Addressing NETS-S with Web 2.0 Tools

The National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) guide educators to on six key areas:

1. Creativity and Innovation
2. Communication and Collaboration
3. Research and Information Fluency
4. Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making
5. Digital Citizenship
6. Technology Operations and Concepts

Web 2.0 tools support these standards by allowing users to use technology to communication and collaborate in an online environment. Most Web 2.0 tools promote creativity and critical thinking while motivating students to further develop technological literacy skills.

In my experience, our 21st Century Learners want to publish their ideas online. Many students are more motivated by presenting their understanding of curricular objectives through the use Web 2.0 tools than traditional classroom method such as paper-based assignments. Most students would rather complete school work presented to the world on a blog or wiki, than school work presented to a sole person simply for the purpose of marking. This is the social nature of learners. Students are also motivated to be heard. Having the option to comment on or edit wikis, blogs and podcasts builds confidence. Students can have a say by commenting and there is a record of it. Our students are ready to embrace Web 2.0 tools and 21st Century Learning philosophies which align with the National Educational Technology Standards for Students.

When we use Web 2.0 tools in our classrooms, we can guide students to be effective digital citizens, participating in viewing, sharing, editing and exchanging information online. We are also guiding them to make decisions on how the information is organized and governed. In addition, Web 2.0 tools can increase communication, collaboration and transparency among teachers, administrations, parents and students. When educators make the shift toward "Classroom 2.0" they address the National Educational Technology Standards for Students.

Finding a Common Thread in Project Based Learning

EDIM 502 U01a1

This week I have explored the Project Based Learning (PBL) examples: March of the Monarchs: Students Follow the Butterflies’ Migration, More Fun Than a Barrel of … Worms?!, and Geometry Students Angle Into Architecture Through Project Learning. These examples displayed a few different instructional design techniques , however the core design principles and circumstances were similar. Some of the similarities included:

• having an average classroom settings with a single teacher.
• having students practice effective communication and collaboration skills
• using an interdisciplinary approach in learning about and presenting authentic real world concepts.
• allotting a fairly large chunk of time (6 weeks to a semester) for students to explore concepts to a greater depth.
• having students enhance and apply their technological literacy
• having the teacher promote learning from people or sources other than the teacher, such as classmates, online contacts or local experts.
• having “real world” experts involved in sharing information or judging final projects.

In these PBL examples the teachers worked mainly as a facilitators, helping students explore their own ideas and pointing them in the right direction to find answers to their questions. Students collaborated with classmates to learn about the “real world” concepts and develop a final presentation demonstrating their understanding of the content. When students are given the opportunity to direct their own learning experiences their education has more meaning to them. It is more purposeful and motivating for students to share their work with more than just their teacher. In these examples, students shared their knowledge with classmates, teachers, parents, community members and experts in the field. In PBL students get to participate in a collaborative learning experience and understand the value of collective intelligence. Student engagement and knowledge transfer are also increased when students are able to assimilate content in these meaningful authentic experiences. When presenting concepts through a constructivist perspective such as PBL, students are better able to understand and retain concepts. These concepts are given a purpose that relates to their lives which includes sharing it in a social context.

Nuclear Energy Virtual Trip

Over the past two weeks I have developed a Nuclear Energy Virtual Trip project for use in my Physics 30 course. Students benefit from the visual and spatial impact this Google Earth virtual trip as they “visit” global examples of the six most common types of land-based nuclear reactors used for power production. At each stop on the trip, students learn about the basics of the reactor (location, production, fuel, coolant and moderator). Students then research and add further information about each reactor by leaving a comment via an embedded Voicethread on the Google Earth placemark.

There are two instructional goals for virtual trip. The first goal is that students will understand that different cultures have developed different kinds of reactors depending on the choice of fuel, coolant and moderator. The second goal is that students will be able to explain what concerns emerge as a result of the use of nuclear energy.

Prior to this project, students will have learned about the topics of fission and fusion, the details of how Canadian Deuterium Uranium Reactors (CANDU) work and the many benefits of using nuclear energy for power production. By having this foundational knowledge, students are more likely to assimilate and synthesize the content. They can gain deeper respect for the similarities and differences of nuclear reactors used worldwide.

