The biggest personal development I made during this class had to do with my pursuit of edugaming. I have definitely taken a number of steps forward to making this dream a reality. From the commencement of my MAET course work edugaming was one of my main goals. Reflecting back on my childhood I had been taught several major concepts through the stealth tactics of entertaining that were also educational. From my research in the SIG I have begun to learn several strategies as to how to structure games in my classroom. I will continue to follow this path on my own until I can use gaming in my classroom. Effective edugaming is my ultimate goal for technology in the classroom. I will achieve it! I hope to develop an effective strategy to use these games by the end this coming summer (2010), then a means of allocating funds for class licensing by the end of next school year (2011). Hopefully I will be able to effectively implement these games by the beginning of the 2011 school year.
Perhaps the most challenging part of this class was my podcasat post. I had no problem creating the actual file but uploading the file to my MSU webspace using notepad as my webpage designer was quite a challenge. This certainly helps me evaluate the technical challenges that I would wish to avoid when I am using web design processes in class. If I do use a path this complicated to post files I will definitely create quite a bit of structure so that my students don't run into the same time consuming problem.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Blog Evaluation
Next time I approach a project such as this I will make it much shorter. I feel that the assignment was too lengthy so instead of putting the lessons together over a rushed 3 day period I would actually make the assignment cover the entire semester so this project is more like a journey as opposed to a quick sprint. Throughout the lesson I learned that grouping students in pairs is the best way to tackle an assignment such as this. When students are learning a software for the first time pairs give them an opportunity to work together on a solution to a problem. The collaborating solutions allow students to work on their team work skills and the knowledge of how to do something stays with the student longer.
If I were to do this project again I would not spend so much time searching for a large number of links. When I put together tech lessons my search is a little more focused and streamlined. I felt that I was looking for links just for the goal of meeting a quota instead of an actual useful purpose. However I do intend to do more projects similar to this in the future because I believe it brings ideas to life more than what a textbook can do. I really want to get more interactive pieces similar to this. I don't think I will change how I structure the over all assignment in terms of individual responsibility or the technical steps that are needed to master the software.
If I were to do this project again I would not spend so much time searching for a large number of links. When I put together tech lessons my search is a little more focused and streamlined. I felt that I was looking for links just for the goal of meeting a quota instead of an actual useful purpose. However I do intend to do more projects similar to this in the future because I believe it brings ideas to life more than what a textbook can do. I really want to get more interactive pieces similar to this. I don't think I will change how I structure the over all assignment in terms of individual responsibility or the technical steps that are needed to master the software.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Internet Research for TechQuest Project
After giving some great thought into the Techquest Project I have actually decided to change directions from addressing note-taking skills to implementing Google Earth in my classroom. There are a number of reasons behind my switch. First I feel that the availability of Google Earth makes this a more available tool that just about any student with a computer can access because it is free (this is also great for installation on just about any school computer as well!). This allows me great flexibility because students will not be locked into only being able to use a few computers to complete their assignments if I had maintained the status quo with researching Inspiration. Another major factor behind my change was the fact that I already have quite a bit of good researched structure in Note-Taking skills where as I don't have much great stuff for the interactivity that Google Earth affords in Geography.
During my collection of resources I have determined that a great number of teachers have spent a great deal of time blogging about Google Earth’s potential. Surprisingly none of these teachers have really laid out clear objectives and goals that correlate with state or national standards. Also most of these activities are "fun" activities that don't really have much of a point and require only basic levels of thinking. In the hustling world we live in with all of the standards teachers can ill afford wasted days that do not work toward achieving specific standards so I feel that this would be a worthy allocation of my time to put together an effective Google Earth lesson that will help develop student's geographic awareness.
What I learned while I was researching was that Google and Bing were the two sites. Google came out on top because of the Google Scholar application. This site really helped me quickly find journal articles that directly pertained to what I was looking for. Each abstract also did a good job of providing a citation which really eased the burden of searching for the information needed to give credit. As for Bing, this search engine did a better job a directing me to regular sites that had a little more substance (I won't even get into Yahoo which basically provided me with a whole lot of nothing). For instance while using Bing I came across the Connexions website which is basically an online teacher sharing database. Google never even registered Connexions. This site was awesome because it clearly laid out several clear lesson plans with easy to read objectives. Best of all these lessons were cited back to the author with several citation formats. As for strategies I used while searching I tried several combinations of words using quotations around different key areas. At times this would yield different results in Google. I would also try to use the other suggested search key words. A final strategy would be to look at the key words provided in each summary. If the words were used in the context I was looking for I would read into the source if not I would just ignore it. At times I would think I had a hit but after reading the site the information was so scattered it made no sense or the site was full of a bunch of advertisements. The most distracting feature was the fact that most people just had too much junk on their web pages which made it difficult to find what I was looking for.
Anyway here are the best resources I discovered!
Google Earth & Discovery United Streaming Lessons. Great Monuments of the World. Google. http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/services.google.com/en/us/educators/learning_materials/Earth_Lesson_HighSchool_Geography.pdf
This lesson was designed by Google in collaboration with Discovery Education. The lesson basically entails the use of Google Earth to create a World tour of the top world sites & wonders in order to build a better sense of identity and geographic awareness. This lesson is acting as a cornerstone of what I will plan to do with my lesson however I want to gear my lesson toward U.S. political geography. I will probably adopt the main goal and the lessons two central objectives:
Objective 1: “Demonstrate an understanding of famous cities, landmarks, ancient ruins, or natural wonders.”
