Journal Post 10

Chapter 10

Promoting Success for all Students through Technology

How can teachers use technology to create universally designed classrooms?

In creating a Universally Designed curriculum, technology presents benefits and challenges to student learning. Every teacher is an instructional designer deciding everything from how seating is arranged to what instructional activities will be conducted. The most insignificant change can either make it or break -- like I would say. It could either draw the student’s attention or drift them away from the focus of the class. Teachers have to be careful when redesigning their classroom. Some small changes that can done in the classroom are providing alternative seating, such as ball chairs, providing speech to text software that enables students to record their voice as text documents, and lastly, providing talking books. When I was observing at a Middle School I saw the students were using clickers during class. This is a great way to determine comprehension of key concepts among the students. Another way to use technology in the classroom is to develop short video and audio productions to explain and expand the content. It will benefit students with a variety of learning styles.

Photo Credit to Jim Frost

Calculators

We live in a society that is always changing thanks to the ever advancing technology. We are in a time where even iPads are common in every classroom in the country. Technology is huge and learning how to use such technology is also important.  This is why it’s good for students to have an understanding of how to use a calculator. As far as electronics go, it’s a fairly simple instrument to use and students will need to use such devices elsewhere throughout their lives. Just think about it calculators are something that your students are going to use to set a budget, do their taxes and complete other tasks throughout their lifetimes. Let’s say I taught Chemistry is High School. When giving out an exam, I don’t want my students to spend most of their time on the one problem that includes a bit of math. So providing my students with a calculator can ensure me that they will not spend a whopping five minutes on the problem, instead spend less than three minutes on it.

Photo Credit to Salihan Laugesen 

Summary

              
            Chapter ten examines how computer technologies expand opportunities for teachers to meet the learning needs of all students, and regular or special education classrooms. Technologies developed for special needs learners can be very useful for other students, because they make possible teaching activities that respond to a range of learning styles and preferences. It also discusses differential instruction, universal design for learning, and reviews a range of assistive digital tools that support successful learning for all students.

"Teachers should fashion teaching and learning so that all students have the chance to learn and to demonstrate what they have learned—not just those who happen to be gifted with words and numbers. " -Howard Gardner

      

Journal Post 9

Chapter 9

Creating and Sharing Information with Multimedia Technologies

How can teachers use video resources in their teaching?

Teachers, who use instructional videos in class get the students to retain more information, understand concepts more rapidly and are more enthusiastic about what they are learning. With video being part of a thoughtful lesson plan, students often make new connections between curriculum topics, and discover links between these topics and the world outside the classroom without having to step foot outside the classroom. Many equipment are available at school: television monitors, video players and educational DVDs.  But an alternative to using DVDs or videotapes in the classroom, teachers relay more on video resources that are found on the Web.  There are massive amounts of videos already available online in all sorts of subject areas. An example of one is YouTube. YouTube contains thousands of educational videos that are extremely useful. Teachers utilize these videos in their curriculum. It increases the student’s retention of the subject and encourages them to seek out educational videos as well.  

Photo Credit to jm3 on Flickr

There are many successful strategies for using videos and DVDs in interactive ways. Using the pause and rewind bottoms during segments of the video, engages students in discussions about what they are viewing, making it an interactive experience.  Another strategy that can be done in class while showing a video is having the students write responses or taking notes on what they are seeing.  Some teachers already have a worksheet made with questions on them in the order of the film so students can easily answer them while still watching the video. That way you know the students are paying attention and understanding the video.

TeacherTube

                TeacherTube has a variety of videos, documents, audio, and photos that are valuable for teachers of all subject areas. The possibilities are endless and extend much further than just showing videos to your students. Teacher Tube is designed to look like the popular website YouTube. It provides free online space for sharing instructional and educationally videos, made by teachers and students. Videos of the day are displayed on the main page and students and teachers can search up any subject or content as well.  An advantage of using Teacher Tube is that the content is safe for viewing in schools.  It’s a valuable resource to use for the classroom.

Summary

                Chapter nine focuses on presenting information using PowerPoint software, videos, DVDs, digital cameras, movie making software, and podcasts as tools for emerging students in creating and sharing information commutation through multimedia tools. In this century, cameras are nearly available anywhere from phones, iPods, and iPads. Tools for recording are more assessable and cheaper as well. Collaborative sites like TeacherTube make it easier to post and share videos with other educators and students. Finally, the Web contains a vast variety of videos, like YouTube, that can be useful to use in the classrooms. Emerging technologies in the schools offer exciting ways to share and teach ideas and concepts with others.  

Journal Post 8

Chapter 8

Communicating and Networking with Websites, Blogs, Wikis, and more.

How can teachers use email or instant messaging to foster information exchanges with and among students?
            
          We are in the 21^st century; children and adolescents are the largest users of email and instant messaging (IM) technologies. So why not use it? In my opinion, using email to communicate with your students can make you a better teacher and increase class participation. I don’t encourage using IM because the kind of informal language found there can be misunderstood or misused at times. Even though some teachers still refuse to use email as a teaching tool, it’s a quick and easy way to communicate with your students. Though, it is not a replacement for the classroom and face to face contact, it is a reinforcement, a lifeline, and an open door for students when after office hours are over.
           
            Students today keep a hectic pace. They are usually involved in extracurricular activities or jobs that clash with a teacher’s office hours. Ultimately, you can encourage students to email their papers, or ask any questions if they feel the need to. Listening and remembering seem to be a big problem for many students in today’s fast-paced world. Teachers can send out a friendly reminder either individually or as a group about papers that are due that week and give them extra tips to help them succeed. These emails are there as a record and the students will not lose them like class notes. They can refer to it at any time. These few additional hours can make all the difference.  

Photo Credit to Christopher Penn

Tech Tool: Edmodo
        
            Edmodo is a free web-based website that teachers can use to manage their class, share content, access homework and other school related items. It is also a safe social networking place for the students in the class to connect and collaborate with one another.  From the demo I saw, Edmodo has a Facebook-like appearance. Which I think students will love because it looks familiar and will not have a hard time navigating through the site. Edmodo has a collaboration feature where the teacher and students can add comments and share files such as PowerPoints, Word documents and videos. It also provides instant messaging where students can discuss assignments, ideas they have, or simply socialize. I think students will find it handy at 11pm when they are doing their homework and can contact their classmates or even teacher for instant help.

Summary

            This chapter was mostly about different ways that teachers and students could use computers and other technologies to share ideas and information online. It talks about how teachers could use technologies as a communicator for enhancing teaching and learning. Also emphasis how teachers can get a use out of emails, instant messaging, discussion boards, blogs, and even wikis as an engaging collaborative learning tool to improve teaching. Overall, it discussed technology tools that could be useful not only in the classroom, but outside as well.

               

Journal Post 7

Chapter 7

Problem Solving and Inquiry Learning with Software and Web Tools

What are the standard software applications found on most computers today and what open source software alternatives are there?  

                Various types of computer software are used to simplify the operations and applications of computer programs. There are two main types of software. System software is responsible for the overall functioning and control of a computer. It includes the operating system, network operating system, database managers, and TP monitor. Application software performs specific functions in specialized ways to produce a variety of services, including word processing, databases, spreadsheets, slides and presentations, internet browsing, email management, movie making or DVD burning to name a few. You will recognize many of these programs by their commercial name: Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Adobe, Photoshop, Internet Explorer and Norton Antivirus.

Photo credit to Ohrizon. 

Here are a couple standard software applications more in-depth that are most likely found on your computer:

-          Word processing software enables writers to enter data into a word processing document. They have long replaced typewriters and even handwritten letters. It also allows users to create digital documents that can be drafted, edited, and shared electronically.

-          Web browsing software allows computers to visit favorite website or search for new information online. Popular browsers include Internet Explorer, Google Chrome and Safari.

-          Presentation software like PowerPoint gives computer users creative ways to construct digital slideshows and other displays that incorporate text, sound, voice, and pictorial images.

-          Antivirus software scans a computer for malicious programs that deliberately interfere with its operation. A virus can spread when one computer communicates with another computer, much like humans catch a cold or viral infections. Antivirus is an essential tool to protect your computer against the constant threat of these potentially dangerous programs.

Open source software is “open” for the public to use, copy, and recreate, usually at little or no cost. Profit-making companies develope much of the software for computers today because it's reliable and easy to modify.  Organizations deliberately make the source codes available free to users and software developers with the idea that new and improved applications will emerge, thereby stimulating innovations within a wider community. Some technology educators consider open source software to be safer to run on computers because it is more secure in terms of privacy.

