In Conclusion....

This posting wraps up my "pondering and reflecting for Edu 535" blog. This process (both the course and the blog) have proved useful to me in that they have provided me the chance for reflection upon the events of this course. I find that I often learn a great deal through the class discussions in spite of my initial reservations and fears. It is through documenting my ideas and getting feedback from others that I not only find credibility in my own beliefs, but I am challenged to discover why I feel the way I do. I also discover if my ideas are on track with those of others, the system and have the best interests of the students at heart. I am very happy to be taking this courses at a time when so much change is taking place in the field of Education. Our district is moving towards PLCs (professional learning communities) and we are really trying to examine what we do and ask the hard questions. I'll end this post with the four biggest questions we ask in working as a professional learning community:

• What is it we expect students to learn?


• How will we know when they've learned it?


• How will we respond when they don't learn it?


• How will we respond when they already know it?

These questions apply not only to students, but to Teachers and Administrators as well. In this age of technology in our Flat World, we need to try to keep a focus by keeping the end in mind!

Special thanks to the awesome members of my group! I learned a lot, not only about global warming and technology, but about group dynamics and how to prioritize and do what's best for the group as a whole.

To quote Dianne..our ever cheerful instructor;

Cheers!

More Reading....

The Milken Exchange and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (1999). Will New Teachers Be Prepared To Teach In A Digital Age? A National Survey on Information Technology in Teacher Education.

When I began reading this paper, it put in mind of the presentation we had on Professional Learning Communities by Anthony Mohammed. He was speaking along the topic of change. Most of us as Educators don't really see the need to change. The reason for this is that in general, people who go into teaching were successful in school! Why would we want to change a situation that worked for us? We enjoyed it and were successful there, so surely everyone else should be able to be successful under those same conditions.....NOT SO!

We need to teach in ways that benefit all of our students. We need to try to look at the various learning styles and try to meet the needs of all, not just the ones who are like us!

Other points that popped out at me were that there is a rapid turnover of teachers in our profession today. If our efforts to create smaller class sizes move forward, that trend will continue. Now, more than ever, do we need to clearly define "What do teachers need to know?"

I've attended conferences in the states where I have learned that some districts require that teachers work towards specific proficiencies/certificates in technology. In our district, we are working on plans to help get down on paper what are the "essential learnings" for teachers in technology? We also need to define these learnings for our Notebook classes in Grade 7 & 8. Technology may eventually be so inherent to everything that a separate class may not even exist. We want to have a list to hand to the grade 9 teachers that includes everything there students should know by the time they arrive there.

An expansion of this theme would involve Administrators. They have different needs from teachers and would require much of the same knowledge, but not all....but perhaps and additional dimension all together.

In our district, my co-worker and I are very tired of watching the Department jump on every bandwagon that rolls by. We want our people to be very proficient at fewer applications/procedures that somewhat "in-the-know" about a whole bunch of information that means nothing to them in their daily work. That may seem harsh, but it's true.

Reading, reading, reading....

For this assignment, I read from Jamie McKenzie’s “Making Good Change Happen”.

McKenzie, J. (2000, June). Making Good Change Happen. Chapter One of Planning Good Change: From Now On.The Educational Technology Journal, 9(10).

“My staff is willing to integrate technology into the program only when they see how it can help them address the state curriculum standards and improve student performance, but they are quite reluctant to use technology for technology’s sake.”

“Change doesn’t happen in a school simply because you install new equipment,” he continues, his tone quite serious now.

Almost two-thirds of teachers say they rely on software or Web sites for instruction “to a minimal extent” or “not at all.”

Teachers have seen bandwagons come and go. They are appropriately skeptical about untested, expensive changes that seem peripheral rather than central to their purpose. They want to know how this venture will improve student performance.

Much of what I would say on this topic, I’ve already stated in my previous posting on being a “change agent. That posting details the situation in my district and how I came to be doing what I’m doing.

I’m very lucky to work where I do for a number of reasons:

Ø The previous government wanted to go out with a bang, so they spent lots of money on machines and infrastructure. It’s too bad we couldn’t have started out a bit more slowly (fewer classes), but the results have been good.

Ø My Supervisor is a stickler for wanted to know why we are doing what we are doing..or why someone needs “stuff”. He wants to see the learning outcomes that will be touched upon and gets very annoyed when people send him “wish lists” of items.

