WPP Part D-Findings and Implications

Today's blog will reflect findings and implications on The Wicked Problem Project for CEP 812. My Wicked Problem Project continues to be a work in progress. I am finding that I am continuing to alter, revise, and redesign my presentation. However, in its present state, current findings and implications in the following will be addressed:

• Formative
• Summative
• Approaching another project given what I learned
• Lessons learned that others might benefit from
• Endeavor to do the same project again with possible changes

Did the project get implemented as planned? 
My initial target audience were my colleagues. However, because I currently have no colleagues (I have been laid off since June), I simply shifted my audience to be  fellow educators who teach at the secondary or high school and adult education levels who can benefit from my findings and implement those findings in their own educational settings. My project has not been implemented within my own classroom yet. I do not expect to implement it until I return to work but I do intend to share my research with colleagues whom I still keep in touch with. So, even though my presentation is for a viewing audience of my peers the pedagogy practices within the presentation are to be performed in the classroom with students.

Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice. 
Again, I have no first-hand evidence of success since I am currently not in the classroom. But based on the ideas I have found regarding cell/mobile phone use in an educational setting, I think I can undoubtedly say that with good classroom management any teacher can find good use of these devices. Of the numerous blogs and articles I've read as well as my own judgement on tutorials and videos I've seen, educators who include cell/mobile phone technology in their pedagogy rave about the results and effects on learning. In one article at TeachHub.com, Meg Ormiston calls cell/mobile phones "mini computers" that "extend the walls of learning."

How would you approach another project like this differently given what you've learned here? 
Given what I have learned here, I would include media where I am actually modeling my pedagogy in a real classroom setting. I have always considered myself an open book. I would like to extend the outside view of my life into my classroom. I like to practice what I preach. Therefore I would not present anything to anyone or expect them to do something if I did  not find it truly possible. I teach at a failing school. If I can make things happen there then I feel there is no excuse for other educators to make things happen in their own classrooms. I hope to inspire them.
Another thing I did not include in this project that I would if I were to approach another project like this is to survey others. I would like to survey both educators and students. I would like to bounce ideas onto educators and get feedback or other ideas from them; Do they feel cell/mobile phones are the culprit? Or do they already use cell/mobile phones as a teaching/learning tool? If not, then why not? They may enlighten me on issues or ideas I had not thought of. I would like to know from students what exactly I have to work with; how many of them have cell/mobile phones? Do they have data plans? Can they install apps?
Thirdly, I would like to discover a way I may include parents in our learning. Of everything I found in my research, nothing included parents or guardians. I find that ironic since parents are usually the ones who flip the bill.
Lastly, I would approach another project like this with a more narrow focus. My topic was too broad; there was too much to cover and I did not get as intimate with any specific aspect like I had wanted to. I got hung up with not wanting to leave anything out.

What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?
Have a specific end goal. If you are too general, you will reach a point of information overload. There will be so many great ideas you'll want to include them all. But that will be too time consuming and deciphering which ideas are worthy of being included in your presentation can also be mind strenuating.

In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do?
I may not do this project again, however I will improve upon this one. I would like to share my findings regarding the use of cell/mobile phones in the classroom with my colleagues when I return to work. This is something I would like to address in a staff or professional development meeting. I have included above what I may change with this project but in addition to that, once I receive input from my CEP812 peers I will better know what I will need to include, exclude. or just "tweak."

WPP Part C-Implementation& Record/Edit Lab

Progress on the Wicked Problem Project continues. I am currently at the point of deciphering what information I want to include in the presentation. With the abundance of information I have discovered it has become such a challenging task. Nevertheless, the entire WPP was in itself a learning experience. Please click here  to listen to the progress I have been making on my Wicked Problem Project as well surprises I have encountered, bumps in the road and pleasant delights. Enjoy.

