Final Reflection

                In week 1, I stated that my personal theory of learning was that children learn best when they are totally immersed in their learning through hands on, concrete activities and when they feel a connection with what they are learning. I also mentioned that I identified with the Constructivist learning theories best. Now that I am at the end of this course, I feel that my views have stayed somewhat the same. However, my understanding of all learning theories has become deeper and more concrete. This is very useful to me because I do not think that one theory covers all children in all situations. I think that having knowledge of all learning theories can help any teacher become more proficient in their instruction.

                As far as technology goes, this class has really broadened my horizons of technology use. I am so very excited to begin a new school year and use/share all of the new ideas that I have learned through this course. I also have a better understanding how technology can enhance almost any lesson. By adding technology tools, a normal lesson can be transformed into one that really deepens and impacts student learning.  I am very anxious to use tools such as VoiceThread, online concept mapping, virtual field trips, and many more. In fact, my principal is eagerly awaiting a list and demonstration of some of these fantastic tools.

                One immediate adjustment I plan to make to my instructional practice is that I will be devoting more time to investigate all possibilities of adding technology to my lessons. This year I used technology in a good bit of my instruction, but it seemed like I used the same resources over and over. It always felt very tedious to me to search and test out new things. Now, I realize how much of an impact skilled technology use can have on the education of my students. I am now more excited to check out all of the new resources I have been exposed to.

                Two resources I plan to use right away are VoiceThread and online concept mapping. I think that they are going to be great for my students to use collaboratively. VoiceThread is going to be a fresh new way to make learning exciting for my students and there are so many ways to incorporate it. I already do concept mapping with my students, but I think students will love creating them online to share with each other. These tools are really going to get my students interacting with the curriculum and each other.

                I have two long term goals as a result of taking this course. As I mentioned earlier, I would like to start spending additional time looking for more ways to use technology tools in my teaching. That would be my first goal, to devote the time to finding/testing more technology tools. This will be easy for me now that I have knowledge of the great resources from this course. My second goal is to spread the excitement that I have for technology use to my colleagues. Most of my colleagues use technology; however, I plan to share the many resources that have been exposed to so that they can enhance their students’ education as well.

                To conclude, this course has been an incredible asset to my knowledge of teaching. I have become more adept at integrating new technology tools into my instruction. My understanding of the many learning theories has become greater. All of these things will help strengthen the quality of my teaching and boost my effectiveness.

Voice Thread

Parent Involvement

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

            In his lecture, Dr. Michael Orey explains that social learning occurs when students are actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). While the students are conversing, they are sharing ideas, validations, and boosting each other’s confidence. I think that allowing students to work together is very important strategy to use in any classroom. In fact, I have my students work together as much as possible. I have had students work together to complete projects using power points, Wiki spaces, word processing, and podcasting. The results have always been fantastic and the learning powerful.

            Cooperative learning and the social learning theories go hand in hand. Cooperative learning is when students work together in groups to enrich their learning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Cooperative learning is also an important strategy to help with interpersonal skills and decision making. These are skills that work to prepare students for the future workplace.

            Adding technology to cooperative learning is fantastic way to make collaboration more interesting, fun, and exciting for everyone in the classroom. Technology can also help to add some structure to projects and assignments. The idea of cooperative learning is not a new strategy to me; I have been using it for years. However, some of the tools presented in this week’s resources are very novel. I am very anxious to try tools such as ePALS, iWeb, Jigsaw classroom, and Voicethreading in my classroom. I think that students will enjoy working together with tools like these and they will do a lot to boost learning.

            Also, the possibly of reaching out to other classrooms all over the world is amazing. I think it is important for our students to be able to socialize and collaborate with students of different cultures. It is so easy for our students to communicate with each other through texting and Facebook. Why not allow them to bring that into the classroom and communicate globally with other students? We live in a connected society; it is time for education to catch up with what is happening in the global community.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program eight. Social learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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

HELP

Is anyone else having trouble posting comments to eachother? I have spent the better part of an hour trying to post comments to you all and I keep getting booted out and asked for my user name and password over and over again. Any insight would be great because obviously I have been able to post in the past. HELP!

Constructionism/constructivism in Practice

            I feel that I have gained a lot of insight from this week’s resources on the Constructivist and Constructionist learning theories. I have learned that I agree with a lot of what the theories represent. Students should be at the center of learning while teachers facilitate. Student are learning more when they are constructing their own meanings and creating artifacts to share. I especially liked Dr. Orey’s chair explanation for the constructivist learning theory (Laureate Education Inc., 2010). It allowed me to grasp the concept a bit better. We all really do have different ideas and meanings for the world around us. My chair is an overstuffed leather chair with a comfy blanket. What is yours?

            In learning more about Constructionism and Constructivism, I really appreciated reading about the strategies mentioned in our books. Chapter 11 in “Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works” there are summaries of six activities that teachers can utilize to help their students generate and test hypotheses. They are systems analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, inventions, experimental inquiry, and decision making. When completing any of these activities students could use technology such as the web, data collection tools, and spreadsheets to help them interpret their data (Pittler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

            These activities lend themselves very well to the Constructivist and Constructionist learning theories. The activities allow students to work together to make predictions, conduct experiments, solve problems, make decisions, and work with real world tasks. The teacher is just a guide in these processes. Most, if not all of the activities will have an end product or artifact for the students to share with others and explain.  Of course adequate reflection time is a must.

