In education, it was often necessary to pause and assess exactly where students needed the most help and which tools could be the most beneficial to them. Increasingly, technology was one avenue that schools embraced in order to aid students and teachers in increasing student achievement, In fact, new tools are integrated in schools yearly with the hope that students will learn better using technology, a medium in which they have become familiar. In order to implement these new technologies, schools have opted to utilize project based learning models in order to implement technology on larger scales. One model that has proved successful was implementing projects on a grade-wide level or school wide level. In the case of the Tech Savvy Teachers group, a school wide model of Project Based Learning was the scenario for attempting to integrate technology in order to increase student achievement.
The rational of the PBL model for Tech Savvy Teachers was that many students in today’s schools, particularly low socioeconomic and minority students, have difficulty finding relevance in the standards and material they are instructed to master. The Tech Savvy Teachers’ group believed that if students can make connections from the curriculum to their lives, then they will have a better chance of mastering their standards. Therefore, the TST group decided to develop its project’s focus around the concept of getting students involved in the community. The group had math projects where the students had to learn to establish budgets for a variety of situations and measure materials for a playground; these projects required that they apply math skills learned in a classroom. In addition, for language arts, students were required to interview people in the community that could help them reflect on key themes and the historical context of the novel To Kill A Mockingbird.
All of the examples incorporated into the Tech Savvy Teachers Project based learning model had the primary goal of getting the students to realize how they would one day have to apply the skills and knowledge they learn in school to the outer world. When developing critical thinking skills, one criterion that is emphasized is students finding relevance in the material, which this project did. Additionally, this project was feasible because it required very little funding on the school’s part. The primary technologies that the teachers chose were Comic Life, MS Excel, MS Word, and Power Point, which were, with the except of Comic Life, all technologies that were already available on school computers, so they required no start up costs. In addition, Comic Life could be installed for a nominal fee that on larger scales seemed insignificant.
The Project Based Learning model was definitely worth utilizing for several reasons, First of all, it took the burden for implementing new technologies or initiatives off of one or two teachers’ shoulders and emphasized implementation on a larger scale, which resulted in the teachers feeling less pressure because they worked together and shared the burden of the work, In addition, it allowed teachers to take ownership and learn one new technology in which to become proficient, thereby having many experts for different technologies to assist each when it was time for the faculty to implement the project.
Tech Savvy Teachers Project Based Learning model was definitely a model that could and should be implemented in its model school because it created a support system for both students and teachers. For the students, it provided access to their community and encouraged them to build relationships in the community that supported their educational endeavors. The project also assisted the students in finding relevance in the standards they must master in the classroom and showed them how they would one day apply the skills they learned. PBL also provided an easy to implement and follow model for teachers to work as a group to make changes, which took the burden off the shoulders of a few teachers and redistributed the responsibility on all the teachers’ shoulders.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Final Reflection on TechTeacher's Blog
I would like to first thank Dr. Baylen for dragging me, yes I said dragging, from my comfort zone. Technology has always intimidated and frustrated me from the time computers were introduced into the classroom, primarily because my college years
consisted of typewriters and WhiteOut. Of course I learned basic programs as computers were introduced, but they were the basics such as MS Word and Excel, the internet, and email. However, when younger teachers made comments about their class blogs,while interested, I never participated in their discussions because they were "over my head."
After reflecting about the work created in this class, I have to say that I am no longer intimidated.I once thought that creating a class blog would be too advanced for me and require too much labor and time. However, I now have the confidence that I can integrate technology into my classroom, particularly a blog. As an English teacher, blogs are tools that can open up new avenues for students' critical thinking skills and merge them with their love of technology. I can't wait to set up a class blog for next semester, in addition to showing my students how they can use Comic Life, Voice Thread and Movie Maker to create interesting and creative projects!
Charlotte Morgan
consisted of typewriters and WhiteOut. Of course I learned basic programs as computers were introduced, but they were the basics such as MS Word and Excel, the internet, and email. However, when younger teachers made comments about their class blogs,while interested, I never participated in their discussions because they were "over my head."
