Megan Carnaghi's MAET Reflection Blog

Group Leadership Project - Final Project

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 02:14:00 +0000

Click HERE to view our final Google Docs tutorial.

What tool did your group use to deliver the PD tutorial? Why?

Our group chose to do a tutorial of Google Docs. We chose Google Docs because we were all fairly familiar with Google Docs and felt confident enough to do a tutorial on it for others. We decided that each of us would create a mini-tutorial on one of the tools available through Google Docs (Documents, Presentation, Spreadsheet, and Drawing), and put them all together to make one tutorial of the entire Google Docs Suite.

To deliver the PD tutorial, we each recorded our mini-tutorials using Screecast-o-Matic and then use Windows Movie Maker to put the entire tutorial together. We chose Screencast-o-Matic because, as opposed to Jing, you could record more than 3-minute segments. It is also a very user-friendly program. We also chose Windows Movie Maker because it is a fairly straight forward, user-friendly program that we had experience with and knew we could create a quality project with.

What did you learn during the development process of the final product?

During the development process of the final project I learned that while it was fairly simple to record my own mini-tutorial, it was more difficult to have the final project be a group effort. Ultimately, one of us had to collect everyone's files and create the final project (THANKS, LAURA!!!). We also learned that when we combined all of our mini-tutorials, we ended up with a 20 minute project. Because the project was so lengthy and large, it was virtually impossible to upload it to a web space such as YouTube. First, we cut our project into two parts so we could upload both parts to the web for viewing. Eventually, however, we ended up cutting down our project drastically, and only creating a PD tutorial on creating a Google Document. I have, however, included the videos (Part I and II), from our original Google Docs tutorial.

What would you do differently if you had to develop a similar product again?

If we were to develop a similar product again, I think we would only choose one of the tools in Google Docs to do a tutorial on, as when presenting on all four tools our tutorial was 20 minutes as opposed to 10. Also, as we did experience some issues with using Windows Movie Maker, I may try using iMovie or another program to create our final product. Overall, however, I was really happy with how well our group worked together, how willing everyone was to pitch in, and how smoothly things went! :-)

Parts I and II of our Original Google Docs Tutorial

Part I
Part II

Wicked Problem Project - Final Project

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sat, 18 Jun 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Wicked Problem Final Project

1. What is the important educational need you are seeking to address?

Motivating and engaging my most at-risk readers during independent reading time.

The important educational need I am seeking to address is my students’ level of excitement about reading, and their motivation to take control of and be an active participant in their own literacy development. As with every classroom, I have a wide range of academic abilities in my class. Furthermore, while some students do very well with and are very excited about reading, others find it very challenging and/or boring and are less inclined to be an active participant during our daily reader’s workshop sessions. Motivating particular students to read and/or get excited about reading has been a struggle I have faced all year. Now that we are in our last five weeks of school and my students realize that summer is just around the corner, it has become even more difficult to motivate and engage some students during our reader’s workshop sessions. For the structure of my reader’s workshop, I use a program called the Daily 5. At the beginning of each day, the students make 3 literacy center choices which they will participate in during our 60-minute reader’s workshop block (the students choose from Read-to-Self, Writing, Word Work, Listening to Reading and Read-to-a-Partner). The students can do the centers in any order they wish, my only rule is that Read-to-Self must be one of their three choices.While the students are participating in their centers, I am pulling guided reading groups to work with. Recently, I have noticed particular students who are very off-task and unmotivated to work during their Read-to-Self choice and/or our guided group time. Many of these students are considered low in terms of their reading level, and some of them are right on the edge of moving up to the next reading level. With only five weeks left in the school year, it is my goal to find a way to motivate and engage these students, and with any luck, help some of them to move up to the next reading level before the end of the school year.

2. How do you plan to address this educational issue with technology?

Have my most at-risk reader record his own audio books to use during independent reading time, as well as to track his progress.

To address this educational issue, I plan on having my most at-risk reader, record himself reading books at his current reading level to then listen to as audiobooks, as one of his Daily 5 choices. I purchased 8 MP3 players at the beginning of the year to use for the Daily 5 choice Listen-to-Reading, but did not have the funds to purchase audiobooks for the MP3 players, nor all of the hard copies to go along with the audio files. Although I did purchase a few with my own funds, I eventually just decided to leave out the Listening-to-Reading choice during Daily 5. However, I did allow every student, at one point during the year, to use the MP3 players to listen to what few audiobooks I did have and it was a huge success. The students brought in their own headphones and were able to listen to the audiobooks, while following along in a hard copy of the book. The students were excited and engaged. Thus, my hope is to take my most at-risk reader and let him record a few audiobooks to listen to during independent reading time, with the hope of motivating and engaging him as a reader.

