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Screens to Streams About the Author
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About the Author
Hello! My name is Jeremy Smith. My decision to be an educator happened after spending my senior year of high school studying abroad in Spain. I wanted to use my newly acquired language skills to help empower students and share the wonderful skill of bilingualism. I attended Santa Rosa Junior College for two years and then transferred to U.C. Santa Cruz to study Spanish and Latin American Literature. During this time I also studied abroad for one year at the University of San José in Costa Rica. I then received my bilingual teaching credential from Sonoma State in 1999. I taught in a Dual Immersion school in Santa Rosa for two years until the “English in Public Schools” Proposition 227 initiative passed in California, which prohibited bilingual education. So I joined the Peace Corps and spent six years in Paraguay as an Education Sector Volunteer, Volunteer Coordinator, and Program Manager. My focus in Paraguay was on supporting teachers in Spanish-Guaraní Dual Immersion schools. Upon returning to the United States, I taught in Dual Immersion Schools in New Mexico for several years, and have now returned home to teach third grade in Calistoga Elementary School.
Because this is not a Dual Immersion school, I have looked for different ways to empower my students, and discovered that helping kids become literate in technology is another excellent way to do so. The school’s recent integration of individual laptops and iPads has allowed for students to practice transliteracy, or, the ability to read, write, and interact across a range of platforms, tools, and media. Knowing 21st Century skills, I have come to realize, can be as empowering if not more so, than being bilingual and bi-literate. But to teach these skills, I need to develop them myself. The Touro University/Napa Learns Innovative Learning Program has proven to be an excellent way for me to do this.
Because this is not a Dual Immersion school, I have looked for different ways to empower my students, and discovered that helping kids become literate in technology is another excellent way to do so. The school’s recent integration of individual laptops and iPads has allowed for students to practice transliteracy, or, the ability to read, write, and interact across a range of platforms, tools, and media. Knowing 21st Century skills, I have come to realize, can be as empowering if not more so, than being bilingual and bi-literate. But to teach these skills, I need to develop them myself. The Touro University/Napa Learns Innovative Learning Program has proven to be an excellent way for me to do this.
Reflections on my Journey
To be honest, upon beginning this masters program I was wary about technology. As an older teacher, using technology in the classroom has been a difficult path for me. I have also been concerned about the amount of screen time children are engaged in these days and its impact on their physical and psychological health. Concurrently, in these recent years, I have become increasingly concerned about the environment at global and local levels. Local wildfires, for example, have closed our school for two out of the last three years. I feel a pressing need to teach environmental awareness and advocacy to my students. I’ve participated in our school’s fifth and sixth grade outdoor education programs at Yosemite and Marin Headlands, and seen what a powerful experience, both academically and inter personally, it is for kids to get out into nature and experience it firsthand. My driving question therefore became how to bridge the gap between the decreasing amount of time children spend outdoors due to the popularity of screen based media, and the increasing importance of environmental awareness and advocacy. How can we leverage students’ knowledge of, and interest in, screen-based technologies in order to increase their exposure to outdoor environments? My driving question came out of this problem.
As my knowledge of the TPACK model (Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge) was forming, my driving question evolved to integrate the eight NGSS practices:
I became interested in how digital cameras and plant and animal identification apps such as iNaturalist might enhance students’ ability to perform these NGSS science practices.
My driving question turned into several questions:
How can the use of screen-based technologies in the field increase students’ contact with the natural world, improve their environmental awareness, and enhance their ability to perform the eight NGSS science practices?
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, my class was ready to test this research question through an outdoor field trip that had been planned to Pepperwood Preserve. We had iPads loaded with the plant and animal identification app called Seek, generously prepared and loaned to us by Mario at NapaLearns. We had already done field trip animal reports that did not involve devices in order to compare our new, tech integrated reports to. Alas, it was not to be.
