How effective were your actions in helping you meet your goals?
At this point I have implemented two activities/projects that incorporated technology as well as had them use their creativity. The actions I took to implement those activities mostly came through conversations and brainstorming with colleagues. I find that my searches on the Internet have not been as successful. In some cases I think I am being too specific or looking for the perfect activity. When I don’t find something I refine my search to something else, and generally I am too broad then. The textbook and DVD segments have given me ideas that I have written down to use in the future though.
What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice? O
ne of these activities was more successful than another. The one that was not as successful was a data analysis activity that utilized Microsoft Excel, yet only a handful of students had experience with Excel and knew what a spreadsheet even was. Part of the unsuccessfulness of this activity was my fault because I did not inquire about the students’ skills prior to starting and I did not go into enough depth as to how to use Excel…I should’ve known - assume nothing! My students are in need of much more guidance getting started using the technology than I thought.
What do you still have to learn? What new questions have arisen?
Since my students need to learn the technology before they can actually use it, how much time should I spend with the introduction? I feel like my students would be able to click around and figure out most things but they tend to not like to do that in an academic setting. They would love to explore a new cell phone or digital camera, but exploring Excel isn’t high on my students’ list of things to do.
How will you adjust your plan to fit your current needs?
Currently things are slightly chaotic because there is a push on the standardized tests and the holidays coming up. I am trying to continue to integrate technology a little at a time to get my students used to using it first. I still need to give my students some more freedom to control their learning but I am struggling with how to do that while still making sure that the standards are met and all students are meeting the same standards.
Any suggestions?
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Emma,
ReplyDeleteI feel like we are experiencing many of the same things! I have tried searching online for the “perfect” way to incorporate the Mobi tool into a lesson. I have not had much luck though. I have had better luck asking around in my school for colleagues who have actually used this tool in their own classes.
It looks like we have both have also learned never to assume that our students have background knowledge with a piece of technology. I am working on ways to explicitly teach the use of the Mobi tool once I introduce it to students. I know that the hard work of planning this part, and laying the foundation, will go a long way. Once students are skillful at using the tools we want to use in class, our lives will be much easier! It is a challenge, though, to thoroughly cover the how-tos and the potential problems students might run into. I guess we will go through this challenge together!
I'm glad I'm not the only one! Another problem that I have is that we do not have technology like a SmartBoard where I can show my students how to do things. They would each have to be on a computer and I would have to walk them through what I want them to do. I guess that is good in a way because they are experiencing it themselves and learning through exploration.
ReplyDeleteEmma,
ReplyDeleteHaving a Smartboard does help in showing students how do do things on the computer, but if you have a data projector available where you can at least project what is on your computer screen up on an overhead screen you can show students that way. Although I have done this both with just a projector and with a Smartboard and students do have an easier time following my hand than they did the mouse pointer.
I also recall someone in one of my previous courses saying she had created her own "Smartboard" type thing using a computer, a data projector, a standard white board, and a wii remote. I am not sure how she did this, but it may be something to look into.
I have had similar experiences with searches. I will be interested to follow your progress with this, and what you find works best. This might be a problem that a enriched group of students could solve in a PBL model.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I do not have a data projector either - the only thing I have is an 18" TV mounted on the wall in the corner of the room. Seeing the mouse pointer is out of the question and reading the words is also a challenge, so its pretty much useless for demonstration purposes.
ReplyDeleteJim, having the students search is an interesting idea. From my experience their searches are too specific. They think they can type in an exact question they want an answer to and get their answer when they press enter. Obviously this is not the case so they need to be introduced to the world of keywords in a lesson all on its own.