This video is about a high school science class that created a museum to teach elementary students about the ocean. The high school students are required to use technology in their demonstration through the use of computer software. Below are listed the objectives of the lesson:

• Students will be able to design a hands-on scientific demonstration.

• Students will be able to research using a variety of technological resources.

• Students will be able to assimilate information into a useful form.

• Students will be able to use technology to create a museum placard.

• Students will be able to teach their topic to grade school students.

I think this lesson was a good demonstration of how hands-on learning can be integrated with digital or technological learning. Both skill sets were well demonstrated in this lesson. I also think this lesson was good because the products the high school students created were not made just for the teacher to see, but were put to use for teaching younger students.

Copyright laws via Disney mash-up

This video is a combination of Disney movie clips connected together to describe the Fair Use laws for copyrighted materials. Copyright laws originally covered a work for only 14 or 15 years - the reasoning being that this was a long enough period of time for the owner to make a profit on the work. Now due to the long lasting capability of mediums, companies and individuals can own the rights on their work or material for a lifetime plus 70 years. However the video argues that some materials can be used in small amounts so long as the use of the material does not destroy the original work or is not used for profit.

I think whenever possible it is important for teachers to either purchase a work or get permission to use the work in their classroom. This may take extra work on the teacher's part, but ensures their protection from lawsuit or fines. However, I also think there are cases where using copyrighted material is o.k. - like the example the video gave of non-profit use or properly citing the material.

"Learning Styles Don't Exist" Video

This video is supporting the argument that learning styles do not exist. It describes how the common belief in different learning styles among students is wrong. For example, he disproves visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning by explaining how it is not possible for students to learn in these different ways.

I have trouble understanding or knowing what to say about this video. I am not completely sold on the idea that teachers should abandon teaching methods that focus on different learning styles. I will use teaching methods in my class that focus on different learning models - for example: kinesthetic activities that give students physical experiences to relate to or videos that utilize both audio and visuals together. I feel that this video emphasized that the meaning of teaching activities is more important that whether they match a student's supposed learning style. I agree that how meaningful or applicable an activity is to a student is very important, but I think it is also important how that meaning is presented. If a student works well with auditory repetition or drawing pictures to gain understanding then presenting them information in that way is meaningful. Teachers can present information to students in specific learning modalities, but they can also encourage students to discover information in the best way that suits their needs.

Anyway - t0 me personally I think the verdict is still out on learning styles and multiple intelligences. I was not convinced by the video or the class discussion that these methodologies are not useful in the classroom. Trying to have students learn in different ways through unique experiences is a worthy goal for teachers and will be one of my goals as a teacher.

Environmental Health Video

Our video today is on a health education class which is creating videos on environmental health issues. Students are required to research an environmental issue and create a video presenting an argument regarding the issue. Students must focus on how to reach young people with their message. Technology used in this lesson include iMovie or another movie/video editor, digital cameras, and internet.

One strength of this lesson is the connection students are able to make to their lives through the choice of environmental issues. The teacher strongly encourages students to choose topics they care about a lot because of the length of the assignment. Another strength of this lesson is that the students are producing and editing their work with minimal teacher supervision.

Heart Rate Monitor Video

Today's video was about a class that used heart rate monitors to create graphs. The class first exercised for a few minutes (all at the same rate of activity) and then measured their heart rate. To create a comparison, the students allowed the heart rates to return to a resting rate and then measured their heart rate. The students also compiled their data together to create a comparison of girls' vs. boys' heart rates.

I think this lesson was good because the students had a personal connection to the data they were using for their graphs. This is much more useful that having them compare the heart rates of fictional characters from a text book. I also liked that this lesson connected at least two different types of learn intelligences - first, it used kinesthetic learning and then it used mathematical spatial learning.

Technology at College level vs. Technology at K-12 level

Video number one: Technology at College level

Video number two: Technology at K-12 level

Today we watched two videos which both examined how technology is used in education - the first video looked at the college level and the second video looked at Kindergarten through 12th grade.

