What is your reaction to the 10 Big Shifts in Education? Which shift(s) will be easier and harder for your to integrate in your future teaching/classroom? Please explain.
I am really excited about the 10 shifts in education, because many of them follow with my philosophy of education. The shifts include collaboration with other teachers around the globe, having students publish work to a worldwide audience that can be archived and referred to for years to come, rather than only accessed by a teacher as is done traditionally. Using the web as a platform to collaborate with others, access primary sources such as experts in a field, have students create a public portfolio for the world to see, comment on, learn from, and for students to access forever are all part of the big shifts in education. We as teachers will also take part in learning by learning beside our students, which is also an attribute of the big shift as well (November, 2010).
I think each of these shifts - collaboration with other students, teachers and experts, factchecking our web sources, having students upload assignments to the web for a public audience to access and learn from are all easy and manageable goals for me in education. I htink that as a teacher, I can do research and have my students research experts to contact and conference with. I think that through forums, I could team up with other teachers across the world, and hopefully form a collaborative community with their classrooms that allows my students and theirs to interact with each other, learn from each other, and be an audience to each other's work, providing feedback and constructive advice. I will have students upload assignments on their blogs or through a wiki site.
One thing that I do think will be difficult is to have a completely "online" classroom community. I think it will be difficult because while it is a goal of mine, the reality is that there isn't much access to computers for students during school hours. Therefore, much of the work done in class can only be done on paper and turned into the teacher at this time. However, while it would be ideal to have all assignments students complete uploaded online, it is also not completely necessary. Students could upload the important documents such as labs and homework assignments, while in-class work and worksheets could just be done by paper in the classroom. I guess this lends back to last week's questions - how our classrooms will be in the 21st century - and now I am realizing, it will be one where students and teachers have 24/7 access to the web and their blogs!!!
Showing posts with label EDCI 5825 Posts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EDCI 5825 Posts. Show all posts
Monday, July 5, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Steph's Physics Wiki Blog (IN PROGRESS)
Wiki Website: Steph's Physicsmania Wiki
Do you plan on using your classroom blog/wiki in your future classroom? If so, what types of modifications do you envision? Please explain.
I definitely think that a wiki page is a great tool to use in the classroom and I do plan to use it in the future. I like how wikis can be used as a platform for students display work that they are proud of to their peers, teachers, parents and other family members, get feedback from their peers, collaborate with other students, and share useful resources. An additional perk to wikis is that the classroom is not just restricted to a class period; students can participate and enrich the classroom outside of their school from their own homes, on their own time.
I plan to use the wiki I made and modify it to add pages for students to post their lab reports, projects, and demonstrations to. I'd also like to tape student's presentation that they do in class so that other students and parents can see what their child is working on. The web has so many new pages being added each day, so I htink that if everyone in class posts a resource from the web that they find useful, it will narrow down resources pages for students and future classes, and will make web navigation on physics topics more manageable. With that said, I will also add more useful resource pages for each unit that we cover in our physics class. I will also use the site to upload class resources such as powerpoint presentation that I show in class. I'd also like to use SMARTboard in the class as well to do sample problems in detail together with the class, and then upload the work we did on the SMARTboard at the end of the day to the wiki page.
Do you plan on having your students create their own blogs/wikis in your future classroom? If so, please explain.
I think that I'll have students either produce their own blog, or their own wikis. I think it's a great way for students to display their own portfolio of the work that they've done in physics that everyone can access, comment on and give feedback to students on. Most importantly, it is somehting that students can access for years to come. Students can look back, reflect on work they've done, and use it as resources for their future work. I would also encourage students to use their blog/wiki for other classes if possible to build an even bigger portfolio for themselves.
Discussion of how your view of instructional technology has or has not changed over the semester
Initially, I thought that blogs and wikis for use in school was not the best idea. Being unfamiliar with blogs and aware of the prevalence of cyberbullying, I didn't think that students could use a blog/wiki responsibly and respectfully. I will definitely be using Richardson's (2008) guideline sheet that he provided in his book to give to students and their parents to have them sign so that they are aware of the rulesin the classroom on blogging and wikis, and of the penalties. But I now think that the advantages of using blogs and wikis are clearly superior to the possible risks.
I also htink that powerpoints, jing, podcasts, and IMovie are all great tools to use in the classroom, because they can produce files that can be uploaded to the web for others to access, and can be the teacher for years to come!
Discuss the quality and appropriateness of what you have learned and created this semester.
I will definitely utilize the tools and knowledge of technology that I learned this semester. I think most of the technologies such as blogging, wikis, and webpages are appropriate and quality tools to use. I'm not sure how I would do it, but I would like to incorporate podcasts and create movies to include into my classroom, mainly because they can be uploaded to the web for other students to access and use, and because they can be used for years to come.
Evaluation of your comfort moving forward with technology.
I am comfortable with moving forward with technology to an extent, but I do feel that it is always evolving so we always need to keep ourselves current and educate ourselves on new technological advances and their advantages/risks of use in the classroom. I will definitley start to be a part of ed tech forums to keep abreast of the new features and advances of technology.
Do you plan on using your classroom blog/wiki in your future classroom? If so, what types of modifications do you envision? Please explain.
I definitely think that a wiki page is a great tool to use in the classroom and I do plan to use it in the future. I like how wikis can be used as a platform for students display work that they are proud of to their peers, teachers, parents and other family members, get feedback from their peers, collaborate with other students, and share useful resources. An additional perk to wikis is that the classroom is not just restricted to a class period; students can participate and enrich the classroom outside of their school from their own homes, on their own time.
