Final Post: Reflection

FINAL POST

Reflection

CC Photo Credit: Moyan Brenn from Flickr

           This class has absolutely been a growing experience for me. I can easily say that I have never spent more time researching, tagging, hyperlinking, and interacting with online websites or tools in my life. It has been fun yet challenging. I really did not realize how had been accomplished in the last six weeks until I put it all together in the teacher webpage/e-portfolio. I am really amazed that this is only an introductory class. I feel like we did so much and in depth work that it is difficult to imagine that there is more to come but, I am ready for that challenge also. The collaborative projects, the instructional wiki and collaborative lesson plan, were extra interesting as this is the first time I had successfully  completed a group project through an online class. The communication for these projects was relatively simple once we had agreed on how we would stay in touch. Texting seemed to be the most effective as we pretty much always had our phones handy. I believe that through everything in this class, I am ready to use technology efficient and effectively in the classroom. I now know how to create an evaluation rubric from scratch and create a functional lesson plan that fulfills state education standards while engaging students. I have a deeper understanding of learning theories and methods of utilizing those theories to communicate information or to help students discover information for themselves. I am now equipped with an online bookmarking account (Delicious) that I did not even realize that I needed but am now not sure how I navigated without. I now know that there are so many resources to support me as a teacher no matter what obstacle I might come up against. I look forward to being able to reference knowledge gained in this class to help students with special needs, like hearing impairments, dyslexia, or even English language learners to feel comfortable and excited to learn in my class. I truly appreciated the timely and constructive feedback that I received throughout the class. I only wish that I could have figured out how to interact during the virtual office hours, but this is probably my short coming. The biggest challenge for me with this class, aside from my own time-management, has been handling the APA citation formatting. This is the first class that I have ever taken that has not used the MLA format. I learned MLA in the first research paper that I completed in high school and have not used any other citation method since. I know that I should be more flexible and am sure that I will get the hang of it eventually. However, I do not see that happening with this post. Thank you professor Coleman for your patience and help throughout this class.

Resources:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A.,

 and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New

 Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Teacher Website/e-portfolio and Delicious account created by April Bogar 2016

Instructional Strategies Wiki Created collaboratively with April Bogar and fellow students 2016

Digital blog post E

Ch. 4 Designing Lessons and Developing Curriculum with Technology

Photo credit: Alberto G. From Flickr.com 2016 

       I was intrigued by the “Digital Dialogue” 4.2 on page 88 in our text that

 asks us about our personal experience with test/quiz and performance based

 assessments and evaluations. The first question asks if we consider ourselves

 to be skillful at multiple-choice test and asks us our opinion on the strengths 

and weaknesses of this kind of student assessment (Maloy 88). Personally, I 

do consider myself to be a skilled multiple -choice test taker. As a rule I do my

 best as a student but, sometimes I procrastinate or over-commit myself and 

have found myself with little study time before a test or quiz. Thankfully, I 

know some tricks for multiple-choice tests. I know to look at questions before

 reading passages so that I can look for answers as I read. I also know to eliminate

 answers that are far off to increase my odds of picking the correct answer. Another

 trick that I picked up is that longer answers tend to be the correct ones because 

the test writer went to more effort in writing it out. Though these strategies are 

no substitute for studying, they have proven useful for me. For this reason, I feel

 that multiple-choice tests and quizzes are flawed. Not only do they favor skilled

 test takers but, they often fail to encourage deep learning and concept development

 by focusing on the rote memorization of facts. Here is a link to more disadvantages

 and advantages to different test questions from Faculty Focus.com. 

        The second question asks what skills and talents might be better assessed through

 paper-and-pencil tests, I presume they are asking about short answer or essay tests as

 even multiple choice tests use paper and a no.2 pencil. It also asks what skills and 

talents would be better evaluated through a performance based measure (Maloy 88). 

Through my experiences with testing, it seemed like short answer and essay questions

 appealed more to my ability to communicate information through writing, to organize

 and construct coherent sentences and paragraphs. This shows me that I was able to 

synthesize the information and recreate it in my own words, or that I was able to retain

 the information effectively through the words in the text. I know that essay and short

 answer questions are much mote difficult to guess or improvise on as the answers usually

 contain key phrases or points of information that the instructor or grader is looking for.

 That said, when I was well prepared for them, I enjoyed short answer or essay tests over

 multiple choice or true/false because it gave me the chance to be a little more creative

 in the answer. I was usually also able to interject a little bit of opinion on the subject

 within the writing, whether through tone or outright. Skills that I think would be better

 measured through performance based measures are ones of design and execution, like 

science experiments or shop-class projects. Also subjects that rely on performance like

 any music class or foreign language that has a heavy pronunciation focus that really 

requires an oral exam to test accuracy. 

