15/5 for Week 1

Betty Houston

Team-assigned tasks for Jan. 16-22	Degree task was accomplished	Time spent on task
Read / research client proposal & client	100% complete	3 hours
Initial meeting with client	100% complete	15 minutes
Assist lead team site manager in developing team site	100% complete	30 minutes
Create individual website / blog	100% complete	1 hour
Facilitate the assignment of roles for the group	100% complete	30 minutes
Establish weekly time for team meeting	100% complete	30 minutes
Begin development of the Project Charter	50% complete	3 hours

REFLECTION

Bloom's Remembering:

The first week our team was to study the client proposals, discuss the proposals and determined role assignments. This was accomplished during our first team meeting prior to our first class. In addition, members were to meet with the client and decide which proposal to select. We did this during class. Members were to create individual websites or blogs. I created my blog with Blogger which was easy. As team manager, I helped establish a time for our teams weekly meeting and began development of the Project Charter. Each member was to post 4 tweets. This was completed by mid-week.

Bloom's Understanding:

Establishing team roles and clarifying tasks is important for the team to run smoothly. As team manager, I could have done better job of clarifying tasks. The lead team site manager agreed to create the team website and post team information on the site, but some team members did not under this and posted their own information leading to the members’ pictures not being uniform in size and format which would provide a more polish look for the site. This will be addressed next week. I suggested the pictures be reformatted and volunteered to help. Presenting a polished face to the public gives credibility to prospective clients.

Bloom's Application:

Developing websites that allow you to interact with the public should be attractive and easy to navigate. Prior classes in the IDT program required this and so does my current job.

Bloom's Analysis:

The strategies, skills and procedures I used for this assignment were effective and can be applied to the task of technology facilitator at my current job at a secondary school. Assisting teachers as they integrate technology into classroom instruction requires understanding the needs, communicating clearing, and being sensitive to time requirements.

Bloom's Evaluation:

I feel I was able to accomplish what was required of me in a timely manner. How effectively I communicate my learning to others is still to be determined. I believe my strengths lie in identifying a problem and developing a solution to remediate it. I am learning how to identify the roles in a project and to understand those roles.

Bloom's Creation:

As the semester progresses, I need to continue to study my role as Project Manager and assist my team in staying on task and completing their assignments. Staying teachable and approachable will keep communication with peers open which is one of the most important skills a person can have.

Martin Institute - Assessment

Today I attended the first day of a 2-day conference at PDS in Memphis, TN. The Martin Institute theme for 2013 is Transformative Learning. My take-away from today's sessions has to do with assessment. One session was on assessment by Greg Bumford, http://leadingislearning.org/. The 2 things I came away with are these:
1. Develop or choose an assessment vocabulary/language to use across the disciplines of your school so students are not confused.
2. Separate feedback from grades. Return an assignment with constructive feedback to the student and have him reflect on the feedback and then write out a plan to address weaknesses in the assignment for the next time he is given a similar assignment. Keep the plan in a folder. Give the student his grade the next day.
The next time the student is given a similar assignment, have the students retrieve the plan for review before beginning the next assignment.

Web-Enhanced Learning

Today I am writing my first blog post. I am enrolled in the Instructional Design and Technology program at the University of Memphis. I am currently taking a class called School Change and the Internet. For one assignment, I must post my reflections on Web-Enhanced Learning on a blog. So, here I am.

For this assignment, we have to do 4 things: 1. list several class assignments or tasks I have given students; 2. decide what type of theoretical approach to teaching and learning they reflect; 3. choose 2 strategies from chapter 2 of our text, Using the Internet for Active Teaching & Learning, that I resonate with me and reflect on why they do, plus apply them to one or more of the assignments listed above; and 4. provide a complete list of references/acknowledgments.

