Teaching with Techonolgy - Fran's Screen Snap Shots

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I hope you enjoy the slide show of my screen snap shots.  I have also included some family photos.  There is a photo that contains my parents.  I lost my father last summer to a long illness.  There is not a day that goes by where he is not in my thoughts.

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Levels of Teaching Innovation (LoTI)

Levels of Teaching Innovation

A Reflection by Fran Glickman

In the past, educators used a categorization of six thinking levels, ranked from the lowest thinking level to the highest when planning their lessons. Educators made sure to incorporate each of the levels into their lessons and assessments, with the ultimate goal of all the students being able to perform at the highest cognitive level. These original six levels were referred to as Bloom’s Taxonomy, named after the psychologist, Benjamin Bloom. The six cognitive (thinking) levels ranked from lowest to highest are:

1. Knowledge: Recall of facts
2. Comprehension: Understand the meaning of information
3. Application: Using information in new situations
4. Analysis: Breaking down material into parts for examination
5. Synthesis: Putting parts of information together to form something
6. Evaluation: Judging the value of material based on criteria for a purpose

Like many things in the world of education, Bloom’s Taxonomy was re-evaluated and modified to make it better. Lorin Anderson and David Krathwohl felt that some of the terms needed to be modified and reorganized and then republished as “Revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy,” which is as follows (also ranked from lowest to highest):

1. Remember
2. Understand
3. Apply
4. Analyze
5. Evaluate
6. Create

With today’s in surge of technology, we need to again modify and further define the levels of thinking to accommodate the “Net generation.” In response to this technical world, the 21st Century Teacher must incorporate technology into lessons and perhaps into assessments as well. Therefore, the “Levels of Teaching Innovation” or LoTI as it is also referred to be created. What does this have to do with Bloom’s Taxonomy? Well, just as Bloom’s Taxonomy was created to enable students to reach higher levels of thinking and learning, so too does LoTI. The LoTI also claims to have “six” levels (but there are really more – 4a and 4b). They refer to these levels as “LoTI Framework:”

1. Level 0 = Nonuse
2. Level 1 = Awareness – Teacher uses technology only for productivity tools
3. Level 2 = Exploration
4. Level 3 = Infusion
5. Level 4a = Integration – Mechanical
6. Level 4b = Integration – Routine
7. Level 5 = Expansion
8. Level 6 = Refinement - Multiple technologies being used toward product completion

In President Obama efforts to have U.S. students compete globally, he stated that the 21st Century skills involved problem solving, critical thinking, entrepreneurship, and creativity among other things. If we think back to Bloom’s Taxonomy, the skills mentioned by President Obama (when speaking about the “Race to the Top”) have been in place for many decades. However, the avenues of where the students can be creative are changing rapidly. Why has the U.S. students’ grades been slipping? The forum on that question can go on and on. There are a number of good reasons. We now have to look at what we can do to make a change for the better. We have to meet the learning styles of the “Net generation.” Educators have to incorporate technology into their lessons and infuse the “LoTI Framework” into their lessons and assessments.

Recourses may be an inhibitor. Many schools do not have the funding to make the change quickly. They have to purchase the technological devices in chunks at a time. President Obama’s goal is for the U.S. to have the highest proportion of college graduates by the year 2020. It looks like we are on course for success.

Education of the Future

Reflection on Education 2.0 video clip - Marc Prensky

Education 2.0 – Marc Prensky video clip

This week in our Teaching with Technology instructor required that we watch a video entitled, “Education 2.0.”  “Education 2.0” was a small video clip from an interview with Marc Prensky, author of Don’t Bother Me Mom – I’m Learning.  Prensky claims that the old premise of school is outdated.  He states that although change is occurring, instruction in schools still involves talking to kids, presenting, telling and explaining to the whole class.  Prensky feels that this type of instruction leads students to tune out.  He believes that kids want group work, project work, case work, sharing things and having their opinions heard.  Kids are so much more involved with each other and with the world than they get credit for.  In a sense, we have to market the subjects that we want kids to be interested in. 

Students should learn how to communicate, express complex ideas, and persuade among other things.  To communicate, express complex ideas and persuade are all verbs.  The verbs have not changed.  However, it is the nouns which have changed.  For instance, the median for which the assignments are done are being changed – the essays, the papers, writing, blogging, videos, pod casts.

Education is heading into a direction where we are going to see the ability for kids to go out and learn anything they want to know in an engaging, communicative way – online; a way to insert adults as educational guides.

Schools, according to Prensky, are no longer the center of children’s education.  Education has bifurcated into school, where you get a credential (and it’s about the past); and after school, where you really learn interesting stuff on your own.  Prensky then told a story about a student who was a Civil War buff – A student who is passionate about a subject – used to get all the information from books and the library.  However, today, the students use the internet and technology.  They are teaching themselves.

