Of the topics discussed this week the one I struggle the most with is implementing the collaborative learning piece into my online course. I believe the way in which my classes structured make it very difficult to implement the collaborative assignments. I have a set curriculum for my AP classes and their is a small piece The Discussion Board that is collaborative. Otherwise with the amount of information and time constraints I cannot really make any changes to those classes. In My Environmental class I could implement some collaborative assignments as it is of a manageable size and has a adaptive curriculum. This is where I will be able to be the most creative and flexible. The majority of my students are in my Biology class. The difficulty here is that there I teach literally hundreds of them. With so many students all with different degrees of interest, abilities and technology skills it seems impossible to set up manageable groups etc for truly collaborative work. I have used discussion boards in the past with limited success. I can and do incorporate some short collaborative activities in my online presentations using Elluminate. All ideas are welcome.
The online environment also makes it difficult to give directed effective reinforcement. Difficulties arise when you have a large number of students that you deal with in a virtual manner. There are students that you interact with on a weekly basis and some you may never directly interact with. Even the ones I do get to know, the interaction is not the same as a face to face environment. It is important in the online world to find ways to personalize the education experience though not necessarily for all students. I guess it comes down to giving all the students the opportunities to interact, and the online environment does have an advantage in this regard. My students can have access to me many hours almost every day including most weekend and evenings. So for some of my students the reinforcement happens but with many the most effective tool I have is a timely emial.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Week Three
This week was spent exploring the graphic organizers listed. I had used inspiration with my children on projects they completed for the middle school and found it easy to use, colorful and useful in organizing their work. I felt the use of inspiration increased their understanding of the material covered.
Bubbl.Us
Is a brainstorming web application. It is quick and easy to use. It is free and you can easily create simple bubble graphic organizers. I believe this would be a simple application for the students to use as well.
The Cmap tool could not be down loaded onto my work laptop and so had to wait.
Education Oasis
Seemed to be helpful though not opened ended as the others still an instructor may find some very useful preformed organizers. This site was also free.
Exploratree
Was also a free online application. It used thinking guides which are tools or frameworks for thinking through an issue. You had the freedom to create you own or use a ready made thinking guide. They seemed to be pretty well organized and easy to use. I viewed several of the ready made guides and found them apperanty useful, though they each contained a category that confused me. I created a link to a thinking guide I used to critiue or evaluate the exploratree site. http://www.exploratree.org.uk/c/?x=father710223803u993horse
Hope it works, let me know what you think.
* bubbl.us brainstorming web application
* creates bubbles in a graphic organizer
* very easy to use
* limited to bubbles and colors but quick and dirty
Cmap tools needed to be downloaded to my computer which I cannot due on my laptop
Downloaded to my desk top easily enough. Found it much less intuitive than the others though that may be because it is more powerful. Yet to be determined. I could not gain access to the public Cmaps which was frustrating. So overall I would have to give the Cmap an incomplete though it is lacking in convenience and ease of use.
Inspiration used in the past bubbl.us seemed to be the same at its basic level
Education Oasis graphic organizers
* seemed to be helpful though not opened ended as the others still an instructor may find some very useful preformed organizers.
Exploratree
Use thinking Guides tools or framework for thinking through an issue.
you can create from scratch or you can use a ready made thinking guide, pretty flexible and free, can work collaboratively but only one at a time hmmmm.
I have used power point in the past to produce flow charts or graphic organizers I could see how each of these tools would aid in their production.
Bubbl.Us
Is a brainstorming web application. It is quick and easy to use. It is free and you can easily create simple bubble graphic organizers. I believe this would be a simple application for the students to use as well.
The Cmap tool could not be down loaded onto my work laptop and so had to wait.
Education Oasis
Seemed to be helpful though not opened ended as the others still an instructor may find some very useful preformed organizers. This site was also free.
Exploratree
Was also a free online application. It used thinking guides which are tools or frameworks for thinking through an issue. You had the freedom to create you own or use a ready made thinking guide. They seemed to be pretty well organized and easy to use. I viewed several of the ready made guides and found them apperanty useful, though they each contained a category that confused me. I created a link to a thinking guide I used to critiue or evaluate the exploratree site. http://www.exploratree.org.uk/c/?x=father710223803u993horse
Hope it works, let me know what you think.
