Learning Theories and EdTech3 - Banduras

My "favorite" of theorie is Albert Banduras' "Social Learning Theory" (http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/social-learning.html).

I am a strong believer that I cannot ask my students to do anything I am not doing. For example: my students have usually the permission to use their phones in class. How can I not allow them the access, if I am on my phone all the time (to take attendance, look up words/definitions, play music, check my lesson plan ...)? We do have the understanding, if they get too distracted by their gadget, that they need to take a break from using it in class. This works very well. I am modeling the professional use of technology on a daily basis and I believe that my students understand more and more the difference between "play and work". Banduras theory is based on this: "Learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do." - Modeling behavior improves the quest for one's own learning style, function as a good citizen and student, and it allows for making choices on the students' part. 

The theory states, that "Social learning theory explains human behavior in terms of continuous reciprocal interaction between cognitive, behavioral, an environmental influences." Our students do not only learn from reading or listening. We know now that we have to offer them choices, different ways of representation, action and expression as well as engagement (Universal Design of Learning) in their learning. But they do not only learn content. It is so much more that they gain in terms of skills, experiences, knowledge and behavior.

Learning Theories and EdTech2 - Dale, Bloom, and Universal Design of Learning

Edgar Dale's "Cone of Experience"

I must confess, I never heard of Dale's "Cone of Experience". Dale's cone has 11 stages. Those stages are becoming more complex and abstract, as we reach the top of the cone. The experiences are not based on difficulty, but on abstraction and the number of senses involved.

http://teachernoella.weebly.com/dales-cone-of-experience.html


Dale argues that the experiences, as they are getting more abstract, can be - and should be - mixed. They are all interrelated and even though there are lines and stages, finding a balance between concrete and abstract has to be achieved.



Bloom's Taxonomy

Much is written and known about Bloom's Taxonomy, and some educators are now facing the change to integrating technology with the different types of cognitive performance of their students. How can one address "remembering" using a web. 2.0 tool? How can our students be digitally creative and create on a "Higher Order Thinking Level" using the web. Andrew Churches ("educational origami") and Michael Fischer ("visual blooms") offer visuals and links to web 2.0 tools that can be used for the different stages in Bloom's taxonomy. Michael Fischer, however, created a new visual, including the fact that several digital tools can be used in several different areas.

http://visualblooms.wikispaces.com/HOME


Fischer claims that there is a fluidity in using tools online rather than one tool is only usable for one stage.





Universal Design of Learning

UDL is the theory of "differentiation". How can "the curriculum needs [...] be designed for all learner? (cast.org). In their introduction video, they define UDL as follows:

Universal: being used and understood by everyone

Learning: there are three areas:

• recognition - the "What" of learning
• skills and strategies - the "How" of learning
• caring and prioritizing - the "Why" of learning

Design: must be flexible and accessible for all

To design the curriculum, the educator should start with "What is my goal?", closely followed by "What are the barriers?". To universally design the curriculum then, the instructor should give the students choices:

• multiple means of representation of content
• multiple means of action and expression of content/learned material
• multiple means of engagement in the classroom with the content

Learning Theories and EdTech1 - Multiple Intelligences

My "Multiple Intelligences" Inventory

My MI Inventory shows that my strengths are in the "Intrapersonal" and "Linguistic" area of the 8 multiple intelligences according to Howard Gardner. My absolute weakness lays in the "Interpersonal" part. "

My teaching is certainly influenced by my "word smart" and "myself smart" intelligence, as I am able to phrase and rephrase problems, talk to my students on a level that they understand and which lowers their affective filter. Further, the intrapersonal strength serves me well when reflecting about my teaching and my students' learning. As for my weakness, the "Interpersonal", "people smart", area, teaching is a great profession for me, as I am usually responsible for myself and my students, not for the product of a team. However, the almost lack of this intelligence surprises me a bit, since I am usually a "team player", I share my experiences, share methods and materials. Yet, I guess I like doing things by myself, which opposes the actual definition of "people smart".

It is generally a good idea to know, where my students' strength are in terms of their intelligences. This helps me to give them choices in expressing themselves and in facilitating their learning. However, at times, I also try to challenge my kids in trying to look beyond their own box. But especially for assessments, it becomes more meaningful for the student, once their interest and their skills are included.

Ready to play? - Game Based Learning

Now this was fun, interesting and my students will love it: I found more gaming websites and even made my first (very small) game with purposegames.com

It took me a little bit to figure out how to create a game that does not use the pre-settings, but once I took this hurdle, it was fairly easy. "Purposegames" is not necessarily fancy, but surely has its "purpose": especially for vocabulary reviews, warm ups, grammar drills, and geography, this tool is great. I can even see my students create games for each other.

