Transliteracy is the ability to read, write and interact across a range of platforms, tools and media. As I am in the final semester of the masters program, and now slowly beginning my capstone project, I need to encompass all parts of transliteracy to show my journey in the  learning process of the program.

My whole thought process has changed when it comes to planning on how I'm going to teach the various standards to my students. I need to plan, that within any of the subjects that we cover, from math to reading, etc., my students need  access the materials in all types of mediums, not just paper and pencil. 

​I see that the incorporation of Transliteracy teaching methods will engage all of my students with different levels of abilities. Using various teaching methods can help support the various strengths in students, but also prepares them for the fast and ever-changing world.  As I move forward in my career, I will be preparing my students as much as I can through the access of being transliterate. 

Entering this masters program in Innovative learning, I hoped to learn about how to transform my current teaching method by incorporating 21st century skills into my elementary classroom.. Thus far, I have to say that I have learned a lot, and have incorporated many skills into the classroom involving technology.

This program has made me reflect upon how much I have grown. I come from parents that have elementary and middle school backgrounds at best from another country. Being the first to go to college in my family, I think I have set a good example that anything is possible with some effort. 

I have enjoyed being a part of a diverse cohort when it comes to grade level and experience. My cohort members teach in middle and upper grades, where I am in elementary.  My group's varying experience really helps me see the progression to where my students need to be in skill performance by the time they get to middle and high school. 

I look forward to working with my cohort towards completing our capstone. I think that all members are professional,  responsible, yet humorous and easy going. These characteristics that our group has, has contributed to a positive cohesion , and I am confident that we will complete this program in a successful way. 

As I'm reflecting about my journey through this summer semester, I'm still not sure if I have become a more innovative teacher. I do have some tech tools under my belt, and I do have a project to incorporate into my new class for reading, but is this whole process going to steer me closer to becoming innovative? Some challenges that I may face moving forward could be the push back from other teachers . We do have to follow a certain curriculum, and the thought of me trying to convince others to try some tech tools for fluency may be a bit scary or unnecessary in their opinion, they might think why fix our method if it works?

Looking towards the future semester, I'm hoping to have some guidance towards a streamlined way to complete my capstone.  When I think of completing this program, I want to have support and guidance so that I can feel good about my experience. What I don't want to experience is a bunch of work that will have me spinning into circles. I think streamlined is the word that I will see to what I want out of this program, just like the work that I will want to use in my classroom. I look forward to the new school year!

The tech games my previous students would play were more math centered, such as Khan Academy and Prodigy. At first, students were really into Khan Academy because they enjoyed the challenge of participating in the learn-storm. But when the challenge ceased, so did their interest, it wasn't too exciting. Prodigy was a favorite because students had math to complete correctly. Then a game would challenge them, and they could play with other classmates which was the biggest selling point. I'm not sure if I'm going to continue either of the two games in my classroom next year, but there are a couple new games I'd like to start.

No Red Ink is focused on grammar of all learning levels. I like this content specific game site because the teaching of grammar can be improved in the classroom. Teaching grammar can be so bland, but No Red Ink can adjust to the interests of the student making learning fun. I tried a few "games" and I thought that they were very educational and interesting. I'll give it a try in the new school year. 

Socrative is a site that I kept hearing about for a while, but I had never tried it. Its a way to have students respond in a quick manner, such as a ticket out the door, or a quick poll in real time. I will use Socrative as a warm up or exit ticket to get a sense where the students may be at that time. 

I will possibly be incorporating Class Dojo as my classroom management tool. I have had lower grade teachers in the past rave about how great Class Dojo was. I was never a believer because I taught sixth grade and considered it to be too "techie". But after completing my second semester in this masters program, I'm considering myself as becoming a bit "techie". 

The Tpack model has been able to bridge the gap that I needed as a teacher. I am starting to consider in every academic class that I will be teaching, how to incorporate technology and make learning fun and interactive. I am not a gamer, never have been. The only video game I liked playing was Pac-Man, and I thought I was pretty good. I have owned a playstation for a few years and have only used it to watch movies, (my husband's the gamer). All that in mind, I do see how games have evolved  and how all 4 C's can be incorporated through an educational game. I'm very excited about my upcoming year in teaching.

TPACK Framework

Watching the short intro youtube video about the TPACK framework (technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge), and reviewing the article about sense making, helped reinforce what the framework is, and how I need to use it in my teaching practice from now on. As I am creating my prototype, I am now thinking of what type of technology will I use to help reinforce the content, and how am I going to do this. Not only am I thinking about my prototype, but my entire way of teaching from now on.

