Click here to view my Moodle Presentation.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Week 8 Reflection
The Differentiation Station is a different type of social network for me. Before starting this class, I used to view social networks as nothing more than just the standard MySpace and Facebook type sites. I never realized the potential for professional collaboration until I joined Google Groups with my Differentiation Station members and began working closely to share resources and ideas. As the class progressed and our group members became more comfortable with each other, it was nice to get some constructive criticism about projects and ideas. Its hard to criticize someone you really don't know, but as we worked together more and more, helpful criticism was much easier and effective. Overall, I really enjoyed the Differentiation Station experience.
As a result of the this experience, my teaching practices will change a little this year. Differentiation using technology seems so feasible and attainable now. I am currently looking into purchasing word recognition software for my ELL students and have already started differentiating some of my lessons for the beginning of the year. I've always tried to present content across different modalities and I always tell my students that there is more than one way to solve any problem. The one thing I will change is I will give my students multiple options for products they can complete to demonstrate their understanding of concepts taught in the classroom. I feel these options will motivate students to want to learn and keep them engaged to ensure another successful year.
As a result of the this experience, my teaching practices will change a little this year. Differentiation using technology seems so feasible and attainable now. I am currently looking into purchasing word recognition software for my ELL students and have already started differentiating some of my lessons for the beginning of the year. I've always tried to present content across different modalities and I always tell my students that there is more than one way to solve any problem. The one thing I will change is I will give my students multiple options for products they can complete to demonstrate their understanding of concepts taught in the classroom. I feel these options will motivate students to want to learn and keep them engaged to ensure another successful year.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas: Reflection
Right when I started this course, I realized that format for my GAME plan is very much like the Plan, Do, Study, Act goal-setting activities I conduct with my classroom for our CLS (Classroom Learning Systems) model. I have to admit, I like the GAME plan method better than the Plan, Do, Study, Act method, mainly because of the constant monitoring and re-evaluation process you must go through with with the GAME plan.
As for my persona GAME plan, I have been pleased with my first goal: demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. I promised myself I would participate in at least one blogging discussion each week and have been very successful. Not only have I participated in the class blog each week, I have been blogging on educational sites such as Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom and Weblogg-ed. As a result, I feel much more comfortable with blogging and how to instruct students how to blog. In addition, our class wiki-project has allowed me to really experiment with what you can do with a wiki. Once again, I feel confident enough to teach my students with wikis next year. This all comes with perfect timing because I just received word that my county has finally approved the use of Web 2.0 applications in the classroom! Next year will be fantastic!
As for my second goal: evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning, blogging on those aforementioned sites have broadened my horizons to new and upcoming technology. After my first evaluation of my progress in this area, I realized I needed to set up an aggregator to keep track of all the new and upcoming technology. The list I have developed through this aggregator will help keep me up to date as my tenure at Walden U. comes to a close.
Once again, knowing how to carry out a GAME plan will be reflecting in my instruction. Right in the beginning of the year, I will start my 5th grade classroom off with a series of goal setting activities with establishing a GAME plan on the forefront. In addition, through creating my unit plan, I now realize how easy it is to integrate social networking and digital storytelling aspects into each lesson. With the approval of Web 2.0 activities for next year in my county, I plan on utilizing these tools to improve my lessons. Needless to say, I have a lot to look forward to next year! Thank you all who have helped me throughout this course!
As for my persona GAME plan, I have been pleased with my first goal: demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. I promised myself I would participate in at least one blogging discussion each week and have been very successful. Not only have I participated in the class blog each week, I have been blogging on educational sites such as Beth's Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom and Weblogg-ed. As a result, I feel much more comfortable with blogging and how to instruct students how to blog. In addition, our class wiki-project has allowed me to really experiment with what you can do with a wiki. Once again, I feel confident enough to teach my students with wikis next year. This all comes with perfect timing because I just received word that my county has finally approved the use of Web 2.0 applications in the classroom! Next year will be fantastic!
As for my second goal: evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning, blogging on those aforementioned sites have broadened my horizons to new and upcoming technology. After my first evaluation of my progress in this area, I realized I needed to set up an aggregator to keep track of all the new and upcoming technology. The list I have developed through this aggregator will help keep me up to date as my tenure at Walden U. comes to a close.
Once again, knowing how to carry out a GAME plan will be reflecting in my instruction. Right in the beginning of the year, I will start my 5th grade classroom off with a series of goal setting activities with establishing a GAME plan on the forefront. In addition, through creating my unit plan, I now realize how easy it is to integrate social networking and digital storytelling aspects into each lesson. With the approval of Web 2.0 activities for next year in my county, I plan on utilizing these tools to improve my lessons. Needless to say, I have a lot to look forward to next year! Thank you all who have helped me throughout this course!
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
NET-S
The NETS-S (National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Students) are basically the same as the NETS-T (same thing, but for teachers) except instead of describing things to be taught, the NETS-S suggests standards that students should strive for. Developing a GAME plan for to accomplish as many of these standards througout the year would work much like the GAME plan I have developed for teaching at least two standards.
