Wednesday, June 24, 2009

My "Personal Theory of Learning" has for the most part always been incorporate as many of the "Multiple Intelligences" as possible. It reaches more kids and makes the day more interesting not only for the kids, but for the me too. To ask about any modifications I would make to my theory, I would have to say that I would not change anything.

Adjustments are another story. Keeping the "Multiple Intelligences" in tact, I would like to try to incorporate a bit more technology. Two pieces I would really like to incorporate more often are webquests and anything done with PowerPoint. Fortunately, the math book we use has a webquest set up for each unit we cover. Before my kids take the Ohio Achievement Test, there is not enough time to work on a webquest, however, after the test the kids are pretty much spent. Taking them to the computer lab for a week or two to do a webquest is sounding better and better the more I think about it. The math teachers are always looking for something to do that's more "fun" than the normal day to day lesson, and the webquests from the math book incorporate everything we cover in those lessons. Working on a webquest from an early unit in the book would require a bit of review maybe, but the kids would already have the skills and understanding they needed to complete the tasks. As far as PowerPoint presentations are concerned, I am planning on using more for notes and examples instead of Word documents. I can bring so much more to the lesson with PowerPoint than Word, hopefully keeping my kids attention more and my sanity. I am also going to encourage my students to use PowerPoint for any kind of project presentation they may have to do for class.

The long-term goal changes I would like to make to my instructional practice with technology integration would be to integrate technology on an everyday basis. Right now I use a SmartBoard for just about every lesson, but it's not enough, especially from what I have learned about in my technology courses. I would really like to incorporate some kind of web page or blog in my classroom and I would like to have my students create and maintain a Wiki to use not only with them, but with students in the future. Obtaining these goals will take a bit of time, only because our IT department has put some restraints on us with what we can and cannot have access to at school. I figure if I can do a little at a time, maybe I will be able to incorporate more technology more often.

TKoprowski

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Social Learning Theory in Practice

I think social learning is a great theory because it allows students to not only work together, but really get the hands on experience. Peer interaction is crucial because it puts kids at ease when they do not understand something and they can ask someone their own age for help (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). I feel that the more questions a student asks, the more likely he or she is to succeed.

There are many technological tools that help support this theory. Some I am familir with and some I am not. The couple that I am familiar with include blogs and wiki's. These tools support social learning because they are completely created by the student. Already created wiki's also give the students the opportunity to correct someone else's work or add to it. Engaging in these types of activities helps the students remember so much more and much more easily. One tool that I am not familiar with at all but found interesting was keypals. This tool allows students to become actively involoved with other students from different parts of the world. Not only are they using technology, but they are working in groups with students who may be from a different culture or background in which they may never have the chance to work with without the keypal (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007).


Resources:

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E., Huhn, M., and Malenoski, K. (2007). Using technology iwht classroom insruction that works. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Voice Thread URL

Hope you enjoy the short math lesson :-)

http://voicethread.com/share/528751/