Chapter 31 presented some interesting things to me. First, I think that it is cool that Dr. Warwick had a capsule implanted in his arm as a computer to help him with everyday tasks like email and such. I don't know if I would do that, but I think that it is neat that something like that exists. The chip can program people to do things. I am not sure if I wanted to be "programmed", but I can see how the capsule can be useful for those with disabilities. If a person had like a learning disability, something like that could rewire the brain to process information like the brain should. But I can see where something like this could get abused very easily.
AI has come a long way since it started. Now it helps to determine learning styles, perferences, and needs and can tailor those things to the needs of the student. This is very valuable information for any educator. Educators needs this information to best meet the needs of their students.
I just think that we have to be careful in not let technology take over human interaction and feelings. While I do not see computers or robots taking over the world, I can see how technology can get in the way of social interaction. Take email for example. Don't get me wrong, email has been a wonderful and quick way to send messages. But phone conversations are not there as much. I have heard of people getting disrespected by someone breaking up over email. I am not saying not to use it or any other technology, but to use them that is helpful, not hurtful.
I learned quite a bit from this class and I am not sure which of the projects were my favorite. So I would like to address the second question by sharing how I used what I learned in my other class. For this class, we had literature circles and we had to do a presentation previewing the book. The book our group read was about a woman living under the Taliban in Afghanistan. Part of the presentation is showing a video. I pulling some up on You Tube through the campus laptop, but they lacked the Flash program needed. So I offered my group members to display videos on a blog. So I went home that night, got a few videos off You Tube and embedded them in a new blog and emailed the site to my group members so they can see the videos from home and give feedback via email. If you are curious, the site is http://joyantitaliban.blogspot.com/ . Not only I used Blogger, but I used what I learned to do a screen cast to make the video thing work. You see, the videos on You Tube can be downloaded, but are Real Player files. When I tried to convert it to Windows Media Player format, it only got the sound, not the video. (I wanted WMV because almost all computers can play this.) So I had to get really smart here. I did a screen recording while under my free trial of Camastia Studio and put the sound of the video (mp3 file at this point) on the time line right underneath the video. I locked them together and boom! It played both video and sound. (For some reason, the sound would not pick up when trying to record the video for the screen cast so I had to do that.) Then I was to produce it as the Windows Media file and it worked beautifully. The timing has to be right though. The video is displayed at the end of this posting. I also enjoyed doing the website and playing with the photos. They are easy to do and allow for creativity. I know I will use that for personal and educational projects in the future.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
Chapter 30 Reflection
I found chapter 30 very interesting and important to read. That is because technology does need to used for a direct purpose in education, not to look "cool" or to have something to do for your students while you write lesson plans or whatever. It is true that for a lesson that uses technology needs to have rich media. The book defines rich media as "learning products that incorporate high-end media such as video, animation, sound, and simulation and will only benefit learners to the extent that its capabilities are harnessed in ways that support human cognitive learning processes "(pg. 312). In other words, technological devices needs to enhance learning, not just supplement or make the lesson look cool or exciting. Sure they can motivate, but the educational purpose must be fulfilled.
"Instructional methods are the elements included in instruction for the purpose of supporting the achievement of the learning objective. Thus, instructional methods are intended to encourage learners to use appropriate cognitive processing during learning" (pg. 314).
Therefore, it is appropriate to make my first goal to use technology to fulfill educational purposes more. The reason for stating this goal is that I want my students to learn and grow. If I am using technology, then it should serve an educational purpose.In the past, I used them to make lessons look neat or as a supplement at best like taking students to the computer lab to research online. But they need to do more than that. They need to encourage students to think and learn. Pictures and narrations need to go with the lesson, not be an add on that will distract them. The chapter said that students learned best with video with narration. I first thought of the screen cast video I did. I didn't do narration due to a lack of microphone, but I know it would have been better if I had one. The point is that any sounds, pictures, videos, etc. need to assist in students' cognitive processes. It needs to help them like the medical students that was talked about in the chapter.
The second goal after reading this chapter is to improve on scaffolding. I chose this goal because we need to teach students, yes, but they also need to be independent. Too often, at least I do, I tend to hang on a little too long when it comes to this. But scaffolding is providing guidance and letting go little by little as students learn the concepts. "People learn better with guided discovery than with pure discovery methods in which they interact as they please" (pg. 321). Students can be introduced to a technological or some other kind of concept and begin working with it with me, and then do independent assignments. Independence gives students a sense of self esteem and shows that they are learning on their own once the guidance leads them to where they need to go.
"Instructional methods are the elements included in instruction for the purpose of supporting the achievement of the learning objective. Thus, instructional methods are intended to encourage learners to use appropriate cognitive processing during learning" (pg. 314).
