I tried out Zoho Show and was able to begin a power point document about a geography assignment. It was quick and easy to put together the slides because they had many themes to choose from and visuals to add. You could add in clip art images and symbols and you have the ability to rotate these visuals. You can sort your slides and add your own images or import some from the web. You can save your presentation and choose to keep it private or share it with others. I have never made a power point document before, so it was nice it play around with this application. I would recommend this for people who’ve never made a power point presentation. It is an easy application to use.
Zoho Writer allows you to simultaneously collaborate with others on a particular project. You can embed media from flickr, youtube, and others. With this application you can create, edit, and store all of your documents on line. They have obvious features, similar to Microsoft Word, such as bolding, italicizing, and underlining text, changing text and background color, etc. It keeps a history of your document, so if you want to revert to a previous version it is not a problem. I like the idea that you can tag a document to more than one folder by a simple click of the button. I would recommend this to people who team teach and want to collaborate on a project/lesson plan together.
Picnik is a great online picture editing tool. You can fix over-exposure and red-eye, crop, rotate, and resize your picture. It keeps a history of your changes You can add custom-made effects as well as their choices of seasonal shapes, unusual fonts, and frames. With a premium membership ($24.95/year) you get advanced editing tools, unlimited photo history, priority help support, an as-free experience and much more! I would recommend this as a way for teachers to edit pictures from an activity or field trip.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
R/D13
Cindy Thelen
R/D13
Wow #1 – Advanced Performance Tracking – I can only imagine how this will make sports even more competitive than it already is…everybody doing the perfect serve! I wonder if we could use it for drivers’ training? That way everyone could learn how to perfectly to parallel parking!
Wow #2 – Application of Artificial Intelligence – the way the describe it, “future instructional systems will diagnose learning needs, learning aptitudes, and styles; develop instruction tailored to identify needs and aptitudes; modify the level and type of feedback and instructional strategy based on learner responses and progress; and implement best practices guidelines based on up-to-date research findings” (p. 326) – makes me wonder if I will be worked out of a job! J I know there will always be a need for the human component and actually can see many obvious benefits to have such individualized assessment and instruction.
I think I enjoyed putting the website together because I didn’t get so frustrated! The thing I like about the website is how easily each page is edited. It will be very user-friendly for me, my students, and my parents. I also enjoyed putting together a blog and using some of the ‘add a gadget’ features.
R/D13
Wow #1 – Advanced Performance Tracking – I can only imagine how this will make sports even more competitive than it already is…everybody doing the perfect serve! I wonder if we could use it for drivers’ training? That way everyone could learn how to perfectly to parallel parking!
Wow #2 – Application of Artificial Intelligence – the way the describe it, “future instructional systems will diagnose learning needs, learning aptitudes, and styles; develop instruction tailored to identify needs and aptitudes; modify the level and type of feedback and instructional strategy based on learner responses and progress; and implement best practices guidelines based on up-to-date research findings” (p. 326) – makes me wonder if I will be worked out of a job! J I know there will always be a need for the human component and actually can see many obvious benefits to have such individualized assessment and instruction.
I think I enjoyed putting the website together because I didn’t get so frustrated! The thing I like about the website is how easily each page is edited. It will be very user-friendly for me, my students, and my parents. I also enjoyed putting together a blog and using some of the ‘add a gadget’ features.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
R/D12
Cindy Thelen
R/D12
I enjoyed reading this chapter and was surprised by a few things:
Animated visuals aren’t any more education than still visuals.
Audio narration works better than text.
Unnecessary visuals and information distract learners from the real objective (I figured that much) and actual “depress learning dramatically” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 319).
Using ID is more beneficial for low-knowledge learners.
Two ideas I can incorporate into my instruction are the use of simulations and working on building prior knowledge. Simulations are a valid tool for instruction. Simply put, they are imitations, reproductions, or models of the genuine article. Applied to the teaching of history, you can use role playing activities to help the students put themselves into the historical period. I can only think of a couple of ways that I have incorporated simulations into the teaching of history.
Every year I plan an “Ancient Egyptian Feast” or a “Medieval Feast”, depending on which period I’m covering. Students are expected to make a costume for a specific role they will carry out in the feast. As they act out their role and observe others doing the same they learn so much about what life was like back then and how it differs from our way of life.
Each year when we cover inflation we always do a simulation called “The Thelen Candy Factory”. Each student is given a role card. They might be the CEO, packager, truck driver, mixer, receptionist, etc. This activity helps students imagine what it is like when our money cannot buy what it used to be able to, and how negatively this affects families.
