A) I will use the technology tools learned in these "Things" in many ways.
In the area of Productivity Tools, I have always used tools like Google Docs and the Google Calendar. However, the Zamzar media converter was new to me and I like it. In the past, I have use an array of different tools to make the conversions that I needed to make, but I find this tool to be much less messy than some of those options. Also, I think that students will find this tool useful too. I know that our video classes occassionally have a need for a tool such as this.
In the area of Professional Learning Networks, I have expanded my horizons a little. I have not used the Macul Space much in the past, but it does have some good information in the Forum area and it seems like a nice place to ask questions as well. Additionally, I have never really seen a use for Twitter until now. I now know how useful it can be for sharing professional information and keeping up to date on new educational tools. I will be using it to follow other professionals in the future.
Along this same line, I found the information about RSS feeds and other tools to stay informed very useful. Though I have worked with them in the past, I have not used all the tools in iGoogle and the Google Reader before.
In this unit I found the online databases like MEL and the information about Online Learning to be useful. Though I have heard of MEL before, I often forget about it as a resource and it does have some great information. Also, I think that Online Learning is going to be a key type of education in the future. I plan to do some collaboration with other schools in the future.
Lastly, I think that Visual Organizers and Screencasting are great ways to teaching students. I know that I always find learning easier if I can see an example of what is being discussed or if the information being discussed is presented in a logical format. Tools like Gliffy or Bubbl.us are great for organizing information. Also, tools like Jing, Camtasia, or Screecast-o-Matic are great for walking someone through a topic or process. I think they are both great ways of teaching information.
B) Many of the key teaching and learning strategies explained by Marzano are addressed in these "Things".
I find that in addition to teaching students to analyze questions, cues, and graphic organizers, tools like Gliffy are great for analyzing similarities and differences. The logical structure and formatting tools allow users to compare information very easily. These tools are also great for Non-Linguistic Learning.
Screencasting is also a great way to increase value in Homework and Practice. By giving students the ability to watch and rewatch good information at home, it increases their ability to understand the material. Furthermore, it gives teachers' new possibilities like "flipping the classroom".
Virtual classrooms and Professional Learning Networks also help to get at the topic of Incorporating Cooperative Learning Effectively. Students now have the capabilities to learn with other students outside of their school's walls. Also, teachers have the same possibility of cooperating and learning online from other educators through the use of PLN's like MaculSpace, Twitter, etc. Virtual classrooms and professional learning networks are also great places for both students and educators to Set Objectives and Provide Feedback.
I feel that the tools in the section are great for 21st Century Learning and they will only become more and more essential as we move forward with online learning.
C) One of the "Things" that from this section that I am going to use in the future is iGoogle, Google Reader, and Blogger. I have decided that for a Computer Essentials class that I teach, I am going to use these tools in the future. Currently, I am using Google Docs as both a collection and collaboration tool, but I think that I want to branch out into some of the other products which are easily found within Google. I would like to have students use the iGoogle page as more of a home base for working within Google. I figure that if I teach them to use the connected tools within iGoogle for class, they might also find them useful for their personal and future professional lives. Next year, I plan to have my students submit work to Blogger similar to what we are doing in this class. Also, I am going to incorporate the use of the Google Reader to have students customize their iGoogle with RSS feeds.
These changes to my current class will also help to meet the following MI Technology Standards
9-12.CC.1 (identifying various collaboration technologies and describe their use) and 9-12.CC.2 (using available technologies to communicate with others on a class assignment or project) By using a blog for classroom activities students will both learn their definition and useage while at the same time learn how to use them for collaboration.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Thing 21 - Screencasting
1. For my Screencasting lesson I will be explaining how to use the Creative Commons to add a license to a website.
2. I sent the link to this screencast to the other computer teacher in my building because I was sharing some information about the Creative Commons with them about a week ago and they were interested in using it for their classes as well.
3. The screencast that I created can be found at this link: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXhj0dbyG
I found the Screencast-o-Matic tool to be a very easy tool to work with. I have used Camtasia and Jing in the past and both of these tools work very well for this same process, but I figured it would be fun to try something new. In working with Screencast-o-Matic I had no problem with creating the recording or using the website; however, I do think that using the 2 button keyboard combinations to pause and end the screencast can be a little clunky when you are trying to end your screencast or pause it quickly.
I feel like screencasts can be very useful tools for teachers and students because they allow the viewer to watch a process over and over again at any time. Though I do not always love recording myself and creating videos, I am getting more and more comfortable with the process. Ultimately, I think I have learned not to be quite so picky with my final product. I used to get hung up with trying to create the perfect video with not fumbling or mistakes, but that can become very time-consuming and sometimes I think it is alright to have students or teachers to watch you make a bumble or two on the screen.
As far as feedback for my video went, the other teacher at my school thought that it looked good. There were a couple of points where I referred to what I was doing and you could not see it on the screen because I was using keyboard commands and she thought that maybe I could explain that in the video so that the user can understand how those processes were occurring (example: copying text by using Ctrl C) Other than that one critique, I felt like my video turned out all-right.
I will continue to create more screencasts in the future. I like to use them for showing processes for both student and teacher learning. Our school will be using an updated version of a teacher gradebook next year and I am certain that I will make a screencast for showing teachers how to setup that gradebook and work with it. There are also simple things like installing printers, navigating the network, etc. that often raise questions that could easily be answered with a screencast. In the future I also hope to do more with using video lessons as homework. I would like to try to flip the classroom on some occasions and see how that goes.
2. I sent the link to this screencast to the other computer teacher in my building because I was sharing some information about the Creative Commons with them about a week ago and they were interested in using it for their classes as well.
3. The screencast that I created can be found at this link: http://www.screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cXhj0dbyG
I found the Screencast-o-Matic tool to be a very easy tool to work with. I have used Camtasia and Jing in the past and both of these tools work very well for this same process, but I figured it would be fun to try something new. In working with Screencast-o-Matic I had no problem with creating the recording or using the website; however, I do think that using the 2 button keyboard combinations to pause and end the screencast can be a little clunky when you are trying to end your screencast or pause it quickly.
I feel like screencasts can be very useful tools for teachers and students because they allow the viewer to watch a process over and over again at any time. Though I do not always love recording myself and creating videos, I am getting more and more comfortable with the process. Ultimately, I think I have learned not to be quite so picky with my final product. I used to get hung up with trying to create the perfect video with not fumbling or mistakes, but that can become very time-consuming and sometimes I think it is alright to have students or teachers to watch you make a bumble or two on the screen.
As far as feedback for my video went, the other teacher at my school thought that it looked good. There were a couple of points where I referred to what I was doing and you could not see it on the screen because I was using keyboard commands and she thought that maybe I could explain that in the video so that the user can understand how those processes were occurring (example: copying text by using Ctrl C) Other than that one critique, I felt like my video turned out all-right.
I will continue to create more screencasts in the future. I like to use them for showing processes for both student and teacher learning. Our school will be using an updated version of a teacher gradebook next year and I am certain that I will make a screencast for showing teachers how to setup that gradebook and work with it. There are also simple things like installing printers, navigating the network, etc. that often raise questions that could easily be answered with a screencast. In the future I also hope to do more with using video lessons as homework. I would like to try to flip the classroom on some occasions and see how that goes.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Thing 20 - Visual Learning
1. Below is a visual example of a computer programming flowchart which was created in Gliffy.
2. Below is a screenshot of a Word Cloud created in Tagxedo.
3. Visual diagrams and graphic organizers are very useful in education. As research suggests, non-linguistic representation is a key to student learning. Tools like Bubbl.us and Gliffy are great for producing your own graphic organizers. These visuals can be effective tools for presenting information to students. Also, having students create their own graphic representations can be a great way to have students learn a concept or understand a process. Through the creation of their own visual representation students often have to sythesize the information and deduce the proper way to show the topic of study, thus learning in the process.
