Reflective essay

Being in Technology for educators, I had the opportunity to learn a lot and meet some great people. Everything that we did in class was new to me. I was able to learn about using technology inside and outside of the classroom.

I learned about what discussion topics were and was given the opportunity to do some for assignments. It gave me the ability to discuss a specific topic with my classmates and receive feedback as well. I liked doing the discussion topics because I was learning more as I was doing research and sharing it with others. This would be good for sharing information with other teachers or educators on whatever the topic is.

Digital blogs was a useful technology that I learned about this year. In the beginning I found digital badges to be difficult and boring. But, as I got used to doing them, they became easier and fun to do. Digital badges helped me to expand my knowledge on a concept and explain how it relates to technology. In education, teachers could use digital blogs to share information with other teachers and get ideas from one another.

After learning about rubrics and how to create them, I was confident about doing my own. Doing the website evaluation rubric was a fun, educational assignment. I was able to create my own rubric and evaluate an educational website. Doing this assignment showed me that I knew how to create rubrics and use them effectively.

Learning how to create web quests was interesting to me. I learned what web quests were and how to create one for a classroom. Doing the web quest was one of my favorite assignments. I enjoyed creating my own web quest and found it a fun assignment. Now I know that educational web quests should include an introduction, task, process, evaluation, conclusion, and teacher page.

After learning about wikis, we were able to come together in groups and create our own as a team. Using wikis are good ways to share information or research that you would like others to know about. Doing the instructional strategy wiki was an assignment that allowed us to take what we knew and researched about, and put it into a wiki to share with others.

I was most interested in doing the teacher webpage e-portfolio. I enjoyed being able to share things about myself and some of my accomplishments in the classroom.  Being a teacher, I would have a fun time putting together my e-portfolio. I’m glad that I got the opportunity to learn about e-portfolios and how to create one myself.

Going into this technology classroom, I had no idea what I would be learning about. After being in this classroom I am more confident about the use of technology and how it can be used in the classroom. I was able to learn that it’s more to teaching than just doing it the traditional way. Taking this class made me see that there are many other creative ways to teach and to enhance your knowledge. What I liked the most about this class is that we did an assignment for every topic we discussed. This helped me because it was a way of showing that I was learning and getting something out of it as well. What I would improve for this class would be that we have a longer time to get assignments done because they were very time consuming.

Digital Badge #L

Virtual field trips take students to places all over the world without leaving the classroom (Maloy, 140). The benefit of having virtual field trips is that it’s a flexible teaching approach. Some students could go on these field trips, while other students could work with the teacher or other projects. GoogleEarth has a variety of virtual tours, from all around the world. I like the idea of the virtual field trips because students get to visit places that they probably wouldn’t be able to visit on an actual field trip. I also think that virtual field trips help those schools that can’t afford field trips. Their students have the benefit of using these online trips and tours. It’s a creative, fun way to get students to learn and be engaged. Some virtual field trips and tours that are online: National gallery of art, Palace of Versailles, and Great Wall of China. Below is what a virtual trip looks like.

                                        video credit to googleEarth

There are six types of educational websites for teachers and students to use for academic learning (Maloy, 145). Two that I liked were skills practice websites and exploration and discovery websites. Skills/practice websites offer subject-specific activities for students at any grade level (Maloy,147). A lot of teachers use these websites as teaching tools and I find it useful. Students can use these sites during class while in small groups. I think that having skills and practice websites expands students learning more, along with what the teacher has already taught them. Khanacademy.org is a great skills and practice website for any grade level. It offers a lot of short videos that reviews basic concepts; math, science, history. Below is an example of what videos are like on khan academy.

                                       video credit to youtube

Exploration and discovery websites are for students to engage in online explorations. Students are using these sites for interactive learning activities. I like these sites because they provide a lot of information that a student could be looking for. Some exploration and discovery sites are good when doing projects. One that was mentioned in the book was BioKids: Kids’ inquiry of Diverse Species. I thought that this website was a good one because it offered online resources about animal lives and habitats, and ways for kids to create their own web-based biodiversity maps (Maloy, 148). I find that using educational websites increases a student’s knowledge about a topic. I also think that they offer a different, way of learning. 

references:

Earth. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.google.com/earth/explore/showcase/3dimagery.html#tab=los-angeles

 Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Multiplying Fractions. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTKMK1ZGLuk

Digital Badge #K

Preassessments are activities that occur before a new lesson or topics is taught. Using preassessments, teachers are able to determine what students already know and can do before they teach a lesson. Some preassessment strategies that teachers use are writing prompts, graphic organizers, observations and surveys. I like the idea of having preassessments because teachers get to know more about their students individually. Teachers are able to know where their students are before they teach a lesson. That gives them the ability to know where to start with each students. Also, not all students learn at the same level, so I think that having preassessments shows the teacher what level each student is on and gives them an idea of what the lesson should involve. Below is an example of how a preassessment would look in graphic organizer style.

