F2F Instructional Strategies

In this discussion forum share what you have learned about face to face instructional strategies. What do you plan to implement into your classroom? What do you already do in your classroom that was covered in the lecture?

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Joshua Vander Meulen on December 15, 2010 at 7:56pm

I have always loved technology and hope it is something I can always interact with professionally. However, I feel that "old school" methods should not be discounted entirely. Obviously, simply lecturing and drilling students is boring and will not produce desired results, but I have seen conventional methods be very effective. In my own classes, though, I try to use many technologies and find that the benefits of them is that they creates excitement. What is also interesting about these tools is that they continually change, so students never can become content with their particular skill set. This does, however, put the pressure on educators, as they would need to keep up with latest technologies to help students learn these skills. Although some teachers may be committed to this, others may feel too attached to their methods to change. For example, to instill a class blog in the class requires a lot of planning and adjusting, which may not fit in an educators schedule. I for one am in favor of this tool, but I can easily find you another who is not. The question remains to be answered if these reluctant teachers should be forced to adapt. Are we just all tech geeks that appreciate these new tools, or are they part of learning that all teachers need to be effective?

Permalink Reply by Marcus Clark on December 19, 2010 at 12:40am

I agree that the "old school" method should not totally disappear. My school is trying to slowly accomplish this task I feel at times. We have 1:1 computer access that students get to take home with them, but it's producing a negative effect with the passing rate of our students. Hopefully through my progress through the MAET program, I can find a solution that will be beneficial to both the students and the district.

Permalink Reply by Marcus Clark on December 19, 2010 at 12:37am

I plan on using and creating more self made tutorials for my students to view. They can be helpful when I am away from school. My lesson plans and due dates would not have to be altered. Since I am a webmastering teacher, I have already been using programs such as weebly and a little with wikipaces. I want my class, even though we meet every other day, to run like an online course. I feel that students will grasps the concepts that I trying to teach them if they are individually work through a module. That way I can monitor who has the concept and who doesn't better.

Permalink Reply by Rachel Carman on February 26, 2011 at 4:55pm

I have been very lucky to teach in a classroom where I have a Polyvision Board, Document camera, 2 student computers, a laptop, audio system, a clicker system and a mobile computer lab. I tend to be the one using most of the technology and the same ones over and over. However, I have been really trying to stretch myself by having my students using Voicethread, Wordle, interactive websites, making brochures and Power Point in kiosik form. I feel that engagement can be enhanced by using videos, interactive sites, and the clicker system.

I have seen the first hand effects of how my students learning long division with an interactive website with base ten blocks has helped to show them that division is sharing. Then went they do the paper pencil version they can visualize what was done on the computer to link it to why certain steps are done. This has been a very useful website: http://www.glencoe.com/sites/common_assets/mathematics/ebook_assets...

Permalink Reply by Jeannine Baum on February 27, 2011 at 2:16pm

The American Association of School Librarians just released their top 25 websites for teaching and learning:

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/aasl/guidelinesandstandards/bestl...

I checked out the Live Binders http://livebinders.com/. They are online organizers that you can use for yourself or your classes. Students could also use these to present and keep track of research, as an online portfolio, an online resume or presentation tool. You could also use it to create a webquest or class page. There are many ways to use this site. Here is an example of an online portfolio for an English class. As a coach or perhaps class sponsor, you could use this to showcase your students' work, post meeting times, schedules, upcoming events, etc.

Permalink Reply by Maria Fishell on March 1, 2011 at 1:01am

Microsoft Interactive Classroom

Here is Microsoft’s contribution to making a classroom more interactive. Students can join in the teacher’s questioning and answering through a wireless network. Any presentation updates from the teacher can be captured in real-time by students using their laptop with MS OneNote. Collaboration takes place when students add their own notes to the slides using the features provided in OneNote. Students without laptops can participate in polls using hardware clickers. The free application can be downloaded from the Microsoft Office website. I currently use PowerPoint and whiteboard in my classroom, and I can't wait to try this application out.

Also, OneNote Mobile is a free iPhone app for a limited time ... I'm seeing the trend for mobile learning. Mobile devices can also be used as interactive tools in a F2F classroom.

Permalink Reply by Maria Fishell on March 2, 2011 at 2:21am

Museum Box

I would like to share another FREE tool called Museum Box which we can use for F2F instruction. It is a presentation tool to showcase a lesson/topic using rich media (videos, music, pictures, text, links, and just almost any file) stored into a virtual box. Students can also contribute to the "museum". The website has already put together samples, curriculum ideas, and guidelines on how to involve our creative students in using this resource. I am currently exploring it, but I'm certain that you already have something in mind on how to use this in your classroom.

Permalink Reply by Laura Chamberlain on March 2, 2011 at 4:27pm

Wow, I just went to this site and LOVE it already. I see how a little bit of modeling might be needed for students to get the gist of what it's all about, but this is like powerpoint, essay, and diorama all smashed together in a great format. Thanks for sharing!

Permalink Reply by Jesse Loznak on March 3, 2011 at 12:16pm

This sounds great! I was just looking for something interesting to do with my students for the different types of rocks project, yes I know it is a snore. This maybe something I start to use to have a more engaging project.

Permalink Reply by Melissa White on March 3, 2011 at 5:24pm

Neat, I will have to check it out.

Permalink Reply by Cindy Crannell on August 11, 2011 at 12:52am

This looks amazing. I will have to show this to my staff at the training this year.

Permalink Reply by Amanda Kain on December 6, 2011 at 11:29am

This is a great tool! I could come up with many ways to incorporate this into the classroom. I can also see that it would take a little bit of modeling, maybe more depending on what grade level it is used for, but once explained it would be easy to use. It could be used for group projects, individual projects, or a class project. This is something I am going to use!