       The last question asks us what kinds of performance-based assessments we engaged

 in as students and what performance-based assessments we envision using with our 

future students (Maloy 88). There are only a few tests that I can remember being 

performance based. Most of them having been in foreign language, music, or in a

 hands-on technical class like shop, ceramics, or drawing/painting. These kinds of 

skills are best evaluated in this fashion because you are demonstrating the mastery 

of technique, design, pronunciation, or composition. I did enjoy the performance-based 

evaluations because I like to demonstrate my abilities. I could see where this kind 

of evaluation could be uncomfortable for introverts but, the discomfort could be 

overcome by arranging for private test time one-on-one with the teacher. As an 

elementary teacher of general education, I am not sure how I would use a performance

 assessment. Perhaps I could assign a book report to the class on a book that we read 

together and they could give the report as an oral presentation dressed as the character

 of their choice. This would provide a performance component and exercise their 

ability to change point-of-view but, the assessment of reading comprehension would 

be the written report itself.

Resources: 

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A.,

 and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New

 Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Hyperlink for test question advantages and disadvantages:  

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/educational-assessment/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-different-types-of-test-questions/

Photo Credit: Alberto G. Retrieved from Flickr.com 2016 

EME 2040 Chapters 3 & 8

EME2040 Digital Blog post 3

Chapters 3 &/or 8

 Educational learning theory: Dr. Maria Montessori

 The Montessori system of education originated in 1907 when Maria Montessori opened

 “Children’s House” in a low-income area of Rome, Italy. (1)This is a child centered model that utilizes

 scientific observations of child behavior by teachers to shape lessons and projects. The underlying

 understanding is that children have a natural curiosity that leads to learning if given a “supportive

 and thoughtfully prepared learning environment”(2) This model may seem like a behaviorist approach

 because it relies on the scientific method of observing children. It does not fit this model, however,

 because it does not employ a conditioning method common to traditional classrooms of grading student

 work. There is only learning through self-direction, and comprehension/development observation by

the teacher. In this way Montessori models a Constructionist approach with the student creating their

 own learning.

                                                                                                        

Here is a video that explains a bit more about this model: 

Here is the link for the video: (2) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb7QLOCW8hs 

The Role of feedback in the Montessori Model

    Although Montessori students do not receive grades, they do receive feedback.There are no

 A+’s for great work or F’s for bad work, instead, as a student expresses interest in a subject they

 are encouraged to investigate that subject. If a student is having difficulties, the teacher may ask

 a student that has mastered the skill or subject to help the other student with the goal of reinforcing

 their own understanding while providing the mentor-ship of a slightly older student to the struggling student  rather than making that student rely on the much older teacher to “save” them. This builds self-confidence and a sense of family within the class itself.

Check out my BitStrip on this subject:

 The Better Classroom

Created by April Bogar 5/31/2016

Here is also a nicely illustrated video contrasting 

Montessori vs. Traditional classrooms

Retrieved 5/30/2016 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGRpzQ9vCE&list=PLPJXjT4wHl0itBTlwyU4BPBrGovXGSz5G

Communicating and collaborating in the Montessori model

Each classroom “level” consists of three ages, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-15, and 15-18.
 Grouping in this way  allows younger students to learn from older ones while the older students
 reinforce their understanding by teaching the younger students. This method reminds
 me of Lev Vygotsky’s “Social Development” and “MTO (More Knowledgeable Other)
” Constructivist model. This grouping model also affords the teacher the time to work with
 students individually or in small groups, that may need more detailed or supervised instruction. Another benefit to having multiple ages in the learning environment is that it is more true-to-life.
 In college and in the working world students are going to need to get along and work with people
 older and younger than themselves, so this builds social skills as well. The Montessori model is very
 much an inquiry-based teaching method in that it is almost entirely student driven. The teacher
 does follow a curriculum, but they present the information, “ through an integrated approach that
 brings separate strands of the curriculum together. ” (5)The students are understood to be naturally
 curious and questioning. This quest-for-knowledge and exploration is encouraged by the teacher who
 takes on more of a partnership role by leading the student to possible sources of information that they
 seek or exercises to build an active understanding of a concept. This self-directed study builds
 self-confidence and critical-thinking skills as the student goes beyond information
 accumulation to connecting concepts to real-world application.

