My Game Plan

My goal is to develop confidence in the following two areas of the NETS-T standard: Standard 1, Creativity an Innovation; Standard 4, Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Making Decisions. I develop confidence by researching, and applying that knowledge. The more I apply the new skills the better I become and therefore become more confident. I do not consider myself to be a creative and innovative thinker, although I have a considerable real life experience in the application of math. If my students are to become critical thinkers, creative and innovative problem solvers I must show them the way through the development of lesson plans that involve authentic learning experiences. I intend to develop a closer working relationship with the schools technology specialist and look for suggestions as to how to more effectively utilize technology in the classroom.

There are three ways in which I can monitor my progress to wards the goals I have set for myself. The first is the development and review of the lesson plans I develop that involve authentic learning experiences, the second is through self-reflection and finally the development of a portfolio that contains the lesson plans I have developed, reflections on those lesson plans.

Through the review of the lesson plans and reflections I will be able to evaluate my progress towards becoming more confident in the use of technology in the classroom and the development of my own skills as a self-directed learner.

Final Reflection on Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology

Reflecting on my personal learning theory I have come to understand why certain strategies work better than others. Referring back to what Dr. Wolf (2008) stated, that we as teachers know what strategies work but we don’t know why, I think I have a better understanding of why they do work. I also feel that technology plays a very important part in the education of our students and during this course I integrated more technology into my theory of learning, in my classroom and applied some of the strategies discussed.

Since begin this course I have integrated technology in my classroom first by utilizing Powerpoint presentations as an instructional tool. The school I teach at recently purchased twenty Netbooks for teachers to use, I will be using them as a learning and instructional tool with my students twice a week for the remainder of the school year. I have also been spending a considerable amount of time searching out math web-sites and have integrated there use in to my instructional strategies. I have also introduced my students to concept mapping as a means of summarizing topics and concepts to reinforce what they have learned and as a way to assess their understanding.

As Dr. Orey (2008) stated there are to ways technology tools can be used; as an instructional tool and a learning tool. I would like to be able to use a Smartboard, Elmo, web based concept mapping, and Voice Threads. The Smartboard can be used as both an instructional tool and learning tool. The Elmo is used primarily as a teaching tool but it is also possible for the students to use it by sharing their knowledge with their fellow students. Web based concept mapping is another tool I have used as a strategy by having my students construct concept maps as way to summarize new concepts and topics they have just been introduced to. Developing project that allow the students to use various concepts the use of a Smartboard are endless, it can be used as both an instructional tool and learning tool.

Long-term goal changes I would like to make to my instructional practice regarding technology integration and outline a strategy for achieving them. One long term goal I have is to shift my instructional practice from a behaviorist and cognitive learning approach to more of a constructionist approach to learning. The second long-term goal is to improve my skills a utilizing the nine clusters of strategies as described by Dr. Pickering (2008). My strategy for accomplishing these goals is to complete the Masters of Science in Integrating Technology in the Classroom program, utilize the skills I have acquired and continues with my own personal research in learning theories and technology teaching strategies.

Laureate Education, Inc. (2007) Programs 10,11,. Instructional Strategies, Part One. Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology

Voice Threads for the Classroom

What a great way for students to collaborate on Pre-Algebra concepts and topics. I found creating Voice Thread to be fairly simple and the possible applications to be unlimited. Studnets can creat them to communicate ideas, and too express their understanding of new concepts. Some of the possible applications involving math education and tool to be used would be Powerpoint presentations. The work can be complete with paper and pencil, scaned and the place in a Voice Thread explaining how they solved the problem. Projects can be completed and then presented as a Vooce Thread. I also feel Voice Threads can be used in conjunction with almost all of the current Learning Theories we have discussed; Behaviorists Learning Theory, Cognitive Learning Theory, Constructionist Learning Theory, and Connectivism as a learning theory.
http://voicethread.com/#e896538

Constructioism Learning Theory and pre-algbra

There is no doubt in my mind that there are strong advantages to applying Constructioism Learning Theory. I am stuck on the value of that theory in the math classroom, I am referring to the development or the discovery of time honored concepts. I feel I need more solid proof that students can construct and understand math concepts. An example would be developing an understanding of polynomials, and quadratic equations. Although they would be able to take those concepts and identify practical applications, they still need instruction in the development of the concept. Is it possible to integrate technology sufficiently enough through constructionist so the students acquire the necessary understanding?

