Digital Blog Post L

Chapter 12

The beginning of this chapter talks about an educational change because of technology integration in classrooms. Yes, there is a change. Technology can be used in so many different varieties and makes teaching and learning so much easier. I also agree with the book when it says Technology integration and educational change do not automatically occur just by including computers in a lesson and in a classroom. It should be well thought when providing technology to children. The book describes 2 elements of working with technology to create successful learning. The first is Teachers mindset. A teacher need to think carefully about how to use technology in the lesson plan. It should be planned before use. The book says "content must come before technology", I agree because otherwise students would have to much free using time with it which might lead into seeing age inappropriate content through the Internet.
     I sometimes use youtube to find songs for the children. We also have CDs and tapes with music and stories for the children, but with the help of Youtube, the variety of songs and educational material and stories grows bigger. One of my favorite songs to show the children is the compound boogie by Dr. Jean. This song is fun to sing for children and teaches them compund words. The video shows pictures of 2 objects that will be put together to form the new word and they will see a picture of that word too.

     The second element is multiple pathways. The book says there are an ever increasing number of  ways for teachers and students to use technology and achieve important learning goals. New teachers tend to assume that effective technology integration happens only when schools have one computer for every student. I agree with the book that states that exciting instructional activities can occur using only one or two computers. Also it explains that technology integration is more about how technology is used by teachers than about the amount of technology provided. In our class, we integrated a small group time because the class contains 19 children total. 15 minutes of the day, each teacher gets 9 or 10 students to sit together doing projects or learning a new concept. The computer is perfect for use in our small group time. It lets us adding educational videos and games into the lesson or concept that we currently talk about. The 10 children can sit in front of the screen and watch a small sequence together while learning about a specific content.
     Next, I am talking about the section "Technology Integration Stages and Issues". Teachers today do best if they have some basic skills in using technology to integrate it in teaching. It need to be chosen wisely how we can introduce technology to students as learning material. The book defines a technology using educator as someone who makes informed choices and uses technology wherever it increases students involvement in learning and not using it for boring, confusing class activities. I think, computer use should mostly be teacher directed or at least with rules made up before student use. For one of my lessons that I planned, I let the children watch a short sequenced video about a specific topic, for example recycling, and after that let them draw a journal entry about what they have learned and remembered from the video. After that, they can explain one of the teachers in their own words what they drew. This promotes listening and thinking skills and helps to enhance vocabulary knowledge for our preschool children. A technology using educator also explores technology. Students learning with a technology using teacher are not just consumers of technology but creators and critics of it as well. They are aware of technologies power to improve education or impede it. Technology offers a wide variety of tools to use in classrooms. This class taught me even more tools than I already have seen before. It is amazing what kind of different possibilities we have to integrate in lessons. A technology using educator promotes change  at the classroom according to the book. I think, technology can make teaching and learning more creative and more colorful. We can move away from the traditional blackboard/worksheet learning experiences and start reaching learning goals interactively.
     I have learned there are different opinions between people about using the computer in classrooms. In our school, I try to limit the free use of the computer for children to one day of a week because it will result in a large group of people sticking in front of one little screen. After a while they would start fighting about taking turns and watch and play different things. Now, every Friday I will give turns to small groups of students in our aftercare program to explore and play with the computer. We told them to follow some rules we have made so the computer use is safe. Some teachers told me the computer is considered as a center and can be used on a daily basis. Our new director was very sceptic when I told her that I integrate the use of a computer for educational purposes into our VPK wrap up circle sometimes. She would like tapes and CDs more than pictures and videos on a screen. I think, we have to watch closely what our children do within the free computer use time. We allow them to play educational games and watch some educational cartoons like the magic school bus. We gave a limited access to Youtube for them and always ask them to let us know what they watch. It is very important to keep the internet use safe.
The article "Do Computers in the Classroom boost academic achievement?" from the Heritage Foundation, written by Kirk A. Johnson, Ph.D, discusses if it is really effective to use computers as a teaching tool.    
     The next section I am talking about is "using the technology you have successfully". The book says that there is no single formula for what to do best, just because technology is not evenly distributed among schools. Some schools have access to multiple computers and some schools have access to just one or two computers per classroom. Some instructional activities will work well with multiple computers will be impossible with just a one computer access. I agree to the book that as a teacher, you have to think carefully and creatively about how to use technology that is available to achieve maximum learning potential. The book suggests to ask other teachers what they do and ask students what their experiences are. A teacher should always be curious about the most effective ways to maximize the potential of the tools. I have 2 boys in my Afterschool group who always want to be planning helpers. They give me suggestions about what they like to try out at School off days, or they tell me their favorite activities that we did in the past and ask if we can repeat them. I do fun experiments, directed projects or creative food activities with the children on No-School days. They always have fun with it and they mostly talk about them weeks and months after we did them. It is a good thing to integrate the children into planning and ask them what they like because at the end it is them who will be the main people in this lesson because they try, explore and learn from it. We shouldn't do different with Technology use. Let them decide what they remember from before and let them help choosing fun games and activities. While using so much technology in classrooms we still should remember that their is a variety of things to do away from a computer and those things should not be forgotten. A Teacher should find a healthy, fun mix of traditional teaching lessons and electronic teaching lessons to keep the day interesting and free of stress.

