ETC 447 Blog Phase III: Final Comprehensive Reflection

ETC 447 Blog Phase III: Comprehensive Reflection
By: Amber Malinski
(Northern Arizona University)

Hello everyone, and welcome to the absolute final phase of this Blog, which is a reflection  to wrap up my entire experience in this class through teaching lessons and everything so far. I have reread the entries throughout my Blog thus far as well as the feedback I received from my peers, and will now reflect on the overall experience. In this final comprehensive reflection there will be 16 points in which I talk on, four for each of the standards addressed in this course. In  these, I will describe how I did, OR would be able to do each of the four elements under each standard. To organize this and make it a little easier on the eyes, I'm going to keep the format for the standards and questions, and write my answers in this lovely color and font so they're easy to find! Thank you all so much for sticking with me all this time and this has been a really great semester. For the last time, this has been, Reflections with Amber! :)

• Standard 1: Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity

1. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
    To start us out on Standard 1 here, I can definitely provide evidence that my lessons were outside of the box and inventive. Throughout this course, I have definitely been sure in my three poetry lessons to promote, support, and model creative/innovative thinking by ensuring that my lecturing portions and especially activities I asked the students to be a part of were something that my students had never seen before and felt wasn't "busy work". I myself love to think outside the box in all aspects of my life, and am a pretty creative person by nature, so getting to roll my personality into my lessons was a real blast. Throughout my poetry unit, I had my students work together, and scaffold my instruction with helping them come up with ideas for their topics of poetry. By starting off at the beginning by modeling both the reading and writing of poetry myself by providing an example i'd created back in high school, I started them off by thinking about where they could go with this.
   Over time, I started to help them less and less, by providing guided practice in a group setting, then allowing them to go off on their own and actually brainstorm and create their own poetry from scratch! It was awesome to see their transition from relying on me to being able to do it on their own. No matter how "good" I considered the final product to be, I made sure to always promote their creativtity and never discourage them in their attempts, even if the poem was silly or nonsensical. So i'd say that's where I mainly did well to help them be inventive in whatever way they wanted to be-- by getting them to feel comfortable enough to succeed in flying solo!
2. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
    When it comes to engaging my students in real world issues, I'd say that my example of poetry was a real reality check for them, which allowed them to work towards solving their own problems. If you remember a few posts back in lesson two, I provided the students with a poem that I'd created all on my own in honor of some students with special needs that I had worked with my senior year of high school. I wrote this rather heart-wrenching poem at the end of the year thanking these kids for all they had taught me about life, not just disability, and the ways they really changed my life in such a short time by making me fall in love with teaching and wanting to be their advocate.
   Since the students that I was teaching in ETC447 were my college aged peers who were ALL in training just like me to become future teachers, I believe my experiences were able to help them confront the authentic problems and real world issues of the way that society sometimes treats those with disabilities. My poem was about teaching, and really could not be more perfect for my audience who consisted of future teachers themselves! By reading the poem they were inspired to create their own poetry, but also keep in the back of their minds that teaching is complex, and it's up to us to ensure that students of all ability levels are loved, valuable, and treated as the unique individuals they are (a real world problem as so many are not.)
3. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
    I believe the area of collaboration was one of my strongest points in this class and throughout the teaching of my three lessons. Every single lesson I did involved working with others in one way or another. Whether it be bouncing poetry topic ideas off one another, or concluding what would be the most proper title for a piece we worked on together (see Lesson 3, the Princess Poem collaborative piece) the students loved being able to talk to one another. Poetry is difficult, and sometimes your creative juices stop flowing and you just get stuck and don't know what to write. But by using Google docs to all type onto the same space together, and reflect on your own work by comparing to the work of others, the students were able to make great progress and greatly improve both the length and quality of their writing by the end of the third and final lesson. Feeling like you're not alone in the creative process and knowing that your teacher is understanding, supportive, and there as a resource for you can produce amazing results! Thinking your work through and planning ahead of time with support of others is almost a fool proof way to produce good results, and this is what I saw with my students by modeling good 'teacher' practices.
4. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.
    The entire process of teaching these lessons pretty much hit this standard point on the head! Not only was I teaching my students the topic that I had prepared for them, but I was also learning so much simultaneously myself! It was a really good and humbling experience to get as much teaching time in as possible before I move into next semester and start my real student teaching. Getting to have the really awesome technological space of the Mac computer lab to work in for ETC447 all semester long was very beneficial to me. Not only did I learn to completely enjoy using Mac's and apple product in general (which will be useful for me in my future teaching career) I also was able to utilize all the various programs included on these computers. This allowed me to teach both face to face with my students sitting in the computer pod around me, and at the same time work with them virtually through programs such as iMovie, youtube, google docs, the online survey I created, and especially THIS BLOG! It really gave me a taste of all of the incredible tools I have access to as a future teacher that I never would have discovered if someone had not taught me how. So I definitely would say that collaborative knowledge was constructed on all ends by engaging in the learning process myself as well as helping others to learn!

