Geocaching

Geocaching is a global treasure hunt where searchers look for containers and hidden treasures outside using GPS. There are nearly a million different treasures, or caches, hidden throughout the world. The coordinates of these caches can be found on a variety of different websites where you can log your findings and experiences. Geocaching is a fun activity that can be incorporated into the science classroom. There are multiple benefits to getting out of the classroom to seek a cache. Sites may provide historical information about the area and some provide problem solving clues. They also provide the opportunity for exercise and a good way to enjoy nature. Geocaching allows the teacher and students to use the world as their classroom. Students and teachers use questioning and cooperative learning as they track through nature looking for the cache. Geocaching is great way incorporate technology into the science classroom and teach students about the natural world.

Technology empowers differentiated instruction

I read a very interesting article from eSchool News. It was called Technology Empowers Differentiated Instruction. The article talks about a webinar presented by two authors, Grace Smith and Stephanie Throne (Differentiating Instruction with Technology in K-5 Classrooms and the soon-to-be-published Differentiating Instruction with Technology in Middle School Classrooms). The webinar was created to help teachers find concrete applications of differentiating in the classroom using technology. Both authors believe that differentiated instruction is student-centered, and offers multiple paths to learning.

The first step is to pre-assess student’s interest through surveys, observations, or interviews. Next they said to choose different strategies to build on students’’ interest in ways that are appropriate for their abilities or age levels.  Some of these strategies include I-Search, Web Quests, interest centers, flexible groups, literature circles, Role Audience Format Topic Tech (R.A.F.T.T.), jigsaw, or computer software. The article continues to break these strategies down and explain more about each one.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2009/02/02/technology-empowers-differentiated-instruction/

Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students

One of the affects of technology in the classroom is the increase in motivation and self-esteem. Giving students the opportunity to use technology can motivate them to complete assignments that would other wise be unimportant to them. I truly believe that students who do enough to get by when given conventional academic task can excel with an assignment using technology. Here is a quote from a fifth grade teacher on technology and its affect on her students; “Technology is the ultimate carrot for students. It's something they want to master. Learning to use it enhances their self-esteem and makes them excited about coming to school.” If a student enjoys the method in which they are learning the content, the content itself doesn’t have to be as motivating to them. In other words, a student may not be motivated to learn about nouns, but if you teach the content

Education, U. D. (n.d.). Effects of Technology on Classrooms and Students. Retrieved from Technology and Education Reform : U.S. Department of Education

Using Prezi in my Classroom

I used Prezi for the first time during our 3^rd project for EDUC 675. I had never used Prezi before and had no idea what it would be used for. I signed up for an account and began creating my presentation. It took only a few minutes and I was hooked. It was easy to follow and allowed for creativity, even though creativity is not one of my strong suits. It was fun! I worked for about two hours and created something completely new to me.

I enjoyed using Prezi and knew it could be a great option for my students to enhance their class presentations. My students are currently working on a project for my science class that must include some form of technology. They are going to teach a science topic or concept that they find interesting. I used the projector and computer in my room to give the students a quick tutorial on how to use Prezi. Many of the students were interested in using Prezi, and created accounts that day. The following day I had students wanting to show me what they were able to do using Prezi. I was shocked on how fast they were able to pick up and create an awesome presentation. I showed the students Prezi because I thought it was interesting and it turned out to be a great resource for us to use in class. I truly recommend teaching your class how to use Prezi. If you give them a little time with the site they will be the ones teaching you!

Using a Wiki in a Community of Practice to Strengthen K-12 Education.

Sharing knowledge can be a challenging and the one of the biggest challenges when it comes to sharing knowledge is how to do it. What is the best way to communicate knowledge to other individuals? With high stakes testing in schools it is imperative we use knowledge that resides in our brains and create new knowledge that will launch innovative teaching approaches. With that being said, the problem becomes managing all of that knowledge. It is said that teachers share knowledge because they would gain something from it – whether it be a stronger understanding of an idea or a better reputation – and because they felt an obligation to their communities – whether the obligation arose from a sense of principal or compassion. One way for teachers to share and manage their knowledge is a wiki. Wikis are convenient because of their speedy editing, non-code web users, multiple contributors and no one person in charge.

I also chose to create a wiki in my classroom. The idea behind my wiki was to create a space in which all the teachers to contribute something. Our school is pushing differentiated instruction and I thought creating a wiki would be a good way to help this process. All teachers differentiate instruction, they just may not know it, and some teachers differentiate more than others. That means all the teachers in our school have some knowledge of how to differentiate instruction in the classroom. This wiki is a way to manage the knowledge of all the teachers. Teachers can post their ideas, methods or concepts that they use in their classroom for other teachers to try and also use the wiki as a resource to find new concepts that other teachers are using.

