My final project is broken into 5 minute videos because the free version of Jing limits videos to 5 minutes or less.
The problem:
Students need to know how to collaborate with others to complete a group project. Collaboration is a skill that will be used for the rest of their lives, so we need to teach the skills and incorporate it into our classrooms on a regular basis. Technology is also an important component of the classroom, but many technologies do not require true collaborative group work to occur. Many technologies have an option for students to interact with each other using the technology, but collaboration is not required.
The solution:
Use technology as a medium for collaborative group work. By creating a project for students to do as a group that involves technology, students can see how the two directly relate to each other. Using technology is motivating to students, so this is another good strategy to help students engage in cooperative work. The project I thought of is for students to create a group video or TV show to show what they learned from a particular unit. This is great for end of unit assessment and needs to have explicit directions and expectations given multiple times.
TP:
Technology and pedagogy in this project occur as technology aides in presenting what was learned. As part of the group work, students know they need to ask each other their questions before asking the teacher. There will most likely be many questions about the video editing, but many of these questions can be answered by problem solving with each other. Students need to learn to use each other’s strengths while still contributing their own strengths to the group.
TC:
Technology and content overlap as the purpose of the project is to show the learning that occurred in the unit. This is done using video technology. Videos can also be saved and shown to multiple audiences. Learning can continue beyond the students in the classroom as they teach others about the content area. As with projects in real life, students can go back, edit, revise and improve their work until the final product is turned in. Using and learning video editing skills, students work together to show the content.
PC:
Pedagogy and content are shown as students collaborate together to create an accurate representation of the information. They are given creative license, as long as it represents the information accurately. Also, this project requires higher order thinking as students create a new way to show their learning. The level of rigor for this project is high and students are capable of meeting that expectation.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Group Leadership Project
Here is the first version of our Group Leadership Project focused on the Google Applications.
For our project, we decided to use Google Presentation because our project focused on the Google applications. Since we wanted to show the ease of the Google applications, it seemed fitting to use one of them to deliver the tutorial.
As we worked together, there are a few things I would do differently. First, our original collaboration time wasn't with the most effective tool. We used Vyew, a program none of us had used before. Much of our time was spent trying to figure out the program instead of talking with each other about the project. Once we had decided on a topic and split up the work, the majority of the rest of the work was individual. I liked working individually on different aspects of the Google applications, though there are so many of them. Through my research, I learned how much Google has added to its Geo applications, especially Google Earth. I played around with Google Earth quite a bit when it first came out, but haven't spent much time with it since then. Going back now, I am very impressed with how much has been added and the way Google specifically targets educators using their program. It's easy to use and has many resources to connect teachers together.
If I had to do something similar to this again, I would split up the work differently. While it seemed fair to have us all do the same thing - research and create slides about different Google applications - this made the final product a bit harder to put together. Communication became difficult with one person making a decision for the whole group, hoping it was an okay decision. In the end, not all of the presentation made it into the youtube video above due to these miscommunications. It is frustrating at times to work solely through the internet with a group of people who all have their own schedules and agendas. Splitting up different jobs might have been a better way to go about this particular project.
If the entire video is completed, I will repost it.
For our project, we decided to use Google Presentation because our project focused on the Google applications. Since we wanted to show the ease of the Google applications, it seemed fitting to use one of them to deliver the tutorial.
As we worked together, there are a few things I would do differently. First, our original collaboration time wasn't with the most effective tool. We used Vyew, a program none of us had used before. Much of our time was spent trying to figure out the program instead of talking with each other about the project. Once we had decided on a topic and split up the work, the majority of the rest of the work was individual. I liked working individually on different aspects of the Google applications, though there are so many of them. Through my research, I learned how much Google has added to its Geo applications, especially Google Earth. I played around with Google Earth quite a bit when it first came out, but haven't spent much time with it since then. Going back now, I am very impressed with how much has been added and the way Google specifically targets educators using their program. It's easy to use and has many resources to connect teachers together.
If I had to do something similar to this again, I would split up the work differently. While it seemed fair to have us all do the same thing - research and create slides about different Google applications - this made the final product a bit harder to put together. Communication became difficult with one person making a decision for the whole group, hoping it was an okay decision. In the end, not all of the presentation made it into the youtube video above due to these miscommunications. It is frustrating at times to work solely through the internet with a group of people who all have their own schedules and agendas. Splitting up different jobs might have been a better way to go about this particular project.
If the entire video is completed, I will repost it.
