Boy have a had a busy semester. My calendar was crammed:
But it was a pretty good one. After tying up a couple of loose ends and completing last minute details, it is time for a break.
But now for a little reflecting...
I came into CEP 811 with some concrete goals for areas in which I wanted to grow. I wanted to learn more about mobile technologies such as cell phones. I wanted to become more creative when it came to repurposing various technologies. I wanted to create more web material for myself. And finally I wanted to get better at being a cloud computer, and facilitating cloud computing.
I accomplished some of my goals, but not all. With the help of various friends and coursework in CEP 811 and TE 831, I was able to explore mobile technologies. I created a lesson in which cell phones were the main source of response for students. One friend helped me do research using a free service, and the other bought into the idea and paid for an expanded package. What was discovered was that the $50.00 yearly fee is well worth the enhanced functionality. But I found that overall using cell phones is an engaging and earth friendly way to illicit student responses. In that sense, I was also able to accomplish my goal of being more creative in regards to repurposing technology, although it is certainly a skill I wish to enhance quite a bit moving forward. A huge area of growth for me was in terms of website creation and web site design. I have for some time been a creator of websites, but most of the material I used was borrowed, and the designs were simplistic. Through course work in CEP 811 I learned more about website design and how to create inviting web sites. I then reconfigured some existing sites, tested our other web hosting platforms, and even created a weebly for my own personal hobby of building. In regards to cloud computing, I did not make a tremendous amount of gains there, other than having worked with using off site servers to host web materials. I did however see some gains with sing web 2.0 tools and working with collaborative sites such as wikipedia. It was interesting to put myself into that realm, and my contributions felt meaningful and made me excited to be part of the process.
As I mentioned earlier, I do not feel I made great strides in cloud computing. Part of that may be because in the first half of the semester I worked a lot with cloud computer and had already made significant gains on the year. Another reason is because CEP 811 is not as involved in regards to group working, meaning that one can exist more within their own personal domain as opposed to sharing all their work and materials with others in live time. Rather, I simply made available finished products. I do not see this all together as a failure though, as it is not really an element of the course.
In the future I do wish to continue to grow as a cloud computer, and particularity as an educator on cloud computing. Clearly the biggest obstacle for me at this time is the fact that I am not presently in a classroom. That gives me valuable time to learn more about cloud computing. I also want to continue to grow and develop as a creator of web material. I have found hosting a blog and creating sites about my own interest to be an interesting study. I do not share this blog with others, but I would strongly consider making a classroom blog in the future. I also am keen on my weebly and think I may share that with friends and family. The experience actually makes me quite interested in working with students in a tech setting as well as a social studies classroom.
There are many excellent resources out there, be they through MACUL, MERLOT, or other site. Putting these resources into perspective, as well as UDL and philosophies on assistive technologies makes it near impossible for an educator to deny the benefits of integrating technology into both their creation of material and implementations of teaching. I plan to use shared resources in the future to inform my teaching on a regular basis. I think this is a practice which can keep teachers grounded and give new perspectives. As far as integrating technology into instruction itself, I want to keep taking advantage of the resources that are provided in the classroom, utilize the technologies students have such as cell phones, and adapt other technologies to also allow their use in the classroom.
The frame works for which I have evaluated my learning, and for which I will continue to evaluate my technology use and teaching is TPACK framework and UDL. It is important to consider the major components of my teaching (pedagogy, content and technology) while also keeping in mind the functionality and accessibility of my teaching through UDL.
I am proud of my progress over the course of the semester, feel I have made progress, and look forward to refining what skills I have, and conquering and adopting those which I have yet to tackle.
Kelly Mahoney LESSON PLAN: Math Menu I think your lesson is a very fun, yet challenging, way for students to interact with math in an everyday scenario. Creating a real life situation will no doubt make the learning more meaningful. I wondered how you might structure this for a student who struggles with mathematics though? I think the idea of modeling to your students is a very good one. I am unclear on whether or not you tested out the actual math of it though? This may but more of a mute point, as your students should have already obtained all the skills prior. One way I might suggest looking at this would be to take out the take a tip to start with though. (e.g. if you have 70 dollars, that means your bill can be 55.03 prior to 6% sales tax and 20% tip.) I think that strategy might help kids who are a little slower with math, as it takes the “twist” out, or so to speak. I want to reiterate, that I think this is a great lesson; I also know this lesson to be a challenging one. WEB SOURCE: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/comments.htm?material=594769
StAIR: Genre Investigation I think this is a well done StAIR. There were some functionality issues that I would assume relate to me viewing it on Open Office. Issues included text running out of view, videos unable to play, and the page arrows not responding always. As I said, I think those are issues relating to using different platforms than one another. As far as the content of the presentation, I think you do a very good job of presenting the material. The strongest aspect might be the use of examples. Even though I am an adult and know these genres already, it made the study of genres seem almost vivid to have such classic examples. I can only assume the videos added a deeper and more intricate form of teaching. I am not a huge fan of animations in general, and felt at times spinning and moving words distracted from the purpose. The quiz questions were great, and I liked that they each had a written response. I used sounds and felt retrospectively that they may be misleading to one who misinterprets, and leaves out those who cannot hear. Overall this was a very good presentation with multiple intelligences targeted, and concrete goals and objectives. WEB SOURCE: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=605250
