Reflection Blog

As I reflect on the course, the most striking revelation I have about the new literacy skills is the fact that all of the skills can be taught in a Physical Education class. Throughout my masters, I have noticed that some of the skills do not apply in a P.E. environment. However, the new literacy skills can all be applied in my classroom, which is encouraging to me as an educator. In addition, I was impressed that I already focused on some of the skills in my classroom before I learned what they were called.

This course was exciting and challenging to me because I had to plan a Unit that involved extra P.E. time in a computer lab, but this Unit also help me gain a clear plan on how to execute the idea. I gained the knowledge in the steps needed to mix together technology, new literacy skills, and Physical Education content into a 4-6 week Unit plan. I am excited to try these new strategies with my 5th grade students, and then maybe my 4th grade students. In addition to the new literacy skills, I also feel I gained confidence in my ability to teach the students how to navigate the Internet. Prior to this course, I did not understand the lack of knowledge most students have in identifying urls, educational websites, etc. Now, I believe I have the tools to guide them through the steps needed to succeed navigating the Internet.

One professional goal that I have set for myself, is to attend more technology classes offered in my district. By attending these workshops, I will gain more knowledge about different strategies and ideas of ways to mix technology and Physical Education. In addition, I plan to attend our SmartBoard meetings, so that maybe one day I can apply for a SmartBoard to use in my gymnasium.

I know that this course will improve my teaching, and that my students will benefit from all the new experiences I can now offer them. Throughout my masters experience, I share with the students what I am learning as a student, and difficulties I face as an "adult" student. I feel my class respects my honesty, and ability to understand what it is like studying and writing papers. "Students appreciate it when we present ourselves as lifelong learners rather than all-knowing dispenser of information". (Eagleton & Dobler, 2007).

Eagleton, M. B. & Dobler, E. (2007). Reading the Web: Strategies for Internet Inquiry. New York: The Guilford Press.

Reflection: Final Blog Posting

After reflecting on my "Personal Theory of Learning" that I completed during week 1 of my masters course, I still feel the same about most of the topics mentioned in my application paper. For example, I wrote about using positive praise as a strategy for classroom management, which I read about in our learning resources as a successful tool when used in moderation. In addition, I wrote about creating a safe environment where the students are challenged, but can still find success and enjoyment in their learning. I still utilize this strategy everyday with my all of my classes.

A learning strategy that I will incorporate into my lessons came from week 3, which focused on the "Cognitive Learning Theories". Our learning resources that that we utilized week opened my eyes to the functions of our brain, and the important role teachers have in student learning. Teachers need to understand how to connect the student to the content, so the students can associate the material, and therefore, be able to recall the information at a later time. One technique I am implementing more in my gymnasium is peer teaching. Our resources mention that the more ways that students are exposed to the material (touch, smell, taste, hear, and see), the more likely they are to remember the information. They need to be able to create their own experiences, which is why I also have them peer teach to recall the information learned, and help others associate the content through each other.

Two technology tools that I would like to use with my students are a virtual field trip and blogging. I believe a virtual field trip will help me teach the students the history of sports and expand their learning about sports played around the world. For example, if I lecture to them about Ancient Greek Olympics, they will only remember one or two things I say. However, if I have them take a virtual field trip to Greece and show them pictures of what the events looked like, what the athletes wore, where Greece is located on a map etc., they will be able to have a more memorable experience through the use of multiple senses. Blogging is another technology tool that will allow my students to record their learning experiences, and communicate with each other. I will have the students blog about what they learned in class, and goals for the next lesson. In addition, I will have them blog on each others pages to give one another feedback and offer different insights about the content they are learning in Physical Education class.

Two long-term goal changes I would like to make to my instructional practices are making more time outside of class to incorporate technology, and also to make more time in class to implement new technology strategies, without limiting the students' activity time. My school has two computer labs, so I plan to sign out one of the labs during the students' study hall to allow the students access to a computer for a virtual field trip or blogging. In addition, if a student has a home computer, they can complete their blogging assignment for homework. However, if a student does not have a home computer, they will have free access to the school computer, in order to complete their out-of-class assignment. Besides using the projector for aerobics DVDs, I would like to connect the laptop to the projector and have the students teach the other students through a presentation about different fitness techniques or a dance. When using the laptop, they can create a powerpoint presentation with different pictures of the movements and the critical elements for the movement. This strategy will incorporate technology, teamwork and collaboration, and get the students up and moving.

