ED636 - Fall 2006

ED636 - Fall 2006
Thomas Petra
Visual Thoughts

What I’ve learned so far is that I am already applying many of the concepts presented in the textbook, but I am behind the times in a lot of areas. Technology can be hard to keep up with, and some of it requires money and advanced equipment.
After reading the chapter on visuals in my book, I thought about how I may be already applying those ideas. I am a math teacher so we are quite dependent on visuals in my class. The majority of visuals I use are nonprojected visuals. I try to make my room visually appealing to the students. I use motivating posters including one of Albert Einstein. I have charts of conversion tables, early Chinese number systems, and one for tracking typhoons. Sometimes I will hang something on the wall that in unrelated to math just to stimulate ideas, for instance a Guam fruit chart or a topographic map of Mount Rainer. My students and I use drawings and charts on an almost daily basis to solve math problems. Drawing a picture is a method they apply in problem solving. When my students make a graph or chart, I require them to do it by hand. I know there are computer programs to generate these, but I think my students need to arrange and produce these by pencil on paper to learn the concepts fully.
We do not use projected media as much as nonprojected media. I have an overhead projector in my room but I don’t use it often. Although I have produced transparencies, when I do use the overhead, it is usually by drawing directly on a clear sheet. I have used the projector to demonstrate with manipulatives. I had never heard of a document camera before. That would seem to be a useful tool for a math teacher to use.
But as far as overhead projectors go, I find it quicker and easier to do things by hand on a white board.
I was surprised the book even mentioned slides. That seems so ancient now. What interests me most now is projecting via a computer. That would really make things easier for me. I could make charts or diagrams on my computer and display them the next day. I could display information downloaded from the Internet or even have a modern-style slide show.
We use visuals constantly in math to diagram the abstract and communicate ideas. This has been done since Euclid drew in the sand with his finger. I could continue to represent visuals as I am, but I also have to understand that my audience is getting a lot more sophisticated. So, I would like to place an order for a computer projector for my classroom and a document camera for the math department. Are they cheap?

My thoughts on Instructional Technology

So far I have learned that visuals play a huge role in instructional technology. Two of the first six chapters were devoted to discussing them. Instructional technology is also not a new concept; ever since the first teacher started taking chalk to write on the chalkboard, that teacher was already demonstrating instructional technology.

Personally, I would like to be consistent in my use of instructional technology. Like the book says, it's not technology until it is "used" or "applied". Last school year I used a lot of technological tools, from handheld computers for math applications to computers with Internet access to visit different websites for educational purposes. This year, my math class is the one that is really getting the benefit of any technological innovation from me. I would like to see myself giving more opportunity for my science classes to use technology. Logistics is partly the reason but that is another story....

I count myself lucky to have been given the opportunity to teach in a school that supports technology. Other teachers are not as lucky. I should learn to use this to my own and my students' advantage...

ED636 - Fall 2006

Reflection on what I learned in this class

I have to admit that I'm taking this technology class for the challenge and it happens to be quite a challenge. After the presentation on the Assure Model, the WebQuest and Livetext instruction I read a lot on education and technology.The next step for me is to use what I learned in my classroom regularly.

Technology for learning

Depending on the field the term technology has different meaning.In the school system technology of learning includes the theory and practice of design, development,utilization, management and evaluation of process and resources for learning.
The role of media in instruction: with the introduction of media in the school sytem people were afraid to see the teachers disappear slowly from the classrooms.It appears that teachers are more than never needed in classrooms to design, organize,direct, supervise the lessons even though the education system is moving from the instructor-directed instruction to the student-cetered instruction .In the student-centered instruction the student does more than listen and take note. The student nowadays has more parts, more responsabilities in his or her education.
Technologies and media play an important role in distance education and special education because they allow the student to be independant, to learn at his own pace without the physical presence of an instructor.
Some observers made the remark that technologies in learning dehumanize the teaching/learning process.I believe that the teacher is still the backbone of the school system. The technologies and media support , reduce the work of the teacher allowing him or her to take care of other aspects of the learning process.
Technology per say is not an alienating product. it's the inadequate use of it tht make harmful.