Professional Learning Plan
Below is a Prezi presentation of my professional learning plan. When I thought about how I want to integrate the technologies learned through these CEP courses, I wanted to make sure my goals were specific and measurable. It is tempting to make grand, elaborate plans to integrate multiple technologies in my teaching in many ways, but this thinking is not realistic for me. Instead, I know I need to take one small step at a time. Having the resources and information to look back on will allow me to incorporate the technologies learned at my own pace. There were so many great ideas, and I want to make sure I use each technology appropriately and effectively.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Wicked Problem Part D - Findings and Implications
As I think about this project being implemented in my classroom, my ultimate goal was to have students work effectively in groups while using technology. Effective group work is a challenging thing to measurably assess, but through careful and intentional formal and summative assessments, I can gauge the effectiveness of my plan. First, I will make sure I am consistently monitoring, observing and taking notes about each group. I will create a checklist of things to look for as they are planning and preparing their videos. The types of things I will look for are: participation, listening, compromise, types of activity, and effort. By noting and giving each group frequent feedback, I can track how well they are functioning as a group. I will also require the groups to reflect on themselves throughout the project. How do they think they are working as a group? What do they think about their own efforts and the efforts of each group member? Students can type these reflections up anonymously, and see exactly how their group mates perceive their effort and participation. Part of the summative group work assessment will be another reflection each group member does on themselves as well as each other group member. This reflection will include a description of what was done on an individual level and how the group worked together. I can also use the videos as a reflection of how well the group worked to create a final product. After observing and tracking how each group works throughout the entire project, I will have a pretty good idea as to if the video is a reflection of the whole group or just select members of the group.
The only way this entire project will be successful, including the reflections, is if there is a solid classroom community established with the students. If everyone is honestly working for the success of the group as a whole, not individual success, then group work is a much smoother process. Classroom community begins on the first day of school, so I am excited to begin establishing a positive and encouraging community of learners before even beginning a project like I have planned.
The only way this entire project will be successful, including the reflections, is if there is a solid classroom community established with the students. If everyone is honestly working for the success of the group as a whole, not individual success, then group work is a much smoother process. Classroom community begins on the first day of school, so I am excited to begin establishing a positive and encouraging community of learners before even beginning a project like I have planned.
Mobile Learning
This week I joined a conversation about using cell phones in the classroom. You can see a screen shot of my contribution below. I was interested to hear how one classroom 2.0 user took it upon himself to find out which of his students had unlimited texting plans and then communicated with them outside of the classroom through texts. I like that he was so sensitive to the financial aspect of texting plans, but still found a way to connect to many students in a way they were used to communicating. My only concern with using cell phones in the classroom is the potential for them to be used inappropriately. If there were better ways to ensure inappropriate content could be avoided, then I don't think there would be as much controversy to using them in the classroom. Outside the classroom, however, is different and does not require as much monitoring of content.
Using PollEverywhere, I created a poll to test with myself. Since I don't have students at the moment, I just wanted to explore and figure out how to use the program. It was easy to create the poll, but texting or typing in the numbers has the potential to be confusing for younger middle school students. I'm not sure the price would make it worth spending to get the feature of choosing your own words to text in. Here is a screen shot of my poll:
I also explored some of the other options for using mobile learning in the classroom. I really like the idea of using mp3 players in the classroom, both as tools to have students record themselves and for students to listen to a text read to them. Even if the text is the same that they would be listening to themselves or another classmate read, there is something more engaging to a student to be able to use any sort of technology. I was also impressed with the large range of applications available for the iPad and iPod. I would love to be able to use an iPad in my classroom, especially if it was able to be connected wirelessly to the projector. The possibilities are endless when I think about using an iPad in the classroom. The challenge about this is finding the funding and administrative approval to make it happen. Budgets are extremely tight and administrators often find it more beneficial to spend the money elsewhere. I would need to put together a proposal with significant research in order to be approved to purchase an iPad for classroom use, much less several iPads for use in multiple classrooms. I am excited to have the resources and information available as I go into this next school year ready to implement the many technologies I have learned through these CEP courses.
Using PollEverywhere, I created a poll to test with myself. Since I don't have students at the moment, I just wanted to explore and figure out how to use the program. It was easy to create the poll, but texting or typing in the numbers has the potential to be confusing for younger middle school students. I'm not sure the price would make it worth spending to get the feature of choosing your own words to text in. Here is a screen shot of my poll:
I also explored some of the other options for using mobile learning in the classroom. I really like the idea of using mp3 players in the classroom, both as tools to have students record themselves and for students to listen to a text read to them. Even if the text is the same that they would be listening to themselves or another classmate read, there is something more engaging to a student to be able to use any sort of technology. I was also impressed with the large range of applications available for the iPad and iPod. I would love to be able to use an iPad in my classroom, especially if it was able to be connected wirelessly to the projector. The possibilities are endless when I think about using an iPad in the classroom. The challenge about this is finding the funding and administrative approval to make it happen. Budgets are extremely tight and administrators often find it more beneficial to spend the money elsewhere. I would need to put together a proposal with significant research in order to be approved to purchase an iPad for classroom use, much less several iPads for use in multiple classrooms. I am excited to have the resources and information available as I go into this next school year ready to implement the many technologies I have learned through these CEP courses.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Wicked Problem Part C - Implementation
By clicking here you can find a link to the implementation part of my Wicked Project. I have begun to play around with iMovie in trying to figure out the features my students could use. I put together a simple video of the last year of my teaching to show how iMovie can be used.
Below is a standalone for the podcast to listen to directly from the blog site.
Below is a standalone for the podcast to listen to directly from the blog site.
Group Project: Part B - Storyboard and Script
Our group chose to focus on the Google application tools. There are so many tools offered and more being developed so often. One great plus to Google is that all the applications are free, which makes them even more attractive to use for teachers and students.
