PBL Ideas

We have been discussing the focus of our PBL proposal via Google Docs. Brian, our group leader, is looking to focus on a problem area that he frequently sees with the students at his school. One of the factors affecting their motivation is the fact that they see little relevance between what they are learning at school and what skills get put to work in the “real world.” Brain’s idea is to center our PBL proposal around creating relevance for his students by making a clear connection between what they are learning in school and what is occurring in their community. One way to do this is to involve members of the community when possible in the learning activities.

The first idea that came to me involved students tracking the stock market. Middle school math and social studies is not my expertise, but I can see students buying fictitious stock and tracking its growth. At the end of the project, students can see who made the most money, figure out what their average stock price was, discuss when it is smart to sell or buy, etc. Then a stock trader from the community can come in and speak to them about the realities of the stock market.

After thinking some more about Brian’s idea, I also thought about perhaps involving local banks and builders in a school project. Students could be in charge of coming up with a construction plan for a local park, playground, community center, etc. They would have to draw up a budget for their building with how much each needed supply would cost them, how long it would take to build, and a sketch of the building. They would have to contact a bank for a loan and calculate interest on their borrowed money. The culminating event could be a visit to a local construction site and a talk with the contractors and/or architects. They could also visit a bank and talk about what it takes to get a loan, etc. This could be easily connected to the struggle that builders are facing now to get loans and sell their current inventory.

We are still in the initial planning stages, but I think we have some great ideas circulating!

DL Reflection

Last semester I completed a Digital Storytelling course that used Windows Movie Maker pretty heavily. At the beginning of the semester, as we were choosing projects to become the leaders of, I immediately leaned towards becoming the leader for the digital storytelling project. I felt that I had a solid enough base of knowledge to be able to guide people through the process and provide them with resources that have helped me along the way. Now that the project is complete, I felt that I fulfilled what I set out to do. Windows Movie Maker is an excellent tool that can be bent to support any curriculum standard for any grade level. Although the program (like all programs out there) comes with its quirks, it is fairly easy to learn. I have found that my students need minimal modeling time to be able to navigate their own way through. This will be my fourth year utilizing the program and it gets easier every year as I eliminate the different hurdles I come across.

I am currently using Windows Movie Maker with my students; their assignment is to create an instructional video on the important event of the Civil War that was assigned to their group. Topics range from Sherman’s Burning of Atlanta to the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse. Not only are my students incredibly motivated by their task, but the creation of their movies is helping them become experts on an important event of the war. After the movies are completed, we will have a viewing where groups will show their movies to the class; this is a way for students to showcase their work and give the class a solid review of the key concepts of the chapter. In the past, I have also used Windows Movie Maker to create silent movies illustrating the changes of the Roaring Twenties. The movie-making process gets easier on both the students and the teacher every time you go through it and students reap many learning benefits from using it.

Being project leader of this assignment led to some self-discovery for me. As it is, I’m not sure I would describe myself as a leader. Sure, I lead my students every day, but when it comes to being a leader among my peers, it is a different story. I find that I choose to lead out of necessity. If nobody else takes charge, I will, but usually only as a last resort. In the last few months, I have noticed a shift in my leadership tendencies and I think it has to do with my confidence level. As I become more confident in myself as a teacher and as a technology-user, I am finding it easier and more natural to take charge. I have enjoyed being the leader on this project and sincere thank you goes out to my group for being such hard and helpful workers.

Thoughts from Boss and Krauss

As I was reflecting about this week's topic, there was one specific part from Boss and Krauss that was extremely applicable in my eyes. In the Technology Focus section on pages 84-87, Boss and Krauss discuss what is needed by the students and the teachers to aid in the management of a project. The authors recommend developing a way to assess the load balance among a team to avoid one student doing too much or too little. This seems to be a constant problem for me year after year. I developed a form that my students complete at the end of projects describing the participation and role of their fellow group members (and themselves). Their comments and my personal observations go into a participation grade for each project. If students are warned ahead of time that this is the procedure we will be following, sometimes the inequalities like Boss and Krauss were describing can be avoided. However, if one or two members do the bulk of the work, at the end it is too late to do anything about it. I'm thinking a mid-way group assessment could be the answer, but all of these assessments just serve in tacking on time to a project.

