Reflective Essay

            When the idea of sending the first email was introduced to the masses I wonder if the difficulty to come was ever thought through. This course would prove to be the most difficult, frustrating, mind blowing and intriguing college course that I have ever signed up for and come committed myself to. Introduction to Technology is more like an introduction to what life will be like in 3 years. There were times and moments where the complete irritation of just logging into certain websites seemed nearly impossible and life ending. But then there were times (Digital Story Telling), and Pecha Kucha, where I could think to myself “there has to be a catch to this because its way to easy, prehistorically easy”. Along the course I discovered that it was not what you didn’t know but more along the lines of how much you were willing to learn. I myself “through in the towel” on several occasions due to the fact that my “mastery” of basic computer knowledge were not sufficing like I thought they would. But persistence and dedication allowed me to reevaluate the course and gather myself and succeed (by my terms) in completing and passing the course.

            The engagement aspect of the course was at times a little strenuous but more intimidating if anything. Working with groups of individuals whom sometimes know more about websites and social networks than others could be difficult but it’s very much needed. They only critique that I could find myself having with the course would be the amount of information presented at one time. I understand that it was a course designed for one day a week but if the more important aspect of the course could be covered with a few pace breakers thrown in, I believe the course has the potential to be a top class freshman through senior year.

            Overall I found that I thoroughly enjoyed Introduction to technology on an extremely high level. The wix website creation gave me the most confidence in developing lesson plans and communicating effectively with students and parents. I came in confused but I am finishing extremely confident and complete.

Chapter 11 ENGAGING TEACHERS AND STUDENTS IN LEARNING AND SELF-REFLECTION

1-Focus Question: 

How can teachers and students use digital portfolios as tools for learning?

        Digital portfolio, described by Kilbane and Milman, as quoted by Maloy, is a “goal-driven, organized collection of artifacts that demonstrates a person’s expansion of knowledge and skills over time“(Maloy, Verock-O’Loughlin, Edwards, Woolf, 2012, p. 309)). Teachers, as well as students who are engaged in a portfolio-building process, manipulate a tool that has the potential to allow a direct evaluation of their knowledge, and also to give rise to serious thoughts. How can digital portfolio be used for both of them as tools for learning?

          Educators generally build their portfolios with elements that display academics, teaching, talents, and accomplishments. Students on the other hand demonstrate in portfolios their knowledge and skills. Either one, when organizing a portfolio, has the opportunity to assess and reflect on their knowledge. Lee A. Montgomery, Education researcher, noted that portfolios can be useful for new teachers and veterans as well, to reflect about their progress and objectives. Otherwise stated, while a digital portfolio is used as a guide to show credentials, knowledge, and experience, it also offers the opportunity to appraise them. It is an occasion for the portfolio builder to think critically and creatively about himself, and to make opportune choices.

          Putting together a portfolio gives teachers or students a unique chance to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and make plans to improve themselves. Consequently, a particular feature of digital portfolios is to promote learning through personal reflection.

DIGITAL                                        Picture Credit to: jpeg from wtcatech.com/digitalportfolios.htlm

 

2-Tech Tool.

          Different options ranging from do-it-yourself templates to use free, modest, and expensive products are available to portfolios builders. The following are common choices:

·         TaskStream – It is a popular digital tool used for Web design and portfolio building. Users can find a variety of design options such as presentation portfolios and resource portfolio. They can be accessed by the world or specified closed community. Document can be set in these portfolios showing the learning process of the user.   www.taskstream.com

·         Life – iLife ’09 is software created by Apple for Macintosh computers. Its various features (import of photo images into versions of iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD or Web) allow adding sound effects and professional quality cinematographic to the portfolio. www.apple.com

·         EduTools – It is a website sponsored by Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET). Besides finding template for e-portfolios, EduTools provide online assistance to those interested in using e-tools. Moreover, it provides reviews of online college, advanced placement, and high school courses. http://eportfolio.edutools.info/

      The different options offered by EduTools in addition to the fact that it is free, constitute an essential tool that I would not hesitate to use to build online digital portfolios.

