Ed Psych 1/25/17

Ed Psych. Articles and Chapter 1 Reviews: 

    The four articles cover a range of topic in the teaching workforce. The articles discuss how teaching is not an exact science, and thinking that teaching can be figure out by a simple solution is not the case. Teaching is a plethora of strategies and it requires wisdom and patience. The articles also talked about how teachers adapt to their environment in their early days of teaching, inequality in schools, and cross-state mobility.
    In my opinion, all of these articles deal with ways that teachers need to adapt and learn. These articles are explaining different ways teachers have to adjust to fit into certain schools and deal with certain students. I think that is how all of these articles relate to Chapter 1 in the text. The articles relate to Chapter 1 in the text by explaining all of the ways that teachers need to adapt and learn in their new environments. Teachers that move to different states, first year teachers, and teacher that have a diverse classroom all have to adjust to a different way of teaching and adjusting to a new environment.
    While I read the articles, I really agreed with the statement that "teaching is both an art and science." This is so true. In the little time that I have had in the classroom so far, teaching is much more than just a science. You can not simple teach the students and expect them to produce. As a teacher, you have to make your job an art of sorts. You must allow the students to enjoy their work and have fun while they are doing it. It have you find a balance between the science of teaching and the art of teaching. I also agreed with the statement that have teacher has some sort of bias. I understand that not every teacher will admit this; however, it is true for almost all teachers in the workforce. I believe that everyday you must make a conscience effort to treat every single student the same. I believe that it is a teachers job to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for the students. So showing the students that you have a bias can affect the whole class. It is important to treat every student as an individual, but still remembering to treat them all the same.
      I think that teaching is a national job. Therefore, I think that the process for teachers to move from state to state should be easier. Although, I do agree that every state requires certain exceptions to be met by a transferring teaching. As I will be moving to Idaho, I would like the requirement for transferring to be easier and require less time. If teachers decide to not get certified in the state that graduated from, the wait to teach in another state could be years. However, if you do certified within the state you got your degree from, you can teach while you are meeting that states teaching requirements. I do think that it is a state-to-state decision on how schools and education should be run, but I do not think that a teacher moving from state to state should be hindered by this.

Technology/TPack Lesson

First, provide some details regarding:

• Learners: My learners will be students in grade 3.
• Learning outcomes: The students will gain a better understanding of math, such as adding, subtracting, percentages, multiplication, and division. By the end of the lesson, the students should able to successfully complete mathematical problems through technology.
• Assessment: I will track the students’ progress by walking around and seeing the success of the game. We will also play a game as a class and I will informally assess the students through questions and answers. I will ask students individually to answer the questions, which will give me a better understand of the students’ knowledge of the concepts.

Second, break down your activity into a timeline of planned events and procedures. Here you should describe what students and the teacher will be doing chronologically during the activity. Below is one of the good examples from previous reflections:

• The lesson would begin with introducing the students to the website smartboard.someschoolgames.com. This will take a couple minutes to bring up on the smartboard. We will discuss how to play the game “Math Millionaire.”
• The students would then spend the next 10 minutes exploring ways to solve mathematical equations that they have already been working on in the classroom.
• Following this exploration the students would be given 5 minutes to complete the individual assessment.
• Then, while waiting on the other students to finish, the students that had already completed all of the assignment would then have the students get into groups of 3 and begin playing math bingo on ABCya.com.

Reflection
Considering your learning activity described above, write two paragraphs or three for each section below addressing the questions. It may be helpful to keep in mind the followings when reflecting:

1. How well the use of this technology may support your teaching strategies in this activity.

The use of technology supported my teaching strategies by giving the students a different way of doing math. The students were just playing a game, but what they didn’t realize is that the game was actually helping them with their math skills.

2. How effectively the use of this technology may enhance students' understanding of and learning from your particular content in this activity.

I think the use of technology enhanced the students understanding. I do think it could have been a little more in depth and it would have enhanced it even more. However, overall I do think that the use of technology would engage and motivate the students to do better and to try and understand the content area better.

--Pedagogical-Content:

Your pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of teaching strategies that are specific to a content area. That is the knowledge about choosing appropriate pedagogies for teaching a particular content Example: Using drill-and-practice to teach math problem solving. This strategy however may not necessarily be effective for other content areas.

Now, forget about the technology for a while…..Just tells us about your teaching strategies that you employ in your activity (e.g., analogies, demonstrations, illustrations, examples, explanations, group work, drill-practice, simulations, role-play, lecturing, self-guided learning, inquiry-based learning, problem based learning or etc). Specifically:

• What are your strategies and why do you think your strategies are appropriate to teaching this specific content?  What makes you believe it would help your students comprehend this particular content? Give specific examples from your described activity.

Some of my strategies were group work, because doing the lesson we worked as a group to solve problems on the board. Everyone had their own piece of paper and did the problem independently, but we all agreed on a answer. I also used drill-practice as well in my lesson. The students had to work on the problems and come up with the best answer before putting in their answer on the computer. I do think these strategies help students comprehend, because it gives them a chance to fail, but then try again for the best answer. I was also walking around the room to help any struggling student.

