Although I still feel like I have not yet crossed the bridge in understanding some ideas around my driving question, I have acquired new knowledge that is helping me better understand where I want to go with my questions and interests. From making sense of Dervin’s sense making ideas, to Clark’s and Baggio’s strategies, I am starting to develop an idea of where I want to go next. From all the readings, Baggio has made the most sense to me and provided a more clear and relevant view of where I might want to go with the development of my product. Even though I still have questions as to what I can do, I have many tools that I want to apply to my product presentation from Baggio’s visual insights. I really enjoyed how the simplicity that Baggio mentions in the text is modeled even through the book itself. This text truly provided relevance to me as a reader and I was able to connect not only to what I should do in the classroom but also to my personal life; which is powerful based on what both Clark and Baggio mention in their books. I would like to continue looking into Baggio’s and Clark’s practices as I think about my plan this semester. My idea initially revolved around having students create video lessons, but now I am wondering how I as a teacher can create video lessons effectively following Baggio’s practices. It would still include the technology aspect of using video but would focus more on the teacher as a user as well as students benefiting from the products’ results. I don’t know if this is thinking outside of the box since many people have done this already and there are sites that are doing this as well, but I am excited to see where this can go. Until I have my 1:1 meeting I am still thinking about what would be the best way to go from where I left off with my research.
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Many of the readings and discussions we have had so far have inspired different thoughts that I am trying to use to modify and plan my final product. I still have some doubts as to where it will lead, but I continue to think about where to go with my driving question as I am making connections from what I read about different models of teaching and the research behind how to best approach a user. My biggest question at this point is what approach I should take after deciding on any changes, and how to design this model? SITE I continue to think about my user (teachers) and what it is I need to take into account to meet their needs. If I think about the SITE model, there are a few things that I need to consider. Starting with learner motivation; which is more successfully achieved when the user knows that they will be able to utilize what they learn for something they value and it has some relation to their cultural and social life, I need to know what the users’ goals are in order to design my model more accurately. This model also points out the importance of providing the user with something they will be able to use and apply to their own life, this way they will be more likely to engage on something they find has added value. This is something that I have noticed myself when taking classes. I tend to want to look further into a topic that applies to something that I am able to use or something that relates to my life. Topics like research on the brain that show the kinds of things people should be doing or eating in order to better focus will make me want to spend more time learning about the subject. The main thing I take from the SITE model is that unless I know my user and I plan my model according to them I will not be as successful. This applies to my teaching and to me as a learner as well. As stated in the SITE model description, “People are motivated, and particularly adults are motivated, when the ways and means available to them are related to their fundamental life goals and values.” My goal now is to continue exploring the best way I can do this with my driving question and what I will be sharing with teachers and using with students. I started looking at the calendar for edu twitter chats available to see what interesting chats were available. Nothing seemed to be directly related to my driving question but I found one or two that sounded interesting. The problem was, I wasn’t sure how to actually start or join the chat. I assumed there would be a separate page where all comments showed up like on a live youtube chat. I watched a couple of youtube video to see how twitter chats work and planned on joining one a few hours later, hoping I wouldn’t ruin a conversation. Nothing happened, nobody showed or I was on the wrong page. The next day, I waited for another one along with a classmate from our cohort and saw a message from the host so I knew I was in the right place. I read about how to respond to questions, but even then I felt a bit lost and wasn’t sure if I was missing messages. I observed that this chat was very easy to join, people didn’t really respond to other people as much but instead responded with short and helpful answers when the host asked something. I felt as if the host was my professor so I wanted to do a good job when responding, making sure I didn’t make a mistake. I did make many mistakes, answering by typing Q2 instead of A2, but that didn’t seem to be a big problem. This was good for me for more exposure to using twitter and it really did make me feel a little more comfortable with a social media that has not been my favorite. I feel less intimidated by it and I see how it can be useful. This chat was not so much about my Capstone but it did touch on topics that I have been thinking about from our sessions and the book I am reading for our other course. I did find it a bit stressful