Through this program, I have learned so much about the importance of technology in education. I plan on using tech daily if possible. I love the fact that I can use Flipgrid to have students prcatice their reading fluency, and then they can assess themselves, now is powerful. I plan on have Padlet as a daily check-in or exit ticket for students. Student's project have now changed along with the myriad of programs that are available to let out their creativity. Technology allows all students to creatively and critically produce without  always having a language barrier. 

The challenges that I might face about technology might be the failure of internet in the classroom, it happens sometimes. Another barrier I could face is the lack of tech access from students at home,  therefore all tech will be completed in class to allow equal access. The biggest challenge that I might face is the "buy-in" of colleagues to incorporate tech in their classroom . Many educators have not had the chance to be exposed to the ever-changing tech world, and push-back might happen, which will only harm the students.

​

I'm trying to enjoy the process of tweeting in twitter, but it's not my thing-yet. After being asked to find a twitter chat to participate in, I took a very long time figuring out which one to try, maybe too long. I found #Edutopiachat which hosts a twitter chat every month at 4 p.m. PT. This chat took place on July 11 because July 4th, which is the first Wednesday, took lace on a holiday. The topic of conversation was on strategies for reaching apathetic students.

The educators online had so many great comments and ideas on how to try to reach students that did not care.  The importance of building a safe classroom culture was the majority of the responses. I liked how one person said to "learn the kids so they can learn the topic". This idea made sense to me, it's about really knowing where the child comes from and what their learning style is.  Another quote that resonated with me was that apathy is a mask for insecurity. It's task for us to be willing to help a student build their self worth through a safe and trusting environment.

I see the value of twitter chats. I will put it on my calendar to participate in one at least every month. This is a great way to participate in a professional learning environment and get some ideas of what is out there.

I tried a few new tools to see which ones I could incorporate into my classroom next year. A tool that tried and liked was flip grid. At first I was hesitant about planning to use it in my future 4th grade class, but after I looked at some examples, I think that my students will really like it. There are many different examples already  set up. Flipgrid is a video conversation tool where students can respond to a question posted through recording themselves in video format and the class can see all the responses. 

Some ways I plan on using flip grid, in the beginning of the school year, is by having students introduce themselves to the class. This activity will be great because everyone can pronounce their names correctly, have equal voice, and we can also avoid the shy quiet voices because all will be heard equally.  When it come to assessing students through flip grid, I think of reading fluency. We test students to hear their fluency, but having the kids record how they read aloud could be pretty powerful. They can assess their own reading and collaborate with others to get suggestions how how they can improve. Some barriers could be the lack of access of technology, or properly working cameras and microphones, but I plan on using this in my classroom so that I guarantee all students have equal access. So flip grid is a great tool!

Another tool I tried was Ibook Author. This is a nice tool for creating story books. I think students can create their own narrative stories and add different forms of visuals to make their narrative come to life. I can also create things for my class room to learn from. The one caveat is that the tool is compatible with Mac or apple, so I would have to use it on iPads in the classroom, which I do not have a full class set, I would have to borrow some for other classes.

The journey of tech discovery is continuing through this program, I'm glad that I have summertime to explore.



​

I just completed the quiz for The Visual Connection, and my results are not surprising but also not exactly what I expected. Here are my results: 56% Visual learner, 32% auditory learner, and 12% kinesthetic learner. I knew that I was not a kinesthetic learner because I usually cringe when I have to do something new physically. But the results of the other 2 types really confused me because I thought for sure that I would have a larger  percentage as a visual learner. Growing up as an English language learner, I always relied of seeing an example or a demonstration of what I was learning. Still to this day, I want to see a process or a final product of what I need to accomplish in order o be successful. I really do not like being left in the dark on what I need to accomplish. 

As I am continuing my practice through my action research, I see the importance of accommodating all types of learners through my action research. Just like I am not 100% visual as I thought I would be, I am sure the same will be for my students. The majority of my students are English language learners therefore they most likely might be visual learners as well, but I will incorporate my lesson to support all types of learners. 

My dilemma at the current moment is connected to the change of instruction that I will have next year. I will be going down one grade level, which isn't much of a change, but also will have a shift in curriculum that I am not very familiar with yet. My concern is how will I successfully be able to implement my action research next school year? I will not have as much freedom to go off the grid and do what I want in my classroom like I used o in the past. How will I convince my colleagues to become more innovative in their instruction by including more technology in their lessons? 

The opportunity to see that my driving question has had the opportunity to narrow down, and change by becoming more specific, has inspired me to keep pushing forward. A couple of months ago I could not see how I was going to revise my driving question for my action research, I didn't see the purpose or possibility of how this could happen. 

