Tech Play - Content Objects

The tools that I have further explored are Glogster and Jog the Web.

What I liked about Glogster was the creativity it allowed for learning to develop through bits and pieces of information that can be scattered on the glog for students to learn by investigating. The one thing I didn't like about it was the limited space for information to be added, it forces you to narrow down the information and the tools you use creating a learning style that a few may only pick up on. You have to be cautions about putting too much on your Glogster otherwise it will look to busy and students wouldn't have the interest to use it as will as putting to less of learning material on it.   

Last, but not least Jog the Web was my most favorite of the tools that I have explored. This web-based tool allows me to create a list of websites all on one page that students could navigate through while learning the objective it was created for. This tool also allows the creation of multiple Jogs that can tie in with one another. This tool can be use by the teacher and the students to create and collect information that is usefully to learn from. I really don’t have any dislikes for the tool so far and this is the one I selected to continue to reflect upon.

When searching the web you can come across a lot of information that will help you gain knowledge in the reason of your search. I am a Math/P.E. teacher and both of these content areas can have benefit to the students with all there is to learn in these subjects. I will reflect on the math content because it provides an easier understanding on what should be learned. This lesson I will use to show creativity with this tool will be three-dimensional shapes, TEKS Grade 8 Mathematics 111.24 (b)8(A)(B)(C), and how it might fit with the TPACK model of integration. 

What this technology is and how to use it is very simple. With this web-based tool students can search for websites that builds on their understanding of 3-D shapes and all that is associated with them, ex: definition, surface area, volume, faces, edges, vertices, nets, etc. With the collect of websites a series of synchronous guides can be created so that it can be used as reinforcement when the students need help learning the objectives. The affordance of this tool allows for its pedagogy to be easily understood. This teaching method of using a collect of websites to learn from can help students develop an understanding of 3-D shapes in a self-learning environment that they have created. I’m going to finish with allowing you guys to check out the link I have below.

3-Dimensional (3-D) Shapes

http://www.jogtheweb.com/run/CUl6eXvYn71x/3-Dimensional-3-D-Shapes

          

Students can not only use this tool as a guide in developing reasoning to understand 3-D shapes but as a refresher for quizzes and tests. Class collaboration is another use were students can add content when they find that it may be useful to their peers. Learning about Proportion, Probability and the Pythagorean Theorem are all objective areas that the students could use this tool to collect information that they understand to improve their educational development in mathematics. Never the less this can fall in that category of lifelong learning that can be looked upon far after their education career.

Tech Play - Creativity Tools

The creative tools that I explored were: Google Drive (Docs), Peach Photo, and JeopardyLabs.

Google Drive (Docs) is a very resourceful tool for students because of the capability of using Microsoft Office programs like Word, Excel, Power Point and Drawing (Paint) all online. There is another tool that I liked to most and that I think students could use to create and share forms among their peers. The Forms tool allows you to create an online website that can be in a form of a quiz or test and it allows the creator to mix up the question styles of multiple choice, fill in the blank or an essay type format. This allows students to collaborate and build specific forms that can best suit them and practice in areas that they maybe weak in. It keeps a track record in an Excel format that helps the students identify what questions are being missed. This is great for student-centered learning and allows the students to be responsible in their own learning.

I chose Peach Photo as a tool to explore because I was determined to see how this could be something the students could use to be creative but yet learn from it. You would think that a tool that just uses photo would be one-dimensional but after playing around with it for a while I was able to see the affordance and what great benefit it could have on the students learning. Yes, it is just a website that does a slide show of pictures that you upload but you can also add questions to the pictures on a timed interval for you to answer them. Students could take pictures that they can relate to the learning objective and create a slide show that is unique to them and something that they will remember. How often have we heard, “A picture tells a thousand words” and with this tool is allows the pictures to tell the students information they need to know from what they create.  This again allows the students to have a choice in how they learn and promote an environment that is centered towards them.

JeopardyLabs speaks for it self in the name alone and there are so many students that enjoy games to help them learn. The basic to this tool is to create you own game with the questions and answers that you input into the program. Just like the real game the students can accumulate points with the correct answers that they give and can play by themselves, with their family or along with peers. This tool is fun and will keep the students interested in learning. The wide range of subjects that can be used with this program is great and the students could actually submit the games to their teacher for him/her to use for a class. I really enjoyed exploring this tool and had fun with it myself on creating a game with 8^th grade Pre-Algebra problems.

