Lindsay , J, & Davis, V. (2010). Navigate the digital rapids. Learning and Leading With Technology, 37(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/Publications/LL/LLIssues/Volume3720092010/MarchAprilNo6/Navigate_the_Digital_Rapids.htm
This article is about digital citizenship. It encourages teachers to not be timid or fearful of technology in the classroom, but rather to utilize it professionally. Teachers should not recycle their strategies and exercises from year to year, but rather they should constantly be improving and innovating new ways to reach their students. Similarly, technology is also dynamic just as a teachers lessons should be from year to year. Teachers should use this constant change to their benefit and act as a guide on the side for their students so that the learning is in the hands of the students. After teaching proper technology use in the classroom, the teacher should empower the students to be respectable digital citizens and only step in when necessary.
How can technology in the classroom lower the classroom walls?
The internet is a gateway to the world outside of the classroom. Rather than acting as a spectator and suring websites, students can communicate with other students and professionals in various fields. When students learn proper web etiquette, the internet is a wonderful tool that should be promoted. By commenting on threads, creating blogs and emailing quetions online, students can become members of a global community.
What are the threats behind empowering students with internet access?
Inevitably, some students will abuse their privilege to internet access. It is up to teachers to train and monitor their use so as to verify that they are appropriately staying on task. This article outlined that of the 3,000 students that were trained on proper internet utilization, less than 10 participated in questionable online activities. Most students are more mature and responsible than the educational system gives them credit for. As long as a teacher acts as a guide on the side while students are navigating the digital world, problems will be few and far between.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Journal # 7: The Beginner's Guide To Interactive Virtual Field Trips
Zanetis, J. (2010). The Beginner's guide to interactive virtual field trips. Learning and Leading With Technology, 37(6), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=March_April_No_6_1&Template=/MembersOnly.cfm&NavMenuID=4516&ContentID=25443&DirectListComboInd=D
Let me start by just saying "Wow!" Interactive virtual field trips (VFTs) are a fairly new technology that gives teachers access to primary resources which are beyond the school ground boundaries. It is an excellent resource in that it allows teachers to take their students on field trips, which often solidify what is learned in the classroom, without the logistical and financial issues that arise from true physical field trips. There are two types of VFTs. Asynchronous are usually prerecorded podcasts or experiments or narrations of a historical sites. Synchronous are real time interactive field trips in which the students and the instructor on the other side of the video recorder can communicate in real time. The students can actually talk to the instructor. The one catch is that the school district must first have an expensive video conferencing unit which is h.323 compatible and capable of Ip-based connections. I don't know what that means, but I'm sure that technological gurus do.
How could teachers integrate VFTs into their classrooms?
After teaching a particular lesson, the teacher could go on any number of websites in search of a reputable interactive VFT. Just like all lessons, students should have an understanding of what the presenter is going to speak about before the VFT is conducted. After the VFT, their should be a follow up lesson in which the teacher can check the knowledge of the student's to make sure that they all understand what was learned from the VFT. As a prospective Biology teacher, I'm finding myself so excited that I could just pee my pants over the possibilities for integrating this technology into my future classroom.
What reaction to VFTs can be expected from students who have never encountered this technology before?
I believe that students will be hesitant to talk to a screen at first, but after a short while, I imagine that the students will become comfortable with the idea to an extent that they will fully engage the presenter on the other side. Field trips are one of the highlight experiences for all students in schools because it is a chance to see how dry classroom content applies to the real world. This is a connection that is important for students to make if they are to fully engage in the material. Walking through a dinosaur museum or watching a shuttle take off in real time will surely stimulate student interest. The best learning takes place when students are excited about the content.
Let me start by just saying "Wow!" Interactive virtual field trips (VFTs) are a fairly new technology that gives teachers access to primary resources which are beyond the school ground boundaries. It is an excellent resource in that it allows teachers to take their students on field trips, which often solidify what is learned in the classroom, without the logistical and financial issues that arise from true physical field trips. There are two types of VFTs. Asynchronous are usually prerecorded podcasts or experiments or narrations of a historical sites. Synchronous are real time interactive field trips in which the students and the instructor on the other side of the video recorder can communicate in real time. The students can actually talk to the instructor. The one catch is that the school district must first have an expensive video conferencing unit which is h.323 compatible and capable of Ip-based connections. I don't know what that means, but I'm sure that technological gurus do.
