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New global data reveal education technology’s impact on learning
This post will discuss technology and how it was a lifeline in schooling during the COVID-19 pandemic. As children return to traditional classrooms, school districts must carefully consider the long-term role of technology in education.https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/education/our-insights/new-global-data-reveal-education-technologys-impact-on-learning
This was a featured image so i don’t have a link for it.
AI ChatBots : Helping Teacher With Toughest Problems.
Ethical use of AI Chatbots that helps a teacher to tackle the toughest problems.
Now a days AI chat bots has become a revolutionary tech and a talked topic among the world. It has been a blessing in one side and curse at the same time. With Ai chatbots we can gain limitless knowledge and sources in a single click for various purpose. It might be coding, writing article, gathering information or what not, ai chatbot can perform a limitless performance and can be the most powerful tool. At the meantime students are using it for cheating purpose as well. They are copying assignments without even going into it and what not.
However, ai chatbots are the power houses for the educational purpose. Mainly, the teacher can use the it for various purposes to help children. It can help a teacher to decorate the study plan. It also can help teacher to know anything that is unknown. Teacher also can set problems using ai chatbots for the exams and recheck it many times for a better quality.
Although, it can have some limitations as it is not dynamic or cannot create dynamic things, it can help a teacher to get the broad guide to the plans. In near future, ai chatbots can help teacher to detect plagarism , give suggestions about what to improve and what not. In short, a ai chatbots now a days plays important role in education to help the teachers and make the education system better. Only need is to supervise so that it can be used ethically.
To conclude, ai chat bots are friends of teachers. A teacher has so many hectic works in his/her day to day life. Moreover, it becomes tough to maintain everything sometimes. AI Chatbots help them to decorate and plan everything. It can help them to gather knowledge and also help them in every toughest problem possible.
(Grammar checked by GPT4 & Grammarly)
How Educators Should Integrate Technology Into Their Classrooms
This article gives educators ideas of how to integrate technology into their classrooms. Technology is constantly evolving, and it is important as educators to keep up with the rapid industry. Many of us have already seen technology taking over classrooms. For example, many teachers use online study games in their classrooms to help their students understand material. Some of these online learning tools include Kahoot and Quizlet, which may sound familiar.
After the pandemic, many teachers have used technology to make learning easier and more efficient. We can see this with certain applications such as GoogleClassroom, BlackBoard, PowerSchool, Canvas, etc. Some may say that technology can be detrimental to students’ learning, but I disagree. Implementing technology into your learning curriculum could be extremely beneficial to your students as they pick up new skills and learn to easily adapt to new changes (tech world is constantly changing and evolving).
Despite some of the hate that using technology in classrooms may get, it makes learning 10x more efficient. Teachers are able to better prepare for their lessons with tools such as PowerPoints, engaging games, videos to show their students, etc. Majority of students use technology in their free time (phones and laptops) so using these things to your advantage could help keep your students be better engaged and enhance their understanding of the material. The culture that older teachers grew up in is vastly different from the culture that students in today’s world are growing up in. It is important for teachers to keep up with the new cultures because it could help them better connect with their students, and teach them in ways that they would be more motivated to learn in. Like everything, using technology to teach has its downsides such as certain applications not working correctly, internet not connecting, students being more susceptible to cheating, but the advantages that technology provides are far greater than these disadvantages. Students today are gaining skills in their youth that most professionals did not gain until later on in their careers/education. Technology in classrooms is just getting started and is just going to continue, so it is best that teachers learn to use it to their advantage as well as come up with strategies to reduce the disadvantages (such as cheating).
Students using Kahoot as a learning tool.
WE Teachers
This website was really neat. I just learned about this organization. Having never heard of it, I was fascinated. Let me briefly tell you in case you know nothing about it as well. Number one, it’s all free! Right?! I know most things that are really worthwhile aren’t free. Well, this is. This website has a place for teachers to view and learn over 10 modules, on topics like mental well-being, bullying, poverty, social and emotional learning, and youth violence.
I went ahead and read/completed a module that interested me, Trauma-Informed Classroom. Post-pandemic this is necessary more than ever. What stuck out to me was in this module they told you about a trauma-informed classroom, what to look for, and what to expect from students who have experienced trauma but what’s even better was they had a self-assessment for teachers and a worksheet at the end.
Another aspect of this module was that they included other types of trauma that maybe you wouldn’t think of when thinking of trauma. Accidents or disasters could be trauma. When I was in 9th grade my house and all our belongings and our family dog were gone. It was so hard for us. We were offered counseling and the school and community came together to help us get some material things back but I was never the same. I always struggled since then and I think that’s why I’m so drawn to trauma-informed training. I know there are all types of trauma and I want to be able to help anyone that I encounter in my class or outside the best I can.
After modules, you can actually see there are courses available. I didn’t finish a course, but I listened most of the way through Mental Well-Being In the Classroom. What I loved is they touched on what mental well-being is, the risk factors, and then talked about suicide and the warning signs. That’s as far as I got into the video but I think it was really beneficial. The one thing that stuck out to me was the difference between risk factors and protective factors. I think knowing these about your students will allow you to know how to best help and serve your students. Again there are over 10 courses free for you to take, which is amazing.
