Now that I have completed the teaching with technology course, I can honestly say that I am no longer just a lady with a blog pretending to be all Web 2.0 just to get a good grade when she's really just Web 1.0. With all of the incredible tools I learned about this semester and all of the wonderful ideas I plan to steal from my classmates, I will definitely be using technology a lot more next September.
I already developed a class wiki for my Project Advance class, which I plan to maintain and use in the fall instead of just the paper syllabus. In all of my classes, I want to use Google Docs to peer edit instead of having each student bring in two copies of his paper and using class time to work in groups. I will do more projects in which students have to show, present, and explain what they have learned using Jing or Screenomatic. When students claim they have nothing to write about, I will send them to Twitter or one of the virtual world sites for inspiration. When class discussions need to continue, I will set up a forum or virtual meeting for this purpose. I will use blogging and micro-blogging as tools to get students reading, writing, and thinking. Quizlet will be used by every student in my class. Last, but not least, I will communicate with parents via technology so that they can not only remain up to date on what their children are learning, but also so they can see that their children are being taught by someone who is current and who is able to teach contemporary technology skills.
I know that technology has its place and its limits (see my post on Carla's Blog), but if we can teach our students the same content as before but in a more interesting, engaging way, I think we are obligated to use at least some technology in the classroom.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Disguise Learning As Playing!
Students are always saying that good teachers are those who "make learning fun." When teachers can make learning into a game, learners are almost always engaged in what they are doing. The problem is that teachers don't always know how to teach the content they need to teach in a way that students will find "fun." This week, I learned about virtual worlds and games as education tools in order to address this problem. I chose to focus on two here.
Virtual Worlds
These sites sound great for when students have group work to complete, but you don't want to give them too much of your class time to meet and work. They could meet outside of class without getting bored. They would probably actually look forward to getting their work done!
Also, in some of my classes the students get really into the class discussion, but then we run out of time when they still have more to say. I can't really use the class time the next day to continue the discussion (by then they've lost their mojo anyway), but maybe they could go home and meet on one of the virtual meeting sites for extra credit and continue their discussion.
Do you think we could use these for parent meetings, too, or would that be odd?
Virtual World Chosen for Analysis: Active Worlds
Summary: You can build your own (3D) world, virtual reality game, or training software and invite others to visit and chat with you there. It's supposed to be secure (no one else can access your content). There are apparently hundreds of thousands of users, including corporations who use the games for training.
Educational Benefits/Curricular Uses: "You can move about, play online games, shop and make friends with people from all over the planet. You can even stake claim to a piece of land and build your own virtual home, mansion, estate or castle!" It sounds like this could be used in a creative writing unit or class. Talking to people from around the world would provide fodder for characters' dialogue, and students could write stories about the lives and experiences they create on Active World. Then, they could invite other students from the class to their world when they share their writing so that everyone can get a visual of what is being read. It looks really neat since it's in 3D. Students would still be doing the same work (writing a short story), but it can now be enhanced with these great visuals and inspirations.
Games
I do think that GBL (game based learning) certainly has a place in the contemporary classroom. Whenever teachers can disguise learning as playing and teach the same content as they would have taught before the latest technology presented itself but teach it in a way that kids find interesting, everyone wins. Most of us have learned that kids love it when teachers can make learning into a game, so of course they would love it if learning IS a game, literally!
For math and science, I found eCYBERMISSION. Not only does this make science and math into a game, but it makes it into a contest. It is basically a virtual science fair where kids can compete against anyone in the world. "Taking the science fair out of the auditorium and into cyberspace, eCYBERMISSION is a web-based science, math and technology competition for 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade teams. Your team will propose a solution to a real problem in your community and compete for regional and national awards."
This is definitely aligned with what we know about effective teaching today as it connects learning a content area to a real life problem and lets kids learn by problem solving and looking for solutions. This site is perfect for project based learning. Even better, the problems have to do with the students' communities! How much more relevant could it get?
