Sally Phillips on Technology Integration in the Classroom
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Sunday June 11, 2006
Blog #3 Concept Maps Lead to Understanding
If you are like me you are a visual learner. Most of the students to whom I have given a learning inventory have been visual learners too. So, why should I be so surprised when they can?t SEE the big picture of the course curriculum when I haven?t shown it to them? They can see the little pictures, but cannot see how they fit together?and have a hard time carrying one piece of information from one task to a related or similar task. It is frustrating for me when I know that for them to be successful in the course they need to be able to make these connections.
So?a strategy emerges?concept maps. I knew about them, but did not see how they could fit into my curriculum until now. A concept map?or semantic networking, if you prefer?is made up of a selection of text boxes, whose text relates to one another in some way. Some ideas relate to more than one other text box. Some relate to only one. By extending arrows from one text box to another, the viewer can automatically see the relationships of the ideas. Along the arrow another text box contains the phrase that links the two ideas. This is called the ?proposition statement.? As you begin to connect the ideas, a visual map is formed. In this case, a picture is worth a thousand words. With one glance anyone can see how the specific ideas are interrelated. There are several software programs that are used in schools that give students the opportunity to create concept maps. They include Inspiration, Cmap Tools (Internet based), Mind Mapper, SemNet, Learning Tool, and others.
What I have been enlightened by is the idea of making a visual representation of the relationships of the information that is presented in any unit of study. In my setting, especially in Apparel Development, my students are just interested in what they need to know to sew. They are not interested in understanding how one skill or piece of information relates to any other. Typical of the age? The frustrating end to all of this is that when the course is nearly over, some students cannot recall or connect previous learning to what they are doing at that moment. ?Huh?? is what I get from many of them. For students who cannot make these connections without some help, I think the concept map is a great tool. It would be nice to be able to do these on the computer, but I can think of interesting ways to do this the old fashion way?with paper, pencil, and maybe colored paper, scissors and glue. Most of my students love to work with these materials, so while they are having fun, they might accidentally be able to create the ?big picture.? I can see this as a tool for review by giving some basic concepts from precious weeks. If I were to have them map each unit, at some point I could have them draw the relationships from one unit to the other. Because this map would be growing and growing, it might be interesting to put it on a bulletin board, and let it grow as the class progresses. For some students this would be a very helpful tool, and a constant remind that facts don?t exist in all by themselves?they are related to other pieces of information to form a whole.
Posted at 10:26PM Jun 11, 2006 by PHILLIPS, SALLY in General | Comments[1]
Blog #2 A Laptop in Every Lap
Laptops! If money were not an object, in my current teaching situation, a laptop for every student would be the ideal situation. I am sure it is not necessary to describe a laptop or its obvious advantages over a behemoth desktop. But in this posting I would like to make the case for a 1:1 ratio of laptops to students as opposed to a few desktops, or trying to guess what day every student will be ready to go to the computer lab.
Just as a brief overview?let me tell you that my in addition to my 18 students, my classroom must accommodate desk space for 27 pieces of machinery. This does not include computers. I teach Apparel Development and Interior Design. In both courses we need as much table surface as we can get to spread out our materials. I have begun to rely on the Internet for resources for both classes in terms of accessing course materials, grades, reviewing for tests, and for research. My use of computers for my students has been restricted by the number available, or the ineffectiveness of having to move down to the computer lab. Currently I have 3 laptops for student use?that I just recently received. It has made it possible to for students to access Internet information to incorporate into their classwork as easily as getting a book off the shelf.
There has been much debate over the issue of providing a 1:1 ratio of student to equipment. Two reports that I will use to support my thoughts are ?Research? What It Says About 1 to 1 Learning? sponsored by Apple Computers and ?Lessons Learned About Providing Laptops for All Students? by Alejandra Bonifaz & Andrew Zucker. The Apple Computer study reported that when all students had access to computers their teachers believed that they could carry out more complicated assignments. They believed that the assignments would be done more in-depth. Laptops would allow technology to be used throughout the course, not just a few times. Since many students are so accomplished at using the computers, it would allow them to produce more complex work. The article also concludes that when every student has access to a laptop, that in addition to working on the curriculum that the students are increasing their technology skills at a faster pace than those in a 2:1 or 4:1 ratio classroom. Both articles stress the importance of deciding upon an academic objective rather than having the technology use as the objective.
