Reflection #8

Going Gradeless: Student self-assessment in PBL - By Matt Meyers

        The subject for this post centers itself around a middle school teacher’s discovery of a new teaching style and how it completely changed his philosophy and teaching as he knew it.  It seems to be more of a teacher’s blog that discusses his findings from Mark Barnes’ ‘role reversal: achieving uncommonly excellent results in a student-centered classroom’ and how he applied them to his classroom.  The generalized concept is using Narrative feedback in such a way that there is no need for assigning grades. Instead of assigning grades for every assignment, at the end of the grading period the student and teacher would discuss and agreed on a final grade based off feedback. The teacher in the following post was as perplexed as I was when first reading about this concept. At this point one is left with the questions: is that type of classroom possible? Would it be more beneficial for students? How would it effect their learning, and so on.  This 6^th grade teacher decided to test this concept and implemented into his own classroom with the goal to, “simultaneously promote mastery learning as well as increase students' ability to meta-cognitively assess their work against a given set of standards.” His results were astonishing, student interest had sparked high, with students consistently emailing him, asking about how they can do better. With the worry of backlash from parents, he surprisingly didn’t get as many emails from parents as expected (only 3 that said “sounds awesome”).  This blog makes one think twice about the traditional grading system, and whether or not it’s beneficial to student learning.  It seems to be one of those concepts that’s important to consider but still to be cautious of. Through application and trial and error, a teacher can discover for themselves how it effects their classroom and student learning. As I find it could be beneficial and the better option for some and not so much for others.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/going-gradeless-student-self-assessment-matt-weyers

Reflection #7

Virtual Escape Room

     What was once an individualized activity done at home on the computer, is transforming how students are able to work together and incorporate technology within educational learning. The virtual escape game is a computer game that puts the gamer in a real life setting, they are locked in a room and they must figure out how to escape through critical thinking, puzzle solving, and connecting clues within the time limit. Within the article, it explains that “The Virtual Escape Room is a great way for your students to work in small groups to solve a mystery together using critical thinking and problem solving. Students learn how to work together in teams, communicate effectively, go through the scientific method, and solve problems creatively.” I love how the scientific method is applied to the game, and how it exemplifies everyday use of the scientific method. Along with gaining educational learning, students gain better social skills in cooperative team work and its helps student to see what makes a good team member. Through collaborative discussion before and after the game, students can gain new knowledge from one another on what worked and what didn’t, how well each group worked together, and also students are able to apply the scientific method to their own understanding. It’s great to see the connections that games are making in the educational world. I think this would be a good activity to do within a middle school science classroom, as it seems they would benefit most. A great tip the article suggests is turning this activity into their own. Meaning, that students could create their own escape room challenge for each other. It’s such a beneficial idea to hold onto, as just like the virtual escape room its opens so many doors to the critical thinking process and further learning along with bursts of imagination, innovativeness, and team building.

