Dean's Domain

ECOMP 5106 - Final Reflection

2007-10-14T15:36:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2007

This blog has served as a portfolio of my course work in ECOMP 5106. The archive section serves a Table of Contents. This is my final reflection of what I have learned and will take from this course.

Inspiredata

2007-10-14T15:31:00.000-07:00

October 14, 2007

Today we had an opportunity to explore a super cool software tool, Inspiredata. After playing with the software and exploring its possibilities, we worked cooperatively to generate some questions, observations, and reflections. This is a program I will definitely promote at my school.

Technology Brochure

2007-10-14T15:19:00.000-07:00

October 6, 2007

This technology brochure was created to introduce the wonders of Renzulli Learning to the members of my cohort. The brochure was created in Word, and although GoogleDocs does not support the brochure format, the information is still valuable.

Technology Plan

2007-10-14T15:13:00.000-07:00

October 10, 2o007

In an effort to integrate technology in my curriculum unit, I wrote this technology plan detailing the ways in which technology would be incorporated in the unit.

Word Chains

2007-10-14T12:33:00.000-07:00

September 14, 2007

Assignment 2.7 - We utilized the thesaurus tool in Word to create a word chain.

Understanding
Knowledge
Wisdom
Insight
Approaching
Forthcoming
Impending
Looming
Ominous
Menacing

Word Helpful Hints

2007-10-14T12:25:00.000-07:00

September 16, 2007
In ECOMP 5106, we learned countless "Helpful Hints" for using Microsfot Word. The ones I found most helpful for this class were learning how to create a Table of Contents, and the use of section breaks and page breaks within a document. These are tools in Word which I will definitely use in the future and that I know I will be able to pass along to my students with confidence.

Curriculum Unit

2007-10-14T12:22:00.000-07:00

This Curriclum Unit includes the following artifacts:

Generative Topic
Essential Question
Unit Goals
Learning Targets
Technology Plan
Activities and Performances
Assessments

This is the mind map created using Mind Meister as a brainstorming tool.

Assignment 3.1 Bloom’s Taxonomy

2007-10-13T12:05:00.000-07:00

October 12, 2007

Level I – Knowledge
What is a Works Cited page?

Level II – Comprehension
Outline your research notes.

Level III – Application
What facts would you choose to include in your research paper?

Level IV – Analysis
What is the best way to categorize your research notes for your paper?

Level V – Synthesis
Choose websites that are valid and appropriate for your research topic.

Level VI - Evaluation
What revisions can be made to improve your research paper?

Assignment 2.3 – Essential Question

2007-10-13T11:41:00.000-07:00

September 15, 2007

How does following a process insure that your research will be relevant and valid?

Assignment 2.2 – Generative Topic Statement

2007-10-13T11:39:00.000-07:00

September 15, 2007

1. What is the topic of your curriculum unit?
The Research Process – Can You Dig It?

2. Please explain why you think your topic is "Generative".
In learning the research process, one of the elements that is most important for students to understand is how to “dig up” the important information from the countless sources of information that are available to them. While learning the research process, students will apply the writing process that they have learned in Language Arts, and they will research a topic that connects with their Social Studies curriculum. As an extension of the research process, they will also have the opportunity to examine real world problems and possible solutions. The majority (although, not all) of the research the students will do will be online, which is what initially will make this topic highly interesting to them. It seems that at this age (6th grade), anything that involves the internet is highly interesting.

3. Why do you believe the curriculum topic you have chosen is appropriate for your students?
The research process is something that students will use not only throughout their school years, but throughout their lives. The ability to utilize traditional reference tools (encyclopedias, reference books) and more importantly in this day and age, the internet, for investigative purposes is invaluable. It is important for young adults to learn how to evaluate the validity of websites, and pull from them information that will be organized in a formal research paper.

4. Describe the ways in which the topic you have chosen is interesting to you as the teacher.
I love to teach students to write. So the fact that the research process will culminate in a written composition is one thing that excites me about the topic. I thoroughly enjoy teaching students how to organize the research in the best possible way (which I never learned growing up). The method that I will use is different than the traditional index cards for each source which most adults used in school. Knowing that this is a skill that students will use for the rest of their lives also brings a rewarding feeling to this unit. When I was a student, I was one who often asked, “Why do I need to know this?” With this topic, there are countless real world applications and reasons for students to need a solid understanding of the research process.