3. What is the TP knowledge for the solution?

As stated in Part A, in my classroom I use a program called the Daily 5 as the structure for my literacy block. The students make 3 choices from 5 literacy stations: Read-to-Self, -Read-to-a-Partner, Listening-to-Reading, Word Work and Writing. The students can make any 3 choices, in any order. While the students are engaged in a literacy center, I am working with students one-on-one, or in small groups. For the center, Listening-to-Reading, I have audio books on MP3 players for the students to use. Each student has his or her own pair of headphones and can choose from a large selection of books, which one they want to listen to/follow along with. Because my students are already comfortable using the MP3 players, I thought this would be an excellent technology to use for this project.

Given that there are only two weeks left in the school year, for this project I decided to work with only one student, my lowest student (from a reading-level standpoint). His home and past academic situations have made his experience in my classroom most interesting and it has been very difficult to motivate him to read, or even try to read, independently during literacy centers. He does, however, love to listen to the audio books on the MP3 players. Thus, I thought having him record his own audio books would be a great way to engage and motivate him to be an active participant in his literacy development.

In regards to how this technology supports teaching strategies and methods I have chosen, every day when this particular student makes his Daily 5 choices, I have him make Read-to-Self as one of his choices. During that time, I pull him and we find books at his reading level for him to record on the MP3 players. We practice the books together, discuss different strategies good readers use when they read (as far as word decoding goes as this is his biggest struggle) and when he feels ready, he records the books onto the MP3 player. Then, during his Listening-to-Reading center choice, he is able to listen to the books he has recorded while following along in the book.

4. What is the TC knowledge for the solution?

As a first year teacher, in a district without a core reading program, teaching first graders how to read has proven to be a huge challenge for me this year. I have had to pull from multiple resources and essentially create my own reading program. I have found, however, several technological resources, including audio books, to be some of the most engaging and motivating resources. I have used multiple websites (including Tumblebooks.com) and the MP3 players, as opposed to the traditional leveled books, to use with my students during reader’s workshop and guided group time. The biggest differences I have noticed using the audio books and websites versus the traditional “round robin” approach with leveled books, is the students’ level of engagement, the students’ discovery and acclamation of new vocabulary, and the students fluency development. Listening to the audio books while following along with the words on he page (or screen, in the case of the websites), allows the students to not only hear the fluency, but also spend more time discovering new words and comprehending the texts, as opposed to exerting all of their energy on decoding the words. I have found that by using the audio books in my classroom, the students are less frustrated during guided group time and more excited about reading. Furthermore, given the vast selection of audio books out there, I have been able to find books to go along with the specific phonics concepts we are working on in class, whether it be long or short vowels, digraphs, blends, contractions, etc.

5. What is the PC knowledge for the solution?

By using the audio books to motivate and engage said student, as well as given the structure of the Daily 5 program, I am able to work one-on-one with my student, as well as let him work independently because of his familiarity with the technology. While it has been incredibly beneficial to work with him one-on-one, I have also seen the sense of pride and accomplishment he gets from overcoming his academic challenges independently. By working with him one-on-one first and helping him to utilize the decoding strategies we have worked on together throughout the year, I can then let him work independently to record the audio books and then listen to them on the MP3 player, where he can spend more time engaged in really thinking about and comprehending the books, as opposed to being frustrated and unmotivated that he is struggling to even decode the words. Thus, I have created a selection of books for my student to choose from to record. First I will have him record books that are slightly below his reading level, because I know he will master them and for the purpose of introducing this project to him, I want him to first see he can be successful with it. After these first recordings, I will let him choose from books at his level, that include phonics concepts he needs additional help with (long vowels, blends and digraphs). Finally, once he has seen he can be successful with books at his reading level, my ultimate hope is to have him record a book slightly above his reading level. Also, I will have him use the MP3 players for multiple practice sessions with the same book to help him improve his fluency. As Susan informed me, "Studies indicate that when students read a passage or short story several times in a row - fluency improves. Becoming a fluent reader in the younger grades is crucial. Statistics indicate that students who have fluency issues in the first grade, grow up to be non-fluent readers in later elementary. Multiple readings is a strategy is a part of both the Read Naturally program and the Six Minute Solution. "

Research to Support Project (Revised from Part A Blog Post)

Much of the research/resources that guided my project was past experiences with and observations of the Daily 5 program in action. Specifically, the level of engagement of students during the Listening-to-Reading center. I’ve observed the program in 3 different classrooms, as well as successfully implemented the program in two classrooms of my own. Furthermore, I also researched the use of audio books and the impact on student reading achievement. Much of the information I found cited the direct link between the use of audio books and students’ reading fluency. After reviewing Sue's comments, I also took some time to explore some different reading programs such as Read Naturally, which notes that, "Repeated reading is another strategy that research has shown improves fluency." I also reviewed my Daily 5 book and the research based lesson on the "Listening to Reading" center, where it was noted, "Hearing good examples of literature and ﬂuent reading expands your vocabulary, builds stamina and helps you become a better reader."

