PLO 8
Abstract
Abstract
Technology
is an important part of a modern educational curriculum. It is important that teachers, administrators
and all other people that are actively involved in children learning are fluent
in modern technology and can effectively navigate many of the resources
available. Students respond to
technology enhanced prompts, allowing them to utilizes their various
intelligences and independent learning styles.
As we progress into the age of technology, where children are constantly
stimulated and active, it is going to be important to incorporate tools that
allow the students to be involved in their learning. Outdated, older, research and write methods
are becoming less effective. To increase
retention and acquisition of skills, old traditional questions are being
revitalized to include technology that will stimulate learning. The United States Department of Education has
recognized this progression and has set forth standards in the No Child Left
Behind Act, demanding that technology be actively implemented into pedagogical
strategies (Lever-Duffy McDonald,
2011). Below are three examples of
prompts that have been revised in such a manner, including research-based
analysis of validating its incorporation as well as the intelligences and
learning styles it will help enhance.
Prompt 1
Using the
Internet, research the powerful movements that transformed European society
during the early modern era. Be sure to include
information regarding the movement’s origins and the long –term affects. Develop a three to five minute podcast
discussing a movement that you thought was the most influential and email the
file to me. Podcasts will be presented
in class for critical analysis and interpretation.
Evaluation
This
prompt is designed to stimulate several of the different intelligences, utilize
a unique blend of learning styles and provide students with an alternative
means to display their learning. The
intelligences that are identified using this lesson include verbal-linguistic, intrapersonal
and the bodily kinesthetic intelligence.
Using constructivist models of development to facilitate this lesson,
podcasts were implemented to reinforce interaction between peers and allow
students to reflect upon their learning.
Podcasts were chosen for this assignment because this prompt deals with
issues that can be interpreted in various different ways igniting interest for
various types of learners. At the end
of the lesson students will have a full, concrete understanding of the
movements in European history.
To
further elaborate on the election of podcasts to enhance this learning
prompt, the prevalence and usage of
technology that is equipped to create or play such technology must be
noted. According to an African study
conducted by scholars Ng”ambi and Lombe, over ninety-five percent of high
school and college students internationally, own an MP3 player or like device
(2012). That means that students access
material through music, online radio or Youtube videos regularly that are
similar to their podcast assignment. In
general, most students know what a podcast is, enjoy using technology to
communicate ideas and already know how to use the technology. This tool was chosen because there is little
content to facilitate in terms of teaching the technology or providing access
to devices that would utilize it.
The
prompt is broken down into four distinct parts, the podcast being near the final
step. First a student must use the
internet to research the topic, develop a plan for a podcast utilizing
organization and word processing skills, create the podcast, then self analyze
when the class hears the presentation. This simple prompt initiates many layers
of thinking and requires the learning to take information they have learned and
apply it to a modern, technologically appropriate venue. The
many layers of this assignment helps to reach many different types of learners
and allows almost all students to take part in a skill that is natural to
them. By doing this, all students will
internalize the material as it pertains to them, and gain a personal
perspective on the material.
The
use of this prompt and the technology suggested most strongly correlate with Jean
Piaget’s constructivist perspective on learning. The constructivist perspective
is founded on the idea that knowledge is built from activities that happen in
the learning process (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2011). Students should be actively involved and
interested in the topic being evaluated.
During this process of learning students must access information that
they already know to associate it with new learning. They must be involved in
their learning for it to be meaningful.
When new information is learned one of two things happen. New information is either assimilated or
changed to fit in an already acquired category or it is accommodated and a new
category is made. (Lever-Duffy &
McDonald, 2011). These processes,
combined with social interaction create a meaningful learning experience for
students. This supports the
constructivist notion that learning is both social and cognitive. (Ng’Ambi
& Kimbe, 2012).
Research
on the use of this technology is primarily supportive. There are many positive
attributes to the use of podcasts in a classroom to facilitate learning. Ng’Ambi and Lombe found that the use of such
technologies lead to high level thinking and understanding (2012). Podcasts support the linguistic,
intrapersonal, interpersonal and kinesthetic intelligence, of which integration
of several intelligences is a predominant criterion in creating a good
lesson. Also, when a student is required
to create their own synopsis of a lesson in a podcast format, they are forced to
do a lot of things that would not traditionally happen with classroom
assignments. This student-centered task
is self-paced, reflective and promotes independent perspective (Ng’Ambi &
Lombe, 2012). Students are also
interested in this technology because they know a lot about it. As mentioned before, most students in America
have a form of hardware that promotes this technology. According to Hew, nearly twenty-two million
people own ipods and about one-third of those Americans download podcasts for
their own enjoyment (Kew, 2009).
