Reflection - Is Integrating Technology the Same as Using Technology?

Before taking this class I would never have thought to question what integrating technology in a learning environment truly means. I thought it simply meant educators and/or students having the knowledge and skill to use technological tools -hardware or software- for educational purposes. Teacher can enhance a lesson with an online video or a PowerPoint presentation or have students research on the Internet but now I question if just including technology in a lesson or activity is really integration.

What's integration then? An article on Edutopia explains that effective technology integration is achieved when its use supports curricular goals and the 4 key components of learning: active engagement, participation in groups, frequent interaction and feedback, and connection to real-world experts. According to the LoTi framework (http://loticonnection.com/lotilevels.html), the teacher who is integrating technology is promoting an inquiry-based model of teaching that involves students applying their learning to the real world. Their students are fully engaged in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. Isn't that what constructivism and collaborative learning is all about?
Now I think that in order to truly integrate technology a teacher needs to establish a student-centered learning environment rather than a teacher-directed classroom.

Resources - Elementary Science & Constuctivism

Anyone teaching elementary science and interested in implementing constructivism should check out these resources.

Bergman, D. (2008, June 1). Bug talk: A learning module on insect communication. Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas, 45(2), 29-38. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from ERIC database.

Kato, T., & Van Meeteren, B. (2008, June 1). Physical science in constructivist early childhood classrooms. Childhood Education, 84(4), 234. Retrieved March 11, 2009 from ERIC database.

This book, which is available from Webster's library, has information on constructivism,
learner differences, inquiry, assessment, interdisciplinary ideas, and technology in elementary science education.

Martin, D. J. (2000). Elementary science methods: A constructivist approach. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning.

Reflection - What does "helping" a classmate really mean?

Collaboration requires students working in groups. As I mentioned before students need guidance and instruction in how to work together. Another facet of working together is helping a group member or classmate learn. Teachers often tell students to ask 3 classmates for help before they come to them or they tell one student to help another. In my experience "helping" usually means "telling the answer" to another student. I've had students tell other students or even their teacher that I wouldn't help them because I didn't just tell them an answer. This same concern was addressed in an article on collaborative inquiry that I read for my chapter. The author reminded the reader that students must understand that "telling an answer" or "doing someone's work" is not helping a classmate learn. The author explains that helping means learning to ask the right question so that the other person grasps the meaning or explaining with an example. This is accomplished by the teacher actively and clearly explaining, demonstrating and developing these understandings. I think a teacher needs to model this constantly, even if a student just wants to know what a word means. The student can be questioned about the sentence the word is in, reminded to use context clues, or the teacher can use the word in another sentence. I love to see the smile on a student's face when I say, "See, you did it!'

Resources - Reading, Writing & Collaborative Learning

These books which provide great ideas on implementing collaborative/inquiry learning in language arts classes are available at Webster's Library -

Dale, H. (1997). C0-Authoring in the classroom: Creating an environment for effective collaboration. Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English.

Short, K.G. & Harste, J.C. (1996). Creating classrooms for authors and inquirers. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.

Reflection - working in groups

As I read more and more about learning communities and different types of collaborative learning, a common theme has emerged - Teachers must first instruct students how to work together. I have read articles about group work from preschool through graduate school (online and distance learning) and they all repeat that same theme. It's really made look at the 6th-8th grade classes I work with. Teachers will have students work on an activity or project in groups but then get frustrated. When I think about the cause of their frustration it usually goes back to the fact that the students didn't work well together. In order for students to work successfully together they need to have appropriate communication and social skills in order to create a caring, accepting, and supportive environment. It isn't just a matter of the teacher "telling" the students how to work together. Remember we're looking at constructivist principles. Students must be involved in establishing rules, procedures and roles for collaborative work. I believe they can do it with the proper guidance and support.

Resources - Collaborative learning basics

You can find basic information about collaborative learning and what to do to prepare students for working in collaborative groups at these websites.

