The Assignment:
Submit evidence of reflection on your individual teaching abilities. Include artifacts, evaluation feedback, your own reflections, e-portfolio links, professional growth plans and anything else that showcases introspection into strengths and weaknesses as an online educator and document all in your individual blog.
This is a link to 2013-2014 School Year Portfolio on Dropbox. This file will only be open for a short amount of time.
Sunday, February 1, 2015
Differentiation Quest
The Assignment:
Provide sample data from student results for a course within your field. The data can be entirely theoretical and written out in text form.
Upon completion of the data, discuss the method used to group students based on abilities, strategies utilized to examine student performance, and areas requiring modification of instruction.
Next, focus on the individual level. How could the data be referenced to identify the needs of each student? How could the settings of the LMS be used to create personalized learning paths? Note that a personalized learning path does not necessarily mean one student sees a resource no one else does, but that the overall order and selection of work one student does may be entirely unique from the order and assignments others did. Once the product is complete, share the results in your blog.
Here is data from a practice multiple choice for my AP English Language course. This was probably our first attempt at doing multiple choice. The scores are low, but that was to be expected.
1. I would group students based on the questions they got wrong. Each of the six questions represent a specific type. With these "types," it would be advantageous to group students together so they can work on how to solve the specific type of problem that they are missing.
2. Then, in an LMS, I would create a set of assignments for specific types of problems. This may be a combination of exercises, websites, resources, activities. Because the tasks are based on the students' strengths and weaknesses, the tasks are individualized.
3. Finally, we would do another assessment with similar types of questions and see how students do. Another means of doing this activity would be to jigsaw the activity. In a jigsaw, students could actually be paired with a student who is stronger, and then they can create a teaching module via some presentation tool discussing how to solve a specific problem. They could define the words, key terms, etc.
Rubrics & Competencies
The Assignment:
For this section, set up a competency structure for one unit of your sample course. Associate the assignments in that unit with the competency. Submit both a screenshot of the structure and a detailed explanation of why you created the structure that way. Include a discussion of the various pathways a student may go through to attain the competencies in the unit and document all in your blog.
Currently, my students are reading The Slave Narrative of Frederick Douglass, and as they read, they have to complete multiple assignments associated with the reading in their Interactive Notebooks. To integrate United States' History with my American Literature Course, I often assign students a Document Based Question (DBQ). This DBQ serves as a performance task. While completing the daily assignment like completing the graphic organizer, I will use a class participation rubric. But, for the writing, I may use a different rubric. Students can earn multiple grades while completing the DBQ because the writing is a process! I can also break the DBQ process into smaller chunks or stages. For example, students could easily create some type of DBQ project like a PowerPoint or Prezi, or students can create informational graphics with all the documents and then complete another task.
The DBQ Assignment on The Civil War
Classwork Rubric
For this section, set up a competency structure for one unit of your sample course. Associate the assignments in that unit with the competency. Submit both a screenshot of the structure and a detailed explanation of why you created the structure that way. Include a discussion of the various pathways a student may go through to attain the competencies in the unit and document all in your blog.
Currently, my students are reading The Slave Narrative of Frederick Douglass, and as they read, they have to complete multiple assignments associated with the reading in their Interactive Notebooks. To integrate United States' History with my American Literature Course, I often assign students a Document Based Question (DBQ). This DBQ serves as a performance task. While completing the daily assignment like completing the graphic organizer, I will use a class participation rubric. But, for the writing, I may use a different rubric. Students can earn multiple grades while completing the DBQ because the writing is a process! I can also break the DBQ process into smaller chunks or stages. For example, students could easily create some type of DBQ project like a PowerPoint or Prezi, or students can create informational graphics with all the documents and then complete another task.
The DBQ Assignment on The Civil War
Classwork Rubric
- Answering questions on the DBQ
- Annotating Documents
- Completing graphic organizer(s)
- Another graphic organizer
- Graded on the Classwork Rubric
Sample Rubrics for Essay
Data Driven Instruction
The Assignment:
Review the artifacts above on student enrollments and student progress in the course. Then, provide a detailed description of all that this information tells you about the hypothetical course. Include how the teacher might adjust the course in the future based on the previous activity of these students. Document in a reflection on your blog.
The sample website and coursework show all the factors that contribute to data analysis. It looks as if the LMS keeps track of students' attendance. This teacher also provides multiple opportunities for students to re-take quizzes. The LMS also provides how many students are enrolled in specific courses, and it provides information concerning if the student has to pay or not. I'm not quite sure why a teacher would need to know if students are required to pay. The parent contact log seems to be very informative; it also allows teachers to type individualized comments. Based on some of the comments, it looks like teachers can use some type of calling post to complete contact logs. This teacher used it as a Welcome call! This teacher created a generic email and personalized emails for his/her students. There is a very colorful chart, but it doesn't offer any identifying information, so I cannot access what it should mean to the teacher. Finally, the LMS allows students to provide peer-to-peer evaluation or self-evaluation, something that is particularly important to gifted students.
What does the teacher need to change? Nothing from what I can tell. She/he seems pretty thorough.
Review the artifacts above on student enrollments and student progress in the course. Then, provide a detailed description of all that this information tells you about the hypothetical course. Include how the teacher might adjust the course in the future based on the previous activity of these students. Document in a reflection on your blog.