Tools like Wordle and Tagxedo are also interesting tools. By entering words into the tool, the user can then visualize either those same words or similar words in a "word cloud" on the screen. These tools allow students to manipulate the look of the processed data in several ways. For example, Wordle allows the user to study word origins by eliminating words of a chosen origin from the screen. Tagxedo allows users to build word clouds in the shape of chosen objects or designs. I believe that both of these programs can be used in the study of words and language. Additionally, they can both be used as an expression of art or information as well. For example, I have seen students that have used word clouds as a backdrop for a student broadcast. As you can see, both Wordle and Tagxedo have a wide range of fun and potentially educational uses.
2. Below is a screenshot of a Word Cloud created in Tagxedo.
3. Visual diagrams and graphic organizers are very useful in education. As research suggests, non-linguistic representation is a key to student learning. Tools like Bubbl.us and Gliffy are great for producing your own graphic organizers. These visuals can be effective tools for presenting information to students. Also, having students create their own graphic representations can be a great way to have students learn a concept or understand a process. Through the creation of their own visual representation students often have to sythesize the information and deduce the proper way to show the topic of study, thus learning in the process.
Tools like Wordle and Tagxedo are also interesting tools. By entering words into the tool, the user can then visualize either those same words or similar words in a "word cloud" on the screen. These tools allow students to manipulate the look of the processed data in several ways. For example, Wordle allows the user to study word origins by eliminating words of a chosen origin from the screen. Tagxedo allows users to build word clouds in the shape of chosen objects or designs. I believe that both of these programs can be used in the study of words and language. Additionally, they can both be used as an expression of art or information as well. For example, I have seen students that have used word clouds as a backdrop for a student broadcast. As you can see, both Wordle and Tagxedo have a wide range of fun and potentially educational uses.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Thing 19 - Virtual Classrooms
1. I have been working on extending my classroom beyond just the walls of my room. Over the years I have continued to make progress in this area. First, I started out by placing my classroom materials online for students. I currently use Blackboard to connect students to the materials. Next, I began to use collaborative projects within my classes with shared resources like Google Docs. From that point I began to have students collaborate with other classes within my building. However, I now think that I need to widen the scope to outside our building, our state, or even the country.
Next year I plan to create a project in which my classes collaborate with another school somewhere around the world. I am not sure what the project will look like just yet because our class offerings and my preps change quite a bit from year to year, but I am sure that I can either design a project or sign up for a project that is posted either on the Skype for Education site, CapSpace, or some similar site.
In the past I have done collaborative projects where one class in our building would write a script and create storyboards for a video and then another class would film and produce the video. I am thinking that this would be a cool project if I had our students and students from another school swap scripts and then produce each others' videos. Then each group could view the results of the project that they created together. This project would allow students to collaborate, work with content area, and achieve several National Standards. Specifically, this project would cover the Communication and Collaboration Standards (NETS: 2a,2b,2c,2d) through the collaboration of teams, development of cultural understanding and global awareness, and the completion of a digital media project.
2. For students to be successful in an online learning environment there must be support measures in place. First off, students will need to be able to get connected to course materials. Therefore, they will need a computer, internet access, and possibly even access to the school network from home. Second, students will need a good support team. They will need information about the courses. Counselors will need to explain the course expectations, how the courses are setup, what type of credit is received, penalties for withdrawing, etc. Students will also need mentors with clearly defined roles. Students need to know who is there to help them through the process if they have academic or technical difficulties. They will also need someone to help with pacing, learning, and grading tasks. Students, also need the support of parents. Questions about the costs of the course, technology neededed for the course, and Internet access needed for the course will directly affect the entire family involved.
As you can see, online courses take the coordination and cooperation of many parties. Feedback can be very helpful in this process. It is often a good idea to have students help in the planning process.
Next year I plan to create a project in which my classes collaborate with another school somewhere around the world. I am not sure what the project will look like just yet because our class offerings and my preps change quite a bit from year to year, but I am sure that I can either design a project or sign up for a project that is posted either on the Skype for Education site, CapSpace, or some similar site.
In the past I have done collaborative projects where one class in our building would write a script and create storyboards for a video and then another class would film and produce the video. I am thinking that this would be a cool project if I had our students and students from another school swap scripts and then produce each others' videos. Then each group could view the results of the project that they created together. This project would allow students to collaborate, work with content area, and achieve several National Standards. Specifically, this project would cover the Communication and Collaboration Standards (NETS: 2a,2b,2c,2d) through the collaboration of teams, development of cultural understanding and global awareness, and the completion of a digital media project.
2. For students to be successful in an online learning environment there must be support measures in place. First off, students will need to be able to get connected to course materials. Therefore, they will need a computer, internet access, and possibly even access to the school network from home. Second, students will need a good support team. They will need information about the courses. Counselors will need to explain the course expectations, how the courses are setup, what type of credit is received, penalties for withdrawing, etc. Students will also need mentors with clearly defined roles. Students need to know who is there to help them through the process if they have academic or technical difficulties. They will also need someone to help with pacing, learning, and grading tasks. Students, also need the support of parents. Questions about the costs of the course, technology neededed for the course, and Internet access needed for the course will directly affect the entire family involved.
As you can see, online courses take the coordination and cooperation of many parties. Feedback can be very helpful in this process. It is often a good idea to have students help in the planning process.
Thing 18 - Staying Informed
1. For my RSS Aggregator I chose the Google Reader through iGoogle.
2. Some sites that I chose to subsribe to are: Wired, Slashdot, LifeHacker, Gizmodo, Ted Talks, and Boing Boing.
3. RSS feeds are great ways for educators to stay current. One of the hardest things for educators to do is to stay up to date on the newest trends in education, the latest happenings in the world, and especially the most recent developments in the technological field.
As a technology teacher and technology coordinator I feel like a big part of my job is just keeping up with the latest and greatest technologies, websites, and resources. It would be very easy to become stagnant and out of touch with the newest technological advancements if I didn't actively seek them out. I find that conferences, seminars, and classes are great ways to get exposed to new information, but I would also put news feeds into this category.
The great thing about RSS feeds is that you can read them on your own time at your own pace. I think it is fun to scan the headlines and read the stories that interest me. Also, it is nice to be able to choose the sites that you want to see. RSS feeds are like handy personalized newspaper. Additionally, I could see the potential for students to use these resources for their classes or personal life. For students that like to read or stay informed it is ideal. Also, I think that these types of feeds could be a must for a Current Events type of class.
Below are some screenshots from my Google Reader.
2. Some sites that I chose to subsribe to are: Wired, Slashdot, LifeHacker, Gizmodo, Ted Talks, and Boing Boing.
3. RSS feeds are great ways for educators to stay current. One of the hardest things for educators to do is to stay up to date on the newest trends in education, the latest happenings in the world, and especially the most recent developments in the technological field.
As a technology teacher and technology coordinator I feel like a big part of my job is just keeping up with the latest and greatest technologies, websites, and resources. It would be very easy to become stagnant and out of touch with the newest technological advancements if I didn't actively seek them out. I find that conferences, seminars, and classes are great ways to get exposed to new information, but I would also put news feeds into this category.
