Learning Module_13 Discussion Posts

Learning Module _1
Teaching at an all-girl high school makes me feel responsible not only for the subject matter, but to inspire them to try things and push themselves out of their comfort zone. I find talking about some of the places I have been will bring out their curiosity about opportunities that they may have in the future. I used Mozilla Popcorn Maker for my video. It is so user friendly! I like to use the webcam when it is the first time that someone is meeting me. I made a video for my students to watch before the first class going over the syllabus and I made sure to include some webcam so their first impression was of me, not of the document I I was talking about. I got good feedback from them. I think it eased their first day nerves.

Learning Module_2
Discussion Post 1: DIGITAL NATIVES Read to learn more about the war between digital immigrants & digital natives. Answer the following prompt after reading the article. I wonderhow the author can compare the current state of technology and its rate of advancement to that of the industrial revolution. Although the industrial revolution was a time of great progress, the individuals who were involved were immigrants to inventing and the products they created were made as models first and then perfected through trial and error. Today, technology is used to create more technology and very rarely are the products invented perfected, but they are pushed out quickly and then improved upon on the fly. Mrs. Johnson- I think it goes along with youth not thinking about consequences in general. It the same risk taking behavior that has gone on with teens forever. It is a matter of finding a way to teach students about the risks associated with technology before they do something they regret. I feel empathy may be the key. When you get students to understand it from someone else's perspective they really seem to relate to that person and learn from the experience.

DISCUSSION POST 2: REPLY TO THIS POST Prompt: What techniques could you use to teach your students about copyright laws?

I feel that this issue is so important now that people are creating and publishing new material everyday on the internet. My students may be plagiarizing others work without even knowing it. I think a good activity would be to have students find a favorite YouTube video that includes footage, images or music (not just a video taken on a phone) and see if they can find the source of the material. This would be a fun group activity and then we could discuss their results. Justina- I am not sure if easy is the way I would describe teaching students about copyright laws. It might be easiest if students learned from their first use of technology about what the limits are, but as you are well aware children interact with technology outside of school more than in school and they are developing bad habits, if not illegal. Schools really don't address plagiarism until too late as well. We need to develop a program for youth to understand these laws, before they start breaking them.

Learning Module_3
DISCUSSION POST - MODULE 3 DUE 9-16-13 Read the view points of web based learning below. Formulate an opinion on the matter. Research web based learning and back up your statement with a fact or quote. Also, respond to one other classmates post. Use the guidelines for posting that were discussed in the first class. VIEW POINTS OF WEB BASED LEARNING 1. One of the values of using the web to access course materials is that web pages may contain hyperlinks to other parts of the web, thus enabling access to a vast amount of web based information. A virtual learning environment (VLE) or managed learning environment (MLE) is an all in one teaching and learning software package. A VLE typically combines functions such as discussion boards, chat rooms, online assessment, tracking of students' use of the web, and course administration. VLEs act as any other learning environment in that they distribute information to learners. VLEs can, for example, enable learners to collaborate on projects and share information. 2. Newer technologies such as computers and video conferencing are not necessarily better (or worse) for teaching or learning than older technologies . . . they are just different . . . The

choice of technology should be driven by the needs of the learners and the context in which we are working, not by its novelty.Bates AW. Technology, open learning and distance education. London: Routledge, 1995 My school is 1:1 with each student having a touchscreen laptop with inking capabilities. This would make me an expert in web-based learning, right? After reading several different articles on WBL, I have found there are many studies and opinions concerning the topic. I found out that there was a study done with medical students that found WBL students performed equally as well on assessments as traditional classroom students. Another article stated the use of web-based learning is ideal for a constructivist learning environment. My one concern, even within my own classroom, is how WBL affects a low self-regulated learner. The authors of the third article found a need to, redefine the role of the instructor to support the development of independent, self-regulated learners through the use of web-based pedagogical tools"(Dabbagh, N. & Kitsantas, A. 2004). I do not want to lose sight of the fact that web-based anything only works when the students are actually interacting with the material. It is important to design lessons that still have an accountability component to keep students motivated and on task. Mr Oates: I am curious about how your students are held accountable for viewing the videos? Do you get a list of those that have viewed it, or maybe give them a quiz the next day? I have used videos as well in my math classes and I had my students answer a few questions that they could only get from viewing the video. I totally agree with you in there being an organization issue when it comes to technology. There is so much offered, but you want students to be able to find it in a logical place and progress through all the activities without having to search them out. Even our instructor in this course struggles with this, having to go from her website and to Edmodo to get all the parts of the lesson. Mr Oates/Patrick: I teach high school math and use Smart Notebook to present all my lessons. My students also have Smart Notebook and their computers have inking capabilities, so they get the same notes that I am using and "write" on them for their notes. This happens daily. I also use the computers for whiteboard practice. They do their homework in Onenote also using the inking. We are setting up shared notebooks in Onenote, so that I can see at any time their work in their math folder on Onenote. This will be useful for feedback and for my ease in checking homework. I was surprised to find that behavior issues decreased significantly after the computers. They are very engaging! I have had some students, who will wander off to different sites from time to time, but I have found it very easy to catch this and it hasn't been an ongoing issue for any student.