The sample website and coursework show all the factors that contribute to data analysis. It looks as if the LMS keeps track of students' attendance. This teacher also provides multiple opportunities for students to re-take quizzes. The LMS also provides how many students are enrolled in specific courses, and it provides information concerning if the student has to pay or not. I'm not quite sure why a teacher would need to know if students are required to pay. The parent contact log seems to be very informative; it also allows teachers to type individualized comments. Based on some of the comments, it looks like teachers can use some type of calling post to complete contact logs. This teacher used it as a Welcome call! This teacher created a generic email and personalized emails for his/her students. There is a very colorful chart, but it doesn't offer any identifying information, so I cannot access what it should mean to the teacher. Finally, the LMS allows students to provide peer-to-peer evaluation or self-evaluation, something that is particularly important to gifted students.
What does the teacher need to change? Nothing from what I can tell. She/he seems pretty thorough.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Summative Assessment
The Assignment:
The Rubric
Showcase an assessment created and include how the method was used to assess the validity, reliability, and security. Post the assessment in your blog.
The best assessments offer choice and variety for students. And, I like to offer a number of free online resources to help promote a paperless classroom. Validity and reliability depends on the authenticity of projects. I like to try assignments that are not readily available to reduce the propensity to cheat.
The Summative Assignment
The best assessments offer choice and variety for students. And, I like to offer a number of free online resources to help promote a paperless classroom. Validity and reliability depends on the authenticity of projects. I like to try assignments that are not readily available to reduce the propensity to cheat.
The Summative Assignment
The Rubric
Quality Feedback
The Assignment:
Student Responses (2)
Sample 1
In your blog, provide a student work sample and accompanying feedback that showcases some of the expectations listed above and offers a sound example of quality, authentic feedback. Discuss aspects of the sample that align with the best practices discussed in this quest.
The Assignment for AP Language
(The Directions)
Benjamin Banneker, the son of former slave, was a farmer, astronomer, mathematician, surveyor, and author. In 1791 he wrote to Thomas Jefferson, framer of the Declaration of Independence and secretary of state to President George Washington. Read the following excerpt from the letter, an analyze ONE RHETORICAL STRATEGY used to argue against slavery.
Please respond to one other student in the course. Provide them with commentary for their post! Simply saying, "Good Job," is empty and means very little to a writer. Give them ideas and food that resonate with them so they can improve as a reader and writer. Thank you.
Due Date: Sunday, August 31, 2014 by midnight!
I will lock the assignment after this date.
Student Responses (2)
Sample 1
Sample 2
Reflection:
My feedback is customized for each student's writing. This feedback references strengths and weaknesses in the writings, and it also gives incite to other resources to help them improve.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Formative Assessment
The Assignment:
Consider the best means of developing and delivering assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals and assess learning progress by measuring student achievement of learning goals. How might a teacher employ ways to assess student readiness for course content and method of delivery? To demonstrate this, create a formative assessment in a demo course you are creating. Post a link to the assessment in your blog.
Schoology Account:
Consider the best means of developing and delivering assessments, projects, and assignments that meet standards-based learning goals and assess learning progress by measuring student achievement of learning goals. How might a teacher employ ways to assess student readiness for course content and method of delivery? To demonstrate this, create a formative assessment in a demo course you are creating. Post a link to the assessment in your blog.
Schoology Account:
Access Code
Reset82HWF-4QBGJ
1. Click on course "Introduction to Digital Citizenship"
2. Click Folder, Digital Citizenship Curriculum
3. Click last item, module wrap up
4. Click Preview, then Begin Tests
There are multiple ways teachers can assess learning. Personally, I like reflection activities that make the students share what they have learned. Technology makes assessments easier and paperless!
Monday, January 26, 2015
Aggregating Lesson Material Quest
The Assignment
As discussed throughout the quest, collecting or curating learning objects, resources, and learning material enriches the e-learning environment. Research and identify three tools that can be used to aggregate and present learning material, other than the two mentioned in the lesson. Post findings in your blog and include a brief description and the associated costs.
11 Ways to Use Symbaloo in the Classroom
Symbaloo is a way to aggregate apps, websites, and internet tools to meet a specific purpose. Embedded in this website is a link of how to share a web mix. This makes information organized and readily accessible.
Evernote in the Classroom
I use Evernote as an online notepad. This resource can be used in multiple ways with students. There are also several PDF resources helping teachers to integrate Evernote into the classroom.
Google Apps in the Classroom
Google Apps provide a plethora of resources for presenting information in a virtual setting. And, the best part of this resource is that it is FREE and all web based, so students will not need to download anything to their computers!
As discussed throughout the quest, collecting or curating learning objects, resources, and learning material enriches the e-learning environment. Research and identify three tools that can be used to aggregate and present learning material, other than the two mentioned in the lesson. Post findings in your blog and include a brief description and the associated costs.
11 Ways to Use Symbaloo in the Classroom
Symbaloo is a way to aggregate apps, websites, and internet tools to meet a specific purpose. Embedded in this website is a link of how to share a web mix. This makes information organized and readily accessible.
Evernote in the Classroom
I use Evernote as an online notepad. This resource can be used in multiple ways with students. There are also several PDF resources helping teachers to integrate Evernote into the classroom.
