Before I entered this course, I thought that using a projector and a PowerPoint to introduce new material meant that I was utilizing technology. I was very mistaken and am extremely glad that I got the chance to take this course. There are many courses that you take that sometimes do not give you real life applications to use inside of your classroom. I feel that out of all of the courses that I have taken in the past, this course by far has taught me the most and has given me the most real life applications to use in my classroom.
My personal theory of learning has not changed from the beginning of this course. What has changed from the start of this course is the way that I am going to create meaningful learning experiences in my classroom. Creating hands- on experiences makes sure that a child is engaged within their learning and then the information will have a better chance to be embedded into their minds. Just like the cognitivist perspective towards learning, information is stored and then used when needed. Incorporating virtual field trips and VoiceThread’s throughout various learning experiences will enable the students to create new meaningful experiences and then look back to help remind themselves of what they learned. As I stated before, my theory of learning has not changed, just the way I will approach teaching the material.
I have already started to use VoiceThread inside of my classroom. It was a fun introduction to it on my own personal email address. I still have to get permission from my student’s parents to get them an email address. We are going to use this as a way to get student’s opinions about topics and allow them to create their own VoiceThread’s pertaining to their Greek Gods and Goddesses. They are very excited to use this new technology and I am too. Using this technology will get them excited and drive them to do their best work. Another tool that I want to use is a classroom blog. I have tried this in the past, but after taking this course I think that my skills have become more advanced and I feel that my students will be able to successfully blog. This will enhance their communication skills and give every student a chance to speak their mind. I would also like to use / implement virtual field trips. We are currently studying Ancient Greece and Egypt. To get them more involved and interested in their topics, a virtual field trip will enable them to visit places they never ever would get a chance to.
A long term goal that I have is to become an expert on having a blog within my classroom. There are many benefits to having a classroom blog, if done properly. I want to be able to have open communication on a daily basis with my class and create an open forum for the students as well as the parents. I have signed up for a blogging professional development from my district and currently am taking a course in website design.
Another long term goal that I want to use within my classroom is going on virtual learning field trips. Finding meaningful learning experiences would help the students grasp information via the internet. Using this tool, especially in social studies, would help greatly. Not many of these students will or would get a chance to visit places around the world. It is a great way to get them involved and see things that they would never ever have a chance to.
During this course, I was introduced to Google Docs. I want to learn how to use this tool to help myself and others within my school. I do not have a grasp on how to use it properly and am currently attempting to figure out how to use this effectively.
Technology is a very intriguing and a very exciting part of education.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Voice Thread
I tried this new amazing technology called a voice thread. This is my first time ever trying to create a voice thread. I hope that it works!
voicethread.com/share/896569/
voicethread.com/share/896569/
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Cooperative Learning = Social Learning
Cooperative learning is critical for a student to obtain knowledge for themselves allowing them to construct their own ideas / thoughts about a particular topic. It enables them to bounce ideas off of each other giving each other confidence and the willingness to learn. Using cooperative learning groups also promotes social interaction between the students and allows them to become friends inside and outside of school.
The internet has opened amazing and endless possibilities for educators that allow students the ability to cooperate. Students can create projects together outside of school while being at their own houses. Things on the web such as blogs, wikis, and voice threads, makes it possible so that students can interact and share their own personal feelings / thoughts with each other with out the notion of being wrong. I think the internet allows a student to speak their mind and express their true feelings.
One thing that stuck out to me that I never thought about before I read this section in the book is the Web - Enabled Multiplayer Simulation Games section. I didn’t make the connection between the students getting online to play a game and the social interaction that one has while doing such a thing. I have tried this before and it is strange to be able to talk to somebody from a different county while playing a game with them. It is a great tool that can be utilized inside of the classroom if done properly.
It is amazing now a days all the other tools at students finger tips that allows them to interact with each other such as, twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and Podcasts; just to name a few. I am trying to use Podcasting in my classroom after the last course I took but it is so hard to be able to fit it in with the rest of the stuff that is needed to get done on a daily basis. I am currently half way done with teaching my class how to Podcast and trying to get a Podcast done with them. I hope that it works!
