Digital Blog Post #I

In this chapter the first thing I read that I thought to myself "oh wow this is helpful" was the section titled "Approaches to Lesson Plans". Lesson planning is organizing teacher's goals, methods, and procedures to determine the structure of instruction. The book goes on to detail two different approaches:

1) Student Learning Objectives- These learning objectives consist of

• Tell who
• Is going to do what
• When 
• How much or how often
• How it will be measured or evaluated 

This approach focus more on what the student can do after the lesson is taught. The teacher can use it to identify what methods they want to use, the procedure and what assessment will be used. I look at it in a way where the teacher should think of each objective as they are writing the lesson plan and make sure every lesson plans answers to each.

2) Understanding by design- This has three major components

• Stage 1- Identify desired results. This is like a frame where teachers can look at enduring understanding and essential questions. The goal here is to find what needs to be done so that the student has long lasting memories of the lesson.

• Stage 2- Determine acceptable evidence (assessment strategies)- This stage describes how the teacher can find evidence of the student learning and remembering the lesson. It could be a project, a paper, presentation or a test. Then the teacher needs to decide what information needs to be used in the assessment. 

• Stage 3- Plan learning experiences and instruction (objectives and methods)- This is the one most important stage. The one where the teacher decides what to teach and how to teach it. They will provide learning objectives, their methods and a plan for how it will be conducted in their lesson plan. 

Personally, I think that I like the student objective learning approach better. It forces you to look at multiple different components and questions. I think that one seems easier to follow and straight forward. 

I thought it was also interesting when they spoke of factors that influence how teachers view assessment. The first being personal experiences. They go on to describe how personal experience of how THEY were taught will leak into the way they decide to teach. For me personally, I was given many tests and writing assignments of course, but I look at my teaching style in a more creative light. I'm not sure if it's because I'm self-aware due to my current classes or because I remember how I was taught in high school, but am choosing to teach elementary. The second factor is standardized testing. This is one that hugely influences current teachers. You might of heard from many people how education now-a-days is only preparing you to take a test. It is becoming big in our schools now as a measurement tool and one used to determine if I child can pass the class or their grade level. The last factor listed is teacher tests. This one basically says that because students in the education program (hoping to become teachers) have to take a test to pass, no matter how they did in their classes, that this is the proper way for students to be evaluated. I can't say I agree with that but it is funny to me that I am against doing it to students but am understanding of the fact that I have to do it..as a student! I never really realized that until now.

One of the last sections in the book discusses rubrics. Rubrics are a way to evaluate student work on course assignments and activities. It is a chart that describes what needs to be done to receive an A and what will deserve a B, C, D and F as well. I have received these rubrics for most of my education, yet, to be honest, I don't fully utilize them or understand them. They are supposed to serve as a clear framework for how assignments need to be completed and how they will be graded but I never viewed them as helpful. Part of that might be laziness, I'll admit. One of my goals going into my bachelors program is to try and use rubrics to my full advantage. 

Credit to Paco Paco on Flickr

 Howard, K. (2014, March 25). Understanding by Design. Retrieved October 25, 2016, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DRnaSR1kZU

 Paco, P. (2011, February 27). Retrieved October 25, 2016.

Ellis, J. (2016, October 25). Let's Discuss.

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA. Pearson Education, Inc 

 

Digital Blog Post #H

Multimedia in education is almost a necessity now-a-days. Students lack focusing skills now more than ever, and looking at just words all day every day is a guaranteed way to lose their attention. There are many different types of multimedia you could use...the important thing is that you DO use them. Utilizing multimedia creates multimodal learning. This happens when teachers combine spoken words with visuals or written text with audio or utilize simulations or models (pg 217). 

The first one spoken off in the book is PowerPoint. This is a tool I've used since middle school and continue to use in college. It is probably the most well known tool to create a presentation, where you can have music, video, pictures, interactive activities and written word. With PowerPoint however, you can still create a very boring presentation (just words and A LOT of them on one slide), so it's important for all teachers to remember.....you guessed it! Multimedia. Adding a slide with just a picture or just a video and then having the notes memorized or written down separately for you refer too is the most efficient way in my mind to use PowerPoint to it's full potential and keep your students entertained. PowerPoint, however, has been around a long time and is definitely the older generation of presentations. 

