Link to Webquest
http://techwide1012.weebly.com/
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
Final Reflection
Part One
i was able to meet course objective number one, which is to design meaningful
and authentic digitally based learning experiences with multiple and varied
assessments, by producing a digital story through animoto and a webquest through weebly. Completing these projects helped me realize that students can learn can learn about a subject matter in different ways, through visuals, videos, music, and conducting their own research. Before taking this class, I did not realize how important it is to teach students using approaches that appeal to different learning styles. However, while working on my projects, I found myself trying to use strategies that appeal to different learning styles. I soon realized that my future students would be looking for that one approach that appeals to their own learning style. When they find it, they will pay more attention to my presentation, and as a result, they will learn the material I am presenting to them better.
While designing my webquest and digital story, I looked for standards to follow, as I realized these are essential to use while conducting school presentations. However, I also realized these are vital for me to follow in order to help me organize the material I am presenting and to ensure that I am teaching students age/grade level appropriate material. Thus, designing these projects helped me realize course objective four which is to illustrate through application how state and national standards are implemented within the curriculum (e.g., Common Core, NH Curriculum Frameworks, ISTE (NETS-Teacher/NETS-Student) and NH-ICT Literacy Standards for K-12 Students (Ed 306.42)). Before taking this course, I did not realize that state standards can not only act as a guideline to use when planning a lesson but can also help a teacher create a lesson. By reading the Common Core Standards for eight grade social study students, I realized that I wanted part of my lesson for my webquest focus on the just causes of war. As a result, through reading the Common Core Standards for eigth grade social study students, I was able to create an activity that correlated with one of those standards.
By conducting research on various tools such as haiku decks, padlets, tagxedo, and prezi, I was able to gain an understanding of them. This helped prepare me to achieve course objective number five which is to d emonstrate an
understanding of the use of assistive and adaptive technologies and other
digital resources to personalize and differentiate learning activities for every
student. Before taking this course, I did not realize that there existed so many tools which can assist in personalizing and differentiating learning. However, by studying how to construct surveys on the internet, how to do different presentations, and how to create a word cloud, I found ways to differentiate and personalize learning.
Finally, my interview with Professor Sullivan helped me achieve the final course objective which is to turn theory into practice by completing 5 hours of related field experience. By interviewing Patti, I realized there are challenges of teaching technology to school children,especially teaching them digital ettiquette and teaching tools which are not too easy or difficult for students to learn. Yet, I realized that these obstacles can be overcome with patience, dilligence, and a positive attitude from the technology teacher.
While designing my webquest and digital story, I looked for standards to follow, as I realized these are essential to use while conducting school presentations. However, I also realized these are vital for me to follow in order to help me organize the material I am presenting and to ensure that I am teaching students age/grade level appropriate material. Thus, designing these projects helped me realize course objective four which is to illustrate through application how state and national standards are implemented within the curriculum (e.g., Common Core, NH Curriculum Frameworks, ISTE (NETS-Teacher/NETS-Student) and NH-ICT Literacy Standards for K-12 Students (Ed 306.42)). Before taking this course, I did not realize that state standards can not only act as a guideline to use when planning a lesson but can also help a teacher create a lesson. By reading the Common Core Standards for eight grade social study students, I realized that I wanted part of my lesson for my webquest focus on the just causes of war. As a result, through reading the Common Core Standards for eigth grade social study students, I was able to create an activity that correlated with one of those standards.
Finally, my interview with Professor Sullivan helped me achieve the final course objective which is to turn theory into practice by completing 5 hours of related field experience. By interviewing Patti, I realized there are challenges of teaching technology to school children,especially teaching them digital ettiquette and teaching tools which
Part Two
Why is it important for all teachers to integrate technology into the lessons they teach, regardless the age of the students or genre that they teach? Or is it?
