Problem:
The problem I chose to focus my WICKED Project on was providing students with access to non-fiction materials that support struggling readers. I teach in a K-1 Library Media Center and I often have beginning readers or struggling readers that engage in various forms of research. I do purchase leveled non-fiction books to accommodate their reading levels, but technology has been a big push in our school. So I provide access to non-print sources as much as possible. However, most online non-fiction resources are much too difficult for elementary students to read and understand independently. I would like to find a program that supports our students with access to rich non-fiction sources and provides support for struggling readers.
Solution:
After reviewing many wonderful and abundant sources that support my problem I chose World Books Encyclopedia Online as my solution. They have a kid version that I was especially interested in because it is geared towards younger students. I feel that this program maintains an even balance as a TPaCK solution and here's why...
TP knowledge for the solution:
World Books Kids Online offers a few features that will allow students to be successful in their independent research. One of the features that I was most impressed with was the "Hear-to-Text" option. Students can have the online encyclopedia article read to them. This is great for struggling readers, as well as, practicing readers because they can follow along as the computer reads each sentence to them. In addition to this feature, the articles are written for an intended audience and are age appropriate. World Books has different levels of difficulty in online encyclopedias depending on the age of students in your school. This is a great way to hopefully implement this program district wide. Moreover, in all the levels of World Books, videos and images are included for student's research. This is a great tool for visual learners. Overall, this software meets my pedagogical belief that students are offered multiple ways to learn information and can do so independently because it's very easy to navigate.
TC knowledge for the solution:
This technology makes the content more intellectually accessible because the information provided is very up-to-date, which is one of the perks of being an online resource. As most people, World Book Encyclopedias are a very well-known print series. They update their volumes yearly, but are very expensive to repurchase. Therefore, some libraries in turn can sometimes offer students out-of-date and older material when doing research. With World Books Online, their encyclopedias are continually updated and you don't have to purchase the new volumes yearly. It's all included in your subscription.
PC knowledge for the solution:
My pedagogical choices make the content more intellectually accessible by making it a priority and acknowledging that students learn differently. The content is introduced to students in various formats. Students can listen to audio to help them follow along or help them though difficult words, videos and images are provided for visual learners, and there are features that allow students to compare subject by content. Students' uniqueness is recognized with this program and they have options of how they would like to acquire or view that information. It is ideal for a library's resource where independent research is a desired outcome.
Works Cited
Reading Rockets. “Hooking struggling readers: using books they can and want to read.” Reading Rockets, 2011.
World Books Online. "World Books Kids Online." World Books, Inc. 2011.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Final Reflections for CEP 811
1. What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?
Some of the things that I’ve learned about using effective teaching strategies when integrating technology is to use technology only when it will enhance student learning. Some people fall into the mistake of trying to use technology for the sake of using technology. It’s understandable since it’s an ever-changing area and there’s always something new and innovative coming out; but to better our teaching and student learning, we should use it when it fits into our content. Otherwise, our teaching objectives may be lost in the learning process by focusing on the technology or other objectives. And when you do use technology appropriately, it’s important to get feedback from students to ensure that our teaching goals and objectives are being met. There are so many ways to use technology to get feedback from students and to assist in teaching lessons which will engage students and motivate them to learn and succeed.
2. How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?
Integrating web-based technologies helped me think about and evaluate technology uses because I was able to use the technologies myself. So I was able to evaluate how easily a technology was to navigate though and see firsthand what that technology offered. Therefore, I could find uses for it in my teaching curriculum and where it would fit in nicely. Also, I was able to investigate the pros and cons and what each technology program had to offer. It really gave me the opportunity to explore with different technologies before trying it out with students.
3. How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?
One of my biggest goals was to familiarize myself with different technologies that I wasn’t aware of or comfortable using. I have definitely met that goal by taking this course. I’ve been exposed to technologies that I have not heard of and others that I was aware of but never before used. I had some great learning experiences and really was able to explore hands on with new technologies. Also, I was refocused on what your ultimate goals should be when using technology and to make sure that students are benefitting from its use.