 

        3- Summary.

               Chapter eleven surveys how digital portfolios facilitate assessment of knowledge and promote reflection to teachers and students. Montgomery & Wiley state that “Digital portfolios offer an effective way for students and teachers alike to assess their teaching and learning accomplishments” (Maloy, et al., 2012, p. 309). The experiences, teaching activities, and accomplishments of an educator gathered in a digital portfolio, show his skills and background experience using interactive technologies (Web 2.0) in teaching.

                Digital portfolios offer many advantages as well as disadvantages. Curriculum theorist Shulman although he foresaw potential dangers of portfolios, argued that “the dangers can be more than counterbalanced by the strengths of portfolios as a teacher assessment approach” (Maloy, et al., 2012, p. 311).

                Teaching portfolios design by teachers are setup in different and creative ways, but almost all combine elements about resume, philosophy of education, unit plan, academic courses and research experiences, teaching experience, personal talents and accomplishments, reflections, resource links, video, and pictorial segments.

               Students, with the use of portfolios, can also demonstrate their knowledge and skills.

               A unique feature of portfolios is that they allow learning through personal reflection. It is a guide to gauge teaching abilities; it stimulates thinking critically and creatively about being effective, and its content can be constantly updated.

               Students have also to practice digital portfolios for learning to be successful. They need to bring input to rules of school conduct, topics to study, and the assessment process. An advocate for greater involvement of students in educational decision making process is the movement for democratic schools and classrooms. They are places were students and teachers interrelate in active engagement and willing participation, as they conduct learning together. Democratic schools have a schoolwide mission, particular teaching practices, and ample use of technology.

                Teachers need to find out what students already know about a topic before introducing a lesson. Thus, Preassessments allow teachers to connect new concept to prior knowledge, to demonstrate that teachers care, and also create a sense of collaborative learning. Online surveys offer an effective way to involve students in preassessment process and activate prior knowledge. Some resources are available online to conduct preassessment with students.

·         Zoomerang, provides prompts and templates, and categorizes a diversity of themes. It allows modifying the design and personalizing it, keeping an archive and it is a free basic membership. http://info.zoomerang.com

·          SurveyMonkey, is an easy survey tool. www.surveymonkey.com/

·         Poll Builder, is from the History and New Media at George Mason University, it does not have many options, but it is free and can be useful. http://chnm.gmu.edu

               Handheld wireless tools called, clickers, stimulate students’ participation. They “offer interactive learning options for teachers and students” (Maloy, et al., 2012, p. 318). These tools have numerous advantages: active learning, student involvement, real-time feedback, question-driven instruction. A characteristic example is the CPSPulse Clicker from elnstruction. “Clicker change the classroom experience, encouraging student individually while giving them active roles and reasons to participate in discussions” (Maloy, et al., 2012, p. 320).

                 Technology also transform lesson plan as shown in Documenting Student Learning Using Digitals Portfolios in ENCYCLO-ME-DIA.

                

References

Maloy, R.W., Verock-O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B. P. (2012). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Pearson Education, Inc.

                

Chapter 10

  PROMOTING SUCCESS TO ALL STUDENTS THROUGH TECHNOLOGY

      FOCUS QUESTION:

What are differentiated instruction (DI) and universal design for learning (UDL)?

Every student within the same classroom can benefit from strategies that are able to strengthen their learning and help them overcome their weaknesses. Differentiated Instruction (DI) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) offer to teachers essential structures to adapt the curriculum and adjust their teaching style to reach all type of students.

