Wk. 8 Reflective Essay

Describe the most striking revelation you had about the teaching of new literacy skills to your students as a result of this course.

The most striking revelation that I had would be that students need these new literacy skills to be successful, in school, the workplace, and in everyday life. Students need to think critically about a subject, develop good questioning skills, then be able to search for the answers on the Internet. They need to evaluate and be critical of the information that they discover on the web and be able to synthesize that information and communicate that information to others in a meaningful way. As Dr. Warlick stated, "We are preparing students for an unpredictable future, where students need to become self-learners, who resourcefully use resources and use situations and experiences to accomplish goals" (Skills for the Future-dvd).

Describe how the knowledge and experience gained in this course will influence your teaching practices going forward.

I will do more inquiry-based projects with my students in the future. I will focus more on questioning skills, thinking critically about a subject, and searching for the answers. I will teach my students the importance of evaluating what they read on the web, how to navigate a site, and how to determine which information is valid and credible. I want my students to become good self-learners, who can learn about a subject they enjoy, and communicate what they learn in a meaningful way to others. S. Armstrong states, "It is important to tie in projects to real world work and apply what they learn to areas of life, having an authentic experience" (Inquiry-Based Projects-dvd).

I would like to give my students more choices for the final product and how they present what they learn to the class. For the final product, students could use blogs, podcasts, VoiceThread, powerpoint, digital storytelling, and posters. I would like to give my students more opportunities to use voice, music, images, and text together to communicate content. Also, I like the idea of connecting with other classrooms and schools in different areas to make learning fun and more meaningful. Also, bringing art museums and exhibits into the classroom through podcasts and other interactive online experiences would make learning fun.

Identify at least one professional development goal you would like to pursue that builds upon your learning in this course and develops your own information literacy or technology skills. Describe the steps you will take to accomplish this goal.

I often check the Tri-County Educational Service Center, which services our school district, for professional development opportunities connecting to art and technology. I am going to continue to check for more professional development opportunities and take advantage of as many courses that they offer as I can fit into my schedule. They often have short courses on Powerpoint, Virtual Field Trips, Digital Storytelling, among others. I would like to find a class that focuses on VoiceThread and Digital Photography use in the classroom.

Final Reflection: It is very important to embed technology into your everyday teaching to students. D. Warlick discusses technology in the classroom as successful when there are "connections and conversations, a type of connected connectivism, where students are connecting and communicating with the teacher and other students about the content" (It's Not About the Technology-dvd). Technology makes learning fun and exciting! Before this class I was unaware of the new literacy skills of questioning, searching, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating. I practice these skills in my classroom on occasion, but was unaware of just how important they are to teach. I will definitely try my best to incorporate these skills more into my teaching. Students will need these skills for their future.

Reflection - Week 8

I have learned a lot from this course. I have learned about different learning theories and how each can be used with technology and various teaching strategies to improve student learning. Successful student learning involves the integration of technology in the classroom, mainly for student use, that makes content learning fun, interactive, engaging, and motivational. 21st century learners need to be engaged and emmersed in an environment where they can interact with their peers and become more self-responsible for their own learning. They need to be learning about, practicing with, learning with, and interacting with various forms of technology for learning. They need to be taught the basics and the tools involved with various forms of technology and be able to confidently use technology in the learning process.

As far as my personal theory of learning is concerned, I still believe in the Constructivist theory of learning, where activities build upon my students' past experiences and knowledge and construct his or her personal knowledge. I always refer back to previous experiences with a topic or material. I question students about a topic or material, past experiences, and knowledge whenever we begin a new project. Then, I build upon their knowledge of the subject. But, I've come to realize over the course of this class that it is also important to incorporate the Social Constructionist and Constructionist theory into my lessons. Cooperative learning has many student benefits, such as encouragement, discussing and validating answers, bouncing ideas off each other, student empowerment, individual accountability, increased motivation, and aiding each other during the project. Group work gives the students a "sense of ownership" when the product is constructed and "each group member's mark is on the final outcome" (B. Kim, Social Constructivism). In the Constructionist theory, Dr. Orey states that "each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning" and "people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others" (Constructionist & Constructivist Learning Theories dvd). It is all about hands-on learning activities and projects, where students often collaborate and work together, assemble data, and assemble visual artifacts.

Immediate adjustments: I would like to integrate more groupwork (social learning) activities into my lessons, use VoiceThread and Virtual Field Trips, and give more opportunities to my students to be actively engaged in their own learning, research, and development of an artifact that utilizes technology and creative thinking skills. Using these strategies/tools will motivate student learning and engagement and make learning fun and exciting for students!

Two long-term goal changes: One of my long-term goals is to look at each lesson that I teach in terms of how to integrate technology, social learning, and more student interaction. For each lesson that I teach, I will reflect on my objectives and goals, reflect on what I've learned in this course, as far as technology, teaching strategies, and theories, and use this knowledge to enhance my lessons. Another of my long-term goals is to remember to connect student learning to past experiences/skills, use many visuals and recognize the importance of Gardner's multiple intelligences, and practice new skills. As Dr. Wolfe (2009) says, “Practice makes permanent” and “The brain seeks meaningful patterns and is sculpted through experience” (Brain Research & Learning).

