Reflection

At the completion of this course, I have learned a lot and am looking forward to implementing many new ideas in my classroom in the fall. In week one, I described that the learning theory which was closely aligned to my beliefs was the constructivist approach. I can say that I still believe this theory is the closest aligned to my beliefs, but I do feel that the other theories are sprinkled in as well. There is not one theory that I can say fulfills all my beliefs, but a combination of them all is more appropriate.

The cognitive theory of learning is definitely an addition to my personal learning theory. In learning about this theory, I can agree that all of our ideas and learning are linked together and learning new ideas will only “stick” if a connection can be made. In addition, I agree with the visual idea of this approach. Students can learn a lot by making a visual connection with something. If I am doing a presentation, my students will remember the pictures I included more than the text. I need to start taking my picture choice into greater consideration and be sure they support the learning that I am targeting.

This course has provided me with many new ideas and many new tools that I am looking forward to using in my classroom. The first tool that I will incorporate is Edmodo. I plan on exploring this site more over the summer and introduce it to my 8th graders in the fall. I have high hopes for using this in the classroom. I feel that the students will be intrigued by the site since it is very similar to Facebook (something they know all too well) and the minimal learning curve involved in using it. I foresee this being a place to hold out of classroom discussions, post interesting links and homework assignments. I am anxious to see how the students accept this addition and how I can incorporate it into my classroom.

The second tool that I will be using from the beginning of the year will be Voice Thread. This site is incredible; it is just what I have been looking for in the recent years. I truly enjoy how I can include videos (that would be blocked by our firewall, but still school appropriate) and the personal touches that I can make. I am also looking forward to the students using this program to make presentations and comments on Voice Threads of their own. I am going to be purchasing webcams and microphones for the computers in my room so the commenting and production of the Voice Threads will be easier and more seamless.

In the long term, I would like to plan more real-life projects that mirror situations that my students might experience as they get older. I plan to do this through virtual field trips and webquests, along with cooperative groups. I plan to complete a project each quarter so I can focus on 4 big projects a year and not get too overwhelmed by planning them. I will take this summer to identify 4 main topics that will be aligned with the topics for 8th grade math and hopefully identify some appropriate online sites and field trips using resources from this course.

In addition to more real-life projects, I also want to escape from the mundane smartboard lessons that I have been using the past couple of years. I need to focus on making my technology use more exciting and more relevant to the students. I will try to do this with making a change in the classroom activities and homework. I am going to do attempt to do more online work and escape from the paper and pencil that we are used to. The students will need to find some time to use computers on their own, but hopefully that is a hurdle we can overcome.

At the completion of this course, I feel revived with fresh ideas and am looking forward to the fall to implement them!

Voice Thread Application

The following Voice Thread and Xtranormal video are ones that I would use to introduce a mini-project to my 7th grade math class... the students will be applying the idea of surface area to find the amount of paint needed to paint the interior of a garage.





TOBY:

Social Learning Theory

The very basic idea behind cooperative learning is the backbone of social learning theory.  The idea that students work in groups to enhance their learning experience and to further their understanding correlates strongly to the general premise that supports social learning theory. 

Webquests are a way to incorporate social learning theory that might link together students that are not even in the same class, school, state, or even country.  I like the idea of how webquests can be conducted as partners and groups that are working together in cyberspace.  The students can be paired together, complete the project and not even meet face to face.  There is a lot of learning that can happen when the distractions of the classroom and peers are taken out of the equation.

Cooperative group projects have been in the classroom for eons, but incorporating the use of technology takes them to a new level.  Each student brings personal strength to the classroom and their understanding for technology is no different.  The programs that are available on the web are endless and I really feel that the students would learn a lot creating videos and presentations using programs like Xtranormal and Prezi.

The last strategy I want to touch base on is Keypals.  When I was reading this section, I was anxious to get to this portion because I had never heard of this before.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that this is the modern day pen pals.  A pen pal was a great experience growing up and I learned a lot from the person that I was assigned to.  The key idea of pen pals is social learning… one can learn a lot from another in just letters back and forth.

The strategies that were presented in our text this week exemplified the ideas of social learning theory to a tee.  Any of these activities got students working together in a rich experience which in turn supports learning from others.

Resources:

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