-DI is a teaching approach that allows several options to students for receiving instruction and understand ideas. Therefore, educators have the latitude to create and  improvise different educational experiences to meet students’ specific needs. Integrate this strategy in their teaching, require from teachers to start up a lesson with interesting points engaging their students and stimulating their participations. A History teacher for example, may organize his class by having some students working on a segment of the lesson to create a Power Point,  another small group may be working on summarizing the chapter in a Word document, a third group may represent it with a colorful drawing, and a fourth group may prepare a skit to perform for the class. The teacher needs to know the strong and weak points of the students, to allow the activity to succeed and the entire class to benefit from it. Also diverse groups, such as ELL, ESE, Gifted and Talented Students may be mixed with the regular population. Choosing to pair an ELL (English Language Learner)  with a bilingual student will allow the one having language impairment to find a translator, and also learn by observing the other student. Moreover, several students may work on the creation of the lesson’s summary, and the one with better spelling and technical skill would do the typing. Creative students with better artistic abilities would present a poster to the class, and kinetic and/or extrovert students may work together to perform in a skit.

DI presents to educators the challenge to get the necessary tools, the time and the resources to diversify instruction in ways that will meet the different learning styles and preferences of students.

-UDL derived from an architectural concept of design that allow functionality for all types of users. Examples are features giving access to slanted levels, like a ramp and wheelchair access. Apply to learning, this concept means to facilitate students with special needs by helping them understand any concepts regardless of their impediments. Extensive research in Neuroscience and special technologies available today, facilitate the application of UDL. Three primary aspects are defined by the Center for Applied Special Technology (2006).

·         Multiple means of representation: Present information and content in different ways.

·         Multiple means of expression: Differentiate the ways that students can express what they know.

·         Multiple means of engagement: Stimulate interest and motivation for learning.

The goal of UDL is to decrease the barriers to learning, and increase the learning

opportunities to all students. Hehir stated that the purpose of UDL is, “full participation and access for students with disabilities while providing individualized options for all” (Hehir, 2005, p. 99).  As an example, in an English class a teacher might use PowerPoint to present vocabulary words and definitions that are discussed by the regular students, while the hearing impaired child can see, read, and take notes. Such a strategy may also be  beneficial for any students who might have unrecognized challenges, as well as for many regular students who can better recall the information due to the integration of visual, and auditory tools in the lesson.

TECH TOOL:

Extra-Large and Online Calculators.

Extra large calculators created by Kikkerland are lightweight, provide basic mathematical functions, and are easier to use than regular small hand held calculators. Their large function keys help students with visual impairments, and also many regular students because their easy to spot keys allow faster clicking.

On-line calculators are used daily in today's classrooms, due to their easy access from cell phones and iPhones. They can serve to stimulate Math learning, because they connect written equations with what students can do by hand using physical objects. Jim Martindale’s Calculators On-line Center feature links to several calculation programs, many with simulations and teaching modules.

I can see the good use of  the extra large calculator by Kikkerland and the Jim Martindale’s calculator on-line Center, in an ESE, an ELL, or a diverse population classroom.

 CHAPTER TEN SUMMARY:

One of the most important aspect of teaching is that all students must have equal opportunity to learn. Therefore teachers have to fashion the experience in a way that every student in a classroom learns to the best of their abilities. Several new resources offer by technology and by the progress of Neuroscience, give to educators many tools to take advantage of.

-Differentiated Instruction (DI), means educational experiences modified in a way that students with different abilities can understand and learn concepts taught in class. It includes teachers using different methods and technology to provide for the special needs of the students.

-Universal Design for Learning (UDL) includes the different tools used in a classroom that enable educators to reach out to a diverse population of learners.

Learning concepts is not the only area of importance in the school. Writing is also considered as a neglected area in education. The process of writing that gave successful results are pre-writing/brainstorming, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.

The idea of having a group of learners with different abilities working together on a subject, might create a positive influence on each of them.

All the opportunities offer by technology can be exploited by teachers as resources to improve gaps and transform different areas of the education field. Most of all, teachers can be more effective by using the abundant resources of technology, and accommodate all students in the learning environment.