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| NETS-T Word Cloud using Tagul |
National Education Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS)
It is important for every teacher candidate to find ways to integrate technology into the curriculum in a creative manner that supports student learning. As such, I have taken all of the material in my EDUC 422 Technology Tools and hosted it in a virtual space that is easily accessible for all my students. Through a class blog, a discussion or information site published in the Internet, Edmodo, a social learning network for teachers, students, and parents, and Google Sites, a structured wiki and web page creation tool, I am modeling how to design and implement learning experiences to engage students and advance my professional practice. My classroom blog, constructed using Blogger, a free blogging tool from Google, provides weekly/biweekly updates for my students regarding the content of the upcoming classes and serves as a reminder for what needs to be accomplished. Edmodo offers my students a virtual space to access course assignments and interact with peers to share information and ask questions about course content or to gain general information. I used Google Sites to host information and assignment instructions that can be easily accessed by my students in an organized manner. My creative use of these tools to provide a learning experience for my students allows me to model collaborative knowledge construction and ways that they might be able to use technology in a virtual environment to connect and collaborate with their future students and parents. Exposing future teachers to a multitude of emerging technology tools and strategies for integrating them into the curriculum allows me to contribute to the vitality of the teaching profession and ways to improve student learning. (NETS-T I, V)
Tonight we will be creating iMovie Public Service Announcement about CSUSM. As I mentioned in class Monday, I will provide you with the video and music, but you are welcome to bring your own (don't forget your cord if you shoot on your iPhone). I also plan on introducing you to the mind mapping assignment to brainstorm the remaining NETS-T artifacts. If we have time, I would also love to meet with you individually if you have any questions about writing TaskStream narratives. . .Please bring Headphones. . .we will need them when editing video
Don't forget: As part of your Emerging Technology assignment you will be putting all of your artifacts on your blog (Monday) and you will creating a Symbaloo webmix as a TPE 14 portfolio that you will be embedding in TaskStream. And I'm sure you have plenty of other things to keep you busy this weekend and beyond. . .
Tonight's Question: If you were tasked to change one thing about the current education model what would it be? (think curriculum, instruction, physical space of the school or classroom, etc. . .)
I would get rid of grades, formal testing, schooling agendas, rigid curriculum, academic bureaucracies, and teaching in indoor classrooms (as opposed to outside in nature).
ReplyDeleteGrading is the curse. Why don't we just have a pass/fail grade instead of A, B, C, and D? I have learned from experience that some of the students who have As and Bs have a lot of head knowledge but fail to relate that knowledge to real life situations. I also hate it when my principal wants me to document all that I have done with the kids before I give then an F. What can you do if the students show up without doing homework? Whose fault is it when they appear do not care about an assignment?
ReplyDeleteThere should be more opportunities for students to revise their grade. Grades are fine, they make the student aim toward something. But, normally you get only one chance at a test or report, and what it the reason to go over answers afterward? Everyone needs a chance to learn from their mistakes and not be penalized. People don't want to learn and take chances to explore concepts if they will often be marked wrong.
ReplyDeleteProbably the role the federal government has played in education. Standardized scores are more important than the actual students.
ReplyDeleteI would get rid of standardized testing. I think every student is unique in their own way and not all students are good test takers. Students should be scored on a wide range of skills, including leadership abilities and other non-traditional qualities. Not everybody is going to become a doctor or lawyer so we as educators need help every student achieve their goals, whether it be as an auto mechanic or scientist. Students that receive poor grades in traditional classes early on could get discouraged and give up.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see every student with a an ipad in the classroom. I believe that the more and earlier we expose students to technology the better they will do in school and in their future jobs.
ReplyDeleteI would get rid of heavily weighted tests. Being a college student, I can go to class everyday, take endless notes, and participate, but my grade for the class is based on two midterms and a final. High School and grade school should be the same way. I think tests are important to be able to get an understanding of the classroom and who "gets it" but having their grade rely heavily on these tests creates unnecessary pressure on the students.