Educational Broadcasting Company. (2004). Workshop: cooperative and collaborative learning. In Concept to Classroom. Retrieved March 13, 2009 from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/explor_sub5.html


Hamm, M. & Adams, D. (2002, Spring). Collaborative inquiry: Working toward shared goals. Kappa Delta Pi Record. Retrieved March 18, 2009 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4009/is_200204/ai_n9054348

Resources - collaborative learning

These are some resources I read while researching for my chapter on collaborative research and writing:

Barclay, K.H., & Breheny, C. (1994, September). Letting children take over more of their own learning: Collaborative research in the kindergarten classroom. Young Children 49(6) 33-39.

Gokhale, A. (1995, Fall). Collaborative learning enhances critical thinking. Journal of Technology Education, 7(1). http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/JTE/v7n1/gokhale.jte-v7n1.html

Jonassen, D., & Others, A. (1995, January 1). Constructivism and computer-mediated communication in distance education. American Journal of Distance Education, 9(2), 7-26. Retrieved March 6, 2009, from ERIC database.

Trent, M. (1996, March 1). Beyond the comfort zone: Collaborative learning and the national writing project of Louisiana. Retrieved March 14, 2009, from ERIC database.

Viggiano, E. Teaching tip sheet: Collaborative writing. http://wac.gmu.edu/supporting/tip_sheet_collaboration.pdf

Reflection/Resource - collaborating online

We've reached the halfway point in this class and this week I've been thinking about the successes and challenges I've encountered. I've really used my research skills more in the past 8 weeks than for any other class I've taken. It's definitely been more challenging than helping 6th-8th graders research. I've enjoyed locating information and posting resources on the blog and I feel that I've posted resources and reflections consistently. I've also been successful in using google sandbox and I think organization is key to keep it from getting too messy. The wiki sections that I was responsible for look good even though I had some technical difficulties posting a quiz. My biggest challenge has been with the collaborative group work. My first two goups actually consisted of only two active participants . So for the first chapter I worked on there wasn't a quiz builder and for the second there was no author. My partners and I worked around those challenges and overall I think we did a great job. Today I was at Webster's library to check out a book for my research and I came across another book that really caught my attention, Collaborating Online: Learning Together in Community. Although the book is intended for faculty who are teaching online, it has information on constructivism and collaboration that is relevant for any educational setting. It was interesting to compare some of the ideas in the book to some of the experiences I've had with online classes. When I came acrosss the chapter "Collaboration Challenges", I was intrigued because some of the issues presented related to some of the challenges we have faced with this class. This really is an interesting and timely resource.

Paloff, R.M. & Pratt, K. (2005). Collaborating online: Learning together in community. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Resources - articles

Here are 2 more articles I found interesting as I was researching this week:

Artino, A. (2008, June 6). A brief analysis of research on problem-based learning. Online Submission. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from ERIC database.

Gordon, M. (2009). Toward a pragmatic discourse of constructivism: Reflections on lessons from practice. Educational Studies 45, 39-58. Retrieved March 9, 2009 from ERIC database.

Reflection/Resource - Project MO-Bridge

I recently received an e-mail from MOREnet about a special project they are promoting. Project MO Bridge is a ten part virtual fieldtrip series that looks at the math, science, economic, historical, cultural, engineering and aesthetic aspects of building a bridge. The Missouri Research & Education Network (MOREnet) in conjunction with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) and Roundtrips sponsor the programs. The Missouri Department of Transportation is actually building a new bridge across the Missouri River at Glasgow, Missouri (http://www.modot.mo.gov/northcentral/glasgowbridgeproject.htm). What a great opportunity for students to participate in an authentic learning activity! Each program in the series is offered live via videoconferences and Internet web streaming. Although this current project is halfway over, classes can still participate in the remaining five programs. As I was reading about the 10 programs in this series I was thinking what a great constructivist project this is. Students are able to learn what it takes to build a new bridge—from dream to design to construction to operation - as it is actually being built. They interact with experts in a wide variety of fields and in certain programs work from the perspectives of different community members

As I was reading about this project I also learned about RoundTrips which is student-centered distance learning developed by classroom teachers (in St. Louis) for other classroom teachers. By visiting their website you can learn more about MO-Bridge and read about the past projects. Materials from past projects are available and can still be used even though they aren't live. The website also states that they can help you create your own virtual fieldtrip. What a great resource right here in St. Louis!

