Becoming a Change Agent in Your School

- An inspirational Quote by Steve Jobs

Think about a significant change for the better in your life. What or who provoked the change? What was the result of that change? Was it easy? Was it worth it? 

If you often question the status quo, see the need for change. If you rise above your day-to-day responsibilities, if you act, encourage, or inspire people around you to make a change, or if you actively follow someone who advocates a change for the better, you are a change agent. 

As a teacher, you will be a part of a larger institution with a set of rules and customs. Sometimes, you will have to advocate or even fight for change to create the best learning opportunities for your diverse students. Much like in your private life, change at work may come with challenges. The following three videos, along with this week's lecture, will prompt you to think about your future as an educator and change agent:

1. In the thought-provoking TED Talk below, Todd Rose, the author of The End of Average, describes the historical reasons for using average (an average student, an average time for a test, the average age for marriage...) and how it has influenced many decisions we make as educators. He argues that the average is a myth!

Watch this 18-minute TED talk and find a parallel between a cockpit's design and a new learning environment to nurture every individual's potential.  What formula for success could we take from the Air Force? 

2. As a teacher in the information age, you have access to endless information, technology, and tools that can make life better or worse. Your decisions regarding using everything available to you lead to good or bad changes. 

    Watch Alan Atkisson's TEDx Talk (18 minutes) below. He uses some great examples/songs to explain how you can be an effective agent of change. He discusses the importance of different roles that you can play in your organization to advocate for a good idea, whether it is your or your colleagues’ idea, which could lead to a change. He also shares the personalities who try to shut down the change for different reasons. Knowing about these different reactions and personalities, you can choose which one you would like to be, and how to manage working with those different roles and still advocate for change:

3. Finally, listen to this short but mighty inspirational advice of the late Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple and Pixar. The quality of this historical recording is not the greatest, but the message is timeless:

In our last lecture of the semester, Becoming Change Agent lecture, Dr. Maryam Rod Szabo asked her Professional Learning Network to share their idea of change agents, the challenges that they have faced as change agents, and the reasons that they hire change agents. Listen to what they had to say (as usual, link in a lecture folder).

Additional Resources (not required)

If you are interested in introverted vs. extroverted dynamics, read  (or audiobook) Susan Cain's book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking.

Computer Science in a Classroom

This week there is no accompanying lecture or quiz. Instead, we direct you toward this very comprehensive article by Chontelle Bonfiglio titled: 8 Reasons Why Every Child Should Learn to Code 

• Read the article 
• Browse the linked resources there.
• Save, pin, bookmark, or file ideas for your future classroom!

Resource for early childhood:  7 Super Easy Ways to Introduce Coding to Preschoolers: https://teachyourkidscode.com/coding-for-preschoolers/

Resource for middle and high school: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is at the forefront of the news. Lessons about AI can provide a great entry point into computer science for middle and high school students. This article provides Tips and Resources for Introducing Students to Artificial Intelligence.

Why computer science and CSTA standards will be important to you and your students. 

• The Iowa Department of Education adopted computer science standards in 2018 and emphasizes complete courses at the high school level. 
• Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds announced in 2018 an effort to launch innovative computer science projects in elementary schools:  "Teaching computer science and other STEM-related courses is an essential component to any child’s education. That’s why Iowa is preparing our young people for success in cutting-edge careers with programs like this.”
• In fact, with additional involvement from UNI, Iowa's public education system is taking steps to ensure that teachers at all levels can address computational thinking and thus equip students for success in a world where "65% of jobs of the future do not yet exist." (World Economic Forum, 2016).

Bookmark Iowa Department of Education Computer Science Standards (voluntary standards initially developed by CSTA, the Computer Science Teachers Association).

Hour of Code event at Schindler Ed Center

Digital Citizenship

you can follow this link to download this and other free posters for your classroom

Hello! 

As the visual above shows, digital citizenship is the combination of skills and norms for appropriate, responsible, and empowered use of technology. 

To read: Begin by familiarizing yourself with the 9 elements of Digital Citizenship, 
followed by the 

S3 framework: Safe Savvy, and Social:

http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/nine-elements.html.

 

Now you know that Safe, Savvy, and Social (S3) are the main guiding themes in digital citizenship. 

Many educators argue that 3S is not enough. Digital citizenship should be followed up or go hand in hand with 

digital leadership, 

which involves using technology to improve the lives, well-being, and circumstances of others. 

 

• Websites like volunteermatch.org provide a national digital infrastructure to serve volunteers and nonprofit organization in America 

• Nonprofit organizations Donors Choose connect donors directly to public school classroom projects. See if there is a need in your community.   