I have created a flip-quiz to reinforce some of the concepts from chapters 3 and 8

I hope you enjoy the game:

Flip quiz for Chapter 3 & 8

( I look forward to learning how to embed BotStrips and Flip Quizes into my blog posts)
(I am embarrassed,but I have attempted ti fix the formatting multiple times with no success)

Resources:

(1) Retrieved 5/29/2016 from- http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/History-of-Montessori-Education

(2) Retrieved 5/29/2016 from- http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/Introduction-to-Montessori 

(3) Retrieved 5/30/2016 from- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NGRpzQ9vCE&list=PLPJXjT4wHl0itBTlwyU4BPBrGovXGSz5G 

(4) Retrieved 5/30/2016 from- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nb7QLOCW8hs 

(5) Retrieved 5/31/2016 from- http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/FAQs 

(6) Created by April Bogar 5/31/2016: http://bitstrips.com/r/TR8WV 

(7) Created by April Bogar 5/31/2016:  http://flipquiz.me/review/94290 

(8) Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Chapter 1

Reflections on 3 concepts from Chapter 1:

 Becoming a 21st Century Teacher

The first chapter for this class focuses on introducing us to the concept of using technology in the classroom. The following video demonstrates the difference between the old and new classrooms:
The text begins by explaining how prevalent the use of technology is among young people and makes the case that the classroom must evolve to keep the pace of technology in the lives of students in order to keep them engaged and aware of the relevance of technology to learning. I was especially surprised to see the statistics of how much time young people spend engaged with technology. I am an only child to technology resistant parents, so I feel that I am in the technology gap group that is also mentioned. I am excited to see that there are so many tools available to enhance learning, but worry about children becoming too dependent upon technology. My excitement is mixed with apprehension as I am nearly overwhelmed by how far behind I am in getting used to  the myriad of technologies available. I am confident in my ability to learn new things, so I look forward to accessing and becoming familiar with the different categories of technology tools for the classroom because, as the following video shows:

, technology is very important for the future.
    The book describes something called a "digital childhood" which details the amount of technology young children use. This time is mainly composed of television, digital music and video downloading, and social media. I was surprised that seventy percent of children played video games and used the internet daily by the time they were in second grade. I understand that parents are very busy these days and electronics are an easy way to keep children entertained in a stationary way, but I question the wisdom that easier is better. Physical activity is important as is the exercise of using the imagination in play. If children get used to being sedentary and relying on visual and audio input for play, they may not develop adequately physically, mentally and emotionally. In fact this link provides insight to the possible problems associated with electronic media exposure during early childhood, Media use and Well-Being Study . I believe that balance in this area is the most important thing to ensure that children learn to visualize and conceptualize independent of electronic media.
   I was really excited to read about all of the different categories of technology that can be utilized in the classroom and to support teaching in general. I am especially interested in utilizing technology based libraries to catalog interesting sites that I can refer to for teaching materials as well as use to bring concepts to life for my students. I am certain that I will use a technology based office in my teaching career to catalog student grades and learning progress, as well as to collaborate with colleagues on education projects. I will likely be using many technology based learning environments, such as the one I am currently enrolled in now, to complete my teaching education as well as completing the continuing education that comes with the teaching profession. One day I hope to even use technology based text books along with the learning environment to carry a message of hope to unreached people groups and teach English to poor foreign children. I am very lucky to have the opportunity to live in a place and time that I have access to classes like this that are giving me a vision of how I will be able to make a real difference in the lives of children, not just inside the classroom but also, potentially, from very far away.
   I know that it is going to take time for me to become confident enough with these technologies that I would feel comfortable displaying them as a "Digital Resume" as having been mastered, but this needs to happen for me to be able to communicate to potential employers that I am a twenty first century teacher that is committed to engaging students with new technologies. I am very glad that this class is pushing me outside of my comfort zone in completing assignments using the web2.0 tool of blogging. I know this will go very far in helping me create an online identity as a teacher in the future. I am actually very curious to see all of the ways that I am going to learn to integrate technology into my assignments and projects. I believe this is called, "highly interactive, inquiry-based learning".
    It is clear that technology is only growing in its influence in our daily lives. It is no surprise then that schools need to incorporate it to remain relevant and to educate children on the academic applications of technology. By integrating technology into classroom experiences, teachers are able to engage students in a more holistic way. Technology allows for the differentiation of learning to tailor lessons to every learning style while providing a highly efficient way to track student progress. I look forward to learning much more about the application of technology in the classroom and for the organization of information for learning myself. I am confident that I can conquer these new technologies and become a great twenty first century teacher.
 
Source:
Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.