Friday, February 27, 2009

Inspiring Students with Peer Tutoring

The article "Inspiring Students with Peer Tutoring" by Brandy Smith, focuses on using students to teach other students how to use technology. The student participants were chosen by meeting criteria set up by the instructors. Some of the participants had behavioral issues that that kept them from traditional leadership positions, while others were chosen because they were shy but had leadership potential. Others were chosen because they had potential but had essentially slipped through the cracks when the teachers had to focus on the more needy students. These select students learned technology during after school sessions, which were for one hour, twice a week. Once they demonstrated mastery of the desired skill, a session was scheduled with the full class. Computers were brought in, they gave a lesson and then worked in small groups with their classmates. This also allowed the teacher to become more familiar with the technology without having to lose class time, prep time or free time. It made the students and teachers more comfortable with using the computers for research in the classroom. This particular program was done with 3rd grade students at a school with a large number of low income families. The computers were laptops which could be checked out and taken to the classroom. Before the peer tutoring program, the computers were rarely used. After the classroom sessions, the computers were being used 2-3 times per week. The school also scored higher on technology proficiency than it had before the tutoring program began. Overall, the program seemed to be a great success.

Q1. How were the students chosen to participate in the peer tutoring program?
A1. The students were chosen based on teacher recommendation and criteria established by the program director.

Q2. Who benefited from the tutoring sessions?
A2. The students who were tutors benefited by becoming leaders amongst their peers, the teachers benefited by having the technology explained to the students and to themselves without having to lose valuable prep time, and every student in the program benefited by learning to use technology to further their education.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Software Review: Learning.com

Web Browsing: Research and Citing Sources Grades 6-8
http://learning.com




















Above are the results of my web browsing quiz.


I found the tutorials easy to follow and entertaining. I believe that many 6-8th grade students would learn information that they thought they already knew, as I felt that way. I learned the terminology for many of the terms we use daily without understanding the source of the acronyms. I believe the biggest problem to using these tutorials in the classroom would be the students themselves. The age group that these are written for tends to have the attitude that the know everything. They also strive to identify themselves as not being children, so the format of the cartoon character would probably turn them off from learning. I did not experience any problems with the tutorials.

NETS Standards:
Web Browsing Basics
K-12 [5] Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues
K-12 [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal and responsible usage
K-12 [6] Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology
K-12 [6.a] understand and use technology systems
K-12 [6.b] select and use applications effectively and productively
URLs
K-12 [1] Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop
innovative products and processes using technology
K-12 [1.a] apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products or processes
K-12 [2] Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work
collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning
K-12 [2.a] interact, collaborate and publish with peers, experts or others employing a
variety of digital environments and media
Web searches
K-12 [3] Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate, and use information.
K-12 [3.a] plan strategies to guide inquiry.
K-12 [3.b] locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and
ethically use information from a variety of sources and media.
K-12 [3.c] evaluate and select information sources and digital tools
based on the appropriateness to specific tasks.
K-12 [3.d] process data and report results.
K-12 [4] Students use critical thinking skills to plan and conduct research, manage projects, solve problems, and make informed decisions using appropriate digital tools and resources
K-12 [4.a] identify and define authentic problems and significant
questions for investigation.
K-12 [4.b] plan and manage activities to develop a solution or
complete a project.
K-12 [4.c] collect and analyze data to identify solutions and/or
make informed decisions.
K-12 [4.d] use multiple processes and diverse perspectives to
explore alternative solutions.
K-12 [5] Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior
K-12 [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of
information and technology.
K-12 [5.b] exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that
supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
K-12 [5.c] demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
K-12 [5.d] exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.

Validity and sourcing
K-12 [1] Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. Students:
K-12 [1.a] apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas,
products, or processes.
K-12 [1.b] create original works as a means of personal or group
expression
K-12 [1.c] use models and simulations to explore complex systems
and issues.
K-12 [1.d] identify trends and forecast possibilities.
K-12 [2] Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others
K-12 [2.a] interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or
others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
K-12 [2.b] communicate information and ideas effectively to
multiple audiences using a variety of media and formats.
K-12 [2.c] develop cultural understanding and global awareness by
engaging with learners of other cultures.
K-12 [2.d] contribute to project teams to produce original works or
solve problems.
K-12 [5] Students understand human, cultural, and societal issues related to technology and practice legal and ethical behavior
K-12 [5.a] advocate and practice safe, legal, and responsible use of
information and technology.
K-12 [5.b] exhibit a positive attitude toward using technology that
supports collaboration, learning, and productivity.
K-12 [5.c] demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning.
K-12 [5.d] exhibit leadership for digital citizenship.