• Organizations like WorldSavvy  helps students develop 21st Century skills for Global Competency resources and opportunities for schools worldwide. Bookmark for future use! 

 Watch this funny PSA: Actually Do Something.

To Read: Where does Artificial Intelligence (AI) fit in the context of S3? Read this short article on How to recognize and harness the potential of AI 

To Read:  Principle #V. of Model Code of Ethics - Responsible and Ethical Use of Technology by the National Association of State Directors and Teacher Education and Certification.

The links below provide the resources for you and your classroom organized around these four themes. 

To do: Netiquette: Browse and bookmark these resources for later use. Resources are related to online communication's common do's and don'ts. http://www.albion.com/netiquette/. Never assume that your students know how to behave in an online environment! 

To do: Play the Interland game from beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com, designed to help students gain digital citizenship skills- notice the "Be Internet Awesome" Curriculum available to download and also linked below.

Browse and bookmark for future use: http://www.aplatformforgood.org -  A vision for a  Platform for Good is to start a dialogue about what it means to participate responsibly in a digital world. While recognizing the potential risks, they celebrate technology as a vehicle for opportunity and social change.

Browse and bookmark for future use: "Everything you need to Teach Digital Citizenship"  free lessons and resources for K–12 Digital Citizenship Curriculum by Common Sense. 

To be a digital leader in a truly borderless world, one needs to possess certain global competencies. We discussed it a bit in previous RWLDs. This 1min video and this website explain the elements of Global Competency:

Browse and bookmark for late use the Be Internet Awesome curriculum, a program designed in collaboration between Google and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe.org), that teaches kids the skills they need to be safe and smart online.

Follow our Digital Citizenship board on Pinterest.

http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live

Extra Credit Opportunity!!! Complete Google Digital Citizenship and Safety training, take a screenshot of the page with the information about the completion (make sure your name is visible on a screen shot), and submit it to the Extra Credit assignment dropbox.

ISTE Standards Connection: 

ISTE Standards for Students connection: 

• Standard #1.2: Digital Citizen: Students recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning, and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal, and ethical.
• 1.2.a Students cultivate and manage their digital identity and reputation and are aware of the permanence of their actions in the digital world.
• 1.2.b Students engage in positive, safe, legal, and ethical behavior when using technology, including social interactions online or when using networked devices.
• 1.2.c Students demonstrate an understanding of and respect for the rights and obligations of using and sharing intellectual property.
• 1.2.d Students manage their personal data to maintain digital privacy and security and are aware of data-collection technology used to track their navigation online.
  
  
• Standard #1.3: Knowledge Constructor: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts, and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.
  
  
• Standard #1.7: Global Collaborator: Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally. 
• 1.7.a Students use digital tools to connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, engaging with them in ways that broaden mutual understanding and learning.
• 1.7.b Students use collaborative technologies to work with others, including peers, experts or community members, to examine issues and problems from multiple viewpoints.
• 1.7.c Students contribute constructively to project teams, assuming various roles and responsibilities to work effectively toward a common goal.
• 1.7.d Students explore local and global issues and use collaborative technologies to work with others to investigate solutions.

ISTE Standard for Educators Connection

• Standard #2.3 Citizen: Educator as Citizen inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world
• 2.3.a Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community.
• 2.3.b Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency.
• 2.3.c Mentor students in safe, legal and ethical practices with digital tools and the protection of intellectual rights and property.
• 2.3.d Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy.
  
  
• Standard #2.4 Collaborator: Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. 
2.4.c Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally.
2.4 d: Educator as Collaborator demonstrates cultural competency when communicating with students, parents, and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.

----

Additional resources (not required):

Stay Savvy: Test your knowledge and rid yourself of the most common global misconceptions: https://upgrader.gapminder.org/ 

Using the Internet for the greater good: The World's Largest Lesson provides free and creative resources for educators to teach lessons, run projects, and stimulate action in support of Sustainable Development Goals. SDGs are the blueprint for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all humans. They address the global challenges we face, including poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace, and justice.

Download activity for Violence Against Children and the Digital Environment that invites youth to share their ideas about addressing violence against children and the digital environment (Human and Child Rights)

To Read Five Myths About Young People and Social Media - Five Myths About Young People and Social Media  - article based on Danah Boyd's book, "It’s Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens."

Access to the Be Internet Awesome curriculum, a program designed in collaboration between Google and the Internet Keep Safe Coalition (iKeepSafe.org), teaches kids the skills they need to be safe and smart online.

Bookmark for future use the blog with great cyber safety tips and resources http://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2008/08/how-do-i-help-my-child-learn-to-use.html

thetrevorproject.org -  The Trevor Project -  The leading national organization focused on crisis and suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth.

itgetsbetter.org - It Gets Better Project - a video website created to send the message and to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. It was created in response to several students taking their own lives after being bullied in school.

