Monday, December 22, 2008
IRB-Reflection
This process has taught me how to look up research articles on the library search and what to look for in reliable research. I have learned how to look at research in a very critical way in order to summarize it in detail. The steps involved require very specific information that is found in the research, and to be able to determine what the research is really all about. My advice to those doing the IRB process for action research is they find a professor who can direct them with names of those who have done similar research in the past. Using the library search can be time consuming like finding a needle in a haystack if one does not narrow down the research to a very direct question. Development of that question can take many turns before the question is precise and complete.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Action Reserch
To say I am disappointed with the next 9 credits of this grad program is truly an understatement. There are so many other things I need to learn about instructional technology and now I am spending my hard earned money and time on action research, which is so little of what I do. This grad program needs a critical review. We have not covered video conferencing or explored networking, hardware, and have spent very little time on actual educational software. We have spent a lot of time on Internet software which has been rewarding but there is so much more we need to do. I don't even know how to use the smartboard in the Greendale library!
I do see the benefit of action research for the regular classroom teacher, but for me, it has very little value. I am learning a lot, however I will not use most of it once this coursework is complete. I only get to see my students once a week for 30 minutes and concentrating so much time and effort and money on that one 30 minute session is fruitless.
Our Professor is excellent and I mean no disrespect to her. She knows what she is doing and is very good at instructing us in our goals. However, she did cause us some stress when she said if we are confused now, wait until 549! I would not expect to be confused in a grad course as instruction thus far has been laid out quite clear (for the most part). I would hope, if there is known confusion it would be cleared up prior to the course being taught? I hope this not to be the case and all instruction in 549 is presented in way that will allow us to learn without the interruption and stress of confusion.
Hopefully this research will confirm what I hope it does and I will see an improvement in my students' skills. That will be great for their teacher and them but for me there are far greater issues I am not addressing in this action research.
I do see the benefit of action research for the regular classroom teacher, but for me, it has very little value. I am learning a lot, however I will not use most of it once this coursework is complete. I only get to see my students once a week for 30 minutes and concentrating so much time and effort and money on that one 30 minute session is fruitless.
Our Professor is excellent and I mean no disrespect to her. She knows what she is doing and is very good at instructing us in our goals. However, she did cause us some stress when she said if we are confused now, wait until 549! I would not expect to be confused in a grad course as instruction thus far has been laid out quite clear (for the most part). I would hope, if there is known confusion it would be cleared up prior to the course being taught? I hope this not to be the case and all instruction in 549 is presented in way that will allow us to learn without the interruption and stress of confusion.
Hopefully this research will confirm what I hope it does and I will see an improvement in my students' skills. That will be great for their teacher and them but for me there are far greater issues I am not addressing in this action research.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Web 2.0
This class has given me a lot of useful information which I cannot wait to use with my students. However I must be patient as there is so much to do and so little time. I would love to play with sightspeed with my 7th graders, I am just not sure I can in the lab. I think I will introduce them to these wonderful email video gadgets and then let them explore at home. Currently I am creating webpages with them using HTML. I plan to show them shareware webpage software. But I felt having some knowledge of HTMl would be beneficial before introducing the easier stuff. Once I show them RSS feeds, blogs, wikis, video email and conferencing, they will want to add it all to their websites. Now if I could just get the CMS up and running I would have it made! A secure place to host all their websites and all their new found web 2.0 places.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Monday, September 29, 2008
Social Networking
Wow, is an understatement when it comes to the variety of social networking places on the Internet. To be able to connect in so many ways, through blogs, wiki's, bookmarking, RSS feeds, and with so many sites available to do it all with. It is a bit overwhelming. There's a word I am getting a lot use from lately. I know to just take it slow and use what I can with my classes. But I want to use it all!
If the day was 32 hours long and I only required 4 hours of sleep that might be feasible, but it isn't and I can't. Gathering information and sharing it with my students is very rewarding. However, not possible due to the amount of information I am gathering and I only get to see my students once a week for 45 minutes. But what I am able to pass on to them is beneficial to their growth and I must focus in the good in that.
We were introduced to Ning at the beginning of this program and I am impressed with the ease of use for the classroom. However I find it would probably work best in higher education. I can see it's potential in the jr. high as well. The social bookmarking sites also can make research much easier for students 7-12th grade and I think at least introducing this information to my jr. high kids will be time well spent. But I can't see how I would have the time to monitor a ning site along with all the other sites I have set up right now.
More lessons to write!
If the day was 32 hours long and I only required 4 hours of sleep that might be feasible, but it isn't and I can't. Gathering information and sharing it with my students is very rewarding. However, not possible due to the amount of information I am gathering and I only get to see my students once a week for 45 minutes. But what I am able to pass on to them is beneficial to their growth and I must focus in the good in that.
We were introduced to Ning at the beginning of this program and I am impressed with the ease of use for the classroom. However I find it would probably work best in higher education. I can see it's potential in the jr. high as well. The social bookmarking sites also can make research much easier for students 7-12th grade and I think at least introducing this information to my jr. high kids will be time well spent. But I can't see how I would have the time to monitor a ning site along with all the other sites I have set up right now.
More lessons to write!
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Class Wiki
Having the opportunity to look at other wikis and blogs has helped me to decide to stay with what I am already use to. Too many of a good thing can be a bad thing. I already have 3 wikis so adding another is going to be a challenge, but one I am prepared to take. Since the 7th and 8th graders already are using wikis and blogs in their classes I think I will create mine for the 6th grade. I have a strong feeling the 6th grade teacher will be open to that and may even incorporate it into her own curriculum.
I will explore my options on how to use the wiki that will best work for both the students and myself. Opening another forum for them to write is my main goal. Any time I can get them to use a keyboard and computer for educational purposed is a step in the right directions. I think keeping it basic in the beginning is the best. The wiki can grow as the students become accustom to using it. They are still actually 5th graders and I need to keep that in mind as I create this new avenue for creativity.
I will explore my options on how to use the wiki that will best work for both the students and myself. Opening another forum for them to write is my main goal. Any time I can get them to use a keyboard and computer for educational purposed is a step in the right directions. I think keeping it basic in the beginning is the best. The wiki can grow as the students become accustom to using it. They are still actually 5th graders and I need to keep that in mind as I create this new avenue for creativity.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Wikis, Blogs, and Education
I was going to title this "wikis, blogs, and kids" but my main focus with the wiki in the beginning of this school year is to encourage our faculty to start using the computer, particularly the Internet more. So I created a staff wiki. I know, I am only asking for abuse but I have got to keep trying. Our communication (or more appropriately- lack of) over the past few years as a staff has just about crippled our school. I am hopeful that by having a one stop for all things discussed and decided we will be better informed of the happenings at STAA. One can dream right?
Last night's class touched on some old and some new. The Technorati website hosting all the really cool free stuff is just one example of how far technology has come and if we can get our educators to use all these fun toys, think of the motivation we will provide for our students. They love all the creative avenues technology has to offer. At the end of last school year I introduced my students to HTML, which is actually old technology, but they loved learning how to write computer language and to program so that the computer could respond to the language. They are so eager to try it again. It makes my job so much fun. I just wish I could get all the faculty on board and use these inventive tools for collaboration, integration, and education.
I do see that some of our Jr high teachers plan to use blogging in their classes and more teachers are hosting websites for their classrooms. I want them to become comfortable with the wiki as that is more of a communication tool between home and school and the students can do the editing. The possibilities and ease in the classroom with a wiki are endless. As I stated in class I am embarking on trying to get moodle running on my server at school. I know it will be a work in progress all year, but in the end I know it will all be worth it. So much to do, so much to learn, so much to teach!