Google Apps in the Classroom
Google Apps provide a plethora of resources for presenting information in a virtual setting. And, the best part of this resource is that it is FREE and all web based, so students will not need to download anything to their computers!
Principles of Building Portable Learning Objects Quest
The Assignment
Based upon your specific content area, build two high quality, reusable learning objects. After completing the project, post links to the created objects in your blog and explain their intended use.
This is an interactive study guide for Poe's "The Raven." Words are highlighted with information. As students place the mouse over the words, more information displays to help students understand the poem.
This interactive website follows Dante's Inferno, a book about a man traveling through hell. This resource offers an interactive and informative resource to help students navigate the difficult poem.
Learning Object Authoring
The Assignment
Based on an understanding of learning object authoring tools, locate five tools–three tools that are free to use and two that are fee/subscription based (note that some web 2.0 tools may also serve as object-authoring tools). Post findings to your blog, as well as an explanation as to how these tools might be used. Make sure to investigate what others have posted.
Free ToolsClassTools.net
Create free educational games, quizzes, activities and diagrams in seconds! Host them on your own blog, website or intranet! No signup, no passwords, no charge!
Google's Authoring tool for eLearning
Course Builder is targeting in all educational levels. From K12 to Higher Education. However, it seems that they did not consider the corporate education. Google hopes that teachers, educators, and professors will use Googles' Authoring Tools to teach online courses whether the students are 10 or 100,000.
A free version of a commercial authoring tool, authorPOINT Lite creates eLearning content by converting PowerPoint presentations. The free version does not include live video/audio functionality or the ability to save as a SCORM compliant flash presentation. This is installed, not web-based, software, and is used by a plethora of institutions of higher education.
The JeLSIM Builder toolkit is a FREE toolkit for producing educational simulations. The tools are written in Java and allow the user to create Java applets which can be delivered through a standard web browser. Creating simulations requires experience of the Java programming language to create a numerical model of the system/concept being simulated. Once the model has been written, simulation interfaces can be developed by teachers and content developers who have no knowledge of Java. Using the tools is little more difficult than using a drawing package.
Paid Tools
- Lectora 12 is the ultimate eLearning authoring tool for professionals who want to easily turn their presentations into eLearning courses. A remarkably simple, yet exceptionally powerful tool, Lectora 12 makes it easy to create eLearning courses that get results. Or, develop eLearning in the cloud with Lectora Online, perfect for collaboration and teamwork. (Fee $2500 <)
- Gomo is a cloud based, award winning e-learning software that allows you to create beautiful multi-device HTML5 courses in minutes. Using their intuitive drag and drop interface to convert PowerPoint presentations into highly interactive courses without programming. Drop in sound, video, animation, quizzes and rich interactivity to engage your learners. Also you can embed third party content from across the Internet, including Twitter feeds, YouTube and Vimeo videos, Google Maps and more. Last but not least, you can deliver your single-source content directly from Gomo to all your devices (including full-screen on smartphones and tablets) as well as desktops and your LMS. (Fee: Person is $89)
- CAMSTUDIO
CamStudio is able to record all screen and audio activity on your computer and create industry-standard AVI video files and using its built-in SWF Producer can turn those AVIs into lean, mean, bandwidth-friendly Streaming Flash videos (SWFs)
(Update 10/26/2010: suggested by Neil Prior)
Sunday, January 25, 2015
Locating Resources
The Assignment:
Open educational resources are available in a variety of mediums. Using the content topic previously selected, locate an image, applicable text, and a multimedia object that apply to the topic. Ensure the resources are cited properly and post these items in your blog with the links.
For the Dark Romantics, I teach the writings of Poe. More specifically, students will study "The Raven" and "The Masque of the Red Death." For "The Raven," we read the poem in its original context. I will then show the Simpson's version for a comparison! The Simpson's version is available on TeacherTube.
Multimedia Object from TeacherTube:
The Simpson's version of Edgar A. Poe's "The Raven"
Currently, my regular students are reading The Slave Narrative of Frederick Douglass. I have already read the autobiography with my AP students. Edsitement.org has a great resource for introducing students for rhetoric. The lesson plan with activities are here.
I also teach Miller's The Crucible. Georgia Virtual School offers free resources that students and teacher may access when selecting activities. These lessons can be accessed here.
Open educational resources are available in a variety of mediums. Using the content topic previously selected, locate an image, applicable text, and a multimedia object that apply to the topic. Ensure the resources are cited properly and post these items in your blog with the links.
For the Dark Romantics, I teach the writings of Poe. More specifically, students will study "The Raven" and "The Masque of the Red Death." For "The Raven," we read the poem in its original context. I will then show the Simpson's version for a comparison! The Simpson's version is available on TeacherTube.
Multimedia Object from TeacherTube:
The Simpson's version of Edgar A. Poe's "The Raven"
Currently, my regular students are reading The Slave Narrative of Frederick Douglass. I have already read the autobiography with my AP students. Edsitement.org has a great resource for introducing students for rhetoric. The lesson plan with activities are here.
I also teach Miller's The Crucible. Georgia Virtual School offers free resources that students and teacher may access when selecting activities. These lessons can be accessed here.
