Week 8: Last Week of a Great Class

Part 1: My Favorite Technology

I have been exposed to a variety of technologies over the course of this semester, but I would have to say Web 2.0 technologies are my favorite, from Wikis to blogs and to all the wonderful Google Apps.  I like Web 2.0 tools because they are easy to use and mostly free.  They store everything in the Cloud so it doesn't matter what computer you use as long as you have access to the Internet. 

Of the Web 2.0 tools that I mentioned, my favorite is Google Sites.  I like Google sites because it is easy to use and edit.  It also has a variety of templates available for use.  I like using it because I use Gmail and Google Docs all the time so it is easy to access.  

Google has influenced the way I teach because I see the importance of keeping an e-portfolio for myself.  I will use my e-portfolio to keep a record of all the professional development and other achievements throughout my teaching career.  My students like to use theirs to save their work.  They see their achievements and can be proud of them. 

Part 2: My "Aha" Moments This Semester

I have learned so much while taking this class.  Every week, it was filled with "Aha" moments, either by reading articles that Dr. W posted online or the ones I read from my journal articles.  It was helpful to   get feedback from other students and hear about the struggles and successes they have had in their careers. 

I think the most interesting thing I learned was about how to search the Internet by using different search engines and looking up a website’s origin and seeing what it looks like throughout its development.  I found the hate group website to be an eye-opener because it looked like a good creditable website, when it was actually just the opposite. 

Part 3: Continue to Use My Blog

I will continue using my blog as a way to post information that I have learned whether from my grad classes, other teachers, and/or my professional development experiences.  I know there are lots of websites that share information about interesting technology but, because only a few co-workers and family will probably view it, I will be able to answer any questions they may have about my posts. 

KONY 2012 from INVISIBLE CHILDREN on Vimeo.

Week 7: Google Apps

Part 1: Google Sketchup 

I made a lesson for students to use the Google App called Sketchup to create a 3D image of a house with various elements, in and around it.  I used my class Wiki to put the full detailed assignment on it.  The Tutorials were created using Jing and then uploaded to YouTube.  The students will use their Google accounts to share their projects via Google Docs and even create a screen-cast using Jing where they describe everything in their project as they navigate the screen.  Then they will put the screen-cast on their e-Portfolios on Google Sites. 

Here is the lesson on my Wiki

http://5cgreece.pbworks.com/w/page/51474593/Google%20Sketchup%203D%20Design

Part 2: Improving Student Learning Using Technology 


After watching the videos and from my own experience I have noticed that students are eager to learn new technology and it comes easy to them.  I am a digital native but technology was not used a lot in my educational upbringing.  Because of this, I have to learn how to teach using new technology.  I can not teach the same way I was taught as a child.  I think it helps that I started teaching after technology made a major transformation in the classroom.  It would be hard to have taught for years only using textbooks and then being told you have to totally adjust your teaching style to adapt to new technology.  I think this is why so many teachers are having trouble catching up.  Education and training is the key to teachers using this new technology.  I have learned so many things already by taking my grad program at TAMU-Commerce and from other professional development opportunity. 

Another Motivating Video from YouTube about Technology

Part 1: The Purpose of My Podcast 

Technology can be tricky and there are so many steps involved in doing the most basic of tasks.  I made a how-to video about printing our wedding invitations.  I live in Korea and while I was in Texas over the Christmas break we bought our invitations and I printed most of them but I accidentally left some of them at my fiances house in Ohio.  Since I have experience printing them, and we want them all to be the same I made a screen-cast on how I printed them.

Part 2: Ways it can Enhance Learning

It is sad to say that I didn't know the first thing about how to make a screen-cast myself until just a few months ago.  I watch them all the time on You-tube and other type websites and they are extremely helpful but I never thought I would need to make them myself.  This year I have used them almost on a daily basis in my teaching.  I work with another teacher in teaching information technology to middle school students.  He teaches the students one day and I teach them the next.  It is not the most ideal situation but it is what we have to do this year.  We run our class like a distance education class.  We make screen-casts of the assignments and how to use the programs and embed them on a e-learning platform.  The students are able to watch the video as many times as they want and get to see what is happening on the screen as I talk.  It helps that it is both visual and auditory. 

