ISTE 2 Module
Collaboration and Communication

As a new teacher just starting out, the idea of incorporating technology is somewhat daunting.  The idea of creating lesson plans and supporting students in their use of digital tools and media options to engage with, produce original works, or solve problems seems a large undertaking. It requires teachers to first be aware of and proficient with the digital tools themselves in order to facilitate the students learning. To further this learning into communication and collaboration with learners of other cultures, makes it even more daunting. This line of thinking brought me to my personal trigger question: What platforms and projects are available to middle school Language Arts classrooms for communication and collaboration with other distant classrooms? Knowing what apps and platforms are out there and how other teachers are already using these, was my guiding thought. In my search for information, I came across many articles and blogs that had comprehensive lists of available resources. The written feedback for some of these was just as useful as the list, as these are people/teachers sharing what they have used. Check out my mind map area: Great list of technology tools to view a few of these.

In my search, I found this article, Collaborative Learning Spaces: Classrooms That Connect to the World by Jennifer Williams on the Edutopia website. My draw to this article was that it not only listed some of the apps/platforms available as a starting place for me to look into, but it also illustrated how a future digital-friendly classroom might look and function. ISTE 2 Standard deals in students doing more than just collaborating with teachers and classmates, they are to  expand their global  awareness and engagement with other cultures. This article was an example of how this “globally interactive” classroom might work. The article discussed how classrooms might be arranged to promote a technology based learning environment. Unlike traditional classrooms there is no “front” of the classroom and students can have a variety of seating options because students are connected digitally. Classrooms would consist of collaboration stations instead of traditional desk or tables. According to Williams, these stations are where “physical spaces can be connected to virtual spaces” resulting in “international learning teams with students of the world.” ( 2015). I found this to be an interesting concept, but very applicable as that is the way businesses are structured more and more. Current and future job skills require the ability to use technology to interact with other businesses/people all over the world.

As to my question of platforms and projects that I could use in a middle school Language Arts classroom. A few mentioned apps in this article were Nearpod, Padlet, Kahoot, Google Drive, Periscope, Google Hangouts, Skype in the Classroom, so I used this as a starting point as was suggested by a classmate. Padlet was a highly recommended tool. It provides “Walls” that can be themed where students can post. One example for a posted “wall” question was, “Read or write a poem about where you were born.” In a setting that includes other cultures these responses could be powerful learning. Students could also share or post links for information. Periscope, a free smartphone app “allows users to broadcast a live video stream to public or private audiences. Throughout broadcasts, followers join in and view the video in real time from anywhere in the world. The chatbox feature allows viewers to interact by adding comments or questions” (Siracusa, 2015). Periscope had some great project ideas, such as, virtual field trips and expert speakers. Both of these offer great lesson ideas.

Overall, this article showed how classrooms and technology can be used to support interactive global learning. Technology has bridged distances and students are now communicate and collaborate on a global scale. A key idea of ISTE Standard 2 is creating cultural awareness in students. This article showed how this might be achieved with students working together to bridge cultural gaps and expand each others experiences..

References

Siracusa, F. (2015, December 28). Periscope: Connecting Classrooms to the World. Retrieved January 27, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/periscope-connecting-classrooms-to-world-fran-siracusa-jennifer-williams

Williams, J. (2015, October 16). Collaborative Learning Spaces: Classrooms That Connect to the World. Retrieved January 27, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/collaborative-learning-spaces-connect-to-world-jennifer-williams-fran-siracusa