My MSU Course Blog

Wicked Problem Project

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 21:04:00 -0400

Problem

This school year I am switching from first grade to fourth grade because my principal wants to give me the opportunity to have students utilizing technology more to enhance their learning. I want to use technology to address several needs:

First, I want to increase student motivation for writing. Students often view writing as a difficult task with limited outcomes. Because of this, students at my school tend to have weak writing scores on the MEAP compared to the other subject areas. On the Fall 2011 test, 79% of fourth graders met or exceeded standards in writing compared to 82% in math and 84% in reading. To help motivate students, I want to give them authentic assignments to allow students to practice their writing skills and giving them an audience to read their writing that goes beyond me.

Second, it’s very important to keep parents involved and up-to-date with their child’s progress. Parents play an important role in their child’s education because students’ attitudes about education are often influenced by their parents. Furthermore, if parents are informed about their student’s progress they are more likely to be involved in their child’s education but also more supportive of the teacher’s efforts. However, it can be very challenging to continually send updates to all parents because of the large number of students in my class and the many assignments they complete.

Lastly, I want to expand the variety of assessments that I utilize in order to address different learning styles. Some students really excel at discussions, however, it can be difficult to document these for assessment purposes.

Solution

My solution to these needs is utilizing a learning management system, or LMS. There are many LMSs available including Moodle, EdModo, SchoolRack, and Edu2.0. After reviewing the different systems available, I decided to try EdModo. One reason I chose Edmodo is the interface is designed to resemble Facebook. Students are able to collect badges, make “posts”, and personalize their profile. This makes students more invested in the system and, hence, more responsible for their learning. Due to this fact, students are likely to be more motivated to interact with the system.

Another reason I chose Edmodo is its simplicity of use. This is important because students are new to using an LMS as no other teacher uses one in our school. Choosing a more complicated system, like Moodle, would require an extensive amount of time to train students to use. Furthermore, Edmodo does not require an email address for student accounts, which is a useful component since many elementary students do not have personal email accounts.

LMSs give students the opportunity to engage in writing in a more authentic manner as well as providing them with a greater audience. Students can not only complete traditional essays and stories, but also use writing to interact with their peers in discussions about topics in other content areas. These discussions, along with publishing other types of writing, gives peers and parents the opportunity to read the writing.

Edmodo allows not only teachers and students to interact, but also allows parents to see what assignments are due and how their child is progressing by viewing the gradebook. Teachers can also directly send messages to parents.

What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

Discussions are an important component of my pedagogy. Students engage in discussions about a variety of content including books, social studies topics, science experiments, and even each other’s writing. Edmodo, as my technology, will allow discussions that typically take place in class to occur online (which means students could also be involved in them at home). A benefit of this over face to face discussions is that it will give every student the opportunity to share their ideas. Whereas in class, there may be difficulty getting to everyone’s ideas due to time constraints and some students may not feel comfortable sharing their ideas. Using Edmodo will allow everyone to share their ideas and give students the opportunity to read what others think and have the opportunity to respond. Furthermore, by having discussions online it provides a way to document student’s progress as a means of assessment.

Another important component of my instructional pedagogy is having students engaged in higher order thinking. I accomplish this through a variety of methods including having students apply their knowledge to new situations, compare and contrast ideas, create solutions to problems, debating responses to open-questions, and summarizing information from multiple sources. As a technology, Edmodo can support these activities by giving students a “safe place” to do these things. Students who are shy or feel overwhelmed by the whole-class presence, are more likely to feel at ease debating their ideas online because it is less confrontational. Edmodo will also allow students to complete these types of activities in more creative ways. For example, rather than writing down a summary or solution, they could create a video, Glogster, podcast, or use another tool to share their ideas. Students could then share their products with the class or just the teacher using Edmodo.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)

EdModo can be used to enhance content. The fourth grade social studies curriculum is focused on regions of the United States. Edmodo has networks of teachers that allow classes from around the country to connect with one another. Using Edmodo will give students the opportunity to learn about other regions from first-hand accounts rather than just reading about it in a textbook. Students can share information about their region, and learn from others about the regions they live in. This may be done through pictures, videos, or written accounts. Students will not only be exposed to the physical geographical differences but also how it affects life in that region.

The Global Classroom Project on Edmodo will also allow students to engage in online discussions with others who may have different experiences and perspectives on topics such as books or current events. These differences will help students understand different points of views. This may be particularly important since students at a given school may have similar experiences. This opportunity helps address several key standards from the Common Core State Standards:

SL.4.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
SL.4.2. Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

All of these activities require students to be engaged in writing to express their ideas. Edmodo makes content more accessible by giving students more options for displaying what they have learned. Edmodo will allow not only traditional quizzes, but it is a platform that students can use to submit videos, PowerPoint presentations, or just engage in discussions. The discussions that students engage in through Edmodo allow teachers to better understand their thinking and have evidence of it, which is important for accountability.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.

Discussions are important for a wide range of content. They require students to examine different perspectives on issues. When having a discussion, they may be required to support their beliefs with evidence. This discourse not only expands students' minds and point of views of issues but it also allows teachers to see this change and use it for assessment. Teachers can also take part in the discussions and push students thinking by asking questions.

The higher-level thinking activities are an important component for teaching any content because it requires students to have a deep understanding of the content knowledge. For example, if students were to create a project comparing and contrasting two regions, they must first understand characteristics of those regions in isolation before they are able to define their similarities and differences.

Professional Learning Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 16:23:00 -0400

I started my Professional Technology Plan by reflecting on the one I wrote for CEP810 in April 2012. My vision statement remains the same:

Vision Statement

Technology is ever-changing. Therefore, how it is used in the classroom is constantly evolving. When technology was first used it was limited to presenting static content to the learners through the use overhead projectors. It evolved to respond to the user and make content more dynamic (Nice overview of the Evolution of Classroom Technology is available here). Technology can be used as a tool to engage students, increase learning, differentiate instruction, provide experiences that would otherwise be foreign to students, and more. Technology is an integral part of our students’ lives. They have grown up on it. Therefore, it is important to utilize it to reach our students (DuFour, et al., 2010).

One of the major pitfalls of using technology in the classroom is all-too-often time. Learning a new technology takes time. Some technologies are quicker to learn than others and once learned can be a task more efficient. However, others may take a long time to learn and even when mastered it requires considerable time to use (especially if you’re a perfectionist). If you are having students use the technology, not only do you as a teacher have to learn how to use it, you then need to set time aside to teach students how to use it. With the packed curriculum, this time may be something that is difficult to justify.

Another pitfall that can occur is teacher’s using technology without tying it to the curriculum. Some teachers will decide to do an activity involving technology because they want to excite their students. However, the activity may have little to do with the curriculum. Therefore, it’s important to consider pedagogy and curriculum goals when deciding whether to utilize a technology (SRI International).

Another pitfall that can occur is teachers using technology without tying it to the curriculum. Some teachers will decide to do an activity involving technology because they want to excite their students. However, the activity may have little to do with the curriculum. Therefore, it’s important to consider pedagogy and curriculum goals when deciding whether to utilize a technology (SRI International).

Below you’ll see a timeline that incorporates my goals from the April plan along with new goals that I have developed. For past deadlines, I noted the outcome with some being successful (having students complete digital stories) and some not so successful (getting funding for Donor’s Choose). However, even though I wasn’t successful in getting my Donor’s Choose project for an interactive whiteboard funded, through CEP812, I found a new technology that can be used in much of the same way—Twiddla. Thus, using Twiddla in the classroom has become a new goal.

