Online Teaching Experiences

In an elementary setting, I could use the Educational Blog as an online experience with my students. Blogs could be incorporated into any subject area. Students may blog about a book that they just read and comment on books that other students read or even record scientific observations on a blog. Furthermore, students may come up with mathematical story problems while other students solve these problems by commenting. Student writing may be published onto a blog for others to see. Using a blog opens up the doors for collaboration and allows students to showcase their work and ideas. Not only can students comment on each other's ideas, but teachers can comment as well as parents. Since this experience is online, parents can easily view their child's educational ideas and progress.

Teachers should have their own blog where they can model how a book report should look or how a story problem should be formated. This can be a place where students can look for examples and guidelines for different online blog post assignments. Also, a teacher may post a historic scenario, a math problem, a scientific discovery, or even an educational video that students may all comment on. In turn, this may develop an interesting discussion among the whole class.

Since I teach elementary school, I think that some of these online experiences would be difficult to use with my students. For example, a Learning Management System would be very complex for elementary students. I think that students need more practice using individual, basic technologies like Microsoft Office, blogs, and WebQuests before using a management system where many different experiences come together and are all used. This would be better in a high school setting to develop online skills to prepare students for what they may see in college. Also, the Career Planning Tools online experience would be unnecessary in an elementary setting. This type of experience would apply to high school students who are trying to figure out what to do in the future.

Creative Commons

Photo Attribution:

Original image: “Michigan”

http://www.flickr.com/photos/aphid00/5917814742/

By: Dave Sizer

http://www.flickr.com/people/aphid00/

Released under an Attribution License

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

I may incorporate images like this one into my teaching. This photo is of the coast of Lake Michigan in Michigan. Since I teach 3rd grade and our social studies curriculum focuses on Michigan, this photo would be a suitable image to use to supplement my teaching. Using images from Creative Commons will supplement my teaching and reach my visual learners.

Here is the link to my photo that I licensed with Creative Commons:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/64917590@N04/5910651768/?edited=1

Learning Style

I am a visual learner. I learn best when I can see the information being presented. Graphic organizers and images help me tremendously. For the most part, I kept eye contact with professors and teachers in order to better obtain knowledge. I always took very detailed notes so it was easy for me to go back and review before an exam, project, or paper. If I don't write things down, I do not always remember them. Teachers who present the material using visuals, videos, and handouts best met my learning needs. I did not learn very well from teachers who would just lecture. I would try to take notes, but sometimes it was difficult to keep up and I felt overwhelmed.

It is very difficult to teach every lesson focusing on every learning style. Therefore, teachers need to focus on incorporating different learning styles throughout the lesson instead of sticking with one style throughout the whole thing. For example, the professors that simply lectured for over an hour only met the needs of auditory learners. However, if that professor displayed a few images or a video to supplement what he/she was lecturing about, he/she would meet more students' learning needs. As visuals are displayed, teachers can provide an explanation to meet the needs of both visual and auditory learners. For many concepts, some sort of movement could be done or an object could be explored to introduce the lesson to benefit kinesthetic/tactile learners. There are many ways to incorporate different learning styles into one lesson without using every learning style throughout the whole lesson. The goal is to meet the needs of as many students as possible, who each have different learning styles.

Wiki Lab

I found my school district on Wikipedia. The school that I work at recently went through some changes and the name of the school changed. On the Wikipedia page, the old name of the school "Hollywood Elementary" was listed instead of "Arborwood North Elementary." I edited this text on the page in order to make it current.

Here is a link to the wiki that I created: https://abucska.wikispaces.com/

UDL Guidelines Educator Checklist

I was surprised that a lot of the UDL guidelines were already in my lesson. However, there are several barriers that I will consider when revising this lesson plan. It is important to make my lessons flexible in order to best meet the needs of all of my students.

