Jesi Baltezor
TED 4590
RIP3 Reflection
Due: 12/06/2016
*Beginning note: For this reflection, instead of writing a typical blog post that all melds together my answers to all the questions posed in the syllabus for our RIP3 final post, I wanted to separate them up after seeing all of the components of RIP3 and what it stood for. I will admit that at the first glance of “RIP3” on our class website my initial thoughts of what it stood for were blank, as I knew the number three was still alive and well. (sorry- lame joke- but it is finals week and levity is my way of “coping’)
Either way- I thank you for assigning this refection in this model because once I realized what the initials of the exercise stood for, I could make meaningful connections to my Intermediate Practicum class (Planning for Effective Teaching 2400-003/Ferial Pearson). This assessment model reminded me of some of the examples given for possible use in my own classroom when assigning reflective exercises, although this specific outline was one I had not seen before and seemed to cover more facets of student reflection than the others I have been shown as examples in the past.
Remember – Describe what you did.
I researched multiple education and productivity iPad apps and assessed the final assignment, remembering the conversations from previous Saturday class sessions to see if I could find one to present on that could be of use to everyone. Although the majority of my classmates this semester were Language Arts teacher candidates, some of the graduate students were focused in math or music education. After seeing my assigned mentor teacher use BrainPop in her classroom and with a variety of students with a wide range of language acquisition and reading level- the app seemed like one that could benefit all classrooms for all grades in a variety of content areas.
After given access to all of BrainPop’s features because of my considerate and trusting mentor teacher, I was able to see that BrainPop even stretched beyond the common subjects and in to electives such as engineering, technology, arts, music, drama, and film. Although I structured my pretend lesson and classroom around a Language Arts lesson (Point of View), I still saw multiple uses of BrainPop, the easy usability for all grade levels, and the inclusion of ELL students be a promising factor in making any lesson given on the site have the potential to be used in multiple content areas
Identify the Important Part – What was important to you about this learning experience?
The important part I have taken from this lesson is not only to be aware of all of the tech resources now offered as a teacher and as a member of the general public, but to also be thoughtful (and sometimes skeptical/challenging) to certain apps and resources made available at large. I say this not in a damning way, as some apps can be perfect for some and useless to others dependent on their specific purpose. Given that I will have multiple students in one learning environment with a wide spectrum of talents, challenges, and needs-it is important to me as a teacher and as a possible consumer of these available iPad/tech products to constantly question the intended usage in my future classroom, how far that usage has the potential to go, and if the app meets the needs of all students, and if not- how to accommodate from there.
This may seem like a bold statement to make considering that I have not been a teacher and a technical classroom for more than a semester. While doing my app review, this final project, and reviewing and re-visiting the given multiple resources to different apps during our Saturday class meetings- I became excited with all of the ideas that started to circulate within my brain for incorporating them in to my future writing classrooms. The fact that educators, students, and parents alike have so many more resources (in many instances- for free with some limitations) at their disposal is a great stride in education, however it should not be solely reliant on it.
As many of my graduate classmates said during their own final presentations last Saturday, the apps that they chose to use were indeed useful- but were only effective with thoughtful moderation. Students now are more plugged-in and more technologically savvy now than I could ever dream to be- and that’s OK. I love the fact that there is another facet, another opportunity, where I can learn FROM my students as much as they are learning for me. With this being said, nothing really is learned, remembered, or overtly meaningful if, at some point, the learner is not put somewhere outside of their initial comfort zone. If we are constantly giving students homework in class assignments that don’t push them to step out of their comfort zone, the use of that app needs to be re-evaluated and/or restructured. I am not saying that there aren’t apps that successfully prompt students to step out of their comfort zone. The plans I spoke of in my final project pertaining to BrainPOP can be successful if balanced and can be treated by students with enthusiasm and reverie when used in moderation.
Put it Together – What does this remind you of? What kind of connection can you make between this learning experience and something else you know?
