Final Reflection

The most interesting part of my GAME Plan as I implement some of the components into my lessons is that I am finding that I do not need to entirely change everything I do in my classroom. I can appeal to many of the technology standards for my students by modifying a few parts of what I already do in my classroom.

Digital storytelling is a great addition to my lessons. Digital story telling is great for my language arts classes and social studies. The video "Spotlight on Technology" offers a whole host of benefits that our students receive when using digital storytelling. First, our students are really interested in the use of technology, and are fascinated with making visually captivating artifacts. Digital storytelling also reaches a much wider audience. Students also use digital storytelling to appeal to certain people to bring political, social, or environmental change, (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

One aspect any teacher must keep in mind, also mentioned in "Spotlight on Technology" is the need to incorporate our local, state, and federal standards into the lesson when implementing a digital storytelling project into the classroom. I believe there are many ways to include these standards when using digital story telling in the classroom. My social studies classes can retell a historical conflict, show animal migration, or do a time line for ancient civilizations, all of which are mandated by our state content standards.

I like the use of book trailers for digital storytelling. My students recently completed a book trailer in my language arts class. The project hit many of our state content standards and used many of the writing steps. You can find book trailers with a simple search on Google. "Spotlight on Technology" also mentioned book, movie, or music reviews with the use of technology. I think this is also a really creative idea, "(Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). Students could recreate Shakespeare scenes, animate their poetry, or recreate a book ending all of which would engage my students and involve them with the use of technology.

My GAME Plan uses “technology to accomplish goals instead of using technology for technology sake"(Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). My GAME Plan also shows my students how to problem solve with real world examples preparing them for their futures as adults.

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009b). Program twelve. Spotlight on technology: Digital Storytelling, Part 1 [Motion picture]. Integrating technology across the content areas. Baltimore: Ertmer, P.

NETS Teacher and Student Standards and my GAME Plan

After reviewing the national educational technology standards for both teachers and students, it would seem natural for many of the concepts to be related.

The first teacher standard deals with facilitating and inspiring learning and creativity. Without technology this seems like an insurmountable task, with technology teachers have to do little to inspire. This coincides with the first student standard which is creativity and innovation. I have found that many of my students have few problems being creative and innovative with the use of technology. When I did my book trailer assignment, I found that most of my students went way above and beyond the minimum requirements of the assignment.

Working with others is another great way to learn more and to problem solve. The teacher standard, “engage in professional growth and leadership” seems to relate to the student standard, “communication and collaboration”. As a reluctant student myself in grade school, I never seemed to do very well in the traditional instructional model of lecture, test. I did respond to group work, and I can think back and remember the main ideas of those lessons. We know so much more in the 21st century about how people learn and collaboration is a way to appeal to many more students than in the past. Working with my colleagues still engages me more than listening to a lecturer even as an adult.

The next standard is the student and teacher promoting and exhibiting digital citizenship. Character education is growing more and more necessary with recent school violence making national and world news. Digital citizenship takes character education to the next level with responsible web usage and explaining and modeling the importance of cyber behavior.

Based on my GAME plan I have many ways to use the student standards in my unit. By modeling technological use, giving clear explicit directions, and letting my students work through the problems they encounter I can implement the standards into my lessons.

These are just a couple examples of the similarities of the standards for teachers and students. As always I appreciate your thoughts, comments and suggestions. Thanks for reading my blog.

Resources:

National Education Standards for Students (NETS-T) located at
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007.htm

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

Revising My GAME Plan

When I first look at technology I am always intimidated until I get involved with the project. Then, I am always amazed at how easily and quickly I am able to implement technology into my classroom. One of my biggest fear about starting an online collaboration project was the feeling that too many of my student’s parents were not on-line at home. After polling my classes many of my students responded positively about on-line collaboration and reported that nearly all homes were connected to the World Wide Web. This gives me a much less anxiety when I decide to start a project that deals with collaboration.

Probably the only component I have yet to do is to find time in my units between my lessons and standardized testing to start a project like this. Certainly the biggest hurdle is not my students or technological constraints.

There are several NETS-T Goals that are applicable here, however one really stands out as being the most important for me; to facilitate and Inspire Students Learning and Creativity. This is one I think is the most important because when I, as a teacher, am inspired to create, my students are then inspired to create. I notice on days when I do not feel well, and I do not have the energy, and I am just going through the motions at work, my students pick up on that and seem to have a slow day as well. But on my normal days when I am my typical upbeat self, my students are upbeat as well.

The next NETS-T Goals is to engage in Professional Growth and Leadership. I have enrolled in the technology pioneers program through my school district, continued to be on out technology committee, and volunteer to give technological presentations to show how I am implementing technology into my classroom. These are just a couple examples of how I am engaging in professional growth and leadership.

I am enrolled in a technology professional development seminar through my school district. This program meets one time per month for a full eight hour day making it an 80 hour program. This program is a great way to synthesize what I learn here at Walden into my lessons. The program is the perfect way to extend what I am learning at Walden. Although there is so much information I feel like I have a decent grasp on most of it, and actually feel like I can implement almost any of it into the classroom immediately.

