As I worked on this assignment and prepared for my interview with Reagan, I kept thinking about our latest units on behaviorism and problem solving. "Plussing" is something that I do with Reagan often. I even visited one of the websites that we looked at in class to see if she would enjoy that experience with addition facts (http://www.funbrain.com). What I've come to find, through the podcast interview and through my experiences with Reagan (both online and off) is that she enjoys the engagement in ideas whether or not there is a context. In the unit that we did regarding Problem Solving, the learner was always an active participant in the learning. In my mind, I made the connection learning only occurred (according to this theory) if the learner was connected to the learning or if it had some real-life connection the learner. What I have found, however, is that whether or not we have context, whether Reagan was engaged in rote practice with me or via the internet, she was still engaged as a learning, learning the concepts, and growing. Moreover, she admitted during the interview that she has no idea why people need to "plus" outside of a few isolated (and non-compelling) reasons. My next question....Does the engagement of the learner and the real-life connection to the concept change with the age of the learner? Hmmm, another interview and podcast in the making? Thanks for reading and listening.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Friday, August 20, 2010
End of Course Reflection
One of my favorite components of this course and the CEP 810, 811, and 812 sequence in general, is the incorporation and focus on various instructional strategies. I was then able to focus on incorporate making those instructional strategies a part of a technology integrated lesson making it more authentic. I look forward to learning about and focusing on more effective instructional strategies as they are the core of any lesson. I have always understood the basis for constructivism, but because of my work here, I am now armed with more tools to effective facilitate a technology-rich lesson using this teaching strategy.
While being introduced to many of the Web 2.0 technologies, I found myself trying to think of unconventional ways to use these technologies to accomplish conventional tasks. We currently live in a world where collaboration has been made possible in ways that one would have never imagined. Information can be shared via the web in so many ways that it is often too much to take in all at once. While thinking of ways to integrate the Web 2.0 technologies into my practice (both administrative and instructional), I want to be mindful that the use of these tools make me and others more accessible than ever, which could lead to unrealistic expectations. I will be sure to monitor myself and caution students to monitor themselves so that they are not consumed with is use of these technologies to accomplish tasks.
The use of Delicious has been one of the biggest triumphs for me. I learned how to use RSS Feeds in CEP 810, but found it difficult to organize and keep up with the volume of information. After editing my feed to include only the most coveted sites, I was then able to keep track of articles and blog posts that I really like and that were relevant to something that I am working on via Delicious. Sharing links with others is a major plus. During my work on my SIG project, it was so easy to share documents with my group members. I foresee myself using this with colleagues during the school year as we learn to use the technology that has been purchased in our district using tech bond money.
As the courses conclude, I feel armed with a variety of new instructional strategies and technological tools that are ready for implementation. More than anything, I will continue with the idea that the use of technology should not be a replacement of what I currently do, but rather an improvement of what I currently do. If not an improvement, there is not reason to do it.
While being introduced to many of the Web 2.0 technologies, I found myself trying to think of unconventional ways to use these technologies to accomplish conventional tasks. We currently live in a world where collaboration has been made possible in ways that one would have never imagined. Information can be shared via the web in so many ways that it is often too much to take in all at once. While thinking of ways to integrate the Web 2.0 technologies into my practice (both administrative and instructional), I want to be mindful that the use of these tools make me and others more accessible than ever, which could lead to unrealistic expectations. I will be sure to monitor myself and caution students to monitor themselves so that they are not consumed with is use of these technologies to accomplish tasks.
The use of Delicious has been one of the biggest triumphs for me. I learned how to use RSS Feeds in CEP 810, but found it difficult to organize and keep up with the volume of information. After editing my feed to include only the most coveted sites, I was then able to keep track of articles and blog posts that I really like and that were relevant to something that I am working on via Delicious. Sharing links with others is a major plus. During my work on my SIG project, it was so easy to share documents with my group members. I foresee myself using this with colleagues during the school year as we learn to use the technology that has been purchased in our district using tech bond money.
As the courses conclude, I feel armed with a variety of new instructional strategies and technological tools that are ready for implementation. More than anything, I will continue with the idea that the use of technology should not be a replacement of what I currently do, but rather an improvement of what I currently do. If not an improvement, there is not reason to do it.
Monday, August 16, 2010
CEP 811 MMC Online experience
The State of Michigan really did a good job of outlining what classifies as an online experience. When this was introduced as part of the graduation requirements, our school did not focus as much on this component as we did on how we were going to get all students through 4 years of mathematics which includes Algebra.