For additional research, Google Scholar was the main search engine I used. I found several articles on podcasting and MP3 Players as emerging technologies in today’s classrooms. I also found several articles regarding the use of technology in the classroom to increase students’ level of motivation and engagement. One theme that I continuously came across during my research was that while technology can be used to motivate and engage students, what is most important is that the tasks being performed need to be meaningful for students. This recurring theme is what helped me to decide to have the students record their own audio books, as opposed to just having them listening to audio books that I could purchase. I want this project to be meaningful for my students; I want them to take control of and be invested in their literacy development. I feel that by having the students create their own audio books, they are engaging in a meaningful project where they have to be responsible for their own learning. Furthermore, by the end of the project, they will have a finished product that will give them a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Articles and Websites that Support Project:

Personal Learning Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Fri, 17 Jun 2011 15:25:00 +0000

Wicked Problem project - Part D (Findings and Implications)

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:20:00 +0000

1. Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned?

With the exception of some adjustments and bumps in the road, the project was implemented as planned. When I first proposed my idea for the project, I had intended on involving multiple students. With the end of the school year rapidly approaching, however, I realized this would be incredibly difficult to do, given the amount of end-of-the-year work and assessments I still needed to do with each student. Thus, I decided to take my most at-risk reader and focus the project entirely on him. This way I could really devote a lot of time and energy to the project and my student. Another bump in the road was the student’s lack of attendance. As noted in my podcast, this has been an issue all year, so it wasn’t a great surprise, however, it did make full implementation of my project difficult. Out of the 15 days I had devoted to the project, he was absent for 6. Thus, we didn’t get to record as many audio books as I had hoped, nor did we get to move on to record books at the next reading level (which was one of my main goals for him, as he has barley made progress as a reader this year). Overall, I really had to adjust the project to math his attendance. When he was there, we’d find time to work together and record books. When he didn’t come to school, I would use the time I would have spent with him to assess and work with other students. Again, with the exception of some adjustments, the project was implemented as planned.

2. Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice

My initial reason for implementing this project was to motivate and engage struggling readers. Now uncommon, my most at-risk readers have the most difficult time staying focused and on-task during independent reading time. Thus, it was my hope to take my most at-risk readers and give them the opportunity to record their own audio books to listen to during independent reading time, to keep them engaged. As stated above, I only ended up having time to implement the project with one student, my most at-risk reader. Although we only worked together on this project for a total of 9 days, I noticed his increased motivation and level of engagement during independent, among other things. The most exciting result I saw from this project was the student's increased level of engagement during reader's workshop, his excitement and enthusiasm for recording books and then having the opportunity to listen to them, his motivation to participate during guided group time and when working with me one-on-one, and most importantly, a complete change in his attitude towards reading. These were all huge successes for him.

3. How would you approach another project of this type differently given what you’ve learned here?

The biggest change I would make is starting the project earlier in the year. This is definitely something I would want to start as soon as my reader's workshop has been established, the students are used to the rules and routines, and I know my students as literacy learners. I would start with my most at-risk readers, but ultimately I would like to have all of the students create their own audio books at some point throughout the year. I think it would also be great to allow students to listen to each other's audio books during their Listening-to-Reading center time.

4. What are the lessons learned that others might benefit from knowing about?

The biggest lesson I learned while doing this project, and the lesson that was continuously reiterated throughout my first year of teaching, is that you have to be flexible. Teaching is full of surprises and, as type-A as I may be, I really had to learn to go with the flow this year and adjust things accordingly. This was especially true during this project. Even though I had it all mapped out, I didn't plan for my student's lack of attendance, and I had to be flexible and adjust the project to fit his attendance.