I have 3 wiki's and think by the end of the week I will have a 4th. It gets a bit much to keep track of. One of my wiki's is for my family-the big one. Every year I plan a huge camping trip up at our cabin for about 70 of our closest siblings and their families. This year was a piece of cake as everything was posted on the wiki and we did not have 100 emails to decipher.
Keeping the lines of communication open in education is very important and the new tools on the Internet have greatly improved those lines. It is imperative that educators get on board with the information age and use technology in their courses every day.
Last night's class touched on some old and some new. The Technorati website hosting all the really cool free stuff is just one example of how far technology has come and if we can get our educators to use all these fun toys, think of the motivation we will provide for our students. They love all the creative avenues technology has to offer. At the end of last school year I introduced my students to HTML, which is actually old technology, but they loved learning how to write computer language and to program so that the computer could respond to the language. They are so eager to try it again. It makes my job so much fun. I just wish I could get all the faculty on board and use these inventive tools for collaboration, integration, and education.
I do see that some of our Jr high teachers plan to use blogging in their classes and more teachers are hosting websites for their classrooms. I want them to become comfortable with the wiki as that is more of a communication tool between home and school and the students can do the editing. The possibilities and ease in the classroom with a wiki are endless. As I stated in class I am embarking on trying to get moodle running on my server at school. I know it will be a work in progress all year, but in the end I know it will all be worth it. So much to do, so much to learn, so much to teach!
I have 3 wiki's and think by the end of the week I will have a 4th. It gets a bit much to keep track of. One of my wiki's is for my family-the big one. Every year I plan a huge camping trip up at our cabin for about 70 of our closest siblings and their families. This year was a piece of cake as everything was posted on the wiki and we did not have 100 emails to decipher.
Keeping the lines of communication open in education is very important and the new tools on the Internet have greatly improved those lines. It is imperative that educators get on board with the information age and use technology in their courses every day.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Simulation
Today I met with my new principal for lunch and share with her what I learned from the system thinking, changing simulation game. I know from experience how important communication and keeping all the stakeholders informed is to the forward progression of change. Our school has gone through many changes in the past 5 years and due to lack of communication and decisions being made without input from those it affects the most, our school has been on a shrinking spiral. It is time for that to change. I spoke with her regarding the importance of keeping everyone updated on the latest developments.
I am hopeful that the wiki page I intend to set up for the faculty will bridge that gap in communication. I would like to also have a content management system in place by the time school starts. The wiki will have a central page for open discussion on the current topics while the side bar will contain the on going issues that need to be worked on. That way it will all be documented and we will have one easy stop to check information. The way hard copy gets misplaced and people forget, I am encouraged that this will keep us better organized. I know there will be competition from those that dislike technology, but we must keep moving ahead and not allow them to hold us back.
I also intend to link google calendar to our wiki page to help ease the confusion we have faced in the past for planning events. If everything is on one calendar that all can view with one click, we may actually not face the issue of double booking space! That would alleviate a lot of hardship. I know I am expecting a lot from this new way of communicating, but it has worked very well in this masters program so there is hope for us too.
I am hopeful that the wiki page I intend to set up for the faculty will bridge that gap in communication. I would like to also have a content management system in place by the time school starts. The wiki will have a central page for open discussion on the current topics while the side bar will contain the on going issues that need to be worked on. That way it will all be documented and we will have one easy stop to check information. The way hard copy gets misplaced and people forget, I am encouraged that this will keep us better organized. I know there will be competition from those that dislike technology, but we must keep moving ahead and not allow them to hold us back.
I also intend to link google calendar to our wiki page to help ease the confusion we have faced in the past for planning events. If everything is on one calendar that all can view with one click, we may actually not face the issue of double booking space! That would alleviate a lot of hardship. I know I am expecting a lot from this new way of communicating, but it has worked very well in this masters program so there is hope for us too.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Change
The Beloit college Mindset List was interesting in that one does not give a lot of thought to the significance trends and history have toward making our future leaders. The Millennial generation does take a lot for granted as their world has always had the conveniences of modern technology at their finger tips. A lot of change has taken place in their short lives and they are more accustom to change than their predecessors. That is not all bad, but it is essential that we old folks realize this and make it work for the better for all in our schools.
Since our school merged 4 years ago we have seen a lot of change and it has not all been for the better. Our staff is, for the most part, older and they resist change at every turn. That has brought with it some difficult challenges. But I can't put anyone in a vacuum as the readings suggest. I find some older teachers, like myself adapt rather well to change and enjoy the challenges technology holds. It is like a mystery to discover how technology can aid learning, so I embrace it.
Change must be for the better and their must be proof that it can work. Too much of the change we have experienced has not been proven to work, in fact we have seen it fail in the schools that are now closed but the diocese is still using the same procedure to merge schools. They have no data to support the steps they have taken so we have hit many trouble spots. I am willing to work for the good of the school if we will have a school to work for.
My new picture is a change we recently received. My dear sweet mother made this beautiful hand sewn quilt for our 25th wedding anniversary. It took her 4 years to stitch the colorful floral designs together. The detail is breathtaking. It will be passed on for generations to enjoy. Now I need to get to the store and buys some pain, carpeting and window treatments so I can change my room decor to match the quilt!
Since our school merged 4 years ago we have seen a lot of change and it has not all been for the better. Our staff is, for the most part, older and they resist change at every turn. That has brought with it some difficult challenges. But I can't put anyone in a vacuum as the readings suggest. I find some older teachers, like myself adapt rather well to change and enjoy the challenges technology holds. It is like a mystery to discover how technology can aid learning, so I embrace it.
Change must be for the better and their must be proof that it can work. Too much of the change we have experienced has not been proven to work, in fact we have seen it fail in the schools that are now closed but the diocese is still using the same procedure to merge schools. They have no data to support the steps they have taken so we have hit many trouble spots. I am willing to work for the good of the school if we will have a school to work for.
My new picture is a change we recently received. My dear sweet mother made this beautiful hand sewn quilt for our 25th wedding anniversary. It took her 4 years to stitch the colorful floral designs together. The detail is breathtaking. It will be passed on for generations to enjoy. Now I need to get to the store and buys some pain, carpeting and window treatments so I can change my room decor to match the quilt!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Data
I enjoyed using Elluminate last evening for class. However, I was shocked when I realized it had started already and I was way behind. I could have swore we were suppose to meet at 6PM. The counter on the bottom right of the screen told me the class was in session for 1 hour when I got on. But when I went back today to listen to what I had missed, that screen said it began at 5:30 PM. There were only 5 participants, so I am not sure where the miscommunication was. I would have participated more had I not felt like an idiot getting on late. Being able to go back and listen again to the recording is a big advantage. What a great teaching tool. I wish I could record every class.
I contacted my new principal to get the data for the assignment. She is so new to not only our school but the job as principal, she is not sure where to get the information. I hope we are able to do the assignment properly.
I have had to gather our school's data for the technology plan. I have had to put together surveys for both our students and their families. So I am familiar with demographic data and technology data. But some of what was discussed last night is new to me.
As we discussed, having all that data on each student accessable to all the teachers would be a great benefit. Especially to teachers like myself who see the students for such a short amount of time each week. Over the years I do get to know them, but there have been far too many incidences where I was not informed on a student's learning disability or other factors that were affecting the student's performance and I have come down hard on that student for weak performance. Had I only known! Sharing data is an important part of the job. If they can send around a paper with the students allergies, surely they can inform us of the other pertinent data.
I contacted my new principal to get the data for the assignment. She is so new to not only our school but the job as principal, she is not sure where to get the information. I hope we are able to do the assignment properly.
