Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Response to Chapter 5
Chapter 5 was a much more challenging chapter in my opinion and much less relevant to the elementary curriculum compared to the previous chapters we have read. I believe that understanding the different Mindtools available is very important and having a firm grasp on the way they work and how they can benefit students is imperative as well, however, the author even notes that some of the tools listed are too far advanced for elementary schoolers. I feel as though I agree because I was even confused by a few of the tools. Overall, the chapter offered a variety of valuable information that could and should be used to professionally develop as an educator. I am just concerned that I could not effectively work them into an elementary aged classroom.
It is interesting that this chapter focused heavily on models. I have felt since the beginning of the semester that this class and our science class appear to be working hand-in-hand. For example, today we focused heavily on models and what they represent and last week we looked at concept maps, which is what we studied in here. It has been a great reinforcement to be able to use the technological tools that we are gaining in this class to further our knowledge in other classes. Aside from that, this chapter’s explanation of models varied but was also related to what I discovered in science. In science, we viewed models as simplified versions of real world processes and how we can learn from them. In the chapter, the author discusses how we can learn by building those models. One of the most interesting but true statements from the chapter stated that we need to allow students to do what they are good at, such as conceptualizing and organizing and computers to do what they are good at, which is storing and retrieving facts. I had never even considered this before, but it is very true. Teachers often expect students to memorize facts and then retrieve them later or during assessment, but many loose the conceptualization factor along the way. Computers are often used to judge, organize, and conceptualize the answers inputted. However, each is much more skilled at the other task. It took me some time to fully comprehend this concept, but, I feel as though it is extremely important to remember this in regards to my future as an educator.
The idea of using concept maps was expressed in chapter 4 with regards to writing. I feel like many of the same ideas and main points were reiterated in this chapter, even citing the same commonly used technological resources available to students. In my opinion, this was the only tool of the five illustrated in the chapter that could be used effectively by elementary students. Although the other four tools would be useful to teachers and older students, I feel that concept mapping is the only tool that elementary students could take ownership over and create on their own, with little help from the teacher. Again, reiterating from last chapters response I have some experience with Webspiration, which is the free online concept-mapping tool from Inspiration as well as IHMC CMap Tools. Both of these sites are very user friendly and easy to navigate around but most importantly allow for the labeling of the linking and relationships between the different nodes.
http://cmap.ihmc.us/conceptmap.html
http://mywebspiration.com
The systems dynamics tools concept was very confusing to me. I did some further research on the topic considering I was still unsure after reading the book and concluded that it is a model, really more like a simulation, that models the behavior and interrelationships of systems that interact with each other over time. I looked over the examples that the text provided including Stella and Model-It. The Stella model, although very useful in higher education, including high school and college, was even baffling to me. I looked at the site and viewed sample models but had trouble following one, never mind creating my own. The Stella example of the systems model of the sun in the book was very overwhelming to the eye. I think that if I were to present that information in that model to a group of elementary schoolers they would have no idea where to begin or how to even follow it. I understand that this may be an extreme illustration but even after looking at the more scaled down site of Model-It I was still overwhelmed. I went through the example on this site and it is a very involved process to create a model and much prior knowledge is needed in this arena before going on to actually create the model. I think that if something like this were going to be used in an elementary classroom, it would need to be a long-term project that was whole class structure and heavily scaffold by the teacher. Although the idea of using these types of models may be a very good tool for higher education, I just do not understand its place within an elementary setting.
The idea of spreadsheets is a fascinating concept to me. I have always used Microsoft Excel for very simple tasks; such as organizing t-shirt sales for an organization I am involved in or just as an organizational tool. I have never taken full advantage of the calculating features they offer. Although Microsoft Excel offers a great option for a program, with everything becoming easier and more accessible online, I explored Google docs and used their spreadsheet tool. I have had very little experience with this. However, my boyfriend lives in a house with 4 other guys and they manage their finances of what they owe each other through this tool. They all have access to it and can see and adjust it as needed. What is another really cool feature is that it will create a graph based on the input data. Going back to the example of the guys, they have the spreadsheet that they can alter but they also have a bar graph, using piles of money as a bar, to see who owes who how much and who owes the most. Another really cool website I found was Blist. Blist works similar to delicious in that it is a social environment where things can be shared and tagged, however, it works specifically with spreadsheets. It works in tandem with Excel, a tool that can be used and accessed anywhere rather than just from the home computer. Excel documents can be uploaded and altered from anywhere. Also, Blist offers its own spreadsheet tools, where they can be created, altered, saved, shared, and tagged. These sites could be used in an elementary classroom, with the help of a teacher to create charts and graphs and compare data. The cool thing about using sites like Blist and Google Docs is that it could give content a more global perspective, allowing students to share their findings in a spreadsheet with other classes or students around the world. I think the idea of using spreadsheets in classrooms would be very effective but I think that it is very important for students to be heavily scaffold by teachers in this circumstance to familiarize them with the spreadsheets and how they work so they can more focus on the concept involved.
http://www.blist.com
I think that Expert Systems would be good to use as an educator, I just am not quite sure how it would be used with students. Again, I will reiterate that I feel that many of the tools offered in this section were not very useful for students in the elementary arena. However, the idea of an Expert System reminds me of the digital 20 Questions game. I believe this to be a very simplified version of the systems. The game has a series of questions or the “shell” that outlines and points to a certain answer based on the other answers to particular decision. I don’t think that I am underestimating student’s ability, I just really think that this may be challenging for students to learn, especially if we are trying to get students to learn with technology, not just from technology. The chapter mentions that Expert Systems are good to use for metacognition with children, however, I personally feel that the systems seem to do a lot of the thinking for them. How can students think about their thinking, if something else is doing the thinking for them?
Looking at the databases, I think it is very useful for students to become familiar with databases and their searches because they will absolutely need it later on in life. I had never had experience with online databases until I came to college and took a library seminar. Now, however, I feel that I have a much better understanding of how they work and how useful they really are. The only databases that I have really had any experience with include those on the George A. Smathers website. My favorite is definitely Academic Search Premier. I have found that when looking for scholarly articles this has definitely been most useful to me. As a student at the University of Florida, I am very blessed to have access to many journals and magazines and articles at my fingertips that usually cost money to subscribe to. As a teacher, I plan to be proactive about getting my school to subscribe to educational journals that are relative and helpful to my future students. I also often think of Google as a database. Using Google is all about how you search and I think searching within that engine could equip students with the proper skills of later using more involved and in depth databases. http://www.kidsbiology.com/animals-for-children.php is a cool site that I found that contains an animal database that would be very helpful and interesting to use with students. I think that database work definitely is important I just do not know how in depth students would be able to get into it. I think that introducing students to simple databases such as this would be a good way to get them in to thinking about creating their own databases. Students could create their own online databases for all of their school work. Having an “online filing cabinet” of all of their greatest work would be a great resource for students to have as they continue through their education. I think that this is one way that I could incorporate the use of student-created databases within my future classroom. Looking at my own life, as much as Delicious is a social bookmarking site, I think that it works similar to a database with its tagging systems and compilation of valuable resources. The more that I learn about different technologies and technological resources the more I realize how much they overlap.
