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Technology Permeates Common Core Standards
- they also emphasize technology as a way to learn knowledge and skills in these areas.
- Basic technology skills will allow students to succeed in college and careers,
- The standards include basic technology skills such as keyboarding that students must know to succeed, but in the bigger picture, they call for students to use technology to help them learn instead of just having technology, he said.
- “Whether it be with using tools to solve math problems or using manipulatives in the writing process, we think technology is part of the solution," Minnich said, "and it needs to be viewed that way rather than a crutch that students rely on.”
- The College and Career Readiness standards that anchor the K-12 standards call for students to learn skills through technology and multimedia.
- Mathematically proficient students should know which tools help them perform different tasks, according to the standards.
- Those tools include pencil and paper, concrete models, rulers, protractors, calculators, spreadsheets, computer algebra systems, statistical packages, and dynamic geometry software. When making math models, for example, tech tools help students visualize the results of varying assumptions, explore consequences and compare predictions with data.
- the standards call for students to use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing, as well as to interact and collaborate with others.
- These standards don't cover everything that students need to know about technology because, after all, they are written for math and English, Minnich said. But within those two subjects, technology is in the right place in the standards documents: mixed in with other subjects.
- If we don’t use technology to get students to these standards, we’re missing a huge opportunity."
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Exactly What The Common Core Standards Say About Technology
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Publishing requires deep consideration of audience, purpose, structure, text features, and format. Whether text blogging via WordPress, photo blogging via tumblr or Instagram, or video blogging through vimeo or YouTube, the demand for students to actually publish their writing is a significant leap.
Collaboration forces students to plan, adopt, adapt, rethink, and revise, all higher-level practices. Whether through apps, social media platforms, or in person, collaboration is not new for most K-12 learners in modern settings. But collaborating in pursuit of publishing and sharing thinking online is.
Evaluation is near the top of Bloom’s taxonomy for a reason, necessitating that students make critical judgment calls about how information is presented and shared. In many ways, this standard represents the most important—and perhaps least-understood—of the new Common Core ELA standards, asking learners not just to prefer facebook to twitter, but to deeply evaluate the pros and cons of each for different purposes. Powerful!
Integration is a matter of design, and produces considerable cognitive load on a learner. And in light of APIs, social media, and an array of smart mobile devices, is a kind of digital strategy. When the standard says “digital media,” obviously that’s a matter of technology. It’s dated and vague and limited, but it’s technology nonetheless.
In fact, integration is among the strengths of digital media, being able to bring together modalities of light, sound, color, and motion to create games, movies, presentations, apps, and more
- No longer must progressive educators defend the reasoning behind twitter, YouTube, iPads, or blogging in their classroom.
- This should also mean better resources for all teachers in the future. Digital “stuff” is easier to share than yellowing worksheets in an old file cabinet. As more learning becomes digital, sharing should increase as a result.
- he Common Core standards don’t just suggest novel technology use as a way to “engage students,” but rather requires learners to make complex decisions about how, when, and why to use technology–something educators must do as well. In the past, tech use—whether limited or gratuitous—has been more a matter of preference or available resources than a must-do requirement
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Sunday, November 2, 2014
Technology Teacher 11/03/2014
Sunday, October 26, 2014
Technology Teacher 10/27/2014
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-They help teachers personalize learning and embed one-to-one computing, and they can extend students’ learning experiences outside of school. The increasing affordability of these products helps bridge the digital divide, and their portability, processing power and storage capacity make them useful and convenient tools for teachers and students alike. -Used together, interactive whiteboards and personal devices can define the public and private learning spaces of the classroom, facilitate transitions between whole-class, individual and small-group learning, and encourage student participation and interaction. - They help teachers personalize learning and embed one-to-one computing, and they can extend students’ learning experiences outside of school. The increasing affordability of these products helps bridge the digital divide, and their portability, processing power and storage capacity make them useful and convenient tools for teachers and students alike. -Interactive whiteboards have many advantages for students and teachers. Highly visual and engaging for today’s tech-savvy students, interactive whiteboards create a focal point for whole-class learning. -“interactive whiteboards provide a shared pedagogical space where teachers and pupils can interact with curriculum content and one another. Not only does it focus the individual pupils on the learning resource but it also provides a communal image and space and encourages socially supported learning” -On the other hand, students “exhibited higher participation ratios in the environment with shared displays. Moreover, students easily viewed and compared the answers of all their partners on a shared display . . . . Therefore, in the environment involving shared displays, students demonstrated more equal participation rates than those in environments with only Tablet PCs and networks” - “Handheld devices facilitate coordination and provide mobility for a new scenario of collaborative learning. Large shared displays create a workspace for student groups to cooperate and work on complex tasks” -Used together, interactive whiteboards and personal computing devices can enhance the classroom by defining public, semi-public and personal work space. - With classroom management software, teachers can view thumbnails of student screens and instantly broadcast any student’s screen to the interactive whiteboard – methods, Graetz argues, that motivate students to use their laptops for academic purposes. -The greatest benefit of using personal computing devices and interactive whiteboards together is that of improved collaboration -For one-to-one computing and self-directed and small-group learning, it is hard to think of a better option than personal computing devices. But classrooms still need a central site for sharing, evaluating and discussing ideas and information. -With handheld and laptop computers defining personal learning space and interactive whiteboards defining public learning space within the classroom, students and teachers have the best of both worlds.