A Platform for Good - https://aplatformforgood.org/  - A Platform for Good is a website aimed at making the world a better place by providing resources and information for parents, teachers, and children.

Other useful links: 

http://cybersmartcurriculum.org
http://www.safekids.com/
http://www.cyberbullying.org/
http://www.kidsmart.org.uk/
http://www.pacerkidsagainstbullying.org/
http://www.stopcyberbullying.org
http://www.cyberbullying.info/
http://www.bewebaware.ca
http://www.fosi.org

Computational Thinking in K-12 Education

"Computational thinking (CT) is a problem-solving process in which people formulate problems or instructions so that a computer [or human] can solve or implement them" (ISTE, CSTA, 2016). 

Computational thinking (CT) is a fundamental part of computer science (CS) but can (and should) be applied across all content areas and everyday life. In fact, it is called by some a New Literacy of the 21st Century.  

In this unit, you will discover how you can use the aspect of computer science and computational thinking to support students' literacy, critical thinking, thinking, creativity, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Introducing computational thinking to a young student may sound intimidating at first. But when you decompose (break down) this problem into the four components, you will find it relatively easy and helpful across the curriculum.  

So let's dive in:

Use this visual to help you think about the four aspects of computational thinking:  Abstraction, Decomposition,  Pattern Recognition, and Algorithms:

• How can you turn real-life photography into a drawing? The problem may seem daunting, but when you remove the unnecessary details and think about what is the basic, the minimum that makes pizza a pizza (abstraction), you can break your drawing down (decompose) to the basic shapes. Now you can draw it! 
• How to make pizza? Can you build a simple step-by-step recipe (algorithm) so we can shop for the ingredients? Can you provide the essential steps explaining the preparation process and make it easy for beginner chefs to follow?  
• What ingredients are on that pizza? I spot olives and pepperoni. If I slice the pizza and give you just two slices, will you be able to tell me what is on the third one? If the answer is yes, you probably recognized a pattern.

With that in mind, watch the following short videos in which Linda Liukas, an author of the children's book series  Hello Ruby explains in student-friendly language what computational thinking is and how you can connect computer science to the real world. 

Computational thinking can be applied to all grade levels.
Watch how this teacher uses humor to introduce students to algorithms (procedures for solving a problem) and debugging (finding and fixing mistakes)

Kids in the video above learned by trial and error and practiced the art of the exact instructions. 

• 
  

Here are some other ideas:

• Explore digital story creation with a simple (and free) web-based programming tool called Scratch
• Create timelines and complete sequencing activities (can be with technology or 'unplugged')
• In music, reading, or writing - explore pattern recognition with rhythm, structure, and rhyme - try creating new forms
• In social studies - have students generate step-by-step directions to complement the creation of community maps
• In art, Student A describes an image or object hidden from Student B, while Student B follows instructions to draw or re-create that object.     
• Students practice exact instructions and step-by-step algorithms in a classroom while designing instructions for watering the classroom flowers, logging into the classroom computer, and morning (or any) class routine.

This blog post aims to assist you in incorporating computer science and computational thinking in the K-12 classroom. Perhaps you can set up a new Pinterest board and start a collection of resources you can use in your future classroom. Make sure to pin the primary sources, not just this blog. Have fun, and please consider teaming up with a teacher to implement CS-related activities in teaching and learning!

ISTE standards for Educators connection:

• Standard 2.1 - Learner: Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to enhance student learning.
• 2.1c - Educators stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.
  
  
• Standard 2.6 - Facilitator: Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students.
• Standard 2.6c - Educators create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems.

ISTE Standards for Students connection:

 

• Standard 1.5 - Computational Thinker: Students develop and employ strategies for understanding and solving problems in ways that leverage the power of technological methods to develop and test solutions.
• 1.5a - Students formulate problem definitions suited for technology-assisted methods such as data analysis, abstract models, and algorithmic thinking in exploring and finding solutions.
• 1.5b - Students collect data or identify relevant data sets, use digital tools to analyze them, and represent data in various ways to facilitate problem-solving and decision-making.
• 1.5c - Students break problems into component parts, extract key information, and develop descriptive models to understand complex systems or facilitate problem-solving.
• 1.5d - Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions.

