POST #2: Challenges to Using Iowa AEA Online Resources

I see some of the challenges is having the time to research myself all the great resources.  I see another challenge is teaching the students to use the sites.  I do teach Title Reading with students K-6, and I teach mostly small groups of kids, but my students are struggling readers so using the sites might be confusing to them and I won't have a lot of time.  I do use the BookFLIX site to introduce a topic and discuss key vocabulary.  I do like knowing the resources are out there if I need them and if students come to me with questions, I will be better able to help them with the resources.  I do see that time as being the biggest challenge to using the sites.

     
     I anticipate the challenge as being twofold. As a substitute teacher you are not given options in reference to modifying a teacher's lesson plan. Therefore incorporating one or more of the online resources into the lesson plan is probably not going to happen. At the same time if one or more of the resources are already being utilized, unless you spend a great deal of additional study time, you are not going to be comfortable standing in front of your students.
     As far as overcoming these challenges, the teacher is the key element along with whatever lesson plan was proposed at the beginning of the school year. Finding time to visit with the teacher would be ideal, but to accomplish that task will prove to be very difficult. Finding time to exchange ideas and what the teacher's expectations are for the students.
     I would challenge the AEA staffing to publish a " Quick Online Resource Guide" to help navigate through the fourteen resources that are offered. The guide could be presented in a "flow chart" style. A flow chart style would be easier to follow and give more information than the tutorials. Anything that would help you learn faster and create a workable environment in the classroom. You must prove yourself adaptable in order to be successful.

The biggest challenge for me as I come back to the classroom is feeling overwhelmed by the amount of resources. There are so many great ones but to decide which one best suits the students, curriculum and teaching style. Taking the time to sift through the pros/cons and really learning how to navigate through them. Another challenge for me is that my position is part-time and might not be needed every year (depends on enrollment). When not employed, I will not have access to all the resources through AEA.
One way to meet the challenges is to do as much through the summer as possible to learn the programs that will work best for the art room. Another is to work closely with the classroom teacher to be aware which resources she uses so students already know how to use them. Also working with the media specialist in the building.

I think the biggest challenge I will be in implementing these resources in my classroom will be in finding the time to teach the students how to use the resources and being able to incorporate the resources into my lesson plans when the computer lab will be available. Since I teach all the second graders technology, to overcome this problem for next year I will begin by teaching the students how to navigate to the AEA online website. Teaching the students how to do this step from the beginning of the year will make it easier to get to the resources throughout the year. I will also try to include at least one activity a week that requires the use of the AEA online resources. The continual use of the resources will make the students more comfortable with it and allow them to become faster at getting there. I will also share the information with my team teacher so we can encourage each other to incorporate these resources into our lessons

I foresee several challenges that will limit how effectively I will have my students use the AEA resources.  I believe that because we do not have a media specialist or librarian at Brody, (we have a very helpful aide that keeps track of the computers, reservations and book check-out)  being able to help students navigate through the technology may be difficult.  I have a significant amount of special needs students in my classroom and they often require one-on-one instruction to be successful.  In a class of 25 I can only help 3 at the most at a time and that leaves too many frustrated or eventually tuned out.  I also at my school struggle with technology issues.  Our computer lab is a shared resource and too often when we arrive to use it, computers are missing a mouse,  internet access is unplugged or unavailable, or computers have some incomprehensible message script running when turn on.  With careful planning (or asking for help from other staff) I should be able to overcome these challenges.  

I feel as if my biggest challenge to using online resources in my professional development is not losing others in the technology. I have worked with many teachers who are resistant to technology, even when in a one-to-one setting. I have found that I sometimes make assumptions that everyone knows as much as I do about the online resources and forget that I need to differentiate for the needs of my audience, just as teachers must differentiate for their students. To overcome this challenge, a potential solution would be to send a survey to PD participants to gauge knowledge base and prepare for those who need extension.

The other challenge is time. If the resource (i.e. BookFlix) is something that teachers find interesting, I have to be sure to build in time for exploration, especially for those who are not familiar with that particular resource.

I feel my biggest challenge is to get students to be creative and not just "throw" the assignment together because the information/graphics are so easy to obtain.  I want the students to take ownership of it and put thought into the various activities/resources available.  I would encourage them to apply themselves.  I would provide good and bad examples.  I would also include "creativity" into the rubric to hopefully curb the problem.

