Now that I have access to the Web, how can I use it effectively?
It is important to make sure that you use the Internet as a productive tool for learning. The Internet can be used for so many different things; a large database of information that varies in accuracy and timeliness for immediate to outdated or an expensive communication tool that allows us to interact with the world. A tool that allows us to teach a lesson or take a class from anywhere in the world on any subject. A tool that promotes creativity and innovation, research and information, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision making. A tool to have real time interaction with others or to bring a demonstrator to your classroom without actually having them there.
How do I manage students' use of the Web in my class?
It is up to the teacher to be sure that students are using the Internet appropriately. Your school should have an acceptable use policy in place. I believe it is important to let students know that the Internet is a privilege that should be treated with respect. One suggestion the book made about placement of the teachers desk is to be sure that you are able to view your students computer screens from your location. Having your desk in the back of the room can assist with this. It is also important to make rounds regularly to see what your students are working on. If you seat your students in small groups, and work with a student centered learning environment it is less likely they will go against the rules without your knowledge however because you are making rounds you can't always see everything being done. Always keep an eye on the task bar to see what screens your students have open. Again, student placement is a good strategy to keep an eye on your students. You can place your students desks in a U shape formation and require your students to sit on the inside of the U when using the computer. Internet browser history keeps track of all of the sites viewed over a period of time. As a teacher, you can review the history file any time you'd like. As teachers it is our responsibility to teach our students the correct, appropriate and most effective way to use computers and the Web. If we set clear parameters and expectations we should be able to manage our students and their computer use.
Which features of the Web do I use?
It is important to remember that computers and the Web are tools in school. Therefore, as long as you are using the web in a way that is helping students or yourself learn as a demonstration or in a lesson it is appropriate. The Web can be used to grade papers, research lesson plans, take classes, upgrade certifications, teach students, answer questions, etc. The Web is a wealth of knowledge available to help us at any point.
Sunday, September 25, 2011
NTeQ: Disigning an Integrated Lesson
How do I plan an Integrated Lesson that will work with my students?
First it is important to remember the 5 components of the NTeQ philosophy:
Teacher
You will then need to complete the next 10 steps to complete the Ten Step NTeQ Model:
Objectives are necessary because they cover all of the instruction for the unit or lesson, not just the information related to the computer component.
Objectives can be written in one of two formats.
Traditional behavior objectives consisting of conditions, criteria, and behavior and work very well when you can easily identify the student outcomes. Student behaviors like recall, identify, calculate, and select are easily specified when using the format.
The second format is cognitive objectives which are used to describe learning goals that are not easily specified in a single sentence. Cognitive objectives provide a means to specify a number of behaviors that can desribe the acheivment of the objective. Cognitive objectives consist of two parts, the general instructional objective stated in broad terms and one or more statements desribing specific performances that indicate mastery of the objectives.
How can I encourage my students to help with my planning and lesson development?
When specifying a problem in the design of an Integrated Lesson plan (step 3 of The Ten Step NTeQ Model) it is important to base it on real-world events, issues, or phenomina. This is when you get your students involved. It is important to have the problem come from the students world so the students can relate to it in a meaningful manner. It is imperative that the problem intrest the students so that they will want to solve the problem and develop the thinking skills and gain the knowledge specified in the objective.
Do I have to use a different lesson plan when I want my students to use computers?
No, you do not have to use a different lesson plan when you want your students to use computers. Step 2 of The Ten Step NTeQ Model requires you to match your objectives to a computer function. For example, spreadsheet programs, draw and paint programs for photographs, word processing applications, sorting programs, calculating, etc.
What is the relationship between objectives and computer function?
That depends on the objestive. After deciding your objective, you will com up with the most appropriate way to use computer function in your lesson plan. Computers can assist in various ways such as calculate, draw, infer, predict, interpret, and judge or assist in creating a spreadsheet to aid in analysis, chart to evaluate, or word processor to generate a report, etc. More often then not, the computer function is used to show outcomes or organize information when solving the problem stated in the objective.
Can you use a computer for every objective or lesson?
There is always a way to incoprate computer skills into your lesson. However, this does not mean computers are used during every activity. Often times in working through the objective there will be activities held before, during and after computer use (steps 6,7,and 8 of The Ten Step NTeQ Model).