Unfortunately, this chapter was not as helpful for me as previous chapters. I think that the more advanced tools are good for me to learn about for my own professional knowledge, but I am still dealing with processing how I will work them into my future classroom. I know that learning is an ongoing process and that excites me because hopefully, as time passes, I will get a firmer grasp on these specific tools.
It is interesting that this chapter focused heavily on models. I have felt since the beginning of the semester that this class and our science class appear to be working hand-in-hand. For example, today we focused heavily on models and what they represent and last week we looked at concept maps, which is what we studied in here. It has been a great reinforcement to be able to use the technological tools that we are gaining in this class to further our knowledge in other classes. Aside from that, this chapter’s explanation of models varied but was also related to what I discovered in science. In science, we viewed models as simplified versions of real world processes and how we can learn from them. In the chapter, the author discusses how we can learn by building those models. One of the most interesting but true statements from the chapter stated that we need to allow students to do what they are good at, such as conceptualizing and organizing and computers to do what they are good at, which is storing and retrieving facts. I had never even considered this before, but it is very true. Teachers often expect students to memorize facts and then retrieve them later or during assessment, but many loose the conceptualization factor along the way. Computers are often used to judge, organize, and conceptualize the answers inputted. However, each is much more skilled at the other task. It took me some time to fully comprehend this concept, but, I feel as though it is extremely important to remember this in regards to my future as an educator.
The idea of using concept maps was expressed in chapter 4 with regards to writing. I feel like many of the same ideas and main points were reiterated in this chapter, even citing the same commonly used technological resources available to students. In my opinion, this was the only tool of the five illustrated in the chapter that could be used effectively by elementary students. Although the other four tools would be useful to teachers and older students, I feel that concept mapping is the only tool that elementary students could take ownership over and create on their own, with little help from the teacher. Again, reiterating from last chapters response I have some experience with Webspiration, which is the free online concept-mapping tool from Inspiration as well as IHMC CMap Tools. Both of these sites are very user friendly and easy to navigate around but most importantly allow for the labeling of the linking and relationships between the different nodes.
http://cmap.ihmc.us/conceptmap.html
http://mywebspiration.com
The systems dynamics tools concept was very confusing to me. I did some further research on the topic considering I was still unsure after reading the book and concluded that it is a model, really more like a simulation, that models the behavior and interrelationships of systems that interact with each other over time. I looked over the examples that the text provided including Stella and Model-It. The Stella model, although very useful in higher education, including high school and college, was even baffling to me. I looked at the site and viewed sample models but had trouble following one, never mind creating my own. The Stella example of the systems model of the sun in the book was very overwhelming to the eye. I think that if I were to present that information in that model to a group of elementary schoolers they would have no idea where to begin or how to even follow it. I understand that this may be an extreme illustration but even after looking at the more scaled down site of Model-It I was still overwhelmed. I went through the example on this site and it is a very involved process to create a model and much prior knowledge is needed in this arena before going on to actually create the model. I think that if something like this were going to be used in an elementary classroom, it would need to be a long-term project that was whole class structure and heavily scaffold by the teacher. Although the idea of using these types of models may be a very good tool for higher education, I just do not understand its place within an elementary setting.
The idea of spreadsheets is a fascinating concept to me. I have always used Microsoft Excel for very simple tasks; such as organizing t-shirt sales for an organization I am involved in or just as an organizational tool. I have never taken full advantage of the calculating features they offer. Although Microsoft Excel offers a great option for a program, with everything becoming easier and more accessible online, I explored Google docs and used their spreadsheet tool. I have had very little experience with this. However, my boyfriend lives in a house with 4 other guys and they manage their finances of what they owe each other through this tool. They all have access to it and can see and adjust it as needed. What is another really cool feature is that it will create a graph based on the input data. Going back to the example of the guys, they have the spreadsheet that they can alter but they also have a bar graph, using piles of money as a bar, to see who owes who how much and who owes the most. Another really cool website I found was Blist. Blist works similar to delicious in that it is a social environment where things can be shared and tagged, however, it works specifically with spreadsheets. It works in tandem with Excel, a tool that can be used and accessed anywhere rather than just from the home computer. Excel documents can be uploaded and altered from anywhere. Also, Blist offers its own spreadsheet tools, where they can be created, altered, saved, shared, and tagged. These sites could be used in an elementary classroom, with the help of a teacher to create charts and graphs and compare data. The cool thing about using sites like Blist and Google Docs is that it could give content a more global perspective, allowing students to share their findings in a spreadsheet with other classes or students around the world. I think the idea of using spreadsheets in classrooms would be very effective but I think that it is very important for students to be heavily scaffold by teachers in this circumstance to familiarize them with the spreadsheets and how they work so they can more focus on the concept involved.
http://www.blist.com
I think that Expert Systems would be good to use as an educator, I just am not quite sure how it would be used with students. Again, I will reiterate that I feel that many of the tools offered in this section were not very useful for students in the elementary arena. However, the idea of an Expert System reminds me of the digital 20 Questions game. I believe this to be a very simplified version of the systems. The game has a series of questions or the “shell” that outlines and points to a certain answer based on the other answers to particular decision. I don’t think that I am underestimating student’s ability, I just really think that this may be challenging for students to learn, especially if we are trying to get students to learn with technology, not just from technology. The chapter mentions that Expert Systems are good to use for metacognition with children, however, I personally feel that the systems seem to do a lot of the thinking for them. How can students think about their thinking, if something else is doing the thinking for them?