Edwina Lawson LESSON PLAN: Parts of a Plant I think this lesson holds great merit. I am not sure if your students will find great meaning in the connection between parts of a plant and what they eat at the superstore though. Regardless, I think this is an excellent lesson within a lesson, as it is amazing how many basic fruits and vegetables American children (and adults) cannot name. Another strong source of interest for students might be to relate the structure of plants and vegetables to each other and other species. I think you use multiple ways of teaching effectively through direct instruction, questioning, student work on graphs and computers, and then writing and reflecting as a class. In this regard you weave together multiple intelligences and strategies into a very well rounded lesson. WEB SOURCE: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/comments.htm?material=596502
StAIR: How Do Body Systems Work Together This was a difficult StAIR for me to review, as I was unable to interact with the video or exlore any of the diagrams. I am not sure of the reason for that, or if something was missing from the presentation. The information on the slides was very thorough, but without the ancillary materials the presentation is obviously limited to a smaller group of learners whose skills lie in reading and recalling. The video aspect would surely add a dimension and help those who are visual and auditory learners. Additionally, I think the interactive diagrams would be great for exploring the human body and its various systems. The quiz section worked well for me, and I liked the combination of visuals and texts. I think one thing (that I have not done either) that might be helpful would be not only a statement of error, but also an explanation of why their answer is not correct. For example, one questions correct answer is all of the above, perahaps if the response acknowledge their answer as partially correct it would help students to find the ultimate answer more quickly. Overall I enjoyed your presentation and wish I could have viewed it in its entire form. It is well designed and pleasant to read and view. WEB SOURCE: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/comments.htm?material=604927
I recently posted on MACUL space about my interest in evaluating images in the classroom. I think projectors and smartboards enhance that experience greatly.
I found this post by my fellow classmate about her desire to use VoiceThread, a technology I have some limited experience with. I highly encourage her and anyone else who is interested to give it a shot.
Online teaching is something that I do not think there is enough of currently. Recently Michigan and other states have mandating that students must experience some form of online learning in their high school careers. I had been under the assumption that that meant they had to complete one class online, but as it should turn out I too am ill-informed. Michigan mandates that students should complete one class online, even if it is a hybrid, and then have online learning incorporated into all their common core classes, which is to say nearly every class. Obviously, there are some difficulties involved, most revolving around the lack of technology in some schools and homes, as well as the inability by some teachers to use online technology. While we cannot always change what is available in the home, we can work on other likely issues. That said, Michigan and other states would be wise to mandate the use of e-learning in every single class taught in all levels of schooling.
The document I linked at the beginning of this post is a resource guide that is provided by the state of Michigan. The document begins with a description of what online learning is, the (frail) requirements outlines by the state, the purpose of online learning, and then moves into the meat of the document. The meat of the document consist of various categories for types of learning, for example a web-quest. For each category it lists the positive qualities it meets, resources for understanding and implementing the type of learning, and then precise METS criteria it meets. The resources are amazing, and provide concrete examples and help for the crowd of educators whom I mentioned would struggle with technology implementation due to lack of knowledge.
On the site I noticed that one of my favorite online teaching options was listed - Wikis! It even provided that resource I use: Wikispaces. I think that nearly all things that are taught in a classroom can be taught using wikispaces. In my reading for my CEP 811 class this week I read the opinion of Sandra Plair about how overtime all class materials could be more or less places on an online site for students to use as a review or enrichment opportunity. I agree with her sentiment, but also believe from first hand experience that Wiki's can be used for new learning opportunities. I have used it as a hybrid in class before. During lessons, instead of having students discuss things out loud, I have had them respond to a question through a post on our class discussion board. At the end of a preset time period, I had them read and respond to a certain number of classmates posts (usually 3+). This helps to allow those with smaller voices to be heard, and also forces those who usually sit on the outside of a conversation to enter it, yet in a less stressful way.
The types of lessons one is able to give on a Wiki are nearly limitless due to the flexibility widgets provide. One can ask people to read, write, discuss, view movies, create (movie, art, etc.), and much more. Because many students today are digital natives, having grown up with web 2.0 tools, I think this is a very accessible form of technology. This is not because they necessarily already know how to use it, but because they can learn quickly due to similar experiences.
Some of the resources discussed in the article pose more difficulty to students. I believe that using research sites, RSS, and collaboration sites are more difficult. Research based sites and RSS pose issues not because they are difficult to navigate, but because it takes a lot of practice and skills for students to begin to be able to determine what is and is not valuable and credible data. Collaboration in the online environment is also difficult, because it is often not done in real time, and there can be confusion over meaning and non-reporting of group members. Overall I think these obstacles can be overcome. Those who attempt to delay online learning because of cited downfalls often forget that all types of activities have their drawl backs; sometimes we have to accept those and work around them. Online learning is here to stay...and grow.
I was recently reading about Wiki's in my CEP 811 course. Wiki's are a topic I already know much about. I have personally created several of my own in the past. You can check them out by looking at my screenshots below:
Part of my assignment for this week called on me to do some editing to a Wikipedia site, specifically of my current school. The obvious problem with such an assignment is of course that I do not currently have a school. So I decided to add a couple things to two different sites: my former high school and my current university.
I added my friend to the Notable Alumni, as he is a well to do poker player who is often featured on ESPN, NBC, and other channels that broadcast poker tournaments.
