EDUC639R

This class forces me to think far past the confines of the classroom walls.  I am reminded of why I became a teacher; to help students gain the knowledge and skills needed to be successful.  If we want to effectively prepare our students, we must transparently integrate technology into our daily practice.  The classroom discussion, interaction with classmates, readings, and time to incorporate new ideas brings me one step closer to integrating technology in the curricula.

My online journal (Blog) reflects what I have learned and how I plan to incorporate those ideas into the curriculum.  The following is a synopsis of information gathered during a two week span in EDUC 639 – Integrating Technology. In addition, the description listed below corresponds with the concept map.  

Day 1: Wikis, Blogs and Listservs were introduced and I interpret these tools as frameworks of communication.  I think that the above tools will provide an excellent forum for teachers, students, and parents to communicate.
 
Day 2: The Big Idea for Day two was Models of Instruction.  Emphasis was placed on the following models:  The Experiential-Based Action Model (EBAM), 5E Instructional Model, WebQuests, 4MAT and Understanding by Design. I was pondering ways to intertwine UbD (which is the latest initiative of my district) with new information that was being presented.  There were definite correlations between UbD and the models of instruction, but the two most intriguing were WebQuests and Differentiated Instruction, which can be incorporated in stages 2 and 3Day 3:  What is Loti?  Loti is a term referring to Dr. Moersch’s Level of Technology Implementation Framwork designed to accurately measure authentic classroom technology use.  How can we effectively incorporate Loti into the curriculum?  We must get support from the administrators and have teachers create a technological plan mapping out their goal, plan, and assessment. In addition, I think the best way to show true integration is to have colleagues who demonstrated quality use of technology in the classroom lead workshops providing helpful tips to those in need. Loti is a great tool to provoke conversation about technology integration in the curriculum. Another tool that was discussed in class today was Semantic Nets. A semantic net is a structure which is used to represent connections between objects.   I think this tool will could be utilized during a class presentation (guided instruction) and self-reflection.

Day 4: Today, while developing our rubrics, we had an interesting conversation about Differentiated Instruction. It is my belief that teachers should provide various resources to meet the needs of a variety of learners, but numerous options for a final product is not necessary to achieve differentiated instruction. It is the job of the teacher to provide a variety of opportunities for students to be successful in meeting the objective. We also discussed developing rubrics as a class.  Developing a rubric as a class is definitely a great idea when trying to engage students in the learning process.  It allows students to have some ownership over the project.  In addition, students will have an understanding of what is required because they were involved in the developmental process.

Day 5: The readings in Module 5 have brought me a step closer to answering the following question: How do I incorporate the new tools and projects developed into a curriculum that is already jammed packed?   In particular, the Good Models of Teaching with Technology (GMOTT) site provided great examples of how teachers have successfully integrated technology into their classrooms and throughout the school.  In addition, the site provided a complete explanation GMOTT, Templates to help you design for technology integration and examples of completed templates.  I will refer to this site and the tool for creating technology enhanced lesson when I design my plan for integrating technology into the curriculum.
 
Day 6: Today, we were introduced to some cool tools!  Eyespot, Photoshop and Bubbleshare are tools that allow you to create video and photo slide shows on the web.  This is a great tool to break the monotony of the curricula. Educators can use these tools to display class activities, such as, skits, reenactments, or fieldtrips. Students could use these tools to create an interesting and exciting presentation. 

Day 7 & 8: What are the Big Ideas?   How do they relate to UbD?  These are just a few of the questions that we have been discussing in the last couple of classes.  I figure this is a great forum to clarify my understanding.  The Big idea is a system of many powerful inferences from a small set of givens.  It provides a way to connect and recall knowledge.  In order to really uncover the big idea, you have to go below the surface.  In stage 1 of Ubd, the key is to focus on the big ideas. The understandings are the specific insight of the ideas we want students to leave with.  The Essential Questions provide questions that will foster inquiry, understanding, and transfer of learning.  Student knowledge and skills are the specific concepts that students need to know.  The established goals are the content standards that are addressed explicitly by the unit.  Stage 2 is the assessment piece of the design. There are two types of assessments in stage 2.  Performance Task requires students to transfer their understanding.  Other Evidence is your more traditional assessments (quizzes, tests, observations…). Stage 3 is the learning plan that provides purposeful learning activities and directed teaching to help all students reach the desired achievements.