EDTECH 542 Week 1 Reflection

I found it a bit surprising that after eight years as a secondary high school teacher, I hadn't heard about project based learning from any of my colleagues or administrators. In a nutshell, project based learning is a learner-centered instructional strategy which encourages cooperation and group work, resulting in the creation of a project. PBL allows students to make continual, incremental progress, and gets them actively engaged in “doing” rather than “learning about” something meaningful and interesting to them.

Our first module in EDTECH 541 gave us an opportunity to peruse what PBL was all about, and to learn how it could be incorporated into the classroom. If there is one thing I took away from the first week's lessons, it's that PBL is interdisciplinary, and cannot be done successfully in a vacuum. It requires a team of teachers to work together in the creation of PBL activities, and it needs the support of administrators to facilitate the teaching and learning conditions required for meaningful and effective project based learning.

Below is a brief video which explains the basics of PBL:

  

EDTECH 541 Blog Post Comment List

Week One - Vision Statements:

http://ashleyeivins.wordpress.com/2012/06/08/vision-statement/

http://jenniefinafrock.wordpress.com/2012/06/09/vision-statement/

Week Two - Acceptable Use Policies


http://jodenedevan.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/acceptable-use-policies/

http://heathergaddis.wordpress.com/acceptable-use-policies/

Week Four - Multimedia in Education

Ashley Eivins: Ashley, you do a very nice job providing specific examples of how you've used multimedia in the classroom. Specific videos from science - allowing us to see into the human body, for example, give students access and exposure to a world they literally cannot see with their own eyes. Your example of the "virtual frog dissection" is a great example of how technology can be used to provide students with experiences that otherwise would be cost-prohibitive. I also appreciated your passion and enthusiasm for using multimedia and engaging students with the modes they're already so familiar with. Good work!

 Jennifer Justis: Jennifer, I was very impressed with the interviews you did with fellow colleagues on the use of video in the classroom. You mentioned video's ability to take students on virtual field trips. I also wonder about Skype, and the possibilities there for allowing students to conference and chat with authors, business people, and other teachers and academics. The music teacher you interviewed talked about using recordings of students from a nearby school to observe things like posture and gestures and how they factor in to the overall performance. Overall, great examples and nice way of involving your co-workers!

Week Five - Voicethread

http://jonfreer.wordpress.com/2012/07/02/walled-gardens-voicethread-post/

https://voicethread.com/#q.b3225998.i17096879

Week Six - Internet Safety

https://joannamarcotteedtechlearninglog.wordpress.com/2012/07/16/internet-safety/#comment-25

http://jodenedevan.wordpress.com/2012/07/14/safety-on-the-web/#comment-16

Week Seven - Technology in the Content Areas

Jen: Thoughtful post. Your argument about students acquiring the skills needed for a technological knowledge-based economy echoes one of my contentions. The concept of interest and diversity afforded through technology is certainly one more reason why tech integration is a good thing. I remember being bored in a number of my high school classes, as the curriculum was so ridged, as were our expectations.

 While I agree that technology has a lot of potential, there are currently a number of hurdles to the utopian vision of online publication, virtual field trips, and simulated experiments that you present. Lack of equipment and training are two of the chief reasons why the potential impacts of technology are tempered.

 I think that being able to dictate an action plan to implement technology is as important as knowing what to do with the technology. Without the proper tools and training, the “edutechnology” rocket will never get off the ground.

Amy: Hi Amy. Some great insights and observations about technology’s impact and role in education. You are definitely right that technology can move teachers toward more collaborative, student-centered activities.

 You mentioned something about the “correct combination of off and on computer activities.” I would be very curious to know what that “correct” combination is. Is this something you found in your research?

 You have some great quotes from a variety of disciplines on how to integrate technology into various curricula.

 I wondered at the end of your post if our job as teachers is really to help change instruction. I assume you mean change for the better, but it’s important to note that change isn’t always good. And, unfortunately, it seems like everyone BUT teachers are changing what instruction looks like in our classes. It’s definitely important for us to take control of our classrooms and exert our authority and autonomy.

Technology Vision Visual Story

Week One Blog Entry: Vision Statement

While there is certainly debate over what is needed to improve the educational system in our country, there is no arguing that the skill set needed to succeed in today’s economy differs greatly from previous generations. It is no longer sufficient to learn how to do a certain task, or memorize specific material, as many of the jobs required of the next generation of workers have yet to be created ("21st century education," 2010).

