Monday, February 28, 2011
Tests, Are They The Only Way To Assess Our Students?
No way! Our students can be assessed in myriad ways. In my opinion, the best assessment is through informal observation, for example:
you can post a question and have your students respond with a thumbs up or down, sign language for a,b,c,d choice, and use individual white boards, responders, or iPads.
Teachers can also assess their students through concept mapping, K-W-L charts, discussions, small groups/centers, etc.
Yes, tests can be an extremely effective way to assess your student's learning comprehension; however, more stress and anxiety is produced through formal assessment, students usually do not like the exams, and it takes a while to give and receive feedback. Feedback is the key to our success as teachers, and the best way to help keep our students on track with their educational goals.
I understand that it is hard to grade students off of informal observation, but you can always give them participation points, and have them reflect on their learning of the day through a class blog, journal, or e-mail.
We, as educators, need to focus more on what our students can do verses what they can prove on a piece of paper (especially with multiple choice assessments due to the fact that students can easily guess and get the correct answer). State assessments are the worst with this, not having students prove their knowledge, but select what they think is the right answer.
Another great way to show/prove student learning is through the use of portfolios and performance assessments. This way students are creating and designing to emphasize what they have learned, verses matching or bubbling in answers.
To see informal and formal assessments that are technology based, saving hours of grading time, and giving instant feedback, please watch the five minute video from schooltube.com embedded and located right above this post or through following the link below.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
A Technology-Infused Classroom!
Reflect on the idea of what a technology-infused classroom looks like. How do you plan to have a technology-infused classroom?
You enter the classroom; you have never seen anything quite like this! Students are glued to their monitors, smiling with glares on their faces. Some are surrounding a huge screen, playing the roles of wizards, moving objects, and writing all over it instantly with their fingers. Huddled in a circle, you see a small group listening to a book on CD, while following along with the story on their laptops. Another group is solving math problems with scientific calculators. All while the teacher is freely walking around the room helping those who need it, challenging those who love it, and knowing in their mind that their students are engaged, happy, and truly learning. Have you seen this scenario before? If not, you should aim to make it happen.
When price is not an issue, technology can be infused into any classroom, making such an enormous difference. Yes, there are grants available, but unfortunately, we cannot all receive them. In the future, I aspire to have all of the equipment described in my setting, however, currently I have a few of those options, and still see an enormous difference in my classroom learning experiences. Having an Interwrite Board, graphing calculators, head sets, and two student computers, have truly helped make a positive impact in my teaching and learning. Due to lack of supplies, my room is not ready to be labeled as technology-infused, nevertheless, I plan on getting it there someday! Once I have iPads for each student (or laptops), this goal will be achieved; for now, we make due with what we have, and improvise by texting each other, blogging at home (or at lunch in the computer lab), utilizing our class website, and patiently take turns using the equipment while the others use their personal white boards at their desks. Either way, students are active, responsive learners, looking forward to attending school.
http://www.asdk12.org/depts/edtech/initiatives_projects.asp
This video was created to show the impact of how and why technology can enhance classroom learning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZbkz3stWMg
You enter the classroom; you have never seen anything quite like this! Students are glued to their monitors, smiling with glares on their faces. Some are surrounding a huge screen, playing the roles of wizards, moving objects, and writing all over it instantly with their fingers. Huddled in a circle, you see a small group listening to a book on CD, while following along with the story on their laptops. Another group is solving math problems with scientific calculators. All while the teacher is freely walking around the room helping those who need it, challenging those who love it, and knowing in their mind that their students are engaged, happy, and truly learning. Have you seen this scenario before? If not, you should aim to make it happen.