I also felt compelled to add more details to the the MSU Wikipedia page, specifically where it discusses the College of Education. It did not note where the College was housed, so I added that fact, as well as went further and learned how to upload and input photographs, at which time I uploaded this picture that I took in the summer of 2010.
Wiki pages are a lot of work, but can be both fun and informative. I currently share one of my sites with a friend who teaches 7th grade social studies currently. She often visits my site to borrow ideas, and sometimes I even visit my site to tailor things I used then to fit needs she has now. In the past I have also used the discuss tabs very effectively to have large group discussions. Wiki's are exciting places.
Universal Design for Learning seems like an odd name for an educational philosophy that is really trying to suggest that their is no universal way to teach, and that we really should tailor our instruction to meet the individual needs of students. That said, I believe in the premise. Whether or not I think curriculum is disabling really depends on the atmosphere in which one finds themselves. Based on the reading of several others posts, I am going to assume that many in the class are elementary educators, and I think that in some ways this conversation is difficult in that sense. Curriculum is important in many regards. I realize that reality suggest that a minority of Americans go to college, but I also know our school system is built for collegiate success. There is also an increasing emphasis on standardized testing in our country. These two factors combine to create an environment where we are truly pitting our students against one another in a quest to out "know" one another. I do not believe that culminates in meaningful learning, but I do recognize it as a present reality.
That said, I think it is the strict adherence to curriculum that does teachers and students a disservice, not the existence of curriculum in the first place. I was talking to a friend of mine just the other day about a lesson she wanted to do before Thanksgiving break. It involved a story she thought was fantastic, had a creative collaborative lesson planned to go with it, and thought her students would love. However, she felt it did not align with any particular standard, and so she wanted to scrap it. Studies show students don't do better on standardized test and in life because they were taught all the correct facts, but rather because they were educated on how to think. That is the part of UDL I can really get on board with, and why in this situation I told my friend to forget the standards and focus on the learning. As teachers, we are tasked with taking our instructions and resources and turning it into something worth learning; this is our challenge.
We should always analyze the materials we are working with. If we can say it is valuable, then we should use it. There is no type of instruction or resource that is perfect for students. If we find that something will be challenging for one, we can create an alternative, or scaffold it to support any weaknesses. I love that UDL recognizes that an accommodation for one can actually increase learning for another, which is why I always offer any reasonable additional support to any students when they request it. If we can get our students to understand their strengths and weaknesses, then we can help them to advocate for themselves. I truly believe that many students who are successful are students who understand how to advocate for themselves. But I also believe that there are limitations. We can only offer so many alternatives and accommodations. And some lessons, while challenging can be great growth opportunities. Imagine a struggling reader who would benefit from a audio book. I agree whole hearted that they should receive that tape, but I'll be damned if they aren't going to read along, and receive additional reading support. One way we overcome challenging tasks is by undertaking them. I think we can all agree that the most important thing we do is not the teaching of curriculum, but rather the teaching of students.
Personal Reflection
After reading about and reflecting on UDL I decided to review a recent lesson I created. Luckily for me, and organization called Cast has created a set of guidelines by which to analyze correct application of UDL theory. Check out my evaluation using this link to my Google Spreadsheet.
Updating my Lesson to fit UDL After analyzing my lesson, I felt there were some ways I could alter my lesson to more adequately follow UDL principals. Here is a link to my updated lesson with changes highlighted in yellow.
I didn't make drastic changes to the lesson, but rather subtle ones to add additional support for those who might have needed it. Overall, I felt I adhered to the three UDL principals (representation, expression, engagement) fairly well, but nothing is ever perfect. The learning for my lesson was orginally represented in many different ways: students read text online, students responded to questions in a workbook, students viewed a video as a class, students discussed their findings in an online forum but on their own, and finally students created their own visual representations using an online widget. I felt like most of those things were good, but I had not considered students who had difficulty reading, having online discussions, or would struggle to perfect their answered strictly though vocal review. To remedy this I allowed students to complete their reading by listening to a audio version, work with a partner to complete their online discussion if needed, and to review their answers using a provided class copy. Now, the learning is represented through auditory, visual, and written form. Students express themselves in writing, vocally, and through art. And hopefully with the factors of student interests and connection will be highly engaged in meaningful learning.
There will still be some barriers for students with more severe needs, but thankfully such a lesson will free me to roam more and assist students on a more individualized basis. Additionally, some students could have aids, which also changes the lesson. Finally, in certain situations the actual requirement for response could be altered. Overall, I feel this lesson shows strong consideration for UDL.
I decided I wanted to experiment a little more with website creating, and this time I wanted to take a template and alter it to fit my personality a bit more. I have been making a lot of educational sites, and wanted to try something different. Another important interest of mine is working with my hands. I decided to make a site dedicated to the restoration of my 1941 home. So far I only have one branch off the home page, but the idea is that it could have a page dedicated to each project area. Check out my page here, or just take a peak at my screenshot below.
So I've been working a lot on understanding webpage creators. I have put wikispaces on the back burner so that I could focus my learning on sites I am unfamiliar with. I was working with both Google Pages and Weebly at first, but I recently decided to abandon Google. I feel like the pages are messy and restrictive. My Weebly, on the other hand, is looking kind of cool. I added a page for multimedia. I thought it might be a good idea to share some of the things I've done with technology. I added a recent youtube video I created, and also a badge to signify that I'm a tech student. Check it out here or below!