4.Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?
My new goals will mostly be to utilize some of the new technology I learned about with my students. Since this course was over the summer I explored by myself or called on friends and family to help assist with getting feedback using these technologies. I’ve formulated many ideas of how I can incorporate these technologies in my classroom after I was able to explore for a little. The type of web based technology that I was most interested in would be that of surveying or any technology that allowed me to check for immediate feedback as an assessment of student learning. Assessment is an extremely important aspect of teaching. Creating surveys was easier than I thought and can be very specific for any content area I teach. I definitely plan on using this tool when school starts in the fall. First, to see what students already know as a pre-assessment, and then, to assess after teaching new material. I think this will be a successful implementation of technology in my classroom setting.
Some of the things that I’ve learned about using effective teaching strategies when integrating technology is to use technology only when it will enhance student learning. Some people fall into the mistake of trying to use technology for the sake of using technology. It’s understandable since it’s an ever-changing area and there’s always something new and innovative coming out; but to better our teaching and student learning, we should use it when it fits into our content. Otherwise, our teaching objectives may be lost in the learning process by focusing on the technology or other objectives. And when you do use technology appropriately, it’s important to get feedback from students to ensure that our teaching goals and objectives are being met. There are so many ways to use technology to get feedback from students and to assist in teaching lessons which will engage students and motivate them to learn and succeed.
2. How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology?
Integrating web-based technologies helped me think about and evaluate technology uses because I was able to use the technologies myself. So I was able to evaluate how easily a technology was to navigate though and see firsthand what that technology offered. Therefore, I could find uses for it in my teaching curriculum and where it would fit in nicely. Also, I was able to investigate the pros and cons and what each technology program had to offer. It really gave me the opportunity to explore with different technologies before trying it out with students.
3. How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?
One of my biggest goals was to familiarize myself with different technologies that I wasn’t aware of or comfortable using. I have definitely met that goal by taking this course. I’ve been exposed to technologies that I have not heard of and others that I was aware of but never before used. I had some great learning experiences and really was able to explore hands on with new technologies. Also, I was refocused on what your ultimate goals should be when using technology and to make sure that students are benefitting from its use.
4.Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?
My new goals will mostly be to utilize some of the new technology I learned about with my students. Since this course was over the summer I explored by myself or called on friends and family to help assist with getting feedback using these technologies. I’ve formulated many ideas of how I can incorporate these technologies in my classroom after I was able to explore for a little. The type of web based technology that I was most interested in would be that of surveying or any technology that allowed me to check for immediate feedback as an assessment of student learning. Assessment is an extremely important aspect of teaching. Creating surveys was easier than I thought and can be very specific for any content area I teach. I definitely plan on using this tool when school starts in the fall. First, to see what students already know as a pre-assessment, and then, to assess after teaching new material. I think this will be a successful implementation of technology in my classroom setting.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Group Leadership Project
Here is the link to our Group Leadership Project Video:
http://voicethread.com/share/2163294/
1.What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial? Why?
Our group used VoiceThread to deliver our Professional Development tutorial because it would allow us to guide our viewers step-by-step through the program we chose for our project, which is Glogster. We thought it would be easier to do a presentation with a tool that had a voice feature and accepted other forms of media so that we could insert multimedia image and videos.
2.What did you learn during the development process of the final product?
I learned a lot more about the program because everyone in our group found out different specifics about it. Also, I was able to see how using these technology tools could be managed with students from a firsthand experience. Some aspects weren’t easy, so I saw what worked and what some of the bumps in the road could be. For example, splitting up specific jobs was manageable yet some media types were not as compatible as others. We had to figure out how to convert them so that everyone and every program would accept it.
3.What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?
I think our process was good overall; however, if I were to do anything differently, I would be more specific of what we had in mind for the project. I thought we were specific enough with this project, but I think some bumps in the road could have been avoided if we planned it even more thoroughly.
http://voicethread.com/share/2163294/
1.What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial? Why?