Ø The staff that we are working with in the notebook schools are very willing to spend time learning, and are flexible when it comes to working us into their schedules so that we can present/teach what we feel are the “essential learnings” (still being defined, as mentioned in previous post) and they are attentive and learn with the students.

Ø We have had the opportunities to work one-on-one in schools so as to meet individuals where they are and go where they want to go. That’s not to say that we’ve reached everyone, but we are making a positive impact.

Ø Our district is in the process of evolving into a professional learning community (a good band-wagon to be on). We saw Anthony Mohammed this fall and everyone is making a considerable effort (more meetings, more common assessments, more marking…but more accountability and so far, improvement in scores!). Because technology can make some of this tracking and collaboration easier, we are welcome to teach and share more skills to teachers who may have not been so willing before.

We still have a lot of work to do in getting more teachers using technology more effectively than email and basic Word, but I think we need to concentrate on “bringing the bottom up” and doing a good job of the basics. I would far rather have a large number of teachers with a solid foundation in the basics than have a few teachers go off the charts with only half of them having of a focus on the outcomes (the other half on the “shiny stuff”).

Short and Sweet..but worth the mention....

Upon continuing this unit, the following resonated with me:

When building a multimedia activity, it is important to include an interactive activity after 5 or 6 screens. In this manner you can asses formatively the students' progress and bring their focus back to what's important. It also allows a moment to "change the water on the beans" so students continue to stay motivated!

The Apple Learning Interchange looks like a very good resource. I’m looking forward to spending more time checking it out. Apple always provides information of the highest quality and creativity and always seem to have educators in mind. Podcasta allow me to multi-task while listening, so that is always a big advantage to a resource in my mind!

The E-Learning Site Usability Checklist as posted in the course content looks to be very relevant and complete. I will try and make the effort to apply this checklist to our own site. I think there's a lot of little things there that can be easily taken for granted. I hope we don't!

Additional Resources

Here is my posting from our class site:

I had an interesting experience in a school recently that I wanted to share. I was doing some modeling (integrating technology into teaching) at a small school recently and the topic was mental math. I had shown a couple of ideas to the teacher and the class, and noticed one little boy at the back who just couldn’t sit still.

I’ve since learned that he is autistic. He rocks and shakes his hands and is up from his desk quite often. Anhow…the last site I shared with the class is from iknowthat.com called “Leon’s Dojo”. It’s a math game that features Leon (iguana?) and some punching bags (not other characters :). Numbers appear on the bags and when the equation pops up, you have to make Leon hit the appropriate bag. You get the picture, I’m sure. Students are scored on accuracy and time and have to complete one level before moving on to the next. For this particular demonstration, I had the smartboard hooked up. I asked one student to demonstrate, and the whole class loved it.

Our time was up, so the students had lined up to go, when this little boy (mentioned earlier) came up to me and asked me if he could try the game. I asked his teacher if it would be ok, and she agreed. The kid took on his best karate pose at the smartboard and proceeded to get every single question right!! While he was playing, there was absolutely no ticking of any kind. I’d never seen anything like it. I wish I had it on film! Next thing I knew, another boy who wasn’t able to do the math himself was playing the game, looking to the first boy for the answers. Very cool.

Iknowthat.com-has a lot of good resources in general…but here’s the game. Ideal for an activity to break up the class or to have the kids working in centers. http://www.iknowthat.com/com?COOK=

My favorite resource site for French resources involves the use of a text with keywords and this site…can even download images. Mostly used by the teacher, but lots of resources to share with students. http://encyclopedia.erpi.com/

I like these on-line books…especially the french ones. Great review activities afterwards! I just applied for a free trial…use my username “russechd” and the password is “trial”. Would be great for centers or targeting learners who slip outside your main focus.
http://www.tumblebooks.com/library/asp/home_tumblebooks.asp

The more work I do, the more I love National Geographic. Use the site below for teaching weather, but we use the games with our classes to reinforce learning and I’ve used this site several times during my research for our global warming webquest. Amazing stuff..always well done and relevant! I use it mostly for presenting information or reviewing what we have already learned so that the students can see how it applies.http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/index.html?section=h

Learning Styles:

After taking the tests posted in our coursework, I quickly deduced that my new name should be Miss Kinesthetic!