During the first stages of the stay at home order, I pivoted our data collection to integrate a project that the kids could do from home, using their parents’ smartphones. Students ventured out into outdoor spaces near their homes with their parents to take photos of natural scenes. The prompt was to include simple “I notice”, “I wonder” and “It reminds me of” statements with each photo. Students shared the photos and statements with their peers through the teacher-parent communication platform Class Dojo. With these results I prepared a short video using iMovie to share with the class through YouTube. Here is a link to the result:
Outdoor Photography Project
The tentative success of this “spur of the moment” project showed how the lemons this Covid-19 crisis gave us could be made into lemonade. I saw how the focus of my project could shift from being based on outdoor field trips to one that could be repeated by many more teachers who did not have the opportunity to take their students on outdoor adventures. I am now interested in how such an “outdoor photography homework project” model can be developed into units of study that address different NGSS standards. In this model, students bring to class their observations from the field to share with their peers on sharing platforms such as Padlet. Photos can be gathered, organized, and communicated to show evidence of learning around the following third grade NGSS standards.
As my knowledge of the TPACK model (Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge) was forming, my driving question evolved to integrate the eight NGSS practices:
- Asking Questions.
- Developing and Using Models.
- Planning and Carrying Out Investigations.
- Analyzing and Interpreting Data.
- Using Mathematics and Computational Thinking.
- Constructing Explanations.
- Engaging in Argument from Evidence.
- Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information.
I became interested in how digital cameras and plant and animal identification apps such as iNaturalist might enhance students’ ability to perform these NGSS science practices.
My driving question turned into several questions:
How can the use of screen-based technologies in the field increase students’ contact with the natural world, improve their environmental awareness, and enhance their ability to perform the eight NGSS science practices?
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, my class was ready to test this research question through an outdoor field trip that had been planned to Pepperwood Preserve. We had iPads loaded with the plant and animal identification app called Seek, generously prepared and loaned to us by Mario at NapaLearns. We had already done field trip animal reports that did not involve devices in order to compare our new, tech integrated reports to. Alas, it was not to be.
During the first stages of the stay at home order, I pivoted our data collection to integrate a project that the kids could do from home, using their parents’ smartphones. Students ventured out into outdoor spaces near their homes with their parents to take photos of natural scenes. The prompt was to include simple “I notice”, “I wonder” and “It reminds me of” statements with each photo. Students shared the photos and statements with their peers through the teacher-parent communication platform Class Dojo. With these results I prepared a short video using iMovie to share with the class through YouTube. Here is a link to the result:
Outdoor Photography Project
The tentative success of this “spur of the moment” project showed how the lemons this Covid-19 crisis gave us could be made into lemonade. I saw how the focus of my project could shift from being based on outdoor field trips to one that could be repeated by many more teachers who did not have the opportunity to take their students on outdoor adventures. I am now interested in how such an “outdoor photography homework project” model can be developed into units of study that address different NGSS standards. In this model, students bring to class their observations from the field to share with their peers on sharing platforms such as Padlet. Photos can be gathered, organized, and communicated to show evidence of learning around the following third grade NGSS standards.
Lasting Learning from the Innovative Learning program: TPACK and SAMR Models
TPACK has been called “the heart of innovative teaching”. Teachers who want to empower their students through 21st Century learning have this model in mind in order to provide the best instruction possible. The most recent addition to the above Venn diagram is the TK, or, Technological Knowledge circle. It adds a whole new dimension to a teacher’s knowledge of Pedagogy and Content. Content knowledge is what teachers know. Pedagogical knowledge is how they teach. Technological Knowledge relates to the role of technology to not only assist PK and CK, but also to potentially re-define what they mean.
