Review of Clark and Mayer’s Personalization Principle
Clark and Mayer (2011) introduce the personalization principle as it pertains to e-learning in chapter 9 of the text. According to the authors, the personalization principle includes using a conversational style opposed to a more formal one, employing on-screen tutors that they refer to as pedagogical agents, and giving the author a visible presence (Clark […]
Driving Change as Technology Leaders
Sheninger (2014) proposes six factors to driving change in your school: connectedness, vision, value, support, professional development, and embracement. At my school, we put a huge emphasis on collaboration, both for our students and ourselves. Collaboration is one of our district’s three priorities, and we do a great job of promoting it and employing it. […]
Mobile Learning and Formative Assessments
Distance learning via mobile learning environments has exploded in the past few years. For instance, Liberty University’s number of online students from the 2003-04 academic year to the 2013-2014 academic year increased 740% (Bible, 2015). And while there are great advantages to mobile learning, it proposes some challenges for educators, one being assessments. Many courses […]
Follow Me on Twitter!
I’ve only just recently started using Twitter on a regular basis. It actually is required for one of my courses, but I’ve found it to be a great way to connect with other educators and technology leaders. I’m really enjoying it, and you may, too! Please click my new button, and follow me on Twitter, […]
Technology Leaders and Gaining Support
Currently, I am only in my fourth year of teaching. I do not feel like much of a leader in anything . . . However, I know that my Master’s program is training me not only to successfully integrate technology into my instruction, but also to be confident enough to help my peers do the […]
Constructivism and Distance Learning
Like Piaget, I believe that as children develop, they construct meaning and learning through experiences and observations (Slavin, 2012). As an educator I have always identified with Piaget’s theory and constructivist approaches. Constructivism is a popular theoretical framework of education that assumes that knowledge is constructed through learners’ experiences rather than directly from the environment […]
My Symbaloo
Below you will find a link to my Symbaloo. It includes tiles for my personal and professional resources, general educational resources, and sites for students to use for reading, math practice, research, and games. I also included some useful educational technology resources that I have recently discovered. Enjoy! http://www.symbaloo.com/home/mix/13eOcM24hI Also, here’s a link to a […]
Social Networking for Educational Purposes
Social networking is very common in the lives of most students these days. Even my 2nd graders know what FaceBook and Twitter are. My school district gave professional development on Edmodo. An assessment strategy that was suggested in my district was Tweet Your Answer. While using Edmodo and Twitter are not likely formative assessment strategies […]
myPhone, iResources
When I began think about the technological resources that I rely on, I realized that I rely on technology way too much. I use tons of websites everyday, and I am on my iPhone, iPad, or laptop a good chunk of most week day afternoons. My biggest technological resource is not web-based, though, it’s my […]
Multimedia Presentations: The Good, the Bad, and the . . . AWESOME!
I have rarely used PowerPoint in my second grade classroom. We use SmartNotebook more often because it is interactive. I have used PowerPoint to present to my colleagues, though, and I have sat through a number of PowerPoint presentations. The best of these used minimal text, interesting or sometimes amusing pictures, and/or a brief video. […]