Reflective Blog Post

Throughout this mini term class, I have learned a great bit of things regarding technology in the lives of students and in the classroom. One thing I really did enjoy most about the class was the discussion posts (hints why I did all of them). Reading through all of the posts that everybody wrote and having different ideas and views on them really had me interested in the discussion and had me looking for more answers. My favorite topic of discussion had to be "Assistive/Adaptive Technologies & Tools for Assisting ELL Students". Creating my own students and finding ways to help them succeed in the classroom gave me insight about more of the adaptive technologies that can be used.

Another thing I enjoyed from the class was the group projects. The first assignment when we had to collaborate on a Wiki was new and challenging being that the only way we could communicate to each other was through the Wiki page itself. When I read the instructions and the "restrictions" I felt it was naive that we couldn't use any other technology in a tech class, but it helped with the communication factor and had a better outcome in my opinion. The Lesson Plan assignment was also nice because even though we had the chance to use all other forms of technology, we stuck with using the canvas inbox. Having a partner that was also interested in the same subject made it easier to pick what our lesson was going to be on with a little compromising on the topic.

The last thing that I found amazing (and glad that I did them all) was the blog posts. Even though half of them were optional, it gave me a chance to try out different online sources of presentation to use. When it comes down to the nitty gritty there will be some I use and explore more (i.e. Wordle, ToonDoo, Kahoot) and some I will probably stay away from or use on rare occations (i.e. BitStrips).

Overall, I enjoyed the class as a whole and glad I took it. Though I am glad it is over, I will miss some of the things we did like the blog postings,

Photo credit to Johnny_N on flickr

Resources:

 Niederhoffer, J. (2009, October 26). Retrieved June 21, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/jony_n/4050796821/sizes/z/

 P. (2013, March 17). Assistive Technology for Special Needs Students in K-12. Retrieved June 21, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DVu6pzj7rA 

 

 Roberson, M. (2016, May 12). My EME2040 Blogger. Retrieved June 21, 2016, from http://marcustroberson.blogspot.com/

Digital Blog Post # F

One concept that I found intriguing in Chapter 11 was "Online Surveys for preassessment" (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 285). Throughout all of my school years, it wasn't until now that I realized we get preassessed in every class, every assignment, every lesson that we have. It's true that "Prior knowledge is not immediately obvious to students; they often do not realize that they know important information about a topic"(Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 285). Whenever students hear or see a "new" topic, it is assumed that it is something extremely random and hard so the teacher could yell at them. If someone is learning how to tell time on a standard clock, they will best be able to connect the minutes with multiplication (i.e minute hand on the "1", do 1*5 to get :05 and whatever the hour is.) Here's a little quiz to test you knowledge:https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/83d17de0-989a-4104-8a17-578539df1ffc

Another concept from Chapter 11 I stumbled upon was "Reasons for teaching with clickers" (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 288). Clickers are a good way to get students involved because the answers are anonymous. Students have a fear of being called on unwillingly and being wrong because it's "humiliating". For many years, I was afraid to raise my hand in fear of being laughed at for being "dumb" and not knowing something. It wasn't until college I started to break that habit because of two reasons: 1. I got myself comfortable making myself look like a fool and being known, but mainly 2. using clickers in class. When the results appear on the screen and there are more wrong responses than right and others chose the same answer as you, it is a reliever to see you aren't the only one that doesn't understand whatever is at hand. That then leads into the teacher going over the topic again and clarifying any misunderstood problems. This video helps us understand the beneficial uses of clickers:

The last concept that popped out to me was in Chapter 12, "One-to-one Laptop computing" (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 306-07). This is something that would be beneficial for multiple reasons. First off, other students can not access your work or sabotage any important sites that they used. Secondly, if all students had their own laptop, there would be no need to share them and everyone can work at their own pace or with the teacher. And thirdly, if students find other websites that could work along with the topic then there are more resources to be used.

From the three concepts, the teaching with clicker would be a fun way to interact students with the class and get some group collaboration together. One-to-one laptop computing is very helpful so each student knows who has which laptop and could only blame themselves or the internet provider about missing work. And preassessment surveys will be used to see what information I need to go over and what I could pass on if no problems arise.


Resources:

 G. (2009, November 12). Clickers in the Classroom: The Research. Do clickers help students learn? Retrieved June 14, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxKHXyVtVIA 

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.