Those are just two main things I checked out in-depth, but there are also additional resources on well-being, resources for schools, videos, and virtual workshops. I hope you’ll check it out and find something that interests you.
Microsoft Forms v. Google Forms
In the age of technology, there are many duplicate applications and websites that follow the formats of the ones that came before them. There are so many places to get templates and different formats for documents, slide shows, websites, and so on. If you were in school, whether as an educator or a student, in the early 2000s especially, you are probably mostly familiar with Microsoft Office products including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. I remember when I was in middle school between 2013-2015, we began to switch over to using Google Suite products like Docs, Slides, Spreadsheet, and Sites. They were essentially the same thing as the Microsoft products that I already knew, they were just simpler. There were less buttons and options, the templates were limited, and was generally the “squeaky clean” version. I got used to using Google Products for my education, so when I found out Microsoft had their own version of Forms, I was surprised. Google Forms was a product that I always had difficulty using. I just always felt like there could be more and as a future educator, now more than ever, I find a need for an application such as this one. After looking into Microsoft Forms, I cannot believe I have wasted so much time fighting with Google Forms.
Microsoft v. Google
Google Forms is a rather straightforward application. You create a new form, give it a name and a description then you can start adding your questions. You have the option to choose between multiple choice questions, long or short answers, scales, dropdown answers, and checking boxes. You can also add pictures and videos to questions and change the colors of your form as well as add a header. When someone answers the questions on your forms, you get an email of their responses and you can assign them a grade automatically or manually. What else could you need? Well Microsoft Forms has so much more to offer. In addition to what Google Forms has to offer, Microsoft allows you to customize your rating scale with different icons like thumbs, hearts, or stars. Very cute, but it goes beyond that. If you have ever tried to make a question in Google Forms where things need to be numbered in chronological order, it is actually very difficult because it has to be done in a grid and looks visually complicated and messy. Microsoft has an option for ranking questions as well as likert and net promoter score questions. Not only does it have more options for questions, it has more options for style and other features as well. You can change the style and font of the entire form, add a gif for your header, music to be played or paused during the assessment, start and end times, timers, and have it translated for different languages! It also has an AI feature that suggests questions and answers based on the others that you have input. It even creates its own personal QR code. When you are taking the assessment it also has an immersive reader option for those who need it. Compared to Google Forms, Microsoft Forms is not only significantly more expansive and detailed, it is also more inclusive and accessible for those creating and taking the form.
So Why Forms at All?
Forms is a technology alternative for assessments for students. Assessments are a method of getting an evaluation of a student’s understanding of course content. When educators know how well students understand the content, they are able to make adjustments to their methods and content to help students develop their understanding. But not only are forms a great for assessments, they are also a wonderful ways for students to communicate with their teachers. Educators are lifelong learners and in order to ensure they are providing their students with the best education they can, they must be willing to listen to their students. Teachers can use forms to have students provide them with feedback on content or lessons, do peer and self-evaluations, or even teacher evaluations. Some students would never be open about their thoughts, opinions, and feelings to a teacher’s face. It can be a scary thing, So giving the students and outlet where they can express concerns or misunderstands about your class or the content is vital for a healthy student-teacher communication.
PLEASE CONSIDER FILLING OUT MY MICROSOFT FORM TO FAMILIARIZE YOURSELF WITH THE FORMAT AND GIVE ME FEEDBACK!
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO LEARN HOW TO USE MICROSOFT FORMS AND OTHER MICROSOFT PRODUCTS, CLICK HERE AND HERE FOR THE LINKS I USED THAT TAUGHT ME ABOUT IT!
Thank you for reading!
Follow me on Twitter at @IreneOrtiz001
Teachers’ Guide to Global Collaboration
If you are an educator and are struggling to look for collaborative and enriching activities for your students inside your school or in your community then look no further! “Teachers’ Guide to Global Collaboration” is a website that allows educators and students around the world to participate in global and nationwide activities and projects right from their classroom. Teachers can find organizations that are looking for help with large scale projects, projects submitted by other teachers who would like to collaborate in specific subject areas, and even submit a request to publish your own project idea that you would like others to join. It is a great way for educators to reach new classrooms and have their students create work that is impactful outside of their schools!
My Experience
When I first opened the website I immediately opened the projects tab and searched for “art.” In clinical practice to becoming an art teacher, I have found so much more value in collaborative projects than I was expecting. I have implemented several collaborative lessons and while they were awkward for the students at first, they grew to love working together and sharing their knowledge with each other. One of my favorite projects I gave students was to work in groups along with one or more dancers from the dance class next door and try to create beautiful photographs of the dancers capturing motion and using everything they have learned about photography thus far. The students were so excited and they got to use the entire inside and outside of the school to take their pictures and they created wonderful and thoughtful images. I was so proud of their results and so happy that they enjoyed the project. However, it was difficult to give them more than just a couple days with the dancers because a mistake was made and our schedules did not align with theirs. One downside in trying to collaborate with other classrooms in your school, is trying to get on schedule with each other in a way that does not hold anyone back. But the satisfaction of collaborating on a larger scale trumps that and creates such meaningful memories with the students. Therefore, I was happy to find so many different projects and organizations that are open to artistic collaborations on a national and global scale.