Already, with the addition of the 3 new laptops, it has opened up the possibilities of what students can do in my classroom. When finished with an assignment, students can go to some web sites for review activities. They can create embroidery designs to be carried out later. They can use Blackboard to catch-up on missed work, or visit web sites for interactive opportunities with some of the course competencies. My Interior Design class depends a great deal on outside information. It is not possible to bring all of the information into the classroom. On some website students can ?paint? rooms or houses. On others they can draw floor plans. No muss?no fuss?Quickly and easily they are practicing the activities that go along with the curriculum. Even if I have to get them just one at a time, I will continue to request laptops to make my courses and technology seamless.
Posted at 06:25PM Jun 11, 2006 by PHILLIPS, SALLY in General | Comments[0]
Blog #1 Beaming Info to the Teacher!! Computer Response Systems
Up until taking some ECI graduate courses, I would guess, "Ignorance was Bliss." As a result of my recent enlightenment, I have begun to realize that I am not as good a teacher as I thought I was. In ECI 705, I was made aware of my own questioning skills?or lack of them. The students that are the most challenging are those who are timid, afraid to speak in front of others, or do not want to participate at any level. Without badgering them, it becomes difficult to access their understanding during a class discussion and direct instruction.
I was delighted to read about the Computerized Response Systems (CRS) in our Session 6 readings. [The readings are: "Increasing Interactivity in Lectures Using an Electronic Voting Machine" by S.W. Draper & M.I. Brown (2004) and "Learning from Past and Present: Electronic Response Systems in College Lecture Halls," by Eugene Judson and Daiyo Sawada.]
Basically, a CRS allows students in a lecture type setting to anonymously respond to questions by the instructor using a small remote control-like device. An infrared signal sends the response to the computer of the instructor, where the instructor can immediately tell who has responded and the quality of their response. When the student is "beaming" the answer, a small screen on the remote device informs the student whether their answer is right or wrong. The system can be set up in a variety of ways, allowing the instructor to customize the information that he/she wants from the students. Students can use specific buttons to "beam-in" when they understand, or don?t understand a concept. The responses produce a running graph that lets the instructor know the general level of understanding of the class at any given moment. (Judson) Using this information the instructor customize his presentation on the spot.
Both articles report benefits and shortcomings of the CRS. Both emphasize that any the technology was able to support the pedagogy?not that the technology made the difference. The Draper & Brown article reported a previous study that showed that when the technology is used as part of a peer-interactive teaching strategy that there were significant improvements on the standardized test scores. Other research reported improvement in exams scores, especially of those who went into the exams with low grades. Instructors reported value in being able to get responses from an entire class in a very short period of time. Having the whole picture helped the instructor meet the needs of the class, rather than the needs of just those willing to respond.
The Judson article pointed out that CRS has been around in one form or another since 1960. My opinion is that times have finally caught up with the technology. In our technology dominate times it does not seem so impersonal to be gathering information from students in this way. Judson points out?over and over?that the technology is not the instruction. The instruction comes only when students dialogue with one another about the questions and possible responses. That is the instruction. Critical to the success of the technology are the questions themselves. Questions can be presented before the lecture and a warm-up exercise. Students can chat about them before they are called upon to respond. The peer interaction fosters deeper understanding of the material.
I have struggled with the whole issue of questioning, and eliciting enough information from students to determine their level of understanding. This seems like a way for me to get the information I need. The Judson article reported that the students liked using the CRS and had some positive feelings about the class based on its use. Much of the class, my students work on machinery that they enjoy using as they create their projects. Interior Design is a lot of hands on work with designing. When we have to have "seat time" they hate it. It is like calling them in from playing. They kind of "pout." They"ll show me!they won't answer! (These are usually all girls, ages 14-17.) Is the CRS the only thing that will solve this problem? NO! but it seems more interesting. And what it will do is get information from students who are very reluctant to respond. I think it would be great for test review. My Apparel students are on such a high when they are sewing, to ask them to quit just shuts them down. The CRS might keep up the level of enthusiasm for them, and me.Posted at 04:42PM Jun 11, 2006 by PHILLIPS, SALLY in General | Comments[0]
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