After reflecting about the work created in this class, I have to say that I am no longer intimidated.I once thought that creating a class blog would be too advanced for me and require too much labor and time. However, I now have the confidence that I can integrate technology into my classroom, particularly a blog. As an English teacher, blogs are tools that can open up new avenues for students' critical thinking skills and merge them with their love of technology. I can't wait to set up a class blog for next semester, in addition to showing my students how they can use Comic Life, Voice Thread and Movie Maker to create interesting and creative projects!
Charlotte Morgan
Voice Thread Article - VoiceThread Extends the Classroom with Interactive Multimedia Albums
Weir, Laila.(2008)."VoiceThread Extends the Classroom with Interactive Multimedia Albums." www.Edutopia.org.
Easy to Use, but Start Small
Teachers can keep VoiceThreads private or publish them, either on the VoiceThread site or embedded on their own sites. Participants can post from anywhere, at any time, making it easy to involve groups in disparate time zones, or even different countries, in a single conversation.
The technology is particularly accessible because viewers can comment using just about any technology -- including a good old landline. "We've tried to make it fairly universal in access," says Ben Papell. "If you don't have a microphone on your computer, you can use a telephone to comment. If you're in the classroom and don't have either, you can use text if you need to, or webcam commenting."
It's also easy to learn the basics of VoiceThread. Tutorials on the site help newbies get started or explain more advanced features, such as video doodling -- pausing a video and drawing on the frozen image like a sportscaster commenting on a play.
For educators new to VoiceThread, it's a good idea to experiment a bit before starting with students. VoiceThread offers free educator accounts on its public site. Teachers can begin there, commenting on others' threads and creating their own practice threads.
When a teacher is ready, he or she can use a free account to create VoiceThreads for or with students, or they can migrate over to the Ed.VoiceThread site. "Use it, experiment with it, figure out how it's going to suit your needs," advises Papell. The educator site costs money -- classroom or school subscriptions are available -- but it's secure and private and should pass even stringent school Web filters.
"Take it slow -- don't upload 600 images and try to get fifty people to comment on each and every one," he says. "One of the great things is that it will take off on its own."
Laila Weir is a contributing editor and writer for Edutopia. Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, and online publications around the world.
Easy to Use, but Start Small
Teachers can keep VoiceThreads private or publish them, either on the VoiceThread site or embedded on their own sites. Participants can post from anywhere, at any time, making it easy to involve groups in disparate time zones, or even different countries, in a single conversation.
The technology is particularly accessible because viewers can comment using just about any technology -- including a good old landline. "We've tried to make it fairly universal in access," says Ben Papell. "If you don't have a microphone on your computer, you can use a telephone to comment. If you're in the classroom and don't have either, you can use text if you need to, or webcam commenting."
It's also easy to learn the basics of VoiceThread. Tutorials on the site help newbies get started or explain more advanced features, such as video doodling -- pausing a video and drawing on the frozen image like a sportscaster commenting on a play.
For educators new to VoiceThread, it's a good idea to experiment a bit before starting with students. VoiceThread offers free educator accounts on its public site. Teachers can begin there, commenting on others' threads and creating their own practice threads.
When a teacher is ready, he or she can use a free account to create VoiceThreads for or with students, or they can migrate over to the Ed.VoiceThread site. "Use it, experiment with it, figure out how it's going to suit your needs," advises Papell. The educator site costs money -- classroom or school subscriptions are available -- but it's secure and private and should pass even stringent school Web filters.
"Take it slow -- don't upload 600 images and try to get fifty people to comment on each and every one," he says. "One of the great things is that it will take off on its own."
Laila Weir is a contributing editor and writer for Edutopia. Her work has appeared in magazines, newspapers, and online publications around the world.
Project Based Learning
Creating a plan for the training and implementation of Microsoft MovieMaker is the basis of my school-wide initiative. This would be a plausible and relatively easy plan to implement because all of the teachers’ and students’ computers already have moviemaker installed on them The plan would therefore focus on training the teachers so that they learn how easily moviemaker could be utilized in their classrooms.
