Thing #3: Working With Digital Photos

Photo editing has been simplified so much through online programs and apps.  I am an extremely amateur photographer and have spent extensive time using Lightroom, and have had some experience with Photoshop.  Today I experimented with several different photo editing programs that I might want to use with students and teachers. 

First, I want to start with the end in mind.  In this case, what goal am I trying to accomplish through the use of a photo editor?  As the school year has begun, many teachers have approached me about editing and printing photos of their new students for hallway displays and team building activities.  Teachers often need to crop, adjust coloring due to lighting in their rooms or hallways, and print in a variety of sizes to accommodate different uses.  As they progress in curriculum, photo editing may be necessary as teachers create visuals to enhance the learning experience of their students.  For students, photo editors may be used as students add images to writing assignments or annotate images to help justify a scientific hypothesis or explain a math equation.  The fact is, images can be used to both present information, as well as, to demonstrate understanding of a particular concept. 

I am an avid Lightroom user, and have found it to fully meet my personal needs.  Unfortunately, due to cost and accessibility, this is not a feasible option in the classroom setting.  Therefore, I am forced to explore web-based or desktop app alternatives.  I explored PicMonkey, Pixlr, and Fotoflexer.

I started with a desktop version of PicMonkey and was completely satisfied with my product.  I was easily able to adjust size, brightness, and create a collage.  There were numerous font options, even with the free trial, to add a text enhancement to my photo.  The program was extremely easy to navigate and the image produced was exactly what I had pictured in my mind.

Next I tried Pixlr (desktop).  The full version had significant capabilities, almost identical to Photoshop.  It and efficient, well thought out program, but it is a lot to learn for a novice.  The abilities of the program were probably the best I saw in all the programs I reviewed.  Unfortunately, the program was tedious and time consuming.  Although students might enjoy this program for specific purposes, on the whole, I’m not certain that I could offer my students or teachers enough time to effectively utilize it to create a meaningful project.

Finally, I experimented with Fotoflexer.  This platform for this program was much simpler than the others.  It had many features, but did not feel nearly as sophisticated as the other sites tested.  It’s simple, has many options for editing and enhancing photos, but I couldn’t find anything truly special or distinctive to make this program stand out more than another. 

Of all of the programs used, PicMonkey was my favorite.  It had easy to use features that are perfect for accommodating education goals.  Students would be able to take pictures, edit them, and annotate to demonstrate mastery of skills.  It had enough features to allow for student creativity, but not so many that students would lose focus of the learning objective.  Unfortunately, PicMonkey requires a fee, preventing it from being a viable option for my classrooms. 

Thing #2: Blogging

Wow!  I have a blog.  Over the last several years, numerous role-model educators in my life had discussed the importance of blogging in our profession.  Although I enjoy reading the blogs of others, I have not really considered the idea that I had anything of value to share.  As I've matured in my career, I've come to understand the influence I can have on others.  Through my own life-long learning, I've also started to find my voice.

Getting started on this blog was a huge challenge.  I tend to be a perfectionist, and therefore want my blog to be perfect.  Unfortunately, as I began this project, I wasn't sure what perfection looked like. After testing out several of the different blog sites recommended, I decided on blogger, mainly because the web address I wanted was available.   This summer, my profession changed slightly as I moved out of the general education classroom and into a role coaching teachers as they seek to effectively integrate technology into their classrooms.  Technology is my passion, and with my new career path, I knew that my blog name needed to include technology.  After trying several web addresses, I decided on techteachingeveryday.  It perfectly encompasses my professional role, which with a blog, might allow me to support personalized student learning through teacher development, beyond the walls of my 2 elementary campuses.  

Next, I evaluated the different templates available, and decided on a photograph background.  Technology today has eliminated barriers in learning, meaning that student learning is no longer limited to 4 walls of a classroom.  Effectively implemented technology allows students to easily access information to answer their own questions.  Devices today offer students fluctuation in where and how they acquire new information. Technology can also provide multiple platforms for students to demonstrate knowledge acquired.  Finally, the internet can also provide a larger audience, allowing students to feel more empowered and make learning more meaningful.  The photograph is a picture of a modern learning environment.  The photograph, like the learning environment, will change frequently.

Although I struggled in the beginning to design a blog, eventually, it all came together, and in my opinion, it perfectly represents my voice.

Thing #1: 7 and 1/2 habits of Lifelong Learning

At nearly 50 years old, I have decided to seek a Master's in Curriculum and Instruction with an emphasis in technology.  I am beginning my third course on this quest, which will require me to blog  "things" that can be done using the web.  My first assignment has asked me to evaluate the 7 1/2 habits of lifelong learning and determine areas of strength, areas in which I can improve, and complete a learning contract.  So here it goes:

Begin with the end in mind:

We live in a society where information about almost anything is at our fingertips.  Without asking specific questions or working toward specific goals, it’s easy for attempts at learning to become a problematic distraction. 