--------------------------------

Want to Learn More? Here are some EXTRA resources you might find interesting:

Free Training Courses for Teachers

• Code.org (Workshops, courses, digital 'dance parties, and the famous 'Hour of Code)
• 'Computational Thinking for Educators' (Google's free CT training for teachers)
• Scratch Ed - a free online course/intro to Scratch (provided by Harvard University)
• UNI's partnership effort with the IA Department of Education (offers a free course in "programming with Scratch")

Here are a couple more home examples of fun with the Exact Instructions

• Making a PB&J sandwich https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FN2RM-CHkuI
• Brushing your teeth, making toast: https://youtu.be/CT8Z1LlooCM?t=238

Analyze the vocabulary from the  ISTE Computational Thinking Competencies are used to guide educators to integrate computational thinking across disciplines with all students. The goal is to help learners become computational thinkers who can harness the power of computing to innovate and solve problems.

Watch a brief video introduction to computational thinking as a New Literacy of the 21st century:

Browse resources from Osmo: Teaching Computational Thinking to Kids

Computational Thinking Skills: Image Source: Osmo: Teaching Computational Thinking to Kids

Resources curated by Dr. Sarah Bryans-Bongey and Magdalena Galloway.

Global Collaboration

Global Collaboration is an empowering opportunity for students and teachers to connect and engage in authentic, meaningful experiences. It is an opportunity for students to learn about people from different cultures and backgrounds. These connections don't need to be with learners in other countries. You will find people of different cultures and backgrounds in different states, cities, or even down the street.

What is Global Collaboration?

Global Collaboration involves using technology to connect learners in different parts of the city, state, nation, or world. These partnerships are made for the purpose of working and learning together to accomplish goals and learn/develop new things. When learners work with people from other locations, they can become aware of people and cultures outside their immediate surroundings. 

Learning about the structure and content of global collaboration is important, but the real question is whether the students can learn anything from this experience.  Students are looking for authentic learning events and this can provide them. Watch as 4th-grade students in Fairfax, Virginia, share their experiences through connecting with other 4th graders in Costa Rica.

What is Cultural Competence?

Learning about cultures other than our own is the first step towards achieving "Cultural Competence."  Cultural Competence is the ability to understand and interact effectively with people from other cultures.  These people may be from another country, state, or in your own classroom. 

You won't have the opportunity to actually engage in a global collaboration project in this course, Ed Tech and Design, but learning about the various projects/strategies, resources, and digital tools will help prepare you for turning your students into global collaborators.  It's the recognition of differences and the interest in learning about those differences to better communicate and work with others. 

Professor Juanita Sherwood describes cultural competency in the video below.  Pay careful attention to how she explains the importance of cultural competence in our lives.  An interesting aspect is the need for understanding one's own culture as well as other cultures.

ISTE Standards

Global Collaboration and Cultural Competence are important parts of the ISTE Standards for Students and Educators. Global Collaborator is the 7th standard. "Students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally." More specifically, 7a states that we should "Connect with learners from a variety of backgrounds and cultures, engaging with them in ways that broaden mutual understanding and learning."

As educators, we are expected to "Demonstrate Cultural Competency when communicating with students, parents, and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning." The world is a big place and it is our duty as educators to prepare our students (and ourselves) to recognize, communicate, and collaborate with people of a variety of backgrounds.

Global Collaboration Projects

Connecting with other classrooms requires organization and connections. The most efficient way to get involved in global collaboration is to join projects that are already organized. This is called Managed Global Collaboration. The managing organization has already created the activity and all that you need to do is join and get engaged. It is suggested that this is usually the best way to begin introducing Global Collaboration into your classroom. Here is a project that has connected thousands of learners around the world.

Global Read Aloud

The Global Read Aloud project involves students around the world reading one or more of a set of selected books during a 6-week period and then they try to connect with other students who have read the book so that they can share their ideas and thoughts. 

Watch the What is the Global Read Aloud? video and then visit the official website where they have identified a set of 10 books from which they can select their reading material. These books range from picture books to young adults.   Envision how you could do something like this in your future classes.

Taxonomy of Global Collaboration

Starting a Global Collaboration Project

Global Collaboration projects can be life-changing experiences. They can bring a whole new meaning to topics that we can only read about in our books.  Instead of reading about how the Chinese celebrate the Chinese New Year, you and your students can connect with students in Beijing to learn from the actual people who live this celebration. 

Here is a brief overview of how to create a Global Collaboration project for your students. It doesn't identify the actual steps for making such a project happen, but it provides an overview of the stages you will go through and how to approach specific challenges. It also provides 4 exciting projects that you should explore (The Winter Around the World link doesn't work.)

Seven Steps to Starting a Global Collaboration Project

Consider how you can enrich your students' learning opportunities through Global Collaboration.  You are preparing your learners for living in a global society where it is important to connect with and understand other people.

Imagine extending your Thematic Unit to include global collaboration.  What would YOU do? 

Begin your dreaming here . . .