Post 1: Tech Play 1

1. Begin by describing student work that you might design using blogs. Use the TPACK Model to identify each aspect of the work. The following questions will help guide your thinking:

·      Content- What content are you addressing? Considering the verb in the standard and Blooms Revised Taxonomy, what is the desired level of thinking from the standards?

·      Pedagogy- What pedagogical stance (or which learning theories or theorists) does this work support? In other words, whose “shoulders” did you stand on?

·      Technology- What affordances can you identify for the technology selected? Justify the match of your pedagogical stance/strategy with the technology affordances.

2. Discuss other ways that this technology can be used in the learning environment.

3. Identify any obstacles to using this tool. What makes this tool worth using even these obstacles?

 Objective: The student (high school seniors) will create a blog using Blogger. The student will illustrate a weekly post of approximately 300-500 words in response to the weekly topic based on knowledge applied form actual situations. Posts will be graded on areas of content, creativity, voice, use of multimedia and visual aids, timeliness and quality of writing.

Students will have specific weekly topics to discuss their thoughts and journey of their senior year, specifically college preparation obstacles they face. This will allow student to become familiar with the site and the idea of blogging. This will help to reinforce the use of proper grammar and help student to continuously develop their writing skills.

Learning Theory: Constructivist theory is based on the idea that each individual constructs their own meaning and understanding of  new knowledge based on individual experiences and evolved beliefs BUT what happens when the learner does not have any experiences relating to the topic at hand. Does the learner disconnect? I believe that student involvement is key to learning and teachers must create learning situation where students build knowledge on their own; therefore, I am taking a stance with progressive education.

Obstacle: My number one obstacle would be student safety. During the introduction of the assignment, I will provide students with key tools on how to be safe when using the Internet. This assignment could also be an issue with students who do not have access to the Internet or a computer outside of school. Luckily, Blogger has an application for smartphones and student can post right from their phones. Morning and afternoon tutorial will allow student time for posting. I strongly believe that the benefit of this activity outweighs the risks since the tool helps to benefit the student in multiple ways.

Additions: This form of technology can also be used to create a blog with videos for the students. I could provide instructional videos on how to apply for college and register for specific college entrance test. The benefits and uses are limitless.