Hey, there! Where've you been? I've been waiting for you, hangin' out here in the digital divide, so I'm glad you found me! My purpose in the blog this week is to share a little more information about my "Call to Action", specifically to discuss my intended audience.  

     The bulk of my intended audience is the men and women who comprise the technology department, specifically those individuals in the Educational Technology department, within our school district. Technology changes in our district begin with this group and are driven by the department's desire to "provide a better education for all students.". Of the three individuals in the Ed Tech department, one is a technology specialist with a Masters degree in Educational Technology. The other two are Teacher Tech Trainers. One of the two trainers holds a Masters degree in Library Media Science and was the lead tech trainer for the secondary schools before making the move to the Ed Tech department. The other trainer is a former elementary classroom teacher with no advanced degree but she's been in the department for four years so she is familiar with the technology issues facing the teachers in our district. The head of the department (Director of I.T.) holds a Bachelors degree in Informational Technology. For those reasons, I can confidently say these individuals are well versed in Ed Tech concepts and lingo and will have a better-than-average understanding of the topic in my "Call to Action". I have chosen to include these individuals in my audience because they are the ones who make the decisions regarding technology in our district. I also plan to include our district's Director of New Staff Development.  Her support and cooperation will be paramount to the success of any new Ed Tech program designed for new teachers as they come on board and acclimate themselves to Lawton Public Schools. My goal is to "sell" the strategies and best practices included in my  "Call to Action" and garner the support of each of these aforementioned individuals so we can eventually work on developing a partnership of sorts with the local public university. As it stands right now, our local university offers a class in Media/Technology but (for the most part) we are not seeing new teachers come in confident in their tech abilities. A partnership with the university would by extremely beneficial as it would allow us to have some input and share our tech knowledge in the development of material that would help new teachers thrive with regards to using Ed Tech rather than just survive it.

     With regards to the prior knowledge I will need to provide in my presentation, I believe my intended audience, for the most part, will be pretty well versed in and familiar with the topic. My topic is providing ongoing professional development to in-service teachers as well as pre-service teachers. However, for the benefit of our Director of New Staff Development, I will explain the meaning of "digital divide" and provide some background knowledge to give her a frame of reference. I will assume she has only a basic understanding of digital equity issues and, as a result, will be quite specific about what it is and why there is a need for ongoing related professional development. My hope is that my explanations and research will be so thorough she won't have any questions but I will continue to think about/anticipate possible questions I could expect from her. 

      There will be the matter of reviewing and/or updating the district technology plan. I have not seen one and am not even sure if we have a current one. Nonetheless, we can address that issue once my proposal is accepted. We must obtain buy-in from teachers and administrators so thoughtful, engaging presentations will be key to their acceptance of a new plan/more professional development. It must NOT appear to be "more on their plate"; they must see the value and benefits of additional training and be willing to commit to being actively engaged during the professional development. Our school community has already identified improving student-centered use of technology as an objective in our Continuous Strategic Improvement Plan.  Helping them see the connection between a teacher's use of technology and a student's use will be incredibly important to my cause.  

    

 

     Hey, there!  I'm glad you've decided to visit my little blog.  If this is your first time here, WELCOME! If not, welcome back. So after last week's post, this question was posed: "Do you see your focus on teachers' use of tools spill over to students' meaningful use of tools?"  And my answer? Absolutely! Generally speaking, a teacher's comfort level and confidence when utilizing and demonstrating technology directly correlates (in my opinion) to a student's willingness to engage with and explore said technology. Teacher's attitudes, habits, and modeling can build an atmosphere of learning, if you will.  And that, friends, is the basis of my "Call to Action". To understand where I'm going with this, consider the figure (below) representing modified levels of the digital divide in school (Hohlfeld et al., 2008) as shared by Ritzhaupt and Hohlfeld, 2019, p. 23. 

     I firmly believe my district has done a great job of providing access to our students. We're a 1 device:1 student district and have been since the pandemic.  We initially worked with local internet providers to establish emergency connections/accessibility for students lacking those resources when we closed schools unexpectedly.  When we returned to in-person instruction, our district provided internet hot-spots for students who needed them. Our district's technology infrastructure has been updated frequently and maintained over the years so all in all, we've done a good job of covering the first level in the digital divide.  Level one, check.  Our issues, based on conversations with colleagues and students, direct observations, and my own personal experiences, begin at the "use" level- level two- and progress into the "creation"-level three-stage. I completely agree with the authors that, "...if the teachers are not trained to meaningful integrate ICT into students' instruction (e.g.,, sufficient professional development),...the Digital Divide may manifest as inequitable learning experiences with the ICT resources for the students" (Ritzhaupt and Hohlfeld, 2019, p. 24).  So what accounts for our digital short-comings?  