I posted these comments in the course discussion area:

I just had a funny experience with the Learning Styles
Inventory. I had been on-line for a while and had just started to get into the quiz when I jumped up and took a quick break to grab a drink, some chips and a pen. Then as I continued through the questions, I was asked "Do you fidget while studying?"
and found that I was flipping my pen around my fingers (a habit I picked up in university which I often revert back to when reading/studying).

The next question asked me about snacking...I answered that one with a mouthful of chips...and then somewhere in there it pegged me with the break I had taken to get the chips.

Guess I'm a cookie-cutter tactile learner..leaning slightly towards the auditory side.

When I looked a the tips, I found that I employed a lot them
during my schooling. Things that really resonated with me were drawing words out in the air and reciting things out loud with the study cards in hand. I had a roommate in university who always wrote out her vocabulary/bio definitions/etc a million times. I tried to follow suit, thinking "she must know what she's doing, her Mom's a
teacher" and became very frustrated very quickly.

So, while she locked herself in the study cell to write things out, I was back in the room, talking to myself, begging for someone else to talk the material over with. Funny how I thought that the way I did it was "wrong".

I love the study hints posted at this site!
http://www.berghuis.co.nz/abiator/lsi/lsitactstra.html

=> To memorise, pace or walk around while reciting to yourself or using flashcards or notes.

=> When reading a short story or chapter in a book, try a whole-to-part approach. This means you should first scan the pictures, then read headings, then read the first and last paragraphs and try to get a feel for the book. You could also try skim-reading the chapter or short story backwards, paragraph-by-paragraph.

=> If you need to fidget, try doing so in a way which will not disturb others of endager yourself or others. Try jiggling your legs or feet, try hand/finger exercises, or handle a koosh ball, tennis ball or something similar.

=> You might not study best while at a desk. Try lying on your stomach or back. Try studying while sitting in a comfortable lounge chair or on cushions or a bean bag.

=> Studying with music in the background might suit you (baroque music is best - as opposed to heavily rhythm-based music).

=> Use coloured contruction paper to cover your desk or even decorate your area. Choose your favourite colour as this will help you focus. This technique is called colour grounding.

=> Try reading through coloured transparencies to help focus your attention. Try a variety of colours to see which colours work best.

=> While studying, take frequent breaks, but be sure to settle back down to work quickly. A reasonable schedule would be 15-25 minutes of study, 3-5 minutes of break time.

=> When trying to memorise information, try closing your eyes and writing the information in the air or on a surface with your finger. Try to picture the words in your head as you are doing this. Try to hear the words in your head, too.

Later, when you try to remember this information, close your eyes and try to see it with your mind's eye and to hear it in your head.

=> When learning new information, make task cards, flashcards, electro-boards, card games, floor games, etc. This will help you process the information.

Check out the site for yourself and see how you make out!
Abiator's Learning Styles Inventory

Evaluating Multimedia:

I just took a look at the evaluation for our project and I think we are presently doing a great job on most fronts. I think we need to add a sitemap as I know it is a component that I use often when trying to navigate once I’m lost. That would be one thing that I like about using Frontpage, it creates the sitemap for you.

I think we did a great job on the creativity portion. We chose something that is relevant to where kids are today. I think the structure is good as is, or could be easily morphed to meet the needs of the students involved.

Visual literacy is going to be an area I need to work on, personally. I didn’t score so well on the on-line test and I guess it has become more apparent to me that images are important. They must add to the information presented and not distract from the meaning. The same thing holds true for PowerPoint presentations. I read a good blog on PowerPoint recently that housed a great video on “powerpoint extreme makeover”. Too often we get caught up in the animations and “fancy stuff” and we forget how to created presentations that are thought provoking and communicate the desired message.

Please click HERE to see the blog afformentioned.

Oh the times..they are a-changing....

In the past couple of years I’ve seen huge changes!!

In NB, all teachers have Notebook computers..I think this has been the catalyst for change. This past year has seen a major shift. Teachers have notebooks, large pockets of students have them as well. We also have wireless access (thin in some cases, but present), and we presently are working in Professional Learning Communities. The primary focus this year is on Common Assessments.

I think in my position as a Mentor, my largest focus will be in working with Administrators to create a technology plan with SMART goals to take inventory of what the schools have and where they want to go. Within that focus, I see me setting up training sessions to teach schools (not just interested individuals) to use the Portal to increase efficiency and communication in schools.

