Reflection Journal 11

Video Sharing and Constructivism

I think video sharing is a great tool to use in a constructivist classroom. Websites like You Tube and Flicker give students the opportunity to post and comment on different media. As a teacher I have the option to pick and choose certain videos or images to have students look at. After students look at the media they can post comments or write reflections about what they thought and learned about. The students can also see what other classmates wrote about and make comments as well. These sites can make for a great class discussion at school. I think it is amazing how easy it is to share media on the internet for educational purposes.

Reflection Journal 10

E-Portfolios

When I was getting ready to graduate from college my degree program started using e-folios instead of the old tradition portfoilio. This was a relief for me because I am not the most organized person in the world. The e-folio was a great change for me because I was able to scan my work on the computer and not worry about losing the my work sample afterwords. I think the e-polio is a wonderful creation great for teachers and students alike. I think it is great for teachers to see students progress but students can use their portfolio as a motivating skill as well.

The e-folio has many different purposes. It can be used to store written work, art, reflections, tests, and much more. I hope more teachers will start storing student work through this program. It is much easier to look at student work . There is also a lot less paperwork to go through.

Resource Logs 44-54

Authentic Learning & Instruction

44. Cavanagh, S. (2004, April 28). Survey: Teachers support real-world learning. Education Week, 23(33), 17-17. Retrieved February 25, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database.

45. Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (2004). Workshop: Constructivism as a paradigm for teaching and learning. Retrieved February 3, 2009, from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index_sub4.html

46. Experiential Learning. (n. d.). In Encarta Dictionary Online. Retrieved February 25, 2009, from http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/dictionary/dictioaryhome.aspx.

47. Herrington, J., & Kervin, L. (2007, September). Authentic learning supported by technology: Ten suggestions and cases of integration in classrooms. Educational Media International, 44(3), 219-236. Retrieved February 24, 2009, doi:10.1080/09523980701491666

48. Honebein, P. C. (1996). Seven goals for the design of constructivist learning environments. Constructivist Learning Environments.

49. Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R.M., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful learning with technology (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River: Pearson Education, Inc

50. Mims, C. (2003, Winter). Authentic learning: A practical introduction and guide for implementation. Meridian: A Middle School Computer Technologies Journal, 6(1). Retrieved from http://www.ncsu.edu/meridian/win2003/authentic_learning/

51. National Geographic Society (2009). Forces of Nature. Retrieved February 25, 2009 from, http://www.nationalgeographic.com/forcesofnature/interactive/index.html?section=t

52. North Dakota Teaching with Technology (TWT) Initiative. (2003). Authentic learning. Retrieved from http://www.ndtwt.org/Blackboard/P2SST2/authenticlearning.htm

53. Rule, A.C. (2006, August). Editorial: The components of authentic learning. Journal of Authentic
Learning, 3(1), 1-10. Retrieved from Directory of Open Access Journals database.

54. Zaulkernan, I.A. (2004, May). Towards a framework for developing authentic constructivist learning environments in semantically rich domains. Knowledge Platform. Retrieved from http://www.knowledgeplatform.com/Content/Pdfs/constructivist_semantically_rich_domains.pdf

Resource Logs 34-43

All of these resources support ways to assess student work in a constructivist classroom.

34.University of Saskatchewan College of Education. (1995). Evaluation of Constructivist Learning. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/Skaalid/eval.html.

35. Constructivist Teaching Methods. (n.d.) Retrieved on March 8, 2009 from The Psychology Wiki: http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Constructivist_teaching_methods#Constructivist_assessment

36. Gallager, C. (2009). Kairos and Informative Assessment: Rethinking the Formative/Summative Distinction in Nebraska. Theory into Practice, (48) 1, 81-88. Retrieved on March 17, 2009 from ERIC database. DOI: 10.1080/00405840802577676.

37. Holt, D. G. & Willard-Holt, C. (2000). "Let's get real – students solving authentic corporate problems". Phi Delta Kappan 82 (3).