citations

Beeblebrox01-Kindergarten(2010) Dr. Jean - Compound Boogie (video) retrieved from Youtube.com

Freitag, Julia (2015) Computers integrated in Lesson Plan vs. No Computers integrated in Lesson Plan (Mindmap) retrieved from Bubbl.us

Johnson, Kirk Ph.D(2000) Do Computers in the Classroom boost academic achievement? retrieved from The Heritage Foundation, www.heritage.org

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Schoolastic.com/magicschoolbus/ , The Magic Schoolbus (2015)

Digital blog post k

Chapter 6

While reading the opening of this chapter that talks about "Fostering online Learning with educational Websites and Apps", I thought about my beginning steps in being a teacher. I am still kind of in the beginning steps. the book says that no new teacher will walk into a classroom and starts teaching extemporaneously. You will find yourself continually researching and reviewing curriculum topics and plans everyday. And that is what I do. Every week we have to think about a new lesson plan with a new topic and new ideas, new activities and also new material. The material should be always changing to keep up students interest and their motivation to learn. This Article from Teachthought describes 15 examples of new Technology in Education.

We observe sometimes that the children get bored when they always have the same material to work with. Our VPK room includes 18 children from which 15 are boys. Sadly, some material provided to them gets thrown around or broken quickly if they get bored with it. We need to redirect and change material pretty often to keep them from reacting like that. 

     In today's times, we are lucky to have the Internet as a big helper in finding teaching material. I wouldn't know what to do at earlier times with just books and magazines as recources for finding appropriate material. This does not mean I, as a teacher, am completely depended from the Internet when planning for my class. I use a lot of mailbox magazines and educational books to get ideas. It is just quicker to push a button and find what you were looking for rather then flipping several pages in books or magazines. The Internet is such a huge source to use. The book says that one part of the job of a teacher is learning how to use a computer in the classroom. It states that students and teachers can work together while learning and teaching.

      The next section I am talking about is "Managing information electronically". The book states that teaching requires constant learning about the subjects or topics you teach and find interesting and engaging for students. I think it is fun to research and look around for new interesting lessons and activities for preschoolers while I am planning my weeks. All learning goals for VPK must be wrapped up in fun, interesting lessons and activities for students so that they get engaged in it while playing. The book talks about an elementary school teacher who always searches for new science information that will intrigue, amaze and engage young minds. She wants students to understand how adult scientists investigate questions. I think science experiments are a great way for young students to learn how material reacts together. I love to find different ideas for science experiments for preschoolers and try them with a small group of children in my class. The children have fun thinking about what would happen next while I build up small experiments. There are several materials out there to use for experiments with children.

