Homework

02/29/12

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

Just as Bloom's taxonomy build on itself to create a more rigorous educational experience, Bloom's digital taxonomy builds in rigor the creation using digital outlets. The first principle of remembering is similar to the knowledge principle. It is very basic in showing knowledge as it is basic word processing and basic computer skills such as web searching. In order to complete the other steps this principle is a basic necessity.

The second principle of Bloom's digital taxonomy includes more rigorous activity. This may include the combination of text and graphics to show an understanding and advanced searching. This principle shows that there is an understanding of the material by showing it in a variety of ways.

Bloom's third digital principle builds on the first two and adds a more interactive or action component. This principle deals with more manipulation of text and graphics and at some times include interaction and user interface in which the person applies a concept to what they are doing. This is more specific in use of specialized programs to improve the overall product. There is an increase in interaction between the audience and the product.

The fourth principle focuses mainly on the demonstration of material in a logical way. Instead of having all of the material in one place it is neatly organized and shown in pieces in a careful and thought out way. By putting it in a logical way the audience can search for the necessary information without needing to read all the material.

The fifth principle is very similar to the fourth in that the material is logically place, however, a judgment and evaluation of the material is given. This requires a person to evaluate material and present it in a way of showing their thoughts and opinions. This may include message boards or websites that demonstrate their opinion of a topic. Instead of logically placing all the facts, the person is trying to express an opinion that will influence the audience.

The final principle is a finished product that can stand alone. In it synthesizes all of the prior principles and creates an end product. This product serves as an informational piece, a model, and an evaluator. It uses a wide variety of skills to make something that can educate all in many ways. The most rigorous activity and high levels of understanding of software are imperative for the completion of a product in this principle. Without significant knowledge of what is possible and how to do it, the end product will not serve its full purpose.

02/22/12

3 ideas I have already followed:

1.       Steal like an artist

a.       Using other peoples ideas is a a good place to start. Most ideas are branched off others. Nothing can truly be original these days because so many things have been done, but by taking a little from different places and then changing and modifying them you can make them unique. It is in this uniqueness that true art is made and new things are created.

2.       The artist is a collector

a.       An artist looks at many different places for inspiration. As the artist finds more things to his liking he keeps them in his memory. When it comes time to create he goes into that mental library and uses all the things he likes or finds fascinating and inserts them into his creation.

3.       Side projects and hobbies are important

a.       It is always important to have side projects and hobbies. If it is always work work work then you will drive yourself mad. You need something to take your minds off of the hardships of creating a big project. Sometime you get stuck and need a break, these side projects are an outlet of relaxation.

Things I Will Take away

4.       The things you will need:

a.       Curiosity

b.      Kindness

c.       Stamina

d.      A willingness to look stupid

                                                               i.      Most importantly to me is the last part. Creativity does take curiosity, kindness, and stamina, but in order to be different you must realize that some people may think your ideas are stupid or think things may be stupid. It is important that its alright to look stupid as long as you are having fun. I always think about dancing, if you cant dance you will look stupid, but if you are having fun who care?

5.       Good Theft vs bad theft

a.       This slide on the page shows the difference between good and bad “theft.” This slide basically explains that good theft is using an idea in a positive way in which you have carefully thought about an idea and borrowed from a number of sources. By borrowing from a number of sources you transform many works and ideas into an individual idea that is your own. The idea of remix explains it best. You need to take samples and change and modify them to make them your own. Stealing an idea or a number of ideas from one area is just imitation, or a cheap rip off. It is important to give credit where credit is due.

6.       Write the book that you want to read.

a.       It is important to write or create things that you enjoy. If you do not enjoy your work then why should someone else? It is important that you take pleasure in your work because if it is not your best work then it may not be the best to display. No one wants to show off work they do not approve.

 Assignment for  02/15/12

Passage #1

Answer to question  on page 180: What is your cognitive theory and how does it relate to design of online instruction.

