Keystone Project

Keystone: PDF Version

Individual Parts:

• Lesson
• Implementation Report
• Rubric
• Rubric 2: Student Centered Checklist
• Reflection

Week 13 - Assignment

1.    Think back to your many experiences with well-designed learning, both in and out of school. What was the most well-designed learning experience you have ever encountered as a learner? What features of the design- not the teacher's style or your interests-made the learning so engaging and effective? (Design elements include challenges posed, sequence of activities, resources provided, assignments, assessments, groupings, site, and teacher's role.) Briefly describe the sign.

My learning experience from elementary to high school is one that can be best described as mundane at best. Teachers spoke, we listened, an exam was given and on to the next unit. This format seemed to shape and form my education.  For many students this teaching style worked, for me it did not. I was an average student at best and always seemed to have difficulty grasping the content. Even through college I found myself bored by the speak and repeat thinking that was encouraged. As I progressed through life I found myself searching for information, craving knowledge on various topics. Through the use of the Internet, I was able to find forums and video sites that explained things to me in a way I could understand. Using these resources I learned how to repair and troubleshoot computers and helped me succeed in my IT career. I obtained Microsoft certification and used Internet resources to take me through the step by step configurations of servers and workstations. This type of learning was never available when I was a student, this learning style organically formed for me due to a thirst for knowledge.  

Through my own learning experience, my quest is now to provide my students a learning experience that is natural to them. I try and differentiate as best as possible by provided videos, writing and images to explain topics. I engage my students using a project based learning approach which allows them to learn by doing. One thing I learned through my journey is that people learn by doing. I learned by watching, reading and trying what I wanted to learn. In order to provide effective learning experiences for our students, we must encourage them to try different things in order to master their learning. My goal as an educator is not only to teach students instructional materials, it is also to teach my students to think for themselves and know what works best for their learning. 

A well designed learning experience should contain the following:

• Clear Objective
• Differentiated Materials For All Learners - Text, Video, Images
• Hands On Time - Learn by doing.
• Teacher Facilitates - Students think for themselves.
• Projects With Purpose - Master what you have learned.
• Evaluate

2.    In sharing your recollections and analyses with your peers, build a list of generalizations that follow from the accounts. What do well-designed learning experiences have in common? In other words, what must be built in by design for any learning experience to be maximally effective and engaging for students.

 A maximally effective learning experience takes student needs into account. This means that information is delivered in multiple ways for all learning styles. Planning is essential for effective student learning. By properly planning, the teacher can facilitate learning by allowing students to take accountability for their growth. In addition to proper planning, a teacher needs to display flexibility when necessary. No two students are the alike, because of this teachers should not have unfair expectations. Proper evaluation is necessary to measure student growth of learning. 

3.    Where in your school or the school that you are observing are the characteristics of best design most likely to be seen in action? In what programs and subject areas would we most expect to see these characteristics, compared with other programs or subjects? Are there any patterns, If so, why?

In my school I am seeing the best design characteristics in the Science and Social Studies department. These departments are using somewhat of a project based learning approach. While they still give exams, their primary focus are projects and learning through doing. Science teachers frequently teach students by conducting experiments that allow for a hands on approach to learning.  The Social Studies department frequently challenges students with projects that immerse them in history. For example, the 8th Grade social studies class wrote memoirs as if they were holocaust survivors.  I believe Science and Social Studies lend themselves well to a project based learning approach. These subjects allow students to learn by investigating evidence using material that is easily available for multiple learning styles. 

4.    After a study of sample units, and one of your own designs, edit or amend your list of characteristics of the best designs, as appropriate.

• Students centered learning
• Projects focus on learning objectives.
• Projects are driven by Essential Questions.
• Projects multiple types of assessment.
• The project has real-world connections.
• Students demonstrate knowledge through a product.
• Technology supports and enhances student learning.
• Thinking skills are integral to project work.
• Differentiated instruction to support multiple learning styles.