Each group member is focusing on a different tool or group of tools. I have focused my part of the presentation on the Geo tools offered, including Google Latitude, Panoramio, and Google Earth. I chose these to focus on because I love traveling and exposing my students to different parts of the world. Having a global perspective is so important to being open minded and accepting everyone for who they are. If students are exposed to a real life picture of the remote parts of the world, they are more likely to want to explore the world beyond their neighborhood.
You can see the Google Presentation slides I put together to show the Google Geo features by clicking here. I did not include transitions in my presenter notes because we had not decided what the entire slideshow was going to look like in the end. I thought it would be more work for someone to take my transitions and change them to match the whole presentation than to add them in to fit best.
Each group member is focusing on a different tool or group of tools. I have focused my part of the presentation on the Geo tools offered, including Google Latitude, Panoramio, and Google Earth. I chose these to focus on because I love traveling and exposing my students to different parts of the world. Having a global perspective is so important to being open minded and accepting everyone for who they are. If students are exposed to a real life picture of the remote parts of the world, they are more likely to want to explore the world beyond their neighborhood.
You can see the Google Presentation slides I put together to show the Google Geo features by clicking here. I did not include transitions in my presenter notes because we had not decided what the entire slideshow was going to look like in the end. I thought it would be more work for someone to take my transitions and change them to match the whole presentation than to add them in to fit best.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Wicked Problem Part B - Application of TPACK
Technology/Pedagogy:
The main technologies chosen for my project are video cameras and video editing software. For the purpose of the project, getting students to work collaboratively as a small group, these technologies need to be fairly simple to use. The purpose is not to teach them how to use the technologies, but rather to use the technologies as an aide in presenting the content they have learned. I will require that students first work together as a group to solve any problems that come up before coming to me for help. They need to decide as a group that they need help and have exhausted all other resources before asking for help. In this project, I anticipate students will have a solid knowledge of using video cameras, but many will struggle with the video editing part. Part of group work is being able to admit when you are not the most knowledgeable person to get the job done and allowing someone else to take control. The fact that they are, together, creating one video forces them to work together and use each others' strengths to create the best video possible. I will, however, show them some simple tips to using the video software before they get started. This will allow them to get the basics down and then work together to continue making their video better.
Technology/Content:
The purpose of this project is for students to be able to show the learning they have done about a particular topic or topics. It is intended to be a unit summary/assessment in which they must work together to show their learning. Using videos to display their learning creates a final product that can be saved and shown many times to many people. The permanence of the video makes it accessible for years to come as an information pertaining to a specific content area. It also allows students to edit and re-record the information as they go along to create a professional final product that truly represents the information they learned in the unit. Students need to think specifically about what they learned and how to best represent it in a video.
Pedagogy/Content:
By having students work in groups for this project, they are able to take what they have learned and combine it with what the other students in their group learned. The combined effort allows them to produce a more accurate representation of the content and also allows students to continue learning from each other. Many students will have different amounts of information that they retained and combining these ideas in a group will allow them to continuously expand their learning. The students will also be learning video editing from each other. The video editing is a secondary outcome of the project. Again, the group work aspect of the project will force students to rely upon each other to produce a quality video. Ideas from every member of the group will need to come together to accurately reflect the content as well as the group members.
The main technologies chosen for my project are video cameras and video editing software. For the purpose of the project, getting students to work collaboratively as a small group, these technologies need to be fairly simple to use. The purpose is not to teach them how to use the technologies, but rather to use the technologies as an aide in presenting the content they have learned. I will require that students first work together as a group to solve any problems that come up before coming to me for help. They need to decide as a group that they need help and have exhausted all other resources before asking for help. In this project, I anticipate students will have a solid knowledge of using video cameras, but many will struggle with the video editing part. Part of group work is being able to admit when you are not the most knowledgeable person to get the job done and allowing someone else to take control. The fact that they are, together, creating one video forces them to work together and use each others' strengths to create the best video possible. I will, however, show them some simple tips to using the video software before they get started. This will allow them to get the basics down and then work together to continue making their video better.
Technology/Content:
The purpose of this project is for students to be able to show the learning they have done about a particular topic or topics. It is intended to be a unit summary/assessment in which they must work together to show their learning. Using videos to display their learning creates a final product that can be saved and shown many times to many people. The permanence of the video makes it accessible for years to come as an information pertaining to a specific content area. It also allows students to edit and re-record the information as they go along to create a professional final product that truly represents the information they learned in the unit. Students need to think specifically about what they learned and how to best represent it in a video.
Pedagogy/Content:
By having students work in groups for this project, they are able to take what they have learned and combine it with what the other students in their group learned. The combined effort allows them to produce a more accurate representation of the content and also allows students to continue learning from each other. Many students will have different amounts of information that they retained and combining these ideas in a group will allow them to continuously expand their learning. The students will also be learning video editing from each other. The video editing is a secondary outcome of the project. Again, the group work aspect of the project will force students to rely upon each other to produce a quality video. Ideas from every member of the group will need to come together to accurately reflect the content as well as the group members.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Group Project: Part A - Brainstorming
For our first group conference, we chose to use vyew.com. It was a fairly easy site to navigate through, but it was something everyone in our group was unfamiliar with. The level of unfamiliarity, combined with our desire to get the first part of our group project completed caused us to not dive into figuring out the website much. We used the chat function mostly, but also used the voice option. It became difficult to continue using the microphones because the feedback and echoing was too much to handle. We did use the typing and drawing functions of the program to communicate our ideas as we became more solid on what our project was to be about.