38. Miami Museum of Science. (2001.) Constructivism and the Five E's. Retrieved on March 14, 2009 from http://www.miamisci.org/ph/lpintro5e.html

39. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (1993). Assessment in a Constructivist Classroom. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from Learning Point Associates Web site: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs?areas/issues/methods/assment/as7const.htm

40 Ohlsen, M.T. (2007). Classroom Assessment Practices of Secondary School Members of NCTM. American Secondary Education, (36) 1, 4-14. Retrieved on March 24, 2009 from ERIC database.

41. Price, M., O'Donovan, B., Rust, C. (2007). Putting a Social-Constructivist Assessment Process Model into Practice: Building the Feedback Loop into the Assessment Process through Peer Review. Innovations in Education & Teaching International, v44 n2.Retrieved from ERIC on March 17, 2009.

42. Reeves, T.C. & Okey J.R. (2004). Alternative Assessments for Constructivist Learning Environments. In Constructivist Learning Environments: Cases in Instructional Design. Brent G. Wilson (ed.). Forward by: David N. Perkins. Educational Technology Publications: Englewood Cliffs New Jersey. Retrieved March 15, 2009 from https://www.fdi.vt.edu/summer/2004/Content/TrackG/Unit4/PDF/reeves.pdf.

43. Skaalid, B. (n.d.) Evaluation of Constructivism Learning. Retrieved on March 6, 2009 from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/802papers/Skaalid/eval.html (originally from "The Impact of Constructivism (and Postmodernism) on ID Fundamentals". Wilson, Teslow, & Osman-Jouchoux).

Reflection Journal 9

Blogs for Journaling and More!!

This week I wrote my wiki text for class on how Blogging is an excellent way to journal for personal knowledge construction. Blogging is a great newer technology that enables educators to expand learning by the use of blogs. Originally Blogs were used to tract the pages on the World Wide Web but today they are used for every topic imaginable.

As an educator today many teachers are turning to Blogs for classroom discussions , journaling, responses to images and much more. This type of writing is giving students an wonderful opportunity to improve not only writing skills but high level thinking.

Blogging is a great addition to the concept of constructivism. Students can organize group work and write and respond back and forth on the internet through the use of blogs. I am a big fan and hope more teacher start to implement the use of blogs in the classroom.

Resource Logs 27-32

All websites below offer good information on why Blogging is a great tool for teachers to use in a Constructivist classroom

27. Uses of Blogs in Education

Downes, S. (n.d.). Uses of Blogs in Education. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from Educational Blogging Web site: http://www.pembinatrails.ca/program/technology/uses_of_blogs_in_education.htm

28.Constructivism as a Paradim for Teaching and Learning

Educational Broadcasting Corporation. (2004). Constructivism as a Paradigm forTeaching and Learning. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/ constructivism/explor_sub5.html

29. Blogging? It's Elementary, My Dear Watson!

Jackson, L. (2005, April 13). Blogging? It's Elementary,My Dear Watson! . Retrieved April 15, 2009, from Educational World Web site: http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/tech/tech217.shtml

30. Languages for Social Cohesion

Languages for Social Cohesion. (n.d.). A peer-to-peer collaborative writing platform for language learning. In Web Journals in Language Education . Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://www.ecml.at/mtp2/Blogs/html/BLOGS_E_pdesc.htm

31. Blogging in Online Education

Leslie, S. (2005, January 27). Blogging in Online Education: . Retrieved April 15, 2009, from http://www.slideshare.net/sleslie/using-blogs-in-online-education

32. Blogging and Journaling are the same but differnet

Technical Committee on Learning Technology. (2006, October). Blogging and Journaling are the same, but different. Learning Technology, 8 4(4). Retrieved April 14, 2009, from IEEE Computer Society Web site: http://lttf.ieee.org/learn_tech/issues/october2006/index.html#_Toc148658498

33.Introduction to Blogging!