For this slide you would have all the words you'd like to say to the student written down separately or memorized

The next one is one I haven't really used much but would be really useful in an elementary school classroom. Digital storytelling is the ways that written text, audio, and video imagery can be combined to make unique story presentations. This tool would come in handy for almost every school subject; history, science and language arts specifically.  History because the teacher is "telling the story of history" so it would make perfect sense to use digital story telling to explain your lesson plan here. Language arts is an important one too, as you can use it to teach different styles of writing to the students. It also allows students to become more and more creative with their presentations. It let's them have artistic control over it and have fun with the editing, which is extremely important for kids who are constantly developing and growing their creative minds. 

A quick digital story-telling poem of a mantra I tell myself

The last one might be my favorite, podcasts and vodcasts. I absolutely love podcasts and video podcasts. I am constantly listening to them in my daily life. Driving, at work, doing the dishes, ect. So naturally, I would be excited about the idea of creating my own for my classroom. I think it would serve as a great tool to post a little extra information regarding the lesson that day, daily updates, and upcoming deadlines. I can imagine it would serve very helpful for parents and students. The category of podcasts is in this chapter as a multimedia tool, but when I think of it I think of just an information platform, which I don't believe is how this chapter intended me to think about it. To put it in terms of a multimedia platform, I think it'd be a great idea (granted this might only work on higher grade level students) to have them create a weekly podcast. I imagine it this way: having students pair up or be in groups, go over the lesson and "reteach" it onto a podcast. Then maybe they can all be uploaded to an online classroom and used as a study tool throughout the week. That would be a great way to use this to engage learning. I still love it as a tool to communicate with parents and students though. Here is a link to some TedTalks uploaded into podcasts about education, so you can get a feel for how podcasts work and sound. 

Ellis, J. (2016, October 23). Powerpoint example 1 & 2.

TEDTalks Education by TEDTalks on iTunes. (n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/tedtalks-education/id470623037?mt=2

Ditchthattextbook. (2013, July 1). Why Podcast in Class? Reasons for Educational Classroom ... Retrieved October 23, 2016, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDdJJluOqLU

Ellis, J. (2016, October 23). Retrieved October 23, 2016, from https://storybird.com/poetry/poetrymaker/?artwork_id=a62b9705-0cd5-4627-a212-58517fd6a982&shop_slug=dwell-deep

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post #G

Chapter 10 starts out with a topic that might be the most important characteristic to teaching there is right now: Multicultural Education. Multicultural education is the term used to describe how teachers go about "affirming" the expansive diversity of student's interests, needs, and talents present in every school classroom (pg 246). In, more recent years than you would think, the United States education has decided that every student regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, race or background deserve an equal education. To me, someone born after this idea was decided, it seems obvious that this would be the case. However, in the past few years minority groups have become more apparent in society and have also become a lot more outspoken. I believe that minority groups in the past have kept a low profile when it comes to education. For example, if Christmas was celebrated their child would just simply not participate and that would be the end of it. Recently, it has become more of an issue. The question changing "What are you going to do to celebrate each student and each religious holiday and background?". Although you could argue that the world is becoming very sensitive (and I'd be lying if I said I didn't agree), this issue is one that can be made positive. I definitely support the idea that children should know that every one is different and that it's okay; and they should have a basic knowledge of those differences and how they work. The textbook gives a few ways of how you can create a multicultural education but my favorite one is "Creating Culturally Relevant Curriculum and Instruction". This is basically the idea that you would connect cultural ideas into their lesson plans and assignments. I firmly believe that the best way for anyone to learn is when they can make a connection to their every day life with it and this is the perfect example of that. Technology is so important for this because it offers students access to websites, videos, articles...anything they want regarding all sorts of cultural.

The chapter also brought up an interesting subtopic on writing in schools. It states that writing has taken the backseat to reading and math, which I had no idea about. It also has a list of reasons why students don't enjoy writing.

• Pressure
• Lack of confidence
• Lack of joy
• Misdirected self-evaluation
• Lack of patience
• Ideas about being smart

When I was in school (K-12) I really enjoyed writing. I was that student (and still am) that turned a 2 page assignment into a 4 page assignment. I always wrote "to much" because I would get lost in it. I never felt any of the above when I was writing. Flash forward to college and I have to admit...I feel a few of these ideas. This makes me think that maybe its a 'nature' kind of thing vs nurture, since I am feeling it now in college as students in K-12 are feeling it. It's interesting to think about, what could be causing these feelings in students now. 