It seems like there are many more functions that could be used with Vyew, but it would take patience to figure them out. It also doesn't seem like the best program to use with more than 3 or 4 users because the chat feature is small and it is easy to become lost in the conversation when there are many people typing. I tried to use the screen sharing option, but there was a connection problem of some sort that I did not have time to figure out. Perhaps next time I will try to figure this out before our group meets to talk with each other.
I could see vyew.com being used in the classroom to connect students to each other during group projects or to connect students from around the world in "pen pal" type communication. Having small groups connect eases the frustrations of the program and allows students to have better conversations. It seems like an okay program, but I would need to spend more time playing around with its features before using it in my own classroom.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Wicked Problem Project: Part A - Description of Need or Opportunity
1. What is the important educational need that you want to address?
The important educational need that I am seeking to address is the need for students to work collaboratively together with various classwork and projects. Students need to learn the life skills of cooperation and collaboration from a young age, as they are skills they will need for the rest of their lives. As with all teachers, I strive to have creative opportunities for students to work together. Many times this would include discussing things together or working together to create a project. While I enjoy these group work activities, I would love to see alternative ways for my students to work together. In many cases, using technology in the classroom causes students to work individually, whether that be at a computer or at their desks. While learning and using technology to further academic knowledge is a great goal, I would like to see technology used with group work in the classroom. My ideal goal is for students to work together in a way that allows them to be completely dependent upon each other to complete the project. Students will need to learn the technology and learn to work in a group while demonstrating or learning academic content.
2. How you plan to address this educational issue with technology?
In order to demonstrate students working collaboratively in a group using technology, I would plan a unit in which students take all of the information they have learned in a content unit or multiple content units and create a short "TV show" about the information. Depending on the content of the project, the TV show could take different formats. For non-fiction content, it could be a news broadcast or a documentary or something similar. For fiction content, they could create a sit-com, a music video, a movie, or something similar. I would prefer to give the student groups the ability to choose their method of relaying the information learned. The intent with this project is to get all the group members involved in the planning and processing of each step. They first need to collaborate on the information they have learned in the unit, then determine what they want to focus on, and work together to come up with an appropriate way to convey the content. Studies have shown that when technology is involved with education, student motivation increases. This is my intent with this project. Students have learned the information in the unit, now they can show what they have learned through creative, technological, collaborative avenues. They must work together to complete the project and part of the design is to work through the difficulties of working in a group.
3. Logistics of solution:
Before even beginning this project with students, I need to make sure my guidelines and expectations are clear. Students need to know what I am looking for and what the purpose of the project is. For me, the purpose is to assess the learning of a unit or units and to use technology as a collaborative group to show what learning happened. For this project, each group will need access to a video recorder and potentially more technology as they decide what they will do. To include other technologies, and so I can keep track of what they are planning, I would have each group record electronically their brainstorming and development of their plan as they discuss and decide things. This record could take the form of a word document, wiki, google doc, or blog. As the project continues to get underway, each group would utilize the video camera to record the information they are presenting and then edit the video using an editing program such as iMovie or Microsoft Movie Maker. In order to be of best help, I would need to familiarize myself with the video editing software they use, to show the whole class the basics and let them figure out the tricks of the program as individual groups. In all, I would anticipate this project taking at least 2 weeks of class time, possibly more.
4. Relevant research and resources:
As I have thought about this problem, I first reflected on my own classroom experience. From the lessons I have taught, it seems that student engagement increases when students are working together, especially on a long-term project. I have also noticed, though I have no data to support my assumption, that students remember the content from group projects longer than information from individual learning. According to Susan Stras and Joseph McGrath in Journal of Applied Psychology, "as group tasks pose greater requirements for member interdependence, communication media that transmit more social context cues will foster group performance and satisfaction." In other words, as a task requires students to collaborate and work together more, technology with a great amount of communication capabilities should be used. This article also stated that groups who are able to communicate face-to-face were more productive than groups that met online. Also, Anuradha A. Gokhale, in the Journal of Technology Education researched collaborative learning environments. The study found that, "if the purpose of instruction is to enhance critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, then collaborative learning is more beneficial" than individual learning. This further supports my desire to use technology with collaborative learning and group work. Students would have face-to-face time to interact during class and their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills would be enhanced from working in such a collaborative group.
5. A plan for the portion you will implement during this course and the portion you will implement after this course completes.
During this course, implementation is rather difficult because I am currently not teaching. To prepare me to implement this lesson during the next school year, the best thing I can do is familiarize myself with video editing programs. Editing will be a large component of the project and many students will not be familiar with how to use the software. I can also think over what units would be ideal to use a video project like this to conclude a unit or several units. The purpose of the project is varied. On one hand, it is to assess a unit or several units, to have students demonstrate the knowledge they learned instead of taking a paper and pencil test. On the other hand, it is to have students work collaboratively while using technology. Instead of having students use technology individually, I want them to work together and depend on each other for the success of the project. After this course will come the actual implementation of the entire project. I would have students complete the entire project and let them reflect on it to give me feedback.