My students especially enjoy these activities and I definitely think I could apply this more often. I am hoping to try to think of at least one simulation for each quarter. For instance, for the American Revolution we could:
Role play the key ideas that led to the revolution. One student would be king, one could be a tax collector, a few could be members of Parliament who refused to allow colonists a say in their taxes, several could be colonists, etc. Imagine taxing students who were wearing tennis shoes, belts, white socks, etc. and giving them no say on what they will be taxed.
For the Civil War I could take them to a Civil War Re-enactment where they could watch others acting out what life was like as a soldier, civilian, slave, etc.
One other key issue that really stood out to me was how having more related knowledge stored in long-term memory enables the working memory to handle more information. So prior knowledge is critical in education and something as simple as a KWL activity can give students a chance to articulate what they already know. This is an important part of the process because it gives students something to “peg” new information on. KWL discussions are also beneficial because one student’s memory will trigger someone else’s memory and the prior information of the class as a whole tends to expand. My favorite quote from this chapter is:
“The learner’s level of prior knowledge is the single most important individual difference variable involved in learning, and is the most important characteristic to know to help you design appropriate training.” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 320)
R/D12
I enjoyed reading this chapter and was surprised by a few things:
Animated visuals aren’t any more education than still visuals.
Audio narration works better than text.
Unnecessary visuals and information distract learners from the real objective (I figured that much) and actual “depress learning dramatically” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 319).
Using ID is more beneficial for low-knowledge learners.
Two ideas I can incorporate into my instruction are the use of simulations and working on building prior knowledge. Simulations are a valid tool for instruction. Simply put, they are imitations, reproductions, or models of the genuine article. Applied to the teaching of history, you can use role playing activities to help the students put themselves into the historical period. I can only think of a couple of ways that I have incorporated simulations into the teaching of history.
Every year I plan an “Ancient Egyptian Feast” or a “Medieval Feast”, depending on which period I’m covering. Students are expected to make a costume for a specific role they will carry out in the feast. As they act out their role and observe others doing the same they learn so much about what life was like back then and how it differs from our way of life.
Each year when we cover inflation we always do a simulation called “The Thelen Candy Factory”. Each student is given a role card. They might be the CEO, packager, truck driver, mixer, receptionist, etc. This activity helps students imagine what it is like when our money cannot buy what it used to be able to, and how negatively this affects families.
My students especially enjoy these activities and I definitely think I could apply this more often. I am hoping to try to think of at least one simulation for each quarter. For instance, for the American Revolution we could:
Role play the key ideas that led to the revolution. One student would be king, one could be a tax collector, a few could be members of Parliament who refused to allow colonists a say in their taxes, several could be colonists, etc. Imagine taxing students who were wearing tennis shoes, belts, white socks, etc. and giving them no say on what they will be taxed.
For the Civil War I could take them to a Civil War Re-enactment where they could watch others acting out what life was like as a soldier, civilian, slave, etc.
One other key issue that really stood out to me was how having more related knowledge stored in long-term memory enables the working memory to handle more information. So prior knowledge is critical in education and something as simple as a KWL activity can give students a chance to articulate what they already know. This is an important part of the process because it gives students something to “peg” new information on. KWL discussions are also beneficial because one student’s memory will trigger someone else’s memory and the prior information of the class as a whole tends to expand. My favorite quote from this chapter is:
“The learner’s level of prior knowledge is the single most important individual difference variable involved in learning, and is the most important characteristic to know to help you design appropriate training.” (Reiser & Dempsey, p. 320)
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Screencasts
I thought of a couple of ways to use screencasting in my Geography class. I would make a screencast showing how to use Google maps. I think this would be very exciting for the students! It would be easy to show them how to add points of interest and to use the satellite view.
Their beginning project would be developing a map that showed the way they travel from home to school. They would also need to add 5 points of interests, perhaps a couple of restaurants and businesses near their home, the library, grocery store, etc.
The second project I would assign them would be to incorporate a Google map into their final project. The end of the year project requires the students to pick a country to do a final report and presentation on. They write a research paper, make a poster, and bring in objects that show places of interest to visit, historical sites, and geographical information (rivers, mountains, etc.). On their Google map they would need to include basic geographical, political, historical and cultural information. If they were doing a Google map of China, here are a few of the things they would probably want to put on the map:
Himalaya Mountains
Huang He River
Gobi Desert
Terra Cotta Army
The Forbidden City
Beijing
The Great Wall of China
The skill of using Google maps would be one more tool in their technological skills and something they could use in the future, also.
