Dr. Orey talks about using Power Point as an instructional strategy by letting the students construct a Power Point presentation. Students build this artifact and also build their own schema about the idea they are dealing with in the presentation. We use Power Point in the lab to do similar projects. With the younger students you show them the basics of putting together a few slides so they become familiar with the program. It isn't until you let them explore on their own through trial and error that they really become open to the possibilities that this tool offers. Another technology tool that lets children loose with a constructionist instructional strategy is MOOVL. It is an animation program that lets the students create objects that have a wide range of properties like heavy/light, soft/hard, sticky/slippery etc., that they can then manipulate on screen. It allows them to explore how things will interact with each other based on these properties. You could make predictions on how the objects will react and then have them create them to test the hypothesis.
Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Bridging learning theory, instruction, and technology. Baltimore: Author.
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John,
ReplyDeleteMOOVL sounds great for virtual science projects. I wonder if it could be applied to any other content. I believe that my role as a middle school teacher is to take students beyond powerpoint especially if they are becoming masters of it in elementary school. It seems that the constructivist/constructionist model of educating allows for students to build on what they know to create new products and use new types of technologies once they've become comfortable with or used one type. This way they become able to determine which technological tool works best for certain tasks. Would anyone agree?
Charis Jones
John, I teach middle school math, specifically pre-algebra. I am also, shall I say old school when it comes to teaching the subject. I also have eight students who are taking a course in algebra via the internet, referred to as a virtual classroom. I had those students the year before in pre-algebra; the students who followed my instruction are the ones who are doing very well in the virtual classroom. Those who did not and tried to develop their own way of solving the problems are not doing well. One other thing the virtual classroom is simply a PowerPoint lessons the student view and print out, which from my opinion is not a virtual program. My question is in you vast experience do you know of any truly virtual sites available that cover pre-algebra. I have very high expectations and standards for my students and so far I have not found a virtual field trip that meets those standards.
ReplyDeleteJohn, I left a part out of the previous post. The point I was trying to make is that yes there is some value to applying constionism learning theory what do you think about the limits to its application are?
ReplyDeleteJohn,
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to implement more technology and projects within my classroom. The only problem that I have run into is that my students do not get out of it as much as I wanted them to. I see them doing to bare minimum and that is it. I have some of my students create podcasts and they did an ok job but I think they can do better. I think part of using technology is giving the students multiple opportunities to use the technology. I think this will help my students do a better job on the podcasts next time.
Michael,
ReplyDeleteSorry, I haven't found any really good virtual sites for pre-algebra. Probably because I haven't even tried to look for one. The students I serve are K-3, but my son is in 6th grade and I'll see if there's anything they use in his classroom. As for your other post, there certainly are limitations to applying constructionist learning theory. As Jenna points out many times the students are putting forth minimum effort and just doing what needs to be done instead of taking it to the next level. There aren't enough interactive sites to cover all content areas, or maybe there are too many to sift through and find effective sites. I do feel that letting the students loose on a subject they feel strongly about helps them want to get to that higher level. I have the luxury of not being tied down to one subject area when it comes to connecting with subjects they are studying in their classroom. In the lab I'm trying to show them how to use the technology to create a memorable artifact that they can share with their peers.
John,
ReplyDeleteThat is exactly the problem I have teaching American Sign Language. Finding a variety of interactive sites that the students can use to improve their signing skills. The sites are very limited.