Lauren+Bell


 * Lauren Bell**

Hi, my name is Lauren Bell and I teach 9th grade Global History at the International Leadership Charter High School in the Bronx. Graduating from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, I studied History and Education and played Division III women’s soccer. If I couldn't be a teacher I would absolutely be a soccer coach. I have coached soccer for 6 years and am a HUGE Chelsea fan! When I am not playing soccer or teacher, I love taking photos and working within the domestic violence prevention movement.

I grew up in San Francisco, California so I am SO SO SO glad this is an online course so I don't have to deal with the cold as much! My students are constantly laughing at me because I complained so much about the cold. They keep telling me it's going to get worse. My parents also love to laugh at me because they are enjoying the nice warm weather right about now. My big goal that I am working on with my students right now is becoming global citizens. I was blessed with two professor parents who always taught me to be a global citizen and I am determined to make my students one as well. I love traveling and have traveled to foreign places such as Hong Kong, Estonia, Russia, Lithuania, Italy, and Greece. I think because of these experiences I have grown to value other cultures and it is my goal that my students, regardless of their circumstance, get to open my student's eyes to the world around them.

__**My Life as A Technology User**__

Technology plays a huge part in my life. Probably too big especially since I started teaching 9th grade. I picked a few important pieces of technology to share and tell you how it impacts my life using a cool site called Graphic Map -->

One specific story that always reminds me of how reliant I am on my technology actually happened over the summer. My boyfriend Will and I were visiting my parents in San Francisco and I decided it was really important to show him the beach (because let's be serious the Pacific Ocean is very very different from the Atlantic Ocean). We got to Stinson beach and of course the water was freezing, but we enjoyed going for the walk. Because I didn't have pockets I asked Will to put my Blackberry in his pocket. About halfway down this beach there are some amazing tide pools so we started exploring them. All the sudden, Will took a step and he is waist deep in cold water. After both laughing it off we froze because we realized both our phones were in his pocket. He calmly takes the batteries out of both and says we have to be patient and can't put the batteries back in until we get home and put them in a bag of rice (supposedly this gets all the water out.) Will seemed to think this was a fine solution but I for some reason believed this was outrageous. How could I be without email, texts, and calls for the 45 minutes drive home and maybe even longer? I grabbed my phone back, shoved the battery in and sure enough it didn't work and a red mark was showing up on my cellphone battery (which I learned later was to show there was water damage and therefore wasn't the phone's fault but instead the owner's...me). Long story short, Will went through the steps with the rice and his phone was fine whereas I was out 100 dollars to pay the insurance money (thank God I had insurance) to get a new phone that mailed out 5 days later. So instead of the 24 hours Will had to wait, I had to wait much longer. Ugh!

This whole experience demonstrated to me just how reliant we are on our phones. Reflecting later, there was no need for me to be freaked out about not having a cellphone. It was the summer, we had no plans, no important emails coming through, and it was 75 degrees and sunny (no dangerous weather). But in the moment, the idea of not being able to communicate with the outside world was absolutely petrifying. Because of this experience, I try to leave my phone at home every so often to remind myself that it's good to sometimes not have a cellphone attached to my ear.

__**Personal Use Project**__

My Personal Use Project was to use Flickr to implement digital stories into my classroom. Follow my progress at: http://laurenbell12.wordpress.com/

__**Net Goals**__

After reading the NET Goals for both students and teachers, I recognize that being “okay” with technology is not sufficient if my goal is to connect with students on their level. With our students today, they feel more comfortable talking over text, reading over the Internet, and debating over AIM. If I want my students to find academic success in medium they are already comfortable with, I need to set technology goals for myself so I can reach them (my students) more effectively.


 * Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity **

//Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers://
 * * Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.
 * Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
 * Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
 * Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. ||

Currently it is very difficult to use technology in the school environment I teach in. At International Leadership Charter High School in the Bronx we are not allowed contact (via email, web, AIM, etc between teachers and students so while I have so many great ideas such as creating twitter accounts, websites, and even having an AIM that students can contact me on but this really isn’t a reality in my current environment. I think the reason the school is against this contact between faculty and students is because of abuse in the past. The school I teach in also doesn’t have the Internet which also deters me from using technology as much as I can. What I do use currently is our school’s Smartboard and getting students up, moving, and interacting with it. This has allowed students to brainstorm and explain things by interacting with key ideas, pictures, and concepts on the Smartboard. What I would like to do more of is use the Smartboard for working on writing and how to map out a good outline by moving ideas around, organizing sentences etc.


