grabe

The “Big Six” is a set of six skills for solving information problems. The individual skills of the “Big Six” enable students to identify the nature of the problem, locate, process, organize, apply information resources to the solution, and evaluate the success of the solution. The “Big Six” not only helps students solve information problems in school settings but also in real life settings.
Teachers can use the "Big Six" as a way to direct assignments and research projects. I think that teachers often use these strategies without even knowing it; I know that for myself I recognized the process without even realizing that I had ever learned it. I think it would be great for teachers to make the process explicit, however, because if students can be conscious of it they can be conscious of when to use it and when it works.

cpb

There are many ways that teachers can use videos in their classroom. I think that first and foremost television is a way to keep students engaged in a class. The CPB article states that “since viewers have limited control of the flow of information, comprehension is importantly linked to their ability to stay engaged with the medium;” using television is a simple way to achieve this. I think that one major issue for students is that they are so visually stimulated outside of school with television, the internet, video games, etc… that when they go to school and sit in a class staring at a teacher they just have a hard time paying attention, a hard time staying interested. In a society whose children watch more and more television every day, what better way to keep them engaged than using a medium that we already know they respond to?
Not only can teachers use television to help engage students, but they can also use it to stimulate class discussion, reinforce reading and lectures, provide a common base of knowledge for all students, and help teach them more effectively. It can spark interest or inspiration, demonstrate something that could not be demonstrated any other way, enrich curriculum content, help practice a skill, and reinforce or review a topic. Television is a fairly simple way to accomplish a lot of things in a classroom, I just think that it is unfortunate that TV in schools has such a bad reputation.

harris

Though internet projects are being used in schools now I don't think they are being used to the extent that they could be. I had never really thought about it before this class; technology in class was simply a video presentation or a powerpoint. It may sound naive, but technology was just a way of presenting information and not much else, except maybe perhaps a research tool. I never quite realized the potential of the internet projects. Things like telemonitoring and electronic appearances as Harris mentions offer so many great resources and opportunities to bring the students right to the source, or I guess to bring the source right to the students. Telefieldtrips, simulations, and social action projects could be incredibly useful in bringing learning to life for students. I think that the same lack of knowledge that I had could be one of the reasons that internet projects are not being used often in schools: many teachers simply don't know that they exist. I also think that the lack of resources and time for teachers may be another block in the use of internet projects. And, of course, the damn No Child Left Behind Act that pressures teachers into getting thier students to pass the tests, regardless of whether or not that means that they actually learned anything. I think that if we could educate all teachers on ways to use these projects and how they can even assist in helping students pass the damn NCLB tests, the internet may have a better chance of being used to it's full potential in classes.

grossman

Gabcast! TL 5141 #1

kauchak

The first function of teacher questioning is assessment of current understanding. Asking good questions can find out what students know, what they don't know, how they think about a topic, and any misconceptions they have. I think that technology works very well in accomplishing this function. This blog that we have to do is a great example- our use of technology is a great way for Jared to see where we are and what we are thinking and any problems or misunderstandings we might be having.

The next function of teacher questioning is increasing student motivation. Effective questions engages students, challenges their thinking, And poses problems for them to consider. Technology works wonders in doing these things, as we've discussed extensively in class. Technology is a relevant and important part of the daily lives of students and incorporating it in the classroom can greatly enhance student motivation.

The third function is guiding new learning. This instructional element of questioning emphasizes how questions help students "interrelate new ideas and integrate new learning with thier current understanding." Once again, technology is just as effecient in this function as purposeful questioning. TEAMS models would be a great example; technology is used to integrate the various content areas to enhance learning and to make the learning relevant to students. Technology functions even better in this area by providing increased motivation and extensive resources to encourage further learning and to provide the resources to achieve this.

Overall I think that technology can function in the ways that questioning does, but that it is necessary for the two to go hand in hand. In my opinion you can't disregard technology and use only questioning, but you can't replace questioning with technology. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses in the classroom and by using both you can enhance both teaching and learning.

reiser

The examples of the Integrated Final Projects are examples of the TEAMS units in action. The final projects integrate technology into the classroom, combine the four content areas, and use active learning assignments to engage students. The one deviation I found from the TEAMS instructional units that I found was that some of the units didn't seem to be very focused around one of the global themes of transitions, caring, identities, and conflict resolution. I think that there were fairly loose connections on the ones that I looked at, like "Changes" (transitions,) and "Healthy Lifestyles" (caring?) for example, but these lesson plans did make me wonder how big of a role the global themes should play in writing TEAMS unit plans.

I think that making and using lesson plans like this would take a little extra time, but I definitely think that it would be worth it. I think that cross-curricular lessons help students make learning more relevant for students; they can see how their learning connects to other things, that it is not only important in its respective classroom environment. Also, like we have talked about in class- using technology is a great way to engage students. I think that these two things show how TEAMS modeled curriculum can greatly enhance learning.