I think it is important for all teachers to integrate technology into their lessons because technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our society.One of the reason I think technology is so prevalent in our society is because it helps us become independent learners. As the author of the article 10 Reasons Why Educators Should Encourage Independent Learning mentions, students become real learners when they can solve problems for themselves. Thus, education should encourage students to go beyond simply memorizing facts and instead help them to become problem solvers, Technology helps students to achieve this goal by presenting them with tools that challenge their critical abilities. A big challenge for integrating technology into the classroom is alluded to in the article Shaping Technology in the Classroom. Teachers accustomed to more traditional or conservative ways of educating children might not be open to the types of lessons technology offers to students. They might be uncomfortable with the fact that technology encourages students to become independent learners. However, as the blog A Principal's Reflection states the goal of education should be to encourage students to become active learners, so they can develop practical skills that will help them cope with the challenges of the outside world.
Discuss what may be barriers to technology integration and how you as the teacher can overcome them.
I think the biggest barrier is helping teachers and other educators realize that technology is not a threat to their teaching practices. As author of the blog post What does technology integration mean? states, technology is a tool which supports the content of the class. Therefore, the teacher can use technology to help teach the content but that does not mean that he or she has to abandon traditional teaching practices. An area of concern that this article focuses on is the problem of knowing what skill level their students are at in regards to technology. By conducting pre-assessments or surveys, teachers will have a strong idea of what their students skill levels are and what areas of technology they can focus on to assist with their learning. Image Source
Part Three
In this course, I started to create my own Personal Learning Network by communicating my ideas and reflections of technologies through blogs. Blogs helped me to reflect and form my own ideas about various issues regarding technology. However, they also served as a tool where my classmates could comment on my ideas and reflections and help me gain other perspectives regarding technology. I also benefited from reading other students blogs. Even though the blogs primarily consisted of writing doen my reflections and ideas, I also learned about technology through finding images, recording my voice on audioboo, and producing a digital story. These were reflections that were done by using another medium (different from writing), but I believe they were effective for precisely that medium. They helped challenge my insights. Also, since I put them on my blogs, I was able to gain valuable feedback and insights from my classmates. I also from reviewing their own work. As a result, I think I was able to create my own Personal Learning Network by being encouraged to reflect on issues regarding technology by my teacher. Using blogs to write down and record my experiences helped me organize my thoughts. What was equally important for me as a learner was to share my ideas with my classmates and to read, hear, and see their own ideas. Through this process of sharing, I was able to expand my horizons as a a learner and this greatly developed/enhanced my own Personal Learning Network.
Image Source
Why is it important for all teachers to integrate technology into the lessons they teach, regardless the age of the students or genre that they teach? Or is it?
I think it is important for all teachers to integrate technology into their lessons because technology is becoming more and more prevalent in our society.One of the reason I think technology is so prevalent in our society is because it helps us become independent learners. As the author of the article 10 Reasons Why Educators Should Encourage Independent Learning mentions, students become real learners when they can solve problems for themselves. Thus, education should encourage students to go beyond simply memorizing facts and instead help them to become problem solvers, Technology helps students to achieve this goal by presenting them with tools that challenge their critical abilities. A big challenge for integrating technology into the classroom is alluded to in the article Shaping Technology in the Classroom. Teachers accustomed to more traditional or conservative ways of educating children might not be open to the types of lessons technology offers to students. They might be uncomfortable with the fact that technology encourages students to become independent learners. However, as the blog A Principal's Reflection states the goal of education should be to encourage students to become active learners, so they can develop practical skills that will help them cope with the challenges of the outside world.
Discuss what may be barriers to technology integration and how you as the teacher can overcome them.
