Evaluation and Assessment

Use in the Classroom

·         In the early elementary classroom setting, we touch on planets briefly. Using the multimedia assessment with a video shifts the responsibility from the teacher to the student. This gets students to become independent and not have to rely on a teacher always. This also teaches the students good testing strategies, where they can go back and re-read or in this case re-watch the video to find the information necessary. I would like to use this assessment before we begin a lesson or unit so the students gain some knowledge prior to the lesson presented. This will hopefully help the students gain some confidence about a topic.

·         The students will be able to become independent learners by watching a video and answering questions based on that video. There will not be a time limit. By listening, watching, and working at their own pace gives an opportunity for those students who may struggle or find it hard to concentrate during a lesson. This will also help those students gain some information that they normally wouldn’t during a teacher led lesson.

·         I can incorporate project based learning into my teaching almost on a weekly basis especially in science. The STEM standards require a student to be an independent learner and to use that create side using information provided. 

·         The factors that could hold back my students and my classroom is the cost and motivation. Many of my students come from families who are low income. The school also does not have the money set aside to provide and establish PBL. Motivation is also a factor. A good chunk of my students simply lack the motivation necessary to complete projects that are all student lead. This is something that I’ve been working with my students on since day one. Once we get the students in the right mindset, I believe they will become more successful.

Application

·         The Principles for Designing Multimedia Instruction with my lesson that were used are the Coherence Principle, the Redundancy Principle, and the Pre-training Principle. All three of these principles were purposely used for the use of technology with my lesson. The Coherence Principle uses multimedia to present a lesson. I used the Space video to present some information to the student before beginning the lesson presented by myself, which is incudes the Pre-training Principle. The third principle, Redundancy, using graphics and on screen information which is also evident in my video.

Reflection

·         This week I have discovered several more resources to use in my classroom. I’m excited to use this technology and share it with my students. I have used technology as an assessment tool before this week and it really does make my life easier because I don’t have to spend hours grading and the students get their results instantly.

·         I really enjoyed the Multimedia Assessment especially by using a video. I think my students will really enjoy this too. They also like when we watch videos on anything in the classroom. I’m hoping the students will take advantage of this technology in a positive way.

·         I have found many new resources to use this week that will be very effective in my classroom. I believe the students will really enjoy this technology as much as I do.

Rubric  

 http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php?screen=PrintRubric&rubric_id=2679559&no_return=1&

   

Poll       

 https://goo.gl/forms/Cqu5TzoP9ngR3N0H3   

Multimedia Assessment      

https://www.playposit.com/delivery/275799/558808/the-solar-system     

Concept/Mind Mapping

Use in the Classroom

·         In the early elementary classroom setting, we touch on planets briefly. Using Concept and Mind Mapping is an easy way to compare and contrast a topic and subtopics quickly.  I would use this at the beginning of a lesson(s) to give a brief explanation of our Solar System and the planets in the Solar System. The students could compare the other planets to Earth.

·         The students will be able to use the Mind Mapping tool to quickly review a topic, begin a new topic or create their own after a lesson or unit is complete. I would first use the map that I created on the Solar System as an introduction to what we will discuss. The map would be a starting point where it briefly shows what will be discussed. The more we get into the lesson(s), the more details that will be provided. Towards the end and as a review the students can easily go back and look at the map again.

·         I would incorporate collaboration into my teaching by encouraging students to work together using the technology that has been provided. They will collaborate in this case to choose a few of the planets and briefly describe those planets in an outline format. They will then share with the rest of the class their findings and information. 

·         Being in the school setting that I’m in, each student has a chromebook so therefore I would encourage the students to use google docs so they can easily share even when working independently. Each student can complete their task and in the end combine all their efforts.

Application

·         The Principles for Designing Multimedia Instruction that were used in my design and lesson were the Coherence Principle, the Signaling Principle, and the Spatial-Contiguity Principle. By using the Coherence Principle, I only included the important information on the screen. I used different colors to force the learner to connect those colors using the Signaling Principle. Lastly, I made sure to keep everything near each other so the students could easily compare and contrast which is the Spatial-Contiguity Principle.   