Looking at the databases, I think it is very useful for students to become familiar with databases and their searches because they will absolutely need it later on in life. I had never had experience with online databases until I came to college and took a library seminar. Now, however, I feel that I have a much better understanding of how they work and how useful they really are. The only databases that I have really had any experience with include those on the George A. Smathers website. My favorite is definitely Academic Search Premier. I have found that when looking for scholarly articles this has definitely been most useful to me. As a student at the University of Florida, I am very blessed to have access to many journals and magazines and articles at my fingertips that usually cost money to subscribe to. As a teacher, I plan to be proactive about getting my school to subscribe to educational journals that are relative and helpful to my future students. I also often think of Google as a database. Using Google is all about how you search and I think searching within that engine could equip students with the proper skills of later using more involved and in depth databases. http://www.kidsbiology.com/animals-for-children.php is a cool site that I found that contains an animal database that would be very helpful and interesting to use with students. I think that database work definitely is important I just do not know how in depth students would be able to get into it. I think that introducing students to simple databases such as this would be a good way to get them in to thinking about creating their own databases. Students could create their own online databases for all of their school work. Having an “online filing cabinet” of all of their greatest work would be a great resource for students to have as they continue through their education. I think that this is one way that I could incorporate the use of student-created databases within my future classroom. Looking at my own life, as much as Delicious is a social bookmarking site, I think that it works similar to a database with its tagging systems and compilation of valuable resources. The more that I learn about different technologies and technological resources the more I realize how much they overlap.
Unfortunately, this chapter was not as helpful for me as previous chapters. I think that the more advanced tools are good for me to learn about for my own professional knowledge, but I am still dealing with processing how I will work them into my future classroom. I know that learning is an ongoing process and that excites me because hopefully, as time passes, I will get a firmer grasp on these specific tools.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Response to Chapter 4
After reading this chapter on how writing can be supported with technology, I feel that I have learned many new things as well as confirmed many of the ideas I already possessed concerning the use of technology to foster writing. Considering the fact that practically all papers, reports, or articles have to be typed, students experience with technology in the writing realm should not be limited to word processors. I feel that in many classrooms today, in writing, students use computers to type documents, use the dictionary, or check their grammar in programs such as Word. However, I feel that the possibilities to improve and help students in their writing are endless with technology.
The chapter highlights the use of concept maps to help students organize their writing. Many teachers already employ this method using basic supplies such as paper and pencil, but adding the technological aspect of concept mapping will not only give it more relevance to students but, make it easier and more fun, in my opinion. I have just recently discovered the usefulness and simplicity of using online concept maps. The book suggests two sites, Inspiration and Semantica, neither of which I have experience with. I have been using Webspiration, which is just a free branch of concept mapping and outlining through Inspiration. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning and using this site to organize my own ideas as well as create presentations. I actually used this to create the concept map I used in my controversial issue presentation. In the past, I have always found concept mapping mildly helpful but very boring. I think doing it online and using programs such as this has truly opened my eyes to how effective concept mapping can be. In my previous experiences, I never linked the nodes on the concept maps I simply used my central idea and cultivated basic topics and drew them in little circles. However, after using concept maps more and more I have realized the importance of those links and the subsequent impact they have on writing. The program mentioned earlier, Webspiration, allows you to create useful links and link multiple nodes to create a more comprehensive and connected map. The “link” portion of the concept maps allows the map to read like a sentence. I have found that these linked nodes can serve as simple basis sentences to build upon within my papers. I would love to utilize such tools in my future classroom with my future students so that they do not have to wait as long to discover the value of such an easily accessible and useful tool.
The chapter also looks at presentation writing. Again, in my previous experiences, whenever I was told to do a presentation my mind instantly diverted to PowerPoint. I saw this as the easiest and most effective means to displaying information in an interesting format. This book and this class are quickly changing my mind. I think that my lack of knowledge of programs available is what has stopped me from exploring more creative and entertaining programs. The chapter outlines both the pros and cons of such a program. The interesting thing is that many of the things that I looked at as pros of the program, are actually what the chapter considers the cons. For example, I have always thought that having too many slides was not a problem as long as they were not overloaded with information. Instead of loading one slide with tons of information, I would just make five slides to say what I wanted to in one. Although I never thought this was a great thing, I never thought of it as negative before now. Also, many of the positive points that the chapter highlights about PowerPoint, I did not even know existed. I have always thought of myself as proficient in the program and I now realize that I am clueless to what it actually has to offer. For example, I have never used or explored the “Auto Content” wizard. I can think of five different projects off the top of my head that I completed in PowerPoint and could have used such a tool for. Just like what is mentioned in the chapter, many times when PowerPoint is used, it is done to simply display information, returning to the idea of learning from technology rather than with it. I really liked the books idea of using old PowerPoints to have students analyze and evaluate them as a learning tool to further their use with the program. As I continue to learn about the existence of other presentation programs such as Prezi and Slide Rocket, I struggle with the idea of using PowerPoint in my future classroom. I feel that as technology advances daily, using PowerPoint with my future students in 5 years may be like using a typewriter to process a document. I want to continue to explore new options not only for myself but, for use with my future students as well.
The idea of publishing students writing to the Internet is something that has never occurred to me before but is something that I hope to employ in my future classroom. I agree with the chapter in that it says “the simple activity of placing their work on the Internet for public access inspires many students to take their work more seriously and to engage in a level of reflection about their work that is otherwise rare” (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, Crismond, 2008, pp. 71). When I think about work that I have done or anything that I have posted on my Facebook or personal blog I realize that I take much more care of what it says because I know many others will have access to it. I visited the KidScribe page that the text recommends. I think that this is a superb site that could be used with all students, especially ESOL. I love that it is so easy to navigate and for kids to publish. I also really like that it is a bilingual site. I originally thought that it translated, but it actually just supplies the option of submitting in another language. It was really neat to go on the site and see the writing of students from all over the world. I also really liked that it posted different topics to respond to. For example, on the writing page students could submit a blurb about what they believe peace to mean. There are different pages including jokes, poems, and stories where students can submit their different genres of writing. The global perspective of this website allows for students to feel like and become global and respected published authors!
The idea of collaborative writing using technology is also new and exciting to me. When I think of collaborative writing, I think of group papers. However, collaborative writing entails much more than that. I think that the best idea that I extracted from the section on collaborative writing deals with students being involved in global writing communities. Using asynchronous settings students around the world are able to communicate and create together. I think the idea of having students in the US and elsewhere around the world reflect and write on a specific topic to come to a collaborative conclusion will not only give students a more global perspective but also allow them to connect with a student whom they would have never had the opportunity to. Technology fosters these opportunities. Students from around the world can work together to actively seek answers to questions that plague this globe. Using technology to foster learning will not only allow students to become better writers but also more well-rounded citizens. Collaborative writing also reminds me of what we did this week with our blogs. I think that being able to comment on each other’s work allows for positive, quick, and effective feedback. The chapter touches on feedback on writing using technology and I believe that commenting is a great way to get constructive feedback and criticism. I realize that I say it in each learning log, but weekly I am blown away by what technology is available and how it can foster amazing learning within the classroom.