Students would start off by choosing one standard they feel is important to master and make that their Goal. They will then use critical thinking skills to develop an Action. Once their actions are in order, it will be time for them to Monitor their progress. As they monitor, they will Evaluate and assess their progress.
In my classroom we conduct ourselves accoding to a CLS (Classroom Learning Systems) model. Each week, students pick a short-term goal and create an action plan for it. As the week goes on, students follow their action plan and monitor their progress. By week's end, students evaluate their success. If they succeeded in their short-term goal, they will choose a new one next week. If their goal is not met, they will reevaluate what they need to do in order to accomplish their goal. I plan on encouraging students to view the NETS-S standards in the beginning of the school year to help them set a GAME plan for all 6 Standards
Students would start off by choosing one standard they feel is important to master and make that their Goal. They will then use critical thinking skills to develop an Action. Once their actions are in order, it will be time for them to Monitor their progress. As they monitor, they will Evaluate and assess their progress.
In my classroom we conduct ourselves accoding to a CLS (Classroom Learning Systems) model. Each week, students pick a short-term goal and create an action plan for it. As the week goes on, students follow their action plan and monitor their progress. By week's end, students evaluate their success. If they succeeded in their short-term goal, they will choose a new one next week. If their goal is not met, they will reevaluate what they need to do in order to accomplish their goal. I plan on encouraging students to view the NETS-S standards in the beginning of the school year to help them set a GAME plan for all 6 Standards
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
This Week's GOAL Update
With the year coming to an end, every teacher knows of the insanity of the last few days of school. Because of this, I haven't done too much towards my goals, but what I have done is already paying off.
For my second goal to continue my technological studies after my tenure at Walden U, I decided to save some tech sites on my aggregator to keep news about new and upcoming technology constantly streaming on my computer. I find myself now taking a few minutes each day to read an article about some new technology or how to make the most out of existing technology. I will continue to check my aggregator to learn as much as I possibly can!
For my second goal to continue my technological studies after my tenure at Walden U, I decided to save some tech sites on my aggregator to keep news about new and upcoming technology constantly streaming on my computer. I find myself now taking a few minutes each day to read an article about some new technology or how to make the most out of existing technology. I will continue to check my aggregator to learn as much as I possibly can!
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
First Change of Plan
As I monitor my progress toward my two goals set forth by my GAME plan, I realize that a slight change is in order. My first goal is still going really well, my students are wrapping up their web quest this week and have really done a fantastic job!
My second goal, reflect and evaluate current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emergent digital tools and resources in support of student learning, is where I need to make a change. I have been gathering a database of websites that I have found reputable information about emerging technology. Realizing my own personal weaknesses and my extremely busy schedule, if those websites aren't placed in front of me on a constant basis, I will tend to forget to check them or push them off to a more convenient time. To alleviate this, I plan on subscribing to the RSS feeds of each available site to my local aggregator. That way I can check that each day and the results will be presented to me in a more reminding manner. I know that if I am constantly reminded of my goal, I won't stray off the path.
My second goal, reflect and evaluate current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emergent digital tools and resources in support of student learning, is where I need to make a change. I have been gathering a database of websites that I have found reputable information about emerging technology. Realizing my own personal weaknesses and my extremely busy schedule, if those websites aren't placed in front of me on a constant basis, I will tend to forget to check them or push them off to a more convenient time. To alleviate this, I plan on subscribing to the RSS feeds of each available site to my local aggregator. That way I can check that each day and the results will be presented to me in a more reminding manner. I know that if I am constantly reminded of my goal, I won't stray off the path.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
GAME Plan Progress
One of the most important parts of a GAME plan is being able to accurately monitor and analyze your progress. So far for my first goal, demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations, I feel I am off to a good start. All this week, I have been facilitating a Lewis and Clark Webquest in which I have been able to show my students how to navigate through multiple pages, windows, and tabs. On top of that, they have been shown how to toggle back and forth between word processing and internet explorer programs. In addition, tomorrow I am showing them how to use the "print screen" function to capture an online image to complete their webquest. They have been doing a remarkable job with everything so I feel that my first goal is moving along at a nice pace.
My second goal (reflect and evaluate current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emergent digital tools and resources in support of student learning) is something that has to wait until after I am done with Walden, but in the meantime, I am currently gathering a list of reputable websites for future reference. As of right now, I plan on keeping both GAME plans as they are, but am still currently searching for websites that will help me with my second goal. Once again, anyone with suggestions for reputable educational technology websites please let me know. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
My second goal (reflect and evaluate current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emergent digital tools and resources in support of student learning) is something that has to wait until after I am done with Walden, but in the meantime, I am currently gathering a list of reputable websites for future reference. As of right now, I plan on keeping both GAME plans as they are, but am still currently searching for websites that will help me with my second goal. Once again, anyone with suggestions for reputable educational technology websites please let me know. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
GAME Plan Action Planning
As I reflect on my GAME plan developed in my last post I need to get some information in order to begin planning my Actions. For my first Goal: To be able to teach a student how to use a blog or wiki. I first need to develop a list of blog and wiki sites that I can actively participate in to get improve my blogging and wiki-ing skills. I did some research and some good educational blogs are sites like Eduwonk, This Week in Education, and The Open Classroom. Wiki World has provided me with a number of Wiki project sites in which I can join to fine tune my Wiki skills throughout my GAME plan. Any suggestions for either type of site would be helpful.