The timeline below shows my current plan. You can click on the various goals to read more about them including the purpose for that goal and what help may be needed (i.e. PTO funding, parent support, etc.)

Created using TimeToast.

Resources

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Barell, J., Darling-Hammond, L., Dede, C., Fisher, D., . . . Seif, E. (2010). 21st Century skills: Rethinking how students learn (J. Bellanca & R. Brandt, Eds.). Retrieved from http://www.solution-tree.com/products/21st-century-skills.html

Dunn, J. (2011, April 18). The evolution of classroom technology. Edudemic. Retrieved from http://edudemic.com/2011/04/classroom-technology/

SRI International. (n.d.). Overview of Technology and Education Reform. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from U.S. Department of Education website: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/overview.html

Group Leadership Project

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 13:23:00 -0400

We used a variety of tools to deliver the PD tutorial. The slides were made using Google Presentation. The embedded screenshots and the voice over was completed using Camtasia. Each slide was recorded separately on Camtasia and then put together using iMovie. The original plan was to try to record the video straight through as a group. However, we found that it was easier to do each of our slides separately. That way if a mistake were made, it could easily be rerecorded.We chose Camtasia specifically because it was easy to record a portion of our screen as well as our voice and then export it into a format that iMovie could use.

One thing I learned during the development of the final product was the Google Hangouts is a great way to do web conferencing. It was much smoother (less lag) than Vyew and it was super easy to do screenshare and work on the documents together. Furthermore, it (along with Google Docs) can be used to easily share video and audio files. This is much easier than trying to use one of the drop box sites. One of the drawbacks, however, of Google Presentation is that you cannot record audio on individual slides like you can in PowerPoint. If this option would have been available, it would have cut out some of the middle steps involved in recording individual slides with Camtasia.

If we had to develop a similar product again, one thing that I would have done differently is using more of the audio balancing tools on iMovie since some voices are louder than others. However, I did not end up producing the video (Wouter did). Furthermore, I wish we had known up front that Google Presentation did not allow audio recordings. If we had known that, we may have used a different tool for creating the slides (perhaps Prezi), so we could have saved some time.

S3 Mobile Learning Lab

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 17:24:00 -0400

Through the mobile learning lab, I joined the Cell Phones in Education forum. One of the first posts I read was by Dale about Saline schools amending their BYOD policy for cell phones in the classroom. Working in Ann Arbor (right next door to Saline), I was shocked by this. Our district has a firm no cell phones in the classroom policy. Last year, I asked my principal how many of the 4th grade students tend to have cell phones because I wanted to perhaps use them for polls or Twiddla. She said most of them did have them, but I probably wouldn't be allowed to do it since it goes against the school/district's policy on cell phones about using phones during the school day. It's so frustrating to have that sort of red tape that impedes on educational opportunities.

I made a poll using www.polleverywhere.com to ask other posters on the Cell Phones in Education forum whether their district has rules against using cell phones in the classroom even under teacher guidance. The (limited) response was split - half said 'yes' and half said 'no.'

Because of the limitations in using cell phones specifically in the classroom, I looked at some of the other technologies in the mobile learning lab, specifically FlipCams. One of the ideas I really liked was using FlipCams to have students record PSAs. I like the idea of doing something like this for our PBIS kickoff assembly for the year to illustrate the most important rules in our school and perhaps the referral process. I wanted to look at the ideas for USB flash drives but the blog that was linked on the lab was no longer active.

Wicked Problem Project Part D: Findings and Implications

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 10 Aug 2012 20:13:00 -0400

Formative: Did the project get implemented as planned?

At this point in time, my plan was to explore EdModo and become familiar with it’s features. I would practice making sample assignments and quizzes, then experiment taking these through a “student” account. I would also explore the “parent account” so that I can provide guidance to parents who are having difficulty navigating the system. I have done all of these things. I created a quiz out of one of my district’s math checking progress assessments. I decided for EdModo gradebook purposes, it would be more informative for myself and parents to break these quizzes into the individual objectives that they were testing. So rather than having a ten question quiz, there was 3 quizzes each with 3-4 questions. The questions varied from fill in the blank to short answer. I realized that some of the objectives would have to be completed on pencil and paper such as having students create a bar graph from data.

I went into the mock student account and took these quizzes with no issue. A potential problem for students is that they may forget to answer all of the questions before submitting because they have to click on the individual question numbers to navigate. I then returned to my teacher account to view the grade. I could see my responses, however, the final grade did not appear in the gradebook. I found out the reason for this is that I had made my due date on Friday and grades wouldn’t post until the due date had elapsed. I also couldn’t figure out a way to adjust the due date.

The remainder of my implementation plan will occur throughout the school year.

Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice

There were several goals for implementing Edmodo:

Increase student motivation for writing.
Make parents more informed about their child’s academic progress.
Use it as a tool for assessment in order to provide multiple means of student response (not only the quiz function but also the discussion forums and assignments).
Give students the opportunity to engage in discussions with one another and others around the country while also practicing their writing skills in an authentic manner.

One type of evidence that I will collect is student and parent survey data. For students, I will have them complete a paper and pencil survey at the start of the year about their attitude towards writing. After several months of using Edmodo, we will return to this survey (this time using the Edmodo survey feature). I will ask students the following questions on both surveys [Each response will be based on a 5-point scale (1=not at all, 2=a little, 3=some, 4=a lot, 5=a whole lot)]:

I like writing stories.
Writing is boring.
I like to write in my spare time.
I enjoy writing notes and letters to people.
I like writing at school.
It’s fun to write things at home.
I like to share my writing with others.
Writing is fun.
I wish I had more time to write at school.
I think I’m a good writer.
I like to write.

I will use the results of this survey to determine class averages for the answers to each question. I can then compare these averages from pre- to post-surveys. This will help me to determine whether Edmodo was effective at increasing student motivation for writing. In addition to this survey, I will do random collections of data based on off-task student behavior. I will randomly select five minute time periods during writing on paper and using Edmodo and tally the number of incidents of off-task behavior. I will do several samples of each and see if there is a noticeable difference.

For parents, I will have them complete a survey mid-year and at the end of the year. On each survey, I will have them respond to the following questions:

How often do you use Edmodo to monitor your child’s progress in school or communicate with the teacher?

Response choices: once or more a day, a few times a week, once a week, 2-3 times a month, once a month, once a semester, I don’t use it

Compared to previous years, do you feel more informed about your child’s academic progress because of Edmodo?

Response choices: More informed, less informed, about the same (w/optional comments section)

How do you think Edmodo has changed your child’s educational experience?

Response choices: It has enhanced it, It has taken away from it, There has been no change (w/optional comments section)

I will not use Edmodo to collect the parent data since it may skew the results towards parents who like and regularly use Edmodo. Rather, I will do a paper and pencil survey so all parents have equal opportunity to respond.

Additionally, for students, I may give them a short survey about their experience in using Edmodo. The survey questions that will be asked are

I prefer to use Edmodo to complete assignments rather than on paper. (Response choices: Yes, No, the Same)
Edmodo is easy to use. (Response choices: Yes, No)
I use Edmodo at home at least once a week (Response choices: yes, no, other: ____(comment))
I prefer to take quizzes on Edmodo rather than on paper (Response choices: yes, no, the same)
My favorite part of Edmodo is________________.
My least favorite part of Edmodo is _______________.