I’m not sure if you all have a Portal where you are, so I’ll expand a bit on this. The Portal is a sharepoint site within the firewall that allows for a common provincial workspace, as well as several sub spaces for schools and curricular teams. The new version (should be on-line by this spring) will allow student access to the Portal, as well as the addition of Blogs, Wikis and the ability to RSS feed.

The other thing I need to try and do is to stay focused! There is so much out there right now and really, not much direction comes to Mentors as far as the specifics go. I think it is very important that I stick to the school’s Tech Plan and the agenda of the PLC. I would rather do a top notch job at fewer initiatives/ideas, than a half baked effort at numerous initiatives. It is essential to stay focused on teaching and learning and not just on what’s new and exciting. (funny..I'm on my way to a meeting so that we can clearly define what are the essential technology learnings for our teachers, students and admin...should be a good discussion!)

The Best Tech PD Ever!

Jumping in a bit to the Unit 4 discussions....

We ran some really effective PD sessions last year in our district...they were 1-on-1.

We booked a supply teacher for a day and teachers would sign up for a particular
period. The supply teacher hopped from room to room (really earned their money that
day) and we (teacher and mentor) got to work in a relaxed, unintimidating environment
where teachers got to put their hands on the actual equipment and do whatever it was
that they wanted to do.

We got a lot done with teachers who really wanted to learn. I'm hoping to get the chance (funds permitting) to do it again this year! "Regular PD" involves a lot of money! Supply teachers, mileage, lunch, snacks, and often at the cost of a lot of irrelevant time and little in the way of action. I think it is very important that teachers leave a PD session with something they can use!

Storyboards

When I read the information regarding storyboards, it put me in mind of a project I have been involved with recently where teachers are trying to tie in BBT (Broad Base Technology) components with Science. The students are studying mitosis and meiosis and were required to create a scenario to animate that would include one of these processes.

Claymation is an activity that takes a fair amount of planning, but I really think this was more complex a task than either teacher had imagined. I’m a bit of stickler on content, so before I allowed the students to even touch a piece of clay or a camera, I had them completely map there whole idea out in a storyboard, detailing the major components of their animation including how many different models they would require, transitions, titles, etc. I’m not sure that the teachers appreciated this addition to their project at first, but through the storyboards they were able to tell that the students really weren’t ready to move on. The science teacher reviewed some of the key components. Once the storyboards had been signed off by their science teacher, I then permitted them to begin with the technology.

There are tons of great templates for storyboards available through this course and on-line. They may take a bit of time to build from scratch, but they are easily edited to fit new ideas and are well worth the time in the long run!

Chpt 7 Reading:

Chapter 7 reined my interest nearly immediately when it got right to the point by saying that hooking up the technology is child’s play in comparison to setting up the supporting materials.

I see this everyday in what I do. People want “stuff” because it’s “cool”, not for what it can do. We often look for technologies we can plunk our kids down in front of to both entertain them and teach them at the same time. Rarely do we compute the amount of time required to look at the various applications of the technology or their effectiveness in comparison to other methods.

I also like the comments that good multimedia provides tirelessly to needy students, and provides as much repetition as in necessary. It also should make life easier for the teacher. Let’s face it, who would want to make even more work for themselves then they already have? Teaching should be about kids and it is a lot of work, but if we are going to add more to our already burdened course load, it should provide some benefits in the long run.

I like that multimedia lends itself to being current, easily updated, dynamic and authentic. Today’s multimedia is not what was in place when we were kids. It allows students to think for themselves and to create/construct their own learning. It moves beyond the simple memorization we witnessed in our Commadore-Tech-Classes!

The context, nature and modalities of multimedia design expanded upon the ideas of learners “learning by doing” from all sorts of different perspectives. There is also a large section about the collaborative efforts by teachers. This is a key factor that needs to be more widely communicated today. We need not reinvent the wheel. Sharing leads to less work, but also an increase in consistency as well as an increase in quality of the resource, as together our chances of finding the best resources as a team far outweigh the efforts of the individual.

Other points I found significant are the fact that quality is paramount, but there is more responsibility on the part of the company to inform the consumer of the purpose of the product and its intended use.

Finally, I enjoyed the following statement:
“It is not necessary for students to achieve a final product. The act of designing a Website or an animation can provide enough motivation to engage the student.” Thank God, because I certainly have left some unfinished work in my wake!.

