For our online course meeting the first activity we
participated in was a Voice Thread discussion surrounding a video we were
required to watch featuring Commissioner John King speaking about the
introduction of the Common Core Learning Standards. The video specifically
discussed ways to implement literacy instruction across content areas.
SHIFT 2: Building Knowledge in the Disciplines from EngageNY on Vimeo.
The Voice Thread medium of response allows considerably more
choice on the part of the user in terms of how they choose to interact in the
discussion versus a standard message board. Responses could be posted as text,
audio, or video. This choice allows students to contribute meaningfully even if
they lack strong writing skills.
The second activity was to respond to a video by Anne
Marie Palincsar about the use of higher order questioning techniques. Using higher order questioning helps teach
students to think critically.
In this instance we responded using a standard message
board. The advantage of using a more limiting technology like a message board
is that it allows you to direct the medium of response, such that you can focus
on practicing certain skills, such as writing.
The next activity was to watch another video featuring
Commissioner King on the introduction of the Common Core, this time with the
focus being on writing in the disciplines.
SHIFT 5: Writing from Sources from EngageNY on Vimeo.
We once again responded to this video
using a discussion board, an apropos choice considering that particular medium
requires us to respond in writing. Here we reflected on how we use writing in
our own classrooms and whether what we were doing was in line with the common core.
The fourth assignment was to watch a
video of a science lesson and then a video of experts critiquing that science
lesson. In this instance we used a Voicethread to respond with anything we
learned during the lesson or our own critiques of the lesson. I personally
found her lesson a very creative way to bring a piece of literature into a
science classroom as well as a engaging way to create a hands on experience
that fostered a deeper understanding of multiple topics.
The final activity was to watch a video about the teaching
of Boyle’s law and to contribute two things we took away from the lesson on a
discussion board. For me the aspects of the video that struck me most were the
effectiveness of demonstrations and the importance of using multiple
representations to give all students the best chance of understanding the
material.