Accept responsibility for your own learning:

Whether in a traditional classroom environment, or in a situation where seeking your own answers to relevant life questions, a true learner must be engaged in the learning process.  A teacher can teach all day, but if a student is uninterested or unmotivated, her efforts are futile.   If we wait for others to teach us without engaging actively in the learning process, we will also be limited by the knowledge of the teacher.  Accepting responsibility for our own learning allows for development of new ideas, experimentation, and an expanded understanding of our world. 

View problems as challenges:

Challenges create opportunity for innovative resolutions.  Even Einstein said, “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.”  Many people who are successfully impacting change in our world are simply people willing to look the hardest for a solution.

Have confidence in yourself as a competent, effective learner:

This trait is one that I find I deal with quite often, not necessarily for myself, but in those I am teaching and coaching.  In the classroom setting, I spend a great deal of time helping students understand that I have high expectations for their work, for them to always give their best.  Most want specific requirements.  They are not confident in their ability to produce a well-written narrative essay.  They want to know how long it has to be or can the adventure include their dog.  They struggle to understand that some stories can be told well in one page, while another may require 4 pages to be adequately written.    As a technology coach, I have the same struggle with teachers.  Many consider themselves to be technology illiterate.  They are afraid to push a button, or introduce technology to their class when they may not 100% understand a program or how to handle every question that might be asked.   They are reluctant to initiate innovative ideas because they doubt their own abilities to experiment and learn something new.

I think this is the trait with which I struggle the most.  As an educator, test scores are often a primary factor in determining whether I am a successful teacher.  Although my administrators have always complimented the innovation and student ownership of learning in my classroom, I have often felt an overwhelming sense of pressure based on standardized test results.   Since most of our classroom populations aren’t standardized, and most modern guiding educational philosophy emphasizes personalized learning, I have often found myself doubting my own understanding of literature, especially when learning has occurred in an independent environment.

Create your own learning toolbox:

I feel like this trait aligns nicely with the first one, begin with the end in mind.  As a classroom teacher, I knew that I would encounter various challenges daily.  I typically had several English Language Learners, some students with attention deficit disorder or other behavioral challenges, while others may be enduring personal challenges at home.  These needs required a toolbox.  The needs of each year aren’t the same, so the toolbox has to continuously grow.   By starting with specific questions to achieve clear goals, I am consistently growing my personal resources.  This year, I am building a new toolbox as I seek to support teachers rather than students.  Every day, I am asking myself new questions and seeking new information through books, the internet and a spectacular team of fellow coaches. 

Use technology to your advantage:

We are not at a loss for technology to use in our life.  It has become a much bigger challenge to determine which technology is the most effective for an individual task.  This is a huge part of my job.  I get to help teachers evaluate a variety of ways to present information, avenues for students to ask and answer questions, and determine multiple ways students might demonstrate mastery of knowledge. 

This is my strength, my passion, what gets me excited.  In my classroom, students were constantly buzzing, many due to technology. Others might have been utilizing markers, color pencils, or even post-it notes.   Some lessons were flipped while some offered opportunities for blended learning.  There were often a variety of ways for students to present their learning.  No lesson was the same, few acquired knowledge exactly the same, and no student product was identical.  I loved going to work and students loved coming to class. 

Teach/mentor others:

Teaching others solidifies the learning process.  By mentoring others, students are able to motivate peers, justify thinking or ask new questions, and encourage learning in others.  This experience isn’t isolated to children.  Teachers who have built successful toolboxes and mentor other teachers create school cultures that are good for kids.  Again, knowledge is shared, old ideas are challenged, and knowledge is sought.  Often times, we learn that old ideas are still good ones (kids need to memorize their multiplication facts).   Sometimes, we learn that there are new and better ways (kids should learn math processes rather than just memorize algorithms).  Either way, our toolboxes are continuously developed and improved through collaboration and mentorship.

Play:

Learning is fun.  Life isn’t a standardized assessment.  It’s a continuous process of living, asking questions, seeking answers, and implementing change.  It doesn’t all have to be linked to success or failure.  Fun resides in the messy process of learning for life!  In my younger days, I struggled quite a bit with this trait.  I am quite goal driven and necessity required me to keep a focus on work and accomplishment.  As I’ve aged and become more confident and content with life, I find the process of learning, often through mistakes, to makeup a great deal of the joy in my journey.

Click here to view my personal learning contract for this course.