UDL Guidelines - Educator Checklist
I. Provide Multiple Means of Representation	Your notes
1. Provide options for perception	Barrier: information not perceivable through vision, hearing, and touch
1.1 Customize the display of information	Feature: text features and audio can be adjusted
1.2 Provide alternatives for auditory information	Feature: teacher response, student response, song played
1.3 Provide alternatives for visual information	Barrier: parts of speech not visually displayed
2. Provide options for language and symbols	Barrier: information not visible
2.1 Define vocabulary and symbols	Barrier: symbols not given for terms
2.2 Clarify syntax and structure	Barrier: students may be unclear on how a noun, verb, and adjective can fit into a sentence
2.3 Decode text or mathematical notation	Barrier: does not offer Text-to-Speech
2.4 Promote cross-linguistic understanding	Barrier: does not provide non-English or symbol support
2.5 Illustrate key concepts non-linguistically	Feature: presents parts of speech in song
3. Provide options for comprehension	Feature: provides scaffolding
3.1 Provide or activate background knowledge	Feature: discuss and review different parts of speech to link to prior knowledge
3.2 Highlight critical features, big ideas, and relationships	Feature: highlights previously learned skills
3.3 Guide information processing	Feature: gives explicit prompts for each step
3.4 Support memory and transfer	Feature: offers time to revisit key ideas on blog
II. Provide Multiple Means of Action and Expression	Your notes
4. Provide options for physical action	Feature: offers physical action and interaction
4.1 Provide varied ways to respond	Barrier: only 1 response option given for each task
4.2 Provide varied ways to interact with materials	Feature: discussion, writing on paper, typing words on computer, forming sentences on blog
4.3 Integrate assistive technologies	Barrier: students may not have fine motor skills to write or use the computer
5. Provide options for expressive skills and fluency	Barrier: does not offer multiple ways to express answers
5.1 Allow choices of media for communication	Barrier: gives 1 option for communication
5.2 Provide appropriate tools for composition and problem solving	Barrier: sentence starters not provided
5.3 Provide ways to scaffold practice and performance	Feature: differentiated feedback given
6. Provide options for executive functions	Feature: skills scaffolded
6.1 Guide effective goal setting	Feature: provide examples of process
6.2 Support planning and strategy development	Barrier: does not provide checklists
6.3 Facilitate managing information and resources	Feature: provides templates for data organization
6.4 Enhance capacity for monitoring progress	Feature: provides peer feedback
III. Provide Multiple Means of Engagement	Your notes
7. Provide options for recruiting interest	Feature: offers learners choices based on interest
7.1 Increase individual choice and autonomy	Feature: students choose own words
7.2 Enhance relevance, value and authenticity	Feature: students use words to form sentences of their choice
7.3 Reduce threats and distractions	Barrier: throwing paper on the ground may be a distraction
8. Provide options for sustaining effort and persistence	Feature: multiple tasks to build self-regulation
8.1 Heighten salience of goals and objectives	Feature: divides long-term goal into short objectives
8.2 Vary levels of challenge and support	Feature: students may choose complexity of words and sentences
8.3 Foster collaboration and communication	Feature: students share words in Google spreadsheet and share sentences on class blog
8.4 Increase mastery-oriented feedback	Feature: provides specific feedback
9. Provide options for self-regulation	Feature: supports learners to support engagement
9.1 Guide personal goal-setting and expectations	Barrier: does not encourage self-regulation goals
9.2 Scaffold coping skills and strategies	Barrier: does not provide models for managing frustration
9.3 Develop self-assessment and reflection	Feature: Students reflect on own and others’ sentences

PC Maintenance and Security Lab

I have a Mac so these tutorials do not directly apply to me, but many of my family members have PCs so I will share this useful information with them.

The first tutorial that I watched was called, "Explaining What Intrusion Detection Software Does." I was surprised that I had never heard of intrusion detection software before and that it is optional. It seems like it is very important to keep a PC safe. I learned that this software picks up on behaviors of your computer that regular anti-virus software does not pick up. Therefore, by using both anti-virus software and intrusion detection software, your computer will less likely be in harm.