I plan to use the wiki I made and modify it to add pages for students to post their lab reports, projects, and demonstrations to. I'd also like to tape student's presentation that they do in class so that other students and parents can see what their child is working on. The web has so many new pages being added each day, so I htink that if everyone in class posts a resource from the web that they find useful, it will narrow down resources pages for students and future classes, and will make web navigation on physics topics more manageable. With that said, I will also add more useful resource pages for each unit that we cover in our physics class. I will also use the site to upload class resources such as powerpoint presentation that I show in class. I'd also like to use SMARTboard in the class as well to do sample problems in detail together with the class, and then upload the work we did on the SMARTboard at the end of the day to the wiki page.
Do you plan on having your students create their own blogs/wikis in your future classroom? If so, please explain.
I think that I'll have students either produce their own blog, or their own wikis. I think it's a great way for students to display their own portfolio of the work that they've done in physics that everyone can access, comment on and give feedback to students on. Most importantly, it is somehting that students can access for years to come. Students can look back, reflect on work they've done, and use it as resources for their future work. I would also encourage students to use their blog/wiki for other classes if possible to build an even bigger portfolio for themselves.
Discussion of how your view of instructional technology has or has not changed over the semester
Initially, I thought that blogs and wikis for use in school was not the best idea. Being unfamiliar with blogs and aware of the prevalence of cyberbullying, I didn't think that students could use a blog/wiki responsibly and respectfully. I will definitely be using Richardson's (2008) guideline sheet that he provided in his book to give to students and their parents to have them sign so that they are aware of the rulesin the classroom on blogging and wikis, and of the penalties. But I now think that the advantages of using blogs and wikis are clearly superior to the possible risks.
I also htink that powerpoints, jing, podcasts, and IMovie are all great tools to use in the classroom, because they can produce files that can be uploaded to the web for others to access, and can be the teacher for years to come!
Discuss the quality and appropriateness of what you have learned and created this semester.
I will definitely utilize the tools and knowledge of technology that I learned this semester. I think most of the technologies such as blogging, wikis, and webpages are appropriate and quality tools to use. I'm not sure how I would do it, but I would like to incorporate podcasts and create movies to include into my classroom, mainly because they can be uploaded to the web for other students to access and use, and because they can be used for years to come.
Evaluation of your comfort moving forward with technology.
I am comfortable with moving forward with technology to an extent, but I do feel that it is always evolving so we always need to keep ourselves current and educate ourselves on new technological advances and their advantages/risks of use in the classroom. I will definitley start to be a part of ed tech forums to keep abreast of the new features and advances of technology.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Week 5 Tech Ed Questions (In Progress)
1. Should all teachers be encouraged to create online activities for students within traditional classrooms? Please explain.
I think that teachers should absolutely be encouraged to create online activities for students within the traditional classrooms. First, the internet is a huge resource, and as the internet is expanding every day, so is the need for all people to be computer literate. I think that students should be encouraged to do online activities so that they can become familiar with the internet, and it's advantages and limitations. Second, traditional classrooms are not ideal environments for all students to excel in learning. Some students do better in an online environment because of the autonomy and self-responsibility that it brings. For instance, In a classroom, students may have to finish a project within a constrained timeframe, whereas for an online activity, the students could work on it in their own time and at their own pace (November, 2010). Additionally, a classroom is very public, and not all students are not comfortable with sharing their work, thoughts, and ideas in front of their peers in such a public manner, whereas they might be more comforable sharing their work online, where they would not have to see their peers' reaction to their work. Additionally, with online activities, students have more time to think about their work, and to articulate their thoughts, whereas in a traditional classroom, students may not have the time to do so. Further, A traditional classroom that incorporates online activities could possibly address the needs of students who are not exceling in the traditional classroom because they are not comforable with the setting. By providing online activities, teachers could also identify students that might be better suited for online classes rather than traditional classrooms, and they could then create more online activities for those students to improve their cognitive development, or they could recommend the students to take online classes.
One thing about online classes that I never thought of that was mentioned in the November (2010) reading was that online classes can be efficient for high school students for AP classes. AP classes are not always available for certain subject within a school district if there is not a high demand for that class. Online classes could allow students from different schools interested in take the same AP classes to take them, when traditionally they wouldn't be given the opportunity.
2. Envision the role of social networking in 21st century learning environments. Write a brief description of this vision.
Wow, what a great question! Well, from what I've read, social networking is being used today, but is in limited use. Teachers have students sign up for the social networks and set up sorts of "home pages" for students to post information on, answer questions for the teachers, and post interest sites or videos they've found. The sites can be set up as public or private. Private sites are viewed only by the class, whereas public sites can be viewed by anyone, for other classes in the future to view and use the resources that your class has used.
In the future, I see social networking as a way for multiple classrooms to collaborate simultaneously during class, with the use of live video streaming. Schools will be within classroom walls, but students will be more autonomous, and would be able to access their classroom by live video from anywhere in the world. I think that a subject (for me physics) will have its own community for classes to log in to. For each class that students go to, they will simply log in to their subject's social network. Classes will communicate with each other in person, but will often collaborate with other classes via live feeds or videos that other classes have posted. Really, at this point though, the possibilities are endless! Within the last 10 years, the internet has grown so much and have provided so many learning and teaching opportunities, and so many teachers are utilizing the internet to expand learning in such a short period of time, that who knows - maybe we will have virtual classrooms or somehting crazy like that!