I have been looking at a lot of different webpage creation sites. I have recently completed some extensive reading on how people design their pages, so there is a lot flowing through my head at the current time. I wanted to share some sites:
I want to make a few comments about my thoughts on the different pages.
What do you see as the strengths of each program so far?
I think that wikispaces offers the most in terms of potential classroom use by students by means of collaboration, but I think that Weebly is a great interface for teachers to share things out to the general school population. It offers a very easy plug and play interface for the beginning user as well.
How do they differ in the way you add and edit content?
Wikispaces allows users to add near limitless content through the use of widgets and simple formatting tools. Weebly had icons that you simply drop into place and then plug in the content that you are interesting in sharing. Google Pages allow a user to use a lot of the google doc tools to enhance a site, and one can also add a lot of content by simply typing or pasting it in. There are many limitations when it comes to designing a creative appearance though.
Do you have a preference for one over the other? Why?
I am most comfortable with wikispaces, but that is due to the fact that I have been using it for several years. I think that I might explore weebly in more depth because I've heard of friends who have had great experience with it, and I feel its design is more modern.
Back in September I wrote a Personal Growth Plan and outlined some of the ways I wanted to grow as a user and teacher of technology. You can see my plan here. Below is my personal evaluation of my progress over the past several weeks, and a prognosis for the future. I will note that such an evaluation was made more difficult by the fact that I am not currently working in a classroom, therefore a lot of my personal observation are internal, however, I have also tested some new things out with friends and peers who are currently in the classroom.
When I outlined my goals for CEP 810, and truly for all my years courses, I identified growth areas (in no particular order) that I wanted to focus on. Listed below are those goals:
TO OBTAIN SKILLS/SOURCES THAT FOSTER STUDENT LEARNING USING THE INTERNET
TO INCREASING PERSONAL SELF EFFICACY USING THE INTERNET
TO LEARN HOW TO RE-PURPOSE TECHNOLOGY
TO USE PERSONAL/CLASS WEBSITES FOR COLLABORATION
TO BUILD ON GOOGLE DOC SKILLS
TO USE SOCIAL MEDIA BOTH FOR CONNECTING WITH THE COMMUNITY AND FELLOW TEACHERS
TO BUILD LESSONS THAT EXIST ENTIRELY ONLINE
TO BECOME FAMILIAR WITH NEW APPLE TECHNOLOGY
Areas of Growth
I have achieved great success over the past couple of months. I feel more confident about using technology in the classroom, and although I am now aware of many new tools, I am also aware that I've only discovered the tip of the iceberg. Luckily, one of the areas the course focused on was Google Docs. Google docs is something I am already familiar with, having used it for personal and professional uses in the past. That said, my skills have grown, and I have my SIG team to thank for that. John Hertel, Bob Carl and I all shared an interest in Google, and set out to discover more of its capabilities for ourselves. Originally, I was very excited to explore google earth, something I have glanced at but never really dove into. For a variety of reasons, our plans changed, and I found myself instead learning about a cool feature called Mail Merge that changed Google Docs for me forever. No longer do I see it as a presentation suite, but not it is also an all encompassing communications program. To boot, John, Bob and myself all used google chat to discuss our project real time. I even got to make a cool video to highlight the experience.
In addition to my work with Google Docs, I also experimented with used social media a bit more. I already had a professional facebook, but one that I rarely used. I decided to take a look at it a bit more, despite the fact that I am not currently working with students. I had a few nice exchanges with former students, including some that were not always.
One town in which I formerly did work in experienced a tragedy recently, and specifically among the students I worked with. An accident at the school claimed the life of one of their peers, and so I took the opportunity to express to them that despite the fact that I was no longer their teacher, and it has been several years, I still had them on my mind. It was an awful experience, and unique to see the postings of profound feelings of loss and sadness from young people.
To speak more about positive experiences, I also learned more about other social networking tools. I am now an active member of Twitter, MACUL Space, and MERLOT. Twitter is of course the immensely popular social networking tool that allows users to post short messages they link to people and/or topics. It has been interesting to follow trends, and also to find new perspectives from strangers discussing similar topics. MACUL Space and MERLOT are spaces for educators. MACUL has provided many ideas to me, including one about mobil learning I will discuss later. MERLOT is a site where users contribute materials to the creative commons that they find merit worthy. It has proven to be interesting fodder in my short time as a user, and I have even some of my own personal work.
I have also grown as a user of many specific tools. I wanted to learn more about apple technology, and so I have spent time using and creating video using Apples iMovie, when it was time to renew my phone plan and get a new telephone I decided upon an iPhone, and have been busy learning the tricks and downloading apps, I have begun scanning all my favorite sites quickly using RSS feeds on my Google homepage, borrowing and sharing materials (all while making sure to give credit and follow copyright!), and of course blogging. One exciting, yet scary, thing is that all my learning exist in the cloud. It will follow me through time and space, and also be viewed, used and manipulated by others.