6. How would you know you were successful?
I would know I was successful if the students were able to produce quality videos that clearly show the learning that occurred in the unit/units. I would also be able to informally evaluate the collaboration and participation level of each group as I watched throughout the process. If all group members are working together equally, learning new technologies and being heard, then I would consider it a success. If one or more members are slacking off while others take the lead, it would not be as successful to me. The student evaluations would also be a clue of the success of the project. If students note that they were working collaboratively and produced a quality video, then I would consider the project a success.
The important educational need that I am seeking to address is the need for students to work collaboratively together with various classwork and projects. Students need to learn the life skills of cooperation and collaboration from a young age, as they are skills they will need for the rest of their lives. As with all teachers, I strive to have creative opportunities for students to work together. Many times this would include discussing things together or working together to create a project. While I enjoy these group work activities, I would love to see alternative ways for my students to work together. In many cases, using technology in the classroom causes students to work individually, whether that be at a computer or at their desks. While learning and using technology to further academic knowledge is a great goal, I would like to see technology used with group work in the classroom. My ideal goal is for students to work together in a way that allows them to be completely dependent upon each other to complete the project. Students will need to learn the technology and learn to work in a group while demonstrating or learning academic content.
2. How you plan to address this educational issue with technology?
In order to demonstrate students working collaboratively in a group using technology, I would plan a unit in which students take all of the information they have learned in a content unit or multiple content units and create a short "TV show" about the information. Depending on the content of the project, the TV show could take different formats. For non-fiction content, it could be a news broadcast or a documentary or something similar. For fiction content, they could create a sit-com, a music video, a movie, or something similar. I would prefer to give the student groups the ability to choose their method of relaying the information learned. The intent with this project is to get all the group members involved in the planning and processing of each step. They first need to collaborate on the information they have learned in the unit, then determine what they want to focus on, and work together to come up with an appropriate way to convey the content. Studies have shown that when technology is involved with education, student motivation increases. This is my intent with this project. Students have learned the information in the unit, now they can show what they have learned through creative, technological, collaborative avenues. They must work together to complete the project and part of the design is to work through the difficulties of working in a group.
3. Logistics of solution:
Before even beginning this project with students, I need to make sure my guidelines and expectations are clear. Students need to know what I am looking for and what the purpose of the project is. For me, the purpose is to assess the learning of a unit or units and to use technology as a collaborative group to show what learning happened. For this project, each group will need access to a video recorder and potentially more technology as they decide what they will do. To include other technologies, and so I can keep track of what they are planning, I would have each group record electronically their brainstorming and development of their plan as they discuss and decide things. This record could take the form of a word document, wiki, google doc, or blog. As the project continues to get underway, each group would utilize the video camera to record the information they are presenting and then edit the video using an editing program such as iMovie or Microsoft Movie Maker. In order to be of best help, I would need to familiarize myself with the video editing software they use, to show the whole class the basics and let them figure out the tricks of the program as individual groups. In all, I would anticipate this project taking at least 2 weeks of class time, possibly more.
4. Relevant research and resources:
As I have thought about this problem, I first reflected on my own classroom experience. From the lessons I have taught, it seems that student engagement increases when students are working together, especially on a long-term project. I have also noticed, though I have no data to support my assumption, that students remember the content from group projects longer than information from individual learning. According to Susan Stras and Joseph McGrath in Journal of Applied Psychology, "as group tasks pose greater requirements for member interdependence, communication media that transmit more social context cues will foster group performance and satisfaction." In other words, as a task requires students to collaborate and work together more, technology with a great amount of communication capabilities should be used. This article also stated that groups who are able to communicate face-to-face were more productive than groups that met online. Also, Anuradha A. Gokhale, in the Journal of Technology Education researched collaborative learning environments. The study found that, "if the purpose of instruction is to enhance critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, then collaborative learning is more beneficial" than individual learning. This further supports my desire to use technology with collaborative learning and group work. Students would have face-to-face time to interact during class and their critical-thinking and problem-solving skills would be enhanced from working in such a collaborative group.
5. A plan for the portion you will implement during this course and the portion you will implement after this course completes.
During this course, implementation is rather difficult because I am currently not teaching. To prepare me to implement this lesson during the next school year, the best thing I can do is familiarize myself with video editing programs. Editing will be a large component of the project and many students will not be familiar with how to use the software. I can also think over what units would be ideal to use a video project like this to conclude a unit or several units. The purpose of the project is varied. On one hand, it is to assess a unit or several units, to have students demonstrate the knowledge they learned instead of taking a paper and pencil test. On the other hand, it is to have students work collaboratively while using technology. Instead of having students use technology individually, I want them to work together and depend on each other for the success of the project. After this course will come the actual implementation of the entire project. I would have students complete the entire project and let them reflect on it to give me feedback.
