New Technologies--Module 5

Kidblog
Since blogs and wikis are blocked at my school, I have been looking for a technology tool that I could use for collaboration, post work, and to share ideas. With this in mind, I performed my occasional review of my Favorites that I’ve saved. One great site (and saved on my Favorites) is Kidblog. Because of the security of teacher approval of blogs and posts, this site is allowed at my school.

I shared the link for Kidblogs with my team and have not had any feedback as of yet. My team members are very technology savvy and have grown up with technology. (I am a late-in-life technology recruit with my first computer class at around age 40. That sounds so OLD but I’m really young at heart:) Just last week, I gained six laptops from the mobile cart to house in my room. I’m hoping that when my team members each get two of the six that they’ll feel that they have the freedom and resources to let their students use this approved blogging site.

As far as attitudes, my team members are open to different technologies but don’t seem to obsess over them. When I find something that I like, I watch YouTube videos on how to use it, look at FAQ (frequently asked questions), look at teacher-made samples, and try them out. Sometimes it will take a while for me to use a tool in the classroom. I have to feel confident enough to troubleshoot some of the problems that I might have. I have enrolled my fourth grade team members as students, as well as the principal, assistant principal, and another teacher. The other teacher, kindergarten, has already posted comments to two students. I can’t wait to show my students, finish getting everyone on the site to post, and then to let students comment on each other’s posts.

Using Keller’s ARCS Model for Motivation
One way to combat disinterest in Kidblog is capture the attention of the students who come to my room during Flex Reading and Flex Math by involving them in Kidblog (Driscoll, 2005). In my Flex Reading group (high academic ability), we are conducting a literature study on Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. These students enjoy the rich vocabulary, the twists and turns in the plot, and the possible solutions that the main character Brian Robeson could utilize in survival and in getting rescued. Kidblog would be a great way to give them voice and spread their excitement towards blogging. As of now, my students are answering the question: “Should 4^th grade participate in PTO’s Wax Museum next year? Why or why not?” These students could answer that question, but better yet they could suggest solutions to Brian’s dilemma in getting shelter, food, and protection, as well as some ideas of how to get rescued. In my Flex Math group, we are using differentiated learning problems for students of average to high ability in math. One of the problems could be posted on Kidblog and those students could type in the steps that they used to solve a problem. Most fourth grade students having difficulty answering multi-step word problems, especially if the operation to be used isn’t the same for each problem. This opportunity would help students to build confidence in their mathematical ability and relevant complex problem solving skills (Driscoll, 2005).

ActivInspire
Not a brand-new technology at my school, but creating ActivInspire flipcharts has been met with some resistance from different teachers. Yes, there are plenty of excellent flipcharts on the internet (especially on Promethean Planet) but making one is not too difficult. The resistant teachers with whom I’ve talked have said that no one is there to teach them. I am willing to help anyone after school. Plus, practice, making lots of mistakes, and then trying to overcome from those mistakes is one great way to really learn. These resistant teachers either use their Activboards as just a display area for websites or powerpoints or don’t use them at all.

Interactive Powerpoint
On a more basic note, creating interactive powerpoints with actions other than transitioning from slide to slide or entering/exiting text/pictures has been met some resistance as well. Interactive powerpoints that include links to websites, games, and videos (and embedding videos) are more engaging. Powerpoints that include questions and then link to answer slides also make learning more meaningful. Finally, powerpoint games, such as Hollywood Squares and Jeopardy add a higher entertainment value as well as teaches concepts and skills. Other teachers at my school seem to enjoy what I’ve created but I don’t see the same in their creations. I get the feeling that they feel that it’s too difficult to create highly interactive and creative powerpoints or perhaps that it’s too time-consuming.

