I don’t see how the Internet and the World Wide Web won’t have a major influence on the way instruction is presented to learners. In the K-12 school system a teacher can use a classroom blog to present information to their students. In the higher grades, the students will be able to do more at home and use class time for more constructive activities. In lower grades, or all grades for that matter, podcasts are another way to instruct learners. In college settings, the Internet can be used to make more classes in the format that we are using for this class. Thinking back to my undergraduate classes, I could have saved myself a lot of time by taking most of the general education classes online. Maybe they have done this by now, but it would have been nice!
I think that most teachers, and schools, use some form of the HPT model already. I know that my coordinator sat all of the staff down last winter and went over our model again with us to refresh our memory. I think that this is a good thing to do a couple of times a year to get everyone back on track so that we can all be working towards a bigger goal. This model is a good thing to adapt to your classroom too. I know that I try to find more incentives and rewards for my students instead of consequences. I have to remind myself of this a few times a year, especially around Christmas vacation and spring break when I just can’t wait for vacation!
I chose to listen to a Love and Logic podcast titled “When Kids Are Home More Often.” I listened to the first two episodes and there was a really good message. Basically what Dr. Charles Fay was trying to get across to parents was that you need to make children responsible for their own actions. Isn’t this always the message with Love and Logic? In this episode, he wants the parents to run “practice outings” to learn how to behave in public. What he suggests is to have the kids make the outings fun for the parents. This is accomplished by having a conversation with your kids before you go on a “practice outing.” Tell your kids that you will go somewhere, let’s say Chuck E. Cheese, somewhere that you don’t really want to go, but your kids really do. Tell your kids that this could be fun for the parents in the following ways, if the kids are doing something that they’re not supposed to be doing, they will stop just with “the look.” Tell them that there will be no complaining or tattling. Once you get to Chuck E. Cheese you let the kids do their thing and if there are problems that can’t be solved without confrontation, you simply pack up and leave without warning. You get away from threatening to leave “the next time that you have to say something to them.” With these “practice outings” the key is to practice acceptable behavior at a place that you don’t necessarily want to be. This way when the kids are learning the hard way the consequences of their actions, you’re not tempted to give them a second and third chance to correct their behavior because it really doesn’t bother you to leave.
Podcasting could be beneficial in school setting for teachers because they could be listening to an episode while getting caught up on their grading or responding to emails. I have yet to meet a teacher who can’t multitask. You can catch up on a podcast during your planning period or at lunch if you want to stay in your room.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Podcast
I chose to listen to a Love and Logic podcast titled “When Kids Are Home More Often.” I listened to the first two episodes and there was a really good message. Basically what Dr. Charles Fay was trying to get across to parents was that you need to make children responsible for their own actions. Isn’t this always the message with Love and Logic? In this episode, he wants the parents to run “practice outings” to learn how to behave in public. What he suggests is to have the kids make the outings fun for the parents. This is accomplished by having a conversation with your kids before you go on a “practice outing.” Tell your kids that you will go somewhere, let’s say Chuck E. Cheese, somewhere that you don’t really want to go, but your kids really do. Tell your kids that this could be fun for the parents in the following ways, if the kids are doing something that they’re not supposed to be doing, they will stop just with “the look.” Tell them that there will be no complaining or tattling. Once you get to Chuck E. Cheese you let the kids do their thing and if there are problems that can’t be solved without confrontation, you simply pack up and leave without warning. You get away from threatening to leave “the next time that you have to say something to them.” With these “practice outings” the key is to practice acceptable behavior at a place that you don’t necessarily want to be. This way when the kids are learning the hard way the consequences of their actions, you’re not tempted to give them a second and third chance to correct their behavior because it really doesn’t bother you to leave.
Here is the link that I used to view the podcast:
http://www.drfayshow.com/llsdf211.html
Here is the link that I used to view the podcast:
http://www.drfayshow.com/llsdf211.html
Friday, May 22, 2009
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Week 3 Reflection
Wow, this is some cool stuff that we’re learning about! I can’t wait until I have extra time on my hands to really be able to get into all of this! I think that social bookmarking has a lot of potential for teachers and students. Teachers can use it as a link on a classroom blog as approved resources for a research paper. Teachers could also share their bookmarks with other teachers in the same field as them to add to their existing list of helpful resources. Teachers could also share links with students on a particular topic that they need extra help with. This could possibly be a good social networking tool as well.
I guess that it never occurred to me that the definition of instructional technology would change so often. Now that I think of it, it makes perfect sense! I hope to use my degree to enhance my classroom and my teaching skills. I love to be able to incorporate all that I have learned and will learn into my classroom. I would also like to share my knowledge with my coworkers so that they can take advantage of all of the technology available to them as well. What I found surprising in this chapter is that I now realize more so than before, is that I have so much to learn about this field.
