Link to App4BelcastroC

Spotlight on Emerging Technology: Online Learning in K-12 Schools Presentation

http://www.slideshare.net/Charb4/app4-belcastroc-8648803

6714 Reflection

Reaching and Engaging All Learners through Technology has provided several tools, teaching methods, and instructional strategies which allow teachers to customize instruction to appeal to and actively engage each diverse learner. All students have diverse learning styles, interests, academic strengths and weaknesses. It is essential to differentiate instruction and provide assessment options in order to accommodate all students, personalize instruction, and truly enhance their learning. I have been able to learn about the many aspects of how teachers can reach and engage all learners through technology. It has been insightful and very motivating for me to make future adjustments to my instructional practices to ensure that I am meeting the diverse needs of all students. The changes that I potentially want to make in my classroom will only benefit the learners in my classroom.

The first adjustment I would like to make is to consider students’ interests, learning profiles, and readiness to help me better their needs, strengths, and differences. I can use this information to differentiate content, process, product, and learning environment in a more accessible way. Online surveys and alternate assessments are forms of technology that can be used to evaluate students’ progress and enhance their learning. Technology can be used to address learning styles, engage students in meaningful experiences and activities, as well as assess them in multiple ways. Today’s students are well versed in technology and use technological tools in their daily lives. It should then follow that one of the best ways to accommodate all students and enhance their learning is by using the technology with which they are already accustomed.

Another adjustment I plan to make is to incorporate more technology tools into my classroom. I want to learn more about creating digital portfolios, setting up simulations across multiple content areas, and VoiceThreads to showcase what they have learned. Technology tools are available to provide diversified assessment options that allow students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a way that best meets their needs.

Lastly, I plan to better implement the principles of UDL in my classroom. I would also like to better utilize technology to differentiate my assessments and provide diversified options for students to demonstrate what they know The principles of UDL, DI, and educational technology are interconnected and I have been able to realize the many benefits of planning with these in mind.

Reflection of my GAME plan

In the past few months I have been focusing on a GAME plan that involves the incorporation of the NETS-T and NETS-S standards into my daily lesson plans. During this course I designed a GAME Plan for myself, set goals and created unit lesson plans to support my goals and integrate technology in the classroom.

The intention of this GAME plan is to integrate technology in the classroom without necessarily re-inventing the wheel. I felt that the teachers in my county needed to collaborate more often to share ideas and lessons as there are many innovative and creative teachers with successful lessons. I first had to reach out to the health and PE teachers with the intent to set up a user-friendly way to share lessons. The appropriate tool for this became a teacher wiki to share our ideas for integration that was created by just a small group of teachers. The only challenge to this is to ensure teacher participation. So far, it’s off to a great start. In our up-coming in-service our group will propose our idea to the other teachers. We continue to discuss, with our small group, ways to assist the teachers and students using technological tools in their classrooms. These discussions have helped a lot of teacher to gain confidence and be compatible with new technologies. We created a wiki for our group and have begun documenting lesson and feedback from those lessons that we have shared in our classroom.

My second goal was also a challenge as it required me to present to my administration ways in which I feel are appropriate consequences for students if they were to use the internet in unsafe or inappropriate ways. This took a lot of time and I needed help from other teachers. They provided me with instances and consequences that they encountered. This GAME plan is still a work in progress. But in the end should help reduce the risk of plagiarism, bullying, and other possible cyberspace threats to our school system and students. I am still working on improving my GAME plan and goals.

This course gave me insight on how to effectively integrate technology in the classrooms and ways to support teacher and student learning by providing many useful ideas for integration. The media support really supplemented my understanding for ways to enrich my lessons with technology. My GAME plan was developed to increase my level of engagement with peers who either want to know more about how to use technology in their classrooms, or who have information to share with me. This course gave me the guidelines and the opportunity set goals and plans for a better integration in my classroom.