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

If I were to complete another Wicked Problem Project, I would have explored more of the LMSs available in more detail. However, due to time constraints this was not feasible so I relied on user comparisons and reviews of the different systems. Furthermore, I was not able to gain access to Moodle through my district since it is summer vacation (our ITD Help Desk did not respond). Moodle was the one that seemed to be the most promising and I would have liked to look into it more. The reason I would have explored more LMSs is because I find that EdModo is somewhat limiting in the type of assignments that can be given to students. Assignments cannot be completed directly on the system. Rather, they have to download it, complete it, and reupload it (unless it is set up as a quiz).

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

The greatest lesson was the importance of setting up a timeline with given goals and limiting the scope of the project. The scope of my project was not such a problem, however, some of my group members were over-ambitious and found they couldn’t do nearly as much as they had planned. That being said, my project is still in the early phases of implementation and once i start having students and parents interact with the technology, I may find that I will need to scale back on what I want my students to do. This will also greatly depend on classroom laptop/computer access I will have as well as what technology students have available at home.

I think one of the easiest ways to limit the scope is by making a detailed timeline of what will be accomplished when. This needs to be done before the implementation even begins. I felt like having the timeline made my project much more doable and less overwhelming because I was simply following a template.

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

At this point in time, it is difficult to determine what I would do the same and what I would change, mainly because I have not had students or parents interact with Edmodo yet. However, one thing I might want to try in the future is one of the other LMSs so I can compare it to Edmodo. One of the more limiting features of Edmodo is how assignments can be completed on the system. I would like to explore whether other systems have more options. I think it’s important that the same LMS be used for an entire school year and not switch parents and students mid-way. That being said, implementing a new LMS will have to wait for the 2013-2014 school year.

Data Visualization Lab

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Wed, 8 Aug 2012 19:41:00 -0400

My visual representation is embedded above. You can also access it here. I played with a few of the tools. I didn't do Bubbl.us since I've used it with my students before and I wanted to try different tools. Text-to-Mindmap was too limiting for my needs since I needed to group ideas and show multiple connections between them. I found MindMeister to be a little clunky when it came to making complicated mind maps with lots of parts. I tried Mindomo. It was slightly easier to customize the positioning of ideas. However, when I wanted to spread out certain parts of the concept map layout, it limited how far I could move it. If I moved it slightly too far, it "disengaged" from the content that it was connected to.

So I went a little overboard. I decided to create a visualization of how well the fourth grade Everyday Mathematics curriculum corresponds to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). From doing this, I found out a couple things. I originally used the correspondence guide published by the makers of Everyday Math. By Unit 2, it became clear that they were definitely overreaching on some of the lessons. For example, a lesson on place value, they said fulfilled some of the geometry objectives of "Draw and identify lines and angles, and classify shapes by properties of their lines and angles." I went to look for another guide and found one on a school district's PD wiki.

As I cross-referenced the lessons with the objectives, it was evident that some of the objectives are way under-represented, and thus, will require that I supplement the curriculum there. Some of the under-represented objectives included

4.NF.7. Compare two decimals to hundredths by reasoning about their size. Recognize that comparisons are valid only when the two decimals refer to the same whole. Record the results of comparisons with the symbols >, =, or <, and justify the conclusions, e.g., by using a visual model.
4.MD.5. Recognize angles as geometric shapes that are formed wherever two rays share a common endpoint, and understand concepts of angle measurement:
- An angle is measured with reference to a circle with its center at the common endpoint of the rays, by considering the fraction of the circular arc between the points where the two rays intersect the circle. An angle that turns through 1/360 of a circle is called a “one-degree angle,” and can be used to measure angles.
- An angle that turns through n one-degree angles is said to have an angle measure of n degrees.
4.G.3. Recognize a line of symmetry for a two-dimensional figure as a line across the figure such that the figure can be folded along the line into matching parts. Identify line-symmetric figures and draw lines of symmetry.

Wicked Problem Project Part C: Implementation

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 4 Aug 2012 23:21:00 -0400

Alternative Link

Group Leadership Project Part B: Storyboard and Script

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 4 Aug 2012 13:53:00 -0400

The storyboard that we created is embedded below. You can also access it here.

This was created using Google Presentation. Using the notes feature (shown below each slide), we specified the narration (script), who would read the narration on that slide, what image is bringing presented (if it is a still shot of a video), tone of the speaker, transitions, and who authored that slide.

We will be using Camtasia to record the session. We will use Google+ Hangouts to meet (so that Camtasia will capture the sound portion of it). We chose Google+ Hangouts over Vyew since there seemed to be a lag in audio for many people while using Vyew. Google+ is also already connected with Google Docs so there shouldn't be an issue with lag in images. Then iMovie will be used to refine it (add the background music and transitions into/out of the video).

Wicked Problem Project Part B - Application of TPACK

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 19:23:00 -0400

PART B: Application of TPACK: Basic description of each of these areas and important characteristics of these areas as related to this project.

What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

An important part of my teaching is discussions. Students engage in discussions about a variety of content including books, social studies topics, science experiments, and even each other’s writing. Edmodo will allow discussions that typically take place in class to occur online (which means students could also be involved in them at home). A potential benefit of this over face to face discussions is that it will give every student the opportunity to share their ideas. Whereas in class, there may be difficulty getting to everyone’s ideas due to time constraints and some students may not feel comfortable sharing their ideas. Using Edmodo will allow everyone to share their ideas and give students the opportunity to read what others think (or even see if students make a video) and have the opportunity to respond.

Another method that is particularly important is having students engaged in higher order thinking. This is accomplished through a variety of methods including (but not limited to) having students apply their knowledge to new situations, compare and contrast ideas, create solutions to problems, debating responses to open-questions, or summarizing information from multiple sources. Edmodo can support these activities by giving students a “safe place” to do these things. Going back to the discussions described in the previous paragraph, students who are shy or feel overwhelmed by the whole-class presence, are more likely to feel at ease debating their ideas online because it is less confrontational. Edmodo will also allow students to complete these types of activities in more creative ways. For example, rather than writing down a summary or solution, they could create a video, Glogster, podcast, or use another tool to share their ideas. Students could then share their products with the class or just the teacher using Edmodo.

What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)

The fourth grade social studies curriculum is focused on regions of the United States. Using Edmodo will give students the opportunity to learn about other regions from first-hand accounts rather than just reading about it in a textbook. This will be accomplished by connecting with other fourth grade students around the country and sharing information about their region, this may be done through pictures, videos, or written accounts. Students will not only be exposed to the physical geographical differences but also how it affects life in that region. I will be able to connect with teachers from other regions through the professional learning group “Fourth Grade Teachers” of which I am a member.

The connection with these classes as well as through the Global Classroom Project will also allow students to engage in discussions with others who may have different experiences and perspectives on topics such as books or current events. These differences will help students understand different points of views. This may be particularly important since students at a given school may have similar experiences. This opportunity helps address several key standards from the Common Core State Standards:

SL.4.1. Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 4 topics and texts, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.
SL.4.2. Paraphrase portions of a text read aloud or information presented in diverse media and formats, including visually, quantitatively, and orally.

Furthermore, using Edmodo will help make writing more purposeful for students. Many students do not enjoy writing in school partially because they feel it is not useful. Edmodo will make writing more purposeful by giving students an audience as well as letting them read what others have to say. Students will learn that writing can be used to convey experiences, share opinions, and have interactive discourse about different issues.

