Reflection

Thanks for your comments everyone! Again, I believe all three of these methods could be very effective, but it depends on the teacher's comfort level. Jennifer, I know what you mean about not being able to use these with your class this year. Some years you have a class that can handle anything, while other years you get a class where you think you are lucky when they can correctly write their name on their paper!! lol

Tinker Toys

This week, we were asked to read Generating and Testing Hypotheses from the book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. This chapter presented six tasks to help students create their own hypotheses which were, systems analysis, problem solving, historical investigation, invention, experimental inquiry, and decision making. By using one of these six methods, students can construct their own ways to test their hypothesis. This chapter also suggested three technological ideas in order to go about testing the hypothesis. They were Spreadsheet Software, Data Collection, and Web Resources. Honestly, the spreadsheet section confused me and I highly doubt that I would use it anyway. I'm not much of a mathematical kind of gal, so that would not naturally be the tool I would choose. I do think it would work well for students who are more logical and matematically minded and could construct their own spreadsheets to calculate their findings.
The web resources and gaming software brought to life a "Risk" like dynamic where students could logically think through an historic event and play out several scenarios. The constructionist theory works well here because students are creating different methods of play to figure out which would have worked better. I also like the idea of it being more interactive and having different outcomes that can be tested time and time again. There was a great list of several different gaming sites for students to "play" with.
Data collection tools were a more pragmatic way of looking at data. Students have a table created for them where they just plug in the information they found during their experiment and compare it to the other data they have collected. This is more of the traditional way I think we have all experienced when testing hypotheses in the past.
All three methods are great ideas to go about collecting data and testing hypotheses. I guess it just really depends on how comfortable the student or teacher is constructing the experiment and creating the hypotheses. One of the methods should work nicely for each student in a class.

Note Worthy

This week we were asked to read chapter 4, Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers, as well as chapter 6, Summarizing and Note Taking from the book Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works. In both chapters, we are asked to correlate these methods with the cognitive learning theory.

Chapter 4 discusses many ways to use advance organizers in a classroom. The authors suggest that an essential question should be proposed in the central node of the organizer. Based on this question, the teacher or students will branch off with ideas or thoughts that directly relate back to, or answer the essential question.

This is an excellent way for students to show off what they have learned from a lesson. It is also a great way to introduce a lesson. The use of KWL charts is also a great way to get the kids thinking about why and how things are the way they are. By using these graphic organizers, students are definitely using higher order thinking strategies to relate back to the essential question. Graphic organizers are a wonderful way to analyze the outcomes of ideas, rather than simply “sit and spit” as many children are often asked to do in order to pass a test.

Chapter 6 focuses on note taking as a way to organize and synthesize information into a way it is more easily understood. Several different ways to create notes are discussed from using Wikis and Blogs, to using the Auto Summarize option in Microsoft Word. Again, note taking is an excellent cognitive activity because it forces students to narrow down what is really important. In a way, the students have to come up with their own essential question and decide which information from the notes supports it.

The note taking example I would probably use the most in my classroom would be the combination notes format. This format gives important thoughts or ideas on one side and a visual image on the other. Underneath both sides, a summary of the above information is given. This format seems to be one that would be most easily used in my classroom since my students are younger and do not have much experience with technology. I also like how it combines the written word with a visual.

Overall, I think the two chapters have given me a lot to think about when I present lessons to my students. There is definitely more I could be doing on the front end in order to help them succeed. I would love to try some of these ideas and see just exactly how beneficial they really are.

Effort & Homework

This week's readings in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works have provided some very helpful and inspiring ideas for the use of technology in my classroom. At first, I was not very excited to read about what seemed like such mundane topics, but I was actually quite surprised! I finished reading with some good ideas that are worth trying to implement in my own classroom.

In the first selection, "Reinforcing Effort," it is suggested that students should use a rubric to see just how well effort pays off in the long run. After a short period of time (two weeks) students plugged their self-assessments into a spreadsheet to correlate with their grades on assignments. Theoretically, the effort put forth and the outcome of the grades should match up. This is a great way to get students motivated and excited about education. I believe the more the students get involved in the "whys" of education, the more they understand the "hows" of the way it works! This is a wonderful intrinsic motivator to use in a classroom!

In the second selection, "Homework and Practice," we were given several helpful web resources to aid in selection of multimedia outlets, remediation sites, and communication software services. Honestly, I was mostly intrigued with the fact that Microsoft Word can act as a search engine! I think the mentioned activities, such as using different resources available in Word to make sure the student's writing was on grade level was an excellent tool! Realistically, the ideas given in this chapter would not work well for my students. My students come from low income families; many without Internet connections at home. I do use some of the sites, such as BrainPop in my classroom to introduce and remediate topics with my students.

Overall, both chapters gave excellent ideas that were both tangible and useful. I think they all have a place in a classroom; some more easily than others. I look forward to trying some of them this year!

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.