Reflection

·         I’ve used Concept and Mind Mapping in my classroom before but now I have more resources to use to make those maps. I have used it as a collaboration tool and an introduction piece, just like in my example this week.

·         This week, to me, was definably an easier week just because I am used to using maps. I did use a different resource than what I am used to, to challenge myself and to get other resources.

·         As I mentioned earlier I have used Mind Maps before but I have gained new resources this week.

 The Solar System Mind Map (Coggle)

References

Mayer, Richard E. (2009). Applying Science of Learning in Education. Research-Based Principles for Designing Multimedia Instruction.

KidsAstronomy.com (1998-2017).All Solar Planets Printing Page. http://www.kidsastronomy.com/the_planets.htm

KidsAstronomy.com (1998-2017). Our Solar System. http://www.kidsastronomy.com/the_planets.htm

YouTube. (2013, July 29). The Solar System Song. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUZ2tfr1bsU

Augmented Learning

Use in the Classroom

·         In the early elementary classroom setting, we touch on planets briefly. Using QR Codes is a quick and easy way for students to discover, compare, and contrast the planets in our solar system. They will also gain some independence by being able to choose which QR Code they would like to scan first, second, and so on.

·         The students will be able to use QR Codes to discover the, now, 8 planets in our solar system. They will be able to simply watch videos or read all about the planets. They will also see visuals of the planets and where they are located. The visual representations will give the students a better understanding of the planets including what they are made of such as water, gas, and so on.

·         I would like to use many different types of technology in my classroom. QR Codes will make the students curious simply because they won’t know what is going to pop until the scan the code. This will keep the students very interesting and on task, which most technology does. Using augmented learning is a great idea especially for those students who may learn better with visuals or for any students in general. Using 3D representations of objects will also help students to fully understand those tougher or more difficult concepts.

·         Being in the school setting that I’m in, we don’t have the appropriate technology which will hold us back on some technological advancements in the classroom. I believe to get these new resources we/I will need to apply for grants that support technology in the classroom. Using such technology will be greatly benefit the students.

Application

·         The Principles for Designing Multimedia Instruction with my lesson that were used are the Signaling Principle, the Redundancy Principle, the Segmenting Principle, and the Modality Principle. Of these four principles three were purposely used for the use of technology with my lesson.

·         I applied the Redundancy, Segmenting, and Modality Principles to my lesson when creating it. The Redundancy Principle uses on screen narration and images. The Segmenting Principle is learner paced, so the students will be able to take their time instead of having to keep up with the rest of the class. Lastly, the Modality Principle uses words rather than written material. I intentionally used these principles while designing my lesson.

Reflection

·         Augmented Learning is a great resource to use in the classroom especially when differentiating instruction. It does however, require a lot of time to be set aside to get everything set up and organized. The QR Codes seem to be a little easier to manipulate versus the Aurasma (for example).

·         I haven’t used QR Codes before but they are something I would try to use with the right technology. There are also many other resources that I didn’t know about that allow us to use images to give out more information.

·         I don’t necessarily think there were tensions between the technology and resources but I did struggle with maneuvering the technology myself. I would like to spend some more time looking at the technology that was provided this week to incorporate in my classroom.

Evaluating a Found Video

The video that I chose to evaluate is a Math Antics video on long division.  This video is targeted for fourth and fifth grade classrooms.  I have used this video in my own classroom as a educational aide.  I like to use videos like this so the students can hear it from someone else in case they aren’t fully understanding the subject how I am teaching it. I can also play the video multiple times until the students feel comfortable with the concept/topic.  Our district policy says that we can use internet access/videos for educational purposes.  This video would classify as an educational video due to the fact that it is a fourth grade standard that students know how to divide.