I have had to gather our school's data for the technology plan. I have had to put together surveys for both our students and their families. So I am familiar with demographic data and technology data. But some of what was discussed last night is new to me.
As we discussed, having all that data on each student accessable to all the teachers would be a great benefit. Especially to teachers like myself who see the students for such a short amount of time each week. Over the years I do get to know them, but there have been far too many incidences where I was not informed on a student's learning disability or other factors that were affecting the student's performance and I have come down hard on that student for weak performance. Had I only known! Sharing data is an important part of the job. If they can send around a paper with the students allergies, surely they can inform us of the other pertinent data.
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Leadership part II
Well, I have not taken this much time to think about leadership roles since, I am not sure if I ever have in fact! I feel a bit overwhelmed by it all, but that is just me. I hope our new leader is able to turn our school around. Maybe since Lori and I are taking this class we can be of some assistance to her. I hope she possess the many skills I have read about. Surveying my own skills on the assessment and seeing the results gave me a glimpse on what I need to work on. No surprise there though. I have been faltering lately and that is because of our lack of administration and the over all feeling of betrayal from the diocese. I am bitter from the merger and I feel their intent all along has been to shut us down like they have done to so many schools.
But if I am going succeed in this business, I need to get as much as I can out of this class and be the best possible leader I can. Who knows, maybe there is a future for me in the leadership end of education?
But if I am going succeed in this business, I need to get as much as I can out of this class and be the best possible leader I can. Who knows, maybe there is a future for me in the leadership end of education?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Leadership the First Class
How appropriate that I would take my first leadership course on the day I meet the new principal of our school. This is our 4th principals in the past 5 years. The first principal, Sr. Marie Estelle was an outstanding leader. She lead a private Catholic grade school together at the capacity of 350 students when other schools around us were failing with attendance lower than 100. She was loved by all and ruled with the dignity of grandmotherly matron. Everyone respected her.
When the merger took place, all that held us together was thrown away and treated with disregard. Our track record could not stand against the evil forces that destroyed our wonderful school. We have struggled with incompetent leaders and an uncooperative staff since, and our attendance now, after 4 years and the merger of 4 schools is at an all time low of 285 students. We are cutting staff each year and our future looks bleak. I have been a part of this school my entire life and am crushed to see what was once a shining star for education is now struggling to keep it's doors open.
Strong leadership with a cohesive staff is what we need. I will work to get the most out of this class to try and assist our new principal in any way I can to bring about the positive change that is needed to turn our school back on a course of progress and excellence. Possibly this is the boost I need to get us on the right track? I can only hope!
When the merger took place, all that held us together was thrown away and treated with disregard. Our track record could not stand against the evil forces that destroyed our wonderful school. We have struggled with incompetent leaders and an uncooperative staff since, and our attendance now, after 4 years and the merger of 4 schools is at an all time low of 285 students. We are cutting staff each year and our future looks bleak. I have been a part of this school my entire life and am crushed to see what was once a shining star for education is now struggling to keep it's doors open.
Strong leadership with a cohesive staff is what we need. I will work to get the most out of this class to try and assist our new principal in any way I can to bring about the positive change that is needed to turn our school back on a course of progress and excellence. Possibly this is the boost I need to get us on the right track? I can only hope!
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Content Management Systems
Wow, last class was packed full of information. I have my homework (or summer work) cut out for me. I would really, really like to have a CMS in place when the kids return next school year, but I have to do a lot of research before I can make that happen. This class as full of valuable information and now I have to decide what system to go with.
Paying for off site support seems like the easiest way to go, but on our tight budget paying an annual fee may not be in the budget. We are very fortunate and have a wonderful tech who maintains our server at a very reasonable rate, so maybe on site is best for us. I will have to talk to him and see what he thinks.
Even though I am feeling more confident in my html skills, I have a long way to go. There is so much to learn and remember! I so wish I would have been introduced to this earlier in my life, before the part of my brain that learns foreign language hadn't hardened over ;) And all this on top of my crazy life! The end of the school year teacher luncheon ended at 1:15 on Friday, I picked my cousin and her family up from the airport at 1:30. I had everyone over on Friday, the wedding was Saturday, we had 2 Fr's day celebrations on Sunday, everyone was back over on Monday to celebrate my birthday and our 25th wedding anniversary. Tom and I were able to have a few hours to ourselves on Tuesday for dinner and I kicked them all out of the house today so I could get my homework done! Not to mention that my allergies are in full swing and my meds are making me so soooo very sleepy.
With all said I do have a good start to my new webpage for the coming school year and can feel good about accomplishing that.
Paying for off site support seems like the easiest way to go, but on our tight budget paying an annual fee may not be in the budget. We are very fortunate and have a wonderful tech who maintains our server at a very reasonable rate, so maybe on site is best for us. I will have to talk to him and see what he thinks.
Even though I am feeling more confident in my html skills, I have a long way to go. There is so much to learn and remember! I so wish I would have been introduced to this earlier in my life, before the part of my brain that learns foreign language hadn't hardened over ;) And all this on top of my crazy life! The end of the school year teacher luncheon ended at 1:15 on Friday, I picked my cousin and her family up from the airport at 1:30. I had everyone over on Friday, the wedding was Saturday, we had 2 Fr's day celebrations on Sunday, everyone was back over on Monday to celebrate my birthday and our 25th wedding anniversary. Tom and I were able to have a few hours to ourselves on Tuesday for dinner and I kicked them all out of the house today so I could get my homework done! Not to mention that my allergies are in full swing and my meds are making me so soooo very sleepy.
With all said I do have a good start to my new webpage for the coming school year and can feel good about accomplishing that.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Last Class
I should have used Nvu for the midterm. It really didn’t make much sense for me to learn Nvu and then take the midterm using html. I should have taken the test with what I had been learning. I know after this course I will never use html again, I will use webpage software and that is what will be most beneficial to my students and I. That is what this whole masters program is about, making me a better teacher with technology, learning tools that will enhance the learning experience for my students. I can see the benefit of understanding html, which I do, but knowing exactly where to place the tags is an obstacle I just don't have the time to tackle right now. It causes too much frustration, especially when I know there is an easier way.
This course should be offer earlier in the program. It is a good course and I would love to have done this with my students this year. I could have done so much with them and this knowledge. Now I am sending them off to high school without this knowledge. Also this is such a busy time of school to be learning this. More technical knowledge at the beginning of this masters program would be very beneficial to all of us. I know I will tackle it with the jr. high early on in the school year.
This course should be offer earlier in the program. It is a good course and I would love to have done this with my students this year. I could have done so much with them and this knowledge. Now I am sending them off to high school without this knowledge. Also this is such a busy time of school to be learning this. More technical knowledge at the beginning of this masters program would be very beneficial to all of us. I know I will tackle it with the jr. high early on in the school year.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Nvu
I find HTML challenging yet addictive. But I think my students would be better served if I used a web page software than trying to teach them HTML. Learning the basics gives them background knowledge that is very helpful, but the software will enable them to do daily maintenance on the sites I have planned for next year. I would love to have the time to sit and learn HTML in its entirety, but that is not efficient for me. Although learning Nvu has it's share of challenges as well.
I plan on playing with Nvu a lot this summer and becoming proficient enough at it that I can teach it to my Jr. high students. Web page design and maintenance are skills that need to be practiced on a regular basis. The possibilities are endless and one can only excel with lots and lots of practice. Again time is the big obstacle and I will have find even more of it to gain that desired level if I want to be able to teach it. I seem to catch on to the software well enough, it is all that posting which has me baffled. I need to post more often so I get the hang of it.
