Chapter 3

Gee's principle of probing (p. 54) states that learning is a cycle of probing the world (doing something) and reflecting in and on this action and forming a hypothesis. Select 3 principles you think it would be important for education.
*Active, Critical Learning Princible- all aspects of the learning environment are set up to encourage active and critical, not passive, learning.
*Practice Princible- Learners get a lot of practice in a context where the practice is not boring. They spend lots of time on task. 
*Multimodal Principle- Meaning and knowledge are built up through various modalities, not just words.




Good simulations are hard to create. If you were creating a simulation for your class, what activity would you support? What variables could students manipulate? How would they affect each other?


I would use a geometry activity  and my student would get to manipulate the length of the legs of a triangle. 


In short, simulations can be used with any content area and can be easily created with the use of technology. 


References 


Jonassen, D. H. (2008).Meaningful learning with technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Week 13

Technology Based Rubrics


Technology Based rubric is a code or a set of codes used for assessing a complex performance. When a teacher uses rubrics it is easier for students to understand the requirements for an assignment and also the teacher's expectations. Rubrics also serve as a guide so that the student can refer to it any time while in the process of completing the assignment.


Clicker Assessment Tool


These student response tools are used in some elementary and college schools in order to support assessment and engage students. The clickers look like television's remote control and have several buttons labeled with letters and numbers. They are also wireless and very easy to handle.


 Inspiration/Kidspiration Software


This type of software enables people to create maps, presentations and a huge number of diagrams to use at  school in order to make instruction more fun and meaningful. 



HOW could all three be used in your classrooms?
I could use rubrics to make the requirements for assignments more clear and understandable. 
I could  use clickers to assess my students and to increase student participation. 
I could use Kidspiration  to introduce a new concept or to review for a test.




References






Inspiration Software, Inc. - The Leader in Visual Thinking and Learning | inspiration.com. (n.d.). Inspiration Software, Inc. - The Leader in Visual Thinking and Learning | inspiration.com. Retrieved November 25, 2010, from http://www.inspiration.com






Jonassen, D. H. (2008).Meaningful learning with technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.

Chapter 9 Visualizing with Technologies

- Explain "Digital Storytelling by Kate Kemker." Why do you think it would work in your classroom? 

Digital story telling is a great way for students to create digital stories by using their creative skills. First the students plan the story, secondly they use a camera to shoot their video and finally they edit their video using the help of a computer. 

I certainly think that this learning tool would be great to use in my classroom because it will help my students develop their creative and critical thinking skills while at the same time learning how to use some types of technology. 

- Mathematics is one of the most abstract subject-matter domains. Helping students to visualize mathematical concepts is very useful in helping students make math real. What other methods suggested in the textbook will also help make math more real to students?   

 Tinkerplots  are very useful tools that enable students to see different patterns so that they get a better understanding of a concept. Geometric Supposer is another useful tool that enables students to choose a shape and construct it by defining points, segments, parallels, etc.

- Is it possible to learn from TV alone?--that is, learn how to do something merely from watching TV instruction?   

Some times it works, but sometimes you need the on-on-one help. I think that for visual learners it works just fine, but let's keep in mind that not anyone can understand a concept by watching a video or a clip on TV. 

References

Jonassen, David H.. Meaningful learning with technology . 3rd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Week 9

 What did you learn about podcasting.  How it can be used in the classroom?

I learned that podcasting enables anyone to produce audio and video content for others to see and listen anywhere anytime. People can  have access to it with the help of a computer and the internet. Podcasting can be used to record a math or science lesson and make it available to all the students that might get easily distracted or that have reading problems.

 How is podcasting different / similar to other Web 2.0 applications we discussed so far?

Blogging and Wikis are  great tools for communication through written language but, podcasting uses audio, visual and written  language. This enables all types of students to make use of it more effectively. 

Podcasting can be downloaded to a MP3 player and can be seen and listened to anytime and anywhere we are. However we can combine it with blogging assignments.

Your reflection:  Do you own an iPod or MP3 player?  How do you use it?  Would you use it in your classroom and how? What do you think about advantages/disadvantages of online communication tools?

I do not have an iPod or MP3 player because they are very expensive. However I would love to use one of these to create an audiovisual book for my students in order to help them with reading comprehension. 

I really like online communications but sometime the server 's  not working and it messes my plans big time!

References


"You Tube." Podcasting in plain English. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Oct. 2010. <www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMgemQahuFM >.


Crismond, David, Jane Howland, David H. Jonassen, and Rose M. Marra. Meaningful Learning with Technology (3rd Edition). 3 ed. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

Web 2.0

  I would like to hear from you how and when you will using wikis and blogs with your students. Provide an example.  I would like to use blogs in my future classroom to answer questions about projects and assignments. To reflect on readings and to engage my students so that they communicate not only with me, but with their classmates. It will also be a great idea to use blogging so that parents know what is going on in the classroom and to keep them informed about test dates and project due dates.

