MobyMax is an online tool to pinpoint student knowledge gaps, create an individualized learning structure, and offer differentiated practice. Math, Reading and Language are all aligned with Common Core Standards. I have only used MobyMax for its math content. Initially, students were excited to be presented with a new learning tool, but after some time, that excitement wore off. Students complained about how much practiced time the modules required before they could move on to a higher level. With this in mind, I only have some students continuing to use this digital tool for learning math. I have not made time to go back, and assess the possibilities in continuing to use this learning tool with my students. I do think I was using the right tool for the right job, except I have not pursue to make the modifications to fit my current math population. It was easy to sign up and add students to MobyMax. The benefits about using MobyMax are the ability to print progress reports, including standards and missing standards and beginning and ending proficiency. MobyMax creates an independent learning plan and a learning process for each student so they can learn at their own pace. This program was introduced to me by the executive director in our Special Day Class.
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As teachers at any grade level, our days are full with planning lessons, gathering materials, making copies, writing and implementing IEP plans, meetings, and not to mention being in the right frame of mind before our Teaching day begins. With all this in our forefront, I have been reflecting on how to make time to include teaching digital literacy to my students with emotional disturbance.
I plan to set time aside during 1st period, every other Friday, to teach lessons on digital literacy. The students in this class are not as experienced using the internet as the students in my other classes, for this reason these students are more likely to follow and explain instructions, if it means having more access to the use of Chromebooks. At this point, I plan to borrow or “tweak” the lessons from Common Sense Media (9-12), in conjunction with the implementation of other useful educational sites to help me prepare for the upcoming lessons on digital literacy. I have been feeling more energized and inspired to present new and unique lessons to inspire my students to learn, even if it means having to venture outside of their comfort zone. I have been exposing my students to Google Classroom for math instruction, planning lessons on creativity, and digital communication to provide a technology-based learning approach. The more confident I feel about my Innovative Learning journey, the more content I want to introduce to my students. The instructors, cohort 13 and the coursework have made me reflect on how I can improve my teaching methods, strategies and skills.
As the second semester progresses, the more I reflect on how to design, expand or personalize lessons to fit the learning styles of my students with the support of technology. I feel more at ease with my technology-based knowledge and skills, but I still have a long ways to go before I have a clear sense of proficiency. My ultimate goal is to teach my students how to create a screencast with audio to make a class presentation. This is only my second year working with high school students at a Special Day Class. I have encountered many challenges, and currently the biggest problem on the top of my list is supervising students on chromebooks. My students want to listen to music, play video games, or watch Youtube videos, while doing class work. According to the Nine P’s of Digital Citizenship by Vicki Davis, I have only presented the first 4 P’s, I have lots to catch up on. I am definitely going to have a discussion with my students regarding the article on “How to Keep Your College Admissions Letter: Start with Digital Literacy by New York Times. Due to offensive Facebook postings, at least 10 incoming freshmen have been turned down from Harvard. The article states that digital media literacy is now just as important as financial literacy. Who we appear to be online can significantly impact earning power. Hard lessons to learn for first generation of digital natives. The last resource I will be implementing in my classroom is the KQED Mindshift Digital Citizenship, the information is explained in easy to follow format. There is so much I want to present to my students, I am looking forward to see what the next couple of weeks generates in my classroom.
At first, I found Brenda Dervin’s article to be complex and unrelatable. I read half the article before realizing there was a link to a video with an overview explanation to sense-making. After viewing the video, I went back and finished reading the rest of the article. Along with the process of reading, I took notes, highlighted important or unknown information, paused and reflected on what I was reading. The visuals in the video and the visual representations in the article, made it easier for me to wrap my brain around the process of sense-making as an approach to studying the constructing that humans do to make sense of their experiences. If I were to teach this same reading content to a high schooler, I would add graphic organizers, such as story map or use Google Slide to make a powerpoint presentation of the content.
The exemplar studies showed the use of the approach to yield data in qualitative terms, such as case studies. In this studies, the exemplars present studies which have been for the most part, close-ended, asking respondents to describe their situation either through a series of gap-bridging and gap-defining. Overall, my understanding of Dervin’s article is to present sense-making studies that have been conducted with a wide sample of populations, pertaining to their information needs in several situations and their interactions with a wide systems of communication systems. |
AuthorI am a special ed teacher at Vintage High School. Archives
July 2018
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