Objective 2: “Demonstrate an understanding of cultural identity by creating a presentation.
Patterson, Todd C. 'Google Earth as a (Not Just) Geography Education Tool', Journal of Geography, 106:4, 145 – 152 http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a788160864&fulltext=713240928
This site lists the benefits and disadvantages of Google Earth as well as the context the program can be used. The best part of this site is it lists National Geography standards with suggestions as to how each standard can be met by different uses of Google Earth. For example see below
Places and Regions 4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
Utilize the terrain feature of Google Earth to appreciate the physical nature of place—such as undertaking a virtual fly-through of the Grand Canyon or NewYork City
Pantazes, Tom. Google Earth in the Social Studies Classroom. Connexions. 20 Oct. 2008 http://cnx.org/content/m18054/latest/
This site really gives an overall encompassing idea of how to use Google Earth in class. It does have links to specific lessons that can be used with Google Earth. This site also gives several tips for teachers that I will be able to use. Additionally the site lists several benefits and drawbacks that I can expect while using Google Earth. This will be useful in creating my lesson because I can create steps and explanations to pre-empt any questions students may have.
McFadden, Megan. Tech Module: Google Earth in Intermediate Elementary School Classroom. Connexions. 20 Oct. 2008 http://cnx.org/content/m18057/latest/
In this site there are a couple links that lead to pre-made user guides that can be used to help instruct students how to use the different features on Google Earth. Much of what is provided in this site is very similar to the other Connexion site that I researched. There are a couple different tips for teachers that will be useful such as “Find a way to integrate subjects with Google Earth to help it stay aligned with state standards.”
During my collection of resources I have determined that a great number of teachers have spent a great deal of time blogging about Google Earth’s potential. Surprisingly none of these teachers have really laid out clear objectives and goals that correlate with state or national standards. Also most of these activities are "fun" activities that don't really have much of a point and require only basic levels of thinking. In the hustling world we live in with all of the standards teachers can ill afford wasted days that do not work toward achieving specific standards so I feel that this would be a worthy allocation of my time to put together an effective Google Earth lesson that will help develop student's geographic awareness.
What I learned while I was researching was that Google and Bing were the two sites. Google came out on top because of the Google Scholar application. This site really helped me quickly find journal articles that directly pertained to what I was looking for. Each abstract also did a good job of providing a citation which really eased the burden of searching for the information needed to give credit. As for Bing, this search engine did a better job a directing me to regular sites that had a little more substance (I won't even get into Yahoo which basically provided me with a whole lot of nothing). For instance while using Bing I came across the Connexions website which is basically an online teacher sharing database. Google never even registered Connexions. This site was awesome because it clearly laid out several clear lesson plans with easy to read objectives. Best of all these lessons were cited back to the author with several citation formats. As for strategies I used while searching I tried several combinations of words using quotations around different key areas. At times this would yield different results in Google. I would also try to use the other suggested search key words. A final strategy would be to look at the key words provided in each summary. If the words were used in the context I was looking for I would read into the source if not I would just ignore it. At times I would think I had a hit but after reading the site the information was so scattered it made no sense or the site was full of a bunch of advertisements. The most distracting feature was the fact that most people just had too much junk on their web pages which made it difficult to find what I was looking for.
Anyway here are the best resources I discovered!
Google Earth & Discovery United Streaming Lessons. Great Monuments of the World. Google. http://static.googleusercontent.com/external_content/untrusted_dlcp/services.google.com/en/us/educators/learning_materials/Earth_Lesson_HighSchool_Geography.pdf
This lesson was designed by Google in collaboration with Discovery Education. The lesson basically entails the use of Google Earth to create a World tour of the top world sites & wonders in order to build a better sense of identity and geographic awareness. This lesson is acting as a cornerstone of what I will plan to do with my lesson however I want to gear my lesson toward U.S. political geography. I will probably adopt the main goal and the lessons two central objectives:
Objective 1: “Demonstrate an understanding of famous cities, landmarks, ancient ruins, or natural wonders.”
Objective 2: “Demonstrate an understanding of cultural identity by creating a presentation.
Patterson, Todd C. 'Google Earth as a (Not Just) Geography Education Tool', Journal of Geography, 106:4, 145 – 152 http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/section?content=a788160864&fulltext=713240928
This site lists the benefits and disadvantages of Google Earth as well as the context the program can be used. The best part of this site is it lists National Geography standards with suggestions as to how each standard can be met by different uses of Google Earth. For example see below
Places and Regions 4. The physical and human characteristics of places.
Utilize the terrain feature of Google Earth to appreciate the physical nature of place—such as undertaking a virtual fly-through of the Grand Canyon or NewYork City
Pantazes, Tom. Google Earth in the Social Studies Classroom. Connexions. 20 Oct. 2008 http://cnx.org/content/m18054/latest/
This site really gives an overall encompassing idea of how to use Google Earth in class. It does have links to specific lessons that can be used with Google Earth. This site also gives several tips for teachers that I will be able to use. Additionally the site lists several benefits and drawbacks that I can expect while using Google Earth. This will be useful in creating my lesson because I can create steps and explanations to pre-empt any questions students may have.