One of the problems I foresee is getting the teachers to move away from content based lessons to project based instruction. Egbert (2009) points out that teachers are so focused on teaching content, they hesitate to try project based learning because they are afraid of not cramming all of the content into the curriculum (p. 162). They have to accept that if they are teaching students higher level thinking and problem solving skills, then the standardized test scores will reflect it.Another area that might present a problem for implementing the training and use of Moviemaker is getting the teachers to realize that it may take a little more time in the beginning to learn the software, but in the long run, they save time. They can createpresentations for their students that grasp their attention and keep them interested. The teachers will have to e provided a streamlined and concise plan that depicts a multitude of ways that moviemaker can be used in all subjects and grade levels. They also have to see demonstrations of the many ways students can use moviemaker in their classes for both formative and summative assessments.
Egbert, Joy. (2009). Supporting learning with technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
One of the problems I foresee is getting the teachers to move away from content based lessons to project based instruction. Egbert (2009) points out that teachers are so focused on teaching content, they hesitate to try project based learning because they are afraid of not cramming all of the content into the curriculum (p. 162). They have to accept that if they are teaching students higher level thinking and problem solving skills, then the standardized test scores will reflect it.Another area that might present a problem for implementing the training and use of Moviemaker is getting the teachers to realize that it may take a little more time in the beginning to learn the software, but in the long run, they save time. They can createpresentations for their students that grasp their attention and keep them interested. The teachers will have to e provided a streamlined and concise plan that depicts a multitude of ways that moviemaker can be used in all subjects and grade levels. They also have to see demonstrations of the many ways students can use moviemaker in their classes for both formative and summative assessments.
Egbert, Joy. (2009). Supporting learning with technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Technology That Supports Critical Thinking and Problem Solving
In chapter 8 of Reinventing Project-Based Learning, Boss and Krauss focus on the positive aspects of on-line collaboration. While I have considered setting up class wikis for my classes, I do like the idea of creating blogs for the students to use for a variety of purposes. Besides discussions, blogs are excellent means for the students to publish their works.
In chapter 8, Julie Lindsey points out the effects of opening up students’ publishing and collaboration to the public when she states, “They knew that they had many other people, apart from the two classrooms, looking at their progress” (p.130). Essentially, allowing students to open their works to the public validates the authenticity of their writing. The end result is that they take their work more seriously. If the students take the time to truly work hard on their work, they deserve recognition and feedback, as well as the opportunity to pursue scholarly work.
Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing project-based learning. Eugene, OR:International Society for Technology in Education.
In chapter 8, Julie Lindsey points out the effects of opening up students’ publishing and collaboration to the public when she states, “They knew that they had many other people, apart from the two classrooms, looking at their progress” (p.130). Essentially, allowing students to open their works to the public validates the authenticity of their writing. The end result is that they take their work more seriously. If the students take the time to truly work hard on their work, they deserve recognition and feedback, as well as the opportunity to pursue scholarly work.
Boss, S., & Krauss, J. (2007). Reinventing project-based learning. Eugene, OR:International Society for Technology in Education.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Movie Maker - My Personal Odyssey in 7464!
Reflection for Movie Maker Project
At the beginning of the Movie Maker project, I was confident that this new technology would be relatively easy to learn. In fact, after attending Dr. Baylen’s meeting on this project, it seemed that this was one technology that I could easily master. I was wrong! A presentation that lasted a little over four minutes took almost two weeks to complete.
My initial project called for students to respond to their literature circles by videotaping themselves and adding information from the novel though pictures and music. After experimenting with my camcorder, it became apparent that taping the students would not be a plausible situation at this time because the Sony camera used to tape the students saves the videos as IFO and VOB files. This might not seem like a problem, but I had to download the software to convert the IFO and VOB files to WMV files. This sounds easy, but a ten minute video takes about two hours and forty-five minutes to convert. Which means if the students taped their responses, it would take many hours to convert the video files before I could even begin using Movie Maker.
The project then evolved into a demonstration of how the students could use Movie Maker as a means of creating the historical background information they research for the literature they read. In this, creativity was needed. First, all of the video clips, photos and music had to be copyright free. This was a good learning experience because I learned that there are free tools and information available to both students and educators; they just need the tools to find them. Once all of the information was collected for the final product, the difficult part began. While Movie maker is user friendly because it uses the “click and drag” style of organizing the information in the storyline, timing the music and narration to match the videos and pictures was quite a task. If I shifted a visual, then my sounds messed up. Editing a music clip messed up the visual clips. In fact, after one editing sessions, none of my sounds worked, so I had to put everything back to its original station. At that point, everything in the project was interrelated. This is was the most difficult part.