The Math Antics video does a good job explaining long division to the students.  There is a video prior to this one that explains how to do simple division.  The only downside to the video is that it does move fast.  Since it is a video online I can show the video multiple times or the students can watch the video on their Chromebooks if they need extra support.  After reviewing the 10 Factors and Design Principles for Multimedia Instruction, I feel that this video fully supports all but two factors.  The video does a great job of staying on topic and keeping it at age/grade level.  As I mentioned earlier, I use this video in my classroom as an educational aide so the students can hear it from more than one person.  The video meets the standards of the school for fourth grade as far as division goes. The video is easy to follow and keeps the students interested.  They put a few jokes in the video that most students get.  I can show the video as much as I would like or the students can use their Chromebooks to watch the video.  There are other videos from Math Antics based on different topics that I teach.  I have watched the videos carefully to make sure what they are teaching the students is correct so therefore I do find it credible.  This video has the standard rights that every YouTube video has. I do not believe this is the best method for a student to learn, I believe the teacher is the best method.  The video does not have any links that go with the content but they do have other videos on other math topics.

Math Antics-Long Divsion

Using Videos To Convey Information

Use in the Classroom

I would use this video in my classroom as an aide to my lesson.  I would first teach the students, in a longer lesson, how to take a mixed number and turn it into an improper fraction. This video would be use in case the students need to review how to complete the task whether it’s a day after the lesson if they are reviewing for the unit assessment.  The students will be able to easily review how to make a mixed number an improper fraction. There would be other videos and lessons on the opposite, taking an improper fraction and turning it into a mixed number.  The students will be able to practice with the video to check for understanding.  If they did not get the correct answer the video will explain how to get the correct answer.  One of the downsides of using this video as a review would be the case if we, as a school did not have internet access for the day or if the students needed to review at home and didn’t have internet at their house.

Application

The design principles I used for my instructional multimedia lesson were the Redundancy Principle, the Modality Principle, and the Voice Principle.  The Redundancy Principle uses graphics and narration.  In my short video I had images on the screen as well as a narration to go along with those images. The Modality Principle uses spoken words instead of printed words.  My video uses both as far as the numbers go. I did not have every word on the screen, I only included the important ideas.  Lastly, I used the Voice Principle. The principle says that students will be more successful listening to a human voice instead of a computer animated voice. I intentionally used the Voice and Modality Principle in my video. I believe that this is supporting creativity in the classroom because it is allowing the students to see different and fun ways that their education can be presented to them. I am hoping this will encourage my students to think in different, creative ways, that are outside of the box.

Reflection:

·         This week I continued to find more resources and ways to present ideas to my students.  Instead of making it the usual I teach, you listen, we can incorporate create videos by either making them or watching videos professionally done or by their peers.

·         I think using videos such as the videos we made and looked at this week could have a great impact in a child’s education.  If they video isn’t made by me the students may be able to hear and get ideas on how to solve problems from another teacher.  I think it would be interesting to get the other teachers in my school to create videos as review for when a student moves to the next grade level. So if a fourth grade student doesn’t remember how to do something that was taught in third grade, they can go back and look at those review videos.

·         I think the most difficult part about this week was trying to get the voice to match up with what was on the screen.  That was my biggest frustration to me.  It would be interesting and I’m curious if other software is out there that makes it easier to combine your voice and the text on the screen. 

·         I enjoyed the thought of creating a video that would help my students especially those students who tend to struggle.  They would be able to go back and watch the video as many times as they would like until the understand the topic.    

 How to Turn a Mixed Number into an Improper Fraction

Tornado GIF

Collage

Digital Images

Use in the Classroom or Educational Setting

IDEA- During the students third grade year, we discuss weather and climate. In this unit the students learn about natural disasters. Included in natural disasters are tornadoes. The students learn what they are and how they develop.
I will use the Inforgraphic to educate the students on what a tornado is, how it forms, the Fujita Scale, and all other aspects of a tornado. The students will be able to identify what a tornado, how it is formed and give other key details of a tornado in the United States.
Copyright- Once getting through the unit on Weather and Climate the students will create their own Infographic that covers one of the natural disasters we discussed or anything else covered in the unit. They will be able to search for appropriate images and details that are useable and sharable. Once complete they will share with the rest of the class.
Application
The design principles for multimedia instruction align with my lesson because my students are using information they learned during the unit by using multimedia materials (The Coherence Principle),using graphics (The Redundancy Principle), and using a combination of words and graphics, (The Spatial Contiguity Principle). By using the graphics and information that I have provided for the students they will be able to psychically see what is being presented and listen to what is in the presentation. By using both styles I should be able to cover the majority, if not all, of the learners in my classroom.
When I created my InfograpDhic I intentionally used the Coherence Principle, the Redundancy Principle, and the Spatial Contiguity Principle. These three principles all deal with images and graphics.
Reflection
Before this week some of my lessons weren’t as specific as I could make them. Now using the Infographic I can present a lot of useful information to my students in one graphic. The graphic makes it interesting for the students because it uses pictures, words, graphs and charts. These graphics will be able to catch all of the students attention and make it more interesting for them, which is the most important idea when teaching a lesson to students. I then can also have my students complete their own infographic which allows them to find more information on their own about a specific topic or disaster in this case.
This week, I really enjoyed discovering and making my own Infographic. Like I mentioned earlier it allows for a lot of information to be presented in one setting.
I enjoyed using, making and learning about the different ways to present information to students. I especially plan to use Infographics in my units and lessons. I think Infographics will keep the students’ attention and give enough information that is useful to students. Learning new ways to present information is always nice so it’s not the same every day and every week.