In conclusion, I will use the resources that are available online and the technology resources that are provided for me within my classroom and the computer lab to engage and motivate my students in their learning of various concepts. I will provide many opportunities for cooperative learning (groupwork) and using new technology resources, such as VoiceThread, Virtual Field Trips, digital camera/digital enhancement software, and online resources for learning. I recognize the importance of incorporating each of the learning theories into my classroom and the benefits of these theories for me (the teacher) and my students. Students learn best when they are interested, engaged, and interacting with the content. “Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand” (Confucius, circa 450 BC, Experiential Learning).

Link to Voicethread

https://voicethread.com/#u429562.b572908.i3060446

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

First of all, I want to explain a few definitions that I've learned about social learning. Dr. Orey states that connectivism is where "knowledge resides in the patterns of how different concepts are networked" (Connectivism as a Learning Theory) and C. Davis, E. Edmunds, & V. Kelly-Bateman describe connectivism as "driven by the understanding that decisions are based on rapidly altering foundations" (Connectivism Online Book). Cooperative learning is defined as "students working together to attain group goals that cannot be obtained by working alone or competitively" (G. Palmer, R. Peters, & R. Streetman, Cooperative Learning Online Book). And finally, Dr. Orey states that social learning is "students actively engaged in constructing artifacts and conversing with others" (Social Learning Theories). All of these terms are related in that students are working together towards a common goal or objective.

There are many, many technology resources that can be used in group work. Some of these include powerpoint, wikis, blogs, instant messaging, video, and webquests. H. Pitler, E. Hubbell, M. Kuhn, & K. Malenoski separate these technology resources into 3 categories. The first is multimedia, which includes creating a video (movie) and other strategies which combine sounds and visuals. They discuss how pre-planning is an important component of successful group work and how rubrics can be utilized for group and individual evaluation. Also, cooperative teaching can be utilized as an end product. The second category is web resources, which includes "Ask an Expert" websites, keypals (email pen pals from far away), webquests, website creation, collaborative organizing (shared calendars, shared bookmarking, and course management), and web-enabled multiplayer simulation games. The third category is communication software, which includes blogs, wikis, instant messaging, and other Web 2.0 resources (Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works).

Social learning theories are all about students learning to work together to learn and organize new knowledge to form understanding. Students need to have multiple opportunities in the classroom to practice group work. Dr. Orey states that "teaching others (peers) helps cognition and understanding" (Social Learning Theories). The group work usually involves teacher prepartion, breaking the students into small groups, researching and organizing content, and teaching the class about what they discovered. This is an emmersive process, where students are creating an artifact and displaying it for the whole class to see and learn about. Teachers must be prepared to organize and follow-up with the groups to make sure everyone is doing their part and not wasting time. Deadlines need to be set-up and each member of the group needs to be responsible for getting their work done on time.

In conclusion, there are many benefits of social learning, such as encouragement, discussing and validating answers, bouncing ideas off each other, student empowerment, individual accountability, increased motivation, and aiding each other during the project. Students need to be able to work with others because they will be doing that for their lifetime. They need to be able to work collaboratively to solve problems and work towards a common goal. Social learning is student-centered and the teacher aides, extends the learning, and provides feedback, but is not necessarily in charge of the learning. We teach students of various interests and backgrounds, with social learning we need to take advantage of this in how we group students and their roles within the group. Group work gives the students a "sense of ownership" when the product is constructed and "each group member's mark is on the final outcome" (B. Kim, Social Constructivism). Social learning creates real-life, meaningful learning experiences that children will remember.

Constructivism in Practice

I really enjoyed learning about constructivism and its uses in the classroom. I use project-based learning for the majority of my lessons in Art. So, I am very familiar with this concept and its success for subject matter retention. Seymour Papert, renowned expert on children and computing, asserts that "engaging students by starting with the concrete and solving hands-on, real-world problems is a great motivator" (D. Curtis, Edutopia: Project Learning). In this theory, the teacher serves as a facilitator, collaborator, and guide and students are free to explore curriculum, construct their own knowledge, and learning even becomes more cross-curricular. Dr. Orey states that "each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning" and "people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others" (Constructionist & Constructivist Learning Theories dvd). It is all about hands-on learning activities and projects, where students often collaborate and work together, assemble data, and assemble visual artifacts.

My thoughts on how the instructional strategies described in the resources explored this week correlate with the principles of constructivist constructionist learning theories:
All of the instructional strategies explored this week dealt with project-based, problem-based, and inquiry-based learning. Students are involved in constructing an artifact to share with peers. Some of the instructional strategies included student-created powerpoint presentations, student-created websites, blogs, and wikis, using software programs that "build" a learning artifact, Webquests, and other projects that utilize technology in the construction of a final product. An example of an instructional strategy that correlates with the constructionist theory is students working together ingroups of 2-3 constructing a poster or powerpoint on a particular artist, using online images, online research, and word processing.