Data Visualization

After exploring seiveral tools from Karl Gude's Wiki Data Visualization page I was pleasantly surprised to discover numerous visual (and audio) tools that are free and very easy to use. As I was exploring various tools, I was paying close attention to usability. I hope to implement some of these tools into my classroom for students to use. I "tinkered" with so many of them and I was fortunate to discover that of the ones I delved deeper into, I found them to be student friendly and very easy to use.

I tried AudioBoo. AudioBoo is a mobile and web platform that allows you to record and share audio. I found that not only is it free and easy to use, but it was also usable via cell phone which is a tool that most high school students possess. It is available for iPhone and Android phones. Because I hope to encourage students to record pod-casts as an assignment, I am happy to have found a tool that brings students closer to doing this task. I also tried Glogster. Glogster is an amazing tool that offers users the ability to create virtual collages. Users are able to incorporate images, video and animation as well as be creative with numerous layout options. Glogster virtual collages can also be interactive. Glogster is free for educators and up to ten students. More than ten student require a fee. Another tool I used from Gude's Wiki page was Strip Generator. Strip Generator is a free site that requires no registration where users can create comic strips. It is extremely easy to use and offers a variety of pre-made characters, props, etc... So there are some limits to its use. However its user-friendliness compensates for much of that. I envision students summarizing a scene from a piece of literature we have read in my English class or creating dialogue in Spanish for various units in my Spanish class. Depending on the goal or objective, these comic strips can be made in very little time. The following cartoon is one I created in about fifteen minutes, where I poke fun at my very long Mexican name on the first day of school.
This visualization is actually a true one. I am representing the first day of school when I share my very long ethnic name to my students. In the end they all end up calling me "Mrs. G".

I overall realized that there are so many tools available for educators to teach with; deliver content. And so many of the same tools for students to express learned content.  That has to be my "ah-ha" moment; students and educators using the same tools for different purposes.

Part B-Storyboard and Script

Our Group Leadership Project is truly proving to be a group effort. We communicate regularly; bouncing ideas of off each other and following up on questions, concerns and/or suggestions.  Even though we have began to work on specific tasks pertaining to each of us and our discipline, we are still providing feedback to each other and collaborating across the board for the good of the order almost daily. As a group, we decided on the format to be used (Google Presentation), how the presentation would proceed, and the format of each app discussed. My contribution to the group has been the introduction and the conclusion as well as the script for the slides I submit.   I am also in the process of sharing my own suggestions for IPad apps in the classroom with a detailed description of each one and how they may be used for learning. Please click here to view our Group Leadership Project.

The final product will be distributed via screencast or video with a voice over of one of our group members that has yet to be determined. There are several options that we are continuing consideration on as well as questions/problems that we are working to get answers to or resolved.

Web/Video Conferencing Lab

Google Hangout Web Conference

On Friday, yes Friday, November 16, Kyle, Brian and I met for the third time to discuss our Group Leadership Project. After a couple virtual meeting attempt failures, we were finally successful!

As stated in a previous blog, we attempted to meet using Vyew but had some sound and audio difficulties and we could not record. Our next option was Jing but later learned we could only record five minutes. Then we attempted to use Camtasia but found there was a $99 dollar fee. So in the end we reverted to Google Hangout+. Even though neither of us were very familiar with Google Hangout+ (some of us had only done it once before or seen it done), we quickly caught on and the meeting went smoothly. There were no awkward moments. We

Web conference

spoke a few times prior so I think we all were comfortable during our meeting. I could not see my group partners but that was not a problem. Our meeting was still productive. I think we will continue to use Google Hangout+ for meetings. We know how to use it and upload the video and then download the video or send the video and post the video, etc...
   Someone did mention how convenient this tool is and how it can be used in the classroom for parent-teacher conferences, or with colleagues. I could see myself using it in Spanish class; possibly conversing with native Spanish-speakers somehow.

