As the first Instructional Technology Leadership comes to a close, and the newest course (Applying Educational Technology) begins, it's easy to become excited about the change in focus and the beginnings of the road map to growth that is taking place. I've been reading about how a change in focus is necessary for student to be successful in the "real world". The traditional focus, as Harapnuik writes, is on standards and curriculum. Nothing seems to drive education more than these two words, and it's been this way for as long as teachers can remember. Yet, as students leave school, if they have only had information transfer to them as opposed to creating and inventing it themselves, they will not be as prepared as their test grades suggest. If educators really want to prepare students to be successful post traditional education, then they should provide them opportunities for real world challenges with authentic discovery where they choose how they share their voice with authentic audiences.
As an educator, I have made connections that I wouldn't have made without the reflection that has occurred in the Digital Learning and Leading (DLL) courses at Lamar University. I'm excited and eager to continue on this journey of making meaningful connections while receiving feedback from an authentic audience. I await making connections and learning through collaboration with others on similar journeys and how that will tie in to how I change my focus towards growth and authentic learning opportunities.
References:
Change in Focus. (2018, July 14). Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=7495
Why Use an Eportfolio. (2015, September 29). Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6063
... it was remote learning. Several teachers that I have worked with have been resistant to embracing technology and digital resources. They each have their excuses. "I've been doing it without technology so far, and I'm fine." "Old dogs can't learn new tricks" "Bringing technology in the classroom will just be a distraction" and of course "I'm not comfortable with that type of change". Well, if our last few months of the 2019-2020 school year taught us anything, it would be that you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable and educators are more resistant than they give themselves credit for. Remote learning during COVID forced many educators to join the rest of us in the 21st century. Baptism by fire for some, a time to suck it up and stop the excuses for others. I saw this experience as a chance for guided discovery and shift roles to facilitator of knowledge as opposed to sole content of delivery. Students in my district where given choice in how/when/and where they learned. Digital Learning can create a smoother transition to embracing the COVA Model (Choice, Ownership, Voice, and Authentic Learning). We saw remote digital learning allow students a voice and ownership in their learning as well as make giving and receiving personalized feedback much more accessible.
On a recent This American Life Podcast, titled Alone Together, psychologists discussed the effect of the quarantine on relationships. One of the guests on the show explained how the quarantine was an accelerator for relationships and how what was bound to happen (whether good or bad) came true faster in these "alone together" times. The relationship between educators, students, and instructional technology is not an exception to this accelerating force. Embracing the tools and possibilities of instructional technology and digital learning with an emphasis in the COVA model was bound to happen and these trying times are leading us there faster.
Resources:
COVA. (2017, July 20). Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6991
This American Life. (2020, June 05). Retrieved from https://www.thisamericanlife.org/697/alone-together
ePortfolios (and blogs like this one) are great tools for reflection and connecting the dots in one's learning. In education, there are two types of assessments: Formative and Summative. Formative assessments are little checks of understanding that happen throughout the process of learning and allow for students to show grasps of concepts and allow teachers to gather information on whether they need to adjust teaching strategies, reteach, or dive deeper. An ePortfolio is a great way for educators to formatively assess their own learning. When you actively reflect on the practices that you bring into the classroom and the strategies that are in place, you begin the process of adjusting these strategies, relearning best practices, and diving deeper into enhancing learning through models like COVA (see links above or other blog posts for more information).
Karen Barnstable, author and longtime educator, wrote a list of 41 Benefits of an ePortfolio, and the two benefits that most resonated with me are, "They will understand the important aspect of the process fully and see that the process is just as important as the product." and "They may develop their own goals for their learning." Both of these points tie in with my deep belief in the purpose of education. The "process" being the most important aspect is how I view being a life-long learner. There is no "finished" in education, it is a process, it is a journey. And the other benefit related to developing goals ties in taking ownership in ones learning. When you set the goals for your own growth and development, you buy in to the process much more than if the goals are set by an outside source. Intrinsic motivation drives us to experience the process, rather than the external motivation usually tied with the focus on the "product".
How can we expect our students to make deep connections to material if we, as teachers and educators, do not try to make those types of connections in our own learning and journey in education. Dwayne Harapnuik writes in Making Meaningful Connections in An Eportfolio, "The eportfolio itself is a space that the student creates. Perhaps most importantly, an eportfolio can be used to show a students growth and how they have matured over time and how they have made a connection between their schoolwork and their personal and professional lives." Every teacher with a growth mindset, views themselves as students. Being able to use this blog and ePortfolio to visually illustrate growth, is priceless. We need to make opportunities for our students to experience visualizing their own growth, but it first needs to start with educators and the people in the position to make these opportunities possible.
Resources:
Making Meaningful Connections in An Eportfolio. (2015, May 26). Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?p=5790
41 Benefits of an ePortfolio. (2010, January 08). Retrieved from https://kbarnstable.wordpress.com/2010/01/08/41-benefits-of-an-eportfolio
When it comes to portfolios, its obvious that the student/learner is the owner of their content, the process, and product of the eportfolio. Many things in education seem to become acts of "jumping through the hoops", as Harapnuik puts it, when students only reflect on product rather than the process of making connections themselves. When one Owns the work, then they Own the connections made when going through the process of a portfolio. Andrew Rikard, a student at Davidson University, writes that Often, when teachers are given directives and required to embrace some new initiative, it becomes about "hoops" and less about growth. Teachers want to know what the new initiative looks like and how it will benefit their teaching and future work. Students work the same way. If you want them to embrace portfolios, they need to know and buy in to why it's important and different, rather than just another "hoop". Students need to know how they will be assessed and what is possible through having access to exemplars.