I hope you like my blog. As always feel free to leave comments and suggestions.

Maintaining MY GAME Plan

Although my original game plan has changed, My initial actions have applied in the same way. When I first started my GAME Plan, I was focused so much more on how it affected my students and what I had to have my students do. I have since changed my thinking to: what do I, as an educator, need to do differently.

· How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?

My actions got me started in the right direction I suppose. The more I involved myself in the process I found myself heading in other directions. I started this entire process with the school of thought; how can I create something for my students. I ended up by asking myself, what changes do I need to make to make this successful in my classroom. I have learned that I am the one that needs to make the changes, rather than my students.

· What new questions have arisen?

I always have the same old feeling of, “the more I know, the less I understand,” when undertaking new concepts and ideas. I do, however, feel that I have a much better handle on how to implement problem based learning into my classroom.

· How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?

The main think I have needed to adjust is making the transition from information giver to facilitator. Make this transition seems easy, however, it completely reverses all the instructional methods I have learned in my education classes. Dr. Peggy Etmer states that, “recognition and acceptance of new roles and responsibilities,” is a vital key to making the adjustment as an educator, (Ertmer, Simons, 2006). Identifying the new roles to fascilitate problem-based learning and accepting them is necessary for make this work in the classroom.

Thanks for taking the time to read my blog. As always I encourage your input, comments, and suggestions.

Thanks
Paul

Resources

Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54.

Monitoring My GAME Plan Progress

I am fortunate to work in a school district that understands the importance of technology in the 21st century classroom. I have a lot of great technology to use including an interactive smart board, active expression polling system, a slate, document camera, and a computer lab right down the hall which is available nearly anytime I need it. I am certainly aware of how lucky I am to have such wonderful tools to use in my classroom, and it certainly has impacted my student’s grades and their interest in my lessons.

As for this week’s blog questions I am finding most of what I need very easily, however I am finding other issues arising I had not thought of until the project of getting my GAME plan in motion.

1) Are you finding the information and resources you need? I am finding all my information very easily. Any problems that arise I am always able to solve very quickly if not on my own, with the support of more knowledgeable staff within my building. What I am finding is as I get more involved in my PLAN I am wanting to do more activities and modify the lesson more and more. For example, I had my students making book trailers. My students loved making the book trailers, but I thought how cool it would be to have my students record their voice and add voice over to their book trailers. This has led me to several obstacles such as recording software, microphones, and file management.

2) Do you need to modify your action plan? The only modifications I am making to my GAME plan is to enhance the projects to incorporate more components such as the aforementioned voice recordings.

3) What have you learned so far? So far in this point of the GAME plan I have learned one main thing; do not be afraid to try. I am always amazed at how flexible my students are when I try new things in the classroom. They understand that I am human and have their best interest in mind. If a lesson falls flat, they are quick to tell me but they are also quick to help me. I can always tell when a lesson is working because my students are engaged and involved. As a younger teacher I felt like I learn a lot from my students. I thought that feeling would eventually go away, however, I still learn a great deal from my students. I hope they learn as much from me.

4) What new questions have arisen? Again, that feeling of, “the more I know, the less I understand,” comes to mind. With the voice recordings there are several options available such as audacity or recording straight into PowerPoint. Each has its benefits and drawbacks, but each has left me with a feeling of uncertainty when deciding which is the best.

One main aspect I see emerging from this Project-Based assessment is that not only does it give my students actual work as a discipline but it also models how I, as a teacher, deal with real problems at work. This doubles as a great tool to show my students how to problem solve when their own problems arise, (Cennamo, et. al. 2009).

Resources:
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Stories From Practice - My GAME Plan

For my GAME plan this week, I thought it would be helpful if I pasted my discussion post here

After reading several of the “Stories From Practice” in the text Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach I was most particularly struck by “Andrew’s story on page 127. Andrew at age three was in a car accident that left in a quadriplegic with limited neck movement. Andrew’s story picks up at age five where he is an energetic and typical five-year old in every way with the exception of his physical impairments. Andrew was able to use his mouth and sticks to manipulate many things such as his toys and a computer.

Principle II applies the best to a student with similar disabilities as Andrew. As a teacher, a student such as Andrew would change many of the things I take for granted in the classroom. The simple day-to-day activities could prove to be significant hurdles in the classroom. For students with these types of disabilities I could use my Promethean smart board slate for Andrew to manipulate objects and write on the board. I could also scan and display test on my smart board making it easier for him to read the test rather than manipulate a traditional paper test with several papers to fold. On the smart board, turning a page is as easy as pushing a button. Andrew could also take a multiple choice, short answer, and essay test with the use of interactive expression clickers, and a wireless keyboard.

With this type of technology available in the classroom, other students like Andrew could have a quality education full of rich activities just like every other student. Take a look as recently as five years in the past; Students like Andrew did not have as many options as they do now. (Here are some photos of the Active Expression clickers and a slate.)

