When we began the semester and I read through the syllabus, I was definitely a little concerned about what I would do for my Individual Integration Project. Because I do not work in a classroom, I was concerned about how they dynamics would work and how I would be able to implement a lesson revolving around technology. A month in to the class, I am very pleased that my concerns are not as great anymore. I have met with two fourth grade Gifted and Talented Education teachers at two different schools in the district where my children attend school and they have agreed to let me use their classes as the test for my lesson. This is a huge help, as both teachers and classes are excited to be a part of the instruction.
For my project, we will be reviewing two math standards that are challenging for the 4th grade gifted students to comprehend immediately. The idea is for one class to focus on one standard while the other class focuses on the other standard. Each class will spend time learning one standard as they normally would through instruction by the teacher. Once they comprehend the standard (based on an assessment created by the teacher), they will get in groups of four and will create a presentation by using google docs and PowerPoint to explain the standard. They will then use the presentation to "teach" the other class across the district via Skype. To ensure mastery of the skill, there will be a rubric created between myself and the teachers involved.
I am looking forward to this project because I believe it will help bring LoTi awareness in to two 4th grade classrooms across a district that will hopefully spark more interest in other areas. I believe the students will enjoy not only using the computers for Skype, but also the ability to interact with students they don't normally work with. I also believe this will be a perfect example of allowing students to implement levels 1-4 of the ISTE Standards for Students.
As you are both teachers in the classroom, I would love to get your thoughts on the overall plan and any questions you have. What issues do you think I will have? Thanks for your help!
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
Wednesday, September 23, 2015
Blog #4: Thoughts/Concerns regarding assessing student learning
When I think about assessments, I think about pre-tests and post tests. Progress monitoring and Formative assessments. In each of these scenarios, there is a defined structure involved that plans to test knowledge before and after. What I enjoyed from the article "Rubrics, Portfolios, and Tests, Oh My!" is the notion of assessing the students along the way, or during the project based assignment. McGrath discusses the importance of getting feedback along the way, which is very similar to most of the Graduate classes I have taken at UGA. Many of our projects have been created in a way that each step is associated with a particular idea or lesson, and once we create a section we give feedback of our knowledge through our assignments. In Kopcha's Instructional Design class in particular, we create various Instructional Design Activities that allow us to show our understanding of the various ideas being taught in the class. I believe this to be a great way to assess along the way, as McGrath discusses. I also really enjoyed the IIP-Webpages with Examples project in Edit7500 because I had to evaluate my own work. I believe this to be a great example of how to assess students knowledge because I knew what was expected and was allowed to assess myself.
McGrath's article "Artifacts and Understanding" really helped tie in the purpose of our blogs that we have been creating in Edit7500. In a sense, we are creating our own artifacts based on our understanding and thoughts of the content. As McGrath states, "the artifact must involve constructing their own knowledge... and transformation of that knowledge." There is also relevance in reviewing our peers blogs because this allows us to observe others work and discuss together.
As it relates to the classroom, I believe students will enjoy not only knowing what is expected of them in a project, but also having the ability to understand the rubric so they can grade themselves. This will allow students to work hard to get the grade they would like to make. A concern in this area, is perhaps some students will work for the minimum grade if they know what is expected for an A, B, or C. If a student is only concerned with getting a passing grade instead of mastering a skill, they may only do the bare minimum.
Another concern I have with assessments in Project Based Learning is not all are equal in a group setting. I know Sara Armstrong discusses this concern in "Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning" by stating that students are able to separate their individual worth from the group, but I have found that often times in a group, a few do a lot while others do a little. I believe having individual assessments as well as group assessments will help with this issue.
McGrath's article "Artifacts and Understanding" really helped tie in the purpose of our blogs that we have been creating in Edit7500. In a sense, we are creating our own artifacts based on our understanding and thoughts of the content. As McGrath states, "the artifact must involve constructing their own knowledge... and transformation of that knowledge." There is also relevance in reviewing our peers blogs because this allows us to observe others work and discuss together.
