CEDO 525 Final Thoughts

This class has made me realize how my anachronistic teaching style needs to adapt to the times. Reflecting back, I admit that I teach like I was taught, and coached like I was coached. But today's students and players are different than those of days gone by, and need to be handled differently. What was good for the goose does not translate into something good for the gander. But now I feel that I am better equipped to make meaningful changes to my teaching style. The lesson revision assignment made me realize that I am probably the main reason that my students are not excited about literature. Just because I love reading doesn't excuse my throwing the books out there and expecting kids to share my passion. The strategies we have studied will hopefully help get kids excited about learning again, and make them more successful students.
The setting objectives strategy will be my starting point for revising my teaching style. I like the idea of making the KWHL chart available to students via Google Docs. I think that having students think about what they know, what they want to know, and how they plan to acquire the knowledge will not only reveal prior knowledge, but it will also give ownership of the learning process back to the students. They will have a say in how the obtain information, and reflecting on what they have learned can help develop better habits for future units. I also want to make sure that my objectives are clearly stated for students, and I will make them available electronically on either Moodle or Google Docs.
Providing feedback is arguably the most important strategy to incorporate into a classroom, yet one that is difficult to make meaningful. I think that by having students create blogs they will be able to communicate with each other on issues throughout the year and provide more valuable feedback than simply feedback from the teacher. Last year I started using Senteo software with the new smartboard in my classroom. I really like that feedback on quizzes is immediate, and that problems can be addressed when the information is fresh in the students' minds. The smartboard itself will also allow for immediate feedback while allowing students to be more participatory and engaged in classroom activities.
I have tried to do a good job with cooperative learning through the use of Google Docs. I love the fact that there is a revision history, so I know what kids have been doing, but it also allows for additional technology to be explored. Skype has been a nice compliment to Docs and allows even more freedom for students to work together. I am also thrilled that I learned about Webspiration. I think that Inspiration is an awesome tool, but cost and limitations concerning collaboration has made me reluctant to pursue this software. Wespiration has the same features as Inspiration, but is free and allows for collaboration. This will be a great addition to collaborative efforts in my classroom.
Nonlinguistic representation is probably going to be the biggest change this year in my classroom. Looking at the textbook for our next class, a presentation expert stated that slide shows should never have more than six words on a slide. After I regained consciousness, I realized that might be excellent advice for anyone who is presenting. We want our audiences to be engaged and not simply reading words on a slide. I think we also challenge ourselves to become better presenters, rather than simply reading what we have on a slide. I am very heavy in linguistic representation, but I now realize the importance of nonlinguistic representation for student engagement, and I will be utilizing this strategy significantly in my classroom.
I will also reinforce effort in the classroom by using an effort spreadsheet produced in Excel software. My participation grade was often a gift to all students regardless of effort, but now I will be able to look at data showing how student effort effects performance. My hope is that the hard workers will be motivated to work even harder, while my students lacking motivation can see that improved effort can produce improved grades.
I could go on and on, but this reflection makes me feel like a failure as a teacher. I think that the strategies I learned will make learning visible in my classroom again. I know that the technologies I have used helped student engagement, and I also know that being more knowledgeable concerning strategies to help student learning will make my job more rewarding.