I think that teachers should absolutely be encouraged to create online activities for students within the traditional classrooms. First, the internet is a huge resource, and as the internet is expanding every day, so is the need for all people to be computer literate. I think that students should be encouraged to do online activities so that they can become familiar with the internet, and it's advantages and limitations. Second, traditional classrooms are not ideal environments for all students to excel in learning. Some students do better in an online environment because of the autonomy and self-responsibility that it brings. For instance, In a classroom, students may have to finish a project within a constrained timeframe, whereas for an online activity, the students could work on it in their own time and at their own pace (November, 2010). Additionally, a classroom is very public, and not all students are not comfortable with sharing their work, thoughts, and ideas in front of their peers in such a public manner, whereas they might be more comforable sharing their work online, where they would not have to see their peers' reaction to their work. Additionally, with online activities, students have more time to think about their work, and to articulate their thoughts, whereas in a traditional classroom, students may not have the time to do so. Further, A traditional classroom that incorporates online activities could possibly address the needs of students who are not exceling in the traditional classroom because they are not comforable with the setting. By providing online activities, teachers could also identify students that might be better suited for online classes rather than traditional classrooms, and they could then create more online activities for those students to improve their cognitive development, or they could recommend the students to take online classes.
One thing about online classes that I never thought of that was mentioned in the November (2010) reading was that online classes can be efficient for high school students for AP classes. AP classes are not always available for certain subject within a school district if there is not a high demand for that class. Online classes could allow students from different schools interested in take the same AP classes to take them, when traditionally they wouldn't be given the opportunity.
2. Envision the role of social networking in 21st century learning environments. Write a brief description of this vision.
Wow, what a great question! Well, from what I've read, social networking is being used today, but is in limited use. Teachers have students sign up for the social networks and set up sorts of "home pages" for students to post information on, answer questions for the teachers, and post interest sites or videos they've found. The sites can be set up as public or private. Private sites are viewed only by the class, whereas public sites can be viewed by anyone, for other classes in the future to view and use the resources that your class has used.
In the future, I see social networking as a way for multiple classrooms to collaborate simultaneously during class, with the use of live video streaming. Schools will be within classroom walls, but students will be more autonomous, and would be able to access their classroom by live video from anywhere in the world. I think that a subject (for me physics) will have its own community for classes to log in to. For each class that students go to, they will simply log in to their subject's social network. Classes will communicate with each other in person, but will often collaborate with other classes via live feeds or videos that other classes have posted. Really, at this point though, the possibilities are endless! Within the last 10 years, the internet has grown so much and have provided so many learning and teaching opportunities, and so many teachers are utilizing the internet to expand learning in such a short period of time, that who knows - maybe we will have virtual classrooms or somehting crazy like that!
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Physics Website
Physics website
What is your reaction to the entire web development process? Please describe any positive and negative reactions.
The web development process was surprisingly easy and user-friendly! Weebly had a lot of tools that were really easy to use and insert into the website. It was really easy to produce webpages and switch their order as well. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do this now for a class, because now I know how easy it is to make a website. I know that if I had already started teaching, I would think it is too complicated and not pursue it. It was a good experience for me.
What was involved in the process of developing your site? What obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome those obstacles? What successes did you encounter?
I first started by created my user name and webpage name. I created my homepage, and the other pages that I wanted to use. I then created their layouts and inserted all of the information I needed to on each page. One obstacle I encountered (which is a pretty silly one actually - not that big a deal) is that a lot of times when I was trying to create a header or write in the paragraph form on the website, the "styles" toolbar would go right in front of my text. This happened to me a few times, and so it was a bit annoying because I wouldn't be able to see what I was writing. But it got done! I eventually just tried to work around it, but I have a feeling if I had gone out of the weebly site and gone back in, everything would have been fine. I also was interested in including a calendar on my website, which I think I'd like to do. I couldnt' figure out how to link a google calendar to a site, but I'd like to explore that. I think it would be beneficial to have a calendar posted so students can see what's in store for our class for the next few weeks, so I'd like to look into this. I was successful at creating a blog on my site, which is pretty cool! I have that page set aside to post "latest news" and where I can post answers to student questions on homework, assignments, etc.
Will you continue to build on/update this site after this course ends? Why/Why not? Please explain.
I think I will definitely continue to build onto this website, and add useful material to students (links to website, etc) that pertain to each unit I'll be teaching in physics. I think it's great to have one location that students can go to to find websites that I recommend and find useful - in search engines today, like on google, there are so many sites that show up on a search for a physics topic. At least this gives students the "top" sites that I prefer and find useful. When I start teaching, I will def use the site to post assignments and surveys to get to know my students better. I'm really excited about it!
What errors/issues did you find when you tested your web site for 508 compliance? Based on those errors/issues, what changes would you make to your site?
I got an error on my website for having hyperlinks show up only when the mouse hovers over an object. For instance, I have a hyperlink linked to one of my pictures, and the link only shows up when one puts the mouse over the picture, so I had an error for that because there is no way to use the keyboard to get to the link if one does not have a mouse. I also got an error for having different colors on my website that people may not be able to identify if they have color blindness. I also got an error that there wasn't enough contrast between a picture and the background.
I would change my website so that I don't have an important message that I want people to read distinguishable by color. For instance, I will not make an important message on the homepage bright red so people will notice it. Instead, I'll use a bold font and bigger text if I want to post an important message, so that those with colorblindness will be able to read the message.
What is your reaction to the entire web development process? Please describe any positive and negative reactions.