Areas in Need of Further Growth
My limitation of not being in a classroom has made some things difficult to measure and observe. Luckily, I have many friends who have allowed me to perform experiments in their classrooms by proxy. One of my biggest goals was to learn about more ways to re-purpose technology. While I have done that, I haven't yet done enough to satisfy myself. As I discussed earlier, I made a video for a class project, but I also made a video for a friends students. She wanted a quick overview of what has happened to the Aral Sea, and for it to relate with students, so I re-purposed various images, YouTube, and iMovie in order to create an educational video. Below is the video:
I also have begun to think about and have friends try to test out mobile learning. I once had the fortune of using clickers in class, and always thought it was a cool tool. When reading through MACUL Space I discovered a story about a web 2.0 tool called "Poll Anywhere" that allows teachers to turn cell phones into advanced clicker systems. The best part is that it is completely free. I shared this information with my friend Kevin, who now intends to test it out on his students. I cannot wait to hear his results, but I cannot help but be disappointed that I cannot currently employ the site for my own teaching.
One final realm in which I am well aware I need to grow more is as a creator of online material. I love having a class site, and believe it can be an informative and collaborative tool. Due to myself being out of the classroom, this is currently not an option. I have however begun creating my first entirely web based unit online; focused again on the Aral Sea. It is far from perfect, but it is a start. I hope that as my coursework continues I can incorporate more tools to make my lesson more fluid.
Future Goals
As I continue my work, I intend to continue to learn about more technological tools and grow as a user and teacher of technology. I want to dive into the mobile media for some times, and also into cloud computing. Wherever I land in the future, it is my hope that I can be a leader in regards to technology. I believe that if I can learn how to be cost effective with technology that could strengthen my position as an advocate. I still would like to learn more about Apple and other products, as well as of course building class websites on online lessons. I intend to use MACUL Space, MERLOT, and my Personal Learning Network among other sources to accomplish these goal.
Teaching Strategy
Throughout my courses this fall I have learned about several teaching theories including TPACK and implementing NETS. I think that TPACK is a compelling theory, specifically for today's students. I read and listened to many lectures discussing whether or not today's youths are fundamentally different, and the implications of that difference. I think TPACK's calling for a merger between technology, pedagogical, and content knowledge is dead on. If one of those is off, then of course the lesson will fail. The common misconception is that technology has created a world in which one size fits all, but in actuality is has created a universe of options, in which learning should be even more specific for each learner. I believe that NETS does a good job of reminding teachers how and when to incorporate technology. It is also a useful paradigm for considering the goal associated with incorporating the technology.
Course Design and Effectiveness
Taking courses online has its benefits and detractors. I think one exceptional benefit to completing work online(specific to a technology course) is that it forces the user to experiment and learn with the technology first hand. For example, I read about the practical uses of twitter for the classroom, but I also created a twitter (something I'd have to teacher students), I tested it out (something I'd want students to do), and I found new ways to use it. This means that my learning as authentic, not just rogue. Teachers in these courses should worry not about their grades per say, but rather think of class as a formative assessment, and what we do in the classroom as a summative assessment. As Ken O'Conner suggest, we should worry not of how well we perform while we practice, but rather if we can perform when the real test arrives. Practices with the technology certainly makes it more likely that I will be able to recall the lessons long after the class has ended.
Personal Interest
My personal favorite assignment from CEP 810 would be without a doubt my group's Toogle Presentation. I believe that the assignment represents no only quality teaching, but quality learning. It should also be noted, that it was probably the most challenging assignment. In the assignment, we utilized several different learned skills: using twitter, google docs, diiglot, mail merge, creative commons, copyright, and creating video (TE 831).
Personal Evaluation
I believe I have performed high quality work throughout the course of the semester. I have not yet accomplished all my goals, but my plan was written based on long term personal expectations, not a six week plan. To that point, I think I have shown spectacular growth no only in terms of performance but also thought. A key part to using technology is having the creativity to envision uses that have not yet been considered. I feel that I am beginning to regain a sense of creativity that I had been missing. The future is exciting, and I have no doubt I will accomplish my goals.
MERLOT is a cool resource for teachers where material that could be used to garner ideas or even for direct use in the classroom can be found. I liked MERLOT so much that I even added it to my RSS Feed!
MERLOT works because there are so many great users adding material all the time. I decided that I should join the trend and also share. I uploaded a lesson plan I recently created.
All this got me wondering what others have already put on MERLOT. I decided to look around for something I found interesting. What I found was a lesson plan about the events prior to, during, and shorter after the beginnings of the Civil War at Fort Sumter. As a teacher and student of history, I find such topics of interest. As with all things, it is important that teachers critique things before they use them in the classroom. MERLOT provides criteria for critiquing resources. Looked below to see my responses to this Fort Sumter source, and at the bottom of this blog posting to see a screen shot of MERLOT's directions.
The quality of the content on this site is outstanding. There is a mix of story telling, primary sources, and real life prompts that brings this lesson to life. Furthermore, the author goes out of there way to include not only the major happenings in the event, but detailed accounts of many specific days. This helps the viewer to fully understand not only the events, but the context in which they occurred.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool:
This lesson would be best provided after background knowledge of the election of 1860 was taught (implications of states rights, slaveholding and non-slaveholder states, party lines). It serves as a demonstration of the learning, as it presents the actually curriculum, but also as practice. The lesson asks throughout that students make choices, then shares with them the actual choices that were made. The lesson was originally written in 2003. Potential areas for growth would be to make the lesson more collaborative in nature using newer web 2.0 tools to allow student collaboration.
The objectives students are tasked with are being able to identify critical figures in relation to the beginnings of the Civil War, outline the events which mark the crisis at Fort Sumter, and to evaluate and make decisions that are best for the solvency of the union.
