Monday, June 29, 2015

My Learning Throughout This Course

         I learned so much throughout this course. It was definitely an intense four weeks which was exactly what Dr. Colum had warned us about. I think the biggest and most important thing I learned is to have patience with technology and that if something does not work try to look at it with a different angle. There were so many tools and resources I used if I did not understand something. For example, I looked at the example blogs and sites if I was unsure of an assignment. I also looked at Youtube for help with my digital storytelling, Jings, and voice overs in the PowerPoints. I am a visual learner so being able to use my resources allowed me to meet an understanding with what was being asked. 
        I really enjoyed this class. I learned how to use resources and technology in new ways I would have not even imagined before this class started. There were definitely assignments that were harder for me than others. Some of the issues I had with that was simply not feeling creative enough to come up with some of the ideas. At this point I waited to watch others and looked at examples to try and think of my own ideas. I cannot wait to implement the things I learned into my classroom to create a more 21st century student-based learning classroom. I think it will allow more engagement and excitement into my teaching. Overall I loved this class and am glad I took away so much to use it in my future classroom. 

Engineering Design Process

Ask: This is the first step in the Engineering Design Process. This is where the problems are addressed and constraints are discussed. 

Imagine: This is the second step in the Engineering Design Process. Here is where the brainstorming ideas comes into play. Designs are created and the best one is chosen to continue on with the process. 

Plan: The third step in the Engineering Design Process is when planning come into place. A diagram is created and materials are being gathered that are needed for the prototype.

Create: The fourth step in the Engineering Design Process is creating the prototype. The plan is followed from the first three steps and then it is tested. 

Improve: The last step is improving the design. What could make it work better is being discussed here. If changes are needed steps 1 through 5 need to be repeated. 



Friday, June 26, 2015

21st Century Classroom

          At first I hated this assignment. I tried working with Sketchup right away and could not figure it out. I had a few struggles with the architect site as well but overall it worked better for me. Sketchup seemed like a breeze when I figured out you could download furniture instead of actually trying to build it from scratch. 
          I really liked our design. I thought we came up with as many 21st century things we could think of. I really liked the Smartboard as the center of the room. My group also decided to not have a teacher desk. This creates the feeling of a student-centered classrooms. The computers and monitors at each desk allow more technology use which allows students to feel more comfortable with it.                     
          Looking at other designs I would not change much about ours. The first thing that I would change would be to add cubbies for each individual student. This allows teachers to put notes, papers, and artwork back into their files for them to bring home. Another thing I would change would be to use either round or half rounded tables for the students to use. Students would be able to see the Smartboard easier and they would not have their backs towards the teacher or board. The last thing I would add to our classroom is a calendar. I really liked how one group used that. I think it is important to have one up in any classroom. It would be perfect to put it right next to our current events bulletin board. 
         Overall I really liked this project and it made me excited to make and incorporate my classroom into a 21st century based classroom. 

My design:



















Our Jing:
http://screencast.com/t/bcPNseC8xB

Screenshots:



Sunday, June 14, 2015

Engaging Math Problem

       The math problem assignment was really interesting! For me I stuck on the first step. I could not come up with a engaging math problem on my own. I got the idea from a classmate about a picnic. However, I did something completely different than she said. I thought this would be a great way to incorporate multiplication. Once I came up with the question, I created a PowerPoint. I then did a voice over with every slide. The first one I explained the standard and what was previously taught before my question in the class. Then the next few were me teaching the third graders. The last slide was me wrapping up my question and explaining where I would go next with it.

Thursday, June 11, 2015

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE)

The model above represents the standards and skills teachers are suppose to have and build on while teaching in the 21st century classroom. 

The model above represents the standards and skills students are suppose to have, learn, and build on while being in the 21st century classroom. 