When price is not an issue, technology can be infused into any classroom, making such an enormous difference. Yes, there are grants available, but unfortunately, we cannot all receive them. In the future, I aspire to have all of the equipment described in my setting, however, currently I have a few of those options, and still see an enormous difference in my classroom learning experiences. Having an Interwrite Board, graphing calculators, head sets, and two student computers, have truly helped make a positive impact in my teaching and learning. Due to lack of supplies, my room is not ready to be labeled as technology-infused, nevertheless, I plan on getting it there someday! Once I have iPads for each student (or laptops), this goal will be achieved; for now, we make due with what we have, and improvise by texting each other, blogging at home (or at lunch in the computer lab), utilizing our class website, and patiently take turns using the equipment while the others use their personal white boards at their desks. Either way, students are active, responsive learners, looking forward to attending school.
http://www.asdk12.org/depts/edtech/initiatives_projects.asp
This video was created to show the impact of how and why technology can enhance classroom learning.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZbkz3stWMg
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
The Use of the Internet in the Classroom!
"How can visual literacy and the use of the Internet impact the teaching and learning process in the classroom? What are some visual-thinking strategies you would like to use in your classroom? What role do you want the Internet to play in your classroom?"
In the 21st Century classroom, teachers need to be aware of their digital learners. Students are prone to being engaged at home through watching TV, playing their XBox, texting their friends, and sending each other messages and comments through Facebook. With this in mind, educators need to incorporate similar objects into their lesson plans in order to meet the learning styles and needs of their students.
Visual literacy is a great way to do just this. Through asking my students to represent their answers by making a collage of images that they find online, one of many ways you can incorporate visual literacy into your classroom, they get to explore, think, create, and decide. They are asked to think on a higher level, getting them out of their normal routine of being asked a question and then responding in their journals. They also can look at their peers results and critically critique their final product. Students truly enjoy this style of learning much more than they do in the traditional way. I have tried visual literacy a couple times in my science class this year, and in the end, I have found great results.
Searching the web, I found this awesome "periodic table" (being a science teacher I thought this was 'cute') of visual methods you can use in your classroom! It has a lot of great strategies in it! :)
http://www.visual-literacy.org/ on February 2, 2011
Personally, not only would I enjoy incorporating visual literacy in my classroom more often, I would also love for my classroom to revolve around the Internet. Currently, I am attempting to make this a reality; however, this is hard to do in a title 1 school. If all of my students had the Internet and a computer at home, I would be in cloud nine, but unfortunately this is not the case. To make up for the students who are lacking these resources, I provide them with adequate time to use my student computers at lunch and after school, yet some of them still elect to not come in (they are too busy, etc.). What I use the Internet for currently, is for a class website (with assignments, announcements, and all of our documents), a classroom blog filled with higher level thinking questions (ndahlberg.edublogs.org), and for providing my students with their online textbooks so they can study and complete assignments online at home. Using these resources, my students are engaged, more organized, and above all more motivated to complete their work.
In class, I also utilize the Internet. We use brainpop videos for visual reinforcement and quizzing (brainpop.com), my.hrw.com for pre-made powerpoints and games, search engines for answering questions and researching, discovery streaming for documentaries, google earth and space for science and math, online simulation labs, and online games for centers and enrichment, to name a few. All of these resources help enhance my students learning process visually, which increases their retention and engagement.
Comparing last year, my first year of teaching (unfortunately without using the Internet all that often), to this year (using the internet hourly), I can honestly see a difference in my student's test scores, attention spans, and motivation throughout my classrooms. I plan to never end my class improvement, but this is definitely the start to a great beginning when it comes to supplementing my digital age learners.
Found on http://visuallit.wordpress.com/ on February 2, 2011
In the 21st Century classroom, teachers need to be aware of their digital learners. Students are prone to being engaged at home through watching TV, playing their XBox, texting their friends, and sending each other messages and comments through Facebook. With this in mind, educators need to incorporate similar objects into their lesson plans in order to meet the learning styles and needs of their students.
Visual literacy is a great way to do just this. Through asking my students to represent their answers by making a collage of images that they find online, one of many ways you can incorporate visual literacy into your classroom, they get to explore, think, create, and decide. They are asked to think on a higher level, getting them out of their normal routine of being asked a question and then responding in their journals. They also can look at their peers results and critically critique their final product. Students truly enjoy this style of learning much more than they do in the traditional way. I have tried visual literacy a couple times in my science class this year, and in the end, I have found great results.
