a lot in a webmix but I realized that it takes time to really be comfortable in using apps and its a life long endeavor to form a webmix and it starts off slowly by matching apps to the needs of students.

 I  began to see how Montessori materials/tools are selected and used with control of error/scaffolded with teacher guidance can be similar  to the process in selecting digital tools .By combining my new knowledge with my Montessori background ; I can envision how best to to select digital apps/tools and for what age groups they are best suited for .  I envision Reviewing  a few digital tools/apps with this combined criteria. In Montessori education we group students in their unique 3 year spans so they are  developmentally similar ages in which peer coaching and modelling occurs. The unique developmental ages are 3 to 6; 6 to 9 ; 9 to 12 and 12 to 15. I envision combining my Montessori background and new knowledge I've constructed from engaging in this class to be able to come up with criteria that would assist educators on best how to select tools that meet  how students learn best in developing 21st century literacy and developmental appropriate for these age spans.

From what I have researched and experienced Montessori elementary education does see the value of digital tools; Maria Montessori herself was a scientist and if alive now(she died in 1952)  I feel she would realize the need for students to use  digital tools purposefully to function in the 21st century and complement real life hands on learning.This blog provided a summary of the balancing act of using screen time ;Technology and the Montessori Classroom Because i'm most familiar with Montessori Education I decided to do more inquiry to the use of technology and Montessori education.  I decided to follow 2 Montessori and technology groups on Twitter to keep up to date and gather more insight. Technology is generally not used in the casa class ages 3 to 6 since research shows that a caring connection such  as in teacher  student interaction and Sensorial learning; is of great importance and screen time is not the best for the developing brain but I'm willing to check out possible digital tools which may meet the criteria or used for special need students  .
There is not a unified stance on technology use  so this will give me an idea on what is happening and how Montessorians are incorporating technology. My vision project can give a summary of my findings of technology and Montessori education.

One resource I've decided to try to create my future vision project is Buncee because its new to me and is a creative presentation tool with a lot of features check out; Buncee Features. I've tried Google slides so I can compare them. I want to engage with its potential creativity tools such as audio; video; clip art; different backgrounds etc. I also liked that Buncee users can seamlessly synchronize with Google Classroom so students and teaches can engage with each other and share Buncees. Buncee creators are involved with educators with their blogs and free hour webinars that anyone can sign up for and this helped me on using Buncee in the classroom.

My overall vision is to get a rationale for selection of digital tools and be able to recommend a few digital tools for each age grouping using Buncee as my presentation tool.  I think this will be particularly thought provoking for Montessori teachers and parents as well as all other educators.

From Google Images

Resources;

Symbaloo.com. (2017). Symbaloo. [online] Available at: https://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcLj6h4 [Accessed 8 Nov. 2017].

Montessorirocks.org. (2017). A True Balancing Act: Technology and the Montessori Classroom | Montessori Rocks. [online] Available at: https://montessorirocks.org/a-true-balancing-act-technology-and-the-montessori-classroom/
[Accessed 8 Nov. 2017].
 Buncee | Features. [online] Available at: https://www.edu.buncee.com/features [Accessed 8 Nov. 2017].
Common Sense Education. (2017). Common Sense Education. [online] Available at: https://www.commonsense.org/education/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2017].

Summarizing Topics and Personal Reflections

Summarizing Topics and Personal Reflections;

I've made many discoveries since starting blogging and connecting with other students on Teacher  Librarian topics for the first time. Blogging is an open discovery process that leads to more paths of discoveries  sometimes I had to make a point of keeping on topic and not get too off track.

Overall I loved the inquiry constructism approach in constructing  new knowledge as a learning group and connectivism learning  through technology ; collaborating  with classmates on Google Hangout ( first time  for me ) and reading and commenting on other blogs. It was enjoyable starting with a broad topic and delving in was exciting to come upon great resources to widen my knowledge and then bookmark sites for future use. 

