Literacy

Literacy skills are important to have in all areas of education. I am a math teacher and incorporating reading and writing into the math curriculum is beneficial in the understanding of math skills. Being able to express math through writing is important in the processes of reflecting on mathematical concepts. I feel blogging is a great way to incorporate literacy skills into any subject area. It allows students to convey their understanding through communication that involves reading and writing. I would like to use blogging in my classroom, by posing a concept and having the students write what they know about the concept before we study. Then, students can communicate back and forth about what they already know. Then, after we have studied the concept we will go back and have the students ‘blog about it again. This idea is similar to a KWL chart, but through technology. Because of the lack of technology many of the students have a home; I will make sure that I provide classroom opportunity during school. Resources can often be one of the biggest problems when implementing an educational experience involving technology.

Personal Learning Theory

My personal learning theory is that students learn best through social interaction. I feel that when students can communicate with each other they are able to share ideas, learn from others ideas, and reflect on their own understanding. These three elements of social interaction are a huge part of the learning process. Social interaction displays the constructivist theory by allowing students to develop their own understanding through the information they obtain by others as well as their personal reflection. It isn't a teacher giving them the information, it is them and other students putting information together and developing their own knowledge.

I use a lot of social interaction in the classroom. In almost every activity that I have in the classroom, students are working with at least one other student. That way they are always communicating with other students and developing ideas together. This year I would like to incorporate more technology into my theory of social interaction. My goal is to set up topics that students can blog with each other about. In math it will be a little bit harder to develop good topics where students can communicate by blog. Some ideas I have can up with is topics that involve vocabulary or steps in a mathematical process. Vocabulary is very important in math. It isn't that the students can just solve a problem, but they must understand what they are finding and why. Also, when students solve math problems they often have very different thinking processes to solve the same problem. It would be very beneficial for students to share the different thought processes that they go through to give students a different perspective.

I feel that social interaction is a very important part of the learning process. I try to use communicate in the classroom as much as possible.

Social Interaction through Voice Threads

Voice Threads and Social Interaction
A voice thread is a way to communicate your ideas and understandings of information to others. I view voice threads as a way to reflect on your knowledge. As you reflect, others can provide their own ideas and together you can build a better understanding of the information. Reflection is important in any educational process. It is not the activity that you do that allows you to develop your own thinking, but it is the reflecting of that activity where you are able to truly expand you knowledge. When reflection occurs through social interaction, more ideas are being developed and therefore your understanding increases. The voice thread allows for students to provide their own feedback to certain information and then discusses their understanding with others. It is a way to communicate your thoughts in a more technological way.

VoiceThread

This is a link to my voicethread over student attendance.

Constructivist Learning Theory and Project-Based Learning

Constructivist Learning Theory and Project-Based Learning
Project-Based Learning is a way for teachers to organize a lesson. It allows teachers to identify the learning goals of the lesson, the way students will be assessed over those goals, etc… I interpret Project-Based Learning as a way for teachers to construct lessons that ensure students will have the maximum learning opportunity.

The Constructivist Learning Theory is the idea that students explore and develop their own understandings. It is a theory centered on students self discovery of information.

The Constructivist Learning Theory and Project-Based Learning would allow for students to discovery their own understandings while ensuring that the students are still meeting the intended learning goals. Project-Based Learning is simply a guide for the teachers and students to follow to ensure the ideal learning is occurring. However, it does not tell the students how to -think. Project-Based Learning still allows the idea of constructivist learning. Students will follow the guide, but develop their own understanding of the information being obtained. It allows for creativity and self discovery while guiding students in the right direction. I personally, feel that these two learning styles can complement each other very nicely to ensure that students are both learning the intended information, but developing and interpreting the information in their own way.