You can’t really effectively describe the TPACK model unless you do it in light of another important educational model, which is the SAMR model:
You can’t really effectively describe the TPACK model unless you do it in light of another important educational model, which is the SAMR model:
SAMR stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. The introduction of technology into schools can substitute prior, non-tech teaching strategies and techniques. This is considered to be the weakest use of technology. An example is using a computer to type a paper instead of writing it by hand. Using technology to augment instruction means to substitute a non-tech tool, but with a functional improvement. An example of this is using spell check while writing a paper on the computer. A tech modified lesson allows for a significant task redesign. An example of a modified writing lesson is to have students share their writing in Google Docs and do peer reviews. At its most powerful, technology can redefine pedagogy and content. This means that new, previously inconceivable tasks can be done. An example of this is to create videos and slideshows to showcase writing, and to share end products on social media sites. The goal that the SAMR model shows is the transformation of outdated education habits such as dictation and memorization, with the 21st Century skills of analyzing, evaluating, and creating. These skills are essential to today’s Common Core State Standards. Technology has the potential to significantly enhance students’ ability to perform the 21st Century “4 C's Skills” of Communication, Collaboration, Critical thinking, and Creation.
Let’s look at both TPACK and SAMR in the context of the Screens to Streams outdoor photography homework idea I am working on.
TPACK:
In the area of content knowledge, I’m looking at the NGSS science standards for third grade. I’m looking at the descriptions of the units, and which units lend themselves to the integration of outdoor, digital photography projects. For example, for the NGSS standard:
LS4.C: Adaptation
For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.(3-LS4-3)
Possible photo prompts for this unit could be:
“Take pictures of plants around your house and community. Try to take pictures of plants that you think people planted, and also “weeds” or trees that you think grow there naturally. For each photo, be ready to share: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does it remind you of?”
“Take pictures of animals and insects from around your house and community. You can take pictures of pets. Also try to take pictures of wild animals and bugs if you can find them. For each photo, be ready to share: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does it remind you of?”
In the classroom or in Zoom, (depending on where we are at with distance learning in the years to come), when students share their photos and observations on Padlet, they get a much better idea of which plants and animals are having success in their community. A discussion can also arise about which plants and animals were NOT seen in the community and why.
An important task in the development of this idea is to create prompts to give to the students for their photography, according to each unit, and also what guiding questions to discuss when students display their photos. Here is where it will be useful to have a current, NGSS science curriculum to mirror. Our school has not had a current “traditional” curriculum for the past several years. Teachers piloted several curriculum packages this past year, but with the Covid-19 crisis, adoption has been put on hold for another year. Many teachers including myself have been using the online, video based program called Mystery Science. These photography units can also be built around the NGSS standards covered in Mystery Science.
In the area of pedagogical knowledge, I’m also looking at NGSS guidelines. Specifically, I’m using the pedagogical “best practices” of students doing science and modeling their science learning rather than just learning about concepts from a textbook or video. I think it’s a very powerful idea to get kids outdoors in their communities and accompanied by their parents in order to tie their science learning into their individual contexts.
Happily, the technological knowledge branch of TPACK is what empowers students to be able to perform the pedagogical best practices of “doing” and “modeling”. Digital tools like cameras, nature identification apps like iNaturalist, and collaboration platforms like Padlet, are just a few of the tech tools that can redefine science learning in the 21st Century. For example, when a student makes a recording of an observation of a plant or animal in iNaturalist, the app uses GPS technology to “pin” the observation, which in turn is added to their “IO” or integrated and open database. This adds to real science because it is a resource for people all over the globe.
It looks like a good place to jump over to a discussion of how Screens to Streams fits in with the SAMR model:
SAMR:
Here are the questions I’m asking myself as I look at outdoor photography units in relation to the SAMR model:
Substitution: What will I gain by replacing the old technology with the newer technology?
A: Taking digital devices home to take photos of observations in nature is more motivating to many students than drawing in nature journals.
Augmentation: Have I added an improvement to the task process that could not be accomplished with the older technology at a fundamental level?
A: Yes, with a camera, students are able to record a larger number of observations in less time.
Modification: Does this modification fundamentally depend upon the new technology?
A: If my students were taking nature journals home and drawing their observations instead of photographing and posting, they would be more limited in their ability to share their observations with peers on collaboration platforms and with larger audiences through social media.
Redefinition: How is the new task made possible by the new technology?
A: Taking photos with the app iNaturalist, for example, redefines a student’s role in science. With each valid observation they have the ability to add to the body of scientific knowledge on species’ ranges and habitats around the globe.
To learn more about my learning, you can check out my blog:
Jeremy Smith's Blog Link
Let’s look at both TPACK and SAMR in the context of the Screens to Streams outdoor photography homework idea I am working on.
TPACK:
In the area of content knowledge, I’m looking at the NGSS science standards for third grade. I’m looking at the descriptions of the units, and which units lend themselves to the integration of outdoor, digital photography projects. For example, for the NGSS standard:
LS4.C: Adaptation
For any particular environment, some kinds of organisms survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all.(3-LS4-3)
Possible photo prompts for this unit could be:
“Take pictures of plants around your house and community. Try to take pictures of plants that you think people planted, and also “weeds” or trees that you think grow there naturally. For each photo, be ready to share: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does it remind you of?”
“Take pictures of animals and insects from around your house and community. You can take pictures of pets. Also try to take pictures of wild animals and bugs if you can find them. For each photo, be ready to share: What do you notice? What do you wonder? What does it remind you of?”
In the classroom or in Zoom, (depending on where we are at with distance learning in the years to come), when students share their photos and observations on Padlet, they get a much better idea of which plants and animals are having success in their community. A discussion can also arise about which plants and animals were NOT seen in the community and why.
An important task in the development of this idea is to create prompts to give to the students for their photography, according to each unit, and also what guiding questions to discuss when students display their photos. Here is where it will be useful to have a current, NGSS science curriculum to mirror. Our school has not had a current “traditional” curriculum for the past several years. Teachers piloted several curriculum packages this past year, but with the Covid-19 crisis, adoption has been put on hold for another year. Many teachers including myself have been using the online, video based program called Mystery Science. These photography units can also be built around the NGSS standards covered in Mystery Science.
In the area of pedagogical knowledge, I’m also looking at NGSS guidelines. Specifically, I’m using the pedagogical “best practices” of students doing science and modeling their science learning rather than just learning about concepts from a textbook or video. I think it’s a very powerful idea to get kids outdoors in their communities and accompanied by their parents in order to tie their science learning into their individual contexts.
Happily, the technological knowledge branch of TPACK is what empowers students to be able to perform the pedagogical best practices of “doing” and “modeling”. Digital tools like cameras, nature identification apps like iNaturalist, and collaboration platforms like Padlet, are just a few of the tech tools that can redefine science learning in the 21st Century. For example, when a student makes a recording of an observation of a plant or animal in iNaturalist, the app uses GPS technology to “pin” the observation, which in turn is added to their “IO” or integrated and open database. This adds to real science because it is a resource for people all over the globe.
It looks like a good place to jump over to a discussion of how Screens to Streams fits in with the SAMR model:
SAMR:
Here are the questions I’m asking myself as I look at outdoor photography units in relation to the SAMR model:
Substitution: What will I gain by replacing the old technology with the newer technology?
A: Taking digital devices home to take photos of observations in nature is more motivating to many students than drawing in nature journals.
Augmentation: Have I added an improvement to the task process that could not be accomplished with the older technology at a fundamental level?
A: Yes, with a camera, students are able to record a larger number of observations in less time.
Modification: Does this modification fundamentally depend upon the new technology?
A: If my students were taking nature journals home and drawing their observations instead of photographing and posting, they would be more limited in their ability to share their observations with peers on collaboration platforms and with larger audiences through social media.
Redefinition: How is the new task made possible by the new technology?
A: Taking photos with the app iNaturalist, for example, redefines a student’s role in science. With each valid observation they have the ability to add to the body of scientific knowledge on species’ ranges and habitats around the globe.
To learn more about my learning, you can check out my blog:
Jeremy Smith's Blog Link
Or, contact me!