McFadden, Megan. Tech Module: Google Earth in Intermediate Elementary School Classroom. Connexions. 20 Oct. 2008 http://cnx.org/content/m18057/latest/
In this site there are a couple links that lead to pre-made user guides that can be used to help instruct students how to use the different features on Google Earth. Much of what is provided in this site is very similar to the other Connexion site that I researched. There are a couple different tips for teachers that will be useful such as “Find a way to integrate subjects with Google Earth to help it stay aligned with state standards.”
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Techquest Project Description Blog Entry
An educational need or opportunity
I have been teaching note-taking skills to my freshman the past two years. At the end of the semester I always give students a survey asking opinions about how they feel about several of my types of lessons. An overwhelming majority of students (80%) vote that they believe the note-taking lessons are the most relevant for their future academic success however it is also the most unpleasant lesson type I use. I really want to make these note-taking students a little more interesting for students to do. If student interest improved so would their motivation to learn which in turn would be reflected in an improvement in learning & grades. I feel that I can address this issue by integrating Inspiration or Webspiration as a means to spice up note-taking.
I could measure my success with this venture by measuring student’s attitudes and comments about taking notes with the software as well as the end of the semester exit survey I give to students. I can also compare the progress that is made with the quality of notes taken by the students from previous years. Another means I can use to determine effectiveness is the improvement or digression of grades in the class. This could be difficult because each year there is a new crop of students that have different interests, personalities, and capabilities.
How I plan to address this educational issue with technology. Back in CEP 810 I investigated the program Webspiration/Inspiration to determine potential uses for academics. I would like to further investigate this technology as a means to improve student interest and effectiveness in note taking skills. From my experience note taking is very necessary but mundane skill that everyone uses. By using Webspiration/Inspiration I can solve a couple issues that students have with note-taking. First these programs allow a way of taking notes that is much more visual so that students will build a better cohesive connective web of ideas which Brophy refers to as coherent content. Another problem solved by this program is providing a means for students to integrate multimedia into their notes. When students insert a video to illustrate an idea that they are learning it is much more stimulating as mentioned in the Brabec piece. Another great issue dealt with using these programs is the issue of note-taking for multiple intelligences. Students that prefer the outline method can still use this way to take notes however students that like the mind mapping can use this approach. On top of addressing the multiple intelligences students can begin to make a connection between one way of taking notes to another method by using the crossover function that goes between the more visual approach to the outline approach (which the book uses).
Making the Impact
As mentioned in the Brophy article it is extremely important that students can see connections between the information that they are trying to learn. This builds a connective web of knowledge that strengthens the memory and understanding. This program does a great job with making these connections. Additionally the digital interface also allows for students to create visual connections with multimedia videos and pictures from the internet that can easily be copied and pasted. As the Brabec article has stated this really helps to build a better non verbal understanding of content. The best part of the technological solution is that the webspiration/inspiration software is not extremely specific to one educational discipline which means it can be applied to a number of classes and situations. The software can be used in social studies, science, english and even math classes which means more bang for the buck. Zhao cites this as a very important idea for administrators to take in account when trying to determine the practicality of a technological product.
Relevant research and resources
1. Inspiration Product website, 2009.
• http://www.inspiration.com/Inspiration
• http://www.inspiration.com/Examples/Inspiration#social-studies
• http://www.inspiration.com/videos/Inspiration
2. Education World, March 27, 2002. Educator Software Review: Inspiration.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech124.shtml
3. Zhao, Y., (2003). What Teachers Need to Know about Technology? Framing the Question. What Should Teachers Know about Technology? Perspectives and Practices. Research Methods for Educational Technology Series. Ed. Yong Zhao. Information Age Publishing: Gre
4. Brophy, J, (1999) Teaching.
5. Brabec, K., Fisher, K., & Pitler, H. (2004). Building better instruction: How technology supports nine research-proven instructional strategies. Learning & Leading with Technology 31 (5). p. 6-11.
Implementation
For the current semester I cannot actually implement this technology since my district has only a limited amount of product licenses. I can get my hands on one copy to work out lessons but as for getting the program installed in a lab I would have to prove the product use to the district. It is my hope that this proposal will secure such an opportunity for next fall in my freshman world history classes that I spend so much time with note-taking skills.
How your project addresses the four common places of education:
Someone teaching- The teacher will wear several hats with using this technology. First they will be the demonstrator so that students understand the technical aspects of this software. The teacher must also teach note-taking skills and how to unlock the information key that each textbook possesses. Finally when the teacher is done with the sage on the stage introduction they will act as the guide on the side while students implement the skills and the technology to better understand the information.
Someone learning- Students will at first be receiving direct instruction about how to use the technology and read the book for information. Then become the active learner in finding important information, classifying the information then finding videos or images that illustrate the idea.
Some subject matter- World History (freshman) U.S. History
In some setting- Traditional Classroom, Computer Lab
I have been teaching note-taking skills to my freshman the past two years. At the end of the semester I always give students a survey asking opinions about how they feel about several of my types of lessons. An overwhelming majority of students (80%) vote that they believe the note-taking lessons are the most relevant for their future academic success however it is also the most unpleasant lesson type I use. I really want to make these note-taking students a little more interesting for students to do. If student interest improved so would their motivation to learn which in turn would be reflected in an improvement in learning & grades. I feel that I can address this issue by integrating Inspiration or Webspiration as a means to spice up note-taking.
