Reflection on New Literacies

I have been teaching for almost three years now and feel that I have done an adequate job of integrating technology into my classroom. I expose my students to computers, the internet and software programs that allow them to produce projects for my class. However, this class has opened my eyes to a few things that I would like to share. Just because you have your students get on computers and research stuff that you are covering in class and then present their information in some way does not mean that they are getting the full effect of technology. Having the ability to come up with questions, search for answers, synthesize and communicate the information they have gathered is a great skill to have. I have not been asking my students to be doing this type of work so far. The other things that I have began to realize the importance of due to this class is how easy it is to find information online and not give credit to those people who created that information. I will need to model this type of behavior much better in the future for my students.

Professional development goals that I have for the future are to do a more in depth inquiry-based project at least one a year with my students. The skills that they use during these projects are the skills that they are going to need to possess for the 21st century workplace. If we as teachers do not stretch their minds and do not let them settle for complacency, than we can have them ready for whatever comes their way in the future. Not all teachers will follow these same guidelines and it will hurt the students in the long run, but if a few teachers at each school can take it upon themselves to integrate real life skills for their students than they will all be better off for it.



Aaron Davis

Integrating New Forms of Technology in My Instruction Has Modified My Teaching Methods

At the beginning of the course I was mainly using a combination of behaviorist and cognitive theory approach to my classroom instruction. I would make sure the students received the information (mainly through me) and we would build upon what they knew. Often time I would give this information through a Power Point presentation or we would read it from a textbook or other forms of text that I would find on the particular subject we were covering. At the end of the unit, I would have my students do a type of review and then we would take a test. I was not all happy with this approach to teaching, but it was in my comfort zone and “most” of the students were learning. I was using technology in a wide variety but I was not always using it effectively. Dr. Orey states that just because we are using computers or the Internet for learning doesn’t mean we are always teaching in different ways. As I proceeded through the course there were a myriad of ways in which teachers at all levels can implement technology into the classroom. I do mention at the end of the week one application that I do understand the importance of social learning and its effects in preparing our young adults for a real world workplace environment. I have since tried and been successful in using more of these types of lessons.

We are beginning our second semester here in a few weeks and I am going to take one of my classes and “experiment” with them in incorporating technology into most of my teaching. With my new knowledge of VoiceThread, blogs and wikis I am going to use these in my classroom. The reason I am only using one class is because it will be easier to get computer lab time with them. I have 180 students and if I taught every class like I plan on teaching this one class, then the logistics of getting them all computer time will be very difficult. I am going to have this class be more student-centered where they will be teaching most of the class with technology. I want them create a newscast and post it on YouTube or VoiceThread. This is going to be a perfect example of social learning where my students must work together to come up with the finished product.

There are two long-term goals that I would like to change about my instructional practices regarding technology. First, I want my room to be equipped with a Promethean Board and interactive “clickers”. I plan on getting this equipment installed in my room within the school year. I will be able to bring technology to my students instead of having to travel to use computers, internet or any other form of technology. Having the Promethean Board will allow me to get immediate feedback on comprehension where I can have quick informal assessment of my students through use of the clickers. Another long-term goal regarding technology and instruction would be to set up a website where my students can go to see information regarding my class. I want to set up a community message board where I can post questions to the class and have a running conversation with my students outside of the classroom. I would offer some type of participation credit for the class. The reason I have yet to make this a part of my class now is because I cannot expect all of my students to use the Internet when many of them do not have easy access to it. This class has taught my many ways in which to teach my students through the use of technology. I have also discovered ways in which they can learn through many different theories. I will do my best to incorporate what I have learned into my future teaching.

tech

Aaron

Voice Thread: "Teacher's Roaming Hallways Assist in Keeping Students in Class

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Please visit this website to listen to how our school deals with truant students!

