As I read this chapter, what I noticed most was how much the details of the WISE project connected to the other readings for this class. I say that also after already having read and outlined chapter 8 in this text. I might add that I think the chapter 8 reading would be better at the beginning of this text.
The WISE project is a science computer-based inquiry project in which students can take part in a variety of different lessons. The first major connection I made was between the project and the attributes of Meaningful Learning Using Technology (MLT). Ashburn (2006) describes six attributes of MLT, and this project seems to fulfill all of them:
1. Intentionality - each different lesson in the project had a clearly defined goal, be it examining earthquakes or frogs or whatever.
2. Content centrality - all six teachers used the lessons that tied into their current curriculum and the new content standards.
3. Authentic work - this is the one that jumped out at me as one teacher commented, "They [students] felt the connection between what we do in school and what's currently happening in the world" (Linn, 2006)
4. Active inquiry - the WISE program seemed based on this type of inquiry and helped along by the mentor and the teachers when they encouraged students to find answers to their own questions.
5. Construction of mental models - not quite sure about this one
6. Collaborative work - students worked in pairs and sometimes consulted other groups with their questions.
So, clearly, the WISE program is a good example of MLT, yet I think it is possible to have a good program not successfully implemented. Actually, this program had a rough start - several months of not connecting successfully. Yet, at the end of the second year, even the most skeptical of the involved teachers noted some major benefits of the program. What was the key to the success is actually described in chapter 8 of the Ashbunr and Floden text, "Fostering Meaningful Teaching and Learning with Technology: Characteristics of Effective Professional Development."
The chapter (8) ends with recommendations for districts concerning successful implementation of MLT (Zhao, Frank, & Ellefson, 2006). One of the first ones is grouping teachers according to subject or grade level. The WISE project centers around science, and six science teachers in one middle school implemented it. Two other recommendations center around technical support: having school-based technical support, and having an system for instant technical support. The biggest source of technical support for these teachers was a retired teacher that acted as a mentor. Not only did he model teaching the first lesson of the units, but clearly from the teachers' responses, he was there to help with every technical problem that arose. Eventually, in the second year of the program, teachers became more comfortable with the technical aspects. But I wonder how successful the implementation of the WISE program would have been without this man.
It was also interesting to read of the two-year progression of the WISE program and compare it to the five-stage evolution of teaching with technology. It was clear that in the beginning of the program that the teachers were at the entry stage. With only a mechanical understanding of the technology, the teachers seemed to suffer a certain frustration level. Also important to them was the modeling of the mentor. The teachers seemed to quicky move to the adoption and adaption stages since after the first unit, the teachers quicky realized that the students needed more interaction and guidance from them. As they completed more lessons, the teachers seemed to not only change their approach to teaching but also notice the benefits of the student collaboration and interaction with the program. Lastly, at the end of the second year, some of the teachers commented on how their teaching techniques in the WISE program started to carry over into the traditional classroom, mainly the technique of having students try to answer their own questions (by maybe answering the student questions with questions). This seems to fall into the category of the appropriation and invention stages because not only are the teachers completely comfortable with the technology but they are also making changes to their instructional patterns.
This chapter on the WISE program seems to prove a lot of the theoretical ideas from the rest of the textbook. In my opinion, the level of technical support seems to be what really made this program successful. I think the level of technical support is the key to successful technology integration.
Ashburn, E., and Floden, R. (Eds.). (2006) Meaningful Learning Using Technology. New York: Teacher's College.
Linn, M. (2006). WISE teachers: Using technology and inquiry for science instruction. In Ashburn, E., and Floden, R. (Eds.). (2006) Meaningful Learning Using Technology (45 - 69). New York: Teacher's College.
Zhao, Y., Frank, K. & Ellefson, N. (2006) Fostering meaningful teaching and learning with technology. In Ashburn, E., and Floden, R. (Eds. ). (2006) Meaningful Learning Using Technology (161 - 179). New York: Teacher's College.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
Podcasts
Okay, this has nothing to do with podcasts directly, but I really was not a fan of the Johnson and Cooley text - maybe because it was published eight years ago, and I just expected a technology text to be a bit more current. The book was full of things that I considered old news or even just plain common sense. Unfortunately for our students in education, teachers sometimes are slow to catch up. For example, there is this whole chapter on engaged learning. The benefits are proven: more motivation, multidisciplinary learning, advanced reading and comprehension skills, world class learners (Johnson & Cooley, 2001). And these benefits can actually result in higher test scores for students. It seems I have been hearing about engaged learning since college in the early 90's. When I think about best practices, no matter what term is given to it, the characteristics are shared with engaged learning - things such as collaborative learning, hands-on experiences, critical thinking and problem solving, interdisciplinary work, and real performance opportunities (Johnson & Cooley, 2001). Common sense stuff, but unfortunately, many teachers see varied instructional ideas as fads and are reluctant to give up the control they have with more traditional models of teaching. But things are not going backwards - and the technology available today makes engaged learning very easy to incorporate. To be honest, I knew very little about podcasts before reading up on them, but I now see that using podcasts in the classroom would make for engaged learning very naturally.
