After reviewing my Personal Theory of Learning that I developed during week 1 of this course, I still feel very much the same way. However, I would like to add in much more technology use into my daily lessons to help stimulate my students' minds and help them to become more engaged in the learning process. I am a strong believer that learning is an active process, and I think it is so important to keep students engaged in what they are learning. I think adding more technology into my lessons can be a great way to get my students engaged.
Immediate adjustments that I will make to my instructional practice will definitely be to integrate more technology into my lessons. "Educational technology is a support for teaching and learning that both teacher and learned can call on to help ensure the opportubity for optimum performance" (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008, p. 28). The first technology tool that I am definitely going to integrate into my classroom next year will be a classroom blog where students will go to post comments/questions and/or responses to given prompts that all center around our classroom lessons. A second technology that I would like to integrate into my classroom instruction is Voice Threads. I can see how I could use a Voice Thread in my classroom in many ways. I would like to use it to review material already learned in the classroom so that students can use it for additional help. I would also like to use a Voice Thread to give students prompts to respond to.
The first long-term goal that I have for changing my instructional practice is to begin to use technology in the classroom more so that I am more of a mediator while my students actively learn through the use of technology because "integrating technology into instruction tends to move classrooms from teacher-dominated environments to ones that are more student-centered" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn. & Malenoski, 2007, p.3). A second long-term goal that I have is to get students more excited about math through the use of technology in the classroom. To achieve both of these goals will mean continuing to learn about the best technologies that are available to me and my students and learning how to use them so that I can integrate them into the classroom.
References
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Theoretical Foundations (Laureate Education, Inc., custom ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice
There were many strategies discussed in the chapter, "Cooperative Learning" in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. These strategies had a very strong connection to social learning theories.
One particular strategy that I liked was WebQuests. They are "inquiry-oriented activities that allow students in a class or from multiple locations to work together to learn about a particular subject or to tackle a particular project or problem" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.145). By having students work together to complete WebQuests, they are interacting with each other as well as the material in the WebQuest to learn. This is very much an application of social learning theory.
A second strategy that I liked was Web Site Creation. By having students work together to create a web site that follows given criteria, students are very much interacting with the information and deciding what is most important for their web site. They are also interacting with each other to create the web site and learn the material, which is another great application of the socialist learning theory.
References
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
One particular strategy that I liked was WebQuests. They are "inquiry-oriented activities that allow students in a class or from multiple locations to work together to learn about a particular subject or to tackle a particular project or problem" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p.145). By having students work together to complete WebQuests, they are interacting with each other as well as the material in the WebQuest to learn. This is very much an application of social learning theory.
A second strategy that I liked was Web Site Creation. By having students work together to create a web site that follows given criteria, students are very much interacting with the information and deciding what is most important for their web site. They are also interacting with each other to create the web site and learn the material, which is another great application of the socialist learning theory.
References
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Constructivism in Practice
After reading "Generating and Testing Hypotheses" in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, I found that the strategy is very much related to constructivist/ constructionist learning theories. This is because by having students make their own hypotheses about a topic and test those hypotheses, the students are actually involved in creating (constructing) some project that helps them to test their hypotheses. By constructing some method of testing their hypotheses, students learn first-hand whether or not their hypothesis is correct. They also construct an understanding of the topic that they are hypothesizing about, which allows them to learn that particular topic.
One specific example that I liked from this chapter was Mrs. Omar's interactive spreadsheet that students used to determine which investment was best. Students were able to put in their own starting values to see which investment choice was best. This was a great way to allow students to test their hypotheses without a lot of tedious calculations. It allowed them to construct their knowledge by seeing how the values changed based on the initial investment made (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). By using technology, students are also more likely to get excited about the topic as well.
References
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
One specific example that I liked from this chapter was Mrs. Omar's interactive spreadsheet that students used to determine which investment was best. Students were able to put in their own starting values to see which investment choice was best. This was a great way to allow students to test their hypotheses without a lot of tedious calculations. It allowed them to construct their knowledge by seeing how the values changed based on the initial investment made (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). By using technology, students are also more likely to get excited about the topic as well.
