Ana's Blog

Focus question: How can teachers create PowerPoint presentations for maximum teaching potential and learning impact?

PowerPoint is a presentation software that is a standard feature on computers. PowerPoint presentations is a powerful way to engage students in classrooms. It displays visual information such as colorful graphics, pop-up or slide-in windows, texts, images, and videos. Teachers can “transform still photographs and scanned images into movie-like viewing experiences by adding narration features and text” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011).

PowerPoint can be used for any grade level. When I was in history class, my teacher created a PowerPoint Jeopardy game. It was a great way to engage us by learning history through a game and having us participate. Teachers can also use images to generate class discussion, promote visual analysis of discussion topics, display questions or comments for short writing assignments, use slides as attention-getters, and develop learning games.

Most of my classes require me to create a PowerPoint and then presented to the class. This a great way to put the students skills to use and get them to participate in class. Teachers can also just use images throughout the slides with only a short title. It’s a way to get students attention while you discuss the picture, tell stories, provide essential facts, and explain concepts.

Photo credit to Wikimedia Commons.

Tech Tool link: Digital Projectors and Document Cameras

During my observation hours, I noticed that many classrooms are equipped with a digital projector or a document camera. These two technologies are very helpful when it comes to engaging the students. A document camera allows the teacher to project material onto the whiteboard and students to share their work. For example, a teacher is reading a book that contains images, the document camera will allow her to show the class the images. A digital projector displays materials from a computer onto the board. It projects websites, pictures, and videos. The teacher can also make notes on the computer for the students to view.

Summary & Connection:

This chapter explores about using multimedia and digital technologies to present and share information. Students often multimodal learn, which means that the teacher combines spoken words with visuals, written text, audio, simulations, or models. Schools today consists of multimedia technologies.

PowerPoint presentations has many advantages and disadvantages. Some of the advantages include providing short summaries of key points, visual dimension, easy to use, available on most computers, and text can be combined with pictures, charts, and graphs. Teachers can use a digital projector or a document camera to display images and material content. Teachers can also use videos for classroom instruction, which offers ways to present information. YouTube, handcrafted videos, TeacherTube, PBS learning media, The Futures Channel, and SnagLearning are all video websites that teachers can utilize.

The article further discusses about podcast, which can be used to listen to audio recordings. Podcast can be accessed from computers or portable media players. Students can create an alphabet book or a concept book by using digital cameras. Teachers can invite students to make digital videos and tell digital stories, which are exciting teaching approaches.

Resources:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Focus question: How can teachers use email or text messaging to foster information exchanges with and among students?

Teachers can exchange information with students not only by phone or meetings, but by emails and text messages. Emails are messages sent between people using the Internet. Text messaging are “real-time typed text interactions between people using computers or mobile devices like cell phones or personal digital assistants” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). Emails are mainly used for business networking, family talk, recreational pursuits, and workplace communication. Emails are used more among adults and text messaging is used among teens. Teachers have the opportunity to exchange information through text messages and get the student’s attention. They will be able to read about it, instead of just ignoring it when the teacher sends it through email.

Adolescents use textspeak or digitalk, which are abbreviated words for quick communication. Personally, I dislike when people use textspeak all the time. I find it unnecessary to shorten words such as for, together, you, today, great, and other ones. Researchers in England found that the use of textisms was positive, which was related to gains in reading proficiency among youngsters. According to the researchers, youngsters will develop phonological awareness, use of printed words, and standard literacy in English.

Teachers have a record of what they wrote and what was written back when they send out emails. Everyone will have a reason to respond with school-related questions and comments with standard spelling and appropriate language. Emails allow teachers to revise and compose a reply or message. Students have the opportunity to ask questions and get responses from experts using Ask a Historian and Ask an Earth Scientists. A teacher can hold online office hours where they respond to questions that the students have asked. They also use it to discuss homework or class assignments electronically. Teachers can use text messaging to teach about spelling. Instead of banning the use of cellphones, some educators see it as an opportunity to build better relationships, cooperative environment, and meaningful educational experiences.

Tech Tool link: Website and Blog-Building Resources for Teachers.

The article shares some approaches to begin your own teacher website or blog. Approach 1 is about website and blog-building software. You need to purchase and download this type of software. These programs enable teachers to build personal websites from basic to sophisticate. An example of a website and blog-building software is Dreamweaver. Approach 2 is the option of commercially available templates. TaskStream and eBlogger allow users to create many features and functions, but doesn’t produce the variety or quality of graphics. Approach 2 offers the user added features of being password protected and ready-made publication portal. The last approach is open-source software, which is a free online management system for educators.