I think the biggest barrier is helping teachers and other educators realize that technology is not a threat to their teaching practices. As author of the blog post What does technology integration mean? states, technology is a tool which supports the content of the class. Therefore, the teacher can use technology to help teach the content but that does not mean that he or she has to abandon traditional teaching practices. An area of concern that this article focuses on is the problem of knowing what skill level their students are at in regards to technology. By conducting pre-assessments or surveys, teachers will have a strong idea of what their students skill levels are and what areas of technology they can focus on to assist with their learning. Image Source
Part Three
In this course, I started to create my own Personal Learning Network by communicating my ideas and reflections of technologies through blogs. Blogs helped me to reflect and form my own ideas about various issues regarding technology. However, they also served as a tool where my classmates could comment on my ideas and reflections and help me gain other perspectives regarding technology. I also benefited from reading other students blogs. Even though the blogs primarily consisted of writing doen my reflections and ideas, I also learned about technology through finding images, recording my voice on audioboo, and producing a digital story. These were reflections that were done by using another medium (different from writing), but I believe they were effective for precisely that medium. They helped challenge my insights. Also, since I put them on my blogs, I was able to gain valuable feedback and insights from my classmates. I also from reviewing their own work. As a result, I think I was able to create my own Personal Learning Network by being encouraged to reflect on issues regarding technology by my teacher. Using blogs to write down and record my experiences helped me organize my thoughts. What was equally important for me as a learner was to share my ideas with my classmates and to read, hear, and see their own ideas. Through this process of sharing, I was able to expand my horizons as a a learner and this greatly developed/enhanced my own Personal Learning Network.
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Field Experience Report
For my field experience report, I was fortunate enough to interview Patti Sullivan. Patti Sullivan is a dedicated educator who has vast experience teaching technology to university and middle school students. She has a M.ed at Plymouth State University and served as a director of their technology program. She currently teaches students at the Derry Cooperative School District and at Southern New Hampshire University. Please find below a list of questions that I asked Patti about her experience. Her response is recorded after each question.
1. How long have you been teaching technology to students for?
In a perfect world, everyone would use technology to enhance student learning. I am fortunate enough to combine Technology Standards on a daily basis in my Computer Technology Classroom (grades 6-8 and in undergraduate and graduate teachings at Southern NH University).
2. Do you do a diagnosis of students' knowledge and ability to use technology in your first class with them? Do you think conducting such an assessment can be useful? Why or why not?
When you can use a pre-assessment in teaching it clarifies the learning path. I often explain to students, "If your share what we know right now, we can move forward in a more direct manner." Specifically I've used Google Forms and the Google Add-On called Flubaroo to share the pretest, Flubaroo grades the pre assessment for me and the students receive an email of their results immediately (as long as you ask for the email within the survey). Another tool to use would be Roobric and Doctopus.
Image Source
3. Do you find it necessary to devote class time to ethical and social issues such as digital citizenship or digital foot printing? Why or why not?
Teaching is centered on student growth, and that means not just within your content area. Particularly in Middle School when students are learning to apply their elementary grade knowledge, students must prepare to apply safety to their digital lives. Simply in my classroom my students make their own Class Rules (they meet some standards while standing up and getting total buy-in from their fellow students and then they have to follow the Class Rules they've created). My added rule is usually, "Use the Grandmother's Friend filter" This means every piece of work (email, project etc.) has to receive insight or joy from their so-called grandmother's friend! Hopefully this points them away from some of the dark and stormy things using social media. Of course, I'm of the age that I could be their grandmother's friend so it seems to work out.
3. Do you find it necessary to devote class time to ethical and social issues such as digital citizenship or digital foot printing? Why or why not?
Teaching is centered on student growth, and that means not just within your content area. Particularly in Middle School when students are learning to apply their elementary grade knowledge, students must prepare to apply safety to their digital lives. Simply in my classroom my students make their own Class Rules (they meet some standards while standing up and getting total buy-in from their fellow students and then they have to follow the Class Rules they've created). My added rule is usually, "Use the Grandmother's Friend filter" This means every piece of work (email, project etc.) has to receive insight or joy from their so-called grandmother's friend! Hopefully this points them away from some of the dark and stormy things using social media. Of course, I'm of the age that I could be their grandmother's friend so it seems to work out.
4. Do you find students eager, intimidated, or indifferent about using
technology in class? How do you deal with these different "attitudes"?
