Reflective Post

 

I entered this course expecting to learn some new ways to include technology into teaching. Over the course of the semester I created blog posts, evaluated a website, created a Webquest, collaborated on a lesson plan, created a wiki, an e-Portfolio, and a PowerPoint. I knew once I saw the assignment descriptions that I would not have trouble with the how-to of the assignments. I feel the majority of my generation has grown up with our lives so immersed in technology that we  know a lot, and are able to quickly figure out the things we don’t. Using technology is not what I took from this class.

What I did learn was that I had to open up my mind about how it can be used in the classroom. I had never heard of a Webquest before, and now see the possibilities it can bring to learning. I found the format to be desperately in need of an update and explored a new possibility for that. I learned how a website should be evaluated using certain guidelines, not just my own experience with them.

The book was the most frustrating part of this course for me. I found that for a book written for an education course, it must not have been written by educators. It read like long a college research essay. The language was very formal, the format bland, and the way the information was presented did not hold you attention.

What I liked best about this course was accepting that what I experienced as a student, an education where technology was viewed with suspicion and only just tolerated by the administration, is slowly changing as my generation are becoming the teachers.  We have to embrace powerful technology in order to allow children to be taught using todays tools, instead of learning tools of the past. Our goal is produce productive working members of society, and the ability to use technology is a requirement for membership in that group.

Works Cited

Maloy, Robert W.. Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Print.

 

Chapter 11: Engaging Students in Learning and Self-Reflection

Q: How can teachers use student participation systems as effective assessment methods?

Student participation systems are real time electronic interactions between students and teachers using remote control devices known as clickers. They are also known as student response systems. Any wireless remote device will serve as a participation system. Students will use the system to respond to questions, giving the teacher instant responses which can be displayed for the class to see as graphs and charts etc.

These systems have many advantages such as encouraging active learning, involvement, instant feedback, and question driven instruction.

Any subject area can use these systems as they allow true/false, multiple choice, and short response answers. Teachers can also make sure they use open-ended questions that can encourage discussion.

These systems will also help students with high-stakes testing as they can get used to taking tests that use multiple choice answers and learn test taking skills.

Tech Tool
SurveyMonkey is an online survey/polling tool. It has both a free and a "pro" package that requires a paid membership.

The website explains the process on its homepage as create, collect, analyze. It seems simple enough to use for basic, informal surveys in a classroom but unless a teacher plans on using SurveyMonkey on a daily basis, the pro package might not be worth it. That leaves the free package for those who only plan  on using the service sporadically. It means limited access to the features which are:

• Up to 10 questions per survey.
• Up to 100 responses per survey.
• Data can be collected weblink, email, and facebook.
• 15 question types.
• 15 pre set themes.
• Real time results.

Summary

   Teachers and students have performance based assessments. Teachers use them to evaluate students learning, and administrators use them to evaluate teacher performance. Performance based assessments focus on work done opposed to tests taken. Portfolios can be used to assess work done.
   Portfolios can be in physical or digital form. Digital portfolios allow for constant editing and updating, which is essential in a fast paced world.
   A teachers portfolio can include examples of student work and projects, teaching evaluations, lesson plans, and personal educatinal background.
   By using student partiticpation systems, such as SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang, or school provided technology, teachers can get real time feedback from students which encouraging discussion and preparing students for high stakes testing.

Chapter 10: Promoting Success for All Students through Technology

Q: How can teachers use technology to design universally designed classrooms?

A universally designed classroom should apply universal design principles to the classroom setting. Universal design, an arcitecture term, means adapting physical environments to provide greater acess to all users.
In a classroom, this can also mean chaning the curriculums delivery for all users in addition to the physical environment.
Technology choices are an important part of creating a universally designed classroom. Technology allows the information to become engaging, flexible, and adaptable to all students (the users).
In the same way technology can be used to adapt a lesson to ESE students, it can adapt a lesson to different types of learners who may noit have a recognized learning challenge.

Summary

Differential instruction (DI) and universal design learning (UDL) complement each other well in a classroom. DI helps each childs needs be met by adapting the teaching to the learning needs of the student. UDL helps the teacher to make DI possible in a classroom full of diverse students with diverse needs.
Assistive technolgies make learning material accessible to all learners by finding ways around learning barriers and teaching the information in a different way. An example of these technologies would be text reading software to make reading easier for visually impaired students.

