Reflection for Item #17: Flow Blog Post
Outcome addressed: Examine current research around technology adoption, best practices for change management and technology integration.
I have chosen my blog post about “Flow” as my evidence piece for OLTD 509. This piece is a reflection about how people/children attain “flow”. Flow is the zone where someone is fully engaged in what they are doing, so much so that nothing seems to interrupt that engagement.
I learned that to attain “Flow” there needs to be a higher feeling of arousal and a higher feeling of control. When someone is experiencing anxiety, worry, apathy or boredom, they will not attain “Flow”. I have learned that to enable my students to attain “Flow”, I need to make sure that they are excited about the activities we are doing and they feel that they have enough skills/control over what they are doing so that they won’t be discouraged. Not all people attain “Flow” using the same technologies or teaching techniques. It is important to find what does allow others to attain “Flow”.
The above mentioned outcome is important in my practice in that it forces me to look at not just the technology that I want to use, but to really analyze why I am using the chosen technology. Is the chosen technology going to enhance my students’ learning or am I using it because it is cool? Am I engaging my staff with any chosen technology by just throwing it at them or am I working along side them and guiding them with the technology?
Flow picture retrieved from: akamommagazine.com
Outcome addressed: Examine current research around technology adoption, best practices for change management and technology integration.
I have chosen my blog post about “Flow” as my evidence piece for OLTD 509. This piece is a reflection about how people/children attain “flow”. Flow is the zone where someone is fully engaged in what they are doing, so much so that nothing seems to interrupt that engagement.
I learned that to attain “Flow” there needs to be a higher feeling of arousal and a higher feeling of control. When someone is experiencing anxiety, worry, apathy or boredom, they will not attain “Flow”. I have learned that to enable my students to attain “Flow”, I need to make sure that they are excited about the activities we are doing and they feel that they have enough skills/control over what they are doing so that they won’t be discouraged. Not all people attain “Flow” using the same technologies or teaching techniques. It is important to find what does allow others to attain “Flow”.
The above mentioned outcome is important in my practice in that it forces me to look at not just the technology that I want to use, but to really analyze why I am using the chosen technology. Is the chosen technology going to enhance my students’ learning or am I using it because it is cool? Am I engaging my staff with any chosen technology by just throwing it at them or am I working along side them and guiding them with the technology?
Flow picture retrieved from: akamommagazine.com
Artifact #17: Flow Blog Post
As I looked around my classroom the other day, I was thinking about “Flow”(Csikszentmihalyi, 2012). I pondered how I would be able to help my students attain that immersive feeling of being so engaged in the activities we were doing that nothing could pry them away. I watched them during centre time. Some were working with Lego, some drawing, a few were writing, and others were reading. I paid close attention to where and how they were placed in the classroom. My students go to their comfort spots for many activities. Some students were lying on the floor while they drew, read, played Lego, or wrote, others were at their desks, and some were under desks. I noticed that there were no complaints about noise, not that it is really noisy anyway. I thought that this was odd, especially when there are some of my students who have a difficult time when there is only a slight noise in the classroom when we are doing our “studies”. I realized that when these students are in their Flow, they aren’t distracted by noise because they are so immersed in what they are doing that the outside world’s noises isn’t an issue.
The only other time I noticed my students being truly engaged and focused was when they have choices. We do the Daily 5 program. Daily 5 “is a structure that helps students develop the daily habits of reading, writing, and working independently that will lead to a lifetime of literacy independence” (Boushey, Moser 2013). .Students can pick what they are going to do for each section of time and in what order they wish to do them.
After watching Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s video, “Flow” (2010) a lot of what I was seeing in my classroom made sense. Students were engaged in the things that they chose to do and the activities they chose to do were at or just above their skill level. They were in control of what tasks they did and where they did those tasks. They had a sense of intrinsic reward when they completed a book, saw their finished picture, wrote a great piece, and saw their Lego creation.
I also noticed, while looking at the Flow diagram (retrieved from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology) that many of my students are in the anxiety, worry, apathy, and boredom areas when we are doing regular content based lessons. It is hard to admit that even though I thought I was trying to make interesting lessons, I was failing many of my students.
Now, here comes the challenge…how do I carry over what I see them doing during centre time and Daily 5 and still keep my sanity? Well, I think doing more project- based learning (Markham, 2011) would be a great start. Students could help each other to stretch their skill levels. There is also the element of choice with which students have with being in control of how they achieve the project’s end result. There is also the intrinsic reward of knowing that each contributed to a project where there is some real impact.
Boushey, G., & Moser, J. (2013). The daily 5 cafe. Retrieved from http://www.thedailycafe.com/public/department104.cfm
Markham, T. (2011). Project Based Learning. Teacher Librarian, 39(2), 38-42.
Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi : Flow, (2010) Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjliwSJGDiU
Flow picture retrieved from: www.madteckhead.com
Reflection for Artifact #18: Final Paper: OLTD 509
Outcome addressed: Consider potential design/implementation opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies.
I chose my final paper for OLTD 509 for my evidence piece. I chose this piece because it is a culmination of my learning for this course. I reflect on “Flow” (Csikiszentmihalyi, 2010), “Causal Loop” (Senge, 1990), “Disruptive Innovations” (Christensen, 2008), and “The three forces of stratosphere” (Fullen, 2013). The main ideas behind the above topics are: How can I help my students to attain “Flow”?, How does the “Causal Loop” affect how I perceive why my students won’t work?, How to keep ahead/abreast of “Disruptive Innovations”?, How does my worksite affect integration of technologies in my school?, and finally, How do all of these affect my growing/changing pedagogy?
I have learned that it is not just about the technology, but about all the other things that can inhibit or challenge how I integrate technology in my classroom and school. I need to look at where my students and staff are coming from, and what infrastructure inhibitors there are.
The above mentioned outcome is important to me as an instructor, in that it forces me to look at the challenges I face in implementing technologies at my school. It is not just about the technologies I choose, it is also about the people and the infrastructure. I can pick the neatest technology, but if the infrastructure does not support it, it is useless. If I don’t guide and support my staff, the technology will not be utilized to its full potential.
Emergent Technologies picture retrieved from: blog.futurefacts.net
Outcome addressed: Consider potential design/implementation opportunities and challenges of emerging technologies.
I chose my final paper for OLTD 509 for my evidence piece. I chose this piece because it is a culmination of my learning for this course. I reflect on “Flow” (Csikiszentmihalyi, 2010), “Causal Loop” (Senge, 1990), “Disruptive Innovations” (Christensen, 2008), and “The three forces of stratosphere” (Fullen, 2013). The main ideas behind the above topics are: How can I help my students to attain “Flow”?, How does the “Causal Loop” affect how I perceive why my students won’t work?, How to keep ahead/abreast of “Disruptive Innovations”?, How does my worksite affect integration of technologies in my school?, and finally, How do all of these affect my growing/changing pedagogy?
I have learned that it is not just about the technology, but about all the other things that can inhibit or challenge how I integrate technology in my classroom and school. I need to look at where my students and staff are coming from, and what infrastructure inhibitors there are.
The above mentioned outcome is important to me as an instructor, in that it forces me to look at the challenges I face in implementing technologies at my school. It is not just about the technologies I choose, it is also about the people and the infrastructure. I can pick the neatest technology, but if the infrastructure does not support it, it is useless. If I don’t guide and support my staff, the technology will not be utilized to its full potential.
Emergent Technologies picture retrieved from: blog.futurefacts.net