Cognitive Learning Theory

I found Cognitive Learning Theory to be very straight forward as described by Dr. Orey (2007). Especially the information processing model; sensory input, information entering into short term memory, rehearsal and in doing so information is sent to long-term memory. The objective, I feel is to be able to developed strategies in one lesson that are directed towards and incorporates all three types of long term memory. Which are; declarative, facts and information; procedural, how to do things; and episodic, events in a students life (Orey 2007).

Behavioist Learning as it Relates to the Classroom

Theoretically and practically speaking behaviorist learning does have a place in today’s classroom. If one considers Dr. Wolf’s (2008) discussion on how the brain works, how connections are strengthened, memories are created, and recall is made possible. Behaviorists learning theory emphasizes changes in behavior that result from stimulus-response association made by the learner (Standridge, 2010). Typically students need about twenty-four practice sessions with a skill in order to achieve 80% competency (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, Malenoski, 2007). If we consider a middle school math class, then yes behaviorist’s theory can be applied into practice. There are some skills that need to become procedural and others that must be declarative in nature. Example of procedural would be proficiency in the four basic math operations; adding, subtracting, multiplication and division. As a math teacher I expect my students to be able respond to problems involving the use of those skills quickly.

After having spent some time reviewing the Behaviorism-based Learning Resources: Classroom.JC-Schools.net and WebMATH supplied in our recourse section I feel that type of technology has a place in education. I reviewed programs involved in math operations practice and basic algebra problems. If the student entered in a wrong answer the program would give the correct one and then the student could proceed. This approach follows the description given by Dr. Orey’s presentation on behaviorists theory (2008), a small bit of information is presented, a question is asked; the math problem, a decision is made as to the right answer, and the student is rewarded if the answer is correct.

Reflection on Technology and it's use in the Classroom

I think the first and most important and significant part of what I learned in this course has to do with shedding light on the way in which our students, the students of the 21 st century learn. I believe it was Dr. Dede who pointed out that there are now three types of thinkers; linear, web, and gaming (Dr. Dede 2008). That piece of information has caused me to adjust the thought process that takes place when I design a lesson. And when doing so I need to take into consideration the change in how our students learn. Understanding my student’s habits of mind and changing my own is a necessary step that has to be taken to be able to provide my students with the tools they will need in the 21 st century.

I have just scratched the surface of developing my skills in the use of technology. Before beginning this course I had heard about blogging but didn’t really understand how to do it, or the significance and impact it has had and will continue to have on education, from sharing ideas with other teaching professionals, to student communicating ideas and discovering new way to do thing and to do different things (Thornburg 2008). I knew of Wikipedia but again did not realize the significance of the tool when applied to education, learning and student research. The most interesting and productive application of technology as an educational tool in the classroom, encountered in this course was podcasting. I have thought of applying the creation of podcasts for math education by developing instructional mathematics lessons that my students participate in and can access from home.

At the level of math that I teach, 8th grade Pre-Algebra, I am having a difficult time understanding how to changing from a teacher-centered approach to a student-centered approach to teaching. I say this because at this level of teaching there still some basic skill development that needs to take place. There is the possibility of using games specifically designed for skill development, but I think a significant amount of research on my part needs to be done to find those games that can be adapted to my curriculum.

By completing the ITC program at Walden and possibly taking additional technology classes I will be developing the necessary tools needed to prepare my students for the 21 st century job market. I can also continue to increase my knowledge of the use of technology in he classroom by participating in educational blogs that deal with my content area. At some point in the future I am sure I will be able to introduce my students to the use of classroom blogging and researching for information on the web, but first I have to become familiar and comfortable with the use of technology in the classroom.

The first long term goal I have set for myself is to ask administration to get the sixty computers the school has ready for use with the school network. Once that is accomplished then I need to get the computers in my classroom for my students to use. I have also begun developing lessons for the students using power point presentations. That may seem like doing things differently but I have taken it one step further. I have included audio with the presentations and downloaded the presentation to my schools remote desk top. This has two purposes one of which is so the student can access the presentations if they need to refresh their memory of the class presentation. The second, is for those students who have been absent, they now have access to what was done in the classroom. Finally, the second goal is to have students work collaboratively on math projects that have real life applications that may or may not involve research on the web. Once the projects have been completed the students can then post the final artifact on the classroom blog.