Project Mo-Bridge. http://www.roundtrips.org/index.html

Resource - USA Today & project-based learning

USA Today newspaper offers complimentary educational resources including lessons and projects. Keep in mind that USA Today does offer some grants for classroom subscriptions.

One project that I recently read about is Improbable History. This four-week project is based on the 1960s cartoon, Improbable History. Students work in pairs and take a ride in the "Wayback Machine" trying to fix history so a current problem doesn't occur.

Information about this project can be found at

Improbable History. USA Today Education. Retrieved March 6, 2009 at http://usatodayeducate.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Improbable(2).pdf

For more information about the programs and resources available for teachers go to the education home page:

USA Today Education. http://www.usatodayeducate.com/wordpress/

Resources - Constructivism & Science

Here are some articles supporting integrating constructivism in science classrooms:

Beamer, T., Sickle, M. V., Harrison, G., & Temple, G. (2008, Fall). Lasting impact of a professional development program on constructivist science teaching. (Report). Journal of Elementary Science Education, 20(4), 49(12), 49-61. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Science Resource Center database.

Haney, J., Lumpe, A., & Czerniak, C. (2003, December). Constructivist beliefs about the science classroom learning environment: Perspectives from teachers, administrators, parents, community members, and students. School Science and Mathematics, 103(8), 366-377. Retrieved March 1, 2009 from Science Resource Center database.

Haney, J., Wang, J., Keil, C., & Zoffel, J. (2007, June). Enhancing teachers' beliefs and practices through problem-based learning focused on pertinent issues of environmental health science. Journal of Environmental Education, 38(4), 25-33. Retrieved March 5, 2009, doi:10.3200/JOEE.38.4.25-33 from Academic Premiere database.

Hemler, D., & Repine, T. (2002, April). Reconstructing the geologic timeline: A constructivist slant to a classic activity. The Science Teacher, 69(4), 32-35. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Science Resource Center database.

Rita, R. (1998, May). Integrated constructivism. The Science Teacher, 65(5), 24-8. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Science Resource Center database.

Windschitl, M. (1999, April). A vision educators can put into practice: Portraying the constructivist classroom as a cultural system. School Science and Mathematics , 189-197. Retrieved March 5, 2009 from Science Resource Center database.

Resource/Reflection - Constructivism in early childhood classrooms

As a former kindergarten teacher, I was very interested in the article "When Children Make Rules." Classroom rules are traditionally made by teachers but constructivist principles advocate allowing children to have input in developing class rules. In preschool and kindergarten, I thought. How would that work? This article explains that constructivism does not mean complete freedom. Constructivist teachers aren't permissive and they must at times exert external control. The authors present four general guidelines for using external control. The first guideline emphasizes the importance of providing an environment of cooperation and community. This also supports the concept of "learning community" that I researched for the wikibook. As I read examples in this article of young children helping to make rules through class discussions, I thought about a workshop I went to on classroom meetings in relation to character education. It's really the same thing- letting students have a voice and giving them choices. It totally makes sense that if we want students to think for themselves and exercise autonomy we must let them in on decision making - even in kindergarten. This article really makes that seem possible.

DeVries, R. & Zan, B. (2003, September). When children make rules. Educational Leadership, 61(4), 64-67.

Resources - project-based learning books

Here's a guide for teachers who want to implement project-based learning activities. What makes this one different? It has a technology focus for the 21st century by addressing web 2.0 tools - wikis, blogs, podcasting, skype, flickr etc.

Boss, S., Krauss, J. & Conery, L. (2008). Reinventing project-based learning:
Your field guide to real-world projects in the digital age.  Washington, DC:
International Society for Technology in Education.

The title of this book caught my attention because it mentions that dreaded word - "test". The first part of the book reviews differentiating instruction and then includes model projects for the four core subject areas.

Schlemmer, Phil & Schlemmer, Dori. (2007).  Teaching beyond the test:
Differentiated project-based learning in a standards-based age: For grades 6 & up.
Minneapolis: Free Spirit Publishing.