Reflection

As the year comes to a close, so does my graduate course on learning theories and technology. I leave with a similar perception of learning as when I entered. Students learn at different rates and in different ways. The key to reaching the majority of children in a classroom is presenting the same material in various fashions. Listening to a speech, seeing a PowerPoint, and creating a website on the same topic can tap into the learning styles of many while reinforcing the information each time. The course worked to deepen my understanding of why using multiple methods is beneficial. While I still believe in multiple intelligences, I now appreciate the underlying influence of brain activity and memory formation. Wolfe (2008) detailed the interaction between synapse connections and memory retention. Neurologically speaking, students who create more pathways in their brains to information will have an easier time of accessing the data at a later date.

As most students are being raised in more technology accessible households, their learning is structured around this mode of information presentation. One wonders if all their other learning outside of school is technology centered, then can the absence of this method be detrimental within the classroom. With this thought in mind, I will strive to include more technology-driven and student-centered lessons. This will involve more work on my part for scheduling computer labs, altering lesson plans, and keeping up-to-date with the newest advancements made available to my school. I would like to create projects that include the use of VoiceThreads as well as concept maps. Each of these programs requires students to plan out their method of answering questions. Rather than jumping into the problem, they have to categorize what they already know and what they are looking for. This helps students develop the much needed skill of looking at the entire picture before passing a judgment.

As far as long term goal changes, I think it is too early to tell in my case. I am just starting to edge out of the first year survival mode. If I were to pick two long term goals for technology, I would choose student-centered projects and interactive classrooms. Both of these require more research and practice into the available programs. Unfortunately, I believe that each case will involve trial and error periods. The only strategy for success, or rather encouragement, would be to try the activities with one class before spreading to all of my classes. Repeating the same problems four times a day without a chance to fix the situation can be disheartening. In either case, students creating a technological project or working with another class across the nation would definitely be something to explore in the future for the benefit of all.

Voice Thread

Once again my graduate class has introduced me to some new and amazing technology. This week involved creating Voice Threads which allow anyone to create a quick picture demonstration with the addition of recorded messages. The steps were extremely simple and the possibilities for classroom use are quite obvious.

I created a Voice Thread focusing on an issue I have in my classroom, namely, student organization. Please feel free to see how my students prepare themselves to learn by visiting the thread at http://voicethread.com/share/786199/

Social Learning

Pitler et al. (2007) describe cooperative learning as a method of students helping each other learn. This can take place by completing a project together, discussing a problem solving plan, or something simple like associating as a group for checking homework. The main focus of the chapter was the possible interactions that can occur due to technological advancements. Students are now able to join the global classroom. Experts, teachers, and fellow students are available all over the world for discussion. Webquests, wikis, blogs, and numerous other applications are the mechanisms of the social learning theories. If students are able to learn through interpretation of social and environmental aspects of their day, the use of technology provides a much wider information pool to draw from.

Cooperative learning, as in all social learning theories, relies heavily upon pre-planning for success. The intricacies of group dynamics are a topic that teachers must be skilled in before expecting the best outcome of this type of instruction. Just as Pitler et al. (2007) notes that groups need to be heterogeneous whenever possible, the use of technology helps provide the variation needed for positive and balanced contributions. The classroom environment becomes a station for interaction and exploration on multiple levels. Most importantly, the social learning theories are no longer contained in a small setting.

Constructivist Projects (a.k.a. Constructionism)

The topic of this week’s class built constructionism on top of the constructivism theory in a rather interesting manner. While the topics are familiar and only a few new concepts were introduced, the strategies and technical support provided in the chapter were extremely intriguing. I expected to read about a few project designs similar to items I and/or my students have already done. This is because constructionism focuses on the exploration and creation of a presentable model of information. However, Pitler et al. (2007) provided examples that involved a great deal of experience founded inquiry in the project based methods. My personal favorite was the detailing of historically based computer simulations located at http://making-history.com/ which involves students making decisions for countries set in various times. The strategy games can be used by teachers to introduce information while allowing students to manipulate their game pieces to achieve a final project with a desired outcome.

