Game Plan- Week 3 Post

As mentioned from the previous post, I want my students to become socially responsible for themselves on various types of media they encounter. I want them to realize that their actions have consequences and they need to be responsible for them. In order for me to convey the severity and importance of web safety, I will utilize my colleagues to make connections across the curricula. This way the students see that it is a collaborative effort to protect them and aid them ultimately in their studies. I also feel it is important to allow the students to explore Web 2.0 tools only after being in serviced on them myself. I was lucky enough to be part of the Powerful Learning Practice Cohort lead by Will Richardson. I have learned many ways to use technology within my classroom but I feel the students can also teach me as well. They linked to technology constantly and working together benefits us both. I also will continue my professional development to keep me abreast of new technologies that arise.

Since beginning my Master Program I feel I have taken my knowledge of technology to new heights. I have gained many strategies to engage my students and modify teaching to aid them the best way I can. I hope to continue my educational
pursuits and aid my students by utilizing these pedagogues within my classroom.

Game Plan- App2

As an educator in the Twenty-first Century, I feel it is imperative to teach my students that they have a responsibility to be respectful of beliefs and opinions of all others. I believe it is important to teach them it is alright not to agree with everyone all the time but respect the choices and stances that they take. Students need to learn that actions have consequences and that these consequences may be life altering. I think that I discuss this in my class but not as effectively and as globally as I should. When reviewing the NETS-T's I find this relates to number 4: Promoting and Modeling Digital Citizenship and Responsibility. I feel I need to work on Part D: Developing and modeling cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with colleagues and students of other cultures using
digital-age communication and collaboration tools. I don't feel I have used technology to do this. My school does not have much diversity and I feel I need to use web-cam's and other Web 2.0 tools to aid me in this venture.

Another problem I found when looking over the NETS-T was with number 5. Engaging in Professional Growth and Leadership- Part a: participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning. I feel that the learning communities that I belong to should be expanded. I believe my connections here at Walden have helped me dramatically but I need to reach further than that. The unknown makes me a bit uneasy but I must step out of my comfort zone for my student's.

Goals- Since this school year is drawing to a close, I hope to set up a web cast with biology class in another school by November of next year. This will allow me to make more connections professionally and also allow my students to learn about the students in a different school who may be different from them.

Actions- I will start the exploration process beginning with the connections I have right now. My librarian and other colleges, have children and former teachers around the world who may help me on this adventure.

Monitor- I am going to set my self my time table and also work this into the minutes of our department meetings. This way the department can keep tabs on my progress and call me to task if need be.

Evaluate & Extend- Utilizing my students feed back will be the best way to evaluate my progress. I hope that the technical aspects work first and foremost. However, I want my students to learn that all just because a student is in a different state or type of school they have similar responsibilities that they have. I also want them to see that the opinions that they have may or may not be similar to the ones of others. After the initial web cast, I hope to have them quarterly. This way the students can have debates on what we are learning, the best way to learn specific topics, and maybe utilize cross curricular connections with an English class to have the students write business letters to them.

Resource
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf

Reflection- App 8- EDUC-6712I-3 Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

In my reflections on this course, I have found myself in awe of the amount of knowledge and technologies available at my fingertips. The vast amounts of Web 2.0 tools and other technologies that have been created in recent years; can be a blessing, but daunting in the same respect. I believe it is my responsibility as an educator to utilize all opportunities to learn as many of these tools or methodologies to aid my students. It is imperative that we help children learn how they learn, so they can adapt and extend their knowledge and strategies when they encounter new tasks in new contexts (Eagleton and Dobler, 2007.) I believe using a variety of techniques allows students to identify and articulate which instructional methodologies best suit their learning style. This way they be an advocate for themselves and adjust and monitor their learning by themselves, and with help of the instructor.
This course has afforded me practice in using Web 2.0 tools, allowed me to comment on the acceptable use policy at my school, and how to validate websites for my students, as well. These practices are very important in this in preparing our students in this ever-changing digital age. It is imperative that our students know how, when, and where to locate useful information on the Internet, or on an Intranet, will become an increasingly important component of the literacy curriculum, especially because the availability of information resources and
search technologies is expanding rapidly, increasing the importance of effective search strategies (Leu, Kinzer, Coir, and Cammack, 2004.) I also believe that knowing how to effectively write and implement a unit plan can allow the educator to organize their thoughts and strategies to afford the best means of implementation for the students.
The one aspect of this course that I wish to pursue further is the tool was utilized in week four, a “think out loud” utilizing Jing. I believe this tool was a great way to allow visual learners to access the validity and reliability of websites with a Web 2.0 tool that the students may not have seen or utilized. I believe that modeling best practices in relation to website validity and the importance of Acceptable Use Policies, and Plagiarism laws is imperative in the classroom with all disciplines. Student need to give credit where credit is due and also know and understand the consequences of all of their actions in the realm of cyberspace (Laureate, 2009.) I hope to have my students use Jing next year to describe the different websites about biomes that their groups have encountered. This will be an engaging inquiry based project that will allow the students to think outside the box and practice working in a collaborative setting.