CEDO 525 Graphic Organizers

One of the first questions any new teacher is asked in an interview concerns the idea of organization. The teacher lies and says that organization is a strength and that he or she has a multitude of strategies in place to ensure organization in the classroom. Administrators probably see through the charade and know that the new hire will be a work in progress and ultimately need help with organization. But the new teacher can certainly develop organization in the classroom through the use of graphic organizers. There are many different organization tools available, and this assignment allowed me to examine a few of them.
The first tool that I examined is called Inspiration. Inspiration is a graphic organizer that costs $69.00 to download to a computer. The money is well spent on this product for it has an array of tools to help plan, research, and complete assignments. Users can choose from ready made templates, or start from scratch with an original design. There is a built in library to add clip art to enhance presentations. A Rapid fire key allows easy data entry, and text can be added to links, as well as notes added to key ideas. Audio and video can be added to the presentation, or a hyperlink can be added to link directly to the information. The coolest feature of Inspiration is that views are integrated. The user can shift from a graphic display to an outline display. Any changes made to either display will automatically update in the other display. For showing connections between ideas, and having a visually rich presentation, Inspiration provides a great option for graphically representing information.
Bubbl.us provides another solid option for graphic organizers. For what it lacks in aesthetics, bubbl.us compensates for by allowing users to collaborate on projects. Because bubbl.us is an online graphic organizer, users can share work with whomever they choose. Although bubbl.us allows collaboration, it does not provide the real time power of Google Docs. Colors can be enhanced to really highlight key points, and projects can be shared for collaboration, emailed, or embedded in blogs and websites. Bubble.us has a box at the bottom right corner of the screen that allows the user to better understand the function they are choosing. Bubbl.us is a powerful tool for graphic organizing, and because it is free and allows collaboration, it provides a viable alternative to Inspiration.
Education Oasis provided yet another option for graphic organizers. Fifty-eight organizers are available for download in the form of PDF files. Some of the organizers can be filled out and then printed, but the majority that I tried could only be printed. In one sense, these organizers are limiting because they are premade, and may not be exactly what a user is looking for. That being said, the user could easily upload the PDF file into Google Docs, make a copy, and then tailor the finished product to meet specific needs. There is a wide array of organizers available, and if nothing else, the user may get valuable ideas for his or her own organizer. This graphic organizer option is probably my least favorite, but again, can be a great starting point for building a really solid presentation.
I am very excited about a recent discovery. Of my three evaluations, I would definitely choose Inspiration software. The power of this tool is second to none, but the fact that it costs money, doesn't allow online collaboration, and can only be used on one computer per license gives the potential buyer pause. Probably aware of these limitations, the creators of Inspiration now have created Webspiration. Webspiration has all the functions that bubbl.us provides, but maintains the power and look of Inspiration. This online tool is also free, and I think would challenge any other online graphic organizer in existence. I will be using Webspiration in my classroom next year, but I will certainly keep the other options available as the need arises.