Searching the web, I found this awesome "periodic table" (being a science teacher I thought this was 'cute') of visual methods you can use in your classroom! It has a lot of great strategies in it! :)
http://www.visual-literacy.org/ on February 2, 2011
Personally, not only would I enjoy incorporating visual literacy in my classroom more often, I would also love for my classroom to revolve around the Internet. Currently, I am attempting to make this a reality; however, this is hard to do in a title 1 school. If all of my students had the Internet and a computer at home, I would be in cloud nine, but unfortunately this is not the case. To make up for the students who are lacking these resources, I provide them with adequate time to use my student computers at lunch and after school, yet some of them still elect to not come in (they are too busy, etc.). What I use the Internet for currently, is for a class website (with assignments, announcements, and all of our documents), a classroom blog filled with higher level thinking questions (ndahlberg.edublogs.org), and for providing my students with their online textbooks so they can study and complete assignments online at home. Using these resources, my students are engaged, more organized, and above all more motivated to complete their work.
In class, I also utilize the Internet. We use brainpop videos for visual reinforcement and quizzing (brainpop.com), my.hrw.com for pre-made powerpoints and games, search engines for answering questions and researching, discovery streaming for documentaries, google earth and space for science and math, online simulation labs, and online games for centers and enrichment, to name a few. All of these resources help enhance my students learning process visually, which increases their retention and engagement.
Comparing last year, my first year of teaching (unfortunately without using the Internet all that often), to this year (using the internet hourly), I can honestly see a difference in my student's test scores, attention spans, and motivation throughout my classrooms. I plan to never end my class improvement, but this is definitely the start to a great beginning when it comes to supplementing my digital age learners.
Found on http://visuallit.wordpress.com/ on February 2, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
How Technology Adds Value to Education
Blog 1: Describe the importance of the using a variety of instructional strategies and the value they add to education of students in the 21st century. Evaluate the role technology plays in the implementation of various instructional strategies. How will this impact your teaching of students in the 21st century?
In the 21st century, our students are technology natives. We need to incorporate technology use into as much of our daily lessons as we possibly can. For example, if you follow the EEI model of teaching, you should use technology in your objective, rationale, direct instruction, guided practice, closure, and independent learning. Research has clearly shown that students must be engaged to successfully learn anything. So whatever strategy we are using, it must be hands on, enticing, and provided with a clear rationale. Along with a solid rationale, data should also be used within classrooms periodically, showing knowledge growth etc. Either way, as educators, we need to focus on making learning fun and valuable to our students. Hopefully, as the years go by, we will get better and better at this, making school a happy experience rather than something students dread.
Some specific strategies that you can use include, but are not limited to, cooperative learning structures (there are so many I will not even list them, if you want to know all of them e-mail me or visit the site kagan.com, it is amazing), debates, jigsaw, scavenger hunts, postcard field trips, field trips, chunk and check, and research projects to name a few. The importance of incorporating these into your classroom is because it truly does make your students feel that learning is fun, important, and valuable. Your students usually learn social skills throughout these processes as well, which is a bonus. To enhance these teaching strategies, you should also add technology in. You can do this via blogging, having students create PowerPoints, using smart boards, iPads, researching the Internet, utilizing web 2.0 sites, podcasting, using scientific calculators in math, having students use their cell phones to text their opinions on a topic to their classmates or paraphrase key topics, using CPS responders to go over data, quizzes, and tests (especially benchmark tests), and computer study islands to name a few. Technology incorporation is limitless, which is the beauty of it all. Changing classroom setting to follow these, or similar, strategies will impact not only the teachers, but also the students. Learning will actually take place, smiles will be on faces, teachers will not be as exhausted (because usually during these strategies students are teaching each other, while teachers are monitoring), and students will learn how to socially interact with one another, preparing them for their futures. This is definitely a win-win situation!The following website has a lot of fun teaching strategies that you all might enjoy adding into your classroom, as well as myriad other techniques and advice!
http://serc.carleton.edu/NAGTWorkshops/coursedesign/tutorial/strategies.html
Also, this newspaper article, is very intersting, asking the quesiton "can I teach effectiviely using technology?"
http://www.mmdnewswire.com/importance-of-technology-in-education-this-weeks-topic-on-the-gateway-to-21st-century-skills-16740.html
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