References
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Using Cognitive Tools to Enhance Learning Experiences
After reading in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works about two instructional strategies that embed technology: “Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers” and “Summarizing and Note Taking,” I have taken the time to reflect on how they relate to the cognitive learning theories that I have also been studying this week.
In the chapter called "Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers," I found that many of the recommendations that were made in the chapter are all great tools to use that relate back to the cognitive learning theories. For example, in the text, the authors talk about "teach[ing] students how to use graphic advance organizers" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 74). Advance graphic organizers are a great way to use the cognitive learning theories in the classroom. They help students to make connections through dual coding and elaboration, two of the theories that Dr. Orey discussed in his video on Cognitive Learning Theory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008).
In the chapter called "Summarizing and Note Taking," I also found that the recommendations made by the authors were very much strategies that can be used in the classroom to align with the cognitive learning theories. I particularly like how the authors state that "the classroom recommendations for note taking include using a variety of note-taking formats and giving students teacher-prepared notes" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 128). I agree that students need variety in they types of instructions that they receive to help them stay interested and excited about learning. I feel that this definitely falls into the category of cognitive learning theories since it has students making connections in ways that they might not make them otherwise. In the cognitive learning theory, the connections made in the brain are the primary way that learning takes place, so making those connections in many different ways is vital to the learning process.
Sally Moore
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
In the chapter called "Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers," I found that many of the recommendations that were made in the chapter are all great tools to use that relate back to the cognitive learning theories. For example, in the text, the authors talk about "teach[ing] students how to use graphic advance organizers" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 74). Advance graphic organizers are a great way to use the cognitive learning theories in the classroom. They help students to make connections through dual coding and elaboration, two of the theories that Dr. Orey discussed in his video on Cognitive Learning Theory (Laureate Education, Inc., 2008).
In the chapter called "Summarizing and Note Taking," I also found that the recommendations made by the authors were very much strategies that can be used in the classroom to align with the cognitive learning theories. I particularly like how the authors state that "the classroom recommendations for note taking include using a variety of note-taking formats and giving students teacher-prepared notes" (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007, p. 128). I agree that students need variety in they types of instructions that they receive to help them stay interested and excited about learning. I feel that this definitely falls into the category of cognitive learning theories since it has students making connections in ways that they might not make them otherwise. In the cognitive learning theory, the connections made in the brain are the primary way that learning takes place, so making those connections in many different ways is vital to the learning process.
Sally Moore
References
Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2008). Program five. Cognitive Learning Theory [Motion picture]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Application 2: Behaviorism in Practice
I have recently read about two instructional strategies, "Reinforcing Effort" and "Homework and Practice," from the book Using Technology in Classroom Instruction that Works. Each of the strategies correlate very closely with the principles of behaviorist learning.
The first strategy I studied, "Reinforcing Effort," was all about using rubrics and spreadsheets to compare one's effort to his grades. The correlates with the behaviorism theory because when students see how their effort truly effects their grades, they will change their behavior and begin putting forth more effort to continue to receive the reward of a higher grade. I can see how this could be very helpful at getting students to become more self-motivated when it comes to paying attention in class, completing assignments, and studying outside of the classroom. This is a strategy that I may implement into my high school math classroom next year.
The second strategy that I studies, "Homework and Practice," was about different ways one can use homework and practice effectively. I felt that this strategy also correlated with the behaviorist theory. By having a homework policy in place, students are more likely to complete given assignments and therefore benefiting from the assignments. The grade for completing the homework is the reward. Also, by providing feedback on homework, students will see that the assignment is worth completing since they may actually learn something from it. This is behaviorism since students are working to receive feedback, which is the reward. I use homework very frequently in the classes that I teach. I have a policy in place that counts homework/classwork as a percentage of the student's final grade. I also check and go over homework at the beginning of the next class period so that students can find and correct mistakes that they are making.
The first strategy I studied, "Reinforcing Effort," was all about using rubrics and spreadsheets to compare one's effort to his grades. The correlates with the behaviorism theory because when students see how their effort truly effects their grades, they will change their behavior and begin putting forth more effort to continue to receive the reward of a higher grade. I can see how this could be very helpful at getting students to become more self-motivated when it comes to paying attention in class, completing assignments, and studying outside of the classroom. This is a strategy that I may implement into my high school math classroom next year.
