Thursday, May 7, 2009

Reflections Journal, Week 16

7. What are your suggestions for improving the design of this course?

I really think that adding more variety to the design would reach more students. While the content was great, the execution got old. Also I think reflections should be done anonymously.

Resource Log, Entry 81-85

#81 - Schulz, J., Sielaff, M., & Tuf, S. (Eds.). (2008). Toolbox for it. Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://it.toolbox.com/wiki/index.php/Mashup

#82 - GoogleMaps. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://maps.google.com/maps

#83 - Flickervision. (2007). Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://flickrvision.com/

#84 - http://www.bsu.edu/web/jmschall/edpsy3.html The Influence of Constructivism on the Instructional Practices of Teachers by Jason Schall

#85 - http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as7const.htm Assessment in a Constructivist Classroom

Reflections Journal, Week 15

6. Please comment about building quizzes and answer keys, and on grading your peers. Did you learn or gain anything valuable from these experiences? Please explain.

Not really, as this is something I am all too acquainted with. It was deeply troubling to have others ignore the “rules” set forth by the instructors in accordance with question/answer design. It really made me angry to see one of my classmates break this rule. And worse, defend it after I responded with the proof that this rule existed. I was really shocked that someone could argue so much against something that was clearly incorrect. I too wanted to be sure I provided the correct type of questions for my section, so I Googled, "Objective Questions," just to be clear. Too much work for such silly problems....

Resource Log, Entry 76-80

#76 - Bloom, J. W. (2006). Background to curriculum: historical definitions. The exploring science site. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://elsci.coe.nau.edu/readarticle.php?article_id=19

#77 - American Psychological Association, January 18, 2006. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://www.psychologymatters.org/thinkagain.html

#78 - Ornstein, A. C., & Hunkins, F. (2004). Curriculum foundations: Principles and theory (4th ed). Boston: Allyn and Bacon. - A super fantastic book on Curriculum!

#79 - Wikipedia Mashup. (2009). Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_(web_application_hybrid)

#80 - WikiCrimes. (n.d.). Retrieved April 10, 2009, from http://www.wikicrimes.org/main.html;jsessionid=FC943340FA1340195B66DAB67F24A1A6

Reflections Journal, Week 14

4. Please compare the experience of doing research and authoring a textbook for a class (like this one) versus the traditional way of reading and studying an assigned textbook for a class.

I prefer reading and studying a text, as I don’t believe that authoring was the experience this class was intended to teach. I feel awfully narrowminded saying this, but I really do thrive in classes that are more stuctured in content as opposed to what we did this semester.


5. As a result of your experience in this class, are you more likely or less likely to assign collaborative wiki writing assignments in your teaching situation? Please explain the reasons you are more or less likely to do so.

I would, but not for an entire course of study. I think these Wiki's are a great idea! I'd love to see students do a collaborative work on a particular area of study. But in order to reach more learning preferences I'd like to add images or perhaps a video to the mix.

Resource Log, Entry 71-75

#71 - This website discusses increased student responsibility in constructivist classrooms and several of the instructional tools used in constructivist classrooms that relinquish the responsibility of learning and constructing new knowledge to the student.
URL - https://www.msu.edu/~purcelll/constructivismlearningtheory.htm

#72 - This is an excerpt from a WikiBook about constructivism. I thought it was relevant to our topic because this section focuses on the learner as an individual and the responsibility of learning. URL - http://www.answers.com/topic/constructivism-learning-theory#The_learner_as_a_unique_individual

#73 - This is an excerpt from a paper entitled “Constructivism”. This paper was published on a website. I think it was published by Georgia State University. I thought this piece of the paper related to our topic because it discusses student initiative in constructivism.
URL - http://www.rr1.net/users/dsmbrown/Constructivism.htm

#74 - http://www.k12academics.com/constructivism_theory.htm This website disscuss constructivism in within the realm of K-12 education.

#75 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivist_teaching_methods - This website is a Wiki on constructivist teaching methods.

Reflections Journal, Week 13

3. Please comment on your experience of others (e.g. WikiBook editors, external experts, other Internet surfers) observing and / or critiquing your writing in the WikiBook.