As it relates to the classroom, I believe students will enjoy not only knowing what is expected of them in a project, but also having the ability to understand the rubric so they can grade themselves. This will allow students to work hard to get the grade they would like to make. A concern in this area, is perhaps some students will work for the minimum grade if they know what is expected for an A, B, or C. If a student is only concerned with getting a passing grade instead of mastering a skill, they may only do the bare minimum.
Another concern I have with assessments in Project Based Learning is not all are equal in a group setting. I know Sara Armstrong discusses this concern in "Geometry Students Angle into Architecture Through Project Learning" by stating that students are able to separate their individual worth from the group, but I have found that often times in a group, a few do a lot while others do a little. I believe having individual assessments as well as group assessments will help with this issue.
Wednesday, September 16, 2015
Blog 3: Reflections on Project Based Learning
As I have worked in the EdTech industry for several years now, I have come across several Project Based Learning companies that revolutionize the way standards are taught in the classroom. I love the idea of PBL's being "the main course" rather than the dessert because I have always learned better when teaching was hands on. One of my favorites to witness has been Lego Robotics because it combines one of my favorite "toys" in Legos and allows students to create based on assignments. The beauty of sites like Edutopia, as we discussed a few weeks back, is that they will give several resources and best practices of PBL's being taught across the country.
I enjoyed McGrath's "Designing to Learn" article in the way that it laid out the foundation of a good Project Based Learning process. The four steps she mentions, Design Skills, Planning, Audience, and Standards create a good picture of how a PBL should flow because it made clear what, where, who, how and why this is effective instruction. It was interesting that she focused on planning as being an area where students have the most difficult time focusing. I thought it was a great strategy to create a checklist during the planning stage, rather than an outline, because this seems more engaging for the student. She also mentions the audience and brings up a point that is repeated in the Instructional Design courses, and that is design and evaluate. It is the students' job to first create and then evaluate their creation. This is similar to what we are doing with our Integration Project where we create our webpage, and then we evaluate our own project.
I also enjoyed reading McGrath's other article "Launching a PBL Project" because she focuses on how to determine what projects will actually be a success. This does back to the basic principal of what we want to do with the 21st Century Learner and that is engage. Make sure the project is on topic with what you are trying to teach. Is this a project that your students are actually capable of accomplishing? Is it important? In other words, are you doing this just to engage, or is this actually important to the learner. And is it challenging? Creating a project that causes students to think and strive to work harder is a good thing for both the instructor and the student. Once a teacher can narrow down the focus of the project, the greater the likelihood of success the project will be.
What I enjoy the most about PBL's is it hits the 4 C's of the 21st Century Learner. Communication is key because the students must share ideas as they work together determining what to do in their project. Collaboration is utilized in PBL's because each student joins together to accomplish the task. Obviously Critical Thinking is used, as long as the project has rigor as mentioned in McGrath's "Launching" article above, because it should be challenging for the students. And finally, creativity is essential because that is the entire foundation behind Project Based Learning. The students are given projects in order to inspire them to create things that perhaps would not have been created without the opportunity.
I know Project Based Learning has become an idea for the 21st Century Learner, but I believe we did PBL a little in the early 90s when I was involved with Odyssey of the Mind. In our competition, we had to create a structure that could withstand weight being added repeatedly until the structure broke. This project allowed us to not only brainstorm about design, but also build and rebuild until we had a structure that was strong enough to hold the weight required. This kind of project I believe has led us to the current trend of interactive and engaging learning we see now in Project Based Learning.
I enjoyed McGrath's "Designing to Learn" article in the way that it laid out the foundation of a good Project Based Learning process. The four steps she mentions, Design Skills, Planning, Audience, and Standards create a good picture of how a PBL should flow because it made clear what, where, who, how and why this is effective instruction. It was interesting that she focused on planning as being an area where students have the most difficult time focusing. I thought it was a great strategy to create a checklist during the planning stage, rather than an outline, because this seems more engaging for the student. She also mentions the audience and brings up a point that is repeated in the Instructional Design courses, and that is design and evaluate. It is the students' job to first create and then evaluate their creation. This is similar to what we are doing with our Integration Project where we create our webpage, and then we evaluate our own project.
