Miss Katie Kappler: My Educational Journey to a Master's Degree

Lesson Implementation Reflection

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 13:08:00 -0700

CEP 800 Lesson Implementation Reflection

Does Punctuation Matter?

Below you will find my reflection about the lesson plan previously posted in which I used No Red Ink to review, practice, and assess how well students were able to use commas, semicolons, and colons in their writing. While I was unable to actually teach my lesson to the targeted audience, you can see below the implementation was beneficial and helped me to rethink how I might do this lesson in the future.

When I first began this assignment, I was a bit concerned because school had been out for two weeks! How was I supposed to teach a lesson without any 8th graders? Fortunately, I was traveling home for Father’s Day and I was able to convince my family members and a visiting exchange student to be my lesson participants. While the setting was not ideal (my kitchen table), and the “students” were not 8th graders, it was definitely interesting to teach to adults who should know how to properly use commas, semicolons, and colons when writing compound, complex, and compound-complex sentences.

Many of my specific lesson procedures changed throughout the lesson, as the target audience was quite different than I originally planned. However, I was still able to start out the lesson by asking one of my essential questions: Does correct punctuation matter? My “students” did take the poll I had originally planned using Google Forms. The results can be seen below.

While the results of the poll did not really surprise me because all of my participants are college educated, I do think my younger brother was trying emulate what a true 8th grader would be like. Figures! And rather than holding a “discussion,” I did ask my family to briefly explain their selections. The response I found most interesting was from our visiting exchange student, Max: “I don’t know if punctuation is that important. I mean, I learned English pretty well without really knowing where to put commas.” As he was one who selected “I’m not sure” for the second question, it gave me a feel for the debate that would have probably ensued had I done this with 8th graders.

Rather than conduct a 10-15 minute review as originally planned in my lesson, I moved straight to having my family log into No Red Ink’s site (http://www.noredink.com/). My assumption was because they are all college educated, they should know how to correctly use commas, semicolons, and colons. If they were unsure, I would allow the program to guide their thinking and build their knowledge that way. Each of my family members commented upon logging in for the first time how interesting it was that they were able to choose different interests; it felt more “personal and individualized,” according to my mother. Everyone was able to easily maneuver through the program and begin their 10-question practice. As they advanced through the questions, my brother and Max made it into a competition, saying aloud, “I got a green check! Aha!” and also, “What the heck? How is that wrong?” when they received a red X. My dad admitted to not really remembering how to correctly use the punctuation marks despite how much he writes/types at work. Each time someone struggled, I reminded them to return to the reasoning and examples provided inside of the program. The green check marks and red X’s inside of the program did lead to a kind of reward system used in behaviorism, and it seemed effective in providing a feeling of success when questions were answered correctly. At the end of the practice, both my mother and father had scored an 80% and my brother and Max scored 70%. I was a bit concerned with their understanding of how to accurately use the correct punctuation, so I proceeded with my lesson plan as originally designed.

In order to rid my family of any remaining misconceptions or confusions, I did a short review of compound sentences and complex sentences as this is where they seemed most unsure of when as where to place commas. Obviously I do not have a projector and screen at home, so I conducted the review using a small whiteboard. I asked each of the 4 students to demonstrate back to me they were able to correctly identify and write compound and complex sentences with correct comma usage. When I felt they were more sure of themselves, I assigned a 10-question quiz in No Red Ink to conduct a final assessment using the technology. As Max was finishing the quiz, which everyone scored 100% on, he asked, “Does this really help students write better?” At this point, I opened that question up to everyone else as well, since that was the next essential question in my original plan. My mom decided it would at least make students think about where they were using punctuation in their writing; my dad said he was embarrassed he had been incorrectly punctuating some of his important documents, and he would be correcting said mistakes in the future. My brother and Max were somewhat skeptical still, so we advanced further into the lesson.

While I did not have my family use Google Docs to actually write both a correctly and incorrectly punctuated paragraph using varying sentence types, they completed the task on a lined piece of paper. My mother and father worked together and completed the task easily. However, my brother and Max struggled writing the incorrect paragraph. They said it was “confusing,” “harder,” and “no one really writes like this.” Unfortunately, I do have many students who write as if there is no stop signs, yield signs, or caution signs (punctuation marks) in their writing. They just keep on driving (writing) with no concern for commas, semicolons, or colons. All of my family members were somewhat appalled that 8th graders would write so terribly; that’s when the “Aha Moment” came into play. Suddenly, my brother who indicated in the poll that he was unsure if punctuation lessons were necessary said, “Dang, those kids need to learn this stuff!” To end the lesson, I had my family retake the poll I gave them at the beginning of the lesson. Not surprisingly, the results were quite different, with all members agreeing punctuation matters and students should learn it! Final results can be seen below.

Looking back on the lesson I created and the way I actually taught it, I realize now I probably wouldn’t have needed to do a whole-class review and check for understanding; I could skip it and just allow the technology to be the review and do the (re)teaching of how to correctly use commas, semicolons, and colons in varied sentence types. If I had not done the lesson with my family first, I wouldn’t have recognized this ahead of time. Also, I’m pleased with the essential questions I included in my original plan, as my family brought up the same ideas and had fairly strong feelings about the importance of learning and using punctuation.

Lastly, I’m pleased with the way my “students” were able to improve their understanding of proper punctuation by using No Red Ink. It seems as if the technology was created using educational knowledge and psychology; even my family recognized the benefits of the individualization, the ability to construct and build their own knowledge, and the sense of success created by the positive and negative reinforcements. While No Red Ink doesn’t actually allow students to write using correct commas, semicolons, and colons, there are many other traditional and 21st Century technologies that offer the same opportunities.

CEP 800 Lesson Plan

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 13:39:00 -0700

CEP 800: Lesson Plan and Pedagogical Explanation

Does Punctuation Matter?

Below you will find a lesson plan meant to demonstrate my understanding of how well-known and research based learning theories play a part in how students learn with and through technology. My lesson plan is centered around the Web 2.0 tool No Red Ink.

You may also view my lesson plan in Google Docs by clicking below.

CEP 800 Lesson Plan

Digital Story: Powerful Learning Experiences

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 9 Jun 2013 07:07:00 -0700

Powerful Learning Experiences: A Digital Story

Below is my Digital Story about 8th grade students learning how to complete a close reading of challenging nonfiction articles. The twist: I expected ALL of my students (Special Education, English as a Second Language, and struggling readers) to meet the same goal. See how the Cognitive Learning Theory played a part in my students' success!

Powerful Learning Experiences: Student Misconceptions

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 26 May 2013 04:58:00 -0700

CEP 800: Powerful Learning Experiences

Student Misconceptions With There/Their/They're

When asked to seek out common misconceptions my students hold, I immediately pictured the numerous essays written by 8th grade students with the incorrect form of "there/their/they're" throughout their writing. Why is this so confusing to 8th graders? Do homophones still affect student understanding of the English language? What is it about these words that causes students to misunderstand? Listen to the podcast below as I discover some of these answers!

CEP 800: Student Misconceptions Audio Recording

Professional Learning Plan

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Tue, 5 Mar 2013 13:24:00 -0800

CEP 812: Professional Learning Plan

When asked to reflect on my MAET journey so far, I thought back to what I wanted for myself academically and professionally. My journey started with goals, and it will end with dreams!