First it is important to remember the 5 components of the NTeQ philosophy:
Teacher
- uses computer as a tool
- technologically compitent
- designer, facilitator,classroom manager
- researcher
- active learner
- technologically competent
- NOT the object of study
- learning tool
- integral part of learning
- student centered
- problem based
- authentic
- curriculum
- technology - NETS
You will then need to complete the next 10 steps to complete the Ten Step NTeQ Model:
- First you'll want to specify your objective which requires detailed instructions and expectations as well as an example or two of what is being asked. Your objective can cross disciplines as long as the skills necessary to complete the objective are appropriate for the students.
- teach the necessary computer functions
- specify the problem
- research and analysis
- results presentation
- assesment
- supporting activities
- activities after computer use
- activities before computer use
- activities during computer use
Objectives are necessary because they cover all of the instruction for the unit or lesson, not just the information related to the computer component.
Objectives can be written in one of two formats.
Traditional behavior objectives consisting of conditions, criteria, and behavior and work very well when you can easily identify the student outcomes. Student behaviors like recall, identify, calculate, and select are easily specified when using the format.
The second format is cognitive objectives which are used to describe learning goals that are not easily specified in a single sentence. Cognitive objectives provide a means to specify a number of behaviors that can desribe the acheivment of the objective. Cognitive objectives consist of two parts, the general instructional objective stated in broad terms and one or more statements desribing specific performances that indicate mastery of the objectives.
How can I encourage my students to help with my planning and lesson development?
When specifying a problem in the design of an Integrated Lesson plan (step 3 of The Ten Step NTeQ Model) it is important to base it on real-world events, issues, or phenomina. This is when you get your students involved. It is important to have the problem come from the students world so the students can relate to it in a meaningful manner. It is imperative that the problem intrest the students so that they will want to solve the problem and develop the thinking skills and gain the knowledge specified in the objective.
Do I have to use a different lesson plan when I want my students to use computers?
No, you do not have to use a different lesson plan when you want your students to use computers. Step 2 of The Ten Step NTeQ Model requires you to match your objectives to a computer function. For example, spreadsheet programs, draw and paint programs for photographs, word processing applications, sorting programs, calculating, etc.
What is the relationship between objectives and computer function?
That depends on the objestive. After deciding your objective, you will com up with the most appropriate way to use computer function in your lesson plan. Computers can assist in various ways such as calculate, draw, infer, predict, interpret, and judge or assist in creating a spreadsheet to aid in analysis, chart to evaluate, or word processor to generate a report, etc. More often then not, the computer function is used to show outcomes or organize information when solving the problem stated in the objective.
Can you use a computer for every objective or lesson?
There is always a way to incoprate computer skills into your lesson. However, this does not mean computers are used during every activity. Often times in working through the objective there will be activities held before, during and after computer use (steps 6,7,and 8 of The Ten Step NTeQ Model).
Friday, September 23, 2011
Reflecting on What I Know About Rethinking Computers and Instruction
Must I use a inquiry-based learning approach in my classroom to use computers as a tool?
I don't believe you have to use a inquiry-based learning approach in your classroom to use computers as a tool. I believe you can use computers as a tool with multiple learning approaches; inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, and project-based learning approaches. Computers can assist in problem solving which is needed in an inquiry-based approach to learning beacuse the internet is full of links and websites with factual information, different opinions, reasearch, etc which can help students problem solve and reach their own conclusion. This is a key part of learning. Computers are also a very effective tool to use when taking a problem-based approach to learning beacause they assist in exploration, much like I mentioned above. When taking a project-based approach to learning computers are an effective tool not only in researching information through the web but also by creating spreadsheets and graphs or charts, etc to demonstrate a students outcomes or data or simply create a presentation. A computers ability to present ones outcomes in a variety of ways is an effective tool for all learning approaches.
Can I still use tutorial and drill-and-practice software?
Drill-and-practice software is an older concept still used very frequently today. Drill-and-practice software provides students with a series of problems or questions to answer and then responds with one of three responses.
After using computers to give a tutorial on a topic of study, Drill-and-Practice software is a great way to review and reinforce the information beaing taught. As mentioned in the text, you can use Drill-and-Practice software to create fun and inovative learning experiences for your students that allow them to test there knowledge as they go and continue to improve based on feedback.
Tutorials can go hand and hand with Drill-and-Practice. After setting up modules for a learning experience with Tutorials, you can test a students knowledge and allow them to improve their skills through practice by using the three types of feedback practiced in Drill-and-Practice.