This posting is re:
Chapter 7 by Cesar A. A. Nunes and Edmond Gaible. "Development of Multimedia Materials".

Unit 3

What are Moos and MUDs?

Wikipedia explains that MOOS are decendants of MUDs..so I thought I'd go there first.
Here's what they had to say:

"In computer gaming, a MUD (Multi-User Dungeon, Domain or Dimension) is a multi-player computer game that combines elements of role-playing games, hack and slash style computer games and social chat rooms. Typically running on an Internet server or bulletin board system, the game is usually text-driven, where players read descriptions of rooms, objects, events, other characters, and computer-controlled creatures or non-player characters (NPCs) in a virtual world. Players usually interact with each other and the surroundings by typing commands that resemble a natural language, usually English. Modern commercial variants include graphics-based massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), such as World of Warcraft, as well as social avatar virtual worlds such as Second Life." retrieved Nov. 5th, 2007 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MUD

So what's a MOO, then?

A MOO, an acronym for (MUD object oriented), is a text-based online virtual reality system to which multiple users (players) are connected at the same time.One of the most distinguishing features of a MOO is that its users can perform object oriented programming within the server, ultimately expanding and changing how the server behaves to everyone. Examples of such changes include authoring new rooms and objects, creating new generic objects for others to use, and changing the way the MOO interface operates. The programming language used for extension is the MOO programming language, and many MOOs feature convenient libraries of verbs that can be used by programmers in their coding known as Utilities. The MOO programming language is a domain-specific programming language. retrieved Nov. 5th from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MOO

ok...got that?
Moo-ving right along then.....

After reading the Elizabeth Murphy article about creating quality multimedia design, the following jumped out at me “Where the nature of information and its processing change, depending on the situation, the learning context and the individual needs (attributed to P.V. Wilson).”

Other good points of note were that quality multimedia design must reflect the following qualities:

Ø Multisensory, self-directed

Ø Control must be distributed

Ø Must provide corrective informational feedback

Ø The response to the user is important

Ø The interactive components evolve as technology evolves.

That's all for today!

Great Discussion Going On Re: Unit 1

Even at this late date, there is still a valid and worthwhile discussion going on in the Unit 1 discussion forum.

In Brian's original posting, he describes the difficulty in teaching Mathematics in a constructivist method. Too sum up what I feel he is saying, Math doesn't lend easily to constructivism, and other theories certainly have a place in this setting. However, the learning achieved by students in a constructivist classroom are well worth the effort put in by the instructor.

The discussion goes on to encompass many themes following the teaching of mathematics, the eagerness of learners, various learning and teaching styles, and the learning required of the teacher.

Here are my thoughts:

My student teaching was spent with someone whom I considered an icon. However, I soon discovered that the "binder" of notes (aka class bible) hadn't changed for many years (from my new perspective, I got to read the date on the top of the page!). This tarnished my opinion slightly, as there had been a lot of changes in the "health" side of phys. ed. in recent years. I agree, its lovely to have a set of notes to work from..or at least an outline..and if it works, that's great, but we have to remember to take a few moments now and again to reflect upon what our outcomes are and why we teach things the way we do...who is it best for? The teacher or the students?

That being said, I really feel for those teachers who are pushed into teaching different subjects each year, many of which they have no background in. I have a friend right now who has openly said.."course A is going to suffer this year as I only have x amount of time to work and I want to concentrate on these 3 subjects, and that's all I can do."

Common assessment is a really big deal here right now. At a meeting last Friday a Supervisor asked us what we should be doing to help teachers get this off the ground. My suggestion was time. We spend a pile of money each time we bring a group of teachers together to bombard them with information, but we never take some of that time to set the wheels in motion. We just send them back to their schools to try and find time to begin again. The beginning is the hardest. Lets have them make those first steps in this supportive environment, where we can give immediate feedback, then send them back to class with something they can use!

Concept Mapping-In our Group

I am in a group of 4 (Barb, Steve, Michel and myself).

I was a late entry into the group, and the others had already begun the work of deciding upon a topic. Global Warming was the winner..and a good pick too as the topic is current and thus, there is a lot of great material on the web dealing with this topic.

