#3 Some critics believe there's no place for Internet projects in today's world of high stakes testing and emphasis on student achievement. What is Harris'(2000) answer to this criticism? What is your answer?
From what I understood Harris doesn't think that the high stakes provides student learning or student success. Telecollaboration and teleresearch are two great ways of helping kids learn in the classroom. He also talks about how it is so important that the tools are used properly. He says that technology at times has not been used correctly or to it's best ability. Students will only be able to learn with the tools used appropriately. Therefore, it is so important for us teachers to use the tools in the proper manner. Like Harris, I think that it is important that students learn how to use the internet as a tool in the appropriate way. I think that all teachers need to use computers, internet, technology or whatever it may be into their lessons so that students will have a high rate of success. Technology is a great tool as long as we all learn how to use it. Technology is so important in this day in age. Students are becoming understand technology more and more everyday and we teachers need to incoporate this into our lessons to engage them.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Post for Dodge Reading
After having read the Dodge article please apply at least one principle mentioned in the article to a concept applied within your own web quest. Discuss how you feel this enhanced your web quest and how you could make improvements in the future.
The think that stood out to me the most of the five principles was "chanllenge your learners to think". I think that it is so important that we really get the students involve in their learning. By using a webquest this will give the students the ability to think beyond what they might normally do. Having them have several activities and making it about 4-5 one hour lab classes can keep their minds stimulated and always thinking versus just a worksheet of fill in the blank answers. Dodge says "The key element of a great WebQuest is a great task". If we are using great tasks for out students they will hopefully always have an interest in learning and wanting to challenge themselves.
One thing that I might do differently next time is make myself more familiar with the first step "Find Great Sites". I think that this would definitely help with being able to create or have great tasks for the students. I know that at the UCET conference their was a seminar on how to properly use a search engine. I need to become more familiar with what can make my reasearch a lot easier by learning how to use the search engine website correctly.
The think that stood out to me the most of the five principles was "chanllenge your learners to think". I think that it is so important that we really get the students involve in their learning. By using a webquest this will give the students the ability to think beyond what they might normally do. Having them have several activities and making it about 4-5 one hour lab classes can keep their minds stimulated and always thinking versus just a worksheet of fill in the blank answers. Dodge says "The key element of a great WebQuest is a great task". If we are using great tasks for out students they will hopefully always have an interest in learning and wanting to challenge themselves.
One thing that I might do differently next time is make myself more familiar with the first step "Find Great Sites". I think that this would definitely help with being able to create or have great tasks for the students. I know that at the UCET conference their was a seminar on how to properly use a search engine. I need to become more familiar with what can make my reasearch a lot easier by learning how to use the search engine website correctly.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Post for Reiser Reading
#1 Explore the link below. How are the examples of Integrated Final Projects and the methods described in the Reiser article related? What would it take to teach this way? Is it worthwhile?
The two articles are very similar similar in the fact that they are doing a lot of small group work. In the TEAMS article it talks about how the students rotate in groups from one station to the next station on a daily basis. They do this until the students have been part of all of the stations. I think that the TEAMS model is great because it helps provide teachers with some suggestions for the activities at each station. I like what it says in the TEAMS model "Project TEAMS is an approach for integrating instructional technology, interdisciplinary instruction, and active learning into the middle school curriculum". I think that this is exactly what the lesson plans are doing in the UEN website. Both the Reiser article and the UEN link are great for lessons because they both give a mulitidisciplinary approach to teaching. I think that this teaching style is great because it gives the students the opportunity to work in small groups and learn from eachother. Although it takes more collaborating I think that it is well worth the effort especially when studies show in the Reiser article that they students are learning from the program.
The two articles are very similar similar in the fact that they are doing a lot of small group work. In the TEAMS article it talks about how the students rotate in groups from one station to the next station on a daily basis. They do this until the students have been part of all of the stations. I think that the TEAMS model is great because it helps provide teachers with some suggestions for the activities at each station. I like what it says in the TEAMS model "Project TEAMS is an approach for integrating instructional technology, interdisciplinary instruction, and active learning into the middle school curriculum". I think that this is exactly what the lesson plans are doing in the UEN website. Both the Reiser article and the UEN link are great for lessons because they both give a mulitidisciplinary approach to teaching. I think that this teaching style is great because it gives the students the opportunity to work in small groups and learn from eachother. Although it takes more collaborating I think that it is well worth the effort especially when studies show in the Reiser article that they students are learning from the program.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Post for Arend Reading
What are some of the behaviors of effective classroom managers as described in the Texas and Kounin studies?