The tutorials and tag web pages are very helpful. I need to spend more time viewing those. There is so much to learn! Last night's working time was very useful. I gain so much from sessions like that. I do feel like an idiot asking so many questions, but I know if I don't ask, the frustration level will kill my desire to learn. Creating web pages has always been something I wanted to learn and now I have the opportunity. I know I will get it and by next school year I will be creating like it is second nature to me.
I think the presentation went well tonight. As well as they could considering they were all on the same topic .............. again. There must be a way that we don't have to listen to the same material reiterated over and over again. This happens in every class. As we have stated in every class thus far, it would be far more productive to have each group present the concept in a different way, view, perspective, or cover a different subject entirely. When we were each given a different article to present to the class it worked very well. Everyone hates to repeat what has already been said. There just has to be a better way. I am relieved to know that at least in this course it will not happen again.
So off to the garden I go, to get muddy, pull weeds, and create beauty. Everyone should weed. Weeding is an outlet for frustration. I find it very therapeutic to eliminate destructive growth that allows beauty to flourish. Taking care of the plants I gave a home to, and nurtured from the start is very rewarding.
I plan on playing with Nvu a lot this summer and becoming proficient enough at it that I can teach it to my Jr. high students. Web page design and maintenance are skills that need to be practiced on a regular basis. The possibilities are endless and one can only excel with lots and lots of practice. Again time is the big obstacle and I will have find even more of it to gain that desired level if I want to be able to teach it. I seem to catch on to the software well enough, it is all that posting which has me baffled. I need to post more often so I get the hang of it.
The tutorials and tag web pages are very helpful. I need to spend more time viewing those. There is so much to learn! Last night's working time was very useful. I gain so much from sessions like that. I do feel like an idiot asking so many questions, but I know if I don't ask, the frustration level will kill my desire to learn. Creating web pages has always been something I wanted to learn and now I have the opportunity. I know I will get it and by next school year I will be creating like it is second nature to me.
I think the presentation went well tonight. As well as they could considering they were all on the same topic .............. again. There must be a way that we don't have to listen to the same material reiterated over and over again. This happens in every class. As we have stated in every class thus far, it would be far more productive to have each group present the concept in a different way, view, perspective, or cover a different subject entirely. When we were each given a different article to present to the class it worked very well. Everyone hates to repeat what has already been said. There just has to be a better way. I am relieved to know that at least in this course it will not happen again.
So off to the garden I go, to get muddy, pull weeds, and create beauty. Everyone should weed. Weeding is an outlet for frustration. I find it very therapeutic to eliminate destructive growth that allows beauty to flourish. Taking care of the plants I gave a home to, and nurtured from the start is very rewarding.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
HTML
I think the best way to learn HTML is to just do it. I got the most out of the 1 hour we were allowed to experiment on assignment 2. I am glad we were given time to actually play with the html in class this week. It is so helpful to have the instructor in the class when we are suppose to be learning something Many questions can be answered that way with a lot less frustration.
Learning HTML has been very interesting. I downloaded Nvu and am learning how to use it. Of course it is much easier to use than straight HTML, but learning HTML has its purpose and I would love to be able to teach it to my students in the fall. I need to learn how to set up a link on the school website to each classroom’s web page. I think for the 8th graders last day of class next week I am going to introduce them to HTML even if they can’t get it on the Internet. I think some of them would really enjoy it.
Next year I plan on having the 8th graders create web pages for each of the classrooms and then do the maintenance on them if the teacher is not willing or able to do so. Many of the rooms will be able self sufficient and update the web page by themselves, but some will not.
Learning HTML has been very interesting. I downloaded Nvu and am learning how to use it. Of course it is much easier to use than straight HTML, but learning HTML has its purpose and I would love to be able to teach it to my students in the fall. I need to learn how to set up a link on the school website to each classroom’s web page. I think for the 8th graders last day of class next week I am going to introduce them to HTML even if they can’t get it on the Internet. I think some of them would really enjoy it.
Next year I plan on having the 8th graders create web pages for each of the classrooms and then do the maintenance on them if the teacher is not willing or able to do so. Many of the rooms will be able self sufficient and update the web page by themselves, but some will not.
Monday, May 19, 2008
HTML
Class this week was very interesting. I am excited to learn web design and more useful tricks on the web. This would be so fun to teach my students. Next year I am definitely going to have my 8th graders create web pages for the teachers. What a useful tool for them to know. Seeing a web page grow from the ground up is very enlightening. There is truly a lot of work that goes into creating it. It seems to take a lot of time to do each task. But I am sure as this class moves along I will hang of it.
I played with the HTML this week and I enjoy it however I am having some trouble updating my page. I sure all will be worked out next class.
I played with the HTML this week and I enjoy it however I am having some trouble updating my page. I sure all will be worked out next class.
Monday, May 12, 2008
Digital Storytelling Thinking
It is my intent to use google earth and the Internet for my students to research one of several obscure counties. There are 175 countries in the world and most we are rarely even introduced to. My students will have to put together a digital story regarding the countries strengths, qualities, landscape, customs, traditions, people, and climate. They will have to describe to their audience where this country is located in regard to other landforms and countries. The presentation will take no more than 1 minute. It will include self created music from garage band representative of music of that country.
The students will need to make decisions on which information to include and how to compose their original music. The syncing of speech, sound, music, and photos will need to be arranged by the student. All information will be in their own words requiring them to rewrite and synthesis what they have read in their own words. All the information gathered will be creatively presented to their peers. The students will do peer evaluations on each presentation that will require them to analyse if the objects of the lesson were met.
The students will need to make decisions on which information to include and how to compose their original music. The syncing of speech, sound, music, and photos will need to be arranged by the student. All information will be in their own words requiring them to rewrite and synthesis what they have read in their own words. All the information gathered will be creatively presented to their peers. The students will do peer evaluations on each presentation that will require them to analyse if the objects of the lesson were met.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
SAMPLE PODCAST
Sample podcast 8th grade introduction to digital storytelling and voicethread.
Subscribe Free
Add to my Page
Subscribe Free
Add to my Page
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
podcast
I am nervous. I have to do a podcast, something I have never done before and I hate the way my voice sounds recorded. I can see great educational potential for this technology though. So I need to get over it and get on with it.
Unfortunately I have suffered a concussion and am having a very hard time do anything this week. I was going to use my podcast to teach storyboarding (is that a word?) for my jr. high students. That hasn't happened, yet..... With my thoughts so unclear and my words coming out jumbled this is going to be one of the most challenging things to do this week. Just typing this is a challenge.
I find podcast very interesting and extremely helpful. I have learned a lot from the few technology podcasts I have listened to and really should subscribe to them. Time is always the problem isn't it?
I should podcast more of my lessons. Boy would that save my voice! Since most of my classes are repeated twice in one day I could really cut down on my frustration and use of my voice. Let the speakers and the computer do the work. I am sure there are plenty of podcasts out there that would be very appropriate for some of my lessons.
Just introducing podcasts to my students could benefit them a great deal. Introducing them to the concept and how resourceful it can be would give them an advantage in the classroom, or in life for that matter. It seems there is a podcast out there for just about everything under the sun.
Wish me luck!
Unfortunately I have suffered a concussion and am having a very hard time do anything this week. I was going to use my podcast to teach storyboarding (is that a word?) for my jr. high students. That hasn't happened, yet..... With my thoughts so unclear and my words coming out jumbled this is going to be one of the most challenging things to do this week. Just typing this is a challenge.
I find podcast very interesting and extremely helpful. I have learned a lot from the few technology podcasts I have listened to and really should subscribe to them. Time is always the problem isn't it?
