SECOND LIFE 

Second life is an online virtual game. Students can make us of this game for educational purposes especially learning a language. I created an avatar in Second Life to show how this game can be used for an educational tool. I and my two friends met in the area that we chose before. We discussed and talked about what is second life, the benefits and advantages of second life for language learning. Here is the video about our discuss, you can see and have an idea about this app :).

 Social Networking as an Educational Tool

As a result of its popularity especially among young students, social networking is becoming  widespread in education. Technology has a lot of benefits for education, so why not social networking sites? Like blogs, wikipedias, folksonomy, and podcasting social networking sites, teachers can make use of these tools in education for homeworks, discussions, etc.

Social networking sites have three special features bringing a new dimension to education. These features are Profile (for identity), Traversable (having a chance for adding someone as a friend), and semi-persistent public comments (allows people to comment to share their ideas). These features are connected to each other and make some contributions to education as well. 

Social networking tools can be used for different kinds of activities in education. Tools, for example, wikis, e-portfolios, blogs, podcasts, etc. students can make use of these sites for homeworks interactively and collaboratively group works, to identify themselves. Also any kind of knowledge can be discovered easily and in a variety of ways. Many more benefits like these can be sorted. 

The attraction of technology to students, frequent use of technology by students increased the demand for technology for the education. Technology has lots of benefits in education surely but there are some negative effects using technology in education as well. Like less meaningfulness, decreasing reflections, poor researching skills can be seen.

Here are several links from my friends' blogs, you can read their thoughts about this topic as well :).

https://ilkaylinguland.blogspot.com/?m=1 https://learnwith-ilknurgoray.blogspot.com/?m=1 https://englishnowandlater.blogspot.com/ https://selinaltinoba.blogspot.com/ https://plussinformation.blogspot.com

 TRELLO

I signed up for  a Trello page. I wrote my thoughts about different kinds of both educational and technological tools. Trello is a page allows user for organize and design their works. It looks lke padlet page as well. Purpose of using trello is to perform project management.

https://trello.com/b/V64TFlq4/web-20-tools-for-teaching

NEARPOD

I signed up for the Nearpod page as a teacher. My students are 8 years old (2nd age). The lesson has special code just the code given students can participate to the class. The topic is animals. When creating material, I checked out pre-made materials. I added a pre-made -in Nearpod activity about animals. Then I uploaded a slide about animals. Activities and materials can also be designed too. Students can make exercises, shared in the nearpod. This app is useful for interactive education.

Classroom code: 5C7PL (activity) W92GK (slide)

VISUALS

JAMBOARD 

I signed up for a Jamboard Page. I think it looks like a smart white board. I created a lesson material for my students (2nd Grade). The topic is COLORS. In the last fifteen minutes of the lesson I want to display this material-Jamboard. In the last fifteen minutes of the lesson, I will open the jamboard and make students some practice about what they've learnt. There are different kinds of funny activities for students in the pages. Also, I added some stick notes about what they will do. I allowed the link for anyone having this link.

LINK:https://jamboard.google.com/d/1NNeZKVjtpripKHHX7PMLwgE3w4-x2zxbA0I19xOdHIs/edit?usp=sharing

VISUALS

 PEARDECK

I signed up for a peardeck page. I created a slide for my students 8 years old (2th grade) by using a pear deck. I designed the activities in peardeck. My topic is ALPHABET. I firstly added to the slide which topic they will learn, then I added Alphabet with their pronounciations. I also added an alphabet song in the second slide.  There are three activities for my students in the slides. They are expected to do these activities. I wrote what they are going to do on the activities. Also students' feelings are quite important for me. So At the end of the lesson I want them to circle their feelings, given.

LINK:https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jIl1jqgt9RO6znQSqmaV2-_Z-RLAdi54GkDYcS6ZkMs/edit?usp=sharing

VISUALS

 EDPUZZLE

I signed up to Edpuzzle as a teacher. I created a classroom- 2nd grade. I edited a video which is for 2nd grade, Unit 2 introducing yourself. The video has open-ended questions but, some of them are not necessary for this grade. So, I deleted some of them. Students are expected to answer relevant questions during the time they are watching the video. Also, at the end of the video, I uploaded an assignment for my students. I ask them to introduce themselves. The questions are relevant to the video I designed. So they can understand questions and answer these by explaining themselves.

Here is the assignment link:  https://edpuzzle.com/assignments/608e9c6e522ab1415037ea0d/watch

Class code: afuumaz

  

 PADLET

I opened a Padlet page. This Padlet page is about explaining favorite books. Students are 16 years old (10th grade). Students will explain their favorite book and add a visual about the book. Also, students will see each other's choices and have an idea about different books. This activity is both fun and interactive. I also convert my explanation into a PDF document. Further, the Padlet page has a QR code anyone can access this page easily with this code.

