525 Week 1

I really appreciated the straightforwardness and layout of the Teaching and Learning Principles. The first thing that struck me in the teaching principles was how important it is to know what your objectives are, and make sure that what you are presenting, as well as asking the students to produce, match those objectives. Six or seven years ago, when I first learned about setting measurable objectives, I did not realize how important they would be. After five years of teaching, I now realize how helpful it is to me to have a very clear map of where I am going. I leave room for detours throughout the unit, but having a clear picture in my mind, as well as in my students' minds has been invaluable.

The fourth teaching point involves prioritizing what is truly important for the students to know. I am currently teaching first graders German during a summer enrichment class. I only have a total of 12 hours in two weeks to teach them about the German culture and language. It seems obvious to me, with such little time, what I want to focus on. However, it is not always so obvious in my classroom. With much more time, and much more to cover, it is more difficult to prioritize what I need to cover. There are many things which dictate what I need to cover, and I am so concerned with getting through all of the material, that I end up plowing through grammar and vocabulary for the first three quarters of the year. Once I know that I am through a sizeable chunk of material, I take a deep breath and include more culture. My eighth graders seem to really appreciate the "break" at the end of the year. When their other teachers are scurrying to complete district outcomes, my students are doing skits and talking about daily life in Germany.

I really liked the seventh teaching point, which focuses on flexibility. There are so many teachers who plan out their units day by day, and then refuse to divert from their master plan. It is so important that teachers remain flexible in what they are teaching, and re-teach if necessary!

The first learning point on prior knowledge is really important for me to remember. I teach seventh and eighth graders, who sometimes think they are coming in with more knowledge than they already have. I need to remember to ask questions to assess prior knowledge and make sure to clear up any misconceptions that they have!

The Waxman article looked intimidating at first. I managed to get through college without ever taking a stats class. (I started college in chemical engineering, and then switched to German and Political Science, going back to school for my teaching certification after spending a year teaching in Germany.) I understand that it is difficult to obtain recent data. However, when hypothesising about ever-changing technology, it is important to use the most current data available. So, I was shocked, when I got to page 14.

"A final limitation of our study relates to the recentness of the review. Although we were interested in recent applications of technology, a few of the studies included in the meta-analysis stated that their article was based on projects completed in the early 1990s. In other words, even though we chose only articles that were published within the last five years, some of those articles are still based on technology (i.e., software and hardware) that is nearly a decade old."

The authors are citing technology studies from the early 1990s. So much has changed in the world of technology in the past 15+ years. It causes me to question the validity of the paper as I read it in 2009.

Is there anything that can be done about this problem? Surely, the researchers would like the most up to date, relevant, accurate information. But, in the fields of technology and on-line learning, what can they do to ensure more reliable, current, information?

After reading the first three chapters of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, I was reminded how much I love using RubiStar with my students. It is a great tool to create clear rubrics for my middle schoolers. I can create the rubric, and then hand it out the same day that I present the assignment. I have had much success using it in my classroom. It provides clear expectations for my students, and then I have them self-assess before I grade their work. It has really taken the surprise for some of them out of their grades! I had them grade their work using the rubric, prior to my grading it. Then, I asked them what grade they think they should receive. A few students whose rubrics showed a 70% said that they should earn "A's," but the vast majority of students graded themselves close to how I graded them! RubiStar was a great tool, that I use in my classroom to create clear expectations and minimize surprises!

Blog 3.....Journal Articles......

I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting the journal articles I found were! Sometimes, it is really easy for me to assume that my students know how to use the Internet, and I forget that I need to teach the technology skills in addition to the content.

One of the articles that I read was about advantages and disadvantages for both instructors and institutions when it came to Internet-based learning environments. It was very insightful to read about the process that colleges and universities would need to go through to start an online program. It caused me to think about what I would need to learn if I were teaching a solely online class.

It also brought up the issue of instructors who are reluctant to use technology in their courses. At my school, we have several staff members who are very set in their ways and reluctant to add technology to their instruction. Not only that, but we are not given much inservice time to learn about technology. This makes little things, like the migration from GroupWise email to Google a huge headache for all of those involved in the technology department. I cannot believe that some of my educated coworkers could not understand how to use Gmail after a 45 minute session on it. If they cannot use Gmail, then how can we get them to use other technology with their students?

I don't know that there is a simple answer to that question. I know that more inservice training will help, but with the huge literacy push going on in our district right now, I don't know that tech will get the time it needs. It would be great if we could integrate technology literacy into the current literacy goal, but I am not sure that the higher ups value technology as much as they ought.

Blog #2.......thinking about how to evaluate websites

This week, we had to create an evaluation form that our students could use to examine websites. It was great for me to take a step back to think about how to teach middle schoolers to think critically about information they find on the web. One thing that was really important for me was to make sure that my students give open-ended responses to the questions, and not simply check a box.

It was also interesting to check out the different services offered through Google 411, Google Voice, Ta-Da, etc. Google 411 and Voice would be beneficial for me to use in my personal life, while bloglines or Survey Monkey could be welcome additions to my classroom!