I think that this chapter to date has been my favorite. I really enjoy writing, but in my experiences thus far I feel like it is a hit or miss topic to teach. Students will either excel and love it or struggle and hate it. I believe that with technology advancing as rapidly as it is, being exposed and learning about these new opportunities is imperative as a future educator. I hope to continue to professionally develop in my personal technological realm in an effort to become the most effective and culturally relevant teacher to my future students.
The chapter highlights the use of concept maps to help students organize their writing. Many teachers already employ this method using basic supplies such as paper and pencil, but adding the technological aspect of concept mapping will not only give it more relevance to students but, make it easier and more fun, in my opinion. I have just recently discovered the usefulness and simplicity of using online concept maps. The book suggests two sites, Inspiration and Semantica, neither of which I have experience with. I have been using Webspiration, which is just a free branch of concept mapping and outlining through Inspiration. I have thoroughly enjoyed learning and using this site to organize my own ideas as well as create presentations. I actually used this to create the concept map I used in my controversial issue presentation. In the past, I have always found concept mapping mildly helpful but very boring. I think doing it online and using programs such as this has truly opened my eyes to how effective concept mapping can be. In my previous experiences, I never linked the nodes on the concept maps I simply used my central idea and cultivated basic topics and drew them in little circles. However, after using concept maps more and more I have realized the importance of those links and the subsequent impact they have on writing. The program mentioned earlier, Webspiration, allows you to create useful links and link multiple nodes to create a more comprehensive and connected map. The “link” portion of the concept maps allows the map to read like a sentence. I have found that these linked nodes can serve as simple basis sentences to build upon within my papers. I would love to utilize such tools in my future classroom with my future students so that they do not have to wait as long to discover the value of such an easily accessible and useful tool.
The chapter also looks at presentation writing. Again, in my previous experiences, whenever I was told to do a presentation my mind instantly diverted to PowerPoint. I saw this as the easiest and most effective means to displaying information in an interesting format. This book and this class are quickly changing my mind. I think that my lack of knowledge of programs available is what has stopped me from exploring more creative and entertaining programs. The chapter outlines both the pros and cons of such a program. The interesting thing is that many of the things that I looked at as pros of the program, are actually what the chapter considers the cons. For example, I have always thought that having too many slides was not a problem as long as they were not overloaded with information. Instead of loading one slide with tons of information, I would just make five slides to say what I wanted to in one. Although I never thought this was a great thing, I never thought of it as negative before now. Also, many of the positive points that the chapter highlights about PowerPoint, I did not even know existed. I have always thought of myself as proficient in the program and I now realize that I am clueless to what it actually has to offer. For example, I have never used or explored the “Auto Content” wizard. I can think of five different projects off the top of my head that I completed in PowerPoint and could have used such a tool for. Just like what is mentioned in the chapter, many times when PowerPoint is used, it is done to simply display information, returning to the idea of learning from technology rather than with it. I really liked the books idea of using old PowerPoints to have students analyze and evaluate them as a learning tool to further their use with the program. As I continue to learn about the existence of other presentation programs such as Prezi and Slide Rocket, I struggle with the idea of using PowerPoint in my future classroom. I feel that as technology advances daily, using PowerPoint with my future students in 5 years may be like using a typewriter to process a document. I want to continue to explore new options not only for myself but, for use with my future students as well.
The idea of publishing students writing to the Internet is something that has never occurred to me before but is something that I hope to employ in my future classroom. I agree with the chapter in that it says “the simple activity of placing their work on the Internet for public access inspires many students to take their work more seriously and to engage in a level of reflection about their work that is otherwise rare” (Jonassen, Howland, Marra, Crismond, 2008, pp. 71). When I think about work that I have done or anything that I have posted on my Facebook or personal blog I realize that I take much more care of what it says because I know many others will have access to it. I visited the KidScribe page that the text recommends. I think that this is a superb site that could be used with all students, especially ESOL. I love that it is so easy to navigate and for kids to publish. I also really like that it is a bilingual site. I originally thought that it translated, but it actually just supplies the option of submitting in another language. It was really neat to go on the site and see the writing of students from all over the world. I also really liked that it posted different topics to respond to. For example, on the writing page students could submit a blurb about what they believe peace to mean. There are different pages including jokes, poems, and stories where students can submit their different genres of writing. The global perspective of this website allows for students to feel like and become global and respected published authors!
The idea of collaborative writing using technology is also new and exciting to me. When I think of collaborative writing, I think of group papers. However, collaborative writing entails much more than that. I think that the best idea that I extracted from the section on collaborative writing deals with students being involved in global writing communities. Using asynchronous settings students around the world are able to communicate and create together. I think the idea of having students in the US and elsewhere around the world reflect and write on a specific topic to come to a collaborative conclusion will not only give students a more global perspective but also allow them to connect with a student whom they would have never had the opportunity to. Technology fosters these opportunities. Students from around the world can work together to actively seek answers to questions that plague this globe. Using technology to foster learning will not only allow students to become better writers but also more well-rounded citizens. Collaborative writing also reminds me of what we did this week with our blogs. I think that being able to comment on each other’s work allows for positive, quick, and effective feedback. The chapter touches on feedback on writing using technology and I believe that commenting is a great way to get constructive feedback and criticism. I realize that I say it in each learning log, but weekly I am blown away by what technology is available and how it can foster amazing learning within the classroom.
I think that this chapter to date has been my favorite. I really enjoy writing, but in my experiences thus far I feel like it is a hit or miss topic to teach. Students will either excel and love it or struggle and hate it. I believe that with technology advancing as rapidly as it is, being exposed and learning about these new opportunities is imperative as a future educator. I hope to continue to professionally develop in my personal technological realm in an effort to become the most effective and culturally relevant teacher to my future students.
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Response to Chapter 3
1.Sodaplay is an interesting website. Upon first entering the site I was not quite sure what it was about. All of the different small icons with different drawings and figures in them confused me as to what kind of microworld it was. After further exploring the site, I realized that it was a physics site. I played a few of the games created by other students. I was able to manipulate varying physics characteristics. For example, I played a game entitled “Fish” where I was able to manipulate the speed, springyness, and gravity. The purpose for this microworld appeared to be to allow students to create games where students can manipulate different physics characteristics, allowing them to make hypothesis and drawing conclusions based on their own manipulations. This could be used with elementary students to teach basic physics principles including gravity and velocity.