I didn’t really have any experiences like this. Only the instructors seemed to make comments. This is something I think I would have like to do more of. In past online classes we would have discussions and reply back to 3-5 classmates. I always found the feedback helpful and interseting. Every once in a while someone would bring something to the table that was a true treasure of information.

Resource Log, Entry 66-70

#66 - Hyslop-Margison, E. (2004). Technology, human agency, and Dewey's constructivism: Opening Democratic spaces in virtual classrooms. Australian Journal of Educational Technology. 20(2), 137-148. Retrieved from North Carolina State Board of Education (2000). The North Carolina Educational Technology Plan 2001-2005. [viewed 3 Jul 2003, verified 16 Mar 2004] http://www.tps.dpi.state.nc.us/techplan2000/techplan2000.html)

#67 - Learning Theory (education) (2009, Mar. 2). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_(education)

#68 - Levine, P. (2005, May 02). On "constructivism" in education. Message posted to http://www.peterlevine.ws/mt/archives/000039.html

#69 - Piaget, J. (1973). Jean Piaget - Intellectual Development. Retrieved Mar. 2, 2009 from http://www.sk.com.br/sk-piage.html

#70 - This WikiText discusses how the social construction of knowledge aids an individual’s own personal construction of knowledge. URL - http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Socio-constructivism

Reflections Journal, Week 12

2. Please evaluate the emphasis on collaboration in writing the WikiBook Chapters.

As all the grading was done in a way that was individualized, I was fine with collaboration. It was hard in some ways to work around different schedules when due dates were expired. Overall, I had no problem with collaboration, and for the most part I had fantastic partners. Everyone was concerned with one thing - making it correct even if that meant doing more that thier assigned job.

Resource Log, Entry 61-65

#61 - Adams, S. & Burns, M. (1999). Learning as a Brief Personal Event: A Brief Introduction to Constructivism. In Connecting Student Learning and Technology, http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro2c.html

#62 - Constructionism (learning theory). (2008, December 28). In Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved March 2, 2009 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructionist_learning

#63 - Gagnon, G.W. & Collay, M. (n.d.). Constructivis Learning Design. Retrieved Mar. 2, 2009 from http://www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html

#64 - Hein, G.E. (1996). Constructivist Learning Theory. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from Institute for Inquiry. Website: http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/resources/constructivistlearning.html

#65 - Hunter, J. (2003). Learning and Teaching Styles. Retrieved March 2, 2009 from http://www.ucalgary.ca/~jwhunter/ict/Rationale/styles.htm

Reflections Journal, Week 11

1. Please describe your overall experience in this course? Was the course effective in getting you to "learn about constructivism by doing and experiencing constructivist instructional methods?”

By only producing Wiki chapters I failed to see how this class taught by experiences, unless authoring was the experience this class was intended to teach. I really would have liked to have had more discussions and sharing’s about experiences. This is the first class I've had at Webster that was so narrow in what was produced as a class. I hope that this was an expermental class and that the scope will be widened.

Resource Log, Entry 56-60

#56 - http://www.papert.org/ This website acts as a bio for Seymour Papert and his works.

#57 - http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/constructivism/what/philosophy.html - This website is on Constructivism and the founding fathers of constructivism.

#58 - Papert, S. (2005). You Can’t think about thinking without thinking about thinking about something. Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education [Online serial], 5(3/4). Available: http://www.citejournal.org/vol5/iss3/seminal/article4.cfm

#59 - http://www.2020site.org/socrates/method.html This website is on Socretes and his method and the methods of instruction that his views and theories helped to generate.

#60 - Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (2004). What is the History of Constructivism and How has it Changed Over Time? In Concept to Classroom Workshop: Constructivismas a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning (Explanation), http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub4.html.

Monday, March 30, 2009

Reflections Journal, Week 10

Mashups!

This is a brand new concept for me - I have never heard this term let alone do I even have a clue as to what it means. I have found some resources on it and I am attempting to gather my thoughts collectively on it. I have found some excellent examples of Mashups including YouTube. But I'm still unclear as to what really qualifies as a Mashup. I have a lot of work to do over this next week - hopefully I'll be a wealth of knowledge soon!

On another note, this is my first week working as the editor. I haven't had the pleasure of being the grader until now - I'm interested to read my fellow classmates responses to questions. I'm very interested in seeing how this experience goes as well.

Hopefully by this time next week, I'll have a lot of interesting facts to rehash.

