CED0525 week 3

This week one of the assignments was to compare and contrast three online concept map programs.  I chose to look at Bubbl.us, Webspiration, and Mindmeister.

The first program I looked at was Bubbl.us.  This program is very easy to use, whether you are new to concept maps or whether you are quite familiar with them.  Although, this program doesn’t provide much in the way of directions if you are new to concept maps.  In this program it is very easy to add a new “bubble”, change the colors of the background and text, and the size of the font.  It’s very easy to move the “bubbles” around.  Some of the features I really like is that when you move your pointer over a word or icon it states how to do the action.  I also like that the connectors grow, shrink, and move with the bubbles.  This is a really nice feature.  This program is easy enough to use for all grade levels.  This is a free program, but if you want to save a concept map you have to create an account.  Also, I didn’t see any pre-made templates.

The next program I looked at was Webspiration.  Webspiration is very similar to Inspiration with an online cloud component.  This program is easy to use, has lots of options, cloud computing (allowing for collaboration), you can make an outline from your concept map or vice versa.  Webspiration does have already made templates and I like that you can change the shapes of your boxes or use graphics with text instead of boxes.  If students already know how to use Inspiration they will not have to relearn a new concept map program.  I don’t like that you have to create an account with an email address.  My students don’t have access to email accounts at school.  This program is designed for grades 5-12.

The last one I explored was Mindmeister.  Of the three programs this was my least favorite.   Like Webspiration this program provides collaboration with cloud computing.  You can also access Mindmeiser with an iPad or iPhone, which is a nice feature.  I think this would be a good program for really complex concept maps.  What I don’t like about this program is just like Webspiration you have to create an account using an email account.  I don’t like that it doesn’t have “boxes”, but rather text or graphics.  It does include templates and a good variety of concept maps.  I think this program would be good for advanced science.  I can see cell break downs taking place in this program.  It’s easy to expand an idea, but I feel it would be easy for students to get “lost” in this program, especially students with special needs.

This week we also discussed these strategies:  Cues, Questions, and Advance Organizers; Nonlinguistic Representation; Summarizing and Notetaking

In my classes I use KWL charts, Venn diagrams, and concept maps to name a few.  What I like especially about KWL charts is that it makes students an active participant in their learning.  They start with what they know and have an opportunity to list things they want to learn.  I even go so far as to make sure that we answer all of their questions, even if isn’t part of the curriculum.  After the unit they have the opportunity to see how much they learned.  I think these go well because the students are active participants in their learning.   The graphic organizers can also be used for nonlinguistic representation.  In addition to visual charts, I like to include kinesthetic activities for my students.  We might toss a ball while listing parts of speech, for example.  Right now my students favorite activity is the use of beanbags and buckets.  We use a lot of fun “game” activities in my classroom.  My students tend to be very visual and kinesthetic learners.  Some of the technologies I use to help summarize are Senteos (clickers), interactive SmartBoard activities, and iPods.  I don’t do a lot of note taking in my classes.  I work with students with cognitive disabilities, however, we discuss at great lengths everything we read and do.  Regurgitating the same material in different ways helps my students with retention.    

CED0525 Week 2

The first assignment this week was to read Feedback that fits.  This article addresses the importance of quality feedback on assessments.  According to the article not all feedback is equal or valuable.  When teachers provide students with feedback they really need to think about the objectives of the assignment, not every detail.  As educators we don’t want the students to be discouraged to do work based on the assessment, rather we want to help them improve.   The author stated teachers need to put ourselves in the student’s shoes.   I feel it’s important to remain positive and to be specific. 

I really liked that the article stated to recognize and address strategies students’ use.  This is something I do a lot of in my classroom.  I’m constantly working on strategies with my special education students.   I also make sure I acknowledge any time they use strategies, especially when a student takes their own initiative to do so.  I almost go overboard with the recognition of strategies, but I’ve seen a pay off.  The students have started using the strategies with each other to help each other.  When I make an assessment I include a couple of questions or words that require the students to use strategies.   For example, on spelling tests I include a couple bonus strategy words.  These words are words they don’t hear until the day of the test, however, they are words that can be found somewhere in the classroom, such as on the board, posters, etc.  Overall I found the article very good.  I think feedback, especially good quality feedback, can be very difficult to do.

For the next assignment I looked at RubiStar.  Rubrics provide students with good valuable feedback.  When students given a rubric with an assignment they know right away how they are going to be assessed.  RubiStar is an easy to use program and it’s free.  It can be used for a wide variety of assignments.  You can either customize a rubric or use one already created.  You are prompted at each point, from which subject matter to the set up and rating scale.  I have created several rubrics from scratch and have spent quite a bit of time on them.  This program provides lots of options, including some I hadn’t thought of.  I will be using this in the future.

