Spotlight on Emerging Technology: Online Learning in K-12 Schools for EDUC 6715

If you have problems viewing the VoiceThread, you can click here and it will take you directly to the VocieThread.

Reflection EDUC 6714

My plan for using the resources found in the differentiation station social network for EDUC 6714, is to continue to utilize them over and over. I plan to take the resources that apply most to me and my 7th grade class level and put them together in list form, save that document both in hard copy and electronic form. By doing this, I will always have a quick reference list/ go to list when planning, creating, and implementing new lessons, assessments and ideas for my classes. This will in turn help me to be a better, more well rounded teacher, by using both the resources on that list and everything I have learned about Universal design and Differentiated Instruction. If I use all three of those, there is no doubt I will be able to reach all of my students. Which, in turn will lead them to having more self-confidence and improved academic abilities including being able to learn and retain more information.

I will make a few adjustments to my instructional practices integrating technology as much as possible. First, I already feel that I do a good job of this, by trying to reach all my students. Next, I plan to look back at previous lessons and lessons for the rest of the year, to continue to look for ways to integrate more technology in to them. By offering my students more options and doing things like “flexible grouping,” and incorporating more usage of the electronic version of my textbook, students can “manipulate the text,” for better understanding and to fit their needs. Technology ideas to be used include Powerpoint, VoiceThread, blogs, wikis, podcasts, and even traditional poster boards. All of these will also include some sort of presentation to the class, either as individuals, in partners, or even groups that share similar interests. Another step is to try and write mini grants for funding to get more technology in to my room, including at least 2 computers. This will save in having to head to the lab or try to get lab time. Finally, I would like to continue to work with the 7th grade teacher to develop a curriculum that meets the needs of all of our students and make sure that we continue to do so.

I look forward to moving ahead with all of my newfound ideas, technologies, and resources that I have gained through this class. It makes me even more excited to see what is coming down the road technologywise an how to continue to meet the needs of my students using these new technologies. The days of the old style classroom are gone and we must continue to strive and prepare our students for the rest of the 21st century by using methods, ideas, and technology that will help prepare them for the rest of their lives!

References:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program Fourteen: Reaching and Engaging All Learners Through Technology [DVD]. Brain Research and UDL.. Baltimore, MD: Author.

GAME Plan Reflection EDUC 6713

I sat and thought about this post for awhile and even jotted some notes when stopping to reflect to gather up all the information I had taken in over the last 7 weeks. Like most of from my class, I have learned a lot and have taken away more than I ever anticipated. I looked back over assignments and blog posts from the last 7 weeks and my mind starts to race once again. How can I apply all this? Can I fit all this in? Are my students or other teachers going to think I'm nuts? Will parents think I have lost my mind because things are so much different now than when they went through school? These are all questions that I am not too worried about. Because of learning how to GAME plan, I will be able to map out better short term and long term goals not only for myself, but for my students as well. I have already saved a copy of both the NETS-T and NETS-S, to keep both at home and at school for referring back to frequently. I have not started back to school yet, but have already started setting things up and formulating rough drafts of GAME plans for the early part of the year.

As for adjustments to my instructional practice regarding technology integration, I already have saved different lesson plans, ideas and my content area unit plan from week 7. I have a bunch of new ideas to apply to lessons and units already developed from the last few years, but now have tools to attack them in a new way. Things I look forward to using include more project based learning assignments/projects, digital story telling, blogs, wikis, discussion boards and maybe even a VoiceThread or two! As if you can not tell by my typing, I am really excited about getting these things laid out and implementing them, provided I can the computer lab time. If not, I can still do some of them, plus with the digital story telling ideas, I could always have the students just present their story boards to the class.

Finally, I plan to revisit digital citizenship. I have hit it pretty hard in the past already, but plan to start right out of the gate, hopefully the second full week. Then, I plan to refer back to it/remind students before heading to the lab each time. I will also give reminders about educational networking and how it differs but is similar to social networking. I also plan to set up my own facebook page for my classroom - separate from my personal one, to help keep students and parents/guardians up to speed on assignments, projects, quizzes, etc.

Overall, I think this was a great class and have taken a lot away from it! Good luck to everyone!

Mike
:)

Using the GAME Plan Process with Students

When I first started into this class, I had no idea what a GAME plan was. Over time during this course, I have learned how to use the GAME plan, and have already started mapping out part of my year, based around some of the goals I have set for myself. I feel it is a great tool that can only help teachers improve on their work regardless of how long they have been a teacher. It does not matter if they are a 30-year veteran teacher or someone fresh out of college with their whole career ahead of them.

