After going through this lesson, I had to reflect on my own knowledge of digital citizenship. The issue of privacy really stood out to me, especially in regards to sites such as Twitter and Facebook. Comments or photos you post stay with you and can really be damaging down the road.
To establish a culture where students respect and interact safely on the internet, I think there needs to be several lessons or activities where students can see what happens when students are not using the internet appropriately. Perhaps you could offer a lesson where students are given particular situations where students posted something inappropriate or misused a resource. They could discuss what appropriate consequences are and then see real life examples of the situations.
If you are having students utilize technology in the classroom, where they are blogging with each other or making comments, I think it would be necessary to have the class discuss and establish norms in the classroom that would contribute to an appropriate environment.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Wiki Reflection
I could see using a wiki as a classroom dictionary or resource. If students are learning new terms, this could be a great way to get ideas started and have students express what they know about a particular term. For example, if you are covering triangle similarity, you could assign groups of students particular congruence theorems and have them put all of the information they know about each on to the wiki. Other groups could then edit or suggest changes that different groups are missing based on what they know.
As students work on a particular topic, they can add information to their definitions, and create an online study guide to use for tests and exams.
Perhaps for a reading assignment, students could use a wiki to write summaries of particular chapters or to keep logs about certain characters.
The idea with the wikis would be to provide the students with an opportunity to edit and build upon the work they have already completed and shared.
As students work on a particular topic, they can add information to their definitions, and create an online study guide to use for tests and exams.
Perhaps for a reading assignment, students could use a wiki to write summaries of particular chapters or to keep logs about certain characters.
The idea with the wikis would be to provide the students with an opportunity to edit and build upon the work they have already completed and shared.
Wiki Artifact
Here is the link to the wiki I created.
https://seadef.wikispaces.com/
Also, here is a snapshot of the project I put together.
https://seadef.wikispaces.com/
Also, here is a snapshot of the project I put together.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Cloud Learning Reflection
After using Google hangout with Katie, I can see its benefits in terms of collaboration with other teachers.
I have seen the benefit of Skype and Google hangout in my graduate program. A lot of professors prefer using those tools than having actual office hours as it is much more flexible. Further, you can bring in multiple people to discuss a particular question or problem.
I think this might be a particularly useful tool for places like the Literacy Center or the IRC. Perhaps we could have students staffed that could take questions from other students that are in class. It would help to have students explain topics to each other and give a teacher more resources to work with other students.
Depending on the class or topics, perhaps you could also have guest speakers reach the class via the hangout. This might expose students to real world applications of what they are learning in class.
I have seen the benefit of Skype and Google hangout in my graduate program. A lot of professors prefer using those tools than having actual office hours as it is much more flexible. Further, you can bring in multiple people to discuss a particular question or problem.
I think this might be a particularly useful tool for places like the Literacy Center or the IRC. Perhaps we could have students staffed that could take questions from other students that are in class. It would help to have students explain topics to each other and give a teacher more resources to work with other students.
Depending on the class or topics, perhaps you could also have guest speakers reach the class via the hangout. This might expose students to real world applications of what they are learning in class.
Cloud Learning Artifact
Here is a final review guide I created for my students to use over winter break. I gave each student their own copy, using google docs. This way students were able to work on the problems and select answers. Embedded in the review are links to explanations of problems. Students who worked on this activity generally scored higher on their finals.
Final Review Guide
Final Review Guide
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Chrome / FOSS Artifact
Here is an activity I use with the Geogebra app from the Chrome store. To get students ready to use Geogebra, I created a guided scavenger hunt of how to use the icons in Geogebra.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Chrome / FOSS Blog Reflection
I agree with the concept of Open Source Content, particularly when viewing it through the lens of a first year teacher. I remember not knowing how to effectively plan lessons for my students and at my wits end in terms of looking for content or suggestions. Having an open forum where teachers can share lessons and materials used would have been extremely helpful in those first few years and I still think I would find it beneficial when I have to cover a new topic. I do struggle with how to compensate people for the work they have completed. While the goal is to give equal access to knowledge, we still have to figure out a way to make sure people's efforts are rewarded. I think this is what the article was talking about when it mentioned DOSC (Developing Open Source Content).
