marymichere-blog

[marymichere-blog]

Blog post 6

Take-away 1: “shelf knowledge concept” I loved how Dirksen’s used shelfs as an analogy when talking about information or knowledge (specifically long-term memory). I’ve always sort of known that we store our information in groups or categories, because it’s easy for us to retrieve when we need the information in a certain context related to that “shelf”. In addition, if we use the information in the context its meant for, like learning how to change oil in your car by actually do it rather than reading about it, it stays with us more. Sometimes, we overlook applying our knowledge in order to better understand it, especially when the U.S. education system is drilling standards and standardized test in our curriculum. This concept will be really helpful when planning lessons as a future teacher, since our goal is to make sure students understand knowledge they will mostly likely need (even though they may not think so) in the real world. Take-away 2: Attention In Dirksen’s book, she talks about an important detail when it comes to teaching; attention. In the fast paced world we live in today, getting and keeping young minds attention can be a real challenge. However, Dirksen’s gives some helpful ways in which we can get people attention, that I will take with me for the future. Telling stories was one strategy that really stuck out to me. I never really thought about how much stories impact us, or how many stories we tell and hear for the matter. I learned that we are naturally wired to enjoy stories from birth; it’s basically human nature. Naturally, it makes sense to use this human tendency in order to teach and learn. Another strategy I never thought about was setting achievements from the get go. A lot of people like to see a little bit of the end of the tunnel, so they get a feel for what is happening. I am one of those people, so I personally like this approach. If students know what they are getting into and know what is expected, it makes sense then that they will become focused thus, paying attention. Take-away 3: programs/resources Many of the websites and programs we used for our projects I really liked! Piktochart for example was a cool tool for making infographics, something I never really knew about making until I used it. It was easy to set up an account, easy to use, and had a variety of options to make your infographic creative and special. I enjoyed learning about different programs such as Piktochart, as ways to express knowledge and information learned, but in a fun and unique way. Don’t get me wrong, writing papers or making PowerPoints works sometimes. However, they can be limiting and boring, whereas some of these programs we worked with were a different way to express our ideas. This also kind of goes along with Dirksen’s ideas about finding different ways to represent information and knowledge, since everyone learns different. I will definitely keep in mind tools, programs, and resources like the ones we used in class in the future for both myself and my future students. Take-away 4: Online lessons Another thing I took away from this course was how to structure online lessons/classes: partly from reading Dirksen’s and partly from the work we did in class. Since a few of our classes were not face-to-face (online lessons) and all of our assignments were done and submitted online, I observed strategies that made the online lessons not only work, but make sense too. I learned that providing examples and guides is probably the most important part, especially for an online lesson. In doing so, students can see what is expected of them and have something to model or use as a guide. In addition, providing multiple resources like videos or websites with more information regarding the topic is super effective. As Dirksen’s discusses, it’s all about what you want your audience to learn and in order for them to learn, you must keep the content within their range of knowledge but also challenging, at the same time. Take-away 5: Creativity Adding on to take-way 3, I really enjoyed being able to be creative and really express my ideas and strategies through the assignments and resources we learned and used. Because of how standardized schools are today, students are losing the ability to learn and use creativity in school and it’s pretty sad and troubling. Granted, I am not super creative (maybe because of how the schools were shifting to standardization when I was in school) and my art projects during my school career can prove that otherwise [I stink at art :-)]. However, how are students supposed to build on these creativity skills if they are not taught in schools? I hope in the future teachers, students, and parents will really see the lack of creativity in schools and push for a less standardized curriculum so we can spark that creativity again. In short, I am thankful I got the opportunity to learning different ways to be creative and you bet I will try my hardest to incorporate that in my future classroom! :-)

[marymichere-blog]

PowerPoint Renovation Justification

In my renovated PowerPoint, I decided to stick with a couple themes that were basic but could pop with some color, because I know I don’t like overly decorated PowerPoint themes when it comes to a PowerPoint like this one; learning information about a class. In addition, I didn’t use a whole lot of different colors and just stuck to a few, to keep it neat and easy to read, but fun. As Dirksen’s points out, it’s important to remember to make things interesting and standout, without going overboard or it will be harder for people to focus and thus, analyze the information. My renovation also included many visuals. Besides having pictures, I also added some examples of what students will be doing and/or using to complete some of these objectives and activities. For instance, I integrated templates if an activity required one, so students could see what they would be working with and what would be expected of them in the future. Also integrated were links to websites for more information, like the Indiana Academic Standards. Dirksen’s emphasized having tools like links and examples to enhance understanding and learning for people. Furthermore, I wanted to keep as much information as I could, because I think all of it is important! In order to do that with the more lengthy information, I tried to break it down into different or smaller points, as breaking information down is helpful for us when it comes to organizing it in our brain (via Dirksen but also for myself). This is why I also inserted hyperlinks within the PowerPoint to different slides, so students could easily learn more about things without having to search throughout the whole PowerPoint or cramming it all on one slide. I also underlined or made bold certain words or phrases that were important in phrases, so students could see what is important and what they needed to understand for this course. Overall, I wanted to keep the PowerPoint simple, yet effective and sticking with basic themes while adding different visuals (I hope!) accomplished that.

