525 Final Reflection:
After taking this course, I realize that I could improve my teaching by providing more feedback and reinforcement. I think that I provide feedback. But, I think that it could be more thorough and timely. When prioritizing what I need to get done on any given day, I make sure that I have a dynamic lesson planned. A great lesson is the best classroom management strategy I have found. So, at the end of the day, I sometimes do not take time to offer as much feedback as I should.
In addition to feedback, it is also important to recognize students for their efforts. This coming school year, I would like to display more student work in my room. In addition, I need to remember how much secondary students enjoy stickers and stamps. A little scratch and sniff sticker can make even teenage boys smile!
Friday, July 31, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
525 Week 3: Graphic Organizers
This week, I looked at Exploratree, bubbl.us, and Inspiration. I thought that each of these three programs were quite easy to use, but there were distinct advantages to each. I really liked the extensive pre-made templates that existed at Exploratree. Students sometimes have issues deciding how pieces of information relate to each other. Exploratree tries to simplify the entering and connecting of information through its templates. It is also web-based, which makes it especially easy to get started!
I also liked Inspiration, a program that I use with my seventh graders. It is user-friendly, and there are two features that I especially like. The first is that it is extremely easy to switch from the concept mapping view to an outline. (I had my students make webs, and then give speeches from their outlines.) The second thing that I really like about Inspiration is that it is very easy to add additional "notes" to further clarify points. One of the drawbacks to Inspiration is that the user needs to pay after the free trial, and it needs to be downloaded to a computer, as opposed to being completely web-based.
The program that I liked the best was bubbl.us. It is web-based, and does not have to be downloaded. Students can share documents by giving others full access, or read-only access. The relational terminology (sibling/child/parent) is easy for students to understand. And, it is easy to turn the sound, background, and other effects on and off easily.
I mentioned that I have used Inspiration in the past. However, I am interested in looking into bubbl.us further. I think it could be an even better resource than Inspiration.
I also liked Inspiration, a program that I use with my seventh graders. It is user-friendly, and there are two features that I especially like. The first is that it is extremely easy to switch from the concept mapping view to an outline. (I had my students make webs, and then give speeches from their outlines.) The second thing that I really like about Inspiration is that it is very easy to add additional "notes" to further clarify points. One of the drawbacks to Inspiration is that the user needs to pay after the free trial, and it needs to be downloaded to a computer, as opposed to being completely web-based.
The program that I liked the best was bubbl.us. It is web-based, and does not have to be downloaded. Students can share documents by giving others full access, or read-only access. The relational terminology (sibling/child/parent) is easy for students to understand. And, it is easy to turn the sound, background, and other effects on and off easily.
I mentioned that I have used Inspiration in the past. However, I am interested in looking into bubbl.us further. I think it could be an even better resource than Inspiration.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
525 Week 2
The Brookhart article on providing effective student feedback made several good points. It talked about providing timely feedback that how to decide how much feedback to provide. As a German teacher, I often struggle with wanting to correct every misspelling or grammar error. Students need encouragement, as well as direction. I do not want them to be discouraged by the amount of minor corrections I make. So, I try to point out mistakes that were made by many to the class, and then focus on showing individual students the mistakes that they made above and beyond those I already shared.
I liked the two examples of feedback that the author shared. However, I think it is very important to consider the amount of time that teachers have to provide feedback. With 200 students, it is not always possible to write an entire page of feedback. Is timely feedback, with the option of individual meetings more important than writing a page for each student?
I really like using RubiStar to create rubrics. They offer some premade rubrics, and their drop down menus are very user friendly. I often find a rubric that is close to what I am looking for, and then I am able to customize quite easily. And, I am able to save the rubric online, so that I can come back to it, and change it as necessary.
One of the Spanish teachers at my school uses Quia, and she really likes it. She particularly likes that the students can quiz themselves using the flashcards and matching activities. Additionally, she has the option of assessing online, and the potential to spend far less time grading quizzes and tests. However, she mainly uses it as a review tool for her students, giving them extra practice outside of class.
As much as I would like to use online assessments, I have concerns about the logistics. It is not always possible to get into the computer labs, and not all of our students have computer access at home. There is a teacher at my school who uses Moodle for the vast majority of his assignments, and the students who do not have computers at home must use school computers during study hall or lunch. He also encourages his students to take advantage of the computers at the public library.
I will continue to use RubiStar for my performance based assessments. And, I could see myself using Quia as a supplement for students to have extra practice at home. I have used Moodle in the past, and I do not think that using Quia as an additional assessment tool is necessary.
I liked the two examples of feedback that the author shared. However, I think it is very important to consider the amount of time that teachers have to provide feedback. With 200 students, it is not always possible to write an entire page of feedback. Is timely feedback, with the option of individual meetings more important than writing a page for each student?
I really like using RubiStar to create rubrics. They offer some premade rubrics, and their drop down menus are very user friendly. I often find a rubric that is close to what I am looking for, and then I am able to customize quite easily. And, I am able to save the rubric online, so that I can come back to it, and change it as necessary.
One of the Spanish teachers at my school uses Quia, and she really likes it. She particularly likes that the students can quiz themselves using the flashcards and matching activities. Additionally, she has the option of assessing online, and the potential to spend far less time grading quizzes and tests. However, she mainly uses it as a review tool for her students, giving them extra practice outside of class.
As much as I would like to use online assessments, I have concerns about the logistics. It is not always possible to get into the computer labs, and not all of our students have computer access at home. There is a teacher at my school who uses Moodle for the vast majority of his assignments, and the students who do not have computers at home must use school computers during study hall or lunch. He also encourages his students to take advantage of the computers at the public library.
I will continue to use RubiStar for my performance based assessments. And, I could see myself using Quia as a supplement for students to have extra practice at home. I have used Moodle in the past, and I do not think that using Quia as an additional assessment tool is necessary.
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