• Standard 2: Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments

1. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
    When I was learning poetry back in elementary school and even high school, everything was taught on whiteboards and through books and lectures, and independent practice. Very little technology was ever implemented, partially because it was hard to come across and expensive back then, and partially because it was seen as irrelevant when it comes to the study of poetry. Now, in the current time with all the advances that have been made, I've discovered countless ways to incorporate digital tools and other online resources to help my students learn poetry even better and more successfully than they would have in the 90's and 2000's. The poetry generators that I used in my first and second lesson and perfect examples of the ways that knowledge found in books can be successfully transferred to a digital format. Kids these days will be intimately familiar with technology as it is used in their everyday lives, so we as teachers need to do our best to engage them by making tech an integral part of instruction. These generators broke down the specific grammatical parts of each type of poetry and explained why and how they work in a much more colorful, interactive, and entertaining format than a textbook. So I think my design choices for what to utilize and include in this sense were successful.
2. develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
    The third lesson was almost exclusively this! Students were set free after a bit of review from prior lessons to choose their own course of action to provide me with their digital artifacts. I provided the students with about 6 different options for certain numbers of each type of poem they were to submit to me. They had the choice for which independent practice options they selected to spend their time creating. They were as follows:
   • "If Student Selects Haiku: Must complete THREE of different subjects
   • If Student Selects Cinquain: Must complete TWO of different Subjects
   • If Student selects Limerick: Must complete TWO of different subjects
   • If Student selects Free Verse: Must complete ONE comprising of at least 4 stanzas, 4 lines a piece in whatever rhyming pattern they want.
   • Student may select to do TWO DIFFERENT TYPES of their own choice equating to the same amount of work." This allowed my students to not only delve into technologically rich learning environments, but they could really pursue their own curiosities by selecting the "package" they were most interested in! They could have a say in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning. At the end, Myself, their peers, and they personally could assess their own progress from the first lesson to last and see how far they've come as poets!
3. customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
    Because my students I was working with were not actually third and fourth graders like the lessons were intended to be aimed toward, there was no real way to customize or accommodate in this way since the ages were kind of skewed. Other than giving them the choice to pick which types of poetry were their favorites and stick with them for their independent work time, there was no real way other than using the online tools I provided (or of course opting to write it out on paper instead of type) that I could have accommodated for many other working strategies and abilities.
     However, if I were to change this and do it again in the future with real students, I would be sure to offer even more options for independent or group work as well as more various tools that the students could pick from. I would be sure to take into account any students with disabilities in my final and third lesson, since it included a lot of steps and was complicated in comparison to the others. I would need to be sure that ALL students were comfortable with using apple technology and even computers in general before I release them to figure it out on their own, so that would be how I alter my digital tools and resources use.
4. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.
   A lot of my assessment was formative this time around for my lessons, and I will admit that I probably didn't check with and use the State Standards for English as much as I should have. In the future with this lesson, I would be sure to stick to the standards a little closer and be sure with each activity that I plan in some way or another it is touching on what the state wants me to. I believe that midway through this process, I got excited for what I was teaching and, admittedly, a little carried away in the "fun" aspect of it all. Poetry is one of my passions, so to be able to share it with a captive audience who was going to learn something was great! However, I needed to be a little more aligned with the exact technology standards instead of just happily using the tools to focus on the English Standards.
   I definitely used the resulting data from my student's artifacts (and even feedback to me) from the beginning lesson 1 to alter my instruction, mannerisms, and content for the next times-- but if I were to do the lessons again, I'd say I should focus on the core of the technology's purpose, not just because it was neat and useful to me to spice up my lesson and engage my students.

