Identify and briefly discuss 5 advantages of distance education
- Self-Motivation. Students will be able to improve their self-motivation skills. They will have to motivate themselves in order to pass the class and do what is required. Thus, students will develop strong self-motivation skills in order to fully succeed in the virtual class.
- Own pace. Students will be able to go at their own pace. This involves students who struggle, needs more time for assignments, or move quickly through work. A distance program will allow the students to be able to decide how fast or slow they go through assignments and work.
- School Alternative. For students that do not enjoy going to school or have troubles with their peers, distance education may be an additional option for them to take classes.
- Use of Technology. Technology is very important in today's world. Distance education programs are purely technology centered classes. Students will be very good at using technology if they take distance education programs.
- Independent Study. Students decide how much they learn and how quickly. They are in charge of their own learning progression.
Identify and briefly discuss 5 disadvantages of distance education
- Self-Motivation. Students that do not have some self-motivation skills may fail at this type of class because they do not know how to convince themselves to do the full work needed.
- Guidance. There may be little guidance from teachers to the students. Students might not feel comfortable asking the teacher for advice or help because of the lack of physical interaction.
- Immediate Feedback. Since the teacher is not always checking their e-mail or class site constantly, it may be hours or days before a student gets a response. In traditional classrooms, the student always knows when the teacher is available and can ask questions while learning a lesson.
- Peer Communication. Students do not receive the interaction with others they need while growing up. This can cause psychological damage or a lack of communication skills. It may also harm them in being able to interview for jobs because they lack such communication skills.
- Unclear Expectations. Sometimes directions may not be entirely clear, or written well enough, for a student. The student may do something they thought the teacher was asking. Then receive a bad grade because of not doing an assignment correctly.
How you would determine the readiness of students to participate in distance education?
Students who want to participate in distance education will need to have a lot of self-motivation and be able to push themselves towards certain goals. Students need to be able to motivate themselves in order to stay on task and get their assignments done. The teacher will not be available to constantly check on the student and verify they are doing their work. For students to show they are ready for distance education they need to already be able to do assignments on time without having to be told constantly. They will need to be able to keep their own schedule and have good time management skills. Parent involvement is also a key thing to student success. If parents are involved they can help their child with their homework and make sure their child is understanding what they are learning.
What would you need to do to be ready to teach in an online environment?
In order to teach in an online environment, I think I would need to have experience in teaching in a traditional school environment. This way I would be aware of how students react to certain information they are being taught and how students learn. An online environment is different from a classroom in the sense that you do not get to see first hand what each individual student's learning styles are. I would need to be able to fit all learning styles into my curriculum. I would also need to have a lot of experience working with online technology in order to relate to my students and write quality online lessons.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Engaging Students with Concept Mapping Activities
How to use Concept Mapping within a classroom:
Concept mapping would be useful in classrooms to use as an assessment to see if students understand a concept. One idea for this I could use in my classroom would be to have the students write out the procedures to adding fractions. This can also be expanded to subtracting, multiplying, and dividing fractions. Students could make a small concept map for each operation and then at the end of a large fraction unit make a large concept map of all the operations on fractions. You can also pre-assess the students through concept mapping by having students write down how they think a procedure should be done. Before teaching a fraction unit, the teacher can have their students make a concept map of how the operations on fractions might look. After the fraction unit, have the students create a concept map on how the operations are performed. Then the students can compare their concept maps to see if they were correct or what they would need to change.
Another idea to use in a classroom that I would teach would be to have students create a concept map on measurements and converting between units. The students can have links between the units that can be converted to each other. This could also work with another lesson where the subject links ideas or parts to different things.
Concept maps would also be useful when starting a research project. Students can write out the steps they need to take, materials needed and procedures they will need in order to do the project. They can then link things that go together to each other. It would be useful for them to know where to start, what they will need and be able to use as a guide during their researching.
Impact of Concept Mapping on Student Learning:
- Students being able to write out their thoughts in an outline type format that they can easily look at and find what they are looking for.
- Being able to show students how different topics, or sub-topics, are related/linked to each other.
- May help for those that are visual learners to visually see how topics are related.
Criteria to decide whether to use Concept Mapping in Lesson:
- If there are many concepts or procedures that link to each other, it may be useful to create a concept map to show how they are connected to each other.