Voice Thread

Here is the link to my voice thread about classroom space.

https://voicethread.com/#u658269.b786581.i4174532

Connectivism and Social Learning in Practice

I thought their were numerous instructional strategies from our book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works that correlate with the social learning theory. For example, one strategy mentioned having the students work together in groups to create their own web site. Each student was responsible for a certain job to make sure that the web site was created with as much information about the topic that they could find. Once the web site was completed, the students wrote a letter to the Chamber of Commerce for the city in which they researched to get feedback from the city. I love the different layers of the social learning theory that tie together with this lesson. For example, the students have to collaborate, cooperate, and work together to research and create their web site. Next, they have to collaborate with adults from their city to get feedback about their creation. Finally, the students also receive feedback and a grade from their teacher. When a student takes ownership in their learning, they feel more responsible for making sure that they succeed, and in return, receive enjoyment for their accomplishments.

Constructivism in Practice

Our book, "Using technology with classroom instruction that Works" discussed different ways to generate and test hypotheses. One teacher, Mrs. Omar, focused on her students learning "that compounding interest and saving money can lead to strong earnings over time" (2007, McRel). She gave each group 3 plans for what they would do with a $10,000 inheritance. Throughout her lesson she had the students working in groups and testing each scenario by entering in numbers, and seeing which plan would work best, and how each investment would end up. The students were first asked to think of a hypothesis before they tested each plan, and then discovered the results over a 30 year period.

I believe this lesson demonstrates a combination of both a constructivist theory and a constructionist theory. The reason I think it demonstrates some of a constructivist theory is that the students are constructing their own beliefs and meanings from this assignment. In addition, their teacher created the spreadsheet, and then just had the students enter in their data. However, I think it is also partially a constructionist theory, because the students created a hypothesis, and then built their knowledge from trial and error. They discovered what would work best for their investment, and learned from applying educational technology. I think the students were engaged during the whole assignment, and this experience was more beneficial than reading about compound interest and saving money. The teacher did state that she created the spreadsheet for the students because they were in 5th grade, and her focus was not on creating a spreadsheet.

Dr. Orey in "Cognitive Learning Theories" explains how the brain connects to previous taught information, and the power of using multiple sensory components when teaching. Students learn best when they can see, smell, taste, hear, and touch what it is they are trying to learn. When those senses are used in learning, it helps the students store the information into a memory that has many different paths to get the students back to that memory when they need to recall that information. In our book, Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, there are many different instructional strategies that correlate with the information from Dr. Orey's speech, such as, word processing programs as a table-making chart. Students can fill in the table with pictures, key words, and web resources to help them remember the information in multiple ways. This strategy can also be used when taking notes. For example, a student could draw a picture, and then connect key words that link the two pieces of information together.

Overall, I feel our book correlated with our DVD well, and offered great ideas to help the students remember the content in many different ways. I enjoyed reading about all of the different examples that implement the use of technology with learning and remembering information.

Behaviorism in Practice

The first instructional strategy mentioned in Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works is "Reinforcing Effort." This strategy correlates with the principals of behaviorist learning theory because it uses collected data to motivate students to work harder. The behaviorist theory focuses on rewards and punishments and different forms of motivation to help the students want to succeed and learn. In the book, they mention creating a spreadsheet based on effort so that the students can visually see their effort and understand how to improve their performance. In my gymnasium, I use educational technology through the use of pedometers to help motivate my students to be more active and teach them that each step is important for their health and activity time. For my older students, I have them set goals and reward them for achieving a certain number of steps, which demonstrates how I implement the behaviorist theory into Physical Education.

The second instructional strategy mentioned is "Homework and Practice." This strategy correlates with the principals of behaviorist learning theory because it allows students the opportunity to find success and reward from consistent practice and exposure to the material. The book mentions numerous educational technology techniques that can be incorporated to this strategy. For example, word processing, spreadsheets, and web resources that offer tutorials to help the students review the material they learned at school. If they students are getting rewarded by succeeding in their homework assignments, it is likely that they will want to continue this experience with enjoyment. I rarely give homework to my students, but do play games with the students that focus on practicing the movements and activities so that they can find success with each skill. I am constantly reinforcing the cues in class to help the students find success and praising them when they succeed. Practice is an important component in Physical Education that I use daily.