Boss and Krauss also discussed the technology tools that are ideal to use in a collaborative group setting. The authors started with a discussion on the shared school server and how it can be extremely useful in sharing and storing work files. I am a testament to this fact! I often use the shared drive for technology-based projects that I have my students complete. We are currently working on Civil War movies and I have a toolbox already created for them on the shared drive full of images, music, movie clips, and sound effects for their movies. Creating a "toolkit" like this can really save time. The only problem lies in the fact that anyone can manipulate the shared drive, including students. On several occasions I have had folders magically disappear to find them later within another folder. Accidents can happen with the slip of a mouse, but utilizing the shared drive is definitely the way to go!

Movie Maker Article

I read and reviewed the article "Digital Storytelling Finds Its Place in the Classroom" by Tom Banaszewski. In his article, Banaszewski, an educator to older elementary students, explains how he incorporates digital storytelling into what he calls his "Place Project." For this project, his students compose a writing piece on an important place and turn it into a movie. To further develop his students' writing and make sure there was a clear beginning, middle, and end, Banaszewski asked probing questions about the place they selected. Banaszewski also discusses the importance of trust in the Digital Storytelling process. The classroom must be a risk free environment where students feel comfortable sharing their ideas in order for digital storytelling to really take off.

He also outlines several challenges that present themselves throughout this process. To begin with, teachers really must surrender control to be effective leaders of digital storytelling. Due to the creative nature of the work, the students need to be the directors every step of the way. Also, by nature, digital storytelling is a time-consuming process especially when students are first learning about the technology. Timetables can vary wildly from student to student as they move through a long-term movie-making project. Teachers must have supplementary activities available for early finishers. Most importantly, Banaszewski explains that the technology component must take a back seat to the storytelling process. The finished products that some out of his "Place Project" never cease to amaze him1

Thoughts from Egbert

As I was reading our selected readings for this week, a few things really jumped out at me. A focus at my elementary school for the last few years has been higher-order thinking skills (HOTS). I am fortunate to be able to teach in a fairly affluent area where my students, for the most part, come ready to learn. We have a high percentage of students that exceed standards on the CRCT, but at the same time, many of our students are unable to really think. They shut down in the face of a challenge instead of meeting it head-on. I tell my students that it is okay to struggle sometimes; the best learning comes out of a little struggle. However, our typical student wants the "right answer" and a quick fix to a problem. According to Egbert, students reap many benefits from beings exposed to HOTS like academic independence and a willingness to stick with a task until completion. We as teachers have the obligation to not always lead our students to the right answer. If we want to encourage independent thinking, they need to be able to lead themselves down the path of discovery.

DS Progress

Just a little update on our group's progress working with Digital Storytelling and Windows Movie Maker. We are in the stage now where we are experimenting with Windows Movie Maker and trying to solve the little obstacles we encounter along the way. Most of the group members have thought about their topics and zeroed in on a specific area of focus. Betty is thinking of completing a movie about the American Revolution. Sheila is thinking about a movie on flags as symbols of America and Charlotte is thinking of guiding her students in a video project journal using Windows Movie Maker. Everybody has gotten off to a great start on their individual projects while Lindsey, the project leader, is focusing on the directions handout for how to use Windows Movie Maker and the Digital Storytelling Power Point that will be used for staff development.

ComicLife

I love your Civil War ComicLife. Your idea of having them write their own strip would be interesting to most students. They will learn to enjoy writing and social studies. You did a great job.

Comic Life Reflection

Working with the software Comic Life for our most recent group project was a very positive experience. There are three specific elements of Comic Life that make it a worthwhile technology tool to integrate into the curriculum. First of all, Comic Life was easy to figure out even with little to no formal training on the program. The ease of use I had tells me that my students will be able to catch on just as quickly or even quicker than I did. In addition, Comic Life is an incredibly versatile tool. Comic Life software can be used by teachers as a teaching aid, or by students to improve their learning. I can see students from all grade levels utilizing the software in a variety of subject areas. Bottom line is this: Comic Life can be bent to fit the needs of the teachers. Therefore, any teaching objective can be satisfied through the use of this software. Lastly, the use of Comic Life is incredibly motivating and engaging for kids. I think that it is easy for teachers to get stuck in a teaching rut; constantly varying your teaching methods can help prevent getting stuck in a mundane teaching cycle that is difficult to break. At the same time, the students of today require more and more to sustain their attention. Our students live in a digital age where computers and Web 2.0 technologies are a focal point of their everyday lives. We as teachers need to incorporate technology constantly to be able to successfully reach this new kind of learner.