Social Studies Instructional Software

 https://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/culture/
This is a simulation and instructional game website. To have full access you need to buy the software or have the school buy it. There is a link that says "free stuff" for those who would still like to get ideas or use some area of the website. My mentor teacher used the educational videos on this often. It was so cool! It is a great way to engage students and introduce or further their knowledge in a specific subject. It has many different school subjects like science, math, health, and English. It can be a direct strategy by the way teachers utilize this resource. It also can be constructivist when students are playing the games or learning while using the site on their own with the information. I hope the school I teach in uses this site! 

https://www.icivics.org/games/crisis-nations
Icivics is an instructional game and simulation software. It can be used by both students and teachers! It uses a constructivist approach by allowing students to create their own knowledge about real-world problems. It makes them use critical thinking and problem solving to answer questions while they play real-world like games. Teachers can use it as well to use curriculum units, create lessons, use webquests, and more. There is more access if an account is created. It is a free account that is linked to an email address. 

http://pbskids.org/games/social-studies/
P?BS KIDS is an instructional game website. Students can play many different games that is based on the many different subjects in a classroom. It is a constructivist strategy because it allows students to explore the topics and create their own knowledge on the topics through the games. It is interactive and engaging by being kid friendly to navigate. It also is great for students because PBS KIDS use the different shows and characters throughout the games. It is more than likely that the students have watched one or two of those shows before.



Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Jing

This is my Jing for an instructional Software

http://screencast.com/t/9JnmnBDaH3

Science Instructional Software

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/kids/
This simulation software uses a constructivist approach. It allows students to learn and explore information on agriculture. It is a fun, colorful, and makes sounds on the links to engage kids on the site itself. There are plenty of areas that teach new things about agriculture. Teachers can also use it to create lessons, use pictures on the unit to show the students, have crafts/activities that go with the lesson, and much more! They upload new information often and new topics weekly. It is a great way to make agriculture more intriguing for those who may not be that interested. It can also be used for engineering because it talks about the machinery and chemicals used on plants as well!

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/space.html
Science For Kids is an instructional game software. Science For Kids has fun facts, games, experiments, lessons, and many more things for teachers to utilize in their classroom to engage students! This website uses a constructivist and directed approach. It allows students to explore the site and learn new things. It also has areas that are teacher like oriented in the way it shows the information! It is great for children AND teachers to use! It is a kids friendly site. It also is great for teachers to use on smartboards to teach more about the topic and information the classroom is learning about. It can also be used for an engineer unit! 

http://interactivesites.weebly.com/science.html
This tutorial weebly offers many different topics for all subjects. I chose science because it is hard to find software that covers so much in science. Even though it is a weebly, it has so much to offer. It is mainly uses a constructivist strategy but also can be viewed as directed because some of the specific topics and they way the weebly teaches the information. It is very easy to pick topics and follow the games through the instructions. It is a great for students to use on their own too! (Idea: homework?)

Monday, June 8, 2015

Math Instructional Software

https://phet.colorado.edu/sims/html/area-builder/latest/area-builder_en.html
          This instructional game software is a great way for students to practice their math skills. The home screen has two links. The first that is labeled explore allows students to get comfortable with the game and practice building shapes with blocks. The second is a game. The game continues to get harder as they play. It will ask them to make shapes with a specific area and perimeter by using the blocks. As the levels progress the students will receive more specific instructions of how to make the shapes. This is a great way for students to practice geometry shapes and properties.  As a directed strategy,  it focuses more on allowing them to master the skills. It is definitely kid friendly to use! It also allows students to problem-think their way to solving the questions. It is a great way for students to be engaged by learning and practicing with this website.

http://mathtop10.com/
          This problem solving software asks students to use critical thinking to answer math questions. With a constructivist approach it allows students to try and solve questions even if they have not practiced it before. On this website there are different grade tabs on the left hand side. Each tab has the corresponding content-area skilled questions that go along with each grade. This website is set for 1st through 7th grade students. Once a student chooses an answer, they get immediate feedback whether they were right or wrong. This is a great site to have students practice the different skills and broaden their knowledge on areas they have not seen or practiced before.

