“Is the Use of Technology making a difference in students learning?”

I would agree that the use of technology definitely makes a difference in students’ learning. In today's generation, technology is definitely at the forefront of children's lives and entertainment. For this reason, incorporating learning materials into these digital mediums can prove to be useful and engaging since they are already such a large part of their lives. First, technology allows students to learn by doing rather than trying to absorb lines of information from a textbook. By interacting with technology, they have a chance to learn by trial and error, which allows them to see how things work. The teacher's role becomes more of the facilitator asking individual students about their choices and engaging them in deeper conversation on the subject. Another reason that technology makes a difference in students learning is that it offers opportunities like never before.  Building background knowledge that “sticks”, which we know, is one of the strongest indicators of how well students will learn new information and be able to transfer and apply it into other areas. So imagine a virtual field trip to explore the pyramids in Egypt when sixth graders are studying about Ancient Egypt; or visiting a country or state they are studying. Now the explanation and images are not limited to descriptions of things or a few pictures about the subject, it is experiencing it by using technology.

We need to provide our students with activities that are innovative and challenging as well as purposeful if we want them to be engaged in learning, no technology for the sake of “using”’ technology in the classroom. We have to be very critical and evaluative in using technology that is aligned to the instructional outcomes. Teachers can create learning activities with technology that enable students to learn independently, to be creative, and to think critically about issues relevant to their own lives and their own learning.

During one of monthly data meeting with a teacher this past week, we discussed how one of her groups in her bilingual classroom is struggling with fluency. Instruction in fluency is valuable for English language learners because activities intended to improve fluency in reading also promote oral language development in the second language. Teaching fluency to students whose control of the structures of the English language is still limited can be very challenging for teachers and tedious for students.  We discussed several strategies and activities she can work with her students during her guided reading groups. Motivating and engaging students pays off, we know that greater engagement equals higher achievement. To support student with this I recommended for her students to monitor their own fluency using the Chatterbox app and then send it to a google classroom folder. In this app they will record themselves on a weekly basis to keep track of their growth. The app allows them to take or select a picture photo, draw a line to make a mouth, and record their voice reading articles of their interest at their independent level to record their fluency rate on a weekly basis.  We will start this after the break so I will keep you posted. J  

PLN

It is amazing how nowadays educators can use social media to create an environment to connect to other practitioners, ask questions, wonder, read, share and support one another in their quest for high quality education. 

I guess I did not realize that I have already had an “informal” PLN. I have been using the web for quite some time to search for interesting ways to present my lessons and to gather information about new approaches to teaching literacy. Definitely, Pinterest has been my number one go to place, YouTube and Google are my other most common website visits. I use them to boost my pedagogy with my struggling readers and make lessons more robust. I now, however, understand the powerful tool I have been tinkering with. 

When I think back about how I used to search and gather information about a particular issue in my practice I would look to educational books, publishing, or informal conversations with teachers. Now I find Pinterest pins, or Google. I have found tons of ideas to make my instructional material more appealing to my learners from anchor charts, bookmarks, PowerPoints, and other engaging activities. I have shared some of my findings with people in my building, but now that I have created my official “PLN” I’m planning to do it over cyberspace.

About me

“Once a new technology rolls over you, if you’re not part of the steamroller, you’re part of the road” Stewart Brand

Is this considered public speaking?  Because if it is it would explain why I'm feeling anxious about this blogging. Anyways here goes nothing.

My name is Maria L. Ortiz-Viera I am a passionate professional educator with 17 years of experience.  I hold a Master of Science Education from Nazareth College and an Advanced Certificate in School Building Leadership from the University of Rochester. I have worked in Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. School #9 for seven years as a Bilingual classroom teacher and for 8 years as an Intervention Specialist. My newest role is serving as an assistant principal. 

I have used technology in the classroom since I started teaching. From comparing weather temperatures daily from Puerto Rico and Rochester during science, to my kindergartners typing the final copy of their narratives on computers, technology has been a part of my teaching repertoire for quite some time. Although I have only taken one formal computer course in college, I am pretty savvy and can find my way around basic computer programs and applications. I was one of the few teachers in my school who had a Smartboard 10 years ago when they were still on wheels! I used the clicker system to review materials in class before tests, had students work on power point presentations to present their informational writing pieces, and currently I complete assignments in Google classroom. However, all these endeavors have taken time to develop and sometimes I still feel like a novice when it comes to technology (compared to my witty daughters). 

One of my fears of technology is digital permanence. Once you put something out there, it will be there forever even if you delete it. We have to be aware that what we post will create a permanent footprint. I hope this collegial learning circle will help me to continue growing and adapting to the ever changing technology so I can further my practice and support in teachers’ transformational learning. 

Outside of school

As my daughters claim, I am always cleaning and working on projects around the house. I enjoy spending time outside with my family, running, or sitting by the fireplace (sometimes even in the summer). I live with my husband who aversion towards technology is clear (still trying to figure his iPhone), my daughter Jasiah is 16 and just entered the working force at Wegmans and is pretty savvy with her digital tools, Jonmarie my gymnast/singer/musical.ly star and our dog Yankee have also made it into cyberspace. My oldest Jaziel, is 24 and currently finishing her Master’s degree at Purdue University, communicates with us on a daily basis through texting and FaceTime (which makes it easier to deal with the fact that she is nine hours away).