Resource Log, Entry 51-55

#51 - http://www.ibm.com/developerworks/xml/library/x-mashups.html As stated on the website, "Mashups are an exciting genre of interactive Web applications that draw upon content retrieved from external data sources to create entirely new and innovative services. They are a hallmark of the second generation of Web applications informally known as Web 2.0. This introductory article explores what it means to be a mashup, the different classes of popular mashups constructed today, and the enabling technologies that mashup developers leverage to create their applications. Additionally, you'll see many of the emerging technical and social challenges that mashup developers face."

#52 - http://www.serena.com/mashups/understanding-mashups/faq.html This website is about, "Mashups FAQ - Mashups 101."

#53 - http://www.answers.com/topic/mashup-web-application-hybrid This website is about,
"Wikipedia: Mashup (web application hybrid)."

#54 - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_(web_application_hybrid) This is a Wikipedia site all about Mashups and examples.

#55 - http://www.computerworld.com.au/article/119466/make_mashups_secure?fp=16&fpid=1 Directly from the website, "Mashups offer unprecedented agility in developing lightweight Web applications for the enterprise. Here’s how to keep them from becoming a security risk."

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Reflections Journal, Week 9

Boy have I been out of touch with blogging. With chapter writing and editing, this has been the furthest thing from my mind. It wasn't until recently that I started to really understand the true purpose of this blog (and hopefully I understood this correctly). This is a glorified notebook for our research during the course of this class. First of all, what a fantastic idea! Secondly, here I was attempting to search the internet for misc. websites that applied to constructivism on top of my chapter research. It was becoming too much to try and balance. I went ahead and decided to put the blog on the back-burner, as the chapters are dealing in groups, and I don't want to let my group members down. A few weeks ago, I read an announcement in BlackBoard. It stated the notebook method for the blog. Talk about eye-opening. That made so much more sense! So I've spent today looking back the research that I've done out on the internet and I went back and revisited those sites. If pages were miles, I think I'd have a good start to Florida! Although it would have been ideal to have kept up with blogging along the way, it was nice to look at everything again. I think that I've taken in a lot, but I also think there's a lot I'm not going to remember, but now I don't have to - It's In My Blog! I guess I can call this my Ahh-Haa moment!

Reflections Journal, Week 8

I was visiting a blog, http://scienceguyblogs.blogspot.com/. I noticed a link on his blog for http://mywebspiration.com/. I just recently have been introduced to this website, and boy do I like it. Any type of concept map I've tried to create has always been in PowerPoint. Anyone who's tried to creat anything in PowerPoint know how teadious making changes or alterations can be. This is not the case in Webspirations. The last time I checked into a program like this to purchase, it was well over $100.00. I was shocked to see this on the internet for free! I was expecting this to be a trial version, or in a limited format. If it's limited I sure can't tell. It has everything I need to incorporate this tool into a classroom.

Resource Log, Entry 46-50

#46 - This is a Wikipedia page on, "Constructivist teaching methods." It has concrete definations as well as a discussion of theory. There are links for additional research. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivist_teaching_methods

#47 - This page is titled, "Assessment in a Constructivist Classroom." It is all about assessments that are based in constructivism. http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/assment/as7const.htm

#48 - This article is called, "Using Technology Tools to Engage Students with Multiple Learning Styles in a Constructivist Learning Environment." It is summarized on the site by, "students’ perceptions of their learning experience and understanding of course content were considered in
analyzing the effectiveness of technology used to address multiple learning styles in a constructivist environment." http://www.citejournal.org/articles/v7i2languagearts1.pdf

#49 - This page is simply entitled, "Constructivism." The article written is an indepth look at constructivism - definitions, examples, theories, etc. It also has a technology tie-in. http://www.rr1.net/users/dsmbrown/Constructivism.htm

#50 - This web page is titled, "Constructivism Learning Theory." This page focuses on student responsibility in a constructivist classroom. The role of the student, and student responsibility, magnify when they are in control (to a degree) of thier own learning. https://www.msu.edu/~purcelll/constructivismlearningtheory.htm

Resource Log, Entry 41-45

#41 - This web page is a paper called, "Constructivism, Instructional Design, and Technology: Implications for Transforming Distance Learning." It is an in-depth look at distance learning under the umbrella of constructivism, instructional design, and technology. http://www.ifets.info/journals/3_2/tam.html

