Friday, October 21, 2011

New Tech Standards and Requirements

The 3 Technological Standards and Requirements that stood out to me the most were:

  • Creativity and Innovation
  • Communication and Collaboration
  • Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
I believe that these really reached me due to the automatic ideas that flooded my brain on how to incorporate them into the classroom.

Every class, despite the grade, needs to be creative and innovative. From kindergarten to high school, from college to the "real world" we are constantly finding new discoveries and ways to accomplish tasks or express ourselves. As we approach a new age, we are confronted more and more with the ever changing ideals of technology...and the classroom should definitely represent and demonstrate such. I think that it would be easy to allow our students to do this! They could create projects using different online tools such as Prezi or Screenr, or even have the ability to discovery other ways to accomplish tasks in a different way.

Along with this, technology allows for a better way not only for us to create, but for us to collaborate and communicate with one another. As a teacher, technology allows us to have a better opportunity to keep in contact with the parents of our students through email, blogs, or even classroom websites.  Students can also use technology to work together and keep in contact with one another. This can be done simply through group forums, or through the wonderful tools Google supplies (ie. Google Reader, Google Presentation, Google Docs, etc). By using these the students can work together on projects at their own speeds at the same time, on the same documents!

Lastly, I believe that technology really allows for students to use and develop their critical thinking and decision making skills. Using technology makes us have to problem solve and figure out new ways to try things. It is amazing how much we have to use problem solving skills in order to figure out how to accomplish tasks using technology. By doing this, and allowing our students to do this, we are at the highest level of Bloom's taxonomy. It is also important because technology is evolving at such a rapid exponential rate that we need to provide our students with the knowledge on how to use it as a tool and to have the skills to grow and change with it.

On a side note: It is important to note that some teachers think that using technology is not appropriate or even feasible to use in their classroom due to only having "one computer" in the classroom. I think that this is merely a minor bump in the road! Yes, each student having their own computer or access to such would be ideal, but one computer is just fine! Even setting aside time to check out the carted laptops, or going to the computer lab could be helpful. Don't simply write-off the idea of using technology simply because you hit a block in the road. Use your own problem solving skills and figure out great ways to solve the "issue." Technology is here and is not going away. We need to do whatever we can as educators to equip our students with basic knowledge and skills in order to prepare them to be learners in this new society.

This allows us to be creative ourselves and engage our students...don't be scared, but excited!

Think of all of the "normal" ways you would typically accomplish a classroom task.

Now, think to yourself: 
What could I add or alter in order to make this assignment or activity more exciting using technology?

For myself I must admit that I am enthusiastically trying to incorporate these technologies with my 8th grade Health lesson for my Practicum. I think that I could do a variety of activities with regards to food tracking and food group advertising using the array of technological applications that we have become familiarized with. There are SO many ideas that you could do...how could you ever get bored?

The sky really is the limit in cloud computing!

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Warm-Ups in Math Education

I think that warm ups are not only important to implement into the classroom, but that they are critical!

My personal philosophy of teaching centers around the principles of scaffolding, engagement, and excitement. I think that the use of warm up in a math class, or any class for that matter, accomplishes all of these things.

I believe that students learn better when they are able to use and be reminded of the skills they learned from the previous day in order for them to be built upon on that current lesson. I also believe that the use of warm up enables a certain "routine" for the students to become familiar with. They are able to arrive in class and begin working, and ask any questions from the previous lesson that they may still have regarding the information before moving on. This is also extremely valuable from a teaching perspective because it allows for the instructor to do an informal assessment on whether or not their students understand the material before moving on and not realizing they don't understand until the unit exam, for example.

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Analyzing Student Data in a Spreadsheet

Performing the computations on this set of student data was relatively easy once I got the hang of using the Google Spreadsheet program. I think that the program is an extremely valuable tool to use as a classroom teacher in order to both organize and analyze student data quickly.

By being able to calculate and graphically organize student data quickly, I believe that we will better to be able to serve our students. We can quickly tailor our lessons and get feedback on how our students are performing.

The data for this set of students, for example, shows that while they were initially falling below the average of 192, that they were still showing growth from tests 6-10. This growth can be seen in the following data and charts:








I chose to demonstrate this in two different charts because while the line graph shows the student growth progression over time across the tests, it was difficult to see each individual student. The bar graph provides for a clearer analysis of each students' progression across tests.

As a teacher, I think I would take note of the students progress over time. While they are not totally mastering the concepts, it is obvious that they are improving. My expectations might have to differ between the varying students and their needs. I might have to do break out sessions or change my teaching style if this many students are not meeting my criteria.

I would also want to know more information regarding this data. Are the tests on the same material or content area? How much time has elapsed? Do the same students perform below average on everything or just this content area? I would also want to compare the averages of the first set of tests (Tests 1-5)with the averages of the second set of tests (6-10) to see what the progression was.

By gathering more information on these tests I believe that I could form a more accurate opinion an analysis of the students performance on these tests.

The entire set of data can be found here:
Entire Collection of Student Data and Charts

Google Docs Group Project

Google Reader is a great tool for teachers and students alike to use. It provides for users with a way to organize a plethora of information with regards to any sort of subscription that you may have. This is extremely helpful when you are trying to follow several blogs at once, or if you are interested in a particular subject that has a subscription option (magazines, newspapers, etc).

