Reflection and Analysis on EDTC 620 and Project 4
In this age of high technological use, it is more realistic and likely for parents, students, and colleagues to visit a web page rather than read a piece of paper. Classroom newsletters, notes, homework, and updates can all be communicated on one forum instead of wasting pieces of paper that will never be read or thrown in the trash. The classroom website can also serve as a bridge to countless digital resources. I have built this website over the course of all of my EDTC classes to serve as my eventual classroom website when I return to teaching. I worked during this semester to incorporate aspects we learned about in class, hypertext, information design, and visual communication. Most of my focus during this project was to ensure that each page uses text and images in a logical, appealing, and concise way. I also focused on inserting links and buttons for intuitive and easy navigation of the website. I used visuals as opposed to more text on each page so that it would be well balanced and not overwhelming, especially since a lot of my previous parents were English language learners.
http://webdoc.gwdg.de/edoc/ia/eese/schreiber/Chapter2.html
|
Using what I learned about hypermedia this semester, the first update to my website included buttons and links to other pages of my website as well as outside resources. In the image (left) you see that pages of a website should be non-linear, so that the reader can learn in a way that makes sense to them. Amaral says “humans learn better associatively,” and the brain can better figure out material if it’s at their pace and interest (n.d.). I have included buttons on almost every page that lead to a logical next step from the current page. For example, on the page that contains my daily schedule, I have included a button to the helpful links page so that parents can help their students practice the subjects they see in the schedule at home. On the Calendar page I have included buttons for the homework and class news page so parents and students can find more information on due dates or events they may see on the calendar.
|
I also arranged the page order and links in a way that flows logically. The home page for my site includes what I believe is the first thing parents will want to see. Who is this person that will be with my students for the majority of weekdays? I have included two images that best show what is important to me, and information about my education and hobbies. I also added links to college home pages, photos of my hobbies, and an article about my sisters and me. You can navigate to my blog and teaching philosophy collage using the bar at the top, but I also included buttons at the bottom of my bio because that is the logical next step in learning about me. Lastly, I thought it was important to include a way to contact me right on the home page so that anyone with questions can get to it quickly and easily. My website has pages for classrooms schedule, rules, news, homework, and calendar, but I decided to put that all under a “student information” menu. I did the same with online lessons and parent information, so that the menu would be easier to navigate. Under the parent information menu, I added a page about the curriculum because I have had a lot of parents who are confused about Common Core and Montgomery County Public School’s new curriculum and grading system. I also have a classroom rules and helpful links page under the parent information menu. I chose to put the rules under the parent menu because I have parents who like to reinforce the rules we use at school at home. The helpful links page includes links for students as well as parents, but since I teach first grade, my students will most likely need their parents help to navigate the website. The student links provide ways to practice important skills at home, and the parent links include resources and advice. I also made sure to include a link to Go Noodle on my website, because I think it is important to encourage students to stay active. The next menu, online lessons, includes the conservation lesson I created for a previous EDTC class, as well as the web-based instructional health unit I created for this class. The last page includes important information about copyright and will serve to help students and parents learn about what is appropriate and legal when using the Internet. The goal of my website is to show all readers the vast amount of resources and information available online, so it is just as important to ensure that students are learning about digital citizenship concurrently.
During our discussions about information design, we reviewed the importance of engaging students in the use of digital tools through project-based learning. The key here is to let “students explore real-world problems and challenges” (Edutopia, 2016). The web-based unit I created is a collaborative project about healthy eating choices that serves science, health, reading, and writing objectives. The project includes 7 pages of a combination of whole group, small group, and individual activities. The introduction includes a discussion on nutrition, the importance of eating food that provides nutrition, and an explanation of MyPlate with a helpful infographic (right). I included links throughout the introduction that give more information as well as a video from MyPlate that will serve audio-visual learners.