When I started my first couple blogs it was awkward in placing of links and images and  incorporating them and I did a lot of highlighting with different colors and font sizes which looks a bit distracting now that I look at it. I evolved in blogging by trying to incorporate links naturally and adding free images;tags ; videos and citing resources using Cite this for Me online and also giving my opinion sometimes and a little more about my experience too as I got more confident and less colorful highlighting! I found public  Free to use Google Images with the most variety where I did not have to pay for images which I found out quickly after trying to get images or not allowed to copy the URL.
The first topic and reading  of ; Why School?By Will Richardson gave a big picture flipped view of looking at what is 21st century learning look like and it was helpful to look at the different views of the  NCTE 21st century Literacy Learning from National Council of Teachers of English and BC Technology for Education for example. I hadn't thought about how much learning has changed because of this information economy and how teachers need to change to meet the evolving needs of students. This learning made me realize that the communication and life skills needed now by students have changed  a lot with information at their finger tips and use of digital tools with uses from substitution to redefinition. (SAMR model)

 These topics fostering reading ; cultural and supporting teachers learning with ICT and World Libraries and mobile devices gave me a wide view of overarching themes that TL should be aware of to support and facilitate learning for students.
I read about PLN's; Personal Learning Network at the beginning of the class and now I have formed my PLN with joining a Twitter feed of Teacher Librarians which I found very informative and by reading twits it lead to more links and discoveries of new digital tools which I would investigate further online creating more learning.From these discoveries and in reading others blogs I would check out their links  and then bookmark the sites I especially found helpful. I joined many e-newsletters like Edtopia ; Buncee and Google for Education which were helpful in keeping up to date and for further application of their digital tools.  Also reading other students blogs and commenting

from Google Free to use Imags

gave me a different perspective that I hadn't thought of like teaching in undeveloped countries and the challenges teachers have and how key technology can be to bridge the information learning gap and efforts to do this. I experimented with Popplet lite for brainstorming on my iphone and adding as my knowledge grew.I tried to make this larger but it only works on mobile phones not larger devices. If you pay a fee you can use Popplet on an i pad. For more details check out;Popplet.

This process of learning has left me with many new insights and learning that has begun to develop into a deeper knowledge as I put into application the new information and use of the digital tools.  

World Libraries and Use of Mobile devices

Developing World Libraries and  Use of Mobile devices

Libraries have moved from being only a physical structure to accessible online worldwide allowing accessibility to more people in their language creating a more equitable world with access to information on shared devices and also on their own personal device. allowing use of personal devices for high school aged students really frees up  to be more in control of their learning and use of  their own apps they are familiar with.

 I found the LibWeb with collections from 146 countries and use of keyword searches here;library online;  you can click a country or region of the world to narrow down your search. I checked out the Public Libraries of Greater Victoria and the new library which will be near me in James Bay which is being built and open early 2018. I liked the flexible and varied seating arrangements natural light and outdoor wifi. it seems like they are incorporating aspects of a Learning Commons.James Bay Library 2018
The Global Digital Library is a collaborative compilation of high quality reading resources for primary ages children through the web; mobile;apps/games and print for under served languages. Book creation gatherings are outlined in this blog using Blog software which is usable and an open source; what's great is this use of technology creates authors in their own language to share their books ; for example African languages; Arabic etc,. For the blog and details to create a local book check out;Using Bloom software to create local stories in their language.
The GDL is in its beginning stages with the focus first being primary reading and it will formally launch April 2018 .

Google Images

Ranking World's best digital libraries is a great list of resources ; noteworthy was ERIC; worlds largest for educational literature; Universal digital library with a million book collection and Google books which I did not know they had a searchable database.

I found this Techsoup for Libraries blog based on a webinar with helpful tips in creating a welcoming space for use of personal mobile devices. I liked the device lockers as this would help keep devices safe if students want to leave their mobile device;like a tablet or personal computer and come back later to work in the library. He suggests using cheap power bars and just attaching to furniture and charging bars for a variety of chargers and web based spaces.
of course logistics need to be taken into consideration such as what is the power capacity and is the network scalable? For all the tips read;Welcoming Mobile Devices.

Looking into use of mobile devices in schools I found Edutopia had a lot of resources to delve into at Edutopia Mobile Learning Roundup from use of mobile phones like using the QR quick response code as a tool to connect students to  resources and mobile devies apps to appropriate use of E readers and how to integrate BYOD (bring your own devise)policy into a library or classroom . In the blog Teaching the Essential Skills of the Mobile Classroom; she suggests four important skills;

COMMUNICATION-students have a variety of choices for mobile communication from email; twitter; mobile phone,text;google hangouts etc; students need to learn how best to communicate for the purpose not just how with so many choices.(face to face; audio ; video and print communication)

COLLABORATION- a skill of the 21st century  in this digital age students need to learn to work with diverse teams with shared responsibility and value individual contributions. Students can collaborate with Google docs, Evernote  and Edmodo apps which works with Google apps for Education. I found the Bruce Tuckmans group development model steps helpful for teachers to guide students through to reach this collaboration goal.Bruce Tuckman's Group development Model