5. In what ways will you endeavor to do the same project again, and what will you change or not do?

The biggest change I will make when implementing this project next year is attempting it with all of my students, at some point throughout the year. Initially, I will start with my most at-risk readers, and those students who seem the least excited/motivated about reading (typically these are the same student). Because of the overwhelming success I had with one student, I think this would be an incredible project to use with all of my students. Moreover, once the other students saw student X getting to record his own audio books, they all wanted to do it (who wouldn't want to record their own audio book?). I think it'd be great for every student to record an audio book, at their reading level, immediately at the beginning of the year. Then, I'd love to have each of them record a final one, at the end of the year with their ending reading level, and for them and their families to see their growth!

Group Leadership Project: Part B - Storyboard and Script

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:39:00 +0000

For our Group Leadership Project, we decided to teach about Google Docs. In our first web conference it was decided that I would present Google Documents, Laura would present Google Spreadsheets, Kevin would present Google Presenter, and Lindsay would present Google Drawing. For our storyboard, each of us worked on the parts previously mentioned. We also decided we would each record our own part and then put them all together in a movie file. So far, everything is on track and going great, and we will be meeting again via web conference, next week, to start pulling our final project together. Below is a link to our storyboard.

Group 3 Storyboard

Mobile Learning Lab

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 16:12:00 +0000

Below is a screen capture of the poll I created for the parents/guardians of my students to take via cell phone.

I really like the idea of students being able to use cell phones at school, for educational purposes. I think it's a great way to help resolve the constant battle of teachers trying to eliminate cell phones in the classroom. I think, if, instead of trying to ban cell phones from classrooms, teachers tryed to embrace the idea and teach students how to use them for educational purposes, it could really cut down on the time teachers spend fighting with students about the issue. I realize there would be some students who would abuse the privilege, but overall I really think most students (and teachers) would love it, and it would increase the level of student engagement and motivation to complete assignments. I know this is something I would have loved as a teenager.

As a first grade teacher, however, I don't really see the need for students to use cell phones in my classroom, nor do many of my students have cell phones (both due to age and the socioeconomic status of many of the families). I actually have yet to see one of my students with a cell phone (aside from the toy ones they love to bring to school).

On the other hand, I do know that many of my students' parents/guardians do have cell phones and I think this may be a GREAT way to increase parent-teacher communication. In fact, I notice that many of my parents even e-mail from their cell phones throughout the day. Thus, I thought using Poll Everywhere, may be a great way to get feedback from my parents. I could post the polls in my weekly newsletters or on the webpage and get their feedback. For example, the poll I created asks parents how they feel about their child having homework on the weekend. This is a battle I fought at the beginning of the year. Having parent/guardian input on issues like this would be great for the upcoming school years. Again, this is definitely something I can see myself using in the upcoming years to improve parent-teacher communication.

Wicked Problem Project - Part C (Implementation)

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 03:11:00 +0000

My Wicked Problem Project - Part C (Implementation) Podcast

One of the Student's Original Recording

This is a slideshow of the student who is recording the audio books. I have been unable to take photos of him recording/listening to his audio books because of his inconsistent attendance.

Regarding the podcast, I was also having issues finding my podcast using iTunes, so I followed in Laura's footsteps (Thanks for the idea, Laura!), and downloaded Juice. I also added in a screenshot of my subscription and podcast.

Group Leadership Project - Part A (Brainstorm Session)

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sun, 29 May 2011 15:43:00 +0000

Recordings:

1. http://www.screencast.com/t/vVFYRKTx1W22

2. http://www.screencast.com/t/ph1nLhsw

3. http://www.screencast.com/t/pHiWPjryo1aM

4. http://www.screencast.com/t/tHe1qGjt

5. http://www.screencast.com/t/DPFvAxPA0R

1.What web conferencing tool did your group use?
Our group decided to use Vyew as our web conferencing tool. Each member of the group has explored Vyew and felt it would work well for our purposes. We attempted to use Jing to record our group session, but found it didn't work well given the length of our web conference. Both Lindsay and I attempted to record our web conference but were only able to get 3-minute recordings using Jing, and we had to record our conference in segments. We are still working on compiling the recording to post to our blogs. Needless to say, for our next web conference we will try to find a different means of recording our session.

The web conference itself went fine, but I was not overly impressed with Vyew. Although we were all able to meet and get the ball rolling on our Group Leadership Project, it was not without some difficulty.

2.What were the advantages to using the web conferencing tool to discuss this project?
Overall, I found Vyew to be fairly user friendly. It's easy enough to create and sign up for an account. Also, the introductory tutorial is brief and to the point, but gives you a great "snap shot" of what you can and cannot do with Vyew. I think the biggest advantage to using Vyew is that is was free. It was also very easy to create a meeting room, invite others, and create a link that all group members could easily access to ensure we were all in the right place on the day of our meeting. From my end, I found it easy enough to use the webcam and talk feature and it was nice to put some of my group members names with faces/voices. Furthermore, I found it beneficial that all group members could upload content, add text and edit our "meeting space", as we could all contribute to the brainstorming that was occurring.