I also enjoyed reading McGrath's other article "Launching a PBL Project" because she focuses on how to determine what projects will actually be a success. This does back to the basic principal of what we want to do with the 21st Century Learner and that is engage. Make sure the project is on topic with what you are trying to teach. Is this a project that your students are actually capable of accomplishing? Is it important? In other words, are you doing this just to engage, or is this actually important to the learner. And is it challenging? Creating a project that causes students to think and strive to work harder is a good thing for both the instructor and the student. Once a teacher can narrow down the focus of the project, the greater the likelihood of success the project will be.
What I enjoy the most about PBL's is it hits the 4 C's of the 21st Century Learner. Communication is key because the students must share ideas as they work together determining what to do in their project. Collaboration is utilized in PBL's because each student joins together to accomplish the task. Obviously Critical Thinking is used, as long as the project has rigor as mentioned in McGrath's "Launching" article above, because it should be challenging for the students. And finally, creativity is essential because that is the entire foundation behind Project Based Learning. The students are given projects in order to inspire them to create things that perhaps would not have been created without the opportunity.
I know Project Based Learning has become an idea for the 21st Century Learner, but I believe we did PBL a little in the early 90s when I was involved with Odyssey of the Mind. In our competition, we had to create a structure that could withstand weight being added repeatedly until the structure broke. This project allowed us to not only brainstorm about design, but also build and rebuild until we had a structure that was strong enough to hold the weight required. This kind of project I believe has led us to the current trend of interactive and engaging learning we see now in Project Based Learning.
Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Blog 2: Using the LoTi framework to assess
Though I am not a teacher, I am very familiar with the LoTi
framework because of my relationship with Dr. Bill Daggett and my understanding
of his “Rigor and Relevance” model. We
have built our product to align to Quadrant A (skills acquisition) and discuss
with schools the importance of focusing on Quadrant D. As I travel the country and work to partner
with schools and school districts, we often evaluate schools based on their
LoTi level in order to determine if they will be a good fit for a partnership
with our company. Because we offer a
cloud-based program, most schools that are levels 0-1 and sometimes level 2 are
not a good fit because they do not have a good enough adoption of technology in
the classroom.
Because I am not a teacher in the classroom, I will assess
the LoTi levels of my daughters’ 4th grade classroom in her
school. Her class is designated for gifted
and high-achieving students so they are offered a more intense curriculum than
those in regular ed. Unfortunately, even
though her classroom has more options than most in her school, I believe her
class to be at Level 2 – Exploration. I
would like to see this grow to at least level 3 (which I will detail the plan
below).
The reason her classroom is classified as Level 2 is because
while they do utilize technology, it is only as an extension to the work they
are being assigned. Creating a
PowerPoint presentation every once in a while is encouraged, but not
required. Only the students who have the
prior knowledge or that have parents at home willing to help typically do
computer based projects. There are only
three computers in the classroom, so they are only utilized when the teacher
creates small group assignments. They
school had implemented a “Bring Your Own Device” initiative in years past, but
they have gone away from that this year. This could have moved the classroom to Level 3
had they still implemented BYOD.
Brooks
Wednesday, September 2, 2015
Blog #1 Technology Examples
I am excited to blog this week about examples of Educational Technology because this is what I focus on daily. Working in the EdTech world, I see hundreds of resources that are utilized in the classroom all over the country. Many are wonderful products, while others have significant flaws, either in design or in content. What I have found over the years viewing these resources is that the most important key to having a successful program is implementation. The product could be the best program out there, but if the teachers don't understand how to utilize the material, it will be a waste. I have also seen poorly designed products put in the hands of outstanding teachers and the students were able to show progress. As I mentioned, for a product to be effective, implementation is key.