Another way Edmodo makes content more accessible is by giving students more options for displaying what they have learned. Edmodo will allow not only traditional quizzes, but it is a platform that students can use to submit videos, PowerPoint presentations, or just engage in discussions. The discussions that students engage in through Edmodo allow teachers to better understand their thinking and have evidence of it, which is important for accountability.

What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.

The use of discussions allows students to learn about a wide variety of content including geography, reading, and writing (as described above). Discussions are particularly useful because they require students to examine different perspectives on issues. Students are able to examine these opinions in a safe environment because they don’t have to be afraid of confrontation. When having a discussion, they may be required to support their beliefs with evidence. This discourse not only expands students minds and point of views of issues but it also allows teachers to see this change. Teachers can also take part in the discussions and push students thinking by asking questions.

The higher-level thinking activities described above are an important component for teaching any content because it requires students to have a deep understanding of the content knowledge. For example, if students were to create a project comparing and contrasting two regions, they must first understand characteristics of those regions in isolation before they are able to define their similarities and differences.

PART A - Brainstorm Session

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 13:08:00 -0400

For the Brainstorm session of the Group Leadership Project, all members of the group met at 4pm on Thursday, July 26th using Vyew. One member of the group recorded the session using Camtasia. The recording is located here. The advantages of using Vyew was its easy access. Only the "host" had to have an account (although I think everyone made one). Those who did not sign in with an account appeared as a "guest". The ability to organize information on different pages was an advantage and a disadvantage. The advantage being that we didn't have to crowd any one page. The disadvantage was that we had to make sure everyone was on the same page (we realized halfway through the session that next to our names indicated the page that we were on).

We actually spent little time on the workspace of Vyew. We used it more to communicate (webcam and microphone) and a place to share links to different ideas for the technologies. The biggest issue was one of the members had trouble turning on his webcam and microphone. We were not sure if he could hear us or knew what was going on because he didn't communicate with us via the chat. He was able to fix this problem after about 20 minutes by signing out and signing back in.

We explored many different technologies. The original idea was to use TitanPad. We like the syncronous collaboration available to users but found it limiting since it only allowed text. After looking into a few other tools, we came across Twiddla. We all really liked Twiddla because it had the same capabilities as TitanPad as well as a interactive whiteboard space and the ability to "draw" on shared documents.

For our project, we chose to do Twiddla. We will create a Screencast of our presentation to share with the class. We each chose a different feature that we will explore and contribute towards the Storyboard. We are creating our Storyboard using Google Docs and agreed to have it completed by Thursday at 4:30pm. Below are the parts we agreed to include:

1) What is Twiddla? -everyone
2) Features - advantages
     Document / Etherpad - Wouter
     Image - John
     Web page- Ben
     White board - Allison
3) How to use in the classroom? - Everyone

Web-Conferencing

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 22 Jul 2012 19:33:00 -0400

The web-conference was very difficult to coordinate. One member of my group was unavailable all weekend because he had gone out of town for his son’s hockey game and the other member is in Belgium. In order to meet the (original) deadline, Wouter and I met at 4pm EST on Sunday. We used Vyew since it was free and seemed to have more features than the other free services.

The conference itself was fine. We were able to use the chat function, Webcam, and microphones to communicate. We played around with the poll/quiz function, desktop sharing, screenshots, and downloading the recording. The main pitfalls were technical issues. One, my microphone seemed to have a really long lag. I would say something and it would take 5-10 seconds before it could be heard. The other issue was the screenshot and desktop sharing functions. Although, they were functional, they slowed down both of our computers a lot. It took awhile for both to even start. In terms of what we would have done differently (or for our next web conference), it would probably be helpful to organize the information more on the screen. Putting different features on different “pages” could do this. The only drawback to this is it would be important that everyone be on the same page.

For elementary classroom use, we had difficulty thinking of ways it would be appropriate to use. Video conferencing (like with Skype) has been useful because it has allowed classes to go on virtual field trips, have pen pals that go beyond written letters, and have presentations from experts that may otherwise be unavailable. For elementary school though, there are less possibilities for web-conferencing that relies on a shared workspace. One thing that could work is if students had pen pals or buddies, they could share their writing via a web-conference. The students could help each other peer-revise/edit their writing through this conference.

Wicked Problem Project: Part A

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 20 Jul 2012 20:32:00 -0400

PART A: The Wicked Problem - A Need or an Opportunity

What is the important educational need that you are seeking to address? This element is fundamental in this project. Since we have limited time, energy, and resources, cool technology without a clear sense of why it matters or what we gain by it is of little value in the educational setting.

How you plan to address this educational issue with technology? You need to make a clear and convincing case that your proposed solution will make a real impact on the issue you identify, and that your proposed approach is a reasonable approach given its costs and possible alternatives.

This school year, I am being moved from first grade to fourth grade. My principal’s impetus for this was that she loved the technology that I was using with the first graders but thought it would be more beneficial for the fourth graders to be exposed to this technology because they are more likely to retain it (since the second and third grade teachers in my school don’t use much technology). This switch to an upper grade seems like a great opportunity to try out new technologies. One technology that I am particularly interested in are Learning Managing Systems (LMSs). I think integrated an LMS into my F2F (face to face) teaching will help achieve several goals including better parent-teacher communication and student motivation, specifically for writing.

First, LMSs can help keep parents connected with students’ school work. Working with parents is an integral part of teaching. Parents play an important role in their child’s education because students’ attitudes about education are often influenced by their parents. Furthermore, if parents are informed about their student’s progress they are more likely to be involved in their child’s education but also more supportive of the teacher’s efforts (Jones & Jones, 2010, p.136-137). I keep parents informed about class happenings through weekly newsletters and our classroom website (which includes a calendar, the newsletters, photos, and student work). However, I find it’s difficult to communicate with individual parents on a regular basis about their child’s academic progress because of the large number of students I have and the many assignments they do every week. I send home student assignments, however, many parents don’t know how to look at these assignments to see their students’ progress towards being secure in objectives. An LMS would allow parents to track their students’ progress as it relates to the different learning objectives.

Second, students at my school tend to have weak writing scores on the Michigan Educational Assessment Program (MEAP) test compared to other subject areas. On the Fall 2011 test, 79% of fourth graders met or exceeded standards in writing compared to 82% in math and 84% in reading. One potential cause for this is that students are not motivated to write. They often view writing as a difficult task with limited outcomes. However, if students have the opportunity for their writing to be read by parents and their peers, they may be more enthusiastic about it because they have a purpose (the audience). One way to get their exposed to a larger audience is publishing it through an LMS via a blog, discussion forum, or “post” (like a timeline/wall note on Facebook).

There are many LMSs available including Edmodo, Moodle, SchoolRack, and Edu2.0. The technology that I am choosing to use is Edmodo. There are several reasons for that. First, the interface of Edmodo is designed to resemble Facebook. Students are able to collect badges, make “posts”, and personalize their profile. This makes students more invested in the system and, hence, more responsible for their learning. Due to this fact, students are likely to be more motivated to interact with the system.

Another reason I chose Edmodo is its simplicity of use. This is important because students are new to using an LMS (no other teacher uses one in our school), and choosing a more complicated system (like Moodle) would require an extensive amount of time to train students to use. Edmodo does not require an email address for student accounts, which is a useful component since many elementary students do not have personal email accounts.

3. Logistics of solution: For example...What is the scope? (e.g., when and where will tool be used and for how long? Who all will use it?)