CONNECTING-With mobile devices students need to learn how best to connect appropriately with a variety of people; classmates; teachers; workplace;  Students now can give instant responses for teachers on quizzlet so teachers can make connections to their learning; classmates can safely connect their learning with others on  the Edmodo app on Google Play and with the Edmodo parent app;parents keep connected with their child's learning and assignments .Teachers can give quick feedback strengthening the student teacher connection with instant comments seen by students on their mobile devices like on Google classroom and Edmodo which operates together with Google apps and MicrosoftOne Note too. For details click on ;Edmodo . From what I read the web is till better then their app so far but still a good choice.
Skype mobile is available on all platforms and allows connections to be made more easily for students who want to interview and learn from others. Check out;Skype for mobile devices

CREATION-mobile apps allow students to be creative and share their work with  a wider audience from anywhere.Commonsense best creative apps is a great list of possible creative apps. creation has evolved from the physical to the digital world. Buncee Mobile is available on ios platform iphones;ipad and gives students the ability to work on their creative presentation from their own device at home or anywhere with the use of a graphic library' drawing. stickers; audio and video capabilities. The creative product then can be shared and there is seamless syncing between app to web.
World Libraries and access to mobile learning allows learning to take place anytime anywhere and with the right direction from teachers this access can contribute to students using it to better their lives and their learning.

RESOURCES;

Skype.com. (2017). Download Skype Mobile App | Video Chat App | Skype. [online] Available at: https://www.skype.com/en/download-skype/skype-for-mobile/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

 Commonsensemedia.org. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/best-creative-apps [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Edu.buncee.com. (2017). Buncee | Mobile. [online] Available at: https://www.edu.buncee.com/mobile [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017]
.En.wikipedia.org. (2017). Tuckman's stages of group development. [online] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuckman's_stages_of_group_development [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].Holland, B. 

(2017). Teaching the Essential Skills of the Mobile Classroom. [online] Edutopia. Available at: https://www.edutopia.org/blog/essential-skills-of-mobile-classroom-beth-holland [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017]
.Anon, 
(2017). [online] Available at: https://allchildrenreading.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/IREX-Local-Stories-Fast-10-Bloom-Tips.pdf [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Digitallibrary.io. (2017). Global Digital Learning. [online] Available at: http://digitallibrary.io/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Edmodo. (2017). Edmodo. [online] Available at: https://www.edmodo.com/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Woollard, J. (2017). Branch in James Bay. [online] GVPL.ca. Available at: https://www.gvpl.ca/branches-hours/branch-in-james-bay/ [Accessed 28 Oct. 2017].

Supporting Teachers Learning with ICT

Supporting Teachers Learning with ICT;

Supporting teachers learning with Information, Communication and Technology in order to  bring about an active learning pedagogy that supports the literacy needs of the 21st century learner is crucial for a better more equitable world where tools shown by teachers can bring down access barriers. For example allowing English Language Learners ; students with disabilitiesand lower income students who may not have access at home to use free public spaces like schools and libraries to make connections/access information etc; the world is at their finger tips!  Teacher librarians are the front guides in the purposeful use of ICT and therefore we need to take a leading role in how and for what purpose we use technology in the classroom/library. By first interacting and understanding the tools first and demonstrating their use to students so they too can use technology for their  continued educational learning and tools for life long learning outside of school.

When I think about supporting teachers learning to create an active engaging pedagogy I thought about four major areas:

 1.The framework and structures which technology can be aligned with pedagogical intent 

 2.Tech developers connection and support they provide in teaching teachers in application of their apps and listening to teachers

3.School division support of use of ICT and professional development opportunities online and on location such as the Google Classroom Convention that happened in Victoria or web google hangouts to connect with PLN's..

 4.Finally with the use of technology educators can easily learn from other educators beyond the staff room  with a PLN Personal Learning Network check out a ;Edublog on Personal Learning Network .PLN can be created with Twitter in choosing whom to follow; and which groups to follow like EdTech; Buncee etc and then interacting by commenting; retweeting and then sharing your own knowledge with personal blogs and links to create a global network.

