Monica Batac - OTFOADE Conference, Feb 4, 2012

On-line and Offline Relationships:Exploring the dynamics of teacher learning for technology integration

Monica Batac

OISE/University of Toronto

Dialogue during/after presentation

Using Twitter (www.twitter.com)

- Mention me at end of tweet @monicabatac

- Hashtag#otfoade

Discussion & questions at the end

Email: [email protected]

My Background & Journey

• Master of Teaching (OISE/UT); Preservicetraining, seminars, & research

• Two professors focusing on educational technology: Hewitt & MacKinnon

• Elective in “Computers in the Curriculum”

• ISTE Conference; Philadelphia PA - June 26-29

ISTE Inspiration

• Self exploration, self directed, self funded

• Traditional workshops

• Dinner and conversation

• Reflecting on this professional “vacation” and learning re: technology use for student learning and teacher instruction

Theoretical Framework

TPACK – What does this mean?

Methodology

• Preliminary findings & analysis

• Narrative

• 3 (of 4 or 5) classroom teachers with strong, purposeful groundings in their technology use (TPACK)

• 1 hour interviews

• Continuous collaboration and dialogue, on-line and offline

TPACK Teacher Participants

• David – Grade 7 teacher

• George – Grade 6 teacher & in-school Technology Support

• Lisa – Grade 3 and Literacy coach

– Ontario context, public school boards

– Pseudonyms

Research Questions

• How did the teachers come to the point they are at in regards to technology integration? – What are the reported key values and ideas in

understanding technology use and integration?

– What role does collaboration and dialogue play in the teachers’ acquisition and development of TPACK?

– What kind of training or support do teachers seek when trying to implement technology in their classrooms?

• Ongoing – this is my own inquiry, multi-level

Pedagogy (P of TPACK)

• David: “My objectives for my students are that they leave more creative, collaborative, better at communicating their ideas, and better at thinking critically.”


• George: “It’s developing a personal relationship with the students, taking interest in what they do, finding out how they learn, what their passions are, and going from there.”


• Lisa: “I want them all to feel like they’re confident readers and writers & that they have an understanding of media literacy.”

Technology (T of TPACK)

• David: “I use technology as a means of releasing power to students, as opposed to gaining power over students.”

– Bring your own device –iPads, iPods, smartphones, “ubiquity of technology”

– Blogs, Google apps, Web 2.0

Technology (T of TPACK)

• George

– Digital storytelling: personal narratives (nonfiction) with audio & visual components

• Lisa

– Assistive technologies (Dragon Dictate); Puppet Pals

– Stations: SMARTboard, multiple computers, iPads; tech & non tech; differentiated instruction

Connections in their perspectives & experiences

• Practice what you Preach

• Mentorship, relationship building

• On-line, offline, blending learning

This is authentic learning fueled by collaboration and dialogue

Practice what you Preach

• David: “If you want to do Bring Your Own Device, where you get students to bring their own devices, do you bring your own device? Because that’s not an event. That’s a culture you’re going to have to develop. And you have to be part of that culture.”

• “If you really want your students to use handheld devices for productive purposes, show how you do it, without instructing on it. Literally just do it and the kids notice.”


George: “I carry around technology on my person… I just breathe it every day. I have the internet in my pocket and can connect with you, with the world, and learn. Any-time learning, 24/7.”


• Lisa &iPad apps

“Every week there’s something new out there. I have struggled to always want to buy something new. I have to go back and ask if it meets my [instructional] needs, or why am I changing my plan. Something better might be there, so instead of wasting time on an app that is taking twice as long to do a product, I might find one next week that’s faster. I am always showing the kids my learning.”

Mentorship, relationship building

• George as technology support & mentor

– Supporting from current practices; ongoing

• “If you go in with too much or something that cannot be folllowed up or supported, then it’s not going to fly”

• Helping with personal technology purchase & use

– Building trust for collaboration

• “It’s all about working together. 9/10 of the ideas are coming from the teachers. I just kind of suggest and guide.”


• George: “I think the most effective leaders… guide and encourage and support… They will outline the goals and objectives initially and then leave you to it. They trust you.”

– Personal connection with you; understands importance of technology


• David: “The biggest thing for me, the reason why I [am] an extremely intrinsically motivated and satisfied professional is because I got connected to people who I formed relationships with, who taught me things… I met people who helped me be a better teacher.”– How? “By getting tapped on the shoulder. From them

being introduced… by learning very slowly but surely to become a networked professional. To surround myself with people I looked up to and learning with them, instead of learning by myself or only in my school.”

Blended learning & relationships

• Lisa: “I really, really need the on-line professional learning community because that moves me forward in my thinking and learning. No one here knew [how to solve issues], so I was the only one in the school, in the whole town who was using the iPad [for learning] last year, so I didn’t have anyone that I could really bounce ideas off of. I needed that on-line community.”


• David: “Most of the biggest learning, we attach to some sort of relationship we develop while doing it. I don’t think we can really have that deep exploration of a relationship if there isn’t a face-to-face element.

– 3 types of people: f2f, in-person, blended

– Blended allows you to continue the dialogue


• George: I live in different worlds. The world of my Personal Learning Network in Ontario and beyond, we talk about technologies and methodologies that are different from the four walls that we’re in. That’s part of why I’m here. There’s a real dissonance.

• My first experience with connecting with other educators… we not only spoke in real life, but we continued to maintain on-line professional relationships afterwards. That was huge for me. That just changed everything… I think before that, I was starving for other people who were doing technology in a way that would be interesting… [Now] there is somebody you can always talk to and get a dialogue going.– Interesting to note George’s online learning


• George: “I appreciate my on-line network of Twitter people… where you can go deeper. Detailed, meaningful, extended conversation is when it’s in real life.”

• “It’s more meaningful to connect with these people [in person] because you’ve already been speaking about it with them [on-line].”

• “I seem to follow many, many conversations but I do value a few number of conversations over the whole. It’s like in real life, if you connect with somebody, and you get each other, that’s the same thing on-line.”


• Lisa: “There needs to be the face-to-face support, the on-line support, and you need to have communities. Two years ago, none of us [face-to-face colleagues] were on Twitter. We were craving our face-to-face meetings. We’d get together & it’d just be talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. We wouldn’t actually accomplish as much in our meetings because we would have all these other questions to share and ask…”


• Lisa: “Now, when we arrive, the conversations continue because we are all on Twitter sharing… follow [each other’s] thinking… Twitter is just a conversation, and when we meet now, it’s just to pick up on our last tweet and go forward with our planning.”

Applying it to our own contexts

Elbow partner

- Discuss your current context, role, experiences

- Possible ways to receive or provide support

Prioritizing dialogue and collaboration

- Let’s discuss

Next steps

• More analysis & implications… to be continued

– Presenting March, April, May

Twitter @monicabatac

416 579 5670

[email protected]

Education

Monica Batac - OTFOADE Conference, Feb 4, 2012