Squeak Etoys

              Squeak Etoys is an open source with free downloadable software program that supports inquiry learning and problem solving for elementary and middle school students. It has become a colorful, kid-friendly development environment with strong multi-media capabilities. It teaches students how to model things with math, logic, and merge that skill with creativity. Etoys is great for modeling things quickly and easily!

Summary

              Chapter seven overviews how educational software supports and promotes problem solving and inquiry learning for students from kindergarten to twelfth grade. The chapter also discusses different kinds of educational software, from open source materials to commercially produced programs. The last section introduces intelligent tutoring systems as emerging instructional options for teachers, specifically math and science education.   

               

                 

Journal Post 6

Chapter 6

Teaching with Educational Websites and other Online Resources

What are WebQuests and virtual field trips?

                WebQuests enable online explorations in Mathematics, English, Science, Social Studies, or any given subject! Each WebQuest is a unique exploration designed to be fun and engaging. They make connections between any particular topic and the real-world. Students who embark on WebQuests become engaged in both finding information and learning from it. They will gain essential Internet literacy skills of information retrieval and analysis. Teachers encourage students to engage in web-based inquiry with WebQuests. They also use these WebQuests as a virtual environment to give students roles, creative activities, and unique assignments designed to stretch their thinking and enhance their understanding of the text. Students can design a Roman village for Caesar or create plots of their own St. Crispian’s Day speech for Henry V.

Photo Credit to Michael Surran

                Virtual field trips take students to places all over the world without ever leaving their school’s classroom or computer lab. One small study involving 400 students from two different middle schools, one urban and one rural, showed that middle school students had higher reading comprehension scores after participating in online field trips developed by Maryland Public Television. The students who took the field trips performed better than a control group of students who experienced only traditional teaching methods. Numerous museums, science centers, historical sites, and other educational organizations have developed online field trips programs that do not require any human to human interaction, so no reservation is needed. Which I think is incredibly awesome because many students do not have the transportation needed. Some popular destinations that offer these great experiences are the following: Lake Michigan Science Research Center, Baseball Hall of Fame, and Cleveland Museum of Art.

                Interactive videoconferencing is also a great virtual learning experience for students! It is a powerful distance learning technology that offers real-time access to people and places that students are unable to visit. It enables students to communicate with scientist, historians, writers, and other experts from all over the nation extending the classroom beyond the local community. Wow!

The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc

                TheCave of Chauvet-Pont-d’Arc is a great website example that offers an online field trip. It shows some of the earliest cave painting ever found. Taking a virtual tour of this subterranean world is one the joys of this site. In my World Civilization class, the professor used this exact website when we were learning about the Babylonian era. It came in handy at all times and I honesty learned a lot because the wealth of the information given, it almost felt tangible. When you go on the site there is a map of the entire cave system with linking buttons. Clicking on a button takes you to that location in the cave with its drastic drawings. Viewing these paintings from the past may inspire students to produce their own drawings, paintings, or writings to post on the walls or blogs. The exploration of distant destinations made possible by visiting archaeology and anthropology websites may interest students finding out about the history of local areas or visiting nearby museums.  

Summary

                In this chapter, it considers information management, a necessity when teachers and students utilize learning resources provided by educational websites and other online resource. It also introduces booking making, social book making, and information alerts as ways to organize information that teachers need to prepare lessons aligned with local, state, and national curriculum frameworks. WebQuests and virtual field trips suggest ways to extend learning using the web. Finally the chapter examines six different types of educational websites that support inquiry and interactivity to fully engage students with academic content.

Journal Post 5

Chapter 5

Researching and Evaluating Internet Information

 What are search engines and how do they work?

             Do you remember life before Google? It was difficult. We had to use paper maps, learn languages and even own a dictionary. Scary, I know! Search engines have become a staple to our everyday lives because they’re practical, easy to navigate, and just overall convenient. But apart from being a touch screen away, do you ever think about the underground dynamics of a search engine; how it all comes together? Well, a search engine is a software program that uses networks of computers to access information about a topic from its database. Knowing how to locate and analyze information from the internet can get a little tricky. Sure you can just type a word or phrase and get an infinity amount of web pages pretending to the topic being searched. To limit your research, focus on a specific topic category, narrowing and simplifying the subject area. For example, when exploring the history of African Americans baseball players, you might list “baseball history”, “Jackie Robinson”, or “sports history”. Any of these terms would be a great starting point for using a search engine.