6. How would you know you were successful?
I would know I was successful if the students were able to produce quality videos that clearly show the learning that occurred in the unit/units. I would also be able to informally evaluate the collaboration and participation level of each group as I watched throughout the process. If all group members are working together equally, learning new technologies and being heard, then I would consider it a success. If one or more members are slacking off while others take the lead, it would not be as successful to me. The student evaluations would also be a clue of the success of the project. If students note that they were working collaboratively and produced a quality video, then I would consider the project a success.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Friday, August 20, 2010
Reflection
The progression of this course has gotten me thinking more about how to incorporate technology into my classroom on a regular basis. Using technology in the classroom requires different types of teaching strategies. First, the management style you use will probably be different when using technology. Students react differently when technology is around, so the way I introduce and use technology needs to be different. Technologies can also incorporate different teaching strategies. Some technologies are more interactive than others, so I need to decide what teaching style I want to use and then find a technology that fits that style.
The most popular technology to use in the classroom is the Internet. Students now have greater access to research and educational games as well as inappropriate content. When I think about using the Internet in my classroom, I need to think about the possible negative outcomes as well as the benefits. The evaluation process also includes testing the links of websites being used to ensure they are active and appropriate. If a website has inappropriate or inaccurate information I need to consider carefully if I should use it for my lesson. Part of my responsibility as a teacher is to teach my students how to evaluate their use of technology, specifically the Internet. With so much available at their fingertips, they need to be able to be responsible about what they use the Internet for. Instilling values and morals is part of being an educator and will help my students develop into conscientious adults.
I believe I have met my personal goals for this course. I learned about new technologies as well as how to use them in my own classroom. The information shared by the instructor as well as by the other students proved to be incredibly helpful. The best resource we have is each other and I believe I took great advantage of the resources available in this class.
Currently, my goal is to continue finding ways to integrate technology into each unit of social studies and science that I teach. I have only picked these two subjects to start with because I know smaller goals are more realistic for me. As I plan through these units this year, I will be looking for ways to incorporate technology in various ways whether it be me using the technology as a teacher or using the technology with my students or teaching my students how to use a new technology. The more I can responsibly and effectively use technology in my classroom, the more likely my students are to become engaged in learning.
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Online learning
I think I could use educational blogs in my classroom this year. I have done some research as to the benefits of using blogs in the classroom and want to see those benefits with my students.
Many times I have my students reflect on the books they read in class. I could use blogs as a way for them to reflect still, but then make each blog available for the others to see and comment on. Sometimes students don't know what book to read, so reading someone else's thoughts on that book might help make a decision. Since editing is not a major feature of blogs, I would not use it for editing, but rather as a medium for the students to get their own thoughts out as well as to read each other's thoughts. I would use a more laid back teaching approach with this online experience. The students do not need to be directed through the process, but rather guided along as they learn something new.
It would be difficult for me to use interactive discussions with experts. In order to attend my school, students need to speak English. In China, there are not many native English speakers. Doing an interactive discussion would be difficult because most English speaking "experts" that I know either already live in my city and we would, therefore, not need to do an online interactive discussion or the people I know live in the United States. Because of the 12-hour time difference, it is difficult to schedule a time to talk when my students are in school and someone in America is available.
I like the suggestions given in the companion paper. There were many ways to incorporate online learning in the classroom that I had not recently thought about. It's good to have a document like that in which lots of information is put together in a user friendly format.
Many times I have my students reflect on the books they read in class. I could use blogs as a way for them to reflect still, but then make each blog available for the others to see and comment on. Sometimes students don't know what book to read, so reading someone else's thoughts on that book might help make a decision. Since editing is not a major feature of blogs, I would not use it for editing, but rather as a medium for the students to get their own thoughts out as well as to read each other's thoughts. I would use a more laid back teaching approach with this online experience. The students do not need to be directed through the process, but rather guided along as they learn something new.
It would be difficult for me to use interactive discussions with experts. In order to attend my school, students need to speak English. In China, there are not many native English speakers. Doing an interactive discussion would be difficult because most English speaking "experts" that I know either already live in my city and we would, therefore, not need to do an online interactive discussion or the people I know live in the United States. Because of the 12-hour time difference, it is difficult to schedule a time to talk when my students are in school and someone in America is available.
I like the suggestions given in the companion paper. There were many ways to incorporate online learning in the classroom that I had not recently thought about. It's good to have a document like that in which lots of information is put together in a user friendly format.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Google Calendar
- Describe your experience as a user of the application. What functions did you like and what functions did you find frustrating? Why?
The only downside I saw to the calendar was that it was difficult to find where to change the calendar settings. When you set up a new calendar it automatically takes you through the steps of creating the specific settings. Once you create the calendar, however, it is harder to find where to change the settings. I'm sure once you get used to it, though, it becomes easier and more logical where things are placed. The only other feature that I think might be helpful to have is a way to communicate with the creator of the calendar. If parents have questions or concerns, they might want a way to contact the teacher directly from the calendar. This feature would be great to have as an option, as some teachers would not want another mode of communication to be available.
- Think about its application in the classroom
- What knowledge or skills would students need to use the software?
- How can you share the products you create with this application
- How could you see the application being used to teach a particular subject matter?
- What are some things a teacher could do to help students collaborate using this application?
- What sort of organization or managerial considerations will a teacher have to take into account?