Using the GAME plan process with students

GAME plans simply help both students and teachers become more reflective learners. They help provide a focus and purpose for assignments which allows learning to become more meaningful. We, as teachers must set the stage by modeling the appropriate behaviors of a digital citizen. When reviewing the NETS-T and NET-S standards I feel that they have similarities of one another and can easily be placed in my lessons. I can see many areas where I could incorporate a GAME plan but first I will need to introduce all of the standards to my students and discuss each one with them.

One of my main focuses for my students would be for them to understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior. Too often students use copyright material without permission of proper citation. Sometimes this is done on purpose other times it is because they were not taught to research appropriately. Here is where my modeling comes into play. For this particular issue, I would ask them to use a GAME plan that would implement this standard by having them begin to set goals, take action, monitor, and evaluate their work towards this goal, they can start showing me that they have used technology in a proper and ethical way.


National Education Standards for Students (NETS-S) located at http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Student_2007_EN.sflb.ashx

Revising my GAME Plan

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?

Thus far I have learned that I need to purchase new software in order to view videos for my discovery cart in physical education. I have access to a flip camera and have video taped students demonstrating skills for basketball, badminton, and football. The next step is putting these clips into powerpoints. The software I mention previously is required to do this.

What goals are you still working toward?

I received helpful feedback from HanNa in regards to my second goal. Before meeting with my administrators and instructional facilitator, I plan to have some ideas for consequences to inappropriate internet usage. I am working up a list of consequences that I feel are fair for certain offenses. I am also still working towards creating a screen capture that will show students how to navigate through a website to determine if it is a valid source.

Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?

At this time, I am working on a bunch of things as the end of the school year approaches. We have had teachers retire mid-year and I have recently become our department chairperson. Quite honestly, I have been swamped and have not set any new learning goals as I am trying to clear my current plate.

If you are not ready to set new learning goals, how will you extend what you have learned so far?

In order to extend my knowledge about social-networking, I am going to set up a wiki for all health and physical educators in our county. This way teachers have another outlet to share lessons or express concerns about their lessons. By providing another avenue for communication, I feel that I am increasing the opportunity for participation and collaboration.

What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?

As I am gaining knowledge about many different technology tools throughout this course, I still have roadblocks and hesitation about incorporating wikis and utilizing voice threads. I really enjoyed creating voicethread but I have yet to use them for my classes. I want to try to step out of my comfort zone a bit more so that next year, I will have the kinks out and will be less likely to run into problems.

Evaluating my GAME plan progress

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

Overall I think my actions have been leading me in the right direction to accomplish my goal for collaboration among teachers in order to share lessons that incorporate technology. I have received positive feedback from teachers who want to take part in sharing lessons. Originally I thought getting teachers on board might be a challenge but thus far, it’s been a success. A few teachers and I are getting together the morning of spring break to share some lessons and create a powerpoint for the in-service at the end of the year. I have taken the advice from a fellow classmate to build a team to present to the rest of the teachers.

What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?

We recently received a discovery cart for my physical education classes and I have already collaborated with a teacher in my school to create lessons that incorporate video of basketball skills and today I created a powerpoint with video for demonstrating the correct way to drive, smash, and clear a birdie in badminton. Students have been very receptive to this new technology and it has made teaching much more enjoyable as well.

What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?

My second goal is lagging a bit. This is partially due to the lack of resources I have for ensuring that students are responsible on the internet. I have honestly been extremely busy these past two weeks and while our administration is interviewing for next year, I haven’t had time to discuss this issue. I did happen to walk in our media center on Monday and overhead a lesson taking place by our media specialist. He was instructing students on how to navigate a website in order to decide if it is a valid site. I am wondering now if I should have him share the same lesson with my health classes. I still have to learn how to activate security settings for certain programs so that this limits students from going to the wrong places when researching on the internet.

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

At the present time, I do not feel that I need to make adjustments for my first goal. However, I do still need to find time to get my second goal put into action. I plan to wait until the second week in April, when interviews subside a bit, so that I can discuss consequences for inappropriate internet usage. I am also planning on sitting down with our IT tech next week so that he can show me how to activate security settings.