Copyright and Creative Commons

Use in the Classroom or Educational Setting

o   IDEA- During their fourth-grade year the students have an Energy Unit. This unit covers what energy is, the different forms of energy, energy transfer, conservation of energy, and energy and force. I will use this as an introduction to the unit.

o   The students will be able to get the main ideas of the unit before beginning the unit. Once we do get into the unit they will be able to reflect on what they discovered on the Padlet.

o   Copyright- My fourth graders are getting to the point in their education where they are researching and beginning to write papers/reports. By incorporating a mini copyright lesson in with the pre-cursor of the unit, the students will be able to compare the copyrights, and how I found and placed them with the work, with how to cite their findings in their own work. I will explain that what they are looking at on the Padlet is somebody else’s work and they deserve the credit for it. I will also explain that they need to take this into consideration as they begin to write research papers.

Application

o   The design principles for multimedia instruction align with my lesson because I am having my students look and go through many sources before I teach the lesson and unit to the students. They will have some background knowledge and a basic understanding of the vocabulary words and what energy is by the time they compete the Padlet. The principles align with the Padlet technology because it allows the students to see printed words but the students could also watch videos or manipulate and idea online (with how I used PhET). Students will be more successful when they have options and different ways of learning rather than the same way of the information begin presented to them the same way.

o   When my students are using the Padlet they will be applying Segmenting Principle and the Pre-Training Principle. The first, Segmenting, because they can go at their own pace. If they want to re-read something or re-watch something they can without slowing anyone else down. The Pre-Training Principle explains that the student will learn better when they know the key words and materials before discussing it as a class. We could have a more in-depth conversation and lesson when all my students are on the same page.

o   When designing my Padlet I intentionally used the Pre-Training Principle. I wanted to make sure my students knew what energy was and the several types of energy. I wanted the students to explore energy and what changes they would need to make to create a type of energy (PhET).

Reflection

o   Before this week I would pick a video or show something to my students without thinking of copyrights. After this week and attempting to find resources, I have discovered that some of the sources I use during the day at school may have some copyrights on them that are specific. I will make sure that I am paying attention to these copyrights more than what I have in the past.

o   This week, the fact that there are different type of copyrights and they are very specific as to what you can do with them, stood out to me. I thought a copyright is a copyright, you can’t do anything with it but in fact you do have options with certain copyrights such as the share-alike attribution.

o   The one tension that I noticed was how some students learn better when having a conversation, the Personalization Principle. With my Padlet, the students would not be able to accomplish this. If a student learns best from having a conversation, they would have to wait until the lesson/unit is being taught which may put them a little behind those students who can learn by segmenting and pre-training.

o   I enjoyed practicing and creating another resource for my students. This is something that I didn’t know was out there but it is something simple that the students can use and even create on their own.

o   My skill and understanding of copyright laws has grown from knowing very little to knowing the necessary basics. I was able to apply what I discovered to create a Padlet. I am able to now decipher what it means to be a typical copyright that seems to be more to common to a copyright that allows you to make adjustments but not reproduce.