Our group went through a bit of an evolution trying to put together this concept map. First, a map was drawn up that, to me (not very knowledgeable about global warming) looked too vast. We discussed the fact that all need not be in the final project, but even so, we went back to the drawing board. The second version ended up confining us too much. We had a much more difficult time trying to find resources that matched the new model. That being said, we did find a lot of resources. I submitted links to a few lessons, but moreover samples of work worth emulating. I think some of us became overwhelmed by the multitude of "stuff" without any clear focus. I tried to compose a type of scenario or real-world problem to anchor our model in. The idea in total didn't fly, but the main ideas of Causes, Effects and Education lingered. Michel drafted a new model (bless his heart-he's good!) and the main themes I was looking for were melded together to get our final result.

I'm not going to pretend it wasn't difficult. It's funny how even as an adult, I can still take things personally. And even though I know that the typed word can take on any tone, I still apply to it what I feel or hear in my head. It's hardly right. In the end, I called Barbara, which helped me a lot. I tried to make the map more linear, so that I could better follow it from my perspective as a learner, but I came to realize that it sort of defeated the purpose of the map in the first place. I am happy with the end result. There are more lessons to be learned in a distance ed class than just those of the curricular content, to be sure. I certainly dont' want "does not play well with others" on my report card!! Give and take...back to work!!

Comments On Web Site Assingment

Hello Again!!

There were some great postings in the forum of may useful resources. I have begun the process of saving them in a Del.icio.us site file. You can access my links here:

http://del.icio.us/D10TechMentor

The Results of my Teaching Perspectives Profile....

Cheryl Russell here are your TPI scores:----------------------08-OCT-07----------------------Transmission total: (Tr) 29.00 B=9; I=9; A=11
Apprenticeship total: (Ap) 36.00 B=12; I=12; A=12
Developmental total: (Dv) 33.00 B=12; I=11; A=10
Nurturance total: (Nu) 39.00 B=13; I=14; A=12
Social Reform total: (SR) 26.00 B=10; I=7; A=9
Beliefs total: (B) 56.00Intention total: (I) 53.00
Action total: (A) 54.00----------------------
Mean: (M) 32.60
Standard Deviation: (SD) 4.67HiT: (HiT) 37.00LoT: (LoT) 28.00----------------------Overall Total: (T) 163.00-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For future reference your TPI ID number is: 071008061540-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Review/Print your graphical results on-line here: http://www.one45.com/teachingperspectives/tpi_html/T071008061540_Russell_Cheryl.htm

Concept Mapping-Unit 2 Begins...

Concept Mapping;

I'd had the chance to try out concept mapping software before, and the practice of using concept maps has been in my "bag of tricks" for quite some time. I find it to be very helpful for various reasons:

• it helps learners to "see" the various ideas in one place



• it helps show that there is value in all ideas, we display all contributions.



• helps my students to process and learn the information



• aids in organization of ideas



• helps to identify "what's missing" from an assignment, piece of writing or activity.
  

My students were better able to retrieve information that I had taught them using a concept map. I'd often see little scribbles to the right of the page with the map re-constructed.

Our group had our own personal experience creating our concept map. I'll post that idea in the next entry.

In a previous course, I'd read the "Cognitive Flexibility" Theory by Spiro et al. (http://tip.psychology.org/spiro.html) and got out of it, among other things, the importance of presenting the same idea in various different formats, as well as the importance of creating ties to various ideas, instead of keeping everything in its own little box!

Moving on ....Week 2

And the learning continues....
The following are my responses to the Pratt and Skinner readings:

What are the defining characteristics of the two epistemological traditions? (objectivism and subjectivism)

Objectivism-people can rationally come to know the world as it really is. Learners and content are separate. Knowledge exists “out there” waiting to be discovered. The values of the teacher should not influence what they teach.

Subjectivism-knowledge and truth depend upon what individuals bring to the moment of perception. Knowledge is created, not discovered. It is a construction of the person experiencing the knowledge. Prior knowledge has great influence upon the acquisition of new knowledge. Intentions infuse actions with meaning. Thus, it is impossible to keep our values separate from what we teach.

What do you think some of the implications of each tradition would be for the design of instruction?

Objectivism would lend more to direct styles of instruction. The instructor designs packets of knowledge for the students to learn, be it by rote or by simple forms of cognitive instruction. Subjectivism, on the other hand, would be more evident in constructivist designs of construction. The learner brings their past experiences and knowledge to the constructivist table, so the two would fit nicely together.


What are some of the ways in which the behaviorist principle of reinforcement has been applied to education?

Some ways are:
Rote learning, memorization, studying verbs and times tables, for example.

