Response to Koehler & Mishra Article

Response to Koehler & Mishra Article  

    This was a great article that really shows the need for “sustained inquiry and revision of ideas” in the field of teaching and more specifically dealing with technology.  Instead of just teaching the basics on how to use a certain technology, it makes sense to focus on a problem of practice and seek ways to use technology to solve the problem.  I like the reference to social constructivist theory in the reading and how Learning by Design is based on this.  It really tied us back to what we studied previously and it helped it to make more sense.  I think in this class here at Pacific we are indeed following this model and it will help us immensely as we transition to teachers in the coming years.  
    I think that a problem in the schools today that I have noticed is there is a huge gap between those teachers that use technology and those that don’t.  You can’t exactly force veteran teachers to change their whole way of teaching overnight but it would really help the students to be able to have some consistency between classes.  It would also help the collaboration between teachers that could benefit the students on many fronts.  I do think the “diversity of teaching styles” argument is somewhat valid but I think it wouldn’t hurt to have more teachers using technology in diverse ways.

Technology Project Update

    
    For my technology project I am going to create a Jeopardy game from JeopardyLabs.com using the Biology curriculum from my placement.  I would like to eventually create a game to use at the end of every unit of study for a fun way to prepare for the exam.  This could help a variety of learners to get a grasp on the big picture of each unit of study.  It could also help create a sense of camaraderie for students who aren’t involved in sports and are good at science. This fits well with the TPACK model due to the use of technology to enhance content knowledge. From a pedagogical standpoint, by knowing how students learn in different ways, this teaching approach will help to add to a more diverse learning environment that in conducive to a variety of learners. It could also be used as an assessment to judge how much the students know about the material.

Thoughts on Kohler and Mishra Article

            I found the approach in this article a very effective one.  Allowing teachers to learn how to use technology while solving real pedagogy issues or a problem of practice while using prior knowledge makes the process meaningful to learners.  I find that I am much more engaged in completing assignments when they are relevant and meaningful.  When reading the key problems about teaching design, I can definitely relate as the learner in feeling that the ideas at first come across as vague, ambiguous, and incomplete until the ideas are clarified through action.  I am happy to say that I feel supported in learning technology in this course and specifically how we have been allowed to extend our understanding to other courses in the program and build on it further. 

            I especially appreciated the sections on Learning about Design and Learning about Learning.  These sections put into perspective that design and learning are complex, yet rewarding.  I couldn’t help but think about how this design not only relates to technology but it serves as a great model for teaching in general.  In my ESOL endorsement classes there is great emphasis on teaching students new content by building on background knowledge, making learning meaningful, providing lots of support and hands on activities.   I couldn’t help but relate Learning by Design to best practice. 

Tech Project Update

For my Technology project I will be creating a classroom website designed for the purpose of communicating with parents and keeping them connected with their child’s education.  My goal is to infiltrate my findings in my AR study about the importance of building partnerships with parents and parent involvement.  Several sections of the website will be focused on my synthesis of my AR (this will account for the Pedagogy-my research and findings).  I will also be sharing student work through photos and postings through a blog (this will account for the content).  I will also include several aspects from what we have learned through our tech class to implement in my website, e.g. website, blog, imbedding slideshows and links, etc. (this will account for the technology).  I realize that my content won’t be as strong as if I were focusing on a subject; rather it will have a broad range of aspects to make a well-rounded website and act more as a resource and informational place for parents to come.