Monitoring My GAME Plan

In terms of my first area of focus that involves collaboration with fellow health and physical educators in the sharing of technology-based lessons, I have received the support of our supervisors to bring up this idea at our next in-service. The main problem with this is that we will not be meeting with all of the county teachers until the end of the school year. I may have to send out an email prior to this meeting to get the wheels turning so that a meeting can take place early in the summer while lessons are still fresh in our heads. One major resource that our PE department was able to receive was a portable discovery cart. This will allow the opportunity to incorporate technology in physical education on a daily basis. I have already begun to record students demonstrating basketball skills in order to put these demonstrations in a powerpoint to model the appropriate skill. The problem is that I can’t get the videos to actually play. I have a meeting tomorrow with our IT support person to help trouble-shoot this issue. I figured that I would create present my lesson at the in-service to show that I have something to bring to the table and hopefully they will see this as a positive step towards getting our classes more interactive.

On the other hand, my second goal is not going as well. I have received a very vague outline of the consequences of improper use of technology from our administration and have found through survey results within our school that there are many teachers in our school that do not put a lot of emphasis on taking the time to demonstrate correct and incorrect usage. I was hoping to gather ideas from my colleagues and thus far have been unsuccessful. At the present time, I am still contemplating ways to modify this action plan. One suggestion would be sit down with our ILT team and try to put together a powerpoint modeling responsible use of technology. I personally need to learn more about security settings in order to prevent students from entering dangerous territory on the internet. This is definitely still a work in progress.

Carrying Out the GAME Plan

The first goal of my GAME plan is to collaborate with other high school health and Physical educators in order to share lessons that incorporate technology. As it may be difficult to ensure participation, I must find a way to carry out this goal. My first inclination would be to begin with an email to all the teachers to bring up the idea of sharing lessons across the county in hopes to spark interest. I will also mention this idea to our supervisor so that they can maybe dedicate a session during one of our in-services to lesson sharing. I have already begun to reach out to a few teachers, and they would be interested in sharing, they just admit that they get lazy and or forget that they can post to our Sharepoint portal. It appears that there are many teachers who already have lessons to share, but admit that they are lackadaisical when it comes to simply hitting “submit” on sharepoint. Others have expressed that they do not have access to many technology tools so collecting lessons would not be helpful to them. I plan to facilitate a meeting at the end of the school year, when things calm down, to discuss this plan for next year. I would like to offer up a few dates over the summer to see if a group would be interested in meeting to create different lessons. At this meeting, we could upload them to Sharepoint right there and then so that they do not need remember later. Accountability is my next feat. How will I get teachers to participate year-round? With this part of my goal, I need to be a squeaky wheel and send friendly reminders out on a bi-monthly basis or maybe organize a lunch to make it also a social event.

For my second goal of making sure that my students are responsible when utilizing technology tools, I will need to my administration as a resource to explore consequences of improper usage. I would also like to sit down with our building tech to review and explore the usage settings that can be activated on a blog or wiki site. This will help prevent students from going places and posting things that can result in negative consequences. I will also need to create a PowerPoint with scenarios that exhibit both responsible and irresponsible behaviors on the internet and with other tools. I have no problems creating PowerPoint presentations so this will be the easiest part of carrying out my goal. I will also need to access our school wiki site to create a classroom blog. I would like to create a screencast to supplement my instruction on how to use a wiki site. From there, students will have to create user-names to be able to track posts in the future.

Implementing My Personal GAME Plan

“The GAME plan enables you to customize your approach to learning tasks, to develop relevant skills that are important to you, and prepares you for lifelong learning” (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009, pg.3). This sets the tone for my personal goals for strengthening my confidence and proficiency for the following indicators: to participate in global or local learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning, and to promote and model digital etiquette and responsible social interactions related to the use of technology and information.

