What knowledge is of most worth?

I learned that Herbert Spencer believed that those activities that led to self-preservation and preservation of the human race. I learned that Spencer believed that science was the most important subject of knowledge because science leads to the advancement of the human race, such as advancement in health and medicine. However, he did not foresee that science could be used to make weapons or other means of war. Finally, Spencer made the radical suggestion that learning should be based on discovery, not direct instruction type activities (Ellis, slide 14-15). I wondered why he is only thinking about the human race. What about the Earth? Sustaining the Earth is a necessity if the human race is to continue existing. I thought it was a short sight that Spencer did not include this idea.

Horace Mann came up with the idea that the public need and deserve an education, so that the republic will not remain ignorant. He also thought education must be paid for, controlled and sustained by an interested public (Ellis, slide 19-20). I think it is interesting that he thinks everyone should have an education but everyone should also have to pay for it. What about people who cannot afford an education? Do they not need or deserve it?

I love the idea that my subject is of the most worth, according to Spencer. However, I think it is important to remember ethics when it comes to science. Spencer did not foresee the consequences of all scientific technology, and therefore possibly did not foresee the need for teaching ethics of using scientific breakthroughs. When I teach students about different scientific breakthroughs, such as cloning or using stem cells, we always talk about the ethical issues connected with the breakthroughs. For example, we talked about the difference between using stem cells from a fetus versus using stem cells from an umbilical cord. We talked about how the cells can be used in different ways, and how the technologies could be advanced in the future. I think in the future I can have debates, or discussions to help students see all sides of each technological breakthrough.

Learning centers modified for High School Classrooms

In the reading this week, I was very intrigued by the idea of learning centers. When reading the story about Ms Matthews and Antonio, I envisioned my fourth grade class, which had a reading corner, and thought about one corner of the classroom being dedicated to resources. I could not imagine what it would be like in a junior high or high school classroom. Especially with the classrooms I’m in this year, it would be hard to set something like that up. I am in three classrooms (only because I have two mentors, each of them is in two rooms) and in each of those classrooms, there are at least two teachers.  Sharing rooms make things much more complicated than they would be in an elementary school, especially because the classrooms are crowded enough as it is. The reading suggests that these centers contain references that apply to the lessons so that students can go back and help themselves if they are confused and extra practice or independent research to help the student understand the material (Curtin, 2009, p. 109). My mentor puts up extra practice on his website, but it might be good to start an extra spot on the site for those who need extra help. Maybe have an alternate explanation, from the book or another resource. I could also include some sort of discussion board, so that the students could ask questions, and even help each other at night, or when I am not available to help. Because it is the website, I could add links to good resource websites that have extra practice, or games to help the students when they do not understand. I could use this in chemistry right now because my students are having a lot of trouble with limiting reactants, and my explanations are not reaching all of the students. I could add some alternate explanations and resources onto the website, which may help the students understand the material much better than they are in class.

Reference:

Curtin, E. M. (2009). Practical strategies for teaching English language learners. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson.

Discovery learning

In this module, I learned that education is moving towards the active student, rather than the passive student. The passive student “sits in his or her seat [and] listens to what the teacher has to say, who follows the prescribed curriculum, who turns in the assignments, takes the exams, receives the grade, and moves on to the next level”(Ellis). This classroom would have mostly direct instruction, and little constructivism or inquiry. In classrooms with active students, there is more student-student questioning and hands-on work in which the students are working together to figure something out. I learned that this idea of the active student increases the amount of knowledge the student gains by discovery, rather than by receiving it from someone else. Students internalize knowledge gained by discovery, and the idea of the active student puts the pressure on the student to learn, rather than the teacher to force the information into the student.

Philosophy of Teaching

1. What education is

I believe that education is teaches children about the world around them. Parents can teach their children the basics, but eventually children need to be taught by those who are experts in those subjects to be learned. Not everyone is an expert in the subjects we have deemed important for students to understand, which is why we have teachers for specific subjects in secondary school. Our goal in education is to give the next generation enough knowledge so that they can be competent citizens, who understand how the world works and why we live the way we do. Especially right now, with the debate about climate change in the government, students must be able to understand the science behind the theories so that they can make an informed decision about what they believe.