Our group used VoiceThread to deliver our Professional Development tutorial because it would allow us to guide our viewers step-by-step through the program we chose for our project, which is Glogster. We thought it would be easier to do a presentation with a tool that had a voice feature and accepted other forms of media so that we could insert multimedia image and videos.
2.What did you learn during the development process of the final product?
I learned a lot more about the program because everyone in our group found out different specifics about it. Also, I was able to see how using these technology tools could be managed with students from a firsthand experience. Some aspects weren’t easy, so I saw what worked and what some of the bumps in the road could be. For example, splitting up specific jobs was manageable yet some media types were not as compatible as others. We had to figure out how to convert them so that everyone and every program would accept it.
3.What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?
I think our process was good overall; however, if I were to do anything differently, I would be more specific of what we had in mind for the project. I thought we were specific enough with this project, but I think some bumps in the road could have been avoided if we planned it even more thoroughly.
Professional Learning Plan
Below are the text version and the link to the Voice Thread I created for my Professional Learning Plan:
http://voicethread.com/share/2178659/
My professional learning plan includes the use of Video or Presentation Web 2.0 tools. It’s almost an extension of the goals I made when I took CEP 810. I wanted to do more with young students building with Web 2.0 Tools. I have reached most of the goals since I have had students use Glogsters, Wallwisher, PhotoStory, etc. to complete projects. It was a great learning experience for my students and for me as well. However, I’ve learned a great deal about the use of video tools throughout this course, that I’m interested in continuing in that area and applying it to my professional setting. I will begin teaching in a high school this Fall, which is a big switch for me since I worked at a K-1 setting last year. With this change, I would like to change some of my teaching styles and I think Video Web 2.0 tools will definitely have a place in my library media center. My first real exposure to tools such as; Jing, Screencast, VoiceThread, etc., were from assignments in this class. I learned about many of the capabilities these programs have and how well they can help you teach and learn. There is still more I wish to learn. Jing was a little difficult for me to grasp, so I want to push myself to practice using that more, so that I can use it in the field. However, I think high school students are the perfect students for this goal because they were brought up in the digital age and will be more than capable to experiment with these tools with me. It will be a change from my K-1 experience where I needed to guide the students through all steps and assist in almost every aspect. High school students will be able to move on independently and freely use their creativity.
I plan on using tools such as these in my classroom and I would like to use scaffolding as my pedagogical teaching strategy. When I begin this new year at the high school, I would like to create some of these interactive videos within my library to help guide students in whole groups, small groups, or individual learning experiences within the media center. For example, I would like to use these presentation tools as an introduction to the library media center, introduce new books and authors when students go to the OPAC cataloging computers to locate books, and as tutorials on how to use or locate other resources within the library. Fortunately, the high school library media center has many student computers and I would like to set up these videos on the desktop of the computers to easily help assist students when needed. Also, when I’m teaching research lessons or other units of study, I would like to incorporate these tools where needed. Therefore, as the year goes on, all students will hopefully have had exposure to these videos as learning tools. Next, I would like students to create videos of their own by becoming the “teacher” in the videos. I will instruct students on how to use these tools. Then, I would like them create their own videos on specific topics of study. Projects are created using PowerPoint or writing an essay all the time, but I think it would be more engaging for students to use other programs to present their findings. This will be a great learning experience for students and a more meaningful route to learning material. I also believe this will be helpful to students with their future endeavors.
Those are my goals for the upcoming year at my new job placement. If all goes well, I hope to continue to use Video Web 2.0 Tools as a learning and instruction tool and add on to it. Who knows, maybe I can begin conducting distance learning courses for students in clubs or groups in the following years. I feel excited and ready to begin this goal.