Word Press Organization. (n.d.). Introduction to Blogging. Retrieved April 15, 2009, from Codex Website: http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging

Reflection Journal 8

What are the five E's in Constructivism
This week I am researching how to evaluate or assess the learning in a constructivist classroom. Once source I ran across has some really good information on how to assess this type of learning. The Miami Museum of Science published a webpage called "Constructivism and the five E's." The E's consists of engaging, explore, explain, elaborate, and evaluate. Each E is a different stage. The first E engage is the part of learning where the student identifies past learning and makes connections present learning objectives. The second E explore is done by getting students to participate in hands on learning. Students may do this stage in small groups of teams. The third E explain is when students develop their ideas based on the learning experiences done while they were exploring. The fourth E elaborate means the students will expand what they have learned and try to apply it to real world experiences. The final E evaluate is done when students fill out their own assessments over what they learned from a particular lesson. Teachers will also conduct an assessment such as a rubric or a checklist to determine the students learning.
After reading about the five E's I realized this method is something we are taught in school on how to really help students learn the curriculum. Even though constructivism seemed like a new subject to me i am starting to realize how close to my classroom it is. I use the five E's when teaching many of my classroom objectives.

Resource Logs 22-26

I have found a few different websites that have quality information about using assessment in a constructivist classroom.

Resource 22: THE INTERNET ENCYCLOPAEDIA OF PERSONAL CONSTRUCT PSYCHOLOGY

Neimeyer, R. A., & Levitt, H. (2004, February 15). Constructivist Assessment. In The Internet Encyclopaedia of Personal Constuct Psycology. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.pcp-net.org/encyclopaedia/assess.html

Resource 23: Assessment in a Constructivist Classroom

North Central Regional Educational Laboratory. (1993). Assessment in a Constructivist Classroom. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from Learning Point Associates Web site: http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/ areas/issues/methods/assment/as7const.htm

Resource 24: Evaluation of COnstructivist Learning

University of Saskatchewan College of Education. (1995). Evaluation of Constructivist Learning. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.usask.ca/education/coursework/ c802papers/Skaalideval.html

Resource 25: Constructivism and the five E's

Miami Museum of Science. (2001). Constructivism and the Five E's. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from http://www.miamisci.org/ph/lpintro5e.html

Resource 26: GUIDELINES AND CHECKLIST FOR CONSTRUCTIVIST EVALUATION

Guba, E. G., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2001, November). Guidlines and Checklist for COnstructivist Evaluation. Retrieved March 10, 2009, from Western Michigan University Web site: http://www.wmich.edu/evalctr/checklists/constructivisteval.htm#2

Resource Log 21

Learning Styles

This webpage has a chart that gives good examples of how people with different learning styles comprehend information. When I looked at the date on this webpage information I was shocked. I feel the chart is still applicable today and so I posted it here. .

Rose, C. (1987). Learning Styles. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from Accelerated Learning Web site: http://www.chaminade.org/INSPIRE/learnstl.htm

Resource Log 20

Classroom Democracy


I came across and intriguing article about a social studies teacher using democracy as part of the classroom environment. It wasn't her just teaching democracy she was enabling her class to use a democratic process in the classroom. Her student had made their own classroom bill of rights and students rights in the class. It is very interesting. The students are giving choice which is very important especially to teenagers.

Shaw, L. (2003, March 13). Democratic Classroom [Teaching Social Studies]. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from Learning Central database: http://www.learningcentral.org/plp/nec/plpportfolios.nsf/ WorkSlidesByFolder/86256D0D0059A21487256E7A00738FAD?OpenDocument

Resource Log 19

This is an interesting article about the history of democracy and how it applies to teaching. This is part of developing a learning community. This is one of the chapters discussed in the wiki book.


Pryor, C. R. (2004, Winter). Creating a Democratic Classroom: Three Themes for Citizen Teacher Reflection. In Reference Publications. Retrieved February 27, 2009, from Kappa Delta Pi Record Web site: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4 009 /is_200401 /ai_n9395744.

Resource Log 18

Assessment Resources for Teachers!!!