CEDO 525 Rubrics and Quizzes

We have spent considerable time in the first two weeks of class investigating the importance of being clear with students concerning objectives. Whereas I think I do a fair job instructing students what is expected of them on their assignments, I rarely give a rubric showing how they will be assessed. I am arguably a product of my environment in that I teach in much the same way I was taught. My teachers never gave rubrics with assignments although directions were made clear as to what they expected. But as times have changed, both with the types of students that sit in our classrooms and the quality of technologies available to teachers, it would be wise to reevaluate how my expectations for student work are delivered. To that end, I have examined both Rubistar and IRubric to see if either might be viable options for providing information to my students concerning how they are graded.
If time is short, Rubistar provides a great tool for easily creating rubrics. Templates are provided for a variety of assignments, and numerous categories within each assignment can be selected. Preloaded descriptions of each category aptly describe how the student is being evaluated. The user can customize existing descriptions in order to tailor evaluation to fit his or her needs. The finished rubric can be printed, downloaded, and even saved to an online database. The finished rubric looks professional and can be edited as the user's needs change. The downside of Rubistar is that there are only four scoring criteria for the rubrics. I have never used a point system in my classroom, and if I did, I would want five scoring criteria available. When teaching the 6+1 writing traits, a five point scale would parallel the scoring given with the trait descriptions. That being said, Rubistar provides a vehicle that provides easy to produce rubrics that can save precious time for a teacher while delivering clear objectives to the students.
IRubric has a site that appeals to the eye more than Rubistar. Rubric templates can be searched in a database or rubrics can be created from scratch. Once a rubric is created, that template can be used for other rubrics. Although IRubric doesn't have the auto fill device provided by Rubistar, it does offer the ability to create more categories for grading criteria. Another nice feature of IRubric is the ability to create a link or embed the rubric. I am making a concerted effort to reduce the amount of paper used in my classroom, and the link and embed features will help me achieve this goal. Rubrics are stored online and can be edited as the need requires. So although IRubric takes a little more time to create a rubric, I think that the features make this an excellent tool for assessment.
Although using rubrics in my classroom might be a new idea, giving quizzes is not. Frequent quizzes are delivered during the study of a piece of literature, and I always try to look for new ways for students to be assessed. I have tinkered with Senteo and Hot Potatoes with excellent results, but now Quia and Quizstar have been brought to my attention.
Quia is a neat tool in that it allows the teacher to utilize many tools besides simply creating quizzes. Although better suited for the grade school teacher, the activities section allows teachers to provide learning through different games. There is also a search mechanism that allows the teacher to find work that other teachers have created. Quia also has a survey creator and settings can be customized to achieve the desired purpose. The site offers a nice video tutorial illustrating the advantages of using the service. For quizzes, Quia is easy to use and provides an array of choices concerning question styles. All objective question will be automatically graded, and preferences for feedback can be set by the teacher. There is a nice timing feature that can be set to control how long a student has to complete the quiz. Once a quiz is created, a link is provided for students to retrieve and complete the quiz. The teacher can control how students register for the class, and results can be saved in classes that have been created by the teacher. Quia offers a 30 day trial for teachers, and a yearly subscription can be purchased for $49.
Quizstar is another tool for creating quizzes, but doesn't have the activity or survey features of Quia. Quizstar allows for quizzes to be shared with other teachers but only if permission is granted. Like Quia, QuizStar allows the teacher to control registration and whether or not the class is private or public. Objective questions will be graded automatically, and a variety of question styles can be created. Students will login to QuizStar to complete their quiz, and results are stored automatically in a grade book. The teacher can place time constraints on any quiz created, and results can be emailed to the teacher. Feedback can be immediate, received after completing a question, or set to be delivered at the end of the quiz. QuizStar also provides a free trial of 60 days, after which a yearly subscription can be purchased for $39. QuizStar parallels the features of Quia and would be another nice resource to have in the teaching arsenal.
I think that Rubistar and IRubric are two tools that I will tinker with during the next school year. The quiz generators are nice, but I am not interested in lightening my wallet when I have Senteo and Hot Potatoes for free at my fingertips. That being said, it is always wise to have as many options available for use when it comes to evaluating student work throughout the year.

CEDO 525 Thoughts about Theory

I am excited to get this new class started because I think that any learning that can be achieved through the use of technology has merit. That being said, I am cautiously optimistic about how useful the strategies we learn can be when implemented in our classrooms. My students are a fascinating study in that many do not value their education. In their defense, many will be attending a technical college after high school in order to learn a trade. That fact alone makes it difficult to get students excited about language arts, being that once they leave high school, they will probably never again sit in a language arts classroom. The majority of my students want to do the least amount of work, and they really aren't motivated by grades. With that fact alone, making connections to literature is a difficult task, and one that I love. I want to implement strategies that will allow my students to take ownership in their work. Perhaps somewhere along the line, students never learned quality study habits, and that is something that I can teach to them. But the motivation factor is a slippery slope. How do we motivate the unmotivated, who could really care less about challenging themselves in the classroom? I am lucky to have twenty of my students, in classes of thirty, attend class on a regular basis. I need to find a way to motivate students to come to class, and then find ways to make their experiences rewarding. I think that the first article we read addresses some of my concerns. Nothing that I read was new, but I think it served as a good reminder of being clear with objectives and policies at the beginning of the year.
The second article was a challenge to read. I work in a district that is hungry for data, but the data in the reading was really outdated. That being said, finding any correlation between implementing technology and student achievement is encouraging. I would like to see, and there probably is, a study done in the last couple years concerning the same issues. With technology changing so rapidly, I would think that students in our graduate program would benefit more from more current results. But as I said, I am encouraged by the findings of the study, and hope to learn more about implementing technology in my classes with a measurable increase in learning.
Overall, I think the start of this class has been rewarding and has gotten me thinking more about changes I would like to make for next year. With whatever I change, I want to make sure that it benefits my students, and that improvements can be measured. I don't want to simply abandon what I have been doing, but I am always looking for ways to do it better. I will start with helping students with organization and study skills, and hopefully find some technological tools that will help them be more successful at the beginning of the year. At that point, I want to build on those skills by adding the motivation factor. Hopefully, this year will bring more positive results, and help students prepare for what is yet to come in their lives. :)

CEDO 520 Musings #4

There is no question that I am an overprotective parent. If you are familiar with the commercial, I am like the mom that wraps her children in bubble wrap before allowing them to ride their bikes. In my defense, I believe that the current times necessitate this protective nature, and I would rather error on the side of keeping my children too safe (if there is such a thing). At the risk of waxing nostalgic, when I was growing up, it seemed like a safer world in which we lived. My parents would often let my siblings and me run around unattended in public places, leave us in unlocked cars, and allow us to travel alone to parks. Now perhaps, unbeknownst to me, my parents were hoping that someone would permanently relieve them of their parental duties. But I will rationalize that this behavior by my parents was simply an illustration on how the world was safer for children. My mother would often quip, after I had wandered off in a store only to return later, how she was hoping that I would have gone home with someone else. We will save the psychological trauma and socialization issues that this caused me for a later post. :) But the fact remains that my parents never worried about us being abducted, assaulted, or terrorized in any way.
I think it would be foolish to assume that my children will be safe in the current world. I remember the first time one of my children wandered off in the store. My heart stopped beating for a moment, and when I regained consciousness, I was ready to employ the armed forces in a search and rescue effort. As it turns out, my son had accompanied my wife to a different area of the store. But the point is that we need to be aware of the dangers that exist for our children and develop a plan to always keep them safe.
Sadly, I know that the time will come where I will not be considered the great protector, but I will always view my children and my wife as my most important investments. That being said, I will do whatever I can to keep them safe, regardless of their age. This point became clear to me when I was a junior in college. One of my sisters came home from a night out and was assaulted in my parent's yard. She could always take care of herself, but she perhaps put herself in a situation that could have been avoided. But that is not a knock against my sister, insomuch as it is evidence that there are predators lurking where we least expect it. My parents put me under house arrest for the next few weeks after the suspect had been apprehended because they knew that if I had my way the legal system would be the least of this individual's worries. And now my protective nature is focused on my children.
My children are starting to explore the internet, and I know that my wife and I need to play an active role in their education concerning the pitfalls of its use. We always know sites where our children have visited, and have ultimate veto power when it comes to computer use. But more importantly, we have started to educate our children about being cautious concerning the internet. It is easy to be lulled into a sense of security and to think that nothing bad could ever happen to us. I never want my children to be naive about their safety. Even things that are seemingly innocuous can prove dangerous. Having my children educated about responsible use of the internet and by monitoring their usage, I feel better about the chances concerning keeping my children safe. Will I ever take the bubble wrap off of my children? The answer is probably not, but I do want to empower them to make the right choices, and in turn, give them the best chances for being safe, both in the world and cyberspace.

CEDO 520 Musings #3

Whereas a craftsman never blames his tools, he still must find the right tool for the job. Prior to choosing the tools, the purpose of the task must be identified, and then the correct tool or tools can be chosen. I have already identified the task to be accomplished involves the integration of technology, with a purpose, into my classroom. To this point, cursory attention has been given to the technological tools that might enhance the learning of my students. In years past, I have used the excuse that technology integration took longer than it was worth, and in doing so, continued my usual methods of instruction. But as the needs of my students have evolved, my teaching style should also evolve to meet those needs. As I build my arsenal of tools throughout this program, I am amazed at how the technological landscape has evolved. There is no question that students are technologically savvy, but they need to be challenged to use technology in new ways, and ultimately develop work through this technology that is far superior than they have done before. To that end, I am excited about the tools that we have examined for this class. Adobe Buzzword is an intriguing tool in that it poses a viable alternative to Google docs. I have introduced Google docs to my classes and have found the process to be both rewarding and challenging. I am not 100% sure that "docs" is the best source for online word processing, yet there is a notable advantage in utilizing Google exclusively for its many tools. Buzzword does basically the same tasks as Google docs, but appeals more to the eye. Should I stick to what I know with Google and help students overcome some limitations, or should I introduce students to different tools and let them decide which ones they like the best? I do like the fact that having students all use the same service makes it considerably easier to troubleshoot issues, but I don't want to compromise quality in the process. I will have to continue trying other online word processing tools like Thinkfree and Openoffice before I make that determination.
Of all the tools we looked at, TokBox is the most intriguing, and one that I definitely will introduce to my students. The ability to meet online without geographic limitations is something that would help students who either can't drive or have hectic schedules. The fact that video messages can be emailed is a nice alternative to the current email method.
The whole concept of online meeting is a cool option to pursue in general. I have always chuckled at the advice of having a "sub" folder, replete with daily lessons, in case I am absent. Whereas I have the folder, I hate the fact that the lesson of the day would have nothing to do with what students were currently studying. This disjointed lesson would be viewed by my students as nothing more than filler, and they would treat any subsequent work as a waste of time. I am curious about Wimba and Elluminate as a way to get current lessons to my students. At the same time, I will stick to services that I can afford like WiziQ and Dimdim. But all of these products would provide me with a way to get meaningful lessons to my students, without putting a burden on the substitute teacher. Although the lesson would be asynchronous, I think that students would appreciate the fact that, even though I wasn't physically in the room with them, they are still learning the current material. That is not to say that this option if perfect. Obviously, writing a lesson plan for a substitute teacher involving pressing the play button on the VCR is far less time consuming than providing an online lesson, but if I knew one of my offspring was going to be home from school, I think the online lesson might have some value. In the perfect world, lectures could be made available to those who are absent, but finding the time to create these lessons, and more importantly, getting students to view them would be challenges to overcome.
Obviously, there are many other tools that will help make me a more productive teacher, and in turn, make my students more successful. Now that the foundation for this knowledge has been established, it is important for me to develop this knowledge and determine how this technology can be utilized to meet the needs of my students.

CEDO 520 Musings #2

As this year has come to a close, my reflection on the year has left me in a state of melancholy. When I was hired, I was told that grades would not be a motivating factor for my students to do quality work, or even to do work at all. Being the optimist, I thought that my passion for literature would magically transfer to my students, and that they would willingly immerse themselves into their studies. Unfortunately, the administration's sage advice proved prophetic, and I feel that I have failed my students. Never before had I seen students so willing to fail my class because they didn't want to submit missing assignments. Even when counseled that a submission of a sheet of paper with a name and some meaningless drivel would suffice and allow them to pass the class, many opted to repeat 18 weeks of hell. Obviously, expectations of my impact on students' achievement, as well as students' attitudes as a whole fell well short of the desired outcome.
I did not become a teacher to give up on my students, even when they have given up on themselves. After talking with one of my colleagues that shares the responsibility with the lower achieving students, we have concluded that a change of philosophy is needed for our students to be successful. Although it may be disappointing, we can no longer expect students to empathize with the ethical battle faced by Huckleberry Finn, nor be amused by the misanthropic nature of Holden Caufield. The words on the pages of our beloved novels currently hold no meaning for our students, but that is where technology can help. Everything that I am learning in this program will be evaluated as a possible tool to get students excited about learning. There is one thing that I have found does interest my students, and that one thing is technology. Now it is essential that I find and develop the technological tools that will help the unmotivated become motivated.
I think that a good starting point will be the introduction of Noodle tools and Google alerts. I was amazed at the response of my students this year when I had them create a Google docs account. Students who hadn't submitted anything to that point were the first to complete that assignment. Part of the problem lies in the fact that somewhere along the line the blueprint on how to be successful in school was misplaced or never fully understood by my students. Noodle tools will be a great starting point to help reestablish or create a blueprint for success in my classroom, and hopefully give students tools that will serve them for a lifetime. Google alerts allows students to be weened off their apathetic habits by having the information come to them. With the information coming to my students, I can then focus my attention on how to help students decipher the information received, and to ultimately use this information in an effective manner. By introducing Noodle tools and Google alerts in the beginning of the year, I think that my students will have a better chance of being successful in the classroom and in their lives outside of school.