Won't I have to spend a great deal of time to develop these units of instruction?
Developing units of instruction can be time consuming the first time you plan them but will gradually become less and less time consuming. As you perform these units of instruction you can evaluate your students ability to grasp the information and make changes to improve as needed. As suggested in the text, it is also possible to share lesson plans with fellow teachers and swap feedback with eachother to help improve units as well as comparing and cotrasting lesson plans through NTeQ.
Won't every student need a computer to use it as a tool?
Even though it would be very nice for each student to have their own computers to use as tools, this will not always be an options and in most classrooms won't be. A way to get around this challenge is to use group learning approaches to allow classmates to work togther to collect information or do research. This will also give students the opportunity to practice working with others in small group settings which is a skill in its own. Working in small groups give students the opportunity to learn how to perform discussions with peers, group process, roles, leadership, and cohesion. Often students will gain more from working together then by just listening to a teacher lecture or instruct. It causes each student to be more accountable for their involvement and what they learn as well as increasing productivity. If a group of students gathers the information needed for an assignment on one computer, you can have students present their overall outcomes individually in writing or work as a group to put together a presentation on the computer. You could also allow students to create rough draft individually after collecting information as a group and as they make corrections to their drafts they can earn the privledge to use the computer to complete theur assignment.
I don't believe you have to use a inquiry-based learning approach in your classroom to use computers as a tool. I believe you can use computers as a tool with multiple learning approaches; inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, and project-based learning approaches. Computers can assist in problem solving which is needed in an inquiry-based approach to learning beacuse the internet is full of links and websites with factual information, different opinions, reasearch, etc which can help students problem solve and reach their own conclusion. This is a key part of learning. Computers are also a very effective tool to use when taking a problem-based approach to learning beacause they assist in exploration, much like I mentioned above. When taking a project-based approach to learning computers are an effective tool not only in researching information through the web but also by creating spreadsheets and graphs or charts, etc to demonstrate a students outcomes or data or simply create a presentation. A computers ability to present ones outcomes in a variety of ways is an effective tool for all learning approaches.
Can I still use tutorial and drill-and-practice software?
Drill-and-practice software is an older concept still used very frequently today. Drill-and-practice software provides students with a series of problems or questions to answer and then responds with one of three responses.
- Simple identification whether the response is correct
- Correctness of response plus correct answer if the responses was incorrect
- Correctness of response plus correct answer, if needed, with the addition of instructive feedback to explain why the answer was incorrect.
After using computers to give a tutorial on a topic of study, Drill-and-Practice software is a great way to review and reinforce the information beaing taught. As mentioned in the text, you can use Drill-and-Practice software to create fun and inovative learning experiences for your students that allow them to test there knowledge as they go and continue to improve based on feedback.
Tutorials can go hand and hand with Drill-and-Practice. After setting up modules for a learning experience with Tutorials, you can test a students knowledge and allow them to improve their skills through practice by using the three types of feedback practiced in Drill-and-Practice.
Won't I have to spend a great deal of time to develop these units of instruction?
Developing units of instruction can be time consuming the first time you plan them but will gradually become less and less time consuming. As you perform these units of instruction you can evaluate your students ability to grasp the information and make changes to improve as needed. As suggested in the text, it is also possible to share lesson plans with fellow teachers and swap feedback with eachother to help improve units as well as comparing and cotrasting lesson plans through NTeQ.
Won't every student need a computer to use it as a tool?
Even though it would be very nice for each student to have their own computers to use as tools, this will not always be an options and in most classrooms won't be. A way to get around this challenge is to use group learning approaches to allow classmates to work togther to collect information or do research. This will also give students the opportunity to practice working with others in small group settings which is a skill in its own. Working in small groups give students the opportunity to learn how to perform discussions with peers, group process, roles, leadership, and cohesion. Often students will gain more from working together then by just listening to a teacher lecture or instruct. It causes each student to be more accountable for their involvement and what they learn as well as increasing productivity. If a group of students gathers the information needed for an assignment on one computer, you can have students present their overall outcomes individually in writing or work as a group to put together a presentation on the computer. You could also allow students to create rough draft individually after collecting information as a group and as they make corrections to their drafts they can earn the privledge to use the computer to complete theur assignment.
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