Educational Philosophy Statement

I wrote this in 2012, for my first grad course, so it might read a little "public school-y" but all the thoughts I had then are true now. It'll give you, my lovely readers, some insight into how my mind works with regards to education and children.

      I believe that every child has the potential to be amazing and contribute to society in a positive way. Every child is unique and special and as such every teacher needs to have the ability to adapt and modify their plans, actions, and intentions to reach each student. As an educator I believe that if students aren't allowed to explore and learn in their own way we are hindering their growth both intellectually and physically. While I believe that children should be expected to follow a curriculum and attend school, in a variety of forms, I also think that children need choice.
In my classroom students will have the freedom to choose from a variety of assessment options, I believe that by giving students a voice and a choice they will be more engaged in their learning. More assessment is not always the best option, as an educator I will provide more feedback and less formal assessment. Having students sitting down to take a test or write a 10 page paper will not be useful to them in the real world. I will have students work on group projects, engage with each other, and present their findings.
Another area of student growth that is important to me is that they have a sense of accomplishment and self-respect. I believe that I can help my students to reach these positive senses of self by being encouraging, not demeaning, informing, not repeating, and by allowing them to contribute, not keeping them quiet. Children are small, but they are not inept. As an educator I hope to remember involvement means learning.
I firmly believe that if I, as an educator, can instill the joy of learning into my students they will want to learn.  If I give them praise they will have high self-esteem. The greatest joy for me would be to see my students when they are adults and have them tell me that just one day in my classroom inspired them to do better, to be more. It is my opinion that if I as a teacher expect greatness, and provide the means to achieve that greatness, my students will be great. There can be no room for me to have a failing day because those are the moments my students will remember, those are the days that will stick with them.
As an educator I will put my student’s needs ahead of mine. I will ask them to dream and I will do everything in my power to help them achieve that dream. I will take time to reflect upon my teaching practices and I will change them if they aren't working for my students. Every child is an individual and I will treat them as such.



Just some...

Business is Good?

So, I know... It's been a while. I've been...well, not busy, but certainly contemplating being busy. Alright, I've been a little busy.

Let's see... In October of last year I started substitute teaching. Going against all I believe in to get some "experience". I did get some experience, but mostly subbing just reminded me how much I want to home-school!

Seriously, you might read previous entries here and think, "This girl doesn't want to home-school" but I do. I started this blog as part of a class in my Masters of Education program and when the class ended I kind of forgot about it. I had to log in to a whole different email address, access blogger, write, sign out of that email address.... #firstworldproblems, I know.

Anywho, here I am, back to blogging about cool things and thoughts (I think they are cool anyway) about education. Mostly though, I'm here to promote my new venture. I'm starting a business about educating. I want to help parents and kids learn what strategies will work for them, in a home-school setting. I really want to make kids find something they love about learning. Mainly because, you know, I love learning.

^^^ I love these things too, word clouds are great.

So here's the gist of it.

Me in a nutshell.

• I'm 30.
• I'm a girl.
• I'm not yet a mom but am in line for a foster kid/adoption.
• I'm barely subbing so I'm free when you need me.
• I've got a Bachelors of Arts in American Civilization (American history and literature combined)
• I'm about halfway through my Masters program which will result in my obtaining a Masters of Education in Educational Studies.
• I am NOT state certified, or licensed, or common core proficient. I won't ever be those things, I don't agree with them.
• I am in LOVE with learning.
• I want to help other people love learning.
• I charge money. Sorry, but I need to make a living too. Don't worry, since I'm new here, it's low. Just $12.00 an hour. You might only need me for an hour. And I'm generous, so we can negotiate. It's more important that your little learner is engaged than that I get paid millions of dollars.
• I would say that I'm best at pre-k through 6th or 7th grade.
• I'm not so good at math, but I can give you ways to enjoy teaching it (or your kids learning it).
• I'm NOT a teacher. I'm more like a tutor, or in more professional terms, an Educational Consultant.

If you think you and I could get along, and that I could help you (or a friend) please please pass this blog on, or find me on facebook under the name Samantha Leane Educational Consultant. I'm a group :-)

It's the Final Countdown

I've been charged with writing an entry that evaluates the learning outcomes that I felt this class addressed from the midterm blog until now, the last week of class. That's not easy because I felt like we addressed all the learning outcomes before the midterm of this class. So, I'm going with that. I felt like my professor managed to touch base on all of the learner outcomes that she provided to us at the beginning of the course.