The finished project may not have a truly professional look because I did struggle with blending the sounds and narration into a smooth format, but the lesson learned is greater than the project to me. I am glad I finished, but I am more proud that within this one project I have learned how to download music and video files, and use them in Movie Maker (something I can use to spice up presentations and notes). I also discovered sites that provide copyright free sources, which I will share with my colleagues and students. Finally, I have learned how to use a tool that has been on my computer for years, but just seemed too intimidating, which is Window Movie Maker. It was a hard journey, but worth it.
At the beginning of the Movie Maker project, I was confident that this new technology would be relatively easy to learn. In fact, after attending Dr. Baylen’s meeting on this project, it seemed that this was one technology that I could easily master. I was wrong! A presentation that lasted a little over four minutes took almost two weeks to complete.
My initial project called for students to respond to their literature circles by videotaping themselves and adding information from the novel though pictures and music. After experimenting with my camcorder, it became apparent that taping the students would not be a plausible situation at this time because the Sony camera used to tape the students saves the videos as IFO and VOB files. This might not seem like a problem, but I had to download the software to convert the IFO and VOB files to WMV files. This sounds easy, but a ten minute video takes about two hours and forty-five minutes to convert. Which means if the students taped their responses, it would take many hours to convert the video files before I could even begin using Movie Maker.
The project then evolved into a demonstration of how the students could use Movie Maker as a means of creating the historical background information they research for the literature they read. In this, creativity was needed. First, all of the video clips, photos and music had to be copyright free. This was a good learning experience because I learned that there are free tools and information available to both students and educators; they just need the tools to find them. Once all of the information was collected for the final product, the difficult part began. While Movie maker is user friendly because it uses the “click and drag” style of organizing the information in the storyline, timing the music and narration to match the videos and pictures was quite a task. If I shifted a visual, then my sounds messed up. Editing a music clip messed up the visual clips. In fact, after one editing sessions, none of my sounds worked, so I had to put everything back to its original station. At that point, everything in the project was interrelated. This is was the most difficult part.
The finished project may not have a truly professional look because I did struggle with blending the sounds and narration into a smooth format, but the lesson learned is greater than the project to me. I am glad I finished, but I am more proud that within this one project I have learned how to download music and video files, and use them in Movie Maker (something I can use to spice up presentations and notes). I also discovered sites that provide copyright free sources, which I will share with my colleagues and students. Finally, I have learned how to use a tool that has been on my computer for years, but just seemed too intimidating, which is Window Movie Maker. It was a hard journey, but worth it.
Problem Based Learning
Problem based learning model is an instructional tool that incorporates many of the skills that students need for the 21st century. It encourages the students to learn to function in a group, as well as emphasizing problem solving skills.
In a literature class, we often do not look at constructing units that focus on students developing plans and focusing on solving a problem. However, it is plausible to use this type of model in all subjects and grades. According to Egbert (2009), there are several reasons that teachers tend to hesitate over adopting a problem-based model for instruction. The first reason is that “teacher must break out of the content-dissemination mode and help their students do the same” (p.162). Essentially, teachers must move away from focusing learning on content and must instead develop lessons that emphasize problem solving and critical thinking. Egbert also points out that many teachers hesitate to implement problem based learning because they feel that they have too much content to cover in the curriculum due to standardized tests (p.162). Teachers have to learn that with patience and creativity, they can integrate content into the problem-based model.
Egbert, Joy. (2009). Supporting learning with technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
In a literature class, we often do not look at constructing units that focus on students developing plans and focusing on solving a problem. However, it is plausible to use this type of model in all subjects and grades. According to Egbert (2009), there are several reasons that teachers tend to hesitate over adopting a problem-based model for instruction. The first reason is that “teacher must break out of the content-dissemination mode and help their students do the same” (p.162). Essentially, teachers must move away from focusing learning on content and must instead develop lessons that emphasize problem solving and critical thinking. Egbert also points out that many teachers hesitate to implement problem based learning because they feel that they have too much content to cover in the curriculum due to standardized tests (p.162). Teachers have to learn that with patience and creativity, they can integrate content into the problem-based model.
Egbert, Joy. (2009). Supporting learning with technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
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