Standard I
Standard:Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity.
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Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching, and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.
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Reflection: |
Presenting information is not the same as teaching and assigning activities is not the same as facilitating. The impetus behind this standard is to engage students intellectually and creatively. To do this, we must create lessons and activities that are relevant to the curriculum, culture, and the students’ interests.
In regards to active engagement, the Forum activity is the most obvious. It allows the students to reflect on their own and the other students’ learning experiences. This kind of interaction is especially important for online-based programs where face-to-face communication is not possible. Scoop.it is similarly engaging. It allows the students to “scoop” interesting resources that are relevant to course content. They are also able to comment on each other’s “scoops”. ThingLink is similar to Scoop.it in that the students can gather and share their own resources, but it does not allow the students to comment on others' posts. This resource works by taking an image and allowing students to attach resources (such as webpages and online videos) to it. It can be used individually, or even opened up allow all the students to find and attach their own resources to a shared image for the class to see. Google Docs and Google Slides promote reciprocal participation in a different way. These two elements of the Google Drive suite of apps are used for direct collaboration on projects. Students are able, in real-time, to work on projects—whether they are documents, spreadsheets, slideshows, or illustrations—together. There are few tools available today that allow for such dynamic digital collaboration. |
Artifacts: |
Future Learning Goal: |
As I have gone through this course, I have tried to make more and more collaborative and engaging at-home activities for my students. For my current class, I have done this through Google Drive’s suite of programs, ThingLink, Forums, and a Class Blog. One of my major goals in teaching is to develop more activities that relate to my students’ interests without distracting from the curriculum goals. Resources like Google Docs, Google Slides, ThingLink and the others are certainly going to play a larger role in my classes in the future. Through these interactive resources, I will ensure that my students have activities that are both effective and engaging.
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