https://www.ixl.com/math/
             IXL is a drill-and-practice software. It is great for covering the many different areas in mathematics. Students can practice the many different skills by choosing a topic under the correct grade level. The website uses a constructivist strategy by allowing the students to choose the topic and make sense of it on their own. The grade levels have the correct content-area skills they should be working on. The website has many benefits for students. The questions are appealing and many use pictures to go along with the question. It gives feedback right away. If the student answers correctly it says "awesome" or something along those lines. If the student answers incorrectly it breaks down why they were wrong and what the answer was. It also has no time limit so the student can focus on answering the question rather than just getting it done before time runs out. Once they answer correctly, they move one. If they do not they are to review why and click on "got it" and then they will be brought to a new question. They are not learning anything new through the website. This direct strategy allows the students to continue on skill they already know and have to get even better.

Instructional Software

         Instructional Software can be used to increase students' engagement and involvement. It can also be used by teachers for instruction or integration of technology within lessons. There are so many websites out there that are NOT good to use with students. It is actually kind of hard to come by really good software. "Today, there is conversation about computer programs helping perform various teaching functions, essentially transforming the teaching process" (Roblyer, pg. 76). 
          The audience response system is a great way to assess students. It gives the teacher enough feedback to understand whether the student understands the content or not. Another reason it is beneficial is because students cannot see other's answers. This allows the students to answer to be confident. 
          The first link is called Poll Everywhere. Teachers can use it to understand student learning. They can also use it to give direct feedback to each student based off of their answer. Since the answers are anonymous, students will feel more comfortable answering and giving their thoughts in the post. 
          The second link is Google Forms. Using this type of response systems allows students to see averages and answers from other students. However, it does not give the names of students which allows them to still answer in confidence. They can use this to compare their answers to others. Teachers can benefit from this type of system as well. It gives how often each answer was chosen. Teachers can base off whether the question was too easy or difficult by reviewing the answers. They can also base future assessments and questions based upon the ones used here and the results of the students. 

My Jing:
http://screencast.com/t/9JnmnBDaH3


Book Used ( Chapters Three):
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (n.d.). Integrating Education Technology into Teaching (6thth ed.). N.p.: Pearson.

Sunday, June 7, 2015

Technology Integration Planning (TIP) Model

          Technology Integration Planning, also known as TIP, is a model for teachers. This is specifically used by those who are newer to technology use. This model was created to show how to integrate technology into teaching. A planning approach is needed to ensure strategies used will be successful. This model is useful when choosing the best strategies and materials then utilizing technology to meet needs. The three broad phases help the technology will be meaningful, efficient, and successful to meet the needs. This TIP model allows new technology integrating teachers to have a guide on the procedures and issues them may use or run into.

        This model has three phases. The first Phase is analysis of learning and teaching needs. It is broken down into a two step analysis. The first one is determine relative advantage. The second step is assess Tech-PACK. The second phase is planning for integration. It breaks down into the next three steps. The first step in this phase is where teachers decide on objectives and assessments. The second is the design integration strategies. The last step is to prepare instructional environment. The third phase in this model is post-instruction analysis and revisions. Here is it broken down into two more steps. The first step is analyze the results. The last one is to make revisions.

Phase one: Analysis of Learning and Teaching Needs
This phase is for teachers when they are teaching topics for the first time. It is also used when the strategies are not as effective as they had wished them to be. What could be changed? What could they implement? How could incorporating technology be more beneficial? This phase breaks into two separate analysis steps for teachers to use as a guide. 
Step 1Here is where teachers look at their current teaching and problems and add technology as a method that creates good solutions.If the method offers new benefits over the old one, more teachers will most likely use it.  
Step 2: TPACK was first known as TPCK and then later changed/ was added to. This stands for the combination of technological pedagogy content knowledge. This is required to integrate technology into instruction. TPACK allows teachers to identify what they must learn about to implement a new teaching strategy. 