Wicked Problem: Part D

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 3 Mar 2013 12:04:00 -0800

Wicked Problem: Part D

Findings and Implications

The Problem: 8th grade students lack engagement, effort, and ownership of writing skills due to lack of choice and relevancy to their everyday lives

Technology Integrated Strategy Solution: Allow students to create, maintain, and write blogs about a topic of their choice

Did the project get implemented as planned?
8th grade blogging began pretty much as planned. The students were mostly excited about choosing a topic of their own, and being able to have an online presence. As I mentioned in my last post, Wicked Problem: Part C, there were a few unexpected hiccups and surprises. I was realistic about their lack of engagement with writing, and I also realized that there would be a few students who did not find blogging to be their pathway to successful writing, BUT I was hoping for more of a "Wow, I really do love writing Miss Kappler!" response.
The students will continue to maintain and post to their blogs until the end of the school year. This Wicked Problem and Solution cannot be addressed in just a few weeks; this is a continual issue that I will monitor, address, and reevaluate for the next few months. As with any Wicked Problem, I realize time will be the best indicator of success. I'm hoping to incorporate more lessons on commenting, promoting their blogs, and how to embed other creative tools (YouTube videos, Strip Generator comics, XtraNormal videos, etc.) to reignite their initial excitement for blogging. I will also be re-surveying my students with the questions I asked upon implementation. I'm hoping to find my 8th graders see more importance in writing, they feel more comfortable with their spelling, grammar, punctuation, and I hope to see that my students have more positive attitude in general towards writing and publicly sharing their work.

Evidence of Success
Despite the fact that 100% of my students were NOT falling in love with writing through blogging, the majority of my students were making progress. One of the first signs of success could be seen within the first week of posts; students were all of a sudden taking the responsibility of their newfound freedom to direct their own thinking and learning. Rather than me dictating what they had to read and write about, they were required to seek out articles and other professional blogs about their topic. For the most part, students rose to the challenge. I even had a handful of students become so excited about the articles they found (as many didn't realize they were so many others writing about the same topic) they frantically called me over to their desks to read with them!
Additionally, as students became more adept at using the Blogger platform, they began ASKING to learn new skills, were seeking out help to improve their writing, and found they wanted to write more than the required amount. Many of my 8th graders were almost begging for me to make time in class or create podcasts on how to do more advanced "blog stuff." Here's a few examples that I deem as success:

"Miss Kappler, how do I cite pictures from the Internet?"
"Miss Kappler, how do I embed YouTube videos in my blog?"
"Miss Kappler, what's a better way to search for an article? Google isn't helping."
"Miss Kappler, what's a better word for [insert overused, boring word here]?"
"Miss Kappler, is this the right word to replace [insert overused, boring word here]?"
"Miss Kappler, I started a sentence with 'Because,' so that means I need a comma, right?"
"Miss Kappler, I'm allowed to write more than the 300 words right?"

Surprisingly, the students asking if they could write more than the allotted amount are reluctant readers and writers. I wonder if my face registered the shock I felt when a student who struggles to write one paragraph said to me, "Look Miss Kappler! I have 332 words and I'm not even close to being done!" This student not only had 332 words, but he also had capital letters, punctuation at the end, and he even had indents for new paragraphs. These simple skills 8th graders are expected to know and use were often ignored by this young man, but his blog proves that he is beginning to take ownership of his writing. His blog, and a few other examples from my reluctant readers and writers are posted below! (Shared with permission)

History of the Hogs - A blog about Harley Davidson Motorcycles

GGing with Chris - A blog about "Good Gaming" tips and information on video games

Mexicana Especial - A blog about authentic Mexican food

Simple Hairstyles - Tips and tricks to make doing your hair easy

Giant Monster Movies - A blog about famous monster movies and the beasts themselves

Riley's Outrageous Designs - Simple and easy interior design tips

Aminals - Facts and information about wild animals
(yes, it's supposed to be spelled that way... creative right?)

One last piece of evidence I consider to be a success: I have discovered many of my students are posting to their blogs more than their once a week blog assignment. In their spare time, some students have been adding videos, pictures, sharing links to related sites, and giving their opinions on topics that matter to them. Some of my students are even promoting their friends' blogs that have a similar focus by mentioning and linking to them. To me, this means they are blogging for fun! If this doesn't prove engagement and relevancy to their everyday lives, I'm not sure what does.

Lessons Learned

I had an opportunity to reflect on what both my students are I were learning from blogging last week, as I was asked to post to our school corporation's blog titled "180 Days of Learning." Many of the lessons I have learned from implementing and attempting to solve this "Wicked Problem" are also mentioned in my blog post "The Conundrum of Writing: How 8th Grade Blogs are Helping Students to Love (at least like a little) Writing."
Upon trying to solve this evident problem of 8th grade students lacking engagement and ownership of their writing, I have learned many things. First of all, I learned that not all of students actually "hate" writing. Instead, they hate being told what to write about all of the time. Some of my students don't seem to mind writing if they are in charge of the content. Secondly, I realized not ALL students will find success in EVERY activity or project that we do. There will be some students who do find blogging to be their motivation for writing. Even with the pressure of the world being able to read and see their writing, some students will just try to complete the assignment for a grade. From this realization, I know I will have to continue to find other, more relevant ways to incorporate writing skills. And lastly, I have to remember to celebrate the small successes of my students instead of feeling disappointed when not every last 13 and 14-year-old takes on a passion for something we are doing in class. As educators, it's hard not to take it personally when a small number of kids openly share their dislike of all things related to your class. But what I've taken away from this Wicked Problem is the need to celebrate the small steps, the individual successes, and the gains I can make with a majority of my students.

Implementing Student Blogging: What would I do next time?
Blogging with my students is something I hope to continue in the future. No matter what grade or subject I teach, this has been such a rewarding and beneficial experience for both me and my students. After having tried this out for the first time, here are my top 5 things I'd do the same, and 5 things I'd do differently!

Top 5 Things to Do Again

1. Let the students choose their own topic to write about!

2. Poll students ahead of time to understand their true feelings about writing for academic purposes

3. Show examples of successful blogs before beginning

4. Enlist the help of the Technology Director in our school

5. Blog with the students! Show them this is something adults do too!

Top 5 Things to Do Next Time

1. Allow more time for teaching about commenting, promoting their blogs, and advanced features BEFORE beginning to blog

2. Provide more example blogs written by students; read and comment on them before beginning

3. Provide more (optional) specific writing prompts/topics for students who struggle to write on their own

4. Provide more in-class time to edit and revise each other's blogs before publishing to the world

5. Start blogging at the beginning of the school year!

And a bonus tip/question/hypothesis: Not grade the weekly blog posts? I'm not sure how effective this would be, but I wonder if it would increase their engagement and reduce the pressure to post?