Aside from a few technical glitches, Vyew was easy enough to figure out and use and we accomplished what we needed to.

3.What were the disadvantages to using the web conferencing tool to discuss this project?
I feel the biggest disadvantage was not being able to record our web conference using Vyew. It was quite the inconvenience to try and figure out how we were going to record our web conference (given the issues we had with Jing), while remaining fully engaged in the group conversation. Furthermore, we had a lot of issues with the audio and getting a lot of feedback. It ended up being too difficult to have a conversation using the mics, so we all eventually resorted to using the chat feature instead. I know a couple of my group members had issues with the webcam feature, as well as getting kicked out of our session entirely. Also, because we were all using the chat room feature, the text box seemed to take up much of our work space and it was difficult to add text and content in such limited space. Again, we spent a lot of time focusing on the technological glitches, which made it difficult to remain on-task.

4. What will you do differently for next time?
While it may be easier to use Vyew next time, as we had the opportunity to become familiar with it and use it as a group, we may consider switching to Adobe Connect.

5. How could this tool be useful in your classroom?
Given the age level of my students (first grade), I could see this tool being incredibly difficult for my students to use. However, I could see using this tool for "virtual field trips" of sorts, in terms of web conferencing with other classrooms within the district, the state, across the country, etc. In terms of this technology's usefulness in classrooms in general, I could see this being a great tool for older students to use to work on group projects together, for teachers to use when they are unable to meet in person/over the summer, and again for classrooms to use to connect with other classrooms/schools.Although difficult for my students to use individually, I could see them really enjoying it when used collaboratively, to connect with other first grade classrooms.

Wicked Problem Project - Part B (Application of TPACK)

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sun, 29 May 2011 15:21:00 +0000

What is the TP knowledge for the solution?

What is the TC knowledge for the solution?

What is the PC knowledge for the solution?

Wicked Problem Project - Part A (Description of Need or Opportunity)

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sat, 21 May 2011 13:14:00 +0000

1. What is the important educational need that you are seeking to address?
The important educational need I am seeking to address is my students’ level of excitement about reading, and their motivation to take control of and be an active participant in their own literacy development. As with every classroom, I have a wide range of academic abilities in my class. Furthermore, while some students do very well with and are very excited about reading, others find it very challenging and/or boring and are less inclined to be an active participant during our daily reader’s workshop sessions. Motivating particular students to read and/or get excited about reading has been a struggle I have faced all year. Now that we are in our last five weeks of school and my students realize that summer is just around the corner, it has become even more difficult to motivate and engage some students during our reader’s workshop sessions. For the structure of my reader’s workshop, I use a program called the Daily 5. At the beginning of each day, the students make 3 literacy center choices which they will participate in during our 60-minute reader’s workshop block (the students choose from Read-to-Self, Writing, Word Work, Listening to Reading and Read-to-a-Partner). While the students are participating in their centers, I am pulling guided reading groups to work with. Recently, I have noticed particular students who are very off-task and unmotivated to work during their Read-to-Self choice and/or our guided group time. Many of these students are considered low in terms of their reading level, and some of them are right on the edge of moving up to the next reading level. With only three weeks left in the school year, it is my goal to find a way to motivate and engage these students, and with any luck, help some of them to move up to the next reading level before the end of the school year.

2. How you plan to address this educational issue with technology?
To address this educational issue, I plan on having 1-3 students (who have the hardest time focusing and staying on-task during independent reading time), record themselves reading books at their current reading level to then listen to as audio books, as one of their Daily 5 choices. I purchased 8 MP3 players at the beginning of the year to use for the Daily 5 choice Listen-to-Reading, but did not have the funds to purchase audio books for the MP3 players, nor all of the hard copies to go along with the audio files. Although I did purchase a few with my own funds, I eventually just decided to leave out the Listening-to-Reading choice during Daily 5. However, I did allow every student, at one point during the year, to use the MP3 players to listen to what few audio books I did have and it was a huge success. The students brought in their own headphones and were able to listen to the audio books, while following along in a hard copy of the book. The students were excited and engaged. Thus, my hope is to take 1-3 students (those who seem to have the hardest time focusing and are always off-task during independent reading time) and let them record a few audio books to listen to during independent reading time, with the hope of motivating and engaging them as readers.