The last point is on the section titled "Using Technology with Linguistically Diverse Learners". Now, especially in Florida, we see a huge population of immigrants and children of those immigrants. So because of that, E.S.O.L. (English as a second language) is a big chunk of our schools. I can't even imagine how much technology has helped with this! Between online translation services, multilingual web resources, access to international newspapers and websites and interactive maps (pg 247-248) teaching E.S.O.L. students must be so much easier. My husband has a friend who met his fiance in Spain, where he served in the U.S. Navy, and she told us she self-taught herself English by watching Saturday Night Live episodes online. I mean...come on! Technology has made learning a new language so much more accessible and (while still not easy) much easier. I have even seen videos about wireless ear plugs that live-translate words as they are said. It's absolutely crazy but I can only think that schools have made positive advances in their E.S.O.L classrooms using technology. this website is a great tool for E.S.O.L. teachers to get students involved. 

Zygomatic. "Free Online Word Cloud Generator and Tag Cloud Creator." Wordclouds.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Monaco, By Emily. "7 Superb Speaking Activities That’ll Get Your ESL Students Chatting." FluentU English Educator Blog. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

CNMonline. "Why Is Writing Important?" YouTube. YouTube, 01 Nov. 2013. Web. 14 Oct. 2016.

Digital Blog Post F#

Chapter 8 starts out with two questions:

1. How would you describe the impact of communications technologies for teachers and students?
2. How will your teacher communications systems create positive learning experiences for you and your students?

I would describe the impact as...HUGE. Classrooms are becoming based around a computer. Students these days know how to work an Ipad before they can read! Technology is, from here on out, a necessity to learn and utilize in your classroom. How will I use it to create a positive learning experience? Well, I think the best way to do so is to teach them so. Show them how you can use the computer and the internet as a way to learn more outside of the classroom. I would emphasize the importance of positive research on the internet and giving positive feedback when needed. I will be teaching young kids who will be introduced to the internet during the time I'll have them as a student and the sooner they learn that technology can serve a better purpose in their life, the better! 

(This video doesn't take into account the technology being used in classrooms currently, but is a great source on WHY it is important to utilize technology)

Becoming a teacher in these coming years is going to be very different than the teaching style I am used too. When I was a student, everything was handwritten (or typed in the case of research papers). Studying was done out of a textbook, and still is in my college years and if I tried to use a computer or a cellphone in my classroom....forget about it!

Learning today includes:

• Utilizing an online classroom where work is completed and turned in
• Games and activities within to help study for upcoming tests
• Tests are TAKEN within the website
• Cell phones are allowed out and can be used for quietly listening to music and accessing the learning websites as well

This is crazy to me, but I can overcome! A big part of this online classroom is the teacher's participation. This can be in the form of a website or a blog, as well as just feedback in the form of email or discussion comments. A class website can include (but is not limited to) information about the academic achievements of the teacher, a list of students and a way for them to communicate with each other and a platform for student work and progress. It is a place for students to access the work, complete the work and turn in the work to the teacher. It is also a way for them to deliver (positive!) feedback regarding the subject to their peers. It can list a syllabus which contains assignments, due dates and exam schedules. 

Another way to do so is with a blog. This can serve as an online journal for the teacher and a place for them to post articles and ideas related to the subject at hand. A blog can also serve as a way for online communication. For me, since beginning a blog, I'm in love with it! It is one of the most enjoyable and creative assignments I've been given in a long time and would love to translate what I'm learning into my teaching. I plan to teach elementary school students however, so I'm thinking how it could be used for the parents of my students. Maybe a weekly blog post regarding what is happening in the classroom the upcoming week, student achievements, holidays, important dates and birthdays. It would be a good idea to include extra links that could be used at home to add onto what we are doing in the classroom as well! 

Photo Credit to Wes Thorp on Flickr

Another form of collaborative learning is using a Wiki. This is a collaboratively edited and maintained website involving a group of people. It allows individuals or groups to access a page, be able to read through it and update or edit the passages. It was inspired by the online encyclopedia (which is widely not accepted as a good resource due to articles being able to be openly edited by anyone) Wikipedia. In terms of the classroom, it can be used as a way for students to learn the technology, work with their classmates, learn how to explain and "teach" a subject, publish their own creative works and receive feedback from their teacher and peers. When it comes to wiki, for me, it is much more difficult to use than a website or blog you've created. After using it for the first time I found it difficult to navigate. I'm sure once you have used it a few times however, it would be a fantastic tool for students to publish their assignments and work as a group with their peers. 