At the end of the virtual tour, students are assigned to research and write about worldwide nuclear energy accidents and begin reflecting on the ethics of using nuclear energy. This Nuclear Energy Virtual Trip project also begins to prepare students for the following course assignment, the Nuclear Energy Dialectic Poster Project.

The Nuclear Energy Virtual Trip provides students with an opportunity to see that different countries use nuclear energy for power production but may produce it with a different type of nuclear reactor getting different results. Prior to this trip students are often aware of the basic ethics of using nuclear energy, but often do not realize that these issues and debates happen worldwide. This virtual field trip helps students to understand that this is a global issue and gives a further purpose for their learning this content.

Following "Open Thinking" Ideas

One way for me to promote development of my own “five minds” is by keeping up to date on new (or different) educational technology pedagogies. Open Thinking is the blog feed that takes priority on my Google Reader subscriptions list. I have seen the author Alec Couros speak at a few educational technology conferences and was very impressed with his digital pedagogy. He practices and promotes: student-directed teacher-guided learning experiences, the benefits of collective intelligence and providing students with 21st Century Skills. Alec keeps up to date on which Web 2.0 tools work well in classrooms, and commonly seeks feedback via twitter or his blog when preparing conference presentations.

I am at a stage in my professional growth where I am continually changing my course materials and looking for new ways of sharing ideas in my online classes and meeting student needs. Following the ideas of educational technology gurus, like Alec Couros, help challenge and clarify my pedagogical beliefs and keep me up to date on some of current international practices and educational technology research findings. Alec is from Saskatchewan and understands the unique benefits and quirks of our curricula. He is able to filter international educational technology ideas through the eyes of someone from Saskatchewan, whereas many American blog authors relate ideas to their educational systems which can be quite different.

One of the challenges I have in developing my own “five minds” is the time it takes to learn and be creative. I appreciate Alec’s approach in writing real-life examples. This saves me time and provides motivation to try new things. I also appreciate that Alec practices what he preaches.

A Project to Develop Ethical and Respectful Minds

Technology can be used to develop ethical and respectful minds in our students when we use it to promote global learning. We can use technology to further students' cultural understanding and build international relationships. When my grade 10 science students and a friend’s grade 10 science class in Botswana, are given video cameras, digital cameras, microphones and computers with internet access and assigned to create multimedia shows with Voicethread on the topic “Green Ideas”, we can all learn about each other and each other’s perspectives. My students have learned about globalization and the importance of communication. My students have learned how to act appropriate as a digital citizen and they have learned the power of multimedia. My students have learned to respect and learn from our global differences. In viewing work, commenting on and reading comments from students from across the globe, the world is made smaller.

Developing Creativity with Glogster

Over the past two weeks I have been using Glogster to develop an online poster (a Glog) as an introduction to a Physics 30 project. My poster is titled Nuclear Energy Dialectic Poster Project. In this project, students will develop a Nuclear Energy Dialectic Glog which explains the support and opposition of using nuclear energy from another country’s perspective. At the end of the project, students will comment on each other’s Glogs and then evaluate their work. My glog provides links to further assignment and evaluation resources for students to access. For students who have not used Glogster it is helpful to have them see my glog as an example.

I think Glogster is very easy to use and a very visual method of communicating material. A developer can easily add media (text, audio, images or video) to their online poster. I think Glogster is a great tool for younger students and those wanting an easy method of sharing ideas visually. Glogster allows the user to be visually creative in choosing an image related to a textbox and place this in any manner on their online poster. Text and images can be hyperlink to other websites. This non-linear method of getting information from a clickable glog is more interactive and gains better retention of information.

