End-of-Term Reflection

Have your opinions about technology integration in education changed since the beginning of the term? Why or why not?
Yes. Throughout this course I have learned so many new online interfaces that could be used for technology integration in education that young students can use. In the beginning of this course, I wasn't so sure if students in elementary school were capable of using technology. However, through some of the online resources, I learned that those resources would be a good and fun way for students to interact with. It's a fun way for students to get connected to technology at an early age especially when our world revolves around technology. I think getting hands on experience starting at an early age is a crucial part of educational learning.

Identify one or more programs/web apps introduced this term you believe you'll use in your future classroom. Why will you use these programs/apps?
I really like the slide show program "Prezi". I found it to be a new and dynamic program to create new slide shows. It is different from the regular programs we see being used in presentations and I think it draws people's attention better than any other regular slide show program. I will use this program in my future classroom to grab students attention because it is hard to take your eyes off with this presentation. I think I will find it useful for young students because it is easy for young ones to get distracted. Print Page in IE

Students Using Technology

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Word Cloud

This word cloud answers the question "According to the article "Myths and Realities about Technology in K-12 Schools," what changes must take place in K-12 schools before educators can fully integrate and utilize technology?" Print Page in IE

Integrating Websites into the Classroom

Site Name: Colonial Williamsburg

This site offers a fun interactive learning about the life in colonial America. It offers games, activities and resources for kids to learn more about the visit to Colonial Williamsburg. Not only does it offer games, but it also offers a history page for more learning where they can find educational material. The games and activities they offer are related to the actual history of colonial America.

What are two ways the site could be used in the classroom?
The games and activities relate to the history of colonial America so it is a good way to get students interactive with the site. Since games are something that kids love doing, they learn while they are playing the game. It can be used in the classroom if there is a specific time limit so they don't get so off track or they could be given an assignment to reflect back on their game experience so they aren't just playing the game. Another way the site could be used in the classroom is that they have a history page. The history page offers more educational material than the kids page. The history page offers pictures of real life days in the past and has actual description of the lifestyle including people, places, life, clothing, gardens, etc. They could use this information to dress up in that time and present their findings to the class about their lifestyle.

How could the site be used to extend learning opportunities beyond the classroom?
This site has to offer a rich educational background about colonial America. This history enriched site has an actual history page so students can explore the lifestyle back then and see how colonial Americans lived back then. The games also offer historical information because all the games and activities are based on the history. Also to grab the students attention, they can always re-visit this site because of all the games it has to offer. Since the games are appropriate for educational learning purposes, students can play the games with their friends and share what they learned out of it. Print Page in IE

Exploring Project-Based-Learning

Why did you choose this project as your favorite of the six? Identify specific aspects that appeal to you.

From the six sites that were given, I chose "How to Organize a Design Project for your class". This project was to let students design a state-of-the-art high school on a given site for the year 2050. The most interesting aspect was that the students presented their designs to professional architects in Seattle for their design to be chosen. I thought that this was a meaningful project because it incorporates learning from several subjects while collaborating with each other. Their tasks were real life tasks that actual architects had to configure, and they were in a position where they could design the school the way they wanted. It's important for students to explore the world by taking hands on learning rather than sitting in a classroom listening to lecture. I find PBL (Project Based Learning) an effective approach for students in the future.

Which higher-level thinking skills (from Bloom's Taxonomy) does the project utilize?
This project utilizes all the different levels including the top three, evaluation, synthesis, and analysis. The students were given a project they had to tackle, and were given specific requirements they had to address. Since this project actually led to a winner, students were more eager to win for their design to be chosen for the official design. Since they had to think of the problems they had to address in their design, lots of critical thinking is involved. They had to figure out how they would address each problem, and how their design was going to be an appropriate design for the particular site. Since it was a project for the year 2050, they would also have to address the problems for the future when we don't even know what's coming ahead of us. This project requires a lot of critical thinking, judgement skills, collaboration skills, and skills that are on all levels of the Bloom's Taxonomy pyramid.