I believe that games can be appropriate teaching tools for older students, not just the young ones. If a method works on younger people, why wouldn't it work on adolescents or adults? The concept of learning being fun, memorable, interactive, and engaging is important for any effective instruction. As long as a game is sophisticated and difficult enough to hold the interest of a given grade level, the fact that it's a game does not take away from the seriousness or importance of the instruction.
Virtual Worlds
These sites sound great for when students have group work to complete, but you don't want to give them too much of your class time to meet and work. They could meet outside of class without getting bored. They would probably actually look forward to getting their work done!
Also, in some of my classes the students get really into the class discussion, but then we run out of time when they still have more to say. I can't really use the class time the next day to continue the discussion (by then they've lost their mojo anyway), but maybe they could go home and meet on one of the virtual meeting sites for extra credit and continue their discussion.
Do you think we could use these for parent meetings, too, or would that be odd?
Virtual World Chosen for Analysis: Active Worlds
Summary: You can build your own (3D) world, virtual reality game, or training software and invite others to visit and chat with you there. It's supposed to be secure (no one else can access your content). There are apparently hundreds of thousands of users, including corporations who use the games for training.
Educational Benefits/Curricular Uses: "You can move about, play online games, shop and make friends with people from all over the planet. You can even stake claim to a piece of land and build your own virtual home, mansion, estate or castle!" It sounds like this could be used in a creative writing unit or class. Talking to people from around the world would provide fodder for characters' dialogue, and students could write stories about the lives and experiences they create on Active World. Then, they could invite other students from the class to their world when they share their writing so that everyone can get a visual of what is being read. It looks really neat since it's in 3D. Students would still be doing the same work (writing a short story), but it can now be enhanced with these great visuals and inspirations.
Games
I do think that GBL (game based learning) certainly has a place in the contemporary classroom. Whenever teachers can disguise learning as playing and teach the same content as they would have taught before the latest technology presented itself but teach it in a way that kids find interesting, everyone wins. Most of us have learned that kids love it when teachers can make learning into a game, so of course they would love it if learning IS a game, literally!
For math and science, I found eCYBERMISSION. Not only does this make science and math into a game, but it makes it into a contest. It is basically a virtual science fair where kids can compete against anyone in the world. "Taking the science fair out of the auditorium and into cyberspace, eCYBERMISSION is a web-based science, math and technology competition for 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th grade teams. Your team will propose a solution to a real problem in your community and compete for regional and national awards."
This is definitely aligned with what we know about effective teaching today as it connects learning a content area to a real life problem and lets kids learn by problem solving and looking for solutions. This site is perfect for project based learning. Even better, the problems have to do with the students' communities! How much more relevant could it get?
I believe that games can be appropriate teaching tools for older students, not just the young ones. If a method works on younger people, why wouldn't it work on adolescents or adults? The concept of learning being fun, memorable, interactive, and engaging is important for any effective instruction. As long as a game is sophisticated and difficult enough to hold the interest of a given grade level, the fact that it's a game does not take away from the seriousness or importance of the instruction.
Two Lesson Plan Ideas Using Web 2.0
Web 2.0 based tool #1= Twitterfall
Description: "Twitterfall is a way of viewing the latest 'tweets' of upcoming trends and custom searches on the micro-blogging site Twitter. Updates fall from the top of the page in near-realtime." source: http://www.twitterfall.com/ (click on "What is Twitterfall?) Basically, I think you can create a group on Twitter (ie your class) and give them a topic. As they "twitter" or respond from their computer or phone, their responses show up on the Twitterfall page like a waterfall- flowing down the page as new responses arrive on the top. I learned about this as a result of the reading on this week's module called "25 Interesting Ways of Using Twitter," and I would piggy-back off one of their ideas for a lesson plan by starting a short story as the topic, then having the class submit tweets to add to the story collectively.
Lesson with this Tool: As suggested in the reading/slide show, I would use Twitterfall in a creative writing unit to teach story structure and editing skills by having the class collectively write a short story. After I had taught the characteristics of some genres, I would select a genre and start the class off with one or two sentences. Then, I would let the class Twitterfall after class and overnight. The next day in class, we would take all of the responses, select which ones would go into the story, edit the content where needed, and arrange/structure the responses into a coherent exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. To ensure participation, there would need to be some grading guidelines/criteria, such as a minimum number of tweets for each student.