As for my second Goal: To stay on top of the latest technological advances in education after graduating Walden University, I am currently compiling a list of reputable educational technology websites as to which I can visit after my tenure at Walden. Once again, any suggestions will prove to be extremely valuable to me. Thanks for helping me with my GAME plan!
As for my second Goal: To stay on top of the latest technological advances in education after graduating Walden University, I am currently compiling a list of reputable educational technology websites as to which I can visit after my tenure at Walden. Once again, any suggestions will prove to be extremely valuable to me. Thanks for helping me with my GAME plan!
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
NETS-T GAME Plan
As a teacher, not only is your job never done, but learning is continuous throughout your career. I have always considered myself as a pretty tech-savvy teacher and after looking of the National Educational Standards (NETS-T) and Performance Indicators for Teachers I feel pretty confident in my ability to meet a majority of those standards. There are a couple indicators that I know I want to improve on so I need to set my GAME Plan to continue my professional development as an educator.
NETS-T Indicator 3.a.: demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
Now I know this sounds very contradicting to my last paragraph so let me clarify. I am a very tech savvy teacher to all the technologies available at our school because I use them all on a daily basis. The new web 2.0 technology that my school is not authorized to utilize yet due to "bandwidth" and "liability" restrictions are technologies that I would like to know more about.
Goal: To be able to teach a student how to use a blog or wiki
Action: Participate in at least one blog discussion per week and contribute to an online wiki project (suggestions welcome) at least once a month. This will help me become more familiar with the new technology and will make it easier to teach it to students.
Monitor: I will keep a outline of the different ways I utilize each online tool and any tricks I learn along the way. I will also teach some of my fellow teachers with blogging or wiki experience how to use one.
Evaluate: I will evaluate the teachers' performances and their ability to utilize a blog or wiki after my instruction. Once blogs and wikis are approved in my county I will do the same with my students.
NETS-T Indicator 5.c.: evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning. During my tenure at Walden University, this is something I am asked to do on a constant basis. When I have completed my masters, I want to promise myself to make sure I spend time learning about new technologies on my own time.
Goal: To stay on top of the latest technological advances in education after graduating Walden University.
Action: I will visit educational websites that discuss new technologies at least twice per month after graduating from Walden University. (suggestions for good websites to visit would be appreciated)
Monitor: Each new technology I discovery will be added to a categorized database according to its use across the curriculum.
Evaluate: I will visit the list quarterly to monitor the number of technological additions to each list. I will also evaluate my proficiency in the more popular new technologies.
Strengthening myself in these two indicated areas will allow me to truly be the tech-savvy teacher I need to be to make sure I equip my students with the necessary tools to be successful in the 21st century.
NETS-T Indicator 3.a.: demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
Now I know this sounds very contradicting to my last paragraph so let me clarify. I am a very tech savvy teacher to all the technologies available at our school because I use them all on a daily basis. The new web 2.0 technology that my school is not authorized to utilize yet due to "bandwidth" and "liability" restrictions are technologies that I would like to know more about.
Goal: To be able to teach a student how to use a blog or wiki
Action: Participate in at least one blog discussion per week and contribute to an online wiki project (suggestions welcome) at least once a month. This will help me become more familiar with the new technology and will make it easier to teach it to students.
Monitor: I will keep a outline of the different ways I utilize each online tool and any tricks I learn along the way. I will also teach some of my fellow teachers with blogging or wiki experience how to use one.
Evaluate: I will evaluate the teachers' performances and their ability to utilize a blog or wiki after my instruction. Once blogs and wikis are approved in my county I will do the same with my students.
NETS-T Indicator 5.c.: evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning. During my tenure at Walden University, this is something I am asked to do on a constant basis. When I have completed my masters, I want to promise myself to make sure I spend time learning about new technologies on my own time.
Goal: To stay on top of the latest technological advances in education after graduating Walden University.
Action: I will visit educational websites that discuss new technologies at least twice per month after graduating from Walden University. (suggestions for good websites to visit would be appreciated)
Monitor: Each new technology I discovery will be added to a categorized database according to its use across the curriculum.
Evaluate: I will visit the list quarterly to monitor the number of technological additions to each list. I will also evaluate my proficiency in the more popular new technologies.
Strengthening myself in these two indicated areas will allow me to truly be the tech-savvy teacher I need to be to make sure I equip my students with the necessary tools to be successful in the 21st century.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom Reflection
My first four years teaching, I based my days teaching my students to become "literate." Now in my fifth year, and after taking this course, I realize that I have been training my students to become more "literate" than I thought. I have always integrated slightly online inquiry-based lesson into my curriculum, but I now understand the importance and the learning involved in each and every step along the way. I never realized how important and easy it really is for students to evaluate websites before getting information from them. I always thought it was something that I would have to do on my own for my students. The researching aspect of an online inquiry project is, perhaps, the most crucial component. Information students find could be information that sticks with them for a lifetime. Because of this, students need to realize if this information is reliable. I don't want them to go through their life believing facts that aren't entirely true.