• Standard 3: Model Digital-Age Work and Learning 

1. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
   Although I had never used a Mac computer before on the first day I walked into ETC447 (and was rather intimidated at the concept of starting now so late in the game when others had never used anything but it)I like to think I did a good job! From starting off as a total beginner, to being able to pretty handily figure out how downloads, screenshots, printing, logging in and out of things, and utilizing apple specific programs was an impressive leap for me! I didn't even know what the green yellow and red circles at the top of each Mac screen meant before this class, and in comparison I've truly thrived.
   I can say in full confidence that I demonstrated fluency in the technology systems we practiced, especially in my teaching! While hiccups always occur here and there, I definitely knew what I was using as tools. I expressed confidence in my delivery of information and utilizing the technology in front of my students, never floundering or really needing to ask for extensive help. That, I am proud of, being able to transfer my current knowledge at the time, and build/expand upon it to new situations such as this course.
2. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
   Since this was obviously just a class project, there was no communication as me the teacher between community members,or my student's parents because they are adults themselves! In the future once I have the actual age range of the students I will be working with, then I will be able to However, collaboration between myself and my students as well as the instructors for this course (Michael and Becky) was always on point! They always checked in on me before each lesson was taught when I was still in my planning and refining process. They would ask if I had any questions, picked my brain for my ideas, and overall made sure that what I was going to come up with was successful, hit all the points, and was within the allotted time frame. This was very helpful for me to know that they were there as my resource to support my success and innovation as both a student and a teacher!
3. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
   Although I was new to the technology, I did not let the fear of the unknown overpower me! I jumped headlong into the materials and although I wasn't quite sure what I was doing at first, learned very quickly! I taught my lessons to their full extent while implementing my technology and hitting standards along the way, and was presented with great and plentiful digital artifacts and across the board positive feedback. What more could I ask for?! The relevant information about the history, and aspects and characteristics of what makes poetry work are all integrated into the three lessons I presented in a logical, easy to follow order, and most of all was engaging and fun through the use of the different variety of digital-age formats I used. From the beginning, I started off utilizing the priceless tool of google documents in order to have my students open up and follow along with my exact lesson plans to give them a visual layout of what was to be expected in our time together that they could help me with. From there, I used all sorts of online articles, poetry generators, rhyming engines, and even transitioned into iMovie recordings and youtube instrumental tracks! I really feel like I got a good grasp on the whole spectrum of technological wonders offered in this class and let my students experiment and play with all of them. This will surely help both them and I in the future!
4. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.
   I feel as though this question is pretty much already answered in my other responses, but to reiterate-- I modeled through my own examples to the students as well as facilitated their effective use of the digital tools to play with the concept of poetry in a way they probably never had before! The odds are, unless in high school they were enrolled in a creative writing or poetry specific course, they've probably had a very slim understanding of the true complex and beautiful nature of this topic and literary device. Using the power of the internet and our engines (as stated before) students had a whole new way to use these various information resources to do everything from add pictures and color to format the layout of their finalized poem, to practicing reciting their poems aloud to check for fluency and cohesion through their rehearsing/recording themselves using iMovie, or even when they got stuck on a rhyming word to be able to use the tools I provided (and even more they found!) to figure out a proper fit. They definitely supported their work with research and fueled their own learning.
   

• Standard 4: Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility

1. advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
   This area, if I expanded upon the lesson, could honestly use a little bit more work than what I was able to pull off in my three lessons constituting this last month and a half of the semester. Often, I found myself so caught up in teaching the students the content and attempting to complete everything that I had timed out in my lesson plan, I only had 30 minutes for the first two lessons then an hour for the last, and with the amount I packed in there, it was hard to get to it all! I unintentionally let time escape me and became so intent on sticking to the plan and watching the clock that I'd forget to address the areas of safety and concern when it comes to these digital tools.  They may be exciting and fun to play with, but the potential is certainly there for trouble if it's not nipped in the bud early. The times that I did touch on the aspect of safe,legal, and ethical use of these digital tools was slim, partially I think because the age and skill level of my students kind of threw me off.
   It was difficult for me personally to remember that these college peers of mine were intended to be looked upon as 8 and 9 year olds, in this imaginary/pretend teaching world we created. I look at them and see people my age, who are entirely aware of online risks and what is not appropriate to post or share with strangers. This was where my fault laid, with not remembering to teach them to stay safe online because in the scenario they were intended to be much younger.
   
