"MOST" Environment

The model seems to be a great way to support at risk students. It also seems to be a good way to have students review and retell what they have learned. Additionally, I like the idea of adding in the computer-based "tutees" that present what-if questions that promote reflection. However, I could see this model being difficult to design because it has so many features. Teachers would have to create the initial presentation and then provide students with tools to use to retell the story presented. I think by keeping it simple, these barriers could be overcome. I think it might be a good idea to begin by making a short presentation and see how it works, and then changing what you came up with based on the results of the first one carried out in the classroom.

I would attempt to use this model with my future students. I really like how it incorporates the visual aspect, and doesn't solely rely on the verbal aspect of learning. I think it would be fun to create a video for students to watch about a story and then have them use a web-based tool to retell it. Like I said, I would give them a shorter story to retell first, and see how they do with putting it back together. I think this model would be a good way for students to show that they have mastered understanding of the reading, and also a good way for students to show chronological events in the order that they happened in the story.

I think several web-based tools can be used when carrying out this model in the classroom. I think teachers could use a website creator to make the presentation. Teachers could also embed Youtube or Teachertube videos into the website. They could then have students present the information from the story to them using Prezi (presentation creator) or even Bitstrip (comic strip creator).

STAR Legacy

My initial reactions to this model are that I think it would work well with many different subject areas. I really like how it is based on five main steps that students go through. I also like how in this model teachers present students with the initial questions to think about, and then revisit these questions again after the students have completed their learning and assessment. I think this is a good way for students to see how their answers or beliefs might have changed, and to see what they have learned.

One barrier that I see is that it would probably take a long time for teachers to put together step #3 (Perspectives and Resources). I think it might take a while for teachers to gather all of the pertinent resources, and also the different perspectives on the topic being presented. The good thing is though, once teachers created a model like this once, they would probably be able to reuse some of the resources and perspectives for classes that they have in the future. The only other barrier I could think of would be that some students may have a hard time going through this model on their own. Some individuals have a hard time evaluating different resources and perspectives. I think that teachers could put their students in groups to complete the five steps, provide more scaffolding, and model to student's their expectations and how they should be looking for hints and clues within their resources.

I definitely think I would use this model in my future classroom. I think it would be a great way to make sure that students are grasping certain curriculum objectives and learning the concepts in a meaningful way. I might try to have them do some individual STAR legacy models as well as group STAR legacy model learning. I think students could also benefit from working with a partner to learn through the STAR legacy model. I also feel that this model would be a great way to assess students.

I think that there are several web-based tools that could be utilized to benefit this model. Obviously, a web-site developer tool would be needed to create the model. Also, Windows MovieMaker or iMovie would be helpful to give students visual movies to look at about the topic/concept that they are learning. Just like the example presented in the lecture, still images can be incorporated, or even live videos. Also, I think that Voki could be used to tell of the different perspectives being presented (If students are learning about how animals are affected by pollution, for example, then different animal Voki's can be created that tell perspectives on the issue, etc.). Also, discussion threads could be incorporated for students to discuss initial thoughts or reactions to the challenge presented. Students could also blog about the different resources that they are researching and reading in the model.

Anchored Instruction

Initially, it seems as though this model is a lot like Goal-Based Scenarios and Problem-Based Learning. The teacher presents a problem, and students have to come up with a possible solution. This model seems to be slightly different from the other models because students do less research on their own since the information is already embedded in the model. Some barriers to this model may be the fact that some students would not be motivated to read information over and over to find answers to solve problems presented. Also, some of the more shy students may not be willing to debate with their group about ways they can solve the given problem. I think these barriers can be overcome. Students can be better motivated if teachers incorporate more multimedia items to present the problems. Also, students could be put in small groups where they would feel comfortable and more willing to share ideas with their group.

I would attempt to use this model in the future. I think that it would be useful for students to collaborate with a small group of individuals to try to solve a problem with embedded data and information. Students would just have to figure out from the information given, how to solve the problem. I think it would be great for student's to participate in something such as this because it would have a real-world application. Students would also be using 21st century skills by problem solving, collaborating, communicating effectively with others, and using higher order thinking skills to solve these problems. I would probably use this model a few times a week in my classroom, but I think when paired with multimedia items such as videos, it would be a great model to use.

I think many web-based tools could be incorporated in this model to make it effective. Videos could be used to present the stories/scenarios/problems. Videos would engage the students and motivate them. They would also be able to go back and review certain parts of the video that they may want to focus on in more detail. Videos could be put on programs such as Viddler or Voicethread where students could work with their group and comment on various slides/pictures/videos about ways to solve the problems or ideas they have about the scenarios presented.