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Web 2.0 and Instuctional Strategies
Using blogs in the classroom is something I have used in college classrooms, but not yet in my elementary classroom. I can see the benefits of using blogs as students develop their writing skills as well as how blogs might increase their motivation to write.
I could see using idea-based instruction with blogs as a way for students to reflect on their learning. Since blogs are much like journals, student can reflect on the big ideas being presented and they can read each others' reflections to expand upon. Students need to have adequate typing skills to make using blogs in this way time efficient. I have been frustrated with typing assignments with my students because it takes some of them an incredibly long time to type their thoughts as opposed to writing them by hand.
Blogs can also be used to give direct instruction to students. Teachers can create a blog that students read and are able to comment on. Students can also be given authorship of the blog to add their own posts. Direct instruction can also be given to absent students in this way so they do not get behind on missed assignments. The only problem with this is students need to have a certain level of literacy to be able to read the instructions and information given on the blog.
It would be difficult to use Venn Diagrams with blogs because the graphics would be difficult to create. You could use comparing and contrasting in written form, but the visual of a Venn Diagram would be difficult.
Peer editing is possible to do with blogs, but doesn't seem like the best technology to use for editing. Blogs are great for sharing general thoughts for revision, but google docs or wikis would be a better choice for peer editing.
I could see myself using blogs in my classroom mainly with language arts. This past year I did pen pals with a classroom in Michigan. It was so much fun for my students to write and receive letters from around the world. With blogs, we could pair up students to write to each other in this way. For privacy sake, the blogs could be private - viewed only by the students writing to each other and the teachers.
The bonus question is very thought provoking for me. It is one that I have thought about before because I find myself wanting to use technologies more creatively, but not knowing how to do that. I would be interested in reading articles that discuss creative uses of web technologies.
I could see using idea-based instruction with blogs as a way for students to reflect on their learning. Since blogs are much like journals, student can reflect on the big ideas being presented and they can read each others' reflections to expand upon. Students need to have adequate typing skills to make using blogs in this way time efficient. I have been frustrated with typing assignments with my students because it takes some of them an incredibly long time to type their thoughts as opposed to writing them by hand.
Blogs can also be used to give direct instruction to students. Teachers can create a blog that students read and are able to comment on. Students can also be given authorship of the blog to add their own posts. Direct instruction can also be given to absent students in this way so they do not get behind on missed assignments. The only problem with this is students need to have a certain level of literacy to be able to read the instructions and information given on the blog.
It would be difficult to use Venn Diagrams with blogs because the graphics would be difficult to create. You could use comparing and contrasting in written form, but the visual of a Venn Diagram would be difficult.
Peer editing is possible to do with blogs, but doesn't seem like the best technology to use for editing. Blogs are great for sharing general thoughts for revision, but google docs or wikis would be a better choice for peer editing.
I could see myself using blogs in my classroom mainly with language arts. This past year I did pen pals with a classroom in Michigan. It was so much fun for my students to write and receive letters from around the world. With blogs, we could pair up students to write to each other in this way. For privacy sake, the blogs could be private - viewed only by the students writing to each other and the teachers.
The bonus question is very thought provoking for me. It is one that I have thought about before because I find myself wanting to use technologies more creatively, but not knowing how to do that. I would be interested in reading articles that discuss creative uses of web technologies.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Wikis
Before this assignment, I had never thought I would edit a wikipedia page. It's amazing how easy it is to change the content of a page that so many people take to be true. I agree even more now with all the teachers who constantly tell their students wikipedia is not a credible source. It's just too easy to change the information posted without any need for it to be true.
For my school's wikipedia site, I added some countries to the list of our students' nationalities. There were a few that I know of missing, so I added that information. You can see a screen shot of the wiki page here. I'm not sure why it is pixelated, but you can click on the link above to get to the wikipedia site itself.
The wiki I created is https://cep811-wiki.wikispaces.com and was my first attempt at creating a wiki. I was unsure of the wiki at first as I have attempted to use them in prior classes and did not enjoy the experience. I think I did not have as much information as to how they work and the benefits they provide when I tried to use them before. Also, the professors who used them may not have known how to best organize the course's content with a wiki, further adding to my confusion and frustration with wikis. As I experiment with wikis and become more comfortable with them, I may even begin to see how I could use them in my classroom. I'm not exactly sure how I would do this yet, but using them myself is the first step to figuring it all out.
For my school's wikipedia site, I added some countries to the list of our students' nationalities. There were a few that I know of missing, so I added that information. You can see a screen shot of the wiki page here. I'm not sure why it is pixelated, but you can click on the link above to get to the wikipedia site itself.
The wiki I created is https://cep811-wiki.wikispaces.com and was my first attempt at creating a wiki. I was unsure of the wiki at first as I have attempted to use them in prior classes and did not enjoy the experience. I think I did not have as much information as to how they work and the benefits they provide when I tried to use them before. Also, the professors who used them may not have known how to best organize the course's content with a wiki, further adding to my confusion and frustration with wikis. As I experiment with wikis and become more comfortable with them, I may even begin to see how I could use them in my classroom. I'm not exactly sure how I would do this yet, but using them myself is the first step to figuring it all out.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Computer-based Instructional Objects
In looking at this week's reflection, I was able to view a variety of WebQuests put together by teachers from around the United States. Many of them were out of date, referencing programs that no longer exist and had multiple links that led to sites that also do not exist.