   Additionally, I was more focused on enjoying the final product of what they came up with through their video readings that I skipped over having them cite their sources for the youtube music that they used, or any other websites that were beneficial to them. I will definitely be sure to stay more on top of that the next time an activity like this occurs-- the last thing I would want to accidentally do is promote digital plagiarism by failing to teach the importance of documenting their sources!
2. address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
   The lessons that I created are all ones that could be completed with the tools provided in class. When it comes to providing equitable access to all my students, it's easy to assume that one day in a real setting all of my kids will not be able at 8 and 9 to afford having their own Apple Mac or iPad, etc. to work with on their homework. This is where I as their teacher has to think of this ahead of time and accommodate for any diversity in the student's socioeconomic status and more. It would be very easy later on to transfer homework assignments from being typed out digitally using a word processor and finding pictures from Google, to doing it the "old fashioned" and traditional way of writing the poetry out neatly by hand and creating their own illustrations or using magazine clippings. This is the main way, for this particular 3 lesson poetry unit, that I would collect my evidence of student learning. Whether that be a digital artifact or hard copy artifact wouldn't matter so long as it's completed!
   My strategies were learner centered from the very beginning, but there is always room for improvement in other areas too!
3. promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
   This wasn't really a concern of mine for this particular set of lessons, because I did not have the students posting their work on a public forum or anywhere that they could really digitally interact with strangers. However, ways that I could promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions thorough technology in the future include showing what proper comments and speaking to others would look like. The internet is prized for its anonymity, and the ability to say whatever you want freely and without consequence for the most part with the shield of protection that a screen gives you. People can talk to you around the world and not have any idea who you are, giving you the freedom to say or be however or whoever you want. This is where the danger lays, because it goes both ways. I would be sure to stress to children early on that just because you CAN say something online, doesn't mean you SHOULD. Cyberbullying, harassment, derogatory terminology, bad words, or other negative things which plague the internet should certainly not be put out there by them, but it does exist and needs to be stayed away from. I would be sure to tell my students that it's not JUST for the fact that in a lot of cases these things are simply not school appropriate, but also viruses trojan horses, and other horrible computer malfunctions can occur and download simply by clicking a wrong button, thus resulting in your machine breaking and not being usable anymore. There are many consequences to NOT being socially responsible online, and kids who are so immersed in this cyber culture where sharing anything and EVERYTHING is encouraged-- they must know.
4. develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools.
   Last but not least, I briefly exposed my students to the sheer vastness of the internet through having them Google the very first type of poetry, in the form of religious hymnals during my very first introductory lesson-- and to their surprise and frustration, coming up with 1000's upon 1000's of related (and UNrelated) results. No matter what you type into these mega search engines, you're bound to get an answer, even if its not what you're looking for at all. I will use this same concept to further the curiosity of my future students to know "what's out there?" and develop with them a cultural understanding and global awareness that the world we live on is indeed much bigger than our school grounds, neighborhood, state, or even country! I did not touch much on different cultures in these three lessons, but in the future I'd love to expand upon it with the help of my future teacher colleagues, and tie in poetry in other languages and from places other than the USA and their own American imaginations. There are so many more wonderful and beautiful perspectives that exist out there, ways to view things in ways we never could have imagined if only we take the time to explore them. Technology is one if the easiest and fastest ways to do that-- so if I can help my students to engage their interests and open their eyes and imaginations to the possibilities beyond what they already know-- through the words and minds of people they've never met, then that's going to be truly truly cool.
   Hopefully I get the chance someday to make my students feel the wonder of discovery, and realize that this amazing invention of the internet, and technology in general can answer almost anything they could imagine-- and is much more useful than playing the newest online shooter game or beating Angry Birds.