WPP PART B- Application of TPACK

Progress on the Wicked Problem Project has been steady to say the least. I know, in my mind, what it is I'd like to address and what I envision the solution to be. The challenge appears to be communicating it effectively. So let me begin by reiterating the issue. As mentioned in a previous blog, the presence of cell phones in the classroom has not been a total distraction nor disruption but they have become a nuisance. Since my high school English and Spanish students are now allowed to carry their cell phones with them at all times, I find them preoccupied with what text they may be receiving or what the latest "tweet" from their BFF is rather then being interested with my instruction. I would see them peek at their phones and it annoyed me. Despite all my efforts to reprimand my students for fidgeting with my little nemesis I always fell short and knew I could not compete with these pieces of metal and plastic. So, I decided to do like Honest Abe, and put these rivals on my team and make cell phones useful in the classroom as educational tools. So an example of the plan is as follows:

Nearly all my students (at least 8 out of 10) have cell phones. Of these cell phones most have cameras and videos within them. Every two weeks students are given a set of vocabulary words. A choice of  projects  accompanies these vocab lists. Students choose the project that best meets their learning style. For example, students can create a collage, write a story, perform a rap, produce a book, etc....using their vocabulary words correctly. All these options require no technology. But since technology exist in the classroom, via cell phones,  I would like to see, NO REQUIRE,  students to create innovative, technology-rich vocabulary projects with their cell phones like short videos, pod casts  and blogs. There are apps that will enable students to do this.  This is just one example of how I envision making cell phones a required learning tool, just as valuable and necessary as coming to class with paper and pencils. I'm sure there are many more ways to put cell phones to good use in the classroom. That is what I will continue to explore.

I believe the technology of cell phones, depending on the assignment, activity or project,  supports teaching strategies such as scaffolding, student-centered/teacher facilitated, differentiated, cooperative and independent, hands-on, visual and  tactile learning. Assigning a student to create a  thirty second video with his/her phone using a free app like Animoto with the vocabulary list, encourages creativity and can accommodate a  broad range of learning styles. The student can create a slide show with pictures and/or words. Or the student can perform a skit with the help of others and record it. The student can create a blog and using the recording devise on his/her phone record him/herself reading a story he/she created or rapping a song with the vocabulary words and up load it to a post within the blog. The possibilities appear to be endless. So I will continue to explore what more is available.

The technology of cell phones makes the content of vocab (for example) more intellectually accessible in that many cell phones offer a vast amount of information and can perform a vast amount of duties, making learning easier, convenient (since students can create some of these assignments at home), and exciting. Students can refer to dictionary apps like Webster to expand their vocabulary. Or they can use an app like Chegg to create index cards for studying.

My pedagogical choices make the content more intellectually accessible by allowing the students an alternative format to complete assignments, display their creativity and learn in a meaningful 21st Century manner. Students will begin to see their cell phone as more than a communicating device but also as a learning aid that will enable them to explore other options to complete academic assignments.

My Wicked Problem Project is obviously still a work in progress. Continued exploration of solutions to the cell phone mayhem will continue.

Part A- Brainstorm Session

For your convenience, click here to listen to this blog rather than read it.

After being assigned to a group to create a ten minute stand alone professional development tutorial on technology, I quickly headed to see who I would be working with and what our topic would be. I was pleased to find myself in a group of very productive gentlemen who shared the same desire to incorporate mobile devices like smart phones and Ipads into our classrooms as a learning tool. We (Kyle, Brian and I) collaborated via email numerous times prior to our initial meeting using the web conferencing tool; Vyew. Vyew appears to be a very effective tool, but during our first use, we were experiencing sound and audio difficulties. We had to revert to talking on the phone as a means of verbal communication during this meeting. However, the following day Brian and I were toying with Vyew and had no audio/sound problems.  So we proceeded to continue using Vyew for another session only to again face those same audio/sound problems from a prior meeting. Furthermore we discovered that there was no way to record our session. We attempted to use Camtasia but learned there was a fee to utilize its full benefits. So we scrapped that idea and turned to our trusted Google Hangout option. Below is a video from our brainstorming meeting.