http://voicethread.com/share/2178659/
My professional learning plan includes the use of Video or Presentation Web 2.0 tools. It’s almost an extension of the goals I made when I took CEP 810. I wanted to do more with young students building with Web 2.0 Tools. I have reached most of the goals since I have had students use Glogsters, Wallwisher, PhotoStory, etc. to complete projects. It was a great learning experience for my students and for me as well. However, I’ve learned a great deal about the use of video tools throughout this course, that I’m interested in continuing in that area and applying it to my professional setting. I will begin teaching in a high school this Fall, which is a big switch for me since I worked at a K-1 setting last year. With this change, I would like to change some of my teaching styles and I think Video Web 2.0 tools will definitely have a place in my library media center. My first real exposure to tools such as; Jing, Screencast, VoiceThread, etc., were from assignments in this class. I learned about many of the capabilities these programs have and how well they can help you teach and learn. There is still more I wish to learn. Jing was a little difficult for me to grasp, so I want to push myself to practice using that more, so that I can use it in the field. However, I think high school students are the perfect students for this goal because they were brought up in the digital age and will be more than capable to experiment with these tools with me. It will be a change from my K-1 experience where I needed to guide the students through all steps and assist in almost every aspect. High school students will be able to move on independently and freely use their creativity.
I plan on using tools such as these in my classroom and I would like to use scaffolding as my pedagogical teaching strategy. When I begin this new year at the high school, I would like to create some of these interactive videos within my library to help guide students in whole groups, small groups, or individual learning experiences within the media center. For example, I would like to use these presentation tools as an introduction to the library media center, introduce new books and authors when students go to the OPAC cataloging computers to locate books, and as tutorials on how to use or locate other resources within the library. Fortunately, the high school library media center has many student computers and I would like to set up these videos on the desktop of the computers to easily help assist students when needed. Also, when I’m teaching research lessons or other units of study, I would like to incorporate these tools where needed. Therefore, as the year goes on, all students will hopefully have had exposure to these videos as learning tools. Next, I would like students to create videos of their own by becoming the “teacher” in the videos. I will instruct students on how to use these tools. Then, I would like them create their own videos on specific topics of study. Projects are created using PowerPoint or writing an essay all the time, but I think it would be more engaging for students to use other programs to present their findings. This will be a great learning experience for students and a more meaningful route to learning material. I also believe this will be helpful to students with their future endeavors.
Those are my goals for the upcoming year at my new job placement. If all goes well, I hope to continue to use Video Web 2.0 Tools as a learning and instruction tool and add on to it. Who knows, maybe I can begin conducting distance learning courses for students in clubs or groups in the following years. I feel excited and ready to begin this goal.
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Part D - Findings and Implications
To prove that using the program World Book Kids helps students who have difficulty reading; especially non-fiction material, I have some ideas of how I can use formative and summative assessments to collect data. I plan on using formative assessments by using rubrics on our non-fiction projects that are completed in the library media center using World Books Kids Online. Prior to our “big” projects, I would like to hold a lesson directly on the use of World Book Kids as an introduction to the program and using online sources as a means to collecting information. Afterwards, I would create an assessment or quiz to give students so that I know how successful my lesson was and if the program really helped to address their needs by observing whether they were able to successfully complete a task and gather non-fiction material a given topic. This assessment would have to include information that tests navigation through the program and content questions, so that I can tell students were able to successfully acquire information. My summative assessments would include having an end of year review. This could be done through a written review, but I think more interesting results would be through an interactive Webquest. I would ask students to partake in this online assessment to see how well they can acquire information within the program, decode it, and navigate through the program. This assessment will help test students to see if they understand how to find information with this site and if it proves useful for researching. I would like to include questioning that leads towards students’ learning styles as well to evaluate whether they prefer using this online program versus print or other library sources. I believe these assessments will help me evaluate the usefulness of this program of addressing the needs of my students. As the year moves on, I can edit the assignments or the assessments based on the students’ feedback and my other observations.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Online Teaching Experience
There were so many technologies listed in the Michigan Merit Curriculum’s Online Experience Guideline that I would like to use. I think the technology tools that would work best for my students are the interactive visual activities. One of the many technologies I would love to use is the Online Virtual Fieldtrips. I have never conducted one of these myself yet, but I’ve assisted my mentor with one. We took a virtual fieldtrip with 5th grade students to a science institution. The 5th graders were studying bats or nocturnal animals as one of their science topics. So after learning more about bats, they came to the library media center prepared with well-thought out questions and were able to see real-live bats. They had a great online experience because unlike TV or educational videos, they were able to interact with the presenter and the animals. Based on their questions and comments, the students were able to direct the flow of the presentation. Needless to say, they were all very much involved and engaged throughout the entire presentation. In addition, virtual fieldtrips are ideal for a library media center because it is even more difficult to plan and budget for “real” fieldtrips in our setting than in a classroom setting.
