Claire Molony Educational Blog

 Week 4 The Western Dubuque Community School District (WDCSD) currently has a professional development schedule of students being released at 2:09 every Wednesday. Then teachers do PD from 2:15-3:15. After whole group PD, there is PLC+ time where we work in a group about our common challenge until 4:15. This time will be valuable for implementing professional development related to the Technology Integration Plan (TIP). Research shows that educators often lack understanding of how to effectively integrate technology into their curriculum and without clear guidelines can get even more lost (Crompton, 2023). Crompton (2023) argues that guidance and standards on how to effectively incorporate technologies into teaching could support educators in pushing for more effective use of technology. This professional learning time, will be the time to share the TIP and learn about strategies to incorporate in their classroom.  Zimmer and Matthews (2022) worked to create an intensive PD wh...

 Week 3 According to Crompton (2023), two best practices to support student learning that are tied to the ISTE Educator Standards are personalized learning and digital collaboration. The ISTE Educator Standards advocate for technology that improves differentiated instruction and empowers students to take ownership of their learning, as seen in Standards 2.5 (Designer) and 2.6 (Facilitator). According to Crompton (2023), "Considering learner variability is important to highlight in the standard as a reminder to educators to consider the needs of all types of students." This shows that we need to personalize learning experiences for students, and technology can aid us. In accordance with ISTE Standard 2.4 (Collaboration), digital collaboration can also be used to cultivate critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Crompton (2023) emphasizes the role digital tools play in facilitating peer interactions, global exchanges, and real-world learning experiences. This information ...

 Triple E The Triple E Framework was designed by Liz Kolb with the goal to, "address the desire for K-12 educators to bridge research on education technologies and teaching practice in the classroom." (Kolb, 2015).  Research is very clear that effective technology integration starts with the teacher and the strategies being used and not fancy tools. Therefore, this framework aims for teachers to easily look at the tools they are using and how they support learning goals. The three Es of the Triple E Framework are engage, enhance, and extend. Engage involves students spending time on task, how motivating it is, and if students co-use the technology. Enhancement involves the technology aiding or scaffolding the learning in a way traditional methods cannot. It also allows them to demonstrate their learning in a creative way. Lastly is extending, where the technology needs to extend the learning outside the classroom. These are the three Es which teachers should use to evaluate t...

 Week 1 In Stachowiak and McClay (2024) I read chapter 2 about avoiding technology crashing and burning by collaborating before the launch of a new technology initiative. Rick Hassler helped a district become a one-one iPad district and it did not go over well. He learned from this experience that administrators need to be active in the launch and it cannot just come from the technology department. There needs to be more professional development when launching technology initiatives because otherwise teachers have the technology but do not know how to use it in a manner that benefits the students. The final takeaway from the reading is that changing the mindset of senior staff is crucial for success. Sometimes the most veteran teachers have the biggest learning curve with technology so it is important to inform them of the why and how it is going to be done and improve student outcomes (Stachowiak and McClay, 2024).  Having technology is simply not enough and that was shown in...

 After doing more research and thinking about digital divides in my building, I have decided to focus on digital skills instead of access. I want to focus on the digital skills of teachers and how that can be addressed to support the highest level of skills for our students. This would fit with the second level of divide, skills and usage which are determinants of the use of technology especially for more creative use  (van de Werfhorst et al., 2022).  This gets me into the "dividing factors" of my community members. "Dividing factors" refer to the challenges that prevent communities from accessing, using, or benefiting from digital technologies. My community does not have an access barrier. According to the Digital Divide Index (DDI) my county which I teach in has a low divide because even though I teach in a rural community, our county has a major urban area ( Gallardo, 2022). We have solid infrastructure, with Wi-Fi being available to students and community membe...

 Hi everyone! My name is Claire Molony and I teach high school science in rural Eastern Iowa. I teach chemistry, biology, forensics, and wildlife management. This is my 6th year teaching and my third year in my current role. Along with teaching I coach basketball and golf. In my free time, I enjoy spending time with my family and friends and recently got back into reading. This is my second to last class before completing the program in May!  My community is a small rural community in Eastern Iowa. My students and colleagues are who are going to be impacted by what I learn in this class. I teach students in grades 9-12 in both required classes and electives. Our school is a 6-12 building with around 250 students in grades 9-12. Around 27% of our students are economically disadvantaged, 9% are minorities, and our graduation rate is 98% ( “Cascade Junior-Senior High School”). The readings from the week made me realize the digital divide is not just about physical access such as ...