Reflection
“Information technology and multimedia resources are essential for students and educators to function as literate learners in today’s information-saturated and digital age. Through frequent use of appropriate technologies, students build confidence in their skills and gain access to the growing wealth of information and productivity tools on which literate learners rely.”(Ontario Ministry of Education. Literacy for Learning: The Report of the Expert Panel on Literacy in Grades 4 to 6 in Ontario, 2004.)
The Cyber Safety Livebinder was created to be used with intermediate grades in the fall to introduce or reinforce behaviors that will keep students safe online. This resource allowed me to integrate the use of emerging technologies as a means for effective and creative teaching to support students' conceptual understanding, critical thinking and creative processes. The intended outcome was to put all resources in one place to allow students to explore and uncover the information we wanted them to learn and retain.
The strength of the unit is that it incorporates multiple learning modalities. There are videos for the visual/auditory learners. There are projects that will engage the creative learners. It also allows the power of choice as groups choose how to present the information they learned. Weaknesses would be interruptions to the schedule and getting all students to finish projects within the time limit. I find that any unit longer than two weeks tends to be thrown off schedule due to unforeseen interruptions. Another weakness is students taking longer than planned to complete part of the assignment. Whether the delay is due to creativity or behavior it either ends with unfinished projects or upset students. To improve the learning experience I would make sure each student or group understands what it is they need to do and make sure they stay on course by conferencing with each group. I learned that each class has a personality of its own. What may work for one class may not work for another, so I need to be prepared to make changes as I move through the unit. Since it is an online resource I would allow students to access it from home to work on it as well. This unit could also be used as introduction to research as students would need to create questions and find the answers. What is cyber safety? Why is it important? What do we need to know to stay safe?
Effective technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and transparent and when technology supports curricular goals.(Edutopia) I think this artifact is a collection of good technology resources. Students are actively engaged with technology as they search the sources for information and answers. They strengthen their collaboration skills are they work in a group to produce a product to demonstrate learning. As students navigate the Livebinder, follow instructions, and learn valuable information about keeping safe online they are in charge of their learning. My vision is that students would be able to navigate the Livebinder independently and become critical thinkers who are able to present their information creatively.
The strength of the unit is that it incorporates multiple learning modalities. There are videos for the visual/auditory learners. There are projects that will engage the creative learners. It also allows the power of choice as groups choose how to present the information they learned. Weaknesses would be interruptions to the schedule and getting all students to finish projects within the time limit. I find that any unit longer than two weeks tends to be thrown off schedule due to unforeseen interruptions. Another weakness is students taking longer than planned to complete part of the assignment. Whether the delay is due to creativity or behavior it either ends with unfinished projects or upset students. To improve the learning experience I would make sure each student or group understands what it is they need to do and make sure they stay on course by conferencing with each group. I learned that each class has a personality of its own. What may work for one class may not work for another, so I need to be prepared to make changes as I move through the unit. Since it is an online resource I would allow students to access it from home to work on it as well. This unit could also be used as introduction to research as students would need to create questions and find the answers. What is cyber safety? Why is it important? What do we need to know to stay safe?
Effective technology integration is achieved when the use of technology is routine and transparent and when technology supports curricular goals.(Edutopia) I think this artifact is a collection of good technology resources. Students are actively engaged with technology as they search the sources for information and answers. They strengthen their collaboration skills are they work in a group to produce a product to demonstrate learning. As students navigate the Livebinder, follow instructions, and learn valuable information about keeping safe online they are in charge of their learning. My vision is that students would be able to navigate the Livebinder independently and become critical thinkers who are able to present their information creatively.
This website was designed by Gina Deal. Comments can sent to [email protected].This page was last updated May 2015.
The images on these pages were photographed by Gina Deal unless otherwise cited. Word clouds created at wordle.net or tagxedo.com.
The images on these pages were photographed by Gina Deal unless otherwise cited. Word clouds created at wordle.net or tagxedo.com.