This is a tool I would like to use throughout the 2012-2013 school year. I want to see students using it to interact with one another and completing assignments. I would like to use it to communicate with my students and keep track of their academic progress. Furthermore, I would like parents to be using the site as well so that they are informed about upcoming assignment due dates and their student’s progress in school. In school, I would ideally like to have students using Edmodo at least two or three times a week. However, this will be constrained by when laptop carts or the computer lab is available. I would like to have students use it at home as well, however, this will depend on student’s access to computers and internet. I will determine this access at Curriculum Night with a parent survey. The assignments I would like to have students complete are book discussions, publishing writing, interacting with peers from around the country/world, polls, reading responses, quizzes, and more.

Relevant research and resources (from the Internet and elsewhere) including reports on the closest effort you can find to what you are planning to do as well as ideas and materials you may be able to build upon in your own effort. Your description should include:

The results of your search (What resources may help guide your project? What resources may help in the implementation of your project?)
What you learned from performing this search. For example, which search engines did you use? What strategies did you use? What helped or hindered your search? How would you search again next time?

EdModo: A Guide To Explain it All by Patrick Cauley (itbabble.com) - this document is a resource to help teachers begin to use EdModo. It discusses how-to set up a class, make assignments/quizzes, student profiles, and more. This website was recommended by a user on a blog discussing the pros and cons of Edmodo versus Moodle.

Dobler, E. (2012). Flattening classroom walls: Edmodo takes teaching and learning across the globe. Reading Today, 29(4), 12-13.
This article is a fourth grade teacher who uses Edmodo to help her students connect with others around the world. It describes some of the more advanced ways Edmodo can be used such as joining the project the Global Read Aloud. In this project, classes around the world read the same book and then post their responses to it using a blog on Edmodo. This, along with other ideas presented in the article, are great ways to enhance the Edmodo experience beyond quizzes and assignments. This article I found using the MSU library’s Proquest article search.
20 Ways to Use Edmodo: This SlideShare has some of the ideas suggested on other sites for using Edmodo such as book clubs and for writing. However, it also has some unique ideas such as role-playing, keeping in touch with students who may be out sick, and project-based learning.
Edmodo - Create a Parent Account and Edmodo - Parent Features: These videos are short tutorials for parents on how to sign up for Edmodo and what features will be available to them. These videos are short and provides a simple background for the website. I searched on YouTube for videos that could be given to parents to help them with this process. Many of the videos were specific to certain classrooms, which I was worried would confuse some of my parents, specifically parents who are English Language Learners.
Edmodo on Eventbrite: This website is sponsored by Edmodo. It is a schedule for upcoming webinars of how to use Edmodo and allows users to sign up for them for free. They have hosted a variety of sessions from introductory ones to more advanced features as well as spotlights on how specific places use Edmodo.
Digital Citizenship and Edmodo: This has a digital citizenship poster that is meant to be used in the classroom to help students understand proper web etiquette. This will be an important component to include when introducing Edmodo to students. The poster is available in 6 different languages (links to those are found farther down in the comments section).
Global Classroom Project - This is a Wiki for information about the Global Classroom Project for 2012 - 2013. This is the project described in the Dobler article about connecting students around the world in discussions about various topics. This is something I would like to join to expand the audience that gets to read my students’ writing and to expand their thinking on various topics by hearing from a variety of students from different backgrounds.

A plan for the portion you will implement during this course, in the fall, and the portion you will implement after this course completes.

July-August 2011 - Explore EdModo and become familiar with it’s features. Practice making sample assignments and quizzes, then experiment taking these through a “student” account. Explore the “parent account” so that I can provide guidance to parents who are having trouble navigating the system.

September 2011
Join the Global Classroom Project (expected to open in September)

First week of school: Take students to the computer lab or get a laptop cart so students can sign up for an account and begin to personalize their profile. Discuss web etiquette using Digital Citizenship resources from Edmodo. Students can get to know one another and practice using some of the features of Edmodo by viewing each other’s profiles and making posts.

Second week of school: introduce parents to EdModo at Curriculum Night. Do a brief introduction of how it will be used and how parents can use it at home. Give parents information about making an account and accessing their students’ information. Also, give parents a brief home technology survey to complete to determine student’s access to computers and internet at home. This will help guide whether EdModo content will be used at home in addition to at school. On the classroom website, I will also post the Edmodo video tutorials for parents.

Have students use iMovie to record a short video introducing themselves to the class. Have them upload it to the class page on Edmodo. Have students reply to a certain number of classmates.

Ongoing throughout the school year:

Make book talk groups so students can share their reactions to stories. Students can be grouped by reading level or interest.
Make a discussion thread and have students share book reviews.
Create assignments and quizzes on Edmodo.
Use Edmodo to track student assignments and quizzes so that parents are in tune with how their child is progressing.
Have students share their writing on Edmodo and respond to one another. This could also be used to share digital stories.
Use the community forums to enhance my PLN and gather teaching ideas/resources.
Have students routinely participate in the Global Classroom project.

How would you know you were successful?

One way that I know Edmodo has been successful is based on student and parent reactions. For parents, I will do a mid-year and final year survey to get their perceptions on it including how often they use it, whether they feel more informed about their child’s progress (compared to previous years), and how they perceive it has enhanced or detracted from their child’s education. For students, I can easily make polls using Edmodo and have students vote on them to get their reactions.

For determining whether it has increased student motivation for writing, I will monitor student engagement during writing using Edmodo versus traditional pencil and paper writing. The data to support this would be to track frequency of off-task student behavior for a set amount of time during each activity over several days and comparing the means.

Reference:

Jones, V., & Jones, L. (2010). Comprehensive classroom management: Creating communities of support and solving problems (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merill.

Personal Introduction and Ed Tech Interests

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 7 Jul 2012 19:27:00 -0400

Personal Learning Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 18:43:00 -0400

From this course, I learned that the use of technology is critical not just to help engage students but also to help build their 21^st century skills. This course was the first time I was introduced to the idea of 21^st century skills and how they have standards just like the traditional academic subjects.

At the outset of this course, one of my main goals was to learn about how to use PodCasts, VoiceThreads, and RSS feed aggregators. I most certainly became aware of using VoiceThreads through my Special Interest Group (SIG) project. My “specialty” for the SIG was using VoiceThread for digital storytelling. Through this project, I learned the steps of creating a VoiceThread, how they can be utilized in the elementary classroom, and the things to keep in mind when planning a lesson using VoiceThread. One of my goals was to get students to use technology to “show what they know.” I am still working on this. My plan is for students to use VoiceThread to publish their final personal narrative of the school year. To get my students excited about this idea, I took some of their writing and created a Digital Story of it and posted it on the class website for them to see and share with their families. This got my students very intrigued by the idea of digital storytelling.

The SIG project was probably one of the most useful assignments in the class because I found resources for a topic I am interested in and can use with my students. Furthermore, it allowed me to use the Internet to explore a technology that is very flexible and can be applied to a multitude of curriculum areas. It also seems like an authentic form of assessment because the students have the ability to share their ideas with a wider audience, which is what many people do through blogs and YouTube. Therefore, I believe digital storytelling exemplifies good teaching with technology.

I also learned about how to use RSS feed aggregators through the RSS feed assignment. I was skeptical about using these at first because all the text was very overwhelming. However, when I discovered it could be displayed as images from the websites, the tool became more powerful. I can see this being useful for group projects in the older grades, much like how we used it for our SIG project.