Learning Module_4
Discussion Post: Module_4 (Due 9-16) In your opinion, what is an effective use of video in the classroom? Remember to use these suggestions when commenting to a post. (https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/11323883/ius%20info/r505/module_1/Handout_Blog_Co mments.doc) When I use video in my classroom, I try to choose engaging short videos that reinforce the concept I am teaching or introduce a new concept. My students like the music videos where popular songs have the words changed to relate to a math concept. I will use this to introduce a lesson and then we end up singing it through the whole unit. I agree with fellow math educator, Dan Meyer, that multimedia can bring real world experiences into the classroom. I often skip the examples provided in the text and replace them with problems that my students may encounter. I find utilizing video to enhance lessons and to provide real world situations is an effective use of video in the classroom. Kristy- I think using videos to reinforce science concepts is wonderful. There is so much of science that you cannot experience through the confines of a classroom, but video allows the experiences to come to them. If I were a science teacher, I would try to show a video or two for each experiment we did in the classroom. I have always felt the cool thing about science is the fact you can do experiments over and over and compare the results. Seeing it done on a larger scale perhaps through video and then doing it yourself would allow students to use higher order thinking to compare the results of the two experiments.

Discussion Post 2: Using resources that are available to save time. (DUE 9-16-) Now that you know how to create your own video, try to find a video that has already been created that can work for that same unit or lesson. Use YouTube, schooltube, teachertube, or any other resource that you find. I tried several different websites and videos on Imaginary Numbers, but struggled to find an intro. Most math videos start out with examples and keep going. This video is really clever (I have no clue how to do this), and you can tell the students in this class enjoyed it. I would

love to try something like this someday! As for finding math videos I can use in class, there are an abundance of instructional videos. The only downside is that they can be kind of boring. I like the idea of the trailer to peak interest.

Learning Module_5
Discussion Post: Module_5 DUE 9-16 Share two problem solving strategies that you use in your classroom. What makes them effective? Be sure to include the grade and subject. I teach algebra and geometry. When my students are having trouble solving a problem I may have them brainstorm a similar problem from their lives. It can be as simple as what is formed when two planes meet. If they think of the walls of the room as planes they can look at the point area where they meet and decide is it a line or a point. Even in more complex problems, having students relate it to real situation helps them to understand. Another valuable problem solving strategy in math is identifying the given information and checking for irrelevant information. It is important for students to be able to focus on the most important information to problem solve. Ashley F- I realized after reading your post that your problem solving strategies could be used across the curriculum and even in the real world. I often have students read and underline information in the problems. And of course, don't we all use lists even today? I often try to explain to my math students that they may not use variables, or geometric shapes when they are out of school, but they will use the problem solving process many times a day as an adult. I feel it is my responsibility to help them learn these very valuable skills to successfully navigate throughout their lives.

Learning Module_6
Watch 3 screencasts & reply with an opinion, idea, or observation. Ashley- I'd like to know if there are some stories already created that you could use in your classroom? I think the creating is probably the best aspect, but sometimes as a teacher you need a ready-made tool to introduce a lesson and this application seems very engaging. I am going to check it out, because I teach all girls and I think they would enjoy using this site for classroom projects and presentations.

Jessica- I thought your video was great at showing an overview of the website. Do you think this could have any applications in a high school math class? I always think of story problems when someone talks about digital story telling. I could see a cartoon like story presenting travel problems using rate, time, and distance. It could be fun to do a "two trains leave a station going in opposite directions" type of problem with this website. Patrick H- I like the idea of students being able to access the VT and each put their own information into the VT using the recording options. Students may feel more comfortable posting questions or feedback in this format than live in the classroom. Is there unlimited use for teachers?