PART C - Implementation

Here is my podcast:

http://www.box.com/s/5ekd5jnoc0ohh6fuubb7

Part B - Application of TPACK

The next part of the Wicked Problem Project is to evaluate my idea using TPACK.  My project is addressing the issue of all group members contributing equal parts to a project.  Students will be working with a group to create a board game based on the history of Michigan.  

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?  (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)


I chose to use Wikispaces as a place for my students to work as a group, so that I can clearly see who is contributing what to the project.  By using Wikispaces and giving due dates for specific parts of the project, I will be able to give feedback and allow groups to improve their project as they go.  Also, by having students use Wikispaces to create their project they will be more engaged.  This is because students enjoy working in groups and by allowing them to use a technology to do this it will increase their engagement even more.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?  Be sure to think about representation.)

Often times technology is just added on and does nothing to enhance the content of the lesson.  My goal is to use Wikispaces to enhance the content of my lesson on Michigan history.  By using Wikispaces to create the parts of their project my students will have the opportunity to work together and I will be able to see how they are working as a group.  They also will be able to give feedback to their peers and make adjustments to their project based on feedback they receive.  By using an Internet tool to create their project, students will be able to work at school and at home.  This will give students the time they need in order to create their part of the project.  The students will need to research the history of Michigan in order to create the questions for their project, which I will allow them to use textbooks and resources in the classroom as well as the Internet.  By using the Internet to research the information and then put it onto their group's Wikipage, students will get to learn the information in a new way.  After using the technology to plan the parts of the game in one spot, it will be easy to see how it will all come together in the final board game project.


What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible?) Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.


By having my students work in groups using Wikispaces the content will be more accessible to them because they will learn from each other.  It also makes students take responsibility for their part of the project.  Often when students work in a group they do not contribute equal parts to the project.  So by telling students up front that I will be checking to see that they all have contributed equal parts, will help them to succeed.  This will get them used to working together as well as hold them responsible for their part.  By using these pedagogical strategies the content in my problem will be more intellectually accessible. 

PART A - BRAINSTORM SESSION

My group chose to use Adobe Connect for our web conferencing tool.  The advantages of using this tool was that it was very easy to use and had an unlimited time limit to record.  It is also much easier to have a discussion through web conferencing then on a discussion board, google doc, or even trying to set up a time to meet in person.  We had no trouble coming up with a time where would could all be present in the conference.  The disadvantages to using this tool is that before we could use Adobe Connect we had to get it set up by our instructor in order to have hosting rights.  There also were some times that more than one person was talking at once, so the sound is not as clear.  Even with these disadvantages, I think Adobe Connect was the best choice for our group to use as a web conferencing tool.

Here is the link to our recorded web conference:
http://connect.msu.edu/p1tktsq8ij4/

PART A - Description of Need or Opportunity

The educational need I have chosen to address is group projects.  A lot of times when students are given a group project to work on, most of the work falls on one person or a few.  This has happened to me in the past and it is not fair!  By using Wikispaces, I will be able to see which students are contributing to the project and what they have contributed.  Also, by using Wikispaces it will be easy for students and myself to make comments to help improve the project.  


Another benefit of using Wikispaces is that it is on the Internet.  This gives me the option of allowing students to work on it at school as well as at home.  At the school I am currently working at, we have both a computer lab and laptop carts that I would be able to check out for my class to use.  


The objective of this project will be to design a board game based on the history of Michigan.  I am planning this project for a fourth grade class because that is when they study the history of Michigan, although it can be adapted to another grade level with a different topic.  I want my students to use the wiki page to design the parts of the game.  I will have assignments throughout the project that are due at designated times.  These assignments will be the different parts of the project like the questions, rules, and materials.  They will get feedback from me and their peers and will be able to improve the parts for the final product.  I will be assessing the students based on what they contribute to the wiki page and then the final product, which is the actual board game.  


Since I am not currently teaching my own class, I am putting together my plan to use in my future classroom.  I may need to make changes to my plan based on the technologies I have available, when I have my own classroom.  


Here are some sites I found useful information on wikispaces:


http://www.slideshare.net/kihitara/wikispaces-in-the-classroom-presentation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjHJXAODbH4

http://mrsroncone.wikispaces.com/Ways+to+use+a+wiki+in+your+classroom

CEP 812 Introduction

Here is the link to my personal introduction:

http://screencast.com/t/sLEtjB1e1At

Final Reflections

I have learned so much in my CEP 811 class!  I feel so much more comfortable using technology to help enhance my lessons and improve student achievement.  By evaluating lessons that others have made and my own using the UDL principals (Universal Design for Learning) I now understand how to incorporate technology in a beneficial way.  I learned that when using technology it is very important to check to make sure everything is up to date and working properly.  You do not want to start a lesson and find out midway that there are broken links.  It is better to check before and make changes instead of having to rethink the lesson when you are in the middle of it.

I have learned some new technologies that I had never even heard of through taking this class.  I really like the STAIR (Stand Alone Instructional Resource) designs we were able to create.  This is a great way to engage students using technology!  They can be used as another form of teaching a particular topic to introduce it or to help enforce it.  I definitely want to explore these more and use them in my classroom when I have one of my own.  I also enjoyed learning more about webpages.  This is something I was already familiar with, but I was not completely comfortable creating one on my own.  WebQuests are another tool I would like to use when I teach.  These are a great way to have students explore and do research on the Internet in a secure environment.  

I had many goals at the beginning of this course and I feel that I have met them.  I wanted to learn new technologies and how to use them to help enhance my lessons to increase student achievement.  It is very important to integrate technology into lessons for the purpose to help with student achievement and engage students.  Technology should not just be used as a filler with no educational benefits.  My new goals are to keep exploring these new technologies I learned and become even more comfortable with them.  I also want to explore more technologies and how they can be used in my teaching.  Lastly, I want to share what I have learned with other teachers that I work with and help them to start using them in their classrooms.  I am going to reach these goals by continuing on taking classes toward my Master's Degree and by meeting with the technology group at my school to share my ideas.

Online Teaching Experiences

WebQuests are a great way to teach all different types of content.  They require students to complete research on a certain topic by following links on the Internet.  You can use them to teach all of the basic subjects in school, such as mathematics, science, reading, writing, and social studies.  They can also integrate multiple subjects in one WebQuest.  They are easy for students to use and help them get used to researching information on the Internet.  The main thing you have to keep in mind when using a WebQuest is to make sure all of the links work.  Since websites are continually changing, it is very important to keep your WebQuest up to date with resources that still exist.

With my students I would want to use a few different pedagogical strategies when teaching with WebQuests.  First of all, students would be active learners by exploring the websites. I would also want to include collaboration.  I think it is very beneficial for students to be able to discuss and work with other students.

In the elementary school some of the online learning technologies would be difficult to use. For instance, students in the lower grades (kindergarten and first) would not be able to create a blog or Wiki site because they do not have the skills yet to makes posts and comment.  In these grades I think it would be great to use online simulations which are more engaging and do not require them to write or read in some cases.

There are so many great ways to teach online.  I am looking forward to being able to incorporate them into my classroom when I have one of my own!

Michigan Merit Curriculum Online Experience Guideline Companion Document