CAST eBook

Well I finished my eBook, Yeah!  I think I went a little over board, it is 23 pages long.  I did enjoy working with the eBook builder.  I believe this is a great tool for teachers to use with all kinds of students.  Many students enjoy moving at their own pace.  The eBook allows every child the opportunity to move at the pace they need.  The eBook can give assistance to children who struggle with reading, weather it is a visual problem, language issue, Dyslexia, or ADHD.  The eBook can give these children help with reading the words, vocabulary assistance for word meaning.  The eBook helpers can help reteach or emphasize key points in the book.  This allows the technology to give struggling learners confidence in the task.  The teacher can focus on the content and not how to deliver the information to the wide variety of children with needs in the classroom. 


http://bookbuilder.cast.org/view.php?op=share&book=2810ccf65255df7578b4c841a7a297bf&sid=11787

Week 3 Readings and Videos

This week I really enjoyed the Edutopia.com videos of the digital youth portraits.  Louis used the computer for email, social networking, programming, creating, and household management.  As a student of immigrant parents he helped his family pay bills with the computer.  He also used his computer knowledge to educate younger students with robotics, showing a clear understanding of the task, by teaching it to others.  As I watched this video I wondered how many of my students used computers to help their families.  Many students have such a second sense to computers that their parents may not have.  I wondered how I could tap into my students’ knowledge to help them benefit their families. Louis participated in a program after school called Tech Wizards, which focused on STEM based projects.  Technology is used as a hook for the program.  Lisa Conroy, Director of the Tech Wizards says “In the beginning we just try to motivate, if all things go together as they should, pretty soon we are just trying to get out of the way.”   Isn’t this what all teachers want? Self-motivated students, engaged in their own learning.

I enjoyed reading this week’s selection from Using Technology With Classroom Instruction That Works by Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K.  The chapter focused on the importance of learning objectives, and having students help in creating these objectives.  The chapter gave very practical advice on using different types of technology in the classroom to create or share these learning objectives.  Most of the technologies shared were free or commonplace for an educator to have access.  It made me think about how I could better use these tools in my own classroom.  I was reminded of the KWHL document to help students organize what they know, what they learned, and what they want to know more about.  I could easily incorporate this in my class.  It is great for lessons where we integrate other subject matters with technology. 

I also enjoyed reading the outcomes of several studies on the effects of technology in the classroom in the article, The Impact of Education Technology on Student Achievement by Schacter, J.   This article gave honest results and revealed what worked and did not work.  These reports challenge teachers and technology developers.  Not all kinds of technology work.  Students need technologies that allow them to use higher order thinking skills.  Without these skills incorporated into the lesson students show no improvement in test scores. 

        I have enjoyed the web conferences we participate in with the online classes.  These web conferences allow the instructor to explain assignments, and give upcoming announcements.  Students are given a chance to ask questions to each other and the instructor.  I believe the most valuable part of these web conferences is that it gives students a sense of community.  We no longer fell like lone participants working by ourselves, but a community of learners all working together on a given task.  Participating in these web conferences has given me ideas of how I can incorporate this online community into my classroom.  Students are sharing their work, and getting ideas for their own assignments.   Students are sharing with each other per reviews on how students can improve assignments.  Online communities are important part of classrooms today. 

Ethiopian Bible and the use of Design principals

My first thought was how beautiful the pages were.  The colors were so bright and vivid.  I noticed that the pages were all outlined with “chain” like lines.  These lines on each page show repetition and help with the text.  After listening to the summary I learned that these lines are called, “harag”.  Harag is used in ancient Ethiopian manuscripts each page has a different harag.  The harag mark a contrast for each page.  I also noticed that the red writing in the left column was in proximity with the red letters in the right column.  The shapes drawn in the pictures of mosses coat are all aligned vertically on the coat.  Even hand written the alignment for the text both on the left margin and the right margin are perfect.  Because the writer took so much time focusing on these design principals you know that this book was of great importance.

In week 1 of Teaching with Technology EDLD 5364 we discussed different teaching theories.    The Constructivism theory was the focus of the readings.   Constructivism theorist such as those at the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999) believe “Learners combine experience (action) and thought (reflection) to build meaning.  Both parts must be present to support the creation of new knowledge.”  Constructivism is the model for integrating technology into the teaching and learning process.   I agree that this is a great way to incorporate the technology skills our students already have to new knowledge presented in core classes.  Many teachers are afraid to give up control of the learning in the room to the students.  Constructivist classrooms are more active and noise than traditional classrooms.  Students are not quietly listening to lectures or working on worksheets as those in the traditional classroom.  The Constructivism theory engages our students in more high order thinking and problem solving needed in the rigorous curriculum of the 21 century.   Sprague and Dede (1999) write, “Constructivist teachers encourage student inquiry by asking thoughtful, open-ended questions and encouraging students to ask questions of each other.” 

As I read these articles, I did wonder of how Constructivism with technology could be implemented in my building.  I know that our district puts many demands on our teachers and students to cover the TEKS in a timely manner.    Most teachers have to cover certain material in less than a six-week period when a district test is given to show students mastery over the given TEKS.  According to Sprague and Dede (1999) “For this type of teaching to be successful, teachers need to give students time to explore the material and construct meaning from the experience.”  How can a teacher give students time to explore and cover all the material in a given curriculum?  How can a teacher monitor these explorations and project based learning activities to makes sure each child has received the knowledge needed for the curriculum?

Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, (1999). Learning as a personal event: A brief introduction to constructivism. Retrieved from http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html

Sprague, D. & Dede, C. (1999). If I teach this way, Am I doing my job: Constructivism in the classroom. Leading and Learning, 27(1). Retrieved from the International Society for Technology in Education at http://imet.csus.edu/imet9/280/docs/dede_constructivisim.pdf

SCHOOL VISION: Can student success using Web 2.0 tools in the classroom motivate teachers to integrate more technology in their curriculum? GOAL:  Help teachers create, and present Web 2.0 enriched lesson and compare with traditional teaching methods.  I will show that Web 2.0 tools will raise test scores and in turn motivate teachers to integrate more Web 2.0 tools in their lesson plans.