POST #2: Challenges to Using Iowa AEA Online Resources

As I reflect on what might be my biggest challenge in implementing the AEA resources in my classroom I  immediately realize how little of technology we have access too.  Since we are a small private school I only have 5 Ipads in my classroom and we are still working on developing a computer lab.  I do not have all the smart board technology that a public school teacher has access too.  However, I would like to slowly start by implementing BookFlix as a start.  I would like to get more organized in my units and allow the students to use your sites for research and read along books.  As I become more comfortable with your resources I hope to be able to use more videos in my instruction and then allow students to make oral reports using your resources and sharing with their classmates.  I am excited to see how these resources can enrich my science and history units.

One of the biggest challenges is the overwhelming number of resources I would like to use! I will really need to take a look at the Standards students are working towards and the method we will take to achieve that.  From there I can determine the resources that best fits the needs of the students.  Access via the internet has not been an issue at the middle school level as students had their own devices, but access at the elementary school level will be a bit different. Students may need to work in groups or rotate through stations to access the resources.  To best use time I will also try to simplify directions and give students specific step by step directions to follow.

As stated in my previous post, the resources can be overwhelming.  I enjoy searching out new ideas and finding better ways to implement the standards needed in the curriculum.  Although it is nice to have that drive, it can consume me and affect other areas of my job and even my home life because there are so many possibilities and resources available.  To overcome this challenge I will set a time limit on researching for that particular topic or lesson and then implement what I have found.  If unhappy or unsuccessful I will take note and continue researching.

I am very excited to navigate through the many resources that I now know are available.  I feel the biggest challenge will be the many choices and how to find the time when teaching so many subjects in an elementary classroom.  I feel that I am luck that I have enough computers for students to use in a small group setting and I feel this is the best way for me to start.  I am thinking about using my weekly nonfiction story (we call them Vocabulary Readers and we begin each week with them) and then introduce and use one of the resources to dig deeper into the particular given topic.

My biggest challenge with using the online resources will be finding the time to learn how to use them. It is very difficult to find the time to research a new resource to be able to know it enough to use it effectively in my classroom. There are also many different resources that were presented in the course. It will take time to decide which ones I would like to use and which would be the most appropriate for the subject matter that I teach.

I decided to finish this course in June so that I could spend July doing my curriculum planning for next school year. This will give me time to decide which AEA online resources I am going to utilize. I want to add some clipart and soundzabound clips to some of my interactive whiteboard lessons. I also want to spend some time with Learn360 and find some resources on the digital library for my science curriculum.

The position I am replacing as a part-time media specialist was a full-time position, so right away I have a time challenge to overcome. The time I have to spend with students will be reduced (i.e. upper grades I may only have face to face time with once a month). So, I have to make the most of that time, and make be sure I am giving students and teachers the best programming to match their curriculum. From having my own daughter and son in the school system, I know teachers are using the Book Flix AEA resources in their classrooms, but I'm not sure what others get accessed. What I would like to do, and what I've done when I started other library positions, is find out what the exact curriculum is for each grade and find what AEA resources are currently being used by teachers. From there, I will analyze and see if I can find a way to introduce and use some of the AEA resources that may not get much attention, but would be a great asset to teachers and students alike if I were to incorporate them into the library time. I'd like the library to stay a place where connections can be made across the curriculum, and enhance their learning experiences in the classroom, even though my schedule will be tight on time.

As a para educator at the elementary level my biggest challenge is I don't have any say in how my student's
do their research, the teacher tells them what sites they can go on to get their information. I am glad I took the class because I did learn more about BookFlix and TrueFlix that we do use at my school. I am hoping there will be times when I am working one-on-one where I can use other resources like AEA Digital library, iclipArt for school, and soundboard with my student. Another challenge I think I will have is feeling confident in myself to be about to teach my students these new sites that they have never used before. I am going to go to these sites often this summer so I can build my confidence in using these sites so when school starts I will be able to teach my students.

My biggest challenge would be to find the MOST useful video pertaining to the subject that I am having my lesson on.  I wouldn't want to waste that certain time frame for watching the educational video. I would want the best one.  