I believe that education can excite students about the world around them. Engaging student curiosity is important because students will be more willing to learn, and may learn more completely. The more young people we can engage with the world around them, the more involved those students will be in the world as the mature and move in to their later careers. The more involved people are, the more they participate in important events, such as elections. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2009), in 2008, of the total population 18 and over, only 71.0 percent registered to vote and 58.2 percent actually voted. It is important that all citizens have a say in how our government is run, as it is our right to do so. 63.6 percent is a far cry from all citizens, and I think the more we engage students in the classroom, the higher this number will go. The number of people who actually voted is five percent higher than the number of people who voted in the 2004 election (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009). Educating students about the election and the bills to be passed helps these numbers to keep rising.

I believe that education fosters skills in group work and collaboration in students. In their later skills, students will most likely need to be able to work with other people, whether in a single partnership or in a large group. Education is one way to help the students gain the ability to successfully work with their peers, whether at the same achievement level or not.  When working in a group or pair with a peer (or peers) at the same achievement level, a student can learn how to effectively bounce ideas off someone else, or look at a problem from a different perspective. When working in a group or pair with a peer (or peers) with different strengths and weaknesses, a student could learn how to improve their weaknesses by seeing another student’s example, or help another student with their weaknesses. In some cases, this strategy helps both (all) students with their weaknesses, and they learn much more than they would have on their own (Toward Inclusive Classrooms, 1994, p. 47).

I believe that education teaches students how to be leaders. Leadership skills are important for most careers, and the classroom is a safe place that students can use to gain these essential skills. Education can provide a model for leadership skills as well, giving many examples of leaders both in history and in present day. Leadership skills include those necessary to manage group tasks, to take initiative and plan out an agenda, to collaborate with others on a single project, and many others. All of these tasks are inherently tasks that require one to solve a problem, and students will need to have many strategies at hand when asked to solve any problem in their later careers (Sue Law, 2000, p. 175).

I believe that education teaches students about diversity. In our society, we tend to focus on how people are alike, and we cling to those things that make us the same, or that help us fit in with the crowd. Education can help students realize that differences should be celebrated, and can help our society grow. Education can show students that everyone can reach their goals when motivated enough, even if the student is reaching for the sky. Especially for marginalized and “at-risk” youth, it is important to show that everyone can be successful, no matter what their background is (Sheri C. Hardee, 2009, p. 38).

I believe education can teach students about morality and ethics, to help them see right and wrong. Morality is something that affects students daily lives on a constant basis, and education should teach them how to deal with the issues. Students are faced with issues as small as copying homework, to as big as stealing and education should give them the tools to make good decisions. I think education provides an environment in which moral issues can be discussed, and moral issues can be experienced and viewed. Although it is difficult to tell students what is right and what is wrong in all cases, there are issues that can be discussed, and examples given, but students have to gain their own sense of right and wrong for their own beliefs (Standish, 1997, p. 96-97).

1. How teaching supports

I believe that teaching supports student learning about the world because teacher can use his or her own enthusiasm for the subject material to excite the students. Teachers can be the key to student engagement. If a teacher is excited about the subject material, it is more likely to be interesting to the student (Medina, 2008, p. 76).

I believe that teachers can support collaborative learning by modeling collaboration with other teachers. Teachers can do collaborative projects with other classes, or talk about other teachers in their classes. In addition, teachers can encourage group collaboration on certain assignments or projects, even encourage the higher achieving students to help the lower achieving students understand the concepts. As students work with others more often, they will improve their collaborative skills very quickly.

I believe that teachers can model good leadership skills in the classroom, showing students a good example of a wide variety of skills. Teachers can encourage development of leadership skills by putting students in the position to use those skills often, giving them a chance to try, fail and try again. Practice will help students hone these skills, and if each student is given an equal opportunity to plan a project, or mediate discussion in a group, or give a presentation on a particular concept or idea, they will be able to fully develop problem solving and communication skills needed by leaders.

I believe that teachers can show students how differences can enhance our society rather than devastate it. Teachers can provide a model by making a point to notice students’ strengths, individually or in front of the class, whether by complimenting their work, or going to an event. Small reminders to students in class, such as, “nice job in the game on Saturday, Suzanne!” will help the students see that a teacher cares about each student enough to notice each students’ strengths and celebrate the different activities that each student excels in. Students will see this, and begin to celebrate their own differences from their peers, and maybe start to celebrate the differences in others (Noddings, 2005, 18).