Cooperative Learning and Social Learning

If you have not read Thomas Friedman's The World Is Flat than you are missing out on what are very near future is going to look like. He emphasizes that Americans must adapt to the fast-paced new global workforce. Jobs are being lost to outsourcing and we must find new innovative methods to keep up with other countries. Besides all of this great information on how to best prepare our future work force and what we need to look out for, he mentions that by incorporating cooperative learning in today's classroom will best prepare our students for their real life work environment. Classroom Instruction that Works states that teachers who use or plan on using some form of cooperative learning methods in their classes need to keep the groups small, do not base groups on student ability and there should be clear expectations on what the objective is for the group. If teachers cal follow these simple steps, using cooperative learning activities will greatly benefit your students.

It is obvious that our society today communicates in many forms. I mentioned this in this weeks discussion question that people of all ages communicate through emails, social networking sites, text messaging and Instant messaging services. Often times the communication is not based on anything of great importance such as keeping up with friends and family. However, there is great potential for our students to use this same technology in the classroom. If we want our students to best be prepared for the future workforce, it is important that we start now. You can easily assign a small group of students to create a wiki on a certain topic. This can be an ongoing assignment where each student is able to add some information over a period of time. When they finish, they can present their information to their class or classes across the nation. There is also the ability with today's technology for groups of students to complete a project together even when they are not in the same state. I feel as though this would be very interesting to gain the different opinions on topics from different regions of the United States.

It is without a doubt that social learning theories and cooperative learning are relatable in today's classroom. Our students need to possess these skills before we release them into adulthood. Thomas Friedman is correct in the fact that it does not state anywhere that the United States has to be world's leading economy. Recent signs are pointing that we are falling behind the likes of China, India and soon to be Brazil. We need to educate our youth to adapt and be able to compete with these foreign economies.

Constructivism in Practice

Being a social studies at the high school levels allows me to use many of the resources we discuss in these technology courses as Walden. I have learned so many great teaching skills that keep my students engaged in the material and really "buy in" to what we are doing in the classroom. They do this because how my students are learning in mainly through interaction and involvement in the class. Dr. Oley discribes constructionism as the process in which people are involved in the knowledge building process. Using technology can truly get the students involved and excited about learning if you are using constructionism theory.

Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works talks about working with spreadsheets and how even young elementary students can experience can learn by using technology and practicing constructionism theory. In the past, teachers who are education their students in testing hypothesis in different subjects would have to allocate a lot of time for the testing aspect of the lesson. By incorporating technology students can spend more time interpreting the data rather than gathering the data-a process that can be tedious and error prone. (2007) This is what technology has done for us. It makes things happen quicker, more effifient and more accurate. These are the type of activities our young students so desperately need. The ability the create something from nothing but your own knowledge is key for students. It allows them to see the progression of what they have learned over time.

Behaviorsim in the Classroom

I believe that the "drill and kill" method of teaching in the classroom is a great way to get the students to fully grasp the idea of the content that is being covered in your class. I think that too many times teachers are trying to be too detailed and do projects or assignments that are too difficult and too in depth for students. I know I have made this mistake in my few years of teaching. I assign too much for each student and sure they may complete the assignment, but did they fully understand what was happening. Another issue teachers face is trying to cover too much material in a short amount of time. The "inch deep and a mile wide" idea of teaching lends itself to favor because they students are not getting the full context of the material and just the basic ideas. I have the theory that you need to teach "an inch wide and a mile deep" in order for your students to fully understand. The issue with this is that there will not be enough time to cover areas you may like and also if some of your students are getting it and others are not, it may become repetitive for those students.

Behaviorism as a classroom management tool is very necessary for most teachers. The reason you are punishing a student is because of undesired behavior and the best way to fix it is to take away privileges and choices of that student. The "experts" who claim that the behaviorist theory of teaching is dead must not be teachers themselves. They are using scientific theories that state that children do not respond, yada yada yada... I agree with Dr. Oley that these behaviorist theories are alive and well in our classrooms today.