This week, I completely revamped my site. This was something I was both enjoying, but getting increasingly annoyed when I could not figure out how to do something exactly how I wanted it. I had a goal of keeping my personal touch on it but making it more like a professional blog. Hopefully I have succeeded in just that! I have added the twitter chat to my page- I toggled with the idea of adding just my profile but I feel as though visitors should be interested in the entire chat in general so I went with the hashtag.
I included the licensure and even added categories for my blog. I think it is coming out okay- and I plan on continuing to toggle with it as I find more time this week. It is definitely a fun thing to do when you have free time- however it can be frustrating if you can't get something exactly right. But thats why they have youtube- am I right? Have a great week everyone!
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A common misconception about Makerspaces is that it can only be used within STEM classes. However. Researcher Edward Clapp challenges this misconception by stating that “One of our newest projects, ‘Making Across the Curriculum’ honors the thinking and learning that happens in the makerspace and brings that to all of the content areas.” He also goes on to say that these Makerspaces do not involve expensive technologies so therefore- there are possible ways to be low tech if on a budget. The most important tool for teachers would be to analyze the framework of thinking and learning. “Maker empowerment is defined as having sensitivity to the design dimension of objects and systems along with the inclination and capacity to shape one’s world by building, tinkering, redesigning, or hacking.” Allowing students to have “maker empowerment” means that students will have more of an understanding of not WHAT things are but HOW they are.
Another misconception seen when it comes to Makerspaces is the idea of a “loss of control” to teachers. People seem to believe that because a teacher allows for such a range of creativity in the classroom that there is no control and little learning is being done. However, this is far from the case. “When someone cares about you and they believe in what you have to say, it’s much easier to lead them.” In other words, generating a use of respect between a teacher and students is essential to allow a makerspace to work. Its understanding that some of your students will get frustrated with a topic and being able to step back and assist them with working through their difficulties. Many times, this dynamic is what worries teachers in a student-centered learning environment. However, research has proven that these types of classroom environments allow for a deeper, more advances type of learning to occur. Students gain more from appropriate scaffolding technique’s that allow them to draw from their own repertoire. “If you tape your own classes you will find that you are providing endless advice on how to do things and more often than not co-opting the development of judgement.” This is of course extremely hard for teachers to step back and out of a teaching/assisting role and merely provide students with their own tools for their own type of learning- however the reward when students are able to come to understanding on their own and develop their own ideas and opinions are extremely beneficial to not just themselves- but the world around them. They will be able to take some of these skills and apply them to real world situations in their communities. Agency by Design Oakland. (2018, June 11). Many Experts in the Classroom: Redirecting Authority. http://www.abdoakland.org/news/2018/6/5/many-experts-in-the-classroom-redirecting-authority Brosbe, R. (2016, May 26). Can Teachers Give Up Power and Keep Authority? Retrieved from https://theeducatorsroom.com/can-teachers-give-power-keep-authority/ Martinez, S. & Stager, G. (2019). Invent to Learn: Making, Tinkering, and Engineering in the Classroom (2nd ed.). Torrance, CA: Constructing Modern Knowledge Press. Wiggins, G. (2019, August 31). Great Teaching Means Letting Go. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/great-teaching-means-letting-go/ A modernizing trend within today’s 21st century classrooms is the idea of the “Maker Space.” A Maker Space provides children and teens with the opportunity to explore their own interests; learn to use tools and materials; both physical and virtual; and develop creative projects. They provide hands on, creative ways to encourage students to design, experiment, build and invent as they deeply engage in science, engineering and thinking. Students are able to become active learners and take charge of their own learning experience and learn to problem solve on their own. Teachers take a step back from a “teaching” role and merely facilitate learning and encourage independent practices. They can also work in collaborating groups- teaching them the role of team work as well as collaborative learning practices/peer learning. Martinez states that “The maker ethos values learning through direct experience and the intellectual and social benefits that accrue from creating something sharable.”(Martinez & Stager, 2019, p.28) Students who are collaborating with peers also develop a deeper understanding of the content through peer learning.
Schools that part with a more traditional classroom and adapt to the ideas involved within a Maker Space are providing students an opportunity to become better problem solvers for outside school experiences within their community. “Makerspaces offer relevant and real experiences.” (p.31) These experiences can be useful to a student all the way into adulthood. In fact, these experiences pave a way into adulthood and shape many of the student’s abilities and interests. “The most salient benefits of maker-centered learning for young people have to do with developing a sense of self and a sense of community that empower them to engage with and shape the designed dimension of the world.” (Hutchinson, 2018) Students engaged in makerspaces during their primary/secondary school experiences often become successful adult individuals who contribute more in their communities. Hughes, J., & Conversation, T. (2018, November 1). Spaces aim to help boost creativity. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2017/09/18/health/kids-makerspaces/index.html Hutchinson, C. (2018, November 15). Makerspaces: An Important Component of 21st Century Education. Retrieved from https://www.haskelleducation.com/makerspaces-an-important-component-of-21st-century-education/ Martinez, S. L., & Stager, G. (2019). Invent to learn: making, tinkering, and engineering in the classroom (2nd ed.). Constructing Modern Knowledge Press.