Therefore, it is appropriate to make my first goal to use technology to fulfill educational purposes more. The reason for stating this goal is that I want my students to learn and grow. If I am using technology, then it should serve an educational purpose.In the past, I used them to make lessons look neat or as a supplement at best like taking students to the computer lab to research online. But they need to do more than that. They need to encourage students to think and learn. Pictures and narrations need to go with the lesson, not be an add on that will distract them. The chapter said that students learned best with video with narration. I first thought of the screen cast video I did. I didn't do narration due to a lack of microphone, but I know it would have been better if I had one. The point is that any sounds, pictures, videos, etc. need to assist in students' cognitive processes. It needs to help them like the medical students that was talked about in the chapter.
The second goal after reading this chapter is to improve on scaffolding. I chose this goal because we need to teach students, yes, but they also need to be independent. Too often, at least I do, I tend to hang on a little too long when it comes to this. But scaffolding is providing guidance and letting go little by little as students learn the concepts. "People learn better with guided discovery than with pure discovery methods in which they interact as they please" (pg. 321). Students can be introduced to a technological or some other kind of concept and begin working with it with me, and then do independent assignments. Independence gives students a sense of self esteem and shows that they are learning on their own once the guidance leads them to where they need to go.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Phixr and Google Documents
I want to tell about Phixr first. Phixr has those cool effects that I always wondered about such as the bubble, blending two pictures, and so forth. I can make a raised picture and I did a lumo on the raccoon pic below. You can even remove red eyes. I think Phixr is a great site for phot editing and can be useful in educational settings for presentation or even in tech classes to educate students.
But I think Google Documents is a great way to do spreadsheets and presentations without having to worry about getting Microsoft Office if it is too expensive. Also if it is free, then schools can use it to teach students the various programs without having to pay for much. I just wish audio files can be added to the presentations at this time.
But I think Google Documents is a great way to do spreadsheets and presentations without having to worry about getting Microsoft Office if it is too expensive. Also if it is free, then schools can use it to teach students the various programs without having to pay for much. I just wish audio files can be added to the presentations at this time.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Chapter 27 Reflection
After reading chapter 27, I had a little trouble making connections between our profession as teacher and the ID tech world. However, I managed to come up with some goals that reflect my strengths and are supported by the reading this week.
I tend to be a good planner and always looking for ways to improve myself in the field of education, whether it be teaching or behavior management. I think the goals I have in place put those strengths hand in hand with each other.
The first goal I have is to incorporate more technology into my teaching. In other words, be competent in teaching with technology that would really engage students. “Competencies are defined as quality of being competent; as having suitable or sufficient skill, knowledge, experience or being qualified to performed a task,” pg. 272. I want to be able to be competent in the area of technology so that lessons are more creative and engaging and it looks really good on a resume as well. Being competent also gives me an edge over other candidates when looking for a teaching job. Not only that, but students may learn more from cool visuals and hearing videos. In other words, it tailors to different learning styles.
The second goal is to have special education certification. In the chapter, there is a whole lot of talk of ID tech people not being certified and whether or not they should. “Certification can be viewed as recognition by a professional organization that an individual has met an agreed set of requirements,” page 283. I think if someone is in a professional field in education, then certification might be necessary for ID tech people. I mean teachers have to be certified in order to teach especially with NCLB that we love so much. I put my special education certification as a goal because without it, I cannot teach special education. At least I have not that kind of luck. Anyhow, this what I thought of when I read the certification piece of the chapter. But having a piece of paper saying that you are certified does not mean you are competent in that area either. “The competencies should reflect the skills of professional instruction/training designers regardless of their current jobs, positions, titles, academic degrees,” page 273. But in the other hand, it is impossible to get a teaching job without certification.
My last goal is to be a better designer of instructional design with the kids I work with currently. Page 275 shows chart 27.3 in planning, analyzing, designing, and developing instruction plans. Needs assessments must be conducted to find out where the student is needing help. From there, the instruction is designed. Planning is a must as well preparation. I want to be able to further pinpoint the exact problem a child might be having. The biggest example I can think of is reading. I run a couple of reading group with strategic students. I have a couple who can read fluently, but have no or little sense of comprehension. I should be able to use ID to do a diagnostic to find out why they are having trouble and do the proper intervention for that and monitor their progress. I think by becoming better at ID, I could help some students.
I tend to be a good planner and always looking for ways to improve myself in the field of education, whether it be teaching or behavior management. I think the goals I have in place put those strengths hand in hand with each other.
The first goal I have is to incorporate more technology into my teaching. In other words, be competent in teaching with technology that would really engage students. “Competencies are defined as quality of being competent; as having suitable or sufficient skill, knowledge, experience or being qualified to performed a task,” pg. 272. I want to be able to be competent in the area of technology so that lessons are more creative and engaging and it looks really good on a resume as well. Being competent also gives me an edge over other candidates when looking for a teaching job. Not only that, but students may learn more from cool visuals and hearing videos. In other words, it tailors to different learning styles.
