Over the past few weeks, I spent time exploring and playing with Makey Makey. Using Makey Makey kit, any object that conducts electricity such as fingers, Play-Doh, and bananas can be used as a keyboard. What’s more exciting is that anyone could easily make their own Makey Makey program on Scratch, a free education programming language, and an online community. One challenge I encountered was connecting the Makey Makey board to various objects for them to work as a keyboard. When I first tried to connect the alligator clips, I was disappointed and worried at the same time as my Makey Makey board would not light up. However, I was able to solve this problem with the help of some Youtube videos, including “Makey Makey - Solving Problems” and Makey Makey website. Here’s a short boomerang video of my innovative technology: Richard Culatta (2013), a Chief Executive Officer of the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), mentioned in his TED talk that educators should use technology to reimagine learning and not to merely digitalize traditional learning practices. With this in mind, I designed an innovative learning experience incorporating Makey Makey into my English Language Learner (ELL) classroom. In this lesson, students will design and create an interactive presentation to share the short story they have written using Makey Makey and Scratch. This innovative learning experience would help my students develop not only their English proficiency but also 21st-century skills, including collaboration, creativity, and communication. Also, my students will be encouraged to take risks, try, test, and solve problems while working with their partners. Image by Rudy and Peter Skitterians from Pixabay Another aspect that I explored this week was media consumption. According to Pariser (2011), people get trapped in a "filter bubble" and don't get exposed to information that contradicts their belief. Reviewing my Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking services I use to build my professional learning network (PLN), I noticed that I was also somehow trapped in a "filter bubble." This week, I intentionally followed people and read articles that have different viewpoints from what I believe in order to widen my perspectives. From this experience, I learned that we need to carefully consider and reflect on the way we use technologies to consume information, especially when this could influence our professional practices. Resources:
Culatta, R. [TEDx Talks]. (2013, Jan 10). Reimagining learning: Richard Culatta at TEDxBeaconStreet [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0uAuonMXrg Pariser, E. (2011, March). Beware online "filter bubbles" [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles Skitterian, R. & Skitterian, P. (2015, April 8). Yashica fliter camera vintage photography classic [image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/photos/yashica-filter-camera-vintage-711794/ Unless otherwise noted, the video presented on this blog is the property of the blog owner.
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Copyright protection applies to all types of content, whether it is in print, electronic, online, or any other format. It protects the owner’s control over the creative work he or she makes, and it requires people to get permission before copying, using, sharing, modifying, and repurposing the material. Violating copyright law can be expensive. The law provides a range from $200 to $150,000 for each work infringed. As educators, it is inevitable to use images, writings, or videos created by other people. Imagine making all teaching materials from music to videos from scratch? How much time and energy will it cost us on top of our other duties and responsibilities as teachers? Our students also mostly use resources found through online search engines when working on their assignments. While I teach my students to cite their sources every time they “borrow” other people’s work, I wondered if it was enough. Honestly, copyright law and other related regulations were confusing for me. I now, however, have a clearer understanding of the copyright law and am glad to learn more about the doctrine of fair use, which permits limited use of copyrighted material without having to first acquire permission. I learned that fair use applies when using content in certain instances, including schoolwork or education, news reporting, criticizing or commenting, and comedy or parody. Also, there are four factors detailed by the US Copy Right Act that should be considered before we use, share, copy, modify, and repurpose other people’s work. Please watch the remix video below to learn more about fair use. I created this video in hopes that it will help the viewers gain more knowledge on copyright as well as fair use. Resources: Common Sense Education. (n.d.). Copyright and fair use animation. [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.commonsense.org/education/videos/copyright-and-fair-use-animation ErikaWittlieb. (2014, November 17). Upset sad confused figurine unhappy sadness [digital image]. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/photos/upset-sad-confused-figurine-534103/ Purdue University. (n.d.). Copyright infringement penalties. Retrieved from https://www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/CopyrightBasics/penalties.html Unless otherwise noted, the video presented on this blog is the property of the blog owner. How do people learn? What is constructivism? Constructionism? What is making and Innovating? What role does failure play? These are some questions I have been thinking about this week and below is an infographic that I created to show some connections I made. Deepening my understanding of making, innovating, constructivism, and constructionism, I got the chance to reflect on what learning is like in my classroom. I teach grades 4 to 6 English Language Learners (ELL) at a K-12 international school located in South Korea. At our school, students are expected to have a certain level of English proficiency to be successful in the mainstream curriculum, and for those who need extra support to attain this level of proficiency, we require them to enroll in the ELL program. When I started working at our school five years ago, our school did not have any program to support ELL students. My job led me to be a maker. I had to design an ELL program and teach (test). Until now, I continuously get feedback and adjust the program to better assist students in enhancing their English skills. While modifying the program and teaching ELL students for several years, I learned that it is essential to invite students to be active participants of the learning process. According to Resnick (2017), “knowledge isn’t poured into children, like water into a vase” (p. 36), but instead Piaget found that children actively construct knowledge by creating, revising and testing their own theories about the world around them through interactions. Students come to the classroom with their own knowledge. Bransford, Brown, and Cocking (2000) wrote in their book, How People Learn, that “those initial understandings can have a powerful effect on the integration of new concepts and information” (p.16). My students’ existing understanding of how language works in their first language is a valuable resource that I use to help improve their English skills. Also, I have my students “construct new knowledge from their own experience of doing something new” (Rob & Rob, 2018, p.5). For example, my ELL students made their own board games with written instructions as part of a writing project. Students had to create everything from the materials needed to the rules of the game. After creating the games, they visited other classrooms to let others play their game and also to receive feedback. Through this project, my students got the opportunity to construct knowledge and enhance their writing skills from actively engaging in the activity. Other aspects that are valued in my classroom are collaboration and sharing. Rob and Rob (2018) argue in their article, Dilemma between constructivism and constructionism: Leading to the development of a teaching-learning framework for student engagement and learning, that Papert’s constructionism provides a better learning opportunity than Piaget’s constructivism “because of its emphasis on learning through collaboration, building a meaningful artifact, sharing the artifact as well as the use of tools, media, and context” (p.8). My students are given multiple opportunities to collaborate and share their work. Also, I am working towards connecting my lessons to real-world situations so that learning becomes more meaningful to my students. In my classroom, failure is another big part of learning. Failure gives us time to reflect, learn, and grow. In order for my students to be comfortable with failure and making mistakes, I always remind them that these are all part of the learning process and that every expert was once a beginner who made mistakes and failed at something. Building a supportive learning environment where students feel safe to take risks, fail, and try again is crucial. Moreover, I think that how parents view failure has a strong impact on students, and therefore, I try my best to communicate and collaborate with the parents of my students. Resources:
Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press. Retrieved from https://www.nap.edu/read/9853/chapter/1 Ferguson, J. (2015, August 30). Constructivism (Piaget and Vygotsky). [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yi8S4YkZI04 Resnick, M. (2017). Lifelong Kindergarten: Cultivating creativity through projects, passion, peers, and play. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press. Rob, M., & Rob, F. (2018). Dilemma between constructivism and constructionism: Leading to the development of a teaching-learning framework for student engagement and learning. Journal of International Education in Business, 11(2), 273-290. Udacity (2016, June 6). Constructionism. [Video File]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qsiqetMlCg Unless otherwise noted, images presented on this blog are the property of the blog owner. On June 11th at 9:55 am, while my students were in their mainstream classes, I sat at my classroom desk to get ready for a Pro-D session and meet fellow English Language Learners (ELL) teachers. I was nervous and excited at the same time as it was my first Twitter Chat (#ELLChat)! We started our chat by introducing ourselves and had discussions on characteristics that make ELL teachers, classroom teachers, and/or subject teachers effective with ELL students. Also, we discussed ideas about ELL training programs as well as our experiences of professional development sessions that were beneficial. We ended our chat by sharing our biggest strength as a teacher of ELLs. Time flew! I expanded my professional learning network (PLN) by connecting with people whom I met during the chat. Through PLN, teachers share ideas about teaching, learning and classroom management; find relevant resources and tips; explore the latest trends in the field; get feedback and emotional support (Tour, 2017, p.182). The chat gave me the chance to not only reflect on my teaching but also to broaden my perspectives by listening to other ELL teachers from the other side of the world. I was able to get some useful resources as well! My first Twitter chat experience would not have been as memorable without these challenges. First, I accidentally retweeted a post that I should have replied to because I was not used to the reply and retweet icons. Second, I forgot to include the hashtag (#Ellchat), and the co-moderator had to remind me. My biggest challenge was to find a Twitter chat that works for my schedule since I live in South Korea, and there is a big time difference. Despite all these challenges, my Twitter chat experience was so beneficial that I plan to participate more often during my summer vacation and also look for other chats that are relevant to my teaching. Also, I've shared my Twitter Chat experience to my colleagues and encouraged them to participate with me! Resources:
Judie Haynes. (2019, June 11). Hi! Don't forget the #ellchat hashtag! We don't see your tweets without it. #ellchat [Twitter post]. Retrieved from https://twitter.com/judiehaynes/status/1138254156207140865 Tour, E. (2017). Teachers’ self-initiated professional learning through Personal Learning Networks. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 26(2), 179-192. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1475939X.2016.1196236 Unless otherwise noted, all images presented on this blog are screenshots taken from the blog owner's Twitter account (@amy_kimhn). The more I spend my time in the field of education, the more I realize that teaching is such a difficult job. Yes, it is also rewarding, and there are countless reasons why I pursue this career, but one thing for sure: teaching is challenging. Hansen and Zumpano (2015), mentioned in their article, 7 tips for teachers building collaborative fearless PLNs, that “nearly 50 percent of educators will leave the field within the first five years of entering a classroom” (p.1), and that isolation and lack of support are the reasons for exiting the field. Therefore, building a Professional Learning Network (PLN) is crucial. PLN is the people whom you go to seek advice and support as well as the people whom you interact on your social media to seek professional opinions and resources. Through PLN, teachers share ideas about teaching, learning and classroom management; find relevant resources and tips; explore the latest trends in the field; get feedback and emotional support (Tour, 2017, p.182). Here is my PLN: My Professional Learning Network includes people whom I communicate face-to-face at work as well as people whom I interact online through Michigan State University graduate courses and social media. I feel grateful that I am surrounded by people who are passionate about education, which I consider as one strength of my PLN. It also made me realize that I connect with so many people online. I have grown as a teacher through MSU master's courses. I often use Instagram and Pinterest to gather ideas for my lessons, and I’ve also started using Twitter (@amy_kimhn)! One weakness of my PLN is that I am not contributing as much as I am gaining from my social media network. My goal is to start being active on social media by sharing more! Resources: Hansen, R. & Zumpano. (2015, March 16). 7 tips for teachers building collaborative, fearless PLNs. Eschool News. Retrieved from https://www.eschoolnews.com/2015/03/16/teachers-fearless-plns-547/ Tour, E. (2017). Teachers’ self-initiated professional learning through Personal Learning Networks. Technology, Pedagogy and Education. 26(2), 179-192. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1475939X.2016.1196236 |
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