Online survey is a preassessment strategy that is delivered and tabulated online (Maloy, 285). The purpose for online surveys is to help teachers know what students already know about a topic before a new lesson. I like that online surveying is being used because it is more relaxing than taking tests. Students like online surveys because they are not tests with right and wrong answers or high or low scores (Maloy, 285). I also like online surveying because they identify what the students already know and what they would like to know. As the book mentioned, online surveying creates a sense of collaborative learning in which students and teachers work together. I agree because teachers are showing that they want to know about their students and students are giving the teachers evidence of their knowledge. SurveyMonkey is an online survey that the book mentioned thats an easy-to-use survey tool for educators.

 Every teacher should have a digital teaching portfolio. It’s an organized collection of educational and professional materials that’s stored in an electronic format (Maloy, 279). A digital teaching portfolio documents one’s academics, teaching, talents, and accomplishments. The book mentioned that documenting professional learning accomplishments is a way to provide career-related information to school administrators and other educators (Maloy, 279). The benefits of these portfolios is that teachers are able to see their growth and development over time. Other school administrators are able to also look at a teacher’s portfolio and get ideas on career-related information. I like the idea of teachers having digital portfolios and would encourage that they are used. Below is a cool video about digital portfolios.

video credit to youtube 

references:

 Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Teachers e-portfolio.wmv. (n.d.). Retrieved November 13, 2014, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W2Vpn1iaNo

                

   

Digital Badge #J

Learning assessments are what teachers use to evaluate a student’s knowledge and understanding before, during, and after teaching a lesson. The book mentions a variety of different assessment tools that teachers may use. Some were multiple choice and short answer tests, oral discussions, and student projects (Maloy,77). Some technology tools that could be used to evaluate could be electronic tests and quizzes, digital portfolios, and online surveys (Maloy,77). Having so many different assessment and technology tools makes assessing more creative. Teachers are able to switch up on how they want to evaluate their students. Students are also able to experience different assessments and engage in other ways to show that they are learning. Below is a sample learning assessment that I created on FlipQuiz. 

I believe that performance assessments are great ways to measure students learning. With performance assessments, students are assessed through presentations, projects, or class participation. Teachers are actually able to see what the student knows with performance assessments. It also allows them to see where the student may be struggling at. I think that using performance assessments makes it easier for the students than by just giving them a traditional assessment. They don’t have to be so uptight about testing and are able to become more engaged. Below is a sample performance assessment that a student might create. 

Student performance rubrics are what teachers use to evaluate a students work on assignments and activities. Teachers use rubrics so that students know exactly how they will be graded and what activities or accomplishments that they need to complete to achieve a learning level or grade (Maloy,90). I think that using student performance rubrics is good for both teachers and students. Teachers are able to provide descriptive expectations of what they want of their students and students are able to get a clear understanding of what the teacher expects of them ahead of time. I think that using student performance rubrics are a way for the teacher and students to communicate with one another. I created a rubric to go along with my performance assessment sample. 

Flamingo/Ostrich assessment Rubric
CREATIVITY	No pictures 0 pts	Unrelated pictures 1 pt	1 related picture per slide 3 pts	At least 2 related pictures per slide 5 pts
RESEARCH	No facts 0 pts	1 unrelated fact per slide 1 pt	1 related fact per slide/per bird 3 pts	At least two facts per slide/per bird 5 pts
GRAMMAR	More than 1 misspelled / misused word 0 pts	At least 1 misused or misspelled word 1 pt	Incorrect use of words, but correct spelling 3 pts	Words spelled correctly and used correctly 5 pts

reference: Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Digital Badge #I

One/Two/Three time is an instructional mode that uses technology as a central element of classroom learning (Maloy, 309). Students are split into two or three smaller groups and rotate, every twenty to twenty five minutes, through different learning experiences, sometimes called small-group rotation. At least one or two of the groups will use the computer for their activity. They call one/two/three time learning centers in elementary school, but it can also be used in upper level classes. What I liked about this instructional mode was that it helps large classes become more manageable and students are able to get individualized instruction or extra practice. Using one/two/three time is more effective than whole class instruction because it doesn't leave students detached from learning activities. I think that small-group rotation is a good and useful instructional mode because students are involved more in what they are learning. I created three small group activities that would be an example of one/two/three time when working with sight words.

Group 1	Group 2	Group 3
Activity 1: Students will be in a group of three or four and will use their sight words to play bingo. Each student will take a turn choosing a word and will say the word aloud and use it in a sentence. (Students will rotate to next activity)	Activity 2: Students will work in pairs or a group of three on the computer and create a story on Storybird using their sight words.  (Students will rotate to next activity)	Activity 3: Students, in groups of two or three, will go on a scavenger hunt around the classroom, and find their given sight words, using the clues they have.  (Students will rotate to next activity)

What I found interesting in chapter twelve was the concept Crowd Funding; using the internet to do educational fundraising (Maloy, 318). The two websites that the book mentioned were kickstarter and PeerBacker. Teachers and school are able to go on and create profiles and post what they want to fund. Many teachers have found ways to build small-scale partnerships with local businesses, service agencies, and charities (Maloy, 319). What I liked about crowd funding was that teachers and schools are so interested in supporting education. I feel like it is important that they are given these many resources to support their interests and help them.

