Eduu 564 - Literature Review Topic

What specific technology tools or technology teaching strategies you are interested in exploring?

I am interested in exploring the effectiveness of technology in online format high school and college math classes compared to a traditional classroom based teaching strategy.

List three possible research questions that will help you organize your topic.

1. What does the literature review say about the effectiveness of online math instruction?
2. At what grade level was the research study conducted?
3. At what level of math (basic, pre-algebra, calculus) was the research study focused on?

Include links to at least two peer-reviewed journal that relates to your topic and/or technology tools or teaching strategies.

1. Swan, K. (2003). Learning effectiveness: what the research tells us. In J. Bourne & J. C. Moore (Eds) Elements of Quality Online Education, Practice and Direction. Needham, MA: Sloan Center for Online Education, 13-45. http://cguevara.commons.gc.cuny.edu/files/2009/09/learning-effectiveness.pdf
2. Smith, G. G. and Ferguson, D. (2005). Student attrition in mathematics e-learning. Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 21(3), 323-334. http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet21/smith.html

Include links to three websites that provide information about topic, tech tool, or teaching strategy of interest for action research.

1. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics http://www.nctm.org/
2. The Math Forum http://mathforum.org/
3. Education Portal http://education-portal.com/math_learning_online_courses.html

Post #10

This article discusses the adaptive and intelligent technologies regarding Web-based distance education. They analyzed what kind of technologies are available right now, how easily they can be implemented on the Web, and where is the place of the technologies in Web-based education. I felt this article was interesting because Web-based education (WBE) is currently a hot research and development area. As the author discusses, “Web courseware installed and supported in one place can be used by thousands of learners all over the world that are equipped with any kind of Internet-connected computer. Thousands of Web-based courses and other educational applications have been made available on the Web within the last five years.” The author believes that the biggest problem is that most of the web-based courses are just a network of static hypertext pages. Several companies are creating web based education systems, but they’re not practical or advanced.

Brusilovsky, P. (1999). Adaptive and Intelligent Technologies for Web-based Education. In C. Rollinger & C. Peylo (Eds.) Künstliche Intelligenz 4, Special Issue on Intelligent Systems and Teleteaching, 19-25.

Post #9

This website article discusses the top web tools for enhancing collaboration. I have read through all of them but will discuss the top five that I believe will be the most beneficial in schools. CoSketch is a whiteboard that you can collaborate on to visualize your ideas and share them as images. The good thing is that you don’t have to register or install anything. It works in all browsers, it’s real time, and you can get an embed code for your drawing after you finish. EtherPad is a Web-based word processor that lets you work with others at the same time. When several users are working on the same documents simultaneously, you can get feedback immediately. You know who contributed to the text, and all changes are saved on the server in case you have to undo. Grou.ps lets you create your own social network. You can create your forum or mailing list; share documents, files, and your agenda for organizing events; have your own YouTube; and share links, bookmarks, and photos. You can chat in real time, you can let the users have subgroups, and it’s free. PageFlakes is a personalized social homepage that you can customize using “flakes,” which are small, movable widgets of all your Web favorites. You can add Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, photos, music, videos, a calendar, a to-do list, a message board, and an RSS feed. Thinklinker lets you create outlines in your Web browser. You can collaborate in real time and share outlines. You can also use chat while collaborating. These are just a few of the many web tools this website provides.

Karaoglu, O. (2010, November 1). Top Web Tools for Enhancing Collaboration . In Tech and Learning. Retrieved December 1, 2010, from http://techlearning.com/article/34196

Post #8

Due to the budget cuts, the school districts want teachers to do more with less. Al Foytek, director of IT, “used PerfectForms, a Webbased service ($30 a month) that lets users build and customize applications from an existing library, to create simple online forms for each process. The savings provided by a single multipart and multicolor form, each printed copy of which cost 75 cents, topped $10,000 a year.” It is great that schools are going paperless, to cut costs and benefit the environment. No longer will students be able to use the excuse “my dog ate my homework”.

Zuger, S. (2010, November 1). A Form of Change . In Tech and Learning. Retrieved December 2, 2010, from http://techlearning.com/article/34100

Post #7

There have been several individuals who are protesting the omission of technology in the funding for competitive grants in 2011. "Based on numerous public statements and documents disseminated both by the White House and the Department, SETDA had every expectation that technology would be included not only as an independent cross-cutting priority for future discretionary grant programs, but also incorporated into all other priorities, as appropriate," wrote SEDTA executive director Doug Levin in a Sept. 7 letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan. The SETDA pushed for the department to list technology as a priority, and the Department of Education has has acknowledged the comments about the lack of a technology priority.

Mageau, T. (2010, December 16). Technology Now a Competitive Priority for ED Grants. In The Journal. Retrieved December 16, 2010, from http://thejournal.com/articles/2010/12/16/technology-now-a-competitive-priority-for-ed-grants.aspx?sc_lang=en

Post #6

Kenneth Wesson discusses the thirteen important brain facts that educators must be aware of. The author stated, “If we want our schools to be successful learning institutions, it is essential that both parents and educators become keenly aware of the best information and that they are regularly using that very same information.” This sentence struck me because I realized that not all parents are involved in their children’s education. There are several different types of parents: some sit with their child and help with homework, some pay to have someone else help their child with their homework, others feel that their child can learn on their own, and some do not care what their child does in school. We need to get parents excited to participate in school activities to show their children that they truly do care. Also, I found it interesting that even when we think we have stopped thinking about a certain topic, our brain continues to process the information to find what we were meaning to say. This is very important when teaching, and thus it is important to give students time to answer questions you may pose.

Wesson, K. A. (2003, August). What Everyone Should Know About the Latest Brain Research. Neuroscience, 1-8.

Post #5

This article discusses how Dr. Jay Giedd, the chief of brain imaging, has spent the past 13 years to looking inside the brains of over 1,800 kids and teenagers. He takes MRI snapshots every two years and builds a record as the brain grows. After reading the paragraph below, I thought of how coming from a strict Indian culture teenagers are not allowed to do many of these listed things.

Adolescents are actively looking for experiences to create intense feelings. It’s a very important hint that there is some particular hormone-brain relationship contributing to the appetite for thrills, strong sensations and excitement. This thrill seeking may have evolved to promote exploration, an eagerness to leave the nest, and seek one’s own path or partner.

In India, for girls you are not supposed to leave your parents’ house until you are married, and the oldest son in each house hold must take on the responsibility of care taker and live with his parents until they pass away. Also, although it is less common now a days, arranged marriages were forced upon children in the past, which meant your parents choose your husband or wife for you. Indian children are not allowed to act out or talk back to their parents, because it is seen as a sign of disrespect. This makes me wonder how interesting it would be for Dr. Giedd to study the brains of twins across cultures.

Wallis, C. (2008, September 26). What Makes Teens Tick. In Time. Retrieved December 4, 2010, from http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,994126,00.html