In general, I like to encourage all my high school students to create material that looks professional and has effective: visual balance, layout, typography, use of space, images, audio, animation and video. I think Glogster’s strength is that is it easy to create a visually interesting online webpage that is rich with multimedia. I would love to see more professional looking tools in their Magnet Toolbox. I generally find in the senior high school students want more control of where their text is placed and how it looks on a page. For students who already know how to create a webpage with widgets, gadgets, embedded code or hyperlinking, Glogster may limit their creativity. For those students developing these technical and artistic skills, Glogster is a fabulous tool for unleashing creativity, exploring the wonderfully creative world of multimedia and hyperlinking.

Hooray for Voicethread!

Voicethread is an online Web 2.0 tool that allows users do two things: to share multimedia productions online and to comment on other Voicethread multimedia productions. A basic Voicethread account is free and provides an impressive number of options.

Voicethread has a strong following in both K-12 educational setting and post-secondary. Although Voicethread can be used to have a group of people send a Happy Birthday message to a friend, I suspect it is most commonly in an education presentation setting.

The presentation tool allows the user to upload video, a slideshow or images into their Voicethread. The video features works well for sharing student projects. For example, my students submitted their animation class projects and then I posted the group of projects on a single Voicethread for the whole class to view and comment on individually. It is a very effective method of sharing a set of video file projects.

If the Voicethread is intended to be a single presentation, the user can upload slides or graphics to Voicethread and then narrate each slide using their microphone. It is very easy to edit, delete and rearrange slides and narrations. User can also overlay text on a Voicethread page and add hyperlinks. The next step is to publish the Voicethread. A user can: download the Voicethread, publish to a group of Voicethread users, share the URL with others or use the Voicethread embed code and insert this into a blog, wiki or other website.

There are a few options for how to comment on a Voicethread. A user can comment on a single page within a Voicethread by using a microphone a recording audio comment, texting a comment, or phoning in a comment. Another feature is a Doodle feature which allows a commenter to draw on the Voicethread page an add narration at the same time. This can also be used on a video clip which is useful for visual communicating comments.

Voicethread is one of the best tools I have used for the sharing student work and seeking feedback easily.

Using Fantastic Contraption to Develop a Creating Mind

My Physics students love creating machines with the online flash game, Fantastic Contraption.

This game requires users to have the aspiring creator’s characteristics which Howard Gardner describes “a generous supply of intelligence, skill and discipline”. Fantastic Contraption is easy to use; there is no account required however students may choose to become more involved online by signing up for a free account and participating in the Fantastic Contraption forum, chat or wiki development.

To play the game, students must create crazy contraptions with the moving rods and wheels. To be successful, the contraption must guide the pink object to the final destination. Students use their imagination and knowledge in physics to create a solution for each level. This game encourages the development of discipline; as with most online games, players fail frequently and are motivated to learn from it and try again. Students apply their knowledge of physics and get to tinker like their five years old again, which according to Howard Gardner is “the height of creative powers”.


Reference

Gardner, Howard. (2007). Five minds for the future. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Using Media Infused Learning to Develop a Disciplined and Synthesizing Mind

Research done by Richard Mayer is commonly cited to show that learning from multimedia results in better and longer learning retention rates.  I believe that retention is the key to developing a successful disciplined and synthesizing mind.  Students are able assimilate new information with old information and develop a deeper synthesis if they have retained the information. Students are able to better able to process and evaluate the content when they have better retention of the content.

Decision based learning, such as a non-linear learning centre, allows student to make their own decisions and learn from these.  They can go through the content at their own pace, and synthesize the content based on the decisions they have made, not based on the order or the decisions the teacher makes.  Not everyone is able to synthesis and make relations in the same way.  Allowing students to develops learning connections through their decisions results in stronger synthesis.

One of the highest level skills of a synthesizing mind, is the ability to create connections between different disciplines. I do not believe that media-infused learning always leads to an interdisciplinary approach. If the text, audio, visual, or video is artistically polished, presenting these media pieces to students, is sharing an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the content. If the method of using the media requires technical skills, such as a video game, website or Web 2.0 tools, this can also present an interdisciplinary learning opportunity for students and require them to develop these skills.

In using multimodal approach, (text, audio, visual, and video with audio) students are able to access both, a verbal working memory, and a visual working memory. Consequently, students are better equipped to think, integrate, organize, analyze, and develop schema with the content. These are skills that students to develop their disciplined and synthesizing mind.