2.Net Frog- The Net Frog simulation looks similar to a program that was available for use when I was in high school. It is easy to use and easy to follow but it also seemed just plain easy. Without reading the directions or watching the videos I was able to guess what I was supposed to know without actually having to do much. With that being said, I do not think that this simulation promotes much meaningful learning. Although it promotes an “educational idea” it goes back to the mentality of learning from technology rather than learning with it. Simply using this online simulation to dissect a frog, does not force any sort of inquiry based learning. I do not think that I would use this simulation with students. I understand that many teachers offer it as an alternative to actually dissecting a frog, but I feel as though it greatly decreases the difficulty of the actual process and it also does not allow for much hypothesizing or taking risks. Everything is laid out in a certain manner and needs to be performed correctly without error. I believe that without the possibility and risk of failing no true and meaningful learning can occur.
Funderstanding Roller Coaster- At first, just looking at the title of this I thought that it would not promote much meaningful learning either. However, I am happy to say that I was proved false. After playing the game, I realized that you are able to manipulate that roller coaster in a way that causes the car to fall off the track or fly through the sky. The possibility of failure is available and allows students to hypothesize and manipulate different variables. The ability to manipulate certain variable also differs from the Net Frog site because there was an exact way to perform on that while in this simulation I was able to try many different things and there was no one right answer. I believe that this does promote meaningful learning and I would absolutely use it to introduce different scientific laws and physics principles to my students.
3. Houghton Mifflin Discover Simulations
Grade 2: Science: Matter and Energy
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsc/content/simulation/
The Houghton Mifflin site provides a variety of science simulations for grades K-6. I experimented with a few in each grade level and they each offer great simulations of specific science experiences. They allow students to explore various topics and manipulate a few variables for each. I believe that the simulations provided on this site promote meaningful learning because students are able to manipulate or examine certain factors and see how each is affected. I tried the matter and energy simulation for grade 2. In that simulation I tested to see how certain states of matter affect how one hears noises. I was able to listen to a noise without anything in the way and then listen to the sounds through liquid, solid, and gas. There were also follow-up questions to ask students why certain events occurred. I believe this simulation will bring simple science lessons such as this to life for students.
4.Darfur is Dying- This educational game was very interesting. Upon first entering the game, I was allowed to choose a character and with that character I tried to get water from my community. My first person was captured. This game heavily played on my emotions. After my character was captured I was no longer allowed to use her and had to choose a new one. Navigating around the camp also allowed for learning. I believe that this site should be used with students. The site allows from some meaningful learning, but more than anything I believe that it strikes an interest in students that will cause them to further explore the controversial topic. I feel that this topic specifically allows for meaningful learning because it is still very unknown. I think that allowing students to take on the role of a child of Darfur allows them to get a small glimpse of what these children and their families are going through.
Ayiti: The Cost of Life- This game is very interesting. I believe that we as Americans, myself included, often forget the blessings that we delight in on a daily basis. It is very easy to forget how many people around the world do not have all the luxuries that we do. With that being said, this game allows students to get an inclination as to what, other children like themselves, have to do to help their families survive. The game has that failure factor that I discussed earlier. Students have to make decisions and create hypothesis and manipulate variables within the family to help them survive. As sad as it sounds, it is possible for the entire family to die, the failure factor. I would absolutely use this game with students. I believe that it promotes meaningful learning because students have to emerge themselves in another world in order for their “families” to survive. The students will become involved and actively engaged due to their ability to fail. I believe that they will want to succeed and because of that will need to hypothesize and develop causal reasoning when they do not succeed.
3rd World Farmer- Like the other two games, this simulation game is very good for provoking meaningful thoughts upon first entering the site. We are immediately directed to start the game and have to make decisions that ultimately affect the entire family and their survival. These games all allow for inquiry based science learning. They allow students to pose their own problems and try to solve them in various ways with multiple options. This game would also be great to use with students simply due to its inquiry nature, again using the failure factor. It allows students to take risks and fail and fix it if necessary. There is not just one right answer and so students have great freedom. This promotes meaningful learning due to how engaged students can and will become it. Students will also be able to get a glimpse of another world they are not apart of. All three of these games are not only extremely interesting but great ways to promote meaningful learning with technology, not just from it.
5. Primary Games: Where on Earth?
Grade: 6 Social Studies
http://www.primarygames.com/socstudies/whereonearth/index.htm
In this socials studies game, students are given famous landmarks and are timed and have to locate where the landmark is. The total mileage that the student is off is calculated and then recorded. The student then receives points accordingly and can advance to harder levels according to their score. This game promotes meaningful learning because it is interactive and students get the repetition factor. Although, this game deals with some memorization, memorization is necessary for practical and accurate application and I believe that this game allows for students to develop a better geographic concept of countries, continents, and big cities according to world renowned landmarks.
6. After doing some research, I believe that virtual worlds are quickly becoming an educational tool of the future. I think that there are still many characteristics of virtual worlds that do not yet have a place in the classroom, however there are some that do. I believe that there are many virtual worlds that focus on less “educational” topics. After analyzing my research, I have come to the conclusion that for a virtual world to be effective within the classroom, it should not be an exact reflection of the student’s real life. Instead, it should reflect an aspect of culture, feature of society, or a problem. If students are creating a world that exactly parallels the life they are already living, it could lead to problems that do not belong in the educational realm. Therefore, students should not create virtual worlds to similar to their own lives. However, I do believe that they should be dealing with the “big picture ideas” that affect their world and society, simply not in an individualized context. Considering that the avatars that will be used will not be replicas of the actual students, they should still retain relevance to them so that they become actively involved and meaningful learning can occur.
Resources:
http://knowledge.emory.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1166
http://horizonproject.wikispaces.com/Virtual+Worlds+-+Impact+on+Education
7.I have absolutely no programming background. I have always considered myself, moderately technologically savvy but I am quickly coming to the conclusion that I am not at all. I have never taken any classes or used any software that deals with any aspects of programming. Unfortunately, I do not know how to write an HTML code or use any other programming language. This technology class has become extremely overwhelming to me, causing me to realize how important it will be to become dedicated to professional development, especially in the area of technology, once I become a practicing educator. I am definitely learning and stretching in this class and it is causing me to think outside of the box!
2.Net Frog- The Net Frog simulation looks similar to a program that was available for use when I was in high school. It is easy to use and easy to follow but it also seemed just plain easy. Without reading the directions or watching the videos I was able to guess what I was supposed to know without actually having to do much. With that being said, I do not think that this simulation promotes much meaningful learning. Although it promotes an “educational idea” it goes back to the mentality of learning from technology rather than learning with it. Simply using this online simulation to dissect a frog, does not force any sort of inquiry based learning. I do not think that I would use this simulation with students. I understand that many teachers offer it as an alternative to actually dissecting a frog, but I feel as though it greatly decreases the difficulty of the actual process and it also does not allow for much hypothesizing or taking risks. Everything is laid out in a certain manner and needs to be performed correctly without error. I believe that without the possibility and risk of failing no true and meaningful learning can occur.