Overall, increased access to materials for students is the best policy as it provides equal opportunities for all. Transitioning to a system like that presents quite a challenge for society and educators.
Overall, increased access to materials for students is the best policy as it provides equal opportunities for all. Transitioning to a system like that presents quite a challenge for society and educators.
LMS Blog Reflection
The difference between a regular teacher website and LMS (Moodle) is the amount of interaction that can occur between the teacher and students, or between students and students. Teachers are also able to use Moodle to assess student learning, which is not done with the regular website.
I can see using Moodle for quizzes as being beneficial as students can receive instant feedback and retake an assessment. Teachers can also use the assignment tab to have students upload papers and activities to the website. Student forums can also be set up to encourage discussion between students over a particular topic.
In terms of Math, I like the glossary option of Moodle. I think creating a centralized glossary of math terms would be extremely helpful for students to search for particular terms that they are unfamiliar with in class.
I can see using Moodle for quizzes as being beneficial as students can receive instant feedback and retake an assessment. Teachers can also use the assignment tab to have students upload papers and activities to the website. Student forums can also be set up to encourage discussion between students over a particular topic.
In terms of Math, I like the glossary option of Moodle. I think creating a centralized glossary of math terms would be extremely helpful for students to search for particular terms that they are unfamiliar with in class.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
RSS Blog Reflection
In my classroom, students can leverage the power of RSS through my website. Students can readily see when I have added new content to my website. For example, when I post homework assignments or weekly agendas, students can quickly access that information to see the newly added information.
The greatest benefit of using RSS is the amount of time being saved. If students subscribe to particular links, blogs, or websites, they can easily see new updates and save time. It also makes students more tech savvy and better able to handle to enormous amount of information that is currently available on the web.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Social Bookmarking Reflection
Setting up the Diigo account was relatively painless. I am still awaiting approval for the classroom use. I did have some technical problems networking with others as the link didn't always work to find other people.
I could see using this with students in an Humanities course. The ability to highlight and annotate text is pretty neat and could be very useful for students reading certain texts or links. There are a lot of possibilities of things to do with that tool. A teacher could find an article online and post their annotations or thoughts when they read the text for students to see. It could also make for a good study or review guide as a teacher could highlight important parts of a website to review.
With co-workers I could see using this as a place to share common documents. In special education, we deal a lot with IEPS, so I could see using this site to highlight or annotate example IEPs or documents that help in crafting the IEP. It would also be nice to share bookmarks that are helpful with IEP writing.
With parents, I could see creating a group that might list resources for your classroom. With IEPs, it might work out to have a group with resources on IEP related materials.
I could see using this with students in an Humanities course. The ability to highlight and annotate text is pretty neat and could be very useful for students reading certain texts or links. There are a lot of possibilities of things to do with that tool. A teacher could find an article online and post their annotations or thoughts when they read the text for students to see. It could also make for a good study or review guide as a teacher could highlight important parts of a website to review.
With co-workers I could see using this as a place to share common documents. In special education, we deal a lot with IEPS, so I could see using this site to highlight or annotate example IEPs or documents that help in crafting the IEP. It would also be nice to share bookmarks that are helpful with IEP writing.
With parents, I could see creating a group that might list resources for your classroom. With IEPs, it might work out to have a group with resources on IEP related materials.
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Digital Story Telling Reflection
One of the main benefits I see with integrating videos could potentially be doing a flipped classroom. Having students watch lessons at home and then do practice work in school might be a more effective way of reaching the kids in my class. A challenge with that would be creating an organized system to disseminate the videos to my students and track who is watching.
I think the flipped classroom would allow the opportunity to more directly meet my students needs by working on particular strategies with them in class.
I have been using Geogebra in my classroom with limited success. While the program offers a great deal, it can be hard for students to access and use. I can see incorporating the lessons in Geogebra with video recordings to help students see what steps they should follow when doing a particular lesson. Or, I could even produce a lecture using a video with a Geogebra resource.