My biggest challenge in implementing the resources found on AEA Online into my classroom will be time. I will need to go back and look over all the many options of resources I have available. With summer soon here, I plan to dedicate some of my time to digging in deeper to these resources.

Another challenge for me is my lack of confidence in using technology. I will need to become more familiar with the resources and the steps to using them. Reviewing the tutorials will help with this challenge. This should help me feel more confident in teaching my students about the resources and how to use them.

My final challenge is assess to computers for my students. We are scheduled once a week for a half hour in the computer lab. Also, there are times when the computers are not working properly. I can schedule extra time for the class occasionally. Another option is a portable set of laptops that can be checked out to our classroom.

The biggest challenge I foresee of implementing these resources in my classroom is time.  While this online course did a phenomenal job of introducing each of the websites to me, before I would be comfortable sharing it with my class I would want to spend a significant amount of time exploring the website myself and learning all the features of it.  I want to make sure that I am easily able to trouble shoot problems when they arise so that my students’ time (which is just as valuable as mine) is productive.  I have had past experiences in which too much of a technology based lesson is spent trying to solve a technology glitch rather than focused on the objective of my lesson.

I will be able to overcome this problem by dedicating the time to learn more about these websites.  I can definitely see that the online resources can be extremely beneficial for my students and therefore I will make becoming familiar with these websites a priority.

Our district’s librarian is our media expert. For years, she has shared information regarding AEA Online resources with staff and students. The pamphlets, cards, and sheets with pertinent information has been posted in our classrooms and sent home with students. I never paid close attention and did not do a good job of emphasizing how fortunate our district is to have Iowa AEA Online Resources.

I now realize the huge impact these resources are capable of having on our students and the positive benefits of students using these resources outside of the classroom.  

While not all types are applicable to second graders, I must challenge myself to introduce and incorporate more resources into our daily curriculum. Before completing this course, I may have had the feeling that applying these tools would be “one more thing.”

Now that I have had the chance to learn more, I definitely see many advantages. Without tons of extra time, I will be able to “spice up” second grade skills and information we share and discuss. My students will benefit from my willingness to grow as a learner.

I see two main challenges here.  The first is time.  Time for me to explore, experiment, really dive in to some of these resources to the point that I am comfortable enough to use them effectively and integrate them into my teaching.  I will address this challenge by incorporating the study of Iowa AEA Online Resources into my Individual Professional Development Plan for the 2015-2016 school year.  This will force me to carve out the time needed to become adept at using several of the resources.  I plan to be realistic, however.  Instead of attempting to learn everything about all fourteen resources, I’ll be selective, choosing several that are likely to have the most significant impact on my teaching.  I may end up diving deeply into one or two of the resources that have the greatest potential and spending only moderate time working with a few others.

The second challenge is the current reality that my students, during music classes, do not have consistent access to technology.  I teach forty-ish students (two homerooms) at a time, so, even if our computer lab is available, it contains only twenty or so machines.  I do have twenty iPods at my disposal, so I’ll do some exploring to determine how usable certain Iowa AEA Online Resources are on these devices.

Like many of the other posters have said, I think the sheer volume of the resources provides something of a challenge.  I can't just turn kids loose because they would get lost.  Additionally, showing them how to use each resource would consume too much time.  Therefore, I think choosing which resources I want to expose students to during a particular unit would be helpful.  While the AEA has made the actual use of the individual resources very easy, it is a quantity/quality issue again.  I need to choose what I think is most useful and teach the students how to use it well to accomplish the goals of the unit we are working on.

My biggest challenge will be allotting enough time to match the best AEA Online Resources for any given project. Ideally, a tour of the resources for the students to see and experience would be great. Realistically, just showing them what they could use for any one project is more likely. In some cases, it may come down to bookmarking the student computers with the sources I want them to use and limiting their choices, especially for those with limited internet access.  Another option, might be to make a small Power Point presentation using only AEA Online Resources such as Brittanica Online School Edition and Cultural Gems for information, iClipArt  images and Soundzabound for audio  to model for them what is possible.  When I use a resource for a whole class presentation such as Teen Health Wellness, TrueFlix, or Learn360, pointing out that it came from the AEA Online Resources would re-enforce their usefulness.