The great thing about RSS feeds is that you can read them on your own time at your own pace. I think it is fun to scan the headlines and read the stories that interest me. Also, it is nice to be able to choose the sites that you want to see. RSS feeds are like handy personalized newspaper. Additionally, I could see the potential for students to use these resources for their classes or personal life. For students that like to read or stay informed it is ideal. Also, I think that these types of feeds could be a must for a Current Events type of class.
Below are some screenshots from my Google Reader.
Thing 17 - Research and Reference Tools
1. I have decided to research the differences between the SIRS Discoverer Deluxe and SIRS Renaissance. Below is a screenshot of the SIRS Discoverer:
To begin working with the SIRS Discoverer you must either enter your driver's license number or State Id Number. It is a free service, but you first must validate that you are a michigan resident.
When you get into the site you see a wide variety of searchable categories (Animals, Sports, Cultures, History and Government, Science, Social Issues, etc.) By clicking on any of the topics you will see a list of resources which can then be sorted by type (newspapers, magazines, reference, pictures, and web sites). Topics can also be located throught the use of a keyword search.
In addition to the article searching capabilities, the SIRS Discoverer Deluxe has many other web tools and resources. The site contains a built in dictionary, thesaurus tool, almanac, and encyclopedia. Also, the site contains a database of teacher resources. Teachers can find resources about countries of the world, science projects, graphic organizers, photo essays, and bibliographies.
SIRS Renaissance by ProQuest K-12 is a database for researching the arts and humanities (music, art, religion, philosophy, culture, architecture, etc.) This site seems to have similar searching capabilities as the SIRS Discoverer program; however,this site does require a paid license in order to use it. To find pricing you must contact a local representative. It looks like it is determined based on the number of subscription areas that are chosen for your building.
Both of the SIRS databases seem like great resources for education. The sites have full-text articles from a wide range of resources. Additionally, they contain good educationally appropriate and accurate images. Even more importantly, these sites are monitored, updated, and checked for accuracy. Unlike many web sources found through basic searches or sites like Wikipedia, these databases contain only accurate and reliable information. They great tools for classroom research.
2. The Educator's Reference Complete is a database of periodicals and reports from the U.S. department of education. Below is a screenshot:
I found that the Educator's Reference Complete is a resource that is probably best used for teachers and administrators that would like to research a given topic. I can see this resource as being very useful for educators that are continuing their education and may need to do some real research on a topic. Similarly, I think the articles could be used to find statistical support for potential educational directions for a building
The articles in this collection are directed toward a fairly professional audience. I do not see this site as a great resource for secondary students unless it was specifically used in a research class or possibly an advanced placement class.
3. Below is an example of a citiation which was made through the Mel database website. The citation tool makes it very easy to quickly site any article or source that you are reviewing. The source below is about UDL (Univeral Design for Learning).
To begin working with the SIRS Discoverer you must either enter your driver's license number or State Id Number. It is a free service, but you first must validate that you are a michigan resident.
When you get into the site you see a wide variety of searchable categories (Animals, Sports, Cultures, History and Government, Science, Social Issues, etc.) By clicking on any of the topics you will see a list of resources which can then be sorted by type (newspapers, magazines, reference, pictures, and web sites). Topics can also be located throught the use of a keyword search.
In addition to the article searching capabilities, the SIRS Discoverer Deluxe has many other web tools and resources. The site contains a built in dictionary, thesaurus tool, almanac, and encyclopedia. Also, the site contains a database of teacher resources. Teachers can find resources about countries of the world, science projects, graphic organizers, photo essays, and bibliographies.
SIRS Renaissance by ProQuest K-12 is a database for researching the arts and humanities (music, art, religion, philosophy, culture, architecture, etc.) This site seems to have similar searching capabilities as the SIRS Discoverer program; however,this site does require a paid license in order to use it. To find pricing you must contact a local representative. It looks like it is determined based on the number of subscription areas that are chosen for your building.
Both of the SIRS databases seem like great resources for education. The sites have full-text articles from a wide range of resources. Additionally, they contain good educationally appropriate and accurate images. Even more importantly, these sites are monitored, updated, and checked for accuracy. Unlike many web sources found through basic searches or sites like Wikipedia, these databases contain only accurate and reliable information. They great tools for classroom research.
2. The Educator's Reference Complete is a database of periodicals and reports from the U.S. department of education. Below is a screenshot:
I found that the Educator's Reference Complete is a resource that is probably best used for teachers and administrators that would like to research a given topic. I can see this resource as being very useful for educators that are continuing their education and may need to do some real research on a topic. Similarly, I think the articles could be used to find statistical support for potential educational directions for a building
The articles in this collection are directed toward a fairly professional audience. I do not see this site as a great resource for secondary students unless it was specifically used in a research class or possibly an advanced placement class.
3. Below is an example of a citiation which was made through the Mel database website. The citation tool makes it very easy to quickly site any article or source that you are reviewing. The source below is about UDL (Univeral Design for Learning).
4. Below is a citation which was made online in EasyBib. It is citing an article about Green Technology.
Thing 16 - Professional Learning Networks
1. Below is a screenshot from Michigan Learnport:
Michigan Learnport is a good resource for a wide variety of topics. I have found that this site is particularly good for technology teachers like myself because it has a large selection of technology related information. Often times it is difficult to find good curriculum resources for very specific computer -related topics. However, in MI Learnport I can find lessons on topics like: C#Programming, Visual Basic Programming, Creating Videos, Designing Websites, Social Networking, Online Safety, etc. These are all topics which are taught by myself or other teachers in our department.
I like that teachers are able to begin any number of courses within MI Learnport to get the training that they desire. It is a very simple and easy system to work with. Teachers can work at their own pace, skip to the areas they need to see, or even take classes for credit or continuing education credits.
All in all, the MI Learnport is a nice resource for teachers. I have found that it pays to check in on the site over time because it seems that the curriculum that is offered continues to expand and sometimes you find just the topic that you are looking for.
2. Social networking sites have many advantages and disadvantages in education. It has been my experience that most administrators and teachers view sites like Facebook and Twitter as a distraction to education, but as educators we need to start to evaluate the positive possiblities of these forms of media.
On the negative side, social networking sites can be a distraction to students and teachers alike if they are only used for chatting with friends or posting non-educational materials. However, on the positive side, Facebook is a direct connection to the majority of our students and even many of our staff members and that is a powerful media. If we use Facebook or other intermediary programs to forward information to the Facebook community then this can be a great tool for presenting information and enhancing education.
Currently my school uses Facebook and Twitter quite successfully in the Athletic and Marketing departments; however, we are still reluctant to use it in the classroom. I feel like this will probably change in the near future. I am finding that many 3rd party programs now allow educators to push information to these platforms and that is only furthering the case for using this tool. I think the bottom line for much of education is time on task and if educators send good information to students where they spend their time, then we will probably be more successful in bridging that gap between students and teachers. Additionally, it will help to bridge communication lines to parents as well.
Inside the classroom I believe Facebook will also soon have a role. The key for using Facebook in school will be classroom management and clear expectations. Not so different that using any other tool in the classroom.
3. Macul Space is a good resource for posting questions to other educators about things they are doing in the classroom or in their building. I saw several forums on topics about using technology in the classroom, implementing One-To-One, etc.
4. Macul is a great organization for teachers to learn more about using technology in education. In Michigan the Macul conference is offered yearly in either Grand Rapids or Detroit on alternating years. The cost to join the Macul group is $40 and the conference costs between $130 and $210 depending on the number of days attended.