Fair Use and the TEACH Act Use
The Assignment:
As discussed throughout this quest, Fair Use and the TEACH act allow educators to use copyrighted material for educational purposes. Referring to the checklist and resources provided, determine how this information may be applied in an online classroom. In your respective blog, discuss the following:
- How does an understanding of Fair Use affect one’s role as an online instructor?
- How do Fair Use and the TEACH Act correlate to the delivery of reliable content?
1. Fair Use provides guidelines for teachers concerning how much of a resource they can actually use or copy when instructing students. For the most part, using a resource that relates to the content is acceptable, but teachers can only use so much of the resource. In other words, teachers cannot copy an entire book or work of knowledge for instructional purposes, but they can copy just a piece if it pertains to the subject.
2. As a teacher, both Fair Use and TEACH Act seem to be more accommodating in the face-to-face setting, but online or distance learning it is somewhat evolving. This is probably because laws and government do not necessarily keep up with technology. From what I can tell, Fair Use and TEACH Act must be used in asynchronous settings, which means that it must be a "live" session online for the resource to be used. Like the face-to-face setting, you can still only use a partial piece of it. To avoid some of these "legal issues," it is probably best for teachers to make their own content. This means, you create activities and information for your students. Fair Use and TEACH Act also emphasize the importance of planning. As an instructor, you need to plan every component of your curriculum.
Open Educational Resources & Creative Commons
Open Educational Resources may be found across nearly all subject areas, but understanding methods of integrating these resources into instructional activities remains a best practice. For this quest, create an entry in your blog in which you develop a definition of open educational resources and explain the various Creative Commons licenses one may encounter when searching for these resources.
Open Educational Resources (OER) are any tools, information that are available for FREE to add to knowledge of the world. They can be as simple as websites and as complex as online classes that you may access anywhere at anytime.
Creative Commons offers four conditions for using and sharing ideas:
A) Attribution
Anyone can use this file/resource, but they have to give credit to the designer/maker of the resource.
B) Noncommercial simply means you cannot use the item to make money! And, you must give credit to the owner of the resource.
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C) No Derivative Works is to use the resource in its original capacity; you cannot change anything!
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Open Educational Resources (OER) are any tools, information that are available for FREE to add to knowledge of the world. They can be as simple as websites and as complex as online classes that you may access anywhere at anytime.
Creative Commons offers four conditions for using and sharing ideas:
A) Attribution
B) Noncommercial simply means you cannot use the item to make money! And, you must give credit to the owner of the resource.
C) No Derivative Works is to use the resource in its original capacity; you cannot change anything!
D) Public Domain; this option is when you give up all rights to the product, so people can use it how they see fit.
One final note:
Combination of Conditions allows people to select multiple requirements of the Creative Commons' OER!
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Using Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Student Assessment
The Assignment:
Using the resources as a guide, isolate one Web Tool that aligns with differentiation and student assessment. Then, post the tool to your blog and include information, suggested student use, and instructional practices.
Pixton
I assigned students several options when we were reading Into the Wild. One option was to re-create a scene from McCandless' experience using Pixton. In order to offer Pixton, I purchased a subscription for about 25 students. Then, I disseminated the password so students could submit the assignment into my "class." This activity is differentiated because students had tons of options: they had options in determining what scene they wanted, they had choices to what they could use with Pixton. For a rubric, I recommend some type of critical thinking rubric or an integrated rubric versus just some plain storyboard rubric.
Here is a sample of one my student's assignments:
I loved her level of details! I will definitely use again!
Student Work Sample
Using the resources as a guide, isolate one Web Tool that aligns with differentiation and student assessment. Then, post the tool to your blog and include information, suggested student use, and instructional practices.
Pixton
I assigned students several options when we were reading Into the Wild. One option was to re-create a scene from McCandless' experience using Pixton. In order to offer Pixton, I purchased a subscription for about 25 students. Then, I disseminated the password so students could submit the assignment into my "class." This activity is differentiated because students had tons of options: they had options in determining what scene they wanted, they had choices to what they could use with Pixton. For a rubric, I recommend some type of critical thinking rubric or an integrated rubric versus just some plain storyboard rubric.
Here is a sample of one my student's assignments:
I loved her level of details! I will definitely use again!
Student Work Sample
Web 2.0 Tools to Differentiate Teacher Instruction
The Assignment:
Spend some time exploring articles and Web 2.0 Classroom tools that highlight educational strategies and introduce differentiated learning activities for students. What tools best align with the instructional goals associated with a progressive, online learning environment? Are the tools innovative, user-friendly, and representative of higher level thinking?
Fire and foremost, just about any open-ended task is already differentiated because students have the luxury of making meaning and making sense of the material in their own, personalized way. An open-ended task can be almost any Web 2.0 tool.
Animoto is great if you want students to create a video that relates to content. Or, open-ended discussion questions or blogs are also open-ended tasks where students can draft their ideas. Any free blog sites like Blogger or Schoology or Edmodo are great for these types of tools. Wikis are also excellent.
I recommend Google Docs for drafting essays and research papers because the Google Docs sharing mechanism makes it great for the teacher to follow students' processes for piecing together papers.
Storybird is great for getting students to create their own book with illustrations. I actually use Issuu for materials similar to this concept. Storybird seems somewhat elementary, but it may be a great tool for having high school students convert abstract concepts into more simplistic ideas.
