Spring 2010

Learning Statement #1 I am learning that the use of technology is not always engaging for students and does not always support student learning positively. Simply using technology does not mean that a lesson will be successful or meaningful for the students.

Why is this learning important? This learning helps shape how I will use technology, in this case video, as an instructional tool in the future. This learning forces me to realize that technology for the sake of technology is not quality instruction. This learning forces me to be much more critical of the technologies that I bring into the classroom.

Evidence

Evidence

Evidence Student Response This video wasn't really helpful, I find it hard to stare at a screen for a long time and it made learning the math boring. Also I learn more when I can do the math myself instead of someone just telling me how to. No, I would not like to see other videos in math. I also would not go onto youtube at home and search these kinds of videos, if I needed help on math I would go ask my parents. I might use the videos on the sight if I don't understand something on my own time but, that would be after I check other sources of Information like my textbook I didn't find it helpful to watch those math videos because I find it easier when I can write down the notes. It was confusing because we were given so much information to just remember at once and we didn't actually get to use the information given. I think it would be good to see other ways of learning from the videos but not all the time. Yes, I would probably use these videos as a tutorial at home if they were posted on the website because they are a good review for learning how to do a type of math.

Evidence Student Responses No I would not use the video at home, if I had difficulty with my homework or studying I would talk to my parents, call a friend, or ask a teacher. The video we saw wasn't very helpful. This is because it was hard to hear and also the server was running slow. But the main reason was that the video was very confusing. It had numbers and lines everywhere and it got confusing. Yes I would like to see other videos because I couldn't quite get the one we saw. I didn't think the videos were helpful. I thought they were making things more confusing. I would not like to watch more videos I would prefer to learn in class or maybe from the textbook. This video did not help me. The video was not helpful to me because I already knew the stuff he talked about. I did not find this video useful. These videos were not useful because I already knew this and they just made it more confusing. I would NOT like to watch anymore videos. :) :P

Program Capacities Engage in a critical cycle of action-reflection to understand and develop your. The Field Study forced me to be very reflective and critical about how technology was being integrated into my classroom. The students had much stronger opinions about the videos than I originally thought.

Learning Statement #2 I am learning that students feel technologies are only useful if they are entertaining. They have very distinct criteria about what an instructional Math video should look like in order to support their learning.

Why is this learning important? Knowing how students learn and what keeps their attention makes it easier to design lessons that have a positive impact on their learning. Provides insight into how I can change my delivery of lessons to meet the needs of my students

What are the characteristics of a useful instructional Math video?

Example of a quality video

Evidence I conducted a test with 28 of my students. After watching the video students were asked to write down one mathematical concept they learned or had reinforced by watching the video. 26 out of the 28 students were able to correctly identify one concept. The next day I took a poll of the 28 students to see how many of them had gone home and watched the video again. 13 out of the 28 had watched it again that night.

Evidence What were some of the things about this video that they liked? They liked the fact that many of the people in the video were their own age. They were entertained. Many of them said they had the song stuck in their head for the rest of the day. Material was presented in an entertaining way. There were other things going on in the video besides Math.

How to build on this learning? Many of the students did not enjoy or find useful many of the videos that I had shown them. I decided to give my students ownership of their learning and had them create their own videos. Students had a wide range of topics to choose from and were told to create a video that would be useful for other students their own age.

Program Capacities Use, evaluate and integrate existing and emerging technologies into your practice As a class we used, evaluated and created our own Math instructional videos.

Learning Statement #3 I am learning that much like other areas of the curriculum students possess a wide range of capacities when interacting with technology.

Instructional Math Video

Evidence There was a huge variety in the types of videos that the students created. Many students were able to create very good presentations using video. They were able to edit their projects, add graphics and include music Other students were simply able to videotape themselves and present their projects straight from the camera

Evidence Students approached the assignment in very different ways. Some groups simply used PowerPoint. Other groups created elaborate characters and scenes. All of the videos handed in except for 3 included music of some sort.

Evidence

Digital Natives vs. Immigrants This assignment made me reflect on Prensky’s work on Digital Natives. Many of the students were unable to do simple technological tasks such as attaching files to s. Four projects were handed in missing key components to the assignment I still have not seen two projects because they do not know how to save or burn their videos to a disk

Program Capacities Use evaluate and integrate existing and emerging technologies into your practice Draw on educational theories, research and philosophies to inform your use of technologies to support teaching and learning

Learning Statement #4 I am learning to design and adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.

ISTE standards goal At the beginning of the term the goal that I set was to move into the developing phase of the rubric I wanted to be able to adapt or create learning experience that include students use of technology tools to research and collect information online and to create a report, presentation, or other product.

Evidence The video assignments that I worked through with my students moved me into the developing phase of the rubric. In order to complete this assignment students had to use technology to research a topic and then create a presentation based on the research

Evidence Student responses to what they learned in doing this assignment I learned that you need to be thorough and detailed to make a tutorial I learned more about how to use movie maker and also how to take a video of yourself by yourself I learned quicker ways of multiplying large numbers I learned that it is difficult to try and teach a concept. In trying to explain it in a way that made sense I learned the topic more thoroughly

Implications for future teaching practice In the future I will try to incorporate similar projects into all aspect of the curriculum. These projects were beneficial for the majority of students. It is important to continue to find new ways to give students ownership over their own learning

Learning Statement #5 Based on my readings I am learning the importance of using Interactive Math websites to promote student understanding of concepts and ownership of their learning.

Reading Technology Integrated Mathematics – Enhancing Teaching & Learning. Education Development Center Inc.

Summary This article is one of the best readings that I have done all year simply because it provides numerous great resources and websites that can be used with students. It simply compares different interactive sites and gives information about each one. It provides some very hands on real world applications. A nice break from the theoretical.

Examples

What are the implications of this learning? I had hoped that my field study would allow the time to investigate the usefulness of interactive site in the Math classroom. It is something that I hope to look at as I move forward in my teaching career.

Program Capacities The use of these interactive sites allows me to access, evaluate, use and participate in new media interactions in education.