The web development process was surprisingly easy and user-friendly! Weebly had a lot of tools that were really easy to use and insert into the website. It was really easy to produce webpages and switch their order as well. I'm glad I had the opportunity to do this now for a class, because now I know how easy it is to make a website. I know that if I had already started teaching, I would think it is too complicated and not pursue it. It was a good experience for me.
What was involved in the process of developing your site? What obstacles did you encounter? How did you overcome those obstacles? What successes did you encounter?
I first started by created my user name and webpage name. I created my homepage, and the other pages that I wanted to use. I then created their layouts and inserted all of the information I needed to on each page. One obstacle I encountered (which is a pretty silly one actually - not that big a deal) is that a lot of times when I was trying to create a header or write in the paragraph form on the website, the "styles" toolbar would go right in front of my text. This happened to me a few times, and so it was a bit annoying because I wouldn't be able to see what I was writing. But it got done! I eventually just tried to work around it, but I have a feeling if I had gone out of the weebly site and gone back in, everything would have been fine. I also was interested in including a calendar on my website, which I think I'd like to do. I couldnt' figure out how to link a google calendar to a site, but I'd like to explore that. I think it would be beneficial to have a calendar posted so students can see what's in store for our class for the next few weeks, so I'd like to look into this. I was successful at creating a blog on my site, which is pretty cool! I have that page set aside to post "latest news" and where I can post answers to student questions on homework, assignments, etc.
Will you continue to build on/update this site after this course ends? Why/Why not? Please explain.
I think I will definitely continue to build onto this website, and add useful material to students (links to website, etc) that pertain to each unit I'll be teaching in physics. I think it's great to have one location that students can go to to find websites that I recommend and find useful - in search engines today, like on google, there are so many sites that show up on a search for a physics topic. At least this gives students the "top" sites that I prefer and find useful. When I start teaching, I will def use the site to post assignments and surveys to get to know my students better. I'm really excited about it!
What errors/issues did you find when you tested your web site for 508 compliance? Based on those errors/issues, what changes would you make to your site?
I got an error on my website for having hyperlinks show up only when the mouse hovers over an object. For instance, I have a hyperlink linked to one of my pictures, and the link only shows up when one puts the mouse over the picture, so I had an error for that because there is no way to use the keyboard to get to the link if one does not have a mouse. I also got an error for having different colors on my website that people may not be able to identify if they have color blindness. I also got an error that there wasn't enough contrast between a picture and the background.
I would change my website so that I don't have an important message that I want people to read distinguishable by color. For instance, I will not make an important message on the homepage bright red so people will notice it. Instead, I'll use a bold font and bigger text if I want to post an important message, so that those with colorblindness will be able to read the message.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Critical Web Evaluation IChat Feedback
(1) share and discuss your Internet Workshop
My group, Beth, Jeff and I, met this evening via IChat to discuss our internet workshops. It was really neat to see their approaches to the workshop project against mine, and I learned a lot from theirs! Both of theirs required students to go to specific websites that had a known bias, and had students identify the bias through critical web evaluations. My internet workshop, on the other hand, had students go to a known website, and then go to 2 websites of their choice and perform web evaluations on them. I then had students meet with their group, discuss their findings, and present their information on current events in physics (the focus of the workshop). After a class discussion, students write a paper on the importance of being information literate.
Through the discussions, Beth and Jeff pointed out to me that my lesson plan needed to be clarified a bit. It was wordy in some areas and a little repetitive in others. They also suggested that I include in the rubric an evaluation on groupwork, since that is one of the objectives of the lesson. I thought that was a great suggestion, and we actually discussed today in our methods class how to do it so I will definitely include that next time. Otherwise, the feedback was pretty positive. They thought my objectives were very clear and concise, so that was good!
After reading their internet workshops, I found that I think I need to add a better "hook" into my lesson plan to get students more engaged in the purpose of the workshop. Beth and Jeff also both had students go to websites with a known bias, and I didn't, so it might ahve been helpful for students to go to a website with a known bias rather than find one on their own. I think that I could probably show students a website with bias, explain why it is a bias based on critical web evaluation, and that would show students how to identify a website that skews information.
(2) discuss the implications of the following statement: "Students will become victims of the expansive dark side of the Internet unless we teach the critical thinking necessary to make meaning out of the overwhelming and potentially manipulative amount of information that is now available and growing every day" (November, 2010).
Our groups discussed that we need to make our students aware of the vast amount of information that is being posted on the website every day, which makes it increasingly necessary for educators to give them the skills to discriminate between legitimate and falso web sources. We also discussed how students need to know who publishes the website to identify biases. For example, Beth's workshop has students read about the bp oil spill in the Gulf from three websites: Sienna Club, BP website, and the EPA. Students should be aware of the intentions and purposes of each of these organizations/companies/government agencies and should ask the questions, "what is in this group's best interest? What does this group WANT me to hear?" We need to let our students know that critical web evaluation is an invaluable lifelong skill, especially nowadays when it is so easy for anyone to create a website.
(3) Will I use internet workshop in class?
I think it is definitely a great tool to integrate in class! It is so easy to include without taking away from your unit or curriculum. I will definitely include an internet workshop in class if it is not covered in another class already. I would have to ask my students if they have already performed one and are aware of critically evaluating websites first, because I would not want to repeat anything that they are already familiar with.
My group, Beth, Jeff and I, met this evening via IChat to discuss our internet workshops. It was really neat to see their approaches to the workshop project against mine, and I learned a lot from theirs! Both of theirs required students to go to specific websites that had a known bias, and had students identify the bias through critical web evaluations. My internet workshop, on the other hand, had students go to a known website, and then go to 2 websites of their choice and perform web evaluations on them. I then had students meet with their group, discuss their findings, and present their information on current events in physics (the focus of the workshop). After a class discussion, students write a paper on the importance of being information literate.