One Laptop Per Child. (2009, August 21). 20090821-631253719_tBtjv-O-Edit. Retrieved June 14, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/olpc/4795749872/in/album-72157624497951146/

 

Roberson, M. (2016, June 14). Kahoot! | Play this quiz now! Retrieved June 14, 2016, from https://play.kahoot.it/#/k/83d17de0-989a-4104-8a17-578539df1ffc 

Digital Blog Post # E

One of the biggest concepts I found neat in Chapter 4 was "Using Electronic Grading Software"(Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 86). When I look either online or at the syllabus, I can usually see how much what assignment weigh (i.e quizzes- 15%) and then test out the "What If " program on the Florida SouthWestern State College (FSW) canvas webpage to see what assignments and extra credit work I can do to keep my grades up or improve them. Gradekeeper and Easy Grade Pro are two programs that I never heard of unlike "Turn it in". Turn it in is a computer software that scans over written work like projects, essays, etc... and mark what parts seem to be plagiarized and where from. The Grading System is easily used in middle school and beyond, but it is very difficult to assess the same system on elementary school kids.

Another concept I found important in Chapter 7 was "Higher-order and Lower-order Thinking"(Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 163). These types of thinking comes from Bloom's Taxonomy which starts from the Lower-order to the Higher-order Thinking (Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating). When teaching a math lesson on the Order of Operations (i.e Parenthesis Exponent Multiplication Division Addition Subtraction), the students are to remember the order but then apply it to other problems. With Science, teachers can teach the students about the layers in the Earth and have them remember the order (Lower-order Thinking) and then have them create the Earth and its layers to really get their creativity flowing (Higher-order Thinking). Higher-order Thinking is not necessary in all actions and events. Sometimes Lower-order Thinking is just as effective if not more.

Photo credited to Marcus Roberson through Wordle.net

The third concept I found interesting in Chapter 7 is "Virtual Worlds"(Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 173-174). Virtual World games are very popular in which real world activities are brought into a screen. "One well-known virtual world for adults is Second Life, an online subscription game played by millions of people worldwide, in which players adopt an alternative persona( or avatar) through which they live and work in a simulated world". Another well known game played by millions of kids, adolescents, and adults is Minecraft. Minecraft is a game where players can build their own dream world with wildlife, occupations, and play with other people in the same world to expand the works. Minecraft is used in many classrooms today to help kids relax and bring out their inner creativity.

Photo credit to Game N' Rock on Flikr

With these three concepts in mind, the Electronic Grading Software may not be used much by me in the elementary level, but I will incorporate Higher and Lower-order Thinking skills in creating lessons for my class and using virtual worlds like Minecraft to awaken my students to their full creative potential.



Resources;

Barrett, L. (2015, April 23). What is Minecraft - and why so many people love it (WEB310). Retrieved June 11, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2ngnMx-r5U

 Luiz, G. (2012, September 23). Minecraft. Retrieved June 11, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/gamesnrock/8016799388/sizes/z/ 

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.

Roberson, M. (2016, June 11). Wordle [Digital image]. Retrieved June 11, 2016, from http://www.wordle.net/create 

Digital Blog Post #D

Of the three concepts I read and found important, the first one I'm going to talk about is "Types of Educational Websites"(Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 145-147) in Chapter six. In total, there are six different types of websites for students and teachers: Lesson Plan, Student-to-Expert Communication, Real-Time and Recorded Data, Archival and Primary Source, Skills Practice, and Exploration and Discovery websites. Lesson Plans websites are helpful for teachers who need a lesson plan and/or activity drawn up and can be put back on the students to visit since there are interactive activities on them. Student-to-Expert Communication websites are great because if students K-12 have questions, ideas, or information they want to share, they can exchange thoughts with the experts in the field. Those sites also provide telementoring and etutoring; which involves opportunities for students to learn about different careers and focus on help with homework and projects. Real-Time and Recorded Data Websites are primarily based around scientific phenomena and nature settings. Students K-12 can really benefit from these sites because they are like virtual field trips, where they see the setting as an involved observer. Archival and Primary Source Websites give students the access they need for historical research or fun. They can retrieve information from museums, libraries, and other organizations. Skill Practice Websites are useful because students in all grades can access them and practice on subject specific activities without a teachers help. Exploration and Discovery Websites are very interactive. Students can pick and choose something of interest and they would do more interacting than passive viewing. The following link will provide some websites that are amongst most in each category.