5. What do you believe are the "Enduring Understandings" for this topic?
Enduring understandings in the research process:
Students will think critically to evaluate the validity of a source before taking important information from that source.
Students will understand that ownership applies to creative thought as well as tangible items.
Students will understand the importance of following a process to achieve a desired result.In addition to these understandings, students will have individual enduring understandings about their individual research topic. They will understand the culture, economics, geography, and sociology of the country that they research. The students have had an introduction to the writing process in Language Arts so we will be reinforcing their prior knowledge, and the subjects that they will research will come directly from their Social Studies curriculum. So it will provide them with a preview or review depending on the country that they choose to research. One more thing I love about this topic is the interdisciplinary aspect.

Exploring Technology Integration

2007-10-13T11:38:00.000-07:00

September 15, 2007

There are countless cases where the integration of technology has improved student performance, especially in schools with less privileged student populations. The one that stands out to me the most is the case of Union City, New Jersey. This school district avoided being “taken over by the state” for not meeting state standards by completely changing the learning dynamic in their classroom. I currently work in a school where the majority of students come from homes in which they are not only well cared for, but well off. It seems that in my school the push is to incorporate technology to better meet the needs of the higher achieving, gifted students. There is nothing wrong with that, I agree that it is important to nurture the gifts of these young learners. But it was not so long ago that I was working in a Title 1 school in south Florida, where it was common place for my students to live in a home without a phone. Computers in the home were unheard of for most of these children. These were children with no adult supervision, living in neighborhoods wrought with drugs and poverty. Their attendance at school was sporadic at best, and when they were there, they were often too tired or ill-behaved to engage in learning. That is how I imagine Union City. Here is a school system which was failing its learners – miserably! With the integration of technology, “Test scores have shot up to the point where they're the highest among New Jersey cities. Eighty percent of the district's students currently meet state standards, up from 30 percent. Attendance at the 11-school, 11,600-student district increased, dropout and absence rates decreased, and students have been clamoring to transfer into Union City schools.” When you are able to hook learners of all walks of life with technology, classroom management issues disappear and students are excited about coming to school! At that point anything is possible!

I am lucky enough to work in a school district in which all instruction is driven by the standards, and at a school where UBD is a way of life. Whether technology is incorporated into a lesson or not the standards are always a driving force in the instruction. In my opinion, the challenge comes in convincing teachers that it is more important to do a thorough job with the most important, worthwhile standards, and not just a cursory coverage of every single standard.

I hope to continue to include technology in my classroom, but to vary the ways I which I do so. With the arrival of a Smart Board, and student response system, I am looking forward to adding technology not just to every unit, but to nearly every lesson. In the past, including technology in my instruction meant fighting for time in the computer lab, begging for an LCD projector, winning over the media specialist. In the very near future, I will have a plethora of technology options at my fingertips, in my own classroom. The sky is the limit it seems.

Never having been a proponent of standardized testing, I was intrigued to learn that although students who were engaged in project-based learning did not score better than those students receiving traditional instruction – however, they showed far greater retention of the material that they learned through project based instruction. Since I teach a class in which I was lucky enough to help write the curriculum, and in which the curriculum is ever changing and growing, I see enormous potential in the areas of problem based learning. Hands on lessons where the students are self directed and motivated and I am there as more of a facilitator, mentor and guide. Of the five classes I teach a day, I have two co-taught (special education inclusion) classes, two gifted classes and on on-level class. So differentiation is the name of the game. The learning styles within each class vary greatly, and the differences in learning styles from class to class are often polar opposites. Technology is the perfect tool to help meet the needs of all these truly different learners.

Assignment 1.2 - Thoughts on Technology Integration

2007-10-13T11:32:00.000-07:00

September 14, 2007

I believe that it is our responsibility as educators in this day and age to incorporate technology as often as possible in our students’ learning. To say that it should be included in “every curriculum unit” may be a stretch, because units vary so greatly in scope. I do not think technology should be forced. If it is technology for the sake of technology, I think that can even take away from the strength of some units. My goal in the future will be to design/revise my units in such a way that technology is a natural fit.
I would like to think that the United States is ahead of the curve, but I have a feeling that we are probably not. I don’t have any idea about technology in education in Europe and India.
The only thing I would change about technology integration at my school would be the training of the staff. We have just been awarded the 21st Century School grant. This will supply every classroom with a Smart Board, ceiling mounted LCD projector, automated student response system, and more. We are truly lucky to receive such fantastic equipment, but I worry that without the proper training, much of the equipment will sit unused – not in my room though. Bring it on!