This website has links to all different authentic assessment resources. There are rubrics, performance assessments, and links on how to help teachers create better forms of assessment to judge students learning.


Vandervelde, J. (2008, October 25). Online Assessment Resources for Teachers. In Authentic Assessment. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from University of Wisconsin-Stout Web site: http://www.uwstout.edu/soe/profdev/assess.shtml

Resource Log 17

Authentic Assessment

There are many ways to judge or grade the performance of students in class. This article shows the difference between tradition assessment methods and using authentic assessments. An example of traditional assessment would be selecting a response. An example of using authentic assessment would be performing a task.


Mueller, J. (2008). What is Authentic Assessment. In Authentic Assessment Toolbox. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/whatisit.htm

Resource Log 16

The Council for Exceptional Children's take on Authentic Learning!

This is another article about authentic learning. It gives another good description of what this types of learning is. It also gives teachers ideas on how they can change there lessons to make a better learning environment. It doesn't really apply technology but I sure most creative teachers could come up with some ways to incorporate it anyway.


Council for Exceptional Children. (2007). Authentic Learning. Retrieved February 18, 2009, from http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Experiential_Learning&Template=/TaggedPage/ TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=24&ContentID=4697

Reflection Journal 7

This past week I have been investigating what authentic learning is. I have found a few very interesting articles about what it is and how I should be incorporating it into my classroom. I have always felt learning by doing is the best way for students to really understand learning objectives. I myself did not always learn much by just having a teacher tell me about a subject. I needed to have a hands on learning experience to fully understand course material. This is why I chose to teach in the Applied Technology department at my school. Most of my lessons are paired up with some type of experiment or real world application. This semester my Culinary Arts students are hosting a catering event for teachers in my building. It will be set up just like an event in a restaurant or banquet. They have many different jobs and they also will have to figure food costs and see if we make a profit. They all like to make food but we are teaching them how to use their experience with food as a possible career path. It is very cool and I am excited for them.

Resource Log 15

Authentic Learning for the 21st Century!!!

This journal article gives great information of what authentic learning is. It also is a really good article because it discusses ways to incorporate technology into the learning process. Is is a great article. I can't post it in my chapter 3 sandbox but I do want to use the some of the information for our wiki book. If you are participating in the chapter 3 wiki please take a look.


Lombardi, M. M. (2007, March). Authentic Learning for the 21st Century. Educause Learning Initiative. Retrieved February 13, 2007, from Educause Web site: http://net.educause.edu/ir/ library/pdf/ELI3009.pdf

Resource Log 14

Real-world learning in a virtual environment

A former North Carolina Technology & Learning Teacher of the Year talks about how she worked with the North Carolina Zoo to get students excited about learning.

Walbert, D. (n.d.). Real-world learning in a virtual environment. In Learn NC. Retrieved February 11, 2009, from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Web site: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/ pages/802

Resource Log 13

Real World Learning with the Hybrid Model

This is an interesting article about the concept of real world leaning. It gives a great summary.

Spilka, R. (2002, March 20). Approximately "Real World" Learning with the Hybrid Model. Teaching with Technology Today, 8(6). Retrieved February 11, 2009, from http://www.uwsa.edu/ttt/articles/ spilka.htm

Reflections Journal 6

Student Centered Learning

After spending time reading through different theorists and getting a better idea of what constructivism is I am ready to apply it to my lessons. I feel I do already use a lot of student centered learning activities but many of them do not include technology. I have thought about how I can change my class while using the same curriculum. My students usually fill out journal after hands on cooking lab. They will usually have a few refection questions to answer. I think I am going to transform this into a class blog for the students to talk about the labs. I would like to use a program where each student could set up their own blog like the one we have in this class. Are there any suggestions for other blog sites teachers are using? I need something that I can have a lot of control over. Another idea I have is creating a recipe quest for my students. I want my students to be able to find good recipes to use in our class that apply the concepts we are learning in the chapter.
I know students really enjoy using the computer labs at school and are often more likely to be engaged in an assignment if we use computers. The only problem is we are only allowed to use the computer labs so many times a quarter. I am concerned about getting the students to comment on blogs as a homework assignment because some of my students do not have a computer or the internet. I think I may try the blog assignment as an extra credit opportunity to get it started.