In an ideal setting, all of the characteristics mentioned in chapter 2 would be in place for every lesson or unit taught on a daily basis. However, most of us don’t work in an ideal setting. I, for example, teach adult education. I don’t write daily lesson plans nor do I stand up and teach a lesson to my class. I do, however, write the curriculum that we use for mathematics and health. I follow the characteristics as best that I can while meeting the state standards and benchmarks. The only characteristic that I can’t include in my work on a regular basis is “instructional design is a team effort.” I am the only employee with a math and health degree so there isn’t another highly qualified staff member to make decisions with me. I do work with our curriculum coordinator, but that is basically for approval on a finished project.
Before I worked for adult education, I had a few long term subbing positions where I was able to create daily lesson plans on my own or with the help of others. When doing this, I/we always tried to keep everything learner centered and goal orientated. Not only were we doing this to keep up with the “new ways of teaching,” but to keep the attention of the students.
I guess that it never occurred to me that the definition of instructional technology would change so often. Now that I think of it, it makes perfect sense! I hope to use my degree to enhance my classroom and my teaching skills. I love to be able to incorporate all that I have learned and will learn into my classroom. I would also like to share my knowledge with my coworkers so that they can take advantage of all of the technology available to them as well. What I found surprising in this chapter is that I now realize more so than before, is that I have so much to learn about this field.
In an ideal setting, all of the characteristics mentioned in chapter 2 would be in place for every lesson or unit taught on a daily basis. However, most of us don’t work in an ideal setting. I, for example, teach adult education. I don’t write daily lesson plans nor do I stand up and teach a lesson to my class. I do, however, write the curriculum that we use for mathematics and health. I follow the characteristics as best that I can while meeting the state standards and benchmarks. The only characteristic that I can’t include in my work on a regular basis is “instructional design is a team effort.” I am the only employee with a math and health degree so there isn’t another highly qualified staff member to make decisions with me. I do work with our curriculum coordinator, but that is basically for approval on a finished project.
Before I worked for adult education, I had a few long term subbing positions where I was able to create daily lesson plans on my own or with the help of others. When doing this, I/we always tried to keep everything learner centered and goal orientated. Not only were we doing this to keep up with the “new ways of teaching,” but to keep the attention of the students.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Week 2 Reflection
Using a blog is a lot easier than I first expected it to be. I wasn’t sure what they are all about, and I am still learning. They seem to be real similar to Facebook, which I am familiar with. They are very user friendly and I’m catching on quickly. RSS Readers are completely new to me, so I find myself struggling a little. There is a wealth of information available on these and it’s hard keeping up with all of the updates to everything that I’m interested in. I’m trying to learn more about them so that I’m more comfortable using them on a daily basis. I do like how you get updates on topics that you are interested in automatically, you don’t have to go looking for them.
I think that a blog can fit under a few levels of the cone. If you keep your blog very basic and are just posting written items, your blog falls under the visual symbols category. Dale refers to the chalkboard as a widely used visual symbol. If you’re just writing your thoughts and ideas on your blog, it’s equivalent to writing them on a chalkboard. Once you start adding pictures, videos, links, etc. to your blog, you’re moving to different levels of the cone. A teacher could post a video on their blog of them doing a demonstration of a science experiment. The student could watch the video at home, if they were sick that day, and conduct the same experiment at home. The possibilities are endless granted the students have access to the technology at home.
I think that RSS Readers will also fit under the visual symbols level of the cone. Like I mentioned earlier, RSS is very new to me, and I’m still learning. It could probably also fit under the motion picture level if there is a link on the story to a video clip. I think that both RSS Readers and blogs will move down the cone levels towards direct purposeful experiences as I have more time to work with them and learn more about them.
One “imaginative” educational use of a blog would be for a teacher to set up a classroom blog. All of the students could create their own blogs and subscribe to each others’, as we are doing for this class. Then the students would have a place to go, outside of the classroom, where they could reflect on their school work and their classmates’ school work. The students would get immediate feedback from their classmates. If the teacher wanted the students to comment on other students’ work, they would be able to do that on the blog, at home, and not take up class time reading each others’ work.
To use a RSS Reader “imaginatively” wouldn’t be too difficult. For a current events assignment, the students could subscribe to a top story feed from the news that interests them and follow it for an hour or so. This would not be a possible assignment if the students were using just the newspaper. The newspaper is not up to date and only publishes one story on a specific topic a day. The student would have to wait until the next day to get the follow up story.
I think that blogs and RSS Readers are a great tool to use in the classroom. I am looking forward to learning more about them so that I can incorporate them into my daily routine. I just have to find the time to do so!
I think that a blog can fit under a few levels of the cone. If you keep your blog very basic and are just posting written items, your blog falls under the visual symbols category. Dale refers to the chalkboard as a widely used visual symbol. If you’re just writing your thoughts and ideas on your blog, it’s equivalent to writing them on a chalkboard. Once you start adding pictures, videos, links, etc. to your blog, you’re moving to different levels of the cone. A teacher could post a video on their blog of them doing a demonstration of a science experiment. The student could watch the video at home, if they were sick that day, and conduct the same experiment at home. The possibilities are endless granted the students have access to the technology at home.