            As I mentioned in my discussion post, I really do love the ideas in this week’s resources. This is what should be going on in all classrooms around the country. But, I have a strong feeling it is not. There are many obstacles such as budget constraints, curriculum, standardized testing woes, and time that can get in the way. For now, I will continue to learn and appreciate these theories while striving to make them a part of my classroom.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program seven. Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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

Cognitivism in Practice

            In his lecture, Dr. Michael Orey explained the information processing model in the cognitive learning theory. In this model, when a student is exposed to new information through sensory input, the information is then moved to short term/working memory, and then through further processing it is moved to long term memory. Dr. Orey then went on to explain that when information is presented while integrating multiple senses, deeper learning takes place (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). The more connections that can be made by students through images, sounds, emotions, and text, the greater the chances are that the information can be cemented into long term memory.

            This week’s reading provided me with two instructional strategies that fit directly into the cognitive learning theory. They are cues, questions, and advance organizers and summarizing and note taking. When students use cues, questions, and advanced organizers, they are exercising their ability to retrieve, use, and organize information (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).  Using different types of advance organizers help students to understand and keep focus on the information that is being presented. Summarizing and note taking help students to synthesize information (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). Teachers can use various types of note taking plans and summary frames with students. Students can also use their summaries and notes to teach each other the information again.

            There are numerous ways to integrate technology into the strategies mentioned above. Word processing, spreadsheets, online concept mapping tools, multimedia, wikis, and online resource are just to name a few. They can help teachers to involve students in their learning in a far grander scale. Virtual field trips are yet another way to help access multiple senses. The episodic experiences help to build the critical connections that aid students in storing new information.

            I am very excited to begin to use the strategies with the technology I learned about this week. I think it will be very exciting to see the benefits of adding new technology to strategies I am already using, such as concept mapping. My students seem to enjoy concept mapping and I am sure they will like it even more when we complete it online.

Resources:

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program five. Cognitive learning theory [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2007). Using Technology with Classroom Instruction That Works . Alexandria: ASCD.

Behaviorism in Practice

            As stated in this week’s discussion, I definitely feel that behaviorist theories have a place in the classroom. In this week’s reading I explored two instructional strategies, reinforcing effort and homework and practice. I feel that these two important strategies directly relate to behaviorist theories. I was pleasantly surprised to learn some new ways to incorporate technology into these instructional strategies. It was also nice to affirm that I am already using some of the strategies in my classroom right now.

            I am a strong believer in reinforcing the efforts of my students. Students who display the correct behavior and study habits deserve to be recognized. It is that positive attention that really makes a difference and it is great for behavior management. As Dr. Michael Orey mentioned in his lecture, the reinforcement of desirable behavior is more powerful than the punishment of undesirable behavior (Laureate Education, Inc., 2010). I have also noticed that other students tend to look up to the ones who are getting the positive attention and try to emulate them.

            In my classroom, I always set high expectations for all of my students. To help them obtain their goals, I provide them with clear learning objectives and direct feedback on their learning. One way I do this is through the use of rubrics. I like to use rubrics for different kinds of assignments such as writing, group projects, and technology projects. A rubric is a great way for students to see the relationship between their effort and the grade they receive (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). I am anxious to explore some of the websites mentioned in the literature this week to find new ways to incorporate technology into my rubrics.

            I do not currently use spreadsheets or other data collection tools with my students. My use of spreadsheets is more for my own organization and examination of their grades. I never thought to include students in that process. I really like that it gives students something concrete to look at and it also cements the fact that effort is linked to achievement (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).

            The other instructional strategy discussed in this week’s videos and reading is homework and practice. Homework and practice is an integral part of the learning process. Regular practice and practice in different forms is essential for learning to happen (Smith, 1999). These activities must be authentic and the students should understand what skills the homework is reinforcing. Even though it does take some time, I make sure the review most of my homework assignments and provide immediate feedback.

            A great way to incorporate technology into homework and practice is to use word processing, spreadsheets, and educational websites. I think that using this technology takes the monotony out of skill and drill homework. I love to use practice websites like Brain Pop in the classroom. However, as Dr. Michael Orey explained, the overuse of some online tutoring sites can actually backfire causing them lose effectiveness.

            I think that if a teacher can harness the power of using the combination of behaviorism, instructional strategies, and technology in the classroom, great success will be achieved by all. Students will be able to see the rewards of their efforts and have better understanding of expectations. Similarly, I think that teachers will see that their instruction becomes more meaningful and their job just may become a bit easier.

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2010). Program four. Behaviorist learning theory [Webcast]. Bridging learning theory, instruction and technology. Baltimore, MD: Author.

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

Smith, K. (1999). The behaviorist orientation to learning. In The encyclopedia of informal education. Retrieved from http://www.infed.org/biblio/learning-behavourist.htm