 One of my summer activities was to create a lava lamp from a plastic water bottle. The children brought their own empty water bottles with them and we filled them half full with a mixture of half oil and half water. Then we dropped a small amount of food coloring in the water oil mixture and I added an antacid tablet to the bottle which made colorful bubbles coming up. The bubbles look similar to those in Lava lamps.

Here is an example of how our experiment looked like. 

 I already found several ideas on pinterest or other social websites about how we can use simple material for children's science experiments. Most of those materials we all have in our kitchen. Flour, salt, baking soda, oil and water are ingredients I use pretty often to build science experiments with the children. 

     The next section I would like to talk about is "Webquests, virtual field trips and videoconferencing. When I started to think about how to build up my Webquest for this weeks assignment, I had a helper who suggested to provide webspace for me to set up a webpage for my webquest. I started learning some basics how to create and present content on a website. It was interesting and fun to explore the different steps of starting and putting together some useful information. I learned how to add additional things like pictures and links to my written text and format and design everything to look clear and easy to navigate. It took me several hours to finish this little learning project but now I think this information is good to have for the future.

Here is a video about the tool I used to build up my Webquest.

     It is amazing what modern technology can help us be able to do in today's time. I actually come from Germany and when I was 16, I moved from Germany to New York for a year and visited a High School. I tried to keep in touch with as many friends from Germany as I can during this time. The only popular way to stay in touch these days was a telephone or the regular Airmail. The telephone was to expensive so we stayed with mailing letters from Germany to the US at least once a month. It was always good to hear that little time about my friends. Today, I have already been here for more than 10 years and I still have friends in Germany. Now, the ways of communication have changed thanks to modern technology and the Internet. Apps like Skype or Whatsapp make is easy to contact Germany every day if we need to. The book talks about virtual field trips which reminds me that I have sent small videos to some friends over the Easter weekend. I was in the middle of the small fishing pier at Cape Coral Yacht club recording a video for some friends to give them an idea how the Yacht Club and the beach look like. I sent this video with the help of Whatsapp to Germany in no time. This is a very nice feature to use in todays times and makes us stay closer together even if we are far away from each other. Today's communication is far easier and cheaper than the traditional way of the telephone. Many different ways let us talk to people who are far away from us even with a picture in a webcam. These tools are also nice to use to build up a virtual classroom. Students and teacher can hear and see each other and exchange material without leaving their own houses. It is amazing to observe how big the world of communication and learning has changed.

Citations

Teachthought staff (2013) 15 examples of new Technology in Education, retrieved from www.teachthought.com

Joomla!(2012) What is Joomla? retrieved from Youtube.com

physicscentral.com (2015) Homemade lava lamp (picture)

Freitag. Julia (2015) Teaching, Creating and Learning with Children every day and watch them grow is fun and rewarding, retrieved from Wordle.net

 Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Digital Blog Post # J

Chapter 11

While reading chapter 11 "Engaging students in Performance Assessment and reflective learning" I thought about how different all our students are and that you, as a teacher, have to be able to observe everyone of them and their progress in class work. Our VPK students are getting ready to enter Kindergarten and have to know letters and sounds, shapes and colors, sight words and positional words, beginning reading skills and counting to 100. Starting in December, every 3 months we have to do a VPK assessment with them where they hear simple questions and point to pictures, letters or words or have to remember sounds and definitions of objects.
Here is a video that I found that explains more details of the VPK Assessment

I don't like those kind of assessments very much because those questions are standardized and teachers tend to focus on and teach the contents of those assessment questions.
The whole VPK session gets focused on those questions and words in it and people forget that we work with creative curriculum and mostly hands on learning. Children should learn by doing, interest and stay focused by their natural curiosity and not by following questions in a test booklet. Thinking of this I refer to the opening text of the chapter where Tracy, the young teacher, lets her students build digital portfolios about what they have learned and uses this outcomes as a learning assessment. I agree that this is much better than a standardized test because it includes the students interest and is fun and engaging for the students to create. I found the article "Here's why we don't need standardized tests" by Greg Jouriles that talks about that standardized tests are not necessary and why.
Chapter 11