* bubbl.us brainstorming web application
* creates bubbles in a graphic organizer
* very easy to use
* limited to bubbles and colors but quick and dirty
Cmap tools needed to be downloaded to my computer which I cannot due on my laptop
Downloaded to my desk top easily enough. Found it much less intuitive than the others though that may be because it is more powerful. Yet to be determined. I could not gain access to the public Cmaps which was frustrating. So overall I would have to give the Cmap an incomplete though it is lacking in convenience and ease of use.
Inspiration used in the past bubbl.us seemed to be the same at its basic level
Education Oasis graphic organizers
* seemed to be helpful though not opened ended as the others still an instructor may find some very useful preformed organizers.
Exploratree
Use thinking Guides tools or framework for thinking through an issue.
you can create from scratch or you can use a ready made thinking guide, pretty flexible and free, can work collaboratively but only one at a time hmmmm.
I have used power point in the past to produce flow charts or graphic organizers I could see how each of these tools would aid in their production.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Week 2 class 525
online environment feed back can be difficult as interaction is limited, example.
"Good work on the project, you did not answer # 15 correctly check out page 459 in your book."
"Ok, but you did not answer most of the questions, please contact me so we can discuss how to improve this grade and I can assist you on the project."
"This work is incomplete, please re-due." poor feedback
Examples of possible feed back. One, only effective if the student reads the comments, two only effective if the students care what the comment say. Also those students online that turn in incomplete work rarely (never in my experience) contact me or resubmit the work. That does not mean meaningful feedback is not important as many of the efforting and motivated students gain better understanding and increased motivation by proper feedback.
The article reminds us that descriptive feedback which relates to the skills being learned and accessed is the most beneficial.
Erased snarky comment about time and number of students and amount of feed back in effective feedback example.
Most of the time I do not have as much time as I would like in order to produce the most effective feedback. It is not really a question of understanding what is effective feedback, most teachers I would argue have learned what is effective though it is helpful to be reminded. The limiting factor on effectiveness for me personally is the number of students and time available for individual feedback.
I do believe rubrics can be helpful for both the student instructor as they are a effective way to let students know what is expected of them. Using and referencing a rubric can be time consuming when grading many different types of assignments as I do online but it can also be a time saver when grading many of the same types of assignments. Rubistar was an application that allows for building of basic quick and dirty rubrics. It may be slightly useful in a onetime manner for a science teacher.
Quia is not a free service it costs $49 a year. It would be a nice resource for students. It would allow for diverse practice with immediate feedback.
online practice quizzes auto graded
IQ Academy of the school District of Waukesha uses Blackboard. This allows for several types of feedback.
1. Automatic grading of certain types of questions for immediate feed back.
2. Areas for comments on essay or short answer questions including automatic generated responses. Ex. Refer to page 524 figure 5 on photosynthesis.
3. Word processing or spread sheet documents are turned in electronically. The instructor can then grade and comment on the assignment and make it accessible by Students.
Use Elluminate for synchronous presentations were group work presentations praise etc. can be used.
"Good work on the project, you did not answer # 15 correctly check out page 459 in your book."
"Ok, but you did not answer most of the questions, please contact me so we can discuss how to improve this grade and I can assist you on the project."
"This work is incomplete, please re-due." poor feedback
Examples of possible feed back. One, only effective if the student reads the comments, two only effective if the students care what the comment say. Also those students online that turn in incomplete work rarely (never in my experience) contact me or resubmit the work. That does not mean meaningful feedback is not important as many of the efforting and motivated students gain better understanding and increased motivation by proper feedback.
The article reminds us that descriptive feedback which relates to the skills being learned and accessed is the most beneficial.
Erased snarky comment about time and number of students and amount of feed back in effective feedback example.
Most of the time I do not have as much time as I would like in order to produce the most effective feedback. It is not really a question of understanding what is effective feedback, most teachers I would argue have learned what is effective though it is helpful to be reminded. The limiting factor on effectiveness for me personally is the number of students and time available for individual feedback.