- It would be useful to use a concept map that is on procedures to help students solve a problem that could be worked out in different ways. They can see how the procedure is done when working on a specific type of problem. For example when performing operations on fractions, do the fractions have common denominators? If yes, follow these links. If no, follow these links.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Reflections on Using TeacherWeb
Describe at least 2 ways that the use of a class web site like TeacherWeb could be used to support your future teaching. Provide some specific details for each example.
- A class website could be used for students to see what to expect in the class and what has been done in class. On my TeacherWeb, I had a homework page for students to be able to view previous and upcoming homework assignments. This would be helpful for students that have missed class due to illness, sports, or other reasons. Students would be able to stay on track with the class and not fall behind if they miss a day or two.
- Having quizzes or reviews online would be beneficial to students to see if they understand the information going through class. It would also be beneficial for a teacher to know if the students are understanding and learning what they are suppose to be.
Identify 2 ways students could use a class web site like TeacherWeb to enhance their learning. Provide some details for each way identified.
- Something that would be helpful for students is the web resource page. Students will be able to view accredited websites that provide the correct help for what they need. If a student tried researching on their own they may go to Wikipedia that may have incorrect information. This way students will be able to visit sites that the teacher approves of, know will be appropriate and have correct information.
- Students could use a class website to check on their current grade in the class. They will be able to see how they are doing and what they need to do in order to raise their grade or keep the current grade they possess. The students wouldn't have to set up time before or after class in order to check how they are doing, they would be able to do it on their own time and when it is most convenient for them.
- A class website could be used for students to see what to expect in the class and what has been done in class. On my TeacherWeb, I had a homework page for students to be able to view previous and upcoming homework assignments. This would be helpful for students that have missed class due to illness, sports, or other reasons. Students would be able to stay on track with the class and not fall behind if they miss a day or two.
- Having quizzes or reviews online would be beneficial to students to see if they understand the information going through class. It would also be beneficial for a teacher to know if the students are understanding and learning what they are suppose to be.
Identify 2 ways students could use a class web site like TeacherWeb to enhance their learning. Provide some details for each way identified.
- Something that would be helpful for students is the web resource page. Students will be able to view accredited websites that provide the correct help for what they need. If a student tried researching on their own they may go to Wikipedia that may have incorrect information. This way students will be able to visit sites that the teacher approves of, know will be appropriate and have correct information.
- Students could use a class website to check on their current grade in the class. They will be able to see how they are doing and what they need to do in order to raise their grade or keep the current grade they possess. The students wouldn't have to set up time before or after class in order to check how they are doing, they would be able to do it on their own time and when it is most convenient for them.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Blogs and Wikis in Education
Identify and describe 3 interesting/innovative ways blogs and/or wikis are being used in K-12 classrooms.
- Information that students will need for an upcoming project, test, or just class notes could be posted so the students will know what is expected of them.
- Blogs can update students on events going on in their school or upcoming projects and exams to be prepared for.
- If a student was gone, the teacher could post a blog about what happened during class so that the student can read it and know what to expect for class the next day.
Describe how you might use RSS readers/aggregators within a classroom setting.
- For me, I could be subscribed to an RSS reader/aggregator of NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) in order to receive new information for teaching strategies in the mathematical area. Also, it could tell me of any upcoming conferences I may be interested in going to in order to help improve my teaching abilities.
- For an English class students could be each subscribed to a different news website and then each week have to give a summary on an article they found interesting that was sent to them during the week.
Describe at least 2 pros and 2 cons of using blogs and wikis in education.
Pros:
- Keep students up to date with assignments
- Students have access to help outside of the classroom and school.
Cons:
- Students that do not have access to the internet or computer won't be able to have access to the blog or wiki outside of school.
- If the page is too complicated or flashy the students will have difficultly with the site and might not be sure what they are suppose to be learning.
- Information that students will need for an upcoming project, test, or just class notes could be posted so the students will know what is expected of them.
- Blogs can update students on events going on in their school or upcoming projects and exams to be prepared for.
- If a student was gone, the teacher could post a blog about what happened during class so that the student can read it and know what to expect for class the next day.
Describe how you might use RSS readers/aggregators within a classroom setting.
- For me, I could be subscribed to an RSS reader/aggregator of NCTM (National Council of Teachers of Mathematics) in order to receive new information for teaching strategies in the mathematical area. Also, it could tell me of any upcoming conferences I may be interested in going to in order to help improve my teaching abilities.
