LL13 - Final Thoughts

What I have learned:

1. Shelfari, blogs, wikis, wordle, GoogleDocs, social bookmarking, RSS feed, Twitter, Audacity
   
2. The main theme in instructional strategies that I learned this semester was to assess each individual student's needs and address them accordingly. I think this flows to each discussion we had in class about instructional strategies, and is of key importance.
   
3. The most important thing about technology in communication is that it takes away the restrictions of time, availability, and distance. With current technologies, people can even see each other and talk while thousands of miles apart.
   
4. The opportunities for technology use in the classroom are endless. From distance learning for sick students to class wikis, from collaboration on documents to research. My favorite technology for use in the classroom is the ability to create a class wiki that the entire class can collaborate on.
   
5. While I used to be nervous presenting, I am not any more. I think this is from lots of experience in other classes, but it also helped that the class was small and we knew each other fairly well. As I have become less nervous, however, I have stopped preparing as much for presentations, which is a disadvantage.
   
6. Problems with internet safety have been over-exaggerated in the media. However, it is important to monitor students' usage of the internet while they are in the classroom. Also, teachers need to impress upon students the importance of internet safety in their homes as well.
   
7. There are many ways to assess students' learning, but the most important thing is to create a standard for grading. Also, students should know what the standard for their performance is before they begin an assignment.
   
8. It is important to be able to see the bias in the media because there are so many exaggerations and deceptions going on today. Students need to be able to tell which networks are more liberal or conservative, and how to decipher their messages accordingly.
   
9. How to compose lesson plans! I had never had another education class that I had to write lesson plans in, and I never realized how much work they are! Rubrics are an important aspect of this, which I had not really considered before this class.
   
10. The learning log was a great way to reflect, but maybe not as many entries where we have to watch long videos. It got tiresome sometimes. It would have been nice to have another break or two during the class, as it was hard to sit still for that long. The class was quite enjoyable overall, but definitely a lot of work.
    

LL 12 - Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligences

My Learning Style - Auditory
Intelligence - Body Style (Kinesthetic)

The intelligence that the quiz came up with for me shocked me. While I am a dancer and enjoy moving around and playing sports, I have never really incorporated this into my studies and schoolwork. I find most of the suggestions for using this in classes annoying, actually, and would never want to trace letters or spell words out in magnets to learn their spelling. In the past I have found that I am much more inside my head than that, and learn best hearing things, as the learning style suggests. That is why I pick up so much information in lectures, and do well on lecture-based exams. However, writing things out also works well for me. I am not really a visual learner, though, so these seem to contradict each other in some ways. Since I was 6, though, I have been involved in dance classes, soccer, and other sports. I am always bouncing around and dancing without realizing it, so I guess this assessment does not really suprise me. I feel as though if students knew what their learning style was before entering a classroom, they would use it as an excuse for not wanting to do things that do not line up with their learning style. For instance, if the teacher was going to give a presentation, a student might "zone out" and then use the excuse that they aren't an auditory or visual learner.

LL 11 - Instructional Strategies and Technology Integration

6. Cooperative Learning - I feel that one of the biggest problems with group work for students is the difficulty in getting groups together outside of the classroom. Another problem occurs specifically with papers, in that it is difficult for all students to work on them at once. GoogleDocs is a great tool for groups. Whether students are working on a research paper, graphs, or a powerpoint presentation, all members of the group can access their assignment via this online resource. In fact, I am using GoogleDocs in a business writing class in order to write a proposal as a group. We each take a specific part of the proposal and edit it on our own time. Then, as a group, we will edit it and make sure it is complete. The only drawback to this approach is the possibility of a lack of continuity in the project if it's split up and lack of interaction with group members.

7. Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback - I think the most useful tool for this would be a class wiki. On it, students could make suggestions as to what they want to learn in a unit. Also, teachers can post what is expected of students in each unit before it is due, like a class calendar. Then students will know the objectives. Creating rubrics with programs like Rubistar and Excel is very easy, and they can be posted to the wiki as well, so that students know what is expected of them before they begin an assignment.

8. Generating and Testing Hypotheses - This could be achieved by using simulations. Students could formulate hypotheses, and then set up an experiment or project on the computer. This would work especially well with projects that either would take too long in real life or are too expensive. One example would be a trebuchet. We discussed in class how a student could set it up online before actually creating the real trebuchet. It would be too expensive to do a trail and error creation of such a big project.