I really liked reading through the NETS-S for students and starting to think about how i could best utilize/ engage students into the process of meeting those standards. I came up with one simple, basic idea, lead by example. I know it may sound a little on the corny side, but here is the plan I came up with:

1. Take them out on the web and show them what NETS-S is, and also show them NETS-T, and explain how these are standards and proficiencies that we both need to meet and will work together on achieving.

2. Explain to students what a GAME plan is, and show them a few examples of my own.

3. Have students develop their own Game plans after showing them the NET-S.(I would make a classroom set of copies, that way each student would have one in front of them) Maybe even put it into a checklist format that way they could easily check off what they had done so far.

4. Monitor their progress weekly or biweekly, by having them pull their GAME plans back out and either check off or cross out what they had already accomplished. I would do the same with mine, projecting it up so they could see m progress as well.

This may all seem like a giant undertaking, but I feel I can start at the beginning of the year, it would be interesting as the year goes along to see students progress, as well as my own. Also, we could continue to modify and set our goals together, and basically grow together. Maybe this is all a little naive on my part, but this is the idea I am going to run with and look forward to any feedback and comments anyone would like to offer up.

Week 6: Revising Your GAME Plan

The biggest thing I have learned/figured out, is that I need to map out a timeline for my projects. This timeline would not just be for my students, but more or less for me when planning and try and coordinate that with available computer lab time. Without computer labs access, most plans would have to be reworked to accommodate those that do not have internet access outside of school. My plan if that was to happen would be to give students approximately 3-5 days to respond to question or an assignment posted online. This would allow those who do not have internet access time to get to a friends, local library, family members, etc., without having to do it by the next day. Any long term project at this point, without time in the lab, would be pretty much obsolete because of such circumstances.

Goals I would set for myself, would include:
1. Making sure there is a allotted time reserved in the lab for a project
2. Making sure that I meet my timeline set to be ready to be in the lab.
3. Making the most of the time in the lab that we have, so that little has to be done outside of school.
4. Continue to plan well, including making sure all accommodations for my students can be met.

Finally, I would want to make sure that I have everything set up including a list of websites and information readily available for all students. This could be setup through google docs, Blackboard, a wiki, or even a blog.

Again, I look forward to feedback from fellow colleagues as to what I may be forgetting or what I may not have thought about!

Thanks in advance!

Mike
:)

Evaluating Your GAME Plan Progress EDUC 6713

Like most, school is not in session here in Michigan, but I still am continuing on. As I continue to develop plans and layout for early part of the year I am trying to come up with more ways to integrate technology into my plans/units. In talking with my principal the other day, class lists are not available yet. However, he did ask if I wanted to come in for some brainstorming and curriculum development with a couple of other teachers that will be teaching a computers class for the first time this and the computer teacher. Basically projects and ideas will be discussed, what has worked, what hasn't worked, etc.

My list of websites continues to grow, and am toying with the idea of setting up a blog before school starts for my class and/or a facebook page for my class. I actually had a friend of mine do this last year, school related only, parent and students both loved it. I am thinking that is strong possibility.

I have learned that I really like the idea of project based learning, as I have only used it a little. But, after watching and reading this week, I have thought of a couple of units that I can use it for the coming year.

As far as what do I have to learn, I would say it is just basic thing mostly comprising of time. How much time to spend, how much time in the lab will I need, how soon can I get into the lab - do I have to wait for another unit, and can the computers in the lab handle the technology I want to use? I'm sure more questions will pop up as I go along.

Adjusting of my plan I think, is just a matter of looking down the road as I mentioned above and trying to line up lab time in advance.

I love the feedback I have been getting and look forward to more. Thanks in advance!

Monitoring Your GAME Plan Progress EDUC 6713

As I continue working on my GAME plan, I have encountered few problems. Most of the resources I need are already available in our computer lab at school, including computers, internet access, and a variety of programs for students to use. If they will be using VoiceThread, it is just a matter of going in and setting it up. I also figure that if they would like to search for clips and ideas on Unitedstreaming, I will give them my login information. I plan to use some of the same websites we had for my previous class from Walden University, EDUC 6712. I have also started compiling a list of websites to include.

Overall, I am pretty happy with my action plan. However, one of my problems is that school is not in session and class lists have not been established yet, so it is hard to determine exactly what my students needs will be. With no IEPs or 504s, I can only make tentative ideas for them.