Instructional Strategies and Cognitive Learning Theory

The Cognitive Learning Theory focuses "on learning as mental operation that takes place when information enters through the senses, undergoes mental manipulation, is stored, and is finally used" (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2008, pg. 16). It is the idea that learning is only if you are able to remember the information, make connections between information, and use the information in a higher level of thinking. In the book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, the author refers to cues, questions, and advanced organizers that can be used to help support the cognitive theory of learning. The cues are used as a way to remind students of information or prepare them for the information they are about to learn. The questioning allows students to recall the prior knowledge needed to enhance the current information being obtained. Lastly, the advance organizer is a technique used prior to an activity to help students organize their thinking to allow room for the information to be learned. All of these strategies are used to prior to a lesson to help students prepare for the information being taught in hopes of allowing them to better recall the information, as well as more effectively impact their prior knowledge and ability to make connections. These strategies are tools in the cognitive learning theory.

Technology can also support the cognitive learning theory. When you prepare students for an activity using the strategies, such as cues, questioning, and advanced organizers, have the students use the computer for these activities. Some programs that you might use is word processor, excel, or specific organizing software programs. These programs will not only be more interesting to the students, but it will also have more of an impact of their ability to recall the information.

The Cognitive learning theory is only affective when you have prepared students for the information being taught, made an impact on them while teaching, and allowed them to make connections to the information they already know. Technology is a great way to support and provide an effective learning experience.

Resources

Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2008). Teaching and learning with technology (3rd ed. pp. 2–35). Boston: Pearson.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Behaviorist Theory in the Classroom

The behaviorist learning theory is centered around positive and negative reinforcement. It is a way for teachers to encourage positive behavior in the classroom and stop the negative behavior. By promoting positive behavior the teacher is encouraging students to work to the best of their ability. It shows the students that hard work is what makes them successful students.

It is important in today's society to use technology in the classroom. Technology can play an important role in the behaviorist theory. Our district currently has many technology programs to encourage positive reinforcement through technology. We have reading programs that test students reading rate and comprehension without penalty. The students read passages on the computer and then answer questions. Throughout the year the students can monitor their improvement in reading. It allows the students to see that as long as they try their best and improve each time, then they are succeeding. We also have a math program that we use where the students can earn blue ribbons when they pass a math concept. The computer program does not penalize the student if they do not pass the first time, instead they can then work for a white ribbon. It is also a program that supports effort and does not penalize them for not passing the first time. If they work hard they can eventually pass. These types of programs are supporting positive reinforcement. The students are able to see how they are improving, earn ribbons or better rankings as they work hard, and they aren't not being punished if they miss a question. They only feel good about themselves when they earn their ribbon. I have never seen students so happy with themselves for doing well on an assignment like I do when they use this technology program. They will do this program at home even if it's not assigned and tell me about how many ribbons they earned the next day. Technology is a great way to positively reinforce the effort that students put into their work.

Experiences with Technology

In the past eight weeks, I have used many forms of technology that I have never used before. I created a podcast, started a blog, and formed a wiki. All three of these technology experiences were new for me. Before this Master's class, I never even knew what most of these things were or how they worked. This class gave me a chance to go outside my comfort zone and experiment with different forms of technology and how they can benefit the students in my classroom. Any experience students can get with technology will help them in the future, so finding ways to incorporate technology into the class to crucial for the learning environment. This class has taught me ways to incorporate these new types of technology. I can use blogging to form communication among students and even parents about the vocabulary in the classroom and discussions about the math content I teach. The Podcast is a new and interesting way for students to convey their research of certain content subjects and the wiki is a easy way for students to stay informed of new posting of their content blogs. This experience has showed me how important it is for myself, as a teacher, to stay up to date of the new technology. I plan to do this by taking professional development classes, reading technology books, and following blogs about technology. By staying aware of the new technology, I will be able to be a more effective teacher by providing the students with the experiences inside the classroom that will prepare them for the world beyond the classroom.
I learned a lot from this Master's class. Two ways I want to incorporate the technology I used during my Master's class is by setting up a classroom blog and finding more ways to use computers in the classroom. I feel that by setting up a classroom blog, students will be able to communicate their logical thinking. So often we do not have the time to learn certain concepts and have the class discussions that I believe are an important part of the learning process. By creating a classroom blog, students will be able to discuss our classroom concepts both at school, but also at home after they have been able to process their thinking. The other way I would like to change my classroom routine is by using computers more. I do not have many math lessons that involve using the computer. I would like to come up with at least one computer lesson a topic. That way students will be able to see how technology and math interact with each other.
These are two goals that I have to incorporate technology into the learning environment.