I use Noodletools ($60) to help implement differentiation with the research paper process. But, this resource is not free! It is great for higher order thinking activities and deep research activities. I integrate it with Google Docs to create an authentic learning experience.
Spend some time exploring articles and Web 2.0 Classroom tools that highlight educational strategies and introduce differentiated learning activities for students. What tools best align with the instructional goals associated with a progressive, online learning environment? Are the tools innovative, user-friendly, and representative of higher level thinking?
Fire and foremost, just about any open-ended task is already differentiated because students have the luxury of making meaning and making sense of the material in their own, personalized way. An open-ended task can be almost any Web 2.0 tool.
Animoto is great if you want students to create a video that relates to content. Or, open-ended discussion questions or blogs are also open-ended tasks where students can draft their ideas. Any free blog sites like Blogger or Schoology or Edmodo are great for these types of tools. Wikis are also excellent.
I recommend Google Docs for drafting essays and research papers because the Google Docs sharing mechanism makes it great for the teacher to follow students' processes for piecing together papers.
Storybird is great for getting students to create their own book with illustrations. I actually use Issuu for materials similar to this concept. Storybird seems somewhat elementary, but it may be a great tool for having high school students convert abstract concepts into more simplistic ideas.
I use Noodletools ($60) to help implement differentiation with the research paper process. But, this resource is not free! It is great for higher order thinking activities and deep research activities. I integrate it with Google Docs to create an authentic learning experience.
Web Tools
These are links to some of the best Web 2.0 tools voted on by some of the leading educational technologists specialists. I have them saved under my personal bookmarks.
Twitter Resources for Educators
22 Web App Tools for Writers and Editors
Best Educational Wikis of 2011
50 Useful Blogging Tools for Teachers
Teachers Favored Web 2.0 Tools
Discovery Education Web 2.0 Tools
101 Web 2.0 Teaching Tools
Edudemic: 100 Best Web 2.0 Tools
Cool Tools for Schools Wikispaces
The Assignment;
Then, create three categories and elaborate on the value of the tools referenced. Describe each tool explaining its use, associated cost and how the tool would implemented in a learning environment. Document the items in your blog.
Category 1: Converting Tools
If you work in public schools like I do, there are more times than not when you have to convert files so you can access them under the super protected servers. Converting Tools are what you need. Each teacher needs to keep two or three converting tools that so you can convert files into a format that is easily accessible at school. Usually, these converting tools are not available at the school, so you may have to convert the files at home and then save them where you can access them at school.
Google Drive does a number of conversions already. This is one of the reasons I push Google Apps with students over others. It will already convert Word documents to PDF or vice versa. At one time, public schools blocked YouTube videos for safety violations. I have had to convert several YouTube videos into mp4 formats and save these mp4 formats on my hard drive for instructional purposes. I have used Zamzar if the file was not too big. Many of the sites are free if the file is not too large. If you are converting large files, then you will be required to pay a service fee. Google Apps are free, but again, you have to watch the size of the file. Most recently, I have converted a large PDF to a smaller PDF. These are really cool!
Category 2: Video Tools
I am just getting into Video Tools for instructional purposes. I have frequently used YouTube videos to extend content, but now I am attempting to make my own. Most of my videos are created with Apps from the iTunes store like Explain Everything ($2.99) or Educreations (free). I am not smooth in making my videos, but I figured the more I do it, the better I will become. Many video tools cost a small fee. Animoto is free but only for a few videos with limited use. If you want access to the large variety, you will have to pay $5.00 a month. Sometimes I will subscribe to resources for a short period of time to allow students an opportunity to use the resource to fulfill projects and assignments. I almost always use a gift card or credit card to avoid any problems. I also try to save and download the project or assignment for my personal reference. The key with video tools is finding the tool to support your purpose and desire.
Category 3: Quiz and Poll Tools
Need a quick assessment so you can hang data on your wall for the looming administrators? Use some of these quiz and poll tools to help. I love many of these tools because they are PAPERLESS! This means you won't have to collect paper, look at paper, find paper, copy paper. These tools can be used with cell phones and computers. I also love many of these tools because they will dis-aggregate the data for your and put the data into pretty charts and graphs. My final reason for loving these tools is that many of them save the data in the cloud or on a server, so you get to download the data when you like. I am using more and more of these types of resources the longer I teach. I would also recommend teachers to look into apps like Quickkey and GradeCam!
Twitter Resources for Educators
22 Web App Tools for Writers and Editors
Best Educational Wikis of 2011
50 Useful Blogging Tools for Teachers
Teachers Favored Web 2.0 Tools
Discovery Education Web 2.0 Tools
101 Web 2.0 Teaching Tools
Edudemic: 100 Best Web 2.0 Tools
Cool Tools for Schools Wikispaces
The Assignment;
Then, create three categories and elaborate on the value of the tools referenced. Describe each tool explaining its use, associated cost and how the tool would implemented in a learning environment. Document the items in your blog.
Category 1: Converting Tools
If you work in public schools like I do, there are more times than not when you have to convert files so you can access them under the super protected servers. Converting Tools are what you need. Each teacher needs to keep two or three converting tools that so you can convert files into a format that is easily accessible at school. Usually, these converting tools are not available at the school, so you may have to convert the files at home and then save them where you can access them at school.