Chapter 9: Creating and Sharing Information with Multimedia Technolgies

Q: How can teachers integrate podcasts and vodcasts into their teaching?

Podcasts and audio recordings which are available through the internet and can be saved to personal computers and portable media devices. Anyone can record a podcast, including teachers.
Vodcasts include video with the audio and can be accessed in the same way.
The availablility  and accessibility of podcasts and vodcasts make the man excellent teaching tool. Teachers can make their own or access the thousands made by other teachers. They can be shared with students in the classroom or at home.
It makes learning more interactive andfrees up classroom time for questions and discussions because the students can review the lesson before or after it is taught in the classroom. They can also find podcasts or vodcasts on their own if they are intrigued by a subject and want to learn more.

Tech Tool

PBS Teachers is a website that I have used many times as an education student. They always seem to have a what I am looking for with regards to lesson plans and new teaching ideas. They provide amazing free resources such as educational cartoons, interactive learning games, lesson plans, worksheets, timelines etc for teachers and students to use. All of the resources are sorted by grade level and often list the standards that the lesson plays into.

Summary 

Multimedia technology is "the presentation of information using multiple media including words, pictures, sound, and data." that can be used by teachers to communicate information to students. Traditional classrooms of the past did not use multimedia technology as a methos of instruction. Teachers today realize that this technology allows them to capture a students attention and better teach to all elarning styles.
Through the use of programs like PowerPoint teachers can spend more time interacting with students and less time writing on a chalkboard for students to copy down. The PowerPoinnt can then be shared online allowing students to spend more time listening and less time copying down information.
Whether online with podcats and vodcasts, or through DVDs and CDs, videos and audio can be used to engage visual and auditory learners, but teachers must be careful to make sure that it does not become a passive activity. Teachers need to make sure that students use higher order thinking skills in relation to the video and audio.

Chapter 8: Communicating and Networking with Websites, Blogs, Wikis and More

 

Q: How can teachers use wikis to promote collaborative learning?

 

 

Collaborative learning environments are defined as "settings where teachers and students work together to investigate curriculum topics and share academic information"

Wikis are perfect examples of collaborative learning environments as they allow multiple users to maintain and contribute to the website.

Teachers and students can use wikis for projects and to share information with each other and others in the school. Parent's could also view the wiki to check on assignments and their childs progress and participation.

The difference between a blog and a wiki website is mostly that a blog is maintained by one user opposed to many with a wiki. Blogs are usualy informal compared to a wikis formal tone.



 

 

Tech Tool

 

Edmodo is a free open source software microblogging tool. The website allows teachers and students to connect in a safe environment.

Image Credit: Edmodo



Edmodo allows teachers and students to connect and share information outside of the classroom and is set up to look like a social networking site, which really captures the attention of students.

It's many features allow teachers to give polls, beging discussions, and track student progress and participation. The microblogging site also offers a merit system and can be peronalized with educational apps.

Probably one of the most important benefits of using Edmodo is that it allows teachers and their students to connect with other classrooms and schools.

 

I would be very interested in using this website in my classroom because most popular social networking websites are usually banned, making it impossible for teachers to connecdt with their students that way.

 

 

Summary

 



Wikis, blogs, websites, instant messaging, discussion boards, and emails are all great ways that teacher can use to communicate with students outside of the classroom. Websites and wikis can incorporate all of these elements in one place, making for a streamlined, efficient, user friendly experience which is always important when getting people to consistently use a service.
These communication platforms also open  the possibility of learning from and networking with other classrooms and schools aroudn the world.
It is also important for teachers to teach in the students world. Students today may not remember a world without these technologies. It is the world they will be living in and working in as adults, so we must teach them how to thrive in it.
 

Online Learning Games: Med Myst

MedMyst is an “interactive learning adventure” that teaches science students the scientific method and biology. I would use this in a middle school science classroom. I have never had an easy time learning science myself, and the use of this tool would have helped me greatly. I learn much faster when I get wrapped in a story and the lesson is so much a part of it that I don’t realize I am learning.

“In MedMyst: Reloaded and MedMyst: Original students use the scientific method and science process skills to investigate infectious disease outbreaks.”

The student becomes part of the story with MedMyst and it makes it interesting as they are solving problems in a fun way.

Instead of just learning the scientific method in a lecture and having to repeatedly write it down to learn it, students can learn it through the Disease Defenders MedMyst game. The student is given a choice of ‘training’ with an epidemiologist, microbiologist, or veterinarian and help solve an infectious disease outbreak using the scientific method.