In all honestly, I've learned more in this class than I thought I would. I felt like I was quite advanced, technologically, when I walked into the classroom. I've been online since I was 15, I met my husband online, he works for Dell, we are on our computers for large portions of the day/night. I never once thought that I was in need of a class to teach me about technology.

I was wrong.

I've learned so many new tools that will help me teach that I wrote a paper for my other graduate course on how important it is to integrate technology into the classroom. I firmly believe that if teachers are unwilling to embrace technology in order to engage their students then they should find another profession. Technology isn't going away and hopefully neither are our students. With the implementation of cyber school and online classes through higher education it's imperative that we, as teachers, bring technology into our classrooms. The only way to keep kids coming into the classroom is to let them stay plugged in.

Don't get me wrong, I don't think kids need to be texting throughout class, or answering phone calls, or even checking their facebooks. I do think that kids should have access to tablets, mp3 players, desktop computers, and any other device that will allow them to use technology for educational purposes. Students are already online, why not make some of their Internet time productive time?

I could easily post my research paper for EDU 521 here, in response to the question "Why is it important for all teachers to integrate technology into the lessons they teach, regardless the age of the students?" However, that is over 10 pages long, just as a point of reference, and might bore you, my dear reader.

I'll give a brief overview...
---Two major issues: Cost. Digital Immigrant Teachers.
- Cost is easy, but time consuming. There are grants out there, easy to find, but they take some work. Also, if you can't get the grant then you need to ... improvise. You can take old computers and put in new memory, a wireless conversion, maybe buy a new monitor. These computers don't have to be pretty, they have to be functional.
- Digital Immigrant teachers is a little tougher to change. Some teachers, the ones that didn't grow up with technology might find learning new things daunting (sarcastically I'd have to say that if they don't want to learn new things, they shouldn't ask their students to learn either... but I digress). This can be easily solved by offering professional development courses...easy but, again time consuming.

---The Benefits:
- More engaged students means less behavioral problems. Students that are more engaged do better in school, they are interested.
- Better communication between teacher and student. Email, Skype.
- Ease of access to lectures or lesson plans. Teachers can record a podcast of their lectures and put in the class wiki-page and from there absent students can listen to the lecture, take their own notes, and be better prepared for upcoming assessment.
- Varied forms of assessment. Google Docs, Blogging, Webquests, PowerPoint, Animoto.
- Three words: Virtual Field Trips. take kids that can't afford to go to Washington DC or Williamsburg or the Corning Museum of Glass, to those places...online.

The benefits totally outweigh the costs. It's insanity to NOT implement technology into a classroom. That is my not so professional opinion, take it for what it's worth (hopefully an A...in this class)

Assess This! (seriously)

The one thing I am really enjoying about my Tech class is that I'm constantly Googling information. For example, we had to read an article this week on Authentic Assessment. Of course, being so bright and with it I totally knew what they writer was trying to say (read that as --- I didn't get it at all). So I googled the term Authentic Assessment.

Erin Weiss's Blog

Here are the first few links I viewed:
TeacherVision- Where I learned that authentic assessment is basically testing students on their street smarts. That's right, you heard it here, street. smarts. I am amazed, I've been saying all along that being really book smart is only so good, but if you can't apply it out in the real world you are pretty much S.O.L. (sorry, blunt is how I work). And now researchers are agreeing with me (*Squeal*)
Eduplace- This website told me that authentic assessment was a way of having students learn important knowledge and then having them apply it to a real-world scenario. As an educator you can still give tests and have your students write papers, but you should be teaching and therefor assessing ideas that are important outside of the classroom.


So after having read both of these sites I went back to the article and took out a few things I thought were important, and that I agreed with. One of those lovely snippets is as follows 

"Students are entitled to a more educative and user-friendly assessment system. They deserve far more feedback -- and opportunities to use it -- as part of the local assessment process."

