Web 2.0/Social Networking Tools in the Classroom: Group Wiki Link

http://dannyswiki2010.wikispaces.com/What+is+Web+2.0

Universal Design for Learning: Inspiration Concept Map (Revised)

Here is my (revised) UDL Concept Map.  I have chosen the key points that I feel best organize the reading material on the Universal Design for Learning.  I chose to separate subtitles/details by color for easy understanding and visual appeal.  I also chose pictures that I find best suit each grouping.  Pictures add another great element of understanding for visual learners.

 

MD 400 Midterm Course Reflections...

I can’t believe the semester is already halfway over!  So far I have learned a lot of new educational technology skills.  I had some experience in photoshop prior to this class but had never taken it to the level we had, with removing objects and replacing them in new photos, etc. That was really neat.  Learning about Inspiration/Kidspiration was great and I could really see myself creating graphic organizers and such in my own classroom someday. These products are very kid friendly and attractive with all the options of adding cartoon figures and designs.  Before this class I have also had very little experience in blogging, let alone creating my own.  I had read a few before on various websites but never knew the logistics.  I think it’s a very useful tool in expressing your thoughts and opinions or just sharing information with others.  I am really enjoying the idea of having my own website to hold all of my ideas and projects for others to see, as well as learning a little about myself.  Having visited numerous websites, I had never given much thought on how to create one or useful hints as to what makes one good or bad.  I have also enjoyed creating my own digital story using personal photographs.  As someone who loves pictures and taking them, it’s a really inventive way to use them further and creating a story to follow.  I was really happy to have been given a lesson on using SMARTboards.  I have had 2 years experience in Assistant Teaching and had never used one.  The school I was teaching at had one in every grade level but I never worked in the classroom that had had it.  I have heard from friends and others that more and more schools are having them set up in classrooms and making it a mandatory tool to incorporate in various lessons.  I feel this experience will come in handy when I apply to future teaching positions.  So far nothing has been too challenging and I have really just enjoyed learning all of these new technological tools and uses.  One challenging thing would be, as in any case using any technology, that you can easily forget how to use certain tools if you don’t use them again soon after.  Also depending on computers and technology to work sometimes can be frustrating when they fail to work properly.  In that case you must always have a ‘plan b’!  I look forward to the rest of this semester and hope to further broaden my horizons on educational teachnology.

The Innovative Educator blog- Revisited

I chose to revisit the blog, The Innovative Educator:  sharing ideas about educating innovatively.  The most recent blog is titled, “Facebook Doesn’t Get Teachers Fired- Inappropriate Behavior Does.”  The blog posted information from a New York Post article on teachers getting fired for flirting with students on facebook.  I was shocked to read this was true.  To think these teachers, and those in defense of such ridiculous behavior, suggest it’s the fault of Facebook and any other digital device of todays world.  I happen to strongly disagree with that and rather agree with the blogger in that it is not the fault of having Facebook, but instead the fault falls in the hands of these teachers themselves and their inappropriate behavior.  Ofcourse now, as the blogger suggests, this is going to further instill fear in adult's minds over whether their child/student is safe to use such tools.  The blogger also notes that this is NOT a social networking scandal, but rather “an inappropriate conduct scandal.”  The blogger goes on to say that “These teachers weren’t behaving badly because of facebook. There have always been inappropriately behaving adults. Facebook, in the case or these adults, didn’t cause their behavior, it just made it easier for them to get caught.” I have to say, I completely agree with this statement.

Inquiry-Based Learning and Historical Thinking

Throughout my educational experience as a student, I cannot recall being taught a lesson solely providing an inquiry-based learning style.  My educational background has been very traditional, memorizing facts and having to recall information given to us.  In a typical lesson, my teachers would tell us about what we will be learning, provide an example and show us how to do it.  We would then memorize what we’ve seen, try to comprehend the meaning behind it and try to tackle it on our own.  There would be discussions on how it can be applied elsewhere and whether or not it could relate to us or life in the future.  Definitely in subjects such as science we were given even greater freedom to learn, hands-on, how something develops or can be made using various materials.  Hypothesis were sometimes created and we discovered IF…THEN, cause and effect solutions and outcomes.

As an Assistant Teacher for the past two years, both in kindergarten and third grade, I also experienced a pretty traditional method of teaching.  As some fellow teachers remarked on the lessons prepared for our students, “we are here to hold their hand through the process” in these early years of learning.  In other words, we provide them with information and try to have them comprehend and apply it to the best of their ability.  If our first attempt fails to any student, we then dig deeper and help them understand using various learning style techniques.  There were various projects, especially in science and social studies, where our students were given materials and asked to tackle the activity with little instruction and see what they can figure out themselves.  Of course in the end, we would still provide the ‘correct’ way to accomplish the desired outcome and why what happened, did in fact happen, therefore again we are teaching a traditional method.

I believe the idea and usage or inquiry-based learning can be very valuable to both the teacher and the student.  Although I agree with many forms or traditional ways of teaching/learning, I also deem it important to use multiple hands-on, effective learning strategies.  A quote given in our inquiry-based learning guide struck me as being significant to the educational world, “Tell me and I forget, show me and I remember, involve me and I understand.”  The last part of this quote where it states, “ …involve me and I understand”, is what I see as the part lacking in traditional methods of teaching.  As far as historical thinking in classrooms goes, I also consider it to be essential that students learn all different interpretations of historical facts and situations.  So often in traditional taught education, students are only given one (sometimes two) textbooks with all presumed ‘facts’ of how historical events occurred.  The problem I agree with on this is that students are only given one perspective and point of view (usually biased by the author).  I think it would be more valuable to students if they were provided with more than one textbook, and made to research the topic(s) further throughout the internet and other various historical documents in libraries, attend museums, etc.