Through the discussions, Beth and Jeff pointed out to me that my lesson plan needed to be clarified a bit. It was wordy in some areas and a little repetitive in others. They also suggested that I include in the rubric an evaluation on groupwork, since that is one of the objectives of the lesson. I thought that was a great suggestion, and we actually discussed today in our methods class how to do it so I will definitely include that next time. Otherwise, the feedback was pretty positive. They thought my objectives were very clear and concise, so that was good!
After reading their internet workshops, I found that I think I need to add a better "hook" into my lesson plan to get students more engaged in the purpose of the workshop. Beth and Jeff also both had students go to websites with a known bias, and I didn't, so it might ahve been helpful for students to go to a website with a known bias rather than find one on their own. I think that I could probably show students a website with bias, explain why it is a bias based on critical web evaluation, and that would show students how to identify a website that skews information.
(2) discuss the implications of the following statement: "Students will become victims of the expansive dark side of the Internet unless we teach the critical thinking necessary to make meaning out of the overwhelming and potentially manipulative amount of information that is now available and growing every day" (November, 2010).
Our groups discussed that we need to make our students aware of the vast amount of information that is being posted on the website every day, which makes it increasingly necessary for educators to give them the skills to discriminate between legitimate and falso web sources. We also discussed how students need to know who publishes the website to identify biases. For example, Beth's workshop has students read about the bp oil spill in the Gulf from three websites: Sienna Club, BP website, and the EPA. Students should be aware of the intentions and purposes of each of these organizations/companies/government agencies and should ask the questions, "what is in this group's best interest? What does this group WANT me to hear?" We need to let our students know that critical web evaluation is an invaluable lifelong skill, especially nowadays when it is so easy for anyone to create a website.
(3) Will I use internet workshop in class?
I think it is definitely a great tool to integrate in class! It is so easy to include without taking away from your unit or curriculum. I will definitely include an internet workshop in class if it is not covered in another class already. I would have to ask my students if they have already performed one and are aware of critically evaluating websites first, because I would not want to repeat anything that they are already familiar with.
Blog on Readings (Ed Tech)
Ch 4 (November), Ch 7-8 (Richardson)
1. What is the right balance between giving students freedom to explore the Web for research and providing them with structure and guidance?
I think that teachers should make students aware of some strategies that can be used to explore the web for research, and then allow them to be free to explore on their own. Teachers should let their students know that it is important when using a database, that you think about where the source is coming from and what biases might exist due to the source, and that the more focused your search question is, the better results you will get (November, 2010). But then I think that it's best for the teacher to allow the students to explore on their own. I think being able to navigate a web source and choose the correct keywords to use to get exactly the information you want is a trial-and-error process that one learns through practice. So I think it's very important to make students aware of strategies, and then let them free to explore and develop their own strategies for searching the web.
2. What is the role of the teacher in helping students to make meaning of primary source material?
The teacher can help students in making meaning of primary sources by asking them to generate questions that they should consider while reviewing the primary source, and ask them to find other documents that support or refute these questions (November, 2010). The teacher might help the student find other documents to support their primary source by giving them ideas of what to search. For example, as November (2010) stated, the teacher could suggest that the student find a document from an organization that is affiliated with the critical question that the student is looking for (example: a student looking for information on Jackie Robinson's involvement in civil rights movement, the student might look to NAACP for information). I would also encourage my students to find an expert to use as a source, or to generate data (surveying people, etc.) to use as a source. These methods are very effective because they also make more of an impact on students, since they are gathering information from a first-hand source (an expert) and because they are collecting their own data to support a hypothesis (November, 2010).
3. How can teachers use Podcasting and/or multimedia tools to promote collaborative learning?
And lastly...here is my podcast to respond to question 3! Richardson (2010) was the main source I used to gather my information from.
It's nothing fancy, but I hope you like it!
My podcast
Okay, I don't think that worked too well so here is my written response. Podcasts and other multimedia tools are great ways for students to collaborate. Students could produce a podcast or a video, upload it to a blog or website and have students make responses to their media upload. Students and teachers could also upload media to educational websites for other students and teachers to use and learn from. Skyping is an excellent way for students to collaborate through videoconferencing, so students can work together from different locations (Richardson, 2010). These videoconferences can also be taped vocally and uploaded for others to listen to. Additionally, different classrooms can could use Skype to collaborate with each other. Students could also watch a show, like a political debate, and be in a chatroom together to talk while watching it live. The opportunities are limitlesss!
1. What is the right balance between giving students freedom to explore the Web for research and providing them with structure and guidance?
I think that teachers should make students aware of some strategies that can be used to explore the web for research, and then allow them to be free to explore on their own. Teachers should let their students know that it is important when using a database, that you think about where the source is coming from and what biases might exist due to the source, and that the more focused your search question is, the better results you will get (November, 2010). But then I think that it's best for the teacher to allow the students to explore on their own. I think being able to navigate a web source and choose the correct keywords to use to get exactly the information you want is a trial-and-error process that one learns through practice. So I think it's very important to make students aware of strategies, and then let them free to explore and develop their own strategies for searching the web.
