POST #2: Challenges to Using Iowa AEA Online Resources

1) It seems the biggest challenge to implementing AEA resources to any future classroom I may have, is in limiting this amazing world of resources for classroom use. There is so much quality information available, so many helpful and creative tools. 2) To help in focusing my efforts, when this course is finished and I have more time available, I want to reread all the pdfs this course instructed me to download, the flyers introducing the many different resources. (Thank You for these downloads!) These brochures are so informative, colorful, creative, and inviting to read. When I first read them, most were resources I’ve not previously heard of. Now when I read them again, and as I’ve worked through this course, I have much more familiarity with the programs and am formulating ideas of how they could be very useful to the classroom. One way to use many of these resources could be in assigning student projects, such as a research paper – requiring students to include a certain amount or kind of information from specific resources, such as a visual from this source or data from that source and references from that source, so they have specific reasons to become engaged in the many resources available.

As I reflect on what the biggest challenges might be for me in my classroom, I would say it is the lack of experience "playing around" with a lot of these resources, and lack of time I have available to do so. I believe that the best way to learn how to use some of these great resources is to have time exploring. I may overcome this challenge by having my students assist me in this process, as I'm sure they will get the hang of it even faster than I can!

I also believe that the short amount of time I have with my students is a challenge, as we have a large amount of content to cover in each of my classes. Every minute is precious. Implementing more technology and resources could inspire some of my learners, so I need to find a way to incorporate some of these resources into the content I already present, little by little. Though I do NOT believe technology is always the best avenue for learning, I do acknowledge and identify its important place in the classroom....I just don't think it should take over as the primary way of distracting and sharing information.

I think the biggest challenge for me is finding the time to use all or even some of the websites that are available on the AEA website. There are so many opportunities for expanding the learning of the students  (and myself) on the website but time makes it hard to take advantage of all of it. ai would really like to see my students discover and learn about the different websites available through AEA and would like to try and get time in the computer lab with them at some point this year. Obviously, being a choral music teacher doe not lend itself to having computers available in the classroom. (I finally got a computer both at the middle and high school this fall.)  I do think I could schedule time in our computer lab when we have some down time between concerts and competitions though. I'm sure the students would find it extremely fascinationg to learn about opportunities to discover different music genres and cultures. It's amazing how AEA has grown form just the films that were available when I started teaching in the late '70's!

The use of AEA online resources is very accessible in my school.  Teachers have the option of using it if they choose.  The biggest challenge I face is feeling comfortable with the resources to introduce them to students.  Trying something new can be overwhelming and takes time, which is always limited. Lesson plans do not always proceed as planned, and this can be disastrous.  This keeps me apprehensive about trying something new.  Changing my approach to trying new ideas is a work in progress.  I have incorporated my students more in the planning process.  I start a new idea with a statement I pose to the class.  “Let’s try something new as a class and see if it works and how we like it.  Then we can discuss what we think.”  Students are receptive to this and feel they have a stake in how they learn.  It takes away my anguish in thinking about failure.      

To overcome my challenges I will preview the database first.  I will try to anticipate the questions the students may have and try to alleviate them.  I will use the building Technology Integrator to help.  In order to be successful I need to just do it! I need to try something new.  Then I will have a set of experiences to build upon and improve.      

 

I feel that there are several challenges that I will be facing as I attempt to implement these resources in my classroom.

First, there is an overwhelming amount of material and resources to explore.  It will be difficult to decide which resources will be best to use for which student and which situation.

Next, as most of my students have significant needs, they will be unable to independently navigate the resources.

Finally, finding the time to teach paraprofessionals how to use the resources will pose a problem as there is limited time during the school day.  Paraprofessionals are also not always confident when using technology and may be resistant to doing so.

In order to overcome these challenges, I feel that I will have to start slow and introduce one resource at a time until the students, paraprofessionals, and I feel comfortable using it.  Then another resource will be introduced.

       One of the biggest challenges I anticipate in implementing the resources available through the AEA is simply getting into the habit of carving out time to search for the supplemental materials.  The day-to-day demands of an early childhood classroom are immense.  It will be important for me to change my thinking in doing business as usual to intentionally carve out that time to make my instruction both more interesting and meaningful.  
        As with learning anything new, the more times I interact with the product the more familiar I will become with it.  The search engines and sorting capabilities on each of the resources certainly make things convenient.  It will simply be a matter of familiarizing myself with these resources so that they become second nature in my planning.
        Typically, I have conducted an author study by displaying the author’s book collection and incorporating a picture of the author (or illustrator).  Now, I’m excited to use the teachingbooks.net resource to incorporate the author/illustrators video as well.  As an adult, I thoroughly enjoyed watching Denise Fleming’s video on that site which showed her paper making techniques—my students will be even MORE entranced than I was!

I am thoroughly impressed with the many AEA online resources that are available to me and others.  This course helps to give an overview of the many resources so that I am able to have some knowledge of them.  The biggest challenge for me in the classroom would be simply getting used to all the technology.  I have very little experience with technology in the classroom and have not had much opportunity at this point.  I have gotten more familiar with the Promethean Board. That is about the extent of my knowledge so far.  I will overcome any challenges simply with practice and getting assistance from other teachers when I am able to.  I will do my best to learn how to use the technology as it becomes available to me and other teachers.  I have a neice and nephew that are growing up in a techno world and it will be interesting to hear about all the technology that they are learning in school.  I look forward to learning from them as well.  

The Iowa AEA Online website has so many resources to offer.  I would have to spend a lot of time learning to navigate each site, and find the one's that work best within my classroom.  Once I have taken the time to find the best resources for my classes, then comes finding ways to use them within my curriculum in a timely manner.  Since each class is only 45 minutes long, these resources need to be implemented in such a way as to not take up too much time.  This is due to the requirement to cover a certain amount of required standards, within a school year.

In order to overcome these obstacles, I believe that you need to collaborate with other teachers.  During the summer, when you get together to work on the curriculum for the upcoming year, researching these AEA resources is a need.  Then, as you are developing curriculum, you can integrate some of these resources throughout the year.  Thus, providing the students with the best tools at their hands.

     I have several challenges in implementing AEA online in my classroom! I think taking this course has helped with some of these challenges.
     My first challenge is lack of knowledge in the area of technology which results in "fear of the unknown!" I started my teaching career later in life so when I got into the classroom about all I knew how to do on a computer was to check my email!! I have made strides, but technology does not come easily to me. Another challenge is the time element.  It takes time to learn something new, and time is at a premium.  As you well know, teaching requires a lot of planning, meetings, grading and paperwork. Sometimes sticking to what I know is easier, but that does not take advantage of all of the resources available in our day.  
     There are several steps I can take to overcome these challenges. One is to challenge myself!! We are a one to one school.  I have a laptop, an iPad and an Apple TV at my fingertips!  I am challenging myself to learn more about these devices this year.  Another step is to take some time to try to implement some of the resources available on AEA Online.  I can challenge myself to learn more and navigate through several of these valuable resources this year. Another step, is to take advantage of one of staff members that is helping us with technology.  I have asked for one on one time and have had her in my room already.  This helps me much more than being in a large staff development group and trying to keep up.      

When implementing the AEA online resources I face a few challenges because I am a shared teacher to three different school districts. I use Life Size, an IP videoconference, to reach and teach other students in the area. Technology plays a big role in the way I teach. All of the schools are 1-1 except one, but they have access to computers when we need it.  This is at times a problem when using any online resource.  Some students lose at least 5 min of school instruction when they check out a computer, but the biggest challenge I have would be finding authentic material for me to use in the Spanish class. I think there are a lot of good resources, but with some limitations. For example, some of the resources have the option to translate the text, but the student won’t be able to listen to it. I can still use it and have the students read it out loud and listen to each other. The AEA online resources are great but there are not many for foreign language in my opinion.

I just want to say that BookFlix is also one of my favorite resources. I haven't had any problems logging in to the site. What I did when I first entered the page was saved the password, and it seems that works well every time I used it.

All students have media once a week, and I will confer with the technology teacher to see what has already been covered. Students with special needs often struggle to learn and remember new procedures, whether it is the multi-digit multiplication algorithm or the steps to using a technological tool. In math class, we stress understanding the concepts before teaching the algorithm. A similar approach to the online resources should work well for some of my students. If I demonstrate with the projector, sharing the general search principles, many will be able to get started with some basics.

However, my biggest challenge could be other students who get very confused and do not intuitively understand what they should do. I can provide one-on-one help from an instructional assistant, in addition to some illustrated procedures that they can refer to for step-by-step guidance. It may be best to prioritize the resources and develop confidence with one before moving on to another. In addition, the resources could be learned as needed for specific projects. Finally, it would be beneficial to teach the skills in the context of required reading and writing instruction, providing motivation for both.

At the present time, my greatest challenge in terms of implementing the AEA resources is that I don't currently work in a school district in Iowa. Because of this scenario, I cannot explore the AEA resources freely. With this post, I hope to learn if it is possible that I secure a login to the AEA Online Resources so I can begin to experience more of the resources first-hand. Depending on the type of position I secure in Iowa next year, I hope to begin to build a list of resources that I can use. Whether I remain in the Guidance Counselor capacity (as I am now), or if I return to the classroom, I hope to become much more familiar with the AEA Online resources before I return to the classroom. Upon reading this post, I am hopeful that my AEA instructor for this course can share with me the protocol I must follow in order to log into the AEA Online Resources covered in this course. I am specifically interested in AEA Online resources that target middle school and high school students since that is my certification area.

