haiku LMS

Rebekah Anne Cordova, M. Ed., is currently the Educational Services Coordinator for The Teacher Institute at La Academia (TILA).  Rebekah received her BA in Sociology and Human Services from Fort Lewis College and graduated from the University of Florida's School of Teacher Leadership and School Improvement with a Master's of Education.  Over the past several years, Rebekah has taught Middle School Language Arts and Social Studies in numerous school settings, including alternative charter schools, residential treatment facilities, and youth detention centers.  Rebekah's passion is teaching multi-cultural literature in order to support and encourage student voice and empowerment. 

We asked her to talk about her experience with teaching and technology, and how haiku LMS has affected her teaching.

I have been an educator for almost 10 years, two of these years as a teacher of adults pursuing teacher licensure. I have taught primarily in Colorado, but have also taught in rural Florida. My personal mission is to incorporate student identity and voice into powerful curriculum.  As a middle school teacher, I used literature—now that I teach adults, I try to help them create student-centered curriculum for their classrooms.

The mission of MHM is to train prospective teachers by exposing them to innovative curriculum, experience and research.  Through the MHM licensure program, The Teacher Institute at La Academia (TILA), we require teachers to create a portfolio and action research project based on personal and powerful and cutting-edge themes of education.  Since we primarily work with urban teachers who teach high-risk students, we also provide expert training in education and curriculum issues relating to these specific populations.

What is your first recollection of what you would consider "technology in the classroom".  How did it impact you?

My first encounter with technology in the classroom was not really until I entered my graduate program.  As a student in middle and high school, the only technology we had access to were basic computers with word processing abilities. I knew that other students in more suburban areas had more access to technology than my school did; however, I was never really sure how it was benefiting them—or how I was dis-advantaged by my lack of exposure. I never had a teacher discuss or offer options that were not purely lecture based.

How does technology in the classroom impact you, the teacher, today?  How does it impact the learner?

In my graduate program we learned about the technology integration options that allowed teachers to better serve their students.  The specific technology that we found to be the most interesting would have been the Dragon Speak software that students could use to turn their voice into text. Besides specific software, like Dragon Speak, which addresses student needs in the classroom, I also believe that teachers need to be knowledgeable in the technology that our students are using in their personal life.  This way, teachers are able to use technology to connect to the “real-life” experiences of students and offer realistic applications of what is being learned in the classroom.

How will technology continue to evolve the classroom five years out?  Ten years out?

Over the next five or ten years I imagine that our education technology will really incorporate real-time face to face interaction through web cameras, etc.  Already, we can see this technology at the university administration level, but it is not as prominent at the local level (especially for teachers in the mainstream classrooms)--- and I imagine that teachers will start to see more and more of these real-time options in their classrooms.

What are the greatest limitations of teaching with technology? What are your greatest concerns?

Teaching with technology has limitations.  Some of the greatest teachers I know lack the technological skills to teach or share ideas through current technology.  They have not gathered these skills as it had not been necessary in their career, and now that they are competing with younger teachers, I see the education field “passing them by” although they have the wisdom, experience, and passion that many of the younger teachers lack.  My greatest concern is that online-learning will (no matter how advanced) destroy the beauty of the human interaction we see in traditional face-to-face classrooms.  In addition, I see online learning schools available for students as young as 6 years of age, which strikes me as devaluing the much needed teacher/student relationship and personal interaction that is important at that developmental age.

What are the greatest benefits of teaching with technology? What excites you the most?

The greatest benefit for teaching with technology is the obvious way that we can nurture and empower students that do not thrive in the traditional method of face-to-face lecture.  Our work with technology really allows for a truly diverse population of students to access knowledge.  I am most excited about how technology can easily provide opportunities for curriculum based on inter-connectedness, as well as the obvious opportunities for students to utilize various media to express their voice and identity (video, audio, etc..)

How does haiku LMS address these limitations and benefits?  How do you think haiku LMS' approach differs from other LMS software?

haiku’s systems have a programmatic ease to them, which allow beginning tech learners to create their own classrooms online.  Even the most nervous about online teaching have felt comfortable with haiku’s interface.  In addition, haiku offers many customizable options that can address a variety of student learning styles. I am hopeful that we will see other additions to haiku that will allow students to have homepages and profiles that will create a more student-centered classroom environment.

What would you say to other educators who are searching for an LMS about your own decision to use haiku LMS?

I would say that our organization had been looking for an LMS that would address our very specific needs for a few years—and we had not found one that worked so well until we signed on with haiku. In addition to the easy customization of haiku, the customer service is out of sight—which makes all the difference in the world to a small organization like ours. 

What books and websites do you read to stay on top of technology and learning?

We belong to the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development and read their magazine Educational Leadership.  Although this organization does not necessarily specialize in technology integration, their resources provide teachers with best practice research and methodology, which often incorporates and expects teachers to utilize technology in the classroom.

What are the most important qualities to be a successful teacher on-line?

The most important qualities for a successful online teacher would include:
1.    Engaging - students need to feel the passion through the interface
2.    Accessible - students need to feel that the teacher is “there” even if they cannot be seen.
3.    Clear in diverse forms of communication - many students struggle with understanding the written word, so the teacher must be able to communicate in a variety of ways.
4.     High Standards - Often, students perceive online classes as “easier”, so I believe it is important for teachers to nurture the belief that online classes can be and should be just as rigorous, educational, and challenging as successful face-to-face classes.

What advice or quote do you keep close to your heart as a teacher?

“What are the most off-putting features of typical schooling that minimize risk taking, imagination, and courage to question, and how can those be undone?”
-Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe, 2005