As a way of integrating more technology in the classroom, the B.Y.O.T program has been launched at some schools (Maloy, 309). B.Y.O.T stands for Bring Your Own Technology, and is sometimes called bring your own device. With this program, students are allowed to bring any technology device that can be used for educational learning purposes. I believe that this program can either be a good idea, or a bad one. I say a bad idea because some students may have some of the newest or latest devices, while others may only have older devices. Another way B.Y.O.T could be a bad idea is if a teacher is not up to date with the new technologies that students are bringing to class. In order for this program to be beneficial, I think that schools should provide those with no technology devices with devices that they will be able to use in the class and not be left out. The book mentioned that students can buy or rent laptops for schools that can’t afford it for them. Teachers would also have to have a good amount of knowledge on the latest technologies being used. They need to be familiar with these technologies and how they work.

photo credit to googleimages

reference: Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Digital Badge #H

Digital projector, photo credit to William Hartz on flickr

Chapter nine shared a lot of multimedia technologies for teachers to use. Some teachers may use a digital projector or a document camera in the classroom. Both of these tools expand how PowerPoint can be used as a student-engaging form of information presentation (Maloy, 220). A digital projector can be used to project images from a computer to a large screen. A document camera projects images from books and other materials onto a large screen, or whiteboard (Maloy, 326). I think that these technologies make it easier for teachers to present a lesson more effectively. Before these multimedia technologies were introduced, teachers used an overhead projector and photocopies of material to expand their lessons. Now they are able to use the digital projector and camera. What I liked about the digital projector and camera is that they can transform the computer screen into a “theater-like learning environment.” (Maloy, 220) 

Next-generation presentation tools are tools that encourage nonlinear, dynamic presentations that expand how students think about topics (Maloy, 224). Teachers and students use next-generation presentation tools to expand how information can be shared in the classroom. Prezi, Animoto, and Glogster are some presentation tools that are used. Prezi allows teachers and students to create visual displays online using nonlinear approaches to information and edit slides. Animoto allows teachers to expand how information is presented and received through video clips, pictures, sound, and text (Maloy, 224). With this tool students can create digital storytelling projects. Glogster lets teachers and students create digital posters, glogs, which combines the use of images, sound, and graphics with text. What I liked about glogster is that the students and teachers are able to share their posters through email, on a website or a blog. I liked the fact that both teachers and students are given a variety of tools to help them expand the information.  I feel that it makes teaching and learning more creative and engaging. Below is a sample Prezi PowerPoint. 

credit to Prezi

references: Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Digital Badge #G

                Differentiated instruction is an instructional approach that teachers use to create different educational experiences that meets the learning of individual students (Maloy, 248). With this instruction teachers create different learning styles that benefit the students individually. Also, students are given the option to work on task according to their interest. What I like about differentiated instruction is that all of the students are learning from the same curriculum, but just in ways suited for them individually. The book gives an example on how students are split up into groups to learn about probability. Even though each group is doing different tasks, they all are still learning about probability. I think that differentiated instruction is good for both teachers and students because it gives them a sense of being comfortable when teaching and learning.The Differentiated Classroom is a book that I found that helps teachers with differentiated instruction. 

                I've learned about word clouds during this course, and find them to be fun and creative. A word cloud is a visual representation of text (Maloy, 253). Teachers and students can display written words visually on the computer. Word clouds can be effective when focusing on discussion openers and graphic organizers for students. What I liked about word cloud is that it gives an idea of what the topic will be about. I also like this because it interests those students who learn better visually. Tagxedo, a word cloud site, stood out to me the most because of its creativity. It lets you create cloud patterns in shapes of animals, famous people, and geographical maps. I liked that idea because not only does it interest the students, it enhances what they are learning about. I created an educational word map on Tagxedo.     

                Some students have a difficult time spelling words or understanding concepts. What’s good about electronic spellers and dictionaries is that they provide students with accurate spelling and meanings of words. Another good thing about these devices is that students that have hearing impairments, or are just learning English can use headphones to help benefit them. The Speaking Homework Wiz was a cool device I found in the book. It contains a 46,000 word dictionary and a spell checker with word pronunciation Maloy, 256). What I liked about this device was that you could also look up words within your definition of a word. I think that electronic speller and dictionaries are helpful to students. They are given the ability to learn how to spell correctly and know the meanings of words. 

photo credit to googleimages

                
















References Maloy, R. W. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Boston: Pearson.