Throughout this course I have had the opportunity to learn and use new technologies that increase student engagement. In the beginning of this course, my teaching philosophy followed three steps. Step one, introduce the material or concepts. Step two, practice using the new concept, and the final step is to apply the concepts to real world. My philosophy is still the same, but I have gained new knowledge about how to introduce and teach new concepts using technology such as voicethreads and virtual field trips. Understanding various learning theories has also added to the instructional piece of my philosophy. The final step of application has now been enhanced by the power of creating artifacts (Laureate Education Inc., 2008).
One immediate change I will be making to my teaching style is to use technology to enhance student learning rather than my teaching. For example, using the SmartBoard in my classroom during center time to have students explore various web sites and manipulate shapes during my geometry unit. I have spent time this year teaching students how to use various software, now it is time for students to start using that software to explore for their own learning purposes. Students using the SmartBoard during center time will allow them to collaborate with peers on solving problems and gaining new knowledge about people, places, and things. Using software such as excel will allow students to monitor their progress towards goals they have set for themselves focusing on their academics(Pilter, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007).
Two long-term goal changes I would like to make for myself are using virtual field trips during units in all academic areas and having students monitor their level of effort by creating graphs. In terms of an outline for virtual field trips, for the remainder of this year I would like to have my students participate in at least two virtual field trips in the area of social studies. By the end of next school year, my goal is to have the students participate in a virtual field trip in the subjects of social studies, science, math, and reading. In reference to effort, this year I have started laying the groundwork by having discussions about effort and making effort a part of everyday conversations. By next year I would like to have the students creating rubrics that focus on effort and then begin graphing their effort and placing those graphs in the Data Quality Notebooks(Pilter, Hubbell, Kuhn& Malenoski, 2007).
References:
Laureate Education Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author
Pilter, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technolgy with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Connectivism and Social Learning
Social learning is an important learning style to incorporate into the classroom on a regular basis. Today's world demands that people be able to learn and communicate in social settings more than just face to face conversations. The Internet offers many different types of learning tools for students to use that will someday allow them to be successful in the business world.
Social networking tools such as blogs, voice threads, wikis, and facebook allow people to communicate with other people from across the world. These networking tools also allow students to collaborate on projects with more than just their school peers (Laureate Education Inc, 2008). This becomes extremely important in the fact that when working on a project two minds are always better than one.
Dr. Orey discusses with us this week about the importance of creating an artifact with meaningful conversations (Laureate Education Inc., 2008). In my own classroom I see the importance of creating a group project and how much better the result of that project is if students work together. With todays technology, students are able to not only work with people within the classroom, but are also able to communicate with other students from across the world making their project that much more meaningful to the student.
As I am working on my voicethread this week, I see how nice it would be for students to create their own voice thread about topics we cover in social studies. Once my student created their own voice thread, they would be able to receive feedback from other people which would support and solidify their learning.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.
Social networking tools such as blogs, voice threads, wikis, and facebook allow people to communicate with other people from across the world. These networking tools also allow students to collaborate on projects with more than just their school peers (Laureate Education Inc, 2008). This becomes extremely important in the fact that when working on a project two minds are always better than one.
Dr. Orey discusses with us this week about the importance of creating an artifact with meaningful conversations (Laureate Education Inc., 2008). In my own classroom I see the importance of creating a group project and how much better the result of that project is if students work together. With todays technology, students are able to not only work with people within the classroom, but are also able to communicate with other students from across the world making their project that much more meaningful to the student.
As I am working on my voicethread this week, I see how nice it would be for students to create their own voice thread about topics we cover in social studies. Once my student created their own voice thread, they would be able to receive feedback from other people which would support and solidify their learning.
References:
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.
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