A Learner is Like a Box of Chocolates...

A learner is like a box of chocolates...you never know what you're gonna get! I hope you recognize my shameless Forrest Gump plug. Hey, a classic is a classic! And in this case, this analogy couldn't be more perfect for describing learners today. In my previous posts, I've mentioned how the classroom is changing, and fast.  I've talked about how gone are the days where students effectively learn by sitting and copying notes in a lecture type setting.  Here we are living in a time where knowledge is everywhere, and one of the key skills we need to teach our students is how to access and use that knowledge which is all around us.

So how exactly is a learner like a box of chocolates? Well, based on Connectivism Theory, learning is no longer taking place exclusively within the human mind.  The Changing Nature of Knowledge says that The leaners themselves, the connections they form with each other, the connections they form with databases, with other sources of knowledge, is really the primary point of learning.  So in essence, the network becomes the learning.  So as teachers, or future teachers, it is very important for us to remember that each student we will have in our classroom will be a source of valuable knowledge to us and to their classmates.  It is impossible for one of us to know everything, and each student, like a box of chocolate, brings something new to the classroom.  This could be a perspective, a learning style, a different culture, a piece of knowledge, a new technology, really, the options are limitless.  It could even be a new way to connect and gain access to more knowledge.  Each of us is a database with information ready to be shared.  It is our responsibility as teachers to foster these connections and let students learn how to make their own connections, share knowledge, and explore for more.

To elaborate on Connectivism, let me begin by saying this theory was new to me.  If it's new to you too, the name more or less explains itself.  In very simplified terms, it's about how learning in the present age is more connected than it was in the past.  It's a theory which describes our current learning situation.  In Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age, Siemens says that Connectivism presents a model of learning that acknowledges the tectonic shifts in society where learning is no longer an internal, individualistic activity. That's right- learning is now very interconnected. Interconnected via books, via the internet and databases, and via all sorts of technologies which are readily and easily accessible.  And this interconnected learning shouldn't be taking place only on a world-wide scale, but also should be happening within the walls of your classroom.  Remember, your learners are like a box of chocolate- each with something unique to bring. 

My final thought is are our classrooms teaching students to live in a connective age? Not necessarily. Siemens states that The field of education has been slow to recognize both the impact of new learning tools and the environmental changes in what it means to learn.   I included the cartoon here because when I started looking up more information on the theory I found some negative feedback.  I think connectivism isn't not about teaching our students "how NOT to think," but rather, giving them the skills they need to access limitless information, think critically, and apply it.  It's not about teaching mindlessness, but rather mindfulness and the power that lies in having access to mountains of information we never had before, and how to evaluate it properly. If we as teachers embrace connectivism, it will allows us to teach the skills necessary for our students to not only learn the required material, but to succeed in a digital age.  With the skills and tools for how to search for answers and acquire new knowledge, our students will be equipped for whichever career path (or paths!) they head down in the future. To start embracing connectivism in your classroom, just remember our wise friend, Forrest.  A learner is like a box of chocolates.... You never know what you're gonna get.

DIIGO and Pinterest: Two Tools for the Tech Savvy (or not) Teacher

This week in grad school I was asked to check out two websites: DIIGO and Pinterest.  Lucky for me, I am at least tech savvy enough to be pretty familiar with Pinterest (see last week’s post on being “behind the tree!), so I only had to check out DIIGO. Well, I am pretty impressed with both sites. So cheers to my first ever tech review!

Pinterest! What’s there not to love!? In addition to my Pinterest wedding, fashion, cooking, and inspiration boards, I have a couple of education boards for Spanish language learning, different unit ideas, technology in the classroom, and of course, classroom decorations! It is basically an online version of a filing cabinet where I store all the ideas I find to use later.  This website has been beyond helpful to me here in Costa Rica. About one year of my teaching experience here was done at a school with pretty limited resources.  Books in the classroom were dusty and underused, not to mention extremely outdated, and there was no Wi-Fi in the classrooms or access to projectors.  Just the good old fashioned white board.  Which is fine, but things can get pretty dull.  So having access to Pinterest in my house was like a lifesaver for me.  It let me search for creative ways to teach the topics I was working on with my kids, fun games, classroom management techniques, the whole nine yards.  It’s a great sharing site too because you can follow others if they are posting things right up your alley and you want to see more, or just save a specific post.  Once you start saving a lot of "pins," your Pinterest account will even recommend pins that you might like based off your interests. You can also message the people you follow. And, it’s full of pictures. You get a “vision board” of what you want your classroom or lesson to look like.

