RSA#4 Promoting Collaborative Learning: Blogging

Article

RSA#4 Promoting Collaborative Learning: Blogging

Communicating and collaborating online is not just for adults, many children, starting with pre-schoolers, are using the Internet. When the Internet is used for collaboration and communication there is high potential for young children to use it for educational purposes. In the book, Building Online Learning Communities, Palloff and Pratt state “When students engage in discussions with each other than with the instructor (or teacher), the possibilities for collaboration grow significantly.” Chapter 8 in this book focuses on promoting collaborative learning and how to go about successfully making the learning meaningful for the students in an online environment.  Near the end of chapter 8 the authors list forms of collaboration, which included blogs where students can reflect and comment on others’ reflections. 

The article, Should Kids Blog?, by Rhondall Rapoza, describes the benefits of kids blogging. She lists five reasons why one should encourage kids to blog, including that blogging can expand their knowledge of the English language, improving writing skills at a young age. Also, blogging can give kids a sense of responsibility, improve communication skills, and strengthen their creative side. Lastly, she describes how blogging can increase a kid’s vocabulary knowledge. They can learn how to use thesauruses and dictionaries. The article states, “Blogging gives them an opportunity to play with words and makes them think. They will learn how to use words that affect their readers.  (Rapoza , 2010)

The article explains how parents should look for ways to use the Internet and how blogging is a useful online tool that allows kids to show their creativity and writing skills. The book, Building Online Learning Communities, looks at collaborative tools from more of an instructor’s point of view, going into detail about the types of online collaboration as successful ways to manage these online sites, including using dialogue as inquiry, using real-life examples, providing feedback, and resource sharing (Palloff & Pratt, 2008). Both resources encourage and describe the benefits of online collaborative learning.

References

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2008). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.

Rapoza , R. (2010, March 2). Should kids blog? here are 5 reasons why kids should blog. Retrieved from http://ezinearticles.com/?Should-Kids-Blog?-Here-Are-5-Reasons-Why-Kids-Should-Blog&id=3844412

Comic taken from http://home.messiah.edu/~tr1201/tech-in-print.html 

 

My second graders use Kidblog.org. Watch this quick video to learn about Kidblog! 

PLC Collaborative Tool

LiveBinders is a great online collaborative tool that teachers can use.

Here are some highlights that make LiveBinders a great online tool!

• upload documents to share with other teachers
• upload documents and make others "collaborators" and make the documents "live" for others to edit
• embed youtube videos in tabs that you can show to students
• collect appropriate and useful websites for students
• collect websites for teachers
• easy access with tabs and subtabs in binder
• ability to create shelves to organize binders
• many educational binders available for use, some separated by grade levels

http://www.livebinders.com/shelf/view/46029

RSA#3 Online Learning Communities

Article

RSA#3 Online Learning Communities

In this 21st century, hearing the term “online learning community” is not a surprise, especially if you are an educator. As technology becomes more advanced with easier access and more capabilities, the world of learning communities turns online. There are positives and negatives to every different learning and collaboration style. In the book, Building Online Learning Communities authors Palloff and Pratt state, “It takes a unique individual with a unique set of talents to be successful in the traditional classroom; the same is true for the online classroom. The ability to do both is a valuable asset in today’s academic institutions” (p7). In the first three chapters of this book, the authors describe how teaching and learning occurs online, the importance of a sense of community when it’s online, and the human components of everyday learning online. (Palloff & Pratt, 2008)

The article, Building an Online Learning Community, by Kevin Wilcoxon provides many different images and charts that help describe online learning communities. The article describes three elements of a learning community: teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence. Each element is broken down and descriptions are given of what specific components need to belong to make each successful. Also, a flow chart describes ways  teachers can structure the cognitive presence based on the amount of members. A key component of the cognitive presence is managing discussions, as they are important for an online learning community. The article ends with “One thing is certain, learning communities are more engaging and members more engaged than is the case with traditional instruction.” (Wilcoxon, 2011)

The book Building Online Learning Communities by Palloff and Pratt and the article Building an Online Learning Community, by Kevin Wilcoxon both describe the benefits of online learning communities. They describe some essential components to creating an online community, as well as, give examples of different ways they can be created and ways they can be run. Both resources validate the benefits for people who join or create online learning communities.

References

Palloff, R. M., & Pratt, K. (2008). Building online learning communities: Effective strategies for the virtual classroom. (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Inc Pub.

Wilcoxon, K. (2011, october 03). Building an online learning community. Retrieved from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/761/building-an-online-learning-community

Why not just learn in an online learning community?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a32eDsxDfjY

Collaborative Tool

Collaborative Tool

YouTube.com

(private accounts)

http://support.google.com/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=157177 or click here

 

 

Tool functionality: video sharing website, includes video blogging, podcasts, movie/t.v. clips, etc. Content is uploaded by individual users or other organizations. Also, a social network where people can create profiles and make comments.

Tool restrictions: YouTube might be blocked on school computers (even on teacher computers), would be more useful on a Smartboard or projector instead of just a computer screen. Private accounts can have up to only 50 users. You can only share with people who have a YouTube account.