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

T. (2016, March 28). Redefining Learning & Teaching using Technology. | Jason Brown | TEDxNorwichED. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOTEQVYDPpg

Thorp, W. (n.d.). Retrieved October 09, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/west846/2734190032/sizes/o/

Malamed, C., Says, J. M., Says, C. M., Says, K., Says, A., Says, N. H., . . . Says, S. N. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved October 09, 2016, from http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning2-0/using-wikis-for-elearning/

Digital Blog Post #E

In another one of my classes, my professor has expressed the importance of one thing to us: learning Bloom's Taxonomy. This idea also came through in chapter 7. It was created in 1956. It basically goes over different levels of thinking broken into two main categories, lower-order thinking and higher-order thinking. The list is (lower to higher):

Knowledge

Comprehension

Application

Analysis

Synthesis

Evaluation 

Many different teaching styles are based around lower and higher order thinking so I believe it's very important to have an understanding of it, no matter what kind of teacher you aspire to be. It's interesting to look at it in the way the book addressed which is applying it to video games and apps. I never really thought about it, but you do kind of go through each level in a game. Learning how it works and then applying what you know, followed by evaluating the situations later on to know the best point of attack. To put it in terms for me, I am obsessed with an app on my phone called Gordon Ramsay Dash. It's a cooking game and when I first started I had no idea how to play but as time went on I started to go through each level of thinking;

Knowledge- Learning to cook each food and that I needed to watch customer happiness

Comprehension-Understanding how to perform the 'cooking' 

Application- Playing the game

Analysis- Watching what I did wrong if I lost that round

Synthesis-Having multiple different entrees going at the same time to ensure serving every customer

Evaluation- Judging how fast each customers happiness level goes on, getting a rhythm. 

I know it's a silly example but it really helped me to remember each level when I look at it using this app.  

The next passage that got my attention was the debate on video games...oh boy! I've actually put a lot of thought to this as I enter a time in my life when I will be planning to have kids in the next 2-3 years. My husband plays a lot of video games, It's how he relaxes (so he says anyway), but it this a healthy way for developing children to "relax"? According to the passage, a study said 2 of 3 households have a video game system and 25% of those players were under the age 18. I was born right on the cuff of the generation who boasts about how they played outside until dusk, went exploring in the woods and caught bugs, and the generation that turned to the internet and TV for their primary source of entertainment. This makes it a debate in my head because I can see both points. My jerk reaction is to say that they need to play outside, get the sun and exercise, but then I look at my life and I'm like "I don't want to be outside!". It's a tough decision to think about having to make for your child. I think the obvious fears are lack of exercise and not developing social skills. Which I do believe video games and social media are creating lackluster social skills, I see it every day working in a job where my employees and customers are mostly teenagers. Not only is this an important debate for parents, but also teachers. Every one teaching now or will be teaching soon will face the technology dilemma. I did my first observations for class this past Friday. I was shocked by what school is like now. Each student had a laptop they used for assignments and phones were allowed to stay out on the desk. That's crazy to me! Technology and video games are something becoming more and more popular every day and something that will be subject to debate for parents, students and teachers for many years to come. This is a video that has an interesting take on how video games affect social skills. 

The last point I want to discuss is about computer games for learning. When I did my observations one class I sat in was an English class. They had a vocabulary test that day and were given twenty minutes before to study. As I watched them they all clicked through multiple different games correlating to the words they would be tested on. Following this they played a group vocabulary game in the same program. Whether you're for or against technology in the classroom, it's kind of here to stay. The job as a teacher in this age is to promote positive use of the internet and technology. Games geared toward learning is a great way to do so, I think. If students are going to be exposed to the use of technology anyway, you might as well make it a positive experience for them. I really liked the games they were playing. They were simple, like one that was called gravity I believe, where the definition fell through the air and they had to type in the word it matched to to stop it. It's very plain, but seemed to really help them. They all got A's and B's on their test. So it's an idea to at least look into as a teacher.

Ellis, J. (2016, October 1), Higher-Order Thinking Representation, created with BitStrips IOS App, https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/bitmoji-your-personal-emoji/id868077558?mt=8

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

 S. (2013, December 09). Do video games ruin social skills? Retrieved October 01, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NHbv738J6c