The second tutorial that I watched was called, "Securing Internet Explorer." I learned how to make the browser more secure. I was surprised that some of the settings that make the browser more secure were not default settings. My mom just bought a new PC a few months ago and it is already dead! I will be sure to share what I have learned and how to make the browser secure when she gets it fixed.

The third tutorial that I watched was called, "Following a PC Maintenance Checklist." This gave me a thorough list of how to check to be sure your PC is secure. I will be sure to pass this checklist onto my mom as well. I was not surprised by anything on the list, but it seems like there should be a better system to keep everything on the computer safe instead of having to check, scan, defrag, etc. all of the time.

RSS Page Reflection

My Shared Items

I chose to create my RSS Reader page using Google Reader. This has been extremely useful because I already had iGoogle set as my homepage and checked my Gmail daily. Therefore, it was very easy to remember to check my Google Reader since the link was right on my homepage!

I did not know anything like this existed, but now that I do, I really like it. It makes it very easy to view updated information from my favorite education websites. On June 30, one of my favorite blogs, Top Teaching by Scholastic, announced that they will not be posting again until the school year starts. If I had not had this blog set up to my RSS Reader, I would not know this information right away. I find Scholastic to have useful information and ideas, so I also subscribed to the Scholastic Twitter feed. Sometimes there are no updates, but on a few of the days that I checked my Reader, the Scholastic Twitter feed was posted several times in a row, many of which were not useful. I almost unsubscribed, but some of the information was interesting, so instead I can just scan through and ignore the useless information.

One post that came up on my Reader from Techlearning indicated that Channel One was going to become more interactive with learner response systems and professional development for teachers. I commented on this post as I support this idea. I think that this will increase both the motivation when learning about current events and the retention of the information presented on Channel One.

Not long after creating my RSS Reader, I subscribed to MERLOT for CEP 811. So far, MERLOT seems to update the most often out of all of my subscriptions. People are adding information onto MERLOT almost daily. I believe that it is important that I subscribed to MERLOT on my RSS Reader because I am able to see what is added very easily and possibly gain ideas from the feeds that I read. I am a second year teacher so these ideas are very helpful to me. Already, I learned that I can not only obtain professional development from my Reader, but I can also get access to new lessons and lesson ideas using this feature. I subscribed to a 3rd grade teacher’s blog and even noticed a few lessons on MERLOT that could be applicable to 3rd grade. I also learned from my RSS Reader about several websites to use in my classroom to help incorporate technology like Free Rice, Wordle, and Tag Galaxy.

I believe in collaboration with both my students’ learning as well as in spreading teaching ideas and gaining professional development. RSS Readers are a great tool for this collaboration. If I were doing a research project in my own classroom, I would definitely instruct my students to set up RSS Readers. This way, the information from their sources goes to one place and it will be easier for them to find and utilize. Also, I may use RSS Readers to keep track of educational blogs pertaining to concepts that we are learning about like Michigan’s economy or hurricanes. If we wanted to keep in touch with other classrooms’ blogs, we may also use an RSS Reader.

On July 5, I contributed my own lesson plan to MERLOT for CEP 811. Afterwards, I checked my RSS Reader and my contribution was on there! Again on this day, the most updates on my feed came from MERLOT. It amazes me how easily information can be shared and found on the Internet. I have been keeping up with my RSS Reader and will continue to do so. It never hurts to learn something new!