For my first goal, I plan to collaborate with fellow health and physical educators within the county to share ideas and lessons that incorporate technology. When it comes to learning about new applications, I would find it extremely daunting to try to re-invent the wheel. I am certain that there are many teachers that have implemented creative lessons, I just have never asked for them to share. At our county in-service I plan to communicate my desire to collaborate with other high school teachers to put together a series of lessons that can be utilized in our classrooms. Once we begin to explore new applications, we can begin to post our ideas on our sharepoint website. This acts as an online resource directory that all teachers within the county can use to share lessons. Another way to monitor this goal would be for our local learning community to communicate using a blog throughout the year. The evaluation will take place at the end of the years in-service to see how many teachers utilized the lessons that were posted and see if there are ways that we can tweak them if necessary.

My second goal will be a bit more challenging for me. I am becoming more comfortable using technology tools, but I am still not 100 percent confident that I can trust my students to act appropriately when interacting with certain tools. For example, I am fearful that a form of bullying will occur if I set up a classroom blog. So often I hear about students creating false profiles for other students on Facebook. Although Facebook is not an option in our school, I am unsure of the capabilities that my students have when communicating with other students online. I plan to set up a Powerpoint with examples of inappropriate usage as well as consequences. Consequences may be school-related but may also affect a student emotionally. One way to monitor this would have consistency when reading student posts to ensure that they are reporting responsibly and that no forms of bullying are taking place. To evaluate my goal, I will have students create an example of an appropriate post as well as one that includes an incident where bullying, or other inappropriate action, had been present during a blog post or voicethread. They will then turn in a reflection on what actions should be taken when a student interacts inappropriately.

References
Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach. (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T). (2008). Located at http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx

Transitioning from Knowledge to Synthesis: Reflection

There is no doubt that we are living in a world gripped by technology. Successful technology tools and applications have the ability to generate impressive results for our digital natives. However, even with all of the wonderful advances in technology, we must be sure our students do not loose sight of the importance of traditional literacy skills. “Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom” has provided ways to engage students in their learning in ways that stimulate them by infusing lessons with technology and skills that our students need in today’s ever-changing world. This course helped restore my appreciation for the new literacy skills in a remarkable way as it provided exposure to new strategies to help students to question, search, evaluate, synthesize, and effectively communicate information like never before (Laureate Education, 2009). In the 21st century one must encompass the traditional literacy skills such as reading, writing, and speaking as well as the new literacy skills that include listening skills, information skills, technical skills, media skills, personal skills, cooperative skills, and professional skills (Jukes, 2001).

Time and again I assumed that because students have ample experience with the internet and other technologies that they were capable of navigating the web and locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating information. The truth is that it can be very difficult to locate valid information and make sense of it. The screen capture application during week five in this course provided me with a great tool to model appropriate steps to locate information. Students can too often become lost in the surplus of information available to them. Screen casting has already become apart of my teaching practice. This tool, as well as others offered in the resources provided by this course, will help facilitate the adoption of these practices for my students to exhibit safe and ethical technology use and proper literacy skills.

I plan to incorporate more inquiry-based learning activities and projects into my health class. I believe that students will benefit by investigating health issues on their own through developing essential questions, locating and evaluating resources related to their research questions, synthesizing that information, and communicating the results effectively. Prior to this course, I have had experience with inquiry-based projects but have not had huge success with them. For future projects, I plan to utilize the strategies outlined in Eagleton and Dobler’s, “Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet Inquiry”. I am the only health educator in my school, I would like to reach out and collaborate with other health teachers in the county to create an inquiry-based lesson for each of our units of health such as nutrition, mental health, consumer health, and family life. “We would be doing students a disservice by not preparing them to apply the inquiry process to the world’s most massive source of information, one that will impact their future daily lives in ways we cannot even imagine” (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007, p.281).













References

Eagleton, M., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the web. New York, NY: The Guilford Press

Jukes, I. (2007). 21st century fluency skills: Attributes of a 21st century learner. Retrieved from http://www.committedsardine.com/handouts/twca/pdf

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). New literacy’s. Supporting information literacy and online inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology Reflection

“Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology” has greatly enhanced my knowledge on how the use of technology tools directly corresponds with how the brain learns. In the beginning of this course I thought I was incorporating technology into my classroom through a variety of avenues. I previously mentioned how students will have a more concrete understanding of what they are learning if it fits into their society or lifestyle and continue to stand by the fact that today’s students are more technology savvy. My students will be able to be more engaged in learning due to the resources provided by this course. Technology still supports my personal instructional theories to strive to make the appropriate connections to the real world and to feel like there is purpose and meaning in what I teach to my students. . “The act of teaching requires an understanding of learning and an understanding of the individual and environmental factors that affect the learner” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008, p.25).