Constructionism does not need to rely on projects built from scratch. Using data programs allows for a wider application and skill development. Educational technology provides students with the opportunity to design tasks that are inquiry based while still working towards a final product. Exploring possible outcomes of wars or making mathematical correlations help to create the experience skills in analyzing data and ideas for future lessons that require similar technological interactions mixed with educated foresight.

Methods of Cognitive Learning

Pitler et al. (2007) describes proficiency in the skills of note taking and informational organization as a means of ensuring student higher order thinking without the need for full understanding of the subject matter. The teacher guides the students to make small connections with what they already know. Furthermore, students are encouraged to place the topics into organizational patterns that they are familiar with. To explore these practices is to delve into the cognitive learning theory. Essentially, the teacher is showing students how to program data into their brains. The specific use of memory and organization building skills fosters information retention by creating several mediums in which the facts are presented to the student. They use methods like skimming to begin a pathway of learning. The facts are then reinforced with more involved creations like concept maps which require the students to reprocess the information. The presentation of subject matter in different forms helps to guarantee retention and pushes for understanding. Even simple combination notes can provide that quick link in the student’s mind that enables easy storage and recall. Advance learning practices help create the necessary set-up for cognitive learning to occur. Frankly, some students need to be taught how to learn before they can actually begin learning a subject.

Behaviorist Theory and Practical Application

Behaviorism focuses on the often overlooked factor of motivation. Between testing and labels, many in the educational field forget to include the ability of many students to simply not be interested in succeeding. Pitler et al (2007) discuss strategies that instill and/or reinforce a student’s desire to take the necessary measures needed to accomplish school related tasks. When students believe that their work and effort will have a positive effect on them, they are more likely to achieve in school. The textbook suggestion of having students correlate classroom effort and test achievement leads into students creating positive reinforcement without the teacher. They put in the effort, so they are rewarded with the grade. While homework can be used in conjunction with the effort model, there is also the proposition of explanation and motivation. Yes, having students complete their work can be considered a show of effort on their part. However, the authors suggest that students, when given no true purpose, will be more likely to disregard the importance of the practice. Once again, the issue of motivation is essential to having a successful classroom. Often times, students need to hear why they have an assignment in order to fully grasp the potential of the information being revisited. Behaviorism relies heavily upon showing cause and effect relationships in classroom work to ensure that success is met. If students do not have a well defined reason for work, the teacher will not see a proper reaction.

Technology Course

As all graduate teaching students know, the end of a class involves turning into Alice and once again peering into the looking glass i.e. reflection time. I just finished my first class focused solely on technology in the classroom. I learned about blogs, wikis, and podcasts along with the various obstacles and benefits associated with the new way of teaching digital learners.

The class was a wonderful starter to understanding and manipulating technology. My technology experience had stopped with blogging and facebook. The actual creation of media was foreign and a bit scary to imagine. Yet, this course taught me the simple basics of wikis and podcasts with the built-in prospects of learning and developing more interactive skills to be used in the classroom.

Of course, the lessons were not all about technology. Many issues focused on the way students learn in today’s progressive culture. I have begun to face the fact that students are becoming fundamentally different from the older generations in terms of processing information. Their exposure to technology as an informational relay system has altered the success rate of traditional teaching methods.

Having recently received my teaching certification, I was educated to create a classroom environment that was learner-centered. However, most of my classes neglected to give me the means to complete this goal. I admit that it is much easier to stand in front of the room and give a lecture while students take notes. Unfortunately, that type of teaching accomplishes very little with young students these days. This course has given me several prospective lessons as well as general ideas on how to keep the class in the hands of the students at least in the aspect of learning.

I look forward to my future courses in technology to help expand my teaching practices. I can also work to improve my methods by doing what my students are naturals at, namely, playing with and exploring the new technologies that are being developed every day. By using what many students are already aware of, I can hope to achieve a level of student involvement that is simply unattainable with just a textbook.