• What would be some conceptions and pre-conceptions that students of different ages and backgrounds bring with them when learning this particular content? What would you be concerned about students' prior knowledge, experiences, motivation? Again focus on the content and your teaching strategy, not the technology!

I think some pre-conceptions of students of all different ages and backgrounds is that they do not enjoy math. I would mostly be concerned with the student’s motivation. When doing math, many students either get it or struggle in getting it. So the students have a lack of motivation.

--Technological-Pedagogical:

Your technological pedagogical knowledge refers to your understanding of technologies for particular learning tasks, your ability to choose technologies based on its fitness, your knowledge of pedagogical strategies, and your ability to apply those strategies for use of technologies Example: Selecting Edmodo/facebook for facilitating student generated debate. Edmodo here is the technology that supports the main pedagogy-group discussion/debate.

In the previous section, you talked about your instructional strategies. Keeping these strategies you stated in mind, now tell us how the technology is used in your activity.  Specifically:

• What main instructional strategies would this technology use serve in your activity? How would using the technology support the way you teach this activity? Please give examples and be specific to your described activity. Think about your main teaching strategies that this technology would support.

I think the instructional strategies would be role-play when we did millionaire math. In millionaire math the students can pretend that they are really playing for money. So when they come up to answer the question, they need to be certain of their answer, so they will go back down to zero and lose all their money.

• What different classroom management strategies you might need to consider when using this technology in the activity? Give examples and be specific to your described activity.

Some classroom management strategies I would use, would be to stay positive even when a student got an answer wrong. The students would be coming up to the board and answering the questions, so if the student got an answer wrong, I wouldn’t bash them. Instead, I would stay positive with the student and help them solve to get the right answer.

--Technological Pedagogical Content:

Your technological pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of how teaching and learning from content may change when technology used and is our knowledge about selecting technologies that suits, support, and enhances teaching strategies and learning activities in your particular content area. It is your understanding of teaching strategies to effectively teach the particular content and help student conceptual difficulties in this content by meaningfully incorporating technologies. Example: Using a flash card app on iPad as a means to aid students memorize words and definitions in language learning. iPad app is here chosen as a tool to support the pedagogy around instant feedback, quick repetition, and individualized learning. These are some of the strategies used in language learning content area.

Now, let’s focus on the content you’re teaching in your activity. Think about your decisions to incorporate this technology and the teaching strategies in relation to your particular content area. Tell us specifically about:

• How would using this technology enhance the way the content is represented in your activity (e.g. demonstrations, explanations, examples, illustrations, analogies, and etc.)? That is why you think the selection and the pedagogical use of this technology may enhance what you teach (the content in your activity). Give specific examples from your activity to support your answer and keep in mind the learning objectives that you stated previously. 

The use of technology would enhance the students understanding of math. In this lesson, the class had already been taught the entire basic math that they need to complete this task. So the use of technology in my lesson was really just a refresher. It was a way for the students to have fun, while getting better with the math strategies we have already gone over.

• In what different ways students practice or understand the content in your activity that would otherwise not be possible without the use of the technology? In addition to motivational benefits, what else can students do with this technology as they are learning the content?

I think students can practice the content in a way that keeps them motivated and engaged. Students today are surrounded by technology, so incorporating it into classroom only enhances it. In my lesson, students got to play a game-like activity. This helps students to stay engaged, because they are having fun and learning at the same time. Students can also use this technology when they have down time in the classroom. If students complete their work early, then they can use the technology and practice more problems. Again, it would be fun and allow them to learn.

3D Printing Articles

Thingiverse:

The website called Thingiverse, is a website that contains many resources for 3D printing. I really enjoyed the website when I was looking for something to print out of the 3D printer. As a teacher, I find it a good resource as well, because it gives you many ideas for using a 3D printer in your classroom. It helps give you lesson plans and ideas to print out. The education section on the website was very useful. It gave a step-by-step lesson plan on how to incorporate 3D printing into your classroom. It gave all of the objectives and the grade level of the lesson plan. Although it did have a lot of positives, I didn't feel like the education section had a ton of options to choose from. 3D printing is still an growing technology, so that might be the reason for lack of education resources. All together; however, the website was a very useful resource for incorporating 3D printing and technology into your classroom. 

Educators - Smithsonian: 

This article talked about how 3D printing can really spark students interest in history. The Smithsonian hoped that 3D printers would help students of all ages explore some of their most valuable objects at a level of control that has never been possible until now. With the help of 3D printers, students are able to become creators themselves using the same tols that professionals use. The articled explained the hope that the Smithsonian had for students - "Whether students are printing invaluable museum objects or inventions of their own design, we hope the change to bring objects to life will give students the opportunity to create imaginative and innovative work." The article also talked about how 3D printing can allow students to get out of the textbook by creating objects that they are learning about. Some students believe that reading and taking notes don't help, but it is easier to understand something you have made and created. The article went on to talk about how students can get a better understand of something, such as cancer, then they could by just hearing about it. 