The internet has opened amazing and endless possibilities for educators that allow students the ability to cooperate. Students can create projects together outside of school while being at their own houses. Things on the web such as blogs, wikis, and voice threads, makes it possible so that students can interact and share their own personal feelings / thoughts with each other with out the notion of being wrong. I think the internet allows a student to speak their mind and express their true feelings.
One thing that stuck out to me that I never thought about before I read this section in the book is the Web - Enabled Multiplayer Simulation Games section. I didn’t make the connection between the students getting online to play a game and the social interaction that one has while doing such a thing. I have tried this before and it is strange to be able to talk to somebody from a different county while playing a game with them. It is a great tool that can be utilized inside of the classroom if done properly.
It is amazing now a days all the other tools at students finger tips that allows them to interact with each other such as, twitter, Facebook, Blogs, and Podcasts; just to name a few. I am trying to use Podcasting in my classroom after the last course I took but it is so hard to be able to fit it in with the rest of the stuff that is needed to get done on a daily basis. I am currently half way done with teaching my class how to Podcast and trying to get a Podcast done with them. I hope that it works!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Generating and Testing Hypothesis
Constructivism means creating hands on artifacts that the students make from exploring and thinking on their own. Creating a PowerPoint is a great artifact that a student could create to show their understanding of a topic / material.
A hard thing for my students to do is to think outside of the box. If the information is not right there in front of them then they struggle drawing a conclusion or a hypothesis to why or the reason for something happening. Collecting data is a great way to generate questions from students and will drive them to want to reach their own conclusion. The text discusses creating a chart using Excel and creating many different graphs or charts from the data collected. From that data, conversations and questions will arise pertaining to the information. I do a great deal with interoperating graphs and pictures. I use pictures a lot to see their mind set before we start a new topic.
There are many web applications and resources that can be used to get a student to generate a hypothesis. Mr. DcDvitt uses a web application to show the WWII. It is a game that simulates the actions done during the war. All students enjoy playing video games and if it turns into an educational form, GREAT! I have used www.explorelearning.com and Smart Board interactive lessons to allow students to test out hypothesis and manipulate things to see what would happen. A great example is testing an electrical circuit online. What objects are conductors and what are not?
Anyway that you can get a student to think outside of the box and want to learn more about a topic or test it out to see if it works / doesn’t work, you have created a constructivist approach to learning. Too many of the next “generation” does not have the critical thinking skills necessary to be successful in a world powered by technology!
A hard thing for my students to do is to think outside of the box. If the information is not right there in front of them then they struggle drawing a conclusion or a hypothesis to why or the reason for something happening. Collecting data is a great way to generate questions from students and will drive them to want to reach their own conclusion. The text discusses creating a chart using Excel and creating many different graphs or charts from the data collected. From that data, conversations and questions will arise pertaining to the information. I do a great deal with interoperating graphs and pictures. I use pictures a lot to see their mind set before we start a new topic.
There are many web applications and resources that can be used to get a student to generate a hypothesis. Mr. DcDvitt uses a web application to show the WWII. It is a game that simulates the actions done during the war. All students enjoy playing video games and if it turns into an educational form, GREAT! I have used www.explorelearning.com and Smart Board interactive lessons to allow students to test out hypothesis and manipulate things to see what would happen. A great example is testing an electrical circuit online. What objects are conductors and what are not?
Anyway that you can get a student to think outside of the box and want to learn more about a topic or test it out to see if it works / doesn’t work, you have created a constructivist approach to learning. Too many of the next “generation” does not have the critical thinking skills necessary to be successful in a world powered by technology!
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Cognitive Learning Theory
"Cues, Questions, and Advanced Organizers"
Figuring out a good way to have students retrieve previously learned material is a hard task to do sometimes. Any type of graphic organizer will help sort the information for the students and hopefully connect to another thought or memory that they have had previously OR start a solid new memory. Concept mapping would be a great tool to utilize especially if you go on a virtual field trip. This would allow them to create a map of important aspects / concepts of the field trip. You would be able to see what they thought was important and what they left out of the valuable information. It also gives you an insight to how they are thinking about a particular topic. A graphic organizer can be created simple then once more data is obtained by the student they can simply add it to the organizer to make it more in depth. Their thoughts will not go anywhere and are there to trigger their minds. This all allows them to go retrieve previously learned material from their memory and add more information to that.