I could measure my success with this venture by measuring student’s attitudes and comments about taking notes with the software as well as the end of the semester exit survey I give to students. I can also compare the progress that is made with the quality of notes taken by the students from previous years. Another means I can use to determine effectiveness is the improvement or digression of grades in the class. This could be difficult because each year there is a new crop of students that have different interests, personalities, and capabilities.
How I plan to address this educational issue with technology. Back in CEP 810 I investigated the program Webspiration/Inspiration to determine potential uses for academics. I would like to further investigate this technology as a means to improve student interest and effectiveness in note taking skills. From my experience note taking is very necessary but mundane skill that everyone uses. By using Webspiration/Inspiration I can solve a couple issues that students have with note-taking. First these programs allow a way of taking notes that is much more visual so that students will build a better cohesive connective web of ideas which Brophy refers to as coherent content. Another problem solved by this program is providing a means for students to integrate multimedia into their notes. When students insert a video to illustrate an idea that they are learning it is much more stimulating as mentioned in the Brabec piece. Another great issue dealt with using these programs is the issue of note-taking for multiple intelligences. Students that prefer the outline method can still use this way to take notes however students that like the mind mapping can use this approach. On top of addressing the multiple intelligences students can begin to make a connection between one way of taking notes to another method by using the crossover function that goes between the more visual approach to the outline approach (which the book uses).
Making the Impact
As mentioned in the Brophy article it is extremely important that students can see connections between the information that they are trying to learn. This builds a connective web of knowledge that strengthens the memory and understanding. This program does a great job with making these connections. Additionally the digital interface also allows for students to create visual connections with multimedia videos and pictures from the internet that can easily be copied and pasted. As the Brabec article has stated this really helps to build a better non verbal understanding of content. The best part of the technological solution is that the webspiration/inspiration software is not extremely specific to one educational discipline which means it can be applied to a number of classes and situations. The software can be used in social studies, science, english and even math classes which means more bang for the buck. Zhao cites this as a very important idea for administrators to take in account when trying to determine the practicality of a technological product.
Relevant research and resources
1. Inspiration Product website, 2009.
• http://www.inspiration.com/Inspiration
• http://www.inspiration.com/Examples/Inspiration#social-studies
• http://www.inspiration.com/videos/Inspiration
2. Education World, March 27, 2002. Educator Software Review: Inspiration.
http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech124.shtml
3. Zhao, Y., (2003). What Teachers Need to Know about Technology? Framing the Question. What Should Teachers Know about Technology? Perspectives and Practices. Research Methods for Educational Technology Series. Ed. Yong Zhao. Information Age Publishing: Gre
4. Brophy, J, (1999) Teaching.
5. Brabec, K., Fisher, K., & Pitler, H. (2004). Building better instruction: How technology supports nine research-proven instructional strategies. Learning & Leading with Technology 31 (5). p. 6-11.
Implementation
For the current semester I cannot actually implement this technology since my district has only a limited amount of product licenses. I can get my hands on one copy to work out lessons but as for getting the program installed in a lab I would have to prove the product use to the district. It is my hope that this proposal will secure such an opportunity for next fall in my freshman world history classes that I spend so much time with note-taking skills.
How your project addresses the four common places of education:
Someone teaching- The teacher will wear several hats with using this technology. First they will be the demonstrator so that students understand the technical aspects of this software. The teacher must also teach note-taking skills and how to unlock the information key that each textbook possesses. Finally when the teacher is done with the sage on the stage introduction they will act as the guide on the side while students implement the skills and the technology to better understand the information.
Someone learning- Students will at first be receiving direct instruction about how to use the technology and read the book for information. Then become the active learner in finding important information, classifying the information then finding videos or images that illustrate the idea.
Some subject matter- World History (freshman) U.S. History
In some setting- Traditional Classroom, Computer Lab
Monday, March 8, 2010
The End of the Line!
•What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?•How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology•How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration?•Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over?
WHEWWW!!! This class is done already!? Im pretty sure that is as close to an academic sprint you can get to! If I had one word to describe 811 its intense because everything was so tightly packed together. This is rather bitter sweet because it is difficult to fully digest all of the content yet sweet in that there is no beating around the bush, you get to work, you hammer out your stuff (which I felt pretty darn good about) then you move on. I am rather pleased with how this class has helped to developed my teaching abilities. It definitely challanged me to create new ways to use technology in my class in a way that is fun, engaging, and of course very interesting. The two biggest pieces I came away with in this class is the ease that websites can be designed and used for class as well as the stAIR idea that can really help to build an effective individual platform for students to learn. This is a very valuable assignment idea to add to my repetoire.
The class certainly met my life encompassing goal of improvement through challenge. I certainly challenged myself to create very cutting edge lessons on both the content level and the technological level. As for specifics I met a short term goal of entering into the blogging arena for both myself personally and my class. As to how the class blogs will work out, I am uncertain becuase the amount of management it will requires. Regardless of the management challenge I was successful in making the idea a reality which my student's and I are excited to experience. As for goals still left unattended I am longing to find a way to implement simulations into my class. In addition to blogs and the plethora of online multimedia resources for histry I really feel simulation games will be the key to really creating an interactive and exciting adventure for my history classes.
Overall I enjoyed the experience and I can't wait to continue with the rest of my journey! 3 classes down, 5 more to go!