At the beginning of this ePortfolio process, I felt a little lost and overwhelmed. I didn't know what was expected of me and if I was even in the right book, much less, the right page. It wasn't until the professor released some exemplar ePortfolios from previous students and other professional in education. This opened my eyes on what is possible and this whole new world on what visual learning could look like. This week I was involved in professional development (all online of course) about the importance of portfolios in the classroom. One of the most helpful tools that the instructors gave was exemplars from past students across several grades as well as student portfolio templates to help students in the right direction. The template included several pages with in Google Sites (my district is all Google all the time) including: About Me, Links for all core subjects, elective links, and more. This way each student will build on their portfolio each year for each class. This template allowed the portfolio become a one stop shop for all learning and visualizing growth. Check out the link for the template and tell me what you think! https://sites.google.com/tomballschools.net/secondary-portfolio-template/home
References:
Rikard, A. (2018). Do I Own My Domain If You Grade It? EdSurge. Retrieved from https://www.edsurge.com/news/2015-08-10-do-i-own-my-domain-if-you-grade-it
Who Owns the ePortfolio. (2015, September 23). Retrieved from http://www.harapnuik.org/?page_id=6050
The COVA Model makes a distinction between Guidance through Discovery and Step by Step Instructions. When students are dependent on the teacher for each stage, they can't possibly make connections for themselves. They are focusing on staying on task or checking off the boxes of actions that needed to be completed. Natural discovery comes from when the teacher acts as a facilitator to learning and provides guidance through "landmarks along the way" as Harapnuik puts it. The teacher needs well defined "landmarks" through a lesson, unit, activity, etc. where students can self assess to know if they are on the right track. These self assessments could be differentiated depending on the level of the student or class.
In my AP Macroeconomics class, there is this one particular unit that throws a lot of content at the students over a very short time period. Many kids over the years can't see the forest through the trees. When I first started teaching, I would usually do some intense review session in class which was based in step-by-step instruction and explanation. For the sake of classroom management, I would try to keep everyone on the same step as I retaught and made connections For them... I'm shaking my head as I write this... What was I thinking? As of late, I offer them a chance to assess themselves which certain skills and their comfort level with assignments. I have broken up the class into 3 separate groups: The Hungry, The Comfortable, and the Terrified. (Those are my names for them, they just usually identify themselves as Thumbs up, sideways, or down). I offer "landmarks" in terms of skills and abilities that they should be comfortable or more comfortable with by the end of the lesson. I differentiate those skills based on which group they identify as and focus on growth from where we were to where we reach.
In the past, when I focused on step-by-step instruction as I made connections for them, my focus was on classroom management. Little did I know that when you offer guidance and choice with how they make connections, classroom management no longer becomes an issue. Students enjoy learning. They enjoy being given a choice. This turns a lesson into making connections and growing through guided discovery. Sometimes the best teacher comes from when the teacher can let go and give the student the opportunity to take ownership in their learning.
References:
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (n.d.). COVA: Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning [Https://gallery.mailchimp.com/1bdbac4d4fbdff334a642eb11/files/8b18ae2a-8696-4d58-9b80-192f4cc6624c/COVA_eBook_Jan_2018.02.pdf]. Creative Commons License. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from 6/18/2020
I've given a lot of thought about how to implement an ePortfolio (especially as it's still uncertain what the school year might look like in the Fall and it might be best to have assessments that are digital and focus on growth). Yet, in the high school setting, how assignments are graded and weighted is paramount. I teach AP Juniors and Seniors. At these levels, rank is the upmost importance for the students. Often the top ranking students are only apart by 0.001% and competition is fierce. This is no room for grades that are subjective and weighted heavily. The idea of an ePortfolio is something that I love and would be a great addition for students when they build their resumes and applications as they apply for college. My one reservation is how to assess their growth with a grade. An ePortfolio requires time and effort and should hold the weight of a major grade. I feel the best plan on attack is to have the students collaborate in making a rubric that assesses what they believe growth should look like. This student-created rubric option empowers the students to buy in to the assignment as well as have a voice in their own learning. Part of the COVA Method focuses on allowing students to "reflect on their experiences, express their insights, connect, and collaborate with a broader learning community" (Harapnuik, pg. 61). I will have to do more research and communicate with other educators on their successes and failures in student-created rubrics. I'm excited about learning more about this idea and I can't wait to try everything I've been reading and learning about!
Resources:
Harapnuik, D., Thibodeaux, T., & Cummings, C. (n.d.). COVA: Choice, Ownership, and Voice through Authentic Learning [Https://gallery.mailchimp.com/1bdbac4d4fbdff334a642eb11/files/8b18ae2a-8696-4d58-9b80-192f4cc6624c/COVA_eBook_Jan_2018.02.pdf]. Creative Commons License. Retrieved June 18, 2020, from 6/18/2020