A support to educators is using frameworks/structures and terminology on ways to use and view digital tools such as; flipped lessons ; blended lessons; lesson flow/app flow and SAMR. I will explain a little about each;
      1.Flipped classroom where students  use technology like a video; online lecture to get the big picture first and students interact online and pose questions this creates interest and activity with the use of technology as a starting point.Then students use class time more to collaborate and master concepts introduced.This can be enhanced if students also have control of error in their learning and/or to check their own work so the emphasis is on mastery not just completion. This is commonly done in the elementary Montessori classroom; like the Great Lesson of how the earth was made using a very long piece of cloth  to unfold with major events. Then later information is given realted to their inquiry. Graphite is an interactive tool that is a practical way for teachers to introduce students students to a variety of apps in a meaningful structure.Click below for a video:
2. Lessonflow/app flow

Use of Graphite  for teachers to incorporate Digital apps in a lesson flow;you can discover tools on Common Sense Education and then align them to each part of your lesson –- the hook, direct instruction, guided practice, independent practice, and wrap-up –- thinking with purpose about your lesson redesign. For examples click on; Graphite and commonsense for alignment to Lesson Flow. App flows can also be shared with other teachers helping them..

• Lesson Flow/app flow is a framework for use of aligning digital tools into a lesson; as explained here Reading Rockets App flow which involves these steps;
• Hook that engages
• Guided Practice
• Individual Practice
• Wrap up

Blended lesson is a combination of tradional face to face instruction and use of technology in a lesson for more details check out;Blended Lessons.
With all of these frameworks and use of so many apps; I 
found the SAMR model a useful way for teachers to categorize how your use of the digital tool is being used:  SAMR model with examples

1. Substitute  
2. Augmentation
3. Modification

Redefintion; this is the best goal to strive for;

For teachers professional development being connected to the Tech industries is also helpful in providing feedback to them and reviews/blogs of their apps for other teachers on Twitter or commonsense media etc; to assist in their chooses and application. I appreciated when Buncee did a Webinar just for me for an hour and was so helpful; this was new to me!

                                                      

        

1.blogblog.com. (2017). Cite a Website - Cite This For Me. [online] Available at: https://img1.blogblog.com/img/video_object.png [Accessed 15 Oct. 2017].

Fostering Cultural Change with ICT

Fostering Cultural Change with Information, Communication and Technology;

Cultural change can be greatly influenced by transmitting of information through communication with  the use of technology in this knowledge economy of the 21st century we have many tools to facilitate positive cultural change through human interactions.The world is a lot more accessible with the use of video Google hangouts; Skype calls; Facetime and Messenger  to interact individually and as a group to became more open minded and aware of how other people live differently then their own family by personally communicating with and seeing them thereby creating a cross cultural relationship. This creates more empathy and understanding of different cultural views and beliefs therefore attempting to create a culture of respect even if you don't believe the same way. Generally humans are afraid of what they don't understand so technology tools help to break that barrier because we can view and comment on events from all over the world  instantly on Utube; Twitter  and news feeds on our smartphones.

Cultural change is happening with the use of  online tutoring with the use of technology which connects tutor and student in a learning relationship  that can be across the globe for example connecting a family in China with a tutor in Canada. ELL students in particular benefit from technology with the use of video recording and graphics such as in Buncee where the child can see and hear English speech with pictures to reinforce the learning and have the words translated below in their language. This cross cultural exchange creates understanding and connections across the globe.

Pexels Pictures;Understanding life in a different culture 

 A great resource is Buncee with ELL students and Skyping other Buncee classrooms ; in the Buncee Buddies Global Collaboration project  which connects classes from around the world.Students can share about their country and customs with the Buncee presentation which students can add pictures; audio and video recording to share their culture and learn about another different country by watching theirs and interacting in person through Skype. 

 Teachers can search out Skype interviews with Skype in the Classroom  to connect with children in a classroom who have a different way of living then there own to become aware of contrasting perspectives and possibly help problem solve together. Check out;Finding Skype Guest speakers for the classroom. Classrooms can then exchange email letters and use Vimeo to upload and share videos with each other to share with their global classroom;.

A really useful list of multi cultural /diversity resources I found here and bookmarked for future use because its a thorough list from apps; book lists and recent projects such as following a twitter feed #WeNeedDiverseBooks. Check out;New Media Resources;Multi-Cultural apps and Digital Resources for Diversity for this  multi cultural list .CommonsenseMedia was mentioned a lot in this list and they have reviewed cultural digital apps; books and games at Common Sense Cultural Appreciation Reviews.
Everfi has an African American course that would be especially helpful to address  race relations with high school students.Everfi African American course.