I do believe rubrics can be helpful for both the student instructor as they are a effective way to let students know what is expected of them. Using and referencing a rubric can be time consuming when grading many different types of assignments as I do online but it can also be a time saver when grading many of the same types of assignments. Rubistar was an application that allows for building of basic quick and dirty rubrics. It may be slightly useful in a onetime manner for a science teacher.
Quia is not a free service it costs $49 a year. It would be a nice resource for students. It would allow for diverse practice with immediate feedback.
online practice quizzes auto graded
IQ Academy of the school District of Waukesha uses Blackboard. This allows for several types of feedback.
1. Automatic grading of certain types of questions for immediate feed back.
2. Areas for comments on essay or short answer questions including automatic generated responses. Ex. Refer to page 524 figure 5 on photosynthesis.
3. Word processing or spread sheet documents are turned in electronically. The instructor can then grade and comment on the assignment and make it accessible by Students.
Use Elluminate for synchronous presentations were group work presentations praise etc. can be used.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
CEDO 525 Enhancing Learning Materials through Technology Week one
I really liked the quote
"Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn."
Herbert Simon
A good thing to keep in mind when setting up your class for next year. The articles we read this week discussed using more quantitative analysis when looking at both the use of technology and educational practice overall. The School District of Waukesha has been focusing on best practices which for the most part means Practices that have been analyzed and effectiveness demonstrated. As a science teacher I would strongly agree to this approach.
Week one Article Summary
Enhancing learning week one Terry Johnson
Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn.
Herbert Simon
learning principles
prior knowledge
Motivation
organization of knowledge
meaningful engagement
goal directed and targeted feedback
Metacognitive
Teaching principles
1. teaching students not content
2. aligning learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities
3. clear expectations and objectives
4. Prioritize the knowledge and skills we choose to teach
5. effective teaching role
6. improve our course through experience
Meta-analyses and scientifically determining the effectiveness of technology on learning.
Summary
Technologies change and are very different today than 10 years ago or even 5 years ago. In addition teachers experience or expertise in using technology has increased at a rapid rate as well. Therefore the measurements from available studies may not be reflective of the true effectiveness.
In addition some studies indicate that technology can increase the student-centered classroom approach where students work cooperatively, and have a more active role in their learning.
The results of this quantitative synthesis show a modest, positive effect of teaching and learning with technology on student outcomes.
Waxman, H. C., Meng-Fen, L., & Michko, G. M. (2003). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of
teaching and learning with technology on student outcomes. Retrieved June 27, 2009, from
Learning Point Associates Web site: http://www.ncrel.org/tech/effects2/waxman.pdf
The Text looks to be a very good resource for implementation of technologies in the classroom and I have started to book mark some of the resources listed as possible useful applications.
"Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn."
Herbert Simon
A good thing to keep in mind when setting up your class for next year. The articles we read this week discussed using more quantitative analysis when looking at both the use of technology and educational practice overall. The School District of Waukesha has been focusing on best practices which for the most part means Practices that have been analyzed and effectiveness demonstrated. As a science teacher I would strongly agree to this approach.
Week one Article Summary
Enhancing learning week one Terry Johnson
Learning results from what the student does and thinks and only from what the student does and thinks. The teacher can advance learning only by influencing what the student does to learn.
Herbert Simon
learning principles
prior knowledge
Motivation
organization of knowledge
meaningful engagement
goal directed and targeted feedback
Metacognitive
Teaching principles
1. teaching students not content
2. aligning learning objectives, assessments, and instructional activities
3. clear expectations and objectives
4. Prioritize the knowledge and skills we choose to teach
5. effective teaching role
6. improve our course through experience
Meta-analyses and scientifically determining the effectiveness of technology on learning.
Summary
Technologies change and are very different today than 10 years ago or even 5 years ago. In addition teachers experience or expertise in using technology has increased at a rapid rate as well. Therefore the measurements from available studies may not be reflective of the true effectiveness.
In addition some studies indicate that technology can increase the student-centered classroom approach where students work cooperatively, and have a more active role in their learning.
The results of this quantitative synthesis show a modest, positive effect of teaching and learning with technology on student outcomes.
