I loved class this week. I felt it was very helpful in showing how technology can be implemented and can cover so many core and tech standards in one shot! I hadn't really ever thought of doing covering so many in one swoop. It makes me wonder if I've done this many times already with out even really realizing it.
Every year I do an Egypt project that is mostly paper based. That's how I was taught it when I first started teaching. The kids did all their research from books I have in my classroom and from the library. The last several years the kids have looked up their info online and then write a paper about it, along with a few other projects we do, such as building a 3D object. I am now totally rethinking this. Why not make it a completely online project, for those who have access to the computer at home? I still have a handful of students who don't have have any tech at home, except maybe mom or dad's phones. Even then, they don't all have smart phones, either.
We also do a World Fair and Country Report every year. I usually have a few websites they can go to (ie, pioneer-library.org) and the kids generally get their info from those. Now the kids just want to google everything. They don't want to take the time to read through the CultureGrams on the pioneer website. I find myself getting frustrated with that, but this year, as I was getting frustrated, I remembered that it doesn't have to be "my way." The kids know how to find information. The don't need the restriction of one or two sites.
Let it go....
Thursday, February 26, 2015
Saturday, February 21, 2015
Core Standards for 6th Grade Science
In looking through the standards and thinking about the "good to know" vs. "must know" for better understanding, thinking about what I did and did not know before I started teaching, and what has made me a "better" person for knowing, I have to consider what makes me look more or less educate, and what has helped me gain a better understanding of the world around me. I remember in a professional development years ago watching a clip of Harvard (or perhaps another elite college) graduates being asked, "What causes the phases of the moon." Now, maybe for the dramatization of the video they only included people who gave clueless answers, but I was shocked at how few had any idea!
So, with that in mind, it has been my goal to make sure my students leave 6th grade knowing a few key things. They include: the phases of the moon, what the sun is made of and how far it is from the earth, that the sun is the main source of energy for most life on earth, why we have seasons, why we have eclipses, that microorganisms are EVERYWHERE and that some can be harmful and some can be helpful, that they understand the benefit of immunizations (I show them gory pictures :)), the importance of WASHING HANDS, and that heat, light, and sound all are in the form of waves. Since there are SO many lessons in learning these things, I have to be picky and choose what I think they should know to help them remember what I feel is most important.
My students next year will have access to tablets in my classroom. Modeling digital ethics is so important. First I have to explain to them the importance of being ethical. I will have to model this, and other things, as I introduce and demonstrate new activities. I already have planned a waiver they have to sign and have their parents sign that the students will NOT look up any inappropriate material, and there will be a severe consequence if they do. I will be explaining about the server in my classroom and their responsibility to use the media responsibly or they will be banned. Period. There are great lessons provided on the web, which we looked up in class last week, that are perfect for teaching ethics and responsibility. I already downloaded the Digital Literacy and Citizenship books into my iBooks.
We will also be learning about plagiarism (which we do every year). I loved the idea someone mentioned in class about having the students write a paper and then I use one of theirs as if it's mine. What a fantastic example! Every year I have students who copy/paste things into their reports. As if I don't know the difference between their writing and Wikipedia.
Then there's the cyber-bullying issue. Since we will be building webpages for my project, and the students will be commenting on each others pages, this is something I will have to thoroughly address right away. There are some great videos about it online for this age group. Sappy and dramatic, just the kind of things these guys love :)
Plagiarism, inappropriate sites, and cyber-bullying are just a few of the ethical problems I will encounter. But hopefully through positive modeling and support, I can avoid a lot of it.
So, with that in mind, it has been my goal to make sure my students leave 6th grade knowing a few key things. They include: the phases of the moon, what the sun is made of and how far it is from the earth, that the sun is the main source of energy for most life on earth, why we have seasons, why we have eclipses, that microorganisms are EVERYWHERE and that some can be harmful and some can be helpful, that they understand the benefit of immunizations (I show them gory pictures :)), the importance of WASHING HANDS, and that heat, light, and sound all are in the form of waves. Since there are SO many lessons in learning these things, I have to be picky and choose what I think they should know to help them remember what I feel is most important.
My students next year will have access to tablets in my classroom. Modeling digital ethics is so important. First I have to explain to them the importance of being ethical. I will have to model this, and other things, as I introduce and demonstrate new activities. I already have planned a waiver they have to sign and have their parents sign that the students will NOT look up any inappropriate material, and there will be a severe consequence if they do. I will be explaining about the server in my classroom and their responsibility to use the media responsibly or they will be banned. Period. There are great lessons provided on the web, which we looked up in class last week, that are perfect for teaching ethics and responsibility. I already downloaded the Digital Literacy and Citizenship books into my iBooks.
We will also be learning about plagiarism (which we do every year). I loved the idea someone mentioned in class about having the students write a paper and then I use one of theirs as if it's mine. What a fantastic example! Every year I have students who copy/paste things into their reports. As if I don't know the difference between their writing and Wikipedia.