Google Drive does a number of conversions already. This is one of the reasons I push Google Apps with students over others. It will already convert Word documents to PDF or vice versa. At one time, public schools blocked YouTube videos for safety violations. I have had to convert several YouTube videos into mp4 formats and save these mp4 formats on my hard drive for instructional purposes. I have used Zamzar if the file was not too big. Many of the sites are free if the file is not too large. If you are converting large files, then you will be required to pay a service fee. Google Apps are free, but again, you have to watch the size of the file. Most recently, I have converted a large PDF to a smaller PDF. These are really cool!
Category 2: Video Tools
I am just getting into Video Tools for instructional purposes. I have frequently used YouTube videos to extend content, but now I am attempting to make my own. Most of my videos are created with Apps from the iTunes store like Explain Everything ($2.99) or Educreations (free). I am not smooth in making my videos, but I figured the more I do it, the better I will become. Many video tools cost a small fee. Animoto is free but only for a few videos with limited use. If you want access to the large variety, you will have to pay $5.00 a month. Sometimes I will subscribe to resources for a short period of time to allow students an opportunity to use the resource to fulfill projects and assignments. I almost always use a gift card or credit card to avoid any problems. I also try to save and download the project or assignment for my personal reference. The key with video tools is finding the tool to support your purpose and desire.
Category 3: Quiz and Poll Tools
Need a quick assessment so you can hang data on your wall for the looming administrators? Use some of these quiz and poll tools to help. I love many of these tools because they are PAPERLESS! This means you won't have to collect paper, look at paper, find paper, copy paper. These tools can be used with cell phones and computers. I also love many of these tools because they will dis-aggregate the data for your and put the data into pretty charts and graphs. My final reason for loving these tools is that many of them save the data in the cloud or on a server, so you get to download the data when you like. I am using more and more of these types of resources the longer I teach. I would also recommend teachers to look into apps like Quickkey and GradeCam!
Appearance Quest
Explore learning modules from various online organizations and describe the benefits of layout, media, and appearance. Please identify ten instructional sites, and isolate five sites which exemplify sound design ideals and five that do not adhere to these standards and document in your blog.
Instructional Sites that seem ideal to learning:
5 Sites with very functional organization:
Georgia Virtual Shared Resources
This site offers shared, free resources for teachers who are interested in teaching online, particularly for Georgia Virtual. The resources are divided into content areas, the screen and colors are consistent and easy to follow. I would recommend this site.
Web English Teacher
This site is a tool primarily targeted for English teachers. It is divided by skills, but a teacher can also find information on specific writers or works by simply typing in the name of the story or author in the search box. The beauty of this site is that it is always being updated. This means teachers can always find refreshing resources.
NCTE's ReadWriteThink
This resource is also primarily targeted for teachers, but the information's layout is quite informative and impressive. When teachers examine a resource, small tabs for each type of item actually appear with a short blurb providing basic information about that specific source.
The Khan Academy
The Khan Academy's library offers mathematical concepts by key words and ideas or key skills. This is perfect for students when they are attempting to get help on a specific skill. The way the videos are organized actually saves time for students and parents.
Enotes.com
Enotes is an interdisciplinary site that offers information and additional help for specific concepts. It is user friendly, and students only need to type key words or buzz words in the search box. The site will then aggregate all information pertaining to that topic.
5 sites with poor functionality:
Bad Course 1
This is an example of a poor quality instructional design course. It really is just a shell with some basic information. It is not user friendly for students. It offers very little information that is worthy of discussion since the generic information can be found anywhere.
Bad Course 2
This website is listed as a site to explore in the platform. When you go to the site, I'm not quite sure what I am suppose to be doing. You can join, but I'm not sure what you would be joining. I consider this a poor site simply because I don't know the purpose. There isn't a section to explain what it is even about.
Bad Course 3
This site is actually tricky. From a simple glance, it looks like it might be a viable source; that is until I read that anyone can attend it. And, the modules have various information, but it lacks structure, purpose, a point. I don't know if students could actually determine this, but as a knowledgeable adult, I can.
Recommendations for effective instructional design online:
5 Sites with very functional organization:
Georgia Virtual Shared Resources
This site offers shared, free resources for teachers who are interested in teaching online, particularly for Georgia Virtual. The resources are divided into content areas, the screen and colors are consistent and easy to follow. I would recommend this site.
Web English Teacher
This site is a tool primarily targeted for English teachers. It is divided by skills, but a teacher can also find information on specific writers or works by simply typing in the name of the story or author in the search box. The beauty of this site is that it is always being updated. This means teachers can always find refreshing resources.
NCTE's ReadWriteThink
This resource is also primarily targeted for teachers, but the information's layout is quite informative and impressive. When teachers examine a resource, small tabs for each type of item actually appear with a short blurb providing basic information about that specific source.
The Khan Academy
The Khan Academy's library offers mathematical concepts by key words and ideas or key skills. This is perfect for students when they are attempting to get help on a specific skill. The way the videos are organized actually saves time for students and parents.
Enotes.com
Enotes is an interdisciplinary site that offers information and additional help for specific concepts. It is user friendly, and students only need to type key words or buzz words in the search box. The site will then aggregate all information pertaining to that topic.
5 sites with poor functionality:
Bad Course 1
This is an example of a poor quality instructional design course. It really is just a shell with some basic information. It is not user friendly for students. It offers very little information that is worthy of discussion since the generic information can be found anywhere.