As I worked with Comic Life, I started thinking of all the ways that I could integrate the software with my own teaching. With my ideas and thoughts, came a few concerns. Considering the benefits of using this software, the cost of purchasing the software seems minimal. However, once a purchase is made, I wonder of the license will be able to be spread to multiple computers. I see Comic Life being at its most effective when students are able to get their hands on the software to make educational products of their own. However, this could not productively happen in a classroom with only three computers available for student use. I see my students interacting with Comic Life in our school computer lab where every student has access to a computer of their own. If a license is purchased, could this program be downloaded to all the computers in the lab? If so, could I do it myself or would our county technology specialists have to get involved? There are several logistical issues I would need to work out involving the use of this software, but I do believe all the work would be worth it in the end.

Reflections on Boss and Krauss

After reading Chapter 2 from Boss and Krauss about creating a professional learning community, I automatically began to reflect on my current school and grade-level learning communities. One very true point that Boss and Krauss made is that education is traditionally a very isolated profession. We teachers can sometimes have zero adult interaction throughout our entire day. Sometimes this type of interaction has to be sought out and we can be very limited in the time our very scheduled day allows. Unfortunately, sometimes making time for collaboration can be more work than it is worth. Many schools are starting to offer periods of collaboration within the school day. My elementary school is doing just that; our grade-level team enjoys two hours of collaboration a month. However, we must focus on what administration tells us to and we sometimes feel like our time can be unproductive. The fact is that we expect our students to collaborate and work cooperatively, but rarely do we embrace the same principles in our own work. Our job could be so much easier if we all worked together, but instead we all continue about our business reinventing the wheel within the closed doors of our own classrooms. It's easier that way.

Comic Life Article

The article I chose to read and review can be found at http://www.techdis.ac.uk/print.php?p=2_1_7_25_25&id= .

Philip Wane (2008) from Nottingham Trent University took the time to weigh the uses and outcomes of using Comic Life Software for educational purposes. According to his various studies, Comic Life is able to overcome barriers for students such as lack of artistic ability. In addition, Comic Life is economical for schools to purchase and use with students. The software is very intuitive, easy to use, and does not require much training for teachers or students. Comic Life is a welcome change for students that resist more text-heavy tasks in school and is a naturally motivating task for students to participate in. The uses of Comic Life are diverse; it can be used as a tool to convey information or a tool to aid teaching or student learning. Everyone that had experience using Comic Life was enthused about their experience and immediately put it to use with their own students (p. 1).

Reference:
Wane, P. (2008). Comic life: just for laughs or also learning? Retrieved from http://www.techdis.ac.uk/print.php?p=2_1_7_25_25&id=.

Comic Life Example

My Comic Life: Causes of the Civil War

I chose to create my comic life example on various Causes of the Civil War. I chose this topic because it is what my fifth graders are currently studying in Social Studies. There are specific causes laid out in our S.S. standards that they have to know. I could use the example I created to launch a Comic Life project where my students use the program to create their own comic page outlining the causes of the Civil War. Instead of including all the causes on one page like I did, each students could concentrate on creating a comic strip on one cause. Then each group could compile their comic strips to create a larger comic that included all the causes they needed to know. Their work would be a great display item for the hall.

Technology Frustrations

Today was one of those frustrating days with technology Sometimes the most minor of tasks can take the longest amount of time. I have found that the first year is always the hardest when integrating a new technology-based project and Voicethread has proved no different. I was having microphone issues when I tried to have my students comment on my Math VT example. In the end, since we were under a time crunch, they ended up typing their comments instead. Since then, I've been trying to figure out what the issue is with the mics. After a lot of wasted time, I finally figured out I was plugging the cord in the wrong jack.

To sum it up, technology takes time. Time on the teachers trying to figure out how it all works and the added instructional time it takes to teach standards with it. I guess the best thing to do is consider all the extra time an investment. An investment in better teaching for the teacher this year and many years to come, and better learning for the students.

Reflections on VoiceThread

After working with VoiceThread for our latest group project, I have learned a lot about its capabilities and applications. One of the neatest things about VT is that it is an incredibly flexible tool; it can be used for any subject area and any grade level. VoiceThreads can be molded for any academic need. Integrating VTs into the curriculum not only gets students excited about learning, but also can extend their learning outside the classroom walls and into their own homes. VoiceThread technology is very similar to other technologies that students engage with on a daily basis like Instant Messenger and Facebook. VoiceThread could easily get worked into their nightly online routines.

The four kids that I had comment on my Math VT took some time in the morning to make their comments; all the other students were intrigued by what they were doing and kept giving longing glances at the computer screens. Based on their response, I developed a S.S. project they will complete using VT. They will be explaining the causes of the Civil War using pictures and narration, and then the class will get an opportunity to make comments on their presentation. I'm excited to see how it will turn out! I'm also excited to see how some of my students react to the project. Every class has certain students that are more withdrawn and reserved than others. Another cool thing about VT is that it gives every student a voice and allows them to participate in a non-threatening manner.