Realizing this helps me understand the significance of each and every step of the online inquiry process. In the past, I placed so much emphasis on the final product, not realizing the importance of each step along the way. That's exactly how my teaching style will change: Each step is a learning experience with its own set of objectives and ways to assess new learning.
My one professional goal is to conduct a true online inquiry based project in my classroom with the use of Web 2.0 tools. Currently, I can carry out every step of the online inquiry process with my students except for the final step: Communication. Since Web 2.0 tools aren't accessible in my school due to county restrictions, my students can't share their learning through any online medium (wikis, blogs, VoiceThread, etc). I hope my county realizes the importance of allowing students to access such public mediums to truly learn the new literacies that are essential for their future success. As soon as I get the OK from my county, a true online inquiry project in my classroom will be on!
Realizing this helps me understand the significance of each and every step of the online inquiry process. In the past, I placed so much emphasis on the final product, not realizing the importance of each step along the way. That's exactly how my teaching style will change: Each step is a learning experience with its own set of objectives and ways to assess new learning.
My one professional goal is to conduct a true online inquiry based project in my classroom with the use of Web 2.0 tools. Currently, I can carry out every step of the online inquiry process with my students except for the final step: Communication. Since Web 2.0 tools aren't accessible in my school due to county restrictions, my students can't share their learning through any online medium (wikis, blogs, VoiceThread, etc). I hope my county realizes the importance of allowing students to access such public mediums to truly learn the new literacies that are essential for their future success. As soon as I get the OK from my county, a true online inquiry project in my classroom will be on!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology Reflection
I started this course believing I was a cognivist at heart. After eight insightful weeks of class, I still stand firm in believing in the cognivist learning theories described in this course, but I have also learn to accept other learning theories to be of great value. I still believe that every child learns in a different way and it is our duty as educators to get to know each of our students' personal learning styles to best cater to their needs to ensure success. My goal each day is to get to know each of my students just a little more so I can design lessons that are engaging to them and are presented in a way that they will be able to store that information in their long-term memory for years to come. This is, essentially, modeling my classroom around Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences. I have always conducted my classroom in this way and will continue doing so.
Even though I'm a cognivist at heart, I do realize the potential of other learning theories such as the Constructivist and Social Constructivist theories. In today's workforce based on mass global communication and teamwork, Social Constructivism really caters to preparing students with the necessary 21st century skills students will need to be successful in the future. Students working together to accomplish one common goal is a exactly like the successful business models of many multimillion dollar companies. This is something that has always been implemented in my classroom, I just now have the realization of the label and an understanding of its benefits.
In terms of technology, this course has also taught me the importance of using PowerPoint as a learning tool, rather than simply an instructional tool. Each component of my lessons contribute to its success. My presentations need to be more interactive and filled with images to promote the "dual coding" process. Also, implementation of Web 2.0 tools such as virtual field trips, interactive concept maps, and VoiceThread will prove to be crucial in my students educational development.
In fact, one of my goals throughout this year is to get my classroom, and eventually my school on board with utilizing the power of VoiceThread. I have already talked to my vice principal about its potential and have priced out some hardware to be used in the classroom and, if the budget allows us, we should be able to order them within the month. Once I have the supplies, I would like to train my students on how to use VoiceThread. I would show them how to create one, respond to one, and everything else that goes along with it. I plan on doing this throughout the third and fourth marking period and would like for them to have a completed product by the end of the year.
Another goal of mine is to make my PowerPoint presentations more interactive. I am receiving a SmartBoard sometime in January and my goal is to make my "instructional" PowerPoints more of a learning tool. Basically by utilizing the hardware and software that comes with my new SmartBoard, I'll be able to accomplish this goal. My ultimate goal is to ensure the success of each student that walks into my classroom. This course has given me the tools and ideas on how to conduct my classroom to help me reach my ultimate goal.
Even though I'm a cognivist at heart, I do realize the potential of other learning theories such as the Constructivist and Social Constructivist theories. In today's workforce based on mass global communication and teamwork, Social Constructivism really caters to preparing students with the necessary 21st century skills students will need to be successful in the future. Students working together to accomplish one common goal is a exactly like the successful business models of many multimillion dollar companies. This is something that has always been implemented in my classroom, I just now have the realization of the label and an understanding of its benefits.
In terms of technology, this course has also taught me the importance of using PowerPoint as a learning tool, rather than simply an instructional tool. Each component of my lessons contribute to its success. My presentations need to be more interactive and filled with images to promote the "dual coding" process. Also, implementation of Web 2.0 tools such as virtual field trips, interactive concept maps, and VoiceThread will prove to be crucial in my students educational development.
In fact, one of my goals throughout this year is to get my classroom, and eventually my school on board with utilizing the power of VoiceThread. I have already talked to my vice principal about its potential and have priced out some hardware to be used in the classroom and, if the budget allows us, we should be able to order them within the month. Once I have the supplies, I would like to train my students on how to use VoiceThread. I would show them how to create one, respond to one, and everything else that goes along with it. I plan on doing this throughout the third and fourth marking period and would like for them to have a completed product by the end of the year.