for my first time joining a chat but it was mostly because i was afraid to do something wrong. The answers I read from others allowed me to get different perspectives. I am actually looking forward to finding one that is more directly related to my Capstone. USING SOCIAL MEDIA Social media can allow you to easily connect and communicate with experts in areas you want to learn more about, help you answer questions you may have, or simply branch out and learn from people with different ideas. As a professional, it opens the doors to connections you could not make unless you are constantly networking with people in person at conferences. With all the advantages also comes a great responsibility to represent yourself as a professional. The ease of finding and learning ideas from people is the same when it comes to others getting to know you. You are putting yourself out to the social media world to hear your thoughts, and an inappropriate comment or post could cause others to have a negative perception of you and possibly limit your future collaboration or even employment opportunities. Proper use of social media using basic common sense could definitely avoid unnecessary issues. INAPPROPRIATE POSTS As a fourth grade teacher, I have never experienced finding an inappropriate post by one of my students. It would definitely shock me if I did stumble upon something inappropriate any of my students posted online. If I did find something, my first step would be to share that with my principal, I would also set a meeting with parents to make them aware of the situation. Since the student should not have a social media account at that age, I would share some information with the parents and try to provide some resources so they can have a plan at home regarding the matter. After reading the article on EdTechTeacher and thinking of the approach this individual took, I felt like most people that would speak up with these type of posts would not take the same approach. Many would immediately call them out publicly instead of taking a more private approach, which could make it even worse. I feel that a careful approach needs to be taken to allow the student that made this comment to realize it was wrong, and to make better choices with social media use in the future. I definitely want my driving question and product to impact my students, but I want my final resource to serve as a tool for teachers to use in the classroom to engage students and save time. For that reason, I would like to focus on teachers as my audience for the remaining semesters. I would like to be able to come up with something that other teacher can replicate to see if it works. The main challenge I have at the moment is my driving question and thinking of where I want to take my thinking after seeing my results from the initial study. I am taking into account all the content we have been reviewing and how that will play into my final resource. Once that is set, influencing other teachers and sharing my knowledge will depend on what my results are after I apply it myself. Having a better idea of the challenges teachers at my school face will make the sharing of what I find more relevant, teachers are not all the same but having this knowledge and understanding their user end profile will help. Dervin’s bridge visual is something I keep in mind as I think of my students but also my colleagues as I think ahead to my final resource. I haven't gotten as far as the structured lesson design that Clark mentions but having these resources will definitely help my thinking through the process with my question and creating my resource. Each of the authors provided ideas in their writing that I have considered as I think of my next steps and my driving question. Baggio’s way of communicating information has been the most effective and relevant to me. The content in each chapter keeps me engaged and thinking about how this applies to my students and my driving question, as well as to my own learning. The power of visuals when it comes to learning is continuously highlighted by Baggio and this is something important when it comes to learning. As she mentions, visuals activate both the affective and cognitive domains of the mind. I am now asking myself how my driving question “What impact do student-created media lessons have on student engagement in the classroom?” relates to this topic and how I can modify my question and process design in a more effective way.
Clark provides some input on my previous question, as she focuses on structuring a lesson design effectively. This process will come handy as I am attempting to wrap my mind around how my question is evolving and what the best way to move on from here will be. Application and practice time during instruction seems to be key from what I gather Clark explains in the lesson design. Dervin’s key idea that resonated with me was the need to identify who my audience is and how I can best bridge their learning gap so that they will successfully cross and learn the content, benefit, instead of simply using my prefered instruction method. All three texts lead to the importance of paying attention to the user (student) and how we can best help that user. knowing how people respond to specific aspects that can be incorporated in lessons, more specifically visuals, makes me question how I should more on from here with my question. I still need a little more clarity on how I need to change my question. My driving question does include the creation of such visuals but teaching, and more importantly, designing the way students learn doing this is what I need to spend more time on. |
Jose G. CerdaArchives
May 2018
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