chapter 10 & 11

Chapter 10 talks about using technology to teach students of different backgrounds, cultures, and experiences. Multiple instructional methods and varied teaching approaches addresses different learning needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. New York State is a big "melting pot" where multicultural education is evident in almost every classroom. Differentiated instruction addresses needs of diverse students within the same class. Universal design for learning creates teaching and learning situations that meet the needs of students with different needs while presenting the same opportunities for everyone. Creating accommodations and  limiting modifications are practices that ensure equal opportunity for learning.  Speech recognition software, text treading software, interactive storybooks and storybooks apps are examples of assistive technologies that aid students with disabilities.

Chapter 11 talks about the important role of assessment in teaching and learning. Three interrelated elements of assessment are: new teacher assessment, student assessment, and student self-assessment. A digital teaching portfolio "is a collection of educational and professional materials stored in an electronic format". The portfolio shows teacher's growth and development over time. The portfolio includes a teacher's resume, philosophy of education and references, lesson or unit plan and reflections, academic courses and research experiences, and teaching experience. Teacher's personal reflection is a learning experience.  I like how the author describes a portfolio as celebratory scrapbook of the past. Student's also create digital portfolios which become "both a personal and a public piece of writing".  Students also engage in assessment. Students' engagement in decision making motivates students. I am excited about the portfolios we will create as the last project in our class. I am also nervous about choosing the appropriate components for each section of the portfolio. The good thing is that it can be updated and improved at any time. :)

chapter 7 & 8

Chapter 7 describes how educational software, apps, and learning games enhance problem solving and inquiry learning. Students learn best when they are fully engaged which can be achieved by implementing problem solving and inquiry learning. Educators want students to ask questions, make predictions, test theories, and revise ideas based on data and evidence. Educational software and educational apps aid teachers in creating engaging lessons. Students get motivated when presented with real-life (ill-structured)  problems. No one simple formula can be used to solve such problems. Students think creatively and critically when using apps or educational games in classroom environment. Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Adobe Acrobat, Photoshop, and Norton Antivirus are some of the software applications available to students. Kid Pix and Google Earth are among computer building, inventing, and creating software. Gamification is the "application of game elements to non-gaming situations, often to motivate or influence behavior. Educational games enhance academic learning by promoting higher levels of problem solving and inquiry learning. . Edutainment games promote problem solving and inquiry learning. Entertainment games are mainly for fun with relatively low levels of problem solving and inquiry learning without any explicit learning or educational goals for students. A stimulation games promote stealth learning where students learn without realizing they are learning. Intelligent tutoring system provides students with practice they need in weak academic areas.Students today are exposed to so many different technological advances promoting their problem solving and inquiry learning.

Chapter 8 lists different media technologies used in teaching such as email and text messaging, blogs, online discussions and Wikis. Communication technologies are divided into synchronous communications (occur in real time) and asynchronous communications (involve a time delay). Teachers also engage in educational networking. The big advantage of today's technology is a possibility for students to learn beyond the school day by following websites, blogs, teachers post notes, inquiry questions, homework assignments, and many more. Our class is a great example of learning beyond school day. We, students, engaged in so many different learning activities.

I love it! What a great way to learn and "travel" around the world.
How can I use it in my classroom? Because I teach Preschool, I would have to do some searching to find something age appropriate. I know my son will love it.
I will definitely share it with other teachers. I can see great opportunities for educators to enrich their lessons.

Today's class was very helpful. I feel more comfortable creating my WebQuest.

Chapter 5 & 6

Chapter 5 talks about Information Literacy and Digital Citizenship. Information literacy is defined by the American Library Association as the "ability to recognize when information is needed and to then have the ability to locate, evaluate, and use effectively the needed information". Both teachers and students need educational information that is accurate, interesting, and relevant. Students need the skills to "locate, gather, organize, interpret, synthesize, manage, present, use, and evaluate" the information (digital and information literacy). They also acquire "the capacity to access, analyze, evaluate and communicate messages in a wide variety of forms" (media literacy). The chapter questions the reading in today's computer based society. I found it interesting, but believable, that less and less kids different ages read books for fun. Students spend more time reading online that reading books. I also found interesting that more people who use e-readers, spend time reading. The chapter also mentions search engines which are software programs that use networks of computers to access information from its databases. I think many people agree that the most popular one is Google. I can't help myself but to share a joke I heard once.

Is Google a man or a woman?
It's a woman, because it finishes your sentences. :)

Chapter 5 touches upon a very important issue in Internet searching - how to search, where to search, and how to identify reliable sources. It also discusses responsibilities of digital citizens. It explains Copyright, Creative Commons, plagiarism, and cheating. Cyberbullying is also discussed in the chapter, which is the ever growing issue among young people.
Chapter 6 describes how online information, digital content, and educational websites can be used by educators to teach students. It provides useful apps and websites. The chapter teaches about WebQuests (a very useful topic :) ). It also discusses virtual field trips and interactive videoconferencing. The chapter also discusses and lists educational websites for teachers.

1) Do you think we can encourage students to read more by giving them the freedom of choosing online reading?
2) Do you think the easy access to online resources makes students prone to cheating and plagiarising?

take away message

I really enjoyed today's class. Watching the iMovies of my classmates was a treat. Great job!
It made me reflect on how can I improve my projects in the future. Because I teach 3-year-olds, sometimes it is difficult for me to apply the concepts to kids so young. But I am learning.  I can't wait do more iMovies.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4 talks about intergrating technology into every day lessons.
In my PreK3 classroom I use a projector. I use it to play educational clips, interactive games, and pictures. I have many educational DVD's and use the Internet to find clips associated with my lessons. We subscribe to Scholastic's Let's Find Out and Clifford's Big Idea magazines. Every flyer is accompanied with an online version with videos, games, and printable worksheets.
For lesson planning I use PlanbookEdu.com. I like it, because I can copy periods. During my day, many periods repeat daily, so with a click of a button I copy plans. I also like it because I can highlight text and use different backgroud color, to make some periods stand out.
Our school uses OptionC for grading and communication with parents. Each students gets a code to sign it to view information. It includes grades, future assignments, attendance history, and messages to and from parents.

For my assesment I use technology during clips. When I play an interactive games, I observe who is participating and answering questions. Students who do not participate (and by now I know who is shy or tired, and who need additional instruction) I meet later for some one-on-one instruction.  I got new  iPads, but haven't put them out yet. We are still learning rules.

I like all the websites and apps provided in the textbook. Although many are not age appropriate for my students, there are some that I find useful. I also appreciate all ideas from my classmates. Thank you for sharing!

Summary of today's class

My take away message of today's class is to be creative and engage the audience. I loved the PowerPoint presentations demonstrated in the class. I had no idea how engaging they can be. I hope I can create a good piece myself.