Summary & Connection:

This chapter explores different ways teachers can communicate with students using technology. It shows how teachers can share ideas and information online and in the classroom. Teachers have the choice to use emails, text messaging, teacher or classroom websites, blogs, online discussions, and wikis to teach students. Teachers need to know the similarities and differences between synchronous and asynchronous electronic communication. Asynchronous communications have a time delay such as emails, online discussions, or blogs. Synchronous communications don’t have a time delay, but occur in real time. Two examples include cell phone conversations and text messages.

Most educators engage in educational networking, which is used for educational and professional development purposes. They can use this network in productive ways like teacher-to-teacher discussions about curriculum and instruction, book groups and literature circles, and group editing of projects and writing. This social network can be either public or private. Teachers can use electronic communications to engage students, share information with families, and publish student work.

I understand how blogs and websites work and how they are helpful. Class websites are focused mainly on student work. It gives them a chance to publish their work and pursue any interest they have in the subject. Class websites provides students with information about homework, dates for exams, and dates for school events. Teaching blogs or blogs in general provides users a way to post information and ideas as a journal.

The chapter further discusses on how to create your own blog and design decision in building a teaching blog. Schools use websites to show their mission statement, grade-level curriculum expectations and standards, the names and backgrounds of faculty and staff, and a schedule of academic and extracurricular events. Teaching blogs are used for students and their families about events and coursework. A wiki, on the other hand, is used by a group of people. They are allowed to read, revise, visit, and update the content and structure of the Wiki.

Resources:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Focus question: What are the standard and open-source software applications available on most computers?

Most computers contain standard and open-source software applications. Software is a collection of codes that tells the computer’s hardware what functions to perform. An example is word processing, which tells a computer to do whatever we request such as editing, writing, and publishing.

System and application software are two main types of software. System software is the overall functioning and control of a computer. It is responsible for the operating system, network operating system, database managers, and TP monitor. Specific functions that are performed in specialized ways to produce various services is application software. Application software includes word processing, databases, spreadsheets, slides, presentations, Internet browsing, email management, movie making, DVD burning, and etc.

Open-source software is “open for the public to use, copy, and recreate” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). Source codes are free to users and software developers that are made by individuals and organizations. Examples of open-source software are Linux, FreeBSD, OpenOffice, Mozilla Firefox, OpenOffice Writer, OpenOffice Impress, Xess Spreadsheet, and etc.

Standard software applications are available on most computers and are indispensable tools. For example, Microsoft Word is a standard software. I use this software on a daily basis for assignments. Other standard software are computerized tools, tax preparation software, design programs, real-time data, and interactive models of meteorological patterns. Jobs in today’s society use computers and other information technologies.

Tech Tool link: Discovery Learning Using Squeak and Scratch

The article explores about how teachers search for different open-ended web tools that promote problem solving and inquiry learning by students. These tools will engage students with learning using resources. The article offers two open-ended opportunities for K-8 students to create and explore on the computer. Squeak Etoys is one of the open-source that supports inquiry learning and problem solving. Scratch provides tools which enables students to create their own games, animated stories, and interactive art.

Summary & Connection:

This chapter discusses about how problem solving and inquiry learning is supported by educational software, apps, and learning games. Teachers need to incorporate educational software to engage students in problem solving. An example would be students looking up source documents in history class. It gives students the opportunity to undertake inquiry-based activities similar to the work of professionals in those fields. Problem solving and inquiry learning can be engaging when teachers incorporate the student’s own interests.

Computers contain system software and application, which are the two main type of software. Most computers have standard software and open-source software. Schools purchase educational software to install on a network. Most schools don’t allow teachers to add their own software or they have to ask permission before using it. Teachers need to evaluate software and apps before using it. They first need to ask themselves, “Will the child program the computer or will the computer program the child?” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). By evaluating the software, teachers understand what happens educationally when students use it. Teachers can use online resources for selecting software such as Edudemic Directory, Entertainment Software Rating Board, EvaluTech, and StopBadware.org. These online resources give reviews and feedback on different educational software.