Conclusions to my "Wicked" Problem"
   As this Wicked Problem assignment winds down, I have been reminded as a teacher I must be realistic, flexible, and optimistic. Educators face "Wicked Problems" in almost every facet of their work. It's important to remember the little successes that emerge in the face of such overwhelming issues. Additionally, I need to remember that no problem so large can be completely solved with only one specific solution. Students are unique, learn different ways, and come to you with incredibly different wicked problems of their own. It will take multiple different attempts, tools, and solutions to make a dent in similar problems that arise every single year.
     More specifically, even as I hoped that blogging would be the "cure-all" to my students' lack of engagement and ownership in writing I knew deep down it would not be. There will always be students who struggle to find meaning in spelling, grammar, and punctuation. It will always be a struggle for some to write with an academic voice in the 8th grade. BUT, there is HOPE! I was reminded to take pride in those students who do try harder, who take the extra time to improve their writing, and to set time aside to answer their curious questions.
   Blogging may not the cure-all for 8th graders' lack of interest and poor writing skills, but through the research I found and my experiences I would definitely conclude student blogging is one probable (and relatively simple) solution to such a "Wicked Problem."

Attacking "Wicked Problems" in the Future
   In the future when I come across other Wicked Problems (and oh goodness, will I!), it will be important to remember to plan ahead! I found it useful to search for others who have tried the same solution in their classrooms. What research did they cite? How did they implement the change? Also, I believe discussing the solution with other colleagues and being open-minded enough to let the solution evolve throughout the process of solving the problem will benefit students. The more collaborative teachers are, the better off solutions to such challenging issues will become.
     And something I should remember to do with higher frequency: ASK. THE. STUDENTS. It's easy to forget that children are creative, intelligent, and can provide new perspective on issues that plague us. Students are usually aware of how they learn best, what has worked for them in the past, and what they'd like to try in the future. They have opinions, desires, and interests that can lead teachers to more effective solutions.
     One last lesson I learned: Wicked Problems will never be completely resolved. Each year the problem will be a little different, the students will have different needs. When it comes to Wicked Problems, our job as educators is to accept the challenge of discovering new ways to make these issues better for students and for us as teachers. We have the opportunity to change education, one wicked problem at a time!

Source: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/problems_2.html

Wicked Problem: Part C

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sat, 23 Feb 2013 20:07:00 -0800

Wicked Problem: Part C

Implementing Student Blogs

The Problem: 8th grade students lack engagement, effort, and ownership of writing skills due to lack of choice and relevancy to their everyday lives

Technology Integrated Strategy Solution: Allow students to create, maintain, and write blogs about a topic of their choice

Implementation of Student Blogs

Beginning the week of January 21, 2013, I continuously told my 8th graders we were going to begin something new, something fun that would help them with their writing skills. I informed my students they would create a blog. I hoped to stimulate interest and grab their attention. In addition to informing them they would be writing blogs, I shared that their blog would be about a topic of their choice. I also explained this would take the place of a weekly assignment the majority of them disliked. That seemed to peak their interest more than the idea of starting a new writing project! Go figure.

Friday, January 25 was the official roll-out day of my plan for blogging. The first thing I had students do was complete a Google Form Survey to gather some more specific data on their interest in writing, their attitudes towards writing, and their excitement level towards beginning their own blog. Some interesting, and somewhat shocking results were drawn from this survey. Here are the responses to some of the questions from the survey:

As of right now, I like writing at school.

Yes, I love it! 9%

I like it sometimes. 58%

I don't really like it. 20%

I hate writing at school. 8%

I don't care either way. 5%

My thoughts: I was pleasantly surprised, and a bit shocked, to see that 67% of my students did not think writing at school was a horrible task. I did a double-take when I saw these responses because any time I ask students to write a paragraph, a reflection, a written-response to a question, basically anything related to writing in class, I hear collective sighs and groans. Writing in class is almost always met with some resistance. This data did give me hope they would be excited to write their blogs!

As of right now, I like writing at home.

Yes, I love it! 13%

I like it sometimes. 23%

I don't really like it. 30%

I hate writing at home. 17%

I don't care either way. 16%

My thoughts: After viewing the results from the first question, I was a bit confused by the almost 50% of my students who have negative associations with writing at home. Since some of their blogging would have to be completed outside of class, this percentage worried me a bit. I was encouraged the other half of my students either have positive feelings towards writing at home, or could be convinced to enjoy it.

I would be proud to share my writing with others, including people I don't know.

Yes! 16%

Maybe 58%

Not at all 28%

My thoughts: At first, I was saddened at the percentage of students who would not like to show their work to others. I felt like my students were ashamed of their writing, or too shy to show it off. As a teacher, I long for my students to be so proud of their work they want to display it as often as possible. After I revisited the data though, I realized that blogging would be an excellent platform to help my "Maybe" students bump up into the "Yes!" category.

I'm excited about blogging in Language Arts. (from my Data Visualization post)
Yes! 27%
Maybe? 48%
Not at all. 25%
(Two of the students' responses indicated they didn't know what a blog was at all.)

My thoughts: WHAT? In my mind, I imagined the majority of my students being over-the-top excited to begin blogging. I was very surprised to see that 25 out of 101 students surveyed were not excited to start blogging at all. For the first time all year, I was giving freedom and license to my students to write about WHATEVER they wanted, and they did not seem to take interest in the least. But as I mentioned above, I had to look twice at the numbers and feel some encouragement that the majority of my students were at least showing some indication of interest in this project; progress could be made!

I also asked students to list words to describe how they felt about writing in general. Many of these responses were what I expected as I have asked this in informal conversations before. A bit surprising though: there was a fair mix of positive and negative feelings. Their responses can be viewed in the Tagxedo word cloud below.

After the students completed their survey, my classes formed a working definition of what a blog is, we began looking at example blogs, reading some example posts, and the students spent the remainder of the time brainstorming a specific topic they would like to blog about. They used this document to begin the process of brainstorming. The students completed their drafting and narrowed their topics using these graphic organizers.

On Monday, January 28, the students made final decisions about their blog topics and met with me individually to make sure they were school-appropriate and manageable topics that would last them the remainder of the year. There were a number of students who chose very creative and noteworthy topics; I was thrilled by their decisions. There were also a large number of students who chose to write about video games, violent video games at that. This was an issue I had to present to the principal to be sure the students and myself were not crossing any lines or breaking any school rules. I did have to address with each of my classes how they could continue to write about this topic in a more school-appropriate way. I'll be honest and say that deep down, I was a little disappointed my students did not choose more "meaningful" topics. But I did decide to allow them to write about what they wanted; they are only 8th graders. A challenging part of this blogging project for me was, and is, giving control to my students and allowing them to make their own decisions about the content to read and write about.

Students on this day, also had to determine an original, catchy title for their blog. My classes used this document to look at examples and find tips on how to create a blog title specific to their topic. For their homework, the students were asked to write an introduction to their blog. This would be their "About Me" post to briefly introduce themselves and the focus of their blog. It was important for students to complete this assignment because the following day students were creating their Blogger accounts, and then were asked to create their first post with this introduction.

The Blogging Begins!

8th graders officially signed into their Blogger accounts (using their school-created Google account) and created their Language Arts blog on Tuesday, January 29. There was a mix of emotion, excitement, and a bit of chaos throughout the day. Students met in the media center because both 8th grade teams (my students and the 8th graders in the other Language Arts class) were setting up their blogs at the same time. We are lucky to have a technology coordinator who created a lesson plan and walked them through the process of setting up their blogs. The other Language Arts teacher and I were able to walk around and assist students with each step. Students were reminded of school policy and Internet usage expectations, again they were shown a few examples of blogs (popular and high-traffic student blogs), and then were walked through step-by-step how to create a blog using their Blogger account. They were also given exactly 10 minutes to "play" with the settings, themes, colors, and customization tools. We wanted to limit their time, so they had enough time to add their very first introduction post. Below is a picture of the students setting up their blogs in the media center!