The Macul conference is one conference that I always look forward to as an educator. Membership to Macul is necessary to attending this conference and I would argue that this conference helps to justify any of the conference fees and costs. I always enjoy this conference because of its technology sessions and because of all the vendors that attend. Teachers and participants have the opportunity to test new equipment, ask questions of vendors and presenters, and continue their professional development.
Membership to Macul also allows teachers to receive additional information and updates about development opportunities and educational news.
As a Macul member I also have the opportunity to share with other members online or to present my expertise at the yearly conferences. Up to this point I have not presented at the conferences; however, I am considering this option for the future. On bonus to presenting is that you do not have to pay your conference costs. Futhermore, you have the ability to share your own unique knowledge to other educators. Having a wide range of technology duties in my building I could present information from a teaching standpoint, a technology standpoint, or even for specific software programs or online tools.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Thing 15 - Productivity Tools
1. Below is a screenshot of a file converted from a Word (.docx) format to a .pdf format
2. I was not able to make the posted link for media-convert.com work, but after some searching I found online-convert.com and I am guessing that this is the site being referred to. Through testing out this site by uploading a Word document, I found it very easy to use. Similar to Zamzar, I will probably use this tool on occasions where I quick file conversions. In the past, I often found myself opening picture or video editing programs or file convertor addons to accomplish this same task. There are many convertors that can get the job done, but I feel like programs like Online Media Convert is very simple to use and quick. Less time is spent on finding the right conversion tool and more time can be spent on being productive. In this program I had the capability to change a Word document into a .txt, .pdf, .odt, .fla, or .html document. In addition to documents, the program has the capability to work with audio, video, image, ebook file types.
3. Google calendars just like any shared resource is a very useful tool. By sharing your personal calendar with students, staff, or parents a teacher can help to keep all parties on the same page. Calendars are extremely useful for organizing busy schedules. After much persuasion, I am finally convincing staff members in my building to use and share calendars. At the staff level, it has been a big help for scheduling meetings. Also, at the student and parent level, the calendars have been useful in keeping parents and students notified of upcoming events and classroom assignments. Most parents and even students want to be informed. We still have some work to do in this area, but the sharing of Google Documents and Calendars has been a great new step in our building.
For this task, I used the Zamzar file conversion site. I had never used the Zamzar site until now and I like the options it presents to users. The site allows a user to convert a huge array of file types to other similar file types. The converted file type is then sent to the user in their email.
Though I am not sure this tool will largely change my classroom instruction, I do find it very useful for quick file conversions. It is nice to be able to convert all types of documents, images, etc. with only a few steps. It gives any teacher the ability to take a document and convert it into a .pdf which could then be posted in an online environment for students. I feel like this is the preferred format due to its universal nature. I will recommend this tool to teachers and students in my building that use less common programs that may need file conversion.
2. I was not able to make the posted link for media-convert.com work, but after some searching I found online-convert.com and I am guessing that this is the site being referred to. Through testing out this site by uploading a Word document, I found it very easy to use. Similar to Zamzar, I will probably use this tool on occasions where I quick file conversions. In the past, I often found myself opening picture or video editing programs or file convertor addons to accomplish this same task. There are many convertors that can get the job done, but I feel like programs like Online Media Convert is very simple to use and quick. Less time is spent on finding the right conversion tool and more time can be spent on being productive. In this program I had the capability to change a Word document into a .txt, .pdf, .odt, .fla, or .html document. In addition to documents, the program has the capability to work with audio, video, image, ebook file types.
3. Google calendars just like any shared resource is a very useful tool. By sharing your personal calendar with students, staff, or parents a teacher can help to keep all parties on the same page. Calendars are extremely useful for organizing busy schedules. After much persuasion, I am finally convincing staff members in my building to use and share calendars. At the staff level, it has been a big help for scheduling meetings. Also, at the student and parent level, the calendars have been useful in keeping parents and students notified of upcoming events and classroom assignments. Most parents and even students want to be informed. We still have some work to do in this area, but the sharing of Google Documents and Calendars has been a great new step in our building.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Thing 8-14 - Reflection
I plan to use several of the resources that we have learned in this segment. Differentiated instruction is important to any classroom and now more than ever I feel that teachers need to use the available resources to vary their instruction.
I plan to use resources like Glogster and VoiceThread to give students a new way to present information and also share their learning with others. Having peers evaluate their work often inspires students to work harder. Also, student feedback can be a great way for students to collaborate and learn.
Rubistar and Quizlet are also two of my favorite web tools. Rubistar is great for finding pre-made rubrics or for creating your own. Quizlet is a new tool that I have learned about that is great for creating flashcards, review games, sample quizzes, and interactive review and tests. It is an awesome tool for preparing students for assessment.
The creative commons is another topic that I learned more about in this section. I will be teaching students how to add their work to the creative commons and how to use these available resources in their education. It will be a nice addition to the material that I already teach about copyright.
Additionally, I will continue to use video websites in my instruction. I plan to test out Itunes U more and incorporate it in my teaching as well.
2. All of Marzano's stategies can be employed at different levels through the tools used in these lessons:
Similarities and Differences - online interactive sites are great for this task
Summarizing and Notetaking - Quizlet
Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition - VoiceThread can give this feedback
Increasing Value in Homework and Practice - Interactive websites, video lessons, Quizlet
Using Non-Linguistic Representation - Google Earth
Incorporating Cooperative Learning Effectively -Glogster, Google
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback -Quizlet
Generating and Testing Hypotheses -online interactives
Utilizing Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers - Image stored in Picasa
3. I plan to use the Quizlet site to create a list of key terms and definitions for each of the units that I teach. I find that with every unit comes new terminology and often I struggle to find new ways to review or teach this terminology other that through lecture or standard examples. However, with Quizlet I can now enter all my terms and definitions and turn them into any combination of interactive learning examples. In an upcoming unit about Online Security and Digital Citizenship I plan to have students work with the terms in a review game format, as well as in a practice quiz format of my choice (fill in blank, matching, etc.) I think this will be useful for both teaching the material and for reviewing it.
This tool will help to teach the following Michigan Standard: METS 9-12.DC.2 (discuss possible long-range effects of unethical uses of technology (e.g., virus spreading, file pirating, hacking) on cultures and society.
I plan to use resources like Glogster and VoiceThread to give students a new way to present information and also share their learning with others. Having peers evaluate their work often inspires students to work harder. Also, student feedback can be a great way for students to collaborate and learn.
Rubistar and Quizlet are also two of my favorite web tools. Rubistar is great for finding pre-made rubrics or for creating your own. Quizlet is a new tool that I have learned about that is great for creating flashcards, review games, sample quizzes, and interactive review and tests. It is an awesome tool for preparing students for assessment.
The creative commons is another topic that I learned more about in this section. I will be teaching students how to add their work to the creative commons and how to use these available resources in their education. It will be a nice addition to the material that I already teach about copyright.
Additionally, I will continue to use video websites in my instruction. I plan to test out Itunes U more and incorporate it in my teaching as well.
2. All of Marzano's stategies can be employed at different levels through the tools used in these lessons:
Similarities and Differences - online interactive sites are great for this task
Summarizing and Notetaking - Quizlet
Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition - VoiceThread can give this feedback
Increasing Value in Homework and Practice - Interactive websites, video lessons, Quizlet
Using Non-Linguistic Representation - Google Earth
Incorporating Cooperative Learning Effectively -Glogster, Google
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback -Quizlet
Generating and Testing Hypotheses -online interactives
Utilizing Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers - Image stored in Picasa
3. I plan to use the Quizlet site to create a list of key terms and definitions for each of the units that I teach. I find that with every unit comes new terminology and often I struggle to find new ways to review or teach this terminology other that through lecture or standard examples. However, with Quizlet I can now enter all my terms and definitions and turn them into any combination of interactive learning examples. In an upcoming unit about Online Security and Digital Citizenship I plan to have students work with the terms in a review game format, as well as in a practice quiz format of my choice (fill in blank, matching, etc.) I think this will be useful for both teaching the material and for reviewing it.
