Posts

My Goals in EDT 619

Image
My 3 Personal Goals Intro -  I will admit that I bit off WAY more than I could chew with these projects. I did not expect to be so busy during this Fall semester. Although I still made very good progress on these goals, I did not completely finish them as I had hoped! Ambition is good to have though! Goal 1 -  My first goal was to create a blog that others go to so that they can learn more about my teaching style and thoughts on certain topics. After reading more in this course, I think that a Social Media page would have been a great idea to start making!   I am going to be using this current blog as a foundational point for my teaching blog. I will keep the current posts online so that myself and others are able to see where I've come from in my teaching philosophy. Goal 2 -  My second goal was to create a new learning module in my classroom utilizing media that has not been used yet in this particular program. For this goal, I wanted to dive more into Minecra...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Future of Digital Learning

Image
Emerging Trends     Recently, I've noticed an increase in the use of classroom tools such as Khan Academy, SplashLearn, Prodigy, etc. These tools are valuable when it comes to individualized learning. It's not easy for a teacher to create a lesson that is adaptive to every student's learning ability and meets them where they are at. By using these tools, the online program knows where each student is at in their learning and has lessons developed specifically for where they are.      Of course, this does not come without it's downsides. I've also seen teachers fall victim to using these tools as crutches, rather than as supplemental tools. When teachers rely on these tools too much, they know less and less about each student because they are not actually teaching the materials or using the tools in a supplemental manor.      The role of an educator in an era of digital learning is to guide students through these tools, and to assist them in u...
1 comment
Read more

Participatory Culture

Image
 Participatory Culture: What is it?     Participatory Culture is a very important addition to learning in classrooms. It allows students to express their artistic desires to produce the learning experience they want. Jenkins describes Participatory Culture as the following: Relatively low barrier to artistic expression and civic engagement Strong support for creating and sharing one's creations with others Has some type of informal mentorship that passes knowledge from the most experienced to the novices Members believe that their contributions matter Members feel some degree of social connection with one another Of all of these defining points, I believe the most important is the second one. The foundation of participatory culture revolves around the group aspect, so sharing creations with each other is crucial How can it be embraced in classrooms?     Participatory Culture has an important role in classrooms if utilized correctly. Teachers can separate student...
1 comment
Read more

Mid-Term Reflection

Image
  What Do We Know About Children And Technology?      The article "What Do We Know About Children And Technology" provides a deep dive into the current resources we have that detail the effects of technology on children. The article seeks to answer the question of "What are the impacts of technology on children, and how can screens impact their growth and development?"    The Goldilocks Effect      One of the main concepts this article talks about is the "Goldilocks effect". The Goldilocks Effect proposes that there is a "right" amount of technology for children to use. In the graph below, you will see that mental well-being increases to a peak at 1 hour of daily digital-screen engagement, and then decreases from there. This shows that a Goldilocks Effect is quite real, and more research should be done on various parts of technology to find that sweet spot.      Video Games and Children     Video games have gone throu...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ordinary Experience vs. "An" Experience

Image
 Ordinary Experience      An ordinary experience is something that is a part of our mundane everyday life. In these ordinary experiences, participants are just going through the motions and not fully engaged in the activity they are doing. It is easy to become complacent in these experiences and not get a truly fulfilling learning experience.  "An" Experience      "An" experience is something that is truly different from the everyday routine. "An" experience has the potential to be transformative and completely change the way someone learns. This can be extremely useful to someone that is struggling with their current way of learning.  "An" Example      One example of "an" experience that I've had the fortune of going through is High School Band Day. Western Michigan University Bronco Marching Band hosts an event every year called "High School Band Day". This is an event where any high school can send their students to par...
Post a Comment
Read more

Wise Integration of Technology

Image
 Wise Integration of Technology SAMR Model      The SAMR Model from Dr. Ruben Puentedura describes 4 different methods that technology can be integrated into the classroom. These 4 methods are Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. Substitution and Augmentation are described as "enhancement", while the latter two are described as "transformation".      I really liked the examples used on the PowerSchool article that put the SAMR Model into context. Here I'll briefly describe each step in the model. Substitution     Substitution is when a traditional teaching tool is substituted out for a direct technology approach. One example of this would be swapping out a paper copy of a worksheet for an online version.  Augmentation     Augmentation is similar to Substitution in that traditional methods are swapped out for technology. The difference in Augmentation is that enhancements are added in to benefit the s...
Post a Comment
Read more

Clark V Kozma: Who is correct?

Image
Clark V Kozma: Who is Correct?     Clark's Perspective        "Media Will Never Influence Learning" by Richard E. Clark argues that media used in education will not directly impact learning outcomes. Clark states that what matters most in learning is not the medium itself but the instructional method and content. Clark asserts that how well students learn depends on how the content is presented and the teaching methods that are used. Clark's article challenges the idea that media have a significant influence on learning and emphasizes the importance of teaching methods and content. Kozma's Perspective          "Will Media Influence Learning?" by Robert B. Kozma explores the role of media in education and its potential to influence learning. Kozma presents a more optimistic perspective compared to Richard E. Clark's viewpoint. He argues that media can indeed influence learning, but their effectiveness depends on how they ar...
2 comments
Read more