Really Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works

For my project-based lesson I have chosen to focus on area and how students can connect it to real life scenarios which they will show through a prezi demonstration. The instructional strategies that will be used are summarizing and note taking (to ensure that the students are able to have something to refer to that helps them to complete the math problem as well as to create the prezi), reinforcing effort and providing recognition (so that throughout the process I am able to see the progress of the students to let them know if they are on the right track or not), homework and practice (so that the students are able to complete tasks that involve creating a prezi and so that they are able to solve story problems similar to the one they are going to create), cooperative learning (so that the students are working with one another to bounce ideas and create their best work together), setting objectives and providing feedback (this will ensure that students are completing their tasks in a timely manner so that their project is completed on time), and cues, questions, and advance organizers (so that the students can take what they have learned and use it to complete the project). I’ve chosen for the students to create a prezi for the final task of the project.  The 21st century skills that will be assessed are the students communication skills, ability to collaborate with others, and problem solving. Below is the rubric that will be used to determine how well the students completed the project.

Crowd Accelerated Innovation

I watched  Jennifer Piechocki’s video on technology vs. non-technology involving a lesson on phases of the moon, Anne Asplund’s video on the idea of technology improving spelling skills, and finally Seanne Danielak’s  video on technology vs. non-technology involving music.  All of the videos set out to inspire you to look into how technology can influence and possibly improve a lesson. To me all of the videos were affected by “crowd accelerated innovation” because it seemed as though they all wanted to follow a specific format in order for their videos to be seen as professional and relevant in helping other teachers to see how affective technology is on how students learn. Piechocki’s video was creative and therefore it drew the viewer in and made them want to hear more about how adding technology changed the way the lesson played out.  Asplund’s video on spelling skills included actual testimony from the user’s which was helpful in determining whether the program “Spelling City” is useful to students and teachers or not.  Finally Danielak’s video showed that with the introduction of technology the student’s were able to better understand eighth rests and it was found that without technology the students were unable to use what they had learned whereas with the technology the students were highly more successful. Of the three videos the one that I liked the most was Asplund’s video which can be seen below.

Google Docs/Amazon Book Reviews

This assignment allowed me to look at how distance education can easily involve collaboration between students.  Google docs allows for all individuals to access a document and edit it in real time.  If they were using a word processing program all of the students would have to have the same program and then they would have to email it to one another making adjustments over time. This would be time consuming as well as difficult if they didn’t have the same program to use.  The ratings also give opportunities for individuals to express themselves freely and say how they really feel about how useful the book was to them and whether they enjoyed reading it or not. The online ratings also allow for others to see what a person’s individual experience was with a book and to therefore make the decision to use the book or not. Before this assignment I never really worried about group projects and finding ways to make them easier, I simply went along with what was available. This assignment helped me to see that there is more out there in the worldwide web that can change and improve the experiences that students have throughout their educational careers.

These are my book reviews on Amazon. Enjoy!

Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classroom Review

The Innovative School Leader’s Guide to Social Media

And also our group Google Doc!

My life as an Action Researcher

Research can be done in many different ways but the ultimate goal is to get information on a topic and use that information to better understand and discuss that topic. “…action research is characterized as research done by teachers for themselves” (Mertler, 2009). To me this means that action research is being done by teachers because they have a need to get information that may help to improve their experiences as a teacher. Action research is ultimately being done so that teachers are able to be better teachers and students are able to take a lot away from what they are being taught.  A literature review for qualitative or quantitative research is similar to action research because it involves getting resources, evaluating those resources, organizing all of the vital information, and then writing a summary about that information. Action research can be used in many different situations and is very successful in aiding teachers in their search for ways in which to improve the educational experience. It is important to locate various sources and not just use the first available to find a credible source of the information that you seek. With research it is vital to decide what you want to know and then find a credible source that will help you get that information because while there are many ‘sources’ available not all of them can get you to the correct outcome.

PB Works Assignment

This assignment led me to believe that while I don’t necessarily trust Wikipedia as a source for  my students I can see how some sites can have valid information on them. It is really important to verify any information that is found on Wikipedia by using either the sources located on the page or through one’s own personal research.  Before I had ever seen Stephen Colbert’s satire I was always going to Wikipedia for information and after the experience that I have had I still will use it but I definitely still look into finding proof for any information that I find on the website.  I can’t tell of any one time that I came across information on Wikipedia that wasn’t true, other than when I did it myself, and I do find that it is reliable but it is still important to make sure that the information is correct so that erroneous information is not being seen as the truth.  I will still go to Wikipedia to find out information and I would encourage my students to do the same but I will always stress that it is very important to check facts to ensure that all of their information is valid.