2. What is the role of the teacher in helping students to make meaning of primary source material?
The teacher can help students in making meaning of primary sources by asking them to generate questions that they should consider while reviewing the primary source, and ask them to find other documents that support or refute these questions (November, 2010). The teacher might help the student find other documents to support their primary source by giving them ideas of what to search. For example, as November (2010) stated, the teacher could suggest that the student find a document from an organization that is affiliated with the critical question that the student is looking for (example: a student looking for information on Jackie Robinson's involvement in civil rights movement, the student might look to NAACP for information). I would also encourage my students to find an expert to use as a source, or to generate data (surveying people, etc.) to use as a source. These methods are very effective because they also make more of an impact on students, since they are gathering information from a first-hand source (an expert) and because they are collecting their own data to support a hypothesis (November, 2010).
3. How can teachers use Podcasting and/or multimedia tools to promote collaborative learning?
And lastly...here is my podcast to respond to question 3! Richardson (2010) was the main source I used to gather my information from.
It's nothing fancy, but I hope you like it!
My podcast
Okay, I don't think that worked too well so here is my written response. Podcasts and other multimedia tools are great ways for students to collaborate. Students could produce a podcast or a video, upload it to a blog or website and have students make responses to their media upload. Students and teachers could also upload media to educational websites for other students and teachers to use and learn from. Skyping is an excellent way for students to collaborate through videoconferencing, so students can work together from different locations (Richardson, 2010). These videoconferences can also be taped vocally and uploaded for others to listen to. Additionally, different classrooms can could use Skype to collaborate with each other. Students could also watch a show, like a political debate, and be in a chatroom together to talk while watching it live. The opportunities are limitlesss!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Reflection on Screencast Feedback
The feedback from the screencasts was mostly positive, with some suggestions for improvement. Many people said that they benefited from our screencast and learned a lot about excel, which I was happy to hear! Some feedback said that they like how we showed how to actually get to excel, and open it. Someone also said they enjoyed the graphing portion of our tutorial, because we did an overview of the various graphing choices that excel has to offer, and then chose the one most appropriate for our dataset. In othe middle of one of our screencasts, we had to pause because we had made a mistake. The speaker said in the audio that "it's okay to make mistakes", and some peoplel commented that they liked that as well.
Some comments for improvement were provided as well. We did the advanced portion of our screencast in three different segments, which made the presentation in the end a bit choppy and not very cohesive, so someone had commented on this. Another comment was that some of our advanced lessons were somewhat basic. We also had a comment that when the averages were done, some of the keystrokes that were made were not spoken and the audio, making it difficult to follow. Someone also pointed out that it would have been useful to show the other math/statistics options available in excel. We had a comment as well that it would have been useful to know how to sort data, and that our presentation would have been better had it been rehearsed more and re-done in parts where there were slip-ups.
I was overall pleased with our feedback, and I really appreciate the points of improvement that we received. I definitely agree that our final product was a bit choppy. It would ahve been more cohesive to do it in one segment, or if we had at least watched the first segments of our screencasts before recording the next one so that we could provide a good transition from one to the next. I also agree that the "merge" of cells was a bit basic, and we should have been more creative and found a different function in excel to present in the advanced options. I agree that we should have elaborated more on the various math/statistics functions available in excel when we found the averages. We could have just looked through the list of math/statistics options and talked about a few that were relevant to our dataset, or we could have at least used another excel formula, like finding percentages. We also should have made sure in that screencast that everything was verbalized that we did. I thought initially that we had made every step clear in the screencasts, but I guess it wasn't clear to everyone. We should have reviewed this screencast closely to make improvements on it. I also didn't think to present how to sort data! That would have been an excellent function of excel to present in our advanced options.
Overall, I think our screencasts came out well, but there is always room for improvement. We could have reviewed our screencasts more closely, and edited or re-did the screencasts that were not as clear. That is definitely something I will do for next time! I'm really glad we got introduced to Jing though. It's a really neat and user-friendly software, and I definitely want to use it in my classroom. It will also be useful to learn about IMovie today, so that we can edit and improve any screencasts that we make on Jing.
Some comments for improvement were provided as well. We did the advanced portion of our screencast in three different segments, which made the presentation in the end a bit choppy and not very cohesive, so someone had commented on this. Another comment was that some of our advanced lessons were somewhat basic. We also had a comment that when the averages were done, some of the keystrokes that were made were not spoken and the audio, making it difficult to follow. Someone also pointed out that it would have been useful to show the other math/statistics options available in excel. We had a comment as well that it would have been useful to know how to sort data, and that our presentation would have been better had it been rehearsed more and re-done in parts where there were slip-ups.
I was overall pleased with our feedback, and I really appreciate the points of improvement that we received. I definitely agree that our final product was a bit choppy. It would ahve been more cohesive to do it in one segment, or if we had at least watched the first segments of our screencasts before recording the next one so that we could provide a good transition from one to the next. I also agree that the "merge" of cells was a bit basic, and we should have been more creative and found a different function in excel to present in the advanced options. I agree that we should have elaborated more on the various math/statistics functions available in excel when we found the averages. We could have just looked through the list of math/statistics options and talked about a few that were relevant to our dataset, or we could have at least used another excel formula, like finding percentages. We also should have made sure in that screencast that everything was verbalized that we did. I thought initially that we had made every step clear in the screencasts, but I guess it wasn't clear to everyone. We should have reviewed this screencast closely to make improvements on it. I also didn't think to present how to sort data! That would have been an excellent function of excel to present in our advanced options.
