One example of using internet in the classroom takes place in 7th grade English. These classes spend an average of 1 - 2 days a week working in computer labs. They are given a general topic and asked to research the topic. In the beginning of the year they are only asked to write a few sentences about their choosen topic, but as the year progresses they will be required to write longer papers and include correct citations.
Another great example for including internet in the classroom occurs in science. The 7th grade science teacher has a wiki for his class that allows students and parents to remain up to date on what is taking place in teh classroom. This teacher incorporates internet research into a genetics project. Two students are paired together at random through drawing from a hat and the couple is also assigned a random assortment of features (i.e. hair color, body build, IQ, etc.) These students will research their genetic characters and determine what their children will look like and create a life for their characters that include jobs and hobbies that would fit their body type and IQ.
In my math classes, I had students research careers that they would want to work in and determine how math would apply to this job. They must determine their average salary and creata a family budget on theis salary. They will look at how many kids they want to have, if they will work once married, and what are "necessitites" and "luxuries." They will determine what type of life style they can afford based on their amount of education and employment they choose.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Marazon's Promethean Study
When reading Marzano's study, it was interesting to see how the effects of a promethean board can vary in different settings. the first note that I made, was that it had the lowest gain in improving instruction, a "small" gain, in the middle school ages. There were "medium" gains at the elementary and high school levels. I would find it interesting to further investigate why this change occured. Additional information that was presented is that the more experienced a teacher is and the more comfortable they were would greatly increase the positive effects of the promethean board. This concept alone proves how important continued education is for teachers. There was also valid information presented that showed that when a promethean board was used between 70 and 80% of the time, it would be most effective. If a teacher was to over use the promethean board (over 80% of instructional time) then there were negative effects discovered in the research.
I believe that Marzano's study would be very beneficial when trying to incoroporate promethean boards into a 3rd grade classroom. You can show the chart that demonstrated a positive "medium" gain in every area at the elementary level. When presenting to a school board, you must not only show the evidence of gain for the students, but you must also stress the importance of adequate teacher training to support these gains. It would be beneficial to have a promethean board available to use in your presentation so that the school board could see first hand examples of the benefits of a promethean board.
I believe that Marzano's study would be very beneficial when trying to incoroporate promethean boards into a 3rd grade classroom. You can show the chart that demonstrated a positive "medium" gain in every area at the elementary level. When presenting to a school board, you must not only show the evidence of gain for the students, but you must also stress the importance of adequate teacher training to support these gains. It would be beneficial to have a promethean board available to use in your presentation so that the school board could see first hand examples of the benefits of a promethean board.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Podcasts in the Classroom
I have thought of a couple different ways that podcasts could be incorporated at Sayre High School. In my classes, I often have students create presentations to review topics before a test. Creating a podcast would be another great example of how students could work together to review. If students had podcasts created for each chapter, they could use them as review when preparing for their final.
Another use for podcasting would be to explain what forensics is and how to prepare and compete in different categories. This would be a great project for students to use as a class assignment or as a senior project.
Another use for podcasting would be to explain what forensics is and how to prepare and compete in different categories. This would be a great project for students to use as a class assignment or as a senior project.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Gmail Driving Google Apps Adoption at College
This article discussed the expansion of Google apps on college campuses. Google is trying to encourage universities to drop their previous email host and other software and go straight Google. There are many advantages and disadvantages to this switch, which is why I had some mixed feelings while reading the article.
At first, the proposal sounds too good to be true. Students can email, collaborate, and share everything they want for no cost to the school. Using Google in college would allow students to continue using the same account after leaving college. It would be a universal account for students who transfer from one college to the other and it would allow the easy access to documents from any location with internet access.
If you stop to think, the picture isn't quite as perfect. Although, I enjoy using Gmail and many other applications, they don't always seem as user friendly as opening a word document or excel file. One immediate problem is that not everyone has internet access and, especially in the rural areas, there isn't always high speed internet available. Trying to use these applications while on dial up is frustrating and often ineffective. There is also the concern of security. When a campus has control of the email accounts and other applications they can create more specific filters and fire walls.
I think that it is good most colleges aren't jumping on the Google train without thinking first. They are mostly finding ways to utilize the benefits of both worlds. This is another great feature of Google, you can use as many or as few of the features as you want. http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2007/08/gmail-adoption-driving-google-apps.ars
At first, the proposal sounds too good to be true. Students can email, collaborate, and share everything they want for no cost to the school. Using Google in college would allow students to continue using the same account after leaving college. It would be a universal account for students who transfer from one college to the other and it would allow the easy access to documents from any location with internet access.
If you stop to think, the picture isn't quite as perfect. Although, I enjoy using Gmail and many other applications, they don't always seem as user friendly as opening a word document or excel file. One immediate problem is that not everyone has internet access and, especially in the rural areas, there isn't always high speed internet available. Trying to use these applications while on dial up is frustrating and often ineffective. There is also the concern of security. When a campus has control of the email accounts and other applications they can create more specific filters and fire walls.