Now that I know of the many resources available, I’m kind of upset that my district hasn’t taken the time to show us this!  Or maybe they have but they might do it at the beginning of the year when we are so overwhelmed with everything else!   Either way, one challenge I see is the time to actually check, navigate, explore, etc. each of the resources. Once again, I think it would be nice for our school districts to actually give the AEA staff a designated PD day- or even ½ day- when they can teach us what they have to offer!
Another challenge might be keeping track of all the accounts that we need to create—that too, gets overwhelming.  And for those accounts that we get general or district-wide usernames and passwords from our AEA representatives, they might not always work.  One example of this happened about two weeks ago.  I learned about this awesome resource (TrueFlix- I think it was) due to this course and I thought it was perfect for what I was covering in class.  I tried loggin but it kept telling me it was incorrect.  I contacted our media specialist and she was able to get in WITH the username and password I was trying!  She told me to contact the AEA but by the time it was too late into the lesson.
I think many of these challenges can be overcome simply by communicating with our media specialist or with the AEA staff-  we  just need the time to accomplish this .

I like so many others feel that time is the biggest challenge to using the AEA online resources. There are so many resources available and so much in each resource.

I think one way that I can begin to overcome that challenge is to take notes when I come across a resource and note where in the curriculum it would work. By doing this I can save myself some time searching for that resource when I am planning my lessons.

I also think that I have to get myself onto those resources and learn how to use them. As with any feature of technology this is true. But it is also a discipline issue. I also know like so many other resources I can get lost in them and lose all track of time.  

I do like that many of those resources have the means to somehow save what you like. That way I can go back later and find them quicker.  I do hope that when I get back into the classroom that I will take the time to search them out and use them in the classroom. I found so many of them very valuable.

In my area of Industrial Tech I feel I have to work hard to find outside resources for certain classes. This makes Iowa AEA so appealing. There is great information in Britannica High School. It will take a fair amount of planning  time to get the information to the students, which I am willing to do.  A challenge I face is the fact that, say in auto class, the resources seem to give general, but not in depth, information. Granted I have not spent more than a couple hours at this point but I have found historical facts that would be good for a report.

AEA on-line had a lot of great resources that I actually didn't even know existed. Having that said I feel the overview I received from this course was great, but I would need an extra amount of time to really go back and align it with my curriculum. The lack of time I have during the school year would really prevent me from doing this.
My plan is to re-visit all AEA has to offer during the Summer months. I Would like to dig deeply and use the materials that would most benefit my students. I would also be a little shy having not sifted through the materials offered myself because a lot seemed to advanced for my second grade classes.

The biggest challenge I see implementing the resources in the classroom would be finding a way to relate these resources to the students to keep their attention. If students find interest in their work that relates to them, they are more willing to dialog with peers and participate in class. The classrooms currently have many resources such as the programs Alex, Achieve 3000, Comcast Academy and more. Although the students love the programs, they can easily get bored with them. So relating the program to the students and keeping their interest.

I would overcome these challenges by using introductory videos, games, grouping the students and more. Also, making written user friendly instructions for all and having the students in pairs to navigate the program or navigate as a class. Making graded quizzes to make sure students are catching on to the material, implementing group and individual projects to be graded.

The biggest challenge for me is being a substitute and not having the password to be able to readily access the resources.  It seems as though there should be a substitute password we could use.  It could be very beneficial to the teacher I am subbing for particularly in the case of needing to supplement a lesson plan.  And the teacher probably would not need to take quite as much time preparing the lesson plan.  

As a teacher and even in preparing  a sample lesson plan I was overwhelmed with which resource to go to first.  It would take time to practice implementing the digital resources into lesson planning, but once they are utilized a few times, it would seem to make planning easier and more effective.  

The greatest difficulty in that I see for myself is the same difficulty that each and every teacher has: The time to thoroughly investigate the large number of resources available through AEA. I have a very good idea of which sites that I will experiment with and learn to use first with minimal training or personal learning time, but to use many of the sites and their specialized features, it would take a lot of time.

The steps that I would and will take to overcome this will be to try the "easier" sites first and take time to investigate others that require "advanced" searches in order to realize the site's potential as need comes. Although it is easy to use these resources while in a school  with a reliable internet connection, these resources are unavailable in many of my ESL students homes, as a significant percentage have no internet service in their homes. Maybe one third don't?