Dr. Wolfe noted that the learning process occurs when connections are made between neurons within the brain. Brain research and learning theories help us understand how these learning process can have a profound effect on student learning. Learning is enhanced by way of making connections so ultimately the more learning takes place as more connections are made. When students are actively involved in meaningful activities a variety of areas within their brains are being stimulated resulted in maximized student learning (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008c). As Dr. Orey suggested, we can truly engage our students and enhance their learning when instruction is diversified and individualized to reach a variety of learning styles and multiple intelligences (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008a). Numerous studies indicate that students encompass a variety of different learning and cognitive styles and multiple intelligences. Activating this knowledge requires a different approach to teaching that incorporates educational technology.

Educational technology can be used to broaden the horizons of instruction. It has the ability to increase brain activity by tapping into the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learner while allowing them to explore their multiple intelligences. The use of this technology allows students to make concrete connections and will aid to better prepare students to thrive in today’s society. The educational technologies I was using almost everyday was the interactive whiteboard, LCD projector, student laptop computers, and Power Point. While these tools are effective if used in engaging students in their learning, educational technology reaches far beyond these tools
It is my long-term goal to ensure that all students are learning with these technological tools tools not just from them (Kirschner & Erkins, 2006). I plan to better use technology as a learning tool rather than an instructional tool. The key difference between technology as an instructional tool and technology as a learning tool comes down to who exactly is using the technology. When a teacher is the primary user of the technology, it is an instructional tool while student-centered technology use classifies the technology as a learning tool (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008b). There is a place for instructional tools, however student learning is best enhanced when technology is used as a learning tool. When making decisions about incorporating certain technologies in my classroom, I try to ensure that the technology is student-centered and provides opportunities for students to construct their own knowledge, collaborate with peers, and/or provides immediate feedback.

In the up-coming school year I also plan to create a class wiki. Blogs are blocked from our school system so wiki’s are the next best thing. I would like to use this tool to allow students to post discussion questions for my health class. Often students are embarrassed to ask questions during class, this way if they have an alias to use instead of their names I can address the question and even leave it open for others to engage in the conversation. VoiceThread, content mapping tools such as Webspiration, virtual field trips and multi-user virtual environments are online tools that I also intend to experiment with in the future to provide meaningful learning opportunities. The more technology I incorporate the more I become a facilitator to the learning processes of my students. They can work independently or in groups to create visual representations of concepts and show links between ideas and curriculum points. By incorporating these technologies, many of which students are already familiar, educators can easily capture their attention and actively engage them in learning activities that permit students to construct their own knowledge.

Instructional strategies require change to keep up with the changes in education all with the same goal to better educate our students. Traditional teaching provides a disservice to our students. Students need more from their teachers that just lecture. We must engage them in their learning and excite them about the content by infusing lessons with technology and skills that our students need in today’s fast-paced society. As stated by Lever-Duffy & McDonald (2008),

I look forward to refining my role as a facilitator by incorporating the skills and knowledge learned throughout this course . “Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology” proved to be an excellent resource for tools to integrate into my own lessons.

References

Kirschner, P., & Erkens, G. (2006). Cognitive tools and mindtools for collaborative learning. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 35(2), 199–209.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008a). Program one. Understanding the Brain [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008b). Program thirteen. Technology: Instructional Tool vs. Learning Tool [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.

Voicethread URL (take 2)

http://voicethread.com/#u1013200

Voicethread URL

http://voicethread.com/#e1258631

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

Combined social learning and constructionism create a learning environment where students can work collaboratively both inside and outside of the classroom to construct knowledge and artifacts. This form of cooperative learning plays an integral part in allowing our “to be prepared for the fast-paced, virtual workplace that they will inherit”(Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p.139).