Funderstanding Roller Coaster- At first, just looking at the title of this I thought that it would not promote much meaningful learning either. However, I am happy to say that I was proved false. After playing the game, I realized that you are able to manipulate that roller coaster in a way that causes the car to fall off the track or fly through the sky. The possibility of failure is available and allows students to hypothesize and manipulate different variables. The ability to manipulate certain variable also differs from the Net Frog site because there was an exact way to perform on that while in this simulation I was able to try many different things and there was no one right answer. I believe that this does promote meaningful learning and I would absolutely use it to introduce different scientific laws and physics principles to my students.
3. Houghton Mifflin Discover Simulations
Grade 2: Science: Matter and Energy
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsc/content/simulation/
The Houghton Mifflin site provides a variety of science simulations for grades K-6. I experimented with a few in each grade level and they each offer great simulations of specific science experiences. They allow students to explore various topics and manipulate a few variables for each. I believe that the simulations provided on this site promote meaningful learning because students are able to manipulate or examine certain factors and see how each is affected. I tried the matter and energy simulation for grade 2. In that simulation I tested to see how certain states of matter affect how one hears noises. I was able to listen to a noise without anything in the way and then listen to the sounds through liquid, solid, and gas. There were also follow-up questions to ask students why certain events occurred. I believe this simulation will bring simple science lessons such as this to life for students.
4.Darfur is Dying- This educational game was very interesting. Upon first entering the game, I was allowed to choose a character and with that character I tried to get water from my community. My first person was captured. This game heavily played on my emotions. After my character was captured I was no longer allowed to use her and had to choose a new one. Navigating around the camp also allowed for learning. I believe that this site should be used with students. The site allows from some meaningful learning, but more than anything I believe that it strikes an interest in students that will cause them to further explore the controversial topic. I feel that this topic specifically allows for meaningful learning because it is still very unknown. I think that allowing students to take on the role of a child of Darfur allows them to get a small glimpse of what these children and their families are going through.
Ayiti: The Cost of Life- This game is very interesting. I believe that we as Americans, myself included, often forget the blessings that we delight in on a daily basis. It is very easy to forget how many people around the world do not have all the luxuries that we do. With that being said, this game allows students to get an inclination as to what, other children like themselves, have to do to help their families survive. The game has that failure factor that I discussed earlier. Students have to make decisions and create hypothesis and manipulate variables within the family to help them survive. As sad as it sounds, it is possible for the entire family to die, the failure factor. I would absolutely use this game with students. I believe that it promotes meaningful learning because students have to emerge themselves in another world in order for their “families” to survive. The students will become involved and actively engaged due to their ability to fail. I believe that they will want to succeed and because of that will need to hypothesize and develop causal reasoning when they do not succeed.
3rd World Farmer- Like the other two games, this simulation game is very good for provoking meaningful thoughts upon first entering the site. We are immediately directed to start the game and have to make decisions that ultimately affect the entire family and their survival. These games all allow for inquiry based science learning. They allow students to pose their own problems and try to solve them in various ways with multiple options. This game would also be great to use with students simply due to its inquiry nature, again using the failure factor. It allows students to take risks and fail and fix it if necessary. There is not just one right answer and so students have great freedom. This promotes meaningful learning due to how engaged students can and will become it. Students will also be able to get a glimpse of another world they are not apart of. All three of these games are not only extremely interesting but great ways to promote meaningful learning with technology, not just from it.
5. Primary Games: Where on Earth?
Grade: 6 Social Studies
http://www.primarygames.com/socstudies/whereonearth/index.htm
In this socials studies game, students are given famous landmarks and are timed and have to locate where the landmark is. The total mileage that the student is off is calculated and then recorded. The student then receives points accordingly and can advance to harder levels according to their score. This game promotes meaningful learning because it is interactive and students get the repetition factor. Although, this game deals with some memorization, memorization is necessary for practical and accurate application and I believe that this game allows for students to develop a better geographic concept of countries, continents, and big cities according to world renowned landmarks.
6. After doing some research, I believe that virtual worlds are quickly becoming an educational tool of the future. I think that there are still many characteristics of virtual worlds that do not yet have a place in the classroom, however there are some that do. I believe that there are many virtual worlds that focus on less “educational” topics. After analyzing my research, I have come to the conclusion that for a virtual world to be effective within the classroom, it should not be an exact reflection of the student’s real life. Instead, it should reflect an aspect of culture, feature of society, or a problem. If students are creating a world that exactly parallels the life they are already living, it could lead to problems that do not belong in the educational realm. Therefore, students should not create virtual worlds to similar to their own lives. However, I do believe that they should be dealing with the “big picture ideas” that affect their world and society, simply not in an individualized context. Considering that the avatars that will be used will not be replicas of the actual students, they should still retain relevance to them so that they become actively involved and meaningful learning can occur.
Resources:
http://knowledge.emory.edu/article.cfm?articleid=1166
http://horizonproject.wikispaces.com/Virtual+Worlds+-+Impact+on+Education
7.I have absolutely no programming background. I have always considered myself, moderately technologically savvy but I am quickly coming to the conclusion that I am not at all. I have never taken any classes or used any software that deals with any aspects of programming. Unfortunately, I do not know how to write an HTML code or use any other programming language. This technology class has become extremely overwhelming to me, causing me to realize how important it will be to become dedicated to professional development, especially in the area of technology, once I become a practicing educator. I am definitely learning and stretching in this class and it is causing me to think outside of the box!
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Chapter 2 Response
1.Google reader was the avenue I used to create my RSS feed. The video made it very simple to do and I never realized how may websites I am able to get a continuous feed from. I feel like I am becoming more and more technology savvy. Like the video tells, it really does save so much time to have all of the news from my favorite blogs and sites streaming into one place. I plan to utilize the reader on a daily basis starting now.
2.Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus- This website, although creative is not a legitimate site and does not contain accurate or true content. In evaluating the website, I noticed that much of the content was written with a sarcastic or joking tone. For example, asking to make donations to the fund says to stand in a forest and wait until you the see the alleged tree octopus and hand them a one dollar bill. Although this is very creative and entertaining, it is not true and should not be believed. Upon initially entering the site, the visual appearance of the site seemed legitimate but the exaggerated language led me to believe otherwise. Also, the information is not backed by any college, university, or organization; it is simply set up by Lyle Zapato. In fact when I googled the organization that it is allegedly affiliated with, many websites that are dedicated to the deletion of fake websites came up. All of these factors led me to believe that this site was neither legitimate nor credible.