This tool will help to teach the following Michigan Standard: METS 9-12.DC.2 (discuss possible long-range effects of unethical uses of technology (e.g., virus spreading, file pirating, hacking) on cultures and society.
Thing 14 - Online Audio and Video Resources
1. Audio and video can easily be integrated into any curriculum. I find that I currently use video to and interactive tools in my courses, but I always feel like I could use more.
I like to use videos in a few different ways. I sometimes use videos to introduce a new topic and to get students thinking about the new information. Also, I sometimes post videos or links to videos for my students to review content from or to further their learning. I find that with many topics it is nice to have material presented in a number of ways and video is always a welcome way for students to learn.
Interactive websites are also a great way to work with video-like resources. Interactive tutorials, learning games, and review guides are great ways for some students to learn.
I have not used audio alone in my lessons very much, but I can see how audio can be beneficial. I like what I see in the ITunes University and podcasting. Students use Ipods and phones to listen to music all the time and I feel like listening to lessons or subject area content would be a great way to deliver new material to students.
2. The Khan Academy is a great site for video resources. The Khan Academy has a huge selection of video topics for education. Most of the materials are math and science related, but there are also other topics such as Humanities included.
I enjoy the layout of the Khan Academy. All topics are logically organized and easy to view. It is extremely user-friendly. Also, there are additional drop-down menus with video resources. Brain teaser videos and interviews are two examples. Also, the website has a dedicated section for standardized test preparation.
This is a very strong site and I have heard positive comments about it from many teachers.
3. Audio and video resources have there own strengths and weaknesses. Audio has the advantage of being very portable and accessible within many different formats. Students often have the means to play audio due to the portable devices that they carry. Accessibility is key to time on task. Ultimately, the more accessible content is, the more it will be used.
In contrast, video has the ability to interact with two senses of the user while audio can only work with one. I believe that the visual element of video is very powerful. The saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" can be very true in many situations. Students are often visual learners and as many studies would indicate (Marzano's findings for example) visual representation is key to learning. Therefore, in my mind video has the potential to be a stronger teaching medium.
However, video also has its drawbacks. Within a school building both video and audio can be taxing on the bandwidth, but video can especially be a burden. Additionally, video is not as portable as audio. Though many students do have smart phones or devices that can support video today, more of them have a phone or portable device that can support only audio. Video formats can also be more difficult to work with in the classroom. Video players, codecs, and file types can often be tricky to work with depending on how the video is being delivered to the students.
In summary, both video and audio have their place in the educational process. They both have advantages and disadvantages, but are both worthwhile in their own right.
I like to use videos in a few different ways. I sometimes use videos to introduce a new topic and to get students thinking about the new information. Also, I sometimes post videos or links to videos for my students to review content from or to further their learning. I find that with many topics it is nice to have material presented in a number of ways and video is always a welcome way for students to learn.
Interactive websites are also a great way to work with video-like resources. Interactive tutorials, learning games, and review guides are great ways for some students to learn.
I have not used audio alone in my lessons very much, but I can see how audio can be beneficial. I like what I see in the ITunes University and podcasting. Students use Ipods and phones to listen to music all the time and I feel like listening to lessons or subject area content would be a great way to deliver new material to students.
2. The Khan Academy is a great site for video resources. The Khan Academy has a huge selection of video topics for education. Most of the materials are math and science related, but there are also other topics such as Humanities included.
I enjoy the layout of the Khan Academy. All topics are logically organized and easy to view. It is extremely user-friendly. Also, there are additional drop-down menus with video resources. Brain teaser videos and interviews are two examples. Also, the website has a dedicated section for standardized test preparation.
This is a very strong site and I have heard positive comments about it from many teachers.
3. Audio and video resources have there own strengths and weaknesses. Audio has the advantage of being very portable and accessible within many different formats. Students often have the means to play audio due to the portable devices that they carry. Accessibility is key to time on task. Ultimately, the more accessible content is, the more it will be used.
In contrast, video has the ability to interact with two senses of the user while audio can only work with one. I believe that the visual element of video is very powerful. The saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" can be very true in many situations. Students are often visual learners and as many studies would indicate (Marzano's findings for example) visual representation is key to learning. Therefore, in my mind video has the potential to be a stronger teaching medium.
However, video also has its drawbacks. Within a school building both video and audio can be taxing on the bandwidth, but video can especially be a burden. Additionally, video is not as portable as audio. Though many students do have smart phones or devices that can support video today, more of them have a phone or portable device that can support only audio. Video formats can also be more difficult to work with in the classroom. Video players, codecs, and file types can often be tricky to work with depending on how the video is being delivered to the students.
In summary, both video and audio have their place in the educational process. They both have advantages and disadvantages, but are both worthwhile in their own right.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Thing 13 - Online Interactive Learning Tools
1. Google Earth "FlyTo" Screenshot of my school.
2. Google Earth Placemark Screenshot - The location is The Long Dock a restaurant / pub in Carrigaholt, Ireland. I recommend it.
3. I used Quizlet for the first time to create a set of flash cards about Online Security and Digital Citizenship. http://quizlet.com/5308013/online-security-and-digital-citizenship-flash-cards/
I would consider Quizlet one of my new favorite sites that I have learned about. At first I thought that Quizlet was just a program that would allow me to type in material and create a flashcard of the information. However, this program is much, much more.
I love how Quizlet allows a user to type in a term and allow the internet to find its possible definition. Also, I love that the program allows the viewer to review the terms on flashcards, play review games, and create quizzes of all different types using the terms. Also, most importantly it allows the creator to share their flashcard set.
I will be using the set of flashcards that I have created for an upcoming unit. I plan to share the set with my class and have them use a quiz of the terms as a review for our test.
In the future I plan to create more of these flashcard sets for my different classes and units or possibly use some of the existing sets that are already online. Also, I can see myself having students create their own flashcard sets.
In the past I have posted review guides for my tests, but I feel like also using the practice quizzes with the terms will be even more effective. I particularly enjoy how many different formats for review are available.
I will definitely be sharing this resource with the teachers at my school.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Thing 12 - Assessment / Evaluation
1. The image below is a screenshot of quiz results for assessing students knowledge of copyright laws:
FERPA and HIPPA are important in all schools. When dealing with student data you are potentially dealing with confidential information whether that is regarding academic achievement or health records. Therefore, it is important that student records and personal information are handled properly. I will admit that I learned a great deal about FERPA laws by reading this article.
I find Google Forms to be a very easy to use and effective way to get feedback from both students and staff. I use Google forms regularly to collect information. This is sometimes just in the form of a survey and occassionally in the form of a quiz.
I have also found that Google Forms can be a great way for students to create quizzes for each other. I sometimes assign projects in which students must teach a lesson and also give a quiz to the other students when it is over. Google Forms work great for this task. Also, I love how the data goes into a nice useable format and is easily exported to Excel. It is great for quickly getting good data which can then be analyzed.
2. Below is a screenshot of a rubric which I will be using to assess a project in which students had to create a website using Google Sites.