Bad Course 2
This website is listed as a site to explore in the platform. When you go to the site, I'm not quite sure what I am suppose to be doing. You can join, but I'm not sure what you would be joining. I consider this a poor site simply because I don't know the purpose. There isn't a section to explain what it is even about.
Bad Course 3
This site is actually tricky. From a simple glance, it looks like it might be a viable source; that is until I read that anyone can attend it. And, the modules have various information, but it lacks structure, purpose, a point. I don't know if students could actually determine this, but as a knowledgeable adult, I can.
Recommendations for effective instructional design online:
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| Things to do for effective instructional design |
Content Mapping
Sample Content Map Done with MindMup for Google Chrome
American Literature Unit 3: Transcendentalism on MindMup
Saturday, January 17, 2015
Time Management
Advice from Forbes.com
The secret to mastering your time is to systematically focus on importance and suppress urgency. Humans are pre-wired to focus on things which demand an immediate response, like alerts on their phones – and to postpone things which are most important, like going to the gym. You need to reverse that, which goes against your brain and most of human society.
The secret to mastering your time is to systematically focus on importance and suppress urgency. Humans are pre-wired to focus on things which demand an immediate response, like alerts on their phones – and to postpone things which are most important, like going to the gym. You need to reverse that, which goes against your brain and most of human society.
Look at what you spend your day doing. Most of it, I’ll warrant, is not anything you chose – it’s what is being asked of you. Here’s how we fix that, young padawan:
- Say no. Most of us follow an implicit social contract: when someone asks you to do something you almost always say yes. It may feel very noble, but don’t forget there’s a dying princess you need to save, and you just agreed to slow yourself down because you were asked nicely. You may need to sacrifice some social comfort to save a life (as a bonus, people tend to instinctively respect those who can say no).
I have no problem saying "No," but this is something that comes and grows with age and experience. In the online world, you may have to say no when it comes to late work, late submissions or even no with extensions. The beauty of online is that you can actually put a block on specific assignments, and by doing this, you are indirectly saying, "No." For instance, when my AP students blog, I cut off the submission at a specific time. When this happens, students are blocked from being able to submit anything.
- Unplug the TV. I haven’t had a TV signal for 7 years, which has given me about 12,376 hours more than the average American who indulges in 34 hours a week. I do watch some shows – usually one hour a day whilst eating dinner – but only ones I’ve chosen and bought. You can do a lot with 12,000 hours and still keep up with Mad Men.
I am not a big TV watcher, so this part is not difficult for me. And, TV now has it where you can record shows on your DVR, making TV watching more accessible when you need to do it. TV is actually a convenience for doing online classes because I can access coursework from any part of the house, even in front of a TV. This suggestion just takes discipline.
- Kill notifications. Modern technology has evolved to exploit our urgency addiction: email, Facebook, Twitter, Quora, and more will fight to distract you constantly. Fortunately, this is easily fixed: turn off all your notifications. Choose to check these things when you have time to be distracted – say, during a lunch break – and work through them together, saving time.
Notifications are extremely wonderful for online classes. And, I can actually set a time of which notifications I want to delay when working with online coursework. Notifications keep me up-to-speed with issues and concerns in the online forum.
- Schedule your priorities. Humans are such funny critters. If you have a friend to meet, you’ll arrange to see them at a set time. But if you have something that matters to you more than anything – say writing a book, or going to the gym – you won’t schedule it. You’ll just ‘get round to it’. Treat your highest priorities like flights you have to catch: give them a set time in advance and say no to anything that would stop you from making your flight.
I have decided that when I teach my online classes, I will schedule dates when I want to release information. And, there are going to be some things I want made available from the start. Scheduling resources helps keep consistency and helps keep me focused on the matter at hand. And, it will help put students on a timed schedule. Students have a large problem staying on top of their assignments, but this is because they don't plan and prioritize.
- Less volume, more time. There’s always millions of things you could be doing. The trick is to pick no more than 1 – 3 a day and relentlessly pursue those. Your brain won’t like this limit. Other people won’t like this limit. Do it anyway. Focusing your all on one task at a time is infinitely more efficient than multi-tasking and gives you time to excel at your work.
Less is more. Instead of attempting to cover a whole host of material, I only need to cover selected pieces. This is easy when a teacher carries a repertoire of resources. This also applies to the online classroom. My intent is to use specific pieces that are representative for specific content and skills.
- Ignore. It’s rude, unprofessional, and often utterly necessary. There are people you won’t find time to reply to. There are requests you will allow yourself to forget. You can be slow to do things like tidy up, pay bills, or open mail. The world won’t fall apart. The payoff is you get done what matters.
Apps and Tools to Integrate for help:
1. RescueTime - This tool runs with your Windows or Mac to watch and record how long you spend on each application or activity as you go. It also generates an analysis of how you're using your time to help you plan more effectively for the next week.
This is actually a great exercise to keep track of where your time goes, or keep track of where you are losing time. This is especially helpful in the online world because so many things may be happening simultaneously. I am going to attempt to use this for a billing activity as well.
4. List.ly - While MindMeister is ideal for visual folks, List.ly—as the name suggests—is a great resource for those who prefer lists. But it's not your ordinary to-do list; it's highly engaging and makes it easier to receive crowd-sourced feedback.