·      I thought that it was interesting that he mentions that all learners have a capacity of learning and remembering audio and visual material. This is important to remember because we often overload students with information and then expect them to memorize the information. Breaking down the work into manageable chunks is a good idea.

·      I think that the five main cognitive processes in the cognitive theory of multimedia learning were interesting. Selecting words and images, organizing words and images, and integrating are all important images. When you stop and think about it, it is very important to choose your words and pictures wisely when presenting material.

Passage #2

Answer to the question on page 181: What are some research-based principles of instruction derived from cognitive theories of multimedia?

·      I thought that it was interesting that he organized his principles into different categories. The first 5 principles focused on reducing extraneous material, 3 principles aimed at managing intrinsic cognition processing, and 2 principles are aimed at promoting generative processing.

o   Those first 5 principles eliminate the extraneous material and present it in a neat and clean manner that makes sense. By simplifying information and organizing it well, the material presents itself in a more meaningful manner.

Passage #3

Answer to the question on page 182: Is instruction technology centered or learner centered?

·      His response is the most obvious f answers yet, teachers are often distracted by tech use and lose the meaning of using it. Technology is meant to supplement material. The learning process should be based on the needs of the student and not based on the technology available. The technology should provide an alternative way to present the information that may clarify it for the students. The instruction should not be based around the technology but rather improved with elements of technology. IF technology cannot help a student it should not be used for the sake of using technology. Everything should have a purpose and benefit or else time and efforts will be lost in useless activities and presentations.

Assignment for 02/07/12

E-learning reaction

I think that the use of E-learning can be very effective, but just as the article says it matters how it is use. Research shows that an e-learning class can be just as effective as a face-to-face classroom, but also showed that it could potentially be worse. The way the class is prepared makes the experience positive or negative. The effectiveness of all of experience is dependent on the goals, the learners prior experience, the way the training is implemented, and the structure of the class. All of these ideas are basically the same issues for a face-to-face classroom.

The e-learning experience can be positive for a person that wants to work at their own pace. An asynchronous class can be a good thing for people that like to go at their own pace whether it be a quick or slow pace. Pre-programed feedback and responses can help out the person, however the personal connection between teacher and student can be lost. I do feel that message boards and email provide a lot of busy work. My personal experience with an online class was an over abundance of reading followed by busy work that normally would be covered by classroom discussion. I personally prefer the face-to-face class, but would be open to an e-learnign experience that did not have the "busy work" feeling I feel that goes along with message boards and emails to the professor.

It did not really surprise me that the army study did not find conclusive data about the use of visual to teach because it goes back to the idea of the different learning modalities. Each student learns in different ways. I do think that the multimedia approach has a good chance of helping out a wide range of students. If options as to what type of instruction is provided the student can choose what they prefer. Students should know especially by the higher stages of learning what they prefer and the best way they learn. By providing this choice the student can pick what they want and then learn the material at their own pace.

Assignment for 02/01/12

Article Reaction

Though at times the article was diffucult to understand the thing I took away from it was that no matter what they media of technology does not directly impact the learning of the student. The use of multimedia does not directly correlate to student success, but rather depends on how the teacher uses it. Each form of technology brings its own benefits and hinderances to the students. Depending on the students' learning styles, multimedia tools can help students. Some students can benefit from audio portions of technology, some benefit from the visual aspects, and some benefit from the manipulation. Without proper instruction, the use of technology  has potenetial to being more harmful. Teachers should not use technology for technology sake. The matter of integration technology boils down to the simple issue of quality over quantity. The way in which the technology matters more than the amount of it being used in the classroom. The article does seem to constantly reiterate that there is not enough signifcant evidence to prove that technology integration is the reason why students do better or worse in classes, but rather stress the importance of the methods of instruction.

This article is helpful in reminding the teacher that technology is a supplemental tool in the classroom. The implementation of technology does not automatically lead to better scores and results, but rather provide different ways to present the material. In these difference presentations the different modalities of learning are present and can cater to the needs of the student. Several different approaches and stimuli can provide different examples that may, but by no means guarantee improved understanding. The implementation of technology does not rely on the quality of the tool being used, but rather the quality of the method in which it is used. Good teaching cannot be replaced by technology, but can only provide different ideas.