Another goal of mine is to make my PowerPoint presentations more interactive. I am receiving a SmartBoard sometime in January and my goal is to make my "instructional" PowerPoints more of a learning tool. Basically by utilizing the hardware and software that comes with my new SmartBoard, I'll be able to accomplish this goal. My ultimate goal is to ensure the success of each student that walks into my classroom. This course has given me the tools and ideas on how to conduct my classroom to help me reach my ultimate goal.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Cooperative Technology
Tomas Friedman quotes "we are living in a time when learning and innovation are increasingly global. To be prepared for the fast-paced, virtual workplace that they will inherit, today's students need to be able to learn and produce cooperatively" (2005). With that idea in mind, I have fully embraced the idea of utilizing various forms of educational technology to aid the social learning process. And to top it off, I'm pretty pumped about it!
I remember when I was a student in ninth grade, one of my favorite assignments was a group project in which we had to create a video illustrating our view on the effects of media and the human mind. We all did our research, came together to discuss our findings, and cooperative created a video with a camcorder and index cards for on-screen text that we were really proud of at the time. This is a prime example of social constructivism and social learning.
Looking back on this video, which I still have by the way, I can only imagine how much better it would have looked if we recorded it on a digital video camera, inserted titles and texts with our computer, and maybe even added some special effects digitally. These multimedia upgrades allow students to produce a better looking product in only a fraction of the time.
A more global form of social learning which is becoming easier by the day is the creation of student websites. Programs like Microsoft Office Publisher, TOWeb, and SiteSpinner can allow even the most novice of students to create a professional looking website. Students can easily collaborate their ideas to construct a worthwhile artifact.
Even gaming has taken a form of social learning. Games and websites such as www.homesofourown.org, www.jigsaw.com, and even Sid Meier's Civilization III allow students to work cooperatively to accomplish a common goal, thus emphasizing social learning. The best part is, just about everything I have mentioned is at the fingertips of all our students in our very own classroom. The possibilities are endless and with a steady stream of Web 2.0 applications like VoiceThread developing everyday, its only going to get more and more global and educational.
Check out a VoiceThread I made about how students can use VoiceThread to create presentations at voicethread.com/share/786134/.
I remember when I was a student in ninth grade, one of my favorite assignments was a group project in which we had to create a video illustrating our view on the effects of media and the human mind. We all did our research, came together to discuss our findings, and cooperative created a video with a camcorder and index cards for on-screen text that we were really proud of at the time. This is a prime example of social constructivism and social learning.
Looking back on this video, which I still have by the way, I can only imagine how much better it would have looked if we recorded it on a digital video camera, inserted titles and texts with our computer, and maybe even added some special effects digitally. These multimedia upgrades allow students to produce a better looking product in only a fraction of the time.
A more global form of social learning which is becoming easier by the day is the creation of student websites. Programs like Microsoft Office Publisher, TOWeb, and SiteSpinner can allow even the most novice of students to create a professional looking website. Students can easily collaborate their ideas to construct a worthwhile artifact.
Even gaming has taken a form of social learning. Games and websites such as www.homesofourown.org, www.jigsaw.com, and even Sid Meier's Civilization III allow students to work cooperatively to accomplish a common goal, thus emphasizing social learning. The best part is, just about everything I have mentioned is at the fingertips of all our students in our very own classroom. The possibilities are endless and with a steady stream of Web 2.0 applications like VoiceThread developing everyday, its only going to get more and more global and educational.
Check out a VoiceThread I made about how students can use VoiceThread to create presentations at voicethread.com/share/786134/.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Learning by Construction
Constructionism is "A theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others" (Orey, 2008). Constructionism is a way for students to work cohesively as a group, but at the same time, each task can be focused on the individual learner. In many constructivist activities, the product is only as good as the sum of its parts. Dr. Orey discusses the power of PowerPoint software in which you can have students model Project Based Learning in a cooperative creative activity that also focuses on each individual contribution. In doing research for many PowerPoint projects, students often have to accommodate to the new information they learn in order to retain their equilibration.
In Generating and Testing Hypothesis in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Words, the authors discuss the use of web resources "in the form of interactive applets and simulations, that allow students to use background knowledge, make decisions, and see the outcome of their hypothesis, often in virtual situations" (Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, and Pitler 2007). This section of the book really reminded me of the "Stock Market Game" played at my school. In Math, we assign stock market "teams" of 4-5 students, give them $10,000 of fictional money to invest in real life stocks. Through the use of background knowledge of individual companies, current spending trends, and just flat-out blind faith, students strategically chose and hypothesize the positive outcomes of their investments. Their progress is checked once per week and they compete with not only our school, but other schools from around the U.S. Once the project is done, the students have to present a PowerPoint project describing their wins or losses in this project. This whole experience is all about constructing their success. Whether they make money or not, the knowledge that these students have gained by doing this project-based constructionist activity, is priceless!
