I tried out the concept map found at the link above for my summary of learning. I wanted to try something new for my last entry and I chose concept mapping because I think this would be an engaging way to have students work on this concept. The map was extremely easy to use. A student of any grade would be able to use this website to make a concept map. I used a basic version - what you get is what you see above. For a six dollar monthly fee - or a 59 dollar yearly charge - you can upgrade to download pictures, insert links, or upload content from your computer. While that would be fun - and something I think might be worth the charge depending on how often it was utilized in the classroom - I stuck with the basic format for this activity. I summarized all of the tools I used and learned about this semester. Of them all, I think that Voicethread was my favorite tool. I love interactive storytelling and appreciate that it can be utilized anywhere, that parents can be part of the process, and that it can be edited by multiple users at the same time. It was also very easy to use and included an audio function.
My biggest take away from this class is that for a teacher to utilize technology in the classroom she has to be willing to explore what is available, be creative and enterprising in the use of the technology, and create small goals for herself to keep moving forward with the integration of technology in her classroom. My plan for integrating technology is to identify the types of technology I am most comfortable introducing first that will benefit the learning process of my students. Since this type of technological integration is new to me I want to start small and make sure I have a good grasp of how the process will flow. I will pick one or two more types of technology to learn more about so that I can integrate those into my classroom the following year.
I plan to increase my PLN by continuing my blog, reading the blogs of other educators, and utilizing twitter to follow educators around the world. I had never given thought to using blogs or twitter before this class but now feel comfortable using blogs to record my learning and twitter to have discussions with other professionals.
I've really enjoyed exploring the different types of technology available and the ways teachers can utilize that tech to enhance their learning and teaching. I feel much more comfortable with several different types of media and am ready to use them in the classroom!
This week's topic is TPACK. I'd never heard of TPACK before so my first question was - what is it. The most helpful introduction to TPACK was this two minute video introduction.
The official definition of TPACK is: technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a framework to understand and describe the kinds of knowledge needed by a teacher for effective pedagogical practice in a technology enhanced learning environment.
A simpler definition is TPACK is a framework that brings together 3 knowledge areas - technological(the partner - the tool), pedagogical(the how - instructional types), content (the what- subject matter)- and how they work together to make the content being taught more accessible and increase student motivation.
What questions should you consider before implementation (technical, administrative, pedagogical, other)?
Some things come to mind when I think about integrating technology in the classroom - these are in no particular order.
1. What is my ease of use with the technology in question and will I be able to use it effectively?
2. What support does the district provide in regards with integrating technology in the classroom?
3. What technology is available to students - computers, laptops, ipads, etc?
4. How will I use the technology to enhance the content I am teaching?
5. Will I need to teach the technology itself before the content - how can this be integrated into lessons?
6. How will I assess my students?
7. Is the technology meaningful to the content I am teaching or does it detract from the lesson?
What are some of the positive attributes as well as potential barriers regarding the introduction of transiliterate practices in the classroom?
Some pros include:
*student centered approach to learning
*more student collaboration
*non-linear collection of information
*students seem to be more motivated when technology is involved
*enhancement of reading skills
*internet usage increases students higher order thinking skills
*critical thinking skills are enhanced
Some cons include:
*negative educator attitudes to technology incorporation
*teacher's lack of training in technological competencies
*technology changes rapidly
*lack of resources in the classroom
*repurposing technology meant for the business world to the world of the classroom
How will you choose technologies that enhance the teaching approaches for a lesson in your own classroom?
During my reading for class I found that this question was answered very well in the artic K-6 literacy learning activities. Below is a screen shot of a portion of the website. You can see that the activity type - in this case, pre-reading activities - are listed on the left, with a brief description of the content area in the middle, and the variety of technologies available to enhance the learning of this skill listed on the right. To access this website to go http://activitytypes.wm.edu/K6LiteracyFeb11.html
I think it is important for each teach to do their own homework when it comes to technologies. I have found that there are a variety of different technological approaches to teaching a concept but you have to find the right one for your purposes and the best fit for your students.
After learning about TPACK, what questions do you have and how do you think you can begin to answer them?
1.My first question is - how do I go about implementing technology into the classroom?
I watched a webinar at www.edweb.com about how to implement technology in a classroom. The webinar was hosted by Vicki Davis @coolcatteach from Camilla Georgia. She is a highschool teacher but her methods could be utilized by anyone. She stresses that technology is expensive and just because we bought it doesn't mean it will automatically enhance a classroom. She suggests innovating like a turtle - move forward a little bit every day to make a journey of a thousand miles. She describes learning and implementing one technology per year to your repertoire of pedagogical tools.
2. What are the best technologies to introduce to K-3 students?
This Wiki page https://k3classroomtech.wikispaces.com/Classroom+Wikis provides a list of wiki pages created by teachers that describe how they use technology in their classrooms and how the children they teach interact with it.
3. How do I monitor and assess my use of technology in the classroom?
What I took away from this topic is that a teacher needs to have a clear understanding of the content she is going to teach, how she is going to teach it, and what technology will best enhance the learning experience. She needs to have a plan for how she is going to make these three knowledge bases intersect and she will then implement this in her classroom. TPACK is a model, or framework, that helps a teacher guide their understand of these concepts and create that experience.
A word cloud is an image composed of words used in a particular text or subject, in which the size of each word indicates its frequency or importance. There are a number of reasons to use word clouds in the classroom, such as helping students improve their vocabulary, as a self assessment tool when writing, as an activating strategy, as a "getting to know you" tool, and to help your students understand assessments (for more on this go to http://www.edudemic.com/5-ways-use-word-cloud-generators-classroom/).
The website reviewed for this activity was http://www.abcya.com/word_clouds.htm The word cloud is easy to create. You simply copy and paste or type in a selection of words and click the arrow button. A sample of your word cloud is created and you then have the option to change the text font, color scheme, and the organization of the words.
I used a poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay called Recuerdo to create my word cloud.
Like I stated above, this is a very simple website to use to create a word cloud. It did not require any additional add-ons and was simple to save to my computer. If you would like to create a word cloud with your students I would suggest using this site.