I often use rubrics for grading student projects and I find Rubistar to be one of the better sites out there for creating rubrics. I like using rubrics because they allow me to give students freedom for being creative as long as they stay within the general requirements of the project. In this project students were planning a vacation and using Google Sites to build a website that would layout the trip. The project served several purposes. To teach students about Google Sites, to apply searching techniques, to learn more about copyright, and to learn some basic terminology and design aspects for building websites.
This rubric will help to evaluate the students final product. Most importantly, it will help to give students feedback on what they have created when the project is finished.
3. In our district we have a couple different data tools. West Catholic, Catholic Central, as well as a few of our "feeder" grade schools use the Infinite Campus student management system. This product stores all our student grades, demographic information, standardized test information, as well as an other custom fields that we track. Most of our staff members use Blackboard as a course management system and also Google Docs. Our office also tracks standardized test scores such as the ACT, PLAN, etc.
Teachers in our building have the ability to use Infinite Campus to run numerous reports on student assignments within their classes. They can produce both exportable data as well as visual analysis of student data. One thing that is quite nice about Infinite Campus is that it permanently stores all student information and can view past gradebooks from even past years. Therefore, teachers even have the ability to compare student results between separate years, giving a more longitudinal analysis of student achievement.
Teachers can also use products like Blackboard to track student usage of the product. I find that learning students study patterns can be interesting and also somewhat useful for planning assignments. Additionally, some of these products allow you to drill down and see individual questions which students are struggling with. Sometimes analysis of this data can help direct teachers to areas that they need to cover better or potentially even to test questions that are not constructed well. The key is to review your student data and learn from it.
FERPA and HIPPA are important in all schools. When dealing with student data you are potentially dealing with confidential information whether that is regarding academic achievement or health records. Therefore, it is important that student records and personal information are handled properly. I will admit that I learned a great deal about FERPA laws by reading this article.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Thing 11 - Presentation Software
Below is the screenshot of my Prezi presentation and it can be found at the following URL: //prezi.com/0jkqalejli51/edit/#17_2617158
Reflection:
1. I found Prezi to be very different from Powerpoint. I feel like Powerpoint is a much more linear type of program. It brings you from slide to slide in a fairly straight-forward method. All actions in powerpoint are added to the desired elements on a given slide. In contrast, I found that Prezi uses a large campus to allow the user to zoom in and out of a selected area to focus on particular sections of information. In my opinion, Prezi is probably better at giving a look at the big picture that Powerpoint, while Powerpoint might be a little better at giving the detail.
I do think that Prezi's user interface leaves something to be desired. I feel like alot of time is spent in sizing information and placing information when it could be better served working on content. I am not sure that I enjoyed working in Prezi. In contrast, Powerpoint is quite easy to use; however, similar to most students I find Powerpoint to be somewhat overused and unstimulating to use.
2. I feel like Prezi could be used in a number of different teaching situations. The simple zooming ability of Prezi makes it a very useful tool for presenting information to a group. As a teacher, it could be very useful for walking through some information or presenting a concept to a class. Similarly, students could use this tool to present information about a topic or concept that they have researched. A bonus of using this software is that the zooming capability may also help out students with poor eyesight. Often students that cannot read the information being presented to not let you know.
3. I believe that Prezi can help students process information that they are having difficulty with because of its format. When presented correctly, Prezi has the ability to demonstrate a concept or several groups of information all on one screen to give students the big picture of a topic. Additionally, Prezi has the ability to take students focus to any one area of the big picture. As a result, I believe that the combination of logical organization and visual elements (images, videos, etc.) allow Prezi to help students learn complex topics.
Reflection:
1. I found Prezi to be very different from Powerpoint. I feel like Powerpoint is a much more linear type of program. It brings you from slide to slide in a fairly straight-forward method. All actions in powerpoint are added to the desired elements on a given slide. In contrast, I found that Prezi uses a large campus to allow the user to zoom in and out of a selected area to focus on particular sections of information. In my opinion, Prezi is probably better at giving a look at the big picture that Powerpoint, while Powerpoint might be a little better at giving the detail.
I do think that Prezi's user interface leaves something to be desired. I feel like alot of time is spent in sizing information and placing information when it could be better served working on content. I am not sure that I enjoyed working in Prezi. In contrast, Powerpoint is quite easy to use; however, similar to most students I find Powerpoint to be somewhat overused and unstimulating to use.
2. I feel like Prezi could be used in a number of different teaching situations. The simple zooming ability of Prezi makes it a very useful tool for presenting information to a group. As a teacher, it could be very useful for walking through some information or presenting a concept to a class. Similarly, students could use this tool to present information about a topic or concept that they have researched. A bonus of using this software is that the zooming capability may also help out students with poor eyesight. Often students that cannot read the information being presented to not let you know.
3. I believe that Prezi can help students process information that they are having difficulty with because of its format. When presented correctly, Prezi has the ability to demonstrate a concept or several groups of information all on one screen to give students the big picture of a topic. Additionally, Prezi has the ability to take students focus to any one area of the big picture. As a result, I believe that the combination of logical organization and visual elements (images, videos, etc.) allow Prezi to help students learn complex topics.
4. Below is a screenshot of a movie that explains binary code. The address to the site is: http://dev.emcelettronica.com/binary-60-seconds I believe this website is good for diverse learners because it helps to explain a tough concept with the use of visual examples and auditory explanation. I find that when someone else can explain a topic in a new way that is just a little different from how you might explain it, it is always helpful to students.
Friday, April 22, 2011
Thing 10 - Digital Storytelling
1. Storyboarding Screenshot
2. I was not able to post my video to my Face of the Classroom site in Weebly because you have to pay to upload to Weebly. Instead I uploaded the video to my Google Account at the following address: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5zWUBRQ05zlZjk5ODBkZTctYjRhNi00Yzc0LWIwOTMtMzg5ZWQxYWU3ODY0&hl=en
2. I was not able to post my video to my Face of the Classroom site in Weebly because you have to pay to upload to Weebly. Instead I uploaded the video to my Google Account at the following address: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0B5zWUBRQ05zlZjk5ODBkZTctYjRhNi00Yzc0LWIwOTMtMzg5ZWQxYWU3ODY0&hl=en
3. I believe that digital storytelling can be a very versatile tool for the classroom. Digital storytelling can be a good way for a teacher to introduce a new topic. It can give students a chance to listen to and view information about a subject in a fun and new way.
Also, digital storytelling can be a great way for students to produce and share their own information. I think this type of project brings in many skill sets. Teachers can have students practice their writing, storyboarding, and planning abilities. At the same time students have the ability to express their own creativity within the project by adding photos, narration, and effects to the work.
Through using Photostory I saw how important it was to plan out the story and the images that were going to be used as the story develops. I thought it was very easy to use, though I wished it had a few more options for editing. Also, though I see how it is easy to add video for each image sometimes I wish I could time things out easier when I want the narration to span several images.
4. The feedback the I received on this project was that my music could have fit the story better. I might agree, but after searching the creative commons for way too long I sort of settled on the music that I chose. Also, some of the images could have been made to appear at better angles. Other than that, the feedback I received was positive.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Thing 8 - Copyright / Creative Commons
1. For this part of the assignment I gave a 10 Question Quiz to my classes about Copyright laws.
I found many interesting things through my quiz. I found that my students were fairly knowledgeable on the copyright laws involving video usage and documents. My guess is that these areas have been stressed by teachers through various types of assignments over the years. However, I found that students were not very clear on many other topics.
I found that very few of my students (42%) had any understanding of what Fair Use means. Similarly, students seemed very unclear as to which types of media or information are copyrightable and which types are not. For example, most students did not know if something like a blog post could be copyrighted.