 I believe that teachers can show students the difference between right and wrong through example and discussion. Using real examples will give students real situations to think about, and will force them to think about situations they could be in. Teachers can give their students good class discussions, and complex situations to think about so that students can develop their own sense of morality. Teachers should not tell students what to think, but give them time and issues to think about. Teachers can get students to develop a great sense of right and wrong if they simply give the students time to think and reflect.

I believe that teaching adds the personal connection between educational content and student learning. The teacher can be the spark that gets the students excited about the material and engaged in the school community. When teachers take in to account the situations their students are in, the environment they grew up in, and the state their brains are in, as teenagers, they can alter the way they teach to accommodate for the issues most teenagers have. We can use research on the brain and knowledge of our students to coordinate our lesson plans to help them learn the best they can. We can help the students by previewing material, priming the students for the material, and repeating the material with the students, because this is the way their brains learn best (Jensen, 2005, p. 39). As teachers, we are trying to educate our students, and help them succeed in school. The more we can do to help them succeed, the better teacher each of us will be.

References

Dalheim, M. (1994). Toward inclusive classrooms. National Education Association of the United States.

Jensen, E. (2005). Teaching with the brain in mind (2nd ed.). Alexandria, Virginia: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Medina, J. (2008). Brain Rules. Seattle: Pear Press.

Noddings, N. (2005). The challenge to care in schools: an alternative approach to education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Sheri C. Hardee, A. R. (2009). Women’s well-being initiative: creating, practicing, and sharing a border pedagogy for youth. Perspectives on Urban Education , 6 (2), 29-40.

Standish, R. S. (1997). Teaching right and wrong: moral education in the balance. Staffordshire: Trentham Books Limited.

Sue Law, D. G. (2000). Educational leadership and learning: practice, policy and research. Buckingham: Open University Press.

U.S. Census Bureau. (2009, October 20). Voting and Registration. Retrieved February 21, 2010, from U.S. Census Bureau: http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/socdemo/voting/publications/p20/2004/tables.html

Meta-Reflection: Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

I feel that I have continued to learn and gather evidence to fulfill this standard this quarter. In taking over both chemistry and both biology classes, I have learned so much about my students and how I can help them succeed in my classes. Coming into student teaching, I knew dealing with high school students was going to be a completely new experience. From fall quarter, I saw the huge difference in maturity between sophomores and juniors and seniors. I also saw a difference in maturity between my two sophomore biology classes, probably because of the difference in the other classes the students are taking (those in IB math or block and those who are not). I have learned that different techniques are needed to handle the different classes, and I must keep in mind how much I can expect each class to be able to do without guided instruction.

My biology classes, for example, have a hard time with a lecture when it lasts all period, no matter how many attention grabbers, or stories I insert into the lecture. Therefore, I try not to lecture all period, rather lecture for half the period, and then do an activity or worksheet for the second half. Even if this means splitting up a lecture, I think the students will learn more if they are focused throughout the lecture, rather than spacing out or getting bored. When I do need to lecture for an entire period, I try to give the students a break in the middle of class. The break is usually to do yoga with the students, or to talk about an upcoming event (such as HSPE testing, or a track meet). I find this helps keep them on task while giving their brain a break. If I give them a chat break, I find that it is really hard to bring them back in to the material.

In my chemistry classes, the students can handle a little more lecture during the period. Of course I still use practice problems, stories, demonstrations and video clips to break up the lecture, to hold the students’ attention. I try to begin a unit with a lecture that begins with a somewhat relevant video clip (see power point links below) from a TV show that the students recognize and possibly watch. I feel that this helps relate the material to their lives outside of school. In addition, I try to present a chemistry cartoon that relates to the material I am presenting that week, every Friday. I also put pictures, animations and cool backgrounds into my power points (1, 2), with not so much text, so that the students can focus without getting bored with tons of text.

This quarter, both my chemistry and biology classes had a design lab project (biology experiment). This means that they were given a research question, and they needed to work with a partner to develop a procedure to answer the research question. All periods were given in-class time and needed to get checked off before they could start the experiment. During the experiment, the students needed to work together in order to come up with a procedure and then work together to complete the experiment. This project required the students to collaborate with their peers and work well with their assigned partner. At the end of the chemistry experiment, the students had to individually write a letter to a ceramic company, recommending the glaze that the students found during the experiment. It was meant to show students how to appropriately communicate with members of the community in a business setting, and from a peer’s perspective, rather than from a student’s perspective. In addition, the letter helped the students explain in their own words why they designed their experiment the way they did. The students could explain how they came to the conclusion that they did, as these students did (1, 2, 3).