Using Keller’s ARCS Model for Motivation in ActivInspire and Powerpoints
One way to inspire teachers reluctant in the use of ActivInspire and interactive powerpoints is to continue to share links and samples of my work with others through attachments in email and also by posting my work on Sharepoint. If all teachers will help to build a repository of flipcharts and powerpoints, then everyone will benefit from efforts that are relevant to the content, incorporate GPS (Georgia Performance Standards) and are interactive, engaging, and help students learn.

My Quest for New Technologies
My new quest for technologies to master include Prezi (not very good yet), Glogster (just bookmarked it), iPod Touch (getting pretty good) and helping students to create videos in class. I’m sure that my list will grow much longer the closer I get to Christmas break, spring break, and summer vacation.

Sources:

Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning instruction, 3^rd edition. Boston: Pearson.

Connectivism

Here is the mindmap that I created in Webspiration of many of my networking sites.

MindMap Reflection:

In the past, I took several tote bags full of teacher textbooks and other resources home to get ideas and to create lessons. Now, I take my school laptop home every day to search the internet. I prefer to bookmark those sites that are the most helpful instead of always conducting searches for information and ideas. I usually visit those “tried and true” sites first then I’ll go to bing.com, dogpile.com, or mamma.com. Also, instead of having lots of physical folders with everything that I need I have created folders within folders of resources (documents, pdfs, scavenger hunts, and so forth) on my laptop. Generally, I use two computers at the same time, my school Dell laptop and my handy dandy iMac. It’s much easier also to do my college homework with these two computers since I can watch a YouTube video on my Mac on how to do something and then complete the task on the laptop.

YouTube is one of the best sites to learn how to do something. When I first learned about YouTube, I thought that it only contained social videos for entertainment. Now, I have found that there is a great wealth of tutorials that help me with college, school, and home. The academic supersites are also helpful. These sites usually contain learning games, worksheets, and other cool links to teach my students. Finally, I find that the Web 2.0 tools on the internet are fun to use and fun in creating a learning product.

When I have questions, I usually conduct a search on bing.com or go to YouTube.

Module 3

Howard Rheingold: Way-New Collaboration (video)

In the video, Rheingold presents a timeline of how people evolved in becoming social, collaborative beings. One of the timeline milestones is marked by agriculture which gave people a way to grow socially, intellectually, and technologically. Since energy wasn’t being used to escape predators or to follow herds of animals, people could then become engaged in sharing work. sharing ideas, and creating a structure of leaders, followers, and workers. These social groups led to some type of government where someone or a few people made/led decisions in which the group would follow. Survival often depended on the ability of a person to live and interact within a group. Intellectual curiosity was nurtured by the ability to stay in one area and having one’s basic needs met. With the exchanging of ideas, tools were developed to help the members of a group to be more productive and to have a more comfortable life.

The cognitivist supports the idea that learning is social and the learner uses the world around him. The world around him could include life experiences, books read, movies watched, and trips taken. Learning takes place through sensory input. Technology does play a role in the constructivist framework of learning and collaboration. YouTube, School Tube, Kids Know It Network, My Learning Tube, Neo K12, Encyclo Media, Educational MiniMovies, Watch Know, Zui Tube, United Streaming are just some of the video sites in which to learn or to submit a learning video. When wading through the good and unproductive comments on some of the video sites, the video’s creator has the opportunity to refine his/her end product and to respond the critic. How can these videos support collaboration? Well, when viewing videos, it’s easy to find an idea that you can use in your classroom. When watching YouTube tutorials, I found the elements that I liked and those I preferred to avoid. Now, when creating a video or conducting a video search, I try to use/find the tutorial videos that are most beneficial to me. I find that tutorial videos with no one speaking don’t support my learning. I have to see and hear the instruction taking place.

The cognitivists would probably agree that digital books also use what we know and then share that with others, who then refine their products and share those with others, so that a cycle of learning and sharing prevails. Calameo has lots of examples of books that could be useful in the classroom. Some of the features of the different books can be used in a new way and then refined even further. I made a geometry book that explains and illustrates a right angle, obtuse angle, acute angle, and a straight angle. I had refined what I wanted to do by viewing samples of books online. UDL Bookbuilder also provides great examples of teacher-created and student-created books that can be viewed and then refined.

