Really Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works

I recently created a YouTube video for my Project Based Learning presentation. I chose to focus on 7th grade Social Studies. The students have to look the different economic systems in different countries, and then determine how the system affects the quality of life. I think this project will allow them to get a clear understanding of the different economic systems. I am excited to try this project out in the upcoming school year. The students will have to present through a Prezi presentation. They must include pictures and are strongly encouraged to include video also.

Google Docs/Amazon

This was my first time using Google Docs. It was a little confusing at first, but I got the hang of it after continued use. I think it is a great way to collaborate with peers and interact. I will say that I liked and understood it better than PBWorks.

I never really pay attention to reviews on Amazon or other sites like it. I don't feel I can gain a true perspective of a book through another person's opinion. Additionally, if it is a book for class, I don't have a choice anyway. That will be the assigned book for class if I enjoy it or if I don't. Therefore, I don't really think it will be beneficial or have any effect if I read the review. I did not but my book from Amazon, so it would not let me post on their site. I have included my review for Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology:The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America.

Chapters 1 & 2
In these chapters, Collins and Halverson discuss how education is changed over the years, and people should embrace the change. They start out by explaining how education has had the same format for a long time. This format is not current with the desires and pizazz that today’s students need. They discuss how various people, across a wide spectrum, seek education or advancement through technology. A very striking story they discussed was about a high school student that dropped out of school because he was bored. The student was still interested in computer programming and enrolled in classes online. He gained his accreditation and obtained a job through the route he drastically desired. Collins and Halverson discuss how technology allows people of any age gain education through their own terms. Technology is a part of the ever-changing world, and they discuss how it should be incorporated into every educational system. Technology open so many windows for education and the students.There are endless capabilities and opportunities for the learner. It allows learners adapt their education to their life. It can possibly meet all there needs and desires.

Plan, Act, Develop, Reflect

I enjoyed the article about Action Researchers. This method is very beneficial to teachers and/or administrators. This should definitely be an ongoing process for improvement. There are four steps that should be followed in this method: plan, act, develop, and reflect. In the planning portion, you decide what problem you want to look at or fix. In the next stage, act, you put the action in play that you think is going to fix the problem. Thirdly, in the development stage you review the result. Lastly, you reflect on the information and decide what route you need to take. You decide what worked and what didn't work. As I stately previously, this should be an ongoing process because there should always something you need to improve on.

Brian Dixon

Brian Dixon started his presentation with a survey question from www.polleverywhere.com. It was actually introduced to me in one of my staff meetings and we answered questions through the polls. I then began to think how this could use this in my classroom. I could use this this site to see what kind of prior knowledge the student have or I could use it as a form a formative assessment. I could use it to see what books the student wanted to read during the year or what type of projects they would like to complete. This will get the students involved in some of the decision making process. I liked how Brian Dixon started his presentation with the poll question and geared the discussion according to the results. This made the discussion specific to the group at hand.

Julia Fallon

Our presenter, Julia Fallon, shed a different light on Twitter. I was very familiar with Twitter before her presentation. I have an account for personal uses and I check my tweets usually everyday. I never thought about using it for professional networking purposes. Truthfully, I thought many professional people would see it as inappropriate. Her presentation quickly changed my views about that situation. I pleasantly surprised to learn that there were many professional communities in #twitterland. I liked how she offered information on how to make your account more appealing and the information she offered about privacy settings. I think it would be best to have two separate accounts if you have a personal and professional twitter account. Julia Fallon was very enlightening and I enjoyed her presentation.

Crowd Accelerated Innovation

Chris Anderson introduces a concept that focuses on the power of viral videos. The videos encourage the next composer to do better than the last. It encourages them to "step their game up". Anderson talks about the competition between dancers and how they are encouraged to improved by watching others through video on the internet. This should be the same with any other field also. In order for Crowd Acceleration Innovation (CAI) to work, it needs three components:

• Crowd-group of people with shared desires and interests
  
• Light-media or outlet to share with the crowd
  
• Desire-the drive to continue to improve and to be recognition.

I was asked to view some YouTube videos and apply this concept of CAI to them. I noticed as the different sessions progressed, there were more things done to grab the viewers attention. One person started out in story form and another had a clip of and eye protruding out of the socket. I consider this a means of CAI. I think the future presenters/composers used what the previous presenters/composers created to make theirs better. I think it is much easier to have a template to go by, and then you can decide what you need to do to make yours much better...hence encouraging the competition between the innovators in the crowd.

Made to Stick

I was assigned to read a chapter from the book Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath. I have read it before from a previous class, and once again, I was intrigued by the opening story. It started out with the urban legend of the kidney theft. It’s about a man who is bought a drink at bar by an attractive lady and the next then he knows is he is in a bathtub of ice with a tube protruding from his back. I’m sure many of you have heard some version of this story and like me, when I began to read it, I had a feeling I knew what was going to happen to that poor man. The question at hand is: What makes us remember this story? What makes us remember any urban legend or old wives tale? The book Made to Stick explores these questions and comes up with a solution for people to apply to every story or idea.

Clever stories or ideas should always be used in the classroom in order to get the information to stick with the students. The Heath brothers have developed a formula to do just that. It can be displayed in the acronym S.U.C.C.E.S.s…simplicity, unexpectedness, concreteness, credibility, emotions, and stories. They believe if you apply all of these principles to any point you are trying to get across then, the idea will “stick”. I agree with Heath brothers. Students of any age need that stimulation in order to retain information. For example, the story that was introduced could have very well been told in another way. The way that the story was told will leave a lasting impression. The "lesson" of that story will "stick" with the audience longer. This should be the case in the classroom also. I find that my students are more interested in topics when I incorporate my personal stories or topics that relate to them. I try to make sure I include some "stickiness" in all of my lessons.