End-of-Term Reflection

Since the beginning of the term, my thoughts on technology integration have changed a lot. I used to think it was important to integrate tech into the class, but not to the extent that I do now - mainly because I was not familiar with all the interesting and useful tools out there to use. I think it is important to use many different types of tech integration throughout the school year, as it not only provides differentiation for the students, but also introduces them to technology in real ways and provides essential life skills.
One program that I absolutely enjoyed using this term was Story Jumper. I think this would be a great tool to use in a 3rd grade classroom because it allows the kids to be creative, while also giving them opportunities to share. It can be used to cover lessons of any topic that're part of the curriculum, so it can meet various standards. Since you're able to actually order the books, I think it would be a great opportunity to find the funds (grant from a business, maybe) and be able to provide the students with their own hard copy of their published book - something that they can be very proud of. I think kids would really enjoy this.
Another program that I thought was a great tool to use in the classroom is Blogger. I was never even interested in blogs until I got into this class. I have learned that they can be very useful as a form of communication, a house for schoolwork and projects, a source for parents to go to learn about and actually see what their children are doing in class. Blogs can be fun for students when they can personalize them and feel a sense of ownership of them. Since their work is posted there, they can feel proud that it is being displayed so others can see. There are so many different ways to creatively use blogs in the classroom, and I think this is probably one of the tools I will definitely try to incorporate into the class curriculum. Print Page in IE

Students Using Technology

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What Needs to Change?

These are some ideas that I pulled from an article that we read for class, on what needs to change in order for technology to be successfully integrated into the classroom. Here is the article for you to read.

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Integrating Websites into the Classroom

     The site that I have chosen to look into is xtimeline. This is a social science site that offers timelines and a brief outline of numerous events throughout history. For younger children, it can be used when a teacher picks a topic and the students work with the designated timeline; older students can pick their own timeline to work with. The reason I think that the teacher should be picking a topic for younger students is that there are many topics that are not appropriate for an Elementary School (such as a timeline on Philip Morris and the indsutry of tobacco). The most interesting aspect of this website is when you have a topic's timeline, you can click on the the event list. This brings you to a page that shows all the dates with links to more detailed and in-depth information. There are also many timelines on subjects that are often discussed in schools, such as Anne Frank, Thanksgiving and the Pilgrims, the Civil War, and so forth. This can make it easier on the teacher, as well, so they can have one less resource to have to find for the students that is accurate.
     This website can be used in the classroom for students who are studying a particular topic. The students can use the timeline of their topic to get more detailed information of specific dates. They can make a journal in the point of view of someone within the time period they're studying, based on the events that are happening in the timeline. Another way this can be used in class is for older students to pick their own appropriate (approved by the teacher) topic and research it. They can present their information to their class, or use the information they find to make a slideshow.
     Beyond the classroom, this site could be used to extend learning opportunities by creating a portal into many different histories of many different topics. People can use this site to explore the history of something that interest them (famous actors, big corporations, video games, etc).
     All in all, this website is a very good resource for learning detailed information within subjects, down to what happened on specific days. Print Page in IE

Project Based Learning Assessment

     I feel that the "Designing a State-of-the-Art High School" is the most relevant project of the six that were given. I like this project because it not only applies all different aspects of education (math, writing, art, speech), but also brings in the opportunity for the students to learn about the environment, and cost-efficient alternatives to what is traditional in today's world. I like that this requires students to think about what will be necessary in the future, and that they can lay out their plans to a panel of architects who can evaluate what is really efficient and necessary.
     The students are using all of the higher level thinking skills from Blooms taxonomy. They are analzying information to compare and contrast different aspects of the project. The students are then using their data to synthesize and create a draft of the school they wish to present, along with all the special features and costs. And lastly, they are evaluating and assessing their work for any last changes before presenting it to the panel of architects for a final evaluation where they will be critiqued on the plan based on how effective and efficient it will be for future students and the environment surrounding the school.
     I personally cannot think of a single thing I would change about this project in the short amount of time that I had to ready and write about it. I think that if changes need to be made, it would depend on the class that it is being used in. Since every class is different, the same project may not work for a class in the same manner it did for another, meaning it may have to be "tweaked" a little for individual circumstances.