#42 - This paper is called, "Constructing on Constructivism: The Role of Technology."
The purpose of this paper, as noted directly in the paper, was to "examine the interrelationship between constructivism and technology as revealed by empirical research." http://ejite.isu.edu/Volume2No1/nanjappa.htm

#43 - There is a google book called, "Educational Foundations: An Anthology of Critical Readings." Accorging to the book discription it, "provides an exciting alternative to foundations texts currently on the market. This anthology is aimed at students about to enter the teaching profession, those new to the profession, and anyone interested in carefully examining schools and schooling." http://books.google.com/books?id=sgH97wbGEVAC

#44 - There is a website called K12 Academics. On one of the pages there is a great resource on the thoery of constructivism and constructivist learning intervention. http://www.k12academics.com/constructivism_theory.htm

#45 - There is an article called, "The Influence of Constructivism on the Instructional Practices of Teachers." This article discussed the viewpoint of the constructivist teacher, and how curriculum is effected by thier views. http://www.bsu.edu/web/jmschall/edpsy3.html

Resource Log, Entry 36-40

#36 - This web page is called, "Learning and Teaching Styles." It is a paper that addresses the idea that all learning styles cannot be reached with technology inclusion and that curriculum must reach all forms of intelligence in order to reach all students. http://www.ucalgary.ca/~jwhunter/ict/Rationale/styles.htm

#37 - This is a great Wiki entry on Learning Styles. It is ver discriptive and has a lot of links to go further with research. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_theory_(education

#38 - This is a blog by Peter Levine. He has a great commentary on constructivism in education. http://www.peterlevine.ws/mt/archives/000039.html

#39 - This website is called, "JEAN PIAGET - INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT." This website gave a brief history on Piaget and then dove right into Piaget's theory on intellectual development. http://www.sk.com.br/sk-piage.html

#40 - This website is called APA Online: Psychology Matters. The article is called, "Think Again: Men and Women Share Cognitive Skills." This article is about the cognitive dofferences and similarities that men and women have. http://www.psychologymatters.org/thinkagain.html

Resource Log, Entry 31-35

#31 - I found a website called Constructivsm: Knowledge Building in the Secondary Classroom. On one of the main pages there was a page called, "Constructivism as an Epistemology." This page contained a bulleted history on several theorists. Also, there were links provided that offered more information on each. This is an excellent resource for theorists. http://www.saskschools.ca/curr_content/constructivism/what/philosophy.html

#32 - I found a website on Seymour Papert. On the website, "Today Papert is considered the world's foremost expert on how technology can provide new ways to learn. He has carried out educational projects on every continent, some of them in remote villages in developing countries." This guy knew how technology was going to bew an essential classroom tool before anyone. http://www.papert.org/

#33 - This is a great Wiki entry for Consructivism. It offers a through defination as well as tons of external links. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructionist_learning

#34 - This website is called, "Constructivist Learning Design." The site says, "This paper represents a collaborative effort of two teacher educators to articulate a constructivist approach to "designing for learning" rather than planning for teaching. The "Constructive Learning Design" we are using now has been through a variety of revisions in the past seven years and now emphasizes these six important elements: Situation, Groupings, Bridge, Questions, Exhibit, and Reflections." http://www.prainbow.com/cld/cldp.html

#35 - This website is called, "Institute for Inquirn." The page I was looking at was called, "Constructivist Learning Theory." This page discussed Constructivism in regards to museum education. http://www.exploratorium.edu/ifi/resources/constructivistlearning.html

Resource Log, Entry 26-30

#26 - There is a website, http://www.cpsimoes.net/artigos/art_edu_psi_eng.html, that discusses the dawn of Educational Psycology and the impact it has has on the field of Education. While I realize that this isn't exactly what we're looking for, I see a parellel in what we know and think of cirriculum today and the impact that has occured since educational psycology has evolved. I didn't paste pieces of this website into this document because I would have ended up pasting the entire thing here. It had a lot of really good information for the impacts ofpsycology in and on curriculum.