[marymichere-blog]

Blog post 5

The first video I watched was case 5: Blended Learning Energizes High School Math Students. In this video, I found it surprising how engaged and motivated the students were in the math lessons through Klan Academy. Personally, I love math so I'm always interested no matter how I learn it. But I know for many others, math is hard or boring and it's hard to get students, especially older students like high school student, to focus and engage in math. From experience, computers at the high school age can be very distracting, since we know how to navigate them and can do/look up virtually whatever we want. However, I understand how the students were so engaged and stayed focused. The teacher explained that the program is one-on-one, meaning it goes at the students pace rather than one set pace. As we know, everyone works differently, so a program that works at the students pace gives students more confidence within themselves, which makes them want to focus and learn. In addition, as Dirksen explained in her book, having tools within interactive learning that help guide and scaffold learning are extremely helpful and can keep students engaged. The teacher talked about how there were several different tools students could use to if they got stuck on a problem like hints, video examples, asking other students for help and if needed, the teachers assistance. Having multiple tools like that gave students different ways to learn and understand the problem independently, before asking for help. In fact, independence was stressed in this video. For instance, the program randomized the problems so students couldn't copy off each other, another one-on-one tool. In short, the program was so successful for this Oakland school because it focused on one-on-one learning in order to fit everyone's needs. The second video I watched was case 2: Learning Stem Skills by Designing Video Games. This video was really intriguing to watch, especially since he's only 10 and more accomplished than I may ever be at almost 20 years old :.  I really loved how he compared making video games to something he loves to do: playing baseball. As Dirksen's discusses, making connections to things we already know helps us remember and understand things better. For example, he talked about how important in depth feedback is for him in both baseball and making video games, because without describing how he should improve, he can't improve correctly. In fact, that was a point the Dirksen's talked about in her book. Simply saying a student did something wrong can discourage students, because they aren't sure what they may have done wrong or how to fix it for the matter. As teachers, we need to give our students in depth feedback so our students know HOW to improve, like Rhys explains. In addition, I found it fascinating how many skills HE was learning by creating videos games for others, not just the skills video game players were learning. He's learning problem solving, physics, math, the list goes on! Furthermore, he's learning these skills from something he loves doing: creating games. I liked how easy the program he was using to create the games was for him, which means it's friendly for basically age group. Rhys also talked about how he loved the story aspect of making the games. He talked about how everyone loves stories and how they engage us (just like Dirksen's describes in her book), so he incorporated them in his games. In a generation were kids and teenagers like myself are criticized for how much we use and know about technology, this video gives positive light regarding technology; showing the greatness technology can have for some like Rhys and his players. If used in a good way, technology can impact brilliant minds like Rhys, and that's all that matters at the end of the day.

[marymichere-blog]

Blog post 4

My experience so far with 1:1 technological tools has been mostly positive, in regards to learning. I believe having tools like laptops or tablets can be really helpful in enhancing a student's learning experience. For instance, they make finding information easy and fast like a simple google search. They also make doing work like writing essays a breeze with Microsoft Word, compared to writing essays by hand like before. Of course, with technological tools comes some downfalls. There could be technical problems or errors with the laptop itself or software problems. They can also be pretty distracting for some people, making it harder to focus on school work. In my classroom, I want to try and avoid students getting distracted the best I can. I also want to make sure I make using these tools fun and engaging, but as simple and easy as possible for my students, because these tools can be hard to learn and navigate at times. Dirksen's gives several suggestions and examples of things we can do to make learning easier and smoother for people, that are relatively helpful. We've all heard that "practice makes perfect" and for the most part, that's true. The more we practice something, the better we get at it and the faster we can perform the task or skill. However, there are different ways we should practice things, not just one specific way. Dirksen's brings up a great point that just pilling and pilling on new information is not the way to go. I know for me, I hate when I'm learning something new, like starting a new job, and they just keep shoving information and procedures at me without a break or a chance to practice it. Because elementary school is a critical period for students, since they are learning things that they will build on as they move up in school and in life, just image how they feel about learning a lot of new information; it's probably overwhelming and frustrating for them. Therefore, we have to remember to slowly add new information to information they already know, so students don't feel overwhelmed and get burned out. Regarding 1:1 technological tools, elementary school is the beginning of their journey with these tools. Thus, as a teacher, I will need to make sure to create structured practice for using these tools. For example, teaching and having my students practice how to type on a laptop first before introducing how to search for information online. In addition, Dirksen's adds that finding a person's "flow channel", or the area where they can do something, but it's challenging at the same time, is important for practice. You wouldn't want the task to be so hard they can't do it, but you also don't want it to be so easy that they get bored! Feedback is also something we may not think is important, but it's helpful when it comes to practicing skills. We want to make sure we are doing something right and not wrong, right? It's easier to correct mistakes while in the process of learning something then when it's already learned, because then you would have unlearn what you learned in order to relearn the correct way! Dirksen's provides some great ideas and suggestions for good feedback, like follow-up coaching and creating goals within goals. Checking up on students is a great way to see if they are doing alright and provide feedback about their progress before moving on. Furthermore, creating shorter or smaller goals within bigger goals can also be a source of feedback. Sometimes doing something big can feel overwhelming or impossible. But, if we create smaller goals within those goals, we can not only measure our progress better, but get feedback from completing those short term goals, which can help accomplish the big goal. This suggestion is something I want to try to incorporate in my classroom, especially when using 1:1 technological tools. Instead of just pushing one big goal or project on my students, creating smaller goals within the bigger goal will help students focus on what needs to be done and reducing negative feelings towards these tools. Overall, using these tools when I become a teacher will be a journey, both a fun and challenging one, but a journey I can't wait to experience!