“Summarizing and Note Taking”
This is a skill that is critical for all students to master before they move onto middle school and high school. There are many of my students who can not take notes and I have been practicing with them. I loved reading about the word processing application where you type a passage from the book into the student takes notes on the other side of the split screen which enables you to Track Changes. This will help you see what they think is important and the way that they conceptualize their thoughts. Plus, it will stop them from plagiarizing the materials.
Inspiration is a neat program. My district has Kidspiration and it is similar to the program described in our text book. I enjoy using this tool because it is a different version of a graphic organizer that enables the students to be creative and enjoy their learning. It gives them a different sense than just sitting down to take notes during class. It is easy for them to print of their notes and easy for them to manipulate them too.
One think that I have implemented in my classroom already is a classroom Wiki page. It is in the beginning stages of development because I created after the last Walden course I completed and my students are starting to use it a little bit at a time. I teach in an inner city school district and not many of them have access to the internet outside of school so allowing them a chance to communicate with each other outside of school online is a hard task. It is a great tool to enable students to discuss and post their thoughts about a topic. Allows them to bring in past knowledge and explain their thought process by talking to other students about a particular topic. Good summarizing tool to use if possible. Same goes for using a blog with your class.
Figuring out a good way to have students retrieve previously learned material is a hard task to do sometimes. Any type of graphic organizer will help sort the information for the students and hopefully connect to another thought or memory that they have had previously OR start a solid new memory. Concept mapping would be a great tool to utilize especially if you go on a virtual field trip. This would allow them to create a map of important aspects / concepts of the field trip. You would be able to see what they thought was important and what they left out of the valuable information. It also gives you an insight to how they are thinking about a particular topic. A graphic organizer can be created simple then once more data is obtained by the student they can simply add it to the organizer to make it more in depth. Their thoughts will not go anywhere and are there to trigger their minds. This all allows them to go retrieve previously learned material from their memory and add more information to that.
“Summarizing and Note Taking”
This is a skill that is critical for all students to master before they move onto middle school and high school. There are many of my students who can not take notes and I have been practicing with them. I loved reading about the word processing application where you type a passage from the book into the student takes notes on the other side of the split screen which enables you to Track Changes. This will help you see what they think is important and the way that they conceptualize their thoughts. Plus, it will stop them from plagiarizing the materials.
Inspiration is a neat program. My district has Kidspiration and it is similar to the program described in our text book. I enjoy using this tool because it is a different version of a graphic organizer that enables the students to be creative and enjoy their learning. It gives them a different sense than just sitting down to take notes during class. It is easy for them to print of their notes and easy for them to manipulate them too.
One think that I have implemented in my classroom already is a classroom Wiki page. It is in the beginning stages of development because I created after the last Walden course I completed and my students are starting to use it a little bit at a time. I teach in an inner city school district and not many of them have access to the internet outside of school so allowing them a chance to communicate with each other outside of school online is a hard task. It is a great tool to enable students to discuss and post their thoughts about a topic. Allows them to bring in past knowledge and explain their thought process by talking to other students about a particular topic. Good summarizing tool to use if possible. Same goes for using a blog with your class.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Is Behaviorism Still Present in Today's Classroom?
Effort? This is a term that I use consistently inside of my classroom and I believe that the majority of my students understand that if they try their hardest, that is all that matters. As long as you are trying hard and I can see that, you will be fine and not have to worry about your final grade for that particular paper or subject area.
Relating back to Behaviorism and reinforcing effort, you are teaching them a skill that you want reinforced daily, their effort. They are able to see what progress they make by creating an effort chart / spreadsheet and see the direct effect that their effort grades have upon their final grades. This is a positive reinforcement by enabling them to see the direct effect their effort has on their final grades. There are not a large or declarative punishment by the teacher for the student not putting forth effort except, they will receive a bad overall grade. What do you do in this case when a student does not care at all by the grades that the get in school?
