Interview Questions

How have the state standards for this subject guided your teaching?

The state standards should serve as a frame that I can build around, much like how a house is constructed.  The standards represent the most important and essential ideas that I must focus on, since a house without a good foundation will not stand.  Once you are confident that a lesson has addressed the standard you were aiming for you can try to extend the lesson, building upon the frame.  




Describe an approach you have used to differentiate instruciton for students?

While I have never actually differentiated instruction, I have some experience working with planning for differentiated instruction.   The underlying theme when differentiating instruction is to examine each students need on an individual basis.  In other words, there is no "one size fits all" approach that will solve every students problem.  Instead, IEP's should be consulted and updated frequently.  One student may be uncomfortable with their surrounding environment, so a seat change could be necessary.  Other students may need additional time on tests, or possibly a restructured test. 



While a lesson is ongoing, how can you tell if students are getting the material?

I have been in classrooms where students have "tuned out" the teacher, and I would say the biggest indicator is body language.  Students who aren't following the lecture tend to slouch and are less likely to make eye contact with the teacher.  If you suspect a student is not following along, you can always prompt them with a question.  There response should provide with the answer you are looking for.

Storyboards

Technology - storyboard tech is same as today, internet speeds slower, presentation software slightly improved today. Also, applications like Google scholar allow for more efficient searching.
Teaching - pretty much the same as today
testing - project based, presentation
training
teaming - librarian, history, health, english teachers collaborate.  Kids work together,
Time - 10 years ago, internet slower (more time to research)

health class
persuasion - pros cons of biology topic
persuade audience to do something
research environmental health issue, students pick their own topics, research them, and then present it with a video they make.  Emphasis on fun and interesting videos (youth oriented).
Collaborate with peers using tech (researching on the internet), create presentation, collaborate when presenting
Giving them experience with skills necessary for research on the internet
Storyboards allow for a way to store and catalog data, gives the student easy access to info they looked up, allows for an easy comparison of images and topics.
Researched materials - what is the validity of the source, how deep does it probe, what is the scope of it?

Webquest

location in solar system to place colony
what do you need to survive, get info about essential elements for life, work in smaller groups, then collaborate
small groups - Rank top 10 ideas for survival
Resolve problems , teach social skills
grouped again according to roles, astronomer, geologist, biologist, psychologist, social science.  do web quest
Watch program of probe flying through space, kids have to guess where the probe is


This WebQuest not only familiarized the students with the internet, it also helped teach them social skills.  Students had to work together to solve problems they were given.  This type of collaborative work will suite them well in the future.  Also, I liked that they were grouped according to different roles that they would assume.  This made their personal responsibilities clear cut.  Each student then becomes responsible not only to themselves, but also the group.  I liked the ending, where the students had to guess where the space probe was as it flew through space.  That requires them to do a little mental juggling to find an answer. 

Compare and Contrast

Vision of Today's Students (digital ethnography)

Average class size is 115, teachers don't know students names.
Multitasking-  avg. student day had 26.5 hrs in it-----college life.
Filling out tests wont help us deal with anything in the real world.
Didn't create problems, but they are ours.
Technology alone cannot save us...integration.
Blackboards are the most used tech in a classroom, something is wrong here.
Today's students are overwhelmed by when entering an educational system designed in the 18th century when information and resources were scarce...passive students, lack of motivation, no desire to go above or beyond.

K-12 Students (21st century pedagogy)
Create, consume, remix and share, e-mail, text, blog.
Let me create something new.
Teachers don't know how to utilize technology.
Useless assignments.
Think, create, analyze, evaluate, apply,...they want to do stuff.
Tells stories digitally.
Engage...tech is where students are...digital learners, use to your advantage.


Both videos used statistics to shed light on America's under-performing education system. The most obvious difference between the two videos was the age of the subjects. The vision of today's students dealt with college students, while the k-12 video dealt with that group. The first video portrayed the average college student as an overworked, technological junky that multitasks in order to survive.  The second video painted a picture of young individuals who wanted to be engaged in a digital environment. I think both videos were arguing the integration of technology into the classroom, but their approach seemed to vary.  The vision of today's students video seemed to suggest that students waste a great deal of time on Facebook and other applications during class time, but the k-12 video seemed to ask for use anywhere, anytime type attitude.  It is absolutely necessary to engage these students in a digital environment, but these students must also be monitored carefully to prevent distractions.  Authentic digital experiences are necessary because that is where the students are, and those are the types of skills that will make them marketable in the 21st century. It would be a disservice if we didn't provide such an experience.

Web 2.0

Teaching the machine
digital text is different.
hypertext can link anywhere digital
form and content isepeprable
digital text-can seperate from and contnent
data can be exported
no complicated code
our blogs
connections social conections
each time we fomr a link, we teach the machine
the machine is using us
we need to rethink ownership, copyright, identity, communication, asthetics, authorship, privacy, ourselves.
Digital Anthropology



The Web 2.0 very fast paced when compared to the other videos we have watched up to this date.  This increased pace highlights the ever increasing speed of technology.  The video described how digital text is separate from content, which I'm assuming was not the case previously.  I do not have a strong background in this subject, but there were a few points that seemed noteworthy.  Digital text no longer requires complicated code, so more people can be involved in the creative process.  This should lead to more collaboration between individuals.  My blog is a perfect example of this.  The other concept that grabbed my attention was the notion that the machine is using us.  Each time we click on a link, we form a connection and teach the machine.  While this a very exciting technology, it is also unnerving.  The very thought that someone could be tracking your every mouse raises questions about privacy.   The end of the video addressed this concern by posing more questions.  Our ideas of ownership, copyright, authorship, identity and privacy must also be evaluated. It truly is a brave new world that we our living in, and we must be vigilante to ensure our rights are protected in the digital age.  This challenge can only be met with an educated society that is well informed and technologically savvy. 

