Assignment Due!
Complete the Needs Assessments delivered to you via Survey Monkey from your colleagues. The Needs Assessments should be completed by Tuesday at midnight!
Standards for Week Four
NETS-C 3b. Maintain and manage a variety of digital tools and resources for teacher and student use in technology-rich learning environments
You will meet this standard by exploring research concerning digital-aged students and creating a repository of lessons and resources for future use.
NETS-C 3g. Use digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, parents, peers and the larger community.
NETS-C 3c. Coach teachers and model use of online and blended learning, digital content and collaborative learning networks to support and extend student learning as well as expand opportunities and choices for online professional development for teachers and administrators.
You wil meet these standards through research relating to the discussion this week, through interaction with your peers on the discussion forum for this course, and through creation of your online module to be presented in Week Eight.
You will meet this standard by exploring research concerning digital-aged students and creating a repository of lessons and resources for future use.
NETS-C 3g. Use digital communication and collaboration tools to communicate locally and globally with students, parents, peers and the larger community.
NETS-C 3c. Coach teachers and model use of online and blended learning, digital content and collaborative learning networks to support and extend student learning as well as expand opportunities and choices for online professional development for teachers and administrators.
You wil meet these standards through research relating to the discussion this week, through interaction with your peers on the discussion forum for this course, and through creation of your online module to be presented in Week Eight.
Reading
Please watch the YouTube video from Born Digital below: Learners
Week Four Concept Map
Week Four Discussion: Learning Environments
Many of us did not attend school in the classroom of the future. I attended school in the 70's and 80's. For most of my own schooling, I sat in a desk and took notes while a teacher talked at the front of the classroom. Your school experience might have been much the same.
But for a short period of time during my schooling, I attended a progressive school. This "Open Classroom" consisted of a giant pod. Classes were separated by dividers. We could see each classroom from our own. We could hear each classroom from our own. If we had wished, we could have passed notes to people in the other classes.
But we rarely had opportunity to pass notes. In this school, the teacher was never at the front of the classroom, we never took notes, and we were constantly out of our desks. The desks were geometrically shaped so that we could push them together in the shape of a table, or two or three desks could be put together for group work. The desks were constantly being moved and re-arranged in order to fit the classroom activities. We worked on the floor, outside, and in the spaces outside of the pod which had been designed as multimedia areas (yes - complete with tape recorders, televisions with VCRs, and record players!). Frequently, the entire grade would gather together, in the middle of the pod and hear a speaker, watch a film, sing songs, or dance. All of these activities were aligned with integrated units well-planned by the teachers. I remember a unit based on Trinidad and Tobago that was especially engaging.
I had no doubt when I went into teaching that I wished to emulate this experience for my own students. When reading about the needs of the students of today, I think back to that classroom in which I learned all those years ago. The type of teaching we are discussing in these chapters is not new. It is nothing different than that which was proposed by John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget. The only difference today is that technology allows infinite teacher resources as well as student learning and research tools. We can be more creative than ever before as we meet the needs of our students.
This week, think about your own schooling. Did you ever experience a classroom like those described as ideal in our reading? If you did, please share it with us. What aspects of your classroom most reflect these environments? What would you like to strengthen in your classroom, and what would you like to do away with? What obstacles stand in your way?
In addition, locate a technology-based (and content-rich) unit that you believe exemplifies the structure, values and methods of learning of the digital age learner and share it with us. Describe it a bit, and give us your rationale as to why this unit is exemplary for today's students. Also, be sure to include it in your digital repository.
Participation hint: Post your initial response to the reading prior to Tuesday morning. Participate in the Reading Discussion on three days during the week. Build on the responses of others by sharing new resources, asking questions, and sharing personal experiences. The initial response should contain 3-5 resources, and should utilize proper APA citation.
The Weekly Discussion is assessed with the Participation Checklist:
Participation Checklist (10 Points Per Week)
2.0 Points - Candidate makes posts to the class at least three days during each week 1.0 Points - Candidate posts to Reading Group prior to Tuesday, so that the group may respond and interact in a timely manner
1.0 Points - Candidate’s posts accurately reflect reading and/or video materials
2.0 Points - Candidate builds on the responses of classmates in the Reading Group discussion
2.0 Points - The first posting of the week is between 350 and 550 words in length. This posting uses APA formatting to cite information discussed. Three to five in-text citations are provided in each initial posting. References are listed according to APA formatting requirements.
1.0 Points - Candidate was positive and professional during all interactions with classmates
1.0 Points – If an assignment is due, the candidate submits it to the appropriate task in a timely manner.
But for a short period of time during my schooling, I attended a progressive school. This "Open Classroom" consisted of a giant pod. Classes were separated by dividers. We could see each classroom from our own. We could hear each classroom from our own. If we had wished, we could have passed notes to people in the other classes.
But we rarely had opportunity to pass notes. In this school, the teacher was never at the front of the classroom, we never took notes, and we were constantly out of our desks. The desks were geometrically shaped so that we could push them together in the shape of a table, or two or three desks could be put together for group work. The desks were constantly being moved and re-arranged in order to fit the classroom activities. We worked on the floor, outside, and in the spaces outside of the pod which had been designed as multimedia areas (yes - complete with tape recorders, televisions with VCRs, and record players!). Frequently, the entire grade would gather together, in the middle of the pod and hear a speaker, watch a film, sing songs, or dance. All of these activities were aligned with integrated units well-planned by the teachers. I remember a unit based on Trinidad and Tobago that was especially engaging.
I had no doubt when I went into teaching that I wished to emulate this experience for my own students. When reading about the needs of the students of today, I think back to that classroom in which I learned all those years ago. The type of teaching we are discussing in these chapters is not new. It is nothing different than that which was proposed by John Dewey, Lev Vygotsky and Jean Piaget. The only difference today is that technology allows infinite teacher resources as well as student learning and research tools. We can be more creative than ever before as we meet the needs of our students.
This week, think about your own schooling. Did you ever experience a classroom like those described as ideal in our reading? If you did, please share it with us. What aspects of your classroom most reflect these environments? What would you like to strengthen in your classroom, and what would you like to do away with? What obstacles stand in your way?
In addition, locate a technology-based (and content-rich) unit that you believe exemplifies the structure, values and methods of learning of the digital age learner and share it with us. Describe it a bit, and give us your rationale as to why this unit is exemplary for today's students. Also, be sure to include it in your digital repository.
Participation hint: Post your initial response to the reading prior to Tuesday morning. Participate in the Reading Discussion on three days during the week. Build on the responses of others by sharing new resources, asking questions, and sharing personal experiences. The initial response should contain 3-5 resources, and should utilize proper APA citation.
The Weekly Discussion is assessed with the Participation Checklist:
Participation Checklist (10 Points Per Week)
2.0 Points - Candidate makes posts to the class at least three days during each week 1.0 Points - Candidate posts to Reading Group prior to Tuesday, so that the group may respond and interact in a timely manner
1.0 Points - Candidate’s posts accurately reflect reading and/or video materials
2.0 Points - Candidate builds on the responses of classmates in the Reading Group discussion
2.0 Points - The first posting of the week is between 350 and 550 words in length. This posting uses APA formatting to cite information discussed. Three to five in-text citations are provided in each initial posting. References are listed according to APA formatting requirements.
1.0 Points - Candidate was positive and professional during all interactions with classmates
1.0 Points – If an assignment is due, the candidate submits it to the appropriate task in a timely manner.