Their beginning project would be developing a map that showed the way they travel from home to school. They would also need to add 5 points of interests, perhaps a couple of restaurants and businesses near their home, the library, grocery store, etc.
The second project I would assign them would be to incorporate a Google map into their final project. The end of the year project requires the students to pick a country to do a final report and presentation on. They write a research paper, make a poster, and bring in objects that show places of interest to visit, historical sites, and geographical information (rivers, mountains, etc.). On their Google map they would need to include basic geographical, political, historical and cultural information. If they were doing a Google map of China, here are a few of the things they would probably want to put on the map:
Himalaya Mountains
Huang He River
Gobi Desert
Terra Cotta Army
The Forbidden City
Beijing
The Great Wall of China
The skill of using Google maps would be one more tool in their technological skills and something they could use in the future, also.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
I am so excited! I have created a web page for my kindergarten class. I have just begun working on some pages within the site. One is for math and one is for reading. I think a website is a great and easy way to help parents get involved in the learning process. The links I have attached are sites where parents can play 'games' to review concepts we have learned in class. This website would be an ongoing and optional activity, as not all my families have access to the internet at home. This website would play an important part in reviewing material at home and could also be used to give announcements and place pictures from field trips and classroom activities.
http://sites.google.com/site/mrsthelenskindergarten/home
http://sites.google.com/site/mrsthelenskindergarten/home
R/D11
Cindy Thelen
R/D11
As I read through this chapter and reflected on our other readings I saw three areas that I could develop and improve that would have a significant effect on my teaching strategies. I also saw several strengths that I use in preparing for instruction.
I am good at organizing and planning goals and outcomes for the year. The organization I work for encourages us to be ‘living textbooks’ and to work at making our presentation relate to our students’ lives. We are always reminded to not rely on the textbook, because textbooks are usually so boring! I also enjoy giving enthusiastic and different presentations to my classes. Because I teach history I feel I have a good handle on using inquiry to promote learning. We spend time debating (informally) and discussion all sorts of controversial historical/political events and topics.
Using table 27.5 on page 275-276, I believe the three most important competencies I need to develop are:
1. Stimulate and sustain learner motivation.
2. Using media and technology to enhance learning and performance.
3. Evaluate instructional effectiveness.
Although I am fairly good at maintaining my students’ interests during class, I have not delved into developing effective ways to sustaining motivation outside of class. At Teenworks, the homeschool organization I work for, I only see my students once a week for 1.5 hours. The other days they are at home completing assignments found in the syllabus. I have found several ideas that the students have enjoyed working on: creating a poster board that is a road map to the Civil War (describing some of the events that lead to the war), choosing an explorer and creating a travel brochure of their “new world” discoveries, and others. I think I need to look for more “discovery” type of assignments that get their brains focused and their creative juices flowing.
I have effectively used some media (CDs and DVDs) in my classroom to enhance learning. However, I have not developed many assignments that would have them using a computer, and all my students have computers at home, so it is definitely something that I should incorporate. I have told them to research a certain topic on the internet, but I think using a WebQuest would prevent a lot of needless searching of boring website! My goal is to develop a couple of WebQuest for each class so they discover part of the material for a particular topic. I really think this is a tool my students would enjoy using.
The last area I want to build on is evaluating my instructional effectiveness. Frequently, at the end of a class I will put a star beside a particular part of the lesson that went really well and I will make a note to myself when something didn’t work. This helps me prepare for the following year, but I still believe there are other things I could be doing to evaluate my role. I found rubric online that I plan on using periodically so I can assess the effectiveness of different teaching strategies I use in class. I hope addressing these three issues will increase my students’ performance.
R/D11
As I read through this chapter and reflected on our other readings I saw three areas that I could develop and improve that would have a significant effect on my teaching strategies. I also saw several strengths that I use in preparing for instruction.
I am good at organizing and planning goals and outcomes for the year. The organization I work for encourages us to be ‘living textbooks’ and to work at making our presentation relate to our students’ lives. We are always reminded to not rely on the textbook, because textbooks are usually so boring! I also enjoy giving enthusiastic and different presentations to my classes. Because I teach history I feel I have a good handle on using inquiry to promote learning. We spend time debating (informally) and discussion all sorts of controversial historical/political events and topics.