This course made me think in more depth about how I can get my young students using technology. My long-term goal continues to be to find more ways to have my students use technology.

Personal Technology Plan

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 19:01:00 -0400

Also available at Personal Technology Plan Google Document

Personal Technology Plan

Allison Scovone

April 2012

Vision Statement
Technology is ever-changing. Therefore, how it is used in the classroom is constantly evolving. When technology was first used it was limited to presenting static content to the learners through the use overhead projectors. It evolved to respond to the user and make content more dynamic (Nice overview of the Evolution of Classroom Technology is available here). Technology can be used as a tool to engage students, increase learning, differentiate instruction, provide experiences that would otherwise be foreign to students, and more. Technology is an integral part of our students’ lives. They have grown up on it. Therefore, it is important to utilize it to reach our students (DuFour, et al., 2010).

One of the major pitfalls of using technology in the classroom is all-too-often time. Learning a new technology takes time. Some technologies are quicker to learn than others and once learned can be a task more efficient. However, others may take a long time to learn and even when mastered it requires considerable time to use (especially if you’re a perfectionist). If you are having students use the technology, not only do you as a teacher have to learn how to use it, you then need to set time aside to teach students how to use it. With the packed curriculum, this time may be something that is difficult to justify.

Another pitfall that can occur is teacher’s using technology without tying it to the curriculum. Some teachers will decide to do an activity involving technology because they want to excite their students. However, the activity may have little to do with the curriculum. Therefore, it’s important to consider pedagogy and curriculum goals when deciding whether to utilize a technology (SRI International).

Current Use of Technology
I use technology as a tool to convey content to students, differentiate instruction, and gather ideas for my own teaching practice. In my classroom, I utilize a computer-connected projector and document camera. I use the projector for so many things. Some examples include

PowerPoint review games: for each unit in math, I create a brief PowerPoint review game that is set up like Jeopardy. Students use Eggspert to “click in” and respond to the question. The students love doing this.
Project student work for others to see as an example or while students are sharing their work.
Project stories that I’m reading aloud, particularly for author study, so that students can actually see the words that we are discussing (for example, onomatopoeias, dialogue, and ellipses).
Introduce authors for author study using iVideo projects.
Project math workbook pages that we are working on together to help students better track what we are doing on the board in their own books.
Show videos from United Streaming to illustrate ideas.
Model how to navigate websites or modules that students may use independently (see below)
Use SplashTop with my phone to control my computer from across the room.

I also utilize technology to communicate with parents:

I have a classroom website that includes links to parent resources, class newsletters, class pictures, and student work samples.
Parents receive weekly digital newsletters updating them about what we will be doing in class that week.
Email groups of parents to stay in contact and help organize events.
SignUpGenius.com to keep track of daily snack sign-up and field trip volunteers or classroom donations.
Google Calendar to keep track of class events and birthdays.

I have students utilize our classroom computers to interact with content as well:

Students have engaged in StAIRs (Stand-Alone Instructional Resources) to review material that they struggled with and took a quiz while going through it to monitor their understanding.
Using websites like StorylineOnline, StoryPop, Speakaboos, Read-to-Me and more for listen-to-reading. The advantage of these sites over traditional tape or CD recorded stories is that they highlight words as they are being read to help with 1:1 correspondence and vocabulary.

Technology is also a huge component in helping me gather teaching ideas. I utilize Pinterest to gather and keep track of my ideas as well as using Blogger to keep track of my favorite teacher blogs.

Technology Plan
The most important thing for me in using technology in the future is having students being the ones to use it to create things and collaborate. I also want to apply for more funding opportunities to enhance the technology available in my classroom.

Time Frame	Technology Goal	Rationale and Necessary Skills
May 2012 – May 2014	Continue taking part in the Ann Arbor Apple Technology Integration Series to learn about new ways to incorporate technology in the classroom.	I am completing my 1st year in the program. The program is sponsored by Ann Arbor Public Schools and is run by a representative from Apple. This program is currently a 3 year program (although it may be extended if interest remains).
May 2012	Students will create a digital story using a personal narrative that they have authored. Students will create illustrations using KidPix (which they have been learning how to use in Media Center) and a digital story program.	Determine what technology will be the easiest for students (1st graders) to utilize for creating their stories. Based on educator reviews, it seems that VoiceThread may the way to go. Before having students use it, I want to play around with it first to get to know how to use it. Then I will model it for students AND create a ScreenCast of the steps which students can refer to as they go through the process.
August 2012	Complete Donor’s Choose project to get an interactive whiteboard in my classroom.	The project was posted in March. It expires in August. Currently, the project is 1/3 of the way funded. To reach the goal, I have enlisted parent’s help to get donations and provide them with match codes or free gift certificate opportunities. If necessary, I will also enlist the help of local businesses who are interested in investing in education and/or technology.
September 2012	Having students collaborate with one another using a Learning Management System with an integrated discussion forum or blog.	I would like to start this at the start of the new school year. I am going to be teaching a new grade level (4th) and I’m thinking this is something they can handle. Over the summer, I will research and try out different LMSs including Moodle, EdModo, Chalksite, Ecto, SchoolRack, and Edu2.0. I will look for ease of use from both the instructor and student point of views by making sample classes. I will also consider time to learn the technology. After determining the software, I will outline a plan for use of it in my classroom (how often students will be expected to use it, in what capacity, etc.) This will partially depend on the tools available on the site as well as my students. The next step will be to set-up my actual class and teach students how to use it by scaffolding them.
December 2012	Complete my Master’s in Teaching and Curriculum with a concentration in Educational Technology.	The purpose of this is to continue learning about ways technology can be used in the classroom, new technologies available, as well as how to integrate it within the curriculum.
September 2012 – Continuing	Have students participate in WebQuests, additional StAIRS, blogs, and creating digital stories	The purpose of this is to build students 21st-century skills. Most teachers in my building do not have the students utilizing technology outside of word processing, and possibly, Keynote presentations. Therefore, I want my students to start to see technology as a tool for collaboration and problem solving.
May 2012	Have class participate in Two-Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE) program for Where in Michigan?	The purpose of this program is to connect students across Michigan via videoconferencing who are learning about Michigan geography (a fourth grade Social Studies objective). According to the website, “Prior to the video conference each classroom will create a presentation with clues about their city or town. The other classrooms, using maps, the Internet, textbooks, and other resources, will try to discover the location of each participating classroom.” This is an annual program that takes place in May. Therefore, I will register for it early in the year and arrange to have videoconferencing equipment in my classroom for the dates needed (this can be arranged via our district technology department, the equipment has to be transported from one of the middle schools to our building).

Resources

DuFour, R., DuFour, R., Barell, J., Darling-Hammond, L., Dede, C., Fisher, D., . . . Seif, E. (2010). 21st Century skills: Rethinking how students learn (J. Bellanca & R. Brandt, Eds.). Retrieved from http://www.solution-tree.com/products/21st-century-skills.html

Dunn, J. (2011, April 18). The evolution of classroom technology. Edudemic. Retrieved from http://edudemic.com/2011/04/classroom-technology/

Mooney, C. (2009, December 7). Ease of Use-Photostory vs.Voice Thread [Online forum message]. Retrieved from http://www.classroom20.com/forum/topics/ease-of-usephotostory-vsvoice?xg_source=activity

SRI International. (n.d.). Overview of Technology and Education Reform. Retrieved April 20, 2011, from U.S. Department of Education website: http://www2.ed.gov/pubs/EdReformStudies/EdTech/overview.html

Two Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE) : Where in Michigan? [Videoconference Program Description]. (2010, September 30). Retrieved April 23, 2012, from Two Way Interactive Connections in Education (TWICE) website: http://www.vccontentproviders.org/viewprogram.php?pid=958

Learning Styles

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:29:00 -0400

I have always thought of myself as visual rather than auditory or kinesthetic. I have a difficult time listening to someone and trying to picture what they are saying. However, if I see an image, ideas make much more sense. I also am able to visualize ideas that are written. Strategies that I found effective were outlining lectures (thank you to my 7th grade social studies teacher for showing us the proper way to outline) and making flowcharts (especially for my science classes).

