About the Author
I often times think back to 8th grade and my math teacher, Mr. Hutchinson. At this point I wasn’t a very strong student or mathematician. This didn’t deter Mr. Hutchinson. He pushed me in ways that I hadn’t encountered previously. It is hard to define a single action that led to my success but I remember feeling supported and was held accountable for my own learning. This accountability piece was a backbone of how I was raised that when utilized in the classroom, it just fit.
Having taught math for the past decade, I spent much of my time focusing on the pedagogical and content areas of the subject. As a teacher and curriculum designer within Oakland Unified, the way that students understood and applied knowledge in mathematics was key. This curriculum, which was used district wide was centered around students using discourse as they investigated and developed skills in small, cooperative groups. As I transitioned from this position to my current placement in an alternative high school in Portland, my pedagogical toolkit needed additional resources to be successful. Some of the new challenges faced were infrequent attendance, large skill gaps and a reluctancy to buy into a system that hadn’t proven itself to work for these individuals.
Last year, I developed sets of self contained units to allow students to work at their own pace and skill level within the same class. Students would self-select a small group or work individually to complete the given unit. This system worked but lacked true accessibility that our students needed. Google Classroom presented itself as a platform where units and lessons could be posted and students could access the content inside and outside the classroom. This is where Touro’s Innovative Learning program with a focus on TPACK came to play a huge role in my development as a teacher. Leveraging technology to meet the needs of each individual student who comes through our doors is not only helping each student learn and work towards a diploma but is developing 21st Century skills that will be needed as they enter the workforce or post secondary education.
Having taught math for the past decade, I spent much of my time focusing on the pedagogical and content areas of the subject. As a teacher and curriculum designer within Oakland Unified, the way that students understood and applied knowledge in mathematics was key. This curriculum, which was used district wide was centered around students using discourse as they investigated and developed skills in small, cooperative groups. As I transitioned from this position to my current placement in an alternative high school in Portland, my pedagogical toolkit needed additional resources to be successful. Some of the new challenges faced were infrequent attendance, large skill gaps and a reluctancy to buy into a system that hadn’t proven itself to work for these individuals.
Last year, I developed sets of self contained units to allow students to work at their own pace and skill level within the same class. Students would self-select a small group or work individually to complete the given unit. This system worked but lacked true accessibility that our students needed. Google Classroom presented itself as a platform where units and lessons could be posted and students could access the content inside and outside the classroom. This is where Touro’s Innovative Learning program with a focus on TPACK came to play a huge role in my development as a teacher. Leveraging technology to meet the needs of each individual student who comes through our doors is not only helping each student learn and work towards a diploma but is developing 21st Century skills that will be needed as they enter the workforce or post secondary education.
Driving Question - Tech Independence through the Digital Design Process
How can the use of hyperdocs and a digital design process help promote independence in learning within content and technology?
Are these units or lessons accessible to learners outside of the classroom? What technological tools are being built into the design? What kinds of questions do students have when being asked to work in certain ways? |
Learning Innovative Lab Site Review
Nai Saelee
Nai's site is most definitely geared towards the classroom teacher by providing an intro into the frustrations of a math teacher and providing digital tools to be able to support individualized instruction in a classroom of 30+ students. The overall design and layout of the site is easy to follow and I found myself nodding as I read Nai's lead ups (I am a math teacher so I might be slightly biased). The images that Nai used were engaging. useful and very clean. When searching through the lessons portions, the materials presented were downright cool. I loved the task about saving water as well as the task involving medical plans. I do wonder though, how designing engaging, relevant tasks fits within the independent learning aspect of Nai's project. Perhaps this would become clearer as I dug into the site more.
Lisa Gottfried
Lisa's site would be useful for teachers looking to develop a digital writing program or a school site seeking a graduation "capstone" for their exiting students. I found myself reading every tidbit that Lisa put within each section. The direction was clear and full of useful insights and tools for the educator (or admin) to think about. I appreciate how Lisa created her own screencasts as the tutorials; this gives the site a personal feel by being able to hear the authors voice.
Jen Ellison
Just reading through Jen's site I get a sense of the type of educator she is! I could see a teacher wanting to engage students through a gamified classroom coming to Jen's capstone site and taking away a ton of ideas and resources. Even as a high school teacher, while perusing the site I was thinking of ways I could integrate something similar in my setting. I would of loved to see some of Jen's resources though. I saw that there were pictures but no links to them. Ultimately, I could see myself reaching out to Jen to ask questions about gamifying my classroom based on her writings.
Devorah Avrukin
Learning styles and how as teachers we plan and design to reach various styles is such an important part of our job that can be difficult to accomplish. I appreciate how Devorah presented various videos showing how to incorporate various learning styles into lessons. With this, the site is driven towards teachers who want assistance in helping reach a wider learning audience.
Nai's site is most definitely geared towards the classroom teacher by providing an intro into the frustrations of a math teacher and providing digital tools to be able to support individualized instruction in a classroom of 30+ students. The overall design and layout of the site is easy to follow and I found myself nodding as I read Nai's lead ups (I am a math teacher so I might be slightly biased). The images that Nai used were engaging. useful and very clean. When searching through the lessons portions, the materials presented were downright cool. I loved the task about saving water as well as the task involving medical plans. I do wonder though, how designing engaging, relevant tasks fits within the independent learning aspect of Nai's project. Perhaps this would become clearer as I dug into the site more.
Lisa Gottfried
Lisa's site would be useful for teachers looking to develop a digital writing program or a school site seeking a graduation "capstone" for their exiting students. I found myself reading every tidbit that Lisa put within each section. The direction was clear and full of useful insights and tools for the educator (or admin) to think about. I appreciate how Lisa created her own screencasts as the tutorials; this gives the site a personal feel by being able to hear the authors voice.
Jen Ellison
Just reading through Jen's site I get a sense of the type of educator she is! I could see a teacher wanting to engage students through a gamified classroom coming to Jen's capstone site and taking away a ton of ideas and resources. Even as a high school teacher, while perusing the site I was thinking of ways I could integrate something similar in my setting. I would of loved to see some of Jen's resources though. I saw that there were pictures but no links to them. Ultimately, I could see myself reaching out to Jen to ask questions about gamifying my classroom based on her writings.
Devorah Avrukin
Learning styles and how as teachers we plan and design to reach various styles is such an important part of our job that can be difficult to accomplish. I appreciate how Devorah presented various videos showing how to incorporate various learning styles into lessons. With this, the site is driven towards teachers who want assistance in helping reach a wider learning audience.