For the most part, the blog set-up went well. Students seemed interested in the process of creating a blog and then being able to customize their blog to their own personal tastes. However, when our technology coordinator asked the students if they were excited about blogging, there were resounding "no's" and "ugh's." How embarrassing! Very few students vocally expressed interest in the creation of their blogs. Also, there were a few students who had not completed their blog introduction homework, and when they were asked to post their first blog writing they were unprepared. These students quickly threw together a few sentences and posted them to world without a consideration for editing and/or revising. A major part of the blogging project is to encourage more effort in the way of writing conventions! If I were going to do this again, I would be sure to allow more than one day for students to write the introduction, and I would create a checkpoint so I could monitor and check-in on their progress of this first post.

One other unexpected bump in the road was the behavior of the 8th grade students. Both my class and the other 8th grade class sizes in the afternoon are quite large. Our last period of the day, there were 61 8th graders crammed into the media center. Language Arts, the last period of the day, and with the mix of students in such a small space was quite chaotic. Both classes are talkative, active, and slightly disruptive. It was hard to walk students step-by-step through the process of setting up their blogs when the technology director had to stop every few minutes to wait for students to get back on task. Next time, it would probably be more useful to separate large classes and do solitary lessons to make the process much smoother and more effective.

Since January...

Since the students created their blogs, they have had two required blog assignments to complete. Each week on Monday students are given a blogging assignment to be completed by Friday. They have the majority of class time on Mondays to work on their blogs and then the rest is their responsibility. Students are encouraged and able to post more than what is assigned, and some students have done so. Blogging, so far, has been an interesting experience as a teacher. I've had students who typically do not like to write get excited about reading and learning more about their topic. These young adults then discuss with me exactly what that week's post will be about. I also have students who I thought would really take an interest in this project turn a cold shoulder to blogging. The completion rate of their weekly blog posts has steadily waned. I wonder if the students are returning to their old habits of just not caring, or if students are struggling because I am no longer dictating what they need to write? I wonder if it is both? Is it something else? Even though they are reading and writing on a topic of their choice, do they still see this as just another assignment? I'm worried and saddened there has not been more of a positive response to the student blogs.

Completion Rates of Weekly Blog Assignments:

Post 1: Introduction to themselves and their blog topic - 97%

Post 2: Open post to write about whatever they'd like in at least 300 words - 91%

Post 3: Argumentative post where students wrote an argument/counterargument - 79%

Post 4: Extra Credit post (not required assignment due to shortened week) - 19%

I was not expecting there to be so many incomplete blogging assignments so early on in the process. I truly thought students would be much more motivated to write because their blogs are based on a topic important to them. I am starting to believe, however, 8th graders just don't like to do homework and this counts as such. Also interesting, some of my students who are not completing the writing assignments, are posting YouTube videos to their blogs without any written explanation. So they are using their blogs, but they are missing the literacy aspect I desired to achieve.

Surprises, Delights, and Some Impressive 8th Grade Bloggers

Even though my initial hope that ALL of my students would find delight (or at least a heightened interest) in writing is not coming full circle, there have been some really wonderful effects of my students becoming bloggers.

*Overheard from a reluctant reader and writer: "I've had 27 page views this week! And I got a comment from [the principal.]"

*Students have been incessantly asking about how to cite images and videos that do not belong to them. (This is a delight as they often use intellectual property with no regards to citation.)

*Other teachers, staff members, and parents have been commenting on student blogs. 8th grade blogging is becoming a community event!

*Some of my special education students who typically struggle to write an entire paragraph have been sharing well-written posts with structure, strong word choice, and at least 300 words.

*Some of my students who typically turn in mediocre work have been posting outstanding, impressive blog posts. Some of their best work of the year is being documented on the Internet!

One final delight I have found with the implementation of blogging so far is the pride I feel when my students produce exceptional writing and blog posts. Some of the blogs created are blogs that adults would actually follow and read. There are some absolutely impressive blogs created by 8th grade Language Arts students. Please take a moment to explore some of my students' outstanding blogs! (Shared with permission)

Take a Stand - A blog calling for an end to bullying

Hair Addix Weekly - A blog all about hair dye

World War Weapons - A blog about the historical weapons used during World War I and World War II

Seasoned Right - A blog about healthy foods that taste great

Keeping Streamline - A blog about becoming or being a great swimmer

Mobile Learning

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 17:44:00 -0800

Mobile Learning Tools in the Classroom

   It's no secret technology is a significant part of children's and teenagers' everyday lives. Two-year-olds play and learn with iPads, teens text, tweet, and "like" whenever they have the chance, and earbuds pumping music seem to be an extension of most people's bodies. In most schools, these types of things are usually discouraged, if not banned entirely. As educators, it's time to look into how we can incorporate these tech tools into our classrooms and teach students there are educational uses their 21st Century devices.

How could I integrate mobile learning into MY classroom?
   Most of my students (all but a handful) possess cell phones. Many of my 8th graders' phones are smartphones that have Internet accessibility. It would be very simple to integrate their phones into class by using polls or surveys where student responses could be easily sent/texted in and collected. My students would be familiar with these types of polling sites, Poll Everywhere for example, because they have laptops and we utilize them quite often. They would be so excited to have an excuse to take their phones out of their pockets though!
   I could also see my students using the cameras on their phones for lessons and activities. Some of them do this now, as they post pictures to their blogs for Language Arts. However, I'd love to do an activity like the one below, discovered via Twitter!

Students would love to use their phones for a fun (albeit educational) scavenger hunt around the school. This could be easily integrated into Language Arts, but I especially see this working well in Science or Math. Students could use their cameras to document real-world examples of content they are learning in class.

Most of my students own iPhones (or iPod touches). I know there are many apps that correspond with literacy and could be incorporated into my class curriculum. One resource I could share with other teachers and students is the wiki I helped create for CEP 810: Literacy Apps for Middle Grades. There are many useful applications for reading, writing and annotation, as well as critical thinking skills involved in literacy learning.

Something I would like to look into is creating playlists or podcasts of important vocabulary, concepts, or lessons students could download and listen to on their MP3 players. While many of my students' phones double as their audio/video devices, utilizing iTunes and its capabilities would be another great way for me to integrate mobile technology into my class.

Reading is a huge focus at our school. Students are expected to be reading challenging works in each class, everyday. Allowing students to use eReaders, iPads, or their smartphones to read would most likely increase their willingness to do so. I have a small number of students who do read on their Kindles or Nooks when we have silent reading time. For class materials though, an app like Free Books would be perfect.

Challenges I foresee
Despite the resounding benefits of utilizing mobile technology in the classroom and for educational purposes, I do have some reservations about integrating mobile devices into my curriculum. As cited in the infographic below, "Kids & The Mobile Technology Takeover," I am not alone in my concerns. Many parents believe that using mobile tools for learning will actually distract students more than help them study. I know this can be true because even with the Macbooks my students use, they can become easily distracted by games, unrelated websites, and music/videos not being used for class. There is also a concern for students' physical activity levels; parents are worried students will spend more time with a device in their hand rather than being active, spending time outdoors, or even learning basic skills such as tying shoelaces.
As a teacher of 13 and 14 year old students, I am also concerned that students will want to use their mobile devices all of the time, even after an activity has been completed. Classroom management with these devices is a little scary and a bit overwhelming. Additionally, I worry that if I am using tools like cellphones and MP3 players more often, students will not be writing as much. Reading and writing in abundant amounts is expected at my school on a daily basis. If students are texting in responses rather than writing lengthy paragraphs, or whole-page responses, I wonder if they will lose those literacy skills. On the other hand, I do know a few of my students use their mobile devices (smartphones, eReaders) to READ books, magazines, and Internet articles. So it's not the reading I'm nervous about, but rather the amount of time spent fluently writing in academic language.