Using technology uses skills yet also takes lots of time to figure things out. I'm certain my students feel they are skilled however haven't used much time to learn more. It's refreshing when I show students Bloom Taxonomy (see attachments and http://julietovar.edublogs.org/files/2011/05/blooms-taxonomy-1k4snjn.JPG) and let them know I expect them not to reside in the base level of "recall." Strategies come in to play when students begin applying what they know. Interestingly, it is often the student with learning disabilities who thrive here as often your Special Education are comfortable using different methods they've learned throughout their whole young lives. These students are not afraid to fail, and will keep trying. Something all of my students learn from (an Ah-Hah moment for everyone).
Using technology uses skills yet also takes lots of time to figure things out. I'm certain my students feel they are skilled however haven't used much time to learn more. It's refreshing when I show students Bloom Taxonomy (see attachments and http://julietovar.edublogs.org/files/2011/05/blooms-taxonomy-1k4snjn.JPG) and let them know I expect them not to reside in the base level of "recall." Strategies come in to play when students begin applying what they know. Interestingly, it is often the student with learning disabilities who thrive here as often your Special Education are comfortable using different methods they've learned throughout their whole young lives. These students are not afraid to fail, and will keep trying. Something all of my students learn from (an Ah-Hah moment for everyone).
5. Do you have a list of favorite technology tools to teach students? If so,
what are they? Do feel comfortable about changing the list of the tools you
teach?
I have a couple of tools I use to track my favorites. One is for my students at www.portaportal.com, guest access code: dcsd
The portal has a listing of all kinds of tools. It's seems a bit lengthy and unruly and students often use the "find" command to quickly key in on what they are searching for. The items on this portal follow the "Click 6" rule of thumb. I've opened the site, clicked in every link 6 times in from the HomePage. Students can ask me to add sites, and I do on a routine manner.
My second listing is in diigo.com. Lots of great tools and following a guru (such as Professor Tufts), can really add to your learning and teaching possibilities. I don't introduce diigo on a middle school level as I can't be sure who might follow the student (and who they might follow). This tool is terrific to use with a PLC\PLN.
I have a couple of tools I use to track my favorites. One is for my students at www.portaportal.com, guest access code: dcsd
The portal has a listing of all kinds of tools. It's seems a bit lengthy and unruly and students often use the "find" command to quickly key in on what they are searching for. The items on this portal follow the "Click 6" rule of thumb. I've opened the site, clicked in every link 6 times in from the HomePage. Students can ask me to add sites, and I do on a routine manner.
My second listing is in diigo.com. Lots of great tools and following a guru (such as Professor Tufts), can really add to your learning and teaching possibilities. I don't introduce diigo on a middle school level as I can't be sure who might follow the student (and who they might follow). This tool is terrific to use with a PLC\PLN.
Image Source
6. What advice would you give to teachers in other disciplines who are trying to implement technology in their lessons?
Wow! Get started! It will take longer than you think, however the engagement of your students is key. It's okay not to know everything about technology (any content area teacher will say this is not okay to know in their classrooms, and it's hard for them to be okay with not knowing everything).
If I had to, instead of purchasing notebooks, clipboards and pencils for my classroom, I would invest in a LCD projector , set of speakers and computer device (Chromebook, laptop) to use in any classroom. The ease of familiarity with technology is something you learn from doing. Students can help a teacher through the hard parts and in doing so, the classroom becomes a whole learning community versus one where direct instruction is the name of the game.
Latest trick: When using your computer\lcd projector, find the remote that goes with your projector. Press the "Freeze" button and the screen freezes for your classroom viewers.
6. What advice would you give to teachers in other disciplines who are trying to implement technology in their lessons?
Wow! Get started! It will take longer than you think, however the engagement of your students is key. It's okay not to know everything about technology (any content area teacher will say this is not okay to know in their classrooms, and it's hard for them to be okay with not knowing everything).
If I had to, instead of purchasing notebooks, clipboards and pencils for my classroom, I would invest in a LCD projector , set of speakers and computer device (Chromebook, laptop) to use in any classroom. The ease of familiarity with technology is something you learn from doing. Students can help a teacher through the hard parts and in doing so, the classroom becomes a whole learning community versus one where direct instruction is the name of the game.
