POST #2: Challenges to Using Iowa AEA Online Resources

The biggest challenge is to choose from the vast array of materials and links within this system.  I believe it will take some time to fully understand and be adept at all of the possibilities.  However, with that issue noted, I believe it might be of some value to introduce the students to the site and then let them explore a few sites at a time and determine what might best serve them based on various projects and class requirements that they come across in my classroom and in their normal school day.  Another thing I would like to do is to pick one to two resources that will potentially be the most commonly used within my course and have students do a "WebQuest" of my own making that would send them on a search of the site and the possibilities it could have for them.  I also would want to use the tutorials for an added reference to those who struggle with the various sites or can't complete the tasks I put forth because they struggle with navigating the site.

I think the biggest challenge for me implementing these resources in my classroom will be time. We are constantly trying to improve our music and singing in choir for middle school and high school to prepare for concerts and that doesn't leave a lot of extra time for enhancement or enrichment of the music. However, it is one of the music standards that the students connect their music to other types of knowledge outside of the music content. Being able to use parts of video clips or just the relevant sections of a reading will help over come the challenge of time. With my elementary general music classes I think the biggest challenge will be time to look for videos, readings, pictures, etc. that fit into the curriculum already in place. While doing planning I should search some of the online resources to see if there is anything that would connect to the standard and learning targets we're working on for the week.
As for our school, I am excited to share what I've learned with my coworkers. I've already mentioned a couple resources such as bookFLIX and TrueFLIX. I know a few elementary coworkers already use a number of these resources with their students in their classroom, like Britannica Online.

I am a Par-educator so I don't have a say on the lessons planning in our classroom.  I want to be able to know the website and how to find the resources to be able to help the students right away.  I can see that utilizing all these resources that are available on the AEA website would be challenging for the teachers, because of the amount of time they have. I think Book FLIX and Britannica would be the best ones to start with and explore.  If I could get our computer teacher to get the students started at the AEA website and start using the resources by the time they get to the higher grades and the classroom teachers using these resources then navigating on the site would be more familiar to the student. It would also be good to be able to explore and become more comfortable with the sites and what is available on them.

The biggest challenges to implementing the resources in my classroom at Van Buren Middle School will be to narrow down the resources to a manageable number and make the time to become proficient enough to teach my students.  I must choose resources based on topics in upcoming units.

As a Math teacher and topics dictated by the Iowa Common Core standards, I will need to choose sites in the 13 or so weeks left in school relevant to the upcoming topics.  My goal is to use the sites chosen as a supplement to material I have taught my students.  At this point using sites before material is taught would not be a good strategy due to students learning the new curriculum format of Connected Mathematics we implemented at the beginning of second semester.  My goal is to spend time after school once or twice weekly to dig deeper into the sites, work to become proficient enough to teach students, and then compare what each site can do and weigh that against the upcoming topics.

I think my biggest challenge is going to be finding the time to acquaint myself with all of the resources or picking just one or two that I really want to get to know better.  While this course is a great start for me, I think it has opened up so many possibilities that I may be a bit overwhelmed with where to start. Once I find the time to get a better idea of the resources and the grade level appropriateness and how I can link them into my lesson plans, I think I will feel more comfortable incorporating them on more of a daily or weekly basis.  Unfortunately, I am a creature of habit and I do what I know. This course is forcing me to find new ways to incorporate technology into my classroom. I have been excited by what I have seen while taking this class, so I think I have a good start. My plan is to pick just one new resource to get to know better and learn to navigate one at a time.

The biggest challenge to implementing the AEA resources in the classroom for a substitute would be remembering all of the resources available, how to locate them,and how to bring them up for student usage in a timely manner.  If the teachers whom we are covering has a lesson plan with concise and accurate information in the plan, we could use those resources without wasting valuable classroom time. I do believe that many full time teachers do not make use of these resources.  Only in elementary classes with Lexia and Book-flex, and some high school courses making use of History channel and Science courses {Learn 360} have I been exposed to AEA educational links. Another big issue is the provision of passwords and usernames to login and in many instances, the availability of a computer to use period.
Steps needed to overcome these challenges would be prep-courses for substitutes over digital technology and common AEA resources used at that particular school district.  A password and username should be issued to the substitutes that could be used when working at any assigned school. Maybe pre-printed handouts could be available for assignments using a specific resource in a class. PowerPoint setups done by the teacher would help substitutes go over detailed information to the class in middle and high school courses. Also teaching subs about google classroom activities would be very beneficial.

It seems that time is a common theme in the education world. I also think my biggest challenge that I will have in implementing these resources in my classroom will be time. First, the time to dig in and decide how and when to use each of them effectively. Second, the time to teach the students how to use the resources. I would like to set a goal to use at least one of these resources every week. I already have some basic ideas for social studies research and science videos, so I would also like to push myself to think outside the box and go beyond that. My hope is that once I have introduced some of these resources to my students that they can use what they learn and continue to find creative ways to learn and produce great projects and presentations.