The second goal is to have special education certification. In the chapter, there is a whole lot of talk of ID tech people not being certified and whether or not they should. “Certification can be viewed as recognition by a professional organization that an individual has met an agreed set of requirements,” page 283. I think if someone is in a professional field in education, then certification might be necessary for ID tech people. I mean teachers have to be certified in order to teach especially with NCLB that we love so much. I put my special education certification as a goal because without it, I cannot teach special education. At least I have not that kind of luck. Anyhow, this what I thought of when I read the certification piece of the chapter. But having a piece of paper saying that you are certified does not mean you are competent in that area either. “The competencies should reflect the skills of professional instruction/training designers regardless of their current jobs, positions, titles, academic degrees,” page 273. But in the other hand, it is impossible to get a teaching job without certification.
My last goal is to be a better designer of instructional design with the kids I work with currently. Page 275 shows chart 27.3 in planning, analyzing, designing, and developing instruction plans. Needs assessments must be conducted to find out where the student is needing help. From there, the instruction is designed. Planning is a must as well preparation. I want to be able to further pinpoint the exact problem a child might be having. The biggest example I can think of is reading. I run a couple of reading group with strategic students. I have a couple who can read fluently, but have no or little sense of comprehension. I should be able to use ID to do a diagnostic to find out why they are having trouble and do the proper intervention for that and monitor their progress. I think by becoming better at ID, I could help some students.
My Google Site
I am a parapro for a boy who has behavioral issues. I learned of a system called 1 2 3 Magic from special education teachers I work with. Behavior management is always a big issue in education and I thought I can spread the word about 1 2 3 Magic to teachers who never heard of it.
The site is http://sites.google.com/site/behaviormanagement123magic/Home . The first page is introducing the system and shows the picture of the book. I chose that picture because it was appropriate and made the most sense to show what the book looked like. Below the picture are links to Amazon to buy the book as well as the video. Other websites that talk about 1 2 3 Magic are also there for more reference. The first page also has a clock gadget. I chose that simply because I thought it would be neat and those looking at the site would know what time it was without looking at another clock.
The second page tells how 1 2 3 Magic works. It also provides tips on using it. There is an image of a little girl on there. I chose that because I wanted an image of a child since the system is for kids ages 2-12. I thought a pictre of a kid would best support my page. I also have a dictionary gadget at the bottom of the page. I thought something educational would be good since this is an educational website. Using an online dictionary right there would be very convinent adn be educational. There is also a link to my blog for comments or questions.
The site is http://sites.google.com/site/behaviormanagement123magic/Home . The first page is introducing the system and shows the picture of the book. I chose that picture because it was appropriate and made the most sense to show what the book looked like. Below the picture are links to Amazon to buy the book as well as the video. Other websites that talk about 1 2 3 Magic are also there for more reference. The first page also has a clock gadget. I chose that simply because I thought it would be neat and those looking at the site would know what time it was without looking at another clock.
The second page tells how 1 2 3 Magic works. It also provides tips on using it. There is an image of a little girl on there. I chose that because I wanted an image of a child since the system is for kids ages 2-12. I thought a pictre of a kid would best support my page. I also have a dictionary gadget at the bottom of the page. I thought something educational would be good since this is an educational website. Using an online dictionary right there would be very convinent adn be educational. There is also a link to my blog for comments or questions.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
My Screencast
The student intern in the class I work in is doing a science lesson on the Earth's rotation and revolution around the sun. Therefore, I thought it would be cool to display a video showing the sun moving on a website as well as a page of terms and explanations. Students can see the sun actually moving with the months of the year and notice which parts of the Earth has the sun hitting on during certain months. It could be slower, but for the sake of the project, I just put that particular site there.
Chapter 22 Reflection - How it is like Chapters 21 and 18
After reading all three chapters that have to do with instructional design, I have found two major themes.
The first theme is groupwork or teamwork. The following quotes support this theme:
"Large-scale projects typically require a team approach...However teams themselves will vary depending on the type of organization and the complexity of the project." -Chapter 18, pgs. 176-177
"The GSTE calls for forming a Core Team or "Starter Team" of about five to seven key opinion leaders from all the major stakeholder groups, establishing a culture and understanding of systemic change, and expanding into the Leadership Team." - Chapter 21, pg. 217
Chapter 22 provides two good charts on pages 225-226 on organizing people in groups according to specialty.