Sheehy, G. (2008). Using a wiki in a community of practice to strengthen k-12 education. . TechTrends, 52(6), 55-60.

Digital Literacies

With the emergence of the Web, online collaboration and participation has greatly increased. This article helps us focus on one of the more popular resources and that is the wiki. A wiki is usually a collection of webpages that are created and edited by a group of people. The content of the webpage is typically organized around a specific purpose of topic and can be collaboratively written, edited and added to by users.  Wikis are shared, online writing spaces that have great potential in education. Wikis can work in education as professional development tools, resource host, and shared interest space. This article discusses an example of a wiki used as professional development for middle school teachers called NewLits.org.

NewLits.org is a wiki used as resource for middle school literacy or language arts teachers. It provides a context for showcasing, demonstrating, and supporting the acquisition and understanding of digital literacies relevant to its scope and purpose. People participating in this wiki may contribute podcast, music videos, students made documentaries, lesson filmed, response videos and much more. The idea behind NewLits.org is that participates learn about digital literacies by engaging in digital literacies.

For my action research project I decided to create a wiki as a resource for our middle school teachers. This wiki can make an impact in the classrooms of all the teachers in the school, like NewLits.org, by providing a resource to better help them differentiate instruction in their class. Through collaborative interaction and participation the contributions from all the teachers will enhance the quality of the space. 

Knobel, M, & Lankshear, C. (2009). Wikis, digital literacies, and professional growth. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Liiteracy, 52(7), 631-634.

Cross-Continental Collaboration

Fire and Ice. This is the name of a project that connects students from the northern hemisphere with students in the southern hemisphere. The “fire” represents the students in the southern hemisphere and “ice” students in the northern hemisphere. The goal of this project was to demonstrate that, despite their differences, both hemispheres face environmental issues that are similar to one another. The course offers students the opportunity to collaborate with one another on topics such as peace, poverty, and climate change. The students’ present different issues they face to the other schools across the word. In return the other schools work, give suggestions and information on how to solve such problems. For example, a school in Africa used the idea of plants helping to provide oxygen to water from a school in Washington to help them solve their problem of erosion and desertification. Technology made it possible for the students to meet others from around the world. Instead of reading about the different regions of the world students were able to interact and learn from people their own age that lived in those particular regions. Computers have allowed us to expand our knowledge way beyond the classroom and make what we teach meaning full for the students.

TED review

Ann Marie Thomas is a mother and faculty member at the University of St. Thomas. She is the director of a laboratory at the school that works with a team of students in engineering design. Ann Marie is a strong believer of hands on education and with her team, looks into the playful side of engineering. One of her recent ideas is teaching about electronics using play dough. She came about this idea while trying to teach her younger daughter and struggling to find the right tools to do so. She used the conductive properties of two different types of homemade play dough to create circuits. One type of play dough conducted electricity while the other resisted it. Students can use simple battery packs and LED lights to conduct simple circuits. The lesson can also be modified by using small motors and microprocessors to teacher older students about concepts such as parallel and series circuits and power loads. This idea allowed her to use simple items found in most kitchens to teach the basics of electricity.  It is an inexpensive and simple, hands-on activity, that science teachers can use in their classrooms.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/annmarie_thomas_squishy_circuits.html

Ocean Games

This article is about two online games from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that engage middle school students in costal and ocean ecosystems. This is a great resource for middle school students to use because it is in a game format and most middle schoolers enjoy games! The first game is called, “Where the River Meets the Sea.” In this game the students explore the estuary, they learn about habitat ecology and restoration, water pollution, and marine debris. A few positives of the game are; builds skills and raise their awareness of the importance of estuaries, water quality, tides, and local support to protect estuaries. Hopefully the by the end of the game the students will recognize the importance of estuaries, the threats they face and how students can help.

The second game in this series is called, “Sea Turtles and the Quest to Nest.” The objective of this game is to educate students about the hardships sea turtles endure to nest and survive. The game teaches about coastal habitat, food chain, and complex coastal issues that affect sea turtles, including human threats. The students will evaluate, explore, and engage in making decisions that increase their awareness and understanding of coastal and ocean issues.

http://games.noaa.gov

Socratic Seminar Model

The Socratic teaching method is something I have never personally tried in my classroom. I am familiar with this teaching method from previous college classes. I have read Plato’s dialogue entitled Meno, and participated in class discussions that were based on the Socratic teaching method. However I am still to nervous to try and use this method of teaching in my classroom. I teach 130 eighth grade students in a five period time span. That means my class sizes are anywhere from 24 students to 28 students in each class. Having large class sizes makes it harder to have class discussions that are students driven and involve critical thinking. It also makes it difficult to get all the students to speak and give their opinions. I could give each student two tickets and after they used their tickets they could no longer speak. This may give other, shyer students, an opportunity to participate in the class discussion. I may try, one day, to use the Socratic teaching method in my class. I just have to make sure that the students understand the purpose of the teaching model and what they should get out of it.