Students also struggle with using graphing calculators, so I could see creating videos with little tutorials on how to use different aspects of the graphing calculator.
I think the flipped classroom would allow the opportunity to more directly meet my students needs by working on particular strategies with them in class.
I have been using Geogebra in my classroom with limited success. While the program offers a great deal, it can be hard for students to access and use. I can see incorporating the lessons in Geogebra with video recordings to help students see what steps they should follow when doing a particular lesson. Or, I could even produce a lecture using a video with a Geogebra resource.
Students also struggle with using graphing calculators, so I could see creating videos with little tutorials on how to use different aspects of the graphing calculator.
Podcast Reflection
One of the main challenges I see with podcasting is keeping students engaged with the material and making sure they have appropriate access to it. As a special educator, I could definitely see using this as a way to help accommodate lessons for particular students. For example, we could have portions of a text or test and have the student listen to the podcast to understand what they are being asked.
Having students develop their own podcasts presents an opportunity for them to show mastery of a particular assessment in a different way, especially in the public speaking realm.
I could have students use podcasting to record errors they make when do particular math problems. I could have them include an image of the problem they are working on and make a podcast of themselves describing common mistakes. We could do this all year and give students nice review material for their final.
Having students develop their own podcasts presents an opportunity for them to show mastery of a particular assessment in a different way, especially in the public speaking realm.
I could have students use podcasting to record errors they make when do particular math problems. I could have them include an image of the problem they are working on and make a podcast of themselves describing common mistakes. We could do this all year and give students nice review material for their final.
Friday, January 24, 2014
Blog Reflection
I am responding to the first prompt.
Having students blog on a regular basis could be effective to help build reflective writers (and students) and to encourage collaboration between students. Students could use blogs to reflect on the day's activity in a particular class. With prompts, students could analyze how the lesson went and what helped them to learn best. If there is a particular challenge with a lesson, students could easily communicate with each other and maybe identify a common misconception.
To have students develop an electronic portfolio, you could have them enter any type of writing assignments they perform in your class on to a blog. It could be weekly or monthly, but as students write particular assignments into the blog, they can easily track their progress over the course of a semester or year.
Having students blog on a regular basis could be effective to help build reflective writers (and students) and to encourage collaboration between students. Students could use blogs to reflect on the day's activity in a particular class. With prompts, students could analyze how the lesson went and what helped them to learn best. If there is a particular challenge with a lesson, students could easily communicate with each other and maybe identify a common misconception.
To have students develop an electronic portfolio, you could have them enter any type of writing assignments they perform in your class on to a blog. It could be weekly or monthly, but as students write particular assignments into the blog, they can easily track their progress over the course of a semester or year.
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Web 2.0 Reflection
1) I examined the Web 2.0 resources found on Cool Tool For Schools and Kathy Schrock's List. I mostly looked at the quiz generating tools, such as Class Marker, and resources that allowed students to access a document or activity at the same time and work on it together, such as Flow Chart. I also investigated more of the presentation resources, such as Prezi and Slideshare.
2) I really liked the quiz resources. I would like to incorporate different ways of assessing and grading students and I think these are potential sites I could use. Class Marker seemed like it had a really nice and easy system to use with my students.
3) I think I selected one over the other based on my classroom needs and what I have been thinking about doing for a while now.
4) With the quiz and poll tools, I could use these as exit tickets for class, possibly as a way for students to do homework, or as bell ringers when class starts. I need to examine the requirements for students to access the resources.
2) I really liked the quiz resources. I would like to incorporate different ways of assessing and grading students and I think these are potential sites I could use. Class Marker seemed like it had a really nice and easy system to use with my students.
3) I think I selected one over the other based on my classroom needs and what I have been thinking about doing for a while now.
4) With the quiz and poll tools, I could use these as exit tickets for class, possibly as a way for students to do homework, or as bell ringers when class starts. I need to examine the requirements for students to access the resources.
Initial Reflection
I like the flexibility that a hybrid course offers in terms of commitment and time. I like the opportunity to work at my own pace independently. I am nervous about hitting a glitch with one of the assignments and not being able to complete it. I also need to make sure I keep up with all of the assignments.
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