The target learner for such an audience would be high level middle school to high school aged students. They should be highly literate, and computer friendly. I believe the web based instruction is helpful in terms of organizing the material, and making it easy to move between topics. Visuals are at a minimum however, and therefore the lesson is best for those who learn best through reading.
This would be very easy to incorporate into ones instructions, as the goals are quite clear, the site is very easy to navigate, and the performance tasks are good for developing and maintaining growth for students. However, I believe that an update to include newer web 2.0 materials that would include data storage on the site that follows the user as opposed to working both on the site and emailing responses to the creator separately would make it that much more user friendly, and therefore likely to be adopted by other instructors. Ease of Use:
The site is very easy to navigate, and is consistent. One of the best things about the site is the bottom always has a built in table which allows you to navigate, including a home page button. There is a lot of material on the site though, which can sometimes feel daunting, but never suffocating.
The site does not allow feedback, and notebook responses are all sent to the sites creators, making it difficult for others to adopt without having students write their responses on another site or by hand. This would require more instructions, which is not asking much, as the site does nearly all instruction. Overall, this is a very easy to navigate, although outdated site.
I think cloud computer is really cool, but I also think that people have to be careful to remember logistics and legality. To read more on my thoughts check out the screenshot of a post I recently made on MACUL Space:
In other news, I saw a cool post while I was on MACUL Space about how one could use cellphones in basically the same way as clickers are used. In fact, I think you'd really be able to get short answers in there too. Best part is it's free (which will seem like a hypocritical statement after reading my above post). Check out the post below!
I recently read a report on the variety of learning styles that people exhibit, and the implications of each. I decided that I wanted to take a test to find out exactly which category or categories I feel into. The results, while not startling, were very definitive. The following screen shots appeared after I completed my test:
I am an extremely auditory person according to the test. Being an auditory learning is not surprising to me, but I thought my learning style would be more well rounded and reflect many intelligences. The study suggest that I would be successful practicing in the written or spoken work. In my own personal experiences I have found it rather easy for me to absorb and retain information by simply listening. My friends often comment that I do not forget things that have occured in the past, and I suppose that is due to my ability to catalog my experiences. The articles suggested I would be wise to either record and scribe lessons and lectures. While I did take notes in many of my college courses, I never found that had a definite impact on my ability to retain knowledge. Although I will certainly say the suggestion to engage in conversation, debate, and word play are areas that excite me intellectually. As the study would also suggest, I do struggle at times to find personal merit in presenting my learning visually or though music. I also do not find hands on learning to be entirely enriching, although I will comment that I do love to cook, garden, build, and perform athletics. When I am in a situation where I need to learn how to do something regarding those hobbies, I typically do turn to the internet for written sources to research.
As a teacher this is intriguing to me, because it makes me compelled to have students complete this same task. This is not because I think it would impact my teaching style, as I feel I take a multifaceted approach regardless of my own personal preferences, but because I think it would be beneficial for students to know what areas are strengths for them. I think this would help them to frame more difficult types of tasks into a context that works for their strengths, but also to push themselves in appropriate directions when they are given a choice for how to complete their learning. As previously stated, I do not think this will change my current approach to teaching, but mostly because I already believe in presenting learning in multiple ways, and also in giving students a choice in how they extend their learning. All educators should be willing to mix up the way a classroom works. Lecture, Powerpoint, video, art, discussion, music, performance, and reading (to name a variety) all have a place in a classroom. They key is finding the right balance to make the content accessible and exciting.
I have spent time this past week looking at how copyright law, creative commons, fair share use, and other procedures work. As a teacher, I am often tempted to borrow materials others have presented and reuse them. Many are hesitant to take such actions, as copyright law seams unclear. There are some guidelines some prescribed, but as just a little research would indicated, most of those guidelines are words and not reality. The truth is, copyright law is very unclear. Some sources are entirely copyrighted, some hold partial protection, and others are free source and open to use and editing. Different types of media hold different levels and lengths of protection and that makes things rather confusing.
For any avid user of technology and media, the thing to consider should truly be, "how did I use the content?" If you can make a case that you used the media in a way that respected the content, but created something more than was already there, then you have probably satisfied law. For example, if you use music as a backdrop to a slide show, you've done nothing new or creative with the music, so this would not stand up. However, if you used the instrumental version of a song and laid down an original vocal track on it, then you have created something original. Picture and film can be viewed in a similar vain.
All this got me to think about images. In my own teaching I love to analyze images. As a teacher of world studies, this would be difficult as I have not traveled the world, therefore do not have personal photographs of the world. It is easy to find photos using a google image search, but that isn't always the best way if you intend to accurately site the true source. A couple of good tool for usable content is Creative Commons and Flickrs version of the creative commons. These are places where people put materials they actually want to encourage others to use.
This all inspired me to share some of my images on Flickr. Within a lesson I was reading, I saw a photo that is currently posted in Flickrs creative commons. The photo, taken by Joe Friedoff is titled, "Erickson Hall." I found this title interesting, as it is actually a picture of Munn Field with Spartan Stadium in the background. And so to help the internet community, I posted my own picture of Erickson Hall, with the name printed on the building.
I then continued through the site to look though other picture. I found a photo by user Ennadha of a peaceful protest in the Middle East. I would use this in my classroom to juxtapose the image that the US and world media tend to portray, which is of violent revolution. I think this picture helps to inform people that a mass majority of people in this region are rational and peaceful, just as is the case in any other part of the world.
