Course Reflection: Personal Learning Theory

After completing the course on Bridging Learning Theory, Instruction, and Technology, my teaching style has been altered noticeably. By blending cognitive and behaviorist approaches into my lesson preparation, and more consciously integrating the constructivist theory in my lesson planning, my objectives are more effectively applied. In the past I have always tried to develop lessons from back to front, asking myself the question, “What do I want my students to get from this?” After several articles, videos, and reading the text, I began to see where the question I was asking was fine, but needed altered to, “What do I want my students to produce, make, or do?” That simple adjustment places the lesson squarely in the constructivist zone while I can apply other theories of learning to support the student efforts. Passing a “Nerf” football around the room during football season permits me to use a behaviorist strategy to review vocabulary terms and also provides that kinesthetic element I also seek when possible. One long term goal would be to be able to create a project for each module I teach, in other words one for the Middle East, one for Africa, one when studying India, one that while covering Russia and finally China. The second goal is to have a new technical application for each of those projects. Maybe the first project would implement a VoiceThread as the central focus to convey the objectives, and then the next project would implement a cooperative learning tool like a group wiki to focus on the objectives. By doing so, I can create lessons that are dynamic, authentic, and implement the three theories studied in this course with a pronounced focus on constructivism. It permits me to create a paradigm to create the type of lessons that I want to teach. I also believe there is plenty of room for implementation of other elements from learning theories and build lessons around the units created in each module. Different strategies such as blog use would be implemented early on, and repeated use would hone their skills in writing areas such as editorializing, persuasive, and informatory and serve a dual approach because of the use of technology. Applying word webs through applications such as Webspiration, provide visual organization and conceptual mapping to further develop student growth. Technology plays an integral role in my personal learning philosophy and hopefully will improve my teaching skills with the residual effect on my students learning.

Voice Thread on Dubai

Here is the link to my Voice Thread. I tried to use voice and written comments to pose a problem for my students to work on.

http://voicethread.com/share/655530/

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

In education, simply integrating technology into lessons fails to qualify that lesson as a cooperative learning experience. In order to reach the level of cooperative learning, it takes software and strategies that permit interaction with one another (Orey, 2001). Google Docs provides a means for several students in a group to work on a project, such as a PowerPoint presentation, and have every member in the group be responsible for a particular task such as slide design, topic research, typing and or embedding into a slide. Therefore we could then call the project a cooperative learning experience. If all are working on the same project, but also with different elements to be brought together as a whole, then by my understanding it is a collaborative affair (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). The interaction of individuals as feedback and suggestions to a Voice Thread provides a means to complete a collaborative project if more than one individual shares their slides, text, or voice. The Voice Thread provides a very authentic means of collaborative approach because through investigating the site one could use it during a meeting in a professional setting. The meeting can be run with objectives, notes, and minutes being generated as well. Webspiration is another fine example of a way to work on a project, organize and take minutes, delegate assignments or responsibilities in a classroom or in a corporate boardroom.
With the advent of today’s technological advancements, there are plenty of software applications that educators can use in the classroom that replicate the professional world, therefore not only are we teaching content material, but we are also teach technical and social learning skills where students who continue through with their lives actually have those skills developed and more ready to enter the professional world. Within the confines of the classroom, it also opens the walls to permit outside exposure and collaboration with professionals. The student becomes more responsible and in control of the direction of the project therefore they end up being more motivated.
References:
Orey, M. (Ed.). (2001). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology.
Retrieved from http://projects.coe.uga.edu/epltt/
Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Kuhn, M., & Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology with
classroom instruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Constructivism in Practice

Constructionist theory provides the students with the power to make choices in tackling a problem or creating a project. After digesting several articles in video on the constructionist/Constructivist theory in education, I found that some of what I do in the classroom could be classified as such. Unfortunately, much of that was not done properly. I have used PowerPoint for instruction, and I have had my students generate PowerPoint presentations, but have failed to have them construct them around Problem Based Instruction but used them somewhat as Project Based. I say that loosely because I failed to have a complete understanding of what to have the students create aside from a set of notes. I happen to be a proponent of PBL and PBI because it seems to be the easiest way to make material relevant to the students. We all like to face a challenge, one that is clear and within our realm of accomplishment. Therefore I plan to have my students work on a project to promote an item at a Suq (marketplace) by using software to create a thirty second commercial. Of course I will have to organize the project, provide necessary resources, both challenges that I have been properly trained for, but a particular problem I will have to address, and it will take some practice on my part (back to behaviorism) is being able to utilize and facilitate the use of the software that edits video. It is one of the natural barriers for teachers like me who are “digital immigrants.” I have to learn how to use the resource first, or at least well enough to work with the students. There are times when the students show me shortcuts to technology, but the majority of the students may find it just alien as I do. So if it is new to the majority, then I have to have some understanding of it. But the bottom line, and this is what I really like about this approach, it is highly rewarding because students really like to work on something malleable. As I spent time reading about Problem Based Instruction, I thought of another project to pose to my students in order to convey hardships faced by many African nations. How can we find a way to provide clean water to villages that have no resource other than manpower or a few cattle? I began thinking about the problem and recognized the need for some type of pump that could run without electricity. After searching for a bit on the net, I noticed many devices that still exist that implement the use of manual pumps. Then I ran across an individual who beat all the engineers because he came up with a way to do so by using common playground devices, a merry-go-round and the teeter totter. He established a non-profit company that provides the equipment to be used but implemented pumps that pull water from shallow wells to fill large water towers. The children play on the equipment and it fills the towers with fresh water. I want to pose the problem to my students and hope they can brainstorm a workable solution. Then introduce them as a reflection to that gentleman. I think they can have fun working the problem, sort of reverse engineering a problem, and also learn about some of the issues faced by modern African villagers. If not for a more clear understanding of this theory, I do not think I would have concentrated on that issue.