This app is great for creating lists and possibly sharing those lists.
8. OneNote - This ultimate note taker, which is part of Microsoft Office 2010, allows you to keep organized virtual folders to file away notes. OneNote is particularly useful when you're collecting a massive amount of research. Its drag and drop function makes it very easy to stay organized.
This is a great note-taking app, but I would much prefer EverNote than this one because EverNote is web-based. OneNote requires Microsoft only, and you may have to purchase it.
9. Nozbe - This application follows best-selling author David Allen's "Getting Things Done" philosophy, by organizing your tasks according to the location where you'd perform them—whether it's home, office, online, etc. It also has a team-oriented tasks option, like group message boards.
This app seems best for helping one to organize assignments around specific locations and specific times.
10. StayFocusd - Download this Google Chrome extension to block your biggest time-wasting sites. It works like a timer, and asks you to set the maximum time you want to waste on your customized time-killer sites before they're blocked.
I will share this resource with students and parents because this can help quell the urge to look up Twitter and Facebook when students are in the middle of assignments.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Synchronous Sessions
Reflect upon the importance of utilizing a synchronous session to “create a true classroom culture” online. How does integrating synchronous learning sessions within the online environment assist in developing a learning community for students? Discuss this question at length in your blog.
Hosting synchronous sessions are beneficial because students learn that it is an actual teacher and not a computer giving them feedback. It can also give the class more personality and authenticity. We also have to remember that Ga Virtual School is for children, not really adults. This means that these children still need a live person in much of their learning process. Many students are not disciplined enough to complete all tasks on their own. Synchronous sessions help build rapport and allow students to receive even more authentic feedback on assignments and lesson learned. I like the ideas of synchronous sessions because I can quickly address lots of issues and problems immediately versus being bombarded with questions later. I can share my screen so students can see what I see, and I can easily demonstrate how to do something while talking through it with students live.
Definition:
An contrast, synchronous, or real-time, communication takes place like a conversation. If your class uses only writing-based tools to communicate, the only synchronous communication possible is a chat session. Everyone gets online in the same chat room and types questions, comments, and responses in real time. Synchronous activities may include chat sessions, whiteboard drawings, and other group interactive work. If your class involves multimedia tools, synchronous communication might involve audio or video feeds to the computer. Some “online” courses require learners and teachers to get together at least once (or sometimes several times) in person, by conference call, or through closed-circuit television links [5].
One of the advantages of synchronous collaboration is its immediacy. You can send and receive information right away. This more closely resembles a face-to-face or telephone conversation between two or more people, so can present a more natural way of communicating. The sense of immediacy is more like to solicit a timely response from people. Synchronous collaboration, in general, is more interactive than asynchronous. [4]
The downside of synchronous collaboration is that not everyone uses it. Although instant messaging, chat, and other such tools are becoming more common, they're still not as ubiquitous as technology such as email. Another drawback is that synchronous collaboration is not as flexible as asynchronous. All the parties involved must be ready and willing to collaborate at a given moment-or the session doesn't work as well. Also, not everyone does well with this kind of collaboration, particularly people who like to think over what they want to communicate [6].
Discussions
In your blog, discuss the following questions:
- What role or purpose do discussion forums serve in the online classroom and are they effective?
- How do discussion forums function as a teaching tool?
- How could they be used effectively and ineffectively? Furthermore, what are some best practices for facilitating forums online?
Compose a blog post that addresses each of the points above. After completing a blog post that meets the requirements of this quest, submit the link to your post in the Submission Form at the bottom of this page.
Discussion forums can be very helpful in the online classroom, and they are especially effective when sharing ideas and resources. They also help build collegiality because students can discuss key ideas as they engage with the material. They are also wonderful for showing videos and resources. I especially love it when students App Smash, an idea where you share some resource that you recommend for specific purposes. And, discussion forums serve as a way of seeing if other students struggle with similar tasks, and you don't have to asked repeated questions because another student may have done it.
For teaching, the discussion forum can even serve as an essay forum. In my experience, students had to draft an "essay" and post it on the discussion forum. When this happens, many students attempt to make sure their work is grammatically correct, they make sure their ideas are cogent because these forums actually document what you do. They also serve as a way of "checking in" for attendance. I also like to use forums for introductions.
Forums can be ineffective if a teacher just use it for students to "say something." In those cases, the assignments just are not authentic or intriguing enough. I am not one that promotes technology just for the sake of it; instructional technology should have specific purposes, and it should enhance what we are learning in class. Discussion forums are best when probing, authentic questions are asked. I also think discussion forums are ineffective if you require too many of them. One discussion per week is more than enough. Discussion forums should require students to "bring something to the table." When we read a post, we should have learned something from the post!
Best Practices:
1. Remind students that this is an academic discussion, so any comments outside the "scope" of the class will be punished;
2. Tell students to draft their responses on Word or Google Docs and run spell check and grammar check from those resources. Only after running spell and grammar tools, they should copy and paste their response. This ensures that they are cognizant of how it sounds.
3. Think before hitting submit
4. Superficial comments like "Good Job" benefit no one, and it begs the bigger question if you really read the material or not. Give comments that enhance the learning atmosphere! Be specific in your commentary.
5. Disrespectful, rude, offensive comments will not be tolerated!
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