Survey

I was pleasantly surprised when I went to take the survey...it was the same one I took at the beginning of the semester.  It was exciting to notice all of the things I have learned over the semester.  Taking the survey the first time, I wasn't even sure what all of the questions were asking me.  This time I could answer "I can teach this to someone else" for most questions.  I definitely still have plenty of room for growth, I'm still not where I'd like to be concerning music and sound.  However, I sure have come a long way! I'm excited to get to use all of the new tools in my technology toolbox in my classroom!
ISTE/NETS
2d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.  This survey was a great way for the instructor and student to gauge what the student has learned throughout the semester.  It also shows areas of growth.

Online Graphing Tools

Using Kid's Zone to make graphs online was really fun. I think this would be a great project for students since almost every grade level has content standards and objectives dealing with graphing.  I used Kid's Zone to create two line graphs representing West Virginia average reading scores for fourth and eighth grades compared to the average national reading scores.  I enjoyed playing with the different scales to help make my graphs show the point of view I was trying to express.  I learned that scale is everything!  It is easy to look at a line graph and be impressed at how the lines measure up to each other, but as in the case with both of my graphs, there is a very small numerical difference in the data.
For my fourth grade graph, I was trying to portray West Virginia scores in a negative way to persuade for an allocating of more funds.  The scale for scores on my graph is only 14 points, making the West Virginia scores and the national scores seem far apart.  I also tried to discuss the data in a way that made West Virginia scores seem more dire than they really were. To read my narrative please follow the link to my graph.


For my eighth grade graph I tried to show West Virginia scores in a positive way to persuade that West Virginia average reading scores are comparable with average national scores.  On this graph I made my score scale 100 points to make the West Virginia and national scores look to be very close. I presented the data in a way that hopefully made West Virginia scores appear comparable to the average national scores.  Finally, I published both graphs on the Internet using Google Docs.  Following the links to my graphs will take you to my narratives as well.

I researched West Virginia scores and national scores on a National Center of Education Statistics website that gives profiles for each state.  I selected West Virginia on the map and automatically received state and national scores for math, reading, and science.  From there I selected the grade four reading and grade eight reading state snapshot reports for more information.
ISTE/NETS
1b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. Graphing West Virginia scores compared to national scores is an activity that uses digital tools and resources for real world issues. 
1a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.  Manipulating data to say what I wanted it to in both a graph and narrative is definitely using creativity and innovative thinking.
3c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.  Graphs are a great way to communicate information. Also, Google Docs is a easy way to publish information to the Internet expanding communication options.

Windows Movie Maker

Again, this assignment was something I've never done before.  I imported my PowerPoint slides to movie maker.  After I added them to the storyboard and played with the transitions I got stuck. I had a tough time trying to convert the file from  .MSWMM file to a .WMV file.  As usual, I was making this far more difficult than it was.  I hunted through every option and eventually Googled it.  I came to realize that all I needed to do was publish my video, which I had already done.  If I had been paying closer attention I would have saved myself some frustration and time.  Once I had the correct file type I uploaded my movie to YouTube. 




ISTE/NETS
3a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations. I knew that I'd need a .WMV file to upload to YouTube.  I had to transfer my current knowledge from using PhotoStory to Windows Movie Maker. 
3c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats. Using video is a great way to communicate, especially with students.  Also, using YouTube to publish videos is a great way to store a movie as well as allow students access from home.
5a. participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology to improve student learning.  YouTube can definitely be used as a global learning community.

Word Clouds

I have never created a word cloud before, and enjoyed using Wordle.  I choose to create my word cloud on reading.  It is a shame that you can not add words to Wordle without creating a whole new word cloud.  I'm sure I'll continue to think of new words.   I'd like to use this for vocabulary lessons in my classroom.  It would be fun to have students generate word lists for different holidays, or in response to books they've read.  I found Wordle easy to use, and the frequently asked questions page helpful.  From the FAQ I learned how to make some words bigger than others, I also learned how to keep phrases together.  It was fun to play with fonts and color, but in the end I liked the look of my Wordle that automatically generated. 
ISTE/NETS:
1a.promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.  Requiring students to use Wordle as part of a reader response activity or vocabulary lesson would promote creative and innovative thinking.
3c.communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats. Using Wordle and word clouds is a great way to communicate effectively.
2 d.provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.  Word clouds would be a fun way to assess students on spelling words or unit concepts.

An Open Letter To Educators

I’ve watched the video An Open Letter To Educators more than once to try and gauge my true feelings on all that Dan Brown says.  To begin with, I’m glad that he starts by saying a strong education is essential. Obviously, as an educator, I agree with that statement. 

Even though, I agree with some of what Dan Brown says, in some ways it is not applicable to me.  I can have all of the knowledge and information necessary to be a superb and effective teacher, but without a degree all of that free information isn’t going to matter.   Without a degree I cannot become certified as a teacher.  Without continuing my education I cannot re-certify as a teacher.  That is besides the point though, because I don't think I could be an effective teacher without my education .  My education has taught me how to think critically about a subject, how to reflect on my own practices, how to find information I need, and most importantly how to apply what I know to the everyday classroom.   I don't think I could learn that from the internet.  Also, anything I learn from the internet (which may or may not be true) will always be just my interpretation of what I read.  I learn much more if I have classmates and a professor to agree with, challenge, or guide my interpretation.
It is frustrating to think that I’m paying so much money for knowledge that is fast approaching the monetary value of zero.  To be honest I don't believe that there in no value to knowledge, knowledge will always be valuable. Also, with a master's degree my pay scale will increase so I would argue that there is monetary value to my knowledge. I think I understand what Brown is trying to say, education does need to adapt to the 21st century. I can take what he says and try to infuse his lesson into my own teaching, but even that can be difficult.  My experience in public schools has been that the curriculum is mandated, sometimes even scripted!  That can make it pretty difficult to encourage creativity and empower students.