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- Interactive whiteboards are designed to engage a wide variety of students in the learning process. They evolved from constructivist pedagogy and support each of the three principles of universal design for learning - The product provides teachers with multiple ways to represent information using interactive text, images, sound and video files, and thus engage a broad range of learners. Students can use the same features of the product to demonstrate their understanding of a topic -One of the key strengths of interactive whiteboards are their ability to simplify and speed the process of sharing information using a variety of media formats, either as planned or spontaneous elements of a lesson -Many teachers today effectively use interactive whiteboards to appeal to multiple senses and learning styles within the same lesson. They can turn anatomy lessons, grammar activities, geography – even dissections – into engaging virtual, yet tactile and interactive, experiences for every student, which has tremendous potential for differentiated learning. -Visually challenged Educators can use interactive whiteboards to adapt material for students with visual challenges in a variety of ways. For example, they can resize text and graphics, and adjust brightness or contrast controls as needed. -Educators who use interactive whiteboards find that not only is the technology a helpful teaching tool, but it can also maximize collaboration and facilitate clear communication in meetings with the special education team - The following points outline several important features for consideration: 1. Is the interactive whiteboard you are considering truly easy to learn and use? Look online for objective reviews and ask educators who use the product to evaluate its ease of use. Test the board yourself to find out how intuitive it really is. 2. Do you need a pen-only board or one that accepts input from fingers, pen tools and other devices? Having the flexibility to shift from pen tools to fingers or other devices can be important in meeting the technology needs of diverse student populations. 3. Can the software license be used in multiple instructional arrangements and environments without additional fees? 4. Is the product designed for accessibility? Does it have toolbars that can be moved around the screen to make them easy to reach? Will you need a wireless slate to interact with the content from anywhere in the classroom? Do you require a height-adjustable stand so you can raise or lower the screen? 5. What kinds of training programs are available and how flexible they are in meeting the needs of your staff? Effective and accessible training is the key to empowering teachers with new technology. Check with others who have taken all or some of the programs to see if they found them helpful. 6. Do professional development programs or user communities exist for the product? Are they virtual and local? These resources help teachers get the most out of the product and Creating Classrooms for Everyone: How Interactive Whiteboards Support Universal Design for Learning 11enrich the classroom experience for everyone. Find out how well the programs are used and supported, and if they have been successful in attracting an active community. 7. How well established is the brand? Take advantage of your professional networks and ask around. The more established the brand, the greater the potential for online communities to share information and advice – this is important for educators looking to expand their skills or to collaborate with geographically dispersed peers and their students. - The opportunity to present information in multiple ways, allow flexible means of expression, and engage learners of the digital age makes it a natural fit with UDL and a vital part of today’s inclusive classrooms.
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-A teacher can create engaging lessons that focus on one task such as a matching activity where students use either their fingers or a pen to match items. Another teacher might integrate multiple items into a lesson plan such as websites, photos, and music that students can interact with, respond to verbally or even write comments on the board itself.- Image size and placement can change with a simple touch to the screen. This technology makes the one-computer classroom a workable instructional model. Imagine taking a class on a photo safari to Africa complete with embedded videos, animal sounds and mapping software.-Research has repeatedly demonstrated that students learn better when they are fully engaged and that multisensory, hands-on learning is the best way to engage them. -Classroom applications for using interactive whiteboards include:Multimedia lessons and presentations including audio and videoCollaborative problem solvingShowcasing student projects and presentationsVirtual field tripsRecorded lessons that can be used by substitute teachersDocumentation of student achievement-Interactive white boards provide an extraordinary opportunity to create classroom environments where students with different learning styles can engage and learn from each other. This easy-to-learn technology ensures that both students and teachers are developing 21st century skills.
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Technology Teacher 10/22/2014
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dfeintion of bullying - Google Search
- use superior strength or influence to intimidate (someone), typically to force him or her to do what one wants.
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Creating a Culture of Collaboration Through Technology Integration | always learning
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Creating a Culture of Collaboration Through Technology Integration | always learning
- technology has moved out of the computer lab and into the classroom as a more fundamental tool for demonstrating student creativity and understanding.
- Bringing together the pedagogical expertise of the classroom teacher and the technological understanding of the coach not only provides consistent embedded professional development, but also makes the most of the extensive resources most international schools have to offer in a way that effectively meets the needs of today’s students.
- Why Collaborate?
- most important (and most obvious) reason for the facilitator and teacher to collaborate is to improve student learning
- Collaboration allows the two teachers to combine strengths, share responsibilities, and learn from each other, bringing the best of both their experiences together to create an improved student learning environment
- Other advantages of co-planning include the sparks of innovation that begin to fly when more than one teacher contributes their perspective to a unit or lesson, and the opportunity this allows to customize the pedagogical and technology experiences for that particular class or grade level.
- collaboration encourages the breakdown of classroom walls – whether at the grade level, division, school, or the global level – through the use of new forms of communication which creates closer ties with the school community, through the development of authentic audiences on a global scale, and through the connections made possible with technology.
- There is not one solution for all schools and all teachers that works all of the time.
- think of collaboration as a cycle that teachers enter and exit based on their individual needs.
- teacher’s responsibilities
- Full Collaboration
- work together as full partners, co-planning, co-teaching, and co-assessing to develop an authentic, technology-rich learning experience for the students. This level of collaboration doesn’t necessarily indicate that a teacher is a novice with technology in general, but rather that they would benefit from the partnership of another colleague throughout the process of planning, teaching and assessing.
- Full collaboration continues as long as the teacher and facilitator feel the support is necessary.
- Partial Collaboration:
- the teacher is feeling more confident with the tools being used in the classroom and requests assistance when necessary.
- great way to build teacher confidence,
- also modeling effective use of technology in the classroom
- useful when the teacher is comfortable with most aspects of a certain technology tool or unit of inquiry, but needs specific help in certain areas
- Coaching:
- takes more of a “backstage” approach, supporting the teacher mostly outside of class time on co-planning or brainstorming ideas for projects or lessons.
- Coaching works well when the classroom teacher feels confident about what they’re doing but appreciates some collaborative brainstorming or problem solving.
- Mentoring:
- he teacher is almost entirely independent in their own classroom, and working towards helping other teachers effectively utilize technology in their classrooms.
- create a sustainable model for professional development, because now the facilitator is not the only source of educational technology support within the school.
- Who Does What?
- first, the role of the technology facilitator is always changing as the technology changes; second, teachers and administrators often have a preconceived notion of what the “tech person” does which doesn’t match the reality; and third, for teachers to even want to work with a facilitator, they need to know what they can expect.
- Teacher:
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- knows, understands and shares the learning goals (standards) of a specific unit with the facilitator
- understands the year-long and subject-specific curriculum
- is the teaching expert
- is knowledgeable about the students and the dynamics of the classroom
- assesses the learning of the students
- designs the classroom infrastructure
- determines the level of privacy required for the specific learning experience
- documents the learning for both the students and the parents
- shares the results of the collaboration with the team
- Facilitator:
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- is an idea generator, developing creative ways to meet the articulated learning goals through the use of technology
- understands the needs of today’s learner
- is an educational technology expert and can articulate the school’s technology standards
- is knowledgeable about technology tools and how they work in a classroom environment
- models the effective use of technology in the classroom (including troubleshooting and staying confident under pressure)
- designs virtual learning spaces (including testing the tools needed, creating accounts, and preparing permission slips)
- is the audience matchmaker, connecting classrooms based on learning goals
- is the technology cheerleader for the school and tirelessly promotes technology in all areas
- teacher and the facilitator
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- learning facilitators
- metacognition catalysts
- celebrators of learning
- Too often the discussions about technology in schools are driven by finances and the technology itself.
- collaborative approach to technology integration
- not focused on hardware, but rather on teaching and learning.
- it is recommended that the facilitator to student ratio does not go above 1:300.
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Monday, October 20, 2014
Technology Teacher 10/21/2014
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- Complementary Devices
- we feel the devices when used together are complementary – while the iPad is good for mobile and interactive learning, the laptops is great for heavy duty typing and multimedia creation.
- teachers and parents already have this experience with our laptops and our phones, but, not every student has a smart phone at YIS (yet!).
- students using both devices
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- recording on the iPad (prioritizing mobility and appropriate locations) and editing on the laptop
- using the iPad as a second screen – editing a script on the laptop while the prezi is open on the iPad, for example
- using the iPad for handwriting input (like kanji) and then bringing it to the laptop to include in other elements
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- “We were able to do two things at once like reading off a script on the iPad and recording on the computer.”
- “I think that the highlight was being able to have two things at once so that you can research and type out. It also makes it easier for you to read books. Also when doing a speech, speaker notes were easier rather than paper.”
- “Using an iPad helped me do things easier and quicker than I could have done them on my laptop. But also, since they are complementary devices, they were both good to use. Using our iPad instead of computers in some occasions made our projects in class more fun and efficient.”
- “One of the best parts of having both the iPad and my laptop with me was that I could watch videos or record for school, at the same time that I record or read information from my laptop. I also found it much more convenient to record on the iPad then struggle using the Photo Booth Application on the laptop.”
This concept came up in the student feedback as well:
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- audio voiceovers for movies
- capturing still images and video as needed for a variety of tasks
- the use of apps like Photobabble for voice over image recording
we saw tons of multimedia recording including:
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- “It was effective for my daughter to quickly research some materials on the internet. My daughter preferred using her PC for her homework and other works. She tried to utilize using her iPad on the train while commuting.”
On the parent survey, they also highlighted this advantage:
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- downloading very specific apps for subject-based projects – for example a decibel calculator for the science fair
- presenting work in different formats, selected by the student
- finding new and unique ways to do things that we anticipated would be done using our Top 10 Apps
- absolutely seamless ways to share their learning with others – both within the class and beyond
- “The best parts of having an iPad was the choice of which apps to use for assessments and the ability to present in different ways than usual.” (student)
- “It seems a bit ineffective since opening and working with the different apps and technology takes a bit more time compared to working from a book or direct instruction but it makes the learning more fun so that gains a whole lot. The students were motivated to work with the iPads and making videos, recording and sharing in a quick way was effective and fun.” (teacher)
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- “I think it was a great experience for my daughter and a definitely useful tool for her learning. We’re thankful to be a part of this initial trial and we hope for its launch in the near future.” (parent)
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- using Coaches Eye to track and improve physical performance in PE
- transitioning from handwritten complex equations to typed in math
- highlighting and labeling experiments in Explain Everything in science
trial really supported those kinds of kinesthetic interactions, like:
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Managing time & distractions: As the surveys highlighted, students are well prepared to focus on learning during school time, but struggle to manage this challenge at home. Focusing on this element during our iPad Institute and in each class, as well as further supporting parents, will be a key element of our program for next year.
Complimentary Devices: Having the iPads for only three weeks this semester made it more challenging to try to use each device in the most effective way. Next year we can highlight the different ways to make the most out of both devices, without feeling pressure to try everything in a limited timeframe. Getting to know a new tool always takes time, which we will have over the course of the next school year.
Balance: As always, we will continue to work towards helping students (and teachers, and parents!) find balance in their use of screen time. Over the course of the year next year we can continue to reflect on this process and see which strategies and approaches work best for all stakeholders.
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“Cyberbullying is different from face-to-face bullying because the bully is removed from the immediate and tangible feedback of the victim. They don't "see" the harm they have caused or the consequences of their actions, which minimizes any feelings of remorse or empathy. This creates a situation where kids do and say things on the Internet that they would be much less likely to do in person.”
– The MindOH! Foundation
- everything you type into a screen gets recorded electronically. You are leaving cyber foot prints all over the place when you get on-line
- but once you send something to someone else, you can never be absolutely sure it will never be read by some unintended audience at some point in time.
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- Ask them to take you places they frequently visit and show you what they do. Three types of sites children commonly utilize are:
- Instant messaging / texting
- Social networking sites
- Video Posting
- Open up your own accounts where they have accounts. Have your child guide you through the process
- If your child is under 13, you do have the option to have these accounts deleted since most of these services have an age and/or parental consent requirement.
- Have them share with you all their user account names and passwords. If this is creating a trust issue, perhaps a good compromise is to have your child write down all the user account names and passwords on a sheet of paper and place this in a sealed envelope to only be opened by the parent in case of an emergency.
- Make certain they have never and will never share their passwords with anyone, even a friend. Explain the risk of someone impersonating them and ruining their reputation.
- Have them show you what they have in their profiles/pages. How do they describe themselves? Is it all accurate and appropriate? Does it show too much detail about your child? Are they protecting and sustaining a positive reputation?
- Scrutinize their friend lists on these accounts. It is very important to recognize the identity of each person. If they don't know the real name of an on-line friend, then consider that person a stranger. Request they delete and block that person.
- Ask your child if they have ever been ridiculed, intimidated and/or humiliated on the Internet (cyber bullied). Encourage them to come to you for support if they are being bullied. Both of you should learn how to use the print screen option to save evidence of the cyber bullying.
- Ask whether they have bullied anyone. It’s important for them to appreciate how much emotional pain can be inflicted by unkind words or images, and that the reach of the Internet makes it far more destructive. Use Ryan’s story to make the point.
- Also explain that this is a particularly difficult emotional period for many children and what may seem to be harmless teasing, can be devastating to the person being teased.
- Share with them that the Internet is a public forum so anything can be shared with other people without their knowledge or consent. They should be very discreet in what they say and do on-line. They need to always be vigilant in protecting their reputations. Things said and done on the internet can come back to bite them many years later.
- Have a very pointed conversation about “sexting”, the risky practice of sending sexually explicit photos and/or messages which can easily be forwarded on to others and damage their reputation.
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- Establish your own family policy for acceptable computer use. List what may or may not be allowed including clear rules about time limits.
- Be upfront with your child, that this policy will be enforced and monitored. Try to set a policy that respects your child’s privacy while also considering their age, maturity level and inclination towards risky behavior.
- Purchase monitoring / time control software to help enforce your family's policy.
- Search “parental control software reviews” to find the latest products, features, and reviews.
- Do not allow a computer to be in a child's bedroom. Keep it in a public area such as the kitchen or den.
Establish clear and enforceable guidelines:
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- Does a middle school child or younger possess the maturity, judgment, and social skills to use instant/text messaging and social websites responsibly? Do their peers?
- Does your child really need a cell phone, specifically a "smart phone"? Are they mature enough to handle these options responsibly? Perhaps you should start them off with a basic "flip" phone.
- When does too much technology begin to hurt a child? You need to find the right balance with other activities.
- Is it healthy for them to come home and plug right back into their social network versus having some quiet, reflective and regenerative time with their family?
How much technology and access does your child really need?
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Dateline: My Kid Would Never Bully, Part 6
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- why addressing the bullying is importantHavent told her mother things are still happening. Things are getting worse. say what you dont like and what you want from the bully
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Dateline: My Kid Would Never Bully, Part 5
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- overweight girls twice as likely to be bulliedbullies love an audienceharder to come to the aide to larger women. teaching kids to speak up is most important. Kindness doesn't work
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Dateline: My Kid Would Never Bully, Part 4
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- bullying in front of coachadults look the other way, ignore things being said. Set the tone for bullyingadults need to set up hear words so mush they become desensitiestrying is what it is all about.