Via http://www.everydayfamily.com/blog/kids-and-the-mobile-technology-takeover/

What benefits do I foresee?
As many questions and concerns I have about mobile learning, I can envision the possible benefits of using mobile devices in the classroom. For one, students would be more engaged and excited about participating in class if they were allowed to use a tool that is typically "banned" in classrooms. If students are engaged, they are more likely to complete their work, think, and learn. What teacher wouldn't want that? Also, according to "Effect of Mobile Learning on Student Behavior" students would be "improving critical thinking skills" if they were encouraged to learn with mobile devices. Lastly, and possibly the most exciting to think about - mobile learning could improve student behavior. As reported in an article from The Guardian, "Mobile Learning for Schools - A Class Without Walls,"there were less suspensions, disruptions, and students removed from class once mobile learning was implemented. I can think of many of my students, especially boys, who act out because in their eyes Language Arts is a useless and uninteresting subject. It excites me to think just by allowing them to use a device they already know and view as an extension of their own body, these young adults would alter their behavior. I find myself giddy at the thought they may actually learn to like Language Arts!

If education is going to propel students into a successful future in the 21st Century, it will be important for teachers and other adults to accept and promote mobile learning. Students will continue to use these devices whether we allow them into our classes or not; let's be proponents of a new way of learning and try using what the students already know and love!

Data Visualization

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:26:00 -0800

Data Visualization

For this week's CEP 812 Lab, we were asked to visually represent data in a new way. At first I was a bit overwhelmed with the massive amount of visual representation tools located on the Free Visual Tools Wiki. While this is an excellent resource and a very comprehensive list of no-cost tools, I had to stop myself from reverting back to some visual tools that I have used in the past. The point is to try something new, right?

All of the data I used (conveniently!) applies to my Wicked Problem. I asked my students to share through a Google Form survey their feelings and attitudes towards writing, as well as their excitement about beginning to blog in Language Arts class. The data results are displayed below, using the tools I tested out for this week's lab.

There were three tools that I spent a fair amount of time testing out and playing around with. One of the first tools I used for my data visualization was Tagxedo, a word cloud generator, similar to Wordle. When I asked my students to share words or feelings they associated with "writing," I had a wide range of responses. Tagxedo is a useful and visually appealing tool for organizing and viewing word data in a crafty way. (I really liked playing around with all the different themes and shapes!) Below is a representation of my students' feelings and attitudes towards writing.

A second tool I explored was ManyEyes. I was very exited to try this site because it offers so many different free graphs and charts to represent data. I thought this would be the perfect tool to show how many of my students were or were not excited about beginning to blog in Language Arts class. However, for the life of me, I could not get the charts and graphs to represent my data correctly. I tried multiple different functions and attempted to change the type of chart I was using, but data from my spreadsheet would not appear correctly. After 30 minutes of trying to create a representation using ManyEyes, I sadly went back to the Graphics and Visualizations Tools Wiki to search for another tool that was similar. Again I clicked on, visited, and unsuccessfully tried to use other charting/graphing sites. I told myself, "Move on, Katie. There are hundreds of other options!"

As you can imagine, I was frustrated with my inability to make technology work for me, and I still had this data to represent! I had my spreadsheet, I had my categories, and I had my numbers. My "ah-ha!" moment came when I realized I could use that information, but it didn't need to be in a chart or graph. I decided to try out one of the comic strip creators, and I spent a lot of time just having fun with the functions and tools. Strip Generator was simple to use, and I really liked the character graphics as well. While this is meant to be used as a comic strip maker, I used it more as a means to a different end. I still wanted to show the number of my students who fell into different levels of excitement for blogging. Below, you will see how I used the comic strip creator to represent this data. My data/comic can also be viewed by visiting this LINK.

Are you excited to start blogging? by kkappler

I did add one tool that I couldn't find listed on any of the other wiki pages: Flip Snack. I've used Flip Snack to convert PDF documents into a more appealing book where the pages flip upon clicking on them. I'm looking forward to exploring more of the tools listed on the wiki. I'd especially like to find one that helps me create an info graphic!

Group Leadership Project: Part B

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 16:35:00 -0800

Flipped PD: Learning and Using Google Docs in the Classroom

The focus of our group's Flipped Professional Development is how to use the basic and advanced functions in Google Documents.

Before the Professional Development day actually arrives, it would be beneficial to send a short survey to all teachers to get an understanding of where they are in terms of using Google Documents. This could be sent via email to all staff members.

A short poll similar to this SURVEY would be helpful to send about a week before the actual PD day.

Once the results of the survey come back, it will be important to review the responses and analyze the comfort level of the teachers in regards to Google Docs and learning new technologies in general. Because all people approach technology learning with differing levels of background knowledge, it will be important to really know your "students." Based on the teachers' responses to the survey, it will help to create two different groups: Beginners and Advanced.

After these groups have been decided upon, it would help to email each group of teachers with the agenda for the professional development. Teachers should be able to read through their agendas at least 3-5 days before the PD day. While all teachers will be learning the useful functions associated with Google Documents through our instructional video, the actual Professional Development day will be spent reviewing and using those skills in different ways.

Each teacher will be asked to watch the instructional video about the basic and advanced features in Google Docs. However, the video allows advanced users to bypass the basic, beginner functions so they can get the most out of the professional development. No teacher wants to feel as if they time is being wasted! The video is below.

While the teachers watch the video, they will have ample opportunity to practice the skills being taught. As directed in the video, teachers should pause after each section and try out what was modeled in the video. Each teacher will be accessing and using this Google Document while working through the instructional video. The great thing about this document is that it allows teachers to work through the skills and ask questions about the tasks that are confusing or challenging to them. So when the teachers attend the actual PD day, they will already have questions to ask and ideas to share.

On the actual day of PD, teachers will come together for a question and answer session. The teachers who did not have questions posted in the document will be asked to be the "experts" and pose solutions to the issues brought up. There will also be separate breakout sessions where the beginning Google Docs users will have a chance to practice the advanced functions again with the help of a PD trainer and the advanced users will begin to brainstorm how these tools can be used in their classrooms. The PD day will end with each department working together to create at least one usable Google Document that can be implemented in their curriculum and classroom right away. These ideas can be shared in the Google Document used for practice and poising questions.

At the end of the PD day, the instructors should provide the teachers with a way to provide feedback on the effectiveness of the Professional Development process. An easy way to gather information like this is to have the teachers take an Exit Survey. A short questionnaire in a Google Form would be a quick and simple way to obtain feedback.

Here is an example Exit Survey that could be given at the end of the Professional Development Day.

As with any new tool or skills, it will be important to communicate and observe how these skills are being used in the classroom. Informal emails, chats in the hallway, collaborative planning sessions, or classroom observations would be great ways to continually support the teachers and ensure that 21st Century skills are being promoted and used in an educational setting!