Web 2.0 based tool #2= Google Docs
Description:"Google Docs is an easy-to-use online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor that enables you and your students to create, store and share instantly and securely, and collaborate online in real time. You can create new documents from scratch or upload existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. There's no software to download, and all your work is stored safely online and can be accessed from any computer." source: http://www.google.com/educators/p_docs.html
Lesson with this Tool: I would use Google Docs for a peer editing lesson. After students had finished a first draft of an essay, I would have them submit their drafts to Google Docs. Everyone who signs into the same topic (ie Romeo and Juliet Critical Lens Essay #1) can view and edit all of the documents (essays) in that topic. I would provide the students with some background knowledge on editing and a checklist/guideline sheet for this particular peer editing exercise. Then, in pairs, they would use a colored font to make changes, add notes, and edit their partner's paper. If I were to open the editing to the whole class (not just partners), I would have each student use a different color font so that each person's corrections/changes could be easily identified. Again, to ensure participation, there would need to be some grading guidelines/criteria, such as a minimum number of edits for each student. Also, it would be important to emphasize that students are to make notes/suggestions/additions, not to delete any part of others' essays.
Description: "Twitterfall is a way of viewing the latest 'tweets' of upcoming trends and custom searches on the micro-blogging site Twitter. Updates fall from the top of the page in near-realtime." source: http://www.twitterfall.com/ (click on "What is Twitterfall?) Basically, I think you can create a group on Twitter (ie your class) and give them a topic. As they "twitter" or respond from their computer or phone, their responses show up on the Twitterfall page like a waterfall- flowing down the page as new responses arrive on the top. I learned about this as a result of the reading on this week's module called "25 Interesting Ways of Using Twitter," and I would piggy-back off one of their ideas for a lesson plan by starting a short story as the topic, then having the class submit tweets to add to the story collectively.
Lesson with this Tool: As suggested in the reading/slide show, I would use Twitterfall in a creative writing unit to teach story structure and editing skills by having the class collectively write a short story. After I had taught the characteristics of some genres, I would select a genre and start the class off with one or two sentences. Then, I would let the class Twitterfall after class and overnight. The next day in class, we would take all of the responses, select which ones would go into the story, edit the content where needed, and arrange/structure the responses into a coherent exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. To ensure participation, there would need to be some grading guidelines/criteria, such as a minimum number of tweets for each student.
Web 2.0 based tool #2= Google Docs
Description:"Google Docs is an easy-to-use online word processor, spreadsheet and presentation editor that enables you and your students to create, store and share instantly and securely, and collaborate online in real time. You can create new documents from scratch or upload existing documents, spreadsheets and presentations. There's no software to download, and all your work is stored safely online and can be accessed from any computer." source: http://www.google.com/educators/p_docs.html
Lesson with this Tool: I would use Google Docs for a peer editing lesson. After students had finished a first draft of an essay, I would have them submit their drafts to Google Docs. Everyone who signs into the same topic (ie Romeo and Juliet Critical Lens Essay #1) can view and edit all of the documents (essays) in that topic. I would provide the students with some background knowledge on editing and a checklist/guideline sheet for this particular peer editing exercise. Then, in pairs, they would use a colored font to make changes, add notes, and edit their partner's paper. If I were to open the editing to the whole class (not just partners), I would have each student use a different color font so that each person's corrections/changes could be easily identified. Again, to ensure participation, there would need to be some grading guidelines/criteria, such as a minimum number of edits for each student. Also, it would be important to emphasize that students are to make notes/suggestions/additions, not to delete any part of others' essays.
Holding Back on BackBoard
I have learned that Web 2.0 is all about interactivity. It's great that people can create, publish, and receive feedback on their work using many of the tools and services available for free on the Internet. However, I think some Web sites promote interactivity not for much of a practical purpose, but just for the sake of being interactive.
