New Directions in Instructional Design and Technology

      In my class I incorporate e-learning through the use of websites like Edmodo.  All of our eighth grade students received iPads this year as a part of the Gear-Up Grant.  I distribute my class worksheets in paper form but I also upload all of the files in .pdf form to Edmodo.  This way, all of my students have access to the files, even if they have lost their paper copy.  My students have all downloaded an app called pdf notes which is free that allows them to annotate any pdf file and save it.  They can then snapshot their work and upload it to edmodo or email me a pdf copy of their work.  We've also started using the TI nSpire handhelds along with the TI navigator in our classrooms so that students can send and receive files.  The handhelds act as response systems as well.  I have my students do research on their iPads as well.
   
  I will continue using learning objects in my class by creating presentations and visuals for students that can be easily incorporated into my lessons.  With math, it's important for the student to understand what is going on not only abstractly but first they have to be able to visually see what is going on.  I've been creating documents that can be sent to my students via the TI nSpire handhelds in which they can answer questions and I can collect the documents and receive feedback on how they did overall on the assignment.  Sometimes I find videos on the internet that connect to my lesson to serve as visual aids in the learning process. Before the handhelds, I used the eInstruction clickers in my classroom to figure out what items I needed to reteach to my students.

 
      I plan on using Prezi to present my lessons to my class.  I have used it once before to present a lesson and even though the information was stuff they had seen before, prezi made it more exciting for them than me just writing notes on the board for them to copy.  I think that as teachers, we need to change things up a little bit sometimes so that students do not lose interest in what is being taught because they are bored.  I also want to create short video lessons or tutorials on mathematical concepts that are being taught in my class so that students who are struggling can have access to the videos when they need extra help.  I've started creating short gif animations that model processes that have been taught in class and have uploaded them to my teacher website.  These little animations are one of the first things that you see on my teacher page. 
    
      Since our students have iPads, we look for apps that are either games, or learning activities that match what is being taught in class.  Sometimes students are sent home with an assignment to play around with a certain app that will give them practice with a specific math skill.  Students think they are playing but they are really learning at the same time.  I think that it would be really neat to design a virtual online classroom, but it is not readily available in our school.  My school district has plenty of technology to float around.  Some of the other instruments that I currently use to teach with are Mobi, Interwrite Whiteboard, document cameras, and projectors.  I would like to get more involved in using web 2.0 tools in my classroom.  My goal is to have students communicating with each other about educational topics.  I want my students to create meaningful content that they can present to the rest of the class.