Final Reflection

After completing the readings, discussions, and watching the videos, my beliefs of how students best learn have been verified, but better yet, I have new tools to help me be a more effective teacher. My teaching philosophy centers around the belief that students need to make meaningful connections to what they are learning in order to build upon and retain information. Some of the tools that were introduced in this course will help me translate this philosophy into what I teach. The immediate changes I will make will be the use of technology as a collaborative tool. Students will learn from one another by utilizing tools that allow them to share, build projects, and understanding together.

Voicethread is a tool that I plan to incorporate into many different areas of my curriculum. I can see the value of this tool as a way to get students to be active learners and I am looking forward to using it with my students. Voicethread provides an opportunity for students to learn by using both visual and auditory tools which is key to student learning. The other tool that I plan to use with my students is Webspiration. I like the collaborative nature of this tool and the versatility it will provide for students while learning about and mapping out information for different topics.

One of my long-term goals that I have for my instructional practice is to make more of an effort to use technology as more of a learning tool and less of an instructional tool. Although I can see the value of using it as a learning tool, I can also see that it is even more important to get technology into the hands of students. This leads me to my second long-term goal. I will use technology as a way to incorporate more project-based learning where students are given the tools and freedom to be more active participants. It is important for students to develop an understanding of material through doing and creating and technology is a great way to do this!

Technology Brings us Together

Technology has allowed us to voice our opinions, seek help, research, share and socialize. Does it have a place in the classroom? Of course it does. For me the question is how? I feel pretty lucky to have what I do at the school I teach at. We have some pretty amazing Grant writers that work hard to get some of the latest and greatest technology. The problem with technology is that it is ever-changing, what is great one year, is out-dated the next. This can be very difficult to keep up with when you are working with limited resources.

The other problem that schools face is time, or lack thereof. As an educator I feel like every year there is more and more to do and teach. I enjoy learning about and using technology and I spend a fair amount of time at home doing things on the computer. There is very little time in the classroom to do what we are already doing. How do we add technology to the mix without taking away from other things? Check out my Voicethread to post your thoughts and comments about what life is like in your school or classroom and how you make it all work!

Voicethread Link

Instructional Strategies and Constructivism

Constructivism is a theory built from the Constructivist theories of Jean Piaget, who believed that knowledge is not just transmitted from teacher to student, but actively constructed in the mind of the learner (Orey, 2001).

As a teacher I have found a great amount of truth behind the Constructivist theories and how it pertains to learning. The projects that were described in our reading were excellent examples of how to get students to be active participants in their learning. I have tried similar Project Based Learning activities in my own teaching where students are given an expectation and the tools to achieve it, and have seen positive results....most of the time. There is a lot that can go wrong, but with proper planning these projects can have great results. I find that creating projects where students can't just sit back and daydream makes them be a part of the process. They develop a sense of ownership and make connections to things that I couldn't even begin to convey through directed instruction. Allowing students to creatively develop answers to questions and problems in their own way gets them excited and makes the experience much more meaningful.

Powerpoint, Excel, internet, Kidspiration....there are TONS of different applications available to use, but it doesn't matter what mode of technology is used to create the final artifact. What matters is that students are given the tools and freedom to find their own answers. Allowing students to have freedom to arrive at their own final product can be difficult for a few reasons. As the teacher, I must not only have a clear set of expectations and outcomes, but I must also have thought about all that could go wrong ahead of time. The other limiting factor is the amount of time in the computer lab that is needed to work on such projects. In the end though, the final artifact and the satisfaction that a students feels makes it all worth the extra effort. I've never had a student say they didn't enjoy doing such projects. Most of the time they aren't even aware of all they are learning!

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/index.php?title=Main_Page

Cognitive Learning Theories

Application 3 Blog:

Explain how instructional strategies correlate with the principles of cognitive learning theory.

Discovery leads to meaningful learning, which leads to creative productions (Novak & Cañas, 2008). That is the theory behind the instructional strategies introduced in this week’s readings. These strategies correlate with the cognitive learning theory because they allow students to explore and make connections to what they already know by allowing students to integrate the different senses. Using tools like spreadsheets and concept mapping helps students visualize rather than just read about information. This dual coding is an important aspect to storing information in long-term memory. Creating visualizations gives students a way to retrieve information from the network of information that they have stored. These strategies also allow students to make connections to prior knowledge and elaborate on this knowledge, which is also important to helping students learn and retain information.

