Type I and Type II Technology

The difference between Type I and Type II technology usage is that with Type I it is just drills and practice, while with Type II it is the application of the knowledge. Type I would be teaching students how to write formulas for Excel, while Type II would have using Excel to do a project. In the end both ways would teach the student how to use Excel, but Type II would teach them how to insert formulas along with context it could be used in.

Examples of Type I:
Use Google to find the definitions of a list of words
Learn the formatting shortcuts in Word, and format a list of words
Online study guides

Examples of Type II:
WebQuest
Make own business, create business plan, brochure, business cards, and create first months budget
Create a Wikispace to present a report


Source: Type II Applications of Technology in Education: New and Better Ways of Teaching and Learning, Cleborne D. Maddux and D. LaMont Johnson

My MEL experiences

• Student/Teacher Relationship: In my fifth grade class our teacher used journals to get to know each of us. We had to do a certain amount of entries every week and she would respond to each of them. She knew what we did outside of class, what sports we played, what clubs we were part of and came to most of the important events. She was respectful and was always available to talk outside of class. Her teaching style and relationship with her student were so much appreciated that my parents requested her for my sisters fifth grade teacher, a decision they usually allowed the school to decide.
  
• Helping Students Succeed: Last semester my art professor informed me that though I had a very good sense of color, my artistic talents were lacking. It was nice of her to add something nice to the insult, but it did not make me want to prove her wrong, it made me want to leave. Being in a beginning painting class I had assumed that my artistic talents were lacking and that the class was there to help me improve upon them, I was sadly mistaken. The professor alienated most of the class in some way and ended up having a entire class resent her and her opinions. Criticism is fine, when it is constructive, but to be told something is not up to par and then not be given the resources or knowledge to succeed is of help to no one.
  
• Hand's On: I learn so much better from hands on learning, since when I have to recall the knowledge I can envision the activity. At UMF the Physics class is workshop based, we discover the concepts for ourselves and then discuss them. When we were learning about acceleration we didn't just learn the formula or look at graphs, we made the graphs, varied variables and fully explored the different factors involved. After we did all that we learned the formulas, how to use them, and the mathematical reasoning behind them.
• Autonomy: In eighth grade science we were moving faster then the other class so the teacher gave us an extra assignment. We were able to explore something of our choice as a class and basically design the experience. As a class we found a place where we could send in bugs and then have them put under a under a large microscope, and then from our classroom we could explore them as well as talk to the scientist on the other end. It was one of the best experiences, because we did all the work to make it happen and got to choose what we wanted to learn and what we wanted to focus on. It was also nice to know the teacher trusted us with our own education.
  
• Connections: I am always wondering why I am doing something or learning certain information, how is it going to help me in life and what I can apply it to? I think this is why I enjoy physics so much. I enjoy mathematics, but am often wondering if I really need to know this and am I ever going to use this concept again. Physics gives you those real life examples and how the concepts you learn in math connect to everything you do. Not only are your questions of why certain things work answered but the questions of why did I learn this and will I ever use it again are answered as well. One of my favorite examples of this is when we explored why there are speed limits, especially on a curve. By changing speed we found that some of the posted speed limits on curves are only slightly below a speed that will not allow you to stay on the road.
  

Chapter 2: Respect, Liking, Trust, and Fairness

I enjoyed the first student comment in this section. There was a coach who didn’t make his team work hard and often took them out to dinner. Though they all liked this coach, they never won so a new coach was hired. This coach was not liked because he made them practice hard, but in the end they kept winning. Though they did not like this coach they grew to respect him.

This goes along with one of my favorite things said in our orientation session the other day. “You can be friendly with the students, but you can not be their friend.” Though we all want to be liked there is a fine line between being liked and getting results. In the example, the students didn’t practice so they didn’t get better, the same would go in a classroom. If a student doesn’t want to try something hard, you can’t just give them something else to do that they already know. Though they might not like you for being hard, they will respect you, because they have accomplished something, even though they didn’t enjoy it at the time.

Source: Fires in the Bathroom, Kathleen Cushman

Chapter 1: Knowing Students Well

The part that jumped out the most in this section was the part on the journals. The students would spend a little time every week writing from a writing prompt or choosing their own topic to expand upon. These journals would be collected, read and commented on, but not graded.

I really liked this idea, since it gives students a chance to express themselves and the teacher a chance to get to know each individual student. Since it is not in front of their peers or one on one with their teacher, a student might be more comfortable about opening up. I also like that the suggested topics to use weren’t just about the class its self, but also what is going on outside of class. Things that happen outside of class can have a huge impact on a student and how well they are doing, and a journal would give them an easy outlet to let their teacher know.

Source: Fires in the Bathroom, Kathleen Cushman

Learning Style Inventory Results.

These are the results of your inventory. The scores are out of 20 for each style. A score of 20 indicates you use that style often.

Style Scores Visual 13 Social 11 Physical 8 Aural 8 Verbal 10 Solitary 11 Logical 12 Memletic Learning Styles Graph: Information from learning-styles-online.com

I didn’t find it surprising that my highest style scores were in the visual and logical categories. I have always thought of myself as a very visual learner, learning better if I see how it’s done, instead of just being told about it. Also logical makes sense, since one of my favorite subjects is mathematics. I was surprised that social and solitary received the same scores since they seem as though one would excel more at one then the other. After reflecting on it though it does make sense, because even though I enjoy working by myself I see the benefit of working with others and do not mind doing so.