In this article Arend uses two studies to describe effective classroom managers by some researchers from University of Texas and Kounin and his colleagues that were done in the 70's and 80's. Both of these studies show overall that the teachers who started out the year with a good approach to classroom management were able to continue to do this through out the school year. Teachers who did not have good classroom management tended to face trouble through out the year.
Something that was very interesting was that teachers who had great classroom management had great flow of smoothness through out the year. Due to the fact that the teacher had good classroom management skills was a teacher who had excellent instructional procedures for their classrooms. If a teacher has good flow, good activities, and good momentum in their classrooms meant that they had less classroom disruptions. Effective classroom managers were those who gave clear and precise instructions regarding homework, could handle classroom misbehavior quickly, and provide understandable presentations and explanations. Overall it is important that the teacher start out the beginning of the year with stability.
In this article Arend uses two studies to describe effective classroom managers by some researchers from University of Texas and Kounin and his colleagues that were done in the 70's and 80's. Both of these studies show overall that the teachers who started out the year with a good approach to classroom management were able to continue to do this through out the school year. Teachers who did not have good classroom management tended to face trouble through out the year.
Something that was very interesting was that teachers who had great classroom management had great flow of smoothness through out the year. Due to the fact that the teacher had good classroom management skills was a teacher who had excellent instructional procedures for their classrooms. If a teacher has good flow, good activities, and good momentum in their classrooms meant that they had less classroom disruptions. Effective classroom managers were those who gave clear and precise instructions regarding homework, could handle classroom misbehavior quickly, and provide understandable presentations and explanations. Overall it is important that the teacher start out the beginning of the year with stability.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Post for Barron Reading
What are the benefits of technology in education?
In the reading there were lots of benefits mention for technology in education. The ones that were mentioned were Instructional Effectiveness, Active Learning, Critical Thinking, Individualization, Motivation, Flexibility for Students with Special Needs, Cooperative Learning, Communication Skills, Multisensory Delivery, and Multicultural Education. There are a few that I would like to go over with a little more detail.
Active Learning - By using technology this can help create the involvement of students in the learning process. Instead of reading they can use technology to experience the what they are learning with a more hands on experience. What they are learning can become more important to the students instead of the passive learning. Studies have shown that by using active learning through computers students are learning and they noticing an increase in logical thinking, problem-solving skills, and show better scores on testing.
Individualization - Technology allow students to feel a sense of individualization. This allows all students to learn at their own pace. It helps students to express and to interact in a nonthreatening atmosphere.
Motivation - Technology not only will motivate students but it can continue to help motivate teachers. Finding a way to motivate students can be difficult at times, but by using technology this will help the students be more motivated to learn the material they are learning. It helps the students to be more successful and gain more confidence along with motivation.
These were the three benefits that really stuck out to me as to why technology can benefit students in schools.
In the reading there were lots of benefits mention for technology in education. The ones that were mentioned were Instructional Effectiveness, Active Learning, Critical Thinking, Individualization, Motivation, Flexibility for Students with Special Needs, Cooperative Learning, Communication Skills, Multisensory Delivery, and Multicultural Education. There are a few that I would like to go over with a little more detail.
Active Learning - By using technology this can help create the involvement of students in the learning process. Instead of reading they can use technology to experience the what they are learning with a more hands on experience. What they are learning can become more important to the students instead of the passive learning. Studies have shown that by using active learning through computers students are learning and they noticing an increase in logical thinking, problem-solving skills, and show better scores on testing.
Individualization - Technology allow students to feel a sense of individualization. This allows all students to learn at their own pace. It helps students to express and to interact in a nonthreatening atmosphere.
Motivation - Technology not only will motivate students but it can continue to help motivate teachers. Finding a way to motivate students can be difficult at times, but by using technology this will help the students be more motivated to learn the material they are learning. It helps the students to be more successful and gain more confidence along with motivation.
These were the three benefits that really stuck out to me as to why technology can benefit students in schools.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Italian Restaurant
What I would like to know is... what is the best authentic Italian Restaurant in the Salt Lake City area?
I would have to say that it is Settebello on 200 W 260 S in Salt Lake City. If you haven't gone you are going to have to go. The pizza is amazing and the gilato is excellent!
I would have to say that it is Settebello on 200 W 260 S in Salt Lake City. If you haven't gone you are going to have to go. The pizza is amazing and the gilato is excellent!
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