The book says that the building of digital portfolios affected Tracy and the students' growth as learners in two key ways: The first is self-reflection. The book describes it as an important skill for students at every grade level. I agree that students need to find out by themselves what they are able to do and what they need help on. The best way to do it is working independently on a specific topic to create a learning portfolio. I remember when I was in school, I had fun in creating my personal learning folder for a history class. Creativity and extra content in the learning folder earned a better grade. It was interesting to find out extra material and new information about the different topics and it was even more interesting when the Internet became more and more popular to use as an information source. The second key point the integration of digital tools enables self reflection that support learning. The book says that performance based portfolios are not the only way for teachers to involve students in learning assessments. It explains democratic teaching practice invites students to be active shapers of the learning environment from rule creating to presenting information to peers or evaluating their own success. We start integrating our young children in planning and rule creating so they can learn what rules are for and can be able to tell me about their interests in school.
     While reading the next section "The Role of Assessment in Teaching and Learning" I am thinking about how challenging and how much work it is to plan for the week so the students will learn effectively. The book talks about 3 elements of Assessment. The second point describes student assessment. It explains that as a teacher schools expect you to provide ongoing evaluations about the learning process of every single student throughout the year. Most schools expect to see report cards, test scores, family meetings and oral and written feedback and recommendations about a students progress. As a teacher, you need to be able to assess yourself too. The book states questions like, "What strategies work well, what did not?" Why did the approach work well on one student and did not on another?" What activities work best for which lesson? All those questions sound familiar and I have to ask them too and try to find answers. Just as we know , as teachers, we have to do everything we can to let a student succeed we need to know that we can only do so much. This means that we too, are only human beings and not miracle makers. There is students with weak points and students with strong points. We can support and work on weak points with all the help we offer and strengthen and outgrow the strong points with all the help we can give but we can not turn someone into a a genius from one day to another. There will always be students who need more work on success than others. I have a little 5 year old nephew who started learning and repeating long before he can even talk. He had all the support from home and a rich 24 hour learning environment and now at age 5, he is able to read and write. I see same age children every day who have trouble to remember the alphabet and just started counting. It is a matter of support from home and interest of the child to learn and be successful. Teachers are there to help and support. In our school, we create portfolios for the children and add their artworks, writing works and other fine motor material to that. I think, this is much more informative as the questions and pictures every 3 months in a booklet.
     As I am reading the next section "Digital Teaching Portfolios" I am thinking about how I went to my very first interview at a preschool. I had a few small experiences from a school who let me take over a small group and do little projects with them. I took pictures and descriptions from this small experiences and I brought them to the interview along with my resume and past other work experiences. It was nice to at least show some proof to the school that I already have worked in a small group of children. I like the idea of creating a digital portfolio. It is convenient to send just a link to it to schools of interest if possible instead of bringing a whole folder of many different papers to show. I like the idea that you can create a whole story about yourself and the experiences with children and teaching. In my past time of teaching I found out that it is fun to do small science experiments with children. This makes them use all their senses and work all together in a small group to see what happens to material if we do or add certain things to them or combine different material together. They can see the process of material changing in form or consistence. I like to use material like flour, baking soda, vinegar, salt or sugar to make activities from. They are in everyone's household and cheap to get. One of my teacher friends suggested to create a blog that describes activities using these kind of materials. She says she sees me very often using these things and started to like it. I always take pictures of my small group lessons and I might save and use them to build a blog soon. I like that idea and you never know if this might be useful later in time. Its really amazing how far technology is today. It makes it real easy for teachers to find effective learning procedures and students have much more fun and show more engagement to learn than just with papers and pencils.

Citations

Conley, Ashley(2014) VPK Assessment final project, retrieved from Youtube.com

Freitag, Julia(2015) Think, Create, Plan.... (Picture) retrieved from www.wordle.net

Jouriles, Greg(2014) Here is why we don't need standardized tests, retrieved from www.edweek.com

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.