I have had many parent conferences this quarter, in e-mail, on the phone and in person. I have learned a lot about how to talk to parents. It is always good to show them that you care about their student’s success by giving ways to help their student succeed in your class. It is also good to start off with something positive about their student, so that they can feel that their student is doing something right in your class, and that you have not written them off as a bad egg. I like to encourage parents to help their child with homework, especially with labs and studying for exams (flash cards are very helpful to students and parents can quiz their child with them!)

In my biology class, my mentor has a set of activities to help the students learn the structure of DNA, and how the molecule replicates. The students work in pairs to first make a model of one DNA molecule out of string, two different types of pasta, and four different colored pipe cleaners. They have to answer given questions, study the different parts of the molecule and how it is put together. After they feel they are ready (they know the molecule backwards and forwards), they come up to me and must pass an oral quiz. The students must get every question correct, or they must go study and come back up again. Each time they are sent back to their seat, they lose one out of five points. This encourages the students to learn and master the material quickly, so that they only have to get quizzed once. I try to change up the questions each time because nothing prevents the students from telling their friends all the questions I asked them. I also do not want the students memorizing the questions I asked them in their first try so that I know that they are actually learning the material, rather than memorizing the minimum material. We go through the same routine for replication of DNA, with another oral quiz.

For my Standards-based Assessment class, we had to complete a project that involved assessing what the students have learned up to a point, re-teaching, and then giving another assessment. I gave the students a formative assessment (pop quiz) on new material right after I lectured and gave examples on the material. Then, I helped them practice the material over the course of the week, with homework problems, warm up problems, having students answer orally in class, and partner work. At the end of the week we had another quiz. In my project, I attached the work of five students, showing their improvement over the week. I had students answer reflection questions, including any strategies they used to solve the problems, or learn the material. It was interesting to compare student performance to whether or not they had a strategy for solving the problems. The students who had strategies for learning the material, and actually understood how they learned were the most successful.

Students all learn differently, and it is important for a teacher to understand that when he or she is planning lessons. It is also important for students to understand their own learning, both what they have learned and how they have learned. It is really important to put learning in context for the students in terms of the community, get them involved in the classroom, and get their parents involve in their learning. Students have individual needs when it comes to learning a good teacher knows how to meet those needs.

Oral quizzes

In my biology classes, we have been studying the history of DNA, its structure and how it replicates. In order to help the students learn the material, we had them build models out of pasta and pipe cleaners. In pairs, they followed the instructions to make a model of one DNA molecule, and answered written questions about what they did. After they finished, I asked each pair questions about their molecule, asking them to show mastery of their knowledge of the structure of DNA. The students had to answer every question correctly in order to be checked off. If they did not, they were sent back to study, and they had to sign up again. The quiz was out of 5 points, and the students lost one point for every time they were sent back to their desks. We did a similar activity for DNA replication, having them model it, and then answer a second set of oral questions, with them same rules. As much as the students complained when they were not checked off the first time, I had several students tell me that the activity really helped them learn the material. We took the bigger written quiz (which included DNA history, as well as structure and replication) on thursday/friday (depending on the period) and some students have done much better on this written test than they have done on other tests.

Meta-Reflection: Standard L: Knowledge of learners and their development in social contexts

I feel I have learned a lot about what this standard means in the past quarter. This standard calls for the teacher to personalize her teaching to individual learning strategies, and to help students succeed even with large obstacles in their way. I have many students that are dealing a variety of obstacles, and I have learned a lot this quarter about how to help them in my classroom and tailor my teaching to their needs without feeling like I am giving them an easy pass. In order to find out more about my students, I gave a student questionnaire during the first week of school, in order to give them a chance to tell me how they learn best, and if they have any issues they would like me to know about. I get 504 and IEP information directly from the school, but I wanted to know about all the issues students might have, not only the legal, documented students.

I have several 504, IEP and ELL students who all require some modification to their learning in the classroom. Nearly all of these students are placed up front in the seating chart, though not next to each other. I want to help them succeed by putting them near me, so I can help them be separated from distractions. I have also separated these students so that they are working with a student that will help them keep up with their classmates, whether that means someone who speaks their native language, or focused student that will help them be more focused, or away from other students who distract them even more.