In my classes, I plan to use the Webquest that I’ve created and I want to continue to find a way to implement wikis in mathematics. This past year, I used them help with study skills. Students were grouped in 3s and 4s and had to maintain a section of a wiki using wikispaces for a particular chapter throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, the entire class had then built a study guide for the final exam. Throughout the process, I encouraged students to use many different techniques to present the material. They used many forms of mixed media and I asked that they explain concepts in a variety of ways. The pedagogical strategies highlighted were cooperative learning, using graphic organizers, and using discourse in the discussion forums.
Many of the textbooks on the market these days come with a variety of CD and online components. I plan to utilize the online Test Preparation tools and find others that will give my students that type of immediate feedback experience. In one of the webquests, I noticed that someone used Google docs to create a quiz. I’m not sure how this was done, but I am going to look into it because it could be an asset in my classroom.
I’ve given it a lot of thought, but cannot find a way to integrate the use of student-created blogs into the mathematics curriculum. I plan to use a blog to communicate with parents and students, but would love to know if there are ways that they can be used and generated by students in a meaningful way to facilitate the teaching of mathematics.
In my classes, I plan to use the Webquest that I’ve created and I want to continue to find a way to implement wikis in mathematics. This past year, I used them help with study skills. Students were grouped in 3s and 4s and had to maintain a section of a wiki using wikispaces for a particular chapter throughout the semester. At the end of the semester, the entire class had then built a study guide for the final exam. Throughout the process, I encouraged students to use many different techniques to present the material. They used many forms of mixed media and I asked that they explain concepts in a variety of ways. The pedagogical strategies highlighted were cooperative learning, using graphic organizers, and using discourse in the discussion forums.
Many of the textbooks on the market these days come with a variety of CD and online components. I plan to utilize the online Test Preparation tools and find others that will give my students that type of immediate feedback experience. In one of the webquests, I noticed that someone used Google docs to create a quiz. I’m not sure how this was done, but I am going to look into it because it could be an asset in my classroom.
I’ve given it a lot of thought, but cannot find a way to integrate the use of student-created blogs into the mathematics curriculum. I plan to use a blog to communicate with parents and students, but would love to know if there are ways that they can be used and generated by students in a meaningful way to facilitate the teaching of mathematics.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
CEP 812: Project Evaluation
When doing another TechQuest project, I need to be mindful of two things. First off, I need to be sure that the scope of my project is not to lofty, but reasonable and able to be implemented in a fairly short period of time without much fuss. I believe that I bit off more than I could chew by trying to look at Examview as well as student response systems for improving the timeliness and quality of feedback for students and parents. I should have kept the focus on one technology attempting to maximize its effectiveness in the educational setting, later looking at, perhaps, how the other could be tied in.
Secondly, refining my search techniques and tapping into the resources of others (websites, blogs, Delicious accounts) is key. Most of my research was done using Google and Google Scholar. I would then find good resources and search the references of those resources to locate others. I need to become much more proficient with using library systems and their databases to find information on topics. Often times, however, technological innovations are too new and articles related to them are few in number. This is when being a part of an educational technology community comes into play. I can look at sites like Tech & Learning and MACUL space to stay current. Also, utilizing my RSS feeds more effectively could help me locate resources and information on my proposed topic.
When embarking on a Techquest such as this, in my opinon, the most important thing to know is where to find resources. I came across a website that housed a plethora of quality resources. 21 things for the 21st Century: Technology every educator should know connects teachers to the top, most prominent and user-friend resources available based on the National Educational Technology Standards for teachers. In particular, I was interested in the links for professional organizations and networking. I have bookmarked this site and will refer to it often.
When endeavoring to do a project such as this again, I will begin with the research of several interests and narrow my topic down based on what I’m able to find with regards to research. If the work cannot be substantiated, then it feels like there is less chance of success. Even if others have not experienced success, one can learn from their experiences and tweak to create a best practice. I would also keep a journal along the way so that I can document successes and pitfalls throughout each stage of the process. Lastly, I would try to find another teacher who is interested in the same thing to work along with me. This collaboration would be priceless and have maximum benefit for student learning.
Friday, August 6, 2010
CEP 812: Project Implementation Podcast
Click the title to hear the podcast. Thanks!
Below are screenshots from my work with the Examview software.
Below are screenshots from my work with the Examview software.
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| This screenshot shows the number of questions associated with the state standards for Chapter 1. |
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| Here, I've highlighted a portion of the answer key to show how it generates information. |
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| This screenshot shows how the questions are editable, another great feature. |
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
CEP 812 TechQuest Research REVISED
My Techquest project focus has narrowed. It now focuses solely on the use of Student Response Systems (also known as Audience Response Systems and clickers) to provide students with quality and timely feedback, thus resulting in more positive learning outcomes. While doing my internet research, I came across a variety of articles that spoke to the role of feedback in learning and that listed providing quality and timely feedback among the top practices for effective teaching. I also found many promoting the use of clickers in the classroom for promoting engaging, classroom discourse, and providing students with feedback. I plan to tie the two together and explore how they can be used, specifically, in a 9th grade Algebra setting.