Resources:

Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site:

http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/

TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

Behaviorism in Practice

Application 2:

Post your thoughts on how the instructional strategies described in the resources you explored this week correlate with the principles of behaviorist learning theory.

The behaviorist theory focuses on the role of stimulus and reinforcement in the learning process. Teachers have used this theory in a variety of different ways to teach students a variety of things. This weeks reading focused on reinforcement by showing students real information about themselves using a spreadsheet. The lessons used excel to show quick comparisons that allowed students to receive an immediate visual response. Both the immediacy and visual aspects of such activities are important factors in the effectiveness of the behaviorist theory.

Technology allows for versatility to help meet the different needs of the learners that exist in each classroom. It not only makes it easier to meet these needs, but it also makes it more fun. Technology has played a huge role in motivating my students. There is a sense of satisfaction that many students get from being able to do something new using technology, especially when they can show off their skills to a parent. These rewards all center around the Behaviorist Theory.

Final Reflection

In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills as a professional teacher?

This class has encouraged me to seek new ways to incorporate technology into my classroom. I have always enjoyed learning about and using technology with my students, but sometimes I lacked direction. I now have some clear ideas as to what skills I need to be focusing on to make learning relevant to my students’ lives.

In what ways have you deepened your knowledge of the teaching and learning process?

My knowledge of the learning process has deepened in that I have a better understanding of how important it is to include ways for students to share and find their own answers to relevant problems so that they can take ownership in what they learn. I have learned that technology can be used as a tool that will help them learn how to collaborate and investigate to arrive at a common goal.

In what ways have you changed your perspective from being teacher-centered to learner-centered?

My perspective has changed in that I now see how important it is for students to become the experts. It is my job to guide and help students understand how to use tools and learn the skills that will help them find and utilize information.

In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of learning, teaching, and leading with technology with the aim of increasing student achievement?

I will continue to seek different ways to help my students to gain the skills they need for the 21^st century by incorporating technology in all areas of my teaching. I will not rely on traditional teaching methods, but embrace, and share, ways to continue to teach lessons that allow for creative and collaborative problem solving methods using a variety of technology related tools.

Set two long-tem goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment by which you may have to overcome institutional or systemic obstacles in order to achieve them. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?

Two long-term goals that I have set for myself include creating a class wiki and implementing the use of podcasts. These two technology based tools allow students to learn and practice skills that are important 21^st Century skills. Before taking this course, my goals would have lacked focus on these skills. I now understand the concept of doing different things and doing things differently and the difference between the two. I plan to start out small with these two goals and develop a system over time that works through trial and error. I think the main obstacle that I will encounter will be adequate time and access to the technology. I will dedicate our time allotted in the computer lab to working on these projects.

This course has given me a much clearer understanding of the kinds of skills that I must focus on to help my students be successful 21^st Century learners. I am looking forward to using many of the tools that I learned about and watching my students grow from these experiences.

Podcast: 5th Graders and Technlogy

After gathering information and interviewing my 5th graders, I created a podcast that explained what I learned.

My first podcast!

Examples from 5th grade Blogs

Here is a link to my 5th grade blog site at Kidblog.org. Keep in mind I do not do any editing of their writing. Most of the responses to the blog that I posted for my Reading group were pretty thoughtful for this group of students. You can also look at some of the other blogs that students posted that linked to Glogster.com (another fun "bloglike" site). We were learning how to link to sites. Some of them also created Wordles from Wordle.net and learned how to upload images to their blogs. Earlier in the year when we first tried out blogging we did some things on the Winter Olympics and poetry. They loved being able to share some of the things they created! There isn't anything earth shattering to show, but I am proud of what we did! Let me know what you think!

