Staying Current with ICT Skills and Pedagogy (LIBE 477B)

Teaching is a profession where you cannot be stagnant in your learning.  If you are, you will be out of touch with your students and the current philosophy that pervades education.  I am still early in my career -- this is my tenth year teaching -- and I am constantly changing what I do in the classroom.  As I learn new strategies and tools and as my educational philosophy changes, I am always trying to implement what I think is best for the learners in my classroom.  Sometimes it’s definitely a struggle because I have so many ideas of things I want to change, but only so much time. I have learned over the years that focusing on one area, for example assessment or the use of technology, and making changes in that one area is a more manageable approach. Rome wasn’t built in a day – I can’t change my classroom practices overnight either.

One of the ways that I continue to develop my learning is through the reading of professional literature.  I love books and I have a whole host of classroom resources on my shelf.  I’ve read books on literacy strategies, reading strategies, developing essential questions, using technology in the classroom, and pretty much any topic I have an interest in.  For the most part, I find the books very useful. They often have practical suggestions for the classroom combined with research or evidence based information. One of the things I really like about books is the ability I have to share with my colleagues.  If I’ve read something really interesting, I can pass it on and they can do the same.  It’s one of the limitations of digital books that I don’t like. It’s not to say that books don’t have limitations of their own.  For example,  I would say that books are limited in dealing with technology in the classroom. I’ve bought a couple over the years and because technology is changing at a rapid rate, books quickly become outdated.  In particular if the focus of the books is how to integrate a particular app or program. For this reason, I tend to use websites and blogs to keep up to date with new technology that I can use in the classroom and leave more pedagogical approaches regarding technology to books.

Some of my go to books on my shelf are:

             -Making ThinkingVisible by Ron Richhart, Mark Church and Karin Morrison

            -EssentialQuestions     by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins

            -TheBook Whisperer by Donalyn Miller 

            -Lessis More by Kimberely Hill Campbell

            -MakingClassroom Assessment Work by Anne Davies (a newer version is available)

            -Literacy2.0: Reading and Writing in 21st Century Classrooms by Nancy Frey, Douglas                      Fisher and Alex Gonzale

In our connected world, sharing information is incredibly easy. But, I find that much like our students I am often overwhelmed with the amount of information and struggle with where to look. It’s one of the reasons I’ve never really latched on to Twitter.  I’ve had an account for a few years now, but just don’t feel like I have the time to keep up with conversations.  I’ve had many teachers tell me that Twitter is the best professional development tool out there.  That’s a pretty strong statement coming from an educator! And, I do find that every time I go on Twitter, I do find interesting comments, resources and ideas, but I’m not sure the format is really for me. I actually prefer to visit websites and blogs that people have created on educational topics where the information doesn’t move quite so fast. A few of which I have found through Twitter and others through simply searching for a topic. 

I like blogs because they offer current, up-to-date ideas often with practical suggestions for the classroom. One of my favourite places to visit is FreeTechnology 4 Teachers written by Richard Byrne.  Byrne creates post mostly about technology tools that you can use in the classroom, but always provides practical suggestions for how to use the tool. For example, his most recent post is about Google Forms and add-ons that you can use with it. Another blog I like to follow is Teacher Re-boot Camp written by Shelley Sanchez who is actually on our recommend PLN Twitter list for this course.  I also must admit that I found Shelly via Twitter a few years ago. I like Shelley’s blog because it offers lots of different strategies about how to integrate technology in the classroom and she is always reviewing new apps and tools and providing examples of how to utilize them in the classroom. She also has digital books that you can purchase on topics of interest. I actually used a lesson that she suggested this fall with my English classes to start the year off, although again, I must admit that I found it through Twitter.  It was an article called “#7 Digitalicebreakers for back to school” posted on Tech and Learning.

I have encountered many tools on my journey, but some that I have found particularly useful are listed below.

            -Googleclassroom (classroom website hosted by Google)

            -Kahoot (interactive digital quizzes platform)

            -FreshGrade (digital portfolio and grade book)

            -Quizlet (interactive digital quizzes platform)

           

Another way that I continue to grow my skills is honestly through interacting with colleagues in my district, whether that is at the school level or in a wider network through something like our Library Learning Commons Network or the Instructional Leadership Team.  Our district has some fantastic educators doing new and exciting things in their classrooms and they are always eager to share what they are doing. I have learned a lot from collaborating with these people on Professional Days, through special release time and through after school sessions.  One person I have learned a lot from recently is a new colleague of mine who went completely digital in her classroom last year by using Google Classroom and the Google network of tools.  I was able to attend a session she hosted on the topic and now teach a few doors down from her. I feel fortunate to have someone so close as a resource as I jump into using Google Classroom this year.   I am hoping with more time in the library that I can become one of those go-to-teachers at our school with regards to technology. I think with less classroom time, I will have more time to devote to my learning around technology.  That’s not to say that the library isn’t a busy place, it’s just a different role and one that will allow me to spend a bit more time reading and learning, and perhaps even browsing Twitter!

We are so fortunate to live in a time where communication is so easy.  If we want to learn, we really have no excuse. There are opportunities available all the time.   One of the things I hope to take away from this class is a network of people who are interested in Teacher-Librarian topics in our province. I’ve already started to read a few blog posts outside of my required group and have a few people I think would be great to stay in touch with.  I learned about The Cult of Pedagogy (a blog) from Julie this week and am super excited to have a found an interesting and useful resource. 

All images from Pixabay and used under the COO Creative Commons. 

Bibliography

Byrne, R. (2017). Free Technology 4 Teachers. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from http://www.freetech4teachers.com/

Campbell, Kimberly. Less is more: teaching literature with short texts, grades 6-12. Portland, Me: Stenhouse Publishers, 2007.

Frey, Nancy, Douglas Fisher, and Alex Gonzalez. Literacy 2.0: reading and writing in 21st century classrooms. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press, 2010.

Gonzalez, J. (2017). Cult of Pedagogy. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from 

https://www.cultofpedagogy.com/

McTighe, Jay, and Grant P. Wiggins. Essential questions: opening doors to student understanding. Alexandria, Virginia USA: ASCD, 2013.

Miller, Donalyn. Book Whisperer, The: Awakening the Inner Reader in Every Child. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons Ltd, 2014.

Ritchhart, Ron, Mark Church, and Karin Morrison. Making thinking visible: how to promote engagement, understanding, and independence for all learners. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 2011.

Sanchez Terrell, S. (2017). Teacher re-boot Camp. Retrieved October 14, 2017, from http://teacherrebootcamp.com

Sanchez Terrell, S. (2017, August 17). 7 Digital Icebreakers for #Back to School . Retrieved October 14, 2017, from http://www.techlearning.com/blogentry/12236#.WaXADHGpabg.twitter