Thought about the last class
After watching the videos from American high school students, I really felt shocked.They used pictures,words and conversations to demonstrate what American dreams are. Through the video,I knew that every American has common dreams.They wantto enter the harvard,columbia; they want to be dorctors, lawyers and scientists; they want to live in luxurious apartment. They want to be wealthy and strong. I'm reall moved by them.

Sharing Information with Multimedia Technologies

When I was reading the chapter 8&9, I thought of an experience about learning online when I was in middle school. At that time, there appeared an emerging way of learning-- what we called "School Online"--in China. It applys the advantages of internet and excellent resources of Chinese top schools to provide educational services for both schools (or teachers) and students. It is a good example of sharing educational resources. At that time, I selected an online school called "101 School Online". 101 is a very famous key middle school in Beijing. It has a lot of excellent teachers and resources. With such advantages, it openned up a series of online courses, which were designed by its experienced teachers.For example, if I ordered the 3rd grade science online course and if I learned "living things and Non-living things" today, I could find all of important information when I went to the website of school online.It will show enough specific explainations and worksheet, so students can learn online. If you find something you don't understand clearly, you can write down your questions in the area of raising questions. Teachers from 101 middle school will answer you in less than 24 hours online.I benefited from this online school a lot because educational resources are not equally distributed in China. Good teachers always focus in the big cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. Students in other provinces will hardly  get enough excellent guidances.In my opinion, "online school" are not only good for students, also helpful for schools and teachers. Schools  and teachers in other undeveloped provinces will save lots of time and money in trainning. But it does not very universal in the whole country, one reason is for the fee, others is about the time. For most of high school students, they seldom have enough time to learn online. So it tends to be too late to look for guidance online if they find something they do not undedrstand. So you have any good ideas to solve these two problems?

Relection of Chapter 7

                                                 Relection of Chapter 7

     After reading this chapter, two points impressed me a lot. One is about how to evaluate or select educational software, the other is about how to use strategies to help teachers use game more effectively in the classroom. Since I'm really interested in making a software, I will only talk about the first point at this time.

     To the first point, I remembered a sentence mentioned in the textbook: one way to identify good education educational software is to recognize what constitutes poor software. For those low-quality softwares, the main body is always the activity. Students are always controlled by it. The software cannot adjust activities according to the users' needs. In my opinion, a good educational software should be excellent at its in interactive design. How to make the software interactive?  I think the designers should focus on three stages: collecting information, analyzing or making predictions and making adjustments. For example, when students answer questions, the software should record their responses at the same time, then make predictions about what  users know and do not know. Based on predictions, the software can adjust its presentation of problems to those students need to practice the most. In all, good softwares should serve their users, which means they must be able to make the learning process individualized, just like a teacher instruct a student face to face.

     

     I also want to talk more about the second crucial stage of designing an interactive software.

How to make predictions? How can the program know what the user know and do not know. How can it realize this exploring process？ I think knowledge of this part is close to education. I guess the designer will draw a knowledge web when he or she design the program. The web will clearly illustrate the relationships among every teaching points.If one of them cannot be understand by the user, the program will automatically go back to the those which are closely connected to.

    My questions are just those three I mentioned in the last paragrapgh, I really want to listen to your answers.

1.How to make predictions?

2.How can the program know what the user know and do not know.

3. How can it realize this exploring process？ 

Chapter 4&6

These two chapters mention various  resources  and methods to help us transform  ideas in the mind into real practice. However, at first, I felt confused about so many resources. I thought they  are so excellent that I wanted to use all of them in my classroom. I couldn't determine which information or technology should be incorporated into my lesson plan. So I tried to tease out them, and now I have a basic impression about that.

Firstly, I divide a lesson into three parts: Introduction, process and evaluation. I will ask myself which part or which parts I want to design it or them as a technology-applied part. For example, I want to teach 2nd grade students something about sharks. If I decide to inspire students to recall their impression about sharks at the stage of introduction, I will think about which technological form I will use in the classroom. I suppose I will show them a video about sharks. Then I will  search it on the websites that mention in the textbook. For example, I choose a website of Edutopia. I enter it, and I find there is an option named "Videos" on the right side. Then I can click it and find a video about sharks. Processes are simillar in other two parts. What   I think I have to pay attention is about how to design the transition when the video is over. How can I do to lead students think in the following time. How to design to make connections between the video and my questions.