For the future I hope to incorporate at least three long term computer projects that instruct students on how to develop PowerPoint presentations, wiki pages, and podcasts. However, this will be dependent on how often I can use computer labs as well as the clearance I will need for students to work on sites that may be blocked as a school safety precaution. I would also like to develop a full use of a blogging site for students to interact with anonymity. However, I realize that there will have to be several measures taken in order to protect the students, myself, and the administration from misuse of the site by the inevitable bad judgment of individual students. Both of these major goals will require a large amount of preparation on my part along with a willingness to adjust my lessons and plans as obstacles and difficulties arise.

My only regret was that this class was held during the summer so I can only speculate how my classroom will change this upcoming year. I know that I have the skills and the desires to incorporate a variety of different technologies. I would also like to explore my students’ understandings and learning preferences through observation and direct questioning. Only time will tell how much I have actually learned and grown from this course in technology and education.

My very first podcast

Difficult to make...harder to upload...pretty simple and very interesting once I knew what I was doing. Of course, I was done at that point. Here's my first podcast. It's based on technology and involves interviews with three former students.

http://www.podcastmachine.com/podcasts/1487/episodes/6912#

21st Century Education

As part of my master's progam, I was required to view and evaluate the website for the Parntership for 21st Century Skills located at http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php. The site is based on the concept of educating students for the technological world they will be entering. The website was well organized with clear connections to conceptual framework, technology requirements, and the general success stories of classroom integration into the 21st century.

I was surprised by the noted states that have developed full programs to prepare their students for the technological future. The ten states were scattered throughout the nation suggesting that the general grouping of standardized tests is not always indicative of a region's educational advancement.

Unfortunately, this site seems to be yet another example of how teachers should work with technology when it is abundant in the classroom. There was little suggestion as to teaching with limited technology resources. I understand the push for all inclusive education, but some districts (many with the recent economy) simply do not budget for more than a single computer in the classroom and one or two computer labs for the building.

With the technology issues in mind, there are still viable implications from the website to assist in the classroom. There are professional development resources for teachers as well as links to the technologically focused states which may lead to classroom interactions between students across the country. In either case, the main goal is to prepare the youth of today to successfully live in the world of tomorrow.

Blogs in the Classroom: Courage for Conviction

As a middle school teacher, I deal with many students who are struggling to find their own voices. As adolescence sets in, so do new ideas and understandings of how people interact. Some students have the self confidence to express their beliefs among their peers. The majority of thirteen and fourteen year old students, however, simply do not. Blogs can be that safe outlet for opinions without the stress of standing alone.

Thus, in my classroom I hope to use a science blog and a history blog to encourage students to comment on particular topics that require an opinion founded in facts and research. I currently use prompts entitled "What Do You Think?" which ask a question and the students must answer. Many of their written answers are well founded and thoughtfully written. However, few volunteer to share their answers in the classroom. By giving the students various names (I'm thinking about using countries throughout the world), they can write their thoughts with the knowledge that the teacher is the only one who knows their identity. The positive feedback received in class discussions can help the students gain confidence. Hopefully, this practice will lead to discussions by the end of the year without the need for anonymity.

Three Things a New Teacher Should Know

A common belief in the educational system is that teachers should figure out the general run of a school on their own. The national educational support system often focuses on lesson planning, classroom management, and reflection. Everything else is left to the ultimate teacher: Time. So I thought that I would post the top three things I wish I had known going into teaching. Please feel free to add to the list. I'm sure it will help.

1) Some students will never be absent. They are never the students you actually want to see everyday.
2) Teaching middle school is the same as being in middle school. If you don't pick a good lunch table on the first day, you'll regret it for the rest of the year.
3) Come in early, but not too early. Administrators notice the first ten or so teachers that show up in the morning. Being number 12 will help you stand out without getting you caught the day your alarm doesn't go off. This will happen at least once, usually on a day you're getting observed. I'm not joking. It happened to me.