I think that online photo journals are a great tool. I know that I follow them to stay updated on new things that are happening in the lives of my friends and family who I do not see often, as well as use it as a way to keep them updated on my life. However, I think they are better left for personal use. I am a little leery of using them in the educational setting because of all the problems that have come about in recent years that have gotten students in trouble because of pictures that have been found on websites and also because they are made so public. I can see these being abused very easily and could potentially get the students or the teacher in a lot of trouble. If I were to use them in a classroom setting. I would restrict the students to putting up only pictures of objects and scenery and would not allow pictures of people. That way most problems could be avoided. I could see them being used as a science journal, especially if nature was the topic being studied. The class could post pictures of different scientific processes that they are observing in nature. I could also see it as a fun way to tell a personal narrative, but again that would probably involve posting pictures of people. If there is a way so that only the class could see it, this could be a fun way to write a short story about a vacation or something else that has happened in their life. Thus far, this is probably the tool I would be least likely to use in my classroom.
I found many similarities to the instructional design method of preparing lessons as compared to the methods that I have previously used. In my undergraduate classes these steps were drilled into us. All the key components are there, with a few different terms used, including writing a goal and objective for the lesson, preparing materials needed for the lesson, stating what method the students will be assessed with and how the information will be delivered. The biggest thing that is included in the ID method that is not in a typical lesson plan is the fact that it their instructional delivery is usually done as a team effort, something not common in most classrooms. Also, when using instructional design nearly all of their methods of evaluation are hands on. This is not always possible in a typical classroom because some assessments call for a pencil and paper, multiple choice, short answer, essay test. As a teacher I would prefer all assessments to be hands on, but that does not always make the most sense, depending on what is being assessed.
A few things that they do not mention is looking at state standards when writing an objective and also the potential need for adaptations and modifications if there is a student requiring these things. I know that these aren't done for every lesson nor does every teacher have students needing modifications, but they are things to consider. Overall, I found the ID process of developing lesson plans to be very thorough and a solid method.
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2 comments:
I definitely agree with you on the whole lesson plan issue. I liked the way you put that modifications are not always planned in lessons, but often times are needed, and sometimes they are planned and not needed. Teachers do need to think on their feet. Following such a structured lesson plan would be great if it truly could be followed, but education (especially now) is so flexible and diverse that educators must make day to day, hour to hour, and even minute to minute changes. I also wanted to mention that I thought you brought up a good idea about using photo sharing on a lesson about cycles in nature. Good way to tell a story with pictures, and not a lot of room to get in trouble. Good reflection!
I really liked you thought of the "photo journal" idea. Up to this point, I really hadn't thought of FLickr, or photobucket as a "journal" kind of tool. This kinda puts a slightly different spin on the use of these sites. I had just simply thought of them as places to store pictures/albums, and such, as well as a method for making it much easier for others to view.
Although in my reflection, I do think this could be a good tool for an educational type setting, I do think that it would have to be strictly monitored, and safe-guarded somehow. There are far too many possibilities of mis-use, especially with different age-groups.
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