The characteristics of Lev Vygotsky’s theory include speech and language as vital components to intelligence. Cooperative learning relates with his theory as it creates the opportunity to discuss concepts, collaboratively solve problems, and create artifacts all of which are very powerful tools to enhance student learning when students realize that the teacher is not the only expert in the room and begin to look to their peers for assistance (Laureate Education, Inc., 2009).

Connectivism requires the use of diverse knowledge sources distributed within a social network (Orey, p.2). Networks may include voicethreads, blogs, and other web resources such as webquests and keypals all provide students the opportunity to share ideas, communicate, and work together to complete a project or assignment from multiple locations. “Technology can play a unique and vital role in cooperative learning by facilitating group collaboration, providing structure for group tasks, and allowing members of groups to communicate even if they are not working face to face” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007, p.140). Integrating such technologies can only strengthen an educators ability to captivate students and actively engage them in learning activities. In turn, students construct their own knowledge both individually and cooperatively.

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

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

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

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

Constructivism in Practice

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works discusses several instructional strategies and technological tools including spreadsheet software, data collection tools, and web resources that allow students to generate and test hypotheses. “When teachers vary the processes in their classroom, they are following the classroom recommendation that their students be engaged in different types of hypothesis generation” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.204).

Can this technology correlate to the constructionist/constructivist classroom? Most definitely. In the perspective of a constructivist, “knowledge is a constructed element resulting from the learning process” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008, p.16). Whereas in the constructionist theory of learning “students are engaged in learning and the process of creating an artifact” (Laureate Education Inc., 2009). Technology quickly provides and collects data accurately leaving more time for students to analyze, synthesize, and interpret data.

Spreadsheet software provide the opportunity to manipulate data, test theories, observe patterns in the data, and make and compare predictions without spending extensive time entering the data and doing calculations. Data collection tools such as probes, digital microscopes, and even the Internet provide opportunities for students to gather data quickly and accurately that will confirm or deny the hypothesis in question. Interactive applets and simulations are examples of web resources that engage the students by providing virtual learning environments stimulating motivation to learn. Technology in the classroom offers many tools to allow students to interpret information in less time so they can focus more energy on the finished product.

References:

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

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

Cognitivism in Practice

The cognitive learning theory is one that focuses on “external, measurable behaviors” . Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008, p.16). The components of this theory include limited short-term/working memory, elaboration, dual coding, and a network model of memory. The first phase is sensory which include audio and visuals; the second phase is how information is processed in our short-term memory but way of chunking; and the third phase involves how our type of long-term memory whether it be declarative, procedural, or episodic, stores information.(Laureate Education, Inc., 2009). The application assignment for this week provided me with an opportunity to explore cognitive tools to enhance student learning. Virtual field trips add a visual component to note taking by activating students with videos, games, and activities that can give them a clear understanding of their research topic.

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works discusses two instructional strategies associated with the cognitive learning theory. A teacher might provide cues and questions “to aid the learning process, look for opportunities to activate students’ background knowledge, thereby providing a direction for exploration” (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.79). Using advanced organizers help students make connections to stored information so it is more easily retrieved. Advanced organizers and concept mapping replicate the network model of memory, students are able to make connections in an organized manner (Laureate Education Inc, 2009).

Summarizing and note taking strategies enhance student learning by helping students filter nonessential information from the key points. Along with using concept maps students may also utilize blogs, wikis, web resources, word processing software, and multimedia are some ways that technology can be useful to summarize information.

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

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

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

Behaviorism in Practice

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works explores the concepts of reinforcing effort and homework and practice. These two instructional strategies combined with technology correlate with the behaviorist learning theory. “Among the method derived from behaviorist theory for practical classroom application are contracts, consequences, reinforcement, extinction, and behavior modification.” (Orey, 2001). Operant conditioning is one of the key aspects of the behaviorist theory where students receive immediate feedback regarding their behavior – positive behaviors are reinforced and negative behaviors are punished (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008). Both of the instructional strategies of reinforcing effort as well as homework and practice integrate these behaviorist ideals.