Assignment 1.1 – Technology Autobiography

2007-10-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

September 14, 2007

Eleven years into my teaching career, I have a moderate amount of technological knowledge. When I began teaching, I had heard of the internet, but had never used it. My school had an intranet which we used solely for e-mail. Wow, times have changed!

Most of my experience with technology in the classroom has been a case of me using the computer to support my instruction – research, PowerPoint presentations to present information, word processing... Two years ago, my school began using blogs as opposed to a “Homework Hotline” for school to home communication. We have also gone to an online grading program which allows parents and students the opportunity to see grades in all classes at any time. In recent years, my students have used technology predominantly for word processing and research. I’m looking forward to enriching the technology use in my classroom by incorporating what I learn in this Master’s program.

Our school now has brand new laptop carts equipped with 28 computers. Each five-man team shares a cart. So the accessibility of computers has greatly increased in the past 5 months, and my classroom will soon be equipped with a smart board, ceiling mounted LCD projector, student response systems, and more. My goal is to move beyond the superficial use of technology and reach the point where it is embedded in my lessons in a natural way – not just technology for the sake of technology. In recent years I realized that I needed to educate myself so that I could better prepare my students for the future!

ECOMP 7007 - Final Project

2007-09-23T10:29:00.000-07:00

This is the final project that Jodi and I collaborated on.

(Holly) I have spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out how to upload a word document in Blogger to no avail. I will e-mail the lesson plan and hard copy of directions to both your comcast and gmail accounts. There are links to these sites in the lesson plan document as well.

Here are the three Furl tutorials created using Jing. This is the web page we created using Google Pages, which was easy to use.

Furl and Jing

2007-09-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, Jodi and I had the opportunity to present Furl to the faculty of our school. We used Jing to create a series of screencasts to familiarize them with the wonders of Furl. I had so much fun using Jing! The more I used it, the more possibilities I thought of for its use in instructing my students. I love the fact that I can do an oral tutorial to go along with the screencast. When I begin teaching my students the research process, many students will need to do research at home. Since this is the first formal research paper for most of them, they are often unfamiliar with the research process. With Jing, I will create tutorials throughout the research process and attach them to my school blog. That way, when students are at home and can't remember what I taught them in class, they will be able to watch the tutorial (or their parents can!) to help them remember what we learned that day.

I would say that the majority of the faculty members were enamored with Furl and will begin using it to help them manage the information they find as they are surfing the web. Interestingly, many teachers were equally as anxious to learn about Jing, which was not what we had planned to cover with them during this presentation, but it was a great "teachable moment". Unfortunately. Jing is not a program which we can download at school, but those who are interested will surely go home and play with it so that they can implement it into their classes as well.

Next up, bloglines! The time constraints of our staff development day did not allow for the introduction of bloglines, but as technology mentors at our school, we will definitely be sharing information about bloglines and RSS in the near future.

Web Presentation - Ology

2007-08-25T08:01:00.000-07:00

Ellen and Nancy presented the website from the American Museum of Natural History. The class had the opportunity to explore the site in search of the answer to four questions. The silence around me was deafening as my classmates searched for the answers to their questions - in an effort to be the first one finished and to win the "special prize". This was a great indicator as to the concentration and excitement you might see in your own classroom. The site explores "ologies" such as archaeology, geology, marine biology, paleontology, as well as, astronomy, earth, and biodiversity. The site has fantastic graphics - and is interactive. Each science is in a sense its own web page, all easily navigated. The class searched for Alvin the submarine which took them on a voyage through the deep. Alvin taught us about the different microorganisms in the depths of the ocean, the water temperature, pressure, the zones of the ocean (and on, and on, and on).

In the Educator's Resources section, there are lesson plans for all ages.
Wow, this is so cool! This is definitely one that I will come back to, and I am not a science teacher. The opportunities for interdisciplinary lessons abound!

Flickr - Who knew!?!

2007-08-18T19:14:00.001-07:00

I was looking through Holly's Furl archives and came across this article from Tech Learning, The Promise of Social Networking, by Derek Baird. I thought that I had done a pretty thorough job of exploring Flickr after we discussed it in class. In fact I love the site and have gone back to it many times for various reasons. But I had no idea of the potential for using Flickr in the classroom. Baird offers many suggestions for incorporating the site into the curriculum. My first thought was that this might not be the site for students, but in fact it is quite "clean". Also, "Flickr has partnered with Creative Commons licensing to provide a way for community members to legally share content and use photographs for non-commercial use."

