VoiceThread

Have you heard of VoiceThread? It's a powerful tool for students to create voice-over content with the click of a mouse. I created a short VoiceThread about Brazil that will be part of a lesson that my students will do later in the year. My students will choose a country in South America and create a presentation about it. They will then be required to create a VoiceThread about their country and present it to the class.

https://voicethread.com/share/11199513/

Constructionism and Constructivism

Constructionism and Constructivism

Dr. Orey stated that Constructivism is “A theory of knowledge stating that each individual actively constructs his/her own meaning” (Laureate Education. 2015e) Jean Piaget created this concept and his theory was that perhaps people don’t learn by simply listening, they must interact with a concept to truly understand it. Constructionism is “A theory of learning that states people learn best when they build an external artifact or something they can share with others.” “Getting involved and building stuff.” (Laureate Education. 2015e) Although these theories sound similar to each other, there are slight differences between them. Throughout this blog post, I will examine how these theories can support technology use in the classroom and how the ISTE standards support this practice. I will also discuss ideas on how I use these theories in my classroom and other ways to incorporate them.

In education today, project-based learning (PBL) is a huge buzzword. Gone are the days where a teacher spends the class period lecturing to a sea of quiet, obedient children. At the beginning of the school year last year, my principal told us that when he walks into a classroom, he wants students to be up out of their chairs, moving around and working in groups. It is vital for teachers to move into the 21st century with our instruction. As stated in the ISTE Standards for Teachers, “Teachers should exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society.” (ISTE. 2008)

Incorporating these theories is something we should strive for if we aren’t already using them. Hands-on classes like science and technology go hand in hand with these theories; however, these theories can be used cross-curricular, as well. “When students generate and test hypotheses, they are engaging in complex mental processes, applying content knowledge like facts and vocabulary, and enhancing their overall understanding of the content.” (Pitler & Kuhn. 2012. p 202) Dr. Orey suggested that creating a PowerPoint presentation would be a great way for students to create a product and could be used in all classes. For example, if students are studying Mayan and Aztec cultures, they could research and create a digital presentation to present to the class. “The learning is inherently valuable because it is connected to something real and involves adult skills such as collaboration and reflection.” (Orey. 2010. p 120) This type of learning also supports the ISTE technology standards for students. “Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.” (ISTE. 2016)

In my classroom, we use a lot of the constructionism theory in practice. By design, my classroom is very hands-on and collaborative. Students work in partners in my classroom, rotating through projects and experiments every two weeks. The topics range from robotics to digital imaging, and they are required to create authentic work as well as a presentation at the end of the two weeks. I will also be able to use this type of learning when I implement my Genius Hour project. Since I have some experience implementing this type of learning, I think this will be a smooth transition for this project.

In conclusion, the theories discussed this week go hand in hand with 21st-century learning. If we continue to use project-based and problem-based learning, our students will be prepared with the proper skills needed to succeed in the job market today. I also look forward to implementing the Genius Hour project with my students using these methods.

                                   

Akınoğlu, O. o. (2018). New Trends in Education. International Journal Of Instruction, 11(3), i-iv.

                       

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2016). Standards for students. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/for-students-2016

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards/standards-for-teachers

Laureate Education (Producer). (2015e). Constructionist and constructivist learning theories [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Pitler, H., Hubbell, E. R., & Kuhn, M. (2012). Using technology with classroom instruction that works (2nd ed.). Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Orey, M. (Ed.). (2010). Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology Emerging perspectives on learning, teaching, and technology. Retrieved from http://textbookequity.org/Textbooks/Orey_Emergin_Perspectives_Learning.pdf. Retrieved from http://textbookequity.org/Textbooks/Orey_Em Section