Latest trick: When using your computer\lcd projector, find the remote that goes with your projector. Press the "Freeze" button and the screen freezes for your classroom viewers.
At first, I was a little intimidated about doing this project. Even though I thought it would be great to talk to a professional in the technology/education field, I was not sure how appropriate and relevant my questions were to the subject matter at hand. Also, since this was not going to be a face to face interview, I came to the realization that my questions had to be both specific and general. Patti was very courteous to me and even complimented me on the questions I asked her. She wrote back to me the next day and I thought she gave a great deal of thought to her answers. I could tell from her e-mail that she is very passionate about teaching. I think her students are very fortunate to have her as a teacher.
I really enjoyed interviewing Patti and believe that I learned a great deal of information on how to implement technology in the classroom. In the article Education Technology for Our Children, Wendy Sheard writes that it is important to pretest school children's ability to use technology because their skills differ from one another. If teachers are not aware of their students' different abilities with regard to teaching technology, they run the risk of teaching them information they already know or more advanced information that they are not yet prepared to learn. This seems to support Patti's belief that it is necessary to pretest students' technology abilities before teaching them. I also agree with Patti and Sheard because teachers need to know students abilities before they start teaching them because the class would be pointless if they learn skills that they already know or are too advanced for them. Since students' skills vary, a pretest is a sound approach to figure out where they are and what would be the most effective lessons to help them learn new technology skills.
I believe it is important to teach students digital citizenship and digital footprinting. As Patti says, teachers are responsible for their students' growth. I think it would be hard to find articles against teaching digital citizenship or digital footprinting, as the dangers of such issues as cyberbullying and identity theft is very apparent in our society. Since school children are young and vulnereable, they are the ones who would be most affected by these issues. Fortunately, web articles such as Digital Citizenship Using Technology Appropriately are available for educators to help teach their students about the dangers and responsibilities everyone should follow in order to make the internet a safe and secure place to communicate in. In a report called Maine Learning Technology Inititative, a study was conducted about student and teacher interaction regarding technology when eigth grade students were given wireless laptops. In the report, it was noted that students and teachers developed interactions with each other, as a result of the new technology being implemented in the classrooms. In many ways, this report re-echoed the responses that Patti gave to my last three questions. Patti says that students need to be aware that learning technology is a skill that takes a great deal of time and effort (response to question number three), and that interaction between teacher and student can help with students learning more educational tools (response to question number four) and can help educators new to the field teach technology effectively (response to question number five). I agree with Patti's response. I think developing student/teacher interaction is the ultimate determing factor when judging how effective technology is being implemented in the classroom.
I believe my field experience interview with Patti met the following course objectives for EDU 533:
Course Objective Number Two: Learn ways to promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding
EXPLANATION-I believe this course objective was met because Patti explained to me that she uses a website in which her students can list and provide information of their favorite technology tools. I believe this creates a wonderful environment in which students can reflect on technology tools that they were recently introduced to.
Course Objective Number Three-Demonstrate an understanding of safe, ethical, legal and moral practices related to digital information and technology
Explanation-I believe this course objective was met because Patti explained to me that she has students write down their own rules for digital citizenship and that she uses the "Grandmother Rule" to ensure that her students follow ethical policies for internet use.
Course Objective Number Six-Evaluate and
reflect on emerging tools and trends by reviewing current research and
professional literature
Explanation-I believe this course objective was met because Patti told me that she uses websites such as www.diigo.com to be sure that she keeps up to date with the latest technology developments.
I believe technology is continuing to develop and every year it is playing a more prominent role in our daily lives. I believe social media and social bookmarking websites give us the opportunity to share with each other new developments in technology.
I believe my field experience interview with Patti met the following course objectives for EDU 533:
Course Objective Number Two: Learn ways to promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding
EXPLANATION-I believe this course objective was met because Patti explained to me that she uses a website in which her students can list and provide information of their favorite technology tools. I believe this creates a wonderful environment in which students can reflect on technology tools that they were recently introduced to.