In Generating and Testing Hypothesis in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Words, the authors discuss the use of web resources "in the form of interactive applets and simulations, that allow students to use background knowledge, make decisions, and see the outcome of their hypothesis, often in virtual situations" (Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, and Pitler 2007). This section of the book really reminded me of the "Stock Market Game" played at my school. In Math, we assign stock market "teams" of 4-5 students, give them $10,000 of fictional money to invest in real life stocks. Through the use of background knowledge of individual companies, current spending trends, and just flat-out blind faith, students strategically chose and hypothesize the positive outcomes of their investments. Their progress is checked once per week and they compete with not only our school, but other schools from around the U.S. Once the project is done, the students have to present a PowerPoint project describing their wins or losses in this project. This whole experience is all about constructing their success. Whether they make money or not, the knowledge that these students have gained by doing this project-based constructionist activity, is priceless!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Cognitive Learning Theory - Connective Learning
The cognitive learning theory is all about "connections". The human brain can only register 7 +-2 forms of stimuli at any given time. If the stimuli is material being taught to the student that the student cannot connect to, then that information is lost and will not be "elaborated" into the long-term memory. In order to ensure proper connections are being made in the classroom, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, suggests a series of "advanced organizers" to promote the necessary connections of learned information to aid the "elaboration" process. Inspiration's Rapid Fire Tool and Kidspiration both prove to be valuable organizing tools, very similar to the concepts maps that will be explored in this week's application.
Another valuable concept to promote elaboration is the process of "dual coding". Studies suggest a child is more apt to put images into their long-term memory due to the dual coding process. Students will store the memory of the image in one area of the brain, and the label that goes along with the image in another. This promotes multiple connections to a singular concept and also produces multiple "pathways" to access a certain memory. Many PowerPoint applications, websites such as BrainPop, and United Streaming do a great job giving concrete images to abstract concepts, thus promoting "dual coding." Cognitive learning theory is all about making information relevant through connections. Connections promote education.
Another valuable concept to promote elaboration is the process of "dual coding". Studies suggest a child is more apt to put images into their long-term memory due to the dual coding process. Students will store the memory of the image in one area of the brain, and the label that goes along with the image in another. This promotes multiple connections to a singular concept and also produces multiple "pathways" to access a certain memory. Many PowerPoint applications, websites such as BrainPop, and United Streaming do a great job giving concrete images to abstract concepts, thus promoting "dual coding." Cognitive learning theory is all about making information relevant through connections. Connections promote education.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Behavioral Technology
The behaviorist learning theory bases itself on the fact that students' behaviors are a "result from stimulus-response associations made by the learner" (Standridge, 2002). The immediacy of results from such "practice" technology like online or computerized math games give students that immediate response they desire. My issue with many of these "technological advances" is they tend to show only a desirable response or an undesirable response. If a student gets an undesirable response, rarely will the computer analyze what went wrong to correct the students misconception. To me, this eventually leads to basic wrote memorization of the process, and not an understanding of the components of the process. In this case, I feel that this technology is only effective to a certain extent.
One effective use of technology in a behaviorist light is the use of spreadsheets and graphs to monitor a student's "effort" to change undesirable to desireable behaviors. These graphic representations can really show a concrete increase or decrease in desirable or effective classroom behaviors and practices. This can then result in more effective "stimulus" that will really empower the student to exhibit the behaviors that are desired in the classroom.
One effective use of technology in a behaviorist light is the use of spreadsheets and graphs to monitor a student's "effort" to change undesirable to desireable behaviors. These graphic representations can really show a concrete increase or decrease in desirable or effective classroom behaviors and practices. This can then result in more effective "stimulus" that will really empower the student to exhibit the behaviors that are desired in the classroom.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society: A Reflection
As a younger teacher in my school, I have always taken a bit of pride in being one of the more technologically advanced teachers. I thought that my PowerPoint presentations, streaming videos, and instructional websites were so cutting edge and cool. Over the past four years, I have heard of "blogging" and used "wikis" to do research, but I felt that Wikipedia was simply just a great research engine and that blogging was for MySpace fanatics and people who just wanted the world to know what they are going at the current moment. And forget about trying to make a podcast. I thought that was something only ESPN did to hear about sports on the go. Boy was I wrong. As a digital native, I should have much more accepting of these powerful Web 2.0 tools and should have investigated and became more familiar with them much sooner than I did.
This class has shone a light on these amazing tools and has shown me how easy these tools are to manipulate and help educate the workforce of tomorrow. I created my own Podcast, worked collaboratively to create a wiki, and am currently blogging with ease! All of these skills I can now infuse into my classroom instruction to finally "do something different", instead of "doing things differently". (Thornburg, 2009)
The resources my profession has chosen to present to us also has opened my eyes to the 21st century skills necessary for my students' future success in the workforce. Many of these skills were already a staple of my instruction, but now I recognize their importance and will continue to promote skills such as critical thinking, working collaboratively, being technologically sound, and communicating globally. My students and my teachings will be able to reach a more global audience. My online lessons will no longer be a step by step instruction lesson dictated by me, they will be lessons of self exploration and cooperative learning. I will now be the facilitator I should be instead of the director that I used to be.
