Week 13

- When and how do teachers act as designers?

Teachers act as designers every day. Although the construction of their classroom falls under a curriculum, ultimately teachers still have the power to control how they set up and implement the schedule of and course of the classroom. How creative the teacher is when he or she is giving instruction is completely up to them in transferring the intensity of the course and its material.

- Select one of the followings and explain what it is and how it can be used in classroom:

SketchUp:

This is a digital experience that allows the students to construct their own buildings and town. The students are capable of pin-pointing design of the buildings in great detail. This can be used in the classroom to open up creativity so that the student will be able to learn zoning of towns; just how their own cities are zoned on a bigger scale.

- Explain "Digital Storytelling by Kate Kemker."

This is a software program that allows the student create a story and bring it life with a digital camera and edit machine that goes along with it. The edit application of the software is key in the children’s imagination and intensity of the story.

What do you think it would work in your classroom?

Well, all though I will spend most of my time outdoors or in a gymnasium I still think the students are in great shape to use this tool. The students could write their own work outs and follow the edit machine into presenting their own creation to the actual movements that have been created.

- Mathematics is one of the most abstract subject-matter domains. Helping students to visualize mathematical concepts is very useful in helping students make math real. What other methods suggested in the textbook will also help make math more real to students?

Math lab is a very notable tool that can be used to help students take the work with them if they have computer to use. This software is actually used here at Texas A&M University – Commerce in the math departments. This offers online tutorials and plenty of practice that students can use if they want to exceed the norm of performance.

- Is it possible to learn from TV alone?--that is, learn how to do something merely from watching TV instruction? 

Of course; people do this all the time. The field that I planned to work in does this with video instructions and participation. The big trend is P90X and other visual aids that enhance the experience of the convenience of at home work out produced by the TV. This area of participation will grow with a doubt; seeing how most people don’t like to leave home and go to gyms but instead want stay home and rest in their comfortable domicile.

References:

Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassens, D., Marra, R. M. (2008).  Meaningful learning with technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall

Week 12 Blogg

Explore "http://voicethread.com/"  and tell me how you feel about it?

This was an interesting site. I didn’t understand the material at first, but come to find out this was a site to that has the potential to help students and individuals with learning disabilities. I was impressed that these individuals would take the time to create the website to enhance the communication for people for informational purposes. Although this process cost to have and partake in if feel that this would be very beneficial to applicants of all statuses.  I really like the how they have broken down the sections of statuses of intent on how the clients plan to use such as Business, Pro, Higher Ed, k-12.

Would you use it for your lesson plan?

This would be a tool that I could use for our lesson plans. The students could use this as an interpersonal intelligence. A teacher could have each student record how they felt about assignments that other students participated in peer teaching.  The tool would serve as a feedback instrument that can allow students to express how they fell about the assignments with set questions already in place for answering.

Would you use it in the real classroom?

I would use in this classroom to open up the ideas that need to flow through the students minds to allow for creativity. The students need a platform outside of the norm to use for creative logic and reasoning to engage public speaking in regards to posting self-reflecting assignment at the end of every week. I know that is just an example, but allowing the children to consistently self-reflect would give the student something to look forward to at the end of the week without disrupting the flow of the curriculum.

Conclusion

Overall I feel that this site was reasonable in helping the teacher keep the classroom setting interesting and exciting for the student’s imagination. Letting students use video messages to communicate inner expression in various ways will be implemented into teacher’s curriculums soon. How soon is up to the consideration of administrations and boards that are in review for budgeting as we speak.

References

Website References
http://voicethread.com/ 

Week 11

      

Gee's principle of probing (p. 54) states that learning is a cycle of probing the world (doing something) and reflecting in and on this action and forming a hypothesis. Select 3 principles you think it would be important for education.

·         Identity Principle

This principle is students playing different roles using technology. This is a simple task that would pull form the students creative abilities and put them to further use. It is already incorporated in gaming systems. Most video games allow for children to create avatars in the image they want them to form in. For example, teachers could use the “Sims” software and allow each student to pick a career for career day.

·         Practice Principle

This states that the student will learn best when they are spending most of their time on the task. I totally agree. This the fundamental format for digesting information. The longer one spends on a task the better they will get as time goes on.

·         Multimodal Principle

This principle states that students can learn from cues, signs,that mean different things. For example, the teacher gains the attention of a class by raising her hand. This is an obvious way that the students know when focus and come to a silent halt.

If you were creating a simulation for your class, what activity would you support?

I would absolutely support the identity principle. Children need and want to create on various different levels. This is truly an extension of their inner expression, without getting into any trouble for doing so.

What variables could students manipulate?

Students could manipulate how they enter the workforce. If a student picked to be a fireman in the simulation then he could also pick if he wanted to be the chief of the house or if he wanted to be a regular worker. I feel the level of responsibility is a key factor for the children’s experience in the field they are taking part in for that simulation.

How would they affect each other?

The student would then experience what it would be like to congregate amongst peer of different business classes. In the simulation the students would then interact with each other and allow them to be aware of the atmosphere that comes with participating in the work force.

Conclusion

In conclusion I feel that simulation in the classroom is important to all that involved. In the military that have their men participate in several flight simulations using technology. That is saying a lot that the technology has not leaked down far enough to the classroom. I feel that it is time to afford for the school system to move into the technology age and get out of the dark ages.

References

Crismond, D., Howland, J., Jonassens, D., Marra, R. M. (2008).  Meaningful learning with technology. Columbus: Pearson, Merrill Prentice Hall