I should podcast more of my lessons. Boy would that save my voice! Since most of my classes are repeated twice in one day I could really cut down on my frustration and use of my voice. Let the speakers and the computer do the work. I am sure there are plenty of podcasts out there that would be very appropriate for some of my lessons.
Just introducing podcasts to my students could benefit them a great deal. Introducing them to the concept and how resourceful it can be would give them an advantage in the classroom, or in life for that matter. It seems there is a podcast out there for just about everything under the sun.
Wish me luck!
Monday, April 21, 2008
Elements of Story Telling
This week I gained some very insightful knowledge on storytelling that I can’t wait to teach my classes, especially Jr. high. Finding the time to do it will be my biggest hurdle. I found the 7 elements of storytelling intriguing. There is so much I did not know. How does the director give emotion to the story using these elements? How can I get the most out of these techniques for my digital story? Experimentation will be the tell all here. I know my students will be the perfect guinea pigs for this learning adventure. They love to experiment and with 25 in a class times 4, I can learn a great deal from them in just 4- 50-minute periods. I find myself constantly stopping them to take a look at what their classmates discovered. Giving it to them in small bits and pieces works the best, as their attention spans (and my voice) only last for so long.
Simplicity is something that takes great restraint. Especially with grade school kids. They want to try everything and have it all on one slide, picture, video clip etc. Using Apple education’s website has been very helpful in showing good examples of simplicity in digital projects that rely more on dead space, black and white, and timing to relay the message. I can see my students improving their projects greatly by using these elements. It would take a lot more thought on their part, more problem solving and concentration to do the job successfully.
Recently I have been stressing what a bullet point is; two or three words to support the main idea. I have had to go to each student individually and make corrections. The concept is a hard one to grasp. They are so use to writing sentences, they are not sure how to use only a few words, to do it simply.
Teaching my students to create better presentations, to tell stories more effectively, will improve any lesson. No matter what the subject matter is, using the 7 elements will take them from just giving the facts with pictures and some music, to really thinking in terms of creating something of art. It will spark their creative sides and hopefully they will enjoy the lesson more and use more brain matter instead of just going through the motions to get the job done. Oh I can dream can’t I? I think I have my lessons for class Tuesday =)
Simplicity is something that takes great restraint. Especially with grade school kids. They want to try everything and have it all on one slide, picture, video clip etc. Using Apple education’s website has been very helpful in showing good examples of simplicity in digital projects that rely more on dead space, black and white, and timing to relay the message. I can see my students improving their projects greatly by using these elements. It would take a lot more thought on their part, more problem solving and concentration to do the job successfully.
Recently I have been stressing what a bullet point is; two or three words to support the main idea. I have had to go to each student individually and make corrections. The concept is a hard one to grasp. They are so use to writing sentences, they are not sure how to use only a few words, to do it simply.
Teaching my students to create better presentations, to tell stories more effectively, will improve any lesson. No matter what the subject matter is, using the 7 elements will take them from just giving the facts with pictures and some music, to really thinking in terms of creating something of art. It will spark their creative sides and hopefully they will enjoy the lesson more and use more brain matter instead of just going through the motions to get the job done. Oh I can dream can’t I? I think I have my lessons for class Tuesday =)
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Week 2 531
It took us a long time, but we finally did get all our photos, audio clips, and voices in Voicethread. I think we did a fine job. Voicethread has many possiblities for student use. I can see the students using it for biographies, documentries, as a way to display their graphic arts, musical projects. etc.. I would be concerned at how much bandwidth it would take up and if an entire class could use it all at the same time or if grouping the students together would work best.
It would be fun for them to send questions to someone as an interview and have that person do a voicethread back. A person might do an interview of a veteran, a grandparent, a solider stationed away or even a pen pal. I'll have to search and see if their are pen pal voicethread groups. That would give the kids so much more information about another culture to actually hear the pen pal's voice and see the pictures. That gives me an idea for next year. I will mention that to a teacher or two.
It would be fun for them to send questions to someone as an interview and have that person do a voicethread back. A person might do an interview of a veteran, a grandparent, a solider stationed away or even a pen pal. I'll have to search and see if their are pen pal voicethread groups. That would give the kids so much more information about another culture to actually hear the pen pal's voice and see the pictures. That gives me an idea for next year. I will mention that to a teacher or two.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Digi Stories in the Lab
How might I use digital storytelling in my classroom? There are as many possibilities as there are children in the world. But the first that comes to mind is having the students create a digital story of their lives. Each year I want a refresher on my students as I have 300, and it is hard to keep track of them all. Reading through their biographies every September is interesting, but cumbersome. I think using digital storytelling for them to share their history with their classmates would be much more entertaining, interesting, and they may get more out of it. The chances of them putting more effort into it and completing the task would be multiplied as using all the cool digital hardware and software would keep them more engaged than just typing their stories and printing.
I could also see this as a creative way for them to change the ending to a book they are reading for English, summarizing the events of a part of history they are studying, or a social issue that needs attention. Using newly learned information would not only reinforce their understanding of the subject but may aid in the expansion of their knowledge. So much better than studying for a test and a fun way to learn too!
I could also see this as a creative way for them to change the ending to a book they are reading for English, summarizing the events of a part of history they are studying, or a social issue that needs attention. Using newly learned information would not only reinforce their understanding of the subject but may aid in the expansion of their knowledge. So much better than studying for a test and a fun way to learn too!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Getting to Know You
Reading all the blogs was interesting. I too am happy to know I am not alone in my stress and I was pleased to see some very good suggestions for future classes. I hope they are taken into consideration. Amy had a very good idea; we get together in content or grade areas and share our unit projects. That way it is more useful and less time consuming. I would be the biggest loser, as I want to hear all the k-8 projects. She also had more good points; she stated she is disappointed that it isn’t more hands on. I agree. Even though I know how to use most of the software, I think the average classroom teacher needs that time to learn and this is the platform for that type of learning. How is she supposed to develop a unit without the exposure to the software? That defiantly needs to be addressed. I am still hoping we get more into the hardware end of it, as that is what I really need to know. With each passing class I wonder if I should be in this grad program at all.
Susan made a good point regarding the amount of time this unit plan has taken to write. I guess it is good to do a few at this level of detail, but in the real world we truly would not have enough time to teach if we did all our units in this manner. Kate also stated it very well that we need more examples. I feel like I am constantly reinventing the wheel, which is a waste when it comes to teaching, as teachers are brilliant people and they have much to offer. So let the examples be had!
Susan made a good point regarding the amount of time this unit plan has taken to write. I guess it is good to do a few at this level of detail, but in the real world we truly would not have enough time to teach if we did all our units in this manner. Kate also stated it very well that we need more examples. I feel like I am constantly reinventing the wheel, which is a waste when it comes to teaching, as teachers are brilliant people and they have much to offer. So let the examples be had!
Course Reaction
My course reaction is; it has been a lot of work! How's that? But in all seriousness, the detailed work of the unit plan has made me fine tune my way of preparing lessons. I spend a lot of time thinking about the Loti level of each lesson. I have always tried to make my lessons as real world applicable as possible. I have always known I was teaching more than how to use a computer. This course has been useful to me and I have received a number of good ideas for lessons, however it could use some tweaking.
I feel the rubric for the poster sessions is not as useful as it could be. It would have been more helpful to me if my peers were giving me useful feedback on how real world and level 4 my unit plan is than how well I present my unit plan. The peer review was a valuable exercise and the peer review checklist made it much easier to understand what was expected in the unit plan. However they have not been graded yet, so I have no idea if I hit the mark or am totally off base. I liked having Ed available during a work session as he was able to clarify the unit plan to us.