1.      List of class assignments:

·        Assign reading activity

·        Create an outline of the reading

·        Create a concept map based on the reading

·        Answer questions

·        Draw a storyboard for the reading

·        Draw an illustration for the theme of the book

·        Journal writing

2.      Theoretical approach reflected: Behaviorist/Traditional learning environment (Mills, 2006)

·        Teacher-centered instruction

·        Curriculum-based

·        Students work in Isolation

·        Information delivery method

·        Single-sense stimulation

·        Single-path progression

·        Single media

·        Factual, knowledge-based

·        Reactive response

3.      Strategies from Chapter 2, “Teaching and Learning Theories for Web-Enhanced Learning” (Mills, 2006)

·        Generative Learning

Students need to construct meaning by connecting what they know (prior knowledge) to what they want to know which produces new learning. Students can think of this in 3 ways:

Ø  Relationships among ideas

Ø  Gaps in knowledge

Ø  Conflicts between ideas

Two key elements of generative learning are interaction with the content and time for reflection which is at a premium on most traditional classrooms. It is important that students create a personal understanding of the content and form mental connections among concepts.

I have a question as to how one does this in literature. My goal is to learn how.

In the article, “Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Digital World,” Andrew Churches states that it is important to “prepare students for change, teach them to question and think, to adapt and modify, and to sift and sort” (Hanson, 2008) which help students both in school and at work. The digital examples he give for Bloom’s Taxonomy are helpful and thought provoking. I will be able to use this at my school.

In the video, Project-Based Learning: An Overview, Seymour Papert believes that it is important to place students at the center of the learning process (Ellis, 2001). Papert suggests that curriculum be replaced with student generated units where they learn what they need to accomplish their own learning goal. He does not believe in standardized assessment because it results in low standards that everyone can meet. He would rather see students free to pursue individual interests. I think this sound good in one way, but not completely. There is content that one needs to be considered educated. I think of great works of literature and the ability to read. I believe we need to do more to create student-centered classrooms, but I do not agree that all curriculum should be tossed.

·        Authentic Assessment

Authentic Assessment is defined as “evaluation of student exhibits or work products that represent the culmination of a set of learning tasks” (Mills, 2006). In most traditional classrooms, assessment is measured by a paper test or written paper/report. Because I am a librarian, I do not give graded assignments. Assessment is a weakness of mine that I want to learn how to do better. The descriptions on found on the Internet below were helpful to me. Assessment should involve three assessment types (“Three Types of Assessment,” (2013):

Ø  Formative Assessment - occurs in the short term, immediate learner feedback, allows for adjustments by both teacher and learner, can be formal or informal, the most powerful type of assessment for improving student understanding and performance.

Examples: a very interactive class discussion; a warm-up, closure, or exit slip; n on-the-spot performance; a quiz.

Ø  Interim Assessments - occurs occasionally throughout a larger time period, quick but not necessarily immediate feedback, more formal, allows for student time to digest feedback and then to demonstrate understanding, used by teacher to identify gaps in students' understanding and instruction and to develop remedies in future instruction.

Examples: Chapter test; extended essay; a project scored with a rubric.

Ø  Summative Assessment - occurs at the end of a large chunk of learning, with the results being primarily for the teacher's or school's use; takes longer to give feedback; feedback limited; little or no opportunity to be reassessed; useful for teacher/school to identify strengths & weaknesses in curriculum & instruction for the following year.

Examples: Standardized testing (MEAP, MME, ACT, WorkKeys, Terra Nova, etc.); Final exams; Major cumulative projects, research projects, and performances.

              

               What does authentic assessment look like according to Mills? (2006)

               Assessment techniques:

Ø  Rating items of a scale

Ø  Observing students

Ø  Critiquing work products

Ø  Interviewing students

Ø  Including student portfolios

Ø  Giving credit on the process and the product

Application to learning task from #1:

Traditional	Web-enhanced
Create an outline of the reading	Use an online book tool like StoryJumper
Create a concept map based on the reading	Use graphic organizer like Exploratree
Answer teacher-generated questions	Students develop questions on the text
Draw a storyboard	Work in pairs to create the storyline with Prezi
Journal writing	Journal on a blog

  

References

Ellis, K. (2001). Project-Based Learning: An overview. The George Lucus Educational Foundation. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded  

Hanson, T. J. (2008, April 11). Bloom’s Taxonomy and the Digital World. Open Education RSS. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from http://www.openeducation.net/2008/04/11/blooms-taxonomy-and-the-digital-world  

Mills, S. C. (2006). Using the Internet for active teaching and learning. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Three Types of Assessment. (2013). Monroe County Intermediate School District. Retrieved June 11, 2013, from http://www.misd.k12.mi.us/departments/curriculum/instructionalservices/assessment/typesofassessment/