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Week 3 Chapter Insights


Learning With Technology: A Constructivist Perspective

Chapter 2

Learning By Exploring With Technology


This chapter begins with information about the Internet. It explains that each computer has a name which can be thought of as an address. The terms that are introduced are Universal Resource Locator (URL), browser software (Netscape or Internet Explorer), link, hypertext transfer protocol (http), www to indicate that they serve information to the World Wide Web (www), and Hyper Text Markup Language (html). An example of an address was given has http://www.fortbend.k12.tx.us/schools/art.html. The address then descirbes the type of data, server name, domain code, state code, country code, and pathway to file.

The text explains that the Internet is a world wide tangle of cables, modems, computers, and other hardware. (page 23) It has the ability to access electronic mail, interactive conferences, information resources, electronic conversations in the borm of bulletin bouards and network news, and the ability to transfer files from computer to computer and person to person.

The terms cyberspace refers to places where information is stored and virtual refers to objects in this artifical world.

As one reads on in the text a variety of learning activities are provided. Some support scientific experimentation projects for open-ended student directed research. Students learnng processes are deemed among the most complete intellectual activities that learners can pursue. Student roles include researchers, investigators, collaborators, communicators, and develop as higher order thinkers. While this process is working teachers attain the role of facilitators or coaches prompting students to conside alternative ideas or views of looking at the world. Assessment questions are also provided in the text as useful tools for the teacher to again touch the higher order metacognitive skills of the students.

The pages of the text teaching about home pages on the web was very enlightening to me for resources to view, such as the virtual schoolhouse at http://www.rocket.org/. Students are encouraged to create web pages of their own. The text does give a warning. Student safety was discussed because of the predatory nature of some individuals roaming the world. Some of those safety tips are: students do not display their pictures and full identity, they keep their personal e-mail addresses personal by using only the teacher’s e-mail address, and have students and parents report unusual contacts to their teachers. Creating web pages can be a tremendous learning experience that is part of the constructionist approach to learning. Teacher assessment is done by evaluating the work analytically or holistically. Projects can range from arithmetic to zoology when comes to the number of topics that can be learned.

Basic skills can also be enriched as well. Reading, spelling, grammar, and writing are all needed when communicating on the Internet. The computer lab is a high tech location for learning.


Classrrom Instruciton That Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement

Chapter 3

Summarizing and Note Taking


This reflection will be rather short because it is a brief summary of the chapter. The notes that I have taken are lengthy but will not be presented in that form. There has been extensive research and therory on summarizing. Different strategies have been developed to maximize the effeciency of the process. The author points out three generalizations of this research. The three activities are (1) deleting things, (2) substituting things, and )30 keeping things. The text presents five summary frames as a teaching and learning tool. Those summary frames are: (1) Th Narrative Frame with 7 elements, (2) The Topic=Restriction-Illustrated Frame, (3) The Definintion Frame with 4 elements, (4) The Argumentation Frame with 4 elements, (5) The {Problem/Solution Frame, (6) The Conversation Frame with 4 components. Reciprocal Teaching is one of the best research strategies. It involves Summarizing, Questioning, Clarifying and Predicting. Bloom’s Taxonomy not mentioned in this text puts these strategies to work in numerous parts. Research and theory on note taking have been given some bold references. Verbatim note taking is, perhaps the least effective way to take notes. Notes should be considered a work in progress. Notes should be used as study guides for tests. To finish with the pros and cons of the research, the more notes that are taken, the better. Summarizing and note taking are two powerful study skills to allow identifying and understanding of the most important aspects of what they are learning.

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