I think that it is good most colleges aren't jumping on the Google train without thinking first. They are mostly finding ways to utilize the benefits of both worlds. This is another great feature of Google, you can use as many or as few of the features as you want. http://arstechnica.com/business/news/2007/08/gmail-adoption-driving-google-apps.ars
Google Applications
When you start to work with Google and all of the different applications the search engine has available you will be amazed. I have been a long time user of Gmail and Google docs, and I have always been impressed by their convenience. Since we started unit 3 I have created a Google calendar, a personal search engine, and a Google notebook. These are all resources that I have used in other programs, but the most useful feature of the Google applications, is that you can access them anywhere there is internet.
I created a calendar and can see where being able to share this with students and parents would be another great resource to communicate about homework, projects and tests. It would allow for everyone to have easy access to when things were assigned and when due dates occur.
Personal search engines have the convenience of giving students quick and easy research opportunity, without them having to filter through material that isn’t accurate. If students research using the approved search engine, they know their sources will be appropriate.
I can see some great uses for Google notebook. The way I applied for this unit was to put my Essential Questions, vocabulary, and homework from chapter 1. This can allow for two convenient options. First, I can easily share this information with my fellow teachers. I was the only teacher to use this curriculum for the first year, however, there will be three of us using the resources next year. We can use an online notebook to check to see each other’s progress and share different teaching strategies. Secondly, I can share this notebook with students and parents so they would have access to what is going on in the classroom.
These are just a few applications that I have had a chance to experience in Google. I can see many ways to utilize these sources to collaborate with students, teachers, and parents in an effective manner.
My search engine:
I created a calendar and can see where being able to share this with students and parents would be another great resource to communicate about homework, projects and tests. It would allow for everyone to have easy access to when things were assigned and when due dates occur.
Personal search engines have the convenience of giving students quick and easy research opportunity, without them having to filter through material that isn’t accurate. If students research using the approved search engine, they know their sources will be appropriate.
I can see some great uses for Google notebook. The way I applied for this unit was to put my Essential Questions, vocabulary, and homework from chapter 1. This can allow for two convenient options. First, I can easily share this information with my fellow teachers. I was the only teacher to use this curriculum for the first year, however, there will be three of us using the resources next year. We can use an online notebook to check to see each other’s progress and share different teaching strategies. Secondly, I can share this notebook with students and parents so they would have access to what is going on in the classroom.
These are just a few applications that I have had a chance to experience in Google. I can see many ways to utilize these sources to collaborate with students, teachers, and parents in an effective manner.
My search engine:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Life in Web 2.0 and more...
After reading the story about a school that has gone totally web 2.0, I was impressed and overwhelmed at the same time. I think that we are slowly (very slowly) on our way to changing education, but we have a lot of hurdles to overcome.
The first hurdle is time, our school gives us very little time for any type of professional development and has us teaching multiple preps 6 or 7 periods a day out of 8. Once you get these technologies incorporated into your classroom it will be easier to maintain. We need to be willing to work one step at a time with the changes. I like the idea of having a blog that lists weekly assignments and allows for comments. I think this would be a wonderful source that could supplement my online grade book to communicate with parents. It would also allow for students who missed work to have instant access to the lectures and a way to ask questions in open forum.
The next hurdle is getting everyone on board. The school described had all teachers work together as a team. This is a transition that must start at the top, with administrators working to encourage and demonstrate the applications of these new technologies. It would be wonderful to have a blog to access where you could see a list of upcoming meetings and have discussions about the current concerns in the school.
Other issues that would need to be worked through is motivating students to get started. In the web 2.0 school, the students described where already highly motivated. We would need to continue different styles of rewards for students who weren't motivated by "having more access to the wiki page." We would also need to work with parents and students to make sure that computer and internet access was at home to allow these students to complete online assignments and work together. If a student doesn't have these resources available out of school, we are putting a lot of stress on them to complete assignments.
The first hurdle is time, our school gives us very little time for any type of professional development and has us teaching multiple preps 6 or 7 periods a day out of 8. Once you get these technologies incorporated into your classroom it will be easier to maintain. We need to be willing to work one step at a time with the changes. I like the idea of having a blog that lists weekly assignments and allows for comments. I think this would be a wonderful source that could supplement my online grade book to communicate with parents. It would also allow for students who missed work to have instant access to the lectures and a way to ask questions in open forum.
The next hurdle is getting everyone on board. The school described had all teachers work together as a team. This is a transition that must start at the top, with administrators working to encourage and demonstrate the applications of these new technologies. It would be wonderful to have a blog to access where you could see a list of upcoming meetings and have discussions about the current concerns in the school.
Other issues that would need to be worked through is motivating students to get started. In the web 2.0 school, the students described where already highly motivated. We would need to continue different styles of rewards for students who weren't motivated by "having more access to the wiki page." We would also need to work with parents and students to make sure that computer and internet access was at home to allow these students to complete online assignments and work together. If a student doesn't have these resources available out of school, we are putting a lot of stress on them to complete assignments.
Introduction to Blogs
From what I have read about blogging and learned through various article is that blogging can and will transform our classrooms into the 21st century. It would give the students a chance to offer up their immediate comments on assignments and receive feedback through a digital medium they already use daily.
This blog will be used to share ideas about how to improve education in the 21st century. I am consistantly looking for new ways to engage my math students to investigate and think of how problems work and how they can be solved.
This blog will be used to share ideas about how to improve education in the 21st century. I am consistantly looking for new ways to engage my math students to investigate and think of how problems work and how they can be solved.
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