*"Design a State-of-the-Art High School"

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Improving Critical Thinking Skills Using Telecollaborative Projects

     Since most classroom tests are made to evaluate students' understanding at the lower levels of Bloom's Taxonomy Pyramid (Bloom et al.'s Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain), we need to look into ways of bringing students to the higher levels where they will have a deeper understanding of the material. These higher levels (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) improve students' critical thinking skills. Using telecollaborative projects can be a key in reaching the higher levels of Bloom's Taxonomy Pyramid. Not only is more discussion initiated when collaborating, but students are likely to become more interested and engaged when working with others.
     Analyzing a topic requires students to have enough understanding to compare and contrast, and be able to explain it in their own words. Synthesizing is the next step, being able to create something or predict results using the information they have gathered. Lastly, evaluating requires the students to be able to justify or assess their work based on the deep understanding they have aquired.  Now, by using telecollaborative projects, students are able to communicate with each other and have discussions on the topic. This will help students understand their topic, and also bring in different perspectives from other students. Moreso, if the teacher arranges groups of students with different amounts of background knowledge, they're increasing the opportunities for learning (Commonly Asked Questions about Teaching Collaborative Activities). This happens because while students are working collaboratively, they end up sharing (even if it's not intentional) information that another student may not know. Other students may bring a perspective to the table, or to the chatroom since we're talking telecollaboration, that other members in the group may not have thought of.
     As the article "Commonly Asked Questions about Teaching Collaborative Activities" states,

"When students learn through discussion and exploration, they establish ownership of the material."

I think that this statement clearly identifies one of the most important reasons of using telecollaboration - students will have a better understanding of the material that they are looking into when they are able to explain, propose, and assess their ideas with peers. Print Page in IE

Past, Present and Future

     As I grew up, access to computers was quite limited. I don't recall ever even using a computer from K-5th grades. From grades 6-8, we managed to hop onto a computer now and then to practice typing or play an educational game, but the computers were not easily accessible. We had to venture to the computer lab during designated times and hope that nobody else occupied the few computers there were. I personally had not used anything other than word documents to type up papers. Once in grade 9, computers were becoming a little more common in the school. We had two computer labs, one for the keyboarding and computer basics classes, and one for students to use for research or typing papers. Throughout high school I had more of an opportunity to use and learn about the internet on my own, although computers were not a required part of the curricular activities. In my Junior and Senior years, I participated in designing and producing the school yearbooks. In this class, we were not required to use computers, however we were encouraged to use photo editing programs to enhance or crop pictures, or to create layouts. All this was also possible by using scissors and glue and pieces of template paper that the publishing company sent to the school. Sadly, this yearbook class was the most computer and technology access I had through those 13 years of school.
     At this point in my life, I am interested in teaching the 3rd grade. I think that nowadays it is much easier to incorporate the use of technology in the classrooms, since the technology is more available. I also believe that it is important to introduce the use of technology at an early age, so that children can slowly familiarize themselves with the ever-growing need for knowledge of the tech world. I think at a third grade level, technology can be introduced by helping the children to understand proper ways of researching topics online, they can make videos with a webcam (regarding a certain topic) and possibly have a blog to post it on. They can write documents and email them to each other or to a person (such as the President, author of a book, etc.) we are discussing in a topic. There are endless possibilities at this point in time as to what kinds of technology could be used presently in a 3rd grade class (or nearly any class, for that matter). There are a wide range of purposes for using these types of technologies in the classrooms, but the reasons I feel most important are:

• Makes learning more fun for the children;
• Introduces them to the necessary knowledge of the working world;
• Gives them opportunities to explore ideas easily, and at the push of a button.

     I think that since nowadays technology is improving and changing at such a fast pace, there will be plenty to look forward to in the future. I do not think we will have the same restrictions as we have had in the past (teachers' lack of knowledge of technology, small windows of opportunity, few resources) since it is already becoming more engrained in peoples' lifestyles. In the past, people did not have many (if any) opportunities to utilize technology in the way we do now. It was not that long ago that internet or computers were not available, so most of the teachers at this moment did not grow up with technology readily available and on-hand. Now, most people that are going to become teachers in the next few years have at least several years under their belt of experience with some types of technology (search engines, email, networking, blogs, video sharing, picture editing, etc.). The children of this coming generation will have even more experience since they will have been surrounded by technology since entering the world. I think a slight challenge when integrating technology into the classroom may be the funding for the equipment and maintaining/updating this equipment. However, I think the main roadblock we will be running into is that the children I will be teaching even just three years from now may be far more advanced than I am technologically. The rate at which technology changes is so incredible, that the tools I am learning now are very likely to be outdated by the time I am teaching. It will take a commitment from future teachers to continue their education in learning the newest and most applicable tools for classroom use, which will probably be very difficult for some teachers. Print Page in IE

Avatars in Education

Avatars can be very useful in education for communication purposes. Some children may feel more comfortable expressing their feelings or commenting about something, and may feel more at ease when they are represented by someone other than themselves. Also, I think it would be a useful tool because students may be more ready to complete tasks given by the avatar rather than the teacher who is in the "power" role. It also may simply be more fun for the students to explore their creativity when being able to create and use the avatars. Print Page in IE