Waxman, H. C., Meng-Fen, L., & Michko, G. M. (2003). A meta-analysis of the effectiveness of
teaching and learning with technology on student outcomes. Retrieved June 27, 2009, from
Learning Point Associates Web site: http://www.ncrel.org/tech/effects2/waxman.pdf
The Text looks to be a very good resource for implementation of technologies in the classroom and I have started to book mark some of the resources listed as possible useful applications.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Week 4 blog
After reading through the week four blogs, I found out a couple of interesting things. One, I am not the farthest behind in my work Sheww..... or some such word expressed while wiping my forehead, and it was easy to discern those blogger's with younger children from those without or with older children. If you have children and a computer you have already heard much of the common sense issues involved with online safety. If your child is online late and or with out supervision there are probably other issues the family could use help with as well.
It was interesting to read about the privacy issues surrounding the social networking applications that are so popular. I also believe that online information and privacy will continue to be a problem in the future use of this technology.
The virtual classroom as I stated in my critique does hold some promise but has the same privacy and safety issues for adolescents that are found in some online environments.
It was interesting to read about the privacy issues surrounding the social networking applications that are so popular. I also believe that online information and privacy will continue to be a problem in the future use of this technology.
The virtual classroom as I stated in my critique does hold some promise but has the same privacy and safety issues for adolescents that are found in some online environments.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Wonderfully, fascinating
Week 3
The tools we explored during week three were diverse and impressive. There seems to be an explosion of web applications designed to increase my online efficiency. On one hand it is about time as I have been puttsing around on the internet for many years getting lost and cluttering up my desktop with shortcuts and such. On the other hand it feels like just yesterday I was at my high school getting a pass out of study hall so that I could go down to the Calculator lab and safely land the Lunar Lander on the moon using the cool state of the art calculator. So things have definitely improved no more key punch cards and green and white sheets of paper with syntax errors everywhere. Now I magically travel almost anywhere and gather more information than I can handle. In fact that has been the problem. Book marks galore, files of interesting links and daily emails from friends and colleagues with more links to more interesting sites.
So over the last year I have been introduced to Google docs so I can collaborate long distance and store information in the clouds, there is Delicious which allows me to book mark and manage my list of websites online. Now there seems to be an ever increasing number of wonderful, fascinating web applications that will assist me in my online world. I just wish someone would produce a wonderfully fascinating application to manage my ever increasing number of wonderful fascinating applications.
The tools we explored during week three were diverse and impressive. There seems to be an explosion of web applications designed to increase my online efficiency. On one hand it is about time as I have been puttsing around on the internet for many years getting lost and cluttering up my desktop with shortcuts and such. On the other hand it feels like just yesterday I was at my high school getting a pass out of study hall so that I could go down to the Calculator lab and safely land the Lunar Lander on the moon using the cool state of the art calculator. So things have definitely improved no more key punch cards and green and white sheets of paper with syntax errors everywhere. Now I magically travel almost anywhere and gather more information than I can handle. In fact that has been the problem. Book marks galore, files of interesting links and daily emails from friends and colleagues with more links to more interesting sites.
So over the last year I have been introduced to Google docs so I can collaborate long distance and store information in the clouds, there is Delicious which allows me to book mark and manage my list of websites online. Now there seems to be an ever increasing number of wonderful, fascinating web applications that will assist me in my online world. I just wish someone would produce a wonderfully fascinating application to manage my ever increasing number of wonderful fascinating applications.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Week 2 reflections
Confession time, this is not week two I believe this is week four but I seem to have lost track. By the sounds of things many of you are also feeling the pinch here at the end of the semester. While my situation is similar there is an additional factor that makes this particular part of the semester uniquely difficult. Our students do not have due dates, actually they only have one due date that is this week. All their semester work is due on one day and then we have a week for submission of the final exam. Now most of my students work close to on pace at least the successful students do. So here I am scrambling to grade and learn. So the tools we have been exploring are interesting and I can see that many are useful, I can’t wait for this summer and the start of next semester so I can incorporate these tools in to my work.
Sorry short and sweet this week which again is not really this week so there will be more this week which will be week three even though this is week four. Sorry, Sorry Sorry….
Sorry short and sweet this week which again is not really this week so there will be more this week which will be week three even though this is week four. Sorry, Sorry Sorry….
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