Get rid of having all groups present on the same information over and over this goes for every course, not just 521. It is much more useful when each group does something different. It is a better use of time and talent. I think better guidelines have to be established for all presentations. Something along the lines of the peer review sheet would be nice with a time limit factored in. A big clock counting down would help, I am not joking about that. We are teachers and talking is what we do best. There were a lot of things we were not able to get to because of long running presentations. I think sitting in front of the computers to complete the online peer reveiw google doc is better than at the tables. There was enough time in between speakers to complete the eval. Once I got home, I had trouble recalling everything.
I feel the rubric for the poster sessions is not as useful as it could be. It would have been more helpful to me if my peers were giving me useful feedback on how real world and level 4 my unit plan is than how well I present my unit plan. The peer review was a valuable exercise and the peer review checklist made it much easier to understand what was expected in the unit plan. However they have not been graded yet, so I have no idea if I hit the mark or am totally off base. I liked having Ed available during a work session as he was able to clarify the unit plan to us.
Get rid of having all groups present on the same information over and over this goes for every course, not just 521. It is much more useful when each group does something different. It is a better use of time and talent. I think better guidelines have to be established for all presentations. Something along the lines of the peer review sheet would be nice with a time limit factored in. A big clock counting down would help, I am not joking about that. We are teachers and talking is what we do best. There were a lot of things we were not able to get to because of long running presentations. I think sitting in front of the computers to complete the online peer reveiw google doc is better than at the tables. There was enough time in between speakers to complete the eval. Once I got home, I had trouble recalling everything.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Unit Plans
In future courses, I would like to see the presentation reviews for the benefit of content rather than presentation quality. The presentation is great for idea sharing, brainstorming, and critiquing for content. Since this presentation review was so different from the past in that everyone covered something different, it had a lot more benefit for all. Having a variety of material to listen to instead of 5 version of the same thing was refreshing too.
I am very interested in getting copies of all the grade school level unit plans. They are all well thought out and I can't wait to add them to my ever expanding collection of lessons. I even went back to school on Thursday all pumped with ideas on how to use spreadsheets with second graders. Tom gave me some very good ideas. I used excel with them and things went really well. I took it very slowly and they followed along just fine. I couldn't find much on the Internet on using spreadsheets with primary grades, but I didn't put that much effort into the search either. It is something I need to pursue. I think I am going to use spreadsheets with the third graders to make arrays and a multiplication table. That is the kind of learning I like, when I can take it right back to my lab and see it in action!
I am very interested in getting copies of all the grade school level unit plans. They are all well thought out and I can't wait to add them to my ever expanding collection of lessons. I even went back to school on Thursday all pumped with ideas on how to use spreadsheets with second graders. Tom gave me some very good ideas. I used excel with them and things went really well. I took it very slowly and they followed along just fine. I couldn't find much on the Internet on using spreadsheets with primary grades, but I didn't put that much effort into the search either. It is something I need to pursue. I think I am going to use spreadsheets with the third graders to make arrays and a multiplication table. That is the kind of learning I like, when I can take it right back to my lab and see it in action!
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Clarification
I am glad there will be a questions and answer link on the wiki page. Hopefully that will clear up the confusion many of us have had regarding the projects. It seems that the presentations could have been clarified a bit more as well. A time limit would help as we were unable to get any of the class accomplished due to the length of the presentations. I have presented to the board regarding technology and I will tell you first hand their agenda does not allow for 30 minute presentations. I was given about 5 minutes to state my case. Hand outs are a key when making a presentation. That way the board can review the information when they are making their decision.
I feel our presentation went very well. I plan on using it, with adaptations, in the future. Bill did an excellent job editing it. I know it took him a long time to do. He is particular about his work and keeps at it until the job is done. Thank you again Bill!
I wish Louis would have spoken to everyone. I would like to have heard other's concerns regarding the projects and the course in general. I guess I was under the impression that the Unit Project had to be multimedia because the book is multimedia. And the book is guiding us along on this course. But now that I look at the course title again, I see it says "technology teaching strategies". After talking to Ed and Louis last night I have a lot to do on my unit plan so I better get going!
I feel our presentation went very well. I plan on using it, with adaptations, in the future. Bill did an excellent job editing it. I know it took him a long time to do. He is particular about his work and keeps at it until the job is done. Thank you again Bill!
I wish Louis would have spoken to everyone. I would like to have heard other's concerns regarding the projects and the course in general. I guess I was under the impression that the Unit Project had to be multimedia because the book is multimedia. And the book is guiding us along on this course. But now that I look at the course title again, I see it says "technology teaching strategies". After talking to Ed and Louis last night I have a lot to do on my unit plan so I better get going!
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Working, working, working
I am testing to see if I can add to this blog from this laptop, as it is very difficult to do from my desktop. Having 2 big projects due basically at the same time is really way too much. The PBL unit took me about 10 hours. And I am sure it is not only half of what I should have because I never seem to have a clear picture of what I am suppose to do. We spent about 7 hours at Lori's house on Saturday working on our presentation for the school board, that does not include the time for research. And still I had more homework to do. I hope it is going to be great.
This may be my last class. I am really trying to hold out until summer. I know it will be easier, at least I think it should be easier without having to work all day and then come home and do homework all night. Easter break cannot come soon enough! But I am sure we will have a ton of homework to do over our one week break. So I should not get too excited.
We definitely need to spend more time in class working on our assignments! I was very grateful for the time last week. It seems we brief over things and then get home and we are stumped as to what is expected. It is hard to know exactly what to do unless you are doing it right then and there.
Now I have to figure out what is going on with my sample project.
This may be my last class. I am really trying to hold out until summer. I know it will be easier, at least I think it should be easier without having to work all day and then come home and do homework all night. Easter break cannot come soon enough! But I am sure we will have a ton of homework to do over our one week break. So I should not get too excited.
We definitely need to spend more time in class working on our assignments! I was very grateful for the time last week. It seems we brief over things and then get home and we are stumped as to what is expected. It is hard to know exactly what to do unless you are doing it right then and there.
Now I have to figure out what is going on with my sample project.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Lots O Work
Overwhelmed does not even begin to describe my feelings of late. I think I have a good grasp of what is going on and then "poof", reality settles in and I am once again lost! I know we will get all the work done, I am in a good group, but the mountain is high and time is short. The chance to work on it last night was a gift from heaven. I did feel I had a better understanding when I left, but still there is lots to do. There are just too many major projects to keep straight. There has got to be a better way. I thought the Work Sample 1 was an ongoing project, yet I have heard nothing of it and I know Work Sample 2 is right around the corner.
If they are going to include software education in this course it should be at the beginning. It would be a mistake to have it after the multimedia class. From the sound of things last night, I think people expected to learn how to use multimedia software. This would have been most advantageous to the group. How can we use multimedia with our kids if we do not know how to use it?
I really like the teacher tube video we watched "Are You Listening". I think it makes its point very well. I would like to use that with my faculty. I wanted to interject last night that it would be wonderful to move kids away from "how many sentences does it have to be" to "can you understand what I mean, do I make my point?" That would make a huge difference in engaging the student vs teaching for the test. What are the means to the end and what is the end? Are we preparing these future leaders to think for themselves or to get the answers correct? It seems that changing our models of education is a slow and painful process. Even though we know the key to success is in being able to problem solve and think, the students don't spend enough time partaking in that type of learning when they are being lectured at all day.
There are tried and true models of education that practice and succeed in this very type of education, but we fail to change our ways. Hopefully our colleges are teaching this way of teaching and our new teachers will follow through. We all know how hard it is to teach an old teacher new tricks!