Rather than a body of knowledge, today’s educators are tasked with teaching a set of skills, which include the ability to analyze, research, create, collaborate, and publish. The growth of social media and the use of the Internet for research, publication, and real-time collaboration have caught the attention of educators who are implementing these technologies in their schools and finding increased student engagement and achievement (Demski, 2012).

In order to remain relevant, America’s educational institutions need to make meaningful and systemic investments in technology in order to provide students with an education that will make them competitive prospects for employers and post-secondary schools and colleges. In its implementation, technology should not be thought of as something that is “added” to existing curriculum, but rather a mechanism through which curriculum objectives can be better achieved and practiced.

References:

21st century education in New Brunswick, Canada [Web]. (2010). Retrieved from http://youtu.be/EjJg9NfTXos

Demski, J. (2012). 7 habits of highly effective tech-leading principals. THE Journal, Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/articles/2012/06/07/7-habits-of-highly-effective-tech-leading-principals.aspx

Doering, A.H., Roblyer, M.D. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching. Fifth Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Edutopia Staff. (2007, Nov. 5). What is successful technology integration?. Edutopia, Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-description

Worked Example Screencast

Digital Story - Who needs Nick Burns when you can build your own computer!

The purpose of this digital story is to provide viewers with a complete narrative that explains what's inside a modern-day personal computer. To many, the how and why regarding how a computer works is a mystery. By giving the viewer a "tour" of a computer's innards, I hope to demystify just what exactly is inside.

Because these are pictures from computers I build myself, there was a familiarity with the subject matter, which both helped me personalize the story and also "own" it, as I had purchased all of the components and installed them with my own two hands.

By starting and ending with brief excerpts from Nick Burns, Your Company's Compute Guy, I hoped to add humor and hipness to a topic that is, let's face it, a bit geeky.

Those interested in taking the next step and attempting to build their own computers will find a number of great resources online, including tutorials like this one from PC Magazine.

Something I learned from this project is that the time can really add up quickly. Even though each of my slides were, on average, about 10 seconds long, my digital story ended up being 4:26 long. This just reinforces the importance of knowing what you want to say and sticking to the script. Tangents and sidetracks can derail a digital story and cause the viewer to lose interest.

Coherence Analysis

1.      What is the Coherence Principle and its most important constraints/criteria?

The Coherence Principal is the idea that humans can only process so much in their working  memory. By overloading instructional materials with redundant or unrelated visuals, audio effects, and background music, learners will less successfully be able to grasp the concepts and ideas the instructor wishes to impart.

2.      Describe and/or include one example of successful and one example of unsuccessful attempts to apply the Coherence Principle in actual instruction and training you have experienced, especially as it might be implemented in PowerPoint-based instruction and training. Have you ever seen this principle violated or abused? Identify the violations, including citations as needed from your textbook.

The Massachusetts State Police recently visited our high school to review safety procedures in the event of an intruder in the building. The officer who spoke to us had good presence and was articulate; unfortunately, the PowerPoint presentation that accompanied his lecture violated the Coherence Principle in two ways.

The first was that his presentation contained extraneous text. It was also set up in such a fashion that what was written on the slides was almost word-for-word what he was saying. The slides were dense with text and poorly spaced. It would have been more effective if he had paired his speech with relevant visuals and a couple of choice words. Sentences upon sentences of text on a PowerPoint presentation is always a bad idea.

The presentation did contain one visual, but it didn’t seem to be directly related to the material on the slide. I can’t remember what the image was, or what the material on that slide was about. This is likely because the image disrupted my ability to build an appropriate link to the material (Harp and Mayer, 1998).

An example of a successful presentation was one I saw today in a workshop I attended at the Technology and Literacy at the Beach conference in Myrtle Beach, SC. The presenter, who was speaking about social media tools in the classroom, had a PowerPoint slide that contained four words and a picture. The picture related directly to a point she was making about collaboration, and helped me to understand what she was talking about.

3.      Discuss the relationship of the Coherence Principle to other Multimedia Learning Principles examined thus far in your readings.

The Coherence Principle dovetails nicely with a number of Multimedia Learning Principles we’ve studied earlier. In particular, I thought of the Multimedia Principle, which advocates for the use of both text (either spoken or written) and visuals. While initially it might appear that the Multimedia Principal is in contrast with the Coherence Principle, the key to the Multimedia Principal is using graphics that support learning. The Coherence Principle warns against the dangers of using complex, tangentially-related visuals. Put into this context, it becomes evident that these two principles are complementary.