I really just played around with it and took our recent German 1 vocabulary:

http://www.purposegames.com/game/die-haustiere-game

This is even nicer than "Kahoot", since the students can play this on their own time or when they are done with their work in class. 

Goals:

These options for gaming are very useful for reviews of vocabulary, grammar, and cultural knowledge.

The students can create their own games, therefor have to think how to design them, and which content to use.

Games in general lower the affective filter and add to frequency of words without the learner actually realizing it.

Want to play? - Game Based Learning

Let me just start with this: my high schoolers love to play. Any game really! We play German Monopoly (R), "Deutschlandreise" ("Travels through Germany", a board game), card games and many more traditional games. They also like digital games. Just lately, I introduced them to "Kahoot" and since then, they ask me to play more!

I watched the "What is game-based-learning?" video. The definitions of the different kinds of games was very helpful for further studies of this topic, which lies a bit outside of my comfort zone. I am not a "gamer" at all. I enjoy playing games, but usually don't. It seems like there is much time wasted - until now, when one can actually learn something.

For the 2nd task, I took the "Bartle Test of Gamer Psychology" and I am not surprised to find out that I am an "Explorer". Here are my results:

My all time favorite video game is "The Sims" and "Sim City". Every since they came out, I can spend days playing. Building, exploring, making social connections, having the city going - this is fun! 

Web Tools and Apps (2) in the Language Classroom (EDCI 718, SP2015)

Socrative

This is an engaging tool for students to assess their grasp of a concept. The teacher can set up quizzes, including multiple choice, short answer, and true&false. The students receive instant feedback on their answers, since the teacher may add an explanation to each question.

Socrative also provides a pre-set "Exit Ticket", that the student fill out after each class. The questions are "How well did you understand today's material?", "What did you learn in today's class?", and "Please answer the teacher's question" allows for a content related question.

Further, Socrative allows for a "quick question" with live results.

The very nice feature of this tool is that the teacher receives instant student progress results in statistics. The teacher may choose whether to create progress reports for each student (by name or any other identifier) or using percentages without individual information. This may be used at any point of the unit - as pre-test, post-test, as ongoing assessment or the final test. Especially the Exit Ticket is very useful and extremely easy to conduct.

Socrative is a webbased tool, but Apple has an app for the iPhone as well as the iPad. This makes it a universal tool for all gadgets.

The teacher sets up an account and creates "rooms" for his students. The recreated assessments can then be used as student growth and for reflection. This tool is not a creative or collaborative student tool itself. However, student teams can answer questions - or students can create their own questions as part of a presentation and keeping their audience engaged.

Using Socrative is free!!  http://b.socrative.com/login/teacher/

Web Tools and Apps (1) in the Language Classroom (EDCI 718, SP2015)

Any Carton Tool is a creative way for students to share their knowledge, apply and make it relevant to their own life. Toondoo.com is one of those free tools. It can be used on PC, MAC, and any handheld gadget despite its operating system. It's very easy to use, drag and drop.

Toondoo is a storytelling tool. Students may use the characters, pictures, backgrounds etc. to cover all standards, except for pronunciation. However, when they present their creation, they even do this then. Toondoos can be saved and incorporated into podcasts, videos, or any other tool that incorporates pictures.

The tool allows for ongoing assessment, as the students apply what they know and can even make re-dos or  continued cartoons as feedback and revisions.

The tool allows for collaboration, however, not in the true sense of real-time collaboration using different machines. The users have to sit at the same gadget and work on their creation.

Toondoos are usable for all and any subject possible.

www.toondoos.com

Web Tools and Apps (3) in the Language Classroom (EDCI 718, SP2015)

Memes are a hoot in any class! Students and teachers alike love creating them. But besides that they are funny, they can (and should) have their place in the classroom!

There are many creative activities that students can do: 

At the beginning of the school year, have students create memes about themselves. 

The teacher or the students create memes to spark discussions within a unit.

The students can create them as creative and critical thinking activity for their studies.

Students may create a "handbook to survive ... class" for the next class coming in.

Use foreign language phrases or words along with pictures to allow for yet another way of applying (and retaining) the language.

The possibilities are endless and all standards can be addressed! With each meme the students create and/or have to think about, they get deeper into the content. Why not having fun with it :)

There are several web tools and apps out there to create memes. My favorite is  memegenerator.net - accessible with any web browser. On my iPhone, I am using "mematic" which allows me to create those fun pictures on the go. This tool is not a collaboration tool, though the end product may as well be (collage, glogster etc.).

memegenerator.net