Out of the three tools that I've explore I choose to reflect more on the JeopardyLabs because of its ease of use but also that it is very versatile to with any core subject students want to use it with. The subject I will focus on with this tool will be math mainly because of the back ground I have with it. This tool fits perfectly within the TPACK model because it is a technology that is user friendly, the content that is used within math is as straight forward as you can get with any other subject that is out there and the pedagogy behind this tool with the use of Pre-Algebra yields a result that the student can learn from through its formative assessment. Math modules that are aligned with TEKS can be easily adapted to this tool and due to the sense that Jeopardy is recognized as a game the students would find more interest in learning to receive points as well as rewards that their teacher could provide to them. It’s just like any career that you have, when you’re enjoying and having fun at work it doesn't seem like work at all and that goes the same with learning.

For every task there is a tool out there that can ensure productivity but it’s only when you know about the correct tools to use that can make the task easier with a higher quality of efficiency that satisfies both creator and consumer. As you see with most things in this world there are always competitors and different avenues you can choose among a variety tools but it’s only the efficient tools that are relied upon and offer the best benefit for the task.              

Tech Play - Google Sites

I was able to explore and key in on the Google Sites as a good choice for me to use my eportfolio. First and for most with this tool being free I am able to keep money in my pocket and with the features that allow me to arrange the site how I want it was just what I needed. I played around on it a bit but haven’t gotten it fully arranged yet.

As I learned to work with the tool, I have great vision on how I can set the site up so that its affordance is well recognized by my students. They will be capable of receiving any information that is handed out in class and if they lose it they can just go online and printing it out. I have dealt with this many of times when field trips or special events come up and students need their parents to sign paper work for permission. My lesson plans for the year can also be uploaded to this site providing parents with access to track their child’s daily activity in my class. As students try to learn about me they are always seeking information about my background and this tool host a section were you can upload any picture and tell about yourself. I see that as an answer to the many questions I get about myself, I could just tell them to visit my site if they want to know anything about me. I have played with this to for hours and yet I still believe there is more to learn about it and how it can improve my communication with my students and their parents.

Now on another note I would not choose differently in selecting another tool because it also has its benefits for students to collect and store their work to create and build up their eportfolio. It’s something free that they can use and I’m sure if they spent less time playing with it them me that they would navigate through it like it was the back of their hand. The great thing about this eportfolio is that you have to option to set-up who you what to view your website so and privacy issues would be kept at a bare minimum or not at all. This tool allows you to setup pages within the site and link them in the sidebar on the homepage. I’m not sure if this can work for others but the affordance is there from me and I see great potential of this playing a major role in my career as a teacher in the near future.

ePortfolio tool

https://sites.google.com/site/greenphysicaleducation/

              

Tech Play - Blog

The student work that I would design using a blog will concentrate on proving the Pythagorean Theorem with the use of small square blocks, an 8.5 X 11 sheet of paper, pencil, ruler and a cell phone. Each student will be required to make a video or take pictures on step by step procedures in proving the theorem. They will then create a blog and give content of what the blog will be about and state the theorem it self. Written explanation of how they used the materials to develop the proof will also be included and the video/pictures will be uploaded.

The Pythagorean Theorem states that if triangle ABC is a right triangle then the sum of the areas of the two squares formed from each leg’s length is equal to the area of the square that was formed from the hypotenuse length.

The Pythagorean Theorem and the proof was first discovered by a Greek mathematician named Pythagoras which is where the theorem got its’ name. The Pythagorean Theorem is a relation in Euclidean geometry that involves the three sides of a right triangle, which is a triangle with only one interior angle that measures exactly 90 degrees. Given a right triangle ABC you would find the equation: a² + b² = c² and that is the theorem written as an equation. It relates to the length of the sides, legs a and b with c being the hypotenuse, the opposite side of the right angle. If the lengths of all three sides are integers, the right triangle is said to be a Pythagorean triangle.

The affordance of the blog with use of this lesson creates the ability for students to strive in understanding what they are doing but also allows for their peers to assess their work and comment on things that may have been missed or not. The students are engaged in a deeper learning because of the hands on approach that is involved with the process.

A Blog is a technology at which you are able to post your opinion or creative thoughts at which peers can follow and make comments on. I believe it would be the same in any learning environment on how the blog will be used. The subject material will always change but the concept of taking information and posting it on a blog is exactly what the affordance expels.

This technology is accessed through the internet and using this varies by district because of internet access policies. Also the concern about the students lost production time is an obstacle that accessing the internet creates not only at school but at home too. With these know obstacles this technology is striving to find its way into the classrooms because of the important benefits that it has to interest the students and enhance their capability of learning. Slowly district administrators are beginning to understand the importance of technology and the role it plays in each student’s life beyond the walls of the classroom. It’s about preparing our students for the future, not for the present that has just become the past.

This is an example of how the students will be using their blogs.

(Title)

(Introduction)

                                                                                                   (Name Figure)

                                          (Describe setup and steps above)

                                                                                                   (Name Figure)

                                          (Describe steps above)

                                                                                                   (Name Figure)

                                          (Describe final steps and proof)

(Summary: State Pythagorean Theorem)