WHEWWW!!! This class is done already!? Im pretty sure that is as close to an academic sprint you can get to! If I had one word to describe 811 its intense because everything was so tightly packed together. This is rather bitter sweet because it is difficult to fully digest all of the content yet sweet in that there is no beating around the bush, you get to work, you hammer out your stuff (which I felt pretty darn good about) then you move on. I am rather pleased with how this class has helped to developed my teaching abilities. It definitely challanged me to create new ways to use technology in my class in a way that is fun, engaging, and of course very interesting. The two biggest pieces I came away with in this class is the ease that websites can be designed and used for class as well as the stAIR idea that can really help to build an effective individual platform for students to learn. This is a very valuable assignment idea to add to my repetoire.
The class certainly met my life encompassing goal of improvement through challenge. I certainly challenged myself to create very cutting edge lessons on both the content level and the technological level. As for specifics I met a short term goal of entering into the blogging arena for both myself personally and my class. As to how the class blogs will work out, I am uncertain becuase the amount of management it will requires. Regardless of the management challenge I was successful in making the idea a reality which my student's and I are excited to experience. As for goals still left unattended I am longing to find a way to implement simulations into my class. In addition to blogs and the plethora of online multimedia resources for histry I really feel simulation games will be the key to really creating an interactive and exciting adventure for my history classes.
Overall I enjoyed the experience and I can't wait to continue with the rest of my journey! 3 classes down, 5 more to go!
The 21st Century Classroom
I actually use several of these web-based technologies in my class and they have all yeilded great results in supplementing my in-class instructions. The cornerstone to my web-technologies and my class for that matter is my Blackboard CMS. I use this system as my classroom access to the web. On Blackboard I organize all of my assignments, handouts, recommended external links, class blogs, online textbooks, videos and even quizzes/tests. Making these materials available online has been extremely helpful for keeping an open lane of communication with parents and other support staff. Everyday I post a detailed agenda with all of the homework announcements as well as locations to assignments and notes. Parents and students can easily keep track of due dates with the consistently updated daily agenda. Students that are absent can easily keep up with the class if they are on vacation, or even suspended for a period of time. In fact I am beginning to have absent students come back from an absence with their work completed as if they had never missed class.
Blackboard has been a great help with quickly assessing multiple choice sections of tests and small assignments. When I give tests I normally make two sections: a writing portion along with a multiple choice portion. When giving the Multiple choice portion I always give it via Blackboard. I have created a dependable format that works for both the studnets as well as grading purposes. Students like getting immediate feedback so that they can improve their performance as soon as possible. Additionally it really helps me get back good raw data to analyze class performance so that I can assess both myself and the class.
As for some specific pedagogical strategies, I am currently running my Blog experiment in my American History class. I designed a large encompassing question for the class. Throughout the entire semester students will look at their daily class participation in the light that they are doing research on this question. Instead of giving my portion to the final exam I will have students create a presentation/project that answers the question using information that they have learned throughout the question, that way students will have a idea of how all of the big ideas within the history class connect together. I read in a Marzano teaching strategy that this really helps to best develop student's higher level thinking capabilities.
I have found class forum boards the most difficult piece to implement. I feel that they just create more work for me that is not necessary. I need the organic feeling of classroom discussion to get a good grasp of what students are comprehending. Also I find the grading very inundating, I just can't keep up. Also forums are tough because not everyone is very engaged to the level that a discussion could blossom into an unknown place that is very interesting and useful. Maybe its my stle but the discussion forums just don't do it for me in this situation.
Overall I love all of this technology! What did we ever do before it? Education is so much more fruitful now. Instead of talking about an abstract idea all of these ideas allow for us to easily access an infinite amount of resources and easily discuss them, it truly is revolutionary how fast it has changed in the last 10 years! In the words of my old Enlish teacher Mr Hughes.... "it tickles me pink!"
Blackboard has been a great help with quickly assessing multiple choice sections of tests and small assignments. When I give tests I normally make two sections: a writing portion along with a multiple choice portion. When giving the Multiple choice portion I always give it via Blackboard. I have created a dependable format that works for both the studnets as well as grading purposes. Students like getting immediate feedback so that they can improve their performance as soon as possible. Additionally it really helps me get back good raw data to analyze class performance so that I can assess both myself and the class.
As for some specific pedagogical strategies, I am currently running my Blog experiment in my American History class. I designed a large encompassing question for the class. Throughout the entire semester students will look at their daily class participation in the light that they are doing research on this question. Instead of giving my portion to the final exam I will have students create a presentation/project that answers the question using information that they have learned throughout the question, that way students will have a idea of how all of the big ideas within the history class connect together. I read in a Marzano teaching strategy that this really helps to best develop student's higher level thinking capabilities.
I have found class forum boards the most difficult piece to implement. I feel that they just create more work for me that is not necessary. I need the organic feeling of classroom discussion to get a good grasp of what students are comprehending. Also I find the grading very inundating, I just can't keep up. Also forums are tough because not everyone is very engaged to the level that a discussion could blossom into an unknown place that is very interesting and useful. Maybe its my stle but the discussion forums just don't do it for me in this situation.
Overall I love all of this technology! What did we ever do before it? Education is so much more fruitful now. Instead of talking about an abstract idea all of these ideas allow for us to easily access an infinite amount of resources and easily discuss them, it truly is revolutionary how fast it has changed in the last 10 years! In the words of my old Enlish teacher Mr Hughes.... "it tickles me pink!"