If I were to do an online experience like this virtual field trip, I would follow the same pedagogical strategies as my mentor. She assisted and collaborated with the classroom teachers in their bat studies and research which led up to the virtual field trip. By that time, the students were well prepared with adequate information to be able to properly address an expert with their individual concerns or questions that they hadn’t found the answers to when they researched. It seemed to flow well as far as a well-rounded learning experience. Students were able to express their newly found information in a practical, real-life situation making their learning more meaningful.
My students are younger and I know this article mentioned its focus on middle school and high school students; however I could still implement many of these learning experiences but there were some that would be more difficult to do with younger students. Those would be the technologies that involved greater student independence. For example, the interactive discussions with students, communicating through a blog, Learning Management System and RSS Feeds may be difficult for a 1st student to navigate through; although not impossible. These could still be used successfully with young students, but probably wouldn’t have as great of a benefit as it would with older students. The focus might swerve away from the content to be learned and focus more on how to utilize that technology. As young students, I think they would benefit more from the exposure to these technologies and utilizing visual technologies since they haven’t yet mastered their “voice” in writing or sometimes even basic writing skills; especially not typing skills. Exposure would be great as they move forward in their educational learning experiences, so that they are prepared for the technologies that the higher grade levels are utilizing.
If I were to do an online experience like this virtual field trip, I would follow the same pedagogical strategies as my mentor. She assisted and collaborated with the classroom teachers in their bat studies and research which led up to the virtual field trip. By that time, the students were well prepared with adequate information to be able to properly address an expert with their individual concerns or questions that they hadn’t found the answers to when they researched. It seemed to flow well as far as a well-rounded learning experience. Students were able to express their newly found information in a practical, real-life situation making their learning more meaningful.
My students are younger and I know this article mentioned its focus on middle school and high school students; however I could still implement many of these learning experiences but there were some that would be more difficult to do with younger students. Those would be the technologies that involved greater student independence. For example, the interactive discussions with students, communicating through a blog, Learning Management System and RSS Feeds may be difficult for a 1st student to navigate through; although not impossible. These could still be used successfully with young students, but probably wouldn’t have as great of a benefit as it would with older students. The focus might swerve away from the content to be learned and focus more on how to utilize that technology. As young students, I think they would benefit more from the exposure to these technologies and utilizing visual technologies since they haven’t yet mastered their “voice” in writing or sometimes even basic writing skills; especially not typing skills. Exposure would be great as they move forward in their educational learning experiences, so that they are prepared for the technologies that the higher grade levels are utilizing.
Saturday, July 30, 2011
Part B - Storyboard and Script
Our group is moving right along on our Group Leadship Project. It took us a little to get started and get used to continually monitoring the Group Discussion Forum, but once all of were on the same page, then we became pretty productive. We used Google Docs to begin the script so that all group members could collaborate. It seems to be a great choice for us. Below is the link to our Google Doc which contains our script and storyboard, thus far. I put together the script and storyboard for the introduction, examples, additional information, etc. Dianne put together the script and some of the storyboard for the tutorial. Sarah and Andrew provided feedback and editing help. For the next half of our project, Sarah will be putting together our scripts and storyboards on VoiceThread and Andrew will complete the tutorial storyboard and record a video of the tutorial; while Dianne and I edit and offer feedback. We're getting close to our final product!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tt-yxc0bJkUvHeMPjqEffV_4g5ruSm61g84gHTl4slA/edit?hl=en_US#
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tt-yxc0bJkUvHeMPjqEffV_4g5ruSm61g84gHTl4slA/edit?hl=en_US#
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