ReplyDeleteI would advocate for classroom instruction to be collaborative project based and not test centered. Students are coming out of school with no idea how to function in groups, provide input and have little understanding of how cultural differences. They are wondering where are the bubbles I fill in to show my proficiency?
DeleteStandardized testing is blocking our view of the individual students. We need a perspective change.
ReplyDeleteStandardized testing and the pressure that is put on students to perform on these tests is something that has become a big problem. Some students do not perform well on standardized tests and feel extra pressure to perform well on them, or the opposite and don't take them seriously. Either way is damaging to the overall goal of learning.
ReplyDeleteI would change standardized testing because it only puts more pressure, and strains students in performing on these tests. It also designates funding, and holds teachers accountable on issues beyond their control.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to change the something about the current education model it would be to find a way of enriching projects to include various subjects, to work across classrooms in order to more strongly develop multiple skills when learning various concepts.
ReplyDeleteI do not have a lot of insight into the actual ins and outs of the classroom. With the few experiences I have, I would have to say the testing requirements seem to be a little much. Teaching is so much more than providing information. When teachers are teaching to a test, there leaves little time for individual investment. Students have different needs. It is vital teachers can be sensitive to these needs.
ReplyDeleteI would change standardized testing. Not every student is a good test taker. Every student is unique and I believe they should be evaluated on other skills not just testing.
ReplyDeleteI share the opinion with a lot of the above students that there are problems with testing. I am not sure the best solution to the problem, but I would like to see a change assessments.
ReplyDeleteI would actually consider putting 2 teachers in each classroom, one to stand at the board and teach and the other to help students who are struggling. I think that having another teacher/educator/assistant in each classroom would benefit the students tremendously in terms of understanding concepts and asking questions.
ReplyDeleteIf I had to change one thing about the current education model, I would make all classroom learning geared towards an existential teaching philosophy! I think if students are prompted to seek out the topics which they find most interest in, they'll be more likely to succeed in learning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Richard. I think that if the budget would allow, it would be incredibly helpful to have 2 teachers per classroom. One general education and one special education teacher. I think that this is often the model we are striving for as special educators attempting to embrace inclusion, but this is often difficult to achieve (per my own personal experience) because there are so few special education teachers per school.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I've just been asked to comment on too many things lately, and perhaps I enjoy a good situation in a private school (not as much pressure from standardized testing), but overall I'm OK with the current model. After all I've read for this class, though, I would say that I'd like to see every student with his/her own laptop or iPad so that we could fully explore concepts like flipped classrooms and globally collaborative learning.
ReplyDeleteStandardized testing! It takes up way too much time because teachers have to spend so much time preparing their students. Also, many students simply do not do well with testing, and the test scores do not reflect their academic ability.
ReplyDeleteSmaller class sizes. It would be so much better for the students.
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ReplyDeleteI would change that students would have less students per classroom and have more teacher per student ratio. Also, schools would not be based exclusively on testing, instead students would have more opportunities to develop individually and focus on what interests them most while also learning what is required of them to learn in the different subjects.
DeleteAfter reading the L&L article on "flipped" classrooms my stance on educational structures have shifted...slightly. I like the idea of the flipped classroom for reasons such as textbook-free curriculum, ability to work at own pace, students become self-directed/pro-active learners, etc. Through out the years I attended traditional-structured schools, I had to reteach myself things we went over in class at length in order to obtain a solid understanding of subject matter. I also worked at a slower pace than my classmates. I always completed my assignments on time and received good grades however, feeling like the "turtle" in the race added a lot of stress and anxiety that I feel traditional classrooms can create and "flipped" classrooms try to eliminate.
ReplyDeleteI would change standardized testing as part of the educational system. It does not reflect all students' academic ability at all, because as we have seen from Gardner's Multiple Intelligences everyone has different learning styles.
ReplyDeleteI think the current system of grading encourages students to only do what is necessary to earn the grade. The emphasis should be shifted towards a higher level of understanding of a subject, as opposed to earning a letter grade.
ReplyDeleteI think smaller class sizes would help, or not make them any bigger. Mainly I wish they wouldn't cut arts and PE classes.
ReplyDelete