3D printers in Schools: Uses in the Curriculm

This article was a study on schools and 3D printers. Twenty-one schools were provided with funding to purchase 3D printers. The study aimed to find out if 3D printers supported motivation in certain subject areas. The study explored 3D printing in science and mathematics and the potential of 3D printing. Many schools reported high levels of pupil motivation when engaged in these projects. "All the pupils who have been involved with the 3D printer so far have been inspired by its possibilities. The opportunity to realize a concept or idea quickly into a 3D product is an incredibly powerful teaching tool." Although many of the schools found that the 3D printers were a success in getting students motivated and engaged, the schools also admitted that early work with the printers was a trial and error process. At first, many of the schools were limited to demonstrations and the printing of small files, such as 3D shapes. Overall, the study found that the schools confirm that 3D printer have a huge impact on students and a significant potential as a teaching resource. 3D printers have a positive impact on student engagement and motivation, as long as the schools can master how to use the printers in a effective and meaningful way. 

TPACK

TPACK ARTICLE: 

Technology has consumed the world around us. In our everyday lives you can find technology almost anywhere. So it only makes sense that technology is a growing resource in the school system today. The TPACK article emphasizes not only the importance of technology in the classroom, but also the importance of understanding how to use technology properly with the students. The article discussed the importance of both students and teachers using technology properly in the classroom. It is important for teachers to be properly trained in the uses of technology - such as, software programs and Internet. It is also important for teachers to be able to properly educate the students on how to use technology programs within their classrooms and give the student the tools to be able to work with technology correctly. 

WebPACK: Future Teachers' Plans and Practices with Emerging Tools:

In this article, a study was done on teachers and how they incorporate emerging technologies into their curriculum. The study examined the teachers descriptions on technology and how they implemented it into their classrooms. The study focused on the components and levels of TPACK. The study found that their were differences in the technologies that the teachers planned to use and what they actually implemented in their practices. The teacher were able to recall how they used TPACK levels and components during their practices; however, their recollections were more at the surface level. In conclusion, the study found that many factors can affect how teachers incorporate technology and why they struggle to reach the higher levels of TPACK. It was also discussed that the grade level and age of the students plays a role in what kind and how much technology affects TPACK. 

Articles in Educational Technology: Miracle Maker, 25 Inventions of 2016, The Home of the Future, and The 25 Best Inventions of 2015. 

All of these articles have one common denominator: technology. As many of us know, technology has taken over the world. In these articles, technology is explained and categorized by the best of that year.

 In Miracle Maker, a doctor by the name Anthony Atala believed that he could print actually human organs. If this became possible, it would be a life changer for many people in the United States. So many people deal with organ failure, but have to wait on a waiting list to get an organ. With the technology Atala is presenting to the world, it would change so many lives. The article was honestly quite mind-blowing to think about. To be able to print 3D human organs would be a major advancement in human growth and technology.

The next two articles I read were over the 25 best inventions of 2015 and 2016. I started out with the articles, "25 Inventions of 2015", and I was very impressed. Many of the inventions during that year were shocking and very helpful. In the article there was an invention of a book that could filter water. So many countries in the world deal with having unsafe water. By having one single book that could filter their water and allow them to have clean and safe water is life changing for those people. There was also an invention of a baby monitor that would fit like a bracelet around a baby's leg while sleeping. The invention monitors the baby heart beat, breathing, and would alert the parents if anything was abnormal. Every year, many children are lost due to SIDS and I think this baby monitor would help stop so many unexplained deaths. Another invention that stuck out to me was the invention of "power pasta." Its a pasta that is made out of chickpeas rather than wheat. Many Americans are trying to be more healthy in what they eat (including me), so I really enjoyed this invention. I am a huge lover of pasta and having a healthier alternative would make my life a lot better. The last invention that I liked in "25 Invention of 2015" was the invention of housing for homeless. The housing provides a community for the homeless and get them off the streets. It helps the homeless that are really wanting a better life and are willing to work for it.

In the articles "25 inventions of 2016" I didn't really find much that really jumped out at me. However, I did really like the solar shingles. I had actually saw this concept on Facebook and I thought it was such a great idea. Instead of having the bulky solar panels lining your house, people could have solar shingles. That would be enough to run your whole house, saving the environment and your money.  Another invention that stuck out to me in this article was Barbies that are shape like actual girls. I think this is such an important thing for young woman growing up. For someone who has struggled with her image, I know that it is not easy to feel satisfied and content with yourself. Many girls and young woman look are the media and see something absolutely unattainable. Making Barbies that show what girls and young woman REALLY look like rather than what society thinks is perfect is important. It is important for girls to grow up in a society that believes every shape and size is beautiful. It is important for girls to know that not everyone is the same and just because you don't look like the next girl doesn't mean you are perfect in your own way. (Rant over).

The last article I read was "The Home of the Future." I really did not find this article all that interesting. I don't really agree with robots in the house that clean for you. I think that we as a society should have to do that on our own. Of course, someone or someTHING cleaning your house might be cool, but at the end of the day do you want to be that lazy? Some days are longer than others and sometimes it would be nice to have something cleaning up after me, but that is something that comes along with life. Having responsibilities is important, especially in today's world. Many kids are growing up without having responsibilities and personally, I think having to clean and pick up after themselves is an important lesson - an important lesson not only for young children, but adults as well.