My multiple intelligence profile was

Linguistic	26
Mathematics	33
Visual/Spatial	23
Body/Kinesthetic	28
Naturalistic	29
Music	11
Interpersonal	24
Intrapersonal	23

I was not surprised by most of it. I have NEVER been musically inclined. I was surprised by how high the body/kinesthetic was. I am not at all coordinated and don't do well in sports. However, I do like to do experiments and hands-on work which may have helped offset these factors. I was also surprised the visual was not higher.

Strategies that have been less effective for me are straight lecturing. I tend to tune out very quickly unless I'm taking notes. However, even then I find it difficult to take notes if some sort of visual is not available (such as a PowerPoint slide of what is being discussed).

Since you can't incorporate all learning styles all the time, I think it's important to consider your students. Most likely they will be visual learners since the majority of the population is. Therefore, teachers need to cater to them. It is also fairly easy to combine visual and auditory teaching methods. Teachers should also "mix-in" kinesthetic approaches, particularly for abstract concepts that they foresee their students struggling with.

Creative Commons

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 19:54:00 -0400

The picture I found using the Creative Commons search bar on FireFox was


Image: clouds storm, Photographer: James Sullivan

This image came from a site called Public Domain Image. On this site, all of the images are copyright-free, no rights reserved, royalty free. The images can be used both privately and commercially without permission. The images can be used any way.

This picture could be used in my classroom when teaching about clouds. I could incorporate it into a PowerPoint quiz or SmartBoard presentation to quiz students on what type of cloud it is. More broadly, I use images to help illustrate concepts. This is especially important for my ESL students since they may know the idea but not the language that goes with it.

A personal photo that I used was

From Kensington

This is from a field trip that we took to a park and students got to feed chickadees. I regularly take pictures and upload them to my class website so parents can know what is happening in our room. Only students who have written permission to be on the website are included (you'll see in some pictures, some students faces are blurred out). The creative commons attribution for this is . This means that people may use this photo for non-commercial uses as long as they credit me and do not alter it.

PC Maintenance and Security Lab

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 1 Apr 2012 20:04:00 -0400

I found it difficult to find relevant tutorials because most of them are for using PCs. Since I'm on a Mac, these are not applicable. The three tutorials that I chose were

Explaining What Firewalls Do and Don't Do
Learning About ActiveX controls - I chose this because ActiveX is often a pop-up warning I get from my browser when I'm at certain sites and never really understood what it was. I knew it had something to do with interactive features of websites but was surprised to find that it could also be a pathway for Trojans or other Malware to be installed.
Exploring the Settings of FireFox - I learned about Master Password. In theory, I like this idea. However, in practice not so much. The whole idea of having my passwords saved is to make it so I don't have to type anything in. With the master password, anytime you start a new session and utilize a saved password, you have to enter in your master. However, if I were lending my computer out to someone, I would probably put this in place beforehand so they can't access my personal information. Therefore, I may share this information with others.

RSS Readers

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 22:32:00 -0400

I created my RSS page using NetVibes. I was skeptical of it's usefulness at first with just having a list of articles. I knew that it would be something that I probably wouldn't check or utilize. However, when I found that I could make it more visual with previews of the posts and articles, I found that this was a tool that I could use. I could quickly scroll through the information and the ones that might be of interest to me were easily identifiable and I could focus my attention on those articles/posts. In addition to the sites that were to be added to the page through the RSS lab, I added several websites and blogs. These are sites where I have found useful resources in the past and have posted on my Pinterest Page. That being said, I found that "following" the blogs was a quicker way to create a continually updated list of new posts. When I go to my Blogger homepage, it lists these blogs under "My Reading List" and has any new posts listed there along with the pictures and the first few lines of the post.

I checked my page several times over the course of the past few weeks. I took screen captures of three of the days showing what it looked like:

RSS Reader Screen Dump from 3-17-12

RSS Reader Screen Dump from 3-19-12

RSS Reader Screen Dump from 3-26-12

The blogs created by teachers are updated less frequently than the news sites, which is to be expected since it is their hobby rather than their job (unlike NPR, Education Week, etc.). However, it was the blogs that I found the most useful. The teachers provide resources that can be used in my classroom and post difficulties they are having in their classrooms and how they are approaching them. One difficulty a teacher discussed on What the Teacher Wants was her students' struggling with fluency. I found the same issue with my students. Therefore, I wrote a comment explaining how I'm trying to approach this:

From this activity, I have found that RSS pages might be useful in staying up-to-date on blogs that I like to follow without having to check each one individually for updates. I think this used in conjunction with Pinterest to pin my favorite posts could be a useful way to continue to build my library of teaching tools and ideas.

Personal Learning Network Visualization

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 20:56:00 -0400

Here is my PLN Visualization (created with Glogster).

My PLN represents different connections I've made with colleagues, learn about new ideas and best practices, and how I get my ideas in teaching. One of my (new) favorites is Pinterest. I've gotten great ideas to use in my classroom for organization, lessons, and more. People "repin" one of my pins and when I look at their boards, I can find ideas to pin on my boards. It can become quite an infinite process.

Ann Arbor Public Schools (AAPS) and The Princeton Review (TPR) are my two workplaces. Through TPR, I've helped author sections of manuals, learned about standardized tests (and how to "beat" the system) and college admissions, and using a semi-Socratic method for teaching students and training new teachers.

Google is a huge resource utilized by myself and my colleagues to stay connected. Our district has a connection with Google and so they host all of our email, some webpages, and we utilize it for collaboration. My colleagues and I use Google Docs to communicate information (we have documents for tracking curriculum materials, recommendations for substitute teachers, etc.). The administration will often use Google Forms to get feedback from teachers.

YouTube, Education World, Edutopia, and Blogger are another way to learn from other teachers and academic professionals. Blogger is deeply connected to my Pinterest boards as many of the pins are from blogs and when I find a "goody" on a blog, I'll delve deeper into it to find more resources.

Overall, I have found that technology has allowed me to gather great ideas for my classroom and help solve problems. My PLN is constantly evolving. I'm relatively new to Pinterest (probably been a member for about a month) and I've found it as an extremely useful tool especially for visual people such as myself. I foresee new technologies constantly being integrated into my PLN to help me connect with other teachers all around the world.

Social Networking

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 25 Mar 2012 21:30:00 -0400

Social networking has been a integral part of my personal life since I was admitted to Undergrad studies at MSU. Back then, you had to have a EDU email address to join, so as soon as you were admitted and registered with a school, you would sign up for Facebook. Facebook has been an important way to stay connected with friends as we have gone our separate ways- first to college and then with our professional lives.

