Motivation & Engagement through Technology

EngageEnlightenEducate is made up of 5 fantastic teachers who live in various states throughout the United States. Our present locations range as far as California & Nevada on the West coast to Florida & North Carolina on the East coast. We are even lucky enough to have a team member represent the tropical state of Hawaii. We chose to focus on motivation and engagement through the use of technology because during our extensive research for our Literature Review process, numerous studies proved to be beneficial to students in their learning environment. Our goal is to increase motivation and engagement by incorporating various forms of technology, ranging from Activeboards and other computer devices to Web 2.0 tools, such as Smilebox, Edmodo, Story Jumper, Zefty, and Ticket-to-Read.

During the Educational Media and Design Technology Masters of Science (EMDTMS) program at Full Sail University, Dr. Chris Deason, the professor of Education Design and Evaluation (EDE), assigned various tasks and projects that allowed all students to explore various design strategies to effectively communicate academic objectives to learners and to employees related to their EMDT Capstone project.

In addition to learning a variety of educational design approaches, students learned how to evaluate a design strategy and examine which approach was best for their academic, or staff, training environments. Along with traditional learning theories, the multiple learning theory and emotional intelligence theory were examined and evaluated for design and implementation in the academic and corporate learning environments. Students also learned how to manage an education, or a training project, utilizing media through the entire process.

EngageEnlightenEducate is a team that has been recently collaborating on group projects throughout the December 2011 EDE course. This particular assignment was to make a themed Capstone Google site, where each team member will develop and implement Capstone support media assets using ScreenFlow, and 4 different types of Google Documents: Document, Form, Drawing, and Presentation:

• 1 Google Document

We will be using the R2D2 method of instructional design for this project, defined according the the Bonk and Zhang model as Read, Reflect, Display and Do.

READ, DO, DISPLAY, AND REFLECT ACTIVITIES

Jessica Isla

Each week, students in one class will be exploring the use of Story Jumper with an instructional Writing lesson. However, since the overarching focus is on engaging and motivating teachers through the use of their technology of choice, there still needs to be an emphasis on the district and school adopted curriculum, which will be supplemented and enhanced by infusing each chosen technology whenever and however possible. The goal in this specific classroom is that the incorporation of technology would be found within at least one of the core subjects, Language Arts and Math, taught each day.

Within this same classroom, learners will be taking part in possible online scavenger hunts, guided reading question-and-answer sessions with instructor, teacher-created tutorials, and online literature readings that will be projected from the website Reading A-Z. In order for reflection to take place, students will take part in various self-check quizzes or exams that are referred to as a Ticket Out the Door, sporadic self-check and reflection activities like quick writes, and pair or group reflective writing tasks. At some point during the day, instruction might be anchored with an online video or interactive news documentary, animations, advanced organizers, models, flowcharts, diagrams, systems, and illustrations, or even consistent whiteboard demonstrations, and online visualizations tools like Thinking Maps. A crucial part of the process lies in active-learning and hands-on activities. These types of learning situations can be found in various content review games like Jeopardy and the Scott Foreman Quiz Show. These types of review games can also serve as a form of online practice exercises. In addition, interactive fiction and continuous stories used during writing time, digital storytelling used in the computer lab on Story Jumper, and other online science labs or simulations on games for higher-level skills can be used to enhance learning.

Karen Sigmon

To enhance the English Language Arts curriculum in the classroom, students will participate in technology-enhanced reading lessons including online poetry readings, Voki.com, text messaging, web tours and audio dramas. These tools require the student to read in order to achieve success in the activity. Because reflection is an imperative aspect of the learning process, technology-based reflections will be incorporated. These reflections could be accomplished by writing a personal blog, collaborating on a blog, observations made during the learning process, or a portfolio detailing the student’s experiences. Technology lessons using displays are also an important part of the implementation process. Instruction via online videos, use of an Active Board, exploration of online museums, taking virtual field trips, and creating charts and graphs are all methods of infusing technology into visual learning. There are many technology-based programs that promote hands-on or active-learning. Review games such as Jeopardy or word games solidify content already learned and serve as a reinforcement to strengthen learning. Other options for active-learning include online science experiments or labs, digital storytelling and online tutoring or mentoring programs.

Melinda Lyle-Javier

Students will use online websites to read information relating to what we are studying. Currently a program called the Stock Market Game is being used. The classroom had been divided into small investment groups. After studying the stock market to understand how stocks are bought and sold they began to invest the groups monies in stocks and bonds. Student groups begin with $100,000. Students go online three times a week to check their investments making decisions about buying or selling the stocks. This activity reinforces reading skills, math skills, and collaborative skills. Creative writing involves the use of writing journals. Students use journal writing for reflection, the writing of stories, and poetry. A photo journal is created weekly and shared with parents. This gives students the opportunity to use iPhoto and provides an artistic view of our activities. Most students are hands-on learners, so the use of the kitchen and the preparation of food is a wonderful way to be hands-on. Developing a menu, making a shopping list, choosing the cooks and bakers, and then finally the kitchen is bustling with everyone working together to create a meal to share. Sitting down together and eating a meal provides a time to reflect on our shared experiences.

Samantha Goodman

Students will view PowerPoint presentations, read e-book versions of stories, listen to audio texts, write personal journal reflections, and participate in online discussions and reflections through Edmodo, self- evaluations and portfolios. Students will utilize the Active Board for hands-on learning opportunities. The students will use concept maps, film clips, video demonstrations, video streamlining, view online blogs, charts and graphs, and any reference media necessary to enhance the lessons. To make it more hands-on, students will use online games, storytelling, create classroom movies, use role-playing, and participate in hands-on collaborative group projects. In addition, students will have access to the online components that accompany the curriculum such as online vocabulary practice, online summary practice, online math activities, and online writing activities.

Tessa Perlman

Stories were read to my non-verbal exceptionally challenged students in order to evoke the emotions necessary to start the art therapy sessions.

Activities and lessons were complimented by specific instructions from Burke County Public School Psychologists. web-based software will compliment the art therapy lessons as needed for supplemental lessons as needed, (www.ticket-to-read.com, Accelerated Reading, reading eggs)

Wiki spaces classroom website, field observations by A Caring Alternative, personal blogs and interviews, individual art portfolios, and digital online journals.

Interviews were displayed and conducted in a documentary style fashion to implement the collection of data regarding art therapy. Each student also will have a personal portfolio to help their team of psychologists, psychiatrists, and school counselors. The art therapy project worked in tandem with online video journals that explained what the art was about, and how it explained through ongoing personal development for these client’s and community support in addition to parental involvement.

It has been experienced that the use of clay mediums helped non-verbal students have positive learned experiences. Especially when clay mediums offered three dimensional kin esthetic opportunities to develop a student’s five senses: sight, smell, taste, touch, and sound were promoted. The connection that develops is a relationship with clay for non-verbal students, like a fish had to water. It will grow and naturally supported the needs and personal vision of each student. Which offered an opportunity for language to begin to develop, especially with out the fear of anxiety, or any other related stress to the student. This was a unique opportunity for students who faced non-verbal challenged learning disabilities.

Our team, EngageEnlightenEducate agrees that engaging students with the use of technology such as videos, still photographs, and mind maps creates an environment that fosters excitement and interest in content. The goal for our site is to provide K-12 educators with the information on popular classroom Web 2.0 tools and their uses. Following exploration of our team site it is our hope that educators will utilize and integrate these tools in their into their lessons. We hope you explore our site and take the time to learn how these tools can help you create engaging lessons within your course.

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