I did not notice any major discrepency between the knowledge of boys and girls on the topic of copyright. However, it did seem that the higher grade levels in our building performed slightly better on the quiz. My guess is that they are getting more exposure to the copyright laws over the years and as a result are performing better.
All in all, I think students have an overall idea of what copyright means and what is wrong and right. However, when it comes to specifics or even terminology about copyright I found that students are fairly unknowledgeable.
I found many interesting things through my quiz. I found that my students were fairly knowledgeable on the copyright laws involving video usage and documents. My guess is that these areas have been stressed by teachers through various types of assignments over the years. However, I found that students were not very clear on many other topics.
I found that very few of my students (42%) had any understanding of what Fair Use means. Similarly, students seemed very unclear as to which types of media or information are copyrightable and which types are not. For example, most students did not know if something like a blog post could be copyrighted.
I did not notice any major discrepency between the knowledge of boys and girls on the topic of copyright. However, it did seem that the higher grade levels in our building performed slightly better on the quiz. My guess is that they are getting more exposure to the copyright laws over the years and as a result are performing better.
All in all, I think students have an overall idea of what copyright means and what is wrong and right. However, when it comes to specifics or even terminology about copyright I found that students are fairly unknowledgeable.
2. For this part of the assignment I licensed the website that I made earlier in the course using a Creative Commons license. See image above.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Thing 9 - Digital Images
1. The photo shows both a before and after view of a photo which was edited with both Picasa and Picnik ( http://www.picnik.com/ ). I have not used either of these programs in the past, but I was pleasantly surprised with both software suites. I found that Picasa was very easy to download and use and it gives a convenient connection to Picnik from within the program. Picnik was also very easy to use. All in all, they are both fairly powerful free editing programs.
I often work with programs like Photoshop or Fireworks for image-editing which are both powerful programs for this purpose. However, I can appreciate the simplicity of using programs like Picasa and Picnik. In my technology training role, I would definitely recommend these programs to others. I think these programs meet the needs of most all image editors and they are fairly intuitive.
Additionally, after being introduced to the EyeFi card I am in the process of evaluating photo storage areas that I can use to pair my camera with. I have not yet purchased my EyeFi card, but it is on my short list of things to buy. Picasa may be a site I would use in conjunction with this EyeFi card. 2. Here is the link to the same photo which I posted in my Picasa public Web Album: https://picasaweb.google.com/104144712481182849757/Thing9Album?authkey=Gv1sRgCJP2po_amqfA5wE#
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Things 1-7 Capstone Reflection
A. How will you use these technology applications to improve learning experiences for your students and/or improve your own practice?
As a technology teacher and technology coordinator, there are many different ways that I evaluate technology applications. There are some applications that I would like to use in class, there are some applications that I know other teachers would like to know about, and there are some applications that I like to use outside of class.
Lately, I have found that some of the most valuable applications that I use are the ones that I use both professionally and personally. Google Docs is a great example. I use Google Docs for its sharing and storage capabilities all the time. I find it invaluable for group projects in school. Delicious is another great site for storing valuable websites; however, recently I have also learned to love Evernote. Evernote is a similar program to Delicious in the respect that it stores data online. However, evernote can store all types of media and I find that it is just as good at tagging and saving websites. I have been using this tool to organize all my sites and important information. I like that it is a fully downloadable program and web-based with the ability to sync.
Overall, whether it is a program for students, myself, or another teacher, I find web-based technology to be a great resource and learning experience for all. Most importantly, this technology allows teachers to teach in new ways that may allow them to better teach their students. Differentiated instruction is a key to many learners.
B. What effective teaching and learning strategy(ies), based on the work by Marzano (http://gets.gc.k12.va.us/VSTE/2008/ ) will these technology applications address, to make a difference in the learning experience for your students?
These teaching and learning strategies will help address the following 9 areas which are crucial to learning:
Identifying Similarities and Differences, Summarizing and Note-taking, Reinforcing Effort and Providing Recognition, Increasing Value in Homework and Practice, Using Non-Linguistic Representation, Incorporating Cooperative Learning Effectively, Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback, Generating and Testing Hypotheses, and Utilizing Questions, Cues, and Advance Organizers.
C. Choose one of the seven things and describe an activity or lesson you could use in your classroom. Include in the description how the lesson meets either a Michigan curriculum standard or another Educational Technology standard.
The lesson that I would like to use is part of Thing #6 ( Digital Citizenship).
For this activity I will try to get at the topic of online safety and predators. I will begin by giving students a quiz about their social networking habits. The number of hours on social networking sites, the number of friends on the site, the types of friends, the criteria for “friending” others, and other similar types of questions will be found on the quiz. After students have filled out the quiz (which will be in a Google form), then we will look at the answers as a class. Next, we will watch some videos about online safety (Dateline, etc.) Finally, we will discuss the risks and the ways to stay safe in online communications.
This lesson would meet a couple different focus areas in the Michigan curriculum. Specifically, this lesson would address standard 9-12.DC.4 (“identify ways that individuals can protect their technology systems from unethical or unscrupulous users”) Additionally, this lesson would address standard 9-12.CC.3 (“collaborate in content-related projects that integrate a variety of media”)
Thing 7 - Web Presence
For this "Thing" I used Weebly to create a website about Digital Citizenship. The site I created is located at: http://digitalcitizenshiptopics.weebly.com/
I decided to use Weebly because it is a tool that I have not used in the past. I found Weebly to be a very simple and powerful tool for any teacher. I have a fair amount of webpage experience; however, I feel like any teacher with very little experience could use this website to quickly and easily publish a webpage. I am not sure how much I will personally use this tool because I typically use Blackboard to post information for my students, but I would definitely recommend it to teachers. In my position as a technology coordinator I am often asked what site is an easy to use web-page creator. I think Weebly is one of the easiest and most flexible that I have seen. I liked all the design options that are available for this program.
I think Weebly is a great way for anyone to begin creating a web presence.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Thing 3 - Collaboration
I have used Skype in the past with friends that live far away, but I have never used it in the classroom. My experience with Skype in the past has been fairly positive and I think it may be a good option for the classroom as well.
I am very interested in the Skype in the classroom initiative that was presented in our online class meeting. Myself and another teacher in my building have been looking for good resources for connecting classrooms, but have struggled to find good options that worked for us. I think the new Skype option might be the answer that we are looking for.
I think that we may use Skype for a long distance class project. We had the idea of having each school write video scripts / storyboards and then have the other school produce a video based on the movie description. Along the way students could collaborate as necessary via the internet.
I am also contemplating the concept of having a class talk with an expert on a particular topic. In a pre-engineering class that our school offers and that I have taught, we have often sent students out to interview engineers and experts in certain fields to bring back valuable information. I think Skype could be used in the same way. There are many topics in my classes that would allow for this type of communication. Computer networking, hardware, and programming might be a few topics in which an expert in the field could add to the discussion.
Thing 6 - Digital Citizenship
Bogus/Hoax Website Assignment
The first hoax site I selected to evaluate is:
http://home.inreach.com/kumbach/velcro.html (California’s Velcro crop under Challenge) This site can be easily detected as a hoax. To begin, most people know that Velcro is not grown as a crop. However, assuming that you do not, through examination of the site you will see that it is a personal webpage that is not hosted or created through a credible source. Upon researching the author you will find that his personal information is also very far-fetched. The page has definite reliability issues (no good contact methods on the main page, out of date information, no sources listed, etc.) Second hoax site:The second site that I evaluated was: http://www.d-b.net/dti/ (Clones-R-Us) This site has a very credible look to the site. It is in a professional format, it has typical layout with things like FAQs, About Us, etc. However, upon closer inspection you will see that the actual information is quite fantastical. The about us section actually explains that the site is a spoof. Also, upon closer inspection you will see that once again, the site is a personal site with little credibility. Furthermore, there is no contact information and the site is fairly out of date.