This could not be more true. Students, of all ages, need prompt feedback in order to learn. There is no way a student is going to do better on the next paper if they have yet to get back the previous paper. There is no point in testing a math solution without going over ALL the questions that were wrong. This is another form of Authentic Assessment. As a teacher we need to be sure that our students are learning. My other professor said, last night, that there is no teaching going on unless there is learning going on. I wrote that down. I think that knowing this is SO important. If we as teachers aren't checking to make sure our students are learning then we are failing to teach, and thus failing them. Students deserve to know how they are doing, and I am pretty sure they will do better if they are more engaged.

Another piece of this article that caught my attention was this

"A good education makes knowledge, skill, and ideas useful. Assessment should determine whether you can use your learning, not merely whether you learned stuff."

These two sentences solidified my opinion that children need to be street smart. No where in the article does the writer use those words, but really, it's true. We can teach kids all we want about the Civil War, The Great Gatsby, Factoring Polynomials and Dissection but if they can't use these skills and the information learned then what good is it? I am a key example, I am terrified to take my Praxis 1 exam this summer, I'm dreading it, not because I can't read or write, but because I am horrible at Math. My teachers did not give me any real-world reason to learn about why it takes so long for two trains to get from Boston to New York, taking different tracks. It was boring, and the assessments I was given seemed routine and pointless.

All of that being said, I love that I am in an education program. I am learning so much about how the profession is changing and requiring that teachers do more to engage their students. Authentic Assessment is just one way. If we can engage our students they will want to learn. And one key way of engaging is providing knowledge that will stick with them for purposeful reasons, just not just because a curriculum calls for it.

Week 7- We're Halfway There

I was shocked to learn that this week is the middle of my first graduate class. I have to say, I am enjoying this class more than I thought. I always thought of myself as rather tech-savvy and being married to an Internet Guy I really thought I was ahead of the rest. I was wrong. I have learned so many interesting technologies that I never would have known about if it weren’t for this class. Granted, blogging is something I do on a daily basis and so that wasn’t too new to me, but I learned a lot of other things.

This entry will be about the Learner Outcomes we want to achieve in this class and how I feel we’ve either reached them, or not reached them. That being said, I think I’ve learned more than what the state is requiring I learn. I have learned to enjoy technology and my opinion about tech in the classroom has changed drastically. I used to think that computers were the major proponent in laziness in children, but I’ve come to realize that computers/video games/the Internet are all ways that children, as learners, learn and express themselves.

Learner Outcomes!

1. Demonstrate the understanding of how technologies can effectively promote student learning.  – Kids today are way more into technology then they were when I was in school. I remember using CAD in middle school (mid-1990’s) and it was THE new thing. Today there are a ton of other interesting technologies that children can use both in and out of the classroom. From Facebook, to Blogger, to Animoto there is a ton of online tools that can be used in learning (and that doesn't include the myriad programs available through a Google account).

2. Evaluate and use a variety of current technologies to enhance content instruction and to advance students technological literacy.- We have used a variety of tools in this class. We are, obviously, using Blogger, we’ve created Google Documents, and we’ve learned about Scratch, we’ve made an Animoto. In addition to all of those we’ve also watched various YouTube videos and have been given a presentation on Digital 

Literacy.

3. Design meaningful and authentic digitally based learning experiences with multiple and varied assessments. – As a class we are journaling our experiences in blogger. We have created a PSA using Scratch, a technology I didn’t know even existed. I think more than all of this, I’ve learned that there are a lot of programs and technologies out there that will enhance how I teach, rather than how my students learn. I will be more than willing to use Scratch or Blogger, or Google Docs to teach my students, by using these technologies to teach my students will learn about them (and I’m pretty sure they already know most of them, so at least I’ll be with the times).

4. Reflect upon and demonstrate effective use of digital tools and resources. - I think the fact that many of the people in my class haven't been participating in Web 2.0 tools and now are is a prime example of how this class has effected us. Even though I am on Facebook and use OpenDiary to journal I (used to) rarely link anything into my entries. Now I am a pro at using Google to look up what I want to learn, and then adding it to my blog. I have no problem using Google Documents, and I think it's excellent you can use it to create tests. I think that learners, especially younger/adolescent learners, will be more interested in learning and test taking if it's off the paper and on the screen. 

