Is there a class with this content.

The article Is there a class with this content states:

"Given this requirement for highly structured content and rigorously controlled delivery, behaviourists believed that their technology of instruction could be best provided not by human
teachers but by devices, such as those itemized by Innis."

If this statement is true then all teachers would have been replaced by computers or other technical devices. There are some students who would prefer to learn this way, yet other students would not be able to function, they would need the human interaction to be able to learn.

Week 5

This timeline assignment should be interesting, I plan on doing a timeline of physical education and how it has changed over the years. The technology that may be incorporated into physical education these days is very interesting, I would like to do more research on the effectivness however.

Week 4

This weeks reading seemed very basic to me, simply the process of creating a team, designing a product and puting that product into production.
When designing any team you should choose people who have strengths in areas that you want to develop. You should also choose people who have different strengths than your own. That way when you get to the design phase you have all the bases covered, if you have chosen your team wisely you should be able to plan effectively and let everyone get to work on developing the product.
It is a basic concept, but actually rather difficult to execute at times you may not be able to find the right team for the project, but the job still needs to be done. If you keep the process simple, design, create, implement, then you will eventually be successful.

Reflections on Blogs

I found the following quote from the article to be very thought provoking; "The instructors felt that most students neglected their blogs and were not posting regularly or responding to their peers." The article didn't give detailed information as to why students were neglecting their blogs or not commenting. Is this really any different than a classroom discussion? In a highschool classroom are there some kids who are eager to comment and contribute to the discussion while others do not want to draw attention to themselves. Were these students neglecting their blog responsibilities because they were not comfortable with the technology or because they are not comfortable commenting in class regardless of the format.

Week 2 - Readings

While reading the article "Teaching and Learning Online" I found the different learning styles to be the most interesting. As a high school teacher it is often difficult to find new and innovative ways to keep the students attention. Trying to engage high school kids in a classroom discussion is worse than trying to paddle upstream with a boxcar in tow. When I get the students involved in a project the motivational factor pretty much takes care of itself. I was glad to find this quote from the article.

"Project-based learning is a powerful form of learning for a number of reasons. It provides a
motivating context for the learning activity and the authentic context promotes transfer and
application of the knowledge to outside settings. At the same time the products and
artefacts provide meaningful ways to assess student learning and achievements."

Many people think since I use so much technology in my classroom I am a nontraditional teacher. What this atricle says about project-based learning reaffirms to me that I am doing something right. Most students have a lot of fun with the projects, to them learning is so fun they don't even realize they are learning. Also with various projects you get to see the different students personalities come through as they add their own special twist to the projects they create.