GAME Plan in Action

Goals – What do I want to be able to know or be able to do? For this example I need to know more about my student(s). What are their limitations? How can I get around these limitations? By knowing more about my students I can learn more about how to reach them. My ultimate goal is to provide a meaningful and applicable education to all my students.

Action – What information do I need? What learning strategy will I use? What resources are needed? Again, knowledge is power for the necessary actions. The more knowledge I have about my students, the more I can do for them. If my students have physical disabilities I would treat the situation much differently than if they have mental impairments.

Monitoring – Am I finding the information I need? What patterns are emerging from the information sources? Do I need to modify my action plan? The old adage, “one learns little from success and much from failure,” comes to mind here. As a teacher I am acutely aware of my failures. Perhaps the biggest sign my students are doing well does not come from test scores or writing samples. I look to see if my students are engaged and interested.

Evaluate – Have I met my learning goals? If not, should I modify my goals or my learning strategies? What will I do differently in the future? I suppose I have to answer this question with a question: are my students successful? MY evaluation comes from the evaluation of my students.

Final Thoughts
After it is all said and done, I do not believe that there is one concrete final answer here. No two students are alike therefore we, as educators, should not treat them the same. Coming up with meaningful and engaging lesson for only a portion of our students is not acceptable. The traditional method of teaching appealed to very few students. With all the wonderful technology we have at our fingertips these days, it is much easier to present our lessons in a variety of ways appealing to so many more students than before. This technology also helps us reach students with physical and mental disabilities as well.

Here is a cool Tech Tip – I love using Inspiration, Kidspiration, and Webspiration as a way to make graphic organizers. These programs are easy to use, customizable, and with the click of a mouse, you can change your graphic organizers into outlines, reaching a whole other group of students with different learning styles. Below are screen shots of the Inspiration icon, web graphic organizer, and an outline made from Inspiration.

Resources

Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Introduction National Center On Universal Design for Learning. Home National Center On Universal Design for Learning. Retrieved November 14, 2009, from http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/introduction

Teacher's Using Technology

Technology in the Classroom? Get a GAME Plan!

I often feel that implementing technology into the classroom is such a daunting task. I have all the latest and greatest technologies in my classroom such as a Promethean Interactive Smart Board, Active Expression Polling System, a slate, and a document camera. My trepidation comes from wondering if I am doing it right. After reviewing this week’s learning resources and the ISTE National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS-T) I am left with a new found feeling of relief that I am doing it right. The key is to simply dive in and get started.

National Technology Standards

When it comes to the NETS-T Much of what is covered I already do in my classroom. The facilitation and inspiration of my student learning and creativity is easy because it comes naturally. I find that my students are so eager and interested in hand-on activities that it takes very little on my behalf to get them inspired to be creative in the technological lessons. I also teach gender specific classes and with some of my boys who are not at all interested in school they come to life when working on technology based projects. The next technology standard, promoting digital citizenship and responsibility is a very important standard that should be exercised in every component of classroom teachings. This should be taught and modeled at every opportunity. The third standard which is engaging in professional growth and leadership is another standard that will come naturally to most teachers. As more and more districts devote more dollars to technology, those districts will then train their teachers how to implement their new technologies into the classroom. With my district’s new technologies I have already been to several technology development seminars on how to implement these new technologies into my classes. These three standards, in my opinion, will come naturally to most teachers.

My Goals

Not to discredit or take away from the importance of the aforementioned standards from NETS-T but the two standards I am devoting this blog to are the design and develop digital aged learning experiences and assessments and modeling digital aged work and learning. Designing and developing digital aged learning experiences and assessments is important to give the kids engaging, hand-on, real-world activities that translate to real work problem solution and critical thinking activities. Similar to digital aged learning experiences, modeling digital aged work and learning – model is important to show how it should be done and so that I can learn and understand how to use the programs, it is also nice to learn from my students. Designing and developing digital aged learning experiences and assessments is important to give the kids engaging, hand-on, real-world activities that translate to real work problem solution and critical thinking activities. Similar to digital aged learning experiences, modeling digital aged work and learning – model is important to show how it should be done and so that I can learn and understand how to use the programs, it is also nice to learn from my students.


My GAME Plan

Goals – What do I want to be able to know or be able to do? I guess the short answer here is everything! I am interested in technology, and I am not afraid to get involved with it. The problem comes with asking myself which technology works out best for my student’s success. What do I already know about the topic? I know a little about technology, but there again, I am not afraid to jump in the deep end and learn. I know my students are always very helpful if I don’t know. They are always willing to lend a helping hand, and surprisingly understand if something does not work out the way we had planned. How will I know when I have been successful? Success is a pretty subjective word here. Am I successful when I learn the programs inside and out? Am I successful when all my students are getting 100 percents? I suppose Success can be measured ten, 20 or thirty years down the road when I find my student’s having happy, successful lives whether they are stay-at-home mothers, or corporate CEOs.

