A Podcast is literally an ipod plus a broadcast. There are a variety of types of podcasts: audio, vidcast, and enhanced podcast (audio and a still image). Podcasts have a variety of uses. They can be used for radio programs, blogs, educational,interviews, reviews, and news and politics. They are a great resource for both students and teachers. As a new teacher it can often be difficult to know the best way to teach a topic. Podcasts allow teachers to watch other teachers teach the topic in a way they probably had not thought of. Students can also listen to a podcast or watch a vidcast- say, if they for some crazy reason get sick of hearing you yap all day. It is also an amazing way to help struggling students- for remediation purposes- to whom maybe you don't have the time to spend re-teaching an entire lesson. Kids can even make their own podcasts, which brings a creative, fun edge to a topic.
I love the idea of podcasts! I am constantly confiscating random electronic gadget and toys, and one of the articles I read for the annotated bibliography mentioned that the traditional in-school attitude of NO ELECTRONICS does two bad things: kids love technology, so you're denying them something that they love; also, you are not meshing with their world, which is rapidly becoming all about technology.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
What makes an effective website?
A lot of this chapter (8) describes an effective website is one that is all about organization and "chunking"- is that a technical term!?-. I completely agree with this. No matter how awesome, intelligent, thought-out the material is that is being displayed is, if the website lacks organization or is just one long rambling, no one will be interested in reading it/be able to understand it/ or be able to get the most out of it. Color coding, or using color to distinguish different elements of a page is useful. Using multimedia is fun, interesting, and can be much more helpful than words describing it... a picture's worth a thousand words, right? Trying to use less words and more symbols I think is helpful especially on math websites, especially if being used by students. Also speaking in the vernacular of your audience is very important. If you are writing for kids, try to talk less formally. It is also oddly comforting when you are on a website to learn something if it does not sound pedantic, but instead uses humor and a freedom of speech not usually associated with educational websites.
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
WebQuests
This was my group's topic-- this is from our powerpoint presentation:
WebQuests are web-based lessons. They are organized around a question, issue, case, or problem that requires students to use web resources to complete an inquiry or investigation involving higher-order thinking. It is composed of different activities for the student to complete, and the complexity of these activities can be left up to the student. It can either be created for short-term or long-term units, depending on the academic goals and objectives the teacher wants her students to meet.
The purpose of webquests are: to make learning more inquiry-based rather than being driven by the teacher;to differentiate instruction through technology; to enhance students' skills with using the Internet; to make learning more engaging by leaving the learning-process more in the hands of the students than the teacher's.
There are 7 Elements in a webquest:
Introduction- a statement that sets up the problem, putting it into context, and often includes an essential question
Task- a statement of what is to be done to complete the WebQuest
Process- a detailed step-by-step guide to completing the WebQuest
Evaluation- an explicit statement of how any products resulting from the WebQuest will be judged , often in the form of a rubric or rubrics
Credits- links to web-based resources and citations to print-based resources that will be used by the learners to complete the WebQuest
Conclusion- a statement that ties the WebQuest together, perhaps leading to additional questions or encouraging learners to continue to increase their understanding of the subject matter
Teaching Guide- information for teachers about the purposes and structure of the WebQuest, including the elements discussed throughout this book
Pros in the Eyes of Students:
Lessons and projects are interactive and thus more engaging.
Students are responsible for their own learning; they are allowed to work independently and at their own pace.
WebQuests can be accessed through any computer, whenever. They offer a comforting sense of privacy for shy, reticent learners, allowing especially these students to build confidence and interest in the subject matter.
Students use different skills such as reading, typing and navigating the world wide web by being able to access different website links; generally enhances research skills
Students can also enhance auditory and visual skills by watching and listening to educational videos
Pros in the Eyes of Teachers:
Student input and progress can be tracked by the teacher.
Teachers can differentiate instruction by including higher-order thinking work for advanced learners, to incorporate a deeper sense of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Teachers can better incorporate more of the multiple intelligences into lessons and projects.
There is less paperwork for teachers.
WebQuests allow for alternative assessment of students.
The Cons of Webquests:
Lack of student experience with technology, which can compound difficulties for English language learners
Can be very time-consuming for the teacher. Building the WebQuest takes time. Also if teachers need to show students who are not technology-savvy how to work on a computer and access information, this can take longer than conducting a regular classroom lesson.
Monitoring issues: Students may spend too much time online and lose focus. Students may not know how to work independently and may need direction and constant monitoring. Also, it can be difficult to answer all students’ questions timely.
WebQuests are web-based lessons. They are organized around a question, issue, case, or problem that requires students to use web resources to complete an inquiry or investigation involving higher-order thinking. It is composed of different activities for the student to complete, and the complexity of these activities can be left up to the student. It can either be created for short-term or long-term units, depending on the academic goals and objectives the teacher wants her students to meet.
The purpose of webquests are: to make learning more inquiry-based rather than being driven by the teacher;to differentiate instruction through technology; to enhance students' skills with using the Internet; to make learning more engaging by leaving the learning-process more in the hands of the students than the teacher's.