As I think about the challenges I might face in using the Iowa AEA Online Resources, the first thing that comes to mind is the time demands it would take the first year.  I would also have to narrow down the resources that I would use in order to use them effectively and productively.  The new Social Studies standards that we will be implementing soon lends to the use of pictures and primary documents to increase student learning and kick-start great discussions within the classroom.  The time upfront to find the right materials for the lesson would be demanding, but could be used for future lessons, thus balancing out my time.  

I would also use the AEA resources to enhance my lessons and not fully replace what I am currently doing.  For example, we have students research a person of interest in history and write a paper about them.  The use of Brittanica would be a great resource and help students also cite their work correctly.  My students also currently use CultureGrams for their State research and I can now assist them even further with my knowledge of the AEA online resources, without having to change what I do completely.

Think about the use of the Iowa AEA Online resources in your classroom or school.  In a moderate-sized post (150-300 words), describe what you feel your biggest challenge will be to implementing the resources in your classroom.  Then, add what steps you will do to overcome those challenges.

The biggest challenge is time. There are so many options out there, including so many outside of the AEA. I have been an avid user of technology in the classroom since I first got a school computer around 2000. About every five years or so, I update different technologies I use. Once mastered, it is just very easy to continue using the resources I and the students are used to. It's not that I don't have the ability to understand and incorporate new strategies, it is the time issue. I have so many other things I need to get done, especially when coaching, it is difficult to find time to change things up.

My goal is to incorporate one new AEA resource for next school year specifically, the SIRS Issue Researcher.
I will test it out this spring.

In my current position at Lawther Academy we are considered a treatment center and therefore we are limited in our technology that we can have in our classrooms.   Most districts have iPad or tablets, computer or laptops that all can be connected to a WIFI connection.  My school cannot do this because their students in my classroom may try to access inappropriate websites or use social media to try and set up a meet with inappropriate people.  If a student does get on the computer there needs to be a staff seated right next to them at all times.   So, I face the challenge of having enough technology for the students to use and then trusting them to use the internet appropriately.    The second challenge is many of my students are on the spectrum and these websites are not part of their routines and trying to bring in change can lead to disruptive behaviors and arguments. Sometimes my students are hesitant to change because it takes them outside their safe zone and that is when they will struggle.   So, a challenge is to work with the students to slowly teach them on how to use the website and all the benefits that these sites can give them.  

The main challenge in implementing these resources in my classroom is time.  Teaching younger students, there experience with technology with these types of resources is limited.  Just the time it takes to find, and learn the website will take a lot of time.

I can potentially overcome some of these challenges by front loading their knowledge of the website by working together using them before independent use.  Also, bookmarking these resources in their browser will help.

The main challenge interfering with my use of the AEA's resources is time. As mentioned in my previous post, I have never taught the same class/course for 3 years. Each time I move to a new position, I have to start all over and it takes considerable time just to stay on top of the day-to-day requirements. The second year is usually better, but mostly I am just trying to remember what I did last year, what worked and what didn't. And as a long-term sub, it's even worse. I start an unfamiliar curriculum in the middle of the school year and will only be in that position for a few weeks or months. It feels like "survival mode" many times. I focus as simply as possible on keeping negative behaviors under control and on whether students are learning the expected material. It's rare that I would have time to look for alternative ways to explore teaching the necessary topics to the students. In addition, it seems like when I look on the web for help, I end up spending too much time with too little return. Frequently, it feels like the quickest way is to just make whatever I want and not "waste time" searching for the thing that best fits my needs at that moment.

This course is the first thing I am doing to make a change. By reducing my search time, I hope to be able to take advantage of more interesting ways to teach my students without wasting time. But this will likely happen rarely while continuing to substitute teach. Returning to a regular classroom teacher job and staying in the same position for an extended time is the only thing that I can confidently say would significantly increase the likelihood and frequency of my use of these resources.

The biggest challenge to implementing AEA Online resources is being overzealous about information and trying to use too much of it. While going through all of the materials I thought of how I could use it in my class. There was a lot of information that students can use. Also you have to take into consideration other sources of information you have used in the past. Together you have a lot of resources that is available.
I can overcome these barriers by using the AEA Online resources individually through different projects or assignments for the students to complete. This will allow my student to get the most out of each resource. Based on the student engagements with each resource and feedback regarding the project and online resource I can began to use them more in the future.
As I mentioned earlier; I would start with web quests for student to learn how to use the websites and then move on to projects and assignments.

I feel one of my challenges to using online resources is the lack of technology I have in my classroom.  I do not have a way to project it on a whiteboard to make it more interactive.  One reason why I chose to take this class was to further my knowledge on the online resources.  I find that navigating around to using different ones is a challenge for me as a teacher.  I want to be more comfortable with guiding myself along with my students.  When I was a general education teacher I only used the resources I was comfortable with like Bookflix and Trueflix.  Knowing now that there are so many resources that I can use that can differentiate to the level that my students need makes me want to explore even more.  I think some of the online resources can be intimidating for my students to navigate.  Allowing them time to explore so we can learn together.  