Thoughts about Partnership for 21st Century Skills

The website Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21) is an overwhelmingly large resource of ideas, blogs, articles, lessons, videos, etc. for educators and schools looking to join the movement towards getting our students ready for the innovations of the real world. The site offers insight into the importance of the three Rs (English, reading or language arts; mathematics; science; foreign languages; civics; government; economics; arts; history; and geography.) and four Cs (critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration, and creativity and innovation) as well as a variety of tools and links to help educators understand what the Partnership is and how to support them through standards and curriculum. According to the website, the thinking behind this partnership stems from concerns of “a profound gap between the knowledge and skills most students learn in school and the knowledge and skills they need in typical 21st century communities and workplaces.”

What information on the site surprised you?

I was surprised by some of the negative comments that were written in some of the blogs. A few people seemed to be defensive about the need for such a program and were not fully convinced that it was a feasible project with all the other standards schools must focus on. Not everyone seemed to understand that “integration” meant that we would incorporate the three Rs and 4 Cs into what we are already doing, making it a part of the curriculum, not something completely new. I was also surprised to learn how many states have already joined the partnership.

Did you disagree with anything on the site? Explain.

This Partnership is something pretty new to me, so I have little to disagree with right now. As I learn more about what it all means to schools and educators like myself, my opinions may change.

What are the implications for your students, and for you as a contemporary educator?

As a contemporary educator it is important for me to keep up with the ever changing world that will eventually be welcoming students from my classroom. This means that staying aware of the skills and innovations that are going on in the working world and how it relates to the skills that I am teaching in the classroom will be very important. I will have to integrate many of the skills that students will need to be efficient, collaborative, and resourceful into the lessons that I teach in order to help students be successful in life.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone that posted ideas! Just the other day I had my 5th graders practice linking sites to their blogs. I asked them to find a website that contained information about the water cycle (we are studying Lake Ecology). This was no easy task, even after I demonstrated how to do it on my own blog. It really made it clear that it is important to teach blogging in steps. If we had more time this year, I think we could really do a lot with it! I think we will continue to use it this year as a way to write reactions to ideas and questions about our last science unit. It seems to be a great way to hold their attention for these last few weeks!

Blogging Ideas

I just recently tried blogging with my 5^th grade language students. I have set up an account through kidblog.org. It is a site that is very user-friendly as well as kid-friendly. It allows me to change the settings so that I can approve of all posts and comments before they are posted on the web. The only people that can see the blogs are the students in my class, they must login with a password.

My first attempt at using http://www.kidblog.org/ involved giving the students a prompt on my own blog and then asking them to respond or “comment”. My prompt asked them, “What is blogging and what rules should there be?" It was a great way to get an idea of what they already know about blogging as well as a way to help them get comfortable using the website. I learned right away that although most students had heard of blogging, they had no idea how to respond correctly, much like what the teacher in the video mentioned (Laureate DVD, 2008). Following this first attempt we engaged in many conversations while I modeled how to comment on a blog. On our second attempt, I had students post a favorite poem they had written. They were asked to read two other poems and leave appropriate feedback. Students were quick to catch on and looked forward to checking back to see what others had written.

Another idea I would like to try with my students would involve using their blog as a place to gather and post information about their favorite author. I would like to have them engage in posting their favorite author as well as information about them. This might include pictures, book lists, and links to sites that contain information they found useful. I would then like others to respond to the information by reading a book by the same author and giving feedback about what book they chose to read and why. I think it would be a great way to create a sort of reading circle that would not only inspire students to read, but would be a way generate enthusiasm about a new author while utilizing the conversation to help gain stronger comprehension skills.

DVD: Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society. Laureate Education, Inc. 2008

Hi! I am currently teaching 5th grade (only 17 days to go), but who knows what classroom I will be in next year. I am really motivated by technology and love trying out and learning new things, especially when it is something I can try out with my class. This year my fellow 5th grade teacher and I created a website to use with our students. It has turned out to be an extremely useful tool for lots of reasons. Parents love it because they can "see" into our classroom and look at schedules, homework, and pictures. Students love it because they can easily navigate sites that are pre-book marked. They also love seeing their work or pictures of things that they are doing in the classroom. Teachers love it for all of the same reasons. I have tried to entice others to try out a class website but I get the 'ol "I don't have time for that!" response. But I honestly think that if some of them gave it a try, they might get the "technology bug" too! Leave a post and tell me how what got you motivated to want to learn more about technology!