5. Demonstrate a comprehensive understanding of safe, ethical, legal and moral practices related to digital information and technology.- Digital Citizenship has been a huge aspect of this class. We've been learning so many technologies that it might seem hard to fit in the importance of being a good digital citizen but that's not so. We used Scratch to create a Public Service Announcement about digital citizenship, thus rolling to important lessons into one. We've written blogs about what digital citizenship is. There has never been a time that digital citizenship wasn't an underlying issue in any lesson. I never realized how important it was to maintain a positive digital footprint but now I know.

6. Illustrate through application how state and national standards are implemented within the curriculum (e.g., NH Curriculum Frameworks, ISTE (NETS-Teacher/NETS-Student) and NH-ICT Literacy Standards for K-12 Students (306.42)).- When I was  student we did not use computers, at all. Everything was done on paper, worksheets, or an overhead projector that was older than the teachers. Today, because of the fact that all of our learners are Millennials, many states are requiring their future teachers to utilize technology in the classroom. These requirements can be found here. While we've touched base on all of the standards, I feel that I've learned more by watching my teacher. She's been an example of how to incorporate these technologies into our lessons. 

7. Demonstrate an understanding of the use of adaptive technologies and other digital resources to personalize and differentiate learning activities for every student.- Every student learns differently. The internet provides a WIDE variety of learning tools. Many of these tools are free, or they are discounted for educators. When I think of modifying activities to accommodate a range of learning styles I automatically think of using the internet. Students will be able to express themselves through podcasts, blogger accounts, and wikipages. Also, if my put my lesson outlines online than students that need a little reminder of what we've accomplished can look it up online whenever they need to. This allows for students to a. learn at their own pace. b. double check they are achieving the right goals, and c. communicate their findings to a wider audience then the classroom.

8. Evaluate, adapt and reflect on emerging tools and trends by participating in local and global learning communities and by reviewing current research and professional literature.- I'm actually not sure how to address this outcome. I feel like this class is definitely a graduate level class with varied assessments that you wouldn't find in an undergrad classroom. That being said, I would definitely have my students use several technologies we've used. I think that if we, as educators, take the time to teach the tools properly, then students can achieve the knowledge to use it on their own. With regards to this outcome I can't say that I'm participating in a learning community, however, I am blogging, and other future educators are reading my blog (even if it's because it's a requirement for the class). I think that I've contributed to the Internet by using this blog account. From reading our text I feel I've definitely read professional literature. Do I think we've fully addressed this outcome, perhaps not, but I don't feel like the class is lacking in this area, we're simply addressing this outcome by addressing the others.

Scratch That- Week 6

1. Dr. Fadjo's presentation - what did you learn, interesting items, etc.

2. Your thoughts and reflection on using scratch yourself, difficulties, how did you figure it out, did you find helpful resources, etc.

3. How could scratch be used in the classroom - is it easily applicable to all academic areas such as math, science, social studies, language arts, art, etc?

4. Would you use it with your students?  Why or Why not?

Two weeks ago in my Tech class we listened to a presentation by Dr Fadjo, from the Columbia Teacher's College. He was there to talk to us about Scratch, a "programming language that makes it easy to create your own interactive stories, animations, games, music, and art -- and share your creations on the web." Unfortunately, I didn't really learn anything about the program from Dr Fadjo. Most of what I learned came from looking up tutorials online. His presentation was very interesting, but it did not explain Scratch to me. I felt that his PowerPoint presentation was thorough on what Scratch was, but not on how to use Scratch. 

That being said, I really enjoyed working with Scratch. The project was by no means easy, or simple, but it got my mind thinking. I was able to, basically, create a short PSA on cyberbullying. Now, my PSA wouldn't be shown on PBS or an after-school special but I thought it was pretty cool. I was challenged in all the right ways and while I did have some difficulty getting my timing down 100% I felt confident that I had, at least partially, mastered a new software.

I could definitely see myself using this kind of technology to both educate my students and have them educate others. While I was working on my project I thought that it would be really cool to have my future learners create a short "play" between two historical figures or characters. For example, they would reinterpret Julius Caesar, by Shakespeare. They would be able to change how the Sprites looked and have them walk around the background (or stage). It would be a way to teach several disciplines (art, tech, theater, history, and literature) all in one lesson.

