Here we go...Back in the blogging saddle again...

So, I have assigned blog posts to my students at the undergraduate and graduate level. They've produced amazing work. They've described how beneficial blogging is, and I keep assigning them as a form of forced reflection. In academia and life we don't take enough opportunities to reflect on our ideas - at least not as much as we should. Everything seems to move at such a fast pace. I've made excuse after excuse (I don't have time - I'm trying to get tenure, I don't have time - I'm a new mom, I don't have time - I have 3 kids under 4) of why I don't have time to blog. However, I'm going to try and get over it this summer and start my blogging process.

When I think about what I can really contribute to the blog-o-sphere, I think my best contributions focus on teacher technology education and professional development. Therefore, I want my first post to be about one of my favorite classes that I teach and design: EDUC W200.

http://www.indiana.edu/~educw200/

There's a lot that goes into this course, but I'm going to talk about one of my most important elements: Providing lots of examples that are subject specific and grade level appropriate.

Based on my research, one thing I've found out about the teachers I've worked with is that they need to see the value of a particular technology in order to integrate it into their practices. This is even more critical for preservice teachers that are still developing their own teacher self or image (who do they want to be as a teacher, what will be important to them, what are the best ways for them to teach?). As they enter my class (which is one of their first, if not THE first, education class ever), they are just starting to think of themselves as teachers. Therefore, I see the mission of my class to get them to decide on which technologies they think are valuable and describe why. In fact, the first course goal for W200 is:

Given certain goals and limitations, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of various technologies to make appropriate selections for instructional purposes. Make good technology integration decisions and explain reasons behind decision.

For this purpose, I have them use the 4 e's. These 4 e's help provide them with a way to describe WHY they've select the technology they have and how it can be used for teaching or learning. Those four e's are:

1. Effectiveness (Technology can be used to increase the effectiveness of teaching and/or learning).
2. Efficiency (Technology can be used to increase the efficiency of teaching and/or learning).
3. Enhance (Technology can be used to enhance teaching and/or learning).
4. Engage (Technology can be used to increase engagement in teaching and/or learning).

I provide lots of subject-specific examples in a wide range of subject-areas and grade levels each week. Since I have a wide range of prospective teachers (early education, elementary education, special education, secondary teachers (math, science, social studies, English, foreign language, art, health, physical education, journalism, etc.), this requires knowing my students within the first week. I arrange them by subject area/grade level. This way, I know which subject areas to target and provide examples for. It's a complex balance (ultimately, at the end of the semester, I always have at least one student complaining that they didn't receive enough examples), but I try to balance as much as possible. It's all about opening up dialogue and finding great examples from actual teachers out there who are sharing. For those teachers, PLEASE keep sharing your amazing work! It's super helpful for preservice teacher everywhere educating your future colleagues and collaborators! And thank you for sharing your work.