On my twitter feed I received an EdTech e-newsletter  with a  resource from Commonsense Media on developing empathy with digital tools. Empathy is being able to perceive and  use perspective taking on how others feel is  a step in understanding and creating cultural change.
For example; making a digital presentation(imovie; Buncee etc;) on how it looks and feels to be bullied for looking or acting differently (racially or otherwise) I like the tip to turn empathy into action with sharing their work with an authentic audience. For example; creating a e book using the bookcreator app with the help of a child with a disability and what their live is like; using their voices and pictures with permission. Share the book with other classes. Bring a veteran or a person who has immigrated from a culturally different country such as Sudan in to talk or use Skype;  research background information and use the personal connection to create a Buncee presentation and share it! For the full tips click on Turning Student's empathy into action with digital tools.

I checked out the Casel organization resource  listed online; Casel organization;collaborative for academic,social and emotional learning; this was helpful list of social and emotional learning.(SEL) that included books; downloadable guides and tools;research projects and videos for elementary and high school levels social and emotional learning.

I think Cultural change starts with me so when I was packing I came across the book;Who Moved My Cheese and it occurred to me that this book about the process of change was timely in my  journey with accepting that the skills needs for 21st learning has changed so I  made the choice to adapt to change so I can teach best to the digital citizens of the 21st century. In the Who Moved My Cheese Book  the last step is especially important to me which is to: Be Ready to Change Again and Again. The learning curve of the 21st century is a constantly adapting and changing as new technology apps come and go and/ or modified and as Teacher Librarians we are the gatekeepers to review; curate and categorize for students and teachers so they can  access the best uses for meaningful higher order thinking and creativity.

  Steps of Change ;Who Moved My Cheese Book

Resources:

Author, A., MD, A. and Fame, A. (2017). Spencer Johnson, MD - Bestselling Author – Small, Invaluable Books That Help Millions Of People Around The World. [online] Whomovedmycheese.com. Available at: http://www.whomovedmycheese.com [Accessed 11 Oct. 2017].

EVERFI. (2017). 306 – African-American History™ - EVERFI. [online] Available at: https://everfi.com/k-12/306-2/ [Accessed 11 Oct. 2017].

 Commonsensemedia.org. (2017). Cultural Appreciation Apps, Games, and Websites. [online] Available at: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/lists/cultural-appreciation-games [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

 Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: http://www.flls.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/New-Media-Resources-Multicultural.pdf [Accessed 12 Oct. 2017].

Anon, (2017). [online] Available at: https://d1e2bohyu2u2w9.cloudfront.net/education/sites/default/files/tlr-asset/sel-cheat-sheet-pdf.pdf [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017]. Education.microsoft.com. (2017). 

Find guest speakers - Microsoft in Education. [online] Available at: https://education.microsoft.com/skype-in-the-classroom/find-guest-speakers [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017].

 Buncee Blog. (2017). Meeting the Needs of Language Learners. [online] Available at: https://www.buncee.com/blog/edubuncee-for-meeting-the-needs-of-english-language-learners/ [Accessed 13 Oct. 2017].

Fostering reading cultures in school with ICT

Fostering Reading Cultures in School with Information; Communication and Technology;

As a preamble to fostering reading cultures in school with ICT  I believe its important to give children the best environment to learn how to read;(emergent readers) fostering their love for reading for life then giving them confidence to expand further in expressing themselves through their creative use of digital apps to show their unique reading and writing expression and learning of  literacy skills.

From my experience and pedagogy in a Casa Montessori class with ages 3 to 6 I have witnessed the development of reading phonetic words by 4 year olds  and  then phonograms, diphthongs etc by the older students and reading leveled  little books- BOB BOOKS ; which is very exciting for them to say they read a book! The first set is the number one best seller for Amazon their site claims; for more details check out Bob Books for emerging readers and App   Bob Books now has 4 levels of  phonic based books on an app for ipads and android .
The children then progress to Usbourne series and choosing books from the library; etc .  Children are naturally motivated by the mixed age groups in which they are observing different levels of reading happening around them.Children at 3 are at neurologically at their prime- sensitive period to receive phonetic sounds and are interested in attending to them; Maria Montessori called this the Absorbent Mind; so we introduce the sandpaper cursive letters which we model tracing and saying the sound. After they know about 10 sounds they form phonetic words with the movable alphabet and bring letters to a mat on the floor that has the matching objects and cards to check their work after. Reading progresses to harder phonetic words like piglet etc and common groupings of words (oo; oa; ch sh etc) while reading leveled books so its scaffolded and practicing cursive so they can start to write their own stories they form with the movable alphabet and sharing them.To learn more; read one book written by Maria Montessori;The Secret of Childhood

Example of emergent readers use of Montessori Materials. This is a  google slide from my previous Library Assistant course.