     Let's consider dividing factors that might be impacting our community members. Is it age? Maybe. From my own personal experiences with colleagues in my building, the younger teachers seem to be more willing to embrace and explore technology for more than just online worksheets and Zoom conferences.  Generally speaking, many older teachers are failing to keep up with changing technologies and are lacking skills and a knowledge base necessary to help students make the most of the technology they have. (Note I said "many" and not "all". There are exceptions. :-) ).  What about race, geography, socio-economic status, or gender, you might ask? Well, I'm not sure I feel comfortable making any assumptions about those factors. But age, for sure, is currently a dividing factor in our school. I have to wonder, though, if it would continue to be a factor if teachers were given adequate technology training. Professional development that actually helps build teachers' technology competencies and leads to more tech-savy teachers of all ages is imperative if we're going to help students increase their own digital successes. And that, my friends, leads me back to how we choose to use our technology and the "cans" and "cannots". 

      Our district has seemingly addressed the "haves and have nots" (level one) hurdles facing our students and now we must do something about the "cans and cannots" (level two).  We are currently falling short in our preparation of students to use technology for their personal empowerment. Thus, my "Call to Action". 

Normore, A. H., & Lahera, A. I. (Eds.). (2019). Crossing the Bridge of the Digital Divide:  A Walk with Global Leaders. IAP. ISBN:  9781641133906.

     

Ritzhaupt, A.D., & Hohlfeld, T. N. (2019). An Examination of the Digital Divide and its Dividing Factors in Formal Educational Settings.

Learning Technologies to Bridge the Digital Divide-week 1

    Welcome back to my blog. I'm happy you're here!  So the Spring semester has just begun, and I find myself in the middle of another exciting opportunity to learn more about technology integration and its impact on education.  During this first block of classes, I'm enrolled in EDUC 5353 Learning Technologies to Bridge the Digital Divide and it promises to stretch my thinking, for sure.                                                                                                             

     The assignment this week is to begin thinking about a "Call to Action" that will address digital inequities in our community. Our resources this week include a photo essay of sorts as well as a podcast, both of which feature the work of Nicol Turner Lee, the director of the Center for Technology Innovation. In the podcast, Dr. Lee shares her insights into the technological inequities facing America, specifically a small, rural town in Virginia. Her thoughtful musings made me consider the technological inequities that might exist within my own community. My community, for the purposes of this blog and my impending "Call to Action", will be my local school district. 

     My school district is located in an urban city nestled within the Wichita Mountains of southwest Oklahoma. The city itself boasts a population of roughly 94,000 people, of which approximately 14,000 are school-aged children enrolled in our public school system. According to statistics and information found on the "Public School Review" website, our district's (comprised of 25 schools) test scores rank in the top 50% of public schools in Oklahoma. Additionally, our district ranks in the top 20% of public school districts in Oklahoma for the most diverse schools. Per the website referenced, our district's minority enrollment is 63%.  A public statement made by our district's McKinney-Vento liaison suggests there are approximately 600 students enrolled in our district who meet the definition of "homeless" and are being served/aided through her office. I share these specifics with you to highlight what might be considered inequalities amongst our student population and to illustrate why I feel it's imperative to address the issue of technological inequities within my school district. 

     My district has done a great job of securing 1:1 devices for our students and hotspots for those who need them and providing IT assistance for parents and students during periods of remote/virtual learning such as we're currently experiencing. Therefore, physical access is not necessarily an issue. The divide, as I see it, becomes apparent as one considers how we (as teachers and facilitators of learning) are appropriating the skills and competencies necessary to facilitate said learning and assisting those students who might be on what Dr. Lee refers to in her podcast as "the wrong side of the homework gap".  Our district has invested great sums of money in purchasing many licenses for specialized sites and student learning management systems yet hasn't invested in actually helping teachers learn how to maximize the benefits of those sites and systems. Sure, our teachers got the prerequisite "Spend some time looking around the platform and playing with it yourself; email us if you have any questions" bit before being sent on our way to muddle through and learn the basics. What's missing, though, is a concerted effort to help our teachers realize the full potential of said sites and systems, and therein lies the need for my "Call to Action".