The second concept that I will be discussing is "Electronic Spellers and Dictionaries" (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 255-256)in Chapter ten. The closest things I ever heard about Electronic spellers are Auto Correct and Google Translate. Auto Correct displays two or three words that are similarly close to the word the writer wrote and selects it automatically. Auto Correct is mainly found in cellphones when sending a text message. Google Translate converts a word, phrase, or sentence from one language to another with the correct spelling and an option to hear it pronounced. The Franklin Electronic Publishers' speaking homework wiz would be an amazing tool to have in classrooms for the fact that it is a small portable device that has over 45,000 word dictionary and spell checker which enunciates words and has a recognition feature. Students can also search a word from their search which is called "Jumping to a word". The spell checker feature lets students punch in a word, even if it's incorrect, and offers a variety of spellings which gets sounded out aloud so the student can choose and see how the word is correctly spelled. Students who are either Learning English as a language or has a hard time spelling some word would benefit from this. Another tech based company, TERC, went on and developed Signing Math and Science which would be great for students who are hard of hearing or deaf. There are the options to speed up or slow down the speed the signer is signing and a Spanish signing version.

"One time use of this image is courtesy of TERC/Signing Math & Science project."

Photo Credit to djvu83 on Flickr

The third concept that stuck out to me was the "Process Approaches to writing"(Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 264-265) in chapter ten. The writing process breaks off to five parts. The first one is Prewriting/Brainstorming. In this stage, the writer writes down whatever comes to mind whether it is a specific word, phrase, or sentence. After everything is written down, we move on to the next step. Drafting. In this stage, the writer is composing his/her ideas together to create the "rough copy" or "rough draft". This page is not turned in so we move on to the third stage. Revising. This is the time where the paper is viewed by peers and colleagues for critiquing and suggestions where as the writer take notes of the ideas. After that, the writer goes back and edit his/her paper. Adding some new information and erasing some old ones is an effective way to create a nice piece of work. after editing, it is best to revise it more until the writer is happy , then we move to the final stage. Publishing. After all is well and done and the writer turns in his/her paper, he/she is relieved from the whole thing until the grades are finished and their masterpiece is returned back to them.

LilMarc113

Writing Process by LilMarc113 | Make your own at www.toondoo.com

The overall idea to this reading was focused on the students writing and language abilities.

Resources:

#TarletonOOC Week 4 Tools: Websites and Apps. (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2016, from http://online.tarleton.edu/Home_files/EDTC_538/Week_4/Week_46.html

Google Translate. (n.d.). Retrieved June 02, 2016, from https://translate.google.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.

 Roberson, M. (2016, June 03). ToonDoo - World's fastest way to create cartoons! Retrieved June 03, 2016, from http://www.toondoo.com/user/LilMarc113 

Tendean, R. (n.d.). EBesta Dictionary. Retrieved June 02, 2016, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/djvu83/2853596914/in/photolist-2saPB2-4XzTf9-qMF7Tg-odtpJY-8p7TxK-8X9JPj-6XFJD8-4YxBEf-5QXpZW-7GyGkv-5QXpLE-gVJpNT-gUbnqX-gVJkuT-5m69Np-gVDpFG-gVF743-5maqWN-gU9tzV-gUadjo-gVJzKM-gUi8Yp-gUwPZk-gTx7Bn-gUtD4C-gVGrRq-6iD4ah-gUbtXe-gU3nAA-gUi4xR-gUtFBH-gVFaPu-gTUzT7-gVFj8R-gUhGJY-gU9D4X-gUhqiR-gVESWk-gU9dr8-gU7wfF-gU7JT5-gU9Ezk-gUut3e-gUhRsN-gU9maW-gU7y88-gVH2he-gUjKHB-gVGmEn-gU9hmV/

TERC. (n.d.). Google Images. Retrieved June 03, 2016, from https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https://www.terc.edu/download/thumbnails/11370514/Screen%20Shot%202015-10-31%20at%2010.10.37%20AM.png?version=1&modificationDate=1446300674457&api=v2

One time use of this image is courtesy of TERC/Signing Math & Science project.