Week 9: Instructional Objectives – Draft

I work with three guided reading groups and many of the children ask me to recommend books to read.  Sometimes they ask me where can they find a (put any noun, adjective, or verb here) book?  I try to offer suggestions that fit their interests or personalities but once in a while my mind will blank.  I can search the online catalog but I know it would be great for the children to know how to use the online catalog themselves.  In addition, if they forget, a tutorial would be available that can assist them, even at home.  Therefore, my learning project is teaching children to be self-sufficient in selecting their reading material.

My Essential Question is:   How can I use technology to promote student reading and increase their background knowledge?

The Learning Project correlates with my essential through the promotion of student reading.  When every book that a child reads is chosen or recommended for them by teachers or parents, children can lose the self-motivation to read.  I want children to be able to view the availability of books in their area or areas of interest and the opportunity to select a book that they want to read.  Choice is very important in the encouragement of independent reading.

The lesson and tutorial will be delivered initially to the 2nd grade students but the tutorial will be available for students of all ages.  The lesson will occur in the elementary school media center.

The instructional objective will be for the 2nd grade students to become self-sufficient in using the online catalog for individual book selection.

Per the American Association of School Librarians, Standards for the 21st-Century Learner will be:  4.4.1 Identify own areas of interest.

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My QR!

Remix Article/Video

The article I chose is called Education Remix:  Unlocking Creativity to Boost Learning by John Orlando.  The article explains how a remix is not only fun to create but is a learning activity.  In order to create the remix, knowledge of the subject is needed.  In addition, it can be used to educate others about the subject.  The example that was used is a creation from the University of Alberto medical students in 2010 about a cardiac arrhythmia called Wenckebach.  The group remixed Justin Timberlake’s “Sexy Back”  and they titled it “Diagnosis Wenckebach.”  The video has been viewed by millions and today it is educating medical students about the condition.

A remix can be used for a variety of educational purposes and for a variety of ages.  Do you remember hearing the pre-k/kindergarten song that is used to teach the days of the week?  The catchy tune is a remix from the Adams Family TV show.

How often have we taken a childhood song to assist with remembering or educating?  I know that I talk both of my daughters our phone number to the tune of “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”.  Did I think of whether or not I was infringing on a copyright?  No, I only wanted them to be able to teach them what to do in case of an emergency. and I would do it again.

srklawit’s photostream

srklawit’s photostream on Flickr.

October 1st Pictures to Flickr and thoughts

Take a look at my photos from October 1st on the UNCG campus.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/101172780@N04/with/10045406493/

 

Using Flickr was fairly simple even though there was a few times my brain wanted a big red arrow pointing out something my eyes missed.  Uploading was easy as were giving photos a title and tagging.  Thinking of tags was more difficult than adding tags.  In the future, I will take the time to work with it and then use it more for personal and professional use.

Mid-Point Reflection

 The past six weeks have been an emotional roller coaster for me.  I have been equally frustrated and proud of myself.  But as each week passes, I become a little more confident and I know as I learn more, I will be able to utilize my new skills to help students.    So, is what I am learning in class connecting to my Essential Question?  My Essential Question is “how can I use technology to promote student reading and increase their background knowledge?”  Yes, I absolutely think there is a connection.   First, after to reading Andromeda Yelton’s Bridging the Digital Divide with Mobile Services, I’m more aware that many students and their families’ ability to connect with the internet is largely centered around their phones.   This effects what can be completed at home versus what needs to be accomplished at school.  Second, after the introduction of the SAMR model, I see the different levels of  student engagement in learning and how moving from the substitution and augmentation into modification and redefinition can increase that engagement.  Third, as I am learning new technology skills, I know my instruction will reflect my new skills and I can educate teachers how to utilize these resources in the classroom.  Am I 100% sure how it will look?  No, but it has been stimulating ideas. I might have a “good reads” blog, and bulletin board of infographics based upon books, or creating tutorials on how to use the online catalog system.

And speaking of the blog, writing the blog supports my learning as it has in other courses where I have had to complete similar exercises on blackboard.  Utilizing wordpress allows me to learn another medium and work on more technical aspects, such as embedding images and videos.  I must say that I would not have tried to create a blog at this moment if it was not for the class.  I don’t seem to have a problem with posting on time but I am not able to review others before class.  Because of this, I have only followed at few of my class mate’s blogs unless something catches my eye.  I wish I had more time to review all of them.

The assignments have not been as time consuming as I originally envisioned when we went over the syllabus and rubrics.  I am glad that we have time in class to experiment with the tools and ask questions about assignments and to discuss ideas with colleagues.  This helps me with managing my work load at home.

The accomplishment that is Home Brew Hobbyist scoop.it and tutorial that I created with Catherine.  I was more comfortable with this assignment because it was the second curation project that I have completed on Scoop.it and I felt there was more opportunity to be creative because I already understood the basics.  In addition, because I used screenr for another class, I did not have to learn something new to capture the tutorial.  Finally, I enjoyed having a team mate to bounce ideas around with because producing the project with someone who has a similar vision makes the work enjoyable and more creative.  My goal for the remaining weeks is how I respond to colleagues blogs.  As I stated, I wish I had more time to review them all.  The blogs that I respond to receive general agreements and a few personal insights from me.  My goal is to provide comments that add value. 

Home Brew Hobbyist Tutorial with Catherine

Catherine and I created our tutorial on a shared interest…..beer! Our curation project was created on Scoop.it and we utilized screenr.com to create a screen cast and then we published it on youtube.com. We both used screenr.com in another class and found that it very simple for any skill level. It also gives step by step instructions to publish it on youtube. We did our tutorial a little different by offering advice on how to utilize an existing Scoop.it rather than creating an account or creating a curation. We both used Scoop.it for our mini-curation project and thought it would work well. We feel it was a success. My favorite aspect was being able to change our background. Scoop.it allows users to change the color or to add an image and it was very user friendly.  It was nice to change the icon to an image that reflects our curation. Here is our curation collection if you would like to look at all of the digital resources “Home Brew Hobbyist”. I know I had a lot of fun with this curation tutorial due to working with Catherine but mostly because I like the topic. Did I mention that it was on beer? Happy Brewing!