[marymichere-blog]

Blog 3

I always imagine my future classroom as bright and engaging. A place where students can just focus on school but are free to be themselves! My room will be full of posters and quotes that are interesting yet encouraging. I hope to have all kinds of different resources for my students, like books and supplies that they can use to make their learning experience enjoyable. By the time I begin to teach, I imagine technology will probably be fully or almost fully integrated in the classroom, like iPads, laptops, and/or smart/promethean boards. I believe these tools will be helpful in terms of learning and teaching, like providing different ways to represent information for example. Hopefully, they will help make learning more interesting and fun for students with the many things they can do. However, the ultimate goal is for my students to learn to love learning, with the resources I hope to have in my classroom! Dirksen brings up the interesting point that telling stories is a great way to get learners attention. I never really thought about how much stories affect our attention until she talked about it. Especially for children, telling stories that relate to the topic is such a great way to get their attention. They love stories at that age! Like previously discussed, connecting ideas is one of the best ways to remember information. So, it makes sense that using a story to get learners attention is one of the best ways, because you are connecting the story with the information. In addition, she also brings up a great point that giving your learners real achievements is another great way to get attention. Instead of saying, "you will learn how to compare fractions", you could say "you will learn how to see when you are getting more pizza when its divided up in certain increments" or something less wordy than that. If it was explained to me like that, you best believe I wouldn't mind learning about comparing fractions that day! Basically, making what you're teaching more interesting through context can change the learners perspective and make them more focused and ready to learn. Reflecting on Dirksen's theory about using stories made me realize that stories actually help get my attention and I use it more than I thought. I already like listening to people, but when they tell a story that's relatable, I get more attentive, wanting to know more about the story or what the story has to do with something. Similarly, I frequently use stories or examples when trying to explain something, which I never really noticed until now. For me, stories are a way to connect with someone or something, so it's only natural to use them. Of course, there is a time and a place for some stories. Thus, even though stories can be helpful, they can also make people inattentive. When stories are boring or irrelevant to its context, then I'm most likely not paying attention and I'm sure others feel the same way. This also applies to the idea about making real achievements. If the ideas are laid out in ways that I can use them in real life, in the future, and/or for something important, it makes me want to pay attention more. Obviously, there are times or days when I just can't pay attention no matter what is going on. However, these are just a few ways or concepts that help me pay attention.

[marymichere-blog]

Blog 2

Visual representation is one way I remember things. Having examples to go with concepts or working with concepts/ideas through activities, for example, is one of the best ways I remember things. For me, having an example to help explain what I know or I'm trying to remember is really helpful in explaining myself and remembering. Another way I remember things is through connections. For example, when I'm on highway 131 in Michigan, I remember my best friend's apartment is off of exist 79, because she lives there. I connect the exist with her apartment and therefore, remember which one to take when I go visit her. These are the two best ways/theories I use when trying to remember things and they are really helpful for me. I think it is really important for my future students to be able to connect what they are learning its content/purpose. For instance, if I were teaching my students about weather, I would try to make them understand that weather dictates what we wear every day or the type of activities they may be doing that day. If it was raining, you wouldn't want to play outside or just wear a T-shirt. This would help them understand that weather is indeed important to them and thus, is something they need to and is worth remembering. Also, in chapter 4 of this book, the author brings up a great point that it's easier to remember something when you learn it in the environment you will be using in it. Going back to the weather example, if I wanted my students to learn about weather in its environment, I could take them outside to explain the different patterns or show them a weather broadcast. Better yet, take them on a field trip to a news station where they can experience what a meteorologist does and how they need to know about weather in order to inform their audience about it. Overall, the best thing I can do in my classroom is make the content relatable and connectable to other aspects. After all, our goals as future educators is to teaching our students knowledge and you can't achieve that unless they remember it! Although computer-based technologies are great for research and finding information faster than ever, they can have a negative impact on our learning and memory. It's nice being able to search within a minute something you didn't know or couldn't remember, like the quadratic formula or how many super bowls the New York Giants have won. The problem occurs when we rely on this technology to give us all the answers, requiring us to not need memorization. Why learn or memorize something, when you can just look it up when you can't remember? In short, computer-based technology is not a bad thing when it comes to teaching and learning in classrooms. However, when it is misused to replace our knowledge and memorization skills, that's when it becomes a problem.

[marymichere-blog]

Blog #1