For my final podcast in the class, I will discuss how to address social justice issues within the classroom. I find that many educators struggle with this issue because it is so prominent today and many of our students are affected by them. It is also difficult because there are always more than one side to these issues- so it is hard to appropriately incorporate them into instruction to allow our students to learn from them.
Other educators will be able to use this podcast to gain knowledge and tips for their own classroom. I linked it to the new NY SEL benchmarks that were recently adopted. There are still things that I need to work on when it comes to my podcast, but overtime it will get better. I really focused on creating a list of bulleted points that I want to address (advice given to us in our special chat with "Captain") instead of reading completely off of something. This helps make the podcast more conversational and less monotone. Overall I definitely plan on incorporating more podcasts into my classroom- and even demonstrating to my students how to make them.
I had my colleague as a guest in my first official podcast, where I will discuss the use of technology in the classroom. It's really important to me that I present both the positive and negatives of using technology in the classroom. As I stated in my previous podcast, I am more interested in conversational podcasts that have a guest speaker who is knowledgable of the topic. Therefore, I did my best to keep the conversation flowing and interesting for listeners.
As you can see, I created a set of interviewing questions to ask my colleague in order to keep the conversation going. This podcast will be useful to other educators or those studying to be educators as it focuses on the positives and negatives of using technology in an educational setting. I feel this is a common issue for many educators as they are torn as to how to positively incorporate technology into their classrooms. They can use this podcast as a guide to help them in their own classrooms.
A podcast is a topic-specific digital stream of audio files (in some cases, video or PDF also) that can be downloaded to a computer or a wide variety of media devices. They are funny, entertaining, educational, often short, and rarely boring. They can cover news, current events, history, or pretty much anything the creator would like. When you subscribe, each new episode is automatically downloaded to your device, to be played at your convenience. You can play the entire stream or select an individual episode as part of your
Before creating my podcast, I listened to several others to get an idea of what kind of podcasts I like. I found that I am more interested in podcasts that are conversational and have guests. Podcasts would be a great tool to use within the classroom because students can listen to them and create them. It is a great tool to use when you need to differentiate instruction- a learner who may not be as good at writing can create a podcast instead of completing a writing assignment. Overall, podcasts are great to use in the classroom across content specialities.
My group and I worked on a global collaborative project that was focused around making the world more sustainable in all different aspects-from the environment, to our youth, to our economy! Everything is connected in our world today- therefore our actions serve a large impact on everything that is around us.
This week, I will be using Gamestar Mechanic to recreate WWII battles with my students. I will allow my students to work in groups (no more than 4) and pick one battle from the war. They will then have to recreate it (like a simulation) using the game. They can use the avatars to represent the sides, and any other things to represent the road blocks and outcomes of the battle. Textboxes should be used to clarify the scene a little bit better and to also give use context for the battle (i.e when it occurred, how long it lasted, outcome etc.) My students will be creating them themselves and once they are created, students can play each groups game and learn more about the other battles. This project will need time for students to research so I am going to give them 4 days in class for research and collaboration, and the final project will be due on Friday. This is when we will sit down at a computer in a lab and play each game for ourselves. There should be at most 12 different games per class.
Differentiation in the classroom is so important when it comes to teaching our students with varying abilities. Within this week’s reading, I was able to get some new ideas regarding how to differentiate in my future classroom. One of the biggest suggestions throughout the readings was being able to provide students with choice in the classroom. While I was student teaching, I did my best to ensure that my students always had choice when it came to assignments. This always seemed to work out great and my students were more motivated when it came to their assignments. With technology, the opportunity to create choice in the classroom expands greatly. Students can prepare projects with the choice of using a webcast, a podcast, or even a Google slides presentation. Technology also works great in both independent and group settings.
One technique is to have assignments created for each of the levels of Blooms Taxonomy and have students choose their assignment based on their comfort level. It is difficult to create assignments that vary in choice but challenge each of our students. This can make it difficult to ensure that your students are challenging themselves appropriately. It is also more difficult when it comes to grading. There has to be a separate rubric for each assignment for students to follow. In the past, I have given students two different choices to choose from based on their preference. One usually involved individual work, and the other involved group work. I found this to be challenging as well because students usually always do group work and then you have to monitor and be sure each student is contributing. I found that one way to solve this issue is to have each student in each group grade each other based on how they feel their contributions were. I will then take the averages of those scores and create their participation grades. I will also be making the groups for whomever chooses to work in the group activity based on skill level to ensure that the students are able to stay on task. Guido, M. (2018, August 29). 20 Differentiated Instruction Strategies & Examples. Retrieved from https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/differentiated-instruction-strategies-examples-download/ Smith, G. E., & Throne, S. (2009). Differentiating Instruction with Technology in Middle School Classrooms. Eugene, Or: International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE]. Retrieved from https://login.ezproxy.oneonta.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=476090&site=ehost-live What is Differentiated Instruction? Examples of Strategies. (2018, August 21). Retrieved from https://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/examples-of-differentiated-instruction/ |
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AUTHORI graduated from SUNY Oneonta in 2018 with a degree in adolescent Education, social studies. I am currently enrolled in the SUNY Oneonta Educational Technology Masters Program. Archives
April 2020
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