Google Earth
Background Intro
Google Earth is an application that allows for people to take an interactive mapping tour with any place in the world. You can easily navigate the planet to find any city you desire. The program functions on an XY & Z axis that allows you to get a 3-D picture of the earth. When there is a location you would like to inquire about GoogleEarth allows you to zoom in and observe what the physical geography actually looks like.
What knowledge or skills would students need to use the software?
Students need to know their basic cardinal directions, how to use the basic maneuvering interface. This really does not take too long to figure out. For example if you hold down the right mouse button then slide the mouse whatever direction you wish to move it will happen. Also learning how to use the mouse wheel to zoom is an important feature. Rolling the wheel forward will zoom in, rolling it backward will zoom out. Overall the interface is pretty intuitive. As for other features, figuring out what all of the buttons does takes some time to figure out. After about an hour of fiddling around most people should be able to pick up most of the features that Google Earth has to offer. As for additional questions Google offers several tutorials via youTube that allows for anyone to get a quick demonstration as to how to do anything.
As for some other applications students should learn include creating a digital tour, sending information, and choosing what type of layer data they would like to read. One of my favorite features of Google Earth is if you are curious about any particular building in a large city you may click on the building then get a detailed background information such as mailing address, building name, email addresses etc. If the building has a webpage you can even click on the webpage to get further information.
How can you share the products you create with this application
There are two ways in which information can be shared. You can record a digital tour of places. These tours allow you to not only record the places but also a little voice over (with the availability of a microphone). The videos can then be shared one of two ways. They can be posted on a Google Earth forum which requires a special login above and beyond the usual Google username. The other way videos can be shared is through email. After recording a video simply left click the file then email. The receiver must also have Google Earth to download the video to observe the tour.
How could you see the application being used to teach a particular subject matter?
GoogleEarth has near limitless capabilities for teaching history, geography, as well as some physical science classes. In history or geography I would use the program for students to get a better idea as to how geography has affected the settlement of people. For examples I would want students to see how armies could have used the geography to their advantage or what physical factors posed challenges to settlers. Another potential use is to have students compare past pictures to current maps in order to inquire questions as to how places ended up in their current state. Student’s could create a digital map tour of the U.S. and historical sites as a means to get both a historical background of locations with a connection to spatial relationship of political states. I could go on with this all day!
What are some things a teacher could do to help students collaborate using this application?
There is a student forum that students can upload their videos for comments. As for collaborating for some possible editing I cannot find if GoogleEarth allows for students to go back for editing purposes. Most collaboration would have to be done in person. For example I would have students survey a map for places they would like to chronicle in a map tour. They can work together to determine which places they would like to highlight then create the tour together.
What sort of organization or managerial considerations will a teacher have to take into account?
The primary concern a teacher must address is having GoogleEarth installed on computers that are capable of running the program. New software, even when its free like GoogleEarth, is not always easy to install on computers because of the security concerns of the ITs. Additionally the computers available may lack the processing capabilities to run the program. Furthermore teachers must keep in mind several student issues. Time for students to familiarize themselves with the interface must be kept in mind as well as expected time of completion, some students will not be technically capable (as simples as it is) to install the program at home. Finally assessment comes into play.
As for putting the assignment together and detailing submission instructions it is important for the teacher to detail all of the steps for submitting the assignment in a place where the teacher can access the file and grade it. In my case I would have students submit the assignment via Blackboard then use my personal Google Earth to observe and detail comments.
Google Earth is an application that allows for people to take an interactive mapping tour with any place in the world. You can easily navigate the planet to find any city you desire. The program functions on an XY & Z axis that allows you to get a 3-D picture of the earth. When there is a location you would like to inquire about GoogleEarth allows you to zoom in and observe what the physical geography actually looks like.
What knowledge or skills would students need to use the software?
Students need to know their basic cardinal directions, how to use the basic maneuvering interface. This really does not take too long to figure out. For example if you hold down the right mouse button then slide the mouse whatever direction you wish to move it will happen. Also learning how to use the mouse wheel to zoom is an important feature. Rolling the wheel forward will zoom in, rolling it backward will zoom out. Overall the interface is pretty intuitive. As for other features, figuring out what all of the buttons does takes some time to figure out. After about an hour of fiddling around most people should be able to pick up most of the features that Google Earth has to offer. As for additional questions Google offers several tutorials via youTube that allows for anyone to get a quick demonstration as to how to do anything.
As for some other applications students should learn include creating a digital tour, sending information, and choosing what type of layer data they would like to read. One of my favorite features of Google Earth is if you are curious about any particular building in a large city you may click on the building then get a detailed background information such as mailing address, building name, email addresses etc. If the building has a webpage you can even click on the webpage to get further information.
How can you share the products you create with this application
There are two ways in which information can be shared. You can record a digital tour of places. These tours allow you to not only record the places but also a little voice over (with the availability of a microphone). The videos can then be shared one of two ways. They can be posted on a Google Earth forum which requires a special login above and beyond the usual Google username. The other way videos can be shared is through email. After recording a video simply left click the file then email. The receiver must also have Google Earth to download the video to observe the tour.
How could you see the application being used to teach a particular subject matter?
