Assessment

Today we read 4 links on assessment. Each one had valuable points about what we assess, why we should assess, when we should assess, and how. In my class, I spend some time doing formative assessment each day. Scanning the room asking students to explain their work, having students reflect in a learning log, or developing activities or questions that requires them to think of what they have learned and apply the knowledge to new ideas. I do feel I should be doing more. I also do summative assessment but only when I need it to guide whether the students are grasping the concepts and who needs additional support. Three ideas from my readings that I found interesting are: 1. some teachers are working too hard on the wrong things. 2. People who participate in a global community will show more advancement than those that stay on the sidelines. 3. Assessment is not an interruption of learning if and when it can positively and directly influence the current or future learning and work of students. The article on Technocontructivism talked about the difference between cause and effect learning and discovery learning. It challenged my assumption that both can be assessed in the classroom, however the article explains that cause and effect learning is assessable because it uses the process of trial and error, but discovery learning can not be assessed because it does stem from trial and error.

Today we read 4 links on assessment. Each one had valuable points about what we assess, why we should assess, when we should assess, and how. In my class, I spend a lot of time doing formative assessment each day. Scanning the room asking students to explain their work, having students reflect in a learning log, or developing activities or questions that requires them to think of what they have learned and apply the knowledge to new ideas. I do sometimes do summative assessment but only when I need it to guide whether the students are grasping the concepts and who needs additional support. Some ideas from my readings that I found interesting are: 1. some teachers are working too hard on the wrong things. 2. People who participate in a global community will show more advancement than those that stay on the sidelines. 3. Assessment is not an interruption of learning if and when it can positively and directly influence the current or future learning and work of students. The article on Technocontructivism talked about the difference between cause and effect learning and discovery learning. It challenged my assumption that both can be assessed in the classroom, however the article explains that cause and effect learning is assessable because it uses the process of trial and error, but discovery learning can not be assessed because it does stem from trial and error.

PLN Links

Today in LTT (Learning and Teaching with Technology) we explored 8 new sites to promote teacher collaboration and iGoogle. IGoogle is great. I prefer it to netvibes. It is easier to learn and set up. Our group looked at http://teachersconnecting.com/. It allows teachers from all over to buddy up for a wide assortment of projects. I found this site as well as some of the others interesting. I made an account for www.teachersconnecting.com for future use to collaborate with someone in a similar grade level. My goal is at some point to develop a project that promotes writing and oral language. I liked the feature on choosing your comfort level in using technology and participating in projects. It really is tailored to find the best match for each teacher. The projects stretch across the content areas learning about different communities and people, as well as give the students an audience. It would be an exciting learning opportunity.
The other sites visited were also interesting, (http://edupln.ning.com/, http://www.classroom20.com/, http://www.jenuinetech.com/). All these sites basically offer teachers the same opportunity to chat, find resources, connect, and view projects.

The article, Knowledge, the Disciplines, and Learning in the Digital Age" by Jane Gilbert looks at why Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) implemented to improve schools has had little effect on revolutionizing teaching and learning for the Knowledge Age. The one big idea from the article is that schools are still teaching knowledge for product, that is teaching practices have change very little and the learning is similar to busy work. The focus in schools has not shifted much from regurgitating information to develop a product toward learning by showing the process. Each grade level has content areas with their learning outcomes. Although the content areas are separate and generally taught separately, when looking at the learning outcomes, there are many overlapping objectives and connections to be made. The general belief that the purpose of education is to develop students that are critical thinkers who are able to generate new knowledge by making connections between subject areas and applying knowledge to new situations ties with the push toward project based learning. Taking knowledge and applying it to show your understanding applies across the grade levels. The use of technology is only one way to develop knowledge through "performativity". Students will not be adding or rehashing old knowledge but using it in a new way to show learning with many innovative digital tools. As well, technology will help as another tool to support teachers as well as allow students, in all content areas, to show their learning and successes in variety of ways. I have been doing some reading on PBL. There are a lot of sites on the topic. I hope to implement it into my classroom this year.

A New Year a New Goal

My goal for the new year is to Model Digital-Age Work and Learning by communicating relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age material and formats. I chose this goal to continue building on last years goal of developing a class web site for the first time. This relates with capacity #3: Use, evaluate and integrate existing and emerging technologies in my practice.
Developing and maintaining a class web site was a big learning curve for me, especially when I decided to incorporate a blog and a wiki. I realize now I may have taken on too much. My first step was to learn the tool myself and then teach it to my students. I was pleased with how I used the wiki to support writing in the classroom. My goal this year is to take it one step further and use the web site to improve communication with my parents by getting them more involved. My hope is to organize a time to have parents come in and have their child teach them about the website. I will need to continue to improve my ability to use the wiki and to better apply it to support students’ learning and provide feedback. Lastly, I did not get to incorporate a blog with my last year's class. This year I’d like have it part of my web site as another learning tool.

Howard Rheingold on "Crap Detection"

Determining credibility of information on the internet and internet safety has always been a concern and will continue to be so. Can we or should we even try to control and monitor what is going on the internet? It would seem an impossible task. Rheingold suggests that instead we need to learn how to filter the information. He puts the responsibility on the user not the publisher. I agree with him in that we should be spending time teaching people to be critical consumers of the internet or as he puts it crap detectors. Developing literacy skills on internet use and teaching students what questions to ask, and how to search for credible information is going to be a lifelong skill not only for internet use but for everyday real life whether at school or later on in the work force. He backs up his ideas by giving examples of tools to enable people to find credible knowledge and to create a network of trusted people in a particular field. The impact of reading and following poor or wrong information can be catastrophic. Rheingold's blog is a good place to find ideas on how to start creating a network with filters and a good site to bookmark because of the many tools listed. Personally, I will take his advice on ways to protect myself from the web garbage.

The Conflict of Learning Theories with Human Nature and Connectivism and Organization

I listened to the voicethread of people giving testimony to how great networking has been for them. I found it refreshing to hear people enthusiastic about learning something new and in developing professionally. The video by George Siemens on The Conflict of Learning Theories with Human Nature made some clear and valid points. I enjoyed listening to what he had to say and it gave me food for thought. Some points I connected to were his thought on how humans desire or crave to externalize what's in our heads so we can connect with others. That being social is part of learning is something as teachers we sometimes forget in our focus to cover the curriculum. I found it very interesting to hear how learning occurs actually conflicts with the learning theories we have been following ie., the idea that learning takes place in our heads. I found his view on how acquiring knowledge has changed since we went to school interesting. Reflecting back to my elementary years, I don't remember a lot of cooperative learning activities only a lot of seat work. Stephen Downes suggests in his discussion on Connectivism and Organization, that we need to stay current in our field using the internet to have access to all the knowledge available, it is suggested that network learning is the key. He states that knowledge being shared and the learning that happens is only as good as the interaction of all the members of the network. As teachers we've used cooperative learning as a strategy to help students learn. It makes sense that with technology playing such a big role in students learning today that this cooperative learning strategy works is in a minor way the premise for networking. Both speakers convey very simple ideas to understand but so much harder to implement. Personally, and I'm sure I am not alone, to take that risk and the next step to network is overwhelming. To know where to start in preparing my young students in becoming critical thinkers of internet material is also a concern. So many questions come up like:
Where do I get the time to follow a network? How do I involve my young students in networking and becoming critical thinkers of the internet?

As I mentioned earlier, lots of food for thought but I better not think about it too long cuz times are a chang'n fast!