Case Study #4: PBL in 8th Grade Classroom04/01/2013

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Analyze one more video from the point of view of:

A. What is the nature of the case? Students worked in an eighth-grade classroom on a PBL project where they constructed a PSA.  They integrated reading, writing, revision, and the standards during the whole process.  Additionally, the structure of the PBL offered enhancing their skills in technology, research and collaboration.

B. Share some descriptive details: Students worked together and independently to construct this PSA.  The expectations for their project were very clearly planned out and clarified to them on a step-by-step basis.  They were given planning packets and met with the teacher and students to “pitch” their ideas and later presented their project to an editing team, too.  

C. What new and useful information did you learn? This lesson really helped shape how technology could be integrated into an eighth grade language arts classroom to enhance learning.  It clarifies the differences between understanding the theory of a PBL classroom and how it is applied to both a standard and real-world application.  

D. Could you potentially use this lesson? I not only could use this lesson, but will plan one for next year.  I’m concerned about the use of the Imovie since our school doesn’t have Apple computers.  

Rate the film experience 1 – 5:
 Score 5—useful, clear and applicable.

Trying to figure out how to embed this Quicktime video, but the site is located at: https://bb-tuc.touro.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_group=community&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fcontent%2FcontentWrapper.jsp%3Fcontent_id%3D_1659318_1%26displayName%3DLinked%2BFile%26course_id%3D_88083_1%26navItem%3Dcontent%26attachment%3Dtrue%26href%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Ffcit.usf.edu%252Fmatrix%252Fgradelevel.php
 OR, http://fcit.usf.edu/matrix/gradelevel.php, under "Middle School Adaptation" and PSAs.  

Social Media
First, I'm not sure that we have a strong school culture around the use or lack thereof, of technology. There are a few "innovators" and "early adopters," who have forged ahead and have pushed to the edge. In fact, one teacher integrating Smartphone use (before they blocked it from kids) in his lessons and was able to get WIFI set up for his classroom. It has slowly trickled to others who see the advantages, simplicity and observable results (think of how innovations are communicated over time...). 

It's interesting to note that a team of innovators and non-innovators (laggards...so brash a term) should be constructed, where they would look at these issues of usage, research current policies and other institutions. I vaguely remember hearing about a "tech committee" at our school, but I believe they've focused on simply getting hardware to teachers who don't have LCD projectors, etc. Furthermore, community, teacher and student feedback would be very appropriate and hasn't occurred. 

I know that our district has worked to come up with its newest "BYOD" (bring your own device) policy and has allowed students to use phones for educational purposes, only in the last year or two. Prior to that, the dazzling new change was that students could simply bring phones on campus.

I understand that this is a rapidly changing and morphing aspect of education. But, we should have clear guidance in expectations of use and it should be reviewed both at site and district level. And, since the district has emphasized the integration of 21st century skills, it needs to follow suit, too.

Classroom Applications of Twitter: 
As a middle school teacher, I'm interested in exploring the educational value of utilizing Twitter in the classroom. Eighth graders are definitely capable of learning to tweet from an educational standpoint. In fact, since it isn't often a social media resource the utilize socially, it might be easier to integrate that into the classroom (think Instagram---completely of a social nature). However, I have yet to see how it might surpass Edmodo or blogs on a website. Still, the idea that students must encapsulate their thoughts into 140 characters, is really powerful. I could see this as a help for students who want to do initial research, too. Finally, the fact that students share their username will help curb inappropriate use.

Personally, I like the professional research lens it offers, as educators are at different places with regards to PBL or RTI. I can receive almost instantaneous help with any question or curiosity I may have.

Further, utilizing it as a platform to share information with parents is also a sound use. However, I feel like the website I use is more efficient for me. 

Youtube in the Classroom Reflection

I have personally relied on Youtube for entertainment, and, within the last year, as a means for learning new information (most recently, before my first kayak trip, I looked up how to not fall while on a kayak). This past school year, I used a Youtube video on how to do an advanced Google search and presented it to my students. This was the first time I'd really utilized this resource as a direct teaching tool, and to my seasoned-teacher's shock, was amazed at how I could hear pin-drop silence during that five minutes. I'd already begun this program, and was really pleased that I had after that brief use. Prior to that, I'd pull up videos to present a historical background to what we'd read in class. 