As far as working within a classroom, I prefer WebQuests because they have a greater ability to be interactive. Many of the examples had students working in groups, researching things online and presenting information as a group. StAIR projects are helpful in teaching and reinforcing new content, but can be done individually, even without a teacher present. Both seem useful in the appropriate context.
As I searched through some example WebQuests, I found many interesting social studies topics that relate to my curriculum. I particularly liked this example because it asked the students to make a choice to travel west on the Oregon Trail or to stay put. They had to take into consideration different points of view and make a persuasive argument as to why they chose what they did. I also liked this WebQuest because it involves different learning styles. The students need to put on their creative hats as they learn about the Aztecs, specifically Aztec legend, "The Two Mountains." The simplicity of this WebQuest made me consider using it with my own students. If all the links were active, I probably would use it. We cover life cycles at the beginning of the year, which makes the simple design of this WebQuest ideal in timing.
It was important to me, as I looked through all the different examples I found, to click through the WebQuests' links. In the process, I found that many were empty links or went to websites that had more advertisements than information. When considering WebQuests, looking at the links is a vital part of the process. Not only were there many dead links, but I came across one that seemed to be perfect for my students until I looked through the links. The websites they referenced were way above a third grade reading level, which I would not have known had I not done a thorough search.
While WebQuests are valuable tools for learning, and I am amazed at the vast amount available, it is important to make sure all the websites linked to are active and appropriate for your students. Also, when websites are out of date, students do not have current information to reference. I like the way many WebQuests are set up, but thorough research needs to be done of existing sites before they should be used in the classroom.
As far as working within a classroom, I prefer WebQuests because they have a greater ability to be interactive. Many of the examples had students working in groups, researching things online and presenting information as a group. StAIR projects are helpful in teaching and reinforcing new content, but can be done individually, even without a teacher present. Both seem useful in the appropriate context.
As I searched through some example WebQuests, I found many interesting social studies topics that relate to my curriculum. I particularly liked this example because it asked the students to make a choice to travel west on the Oregon Trail or to stay put. They had to take into consideration different points of view and make a persuasive argument as to why they chose what they did. I also liked this WebQuest because it involves different learning styles. The students need to put on their creative hats as they learn about the Aztecs, specifically Aztec legend, "The Two Mountains." The simplicity of this WebQuest made me consider using it with my own students. If all the links were active, I probably would use it. We cover life cycles at the beginning of the year, which makes the simple design of this WebQuest ideal in timing.
It was important to me, as I looked through all the different examples I found, to click through the WebQuests' links. In the process, I found that many were empty links or went to websites that had more advertisements than information. When considering WebQuests, looking at the links is a vital part of the process. Not only were there many dead links, but I came across one that seemed to be perfect for my students until I looked through the links. The websites they referenced were way above a third grade reading level, which I would not have known had I not done a thorough search.
While WebQuests are valuable tools for learning, and I am amazed at the vast amount available, it is important to make sure all the websites linked to are active and appropriate for your students. Also, when websites are out of date, students do not have current information to reference. I like the way many WebQuests are set up, but thorough research needs to be done of existing sites before they should be used in the classroom.
Hi Meredith!
Hi Meredith,
I love your background- It's wonderful! I'm still working to gain comfort/ and figure out how to post on our Bloggs... Yours looks great!
I love your background- It's wonderful! I'm still working to gain comfort/ and figure out how to post on our Bloggs... Yours looks great!
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Traditional web vs. Blogs
Hello all!
This first assignment asks us to compare traditional web pages and blogs. My first thought when comparing the two is the general purpose of each. In general, web pages are used to inform users about a company, product, event, etc. These websites do not usually have the personal narrative writing that blogs do. Traditional web pages are not updated frequently, but rather only when the readers would need to know something new that is happening.
On the other hand, blogs are typically designed for users to write down their thoughts and ideas. Blogs are run through a third party, unless the user pays for a web domain. Typically, blogs are updated on a regular (or not so regular) basis for readers to enjoy. The writing of blogs is subjective, often being focused on the writers feelings or thoughts of the moment. While many blogs are written for personal use, there are other blogs that are written to give readers information. Bloggers can also control who is able to access the content of their site, while traditional web pages are often open to anyone connected to the internet.
This first assignment asks us to compare traditional web pages and blogs. My first thought when comparing the two is the general purpose of each. In general, web pages are used to inform users about a company, product, event, etc. These websites do not usually have the personal narrative writing that blogs do. Traditional web pages are not updated frequently, but rather only when the readers would need to know something new that is happening.
On the other hand, blogs are typically designed for users to write down their thoughts and ideas. Blogs are run through a third party, unless the user pays for a web domain. Typically, blogs are updated on a regular (or not so regular) basis for readers to enjoy. The writing of blogs is subjective, often being focused on the writers feelings or thoughts of the moment. While many blogs are written for personal use, there are other blogs that are written to give readers information. Bloggers can also control who is able to access the content of their site, while traditional web pages are often open to anyone connected to the internet.
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