First, one thing I did not understand was exactly what makes a podcast different than any other audio or video file. What I have learned is that the only thing that makes a podcast different is that it is available through an online subscription. Hedron (2008) offers the analogy of buying a magazine at a grocery store and then deciding to subscribe to the magazine and have it sent directly to your house. Only with podcasts, they are sent to you on your computer. Okay - so what? How can they be used? Hedron describes a few ways. Perhaps a superintendent can produce a weekly podcast to communicate not only with educators but also with students and parents. Or teachers can create podcasts of best practices. Oh, we teachers are so good at borrowing ideas. Hey, if something is a sure thing in the classroom, why reinvent the wheel?
My real heroes in the podcast world right now are Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, who both teach in the School of Library and Information Science at the Indiana University. I HIGHLY recommend their articles on Podcasting that were published in Teacher Librarian. I've found part 1 and part 2. If there are any subsequent parts, I will be sure to read them. Reading these articles got me excited about using podcasts even though I really still know nothing about them - first hand, anyway. I guess I should say that these articles made me excited about experimenting with them. In Lamb and Johnson's (2007) part 1 article, they offer an introduction to what a podcast is and how already created podcasts can be successfully found and used. They pointed out a few extremely important points to consider. First, the library's selection policy and educational standards should be considered while looking for podcasts. When I get excited about something, I tend to mindlessly throw myself into exploring it. But certainly this reminded me to slow down and stay focused while beginning to consider podcasts. Otherwise, I can see how I might get overwhelmed.
Second, another thing to remember is that anyone can create a podcast, and this is important for a couple of reasons. First, it is important to consider the authority of the person creating the podcast - simple information evaluation skills must not be forgotten. And considering the volume of podcasts on all subjects produced by just about anyone, just "googling" for podcasts is likely to become frustrating. Johnson and Lamb provide a great list of starting points for locating quality podcasts.
Lamb and Johnson in this article provide a wealth of ways to use podcasts in the classroom. They talk about the kinds of things that are out there: current events, government documents being read, interviews, lessons, programs, reviews, health information, and much more. Then they continue to discuss how to use these programs in specific subject areas. For example, in an art class, children can go on a virtual tour of a museum and then discuss the works of art. In health, students can watch podcasts as a starting point for research. They can watch (or listen to) podcasts of health topics and then develop lists of questions for further investigation.
Lamb and Johnson's (2007) part 2 article is more of the same, except the focus switches to how to create a podcast. They provide several sources to help in the production of a project such as this - from free share sound sites to sites that will aid in publishing your podcast. They also offer several project ideas: from creating a news broadcast to virtual tours to interviews with local talents.
The thing that I respected most about the authors is that they remind the reader to not use technology for technology's sake. Podcasts can be a great tool, but Lamb and Johnson remind the reader to consider, "Where does voice and sound make a difference?" That's where you use a podcast. What a great question to consider before jumping into a project.
When considering podcasts, I am reminded of the learning styles classes that I have taken. Some people learn better by actually hearing something. And considering that many podcasts also offer transcripts, there is the option of listening and reading at the same time. Using podcasts are a great way to differenciate learning. They are a great way to incorporate engaged learning in the classroom. They are a great way to offer teachers and students more content on a topic or learning standard. And what is amazing to me is that it can all be done for free. Technology is wonderful. It is fascinating to consider what is available right at our fingertips if we know where to look!
Hedron, J. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Eugene, OR: ISTE.
Johnson, M. & Cooley N. (2001). What we know about: Supporting new models of teaching and learning through technology. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.
Lamb A. & Johnson, L. (2007, February). Podcasting in the school library, part 1: Integrating podcasts and vodcasts into teaching and learning. Teacher Librarian, 34(3), 54 - 57. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Lamb A. & Johnson, L. (2007, April). Podcasting in the school library, part 2: Creating powerful podcasts with your students. Teacher Librarian, 34(4), 61 - 64. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
First, one thing I did not understand was exactly what makes a podcast different than any other audio or video file. What I have learned is that the only thing that makes a podcast different is that it is available through an online subscription. Hedron (2008) offers the analogy of buying a magazine at a grocery store and then deciding to subscribe to the magazine and have it sent directly to your house. Only with podcasts, they are sent to you on your computer. Okay - so what? How can they be used? Hedron describes a few ways. Perhaps a superintendent can produce a weekly podcast to communicate not only with educators but also with students and parents. Or teachers can create podcasts of best practices. Oh, we teachers are so good at borrowing ideas. Hey, if something is a sure thing in the classroom, why reinvent the wheel?
My real heroes in the podcast world right now are Annette Lamb and Larry Johnson, who both teach in the School of Library and Information Science at the Indiana University. I HIGHLY recommend their articles on Podcasting that were published in Teacher Librarian. I've found part 1 and part 2. If there are any subsequent parts, I will be sure to read them. Reading these articles got me excited about using podcasts even though I really still know nothing about them - first hand, anyway. I guess I should say that these articles made me excited about experimenting with them. In Lamb and Johnson's (2007) part 1 article, they offer an introduction to what a podcast is and how already created podcasts can be successfully found and used. They pointed out a few extremely important points to consider. First, the library's selection policy and educational standards should be considered while looking for podcasts. When I get excited about something, I tend to mindlessly throw myself into exploring it. But certainly this reminded me to slow down and stay focused while beginning to consider podcasts. Otherwise, I can see how I might get overwhelmed.
Second, another thing to remember is that anyone can create a podcast, and this is important for a couple of reasons. First, it is important to consider the authority of the person creating the podcast - simple information evaluation skills must not be forgotten. And considering the volume of podcasts on all subjects produced by just about anyone, just "googling" for podcasts is likely to become frustrating. Johnson and Lamb provide a great list of starting points for locating quality podcasts.
Lamb and Johnson in this article provide a wealth of ways to use podcasts in the classroom. They talk about the kinds of things that are out there: current events, government documents being read, interviews, lessons, programs, reviews, health information, and much more. Then they continue to discuss how to use these programs in specific subject areas. For example, in an art class, children can go on a virtual tour of a museum and then discuss the works of art. In health, students can watch podcasts as a starting point for research. They can watch (or listen to) podcasts of health topics and then develop lists of questions for further investigation.
Lamb and Johnson's (2007) part 2 article is more of the same, except the focus switches to how to create a podcast. They provide several sources to help in the production of a project such as this - from free share sound sites to sites that will aid in publishing your podcast. They also offer several project ideas: from creating a news broadcast to virtual tours to interviews with local talents.
The thing that I respected most about the authors is that they remind the reader to not use technology for technology's sake. Podcasts can be a great tool, but Lamb and Johnson remind the reader to consider, "Where does voice and sound make a difference?" That's where you use a podcast. What a great question to consider before jumping into a project.
When considering podcasts, I am reminded of the learning styles classes that I have taken. Some people learn better by actually hearing something. And considering that many podcasts also offer transcripts, there is the option of listening and reading at the same time. Using podcasts are a great way to differenciate learning. They are a great way to incorporate engaged learning in the classroom. They are a great way to offer teachers and students more content on a topic or learning standard. And what is amazing to me is that it can all be done for free. Technology is wonderful. It is fascinating to consider what is available right at our fingertips if we know where to look!
Hedron, J. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Eugene, OR: ISTE.
Johnson, M. & Cooley N. (2001). What we know about: Supporting new models of teaching and learning through technology. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.
Lamb A. & Johnson, L. (2007, February). Podcasting in the school library, part 1: Integrating podcasts and vodcasts into teaching and learning. Teacher Librarian, 34(3), 54 - 57. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Lamb A. & Johnson, L. (2007, April). Podcasting in the school library, part 2: Creating powerful podcasts with your students. Teacher Librarian, 34(4), 61 - 64. Retrieved September 24, 2009, from Academic Search Complete database.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Wikis
Michelle Johnson and Nancy Cooley (2001) point out that while most educators have been introduced to technology as adults, our students have always been exposed to technology; therefore, they have had more time to practice and experiment with technology. Students come to school with the expectation that their learning will have some connection with the real world. Students these days are comfortable with technology. Technology will be a part of any job our students hold. Education these days must include technology. Wikis are a great way to incorporate simple technology in the classroom.
Hedron (2008) points out that wikis require very little technological knowledge to create. The creator can create what looks like a web page without knowledge of coding that would be needed to create a typical web page. It seems like the perfect place to start to try to incorporate technology in the classroom. However, in the article Using Wiki Technology to support student engagement: lessons from the trenches, Melissa Cole (2008) details a failed project in a higher education setting in which students were encouraged to post to a wiki. Even though Cole claims that weekly suggestions were given to show how students can post to the wiki, after five weeks, not a single student had posted anything. When questioned about this, a few students commented that they did not want to be "first" while there were many other reasons listed. Most were confused about what to do; many others listed time constraints or a simple lack of interest. Cole offered some explanations for the failure. A wiki component simply can't be added; the course content should revolve around it. It needs to be assessed somehow; otherwise, students may not see the value and may not participate as expected. Lastly, students should receive more guidance about how to participate.