All these discoveries can prove to be absolutely worthless unless I apply them in my current teaching situation. All this work will be in vain if it doesn't benefit my students in some way. My students need to be exposed to the same powerful Web 2.0 tools and 21st century skills that I have been exposed to in this class. In order to ensure this, I have to set some goals for myself. Goal number one: I will have my students become familiar and comfortable with blogging by having them participate in online blogging literature circles. In order to do this, I first must ensure we have the appropriate resources (IE, enough computer time) and parental or digital immigrant support for this project. I need to convince the parents them importance and also assure the safety of communicating to a global audience. As our school has just recently earned "Green School" status, I feel that this idea will easily win over our administration and I plan on being very convincing towards the parents during Back-to-School-Night.
Another goal is to have my class participate in a collaborative wiki project with a very culturally diverse group of students from around the globe. I have a friend who teaches 11-year-old Taiwanese children English in Taiwan. I would like to start a project using a wiki in which my class has to create a wikispace with a groups of students from Taiwan. The topics of the wikispaces have yet to be determined so I fully encourage any ideas that my global audience may have. This is something I wish to develop over the course of this year and put into full practice by next year.
The only way both of these goals can be accomplished is by my continuing professional development and continuing practice with Web 2.0 tools. Teachers who can speak Web 2.0 can teach Web 2.0. I will continue to create podcasts, contribute to wikis and, I promise you, this will not be my last blog. These are my reflective thoughts.
This class has shone a light on these amazing tools and has shown me how easy these tools are to manipulate and help educate the workforce of tomorrow. I created my own Podcast, worked collaboratively to create a wiki, and am currently blogging with ease! All of these skills I can now infuse into my classroom instruction to finally "do something different", instead of "doing things differently". (Thornburg, 2009)
The resources my profession has chosen to present to us also has opened my eyes to the 21st century skills necessary for my students' future success in the workforce. Many of these skills were already a staple of my instruction, but now I recognize their importance and will continue to promote skills such as critical thinking, working collaboratively, being technologically sound, and communicating globally. My students and my teachings will be able to reach a more global audience. My online lessons will no longer be a step by step instruction lesson dictated by me, they will be lessons of self exploration and cooperative learning. I will now be the facilitator I should be instead of the director that I used to be.
All these discoveries can prove to be absolutely worthless unless I apply them in my current teaching situation. All this work will be in vain if it doesn't benefit my students in some way. My students need to be exposed to the same powerful Web 2.0 tools and 21st century skills that I have been exposed to in this class. In order to ensure this, I have to set some goals for myself. Goal number one: I will have my students become familiar and comfortable with blogging by having them participate in online blogging literature circles. In order to do this, I first must ensure we have the appropriate resources (IE, enough computer time) and parental or digital immigrant support for this project. I need to convince the parents them importance and also assure the safety of communicating to a global audience. As our school has just recently earned "Green School" status, I feel that this idea will easily win over our administration and I plan on being very convincing towards the parents during Back-to-School-Night.
Another goal is to have my class participate in a collaborative wiki project with a very culturally diverse group of students from around the globe. I have a friend who teaches 11-year-old Taiwanese children English in Taiwan. I would like to start a project using a wiki in which my class has to create a wikispace with a groups of students from Taiwan. The topics of the wikispaces have yet to be determined so I fully encourage any ideas that my global audience may have. This is something I wish to develop over the course of this year and put into full practice by next year.
The only way both of these goals can be accomplished is by my continuing professional development and continuing practice with Web 2.0 tools. Teachers who can speak Web 2.0 can teach Web 2.0. I will continue to create podcasts, contribute to wikis and, I promise you, this will not be my last blog. These are my reflective thoughts.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Thought of the Day - My First Podcast
Here is the link to my first podcast. Warning, this is a very amateur attempt at podcasting!
http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/1450/episodes/6852
http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/1450/episodes/6852
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Thought of the Day - Partnership for 21st Century Skills
This week we have been discussing 21st century skills that our students will need to become successfull in the ever-changing technological world. To be successful in the future, our students will need to know skills such as information literacy, critical thinking for problem solving, proper global communication skills, teamwork, information technology, leadership, ethics, professionalism, social responsibility and most of all, life-long learning skills. As a teacher who studied how to teach in a more technological world rather than the industrial world of the past, these are all skills and values I personally try to instill in all of my students. Even though I have tried my best to teach these critical skills to my students, I was unaware that these skills were actually referred to as 21st Century Skills. On top of that, I was instructed to observe The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org. Let me tell you, it's an impressive organization and an impressive website.
While first examining this website, I now realize just how big this organization and movement has become. On the website, you can find a bevy of articles stating everything they have done to speak to schools, influence educators, and supply resources for teachers, students, and parents to help foster strong 21st century skills. What really suprised me and impressed me is the impressive line-up of supporters on their roster. Companies like Adobe, Intel, Apple, Dell, Atomic Learning, HP, and even Lego lends their support and have current members of their companies serve on the board.
What I don't understand is why aren't more states on board with this company and this way of educating? Only ten of the fifty states support and are implementing this program. What's even more disappointing is that Maryland, the state in which I teach, hasn't adopted this yet. We were just named one of the top states in the US for elementary education, I'm not quite sure how long that title will last if we don't fully embrace the ideology of 21st century skills.