Martin Luther King Jr.- A True Historical Examination- Along with the first website, this site is not legitimate or credible. The information is provided by Stormfront.org which is a World Wide White Pride organization, which obviously has no authority in the field of civil rights or Black history. The website has an extremely political, bias, and racist agenda. The subject matter is completely opinion and it has no resource list or bibliography. The intention of the website is clear: to create even more hatred in a world that is working against that. This website is not only illegitimate but offensive.
Dog Island Free Forever- This site is also not credible. At first glance, this site appears to be real due to its set-up and support from google. However, after reading some of the content, it is clear that the website is a joke. When evaluating the organization that backed the website, I saw that it had a disclaimer which stated that the website was created in jest. Also, the site was created in 2003 and does not seem to be updated except for the “weather” since then. All of these points led to the conclusion that this website is full of false information.
All About Explorers- This website seemed the most legitimate out of all of the other sites so far. The graphics were good and the content followed the logic that it said it would. The authors even seemed to have the authority to write the content, although it was a group of teachers instead of a university or organization, I initially thought this was enough of a viable source. When exploring the website further and looking at the different explorer pages, just from my own repertoire of knowledge I quickly realized that none of the information provided on each of the explorers were true. In fact the information was absolutely ridiculous. When I went on to the page entitled “About the Site” I discovered that the site was created like this purposefully to help students identify faulty and unhelpful sites. The group of teachers who created this site intended it to be faulty to help teach students how to identify fake sites that seem real, similar to this one. Although the site had false content, its intentions were good.
History of Robots in the Victorian Era- This website was a great deal more challenging for me to identify as legitimate or not. Upon evaluation, I noticed that the site was not backed by a university or organization, rather by a man named Paul Guinan whose email was provided to answer any questions. Also, although some of the dates and facts appeared to be correct according to my prior knowledge, there were no listed resources or bibliography. The websites visual content and construction appeared to be well and professionally done but the content was less appealing. Also, the web address was silly, “bigredhair,” and also a .com site which means anyone can create it. Although this website took more time, I concluded it as false.
Di Hydrogen Monoxide Research Division- The websites seem to become increasingly harder to tell. This website is also false. When evaluating whether or not the website was backed by an organization or university, I was thrown off by the fact that it has a United States Environmental Assessment Center icon. I had never heard of this before, but assumed it was a true organization. Also, the website had an .org address, which usually tend to be more reliable websites. What led me to believe that the website was false however was the fact that it was trying to sell certain things such as t-shirts and books. Also, the author of the website is also the author of a chapter in a “South Park” book which leads me to believe that he does not have the authority to be writing about Di Hydrogen Monoxide. Finally, there is a note at the bottom of the page that states that content veracity is not implied, meaning that the information provided is not necessarily true.
The First Human Male Pregnancy- When evaluating this website, I saw that it is backed by the RYT Hospital and Dwayne Medical Center. However, in all of its research there is no list of resources or a bibliography. Although the content seems to make a good deal of sense and flow well with the visuals and graphics, there is nothing substantial to back up the content. It also seems as though the hospital may have vested interest or a bias due to the fact that they are the origin of discovery. Of course they are going to want to make this look as viable as possible to credit their name. However, due to the lack if evidence and the gaps in logic this website is also full of content that is not reliable.
The wto.org is the correct World Trade Organization website. Several things led me to this conclusion. First, it had the more “normal” web address. For an organization as big as The World Trade Organization, I would imagine that it would have the option of having its initials for its site address. Secondly, it had a great deal of resources available to help navigate around and within the site as well as backing much of its information. The site also follows a logical presentation and sequence. The contact information for the site was actually through the World Trade Organization and had no third party resource. Although the other site looked very similar to the real one, its links directed me all over the place proving that the second site was the true one.
3.Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level: 3rd
I had a very challenging time finding many web based scavenger hunts that were relative to my grade and content area. I found about 15 through the Scholastic website. However, of the 15 I found none of them seemed to promote much meaningful learning. For example, the ones I chose to try all posed a question and then gave a link of exactly where that specific answer could be found. There was really no hunt because the hunt was already done. How can meaningful learning be expected when the students do not really have to interact with or evaluate the information on their own. The website with the answer is given to them and no student is going to search somewhere else when they already have the answer provided. Also, these also seemed to reinforce the idea of “learning from technology” rather than “learning with technology” perpetuating the idea that we as educators need to overcome.
4.I chose to do a webquest on Women in America. This webquest required students to get in groups of 4 and each student in the group would do research and a presentation on one of 4 famous women in history. Then they will present to their group and as a group will choose one woman who they will propose to put on a stamp. When looking at Johanssen’s criteria for a well designed webquest, it met several of them. It does incorporate cooperative learning considering that the students will be working both individually and in a group. It also incorporates multiple learning perspectives. The students will each have to do their own research and come up with conclusions individually, but then collectively, incorporating multiple perspectives, pick a woman who deserves to be on the stamp based on the qualities researched. Also, it incorporates the analysis and synthesis of information. Students will have to synthesize what they collect individually as a collective whole to analyze what female deserves the honor. It requires the creation of original products to a certain extent. Although students have to create their own proposal on their specific female, it would be very easy to just regurgitate the information they find, taking away from the creativity and originality of the product. Also, although it is student-directed due to the decision-making power, it is not very open-ended. Students have a pretty limited selection of females and have a specific set of ideas that are implied to be abided by. Overall, the webquest is pretty good but could use improvement in some of the most important areas.
5.This particular teacher used a handheld when conducting DIBELS testing. She did not have enough handhelds for the entire class so if they were used in class they were used in partners, which she stated was not ideal. They were used for things such as virtual flashcards, looking up words in the dictionary, and watching short films or videos relating to specific content. When evaluating the use of the handheld for the DIBELS testing, it did not allow her to do something new, rather it allowed her to do something she could do before better. It made DIBELS testing more accurate, easier to track, easier to record, and seemingly less stressful for the students. When it came to using the handhelds with students, the teacher believed that it just made already available resources more accessible. When she used them in the classroom, she was using them more as a means to learn from technology rather than learn with.
6. The Zoomerang survey program used seemed very similar to the survey monkey program I have become familiar with in the past.