Citations

(2007) International Society for Technology in Education. Retrieved 3-4-09, from http://www.iste.org

(2007) Learning.com. Retrieved 3-4-09, from http://www.learning.com

Friday, February 20, 2009

Breaking the Geek Myth

For this weeks blog I chose to review the article, "Breaking the Geek Myth", by Katie A. Siek, Kay Connelly, Amanda Stephano, Suzanne Menzel, Jacki Bauer, and Beth Plale. This article discusses the perceptions of geeks and those interested in technology and also the decline of women persuing degrees in computer science. The authors first list some of the ideas originally held by current computer science women professors and students. They had all believed that computing was nonsocial, requiring a high degree of intellect and knowledge and that most of the computer people were geeks. It was only after entering college and discovering the truth about this field that they changed their perceptions and their majors.
The authors discuss a program they put together to get younger students, those in middle and high schools, interested in computer science. They travel to schools and through their interactive program are able to address the stereotypes that most teens have regarding those interested in science, specifically computers. The series of photographs presented to the students is designed to break down any barriers by presenting many different computer scientists in different, non-work situations, such as rock climbing, to show the students that computer scientists do not fit tightly into one category of race or gender. There is also a section in the presentation describing what a computer scientist might actually do for work. The ideas range from computer animation to medical technology. This serves to broaden the student's minds regarding the applications of computers. Overall, I felt that both the article and the program serve to highlight how narrow thinking can limit opportunities.

Q1. What do you believe is a good way to bring in more students, male and female, to the computer science programs?
A1. By bringing the presentation to schools, the authors are able to educate students about the various types of work available in computer science, and also to dispel any stereotypes regarding computer scientists.

Q2. Are there other programs available besides Just Be from the Women in Computing, from Indiana University?
A2. Presentations are also given by the following universities: Carnegie Melon University (CMU) Women at School of Computer Science Roadshow, Simon Fraser University’s Computer Science Presentation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Women in Computer Science’s Chictech.

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

link to newsletter

After many attempts to publish my newsletter to my blog, I am resigning to publish a link for your ease. Sorry for my inability to make it work.

Lori Day
Educ 422, section 37

http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dck7z93j_4dw94t8fn&hl=en

Friday, February 6, 2009

Don't Feed the Trolls

For this weeks blog I chose to read the article "Don't Feed the Trolls" by Karen Work Richardson. This article outlines procedures for incorporating blogs into a classroom environment to enrich the learning experience. The term trolls is defined by Wikipedia as "a person who posts rude or offensive messages on the Internet, such as in online discussion forums, to disrupt discussion or to upset its participants." The author also quotes an AOL article by Timothy Campbell, who suggests that the only way to deal with trolls is to ignore them. There are many suggestions as to how to best lead the participants towards good behavior. Some guidelines make suggestions as to how best to word postings to lessen any misunderstanding. Other sites are more vague in how they deal with any offensive language. I found the article interesting in that the author feels that blogs are a good way to teach civil discourse, stating that in blogs the conversations are captured and this allows for reflection, unlike face-to-face conversations. I agree with the author when she states that both classroom interaction must embrace and demonstrate civil discourse. Her statement that "civil discourse forms the foundation of a democratic society" is very accurate. We are a society made up of different people with different opinions and our very strength is in recognizing these differences in a respectful manner.

Q1. What is a good first step in discussing civil discourse?
A1. According to the article, a good first step is to review the rules we already know. These rules regarding how to treat others are taught to us in the very beginning and the lessons continue throughout our lives.

Q2. What is the most important part of helping our students learn about civil discourse?
A1. The most important part of helping our students learn about civil discourse is in modeling the behavior ourselves. "As an adult, your conduct needs to be not merely acceptable but exemplary.” Our students will learn from our example.