GoogleEarth has near limitless capabilities for teaching history, geography, as well as some physical science classes. In history or geography I would use the program for students to get a better idea as to how geography has affected the settlement of people. For examples I would want students to see how armies could have used the geography to their advantage or what physical factors posed challenges to settlers. Another potential use is to have students compare past pictures to current maps in order to inquire questions as to how places ended up in their current state. Student’s could create a digital map tour of the U.S. and historical sites as a means to get both a historical background of locations with a connection to spatial relationship of political states. I could go on with this all day!
What are some things a teacher could do to help students collaborate using this application?
There is a student forum that students can upload their videos for comments. As for collaborating for some possible editing I cannot find if GoogleEarth allows for students to go back for editing purposes. Most collaboration would have to be done in person. For example I would have students survey a map for places they would like to chronicle in a map tour. They can work together to determine which places they would like to highlight then create the tour together.
What sort of organization or managerial considerations will a teacher have to take into account?
The primary concern a teacher must address is having GoogleEarth installed on computers that are capable of running the program. New software, even when its free like GoogleEarth, is not always easy to install on computers because of the security concerns of the ITs. Additionally the computers available may lack the processing capabilities to run the program. Furthermore teachers must keep in mind several student issues. Time for students to familiarize themselves with the interface must be kept in mind as well as expected time of completion, some students will not be technically capable (as simples as it is) to install the program at home. Finally assessment comes into play.
As for putting the assignment together and detailing submission instructions it is important for the teacher to detail all of the steps for submitting the assignment in a place where the teacher can access the file and grade it. In my case I would have students submit the assignment via Blackboard then use my personal Google Earth to observe and detail comments.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Now Entering the Blogosphere
I had posted in my very first blog that I really did not want to get into blogging as a way to spite the man and what seemed to be a trend. Well, obviously I have given up on that idea and moved on to spiting the man with not doing Twitter. Seriously whose life could be that crazy that we need to follow every move? I love my life, I would rather be no other place than here but there is no way any one person's life could be that interesting to follow every single step!
Anyway with my capitulation into the blogosphere I have really come to see that this is a very POWERFUL tool that can be used in education. I am in the middle of setting up my first class blog project that will span the remaining weeks of the school year in my U.S. History class. I have composed a big trans-historical question that students must continually revisit every unit with a blog post. I want students to think about what does it mean to be American? I really try to hammer home to students that history makes us who we are. If that is true then we need to reflect on our country's past to better understand ourselves. What I will have the students do is use stories and developments in our history to compose their own fluid concept of what it means to be an American: good, bad, selfish, selfless, greedy, giving etc... During the last two weeks of the school year I will have students reflect back on their blogs and create a project that illustrates what it means for them to be American based off our historical identity.
I believe this project will really kill several birds with one stone. I think this will give kids a little more ownership over their learning. Most importantly it will give them a purpose as to why it is important to understand what is going on in U.S. history. Finally it will give some cohesion between the historical eras, students will make connections of ideas as opposed to memorizing individual compartmentalized facts and ideas.
I think where so many history teachers go wrong is with this accomplishing individual tasks that don't seem to connect. Students see these tasks as hoops to jump through without any critical thinking as to how the task can be used later in life. Teacher use of blogs is sometimes similar to this as well. Teachers will use blogs to answer one particular question, this leads to dead thoughts that go no where, blogs are supposed to be an archive of the fluid change of an individual's ideas. We want a better cohesive idea that gives us a better understanding of life. Blogs are great because its so easy to go back to previous posts to reflect and also get other people's insight on your ideas. In an essence its a way to better get to know yourself with the aid of a global community. If teachers don't use them in this way blogs are just another gimmick to do the same old thing!
Anyway with my capitulation into the blogosphere I have really come to see that this is a very POWERFUL tool that can be used in education. I am in the middle of setting up my first class blog project that will span the remaining weeks of the school year in my U.S. History class. I have composed a big trans-historical question that students must continually revisit every unit with a blog post. I want students to think about what does it mean to be American? I really try to hammer home to students that history makes us who we are. If that is true then we need to reflect on our country's past to better understand ourselves. What I will have the students do is use stories and developments in our history to compose their own fluid concept of what it means to be an American: good, bad, selfish, selfless, greedy, giving etc... During the last two weeks of the school year I will have students reflect back on their blogs and create a project that illustrates what it means for them to be American based off our historical identity.
I believe this project will really kill several birds with one stone. I think this will give kids a little more ownership over their learning. Most importantly it will give them a purpose as to why it is important to understand what is going on in U.S. history. Finally it will give some cohesion between the historical eras, students will make connections of ideas as opposed to memorizing individual compartmentalized facts and ideas.
I think where so many history teachers go wrong is with this accomplishing individual tasks that don't seem to connect. Students see these tasks as hoops to jump through without any critical thinking as to how the task can be used later in life. Teacher use of blogs is sometimes similar to this as well. Teachers will use blogs to answer one particular question, this leads to dead thoughts that go no where, blogs are supposed to be an archive of the fluid change of an individual's ideas. We want a better cohesive idea that gives us a better understanding of life. Blogs are great because its so easy to go back to previous posts to reflect and also get other people's insight on your ideas. In an essence its a way to better get to know yourself with the aid of a global community. If teachers don't use them in this way blogs are just another gimmick to do the same old thing!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Wikis
Okay, so for some reason I cannot paste a screen shot on here so I guess Ill go with a link with some instructions! Rochester High School already had a Wikispedia space that had most of the basic info. I tried to update the assisstant principal names but for some reason they would never appear when I saved the changes. Finally I just changed a little bit of info under the trivia. If you go to the site and scroll down to trivia you will see some info about a girl by the name of Megan Goethals who was just announced as the National Gatorade Cross Country runner of the year for winning nationals. I added that little bit of info.