Next I looked at QuizStar, a free online test maker program.  There were a couple things I really like about this program.  The first is that you can choose the type of question you want - true/false, multiple choice, or short answer.  This reminds me of the Senteo response program, which is also easy to use.  This program allows for differentiated instruction in that you can choose the language.  This is a really nice feature for ESL students.  You can also set up the time span.  This can be beneficial for students that may need extra time on a test, such as special education students.  They could work on it during class and finish during a study center.  In this manner the teacher wouldn’t have to worry about the student carrying a test around with him or her.  Since it is graded on line it eliminates hours of grading tests.  Some of the things I don’t like about this program are that the test is online.  If you teach at a school that doesn’t have a lot of computers or if it’s difficult to get computer lab time, this program won’t be very useful.  The other problem with this program is that the only feedback is whether an answer is correct or incorrect.  I would like to try this program.  I think I will give it a try for my next test. 

Reflection of strategies -  It is important to provide students with good quality feedback.  Students need to know how they did on a task or assignment, what they did well, and how they can improve.  Feedback should reflect the object of the task or assignment.  As an educator we don’t want to comment on “every” detail, as it can be too much feedback and it can send the wrong message to the student.  Another important strategy is to provide students with recognition.  This can be accomplished simply (words of recognition) to something more tangible (stickers, certificates.)  I personally like words of recognition best.  When I started teaching a couple of years ago and had students do something out of the norm, they’d ask “what do we get?”  I would reply with “the satisfaction of a job well done.”  At times I’ll provide them with tangible items, but I really want them to be motivated to do well for their sake, not the reward.  The tangible rewards are far enough apart that they are a pleasant surprise to the students.  Another recognition tool I use is a fun activity.  The activities are fun to the student, but are still educational.  For example, throwing and catching a ball while listing nouns.     

CED0525 week 1

This is the first blog for my new course.  This week I had to read two articles and write a brief reflection on each.  The first article is Principles of Teaching and Learning.  I found the article very interesting, but a repeat of some of the other material I’ve read.  With that being said, I don’t think you can be reminded too many times about these principles.  Some of the most important points for a teacher is to be flexible and to assess your own teaching.  As a special education teacher I feel I’m constantly assessing how I’m teaching and how the students are learning, especially through differentiated instruction.  It seems that everything I teach I have to present it in several different ways, which means I have to be quick thinking and very flexible.  I also use strategies all the time.  I feel it’s so important for students to have the tools to find the information, especially as more and more schools are moving into inclusion.  One of the principles mentioned the differences between classrooms.  This is so true.  Even though I teach strategies and allow my students to walk around to use tools, such as dictionaries, posters on the wall, etc. not all teachers do.  I had in instance this year with a team taught teacher who yelled at the students for doing the very thing they were taught to do in our classroom.  I had to tell the other teacher that this method is accepted.  I want the students to become independent and as I constantly tell them, we’re working on life skills as well. 

Flexibility is so important.  I encourage my students to ask questions and sometimes it gets them “off topic” but onto an important topic.  It might be something they’ve seen on the news or in the newspaper, for example the protests and rallies.  If my students ask questions we will change the course of discussion, and I will facilitate a conversation.  I’ve been very careful throughout my teaching career to not infringe my beliefs on my students while trying to get them to think and form opinions about the world around them.  I will facilitate a conversation about what they have seen and ask them what they think about.  I also encourage them to talk to their family, and it makes me feel good when they tell me the next day they did.  As a teacher it is our job to not only educate them on the subject and matter at hand, but to help them prepare for their future.

The teaching and learning principles are inter-connected.  Students bring their prior knowledge and it’s my job to learn what it is and build from there.  It’s also my job to work on making sure they master skills.  If they don’t master the skill, they won’t be able to build onto it; it will be become a lost skill.  I thought the best concept is the climate of the classroom.   My school is moving towards almost 100% inclusion next year, and I’m not in complete agreement with it based on this very concept.  I work with CDB students who I feel will be lost in the “inclusion” classroom.  In my room everyone is expected to do all the same tasks and we as a class are there to support not make fun.  I have students that are at a pre-K level and are in 7^th grade.  The rule in my room is that everyone has to read aloud.  At the beginning it’s a challenge to get the new students to do this.  However, after just a few short weeks all the students are arguing to read aloud first.  This is because of the climate of the classroom, they feel safe, and in the end it helps me to assess their skills.

The second article A theory-based meta-analysis of research on instruction. Aurora, CO: Mid-continent  Research for Education and Learning I didn’t find quite as interesting.  I found it challenging to read.  I find it difficult to read scientific studies.  What I got out of the article was that the use of technology does affect student outcomes, and it’s greater than previously thought.  This doesn’t surprise me.  Students see technology as fun, therefore engaging.  Technology helps to motivate students and today there are so many different types of technology (laptops, Senteos, iPods, SmartBoard, etc.)  If I haven’t used a particular technological tool the students will ask me when we’re going to use it.  For example, I’ll hear “When are we going to use the clickers?”  When technology is used students are actively engaged.  The other advantage to technology is instant feedback for the students and teachers.  This is important and useful in delivering instruction.  As a teacher, do I move on or do we need more practice?  For students, they see their results immediately and therefore they can ask questions if they didn’t get a correct answer.  I’m curious since this was written in 2003, I wonder how different the results would be today, 7 years later with more technology.  Would the results be the same?