Using table 27.5 on page 275-276, I believe the three most important competencies I need to develop are:
1. Stimulate and sustain learner motivation.
2. Using media and technology to enhance learning and performance.
3. Evaluate instructional effectiveness.
Although I am fairly good at maintaining my students’ interests during class, I have not delved into developing effective ways to sustaining motivation outside of class. At Teenworks, the homeschool organization I work for, I only see my students once a week for 1.5 hours. The other days they are at home completing assignments found in the syllabus. I have found several ideas that the students have enjoyed working on: creating a poster board that is a road map to the Civil War (describing some of the events that lead to the war), choosing an explorer and creating a travel brochure of their “new world” discoveries, and others. I think I need to look for more “discovery” type of assignments that get their brains focused and their creative juices flowing.
I have effectively used some media (CDs and DVDs) in my classroom to enhance learning. However, I have not developed many assignments that would have them using a computer, and all my students have computers at home, so it is definitely something that I should incorporate. I have told them to research a certain topic on the internet, but I think using a WebQuest would prevent a lot of needless searching of boring website! My goal is to develop a couple of WebQuest for each class so they discover part of the material for a particular topic. I really think this is a tool my students would enjoy using.
The last area I want to build on is evaluating my instructional effectiveness. Frequently, at the end of a class I will put a star beside a particular part of the lesson that went really well and I will make a note to myself when something didn’t work. This helps me prepare for the following year, but I still believe there are other things I could be doing to evaluate my role. I found rubric online that I plan on using periodically so I can assess the effectiveness of different teaching strategies I use in class. I hope addressing these three issues will increase my students’ performance.
Monday, July 27, 2009
R/D10
Cindy Thelen
541, R/D10
There are several similarities between how instructional design works itself out in business, P-12 education, and higher education. Each of these distinct areas deal with improving human performance. They all require a tremendous amount of leadership for those who want to implement change. Before change can be implemented there needs to be a lot of communication and you need to reach a point of consensus about the need for change. Each area also has to deal with the pressures of assessment.
Instructional design in business has focused on improving job performance (Reiser & Dempsey, 2007, p. 175). Everyone is troubled about bottom-lines issues such as quantity versus quality, cost effectiveness, and employees doing their best. Schools are concerned with the same thing: improving the quality of instruction so as to improve the quality of learning. Even at the university level the same concern exists. According to Reiser & Dempsey (2007), “As an ID, part of my role is to facilitate the development of learning and teaching strategies” (p. 224). Litchfield, who worked with faculty development, described her job as helping faculty “design, develop, and implement strategies and activities that will keep their students’ attention and increase learning” (p. 228). One key reason for instructional design is to improve performance. Without improvement as the focus, there is no perceived need for change.
Communication, interpersonal skills, and building a consensus are essential if instructional design changes are to be addressed. Without communication people drag their feet and don’t want to participate in change because they don’t see the need for it. In business, Reiser and Dempsey explain (2007), “The communicative paradigm emphasizes reaching consensus among these parties throughout the design process” (p. 175). When Decatur Township School District wanted to facilitate change they dealt with the need for communication and consensus, too. The facilitators believed (2007)“it was important for as many stakeholders as possible to participate in the changes process and feel a sense of ownership of both the process and whatever design resulted” (p. 216). At the university level, McDonald listed the skills needed to worth with the faculty and included (2007) “the interpersonal skills necessary to maintain project flow” (p. 226). Without concrete and consistent communication change is met with resistance.
It takes leadership to promote instruction design changes, too. Reiser and Dempsey concluded that the demand for HPI professionals would increase (2007, p. 143). These professionals helped organize and lead businesses through the changes they needed to make. Chapter 21 repeatedly makes reference to the need for leadership and teams that help carry the weight of applying ID to education. The authors talked of “Cluster Improvement Teams”, “Site Improvement Teams”, and “Strategic Leadership Teams”. Especially at the university level, faculty members are expected to provide leadership for (2007) “the academic program, department, college, and university levels” (p. 230). They emphasized the need for guidance and direction to come from leaders willing to take risks and promote change.
The pressure that comes with assessment is a common theme in business and education. Reiser and Dempsey explain (2007), “A system that rewards people for their behavior without accounting for accomplishment encourages incompetence” (p. 137). Obviously business is concerned with the bottom-line and success is defined by human performance improvement (HPI), not well-worded platitudes. Step five of the Step-Up-To-Excellence methodology emphasized the need to (2007) “evaluate the performance of the entire district, including the performance of its clusters, schools, and teams” (p. 215) Assessment helps produce accountability and gives direction on adaptations that need to be made.