#27 - There is a website called Connecting Student Learning and Technology. This is an interactive guide on technology intergration. From the site, "Constructivism, a learning theory informed by cognitive psychology, educational research, and neurological science, views learning as the product of experience and social discourse." http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/flash.html

#28 - There is a website called Concept to the Classroom. It has a workshop on it called, "Constructivism as a Paradigm for Teaching and Learning." This workshop has a great look at the history of Constructivism, the website says, "The concept of constructivism has roots in classical antiquity, going back to Socrates's dialogues with his followers, in which he asked directed questions that led his students to realize for themselves the weaknesses in their thinking. The Socratic dialogue is still an important tool in the way constructivist educators assess their students' learning and plan new learning experiences." http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub4.html

#29 - I found a website called, "The Socratic Method and Doctrine." This was about Socreties and his foundations of instruction that mirrored what we call Construnctivism today. http://www.2020site.org/socrates/method.html

#30 - I found an online journal called, "Contemporary Issues in Technology and Teacher Education." The article was called, "You Can’t Think About Thinking Without Thinking About Thinking About Something," and it was a wealth of information on teaching children to think. The entire article focuses on cognition. http://www.citejournal.org/vol5/iss3/seminal/article4.cfm

Resource Log, Entry 21-25

#21 - This website is a paper that is on the fundamentals of curriculum development. It covers a lot, but in a very condensed way. http://org.elon.edu/catl/documents/Curriculum%20Development.pdf

#22 - This website is on Curriculum Theory and Practice, stated from the website, "The organization of schooling and further education has long been associated with the idea of a curriculum. But what actually is curriculum, and how might it be conceptualized? We explore curriculum theory and practice and its relation to informal education." http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-curric.htm

#23 - I also found a site, http://www.answers.com/topic/the-changing-role-of-government-and-education. This site also had a lot of good information on it, but nothing I think I would cite directly. I did find the below paragraph that fosters some political-based answers.

#24 - I found a fantastic site called Answers.com. I has never heard of this site before, I had a question about the changing role of govenment in education and I found a great answer there, "The debate will continue about the changing role of government in education, but there is considerable practical innovation and experimentation taking place globally that points to an acceptance of the changing role for government in educational delivery." http://www.answers.com/topic/the-changing-role-of-government-and-education

#25 - Encarta has always been one of my favorite sites. This time I was looking for information on the history of education. Now this can be a huge topic, but the page I found was clear in discription and very helpful with factual information. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761561415_5/History_of_Education.html

Friday, February 6, 2009

Reflections Journal, Week 7

I found a website called, “The Constructivist Consortium," http://www.constructivistconsortium.org/. I noted it in my log. What really drew me to this site was the conference that was attached to it. I think we’ve all been to conferences and if we know anything technology isn’t usually conference friendly. Sure the presenters usually has tech tools, and may share a PowerPoint or demo, and there might be a few attendees with their own laptops, but beyond that the technology usually stops. How on earth could this conference teach on technology and constructivism and not offer it hands-on – actually it sounds a bit contradictory. This has been bugging me, so I went back to the website and looked deeper into the conference. The few pictures that they have on the website show participants with laptops out and working. I read over the offerings, and way at the bottom there was a note, “please bring your laptop and digital camera.” This conference is no joke. There not looking for novice tech people, they’re looking for folks that know their way around. Seeing as how this is an annual conference, they look as if they have most of the bugs worked out. I’d love to attend this conference, it looks like a it would be a blast!

Reflections Journal, Week 6

Last week in a different class, I participated in an awesome and truly enlightening discussion. The topic that was being discussed was curriculum. I know that in constructivism, the execution of constructivism exists in how it is brought into the classroom – our curriculum is one major way we as teachers do this. Back to the discussion; it started off slow. We were tasked with identifying the major contributors, at all levels, to curriculum. All of us had come up with lists that included politics, society, economics, and government. These were the general categories we all were in agreement in their effect on curriculum. We were approaching this in a direct way as to indicate that if, in one of these categories, decisions made regarding education have a direct impact on curriculum – such as “No Child Left Behind.” Our instructor posed another point to us, he said, “How does the legislation the President Obama just signed in effect curriculum.” All of us were aware that Mr. Obama just signed the policy allowing funding for abortions overseas and domestically. He also added, “Regardless of whether you agree or disagree, how does this effect curriculum?” We were all a little take back – how on earth does funding for abortions effect curriculum? Our instructor then brought up the point of teaching on evolution. He reminded us of how, once upon a time, teachers were being fired for teaching evolution. Going back to his first point, he said that we just had a president that supported abstinence, and opposed funding for abortions, therefore which trickled down in to schools. Most of us had to agree on abstinence. The moral of the story was that everything that is made into law, or that is supported by politics eventually trickles down to the classroom – be it in the planned or unplanned curriculum. I was amazed by this conversation. It never occurred to me how effected our classrooms could be by legislation, especially at the federal level.