The quotes and charts provided me with strong evidence that teamwork is a crucial element of instructional design. Team members must work together to achieve school goals such as implementing curriculum, raising test scores, and improving student behavior. Schools can take make a Starter Team that consists of a school board member, a principal, a PTA leader, and superintendent to help to meet the needs of all children who go to that district. I know from personal experiences that schools often have a multidisciplinary team when a child is referred for special education services. That is because there are so many areas of expertise. For special education, there is usually a school psychologist, social worker, special education teacher, general education teacher, parents, sometimes doctors, or other types of staff depending on the needs of the student. They get together to discuss goals and objectives for their student's IEP. That is one example I can think of as far as teamwork in a professional school setting. Teams that exist in our school is the crisis prevention team as well as administration. We all work together to ensure our students are getting their best.
The second major theme I got from all three chapters is the concept of problem solving. The following quotes best support this concept.
"Many instructional designers are tackling the problems associated with reducing design cycle time. Some seek to modify the design process itself." - Chapter 18,
pg. 179
"Step-up-to-Excellence (SUTE) is a process methodology designed to help change leaders in school districts create and sustain whole-district improvement." - Chapter 21, pg. 213
The diagram shows the steps to SUTE on page 214, which seems to focus on problem solving since they are trying to redesign the way things are done and performance to improve schools.
"Part of my role is to facilitate the development of learning and teaching strategies and introduce faculty to the distance learning production process." - Chapter 22, pg. 224
That last quote solves the problem of the lack of experience that faculty has in distance learning.
Problem-solving skills are very important in the educational system today. Without those skills, we would not have learning take place. We are always trying to figure how to raise test scores, improve behavior, or use the proper interventions to align with students' needs.
We need to as professionals always seek ways to improve on the performance of us as well as our students. This can be only done, however, in collaboration with other professionals. It is a job that we cannot do alone. Everyone must play their part on the team of education.
The first theme is groupwork or teamwork. The following quotes support this theme:
"Large-scale projects typically require a team approach...However teams themselves will vary depending on the type of organization and the complexity of the project." -Chapter 18, pgs. 176-177
"The GSTE calls for forming a Core Team or "Starter Team" of about five to seven key opinion leaders from all the major stakeholder groups, establishing a culture and understanding of systemic change, and expanding into the Leadership Team." - Chapter 21, pg. 217
Chapter 22 provides two good charts on pages 225-226 on organizing people in groups according to specialty.
The quotes and charts provided me with strong evidence that teamwork is a crucial element of instructional design. Team members must work together to achieve school goals such as implementing curriculum, raising test scores, and improving student behavior. Schools can take make a Starter Team that consists of a school board member, a principal, a PTA leader, and superintendent to help to meet the needs of all children who go to that district. I know from personal experiences that schools often have a multidisciplinary team when a child is referred for special education services. That is because there are so many areas of expertise. For special education, there is usually a school psychologist, social worker, special education teacher, general education teacher, parents, sometimes doctors, or other types of staff depending on the needs of the student. They get together to discuss goals and objectives for their student's IEP. That is one example I can think of as far as teamwork in a professional school setting. Teams that exist in our school is the crisis prevention team as well as administration. We all work together to ensure our students are getting their best.
The second major theme I got from all three chapters is the concept of problem solving. The following quotes best support this concept.
"Many instructional designers are tackling the problems associated with reducing design cycle time. Some seek to modify the design process itself." - Chapter 18,
pg. 179
"Step-up-to-Excellence (SUTE) is a process methodology designed to help change leaders in school districts create and sustain whole-district improvement." - Chapter 21, pg. 213
The diagram shows the steps to SUTE on page 214, which seems to focus on problem solving since they are trying to redesign the way things are done and performance to improve schools.
"Part of my role is to facilitate the development of learning and teaching strategies and introduce faculty to the distance learning production process." - Chapter 22, pg. 224
That last quote solves the problem of the lack of experience that faculty has in distance learning.
Problem-solving skills are very important in the educational system today. Without those skills, we would not have learning take place. We are always trying to figure how to raise test scores, improve behavior, or use the proper interventions to align with students' needs.
We need to as professionals always seek ways to improve on the performance of us as well as our students. This can be only done, however, in collaboration with other professionals. It is a job that we cannot do alone. Everyone must play their part on the team of education.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Map Lesson Plan
View Larger Map
This is a satelite view of the school I work at in Comstock. The class I work in is a second grade classroom, so any map lesson has to be kept simple. I would connect my computer to the tv and turn it to the channel that shows this map in the satelite view with the street names. Kids can have a paper copy of the map at their seats to help further guide them along in the teaching process.
Earlier this year, the student intern did a lesson on streets and getting from one place to another. Therefore it seemed to make the most sense to have the lesson focus on getting to a student's house to Green Meadow Elementary, thus the point is on the map. A student will tell me what street he or she lives on and find their street (or at least the closet one shown)and have students figure out which directions to go (north, south, east, west) to get from their home to school. This seems the most relevant to students since they live at home and go to to school here most days of the years. The satelite view hits more home since they are seeing what the area that they live in. I believe this will increase the relevance of the lesson itself. Students can then help put symbols on the maps to stand for things (school, store, etc.) and create a key for the maps and draw it on their copies.