In referring to educators, Prensky feels that we need to find ways to help students find and follow their passions, and find the tools that they could use to feed their passions.    Those tools may include the internet, knowing the right things to do, knowing how to do it, knowing how to do it with others, then knowing how to do it better, and knowing how to do it more creatively.  Prensky ends the video clip with the thought that if we can teach the kids those things that they can use to apply their passions and going as far as they can go, then we will be a whole lot better off than we are with trying to get kids to pass those standardized tests.

My Thoughts on the Video:

First, having three kids of my own, I definitely see the role technology plays in their life.  I too love the internet.  Whenever I am learning something new, or simply want to refresh my memory, I search the web for a quick tutorial.  The better tutorials provide lots of visuals.  If I am lucky, I might even find a video on the topic I am researching.  I also like colorful websites.  There are web sites that offer tutorials and then allow you to take a self quiz.  Some sites offer more than one type of quiz.  One of the most famous web sites used by educators is called Brain Pop.     

Many of the schools today do have Smart Technology.  There are computers being placed in more classrooms.  I see and feel the change.  Originally, when we studied education and creating lesson plans, we were taught to appeal to the eight different intelligences that humans possess.  Today, we have to appeal to a ninth – technology.  Please find the list of eight intelligences listed below.  We know have learning standards to accommodate the use of technology.  If we, as educators, don’t get on board, we will miss the boat. 

Eight Intelligences

1.    Linguistic intelligence ("word smart")

2.    Logical-mathematical intelligence ("number/reasoning smart")

3.    Spatial intelligence ("picture smart")

4.    Bodily-Kinesthetic intelligence ("body smart")

5.    Musical intelligence ("music smart")

6.    Interpersonal intelligence ("people smart")

7.    Intrapersonal intelligence ("self smart")

8.    Naturalist intelligence ("nature smart")

This week I did something that I never thought that I would ever do.  

I CREATED MY OWN WEB SITE! 

I am so excited about this because it is something that I only dreamed of doing.  I have only made a home page and a link.  I have a lot more to do, but it is a start.  I ran into a technology savvy friend of mine and I excitedly shared this with her.  She showed me a web site that she created for the team of teachers that she works with in a middle school.  The web site includes links to each of the subject teachers.  They can post any notes, visuals, power points, links to other sites and assignments on the site.

I sincerely like to thank Dr. Smirnova.  If it were not for her guidance and providing us with such tools as the various web sources where we can create a web site for free, create an avatar for free, create a blog page for free, and create a nearly endless venue of medians, I never would have done it.  I am on uncharted territory.  I am boldly going where I have never gone before.  I am scared and extremely excited all at the same time.  My biggest regret is that this is not a two-part class.  Like anything, I need a lot of practice.  I’m afraid that I might learn a mile wide and an inch deep.  It would be great if we can get a feel for most everything this semester and practice and perfect what we have learned next semester.

As much as I am excited by my new adventures with technology, sometimes, I would rather pick up a book and highlight where I want to and make my own notes in the margins.  I realize that the technology is probably out there for that but I don’t want to always have to worry about my technology getting wet or ruined or the batteries dying, or someone steeling it.  People steel books far less frequently than they would an electronic device.

In closing, yes we must teach using technology and use technology as a median to deliver assignments and conduct research; however, books should still hang around for a while too.  I suppose technology will eventually fade out the traditional paper books as DVD’s have been fading out the VHS’.

Introducing The Mathinator 2000

Good Evening!


My “blog” name is “The Mathinator 2000.” I love doing mathematical problems. Many mathematical problems are like a puzzle, where you have to find various pieces of the puzzle in order to put the entire puzzle together (or in math, solve the puzzle/problem). Often, math involves finding a pattern, making a connection. Math does not always come easy. However, there is nothing like the feeling when you have struggled with something (a math problem) and then you conquer (solve) it.


This is my very first blog. I never thought that I would ever write a blog in my life. As part of a technical graduate course that I am taking, I am required to blog. Like any good mathematical problem, I expect I may struggle from now and then with blogging or some other feature of this technical course. However, I will work hard and conquer my technical fears, hesitations, and problems. I have already begun to put the pieces of this technological puzzle together by watching some videos posted on “moodle” and actually writing this blog. “I’m on my way . . .”

As an educator, we understand that we are preparing students for their future careers. Some of the careers that today’s students will encounter have not yet been created. It is obvious that technology will play a tremendous part of our children’s future. I have some exciting ideas about careers for our students. However, before I post my ideas, I like to invite others to respond with some ideas of their own. In the interim, the hint to my future blog is: “Montgomery, NY.”


Please answer the following question:

1. What skills do you anticipate will be in demand for the future?

Until my next blog, “The Mathinator 2000 signing out”