Resource #4: Clickers in the Large Classroom
What Search Engine and strategies did I use?
Google is the primary search engine used for my research. I began by searching for article relating to student response systems. Google would give some general results, but there would also be some scholarly articles at the top of the list. I would select these sites/pdf documents and can them for the usefulness of their content. After doing so, I would go through the bibliographies of the useful documents to find leads for other good sources.
What helped and hindered my search?
I believe that my search was helped by the fact that the use of student response systems are a relatively new technology and are rising in popularity. Many journals in education contained articles relating to this new and exciting technology and its use in the classroom. However, this newness was also a hindrance as it limits the amount of long term and in-depth studies available on use of the technology.
Also, I had some difficulty finding sources that related the use of SRSs to feedback. There is plenty of research that discusses the role of feedback in the learning environment. My challenge will be to determine whether or not SRSs can be used to effectively and efficiently generate the kind of feedback necessary to improve student learning.
How I will search next time?
I will continue to comb through the documents that I’ve found thus far and use the resources cited there as leads for new information. In addition, I hope to explore the world of Technorati in search of blogs authored by teachers who have used SRSs in their classrooms. Admittedly, though, I am having trouble navigating the site. It is massive and my initial search techniques have been fruitless.
Feedback related research results:
Resource #1:
Seven Principles for good practice in undergraduate education
Chickering, A. & Gamson, Z., (1987) Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education, AAHE bulletin, 39, 3-7
This document, while related to undergraduate education, has tenants that are relevant at all levels of teaching and learning. One of the principles focuses on the importance of feedback and the types of feedback that are most meaningful for student learning.
Resource #2: Formative Assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice
Nicol, D. & Macfarlane-Dick, D., (2006). Formative assessment and self-regulated learning: A model and seven principles of good feedback practice, Studies in Higher Education, Routledge, 31, 199-218
This research document identifies seven principles of good feedback practice that support student learning through self-regulation. Students are already self-assessing and teachers need to give the proper feedback to help direct this self-assessment in meaningful ways that are productive for learning. Each feedback principle is presented and some examples of easy-to-implement feedback strategies are briefly described.
Resource #3: What works in classroom instruction
Marzano, R. J., Gaddy, B. B., & Dean, C. (2000). What works in classroom instruction. Aurora, CO: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning. http://www.mcrel.org/topics/products/110This extensive collaborative effort has used research to identified 9 instructional strategies that have been proven to be effective in advancing teaching and learning. In the document, each instructional strategy, one of which focuses on feedback, is described, research is presented and discussed, and examples of effective classroom implementation are given.
Clicker related research results:Resource #4: Clickers in the Large Classroom
Clickers in the Large Classroom: Current Research and Best-Practice Tips. Jane E. Caldwell. Department of Biology, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506 http://www.lifescied.org/cgi/content/full/6/1/9
In this document, I was interested in the research related to best practices with clickers, specifically, the segment that speaks to writing good and effective questions to be used with clickers.
Resource #5: Clickers: A New Teaching Aid with Exceptional Promise
Clickers: A New Teaching Aid with Exceptional Promise. Douglas Duncan. University of Colorado.The Astronomy Education Review, Issue 1, Volume 5, 2006
In general, this is another resource centered around best practiced with clickers. It speaks to the notion that clickers can be used to answer one of the oldest and most fundamental challenges in teaching: are they students learning what we’re teaching. Common mistakes made when using clickers and how to avoid them is described.
In closing, I hope to link solid teaching practice to improvement oriented feedback and then show how clickers (Qwizdom, specifically) can be used to give quick and quality feedback to students and parents.
Monday, August 2, 2010
CEP 811: Google Docs - My take on spreadsheets
As I explored the tutorial that Google has set up, I found it to be very similar and work like a much cleaner version of Microsoft Excel. I then created my own spreadsheet, entered numbered, computed formulas in cells, formatted the cells and played with a few other features, all of which are found it MS Excel. I could use the very simple chart feature but, for the life of me, could NOT figure out how to insert the chart into the document. I was, however, able to figure out how to create several sheets within one document as in Excel as well. I can foresee how this will be very useful next school year. I did realize that there was an old version and a new version of Google spreadsheets. In the newer version they introduced the formula bar, Auto fill, moving columns, and move advanced ways to sort. I’m not sure why the kept the old version up.