I think this is a good activity for students to do because I find that even at the high school level, students are very poor judges of good material. Very often the first sites that they find are treated as the best or "accurate" material. I liked the sites that were listed as examples in the powerpoint. They were very good representations of different types of bogus material.
Two Digital Citizenship Activities:
#1 For my first activity I will try to get at the topic of online safety and predators. I will begin by giving students a quiz about their social networking habits. The number of hours on social networking sites, the number of friends on the site, the types of friends, the criteria for “friending” others, and other similar types of questions will be found on the quiz. After students have filled out the quiz (which will be in a Google form), then we will look at the answers as a class. Next, we will watch some videos about online safety (Dateline, etc.) Finally, we will discuss the risks and the ways to stay safe in online communications.
#2 My second topic is cyber-bullying. I have been teaching this topic at the high school level to meet the state standards, but I always feel like the students feel like it is a “lame” topic to discuss. As a result, I have been toying with the idea of setting up a fake cyber-bullying situation within my own class. My thought is that the day or two before the lesson I will target any students that are absent and then have them become the subject of a cyber-bullying situation which I have coordinated with the rest of the class. I will formulate some type of chat activity that everyone will be supposedly working on, but the victims will not be aware of the real focus of the activity. After a set amount of time, I will let the student(s) in on the activity and we will discuss how the activity made the students feel, the effects of this type of activity, etc. Then, I would follow up the lesson with some videos about the topic. I am somewhat worried that this idea could backfire. Thoughts?
Thing 5 - Differentiated and Diverse Learning
Differentiated Learning Assignment
There are many things that I already to to promote differentiation within the classroom. One thing that I do with most all Units that I teach is to perform some type of a Pre-Assessment. Sometimes this is through the use of an online quiz or questionnaire and sometimes it is much less formal (informal questioning, surveys, etc.) This pre-assessment is very helpful in gauging what level of experience students have with a given topic.
I also frequently group students in many different ways. I tend to vary the ways in which students are grouped depending on the project. I like to vary the numbers of people in groups, the students in the groups, and often the ability levels of the people in each group. This differentiation often helps to give new experiences and help different students’ learning styles. Ultimately I think it helps me to engage all learners.
Also, I feel like I am very good at using assessments to give feedback to students. I always give verbal or written feedback for all assignments that I give to students. I know that as a student I always appreciated timely feedback. Therefore, I have made it a personal goal of mine to always go over assessments in a prompt fashion.
Diverse Learning Assignment
In reading through the materials about the Diverse Learners, I came across a great website in the Curricular Support area. The website that I found is called Rubistar. Rubistar is a website that contains flexible and pre-built rubrics of all different types. I frequently use rubrics for grading student projects and I am always looking for good pre-made models. This website is great. It has good examples of rubrics for my content area (Technology), but it also has great resources for all different subject areas. I highly recommend this site.
Universal Design for Learning Assignment
In the UDL wiki I found a tool called Dabbleboard. Dabbleboard looks like a tool that can be used sort of like an online whiteboard. This tool can be used as a means of expression with students. In the past I have had students use Word or other similar programs to layout visual diagrams, flowcharts, etc., but I feel like this might be a simpler and more engaging way to accomplish the same task. I find the controls and navigation to be very easy to work with. The only drawback is that students will have to setup an account with Dabbleboard.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Thing 4 - Content Area
In thinkfinity I found areas that would work well for my courses and building roles: The first page is a lesson about Kids and Social Networking. I found this video lesson (www.thinkfinity.org/social-networking) when I searched for Digital Citizenship lessons. The video will work well to introduce the topic of social networking when I discuss internet safety and digital citizenship in my Computer Essentials class. Also, I plan to also use Google Docs to give a survey about social networking prior to showing the video. The second page that I found very useful was the Browse by Standard search tool. In my position as a technology coordinator I often help teachers to find good resources and also encourage them to track the standards which are being taught. I think this tool is great for finding both resources and for finding good lessons to meet a particular standard. (www.thinkfinity.org/state-standards-search) I will be sure to pass on this tool to the teachers in my building.
Thing 2 - Google Docs (cont.)
One way I hope to use Google more in the future is in my personal life. I am slowly teaching some of my friends the great uses for shared documents. It has already worked well for eliminating long chains of emailed attachments and revisions. Also, I am currently working on a Google Site.
Also, just an fyi, I don't think the Blog address sheet is showing properly for this part of the assignment, so I was not able to share a Google Doc with someone in the class.
Thing 2 - Google Doc
Above is my posting of a new document in Google Docs. I use Google Docs very often in the classroom. Our school has given a Google account to every student and every staff member. I often assign group projects to students in which they must share their assignment with their group members and myself. It is great because I can follow their progress, I can see who is making the revisions, and I can access their work from any computer that is online. It has made it very easy for me to grade their work and keep on top of their progress. I also use Google Docs with our staff members. I have been training our different departments how to collaborate using the shared documents. Another teacher and I used it to co-write a grant proposal earlier in the year. It worked great and we are both receiving new Ipads out of it. I love Google Docs.
Thing 1 - Shortcut Keys
I have used shortcut keys for years for things like cutting, pasting, copying, etc. However, I have learned some new uses in this lesson. I have never used the F7 key for running spell check before. This is a nice handy way to run this tool. Also, I have never used the b or w key in powerpoint to blank the screen. I think this could be useful in many situations when presenting. Additionally, though I knew that you could switch between programs when in powerpoint, this is something that I have never used. I can definitely see how this would be helpful when presenting to an audience. Above are some samples of other things I tested:
Thing 1 - Delicious
Here is a link to my Delicious account: http://www.delicious.com/kutzlit Delicious is a great way to save important websites and even find new ones. I like how this site allows you to use different categories of tags for organization. I think it can make me more productive by giving me the ability to have all my important links in one place instead of on multiple computers. Also, it gives me the ability to easily share links with other staff members. My fear is that Delicious will go away. I have heard they were bought out.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
21 Things - Thing 0 (Blogs)
What makes a good blog?
From what I have seen, good blogs have a few common characteristics. Good blogs have a purpose and a voice which shares someone's perspective about a particular topic. Good blogs should be interesting and captivating to their audience of people with similar or shared interests. Good blogs should also be easy to read. Ultimately, blogs should be easy to navigate and understand. Also, they should be formated in an easy to read paragraph structure.
How could blogs enhance your existing web presence?
Blogs can enhance your web presence by opening up new channels of communication. A blog can help students, teachers, and even strangers to better understand yourself as a person. They open a window into the thoughts and ideas of the blogger. Additionally, creating a blog can expand the educational and professional influence of an indivudual.. By sharng information about topics of interest, a person is adding to the potentially valuable content of the Internet. Also, good blogs become an area for others to react and discuss the topics on the blog, thus adding to the professional or topical discussion.
Are blogs an easier way for people to self-publish?
Blogs are a very easy way for any individual to self-publish. In a matter of minutes a person can setup a blogging account and in a short amount of time any person can begin posting to their blog. This can be a very simple way to share ideas. Other means of self-publishing can be much more labor intensive, costly, or time consuming.
Friday, March 25, 2011
21 Things - Getting Started
In this course I hope to learn some new tips, tricks, or tools for education. I am both a teacher and a technology trainer for teachers in our building, so I am always looking for new things to teach myself and others.
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