Final Blog Post

Overall, my theory of learning has not really changed as a result of this course. I think that students learn through experiences and socially connecting with other students to discuss what they are learning about. They construct their knowledge through hands on engaging experiences, and can scaffold what they learned to their own lives by being able to work with other students. Learning happens when students can practice explaining, breaking down, and questioning what they have learned.

The most engaging tool that I used during this course was VoiceThread. I would like to make presentations on VoiceThread and give my first graders the chance to record their thoughts. With my class, it is hard for them to even understand what is being said and come up with a related comment because most of them don’t have a strong grasp of the English Language. Being able to use pictures and video with VoiceThread would help them to connect to the material. I would like to share the completed VoiceThread with the class after everyone has participated. I could even use it for sight words and have the word show as the image, my voice saying it, then each student could comment by using the word in a sentence.

Another tool that I would like to use is Kidspiration, which is a webbing tool. I have mentioned in many discussion boards and applications that I plan to use this tool more because it is very user friendly, which is important for young children that are still learning how to use a computer. The webbing tools can be used for any subject, and the practice of breaking the idea down into clear concepts is important as well.

One long term goal that I have is to explore and integrate more technology tools that are geared towards younger children. The application of the ideas in this course are very easy for high school and middle school students, but to adapt a program like VoiceThread to six and seven year olds is very challenging and requires a lot of creativity. I would like to devote time to seeking out more tools and developing ways to introduce them to my students so that they can use them independently in a meaningful way.

Another goal that I have is to create a year long calendar for the sequence of technology that the students are using as the year goes on. I want to think about what programs I want to introduce first, Microsoft Word, Kidspiration, Internet Explorer, and so on. Would working with Word first build the typing skills that could help with Internet explorer? Which programs fit best with each unit?

I’m looking forward to moving on with these goals and new tools in mind to plan more meaningful learning experiences for my students!

VoiceThread

http://voicethread.com/share/785220/

Ay my school, we are not allowed to retain students for any reason. Some have excessive absences, have spent less than half of the year in school, or have academic or social problems.

Connecting the Dots

The connections in "connectivism" refer to the connection between what students see modeled and what they can create and understand on their own. The model might be the teacher, a parent, or another student. That connection between seeing and discussion with others to explaining and doing independently carries through all levels of education and is highly effective because humans are social beings.

I've noticed that the most reluctant student to speak in front of the class can be the most expressive during a "pair share" with another student. I try to transition my children from the "I do, you watch" to "I help, you do", to "You do, I watch", especially in the area of writing. In college, I was always told not to model, because then the children would abandon creativity and just make what I made. But I've found that in this age of point and click visual learners, some students will literally sit and do nothing before they start working if they can't understand what something is "supposed" to look like. Also, I teach in a very impoverished neighborhood where most parents don't speak English, and for most students, they don't know what I'm talking about unless I can model and show them what to do. Sometimes it seems like individuality is a luxury when working as a team and showing examples yields much better results. Also, culturally,, my students are more comfortable working with another child because they come from large families and a large part of their identity seems to be how they interact with others.

In "Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works" the authors list a few ways to integrate cooperative learning experiences with technology, such as "multimedia projects" and having pen pals over the internet. (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn & Malenoski, 2007). I would love suggestions on how I could incorporate more group work with technology, but I am honestly stumped. I was thinking they could work together to make some kind of video using the Flipcam, but all that they would be able to do is film it, I would have to do with editing with or for them. Do you think that would be worthwhile? We've used the Flipcam to make a few "tutorials" for Literacy Stations, does that fall under this umbrella? Thanks in advance for your feedback.

Also, on a side note, I got engaged on Thanksgiving!

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA