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.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
525 Week 1
I really appreciated the straightforwardness and layout of the Teaching and Learning Principles. The first thing that struck me in the teaching principles was how important it is to know what your objectives are, and make sure that what you are presenting, as well as asking the students to produce, match those objectives. Six or seven years ago, when I first learned about setting measurable objectives, I did not realize how important they would be. After five years of teaching, I now realize how helpful it is to me to have a very clear map of where I am going. I leave room for detours throughout the unit, but having a clear picture in my mind, as well as in my students' minds has been invaluable.
The fourth teaching point involves prioritizing what is truly important for the students to know. I am currently teaching first graders German during a summer enrichment class. I only have a total of 12 hours in two weeks to teach them about the German culture and language. It seems obvious to me, with such little time, what I want to focus on. However, it is not always so obvious in my classroom. With much more time, and much more to cover, it is more difficult to prioritize what I need to cover. There are many things which dictate what I need to cover, and I am so concerned with getting through all of the material, that I end up plowing through grammar and vocabulary for the first three quarters of the year. Once I know that I am through a sizeable chunk of material, I take a deep breath and include more culture. My eighth graders seem to really appreciate the "break" at the end of the year. When their other teachers are scurrying to complete district outcomes, my students are doing skits and talking about daily life in Germany.
I really liked the seventh teaching point, which focuses on flexibility. There are so many teachers who plan out their units day by day, and then refuse to divert from their master plan. It is so important that teachers remain flexible in what they are teaching, and re-teach if necessary!
The first learning point on prior knowledge is really important for me to remember. I teach seventh and eighth graders, who sometimes think they are coming in with more knowledge than they already have. I need to remember to ask questions to assess prior knowledge and make sure to clear up any misconceptions that they have!
The Waxman article looked intimidating at first. I managed to get through college without ever taking a stats class. (I started college in chemical engineering, and then switched to German and Political Science, going back to school for my teaching certification after spending a year teaching in Germany.) I understand that it is difficult to obtain recent data. However, when hypothesising about ever-changing technology, it is important to use the most current data available. So, I was shocked, when I got to page 14.
"A final limitation of our study relates to the recentness of the review. Although we were interested in recent applications of technology, a few of the studies included in the meta-analysis stated that their article was based on projects completed in the early 1990s. In other words, even though we chose only articles that were published within the last five years, some of those articles are still based on technology (i.e., software and hardware) that is nearly a decade old."
The authors are citing technology studies from the early 1990s. So much has changed in the world of technology in the past 15+ years. It causes me to question the validity of the paper as I read it in 2009.
Is there anything that can be done about this problem? Surely, the researchers would like the most up to date, relevant, accurate information. But, in the fields of technology and on-line learning, what can they do to ensure more reliable, current, information?
After reading the first three chapters of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, I was reminded how much I love using RubiStar with my students. It is a great tool to create clear rubrics for my middle schoolers. I can create the rubric, and then hand it out the same day that I present the assignment. I have had much success using it in my classroom. It provides clear expectations for my students, and then I have them self-assess before I grade their work. It has really taken the surprise for some of them out of their grades! I had them grade their work using the rubric, prior to my grading it. Then, I asked them what grade they think they should receive. A few students whose rubrics showed a 70% said that they should earn "A's," but the vast majority of students graded themselves close to how I graded them! RubiStar was a great tool, that I use in my classroom to create clear expectations and minimize surprises!
The fourth teaching point involves prioritizing what is truly important for the students to know. I am currently teaching first graders German during a summer enrichment class. I only have a total of 12 hours in two weeks to teach them about the German culture and language. It seems obvious to me, with such little time, what I want to focus on. However, it is not always so obvious in my classroom. With much more time, and much more to cover, it is more difficult to prioritize what I need to cover. There are many things which dictate what I need to cover, and I am so concerned with getting through all of the material, that I end up plowing through grammar and vocabulary for the first three quarters of the year. Once I know that I am through a sizeable chunk of material, I take a deep breath and include more culture. My eighth graders seem to really appreciate the "break" at the end of the year. When their other teachers are scurrying to complete district outcomes, my students are doing skits and talking about daily life in Germany.
I really liked the seventh teaching point, which focuses on flexibility. There are so many teachers who plan out their units day by day, and then refuse to divert from their master plan. It is so important that teachers remain flexible in what they are teaching, and re-teach if necessary!
The first learning point on prior knowledge is really important for me to remember. I teach seventh and eighth graders, who sometimes think they are coming in with more knowledge than they already have. I need to remember to ask questions to assess prior knowledge and make sure to clear up any misconceptions that they have!
The Waxman article looked intimidating at first. I managed to get through college without ever taking a stats class. (I started college in chemical engineering, and then switched to German and Political Science, going back to school for my teaching certification after spending a year teaching in Germany.) I understand that it is difficult to obtain recent data. However, when hypothesising about ever-changing technology, it is important to use the most current data available. So, I was shocked, when I got to page 14.
"A final limitation of our study relates to the recentness of the review. Although we were interested in recent applications of technology, a few of the studies included in the meta-analysis stated that their article was based on projects completed in the early 1990s. In other words, even though we chose only articles that were published within the last five years, some of those articles are still based on technology (i.e., software and hardware) that is nearly a decade old."
The authors are citing technology studies from the early 1990s. So much has changed in the world of technology in the past 15+ years. It causes me to question the validity of the paper as I read it in 2009.
Is there anything that can be done about this problem? Surely, the researchers would like the most up to date, relevant, accurate information. But, in the fields of technology and on-line learning, what can they do to ensure more reliable, current, information?
