I would describe this semester as a semester of progress filled with moments of clarity and new understanding. There were things I had been wondering from last semester that I was able to explore and think about for the development of my driving question. My driving question has evolved and become something new from what I have learned from Baggio and Dervin’s readings. Last semester my driving question revolved around video and how creating lessons would engage students in learning. This semester I begin to explore how this same concept can be applied with the use of infographics, having students create their lessons through a visual that will engage them in understanding. One of the challenges I encountered this semester, which became a successful learning experience, was being exposed to Dervin and sense-making. It was the approach and process taken in this course that allowed me to feel comfortable in understanding and feeling successful with the content of the text. Now, when I encounter a problem, I feel more comfortable as I think about the way I can approach what doesn’t make sense (and there are a lot of things in this world that don’t make sense to me). As an innovative thinker, I want to encounter changes in the future and be able to approach them in an effective way. From the beginning of this program I have been facing uncomfortable moments that I learned were supposed to help with growth. This semester that also became more clear with Dervin’s explanations of sense-making as we bridge that gap. Those moments have helped me evolve from someone who is scared of doing something that seems impossible to being able to assess the situation and just go for it and give it a shot.
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I wanted to explore tools that had to do with audio or video because I have a special interest in both of these. I like to create music and also edit video so I wanted to learn about new tools that I could use in the classroom. Vocaroo and Adobe Spark were the initial two that I wanted to focus on. I am struggling with an error on adobe spark but am really looking forward to use it for video presentations. I have used iMovie to create many videos and am familiar with the application but I want to use different tools that my students can have access to. With Vocaroo, I am thinking I can use it in different ways, from recording feedback for other students and inserting the mp3 audio in google classroom to recording their song creations when we work on creating educational songs. I haven’t been able to use Adobe spark with students but as I continue to work with it I want to see how easy it is for students to create in the classroom and how easy it is to create for my students. I have tried Vocaroo and I like that I have the option to record and save mp3 files. The audio quality is not perfect, but it is good enough for students to work with. When we record in the classroom I usually use a few ios devices, but having 32 chromebooks in the classroom would make it easy for students to share audio files in different types of projects. Another way I see myself using this tool is having students create audio commentaries or speaking what they want to write before they write it. I want to try this with one of my students who struggles with production. From the articles, I can see the positives and possible negatives of a flipped classroom. One of the biggest concerns that was presented in one of these articles was the fact that some students will not have access or simply not do it and this will put them at a disadvantage. For that reason I feel that it would be effective to balance it and allow students to do this during school, perhaps during independent time. Hopefully after a few lessons they see the value of having the background knowledge so they can participate fully in the activities. As the article on the reading revolution Brian Sztabnik said about authentic learning "I cannot teach anybody anything, I can only make them think." I feel that if a flipped model makes me think more about how I’m guiding my students to learning, it has the potential in making them think through that process as well. I loved the “why it matters” section of the Pros and Cons article by Mary Beth Hertz, she says, “The primary reason is because it is forcing teachers to reflect on their practice and rethink how they reach their kids. It is inspiring teachers to change the way they've always done things, and it is motivating them to bring technology into their classrooms through the use of video and virtual classrooms... We just need to remember that flipping is only the beginning.” As I was creating my flipped lesson, which is not perfect, I was able to think about the possible outcomes and how my students could benefit from this type of design. I'm looking forward to trying a different approach and see how my students react to it. Working on the prototype in this session makes me feel like things might be coming together. Again, watching a video on content we are learning in class and continuing to revisit Dervin’s article on sense-making, have created a sense of clarity on where I want to go next. The initial draft of my prototype may need some modifications, but it has been very useful to visualize it and get the plan going with the table of contents. Mishra’s video on TPACK makes me think back to the importance of focusing on students when choosing what technology we are implementing. Following TPACK, I know I want to make sure I am taking into account pedagogy, content, and the correct form of technology so that all three can work together and benefit students. From Dervin’s sense making, I understand the importance of getting to know my user. Last semester I was able to collect data and observe my students engage in the process of creating video lessons. I found that there were many complications, not just with the technology but also in how students perceived the process and benefitted from it. I feel that Baggio’s practices for teachers are going to be something that will benefit my students in this next part. I decided the best step will be to choose a different form of technology that will allow my students to show the engagement I was initially trying to observe through video making. Instead of video, this will change to a 2 dimensional representation of their lesson with the use of infographics. They will still develop a lesson that others can learn from, but instead it will be in the form of a visual using a different form of technology. As Mishra points out, “technology changes how we teach, what we teach.” Although I want to make sure I think of the content and not my tool when starting my planning, I can see how taking a step back and rethinking the form of technology I use might make a difference. Having a new view on how visuals can be used to teach and learn, I feel that infographics along with Baggio’s practices will be a great next step for my next part working with students and collecting data. Google forms seems to have a lot of potential uses both for teaching and for my action research. In the classroom, I have been able to use google forms for getting quick data from my students to get to know them better, assess them, or simply to find out about their thinking. I created a simple questionnaire asking them how they feel about certain things as learners and found that many of my students lack the confidence when it comes to solving problems. Many of these students I thought felt comfortable with certain things in class, but I found that they actually felt differently. Google forms can help lead instruction in the classroom with data as well as give me a chance to know my students better. The same use can be applied to my action research. Collecting data becomes much more easy and allows for everything to be recorded online. From qualitative to quantitative data, google forms is a good way to collect data to analyze during our research. Having computers for each of my students in the classroom makes it so that all my students have access to the form and I can get quick data. One thing I would like to explore more about is the ability to separate certain written answers based on words mentioned. Reading 32 short answers can take up quite a bit of time; I would like to learn how to get a kind or organization of answers that have a set keyword or words. Something like a wordcloud comes to mind. This would allow me to save some time and narrow my focus when looking at data. |
Jose G. CerdaArchives
May 2018
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