There are several advantages to using web conferencing tools. To begin, they are extremely convenient.  One does not have to commute which saves time and allows for more preparation. Secondly, these meeting can be recorded and referred to later for reference, unlike in-person meetings that are recorded only by means of notes scribbled on legal pads. Lastly, web conferencing tools like Google Hangout, allow you to share your screen and give your audience/group members, visuals. Despite literally being apart by miles, these conferencing meetings can be more intimate than traditional in-person meetings where some may feel uncomfortable crowding around you to see your computer screen. In virtual meetings online resources are easier to share.

The only disadvantages I faced (not sure I can speak for my whole group) with using a web conferencing tool was not knowing which of the hundreds available would best suit our needs. Google Hangout is great. But we pretty much chose it because we were already familiar with it and it is reliable. But I'm sure there is something better out there. The disadvantage is not knowing which web conferencing tool is the best fit for us, and learning how to use it. 

WPP Part A-Description of Need or Opportunity

Click here to listen to the need/opportunity to teach with mobile device.
As an instructor, teacher, professor, deliverer of knowledge, part-time parent, friend, nurse, "aunty," etc...it is easy to get lost in the demands of my teaching profession and be pulled in multiple directions. But with all that still comes a sense of self-value and appreciation for my worth my that makes my choice in career all worthwhile and satisfying.

Yet there is a daily nuisance in my classroom. A nemesis resides within that I cannot compete with. An opponent so powerful, I cannot, with all my strength, resources, and wits, overpower. This archenemy pulls the interest away from me to him. He is impatient and controlling. He is alluring and pressures my students to ignore me and pay attention to him. He tries to be discreet but his presence is ever dominate and powerful. Yes, I am talking about the CELL PHONE!!!

For years cell phones were prohibited in my school and for good reason. Some students were recording unknowing victims doing embarrassing things or they students were spreading rumors and even bullying other students in cyberspace. Cell phones were stolen or lost leading to upset students and angry parents flooding school offices with already limited staff, time, and resources. Cell phones were overall a distraction and disruption in our school and were therefore not allowed. However, last year it was decided by the Saginaw Board of Education that students would now be allowed to carry their cell phones in school and even in the classroom.  Students are free to have their cell phones with them at all times. Teachers were given the authority to create and enforce rules for cell phone use in the classroom. And we teachers decided that phones are to be turned off, not in use (even though most of us preach), and if they cause a distraction they would be confiscated and returned to a parent or guardian only. Early last year I confiscated so many that I actually lost track of whose phone belonged to whom. The phones were not causing  a disruption. I just saw that my students would often peek down at their lap during my presentations or lectures which told me that 1) they are not paying full attention to me and 2) the phones must be on, which is in violation of teacher rules which meant I HAD to take it. Rules are rules and other teachers get upset when all the teachers don't follow the agreement. I soon realized that confiscating the phones was far more distracting and disruptive that a student quietly peeking at his/her phone.

So I decided to no longer make a big deal about a student having a phone that is turned on. This was a battle  that I was just not going to win. I just explained to my students that they were not allowed to use them socially in class. I later learned that many students had smart phones and had useful apps that would benefit their learning in class like dictionary apps, book apps, Google, etc... I even started sharing useful apps that I had on my own phone, suggesting they get them like Chegg, ConjuVerb, Kahn Academy Mobile, etc... So I eventually began encouraging students to use their cell phones in class. On SSR (Silent-sustained Reading) days or work days I even allowed students to listen to music on their cell phones. The classroom was much quieter, there was less talking and more concentration.

Now I want to REQUIRE students to use their phones to complete classroom tasks, assignment and even projects. Research has found this to be where the future in education is headed. Click here for more details. After discovering that numerousl schools across the nation had equipped each of their students with their own personal mobile device for learning (see how Flushing  schools has approved Ipads in their budget). So I decided that is the direction I need to take my students in.