The success of a student is directly linked with their level of effort. “A powerful way to convince students that effort is truly tied to achievement is to show them data” (Pitler et al, 2007, p.161). Teachers may use spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel to create rubrics that gives students the opportunity to assess themselves on their effort and clearly view the correlation between their effort and personal achievement. “Technology makes it easier for students and teachers to track the effects of effort and facilitates more immediate feedback” (Pitler et al, 2007, p.156).

Immediate feedback is also valuable to the efficiency of homework and practice. Students thrive by knowing instantly when a mistake is made to ensure incorrect information and procedures are not mistakenly judged by the student to be accurate. Word processing applications, spreadsheet software, multimedia, web resources, and communication software are all technology that can be implemented into homework and practice routines to enhance student learning. Using tutorials as programmed instruction to strengthen skills is one example of how technology can be appropriately placed in the classroom. However one should be careful not to use these technologies to simply remediate students. “Technology is most effective when remediation activities are minimally incorporated” (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008).

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

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

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

A New Mind Set-Reflection

Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society is exactly what I gained from taking this course. Prior to this course, I was only using email, the internet, my computers, and an LCD projector. I was only beginning to get my feet wet. Sure I was aware the flip camera and blogging but would have remained very intimitaded by them if it wasn’t for this course. I have always been able to learn quickly so I really don’t know why I was so intimidated. I learned quickly when it came to my online grade book, and our Edline account, and am successful at posting all assignments, test/quiz dates, project guidelines and rubrics online for parents and students. Until now I would have continued to think that in terms of classroom technology that I was native. I would have never imagined that integrating other innovative forms of technology into my lessons could be so user friendly.

I have learned that we are teaching a generation of Digital Natives. Many 21st century kids grow up literally surrounded by the light” (Prensky, 2008, p.42). School systems put many of our natives at a disadvantage by blocking our students from using those technologies in school. We are asking our students to shut off and enter the “darkness of the old fashion classroom” (Prensky, 2008, p. 42). The are expected to function and learn in an educational system that was designed for those socialized in a traditional way. If we change the way information is presented by using blogs, wikis, interactive whiteboards, and Podcasts as learning tools for our students, we would see our students become excited about the content. We need to “infuse skills we teach with technology they use” (Laureate Inc., 2008). This course has introduced me to wikis, blogs, and podcasts and shown me the tremendous educational benefits of using these powerful tools in the classroom.

Today’s students and classrooms have changed. .“They have spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all the other toys and tools of the digital age” (Prensky, 2001, p.1). However I was not aware that our students require an entirely new skills in order to be successful in this new digital society. These 21st century skills include critical thinking, problem solving, communication skills, teamwork/collaboration, leadership, creativity/innovative thinking, lifelong learning, self-direction, professionalism, ethics, and social responsibility just to name a few. As educators, it is our responsibility to model these skills in our classrooms and ultimately become facilitators so our students can problem solve independently in the workplace.

This course has introduced me to new technologies, websites, activities, and ideas that will truly engage my students, motivate them to learn, and enhance their education In achieving my goal of becoming a 21st century teacher, I have set two long-term goals. First, I plan to stay current on educational and technological trends and make a greater effort to find ways to fund new forms of technology for my classroom. Second, I will address technology standards in future lesson plans. I can enhance those lessons by incorporating a wiki, and have students create podcasts. I have been introduced to a variety of things that can be added to lessons that will deepen students’ understanding, and most importantly I will maintain an open-mind to try new things as technology continues to influence my students.

Resources:
Laureate Education Inc. (Producer). (2008). “The Changing Role of the Classroom Teacher: Part 2”. [Motion Picture]. Baltimore.
Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, digital immigrants. On the Horizon, 9(5).
Prensky, M. (2008). Turning on the lights. Educational Leadership, 65(6),

Podcast Assignment: Profiling the Students of Today

This is the link to my podcast that I created using a flip-camera that reports the results of the technology survey that I gave to my 9th grade health class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OrBSp0CaBmE

Link to Technology Survey Interview Podcast

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa2P4nfwSEY