Unfortunately as an Instructional Coach, I don't see the online databases being used regularly in the classroom. Part of this is due to our teachers' inexperience or lack of knowledge about the databases. Since our Teacher Librarian is only at our school, (consisting of 470 students and 50 teachers!), one day a week, her time is extremely limited. She is unable to provide instruction to students often and is not available to provide professional learning to our teachers after school.

Next year I will be working in five elementary schools as a Teacher Librarian. Even though I will also be spread very thin, I plan to provide instruction about the online databases to students and teachers. I plan to also promote their use by communicating to teachers, parents and students through a blog, webpage and newsletters. I want to embed the use of the databases into our existing curriculum by collaborating with teachers as they work through their units in all content areas.

I do like the word “challenges” in this case because it is not a negative choice to have so many resources to use, but to really think about what would get the most use.  I work at a private school outside of Iowa, so I just had temporary access to the AEA Digital Library for this course.  As a library media specialist, I am inclined to the reading resources such as BookFLIX or TrueFLIX.  Nothing wrong with that, but I also am in the position of evaluating and purchasing online databases across the school, so seeing what we currently have (which is not a problem since we did a staff survey this year) and surveying the staff as to what is wanted would be a key before purchasing, and to balance what the library wants with what is needed most.  
For steps to take, I think having a list of the digital resources, with a brief description, needs to be presented to the Curriculum Technology and Leadership staff.  With this list and the results of our online resources survey, we can identify those sites that would best fit our needs and get quotes on yearly prices or subscriptions and see how that fits our budget.  Also, getting some other steak holders involved, such as teachers and principals, to gage their reactions to the resources is also important.  It can serve as a “heads up” as to what is coming and build anticipation for when it finally is ready to use.  

I think the biggest obstacle for implementing these resources is the amount of time it will take for me to feel like I have mastered one to teach to my students.  I need to be able to have a good understanding of the resource and how it can best be used in my class before I will feel comfortable teaching it to someone else.  There is also the time limit to teach it to my students and still manage to get the all of the curriculum covered.  There are so many resources available, it will be a challenge to decide which ones to focus on.  On the other hand, the challenge might be that there are so many resources that I want them to use and I will try too hard to teach a large number of them to the class only to end up making more work for myself than necessary!  
I will just need to focus and start out small until I am more comfortable with the resources available!  I will be teaching 6th grade social studies next year and I really liked the CultureGrams resource.  I will start out learning how to navigate that one first and then introduce it to my students within one of our lessons.  I can then work on learning another resource well and introduce it when I'm ready.  After a year or two of teaching social studies, I will have chosen the ones I like best and it will get a lot easier to implement the use of these resources into my lessons!

There will be several challenges for me, but the biggest ones relate to accountability.  Whatever resources I use, I need a way to know the students did the activity.  I don't want them to just do busy work, but they need to do something so they can be held accountable for actually doing the assignment.  They have become very talented at opening other browser windows and playing games, listening to other music, and searching inappropriate topics while appearing to be doing an assignment. It's amazing what 5th graders know how to do.  There are so many resources with great things that can be woven into lessons.  I need to work on finding resources that will enrich my instruction as well as my students' learning. Maybe by incorporating more of these resources it will be so engaging I won't have as much of a problem.

I feel that the biggest challenge in implementing the resources will be to remember all the uses that a resource can provide.  Sometimes I will use a resource for 1 particular reason, I continue to use it in the same way.  The resources that are offered have more than 1 purpose.  One example is that we have used CultureGrams to look up information.  I have not used the videos, slide shows, and interviews.  Not only do I feel that I need to make more use of each resource, but also to look at all of the resources.  I have only worked with CultureGrams.  I have not used any of the resources like Britannica Online.  So I need to remember that there is more to look at and not focus on just 1 specific purpose.  There is a lot to offer my students, and I want to make sure I give my students every opportunity to use them to enhance their learning.

 

Time is always my biggest concern in implementing these website.  It is obviously going to take some time to comb through all the resources but of equal concern is the time that it will take to train students how to use of theses sources and how to use them properly (plagiarism/copyright).  One advantage I have is that I have been granted a few extra hours of curriculum writing this summer.  During this writing time our social studies department will be working together with a coach.  This will provide me with the perfect opportunity so collaborate with others who may have experiences with the sites or we can use some of our time to explore the sites together.  My larger concern is training students as we already only meet every other day for social studies.  Our school is starting a literacy task force to trying to get different departments on the same page.  If become part of this committee I can bring up concerns with plagiarism and citation in students writing.  I know that these already concerns for many so it is very likely that through this task force many of these lessons could be spread out among multiple content areas.  Finally I can create or find tutorials to be put on a class website or google classroom that I can pair with direct instruction.