Part 3: Using Jing for my Pod-cast

Jing is a great program to use for screen-casting.  I is user friendly and can be learned in minutes.  It is nice because there are so many way to share your picture/video.  I even embedded the code in this blog.  I will definitely use Jing in the future.  

Here is my Pod-cast

Week 5: Critical Analysis of Information

Part 1: MAPing Information Activity

After I looked at the Dihydrogen Monoxide website www.dhmo.org, I noticed that it was a “.org” or organization website and it looked official.  I did a “link” search using www.altavista.com, and I noticed that it had other .org sites linked to it and popular sites such as pbs.org which led me to believe that it was reputable.  After searching three different search engines (Google, go.com, and AltaVista), they all had dhmo.org as their first result and Wikipedia.com at number 3 or 4, but Google.com also had a list of images and YouTube videos.  All of the websites had advertisements.  I think this is because that’s how the search engines make money since it is free to use their services. 

Wow! After reviewing the www.martinlutherking.org site I was amazed.  I was sure because of the URL “Martinlutherking” and the .org at the end that this site would be a useful site to learn about Martin Luther King Jr., but instead it is a white supremacy site.  I really like using the site “easywhois.com.”  I will definitely add this to my “delicious” account!  Also, using archive.org helped me see the evolution of the website (another site to add to delicious). 

After doing this activity I, and trying it out on my own websites, don’t feel that confident at all about my past experience with web-searches.  I used to be somewhat naive to the content and the author’s purpose.  I will definitely start using these skills to find websites that are more credible. 

Part 2: Teaching Students How to Make Reliable Web Searches

It is up to the teachers to show students how to use the Internet.  If we fail to do so, history – or what the future of humanity will believe is history – can be changed because everyone started believing a lie, all stared by unreliable websites.  Good schools are blocking these sites from their networks, but when students are assigned homework they use their home computers.  It is important that students know how to search the web so they don’t use sites like www.martinlutherking.org for a research paper.

Part 3:  Delicious and Social Bookmarking

I was excited that this week our activity was on social bookmarking because I was interested in the subject, and I wanted to learn more about it.  I had heard of delicious.com in another ETEC class at TAMU-Commerce, and it sounded like a helpful tool.  In the past, I would lose my bookmarks because of a computer problem or I would use a different computer and not be able to access them.  Now, with delicious, I can have access to them whenever I’m online. 

The social side of these tools will help me as a teacher by getting other websites that are researched by other teachers.  I am currently doing a unit on ancient Greece, and I will use it to find sites that were “tagged” by other teachers. 

My delicious username is jcaldwell2000

Week 4: E-Portfolios and Assessment

Part 1: Which AFL Tenent did you most 

Relate to and Why?

I chose the tenet that AFL should be sensitive and constructive because any assessment has an emotional impact.  I feel strongly about this because, as a new teacher, I have made the mistake of providing constructive criticism during an assessment and not being sensitive to how the students feel.  I would point out their mistakes and what they needed to improve on without complimenting their successes. 

 

I also find that students care more about their grade then knowledge and learning.  It’s important that the students know what to expect from their assessment.  I would show them sample answers or have them respond to a sample question before a test.  Communication is the key as in most things in life.  I would explain what “A” work looks like and make my expectations clear.

Part 2:  The Potential I see for Portfolio Assessment.

I see great potential for portfolio assessment.  It is good for both the student and the teacher.

The students get to see a progression of all their hard work throughout the year.  They also get to create a portfolio that is an original design, specifically created by them. 

The teacher also gets to see the progression of the students’ learning through the course of the year and even multiple years. 

Part 3:  What the Creation and Development of my Portfolio Will Do for my Learning

• Having a portfolio will improve my learning in many ways:
• I will be available to self-assess my progress and reflect upon it.
• I can create new goals by improving or adding onto existing projects.
• It will help me in my professional career looking for future employment.
• It will help me be a better teacher as I will be showing students how to create their own portfolios.

 Here is a great video on why to use e-portfolios from Youtube.