TECHNOLOGY SHOWCASE
Completing the Master of Arts in Educational Technology program at Michigan State University has allowed me to create a showcase of the work done during the last two years. It was hard to not showcase all my work, but the following eight I am particularly proud of.
- The "Learning About Learning" work includes research I've done on how students learn best and what can be done to improve success students find in the classroom.
- The "Innovation and Creativity" work includes videos, designs, and projects I've created with different technology resources that support student learning.
- The "Collaborative Works" category has pieces that allow others to see the product of my collaboration with fellow students as well as my knowledge of how technology fits into education.
Learning About Learning
Through the use of only YouTube and Internet blogs, I discovered how to solve a Rubik's Cube. Before completing this project I was aware of the unlimited resources out there on the internet. What I now understand are the reasons behind digging deeper into those resources to develop a compilation of places that I can turn to when needed.
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It is my job as an educator to incorporate methods of questioning student understanding into the classroom in order to discover student misconceptions much earlier. It is my goal to help students avoid falling into patterns based on inaccurate information. You can list to my podcast here. This podcast helped me to realize that even if students can do the math, they can't always explain how or why math works the way it does.
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This digital story telling project was created with iMovie to show how social constructivism works in the classroom. My sixth grade Critical Thinking class was asked to complete multiple activities by thinking logically and reasoning with mathematical skills. By referencing Vgotsky's theories, I was able to group students by developmental skills and witness how working in different environments affects their learning processes.
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Innovation and Creativity
When trying to facilitate creative thinking and learning amongst students, the design of the classroom has a great impact. My classroom design was centered around the 360 Degree Math classroom idea, which allows students to display knowledge on white boards around the room. It also creates an environment for teachers to work in small groups and incorporate collaboration into lessons.
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Using a Maker Kit and some repurposed items, I created an activity that would improve the learning in my eighth grade mathematics classroom. Squishy Circuits run on electricity which functions through the use of circuits and play dough. The lesson I created allowed students to learn how to graph a linear equation with the kit and LED lights as each light color represented different equations.
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There are so many educational "buzzwords" out there. Flipping the classroom is an alternative teaching method, where students will be introduced to a majority of the content at home. Using Mozilla Popcorn Maker, I was able to remix videos, audio and images to create an overview of how flipping the classroom is beneficial to learning. You can view the video I've created on flipping the classroom here.
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Collaborative Works
Failure as a Learning ModeI collaborated with colleagues on a problem that may be almost impossible to solve: Failure as a learning mode. Through research, we discovered possible solutions that teachers can implement into their classroom. Standards-based grading and video games can help teachers engage learners and assist students in mastery of skills.
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Using iPads in the ClassroomA colleague and I created a Prezi as part of a Professional Development. Here is the outline to the rest of the planned PD. When taking on leadership roles, it is important to consider how to engage those that look to you for information. Multiple technology resources were used in the making and implementation of this professional development.
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