                                                                   

     If you have an interest in accessing Dr. Lee's photo essay "Closing the Digital and Economic Divides in Rural America", you can find it here: https://www.brookings.edu/longform/closing-the-digital-and-economic-divides-in-rural-america/ .  If you'd like to access the podcast featuring Dr. Lee, "Who's Left Out by America's Digital Divide", you can find it here:   https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/whos-left-out-by-americas-digital-divide/  

Until next time, Friends!

Digital Storytelling-Week 5

     So here we are in week five.  I'm currently working on draft number four of a story I thought I had a handle on. I'd planned each shot meticulously in my mind and even had some thoughts on the type of music I'd use to help convey the emotions I wanted to really connect with my audience.   Little did I know I would be stretched and unsettled over the next three weeks and my story would morph into something quite different from my original thoughts.    Although my story has taken some unexpected turns, the concept, the subject matter, and the audience have all remained the same. 

     After several re-writes over the weeks, I am now at the point of no return.  My final plan-the one I'm stickin' with- is to create a documentary style story. I will not appear on camera but rather act as an off-screen narrator.  My focus will be the stories and reactions my colleagues share during their interviews.  There will be several individual interviews and at least one interview in a small group setting.  The script (what little there is of it) will be entirely dependent on the participants.  They will be carrying the bulk of the conversation/story while I manage the story transitions to (hopefully) move seamlessly from topic to topic.  The subject matter is teacher stress and burnout and will, quite possibly, address several topics.  I have the shots in mind that I'd like to make and I have the story progression all mapped out. I know I've got the tools I'll need to record (iPad, lapel mics, iPad stand, lighting, etc.) and plan to edit through Moviemaker HD . My current timeline includes filming this week, editing over Thanksgiving break, sharing with my colleagues during our week six and being ready to share with all of you, my peers, the following week. Before I get to that point, however, I want to revisit some of the resource options Dr. Shannon shared with us.

     I guess, like any novice storyteller, I am still looking to include some kind of "WOW" factor to ensure my audience stays fully engaged.  I've kinda' wrestled with this because I know that a great story will keep an audience fully engaged without any special extras. I know my subject matter is relevant and compelling to the right audience but maybe I should include something extra "just in case".  I have experience with Chatterpix, one of the tools Byrne included in his online article. While my students love the talking animation feature Chatterpix includes, I don't think it's quite right for the seriousness of my story.  Adobe Spark, while useful, doesn't sound as though it offers the same level of "extras" as the MovieMaker HD Pro (which I currently use) does. WeVideo, however, is a resource I do plan to investigate since I am making a documentary of sorts.  I don't plan to include AR or VR so I won't be using any of those resources, nor do I plan to create an ebook or podcast.  Many of these resources, however, would make engaging additions to my tech club "tool chest", so I'm definitely bookmarking Byrne's article to refer to later with my students. Kapuler's web article included a ton of resources, most I'd never even heard of. That's definitely exciting for me as a "techie" and I'm excited to investigate and explore them all with my students. But back to this student's assignment: my digital story.

     My intended audience is the stakeholders in my school district: our administrators, school board members, parents, the education department chair at our local university, and anyone else willing to watch/listen. The purpose of my story is NOT to call anyone out or point fingers. The purpose of the story is to help these people, many of whom have been out of the classroom for a very long time (if they ever were in the classroom in the first place), see what teachers are feeling. Yes, they've probably already heard most of these points my colleagues will be making, but I want them to really see that the crisis is here at our own front door. And while my colleagues and I are grateful and appreciative of the small retention bonus awarded us earlier this year or the Christmas bonus every employee received, these issues are not going to be resolved by throwing money at the problems.  It's going to take a united effort from all of us to rectify this situation before the crisis gets any worse. I also want other teachers to find some support and solidarity through this story. Many teachers are suffering in silence, crying on the way home from work each night so their family members, friends, and colleagues won't see their pain.I don't have any answers but we do have some suggestions worth considering.  