There are two ways that I can see the information from the chapters applying to my educational experience: one, we need more relevant professional development related to instructional methods, and two, we need to think of different ways of assessing students’ knowledge.
In the past, the organization I work for has trained their teachers the same way each year. It is boringly predictable and ineffective for veteran teachers. Funds for professional development are almost non-existent. However, I believe there are several creative ways to address the needs of veteran teachers. If nothing else, they could consult with the local school district to see if there are any excellent teachers who would like to share their expertise. I think the compensation would be feasible for our organization and the benefits, for the instructors as well as the students, would be many.
I feel that I am in a bit of a rut in terms of assessing my students. I primarily do research projects and quizzes/tests. I am sure if I think a little harder I can come up with some different ways to assess that will enable the students who struggle with traditional tests to shine.
{0}
541, R/D10
There are several similarities between how instructional design works itself out in business, P-12 education, and higher education. Each of these distinct areas deal with improving human performance. They all require a tremendous amount of leadership for those who want to implement change. Before change can be implemented there needs to be a lot of communication and you need to reach a point of consensus about the need for change. Each area also has to deal with the pressures of assessment.
Instructional design in business has focused on improving job performance (Reiser & Dempsey, 2007, p. 175). Everyone is troubled about bottom-lines issues such as quantity versus quality, cost effectiveness, and employees doing their best. Schools are concerned with the same thing: improving the quality of instruction so as to improve the quality of learning. Even at the university level the same concern exists. According to Reiser & Dempsey (2007), “As an ID, part of my role is to facilitate the development of learning and teaching strategies” (p. 224). Litchfield, who worked with faculty development, described her job as helping faculty “design, develop, and implement strategies and activities that will keep their students’ attention and increase learning” (p. 228). One key reason for instructional design is to improve performance. Without improvement as the focus, there is no perceived need for change.
Communication, interpersonal skills, and building a consensus are essential if instructional design changes are to be addressed. Without communication people drag their feet and don’t want to participate in change because they don’t see the need for it. In business, Reiser and Dempsey explain (2007), “The communicative paradigm emphasizes reaching consensus among these parties throughout the design process” (p. 175). When Decatur Township School District wanted to facilitate change they dealt with the need for communication and consensus, too. The facilitators believed (2007)“it was important for as many stakeholders as possible to participate in the changes process and feel a sense of ownership of both the process and whatever design resulted” (p. 216). At the university level, McDonald listed the skills needed to worth with the faculty and included (2007) “the interpersonal skills necessary to maintain project flow” (p. 226). Without concrete and consistent communication change is met with resistance.
It takes leadership to promote instruction design changes, too. Reiser and Dempsey concluded that the demand for HPI professionals would increase (2007, p. 143). These professionals helped organize and lead businesses through the changes they needed to make. Chapter 21 repeatedly makes reference to the need for leadership and teams that help carry the weight of applying ID to education. The authors talked of “Cluster Improvement Teams”, “Site Improvement Teams”, and “Strategic Leadership Teams”. Especially at the university level, faculty members are expected to provide leadership for (2007) “the academic program, department, college, and university levels” (p. 230). They emphasized the need for guidance and direction to come from leaders willing to take risks and promote change.
The pressure that comes with assessment is a common theme in business and education. Reiser and Dempsey explain (2007), “A system that rewards people for their behavior without accounting for accomplishment encourages incompetence” (p. 137). Obviously business is concerned with the bottom-line and success is defined by human performance improvement (HPI), not well-worded platitudes. Step five of the Step-Up-To-Excellence methodology emphasized the need to (2007) “evaluate the performance of the entire district, including the performance of its clusters, schools, and teams” (p. 215) Assessment helps produce accountability and gives direction on adaptations that need to be made.
There are two ways that I can see the information from the chapters applying to my educational experience: one, we need more relevant professional development related to instructional methods, and two, we need to think of different ways of assessing students’ knowledge.
In the past, the organization I work for has trained their teachers the same way each year. It is boringly predictable and ineffective for veteran teachers. Funds for professional development are almost non-existent. However, I believe there are several creative ways to address the needs of veteran teachers. If nothing else, they could consult with the local school district to see if there are any excellent teachers who would like to share their expertise. I think the compensation would be feasible for our organization and the benefits, for the instructors as well as the students, would be many.
I feel that I am in a bit of a rut in terms of assessing my students. I primarily do research projects and quizzes/tests. I am sure if I think a little harder I can come up with some different ways to assess that will enable the students who struggle with traditional tests to shine.
{0}
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