I think this will be a great way to get out of the student PowerPoint presentation rut in my class.

"What's It?" and "How To"

2007-08-18T18:22:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest, when I first started reading Will Richardson's blog, I was thinking to myself, "So what's the big deal with this guy?" But now that I have read more of his blog, and this article, "Blogging and RSS - The "What's It?" and "How To" of Powerful New Web Tools for Educators" I'm starting to understand. He really has a great insight on the world of technology in education. In this article. he mentions an online discussion that his class was able to take part in with Sue Monk Kidd, author of The Secret Life of Bees. Granted this was a few years ago, and her book may not yet have sold as many copies as it has to date, but still...! The idea of students having the opportunity to ask questions and really dig in to a book by discussing it with the author is fantastic! As soon as I finish this post I am going to begin my campaign to get Carl Hiaassen to do the same with my classes.

My understanding of the value in blogging and RSS is clearer after reading this article. I think it can be an invaluable tool. The only negative that I see. is the time that can be spent reading these blogs is intimidating. I find that I start reading one, and wander off to a link within it, and then wandering to a link within that, and by the time I get through - I have no idea where I started! In time, like everything else, I'm sure I'll learn to manage my time better within the world of blogs. For now, I'm much like a kid in a candy store!

Wikipedia

2007-08-18T18:04:00.000-07:00

On his blog, Will Richardson discussed an article from the Wall Street Journal, "Forget the Articles, Best Wikipedia Read Is Its Discussions," by Lee Gomes. I've got to be honest, I had no idea that these discussions existed. My colleagues and I often debate whether wikipedia is a valid site for student research because, "anyone can post." But reading some of these discussions opened my eyes to the level of passion most of the people who post have about the topic they are writing. So now the question of objectivity comes to mind... but it was an interesting article nonetheless!

"Big App on Campus"

2007-08-18T16:54:00.000-07:00

After seeing this article "Web 2.0: Big App on Campus," by Candace Lombardi recommended on a classmate's blog I decided to check it out. It gives a very interesting insight into the world of blogs, wikis, and discussion boards on college campuses. It sounds as though the level of engagement professors are able to get from their students using these tools is excellent. As I read, I couldn't help but wonder how I might be able to incorporate them into my classes. Although my sixth graders are a ways away from college, the majority of them are already using the web for social networking. I like the idea of posting essential questions at the end of a unit and having students discuss them. It would certainly push them to think more critically. One point that Lombardi made was the fact that most students want to see their work "published". In that regard, sixth graders are not all that different from college students!

It is definitely something I would like to try.

Scholastic Books

2007-08-18T06:17:00.001-07:00

Along with Tish Craft, I will be presenting the Scholastic website. It is an excellent source for teachers, but what I found most fun were the great activities for kids.

"Does the Web Really Have All There Is To Say?"

2007-08-14T18:19:00.000-07:00

This evening I read Ken Vesey's article, The Internet-only Research Approach:Does the Web Really Have All There Is to Say? http://www.fno.org/sept02/internetonly.html In my 6th grade Seminar class, I spend a significant amount of time teaching students not only how to write a research paper, but more importantly, the research process. So the title of this article drew me in. Even with the influx of technology in school, I have maintained with my students that they must include print references in their Works Cited. Recently I have questioned whether I have been grasping onto what I have known for so many years as the way to research. But I feel like Vesey validated the decision I have made to continue this requirement. While we teach the students to evaluate the websites they use for research, the validity of some sites is still questionable. There is also a plethora of information in media centers that may not be accessed (at least not easily) online.

So for now, I will continue to teach students the value in both print resources and the internet.

and running...

2007-07-15T08:14:00.001-07:00

So far, blogger has been quite user friendly. Jodi and I are both disappointed in the lack of font choices, but I suppose in the whole scheme of things, that's probably not the most important thing!

In regards to RSS feeds, I love the fact that I can have the information come right to me! National Geographic is one of my favorites.

And we're off...

2007-07-15T07:48:00.000-07:00

Blogging is something I have done for about a year and a half, but solely as a means of communication with my students and their parents. I post daily, explaining what was done in class that day and what needs to be done for homework. I love being able to upload worksheets so that if a student forgets or loses theirs, they can print a new copy at home - no excuses that way!