Takeaway #1:

Digital Maker Discussion

This discussion week was probably one of the more difficult ones to
accomplish. I decided to use Scratch as my website to create a project.
After watching a few tutorials, I was ready to get started. I made a silly video
about two young boys wanting to go to a baseball game, and I was very
proud of it! The fact that there are these site building spaces on the Internet
that are made to be user/child friendly makes it a must in the classroom. For
example, during the first week of school, icebreakers are a great way to get
to know one another. As a teacher, I could come in during the first week of
school with my pre-made, DIY project and present it to the class. In this way,
I am connecting with the students and presenting myself in a way that is not
always just verbal. I then can assign my students to do their own DIY project
in the same way I did but send them to me individually through email. In
turn, I am getting to know them as well. Im connecting with my students,
teaching them about technology, and allowing them to have absolute control
of what topics or subjects they would like to present in their own digital
makings.
Takeaway #2:
Quora/Facebook
As I discussed in my discussion week reflection essay, I love how Quora
worked for our classroom discussion about cyberbullying. Quora is very
similar to Facebook because it has a wall feature where people can post
their opinions on different topics. They are given as much space as they
would like to formulate their posts effectively. There is no character limit,
which makes it a great space to talk openly. However, one of the cons in
leading an online discussion is that if you do not have group members who
are willing to pull their weight, it can be a very difficult experience. But I do
think the positives outweigh the negatives, and in my classroom, I would use
these type of discussion boards. It is typical of a classroom to be buzzing
with healthy conversation, usually with the instructor leading the way. To
incorporate technology and a more student led debate, Quora (or Facebook)
are great platforms to do so. Students can leave comments at their leisure,
and even those students who may not speak up as much in class can have
their voice heard. For example, if I am in a sixth grade science classroom and
we are talking about the different layers of the earths crust, I can assign X
amount of students to lead a discussion about the first layer, another group
of students to lead a discussion on the next layer and so on. Students are
taking control of their own learning as their classmates support them by
participating in each discussion.
Takeaway #3:
Data Visualizations

Card, Mackinlay, and Shneiderman (1999) define information

visualization as "The use of computer-supported, interactive, visual
representations of abstract data to amplify cognition." They argue that
visualizations can serve as an external support that frees up the brain for
more advanced and complex cognition. Viewed through this lens, it's not
difficult to see how they could be useful in a classroom (Week 11 Overview).
I could not agree more. In my discussion post for Week 11, I detail how
Gizmos are my absolute favorite form of Data Visualizations. They can be
great introductory lessons that help students learn the material on their own
with actual evidence based explanations, as opposed to the normal lecture
based classroom. Not to say that lectures arent important, but it helps to
change it up a bit especially with this new generation of children. You can
use Gizmo for math and science, and it allows the student to view online
simulations that they wouldnt readily see in a classroom. For example, in the
2015-2016 school year, we covered hurricanes and thunderstorms. In the
online simulation, we were able to see hurricane formation and what affect
these types of storms may have on air pressure, temperature, environment,
etc. I would incorporate this into my classroom because it again takes the
classroom from one that is teacher centered, to one that is more studentbased, and it allows them to see with their own eyes what is occurring (not
just because the teacher said so).