3. Logistics of Solution:
The technological tools I will need for this project will include the MP3 players (which I have purchased), a microphone, and Audacity (which I have access to on my computer at school). My plan is to begin the project this week (May 23rd-27th) and continue it through the last week of school (June 6th-10th). Although three weeks isn’t a long span of time, I feel it will give me a good idea as to whether or not this would be a project I would want to implement at the beginning of the upcoming school year. While I would love to try out this project with many of my students, I will choose my lowest 1-3 readers, who seem to have the hardest time staying on-task during independent reading time.

4. Relevant Research and Resources:
Much of the research/resources that guided my project was past experiences with and observations of the Daily 5 program in action. Specifically, the level of engagement of students during the Listening-to-Reading center. I’ve observed the program in 3 different classrooms, as well as successfully implemented the program in two classrooms of my own. Furthermore, I also researched the use of audio books and the impact on student reading achievement. Much of the information I found cited the direct link between the use of audio books and students’ reading fluency. Google Scholar was the main search engine I used. I found several articles on podcasting and MP3 Players as emerging technologies in today’s classrooms. I also found several articles regarding the use of technology in the classroom to increase students’ level of motivation and engagement. One theme that I continuously came across during my research was that while technology can be used to motivate and engage students, what is most important is that the tasks being performed need to be meaningful for students. This recurring theme is what helped me to decide to have the students record their own audio books, as opposed to just having them listening to audio books that I could purchase. I want this project to be meaningful for my students; I want them to take control of and be invested in their literacy development. I feel that by having the students create their own audio books, they are engaging in a meaningful project where they have to be responsible for their own learning. Furthermore, by the end of the project, they will have a finished product that will give them a sense of pride and accomplishment.

5. A plan for the portion you will implement during this course and the portion you will implement after this course completes.
In my classroom, we have a full 90-minute reading block 3 days a week. As we only have one full week left of school and two four-day weeks, I will have about 7 reader’s workshops left in the school year to implement this project. Thus, my plan is to introduce the project to my students this upcoming Monday (May 23rd), have them pick out 2-3 books at their independent reading level, practice the books with me and then record the audio files on Tuesday (May 24th), during our computer lab time. They can then begin using the audio books on Wednesday (May 25th) during our reader’s workshop time, as one of their Daily 5 choices. I will continue to let them listen to the audio books during the remaining 5 reader’s workshops (as one of their Daily 5 choices), as well as let them record new audio files (should time allow).

6. How would you know you were successful?
I think the easiest way for me to know if I was successful or not, would be based on my students’ level of engagement. If my students are motivated, engaged and able to stay on-task during independent reading time (or for one, 15 minute Daily 5 choice), I would feel it was a huge success, at least for the given students. This is also the time of the year when I am in the process of completing end of the year running records, to see how the students have grown as readers over the past couple of months. Although I know this project would not be fully responsible for their progression to the next reading level, this could be another indicator of the project’s impact on student achievement.

Podcast

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Tue, 10 May 2011 23:11:00 +0000

Reflecting...

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 22:41:00 +0000

Although not directly related to this course, one of the biggest areas of growth for me while taking these online courses this summer, was motivation and dedication. I have taken online courses in the past, and really struggled to stay motivated and engaged. I was originally supposed to take these courses on campus, but they were canceled due to low enrollment. I was extremely nervous to take the online versions of these courses, but it ended up working out great. I was so passionate about the material we were covering, it was easy to stay engaged and focused on my work. I looked forward to each session and really enjoyed the assignments. These courses really helped me to better my time management skills and kept me from procrastinating as much as I have in the past.

Overall, I have really taken a lot away from these courses. I LOVED the StAIR and WebQuest project. These are definitely two new things I will introduce to my classroom this upcoming school year. I cannot wait to show my colleagues and my students. I also feel as though this program has done an outstanding job of not only discussing different technologies you can use in the classroom, but also different teaching strategies you can use in the classroom. This was one aspect of the course I was really impressed with.

I feel as though I have really grown as an educator through these courses, and look forward to the next phase of this program!

WebQuests

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:21:00 +0000

Since learning about them in this course, I have really grown fond of WebQuests. I think there are a lot of high quality WebQuests out there that could really be beneficial for students. Furthermore, I really enjoyed making a WebQuest to use in my classroom this upcoming year. My plan is to make several throughout the year, to match the curriculum across all subject matter, so I can use them throughout the years.

