End of Course 6711 Reflection

In my personal learning theory, I stated that I base most of my lessons on presentation of information, recall for students, application of use and practice and feedback for students. My lessons often lack use of technology and are only occasionally open-ended. As I am now much more comfortable with and knowledgeable of the vast array of technological tools available, I will gradually start to add these into my lessons. What I worry most about is the limited time and multiple requirements the fall will bring. It's easy now to plan all of these wonderful lessons, but for me each new technology-based lesson is time-consuming. My goal is to do at least one major technology-based project per class for each grading period. These could be student made PowerPoints, voicethreads or podcasts. I have created a blog for my algebra classes and a wiki for my physics classes and hope to use those on a weekly basis. I really like the online concept maps such as Bubbl.us and hope to be able to use the laptops computers for my students to make these maps for reviews, experiments, etc.
Long term goals for me are to put some of my lecture notes on PowerPoints or voicethreads, using more images, expand the blog and wiki I've started and train my students to work collaboratively more effectively.

Voicethread URL

http://voicethread.com/#u393626.b530217

Instructional Strategies for Social Learning

The concept of social learning contends that by learning by conversing with others the learning takes on more meaning and is learned more thoroughly. Cooperative learning allows the attainment of goals that might otherwise be difficult or impossible. Since learning is connected to environment and culture, the use of real-life examples, problems and situations makes learning easier. This translates into the classroom as group work in which all members contribute and an artifact for sharing is produced. Technology offers options such as the creation of a website to display the accumulated information, producing a wiki to encourage the input of others and interacting in multiplayer simulation games that allow human to human interaction. All of these provide opportunities for the students in a classroom to interact with not only each other, but with students worldwide, thus broadening the learning experience.

Instruction based on constructivism and constructionism

Since constructivism means, " knowledge is built by the learner, not supplied by the teacher", (Han, 2008), lessons in which the students pose a question or problem and then investigate it and try to create solutions are examples of constructivist thinking. The workshop led by Kayla, (Han,2008), is an example in that it was focused on the participants, allowed them to research and form a plan with the instructor providing feedback and guidance. Pitler (2007) discusses constructivist strategies when writing about coming up with and testing hypotheses such as the class that investigated the pH of local water. Inquiry based learning is a way for students to construct information in a way that is relevant to them and their world. Constructionism goes hand in hand with constructivism, in that it creates an end result, conclusion or product that can be shared, considered and analyzed by others. The science class investigating pH's, produced graphs to compare their findings and tried to find reasons for the differences. Having a learner process a question in his/her own way and then make a product by using and applying the gained knowledge is at the heart of both constructivism and constructionism.

Organizing, summarizing and note taking to aid cognitive learning

In my subject (math) students have trouble recalling how to start the solving of a problem. They also struggle with what the solution of a problem really represents. In other words, sometimes they will memorize the steps for getting to an answer, but they will have no idea what the answer stands for. Storing such knowledge in long term memory would involve storing declarative and procedural information (Orey, 2008). The use of concept maps which show the order of the steps of the problem and which relate the solution to a real life situation could be a way to help tag this information for later use. I particularly like the idea of using an Excel spreadsheet to set up a series of similar problems. Proposing an essential or focus question such as, "Which is the best method for working this problem?" will help students choose from what they know and will also help highlight what they do not understand.