Group Leadership Project: Part A

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Mon, 4 Feb 2013 18:35:00 -0800

Brainstorming, Storyboarding, and the Script

Our group's Flipped Professional Development will focus the benefits of Google Word Processing Document and how to use some of the basic and more advanced features. We're hoping to differentiate a bit for teachers who are "Google Docs Beginners" and teachers who have some experience with Google Docs but want to know how to use some of the more advanced, yet less obvious features. We will create a video combining informational slides, screenshots, and screencasts to teach these skills. There will be a "check-for-understanding" activity at the end of the video. This will allow the PD participants a chance to practice and demonstrate what they learned, as well as ask questions that may still be lingering.

The objectives of our group's project are as follows:

1. All teachers will be able to create and open a Google Word Processing document.
2. All teachers will understand and be able to use basic functions of Google documents.
3. All teachers will learn how to share the document and communicate while collaborating with others on the same document.
4. Advanced teachers will learn to review the revision history, add a link, and change privacy settings.
5. All teachers will, at the end of this Flipped PD, know how to use Google Docs and understand the benefits to students over a normal word document.

Each member of our group offered to take on a different portion of the final product. Here is the breakdown:

Craig: How to create and open a new Google Document, Combine slides, screencasts, and screenshots into a final Camtasia video

Emily: Discussing the usefulness of Google Documents, the ease of use through a student's screencast example

Jason: Screen shots and screen cast of how to use the basic functions in a Google Doc, how to share the document with others to collaborate

My portion: I will be creating slides, screenshots, and screencasts on how to use some of the more advanced functions of Google Docs. I will focus on linking in a document, how to review and use the revision history, and how to change the privacy settings. I will send this finished video product to Craig, who has volunteered to put all portions of the final product together.

Here is the link to our group's storyboard: CEP 812 Flipped PD

Craig has started putting together the Camtasia video portion of the project. HERE is a sneak peak!

My slides and script are below. (Please excuse the overlying fonts and images. When trying to export from Keynote to PowerPoint Slides, the fonts and images don't transfer so smoothly!)

Web Conferencing

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 3 Feb 2013 09:20:00 -0800

Web Conferencing: Planning for our Group Leadership Project

Group Members Present: Craig C., Emily M., Katie Kappler

Web Conferencing Tool: Google Hangouts
Topic Discussed for Flipped PD: Creating, sharing, and using simple and advanced functions of Google Documents

Video of our Web Conference

     To begin discussing and planning our Group Leadership Project, we started communicating through the Angel Discussion Forum. While the forum is a useful tool to begin with, it's not always the easiest to continually use, especially if you have a busy schedule. So instead of having to check for new posts multiple times a day, we decided to start a Google Document where we could toss around ideas, plan which web conferencing tool to use, and to discuss times that would work for us all.

   One of the most challenging parts of this web conferencing was trying to find a time that worked with all of our hectic schedules. After multiple different checks of our schedule, three out of our four group members came to a consensus on date/time for our meeting. Our group decided to conference using Google Hangouts. While we considered using some of the other tools suggested in our lab, we found that Google Hangouts is fairly simple to use. It incorporates many functions and tools that we were already using, and we all had Google accounts that we were using on a regular basis. Additionally, Hangouts has an "Air" function which is meant to allow the hangout to be recorded and broadcasted. Since our group was asked to record the session, we thought this would be the most obvious and effective web conferencing tool to use.

   Some of the other tools listed did not quite fit our needs. The Adobe Connect sessions we use for class are useful and the tools associated are effective for communicating in many different ways. Unfortunately for our small group, it would not be cost effective for us to use long-term. We also shied away from some of the other tools because we would have had to create new accounts for each of them. Even though some of them are free, there were other issues to consider such as unwanted ads, downloading of new software, and others only offered free trials.

      When our hangout began (and with any video chat I've ever done), there was that awkward "I'm on camera" feeling. I think this is especially strange when you haven't met the other people in person before. I could see both Emily and Craig on my screen, but Emily couldn't see us. She could hear me talking and see Craig's chat on the side, but that may have been awkward for her.

Another strange challenge was Craig's microphone wasn't working. He could see us and hear us, but was not able to talk to us verbally. All of the communication we had with him took place on the side, using the chat function of the hangout.

Lastly, when Craig tried to use the "air" function, it wasn't working. We had to find a new way to record our meeting. Luckily, I have QuickTime on my computer and was able to do a screen recording of our discussion.

      While we were verbally discussing the plan for our group project, we were also able to view and edit the same Google Document. One really great feature of Google Hangouts is that is allows for each of us to look at our Google Drive accounts or share our screens with each other. In order to clearly plan who was going to be responsible for what, we updated our planning document together.

In the future, I think we will continue to use Google applications. Hangouts are simple and easy to use, as well as having many useful functions. Next time, I hope we will be able to have everyone's video and audio working correctly to make the discussion flow smoother. I know we will also be using Google Docs and Google Presentation to continue working on our Group Leadership Project.

If I were to use a tool like this in the classroom, it would take a lot of planning and preparation. Students, while often tech-savvy, may not have experience using a web conferencing tool before. If I was teaching an online class, I could see how this would be an extremely effective way to converse and communicate with small groups of students. This could also be used if students were absent but still wanted to hear/participate in the daily lesson. Lastly, this could be an awesome tool for students to use when working on group projects themselves. They could even work with another group of students who are not in their own classroom. For example, students could be put in a group with other 8th graders on a different team at our school, they could work with 8th graders from another school, and/or I could set up communications with experts on a specific topic the students were interested in. Basically, I see Google Hangouts (or other web conferencing tools) as a great way for students to experience education as more than what they see, learn, and do in the classroom itself!

Wicked Problem: Part B

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 11:27:00 -0800

Wicked Problem Podcast

The Problem: 8th grade students lack engagement, effort, and ownership of writing skills due to lack of choice and relevancy to their everyday lives

Below you will find a link to a podcast I created where I further discuss a solution to this Wicked Problem. Click the link to listen!

Wicked Problem Podcast: Part B

https://www.msu.edu/~kapplerk/WickedProblemPodcast.mov

Wicked Problem Project - Part A

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:09:00 -0800

Wicked Problem Project - Part A

The Problem: 8th grade students lack engagement, effort, and ownership of writing skills due to lack of choice and relevancy to their everyday lives

The Educational Need
    Literacy is one of the most important skills that schools provide students. The ability to write clearly, fluently, and with a specific purpose in mind is a major component in literacy learning. As adults, we know the importance of being able to communicate appropriately through written (typed) words. As many times as I express to my 8th graders the need to be able to write fluently now and in the future (attending college, securing employment, writing emails to customers and co-workers, etc.), they still do not connect the relevancy to their everyday lives.
    In a world where young adult communication is instantaneous and usually informal, writing with correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, and with an appropriate tone falls by the wayside. On a daily basis I remind my students to forego their “text lang” and the common slang words that infiltrate what they believe is proper English.
    At my school the students must complete quarterly writing prompts as 1) an assessment of their writing skills, and 2) to practice and prepare for the ISTEP (the Indiana standardized test). They neither enjoy these prompts, nor do they understand the importance of them. Students are unable to choose their own topics or genres for these prompts, only fueling their dislike for writing. Additionally, the expectation at my school is that students will complete an abundant amount of writing on a daily basis. This applies to all subject areas, meaning that students are directed on what/how to write in all classes, not just Language Arts.