How could teachers integrate VFTs into their classrooms?
After teaching a particular lesson, the teacher could go on any number of websites in search of a reputable interactive VFT. Just like all lessons, students should have an understanding of what the presenter is going to speak about before the VFT is conducted. After the VFT, their should be a follow up lesson in which the teacher can check the knowledge of the student's to make sure that they all understand what was learned from the VFT. As a prospective Biology teacher, I'm finding myself so excited that I could just pee my pants over the possibilities for integrating this technology into my future classroom.
What reaction to VFTs can be expected from students who have never encountered this technology before?
I believe that students will be hesitant to talk to a screen at first, but after a short while, I imagine that the students will become comfortable with the idea to an extent that they will fully engage the presenter on the other side. Field trips are one of the highlight experiences for all students in schools because it is a chance to see how dry classroom content applies to the real world. This is a connection that is important for students to make if they are to fully engage in the material. Walking through a dinosaur museum or watching a shuttle take off in real time will surely stimulate student interest. The best learning takes place when students are excited about the content.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Journal # 6: Classroom 2.0 / Web 2.0 Exploration, NET 5
I decided to look into online "gaming" as a learning tool in the classroom. Digital game based learning (DGBL) can be described as the utilization of an interactive game for students which promotes learning. To date games in the classroom have been used in the three following ways:
1. Educators have students build games from scratch.
2. Educators and/or developers build educational games from scratch to teach students.
3. Educators integrate commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) games into the classroom.
Much research has been conducted on the topic of DGBL and the most important aspect on utilizing DGBL in the classroom is deciding whether or not the game in question is a suitable game aligned with the relative subject content and curriculum.
One teacher designed a successful math game called MathLand in which every student had a character that would move up in levels from D to C to B to A and then to A+. This seemed to be a motivational approach for the kids as they all wanted to reach the final level of the game. The students' characters in the game would also gain accessories as they became more developed. Plain characters looked like storm troopers, snowmen and TV's by the time that they reached the A+ level. Since students are competing against the levels in the game and not each other it makes them competitive against their prior scores and not each other. Many teachers seem to find this game effective. One teacher even commented that her emotionally impaired students learn more with MathLand then they would from a more traditional classroom approach as the game stimulates their interests in an otherwise dry subject area.
1. Educators have students build games from scratch.
2. Educators and/or developers build educational games from scratch to teach students.
3. Educators integrate commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) games into the classroom.
Much research has been conducted on the topic of DGBL and the most important aspect on utilizing DGBL in the classroom is deciding whether or not the game in question is a suitable game aligned with the relative subject content and curriculum.
One teacher designed a successful math game called MathLand in which every student had a character that would move up in levels from D to C to B to A and then to A+. This seemed to be a motivational approach for the kids as they all wanted to reach the final level of the game. The students' characters in the game would also gain accessories as they became more developed. Plain characters looked like storm troopers, snowmen and TV's by the time that they reached the A+ level. Since students are competing against the levels in the game and not each other it makes them competitive against their prior scores and not each other. Many teachers seem to find this game effective. One teacher even commented that her emotionally impaired students learn more with MathLand then they would from a more traditional classroom approach as the game stimulates their interests in an otherwise dry subject area.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Journal #5 Do students need to memorize facts in the digital age?
Mahoney, R, & Knowles, C. (2010). Do students need to memorize facts in the digital age?. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(5), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201002#pg8
This article featured to teachers with opposing answers as to whether or not students need to memorize facts in the digital age. Mr. Mahoney argues that yes it is important to understand facts as preliminary knowledge for conceptual interpretation. He believes that facts are vital for students to learn as they provide students with the required concrete detail that critical and higher level thinking builds upon. Comparatively, Ms. Knowles argues no that memorization isn’t important. Analyzing information is truly what matters. She believes that learning in the digital age is about finding the information, organizing it and then most importantly analyzing it. She bases much of her opinions on research of human neuron pathways that are reinforced when students critically think about the information they gather, rather than just storing data.