As far as my classroom is concerned, I see such great benefits for brief research and even as examples for different manners to present material. Further, I find the use of making my own channel to upload videos as a definite enhancement to my classroom practice. And, it will provide an ease that I haven't always felt when bringing a video to class. 

Dr. Brown Take-aways: 
1. create a private channel to Youtube (can set an account for those with the link, can group all vdeos together, can block other explicit content)
2. Tips for video: all about light, 
3. Successful classroom/PBL---give students feeling of: 
a. sense of competency
b. maintain sense that they have the ability for mastery
c. autonomy
4. "grandma test" and anticipatory and reflective steps: What do you anticipate will happen? What really happened?...This gives them the opportunity to learn from their challenges

Gamification Definition and Comments: 

Gamification (noun) 
Syllabification: (gam·i·fi·ca·tion)
Pronunciation: /ˌɡāmifəˈkāSHən/ ...(okay, that wasn't me..http://oxforddictionaries.com/us/definition/a... thought that'd be fun)

Gamification is the art of integrating attributes of games into a school lesson, with the desire to increase student-engagement and student knowledge of a particular topic or standard. As students progress, they earn greater accolades that move them to the next level (and level of understanding). With this greater understanding and higher level, their new acquired "tools" allow them to increase their understanding and truly advance.

I am completely intrigued by implementing this into the classroom and definitely see the positive effects (increased understanding of topics or standard). This tool fulfills so many aspects of what good education entails: prior knowledge, desire to see positive results quickly, engagement, interest and solid learning. 

However, my concerns at this point, outweigh the benefits. I wouldn't even know where to begin! And, it seems like a huge time-suck. I don't know enough about computers to make my own game. I haven't found any sites yet (ever-hopeful; the internet is huge) that will fit the standards we have so far. I'm not as concerned with students or parents questioning the validity of this practice and feel that I could present its attributes well. And, I agree with Samantha's concerns, what if the students begin to expect every class to have a game-quality to them?

The first website I have frequently used is Web English Teacher. I used it more while teaching high school when I was designing my units. After NCLB and our restrictions (anthologies, pacing guides, etc.) I used it less often. However, it has great interactive lessons and units, study guides and even a section on technology integration. They have a great comparison on blogs, wikis and docs. It's very user-friendly with all the various pages on the far left. 

During my recent Masters explorations of websites, I ran across the second one, that lists free digital storytelling tools for students. Across the top, it has the different pages that give resources for teachers, such as the following: Ipad resources, Youtube 4 teachers, and teachers' guides for using technology in the classroom. Each example has a clear explanation of how the tool is useful for the classroom. In addition, it has a section on 21st century skills for the classroom, which explains its necessity in the classroom. It is a one-stop-shop for teachers who are techno-phobic, but want to sound well-informed (hence my desire to use it). I really like that they've integrated a list of the different tools with their use in the classroom and the rationale for needing to add 21st century skills, too.

Capstone Project: I did contribute my project idea in the chat thread during class, but I think it got lost in the responses, as I didn’t see it in the Google document. 

I am interested in continuing my exploration of authentic student engagement through the use of technology in the language arts classroom. As our district moves toward integrating 21st century skills, the exploration of different software and the proper integration of it can be daunting. From a practical standpoint, we, as employees, must follow the vision and plan. More importantly, we must recognize that our students come to us with a very different skill set and need from those who weren’t inundated with technology in the past. 

Although the perfect classroom would include a 1:1 student to computer ratio, the reality is that we don’t have computers available in every classroom. Moreover, some students have the ability to “BYOD,” while others do not. Navigating the issue of available technology is our first hurdle. Further, we must take in to consideration, the problems that will arise when the technology is old, rundown and needs fixing. We know that some students can use their Smart phones, while others cannot. We know that our server goes down seemingly quite often. 

Each school has its different culture around learning. But, the need for integrating technology and using it appropriately, remains at every site. The challenge remains how each site will navigate this. Further, those teachers at sites who are “digital immigrants” need the support of stronger teachers. The site needs to recognize its individual needs and construct a support plan and give time to accomplish this new perspective in teaching. In addition, administration must maintain an open environment for teachers as they navigate this new process. 

We are innately programmed to be creative.  Our brains are bored with the status quo and we constantly search to find new ways to entertain ourselves.  Babies repeat the same motion until they master it and then strive for new intriguing pathways.  People get tired of their clothes, shoes, hairstyles, etc. and look for new ways to express themselves.