Final WOW Project

Literacy and Technology has been a challenging course but I feel that I have learned a great deal.  Some of the topics were a lot of trial and error and asking my partner a lot of questions ( which he was very willing to help and answer).  I have included the link to my final project and the culmination of information from my web page. I hope you find the idea of Project Based Learning to be an interesting topic. PBL is worked backwards from starting with the end result and then working forward from there.

http://nmarti-mathematics.weebly.com/

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0ATJY0jH8o8QAZGtwM3J4a18xMWttN3dtMmM0&hl=en&authkey=CN21_LcP

Social Networking ~ is it worth all the hype?

Are teachers social creatures?



Years ago teachers were left on their own to close their door and teach their class what they felt they needed to learn in a way that they felt best.  As long as their students were learning the material things were good.  Teachers were not always so willing to share with other teachers their ideas or teaching methods. They were doing what they felt best for their students and only their students. This is not to say that all teachers did this but back then it took a special teacher to be willing to share information.

Fast forward to today's teachers and things could not be any different. Teachers have a host of professional sites were they can share ideas and/or get ideas to help them in their classroom.  things range from classroom management ideas, lesson plans, general concerns and specific concerns.  Teachers today are so willing to help out other educators that there are a few sites that I have looked at that were very insightful and helpful.

http://groups.google.com/group/google-for-educators?pli=1  this site is specifically for educators and here is a list of a few of the topics that are covered on this site:

Google In Your Classroom, Education Resources, Current Events, Misc, Submit Your Lessons, Google Apps Education Edition, Google Docs education

http://www.classroom20.com   this is a social network for those interested in Web 2.0 and Social Media in education. You are encouraged to sign up in order to participate in the great discussions, receive event notifications, and to find and connect with colleagues.

http://www.teacherslovesmartboards.com/training/   this site is all about the smartboard and what can be done with it.  the only down side with this site is that it is a paid site and not a free one.

http://blog.diigo.com/2010/07/01/diigo-v5-0-collect-highlight-then-remember/  this site is a great site because as soon as you add contacts you have access to their library as well as one you create.

http://www.delicious.com/ this site gives you access to a number of resources

One resource to use for on-line classes or video conferencing is:

http://flashmeeting.e2bn.net/about.html  This site is used for video conferencing and has the following features:

Video and Audio broadcast over a network or internet.
No download and installation - it works in a web browser with Flash 8 (or greater) 'plugin'.
Easy to use - click the Broadcast button to start - click again to stop!
Indicate your intention to speak with a simple queuing system.
Public Text chat - chat to others while watching the broadcast.
Private Text chat - send private messages to individuals.
Share a URL - open a web page on all remote machines.
Shared whiteboard available to share text, drawing or photographs.
Vote and 'Emoticon' options - share your opinions and feelings!
Countdown timer shows time remaining.
View participants either as a list of images or names.
Simple booking procedure to manage your meetings.
Secure and private meetings.
Low-data friendly (one broadcast stream at a time).
Record the meeting for easy web replay.

To answer the question that was posted at the begining of this blog ~ yes, social networking is definetly worth all the hype and can be very usefull for todays teachers.

Assessments~Why so many?

Do students need all that assessment?



It seems that todays students are doing a lot of testing either because the state mandates them or teachers are trying to see what their students know or need to know.  With state testing there is nothing a teacher can do about that but try and get their students use to the format of the test questions and the types questions that will be on the test.

As far as the classroom testing teachers have controll as to what they need to find out (such as finding out a students prior knowledge) so they have a better understanding as to where they need to start their lessons.

There are basically three types of assessments that are used in a classroom:

1. Diagnostic Assessment:
1. This is testing that occurs before instruction. A diagnostic assessment or pre-assessment often focuses on one area or domain of knowledge. It can provide educators with information about each student's prior knowledge before beginning instruction.. Educators can use a diagnostic assessment to assist them in developing lesson plans and providing differentiated instruction to meet students' needs.
2. Formative Assessment:
1. This form of assessment is given during instruction. Formative assessment can be used to determine what needs or topics have to be addressed next with a student. An educator can use a formative assessment to find the gaps between what students have learned and where students are struggling. A formative assessment not only includes tests and homework but can also be an interactive process with the students.
3. Summative Assessment:
1. A summative assessment is typically given to students after a specific point in instruction to measure their understanding of a subject. Some examples of summative assessments include high stakes tests, standardized state exams, district or interim tests, midterms and final exams. Summative assessments can also be used to check students' mastery of a subject every few weeks or months.

