Tech Resources

Bloom's Taxonomy is a paradigm that categorizes and hierarchizes learning. A common illustration is a pyramid of action verbs where fundamental and basic learning verbs are at the bottom (remember & understand) while the more mastery level learning verbs are at the pinnacle (evaluate & create).

A pyramid would make an excellent poster to get the students thinking about their metacognition and as a reference for instructions on assignments. For example, an assignment could have the instruction analyze something and they could look to the poster and see what tools they could have at their disposal.

My tests will also have a hierarchy of mastery levels. The beginning questions will be more about remembering and understanding (fill in the blank and multiple choice). The middle section will have the application of concepts. The last section is mastery, which is the synthesis of multiple concepts into one large question. These last two use short essay and calculations. Hopefully, the students would connect the hierarchy in the exam with Bloom's Taxonomy.

SAMR aims to integrate technology into learning. However, technology is never a goal, it's a vehicle. SAMR is an acronym for the various levels of integration: Substitution (lowest), Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition (highest). This YouTube playlist is an excellent primer on SAMR that breaks down each letter into greater detail.

The model's use in the classroom is primarily for the benefit of the teacher and to get them thinking on how to best use the technology. Ultimately, it is for the benefit of the student because their learning is the focus. Below are examples of technologies at each level:

Substitution: Tech acts just like the old tool. Using bubbl.us to create mind maps instead of paper.

Augmentation: Tech acts like old tool but improvement. Inserting images in a table on Word instead of hand drawing pictures.

Modification: Tech redesigns task significantly. Making a powtoon instead of a book report.

Redefinition: Tech creates new content that was not previously possible. Using Google Meet to communicate with experts, even across borders or even to the International Space Station.

PIC-RAT is much like SAMR except that it is almost two-dimensional where SAMR is one-dimensional. The PIC portion is student-centric and stands for Passive, Interactive, and Creative. RAT is teacher-centric and it stands for Replaces, Amplifies, and Transforms.

Passive: The students are inactive, only receiving. This would be akin to a lecture.

Interactive: Builds on information. This would be a flipped classroom or using tools like EdPuzzle that gets students interacting with the lesson.

Creative: Students synthesize new information by creating. This could be in the form of a Project-Based Learning. Canva or Prezi would be good examples.

Replaces: The tech is used to deliver information. (PowerPoint)

Amplifies: Tech improves teaching. This could be through blogging or discussion forums.

Transforms: Tech plays an integral part and without it, lesson would be impossible. Jamboard for remote learning

The header links to the ISTE standards for educators and it centers around seven points:

1. Learner: Educators continually improve by learning from others and keep up to date with research.

2. Leader: Educators seek leadership opportunities and empower students.

3. Citizen: Educators encourage students to contribute to the digital world.

4. Collaborator: Educators improve practice, share ideas, and solve problems by collaborating with colleagues and students.

5. Designer: Educators develop student-led activities and environments.

6. Facilitator: Educators use technology to facilitate learning.

7. Analyst: Educators use data to drive their instruction as well and help students achieve their learning goals.

For students, the standards are centered around safe, positive practices online and fostering a collaborative and enhancing space as a digital citizen. A lot of the ideals of scientists overlap with the ideals of digital citizenship so teaching in accordance to ISTE should be simple since there is overlap.

Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a hands-on learning that spans a couple to a few weeks. The students work in small groups and work on a project appropriate to what is being learned. There are lectures, which ideally include guest experts of the field, and an extensive design process for the project. The learning is student-driven as they do their research and apply it to their project. The teacher acts as a facilitator for learning.

One PBL I would like to do is set up a scenario which the city government is wanting to stock the various ponds with fish. However, they are not sure if the ponds are healthy enough so they have received bids and the students "work" for the selected firm. Each group is assigned a body of water and they sample different parts of pond. The properties they are focusing on are temperature, turbidity, pH, and dissolved oxygen concentrations. The students use measuring devices (Vernier LabQuest does all four and on-site) and compare the results to the ranges that wildlife requires and draft a report/presentation. They must take audience into account to help with the tone of their claims and evidence. For extra fun, the students can suggest species of fish to stock the pond.

Choice boards allow students to choose how they want to complete an assignment. Typically, the different options pertain to the different learning styles (visual, audio, kinesthetic) and allow options within the three. This breaks up the monotony of the assignment, not just for teacher grading, but for the students as well. It is easy to dole out tests and quizzes, but different activities are more exciting. Having different types of presentations is also grand as hearing the essentially the same PowerPoint presentation over and over gets dull. Instead, there could be a song, a poem, a short play, a rap, or whatever creative medium a student would like.

Choice boards offer some level of control for the students and show to help with some of the more active and disruptive students. This is one reason why it is helpful in differentiated learning, where teachers switch up their lesson plans to incorporate various learning styles and needs on the fly. Choice boards help with assignments, but the teacher could also differentiate learning with flexible groups. These are groups that are made on the fly as the teacher sees fit and help group students based on their need and understanding for the lesson at hand.

With the virtualization of almost everything nowadays, it is handy to have a system that can help run the classroom. The parent company offers this video to illustrate all of the features of Schoology.

Another learning management system and one that I am more familiar with as I have used it in the past. My hometown school district uses it and since it is a Google product, it ties in with their other suites of apps nicely.

The above link goes to a lesson on civil discussion online. With the rise of social media, public discourse seems to have reached new levels of toxicity. At the same time, there is an increase in anti-science sentiments that can prove dangerous (especially anti-vax). This lesson hopefully better equips students to discuss what they have learned to science deniers while keeping a cool head.