Photo Attribution:
Original Image: اختتام الحملة الانتخابية ببن عروس
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ennahdha/6267746396/
By: Ennadha
Feel free to view my Flickr photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68924841@N04/
Using msconfig to speed up your PC's startup
I found a cool new way to manage my computers start up using msconfig. Using this function I can adjust what automatically starts up on my computer when I turn it on. You do not have to go through and change system preferences for each program, rather you can just use msconfig through the windows run page and work through it all in one spot. Many programs when installed designate themselves for startup. This causes computer to run much slower. I tested this on my brothers computer that wasn't working (internet not connecting), and we found that it was because he had multiple startup programs attempting to manage the wireless card. Thank goodness we checked msconfig.
Testing your firewall using ShieldsUp®
ShieldsUp is a web based tool that checks your firewalls and basically will tell you if your computer is vulnerable to hackers getting though, and if so provide assistance in correcting such issues. Firstly, I was shocked I had never heard of Gibson (the creator of this program), as he apparently is wildly successful and his protective programs are among the leaders in each of their respective categories. This points to an ominous fact that I am not very safe at the current time. I am going to make some changes to my computer after running shields up, and this should help me from getting hacked by individuals or viruses in the future.
Using pop-up blockers
I did not realize that you could turn on a popup blocker, but make site exceptions to stop it from blocking individual popups you actually want (say from my bank). I was annoyed that for class we had to turn the blocker off, but now I can put it back on but allow my popup blocker to still load popups from angel and wikispaces! I also did not know the google tool bar added more blocking power than what my current browsers themselves provide. After watching this video, I did more independent research on good blockers and found another add-on feature that blocks popups and ads on sites. It is called ad-block. After installing it I took a look on many sites I frequent and noticed all ads had vanished. Sites look more content specif and friendly to the eye now. I love it!
Using RSS has been an interesting experience. There are things I like about it, and things I am not as keen on. I decided after about a week to make iGoogle my homepage. I liked being able to see articles on various sites pop up instantly. I found that I visited my regular sites about just as much anyways, but educational sites much more. Honestly, a lot of that has to do with the fact that I do not regularity seek out articles on education, but rather wait until they find me. After seeing an Anderson Cooper piece on bullying in school, I shared the link with two teacher friends, Annie and Jenny. Annie decided to actually use the videoblog in her classroom. It was exciting for me because I am taking the year off and working part time at a non-teaching job and attending classes full time. It made me feel as if I am still having some influence in a classroom.
To fully utilize having an RSS page, I think I will need to change the way I use the internet. I have a mac (which goes to sleep every time you close the screen) and I am not in the habit of ever closing my internet browsers, which means I rarely go to my homepage, because I am never getting “on the the first time.” What this means is that I only went to my RSS page when I was actively thinking about it, which is only a couple of times a day. That may sound like a lot to some, but for a person who spends multiple hours a day with their computer it is very little. If I want to fully realize the potential I will have to alter these habits.
Changing habits is tough to do, but I am definitely capable of it. Just as an example of why would be simply because I read a story called “Twitter on Snowday.” The basic of the story is that a girl woke to her father telling her she had a snowday, only to find out when looking on her twitter account there her phone that her teacher was still intending to provide a lesson for the day to his students, but through twitter. The idea was amazing to me. 1. I cannot imagine how that would even function, and 2. I can't believe the level of participation that the teacher experienced. But it is truly this story that inspires me to want to try even harder at learning how to use technology in the classroom. If someone had his classroom abuzz about history while home for a snow day. If those students can adapt to that, I can certainly start using RSS more often.
David Allen is an expert on organizing ones schedule and attempting to put oneself in a good position to complete tasks efficiently and well. There are some things I really like about David Allen's process. I particularly liked a couple of his early questions he suggest people consider when organizing various tasks: "Is it actionable? If no, toss it or put it in a file for a later time" and "Will it take less then 2 minutes? Yes, do it. No, then..." His suggestion that you're less productive when you are preoccupied by thinking about other things you have to do is exactly right. These two questions can help to alleviate most issues. If you cannot act on a potential tast, then you really can't concern yourself with it in the first place. And if it can be accomplished in a couple minutes, then you probably should stop putting it off. Past this point though, I think I envision my time management a little bit different.
For the sake of giving David Allen the benefit of the doubt, I decided I would give his process of organizing tasks a shot. I choose to use a google spread sheet, with multiple tabs (one of each of his 4 categories: Projects (you have a commitment to finish), Calendar (actions that must occur on a specific day or time), Next Actions – (actions that need to be done as soon as possible), Waiting for – (projects and actions others are supposed to be doing, which you care about). Each also had a column for date. That way I could use the spread sheet to organize categories, but have a built in calendar since you can reorder a spreadsheet by date too.
Honestly, I found the process somewhat annoying just because I already organize most of my obligations on a calendar anyways. As far as projects with undefined dates (e.g. extend driveway, repair roof, sand and paint basement walls, etc.), I don't find I have a problem with mentally organizing these and choosing to complete work when I have the time. If I simply have my scheduled tasks already in a calendar, I find it much easier to figure out when I have spare time for other projects. I am a person who prefers to look at deadlines. I think maintaining a calendar is a more useful macro management program for me. I think creating lists would help me on a micro scale though. I know whenever I have a big project it helps me to make a list ordering the task I need to complete. This helps me by making sure I do not forget something, and I can visualize progress.