Then there's the cyber-bullying issue. Since we will be building webpages for my project, and the students will be commenting on each others pages, this is something I will have to thoroughly address right away. There are some great videos about it online for this age group. Sappy and dramatic, just the kind of things these guys love :)
Plagiarism, inappropriate sites, and cyber-bullying are just a few of the ethical problems I will encounter. But hopefully through positive modeling and support, I can avoid a lot of it.
Sunday, February 15, 2015
The Weaving of Technologies, Both General and Content-Specific
First: How can technology be woven into the scope and sequence of a course? Last week in class, the guest speaker (who, by the way, severely talked down to me and helped reiterate the fact that I am quite inept at technology, just when I was starting to feel a bit adept) showed us a website on uen.org/oer that has all the curriculum mapped out and tied to the core curriculum. I was quite excited about that! In the science lessons (I perused through the entire year's worth while she continued; I was no longer interested in what she had to say) there are many links to websites that can enrich the students' learning. There are videos, webquests, interactive sites, real time pictures, quite the array of exciting things. I am so excited to implement this into my science curriculum! This provides an easy way to weave tech into the curriculum, either with my computer or iPad connected to the projector, or on Thursdays or Fridays when I can actually get the laptops in my room and NOT be doing practice essays on utahcompose. Next year, with the tablets I will be using for my project in my room, I will really be able to implement this wonderful find and not have to work around the rest of the school's schedule :) Yay!!!
Next: How can both general pedagogical and content-specific technologies be utilized throughout the course? Well, this topic was a bit confusing for me, I will be honest. I had to break the two big ideas, general pedagogical and content specific technologies, and then put their meanings together. But I think I got it!
General pedagogical technologies would refer to the Bill Nye videos we watch on youtube that pertain to our science core, and the content-specific technologies would be the activities the students can do on devices to enhance their learning at their own pace. Right? If I've got this correct, then I think the curriculum outline I talked about on uen.org/oer is a perfect example of how to do this. If you haven't seen it (which I'm sure you have), you should, because I know you have TONS of free time between all the other things you are involved with (eye roll) :)
I am really excited to get those tablets into the hands of my students next year. I wish it was this year. I have so many ideas jumping around in my head that would enhance their learning and make it easier for them to learn at their own pace. Also, the backward design has me rethinking my end goals and how I would like to see them come about. With a bit of technology added in to the fun hands on activities we already do, the goal seems so much more do-able. And fun!
Next: How can both general pedagogical and content-specific technologies be utilized throughout the course? Well, this topic was a bit confusing for me, I will be honest. I had to break the two big ideas, general pedagogical and content specific technologies, and then put their meanings together. But I think I got it!
General pedagogical technologies would refer to the Bill Nye videos we watch on youtube that pertain to our science core, and the content-specific technologies would be the activities the students can do on devices to enhance their learning at their own pace. Right? If I've got this correct, then I think the curriculum outline I talked about on uen.org/oer is a perfect example of how to do this. If you haven't seen it (which I'm sure you have), you should, because I know you have TONS of free time between all the other things you are involved with (eye roll) :)
I am really excited to get those tablets into the hands of my students next year. I wish it was this year. I have so many ideas jumping around in my head that would enhance their learning and make it easier for them to learn at their own pace. Also, the backward design has me rethinking my end goals and how I would like to see them come about. With a bit of technology added in to the fun hands on activities we already do, the goal seems so much more do-able. And fun!
Tuesday, February 10, 2015
Ed Tech vs.Tech Ed
Educational technology teaches through the student using technology, such as using a keyboard to learn typing. It is using technology IN education; the use of technology as a tool in the educational learning process. It's the means by which we teach the students, using technology to teach about a specific subject.
Technology in education means teaching technological literacy. It is the ability to "use, manage, understand, and evaluate technology in general" (iteaconnect.org). This is a process which allows students to learn about and implement a new technology. An example of this could be the computer used for the typing. We are teaching them to understand technology by using it. It's using technology in the educational process.
At our school, we don't have much technology at our disposal. We have two computer labs: Lab A, which is the specialty lab and belongs to the specialty teacher; and Lab B, which is an extra lab in which we are assigned a one hour time slot to use during the week. We also have a "mobile" lab, which consists of 40 (or so) old laptops that may or may not work at any given time, and most lose their charge in a short amount of time. We are also assigned a one hour time slot. So, if the planets align and we can work out our schedules just right, we can get two hours of computer time per week. Also, the teachers each have an iPad. Needless to say, I don't spend a lot of time on technology education. We usually only get to use the computers for taking math tests and practice tests for writing (educational technology). But I do use my laptop and iPad as a tool for teaching, ie, showing cool videos or awesome interactive apps, and things of that sort.
TPACK is a network of combining technology with content knowledge with pedagogy, or best practices. We use our best practices with our content knowledge, our content knowledge with technology, and our technology with our best practices. In using a combination of these, we are teaching the students well. But now we need to start implementing the tech in all three as much as possible and bumping it up; not just replace, but using it for teaching and learning, some augmentation, more modification, and some redefinition.
I'm not really comfortable with my understanding of TPACK and/or SAMR, so I can't really get too deep into it with my limited understanding. But I think I am getting some sort of grasp of them. :)
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