     This assignment has helped me strengthen my video production skills as well as my writing skills. It's opened up a plethora of new tech resources for my students and I to explore and, hopefully, entice other teachers to explore. Additionally, it has helped me find my voice and courage to tell the story so many teachers are experiencing these days. I want our community, including our students, to know that teachers are fighting daily to give their students the very best they have to offer but unless there are drastic changes to how we see educators, how we treat educators, how we pay educators, education as we know it will be a thing of the past. Because as we sit and debate the issues and sweep them under the rug, the highly qualified, college trained teachers we rely on are leaving the career field in droves.

    

Byrne, R. (2019). Ten digital storytelling tools for students of all ages. Practical Ed Tech (n.d.). Retrieved from:  https://practicaledtech.com/2019/08/26/ten-digital-storytelling-tools-for-students-of-all-ages/

Kapular, D. (June 3, 2020). Top 30 tools and apps for digital storytelling.  Tech & Learning.  Retrieved from:  https://www.techlearning.com/tl-advisor-blog/30-sites-and-apps-for-digital-storytelling

Digital Storytelling-Week 3

 Greetings!  It's been quite a week and I'm feeling a bit underwhelmed by my own efforts recently.  My blog post this week is anything but stellar and I find my current state of uncertainty unnerving. The assignment was to share my Digital Storytelling Project Plan.  And that, my friends, is what is at the root of my uncertainty.  Prior to class Monday evening I thought I had my story all figured out. It's a topic I feel pretty passionate about so I thought I could see my story from beginning to end very clearly.  Now, not so much. I'm counting on you, dear classmates, to help me decide how to tell my story.  Here's the link (below) to my project plan. And thanks in advance for helping me tell this story.  

Respectfully,

Pam

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f_hNQJyHN0nJ7IvqRVComrWvB6H3bteA/view?usp=sharing  

Digital Storytelling-Week 2: Becoming a Digital Storyteller

      This week's assignment had us taking a closer look at creating, sharing, and assessing digital stories- or "new media narratives"- as Ohler (p.17) refers to them.  Our objective this week was to view an online digital story example, reflect on the piece, and make connections to Ohler's text via discussion questions.  With that in mind, I grabbed a bowl of popcorn and sat down to enjoy a couple of tantalizing presentations produced by Met Media.  And when I say "tantalizing", I am not being facetious; I truly found the content engaging.  

    The first presentation I viewed was a "behind the scenes" look at the Met's Digital Storytelling Lab for students: #MetKids- Our Words, Our Stories.   (You can check it out here to see this super example of digital storytelling for yourself): https://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video/metkids/metkids-made-by-kids/digital-storytelling-lab-2016 .  The story revolves around young participants creating original stories based on the art found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's galleries. The story is a personal narrative mini-documentary featuring the young authors giving their "take" on what the experience was all about. The uplifting music playing in the background adds an air of whimsy to the content and draws the viewer into the pure pleasure and excitement the students experienced. The story relied on live-action sequences and photo stills to convey the intended message. The producers of the video also utilized on-screen text to label people and "chapters", if you will.  Overall, this personal experience story was engaging and interesting to watch.  Perhaps I found it as such because I have an interest in the subject matter. As Ohler points out, "...a story resonates when others can relate to it" (p.25).  I definitely found the content relatable and was completely engaged. I found the presentation memorable, not on an emotional level, per se, but rather from an interest and educational standpoint. I caught myself wanting to question the subjects of the piece about their experiences with the subject matter. I also wanted to question their use of the Twine (choose your own adventure) site and the MDQ (major dramatic question) technique they utilized. That, according to Ohler, was the hook that made me an active viewer. Would a different viewer have the same experience? Maybe or maybe not, depending on their level of interest in the subject matter. 

      Regardless of one's interest level in the subject matter, there is definitely academic value contained within and through the use of this presentation.  Ohler (2013) suggests equal parts academic focus and engagement when creating a story. Within the story, it was easy to see the academic value of the cross-curricular content areas involving language arts (writing, story elements, etc.), art, and public speaking.  How could it be used in education? This digital story could be used to introduce students to the art of digital storytelling because it contains so many of the elements that make digital stories dynamic:  music, on-screen text, live-action sequences, and photo stills, among others. Or perhaps it could simply be a precursor to a lesson on writing adventure stories. I've given two examples of its possible use in education and I'm certain there are many more I've not considered. 