One of the great things about WebQuests is how they can be used across all subject matter. Although the one I made for this course was for first grade science (particularly weather), I intend on making them for math units, language arts curriculum, other science topics, social studies curriculum, etc. The other great thing about making your own WebQuests is that you can tailor them to fit the specific needs of your students and your curriculum. Likewise, you can use all sorts of pedagogical strategies with your students. The possibilities are really endless with Webquests; they are as creative as you make them to be. You could do a wide variety of activities with them as well, whole group, small group, partner, independent, etc.

Some of the technologies I feel would be more difficult to use with my students (mainly because of their young ages) are Wikis, RSS Feeds, and blogs. Some of the technologies I plan on using with my first graders include online gaming, podcasting, online research, virtual field trips, and interactive discussions between students.

Google Presenter

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:44:00 +0000

Prior to this assignment, I have used Google Presenter for a few school projects, as well as in my classroom during my student teaching internship. During some of my teacher education courses, I used Google Presenter when collaborating with colleagues on group assignments. One of the obvious benefits of Google Presenter, is the ability to have multiple people working on a project at one time, without having to be in the same place. Also, during my student teaching internship, I would often create PowerPoints to use in the classroom when I was teaching, on my laptop at home. Thus, in order to show them on the computer at school, I would have to save them to a flash drive, or send them to myself via e-mail. This quickly proved to be a hassle as I would go through multiple flash drives and/or the PowerPoints were too big to send via e-mail. Two other issues I encountered, were transferring PowerPoints from my Mac to a PC, as well as the issue of dealing with two different versions of PowerPoint (2004 vs. 2008). I would often have to spend at least 10-15 minutes revamping my PowerPoints once I transferred them to the school computer, because the templates, fonts, and pictures would not transfer well. Using Google Presenter alleviated both the problem of having to transfer my PowerPoints from one computer to another, as well as worrying about the quality of my PowerPoints once they were transferred.

The functions I like most about Google Presenter are its similarities with PowerPoint, it’s user friendliness, the fact it can be edited by multiple people from different locations, you can import actual PowerPoint files into Google Presenter, and that it can be accessed anywhere you have an internet connection. While it’s simplicity makes it very user friendly, it was also one PowerPoint, it has very limited theme selections, it does not have a clip art selection, nor can you add slide transitions or animations as you can in PowerPoint.

To use this software in the classroom, students would need to be able to read, they would need to have basic typing skills, experience with some type of word processing program would also probably be beneficial. Students would need to know knowledge of how to import pictures or clip art from other sources (the Web, their computers, etc.). Students would need to know how to insert and utilize text boxes, how to insert new slides, how to sequence slides, etc. Overall, I feel this software would be best utilized by students in grades second and up. I feel they would be old enough to properly use a program like this to create and share presentations.

You can share the products you create with this application in multiple ways. First of all, you can share it in it’s true form, via the internet. If you have an internet connection, you can pull up your presentation online and share it. Also using an internet connection, you can invite people to view or collaborate on your project. Secondly, you can download it to your computer and save it for use. This way you have it on your computer, can transfer it to a USB drive, etc. Another way you can share the products you create with this application is via e-mail.

I used this type of application multiple times during my student teaching internship. For example, during our social studies on economics, I used it to make presentations on community helpers, the marketplace, and money. This way, I could combine text, images, and videos, to help student better understand these concepts. I used this application during word work activities, to teach students about onset and rime, and syllable counting. I think an application like this is very versatile and can be used across all subject matter in many creative ways.

One thing a teacher could do to help students collaborate using this application, would be to assign every group member a role. For example, one student could be in charge of the slide layout, one could be in charge on inserting the text, one could be in charge of finding videos to insert, one could be in charge of finding the images for the presentation, etc. Another way, could be to have every student in charge of creating a certain number of slides in the presentation. Again, this program allows multiple people to be working on the same project as once, so it easily lends itself to collaborative projects.

In terms of organization and managerial considerations, one would be how students are collaborating on the projects; partner, small group, whole group, etc. Also, do the students pick their own groups, are they assigned groups, etc.? Another would be the topic the students’ are focusing on for the project; are all groups doing the same topic, does each group pick their own topic, are they assigned topic, etc.? If the students are expected to work on the project on their own time, another consideration would be if all students have access to a computer.

Overall, I think this application would work wonderfully in the classroom. It’s simplicity makes it incredibly user friendly, especially for young users. It could serve as a helpful introduction to a more complicated program, like PowerPoint. Also, the ability to have multiple people working on a project at once, makes it very easy to do collaborative projects in the classroom using this application.