Of course, a comprehensive learning process cannot leave  without the part of preview and review. In the chapter 6, it introduces a technique like adding bookmarks in the teaching. Teachers can confine those preselected sites as a way to minimize distractions and confusion  when students build up an initial impression of the knowledege. So it is a good way to lead students do the preview.

Now, on to some questions, I had:

1. Which part of a lesson do you think webquest can be more effective for students' learning?

2. Teachers can teach a whole lesson through webquest, do it means someday we can realize a dream that students can learn online at home instead of going to school?

3.  What kind of abilities do you think webquest can develop students the most?  

Chapter 5: Criteria for Evaluating Web Resources

 

 

1.What we should know:

 

                                                             
                                                                2. How do we evaluate?

 

 

Constructivist Perspective

The most important thing I learned tonight was about a constructivist perspective of teaching and learning. It focuses on how to make students engage in meaningful experiences, how to help students think in real life by using the knowledge they have already learned.

Online Resources for Lesson Planning

                                                 Online Resources for Lesson Planning
     Based on the readings this week, I think the most useful information I receive is no more than online resources for leason planning. I tried all these three websites. Very interesting!
    Among those three websites, I like Verizon Thinkfinity(http://www.thinkfinity.org) the most. It provides an access to over 60,000 educators and experts in curriculum enhancement, along with thousands of award-winning digital resources for K-12 — aligned to state standards and the common core.So do not hesitate it, just try!try!try!
     I wanted to find some information about living things on earth because one of my assignment in science class was about designing a lesson plan about 1st grade science. Then I went to Thinkfinity's website, typed in key words- living things, selected 1st grade and the subject of science.Then I chose a resouce named "The Creature Feature Archive " and entered into it. It's so amazing! It appead a lot of animals' pictures. I clicked on "Belugas", then I entered into the page full of "Facts&Photos", "Vedio&Sound","Map"and "E-Card". It provided four kinds of resources, which means, I can inroduce the white whale in four different ways. I love it!

Questions:
1. In what way do you think is appropriate to assess 1st grade students about science?
2. Do you think someday educational technology can instead of teaching face-to -face?
3. Do you think teachers will just be decisions makers someday  that they only need to select what kind of information they can use in class?

Roles' Change for Teachers and Students in Technology-Connected Classrooms

After reading chapter two, I feel very excited about changes that technology can make in the classroom. With the help of technology, students can learn with visual aid, access and assess information by themselves, engage and collaborate though groupwork, get feedback in time, and express creativity in an electronic way. I'm so excited to find that students can do sooo many things at the same time just in one environment. Teachers are not the center of the classroom any more; instead, they become mangagers or organizers of individual and group learning experiences.Students need no longer be passive recipients of curriculum; they can be active researchers, annalyzers, and presenters of ideas and informations. They became the classroom center.
To motivate learning, teachers consistantly strive to gain the "outter" and "inner" attention of students. Most of time,however, educators focus on the outer attention (for example, requiring students to remain quietly in their seats throughout class or copy notes and assignments fro, the board ) while neglecting the inner attention (helping students to think deeply about the topics under discussion.) But inner attention is where learning happens.  So my dream is someday I can help Chinese students to fulfill "discovery learning", "learning by doing", "inquiry-based learning", and "hands-on learning".

My Thought about the Course

     To tell the truth, I don't know what we will learn in this course. I'm very curious about it. I'm from China. In my memory, Chinese classrooms tend to be very traditional. Our teachers seldom use technology when they are teaching, so it's a pity that I've never experienced any classes teached with IT.
     However, it's very dramatic that my major was information system when I was in college. What I learned was mainly about how to design and make a software.Well, I always think this is a career for men. This is a career full of data. This is a process that lacks creativity. I couldn't find any interest in my past education experience, so I decided to came here and study education. I generally notice that there is a new industry in America which can combine education and technology.It's cool. It focus on how to develop educational productions by using technology. I feel very excited about that. I hope I can learn something about that in the course or at least I can get some inspiration from this course.