Example Map for the lesson with Google Map

View My summer vacation to South Heaven in a larger map

Idea for a lesson with Google Map

#2 Come up with an idea for a lesson in which your students would create their own maps.

We have leaned basic ideas about typing, the internet,posting,and more with laptops during this spring semester. Before summer, we integrate Google Map into the class to make students get interesting geography, directs around their own house,streets names, etc. 
 
During a summer long vacation, they will have diary homework. Typically, they do in notebooks by hands,though they choose one happening(travel is the best!) that can be possible to show on Map, and create their Diary Map. They will show where and what they did with pictures. After the summer vacation is done, they will have presentations and share what they did in the summer in the class.

It would be useful to practice typing and crate original diary more. Also, it would be helpful to cultivate creating and describing ability. They can put their own pictures and videos for making them more unique.
Also, this lesson helps students connect what they have leaned on geography,writing,and art field.

Podcast

Private English Portal: http://privateenglishportal.com/category/toeflielts-lessons/

I found Private English Portal (PEP) by Steve Ford that people can learn English on online as second English for taking TOEFL test and learning business English and common phrases, etc.

There are 9 categories like followers. You can find each on the light side of the top page in the site.

• Basic to Advanced English Learning Lessons
• Business English Lessons
• Free Podcast English Lessons
• Learn English Live
• Learning English TV
• Parallels
• Peppy English Lessons
• Peppy English Pronunciation Lessons
• TOEFL/IELTS English Lessons

I like TOEFL/IELTS category. Each of the writing, speaking, and listening sections require specific strategies, and this podcast offers them with many examples with his unique ways. Also, he teaches many test preparations in the caterory. If you sign up, you can also the free subtitles and quiz for this category.

I can say he is really funny and unique in the all videos that I watched. The most important parts are that subtitle is shown in the below of those videos and he doesn’t make the users feel bored to learn English in this site.

Trends & Issues Ch.4

Application Questions(P.42,1)

Teach how to calculate and compare the unit costs of various sizes and/or brands of the same product. Select three of the theories of learning discussed in this chapter. For each of the three, describe the nature of the instructional activities that you would design if you were adhering to that theory as you were planing the instruction.

<Cognitive Information Processing Theory>

This theory is process within the learner. Stimuli that become inputs cause learners to show behavior as output. First, learners need to get attention to what they will learn. (Attention)

1.      Prepare for two pictures that are printed boxes contain 10oz cookies for $9 and 5oz cookies for $4. And, have learners choose one they want to buy by the first impression. Have them imagine when they go to a grocery shop and chose one.

Next, learners need to make the personally meaning. (Encoding)

2.      Have students answer which one they chose and why in the class. Also, have them think how they should find out which one is more reasonable to buy.

3.      Guide them the idea to cultivate the unit cost per oz of each box for finding out which one is more reasonable. And, make them be reminded of division’s meaning.(Make them care about unit of each number.), and think how to divide the problem of 10oz cookies for $9 and 5oz cookies for $4.

4.      Have them make sure which box is cheaper per oz after calculating each. 

Lastly, they need to recall the new information from memory so that it can be applied in an appropriate context. (Retrieval)

5.      Give leaners some similar questions like calculating the unit costs of several sizes of same products and compare them.

6.      Also, they should have feedback of each question in the class for making sure they understand the new style correctly. Have make some learners share their answers verbally in the class with the way how they calculated and compared each question  

<Gagne’s Theory of Instruction>

This theory is based on Information Processing Theory and Gagne’s own observations of effective teachers in the class. He offered five major categories of learning that define instructional goal in each condition of learning. In this Application Questions case (p42,1), “verbal information” to understanding  the meaning of the unit costs, “attitudes” that learners conduct correct side divided by the another correct side, an “intellectual skill” to solving arithmetic problems should be the mainly goals in this instruction. 

First, gaining attention as similarly as Cognitive Information Process. (I use same examples for  making it easier to comparing between Cognitive Information Process and Gagne’s Theory Instruction)

1.      Prepare for two pictures that are printed boxes contain 10oz cookies for $9 and 5oz cookies for $4. And, have learners choose one they want to buy by the first impression. 

Second, Informing the learner of the objective. And, third, stimulating recall of prior learning.

2.      Show the question. “You go shopping to buy cookies for a birthday party. Which one is a cheaper price cookie per 1oz? And how much cheaper than the another one? ”(intellectual skill)

3.      Make them be reminded of division’s meaning(verbal information) and care about the each unit to understand which number should be divided which one (attitude).

Four, presenting the stimulus.

4.      Make some groups within the classmates, and have them have discussions for the solutions. 

Fifth, providing learning guidance.

5.      If there are a group that have problems, give a cue or hint to make them clear.

Sixth, eliciting performance.  And seventh, providing feedback.

6.      Make some students share verbally how they thought and solved it in the class. Make sure all learners understand in the end including the meanings of division and unit. Also, ask any question.

 Eighth, assessing performance.

7.      Demonstrate what learners have been learning in front of the class again 

Ninth, enhancing retention and transfer.

8.      Give more similar questions and approval ones to go beyond the immediate context of the instruction.

Conference in Kyoto,Japan next month! I post the map around there just in case!

大きな地図で見る

A way to integrate interactive whiteboard into a kindergarden class

Homecoming Day!

The opening of Homecoming Game at WMU. 

We held National Flogs in a line. 

24/7 access to laptop in learning

<Trends & Issues, Ch3 p28(1.a)>

The three reasons why 24/7 access to laptop which the curriculum materials are installed on with wireless in classes have very little effects on the instructional practice.

The first reason is teachers’ poor skills and knowledge to integrate these software and the materials installed on the laptop into classes. Instructors who haven’t cultivated the systems, knowledge, and skills of handling laptops and software for instructional practice might have problems to make up classes’ schedules and effective contents for learners to be able to learn positively and effectively in the classes. Also, it should take a ton of times for instructors to make use of the installed materials so that it makes easier for learners to understand complex contents in all subjects, especially Math.

Second factor is that more new models of instructional practice for it. The curriculum materials installed on the laptop should have lower quality depending on subjects, and teachers need to more ideas to integrate them into classes effectively in all subjects. They might help for students to have more concreter ideas with digital pictures and informed website, though administers and teachers should have resistance to perfect change in the process that new models and theories for appropriate use this style are developed.

The most important one is lacks of communications and interactions among learners and instructor. If they access laptop for 24 hours a day and every day of the week, it can’t be said that there are high communication processes and interactions among them even if the users are connecting via the internet. Communications and interactions via direct physical activities between students and students, students and instructors, and sometimes students and the instructional contents are necessary for cultivating human qualities and “alive knowledge”.

<Trends & Issues, Ch3 p28(1.b)>

Here, I give two strategies to mitigate these factors I presented above.

First, the professors need to have more lectures that give the basic ideas and trainings to active teachers and even post-teachers so that they can stand on an equal footing with the project and be ready for handling these materials and software in the classes.

Second one is Web2.0 that users can communicate and learn by speaking actives on the laptop like Voicethread should be adopted into the project not only communication on the screens. If so, the users recognize the classmates’ voices and can have more effective interactions among them, and they are also more motivated by the voice instructions from learners. 

Photo Sharing!

Here is my Flickr page, SayuriKo Theater! :)

I will keep posting my memories in U.S. as a grad school student!