Photo Credit to Jinho Jung

            As valuable as Google and Ask can be in locating information, teachers and students benefit from search tools that focus more directly on academics topics, educational standards and learning materials. Educationally specialized search resources are often more time efficient than typing keywords onto a general search engine.  Some examples are like the Internet Public Library, Voice of Shuttle, and Artcyclopedia. Teachers and students can benefit from these specialized search engines. My school offers its own research database. It comes in handy when I have to write a research paper for my class. The best part of all, it is free! Some of these educational search engines are not available for everyone. They require a fee. So take advantage of the free ones out there. They contain a wealth of information.

Flickr
            Thanks to my awesome Professor, I discovered Flickr. Flickr is an online photo managing and sharing tool that lets you search photos, organize them, and even send them. I use Flickr to find photos that I can incorporate into my blogs I have been writing. Apart from that, you can use Flickr as a learning tech tool to your curriculum. You can divide your photos into sets based on a theme you are teaching. Discussion boards are also included for online talking as well as for picture sharing among colleagues and students.  

Summary
             Chapter five explores how teachers and students can research and evaluate the internet as a teaching and learning environment. It talks about search engines, how they work, and offer a variety of great educational sites to use. It also addresses the problem of student plagiarism and how teachers can address the issue. Teachers can reduce or even avoid situations where students plagiarize by structuring their school assignments better. Finally, teaching students how to find quality and valuable information in the web. According to the American Library Association, high quality online information meets five criteria: accuracy, authority, objectively, currency, and coverage. Paying attention to URL extensions, using a lesson plan site selectively, and giving clear web research guidelines are important strategies for teachers to use in teaching Internet information evaluation to students. Overall, the main goal of the chapter was teaching students how to access and asses information in the web.   

Journal Post 3

Chapter 3

Developing Lessons with Technology

What is meant by “lesson development using technology”?

                Lesson development is central to the work of every teacher. Lesson development refers to all the activities that teachers do as they create, teach, and evaluate lessons with students. It involves a teacher’s decisions about three elements of teaching lessons: academic content (what to teach), teaching goals, methods and procedures (how to teach), and finally learning assessments (how to know what students have learned). School system guidelines and state national curriculum framework the bases on “what to teach”. However, because no national standard spells out everything to teach about any given topic, classroom teachers must make choices about what will be explored to students each day. Technology plays an essential role on helping teachers with their lesson plans. We have access to powerful new ways to research and retrieve information like blogs, internet search engines and wikis.

Photo Credit to the tartanpodcast

                Teachers combine goals, methods and procedures into formats for daily learning. Goals are the reason why a lesson is being taught. Methods are the instructional strategies. Large or small groups, discussion, lectures, role play, case studies are just a few of the examples teachers use to convey academic content to students. Procedures are the scheduling and grouping of students by teachers during a lesson, including time management. The goals, methods, and procedure all mutually support each other in the process of lesson development, which is where technology comes as a great use. Technology does best in enhancing the understanding of goals. It gets you to that higher order of thinking; it gets you to understand that goal.

Photo Credit to woodleywonderworks 

PBS Teachers

                PBS Teachers features thousands of lesson plans, professional development opportunities, videos, and blogs. You will notice that many of these sources are based on the award winning programming that is broadcast on PBS stations. You will also see that many are tied back to state standards and there are recommendations on how to study a topic beyond what is shown at the site. It contains a sufficient amount of appropriate use of school technology, to enhance what the teacher is already teaching. The PBS Teacher makes finding online lessons and activities so much easier!

Summary

                 Chapter three discusses how teachers plan, deliver, and assess lessons that engage students and teach academic content while integrating technology into the lesson plans. Two types of lesson planning are explained. Sample lessons are developed step by step in the chapter so you can see ways to use technology throughout the development process. It also mentions how teachers should evaluate their students. Prime examples are using teaching performances assessments to measure the knowledge of students before, during, and after teaching lessons. Technology offers multiple ways to conduct test and performances such as quizzes, portfolios, and student writing. It provides tools on how to develop and evaluate learning experiences for students.