 “Any institution based solely on providing students with facts is not preparing students for the real world.”   I agree with this statement wholeheartedly.  Unfortunately, applying it in practice is a different story.  In public school both teacher and student accountability are based on tests scores.  The majority of these tests are based on the regurgitation of facts.  I have been fortunate in my undergraduate and graduate studies.  Both of my college experiences have proven to be authentic learning experiences that have helped me to be an engaged learner.  Yes, it is true that I have had classes that were solely based on fact learning.  Fortunately the majority of my classes have been motivating.   Most of the courses I’ve taken have allowed me to explore, discuss, and solve real-world teaching problems while promoting reflection and creativity.   Also, I have had very few classes where the professor didn’t know my name or there was little interaction amongst students.  Maybe that is because of the program I am in or maybe it is because of the schools I’ve chosen to attend. (Both of the colleges I've attended are relatively small.) Either way, I’m glad that my experience has been more positive than Dan Brown’s.

Finally, something I’ve learned is that you shouldn’t complain about things unless you have ideas for solutions.  So I would like to hear Mr. Brown’s ideas on what institutions should do besides “adopt a few new tools?”  Especially considering the educational mandates I mentioned earlier.

Overall, I think this video is very thought provoking.  It would be powerful to show at a teacher professional development class and have an open discussion about.

ISTE/NETS

5c. evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis to make effective use of existing and emerging digital tools and resources in support of student learning. This video definitely requires educators to reflect on their teaching practices, and to question if they are effectively using  digital tools and resources to support student learning. 3d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning. This video required analyzing and evaluating in support of my own learning.

Tiny cc

Tiny URL is very easy to use. All you have to do is plug in your long URL and TinyURL generates a shorter URL for you. I have used  a similar TinyURL page so that it would be easier to post links on Facebook. For example, I used TinyURL to post my Google Forms survey and spreadsheet on Facebook. Originally the link to my spreadsheet was 107 characters long. Trying to post that in a Facebook comment takes several lines, and often won't link up properly. TinyURL turned my link into one with only 26 characters, which is much easier to work with.
You can use Tiny URL anytime you need a short or easy to remember URL.  Not only would this be useful for Facebook as I mentioned earlier, but also Twitter, MySpace, YouTube, Ebay, blogs, forums, and message boards.  Tiny URL allows you to monitor traffic statistics, which in my opinion is the neatest tool they offer.  This tool shows you statistics, charts, and even country abbreviations. Tiny URL also permits users to  preview links for safety purposes, make custom URLs, and many other services.

ISTE/NETS:
3c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.  TinyURL is a great tool to help make communicating with others simpler.  It is much easier to copy and paste a URL that is 26 character long rather than 107.
2a. design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity. This is a relevant tool that students may be able to use in their blogs, on Facebook, or Twitter.

Google Forms

I LOVE Google forms!  At first, I had a hard time deciding what to create a form about.  (That always seems to be the tough part for me!)  I originally thought I would create a quiz on a children's book.  But once in the process of making the quiz I found it difficult to utilize each type of question for my quiz. Even though this could be used to make a quiz on any topic, using each type of question for one quiz is tricky! It would be fun to use this for interest surveys at the beginning of the school year, or satisfaction surveys after teacher development.   I also think this would be a great tool for communicating with parents.  I envision myself using it to find parent volunteers.  The spreadsheet will make it easy to see how many parents are willing to volunteer for classroom parties, field trips, reading buddies, and at home volunteers. I also loved an idea that I found on the Google Blog that suggested using Google Forms to write a "choose your ending" story. What a fun writing project that would be!    I finally decided to create a survey about cloth diapering, a passion of mine. Once I got started, Google Forms was really easy to use! I used tinyurl (which is a whole other blog post), to post my survey on Facebook.  I was very excited to see a response within a few minutes.  In fact, each time I check it there are new responses, which is thrilling in an odd sort of way.  I've been looking to see if there is a correlation between style of diapers used and gender or reason for cloth diapering.  I think it would be easiest to send surveys or quizzes via email, but since I don't know that many cloth diapering families I posted it on Facebook. Here is my survey. 



I also posted the link to the spreadsheet on Facebook so those who responded could take a look at what others had to say. I'm really excited about this tool, and can't wait to use it in the classroom.


ISTE/NETS
2d. provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching.  This would be a great tool to use for assessment.  Also, the resulting data would help a teacher determine if the teacher needs to reteach or enrich the unit of study.
3a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.  Completing this assignment required me to use knowledge I have previously learned in this class such as publishing Google Docs and embedding.
1d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments. This is a great tool to collaborate with others.  Because Google Forms provides many different question types, including open response, collaboration is made simple.