After reading chapter 21, there are two trends and issues that hit home to me. The first is about systemic change, particulary districtwide systemic change. This are "any changes or programs instiuted throughout a school district." The most recent example I can think of is the a professional development training I went to this summer. It was for CHAMPS training. The CHAMPs acronym stands for Conversation, Help, Activity, Movement, and Participation. CHAMPs principles include: 1. Classroom organization reflects student behavior, 2. It is the instructor’s responsibility to teach responsible in class behavior, 3. Praise positive behavior instead negative behavior, 4. Response to negative behavior should be brief, calm, and consistent in manner.) This is the format teachers must now follow in planning procedures, rules, and behavior plans. This is new to my district this year and everyone had to attend. Behavior plans would be an example of systematic change because it adopted a new system this year and this immediately came to my mind when I read that part.
The second trend or issue that stuck home to me was the Step up to Excellence. This is to teach school leaders to improve their schools (behavior, test score, etc.) As we all know, all school leaders are looking to improve on those two things as well as enrollment, technology, etc. SUTE involves the following steps: Redesign school sysmem, align cluster performance, align school-site performance, align team and indivdiual performance, and evaluate teh whole-system performance. This what my district kind of did in putting in the CHAMPS in place. Also my building got a new principal and he is implementing new strategies to improve behavior and academic performance.
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Chapter 18 Reflection: Instructional Design in Business and Industry
"This growth reflects an emphasis not simply on producing a more knowledgeable workforce, but increasingly on improving employee on-the-job performance and on solving organizational problems." It seems that business classes in general compose tasks for students to complete that reflect real-life situations such as employment. Examples include using Word to type business letters or using Excel to keep records. Math classes do the same at time with tax percentages and so forth. Not only actual skills can be taught, but concepts such as cooperation, problem solving, and team work can be taught as well. Social skills are just as important in the workforce as the hands-on skills. These skills can be taught with group assignments or problem-solving activities or both. Either way, these skills need to be taught because they are used in the "real world". Has anyone ever seen "Good Morning Miss Toliver"? It is about an inner city math teacher who does just this. She has many problem-solving activities that are hands-on such as building the tallest standing structure with straws and tape and counting the number of raisins in a box to learn estimation. She also took students outside to see math in the "real world" and made a book about it. Cool stuff. If you haven't seen it, see it! I have seen it at least 3-4 times.
The chapter also discusses the role of the designer. In this case, the designer is us the teachers. We are leaders, facilitators as well as the sole teacher in various types of lessons, depending on student need. Sometimes we have to teach and reteach over and over again and gradually let students be more independent, but the training must be there. The chapter said that "70% of the training takes place via classroom while 20% takes place with computers." This tells us further that technology is a wonderful supplement for teaching, but not a replacement. Therefore, we teachers needs to use technological devices if they will benefit the students.
I have learned a lot this semester. I liked the hands on learning that we did with Podcasts and all of that. I learned about social bookmarking, Podcasts, and even Blogs. I would not have learned about these cool things if it wasn't for this class. I also got many good ideas from classmates in how to use such tools.
The chapter also discusses the role of the designer. In this case, the designer is us the teachers. We are leaders, facilitators as well as the sole teacher in various types of lessons, depending on student need. Sometimes we have to teach and reteach over and over again and gradually let students be more independent, but the training must be there. The chapter said that "70% of the training takes place via classroom while 20% takes place with computers." This tells us further that technology is a wonderful supplement for teaching, but not a replacement. Therefore, we teachers needs to use technological devices if they will benefit the students.
I have learned a lot this semester. I liked the hands on learning that we did with Podcasts and all of that. I learned about social bookmarking, Podcasts, and even Blogs. I would not have learned about these cool things if it wasn't for this class. I also got many good ideas from classmates in how to use such tools.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Chapter 14 and Podcasting
The concepts from chapter 14 is something I think we do all of the time as educators. We often test student performance and behavior through assessments and if they do not get the desired results, we look at the causes and intervene. We do this with behavior as well as academics. For Curriculum Based Mesurements, there is a rule of three. If student falls below the goal line 3 times in a row, then the intervention must be changed. But if the student is above the goal line 3 times in a row, then a new goal must be set. For interventions, we try to see what "makes the kids tick" and try to teach to their abilities and interests and intelligences. We also try to find motivation for undesired behaviors (i.e. attention, power, etc.) in order to do an appropriate interventions which has to include a replacement behavior. As educators, it is important to look at why sometimes things do not go as well as they should in order to find a proper solution.
I decided to focus on podcasts that focus one learning a foreign language. Since there is a good portion of Spanish-speaking students, I decided to share ones that teach Spanish. Not only students can use podcasts to help them learn Spanish, but I found a couple of podcasts on iTunes that deal with dealing with misbehaviors of students whose language is Spanish. I thought this would be very useful for teachers not familiar with the langauge or a refresher for those who do know some who have had exposure to the language, like myself.
