Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Concept Mapping in the Classroom

Concept mapping is a great tool to use in the classroom and it can have a great impact on student learning. Concept mapping helps students to learn through visualization. For students who are visual learners, this would be a great learning tool for them to use. Concept mapping also improves writing proficiency. Along with the visual pictures students can use to help compare and evaluate ideas, they can also write down there ideas in relation to those pictures they use. Lastly, students can use concept mapping to plan and organize school projects. Visualizations in concept mapping can be organized in a diagram that the student can create on their own. Each concept map is individualized and personalized by the student who creates them. Every student learns and processes information in a different manner and so, respectively, not all of the concept maps will be the same! This helps students to visualize and really see how they process and think about information and how they organize that information in their head in a way that enhances their learning the best. Students will learn how they learn! When this is visible to them, they can take advantage of that knowledge and apply it to many different aspects of learning in the future.
I found some examples of how concept mapping can be used in a classroom on the inspiration website. In the first example, after students read and learn about a shakesperean play, they can then use concept mapping to help them organize, compare, evaluate, and comprehend how they understand the play and the meaning behind the play. They can use graphics to help them comprehend the different themes in the play and how even though all those themes may be completely different, there is a connection among them. In the second example, students learn about science and the laws of basic physics through making visual connections between different laws of science and how the relationships connect to many other aspects of life. In the third example, students can use concept mapping to help them create and understand the steps taken to complete math problems such as addition of fractions, multiplication, and division.
I think that it may take me a week or two to really absorb all the information and all of the possiblities that are available through inspiration and kidspiration software. I would make sure I really knew how to use everything in this software and that I knew all the possible things that can be done and used through this software because I want to use it to correctly and in a way where students can learn to the best of their ability. Although it would take me a little while to really explore and engage in all the learning possibilities available through this software, I do believe it is worth it. Students who are visual learners will benefit greatly from this software because I know that I am a visual learner and if I had used this software when I was younger, I believe it would have helped me a great deal in learning new concepts that were difficult for me to organize and remember. When I am writing a paper and doing research, I make concept maps on my own time to organize my thoughts and papers. This software will help students learn how to organize their thoughts which is a great tool that can be used all through many different aspects of life.

Blogs in Education

I searched educational blogs using Google, MSN, and Yahoo as the search engines. The results were all very similar with epals.com, educational.blogs.com, weblogs.com, and wideopendoors.com showing up as the results. They were all very similar because these search engines find websites in much of the same way. The search engines I used are similar in themselves as well resulting in a similar process of searching the internet. So respectively, the results were alike. For example, after typing in "educational blogs" in each search engine, they all scan the internet for websites containing the words "educational" and "blogs."

There are so many interesting ways blogs are being used in kindergarten through twelfth grade. Blogs are used to update students with upcoming holidays, newsletters, and other school events and notices. They are also used as a place where students can play educational games, post their own comments and education assignments through blogs, as well as comment on blogs from other peers in class. I like this idea the most. Teachers can give students assignments in class and have the students post essays as blogs on the blog site. Blog sites also gives parents the opportunity to be involved in their children's lives. Parents can become members of the blog site that their children are involved in and they can receive e-mails of all the school newsletters.

Although blogs used in classrooms can benefit student learning in many ways, there may also be some cons as to why I may not use blogs in my own classroom. I am interested in teaching either Kindergarten or first grade and blogs may be a little too advanced and intimidating for students at this age.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

Teacher Web

There are many strengths of using a web resource like the teacher web within the classroom and with students. It enables flexible accessibility to in-class handouts, homework assignments, and other information for the parents/guardians of the students to know. The teacher web allows communication between parents and students in a safe and easy manner. Some weaknesses may include the fact that not every single student may own a computer and those families may not benefit from the teacherweb.
Teachers can use the teacherweb as a resource to communicate with parents. For example, through the handouts page, calender, wish list, and more, the parents/guardians of students in class can easily find out all the information they may need with just a click of a button. Teachers can also update this information anytime they like. Parents can see the updated teacherweb just minutes after the teacher has updated the pages. This is a great way to communicate between teacher and parent which may prevent any miscommunication from happening.
The teacher web site can be used to engage students in their learning. Students use and take the review quiz, project reflection, and webquest projects on the teacherweb. In this way, they can easily go online to the teacher web site and test themselves and find information about class projects, activities, and homework.
I like the idea of the teacher web because I think it it an easy and convenient way for teachers to commnicate with parents and students. I will most likely use this type of teacher web in my future classroom.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom

I found that my strongest intelligence is existential intelligence according to the MI inventory from surf aquarium. Two of the core characteristics from that intelligence include collective consciousness and intuitive iteration. I chose to write about these two core characteristics because I identify with them the most. According to surf aquarium, collective consciousness is the capability to see how something relates to the big picture. This describes the way I think very accurately. For example, when reading a book chapter for a class, I like to write down all the points I believe to be important so I can look at what the chapter's main message is overall. Intuitive iteration is the responsiveness to the intangible qualitites of being human, be it responding to the arts, philosphical virtues or religious tenets. This describes me in a lot of ways because I am very much a person who has great appreciation for the arts but I'm also a person who loves to question everything! Reading about different philosophical ideas and beliefs from around the world has always been an intriguing concept for me.
Understanding how students relate to certain intelligences is important because it helps the teacher to build the curriculum in ways that will enhance student learning and comprehension in the classroom. Students with a strong existential intelligence will look connections across the curriculum and enjoy literature and customs from other cultures. Knowing this will help a teacher to learn more about their students and to also learn how to adapt the school curriculum for students who learn best through different multiple intelligences.
There needs to be support for the multiple intelligences in the classroom in order to enhance student learning in the classroom. Existentially intelligent students can be supported by being offered an overview before starting a new instruction and by considering topics from multiple points of view. Some other ways existential intelligence can be supported in the classroom is by discussing how topics are important to the classroom, school, community, or world and by integrating your instruction across the curriculum. In my classroom, I might incorporate the learning of different cultures to concepts taught in class. Through this support, students will gain and improve knowledge in the classroom that they may otherwise not have developed.
As technologies are becoming increasingly important in learning within the school classroom, there are also many ways existential learners can be supported through technology. Virtual art exhibits, classic literature, stage drama, and blogs are some of the ways students with this intelligence can use to improve their learning. Teachers should try and incorporate some of these technological techniques in the classroom to support and stimulate the existential learner. Supporting the students technologically through different learning styles will encourage the students to be more engaged in the learning process and to also understand and learn in ways that will sustain the knowledge taught.
Multiple intelligences can impact student learning in the classroom in many ways. For example, when teachers integrate supportive techniques to improve student learning through multiple intelligences, this will assist the students by learning in ways that come natural to the brain. This will create more time in the classroom to learn more things in a deeper understanding because it may not take as long for the students to grasp concepts taught in class. If the students are learning in a way that is natural for the brain, than it takes a lot of stress off of the whole learning process altogether. It's important for teachers to understand that each student may learn in different ways and through different techniques because not everyone is the same. Although it may be tedious and difficult to integrate multiple intelligence support techniques into the classroom, understanding this idea will not only create closer connections between the teacher and the students but it will also create a better learning environment for those who will benefit.