This reminds me of working with a student one-on-one as a para for three years before moving to Omaha. This student was (then) a 6th grade boy with severe autism, cerebral palsy, and was non-verbal. I remember being shown multiple apps by his physical therapist, Occupational therapist, and speech pathologist- telling me they needed me to learn the apps and work with him with them to get him more accustomed to the features so they could possibly use them in the future. When I asked some beginning questions about the app and what it did, they weren’t able to answer me and told me they were recommended the app but had not looked in to it themselves. I am trying not to write this with a judgmental undertone, but I was rather shocked. I wasn’t sure how they knew that me spending weeks getting him acclimated to an application they hadn’t even checked out themselves was a good idea. Given that people with autism require patience and consistency, apps that can help their success in the classroom carry even more weight than apps that need to be checked out and evaluated for students who aren’t within the autism spectrum or having learning disabilities. I was quite flabbergasted at their apathy, to be quite honest.
Connecting this, I knew even as a para that my student I was working with deserved to have the materials used with him be researched and have them aligned to his specific needs and learning objectives in his IEP. From this semester and these experiences with my final project, I was reminded that all students in my past, present, and future rely on me to be a skeptical consumer and chooser of these apps and have what I want them to gain from the use of these apps in the constant forefront of my mind.
Pick it Apart –What are the things you have learned from this experience? What do you now know?
The most important thing I take out of this experience is to be mindful of the potential needs of your students, the standards you will inevitably be required to meet, and question if the app is a worthy addition to your classroom. Technology has a very welcome and needed place within any classroom and can gear students towards the reality they will soon face when they face a variety of technologies head-on, but I predict that won’t be that big of a challenge for them, as they have been constantly immersed in it since day 1 (all of my students will have been born 2003-later). The real practice in teaching and integrating technology in to the classroom is whether the app is designed in the fashion where students are forced to “connect the dots” for themselves. If anything, technology within a writing classroom should make it more rightfully complex and thoughtful than simple and complacent.
Plan to Use – How will you use what you learned from this experience in the future.
I plan to use many of the apps I have encountered by my own findings and by reading my peers app reviews in the past two days, however I plan to make sure that I know the distinct purpose these apps serve before introducing them in to a classroom. I got excited about many apps while reading reviews and doing my own final project on BrainPOP and this is a good thing- however, I must make sure to use these with the intent that my students do not get overloaded with technology and are also able to think and discuss without devices. If anything, I plan to technology as a starting point to conversation, discussion, class participation, and brainstorming/free-writing in my classroom, but not have it be present in all elements of the writing process of the assignments I assign. To clarify, technology can fail at any time and there always needs to be a back-up plan for teachers and for students. To integrate technology and writing prompts within an app with writing prompts with traditional pen and paper, students will start to see writing as something that can’t be stopped, regardless of obstacles.
Although iPad apps and technology within the classroom will be present in my classroom after I have become far more comfortable and knowledgeable of the resources for language arts teachers and students, my goal is to have my classroom and the lessons planned within it still be functional and the time still be productive and can stand alone even if all computers in the class were to disappear or malfunction. The core of what a student knows, what they have to say, how they form that opinion, and how they back it up should be able to be displayed and known to them even when computers fail.
iPad and other technological applications have made create strides in helping bring these student opinions out and giving them a more comfortable, accessible platform that better fits the generation they have been immersed in since they were newborn babies. Technology in classrooms can help give students a better understanding of where their voice reaches and the concept of a wider audience, becoming increasingly aware of their own voice, the voice of others in their classroom, the voices outside of their class, and the impact they all have. This only furthers my belief that it is crucial for me as a future teacher to ensure that the use of any technology in my classroom facilitates inclusiveness with ALL students and student needs involved; make accommodations and adjustments to ensure that when situations arise, all students are still ultimately able to benefit from the tech use or back-up plan in place; and that students see themselves as a more powerful entity than the computer in front of them (they are the builder and the computer is merely a tool).
Jesi Baltezor UNO Blog 