ASSESS ME

  ASSESS ME

The future holds some amazing tools and methods for assessment in education.  Tools that have 3D projection and wall format display glass that makes it easier to learn and teach with.  These tools can also be used for assessment.  Assessment itself will offer new modes of assessment that will help teachers meet their students’ “need to learn, when they need to learn it to learn what they need, when they need to learn it, in a way that is most interesting to them” (http://youtu.be/7idyNIvVCis).  But, how close are we to seeing schools use technology for assessment and instruction?

In my opinion and using the Texas Teacher School Technology and Readiness (STaR) Chart performance descriptions, I would have to say that we are in the developing technology phase. As a teacher formerly from the north Texas area, I know that there are quite of few schools and districts that are at the forefront of technology education trends such as New Technology High School in Coppell, TX.   Currently, as a teacher in the south Texas area, I know from my own experiences and the experience of my contacts in other school districts in this area, there is still some teacher resistance and lack of knowledge and training in the use of some the current technologies.  Available tools such as rapid response systems, Plickers, Socrative.com, NearPod, e-portfolios, and EdModo just to name a few, are randomly used by teachers within their classrooms.  Unless mandated to use specific assessment tools, the majority of teachers do not use them.  When it comes to the use of a mandated assessment tool, such as AWARE which is the assessment component part of the Eduphoria suite apps, teachers learn to use it because they have to.  Although the assessment component allows for analysis with the hope of individualized instruction and remediation for students, the data may be skewed because the assessments created are only as good as the creators.

Again, I believe we are in the DEVELOPING stage.  The future is here and we,unfortunately, are not adapting as quickly as new technology and assessment methods are arriving.  

Visual Literacy:  how i SEE it 

Humans are visual creatures. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual, and visuals are processed 60,000X faster in the brain than text. (Sources: 3M Corporation and Zabisco) Before the written word, images were used for communication.  In an individual’s formative years of education, visuals play a big part in the learning process.  Pictures are used to identify and relate objects to written words.  As students get older, the visual part of learning is slowly removed which in my opinion is a shame because today's students live in a world where visuals beyond the ordinary daily visuals are everywhere.  An example of this, is the weather report on the news.  You no longer have a map of the country with little cut out suns and clouds representing the conditions.  Now you are presented with a visual which is delivered via a computerized system and google satellite maps for the viewer to decipher and analyze alongside the weather person.  Visual literacy is necessary for all but as a science person I believe it is even more essential for students who intend to pursue careers in science and technology.   

As important as visual literacy is, one must take into consideration that culture can affect our view of the world and thus, will affect the perceptions of different visuals.  Our culture can shape our perceptions. For example, if red is positive happy color in one's culture, then a visual with such color would bring about a positive response and a greater desire for a student to analyze and interpret the visual.  Research conducted by Denise Park of the University of Illinois in Urbana, US, concluded that over the course of decades, culture shapes how the brain perceives images.This needs to be taken into consideration when teachers are teaching visual literacy to the diverse classroom.  

As a science teacher, charts, graphs, photographs, and other visual information are my life.  I am a visual learner and for me, they are all an intricate part of who I am and what I do. My world would be quite blah without the visuals and the challenge that some of them present in interpreting them.  On a more personal note, I have two confessions to make.  First, I must confess that when I read a scholarly article I keep hoping that there would be some kind of visual to it because the picture would take the place of a thousand words. Secondly, I confess that I still look for the pictures first when I read through a book or magazine.  

Reference

Can culture dictate the way we see? (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11785-can-culture-dictate-the-way-we-see.html#.VN_NISvF8qw

CHANGE fear

CHANGE FEAR

Twelve noon, Tuesday, February 3, 2015, was three plus years in the making.   I presented at  #TCEA2015 .  TCEA stands for Texas Computer Education Association.  It is the largest state organization devoted to the use of technology in education.  To be selected to present at this organization’s state conference in Austin, TX was testimony to my desire to help lead in education’s digital transformation.  This could never of happened had I not let go of fear.  Fear of the unknown which kept me teaching the very same way I was taught.  Fear of failure which kept me from moving forward and taking a chance on increasing my education.  

On Tuesday, February 3, 2015, after presenting to adults whose own education, teaching experience, and or technology knowledge and skills may have been more than mine,  they let me know that they had learned something new from me which they could not wait to implement in their classrooms   I was washed over with a sense of gratification, self-confidence and self-respect.  I did it!  I actually did it.  Still, I had to ask myself, what took me so long?  I cannot believe how long it took me to get over the fears that have held me back but, I did it and that is what matters now.  

The repercussions of my actions today are affecting not only my own classroom but the classrooms of other educators.  A key requirement for this to happen is to embrace change.  I am proof that a person can increase their education and knowledge and that others can benefit positively because of that one change.  “The first step in successful tech integration is recognizing the change that may need to happen inside of yourself and in your approach to teaching” http://www.edutopia.org/.  

I DIDN'T GET TO GO: As I look over my "old" blog site, http://ididntge...

I DIDN'T GET TO GO: As I look over my "old" blog site, http://ididntge...: As I look over my "old" blog site, http://ididntgettogo.blogspot.com/ , I take note of the last time I posted anything.  May 20...

As I look over my "old" blog site, http://ididntgettogo.blogspot.com/ , I take note of the last time I posted anything.  May 2011 seems so long ago and yet in contrast to universe time, it is a minuscule amount of time. Miniscule as it may be, the life events that have taken place during the last three plus years bare great significance and importance to me.  In 2011, I embarked on a journey of self-improvement through higher education and studies.  Prior to that, I had very little educational technology knowledge and was using only that which was required to be used within my science classroom.  I did not text, tweet, facebook, youtube, instagram, thinglink, selfie, collaborate, virtual lab it, or online discuss it, just to name a few things.  Basically, I used the minimal amount of technology that I could use and as a result,  that overflowed into my science classroom.  According to John Spencer (http://www.educationrethink.com/2012/07/11-reasons-teachers- arent-using .html), I possessed the first two of the characteristics that seem to be characteristic of teachers who don’t use technologies in the classroom.  Those two reasons are fear and low self-efficacy.  My fear of the unknown and hesitance to change not only hindered me in being part of the 21st century, the repercussions unbeknownst to my students and to me, were affecting my students, their futures, and me. That is not who I wanted to be and that is not who I am today.