During week 1 of this course, I developed what I believe to be my "Personal Learning Theory". After reading back over my theory, I still very much agree that this is the theory I most relate to in my classroom instruction and the closest to the way my students learn. I believe that my personal learning theory is most like Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences. I feel that my students learn best through experience.
After taking this course, there is one change I would like to make in the upcoming school year. I will work to allow my students more leadership and a more active role in how they use the technology in my classroom. I started out with mainly creating and presenting activities on my SmartBoard and computers, but I have learned that it is very beneficial for the students to take a role in creating ideas and presentations to share with their classmates. I would like to continue to use the SmartBoard in my classroom, and after learning about the tools of Voicethread and Podcasts, I would definitely like to try those in my classroom. I think that the students will really get involved with projects and presentations when using the Voicethreads. This will allow them to take ownership of what they are creating.
As far as long term goals for my technology integration, the first is to give my students the active leadership role with technology presentations. At the beginning of the year, I will have to introduce and teach my students about the various technology tools we will be using. As the year progresses, I can give the students more and more independence with the technology and how they choose to use it for various assignments and activities. Another long term goal I have is to have my students work more in cooperative learning groups when they are using technology. I have learned a lot about the benefits of cooperative learning and would like to implement that more in my classroom.
This has been a wonderful course and I have learned about many great tools and strategies when using technology. I look forward to carrying what I have learned with technology into my classroom instruction for the upcoming school year.
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Social Learning Theory in the Classroom
Social Learning Theory is very evident in my classroom. Dr. Orey describes a characteristic of Social Learning Theory as when students actively engage in constructing artifacts and conversation with others about what they are building (Laureate, 2009). In this week's resources, we learned about an intructional learning theory called Cooperative Learning. Cooperative learning focuses on having students interact in groups in ways that enhance learning (Pitler, Hubbell, Kuhn, & Malenoski, 2007). When students interact in these groups they are showing evidence of Social Learning Theory.
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works gives many examples of resources and ideas to use when implementing cooperative learning groups in your classroom. When my students are working on a project or doing research, many times I have them work together in groups. I usually base the groups on ability, but sometimes will mix it up and have a variety of ability levels in the group. Students work together to research a specific topic and then create some type of artifact to share with the class. Having students work in these groups allows them to actively engage in constructing and conversing, which is the basis of Social Learning Theory.
Just recently my students completed and project on animal habitats. I assigned groups of 3 or 4 and the students researched a specific habitat on the Internet in our classroom. They each took a part to research. For example if the habitat was the forest, one student researched animals in the forest, one researched shelter, and one researched food. They put all of their data together and created a poster with the information and shared it with the class.
Having students work in collaborative groups allows them to create a social environment in our classroom where they can work together and depend on one another.
Here is the link to my Voice Thread. voicethread.com/share/1197609
Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works gives many examples of resources and ideas to use when implementing cooperative learning groups in your classroom. When my students are working on a project or doing research, many times I have them work together in groups. I usually base the groups on ability, but sometimes will mix it up and have a variety of ability levels in the group. Students work together to research a specific topic and then create some type of artifact to share with the class. Having students work in these groups allows them to actively engage in constructing and conversing, which is the basis of Social Learning Theory.
Just recently my students completed and project on animal habitats. I assigned groups of 3 or 4 and the students researched a specific habitat on the Internet in our classroom. They each took a part to research. For example if the habitat was the forest, one student researched animals in the forest, one researched shelter, and one researched food. They put all of their data together and created a poster with the information and shared it with the class.
Having students work in collaborative groups allows them to create a social environment in our classroom where they can work together and depend on one another.
Here is the link to my Voice Thread. voicethread.com/share/1197609
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