The SITE model of instruction has helped me put into perspective the needs of my students/audience, question what is the necessary instruction, what support  is needed, and what methodology will be needed to get there. Along with the SITE model, I have finally made a connection with the SAMR model that has been discussed in other classes. I have realized that I have been stuck in the substitution / augmentation stage. What do I need to do have my students get to the next level of transformation?

As I work through my action research, and reading Daniel Pink's A Whole New Mind, I see that we are now exiting the stage of the dominant left brain thinking, and entering a stage of the right brain thinking, in other words creativity and empathy taking into play in education. When I look at the SAMR model, I see that in the enhancement stage of learning, tools have been provided to create a change. The challenge next is how to use those tools to create interest to go into more depth in thinking. I see that this is where the right brain of creativity comes in and that as a teacher I need to give the tools that are needed, and let the students guide themselves to where they want to go. 

Continuing my reading with The Visual Connection, I find it refreshing to read that simplicity, and direct intent of visuals, is the best way to have the learner actually take information in and not become distracted by excess, and muddle the purpose of the learning. Keeping it simple is encouraged, more is never better, it creates  mental clutter or overload.  I can connect with class recently where there was a myriad of visual acronyms that were presented quickly. I honestly do not remember a single one, what I do remember was my frustration and becoming mentally tired quickly. What I learned from that lesson was to never do that to my students because it will be a waste of both of our times. One more thing that stood out  from chapter 9 was that an important presentation has 3 things: levity, brevity, and repetition. When I think of lectures, keynotes, sessions that I attended, what made them memorable were those 3 things. I will start to take note and make sure I incorporate the 3 key things in my presentations whenever possible.

ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) took place June 23-27, 2018,and I had the wonderful pleasure of attending with a group of my colleagues, thanks to my wonderfully innovative principal. I flew into Chicago on Sunday, not knowing what to expect, but new that there were about 20,000 teachers around the world attending, so I knew this was a big deal.

ISTE took place in the massive McCormick Place West Convention Center. There were 3 levels that housed various activities. There were key notes speakers, learning sessions by various company (Apple, Google, Microsoft, etc.), mini sessions, and a large expo center with more than 5,000 industry representatives. There were so many things to see and do, I think it would take over a month to see everything. We had the freedom to go and explore the venue and select items that seemed interesting and relevant to our grade level. 

I started by attending the keynote by David Eagleman, Ph.D. Eagleman is a neuroscientist, author, professor, and speaker, that discussed how the brain works and how the brain can change thinking to find more creativity in one's daily life. A panel of students also presented at the keynote from various parts of the country, that represented a range of grades. They basically talked about the creative things that they have done to reach out into their community and support other students in their learning. 

I was given many tips and ideas of what to do at the conference, but when I attended, all those tips went out the window. This place was so crowded with people, that I couldn't really plan my day, I had to go with the flow. I tried many times to wait in lines to see a presentation by Apple or Google, but the lines were massive without guarantee that I'd get in. They had a ticket system that you have to preregister for to guarantee a spot in the sessions, a tip that I did not get in advance. I spent most of my time in the expo center getting information and tutorials on various programs.

The first session I attended was at the Adobe Spark area. There was a tutorial / presentation of how to use Adobe Spark by Monica Burns. She is an educator that had many wonderful ways to use the program for presentations in stem, book reports, biographies, etc. There are 3 tools in Adobe Spark (Page, Video, Post). Monica gave different suggestions on how to use each in the classroom. For example, the Page tool is great for writing reports. She suggested starting a report on a google doc in order to go through the correct  writing process, then cut and paste to create a report. The Video tool is great for presentations, and the Post tool is good for short activities such as exit tickets or quick class responses / check-ins.  This is a link that was given as a resource for additional tips : classtechtips.com. 

​Google had a classroom setting were it demonstrated various techniques to use in the classroom.  One thing that they were excited to announce was that they just added a lock mode screen on a google form. A teacher can now lock a form on everyone's screen while looking at it and work in a pace that the teacher wants, and can stop the lock mode at any time. The presenter also showed how a teacher can cast onto a class screen what a specific student is working on like chrome cast. Google also showed how to create virtual field trips, add images and points of interest. The presenter sowed how to use the explore tab to ask a question on a google spread sheet, and demonstrated an add on named Jamboard as a great tool. This presentation was intense and interesting , I wish I would have seen it twice or recorded it because there was so much to remember.

I went to presentations for Scratch, G-suite, Pear Deck, Near pod, Scholastic, and Microsoft. I recommend that everyone gets a chance to go at least twice in their life. The first time you go, you have to just go with the flow, get a feel for the conference and just explore. I think that the second time you can be a bit more targeted with what you will be learning. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to meet amazing teachers from around the world, and be a part of the tech community. This was the best conference that I have ever participated in.