- For an English class students could be each subscribed to a different news website and then each week have to give a summary on an article they found interesting that was sent to them during the week.
Describe at least 2 pros and 2 cons of using blogs and wikis in education.
Pros:
- Keep students up to date with assignments
- Students have access to help outside of the classroom and school.
Cons:
- Students that do not have access to the internet or computer won't be able to have access to the blog or wiki outside of school.
- If the page is too complicated or flashy the students will have difficultly with the site and might not be sure what they are suppose to be learning.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom
For the multiple intelligences quiz I scored highest in kinesthetic with 100. I scored 70 in naturalist, logical, existential, intrapersonal, and visual. I got a 50 in interpersonal, 30 in musical and 10 in verbal. Kinesthetic is interaction with the environment. I really enjoy getting out in the environment and doing a lot of things outdoors. I think this was a fair intelligence rating for kinesthetic. I think the other intelligences are also fairly accurate from what I usually am, except for music and visual. Although I don't actually play any instruments, I do greatly enjoy music. I feel like I am quite musical in listening and getting beats of music. I am definitely not a high scale in music, but I would have expected a little bit higher. As for verbal, this is also not one of my strong points but I would have thought my intelligence rating for it would be higher.
For high kinesthetic intelligences like myself it might be helpful to have lots of plants in the room and perhaps have outdoor activities that tie into a lesson. Being able to interact with nature yet connecting it to a lesson would be rewarding for kinesthetic intelligences. I would assume that high kinesthetic intelligences are also quite high in visual intelligence since the environment is visual. I scored fairly high in visual. The visual intelligence deals with seeing and imagining. For students with visual intelligence it would be helpful to have a lot of visual aids in the classroom and during lessons.
To support the two intelligences of kinesthetic and visual one thing that might help is having plants and inspirational posters with nature scenes. As said before, a lesson could be made that ties the outdoors with what is being studied. Since I am a mathematics major, visual aids are always very helpful and can be easily put into a lesson.
Cameras are a type of technology that could stimulate the kinesthetic intelligences. Cameras are used to capture instances in time, such as taking a picture of a nature scene. A lesson could be developed using cameras and taking pictures outside while also solving some type of problem for class. Computers are a great technology that could be used for both kinesthetic and visual intelligences. Kinesthetic learners wouldn't be physically outdoors but can see nature on the computers. Computers are a very visual learning tool and this would help the visual intelligences by seeing what the computer screen does.
As best to my ability when I am a teacher I will need to be able to apply all intelligences and the learning styles from before in each, or most, lessons. All the learning styles I learned about can fit into one of the intelligences learned today. If I can apply lessons towards the types of intelligences, then the learning styles will automatically come out too. It is important to always keep in mind the different styles and learners when making a lesson to adapt to each. Students will need time to work with each other and alone. They will also need visual aids along with verbal words and text. Music and nature will also need to be thrown into the mix. Students will need to be pushed to solve problems, yet making sure the whole picture is being seen and the small details are not ignored. Lessons will also need to be quite organized and sometimes put into different categories or hierarchies. Trying to fit all of this into a lesson will be quite difficult and sometimes it will not happen. The goal is to try to reach as many learning styles each day and those not reached in one day should be reached on another.
For high kinesthetic intelligences like myself it might be helpful to have lots of plants in the room and perhaps have outdoor activities that tie into a lesson. Being able to interact with nature yet connecting it to a lesson would be rewarding for kinesthetic intelligences. I would assume that high kinesthetic intelligences are also quite high in visual intelligence since the environment is visual. I scored fairly high in visual. The visual intelligence deals with seeing and imagining. For students with visual intelligence it would be helpful to have a lot of visual aids in the classroom and during lessons.
To support the two intelligences of kinesthetic and visual one thing that might help is having plants and inspirational posters with nature scenes. As said before, a lesson could be made that ties the outdoors with what is being studied. Since I am a mathematics major, visual aids are always very helpful and can be easily put into a lesson.
Cameras are a type of technology that could stimulate the kinesthetic intelligences. Cameras are used to capture instances in time, such as taking a picture of a nature scene. A lesson could be developed using cameras and taking pictures outside while also solving some type of problem for class. Computers are a great technology that could be used for both kinesthetic and visual intelligences. Kinesthetic learners wouldn't be physically outdoors but can see nature on the computers. Computers are a very visual learning tool and this would help the visual intelligences by seeing what the computer screen does.
