Friday, April 22, 2011

Ch 8 & 9



- When and how do teachers act as designers?
Teachers are always acting as designers. Teachers must design lesson plans, assignments and activities. The teacher assesses the student’s needs and creates a lesson that will meet their needs. A teacher can use several design tools such as computer programs to aid classroom instruction.

- Select one of the followings and explain what it is and how it can be used in classroom: SketchUp, Trebuchet Simulator, Model Car Design, Scratch, iStopMotion, Impromptu. 
iStopMotion is a computer program that enables students to create animated movies. The students can manipulate clay figures on the screen to create a story or they can record a video on a camera and use the program to edit the story. The good thing about this program is that it is easy to use and can be used by students in elementary school. Students can create a story a present it to the classroom.

- Explain "Digital Storytelling by Kate Kemker." What do you think it would work in your classroom?
Digital storytelling is creating a video in three steps. First the student makes an outline of their story on a piece of paper. Then they use a camcorder to shoot the video. Finally the student uses a computer program to edit the video. This project encourages students to use critical thinking and it is a fun and creative way for a student to share their assignment with the class. I could use digital storytelling in my high school Spanish class. I would tell students to draft a story in Spanish on a piece of paper and then create the video and share it with the class.

- Mathematics is one of the most abstract subject-matter domains. Helping students to visualize mathematical concepts is very useful in helping students make math real. What other methods suggested in the textbook will also help make math more real to students?
The book suggests using some technological tools for visual aid in mathematics. There are several computer programs such as Mathematica and Mathlab that show visual representations of the problem. I actually have experience with Mathlab and it is a very helpful program because it shows examples, videos and online lessons. The book also suggests using graphing calculators, data sets and statistics software.

- Is it possible to learn from TV alone?--that is, learn how to do something merely from watching TV instruction? 
I think that television can be a very helpful tool for learning but I do not think that someone can learn how to do something merely from watching TV. I think face-to-face instruction is very important because the teacher can tell when a student does not understand something and they can go back and explain the material again. Classroom activities and student interaction are also very important for learning.

Reference:
Jonassen, David H., and David H. Jonassen. Meaningful Learning with Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Week 12


I think voicethread is a very useful educational tool because it allows students and teachers to interact with each other outside of the classroom. Everyone can post comments in the form of a document file, video, voice recording or they can just write a comment. This program is great because everyone is able to share their ideas with one another and provide feedback for each other. I think voice thread is a lot better than traditional online discussions because there are several different tools that the students can use. Teachers can make videos for the students to view which can be much more helpful than simply reading written instructions. Voicethread is great because it encourages students to be creative. Another great thing about Voicethread is that it is very convenient and accessible. Students can participate in the discussion when they have time. The program can be accessed at home, at the library or at school as long as there is a computer and Internet access.

I would use this program in my lesson plan because students could share their work with each other in a fun and interactive way. For my lesson plan I had students take photos of Hispanic foods and write sentences about them. The students could post their photos on voicethread write the sentences and share them with the class. Everyone would be able to read each other’s findings and learn new sentences and vocabulary.

I would use this program in my classroom for a few assignments but I don’t think that I would use it on a regular basis. This program is good for sharing and discussing but I think that this program is more beneficial for online classes because students in online classes don’t get the face-to-face student-teacher interaction that students in a classroom have.


Reference:
What's a voicethread anyway? (2007). [Web]. Retrieved from http://voicethread.com/?#q

Friday, April 8, 2011

Gee's Principles and Simulations

Gee's principle of probing (p. 54) states that learning is a cycle of probing the world (doing something) and reflecting in and on this action and forming a hypothesis. Select 3 principles you think it would be important for education.
The three principles that I think are most important for education are the practice principal, the multiple routes principle and the insider principal. The practice principal is important because the student comes into contact with the material over a long period of time. Practicing in a fun way allows students to learn and memorize the material. I think that the multiple routes principle is important because there is always different ways to solve a problem and students can explore these variations and pick a method that works best for them. The insider principle is important because it gives the student some control over their learning. Students are able to customize their learning environment and create something new.
Good simulations are hard to create. If you were creating a simulation for your class, what activity would you support? What variables could students manipulate? How would they affect each other?
Simulations are great because they allow the teacher to put the student in a real life situation. Showing students how the material is relevant to real life makes learning fun and interesting. For my classroom I could use a computer video game called Los Sims (Spanish version of The Sims) to teach students different aspects of the Spanish language. Students would be able to create their sim which would teach them different descriptive adjectives in Spanish. They would then be able to give a description of their sim to the class. They would also be able to have everyday interactions in Spanish through the game. It would be a fun way for my students to strengthen their vocabulary and learn the Spanish language. 
Conclusion
There are several ways to teach a class. Gee’s principals teach us several principals that can be used in the classroom. Although I have picked three principals as the most important I think using a combination the principals would have the best effect on the student. Simulations are also very helpful in engaging students in learning. Simulations allow students to have fun while they are learning which I think is very important. If the student is enjoying what they are doing they are more likely to learn.

Reference
Jonassens, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M.,Grismond, D. (2008).  Meaningful
           learning with technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall.