Reflection

“Instructional Theory versus Learning Theory” by Dr. Orey described how learning theories can feed into technology integration into the classroom. The learning theory examines what goes on in the learner’s mind during the learning process. The instructional theory is when strategies are used in the learning environment to facilitate learning.

I believe that all students can learn, and that teachers should use as many teaching strategies as possible to meet the needs of every student. I am a fan of Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences. Lessons should be created to meet the needs of each student, and like Dr Orey said, “The environment in which we teach may also vary.” (Orey, 2001) One tool I would implement into my classroom is cooperative learning. I believe students can learn a lot from each other, and with this type of interaction all students can be successful. Another tool I already use a lot is the advanced organizers. Advanced organizers help kids to lay out all of their information into things other than words like graphics. Children who have trouble expressing themselves verbally really have a good time with the advanced organizers.

Two long term goals that I have set for myself are as follows: take more risks with technology and to provide more immediate feedback to my students. After this course and my previous courses, I have learned a lot about the advantages of using technology in my classroom. I want to go beyond the simple power points and advanced organizers with my students. Lastly, sometimes I don’t respond to my students like I should because there just aren’t simply enough hours in a day, but I am going to make it a priority.

Voice thread

voicethread.com/share/784904/

Social Learning

I believe that social learning can be beneficial for some students within a classroom. Other students may not be able to handle it, so as a teacher, you should have some other strategies to use in your bag. I like using social learning in my classroom, but I have to monitor this group of students a little more than I had to with previous groups. I would think that middle school aged children would be able to handle social learning more, but from my personal experience thus far, it seems that they can’t.

On the other hand, I do enjoy watching my students work cooperatively and collaboratively. I do believe that they learn a lot from their peers, and that it boosts their confidence when they feel like the experts in a situation.

Constructivism Theory

I really enjoyed this week's resources and what they had to share about how students learn. I especially like the constructivist theory. This theory states that people learn best when doing things, like building an artifact and then they share it with others. In my classroom, I ask my students to complete projects, and then sometimes they share their final results with the class. The students enjoy doing the projects, because it is like they are taking control over their own learning. They create things and construct their own meanings. I believe that when students build and create they will remember things longer, or have something to connect a piece of information with.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone!

Cognitive Learning Theory

Dr Orey in "Cognitive Learning Theories" explains how important it is to use multiple sensory components when teaching. It is important because like all people, students learn better when they are able to use a variety of their five senses. He also explained how the brain connects with previous information, and that we never really forget information, we just have to have a method or process to get to it. That is why we need to let our kids experience things, and have many connections to a piece of information. I also like what Dr. Orey said about using word processing information programs as table making charts. Students have the opportunity to fill in the table with pictures, key words, and web resources to help them remember information. I can really see how that would be beneficial to a visual child, in which most students are. I think this strategy with get students very involved since they would be the creators.

I think that drill and practice, remediation, and traditional tutorial programs have a relevance in classroom of today. They should not be the main source of teaching, but used as tools when needed. I think drill and practice is the best way to learn basic addition and subtracting facts 0-9, as well as multiplication facts. Remediation is also great for students who function at a lower than average level because of certain behavioral problems/disorders. Most of my students fall in this category. Online tutorials are greatly appreciated in my classroom. Having the same information presented in a way different from the way that I teach it, works well with a lot of my students. We use a program called Compass Odyssey in my district and it has been very successful.
Behaviorist learning theory and instructional technology are ways of giving immediate feedback to students . This is great for students, especially when they have set academic and behavioral goals for themselves.

Reflection

This class EDUC-67101, Understanding the Impact of Technology on Education, Work, and Society has been very beneficial to me. I have always been a little intimidated by technology, but having to actually experience things on my own to pass an online class has gotten me a lot more comfortable. I feel like I am ready to tackle any form of technology now. Technology is something everyone will have to face sometime in their life to thrive in this world. My entire school district this year is going paperless, so people really need to get familiar with computers.

This year I plan to use a lot of technology in my classroom. I just hope and pray that administrators and parents will support my ideas. I plan to give opportunities for a lot of collaboration and try to create a student centered classroom. My first goal for this school year is to not work harder than my students. I want my students to have more responsibility and I want them to lead discussions, so that they won’t have to sit through boring lectures like I did as a student. My second goal is to expose my students to all sources of technology and continue to teach them 21 Century skill to help them be successful in future endeavors.

I am going to continue to be a life long learner and hope that I am able to work and collaborate with colleagues who are on the same page as I am. I plan to participate in as much professional development as possible. My district offers a lot of free courses on technology, so I think I am going to take advantage of that.

New podcast URL

http://shondamelvinawilliams.podomatic.com/player/web/2009-08-08T09_20_02-07_00

Here is the URL to my podcast:

http://podcastmachine.s3.amazonaws.com/1442/6838/jermainejohnson.wma

Partnership for 21 Century Skills

My first reaction when looking at this particular website was that it was going to be a whole lot of boring reading. Everything looked organized and well thoughout, but will it really benefit me? As I skimmed across the information, the members and partners really grabbed my attention. Seeing those big names like Dell, U.S Department of Education, and the National Education Association really made me feel like this could be interesting and worth looking into with more depth. I honestly thought it was going to talk about all these different kinds of technology and teaching kids how to use them to their advantage. I was surprised to see that the website proposed plans about how bring education, business, and government together. The proposals wanted to create productive memebers of society.

I don't really agree or disagree with the information on the website. I think it all sounds grand. There are so many plans and proposals to do this and that when it comes to providing and better education for our students, I'm just anticipating the day when something really happens.

This year my students could not agree on anything. I teach fifth and sixth graders who really love to talk and love the computer. Whenever we had discussions they went on for hours. I think as for as my classroom, I would use my blog as a place for my students to make comments or to respond to daily questions. I would post daily questions or just ask for their opinion on content that we discussed. They could read what the the different comments and we would even talk about some in class. With the students being able to blog everyone would get a chance to say what they feel, and not just a few outspoken ones.

I have recently started taking on line classes. I was afraid at first, but once I completed one class I began to feel comfortable. I am learning so much in my technology program. This week I learned about something called the RSS feeder(Real Simple Syndication). It sounds cool and I can't wait to learn more about it.