What I Found
One of the projects I found is a project called “A Sense of Caring” which I think is a beautiful project for elementary and middle school students. Students either send in or receive a story or poem about what caring is to them and then the student who receives it has to create artwork based on their story. The story and artwork are then paired together and used to create Service Learning Project where students take action and show the importance of caring for others and their community. This is a beautiful project that I could see myself using to introduce students to symbolism, general visual literacy, and collaboration in the art room.
This website also introduced me to a site called “Creative Connections.” This is a large online gallery that allows students and educators from all over the world to participate in and create exhibits with their original work to be displayed on their website. I have seen similar sites to this one, but this site seems well organized with how each exhibition is separated and labeled. I could see myself asking my students to participate in this site. Not every student can be in the art show or sent to the Teen Arts Festival, so this is a great alternative for students or have students work published on a larger scale.
Overall, I think “Teachers’ Guide to Global Collaboration” is a wonderful way for teachers and students to collaborate beyond the small world of their classrooms. It is convenient and easy to navigate. I could see myself using this website to not only join projects created by other teachers, but also possibly to create a long term project for my students or school community to get involved in. I noticed the site does not have many projects that are long term with rolling registration, so I would love to contribute to that some day.
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS A RANGE OF ORGANIZATIONS AND PROJECTS TO COLLABORATE WITH OR START YOUR OWN!
Thank you for reading!
Follow me on Twitter at @IreneOrtiz001
Why Teachers Need to Work Together
Most teachers expect their students to work together whether that be by assigning them into groups or implementing the infamous rule of “ask 3 before me” which, in my experience, just led to a silent classroom. Teachers encourage students to work together to find the answers to what they need, so why do teachers not do the same? Why would some teachers insist on making their own lessons and worksheets from nothing or struggle to help a student in need without asking for advice? A teacher who does not collaborate is stunting their own growth as well as that of their students. In an article by Damon Torgerson, he describes the importance and benefits of teachers being active collaborators in their schools and districts and how teachers can promote collaboration amongst their peers.
So Why Should Teachers Collaborate?
- Changes the School Environment
Teachers are constantly stressed having to carry the weight of taking care of the next generation on their shoulders for half of their day, 5 days a week. It is very easy to become frustrating, lose your temper, not keep promises, and so on. When teachers work together, share their resources, and share their experiences with each other, they can start to build meaningful work relationships. When teachers can lean on and support each other, it changes how they come into work every day. Students can tell when their teacher is not “in it,” so do not be afraid to lean on someone who understands you if it will keep your classroom environment healthy
2. Reduces Stress and Teacher Burnout
As mention, once the work begins to pile up, teachers can very easily begin to drown. If they work together to support each other, they can begin to lift some of the stress off each other’s shoulders. Think back to when you were in school as a student. Part of the fun about being in school was seeing your friends and if you had a bad day at school, at least you saw them right? So why should it be any different as a teacher?
3. Sharing Your Strengths and Learning from Others
As a teacher, you are an expert in what you know and there may be other teachers in your school who need you. Maybe the math teacher wants to do a research project with students, but they are not sure how to get them started. If you are a Science, History, or English teacher you must have some knowledge about research projects to share, so share it. You could open the door for students to have unique cross content experiences and open yourself up to new ideas from people outside of your field.
4. Stay Up to Date
Education is always advancing with the use of technology and educators may not always have the time to research new methods of teaching or new websites to use in their lessons. It can be so easy to fall into a habit of “doing what works” and not “reinventing the wheel.” But there are so many ways to facilitate learning that can be engaging for the student as well as the teacher, so reach out to your colleagues and see if they know of anything that may be of interest to you. Create a Facebook Group where you can share links and ideas with each other quick and easy, so you do not fall behind on the trends.
5. Professional Development on Your Own Time
As mentioned, educators may not always have time to do research on new activities or questions they may have. They may not have time to wait until the next professional development meeting to ask the questions they may have to their peers or supervisors. Reach out for help when you need it. Be proactive and use your biggest most accessible resource, a.k.a. your peers, to help you along the way and I am sure they could use your help as well.
6. Improved Student Outcomes
As mention, students can tell when teachers are not doing well, are not passionate about their work, or are having trouble with other teachers. This ultimately does affect how they perform in your classroom and can actively discourage them from not only completing their work, but reaching out to their teacher for help. If teachers openly collaborate and create a safe and productive work as well as teaching environment, students will be encouraged to work together with their peers and teachers. Also by diversifying your own teaching methods and practices, you are creating a much more unique and enriching learning experience that can reach a broader audience and support all types of learners.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW HIS ARTICLE FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW TO EFFECTIVELY COLLABORATE AS AN EDUCATOR
Thank you for reading!
Follow me on Twitter at @IreneOrtiz001