Here are some examples of Scratch projects that I could see myself using in the classroom.

Washington DC Scratch

The Masonic Cipher

Cleopatra Visual Aid

Online Learning: Growing up Digital

This week my tech class had an online learning week in which we were instructed to watch two Frontline documentaries concerning growing up online and how our country has become a digital nation. Both videos were informative and relevant to our recent class discussion on digital citizenship and teaching in the digital age (both of which you can find on my blog). We were also given some questions to think about while watching the video; ideas to guide us in writing about them. I thought about these questions beforehand and thought that I could give just my opinions and easily answer most of these questions. Even so, I knew I had to sit down and watch these videos, and to be honest I suggest anyone reading this to do the same.

In the first video, Growing Up Online, I met some people, teens and their parents, teachers, and writers that had a lot to say about how it is growing up in this digital age. For most of the video I was nodding my head in agreement with the teens, after all I did grow up online. As I continued watching the video I started agreeing with the parents, the ones that were concerned about internet safety and about how their children were totally unaware of how much information they were putting on the internet. I had never thought about these issues when I was a teen; I was too excited to get online, to have an excellent new way to chat with my friends (I didn't have a cell phone and neither did my friends). It was so wonderful to use AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) to chat with friends and to meet new people.

My parents never knew what was going on when I was at the computer, much like the parents of the teens interview on the Frontline video. Like my parents these parents were ill-informed and without the know-how to really control me online. And they trusted me, that kind of trust that you have as a child until you abuse and lose it. The parents in this video probably trust their kids too, thankfully though this video was put out almost a decade after I was a teenager online. Parent's are getting smart, they are learning that there is a need to educate your teen to be safe online. They are teaching their kids to watch out for online predators and bullies. This video opened my eyes to ways I should have acted online, as compared to the way I did act online.

Digital Nation didn't seem to address as many of the discussion questions we were given but it did address, in minute detail, the concept of multitasking. We were asked if we could multitask, if we agreed with the research presented on the video or if we disagreed... I was definitely on the side of the students, after all I can totally multitask. Right now I am typing this blog, checking my sources online, looking for images when I remember to, and listening to Law and Order: SVU.  I've been multitasking since 2002 when I got away from the dining room table (where I used to do homework) and into my dorm room (where I had a TV one foot away and all the music I could find online). I don't think it's hindered me in completing assignments to get the maximum credit, in act I find that when I am not multitasking I have a harder time staying on task.

Here is a short YouTube video about multitasking

I do agree with Professor Nass though, from Stanford University, who says that my generation is no longer writing essays, we're writing paragraphs. I won't go so far as to say I write one paragraph and then do something else, normally I write and take notes and then go back and look up things, like images. One of the students from MIT, that was interviewed for Digital Nation, said that he was always doing something while he was doing something. I have to admit to agreeing with him, I'm always busy, even when I'm sitting still.

Another question that this documentary addressed is how quickly we're moving into this virtual world. Some of the educators interviewed were concerned, they stated that we (as people, I presume) need to slow down, to deplug I suppose, and that schools were one of the places we needed to do that. He preceded this statement by saying that he didn't believe we needed to move at the pace of our students, it was "hogwash" to think that. I was astounded that an educator felt that way because as educators it is our job to move along with our students, to stimulate them in ways that will enhance learning, not disengage with them.

Funny, but true?

One of the questions posed to us concerned the internet being an addiction, this is the one question I thought I could give an opinion on without watching the videos, and my answer would be yes. The internet is an addiction, I don't think it's as detrimental as say...cocaine, but it is still an addiction. Many people, myself included, find it hard to sign off. There are detrimental side affects of Internet Addiction, problems with staying connected to your family, issues with getting schoolwork done efficiently, these are very real concerns. However, I think that we are going to be finding a lot more people to suffer from this affliction. The internet is not going away, it's not going to become illegal (hopefully), and it's going to get better. It's an ever changing medium to gain knowledge.

The internet is not something to be feared, by parents, or teachers, or students, but is something to be informed about, to know how to use it properly and effectively. Have your fun, play your video games (educational or otherwise), Google to your hearts content, but be safe, be smart, and use this excellent technology wisely. You wouldn't use a gun without proper instruction, this is no different.