What are the roles of the teacher and the learner in the behaviorist framework?

The teacher is the Guru and the learner is Pavlov’s dog.

What are some of the criticisms of behavioral objectives? Some say that memorization is not true learning. They are unable to apply the memorized material to new learning situations.

What epistemological tradition (objectivism or subjectivism) do you think underlies the behaviorist view of learning?

Behaviorism is underlined by objectivism.

Can you think of anything you do as an instructor that is influenced by the behaviorist view of learning?

I do use behaviorism when memorizing verbs in French. Sometimes a mnemonic device allows learners to memorize the framework of a test question, so they can better expand on the content.

In what contexts do you think it would be appropriate to use a behaviorist approach to teaching?

I think verbs, basic essentials that are required. I can still recall the things I learned through this method.

In what contexts do you think it would be inappropriate to use a behaviorist approach to teaching?

If you are looking to see if students have truly achieved mastery, the demonstration of higher order thinking skills, details of higher complexity require further depth of understanding..not just “what” but “why”.


Pratt, D.D. (1997). Indicators of Commitment (pp. 22-25). Malabar, Florida: Krieger Publishing.

Skinner, B.F. (1958). Teaching Machines. Science, 128, pp. 969-977.

Assignments to date:

At this point in time, I thought it might be a good idea to share obne of my assignments. This is my "top 5" websites for a given subject matter. The latter was a bit more difficult. This activity caused me to reflect on the fact that although I have only been away from my classroom for less than 2 years, the jump in technology has been incredible. When I left my class on Maternity leave, I had a desktop computer and limited access to 2 tech labs. Presently, there are infocus machines in every classroom and each teacher now has a notebook computer. 6 grade 8 classes are working on their second year with their notebooks and the grade 7s will receive theirs by the end of this month. Due to this advancement, the strain on the tech labs has been tremendously decreased. There are also 7 new SMARTBoards in the school and at least 3 Mimios floating around. We are also using learning platforms (last year-Classerver and this year-Learning Gateway) to deliver curriculum and provide the link to parents. WOW! Incredible, isn't it?


Top 5 Websites for Teaching Middle Level Science

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/index.html?section=h


Author or Source
The site is maintained by National Geographic.com. Contact information is provided to the website editor.

Accuracy
The site is comprehensive and includes up-to date information that coincides with what is taught from the Science Power text and the NB curriculum.

Currency
Although the copyright states 1996-2007, there is no indication of a recent update. Information on disasters such as Katrina or the Tsunami in Indonesia are not mentioned, however, upon competing a search of the rest of the site, we find what we need.

Objectivity
There is advertising for National Geographic, but it is tasteful and not distracting.

Coverage
This site covers 4 major forces of nature. The two focused upon in Grade 7 Science are volcanoes and earthquakes. The coverage echoes what is taught in the curriculum nicely, including video and simulation. Additional information such as history, images and cases studies (also mentioned in the school’s text) are included.

Purpose
This website clearly focuses on informing the public of the history, formation and damage caused by various “forces of nature”. The information is suitable middle and high school.

2. http://www.udel.edu/biology/ketcham/microscope/scope.html


Author or Source
The site is authored the University of Delaware. There is no contact information on the microscope page, but the url allows an easy trace to university contatcts.
Here is a page that offers further information: http://www.dlese.org/library/view_resource.do?description=DLESE-000-000-008-751

Accuracy
This site echoes what the students are learning with the Science Power text and is consistent with the microscopes we use in the lab.

Currency
There is no date specified, but this information is fairly classic and stands the test of time.

Objectivity
Information is provided in an objective manner. There are no advertisements on the site.

Coverage
The site provides a conclusive overview of the parts and workings of a microscope. It provides students with a great tutorial and video to aid in use.

Purpose
The purpose of this site is to educate middle and high school students of the working of a microscope. In today’s age of budget cuts, it is quite difficult to provide access for all students to such equipment. This site can be used by individuals, or as a presentation by the teacher.

3. http://www.brainpop.com/

Author or Source
The Brain Pop company is the author for this site. Contact information is provided.

Accuracy
All information I have viewed, to date has been accurate. The videos and activities included in this site tend to deal with basic concepts and information.

Currency
Only a copyright date appears on the main page. No other dates are provided.

Objectivity
This site contains no external advertising. It does not appear to have any bias, but the information does have a greater correlation to the American curriculum.

