Blog Entry #3: "Upside Down and Inside Out"

           The article entitled, “Upside Down and Inside Out”, of the June/July 2012 issue of Learning and Leading talks about flipping your classroom to improve students learning.  The flipped classroom upturns traditional teaching methods by delivering instruction online and outside of the class, while moving “homework” into the classroom.  Basically, the traditional classroom was when the teacher would lecture the class about a topic, but now the flipped classroom is when the teacher helps students with an activity.  This article focuses on looking into Bryon High School in Minnesota where one of the calculus classes uses a flipped classroom style.  Many times, these flipped classrooms are an innovative way of learning and students can use new technologies such as iPads, smartphones and electronic white boards.  Students in a flipped class, such as the calculus class in Minnesota, can choose to work in groups or individually.  While students are working on their assignments in class, the teacher is helping them if they have questions.  The reason why some schools decide to flip their classrooms is because of budgets.  It is cheaper to have a flipped classroom because schools don’t need to buy new textbooks and can learn through watching YouTube videos.  Studies have found that students learning and achievement is higher and scores are increased in flipped classrooms than in a regular classroom setting.

            I can definitely see the pros and cons for flipped classrooms.  I do think it is great for students to independently learn and teach themselves at home, but then where does the teacher’s role go if students are teaching themselves?  When it comes to flipped classrooms, are teachers now just mentors in the class?  After a long process for the teacher to get their teaching credential, it seems unfair for them to not be able to teach a class after all of their hard work.  I do, however, think this style of a classroom does promote students to instruct each other and group discussions.  Lastly, the class is freed up from lectures, so teachers are able to develop open ended, cross-curricular projects that actively engage students and bring real life relevance to their studies.

            This article is related to the ISTE NETS performance indicator number four, ”Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making”.  This performance indicator highlights students to use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources.  The flipped classroom promotes students to think and problem solve on their own because they are learning the lesson at home by themselves without a teacher.  The flipped classroom instruction also encourages students to make decisions on their own without much help from their teacher.

Fulton, K. (2012). Upside down and inside out. Leading and learning with Technology, 39(8), 12-17.

Technology of Choice: SMART Boards

           

            SMART Boards are large, digital interactive whiteboards that feature touch detection for user input and helps improve learning outcomes.  A projector projects the image from your computer screen onto the whiteboard.  Teachers and students can write on these boards either by using a specialized pen or by touching the screen. 

There is a great advantage to using SMART Boards in the classroom because students are more engaged and excited about learning when they get to interact with the board.  This technology tool is good for both the students and the teachers because it boosts the student’s self-esteem and the teacher’s ability to assess the student’s learning.  This tool also engages students with special learning needs and often improves their behavior.  The use of SMART Boards in the classroom fosters a sense of community and creates a cooperative learning environment.

 Teachers can get started with this tool by first talking to their Principle about this need and seeing if the budget can cover this technology for the classroom.  Then, the teacher can purchase the board and software, which ranges from $3,000 to $7,000.  Once the board is purchased, the teacher will need to get it installed into the classroom which costs about $100 to $300.  There are also pre-made lesson plans available with the SMART Board purchase that can be purchased for $15-$40.

Below is an instructional video for SMART Boards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0U05WeXPGlk

Blog Entry #2: "Girls Save the World through Computer Science"

                This article, “Girls Save the World through Computer Science”, of the May 2011 issue of Learning and Leading talks about how a dozen girls from Ohio delivered laptops to students in the Caribbean and taught the kids how to use them.  The teacher at the Columbus School for Girls wanted her students to be open to computer science as a career, as fewer and fewer women are entering computer science fields.  In doing so, the girls needed to learn and understand hardware, software, maintenance, troubleshooting, networking and other activities on the computer in order to teach the Caribbean students about computers.  While doing this, the teacher hoped that the girls would gain an appreciation for the subject matter.  The computers used for this project were XO computers, which are computers designed for children in developing countries.  After the trip, the group of girls from the trip had plans to continue their work in computer science and that was when the teacher knew the trip had been a success.  The students were motivated by real work that serves a real purpose in the world.

                I feel that it is very important for girls to know and understand the ins and outs of computer science because there are always jobs in the computer science field and in need of women in that industry.  Computer science is continually changing our world.  I also think this is a great trip for students in high school because they were able to master something, such as computers, and then teach their newly adopted knowledge to others less privileged.  This trip not only broadened the girl’s knowledge, but also helped them become good service members in the community.  The girls were able to boost self-confidence after teaching others in the Caribbean about computers and were able to form lasting friendships.

                This article is related to the ISTE NETS performance indicator number two, “Communication and Collaboration”.  This performance indicator highlights interacting and collaborating with peers while developing a cultural understanding and global awareness by engaging with learners of other cultures.  The high school girls from Ohio were able to teach less fortunate students in the Caribbean about how to use a computer and the importance of computer science.

Murakami, C. (2011).  Girls save the world through computer science.  Leading and Learning with Technology, 38(7), 24-29.

Blog Entry #1: "AIM For Digital Equity"

            The article, “AIM for Digital Equity” of the May 2012 issue of Learning and Leading, explains how schools need to ensure that instructional materials are universally designed to be flexible, accessible and usable for students with and without disabilities.  The article states that it will only be a matter of time before digital content will largely replace the printed textbooks and lesson plans in education through mobile and other electronic devices.  Students with disabilities could see benefits from the use of digital materials by being able to get the text read aloud to them or being able to change the size or color of the font.  The excerpt explains that in order to increase the equity for students with disabilities, it is important that educators know the options for getting instructional materials in a variety of formats.  These formats are referred to as accessible instructional materials (AIM).  Lastly, the article is summarized by saying that teachers should integrate digital text and other accessible formats into the classroom and instructional practices so that students with disabilities can benefit from a technology rich educational environment.

        I do agree that digital items are so accessible and available now and that print formats will eventually be a thing in the past.  I think it is a great idea to bring technology into the classroom because students can definitely benefit from it.  However, a draw back from having so many accessible technology resources in the classroom is that it can also deter students from working hard to find out what something means and they will probably be less likely to retain and understand the concepts.  I do like the idea of accessible instructional materials (AIM) to help students with disabilities keep up with the work and with fellow classmates.  For example, if a student has problems with reading, they will be able to use the text book that their classmates are using, but they will also be able to go online or on a mobile device to have the text read aloud to them.  As a future teacher, I will definitely integrate digital text and other accessible instructional materials into the classroom.

       This article is related to the ISTE NETS performance indicator number six, "Technology Operations and Concepts".  This performance indicator highlights that students should understand and use technology systems, as well as using applications effectively and productively.  Students using accessible instructional materials (AIM) would need to know how to use the technology application along with the instructional material successfully.

Bowser, G. & Zabala, J. (2012).  AIM for digital equity. Leading and Learning with Technology, 39(2), 16-17.  

              

Quickwrite:  Critical Information Literacy

When we search for articles on the internet, we can't always trust what we are reading.  But how can we check the credibility of a website?  There are many ways to critically review online resources.  Some ways to review the credibility of a site is to check the sources (primary or secondary) on a website and look into who is funding the site.  We can also check if the website is opinion based or research based or if the article online is peer reviewed.  When looking at a website, we can read the "About Us" section to see if the website or company is legitimate and we can check the date the website was created.  Lastly, it is very important to know what type of domain is most trustworthy.  The most trustworthy domains are .gov, .edu, and .org.  If we were to check all of these different ways to critically review an online resource, we would eventually only find the most reliable and trustworthy websites.

Hello!  Today is the first day of EDUC 422 class and we just created our blog.  This will be my first time blogging.