Reflections Journal, Week 5

Last week I was on a website, http://www.miamisci.org/ph/lpintro5e.html. The site was titled, "Constructivism and the Five E's." Basically the five E’s are a systematic approach to constructivism and technology in the classroom, particularly in the science classroom. I had never heard about the 5 E's. The five E’s are: Engage, Explore, Explain, Elaborate and Evaluate. Everything I’ve ever been taught about incorporating/creating a classroom environment with constructivism can be summarized into this notion of the 5 E’s. When I first saw this I completely agreed with all of the E’s except for Explain. Explain puzzled me. While I realize how Explain works into constructivism, I didn’t see it as a key component. I started looking through other sites and lessons to see how the evidence, or lack there of, for Explain. As I started digging I was finding more and more evidence validating Explain. I did notice in my past lesson plans, I usually coupled Explain with the evaluation – this is why I think it went under the radar for me. I’ve always included some sort of explanation into my lessons, but I usually always add it to something else. I didn’t see Explain as a strong enough trait to stand on its own.

Resource Log, Entry 16-20

#16 I found a website called, “The Constructivist Consortium.” This is a great general site, I thought the description they offered was really good. “The Constructivist Consortium was established in 2007 by leading educational technology publishers committed to student empowerment, creative applications of computers and the availability of high-quality open-ended materials. This consortium seeks to differentiate member companies and their products from the rest of a cluttered industry.” Direct quote taken from the site, http://www.constructivistconsortium.org/
This site also has a link for an upcoming conference, I think they are sponsoring it.

#17 I found a fantastic resource, well, it’s more like a school plan for creating a technological constructivist environment. It is titled, “Constructivist Teaching With Technology: Learning With Laptops.” The website is http://www.lps.k12.co.us/schools/arapahoe/21c/necc2007.html. This is a very through plan that details every step of technology inclusion and the bumps and bruises along the way.

#18 I found my first applicable ebook! It is called, “Constructivism and the Technology of Instruction: A Conversation.” It is at http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=9212366. It is really on target for this class, particularly there is a chapter called, “Technology Meets Constructivism:
Do They Make a Marriage?” This chapter really encompasses the inclusion of technology into constructivism. It discusses the “relationship” that can exist, and how it is formed, between technology and constructivism.

#19 This next website is, http://works.bepress.com/lrosenbe/1/. It is a site that offers a constructivist partnered with technology view. The page that I was most excited about was focused on adding GPS in a constructivist way into curriculum. The title of the page was, "The Design of a Constructivist Learning Experience that uses GPS Technology."
#20 My last website is a Edutech Wiki entitled, “Constructivism.” It is at http://edutechwiki.unige.ch/en/Constructivism, and was put on the web in 2007. I think, for me, this has been one of my greatest finds because it has really helped me to understand the project we are working to build in this class and what it may end up looking like.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Resource Log, Entry 11-15

Out surfing and I found some interesting things.

#11 This first site is http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/cnc.html. It is a published guide on Constructivism and Technology. The page I indicated is titled, "Computers and Constructivism."

#12 The second site I found was http://www.quasar.ualberta.ca/edit573/Links/constructivism.htm. It was a website dedicated to Constructivism links. Not all of the links worked, but even the general topics were helpful to use as the basis of a search. The page was titled, "Constructivism Links."

#13 This next page was very new to me, and I will cover it further in a separate blog entry, but it was at http://www.miamisci.org/ph/lpintro5e.html. The site was titled, "Constructivism and the Five E's." I had never heard about the 5 E's. It was an interesting way of gaining perspective.

#14 This resource was at http://www.funderstanding.com/content/theories/about-learning/poetry-and-constructivism-and-better-learning#more-394. It was titled, "Poetry and Constructivism, and Better Learning." I hadn't come across something so specific about Constructivism, this is a fantastic way to really start breaking into Constructivism for me.