DIIGO, on the other hand, was something completely new to me.  For those of you who are also as in the dark as I was, DIIGO stands for Digest of Internet Information, Groups, and Other stuff. So after checking it out, I have to say I definitely recommend it. It's something called "Social Bookmarking." First and foremost, it lets you bookmark different websites and allows you to access these bookmarks anywhere.  I've already got a few for sites saved with some great resources for the Spanish classroom on my DIIGO. As long as you have access to the internet, you can check out any sites that you saved.  You’re no longer tied to one computer! I wish I had known of this YEARS ago. This is great for teachers who find a website they want to use on their home computer and look it up later at school.  It is also great for people like me who seem to frequently run into tech problems because, alas, with DIIGO I can see all those important sites I saved from anywhere.  It allows you to highlight text, make notes, and tag different keywords of the websites for easy search later.  I think the real icing on the cake is that it's social. You can follow others who are bookmarking and saving websites that might be interesting to you.  You also can get suggestions for related articles. I am still figuring out this social part, and I think once I start following teachers who are saving links for the Spanish classroom I will truly understand the benefits of social bookmarking.  For now, I am just so impressed that I can see my bookmarks anywhere, and can search through all of them by key words.

My final thoughts: For one, I feel so lucky to be living in a time where we as teachers have so many resources to help us be innovative in the classroom.  Both Pinterest and DIIGO are examples of social sharing sites that you can absolutely use as a teacher (and probably should!).  We can connect with and get ideas from people all over the world. As for me, these tools will both be in my repertoire for years to come! Unless... even better resources and websites are developed soon—which wouldn’t surprise me!

21st Century Teaching...Am I Ready?

Classrooms are evolving what seems to me to be overnight.  Long gone are the days of traditional lectures with students taking notes with pen and paper.  More and more frequently I am hearing talk of technology in the classroom.  But what exactly does that mean?  I’ve been living abroad in Costa Rica for the last two and a half years and I can’t help but feel a little behind. From my little school with no computers, no wifi, and no projectors, the rate at which technology is being incorporated into classrooms back home seems even faster. The technological wave has hit.  Now it’s not just the one “Smart Classroom” in a school (which is what I remember), but it’s common for teachers have Smartboards, for students to have iPads, etc. So as I prepare myself to make the transition back to New York and into a classroom embracing the 21^st century, I have to ask myself… what exactly does this classroom look like, and am I ready?

Well, the answer to that question is probably quite simple:  It doesn't matter if I am ready. The Social Media Revolution has taken over.  As a teacher, it is my responsibility to help students learn and to prepare them for their future.  And the future now looks quite different than it did even just a few years ago.  As a teacher in this day and age, I am signing up not only to be a teacher, but to be a lifelong learner:  a learner who explores new technologies and how they relate to students.  Technologies in the classroom can engage students in new and exciting ways and give them the skills they need to be successful--and it's my responsibility as a teacher to figure out how to do so.  

But what does using technology in the classroom actually look like? Like I said, I am coming from two and a half years of teaching in a school that might seem like a time capsule from the past for some of the more tech savvy teachers out there! In Costa Rica there is a phrase "detrás del arbol" (literally translating to "behind the tree") which is used to describe people who are out of the loop.  As much as I don't want to admit it, I myself have become victim to being behind the tree, and need to do some exploration to find out what a modern classroom looks like.  In A Vision of 21st Century Teachers, teachers share some of their tech methods in the classroom.  Some of the many excellent examples were blogging, creating digital music mixes, collaborating to make mixed media presentations, using a camera to capture math in the real world, and creating digital books.  My favorite suggestion was using technology to take virtual field trips. Imagine my future classroom, where students come in not only to learn Spanish, but to explore the world and its cultures right there from their seats! Probably the biggest takeaway from this video is the rationale for why teachers use technology in the classroom.  It gives students confidence, it prepares them with skills they will need in the future, and it allows the teacher to meet the needs of students with different learning styles.

Virtual Field Trip to Carnegie Museum

This brings me to my last thought on this topic: has education really caught up to the technological world we live in?  The educational system is still evolving, and in some ways it is still very far behind.  The Future of Learning, Networked Society-Ericsson explores this topic beautifully.  The traditional role of the teacher used to be one of complete knowledge, the person with the answer to all questions.  But now, the answers are all around us.  With a simple Google search, students can find the answers to what they are looking for.  The teacher's role needs  to evolve to match this new environment. We need to teach young minds how to ask the correct question and to search for the correct answer.  Learning also needs to be differentiated.  Why should learners still be receiving the same education, taught the same way, and at the same time?  Our classrooms are diverse, with gifted students, heritage students, and students with learning disabilities.  Our teaching should reflect that, and technology can help us achieve a classroom that meets the needs of  all our students.   It's time for an evaluation  of our classrooms and what we are really preparing our students for.  That sentence opens a Pandora's Box of discussions to be had, but that's a topic for another day.  For now, I need to catch myself up to the 21st century, embrace the technological classroom, and get creative with my future lesson plans.  Because I am signing up to be a teacher of today's students and our future leaders, and I'll be darned if I don't prepare them for their future because I am, as Costa Rican's say, "behind the tree" on technology.

Until next time!

The Future Señora
Pura Vida