I personally have had some experiences with wikis - mostly good. I created a wiki for my middle and high school book clubs, and the experiences have been very different. My original intention was to use the wiki for announcements for book club and a forum for book reviews and discussions. In a meeting, students created accounts, logged on, and became members. I created bookmarks to remind students how to log on. My high school students barely used it. My middle school students on the other hand, became avid users. They created book reviews and took part in active discussions about books they were reading. Some even created their own pages in which they listed favorite books or attempted to create collaborative pages with the other members of the club. I am not sure what the difference was except that most high school students have more on their plate than middle school students; therefore, it became much less important. My middle school students seemed to enjoy the social aspect of interacting with each other (and me) on the web.
I also saw a teacher candidate use a wiki as an online teaching portfolio. The end result was impressive. There are so many gadgets and widgets or whatever you call them out there that one can create a pretty professional document with very little technical knowledge.
Hedron (2008) pointed out that while wikis are great collaborative tools, the result can be a little messy. One creating a wiki can use the web to find several ways to enhance it.
www.gettingtrickywithwikis.wikispaces.com is a great site that offers suggestions on how to make your wiki stand out from the rest.
http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas1.cfm offers ideas for teachers about how to get started using wikis in the classroom.
A quick search of the web will yield countless widgets for embedding into your wiki.
I will never be a fan of using technology purely for technology's sake, but there are situations where a wiki is a perfect tool.
Cole, M. (2009, January). Using wiki technology to support student engagement: Lessons from the trenches. Computers & Education 52(1), 141-146. Retrieved September 24, 2009, doi: 10.1016/jcompedu.2008.07.003.
Hedron, J. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Eugene, OR: ISTE.
Johnson, M. & Cooley N. (2001). What we know about: Supporting new models of teaching and learning through technology. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.
Hedron (2008) points out that wikis require very little technological knowledge to create. The creator can create what looks like a web page without knowledge of coding that would be needed to create a typical web page. It seems like the perfect place to start to try to incorporate technology in the classroom. However, in the article Using Wiki Technology to support student engagement: lessons from the trenches, Melissa Cole (2008) details a failed project in a higher education setting in which students were encouraged to post to a wiki. Even though Cole claims that weekly suggestions were given to show how students can post to the wiki, after five weeks, not a single student had posted anything. When questioned about this, a few students commented that they did not want to be "first" while there were many other reasons listed. Most were confused about what to do; many others listed time constraints or a simple lack of interest. Cole offered some explanations for the failure. A wiki component simply can't be added; the course content should revolve around it. It needs to be assessed somehow; otherwise, students may not see the value and may not participate as expected. Lastly, students should receive more guidance about how to participate.
I personally have had some experiences with wikis - mostly good. I created a wiki for my middle and high school book clubs, and the experiences have been very different. My original intention was to use the wiki for announcements for book club and a forum for book reviews and discussions. In a meeting, students created accounts, logged on, and became members. I created bookmarks to remind students how to log on. My high school students barely used it. My middle school students on the other hand, became avid users. They created book reviews and took part in active discussions about books they were reading. Some even created their own pages in which they listed favorite books or attempted to create collaborative pages with the other members of the club. I am not sure what the difference was except that most high school students have more on their plate than middle school students; therefore, it became much less important. My middle school students seemed to enjoy the social aspect of interacting with each other (and me) on the web.
I also saw a teacher candidate use a wiki as an online teaching portfolio. The end result was impressive. There are so many gadgets and widgets or whatever you call them out there that one can create a pretty professional document with very little technical knowledge.
Hedron (2008) pointed out that while wikis are great collaborative tools, the result can be a little messy. One creating a wiki can use the web to find several ways to enhance it.
www.gettingtrickywithwikis.wikispaces.com is a great site that offers suggestions on how to make your wiki stand out from the rest.
http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas1.cfm offers ideas for teachers about how to get started using wikis in the classroom.
A quick search of the web will yield countless widgets for embedding into your wiki.
I will never be a fan of using technology purely for technology's sake, but there are situations where a wiki is a perfect tool.
Cole, M. (2009, January). Using wiki technology to support student engagement: Lessons from the trenches. Computers & Education 52(1), 141-146. Retrieved September 24, 2009, doi: 10.1016/jcompedu.2008.07.003.
Hedron, J. (2008). RSS for educators: Blogs, newsfeeds, podcasts, and wikis in the classroom. Eugene, OR: ISTE.
Johnson, M. & Cooley N. (2001). What we know about: Supporting new models of teaching and learning through technology. Arlington, VA: Educational Research Service.
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