Sharing on MACUL

Adventures in Wiki's

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:

https://williamstonmsgeography.wikispaces.com/

https://misterschmidt.wikispaces.com/

https://bradfordacademy.wikispaces.com/

http://shrinkingaralsea.wikispaces.com/

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.

Thoughts on UDL and a Personal Reflection

Thoughts on UDL

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.

Working with Web Pages: Part III

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.

Working with Web Pages: Part II

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!

Working with Web Pages: Part I

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:

Wikispace Page created two years ago: http://misterschmidt.wikispaces.com/

New Google Page: https://sites.google.com/site/josephjamesschmidt/

New Weebly: http://josephjamesschmidt.weebly.com

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.

Personal Learning Reflection: CEP 810

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.

All Things MERLOT

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.

MERLOT link: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=79032
Direct Source: http://www.tulane.edu/~sumter/index.html

Quality of Content:

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.

21st Century Learning: The Cloud and Mobile Learning

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!