Week 12 Assignment - Google Earth Video

Week 12 - Edmodo

Edmodo Functions:

• Home Button - Takes you to your latest posts page.
• Progress Button - Allows you to see student progress and grades. This area is broken down into groups for easy viewing.
• Discover Button - Allows teachers to explore Edmodo resources and communities. This can be used to find information on instructional topics.
• Library Button - Using the library function of Edmodo, you have unlimited storage to save your files. This can range from text documents to videos or even web links. Edmodo will store your information so you can use it in the future in your groups.
• Search Bar - Using the search bar you can look for users, groups, apps and more.
• Notification Button - This area will display any notifications you have including: assignments, messages and comments. This is useful for students because they can quickly see what work is due.
• Me Area - The Me area will take you into your user profile, settings, help and more. This area is where you can make changes to your account.
• Group Area - Contains the group name, the group code, a link to a members list, posts and folders link.
• Groups - In this area you will find the groups that you own or have joined. Edmodo groups are where your class sections will be. Within these groups you can also have small groups which can be used for differentiated instruction or breakout groups.
• Communities - Contains a list of communities you belong to. Edmodo has many learning communities where educators share information. Educators frequently post questions or ideas to their chosen community for feedback. If you are part of a school community, it will also appear in this section.
• Note - You may post a note to any of your groups.
• Alert - Allows you to send important alerts to your groups.
• Assignment - Using this area you can create assignments for your students. You can easily attach documents, videos, audio and more from your library or computer. Assignment dates can be instant or in the future. This allows Educators to prepare in advance. The beauty of this feature is that it notifies the teacher once work is submitted. The assignment feature also identifies late of missing work.
• Quiz - The quiz feature in Edmodo allows quick and easy assessments that are graded instantly. Quiz features include: true/false, multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching and short answer. Edmodo grades everything except short answer which is graded by the teacher.

Edmodo To Enhance Instruction

Edmodo is a instructional learning community that is easy to use at zero cost.  Edmodo allows educators to reach their students in a 21st century way, in order to ensure learning continues outside of the school building. Edmodo allows teachers to provide students with learning materials from any device that connects to the Internet. This creates a bridge of learning between school and home. Using Edmodo’s collaborative features, students can discuss instructional topics from the comfort of their own homes; since Edmodo is safe, teachers and parents can rest easy knowing all comments are visible to the entire group.  Edmodo also offers a suite of tools that educators may use during instruction. Edmodo offers teachers the ability to give assignments and quizzes. Using these tools in combination with the Edmodo library allows for a truly paperless classroom. Edmodo is a solid solution because it provides a simple way for teachers who want to create a learning community.

Week 11 - Google Earth #1

Week 10 - Assignment 3

Platform: Openminds.io

Game: Apple Key Commands

Week 10 - Assignment 2

Game: 2048

Platform: Android / iOS

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.estoty.game2048

iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/2048/id840919914?mt=8

1. What gaming elements provide users the learning content and how?

• Text: Matching 2 like numbers will produce their added result. For example, merging a 2 and a 2 will create a tile with the number 4.
• Visual-graphic elements: The graphics in the app are extremely simple. The simplicity of the design makes it a better game, in this case all you see are number tiles and some colors. Each number tile is associated to a color, this is useful because you do not necessarily need to know math to match tiles. An example of this is my 4 year old son, he was able to match tiles by color. Through this he learned addition.
• Audio elements: The application on has one sound, because it is such a basic sound it becomes hypnotic. This game has a rhythm to it and the sound adds to the players tempo.

2. What is the goal of the game? Swipe to move the tiles, when two tiles with the same number touch, they merge into one.

When a 2048 tile is created, the player wins.

3. What are rules of playing this game? You start with a grid of 16 squares two of which contain tiles. You combine like numbers to produce their sum. In order to combine numbers you swipe right, left, up or down. Following each swipe a tile is added. The goal is to get one tile that has the sum on 2048 without filling the 16 square grid. An example of this is match 2 and 2 to make 4, 4 and 4 to make 8 and so on an so forth.

4. Does this game have any scenario design? This game has no embedded scenario.