I was absent when the group's were assigned for this assignment, but was able to quickly catch up with my group due to the ease of Google Reader! It was nice because I was not only able to get feedback from my teammates as to what Google Reader was, but I was actually able to quickly go into and actually use and research the program and place my input! While they had most of the key points already noted, I was able to figure it out and provide a reflection on why I like it an think it is a useful tool.

For more detailed information, please take a look at our Google Reader document!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

The Multi-Media Project

On today's edition of "What Types of Awesome Technology Can Be Used in the Classroom" I bring to you the fabulous Ustream! This was my first time trying to use the program so bare with the mad skills, or lack there of, demonstrated in the video to follow.

But first! A word from our sponsor...or rather, an explanation of the program itself.

Ustream is an internet based program that allows for videos to be made in "live" time by simply using your laptop. Note: The laptop used must have a webcam and a microphone. Fear not, however, most laptops come with that built in these days! Thank you computer programmers and developers!

The program Ustream is very simple and easy to use...so to those of you who are saying to yourself "But Amanda, I am horrible at using technology, I do not think that this is applicable to me." Then I say to you "Ha! You CAN do it! Now turn that frown upside down and get to it, fool!" It is as easy as setting up an account and clicking a few buttons (basically the same procedure you would use to create and email account, or any account on most websites).

Tip! When you begin to use Ustream to create videos, make sure the you press "Record Now" to begin your recording and not "Broadcast Now." Broadcasting does not begin your recording, and thus if you try to create your post to use for later, nothing will record but it will (as the title suggests) simply broadcast you to the world. Now how's that for entertainment?

Ahh, and now for your viewing pleasure, a tour of the GSE and my first time trying using Ustream.

Note: I apologize for the weird look on my face and the use of the word "lovely" way too many times.


Now, welcome to the GSE...

         
Video streaming by Ustream
Now that I have tortured enlightened you with my technological talents, let's discuss how this can be used in the classroom!

There are many applications that this tool could be useful for. Some could include:
  • Teachers using it to record their classroom
  • Teachers/Students recording their progress for Classroom/Individual Blogs
  • Students performing group projects
  • Student monologues/reflections
  • using it as a literacy tool so the students can hear themselves read
There are many more ways that this could be applied to teaching that I have not listed...so get to creating!

Monday, October 10, 2011

Favorite Web 2.0 Tools

Team viewer is an amazing tool that provides easy access for computers to connect with one another anywhere in the world. This is a fun and unique way for people to connect remotely onto another's computer.

I think that this would be a fabulous tool for teachers and students to use for several reasons.
Students, for example, could use it to work together on partner projects. It could also be great to use for presentations!

I also really like it because I tend to have a lot of problems with my computer and my friends have to try to "talk me through" the issues. With Team Viewer, they could get on my computer remotely and fix the issues as though they were sitting with me at the computer!

Take a look for yourself:

www.teamviewer.com/

OTEN Reflection

On September 24th I was fortunate enough to attend the OTEN conference at Willamette University.  I must admit, prior to the conference I was dreading my attendance. I thought that the presenters would eb boring, and that I would not learn anything from the speakers since I am technologically inept and won't be able to incorporate or understand anything that they presented.

I am happy to present that this was NOT the case!

The key note speaker, the head of the Canby School District technology, was fabulous. He discussed all of the huge strides their district has made with regards to test scores as a direct link to the grants they received for technology. He described the many educational uses that an iPad can have, and how they can be applied to any age level (including elementary)!

I was very excited about the first break out session that I attended with Jennifer Roberts. Jennifer was able to show the attendees a wide array of uses technology can have in our classrooms. I was very intrigued when she was able to do an in class poll on the board that updated in real time as we all texted in our answers to the site. It was a fun and interactive way to receive classroom data rather than doing a simple show of hands. Lastly, she showed us numerous websites that could be used for presentations and in-class activities. With this activity she provided us a "breakdown" of these online tools into Bloom's taxonomy.

The second breakout session I attended was a presentation on the use of games in the classroom, presented by a speaker from George Fox University (his name escapes me now). During this session we were introduced to more uses on an iPad with regards to games in the classroom. He showed us an application called "Where's Mommy" and had us construct a game with the program. We were also introduced on how to use a Smartboard to create games as review (such as a football game). I think that games are very important in making learning fun and I think that this session was very helpful in allowing me to explore more options for doing this using technology.

Instructional Applications of Blogging

I think that there are many uses for blogging in the classroom.
As a teacher, I believe that I could construct a classroom blog in order to keep my students and their parents informed as to what is occurring in the classroom. I believe that this could differ from a normal classroom website because it could allow for discussion to occur between students on projects, or with the parents themselves.

For students, I think that it would be a good idea to have them create their own blogs so that they could provide their own reflections on projects. I think that this would be a great way to incorporate literacy into classroom projects and in area content area. 

I also believe that this could be a great informal assessment tool for the teacher. It could allow for the teacher to see what exactly each student is doing and has accomplished in the class so that they could better tailor their lessons to fit the needs of the students.