Technology Podcast

Exploring 21st Century Skills

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills website is a collaboration of different organizations joined together to promote the teaching of the 21st Century skills, that will help children to be successful in the work place. As an educator, I was surprised to see all the different organizations that are joined together to promote the interest of teaching students the skills for future success. The organizations that take part in this idea range from educators, to technology businesses, to major business corporations. The programs goal is to teach children communication skills, thinking and problem solving, accountability, etc... Together the program plans to work together to better prepare students for their futures in the work environment.

I think this website is a great idea. I love how very different organizations are working together to help the our children for the work place. It is important that business inform schools of what skills children need when the enter the work force. When they communicate with the schools and other programs, schools will better understand what they are doing right and what they need to fix. Communication is a crucial element for student success.

One thing that surprised me about the website was how many states have already joined the idea of changing standards to meet the needs of the 21st Century Skills. I was unaware of the terminology 21st Century Skills, although I believe they are skills most states have already been incorporating into the educational classroom.

I feel that 21st Century Skills are great ideas, but one thing that I don't agree with is that learning environment means within the schools. I do not believe that way. I feel that real life is a huge learning environment, but unfortunately schools lack the resources to provides the learning experiences outside of the classroom due to time and funding. It isn't that schools are not open or agreeing with the 21st Century Skills, but it is that they do not have the time or money to provide those experiences. I personally would love to take my students out of the classroom to real life experiences, but I have trouble managing that with my schedule and funding. Those experiences could be possible, but schools can not do it on our own. We need the help of business, which is why I am happy to see business part of this 21st Century Skills program.

Blogging in the Classroom

I am currently a fifth grade math teacher and I have personally never considered blogging in the classroom. I always felt that blogging about math would not be easier. However, after brainstorming ideas about how I could use blogging to enhance learning, I realized that it would be easier than I thought. I thought about things that I do in the classroom right now that I could do with blogging as well. One thing that I came up with that I feel would work the best for math is using blogging as a type of think tank. Think tanks are when the teacher poses a topic and the student are to write about everything they know about the topic and what they would like to learn. I would use blogs to introduce the topic and have the students use it as their think tank. Students could pose questions about the topic and other student could answer their questions. It is a great way for students to learn from each other and it also gives students the opportunity to use technology in the classroom. I also feel that blogs would allow the students that are afraid of sharing their knowledge in class to share without feeling self-conscious about speaking in front of their peers. I would use the blog as a way to boost students' confidence in themselves as well as enhance learning.

Not only are blogs a good way for students to discuss topics and teach each other, but it also serves as a great pre-assessment and post assessment for the teacher. When the topic is introduced and students are to write what they know about the topic, the teacher will be able to see what concepts about the topic need to be taught and what concepts about the topic students already understand.

Blogging is a great way to incorporate technology into the classroom, communicate with others about certain topics, and for students to learn from each other. I have never used blogging in the classroom, but I hope that I can sometime soon.

Technology

I have never realized how much technology I use in the classroom. On a daily basis, I use the smart board, the overhead projector, the copier, and my computer. Not only do I use these things every day, but they are a huge part of my educational teaching. My computer is used to communicate with colleagues, parents, and the other teachers on my team. I also use the computer for attendance purposes and grades. We have a program called Progress book where parents and students can check their grades daily. It is a great way for parents to stay informed of their child's academic progress. The smart board is another great piece of technology. However, right now I am having trouble managing it effectively in my small classroom. When I can manage the smart board I use it to pull up resources for the students, display classwork and homework, go over instruction, and so forth. It is a time effective way to address the needs of my visual learners. Another form of technology that people often forget about is the copier. The copier is crucial for my students. We often do not have the resources to provide every student with a book, but we do have the copier, so we can make class sets. This allows the students to have their own resources. The last form of technology that I use, is the projector. The projector allows me to display the homework with the answers already provided. It is very easy and time effective. I know that technology has not always been around, but for me it would be hard to teach without it.