I have also learned that overall, this has been a fairly easy process. Plus, the more I play around with some of the programs, I am becoming more and more comfortable with them. Basically, it gets me excited about school getting closer to starting back up, so I can put some of my ideas into action. I have talked to a couple of fellow staff members with some ideas and they have been helpful, but mostly want to wait until school is back in session.

As of now, no new questions have popped up, however, I'm sure given time they will. My brain always seems to be running 100 miles an hour!

Carrying Out Your GAME Plan (EDUC 6713)

Resources needed would include the following:
1. Internet access and computer
2. Access to united streaming.com (from Discovery).
3. Examples of different types of websites including .gov, .edu, .com, .org, and any others that people may feel would be helpful.

Additional Information needed would include:
1. Students with disabilities and/or accommodations (copies of IEPs and 504s)
2. Background from fellow staff members on my current students that might be helpful
3. Feedback from fellow staff members, including having them sit in on a class period or two to see the assignment/project in motion

Steps taken so far:
1. Layout of ideas and revamping of similar plan
2. Locating websites to show example of
3. Not much more, school in not currently in session

Any other ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated from fellow Walden students! Thanks in advance!

Developing Personal GAME Plan - EDUC 6713

The indicators I chose were #1, to Facilitate and Inspire students learning and creativity, and #4 Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility from the National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T):

G = goals:
1. To have students working more on researching , analyzing and drawing comparisons to real world issues globally and within the United States. One example I already work with is working /mental conditions in India's call centers. They could be compared to auto factory jobs here in the US?
2. Continue to model and teach validity of websites and proper citation for all information obtained on the web.

A = action
1. One example I already work with is working /mental conditions in India's call centers. They could be compared to auto factory jobs here in the US?
2. Use the website example that was used in my EDUC 6712 class to determine the validity of websites. Also, include explanations and example of how to tell if a website has good information. Included would be definitions and example of website addresses ending in .gov, .edu, .com, .org, etc.

M = monitor
1. I will check for understanding periodically by including questions in warm-ups/bell work.
2. Have students demonstrate/model for the class how to tell if a website is valid and has good information.

E = evaluate and extend
1. If I see students are struggling, I will go back and look for other ways that I could explain and model things.
2. Get feedback from students and colleagues on what if anything could be done differently?
3. Continually modify and tweak methods and projects for student’s achievement.

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

EDUC 6712 Reflection

Application 8: Reflection
I had a few revelations about the teaching of new literacy skills to my students, but I will narrow it down to one, searching for information and how easy it can be made. What I found, like most teachers, is that students can search for information, but that they give up so easily. This I feel is because of confusion and looking at a bunch of text and pictures, which can sometimes lead to overload. Most students only know the good old-fashioned way of searching using Google, Wikipedia, and Ask.com. With just a little help and showing them a couple of easy tricks and examples, students can become better researchers and deciphering information.

The knowledge and experienced I gained from EDUC 6712 will definitely influence and an impact on my teaching practices going forward. Probably one of the biggest things I will do is starting near the beginning of the year will be to teach how to do proper research. I will start small and build to bigger, longer examples and assignments/projects. By spending more time explaining and giving more examples of research techniques, including how to search and how to tell what websites are reliable and which are not, my students will become better researchers.

My goal after this course goes along with what I talked about earlier, I would like to become a better researcher myself and to continue to pass that on to my students. The step process will consist of series of steps for both my students and myself. By continually going in and evaluating websites for quality and quantity of information, this will help to keep me sharp. When teaching my classes, I will start with very simple projects that are only one day in length. I will start by following the plan I laid out for locating and evaluating internet resources in EDUC 6712. I will start with a website analysis activity where students look at two different websites and tell me what website they think is most credible, or if they both are. Then as a follow up, ask them to define or explain what the ending of a website address means, (.com, .org, etc.) I then will explain the difference between the two websites and how to determine which one was credible and which was not. Following this, I will show them what each of the endings of websites means, answer questions and show examples of each. A short activity will follow where students will be allowed to use a variety of search engines including Google and altavista.com. I will model first where and how to use the search engines by showing multiple examples and results to determine how to conduct a proper search. This should take no more than about 10 – 15 minutes depending on student questions. Then, for the rest of the hour, students will be allowed to start conducting searches on their own, while I am walking around and helping where necessary. By choosing topics that they are interested in will help them stay focused and on task. After completing this, a follow up and question and answer period will done clarifying any issues or problems students had and checking for understanding making sure everyone is a little more comfortable in the research process. As the year goes on and projects get a little more in depth, I will still have a short recap before starting just to make sure students are ready.

