Question Set One
- What was learned? What were the learning goals of this instructional experience? What were the underlying assumptions (explicit and implicit) about the nature of knowledge?
Students learned about three Web 2.0 tools that can be used to enrich and add engagement to presentations.
The learning goals were:
To learn about 3 new tools
Learn how those tools can add enrichment and engagement to their presentation.
Learn how those tools can aid them in collaboration and sharing of their presentations.
Underlying assumptions:
Exposing the students to new tools that can be used to present their material. Most students when asked to make a presentation use MS Powerpoint or even Apple Keynote in very traditional ways, making most presentations quite bland and hard to manage when collaborating. By showing them three new tools they can use opened their minds up to thinking outside of the box when incorporating multimedia and other elements.
- What are the affordances for how knowledge/information is being represented? What are the constraints?
By flipping my classroom and posting the videos on using the tools it allowed for more discussion in the classroom to truly address questions and concerns.
Due to not having a legit classroom or real students finding time to meet and how to meet for the actual class was difficult. I ended up having to teach my mom how to use Google Hangout and well...let’s just say it left me with one less student. Some people just will not accept the challenge of technology. I ended up having to meet with my few students one on one. Which also meant they could not work in groups to create presentations.
- How does learning take place? What elements of constructivism did you observe? What elements of behaviorism did you observe? Were any other learning theories present?
Behaviorism (immediate feedback after assessment, discussion took place between me and each student privately and presentation (from one student))
Originally I had planned on incorporating the Social Constructivist theory but group work and discussion was not possible with my limited student base.
- Was your lesson intended to supplement or supplant existing curriculum? Or, was it intended to enhance the learning of something already central to the curriculum or some new set of understandings or competencies?
I do not have a classroom. The lesson was brand new and was not intended to supplement or replace previously set curriculum. The lesson was designed to educate teachers and students how to use Web 2.0 tools to present their content in an engaging and enriching way.
- How are important differences among learners taken into account?
By flipping the classroom and recording the introduction and exploration of the tools and allowing the students to review them in the environment of their choice allows them to learn on their terms. They can review the videos, pause and follow along without feeling pressured to do so in a set time.
- What do teachers and learners need to know in order for your lesson to be a success? What demands are placed on teachers and other "users"? What knowledge is assumed?
Learners need to have a basic understanding and experience creating presentations.
It is assumed that they have the basic skills and knowledge needed to use the internet and their computer.
- How did you assess what students were doing and what they were learning from this activity? How did you hold them accountable for the work they did?
Originally I had a in class survey that dueled as a tool for taking attendance and a discussion starter for the face to face class. However I was not able to create such an envrionment for my execution of my lesson plan. Basically I was able to have online chats/hangouts with my test ‘students’ and ask them basic questions about their opinions of the tools and their uses.
Question Set Two
- What role does technology play in your lesson? What advantages or disadvantages does the technology hold for this role? What unique contribution does the technology make in facilitating learning?
Technology is the lesson plan. The actual teaching of the tools was videos hosted on Youtube. Students were required to use a web 2.0 tool to create a presentation.
The primary disadvantage to the technology is its unpredictability. Using technology can be a risky choice but the uses used in my plan went fairly well.
Technology can make facilitating either easier or more difficult. Depending on your subject, student demographic, envrionment and familiarity.
- What did you expect your students to make of their use of technology in your lesson? How did they react when using the technologies? What questions did students have, and how did you respond to them?
I expected students to enjoy the freedom of the flipped classroom/videos. They seemed to use the videos just as I had predicted. At first some of them seemed a little apprehensive to using tools other than standard presentation tools to create their presentation. However, most of them saw the many benefits to using web 2.0 tools to create presentations.
- How would you describe how students were making sense of the content with the technology?
I was happy with how the students absorbed the information provided in the videos. I did my best to cover many of the questions or features they would have questions about. The videos I created greatly helped them when familiarizing themselves with the tools.
Reflection
My lesson plan was designed mainly for educators but could also be used for high school-college students. I created three videos introducing and exploring Web 2.0 tools that can be used for presentations. The three tools I showcased were Google Drive Presentation, EdCanvas, and SlideSnack. I decided to flip the classroom and host the videos via YouTube. The students were to view the videos prior to class. This feature of my lesson plan was intended to take in to account the different learning styles of my students. By allowing the students to view the videos on their own time, they could be in control of their own learning. They were able to pause or rewind the videos and follow along at their own pace.
I created a multi-purpose survey to be completed by the students at the beginning of the face to face class. This would assess them on if they had watched the videos and ask them about any questions or concerns they had. These would be addressed in our class discussion. The survey would also be used to track class attendance.
After the class discussion, students would then be asked to split up into small groups. They should come up with a topic in which they would create their presentation on. From there they would need to choose one of the three tools in the videos. As a team they would use the collaboration features of the tools to create a presentation. Once they had created their presentation each group would be required to share their presentations via the social media features built into the tools.
Unfortunately I had to change a few things to accommodate the limited student base I was able to gather.
I was able to get my Fiancé (a college student) and my best friend who currently resides in Kuwait (a drafting and design professor) to be my test students. I had originally got my Mom to volunteer until she realized she would actually have to use the internet to view the videos. So I had two students.
Unfortunately I do not have a classroom or a legit student base that I could test my lesson plan on. I did manage to rope two friends into being my students. Due to their very different locations and schedules we were not able to meet in person as a class or even as a group online. I sent them the videos of the tools individually. They did not have many questions about the tools in general. I then communicated with each of them individually in person and by instant messaging about their thoughts of the tools and if they might use them in the future. The overall consensus was that they would like to use some of the tools presented to them. One student has already used one of the tools presented., Google Drive Presentation.
The main issue was not having a real classroom environment or students. This took out the whole aspect of group work and discussions. I worked hard and really thought out my lesson plan. I was disappointed in the lack of students I was able to gather for the lesson plan execution. However, I introduced and opened up my Fiancé's mind about how he will present in the future and my best friend is really looking forward to using EdCanvas next semester.
