My participation in the Learning Transported Twitter book discussion best highlights my ability to meet the Connected Learner Standard 2b which states that the learner will actively participate in professional learning networks to enhance coaching practice and keep current with emerging technology and innovations in pedagogy and the learning sciences. Engaging in the book discussion via Twitter was an exciting and powerful experience for me. I was not familiar with Twitter prior to this course, but became very excited about the promise of connecting to others in this class and beyond. With the limited number of characters, I found myself carefully considering the most prominent take-aways with each new section and being selective with my words. I also found that I had time to read a wide range of responses from others, which was great for inspiring deeper thinking about specific ideas and technologies.
To be more specific, I actively engaged in a professional learning network of educators, coaches and leaders in the educational technology realm. I contributed positively to the chat by reading the chapters carefully each week and putting forth thoughtful and timely reflections. For example, in the tweet below I had read about 360 degree photos and videos as a means to bring children into new places right in the classroom. “Students can “travel” to other parts of the world to engage in discussions that expand their perspectives” (Donally, 2018, p. 61). The book mentioned 360Syria as one example of a project that used 360 photos and videos to bring people into new spaces. Upon further exploration, I got to see what a kindergarten classroom looks and sounds like in Syria. I also watched barrel bombs dropped on the city as I stood in the dusty street. While I keep up with the news and often listen to NPR on my way to work each day, I felt sick to my stomach upon hearing the words of the Syrian people involved with the project and witnessing the destruction and violence firsthand. The 360 degree videos elicited a sense of empathy in me that was not previously possible with traditional technologies. While this is not an appropriate resource to share with my first graders (beyond the Syrian classroom), it really built my understanding of how 360 photos and videos can elicit a range of emotions, including empathy. Part of our job as educators is to facilitate learning around other cultures and promote a global community and shared vision for our world. ISTE challenges students to explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions. What better way to elicit empathy and raise the stakes for challenging students to solve global problems than to have them see first-hand what is happening in parts of the world that they may never see otherwise.
With each new educational technology tool, I found myself googling and exploring videos on YouTube to see the tool in action. I am a hands-on learner and I learn best when I have the tools in my hands. Second-best to hands-on experience is watching someone else's first-hand experience. In week 4, I explored Story Fab. I became very excited about StoryFab as a tool to use during Writer’s Workshop. StoryFab uses MR technology and allows students to create characters and place virtual props on their current workspace. Students can manipulate characters to talk and display feelings - both of which can be hard for students to demonstrate with traditional pencil and paper stories. “When the learning is authentic, we have an opportunity to engage students with purposeful, deepened learning” (Donally, 2018, p.41) Sometimes the transition from oral narratives to written narratives can be tough for students. Some of the components of oral narratives will be omitted due to the demands of the written form. Writing in itself can be a laborious and strenuous activity for young hands. The prospect of story fab as a way to compose stories, complete with dialogue and characters’ feelings is exciting. I can’t wait to try this out with my students after the vacation!
Wakelet with evidence of participation in book discussion
Sources:
Donally, J. (2018). Learning transported: augmented, virtual and mixed reality for all classrooms. Portland, OR: International Society for Technology in Education.
ISTE Standards for Coaches. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-coaches
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