I found many useful tools in this online class.  Now, it's to find the time for it.  I realize learning can go on and on.  So I would have to narrow it down to the best video and use my judgement instead of scrolling on and on.  

I loved the recipe videos.  Excellent resource for a Spanish class or an elementary classroom and talking about different cultures.  Everyone loves to eat, right?!

One of the biggest challenges would be finding the time to sort through all of the resources and finding the ones that best fit your needs and the needs of your students. I think that it would be overwhelming to try and come up with something that goes with many of the lessons that you teach. The best way to overcome this challenge would be to possibly just choose one lesson a week that you are going to include one of the online resources with. I'm guessing that after using some of the resources for a few months that you may start finding which one you and your students favor and what works best in the time that you have. That may help it become less overwhelming.
Another challenge that I would have in my classroom is the availability of technology. I have 2 Ipads and my teacher laptop available to use. I often have 5-6 students at a time. I would just have to rotate students through the activities each day. Maybe they would have an assigned tech day to do the activities that I would assign to them. Another option as we learn how to use the online resources would be to have them bring the technology from their classroom with them when they come to the resource room.

The biggest challenge to implementing AEA Online resources is time.  First, I need time to explore the resources myself.  How about this summer? Then I can use the databases to offer greater choice for student learning.  For example, I can spend time in Khan Academy and figure out how my advanced math students can use the site.  The second challenge is having enough class time for students to access the database and use it.  I like the concept of the flipped classroom and could overcome the time issue by assigning videos and other content as homework.  

Blog 2 Challenges……Iowa AEA Online Research:
My challenges as a guest teacher of using Iowa AEA Online Resources are sizable. The challenges are sizable because I do not have an access user ID or password to any of the 3 Iowa School that I serve as guest within. In each school my assignment is to help the teacher in absentia to accomplish their goals and plans.
However, if I had leeway I would have a lot of fun using the Iowa AEA Online Resources to embellish the teacher’s plans. While in college I took some journalism classes so I could see API images as especially fun resources to use.
I love research, in particular medical research for my blog. With more leeway I could see using the SIRS Issue Research to assign students research on various aspects of the class plans and assignments.  I would ask each student to give one minute verbal report on their research to the entire class. This would help the students develop their critical thinking, assessment, comprehension and retention skills as well personal presentation deportment skills. Presentation skills and confidence are so important in job and college application presentation skills.

     I think my biggest challenge with using the AEA Online Resources will be taking the time to explore the many resources, as well as finding class time during the already packed school day to put these resources into practice.  This is a common problem with teaching these days!  Time is precious in the classroom, and it seems like we have less and less of it, with so much required curriculum to schedule into your day.  
     The key for me to using the AEA Online Resources will be to choose two resources to explore this school year, and gradually add more when time allows.  I plan to set a goal to dip into a couple of these resources, and become really comfortable utilizing them with my students.  If that goes well, I can add another resource this year.  Otherwise, I will be careful not to over-extend myself, which tends to make a teacher feel like they've failed.  It's so important to reach that attainable and reasonable goal, isn't it?!!

After taking this course, I am very excited to delve into all the different resources that AEA online offers.  I am very familiar with Book Flix and use it often in my classroom to enhance our units of study, and introduce the joy of reading in many different forms.  One of the biggest challenges I see is finding the time to really navigate through the different options available.  Time is always such an issue, but I am excited to use the AEA digital library resources and Learn 360 as additional resources in the classroom.  

The biggest challenge is always time, or lack of it. The students are rushed, as am I. They do love technology, though we have to remind them they are not “playing” on the computers, ipads, etc! The wonderful variety of resources is also another challenge, choosing the best resource for the student. This course introduced me to some new databases, was a great refresher on some, and certainly gave me new information on others.  I am excited to share some of these with the students and teachers!

The challenge with an ESL class is the language barrier.  To use different sites for resources, how to translate from Spanish to English.  There will be personal challenges in learning the resources well enough in order to keep the presentation fast paced to keep the attention of the students. One way to help with the presentation would be to prepare Spanish language power points and essays.  This will be difficult for me due to it being  time-consuming to translate the materials into Spanish format in a way that they can understand and process the information.  By using feedback from the students I will be able to modify and expand future presentations.    