What you have learned and your thoughts on instructional technology.

So far, I have learned that I am very uncomfortable trying out new technological ideas in my classroom because I just don’t think much of this is appropriate for the type of program I teach. The International Baccalaureate English program especially the higher level, which is what I teach, demands quite a bit of personal interaction with the literature. This interaction involves discussion and presentations that are to be verbal analysis with very little technological support. IB also is not a very flexible program when it comes to time – we are on a tight schedule, especially at the higher level. There really is no time to be wasted frivolous activities. We read, analyze, write, and speak. I find that the tool the students need is the teacher.

I have already incorporated Moodle as a homework submission site and Rolly has been incredibly supportive with working with me in this. I haven’t really been able to expand beyond journal type entries.

I feel that instructional technology has a place in the classroom, but not as a primary instructional tool. Like with everything else, the technology should be used in moderation.

ED636 - Fall 2006

ED636 - Fall 2006

I have learned quite a bit so far, but not nearly as much as I would have liked. Am I discovering that I am not a big fan of technology. I kind of guessed that before, but having online classes has pretty much confirmed it for me. I need to have actual classes. I am very much "old school". It is difficult for me to deal with the freedom, I guess, of having online classes. It is also more difficult when I don't understand something.

I have learned some interesting things about visuals and audio, however. One such interesting thing was that no matter how you prepare there are times that your message isn't getting through. The book called this "noise". The glare on the chalkboard, the buzzing of a fly on the light, the desire to go to the bathroom; any of these can distract a child. Visuals and audio, though, help keep those distractions to a minimum by giving the child something interesting to focus on.

I use visuals a lot in class. Because I deal with second graders they tend to need concrete examples, which I try to provide. While reading the book, however, I realized that the visuals I use might not be enough. I do a lot of drawing on the overhead and the board during class, but I think sometimes I need to spend some extra time ahead of class and find actual pictures. This is especially true when dealing with certain kinds of animals and concepts in social studies. I am not a good enough artist to draw a perfect picture of a badger, for example. My students would benefit seeing a photograph a lot more than my drawings. In social studies, my students have trouble every year with the differences between cities, towns, and farming communities. I think having more pictures of these things, perhaps on a bulletin board, would really help them. I plan to start that soon. That is something that could help my students a lot.

It is my opinion that the technology level of my classroom is fine the way it is. While my kids mainly use technology such as overheads and taking tests on a computer, I don't think it is necessary to add a lot more. I see the benefits of having a lot of technology with older students, but at this age I believe my children need their basics, and most of those can be taught without too much technology.

ED636 MILESTONE #2

September 26, 2006 is ED636 Milestone #2

SIGH...
So far, the struggle to complete all the requirements have been daunting. Thanks to St. John's School, I am able to access the Internet with ease and convenience. There were so many pages to read, and so many thoughts to type. Well, no complains. This is the price for my commitment to professional development.

WHAT HAVE I LEARNED?
Having read over photocopied pages on Chapters about Visuals and Visual Principles, I have discovered some ideas that can enhance my teaching.

ON VISUALS
Images are powerful instructional media. They are not to be taken for granted. With creative preparation and purposeful planning, I can use them to teach Math and Science in a more effective way.

My students can analyze pictures to draw the concepts that are the objectives of the lesson. I do not have to neccessarily do the usual lecture and presentation thing. They can enhance their learning by using their critical thinking skills. Such is an inductive approach that uses their skills and interest in viewing pictures or video segments.

St. John's has a lot of digital gadgets available for instructional use. I can design their use to make my lessons engaging and interesting. We have cameras in handhelds that I can use in Science to make the students illustrate the concepts of evaporation, condensation, and others. These are not the normal classroom procedures but surely will make the lesson relevant to their everyday life.

ON VISUAL PRINCIPLES
Of all the ideas that were mentioned, I was interested on the importance how we present our visuals. I was curious about following the Rule of Third when designing posters, bulletin boards, or taking pictures. There was the guidelines on font sizes and line spacing. Designing visuals is not at all done at random. These are proven guidelines that will make the message be understandable to the learners. I guess it is just a matter of practice as to how they will be done. For now, I must make sure to practice (one guideline at a time) them when creating visuals for my lessons.