Getting Things Done

When trying the GTD system, I organized my process with paper and pencil. I usually write things down in my planner, however I have never processed and organized my tasks like this before. When I went through the whole process, I felt more overwhelmed than I did before. I felt like I was wasting more time organizing my tasks and prioritizing instead of actually getting what I needed to get done DONE. When I took the GTD-Q on the website, I was placed in the "Captain and Commander/Autocrat" quadrant, which meant that I have a healthy balance of perspective and control. I agree that the process would be helpful for many people who have trouble balancing tasks, but I do not feel as though it is for me. I am not a procrastinator at all and I think that I have a pretty good handle on what I need to do and when it needs to be done. Therefore, I do not think that I will continue this process. Instead, I will stick with my task listing in my planner on a day-to-day basis. This seems to work best for me and takes little time to jot something down or cross something out. I also use the calendar on my Mac and post-it notes on my phone to help me remember things when my planner is not nearby.

Social Networking

Social networking is a powerful form of professional development. By becoming involved in social networks, the doors open for new opportunities and ideas. I already use a computer on a daily basis to check email and Facebook, so checking in on my new social networks, like Linkedin and Ning on MACUL Space, will become routine very shortly. Through these social networks, I will build more connections in order to gain knowledge that will help support me professionally with teaching ideas and tips. For example, I may learn a new website that will help me incorporate technology to better manage my classroom. I will encourage the use of social networks with my colleagues to foster professional development and build my PLN. These social networks will even benefit me in my personal life. Furthermore, I may obtain advice on what vegetables will grow better in my garden at different times of the year or how I can make a virtual scrapbook to send to my relatives for the holidays.

Just as social networks will benefit me professionally and personally, I also believe that they will benefit my students' lives. Students may come across others with similar interests or questions that they may be able to answer. Social networks give students a platform to easily spread their knowledge to others. This is motivating as it enables students to feel both power and purpose.

MERLOT Learning Material Evaluation

I chose to evaluate the resource found at: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewMaterial.htm?id=83093 Without going to MERLOT, you can view the resource at: http://www.mrmyers.org/Math_Mania/Math_Games/Jude_e-Clock/clock.htm

In my 3rd grade classroom, some of my students still do not know how to tell time on an analog clock and many have a difficult time with elapsed time. During my math time block I will allow students time on the computer to utilize this interactive resource.

Quality of Content:

This source presents valid models of the clock in various analog, digital, and word settings. I found this source to be educationally significant, especially to my students, because according to the lower elementary core mathematics standards, students must be able to read a clock and tell time. The fact that you can see the same time presented in words, in a digital format, and in various analog formats, makes students familiar with the different clocks that they may encounter.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching-Learning Tool:

This material could be used in a demonstration of time to your students, but mainly for the purpose of practicing the concept of time and reading a clock. After learning with this material, students should be able to tell time using words and numbers, read an analog and digital clock, understand the difference between an hour and a minute, and manipulate the clock to understand elapsed time. The target learners for this material are lower elementary students who are learning to tell time and understand elapsed time. To support learners, the hour and minute features are color coded. This interactive presentation of time improves students’ abilities to learn the concept of time by manipulating the clock and reading the time. Students can switch to an analog clock face that shows how you can count by 5’s between each of the 12 large numbers on the clock in order to understand the number of minutes in a given time. Since this material is available online through an htm address, as long as student computers are available, it can be readily integrated into the mathematics curriculum. Students may be given a computer time block to manipulate this resource. Students may use this resource in a variety of ways, whether they are focusing only on hours or minutes, or even 1, 5, 10, 15, or 30 minute intervals. They may add or subtract time and even manipulate the center clock to determine elapsed time. The learning goals for this material are very easy to identify as it is evident that this is a tool used to practice telling time and reading a clock. With the use of this material, students may answer questions about time and elapsed time that the teacher can easily put into an assignment.

Ease of Use:

The layout of this material makes it very easy to use. Buttons are labeled and color coded for ease of use and to attract students. The material and it’s purpose are straightforward and located on one page to avoid the user from becoming lost within the model. It is very flexible, as the user can focus on hours, minutes, or elapsed time using various clock faces, both digital and analog, that they may be familiar with. The only downfall of this resource is that it does not provide feedback based on the user’s responses. It could use sound to tell the time aloud or give feedback on the elapsed time that the user creates and determines.