Last week we were asked to post our latest lesson plan on BackBoard for peer review. After completing this exercise, I am left wondering if BackBoard really serves an important purpose, or if this is simply a company jumping on the Web 2.0 bandwagon without offering much of a unique service.
First, we had to make the lesson plan into a URL, so I put mine on my Web site in order to do this. Then, we had to put the link to this URL on BackBoard and invite our peers to review it and provide feedback. When I posted mine, I posted the link to the file. I am not sure if this was the point of the exercise or not. If so, then my question is, why do I need BackBoard? Since I had to have a URL of my lesson plan in order to post it on BackBoard and then invite specific people via their e-mail addresses (which I had to manually look up in my address book) to view it, why couldn't I have just e-mailed those people from my regular e-mail and asked them to go to my Web site, where my lesson plan already was, and view/comment on it? I may be missing the point, but right now it seems like BackBoard is kind of an unnecessary middle man.
I think the idea of sharing documents and leaving feedback is a great, but not novel one. There are so many forums in which to engage in this type of collaborative activity, I was left wondering what BackBoard adds to this experience that other tools/services don't. Of course, all of this could be due to my Web naivete, including me missing an important function of BackBoard or using it incorrectly, but what I have described to you here has been my experience with BackBoard thus far. Perhaps someone will enlighten me and then I will be a little more knowledgeable about this Web 2.0 tool.
Last week we were asked to post our latest lesson plan on BackBoard for peer review. After completing this exercise, I am left wondering if BackBoard really serves an important purpose, or if this is simply a company jumping on the Web 2.0 bandwagon without offering much of a unique service.
First, we had to make the lesson plan into a URL, so I put mine on my Web site in order to do this. Then, we had to put the link to this URL on BackBoard and invite our peers to review it and provide feedback. When I posted mine, I posted the link to the file. I am not sure if this was the point of the exercise or not. If so, then my question is, why do I need BackBoard? Since I had to have a URL of my lesson plan in order to post it on BackBoard and then invite specific people via their e-mail addresses (which I had to manually look up in my address book) to view it, why couldn't I have just e-mailed those people from my regular e-mail and asked them to go to my Web site, where my lesson plan already was, and view/comment on it? I may be missing the point, but right now it seems like BackBoard is kind of an unnecessary middle man.
I think the idea of sharing documents and leaving feedback is a great, but not novel one. There are so many forums in which to engage in this type of collaborative activity, I was left wondering what BackBoard adds to this experience that other tools/services don't. Of course, all of this could be due to my Web naivete, including me missing an important function of BackBoard or using it incorrectly, but what I have described to you here has been my experience with BackBoard thus far. Perhaps someone will enlighten me and then I will be a little more knowledgeable about this Web 2.0 tool.
Sunday, June 7, 2009
The Elusive Web 2.0
source of above image: http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html
This week, our classwork involved exploring "Web 2.0." Not having heard of this thing, place, or person, I began my readings and research. What I found out is that Web 2.0 is a lot like the Wizard of Oz. One does not simply go to, find, or click on Web 2.0.
Defining what Web 2.o is or finding a clear explanation of it on the Web is not an easy task. However, after watching a lot of YouTube videos and reading a lot of Web sites that promise to define or explain Web 2.0, at least now I know what it is not, (Web 1.0, of course) and I can make an educated guess as to what it is. Web 2.0 is a collective term for the myriad interactive tools that are available on the Internet today ( I think).
Before doing this week's readings, I was expecting Web 2.0 to be a single program or Web site, but I soon found that this is not the case. All of the readings for the week were very informative about what Web 2.0 tools are available and how these can be used in the classroom, but I still didn't understand exactly what the term Web 2.0 means. I tried watching this video, but it was a little over my head. All I got out of that video is that Web 2.o is a "marketing tool," but for what or whom I still do not know. This video and this Web site explain the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0, which is very helpful but not quite definitive. A major clue offered by the aforementioned Web site is that something classifies as Web 2.o if it "harnesses collective intelligence."