Although the online video hosting sites and the digital book making sites are incidental in their collaboration, these tools do provide a starting point for many. A more direct means of communication and collaboration is the wiki and the blog. One can gain many ideas, post those ideas, and participate in a give and take relationship with one or more people. I’ve bookmarked several that I try to revisit from time to time. I just discovered a blog when looking for online art sites where students could create and then print. (I needed an entry in computer art for the North Georgia Fair and starting my search a few days ago.) Mrs. Smoke, an educator, has a blog called Making Teachers Nerdy and the post was titled “45 Websites to Create Art Online”. Mrs. Smoke’s list contains a brief explanation and the grade levels in which the site is most appropriate. I intend to use a few to get student art and then to later use some of the sites for future projects. Many people have posted comments stating that they have or will use these links in the classroom. From personal experience, I know that even positive statements about my accomplishments creates a desire for me to go to a higher level of performance.

Have I answered how technology can be used to facilitate collaboration? Well, I think I have. Collaboration is exchanging ideas so that a product reflects the efforts of the people involved or the suggestions and criticisms relayed to the creator. Collaboration can even reflect the ideas gained from collaborative projects.

Rheingold, H. (2005). Way-new collaboration. Retrieved on October 14, 2010 from http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/howard_rheingold_on_collaboration.html

Module 2

Cognitivism as a Learning Theory

In Kerr's blog (2007), the author explains, views by Downes and Kapp, that Kapp supports that learning can be described through the construct of behaviorism. Kapp maintains that stimulus and response are strong components in reinforcing and maintaining behavior. Downes argues that behaviorism has been abandoned and that learning can only be described through the construct of cognitivsm.

In Kapp’s blog (2007), the author states that no theory is complete. Cognitivism and behaviorism only give part of the explanation of learning. One has to sift through and choose the best elements of any learning theory.

In response to the two blogs, I have to agree with Karl Kapp’s moderate and inclusive view of choosing the best elements of any learning theory to describe how one learns. I don’t think that you can take a “black and white” or “cut and dry approach” to most topics of discussion, especially learning theory. There are “layers of gray” to one’s point of view.

Heredity does play a big role in how students learn. My older son is an analytical thinker like his father. I, on the other hand, don’t have an analytical bone in my body. However, I am the one who has spent the most time with my son who is now sixteen (as a parent) than his father. My younger son has ADDHD and Asperger’s. His learning is also hereditary.

The biology of his brain has kept him from having difficulty with social cues, figurative language, empathy, and so forth. With medication and “the blood, sweat, and tears” of his mother (me), the biology of his brain has been altered so that he can focus in class and maintain more appropriate classroom behavior. Plus, I have worked hard over the years to "train" my son in thinking figuratively, have empathy, and to attend to many social cues. Have I been successful? In many ways, yes. Frustration assaults me when I feel that he should be further in his development socially.

Both of my sons have benefitted from the environment in their learning (behaviorism). My older son entered gifted classes in kindergarten and I also made sure that he was enrolled in summer enrichment programs through the college and the school system. I read lots of books to my older son (and younger son) starting when he was a baby.

My younger son had lots of behavior modification with the help of a psychologist. One summer, he had to take one small bite of the same food everyday for a week. (This child has a very limited diet of foods that he will eat.) He was rewarded for taking that one small bite (after lots of encouragement and some frustration). One summer, after failing the 3^rd grade CRCT, I tutored him at home instead of sending him to summer school in preparing for the retest. My principal and I both agreed that summer school would not be effective. We worked an hour a day in reading and math. The psychologist recommended that breaks should be taken throughout the test, such as after a story was read and answered. The IEP had been changed earlier that year to reflect testing changes. The retest score went from a failing grade to the excellent range. The quite difficult child that I love didn’t get smarter. His environment was changed so that he could take more breaks and experience less frustration. Today, he is in the 10^th grade and attends a high school with an excellent autism program. Just this past summer, I was able to use a small amount of money to modify his behavior. The rewarded behavior was to walk a mile or more everyday, brush his teeth—am and pm, and shower daily. Since money is now a tangible reward (wouldn’t respond to money as a significant reward in the past), my child is healthier and cleaner now.