Action – What information do I need? What learning strategy will I use? What resources are needed? Fortunately through my classes at Walden University, my professional development seminars, and my drive to learn more about technology I am never at a loss for information. The problem I have is information overload, and the selection of the best technology to use with my students. I am also very fortunate to have a lot of tech tools at my disposal.

Monitoring – Am I finding the information I need? What patterns are emerging from the information sources? Do I need to modify my action plan? MY best monitoring system is the direct observation of my students. Are they engaged? Are they successful? Are they happy? Are there discipline problems? In my experience a successful classroom comes from solid, engaging lessons.

Evaluate – Have I met my learning goals? If not, should I modify my goals or my learning strategies? What will I do differently in the future? I am always looking for better or new ways to implement my lessons. I evaluate myself daily in an effort to achieve long term goals. Similar to my monitoring my evaluation comes from a smoothly running classroom and engaged and successful students.

Final Thoughts

This is a lengthy blog; I hope you find it engaging and thought provoking. The topic of technology standards for teachers is a new and emerging concept and educators must look at themselves with close scrutiny to ensure the success of our students. As always I encourage your input, comments, and suggestions.

Thanks
Paul

Resources

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf.

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology integration for meaningful classroom use: A standards-based approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

Final Reflection - Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

Final Reflection

As this most recent course comes to an end I begin to reflect and try to incorporate all that I have learned into my classes. Naturally, this can be a daunting task considering the vast amount of information we were faced with in this, and other courses, here at Walden University. With all the important and interesting concepts it is difficult to process and identify the most significant concepts.

Perhaps the most striking revelation about the 21st Century Literacy Skills I found the most noteworthy was the vast amount of skills necessary for our students to be competitive in a world-wide work force. In the past, our students were only responsible for reading, listening, and remembering. With today’s technology and world-wide work force, our students must be capable of advanced problem solution, technological and self motivation skills.

With this new skill set that is becoming mandatory for our students my classes are evolving from this traditional teaching method to allowing my students to explore their own solutions. I am moving from spoon feeding my information to forcing, or allowing, my students to find their own information and developing the necessary skills to do so. With this new teaching method I am faced with a new problem of internet safety and accuracy. So it compounds this problem of moving from the traditional teaching method by introducing the need to teach an entirely new skill set which includes internet responsibility and safety.

My main goal for the near future is to advance my knowledge with more in depth study of the use of technologies in the classroom and teaching internet safety and fact checking. I have already signed up for a professional development seminar that deals specifically with the topic of technology integration. The seminar is an eight, eight hour session program that deals with many of the same concepts that this class has discussed. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the material covered during this course, to have more hands on application activities, and find ways to use the technology I have available to me as a teacher. I am certain that this will expand my knowledge to help me create better ways to assist my students. As a teacher my ultimate goal is my student’s success.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog. As always I appreciate your input, please feel free to leave a comment.

Evaluating Reserach Methods

Technology has made educational research so much more available to educators. As we near the completion of this course I can not believe how easy it was to gather research on almost any subject I could ever want. I have also become aware of the great importance to be critical of this research. Educational research can often be misinterpreted or misused. As a result of this great wealth of technology there is a , “greater need for all educators to understand, conduct, and use research findings,” (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 3).

With so many different types of research methods it is important to approach each research question by choosing a method that best suits the scenario.

Scenario 1: Ten students are available for in-depth interviews. Participants will be selected based on their involvement with the peer mediation program. They will be observed over three weeks. Analysis will attempt to determine issues concerning peer mediation.

• For scenario one the qualitative method would be the most suitable. The participants in this program are a case study and it describes the meanings of a lived experience, making it a phenomenology.
  

Scenario 2: Two classrooms of students are selected. There are 30 students in each class; each group will have similar demographics—age, sex, race, socio-economic background, etc. Classes will be randomly divided into two groups of 15 students. Of these two groups, one randomly selected group will get training on peer mediation and the other group will not. Thus in each classroom there will be one group that is trained in peer mediation and one that is not. Analysis will occur on which groups have the fewest office referrals.

• The experimental make up of scenario two makes this a quantitative research design. In this scenario “the investigator has some control over what will happen to the subjects by systematically imposing or withholding specified interventions, the researcher then makes comparisons,” about the two groups (McMillan & Schumacher, 2008, p. 23).
  

Scenario 3: A school counselor is interested in knowing how student attitudes affect the value of peer mediation to decrease the number of office referrals that are being filed for inappropriate interactions.

• For scenario three a mixed method would be the best. Since there is not a set up research and that the students are in their natural environment it is a qualitative design. Once, however, the referrals reach the office you can then look at that data as a quantitative design.
  

Scenario 4: Peer mediation has become widely used in many schools. The feelings of those involved in the process are little known—either from those doing the mediation or those receiving it. The ZASK-R Acceptance Preference Survey will be given as pre- and post-tests to 40 students participating in mediation. Follow-up interviews will be conducted on a bi-monthly basis.

• Scenario four also represents a mixed method of research. Since the researchers will be continually looking at the data on a bi-monthly basis, it makes it a case study. The use of the survey places this research into the quantitative research method.
  