Course Objective Number Three-Demonstrate an understanding of safe, ethical, legal and moral practices related to digital information and technology
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Source of Images and Article for Animoto Video Project
Solar System (Image One)
Happy Birthday (Image 2)
Gravity Poster (Image 3)
Solar System (Image Six)
Mars (Image Seven)
the sun (image eight)
Mercury (Image 9)
Earth Image 10)
Venus (Image Eleven)
Mars (Image Twelve)
Mars' Surface (Image Thirteen)
Jupiter (Image Fourteen)
Saturn (Image Fifteen)
Neptune (Image Sixteen)
Uranus (Image Seventeen)
Ice Melting Point (Image Nineteen)
Asteroid Belt (Image Twenty One)
Comets and Interplanetary Dust (Image Twenty Two)Information on the Slides:
Solar System
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
COMMON CORE STANDARDS:
Craft and Structure:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.4
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
Determine the meaning of symbols, key terms, and other domain-specific words and phrases as they are used in a specific scientific or technical context relevant to grades 6-8 texts and topics.
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas:
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RST.6-8.9
Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
Compare and contrast the information gained from experiments, simulations, video, or multimedia sources with that gained from reading a text on the same topic.
ISTE NETS STANDARDS
1. Facilitate and inspire student learning
and creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter,
teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate
experiences that advance student learning,
creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face
and virtual environments.
a. Promote, support, and model creative
and innovative thinking and inventiveness
3. Model digital age work and learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work
processes representative of an innovative
professional in a global and digital society.
a. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems
and the transfer of current knowledge to new
REFLECTION ON DIGITAL STORYTELLING:
I found the experience of creating a digital story both challenging and rewarding. It was challenging for me because I had an idea for a lesson but wasn't sure whether I would find the appropriate images or music to tell my story. However, the experience of creating a digital story was rewarding because it gave me the opportunity to use a tool (technology) that students will probably find entertaing and interesting. It took me a few days to make my video, and there were times when I was rather frustrated with the process because it took me a while to develop my story. I was also frustrated because it took me a long time to find images that I liked. Sometimes, I found an image that I liked, but it was too small for the video and I had to replace it. Overall, though, I really enjoyed the experience and was happy with the final product. In order to make my digital story coherent, I found myself looking up and writing down information about the solar system that I did not know before. As a result, I was learning information about the topic that I am supposed to teaching while making my digital story.
DIGITAL STORYTELLING AS A TEACHING RESOURCE:
Two contributors to the website Educational Uses of Digital Story Telling made two points that helped me realize what a powerful tool digital storytelling is. One of the contributors, Daniel Meadows, said that digital storytelling could be used to teach any topic at any time. Although I am not sure that I can use digital storytelling to teach any topic, I understand and agree with his main point, which is that digital storytelling is very flexible. The other contributor, John Seely Brown, said that we are now living in a digital age, and that it is good we can use this tool, digital storytelling, as a means to reach students. I agree with this point because students, for the most part, seem to be fascinated with technology, and utilizing technology is a way we can make a subject matter more interesting for students.
The website Center for Digital Storytelling gave me new ideas on how valuable digital technology is as a tool for reaching out to people. By making videos of people from different cultures, digital storytelling gives us the opportunity to see the political and social situation, lifestyle and habits of different cultures. We cannot get this experience from just reading a book or magazine. We have to see interactions made between people in order to appreciate differences and similarities to our own culture. Digital storytelling can be used as a tool to accomplish this end.
OTHER DIGITAL STORY TOOLS
I looked at the website Educational Resources for digital storytelling and found interesting tools. One tool is called Slide Story. This site allows its users to not only add their own slides but to use their own voice to narrate their digital stories. Another interesting website that I came across is Pics List. This website gives its users the opportunity to use their preferred drawing as a background while they tell their story. Thus, users can give their videos unique presentations. There was also another website that I found interesting which was called Capzles. I really found this website interesting because users can write their own blogs in the digital story they are telling.
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