I think that RSS Readers will also fit under the visual symbols level of the cone. Like I mentioned earlier, RSS is very new to me, and I’m still learning. It could probably also fit under the motion picture level if there is a link on the story to a video clip. I think that both RSS Readers and blogs will move down the cone levels towards direct purposeful experiences as I have more time to work with them and learn more about them.
One “imaginative” educational use of a blog would be for a teacher to set up a classroom blog. All of the students could create their own blogs and subscribe to each others’, as we are doing for this class. Then the students would have a place to go, outside of the classroom, where they could reflect on their school work and their classmates’ school work. The students would get immediate feedback from their classmates. If the teacher wanted the students to comment on other students’ work, they would be able to do that on the blog, at home, and not take up class time reading each others’ work.
To use a RSS Reader “imaginatively” wouldn’t be too difficult. For a current events assignment, the students could subscribe to a top story feed from the news that interests them and follow it for an hour or so. This would not be a possible assignment if the students were using just the newspaper. The newspaper is not up to date and only publishes one story on a specific topic a day. The student would have to wait until the next day to get the follow up story.
I think that blogs and RSS Readers are a great tool to use in the classroom. I am looking forward to learning more about them so that I can incorporate them into my daily routine. I just have to find the time to do so!
Wednesday, May 6, 2009
Week One Reflection
I’d like to start by saying that I found myself agreeing and disagreeing with both articles at the same time. I think that I even confused myself there for a minute! Let’s start with Reigeluth and Joseph. One point that I really like here is “it would require a learning-focused educational system that offers customization rather than standardization.” In my recent staff meetings we have addressed this exact statement. In order for all students to be held to the same level of content standard mastery, education needs to move in the direction of personal curriculum. I have heard that this is fast approaching us as well. It will require more work from the teaching and support staff but will in turn greatly benefit our students. It may take some students more than four years of high school to reach these standards, but we will know that we are sending them out into the “real world” with what they need to know.
With a student body working at all different paces, it might seem impossible for a teacher to stand up and teach a class. The teacher may need to be the “guide on the side.” (Reigeluth and Joseph) As we keep making advances in technology, why not take advantage of them in our schools? If it’s available to have a class of students all learning different levels at the same time through avenues such as pod casts with a “guide on the side” to oversee their daily progress, why not? I work in Adult Education and I consider myself to be a “guide on the side.” I have a classroom with students ranging in age from 16 to 19 all working on different subjects at different levels. They work at their own pace to earn credits. Our more advanced students are taking online classes or are taking classes at the Career Tech Center. I hope that when the lower students are academically ready, they will be there too.
I’m not saying that there will eventually be no need for teachers in the classroom. However, if the schools can afford to keep up with modern technology, students will have endless opportunities in the classrooms. They will have more chances to take elective classes that will prepare them for a profession that they are interested in that their school might not have the funds, or interest of enough students, to offer.
Postman had some good points in his article as well. I struggle with his question “what is the problem to which the new technologies are the solution?” I don’t think that there is a problem in our school where new technologies are the solution, but does there have to be a problem with something that is old before you replace it with something new? I don’t think so…I bought a digital camera to replace my film camera. There was nothing wrong with the film camera, but there is so much more that I can do with my pictures using my digital camera. If our students can benefit from modern technology in the classroom, why would we even consider saying no? There are so many students in our schools now that could greatly benefit from one-on-one help. Wouldn’t it be great if we could provide that to them using this technology that is available to us? I’d like to end by saying that I don’t think that technology should in any way replace our current school systems, but rather enhance them to greatly benefit our students.
With a student body working at all different paces, it might seem impossible for a teacher to stand up and teach a class. The teacher may need to be the “guide on the side.” (Reigeluth and Joseph) As we keep making advances in technology, why not take advantage of them in our schools? If it’s available to have a class of students all learning different levels at the same time through avenues such as pod casts with a “guide on the side” to oversee their daily progress, why not? I work in Adult Education and I consider myself to be a “guide on the side.” I have a classroom with students ranging in age from 16 to 19 all working on different subjects at different levels. They work at their own pace to earn credits. Our more advanced students are taking online classes or are taking classes at the Career Tech Center. I hope that when the lower students are academically ready, they will be there too.
I’m not saying that there will eventually be no need for teachers in the classroom. However, if the schools can afford to keep up with modern technology, students will have endless opportunities in the classrooms. They will have more chances to take elective classes that will prepare them for a profession that they are interested in that their school might not have the funds, or interest of enough students, to offer.
Postman had some good points in his article as well. I struggle with his question “what is the problem to which the new technologies are the solution?” I don’t think that there is a problem in our school where new technologies are the solution, but does there have to be a problem with something that is old before you replace it with something new? I don’t think so…I bought a digital camera to replace my film camera. There was nothing wrong with the film camera, but there is so much more that I can do with my pictures using my digital camera. If our students can benefit from modern technology in the classroom, why would we even consider saying no? There are so many students in our schools now that could greatly benefit from one-on-one help. Wouldn’t it be great if we could provide that to them using this technology that is available to us? I’d like to end by saying that I don’t think that technology should in any way replace our current school systems, but rather enhance them to greatly benefit our students.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