I have played a couple of the games on the Web Adventures site by RICE University and found them extremely engaging and captivating. I was able to move around the game like it was a virtual world and make decisions that affected the outcome.

I would use this as a center in the classroom or as a full lesson if the resources were available for the whole class to use a computer. The website even gives the learning objectives that correlate with each game and has printable worksheets available as supplements to the game, along with assessment options.

Chapter 6: Engaging Leaners with Digital Tools

Q: What is information management and digital content?

Digital content in schools is educational information conveyed to students using technology. Digital content mainly refers to information from the internet. Using digital content allows the teacher to access ways of conveying curriculum content to every type of learner in a more streamlined, interesting, and efficient manner.

Information Management in schools refers to the way information is stored and organized. Teachers use programs and the internet to teach and to track things such as grades and assignments. This information is also stored digitally. This would be information management.

 Tech Tool : Goodreads

When I am looking for a new book, I browse the shop on my Nook Simple Touch. I love how convenient it is for me to find a new book without leaving my house, especially when I finish a book at midnight and eager to begin another before going to sleep. The one thing I miss about hardcopy books however is browsing the shelves of a bookstore. Reading lists of titles based on loose genres is not the same as standing in front of the Sci-Fi/Fantasy shelf in the store and scanning the covers and seeing the new releases .

Goodreads helps to bridge that gap between the old way and the new way of reading. When I read, I become wrapped up a specific  subgenre for a few books at a time and crave more of the same until I get it out of my system. While my Nook makes suggestions based of my reading history, Goodreads allows me to browse specific book sub genres along with making recommendations based on my favorite books. Goodreads also has an online community that helps to substitute for speaking to a bookstore employee about recommendations and upcoming releases.

Sign up is not required to browse Goodreads, but if you do sign up then you can catalog what books you have already read, are currently reading, and have lined up to read next.  Your books are arranged on ‘shelves’ where you can arrange them any way you like and can see the cover of the books. You can also share your shelves with friends so they can see what your reading.

I can also choose to add a widget to my blog or website to display my books and reviews. If I need to have a physical list of my books, I can export my shelves to a spreadsheet for a printable list.

 

Summary
Digital content and information management are essential to teachers is they want to be organized. Along with information management bookmarking tools can be used to organize websites and virtual teaching tools. They also allow teachers to share the suggested educational websites with their students in a way that is easy to access from  any device with internet access.

Along with storing their favorite websites online, teachers can access curriculum standards and curriculum based lesson plans online.

Webquests are great ways for teachers to put their lessons online in an organized and interactive way. These can also be shared with other teachers.

Educational websites allow students to learn in their own way and at their own pace.

Chapter 5: Researching and Evaluating Internet Information

Q: How can teachers respond to problems of plagiarism when students use online sources?

Plagiarism is defined as the direct copying and misrepresenting of someone else's work as one's own. When using someone else's words you must give credit, whether the words were written or spoken. To not give credit would be considered plagiarism and cheating in all areas. Technology has made it easier for students to plagiarise. It's easy to click download on a paper so you don't have to write it yourself. It is also easier to copy and paste words from digital books and text, and websites than it used to be to write out someone else's work.

Programs are available to teachers to check for plagiarism such as Turnitin. Some students plagiarise because they do not understand what constitutes plagiarism. Teachers can try to avoid this problem before it happens by educating students early on referencing their work and what plagiarism is.

The way a teacher constructs the assignment can also help to avoid plagiarism. Do not ask students to recite facts, but give an assignment that requires them to think and give their personal viewpoint on a subject.

Tech Tool

 iGoogle lets you personally design you Google search page. A teacher can choose to have news from their subject area i.e science or mathematics displayed on the homepage. This would allow the teacher to easily begin lessons with up to date news articles.
iGoogle also allows you to view your google calendar without going to a separate page and add a to do list which would be useful for lesson planning.
After creating my own iGoogle page I saw a notice at the top saying the iGoogle would no linger be available after 1st November 2013. They suggest changing to google chrome for similar features.


References

Maloy, R. W. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

Turnitin : Products : OriginalityCheck. (n.d.). Turnitin : Leading Plagiarism Checker, Online Grading and Peer Review. Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://turnitin.com/en_us/products/originalitycheck

Chapter Four: Integrating Technology and Creating Change

Q: What are “digital inequality” and the “participation gap”?