With the ability to gather and review research so easily it is important to at least have a general understanding of how to use this information. Have the ability to conduct and review research can be a great tool for the classroom and building.

Resources

McMillian, J. H., & Schumacher, S. (2006). Research in Education: Evidence-based inquiry(6th Ed.). Boston, Massachusetts: Pearson Education, Inc.

Problem statement with Research Questions

After making some changes to my problem statement I began to look at some research questions. At first I had a hard time coming up with some questions. I was trying to think of a question that related to my problem statement instead of looking at possible outcomes. I then decided to think about it differently, I tried to think of possible predictions or information I wanted from this research. It was then much easier to formulate some questions about my statement.

The following is my updated problem statement with some possible research questions.

I plan to determine the different in writing scores among sixth graders between those who use word processing to write with and those who use traditional paper and pencil.

Who: Sixth Graders

What: Taught writing with Microsoft Word

Why: Determine the influences of writing software no writing scores.

• How does using word processing software affect student’s standardized test scores?
• Does student writing improved when using word processing software?
• How does the use of word processing software affect the organization in student writing?
• How does the use of word processing software editing and revision in student writing?
• What kinds of technology application training will be provided to the students and educators?
• Will the use of the computer be integrated into writing in everyday settings?
• How will the uses of this technology effect student motivation?
• Are students more inclined to participate in a lesson when technology is used?
• Does the use of technology help students retain the information longer?

It appears that most of my research questions are qualitative by nature. By researching how word processing changes student writing I will be “gathering data on naturally occurring phenomena (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008).” I can also go into more detail by adding that most of my research questions will be interactive in that techniques are collected from my students in the classroom and reviewed to see what, if any, changes occur in their writing.

Phenomenology could also be an effective tool in data collection. By putting aside all preconceived notions about what my possible findings should be, I can then look at writing scores with a specified rubric to review my findings.

As always feel free to provide some input here. Thanks to you all for your posts, once I read through all the research questions it really got my creative juices flowing. I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on how to make these better or additional questions you may find interesting.

The Problem Statement

Hello all,

It is nice to be back with you all for another class. As always I like to make myself available to any of you for any help along the way. If you think I may be of assistance for anything, please do not hesitate to ask.

I am having a little anxiety about this class for a couple reasons. First, I do not want to pick a topic that is too narrow or too broad. Next, I want my topic to interest me for more than a week or so, (short attention span, another draw back of being the male gender). And finally, I wanted my topic to be important and relevant to me and my school district.

After awhile I decided to look at writing scores and how technology influences these scores. I would also like to implement a component that looks at standardized testing in relation to technology, but I can not figure a way to work it in.

My Problem Statement
I plan to determine the difference in writing scores among sixth graders between those who use technology to write with and those who do not.

• Who: Sixth Graders
  
• What: Taught writing with technology; Write using technology
  
• Why: determine the influences of technology on writing

Feel free to offer any suggestions or comments here. I always like hearing feedback on how I can make my work better. If you forsee any complication I may have overlooked, please let me know.

Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology - Final Thoughts

At the beginning of this course I contested that there was a place in our 21st century schools for the traditional cognitive learning theory. I stated that this operative learning style was a conditioning that humans naturally progress to obtain new information. Similar to Pavlov’s dog humans generally are attracted to positive rewards and try to stay away from punishment. I also contended that the multiple learning styles also have a place in our schools today. While the traditional learning theory may be great for classroom management the learning styles are great for helping students obtain information better. As a teacher it is important to develop several ways to present our lessons to appeal to these learning styles. This is the only way we can reach the most students.

I also stated that there are always going to be those students who get all the information no matter what and these students will always get high marks. It is thorough multiple intelligences that we can reach the rest of the students, the ones I like to call tweeners. Tweeners are students that are in between a B and an A, or a C and a B. These students are on the border of the next grade. If through multiple intelligence teaching I can push my students up one or two levels, then for me multiple intelligences will be worth.

A goal for me is to continue the development of the multiple intelligences theories in my lessons. I hope to be able to reach as many students in my classes as possible. I will continue to research and find new ways to present my material to appeal to as many students as possible through the use of cooperative learning and technology.

Another goal for me is to look at my records over time to see if progress is being made. By looking at my grade books, building unit scores, and MEAP scores over time I can see if my practices are paying off for my students. I know many teachers reject these standardized tests and criticize them harshly, but as long as our students have to take these tests, teachers may as well use the information we get from these tests.

Overall, I learned a great deal from this course about how the brain works and learns and many different ways to appeal to the brain in learning. I also learned a great deal of ways to implement teaching strategies that will appeal to many different learning styles. Most importantly these teaching strategies do not completely change my old way of doing things rather it simply adds a few changes that make the lessons appeal to more students. By making these small modifications perhaps I can reach more of my “tweeners”.

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

First off I have to say I had a blast making this voice thread. I think that I if had so much fun doing this than my students will too. I do have to say, however, that there are a lot of things my students can do that are fun, but are not school related or educational. I think the key to these voice threads is that they are educational, thought provoking, and require the students to really get involved with the project.