Ideas for project

Interactive Game/ Video

• Content: The benefit of context clues while reading/ how to use context clues to identify unknown words.
• What is a context clue?
• What type of context clues exist.
• Examples for each
• Format for project

• Intro to Context Clues
• Examples that highlight the thought process for using context clues.
• Quick question to check for understanding. (Repeat section button)
  
• Interactive questions for understanding- Quiz? Read a sentence- an underline word is given and the students must choose its definition from a choice of 4 or 5 words.
  
• Look into making it progressive- if students do well questions harder, if they struggle they are given easier questions to boost confidence.
• Ability to underline/ highlight words
  
• Presentation of material at the beginning:
• Teacher/Student turn detective to solve the mystery of the unknown words.
• Teacher looking through magnifying glass (use of zoom) to reveal the questions leading to the game
• Feedback for correct and incorrect answers showing the more commonly used context clues when answered correctly.
  
• Keep track of number of guesses? Progressive? Help/ Hint?
• Too much coding?
  

Brain Pop Video Clip Assignment

http://www.brainpop.com/english/grammar/theyretheirandthere/

Goal

·        Teach the difference between there, their, and they're.

·        Give examples of how to use each form of the word.

Chronology

·        Opening Title

o   Words appear with a still picture in the back

·        Characters enter riding bikes

·        Two quick scenes where Moby (a robot) waves to a new neighbor and the new neighbor waves as she walks across the screen.

·        Tim reads a letter addressed to Moby and him about the differences between their, there, and they're.

·        Scene where the three forms of "there" pop up and the definition of homophones is given.

·        Tim talking explaining why it is important to know the difference.

·        Definition of they're.

o   The new neighbors move across the screen carrying boxes as the definition of the word and an example appear on the top.

·        Definition of their.

o   Tim and Moby are on screen explaining the definition as it appears on the top of the screen

·        They're moving their furniture- someone picks up a chair and moves it off screen

·        Definition of there.

o   Starts off the same as the others with Tim explaining the definition and then cuts to a scene where they zoom into a picture of the door to a house.

·        Other examples

o   They have still phrame pictures where voice bubbles appear showing definitions.

·        The final scene is Tim talking once again using the examples in a sentence.

E-Learning Article Assignment

·         Rewrite your material

o   If things are to formal you may lose your audience before the material is presented

o   Use conversational writing such as second-person pronouns or use a on-screen coach

§  Personalize for the audience-- use you, your, I, our, we.

o   Using conversational voice may fit because studies suggest that a person works harder to understand material when in a conversation

·         Use on-screen coaches

o   A cartoon or avatar can work as a help with text or an actual recorded human voice

o   Research shows that a conversational avatar with an actual human voice (as opposed to computer-generated) produces better results

o   Coaches should be used for instruction and not entertainment

o   Coaches should not distract the audience

Reaction

·         It is an interesting concept, but is it truly worth the time to create an on-screen avatar coach? It seems like without a proficiency for easily creating one this could be more work, but if one could be easily created it could prove beneficial.

·         I think the use of conversational language could help out when assigning tasks, however, most state tests use the formal voice so practice and preparation would be needed for the students. I think that this though could help lower level readers understand concepts rather than confusing the with words that are unimportant.

·         I think that this may just be a way of justusing technology for technology's sake. Unless students have their own computers at home,would this work in he classroom? I don't see this working in a computer lab setting, unless every student has a pair of headsets. Though this seems to bean effective form of instruction the practicality can easily be lost in making the lesson too flashy.

Way to apply to the classroom

·         Use conversational voice in project directions-- try to make directions more inviting and easy to understand.

·         I think it would be cool to create a online avatar for computer activities, however, i have noidea how togo about it.

·         I feel this may be a bit too fancy and would distract the easily distracted middle school minds of my seventh graders, but may also provide that extra help to students in need.