Through utilizing this technology through the prompt students will not
only reinforce material that is taught in the classroom, but they will gain a
new perspective on the topic, as they are forced to research the technology on
a personal level and develop a podcast that appeals to them.
Like
any teaching method or new technology, there are challenges to
implementation. While podcasts add
clarity and motivation by using the spoken word, they should not be used as a
replacement for proven pedagogical practices (Hew 2009). There are three ways that they should be
integrated into the learning environment; as traditional course content,
supplemental course content and as student provided content as suggested by the
prompt ( Ng”Ambi & Lombe, 2012). Also, teachers may feel pressure from the
increased workload of developing podcasts in addition to lesson plans. For students, finding a correlation to the
podcasts, regulating time to listen to them and overcoming technical problems
may be obstacles to overcome (Hew, 2009).
Despite the challenges, podcasts provide students with a unique learning
opportunity and a chance to expand on material that they have already learned.
Prompt 2
Trace
the development of the slave trade using search engines on the Internet. Research the following questions. Under what circumstances did the slave trade
begin? How and when did the Islamic
Slave Trade change the existing system?
How did it change again during the
Atlantic Slave Trade? What impact did
the slave trade have on Africa and the Western World? Using the website bubbl.us, create a mind map
to document your findings.
Evaluation
The
second prompt was designed to accommodate many different learners. Spatial
learners, that learn best when they can see things drawn out will benefit from
this lesson as well as intrapersonal, naturalist and bodily-kinesthetic
intelligences. The visual representation
that is required when creating a mind map is an effective way to help students
retain information that they have learned (Lever-Duffy & McDonald,
2012). Concept mapping tools, or “brain
maps”, are available through a specific type of easily accessible software that
helps students to make connections and links to existing ideas. By completing the prompt above students will
understand the components of the slave trade, and how they came to be. Students will be able to link their learning
to current events in our country. This
ability to transfer knowledge is a highly sought after quality in the academic
field and will be a required skill to master higher-level standards in
education.
The use of the
mind maps is an effective way to get students actively involved in their
learning and to ensure that they know the material that they are being
taught. Students must take an idea and
link the concept to other correlating ideas.
This process requires a plethora of higher levels thinking processes
that help a child’s overall academic performance. According to Chang & Chang, the process
of developing a mind map is a deep learning process. These processes require students to find
alternative meaning in material, make correlations to existing knowledge and
apply those skills to newly acquired ones (2008). The ability to make these connections and
draw conclusions in academia often leads to better performance on standardized
tests and better on site job performance upon graduation. The alternative to this type of learning
often neglects these high quality outcomes, leaving students confused when they
are asked to expand on their learning (Chang & Chang, 2008).
Every technology
has its benefits and its challenges. Brain
mapping technology helps to develop cognitive information processing (CIP)
skills (Chang & Chang, 2008). The
development of this information processing skill leads to high level thinking
where students have to process the meaning of information that they have
learned. Students that perform these
types of tasks in a classroom environment usually develop deep analytical and
reasoning skills (Chang & Chang, 2008).
With the benefits of this technology stated, it is important to
recognize that the development of these skills are time consuming and difficult
to understand. Many students often have
trouble understanding how to start or obtaining the motivation to do this type
of activity by their self (Chang & Chang, 2008). As teachers utilize this type of technology
more often, the challenges will most likely dissipate creating a culture of
deep, introspective learners. This
level of thinking and creativity is becoming a critical component of a
competent graduate in America.
Prompt 3
Using
your wiki sign in for LL4schools, discuss the emergence of Islam and respond to
at least two of your classmates’ original responses. Who was the founder and what was his/her
background? What are the key beliefs of
Islam? Compare it to other religions that existed at the time of
development. What elements are similar?
What elements are unique to Islam? Then,
trace the spread of the religion. How
did it absorb other cultures? In turn, how did it influence others perspective
on their religious practices?
Evaluation
Web
2.0 technology was chosen for this prompt to facilitate peer to peer
interaction and to execute higher order thinking processes. Web
2.0 technologies are ones that utilize aspects of “communication, collaboration
and sharing” (Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2012). This activity will influence linguistic,
spatial, bodily-kinesthetic, logical-mathematical, interpersonal and
intrapersonal learners. The learners
will be able to use linguistic skills to type and verbalize their findings on
their wikis, visualize response on a digital screen; complete assignments with
active participation interact with peers and reflect on their own
learning. Mathematical-logical
intelligences are enhanced because the act of creating and responding to Wiki
posts are inquiry based (Frisch 2013). Students will not only initiate their
own responses and research, but they will reflect and respond to their peers’
postings. By doing this, students will
obtain a better understanding of the content they are studying and also gain
perspective on the knowledge and opinions of their classmates. This is important because there are no
distinct answers in a discussion of religion.