For ELL students specifically, I allow them to continue working on their exams in their ELL classes. I feel that they need this extra time because of the English barrier. Even though their ELL teacher does not know much about science, she can help the students understand the English questions being asked. Sometimes I allow this extra time on assignments as well. I had one student complete an assignment, but received a low grade on it because he misinterpreted what most of the questions were asking him to do. I gave the assignment back to him and asked him to go over it with his ELL teacher. He turned it in the next day and received an A because of the help he received with the English. I also saw great improvement on his last couple exams, I think because of how much better his understanding of English is becoming. I made sure that, in both seating arrangements we have had so far, he is seated next to another student who speaks Chinese (I happen to have two other students who also speak Chinese in his class) so that he can translate with them, and get help when he does not understand things. On the first few exams, it was apparent that his English was preventing him from showing his understanding of the material. On the last two exams, he got As, which shows that he is improving greatly.

I tend to have a lot of group work in my classroom, because I feel that it helps connect the students to each other, and help each other learn. We have labs approximately every other week, which calls for students to work in their partners (they sit together). When we do other partner work, I try to mix it up so students can work with other students more often. I also switch up the seating chart once a quarter, to differentiate which students work together in labs. I feel that putting students into groups, and then mixing up those groups help the students develop a learning community with their classmates, and feel like the class is learning together, rather than everyone learning for themselves. Group work in the classroom also will help students develop the skills they need to work with others, because they will have to work with others in some way for the rest of their lives.

Already this quarter, I have had many conversations with several different parents, over e-mail, on the phone and in person. I have come to understand that a lot of teaching is responding to parent concerns about their students, even in high school! Many parents just want to know how to help their students do better, and my mentor has been great about helping me respond to these queries. Most e-mails and phone calls can be answered quickly, noting what areas the student needs to put more effort in, giving examples of how they can improve (i.e. making flash cards, attending after-school tutoring or coming in after school to see me). Some meetings can be this simple as well. Some other e-mails and meetings, however, need a little bit more. Some parents need specific lists of what their students are missing, although Skyward (an online grade book) helps greatly with that, and some parents even need e-mail attachments of assignments, especially in cases of IEP students. I try to keep these parents informed; I even do weekly e-mails for one student with his Learning Strategies Teacher and his mom. I have attended a few conferences, with parents and the student, with the parents and other teachers, even with parents, teachers and administrators. I have learned that it is much easier for the parents if you have something positive to start out with, even if it is as simple as “your student does not disrupt class” or “your student seems to be engaged when we do hands-on activities.” There are a lot of issues to keep track of, but I think keeping track of everything is important to help all students do their best.

My biology mentor is very much an environmental biologist. Our most recent unit was ecology and we will begin human impact when we return from break. She always makes a point to discuss the environment and our effect on it many times during this unit. This idea is built into the power points, Populations and Ecological Pyramids, for this unit. During the Populations lecture, we discussed how different countries have contributed to our advances to extend Earth’s carrying capacity. We also discussed how these actions affect other organisms, including other humans. In the Ecological Pyramids lecture, we discussed how we could stretch our resources even more, and how differences in eating habits between countries can affect our use of resources differently. We are trying to help students become aware of their impact on the environment, and I think the next topic (Human Impact) will open their eyes to the idea that they have an effect on the world they live in.

Although I mostly have reflective evidence for this standard, I think my knowledge has still greatly increased in fulfillment of this standard. I hope to collect more hard evidence, especially student-based, over the next two quarters.

Meta-Reflection: Standard T: Knowledge of Teaching

Over the summer, I felt prepared to fulfill this standard in my classes. In my SPU classes, we talked a lot about each of the pieces of the standard. We even came up with our own lesson plans for different ways to fulfill this standard. I developed two different lesson plans over the summer that both fulfilled this standard.

One was a lesson on the characteristics of life, involving a debate on whether Lord Voldemort should be considered alive. I used written and oral communication and individual, paired and group work. I paired the students as best I could with similar ability levels, so that each student could feel that they had a chance to win the debate. Each of formative, summative and self-assessment was used, as students needed use the characteristics of life as evidence of their learning, which means they can check themselves to see if they remember them, the teacher can tell how much students have learned by listening to individual discussions and debates and then at the end of the class, the teacher can see how much the class has learned in the final discussion where the class has to come to a collective decision. I felt like this debate helped the students internalize how we view the characteristics of life and how we apply them to organism today. I think this lesson would also be fun for high school age kids because Harry Potter is very popular in that age group. I feel like this lesson would be one of those that students have a lot of fun, and do not really realize that they are applying their knowledge. Problems I foresee would be students getting off topic, and not using the characteristics of life, but I feel like this could be taken care of with careful direction.