Discussion Questions:

1. Compare and Contrast each documentary. What has changed from the first one (Growing Up Online) made in 2008 and the newer one (Digital Nation) filmed in 2010?

  In the first video, Growing Up Online, I met some people, teens and their parents, teachers, and writers that had a lot to say about how it is growing up in this digital age. They really showed the dangers and misconceptions about the internet. In Digital Nation they talked about the positives of the internet, they discussed other issues, such as the gaming situation around the world, but for the most part I think it was far more positive and informative.

2. Your thoughts on multitasking? Do you agree? Can you multitask? Do you disagree?

 I've been multitasking since 2002 when I got away from the dining room table (where I used to do homework) and into my dorm room (where I had a TV one foot away and all the music I could find online). I don't think it's hindered me in completing assignments to get the maximum credit, in act I find that when I am not multitasking I have a harder time staying on task.

3. Is there an addiction happening in society today with technology or is it just a new way of living? Should we be concerned?

  The internet is an addiction, I don't think it's as detrimental as say...cocaine, but it is still an addiction. Many people, myself included, find it hard to sign off. There are detrimental side affects of Internet Addiction, problems with staying connected to your family, issues with getting schoolwork done efficiently, these are very real concerns.

4.  Do video games serve a purpose in education or are they a waste of time?

  I think that video games are sometimes detrimental for children, not as learners, but as active children. If the game is educational than it should be used in the classrooms. This is good for the children, it engages them in the new technology, which stimulates them. On the other hand, games like Call of Duty, seem to be pointless for young children. They are rated 17 and above for a reason.

5.  Do you believe that digital tools such as Google tools can save schools that are struggling?

   I think that while Google tools can help a school, they can't save it. The tools are simply that, tools. It would be like giving a hammer to a so so carpenter. If the teachers and administrators don't know how to teach or administrate then the tools will be worthless. There is no point in introducing tech to teachers that don't know it, and can't pass on all the benefits to their students.

 6.  Do parents of today have any idea what their kids are doing online?  Whose job is it to teach them the safety and digital responsibility?  Parents/Teachers/Community/Government?

  My parents never knew what was going on when I was at the computer, much like the parents of the teens interview on the Frontline video. Parent's are getting smart, they are learning that there is a need to educate your teen to be safe online. They are teaching their kids to watch out for online predators and bullies. It is the job of the entire community to inform and teach children about digital citizenship and internet safety, there should be no area of learning which starts and stops at home or at school.

7.  Are kids and adults today ruining their digital footprints by sharing too much information online without realizing that it may be detrimental to their future? Should they care?

  I think that we are definitely expanding our digital footprints, but I don't know if we are ruining them. In an increasingly digital world I think it's an inevitable issue. We're doing more online, so we're leaving more behind online. It's like our carbon footprint, instead of going green, we need to stop using the internet. Until we can "go green" on the net we will be constantly expanding our digital footprint.

8.“Stranger Danger” and predator fears are often overblown by the media on shows such as Datelines “To Catch a Predator”.  What are the real dangers of technology in this day and age?  

  I think the dangers from before are still real, but the children online are getting more intelligent so it's making those dangers not as ... dangerous. I met my husband online, I was 15, totally uninformed on the dangers of the internet. He was 17 when we started chatting online...I asked my Mom if he could send me "snail mail". She emailed him, but in all actuality we trusted that he was who he said he was. And we got lucky. That's it, luck. And I don't think that's changed. There are bad people out there that will prey on the weak, innocent, young and old, it's all about how you deal with these people, be it online or offline.

9.  Share your overall reactions and thoughts about each documentary here.  Please relate it to your views as a teacher/parent/coach/etc... What did you learn, find interesting, find disturbing, relate to, did not relate to, etc...from watching either documentary that you would like to share with others?  

  My whole blog is basically the answer to this question. I really feel like the internet, gaming, virtual training, parent/child trust and sharing, they are all tied together. And if we learn the benefits of the internet, and teach what we learn to those around us, then I think the internet is totally beneficial. If we don't educate those around us, our parents, spouses, children, students, administrators, etc..then we won't use the Internet for all it can be used for.