Using Guitars to Teach Algebra and Physics

Years ago, I used to teach high school math courses. Using an interdisciplinary approach with the course content aided students in synthesizing the material and getting a deeper understanding of its purpose, especially abstract mathematics.

One of my interdisciplinary lessons was on the topic of calculating the Harmonic Mean. Many students have a distaste for using fractions, especially reciprocals. Students showed much more interest in this topic by using a story and relating the content to history, religion and music. I brought a guitar to class and began the lesson by telling them about Pythagorus of Samos and his clan of friends, the Pythagoreans who lived on the Greek island of Samos. They created a type of cult or religion whose foundation was relating music to math, more specifically ratios. Some historians claim that the Pythagoreans believed that if one could truly understand the meaning of "wholeness" they would be immortal. After telling this story, I took out a guitar and often had one of my students show to find harmonics on a guitar string. Another student would get a metre stick and we would measure ratios of notes on a single string and record harmonics.

I enjoyed this lesson so much in my math classes it is now adapted it for my grade 11 Physics course. It fits well with the Sound unit, when we cover the topics of harmonics and tones. This lesson truly gets students to see how mathematics and physics relate to music. I have taken this lesson one step further in my Physics class. Students use the computer program Audacity to create an audio project with separate labeled audio tracks that clearly depict different sound waves (loud notes, quiet notes, high notes, low notes, tone and harmonics). Students narrate additional tracks to explain what the sine waves mean. Once identical twins were in my class. They recorded themselves saying the same phrases in the same way. Even I was surprised with how closely their resulting sines waves appeared.

Using Video to Meet Instructional Goals

The Introduction to Physics segment of the Greatest Discoveries with Bill Nye: Physics video would be very useful to use in my physics classes. This video could be used to meet one of the physics course goals: having students demonstrate an understanding of paradigm shifts .

There are a number of ways this video could be used to meet this goal:

1. I could ask my online students to find graphics or videos online that depicts an example of a paradigm shift. My e-students would share their graphic on the whiteboard or share their video URL in the chatbox with their classmates. After we discuss their examples; I would share this video as my example and explain that this video focuses on the key paradigm shifts in physics which always makes for a good unit test question. Students would be advised to take notes.

2. While watching the video, students could create 3 challenging questions, related to the paradigm shift examples, which the video answers; students also need to make sure they know the answers. After watching the video, each student would quiz the rest of the class with their questions. This could be in teams or this could be done with students quizzing each other in small groups.

3. While watching the video students could create 2 challenging questions, related to the paradigm shift examples in the video, which the video does not answer. These questions could be discussed as a group after the video and the key specific questions that, after discussion, continued to be unanswered could be assigned and homework questions.

4. Student could watch the video and then write an analysis of the paradigm shifts that were shown in the video.

5. Students could be assigned to use this video to create a multimedia project of their own that demonstrates their understanding of the concept of paradigm shifts. They could chop up this video and just use the video section, inserting their own audio track. They could use a green screen and use this video as a backdrop. This could be used as part of a newscast multimedia project. They could use this to create a multimedia trivia game on the topic of paradigm shifts. Alternatively, student could propose their own project.

Digital Media in My Classroom

I teach for Credenda Virtual High school; a synchronous online high school. We use Elluminate Live, a web-conferencing program to communicate with our students during regularly scheduled classes. My students have access to the internet whenever they are in class. What a treat! This has changed how I teach. I can change my role from teaching and answering questions, to guiding learning by asking questions and providing problems. My students search online and share their answers and solutions.

When given the opportunity to share text, graphics or videos, student generally share video responses with their classmates. I have found that video often has a more of an impact which results in better retention.

My students enjoy using Web 2.0 tools to share ideas and collaborate online. We use blogs, wikis, podcasts, Voicethreads, and other gadgets and widgets galore. They value the opportunity to publish their ideas online to the world and with each other. Generally I have found student produce better quality products when they share it with others rather than just handing in an assignment to me.