For my specific situation, the challenges associated with using the Iowa AEA Online resources are many and will stop me from implementing them to any degree.  I currently teach in China and online resources always prove difficult because of internet speeds and getting through the Chinese firewall. Not to mention that I do not have login information for most sites. For this post I will speculate on the challenges I would encounter when using the Iowa AEA Online resources. The first challege that comes to mind would be trying to work out which resources would be the most effective based on the students prior knowledge and the task it was being used to complete. From past experience, I have found certain programs may seem easy or difficult for students before the learning activity, but once the activity starts the teacher’s prediction may be way off.  In this situation you have to be quick on your feet to keep the learning activity meaningful. As always, the best way to attack these challenges is to be prepared, not do too much at once, and give students adequate time to work though the resource being used.

Two of the biggest challenges I see in using the resources provided by Iowa AEA Online are the following:

First, because many of the resources require accounts or tutorials, students would likely be too overwhelmed with the resources to even know where to begin! Furthermore, as I teach many students who are in ELL programs and are at various levels of English language proficiency, they would be equally left behind in the mayhem of trying to follow along with tutorials.

To solve this, I think devoting a day or two (BEFORE starting research or browsing the resources) to go over the same tutorial lessons and videos this course has provided—but with students this time—is in order. This will give students a day to acclimate to the resource before being tasked to doing their assignment work. Also, I will either give my ELL co-teacher a heads-up well in advance before attempting these lessons, so that she may, too, browse the website and its resources in the days prior to using them. Trying to find Spanish-language versions of these websites would also be helpful.

Second, the accessibility issues. While individual home access is somewhat out of my control, having multiple student laptops perusing bandwidth-heavy resources such as Soundzabound (where students will more than likely test the limits of bandwidth by trying out various sounds, musical motifs, etc.) or Atomic Learning (students will be watching tutorial videos at the same time), may create accessibility issues. Websites crashing or computers taking too long to load information would be the key symptoms of this.

I think I can mostly circumvent the accessibility issues by talking to my district technology coordinator for some advice as to how to “chunk” the use of bandwidth. What has worked in the past would be to designate different days for online research for different classes (for example, periods 1-3 do it on Monday, periods 4-6 on Tuesday). Another way to combat the accessibility issue is to have all students watch from my laptop, via the projector, the Atomic Learning lessons—that way, students can work at their own pace. If students already know how one particular section of the tutorial works, they can work ahead a bit until the next lesson; the students who don’t know as well can follow the video as well. Also, since only one machine (mine) is using the bandwidth, the issue is resolved.

Being a Title I Reading teacher, I feel the biggest challenge about using these online sources in my classroom is for me to believe these resources will be valuable to my struggling readers - will they help meet their needs so they become stronger readers. I have very limited time with my students, so I want to make every minute count. I also have many students who have a hard time staying focused - get off task easily and might just click around on a certain resource and not actually be reading when working independently without accountability.

I think BookFlix/TrueFlix could motivate my struggling readers - many are visual learners and the videos would capture their attention and build background knowledge. I would have them first listen to the narrator read the page or story - then the student alone (to help build fluency.) I would also require them to take the quiz, vocabulary puzzle, and any other comprehension component so there is accountability (would keep track of scores) - the rereading would also help them be successful and build their confidence, which is huge for them.

As mentioned in many of the other posts the biggest challenge is the amount of materials and resources available through the AEA.   Bettendorf High School is a 1:1 school, so for the past 5 years I have been expanding my use of technology in my daily lessons to where I am almost entirely paperless.  The databases available will be a tremendous source to pick from for primary materials, but where to start?   My plan going into the school year is to pick two databases to use until I get comfortable.  To start with one will be more geared to creation and the other for primary materials.  In picking the databases I will visit with our media specialist to determine the best options for both navigation and resources.   The ability to share information and copyright protections make this ideal for my AP European History class.

I foresee the biggest challenges to be similar to what others have expressed.  First, I'm a substitute and don't have the freedom to pick what I want to do.  However, I do many long-term subbing assignments for maternity leaves, so that may provide me with an opportunity. Additionally, it just takes time, plain and simple, to wade through the plethora of resources available. So giving oneself permission to take baby steps and implement one or two things a year would be helpful, and then build from there.