Blogs

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 19:20:00 +0000

I think blogs can be very useful in the classroom, when used effectively. As I teach first grade, I am struggling to think of ways to use it with my students, as many are still struggling readers. Although, I have been considering having a classroom blog, where the students rotate making simple posts regarding what we're working on in class. This way, I could help my students further develop their typing and technology skills. I could also make this blog available on the classroom website for my students' parents to view and comment on. This way, the students could take pride in the blog and receive positive reinforcement for their work, from their families. Mostly, I see blogs being utilized in language arts. Ideally, I would have each student create their own blog to use and comment on their peers blogs. I think blogs would be an excellent way to showcase students' writing, as well as receive feedback from myself, their families, and their peers. I also like the idea of using a blog for students' writing because it allows students to go back and edit, revise, and publish. I do realize, however, this may be a bit too advanced for first graders. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

While I really like the concept of blogs, I also feel their uses can be very limited, especially in the classroom. To me, a blog still seems like an online journal and I have a hard time "thinking outside of the box" in terms of how else to utilize a blog. This is something I want to do more research and exploring on, to find multiple ways to utilize this Web 2.0 tool in my classroom, across all subject matter.

Wikis and Wikipedia

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 18:26:00 +0000

When I searched Wikipedia for my school, it lead me to a page for all of East Lansing Public Schools. The page included information about each one of the schools in ELPS, so I added information for Donley Elementary School. I added the name of our principal (Marcy Kinzer), and a link to the school's webpage. Below is a screen shot of what the Wikipedia page now looks like.

In terms of my Wiki, since I have used Wikispaces quite a few time through my course work for MSU, I decided to try out a different program, PB Works. It was fairly easy to use, a bit more confusing than Wikispaces, but not bad. I added a slideshow of pictures from my student teaching experience. It was the first time I had used slide.com, and I have to say, it was a fun program to use. I also made a sidebar with links to other sites I have created throughout this course. I am still not exactly sure what I would want to use a Wiki for. Perhaps to collaborate with the other first grade teachers I work with this year. You can access my Wiki by clicking here.

Computer-Based Instructional Objects

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sun, 11 Jul 2010 13:51:00 +0000

I have to say, I really learned a lot from this week's session, and I certainly found a lot of computer-based instructional objects I will use in my classroom this upcoming year. As a new teacher, I am constantly looking for new ways to make learning engaging for my students, and that's what I love about these CEP courses. After only two weeks, I feel like I am walking away with an abundance of new ideas. For example, the StAIR projects and WebQuests. I feel technologies such as these, could be wonderfully integrated into my classroom, if done right.

While I do feel computer-based instructional objects can be very beneficial, I also feel there are many considerations to be made when using them in the classroom. For example, the very first obstacle I came to when creating my StAIR project was the young age of my students, their lack of technology knowledge, and their lack of literacy skills. Thus, all of these aspects had to be taken into consideration, before I could proceed with my project. I had to be very careful with how I designed it, in order to make sure it was as basic and "child-friendly" as possible. I also came to the conclusion I would have to narrate the majority of it, due to my students' limited and varying literacy abilities. I do feel, however, if done properly, the StAIR project could be very beneficial when doing my economic unit with my students this upcoming year.

In terms of the WebQuests, while I do feel they could be very powerful, the majority of the ones I came across were outdated and didn't work properly. Furthermore, many of the WebQuests didn't credit their sources, making them somewhat unreliable. I did, however, come across a few WebQuests I may use in my classroom. This WebQuest for example, is one where students have to come-up with their own physical activity game to play, and would fit perfectly as part of our Healthy Me! science unit. Another WebQuest I came across, incorporated literacy learning and science, as it centered around Eric Carle's book, The Grouchy Ladybug, and incorporated a variety of hands-on activities, perfect for young students. I liked both of these WebQuests because they related to content I will be covering this upcoming year, seem easy enough for most of my students to use (with minimal help), and appear to use credible sources.

Overall, I am very excited to use both the StAIR projects and WebQuests this upcoming school year.

The Difference between Blogs and Traditional Websites

noreply@blogger.com (Megan Marie) — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:09:00 +0000

I feel the biggest difference between blogs and traditional website, is the personal element blogs have. I feel blogs are a personal way for people to freely express their thoughts and ideas, where as traditional websites are usually more formally written. Also, blogs are often times about a wide variety of topics, where as I feel traditional websites usually serve a more specific purpose. One of the things I love most about blogs is how easy they are to use and how they can be as customized as desired. Traditional websites, on the other hand, are usually open to everyone. Overall, I feel blogs are a great, informal way to share ideas and information with others.