It seems that anything that simply provides information but is not interactive or edited by sharing is considered Web 1.0 (and passe). Web 2.0 has something to do with shared authorship and community publishing. After examining several of the Web 2.o tools and identifying their common "thread," I decided that Web 2.o is a term to collectively describe the many modern tools and sites on the Web that allow people to publish information on the Internet and allow others to comment/edit in some way, making the process interactive. Examples would include blog sites, video sites (YouTube, TeacherTube), Google Docs, social networking sites (Facebook, MySpace, Delicious), wikis, and photo sharing sites (Flikr, Photobucket). As far as the marketing part of the defintion is concerned, I think what the experts were trying to say is that a lot of Internet companies advertise their applications, services, and platforms as being Web 2.0 (in order to sound current) when they are really not. How to tell if something is not Web 2.0, I'm not 100% sure- maybe if there is no opportunity for interaction and shared authorship.
By the way, I don't know the differences between "applications," "services," and "platforms." These are all terms that I encountered when trying to define Web 2.o. If anyone understands this stuff and can tell me if I am on the right track, I would greatly appreciate it!
Friday, June 5, 2009
"Delete Cyber Bullying"
Obviously, cyber bullying is a problem among adolescents. Because of technology, false, defaming, private, degrading, or embarrassing information about an individual can spread throughout an entire town in a matter of minutes. Not only does technology allow information to spread rapidly, it also provides a cloak of anonymity or at least the illusion of separation so that common courtesies and civility are abandoned. The difficulty in stopping cyber bullying lies in the futility of telling teenagers to do or not to do something. As educators and parents know, telling adolescents things affects this age group very little. In order to initiate understanding, students have to care about what they are learning. They should be introduced to an idea, shown how the idea is relevant to their lives and the real world, and be inspired to have some type of affective response. I think that the PSA "Cyberbullying- Talent Show" by the Ad Council and Take a Bite out of Crime is a nice introduction to cyber bullying and can serve as a gateway (I used it as an anticipatory set in my lesson plan last week) to getting students to care about the effects of cyber bullying as a real life social problem.
The video depicts a school talent show at which a female student gets on stage and calmly and confidently degrades another student who is in the audience, mortified. The speaker says cruel and hurtful things while the victim watches in shock and sadness, which makes the viewer feel sympathy toward the victim and anger toward the speaker. The viewer is inclined to view the bully as "the bad guy," not someone to emulate. Simultaneously, we want to take some action to protect the victim, because we feel sad for her. The message at the end of the video is, "if you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it online." This poignant message may state the obvious, but its beauty lies in its simplicity. It takes the traditional rules of civility and common courtesy that everyone knows and applies them to the contemporary virtual world. In a way, it connects the dots between the "real' world and the online world for those who have been unable to connect them themselves. Also, since being "two-faced," "phony," or "fake" is considered uncool, saying something online that one would not say to another person's face is portrayed as such, which will resonate with adolescents. Instead of making a general claim or presenting viewers with a problem without telling them what they can actually do about the problem, the video gives some clear, simple instructions as the end: "Delete cyber bullying. Don't write it. Don't forward it." These are effective measures that kids can take that will reduce cyber bullying.
Of course, cyber bullying is not the fault of technology, but of its irresponsible use. Technology is not the problem, an ignorance of the social courtesies of the virtual world is. By teaching about contemporary social responsibility, we can make cyber bullying something that is unpopular, frowned upon, disdained, and ignored. If it becomes "uncool," it cannot thrive in the adolescent world.
The video depicts a school talent show at which a female student gets on stage and calmly and confidently degrades another student who is in the audience, mortified. The speaker says cruel and hurtful things while the victim watches in shock and sadness, which makes the viewer feel sympathy toward the victim and anger toward the speaker. The viewer is inclined to view the bully as "the bad guy," not someone to emulate. Simultaneously, we want to take some action to protect the victim, because we feel sad for her. The message at the end of the video is, "if you wouldn't say it in person, don't say it online." This poignant message may state the obvious, but its beauty lies in its simplicity. It takes the traditional rules of civility and common courtesy that everyone knows and applies them to the contemporary virtual world. In a way, it connects the dots between the "real' world and the online world for those who have been unable to connect them themselves. Also, since being "two-faced," "phony," or "fake" is considered uncool, saying something online that one would not say to another person's face is portrayed as such, which will resonate with adolescents. Instead of making a general claim or presenting viewers with a problem without telling them what they can actually do about the problem, the video gives some clear, simple instructions as the end: "Delete cyber bullying. Don't write it. Don't forward it." These are effective measures that kids can take that will reduce cyber bullying.