I have used Survey Monkey in the past for rubrics but have never thought about putting together a survey based upon their effort. We use rubrics on a daily basis relating to their writing or when they are conducting a research project. I really think that this is a great idea and plan to put it into practice inside of my classroom as soon as possible.
Ahhhh as a teacher you got to love homework. Why is it so hard for students to do their homework? Why can they not see the importance of doing their homework on a daily basis? Why do you get some parents who call you and tell you that it is not fair of you to give that homework because they could not even do it themselves? I love that excuse, well we do not give homework if we do not cover it in class that day… why don’t you ask your child to show you their notes or ask them what they were doing while that subject / particular skill was being taught?
Creating a fun and interesting way to complete students homework would motivate them the desire to do their homework on a daily basis. With the use of some technologies the students will not feel as though it is the same boring way to do their homework. Giving the students different tools, such as, inserting multimedia projects, using graphs, or creating a PowerPoint allows the students to show their personal creativity to their work. This will in turn motivate them to want to do better and reinforce the importance of their homework. Giving recognition to their work and efforts will make them highly motivated.
Lastly, if you can create a Wiki page or Blog for your students to interact with each other inside of school and outside of school to accomplish a project, they will see the importance of communication and see what they can achieve together. Inside of the classroom Wiki page that I personally created for my classroom, I have online tutorials from our math lessons and other important links to academic sources that we use daily inside of our classroom. I placed a grant in my school district so that I can have a camera attached to my SmartBoard so that I will be able to tape a lesson and post it online for students to see if they are absent from class that particular day for the lesson.
Doing homework shows us the students understanding of a subject matter. We then can see what we have to manipulate to make sure that all students are receiving the important information that they need in order to comprehend the course / subject material. Behaviorist strategies are still very pertinent in schools today and need to be used properly and effectively so that all students are learning and there are ways to make sure that they are having fun while learning.
Resources:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
Relating back to Behaviorism and reinforcing effort, you are teaching them a skill that you want reinforced daily, their effort. They are able to see what progress they make by creating an effort chart / spreadsheet and see the direct effect that their effort grades have upon their final grades. This is a positive reinforcement by enabling them to see the direct effect their effort has on their final grades. There are not a large or declarative punishment by the teacher for the student not putting forth effort except, they will receive a bad overall grade. What do you do in this case when a student does not care at all by the grades that the get in school?
I have used Survey Monkey in the past for rubrics but have never thought about putting together a survey based upon their effort. We use rubrics on a daily basis relating to their writing or when they are conducting a research project. I really think that this is a great idea and plan to put it into practice inside of my classroom as soon as possible.
Ahhhh as a teacher you got to love homework. Why is it so hard for students to do their homework? Why can they not see the importance of doing their homework on a daily basis? Why do you get some parents who call you and tell you that it is not fair of you to give that homework because they could not even do it themselves? I love that excuse, well we do not give homework if we do not cover it in class that day… why don’t you ask your child to show you their notes or ask them what they were doing while that subject / particular skill was being taught?
Creating a fun and interesting way to complete students homework would motivate them the desire to do their homework on a daily basis. With the use of some technologies the students will not feel as though it is the same boring way to do their homework. Giving the students different tools, such as, inserting multimedia projects, using graphs, or creating a PowerPoint allows the students to show their personal creativity to their work. This will in turn motivate them to want to do better and reinforce the importance of their homework. Giving recognition to their work and efforts will make them highly motivated.
Lastly, if you can create a Wiki page or Blog for your students to interact with each other inside of school and outside of school to accomplish a project, they will see the importance of communication and see what they can achieve together. Inside of the classroom Wiki page that I personally created for my classroom, I have online tutorials from our math lessons and other important links to academic sources that we use daily inside of our classroom. I placed a grant in my school district so that I can have a camera attached to my SmartBoard so that I will be able to tape a lesson and post it online for students to see if they are absent from class that particular day for the lesson.
Doing homework shows us the students understanding of a subject matter. We then can see what we have to manipulate to make sure that all students are receiving the important information that they need in order to comprehend the course / subject material. Behaviorist strategies are still very pertinent in schools today and need to be used properly and effectively so that all students are learning and there are ways to make sure that they are having fun while learning.
Resources:
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page
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