Internet and Communication

The Iowa Communication Network allowed the students to communicate with students from other school.  Opportunities such as this would not have been possible without the Network, and it was an extremely valuable tool at its time.  Northern has a similar network setup with some universities, and I remember sitting in one conference with a group of students from China.  Today we have programs such as Skype, which allows for video communication over the internet.  Technologies such as these demonstrate how the world is getting smaller.  Distances that once made effective communication possible are rapidly becoming inconsequential.

Student Collages

Most students first experience with a software application involves a dull worksheet that takes them through different aspects of the program, and afterward they are left questioning "what was the point".  The collage activity demonstrated how to make the exploration of software both engaging and meaningful.  The project utilized 2 digital cameras that were fresh technology when the video was made.  While it is clear that the technology is outdated (we counted 14 digital cameras attached to phones in our class), lessons can still be drawn from its integration into the classroom.  The students were allowed to take pictures of what they wanted, which allowed them to tailor the assignment to their interests.  Next, the students were required to edit their photos and arrange them into a collage.  The teacher provided clear instructions on what she expected from the students, highlighting what she will be grading them on.  They were expected to have at least 3 pictures, descriptions of the pictures, a 3D object in the background, visual evidence of the altering of at least one image and a few other requirements.  I personally like this type of assessment for several reasons.  First of all, it is application based.  The teacher is asking the students to prove they can use the photo editing software to make a collage.  Secondly, it leaves the door wide open for student creativity.  The students must hit their main objectives, but they can choose how they do so and are free to spice up their collage as much as they want.  Finally, it is easy on the teacher.  The rubric is simple and straightforward, but at the same time ensures that students know the software.  Not only is this activity fun and easy, but it provides a continuous log of what takes place in your classroom from year to year, which is not a bad thing. 

"Show Me" Missouri's Temperatures

The four seasons video was a great example of how a teacher can integrate multiple technologies into one lesson/unit.  Digital media was used to play Antonio Vivaldi's four seasons.  This piece of music not only provided the students with a culturally rich experience, but it also served as a jumping off point for the lesson.  One of the things I liked was how she used both low and high tech approaches to the same subject.  The graphic organizer on the board was a great way to promote student involvement from that would carry over for the rest of the lesson.   Also, the know, wonder and learn chart was a great way to gauge previous student knowledge and formulate relevant, student inspired questions. It also gave students a concrete expression of what they learned throughout the lesson.  This could be important to students who like to see results from the work they do.  Although this video is a little dated, it still was able to show how the internet can be used as a tool to gain a wealth of data.  The students took the temperature data they found and entered it into excel.  The only thing that puzzled me about the video was the lack of graphing done in excel.  I think that it was great that the teacher had the students create spreadsheets to organize data, but I feel as if she missed an opportunity to familiarize the students with another valuable tool. 

Virtual CEO

Capital Plus allowed the students to see how pricing differences affect demand, and therefore the quantity of a particular item in stock. It also allowed the students to track revenue and profit while controlling their virtual business.  This activity was engaging and the students had a chance to see supply and demand in a real world setting. It also empowered the students by giving them complete control of their own virtual business.  A potential weakness of this program is that students may just follow the directions on the worksheet and invest no serious thought into the ideas presented.  However, that its true for many worksheet assignments given out in any class.  One other possible flaw is that it may give a false impression that demand is an easy thing to track. 

Hungerford could have added tentative time-line for certain goals on his lesson plan, but given that fact that he was teaching at an alternative school where there was sporadic attendance, it may have not been necessary.  I believed that the lesson plan needed a few in-depth discussion questions for the students.  Things that probe deeper into the material and ask them why they saw what they saw.  I also feel that the concept of gauging demand was oversimplified.  Questions related to this process may have been helpful for the students as well. These questions could also be used to gauge student learning, along with the discussion and student websites.

When Hugnerford asked for short and long term goals for the student corporations he essentially was modeling good business practices.  It also helped frame student thought on the subject, which aids in the retention of important concepts.

Student Newscast Project

The student newscast was a perfect example of how technology can aid student learning.  This project teaches organizational skills, familiarizes students with technology, and gives them responsibility outside of themselves.  Working in an interdependent group prepares kids students for situations, such as working in an office, that they will encounter later in life. Another great aspect of this project was that it allowed some of the students to teach their peers how to use technology, and help them understand their assigned role.  The student being taught gains valuable information about the technology they will be using, while the student teaching gains valuable experience in a leadership role.  This type of support, or scaffolding,syncs well with Vgotsky's theory of social development, given extra validity to this type of project. 

Why are students not actively involved with the technology that is already in schools?

That is a pretty broad question, so I will attempt to address it with a few thoughts of mine.  In some cases I believe that students may not have been shown the technology, or at least shown how to use it properly.  This could be due to teacher oversight, or potentially a lack of technological savvy on the part of the teacher.  Another issue may be that students may only be using word processors for papers or PowerPoint for presentations in class.  These are valuable tools, but I would like to find more creative ways to engage students with technology, or have them use technology as a tool to complete a project of their choice. 

How does the role of the teacher as facilitator differ from more traditional teacher roles?

A traditional teacher role is usually depicted as a teacher lecturing to passive students, and the interactions is seen mostly as a one way relationship (teacher to student).  A facilitator is seen as a guide and is cast in more a support role when compared to the more traditional role of a teacher. In this type of atmosphere the students become the focus of the  class, and communication flows openly between students and with the teacher.