In short, the majority of my students despise writing and often fail to see the importance of the lessons related to writing. When students are not interested in what they are supposed to be learning, and they do not see the relevancy to their everyday lives, compliance will be the outcome at best. I want my students to be able to enjoy some part of writing and gain an understanding that formal writing is a necessary life-long skill.

Technology Integrated Strategy

I believe the implementation of blogging in the classroom will begin to combat the issues mentioned above. Beginning in the 3rd quarter of this school year, each individual student will be allowed to create a blog on the topic of their choice. Students will use Blogger for their writing platform, as they already have Google accounts created and managed by our school district. Students will choose a school-appropriate topic to write about. While they will need to adhere to 8th grade writing standards and expectations, they will have the freedom to manage this writing on their own.

Students will be taught what quality blogs look like by examining and comparing example blogs. Commenting can be taught through useful YouTube videos, such as “How to Write a Quality Comment.” It is my plan to have them connect with experts on their topic, whether it be through face-to-face interaction, telephone conversations, email, or hopefully some Skype sessions. Once students show an understanding of blogging, I hope to have students share and promote their blogs globally through the use of Twitter.
During CEP 812, students will begin planning their blog topics and titles, write their first few blog posts, and begin commenting on each others' posts. This will begin the week of January 28, 2013. Blogging, research on their topic, and sharing of their blogs will continue through the remainder of the school year, culminating in a final presentation made by each individual student.

Logistics of a Solution

By allowing each student to create, manage, and write a blog on a topic of their choice while still using the writing skills needed for 8th grade and beyond, it will help meet the need for more student-directed learning. Additionally, it will open up many opportunities for teaching about Digital Citizenship, the need to write using a formal and easy-to-read manner, and the importance of revising and editing before submission. Not only that, but by writing a blog their work will not only be seen by their teachers and classmates. Their writing instantly (Yes! That’s how my students understand time!) become available to a worldwide audience. It doesn’t get much more real than that!

    Most students have not “blogged” before. It will be important to not only reinforce the writing skills learned throughout the school year, but also to show them how to create, manage, and edit a blog site. Students will need direction on how to narrow a topic of their choice so that it is feasible to blog about until the end of the school year. As the students continue to blog, they will need lessons on how to appropriately and lawfully use images, videos, links, and other such media.

Supporting Research
    Blogging is a viable and realistic option for increasing student engagement and improving writing skills because blogs are “easy to use.” According to Mollie Crie, writing for Glencoe.com, “They require minimum technical knowledge and are quickly and easily created and maintained...Best of all, students will find them convenient and accessible via home or library computers” (Crie, 2006).
    There are many positive educational benefits that can come from blogging in the classroom. Students will be motivated, “especially those who otherwise might not become participants in classrooms.” Blogs provide ample opportunity to engage in literacy related skills such as writing AND reading. Additionally, students will have chances to collaborate and discuss topics that are meaningful to them (Crie, 2006).
    Writing that will be posted on the Internet is much more authentic because it’s similar to how actual authors write and revise their writing. More clearly stated on techLEARNING.com, “Web publication gives students a real audience to write to and, when optimized, a collaborative environment where they can give and receive feedback, mirroring the way professional writers use a workshop environment to hone their craft” (Kennedy, 2003).
    Most importantly, and the results I most desire for my students, is an improvement in their writing skills. According to a study done at the University of Florida completed by Wendy Drexler, Kara Dawson, and Richard E. Ferdig, blogging helped 3rd graders make great gains in their writing abilities. Not only did the students in the study have improved attitudes towards writing and more motivation to write, but there was improvement in the “quantity and quality of writing” (Drexler, Dawson, & Ferdig, 2007).

Research-Based Plan for Implementation
    Sending students’ out into cyberspace can have many positive and negative aspects. It will be important to do many pre-blogging lessons or activities in order to make this a safe, successful, and learning-centered plan. Combining information from multiple sources (Gardner and Rosenthal Tolisano) this is my plan for implementation:

1. Review and discuss school district’s Acceptable Use Policy
2. Review, discuss, and practice appropriate digital citizenship skills
3. Develop a blogging contract created with students
4. Read, examine, and practice commenting on quality blogs
5. Discuss importance of formal, appropriate language for writing purposes
6. Students choose a clear, specific topic and purpose for writing
7. Set up blogs (review and examine common blog features)
8. Students write blog posts that are “age and developmentally appropriate, with content, grammar, and vocabulary focus.” The posts should contain “quality, relevant, content and traditional quality writing characteristics.” Student bloggers should show “evidence of writing for an audience” (Rosenthal Tolisano, 2012).
9. Students review, comment, and share their blogs with classmates, family members, and teacher shares blogs with followers on Twitter.
10. Students continue writing for a global, authentic audience
11. Students and teachers reevaluate attitudes towards writing and writing quality (through rubrics)

"Blogging in the Classroom" Infographic by Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano (PDF)

Indications of a Successful Project
A successful project will be measured by the following aspects:

*Students' attitudes towards writing improve

*Students will be able to creatively and successfully craft writing on topics of their choice
*Students find relevancy in writing for specific purposes and audiences
*Students' grade-appropriate writing skills (quality and quantity) show improvement
*Students engage in and take ownership for writing (blogs, classroom assignments, quarterly prompts, and ISTEP assessment)

Resources and Citations
Crie, Mollie (2006). Using Blogs to Integrate Technology in the Classroom. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/47. [Last Accessed 19 January 2013].

Drexler, W., Dawson, K., & Ferdig, R. E. (2007). Collaborative blogging as a means to develop elementary expository writing skills. Electronic Journal for the Integration of Technology in Education, 6, 140-160.

Gardner, Traci. Teaching With Blogs. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.readwritethink.org/professional-development/strategy-guides/teaching-with-blogs-30108.html#related-resources. [Last Accessed 19 January 2013].

Kennedy, Kristen (2003). Writing With Web Logs. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2003/02/blogs.php. [Last Accessed 19 January 2013].

Rosenthal Tolisano, Silvia. (2012). Blogging in the Classroom. Retrieved from http://langwitches.org/blog/?s=blogging+in+the+classroom

CEP 812 Video Introduction

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sat, 19 Jan 2013 11:26:00 -0800

Meet Katie Kappler

CEP 811 Final Reflections

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 17:39:00 -0800

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow. The important thing is not to stop questioning."

- Albert Einstein

As my first semester of graduate classes wrap up, I can look back on my experiences and I know that I doing just as Albert Einstein suggests. It is exciting to be a "student" again; I like having the opportunity to learn more about how I can better prepare my students for the 21st Century.

What are some things that I have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?
When integrating technology into my classroom, I was reminded that technology does not equal a modification or accommodation. It can, sure, but lessons and activities done with technology still need to be accessible and understandable to all students. I've learned a new way through the UDL Checklist (Universal Design for Learning) how to make better considerations in my technology lessons. I've also learned about some new tools that can vary the types of technology used.

How did integrating web-based technologies help me think about and evaluate uses of technology?
Web-based technologies can be both effective and ineffective, just like face-to-face lessons. What I took away most, especially from evaluating different web quests, was that learning with technology needs to have a well-thought out mix of inductive and deductive reasoning for students. Looking at good and bad examples helped me focus my lessons and ideas better for my students.