|
The intro briefly goes over the food groups and instructs the teacher to break the students into pairs or small groups to explore each food group and how much you need daily. Because this unit is for first grade and different classrooms may have different technology available, I give leeway to teachers using the unit to tailor it to their needs. Teachers can give groups one device to look at together, or have each group use their own individual devices to explore and discuss together. Once the students have explored each food group fully, they meet back at whole group for an introduction to their task. I chose to have students watch a reading of the book Jack and the Hungry Giant by Loreen Leedy because it was specifically written to introduce younger students to MyPlate. The teacher can then choose between discussion questions before modeling the task. Students will collaborate in their groups to create a list of foods for each group and use that list to create their own individual plate that will be used for assessment. I differentiated the task by providing several different ways for it to be accomplished. I attached a file that contains a graphic organizer from the book’s website, or teachers can also allow students to create their own list and plate using construction paper. If possible, students could even use digital tools like Pixie to work. I provided practice games on a separate page for early finishers, and included resources and a game for a concluding discussion and presentation. This unit uses a lot of great visuals and resources to helps students understand the food groups, but I do worry it will be difficult for students to navigate exploring in their groups. I think the way teachers group their students will solve this problem, having higher technologically able students assist their peers. Because my website does not have text-speech options, it will also require that at least one member of the group is able to read everything on the site. This is why I recommended that teachers give one mobile device to a group if necessary.
I imagine the perfect website to be one that everyone can easily understand and navigate, and find answers to all of their questions. Everything I have done with my site has been in effort to achieve this goal. The strengths of my site lie in the amount of helpful information, navigation, and the use of visuals and videos. During this class we learned that visual literacy means that students are better able to understand a topic through a visual rather than only text. “Visual information can support reading and help make meaning of text” (Carry, n.d.). I have used several infographics in place of text that would crowd the page, and used videos to explain complicated topics such as the Common Core curriculum. One weakness in my site is the lack of text-speech options. An ideal website for first graders would be one they can navigate by themselves, even those students with lower reading skills. If I were to utilize my website for turning in assignments and student tasks, it would most likely always require the help of the parent, so my site is limited in that way.
In the future I imagine using the website extensively. I would like to keep adding to the online lessons as I create more collaborative units, on top of updating the site weekly for student and parent information. I see a weekly update as realistic at first to see how I can fit management of the website into my schedule. Starting with too much maintenance would most likely cause the website to be unsuccessful. In the future I would also like to make my blog more about collaborating with colleagues. So far it has been used as a tool for EDTC classes, and I hope I will be able to continue updating it with helpful information for other teachers. For example, I would enjoy sharing digital project lessons that I found successful for other teachers to use. Overall, this class and the work I have done on my website has truly shown me the power of visual communication and using digital tools to achieve this.
In the future I imagine using the website extensively. I would like to keep adding to the online lessons as I create more collaborative units, on top of updating the site weekly for student and parent information. I see a weekly update as realistic at first to see how I can fit management of the website into my schedule. Starting with too much maintenance would most likely cause the website to be unsuccessful. In the future I would also like to make my blog more about collaborating with colleagues. So far it has been used as a tool for EDTC classes, and I hope I will be able to continue updating it with helpful information for other teachers. For example, I would enjoy sharing digital project lessons that I found successful for other teachers to use. Overall, this class and the work I have done on my website has truly shown me the power of visual communication and using digital tools to achieve this.
References
Amaral, K (n.d.). Hypertext and writing: an overview of the hypertext medium. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved from http://www.whoi.edu/science/B/people/kamaral/hypertext.html
Edutopia (2016). Project-based learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning
Carry, D (n.d.) Visual literacy: using images to increase comprehension. Reading Recovery. Retrieved from https://readingrecovery.org/images/pdfs/Conferences/NC09/Handouts/Carry_Visual_Literacy.pdf
Amaral, K (n.d.). Hypertext and writing: an overview of the hypertext medium. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Retrieved from http://www.whoi.edu/science/B/people/kamaral/hypertext.html
Edutopia (2016). Project-based learning. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/project-based-learning
Carry, D (n.d.) Visual literacy: using images to increase comprehension. Reading Recovery. Retrieved from https://readingrecovery.org/images/pdfs/Conferences/NC09/Handouts/Carry_Visual_Literacy.pdf