After viewing my Math VT, I realized what a great assessment tool VT is as well. Based on their comments, I could figure out what misconceptions still existed when it came to what we were studying in Math. I do believe it is important for us as teachers to vary our assessment techniques to guarantee student success. VT is a great tool to add to the mix!

The Number Game

Thoughts From Egbert

As I was reading our class textbook Supporting Learning with Technology by Joy Egbert, there were several portions of the reading that really stuck out in my mind. When Egbert began discussing the physical contexts necessary for supporting technology-based learning, I was picturing my own classroom. According to Egbert, the location of the technology within a classroom can greatly determine how often that technology will be accessed and used. Over the summer I moved classrooms from one end of the hall to the other. All of the classrooms in our school are equipped with Smartboards and projectors and when they were installed, the individual teachers got to decide where they would be placed. In my old room, I choose a large wall that could easily become the focal point of my daily instruction. In my new room, however, the Smartboard is placed on a small wall that is difficult for all students to see when they are sitting in their desks. The result is that use of the Smartboard requires movement for both me and the students. I am already noticing that I am not using it as frequently as I did in my old classroom!

My Voicethread Example

As I began to gather my various ideas for creating my VoiceThread example, one particular Math idea stuck in my head. Lately I have had several students struggling in Math and I've been looking for different ways to present the same material. The unit we are currently working on is one where they are learning about different qualities of numbers (odd/even, prime/composite, multiples, factors, divisibility, etc.). The VoiceThread that I ended up developing presented students with different images of numbers. I used the first number (27) to model what it was I wanted them to do. I did a brainstorm of spoken comments about all that I knew about the number 27. Then, with the rest of the numbers, I encouraged my students to make comments on what it was they knew about the number. They had to support all spoken or written comments with mathematical evidence.

Voicethread Article

I recently read the online article titled "VoiceThread Extends the Classroom with Interactive Multimedia Albums" by Laila Weir. In the article, the author discussed the qualities of VoiceThread technology and how it can help support classroom curriculum. The fact that our students arrive home from school and spend hours upon hours on the internet lends itself well to this new technology. The sixth grade teacher highlighted in the article set up various VoiceThreads that supported his curriculum for students to optionally comment on at home. He was amazed when many students made his VoiceThreads part of their regular online routine. Utilizing VoiceThreads are an excellent way to continue instruction outside the classroom walls. In addition, the article discussed how it is easier for all students to participate in the digital setting that Voicethread promotes. The more reserved students in your classroom are more comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas in a more virtual environment. For any of us that were wondering how VoiceThread can be integrated effectively into the curriculum, this article is staunch support for how effective this integration can be.

Article Analysis

I recently completed an analysis on an article called Classroom Technology Integration by Zach Meyers. Within the article, Meyers made many interesting and important points about the nature of technology and its integration. Below you will find my analysis of the article and its corresponding reference.

The article I found and read titled Classroom Technology Integration by Zach Meyers discusses how to use technology to its maximum level of effectiveness. According to Meyers, the key to true technology integration lies in effectively training the teachers. Teachers need to be trained on not only how to use and integrate technology, but also how to make technology instruction standards-based and inclusive of higher order thinking skills. There have been several initiatives recently, including funds straight from the president that feed the EETT state grant program and a program where teachers train other teachers called the Teacher Leadership Project. However, despite these efforts, there are still many hurdles that exist when it comes to technology integration in schools. These hurdles include the scheduling and time issues that come with an increase in staff development. In addition, our schools these days are extremely driven by standardized testing; unfortunately, technology is often not a priority in this new high-stakes environment. The expenses that incur with technology are always an issue as well along with negative dispositions of the teachers expected to implement technology daily. In the end, our schools have a long way to go in making sure we are adequately preparing our students for the digital world that they will soon take part in.


Reference
Miners, Z. (2009). Classroom Technology Integration. District Administration. 35-38. Retrieved August 17, 2009, from Galileo.

Working Definition

Below is my working definition of technology integration. Don't be surprised if this is revised as the semester progresses...

Technology integration is the involvement of technology in everyday classroom activities. The hands-on nature of technology is a guaranteed way to get kids motivated in what they are learning about. However, in order for technology integration to be at its most effective, several factors need to play a part. For one, technology activities need to tie back to state standards in order to positively affect student learning. In addition, teachers must be properly trained in the use of technology for it to be effective. Lastly, the technology needs to promote higher-order thinking skills in students.