Generating and Testing Hypothesis - reflection:
"When students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content" (H.Pitler, E.Hubbell, M.Kuhn, & K.Malenoski, p.202). This instructional strategy works with real-world problems and uses a variety of structured tasks that guide students to an answer. Technology can be used in this strategy through the use of spreadsheets, data collection tools, interactive applets and simulations, and other Web resources. Using technology, students "showed overwhelming enthusiasm while learning the material" (H.Pitler, E.Hubbell, M.Kuhn, & K.Malenoski, p.214) I do not use this particular instructional strategy much in Art, but it is good for other content areas and allows students to successfully engage in content learning.

In conclusion, this theory's basic assumption is that students learn best when the learning is student-centered, exploratory in nature, has multiple options and learning tasks, collaborative, and is real-world focused. Problem-based inquiry "provide students with strategies and experiences that empower them to become critical consumers of info. and tackle authentic problems through group problem-solving. Teachers should take the responsibility for facilitating learning so that analysis, synthesis, evaluation, and extension of info. by students assumes its proper role" (E. Glazer, Problem Based Instruction). When this takes place, instruction becomes "more creative, personalized, hands-on, meaningful, and effective for all participants" (S.Han & K. Bhattacharya, Constructionism, Learning by Design, and Project Based Learning).

Cognitivism in Practice

The Cognitive learning theory is an information processing model that deals with memory (long and short term) and how we obtain and store information. Dr. Orey talks about the components of this theory such as how "people can only process 7 +/- pieces of info. at a time, how long-term memory is stored in networks of connected info., info. is stored as images and text, in which informational images are very powerful in learning, and experiences including the multiple senses and connected to prior knowledge are so important for learning to take place." Using cognitive technology tools in the classroom has a powerful impact, where students learn "with" as opposed to "from" computers. Cognitive technology tools have various roles, from information seeking, to information presentation, to knowledge organization, to knowledge integration (B. Robertson, L. Elliot, & D. Washington, Cognitive Tools). When students work with computer technology, the computer enhances their thinking and learning, causes them to think about info. instead of reproducing and/or recalling info., facilitates the attainment of learning goals and objectives, and what I think is the most important, motivates and engages learners through realistic, contextual, varied, and higher-thinking learning processes (B. Robertson, L. Elliot, & D. Washington, Cognitive Tools).

Reflection on Cues, Questions, & Advance Organizers:
This instructional strategy is primarily a pre-learning strategy. It helps the teacher gauge what the students already know about a concept, helps students connect to prior knowledge, and previews the learning that is to come. It may include powerpoints, educational videos, and preliminary research on a topic to motivate and engage students. Advance organizers are important technology tools to use because they connect to prior learning, help students brainstorm, often include "essential questions" which use critical and higher-order thinking to produce deeper learning, organize info., and can be used during learning to add new concepts and vocabulary as it is being introduced (H.Pitler, E. Hubbell, M. Kuhn, and K. Malenoski). In my art classes, I often use graphic organizers, similar to concept maps/advance organizers on the dry erase board to connect vocabulary and content. In the near future, I plan on incorporating more technological graphic organizers that include multimedia for pre-learning activities to engage and motivate students.

Reflection on Summarizing and Note Taking:
I never use summarizing or note taking with my elementary art classes. But, this instructional strategy works well for middle and secondary students. It focuses on "enhancing students' ability to synthesize info. and distill it into a concise new form" (H. Pitler, E. Hubbell, M. Kuhn, & K. Malenoski). It discusses different word processing applications which involves rule-based summarizing, the AutoSummarize tool, and outline/note-taking formats. It also discusses the powerful communication software of wikis and blogs.

Reflection on Concept Maps & Virtual Field Trips:
Dr. Orey explains concept maps as "replicating the network model of memory." They are graphical tools that organize and link ideas to each other. From what I have learned, I can use these maps to connect any new concepts to prior knowledge and use informational images and online multimedia links to elaborate on new concepts. A concept map is "at once simple, but also elegantly complex with profound meanings. Learners are actively engaged in the meaning building process, an essential requirement for meaningful learning to occur" (J. Novak, A. Canas, Concept Maps article).

Virtual field trips are awesome! They provide an opportunity to go where students will probably never get to visit and see physical sites and artifacts that engage learners in critical thinking. I can use virtual field trips to various art museums around the world and involve students in critical thinking through viewing many different works of art. The can compare and contrast artoworks, view and analyze the architecture of various buildings around the world, and be engaged in creating their own trips.

How these technology resources relate to the Cognitive learning theory:
All of these resources deal with connecting new concepts to prior knowledge and processing new information. We want our students to engage in concrete experiences and "emersive" learning experiences as much as possible. These technology resources do that and also build off prior knowledge, engage and motivate learners through technology use, involve the brain and memory, and involve higher order thinking.