#15 The last site (for now) was at http://www.exploratorium.edu/IFI/resources/constructivistlearning.html. It was titled, "Constructivist Learning Theory." The entire paper spoke from the perspective of museum educators. I think that the perspective that they provide is a valuable resource for teachers to learn from.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Reflections Journal, Week 4

This is the first time I commented on one of my own finds, but in this case, it was the first article of it's kind that I had been exposed to. The document is titled, "Is Constructivism Universal: In Search of Meaningful Technology in Morocco and Namibia," and can be found at http://learnlink.aed.org/Publications/Concept_Papers/constructivism.pdf I although I watch the new and consider myself a rounded individual, I had never thought to apply constructivism or the educational practices and/or theories that I have learned to other countries. I began to wonder, "Have others in my field, here in the United States, had places in their education where they studied or were made aware of educational policies/standards that are practiced in other countries?" I asked around to a few willing people, most replied with short answers all pertaining to "no." Obviously, I'm not going to be doing any serious research, but with the little informal research I did do, I began to think about the vastness of the field of education. I know all the studies I have undergone, as I'm sure most pursuing this field can identify with, and I cannot imagine how we could have worked in a class on global education. The fact that there is so much to learn, and the structured format that is already in place, I don't see how there is any room for expansion. I still do wonder - have others in my field come across such information in their studies?

Friday, January 23, 2009

Resource Log, Entry 7-10

I found these links while out surfing the net. I really enjoyed the content, I hope you will too!

#7 This link is to a document. This document is titled, "Is Constructivism Universal: In Search of Meaningful Technology in Morocco and Namibia." I have to honestly say haven't gotten to read this document in the depth that I'd like to, but I really did find what I read to this point fascinating. I'm going to save the rest of my comments for my next reflection blog.
http://learnlink.aed.org/Publications/Concept_Papers/constructivism.pdf


#8 This link is to an online book, well it looks like a book. Anyway, this is a really informative tool for constructivism and technology integration in the classroom. I really think I'm going to save this one for future reference. I really like the lesson integration within the document.
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tec26/intro.html


#9 This link leads to a publication that is a resources for existing teachers that are new to the whole constructivism and technology integration thing. This publication seems to serve as a "how-to" guide for teachers wanting to enrich their classrooms with hands-on technology.
http://www.sedl.org/pubs/tapinto/v1n1.pdf


#10 This last link is just a really great source for using as a citation for a possible document in this class, as well as other EDTC classes.
http://ejite.isu.edu/Volume2No1/nanjappa.htm

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Reflections Journal, Week 3

Information overload – Whew! I was reading a post on http://graduatingsoon-techclass.blogspot.com/2009/01/little-apprehensive-about-authoring.html, one of our fellow classmates, and I heard the same tone I sense coming from deep within me. “We’ll be publishing a Wikibook (spooky noise inserted here),” and I have to say the idea of publishing something that all the world can see, bur realistically won’t really, is a bit overwhelming! This new task, and the above mentioned post, got me to thinking – and usually that just means trouble! I started to ponder, is this assignment anxiety due to the sheer complexity of this assignment, or is it simply because I’m using a foreign technology to accomplish this task. Sometimes it’s hard (well for me it is) to learn new tricks as a seasoned (okay – old) dog! I further wondered (hold onto your seatbelts!) would students feel overwhelmed in the same way, or would their presumed ability to “learn new tricks,” negate that.

I continued with my work as usually whilst I considered the previous conundrums. Now, as I’ve continued my work, I’ve ended-up in the sandbox. I’m starting to really dig in to the whole sandbox idea. Talk about a whoosh of information! I had no idea what a sandbox was until I began this class. As I’ve been exploring this new technology, someone walked past my desk and asked me about it. I started spouting off all kind of terminology that I now understood with ease, but it was apparent buy the absent look on their face that I had lost them somewhere back at the starting gate. This interaction got me thinking, how much did attitude play a part in accepting the new technology and the assignment? I love Google; I think it’s a great tool. Even though I had never used GoogleDocs before, my attitude toward it was positive and open. On the other hand, I had never used Wiki for anything, and publishing something with a tool I was unfamiliar with wasn’t super appealing. Now that I’m becoming more familiar with this process, it’s becoming less daunting of a task. I’m even beginning to welcome it. I think that perspective with the unknown can really make the execution of the project that much more successful – I hope to remember this in my classroom. I hope that when I’m flooding my students with new information that I remember to also help their perspective stay positive.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Resource Log, Entry 6

#6 APA Format has always been a scary thing to me - but once I found the website below, I really became less afraid of them. Now, it's not such a big deal for me, but that doesn't mean I like doing them. Okay, this isn't exactly constructivism, but it is really helpful!