Overall, I think our screencasts came out well, but there is always room for improvement. We could have reviewed our screencasts more closely, and edited or re-did the screencasts that were not as clear. That is definitely something I will do for next time! I'm really glad we got introduced to Jing though. It's a really neat and user-friendly software, and I definitely want to use it in my classroom. It will also be useful to learn about IMovie today, so that we can edit and improve any screencasts that we make on Jing.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
1. The best ways to manage the way we share our children's work with the communities is by using blogs, classroom websites, and through live videoconferencing through websites like Skype (November, 2010). Students can use blogs to share their thoughts, resources and ideas with other students and with the web community, and receive feedback and collaborate with their peers, or with other people around the world. Blogs also allows students to keep a sort of online portfolio of work that they've done over the years, which is useful for the students to look back on in years to come. Classroom websites are also a venue to share our student's work with the community. A teacher could post student work on the website, or post videos of presentations done in class so that they can be shared with parents and the community. A more technologically ambitious teacher might begin using a wiki class website such as wikispaces to set up their website (Richardson, 2010). Wiki websites allow students to edit the website, and can be managed by the teacher by only allowing those registered with the WIki site to edit the pages. Another tool is videoconferencing, like Skype. These videoconferencing websites can allow parents or anyone else interested to watch a presentation that their student is making live while the student is participating. Teachers must make their students aware of Cyber Ettiquette prior to setting up a wiki website or allowing students to blog. Teachers should also let the parents know that their students will be participating in the blog and wiki as well, so that they are aware of the benefits and risks of the websites.
2. Students can use the internet to get a first-hand view of complex issues such as globalization and cultural sensitivity by networking with experts, or first-hand witnesses to whatever they may be studying, to get a deeper mean in relation to a complex situation. For instance, Richardson (2010) talked about how a class was studying globalization, and was able to video conference with someone in the US who lost their job due to the effects of globalization, and another person in China who gained a job due to the effects of globalization. The teacher was able to give the students a first-hand account of the effects of globalization from people across the country. This is an example of a truly unique opportunity that the internet affords us as teachers. We can get in touch with anyone in the world to get a first-hand account on anything we are teacher. We can get in touch with experts, witnesses, victims, or just a class from across the world, to collaborate with and get information from on anything we are studying. Networking in this way with first-hand accounts on information being studied will give our students a more meaningful lesson, thus helping them retain the information and truly understand what's going on (hot cognition! (Goodman, 2008). However, it is always important that we as teachers verify that anyone we collaborate with or videoconference with is a legitimate source. We must also let our students know the risks involved with getting information from the internet, and what they can do to avoid retrieving false information.
3. The internet is providing a platform for teachers to collaborate as they never have been able to before. TEachers can collaborate through videoconferencing, and can share their ideas through such sites as wikiversity, which is a site that allows teachers to collaboratively author and edit the website within their content area. Such websites as www.4teachers.org are also education websites that allow teachers to write to each other, bounce ideas off each other, and share lessons or class projects that have been very useful for them that involve technology (November, 2010, P. 51). Another website that I discovered from one of my other professors, GNA, is slideshare.net. This website allows educators, or really anyone I guess, to upload various powerpoint presentations that they've created and share them with people. I thought that was a great idea and is very efficient for everyone in the education community - why create a powerpoint on a topic that was already made by someone else? There are also a number of forums available on education websites where people can post questions that someone else in the education community can answer for them. It sounds like the sky is the limit now for teacher collaboration!
2. Students can use the internet to get a first-hand view of complex issues such as globalization and cultural sensitivity by networking with experts, or first-hand witnesses to whatever they may be studying, to get a deeper mean in relation to a complex situation. For instance, Richardson (2010) talked about how a class was studying globalization, and was able to video conference with someone in the US who lost their job due to the effects of globalization, and another person in China who gained a job due to the effects of globalization. The teacher was able to give the students a first-hand account of the effects of globalization from people across the country. This is an example of a truly unique opportunity that the internet affords us as teachers. We can get in touch with anyone in the world to get a first-hand account on anything we are teacher. We can get in touch with experts, witnesses, victims, or just a class from across the world, to collaborate with and get information from on anything we are studying. Networking in this way with first-hand accounts on information being studied will give our students a more meaningful lesson, thus helping them retain the information and truly understand what's going on (hot cognition! (Goodman, 2008). However, it is always important that we as teachers verify that anyone we collaborate with or videoconference with is a legitimate source. We must also let our students know the risks involved with getting information from the internet, and what they can do to avoid retrieving false information.
3. The internet is providing a platform for teachers to collaborate as they never have been able to before. TEachers can collaborate through videoconferencing, and can share their ideas through such sites as wikiversity, which is a site that allows teachers to collaboratively author and edit the website within their content area. Such websites as www.4teachers.org are also education websites that allow teachers to write to each other, bounce ideas off each other, and share lessons or class projects that have been very useful for them that involve technology (November, 2010, P. 51). Another website that I discovered from one of my other professors, GNA, is slideshare.net. This website allows educators, or really anyone I guess, to upload various powerpoint presentations that they've created and share them with people. I thought that was a great idea and is very efficient for everyone in the education community - why create a powerpoint on a topic that was already made by someone else? There are also a number of forums available on education websites where people can post questions that someone else in the education community can answer for them. It sounds like the sky is the limit now for teacher collaboration!
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
EDCI 5825: Assignment 1
1. Define in your own words what it means to be information literate?
Information literate means being fully aware of a source's credibility. In the context of the November article on online sources, one must find the meta-web of the information, evaluate the author of the information and their credentials to make sure that they are a credible and knowledge source of information, and also be aware of the purpose of the website. Some websites are out to sell a product or are biased, so it is important to evaluate this. It is important to be aware that anyone can post information on the internet and that some information is false and misleading, so we need to take responsible measures to make sure a source is valid. I thought that the example November gave about Zack and the misinformation he found on the Holocaust was right on and definitely made me aware of the importance of checking a source. Even though Zack's source appeared to be valid on the surface, seeing as it was written by a professor and published on a university website, you have to be very careful and always backcheck an author and check the URL.
