Elementary Blend

What is Blended Learning?

"Blended courses (also known as hybrid or mixed-mode courses) are classes where a portion of the traditional face-to-face instruction is replaced by web-based online learning." (BlendKit Reader pg. 6) I first encountered Blended Learning at UCF as an undergraduate. A class would meet face-to-face once a week and half of the class would be completed online.

There are numerous advantages to blended learning. One being the freedom to complete assigned tasks at your own discretion. This is probably why I favor blended learning over traditional face-to-face. In addition to completing assignments when you desire, you have all materials available to you 24/7. I prefer blended learning for my own personal learning because of these advantages. So now I consider how I could implement blended learning into the elementary classroom.

What is my Blend?

When creating a blended learning course, one consideration to make is how many online components to face-to-face components you will have. I am limited in this decision as an elementary teacher; so my decision lies solely in how many online components I will have. I use Edmodo (an educational social network) as my learning platform. I compile websites, spelling words, and homework in a folder so that my students have access to these resources at all times. 

I usually use KidBlog for the students to publish their writing. My hope this year is to have the complete writing process on KidBlog. The students will post their planning then their rough draft. Their classmates will have the opportunity to peer edit through KidBlog and the students can edit their writing based on the suggestions and corrections their peers and I make.

The one problem I face wanting to use blended learning as an elementary teacher is that I must allow students time in class to complete assignments online. When I plan my lessons, I try to keep an eye open for opportunities to make learning interactive and dynamic as opposed to using technology just to show off technology. (BlendKit Reader pg. 17) 

I would love to hear more ideas about how to blend technology into an elementary classroom (or any classroom for that matter) Leave a comment :-)

Digital Citizenship

Modeling Digital Citizenship

When a teacher sets out to implement technology in the classroom, he or she must consider and prepare for security and ethical challenges. Infusing technology into your curriculum has become more common, yet there is a ton of controversy surrounding it. Many schools and/or districts have gone as far as banning cell phones. Upon writing this blog, I did some research on the internet for statistics of kids/teens who are currently online.

61% of 13-17 yr olds have a personal profile on social networking sites

I would like to clarify that when you sign up for Facebook, you agree that you are 13 years of age or older. So this got me thinking...how many children under the age of 13 are on Facebook or any other social network?

81% of parents of online youth say that kids aren't careful enough when giving out information about themselves online

How are we solving this issue? By not allowing students online? By banning devices or restricting all social networking sites? How will they ever learn?

76% of parents don't have rules about what their kids can do on the computer

In some cases, we are the only source of Digital Citizenship Models for our students. When there isn't a proper example of how to appropriately and safely use the internet, how will kids know how to respond to inappropriate activity?

20% of children ages 10-17 have been solicited sexually online; that's 1 out of every 5 kids

This is both shocking and off-putting, yet is is happening. Are we going to ignore it and hope to never allow a child on a computer until they reach a certain age? Or are we going to have a proactive approach and instill in our children how to safely navigate and utilize the internet at a young age.

Using the brainstorming mind map website, Bubbl.us, I have created what I like to think of as a Digital Citizenship Brace Map for elementary age students. I considered the major components of a "digital citizen" and created an easy to read/use resource for elementary teachers.

Security is an issue that even adults deal with. "Approximately 15 million United States residents have their identities used fraudulently each year with financial losses totalling upwards of $50 billion" (Identity Theft Info). The first component of Digital Citizenship is Be Safe. Keeping your username and password a secret as well as any private information. Discuss, as a class, about appropriate images to use as a profile picture and the kinds of information that you should never give out (address, last name, alpha code, etc.).

Bullying as become more prevalent with the use of the internet. "The psychological and emotional outcomes of cyber bullying are similar to real-life bullying outcomes, except for the reality that with cyber bullying there is often no escape. School ends at 3 p.m., while the Internet is available all the time" (11 Facts About Cyber Bullying). This leads me to my second component; Be Nice. I like to use the saying, "treat people the way you want to be treated" for the internet. Kids may not be aware that posting something on the internet will be there forever, even if you delete it. Use sentence starters to get your class practicing with compliments and the different ones they may use.

As adults we are taught the Dos and Don'ts when typing and sending an email. For example: using a specific subject line, being clear and concise about what you want to say - you lack the personal experience of a face to face conversation, so you might come off in a negative way over the internet or email. We must teach our students the third and last component: Be Clear. I always teach this in writing when we peer edit. They must make a compliment, suggestion, and correction. I tell them to think about how specific they would want their comments to be when they receive their papers back.

Cyber Safety Statistics. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from NetLingo Web Site: http://www.netlingo.com/tips/cyber-safety-statistics.php

Identity Theft Statistics. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from IdentityTheft.Info Web Site: http://www.identitytheft.info/victims.aspx

11 Facts About Cyber Bullying. Retrieved September 21, 2012 from DoSomething.org Web Site: http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-cyber-bullying

BYOT Parent Night

BYOT Parent Night

Last night I led, with the help of some amazing teachers, our school's Technology Parent Night. This is the second year that my school has included BYOT classrooms and we are growing! There are a few classes with iPad carts, which means every student has an iPad (cool huh?). Then there are other classes that have some iPads, Laptops, and Desktops. The beauty of BYOT and why we are able to expand is that it doesn't require us to purchase any devices. The students are encouraged to bring in their own devices that they are comfortable using every day and they will use them with a specially designed lesson.

Something I reviewed for the parents at Tech Night was that we were teaching their children Netiquette. Of course I got a "chuckle", and I think it's because they thought I made it up! I bet the students knew what it meant! I loved the reference to Netiquette in the textbook (Figure 2-34). At the elementary level we really try to instill in them that: 

1. What you write on the internet is there forever

2. Don't use text talk, type in complete sentences

3. Treat others how you want to be treated

4. Keep safe by not giving out any personal information

This Edmodo Poster for Netiquette is a short, sweet, and to the point reminder for students.

Being a connected learner is right at our fingertips now-a-days. I used KidBlog last year as a tool for publishing writing for my fourth graders. We would practice writing through each step and when we reached publishing, they were able to post their final piece to KidBlog. Now the students were writing to an audience! The students were required to comment on their classmates blogs. I noticed overall that students were very vague in their comments; for example, "cool", or "I loved your writing". This year I want to start the kids off with "comment starters" so that they can pinpoint to the writer what it is about their writing that they enjoyed or admired.

Another key to connecting learners with KidBlog is that this website can be viewed by anyone on the web!

I found out about ePALS Classroom Exchange in Module 2 and it is something I would like to implement in my classroom this year. I was hoping to use ePals to create meaningful project-based learning. I haven't decided on exactly how I would use this tool or which subject I would integrate it to. Your thoughts? :-)