 * __ Goal: __**** Focus on “facilitating” the learning on the Smartboard instead of “leading” it. There is no reason my students can’t lead Smartboard activities or concept explanations. **


 * Design and Develop Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments **

//Teachers design, develop, and evaluate authentic learning experiences and assessment incorporating contemporary tools and resources to maximize content learning in context and to develop the knowledge, skills, and attitudes identified in the NETS•S. Teachers://
 * * Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
 * Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
 * Customize and personalize learning activities to address students' diverse learning styles, working strategies, and abilities using digital tools and resources.
 * Provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching. ||

I believe I do a very good job of this standard right now. I think I focus a lot on the third bullet of this standard. I try to use Smartboard everyday or create assignments that adopt technology ideas. For example, we have done text conversations between historical figures, Facebook pages of historical figures, mapped out battles on the Smartboard and more. I think these activities, although not necessarily done with technology, have technology components. I also make sure to input their scores on tests/topics so I can see which topics my students struggled with, what students are consistently struggling, or finally what topics we don’t have to revisit because they aced them. To further my technology use in this standard, I would like to focus on bullet number one. There must be other digital tools that I could use in my classroom that I could use even if I didn’t have the Internet.


 * __ Goal: __**** To research multiple digital tools that could enhance the creativity in my classroom. I am in the process of using Donor Choose to get video cameras for my classroom. This would allow students to take material we are learning, create fun skits, raps, performances etc and be able to see them the next period! **


 * Model Digital-Age Work and Learning **

//Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers://
 * * Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
 * Collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
 * Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
 * Model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. ||

Due to my current school environment this standard is particularly frustrating for me. As of now, I can only use my school email address to communicate with parents, students are not supposed to email me (I do let them but technically it’s against school policy). I would love to implement a twitter account where I could post homework assignments, announcements, and any other information for both parents and students but without the approval of my administration I don’t believe it would be possible.


 * __ Goal: __**** To speak with (and convince) my administration about okaying a twitter account or a website so I can more closely work with students and parents **


 * Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility **

//Teachers understand local and global societal issues and responsibilities in an evolving digital culture and exhibit legal and ethical behavior in their professional practices. Teachers://
 * * Advocate, model, and teach safe, legal, and ethical use of digital information and technology, including respect for copyright, intellectual property, and the appropriate documentation of sources.
 * Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
 * Promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.
 * Develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using digital-age communication and collaboration tools. ||

I think this is a very important standard and I think as an educator I can always improve on this one. When I assigned my winter research packet assignment the week before winter break it was made clear that my students didn’t know what copyright, intellectual property was and barely knew how to appropriately document sources. Instead of moving forward with what I was going to teach that week we did a whole week on what it means to use sources on the Internet and how to give credit to those whose work we decide to use. We did all of these lessons on the Smartboard in order for students to underline where they needed to footnote, how footnotes should look, and what type of endings should we be using for a website. I think moving forward I can keep helping my students with this standard by having assignments where they practice finding sites that would be good to use in a research paper. Another thing I can work on is having my students “develop and model cultural understanding and global awareness. At our school, I teach a “Global Classrooms” lesson every couple weeks. Instead of bringing them the current event to discuss maybe I could have students bring in a digital story they found.


 * __ Goal: __**** Have students sign up for a date and on that date they will bring in a digital story/video ( I can convert it using clipdj so we don’t have to use the internet) and lead a discussion around it. This will enable students have a student centered activity as well. **


 * Engage in Professional Growth and Leadership **

//Teachers continuously improve their professional practice, model lifelong learning, and exhibit leadership in their school and professional community by promoting and demonstrating the effective use of digital tools and resources. Teachers://
 * * Participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.
 * Exhibit leadership by demonstrating a vision of technology infusion, participating in shared decision making and community building, and developing the leadership and technology skills of others.
 * Evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning.
 * Contribute to the effectiveness, vitality, and self-renewal of the teaching profession and of their school and community. ||

I think I can definitely do better at this standard. I do follow a couple educational blogs and am part of a Global History Learning Community online but I believe you can always reach out for more professional development, growth, and leadership. I believe I am connected to the digital world in the sense that I Feel comfortable using Facebook, twitter, YouTube, iPads, smartphones, and other mediums I can always get better. I think a great tool that I heard about recently (and through this course) is Flickr. I think this would be an awesome site to use to document my digital story. One idea I have for my class is to pick an era in history and use Flickr to document how that era is portrayed today (in pictures, magazines, billboards, advertisements, art, etc.). I think this would be such a cool project today but I will have to be careful because some of my students really don’t have access to the Internet, smartphones, or digital cameras.