The chapter further explores about digital learning games and tutoring systems. Digital learning game are designed with educational and entertainment goals. Teachers use digital learning games to motivate students and challenge them to problem solve. Students often tune out teachers and educational games provides them both education and entertainment. There are two types of digital games which are Internet- or browser-based games and desktop-based games. Math Blaster, The “House” Series, Zoombinis, and Raft Race Challenge are examples of learning games and apps. Teachers should minimize the use of games that teach isolated skills, examine games that function solely on points won or lost, and discuss games and their content. ITS, Intelligent tutoring systems, are programs that enable students to answer questions and then the computer records their responses and makes predictions. This program allows teachers and students to see how learning is progressing in real time. Intelligent tutoring systems are very effective with improving student learning.

Resources:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Focus question: How can teachers benefit from using information management technologies such as bookmarking, social bookmarking, information alerts, and e-newsletters?

Information management means “a business term generally used to describe how organizations and systems keep track of data for making decisions and setting policies” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). Teachers and students need to consider information management when using learning resources provided by websites. They need a way to store, sort, select, and summarize information they find.

A teacher is always finding educational information online and they need to store it somewhere. Bookmarking is a great tool for this kind of task. It offers ways to find information and organize it. Web browsers contain bookmarking to save websites that you visit frequently. I have Google Chrome and use the bookmark option almost every day. I’m able to go back and find the websites I have bookmarked. Teachers can use LiveBinders or URList to create lists of URLs and share them with students.

Social bookmarking is another great tool, which allows more than just bookmarking on one computer. It enables users to bookmark online and be able to access it all times. Social bookmarking is a public list instead of a private list. An example of a social bookmark is Delicious. Teachers will find that social bookmarking will be better than using bookmarks from one computer. It enables them to access whichever website they saved from anywhere at any time.

Teachers can use information alert to receive announcements about new information on a topic. An information alert is an electronic notice that announces new information that becomes available online. Google Alerts is offered to users that have Google accounts for free. E-newsletters is similar to information alerts. It appears free in the user’s email on a regular basis once they signed up to receive them.

Tech Tool link: Social Bookmarking Resources and Apps

The article discusses about social bookmarking for teachers, which are useful information management strategies. It offers websites such as Delicious, netTrekker Search, Diigo, and Goodreads. I have been introduced to Delicious and I find it useful in my everyday life. Delicious organizes the bookmarks in one place and allows users to add tags. The tags are supposed to remind the user where something is on the website. Diigo is another useful social bookmarking website. It allows users to highlight portions of pages, add sticky notes, use tags, share resources, and bookmark sites.

Summary & Connection:

This chapter explores about how teachers can benefit from using information management technologies. These are bookmarking, social bookmarking, information alerts, and e-newsletters that teachers can use. This will help teachers organize information that they will need to prepare lessons. Teachers will be able to bookmark websites from any computer using social bookmarking.

Webquests are online inquiries designed and guided by teachers for students. It enables students to follow an “electronic map or take an online tour” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). Webquests are designed for students to access academic information digitally and assess what they find. These online inquiries requires five steps: stage setting, task, process, evaluation, and conclusion. Students will be expected to create while on the quests. Students don’t have to leave their class or school for field trips because they can use virtual field trip. Virtual field trips take students to places all over the world. Some students go on virtual schools while others meet with their professors. Teachers can use videoconferencing for students that are unable to visit.

The chapter further discusses six different types of educational websites that support inquiry and interactivity. Educational websites are designed with K-12 learning goals. For digital content a teacher finds on the Web, they can develop a system of categories. Educational websites are divided into six categories: lesson plan sites, student-to-expert communication sites, real-time and recorded data sites, archival and primary source sites, skills/practice sites, and student work publishing sites.

Resources:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Focus question: What are search engines and how do they work?

Search engines are software programs that retrieve information from the internet. For example, Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Ask.com, Yippy, Webopedia, Dogpile, and Mahalo are all different search engines. These search engines “uses networks of computers to access information from its databases” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011).

Search engines enable users to search for documents on the World Wide Web by typing in keywords. Keywords are used to locate matching webpages and specify searches. It focuses on specific categories and not general categories. More than 90% of people use search engines to locate information. Google is one of the favorite search engines used over others. I use Google for everything and I’ve never used other ones.

Teachers and students are able to use other search engines that allow them to focus on academic topics. For example, Internet Public Library, Voice of the Shuttle, Artcyclopedia, Library of Congress American Memory, and Open Library. These are specialized search engines that is academically valuable.