EDUC 6653 Evaluating Research Methods

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.

I think the qualitative method would be the best, because according to Dr. Canipe, it would be considered a face - to - face in a natural setting type.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program six. Qualitative Research Methods [Motion picture]. Introduction to educational research. Baltimore: Author.

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.

I also feel this could be answered by using the qualitative method because of the fact that race is coming in to play which would be classified under the ethnograpic type. Basically, "the cultural group in natural setting, " according to Dr. Canipe.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program six. Qualitative Research Methods [Motion picture]. Introduction to educational research. Baltimore: Author.

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 this scenario, I pick the quantitative method, because variables have been setup, and their is validity due to the information being collected is appropriate. Although, looking back, and action method could be used because according the video, "it is work that has immediate application to a specific problem."

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program five. Quantitative Research Methods [Motion picture]. Introduction to educational research.. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program seven. Additional Research Methods [Motion picture]. Introduction to educational research. Baltimore: Author

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.

The qualitative method may be the best choice here, it is similar to a critical study that is being done. It could also be argue this is a case study being done, because the follow up interviews would have participants giving information and "summaries more or less told through stories."

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program six. Qualitative Research Methods [Motion picture]. Introduction to educational research. Baltimore: Author.

I am definitely curious about thoughts on my responses and look forward to reading them!

Writing Research Questions for EDUC 6653

Problem statement:

I plan to determine the difference in achievement, as measured by standardized tests and course quizzes, between the use of online textbook and the traditional hardcopy textbook for 7th grade students.

Questions:

Does having online access at home have an impact on how much time is spent using the online text?
(This would be a quantitative and quasi-experimental designed question)

Do students show more or have more interest in homework completion using the online textbook?
(This would be a qualitative, and I believe interactive designed question.)

I also believe that since I have formulated both types of questions I would be using the mixed - method approach. I am just not sure what method design would work better, the exploratory or triangulation design? Plus, do you think I should add more questions or simply stick with these two? Thanks in advance!

EDUC 6653 Problem Statement

I have decided to determine and evaluate the difference between the use of new technology in the form of electronic textbooks as opposed to the standard paper textbook with my seventh grade classes. By doing this, I expect to find which has a greater impact on student learning, increased ability, and engagement.

Who: Seventh grade students
What: Use of electronic books as opposed to traditional paper textbooks
Why: Impact on student abilities, learning, and engagement.

Final Reflection for 6711

My own personal learning theory is still very much the same. I believe that all students can learn, just some may be harder to reach than others. The traditional methods of days gone by are becoming more and more obsolete as technology continues to evolve. While some districts are still behind due mostly to lack of funds, teachers still share the same drive, to prepare their students the best they can and continue to educate them both academically and about the world. I also think that the more technology can be integrated into curriculum and the more active role students can take in their learning, the more they will understand and retain information. I will continue to provide my students with a variety of methods and strategies to make sure that all students get a fair and equal opportunity to learn.

There are a couple of new tools that I will use in my classroom that I learned about through this course. One, is VoiceThread, I really like the ease of use associated with it and think that the students will enjoy seeing and hearing each other during their presentation. Done individually or as a group can only help the students better retain the information by creating it or like Dr. Orey said, "constructing something they can hold onto and will help them later be able to demonstrate that knowledge," on their own. The other tool I will use more, is the concept mapping tool. This is a great tool used troughs Inspirtaion or Wespirtaion depending on which you prefer. They both work great and it gets the students engaged. By starting one at the beginning of each unit, I will have the students make their own, then come up to the interactive whiteboard and build one together with different students adding to it. There again, this is just another way to start to outline and present information that is different and another way of meeting my studnets' needs and different learning styles.

One long term goal I hope to achieve is the continued and improved use of technology in my classroom. I plan to continue searching out new and useful ideas with technology as well as looking for new tools. By continuing my progress through my master's program I hope to gain more insight. I also plan to attend as much technology training as I can.
The second long term goal I have, is to continue to gain students input and give them more opportunities and open ended projects for material we are covering. I feel, by letting them choose the technology tools they would like to use and project type, that as I stated earlier, they will gain a better understanding of the information they need to know. Plus, they may actually even like what they are learning about without even realizing it until later. But, that will be our (as teachers) little secret!