Phase two: Planning for Integration
There are three activities that result in plans and products to carry out instructions, assess students, and create an environment that will support technology integration.
Step 3: During this step teachers figure out what students learned. They decide on the skills students should learn from a technology integrated lesson. They design ways to assess them on how well they learned and how effect the activity was.
Step 4: Teachers figure out what teaching strategies and activities worked best. They decide on how to use instructional strategies. They use the characteristics for the topic and the needs of their students to address both within constraints of the classroom.
Step 5: Essential conditions to support integrating technology are decided here. It should be effect in a class. Adequate hardware, software, and technical support are needed in this step. Providing essential needs for all students to learn is the main focus for teachers.

Phase three: Post-Instruction Analysis and Revisions
Teachers complete technology-based projects with the students in this phase. They use evidence to view how successful the strategies and plans were in solving the problems. They then use that to change the objectives, strategies, and implementation tasks to continue to better the success further.
Step 6: Things asked in this step are things like were the objectives achieved, what do students say, could the results improve, and did the integration good. It requires answering two summary questions about evaluating and revising technology strategies.
Step 7: Based on all of the results here is where teachers make revisions to anything throughout the lesson as needed. The students results should be a deciding factor of what to revise.

Below is model lists the phases and the steps that follow them.  





The ideal goal for teachers is to aim for the middle section in this diagram where all three phases are emerged. This is where they will be integrating technology the best ways possible. 











I found this picture while searching for the TPACK model. I really liked it so I thought I would add it. It shows the three main content areas and lists the tasks and characteristics in each subject.

Concept Map from Chapter 2











There were many viewpoints and theories behind the foundation of integrating technology. This is my concept map from chapter 2 "Theory into Practice; Foundation for Effective Technology Integration".

Friday, June 5, 2015

Technology Rationale

Welcome to my blog!

46% of teachers say their homework requires technology. 94% of students claim they use technology to do homework. Technology is constantly changing, growing, and advancing. Many of the jobs students will have do not even exist yet! That's crazy to even begin to think about!

Technology is such an important tool to incorporate throughout classrooms. It can create engagement, interaction, collaboration, creativity, give in depth and vast amount of information, and more.  It is crucial to integrate it during the core subjects. Technology allows to better a lesson. It should be used as a resource to help further the students learning. 

Technology is just one of the ways that allow us to get rid of the traditional style of teaching and learning. We need to start adapting to the needs of our students. Classrooms need to be looked at by the individual students and what teachers can do to to support them in all and any way possible. Technology can be used to teach different types of learners. Whether the learning type is auditory, visual, or kinesthetic, teachers can utilize their resources through technology to teach the different types. 

ITSE (International Society for Technology in Education) addresses all the standards for students. Technology brings and builds on creativity and innovation, communications and collaboration, research and information fluency, and critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making skills. It allows students to apply skills based on the 21st century demands

There are many tools teachers can use to utilize to learning how to better integrating technology. The second part of chapter two focuses on Technology Integration Planning Model which is also known as TIP. This model acts as a guidance for teachers who are new to integrating technology. It is a three phase model with a total of seven steps divided throughout the phases. Below is the Technology Integration Planning Model.



Technology continues to advance every moment. As educators it is our job to be flexible and adaptable to learn and utilize these changes. Rather than be afraid of technology and changes, we need to embrace it and use our resources to better our practices and strategies to fit the needs of our students. 

Book Used (Two Chapters):
Roblyer, M. D., & Doering, A. H. (n.d.). Integrating Education Technology into Teaching (6thth ed.). N.p.: Pearson.
Sites Used:
ISTE Standards for Teachers. (n.d.). ISTE Standards for Teachers. Retrieved June 3, 2015. From             http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers 
Video Used:
What is 21st Century Education?
                https://youtu.be/Ax5cNlutAys?list=PLvzOwE5lWqhSgJVgg7VfRkBisbmm-BFUL