Resource Log 13

Constructivist Design Conference

After watching a clip on teacher centered learning I looked for some videos on Student Centered Learning. I came across this short video on the Constructivist Design Conference. I thought this type of conference would be a really great staff development opportunity for my school. The conference focuses on having teachers do the same activities they want the teachers take back and use in their own classrooms. I thought it was very interesting.

Mesibov, D. (2008, October 29). Constructivist Design Conference 2007 pt. 1. Message posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzzli9P3NLI

Resource Log 12

I watched a short video on You Tube that popped up when I was looking for videos on constructivism. This video portrays a teacher-centered learning environment. It was a very boring environment and the students were not listening, interacting, and most of all learning. Yuck! Watch this video if you want to learn how to bore you students.


Murphy, E. (2007, October 23). The Perils of the Teacher Centered Classroom. Message posted to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz2B1nNNUeY&feature=related

Reflections Journal 5

Applying Constructivism in the Classroom

Today I read a new article listed below about the history of Constructivism and I thought I would use what I learned from it as part of my journal post. The article "Constructivism: Pre-historical to Post-modern" by William Warrick really got me thinking about how I apply the constructivism theory in my own classroom. I teach Food and Nutrition and Culinary Arts in a high school setting. I have always believed that children learn best by using real experiences. Real experiences bring classroom concepts to life for students. Help them not only understand material but also remember it. I have the pleasure of teaching a class where we apply learning objectives to real hands on experiences a few times a week. So I mix traditional methods with nontraditional methods such as constructivism.
After thinking about how my teaching methods might apply to the idea of constructivism I then decided to start thinking about how I can use these types of methods but include technology. We have done video taping of cooking labs but I feel I use technology most in my class as a tool for me and not the students. So my next challenge will be to look for new innovative ways to use technology to that applies to my foods curriculum. I am open to suggestions but will be spending time the next few days finding resources for my class.

Resource Log 11

For better understanding of Constructivism I found another article titled "Constructivism: Prehistorical to Post Modern." I really liked reading this article. It gave a nice summary of the history of Constructivism. The article also included information on how you can apply the learning theory today. Very Interesting!



Warrick, W. R. (n.d.). Constructivism: Pre-historical to Post-modern [Data file]. Retrieved February 4, 2009, from George Mason University Web site: http://mason.gmu.edu/~wwarrick/Portfolio/ Products/constructivism.html

Resource Log 10

I thought it would be interesting to look up the actual wikipedia information on Constructivism. They has a list of different theoriests to compare with along with the background information of constuctivism. Maria Montessori was listed as a contributer to this educational premise.


Wikipedia. (2009, February 2). Constructivism (learning Theory). Message posted to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(learning_theory)

Resource Log 9

Philosophy of Technology Meets Social Constructivism

Interesting article on how constructivism meshes with technology. The article focuses on the different ways these two topics effect one another.


Baird, D. (1997, Spring). Philosophy of Technology Meets Social Constructivism. In Society for Philosophy and Technology. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from http:/?scholar.lib.vt.edu/ejournals/ SPT/v2_n3n4html/brey.html

Resource Log 8 Teachnology

This website has all sorts of useful tools including a rubric maker, lesson plans, and printable worksheets for teachers. Along with these resources there is information pertaining to using constructivism and technology together in the classroom. Check out the learning models and current trends in education.


Constructivism and Technology. (2009). Teachnology. Retrieved February 2, 2009, from http://www.teach-nology.com/currenttrends/constructivism/and_technology/

Reflections Journal 4

After spending time creating my section of the wiki textbook I have decided that creating a textbook has to be one of the hardest jobs. I feel may partner and I did some pretty good research but at what point do you stop and then put your information together. Information available to us is ever changing. This makes it hard to tell if the information we wrote about is the best and most correct information available. I guess this is where a wikibook is appropriate. Any time new data comes around you can make modifications to the work already available.
It was difficult for me to decide what information to keep and toss when I had to summarize my theorists. I found them all very interesting but knew I only had about 1000-1500 words to work with. Also the section we are writing is a summary of origins and backgrounds so I tried not to get to carried a way. Overall this was a very intimidating but interesting experience. I hope as the semester progresses this process will become easier. I did notice the pace is certainly going to pick up. I am grateful we had extra time for the first run. I am interested to see how my classmates have formatted their research for their wiki post on Wednesday. Anyone else care to share their first wikibook experience???

Resource Log 7 What is the Hegelian Dialectic?

What is the Hegelian Dialectic?

Raapana, N., & Friedrich, N. (2005, October). What is the Hegelian Dialectic? [Article]. Retrieved January 28, 2009, from http://nord.twu.net/acl/standfor.html

This webpage helped me understand just what Hegelian Dialectic is. This is one of the terms I needed to define for my wikibook assignment.

Resource Log 6: Herbert Spencer

I have been researching information about Herbert Spencer as part of my wiki book assignment for this class. In my journey I have found that figuring out Spencer's stance on Constructivism is not an easy find. So I choose to watch a short video on you-tube about Spencer and it is called "Defending Spencer and Social Evolution." If you have any interest in watching this the video is about 6 minutes long and I feel for the most part worth checking out. It helped me understand a little more about Spencer. I of course have done some research on him so I am pretty sure this video is not a bunch of bull. I could be wrong though but hopefully not.


Defending Spencer and Social Evolution. (2008). Brainpolice2. Retrieved January 28, 2009, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kZViKOPhvDs

Resouce Log 5: Constructivist Teaching with Technology Blog

Constructivist Teaching with Technology: Learning with Laptops Blog Spot

This blog was created by Karl Fisch and he constructed a seminar for teachers to learn how to transfrom some of their traditions teachings into a more student centered learning approach. Some of his objectives are to have teachers from all content areas using new methods of learningthrough technology such as blogging reflections instead of journaling in a notebook. His ideas are interesting and I think this would be the type of in service teachers would benefit from.

http://fischnecc07.blogspot.com/

Fisch, K. (2007, June 26). Constructivist Teaching with Technology: Learning with Laptops . Message posted to http://fischnecc07.blogspot.com/

Reflections Journal 2

After two weeks of being in this class I really feel I am starting to get the hang of what it is I am supposed to be doing. It takes some of us longer than others. I think this is one of the things that makes me the teacher I am. I have a lot of patience with my students because I just like them sometimes need extra guidance and understanding when learning new tasks.
The sandbox which was foreign to me the first week is now a place I understand. I think it is great that we Can post our notes and ideas in this spot for the creation of our wiki book post. It is good to see what my classmates are finding as well.
I am still a little nervous about out wikibook posting next week. I hope the research done by my team will provide a thorough explanation of the difference between essentialism and humanism.
I found it really interesting to research some of the theorists. I am most interested in Maria Montessori. I have been looking at the different learning facilities here in the Saint Louis area. I find her learning theories to be quite interesting. I like how she believes children need to learn from their own and environment. That learning should not be forced but done by the curiosity and will of the child. I like the idea of putting children in a classroom full of discoveries and letting them sort through the different stations to learn.
These ideas will be summarized in part of the wiki posting next week.

Resource Log 4: Noodle Tools

I know Webster University uses APA format for citations on information we use in our work. I found a GREAT webpage to help people formulate citations on the web. It has been very helpful to me in other classes and I thought I would share it with others. Noodle Tools is the webpage but if you want to create a quick citation you need to go to Noodle Bib Express. The website can also formulate citations in MLA or Chicago style of you are interested but you will not need those for this class. Hope this helps my fellow classmates!



