1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
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.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
In the past few years my fellow teachers and I have recreated our large Social Studies Research Project. The students will have to have a written portion to explain what they have learned. They will also have to have some sort of visualization that goes with it. This could be a poster or display board they create using photos they find during their research. It could also be a model or PowerPoint presentation with the photos and their information. This leaves the choice up to the students on how they want to create their project and gives them the ownership.
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
In the winter the sixth graders do a project called GeoBread houses. In this project we have the students study Geometry to learn about angles, area, and geometric shapes. Then students have to use what they have learned to create a blueprint of a gingerbread house. They create their blueprints on paper first including certain geometric specifications and then they use an online graph paper to create their gingerbread houses. When they are finally done with their drafts, they get to create their designs using a tissue box as a base and graham crackers, icing, candy as decorations. By creating these designs students get to see the math that architects actually use on a daily basis.
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
In my Learning with the Internet course, my group reviewed an online tool called Shelfari. This tool allows students to add books to a bookshelf, add reviews to those books, and have discussions with their classmates, or anyone they share their bookshelf with, about the books they have read. It can be used much like the discussion boards in Blackboard. It would be very easy for students to create reviews or respond to questions posted by the teacher. Those responses could be an easy way to see how much students truly understood about the books they have read.
In my school we are also going toward using Google Apps instead of using Microsoft Office. In using these applications students will be able to create projects collaboratively without having to use only one of the students log in. This will allow all of the students access to the assignment and the ability to work on it at the same time. This will truly alleviate the problem of only one person doing all of the work.
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
In the class Learning with the Internet, my group used Google Docs and Google Sites to collaborate on a project for using an online tool. We used Google Docs to come up with a group contract and to communicate about how we would use the tool and how we would divide up the work on creating our website showing off the tool. We created the website using the Google Sites application. In using Google Sites we all were able to create and edit different sections of the site without having to email each new change.
a. Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness
In the past few years my fellow teachers and I have recreated our large Social Studies Research Project. The students will have to have a written portion to explain what they have learned. They will also have to have some sort of visualization that goes with it. This could be a poster or display board they create using photos they find during their research. It could also be a model or PowerPoint presentation with the photos and their information. This leaves the choice up to the students on how they want to create their project and gives them the ownership.
b. Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources
In the winter the sixth graders do a project called GeoBread houses. In this project we have the students study Geometry to learn about angles, area, and geometric shapes. Then students have to use what they have learned to create a blueprint of a gingerbread house. They create their blueprints on paper first including certain geometric specifications and then they use an online graph paper to create their gingerbread houses. When they are finally done with their drafts, they get to create their designs using a tissue box as a base and graham crackers, icing, candy as decorations. By creating these designs students get to see the math that architects actually use on a daily basis.
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes
In my Learning with the Internet course, my group reviewed an online tool called Shelfari. This tool allows students to add books to a bookshelf, add reviews to those books, and have discussions with their classmates, or anyone they share their bookshelf with, about the books they have read. It can be used much like the discussion boards in Blackboard. It would be very easy for students to create reviews or respond to questions posted by the teacher. Those responses could be an easy way to see how much students truly understood about the books they have read.
In my school we are also going toward using Google Apps instead of using Microsoft Office. In using these applications students will be able to create projects collaboratively without having to use only one of the students log in. This will allow all of the students access to the assignment and the ability to work on it at the same time. This will truly alleviate the problem of only one person doing all of the work.
d. Model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments
In the class Learning with the Internet, my group used Google Docs and Google Sites to collaborate on a project for using an online tool. We used Google Docs to come up with a group contract and to communicate about how we would use the tool and how we would divide up the work on creating our website showing off the tool. We created the website using the Google Sites application. In using Google Sites we all were able to create and edit different sections of the site without having to email each new change.