My MD 400 Professional Portfolio Website

https://sites.google.com/site/md400professionalportfolio/home

Inspiration Concept Map

This Inspiration 'Concept Map' can be used for students in Language Arts.  As my example shows, this would be used as an organizational tool for a creative writing activity on The Beach.  This map would organize the student's thoughts on what and who they would write about, while using descriptive adjectives for quality writing.  As UDL (Universal Design for Learning) suggests, this map is both visually appealing and easy to read for students.  For students with any visual learning disabilities, I would have the audio component on to read back what they have written in each part.  This concept map would be a great tool to use for the class as a whole, as well as students individually. 

Digitally Manipulated Image- "A Day At The Beach"

This digitally-manipulated image, entitled A Day At The Beach, could be used as a creative writing prompt for students in Language Arts.  The directions given to students would be to visualize themselves in this picturesque scene and create a story to follow.  They would be asked to provide a who, what, where scenario and use descriptive details using all five senses.  This whimsical portrait provides little detail and more to the imagination for each creative writer.  Students would not be limited to the setting of this scene and would be encouraged to elaborate for their narrative.

Assignment #1, Standard of Focus

3.      I will be using the English language arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in the elementary grade levels as a target of focus for this semester.  In particular I would like to narrow in on the CCSS of third grade adapted by Connecticut.  As stated by the Connecticut State Department of Education, “The English language arts standards require that students systematically develop literacy skills and understandings through reading, writing, speaking and listening.”  Considering the various learning styles (i.e. visual, auditory, and kinesthetic), you can link a reading or writing lesson using a range of aspects.  I recently assistant taught a third grade class and used to use interactive games to practice and review different lessons in Language Arts. Using the template of the ever-so-popular game of Jeopardy; I would engage my students visually with the design and wording up on the projector, they would have to engage their auditory senses in what I or other team members were saying, as well as physically writing and responding with answers.  In the end, my students were excited about learning and enjoying it along the way.  As an educator, I find it important to engage all students and incorporate every learning style in every lesson to the best of your ability.

Assignment #1, "Teddy Bears Go Blogging" response

2.   My first reaction to Teddy Bears Go Blogging, by Brenda Sherry, was that it seemed like a similar version to the idea of ‘Flat Stanley’.  From what I understand, Flat Stanley is a cut-out drawing, decorated and colored by an elementary level student, and taken home by that student to document/photograph his adventures and daily activities.  A friend of mine once mentioned her little sister had this project and was asked to mail Flat Stanley to family members/friends to do so as well.  Brenda Sherry’s idea took this concept to an even more inspired, meaningful level.  By connecting students from one country to another, in her case Canada to Australia, students are able to learn about other cultures hands-on.  I can only imagine how exciting it must be for students to instantly send and receive messages, blogs, photos, etc with other children their own age in another place.  I remember as a kid years ago in elementary school, we were each assigned a ‘pen pal’ from another country to send letters, photographs and drawings once a month or so.  I remember the thrill in having a friend in another place far away to communicate and share things with.  The idea of having instant communication online takes the old ‘pen pal’ days to another dimension.  This increases the amount and depth of communication, as well as keeping up with the excitement levels.  I like the idea Brenda Sherry had in having her students blog at home, with supervision.  In this day and age, we can never be too careful.  She states, “I receive an e-mail copy and the option to publish or reject the comment. This was a goof way for me to screen the content for appropriateness and to make sure that Internet safety was a priority.”  Teddy Bears Go Blogging is just another fabulous innovation in the world of education.

Assignment #1, Blog Response

1.    The blog I chose to read is called, The Innovative Educator: Sharing ideas about educating innovatively.  The word ‘innovative’ first caught my attention, seeing as though I plan to be an educator myself someday in this fast pace, continually changing/updating world of ours.  The word ‘innovative’ implies something new and creative, especially in the way that something is done.  In this blogger’s blog, they describe how blogging has helped them to build their own personal learning network.  Considering I am very new to blogging, I figure this would be an enlightening insight to the whole phenomenon.         

As an educator, this blogger feels it is important to have what they call a ‘digital footprint’ by stating, “Having a digital footprint is crucial for your career if you want to establish credibility as an expert. While I have tons of work that lives online, there is nothing of my choosing directly pointing to me, what I believe, and what I do. As a result, I don’t have a real digital footprint and that means while I’ve done a lot of good work for my employers I have nothing that identifies my work, who I am, what I believe, and what I do.”  This blogger makes another valid point when they say that by using tools such as blogging, wikispaces, and Google apps with students and fellow educators; the purchase of some expensive equipment in the classroom may be unnecessary.  Although I agree with them on some level, I still believe it’s important for students (especially those in the elementary level) to converse and learn within the classroom.  I’m not saying it’s necessary to purchase a Smart Board for every classroom in America, I just think it’s important that students have multiple resources to learn and comprehend course material.  With that said I do agree on the notion of everyone (educators and students alike) to create and establish their own ‘digital footprint’ as stated by the Innovative Educator.  It’s a great way for readers to learn about your thoughts and opinions on matters, while using your own expressive creativity.  I think the idea of blogging and other networking sites is a wonderful way of reaching out to a wide variety of people you wouldn’t have the ability to otherwise.