Phonetic words using movable alphabet

forming OO words; 5 year old

sand paper letters

 I  believe  and have  seen that children under the age of 6 learn best sensorially and with movement; for example they touch the sandpaper letters ; see the shape hear and say the sound to bring the abstract out of their concrete manipulation; so I feel the use of technology should be limited for children under 6 for their brain development ;though I see that it can be used in specific purposes younger such as ESL language learning for a young child through a Buncee slides with the use of video recording to show pronunciation and use of assistive technology for special needs as well.

I'm not in the loop to be aware of reading technology other then scholastic online talking books which the elementary students use so I went to investigate online; twitter and my e newsletters from Ed tech and edtuopia for insight to how  digital apps were being used now to support/foster reading literacy.
A useful list of  assisitive technology resources came from Reading Rockets Assistive Technology for children with Learnnig disabilities and from teachthought.technology15 assistive technology tools- such as the apps Ginger; Ghotitt for dyslexia; kurzwell300 for many disabilities; Intel reader which is a hand held device that reads text aloud.

Teaching Literacy in the Digital Age- Inspiration for all levels and literacies; from this e book I found the example of a Book Talker and use of Animoto; like a short trailer video for books.  As well as making digital movie stories that work on storyboarding and scriptwrting.This e book or hard copy resource is helpful because it connected the lessons with AASL and ISTE standards. I agree with the author; Mike Gura on the rationale for use of technology not being the prime focus but;" Rather, the technology and its application to a teaching and learning need represent a significant advantage or improvement to established traditional instructional approaches." This short book trailer is an example of using Animoto; click on link below:
Example of a Book Talker using Animoto; these short video clips highlighting the characters and plot in the books can be created by librarains as well as students encouraging  their classmates to read their choice and learning new skills in explaining it to others like the plot; main events; theme;seting etcmotivating and can create exitement/ connection for reluctant readers to read!

One resource I was encouraged to found on my twitter feed was the
Book Creator App ;         ; it has lots of creative options for students such as adding pictures and using a digital pen; adding audio and video to their book. This app can be used across curriculum and with projects with students around the world-collaboration. The first 40 books are free then there is 2 options per year ; check out bookcreator App. for more details and examples of books created by students and teachers.

Book Creator App

Inspiring Readers and Writers with Virtual Reality: Point of View Activities; I found this embedded in a twitter feed and by giving students  an understanding into a characters viewpoint or writers point of view with virtual reality is an inspiring hook for a novel read/ history lesson etc. Nearpod provides many VR lessons ;7 Favorite Nearpod Virtual Reality Lessons ; some examples are ,The Boston Tea Party and The Maya . Students use a mobile device in a  Google cardboard(under 10$) and lessons are 2.99$. Nearpod provides many lessons filtered  under subject and grade and their price varies from free to 14.00$ to purchase. These are examples of their ELA lessons; Nearpod ELA lessons; for example a free lesson was on Revising and Editing with short quizzes throughout for assessment. I also checked out the Nearpod's Big word Club 5 series of singing story books and listened to one; it was very catchy and Young children would love it; to learn vocabulary and concepts. I like that it gave students a choice to freely respond before and after with a blank digital page with text or drawing tools.  At the end they sing it together and there is a short assessment. This is a good starting point if students then wanted to write a story about a rainforest or use the Book creator app  ; this is an example to listen to Nearpod; Big Word Club.

As mentioned in my previous blog Skype in the classroom is also useful in creating excitement for reluctant especially students through live author talks  some are through Penguin Young readers group and Candlewick which is live connections with illustrators and authors. Skype in the classroom also offers  a collaboration hook that can get students excited to read and write for a specific audience or a common problem with the; Share their Work with the World tool.students are linked to another class anywhere in the world. This is a real life application of reading others work and writing back which is very motivating and connected to real life For more information click on;.Skype Collaborations; Share my work with the world .
Goodreads.com is a recommended list of books when students have a difficult time getting into choosing what to read.

This was a learning curve for me and this blog topic allowed me to expand my knowledge and understanding of the varied options available including reading events like Drop everything and read and Reading riot as well as digital tools to excite students to read and see it as relevant!