A quick note about the wikis, I think these are GREAT tools some colleagues and myself have been talking about setting up a district wiki that could help us all share assignments despite being at different buildings. This will surely help new teachers that are coming in the district and really struggle at the outset because they don't have all of the resources, that won't be the case any longer.
A quick note about the wikis, I think these are GREAT tools some colleagues and myself have been talking about setting up a district wiki that could help us all share assignments despite being at different buildings. This will surely help new teachers that are coming in the district and really struggle at the outset because they don't have all of the resources, that won't be the case any longer.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
On My Mind
There are a host of issues that Im thinking up about all of these individualized lesson plans. The primary concern is that I will become redundant with the ways in which I assess the students. For example I will continually ask factual questions, which obviously only addresses the surface of the issues that I may be teaching. What if I want students to go a couple steps ahead on the thinking spectrum and construct something at one step before they move onto the next step. How can I quickly assess whether or not they have met the level of understanding required to move on. Using PPt Kiosk it is very difficult in this regard because it is not going to be able to determine the level of competence. Anyone dealing with this issue? Are you going to go down that path where they have to construct something whether it be a theory, idea, artwork, strategy, etc?
Here is my favorite webquest so far! Its called "Who's Footing the Bill" This thing is an awesome inquiry type exercise where students have to figure out whether or not Federal Gov't deficits are a problem, then students get to fiddle around with a very in depth U.S. budget to see what must be eliminated to solve our budget issues. Lots of great links, simple guiding questions. If you're teaching about U.S. fiscal policy this is a GREAT webquest!
Another great piece is called Medieval Times Adventure. This quest isn't as interesting or dynamic as the one above but it is good at creating some historical empathy with some cool interactive digital resources that bring some aspects of medieval life alive.
Here is my favorite webquest so far! Its called "Who's Footing the Bill" This thing is an awesome inquiry type exercise where students have to figure out whether or not Federal Gov't deficits are a problem, then students get to fiddle around with a very in depth U.S. budget to see what must be eliminated to solve our budget issues. Lots of great links, simple guiding questions. If you're teaching about U.S. fiscal policy this is a GREAT webquest!
Another great piece is called Medieval Times Adventure. This quest isn't as interesting or dynamic as the one above but it is good at creating some historical empathy with some cool interactive digital resources that bring some aspects of medieval life alive.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Bienvenidos
Okay so my first impression of blogs was.... what makes everyone an authority figure on the news? Most people don't even have any training to determine what is important let alone what something means. Also why would news anchors such as Brian Williams actually tell us what they're thinking as opposed reporting one thing on the news then saying "go to my blog to read more." My next impression on blogs was, this is just another manifestation of our culture's selfishness. We are so caught up in ourselves, believe that we are the most important thing on this planet and we all have a story that should be published along with the great classics. If you need more illustration on this point just go see Julie and Julia (a movie I did enjoy by the way). I had told myself that I will do one selfish thing and NOT get involved in Blogs just to prove my own point that I don't want to get involved with something that I thought was just a fad of our selfishly instant gratified society. Well apparently the gravity of the Blog has sucked me in! As the case with so much technology consuming our world, tt wasn't a matter of if but when. Not only has the gravity sucked me in but I am now considering using Blogs in my teaching.
Let me reassess my earlier point of view. Yes I still hold true to some of these self-evident truths but some I must revisit. Blogs are a powerful tool for collaboration, reflection and composing cohesive ideas. I plan on using these in my class as a means to get students to think about the consistencies of history and what it all means to them. For example I want students to post weekly on what it means to be an American. This will be a great common theme that helps them determine their own identity while connecting all of the developments in our country and determine what it all actually means over the scale of time.
Ive also realized that no longer will our memoirs be contained in written journals but they will also be constructed for everyone to comment. Maybe Blogs aren't as selfish as I first thought? It is a way of taking my personal selfish thoughts to the world so that people can comment to actually make me a better person that makes the world a better place.
So be it, here goes my Blog! If you read it cool! If you don't thats cool too, I realize I am not the most important person out there, I don't plan to be, and don't expect to be so no hard feelings : )
Let me reassess my earlier point of view. Yes I still hold true to some of these self-evident truths but some I must revisit. Blogs are a powerful tool for collaboration, reflection and composing cohesive ideas. I plan on using these in my class as a means to get students to think about the consistencies of history and what it all means to them. For example I want students to post weekly on what it means to be an American. This will be a great common theme that helps them determine their own identity while connecting all of the developments in our country and determine what it all actually means over the scale of time.
Ive also realized that no longer will our memoirs be contained in written journals but they will also be constructed for everyone to comment. Maybe Blogs aren't as selfish as I first thought? It is a way of taking my personal selfish thoughts to the world so that people can comment to actually make me a better person that makes the world a better place.
So be it, here goes my Blog! If you read it cool! If you don't thats cool too, I realize I am not the most important person out there, I don't plan to be, and don't expect to be so no hard feelings : )
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