As for using Social Networking professionally, it is still something new to me. I've been apart of Linked In for years but only check it every couple of months mainly because there seems to be limited access to colleagues without having a premium account and is utilized as little more than a resume site. Facebook has morphed into a way to share ideas with colleagues. I've had friends ask me about things I'm doing in my class or how I handled a situation and I've gotten great ideas for the classroom from their postings as well.

For my first graders, social networking has not really become part of their lives. Many of their parents give them limited / no access to the internet because of their age. However, as students reach the upper elementary level, I've noticed many of them are getting involved in social networking, or more so, with online collaboration via blogs (mainly as part of their schoolwork).

Class Calendar

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 21:15:00 -0400

This is my ACTUAL class calendar, that I have embedded on my class website.

Blogs vs. Traditional Websites

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:39:00 -0500

Blogs are a type of website that makes interaction between users and creators easier. On blogs, users are able to easily leave comments to posts made by the author(s) and to interact with other users via these comments. Blogs also allow easy updating by the author (especially those who are inexperienced with HTML). Blogs are pre-organized by the web host based on posts. These posts can be organized by topic (labels) and/or date. Whereas, websites have to be organized by the creator into individual pages that are linked to one another. It is also more difficult to reflect recent updates on websites than on blogs because of this organization and the lack of a RSS feed (typically).

CEP811 Final Reflection

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Sun, 4 Mar 2012 18:11:00 -0500

Through CEP811 I was introduced to some new technologies that I think will help me meet my goal of having my students interact with technology. One technology that I found especially useful is StAIR projects. I think these could be helpful for my students who are struggling with a topic and need extra review of it. I'm excited to use the one I designed for class with my students. The problem I have is trying to figure out how I want students to do it. Do I want them to do it in our classroom on one of the three computers? If so, then what will the other students be doing? This would make sense in a way because not all of my students need to review the information taught in the StAIR because they have already showed competency with it.

On the other hand, I could take the class to the computer lab and have them do it there. The difficulty with this would be having the students navigate to it on their computers (not a big deal for older students but could be a huge undertaking for first graders having to deal with multi-step directions even if it is being modeled on a projector). I also found that a lot of the StAIR projects that have been created by others to be sub-par and I would not want to use them with my students. Therefore, I would either have to spend a lot of time adapting them or creating my own for a topic.

The same goes with WebQuests. I think WebQuests could be a useful way for students to learn or review material and practice what they've learned. However, a lot of the ones available have broken links or are not the easiest to navigate.

Before this class, I was using technology to give my students new information. My goal was to get the students to use the technology. This goal I still have in place. My students have started using XTra math a few times a week to practice their math facts whenever they finish assignments early and at home. I have also been looking into having the students publish their writing using an online book building site like BookBuilder. However, as you can see from above, there are a lot of difficulties when it comes to first graders using the technology themselves. One of the biggest conflicts I have is time. For first graders using technology takes a lot of time because they have to be taught how to use it and if it involves typing then that takes even longer.

A new goal I have in place is having my students do more personal goal-setting. Through the UDL checklist, I realized the benefit it would have in motivating my students to learn.

Online Learning Experiences with 1st Graders

noreply@blogger.com (Allison) — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 22:24:00 -0500

It seems like many of the online learning experiences would be quite difficult to use with first graders particularly because of their limited technology skills and reading abilities. That being said, there are a few opportunities that I think would be useful for first graders. One that was used in a colleague’s classroom last year was an “interactive discussion with an expert”. One of her students had a connection to a head park ranger in California. They were able to use Skype and video-conferencing software to talk with him and learn about what he does, the animals and plants that he deals with, etc. This conference took a LOT for her to plan (3+ months) because our building does not have the video conferencing equipment and it had to be “borrowed” from another building. Furthermore, they had to coordinate schedules and deal with the time zone difference. However, the students were excited about this unique experience. If I had the opportunity to set up a similar experience for my students, I would do it (however, it would need to be directly related to what we were learning so that it is a meaningful learning experience).

Another online learning experience that I might utilize with my first graders are WebQuests. The WebQuest would have to be well-designed and would have to incorporate useful assessment. The ones that I have viewed so far as part of the evaluation were sub-par. They had many broken links, disjointed sites to go to, and limited scaffolding. Therefore, I would probably design my own WebQuest. I think WebQuests could be helpful to help students practice math skills such as telling time or counting money. It may also be helpful with science so that students can see and interact with things that we are talking about (incorporating online simulations).

Technologies that I already use are educational games and digital books. The students really respond to these and are engaged in the content. Some sites that I utilize are XTra Math, Smart Tutor (the free ones available), Learning Today, iXL, ABCYa, StoryLine Online, and FunBrain. Most of these sites are used to reinforce math skills, phonics, and fluency. Other technologies that may be useful are online field trips and online simulations. Like interactive discussions, these would have to be directly related to the curriculum. I think PodCasts could also be useful. The students could use them to record book reviews, make presentations, etc.

Some online learning that would be very difficult to use with my students are RSS feeds and Wikis. These would be more difficult because they rely heavily on reading skills. Most of the information on these sites is written at a reading level well-above first grade so this would be difficult for students to interact with. Even if assistive-technology such as text-to-speech were utilized, the students may still have difficulty comprehending the content. One that would be difficult at first to use are blogs. The vast majority of students have little/no typing ability. Therefore, making a blog post would be very cumbersome, however, it would also help (slowly) develop their typing skills.

My MSU Course Blog

Wicked Problem Project

Problem

Solution

What is the TP knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how does the technology you have chosen support the teaching strategies and methods you have chosen?)

What is the TC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically does this technology make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about representation.)

What is the PC knowledge for the solution? (i.e., how specifically do your pedagogical choices make the content in your problem more intellectually accessible? Be sure to think about how the student will experience the content given these instructional strategies.

Professional Learning Plan

Group Leadership Project

S3 Mobile Learning Lab

Wicked Problem Project Part D: Findings and Implications

Summative: Evidence of success in addressing the problem of practice

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

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

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

Data Visualization Lab

Wicked Problem Project Part C: Implementation

Group Leadership Project Part B: Storyboard and Script

Wicked Problem Project Part B - Application of TPACK

PART B: Application of TPACK: Basic description of each of these areas and important characteristics of these areas as related to this project.

PART A - Brainstorm Session

Web-Conferencing

Wicked Problem Project: Part A

PART A: The Wicked Problem - A Need or an Opportunity

What is the important educational need that you are seeking to address? This element is fundamental in this project. Since we have limited time, energy, and resources, cool technology without a clear sense of why it matters or what we gain by it is of little value in the educational setting.

How you plan to address this educational issue with technology? You need to make a clear and convincing case that your proposed solution will make a real impact on the issue you identify, and that your proposed approach is a reasonable approach given its costs and possible alternatives.

3. Logistics of solution: For example...What is the scope? (e.g., when and where will tool be used and for how long? Who all will use it?)

Relevant research and resources (from the Internet and elsewhere) including reports on the closest effort you can find to what you are planning to do as well as ideas and materials you may be able to build upon in your own effort. Your description should include:

A plan for the portion you will implement during this course, in the fall, and the portion you will implement after this course completes.

How would you know you were successful?

Personal Introduction and Ed Tech Interests

Personal Learning Reflection

Personal Technology Plan

Learning Styles

Creative Commons

PC Maintenance and Security Lab

RSS Readers

Personal Learning Network Visualization

Social Networking

Class Calendar

Blogs vs. Traditional Websites

CEP811 Final Reflection

Online Learning Experiences with 1st Graders