CEP 800 Learning in School and Other Settings
CEP 815 Technology and Leadership
CEP 822 Approaches to Educational Research
All three courses were completed as a cohort in Rouen, France as part of the MAET Overseas program. Classes met from 8:30-3:30 Monday through Thursday and 9:00-12:00 on Fridays. Evenings and weekends were spent not only collaborating on various course projects, but also sightseeing and learning more about French culture and history. The projects below were all completed during my 4 weeks in Rouen.
Click on the pictures or titles to view the websites that were created for each assignment.
Click on the pictures or titles to view the websites that were created for each assignment.
TPACK-Making History Relevant to the Lives of Young People
Our first major project was to "identify a problem of practice, use the TPACK framework to address the problem, and create a web-based experience that presents your problem and solution to your peers as well as explains the thinking process that led you to the solution as opposed to others." The TPACK framework includes the combination of technology, pedagogy, and content within specific contexts.
The problem of practice I chose was the difficulty I have with getting students to relate to history, specifically 9-11. My TPACK experience was somewhat unique as I chose to offer a mix and match of possible solutions in regard to technology and pedagogy. My students are so diverse in their abilities and attitudes (as most teenagers are!), I always need to have alternative ideas that I can cater to their individual needs and expectations. Keeping this in mind, I came up with different solutions for the pedagogy and technology pieces that could be applied to different situations.
The problem of practice I chose was the difficulty I have with getting students to relate to history, specifically 9-11. My TPACK experience was somewhat unique as I chose to offer a mix and match of possible solutions in regard to technology and pedagogy. My students are so diverse in their abilities and attitudes (as most teenagers are!), I always need to have alternative ideas that I can cater to their individual needs and expectations. Keeping this in mind, I came up with different solutions for the pedagogy and technology pieces that could be applied to different situations.
"RELATe" Conference
Our second major project was to design, plan, and execute a conference centering on the themes of leadership, education, and technology, which we called RELATe (Rouen Educational Leadership and Technology). Each group of 4 or 5 students was to develop two different sessions based on these themes. My group chose to focus on dealing with the glitches of using technology in education (and life!) and the importance of developing and utilizing personal learning networks. In addition to putting on this conference, we also had to create an archive of the conference for reference.
I chose to focus on the topic of technology glitches because I have a lot of experience dealing with glitches and roadblocks, and the need for flexibility in the learning environment. One year, my building was under construction and the number of disruptions were numerous. We had power outages, internet and phone outages, and the heat and water were both cut on different occasions. My favorite disruption was when the roof above my classroom or the basement below my classroom were being drilled. It was so loud that I would have to be shouting directions and information to my students. This experience helped me realize the ever important need for flexibility and having a back up plan.
This project was a little stressful but a really great experience. It helped enhance my leadership skills and advanced my own knowledge and experience of dealing with technical "glitches." Through this work, I was given the opportunity to present my research on the topic of technology glitches at Michigan State University's 2010 Educational Technology Conference.
I chose to focus on the topic of technology glitches because I have a lot of experience dealing with glitches and roadblocks, and the need for flexibility in the learning environment. One year, my building was under construction and the number of disruptions were numerous. We had power outages, internet and phone outages, and the heat and water were both cut on different occasions. My favorite disruption was when the roof above my classroom or the basement below my classroom were being drilled. It was so loud that I would have to be shouting directions and information to my students. This experience helped me realize the ever important need for flexibility and having a back up plan.
This project was a little stressful but a really great experience. It helped enhance my leadership skills and advanced my own knowledge and experience of dealing with technical "glitches." Through this work, I was given the opportunity to present my research on the topic of technology glitches at Michigan State University's 2010 Educational Technology Conference.
Video Research Project-Understanding Understanding
Our third major project was a video research project evaluating the concept of understanding. The focus of this assignment is based on the notion that people have their own understandings of events, ideas, concepts, etc. The idea is that students are not blank slates ready to be filled with knowledge when they enter our classrooms, but instead are already full of knowledge that may be difficult to make accurate.
My group chose to focus on the misconception about what it means to be "fit." In a society where physical appearance is a major emphasis on one's life, it is essential to understand the concepts of health and fitness and how they relate to body types. This is especially important since we, as teachers, are working with young people and can have a major impact on their own self image. We decided to look at what various age groups and cultures view as a fit or healthy person and where their ideas come from. We also wanted to look at how body image affects ones learning, especially for girls.
Once we chose our misconception, we had to develop a hypothesis and research questions, explore any previous research on the subject, and conduct video interviews of various people asking a series of questions based on our hypothesis and research. We then had to edit these interviews into one video, develop a conclusion and present to the rest of the class. Not only did this project enhance our own understanding about health and fitness, it also challenged our video recording and editing skills, as well as our skills in web design.
We used Weebly to create the project website, a digital camera and flip video camera to film the interviews, Zotero and BibMe as reference citing and storage tools, and iMovie for the video editing. Flip Video cameras are small, easy to use devices that are relatively inexpensive. Many students have their own digital cameras that have a video recording function that they could use. There are a variety of projects that could be created with these tools that students already own, such as interviewing (someone playing) a historical figure or creating a re-enactment of a famous battle in history.
My group chose to focus on the misconception about what it means to be "fit." In a society where physical appearance is a major emphasis on one's life, it is essential to understand the concepts of health and fitness and how they relate to body types. This is especially important since we, as teachers, are working with young people and can have a major impact on their own self image. We decided to look at what various age groups and cultures view as a fit or healthy person and where their ideas come from. We also wanted to look at how body image affects ones learning, especially for girls.
Once we chose our misconception, we had to develop a hypothesis and research questions, explore any previous research on the subject, and conduct video interviews of various people asking a series of questions based on our hypothesis and research. We then had to edit these interviews into one video, develop a conclusion and present to the rest of the class. Not only did this project enhance our own understanding about health and fitness, it also challenged our video recording and editing skills, as well as our skills in web design.
We used Weebly to create the project website, a digital camera and flip video camera to film the interviews, Zotero and BibMe as reference citing and storage tools, and iMovie for the video editing. Flip Video cameras are small, easy to use devices that are relatively inexpensive. Many students have their own digital cameras that have a video recording function that they could use. There are a variety of projects that could be created with these tools that students already own, such as interviewing (someone playing) a historical figure or creating a re-enactment of a famous battle in history.
Tech Labs
As part of our summer coursework, we were assigned to a variety of "labs" where we had to explore various technology tools. Click on this paragraph title to view some examples of these labs.