It is important to remember that they should be used as a framework to inform the instruction process. Ultimately, the knowledge gleaned from assessment should be used to reach individual students and support them in their learning process.

The above information was compiled from the web site:

http://blog.learningtoday.com/blog/bid/20323/Diagnostic-Formative-Summative-Assessments-What-s-the-difference

Another form of assessment can be the use of posters, book reports, productions, debates and a whole host of other ideas.  The only thing with these types of assessments the students should be given a rubric in which they will know exactly what they need to include in their project and what they will be graded on.  There are a number of pre-made rubrics that can be found on the internet or there are sites in which you can create your own.

http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/assess.html This site has over 100 rubric sites to choose from.  There were rubrics for specific subjects, ideas and grade levels. If you need a rubric this is the site to check out for all your rubric needs.

(New) Tools of the Trade

Paper & Pencil Record Keeping

~Not so much any more~

Ask any older teachers what there preferred method of record keeping is and some if not a lot of them would tell you that they like having a hard copy pencil and paper grade book.  They like to be able to show the students if they are missing an assignment, a test, a quiz, homework or if they were absent.  Students like to know how they are doing at times so it is easier to walk up to a student with book in hand and they can see for themselves.

Ask a new and upcoming teacher what their preferred method of record keeping is and they are more then likely to tell you that they like the electronic system.  An electronic system also does everything a pencil and grade book can do but it can do a whole lot more.  The electronic version can calculate a students average for homework's, quizzes and tests, it can show their attendance, the teacher can also post homework and have students submit them electronically, and students can have discussions with the teacher and/or other students.

One source that can be used for grading is the following site:
Flubaroo for grading.
 I did find that the site was a little hard to use and never did get the hang of it.

The following site can be used for grading and also quick exit tickets, short answer questions and multiple choice questions.
http://www.socrative.com/
Unfortunately I was unable to sigh up to give this site a try. 

There are many on-line tools that are at a teachers disposal and it will take using a certain program to get comfortable with it and learning all the possible benefits it has to offer.  Some school districts tell teachers the program that they have to use so your choice may be limited by the district you work in.

Story Telling in a whole new way

Digital Story telling exactly what is it?

If you ask a young child what is story telling and they are more than likely going to tell you that they sit in a semi-circle on a rug in front of their teacher and she/he reads them a story.  As an older student what story telling is and you may get a completely different explanation.  They may tell you that story telling a long time ago was when the elders of a group would gather around and tell the next generation the history of their family verbally.  Later on things may have been written down and passed on from one generation to the next so that family histories would not be lost.  People would have to worry about loosing written records in natural disasters or family members bot wanting to hold on to them.

Today's form of story telling can be done in a completely different way.  It only takes one person telling a family story or recording any type of information that they would like to pass down from one generation to the next using a computer.  I made a picture storytelling just by using Windows live movie maker that came with my computer but can be downloaded for free.  It was very easy to use and I really had a lot of fun doing the class assignment.  I know that I will create more for my family to be able to actually see all the pictures that I have taken over the years.  This way everyone will have access to the pictures and they can all enjoy them without having to flip through photo albums or get copies made so everyone has the pictures.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Read All About It!!!

Classroom Newsletters

 ~ to have or not to have ~

 that is the question?

Having a classroom newsletter can be very useful to help keep parents/guardians up-to-date on the happenings for either the month or marking period, depending on the grade level it is being designed for.  If the newsletter is being designed or used for the elementary level the teacher has a better chance of their students bringing it home for their parents/guardians to see and read.  Having a classroom newsletter in the junior high or high school may have a tendency to be left right on the desk as soon as the bell rings for class to be over.

Instead of an actual paper classroom newsletter the teacher may create a virtual newsletter with both students and parents can have access to.  One such program that can be used is Letterpop which comes with pre-designed layouts and backgrounds.  They have general designs or holiday designs if you choose to use them.

The following link is a classroom newsletter that was created to help keep students safe when using the internet.

http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=188663-fc6166

Classroom newsletters can be used for a number of different reasons, such as the one mentioned above, also for helping students learn about different tools that they may be able to use to help in their school work such as learning about Google Docs.

 http://letterpop.com/newsletters/?id=188669-bfed21 is an example of a newsletter explaining what Google Docs is and the advantages of using it.

Again, I feel that creating and using a classroom newsletter can be beneficial for everyone involved and can be a very powerful tool when implemented at the appropriate level.

Traditional Classroom Teaching vs. Constructivism Classroom Teaching

There are a number of differences between the traditional classroom and a constructivism classroom.  Listed below are excerpts from a power point presentation that was prepared for a class assignment that explains the pros and cons and differences between the two types of classrooms.