Bibliograghy;

 Childhood and Montessori, M. (2017). The Secret of Childhood. [online] Goodreads.com. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/920412.The_Secret_of_Childhood [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

Reading Rockets. (2017). Assistive Technology for Kids with Learning Disabilities: An Overview. [online] Available at: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/assistive-technology-kids-learning-disabilities-overview [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

https://www.amazon.com/Teaching-Literacy-Digital-Age-Inspiration/dp/1564843394; edited by Mike Gura

Bobbooks.com. (2017). apps. [online] Available at: https://www.bobbooks.com/apps/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].

http://classtechtips.com/2017/10/01/virtual-reality-point-view-activity/

Nearpod.com. (2017). Nearpod. [online] Available at: https://nearpod.com/s/top-ela-lessons-F798 [Accessed 6 Oct. 2017].
 Education.microsoft.com. (2017). Share work with the World - Microsoft in Education. [online] Available at: https://education.microsoft.com/Story/SkypeCollaboration?

Reading Review 3; Summary and Bibliography

Summary of Reading Review;

Last week I laid the foundation with the overall objectives for digital literacy and this week I was able to found resources that helped me  with examples of how to curate and categorize apps and the purposeful uses of them. My exploration grew with my use of Popplet for brainstorming and my introduction to Buncee  this week with further exploration coming with my plan to create a Buncee! I found the twittter feeds very useful for learning the name of digital apps that I had never heard of  before;then I would check them out further online.

I found this week my resources delved deeper into the importance of curation and conscious choices of digital tools and the idea of smashing like an orchestra to use multiple apps to create work flow and creativity for students. I found checking out their list of resources/bibliography lend me into some helpful insights and reviews of digital tools for students. For example I had never heard of Commonsense Education which was in the bibliography for The Education Digest and I checked it out and found it very useful in categorizing/ curating tools for students because they are reviewed by  a wide field of educators.

Bibliography:

1. Lindl J, Jessica Lindl. The Education digest: Evaluating EdTech: A Strategy for Selecting Digital Tools: Guidance from Common Sense Education for district-level decision making. Education Digest; 09/01

I found this a good starting point of how to take a common sense aproach to filtering down the ton of apps that can possible be used; Some of the criteria she names is; customization and integration; connectedness; equity and technical requirements. This was from the UBC library and I subscribed to the free e- newsletter for Ed Tech to keep up to date.



2. Valenza, J. (2017). Tool literacy as a new process — @joycevalenza NeverEndingSearch. [online] Blogs.slj.com. Available at: http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/05/14/tool-literacy: Common 
Sense Education. (2017).     
Enjoyed this blog on twitter because this is what I was thinking that its not enough to know about digital tools but for students to learn how to use multiple tools in combination creatively- smashing- ; which is a new term for me-to achieve their goal . To be like an artist with a palette and design their own set of tools that can be applied in combination . The author is aware of making conscious choices keeping in mind; affordances; which are varied and changing and constraints of digital tools.
The main take away is being able to constructively choose the best apps for different purposes to make a lesson flow which was demonstrated in the commonsense education videos which I found very helpful for application.


3.: https://www.commonsense.org/education/reviews/all?page=1&sort=changed&platforms=24&subjects=19646&grades=21927 [Accessed 25 Sep. 2017].y/http://blogs.slj.com/neverendingsearch/2016/05/14/tool-/2017;83:44
I found this resource very helpful because I hadn't found a resource that reviewed and categorized apps for teachers classifying them under many factors such as;grade level; subject; technology platform . I liked the term lesson flow instead of lesson plan and how the  different apps are used for different purposes in the lesson flow: hook; direct instruction; guided practice; independent practice and wrap up .


 Buncee Blog. (2017). 10 Ways to Use Buncee Boards in the Classroom - Buncee Blog. [online] Available at: https://www.buncee.com/blog/10-ways-to-use-buncee-boards-in-the-classroom/ [Accessed 28 Sep. 2017]..



I attended a live webinar with Josh from Buncee in New York and he spoke to me all bout the Buncee application for educators for an hour on Wednesday. This was really informative and a new way of learning that I had never done before. I've downloaded the free version and will be trying it out this week. I really like the newest Buncee Board which students can display their Buncees  together to be viewed and it can be private for only your school and it allows teacher editing if needed. Above is link to 10 ideas.