ON INSTRUCTIONAL TECHNOLOGY - MILESTONE #2
Classroom instruction have become more sophisticated because of the technological advances. Students have also become technologically literate. They cannot anymore be treated like the students a decade ago. Instruction must suit their capacities inorder to achieve learning success. There is a great competition of the way messages are delivered in today's television and film to the way messages are delivered in the classroom. Hence, upgrading and updating the teaching style according to technology is necessary.

This Instructional Technology course is truly relevant and is a must for the effective teacher!

ED636 - Fall 2006

Visual principles
In the past teachers have used visuals but they were mainlya show of words.Nowadays visuals are more appealing than before.
The result of a study comparing a visual-based and traditional instructions shows that there is a slight superioty for achievement with the visual based instruction.In that statement ,we have to consider many other factors that can influence the findings.
-Visuals offer to the learner representation,images and sounds that are easily remenbered.
-Visuals have the possibility to capture attention, to get more interest from the learner.
-Visuals simplify the information, support it and reinforce it. Visuals explain with images and they also reduce the effort of the learner.
The visual literacy is an important point for the teacher and the learner.It refers to the learner possibility to interpretate the visual correctly.The learner should be able to decode the information for the visual to accomplish its purpose.

ED636 - Fall 2006

Media and instruction
Using the word media we most of the time think about jounalism. This reading reminded me that media is by definition any form of communication of knowledge or information.
The media was introduced in the school system as early as 1905 in a form of a class trip to a museum.Media appears to be very important in the education world because it brings to the learner the support that can not be obtained through words only.By media I now understand all the activities that I've been using in class.(presentation,demonstration, discussion, drill,practice,games...).
The introduction of media in the school system and the developpement of technology push me to ask why do we still need teachers in the classrooms when the students can get his intructions from the internet.
I believe teachers are needed to channel and organize instruction.
The media is a supplemental support for the teacher.
I could even say that with the media the teacher can easily allow his students to travel the world, learn about the thing that surround the student in a fun and creative way.
In choosing the media for a lesson a teacher has to have in mind the learners cultural background, their age and the effects that the media will hve on them.
The teacher should go through the " 5P".
I really enjoyed the chapter and decided to use the media available to me wisely.

ED636 - Fall 2006

ED636 - Fall 2006

Thomas Petra
“Media and Materials” response
ED 636 - Dr. Riverra

While reviewing the concepts of media and materials in the text Instructional Technology and Media for Learning, I was able to judge my own recent performance and learn something new. The most important realization I have made from this task is that teachers can use technology to make more efficient and varied lessons for their students.
If teachers wanted to enhance a lesson in the past, I think the traditional question they’d ask would be “Is there a video?” Although availability may have been a criterion in the past, that needn’t be the case now. Depending on the method of instruction a teacher may want to take, there are a variety of media formats he can choose from and with increased ease. Although the preparation of these materials may be time consuming, the overall goal of student learning can increase greatly.
I have been recently working on a Health and Nutrition unit for middle school students. There wasn’t any available unit for me to use and I didn’t have much notice to prepare for this. Basically, I will have different middle school classes for 30-40 minutes, 4 days each quarter on a rotating basis. So, I need 16 lessons for the school year.
My first objective was to build the awareness in students of health and nutrition in their lives. Is there a video? Well, actually that is how I started. I decided to use a documentary called “SuperSize Me” that I had recently watched. The video recounts the experiences of a man who ate nothing but McDonald’s food for 30 days as a health experiment, while also presenting startling information on the current obesity epidemic in America. This video definitely met my objective of building awareness, as I still hear students talking about it primarily at lunchtime. Although I initially viewed the movie for my own enjoyment, I went back and previewed it about 5 more times this time with an educator’s eye. There were several scenes that “may be considered unsuitable for younger viewers” that I flagged for censorship. I also mapped out what chapters on the DVD I would use and created a time log so that I had the material I wanted that fit the time span for the class. I introduced the video and told the students what to watch and listen for. This took two of my four days with them, so the remaining two days I gathered materials from different sources in the form of handouts and nutrition activities. So far, I feel I followed the concepts of media and materials fairly well presented in our textbook. But I also have 12 more nutrition lessons in the future to fill, and that is where I learned the most from our book.
The viewpoint of teacher-centered instruction is what most teachers would follow. It would be time-consuming, but I could shift my nutrition unit to student-centered instruction with increased learner participation. Instead of finding food pyramid handouts left in a desk, I could present students with a multi-media health education that will be more meaningful for them.
I need to gather materials and sources. I probably would have used nutrition labels for manipulatives, but maybe I can find one of those 10 pounds of fat molds to give students something they can touch. I already have nutrition fact sheets provided by McDonalds but I could also have the students compare the nutrition of different fast food restaurants on the internet more easily. Students can make charts, go on hypermedia webquests, and I can research more videos on nutrition. In fact, I recently found that there is a educationally enhanced DVD version of SuperSize Me available with 24 curriculum lessons. I’m sure there are also plenty of nutrition pamphlets available for free, I just need to order them. This will be a work in process. The nice thing about having the students on a rotating basis is that I can edit and revise the lessons’ content. At the end of the year, perhaps I will have a nutrition unit the school can use in the future.
I chose the topic of health and nutrition to teach students in this time spot because I think their health habits are horrible and it is a topic most educators glance through, especially in the higher grades. I wanted to give them something more memorable and hopefully make an impact on how they live their lives in the future. The media and material concepts from our text couldn’t have come to me at a better time.