As best to my ability when I am a teacher I will need to be able to apply all intelligences and the learning styles from before in each, or most, lessons. All the learning styles I learned about can fit into one of the intelligences learned today. If I can apply lessons towards the types of intelligences, then the learning styles will automatically come out too. It is important to always keep in mind the different styles and learners when making a lesson to adapt to each. Students will need time to work with each other and alone. They will also need visual aids along with verbal words and text. Music and nature will also need to be thrown into the mix. Students will need to be pushed to solve problems, yet making sure the whole picture is being seen and the small details are not ignored. Lessons will also need to be quite organized and sometimes put into different categories or hierarchies. Trying to fit all of this into a lesson will be quite difficult and sometimes it will not happen. The goal is to try to reach as many learning styles each day and those not reached in one day should be reached on another.
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
My Learning Style
The learning style instrument I used to determine my own learning style is one created by North Carolina State University. The name of the instrument is Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire. This questionnaire is used to determine how a person learns. By answering a few questions about the way you go about certain things, the questionnaire can determine the type of learning style you have in four different categories. The categories are Active/Reflective, Sensing/Intuitive, Visual/Verbal, and Sequential/Global. The URL for the questionnaire I used is http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html.
The results are given in a scale from 11 to 1 then 1 to 11 with one part of each category on either side. An X is placed above the number on the side that a person is most like. According to the website, the scale can tell you the following; If you score 1-3, you are fairly well balanced on the two dimensions of that scale. If you score 5-7, you have a moderate preference for one dimension. If you score 9-11, you have a very strong preference for one dimension and may have difficulty learning in an environment without it.
My scores for the different categories are 1 reflective, 1 sensing, 9 visual, and 3 sequential. I agree that I am fairly neutral when concerning Active/Reflective learning. I learn best by doing something but I also like to sit back and think about it first. I think I may be a more intuitive learner rather than sensing, but still fairly neutral as well. It is true that I am a strong visual learner. I focus more on what I am doing and what I see rather than what I hear. Sometimes I have to read something multiple times because I can not focus on the words. I also agree that I am slightly more sequential than global, but still contain a lot of both traits. Overall I think the questionnaire did a fair job of evaluating my learning styles.
To incorporate what I have learned from this questionnaire, I will need to make sure to focus on including verbal learning in my lessons. Since I am a highly visual learner I will most likely tend to sway that way. I will need to include verbal learning in my lessons for the students who are more verbal learners rather than visual. Since I am more neutral in the other categories, I don't have to focus or worry as much to include both dimensions. However, I will still need to make sure I include something from both dimensions in every category. The website includes descriptions of each dimension and how each learner can help themselves. When making lessons and teaching it would be good to keep these things in mind in order to reach every dimension of learning in a classroom.
The results are given in a scale from 11 to 1 then 1 to 11 with one part of each category on either side. An X is placed above the number on the side that a person is most like. According to the website, the scale can tell you the following; If you score 1-3, you are fairly well balanced on the two dimensions of that scale. If you score 5-7, you have a moderate preference for one dimension. If you score 9-11, you have a very strong preference for one dimension and may have difficulty learning in an environment without it.
My scores for the different categories are 1 reflective, 1 sensing, 9 visual, and 3 sequential. I agree that I am fairly neutral when concerning Active/Reflective learning. I learn best by doing something but I also like to sit back and think about it first. I think I may be a more intuitive learner rather than sensing, but still fairly neutral as well. It is true that I am a strong visual learner. I focus more on what I am doing and what I see rather than what I hear. Sometimes I have to read something multiple times because I can not focus on the words. I also agree that I am slightly more sequential than global, but still contain a lot of both traits. Overall I think the questionnaire did a fair job of evaluating my learning styles.
To incorporate what I have learned from this questionnaire, I will need to make sure to focus on including verbal learning in my lessons. Since I am a highly visual learner I will most likely tend to sway that way. I will need to include verbal learning in my lessons for the students who are more verbal learners rather than visual. Since I am more neutral in the other categories, I don't have to focus or worry as much to include both dimensions. However, I will still need to make sure I include something from both dimensions in every category. The website includes descriptions of each dimension and how each learner can help themselves. When making lessons and teaching it would be good to keep these things in mind in order to reach every dimension of learning in a classroom.
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