Digital Blog Post #J - Chapter 11

Scramble by McKenzie Rhodes from Wordle

HEY HEY HEY! I just have to say that this semester and class has been flying by! It's crazy to think that we were all just introducing ourselves a few weeks ago and now we are getting closer to final projects and blog posts.
Throughout chapter eleven it talks about the different ways students can be assessed, not just through the traditional testing approach and more towards what students have created themselves. Student assessment is when the students are assessed on what they have been learning in the classroom through their teacher. What the students are learning goes hand in hand with how you are teaching. If a student is not doing well, what am I doing as a teacher that may be hindering that child? And what can I do to help them be more successful?   Along with this teachers are also being evaluated differently. New teacher assessment is when teachers are being evaluated by their supervisors on their work. I remember throughout high school and middle school teachers warning the class that there would be someone sitting in the classroom evaluating their teaching, so we needed to be on our best behavior! But as our textbook states, the evaluation process starts way before we are even a classroom setting with testing, supervision, and writing (Maloy p. 277). OH BOY.

Heres a funny video from YouTube on parent teacher conferences and how their twins are being evaluated. It's comical, but also true to a point. I think as some of us become future parents we need to be careful when we compare our children to one another or "the kid that licks the blackboard". They will most likely not be on the same track on every subject, and that is okay!

Digital teaching portfolio, which at this point in our education, as future teachers, I hope have heard about! But if you are new to that topic, digital teaching portfolios are a way for teachers to show their work online in an organized way. "Even if you have finished several education coursed and a teacher licensing program as a student teacher, or begun your first job as a full time classroom teacher, documenting professional learning accomplishments in a digital teaching portfolio is a way to provide career-related information to school administrators and teaching colleagues and an opportunity for personal reflection on your development as an educator" (Maloy p 279). I think the last part about being able to reflect on your development as an educator is a big point. For me, I would love to see what I was thinking or doing in a classroom when I first start teaching, then a year later, when I have my first year under my belt, I can reflect and see how much I have grown, or where I could use some more work.

Creative Commons photo by Anabell Alicia from Flicker

A really interesting topic that is somewhat new to me, that I wanted to dive into was the topic of democratic schools and classrooms. Democratic schools and classrooms in general is a new topic and way of thinking how a class would be set up. It gives the student more of an opportunity to be involved in their education and academic learning. Here is an article from IDEA on what a democratic school and classroom looks and from the view point of a lesson plan for grades 5-12th grade. I think it is a great way for students to be more involved in their learning. I know as a student if i have a voice in my education then I am more likely to pay attention because I am truly interested in the subject. I think we will see student involvement in the classroom increase, participation, and grades improve if we move towards this type of education

References:

Alicia, Anabell. "Education." Flickr. Yahoo!, 10 Oct. 2010. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Rhodes, McKenzie. "Scramble". Wordle. 24 Mar. 2017. Web. 24 Mar. 2017

Strader, Shawn. "Bringing Democratic Education to Your Classroom and School (Lesson Plan)." Bringing Democratic Education to Your Classroom and School (Lesson Plan) | The IDEA Library. N.p., 13 Jan. 2011. Web. 24 Mar. 2017.

Undulator. 2015, October 15. Retrieved March 23, 2017, from www.youtubecom

Digital Blog Post #I- Chapter 4

Welcome back after a much needed break! Hope some of you were able to take a vacation, or at least enjoy the Florida sunshine. Unfortunately, I had to work the entire break... :(

All Creative Common license by Julie Frank

LESSON PLANS.... what my world will be surrounded by in (hopefully) a short amount of time. I think our class textbook (Transforming Learning with new technologies) says it best and is a great reminder on why we create lesson plans, "Developing lessons does not mean you must tightly script every interaction or rigidly adhere to a fixed plan. Effective teachers provide room for spontaneity and time to explore questions and topics that are on students minds" ( Maloy p. 74). If I choose to stick only to a lesson plan and not wander off the path a little when a student has a question or different topic they are wanting to discuss or ask questions on, then i am not being an effective teacher. I will be hindering their learning. With not letting a student explore their own thoughts I am showing that their topics and questions are not important. There are different ways technology can help teachers in creating lesson plans and help support their lessons. Websites  are available for teachers that have lesson plans already setup for teachers that are FREE!  A few of them are 

• PBS Teachers
• Annenberg Learners
• www.Planbook.com
• www.education.com
• https://kids.usa.gov
• www.Teachervision.com

Creative Commons License by Bekah

Standards-based assessments seems to be a touchy topic across the broad board of teachers. Should we have it? Should we not? Is the debate. Standards-based assessments is what students are supposed to know depending on what grade level they are at. With the test is shows what students need to improve on or what they have mastered. In my opinion we need to come up with a better system of seeing how well a student is doing. As someone that test very poorly from stress and the environment, I have sympathy for those that cannot show their true knowledge through standardized testing. Like stated in the textbook, teachers know their students and know their ability and what ways the student shows their true knowledge and understanding. It should ultimately be up to the teacher to evaluate their students, "not test writers who work for testing companies far removed from the day-to-day worlds of classroom learning" (Maloy p. 86).