What I have learned?

Blog posting on what I have learned.

The most interesting thing that I have learned in ED636 is how to use MOODLE. I still have many questions about it but I am sure that with the practice I will became an expert on using MOODLE

I have also learned how to use Live Text which will help us to create our own portfolio; I loved this idea of creating a portfolio on line, instead of creating one on a binder.

Another very important thing that I have learned is to develop a lesson plan following the ASSURE model. Before I was only familiar with Madeline Hunter’s Lesson Plan of Direct Instruction which has seven steps to follow: 1. Objectives 2. Standards 3. Anticipatory set 4. Teaching =input, modeling and check for understanding 5. Guided practice/monitoring 6. Closure 7. Independent practice. The seven steps make a good check list of elements in planning a lesson, just as well as the ASSURE model.

Araceli

ED636 MILESTONE #1

I marked September 06, 2006 as ED636 Milestone #1. I have learned two important teaching tools:
1) ASSURE MODEL
2) WEBQUESTS

ASSURE MODEL: I learned that this is a valuable template in making effective lesson plans. ASSURE is an acronym that stands for:
A = analyze learners
S = state objectives
S = select instructional methods, media, & materials
U= utilize media & materials
R= require learner participation
E= evaluate and revise

This method or guideline "assure" the teacher of having adequate understanding of his/her audience and of planning for the appropriate action to achieve effective teaching and learning. There is an in depth understanding of the quality of students that will receive the instruction. Having so, the lesson is design to accommodate the various competencies of the students. Thus, the classroom activity is relevant and is engaging. The teacher is confident that the students will learn in the manner they all understand.

This ASSURE model is appropriate to today's teaching strategy. It highlights technology integration into the curriculum. It is central to the ASSURE guideline. The teacher uses the available technological tools with which students are drawn to a very engaging learning experience.

WEBQUESTS: I have learned that Webquest is a teaching tool that lets students learn through a technologically thematic learning environment. It uses the Internet (World Wide Web) as a source of information from which students are guided to analyze given data inorder to achieve the learning objectives through their critical thinking skills.

Through the various internet links, I learn that Bernie Dodge and Tom March invented this inquiry oriented activity to make learning interesting and relevant. I learned that the following make up the Webquest:
1) Introduction
2) Task
3) Process
4) Resources
5) Evaluation
6) Conclusion

I had critically evaluated 3 webquests. By doing so, I was able to appreciate what makes an excellent webquest. In summary, an excellent webquest is one that achieves the learning objectives, one that is interesting and appropriate to the desired end user (student), and one that reinforces learning with critical analysis and conclusion.