But for some reason this address won't work, but you can look at it iTunes. But learning Spanish can be done with Podcasts. A good I found is "Coffee Break Spanish". The address is
http://www.coffeebreakspanish.com
The reason I chose this topic is that there is a girl in the second grade classroom I work in (I shadow a boy who has EI) who came to school this year not knowing a work in English. The teacher and intern knew no Spanish. There is a bilingual assistant that comes and helps and teachers for partial days of the week, but I have been helping her give directions and work with her as needed in Spanish since I took three years in high school. Notes can be found on www.myspanishconnection.com. But I could not access the website for some reason, but if you go to iTunes and search for learn Spanish in podcasts, then behavior management in Spanish should show up. But podcasts can have all sorts of educational uses like showing social studies videos or foreign language sounds.
I decided to focus on podcasts that focus one learning a foreign language. Since there is a good portion of Spanish-speaking students, I decided to share ones that teach Spanish. Not only students can use podcasts to help them learn Spanish, but I found a couple of podcasts on iTunes that deal with dealing with misbehaviors of students whose language is Spanish. I thought this would be very useful for teachers not familiar with the langauge or a refresher for those who do know some who have had exposure to the language, like myself.
But for some reason this address won't work, but you can look at it iTunes. But learning Spanish can be done with Podcasts. A good I found is "Coffee Break Spanish". The address is
http://www.coffeebreakspanish.com
The reason I chose this topic is that there is a girl in the second grade classroom I work in (I shadow a boy who has EI) who came to school this year not knowing a work in English. The teacher and intern knew no Spanish. There is a bilingual assistant that comes and helps and teachers for partial days of the week, but I have been helping her give directions and work with her as needed in Spanish since I took three years in high school. Notes can be found on www.myspanishconnection.com. But I could not access the website for some reason, but if you go to iTunes and search for learn Spanish in podcasts, then behavior management in Spanish should show up. But podcasts can have all sorts of educational uses like showing social studies videos or foreign language sounds.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Chapter 3
There is no doubt in my mind that internet usage will have a bigger role in academics in the near future. Other types of media, such as film strips and videos have increased their role in usage as supplements to teachers and to the content they teach. Computers began to come to play really in the 40s, with the Super computer and look what we have today! At one point, they thought computers cannot be under a ton...now you can get a computer as small as your hand. Internet is used in research as well as video and photo sharing in academics. Teachers even find lesson plans on the net these days. Based on what I read in chapter 3 as well as what I see today, there is no reason why internet will not become more relevant in education.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Photo sharing and Instructional Design
I put a few photos on flickr.com. While it was easy and fund to put pictures on a photo sharing page, I have trouble thinking of educational purposes. I suppose one could share photos of historical sites for social studies or pictures of animals, rocks, or habitats for science projects so students can have a closer look at those things, but other than that, I personally do not see a whole lot of educational value in photo sharing. I also guess that a teacher could have a photo sharing page showing students' work and show different things that go on in a class, kind of like a portfolio.
I think the biggest problem with photo sharing is that students would not use them for educational purposes, if that. They might put up photos that are not school appropriate, which can be a problem. This is where careful monitoring has to take place. A teacher can ask each student for the photo sharing web page so the teacher can look at it to see if the students are following directions As I write this, I thought of another issue that could come up, especially if a teacher teachers students of lower SES backgrouds. Photo sharing requires the use of digitial cameras. Many people of lower SES do not have one since they maybe cannot afford one. Granted some have cell phones in which they can take pictures on. If those can be loaded on, that might be an alternative if done outside of school since phones cannot be used in most schools. But maybe a photography or journalism teacher can provide a few to use if students are responsible with them and maybe work in groups to share the cameras.
As for Instructional Design, I read about the acronymn ADDIE. The charactersitic of ADDIE reflect on what lessons should be. Teaching should focus on the learners with proper objectives and goals, apply to the "real world" in some way to make it relevant, focus on outcomes that can be measured, should use data, and perhaps use some type of additional support whether it be another teacher or paraprofessional.
ADDIE also reflects on how lessons should be carried out. First, we need to analyze any pretests or evaluations or test scores to find out what to teach our students. From there, we design the lesson plans with proper objectives that can be measured in some way. The lessons are further developed and then implemented or taught. Students are given an assessment that reflects upon the objectives and the teacher evaluates the assessments and makes revisions to the lesson and interventions if needed.
