Group four

As we were working on our group projects, I can feel myself going a bit crazy. It is very overwhelming to do everything and not actually meeting with the group members in person. Even thought we worked on AIM and webex, it is very different than seeing the person. It's hard to get the same time to work for everyone, but we did it and finished what was needed. My group members are very helpful and we did all we could. I feel it is too much work to be done and not enough is explained. I feel like step by step directions should be posted because technology is very tricky and confusing. Without step by step directions people start to do their own thing. That is what happened to me. We did finish it, but this has left me drained and hoping it is all correct!

5E lesson

I found 5E lesson to be much different than Mount Saint Mary's lesson plan. 5E is more into student based learning than teacher based teaching. Students do much more inquiry and have to search for answers instead of being told what the answer. I am not sure if I would use 5E lesson plan in any school. I feel lessons need to be student and teacher based. Just focusing on students is not right in my point of view. They could be working alot on trying to receive the correct answer to a question that very well could be wrong. Helping and guiding the students to the correct answer is what I feel is best. Students can still ask questions and should be told to ask, but guiding them to the correct answer is important. Teachers and students should work along side one another.

class reflection

Last weeks class section went well. It was much better than the week when technology failed us! One problem I have is my microphone. Everyone heard me typing, yet no one could hear my voice. I am not sure and wondering if it is the volume. I have a built in microphone in on lap top, so I am not sure if maybe I am using it incorrectly! I'm trying to figure it out, but I don't really know how too. Ummmmm what will I do?

twitter in the classroom

There are many reasons to why twitter should be used in the classroom. Up to date information is found and used in the classroom. It is at the student's finger tips. Any question asked could be found on twitter in a quick second. It states that starting off with a simple key word and pressing search will find information about a given topic. The teacher can show a certain aspect in twitter they want to teach and then the students can be the next to research move on the topic or similar topic. Getting parents involved becomes very easy since they can just log onto twitter and find out what is going on in the classroom. One thing that is very interesting when it comes to using twitter is being able to communicate with people from all different places! Students can make pen-pals with someone in China and really anywhere. Games and many activities are also found in twitter. Teachers and students will both enjoy and benefit from using twitter. It is also a great way to keep parents aware.
I would use twitter in my future classroom. There are so many options and makes learning fun, yet still educational. I did not know twitter had all these parts and I am glad now that I know.

inquiry based learning

Inquiry is looking and searching for answers to ideas and questions. The process of inquiry begins with gathering information and data through using our five senses, hearing, seeing, touching, tasting and smelling. One problem that has occurred is students don't ask too many questions anymore and simply look for the exact answer. There are many factors to inquiry such as: a context for questions, a framework for questions, a focus for questions, and different levels of questions. Educators need to know that information changes, so they need to use inquiry learning. Basically people need to know that asking questions is important and valid to learning. Knowledge needs to be transmitted through everyone and everything we know. From schools, parents and society in general. Inquiring is not only used in science, it is useful in all aspects such as: artistic, historic, economic and many other perspectives. Using inquiry based is important for just living because questions should all be asked no matter what.
I liked reading this article. I agree that more questions should be asked in and out of school. Students need to think outside the box and see what the world has to offer. If questions are never asked than people will stop "learning" and will look simply for the exact answer instead of trying to figure it out.

Textbooks of the future

Textbooks are being replaced with finding text on the computer! That will start from as early as four years old and all the way to college and beyond students. Students will have the choice between textbooks or CD-ROMS and I am sure most will rather CD-ROM. It is easier to carry and use, since most students use the computer for everything already. Children love the idea of electronics, so using books on the computer is exciting to them. Answering and looking through the textbook can be done faster and that means more time to do other stuff! There are many reasons stated to why computers are important to use. One is the usage of images and this helps students learn better because they see what is being taught such as animal voices can be heard anything with sound effects. Students read textbooks and reread the information in order to understand it, but with computer usage students can use it to enhance images and easily find answers to questions. Important key terms and ideas are easily found in a text on the computer. Students can click on the term and it quickly brings you to a different site to understand it, rather than a textbook where you have to look at the index. Teachers are even starting to use digital textbooks instead of traditional textbooks. It is a easier way to express what you expect of the students and placing discussions online in order to see what students feel about the given topic.
I feel computer usage in the classroom will take over traditional teaching and learning. Students are more advanced with using computers and like to find information quickly and easily. Teachers can post or answers questions faster and the same goes for students. Computers are just easier for all aspects of teaching. Event though it is great, computers shouldn't always be main focus. Using traditional textbooks should still be used because technology is expensive and can fail at any moment.

Introduction to Instructional Design and the ADDIE Model

Instructional system design had many names. A few of the names are: Instructional Systems Design & Development (ISDD), the Systems Approach to Training (SAT), or just Instructional Design (ID). This idea is a step by step process to evaluate students needs, design and development of the needed training materials and lastly to see how well the program worked. A systems is made to achieve a certain goal. There are many ISD models, but the generic one is ADDIE. Through out the process the designer develops an understanding of the openings that exist between the wanted outcomes and what the person actual knows and does not know. Some do now like the system, so they formed more of an systemic design. It has many advantages when it comes to technology based training. Like in anything, problems do occur. Training based programs are usually based on fixed rates which is on budget and a set schedule. That causes many issues when trying to set how long and how much it take and cost. For any best results a CD-ROM, or web based training should use a modified idea of ADDIE. Then a prototype is placed in. This is a way to test students in the early ISD process. The evaluation looks at the learners and how well they did, along aside how the activities were too. Afterwards the prototype or design can be changed to fit better.

After reading this article, I was a little confused. It reminds me of different testing types that are used on students to see what learning disability they might have. The ADDIE has a learning goal which is established and so do IEP's and other sort of goals that are set for students to reach. I never heard of this before, so I am not sure if it is widely used or not.