Below I added part of funny video of the Simpson TV show on Standardized testing. I think some of the ideas stated are partially true. Nothingness, its a comical way to look at testing. ENJOY! 

Fight by McKenzie Rhodes from storybird

Going along with the standardized testing topic, I decided to read into new approaches to assessment. Our test makes a comment about how instead of testing approaching schools curriculum is the opposite, schools are having to bend their curriculum around what students will be tested on (Maloy p. 86). Children do not have the freedom to ask questions or explore topics (asI stated above), so the joy and excitement of learning is taken away. Also, the joy and freedom can be taken away from the teacher, knowing they need to stick to strict guidelines in order for their students to succeed on test day. The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) believe that students performance should not be evaluated solely on standardized testing but also through different activities. This is where technology can come into play. There are a few different way teachers can use technology to evaluate a students performance. An example of this would be word processing, powerpoint or other computer based applications. Students are able to create presentations and share them to the class and the teacher on what they have learning while doing research on a topic. There are also digital portfolios that have examples of a students completed work.  

There are many different opinions on how students should be taught and how they should be evaluated. I still believe we need to come up with different ways to evaluate children based on how the learn or show their knowledge the best. Filling in bubbles may not be for every child, I know it was not, and still is not for me. As a future teacher I hope to take a stand for my students that I know are intelligent and find creative ways for them to express that, and i know technology will help me do that! 




References:

B. (2007, May 20). Pencil & Scantron. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from www.flickr.com

Falk, J. (2005, September 24). Working on Long Range Lesson Plans. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from www.flickr.com

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Rhodes McKenzie (2017, March 16). Fight. Retrieved March 16, 2017, from www.Storybird.com

Digital Blog Post #H- Chapter 9

Hi everyone!
I hope everyone is looking forward to spring break next week! I know I sure am :)
Reading throughout Chapter Nine in the textbook (Transforming Learning with New Technologies) I noticed that many of the technology tools they were stating are ones that I have used in the past, as well as, still using currently in all of my current classes.

Creative Commons Photo by Jim Hickcox 

The first concept I looked at was Powerpoint and Next-generation Presentation Tools. These are tools that I have grown up using, and what I see everyday while in class. I remember what the first "Document Camera" or overhead projector looked like. We used overhead projectors till I got to into high school until we were fortunate enough to switch over to Document Cameras (live savors). As a student I always wanted to sit no where close to the overhead projector because it was so big you could not see around it, but also close enough to the projector to see what the teacher was writing. Then at the end of the day everyone would volunteer to clean the transparency sheets, that was always a mess and the ink would eventually end up all over you. Now, no more mess! A teacher can have the document camera on their desk, away from impairing a students vision of the screen and be able to show anything they want under the camera. There are little limitations.

The second concept I looked at was "photo-taking and Movie-Making with Students". When I was in elementary school as a class we had the opportunity to put on the school news that aired on Fridays mornings. This was a huge deal, especially if you were able to be an anchor (one year I was lucky!). In order to be "on the news" you had to read up on current events, understand the technology that goes into putting on a news show, and how to work together.  I did a similar activity while in high school for my history class. It was a fun way research historical facts and then put it into a movie. Students are able to work hands on and in an engaging manner the more likely they will retain information. I still remember those activity and that was years ago.

Lastly, I took a look at "comparing Minimal and Multimedia Classroom Technologies". Since I grew up in a minimal multimedia classroom I remember making the science experiments to see how things grow, or how the water cycle happens and even drawing out posters to display in the classroom. Now there are endless ways technology can show science. Like stated in our text book students are able to create a water cycle and then use technology to film the cycle. There are endless possibility with technology and teaching science. It would have been so much fun being able to create the water cycle and add technology to the experiment. 

Below is a TedTalk given by Jessie Wolley-Wilson on Blended Learning and how she sees how it can transform the classroom and learning experience in a positive way.

I think that it is important to keep in mind that technology in a classroom is made to help the student expand their knowledge of a subject or concept. I think sometimes we can get caught up in the cool things technology does (and it is cool!), and we forget the main reasons why we are using is, which is to teach :) Technology is a fun and awesome way to learn, we just need to make sure students are still learning a subject more than the technology piece. 

Have a great spring break everyone :) 

References:

Hickcox, J. (2007, June 06). Overhead projector. Retrieved March 03, 2017, from https://www.flickr.com

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Rhodes, Mckenzie (2017, May 03). News. Created May 03, 2017, from www.ToonDoo.com

T. (2012, December 17). Blending technology and classroom learning: Jessie Woolley-Wilson at TEDxRainier. Retrieved March 05, 2017, from www.youtube.com