#2
As I reflect on the information I have learned in this course, I can think of two challenges I will face when implementing the resources in my classroom.  First of all, there are just so many AEA online resources that would benefit my students that it is kind of overwhelming.  I wonder I will go from using none of the AEA online resources to using all of them that will most benefit my students’ learning.  In response to this first challenge I think instead of trying to implement everything at once, I will try to implement small pieces at a time.  In other words, instead of trying to implement all AEA online has to offer, I am going to carefully pick just a couple of the resources and so I can put more thought into how I can most effectively weave these resources into my current curriculum.  (My implementation success will not depend on how many resources I implement, but rather the quality and effectiveness of implementation.)

A second challenge is collaborating and sharing these resources with my grade level team so that they are also comfortable using them to enhance student learning.  In response to this second challenge I plan to use our grade level planning time to show some of the AEA online resources I will be using in my classroom.  Like the first challenge, I think the approach to using the resources should be used in a way that not only enhances what we already do, but also is done in a way that does not make the other teachers feel totally overwhelmed. (EX. I will NOT be trying to incorporate 10 new digital libraries at once).

It is overwhelming to have so much information presented at one time.  I think one of the biggest challenges to using the information from resources addressed in this course is finding the time to delve into the resources.  With teachers there is never enough time.  And it never seems to fail when a teacher sets aside a bit of time for lesson planning during the school day or during in service days that something else seems to come up. Then it becomes easy to just do it the same way.  Another challenge for some of the resources would be for classrooms or homes that do not have computer access for students.  

Something a teacher could do is prioritize the resources on applicability in the classroom.  Then the teacher could make a commitment to use one new idea a week.  That breaks down the new information into manageable chunks for the teacher.

My greatest challenge is choosing one thing to start with and not trying to do too much. I  sometimes think I complicate my lessons when I am implementing something new. I knew this before I took the course, that I would be thinking about all the ways I could use the sources, so I took notes and tried to "star" those resources I felt could enhance what I am already doing. For instance, I often find current articles for my students to read. Now that I understand the features of GALE better, I can steer students more purposely to find their own articles. So my plan is to select one resource for each of the three classes I teach first semester and write it into a current lesson plan this summer so it is ready to go this fall. However the first phase of this plan is to go back into the tutorials of the resources and I have chosen and practice!

Teaching students how to use the resource and then having them use it in the classroom is something that often gets neglected. Who is teaching the students about all the AEA resources if the teachers don't even know?  I am SURE I have been "told" all that is available, but never paid any attention because I was comfortable with what I was already doing. Who has time to explore? This class forced me to become aware. I remember when we use to teach kids how to do "library", so now maybe we need to teach the how to do AEA online?

I believe that the biggest challenge for me would be having access to the students as a counselor outside of class time. Even if I tried to send students the URL addresses etc. electronically, it would be challenging getting each student's contact email. It would also be difficult to make sure each student viewed and accessed the information given.

I am very impressed with all of the resources that are available but I would find it challenging with the time it will take to find exactly what I need to align it with a counselor curriculum and make sure it fits a 20 minute increment for homeroom. I would definitely need to find time to train myself as well and go through each resource before giving it to students.

To overcome these challenges, I would need to get approval from the principal to use some meetings time for counselors to go through each resource and decide what would be best for students monthly.  

My biggest challenge in implementing the AEA Online resources in my classroom will be taking the time to imbed the resources seamlessly into the lessons.  My primary job will be to implement the tier 2 intervention block for over 300 struggling readers and to support teachers as they implement tier 1 interventions. I have started by creating a web page for the class, but I am also hoping to create an OneNote page for each student so I can share links and documents with students while keeping those documents password protected.  I am blessed to have 2 great teacher leaders in my building from the teacher leader grant.  I have contacted one of them already and will contact the other about making the OneNote page once I figure out a format.  I also have a great librarian who is always willing to help.  I am also grateful that the AEA resources are available to me at home.  I will be able to work on planning at home after the little ones go to bed.  

My biggest challenge will be how to use the information since I am a substitute teacher. I usually have to follow what the teacher has laid out for me. When I do long terms I can see myself using these sites a little more. My biggest problem will be remembering which site is about what, and which grade level will be most suitable. Finding time to explore all the sites and understanding them more will also be challenging. I am not sure students will know how to use the sites, and that may be another teaching problem I may have.