Digital inequality, also known as the digital divide, refers to the separation of technology access between low-income and high-income households and different social groups. While libraries and schools offer free use of computers and the internet, they are not avails available during certain times of day or weekends.  Lack of free access to technology at home also leads to a lack of media and technology literacy known as the participation gap. If a student only has limited access then they cannot play learning games online or freely explore the internet without a libraries network restrictions on downloads.

The participation gap is being addressed by schools in a number of ways:

One-to-one computing – This is where students each have a personal computer for use during school.

One/two/three time activities – This is where students are split into groups that move through sets of activates. One or two of the activities use technology.

Electronic textbooks – Electronic textbooks are much more interactive.

 

Tech Tool

Edutopia is a website that among many things helps educators implement technology into their lessons.

I liked the section called “How to Integrate Technology”  and the article titled “Guided Homework Help Goes  Online”  which helped me discover the New York Public Library’s Dial-A-Teacher Whiteboard where students can connect with teachers in real time: The students logs on for free and connects with certified teacher where they can use an interactive whiteboard and upload homework assignments.

 

Chapter Three: Developing Lessons with Technology

Q: How can teachers evaluate and assess their students?

Types of assessment:

*Standards based assessment:

These begin with the curriculum that gives a framework of expected outcomes for each grade level. Tests are then made to assess how a student is doing working toward those goals.  

Standardized Testing: These tests are administered and scored in a standardized manner and can include multiple choice, high-stakes, and time limited tests.  Standardized tests allow for an easy comparison of outcomes between test takers. High-stakes tests currently play a major role in college admissions and high school graduation. Since teachers are held accountable for their students test scores, this type of test is given often.

Norm-referenced tests: These tests rank students by grouping of age or grade level to show how a student s doing in comparison to the norms of the larger group.

Criterion-referenced tests: These tests compare a student’s performance to specific objectives or standards instead of to other students as with norm-referenced tests.

 

*Instructionally supportive assessment:

This type of test uses assessment results which can guide the teachers instructional practice. Assessments cam ne a mixture of teacher observations and student work such as portfolios. This allows the teacher to see different learning needs.

*Performance assessments:

These measure how a student does within the context of a certain activity.

Student performance rubrics: These can used in performance assessments to evaluate assignments and activities. Rubrics give students a clear framework for evaluation and grading

 

Technology can be used to conduct standardized tests and for performance assessments. Performance assessments can be used to evaluate PowerPoint presentations  for example.

Tech Tool:

Gliffy allows teachers to be better organized with its free diagraming tools.  

Teachers can create classroom floor plans and seating charts. It also allows teachers to organize information into flow charts and Venn diagrams for visual learners.

Gliffy provides a few pros like free use of most features, it’s browser based, and collaborative.  I attempted to make a flowchart to illustrate my this blog post but found what should have been a simple task to be time consuming and frustrating. In order to make the flowchart look presentable, I had to mess with alignment way too much. While pressing the undo button to put back an arrow I had moved, I somehow ended up deleting half of my flowchart with no way to get it back.

Gliffy would be a good free diagraming tool in a pinch but I don’t think it’s the best.

Chapter Two - How does technology create student engagement and collaboration?

How does technology create student engagement and collaboration?

Using technology as a tool for learning fosters student engagement and collaboration because when you  link something they already know and are comfortable with to new material it makes learning more enjoyable (Malloy, 2011).  A student can choose how they learn and present their work in a way that utilizes their skills. A creative student can create an online storybook and an auditory learner can create a song about a subject.

During 12th grade English class, we studied Beowulf. We were able to choose how we were going to present the story to the class in groups. I was excited to complete the project when we decided to create a "storybook" on PowerPoint using pictures created with  Paint. We added audio elements to the slides and moving text.  After watching the storybook my group had created, I connected with the Beowulf more and was excited to give the rest for the class a chance to understand the story without the apprehension of reading a long, difficult book. This is a good example of active (inquiry based) learning as we had involvement in choosing the way we were going to present and teach the story (Maloy, 2011).

During my teacher observations at a local elementary school I witnessed technology used in most of the classrooms I visited.  The civics class was creating a business plan in groups and they each had an iPad to use in class to research products and prices. The teacher explained that since she given access to iPads for her lessons, the students seemed more engaged and excited about the work.