Search engines uses complex formulas to generate search results. Upon typing a keyword and searching, “query results in the form of active hyperlinks are displayed once the search is complete” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). It uses algorithm, which takes key elements of a web page and come up with a ranking for where to place the results on the pages. These algorithms are always going through revision and modification. These search engines use underlying HTML structure to determine relevance such as text.

Tech Tool link: Photos and Audio Resources on the Web.

The article discusses about how pictures and sound are great resources for teaching. It’s a way to engage students and get them to understand the ideas a teacher is trying to communicate. Flickr, LibriVox, and Creative Commons are websites that will help the teacher access photo and audio sources. Flickr is basically an online photo managing and sharing tool. LibriVox contains free audio recordings of books. Creative Commons is a website that consists of photos and videos.

Summary & Connection:

This chapter discusses about how to use the Internet for teaching, learning, and developing information in schools. Teachers use educational information to develop lively curricula and be able to answer students. Students use information to write essays, take exams, acquire knowledge, and develop personal talents.

People acquired information by books, newspapers, magazines, libraries, classes in school, conferences, and presentations. We still use these, but we have turned towards the Internet for information. It’s fast, simple, and easy to just type in a word and get immediate results. I believe it’s important for teachers and students to develop digital literacies. They will be able to locate, gather, organize, interpret, synthesize, manage, present, use, and evaluate information from the Internet.

The chapter further discusses what search engines are and how they work. It provides search engines that are focused on educational topics. When searching, you have three ways to search the Internet: free-text, keyword/exact match, and Boolean. A teacher needs to introduce students to search sites designed for them, teach them to critically evaluate results, and use visual search tools. Students can use electronic note-taking to recall information they have located during searches. For example, NoteStar, Evernote, and OneNote are all different electronic note-taking programs.

Teachers need to teach students ways on how to evaluate online materials for slant, bias, and purpose of information. Schools censor, filter, partitions, and label information so that students can search safely. In order to evaluate a website, students should consider these five criteria: accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage. They also need to recognize the URL such as .com, .biz, .org, .gov, .net, .edu, .mil, .info, .k12, .ca, .uk, and .nz.

Schools focuses on teaching students how to think and act as digital citizens. Schools have adopted Acceptable Use Policies, which states how technology is used and what the consequences are for breaking the rules. Teachers have to teach their students about copyright, fair use, plagiarism and cheating. Cyberbullying can occur to students while they use the Internet. That’s why as teachers, we need to have a zero tolerance policy to online communications. We need to teach students the negative consequences that cyberbullying causes.

Resources:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

What is a search engine? (n.d.). Retrieved from http://designhammer.com/services/seo-guide/search-engines

Focus question: How are lesson planning and student assessment enhanced by technology?

Lesson design and development is a concept used for activities that teachers do to create, teach, and evaluate lessons with students. Lesson design and development using technology includes how educators will use electronic resources to enable academic content, teaching goals, methods, procedures, and learning assessments. With technology, teachers can enhance their lesson plans with greater visual and auditory elements.

Academic content means the facts, concepts, ideas, skills, and understandings that teachers will decide to share with students. State and national curriculum define what will be taught in the classroom, but not entirely. Teachers must choose what will be explained and explored every day. Educators will be using technology on what to teach. They will be able to search for an immense collection of curriculum resources and information.

After teachers know what to teach, they will now decide the teaching goals, methods, and procedures they will use. An educator needs to set a goal because it’s the reason why a lesson is being taught. In order to achieve the goal, a method will be used to convey academic content to students. Then procedures will be set by the teacher and how much time will be spent on each activity. Goals, methods, and procedures are combined into formats for daily learning. Technology supports lesson development by: presentation software, visual thinking software, web-based diagram, flowchart-making tools, teacher-developed websites, threaded discussions and email, podcasts, blogs, wikis, interactive software, webquests, intelligent tutoring systems, digital cameras, movie-making software, and assistive technologies.

Before, during, and after teaching lessons a learning assessments can occur. Teachers evaluate student knowledge, understanding, and performance by using learning assessments. Learning assessments can be summative, formative, and diagnostic. Summative is a summary of what students have learned at the end of the lesson. Formative is happening as a lesson unfolds, while diagnostic is preceding a lesson to measure what students already know. Assessment and evaluation process can be supported by technology tools, which include: electronic tests and quizzes, gradekeeping software, digital portfolios, student response systems, online surveys, and learning performance rubrics.

Tech Tool link: Web Resources and Apps for Lesson Planning.