     How would I assess what I saw in this digital presentation?  I would draw four or five specific traits from Ohler's Digital Stories Assessment Traits table (p.90) to create a rubric. *Note: I take exception to Ohler's (2013) statement that, "...traditional educators often aren't new media literate (a situation that is changing as teachers become younger and more digitally savvy) and thus don't feel comfortable assessing new media projects..." (p.84).  While I realize he is not speaking in absolutes, I believe that educators, no matter their age, are life-long learners and are willing to learn IF someone is willing to teach them. 

     Speaking of being a life-long learner, I found this digital story so interesting, I decided to watch some of the student-created stories that were included on the #MetKids site so I could informally assess the students' presentations. They were great and became sort of motivators for me as I have decided to plan a stop-motion animation unit for my Intermediate Music students.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  Until next time...

Mrs.Thomas: TeacherTechster

Resources:

Ohler, J. (2013). Digital Storytelling in the Classroom: New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications ISBN-13: 978-1452268255; ISBN-10: 1452268258.

Digital Storytelling Week 1

     So the road to my Masters includes a short layover in "Digital Storytelling". To be honest, I've been looking forward to this class. I love all things "techie" and am frequently called upon to assist others in my building. I started our school's technology club where students have the opportunity to learn the ins and outs of broadcasting, green screen and stop motion technology, and our own version of digital storytelling.  But I'm getting ahead of myself.  Let me pause briefly to introduce myself.  

     My name is Pamela Thomas and I am an elementary school teacher.  I have been teaching for 24 years and began my career as an early childhood teacher primarily teaching students in Kindergarten and first grade.  Recently, however, I decided to make the move to teaching elementary Music to our entire student population (approximately 300 students).  As mentioned earlier, I started our school's technology club and provide opportunities for our students to work with technology in a variety of ways not always available to them in the regular classroom setting. Members of the "club" learn how to use stop-motion animation, green screen applications, recording and editing software and other tech resources to create and broadcast news casts and commercials all while telling their own stories they share with our school audience.  

     The experience I've gained at work while sponsoring our "Technology Club" and helping students discover an interest in technology helped me discover a hidden passion I didn't even realize I had. I absolutely LOVE the creative outlet I'm afforded while telling stories through digital platforms. I have taken over the role of web-master for our school as well as "social media coordinator" (fancy, self-appointed title for Facebook page administrator). These additional roles, while rewarding, are also time- consuming and stressful. Thinking about all the additional duties and responsibilities teachers have thrust upon them has led me to consider a story about teacher burnout and the teacher exodus we're currently seeing. This isn't a new topic but it is certainly a timely one, in my opinion. We've heard experiences from around the United States, but I would like to bring the issue down to a more personal, district-level issue. My approach would be to include "shadow" interviews with new teachers as well as veteran teachers to hear their experiences and perspectives and see where these interviews take us.  It's still a really rough idea but I think it's one worth following. According to Ohler (2013), "...the heartbeat of most good stories is conflict resolution" (p. 9).  Teachers are in conflict and need to be heard. Telling their stories and bringing to light the real issues facing our educators may just help them, their students, and education as a whole survive this most difficult time.  

     As far as which platform I might choose to use, I haven't given it much thought. Presenting the story as a podcast is a possibility, as is a traditional video presentation. Middleton (2013) offers some very compelling thoughts (for the time) on using the podcast/videocast as an option for delivery of the digital content. He describes the process by which the media is recorded and shared via an RSS feed for distribution. Further, he points out that students need choice in how they access the media and may be more willing to subscribe to an automated feed (iTunes, etc.) due to ease of use.  When considering distribution of my digital story, I must think about the audience I intend to reach. At this point in the planning process, I expect my story to be for a very small, specific audience. I am not planning to reach the masses with my story, just those individuals within my immediate school community who can help affect change and, as Ohler (2013) suggests, "...help us make sense out of the chaos of life" (p. 9). Either way, I am looking forward to the engagement and education this story will bring.

Middleton, A. (2013). Digital voices: A collaborative exploration of the recorded voice in post compulsory education. MELSIG & Sheffield Hallam University. CC BY NC-ND 4.0

Ohler, J. (2013).  Digital Storytelling in the Classroom:  New Media Pathways to Literacy, Learning, and Creativity.  Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications