Technology Teacher 06/11/2014

• Reflective teaching: Exploring our own classroom practice | TeachingEnglish | British Council | BBC

  • However, without more time spent focussing on or discussing what has happened, we may tend to jump to conclusions about why things are happening. We may only notice reactions of the louder students. Reflective teaching therefore implies a more systematic process of collecting, recording and analysing our thoughts and observations, as well as those of our students, and then going on to making changes.
  • You can also ask your students what they think about what goes on in the classroom. Their opinions and perceptions can add a different and valuable perspective. This can be done with simple questionnaires or learning diaries for example.
  • Think
    You may have noticed patterns occurring in your teaching through your observation. You may also have noticed things that you were previously unaware of. You may have been surprised by some of your students' feedback. You may already have ideas for changes to implement.
  • Talk
    Just by talking about what you have discovered - to a supportive colleague or even a friend - you may be able to come up with some ideas for how to do things differently.
  • Read
    You may decide that you need to find out more about a certain area. There are plenty of websites for teachers of English now where you can find useful teaching ideas, or more academic articles.
  • Ask
    Pose questions to websites or magazines to get ideas from other teachers.

  • Reflective teaching is a cyclical process, because once you start to implement changes, then the reflective and evaluative cycle begins again.

    • What are you doing?
    • Why are you doing it?
    • How effective is it?
    • How are the students responding?
    • How can you do it better?

• 4 Ways to use Online Resources to Keep Advanced Students Engaged and Learning

• The Reflective Teacher: A Taxonomy of Reflection Part 3

• https://bb.snhu.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2490229-dt-content-rid-4665313_1/courses/EDU-642-14TW3-MASTER/EDU-642-14TW2-MASTER_ImportedContent_20131105031557/EDU-642-13TW1-MASTER_ImportedContent_20130725042753/EDU-642-13TW4-MASTER_ImportedContent_20130514031222/Le

  • •  Remembering: What did I do?  Understanding: What was important about it?  Applying: Where could I use this again?  Analyzing: Do I see any patterns in what I did?  Evaluating: How well did I do?  Creating: What should I do next? 
  • • Lessons utilizing technology can have a myriad of unforeseen problems. It is important to have backup plans for each lesson. Sometimes the internet is down, the website may not work, the program is lagging, or many other technical difficulties may arise. When teaching with technology, the lesson itself may not go as planned. A class of 25 students with one teacher is difficult to manage when problems arise.

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Technology Teacher 06/05/2014

• Is Reverse Instruction Education Technology’s Perfect Storm?

  • Flipping the classroom is a technology-enabled technique that can make a significant difference in student learning and academic success, and is well suited for gradual widespread adoption.
  • “reverse instruction” is the idea of having students consume learning content (i.e. ‘the lecture’) outside of the classroom, usually as homework, thereby freeing up valuable face-to-face classroom time to reinforce materials and work on assigned work (work that may have been homework in the traditional classroom). This approach is also referred to as “flipping the classroom”.
  • Students can review ‘flipped’ course materials repeatedly outside of the classroom, at their own convenience, often on the device of their choosing (smart phones, tablets, laptops, etc).
  • Students who miss class because of other responsibilities or illness do not have to be ‘penalized’ by missing course content.
  • Reverse Instruction provides a great situation in which to take advantage of a wide variety of powerful instructional technologies, including screencasting, lecture capture, podcasting, presentation tools, learning and course management systems, open educational resources, and more.
  • For example, some school districts have placed interactive white boards in all of their classrooms but failed to work with faculty in a way that would truly facilitate widespread adoption. Often, few teachers embrace these tools, resulting in a large expense with a pretty ineffective return. This frustrates many teachers and parents, and adds fuel to the fire for the anti-ed-tech crowd.

• New Teaching Strategy: Let's Do Homework At School - Hartford Courant

  • "For me, it was an immediate success, right from day one," Pisarz said, in between answering questions about spheres and checking students' work. "The kids don't zone out during the lecture, and when they come to the classroom, we get to work. We have time for me to hand them an apple and have them find the surface area, or go to Bushnell Park and approximate the height of a Christmas tree by using its shadows."

• St. Gabriel's Launches 1:1 iPad Initiative To Flip Classrooms -- THE Journal

  • Through use of a "flipped classroom" approach, students will watch Khan Academy video lessons at home and then complete assignments while in the classroom to allow teachers to directly observe student learning and meet the needs of each student as an individual.
  • "Our mission is to raise our children to be world-ready leaders," said Head of School Steve Balak. "This means we must equip them with the right tools and 21st Century skills necessary for success.

• The Flipped Classroom is Hot, Hot, Hot

• The Flipped Classroom: Turning the Traditional Classroom on its Head

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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.