The article discusses about how online resources can help new teachers organize learning experiences for students. It also mentions that online resources offer examples on how to incorporate the ideas into classroom activities. The article provides web resources and apps to start creating lessons and to expand our knowledge as a teacher. Annenberg Learning is a multimedia curriculum resource, which contain lesson plans, interactive activities, and videos for classroom use. My Lesson Plan is an app that uses customizable templates to support lesson planning.

Summary & Connection:

This chapter explores how teachers plan, construct, deliver, and evaluate lessons. It discusses how teachers can engage students and incorporate technology into the lessons. A teacher should be able to use technology to enhance academic content, learning assessments, teaching goals, methods, and procedures. Technology plays an important role in lesson development.

In lesson planning there are two different approaches—student learning objectives or Understanding by Design (UBD). Student learning objectives are the planned outcomes of your activities, not the activities themselves. A teacher will identify teaching methods, write out lesson procedures, and state what kind of assessments will be used. Understanding by Design is set forth in a series of books by educators Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. There are three main components that UBD has: identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, and plan learning experiences and instruction. Lesson plans on topics and ideas for engaging students in learning are available via the Internet. Technology provides a way to access lesson-planning templates using UBD and student learning objective models.

The chapter addresses on how teachers assess and evaluate students. Educators are always designing ways to assess what students are learning. There are two contexts that teachers discuss evaluation and assessment: “what teachers do as they finish a lesson or unit to evaluate and grade student performance, and what teachers do throughout a lesson or unit as they constantly monitor student performance” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). This helps the teachers to determine who is struggling and who is not. Teachers are influenced by three factors about assessment: personal experiences, standardized testing, and teacher tests. It’s impossible for a teacher to determine what students think. Some educators believe that test assessments best define what students know or is able to do, while others believe in performance assessments.

Resources:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.

Fbraid. (2008, February 25). Building technology enhanced lessons. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/fbraid/building-technology-enhanced-lessons97-03

Focus question: What are the essential ideas for teachers from research on the science of learning?

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School is a book that extended research on the science of learning. The research is based on social psychology, cognitive psychology, anthropology neuroscience, and technology. It explains that from young, humans are goal-directed who always seek information.

One of the essential ideas that a teacher should have is constructivism, which means construction of new knowledge based on what they already know. In order to reach out to the students, they need to associate new knowledge with ideas and information the students already know. For example, instead of telling facts about the earth revolving around the sun, the teacher should take the students out to observe. This way the teacher starts to build a process of new knowledge. The students begin get involved both physically and cognitively in the learning process. This is called active learning, in which the students start to pursue questions about the topic. Active learning has three main implications for teachers: they must know and work with understandings that students bring with them, they must teach subject matter in depth with examples, and the teaching of metacognitive skills should be integrated into the curriculum.

Educators tend to follow one or four combinations of the learning theories. Constructivism is that a person constructs and interprets the world in their own way. Behaviorism “maintains that learning is a set of changes in human behavior created as a response to events in the environment” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011). On the other hand, cognitivism claims that nonobservable and internal constructs influence learning. Seymour Papert created the term constructionism, which holds that learners build their own knowledge and add the ideas as public entities.

Learning for the 21st Century! Bluesofamedia Channel

Tech Tool link: Web Resources and Apps for Developing Digital Literacies.

The article offers a website called Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus, which allows students to research word meanings and their connections to other words using a mapping program. In a World…Drama, is an app that enables students to create a movie trailer with their own title and rating. The article provides websites, apps, and e-Books for developing digital literacies.

Summary & Connection:

Chapter three discusses the research on the science of learning and four learning theories teachers follow as they use technology in teaching. It also explains how technology makes transformative learning possible in K-12. The National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) central goal is transformative learning with technology.

I believe that transforming learning with technology is important. Teachers need to create opportunities for students by engaging them in learning, such as: thinking critically, problem solving, developing digital literacies, communicating and collaborate electronically, and express themselves creatively. Technology enables teachers and students to express their creativity using pictures, symbols, numbers, and generated words. Teachers and students are able to create PowerPoint presentations and be creative with it.

The chapter further discusses about digital citizenship, which means membership in a society or a country. Just like a citizen, a digital citizens has rights and responsibilities. These rights include writing, photos, and graphic designs are subject to copyright protection. It is important to know that you cannot “falsely present another person’s work as one’s own, or share confidential information without permission” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, 2011).

Resources:

Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P. (2011). Transforming learning with new technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.