Check out my voice thread by clicking here

For my voice thread I thought of a problem that I have been having since the beginning of the year with my sixth graders. I am new at teaching the sixth grade so there are a lot of issues I was not prepared to handle. Probably the biggest difference between my high schoolers from last year and my sixth graders is their organization. My sixth graders will walk into class with nothing and when I would ask them to get out a book or paper, they all would stand up and go get their books and paper, others would be asking for a pencil, and still some would be going to the sharpener. It took some time for me to get my students prepared. At first, I thought I could just tell them to come prepared. That did not work. Finally I realized these kids needed to be shown how to be prepared and instructed every step of the way. I also quickly realized that I needed to maintain this behavior with reinforcement of positive and negative behavior.

Click Images to Enlarge

Here are a few screen shots of a voice thread I have made to reflect the issues I was having along with some solutions, and finally my expectations. As I mentioned at the top of this blog, I had a blast making this thing. I created all the graphics in publisher, using paint to create all my graphics. I added clip art characters and furniture to portray my classroom. I made three pictures; one with a disorganized class, one with an organized desk, and one as an organized class. I saved each of these documents as a PDF, then uploaded them to the voice thread site. I got a cheap pair of headphones with a mic on them for six dollars at Wal-Mart and used them to record my voice. (Plus I feel like a pilot wearing them.)

To make this an educational assignment would be easy. Students could use it to do any of the following:
· Use it to record poetry
· Collaborate on creative writing projects.
· Discuss the branches of the government
· Compare different types of government
· Show the steps to solve mathematical problems
· Show the step of how a bill becomes a law
· Show the growth process of a human embryo

These are just a few things I came up with from a quick brainstorm. I tried to think of a couple for each core subject area, but one could easily develop a voice thread for physical education, health, or any other subject. The key is that your students connect to it on a personal level. This will insure a deeper understanding of the subject matter.

I hope you enjoyed this blog and voice thread. I am curious to see how you are, or plan to, use these thing in your classes. Feel free to give me feed back on how to use them or possible obstacles I may have not thought of. Also, let me know about your ideas.

Thanks

Constructivism and Constructionism Relating to Technology

When I began to brainstorm instructional strategies that relate to generating and testing hypotheses that relate to constructivism I really got off to a slow start. As I began to recall Dr. Michael Orey’s video segment Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories I remembered the PowerPoint and Microsoft Publisher ideas. Then I began to brainstorm some ideas of my own with a little help from my Walden colleagues on the discussion board. Then, it seemed, that the flood gates opened and I ended up having a hard time deciding what idea to focus on for the basis of this blog. Instead of focusing on only one idea, I decided to go over several options and perhaps I can give back a few ideas to my colleagues.


The Essential Question


The main component to a constructed artifact is the essential question. This question is important because it gives the assignment direction and drives the research. It gives the assignment focus because it “allows students to spend more time interpreting the data rather than gathering the data," (Marzano, 2007). The essential question is important because the World Wide Web is so vast, I believe that many students feel overwhelmed when doing research. Think of the essential question as your topic sentence of an essay. It sets the tone, and gives the reader the main idea of what the writer is trying to say.

Guide Your Students

Guide your students so they can navigate the sometimes overwhelming World Wide Web. Offer web sites where students can find valuable and accurate information. I think that in many cases students find the amount of information on the web so massive they have a hard time getting through all of it and finding exactly what they need. If the instructor gives a few web sites that can lead the students in the right direction it will save a lot of time and frustration for the student.
I also believe that many students get frustrated with the technology one uses to convey their findings. Many times Power Point or Excel is too complicated for a student to be able to use. Giving tutorials and simple easy-to-follow directions can help with this to some degree; however, this is a big obstacle when dealing with technology.


The Founding Fathers

Constuctionism pioneer Jean Piaget laid the foundations for ideas on how children learn. Seymour Papert later developed mathematical programs to help students visualize and create designs based on complex mathematics expanding the research the Piaget started. (Click on the photos to read about Piaget and Papert)

Constructionism in the 21st Century Classroom

When you combine these founding fathers of constructionism with the use of technology as we know it today, the possibilities are exciting.

Here are a few ways students can construct an artifact.

• A social studies class could benefit by dividing up a class into three groups and assigning each group a branch of the American government and have students detail each section on a Web page, wiki, PowerPoint, or Google.docs. Later in the year you could divide these into groups again for the Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs.
• A language arts teacher could have a collaborative creative writing process in google.docs where students collaborate on a fictitious story all online. They could also create an on-line biography where each student in a group takes a part of a famous person's life and posts it in a separate section or Web page.
• Students could also create a Web page, blog, wiki, or PowerPoint to present their findings from a virtual field trip. They could explore the Australian Reef and describe the animal and plant life that sustains life on the reef.
• Lynda Donovan’s idea on using publisher to make books about novels and poems with photos from the internet is also a wonderful idea.

