Journey to the Center of the Web

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.