 

In YouTube private accounts only those you invite are able to see what you post. Videos do not show up on playlists. The thumbnails will not appear in any of YouTube's public spaces.

 

In my school many times we say to each other "sounds like a great lesson, wish I could have seen it." Then we try our best to describe it and explain what the students were doing. Using a private YouTube account, teachers can see it for themselves without having to come in your classroom. Teachers can create videos, slideshows, or just audio with pictures of themselves or of their class. There can be certain activities or lessons you wish to share with your colleagues, but they can't make it in to watch you teach it. If you have a private YouTube account, other teachers can watch your lesson. Teachers can also video students doing an activity and students in other classrooms can watch what they did. Also, there are many educational videos on YouTube that teachers can share with each other.

Sample Video Clips from YouTube (these are not private videos, anyone can access)

 

 

 

 

RSA#2 Creating a Results Orientation

Peer-Reviewed Article

RSA #2 Creating a Results Orientation in a Professional Learning Community

A school that embraces professional learning communities (PLCs) ensures high levels of learning for all students. The school identifies what is it that students need to learn and have a way of monitoring student learning.

In the book, Learning By Doing by Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, and Many, they state that members of a PLC have to be committed to achieving results and reviewing evidence that proves their efforts have worked. Results-orientated goals are discussed as essential to effective teams. The authors state “a results orientation is a focus on outcomes rather than inputs or intentions.” They go on to explain that there isn’t a lack of data in schools, just a lack of valuable data to compare with others to identify strengths and weaknesses in teaching. Teachers need to have feedback on what is working and not, and ongoing support to learn better techniques. “The best way to provide powerful feedback to teachers and to turn data into information that can improve teaching and learning is through team-developed and team-analyzed common formative assessments.” (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker & Many, 2006)

The article, Integrating Testing with Teaching, by Herbert Rudman, describes how testing and teaching are not done in isolation. The article includes ways that testing is linked to teaching, including that testing can be used to determine what students know, assist in grouping students, as well as help to determine pacing of content. Students’ perspectives were analyzed, and the analysis found that “students feel that frequent testing helps them retain more content, reduces test anxiety, and aids their own monitoring of their progress” (Rudman, 1989).

The article relates to Capter 7, Using Relevant Information to Improve Results, in Learning By Doing. Both articles describe the importance that assessments measure how effective teaching impacts student learning. The article Integrating Testing with Teaching could be a follow-up to the book, because it seems to take the concept of results orientation and assessments to the next level, describing different aspects of assessments.

References

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2006). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Rudman, H. C. (1989). Integrating testing with teaching. Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=1&n=6

Comic from http://21learning.blogspot.com/2011/06/death-of-monolithic-teaching.html

             Do you have valuable data?

RSA#1 Creating a Focus on Learning

Peer Reviewed Article

RSA#1 Creating a Focus on Learning

Teachers who establish that their focus is on learning, will then search for ways to be able to assess learning. One essential way for teachers to ensure focus is on learning is to implement formative assessments. In their book, Learning By Doing, Dufour, Dufour, Eaker, and Many state the importance of formative assessments. They quote many other educators and authors who describe formative assessments.

Fullan (2005) states the following:

Assessment for learning…when done well, this is one of the most powerful, high-leverage strategies for improving student learning that we know of. Educators collectively at the district and school levels become more skilled and focused at assessing, disaggregating, and using students’ achievement as a tool for ongoing improvement. (p. 71).

The article The Concept of Formative Assessment from the online source, Practical Assessment, Research & Evaluation (Boston, 2002) states that teachers can use formative assessments to make beneficial changes in instruction. As teachers focus on learning and use the data collected from formative assessments, they can then begin to decide future instruction to give intervention or enrichment to students. The article lists the purpose and benefits of formative assessment, as well as, describing examples of formative assessments. Teachers whose Professional Learning Committees focus on learning could use these examples to help determine overall how the students in each area or grade level are performing based on the formative assessment.

Both resources state that formative assessments are assessments for learning. These assessments help the teacher modify his/her instruction to help each student based on the results of the formative assessments. The article relays the same message as the book Learning By Doing in describing that once teachers have established the same essential curriculum, use common pacing, while sharing what practices are working, they can then asses the quality of student learning through formative assessments.

 

Boston, C. (2002). The concept of formative assessment. Retrieved from http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=8&n=9

Stiggans, R., & DuFour, R. (2009). Maximizing the power of formative assessments. Phi Delta Kappan, 90(9), 640-644

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Eaker, R., & Many, T. (2006). Learning by doing: A handbook for professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN: Solution Tree Press.

Comic from http://www.niu.edu/assessment/Manual/overview.shtml

“When done well, formative assessment advances and motivates, rather than merely reports on student learning. The clearly defined goals and descriptive feedback to students provide them with specific insights regarding how to improve, and the growth they experience helps build their confidence as learners."

 -Stiggins & Dufour, 2009

 

The Beginning

Welcome to my blog! This is my first blog post ever. In the beginning, it doesn't hurt to start off with a joke. 

What did one keyboard say to the other keyboard?
-Sorry, you're not my type.

Hopefully you will find this blog to be your type!