People often have varying ideas and perceptions when it comes to
religious principles and this topic is a good platform to discuss issues in a
safe, platonic, monitored atmosphere.
In
general this technology is fairly widespread with of 200 million users
(Lever-Duffy & McDonald, 2012). Most
high school and college students use these technologies for social networking
outside of the classroom. In fact nearly
half use them for academic use outside of the classroom. Approximately seventy-five percent used the
technologies in a classroom setting to enhance learning, through teacher
prompts. However, one hundred percent of
students used at least one of the technologies that are used with Web 2.0 software
for social use, daily (Capo & Orellana, 2011). Students are generally familiar with this
post, comment, respond set up and are willing and happy to participate in these
activities. They use tagging, web site
and profile building and other common Web 2.0 features on a daily basis on Facebook,
Twitter and Myspace (Frisch, 2013). In fact, the induction of Web 2.0
technologies have transformed the way children and adults interact with each
other, collaborate material and ideas, learn new concepts or research new
information, making it a very useful tool to incorporate into a classroom
setting (Capo & Orellana, 2011). Essentially with this technology, not only is
research available at everyone’s fingertips, but immediate feedback responses
are available to. This stimulates
question and answer and inquiry skills, even in a social setting. Incorporating these technologies into an
academic setting can be a useful addition to the classroom.
Although
the usefulness of this technology can be grossly understated, teachers are
still reluctant in many cases to incorporate it into learning. There are a lot of issues regarding security
and appropriateness with social networking sites. Our media has created a rift where teachers
have used these sites inappropriately, creating anxiety for teachers that have
considered using it in their classrooms.
To avoid the possibility of abuse however, security precautions must be
put in place. Other concerns and
challenges with this technology include students having inadequate equipment to
properly complete the task, funding to supply software and proper training ( Capo & Orellana, 2011). Another anticipated challenge would be
transferring the relevance of the task to peak the student’s interest. However, with proper execution, meaningful
research and positive use, Web 2.0 can be an incredible resource to enhance
learning.
Conclusion
There
are wide ranges of new technologies that are filtering into the classrooms as
early as Kindergarten. There are several
children that use technologies before their first birthday. This enculturation and immersion of technology
has changed they way students learn and what they expect to be taught. Technology is a way of life for many students
in our country. Learning can be greatly
enhanced by taking simple objectives and transforming them into technologically
infused lesson plans. Research has
proven that active, involved students that are interested in what and how they
are learning will perform better and be better students.
Not
only does this type of learning keep student interested: the incorporation of
technology is critical to prepare our students for the college world, and the
working world. Students graduating in
2000 or later are expected to be able to manipulate word processors and power
point presentation, navigate the internet and troubleshoot basic computer
operations. Newer graduates will be
expected to know and understand how to use Web 2.0 technology, use digital mind
maps, create and search for podcasts, create videos and a wealth of other
technological operations. It is important to incorporate these technologies
into early learning practices, to prepare students for the academic and
professional field of tomorrow. Most
importantly, incorporating technology into learning creates relevance and
relevance in teaching is one of the critical components that determine a
students success or failure.
References
Capo, B. & Orellana, A.
(2011). Web 2.0 technologies for
classroom instruction: high
school teachers’
perceptions and adoption factors. Quarterly
Review of
Distance Education (serial online).
12(4), 325-253.
Chang, S, Chang, Y. (2008) Using online concept mapping with peer
learning to
enhance concept
application. Quarterly Review of Education, 9(1), 17-27.
Frisch, J.K., Jackson, P.C. &
Murray, M.C. (2013). WikiEd: using web
2.0 tools to teach
content
and critical thinking. Journal of College
Science Teaching, 43(1), 70-
80.
Hew, K. (2009) Us of audio podcast
in K-12 and higher education: a review of
research topics
and methodologies. Educational Technology Research and
Development. 57(3). 333-357.
Lever-Duffy, J. & McDonald, J. (2012) Teaching and
learning with technology (4th
ed.). Boston, MA:
Pearson Education, Inc./Allyn & Bacon
Ng’Ambi, D. & Lombe, A. (2012).
Using podcasting to facilitate student learning: a
constructivist
perspective. Journal of Educational Technology and
Society.
15(5), 181-192.
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