The second was a lesson in which the students needed to discover why we classify living organisms in a specific way by creating their own classification system of one shoe from each class member. This lesson mostly uses self and formative assessments, because it is an introductory activity. The one piece of assessment that could be considered summative would be applying their knowledge from note-taking on each category of the Linnaeus classification system to their own shoe-classification scheme (see the lesson plan). I think this lesson would be accessible to all students, because it is dealing with shoes, which they wear every day. This lesson seemed very easy for the female students, as they probably think about the different aspects of shoes when getting dressed in the morning. I tried to use many instructional strategies, including individual, group and full class work. Because we were classifying shoes, I think every ability level and cultural background could understand this activity. Students with language barriers would be put in a group with at least one other student that they are familiar with to help them understand everything going on. When I entered the classroom this quarter, I found there was a similar activity, classifying household items, already built in to the curriculum which accomplished the same thing.

This quarter, I have seen many lessons built into our biology curriculum that are informed by standards based assessment, intentionally planned and influenced by multiple strategies. Our lessons in biology and chemistry start with a warm up, which is either a formative assessment to gauge what students know about a specific concept before we teach, or see how well they learned the material from the day before. We intentionally organize our lessons in a sequence that makes sense, and make small changes to accommodate all of our students and their needs. We use many strategies, including individual, pair and group work, written and oral work, and using sentences and pictures to convey a concept. The biggest change this quarter however, has been the amount I’ve learned about how to implement technology into the classroom from my educational technology class.

In our classrooms as Skyline, I have access to smart boards, document cameras, and computers, all of which we (my mentors and I) use in our lessons on a daily basis. Students are given the opportunity to see these technologies in use, as well as use them individually for presentations. We also have access to active voters (multiple choice remotes to check student understanding using multiple choice questions) but have not had the chance to use them yet. Through this class, I was able to see many other forms of technology in the classroom, including how to use blogging in the classroom, ideas for projects that collaborate with other classrooms, and how to incorporate technologies that students may need to know how to use in the later careers. I came up with some other ideas for helping students really internalize the skills and concepts they learn in the classroom, such as using computer games and podcasts to give students the means to apply their knowledge to see how well they understand the concepts and skill they have been taught. These new technologies may require use at home, which cannot always assume that students have access to these technologies. We can get around this by creating in class activities that teach students how to use these technologies, which we have done in my classrooms this quarter. Even giving students an option to use technology could help inform all students about technology, as the presentation would show students how the technology can be used. I had two projects, Organelle Commercial and Salting a Slug, that did this, and in both cases, only one group chose to use technology in their project.

Finally, in my technology class we needed to develop a website to help other teachers incorporate technology into their secondary math and science classrooms. We put up several ideas of tools to use in the classroom and example lessons using those tools for each for each component of Tech EALR 1: Integration: Students use technology within all content areas to collaborate, communicate, generate innovative ideas, investigate and solve problems. We also developed a digital narrative that discussed our view of technology incorporation in to the classroom. We had to develop a script and use technology to put pictures together that made sense with our script. I feel like I understand this standard a little better than over summer, especially in the technology component. I am constantly learning more ways to fulfill this standard from my mentors. I know that I will learn more as I go through the year and I hope to keep adding to my experience long after I graduate from this program.

Welcome to the Future… In Educational Technology

When making my digital narrative, I felt that what I was discussing was a good summary of everything I had learned over the quarter in this class. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of my students actually using technology in the classroom, but I noticed some interesting things. I saw that students were very familiar with using some aspects of technology in the classroom, while other technologies are not so wide spread. For example, most high school students are fluent in most Microsoft office programs, including Word, Power Point and Excel. Students can surf the internet with ease, though have trouble with determining whether a site is reliable or not. I also did not see a wide use of blogging in the classroom. Although students are familiar with social networking with facebook, myspace and twitter, they do not really use blogging. Blogging can be used for student collaboration; students can teach each other by explaining a concept in their own words. As blogs are public, the students’ work is being published. Students will work much harder if they know their work is being read and scrutinized by their peers, and the rest of the online community (November, 2006). If I were to have students begin a blog for the creative stories we write about science concepts, they may work harder to make sure it is their best work, and we could even talk about other ways of publishing their stories. Incorporating these kind of projects for students fulfills EALR 1 component 1.1 and EALR 2, component 2.4 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