Ultimately, I am going to continue to give the process a shot. Especially those two questions to ask when considering the value of completing smaller tasks. I still think my bread and butter will be my calendar though.
Networking can be a powerful thing, and as all things 21st century, networking is now done through the internet. The clear kings of what is referred to as social networking are Facebook and Twitter, although for my business minded colleagues, they may cite LinkedIn. I have for sometime been a member to all these sites, plus more, although the frequency in which I use most of them varies. Most people tend to stick to a few niche sites. Overwhelming evidence would suggest educators would be wise to take a look at Facebook. I was a senior in high school when Facebook arrived on the scene, and lucky enough to have been accepted to college and granted a university email when creator Mark Zukerberg started added colleges to his small network. Today, Facebook is for everyone, having first expanded to include high schoolers, then people in general, and more recently businesses of all kinds. Facebook has meanwhile expanded its capabilities to include all sorts of applications. It would be my opinion that Facebook chat is singlehandedly responsible for taking down social giant AIM (AOL). The problem with Facebook is that it invites people to share themselves, and as all things internet, people tend to share too much.
When educators seek out ways to connect with their school communities, they are searching for a safe zone which will illuminate them in a positive light. Is ones Facebook page which includes post from their younger years, and from friends unaware of the importance of image the correct place to do so? I think no, and yes. When Facebook was first created you had to verify your account with a school email. Today, you can use any email you want. I am not going to bother looking up how many people are on facebook, because the truth is no one knows. How many fake requests have you gotten? How many friends declared they were done with the social network after losing their password or having deactivated their accounts only to come back weeks later with a completely new profile? That's the beauty of Facebook, you can start over with a fresh slate if you want. Or better yet, you can have two disguises like all public figures naturally do anyways (IN THE REAL WORLD).
During my student teaching, a friend who worked in the same school created an alternate Facebook on which students could friend. At first I thought it was an ill-conceived plan, but then after seeing the student excitement I began to think more about the idea. If I were in control of the content on my alternate page, what was there to really fear? I would build my profile stocked with the things I would already share with my students (I like to build, I love my dog, and I think learning is fun!), and perhaps a few more surprises they could find of things they might find relatable (look at me and my little brother at the MSU game). This would help establish myself as a real live person outside the confines of school. But it also would allow me to be heard even when I wasn't around. For example, I would sometimes post when we had upcoming assessments. Imagine, students typically look at their newsfeed to see what their peers are up to, now they will be faced with updates like, “don't forget about the big history test tomorrow!” Better yet, I was also able to connect with parents who also saw these updates.
Social networking might be something that is easier for me to adopt than others. Being a 24 year old, my vision of recreational computer use is rather similar to that of todays middle and high school students. Furthermore, because of my lifetime exposure to technology, I am a quick learn when it comes to using technology. In addition to using Facebook to update the classroom community on what's going on, I have also used class wikis. I have been asked several times by more experienced teachers why I bother, and how much time it takes. It seems that the most common reason people cite in avoiding technology is because it takes too much time. In truth, it becomes almost like a template. There is an order of operations to using any website. Once you establish an order, it becomes quite simple. I sometimes outline entire lessons using the internet as my platform, making it possible to post what essentially turns out to be a lesson narrative directly onto the web. I don't usually choose to make those post public, but the point is I could. Social networking can be social, it can be professional, but more importantly for myself and the generations which are currently our k-12 students, it is always second nature.
Studies say people are reading less books. They say we are no longer reading the paper (well, profit deficits are saying that). They say our creativity is lost. The truth is, young people today largely exist electronically. I probably spend at least a quarter of my day reading, it's just all by the cold blue light of my computer monitor. I'm sure there are people who would think that statistic is grotesque and sad, and in some ways maybe it is, but it is real. If we want to do a better job in reaching young people these days, then we'll have migrate to their territory. It isn't more difficult, it's just different.
BELOW are some screenshots showing my uses of social networking:
I joined MACUL space as part of CEP 810
I joined MACUL space as part of CEP 810
I was already a member of LinkedIn, but had not joined any groups until CEP 810 suggested I should. Funny enough, I received two requests for making new connections with former classmates after joining, and discovered a former HS classmate was also taking the same course and had also joined these groups.
I find twitter to be basically Facebook status updates. If Facebook would allow you to do topic searches, and had a privacy setting that allowed for famous people to have more flexibility in terms of who can post to/with them, twitter wouldn't even exists.
This is my personal Facebook, as you can see it has a lot more activity and information about me on it.
This is my student friendly facebook. I've blanked out their names for obvious reasons, but you can tell it is a little more bare bones. It does include an inside joke between students and I as my name (Schmidtenhoffer was my family name, but shortened after my family moved to the US. I told my students this during a conversation about immigrant assimilation. During the track season I coached, and students attempting to guess my middle name. Upon finding out it was James, my track name become JJ Schmidtenhoffer, and in class I was either Mr. Schmidt or Mr. Schmidtenhoffer. Another detail I'd like to highlight on here is a conversation with a former student. He messaged me indicating that he had not gone to school at the beginning of the year, and was not sure if he would. We had a long conversation through facebook chat where I told him why he should, and that I expected him to go in. Several days later I posted as my status that I wondered if he had. He responded saying he'd gone everyday since we talked. It is moments like these that make social networking particularly exciting, and our ability to connect with students that much more visible.