There are 7 Elements in a webquest:
Introduction- a statement that sets up the problem, putting it into context, and often includes an essential question
Task- a statement of what is to be done to complete the WebQuest
Process- a detailed step-by-step guide to completing the WebQuest
Evaluation- an explicit statement of how any products resulting from the WebQuest will be judged , often in the form of a rubric or rubrics
Credits- links to web-based resources and citations to print-based resources that will be used by the learners to complete the WebQuest
Conclusion- a statement that ties the WebQuest together, perhaps leading to additional questions or encouraging learners to continue to increase their understanding of the subject matter
Teaching Guide- information for teachers about the purposes and structure of the WebQuest, including the elements discussed throughout this book
Pros in the Eyes of Students:
Lessons and projects are interactive and thus more engaging.
Students are responsible for their own learning; they are allowed to work independently and at their own pace.
WebQuests can be accessed through any computer, whenever. They offer a comforting sense of privacy for shy, reticent learners, allowing especially these students to build confidence and interest in the subject matter.
Students use different skills such as reading, typing and navigating the world wide web by being able to access different website links; generally enhances research skills
Students can also enhance auditory and visual skills by watching and listening to educational videos
Pros in the Eyes of Teachers:
Student input and progress can be tracked by the teacher.
Teachers can differentiate instruction by including higher-order thinking work for advanced learners, to incorporate a deeper sense of Bloom’s Taxonomy.
Teachers can better incorporate more of the multiple intelligences into lessons and projects.
There is less paperwork for teachers.
WebQuests allow for alternative assessment of students.
The Cons of Webquests:
Lack of student experience with technology, which can compound difficulties for English language learners
Can be very time-consuming for the teacher. Building the WebQuest takes time. Also if teachers need to show students who are not technology-savvy how to work on a computer and access information, this can take longer than conducting a regular classroom lesson.
Monitoring issues: Students may spend too much time online and lose focus. Students may not know how to work independently and may need direction and constant monitoring. Also, it can be difficult to answer all students’ questions timely.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Planning Instruction and Assessment
Although I am going to distinguish between them right now, the book points out that this is purely heuristic. Instruction and assessment are supposed to be interwoven to truly be effective.
To plan for instruction, you want to make an instructional plan (which functions like a traditional lesson plan or a teacher's edition of a textbook)~ this is basically a how-to-guide on how to implement your lesson: timing, grouping suggestions, teaching method suggestions, a list of materials/equipment. An instructional plan should also have scaffolding suggestions. To remember what scaffolding refers to think of the literal meaning. Scaffolds are temporary constructs put up around a building that is being built to help workers. So in the education world, scaffolding refers to the temporary modifications teachers can take to help struggling learners- making problems less complicated, esp- until the learner is ready for the scaffolds to be removed, to do the unmodified activities that avg/above average learners can do.
Planning for assessment involves creating a performance criteria, scoring rubrics, self-assessments, and online assessments. All of these are meant to help gauge if the learning objectives have been met. Most of these are pretty self-explanatory, but let's elaborate on what is meant by "performance criteria." Performance criteria refers to what students usually call “what it takes to pass.” It is kind of like what is “par level for the course;” a decent job done. It is good to define this for the students so they know explicitly what you are looking for. For instance, you might instruct them when making a graph, “You need a title, label axes correctly, plot points correctly, show the work it took to find the equation. Write about the similarities and differences of the line” This is the performance criteria. Students should certainly try to go above this. You could give suggestions: color code lines, make your write-up very specific and talk about all that you notice.
To plan for instruction, you want to make an instructional plan (which functions like a traditional lesson plan or a teacher's edition of a textbook)~ this is basically a how-to-guide on how to implement your lesson: timing, grouping suggestions, teaching method suggestions, a list of materials/equipment. An instructional plan should also have scaffolding suggestions. To remember what scaffolding refers to think of the literal meaning. Scaffolds are temporary constructs put up around a building that is being built to help workers. So in the education world, scaffolding refers to the temporary modifications teachers can take to help struggling learners- making problems less complicated, esp- until the learner is ready for the scaffolds to be removed, to do the unmodified activities that avg/above average learners can do.
Planning for assessment involves creating a performance criteria, scoring rubrics, self-assessments, and online assessments. All of these are meant to help gauge if the learning objectives have been met. Most of these are pretty self-explanatory, but let's elaborate on what is meant by "performance criteria." Performance criteria refers to what students usually call “what it takes to pass.” It is kind of like what is “par level for the course;” a decent job done. It is good to define this for the students so they know explicitly what you are looking for. For instance, you might instruct them when making a graph, “You need a title, label axes correctly, plot points correctly, show the work it took to find the equation. Write about the similarities and differences of the line” This is the performance criteria. Students should certainly try to go above this. You could give suggestions: color code lines, make your write-up very specific and talk about all that you notice.
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