Final Thoughts

All these ideas give students ownership in an artifact that they construct. It is believed that when students build they get a deeper more in-depth understanding of the material. The use of technology gets the students involved with computers which most kids are already interested in. These are just a few ideas from a quick brainstorm, I am sure after talking with colleagues it would be easy to develop other ideas for other subjects. Let me know what you think about some of these ideas. How could they be better? What are some obstacles I may have not considered? What are some other subjects that these can be used for?
Thanks for looking at my blog! I hope you enjoy it!

Resources

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program seven. Constructivist and constructionist theories. [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Marzano, Robert. Using Technology with classroom instruction that works. denver: Mid-continent for learning and reasearch, 2007.

Cognitivism in the Classroom - Make it Stick

I remember my note-taking days in high school and my early days in college. I would write feverishly to get all the valuable information then come test time I would look through my notes and nothing would look familiar and I was unable to recall any of the lessons from my professors. As I have grown both as a student and as a teacher and gained knowledge of the cognitive process I realize that there is no one way to take notes, but that each individual should develop a way to take notes that will be the most effective for the individual. All this sounds great, right? Well, not really. Now comes the hard part. Teachers and their students need to determine the best way to take notes for each individual. Determining this can take a long time and unfortunately often it is only through trial and error that one can determine his or her best way to take notes. Once you find the best way for your students they can have a better chance at retaining important information.

I remember reading the Outsiders. As a struggling reader by the time I was done with the first chapter I had already lost track of all the characters. With the frustration of not knowing how each character related to one another it was not long before I just gave up reading. Now a simple diagram of the characters can help with the mental organization. The character Trait Note-Taking Template Created in Inspiration mentioned in chapter six of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works by Roberts Marzano. This is a great way for students to create summaries and notes for material that otherwise would be too complex for your visual thinkers to grasp. This is just one example of how to use it. I could imagine this would also be great for biology to diagram cells or mathematics to show the process of the acronyms Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally and F. O. I. L.

Here is a Screen Shot of an InSpiration web
with the charactrers of The Outsiders
(Click to Enlarge)

Inspiration is also a wonderful tool because it takes the diagram and turns it into an outline. Outlines are important in your writing courses to help students arrange their essays so their paragraphs stay on topic. With the click of a mouse you can arrange a brainstorm into an outline making the two most challenging components of the essay easier than ever. Again, writing courses are not the only application for this program. Use it for history to arrange a time line with important dates or to show the growth stages for a frog embryo before you virtually dissect it.

Here is an outline version of the above web.
This was created with one mouse click!
Simple?! I know!
(Click to Enlarge)

I hope you have an opportunity to explore this wonderful program and see its many uses in the classroom. I am also interested to see how you are using Inspiration and your success stories about how you were able to reach that student for the first time! Feel free to mention some of your less than successful stories as well. Remember “one learns little from success, and much from failure.” (Man I need to stop eating at Chinese places.)

Multiple Intelligences vs. Behaviorist Theory

I believe that the traditional behaviorist theory has taken a lot of negative press lately especially with the increase research and knowledge we have regarding multiple intelligences. I do believe, however, that the traditional behaviorist theory still has a place in our classrooms. I think that if we abandon this traditional teaching method we will abandon those students who learn this way. I think that with a combination of this traditional behaviorist method of teaching combined with other teaching strategies that appeal to other learning styles will be the best way to reach the most possible students.

One particular are that I think the behaviorist theory is useful for is something like multiplication facts. This is best accomplished by root memorization and repetition. This is supported by the theories of Thorndike and Skinner who believed that through stimulus response and operant conditioning you can teach the mind to recall this information quickly, (Behaviorist Orientation, 2009). This method essentially is the classical conditioning discovered by Pavlov and his dog. This is also common in athletes who are training for a specific sport or event. They repeat these movements to get a desired result which is to swim faster, bike faster, and to run faster.

B. F. Skinner - Click on Photo to read a summary of his research.

I think that many students would be left behind if we abandoned this method of
teaching. These are your learn by doing and your learn by listening kids. I also
think this appeals to your kids who have good memorization skills too. There
are, however, many instances that this traditional behaviorist theory is not
effective. Teaching history dates with this method can leave many students in
the dark. Your visual learners will not take anything from a boring lecture tell
all the dates or even a tiny, postage-stamp sized photo in an out-of-date
textbook. Instead show a larger than life photo on your LCD projector, or a
short film which can bring to life a historical event.

Multiple Intelligences Model
Click on the Model for summaries of each of the intelligences.

We all have those students that will understand all the material no matter what. These are the kids who are finished with the assignment before you are even done reading the directions. They are the ones whose papers you use as an answer key when you leave yours at home. These kids will be successful students no matter what. The students these different earning styles will appeal to and the ones I like to refer to as the “tweeners.” These are the students who need just a little push to move them to the next level.

I really believe that most teachers are reluctant to learn more about the different learning styles because they think they need to throw out everything they have been doing in the past. This is not he case, however. What we, as teachers, should be thinking is continue what we do wall, and make a few changes to appeal to more learning styles. I think we can reach more of those tweeners with a few small changes rather than a total overhaul of our lessons.