How have I met my own personal goals for learning about technology integration?
This class helped me get closer to my goal of obtaining my Master's degree in educational technology. I also tried and created new ways of learning through technology. Some of it was challenging for me, even as a fairly tech-savvy person, and that taught me that I can always learn something new.

Do I have any new goals? What are my plans for reaching my new goals and my long-term goals after this course is over?
My new goals are to try to find more and better ways to integrate technology that fits well with my 8th grade Language Arts standards and the expectations of our school district. I hope to find ways to make learning more global and real-world for my students. In order to do these things, I plan to seek out the technology experts in my building who are doing these things often. I hope I can plan further ahead in my curriculum too, so that I can find new and useful technologies that enhance literacy learning in a rigorous way.

I hope to keep learning, keep discovering, and keep questioning how I can be a better teacher (and student myself!)

Online Teaching and Learning

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:13:00 -0800

Online Teaching and Learning Experiences

The Internet is making learning and education more accessible to students and teachers than ever before. There are a lot of ways online education can happen, and it's good to have a guide when getting started. Luckily, the state of Michigan created a document to help define how quality online education should be structured and include.

Check out The Guidelines: Online Experience document.

In addition to the guidelines online education should follow, Michigan also created a useful document for teachers to use when trying to meet the new online education requirements. Included are the core principles and characteristics of quality online experiences. Here you can find suggestions for different ways of learning, teaching, and interacting online.

Check out The Online Experience Companion document.

How could I use this in my 8th grade Language Arts class?

One of the technologies listed in the Online Experience Companion is an educational blog. A blog is (what you're reading right now!)"a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for public consumption."

Blogs would be an excellent tool for me to teach writing skills with. Students often don't see the relevancy of writing or care to make it grammatically correct and mostly error-free. They have no audience other than their classmates and the teacher, me. Blogs would give the students a worldly, real-life audience to write for. This would greatly improve their desire to make their writing interesting, engaging, and correct.

In order to teach students about blogs and how to use them I could teach through direct instruction, either face-to-face or with a podcast. It would be important to model and think aloud the blogging process before students wrote and published on their own. Students could also learn about blogging through a guided discovery and/or exploration of school-appropriate example blogs. They could examine, compare, contrast blogs that are currently updated by other teachers, administrators, other students, or even more famous and high-traffic blogs. Before beginning the actual blogging process, students could participate in open class discussions, and brainstorm in a collaborative fashion as to what they would blog about themselves.

While there are many useful and engaging technologies listed in the Online Experience Companion, some technologies would be more challenging than others to use with my students. I think the educational gaming would not quite fit with much of what we do in Language Arts. While there are ways to integrate almost every topic, it would not always fit the standards that I teach. Also, many of the sites listed are blocked by our school's internet filter. I do feel lucky though, as many of the other technologies listed would be fairly simple to integrate (or already have been by myself or other teachers) due to our one-to-one educational setting. These seem mostly doable and applicable to what I teach in 8th grade. I can see how many of these technologies would be hard to manage, access, and implement on a regular basis for schools who do not have as much available technology.

Wiki, wiki, what?

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 18:24:00 -0800

Learning how to edit Wikipedia

One of our class assignments asked us to edit a wiki page on Wikipedia. How hard could it be, right? Ha. This was one of the most challenging assignments for me to date, as editing Wikipedia is not as easy as it sounds. After many "Help" pages and YouTube video tutorials, I was able to add a wiki page for my school. The information looks basic, but it took a lot of effort to add those details!

Lincoln Junior High School is officially represented on Wikipedia!

(So it's not the most informational site ever, but I tried!)

Creating a wiki of my own

In addition to making my mark on Wikipedia, I also created a wiki site of my own. The focus of this wiki is on Digital Citizenship for K-12 students and teachers. In the 21st Century, this is a necessary and imperative topic. Hopefully, this wiki can be used to host many different resources for students and teachers to easily understand and use in an educational setting. It's a work in progress, but take a look at the early beginnings!

Digital Citizenship for K-12 Students and Teachers

Universal Design for Learning Checklist

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 18 Nov 2012 07:22:00 -0800

What's the best way to reach all students in a lesson?

Focus on the Universal Design for Learning, of course!

After revisiting my Instructional Design Plan from my previous post, I've noticed that this lesson plan has both barriers and features for the students in my classroom.

The UDL Checklist is an excellent tool to help educators evaluate their lesson plans, to make them more accessible to all students and all types of learners. The checklist has 3 main components:

Multiple Means of Representation: Are there different ways for students to experience and learn the content? Auditory? Visual? Different modes of displaying the information?

Multiple Means of Action and Expression: Are there opportunities for students to physically move and interact with the content? Is there student choice in how they learn the information and also how they demonstrate their learning? Are there useful ways for the students to manage and organize what they are learning?

Multiple Means of Engagement: Are there many different ways used to get students interested in the topic and content? Do students have different ways of interacting with the content and classmates to maintain interest? Are there opportunities for students to self-regulate their learning outcomes?

As I mentioned, my initial lesson plan posted above has both features and barriers. Here is a look at the Universal Design for Learning Checklist I used to evaluate my plan. The barriers and features are identified in the right hand column.

I will be revisiting and rewriting portions of the lesson plan to remove many of the barriers in order to make this lesson plan more accessible and useful to all of the students in my classroom!

Goal Directed Instructional Design Lesson

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Fri, 2 Nov 2012 13:01:00 -0700

Photo Attribution
Students use the Internet all of the time. But how often are they using reliable sources from the Internet?

Here's a lesson plan to begin teaching students how to evaluate sites for "C.R.A.P." or valid information.

CEP 811 Goal-Oriented Instructional Design Plan

Web Pages vs. Blogs

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 17:43:00 -0700

Google Sites

Blogger

Webpages vs. Blogs: What's the Difference?

In my CEP 811 class, Adapting Innovative Technologies to Education, I've been asked to describe the differences between traditional websites and blogs.

Websites seem to be places for one-way information. Usually websites provide a more formal feel and information does not change on a regular basis. Most websites are meant to provide information on a certain product, place, or topic. Some are high-tech and use HTML, a code that is not understandable to many of us. Fortunately, major sites like Google have made sites accessible and easy to create/understand, even for the everyday user. Still... these sites are typically meant for one-way information dissemination. Info goes out, rarely anything is returned.

Blogs are a bit less formal than some websites. The information is less formal, and blogs allow for more interaction. Blogs can be educational, entertaining, informative, and typically have a specific focus that appeals to certain readers. Blogs are typically updated on a regular basis with new information and ideas appearing regularly. In contrast to websites, blogs are typically created and managed by a single person or a small group of people with a shared, special interest. These sites are typically meant to create interaction between the author(s) and the readers. Info goes out, responses, comments, and musings come in.

kapplerk416@gmail.com (Miss Katie Kappler) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 17:15:00 -0700

Blogging? Psh, I got this.

This blog will be dedicated to my continuing education at Michigan State University. While I've used blogs before for personal and educational purposes, this blog will be solely focused on my time in CEP 811 in the MAET Program.

In the next few months, I hope I can share my successes, struggles, and information that I learn about using and integrating technology into education!