The math teacher used her smart board to project the image on her computer to the board and was able to write on the smart board with an erasable smart pen. This allowed her to illustrate math problems in multiple ways for the students.

The English teacher had a laptop on each child's desk for them to write their research papers on Greek mythology. This allowed the students to do research as they wrote their papers. Those who did not complete the assignment in class were able to complete it at home and submit it on a website called Angel for grading. This allowed the student to take time and care with the paper instead of rushing it. 

 

Tech Tool

 

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu is a great resource for teachers who want to incorporate digital storytelling into their lessons.

 

 

 "Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. As with traditional storytelling, most digital stories focus on a specific topic and contain a particular point of view."

The website features web 2.0 tools such as wikis, podcats and blogs along with a desription and how to use the tools.

I found some great downloadable Powerpoint presentations that I was able to save for future use.

 

Chapter Summary

 

During my 19 years as a student I haven't known anything but having technology in the classroom. I have witnessed a change from five basic computer shared between the whole school, to a couple in each classroom, to enough iPads for each student and an interactive smart board for the teacher.  I can remember the majority of the projects I completed using a computer, but I can barely remember the work and projects done without one.

For me, computers have become a safety net. I now feel uncomfortable if I cannot access technology, be it my computer, cellphone, or e-reader. I feel lost if I cannot look up an answer to every question that crosses my mind with the swipe of my thumb across my cellphones Swype keyboard. 

If I am away from home and wonder about something while walking along the street, the question does not have to be put on hold only to be forgotten before I can look it up in a book,. I can simply reach into my pocket and within a few seconds I can satisfy my curiosity. Technology has put me in control of my own learning and allowed me to share my knowledge with others. This gives us access to unlimited points of view and access to a single answer in multiple forms best fit for our learning styles. I can watch, listen to, to interact with the works of Shakespeare instead of simply struggling through a book.

 

 

 

http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/index.html

 

Maloy, Robert W.. Transforming learning with new technologies. Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon, 2011. Print.

 



 

 

 



Chapter One: Becoming an e-Teacher

What constitutes a highly interactive, inquiry-based learning environment?

Inquiry learning is defined as "educational activities where students investigate questions, issues, and problems and propose answers or solutions based on personal research" (Maloy, 2011).

A student is able to explore an idea in their own way which should heighten their interest in a subject. A student no longer has to be limited by the information relayed to them by a teacher standing at the front of a classroom reciting facts they are expected to memorize.

Technology can be used by teachers to create an interactive, inquiry based learning environment through the use of class websites, online web quizzes, interactive learning games, and using the Internet for research. The possibilities for using technology in the classroom are almost limitless.

Roger Schank is an educator and author of the book "Teaching Minds". He is openly critical about how our current classrooms are no longer working. He created the Story Centered Curriculum as an alternative to traditional classrooms. Carnegie Melon is already utilizing his programs in their masters degrees. While the professors confess that it was difficult to adapt at first, they had the best results of their careers, and the students admitted that while it was the most intense curriculum they had experienced, they retained more information than ever before. Within a highly interactive online classroom, students learn through story based curricula centered around engaging stories where the student plays a central role and works toward completing objectives. Story Centered Curriculum's are an extreme example of using inquiry based learning but provide proof that incorporating technology into the classroom can only benefit learners.



Tech Tools
 

How Stuff Works is a great resource for teachers trying to include technology into their lesson plans. One of the articles I found to be useful was "How to Connect Your Computer to Your TV". Most classrooms these days have access to a television, but some schools may not be able to afford to install the equipment necessary to project what is being seen on the computer onto the wall. Teachers can use this article to show learners movies and demonstrate how to use computer programs among other things. Another great article was "10 Useful Google Tools" which lists resources such as GMail, Google Calendar, Google Earth (which is much more interesting and attention getting than a map on the wall), and Google Docs. All of these resources could be of great value to teachers. I know I would have paid much better attention in geography class if Google Earth was involved. More articles can be found at How Stuff Works

Chapter Summary 

Technology is a part of our children's worlds, so educators have to find a way to teach in their worlds to keep the lessons relevant. The goal of school is to create well rounded, productive, working members of society. When today's children become working adults, they will need to be able to use these essential tools to survive. The last time I applied for a job, every application was online. That meant that my resume had to be electronic. My education prepared me for this by teaching me how to use a word processor and Internet skills. This won't be enough for the next generation. They need to know how to do more, and we have to be able to teach them how.