If they are going to include software education in this course it should be at the beginning. It would be a mistake to have it after the multimedia class. From the sound of things last night, I think people expected to learn how to use multimedia software. This would have been most advantageous to the group. How can we use multimedia with our kids if we do not know how to use it?
I really like the teacher tube video we watched "Are You Listening". I think it makes its point very well. I would like to use that with my faculty. I wanted to interject last night that it would be wonderful to move kids away from "how many sentences does it have to be" to "can you understand what I mean, do I make my point?" That would make a huge difference in engaging the student vs teaching for the test. What are the means to the end and what is the end? Are we preparing these future leaders to think for themselves or to get the answers correct? It seems that changing our models of education is a slow and painful process. Even though we know the key to success is in being able to problem solve and think, the students don't spend enough time partaking in that type of learning when they are being lectured at all day.
There are tried and true models of education that practice and succeed in this very type of education, but we fail to change our ways. Hopefully our colleges are teaching this way of teaching and our new teachers will follow through. We all know how hard it is to teach an old teacher new tricks!
Thursday, February 21, 2008
PBL-Can We Make It Work?
I am just not having any luck with this blog! I went to edit last week's post (which I didn't get up until last night due to technical difficulties) and it gave me an error message! So please forgive my grammatical errors on the previous post. I really did try to fix them. I sure hope this one posts.
The movie was very insightful and true. But making all those component come together smoothly is a huge challenge! Of course that does not mean we throw in the towel and say "impossible, can't be done". The best course of action is to keep trying, to persevere. That is what I keep telling myself even though many of my fellow teachers would just like to leave technology in the computer lab and not have to deal with it. I have not had a teacher's manual to work from for over 10 years and I have very involved lessons that overflow my file cabinets.
History has proven the home situation and emotional well being of the student are key to success in academics. With the webgrading system we have at school, the communications between home and school have greatly improved. For the parents and teachers that use the system, it has been a wonderful tool for keeping their children on target. When I send notes home, I am happy to see improvement in the students performance the next week. I so wish my own kids had that. I know we have teachers that still don't use it and I hear them complain about their students. If only they would trust technology. But I have offered help and they resist to the point of nastiness, so I back down. I am not the principal, I have no authority, so we all suffer.
I just installed Camino. Let's see if it solves my posting problem.
The movie was very insightful and true. But making all those component come together smoothly is a huge challenge! Of course that does not mean we throw in the towel and say "impossible, can't be done". The best course of action is to keep trying, to persevere. That is what I keep telling myself even though many of my fellow teachers would just like to leave technology in the computer lab and not have to deal with it. I have not had a teacher's manual to work from for over 10 years and I have very involved lessons that overflow my file cabinets.
History has proven the home situation and emotional well being of the student are key to success in academics. With the webgrading system we have at school, the communications between home and school have greatly improved. For the parents and teachers that use the system, it has been a wonderful tool for keeping their children on target. When I send notes home, I am happy to see improvement in the students performance the next week. I so wish my own kids had that. I know we have teachers that still don't use it and I hear them complain about their students. If only they would trust technology. But I have offered help and they resist to the point of nastiness, so I back down. I am not the principal, I have no authority, so we all suffer.
I just installed Camino. Let's see if it solves my posting problem.
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
This week
Technology is not liking me this week. I upgraded my OS to the latest on my eMac and it is not allowing me to add to my blog or edit the wiki. So I have behind in getting to this blog. I did it already, but never checked to make sure it was in and it was not!
Last week's class was interesting. I have never heard of the Loti scale and I have been in technology for 10 years. I am happy to say that I have been striving and at time succeeding at hitting a 4 with a good portion of my lessons. I have aggressively trying to integrate the regular classroom curriculum into our tech program. I try to involve my students in the decision making process when it comes to our projects. Due to time constraints it is not always easy. I just did a budget project with the 8th graders where they had to research a career. They needed to know the amount of schooling required, the cost of that school, the average income for that career and the terms of the student loan. After all the calculations were completed in a spreadsheet they had to set up a household budget. Purchasing a home, car (if they could afford one), and all the expenses that the average American faces were put into the spreadsheet. Their eyes were opened to what good old mom and dad are experiencing.
I would like to introduce the Loti scale to my faculty and find out where they feel they are. Possibly that would put the spark into them to move themselves up to the next level. Think it will work?
Last week's class was interesting. I have never heard of the Loti scale and I have been in technology for 10 years. I am happy to say that I have been striving and at time succeeding at hitting a 4 with a good portion of my lessons. I have aggressively trying to integrate the regular classroom curriculum into our tech program. I try to involve my students in the decision making process when it comes to our projects. Due to time constraints it is not always easy. I just did a budget project with the 8th graders where they had to research a career. They needed to know the amount of schooling required, the cost of that school, the average income for that career and the terms of the student loan. After all the calculations were completed in a spreadsheet they had to set up a household budget. Purchasing a home, car (if they could afford one), and all the expenses that the average American faces were put into the spreadsheet. Their eyes were opened to what good old mom and dad are experiencing.
I would like to introduce the Loti scale to my faculty and find out where they feel they are. Possibly that would put the spark into them to move themselves up to the next level. Think it will work?
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
Lots of Stuff!
There is so much on the web for teachers and education, it is amazing we still need to purchase books! If schools were truly one to one with computers and students our curriculum's could be packed full of interactive teaching sites. The resources on the eduwiki was quite interesting, I could spend a lot of time on that site. Wimbia, the virtual classroom tool looks interesting. I can see using the virtual book clubs, teacher blogs (good subjects, very relevant material) and teacher tips often. I will have to bookmark that one.
I could see using quizlab with my students, though I don't give that many quizzes. I will have to try it out next year when I give my key command quiz. I will be using the engrade site with my UWM students.
Seeing the way the other students did their website evaluations did give me alarm. Every one's looks so much better than mine, but I did put a lot of work into it. I did it brief as I had the evaluation forms filled out and thought we would somehow be using those. I did it like the wiki paragraph said . I guess we are relying more on what we posted on our wiki pages.
Google docs is not always working for me. Sometimes I am able to copy the published link and sometimes I am not, so I have to copy and paste the whole document. I don't understand why this keeps happening, but I am getting away from creating links. I am going to get good at this and make it work. I hope to be better organized next class as I felt very hodge podge this class. As though I was moving 100 miles an hour and unable to catch my breath. I don't think the pressures of the holidays helped. It was stressful. If the schedule could be redone and the class end before Christmas, that would be most helpful. Having homework over that break was painful. Until we meet again.........
I could see using quizlab with my students, though I don't give that many quizzes. I will have to try it out next year when I give my key command quiz. I will be using the engrade site with my UWM students.
Seeing the way the other students did their website evaluations did give me alarm. Every one's looks so much better than mine, but I did put a lot of work into it. I did it brief as I had the evaluation forms filled out and thought we would somehow be using those. I did it like the wiki paragraph said . I guess we are relying more on what we posted on our wiki pages.
Google docs is not always working for me. Sometimes I am able to copy the published link and sometimes I am not, so I have to copy and paste the whole document. I don't understand why this keeps happening, but I am getting away from creating links. I am going to get good at this and make it work. I hope to be better organized next class as I felt very hodge podge this class. As though I was moving 100 miles an hour and unable to catch my breath. I don't think the pressures of the holidays helped. It was stressful. If the schedule could be redone and the class end before Christmas, that would be most helpful. Having homework over that break was painful. Until we meet again.........