After reading the first three chapters of Using Technology with Classroom Instruction that Works, I was reminded how much I love using RubiStar with my students. It is a great tool to create clear rubrics for my middle schoolers. I can create the rubric, and then hand it out the same day that I present the assignment. I have had much success using it in my classroom. It provides clear expectations for my students, and then I have them self-assess before I grade their work. It has really taken the surprise for some of them out of their grades! I had them grade their work using the rubric, prior to my grading it. Then, I asked them what grade they think they should receive. A few students whose rubrics showed a 70% said that they should earn "A's," but the vast majority of students graded themselves close to how I graded them! RubiStar was a great tool, that I use in my classroom to create clear expectations and minimize surprises!
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Blog 3.....Journal Articles......
I was pleasantly surprised at how interesting the journal articles I found were! Sometimes, it is really easy for me to assume that my students know how to use the Internet, and I forget that I need to teach the technology skills in addition to the content.
One of the articles that I read was about advantages and disadvantages for both instructors and institutions when it came to Internet-based learning environments. It was very insightful to read about the process that colleges and universities would need to go through to start an online program. It caused me to think about what I would need to learn if I were teaching a solely online class.
It also brought up the issue of instructors who are reluctant to use technology in their courses. At my school, we have several staff members who are very set in their ways and reluctant to add technology to their instruction. Not only that, but we are not given much inservice time to learn about technology. This makes little things, like the migration from GroupWise email to Google a huge headache for all of those involved in the technology department. I cannot believe that some of my educated coworkers could not understand how to use Gmail after a 45 minute session on it. If they cannot use Gmail, then how can we get them to use other technology with their students?
I don't know that there is a simple answer to that question. I know that more inservice training will help, but with the huge literacy push going on in our district right now, I don't know that tech will get the time it needs. It would be great if we could integrate technology literacy into the current literacy goal, but I am not sure that the higher ups value technology as much as they ought.
One of the articles that I read was about advantages and disadvantages for both instructors and institutions when it came to Internet-based learning environments. It was very insightful to read about the process that colleges and universities would need to go through to start an online program. It caused me to think about what I would need to learn if I were teaching a solely online class.
It also brought up the issue of instructors who are reluctant to use technology in their courses. At my school, we have several staff members who are very set in their ways and reluctant to add technology to their instruction. Not only that, but we are not given much inservice time to learn about technology. This makes little things, like the migration from GroupWise email to Google a huge headache for all of those involved in the technology department. I cannot believe that some of my educated coworkers could not understand how to use Gmail after a 45 minute session on it. If they cannot use Gmail, then how can we get them to use other technology with their students?
I don't know that there is a simple answer to that question. I know that more inservice training will help, but with the huge literacy push going on in our district right now, I don't know that tech will get the time it needs. It would be great if we could integrate technology literacy into the current literacy goal, but I am not sure that the higher ups value technology as much as they ought.
Blog #2.......thinking about how to evaluate websites
This week, we had to create an evaluation form that our students could use to examine websites. It was great for me to take a step back to think about how to teach middle schoolers to think critically about information they find on the web. One thing that was really important for me was to make sure that my students give open-ended responses to the questions, and not simply check a box.
It was also interesting to check out the different services offered through Google 411, Google Voice, Ta-Da, etc. Google 411 and Voice would be beneficial for me to use in my personal life, while bloglines or Survey Monkey could be welcome additions to my classroom!
It was also interesting to check out the different services offered through Google 411, Google Voice, Ta-Da, etc. Google 411 and Voice would be beneficial for me to use in my personal life, while bloglines or Survey Monkey could be welcome additions to my classroom!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
First Week of Internet Learning Resources
I use the internet on a daily basis, but I have much to learn about the myriad of different ways to use it. Therefore, I am excited to see how this course is going to improve my ability to not only use the internet, but also better instruct my students on using the internet.
One of our assignments for this week was to create a wiki page about ourselves. It is hard to capture my real life awesomeness in a few paragraphs without sounding like one of those personal ads that one finds in the classified section of a newspaper. I wrote the assignment a couple of times, because I thought it sounded a little too over the top. My friend who was grading papers across from me as I was writing was laughing hysterically as I told her "all about me."
Her only comment was that it would be easier if I had kids. Parents can go on and on about their children, she rationalized. No, I do not have any kids, yet. But, if I did, they could have provided me with other things to write about.
Back to this week's class. The assignment on defining internet learning resources was interesting, but I am not sure if those resources also include the applications that one would access, or merely information that is to be found. I also found an interesting article that I could share with my students on how to be better discriminators of information. Seventh graders need all of the help that they can get when it comes to determining the validity of information on the internet. After all, if it is on the internet, it must be true, right?
One of our assignments for this week was to create a wiki page about ourselves. It is hard to capture my real life awesomeness in a few paragraphs without sounding like one of those personal ads that one finds in the classified section of a newspaper. I wrote the assignment a couple of times, because I thought it sounded a little too over the top. My friend who was grading papers across from me as I was writing was laughing hysterically as I told her "all about me."
Her only comment was that it would be easier if I had kids. Parents can go on and on about their children, she rationalized. No, I do not have any kids, yet. But, if I did, they could have provided me with other things to write about.
Back to this week's class. The assignment on defining internet learning resources was interesting, but I am not sure if those resources also include the applications that one would access, or merely information that is to be found. I also found an interesting article that I could share with my students on how to be better discriminators of information. Seventh graders need all of the help that they can get when it comes to determining the validity of information on the internet. After all, if it is on the internet, it must be true, right?
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