Both videos have students giving statistical information on how technology impacts their educational experiences. Both videos represent the disconnect between students' capabilities with technology and their actual experience with technology in the classroom. Teachers are not utilizing technology to engage students. It could be argued that the methodologies and pedagogies of these teachers, although traditional, are successful and the use of additional or new technology is unnecessary. In my opinion, students need to have quality experiences with technology that demonstrates the educational capabilities of the internet and other technologies.

5/25/10

Today we watched a video on the impact of the internet on communication. This video demonstrated the complexities of html code writing and the possibilities for future communication.

The video offers an interesting argument about the current state of social interaction through the internet by making a few different statements about the "Machine." It says that the "Machine uses us" and that "We are the Machine." This implies that the internet juggernaut is both a controlling force (i.e. the infinite amount of information that is stored, transfered, viewed, copied, or created on the internet) and that we humans still can exert control over what we put into the system.

Microsoft Image Composer

Here is the link to the video for this observation: http://www.intime.uni.edu/video/045vahs/8/

In this video students are working with Microsoft Image Composer to create collages for different aspects of their school.

One of the strengths of this lesson is that the teacher models the activity for the students by demonstrating both past work and manipulates pictures for the class to observe in real-time. Another strength of this lesson is that students are interacting with their school community by creating collages of their fellow students.

This lesson is quite strong and it is difficult to determine what its weaknesses are. One thing that would make this lesson better is if there was a camera available for every student. If every student had a camera available to them each student could create a collage from their own pictures.

Missouri's Seasons Video

Here is the link for the video I watched for this observation: http://www.intime.uni.edu/video/031moue/8/default.htm

The objective of this lesson is for students to earn about the weather and climate of Missouri. This objective was met by having students listen to Vivaldi's "Four Season" and respond by listing words that describe each season.

The strengths of this lesson were: the use of technology to connect the students to different regions of their locality and the use of multiple intelligences for learning material (music, numerical, intrapersonal).

One weakness of this lesson was that the teacher did the internet research for the students. At first I thought this was because there weren't enough computers available for all the students, but it appears that the students were able to work on computers in pairs to create spreadsheets. I think the teacher could have had these students work in pairs to do both the research and the spreadsheets.

The students use technology by researching the temperatures of five cities in Missouri during the different seasons by using the internet. The students then used Microsoft Excel spreadsheets to calculate the average temperature for each of the cities during each of the seasons.

Video ---- 5-19-10

Here is the link to the video I used for this observation: http://www.intime.uni.edu/video/036iahs/5/default.htm

Hungerford's lesson has students working with a computer program that simulates the management of a department store. The students observe how price shifts affect supply and demand; they also use a website creator to develop a corporate website for their business to report on profits and sales. I think the strengths of this lesson are the real world applications of this software - many companies use similar products to plan their sales; also students see examples of how price changes can affect their lives through products they might buy. One weakness of this lesson is that the teacher doesn't build off student examples very well. For example, one student gave an example of her place of employment and how they lacked a sufficient number of clams to meet the demand. In stead of responding to this student's example the teacher continued to ask questions about products the students might buy.

One thing I would add to this lesson plan would would be to have students visit a local business and do one of two things: first, interview the owner and ask them questions about why and when they change prices; second, they could record prices of products they buy over the course of one or two weeks - noting any changes in price by creating a graph.

Technology in the Classroom

Here is a link to the video I watched for this observation: http://www.intime.uni.edu/video/016moms/8/

Today in our class we observed technology being used in a classroom by watching a video of students creating a news program for their school. The students are sixth graders from a middle school of third through sixth grade.

The most authentic thing about this experience was that the students were creating the news broadcast themselves with very little involvement by teachers. The students were responsible for organizing the interviews, gathering information about weather or birthdays, they created the PowerPoint displays, videotaped the broadcast, and edited the video. This experience is a demonstration of student-centered learning in which students create knowledge

Specific technologies used by the students include: PowerPoint Presentation, digital photography, digital video, video editing software, Microsoft Word Processing, and Internet research.

First Day of Class

This is my blog for an Education Class. It is my last class before I student teach next fall.