The readings for this week, Apple and Edutopia, both offer great ideas in utilizing technology. Obviously Apple is synonymous with Educational Technology as they have been producing products for 30 years that have been used in the classroom. I remember playing Oregon Trail and Carmen San Diego 25 years ago on the old Apple II Computers in my elementary school. Today, with the integration of mobile classrooms, Apple still has the cutting edge with their iPad's and MacBooks. I am a fan of the concept behind "ConnectEd" because Apple is allowing students who may not be able to afford their expensive devices, the opportunity to own them. This allows all students the potential to benefit from 24/7 learning.
I like Edutopia because it is essentially a blog of resources for educators. They champion themselves as being the "What works in Education" and this claim is substantiated by the fact that it is educators who supply the resources. There are several resources offered daily from the education world that encourage, inspire, and teach ideas to transform the education experience. An example is an article written by Andrew Miller that encourages assessment in the classroom, but not of academics. Miller recommends assessing based on interest of the student. This, and countless other articles, transforms the way teachers today can teach their classroom.
2 examples of resources that can be utilized in the classroom:
Stride Academy - (Full disclosure: This is the program of the company that I work for). Stride is an incredible resource for teachers looking to engage their students in state-aligned content. Utilizing interactive cloud-based video games, Stride differentiates instruction for each student through grade-based content, while allowing students to compete in game play. Teachers receive very detailed data based on the student's progress and are able to assign quizzes and create content focused small groups.
Class Dojo - Class Dojo is a tool that my children's school utilizes. It is an instant way for teachers and students to interact with parents during the school day. Students work hard for positive "Dojo" points, that once rewarded are emailed immediately to parents. The same happens for poor behavior, as the students can earn negative "Dojo" points. This has been extremely effective for my 5-year-old son, as we know the second he comes home how he behaved during the day. Teachers also have the ability to send pictures of the students working on projects home to the parents. My wife and I have enjoyed this tool that our school has provided.
I am looking forward to reading the other blogs from the class to get more ideas to share with schools across the country. Thanks for reading!
Brooks
The readings for this week, Apple and Edutopia, both offer great ideas in utilizing technology. Obviously Apple is synonymous with Educational Technology as they have been producing products for 30 years that have been used in the classroom. I remember playing Oregon Trail and Carmen San Diego 25 years ago on the old Apple II Computers in my elementary school. Today, with the integration of mobile classrooms, Apple still has the cutting edge with their iPad's and MacBooks. I am a fan of the concept behind "ConnectEd" because Apple is allowing students who may not be able to afford their expensive devices, the opportunity to own them. This allows all students the potential to benefit from 24/7 learning.
I like Edutopia because it is essentially a blog of resources for educators. They champion themselves as being the "What works in Education" and this claim is substantiated by the fact that it is educators who supply the resources. There are several resources offered daily from the education world that encourage, inspire, and teach ideas to transform the education experience. An example is an article written by Andrew Miller that encourages assessment in the classroom, but not of academics. Miller recommends assessing based on interest of the student. This, and countless other articles, transforms the way teachers today can teach their classroom.
2 examples of resources that can be utilized in the classroom:
Stride Academy - (Full disclosure: This is the program of the company that I work for). Stride is an incredible resource for teachers looking to engage their students in state-aligned content. Utilizing interactive cloud-based video games, Stride differentiates instruction for each student through grade-based content, while allowing students to compete in game play. Teachers receive very detailed data based on the student's progress and are able to assign quizzes and create content focused small groups.
Class Dojo - Class Dojo is a tool that my children's school utilizes. It is an instant way for teachers and students to interact with parents during the school day. Students work hard for positive "Dojo" points, that once rewarded are emailed immediately to parents. The same happens for poor behavior, as the students can earn negative "Dojo" points. This has been extremely effective for my 5-year-old son, as we know the second he comes home how he behaved during the day. Teachers also have the ability to send pictures of the students working on projects home to the parents. My wife and I have enjoyed this tool that our school has provided.
I am looking forward to reading the other blogs from the class to get more ideas to share with schools across the country. Thanks for reading!
Brooks
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