Direct instruction

Every since I started teaching and while I was going to school to become a teacher, I thought that direct instruction met the teacher stood in front of the class and relayed information to the students. I thought there was nothing more to it until I read more about direct instruction. Direct instruction is an effective and efficient method of teacher which is used most frequently in schools. The teacher presents the information to the students and the students watch, listen and practice what they have learned. Direct instruction has several benefits. It benefits in teaching thinking and problem-solving skills, skills for citizenship, increases independent learning. Technology can also be a benefit in direct instruction. Technology can be used to enhance lessons and make teaching concepts much more interesting for students. Direct instruction is easy to modify and also differentiate to fit your individual student’s needs.

Cubing

Cubing is a strategy that can fit any classroom. It is a strategy that can be used to differentiate activities based on a student’s readiness, learning styles, or interest. Cubing gets its name from the “instrument” used to complete the activity, which is a cube. You create a six sided cube which has different task that relates to the concept or idea being taught.  

            You can start by printing out a blank cube template, which can be found on the internet. After you have the template you need to create the different questions or commands that will go on each of the six faces of the cube. The students are grouped in ways that best fits their learning style or ability levels, or readiness, in the classroom. The groups may differ depending on the activity or concept that you are having the student complete. Cubing can be modified to fit your particular school, class or select individuals in your class.

            Cubing allows for differentiation in your classroom for the many different learning styles, interest, and levels of ability. The activity can be differentiated for individual students or a group of students. For example you can have one group of gifted students completing higher-level activities that are more challenging, and another group of students completing task that better fit their level of ability. Another way to group the students is according to their interest. Groups may consist of gifted and non-gifted students working together on a concept of similar interest.

            Cubing does more than allowing for differentiation in the classroom.  Cubing is a strategy that encourages critical thinking and exploration of a concept or idea. Cubing leads to a deeper understanding of the concept or idea being taught because it is created around the multiple intelligences and incorporates Bloom’s Taxonomy. 

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

     I found this article to be very interesting and insightful. The author Marc Prensky uses the terms digital natives and digital immigrants to describe the people in today’s classroom to the people of the past. Digital Natives are considered today’s students, students who have grown up with and are extremely familiar with technology. On the other hand digital immigrants are the teachers that must understand there is a learning gap between how they use to learn compared to the way students learn today. The Digital Natives are use receiving information really fast, and are good at multitasking. The Digital Immigrants learn differently. For example they would rather print out an e-mail to save it or read it rather than read it on line. Teacher and students must be aware of this gap between them and make strides to shrink that gap. Teachers need to learn new technology and how this can help their students better succeed.  

Concept Development

The other day in class I decided to use the concept development teaching method for the first time. I used it as a preassessment to see what my students knew about the concept of energy. I first divided my classes into groups of about 4 students. I gave each group an 11 x 17 inch piece of paper and post-it notes. I told the groups that I wanted them to think about the term "energy" and list any words, terms, ideas, etc. on the post-it notes and place them on the paper. After a few minutes, when the students seemed to be running out of ideas, I told them to think about what these items have in common and try to group them. After they had them grouped the next step was to label each group. While they completed this step I allowed them to regroup anything they thought no longer fit together. The final, and what seemed to be the hardest step, was to summarize their ideas. I thought this method worked really well as a preassessment because it got the students to recollect their previous knowledge on energy and allowed me to see what ideas and concepts they were familiar with. I plan on using this method again in the future either as a preassessment or as an instructional tool.

Jigsaw

I could use Jigsaw in my classroom to promote cooperative learning amongst my students. As an eighth grade teacher it is imperative for me to realize the importance of a student’s social life at this age. Jigsaw is a way for them to socialize with other students and at the same time learn something new. With Jigsaw each students are responsible to deliver on their part in order to succeed as a whole class or group. I believe that the students will take their learning more serious if they know they are responsible for a classmate’s knowledge of that particular information as well. I have used Jigsaw successfully in my classroom before, and intend to continue to use it when I feel it can benefit my students learning. One example of using jigsaw in my classroom is when I taught rocks last year. Students were responsible for learning about a specific type of rock or mineral, like sedimentary or igneous, and had to teach to their “home” group about their topic of expertise. The jigsaw activity turned out really well, and the students seemed to enjoy it because they were able to research their topic however they felt would benefit them.