Lastly, we ended the class with an overview of how to use the Livetext resource, a truly great website - a must have for every teacher who wants to integrate technology into the curriculum!

ED636 - Fall 2006

What I’ve Learned So Far

While we have learned a good deal so far, what made the biggest impression on me was the Web Quests. Until September the 6th I had never even heard of Web Quests. I have rarely used the Internet with my students in the past. The most they ever got to use the Internet was to see pictures of certain animals when we discussed them in class. With Web Quests, however, my students would be able to do so much more.
The first great thing that I saw with the Web Quests was people have already created so many that anybody can use. We went through at least four different Web Quests and saw links for many more. There were some which weren’t any good, but for the most part I was quite impressed with what I saw. They gave me ideas, and if I had more computers in my classroom (or even a projector that worked with my current computer) I think I would definitely use some of them. The best one that I saw was about Ancient Egypt. I would have been excited to use such a Web Quest when I was in school. It really was a “quest”. Users had missions to complete, there were interesting pictures, and there were links that lead to other interesting websites. I was immediately pulled into the Web Quest. There were others, though, that were not so great. One Web Quest that we viewed (only, I believe, so that we would never make one like it) was about pilgrims. The original idea was pretty good, but the creator had obviously not spent a lot of time creating it. It was short, without much content, and many of its links did no work.
Later on we are going to have to create a Web Quest as well. The idea worries me, mainly because of the work that will have to go into it to make it worth looking at. I do not want to have one like the Pilgrim Web Quest. Finding all the necessary links, pictures, and ideas will take quite a long time. The thing that worries me the most is that I have no idea how to create such a thing. It seemed in class that we were expected to know how to create webpages and the like, which I have zero experience with. Even though it isn’t due for quite a while I am already stressed just thinking about it.

What I Have Learned

So far, this class has been going great! While the technology may seem overwhelming (lots of media resources to learn in so short a time!), it can be done. Like I tell my students, the only way to really learn is to get your hands dirty and do it. I must confess that even though I already know some of the technology, I am not very consistent in using it and so I forget most of the resources' functionalities. I must always remind myself to use, use, and use!

I liked the webquests and I salute the teachers who devote time in making them. With the webquests, students are not just let loose on the Internet with nowhere to go. I have seen students go to sites that are inappropriate for their age because they do not yet know how to evaluate a site for its accuracy and authority. Which brings me to my next point: I would like to teach students instead on how to search and evaluate sites so that they may be more independent when researching for something where a webquest may or may not be available to them. It's like teaching a child to fish rather than giving him the fish, don't you think?

ED636 - Fall 2006

Rachel Kerr
ED 636
Dr. Matilda Naputi Rivera
September 6, 2006
Blog entry – what has been learned


So far, this class has been very interesting. Without having a text yet, all learning has come from class discussion and activities. While so much information has been covered in class, what I have found particularly interesting has been the webquests, the ASSURE model and exploring the different submission sites.
The webquests were interesting to analyze because of the different qualities each contained. Although the class consensus was that the Egyptian webquest was the best, I still question using it as a primary teaching tool. I think that it would make an interesting enrichment activity. I could see how I could use webquests as an assessment tool for students to make for projects, especially with history and American Literature. I am pondering what material I will cover in my webquest, because I would like to create something that will be meaningful for my subject area and my students.
I enjoyed learning about ASSURE model on how to create meaningful lessons. Even though I have been teaching for a few years, it is interesting to learn about the newer research. The presentation was great because it gave us time to actually apply the ASSURE model to an actual lesson.
Having time in class to explore the internet sites and the different submission sites has been great. I am one who gets easily lost and frustrated with the technology. Going over blogs and moodle step-by-step has been very beneficial to me. The direct instruction on the sites has shown me how easy it is to use these sites. I am looking forward to exploring more uses for these sites.
ED636 - Fall 2006

ED636 - Fall 2006

ED636 - Fall 2006

ASSURE... ARE YOU SURE?

Today, Arlene, Araceli, and I are presenting to the ED636 class the ASSURE MODEL in developing an effective and efficient lesson plan. In just few days of prep time, we were able to make a decent and good presentation.