I Just Keep Learning!

This course has really helped me both personally and professionally. We live in a technology rich environment and we need to prepare our students with the 21st century skills. David Warlick explained, “We live in a time of rapid change. We are preparing our kids for a future we can’t clearly describe” (Laureate Education, 2009).

The most striking revelation that I had from this course was that I have been underestimating some of my student's computer abilities. I was very nervous about letting the students do an open research project, but I was very surprised with how well it went. I was thankful to have a handful of students that did so well that they could help some of the less tech savvy students. I also enjoyed using the bookmarking site. It made it very easy for each of my students to get to the sites that I wanted them to use without having to save them on each of the computers or having to type the addresses in. I will definitely be using this site for my personal sites as well.

In the future I will be much more open to having my students research on the Internet. I would like to start working with the computers and Internet right from the beginning of the year. I would like to do the "Reliable vs. Unreliable" website check at the beginning of the year, therefore my students will know what to look for when deciding on what websites to use.

Throughout each course I have taken, I have learned a handful of tips and tricks for integrating technology. My goal is to continue to learn and integrate technology in the classroom even after I have completed my masters. I plan to continue to be a part of the technology focus groups in my school district. Another goal I have for myself, is to try something new (technology related) each year with my students. This year I started blogging with my students. Next year I would like to try using Photo Story with them.

Since we are preparing our students for an unpredictable future, we have to teach them how to learn and give them the opportunities and experiences. Technology has so much to offer; it's our job to teach the students how to navigate and use the information they find.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Website Evaluation

In this assignment we had to do a think aloud that would evaluate the reliability and validity of a website on the Internet. I used the Jing online screencasting software to create both a visual and audio recording of the website documenting the different sections while navigating through the site. I also used the ABCs guide to evaluating information on the Internet while evaluating the website. Below is the link to the recording

Click Here for Evaluation

Reflection

After looking back at my "Personal Learning Theory" that I developed in the first week of this course there are not any major modifications that I would make. I did not and still do not agree with any one complete theory. My personal theory of learning involves bits and pieces of a few of the different theories. My theory incorporates some of the behaviorist theory, constructionist/constructivist theory, and the social learning theory. “Different people can look at the same thing and see it in very different ways” (Lever-Duffy and McDonald, 2008). I believe that every child learns in their own distinct way. However, I do believe that it is the most memorable lessons and activities that the students’ participate in that they remember for the rest of their lives. It is the lessons that are meaningful, relevant to them, and that are hands-on that the students gather the most from. Even though every student learns differently, it is important to understand your own personal learning theory before you can establish a teaching theory. “As an educator, awareness of these differing views helps you understand the options you have in approaching the design of an instructional event and, indeed, the entire learning environment” (Lever-Duffy and McDonald, 2008).

Even though I do not feel I need to change my "Personal Learning Theory", this has definitely been one of my favorite classes that I have taken so far. I have learned so many new ways to use technology as an instructional tool as well as a learning tool. From SmartBoard abilities, VoiceThreads, Podcasting, to PowerPoint and wonderful websites there are so many possibilities and ways to integrate technology into the classroom.

The adjustments that need to be made, unfortunately can not be made on my part. The changes that need to be made are to have more access in school to the technology that is out in the real world that the students may be working with in the future, as well as TIME. Time for me to use the technology as well as time to properly teach the students how to use it and giving them adequate amounts of time to work with it. The two tools that I would like to begin working with in my classroom are VoiceThread and Podcasting. Allowing the students the chance to share something both orally and in a typed manner is another way to get them excited about their work. When I tell the students that they will get a chance to share their work using one of these technologies, they get very excited and seem to try harder and put more effort into their work.

One reason I think they try harder and are more motivated when I offer them the opportunity to use the computer is because they do not get to use it very much. One long term goal that I have is to give the students the opportunity to use different forms of technology to present their work once a quarter. Technology can be used in so many ways and throughout the subjects, therefore, I would like to try integrating it not just with a writing assignment but also creating an artifact in Science, Social Studies, Math and Reading. Showing the students that the computer can do so much will hopefully get them wanting to learn more, just like me!

Another long term goal I would like to work on is instructional technology. I would like to do less of the talking/teaching and allow the technology to do more. However, it is important to know that technology should not become the teacher. It should be used as a tool to assist the teacher. The students to do not respond well when the teacher lectures, however they need to know that they have a human for a teacher and not just a computer. There are so many possibilities using technology and Internet that I never knew about and I know that there is still so much that I do not know. It is important to get the students involved while teaching. Having the students come up and interact with the technology and having them show their work or how to work a problem using the document camera (or if you're lucky enough to have a SmartBoard) is very beneficial to that student as well as the other students. Anytime you can get the students up, moving, talking, and being involved will help them retain the information that is being taught.

Technology is all around us! It is time that we start preparing our students for their future with technology using 21st century tools. There are so many possibilities when using technology. I feel that I am very up on technology but there is still so much that I don't know. Don't be scared of technology or shy away from it. It's important to embrace technology and use it to its fullest capabilities.

