Thing 15 - Productivity Tools

1. Below is a screenshot of a file converted from a Word (.docx) format to a .pdf format

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.

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.

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.

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.

Thing 12 - Assessment / Evaluation

1. The image below is a screenshot of quiz results for assessing students knowledge of copyright laws:

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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#

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.

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.