What are your experiences? What do you think? I would love to hear about your experiences both successes and failures.

References

Smith, M. K. (1999) 'The behaviourist orientation to learning', the encyclopedia of informal education, www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm, Last update: May 11, 2009.

Technology in the Classroom; Final Thoughts

Technology in the classroom - What's Next?

With the increase of technology in the world and the shrinking of our Earth in a global market our schools are forced to make some drastic changes in order to keep up with the ever-changing, increasingly competitive world.
I believe this course has developed my technological skills to a great degree. Often times when I start something new I find myself with the feeling of, the more I know the less I understand. I have come full circle with this feeling to the point where I really know how to blog, make podcasts, and start and maintain a wiki. As a teacher these are skills I can put to use in my classroom right away.
I have deepened my knowledge of the teaching and learning process in one significant way; I realize that there is a shift from teacher as an information giver to student as an information gatherer. The Role of the teacher is changing. The teachers of tomorrow will simply show where information can be found, what to do with it, and keep track of the student’s scores. I believe the traditional days of teacher lecture classroom are over.
I think the best way to expand my knowledge is to never stop searching for new ways to do things. Instead of totally revamping the old way, I try to find little changes to make as I go. This is a great way to find out what works and what does not. This is also a nice way to find out if the new technology will increase student’s achievement, which is my overall, number one goal.
My first long term goal is to continue to find new ways to implement technology in my classroom. This will include student collaboration projects with the technology I have in my classroom right now. It is great to think of all the things I can do if I had more gadgets, however, it is unrealistic to think that I will have all these things in the future. My next goal is to continue the fundraising efforts in my district to bring the new techno gadgets to our school. We have already raised enough money to put an LCD projector in every classroom, and we have plans for more items in the upcoming months. Perhaps, in the upcoming years I can have a smart board and a document projector to use in my classroom as well.
While schools districts remain rigid and tied to traditional beliefs, the responsibility of this technological shift falls in the laps of the teachers. On top of all the other things teachers have to do, this just gets tacked on the bottom of an already long list. But can we really afford not to take action?

21st Century Partnership Gaining Momentum

Another potenctially heated debate looms over U.S. educators

Studies show that U.S. students are falling behind their foreign counterparts when it comes to technological literacy. For years educators have realized the increased importance of integrating technology into the classroom. Until now no one has stepped forward to address this dilemma. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is spear heading the movement to take our students into the 21st century when it comes to technology here in the U.S.

This is an informative Web site with a clear mission to "serve as a catalyst to position 21st century skills at the center of US K-12 education by building collaborative partnerships among education, business, community, and government leaders." This group focuses on learning and thinking skills, ITC literacy, and life skills in an effort to prepare American children to become "effective citizens, leaders, and workers in the 21st century."

Although this sounds like a great idea that we all should be excited about joining, I find it frightening that only ten states are involved with this program. This partnership was founded in 2002 so it seems we have been aware of this pending discrepency of technology in our schools for a long time. So why are other states not getting involved?

We have all seen the forcast. If we do not take an proactive role in educating our students for the 21st century they will be forced to work 20th century jobs. Take a look at the Web site. What are your thoughts? Who should the bear burden of 21st education? Are teachers ready for another poorly funded federal or state mandate to be thrown on them? Can we afford not to be involved? Is it already too late?

Information comes from The Partnership for 21st Century Skills

Using Blogs in the Classroom

For a 6th grade Social Studies class a great weay to use a blog would be to have three groups discuss the three different groups of ancient Latin America: the Incas, the Mayans, and the Aztecs. Each group would be responsible for the history, technology advancements, other attributes of each culture.

The blog would serve as a way to obtain knowledge and share it with the rest of the class both online and to the class. This would be a great way to revamp the old book report or presentation into a real hands on class/group project.

This is also a great place for students to interact with each other and their teacher about specific topics. It also makes the content more interesting by using the internet to gather information about each civilization.

After the blogs are complete each group can present their blog to the class to share the knowledge they obtained.

Let me know how you think this blog would work and how you think it could be better!

Technology in the Classroom - What are you doing?

Have you recently received a new techno gadget in your classroom? Tell us how you are using it.

I find that as a teacher we are always asked to do more. How do we help the struggling students? How do we push the students who excel? How do we appeal to the different learning styles? What ways are we incorporating differentiated learning? With all the things we have to keep in mind teachers are now faced with the question many of us find simply terrifying: How are we implementing technology in the classroom?

With the newest phase of teaching dealing with technology our schools are writing grants and having fundraisers to get new technology in the classroom. But many teachers get this equipment and then think; this thing is really cool! How do I use it?

This blog is designed to help teachers share quick and easy ways to share what they are doing in the classroom in the realm of technology. So, how are you using your LCD projector? How are you using your ELMO, WhiteBoard, or other new fancy gadget. What is great about your new technology? What is horrible? Feel free to share your successes as well as you horror stories. I think we all can learn much from our victories and our losses!