What knowledge or skills would students need to use the software? Students often get lost in all of the features when I take them to the lab to work with Excel. I have to be very deliberate and have a well-defined lesson plan and complementary worksheet for students to follow along and learn the necessary features. Some like to explore and find shortcuts and such and, that’s fine. I really don’t feel as if students need any background other than what I do to introduce them to the structure of Excel (and spreadsheets in general) (rows, columns, cell names) and the basic functions. We also talk about very practical reasons to use spreadsheets. They are often comfortable excepting that it is useful in the business world, but often conjure up ideas of very abstract ways that is used there. We explore very functional ways it can be used for everyday people with regards to budgeting, accounting, and how some teachers have used it for gradebooks or to explore other data they might need to analyze with regards to student performance.
How can you share the products you create with this application? This spreadsheet doc can be emailed as a link for other “editors” to share. It can also be sent as an attachment or published as a webpage.
How could you see the application being used to teach a particular subject matter? There are so many ways it can be used in mathematics. One of my favorite ways to use spreadsheets is by having students collect data about the Olympic 200m dash willing times for both men and women, fit a line of regression to the two sets of data, and make predictions about what might happen with the winning times in future Olympic games. Google spreadsheets can be used to have students begin some initial data collection and organization with partners. They could even begin making their charts. I did not see, however a way to create a line of regression and get the formula there, but I might need to look harder but it is definitely a way to get started. I just thought of another way it can be used with students and parents in districts that do not have online grade reporting. And, even if they did, students and parents could still benefit from seeing their grades in this way. A Google spreadsheet could be created to keep track of quiz and test scores throughout the course of the school year. At any time, either party could average the scores, look for trends, etc, and have a conversation about what might be happening with the student’s progress throughout the year.
What are some things a teacher could do to help students collaborate using this application? As I teacher, I plan to introduce Google spreadsheets in the same lesson that I introduce MS Excel spreadsheets and my students and I will explore the possibilities of using it. We will need to be careful, however, to discuss the disclosures that Google has made with regards to use of their product.
What sort of organization or managerial considerations will a teacher have to take into account? The teacher would have to organize the groups/partners, make sure that all parties have working email addresses and regular access to email and the internet. The teacher would also need to be a part of the email communications and have access to all links for each of the groups so that they can give feedback on the group’s progress on the documents. If all students don’t have access to email/internet on a regular basis, access will have to be provided by the teacher/school. All in all, there are plenty of benefits to use the use of Google spreadsheets for authentic student collaboration on a project.
What knowledge or skills would students need to use the software? Students often get lost in all of the features when I take them to the lab to work with Excel. I have to be very deliberate and have a well-defined lesson plan and complementary worksheet for students to follow along and learn the necessary features. Some like to explore and find shortcuts and such and, that’s fine. I really don’t feel as if students need any background other than what I do to introduce them to the structure of Excel (and spreadsheets in general) (rows, columns, cell names) and the basic functions. We also talk about very practical reasons to use spreadsheets. They are often comfortable excepting that it is useful in the business world, but often conjure up ideas of very abstract ways that is used there. We explore very functional ways it can be used for everyday people with regards to budgeting, accounting, and how some teachers have used it for gradebooks or to explore other data they might need to analyze with regards to student performance.
How can you share the products you create with this application? This spreadsheet doc can be emailed as a link for other “editors” to share. It can also be sent as an attachment or published as a webpage.
How could you see the application being used to teach a particular subject matter? There are so many ways it can be used in mathematics. One of my favorite ways to use spreadsheets is by having students collect data about the Olympic 200m dash willing times for both men and women, fit a line of regression to the two sets of data, and make predictions about what might happen with the winning times in future Olympic games. Google spreadsheets can be used to have students begin some initial data collection and organization with partners. They could even begin making their charts. I did not see, however a way to create a line of regression and get the formula there, but I might need to look harder but it is definitely a way to get started. I just thought of another way it can be used with students and parents in districts that do not have online grade reporting. And, even if they did, students and parents could still benefit from seeing their grades in this way. A Google spreadsheet could be created to keep track of quiz and test scores throughout the course of the school year. At any time, either party could average the scores, look for trends, etc, and have a conversation about what might be happening with the student’s progress throughout the year.
What are some things a teacher could do to help students collaborate using this application? As I teacher, I plan to introduce Google spreadsheets in the same lesson that I introduce MS Excel spreadsheets and my students and I will explore the possibilities of using it. We will need to be careful, however, to discuss the disclosures that Google has made with regards to use of their product.
What sort of organization or managerial considerations will a teacher have to take into account? The teacher would have to organize the groups/partners, make sure that all parties have working email addresses and regular access to email and the internet. The teacher would also need to be a part of the email communications and have access to all links for each of the groups so that they can give feedback on the group’s progress on the documents. If all students don’t have access to email/internet on a regular basis, access will have to be provided by the teacher/school. All in all, there are plenty of benefits to use the use of Google spreadsheets for authentic student collaboration on a project.
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