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Dateline: My Kid Would Never Bully, Part 3
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- teenage boys bully by making target weak using gay slang even if they are not. get the bystanders on your side. bully stops around adults
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Dateline: My Kid Would Never Bully, Part 2
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- one bystander steps up, the rest follow. Bystanders need to stick together. First bystander is the hardest.bystander gets pulled in to bullying. confronting bullies takes practice
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Dateline NBC: News stories about crime, celebrity and health
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- What could happen the next day - afraid to go to school1-3 middle high school kids are bulliedbystanders are the most critical to stopping bullyinggirls bully by going after appearancewhy would people pick on me, makes me doubt my self
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-Often the Technology Integrator may need to become the coach and collaborate with a teacher-bullying has never been an accepted rite of passage, it is often considered something that does happen to most students at one point or another during their K-12 experience.-With Information and Communication Technology (ICT) readily available—literally in the palm of one’s hand—it has now taken on an entirely different look, and the effects on students can be devastating-With verbal bullying, the victim may hear bullying words echoing in their heads; with cyberbullying, the rules have changed and the victim can often re-read a text message or comments in a chat room over and over. Many can recall a time when they received a message (whether by email, text, or other digital form) that was degrading in one way or another.-his can cause severe issues and disrupt learning, as sitting in a classroom where others have made it clear that one is not welcome does not create a safe learning environment.
Monday, October 6, 2014
Technology Teacher 10/07/2014
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- collaborative Web-based technologies such as wikis and blogs offer attractive possibilities for dealing with project-based work and team communication tasks.
- nterdisciplinary collaboration is an important element of modern game design.
- Students enjoy working together to problem solve, and simple technologies such as wiki pages allow students in online environments to collaborate.
- games offer cooperative modes and team play
- specifically on analyzing video games as texts to be "read" from a variety of critical frameworks, the same type of collaborative glossary could be used for any discipline in which the learning of jargon or specialized vocabulary is important.
- video game sales accounted for $9.5 billion in revenue, were played by 65 percent of Americans, and were noted to be a positive part of children's lives by 63 percent of parents (Entertainment Software Association, 2008).
- The ESA additionally notes that the average game player is 35 years old and has played video games for 13 years, 40 percent of gamers are women, and 26 percent of Americans over the age of 50 played games in 2008.
- why are we not teaching more with video games and video game technologies? Certainly, other popular non-print media such as film, television, and the Internet are in widespread use in various capacities.
- Important questions here relate to practices of integrating gameplay and pedagogy
- practices include tasks such as building lessons around moments of gameplay, understanding how decision points can represent learning moments for students in appropriately selected games, choosing an appropriate degree of graphical or scientific fidelity, anticipating negative or positive learning opportunities, reacting to and addressing misconceptions about games, building community in virtual worlds, and establishing one's own best practices for a particular course.
- video games are semiotic domains that are familiar to many college students and that provide them with opportunities to experiment and learn in ways unique to virtual environments.
- in video games, players are encouraged to take risks that they would not take in the real world, because the consequences of their actions are less severe.
- What better way to encourage students to think outside the familiar than by allowing them to do so in an engaging, but still safe, environment?
- In Digital Game-Based Learning, Prensky (2001) conceptualizes digital learning games as "any marriage of educational content and computer games" (p. 145).
- he means that human processes are represented using computer processes, an ability that can be observed in the ongoing interactions of a particular game program, e.g., moving an avatar around in a virtual world is a continuous interactive process, whereas reading about a character walking around is mediated by language, not process.
- note that many of the characteristics of games; including competition and goals, rules, challenge, choice, and fantasy; can be leveraged for a variety of instructional methods
- In the following section, ten practices that online instructors can use to incorporate the many positive elements of gaming are articulated
- it is not impossible to use games as useful teaching tools, even in online environments. The critical idea is to use only aspects of video games, narrow and focused activities or examples, in order to engage and stimulate the interests of students.
- Guideline One: Take Advantage of Existing Resources
- Using existing resources developed by instructional pioneers allows one to spend more time on what is most important to one's class: working on curriculum and fine-tuning course content to better meet pedagogical goals.
- A search query on the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT, 2008) using the query "video games" returns a listing of 29 learning objects.
- Guideline Two: Ask Students to Produce, Not Just Consume, Materials
- Even if the game is never fully articulated, the process of carefully thinking about the learning objectives, the gameplay mechanics, and the background story can be a rewarding experience in and of itself.
- For instance, students could be directed to use a discussion forum posting to describe how they would create realistic environments for an historical role playing game.
- Three: Avoid Being Overly Prescriptive
- uideline
- opportunities for discovery afforded by game-based environments.
- ses the concept of inquiry-centered teaching to explain the idea of working with a class toward the understanding and explanation of a concept or problem
- all class materials become part of an investigation to understand the course content as a community of learners
- While a certain degree of flexibility is important and necessary, a careful plan and a set of rules are also necessary to build a sound educational experience around gaming technologies.
- While rules often connote discipline, control, and unpleasantness in the real world, in the simulated world of gaming, rules create that ever important sense of competition and challenge that makes gameplay fun
- Guideline Four: Be Aware of Non-Electronic or Non-Media-Intense Games
- Guideline Five: Stay Focused on Learning, not Technology
- his occurs when the media are used too frequently or without a clear relation to stated course learning objectives
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two questions whenever including a game component in an online course:
* Does this assignment lead students towards mastery, or at least better understanding, of one or more learning objectives in this course?
* Is there a way to assess this assignment to determine whether or not it was successful?
- Civilization Online. Students would be directed to play this game about civilization building with the aim of generating some enthusiasm for the subject or revealing the interdisciplinary connections
- Does this Jeopardy(TM) game really test students on their declarative knowledge about rhetorical tradition, or is its inclusion more superficial? Will playing World of Goo(TM) (see Guideline Eight) really make students understand engineering principles, or are there faulty logics being followed?
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A general process for considering games for a particular course needs to be based around the course's learning objectives. This process can be articulated in a series of steps:
* Step One: Identify why you think you need an interactive activity in your classroom. Will this add value to the students' learning?
* Step Two: Identify the learning goals of that activity.
* Step Three: Identify games that might meet these learning goals.
* Step Four: Play or review games to see which ones come closest to your criteria.
* Step Five: Incorporate the game on a trail basis.
* Step Six: Gather student feedback on use of the game.
* Step Seven: Use assessment tools and a debriefing activity to measure if the game helped improve learning. This step is further explained in Guideline Six below.
- Guideline Six: Provide a Critical Lead-up and Debriefing to Game Activities
- in the end, deem the gameplay experience as "filler" or even as an instructor's attempt to pander to their likes and desires.
- One way to facilitate this is to establish a list of questions about what students should have learned during the gameplay experience. Did playing the game help you to see/understand/consider X any better than before?
- Guideline Seven: Embrace Interdisciplinarity
- Games are unique in that they combine image, art, story, engineering, psychology, and instructional design all together for a specific purpose: to keep the player motivated to keep playing the game.
- might write about the persuasive appeals of the games in regards to logos, ethos, and pathos.
- Guideline Eight: Get Serious With Serious Games
- Guideline Ten: Playtest and Revise Frequently
- The final guideline, playtesting, is a practice used by professional game designers to obtain feedback about their games (Fullerton, 2008).
- Instructional soundness can be measured by assessing how well your students are learning the material, while playfulness might be measured by how much the students are motivated to do so, or by how creative they are in their pursuit of the information.
- y taking advantage of existing resources, instructors can access and use available materials and connect to other scholars with an interest in game technology and curricula
- Similarly, instructors who focus on learning, orient students through a lead up and debriefing of gaming activities, organize interdisciplinary hybrid teams for design projects, and familiarize themselves with the ways to use serious games in their classrooms will find it easier to engage their students over periods of time.
- As instructors around the world continue to use games in online learning environments, and as gaming technologies continue to mature, additional best practices will need to emerge to pave the way for the next generation of online course facilitators.
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- The congressional Office of Technology Assessment has reported that helping teachers "effectively in corporate technology into the teaching and learning process is one of the most important steps the nation can take to make the most of past and continuing investment in educational technology" (U.S. Congress, 1995, p. 8).
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Technology Tools to Get Teachers Started | Edutopia
- This article provides an excellent overview of great technology tools that teachers can use in their classrooms. I recommend this article to anyone looking for ways to incorporate more technology into their daily lessons. - post by coleb8958
- Pick one tool that resonates with what you're already doing in the class,"
- counsels against trying to become proficient in everything at once.
- "Then run with it. Really focus on that one tool for a period of time. When you're ready to expand, that's great. But take baby steps. Use the tool with something that you're already doing."
- ongoing professional development,
- The Web provides abundant opportunities for both self-directed education and more structured training -- great ways to use immersion to become familiar with new technology tools and processes.
- "Web 2.0" refers to the so-called second generation of World Wide Web functionality that emphasizes greater collaboration and interactivity.
- eb 2.0 are social-networking Web sites (Facebook, MySpace, Classroom 2.0), video-sharing and photo-sharing sites featuring the ability to exchange comments built in as a social component (YouTube, Flickr), blogs (edutopia.org blogs, David Warlick's 2 Cents Worth), and wikis (Wikipedia).
- start building a personal-learning network with RSS by subscribing to several RSS feeds.
- TeacherUniverse is another good source for education-related listservs.
- for teachers who are just starting to learn about technology integration to engage with one or more education-centric social-networking sites early on.
- TeachersFirst.com offers a large, regularly updated assortment of very useful classroom-ready materials.
- The microblogging phenomenon called Twitter -- where each entry, known as a tweet, is limited to 140 characters
- tool with powerful potential for teachers.
- "When teachers start to build their own personal network," she says, "and when they have a question -- a just-in-time kind of query -- they can put it out there and immediately get four, five, 10, or 15 responses." And note that most blogs are RSS enabled: Once you subscribe, they'll come to you when they've got something to say.
- EduBloggerWorld, the global network for education bloggers.
- The K12 Online Conference is an especially innovative use of the Web as a gathering place for professional development.