Saturday, January 12, 2008
My Rant-January 9
Tonight I felt stupid in class. I do not enjoy feeling stupid so it was not a pleasant evening for me. I have never "imed" before so it was a totally new experience. I did not understand what we were doing with Pam. Since I was unable to access any of the websites being discussed I did not feel I had anything to contribute. I think perhaps going over or demonstrating how to use the im would have been very beneficial to those of us who have never used it before. I think there were enough of us to warrant that.
Having more demonstration or examples on how an assignment is to be done would be extremely beneficial to this class. I am lost, and my frustration level is over the top at times. The website evaluations took many hours. I truly believe 10 websites was too many. To do a quality job the quantity should have been less. The first 2 websites I looked at took me about 2 hours each. I really wanted to find useful tools for my classroom. But at that rate, I just knew I could not complete the assignment and take care of all my other responsibilities. I must say, my family does suffer due to this masters program. I followed the guidelines in the individual assignment section of the wiki:
"Create an annotated list of the sites. Review the sites using the evaluation tool your study team decides on to guide you in describing the site. Include a brief description, including the kind of pre-prep that is needed to use the site, standards that are supported by the site and evaluation consistency and workings of the site. Is it complete? Working well? Etc."
It would be most beneficial if all rubrics were posted and gone over at the time of the assignment posting. This is at least the second time a rubric has been posted only days or hours before the class met.
It looks like each student did his/her own interpretation of how the assignment was to be done. I put a lot of time into this and now I have to fix it. I never understood that annotated meant the APA format. I even looked it up online to see what it meant. Like Louis said, it is all about learning, and that I am doing. But I really hate feeling stupid in the process. Sometimes I wonder if I can go on blindly like this for much longer. I like to know what exactly it is I am suppose to do and I too often feel as though I am in the dark.
I was looking forward to learning about the best sites in class tonight, but we never discussed them. All that work and now I guess I will have to go to each persons wiki to see what websites work best.
Because of the time crunch in this class I often feel I should keep my trap shut or else I will take up too much time. There are many times I feel the discussion should continue but we must move on so I let it die. And if have found that for me transitioning can be a difficult thing. I guess I am a slow learner and like to linger on things a bit longer until I feel I have grasped the concept. I realize there is not time for that, but it does cause me a lot of frustration.
The subject matter in tonight's class did scare me. I am going to be sharing this with my Jr. high students very soon. Lori and I were already planning on doing a unit in computers on bullying so this will work very nicely into that theme. I went over many of the sites listed on the meit wiki and some I found on my own and there is a ton of information on this subject. I will have a lot of share with my students and can't wait to start this lesson. WE have a serious issue with cyberbullying at our school and I hope this lesson will end it. Some of the videos are really eye openers and it is shocking to know that only 15% of parents realize this is happening. I will work on educating the parents. Getting a speaker in maybe at the next home and school meeting would get the word out.
Having more demonstration or examples on how an assignment is to be done would be extremely beneficial to this class. I am lost, and my frustration level is over the top at times. The website evaluations took many hours. I truly believe 10 websites was too many. To do a quality job the quantity should have been less. The first 2 websites I looked at took me about 2 hours each. I really wanted to find useful tools for my classroom. But at that rate, I just knew I could not complete the assignment and take care of all my other responsibilities. I must say, my family does suffer due to this masters program. I followed the guidelines in the individual assignment section of the wiki:
"Create an annotated list of the sites. Review the sites using the evaluation tool your study team decides on to guide you in describing the site. Include a brief description, including the kind of pre-prep that is needed to use the site, standards that are supported by the site and evaluation consistency and workings of the site. Is it complete? Working well? Etc."
It would be most beneficial if all rubrics were posted and gone over at the time of the assignment posting. This is at least the second time a rubric has been posted only days or hours before the class met.
It looks like each student did his/her own interpretation of how the assignment was to be done. I put a lot of time into this and now I have to fix it. I never understood that annotated meant the APA format. I even looked it up online to see what it meant. Like Louis said, it is all about learning, and that I am doing. But I really hate feeling stupid in the process. Sometimes I wonder if I can go on blindly like this for much longer. I like to know what exactly it is I am suppose to do and I too often feel as though I am in the dark.
I was looking forward to learning about the best sites in class tonight, but we never discussed them. All that work and now I guess I will have to go to each persons wiki to see what websites work best.
Because of the time crunch in this class I often feel I should keep my trap shut or else I will take up too much time. There are many times I feel the discussion should continue but we must move on so I let it die. And if have found that for me transitioning can be a difficult thing. I guess I am a slow learner and like to linger on things a bit longer until I feel I have grasped the concept. I realize there is not time for that, but it does cause me a lot of frustration.
The subject matter in tonight's class did scare me. I am going to be sharing this with my Jr. high students very soon. Lori and I were already planning on doing a unit in computers on bullying so this will work very nicely into that theme. I went over many of the sites listed on the meit wiki and some I found on my own and there is a ton of information on this subject. I will have a lot of share with my students and can't wait to start this lesson. WE have a serious issue with cyberbullying at our school and I hope this lesson will end it. Some of the videos are really eye openers and it is shocking to know that only 15% of parents realize this is happening. I will work on educating the parents. Getting a speaker in maybe at the next home and school meeting would get the word out.
Saturday, January 5, 2008
December 20th
Sharing the scavenger hunts with the class was interesting. It is always fun to see how the students interpret the assignment or use the wiki page to post their work. I learned a few things tonight regarding the wiki page. I think from now I I will try to use the links and attachments more so the wiki page is not so long. But I do like not having to click and open more software in order to view a lesson. But the links and attachments make the page look cleaner.
The google docs presentations on search engines was interesting as well. It is good to learn more about other search engines, the good, the bad and the why is it there in the first place? Some of the research done was enlightening, like when Trinie searched for her husband's book and it was not found on the book search engine. Interesting!
At&T's Knowledge Network is a vast website of teacher resources, with website links one is able to search using a variety of criteria. The wide variety of search option makes finding quality material almost easy. But one must still shuffle though the mound of options. This site offers enough for an entire school year worth of teaching opportunities. This site also offers staff development, free training and workshops, discounts and funding, information on e-rate, grant opportunities, and videoconferencing.
Out of the list of online quizzes I think funbrain was my favorite. That one keeps coming up in my lesson searches as well. I will have to do more exploring with that one for my classes. I got so much out of this classes that I was once again over-whelmed and was trying to sift through it all the next day at school. I think the Thursday teachers are getting bombarded with my excited demonstrations of these websites each time we meet. But I am always so pumped after our Wednesday night class that I have to share with someone. I just hope they are using these sites back in their class rooms.
The google docs presentations on search engines was interesting as well. It is good to learn more about other search engines, the good, the bad and the why is it there in the first place? Some of the research done was enlightening, like when Trinie searched for her husband's book and it was not found on the book search engine. Interesting!
At&T's Knowledge Network is a vast website of teacher resources, with website links one is able to search using a variety of criteria. The wide variety of search option makes finding quality material almost easy. But one must still shuffle though the mound of options. This site offers enough for an entire school year worth of teaching opportunities. This site also offers staff development, free training and workshops, discounts and funding, information on e-rate, grant opportunities, and videoconferencing.
Out of the list of online quizzes I think funbrain was my favorite. That one keeps coming up in my lesson searches as well. I will have to do more exploring with that one for my classes. I got so much out of this classes that I was once again over-whelmed and was trying to sift through it all the next day at school. I think the Thursday teachers are getting bombarded with my excited demonstrations of these websites each time we meet. But I am always so pumped after our Wednesday night class that I have to share with someone. I just hope they are using these sites back in their class rooms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