2.Save the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus- This website, although creative is not a legitimate site and does not contain accurate or true content. In evaluating the website, I noticed that much of the content was written with a sarcastic or joking tone. For example, asking to make donations to the fund says to stand in a forest and wait until you the see the alleged tree octopus and hand them a one dollar bill. Although this is very creative and entertaining, it is not true and should not be believed. Upon initially entering the site, the visual appearance of the site seemed legitimate but the exaggerated language led me to believe otherwise. Also, the information is not backed by any college, university, or organization; it is simply set up by Lyle Zapato. In fact when I googled the organization that it is allegedly affiliated with, many websites that are dedicated to the deletion of fake websites came up. All of these factors led me to believe that this site was neither legitimate nor credible.
Martin Luther King Jr.- A True Historical Examination- Along with the first website, this site is not legitimate or credible. The information is provided by Stormfront.org which is a World Wide White Pride organization, which obviously has no authority in the field of civil rights or Black history. The website has an extremely political, bias, and racist agenda. The subject matter is completely opinion and it has no resource list or bibliography. The intention of the website is clear: to create even more hatred in a world that is working against that. This website is not only illegitimate but offensive.
Dog Island Free Forever- This site is also not credible. At first glance, this site appears to be real due to its set-up and support from google. However, after reading some of the content, it is clear that the website is a joke. When evaluating the organization that backed the website, I saw that it had a disclaimer which stated that the website was created in jest. Also, the site was created in 2003 and does not seem to be updated except for the “weather” since then. All of these points led to the conclusion that this website is full of false information.
All About Explorers- This website seemed the most legitimate out of all of the other sites so far. The graphics were good and the content followed the logic that it said it would. The authors even seemed to have the authority to write the content, although it was a group of teachers instead of a university or organization, I initially thought this was enough of a viable source. When exploring the website further and looking at the different explorer pages, just from my own repertoire of knowledge I quickly realized that none of the information provided on each of the explorers were true. In fact the information was absolutely ridiculous. When I went on to the page entitled “About the Site” I discovered that the site was created like this purposefully to help students identify faulty and unhelpful sites. The group of teachers who created this site intended it to be faulty to help teach students how to identify fake sites that seem real, similar to this one. Although the site had false content, its intentions were good.
History of Robots in the Victorian Era- This website was a great deal more challenging for me to identify as legitimate or not. Upon evaluation, I noticed that the site was not backed by a university or organization, rather by a man named Paul Guinan whose email was provided to answer any questions. Also, although some of the dates and facts appeared to be correct according to my prior knowledge, there were no listed resources or bibliography. The websites visual content and construction appeared to be well and professionally done but the content was less appealing. Also, the web address was silly, “bigredhair,” and also a .com site which means anyone can create it. Although this website took more time, I concluded it as false.
Di Hydrogen Monoxide Research Division- The websites seem to become increasingly harder to tell. This website is also false. When evaluating whether or not the website was backed by an organization or university, I was thrown off by the fact that it has a United States Environmental Assessment Center icon. I had never heard of this before, but assumed it was a true organization. Also, the website had an .org address, which usually tend to be more reliable websites. What led me to believe that the website was false however was the fact that it was trying to sell certain things such as t-shirts and books. Also, the author of the website is also the author of a chapter in a “South Park” book which leads me to believe that he does not have the authority to be writing about Di Hydrogen Monoxide. Finally, there is a note at the bottom of the page that states that content veracity is not implied, meaning that the information provided is not necessarily true.
The First Human Male Pregnancy- When evaluating this website, I saw that it is backed by the RYT Hospital and Dwayne Medical Center. However, in all of its research there is no list of resources or a bibliography. Although the content seems to make a good deal of sense and flow well with the visuals and graphics, there is nothing substantial to back up the content. It also seems as though the hospital may have vested interest or a bias due to the fact that they are the origin of discovery. Of course they are going to want to make this look as viable as possible to credit their name. However, due to the lack if evidence and the gaps in logic this website is also full of content that is not reliable.
The wto.org is the correct World Trade Organization website. Several things led me to this conclusion. First, it had the more “normal” web address. For an organization as big as The World Trade Organization, I would imagine that it would have the option of having its initials for its site address. Secondly, it had a great deal of resources available to help navigate around and within the site as well as backing much of its information. The site also follows a logical presentation and sequence. The contact information for the site was actually through the World Trade Organization and had no third party resource. Although the other site looked very similar to the real one, its links directed me all over the place proving that the second site was the true one.
3.Content Area: Social Studies
Grade Level: 3rd
I had a very challenging time finding many web based scavenger hunts that were relative to my grade and content area. I found about 15 through the Scholastic website. However, of the 15 I found none of them seemed to promote much meaningful learning. For example, the ones I chose to try all posed a question and then gave a link of exactly where that specific answer could be found. There was really no hunt because the hunt was already done. How can meaningful learning be expected when the students do not really have to interact with or evaluate the information on their own. The website with the answer is given to them and no student is going to search somewhere else when they already have the answer provided. Also, these also seemed to reinforce the idea of “learning from technology” rather than “learning with technology” perpetuating the idea that we as educators need to overcome.
4.I chose to do a webquest on Women in America. This webquest required students to get in groups of 4 and each student in the group would do research and a presentation on one of 4 famous women in history. Then they will present to their group and as a group will choose one woman who they will propose to put on a stamp. When looking at Johanssen’s criteria for a well designed webquest, it met several of them. It does incorporate cooperative learning considering that the students will be working both individually and in a group. It also incorporates multiple learning perspectives. The students will each have to do their own research and come up with conclusions individually, but then collectively, incorporating multiple perspectives, pick a woman who deserves to be on the stamp based on the qualities researched. Also, it incorporates the analysis and synthesis of information. Students will have to synthesize what they collect individually as a collective whole to analyze what female deserves the honor. It requires the creation of original products to a certain extent. Although students have to create their own proposal on their specific female, it would be very easy to just regurgitate the information they find, taking away from the creativity and originality of the product. Also, although it is student-directed due to the decision-making power, it is not very open-ended. Students have a pretty limited selection of females and have a specific set of ideas that are implied to be abided by. Overall, the webquest is pretty good but could use improvement in some of the most important areas.
5.This particular teacher used a handheld when conducting DIBELS testing. She did not have enough handhelds for the entire class so if they were used in class they were used in partners, which she stated was not ideal. They were used for things such as virtual flashcards, looking up words in the dictionary, and watching short films or videos relating to specific content. When evaluating the use of the handheld for the DIBELS testing, it did not allow her to do something new, rather it allowed her to do something she could do before better. It made DIBELS testing more accurate, easier to track, easier to record, and seemingly less stressful for the students. When it came to using the handhelds with students, the teacher believed that it just made already available resources more accessible. When she used them in the classroom, she was using them more as a means to learn from technology rather than learn with.
6. The Zoomerang survey program used seemed very similar to the survey monkey program I have become familiar with in the past.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
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