Monday, September 29, 2014
Technology Teacher 09/30/2014
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Use Formative Assessment to Differentiate Instruction | Edutopia
- We have our MAT testing, which is a computerized assessment, and it gives us feedback as far as different literary strengths and mathematical strengths. And it breaks it down for each child to let us know what range they're in and how we can better group them, or how we could better teach them within those groups.
- we sit one on one with the child and we assess their reading abilities. And so you really get a very good educational profile of that student based on all of this data.
- We use a model for teaching called IPAC, which is individualized, personalized, authentic and collaborative learning. It's personalized, in that everybody's showing their learning in a way that is comfortable to them.
- During the research phase of a project, students are placed at various stations in the media center to best accommodate their individual learning styles.
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Ten Tips for Personalized Learning via Technology | Edutopia
- This is the key, differentiation and student engagement. - post by Jackie King
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- Each classroom is equipped with an interactive whiteboard and a Tech Zone of eight Internet-enabled computers. Plus, teachers have access to gadgets including digital cameras, Flip cameras, remote-response clickers, and PDAs.
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1. Deliver Instruction through Multiple Forms of Media
You now have at your fingertips far more than just the old standbys of words and still pictures. Teachers at Forest Lake use computers and whiteboards to access oodles of instructional videos, audio clips, animations, and interactive games, some through software and some available online.
- 2. Gather and Use Immediate Feedback on Students' Understanding
- Why wait days or weeks to deliver and grade a quiz to find out which kids missed important concepts? Teachers here routinely use remote-response systems (clickers), colorful little gadgets that allow each child to enter her answer to a practice question so that the teacher can instantly see who got it right or wrong.
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3. Give Students Options
All students shouldn't be required to show their learning the same way. And digital media open up a host of possibilities beyond the traditional essay, poster, report, or quiz.
- "This way," says Durden, "you don't see the students' disabilities. You see their abilities
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4. Automate Basic-skills Practice
Free up some hours for more creative, fun technology projects (and for yourself!) by using software to do much of the basic-skills practice and assessment that would otherwise take up a lot of time.
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5. Practice Independent Work Skills
Differentiating instruction often means setting up kids to work alone or in groups. And that, we don't need to tell you, can lead to chaos.
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6. Create a Weekly "Must Do" and "May Do" List
Give a classroom of students an array of different, personalized tasks to do, and they'll inevitably finish them at different times.
- weekly list of "must dos" and "may dos," so kids who finish first can always find something to do next.
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7. Pretest Students' Knowledge Before Each Unit
Before starting each unit of study, grade-level teams at Forest Lake brainstorm a way to assess prior knowledge so they can tailor the lessons effectively to each child.
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8. Be Flexible When Plans Go Awry
Computers don't always perform the way you wish or expect, especially if the teacher in command is new to digital technology.
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9. Let Students Drive
If you've got the tech tools, put them in kids' hands. In Lowe's class, students use Flip cameras to film each other doing oral book reports, then critique both the presentation and the videography
- AirLiners
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10. Share the Work of Creating Differentiated Lessons
To ease the burden of planning lessons for students at diverse levels, Forest Lake teachers often divide up this task.
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Tech-Fueled Differentiated Instruction Engages Elementary School Students | Edutopia
- I think many, many years ago students who were in teacher-education programs learned how to kind of teach down the middle and do a little here and a little there. Well, we know that that's not right for children, and there's no such thing as a regular classroom
- We try to go where they are and take them as far as we can.
- Everybody's showing their learning in a way that is comfortable to them. They're learning the subject matter that we assign, but they're expressing it in different ways.
- use the technology and we maximize it, and the only way to do that is to constantly train and to constantly think ahead…
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Assistive Technology to Meet K–12 Needs
- Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 defines assistive technology device as "any item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of a child with a disability" (IDEA, 1997, 20, USC, Ch. 33, Sec. 1401 [25] US).
- Assistive Technology for Vision: Aids students who are blind or have low vision.
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- Eyeglasses
- Large-print books
- Books on tape
- Magnifying glass
- Slate and Braille stylus
- Stencil
- Tape recorder
- Cassettes
- Stereo headphones
- Lighting contrasts
- Adapted paper (e.g., raised surfaces, highlighted lines, various colors, sizes)
- Pen lights
- Calculator with large keys or large display
- Talking calculators
- Self-sticking notes (such as Post-It� notes)
- Highlighters
- Color-blind aides
- Braille writer (to take notes, store information, print in various formats)
- Braille translation software (translates inputted text that can be Brailled)
- Braille printer
- Computer with speech output or feedback
- Operating system special-accessibility options (screen enlargement, adjustment of keyboard, sound, display, mouse)
- Closed-circuit television
- Computer-screen magnifiers
- Letter- or word-magnification software
- Glare-reduction screens
- Talking electronic dictionary, thesaurus, spell checker
- Video magnifiers
- Voice-output screen-reading software
- Voice amplification or voice projector
- Screen readers
- Assistive Technology for Communication: Aids students who have difficulty in communicating effectively (i.e., they are unintelligible, have no or very little verbal skills, or have limited language proficiency).
