Entry #11 - gradebook software/kidspiration

I enjoyed looking at the grading software and realizing how easy it is to use. I played around with chalksite gradebook. With just a few minutes of playing with it I was able to see all the features available and learn how to use them. I liked how you could keep all student information organized and accessible on one page. The one crtique I had of chalksite was that you could not assign different weight for assignment categories like you could on the grade source software. I like to put more weight on papers and projects than I would on homework or in-class assignments. Otherwise, anything that is user-friendly is wonderful for me!

Kidspiration is a creative way for students to organize their thoughts. I loved how colorful and appealing the templates were. I have a hard time thinking in scattered webs like that, so I liked how you could change it to a written format and save it that way. I tend to think orderly and the webs distracted me.

Reflection 7 - forum with NU graduates

I really appreciate the discussion last week with recent NU graduates who are out in the teaching field putting to practice what we are learning in class. Sometimes because of my age, I feel at a disadvantage to the younger students who are very familiar with all kinds of technology, and it was encouraging to hear that what these teachers use on a daily basis, I would be comfortable using too (thanks to this class!) I also really liked all of their personalities and feel they were very emotionally balanced in their approach to their students. Teaching is a daily step by step progress, and sometimes we may not feel like we are reaching any of our students, but it is happening however slowly, and we will be able to look back and see how far they have come. Thank you, Professor Sorenson, for arranging that meeting!

Reflection 6 - Chilean students

Last week I attended a round table discussion with a group of Chilean students that were visiting Northwest. The education students that were there were able to meet with these students in small groups to discuss the Chilean education system. I was very surprised at how rigorous their education seemed as compared to U.S. education. They have to basically pick their lifetime career path before their junior year and that path will dictate which math, science, and electives they need to take. They also have a massive exam at the end of their senior year that will allow them to pass high school and enter a university. Many of these students had lofty career goals: engineering, medicine, environmental scientist, etc. They seemed to take their studies seriously, unlike many U.S. high schoolers. I'm sure you could find the slackers in the Chilean schools, but I think their culture tends to put a much higher emphasis on academic success. All in all, it was a fascinating meeting and I am thankful for the opportunity to interact with another culture.

Entry #10 - educational blogs

I spent some time reading through these blogs and enjoyed just about all of them. Some of them lost me with techie lingo, but others got to the heart of teaching. I especially liked an article on differentiated learning.
http://www.edutopia.org/differentiated-instruction-student-success

So many times we forget about the quiet non-disruptive students and don't give them the attention they need and deserve; just because they are not causing any problems for us doesn't mean they are learning. There are many different ways to meet students needs, and we should remember that we certainly should not treat every student the same when it comes to their learning. That's where differentiated instruction comes in. While it may be time-consuming and difficult, we are there to teach every student in our class and meet them where they are. I liked the idea of "do-overs" mainly because I am still working on allowing students a chance to redeem themselves, relearn an idea or concept, and change their results. Some teachers tend to give extra credit to students who are doing poorly in their class, but that does not always meet the learning objectives. Allowing students to do several drafts of a paper, test or quiz corrections, or allowing them to redo math problems once we reteach a concept will achieve the learning objectives that we set out to accomplish in the first place.

Assignment #4 - tech project plan

For the end of the year project, I plan to create a plan for student video book reports. I will give detailed instructions on a wiki, along with a sign up to check out the 3 classroom flip cameras. For the main part of the project, I will provide an example (or 2) of how a student video book report should look. Students will be given a graphic organizer to complete before recording their video so they will have some idea of what is important content to include. I will also provide them many ideas and options to encourage them to think creatively about their book. For the actual example video I will be using my third-grade son as an example; he is very excited to help mom on her college assignment!
I chose this assignment because I think there's a movie-maker in all of us, and because I want to experiment more with making movies. This type of report uses many more senses than a typical written report. Students who are dying to show off their creativity can be as creative as they want in this type of an assignment. I don't know what age group I will be teaching in the future, but I think I could use this assignment with any age group above 1st grade.

