I have heard teachers for years debate the validity of Wikipedia. As a site it is frequently used and usually the first thing to pop up on a Google search. My district blocks the use of you tube...sometimes. YouTube is also an overly accessible site with a lot of useful information and a lot of distracting information. Very simply, I welcome the use of both in my classroom. For my students I always say that Wikipedia is an excellent source and a great tool to look thing up quickly and accurately. The only time I would discourage the use of Wikipedia is on a research paper. This site may not be looked upon as fondly by others. On the other hand, Wikipedia cites its own sources very well and using links to those sources could be an excellent way of researching topics within a subject area. The frequency with which Wikipedia is checked and corrected by experts makes it a very accurate source of information.
YouTube offers excellent educational videos as well. I generally urge my students to use YouTube at home for tutorials but recommend they use videos posted by well known sources such as Khan Academy or National Geographic, etc. I often include links to these types of tutorials on my Fusion [school] page. I think upon searching for videos, the most frequently viewed educational videos would be accurate and relevant. This goes on my assumption that if a video is poorly done and not accurate, few people will have viewed it and it won't be very high on the search list.
Long story short, Wikipedia and YouTube are both welcome in my classroom. I urge students to be careful about where their information comes from and always double check with another source if the information is for research or test prep. Great sites, great information.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Teacher Blogs
I've chosen to follow a few teacher blogs for a varitey of reasons. Not only are they helpful in terms of insight, but they also provide a number of resources for teachers to use. The first blog I added is http://www.freetech4teachers.com/. This blog offers a ton of information regarding educational technology for use in schools, web 2.0, etc. It also is helpful because of the frequency with which it is updated with extra information. Several posts are available daily. The second blog is http://sciencestuffbyamy.blogspot.com/. It gives some insight into science classrooms. It also offers a lot of science resources and pictures and discussions regarding the effectiveness of the resources in class. The third blog I chose to add is http://www.edutechintegration.net/. This is not as frequently updated as the other two but it offers links to a lot of great sites for science education and web 2.0 tools. It is something I can use as a bookmarked page to use to test some new tools.
I've decided to try and follow some teachers and teacher educators on Twitter. First, I followed Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) who focuses on bringing the Internet to teachers by blogging about web 2.0 resources and other digital technologies. Carol Tonhauser (@cmt1), EdTech Facilitator at University of Alberta, gives you practical ways to bring technology into your classroom. Josh Allen (@j_allen) tweets to help teachers effectively implement technology in their classrooms. He also offers a lot of technology-based resources to use with students. "If technology is an event in your school, you are doing it wrong." @TeacherBeat is the site for Education Week and provides insights and updates on teacher news and politics. @edutopia – Edutopia: “Inspiration and information for what works in education”; a great resouce and something to add to the blog section as well. Edutopia offers great ideas and sources for ed technology and how to implement certain tools in the classroom.
So far this semester, I haven't used twitter much at all. I find that I've fought the urge to join for so long that giving in will seems like giving up. I however haven't fully considered the uses professionally for Twitter. It is something I should begin to use a little more, at least to follow others, if not tweeting my own insights. My Feedly has beem used as an early morning headline list. I browse through and read what looks intriguing. At that time of day, however, it seems the sports feeds are at the top of my list. I need to start looking at my feedly at lunch or after work.
I've decided to try and follow some teachers and teacher educators on Twitter. First, I followed Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) who focuses on bringing the Internet to teachers by blogging about web 2.0 resources and other digital technologies. Carol Tonhauser (@cmt1), EdTech Facilitator at University of Alberta, gives you practical ways to bring technology into your classroom. Josh Allen (@j_allen) tweets to help teachers effectively implement technology in their classrooms. He also offers a lot of technology-based resources to use with students. "If technology is an event in your school, you are doing it wrong." @TeacherBeat is the site for Education Week and provides insights and updates on teacher news and politics. @edutopia – Edutopia: “Inspiration and information for what works in education”; a great resouce and something to add to the blog section as well. Edutopia offers great ideas and sources for ed technology and how to implement certain tools in the classroom.
So far this semester, I haven't used twitter much at all. I find that I've fought the urge to join for so long that giving in will seems like giving up. I however haven't fully considered the uses professionally for Twitter. It is something I should begin to use a little more, at least to follow others, if not tweeting my own insights. My Feedly has beem used as an early morning headline list. I browse through and read what looks intriguing. At that time of day, however, it seems the sports feeds are at the top of my list. I need to start looking at my feedly at lunch or after work.
Sunday, February 2, 2014
SAMR Model
The Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition Model offers a method of seeing how computer technology might impact teaching and learning. As a high school chemistry teacher I've been able to see how computers effect learning and teaching first hand. Using this model, there is a variety of tools at the disposal of teachers and students. In my classroom I've used computer technology within this model (without knowing it).
Substitution: This portion of the model refers to using computer technology to do the same thing as was previously done with a traditional piece of instruction. There are two examples I can use from my classroom. The first example is something I wanted to do to a much greater extent than I am currently doing. My school recently was able get every student the opportunity to have a Nook HD+. With this knowledge I planned to completely replace traditional notes with PowerPoints or Prezis on my class web page to allow students more time to explore the scientific method. Unfortunately, having a Nook was made optional and roughly half of my students declined the opportunity to use this technology. I have however, used presentation software throughout the year to replace traditional whiteboard notes. I also have a curriculum web that I may use for my next unit with all notes and assignments online with video tutorials and PowerPoint presentations.
Augmentation: This portion of the model takes a common task and uses the computer as a tool to create some functional benefit. We use student response software for quizzes and daily warm-ups allowing students to have immediate feedback and for the teacher to not need to grade assignments and waste time that could be used for instruction.
Modification: This portion of the model begins to take computer technology and incorporate student collaboration to complete common classroom tasks. In my classroom we have taken concepts like acid rain and used a webquest to create a presentation. Students work in groups and collaborate to create environmental reports.
Redefinition: This portion takes computer technology and uses it as a collaborative tool to create original presentations and perform tasks that were not doable prior to the computer technology. The previously mentioned webquest on acid rain takes groups and forces them to create questions and present original solutions to a panel that can use those solutions to make real changes. The internet is used as a research and tutorial tool.
Substitution: This portion of the model refers to using computer technology to do the same thing as was previously done with a traditional piece of instruction. There are two examples I can use from my classroom. The first example is something I wanted to do to a much greater extent than I am currently doing. My school recently was able get every student the opportunity to have a Nook HD+. With this knowledge I planned to completely replace traditional notes with PowerPoints or Prezis on my class web page to allow students more time to explore the scientific method. Unfortunately, having a Nook was made optional and roughly half of my students declined the opportunity to use this technology. I have however, used presentation software throughout the year to replace traditional whiteboard notes. I also have a curriculum web that I may use for my next unit with all notes and assignments online with video tutorials and PowerPoint presentations.
Augmentation: This portion of the model takes a common task and uses the computer as a tool to create some functional benefit. We use student response software for quizzes and daily warm-ups allowing students to have immediate feedback and for the teacher to not need to grade assignments and waste time that could be used for instruction.
Modification: This portion of the model begins to take computer technology and incorporate student collaboration to complete common classroom tasks. In my classroom we have taken concepts like acid rain and used a webquest to create a presentation. Students work in groups and collaborate to create environmental reports.
Redefinition: This portion takes computer technology and uses it as a collaborative tool to create original presentations and perform tasks that were not doable prior to the computer technology. The previously mentioned webquest on acid rain takes groups and forces them to create questions and present original solutions to a panel that can use those solutions to make real changes. The internet is used as a research and tutorial tool.
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