As stated previously, this website made me feel a little bit better about the teaching I've been doing these past four years. This website makes the importance of 21st century skills widely known and I hope that through this website, I can fine tune my 21st century skills so I can properly convey this important message to my students in the future. I suggest you check it out. These are my thoughts.
While first examining this website, I now realize just how big this organization and movement has become. On the website, you can find a bevy of articles stating everything they have done to speak to schools, influence educators, and supply resources for teachers, students, and parents to help foster strong 21st century skills. What really suprised me and impressed me is the impressive line-up of supporters on their roster. Companies like Adobe, Intel, Apple, Dell, Atomic Learning, HP, and even Lego lends their support and have current members of their companies serve on the board.
What I don't understand is why aren't more states on board with this company and this way of educating? Only ten of the fifty states support and are implementing this program. What's even more disappointing is that Maryland, the state in which I teach, hasn't adopted this yet. We were just named one of the top states in the US for elementary education, I'm not quite sure how long that title will last if we don't fully embrace the ideology of 21st century skills.
As stated previously, this website made me feel a little bit better about the teaching I've been doing these past four years. This website makes the importance of 21st century skills widely known and I hope that through this website, I can fine tune my 21st century skills so I can properly convey this important message to my students in the future. I suggest you check it out. These are my thoughts.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Thought of the Day - Blogging Lesson Ideas
Ok, here is my thought of the day. After reading a few chapters in Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classrooms by Will Richardson and by examining the discussions of Dr. Thornburg in a recent class video, I have a couple ideas that involve using blogs in my fifth grade classroom. Feel free to comment, criticize, or use any of these ideas in your classroom. The first was the use of a weblog that I utilized for the past two years, but didn't even know that I was blogging, and according to Will Richardson, it isn't true blogging. To keep all my students and parents abreast of homework, due dates, field trips, etc, I utilized a website titled www.schoolnotes.com. I updated this site daily and it proved to be immensely helpful for the students who were absent or for the parents who's children tend to forget to write down their due dates in their assignment book. This also alleviated the "I didn't know it was due" excuse that drives many teachers up the wall.
Now lets talk about the future. Next year, I plan on utilizing a class blog to aid with my literature circles. My school is lucky enough to have a mobile computer lab with over 25 laptops available for my fifth grade class (by the way, only the fifth grade is allowed to use this particular set of laptops). As we get into more complex novels like Stowaway by Karen Hesse and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien, we conduct our small groups with a lot of discussion on character development. I think a fantastic use of a blog would be to have each group select one character and contribute a thought to the characters development after reading each chapter. By the end of the story, it will be a complete narration of the development of that particular character written by my students. Although the authors of many of the stories we read in class are either deceased or probably have much better things to do, since these blogs can reach a "global audience" it would be amazing to get feedback from the actual author's one day. Much like Will Richardson mentioned in his book.
To go along with the global audience idea, I feel the idea of having a child become an author to a global audience will really motivate the students who struggle with writing motivation. I was thinking of a weekly creative writing prompt to place on a weblog to have students respond to each week. This will hopefully motivate the students who aren't interested in simply writing for a class audience, or even a more introverted student who is afraid to share his writing in front of a class of peers. Having my students write a more global audience will also have them analyze their writing a little more and make them a little more motivated to proofread each assignment before submitting it. Like I said, feel free to comment, criticize, or use these ideas. These are my thoughts.
Now lets talk about the future. Next year, I plan on utilizing a class blog to aid with my literature circles. My school is lucky enough to have a mobile computer lab with over 25 laptops available for my fifth grade class (by the way, only the fifth grade is allowed to use this particular set of laptops). As we get into more complex novels like Stowaway by Karen Hesse and Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh by Robert C. O'Brien, we conduct our small groups with a lot of discussion on character development. I think a fantastic use of a blog would be to have each group select one character and contribute a thought to the characters development after reading each chapter. By the end of the story, it will be a complete narration of the development of that particular character written by my students. Although the authors of many of the stories we read in class are either deceased or probably have much better things to do, since these blogs can reach a "global audience" it would be amazing to get feedback from the actual author's one day. Much like Will Richardson mentioned in his book.
To go along with the global audience idea, I feel the idea of having a child become an author to a global audience will really motivate the students who struggle with writing motivation. I was thinking of a weekly creative writing prompt to place on a weblog to have students respond to each week. This will hopefully motivate the students who aren't interested in simply writing for a class audience, or even a more introverted student who is afraid to share his writing in front of a class of peers. Having my students write a more global audience will also have them analyze their writing a little more and make them a little more motivated to proofread each assignment before submitting it. Like I said, feel free to comment, criticize, or use these ideas. These are my thoughts.
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Intro into the mind
My goal is to establish an open forum for discussion about our thoughts on education. These discussions can be thoughts about new teaching ideas, new teaching technology, recent trends or studies, questions about anything in the teaching profession, or just a place to vent. Basically this blog will depend on the feelings of the day. We need a place to speak our mind, express our concerns, or ask the questions we have always been afraid to ask our collegues. This will be our place to celebrate, to look for enlightnment, or to find that shoulder to cry on. These are my thoughts.
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