2. How can teachers and students thoughtfully evaluate online information resources, including the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia?
Teachers and students can thoughtfully evaluate online information resources by checking the meta-web information of a website, the author of the information on the site and the credentials (it is important to validate their credentials in a few locations online through search engines), and to check the purpose of the website to ensure that the site is not a biased site. It is important to be aware that there is an array of false information on the internet which is why we must thoroughly check our internet sources. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that can be edited by anybody using the internet, so it is impossible to check their credentials. Therefore, it is important to check any information taken from Wikipedia with another reliable source to make sure it is true. Sometimes wikipedia will have a list of sources at the end of an article, so this might be a useful tool. They also sometimes have citations within an article, so it's important that one checks the validity.
3. What are a few of the similarities and differences between the four instructional models of Internet use (Internet Project, Internet Workshop, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest)?
All of the instructional models are ways in which students learn the advantages and limitations of using the internet to gather information, communicate, evaluate the data they attain, and synthesize information. Additionally, all of the models are inquiry-based models and can be applied to any content area. Internet workshop and internet webquest are both models that are primarily used in the classroom as group projects, thus teaching the students how to gather information from the internet as well as how to collaborate in groups. Internet Inquiry and internet project are usually used as a classroom, although I believe it is possible for them to be used as group projects as well. Internet project is a collaborative experience between classrooms to solve a common problem. These can be web-based or spontaneous projects. Internet workshop is a research project when students break up into groups and use search engines to gather information on a specific subject. They gather information they are asked to find, record the information, and share the content-knowledge they find with the class. Internet inquiry is when students gather information from the internet in a subject that they are interested. The students learn to gather information, analyze it, identify problems, and synthesize the information. WebQuest breaks a class into groups and asks students to find information on a subject and present the information, possibly through role-playing.
Information literate means being fully aware of a source's credibility. In the context of the November article on online sources, one must find the meta-web of the information, evaluate the author of the information and their credentials to make sure that they are a credible and knowledge source of information, and also be aware of the purpose of the website. Some websites are out to sell a product or are biased, so it is important to evaluate this. It is important to be aware that anyone can post information on the internet and that some information is false and misleading, so we need to take responsible measures to make sure a source is valid. I thought that the example November gave about Zack and the misinformation he found on the Holocaust was right on and definitely made me aware of the importance of checking a source. Even though Zack's source appeared to be valid on the surface, seeing as it was written by a professor and published on a university website, you have to be very careful and always backcheck an author and check the URL.
2. How can teachers and students thoughtfully evaluate online information resources, including the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia?
Teachers and students can thoughtfully evaluate online information resources by checking the meta-web information of a website, the author of the information on the site and the credentials (it is important to validate their credentials in a few locations online through search engines), and to check the purpose of the website to ensure that the site is not a biased site. It is important to be aware that there is an array of false information on the internet which is why we must thoroughly check our internet sources. Wikipedia is an encyclopedia that can be edited by anybody using the internet, so it is impossible to check their credentials. Therefore, it is important to check any information taken from Wikipedia with another reliable source to make sure it is true. Sometimes wikipedia will have a list of sources at the end of an article, so this might be a useful tool. They also sometimes have citations within an article, so it's important that one checks the validity.
3. What are a few of the similarities and differences between the four instructional models of Internet use (Internet Project, Internet Workshop, Internet Inquiry, and WebQuest)?
All of the instructional models are ways in which students learn the advantages and limitations of using the internet to gather information, communicate, evaluate the data they attain, and synthesize information. Additionally, all of the models are inquiry-based models and can be applied to any content area. Internet workshop and internet webquest are both models that are primarily used in the classroom as group projects, thus teaching the students how to gather information from the internet as well as how to collaborate in groups. Internet Inquiry and internet project are usually used as a classroom, although I believe it is possible for them to be used as group projects as well. Internet project is a collaborative experience between classrooms to solve a common problem. These can be web-based or spontaneous projects. Internet workshop is a research project when students break up into groups and use search engines to gather information on a specific subject. They gather information they are asked to find, record the information, and share the content-knowledge they find with the class. Internet inquiry is when students gather information from the internet in a subject that they are interested. The students learn to gather information, analyze it, identify problems, and synthesize the information. WebQuest breaks a class into groups and asks students to find information on a subject and present the information, possibly through role-playing.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
Intro Post
Hello fellow bloggers!
My name is Stephanie, and I just recently got married! I am going to be teaching high school physics, and I am looking forward to it. I was working as a Civil Engineer for over 3 years before making this career change. My goals for the course are to find some useful resources in technology that will not only help me as a teacher, but will also help my students be more interested in physics and will facilitate their learning. I love to read, go to the beach, garden, and play and watch sports. My favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird.
That's all for now, see you later!
Steph
My name is Stephanie, and I just recently got married! I am going to be teaching high school physics, and I am looking forward to it. I was working as a Civil Engineer for over 3 years before making this career change. My goals for the course are to find some useful resources in technology that will not only help me as a teacher, but will also help my students be more interested in physics and will facilitate their learning. I love to read, go to the beach, garden, and play and watch sports. My favorite books is To Kill a Mockingbird.
That's all for now, see you later!
Steph
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