P.S. I hope no one else has posted this resource yet. I looked at many blogs and did not see it but if you have sorry :(.

Abilock, D., & Abilock, D. (2002). Noodle Bib Express. In Noodle Tools. Retrieved January 24, 2009, from http://www.noodletools.com/about/index.php

Resource Log 3: Maria Montessori

I found a bunch of interesting video clips about Dr. Montessori created by Davidson Videos on the web. I watched a few of them to better understand who she is and what she stood for. I knew she was connected to constructivism because she is one of the theorists I am researching for my wiki text assignment. Dr. Montessori has some very interesting beliefs about learning. She believes learning should not be forces or motivated that children should be curious and want to learn on their own or at their own pace. Anyway I though I would share this site with everyone. The vidoes are short and interesting.

Davidson Videos. (2006). Life and Legacy. Maria Montessori. Retrieved January 23, 2009, from http://vodpod.com/watch/1128974-maria-montessori-davidson-

Resource Log 2 Funderstanding

Funderstanding is a webpage I found that uses data found from analysing people in thier natural environment to create educational software for children. PBS and many other companies use products created by funderstanding. This company uses theories based on constructivism to create thier software. There is some interesting information of the site about how children learn and it even includes the fundamentals of what constructivism is to learning. The only down fall is the website is kind of a mess. It is underreconstuction or at least I hope it is. They are marketing thier learning management systems to many different school environments.

This website is driving at changing the way we educate our students by utilizing what technology has to offer. It even talks about how our school systems are still based around the era of the Induistrial Reveolution. I don't think this is entirely true but some school settings are more old fashioned than others. This is often due to lack of funding in the school.
Either way I found the website intersting.

Funderstanding. (2008). Constructivism. Retrieved on Jan 21, 2008. http://www.funderstanding.com/content/constructivism

Discussion Questions

What is your reaction to this course overview?
I am feeling a little overwhelmed by some of the new tools we are using in this course. I am always a little spastic at the beginning of a new class because I am fearful of the unknown.



How do you feel about a 100% constructivist and collaborative course like this?
It is different and it may take some getting use to but it will be a great learning experience I'm sure and that it the reason I am here. I am looking forward to the course challenges and the opportunity to give my own teaching style a new dynamic.



How do you feel about publishing your learning on wiki's and blogs?
I like using a blog to talk about my learning adventurers. Hopefully everyone in the class will appreciate and enjoy my responses. I do have to admit I may feel a little self consious at times letting everyone see my posts and ideas. Somtimes I feel like my responses are inferior to my classmates. This of course gives me a good challenge to better my responses and create bettering postings and ideas.

Reflections Journal 1: I am Confused

I am excited to be in a class about Technology and Constructivism but at the same time the format of this class is very confusing to me. I feel there are so many different learning activities going on at once. I am still confused about Google Docs? What is the Sandbox? I must be missing something here. Also do we have discussion questions we should be answering of so how do I find them? The only ideas I am understanding at this point are the journals and the resource blogs. I hope I am not the only one. I also feel I need a calender to guide me in an online class. Again I hope I am not the only one. I am excited to be in this course it just may take me a week or two to work out the kinks and all of my confusions.
Any insight?

Resource Journal 1 Concept to Classroom :)

I recently visited a website called "Concept to Classroom" that I believe gives educators a great way to incorporate the philosophy of constructivism and the use of technology in the classroom. This webpage gives educators good ideas for lessons in any grade level or subject. Example, many teachers like to begin new ideas or learning objectives with graphic organizers. This site suggests using a software called inspiration. Inspiration is a great computerized graphic organizer with lots of color to keep you students attention. Great tool for interacting with and entire or class or it can be a group project either way the students get involved during the learning process. I love this software. The site also features other ideas this is just one of them.

This link also gives the reader a good explanation of what Constructivism means which I thought was helpful. What do you think?
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/explor_sub5.html

Welcome to my Blog

This site will be used to combine constructivism theories and technology for my Culinary Arts teaching.