4.      Discuss the relationship of the Coherence Principle to fundamental theories of psychology as described by Clark & Mayer in your textbook.

While it would appear that employing the arousal theory when creating instructional materials would help to stimulate interest and engage readers in the material, old friend John Dewey reminds us that “interest cannot be added to an otherwise boring lesson like some kind of seasoning” (Dewey, 1913). When instruction is paired with extraneous audio or video effects, the learner is often distracted from the core content of the lesson by the very accoutrements employed to help foster learning!

5.      What do you personally like or dislike about this principle? Present a coherent, informed opinion and explain why you hold this opinion. Are there any limitations or qualifications of the principle (caveats) which the authors did not consider and, if so, what are they?

I like the soundness of this principle. When you think about it rationally, it makes sense. We can only process and pay attention to so much, so when you add too many elements, it’s only natural that focus on and attainment of the desired learning objective becomes lessened. On the other hand, I can see how flashy multimedia bits can be used successfully as activators or rewards, either prior to or after the chief instructional lesson. Problems come up when these effects are attempted to be implemented during the lesson.

I personally find it enjoyable to do work while listening to classical music. I’ll often play it in my classroom at a very low volume. Students say they enjoy it, so it’s something I’ll usually put on when students are doing independent work. I wonder, though, after having read this chapter, if that music is a hindrance, resulting in writing tasks taking more time, as the text suggests. I've be curious to do my own research experiment to find out.

References

Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-learning and the science of instruction, 2nd edition. Pfeiffer: San Francisco, CA.

Dewey, J. (1913). Interest and effort in education. Cambridge, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

Harp, S.F., & Mayer, R.E. (1998). How seductive details do their damage: A theory of cognitive interest in science learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90, 414-434.

Write On! initial podcast

In the premiere podcast episode of Write On!, I provide an overview of the four types of journalistic leads - the news, feature, review, and opinion. Each article is different, and each requires a unique strategy. I talk about the chief aspects of each type of lead, and then provide actual examples from our school newspaper, Spotlight.

Click HERE for the link.

Write On! will feature writing tips, advice, and examples from a variety of genres, including newspaper, academic, and creative writing. Future topics could include "crafting thesis statements,""concluding with authority," and "the art of analysis."

I had a lot of fun recording this, channeling my own Mark Hunter from Pump Up The Volume. I was surprised how quickly I was able to fill the time. For future podcasts, I may try to limit the number of segments, or work at being more concise with my language and ideas. This was definitely a great learning experience, and I have a new reverence for the work of the radio personalities who entertain me on my way to and from work!

Narrative Games 1

This was a fun quest. I remember as a kid being intrigued by "choose your own adventure" books. Having an opportunity to influence the outcome of the story made it more engaging and meaningful. Rocky Ledge was similar.

As I played, I pictured in my head a Resident Evil-style narrative unfolding. Resident Evil is a shooter that makes use of narrative elements, including text. When your character interfaces with the world, you receive a message that describes what your character is looking at, using, or trying to do. Sometimes you'll try to do something and can't. One example is opening a door. Some door locks you can shoot with your gun, while others require a special key.

Rocky Ledge was similar. There were some directions that allowed for greater exploration (a path, the forest, the Great Canyon), while others were simply dead ends that required you to turn around. I definitely felt relief when I was able to move in the direction I desired, and panic when I reached a dead end (mountains, debris, buildings, etc). As I was reading and playing, I cared about my character's ability to roam free and explore the terrain.

One of the chief take-aways from this quest is the investment that narrative games can effect. Right now I am playing the video game Mass Effect 3. I want my character to succeed, and I want to make good choices that up her standing and shape her character in a positive way.

Response to Perry: Will videogames become better than life?

This TED talk provided a solid and concise history of the evolution of video games, and lays down the argument that the future of video games could become more meaningful and engaging than "real" life itself. As virtual and real-world experiences increasingly overlap, the line between games and reality becomes blurred.

Because of the power and influence of video games, one could argue that designers now have ethical considerations to make when designing worlds, characters, and plot lines. Much of who we are and how we relate to the world is now viewed through the lens of video games and pixilated protagonists. Given games' hold on our psyches, the future for games is vast. It's exciting new territory, and I look forward to traversing it with open and critical eyes.