What do you think about Socialbookmarking? Would it be useful for you and your students? How? Explain. Are you interested in creating a VoiceThread? Why/why not? I do like Socialbookmarking. It is a great way to save good, educational wed sites and I can access it anywhere not only on my computer. Another great thing is that anyone can see and benefit from them. It makes life a little more easier. 

I would like to use bookmarking in my classroom in case some parents would like to have extra, outside of classroom practice for their kids. 

On the other hand, I certainly think that VoiceThread is fabulous! I would use it to introduce new vocabulary, to create an e- book with my children as narrators, to talk about important people  or just for fun! I loved it!

 When talking about learning communities, what do you think about Tapped In? Have you explored it? If you have, do you think it's useful for you as a teacher? If you have not, what do you learn from the textbook?

I do think Tapped In is helpful. I had heard about it before, but I really did not know what it was called. This summer when I went to Mexico, I interviewed with a group of educators and they told me that they use this type of technology to talk to other students around the world.Which, I think is a great thing to do in the classroom because it enables us to know and learn about others.


References


Crismond, David, Jane Howland, David H. Jonassen, and Rose M. Marra. Meaningful Learning with Technology (3rd Edition). 3 ed. Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.


"N.p.." mlearning. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <mlearning.wikispaces.com/>.


Leelefever. "Dailymotion - Social Bookmarking in Plain English - a College video."Dailymotion - Online Videos, Music, and Movies. Watch a Video Today!. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2010. <http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2rqw9_social-bookmarking-in-plain-english_school>.

E- portfolio

 Why do you use assessment activities? How do you use assessment activities as a way to generate feedback that can improve learner performance?

We use assessment activities because it helps us see what a student can do and what skills he has acquired throughout a period of time. They aslo help us in assessing students in a more feasible and effective way.

What is e-portfolio? How does it help teachers and students? What are computer-based tests? Does the use of computer-based tests impact validity and reliability? An E-portfolio is a set of "digitalized " work that may include clips, sound, artwork, writing samples, videos, etc. It helps teachers when assessing the student's efforts and progress. 


Computer based tests are a type of assessment that can be taken on a computer, or that are graded with the use of a computer. They are very reliable and can be formated the way we want them to be and at the level of difficulty we choose.


Conclusion


In short, an  E-portfolio is a type of computer based assessment and can be used by instructors when assessing student's skills taught previously. By using these types of assessments teachers measure student's progress and are able to help improve learner performance. 


References


Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassen, D. H., & Marra, R. M. (2007). Meaningful Learning with Technology (3rd Edition)(3 ed.). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall.

Copy Right

Copy Rights

  Why do we have to respect copy rights and fair use rules?  Why is that so important?  How will you teach your students about this?
We need to respect copy rights rules because they are protected by law. It is illegal to reproduce or copy somebody else's work and we can get in big trouble for doing this. As educators it is our responsibility to make sure we teach our students the copy rights and fair use rules so that they understand the importance of these. We need to keep in mind that we as teachers serve as models for our students and if we project integrity and trustworthiness, our students will follow the same path. 
I think that a good way to teach students about copy right rules would be having them write a book of their own. Then I would pretend I am stealing one of the books; then I would ask them what I did wrong. After that, I would talk about copy rights rules and how art and litterary works are protected by this form of legal protection.


What is online safety and is it different from cyberbullying?  How can we protect our students and ourselves from potential online predators?Online safety tips and suggestions help prevent cyberbullying form occurring. We need to be very careful when navigating the web, but most importantly, we need to make our children aware of the online predators and bullies that are just waiting for them to give out their school or home address, their names and personal info. It is very important that we talk to them about online safety and cyberbullies.We want the best for our kids so we need to make them aware of such things.


What do you think about this week activities?  Did you learn anything new?  

I did learn more about the copy rights and fair use rules. I really enjoyed going to all the websites provided by instructor Moore. 

I think that we need to be more careful when using the web, but most important is that we keep our kids safe from cyberbullies and predators.

Citation

Bullying UK - The UK Anti-bullying Charity - BullyingUK Registered Charity 1120107. (n.d.). Bullying UK - The UK Anti-bullying Charity - BullyingUK Registered Charity 1120107. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://www.bullying.co.uk

CyberBee. (n.d.). CyberBee. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://www.cyberbee.com

NetSmartz Homepage - Resource has Moved. (n.d.).NetSmartz Homepage - Resource has Moved. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://www.netsmartz.org

U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.).U.S. Copyright Office. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://copyright.gov

University of St. Francis . (n.d.). University of St. Francis. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from http://www.stfrancis.edu

n.d.. (n.d.). A Teacher's Guide to Fair Use and Copyright. Retrieved September 30, 2010, from home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm

Intro

ETEC 424

Hi all!
I have created my ETEC 424 blog and I have to say that it was pretty easy. I am done with my journal assignment and I am  ready to start blogging. I am having fun with this class and I hope the best for all of you.
Maria