EDU 642

Syntheses and Reflection

Rachel Schwartz

            After reading Research-Based Principles for Designing Multimedia Instruction, I found three that stuck out to me.  Those three are: The Segmenting Principle, The Pre-Training Principle, and The Personalization Principle.  Two of the principles fit into managing the essential processing group while the third fits into the fostering processing.

            The first principle that I chose was the Segmenting Principle.  This principle tells us that learners learn best when they learn parts at a time.  Once they master a certain part of a topic they can then move on to the next step in that topic.  I teach math so this concept works well for my students.  I’ll give the example of multiplication.  My students first need to learn how to multiply with their basic facts (1x1, 1x2, 1x3…). Once they learn those facts they can then move on to multiplying two digit numbers by a single digit number (25x5).  Moving on from there they can eventually solve for a two-digit number by a two-digit number.  I use this principle in my math lessons every day.  If I didn’t use this process, my students would be lost and confused and wouldn’t know how to solve math problems.  By taking a segment of a lesson or concept at a time and teaching it to my students they will become more successful.  My only concern with this principle is that my higher students may seem bored at times because they can grasp concepts quicker than my lower and average students.

            The next principle I chose was the Pre-Training Principle.  The Pre-Training Principle tells us that our students need to know the main concepts of a topic before beginning a lesson.  It also says that once the students know and understand the main concepts and what they mean they will be more successful and not struggle with learning vocabulary, as an example, and how to apply it, when and where.  I think this principle is the building block for any lesson.  They students need to know vocabulary words and the point of the lesson before they can go through and solve problems, answer questions, and understand what is being taught.  If they don’t understand they concepts, then they will struggle throughout the whole lesson.  At the beginning of my math units, I give my students the vocabulary words or key words that will be used.  They jot the words down in their math notebooks with a definition and an example, if necessary.  I also post the words on the word wall in the classroom.  Once we get into the unit they will understand the word(s), if not they can always go back and look at the definition again.  I used to give the vocabulary words as we went through the lesson but I have found that the pre-training process works much better.  I do not have any concerns or confusion with this principle. 

            The last principle I chose was the Personalization Principle.  This principle basically can be defined as having a conversation about a topic rather than just teaching to the students without any input from them.  When I give my students a question whether it’s in math or science, I like to ask how or why they got to the answer.  This way if some of the other students didn’t get the correct answer they have an explanation as to how they should’ve gotten that answer.  By doing this the students can bounce ideas off each other making them more successful.  I’ve used this concept since I started teaching.  It’s a great way to keep the students alert and it’s also a great way for students to cement their ideas in memory rather than just answering a question and moving on.  I think this principle has changed the way I view learning because it really gets the students to think.  My only concern with this principle, and it comes up sometimes with my students, is that they each want to explain how they got their answer especially if it were in a different way.  This isn’t the worst thing in the world but it can be time consuming.

            I believe that all three of these principles work well together especially segmenting and pre-training.  They each require the students to master pieces of information before going into the main lesson.  I also believe the Personalization Principle fits in nicely because the students are able to use the vocabulary words they have mastered with segmenting and pre-training when explaining their ideas. The only tension that I found between the three is that two of the principles allow for the lower students to be successful while the third allows for the higher students to be successful.  If all three of the principles are used together correctly, then everyone should be successful, not just the average or higher students.

           

References

Mayer, R. E. (2014). Research-based principles for designing multimedia instruction. In V. A. Benassi, C. E. Overson, & C. M. Hakala (Eds.), Applying science of learning in education: Infusing psychological science into the curriculum. Retrieved from http://hilt.harvard.edu/files/hilt/files/background_reading.pdf

Hello,

My name is Rachel Schwartz. I am a third/fourth grade teacher in the very small town of Burr Oak, which is located on the Michigan/Indiana border. I teach math and science to both grade levels. The two grades are separate classrooms but with being such a small school we only have one teacher per grade level so therefore we co-teach with a different grade level. This is my third year teaching and third year in this district.

I received my undergrad through Notre Dame College of Ohio which is located in Cleveland, OH. While there, I double majored in Early Childhood Education and MMIS. I also received my Reading Endorsement. I came back to my hometown of Sturgis, MI shortly after graduating from NDC.

When I'm not teaching I enjoy spending time with my family, friends, and my dog!