References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program seven. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

My first voicethread

http://voicethread.com/share/895551/

“Cooperative Learning”

I believe that cooperative learning is a perfect example of what is talked about when looking at social learning theory. The reading this week talked about different examples and projects that students could work on and "build together." My favorite and one that I plan to incorporate into my seventh grade classroom is the website creation project. It involves students researching a city , making a multimedia presentation on it, creating a website, present a proposal to the class on how to basically draw more tourism to the city and finally even contact the city's Chamber of Commerce for feedback and to let them know they have it up and running. (Pitler 2007 ) By working together and building a website, this also helps them take ownership, which in turn will help to retain more about the city or area. My plan is to change it over to a country in a region we are studying or capital city/major city of a country. My brain is still going through the motions as to how it would play out.

The other idea that I loved, which would work for my class, was the introduction or inclusion of Civilization III, a web-enabled multiplayer simulation game. The students would, according to the description, "have to work together and match wits against some of history's greatest leaders as they employ exploration, construction, diplomacy, and conquest to build and rule and empire to stand the test of time." (Pitler 2007 ) This works great because it hits on culture, economics, geography, inquiry and many other important Social Studies ideas and concepts. I think it would be a great tool because it also has them not only working, but learning together, which is really what the social learning theories are all about. Just not sure how or where to put it in? Thanks in advance for the feedback!

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program eight. Social Learning Theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Constructivism in Practice

Generating and testing hypothesis falls completely in line with constructivism. Students are greeted with a problem, situation , or point of interest. If they follow the six step procedure to test and generate a hypothesis lie the book says, they are basically creating something they can hold onto like DR. Orey talked about. By coming up with the hypothesis then investigating it, they are discovering knowledge that they may not have had prior. Then, by analyzing and drawing conclusion on the results they could also create some sort of wrap up, demonstrating their knowledge and their findings. I could not only see them creating a chart or pie graph, but take that one step further by creating a slideshow, powerpoint or podcast. Better yet, making a presentation to the class.

The idea I came up with continues to grow, it basically deals with a new unit on southwest Asia. They are to compare economies of countries in the region to the United States. My plan would include forming a hypothesis as to why it would be horrible to be a teenager living in one of the countries or why it would be great. Then compare the three and explain which one they would want to live and not live and why based on their findings. Constructivism in action, and using a hypothesis and testing it. This idea in still in developmental stages, but doe sit sound like I am on the right track?

References

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2009). Program seven. Constructionist and Constructivist Learning Theories [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Instructional Strategies and Cognitive Learning Theory

I believe that this weeks learning strategies do line up with the principles of cognitive learning theory, especially when it comes to how information is stored and processed. When I stop and think about how Dr. Orey referred to images being powerful and helping students put a name with things, the multimedia ideas talked about in text make sense. When talking about the Grapes of Wrath and the Great Depression, the example of the teacher using images and slides from the Dust Bowl period into her powerpoint only helps to drive home this message. Then, to take it one step further, to incorporate actual video clips into this slide show or at the end would help explain what thing were like. I even thought of taking that another step further and not only look at those images, but add in some more present day ones. These images could be not just from some parts of Africa, but even here in the U.S. including homeless people and soup kitchens/shelters.

The idea of note taking is another good example, if done properly. I could not agree more that few students know how to accurately take notes. (Pitler 2007 ) I see this every year with my seventh grade Social Studies class, and usually have to walk them through the process However, if a graphic organizer is used, and proper steps taken to follow up with a layout, it would become much easier. Also, if an or example or examples are given by the teacher - in handout form - students would have reference point to refer back too.

By using these two main ideas, I believe and have seen that students will retain information not only better, but longer. This is the result we desire in the end, instead of just stored in the short term memory long enough to get past an assessment of some sort, then on to the next topic.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Behaviorism in Practice

Back to blogging this week, looking at behaviorist learning theory and a couple of instructional strategies. I really like the idea of having students create their own spreadsheets to help track their own performance to see where they are weak and where they are strong. The neat thing was they looked at how their effort affected the outcome of their grade. Basically after looking at a rubric the teacher created, they then went on to track and create their own. I like the fact that they are more or less rewarded by seeing their effort either payoff or this helps them with knowing where they need to focus their effort on.
When it comes to homework and practice, I think we also see both sides of the coin. After a lesson is given or taught, students use homework almost as remedial tool or re-enforcer for what they just learned. The quiz or test that follows would be a good gauge or application of what they learned.
Effort should be awarded or punished as needed. What I mean by this is, if little effort is given, the poor grade is a reflection of that effort. Maybe then, remedial work or follow up work should be used whether its a project or research or? If good effort is put forth, a good grade is earned and recognition of some sort will follow. I believe there will and should always be some type of behaviorist learning theory used by all educators.