Time Saving Tech-nique

I am going to share my 2 favorite "Time Saving Tech-nique".

• Ctrl+Y  

This works in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint (and probably the rest). There have been times that I want to reformat a document and it can be very tiresome to repeat the same task over and over and over again. For example, wanting to bold portions of text, but not all. Bold one thing you want as you normally would. Then for the rest, highlight and then ctrl+y and it will repeat your actions on the newly highlighted text.

• Screen Clipping

                   Again, this works in Microsoft products. There are times when I portion of worksheets, pictures/diagrams, or snippets of webpages that I want in a PowerPoint or Word document. You could use the screen clipping tool that comes with the Windows OS or you could click insert --> screenshot --> screen clipping. It will minimize the Word window and show the front most page underneath for you to clip into your document.

Both of these have saved me time and I hope they will save you time as well.

Future Ready - Personalized Professional Learning

This blog is a reflection focused on one "gear" of the Future Ready Framework. I will focus on Personalized Professional Learning.

WHY?

This gear is the most important gear of the Framework because student-centered learning starts with the teacher. Teachers need to be trained how to implement technology, trained on 21st century skills, and should be part of a district's implementation plan. Also, the district and the administrators need to model the kind of learning they expect to see in the classroom.

The world in rapidly evolving into a technology based society in which people are always connected to the internet and they have access to resources to learn almost everything. We as educators need to teach our students how to learn in such a society and that starts with modeling what is to be expected of them as they leave our classrooms. No more can we expect students to sit and take notes all day and do worksheets at night. That style of learning no longer reflects the world.

WHERE IS MY DISTRICT?

My current district is just starting its journey towards providing Personalized Professional Learning for teachers. Individual teachers are going out of their comfort zones, learning about new ways of teaching with technology and bringing those ideas to other teachers. The district is developing a 1:1 initiative with the hopes of providing more student-centered learning to all students. However, some administrators still preach about the importance of test taking skills, direct instruction, and consistent homework. PLCs are focused on frequent assessments consisting of multiple choice and free response questions without considering more authentic forms of assessment. So right now, there are competing directives from administrators.

Journal Review: Enhancing Instruction through Constructivism, Cooperative Learning and Cloud Computing

Denton, D. (2012). Enhancing instruction through constructivism, cooperative learning, and cloud computing. Techtrends: Linking Research & Practice To Improve Learning, 56(4), 34-41. doi:10.1007/s11528-012-0585-1

Dr. David W. Denton starts by connecting how Constructivism and Cooperative Learning are enhanced and made possible with cloud computing software (GAFE and Microsoft Onedrive). His article focuses on the undergraduate/graduate level, however, it is not hard to see the connection to secondary learning environments. 

Constructivism

     Constructivism is defined through the following characteristics;

• accessing prior knowledge and integrate with unfamiliar information to create new learning
• facilitation of group dialogue
• reference to formal domain knowledge
• opportunities for students to select challenge level
• practice of metacognitive skills.

Dr. Denton outlines how cloud computing software enables these characteristics because of the ability to share and simultaneously edit documents.

Cooperative Learning

     Cooperative learning is also greatly enhanced through cloud computing because of the ability to share and simultaneously edit documents. It becomes easy for students work together on a lab report, research paper, wikis, and blogs.

Strategies for Integrating Cloud Computing

Dr. Denton then outlines 10 ways to integrate cloud computing. Below is a brief outline of each strategy.

1. Group Projects
1. Have students work together on a Google Doc which then allows for teachers to provide structure and emphasizes process through the revision history capability.
2. Peer Assessment
1. Because Google Docs can be shared and edited, students can share their work with peers who then provide feedback.
3. Student Constructed Presentations
1. Google Slides can be used by students in small groups or the whole class to teach subject matter. 
4. Simultaneous Class Discussions
1. Teachers can use Google Sites, Google Docs, or Google Slides to post a question and have the students respond. This allows students to see their peer's thinking without taking a lot of time.
5. Collaborative Reflection
6. Assisted Writings
1. The ability of students to share documents with instructors then allows instructors to see student work in real-time and provide immediate feedback. 
7. Learning Illustrated
1. Google Drawings can be used by students to synthesize learning by creating a visual representation of content just learned.
8. Class Invetory
1. Google Forms can be used to instantly gather information about student learning. The data is gathered and displayed in Google Sheets which provides an easy format for teachers to understand the results. 
9. Collaborative Rubric Construction
1. Multiple students and teachers can work on the same document to decide the criteria and point value for rubrics.
10. Website Publishing
1. Students interest and engagement can be increased by having them create a Google Site or Blogger.

Final Thoughts

     I already use a lot of these strategies in my classroom using GAFE (Google Apps for Education) or Schoology (my LMS). However, I would like to integrate strategies 7 and 10 in my classroom. I could see having students create Infographics or other visual summaries of their learning and then publish the content to a class website.

Journal Review: What Levels of Guidance Promote Engaged Exploration with Interactive Simulations?

Adams, W. K., Paulson, A., & Wieman, C. E. (2008). What levels of guidance promote engaged exploration with interactive simulations?. AIP Conference Proceedings, 1064(1), 59-62. doi:10.1063/1.3021273

Adams, et al. reviewed four ways to use PhET (Physics Education Technology) interactive simulations in the classroom. The four ways varied by the level of inquiry during the use of the interactive simulation. The four levels are as follows;

Type A - No Instruction (full inquiry)

Type B - Driving Questions

Type C - Gently Guided (no inquiry)

Type D - Strongly Guided (step-by-step)

According to their research, which included hour long interviews with students as they were going through a simulation under one of the levels of inquiry, students were the most engaged when provided no instruction.

Type A guidance provided no instruction and the most engagement, but Adams, et al. cited inconsistencies in what the students learned.

In Type B guidance, students were given an investigation question, predicted answers, and then used the simulation to answer the question. Here the researchers found the questions restricted student exploration, but all students were able to answer the investigation questions.

In Type C and D levels of guidance, students were given instructions on how to use the simulation and more specific questions. The main difference between the two were that Type D guidance had questions that students could answer without the simulation. Both levels of guidance resulted in less engagement and students were unable to summarize any learning that occurred.

The authors suggest that Type A and B guidance are best for student learning. However, from my own experience with using the PhET simulations in my classroom would suggest Type A and B guidance will not work for all students. Some need to have the guidance while others demand it. Next time I use a PhET simulation, I would like to differentiate my instruction with the various types of guidance.