Steph Does Tech

Module 8:  When it comes to augmented and virtual reality in the classroom, I have had no experience. That being said, I have come in to contact with both elements outside of school. I use Snapchat frequently, and most of the filters are augmented reality. While I don’t have a virtual reality system, I have used them and can see the excitement over the experience. After reviewing the article “Virtual Reality vs Augmented Reality” by Augment, I think the use of augmented reality would be more easily inserted into the classroom. It seems like devices that are readily available, such as iPhones and iPads, possess the ability to enhance the classroom with augmented reality; whereas, virtual reality would require entirely different devices. The learning commons in our school has a section where students can access augmented reality. Patricia Brown speaks about this capability in her article, “How to Transform Your classroom with Augmented Reality.” She says, “There are practical exa...

Incorporating graphic design into the classroom can be valuable for many reasons. Graphic designs can help with differentiation. By presenting information in different ways, teachers are able to reach learners with all types of learning strengths. Graphics in the classroom also support universal design. Using visuals in the classroom plans to meet the needs of everyone, regardless of their literacy levels or background knowledge of a concept. Graphics in the classroom not only support visual learners, but they can also enhance engagement. According to the Vengage article “8 examples of incorporating infographics in middle school classrooms”, by Jonna Mae Mango, the author states, “complex data and difficult lessons can now be compressed in an engaging way.” Mango explains that not only do graphics allow learners to be engaged with content, but they also allow these learners to engage with concepts that are complex and otherwise difficult to understand. Research shows us that stud...

The second EEND676 artifact I want to review is the writing and assessing a collaborative task assignment. Overall, I thought this assignment carried the most practical application in this course, which is why I chose to utilize it for this reflection. I enjoyed thinking of an assignment that I wrote start to finish with collaboration in mind. Generally, in the past, I have used collaboration as an add on. This time around, the assignment was generated to assess student’s collaboration in addition to their content knowledge. The challenge to creating this assignment was how to do three things effectively and authentically: assess students use of technology, their collaboration skills, and their content knowledge for unit 1 (reading and writing standards). Using these three areas and thinking about how I could assess them, really lended itself to me being able to create an assessment that is meaningful. Another challenge I found was once I developed what I wanted to students to do to a...

The first artifact from EEND676 that I chose to reflect on was the collaborative web tools rubric assignment. I don’t have much experience making rubrics, so this assignment challenged me. Rubrics I have worked with in the past are generally created by district curriculum teams, not rubrics I generate myself. I enjoyed the challenge and this assignment actually forced me to get used to using rubric generators online. This was a secondary benefit of the overall assignment objective: learning how to evaluate collaborative tools. The rubric I created to score collaborative tools is below: Domain Developing (1) Approaching (3) Effective (5) User Friendliness Students need step by step directions from their teacher to use the tool. Students are not able to work at their own pace due to the necessity of the group staying together. Students are able to work at their own paces; however each step must be explained by the teacher. There may be down time for students if they ...

The educational technology trend that I chose to explore this week is blended learning. In essence, blended learning involves in class learning time for students, but also an outside of class, technology enabled learning environment for students. In our district, we have many blended learning class options, such as consumer economics and American Government. Students spend 2-3 days in the classroom and on the other days students are able to use the learning commons or study hall space to complete assignments for their class. Students are guided through modules on Canvas or Google Sites and learn and explore at their own pace. According to Blended Learning Universe, blended learning is a formal education that involves a component online, a component away from home, and involves a learning path that students follow. The same source describes there are seven different models of blended learning that schools can utilize depending on their students’ needs. This type of learning involves...

Throughout this class, I have had a few major take-aways. The first of these is just being aware of the ISTE standards. When our district went one to one, I did not pay much attention to what exactly we were hoping to accomplish with this move. To me, the addition of technology in the classroom was really to make everyone’s lives easier and more interactive. Through experience tied in with the knowledge gleaned from this class, I have become much more aware of what it is we want students to know and be able to do because of the implementation of technology. By directing my attention to the ISTE standards, I now have a reference to use when creating assignments for my students. I can use this information, tied in with curriculum, to help best inform my instruction. Another take-away I had from this course was being much more aware of copyright laws and fair use rights for education. I’ll be honest, in the past, I have not paid much attention to copyright information. I frequently put...

The second artifact I would like to reflect on involved an assignment in which we were asked to create an assignment or task students could complete by working collaboratively. This sounded easy enough to do, as students collaborate all day on work. Why this specific assignment stood out to me, is that I really had to step back and think about how do I ask students to collaborate on the same piece of work using different devices in order to help the greater good? I say working for the greater good because to me, this is really the purpose of collaboration. Two heads are better than one, right? Right! As long as those two heads are working toward the same purpose. In the past, I suppose collaboration has involved students using one computer to “collaborate” on an assignment. With the effective implementation of technology, students can now easily and equally contribute on the same piece of work. Designing collaborative work does come with its challenges. It was important to think abou...