Problem Based Learning

I found that the video, “Beginning the journey: Five-year-olds drive their own PBL projects” portrays the kind of classroom that every teacher would like to have. The students that attended this school we excited about coming to school and learning about the world because they were all topics that interested them. When a student is given the opportunity to create the topic they will be learning about, they are going to be motivated to hear what is being said. Technology in this classroom is very important in order for problem based learning to be successful. It gives the teachers opportunities to not only search for the information that is being taught, but also allows them to incorporate the students in the process of finding the information. In the video the teacher was using various websites to find information dealing with the topics being taught, while she is doing this, the students are watching was she is doing and learning how to use the various tools that are required for research starting at a young age.

Project based learning is an excellent concept where students are given the chance to “investigate” and learn more about topics that interest them. There are a few elements to this process that makes it successful in the classroom. For starters, it takes a topic that students are curious about and allows the teachers and students to develop a plan on creating an entire project/unit that revolves around their interest. The next element is to carry it through. This part gives the teachers the opportunity to teach students how to take the initiative on their own by using the various materials that are available for research and how to use them to find the answers to the questions they had. Students are then given a chance to work on numerous numerous skills that they will need in order to be successful in life such as written and verbal expression, cooperation with others, and problem solving/critical thinking skills.

Reflection of software tools, multimedia, and hypermedia

In the reading there were a variety of techniques that I would like to incorporate into my classroom. One of the things I would like to try is providing the opportunities for my students to use video production and editing systems to create step-by-step directions for the skills we are learning in class that could be uploaded to my teacher page for all students to view. I believe that students truly comprehend concepts better when they are given the roll to teach it to others. Another form of technology that I think would grab the interest of my students is the use of Web 2.0 Authoring Tools. The use of these tools would be a great way to get students interested in the class outside of the school, and actually be motivated to participate when they are at home.

There are quite a few strategies that I use in my classroom that were mentioned in the chapter “Teaching with Software Tools: Beyond the Basic Programs” that I found were beneficial to student achievement. One of the programs that we are currently using as a Student Information System is the Measures of Academic Progress (MAP). We use this program to track student learning from the fall to the spring of each year. This data is used in a variety of ways within the school, but the way that I found most beneficial is to look at where they stand cognitively within some of the content skills and create lessons that are geared toward their ability. Another technological strategy that I feel is very helpful for students that struggle are video resources. Since I teach Math, a lot of the videos out there are about 5 minutes long, so they are a great closer, or opener to the lesson. I found that if I show a clip at the beginning of the lesson it is a great way to get students interested in what is being taught. If the video is shown at the end of the lesson, it is a great way to reinforce the concept through graphics along with verbal instructions repeating what was just taught in class.

Digital Natives

Technology seems to engage everyone from young children to adults. It is found in pretty much every facet of our lives from video games to computer programs used in a variety of careers. However, it seems that technology is not being represented in education the way that would help students get the most out of its use in the classroom. The two videos “Digital Youth Portrait: Sam” and “Schools Use of Games for Learning and Assessment” portray how important contemporary technology is in the lives of students, and how schools need to become more proficient with the way that they include it into their daily structure in order to prepare their students for the future. These videos showed how students had to comprehend the material they were learning as well as being creative and thinking critically during the process of using contemporary technology.

Students are being engaged through television, computers, i-pods and cell phones at home, why not bring these parts of their lives into the classroom and spark some interest in the content they need to learn. I feel that the types of technology that were mentioned in the videos would defiantly get students motivated to participate in lessons and actually want to learn. The school I work at provides numerous opportunities for me to use technology in my classroom and I find that students tend to participate more and even enjoy what is being taught.

The text also describes a variety of computer programs that offer differentiated instruction to students from drill and practice software, simulation software, problem-solving software and many more types of programs. Each of these types of software offers a variety of ways for a student to learn and become interested in what is being taught in the classroom.

I feel that when you are incorporating technology into the classroom, you are giving students opportunities to build skills for the future as well as becoming motivated to learn. They become interested in what can normally be something they would consider boring and a waste of time and be able to make a connection to their personal lives. Some pitfalls with technology is that it takes time to introduce some of the programs to students and there could be issues with technology where it freezes or the program is not running correctly, which could waste some valuable class time.

Teaching Interests and Instructional Topics

I have always been fascinated with technology and how quickly things are advancing in this field.  I teach math at a middle school level and find it very difficult to keep up with all of the interesting new things that are out there when it comes to technology.

I use technology in my math classroom in numerous ways.  Students and parents are able to access their daily assignments, grades, class notes, and extra tutorials on line through my homework portal.  Our district even provided a new program called Study Island that is extra math instruction according to the state standards.  I just received a smart board last year so I use these in my daily lessons, and like to incorporate videos and sound bytes into my lessons if available.  I feel that when students have a short 2 to 5 minute video that reinforces my lesson then the students become more engaged. 

  The math program that we have set up at the school I work at is extremely fast pace and does not allow much class time to “practice” or “drill and kill” math problems.  Because of the pacing of our classes I have not been able to incorporate as much “hands on” technology for my students in my class as I would like.  I am looking forward to becoming familiar with incorporating Jings, Blogs, and i-pod touches in my classroom.