 Powell, M. (2017). Modernizing Montessori_ Who are the Digital Natives?. Tomorrows Child, [online] pp.31-36. Available at: http://www.Montessori.Org [Accessed 1 Jan. 2015].

I found this article in my Montessori folder; though from 2015 I found it had some unique ideas I hadn't heard of such as DMOZ ; the largest , most comprehensive human reviewed  directory of the web and WebQuests which use higher order thinking skills in which students around the globe can work towards a common goal. The author also wrote about Skype which I thought was just a video phone call . I  went online to Skype classroom to learn more;finding a library of suggested lessons; teachers who want to connect and virtual field trips and author connections etc;. I checked the Skype Classroom website out and was interested to found an Empathy Education  MInecraft course among many other empathy/listening to others etc; courses. Check out  :

Skype in the Classroom . I joined the Microsoft Educator Community to access these resources and collaborate with other teachers.

 He asks the question what motivates this new generation of Digital Natives? Motivation being a key component to authentic learning. In our Montessori school from grade 1 and up students have access to computers for research and projects using prezi etc;though I learned of many more digital tools since beginning this class.In summary ; the author concludes that Maria Montessori being a scientist and if still alive would encourage the use of technology for motivate students to be creative; communicative collaborative and curious.

Literature Research and Data Collection

Literature Research and Data Collection;       RR #2

After further inquiry  and insight into my possible topics I feel the most beneficial and useful topic  for me was the  practical hands on critiquing/curating of specific Technology tools (keeping in mind a set of criteria and classifications) because I realize how important it is to be able to constructively be comfortable with educational technology tools and not be out of the loop with the changing learning needs  of  functioning optimally in the knowledge economy  of the 21st century for students  and guiding them in meeting  the NTCE literacies and BC Education Digital Literacies framwork(I'm new to BC and Victoria SB so this is very helpful for me) With the aim of Digital Literacy tools to practice higher order thinking; ; open inquiry ;  collaboration and real life problem solving and to show knowledge gained. Digital Literacy skills are key to students success in life long learning and equitable opportunity.

Definition of Digital Literacy: Digital Literacy is the interest, attitude and ability of individuals to use digital technology and communication tools appropriately to access, manage, integrate, analyze and evaluate information, construct new knowledge, and create and communicate with others. ( BC's Education Digital Literacy framework; pg 1)

 

My goal is through trying out select learning tool apps that I have encountered through my research; I can critique;classify; curate them based on several criteria from my research and data collection below; and review them for limits advantages; applications; applications in the classroom/learning commons. With this knowledge I can share with students and colleagues.

The literature research and data sources are;

BC Education Digital Literacy Framework; I found this useful because it gave examples of each literacy and the grade level range from k to 2; 3 to 5 and 6 to 9; 9 to 12

Technology For Learning Strategy; from the Greater Victoria School District ; outlined  Strategic Priorities for  student success; educator support; infrastructure and how it can be implemented to align with the BC Digital Literacy Framework.
Fast-formative-assessment-tools-vicki-davis; I found this on Twitter because I follow Edutopia and it help me to narrow down the possible assessment tools that are based on students demonstratig understanding  throughout the process and not a memory test at the end
SAMR questions to ask? by Martin Cisneros; I found this helpful to understand how the T. tool fits in. and try to  use tools the are not just Substitution and Augumentation model but modification and Redefinition;  goal being more creative uses.
NCTE 21st Century Digital Literacies; as a comparison to the BC framework
I follow #FollettLearning (TL)Use Videos To bring Learning; Teaching& Memories To life In Buncee . This is an app I have seen a lot of feed on twitter and want to learn how so it can be part of my tool kit in guiding students in its uses. I have a webinar set up at 4pm (EST) on Sept.24 on how to use Buncee. 
I also want to check out;symbaloo app uses; as I have read blogs about it as well; as a curator tool; combining websites and related twitter feeds in one spot.
Curation Situations of Digital Resources;by Joyce Valenta; 2017; this blog twitted was the best resource so far as related to school libraries; and I will look into this in depth.

I had issues with UBC library(more next blog) I tried to get link through clipboard/ email and wasn't able to copy and paste so the resource I choose to get more in depth with was:
 Evaluating Ed Tech A strategy for selecting Digital Tools;Guidance from  Common Sense Education for District Level decision making; Lindi. Jessica; The Educational Digest 09/2017 volume 83, issue 

Everfi Free Online Courses ; These free online courses were distinct because of their real life applications; in STEM; managing money etc; and history (course on democracy and  African Americans)