__Goal: (Personal Use Project)__ Get comfortable with Flickr by documenting my own life in hopes that it will be easy enough that I could use it educationally with my students.


 * Copyright Clarity Poster**



Digital Literacy Statement

Literacy is not something that fits neatly in a box. You can’t tie a bow around it, hand it to the person who desires it, and call it a day. Literacy is ever evolving and those who still believe it is simply “the ability to read and write” [1] are narrow minded. Instead literacy encompasses critical reading, persuasive writing, logical thinking and reading, and complex problem solving. In the 21st century this eluding term //literacy// encompasses numerous modalities. One such modality that is impacting our generation consistently today is digital literacy. Digital literacy is the “ability use digital technology, communication tools, or networks to locate, evaluate, use, and create information…perform tasks effectively in a digital environment…[and] read and interpret media, reproduce data and images through digital manipulation, and to evaluate and apply new knowledge gained from digital environments.” [2]

In order to be successful in school students must develop many digital skills. The first skill students need to learn is how to research. This is a broad skill that includes knowing the difference between a credible source and an unsubstantiated source and further, knowing how to cite sources appropriately. With Internet search engines producing thousands of hits in a matter of seconds, students must understand how to decipher and critically evaluate what information is substantiated and what is not. A second skill they must learn is sharpening their visualization skills. With technology, it is not just reading a source and underlining the meaning. Now students must decipher, interpret, and detect patterns that emerge in videos, pictures, graphs, as well as text. Thirdly, students must learn how to collaborate. The digital world allows students to work with others via sites like Googledocs or even with other technologies such as Neo2s [3]. While collaboration happened before the digital world took off, now the possibilities are endless. Students from all over the world can work together to make a final product. For example, students from California can get a Chinese perspective on traditional schooling. The final skill students need to master is typing. In a world where most of our work is done via computers, students need to familiarize themselves with programs such as Word and how to type and create assignments, letters, emails, posters, etc.

Responsibility should not fall to the student alone to become successful a digitally literate citizen. We, as teachers, cannot make the assumption that all students are “digital natives” [4] even if they are “supposed” to be based on their birth year. If teachers are not willing to help students with the above skills, they may struggle drastically in comparison with peers in other classrooms, districts, cities, states, and even countries. We need to incorporate different types of media and technologies into our classroom so students can practice and master them. Teaching digital literacy is a crucial element that all teachers need to fit into their pedagogy. “Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.” [5] Digital media is not something we can shy away from because it is a reality in all of our students’ lives. We need to meet and connect with our students on their level. Each student is positively or negatively impacted by the digital world and we need to prepare students to not only survive it, but to excel in it. For example, teachers need to help students with researching. In our new digital world, it is unrealistic assume students will go to the library and only use books. The Internet is a rich source and we need to teach our students how to navigate it academically.

Teachers should also have a role in helping students understand what it means to be a safe and responsible digital citizen. Students need to know how to interact appropriately online via social medias. While this may be seen as outside the realm of academia, most students develop their personas in school (whether it be at lunch, through clubs, sports, or during class) and it is important we teach the “whole student” regardless of our content area. How they present themselves via Facebook, Myspace, blogs, avatars, etc. can impact their lives substantially and teachers can be the first to set good examples and explain the benefits but also the dangers that come with the digital world.

[1] Christebury argues this definition no longer works. Christenbury, Leila, Randy Bomer, Peter Smagorinsky. //Handbook of Adolescent Literacy Research// (Guilford Press: New York, 2009), 5. [2] "Digital Literacy Definition and Resources." //University Library at University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign//. University of Illinois, 8 Nov. 2008. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. . [3] Neo2s allow student to send KeyWords (word processing) data from their Neo2 to the teacher’s computer wirelessly through “beaming.” Allows teachers to monitor student progress much more efficiently [4] Prensky, Marc. "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants." //On the Horizon// 9.5 (2001): 1-6. Print. [5] ibid

Lauren's Technology Portfolio