PB Works Wiki Page

Updated Wikipedia Page

Wikipedia Edit

At approximately 4:25 on Wednesday May 18, 2011 I chose to edit the Wikipedia page titled, “Osama bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad”. I simply added in to the food section that they purchased sunflower seeds. I continuously pressed refresh to see if the page would be edited quickly or if it would take time. I couldn’t help but feel guilty for adding lies into the page even though the small detail wouldn’t exactly be something that would change the world. After ten minutes nothing had changed so I decided to get even bolder. I went back in and added in that Osama bin Laden’s youngest wife graduated from South Haven High School. After this I proceeded to check the page every ten minutes. After an hour of checking the page had not been changed and so I assumed that it would be a long while before it was. From this experience I can definitely come to the conclusion that it is possible to find erroneous information on Wikipedia and therefore it is not always a credible source. In the hour or so that my incorrect information was  in this page any number of people could have come across it and assumed the information to be true. After taking a break from watching the page I went back at 8:39 p.m on the same day and all of the information had been changed back. Apparently someone was keeping a close eye on it.

Guest Speaker – Dr. Brian J. Dixon

Our guest speaker this evening brought in a lot of new and interesting ideas that can be utilized in the classroom.  One thing I really connected with was Ning because of the fact that it is related to Facebook but instead in a way it teaches students how to properly use social networks.  I like this idea because I have teenaged daughters that want to be involved in something like that because they want to be connected with their friends from school but I do not allow them to have Facebooks because of the endless negative possibilities that could come about.  Ning gives an avenue for the students to experience it but in a safer way. Another tool that he introduced us to was Poll Everywhere. I had not heard of it before tonight and it truly amazed me because it showed you the results of what people were voting in real time. I could definitely see the usage of this tool in the classroom because it allows the students to be truly anonymous because it doesn’t reveal who votes for what.

Make it Stick Reread

After reading Make it Stick I realized that a lot of the ideas and stories that stuck with people were ridiculous ideas that kept the interest of people because they were frightening or because they brought about strong emotions.  The story about the Halloween candy most likely stuck because the idea of it actually being true frightened people enough that they felt it was necessary to take precautions.  Ideas must follow along the lines of the six principles in order for people to gain interest and retain that interest long enough for the idea to become important to them. The ideas to be something that the people can relate to either through a previous situation, something that they are currently involved in, or something that they could see themselves involved in in the future. When they used the acronym SUCCESs to remember the six principles it helped me to find a way to remember them because the acronym is directly involved in what we want to be as teachers, a success in our classrooms.  This reading is very useful in helping to see how individuals have been successful in making the information they give stick in the mind’s of other individuals. The idea of having a template to work with in order to attempt to do just that is remarkable because if it’s possible to get student’s to comprehend the boring ideas as well as the interesting ideas, we can make our student’s experiences in school more fulfilling.

Guest Speaker – Julia Fallon

Tonight we had a guest speaker that came to discuss the uses of twitter as an educational source. I have only just begun using twitter even though I have had the account for a while because I never really saw a use for it.  Julia Fallon came and explained twitter in a way that makes it seems less scary.  While I don’t know all that there is to know about twitter, I definitely can see the usefulness of it when it comes to the classroom.  It may only involve quick short comments but these comments can be profound and make it possible to keep a discussion going on and on.  The ability to tag comments is also useful because it helps to keep things that are of interest to me in same “group”.  Overall the things that we learned this evening will be useful when it comes to making an interesting project for my future classroom.

Prezi Experience

My experience with Prezi was fun and exciting. I love using new technology to create things of my own.  When I initially saw the website I thought “Oh goodness! I want nothing to do with this!” Of course after watching the tutorial I began to think that it wouldn’t be that bad after all.  After using Prezi for the first time I can definitely say that would be a great program for students to use in the classroom because it is easy to use and it is also fun. Students enjoy using technology that allows them to create and this would definitely be useful.  Due to the fact that I don’t have my own classroom right now, I couldn’t necessarily say how my students would benefit from this because I don’t have a set grade level that I am working with.  I do however think that even young elementary students could get benefit out of using this after having a few lessons on it. The biggest issue I had was trying to figure out how to embed the prezi into my blog. Overall the experience was fun and I would definitely recommend it to teachers to allow their students some creative learning experience.

This is Camille Walker on Prezi