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- Pictures, photographs, objects
- Communication boards
- Communication books
- Eye-gaze or eye-pointing systems
- Simple voice-output devices
- Word cards or word manipulatives
- Word window
- Writing guides
- Voice-output devices with levels
- Voice output with icon sequencing
- Communication software (allows for communication boards and visual displays)
- Augmentative communication devices (visual display, printed or speech output)
- Dedicated augmentative communication system
- Text-to-voice and voice-to-text software
- Talking word processing with writing support
- Word prediction, abbreviation, or expansion options to reduce keystrokes
- Software that allows communication via pictures and symbols
- Head-pointing devices
- Touch screens
- Translating devices: voice language (e.g., English) to output different voice language (e.g., Spanish)
- Electronic and software dictionaries
- Assistive Technology for Access: Aids students who have difficulties in accessing communication, learning tools, or engaging in classroom or home activities.
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- Adapted common tools (e.g., big pencils)
- A roller-ball (or tracker-ball) pointing device with a separate button for clicking
- Adapted handles (e.g., pencil grips)
- Scotch� tape to hold paper in place, Velcro�, slant borders
- Adapted book-page turners or fluffers
- Adapted paper (different sizes)
- Built-up stylus
- T-bar to assist with typing
- Switches
- Head pointers
- Joysticks
- Adapted mouse
- Typewriter
- A mouth stick to press keys on the keyboard
- Foot pedals or hardware switches instead of a mouse to operate a technology device
- Arm support
- Slant board
- Tilt board
- Book holders
- Key guards
- Onscreen keyboards
- Touch-sensitive colored lights
- Voice input or output devices
- Voice-recognition software (turns the spoken word into the typed word)
- Eye-controlled computer-input devices
- Computer-access modification software or hardware
- Touch window
- Portable word processor
- Word-completion utilities
- Adaptive switches (primary mouse)
- Alternative keyboards (e.g., keyboards with easy access, touch keyboards)
- Keyboards with accessibility options to input or encode text
- Assistive Technology for Hearing: Aids students who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
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- Hearing aids
- Signaling devices
- Vibrotactile switch
- Pictures, photographs, objects
- Communication boards
- Assistive listening devices (e.g., amplified phone system)
- Phonic ear
- Headphones (to keep the listener focused, adjust sound, etc.)
- FM amplification systems (e.g., auditory trainer)
- TDD/TTY for phone service
- Closed-captioning television
- Real-time captioning
- CD-based (text)books, electronic books
- Audio-voice amplification device for teachers
- Telecaption decoders
- Vibrotactile systems
- Assistive Technology for Learning and Studying: Aids students with high-incidence disabilities (learning, behavior, or cognitive disabilities) to increase, maintain, or improve their functional capabilities.
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- Highlighting tape
- Post-It notes
- Picture schedule
- Written schedule
- Social stories
- Written or picture-supported directions
- Aids to help find materials (e.g., color tabs)
- Editing devices: correction fluid (such as Liquid Paper� or Wite Out�) correction tape, correction pen, highlight tape
- Sentence windows
- Graphic organizers to visually help in developing and structuring ideas
- Single-word scanners (reading pens) or hand held scanners
- Portable word processors
- Talking word processors
- Hand held computers
- Voice-recognition products
- Software for organizing ideas and studying
- Electronic organizers or reminders
- Word-prediction software (assists in spelling and sentence construction)
- Multimedia software for production of ideas (e.g., PowerPoint®)
- Talking electronic device or software to pronounce challenging words
- Graphic organizer software
- Software for concept development, manipulation of objects, math computations
- Portable word processor to keyboard instead of write
- Closed-captioning television
- Text-reading software
- Tactile or voice-output measuring devices
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Big Thinkers: Howard Gardner on Multiple Intelligences | Edutopia
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- first of all people have to see examples of places which are like their own places where the new kind of education really works, where students are learning deeply, where they can exhibit their knowledge publicly, and where everybody who looks at the kids says, "That's the kind of kids I want to have."Second of all, we need to have the individuals who are involved in education, primarily teachers and administrators, believe in this, really want to do it, and get the kind of help that they need in order to be able to switch, so to speak, from a teacher-centered, "Let's stuff it into the kid's mind" kind of education, to one where the preparation is behind the scenes and the child himself or herself is at the center of learning.Third of all, I think we need to have assessment schemes which really convince everybody that this kind of education is working. It does no good to have child-centered learning and then have the same old multiple choice tests which were used 50 or 100 years ago.
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- if their was only one type of intelligences, then we can teach all the same way. This is not the case. Should not pick out one type of mind. present material to a child in a way that they find interesting and it a way that is comfortable to the child. are we reaching every child?we teach way too many subjects and way to much depth. Schools should focus on a few priorities. highlight for kids what they will be accountable from day one. Give them feedback early and often. assessment shouldn't be something that is done to you, it should be something where you are the most active agent. we can't do anything new because it might fail.
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- Adaptive or Assistive Technologies (ATs) are technologies which help bridge the gap between the abilities that a user must possess and the abilities that a user currently has
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- ATs assist differently abled individuals to complete tasks they may not otherwise be able to accomplish.
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- believes that an education that treats everyone the same is only teaching to one type of learner.
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- One of the roles of the technology integrator within the classroom is to assist the teacher in identifying the various strengths of all students and help provide learning opportunities that best fit their needs. The technology integrator may be asked to help students locate alternate methods for assignment completion.
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