If anyone is in SPED, they have learned about Curriculum Based Measurements (CBMs). The CBMs reflect beautifully the ADDIE model. Let's take reading for example. First a student's level is found out through reading passages in a grade level, then going back until the level is found. This is analysis because it is determining what to teach your student. Once the level is determined, the goals are designed. The goals for CBMs have to be measureable. A goal could be that Johnny will increase reading fluency from 15 words a minute to 25 words a minutes. This goal can be easily measure by simply counting the number of correct words in a minute. The intervention is then develop, depending on student need and interests. I did CBMs with a student last year who had trouble decoding words and such. I did repeated and echo readings about snakes, since he had a huge interest in them. Once the intervention is planned, it can be carried out. Then the student can be assessed. For my SPED class last year, I had to do the CBMs twice a week with at least 13 assessments. My assessments were in the form of reading word lists for my student. He had to get so many correct in 1 mintue and the numbers were recorded on data tables and put on a graph to show progress. There is a rule with CBMs. We as teachers must draw a goal line from the starting point to projected goal. If the student falls below the goal line 3 times in a row, then the intervention must be changed. If the student goes above the line, then the goal is adjusted. That reflects the last step of evaluations and depending on results, interventions or goals are revised as needed.
I think the biggest problem with photo sharing is that students would not use them for educational purposes, if that. They might put up photos that are not school appropriate, which can be a problem. This is where careful monitoring has to take place. A teacher can ask each student for the photo sharing web page so the teacher can look at it to see if the students are following directions As I write this, I thought of another issue that could come up, especially if a teacher teachers students of lower SES backgrouds. Photo sharing requires the use of digitial cameras. Many people of lower SES do not have one since they maybe cannot afford one. Granted some have cell phones in which they can take pictures on. If those can be loaded on, that might be an alternative if done outside of school since phones cannot be used in most schools. But maybe a photography or journalism teacher can provide a few to use if students are responsible with them and maybe work in groups to share the cameras.
As for Instructional Design, I read about the acronymn ADDIE. The charactersitic of ADDIE reflect on what lessons should be. Teaching should focus on the learners with proper objectives and goals, apply to the "real world" in some way to make it relevant, focus on outcomes that can be measured, should use data, and perhaps use some type of additional support whether it be another teacher or paraprofessional.
ADDIE also reflects on how lessons should be carried out. First, we need to analyze any pretests or evaluations or test scores to find out what to teach our students. From there, we design the lesson plans with proper objectives that can be measured in some way. The lessons are further developed and then implemented or taught. Students are given an assessment that reflects upon the objectives and the teacher evaluates the assessments and makes revisions to the lesson and interventions if needed.
If anyone is in SPED, they have learned about Curriculum Based Measurements (CBMs). The CBMs reflect beautifully the ADDIE model. Let's take reading for example. First a student's level is found out through reading passages in a grade level, then going back until the level is found. This is analysis because it is determining what to teach your student. Once the level is determined, the goals are designed. The goals for CBMs have to be measureable. A goal could be that Johnny will increase reading fluency from 15 words a minute to 25 words a minutes. This goal can be easily measure by simply counting the number of correct words in a minute. The intervention is then develop, depending on student need and interests. I did CBMs with a student last year who had trouble decoding words and such. I did repeated and echo readings about snakes, since he had a huge interest in them. Once the intervention is planned, it can be carried out. Then the student can be assessed. For my SPED class last year, I had to do the CBMs twice a week with at least 13 assessments. My assessments were in the form of reading word lists for my student. He had to get so many correct in 1 mintue and the numbers were recorded on data tables and put on a graph to show progress. There is a rule with CBMs. We as teachers must draw a goal line from the starting point to projected goal. If the student falls below the goal line 3 times in a row, then the intervention must be changed. If the student goes above the line, then the goal is adjusted. That reflects the last step of evaluations and depending on results, interventions or goals are revised as needed.
My flickr site
I have uploaded a few photos on Flickr.com. It is not many, but check them out!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30962973@N03/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30962973@N03/
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Social bookmarking and Instructional Design
Social bookmarking can be useful in many educational setting. Students can share with each other sites that help them find information on a certain topic if they were doing a paper or something or some kind of project. They can click on the site without having to search through a search engine, which can be time consuming. Having the bookmarks has the websites already there for you to click on. Teachers can bookmark sites on classroom management tips, lesson plans, etc. Take for example, if you were looking for science lesson plans on plants, you can do a search on top and sites will be given to you. For the most part, they would be relevant. Adminstrators can also bookmark links to articles on education as well as lesson plans or classroom management tips. Teachers and administrators can also bookmark sites for parents in regards to organizations if familities need help of any sort (i.,e. NAMI) or tips or articles for parents to support their children's education. It seems that social bookmarking saves time from search engines because search engines often just pick up words that you type in and their sites are not always what you are looking for. But with social bookmarking, these are sites that others have found useful for the chosen topic and thus may be useful to you. I know that if someone recommended a site, I would be more enclined to look at it and maybe make some use of it.