http://billkerr2.blogspot.com/2007/01/isms-as-filter-not-blinker.html

http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2007/01/out-and-about-discussion-on-educational.html

Module I

•How do people learn best?
People learn best by seeing, hearing, speaking, and doing. I can watch someone complete a task and have a sense that I understand. However, later, I will attempt the same task but with a lesser degree of success. I know that there are people who are auditory learners. However, there seems to be many more people who are visual and hands-on learners, especially students in the classroom. The purpose of learning theory in education is to explain what the learner is thinking, seeing, and doing. If we can label a process, then that process seems easier to understand and refine.

•What are the critical elements of learning theory?

According to Driscoll (2005), the three basic components of a learning theory are the results, the means, and the input. These three components help support the definition of learning as maintaining a change of how people perform and the potential that each person has to perform. The learning components explain how performance changes, the process in which changes are made, and what triggers the process of change.

Driscoll (2005) describes the process of building a learning theory as ongoing. In this continual process that immerses the learner, one can make assumptions about the nature on how one learns. One assumption is that whether one perceives the source of learning through the eyes of the empiricist, the nativist, or the rationialist. Empiricism values learning through the senses, nativism sees part of learning as innate to that of the learner, and rationalism views reason as the core of learning. Driscoll (2005) also outlines the content of knowledge. The author uses the terms skepticism, realism, idealism, and pragmatism. When I look at the descriptors of each term, I see myself as a pragmatist (as this time). Learning and knowledge are constantly changing and don’t represent absolute values.

Siemens (2008) relates knowledge as interactive among people and the learning and technological environment. As educators, as well as learners, we affect the learning of each other and our students. We design learning to make it as long-lasting and efficient as possible. Siemens (2008) also uses terms that provide different perspectives on how we learn, behaviorism, cognitivism, contructivism, and connectivism. The behaviorist views learning as observable, tangible learning that involves positive and negative reinforcement.. The cognitivist perceives learning in an analytical way in which knowledge is structured and reasoning with problem solving is important. The constructivist views learning as an interpersonal event where the learner is fully engaged and participation is high. Finally, the connectivist describes learning as interactive within groups or networks of people.

Siemens (2008) describes educators using several metaphors. The author describes teachers as master artists. The teacher, as does the artist, is able to guide students individually. Not all learners learn the same way which is comparable to not all pieces of art are exactly the same. The learner is guided through the process in his/her own unique way to become the finished product.

Another metaphor of educators is that of the network administrator. The teacher coordinates the learners so that they are able to work on projects and activities in small groups and then those groups can then broaden their span to other groups. This metaphor suggests that this metaphor seems to mirror the business or corporate model.

Educators can be viewed as the concierge in learning. The educator is able to direct learners to the resources needed to acquire skills, complete projects, and access information.

Which metaphor do I think is an appropriate description of how I view learning and the role of an educator? I think that teaching, as well as learning, is an art. There is no “cut and dry” method in which to acquire knowledge for everyone. Learning is as unique as the learner. Teaching is also as unique as the educator. Art becomes more polished and refined over time as does the craft of the educator.

Sources:

Driscoll, M. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3rd edition). New York: Pearson Education, Inc.

Siemens, G. (2008, January 27). Learning and knowing in networks: Changing roles for educators and designers. Paper presented to ITFORUM. Retrieved from http://it.coe.uga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf105/Siemens.pdfga.edu/itforum/Paper105/Siemens.pdf

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