I feel that are doing a pretty good job of preparing our students for their future careers, but we can do more. I think introducing them to technologies such as wikispaces, videoconferencing, or even website building would benefit their preparation immensely. Technology classes in schools may do this, but I think all students should be given sufficient practice with these programs. I think if we keep working to incorporate problem solving and creativity, such as incorporating computer games (http://medmyst.rice.edu/) or real life simulations (http://www.youdagames.com/online-simulation-games/) into our teaching, we will have prepared our students very well for their future careers. This incorporation will fulfill EALR 1, component 1.3 and EALR 2, component 2.4 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

I think we do a good job of talking about multiculturalism in the classroom, but the only way our students learn first-hand is if a student in our class has traveled, or if a student has moved to the US from another country. Using services like global-leap.org, we could connect our classrooms across the globe. Students could work with students from another country to compare ecosystems surrounding their schools. For example, my mentor just did a lab with her IB Environmental Systems and Societies class where they studied the numbers of three types of trees in the environment surrounding Skyline High School, as well as looking at what other organisms and biotic factors are present. We could connect with a classroom in other country (for example, somewhere in England or Australia) and run the same experiment, comparing the ecosystems and making conclusions about why the ecosystems are similar or different. This project could be used to fulfill all components of EALR 1 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

Students are excited about using all the modern technologies available today, but they do not necessarily know the safest practices for using them. Our students need to know how to protect themselves and their identities against predators, especially those online because it may not be apparent that they are present. We can use interactive means, such as the PBS Official Web License. We can also help counteract cyber bullying by reminding students to report any name calling or mean commenting they encounter. These interactive means fulfill EALR 2, components 2.1 and 2.2 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

Often times, students respond more strongly to their peers than they do to authority figures, even if both are relaying the same message. If students can discuss legal, ethical and moral issues associated with modern technologies with each other, their thoughts may have a greater impact on each other than my own thoughts. This is probably one of the reasons the commercials countering pirated music now star children and teens. If we can have a serious class discussion about what students consider appropriate actions when it comes to using modern technology, such as creative content posted online, the students may consider looking at creative content differently than they have in the past. We want to see a change in their behavior and perceptions towards content posted online (Microsoft, 2008). These discussions would fulfill EALR 2, components 2.1 and 2.2 of The Educational Technology Learning Standards.

References:

Freedman, Terry. (2006). Coming of age: An introduction to the new world wide web. Great Britain: Terry Freedman Ltd.

Global Leap. (2006). Videoconferencing in the Classroom. Retrieved from: http://www.global-leap.org/about/.

Microsoft. (2008). Digital citizenship and creative content curriculum. Retrieved from: http://www.digitalcitizenshiped.com/Curriculum.aspx.

Public Broadcasting Company. (2007). Get your official web license. Retrieved from: http://pbskids.org/license/result.html?a1=n&a2=n&a3=n&a4=n&a5=n&a6=n&a7=n&a8=n&a9=n&a0=n&name=Kirstin&x=125&y=36.

Educational Technology Creed

For this narrative, I had a lot of fun taking pictures of my students actually using technology in the classroom. They got extremely excited when I was taking pictures of them working, and they kept trying to pose. This made it difficult not to get too much of their faces in the pictures. What I thought was interesting, was that as I was taking pictures, I saw that students were very familiar with using some aspects of technology in the classroom, while other technologies are not so wide spread. For example, most high school students are fluent in most Microsoft office programs, including Word, Power Point and Excel. Students can surf the internet with ease, though have trouble with determining whether a site is reliable or not.

I also noticed that students can be very excited by technology use in the classroom. even though we are doing the same demonstrations in class, students are much more excited when we watch the same demonstration on youtube.com. This is a neat technique to be aware of because there are many videos and simulations online that can be used to engage student interest.

I really enjoyed using Audacity and Windows Movie Maker to create this narrative. I was not familiar with either program, but both were very easy to use. I was even able to add in some music, something I was not sure was going to be possible because I wasn’t sure if I would be able to figure out how to use the programs. I love the animations for transitioning between pictures. It makes the movie much more interesting. I am glad that I needed to use programs I wasn’t familiar with because it reminded me how easy it can be to learn how to use really neat programs. I will remember this experience when I am looking for new things to do in the classroom, or need my students to make a cool documentary.

My script!