Behaviorist Learning Instructional Strategies

Behaviorist learning works by reinforcing desired or productive behaviors and discouraging unwanted or unproductive actions. In Chapter 8 of Pitler's (2007), Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works, several ways are shown to allow students to track their own efforts and to correlate those efforts to their grade or success in class. As students self-assess and record their levels of effort in areas such as homework, class participation and notes, they are able to see the correlation between their degree of effort and the results. After weeks of tracking the data, students can observe that increasing effort increases their grade. Therefore, their increased effort is rewarded making it more likely that they will continue to try. I like the idea of the students assigning their rubric scores. It shifts the focus of responsibility and the power to change to them. I had a student today who was surprised that he was in danger of failing this semester and asked how that had happened. Perhaps if he had been regularly charting his effort he would have seen this coming!
In Chapter 10 of Pitler's book, homework and practice are discussed in terms of relevance and feedback. I was particularly interested in the discussion of the PowerPoint battleship game because I play battleship with my math students using graph paper. I call on each student one at a time and if they work their math problem correctly they get to "take a shot" at where ships are hidden on my master graph. If they miss the problem, it goes to the next student in line. They will work for extra credit points, candy or a homework pass. This game also helps reinforce good behavior. If a student blurts out an answer when it's not his turn, then he loses his turn. Based on Orey (2008), I'm using positive and negative reinforcement and negative punishment. I will
be checking out the online version for next year's use. Cathy

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

• Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
• Chapter 8: Reinforcing Effort, pp. 155–164
• Chapter 10: Homework and Practice, pp. 187–201

Reflection For Course 6710, “Understanding The Impact Of Technology
On Education, Work And Society”

I’ve been a teacher for over twenty years and have acquired understanding of the psyche of teenagers, skill at handling the unexpected, flexibility, patience and knowledge of my content areas. However, I have not kept current with the field of technology and all the available tools it offers for the classroom. This course has been an eye-opener and a motivator for beginning to remedy this oversight on my part. I have created a blog and made postings there, collaborated on designing a wiki, worked with some of my students to record a podcast and then upload it for public access and read and participated in discussions about the new learning styles of today’s students. For most of these assignments, there have been moments of frustration and confusion, but I successfully completed them and experienced satisfaction in doing so.
In order to accomplish the technology applications I’ve had to correspond with my classmates and several colleagues at my school. This has resulted in my becoming more comfortable with the vocabulary of technology, getting to know others interested in technology in the classroom and in the expansion of my knowledge and abilities.
The concept that most of today’s students act as digital natives (Prensky, 2005), fluent in the terms and tools of technology, is the basis for the idea that educators must also embrace technological skills in order to effectively teach these students. That the brain functioning of digital natives actually differs fundamentally from that of the so- called digital immigrants (Prensky, 2005), is a novel idea to me. If true, then the traditional methods used for linear learning will no longer be as effective. Additionally, with so much information available to both students and teachers, the role of the teacher is changing from that of the expert to a facilitator who guides the students as they research, compile and analyze real life problems using their school content to do so. This will require a change in direction for me as I work to empower the students to take more control of their own learning. I do think that the best approach for me will be to use a variety of teaching methods, still lecturing on some days, while interspersing this with group work, games and collaborative projects. Having become more at ease with technology, I will be able to supplement each of these lessons with computer use.
Now that I have a broader basis of computer knowledge to build on, I will more readily seek out sites and applications which enhance my current lesson plans and that will help students master the core content while acquiring the needed 21st literacy skills. One long-term goal for helping to achieve this transformation in my teaching style will be to commit to one technology based project per class per grading period. These can vary from a student-produced presentation to a review of a web-based tutorial. A second long-term goal is to gain permission and guidance in setting up blogs and or wikis for my classes. This would require arming my students and parents with the information about these technological tools, how to set them up while ensuring the safety of the students and getting parental permission and involvement.
I’ve gained both knowledge and experience in the options and advantages of using technology in the classroom, at work and in society. When I looked back at my “Practices to Support 21st Century Skills” checklist, I find that in most areas I have moved forward in my use and teaching with technology. My hope is that I’m on my way to developing new habits and practices of teaching that meld my traditional practices with the new practices offered by innovative technology. As summed up by Trilling (2005): “
The challenges that our newly arrived Knowledge Age brings to learning and education are great, but the promise of a renaissance of learning in 21st Century Learning Societies is even greater. There is important work to be done in helping turn this vision of a global network of Learning Societies into a Knowledge Age reality.”


Prensky. Mark (2005). “Listen to the natives.” Association For Supervision And
Curriculum Development.

Trilling, Bernie. (2005). Toward Learning Societies And The Global Challenges
For Learning-With-ICT. Oracle Education Foundation.