April 14th - I have created the wiki with several pages waiting for items to be inserted. I have not completed the plan for the video or the video itself. I plan to do that this weekend when I get the camera. I was surprised how easy it was to create the wiki and how helpful the tutorial videos were.

Entry #9 - Caught on Video - article

This article helped me to think outside the box when it comes to traditional classrooms and assessments. I have always thought videos have a place in the classroom. I used a video camera when I taught 7th grade for my students to communicate with their pen pals in my mother's 7th grade class. They had already been writing letters and exchanged emails or IM addresses; this was just another way to let one class know what the other was learning. These new flip cameras would make that process even simpler by foregoing the taping, rewinding, etc and instead editing the material on the computer and sending by email or posting the videos to a blog. That would have made my class project so much easier and faster, not to mention better quality. Of course, I can think of one draw back and that is the economic one. The cost associated with providing students cameras and computers would be great, not to mention the availability of computers to the parents who would want to view these videos at home. I continue to question my own traditional view of grading and assessment. I like how this author put it: not "how are you doing", but "what are you doing." That is what our assessments of students should be focused on.

Entry #8 - Smartboard presentation

After using the smart board in an educational setting, I can see both its uses and distractions. If it is not lined up correctly or gets a gliche in any way, a teacher can waste valuable time fixing the problem. I think if I had one in my classroom, I would have to do a lot of practicing on it to avoid any of those mishaps. I do see, however, how it can help draw the students into the lessons and encourage them to actively participate.

Assignment 3 - Smart board presentation

in my presentation, I will be showing some review exercises from a site called gamequarium. These can be used following grammar lessons to review skills learned. The NETS standards for teachers covered are:
1. Design or adapt relevent learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
2. Demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.

The NETS standards covered for students are:
1. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media.
2. Understand and use technology systems.

This website could be used on individual computers, but the likelihood of every student having a computer or staying on task is slim. Since it is done on a Smart board as a unified class, this activity in particular can improve student learning, because it gives them a "hands-on" approach to English which can typically be boring for most students. Since it allows them to actively participate in reviewing concepts, it is more likely those concepts will stick. Other activities done on Smartboards can have the same effects of solidifying material into students' memory banks.

reflection 5 - great lesson plans

check this out!
In my teaching exprience in middle school, I found that my students responded to learning when they were active. Middle school students do not get recess, but still have lots of energy to let loose. If they have to sit in chairs and listen to a teacher for an hour, they will either go to sleep or use their energy chatting with their friends. I tried as much as I could to integrate movement into my lessons, but often times was at a loss for what to do with grammar. This website (if you scroll down a bit) offers many different suggestions for grammar, literature, and writing activities that have the students moving around the classroom. I am so thankful for someone taking the time to write their ideas down for the rest of us who lack the mental creativity. :)

Reflection 4 - cool art site for kids

At my son's school, they have art docents for each classroom, and this year the art docent for third grade had a great idea to post their work online. They sent home a permission form for the parents to sign and information for how to register for the site. Now whenever he completes an art project, the docent takes a pic of it, uploads it to the site, and we get an email letting us know there is new art posted. When we go onto Caleb's site we can make comments for each piece of art, and he can read those comments any time he logs on. It's a great idea to help them see importance in their creativity and to feel successful at it (especially for him since his parents are extremely unartistic). The website is called Artsonia.com.
Here is the link for his personal account:
Caleb's artsonia

comments on other sites

Loree's site

Tammy's site

Anna's site

Liliya's site

Annie's site

Reflection 3 (my kids and technology)

Tonight while eating ice cream after my middle son's music program, my oldest heard us talking about computer viruses. We explained to him how a computer gets "sick" and that some viruses are so bad, your computer won't work any more. He really seemed to understand and will now be on the look out for suspicious emails. This conversation is not the first we have had with him. He is very interested in technology and has picked up on the lingo quickly. My husband and I laugh at times when we are talking to our children about iphones and apps to put on them, Nintendo DS (which he desperately wants), or any other type of technology in our house. It's a whole new generation!