http://ilearntechnology.com/wordpress/?p=5577

PLN

PLN (Personal Learning Network) Reflection post

       Within the past few weeks or so, I have been able to explore many new technology outlets (some that I wasn’t aware of before) for educational discovery. Along my journey of discovering my own PLN, I have found a handful of cons and many more pros in using the tools we were asked to use for this assignment. In using Feedly, my RSS feeds consisted of TED Talk videos, TED education, Edutopia, and dictionary.com.  I thoroughly enjoyed using Feedly to access new found information. I generally really like ted talks as I felt that they provide tons of information that easy to follow along with and its constant pushing individuals to think in new perspectives, I think ted talks are great for being well-rounded as a teacher and always consider new perspectives in teaching. The TED education was amazing though, I didn’t know that existed before, it’s quite beneficial  in the classroom in my opinion, for example there was a riddle about lockers, which made a great connect with factors, square roots and prime numbers. This is a perfect example of something that can be add as a classroom activity that is fun but stays on the subject.  For twitter, I followed Edutopia, DML research hub, Lee Kolbert, and Kathy Cassidy. To be honest I didn’t find much interest in twitter as a whole, though I really liked the articles and information that DML research hub was posting. The DML research posts ranged from technology in the classroom- to larger issues that affect education and schools. One of the articles I enjoyed the most was one that discussed the connection teachers must make with their students when having desired technology in the classroom. That the technology itself isn’t going to transform learning but how the teacher implements and uses the tech will be the deciding factor on how or if it transforms that classroom’s learning. In terms of my experience with classroom 2.0 Ning, at first I found it rather confusing and it took me a little bit of time to see where I could find the articles and/ or posts. It was interesting see the things that were posted, such a wide variety of topics that range from tools for the classroom, how to be aware and prevent teacher burnout, and living internationally. The Pros of my PLN experience is the discovery of new information and a wide variety of articles, videos and educational knowledge that are easily accessible in central hubs. My favorite part of the experience is getting to understand Feedly and how it works, and thus discovering TED education videos which I think will be a large benefit to possibly incorporate into my teaching later on. The main cons of this PLN experience, was that it took me a  little while to fully comprehend how to maneuver around  the sites at first, and  it was a struggle for me to see twitter with a clear  mind. I don’t understand the point in twitter for the most part, and I don’t like it as a media site, and I’m not big on hashtags. Though I enjoyed some of the articles I discovered through twitter, I realized that I could also have access to such articles like the ones I found through using Feedly instead of twitter. Even though I will probably only use Feedly as a source in my teaching, in the long run it was a profound learning experience.

Reflection #4

Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All Students

       I must say that I loved that this article and video covered such a key fact to learning; that we are all diverse learners that comprehend and approach learning differently. Taking down the walls/ barriers of an inflexible curriculum, and reshaping it to meet the needs of all students. “The UDL framework provides a flexible, responsive curriculum that reduces or eliminates barriers to learning. Using a UDL approach, SLPs and other educators offer curriculum options that present information and content in varied ways, differentiate the manner in which learners can express what they know, and engage students in meaningful, authentic learning.”(the article by Patti Ralabate)  In the video it covers the concept of 3 brain networks: recognition- the what of learning, skills/ strategies- the how of learning, and caring/ prioritizing- the why of learning. These are such value concepts in my book and I loved that the UDL program covers it. All learning starts with interest of the learner, through the what of learning students can identify a basic understanding, with the why of learning it allows students to make connections and to apply what they have learned. The why of learning helps to connect interest with answers and gives reasons to how things work, to comprehend things as a whole. I know from experience, that when you are working with students of vastly different needs/ supports and different ways of learning, it can be hard to meet all needs and it’s essential to have access to a flexible curriculum that helps to cut down the initial barrier.

       The UDL program seems to connect well with ISTE student standards #1 (creativity and innovation), and #4 (critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making). Students can use their existing knowledge to create new solutions and ideas, and discovering new information through the UDL program that is unique to them. They can also use their critical thinking and problem solving skills to identify new problems and solutions, to complete tasks, and to discover new information and alternative solutions through differing perspectives.

Video: http://www.udlcenter.org/resource_library/videos/udlcenter/udl#video0/

Article: http://www.readingrockets.org/article/universal-design-learning-meeting-needs-all-students

Reflection #3

What students do (and don’t do) in Khan Academy  By: Dan Meyer

       This article discusses the dos and don’ts of what students do in Khan Academy, which seems to be an online site with exercises (math) that are supposed to line up with common core standards. Dan Myer completed the Khan Academy 8th grade year and discovered what type of exercises/ work they are doing and how it’s produced. In his analysis Dan explains that, “This brief analysis has revealed that Khan Academy students are doing two primary kinds of work (analysis and calculating) and they’re expressing that work in two primary ways (as multiple-choice responses and as numbers). Meanwhile, the SBAC assessment of the CCSS emphasizes a different set of work and asks for more diverse expression of that work.”