The second strategy that I studies, "Homework and Practice," was about different ways one can use homework and practice effectively. I felt that this strategy also correlated with the behaviorist theory. By having a homework policy in place, students are more likely to complete given assignments and therefore benefiting from the assignments. The grade for completing the homework is the reward. Also, by providing feedback on homework, students will see that the assignment is worth completing since they may actually learn something from it. This is behaviorism since students are working to receive feedback, which is the reward. I use homework very frequently in the classes that I teach. I have a policy in place that counts homework/classwork as a percentage of the student's final grade. I also check and go over homework at the beginning of the next class period so that students can find and correct mistakes that they are making.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Reflective Essay
In what ways has this course helped you to develop your own technology skills?
This course has helped me to develop my own technology skills by introducing me to different technologies that I can use in my classroom such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts. I also learned different ways that I can effectively integrate these technologies into my classroom.
In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of technology integration with the aim of increasing student achievement?
One way that I will continue to expand my knowledge of technology integration with the aim of student achievement will be to continue with the courses required for my master's degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Another way will be to keep up with new and emerging technologies by reading educational journals and blogs on the subject.
Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals and increase student achievement. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?
The first goal that I have set for my classroom with respect to integrating technology seamlessly to increase student achievement is to create a class blog where my students will be expected to respond to an entry each week. On the blog I would also like to post class notes with examples so that students who miss class or need extra help could look for assistance. This will increase student achievement because students will be expected to read about the math that they are learning and then respond. My students need practice reading mathematics, and by writing about what they learn, they will reinforce the concepts even more. I hope to accomplish this goal for next school year. To accomplish it, I will take more time to learn about blogs and all of the various ways that they can be used. Once it is in place, I will maintain it by spending time each day as needed to update the blog and read my students' responses.
The second goal that I have for transforming my classroom is to allow my students more time for online learning through websites like usatestprep.com where they will play games, answer drill questions, and practice other various mathematics topics. This will increase student achievement by allowing them time to learn new topics on their own and allowing them to drill on topics that they are having trouble with instant feedback. I will accomplish this goal by signing up to use the computer lab on a weekly basis. I will then spend time researching websites that can be used to increase student achievement in mathematics. Students will be taught how to use and navigate each website at the beginning of the semester. They will rotate websites from week to week after that.
This course has helped me to develop my own technology skills by introducing me to different technologies that I can use in my classroom such as blogs, wikis, and podcasts. I also learned different ways that I can effectively integrate these technologies into my classroom.
In what ways can you continue to expand your knowledge of technology integration with the aim of increasing student achievement?
One way that I will continue to expand my knowledge of technology integration with the aim of student achievement will be to continue with the courses required for my master's degree in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. Another way will be to keep up with new and emerging technologies by reading educational journals and blogs on the subject.
Set two long-term goals (within two years) for transforming your classroom environment into a place where technology is integrated seamlessly to meet instructional goals and increase student achievement. How do you plan to accomplish these goals?
The first goal that I have set for my classroom with respect to integrating technology seamlessly to increase student achievement is to create a class blog where my students will be expected to respond to an entry each week. On the blog I would also like to post class notes with examples so that students who miss class or need extra help could look for assistance. This will increase student achievement because students will be expected to read about the math that they are learning and then respond. My students need practice reading mathematics, and by writing about what they learn, they will reinforce the concepts even more. I hope to accomplish this goal for next school year. To accomplish it, I will take more time to learn about blogs and all of the various ways that they can be used. Once it is in place, I will maintain it by spending time each day as needed to update the blog and read my students' responses.
The second goal that I have for transforming my classroom is to allow my students more time for online learning through websites like usatestprep.com where they will play games, answer drill questions, and practice other various mathematics topics. This will increase student achievement by allowing them time to learn new topics on their own and allowing them to drill on topics that they are having trouble with instant feedback. I will accomplish this goal by signing up to use the computer lab on a weekly basis. I will then spend time researching websites that can be used to increase student achievement in mathematics. Students will be taught how to use and navigate each website at the beginning of the semester. They will rotate websites from week to week after that.
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