 

 

traditional vs constructivist classroom

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/finalprojects/eitankaplan/pages/classroom.htm

 Traditional Classroom

•  Student primarily work alone
• Curriculum is presented part to whole, with emphasis on basic skills
• Strict adherence to a fixed curriculum
• Curricular activities rely heavily on textbooks of data and manipulative materials
• Students are viewed as "blank slates"
• Teachers generally behave in a didactic manner,
• Teachers seek the correct answers to validate student lessons.
• Assessment of student learning is viewed as separate from teaching and occurs almost entirely through testing.

 

Constructivist Classroom 

• Students primarily work in groups
• Curriculum is presented whole to part with emphasis on the big concept
• Pursuit of student questions is highly valued.
• Students are viewed as thinkers with emerging theories about the world
• Teachers generally behave as facilitators
• Teachers seek the student's point of view in order to understand student learning for use later on
• Assessment of student learning is interwoven with teaching and occurs through teacher observation of students at work and through exhibitions and portfolios.

10 basic guiding principles of constructivist thinking that educators must keep in mind:

  

1. It takes time to learn
2. Learning is an active process in which the student constructs meaning out of
3. People learn to learn 
4. Learning involves language
5. Learning is a social activity
6. Learning is contextual
7. The act of constructing meaning is mental
8. Every one needs knowledge to learn
9. Learning is not the passive acceptance of knowledge it takes work
10. Motivation is a major aspect of learning

http://userwww.sfsu.edu/~foreman/itec800/finalprojects/eitankaplan/pages/principles.htm 

 

Pros & Cons of Constructivism

Pros

 

• students often like when they are part of the decision making process
•  a higher level of thinking occures
• students like hands-on activities
•  students feel a sense of ownership when hand-on learning occures rather then just being told something

Cons

 

• belief that learning is based on the students ability to discover new knowledge 
• teachers may not take responsibility for poor learning
• may lead students to take a majority rules attitude rather then an individual approach to decision making 

The idea of teaching in a constructavist manner is great in theory but may be difficult to impliment in practice

Instead of Footprints in the sand how about Footprints with technology

Every one hears about leaving their carbon footprints upon earth but how many people actually thing about the footprints that they leave digitally?

What are digital footprints anyway?

Web definitions

• are traces left behind by someones activity in a digital environment. These traces can be analysed by a network manager or the police.
http://www.schools.sa.gov.au/speced2/a8_publish/modules/publish/content.asp

According to http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/D/digital_footprint.html - digital footprints is defined as:

On the Internet a digital footprint is the word used to describe the trail, traces or "footprints" that people leave online. This is information transmitted online, such as forum registration, e-mails and attachments, uploading videos or digital images and any other form of transmission of information — all of which leaves traces of personal information about yourself available to others online.
Since one of our assignments was to find our digital footprint I was happy to find that it was hard to find out thing that were my digital footprint. I also checked on my children's digital footprints and was happy to find very little if nothing at all.  Once something is posted on the internet it stays in cyber space even if it is deleted off of computer or site.  People can copy it to their computer or it can be archived someplace without you even knowing it.  Things have been known to resurface at the most inopportune time.  It is important to know what you put out on the internet so every once in a while it is a good idea to do a search on yourself or your children just to see what is out there.

Internet Safety - No problem I've got that covered!

With today's technological ways of sharing information young children and tweens/teens do not realize that making a casual comment may in fact put them in danger. 

Children have a tendency to post

• their e-mail address
• home address/home town
• cell phone number

Children need to be made aware that with  just this amount of information someone may be able to locate them.  They feel that if the "Talk to a friend" on line then they are their friend. 

 

Parents need to be aware of what sites their children go on.  The safest place for the computer to be with children is in a room where it can be viewed by a parent/guardian or other adult. If they are on a questionable site they can be directed to close that site and find one more suitable for their age.

 

There are certain things as parents that we can do to help make sure that our children stay safe:

 

•  take advantage of strict privacy settings
•  make sure that any pictures or videos that they want to post have your permission to do so
•  do not respond to anyone that request them as friends if they do not know them personally
• remind them that their password is to be shared with no one other then their parents
• keep the lines of communication open so that they know they can come talk to you if they need to
•  do not respond to any unknown friend requests and any request asking for personal information
• they are to understand that under any circumstance they are  NOT to make arrangements to meet up with someone that they have met on line
•  they may need to be reminded that what they put out on the internet stays on the internet even if they delete it off of their computer.

As far as internet safety is concerned there is no substitute for parental involvement!