       I really like how he explains the short comings of his results and how limited technology really is in terms of a child’s learning, and its missing key aspects that is better attained from a teacher. Though with time this type of technology, things can only get better. However it may be, the Khan academy’s limitations make sense but still with no exceptions; students need a well-rounded education that allows for more critical thinking, problem/ equation solving, etc. through other options than just multiple choice and fill in the blank. Dan makes an excellent point how students should enjoy learning, be flexible thinkers, and have a healthy understanding of themselves as learners. Though I see nothing wrong with multiple choice/ fill the blank answers, I do agree that there needs more to learning math. I feel as these two options limit a student’s thinking ability. With more calculating/ solving/ arguing types of questions it can allow for further and true understanding of the material given. Whereas the other two option give a higher chance of guessing without fully understanding the math material given.

       I’m not quite sure what ISTE student standards would connect with this article, I guess it could be related to #6 (Technology operations and concepts). As students learn to work with this online academy, understanding how its tools work, how to access the different exercises, and how to maneuver themselves through the site.

http://blog.mrmeyer.com/2014/what-students-do-and-dont-do-in-khan-academy/

My opinion on mobile learning

Mobile learning can be very beneficial to the classroom and student understanding. However I find that it is important for the use of technology to monitored and used in moderation. There are so many great Apps out there that allow for learning assistance, creating slide shows/ books/ interactive PowerPoint/etc. It is great because it allows for students to get more involved with hands on learning. But lets consider that especially with younger children it can often become a distraction or be hard on the eyes after some time. As teachers its important to utilize the tools we are given, and with this day and age technology is becoming almost essential to reaching students educationally. Yes, technology can enhance learning and make it more dynamic. Something to be weary about though, is knowing when its boosting student learning and when its taking away from student learning and understanding.  Like everything else,  using apps and technology within the classroom has a time and place, but it shouldn't be a constant within the classroom. I believe that the use of things like apps/ ipads and other forms of mobile learning is good as a TOOL to assist you as a teacher in your teaching. Mobile learning shouldn't be the main thing that is the staple of a classroom.

Reflection #2

Digital Tools Evolving to Track Students' Emotions, Mindsets by Benjamin Herold

    The idea of creating a program that brings new understanding to the concept of tutoring to the home and the classroom sounds like an excellent and fascinating idea, especially because it seems like it could be accessible to a wide range of students. It also seems like the concept could be very beneficial to young elementary students and how the program would interact/ respond to their emotional responses. The article discusses the opportunity of developing computerized tutoring systems, in which several organizations are working on developing a program that meets the needs of the student. For example the MIND research institute are hoping to create a, ”software that would be able to recognize each student's strengths and weaknesses across each of those domains, then provide a steady stream of customized problems based in part on such factors as a student's capacity to keep trying to solve new challenges.” But still at this time their research focuses more on the mind and character traits of the typical 2nd grader. A program like this could majorly shape student learning and better evolve student tutoring. I love how the article makes the point that, "The idea is that emotions have a powerful influence on cognition.”  It’s a strong statement that I completely agree with.  If you think about it from the perspective of a child working on their math homework, when they come across hard problems  their frustration and anger can influence/effect their ability to look for other ways to solve it. With the concept of a program that acknowledges strengths, weaknesses, and human emotion, the program in concept could sense the frustration and better help the student to problem solve and bring down frustration. Frustration too often can stunt critical thinking and a student’s ability to openly learning. As a future teacher I am actually excited for the idea of this program and its possibilities to reshape and enhance tutoring.  The article seems to be more directed towards mostly #4(Critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making) and some of #5(digital citizenship) of the ISTE standards for students. The concept of a computerized tutoring program allows for students to problem solve, manage and complete tasks, to analyze information and to make cognitive decisions of what’s correct, and the possibility of seeing problems and solutions from differing perspectives. This program in time could possibly be a lifelong learning tool that can be used at any age and encourage a more positive use of technology.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2016/01/13/digital-tools-evolving-to-track-students-emotions.html