Of course, cyber bullying is not the fault of technology, but of its irresponsible use. Technology is not the problem, an ignorance of the social courtesies of the virtual world is. By teaching about contemporary social responsibility, we can make cyber bullying something that is unpopular, frowned upon, disdained, and ignored. If it becomes "uncool," it cannot thrive in the adolescent world.
Holy LoTi!
Now that I have some time to "blog," I would like to share my reflections on and analyses of the class readings, assignments, and activities.
The first reading to which I had quite a notable response was the LoTi (levels of technology implementation). Learning about the levels challenged my assumptions about teaching with technology by "opening my eyes" to what I don't know about technology expectations in the classroom and helping me realize how far I have to go in order to reach a satisfactory level of technological advancement.
Basically, I was under the impression that using technology to enhance instruction (such as Power Point or other multimedia materials) and taking students to the computer lab/library to do research are considered pretty technological activities. However, using technology in this sense is only considered a level 2 of 6! Reading on about the other levels, I learned that, ultimately, the goal of using technology for education is to teach students how to understand all aspects of technology and use it frequently for real life, practical purposes such as problem solving, research, data tracking, publishing, business, social activism, etc. While using technology for the aforementioned purposes, students will learn the content they need to learn while they use and apply it in a more advanced way/format.
That being said, I do hope that, as we progress through the levels of technology implementation, content area instruction is preserved. Although computer literacy and fluency are essential, students still need to know content area information so that they can participate in academic circles and thrive as knowledgeable adults.
The first reading to which I had quite a notable response was the LoTi (levels of technology implementation). Learning about the levels challenged my assumptions about teaching with technology by "opening my eyes" to what I don't know about technology expectations in the classroom and helping me realize how far I have to go in order to reach a satisfactory level of technological advancement.
Basically, I was under the impression that using technology to enhance instruction (such as Power Point or other multimedia materials) and taking students to the computer lab/library to do research are considered pretty technological activities. However, using technology in this sense is only considered a level 2 of 6! Reading on about the other levels, I learned that, ultimately, the goal of using technology for education is to teach students how to understand all aspects of technology and use it frequently for real life, practical purposes such as problem solving, research, data tracking, publishing, business, social activism, etc. While using technology for the aforementioned purposes, students will learn the content they need to learn while they use and apply it in a more advanced way/format.
That being said, I do hope that, as we progress through the levels of technology implementation, content area instruction is preserved. Although computer literacy and fluency are essential, students still need to know content area information so that they can participate in academic circles and thrive as knowledgeable adults.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Blog I am following
http://janeknight.typepad.com/
Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day
new and interesting technological teaching/learning tools each day
Jane's E-Learning Pick of the Day
new and interesting technological teaching/learning tools each day
Teaching with Technology: Week 1
Hi! I am currently enjoying the first week of my final graduate course, which happens to be a five-week summer class called "Teaching with Technology." I comprise one third of a group that is a very powerful force in teaching with technology today- The Triple Techs. Along with the other members of this superhero teaching team, Angela and Mickie, I am working to bridge the technology gap between teachers and students in an innovative and interactive fashion one technological hurdle at a time.
This week, I learned a lot about technology. We had a virtual group meeting using WizIq, created blogs and Web sites, and familiarized ourselves with some of the goals and theories of teaching with technology. I will continue to post about my further experiences in this course.
Bye!
This week, I learned a lot about technology. We had a virtual group meeting using WizIq, created blogs and Web sites, and familiarized ourselves with some of the goals and theories of teaching with technology. I will continue to post about my further experiences in this course.
Bye!
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