"Instrucional design and technology mentions all of the areas mentioned." "Instructional design practices have broadened so that many of the concepts associated with the performance technology movement now regularly used by those individuals who call themselves instructional designers."
I am not sure that concept of instructional design is new so to speak. We all design our ways of teaching and lessons. Just because we put some technology into it does not make our design of instruction any more or less. Also, I am not sure I think of technology as a process. Technology to me is more of the folloowing definigtion, "Instructional technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources of learning." We as teachers all design, manage, and evaluate our lessons, whether what we did was successful and make changes and adjustments if necessary. However, in all of these defintions that I read about, there seems to be one thing missing - the acutal incoroporation of technology in teaching and learning. All of the definitions seem to have to do with lesson planning, which can or cannot include actual technology in the lesson plans. But the 1994 definition seems to be closest to what we do today.
"Instrucional design and technology mentions all of the areas mentioned." "Instructional design practices have broadened so that many of the concepts associated with the performance technology movement now regularly used by those individuals who call themselves instructional designers."
I am not sure that concept of instructional design is new so to speak. We all design our ways of teaching and lessons. Just because we put some technology into it does not make our design of instruction any more or less. Also, I am not sure I think of technology as a process. Technology to me is more of the folloowing definigtion, "Instructional technology is the theory and practice of design, development, utilization, management, and evaluation of processes and resources of learning." We as teachers all design, manage, and evaluate our lessons, whether what we did was successful and make changes and adjustments if necessary. However, in all of these defintions that I read about, there seems to be one thing missing - the acutal incoroporation of technology in teaching and learning. All of the definitions seem to have to do with lesson planning, which can or cannot include actual technology in the lesson plans. But the 1994 definition seems to be closest to what we do today.
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Wikis and Such
At first, I found wikis to be hard to operate because I had a hard time getting onto it until I got the email from Western (oops!). Wikis are like blogs, but not just anyone can get onto the wikis, they have to be invited, thus it helps avoid people who are not involved in discussions getting in and getting groups or students off task. The student can also be put on a class list and be invited to post questions or opinions on a subject or get homework they may have missed due to absence. Questions can be typed here rather than class, which serves a purpose of avoiding embarassment that they may feel if the question was asked in front of peers. Wikis can be also used in groupwork or cooperative learning activities in which student can create wikis as a project. For example, students can make wikis on the Civil War with definitions, a video clip, etc.
Students can present book reports for English class or tell of a habitat for science class. The possibilities are endless. Student can use wikis to communicate to each other as well (from home for example). They can present much interesting work and can show them off to the class through a projector. Since it would be their creation and work, t
Students can present book reports for English class or tell of a habitat for science class. The possibilities are endless. Student can use wikis to communicate to each other as well (from home for example). They can present much interesting work and can show them off to the class through a projector. Since it would be their creation and work, t
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
EDT 541 - Week One
Postman is obviously skeptical of the use of technology while Reigeluth and Joesph seem to emebace it more. Reigluth and Joesph makes a nice point in saying "children learn at different rates and have different learning needs, we can no longer afford achievement to vary." I think this is an interesting point because there are many technologies that can be used in order to help students with learning problems. For example, there is a reading program on CD called Lexia that is phenonomal in helping students learn phonics. Therefore if there is a type of technology that will enhance student learning, then why not use it? Most students are very familiar with computers and use of internet. Why not use what they know in that respect to reach them? Reigluth and JoesphI also are trying to find technologies that will best do that bring out the learning in students. They also make an interesting point toward the end on having technology not only meeting learning needs, but also to "social and emotional development." I think with test scores and NCLB, we are very occupied with the learning aspect of education. Don't get me wrong, academics are very important. However, many times social and emotional needs sometimes get ignored and many students go out into the world not knowing social skills. Again, this brings on the point of another important use of teachnology that encourages development of social skills such as Peer to Peer communications systems.
Postman has a different view of the use of technology. He is very skepitcal, but I do not agree with the phrase "bring it up to call attention to the fact that what we too easily call "progress" is always problematic. " Progress is not always problematic. Computers have given much easier access to the world of information and is usually more updated than encyclopedias since the Internet is updating itself all of the time. However, I do agree with the statement, "that new technologies may not always solve significant problems or any problem at all. But because the technologies are there, we often invent problems to justify our using them. Or sometimes we even pretend we are solving one problem when, in fact, the reason for building and employing a new technology is altogether different." True, while technolgoies can make learning easier or more convienent at times, it does not solve all problems or serves as a replacement for teaching. Teaching must take place. Computers do not have feelings or a warm body to connect with other human beings. If is often said that building a relationship with you students is vital to a successful classroom. Well if we replace teaching with technologies, then we lost that aspect. Therefore, while I don't think Postman should be so skepital, technology is a supplement to teaching, not a replacement and must also serve a purpose that will truly benefit students, not just the teach.er.
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