References:
Eagleton, M. B., & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Supporting information literacy and online inquiry in the classroom. Baltimore: Author.

Leu, D. J., Kinzer, C. K., Coiro, J. L., & Cammack, D. W. (2004). Toward a theory of new literacies emerging from the internet and other information and communication technologies. In Ruddell, R.B. & Unrau, N.J., (Eds.), Theoretical models and processes of reading (5th ed.). (pp. 1570–1613). Newark, DE: International Reading Association.

App 4- EDUC 6712- Supporting Information Literacy and Online Inquiry in the Classroom

Here is the link to my screencast! Hope you enjoy!
2010-03-28_1249_App_4CahooneM
~Michele

Reflection: Final Blog Posting – EDUC 6711- Bridging Learning, Theory, Instruction, & Technology

As an educator in the twenty first century, it is my responsibility to aid in the education of the learner to the best of my ability. To accomplish this challenging endeavor, the teacher must be the leader of the classroom. A true leader motivates and uses various methodologies to stay abreast of latest trends in education over and above, enhancing the student’s sense of self, in a safe and controlled classroom environment. Instructors in all subject matters must facilitate the use of pedagogies that support the different learning styles of their students. Aiding students by differentiating instruction, utilizing the latest in brain research, as well as educational strategies enhanced by technology, rigorous and relevant knowledge that can be imparted on our students.

This is an excerpt from my Personal Theory of learning from week 1. I would not make any major changes in the philosophy aspect of my learning theory but would in the implementation portion of it. From the many different technologies that we have employed in this class, I plan on using Voice Thread and different concept mapping tools such as Webspiration.com, in each discipline I teach as well as the different tracks levels.

I have found Voice Thread to be a wonderful tool that allows the students to express their creativity and knowledge in a variety of ways. It allows them to use Web technologies collaboratively, within the realm of the classroom, as well as in the comfort of their home. After having used it within this course, I found it to have a relative ease of use, which can be helpful when 35 students are in a class.

Another instructional practice I hope to use in a different manner is the concept map. Concept maps are graphical tools for organizing and representing knowledge (Novack, J. 2008). This allows the learner to visually connect the information presented and decipher the relationships that have occurred from this display. I have always used them in class however, after creating my own and manipulating it, through www.webspiration.com, I plan on having the students create their own as a way of review and reinforcing classroom concepts.

Two long term goals that I hope to achieve within the next few years, within my classroom, are first to utilize more Web 2.0 technologies and integrate them into the curricula, for my students. Secondly, to write a grant to obtain a set of Apple iPod Touch’s for classroom use. New software tools for educational purposes make it possible for people to perform and learn in far more complex ways than ever before (Orey 2007). It is imperative to use many different methodologies to facilitate student learning. Virtual field trips, concept maps, and other Web 2.0 technologies are cognitive tools, when used effectively, allow lower level thinking skills to be managed in order for higher order thinking skills to be stimulated Orey, 2007). These technologies, along with effective note taking and summarizing, can scaffold student learning enhancing a student’s ability to synthesize information and distill it into a new and concise form (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007)

I plan to achieve this by continuing to utilize my course work from Walden University, which will keep me up to date on the latest Web 2.0 technologies. I also will be collaborating with other teachers and administrators to work on a grant proposal. I hope to take advantage of their expertise in writing proposals and aid my school in this endeavor. I believe these to be excellent way to bring technology into the classroom and a way to bridge cross-curricular connections.

References


Novak, J. D. & Cañas, A. J. (2008). The theory underlying concept maps and how to construct and use them, Technical Report IHMC CmapTools 2006-01 Rev 01-2008. Retrieved from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition Web site: http://cmap.ihmc.us/Publications/ResearchPapers/TheoryUnderlyingConceptMaps.pdf

Orey, M.(Ed.). (2007). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved November 17, from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Week 5- VoiceThread

Hello Everyone~
The is the link to my VoiceThread. Let me know what you think!
voicethread.com/share/785357/
~Michele

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

I love the strategy that was expressed by Dr. Orey on the Laureate DVD is week. He described how students should be put into groups to become experts on a topic. Then be separated and put into a different group to then teacher their peers the information learned. They then are the expert on that topic and must convey that knowledge to their peers and aid in their learning. I have found this to be an excellent method in my freshman science classes. The student’s besides attaining knowledge and socially interacting with their peers, learns how compile knowledge and present it. I use this in the beginning of the school year so the student’s get used to working with each other but also become familiar with the workings of my classroom and my expectations of a high school student.

I believe that this correlates directly with the principles of Social Learning Theories:
1. Defines how learning occurs in a social setting.
2. There is a cognitive capacity where rich networks are bridged
3. The Zone of Proximal Development is utilized and students are informed of the big picture (rigorous and relevant tasks) (Siemens, 2009.)

Reference:Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author