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Friday, January 16, 2009

Reflections Journal, Week 2

This is my first reflection, I think I'm on the right path. We'll soon see.

I found this (it is number 4 on the previous entry) visual tool that breaks the constructivist view down and couples it with technology. http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/1999/nordhoff_hi/iro880/learning/construc.htm

Of all the things I sorted through, thus far, I really liked the break-down format of this document. I think it really creates a solid foundational understanding for how technology use can be enhanced by constructivism. My biggest "dispute" (loosely stated), was that it is so concise that this may be inhibiting to the average educator attempting to incorporate constructivism and technology into a classroom. The question that evolves from my "dispute" is, is a more restrictive view make the material being introduced more appealing? I took this question and started asking around. I am one of those people who prefer to have all the information, and sit down and sort it all out for myself. What I found from most of my peers is that too much information is often ignored. Most of them like to get their information spoon-fed to them. Hum. This all came from a group of grown-up's in an office, imagine what the kids want!

Resource Log, Entry 2-5

I had a fantastic reading time looking up some more goodies for our class. I found these next for to be particularly interesting. I put the first one in APA format, and provided the link as well, but the other three were just mostly web pages that I retrieved today and yesterday. I would use January 15 or 16, 2009 for the APA citation.


#2 Strommen, E. F. & Lincoln, B. (1992). Constructivism, technology, and the future of classroom learning. Education and Urban Society, 24(4), 466-476.
http://www.playfulefforts.com/Archives/Papers/EUS-1992.pdf

#3 What computers bring to Constructivism and vice versa
http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/ameyer/constructivismandtechnology.htm

#4 This page looks like a task that would be assigned in higher level learning. I thought it might be helpful in our book development.
http://www.emints.org/xmodres/activities/constructivism.html

#5 I found another visual tool that breaks the constructivist view down and couples it with technology.
http://hagar.up.ac.za/catts/learner/1999/nordhoff_hi/iro880/learning/construc.htm

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Resource Log, Entry 1

Here goes mu very first resource log entry! Wahoo! Now let's see if I did it right ;-)

I thought that this was a great paper that hits both constructivism and technology and the role the two play together. I added the APA citation, without the tabbing, formatting wouldn't allow for that. If you go directly to the link you'll see the paper.

#1 Matusevich, M. N. (May, 1995). School Reform: What Role can Technology Play in a Constructivist Setting. Retrieved January 14, 2009, from http://pixel.cs.vt.edu/edu/fis/techcons.html

Monday, January 12, 2009

Week 1 Discussion

Question: What is my reaction to this course overview?
Answer: Like anything new, I find it completely overwhelming! But, and this is a big one, I am calmed by the thought of students everywhere looking over a foreign syllabus and trying to construct meaning out of terms that aren't yet a regular part of their vocabulary. This is going to be an exciting adventure!

Question: How do I feel about a 100% constructivist and collaborative course like this?
Answer: I think offering students a more constructivist approach is the best way to teach. Sure call be biased, but I've seen it work, and work well. I'm not naive enough to think it is the only way, or that another approach might be better for different students, but I am fond of constructivism. In addition, I also think that by marring constructivism and technology together, a beautiful byproduct is created.

Question: How do you feel about publishing your learning on wiki's and blogs?
Answer: I'm indifferent about publishing. In some cases I think that something I publish my be of assistance to someone out there, but on the other hand somewhere out there is a really big place - it's a bit overwhelming to think about it.

The First Day

This is the first day I have ever blogged! In some ways, I feel adventurous, in other ways, I feel completely behind the times. Regardless, as I approach these next few months, I know this experience will give back to me as much as I put into it. I look forward to reading the comments and discussing Constructivism and Technology with others who share this interest.