VOKI

I created an avatar by using VOKI. It is an educational character. I designed this VOKI character to teach numbers to my students. Students are 8 years old(2nd Grade). I recorded my voice then I said numbers from zero to ten and I want my students to repeat after me. Thanks to that activity, students will learn both fun and enjoyable. Also, they will develop their pronunciation skills.

 EDMODO

I opened a class in Edmodo as a teacher. The classroom has a code for the students. Students given this code can participate in this class. The classroom is for those who are 14 years old (8th class). I firstly send a welcome post to introduce my class and aims. Then, I set up my class agenda for my students, namely ''Why don't people learn English fluently'' to see their mistakes better.

     

  

The Community of Inquiry Model

It is a framework constituting of three elements: Social, Cognitive and Educational Presences. It is a social constructivist model of learning course in online and mixed environment. Also, it overcomes social barrier between teacher and students.  Let's analyze the Presences one by one by extracting some philosophers explanations:

1. Social Presence:  ''The ability of participants to identify with the community, communicate purposefully in a trusting environment, and develop interpersonal relationships by way of projecting their individual personalities'' ( Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999)
2. Cognitive Presence: '' The extent to which learners are able to construct and confirm meaning through sustained reflection and discourse in a critical Community of Inquiry'' (Garrison, Anderson & Archer 1999).
3. Teaching Presence: ''The design, facilitation and direction of cognitive and social processes for the purpose of realizing personally meaningful and educationally worthwhile learning outcomes'' (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999).

 

 The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning

The principle known as the “multimedia principle” states that “people learn more deeply from words and pictures than from words alone” (p. 47).  Nevertheless using pictures wirh words is not an effective way for multimedia principle.  Aim of this principle is doing  instructional media about how human mind works.  This theory can be categorized into three main assumptions when it comes to learning with multimedia:

1. There are two separate channels (auditory and visual) for processing information (sometimes referred to as Dual-Coding theory);
2. Each channel has a limited (finite) capacity (similar to Sweller’s notion of Cognitive Load);
3. Learning is an active process of filtering, selecting, organizing, and integrating information based upon prior knowledge.

''Humans can only process a finite amount of information in a channel at a time, and they make sense of incoming information by actively creating mental representations. Mayer handle the role of three memory stores: sensory (which receives stimuli and stores it for a very short time), working (where we actively process information to create mental constructs (or ‘schema’), and long-term (the repository of all things learned).  Mayer’s cognitive theory of multimedia learning presents the idea that the brain does not interpret a multimedia presentation of words, pictures, and auditory information in a mutually exclusive fashion; rather, these elements are selected and organized dynamically to produce logical mental constructs. ''

                                                                                                     Richard Mayer’s book: Multimedia Learning

                                           MIND MAPS UPON TPACK AND SAMR MODELS

A. TPACK MODEL

What is TPACK?

TPACK is a technology integration framework that identifies three types of knowledge instructors need to combine for successful edtech integration—technological, pedagogical, and content knowledge 

1. Technological Knowledge

This describes teachers’ knowledge of, and ability to use, various technologies, technological tools, and associated resources. TK concerns understanding edtech, considering its possibilities for a specific subject area or classroom, learning to recognize when it will assist or impede learning, and continually learning and adapting to new technology offerings.

2. Content Knowledge

This describes teachers’ own knowledge of the subject matter. CK may include knowledge of concepts, theories, evidence, and organizational frameworks within a particular subject matter; it may also include the field’s best practices and established approaches to communicating this information to students. CK will also differ according to discipline and grade level – for example, middle-school science and history classes require less detail and scope than undergraduate or graduate courses, so their various instructors’ CK may differ, or the CK that each class imparts to its students will differ.

3. Pedagogical Knowledge

This describes teachers’ knowledge of the practices, processes, and methods regarding teaching and learning. As a generic form of knowledge, PK encompasses the purposes, values, and aims of education, and may apply to more specific areas including the understanding of student learning styles, classroom management skills, lesson planning, and assessments.

                                                                B. SAMR MODEL

What is SAMR?

The SAMR Model is a framework designed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura that can be categorized into four different degrees about classroom technology integration. The letters "SAMR" stand for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. Let's analyse shortly four degrees one by one

Substitution

At this stage technology has replaced traditionalism.

Augmentation

At this stage technology has taken the place of traditionalism directly. However, there are significant improvements in students' experiences.

Modification

At this stage there is a transition from designing to transformation on model. The change is not partly, it is a certain transformation.

Redefinition

It is the last stage of SAMR model. At this stage, redefinition deals with how technology transforms students' experiences.