Do you believe that students need to memorize facts in the digital age? I definitely do. However, I can see both sides of the issue and I believe that both Mr. Mahoney as well as Ms. Knowles contrasting viewpoints are correct. It is important to memorize facts. For instance, without the knowledge of basic algebra, a student will have a difficult time analyzing a well worded algebraic situational word problem. It is also true that unfortunately a large amount of education is spent cramming a vast amount of information into the short term memory, regurgitating it all over the test, and forgetting it. Digital resources make it possible to dedicate more time to thinking critically about issues rather than just storing useless unrelated facts. However, that is not to say that all facts are useless.
Is it important to memorize facts, interpret, and analyze them in all school classrooms? No. I would argue that most math classes, with the exception of logic, favor the memorization of concrete facts while courses such as psychology, science and history are much more based on analyzing. However, if one doesn’t have a fact base from their math class on reading graphs, then it will be difficult to interpret and analyze them in a science course. Therefore, the mastery of factual memorization and conceptual analysis is imperative to intellectual thought processes.
This article featured to teachers with opposing answers as to whether or not students need to memorize facts in the digital age. Mr. Mahoney argues that yes it is important to understand facts as preliminary knowledge for conceptual interpretation. He believes that facts are vital for students to learn as they provide students with the required concrete detail that critical and higher level thinking builds upon. Comparatively, Ms. Knowles argues no that memorization isn’t important. Analyzing information is truly what matters. She believes that learning in the digital age is about finding the information, organizing it and then most importantly analyzing it. She bases much of her opinions on research of human neuron pathways that are reinforced when students critically think about the information they gather, rather than just storing data.
Do you believe that students need to memorize facts in the digital age? I definitely do. However, I can see both sides of the issue and I believe that both Mr. Mahoney as well as Ms. Knowles contrasting viewpoints are correct. It is important to memorize facts. For instance, without the knowledge of basic algebra, a student will have a difficult time analyzing a well worded algebraic situational word problem. It is also true that unfortunately a large amount of education is spent cramming a vast amount of information into the short term memory, regurgitating it all over the test, and forgetting it. Digital resources make it possible to dedicate more time to thinking critically about issues rather than just storing useless unrelated facts. However, that is not to say that all facts are useless.
Is it important to memorize facts, interpret, and analyze them in all school classrooms? No. I would argue that most math classes, with the exception of logic, favor the memorization of concrete facts while courses such as psychology, science and history are much more based on analyzing. However, if one doesn’t have a fact base from their math class on reading graphs, then it will be difficult to interpret and analyze them in a science course. Therefore, the mastery of factual memorization and conceptual analysis is imperative to intellectual thought processes.
Journal #4 Finding Students Who Learn With Media
Bull, G, Alexander, C, & Fester, B. (2010). Finding students who learn with media. Learning and Leading with Technology, 37(5), Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201002#pg38
In this article the authors promote the use of online web based tools such as Primary Access Movie Maker in the classroom. Primary Access is a free website that has a movie making application which enables the user to construct their own documentary short films. It is a great resource that allows children who learn well with technological tools in the classroom to interactively engage in subject content. The creators of Movie Maker also created Storyboard which is basically the same as Movie Maker except its less complicated, allowing educators to incorporate the movie making lesson into one class period instead of three. I find this to be an important aspect of the programming on Primary Access as teachers can decide what program their students will learn depending on the teacher’s allocated time for the lesson.
Describe one lesson that you, as an educator, could utilize in the classroom involving either Movie Maker or Storyboard. I could see myself doing a Biology lesson on the Periodic Table in which each of the students in my class would be assigned to present a short movie on whatever element they were assigned to research. Each student’s movie would have short films and graphics of individual elements. By making this assignment electronic, the students would be able to visually see the differences in size and quality of one atom of each element.
How could you verify that all of the students in the class were in fact on task and not just playing around with the moving making program? If I were to assign an assignment which allowed student access to computers, I would constantly be walking around the room to answer questions and make sure that everyone was on task. I would also have the students present their short films to the whole class. The student’s will most likely want to stay on task so that they have a fantastic film to present to their peers as no one will want to receive a bad evaluation from the peer review.
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