What (if anything) about the project could be improved?
If all schools in that area had a chance to compete against each other, I think this project would have been more effective. I think this is a great project for students to undertake and it's an opportunity that communities wouldn't want to miss. If it were to be improved, I would have mini competitions inside the school and chose the best design to represent their school. Then from there on, the schools in that community could compete with each other with the best design they chose to represent their school. It would be like having two competitions: a mini competition inside each schools, and a final competition against all schools in the district.

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Reading Response 2

How do quality telecollaborative projects develop students’ critical thinking skills (the highest levels on the Bloom’s Taxonomy pyramid)?

       Telecollaboration projects develop students' critical thinking skills by achieving the different levels of Bloom's Taxonomy pyramid. It is important to gain understanding for all levels of the pyramid and for that to happen, telecollaboration projects help students become that level. The article showed effective ways to form groups for the students and also how to go about with them. It was said to group students with all different levels. I agree to that because if you are in a group with students that are on the same level as you, then you don't have a cultural background. By cultural background I mean that you don't have different perspectives to view on some point.
       It is important that students are arranged in groups of all levels so that they are able to work with other people that may be in a level higher/lower than them. Different levels will help students interact with each other, help their social abilities, and assess one another's thoughts. Working in groups for projects really help students level up on the pyramid because working with a group of students really improves their skills to analyze, synthesize, and evaluate on one another's work. That is an essential part of learning how to critique one another and also critiquing their own work. Through telecollaboration projects, all of these levels are attained one by one that will lead every student to the highest level. Print Page in IE

Reading Response 1

1) TECH PAST

I remember that computers first came out when I was about 9 years old. We had a desktop PC so I had access to a computer at the age of 9. I learned how to use email, and how to surf the web but didn't use the computer very much.
I started increasing the usage of computers when I entered middle school since assignments required researching online, and the computers that were available to the students were the ones set up in the library. There weren't any computers in the classrooms besides the one that belonged to the teacher. In high school, computers were a crucial part because almost every assignment required the usage of computers. Whether it was researching online or writing up papers, using computers was a must. I don't remember learning how to use computers at school. It was more like a mandatory thing where the teachers supposed that every student knew how to use one. I learned by playing with every gadget and tools on the computer.

2) TECH PRESENT

Middle school is when you start exploring the usage of computers. If I taught 5th grade, I would want all the students in my classroom to be prepared for 6th grade. I wouldn't want any of my students to continue through middle school without knowing how to use a computer for school assignments. In my classroom, I would make projects or scavenger hunts and have them explore the computer themselves.
I think learning how to do something is important but exploring some things on your own is equally important. Like I mentioned before, I learned how to use everything by myself, and because of that I still learn things by exploring things here and there. When you learn from others, it's easy to forget them but when you go about and try things on your own, I find it hard to forget.
I would want them to first explore the main parts of the computer and would want them to use the word processor program. It's important they learn how to use word processor because as they get older they'll be required to use the program to do their assignments. I would teach them how to use word processor, the tools we use often, and how to save/open files. 

3) TECH FUTURE

The use of technology is rapidly increasing these days and without it, it's a struggle. Incorporating technology in a curriculum is helpful so the students are aware of how the world is developing. From my personal experiences, even though technology was a really neat thing I preferred the old way of using pen and paper. It's important to know everything about computers but I found it less effective. Writing comes easier if we typed it up because it saves time and paper. However, writing notes on a keyboard and writing notes with pen and paper was a big difference.
I think putting our energy to write helps us memorize and learn faster. It's different for all students but I think the old method still works best for students at a younger age. It's good to introduce the idea to them, and show them all the different kinds of technology but when it comes to teaching, I think using less technology is a better plan. If we had technology all the time in the classrooms, I would anticipate that it would be hard to stay focused. Also, technology isn't easily affordable. Since most schools run on a budget, it isn't easy to keep updated with all the new technology out there. The programs and software's are updated so often that it would cost a fortune to keep up to date. Print Page in IE

Avatars in Education

How can avatars be used to support instruction and/or enhance communication?
Avatars can help students get familiar with the web, be active computer users, and also help communicate through the web easily. It's a fun way for kids to interact with each other, other than meeting face-to-face. Print Page in IE