My VoiceThread

Here is my VoiceThread. Please post comments because I'm curious to see what you think about how to administer Reading tests in 4th grade.


http://voicethread.com/share/785856/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Chapter 7 Cooperative Learning is full of wonderful strategies to use that incorporate the idea of Social Learning. Social Learning is defined by Dr. Orey as, "students who are engaged in constructing artifact and conversing with others" (Laureate Education, 2009). I totally agree that getting students involved and talking is very important to their learning. My first year teaching I was given a poster with this information on it and I have had it hanging in my room ever since:

We retain:

10% of what we read
20% of what you hear
30% of what we see
50% of what we see and hear
70% of what we talk about with others
80% of what we experience personally
95% of what we teach to others

I point this poster out at the beginning of year and explain to all of my kids how important it is for them to get involved in their education. "When students work in cooperative groups, they make sense of, or construct meaning for, new knowledge by interacting with others" (Johnson, Johnson, & Staane, 2000).

Chapter 7 has many wonderful ideas of how you can get students actively discussing their learning. One strategy is using Numbered Heads Together. This is a strategy that I am already using in my classroom. My school district has adopted the Max Thompson Learning Focused concept and using Numbered Heads was one of the big strategies that he focuses on. I have a picture of a clock on each of the students desks. There is a line at 12, 3, 6, and 9. On each line there is a students name. The 12 and 3:00 appointments are someone right at their table. The 6 and 9:00 appointments are someone in the classroom. When I want the students to work in partners I tell them which appointment to meet with and they know exactly who to go to. If I don't have a lot of time I'll choose 12 or 3 since the students don't have to move. This is a great way to get the students talking and moving when I want them to and it's done quickly and in an organized fashion.

In addition, it is important to have the students talk about and summarize what they are learning every so often during the lesson. You should not just wait till the end and then summarize what they learned. Max Thompson suggests you have them "do something" whether it be an activity or talking after their age plus two in minutes. So for example, if they are 9 and 10 years old, every 12 minutes or so they should be talking or doing something. This helps the students retain the information.

All of the suggestions that they gave in the book were excellent ways to get the students actively talking while being engaged at the same time. The more the students use what you are teaching them, the better chance they have at remembering it.

Constructivism In Practice

I agree with, and teach using the Constructionist Learning Theory. “The Constructionist theory builds on the Constructivist theories of Jean Piaget, asserting that knowledge is not simply transmitted from teacher to student, but actively constructed in the mind of the learner” (Orey, 2001). I believe that it is very important for the students to be actively involved in their learning and having the students “create” an artifact is a perfect way to get them involved. I agree with Dr. Orey when he says that constructionism is a “theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact of something they can share with others” (Laureate Education, 2009).

In Chapter 11 Generating and Testing Hypotheses, there are many examples of how students can use technology in order to create a final project. "Technology can play a vital role in generating and testing hypotheses because new developments in probeware and interactive applets allow students to spend more time interpreting the data rather than gathering the data - a processing that can be tedious and error prone" (Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). They go on to give many examples of how allowing students to use a spreadsheet can help them to prove their hypothesis. Not only can students use spreadsheets to incorporate technology in proving a hypothesies but, "Simulation software also can provide incredibly engaging learning environments, resulting in increased motivation and retention in learning" (Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007).

There are so many posibilites when using technology. This is a technology rich environment and according to Miss Donovan, “Their future is technology and they have to know how to use this in many different formats” (Laureate Education, 2009). As teachers, we need to give the students as much exposure to technology and its abilities as possible. Allowing students to create a project using the computer will help them to retain the information that they are being taught. Following the constructionist/constructivist approach, our focus needs to be on the students being active and engaged in the constructing of artifacts.

Cognitivism in Practice

Dr. Orey states that, "Cognitive learning theories revolve around information processing" (Laureate Education, 2009). In Chapter 4, Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers, the idea that advanced organizers "are structures that teachers provide to students before a learning activity to help them classify and make sense of the content they'll encounter, particularly new content that is not well organized in its original format"(Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). When using an advanced organizer the "higher-level" or "essential" questions should be in the center node and then from that you should branch off with facts or ideas you learned from the lesson. Creating this type of organizer is a great visual representation used to summarize what the students have learned from the lesson. In addition, it is important to have the students summarize not only at the end of the lesson, but also throughout the lesson. Having the students work on the organizer throughout the lesson will help to ensure that they are understanding the concept as you are going along rather than getting to the end and finding out they don't understand it.

In Chapter 6, Summarizing and Note Taking, "The instructional strategy summarizing and note taking focuses on enhancing students' ability to synthesize information and distill it into a concise new form" (Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). When taking notes it is important to organize the information in a way that is easy to refer back to and understand. In this chapter, they mention many different techniques to use when taking notes, such as: Microsoft Word and the AutoSummarize feature, Inspiration, Wikis and Blogs. Taking notes is difficult for students as it seems they like to write down everything exactly as they see or hear it. Using these techniques and with a lot of practice, eventually the students should be able to learn how to summarize and pull just the most important information to include in their notes. It is important that they have the most important ideas since the short term or working memory can "only process 7 plus or minus 2 pieces of information at one time" (Laureate Education, 2009).

The idea of Cues, Questions, Advanced Organizers and Summarizing and Note Taking correlate with the principles of the cognitive learning theory. All of these help to organize and internalize the information that is being taught for an easier retrieval at a later time.