Coverage
This site covers such a broad range of topics, even with only the free trial, there is so much to see and do. I am looking forward to the broadening of the content to include French.

Purpose
The purpose of this site is to provide students, educators and parents with resources to help students learn.

4. http://www.cgq-qgc.ca/tous/terre/index.cfm?flag=8&CFID=289003&CFTOKEN=51404256

Author or Source
The site is copyrighted by National Department of Resources . Contacts are listed.

Accuracy
I particularly took note of the section on volcanoes. The information provided seemed to correlate with the Science Power text.

Currency
This site is updated weekly.

Objectivity
The site does not contain advertising and seems objective in its presentation of information.

Coverage
The site has comprehensive coverage of the topic with extra interesting information thrown in for interest.

Purpose
The purpose of the site is to provide information to young people about the earth and its resources through a valid government funded site.

5. http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/biodome/mvc/integration/content.html

Author or Source
Montreal’s Biodome. High speed required.

Accuracy
The information appears accurate. Contact information is provided and it is easy to find your way back to the main page for further contact information.

Currency
The copyright information indicates 2005 for the virtual tour. The main page for the Biodome is updated weekly.

Objectivity
No outside advertisements are present on this site.

Coverage
This site covers information about the various ecosystems existing within the Biodome. Great for having students identify various adaptations. Available in English and French!

Purpose
The site is designed to allow students from other locations to experience the wonders of the Biodome without leaving the classroom. Many students will never see Montreal or have any idea about the varied environment that exists in our country. This site possesses a great deal of valuable and interesting information.

The End!

This second week has been a bit confusing for me. With work really getting into the thick of things, I am finding it difficult to sort out the black and white of what has been assigned. I have begun the readings for the first unit.
The following are the responses to the Davies Article Questions:

What is the difference between an archetype a paradigm and a model?

From what I gather, an archetype is a very general sense of a theory, like a prototype or the bare bones of the idea. A paradigm is a bit meatier, in the sense that it has enough information backing it up (detail) so as to make it more concrete. A model is very specific and detailed with a quantitative dimension. A model has been put to the test.

What are key characteristics of Davies' three educational technologies?

The key characteristics are hardware (or aids for teaching), software (aids for learning) and a combination of the two (more of a team approach).

What are the key characteristics of the audiovisual, the engineering and the problem-solving archetypes of educational technology?

Audio visual-you put in your money and you are given something to chew on. Makes work pretty and enjoyable and aids in overall communication. Teaching aid.

Engineering-behavioristic technology..one car is raced against another to see who wins. Aid for learning.

Problem-solving-constructivist…there’s one right answer..but you have to figure it out on your own through guided trial and error. Aid for learning.

What archetype, paradigm and model of educational technology do you think most of your teaching would fall into?

I think Audio-visual has a place in the second and third. I would like to think that most of my teaching is problem-solving, but I know that I do use some engineering in my lessons now and again. I don’t think one single answer is the way to go.

Davies wrote his article in 1978, over 20 years ago. Is it still relevant to the thinking of using technology in teaching and learning, today? Why or why not?

I think that it is general enough in its nature that we can easily apply it to what goes on today. I really like the section that denotes the worthwhileness of an educational experience. This is especially true today as we tend to get caught up in what we are using to teach and sometimes forget what we are trying to communicate as a message.

I liked the section that compares judgment and decision. In my position I am seeing a lot of decisions being made…a choice between a range of alternatives..not of which are all that great in the end. We often make decisions just as the document states, prior to testing the tool/software/program completely. The end results are occasionally favorable, and we should continue to be open to new ideas, but I’m afraid that time is wasted that could be better focused elsewhere.

Davies, I.K. (1978). Eucational Technology: Archetypes, Paradigms and Models. In J.H. Hartley & I.K. Davies (Eds.), Contributions to an Educational Technology, Volume 2. (pp. 9-24). New York: Kogan Page.

In the beginning....

Hi all;
The purpose of this space is to communicate my on-going reflections and opinions created by participating in this course. It is my hope that by getting these thoughts "down on paper" it will aid me in the construction of my own learning.

The course began with a mild introduction and a posting of a Biography. I found it very interesting to note the variety of backgrouds that we bring to the table of this course, and yet there is too so much in common. I am looking forward to getting to know my classmates and am happy to see that there are others here with whom I have worked before.